OddCast

Few championships in modern wrestling capture the imagination quite like the NXT Championship . Born in 2012 during a time when WWE was quietly incubating a creative revolution, the title became the heartbeat of a brand that was part developmental system, part super-indie, part counter-culture movement. If Raw and SmackDown were blockbuster movies, NXT was the cult-favorite series with a fiercely devoted fanbase , the kind that spoke in message boards, trended hashtags, and p

A five-part deep dive into Howard Chaykin’s neon fever dream of corporate America, pulp rebellion, and media hypnosis.   Prologue: Static Dreams and Plastic Stars Once upon a future that looked like yesterday’s tomorrow, America packed its bags for Mars. What was left behind wasn’t a country, but a logo — a hologram flickering over the ruins. And in the noise, a man named Reuben Flagg squinted through the static and asked: “Is this thing still on?” Before Watchmen , before

Introduction — When the Bell Rang and the Dream Faded In the early 2000s, New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW) stood at a crossroads between glory and collapse. It was an era when professional wrestling’s grandest ideals clashed with the rising obsession for “legitimacy.”At the center of it all was Antonio Inoki , the godfather of Japanese pro wrestling — a visionary, a showman, and a man consumed by the belief that pro wrestling must be real fighting . What emerged was a philosoph

Introduction When Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus was first published in 1818 by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley, it offered a potent fusion of Gothic horror, science-fiction speculation and moral inquiry. The tale of a scientist who creates life and suffers the consequences resonated through literature, art and theatre for decades. But it was in Hollywood in the 1930s that the story found its most enduring cinematic expression. Between 1931 and 1939, Universal Pictures p

“You either die a hero, or you live long enough to see yourself become the villain.” - Harvey Dent That line — meant for Gotham — might as well be carved into the stone of the DC Extended Universe itself. From Batman Begins  (2005) to Superman  (2025), Warner Bros. and DC have walked a twenty–year tightrope between artistry and commerce, myth and management, chaos and rebirth. It’s a story that feels less like a timeline of films and more like a myth of its own — a pantheon o

Introduction In the landscape of Japanese professional wrestling, NOAH stands out not just as a promotion but as a living myth. Its very name evokes the Biblical story of the flood and the ark: survivors rebuilding after catastrophe. From its genesis in the dramatic roster exodus of the year 2000, through glory, tragedy, scandal and reinvention, NOAH has consistently symbolised both endurance and transformation. Section I – Underlying Structures: Weight-Classes & Styles Weigh

“Influence used to be a title given by studios and labels. Today it’s a monthly revenue spreadsheet.” The creator economy and influencer marketing have transformed attention into revenue with unprecedented speed. Platforms, brands, and creator-focused services have industrialised personal brands: creators now monetize intimacy and community through ads, sponsorships, subscriptions, commerce and equity deals. This shift has not only created new pathways to fame and income, it

This is a blog post that is going to discuss all facets of pop culture, but the most prevalent example of my hypothesis applies to the...

The title of this post basically does all of the heavy lifting for me in terms of what I wish to say and what my opinion is, but I can go...