Ice Ribbon New Ice Ribbon #1044 on 5/31/20 Review

Event: Ice Ribbon New Ice Ribbon #1044
Date: May 31st, 2020
Location: Ice Ribbon Dojo in Saitama, Japan
Announced Attendance: 0

Let’s jump right back to Ice Ribbon and give them another chance to impress. This is a bigger show than the last one I reviewed, as it has twice as many matches and also has a title match as well. Here is the full card:

All matches were shown in full, you can click on the wrestler’s name above to go straight to their profile on Joshi City. Let’s hop to it.

Ibuki Hoshi, Miyagi, and Yappy vs. Matsuya Uno, Ishikawa, and Tsukushi
We kick off the show with a combination of young wrestlers, less experienced wrestlers, and Mochi Miyagi. Miyagi is definitely the oddball in the group was while Tsukushi has a lot of experience, since she is still only 22 its not uncommon for her to wrestle with the other younger and/or newer wrestlers. This is the first I have seen of Nao Ishikawa, who debuted during the pandemic, so hopefully she impresses. Or at least shows some potential.

Team Miyagi attacks before the bell rings, they isolate the rookie Nao and all attack her in the corner. The lights don’t seem to fully be on, hopefully they fix that at some point. They all pose on Nao until Tsukushi strolls in and breaks things up, Matsuya comes in too and they do the same thing to Ibuki that had been done to Nao. Things calm down with Nao and Ibuki in the ring as the legal wrestlers, Ibuki slams Nao’s face into the mat before putting her in a Camel Clutch. Miyagi and Yappy both come in to taunt Nao, Ibuki eventually lets go and hits a body press on Nao’s back for a two count cover. Ibuki tags in Miyagi, Nao tries to fight back but eats a hard elbow. cover by Miyagi but it gets two. Miyagi puts Nao in a side headlock, Nao gets to the ropes for the break but Yappy comes in to help get Nao back to the corner. Yappy tags in and hits a scoop slam, another slam by Yappy and she hits a third to Nao for a two count cover. Yappy tags in Ibuki and Ibuki throws down Nao by the hair, Irish whip by Ibuki but Nao hits a jumping crossbody for two. This gives her time to tag in Tsukushi, Tsukushi dropkicks Ibuki and Yappy but Miyagi ducks when she goes for her. Matsuya comes in to help as they hit a spear/dropkick combination on their opponents, Tsukushi sets up Ibuki in the ropes and rakes on her face before dropkicking her in the back. Cover by Tsukushi, but it gets a two count.

Tsukushi picks up Ibuki but Ibuki chops her repeatedly in the chest, Irish whip by Ibuki and she hits a body avalanche. Tsukushi blocks the cutter attempt and hits a footstomp, Matsuya and Nao come in and both strike Ibuki in the corner. Dropkick by Tsukushi, and she gets a two count cover. Tsukushi goes off the ropes but Ibuki catches her with a hard shoulderblock, Ibuki throws Tsukushi into the corner and hits another body avalanche, face crusher by Ibuki and she covers Tsukushi for two. Ibuki tags in Yappy, hip attacks by Yappy but Tsukushi elbows her back and the two trade blows. Tsukushi goes for a crossbody but Yappy catches her and slams her to the mat, Yappy picks up Tsukushi but Tsukushi reverses the chokeslam attempt into a cradle for two. Tsukushi quickly tags Matsuya, dropkick to the face by Matsuya but Yappy blocks the STO and hits one of her own. Yappy throws Matsuya to the corner and hits a lariat, she charges in but Matsuya moves and hits a footstomp to her chest. Cover by Matsuya, but it gets a two count. Matsuya jumps on Yappy’s back and applies a sleeper, but Yappy slams back into the corner to break it up. Miyagi comes in and they both chop Matsuya in the corner, Bronco Buster by Yappy and she covers Matsuya for a two count.

Miyagi is tagged in, Ibuki comes in too and they both jump down onto Matsuya. Miyagi picks up Matsuya but Matsuya elbows her off and sneaks in a schoolboy for two. Cross kneelock by Matsuya as they finally turn on the lights in the arena (that took them awhile), but Tsukushi breaks it up. Matsuya waits for Miyagi to get up to go for the spear, but Nao really wants the tag so Matsuya tags her in. Nao goes for shoulderblocks on Miyagi but Miyagi stays on her feet, Tsukushi kicks Miyagi from the apron which helps Nao finally knock Miyagi over. Scoop slam by Nao, but her cover only gets two. Stunner by Tsukushi to Miyagi and Matsuya hits the F Crash, Nao hits a diving crossbody off the second turnbuckle but her cover is broken up. Nao goes off the ropes but Ibuki intercepts her, belly bump by Miyagi to the back of Nao and she covers her for two. Face crusher by Miyagi, Yappy jumps in and they both hit leg drops on Nao. Miyagi drags Nao up but Nao hits a back bodydrop, rolling cradle by Nao but it only gets two. Nao goes off the ropes but Miyagi catches her with a swinging side slam, Ibuki slams Nao to the mat and Miyagi follows with a Reverse Splash for the three count! Ibuki Hoshi, Mochi Miyagi, and Yappy

The focus of the match was on the rookie, which isn’t unusual in openers, which made it predictable but the action was decent enough. Not everyone here is a great wrestler so some parts were clunky, and I wish Tsukushi would have been more involved but its still valuable experience for the newer wrestlers in the bunch. At least they found the lights, so that should make the rest of the show easier to watch. A pretty average opener but nothing offensive.

Akane Fujita vs. Suzu Suzuki
Believe it or not, this is the first time these two have faced off in singles action. Suzu has positioned herself well as she starts her career in Ice Ribbon but she is only 17 so she still has quite a few wrestlers ahead of her in the pecking order. One of which is Akane Fujita, who hasn’t gone much above the midcard but is a respected seven year veteran. Akane has the experience but Suzu has the spunk, so it should be a fun clash.

Akane pushes Suzu into the ropes off the start, and she slaps Suzu in the belly before backing off. Tie-up again, this time Suzu gets Akane into the ropes but Akane blocks her strike and smacks her in the belly again. Akane goes off the ropes and hits a hard shoulderblock, but Suzu hits a drop toehold and slaps her repeatedly in the butt. Akane picks up Suzu and puts her across the top turnbuckle before stretching her over it, Suzu flops back into the ring and Akane hits a scoop slam. Akane applies a chinlock but releases it after a moment, she toys with Suzu before throwing her into the corner. Irish whip by Akane but Suzu slides out to the apron and snaps Akane’s arm over the top rope. Knees by Suzu and she dropkicks Akane in the side of the head, cover by Suzu but it gets a two count. Akane pushes Suzu and hits an elbow but Suzu returns fire, dropkick by Suzu and she slams Akane to the mat for a two count cover. Suzu picks up Akane and chops her in the chest, Irish whip by Suzu but Akane blocks it and elbows her. Akane charges Suzu but Suzu moves and holds down the top rope, sending Akane out to the apron. Suzu goes off the ropes but Akane quickly gets back in the ring and slams her to the mat, Akane picks up Suzu and throws her into the corner.

Shoulderblock by Akane, she gets on the second turnbuckle but Suzu recovers and kicks her off the turnbuckle and onto the apron. Suzu goes up top but Akane grabs her, she gets Suzu on her shoulder but Suzu slides off as they both end up on the apron. Suzu tries to suplex Akane off the apron but Akane blocks it, she slides Suzu back in the ring but Suzu shouldertackles her down to the floor. Suzu goes out after her and slides Akane back in, spear by Suzu and she hits a standing moonsault for two. Suzu picks up Akane and knees her in the stomach, but Akane blocks her jumping kick and applies the Texas Cloverleaf. Suzu quickly gets to the ropes for the break, Akane chops Suzu in the chest and hits a shoulderblock. Akane gets on the second turnbuckle and delivers a diving shoulderblock, cover by Akane but it gets a two count. Akane gets Suzu on her shoulders but Suzu wiggles away and cradles her for two. Jumping kick by Suzu and she hits a modified reverse STO, but Akane kicks out of the cover. Suzu picks up Akane but Akane gets her on her shoulders and hits a Samoan Drop. Suzu rolls out of the cover attempt and kicks Akane in the head, she goes for Akane’s waist but Akane grabs the ropes. Suzu gets her off of them and nails a German suplex hold, but the bell rings before Mio can finish the count as time has expired. The match is a Draw.

While this felt more like a preview than a full blown match, I still enjoyed it. Since they were going the Draw route, I liked that they gave Suzu the visual pin at the end to show that really she had bettered her veteran opponent, she just needed a little bit more time to get the job done. Akane isn’t a high end wrestler but she is very good and led Suzu well here, there were a few awkward moments based around the apron spots which happens but overall it was smooth. A solid match that I hope leads to a bigger match between the two down the road.  Mildly Recommended

Risa Sera and Satsuki Totoro vs. Thekla and Tsukasa Fujimoto
The “everyone must be on the show” tag team match, with a unique combination of wrestlers. Thekla joined Ice Ribbon earlier this year and has been having a pretty good time, looking solid in her matches and holding her own against the native roster. She teams with Tsukasa Fujimoto, the leader of Ice Ribbon and former Tokyo Sports Joshi Wrestler of the Year. They face off against Risa Sera, who has had the most success in her career in the tag division, and the less experienced Totoro. I never know what to expect from these matches, hopefully its more serious than comedy.

Thekla and Satsuki start the match, they trade holds until Satsuki knocks over Thekla with a hard shoulderblock. She throws Thekla out of the ring while Risa does the same to Tsukasa, all four end up on the floor as Risa snapmares Tsukasa on the floor and goes for a footstomp. Tsukasa moves and gets Risa on the floor, she also goes for a footstomp off the apron but Risa moves as well. Tsukasa it appears knocks Risa into the camera, which sends them into a portal, leading to them battling on top of the Tokyo Dome. We eventually get back to reality as Satsuki and Thekla battle in the ring, Satsuki stomps Thekla into the corner before tagging in the returned Risa. Snapmare by Risa and she kicks Thekla in the back, she puts Thekla in the Rocking Horse before dropping her back to the mat and tagging Satsuki in. Satsuki clubs Thekla and slams her face-first into the mat, she sits on Thekla and applies a stretch hold. She lets go after a moment and puts Thekla in a crab hold, Tsukasa finally gets back from the parallel universe and breaks up the hold. Irish whip by Satsuki to Thekla but Thekla cradles Satsuki for two. She makes the tag to Tsukasa, Tsukasa dropkicks Satsuki but then throws Satsuki into Risa. Tsukasa pushes Satsuki down onto Risa before jumping on their back, Risa rolls out of the ring and Tsukasa hits a PK on Satsuki for two.

Tsukasa picks up Satsuki and goes for a slam, but Satsuki lands on top of her for a two count. Satsuki tags Risa, running elbow by Risa in the corner but Tsukasa fires back with a dropkick. Dropkick by Tsukasa in the corner but Risa catches her with Schwein, Risa grabs Thekla and gets her on her shoulders while also giving Tsukasa a Giant Swing. Risa pushes Tsukasa out of the ring and goes out after her, they return to the portal and end up getting attacked by a dinosaur. I worry about Ice Ribbon sometimes. They end up fighting in front of the Eiffel Tower, they eventually make it back to the Ice Ribbon Dojo and Risa throws Tsukasa into the ring. Risa puts Tsukasa on her shoulders but Tsukasa slides away and delivers the Infinity. Tsukasa picks up Risa and hits an enzuigiri, but Risa catches her with a Samoan Driver and both wrestlers are down on the mat. Both wrestlers tag out, Thekla and Satsuki trade elbows until Thekla puts Satsuki a flying armbar. She lets go after a moment but Satsuki blocks her kick, Satsuki goes off the ropes but Tsukasa catches her with a dropkick. Thekla and Tsukasa both hit 619s, cover by Thekla but it gets a two count. Spear by Thekla, but Risa breaks up the cover. Satsuki picks up Thekla and slams her to the mat, diving double kneedrop by Risa and Satsuki delivers a running senton for two. Risa takes care of Tsukasa, Kamikaze by Satsuki to Thekla but Thekla barely bridges out of the cover. Satsuki goes up to the top turnbuckle but Thekla rolls out of the way of the diving senton, quick cradle by Thekla and she picks up the three count! Thekla and Tsukasa Fujimoto are the winners.

I can’t even get mad about Risa and Thekla teleporting around the world, it was so silly all you can really do is shake your head. Beyond that, this was a little disjointed without a real focus to it. I can’t pinpoint a moment where it was bad, but the opposite is also true as I can’t think of any particular moments that were great either. It just kinda hummed along for 13 minutes, watchable but unspectacular. Too meandering for my tastes but the action was generally fine anyway.

Hamuko Hoshi vs. Maya Yukihi
IW-19 Championship
A new champion will be crowned! The IW-19 Championship has history in Ice Ribbon, as it was an active title from 2011 to 2013 with unique rules surrounding it. With the pandemic in full swing, Ice Ribbon decided it was a good time to bring it back, and set to crown a new champion with a 12 wrestler tournament. This is the Finals of the tournament, as the veteran Hamuko Hoshi faces the young Ace of Ice Ribbon. Hoshi actually held the title before way back in 2012, so this would be her second reign with the championship should she defeat Maya. Every other match in the tournament has had a 19 minute time limit so I assume this one does as well, although I can’t say with 100% certainty. It has been a fun tournament up to this point, so hopefully these two can deliver in the finale.

They start slow as they lock knuckles, side headlock by Maya but Hoshi reverses it. Maya Irish whips out of the hold but Hoshi hits a hard shoulderblock, Maya drops down but Hoshi drops down next to her with a pose. They get back up and trade armdrags, both trip each other and Hoshi covers Maya for a two count before posing again. They both return to her feet and trade wristlocks, chinlock by Maya and she clubs Hoshi in the head. Maya knees Hoshi repeatedly in the ribs and then in the arm, she goes for a slam but Hoshi blocks it and hits a scoop slam of her own. Running body press by Hoshi, but it only gets a two count. Hoshi puts Maya in a crab hold but Maya inches to the ropes to get the break. Knees by Maya and she hits a STO, she picks up Hoshi and throws her into the corner before hitting a jumping knee. Hoshi fires back with a hard shoulderblock, cutter by Hoshi and she covers Maya for two. Hoshi stands on Maya’s hands and stomps down on them, she sets up Maya in the ropes and dropkicks her in the back for a two count cover. Hoshi throws Maya into the corner and hits a body avalanche, butt bumps by Hoshi but Maya kicks Hoshi and spanks her.

Maya kicks Hoshi’s leg out from under her and kicks her some more while she is in a seated position, but Hoshi gets back up and hits a series of lariats. Hoshi lariats Maya over the top rope down to the floor, she goes out after her and throws Maya into the steel steps. Hoshi pushes Maya against the railing and rubs her belly in her face, but Maya hits her and throws her head-first into the steps. Maya jumps up on the apron and kicks Hoshi in the chest while she is still standing on the floor, she finally gets back into the ring and waits for Hoshi. Maya goes to the top turnbuckle and hits a missile dropkick, cover by Maya but it gets two. Maya quickly applies a choke but Hoshi gets to the ropes for the break. Maya picks up Hoshi but Hoshi blocks the suplex attempt, Maya goes off the ropes but Hoshi knocks her over with a belly bump. Missile dropkick off the second turnbuckle by Hoshi and she puts Maya in a STF, but Maya gets to the ropes. Back up, elbow by Hoshi but Maya elbows her back and they trade blows. Leg lariat by Maya to Hoshi and she hits a jumping knee, but Hoshi ducks the enzuigiri and drops Maya with a German suplex. Lariat by Hoshi and both wrestlers are down on the mat, Maya recovers first and hits a series of elbows.

Hoshi comes back with belly bumps and hits the Shining Onaka, Hoshi goes up top but Maya recovers and joins her. Superplex by Maya, she goes off the ropes but Hoshi catches her with a Death Valley Bomb. Maya is up first but Hoshi blocks her kick, Hamu Roll by Hoshi but Maya fires back with a running knee. PK by Maya, but Hoshi kicks out of the cover. Maya goes for the Tiger Driver but Hoshi blocks it and hits a lariat, another lariat by Hoshi and she covers Maya for two. Hoshi goes up top but Maya gets her feet up on the diving body press attempt, superkick by Maya and she hits a back kick. Another head kick by Maya, but Hoshi kicks out of the cover. Maya goes for the Tiger Driver again and this time delivers it, but Hoshi kicks out again. Maya goes up top but Hoshi avoids the Swanton Bomb, but Maya quickly cradles Hoshi for two. Hoshi kicks Maya back and gets a quick cradle for her own two count, high kick by Maya but Hoshi cradles Maya for the three count! Hamuko Hoshi wins and is the new champion!

They were getting close to nineteen minutes at the end, which is why I think they both were going for flash pins. Anyway, this was a fun match. I’m biased as I adore Maya, I think she has both a great look and is a killer in the ring, the perfect combination. Hoshi can’t keep up with her but tried, they started slow but the last portion of the match was fast paced as both were going for the win. The match was hurt by the single cam set-up as it didn’t give the best angles on moves (such as Maya’s move on the steps, which desperately needed a camera cut), but they worked around that the best they could. Overall I enjoyed it as it was hard hitting and had very little downtime, but not a super high-end match.  Recommended