Ice Ribbon P’s Party #68 on 3/10/21 Review

Ice Ribbon P's Party #68

Event: Ice Ribbon P’s Party #68
Date: March 10th, 2021
Location: Ice Ribbon Dojo in Saitama, Japan
Announced Attendance: 51
Broadcast Information: Streamed on Ice Ribbon Nico Channel

This show is a little older than the others I have been reviewing for the April Streaming Service Evaluation, but that is because Ice Ribbon at times doesn’t add events to their regular streaming service very quickly. They offer some events live (with timeshift viewing) for an extra fee, usually around $15, and then a month later put it on their Nico channel for all their other paying customers to watch. Can’t say I am a fan of the system, but if it works for them then who am I to complain. Ice Ribbon’s P’s Party events tend to be smaller shows and this one is no different, here is the full card:

Short show, all matches will be shown in full. Wrestlers on the event have profiles on Joshi City, you can click on their name above to go straight to it.

Yappy vs. Yuuki Mashiro
Yappy vs. Yuuki Mashiro

This match is part of the P’s League 2021 Tournament. Since this may be the only event I watch/review during the P’s League Tournament, it would feel silly to go into all the math behind the standings, I just want to be entertained. But both wrestlers come into the match with two points and the loser will effectively be eliminated from the Block, so both need a win here to stay in contention. Yappy has the size and experience advantage, but Yuuki is younger and faster, and in a tournament like this anything can happen.

Yuuki wants a knucklelock but regrets it as Yappy gets her to her knees, stomps by Yappy and she slams Yuuki’s head into the mat. Yappy sits on Yuuki and applies a double arm stretch hold, she lets go after a moment and throws Yuuki into the corner. Yappy runs Yuuki’s face across the top rope to get to the other corner and mushes her down to a seated position. Yappy chokes Yuuki and goes for a choke slam, but Yuuki slides away and hits a dropkick for a two count. Another dropkick by Yuuki and she throws Yappy into the corner, but Yappy hits her with her hip and applies a choke while sitting on the top turnbuckle. Yuuki armdrags Yappy off the top turnbuckles however and applies an arm submission, she switches it to a triangle choke but Yappy slams Yuuki to get out of it. Yappy charges Yuuki but Yuuki moves, stomps by Yuuki and she goes for the cover but Yappy is literally in the ropes. Yuuki pulls her to the middle of the ring but Yappy easily kicks out of the cover, dropkick to the back by Yuuki but that gets a two count as well. Yuuki gets on the second turnbuckle but Yappy catches her when she jumps off, backbreaker by Yappy and she hits a second one. Leg drop by Yappy and she covers Yuuki for two. Yappy goes for a chokeslam but Yuuki grabs her whole head to block it, Yappy gets out of the hold but Yuuki hits a crossbody off the second turnbuckle for two. Yuuki goes off the ropes but Yappy gets her on her shoulders, Yuuki slides off however and goes for a sunset flip. The two trade flash pins, and in the process Yuuki “accidentally” pokes Yappy in the eye. That gives her a momentary advantage and she holds down Yappy for the three count! Yuuki Mashiro wins the match and gets two points.

No matter what Ice Ribbon stans may want you to believe, Yuuki is showing some potential as a rookie but hasn’t really done anything to set herself apart from other wrestlers six months into her career. She’s no Utami Hayashishita, Saya Kamitani, or Suzu Suzuki when it comes to instantly showing future stardom. Still, she is capable and doesn’t look awkward or out of place, so we’ll see where her career goes as she continues to log more match minutes. Yappy is what she is, fundamentally sound and a great asset to Ice Ribbon behind the scenes, but having her lose here was probably a good move as the 19 year old Yuuki needs to pass her sooner than later on the pecking order. Not a long match but pretty smartly worked, Yuuki’s reversals to Yappy’s various attacks were well done and they didn’t waste any time with meaningless spots as they understood the time constraints. A good way to open the show as Yuuki continues to gain live experience.

Banny Oikawa vs. Honori Hana
Banny Oikawa vs. Honori Hana

This match is part of the P’s League 2021 Tournament. Lower your expectations a smidge for this one. Banny is almost two years into her wrestler career but she has had trouble moving up the card as she doesn’t win. She hasn’t won a singles match since February 2020 and that was against a literal child, which so far is the only singles win she’s ever had. So she probably needs a victory more than anyone else, as she faces Honori Hana from SEAdLINNNG. Honori was the first wrestler to debut for SEAdLINNNG but she has been progressing slowly as well. Not sure what to expect here, hope they have something fun up their sleeves.

They quickly go to the mat with Honori on top, she works a headlock but Banny reverses it into a guillotine. They end up in the ropes so they return to their feet, double leg tackle by Honori but Banny switches positions with her and they reach a stalemate. Back up, Irish whip by Banny and she delivers a dropkick. Honori throws down Banny by the hair and mushes her face, scoop slam by Honori and she applies a crab hold. Banny gets to the ropes, stomps by Honori but Banny kicks her and snapmares Honori to the mat. Banny applies a choke submission with her leg and goes for the cross armbreaker, but Honori gets a foot on the ropes. Banny goes to the top turnbuckle but Honori tosses her to the mat, Banny jumps on Honori’s back however and applies a sleeper. Irish whip by Honori and she hits a running elbow, shoulderblocks by Honori and she covers Banny for two. Back up they trade strikes, head kick by Banny and she covers Honori for a two count. Banny goes for the cross armbreaker again but Honori is too close to the ropes, Irish whip by Banny but Honori elbows her repeatedly against the ropes. Honori charges Banny, Banny goes for a dropkick by Honori avoids it. Inside cradle by Banny, but it gets a two count. Banny grabs Honori’s arm but Honori gets away and kicks Banny, scoop slam by Honori and she covers Banny for two. Honori goes off the ropes and hits a spear, backdrop suplex by Honori and she covers Banny for the three count! Honori Hana wins and gets two points.

I’ve mentioned in past SEAdLINNNG reviews that Honori is coming along very very slowly and I maintain that opinion as over a year into her career she still looks awkward and doesn’t hit her moves smoothly. Even her signature moves like the spear and backdrop suplex looked rough, if nothing else she should have those down pat. Banny looked better as her ground game is solid, but her strategy was all over the place as she wasn’t doing anything to weaken the arm or Honori in general. A ground game is great but setting it up first is the key to really mastering the style, otherwise some of the meaning is lost. A watchable match but a step down from the last as the offense was clunky at times (on Honori’s end) and there wasn’t much method to their madness.

Madeline vs. Satsuki Totoro
Madeline vs. Satsuki Totoro

This match is part of the P’s League 2021 Tournament. Life is always a little better when Madeline is around, as while she may not be an A+ in-ring technician she is a bundle of excitement and chaotic energy. Her personality hasn’t led to a lot of wins but she has had a lot of fun matches in her short career. Satsuki Totoro is the favorite and as she comes in with zero points compared to Madeline’s one point, she definitely needs a win here to stay in contention in the tournament. Doesn’t look good for Madeline but hopefully the match is entertaining anyway.

They circle each other before locking up, Satsuki pushes Madeline into the ropes but gives a clean break. Kick by Madeline and she goes for Satsuki’s arm, but Satsuki reverses things as they trade holds. Satsuki works a headlock, Madeline Irish whips out of it but Satsuki shoulderblocks her down. Satsuki stands on Madeline’s back before sitting on her and pulling back on her head. Satsuki stands on Madeline’s back again before pushing her into the ropes, but Madeline quickly applies a hanging armbar over the top rope. She lets go after a moment and tries to go after Satsuki’s arm back in the ring, but Satsuki hits a lariat followed by a senton. Satsuki picks up Madeline and hits a scoop slam, but Madeline avoids the body press. Madeline runs over Satsuki’s back a few times but Satsuki shrugs it off and hits the falling body press anyway for a two count. Satsuki picks up Madeline and gets her on her shoulders, but Madeline slides off and applies a schoolboy for two. PK by Madeline, but her cover gets another two count. Madeline picks up Satsuki and elbows her into the corner, Irish whip by Madeline but Satsuki reverses it. Lariat by Satsuki in the corner, she tries again but Madeline moves this time and cradles Satsuki for two. Madeline applies an armbar but Satsuki wiggles to the ropes to force the break. Madeline tries a few more flash pins with no luck, Madeline goes off the ropes but Satsuki catches her with a jumping crossbody for two. Diving senton by Satsuki off the second turnbuckle, and she covers Madeline for the three count! Satsuki Totoro wins and gets two points in the tournament.

This was fun, probably more fun than it had any right to be. Madeline manages to make everything watchable just by existing but her arm work on Satsuki was solid and she looked smooth throughout, I don’t know if she’ll ever be more than a “fun midcarder” but as long as she is being entertaining I’m ok with it. Satsuki has learned to work within her limitations which she showed here, she’s also unlikely to reach the top of any promotion but she knows how to wrestle with her size advantage and they meshed together really well. Nothing that will set anyone’s world on fire but a well structured and entertaining midcard match.  Mildly Recommended

Ice Ribbon Six Wrestler Tag
Itsuki Aoki, Momo Kohgo, and Tsukushi vs. Uno, Shingaki, and Suzu Suzuki

For the main event, we move away from the tournament. Ice Ribbon invited wrestlers from a variety of different places for this one – Momo Kohgo from Actwres girl’Z, Rina Shingaki from 2AW, and Itsuki Aoki who goes wherever she wants. The wrestler quality in this one is high as Itsuki, Tsukushi, and Suzu are not only very entertaining wrestlers but all are also former or current holders of notable titles. The rest of the bunch aren’t too shabby either and should be able to hold their own, or at least not drag the match down. Last time I saw Matsuya Uno her style really didn’t work within the match she was in so hopefully that was a one-time issue and not a recurring theme.

Team Suzu attacks before the match but it quickly backfires as Team Tsukushi takes over, all all three hit scoop slams. Momo stays in with Rina as the legal wrestlers, snapmares by Momo but Rina blocks one and bops her on the head. Rina tags in Suzu, who applies a headlock while taunting Itsuki. Face crusher by Suzu and she applies a crab hold while raking Momo’s face. Rina and Matsuya come into “help” but all six end up in a submission hold chain until they all eventually break. Suzu stomps on Momo and tags in Matsuya, snapmare by Matsuya and with Rina they dropkick Momo. Matsuya tags Rina in, Rina clubs on Momo’s arm and twists it in the ropes. Irish whip by Rina but Momo reverses it, Rina avoids Momo’s dropkick however and stomps on her. Rina throws Momo into the corner but Momo jumps over her and hits an armdrag followed by a dropkick. That gives her time to tag Itsuki, shoulderblock by Itsuki but Suzu dropkicks her. Tsukushi is in too and she attacks both Rina and Suzu, crossbody by Tsukushi to Rina and Suzu and Itsuki follows with a spear. Itsuki picks up Tsukushi and drops her onto both opponents, Suzu rolls out of the ring while Itsuki elbows Rina in the corner. Face crusher by Itsuki and she hits a falling body press for a two count. Scoop slam by Itsuki, she goes to the second turnbuckle but Rina recovers and gets Itsuki on her shoulders.

Kamikaze by Rina and she makes the tag to Suzu. Dropkick to the back by Suzu and she covers Itsuki for two. Suzu goes off the ropes but Itsuki gets her on her shoulders, Suzu slides off but Itsuki kicks her in the head. Suzu gets away from Itsuki and applies a waistlock, Itsuki elbows out of it and she hits a STO for a two count. Itsuki tags Tsukushi, she cradles Suzu to the mat and hits a footstomp. Elbow by Suzu and the two trade shots, they go off the ropes until Tsukushi catches Suzu with a tilt-a-whirl headscissors. Suzu flips herself back towards Tsukushi and hits a spear, picking up a two count. Suzu applies a submission while her partners keep the other opponents busy, but Tsukushi gets to the ropes. Suzu drags Tsukushi’s head over the apron and hits a dropkick. Cover by Suzu but it gets a two count. Suzu tags Matsuya, Matsuya spins Tsukushi around and applies an abdominal stretch. Tsukushi gets to the ropes for the break, Matsuya clubs on Tsukushi’s arm but Tsukushi puts her in a sleeper. Matsuya gets out of it, elbow by Tsukushi but Matsuya blocks the slam. Momo runs in to help but Rina comes in too as they go for vertical suplexes, eventually everyone but Tsukushi and Suzu are in the vertical suplex blob but Tsukushi runs over the top of it to hit a diving elbow onto Suzu. Momo and Itsuki successfully drop Rina and Matsuya with the suplex, Murder Dropkick by Tsukushi and she covers Matsuya for two.

Tsukushi tags Momo, dropkick by Momo and she hits a jumping crossbody for two. Momo applies a stretch hold but releases Matsuya after a moment, dropkick to the back by Momo but Matsuya blocks the slam attempt. Matsuya goes for the Fujiwara Armbar and gets it applied, but Momo gets to the ropes for the break. Matsuya goes off the ropes but Tsukushi comes in and dropkicks her with Momo, scoop slam by Momo to Matsuya but it only gets two. Momo goes off the ropes and hits a Tiger Feint Kick, but Matsuya pushes her away and applies a stretch submission. It gets broken up, Suzu runs in and spears Itsuki while Matsuya spears Tsukushi. Matsuya picks up Momo but Momo gets away from her, Rina comes in and they hit a face crusher on Momo. Matsuya picks up Momo and hits the F Crash, cover by Matsuya but Momo barely gets a shoulder up. Matsuya picks up Momo and goes for another one but Suzu kicks Matsuya in the head, inside cradle by Momo but it gets two. Itsuki hits a lariat on Matsuya, Momo covers Matsuya and she gets the three count! Itsuki Aoki, Momo Kohgo, and Tsukushi

Momo acted after the win like she just won the lottery, even though she just covered someone after her partner finished them, but she doesn’t win every often. So I can understand her excitement. This was a really good match but the good parts were carried by Suzu and Tsukushi with everyone else being along for the ride. That doesn’t mean the other four weren’t good but in a sub-15 minute six wrestler match, obviously not everyone is going to get a chance to shine. Its just science. Momo was pretty impressive considering she doesn’t get a lot of chances against wrestlers that out-rank her, and really no one held the match back even though it would have been equally effective with four wrestlers in the match. The spot with Tsukushi running on the suplex blob was fun and they kept the action moving from bell to bell. An entertaining main event for a smaller show, I wouldn’t have minded if they went another five minutes but I enjoyed what they did.  Recommended

Final Thoughts:
2

 

If I had paid $15 to $20 extra for this event, I wouldn’t be too happy, but as a smaller event added to Ice Ribbon’s streaming service I enjoyed it. The show is only 45 minutes long but the benefit is its a really breezy watch. None of the matches were outright bad as they didn’t have the time to be, and the last two matches were both entertaining. A fun shorter event by Ice Ribbon that showcased some of their less experienced wrestlers.