Event: Ice Ribbon “New Ice Ribbon #962 ~ Osaka Ribbon 2019 II”
Date: May 25th, 2019
Location: Hirano Kumin Hall in Osaka, Japan
Announced Attendance: 286

I am finally reviewing my first Ice Ribbon event of 2019! I don’t intentionally neglect Ice Ribbon on the site. One of the reasons I watch less of them is that the main way they make “TV” is via Nico Pro, and they air their events with a little commentary box on the screen and it annoys me to no end. And its hard for me to watch a 2+ hour event that annoys me. At some point I’ll make a big Ice Ribbon DVD order and catch up. Anyway, I am putting up with the commentary box for this event because the matches are fire and I didn’t want to miss it. Here is the full card:

• Kyuri and Miyuki Takase vs. Makoto and Tsukushi
• Banny Oikawa vs. Matsuya Uno vs. Miyako Matsumoto
• Akane Fujita, Hiragi Kurumi, and Mochi Miyagi vs. Hamuko Hoshi, Ibuki Hoshi, and Tsukasa Fujimoto
• Rina Yamashita vs. Satsuki Totoro
• Maika Ozaki and Tequila Saya vs. Risa Sera and Suzu Suzuki
• ICExInfinity Championship: Maya Yukihi vs. Giulia

I love 65% of these wrestlers so this has to be good. As this aired on Nico, all matches should be shown in full. Every wrestler above has a profile on Joshi City, you can click on their names to go straight to it.

Kyuri and Miyuki Takase vs. Makoto and Tsukushi

Kyuri and Miyuki attack before the bell rings, Makoto is isolated and attacked by both in the corner. They pose on Makoto until Tsukushi run in to even the odds, Makoto and Tsukushi take control and take turns doing front rolls over Kyuri’s body. Makoto stays in with Kyuri, Makoto chops Kyuri in the corner and hits a boot to the chest. Kyuri swats Makoto away and hits a Backstabber, but Makoto avoids her cartwheel kneedrop. Kyuri then avoids Makoto’s as well, she goes for a suplex but Makoto blocks it and applies an armbreaker. She switches it to an armbar but Kyuri wiggles to the ropes and forces the break. Makoto goes off the ropes but Kyuri hits a judo toss, Kyuri applies a submission before letting go and tags Miyuki. Miyuki picks up Makoto and dropkicks her in the corner, missile dropkick by Miyuki off the second turnbuckle and she hits a lariat. She gets Makoto on her shoulders but Makoto slides off, elbows and chops by Miyuki but Makoto catches her with a butterfly suplex.

Cartwheel into a double kneedrop by Makoto and she makes the tag to Tsukushi. Tsukushi dropkicks Miyuki in the corner and hits a second one,  cover by Tsukushi but it gets a two count. Tsukushi stomps on Miyuki’s foot but Miyuki catches her with a powerslam and tags Kyuri. Kyuri boots Tsukushi in the head and the two trade elbows, Makoto runs in and elbows Kyuri, with Tsukushi following with a dropkick. Tsukushi goes up top but Kyuri grabs her before she can jump off and drives Tsukushi chest-first into her knees. Miyuki connects on Tsukushi with a diving elbow, fisherman suplex hold by Kyuri but the cover is broken up. Kyuri picks up Tsukushi but Tsukushi slides away, Makoto boots Kyuri and Tsukushi hits a missile dropkick for a two count. Tsukushi picks up Kyuri, she goes for the Denden Mushi but Kyuri rolls through it and cradles Tsukushi for two. They trade flash pins with neither having any luck, Kyuri goes off the ropes but Tsukushi catches her with a lariat. Tsukushi goes up top and nails a diving footstomp, and she picks up the three count! Makoto and Tsukushi are the winners!

A fun way to kick off the show. They didn’t get a lot of time so they did what wrestlers should do when there are time constraints – they got to the point. No feeling out process, just straight to the action. The teams worked well together but didn’t go overboard, which makes sense as neither are regular tag teams so they just did the best they could. Kyuri and Tsukushi have a very high ceiling and they got to show a few flashes of their skills here, a good way to open the event.  Mildly Recommended

Banny Oikawa vs. Matsuya Uno vs. Miyako Matsumoto

Triple lockup to start but they break cleanly, they create a headlock chain until they start trading armdrags and leg sweeps. After reaching a stalemate, Miyako is double teamed and eats a double dropkick. Matsuya holds Miyako while Banny goes off the ropes, but Banny dropkicks Miyako in the back. Banny throws Miyako into the corner but Miyako recovers and all three run at each other a few times in the corners. Banny goes for a cartwheel move but does it poorly, she goes for a crossbody on Matsuya but Matsuya catches her. Matsuya and Banny trade flash pins until Miyako comes in and puts them both in a submission hold at the same time. She lets go after a moment to focus on Banny, putting her in a Mexican Surfboard. Matsuya sneaks in to cover Miyako so she has to let go of it, she turns her attention to Matsuya but Banny recovers and Banny gets double teamed again. The union doesn’t last long as Banny dropkicks both her opponents, she covers them but she only gets two. Banny goes up top and hits a diving crossbody on Miyako, but Matsuya breaks up the cover as she continually schoolboys Banny for two counts. Matsuya picks up Banny but still can’t keep her down, she goes for the F Crash but Banny blocks it and Miyako cradles her for two. Heel drop by Miyako, she puts Banny and Matsuya next to each other and goes up top, but Matsuya recovers first and scoop slams Banny for a two count. Miyako dives off the top but ends up hitting a footstomp on Banny, Matsuya slams Miyako onto Banny and then puts Miyako in a triangle choke while also having Banny in an armbreaker. Miyako gets into the ropes to force the break, Matsuya spears Miyako but Miyako jackknifes over both for two. Banny dropkicks Miyako out of the ring but Matsuya cradles her and gets the three count! Matsuya Uno is the winner.

This was pretty rough. It was doomed from the get go, as Miyako isn’t anywhere near good enough to keep this match together and triple threat matches are hard to pull off anyway. Banny didn’t do well, but its her first month of being in matches so I’ll cut her some slack. It had a couple cute spots but not enough to really justify the match happening at all, definitely skippable.

Akane Fujita, Kurumi, and Mochi Miyagi vs. Hamuko Hoshi, Ibuki Hoshi, and Fujimoto

Tsukasa and friends attack before the bell rings and attack their opponents in different corners before posing, triple bulldog and they isolate Mochi. Hamuko puts Mochi in a crab hold but Kurumi breaks it up, Hamuko picks up Mochi and tags in her daughter. Ibuki tries to slam Mochi but Mochi blocks it and hits a slam of her own. Mochi tags in Akane, Akane slams Ibuki and hits an elbow drop. Kurumi is tagged in as they work over the young Ibuki, Ibuki is put in the ropes and triple teamed by the Frank Sisters. Mochi returns and hits Ibuki with Mongolian Chops, but Ibuki hits a crossbody and makes the tag to Tsukasa. Tsukasa dropkicks everyone before focusing on Mochi, kicks to the back by Tsukasa but Mochi catches the PK account and hits a dragon screw. Bodyblock by Mochi, and she covers Tsukasa for two. Mochi knees Tsukasa but Tsukasa hits a dropkick, but Kurumi runs in and hits  hard shoulderblock. Triple body avalanche in the corner, face crusher by Mochi to Tsukasa and she covers her for two.

Mochi tags Kurumi, Kurumi goes off the ropes and dropkicks Tsukasa in the head. Seated sentons by Mochi and Kurumi, and Kurumi covers Tsukasa for two. Tsukasa recovers and applies an Octopus Hold, The Hoshis come in and apply submission holds as well. Kurumi gets out of the hold, step-up sunset flip by Tsukasa and she tags in Hamuko. Kurumi knocks over Hamuko with a hard lariat but Hamuko fires back with a lariat of her own. Hamuko is knocked down against the ropes and Kurumi hits a somersault senton before tagging in Akane. Shoulderblock by Akane, she picks up Hamuko but Hamuko blocks the slam. Hamuko hits a slam of her own, Tsukasa and Ibuki both come in and Ibuki is used as a weapon. Ibuki and Tsukasa pick up Hamuko but they can’t throw her onto Akane, but Tsukasa catapults off Hamuko’s back with a dropkick to Akane. Shining Onaka by Hamuko and she tags in Ibuki. Crossbody by Ibuki to Akane, Akane recovers and they trade elbows, Ibuki knocks down Akane with a rolling elbow before Tsukasa and Hamuko both come in to lend an extra hand.

Triple bodyblock to Akane, Ibuki scoop slams Akane and goes up to the second turnbuckle, but Mochi grabs her from the apron. Akane grabs Ibuki and hits a shoulder powerbomb, but Ibuki kicks out. Texas Cloverleaf by Akane but it gets broken up, Tsukasa and Hamuko go off the ropes but are intercepted by Mochi and Kurumi. Scoop slam by Akane to Ibuki, Akane and Mochi both get on Kurumi’s back and together they all hit a splash. Cover by Akane, but it gets broken up. Akane goes off the ropes but Ibuki slides between her legs and cradles Akane for two. Ibuki charges Akane but Akane gets her up, Ibuki slides off and both Tsukasa and Hamuko run in as all three roll over Akane. Cover by Ibuki, but Kurumi breaks it up. Mochi and Tsukasa take care of them, rotating Samoan Drop by Ibuki but Akane barely kicks out of the cover. Ibuki goes off the ropes but Akane catches her and delivers a modified Samoan Drop. Cover by Akane, but Ibuki barely kicks out. Akane picks up Ibuki and nails the Mikan de Pon, and she picks up the three count! Akane Fujita, Kurumi, and Mochi Miyagi are the winners!

A pretty entertaining midcard match. It wasn’t perfect as there were some rough spots and transitions, but generally speaking the teams worked together really well. I haven’t seen much of Ibuki but she seems to have a good foundation, and Akane Fujita is solid. I’m not sure if Kurumi’s push is stalled or she just doesn’t have a storyline right now but I’d like to see her in bigger matches, she provides something a bit different than a lot of the other Ice Ribbon wrestlers. Fast paced and chaotic, with all the wrestlers getting a chance to shine. About all you can ask for from this spot on the show.  Mildly Recommended

Rina Yamashita vs. Satsuki Totoro

Rina and Satsuki immediately charge each other after the bell rings, colliding with both wrestlers staying up. They take turns trying to knock each other over until Rina sends Satsuki crashing to the mat. Rina kicks Satsuki out of the ring and cracks her with a water bottle, Rina gets a chair and sits Satsuki onto at ringside. Rina runs all the way around the ring but Satsuki has recovered and hits Rina with the chair, scoop slam by Satsuki on the floor and she slides Rina back. Scoop slam attempt by Satsuki but Rina blocks it and hits a scoop slam of her own. Rina throws Satsuki in the corner and hits a lariat, another lariat by Rina and she covers Satsuki for two. Scorpion Deathlock by Rina, she lets go after a moment and knees Satsuki in the back. Rina picks up Satsuki and tosses her down, kick to the ribs by Rina but Satsuki gets back up and they trade strikes.

Satsuki pushes Rina into the corner and they go back and forth with elbows, Rina throws Satsuki into the corner but Satsuki fires out of it with a hard shoulderblock. Body press by Satsuki and she puts Rina in a crab hold, but Rina gets to the ropes for the break. Satsuki picks up Rina but Rina puts her in a sleeper, Satsuki wiggles to the ropes and makes it to force a break. Rina goes off the ropes but Satsuki hits a hard shoulderblock, rolling fireman’s carry slam by Satsuki but Rina kicks out of the cover. Satsuki gets on the second turnbuckle and hits a diving senton, she gets back on the second turnbuckle and delivers a second one, but Rina kicks out of the pin. Satsuki goes all the way up this time but Rina recovers and joins her, hitting a superplex. Rina and Satsuki slowly get up, trading strikes as they do so, until Satsuki hits a crossbody for two. Satsuki goes off the ropes but Rina catches her with a lariat, she goes for a cover but Satsuki cuts it back for her own two count. Back up, kicks by Rina and she delivers a sliding lariat for two. Rina picks up Satsuki and hits a final lariat, picking up the three count! Rina Yamashita wins!

This wasn’t perfect, but it was good. There were a few minutes in the middle that they seemed to not be on the same page, or someone got the breath knocked out of them, but generally this was a fun hoss battle. Both have the size and believably to have this style of match, and when they were on their feet slugging it out, everything worked. I still am not sure if Satsuki is really ready yet as at times she looked lost, but a good effort by Rina Yamashita to put her over some and pull her through the match successfully. Mildly Recommended

Maika Ozaki and Tequila Saya vs. Risa Sera and Suzu Suzuki

Risa and Suzu attack before the match, they stack their opponents in the corner but Maika surprises them with a lariat. Risa and Suzu are stacked on top of each other and are posed on, but things eventually get to normal as Saya stays in with Suzu. Saya stretches Suzu before tagging Maika, stomps by Maika and she puts Suzu in a Camel Clutch. Saya puts Suzu in a crab hold at the same time while Risa just watches, they eventually let go and Maika stomps on Suzu before tagging Saya back in. She attacks Suzu in the corner with Maika, Risa keeps wanting to help but Maika knocks her off the apron. Saya comes in but Suzu dropkicks her and tags in Risa, Maika enters but Risa lariats both of them. Risa gets Maika on her shoulders and then grabs Saya’s legs, giving her the ‘ol Giant Swing. That spot made no sense but it kinda looked cool so I’ll let it slide. She gives Saya another Giant Swing, Risa picks up Saya but Saya hits a back elbow. Schwein by Risa and she tags Suzu, dropkicks by Suzu and she covers Saya for two.

Risa runs in and they take turns hitting running double knees on Saya, cover by Suzu but it gets a two count. Suzu throws Saya in the corner but Saya hits a running crossbody, Maika comes in and she slams Saya onto Suzu before hitting a senton. She leaves, Saya charges Suzu while she is against the ropes but Suzu avoids her charge and dropkicks her in the back. Cutter by Saya and she sits down on Suzu’s head before tagging Maika. Elbow drops by Maika, she picks up Suzu and puts her in a bear hug. Backbreaker by Maika and she applies a stretch hold, she picks up Suzu but Suzu elbows her. They trade elbows until Suzu hits a jumping crossbody for two. Suzu throws Maika in the corner, Risa comes and they both hit running strikes. Scoop slam by Suzu, she picks up Maika but Maika blocks the suplex attempt. Maika lariats Suzu in the back of the head and hits a Karelin Lift, cover by Maika but it gets two. Maika goes off the ropes but Suzu hits a spear, Risa runs in to keep Saya away and Suzu goes for a few flash pins with no luck. Suzu clubs on Maika, she goes up top but Saya hits her from the apron. This gives Maika time to recover, she gets Suzu on her shoulders and tosses her to the mat while Saya hits a cutter. Saya gets on Maika’s back and they hit a senton, cover by Maika but it gets a two count.

Lariat by Maika but Risa breaks it up with a diving double knee. Suzu tags Risa, Risa picks up Maika but Maika slides away and cradles her for two. Boot to the head by Risa, she tries to toss Maika into the corner but Maika reverses it and both she and Saya hit running strikes. Maika throws Saya on top of Risa, she tries to get her up her shoulders but Risa elbows out of it and puts Maika in the Combine. Maika tries to get to the ropes but Risa picks her up and powerbombs her into the corner, running double knee by Risa and she hits a reverse double kneedrop for a two count. Suzu goes up top, she gets on Risa’s back and Risa hits a double kneedrop. Cover by Risa, but Saya breaks it up. Risa kicks at Maika, she goes off the ropes but Maika catches her with a spinebuster. Maika gets Risa on her shoulders but Suzu runs in and breaks things up, Saya takes care of Suzu before powerbombing Risa. Suzu knocks Saya out of the ring but Maika shoulderblocks Suzu, she goes off the ropes but Risa catches her with a dropkick. Ayers Rock by Risa but Maika gets fired up and hits a lariat for two. Maika goes off the ropes but Risa gets Maika on her shoulders and delivers the Schwein for the three count! Risa Sera and Suzu Suzuki are the winners.

Something felt a bit off with the ending but the journey to get there was enjoyable. Suzu may not be too experienced but you wouldn’t know it from watching this match, some wrestlers just “get it” quicker than others and she is clearly one of those that gets it as she fit right in. Maika on the other hand was a bit off a few times but nothing that really impacted the match, and Risa was her usual incredible self. The match didn’t really have a structure to it of note but they kept the action going and for a match with no deeper purpose it worked fine. The end felt really sudden as Maika blew off Ayers Rock, successfully hit a move/got a near fall and then promptly got pinned, after a long-ish match I was expecting a hotter and more complex end stretch. Still, lots of great action here and a solid match, looking forward to watching Suzu’s career grow as I am sure she’ll just get better and better.  Recommended

(c) Maya Yukihi vs. Giulia
ICExInfinity Championship

They circle each other and lock-up, Maya pushes Giulia into the ropes and she gives a clean break. Giulia gets Maya into the ropes next but she elbows Maya instead of breaking, Giulia gets Maya in the corner and hits more elbows. Running boot by Giulia in the corner but Maya delivers a high kick, snapmares by Maya and she applies a chinlock. Giulia gets into the ropes, Maya lets go but quickly puts Giulia in an armbar. Giulia gets out of it and applies a headscissors, Maya reverses it but Giulia bites her hand. Snapmare by Maya and she kicks Giulia in the back and chest before kicking Giulia out of the ring. Maya goes out after her but Giulia chops her and the two trade blows. Maya gets the better of it but Giulia spits water in her face, Maya goes for a high kick but Giulia ducks and Maya kicks the ring post. Giulia works over Maya’s leg on the floor before rolling her in, she pulls Maya’s leg to the ring post and rams it into the post. Giulia gets back into the ring and keeps on Maya’s leg, she boots Maya in the back of the head and covers her for two.

Irish whip by Giulia but Maya reverses it, Giulia boots Maya back and hits a diving crossbody. Giulia and Maya stay on the mat and jockey for position, Maya applies a seated armbar but Giulia gets out of it and goes back to Maya’s leg. Maya slides away and applies an armbar, but Giulia gets a foot on the ropes for the break. Maya picks up Giulia, slaps by Maya and she knees Giulia against the ropes. Maya charges Giulia but Giulia avoids her running knee, she goes for a boot but Maya ducks it and kicks Giulia in the head. Maya goes for another kick but Giulia catches her leg and applies a leglock. Maya wiggles to the ropes to force the break, big boot by Giulia and she hits two more. Cover by Giulia, but Maya kicks out. Back up they struggle for position, reverse DDT by Giulia but she only gets a two. Maya comes right back with a STO, she goes off the ropes and boots Giulia hard in the head. Elbows by Maya, Giulia elbows her back but Maya catches her with a kick and a knee. Maya knees Giulia again, she puts her against the ropes and destroys her face with a running knee. Maya goes up top and hits a missile dropkick, cover by Maya but it gets two.

Maya goes off the rope but Giulia boots her, Maya boots her back but Giulia delivers a pump kick. Giulia goes up top but Maya recovers and tosses her off, Maya then goes up but Giulia joins her and powerslams her to the mat. Hammerlock by Giulia but Maya armdrags her and hits a high kick. Both wrestlers are slow to get up, they exchange elbows until Giulia hits three big boots. Giulia goes up top and hits a missile dropkick, cover by Giulia but it gets a two count. Giulia picks up Maya and delivers the Glorious Buster, but Maya kicks out of the pin. STF by Giulia but Maya makes it to the ropes, bootscrapes by Giulia but Maya breaks away from her and kicks her repeatedly. Buzzsaw Kick by Maya, she picks up Giulia but Giulia drops her with the Glorious Driver! Cover by Giulia, but Maya barely kicks out. Giulia picks up Maya and goes for the Spider Nest, but Maya slams her way out of it. Crystal of Snow by Maya, she picks up Giulia and drills her with a sit-out Tiger Driver ’91 for the three count pinfall! Maya Yukihi wins and retains the championship!

This far exceeded my expectations, both really elevated beyond their usual level to put on something memorable. Giulia’s leg work was well done and she went back to it enough that it didn’t feel like just wasted time, she was more than satisfied to win with a kneelock or STF as she wore Maya down. Maya’s strikes were just killer and it is possible she really did knock Giulia loopy as by the last minute or so the wheels came off a little as things were a bit sloppy. I’m willing to overlook that after such a grueling 25 minute match, Giulia clearly gave all she had and then some. The Tiger Driver was sick but a fitting exclamation point, after all that they had done to each other they needed something special to get the three count. A great display by both, it may not end up on a MOTY list but for their experience/skill levels I thought this was a great match and effort by both. Worth watching for sure, as long as you can tolerate an occasional commentary box in the corner.  Highly Recommended

The post Ice Ribbon #962 ~ Osaka Ribbon 2019 II on 5/25/19 Review appeared first on Joshi City.

Marvelous hasn’t added this event to their streaming service yet (and maybe never will) but it was too big of an event for me to neglect so I tracked it down anyway. Marvelous is a smaller Joshi promotion run by Chigusa Nagayo, they have no TV deal but most of their roster is recognizable to fans as they wrestle in other promotions such as WAVE and SEAdLINNNG. This is the first Korakuen Hall event for Marvelous so they went all out to put on not only the best show they could but a show that exhibits everything that Marvelous stands for. Mayu Iwatani from Stardom has shown up to aid in the main event, here is the full card (I will only be reviewing the Joshi matches):

• Chikayo Nagashima, DASH Chisako, KAORU, and Megumi Yabushita vs. Natsumi Maki, Sahara Seven, Tomoko Watanabe, and Yuu Yamagata
• Jaguar Yokota vs. Sakura Hirota
• Mikoto Shindo vs. Yoshiko
• Kyuri, Mio Momono, and Nyla Rose vs. Rina Yamashita, Rin Kadokura, and Sareee
• Mayu Iwatani vs. Takumi Iroha

As this was released on a double DVD set, matches are shown unclipped. All wrestlers have profiles on Joshi City, you can click on their name above to go straight to it. Let’s get to the show!

Chikayo Nagashima, Chisako, KAORU, and Yabushita vs. Natsumi Maki, Sahara Seven, Watanabe, and Yamagata

The factions start to brawl before the bell rings with LEVEL5 getting the early advantage, they stack W-FIX in the corners as they take turns hitting running strikes. W-FIX gets back at them by all applying hanging armbars over the top rope, Sahara Seven stays in the ring as level as she is kicked by all four members of W-FIX. Things settle down with Chikayo and Sahara Seven in the ring, Sahara Seven knocks down Chikayo in the corner and hits a running hip attack. Sahara Seven tags in Natsumi, Natsumi knocks Chikayo out of the ring and tries to dive out onto W-FIX, but W-FIX moves and she lands on her own partners instead. KAORU gets on the second turnbuckle and hits a moonsault down onto LEVEL5, both teams then battle around the ring with W-FIX staying in control. Chikayo and Natsumi return to the ring, vertical suplex by Chikayo and she puts Natsumi onto a stack of chairs. Chikayo goes up top but Yuu smacks her and throws her down onto the chairs, dropkicks by Natsumi to Chikayo and she hits a German suplex hold for a two count. Natsumi goes up top but KAORU grabs her from the apron, Chikayo joins Natsumi but Tomoko grabs her from behind and pulls her back to the ring. Natsumi goes for a crossbody but Chikayo ducks, and in the process hits a hurricanrana onto Tomoko. Chikayo tags Chisako, Chisako comes in with a chair but Natsumi avoids her swing and dropkicks it out of her hand. Chisako throws Natsumi in the corner but Natsumi avoids her charge and kicks her with Yuu. Sahara Seven kicks Chisako as well before Natsumi hits a cyclone neckbreaker with a bridge for a two count. Natsumi tags Yuu, Yuu goes up top and hits a missile dropkick. Chikayo and Megumi come in but Yuu hits a Codebreaker on both of them. KAORU hits Yuu with a piece of board, she boots Yuu in the corner before helping Chisako hit a catapult dropkick.

Megumi is tagged in and she dropkicks Yuu, she gets on the second turnbuckle but Yuu dropkicks her as she dives off. Natsumi runs in and hits a neckbreaker, double superkick to Megumi and Yuu covers her for two. Yuu kicks Megumi in the head but her cover again gets two as it gets broken up, Tomoko picks up Megumi but Megumi avoids the suplex attempt. Tomoko hits a lariat anyway and hits a dragon screw onto Chikayo, but Megumi quickly applies a cross armbreaker. Natsumi breaks that up, KAORU comes in with a board and hits everyone moving with it. Megumi sets up two chairs in the ring, they sit Tomoko and Sahara Seven in the chairs and all four W-FIX members hit superkicks. Chisako and Megumi grab Tomoko and both hit her with chairs, KAORU goes up top but Tomoko quickly recovers and joins her. KAORU slides away, Chisako gets on top with Tomoko and she hits a Frankensteiner. Diving Footstomp by Chikayo, cover by KAORU but it gets broken up. All four W-FIX members go up top to hit diving moves on different members of LEVEL5, three of which connect but Yuu avoids Chikayo and superkicks her. This allows her to break up KAORU’s cover onto Tomoko, KAORU picks up Tomoko but Tomoko snaps off a Screwdriver for two. KAORU gets up and drops Tomoko with the Excalibur, but that gets a two as well. Lariat by Tomoko, KAORU bridges out of the pin and she hits a hurricanrana, but Tomoko rolls KAORU over into a two count. Chisako goes up top and hits Tomoko with a missile dropkick, Chikayo cracks her with a chair and KAORU follows by breaking the board over Tomoko’s head. Tomoko shrugs it off and lariats KAORU, Screwdriver by Tomoko but KAORU kicks out of the pin. Tomoko picks up KAORU and delivers a Fire Thunder Driver for the three count! LEVEL5 are your winners.

This was a fun way to kick off the show. Normally I’d complain about having eight wrestlers in a 12 minute match, as it didn’t give all the wrestlers a chance to shine, but in a chaotic match like this it works out a bit better. Tomoko was the beast here, since she is an old school legend I have no issue her just shrugging off moves and crushing everyone. The lack of structure really worked well with these two teams, and while its not the type of match that will stick in your brain long term its still quite entertaining and a good way to get the crowd fired up to start the event.  Mildly Recommended

Jaguar Yokota vs. Sakura Hirota

They circle each other to start, Hirota goes for leg kicks but Yokota just shrugs them off. Yokota elbows Hirota into the corner but Hirota hits a face crusher and does the Mutoh Pose (she can’t help herself). Hirota grabs Yokota’s arm and goes up to the turnbuckle to walk the ropes, she successfully does her ropes hop the first time but fails on try number two and falls back into the ring. Yokota charges Hirota but Hirota drop toeholds her into the middle rope, she sets up Yokota and goes for the Oil Check, but Yokota moves out of the way. Uppercuts by Hirota, she goes off the ropes but Yokota ignores her attempt at a heel kick. Yokota lays down on the mat to try to help Hirota, Hirota goes off the ropes a few times but Yokota gets her feet up before she can hit a move. Hirota tells Yokota to do the same thing, so Hirota lays down on the mat and Yokota hops over her back and forth before also missing the move as Hirota rolls out of the way. Hirota goes for the Scorpion Deathlock but she has no idea how to do the move, so she asks the real Chigusa Nagayo to get into the ring. Nagayo does and she puts Yokota in the Scorpion Deathlock (after apologizing to her), Hirota goes off the ropes repeatedly but tires herself out before she does a move. Nagayo lets go of Yokota, they both Irish whip her and punch Yokota in the stomach. Nagayo tries to catapult Hirota onto Yokota but Yokota gets her feet up and pushes Hirota back. Now it is Nagayo and Yokota that Irish whip Hirota and punch her in the stomach, but they celebrate too long and get hit with a double Oil Check. They roll out of the ring and invite Hirota to do a dive, but Hirota gets caught on the ropes and bounces back into the ring. Yokota re-joins her and hits a front flip double legdrop, she picks up Hirota but Hirota gets away and goes for the Oil Check. Yokota catches her uh fingers and flings her to the mat, Yokota then kisses Hirota and puts her in the Octopus Hold. Hirota struggles for just a second but quickly submits! Jaguar Yokota is the winner!

I think its impossible to “rate” comedy matches with a traditional scoring system, but I will say this one was good for some laughs. Chigusa Nagayo getting in the ring and playing along was a nice surprise, and Yokota has no issues being an active participant in this style of match. The crowd loved it, which is the most important thing, and I don’t have any complaints. Sakura Hirota wrestling as Chigusa Nagayo was the right way to go for this event, and it achieved its goal of providing some comic relief before the bigger matches on the show happen.

Mikoto Shindo vs. Yoshiko

They tie-up to start, Yoshiko pushes Mikoto to the mat repeatedly but Mikoto keeps getting back up. Yoshiko pushes Mikoto into the ropes and gives a clean break, elbows by Mikoto but Yoshiko easily elbows Mikoto to the mat. Mikoto gets up and elbows her some more with the same result, snapmare by Yoshiko and she kicks Mikoto in the back. Knees by Yoshiko, Mikoto applies a side headlock but Yoshiko gets out of it and hits a hard shoulderblock. Two more shoulderblocks by Yoshiko, and she covers Mikoto for two. Crab hold by Yoshiko but Mikoto eventually makes it to the ropes for the break, Yoshiko stomps Mikoto and throws her hard into the corner. Yoshiko tosses down Mikoto by the hair and hits bootscrapes in the corner, cover by Yoshiko but Mikoto barely kicks out. More stomps by Yoshiko, she picks up Mikoto and hits a scoop slam. She goes for the senton but Mikoto rolls out of the way, dropkicks by Mikoto and she knocks Yoshiko off her feet. Cover by Mikoto, but Yoshiko kicks out. Mikoto goes for a crossbody but Yoshiko catches her, Mikoto reverses it into a cover and then a backslide, but each pin attempt gets two. Mikoto goes off the ropes but Yoshiko hits a body avalanche followed by a kick right to the head, cover by Yoshiko but Mikoto gets a shoulder up. Yoshiko picks up Mikoto and hits a Samoan Drop, running senton by Yoshiko and she covers Mikoto for the three count! Yoshiko wins the match.

No result on this card was more obvious than this one. In a way you could tell the match was kinda thrown together, I think that Yoshiko was having some issues coming up with offense that wouldn’t look like it would immediately beat a tiny rookie, so the middle potion of the match had a lot of stomps just to stretch out the match. I liked Mikoto’s run on offense towards the end, even though we all knew it wouldn’t work, as at least that stopped it from just being a squash match and Yoshiko was pretty giving in making sure the rookie didn’t look completely out of her element. For a debut match it was fine, but a pretty random match to have on such a major event.

Kyuri, Mio Momono, and Nyla Rose vs. Rina Yamashita, Rin Kadokura, and Sareee

Rina Yamashita’s team attacks as the match starts and get an early advantage, until Nyla clears out all three of them by herself. Nyla tags in Mio, Kyuri comes in too as they double team Rina. One Kyuri leaves, Rina gets back in control of Mio and hits a knee to the back of the head. Elbows by Mio and she hits a swinging headscissors, dropkick by Mio and she tags in Nyla. Scoop slam by Nyla to Rina but Rina blocks the suplex attempt and hits one of her own. She tags in Sareee, dropkick by Sareee to Nyla but Nyla blocks the German suplex attempt. Nyla grabs Sareee and hits a wheelbarrow suplex, running kick by Nyla and she covers Sareee for two. Sareee gets back up and the two trade elbows, Kyuri pulls down the rope to send Sareee out to the floor while Rina and Rin get in the ring just to be hit by Nyla with a lariat. Nyla goes outside the ring with their opponents, first Kyuri dives out of the ring onto them from the top turnbuckle and Mio follows behind her. Nyla then gets up to the top turnbuckle but everyone bails before she can jump off, they get back in the ring as Kyuri and Mio drape Sareee over the top rope. Nyla is still waiting on the top turnbuckle so she dives off with a kneedrop to Sareee, and Nyla tags in Kyuri. Cyclone neckbreaker by Kyuri and she goes for a cross armbreaker, but Sareee quickly gets into the ropes. Codebreaker by Kyuri to Sareee, but Sareee bridges out of the pin and hits a dropkick.

Fisherman suplex hold by Sareee and she tags in Rin, missile dropkick by Rin but Kyuri lands on her corner and tags Mio. Diving crossbody by Mio, Nyla comes in too and she helps Mio hit a diving footstomp before tossing Mio down onto Rin for a two count cover. Mio goes for the Yoshi Tonic but Rin blocks it, Rin and Mio trade elbows until Mio kicks Rin in the head. Rina and Sareee run in to help as they double team Mio, dropkick by Rin to Mio and she covers her for two. Rin goes up top but Nyla comes in and tosses Rin from the top turnbuckle, Kyuri then goes up top and with Nyla she hits an assisted senton. Mio gets on Nyla’s shoulders and hits a senton as well, cover by Mio but it gets broken up. Mio charges Rin but Rin quickly schoolboys her for two, rolling schoolboy by Rin but Mio kicks out again. Rin goes off the ropes and hits the hurricanrana, Mio reverses it but Sareee dropkicks Mio in the head. Nyla comes in but Sareee drops her with a German suplex, Rina comes in too with Sareee and they clear the ring out to leave just Rin and Mio. Mio cradles Rin for a quick two count, she picks her back up and goes for the Yoshi Tonic, but Rina lariats her from behind. Elevated DDT by Rin, Rina then hits a lariat and Sareee follows with a diving footstomp. Jackknife cover by Rin, but Mio kicks out. Rin jumps on Mio’s shoulders and nails the standing crucifix bomb, and she picks up the three count! Rin Kadokura, Rina Yamashita, and Sareee are the winners!

My only complaint here is the match was way too short. When you have six wrestlers as good as these six are, with no weak links so the action is always entertaining, ten minutes simply isn’t enough. Especially when its so high up the card, just one from the top. So I am not sure what led to that decision, if they were running out of time as they had a lot of non-wrestling segments as well, but it was still a bit of a disappointment. That being said, everything they did was really fun and oddly cohesive for a hectic match, Mabutachi 2 Manjimanji work great together with a variety of double and triple team moves and they feel like a real unit and not something just thrown together. An entertaining match, it just didn’t get the time that it deserved.  Mildly Recommended

Mayu Iwatani vs. Takumi Iroha

They tie-up to start, Takumi pushes Mayu into the ropes and she gives a clean break. They lock knuckles again as they go into a Test of Strength, Takumi gets Mayu’s back and they jockey for control. Takumi works a side headlock but Mayu gets into the ropes, Irish whip by Takumi and she hits a hard shoulderblock. Springboard armdrag by Mayu but Takumi hits an armdrag of her own and they end up at a stalemate again. Takumi picks up Mayu but Mayu gets away and kicks her, headscissors by Mayu and she dropkicks Takumi while she is against the ropes. Takumi falls out of the ring, Mayu goes up top but Takumi rolls back in and tosses Mayu to the mat. Takumi picks up Mayu and hits a snap vertical suplex before twisting her neck, Takumi tosses Mayu into the corner and delivers a dropkick. Takumi goes for a submission but Mayu quickly gets to the ropes, kicks to the back by Takumi and she applies a crossface. She lets go after a moment and stomps on Mayu, she goes off the ropes but Mayu catches her with a Sling Blade. Takumi goes for a kick but Mayu catches it and hits a dragon screw, Mayu charges Takumi in the corner but Takumi moves out of the way. Mayu rolls Takumi out of the corner and delivers a kick, Northern Lights Suplex by Mayu but she lands on her own head and is too hurt to cover Takumi. They both slowly get up, Mayu goes for a standing crucifix bomb but Takumi blocks it. Mayu applies an ankle hold but Takumi makes it to the ropes for the break. Mayu twists Takumi’s leg in the ropes and dropkicks it, Takumi rolls out of the ring but Mayu goes after her and takes her up into the crowd. They end up near the balcony (naturally) as Takumi hits a hard elbow, she slams Mayu at the bottom of the balcony before climbing up onto the ledge and hitting a Senton Bomb down onto Mayu (which the camera didn’t get a great shot of).

Takumi returns to the ring with Mayu very slowly following, Takumi greets her with kicks but Mayu catches one and delivers a superkick when Takumi goes off the ropes. Mayu dropkicks Takumi in the knee and applies the figure four leglock, but Takumi gets to the rope for the break. Standing crucifix bomb by Mayu, but Takumi gets a shoulder up on the cover. Mayu picks up Takumi and goes for the dragon suplex, but Takumi blocks it and delivers a heel kick. Buzzsaw Kick by Takumi, she picks up Mayu and puts her in the Sleeper Hold. Mayu quickly gets to the ropes to break it up, Takumi grabs Mayu but Mayu snaps off a hurricanrana for a two count. Question Mark kick by Takumi and she nails a German suplex hold, but Mayu kicks out. Takumi goes up top but Mayu recovers and joins her and goes for a Frankensteiner. Takumi blocks it and powerbombs Mayu from the top turnbuckle to the mat, but her cover gets two. Takumi goes back up top but Mayu rolls out of the way of the Senton Bomb, Mayu recovers first and hits a double jump reverses hurricanrana for a two count. Mayu picks up Takumi and hits the dragon suplex hold, but again Takumi barely kicks out. Mayu goes for her special version of the dragon suplex but Takumi blocks it, Doctor Bomb by Takumi but it gets two. Takumi quickly picks up Mayu and nails the Running Three, but Mayu gets a shoulder up. Takumi slowly drags Mayu up but the bell rings before she can hit another move, as time has expired. The match is a Draw.

The result was never in question, especially with only 20 minutes allotted to them, but the journey to get there was still entertaining. Mayu continues to be the craziest bumper on the Joshi scene, everything she took here looked deadly, even simple things like climbing over the guard rail she made look dangerous. Which may not be good for long term health but it is entertaining to watch. The leg work felt meaningful as Takumi would at least occasionally indicate it was bothering her throughout the match, and they did a lot of big spots to make the match memorable. Since the event was in Marvelous I think it was the right move to have Takumi so close to getting the win, and when Mayu wins the big belt in Stardom I assume there will be a rematch down the road. I would have preferred the show to end with a match with a more conclusive ending since this was a bit predictable, but still a thoroughly enjoyable match with great selling by both and constant excitement from bell to bell.  Highly Recommended  

The post Marvelous at Korakuen Hall on 8/8/18 Entire Show Review appeared first on Joshi City.

Sometimes, Pro Wrestling WAVE surprises us by uploading an event pretty quickly onto their WAVE Network. I reward them for doing this by reviewing the event and pointing people to their service if they want to see the event too. Everyone wins! This show has no title matches but a couple big matches anyway, with the highlights being Chihiro Hashimoto vs. Rina Yamashita and Hikaru Shida vs. Ryo Mizunami. Here is the full card:

• ASUKA vs. Mika Iida
• Aoi Kizuki, Hiroe Nagahama, and Moeka Haruhi vs. Cherry, Kaori Yoneyama, and Misaki Ohata
• Heidi Katrina and SAKI vs. Maya Yukihi and Natsu Sumire
• Chihiro Hashimoto vs. Rina Yamashita
• Kyuri and Mio Momono vs. Yuki Miyazaki and Yumi Ohka
• Hikaru Shida vs. Ryo Mizunami

Isami Kodaka vs. Keisuke Goto was on the card too, but I’m skippin’ it.

ASUKA vs. Mika Iida

They circle each other to start before locking up, Mika gets ASUKA to the mat first but ASUKA gets out of it and puts Mika in a headlock. They trade submission attempts before returning to their feet, quick takedown by Mika and she puts ASUKA in an armbar. Crossface by Mika and she twists ASUKA’s arm before applying a seated armbar. ASUKA gets a foot on the ropes to force a break, takedown by Mika but ASUKA puts her in a guillotine. Knees by ASUKA and she hits a scoop slam, another scoop slam by ASUKA and she puts Mika in a guillotine, Mika gets out of it and the two trade elbows. Side Russian Leg Sweep by Mika and she puts ASUKA in a submission hold, but ASUKA rolls out of it. Takedown by ASUKA and she returns the favor by contorting Mika into a submission, but Mika gets out of it and puts ASUKA in the Stretch Muffler. ASUKA reverses it into a reverse armbar but Mika gets a foot on the ropes, Space Rolling Elbow by ASUKA but Mika catches her with an uppercut, rebound crossbody by ASUKA and she covers Mika for two. ASUKA goes for a kick but Mika reverses it and rolls ASUKA to the mat, kimura by Mika but ASUKA gets to the ropes. Running dropkick by Mika while ASUKA is still against the ropes, uppercut by Mika and she goes for the short armbar, but ASUKA rolls out of it tosses Mika to the mat from her shoulders. ASUKA picks up Mika but Mika reverses the waistlock and sneaks in two flash pins for two. Mika goes off the ropes but ASUKA catches her with a thrust kick, she goes for a chokeslam but Mika blocks it. Mika tries to roll up ASUKA but ASUKA kips out of it and hits a superkick, suplex by ASUKA in front of the corner and she nails the moonsault for the three count! ASUKA is the winner!

This was basic but sound. It started slow, which isn’t unusual for an opener but picked up some about five minutes in and stayed interesting the rest of the way. ASUKA is coming along really well, even though she got early press as the first transgender wrestler to join a Joshi promotion they haven’t exploited that fact and treat her like everyone else that has to work their way up the rankings. Beating Mika is definitely a good sign for her growth though, and now that she is 18 and two years into her career I expect her to start picking up more wins going forward. Not a bad opener.

Aoi Kizuki, Hiroe Nagahama, and Moeka Haruhi vs. Cherry, Yoneyama, and Ohata

Ohata and Nagahama start the match but Ohata is immediately jumped from behind and triple teamed by all her opponents. Yoneyama and Cherry finally come in to help and now it is Nagahama getting triple teamed, curb stomp by Ohata to Nagahama and she covers her for two. She takes in Yoneyama, Yoneyama stomps down Nagahama in the corner and with Ohata’s help attacks her while she is caught up in the ropes. Yoneyama stretches Nagahama before tagging in Cherry, monkey flip by Cherry and she rams Nagahama’s head into the mat repeatedly. Nagahama fights back with a dropkick and makes the hot tag to Aoi, Yoneyama comes in too but Aoi and Moeka hit a double crossbody onto both of them. They do the same three more times to Cherry, double cover to Cherry but it gets a two count. They continue to double team Cherry until Cherry hits a double neck drop, she puts Aoi on top of Moeka and hits a double stomp onto her back. Nagahama runs in but she gets the same treatment, Cherry picks up Aoi but Aoi stretches Cherry over her knee. Cherry quickly hits a bridging suplex, she goes off the ropes but Aoi delivers a jumping lariat. Backfist by Cherry and she tags in Ohata, while Moeka is tagged in as well. They trade elbows, a battle which Ohata wins, crossbody by Ohata and she gets a two count cover.

Moeka ducks a spinning chop and hits a hurricanrana, hanging armbar by Moeka and her teammates come in to play defense. Aoi helps Moeka hits a double suplex, cover by Moeka but it gets two. Moeka tags Nagahama, dropkick by Nagahama in the corner and she delivers two more dropkicks for a quick cover. Nagahama picks up Ohata and hits a rebound crossbody out of the corner, but Ohata kicks out at two. Nagahama picks up Ohata but Ohata slides down her back and they trade flash pins. Stunner by Ohata, she goes off the ropes but Nagahama does too and goes for a bodyscissors roll-up. Ohata blocks it and hits a suplex, low crossbody by Ohata and she tags in Cherry. Yoneyama also comes in and they double team Nagahama in the corner, double face crusher to Nagahama and both Yoneyama and Cherry get onto the top turnbuckle. Nagahama avoids Yoneyama’s diving senton however, Aoi then gets up top and hits a swivel body press onto Yoneyama. Diving footstomp by Moeka onto Yoneyama, Nagahama grabs her and hits a Northern Lights Suplex, but the cover is broken up. After some chaos with all six wrestlers in the ring, Nagahama gets a few more flash pins but Yoneyama sneaks in an assisted jackknife hold and picks up the three count! Cherry, Kaori Yoneyama, and Misaki Ohata win!

Just mindless fun. The match was actually better when they weren’t trying to be serious, the general chaos with wrestlers running in whenever they wanted to worked well with the skill sets of some of the participants. A good match for this part of the card, a short multi-tag sprint never hurt anyone as long as it isn’t presented as too important which this wasn’t.

Heidi Katrina and SAKI vs. Maya Yukihi and Natsu Sumire

SAKI and Natsu start the match, SAKI immediately trips Natsu and the two trade armdrags. They square off again, kick by Natsu and she stretches SAKI in the ropes. Running elbow by Natsu and she tags Maya, kicks by Maya and she covers SAKI for two. Maya goes up top but Heidi grabs her from the apron, SAKI recovers and she tosses Maya to the mat. Reverse Splash by SAKI and she puts Maya in a modified Scorpion Deathlock, but it quickly gets broken up. Maya kicks SAKI but SAKI kicks her back and tags Heidi, Heidi elbows Maya in the corner and gives her the Giant Swing. Leg drop by Heidi, but Natsu stops the referee from making the count. Heidi charges Maya but Maya hits a superkick, giving her time to tag in Natsu. Boots by Natsu but Heidi catches one and hits a headbutt, Heidi goes off the ropes but Maya hits her from the apron. Running boot by Natsu to Heidi, she goes up top and hits a diving crossbody for a two count. Natsu and Heidi struggle for position, Maya runs in to help and with Natsu they suplex Heidi. Double boot to Heidi, cover by Natsu but it gets a two count. Natsu picks up Heidi and applies a sunset flip for two, she goes off the ropes but Heidi catches her with an over the shoulder powerslam drop for the three count! Heidi Katrina and SAKI win!

I don’t want to say the match was bad, since it was too short to be offensive, but it certainly wasn’t good. The ending was incredibly out of nowhere, I assume the commentary team held up their pen and they went to the finish early since nothing was really happening. Much of the action wasn’t overly crisp, although Heidi looked pretty polished. Just a nothing midcard tag match.

Chihiro Hashimoto vs. Rina Yamashita

They circle each other to start, Rina pushes Chihiro into the ropes but she gives a clean break. They lock knuckles, Chihiro takes down Rina and they struggles for position on the mat. Chihiro applies an ankle hold but Rina kicks her off, Chihiro puts Rina in a stretch hold but Rina gets out of it. They both go for shoulderblocks but neither budges, Chihiro finally knocks Rina off her feet but Rina returns the favor. Rina throws Chihiro into the corner and hits a lariat, she puts Chihiro into a Scorpion Deathlock but eventually gets to the ropes for a break. Rina mushes Chihiro against the bottom rope with her boot, Rina picks up Chihiro but Chihiro drives her into the corner and hits shoulder tackles. Body avalanche by Chihiro, and she covers Rina for a two count. Scoop slam by Chihiro and she hits a rolling senton, another senton by Chihiro and she covers Rina for two. Chihiro picks up Rina but Rina slides off her back and goes for a sleeper, which Chihiro quickly gets out of it by slamming Rina into the mat. Rina and Chihiro trade elbows until Chihiro hits a vertical suplex, Chihiro picks up Rina and hits a fireman’s carry roll followed by a somersault senton off the second turnbuckle. Chihiro goes up top but Rina recovers and joins her, they trade elbows until Rina superplexes Chihiro down to the mat. Rina applies a sleeper but Chihiro gets to the ropes, Rina goes off the ropes and she knees Chihiro in the back for a two count. Rina elbows Chihiro repeatedly, she goes off the ropes but Chihiro catches her with a spear. Back up they trade elbows and lariats, Chihiro finally knocks Rina to the mat but Rina blocks her suplex attempt. Back bodydrop by Rina but Chihiro comes back with a lariat, waterwheel drop by Chihiro but the bell rings as she goes for the cover.  The match is a Draw.

While I don’t really love draws, at least here there is a reason behind it. Last match they had was a 10 minute draw, while this one was a 15 minute draw. Both are the future leaders of their respective promotions, so they are really building up to a big match down the road, ideally for one of their titles. This just keeps the interest up, we’ve established they are very equal and hit extremely hard, but neither can wear down their opponent enough with a shorter time constraint. It leaves me hyped for a rematch, even if it doesn’t happen for awhile. But a very hard hitting and entertaining match, it wasn’t fast paced but never felt like it was dragging, and they both showed a lot of emotion. Sometimes a slow simmer is the way to go, and as long as the relationship between Sendai Girls’ and WAVE doesn’t fizzle, we are in store for an epic match at a future date judging by their interactions so far.  Recommended

Kyuri and Mio Momono vs. Yuki Miyazaki and Yumi Ohka

Yumi and Mio start off the match, Yumi immediately boots Mio and goes for the cover, but Kyuri breaks it up. Yumi goes for a tiger suplex but Mio reverses in a backslide, she tries a few more quick pins but Yumi kicks out of each. Hard shoulderblock by Yumi and she tags in Miyazaki, Miyazaki picks up Mio but Mio wiggles away and tags Kyuri. Kyuri goes for a crossbody but Miyazaki catches her, legdrop by Miyazaki but Kyuri kicks out of the cover. Mio runs in to help but gets pushed away, crab hold by Miyazaki to Kyuri but Kyuri eventually gets to the ropes. Miyazaki picks up Kyuri and hits a DDT, she tags in Yumi and Yumi knees Kyuri repeatedly in the head. Running boot by Yumi, but Kyuri kicks out at two. Judo toss by Kyuri and she tags in Mio, dropkicks by Mio and she finally gets Yumi to the mat, but the pin only gets a one count. Scoop slam by Mio and she continually covers Yumi, but Yumi won’t stay down for the two count. Mio charges Yumi in the corner but she keeps booting her back, dropkick to the knee by Mio but Yumi boots her when she climbs to the top turnbuckle. Big boot by Ohka in the corner and she hits a second one, cover by Ohka but Mio barely gets a shoulder up. Yumi immediately puts her in an armtrap crossface, Mio gets to the ropes but Ohka boots her in the face again. Mio tries to roll-up Yumi and does with Kyuri’s help, but Yumi kicks out at one. Another roll-up by Mio and she dropkicks Ohka, Mio tags in Kyuri and Kyuri hits a series of neck drops for a one count. Kyuri picks up Yumi and hits a few elbows, but Yumi snaps off a DDT and covers her for two. Kyuri rolls through the cover and goes for a submission, but Yumi is too close to the ropes. Diving crossbody by Kyuri, she picks up Yumi but Yumi blocks the fisherman buster and hits a heel drop for a two count.

Backstabber by Kyuri and she rolls up Yumi a few more times, but each time gets a one count. Yumi suplexes Mio, Mio manages to tag in Kyuri but Miyazaki comes in too. Kyuri is double teamed until Yumi tags in Miyazaki, the action spills to the outside where Kaori Yoneyama and Cherry lend a hand to Kyuri. Miyazaki gets back in the ring while Yumi comes in with Kyuri, they hit the Magic Killer onto Kyuri but Kyuri kicks out of the cover. Scoop slam by Miyazaki, she gets on the second turnbuckle but Mio comes in and pushes Miyazaki over the top rope. She tries to pull her down (remember they can win by Over The Top), but Miyazaki pushes them away and gets back into the ring. A quick roll-up by Kyuri gets a one count, as does a leg clutch hold. Yumi runs in but she boots Miyazaki by accident, cover by Kyuri but Yumi breaks it up. Fisherman suplex by Kyuri, but Yumi breaks that up as well. Eye poke by Miyazaki, Gedo Clutch by Miyazaki and she gets the three count! Miyazaki and Yumi now have one pinfall, they need one more to win the match. Kyuri grabs Miyazaki around the waist but Miyazaki trips her, quick roll-up by Kyuri but Miyazaki reverses it and the two go back and forth. Kyuri tags in Mio, Mio tries to pin over Miyazaki repeatedly but each time she gets a one count. Mio picks up Miyazaki but Miyazaki kicks her and delivers a dropkick. Miyazaki grabs up Mio and hits a Samoan Driver, but Kyuri breaks up the cover. Miyazaki picks up Mio but Kyuri runs in and grabs her, backslide by Mio but it gets a one count. Around this time the bell rings, as time has expired. As the rules stipulated, due to the match being a draw, Mio Momono and Kyuri win!

Matches tend to suffer when there are so many stipulations, and this one was no different. It was a cute concept, the two young wrestlers getting the rules advantage against two wrestlers much more experienced, but I think they just over-did it a bit. They could have just done the rule that Yumi/Yuki needed two pinfalls and that the young team only needed a draw, no need for the two count pinfalls or Over The Top Rules to get their point across. The action was ok but nothing too memorable. Probably a more fun match live but a bit too weighed down by stipulations for my preference.

Hikaru Shida vs. Ryo Mizunami

They start with trading holds, Ryo gets Hikaru to the mat and shoulderblocks her, but Hikaru kips up. Hikaru trips Ryo but Ryo avoids the dropkick, they trade strike attempts but neither can connect. They get into a knuckle lock, Ryo pushes Hikaru to the mat and knocks Hikaru against the ropes. Ryo applies a front necklock but Hikaru gets into the ropes, scoop slam by Ryo and she hits a quick legdrop for two. Camel Clutch by Ryo, she drives Hikaru back into the corner and hits a series of shoulder tackles. Hikaru boots Ryo back and elbows her in the corner, she goes for a jumping knee but Ryo catches her and throws Hikaru to the mat. Ryo rams Hikaru’s head into the mat repeatedly before picking her up and hitting a lariat in the corner. Ryo knocks Hikaru off the apron to the floor, but Hikaru throws a kendo stick at her and hits a running knee. Hikaru picks up Ryo and drops her onto a steel chair, she brings Ryo over to a table and suplexes her on it. Hikaru knees Ryo repeatedly in the chest, she gets on the top turnbuckle and hits a missile dropkick. Cover by Hikaru, but it gets a two count. Hikaru applies a crab hold, Ryo gets to the ropes but Hikaru hits a running knee. Ryo falls out to the apron but Hikaru suplexes her back into the ring, cover by Hikaru but Ryo kicks out. Ryo fires back with elbows but Hikaru hits an armdrag and delivers a Falcon Arrow for two. Hikaru goes off the ropes but Ryo avoids her knee, Hikaru connects with the next one but Ryo hits a lariat.

Ryo lariats Hikaru in the back of the head but Hikaru snaps off a hurricanrana, she goes off the ropes but Ryo hits a powerslam for two. Jumping knee by Hikaru, but Ryo quickly rolls her up for two before applying an Anaconda Vice. Hikaru gets to the ropes to get out of the hold, spear by Ryo but Hikaru slides off her back and hits an enzuigiri. Uranage by Ryo, she covers Hikaru but it gets a two count. Ryo picks up Hikaru but Hikaru gets way again and rolls up Ryo for two, Hikaru gets her kendo stick and hits Ryo in the head with it. Hikaru hits a pair of running knees, but Ryo gets a foot on the bottom rope to break up the pinfall count. Hikaru puts Ryo on the top turnbuckle and joins her, but Ryo pushes her off. Ryo goes for the diving leg drop but Hikaru avoids it, two more running knees by Hikaru but Ryo gets a shoulder up. Hikaru tries to hit Ryo with her kendo stick but Ryo blocks it, dragon suplex hold by Ryo but it gets two. Big lariat by Ryo, she goes up top and nails the diving leg drop, but that gets a two count as well. Hikaru pokes Ryo in the eyes and applies in an inside cradle for two, she goes off the ropes but Ryo catches her and delivers the Hot Limit. Before she can make the cover, the bell rings as time has expired. The match is a Draw.

This was an oddly structured match but I think they accomplished their goal of putting on a good show while protecting both. I didn’t love that Ryo kept kicking out of Shida’s Three Count knees, but then Hikaru kicked out of the diving leg drop so it was just one of those matches that neither was going to stay down under any circumstances. I’m not sure what the point was as Shida isn’t really in the main event scene, but if they just wanted to put on an entertaining match for the fans I’d preferred the match have a more conclusive ending as a Draw leaves you wanted more that isn’t imminently coming. The action was really solid, Ryo was sandbagging Hikaru some which was interesting, not sure if there was a backstory there or just an effort to make her look tougher since WAVE is her promotion. I enjoyed it, I wish it had a real ending since the last two matches also went to the time limit, but both are great wrestlers and they put on a fun main event.  Recommended

The post WAVE “Weekday WAVE Vol. 108” on 6/22/17 Review appeared first on Joshi City.

I know that I haven’t reviewed Ice Ribbon in awhile, but there is a very good reason for that. All of their airings on Nico Nico they put a commentary box on the bottom side of the screen, showing the commentary as they discuss the event. Even if I did understand Japanese I’d find this incredibly annoying, imagine watching RAW and for the entire three hours the bottom side of the screen showed the commentators, its quite distracting. So I haven’t been watching their events. But, this show I got on DVD which means – no commentary box. Granted, it is a small show but at least we get to check out some of their newest rookies. Here is the card:

• Akane Fujita and Nori DATE vs. Hamuko Hoshi and Nao DATE
• Matsuya Uno and Maruko Nagasaki vs. Tequila Saya and Satsuki Totoro
• Kyuri vs. Tsukushi
• Risa Sera, Maya Yukihi, and Karen DATE vs. Tsukasa Fujimoto, Miyako Matsumoto, and Hana DATE

Pretty small show, as always you can click on the wrestler’s names above to go to their roster page, including all the DATE wrestlers.

Akane Fujita and Nori DATE vs. Hamuko Hoshi and Nao DATE

Nori starts the match against her sister Nao, kicks by Nori but Nao kicks her back and hits a series of knees against the ropes. Nao and Nori jockey on the floor but neither gets the advantage so they tag in their teammates. Shoulderblock by Hoshi to Akane but Akane chops her in the chest, Hoshi chops her back but Akane knocks her to the mat and covers Hoshi for two. Akane tags in Nori but Hoshi clubs her, Hoshi rolls to the mat and she does her pose, which makes the rookie Nori laugh. Poor Nori isn’t used to Hoshi’s antics. Hoshi throws Nori in the corner and rubs her belly in her face, Nao comes in and they double team Nori in the ropes. Hoshi officially tags in Nao, Nao throws down Nori in the corner and Nori is attack by both her and Hoshi. Bulldog by Hoshi to Nori and she eats a double elbow drop for a two count. Nori fights back against Nao with an elbow and they trade strikes, thrust kick by Nori and she tags in Akane. Akane throws Nao in the corner and tosses her down by the hair, Akane throws Nao face-first into the mat and puts her in the camel clutch while Nori kicks her in the chest.

Senton by Akane, and she covers Nao for two. Nao comes back with a boot to Akane in the chest, cover by Nao but it gets a two count. Nao tags in Hoshi but Akane shoulderblocks her down, Nori runs in to hold back Nao while Akane puts Hoshi in a Scorpion Deathlock. Nori manages to break it up, Hoshi belly bumps Akane and hits the Shining Onaka for a two count. Hoshi gets on the second turnbuckle but Nori grabs her, Akane picks up Hoshi and slams her to the mat for two. Akane picks up Hoshi and tags in Nori, kick combination by Nori to Hoshi and she covers her for a two count. Hoshi grabs Nori but Nori hits a scoop slam, high kick by Nori to Hoshi but Hoshi kicks out of the cover. Cartwheel kick by Nori to Hoshi, but Nao breaks up the pin. Nori goes off the ropes and kicks Hoshi in the chest, but Hoshi ducks the spinning kick and Nao kicks Nori into the corner. Hoshi and Nao pick up their opponents and hit Samoan Drops, scoop slam by Hoshi to Nori and she puts her in a crab hold. Akane eventually breaks it up, Hoshi goes off the ropes but Nori hits her with a kick to the chest. Nori goes off the ropes but Hoshi picks her up, Nori and Hoshi trade pins but both get two counts. Hoshi goes off the ropes and hits the Hamuroll, and Hoshi gets the three count! Hamuko Hoshi and Nao DATE win!

I was amused by this not necessarily because it was a great match, but just seeing wrestlers with MMA backgrounds in Joshi is nice since they bring something different to the table. I mean they are green as grass but its at least some variety. Nori laughing at Hoshi was funny, she just isn’t used to having to keep a straight face during such things, and no one looked bad. A decent way to kick things off.

Matsuya Uno and Maruko Nagasaki vs. Tequila Saya and Satsuki Totoro

Matsuya and Saya start the match, they trade wristlocks until Matsuya shoulderblocks Saya to the mat. Matsuya picks her up but Saya trips her and puts Matsuya in a camel clutch. Maruko runs in to help but Satsuki intercepts her and puts her in a camel clutch as well, but Matsuya makes it to the ropes to force the break. Irish whip by Saya but Matsuya hits a dropkick and makes the tag to Maruko. Maruko clubs Saya and stomps her into the corner, dropkick by Maruko and she puts Saya in a submission hold. Satsuki tries to break it up but Matsuya tosses her out of the ring, Maruko covers Saya but it gets a two count. Maruko goes for a slam but Saya blocks it, she goes off the ropes but Maruko delivers a dropkick. Maruko jumps over Saya in the corner but Saya connects with a rebound crossbody and makes the tag to Satsuki. Hard shoulderblock by Satsuki, she picks up Maruko and hits a scoop slam for two. Maruko pushes Satsuki off and elbows her in the chest, the two trade blows until Matsuya runs in to help. Maruko dropkicks Satsuki off her feet, she picks her up and throws her into the ropes, but Satsuki hits a double lariat on Matsuya and Maruko. Satsuki picks up Maruko, Maruko goes for a sunset flip but Satsuki sits on her.

Maruko dropkicks Satsuki and makes the tag to Matsuya, Matsuya goes up top but Satsuki blocks her diving chop and hits a shoulderblock. Two more shoulderblocks by Satsuki, and she covers Matsuya for two. Satsuki picks up Matsuya and hits a body avalanche in the corner, but Matsuya dodges the next one and schoolboys her for two. Matsuya tries multiple schoolboys with no luck, she picks up Satsuki but Satsuki hits a scoop slam and tags in Saya. Jumping crossbodies by Saya, she throws Matsuya into the corner before hitting a dropkick. Sunset flip by Saya from the second turnbuckle, but it gets a two count. Saya goes off the ropes but Matsuya catches her crossbody attempt and throws Saya to the mat. Springboard body press by Matsuya, but Saya gets a shoulder up. Matsuya goes off the ropes but Satsuki runs in and hits a shoulderblock, Saya goes up top and hits a diving crossbody but it only gets two. Saya picks up Matsuya but Matsuya grabs her legs and rolls her up for two. Matsuya tries a few more flash pins with no luck, Saya goes for Gran Maestro de Tequila but Matsuya blocks it. Satsuki comes in and lariats both Maruko and Matsuya, she goes up top and hits a somersault senton with Saya’s assistance. Saya now goes up top and hits a moonsault, she picks up Matsuya and delivers the Gran Maestro de Tequila for the three count! Tequila Saya and Satsuki Totoro are the winners.

This certainly wasn’t good. Satsuki just debuted so I am not knocking her, but she really lagged behind here as she looked lost a few times and some of her strikes missed. Maruko is my favorite but did the least and some of the action was just disjointed. Everyone has to learn and practice makes perfect, but this wasn’t a good match.

Kyuri vs. Tsukushi

Kyuri and Tsukushi start by trading wristlocks, Tsukushi gets Kyuri to the mat and they jockey for position. Tsukushi applies a necklock and pulls Kyuri by the hair before tossing her down to the mat. Tsukushi runs on Kyuri’s back and goes for a stretch hold, but Kyuri gets into the ropes. Scoop slam by Kyuri and she stretches Tsukushi, she puts her into the ropes but Tsukushi switches positions with her and messes with Kyuri’s nose. Tsukushi goes off the ropes but Kyuri catches her with a judo throw, neck drops by Kyuri and she covers Tsukushi for two. Kyuri starts on Tsukushi’s arm, tiger feint kick by Kyuri and she covers Tsukushi for another two count. Kyuri goes for a fisherman suplex but Tsukushi blocks it and applies a front guillotine, Kyuri gets out of the hold and hits the fisherman suplex hold for two. Kyuri goes up top and hits a diving body press, but that gets a two count as well. Kyuri picks up Tsukushi but Tsukushi rolls her up and hits a footstomp. Tsukushi and Kyuri trade elbows until Tsukushi knocks Kyuri to the mat, Tsukushi picks up Kyuri and hits more elbows for two. Tsukushi gets on the top turnbuckle and hits a missile dropkick, but Kyuri quickly applies a short armbar. Tsukushi gets into the ropes to force the break, Kyuri approaches Tsukushi but Tsukushi rolls her up for two. Kyuri goes for another flash cover with no luck, hard elbow by Tsukushi and she gets on the second turnbuckle. Kyuri gets her off the turnbuckles with a Codebreaker, Fisherman Driver by Kyuri but Tsukushi gets a shoulder up. Kyuri picks up Tsukushi and hits a cross armbreaker takedown, she reverts it into a seated armbar but Tsukushi gets a foot on the ropes. Kyuri picks up Tsukushi and hits a Blockbuster Suplex Hold, but Tsukushi gets a foot on the ropes. Kyuri wraps up Tsukushi’s arms and applied a submission, but the bell rings as time has expired. The match is a Draw.

I think a Draw has to be done perfectly in order to not annoy me, and this match did a Draw about as perfect as possible. The story here was Kyuri trying to surpass her old friend and tag team partner, and she damn nearly almost did but couldn’t find the right combination to get the job done before the bell rang. Afterwards, Kyuri was mad and went back after Tsukushi, so she clearly was not satisfied with just a Draw. This match was about Kyuri’s growth and I think it told that story about as well as a ten minute match can. Really enjoyable match as they have great chemistry and Kyuri could be a future star in the promotion as I think she is almost ready.  Recommended

Risa Sera, Maya Yukihi, and Karen DATE vs. Tsukasa Fujimoto, Miyako Matsumoto, and Hana DATE

Karen and Miyako start the match, Miyako goes to the mat and challenges Karen but Karen promptly puts her in a heel hook. She gets rescued, then Karen goes on the mat and challenges Miyako, leading to her promptly putting her back into a heel hook. Miyako gets out of it and rolls up Karen, but Karen puts her in a triangle choke. Miyako gets Karen into the corner while still in the hold and tags in Tsukasa, Tsukasa throws Karen into the corners but Karen returns the favor. Tsukasa rams her again and chokes Karen in the corner, Tsukasa stomps her foot and tags in Hana. Hana picks up Karen but Karen ducks all her kicks, Karen kicks down Hana in the corner and tags in Maya. Maya goes for a kick but Hana blocks it, Hana puts Maya in a camel clutch but she lets go after a moment and goes for a scoop slam. Maya blocks it and elbows Hana, the two trade elbows until Maya hits a jumping knee in the corner. Hana kicks Maya in the stomach and boots her to the mat, cover by Hana but it gets two. Hana tags Miyako back in, but Maya scoop slams her. Miyako trips Maya and rolls her around the ring before putting her in a submission, but Risa breaks it up. Miyako picks up Maya but Maya hits an STO and covers Miyako for two. Maya tags in Risa, Risa puts Miyako in the Rocking Horse before hitting a double knee drop for two. Risa picks up Miyako but Miyako hits a Sling Blade and puts Risa in an Octopus Hold. Hana and Tsukasa join in the fun, but Risa makes it to the ropes to force the break. Miyako snaps Sera’s neck over the top rope and tags in Tsukasa, missile dropkick by Tsukasa and she dropkicks Sera in the corner.

Tsukasa and Sera trade elbows, Maya runs in and knees Tsukasa and Karen comes in also and armdrags Tsukasa into the corner. Running double knee by Risa, she covers Tsukasa but it gets two. Reverse Double Knee by Sera, but that gets a two count as well. Risa goes up top but Hana grabs her from the apron, then Miyako runs in and tosses Risa off the top turnbuckle. Double kick by Tsukasa and Miyako to Sera, Tsukasa covers Sera but it gets two. Tsukasa goes up top and hits a diving neckbreaker, she goes off the ropes but Sera catches her with a dropkick. TKO by Risa and she tags in Karen, dropkick by Karen but Tsukasa blocks the scoop slam. Tsukasa puts Karen in an armtrap crossface, but Karen gets into the ropes. Tsukasa puts Karen in the ropes and chokes her, but Maya comes in and hits a missile dropkick. Sera also comes in, they pick up Karen and ram her into Tsukasa. Scoop slam by Karen, and she covers Tsukasa for two. Tsukasa puts Karen in a crab hold but Risa breaks it up. Tsukasa dropkicks both Sera and Maya, then her teammates come in and triple team Karen in the corner. Hana comes in but she hits a crossbody on Tsukasa by accident, Miyako tries to help but she hits Tsukasa by accident as well. Sunset flip by Karen to Tsukasa, but Tsukasa gets a shoulder up. Karen goes off the ropes and rolls up Tsukasa, but that also gets two. Karen goes off the ropes but Tsukasa kicks her back with both feet, cradle by Tsukasa and she picks up the three count! Tsukasa Fujimoto, Miyako Matsumoto, and Hana DATE are your winners!

First, I have to give Miyako credit since she didn’t do any comedy here aside from the quick bit at the beginning, so kudos to her. Its wild to watch a 14 year old rookie  going toe to toe with Tsukasa, they definitely are pushing the DATE wrestlers. Which is fine with me, hopefully they will be regulars and put enough training in wrestling to continue to improve. The match was fast paced and entertaining, a few iffy moments which you’d expect with a match with two rookies, but the veterans were all solid. I am still a bit concerned about Maya, she is getting a decent push but still is a bit awkward at times, I like her but she needs to continue to improve if she is going to put on high end main event style matches. A fun main event, wish it was a bit longer but I enjoyed it for what it was.  Mildly Recommended

The post Ice Ribbon “New Ice Ribbon #799” on 4/29/17 Review appeared first on Joshi City.

So before I even get into it, a couple disclaimers. First, I am aware this is a small dojo event and that it wasn’t designed to be a high end show. Second, I am reviewing this on DVD, it did not air, so that is why you probably haven’t seen any of these matches. As part of my quest to review at least one event from the bigger promotions, I had to pick something from Ice Ribbon as their biggest event of the month (on the 29th) isn’t available yet and I didn’t want to get that far behind. And this show looked better than 1/3 which was the other show I was considering. Still, this show does have some potential, as all the stars of Ice Ribbon are doing something on the event. Here is the full card:

• Hiragi Kurumi and Tequila Saya vs. Kyuri and Matsuya Uno
• 235 vs. Mochi Miyagi vs. Tsukushi
• Maruko Nagasaki vs. Tsukasa Fujimoto
• Hamuko Hoshi and Miyako Matsumoto vs. Maya Yukihi and Risa Sera

See, an itty bitty show. But it will be shown in full, which is always nice. You can click on the wrestler’s name above to go to their profile on Joshi City.

Hiragi Kurumi and Tequila Saya vs. Kyuri and Matsuya Uno

Saya and Matsuya kick things off, Matsuya pushes Saya into the ropes but she gives a clean break. Wristlock by Saya but Matsuya rolls out of it, kick to the chest by Matsuya and she tags in Kyuri. Body press by Kyuri, she sits up Saya and puts her in a stretch submission hold. Saya gets to the ropes for the break, crossbody by Saya and Kurumi comes in to pick up Saya and toss her into Kyuri. Elbow by Saya and she dropkicks Kyuri before making the tag to Kurumi. Dropkick by Kurumi and she puts Kyuri in a crab hold, but Kyuri gets into the ropes for the break. Irish whip by Kurumi but Kyuri ducks the lariat and hits a trio of neck drops for a two count cover. Short armbar by Kyuri and she reverts it into a double armbar, but Kurumi muscles out of it. Kyuri and Kurumi trade elbows, which goes better for Kurumi, and Kurumi hits a body avalanche in the corner. Cannonball by Kurumi and she hits a somersault senton for a two count. Kurumi tags in Saya, dropkicks by Saya and she hits a scoop slam on Kyuri for a two count. Saya puts Kyuri in a stretch hold but Kyuri gets a foot on the ropes, Saya picks up Kyuri but Kyuri takes her to the mat. Backstabber by Kyuri and she makes the tag to Matsuya. Shoulderblock by Matsuya but Saya knees her in the stomach, she goes off the ropes but Matsuya hits a spear for a two count cover. Matsuya goes up top and hits a chopping chop to the head, but again her cover gets two. Matsuya goes off the ropes but Kurumi runs in and hits a lariat, dropkick by Saya and she covers Matsuya for two. Saya goes up top and hits a reverse diving crossbody, but Kyuri breaks up the pin. Saya goes up top again but Matsuya hits her from behind and schoolboys her for two. Matsuya tries a few more schoolboys with no luck, Matsuya picks up Saya and slams her to the mat but Kurumi breaks up the pin. After trading flash pins, Matsuya goes for a lariat but Saya catches it and applies Gran Maestro de Tequila for the three count! Saya Tequila and Kurumi win!

For a rookie match, it was acceptable, as while there were a few iffy moments that is to be expected. This is my longest look at Matsuya Uno so far, she seems fine but at her age I doubt she’ll ever get much of a chance to progress too far up the card. But she has the basics down anyway. Kurumi continues to be the bright spot in most matches I see her in, she is embracing her inner hoss-ness and has really improved in the last year. A decent way to kick off the show, not everything was smooth but the effort was certainly there.

235 vs. Mochi Miyagi vs. Tsukushi
Triple Threat Match

Tsukushi and 235 double team Miyagi to start since she has the size advantage, but Tsukushi flies out of the ring on a missed dropkick and Miyagi easily takes over on the isolated 235. Tsukushi returns but now she attacks 235 as well, Miyagi boots 235 in the head but Tsukushi dropkicks her, Tsukushi then decides to be friends with Miyagi but Miyagi shoulderblocks her. Footstomp by Tsukushi to Miyagi and they trade elbows, Tsukushi goes for a bodyscissors but Miyagi catches her. Tsukushi wiggles away and gets Miyagi over, but 235 returns and breaks up the festivities. 235 sends Tsukushi out of the ring and hits a crossbody onto Miyagi, seven more crossbodies by 235 and she covers Miyagi for two. 235 jumps on the second turnbuckle but Miyagi slaps her and tosses her off, Raideen Drops by Miyagi and she covers 235 for a two count. Facebuster by Miyagi, she gets on the second turnbuckle and hits the reverse splash, but Tsukushi goes up top and hits a diving footstomp onto her back. Tsukushi charges 235 but 235 moves, diving crossbody by 235 but Tsukushi kicks out. Back up, elbows by Tsukushi and she dropkicks 235 while she is against the ropes. Unprettier by Tsukushi, but 235 barely gets a shoulder up on the cover. Miyagi returns and hits a Lou Thesz Press onto Tsukushi, she picks up 235 and hits a body avalanche against the ropes. Hard elbow by Miyagi but 235 elbows her back, inside cradle by 235 but Miyagi kicks out. 235 goes for a suplex but Miyagi blocks it and hits a few Mongolian Chops. Miyagi goes for a suplex but 235 reverses it into rolling verticals with a bridge, but Tsukushi breaks it up. Miyagi lariats 235 and picks her up, but Tsukushi missile dropkicks her from behind. Jackknife hold by Tsukushi to 235, and she picks up the three count! Tsukushi is the winner.

Realistically speaking, there wasn’t really any way this match was going to be particular entertaining. A short triple threat match really can only succeed if there are cute three way spots to amuse everyone, but this match only had maybe two of those. The rest of it was just them taking turns while the other waited outside, and since Miyagi and 235 are good but not great wrestlers the action itself was pretty bland. I love Tsukushi but there wasn’t a lot here to work with, they just didn’t have the time or the structure to really do a whole lot. Skippable match.

Maruko Nagasaki vs. Tsukasa Fujimoto

They get right into it when the bell rings, they trade Irish whips but Fujimoto gets Maruko on the mat first and kicks her hard in the back. She gets back up, wristlock by Fujimoto but Maruko reverses it. Fujimoto takes Maruko down and puts her in a leg submission hold, she lets it go after a moment and dropkicks Maruko in the corner. Cutter by Fujimoto, and she covers Maruko for a two count. Fujimoto picks up Maruko but Maruko cartwheels away and delivers a dropkick. Dropkick by Maruko and hits another one for a two count cover. Maruko goes for a cute handstand but Fujimoto has none of it and rolls her up for two. Maruko returns the favor but it has the same result, they get back up and trade elbows on their feet. Maruko rolls out to the apron and goes up top, but Fujimoto dropkicks her down onto the apron. Fujimoto goes up top and goes for a footstomp, but Maruko moves and runs around the ring on the apron. Fujimoto chases after her and catches her, she goes for a footstomp but Maruko moves and (mostly) hits a handstand body press on the apron. Fujimoto rolls back in the ring while Maruko goes up top and hits a missile dropkick for a two count. Maruko picks up Fujimoto but Fujimoto gets her in a guillotine, Maruko flips out of it and she trips Fujimoto before covering her for two. Maruko goes for another dropkick but Fujimoto dodges it and they trade flash pins. Spear by Maruko, she goes for a pump handle move but Fujimoto gets out of it and hits a enzuigiri. Dropkick by Fujimoto in the corner, she goes up top and hits a missile dropkick for a two count. Fujimoto gets Maruko on her shoulders but Maruko slides away and rolls up Fujimoto for two. Maruko goes off the ropes but Fujimoto catches her with the High Angle Sunset Flip, getting her the three count pinfall! Tsukasa Fujimoto wins!

This pains me to type as Maruko gives it every ounce she has, but she isn’t there yet. Some of the ideas are good, but the execution just isn’t there. She’ll probably get it one day, hopefully, but as of January 2017 she still has a bit of work to do. For every good move this match had there was another move that just wasn’t hit right, and Fujimoto is borderline flawless so I know it wasn’t her fault. I still think its an above average match due to how good Fujimoto is and how hard Maruko was trying to impress, but it didn’t really click and it was too short to overcome the different issues. I think Maruko has a bright future but more practice is in order.

Hamuko Hoshi and Miyako Matsumoto vs. Maya Yukihi and Risa Sera

Hoshi and Matsumoto both attack as the match starts, they throw their opponents out of the ring and do fake dives before posing. Risa and Maya quickly return and beat down Matsumoto, as Risa stays in the ring with her and tosses down Matsumoto by the hair. Maya is tagged in and she keeps up the attack on Matsumoto, Risa returns and she puts Matsumoto in a crab hold. Back bodydrop by Risa, and she covers Matsumoto for two. Sera goes for a dropkick but Matsumoto avoids it and hits a footstomp, giving her time to tag in Hoshi. Maya comes in too but Hoshi shoulderblocks both of them, body avalanche by Hoshi to Risa and she hits a bulldog. Crab hold by Hoshi but Risa gets into the ropes, punches by Risa but Matsumoto knees her from the apron. Risa gets away and dropkicks Hoshi into Matsumoto, side slam by Risa and she covers Hoshi for two. Belly bump by Hoshi and she tags in Matsumoto and Matsumoto hits a face crusher onto Hoshi’s belly for a two count. Hoshi returns the favor by slamming Matsumoto onto Risa, Matsumoto jumps up on the second turnbuckle but Risa joins her. Risa puts Matsumoto on the apron but Matsumoto applies a hanging armbar, Risa gets out of it and she dropkicks Matsumoto out of the ring. Maya slides Matsumoto back in and gets in the ring as well, double running elbow to Matsumoto and Risa hits a running double knee strike for a two count. She tags in Maya, kicks by Maya and she hits a running knee.

Running boot by Maya but Hoshi breaks up the cover so Maya kicks Hoshi off the apron. Kicks to the back by Maya but Matsumoto ducks the PK, face crusher by Matsumoto and she covers Maya for two. Matsumoto goes up top and Hoshi helps her hit a somersault senton for a two count cover. Maya runs in and dropkicks Matsumoto, Maya puts Matsumoto in a modified STF but Hoshi breaks it up. PK by Maya, but again Hoshi breaks up the cover. Maya picks up Matsumoto but Matsumoto kicks her back and hits a body press off the second turnbuckle. Matsumoto tags in Hoshi, chops by Hoshi and she shoulderblocks Maya over. Matsumoto comes in and hits a Shining Wizard, Shining Onaka by Hoshi but Maya bridges out of the cover. Hoshi goes up top and hits an assisted senton, but Risa runs in the ring and hits the Ayers Rock. Superkick by Maya, but Hoshi gets a shoulder up. Maya and Risa go for a double chokeslam but Hoshi ducks it and hits a double lariat. She goes off the ropes but Maya decks her with a kick to the head, they finally hit the double chokeslam but the cover is broken up. Maya picks up Hoshi but Hoshi wiggles away and hits a lariat. Northern Lights Suplex by Hoshi, Matsumoto goes up top and with the referee’s help hits a diving footstomp. Hoshi then goes up and delivers a diving body press, and she picks up the three count! Hamuko Hoshi and Miyako Matsumoto win!

For a smaller show main event, no major complaints. Maya Yukihi has improved quite a bit in the last six months, working in OZ Academy probably helped. Matsumoto and Hoshi did a bit of comedy but not an excessive amount, and the match kept the pace up so it never dragged. Of course I’d prefer the last match on a card to go longer than 13 minutes and it felt like they had more they could have done, but Ice Ribbon Dojo shows aren’t going to do but so much. A solid match and pretty entertaining, although ultimately nothing special.  Mildly Recommended

The post Ice Ribbon “New Ice Ribbon #778” on 1/7/17 Review appeared first on Joshi City.

I haven’t reviewed a JWP event in recent memory, so I figured I was overdue to see what the promotion is up to. This event was small in attendance but big in stature, as we have Kyoko Kimura defending the JWP Openweight Championship on it. We also get Kaho Kobayashi in a singles match, I have to enjoy her while I can since in 2017 she is going on an extended stay to Mexico. Here is the full card:

• Kaho Kobayashi vs. Yako Fujigasaki
• Kyuri vs. Leon
• Hanako Nakamori vs. Sumire Natsu
• Arisa Nakajima, KAZUKI, and Rydeen Hagane vs. Command Bolshoi, Dynamite Kansai, and Rabbit Miu
• JWP Openweight Championship: Kyoko Kimura vs. Manami Katsu
• JWP Openweight Championship (unannounced): Kyoko Kimura vs. Rabbit Miyu

This event aired I assume on niconico so it is shown in full! For better or worse.

Kaho Kobayashi vs. Yako Fujigasaki

Kaho starts with some arm work on the JWP youngster, Fujigasaki gets a headlock applied before knocking down Kaho with a shoulderblock. Springboard armdrag by Kaho and she dropkicks Fujigasaki in the corner, another dropkick by Kaho and she covers Fujigasaki for two. Kaho stomps down Fujigasaki and goes for a slam, Fujigasaki blocks it at first but Kaho eventually manages to get the scoop slam. Running sentons by Kaho, and she covers Fujigasaki for two. Dropkick to the back by Kaho but Fujigasaki levels her with a hip attack, Fujigasaki throws down Kaho by the hair a few times before hitting a facebuster. Camel Clutch by Fujigasaki and she then puts Kaho in a stretch hold, cover by Fujigasaki but it gets two. Fujigasaki puts Kaho in the ropes and dropkicks her in the back, she put Kaho in a single leg crab hold but Kaho gets to the ropes. Scoop slam by Fujigasaki but Kaho quickly rolls her up for two. Dropkick by Kaho and she hits another one, fisherman suplex by Kaho but Fujigasaki kicks out. Kaho goes up top and hits a missile dropkick, Fujigasaki gets up quick however and hits a missile dropkick of her own. Double wrist armsaults by Fujigasaki but Kaho reverses the last one into a guillotine choke. Fujigasaki hits a final armsault anyway, she slams Kaho in front of the corner and goes up top but Kaho avoids the diving swivel body press. They trade quick pins with no luck, they return to their feet and trade elbows both and forth. Fujigasaki wins the elbow battle and puts Kaho in a stretch submission, she releases the hold and delivers the swivel body press but Kaho barely gets a shoulder up. Fujigasaki drags Kaho up but Kaho quickly rolls her up for two, Kaho goes off the ropes but Fujigasaki nails the hip attack. Fujigasaki picks up Kaho but Kaho hits an enzuigiri, 120% Schoolboy by Kaho and she gets the three count! Kaho Kobayashi is the winner.

It is funny that Kaho is the experienced wrestler here but still wrestles as the underdog due to her itty bittiness. While the logic was a bit scattered, for an opener I thought it was pretty solid. Fujigasaki hits a killer hip attack, she has developed a lot in 2016 and is poised for a big 2017 if she continues to improve. Kaho was great as usual, bumping like a crazy person and really putting over Fujigasaki’s submission holds by being so flexible. A fun way to kick off the show.  Mildly Recommended

Kyuri vs. Leon

After some mat work, Leon gets the first advantage as she throws Kyuri around the ring before hitting a dropkick for a two count. Scoop slam by Leon and she hits a somersault senton, camel clutch by Leon and she lets go so she can stomp Kyuri in the back. Leon goes off the ropes but Kyuri hits a judo throw, she applies her own camel clutch but Leon quickly gets out of it. Leon chops Kyuri in the corner and delivers a dropkick, but Kyuri hits a series of jumping neck drops. Kyuri goes for a cross armbreaker but Leon blocks it, triangle choke by Kyuri but Leon powerbombs out of it. Backstabber by Kyuri and she applies an armbar, armbreakers by Kyuri but Leon blocks one and applies a sleeper. Kyuri tosses Leon to get out of it and hits a dropkick, she goes up top and hits a diving crossbody. Fisherman suplex hold by Kyuri, but it gets a two.

Kyuri goes off the ropes but Leon catches her with a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker, she picks up Kyuri but Kyuri rolls her to the mat and applies a Stretch Muffler. Leon rolls out of it and applies a stretch hold over her back, spear to the back by Leon and she hits a missile dropkick. Cover by Leon, but it gets a two count. She goes for another one but Kyuri avoids it, Figure Four with a bridge by Kyuri but Leon kicks out of it. Kyuri picks up Leon and applies a rolling ankle hold, she picks Leon back up but Leon hits a tilt-a-whirl slam for two. Texas Cloverleaf by Kyuri but Kyuri crawls to the ropes and forces a break. Stomps by Leon and she goes for a Capture Buster, but Kyuri reverses it with a schoolboy. Kyuri goes off the ropes but Leon spears her, she goes for another spear but Kyuri reverses it into a roll-up. Kyuri goes up top but Leon joins her and suplexes her to the mat, she goes back up top and she nails the Mad Splash for the three count! Leon is your winner.

It is crazy seeing someone as little and young as Kyuri going for MMA moves, it didn’t fit her playful look at all. She needs to upgrade to a more serious outfit now that she is 18 and using a different style. The match was fine but really back and forth with little structure to it, sometimes the wrestler in control switched for no real reason. The moves were all hit crisp so no complaints there, very smooth match and Kyuri is certainly coming along. Not a bad match, just lacking anything to make it special.

Hanako Nakamori vs. Sumire Natsu

Natsu starts the match trying to knock over Nakamori with dropkicks but she has no luck, as instead Nakamori throws down Natsu by the hair. Natsu returns the favor but Nakamori throws down Natsu again, she goes off the ropes but Natsu connects with a dropkick. Nakamori and Natsu trade strikes, kicks to the leg by Nakamori and she hits a PK followed by a leg drop. Nakamori picks up Natsu and puts her into the ropes, kicks to the chest by Nakamori and she puts Natsu in a camel clutch. Irish whip by Nakamori but Natsu hits a jumping crossbody, headscissors by Natsu and she hits a few push up facebusters. Nakamori gets into the ropes to force a break, Natsu goes off the ropes and she boots Nakamori in the head. Natsu puts Nakamori in the corner but Nakamori Irish whips her into the other corner and kicks her repeatedly. Irish whip by Nakamori but Natsu avoids the big boot, back elbow by Natsu and she hits a seated senton. Natsu goes off the ropes but Nakamori hits a jumping lariat, picking up a two count.

Running kicks by Nakamori but Natsu hits a jumping lariat, Natsu puts Nakamori in a choke before hitting a Reverse DDT. Natsu picks up Nakamori and hits a series of elbows, but Nakamori hits a release German. Running boot by Nakamori, she goes up top and she hits a missile dropkick for two. Fisherman Suplex Hold by Nakamori, she goes up top but Natsu joins her. Natsu kicks Nakamori off the top turnbuckle and down to the floor, she goes out after her and elbows Nakamori against the apron. Jumping elbow by Natsu and she slides Nakamori back into the ring, she goes up top and hits a diving crossbody for a two count. Natsu picks up Nakamori and hits a bridging scoop slam, but that gets a two as well. Natsu picks up Nakamori again but Nakamori blocks the powerbomb and kicks Natsu against the ropes. They trade big boots, enzuigiri by Nakamori but Natsu quickly rolls her up for two. Big boot by Natsu, she goes off the ropes but Nakamori boots her in the head for a two count. Shining Wizard by Nakamori, she goes up top and she hits the Destiny Hammer for the three count! Hanako Nakamori wins the match!

While Natsu appears to have improved a bit, still same ‘ol Nakamori. She isn’t a bad wrestler, she is just awkward and her strikes aren’t good. They seemed generally on the same page aside from one particularly awkward moment, but it was just really ‘back and forth’ with mostly big boots. Natsu showed some passion which is a plus, a pretty average match overall though and quite skippable.

Arisa Nakajima, KAZUKI, and Hagane vs. Command Bolshoi, Kansai, and Rabbit Miu

Hagane and Miu begin the match, Hagane quickly goes on the offense and slams Miu to the mat. She tags in KAZUKI who keeps on Miu, but Miu gains the advantage and tags in Bolshoi. Rope walking armdrag by Bolshoi and she stretches KAZUKI on the mat. KAZUKI escapes and tags Nakajima, Nakajima and Bolshoi end up on the mat and Nakajima goes for a cross armbreaker. Bolshoi blocks it and applies a crab hold, she tags in Kansai and Kansai suplexes Nakajima for a two count. Chinlock by Kansai, Bolshoi comes in and she dropkicks Nakajima in the face. Kick to the chest by Kansai, Nakajima fights back with her own running boots and finally a dropkick sends Kansai on her back. Nakajima picks up Kansai but Kansai gets to the ropes when Nakajima goes for a suplex. Claw Hold by Kansai, KAZUKI runs in so she puts her in a Claw Hold too. She lets go after a moment and hits a double lariat before tagging in Miu. Miu footstomps Nakajima and puts her in a stretch hold, kicks by Nakajima but Miu hits a missile dropkick. Vertical suplex by Miu, and she covers Nakajima for two. Miu goes off the ropes but Nakajima boots her in the head, she goes off the ropes and hits a sliding kick. Nakajima goes up top and delivers a missile dropkick, picking up a two count. Waistlock by Nakajima but Miu elbows out of it, she goes off the ropes but Nakajima catches her with a bridging fallaway slam.

Nakajima tags KAZUKI, gutbuster by KAZUKI and she covers Miu for two. Double kneedrop by KAZUKI, Hagane and Nakajima run in and they all hit running footstomps onto Miu. KAZUKI puts Miu across the corner and hits a double kneedrop, reverse splash kneedrop by KAZUKI and she covers Miu for a two count. Miu slides away from KAZUKI, Bolshoi hits KAZUKI from the apron and Miu rolls her up for two. Sliding D by Miu, she goes up top and hits a missile dropkick. Miu tags Bolshoi, DDT by Bolshoi and she covers Miu for a two count. Knee by Bolshoi but KAZUKI knees her back, Hagane and Nakajima come in but Bolshoi takes care of all three of them. Miu also comes in to help, Kansai then comes in and Team Bolshoi all apply submission holds. After they released the holds, KAZUKI quickly fights back and Bolshoi and makes the hot tag to Hagane. Shoulderblock by Hagane and she hits a powerslam, picking up a two count. Reverse Splash by Hagane, but that gets a two as well. She goes up top but Bolshoi avoids the diving body press, La Magistral by Bolshoi but KAZUKI gets a shoulder up. Bolshoi tags Kansai, high kick by Kansai but Hagane lariats Kansai for two. Backdrop suplex by Kansai, but the cover is broken up. Kansai tags in Bolshoi, KAZUKI runs in as things back down. KAZUKI is isolated, Tiger Feint Kick by Bolshoi and she hits a palm strike. Bolshoi goes for a headscissors but KAZUKI blocks it into a backbreaker, Miu comes in and suplexes Bolshoi, then Hagane levels her with a lariat. Hagane picks up Bolshoi but Bolshoi whips off a hurricanrana, she goes off the ropes but Hagane hits a hard lariat. Hagane goes up top but Miu and Kansai run in to help. Splash Mountain by Kansai to Hagane, Bolshoi picks her up and she delivers a Tiger Suplex Hold for the three count! Bolshoi, Kansai, and Miu win the match.

Normally I am pretty talkative but there isn’t a lot to say about this match. It had some good wrestlers with some good action, but is just an incredibly forgettable match. There was little structure or rhythm, and neither team seemed to have a plan to win (or a real reason to care if they won). It wasn’t poorly worked, no mistakes or miscues, it just wasn’t overly inspired. Just a standard midcard multi-wrestler tag match.

(c) Kyoko Kimura vs. Manami Katsu
JWP Openweight Championship

Kyoko quickly takes the young challenger to the mat and controls the early portion of the match, Kyoko stomps on Manami and elbows her hard into the ropes. Kyoko throws Manami into the corner but Manami avoids her charge and hits a strong elbow followed by a dropkick. Manami goes up top and hits a missile dropkick, Manami applies a double underhook but Kyoko tosses her way out of the move attempt. Back up they trade elbows, Manami knees Kyoko in the back and she hits the double underhook into a backbreaker for a two count. Crab hold by Manami but Kyoko gets out of it and applies a crab hold of her own. Manami reverses it into a roll-up for a two count, Kyoko gets Manami’s back and applies a sleeper but Manami eventually gets to the ropes to force a break. Stomps by Kyoko but Manami hits a quick Inazuma Buster (Michinoku Driver), leaving both wrestlers on the mat. They slowly get up and trade elbows, they go off the ropes and Manami delivers a running knee to the chest. Manami gets on the top turnbuckle and hits a diving elbow drop, covering Kyoko for two. Manami picks up Kyoko and hits another Inazuma Buster but Kyoko gets a guillotine choke applied. Kyoko picks up Manami and delivers a side suplex, cover by Kyoko but Manami bridges out of it. Kyoko goes up top but Manami recovers and joins her, elbows to the back of the head by Manami and she hits an avalanche Tiger Suplex. Cover by Manami, but Kyoko kicks out. Manami goes for the Orange☆Blossom but Kyoko headbutts out of it, another headbutt by Kyoko and she covers Manami for two. Back up, chops by Kyoko and she goes off the ropes, but Manami catches her with a spinning back elbow. Manami goes off the ropes but Kyoko nails a big boot to the head, and she picks up the three count! Kyoko Kimura is still the champion.

Even though my description of what happened above is short, it was actually a pretty long match at over 21 minutes. Just not a lot happened. Manami never really felt like she was a legitimate challenger, she got in a few good moves and nearfalls as you’d expect in a title match but she never strung together enough offense that I thought she had a chance of winning. Kyoko didn’t give Manami much, she dominated the mat work and 90% of the strike work, and put away Manami after just one big boot when generally in bigger matches it takes a couple of those for her to pick up the win. It never really felt like a title match, overall just a bit flat and uneventful.

On paper this was the end of the show, but Rabbit Miu gets in the ring and grabs the microphone. I don’t know what she said exactly, but I assume she challenged Kyoko to a title match and Kyoko accepts.

(c) Kyoko Kimura vs. Rabbit Miu
JWP Openweight Championship

Miu smartly goes right after Kyoko since she is still a bit tired from her previous match, Miu rolls up Kyoko a few times but Kyoko kicks out. Elbow Smash by Miu and she hits a series of footstomps, she goes up top but Kyoko avoids the diving footstomp. Kick to the knee by Kyoko but Miu fires back with elbows, German Suplex by Miu but it gets two. Miu goes to the top turnbuckle and nails the diving footstomp, she picks up Kyoko and delivers the Rabbit Suplex for another two count. Elbows by Miu but Kyoko hits a Chokebomb, leaving both wrestlers hurt on the mat. Kyoko boots at Miu’s head, she picks up Miu and goes for a sleeper, but Miu rolls out of it and hits a running Rabbit Roll for a two count. She goes for another Rabbit Suplex but Kyoko blocks it and hits a shoulder backbreaker. Side suplex by Kyoko and she puts Miu in the Kimura Lock, Miu struggles for a moment before she has to submit! Kyoko again retains her championship!

A short match but I actually enjoyed this one more than the Manami Katsu defense. Miu was non-stop as she tried to take advantage of the fact that Kyoko was already hurt, and she hit all her bigger moves to try to score the upset victory. Kyoko was also more focused, no long submission segments or anything like that, as both were going straight for the win. Its hard to really recommend a five minute match but this was a quality sprint and a much better way to end the show.   Mildly Recommended

The post JWP Fly High in the 25th Anniversary on 10/20/16 Review appeared first on Joshi City.

There are small shows and there are really small shows, and this one falls in the latter category. It is unusual as there is a title match, but it is only a four match card and they are in one of the smaller arenas that they wrestle in. The show is really all about the main event, pitting Fujimoto and Matsumoto against each other in both of their anniversaries, but all the other Ice Ribbon regulars are wrestling as well. Here is the full card:

• Maika Ozaki vs. Tsukushi
• 235 and Risa Sera vs. Hiragi Kurumi and Maruko Nagasaki
• Hamuko Hoshi and Kyuri vs. Maya Yukihi and Mochi Miyagi
• ICExInfinity Championship: Tsukasa Fujimoto vs. Miyako Matsumoto

Remember you can click on the names above to go to their profile on Joshi City.

Maika Ozaki vs. Tsukushi

Tsukushi and Ozaki circle each other to begin and trade wristlocks, Tsukushi kicks Ozaki to the mat and flings her down by the hair. Tsukushi runs on Ozaki’s back and puts her in a camel clutch, she then picks her up and rakes her face in the ropes. Dropkick by Tsukushi but Ozaki hits a series of shoulderblocks, cover by Ozaki but it gets two. Senton by Ozaki but Tsukushi blocks it when Ozaki tries to put her on her shoulders. Tsukushi applies a stretch hold but Ozaki gets a foot into the ropes to force a break, dropkick by Tsukushi but Ozaki hits a lariat. Ozaki gets Tsukushi on her shoulders and applies an Argentine Backbreaker, she throws her off and hits a trio of lariats but Tsukushi barely kicks out of the cover. Ozaki gets on the second turnbuckle but Tsukushi avoids the diving senton, footstomp by Tsukushi and she dropkicks Ozaki in the corner. Dropkick by Tsukushi, she goes up top and she hits a missile dropkick for a two count cover. Tsukushi goes up top and nails a diving footstomp, and she gets the three count cover! Tsukushi is the winner!

A pretty basic opener. I don’t think I have seen Ozaki before, she seems fine and does more power moves than I am used to seeing from the other Actress girl’Z wrestlers. Tsukushi has a lot of spunk but this was a more based match than I am used to seeing from her, they slowed it down a bit considering the match placement on the card. Not a bad way to start but nothing special.

235 and Risa Sera vs. Hiragi Kurumi and Maruko Nagasaki

Nagasaki and 235 start but Sera comes in with a water gun. Mio stops her from using it, Kurumi gets in the ring and Sera is double teamed in the corner. Kurumi throws Nagasaki onto 235 and then hits a footstomp, Nagasaki picks up 235 but 235 slams her and tags in Sera. Sera puts Nagasaki in a crab hold and then into the Rocking Horse, double knee drop by Sera and she covers Nagasaki for two. Nagasaki fights off Sera with elbows and they trade shots, Sera throws Nagasaki into the corner but Nagasaki blocks her charge and they fall to the mat. Sera puts Nagasaki in an elevated crab hold but Kurumi breaks it up, Nagasaki dropkicks Sera and she makes the hot tag to Kurumi. Shoulderblocks by Kurumi and she hits a somersault senton, picking up a two count.

Hard shoulderblock by Kurumi, Sera tags in 235 but Kurumi catches her when she goes for a crossbody. Sera runs over and kicks Kurumi over, they throw Kurumi into the corner and they hit running strikes. Sera swings 235 into Kurumi, cover by 235 but Kurumi kicks out. 235 gets on the top turnbuckle and hits a diving crossbody, but the pin is broken up. Back up, elbows by 235 but Kurumi elbows her back, cannonball by Kurumi and she gets a two count cover. Kurumi picks up 235 but 235 sneaks in a sunset flip for two, 235 goes off the ropes but Kurumi hits a swinging side slam. Kurumi gets Sera and Nagasaki on her back, she walks over to 235 and she hits a body press, but 235 barely gets a shoulder up. Kurumi goes up to the top turnbuckle and nails a diving body press, picking up the three count cover! Kurumi and Nagasaki are the winners!

This wasn’t great for a number of reasons. For wrestlers that interact quite a bit they didn’t have great chemistry, and a few of the sections looked clunky. On top of that, 235 just looked off most of the match and several exchanges looked botched. Kurumi and Sera are both great and had their good spots, but overall very skippable.

Hamuko Hoshi and Kyuri vs. Maya Yukihi and Mochi Miyagi

Hoshi and Kyuri charge their opponents to start and double team Yukihi and Miyagi, Hoshi stays in with Yukihi and they trade wristlocks. Yukihi tags in Miyagi, Miyagi spins Hoshi around but just makes herself dizzy in the process. They pose a bit because that is what they do but Yukihi and Kyuri run in to break it up. Hoshi tags in Kyuri, dropkick by Kyuri to Miyagi and she kicks her repeatedly in the back before hitting a PK for two. Miyagi gets away and tags in Yukihi, kicks by Yukihi to Kyuri and she hits a scoop slam. Miyagi comes in and they dance around Kyuri, but Kyuri avoids the double body press attempt. Hoshi comes in and Yukihi is double teamed, Kyuri officially tags in Hoshi and Hoshi puts Yukihi in a crab hold. She gets out of it, waist lock by Yukihi and she puts Hoshi in a Cobra Twist. Miyagi puts Kyuri in one as well, Hoshi goes off the ropes but Yukihi catches her with a big kick to the head.

Yukihi tags in Miyagi, seated sentons by Miyagi to Hoshi but Hoshi elbows her and they trade elbows. DDT by Miyagi but Hoshi blocks the Shining Belly Block. Body Block by Hoshi, she gets on the top turnbuckle but Miyagi brings her back down and goes for a double underhook facebuster. Hoshi blocks it and tags in Kyuri, lariats by Kyuri to Miyagi and she puts Miyagi in a cross arm submission. Tiger Feint Kick by Kyuri to Miyagi, and she covers her for two. Kyuri goes up top but Yukihi grabs her from the apron, allowing Miyagi to throw Kyuri to the mat. Shining Wizard by Miyagi to Kyuri, but it only gets a two count. Miyagi goes up top but Hoshi hits her from the apron with a red ball. Kyuri hits Miyagi repeatedly with her red ball of doom, then Hoshi comes in and hits a lariat. Kyuri goes up top and hits a diving crossbody on Miyagi, but the cover gets two. Kyuri goes off the ropes but Miyagi hits a Lou Thesz Press, Miyakoko Clutch by Miyagi and she gets the three count! Yukihi and Miyagi win!

Like the last match, some good and some bad with nothing being really memorable. Really none of these four are great wrestlers so expectations were already low. Kyuri and Yukihi are still young so I won’t hold it against them (although I don’t think Yukihi has shown much progress), while Miyagi and Hoshi are half comedy wrestlers so their matches tend to be oddly structured. Maybe an average match but that is about it.

(c) Tsukasa Fujimoto vs. Miyako Matsumoto

They begin with intro submission trading and tie-ups, Matsumoto gets out of the ring and jumps on the microphone and whatever she said pissed off Fujimoto as she ran out after her. Matsumoto throws water at Fujimoto and the crowd, they put hats on and generally mess around with props at ringside. This is about what I was expecting on the serious-scale. Matsumoto does suplex Fujimoto in the stand which sounds like a real move but it was a super slow motion suplex that looked silly. They finally return to the ring after a few minutes and Fujimoto dropkicks Matsumoto in the ropes, but Matsumoto applies a hanging armbar. Face crusher by Matsumoto and she nails the Shining Wizard, but Fujimoto kicks out at two. Matsumoto gets on the top turnbuckle, but Fujimoto shakes the ropes to knock her off.

Dropkick by Fujimoto in the corner and she hits another one, missile dropkick by Fujimoto and she puts Matsumoto in a facelock. Matsumoto gets into the ropes, Fujimoto puts Matsumoto on her shoulders but Matsumoto slides off and the pair trade elbows. Double underhook facebuster by Matsumoto, she picks up Fujimoto and but Fujimoto blocks the Rainmaker. Fujimoto goes off the ropes but Matsumoto ducks the elbow and hits the Rainmaker this time, but it only gets two. Double underhook side slam by Matsumoto, she goes off the ropes but Fujimoto rolls her up for two. Kicks to the back by Fujimoto and she hits two PKs, but Matsumoto gets a shoulder up. Fujimoto gets Matsumoto up on her shoulders but Matsumoto gets away and applies the Gedo Clutch for a two count. Enzuigiri by Fujimoto and she hits the Venus Shoot out of the corner. Fujimoto goes up to the top turnbuckle and she deliver the Mamamia Z for the three count! Fujimoto retains the championship.

Hmmm well, I will say that once they got the silliness out of the way, it was a ‘normal’ title match the last half of it with both doing their damnedest to win. I still couldn’t really buy Matsumoto as a threat, she has just been a midcard type half-comedy wrestler for too long and Fujimoto is the veteran ace of Ice Ribbon, so her losing here would have been quite the shock. They actually did work really well together and it never felt awkward/forced which is a plus, and if they had trimmed down the outside-the-ring portion it would have been a pretty solid match. Not a bad main event for a small house show, and Fujimoto is awesome, but overall not exactly a high end title match even though it had its entertaining sections.  Mildly Recommended

The post Ice Ribbon “New Ice Ribbon #748” on 8/23/16 Review appeared first on Joshi City.

Event: Ice Ribbon “10th Anniversary Show”
Date: May 4th, 2016
Location: Yokohama Bunka Gymnasium in Kanagawa, Japan
Announced Attendance: 1,552

Welcome to the biggest Joshi event so far in 2016! As the name of the show implies, this is Ice Ribbon’s 10th Anniversary show, and they pulled out all the stops. The big story coming into the show was the return of Emi Sakura, one of the original founders and trainers of Ice Ribbon that left the promotion back in 2012. This isn’t a full time return, she just came back for the Anniversary show and it wouldn’t have been the same without her as she had such a big role for much of the promotion’s history. We also get a Meiko Satomura appearance and for some reason Kazunari Murakami showed up. Here is the full card:

• Bete Noire, Hiroyo Matsumoto, and Maruko Nagasaki vs. Hiroe Nagahama, Makoto, and Ryo Mizunami
• GENTARO and Takashi Sasaki vs. Isami Kodaka and Yuko Miyamoto vs. Miyako Matsumoto, 235, and Ueki vs. Papillon Akemi and Kazunari Murakami
• Akane Fujita, Hamuko Hoshi, and Mochi Miyagi vs. Kurumi, Manami Toyota, and Tequila Saya
• Triangle Ribbon Championship: Cherry vs. Misaki Ohata vs. Kyuri
• Kyoko Kimura vs. Maya Yukihi
• Meiko Satomura vs. Tsukushi
• Arisa Nakajima and Tsukasa Fujimoto vs. Nanae Takahashi and Emi Sakura
• ICExInfinity Championship: Risa Sera vs. Yuuka

You can click on the wrestler’s name above to go to their profile here on Joshi City, if I have one. I am going to go ahead and get this out of the way – the show aired on Samurai TV which means it was condensed to two hours. On top of that they still have the highlight packages, interviews, etc. so the in-ring time will be reduced which will lead to clipped matches. I don’t blame Ice Ribbon, yes if it was on Nico Nico it probably would air in full but no promotion is going to pass on being on a more popular channel. But it is still worth noting since this card had a lot of matches so many will be clipped.

Bete Noire, Matsumoto, and Maruko Nagasaki vs. Nagahama, Makoto, and Ryo Mizunami

We join this match in progress, with Nagasaki and Nagahama up on their respective teammates shoulders playing chicken. Nagasaki wins by taking off Nagahama’s armband, but she is attacked by Makoto and company. Makoto and Nagasaki stay in as legal and Makoto hits a rolling senton for two. Nagasaki sneaks in a schoolboy for two and Makoto tags in Nagahama, and Nagahama dropkicks Nagasaki. Bridging suplex by Nagahama, she picks up Nagasaki but Nagasaki quickly applies a wrist-clutch roll-up and picks up the three count! The Maruko Army wins!

This was extremely clipped so I can’t really give an opinion on the match, aside to say that I thought it was neat that the Ice Ribbon rookie got to pick up the win. I haven’t gotten a chance to see much of her but what we really briefly saw here she looks good. A waste of Matsumoto, Makoto, and Mizunami but what can ya do, all these early matches will be clipped something fierce.

GENTARO and Sasaki vs. Kodaka and Miyamoto vs. Matsumoto, 235, and Ueki vs. Papillon Akemi and Murakami

Murakami and Matsumoto start off, Matsumoto slaps Murakami and then runs like hell. Sound decision. But she isn’t running from him, but up to a mat up on the stage so they can grapple. Murakami goes after her and rakes her face on the ramp, but Akemi comes to her rescue and everyone beats down Murakami. Wrestlers are brawling everywhere, with some staying on up the stage while others are in the crowd, pins are apparently legal up on the stage where Murakami is grappling with random wrestlers. Matsumoto is insanely up in the bleachers, she stands up on the rail and dives down onto wrestlers on the floor. We clip ahead to Matsumoto being in the ring on the top rope, about to do a move on Akemi, but Murakami comes in so she hops down. Murakami sits down on Matsumoto in the corner, Matsumoto rolls up Murakami with assistance and everyone holds down Murakami for the three count! Matsumoto, 235, and Ueki win!

I know I didn’t need to do something resembling play by play, but if you have a certain favorite wrestler and you don’t see their name above, then they didn’t do a hell of a lot on what was shown. We got no guns which seems like a wasted opportunity and needless to say it was too clipped up to really get into. A few nice spots though, love Matsumoto’s dive off the balcony.

Akane Fujita, Hamuko Hoshi, and Mochi Miyagi vs. Kurumi, Manami Toyota, and Tequila Saya

This match actually starts from the beginning, with Hoshi and Kurumi trying to knock each other over with no luck. Kurumi is triple teamed and posed on, and we clip ahead to Kurumi hitting a powerslam on Fujita. Kurumi tagged Saya, crossbodies by Saya but she only gets a two on Hoshi. Dropkick by Saya, Fujita grabs Saya from the apron however and Hoshi hits a body avalanche. Hoshi tags Miyagi, Miyagi throws Saya into the corner so she can tag Kurumi back in. Chaos ensues as Saya and Toyota come in the ring, and Saya hits a diving crossbody. Missile dropkick by Kurumi to Miyagi, and she covers her for two. Kurumi goes up top and hits a flying body press, but the cover is broken up. Hoshi helps and throws Miyagi onto Kurumi, Fujita slams Kurumi and both Hoshi and Miyagi hit diving body presses. Miyagi picks up Kurumi but Kurumi kicks her and applies La Magistral for a two count. Lou Thesz Press by Miyagi and she hits another one for a two count. Miyagi goes up top and hits a guillotine leg drop for two. Cover by Miyagi on Kurumi, and she gets the three count! Fujita, Hoshi, and Miyagi win the match!

We got about half of this match, so we are getting better. It was clipped to highlight Kurumi, which is great as it is her first match back but it meant we didn’t get to see any Toyota which was sad. Kurumi did look really good in her return however, and for a fresh rookie, Saya did pretty well also. Hoshi and Miyagi are an acquired taste but are solid, and Fujita is fun as well. Too clipped up to recommend but it was nice to see Kurumi again.

(c) Cherry vs. Misaki Ohata vs. Kyuri

Kyuri is double teamed right off the bat, but then they turn on Cherry, which doesn’t go well as Cherry attacks them both in the corner. We clip ahead to Kyuri hitting a diving crossbody on both wrestlers, getting a two count on both. She hits another crossbody on Ohata before hitting a Back Stabber on Cherry, Ohata German suplexes Cherry onto Kyuri but it only gets two. Ohata picks up Cherry and hits a spinning chop followed by a dropkick, but Cherry dumps her out of the ring. Ne Kohistral by Kyuri on Cherry, and she gets the three count! Kyuri is the new champion!

While I doubt this match would have rocked my world anyway, it was only a five minute match and was clipped on top of that. I love Ohata so I hate seeing her in such a short match, but she did have the most memorable spot of the match so there is that. It isn’t worth skipping because it was too short, but if you are fan of any of these three there is not enough here to get excited about.

Kyoko Kimura vs. Maya Yukihi

Yukihi starts the match holding a whip and immediately uses it on Kimura, Ozaki gets up on the apron and helps as well until the referee finally calms things down. Yukihi looks like she is into S&M with the black outfit and the whip, which may or may not be what they are going for. Kicks by Yukihi and she hits a knee, Ozaki returns to the ring and she hits Kimura with a chain. Kimura knocks down Yukihi and jaws with Ozaki, boots by Kimura and she stomps on Yukihi’s face. Kimura gets a drink from a water bottle and slowly spits water onto Yukihi’s face, Yukihi doesn’t like that and fires up a bit and she hits a series of slaps. Lots of slaps by Yukihi. Yukihi goes up top and hits a somersault legdrop, cover by Yukihi but it gets two. Kimura slides behind Yukihi and applies a sleeper, Yukihi struggles but just as she is dozing off in runs Ozaki to break it up. Kimura and Ozaki trade elbows, Ozaki spits red mist into Kimura’s face and Yukihi rolls her up for a two count. Kicks by Yukihi, she covers Kimura but it gets another two. Yukihi gets a chain and hits Kimura in the head with it repeatedly, Ozaki holds Kimura but Yukihi kicks Ozaki by accident. Hard punch by Kimura and she hits a chokebomb, picking up a two count. Heel drop by Kimura and she puts Yukihi back in the sleeper, and this time no one is there to save Yukihi as she goes to sleep! Kimura gets the win.

This was clipped (I know I keep saying that but I don’t want people to think they are going to watch the full match), but I think we got the gist of it. I don’t… know if Yukihi is trying to be sexy with her black leather outfit as she whips people, but she is probably ticking off a few boxes of what some guys find desirable. Anyway, Yukihi still has issues with her strikes, her kicks and slaps both look weak. But when she wasn’t doing strikes, everything else worked well, with Kimura always being on point. Ozaki and Kimura had some good chemistry and the ending stretch was perfect. This is the best match of the card so far mostly due to Kimura, and overall it was entertaining.  Mildly Recommended

Meiko Satomura vs. Tsukushi

Satomura and Tsukushi start politely with a tie-up, Tsukushi dropkicks Satomura but Satomura shrugs it off. Satomura punches Tsukushi in the face but Tsukushi dropkicks her in the knee. Satomura blocks the hurricanrana and kicks Tsukushi in the head, sending her to the mat. Crab hold by Satomura and she applies a STF, she picks up Tsukushi and slams her hard back down. Short armbar by Satomura but Tsukushi inches to the ropes and forces the break. Satomura kicks Tsukushi in the chest but Tsukushi dropkicks her in the knee and hits another dropkick in the corner. Ankle hold by Tsukushi and she boots Satomura in the chest, she goes up top and she hits a missile dropkick. Tsukushi dropkicks Satomura in the corner but Satomura comes back with kicks. Hard elbow by Satomura but Tsukushi rolls Satomura to the mat and applies a kneelock. Satomura quickly reverses it but Tsukushi gets into the ropes, Tsukushi gets up and elbows Satomura but Satomura sends her back down. Tsukushi goes off the ropes but Satomura kicks her in the head, the referee starts a Ten Count but Tsukushi slowly gets up just to eat a backdrop suplex. Kicks to the chest by Satomura but Tsukushi elbows her and nails the tiger suplex hold for a nearfall. Tsukushi goes for the Harukaze but Satomura catches her legs and flings her to the mat, elbow by Satomura but Tsukushi slaps her. Harukaze by Tsukushi, but Satomura barely gets a shoulder up. Satomura gets away from Tsukushi and hits a Pele Kick, Death Valley Bomb by Satomura and she gets the three count! Meiko Satomura wins the match.

I liked this match a lot, I just wish that Tsukushi had gotten in a bit more. I know she is 18 and Satomura is… Satomura, but Tsukushi does have multiple title reigns so I wouldn’t have minded if she had a bit more success before losing. Tsukushi really only had two nearfalls, the rest of the match was her fighting an uphill battle. Which she did very well, and Satomura was deadly with her strikes in a very entertaining way. A match well worth watching, it just didn’t go to that next level to really pull me in.  Recommended

Arisa Nakajima and Tsukasa Fujimoto vs. Nanae Takahashi and Emi Sakura

Nakajima and Takahashi kick things off for their respective teams, they jockey for position on the mat but neither gets a clear advantage. Sakura and Fujimoto are tagged in as Sakura faces her trainee, elbows by Fujimoto and she dropkicks Sakura down. Sakura regains the advantage and slaps Fujimoto before tagging in Takahashi, backdrop suplex by Takahashi and she puts Fujimoto in a crab hold. Fujimoto gets to the ropes and Takahashi tags Sakura, Sakura throws down Fujimoto by the hair and chops her into the corner. Sakura puts Fujimoto in the Surfboard, stomps by Sakura and she slams Fujimoto to the mat. She tags Takahashi back in, elbows by Takahashi but Fujimoto returns fire. Fujimoto goes for a hurricanrana but Takahashi catches her and applies a crab hold. Fujimoto gets to the ropes and dropkicks Takahashi, giving her time to tag in Nakajima. Missile dropkick by Nakajima, Takahashi tags Sakura but Nakajima fights off both of them. German suplex by Nakajima to Takahashi and she hits running boots on both her opponents. Elbows by Nakajima to Takahashi but Takahashi slaps her and hits an assisted sidewalk slam for two. Sakura kicks Takahashi by accident, allowing Nakajima to hit a German suplex hold for two. Nakajima goes off the ropes but Takahashi catches her with a head kick, headbutt by Takahashi and she delivers a lariat. Nakajima crawls to her corner and tags Fujimoto, missile dropkick by Fujimoto but Takahashi slams her to the mat. Fujimoto elbows both Sakura and Takahashi, Sakura holds Fujimoto but Takahashi elbows Sakura by accident.

German suplex on Takahashi with a jackknife by Fujimoto, but it gets two. Fujimoto goes up top but Takahashi joins her and she delivers a superplex, sliding kick by Takahashi and she covers Fujimoto for two. Takahashi goes for a backdrop suplex but Fujimoto elbows out of it, Nakajima runs in but Takahashi hits a hard lariat on both of them. Spinning sit down powerbomb by Takahashi and she makes the tag to Sakura, Sakura picks up Fujimoto and hits a double underhook lift into a backbreaker. Another one by Sakura but Fujimoto gets back in control and kicks Sakura repeatedly in the chest and back. PK by Fujimoto, but it gets two so she hits another one. Takahashi breaks up the pin this time, Fujimoto goes for the Venus Shoot but Sakura reverses it with a powerbomb. Reverse Splash by Sakura, but Fujimoto bridges out of the pin. Kicks by Fujimoto, Sakura tries to return the favor but Nakajima runs in and catches her leg. Double missile dropkick to Sakura, but she kicks out of the pin. Venus Shoot attempt by Fujimoto but Sakura catches her ankle and applies a crab hold. Fujimoto eventually gets to the ropes, Nakajima is in the ring but Sakura superkicks her. Takahashi sits on the top turnbuckle, then Sakura Frankensteiners her onto Fujimoto. Sakura goes up top and hits the moonsault, but Nakajima breaks up the cover. Takahashi drops Nakajima with a backdrop suplex, Sakura goes back up top and both she and Takahashi hit diving body presses onto Best Friends. Sakura drags up Fujimoto and nails a Tiger Driver, but Fujimoto barely gets a shoulder up. She picks up Fujimoto again and drops her right on her head with a backdrop suplex, but again it gets two. Sakura goes up top and calls for the Nyan Nyan Press, but Fujimoto is up and kicks her before she jumps off. Nakajima joins Sakura up top and hits a gutwrench suplex to the mat, Tsukadora by Fujimoto but Sakura barely kicks out. Tsukka-chan☆Bomb by Fujimoto, but this time Takahashi breaks it up. Takahashi elbows Fujimoto but Nakajima takes care of her, enzuigiri by Fujimoto and she finally hits the Venus Shoot for the three count! Best Friends win!

This match was awesome, I enjoyed every minute of it. I was concerned going in that Sakura had been ‘off the grid’ for so long (still wrestling but mostly for Gatoh Move which doesn’t have the same level of wrestlers as Best Friends are) that she would have issues keeping up, but those fears were unfounded. She was really motivated against her former trainee Fujimoto, and since that was the pairing for the majority of the match I have to assume she wanted to help put over her star pupil. Sakura had two different reversals the first two times Fujimoto went for the Venus Shoot but couldn’t block it the third time, and there were so many convincing nearfalls in this match. I also loved that Sakura/Takahashi had miscommunications but Best Friends didn’t, as the more experienced team was more on the same page than the team that hadn’t wrestled together in many years. Some of the moves were just sick in their execution, and everyone came out of it looking strong as even though Sakura got pinned she showed she can still hang with anyone. Her best match in years and overall just a must-see match with not only great wrestling but emotion and meaning as well.  Highly Recommended

(c) Risa Sera vs. Yuuka

Yuuka immediately rolls up Sera with a bridge for two, she goes for another one but Sera reverses it and they return to their feet. They grab each other by the hair until Sera flings Yuuka down and stomps her in the corner. Crab hold by Sera and she then puts Yuuka in the Rocking Horse, Sera goes for a double knee drop but Yuuka moves and dropkicks Sera out of the ring. Yuuka goes up to the top turnbuckle and she dives out onto Sera with a plancha, Yuuka slides Sera back in and goes up top, hitting a diving crossbody for two. Sera gets back up and they trade elbows, a hard elbow by Yuuka sends Sera to the mat and she covers her for two. Sera blocks Yuuka’s cross-legged move attempt and applies a high angle crab hold, but Yuuka gets to the ropes. Sera hits a reverse splash kneedrop to Yuuka’s back, elbow by Sera but Yuuka hits a tornado DDT out of the corner. Cross-legged suplex hold by Yuuka, but it gets two. Yuuka goes up top and hits the Angel Thunder, but again Sera gets a shoulder up. Yuuka kicks at Sera but Sera fights back with hard elbows to the back of the head. Falcon Arrow by Sera, she goes up top but Yuuka elbows her before she can jump off and joins her. Frankensteiner by Yuuka and she hits a cross-legged belly to back suplex hold for a nearfall. Sera catches Yuuka as she goes off the ropes with a fireman’s carry slam, she goes for the Ayers Rock but Yuuka reverses it with a roll-up. Sera elbows Yuuka down in the corner and hits a running double knee, Ayers Rock by Sera but Yuuka barely kicks out. Sera goes up top but Yuuka avoids the Diving Double Knee Drop, roll-up with a bridge by Yuuka but it gets two. A backslide with a bridge also gets two, Yuuka goes off the ropes but Sera catches her with an elbow. Ebisu Drop by Sera and she nails a sit-down powerbomb, but Yuuka kicks out. Sera goes up to the top turnbuckle and delivers the Diving Double Knee Drop, and she picks up the three count! Sera wins the match and is still the champion.

As I mentioned at the top, this was a rough spot for them. It was a perfectly fine match but it had little chance of being better than the two matches that came before it as while both have a lot of spunk they aren’t on the same level as Nakajima, Fujimoto, Sakura, etc. Yuuka in particular is still growing, seems like a bit of a stretch to put her in the main event of their biggest show but they must see a lot in her down the road. The emotion was there by the wrestlers and Sera has gotten a mean streak recently, but the transitions were shaky and I never brought into Yuuka having a chance of winning. Solid and fun, but that is about as far as it went.  Mildly Recommended

The post Ice Ribbon “10th Anniversary Show” on 5/4/16 Review appeared first on Joshi City.

There are a few things of note about this event. First, it is quite short, with only four matches and no title matches. Second, the main event is shown with a commentary box at the bottom of the screen which may be great if you understand Japanese but to me it is just distracting. That all sounds negative, which it is, but we also get a Syuri singles match which is awesome, don’t get to see her in 1 vs. 1 situations very often. Here is the full match listing:

• 235, Makoto, and Maruko Nagasaki vs. Akane Fujita, Kyuri, and Miyako Matsumoto
• Hamuko Hoshi and Mochi Miyagi vs. Hanako Nakamori and Yuuka
• Syuri vs. Tsukushi
• Arisa Nakajima and Tsukasa Fujimoto vs. Maya Yukihi and Risa Sera

Remember you can click on any of the names above to go to the wrestler’s profile. Quick show, let’s get right to it.

235, Makoto, and Maruko Nagasaki vs. Akane Fujita, Kyuri, and Miyako Matsumoto

Fujita and company charge their opponents to start but it doesn’t go well as Makoto and friends quickly take back over. Matsumoto ends up on the mat and all five of the other wrestlers dance around her, but Matsumoto moves as they all try to jump on her. Things settle down with Kyuri and 235 in the ring, Kyuri stretches 235 on the mat but Nagasaki breaks it up. Crossbodies by 235 to Kyuri but Kyuri applies a cross armbreaker, which is also broken up. 235 tags in Makoto and she works over young Kyuri, but Kyuri knocks Makoto to the mat. Backstabber by Kyuri and she rolls up Makoto, getting a two count cover. Makoto applies a sleeper but Kyuri gets out of it with a jawbreaker. Kyuri tags Fujita, elbow drop by Fujita to Makoto but Makoto hits a face crusher. Scoop slam by Makoto and she hits a cartwheel double knee drop for two.

Matsumoto runs in and hits a footstomp on Makoto, Fujita picks up Makoto but Makoto hits a butterfly suplex hold. Makoto tags Nagasaki, Nagasaki dropkicks Fujita but Fujita hits a scoop slam. Nagasaki wiggles away, thrust kick by Makoto to Fujita and 235 hits a diving crossbody. Uranage by Nagasaki to Fujita, but the pin is broken up. Over the shoulder slam by Fujita and she tags in Matsumoto, short armbar by Matsumoto and she applies a crossface, but Nagasaki gets to the ropes. Matsumoto and Fujita trade elbows, dropkick by Nagasaki and she goes up top, but Matsumoto avoids the missile dropkick. Fujita comes in and she slams Nagasaki, Matsumoto goes up top but Nagasaki gets her feet up when she dives off. Nagasaki goes for a few quick pins with no luck and all six wrestlers end up in the ring. Makoto spears both Fujita and Kyuri, Nagasaki grabs Matsumoto  but Matsumoto hits an extremely modified STO. Shining Wizard by Matsumoto and she gets the three count! Fujita, Kyuri, and Matsumoto are the winners.

Better than I was expecting, which I know is faint praise but at least it was pretty solid for an opener. Matsumoto’s comedy was kept really minimal which is fine with me as it gave Nagasaki and Fujita more time to work together. Makoto was really here just to hit a few spots and perhaps to help manage the match, she is on a different level than the other five so realistically there wasn’t a lot she was going to do within the match itself. Six wrestlers is a bit much for a sub-ten minute match as it makes it hard for any one wrestler to stand out but I thought that the rookie Nagasaki looked solid considering her experience level. Not a bad way to kick things off but nothing special either.

Hamuko Hoshi and Mochi Miyagi vs. Hanako Nakamori and Yuuka

Miyagi and Yuuka are the first two in but their tag partners come in too, Nakamura and Yuuka get their opponents in the ropes and kick them in the chest. The Lovely Butchers make a comeback and hit double face crushers, Miyagi puts Yuuka in the corner and Yuuka gets the double belly smush. Yuuka DDTs Miyagi  but Miyagi puts Yuuka in an Argentine Backbreaker, running belly smash by Miyagi and she covers Yuuka for two. Dropkick by Yuuka and she hits a tornado DDT for a two count, she tags in Nakamori who kicks Miyagi in the chest before hitting a leg drop. Stretch
hold by Nakamori but Miyagi gets out of it and hits a swinging side slam for two. Dragon screw by Miyagi, she goes up top and hits a reverse splash for a two count cover.

Miyagi tags Hoshi, she trades elbows with Nakamori until Nakamori hits a backdrop suplex, but Hoshi blocks the Shining Wizard attempt. Running belly smash by Hoshi, and she gets a two. Hoshi goes up top but Nakamori throws her off, high kick by Nakamori and she hits the Shining Wizard. Nakamori tags Yuuka, Yuuka elbows Hoshi but Hoshi hits a running belly smash. Double belly smash by Hoshi and Miyagi but Yuuka blocks the double backdrop suplex. Nakamori goes up top as does Yuuka, and both hit missile dropkicks. Yuuka tries to pick up Hoshi but can’t, Lou Thesz Press by Miyagi and Hoshi rolls over Yuuka for two. Nakamori kicks Hoshi and Yuuka rolls her up, but Miyagi breaks up the pin. Yuuka goes up top and hits a diving crossbody, but it gets only two. Hoshi lariats Yuuka, Samoan Drop by Hoshi but Yuuka kicks out of the cover. Miyagi goes up top and hits a diving body press, Hoshi then goes up and hits a diving body press as well, picking up the three count! The Lovely Butchers win the match.

This was a bit sloppy, with a number of moves just not being hit very smoothly. Most of them happened when Nakamori was in the ring, she just isn’t a very polished wrestler and a lot of what she does feels off. Hoshi and Miyagi aren’t my favorites anyway since they do stomach based offense… but they try to make it look serious instead of just being comedy so it comes across as odd. Yuuka I love but she wasn’t going to be able to save this match by herself. Limited redeeming qualities and a very skippable match.

Syuri vs. Tsukushi

They feel each other out to start, Syuri gets Tsukushi to the mat and twists on Tsukushi’s leg. They get back up and lock knuckles, Tsukushi takes Syuri down but Syuri quickly switches positions with her. Syuri works a headlock before kicking Tsukushi in the back, but Tsukushi returns to her feet and they circle each other again. Elbows by Tsukushi and she dropkicks Syuri through the ropes and to the floor. Back in, Stunner by Tsukushi and she runs on Syuri’s back before putting her in a stretch hold. Syuri slams Tsukushi and kicks her into the corner, running knee by Syuri and she covers Tsukushi for two. Sleeper by Syuri but Tsukushi gets a foot on the ropes, kicks by Syuri and she covers Tsukushi again for a two count. Syuri hits a jumping knee in the corner and hits a single arm suplex, Syuri goes for a cross armbreaker but Tsukushi gets a foot on the ropes. Syuri stomps Tsukushi but Tsukushi ducks a lariat and hits a headscissors.

Dropkick by Tsukushi and she dropkicks Syuri in the back for a two count cover. Syuri and Tsukushi trade elbows, knee by Syuri and she hits the PK for two. Tsukushi quickly rolls up Syuri and hits a footstomp, missile dropkick by Tsukushi but Syuri kicks out of the pin. Release German by Syuri but Tsukushi comes back with one of her own, and both wrestlers are down. They trade elbows on their knees and as they get back up, Tsukushi charges Syuri but Syuri kicks her in the head. Syuri applies the short armbar but Tsukushi rolls out of it and hits a hard elbow. Dropkick by Tsukushi but Syuri shrugs her off and hits a German suplex hold for two. Running knee to the chest by Syuri but Tsukushi catches the next kick and puts Syuri in an ankle hold. Syuri gets into the ropes to break the hold, Tsukushi grabs Syuri and hits a scoop slam before going up top, delivering the diving footstomp for a two count. German suplex hold by Syuri and she nails a running knee, but the bell rings as time has expired. The match is a Draw.

The best part of this match was just getting to see Syuri do her thing for 15 minutes, she is one of the best strike/submission wrestlers in Japan. Tsukushi kept up pretty well which is a credit to her and it was a really smooth match. Some of the transitions were a bit shaky however and I still am not a fan of draws unless there is a storyline reason for it. No reason for Syuri not to win here as there will likely never be a re-match anyway, but I guess they didn’t want their young star to lose to the outsider. A really solid match overall, but with a few small improvements it would have been really top notch.  Recommended

Arisa Nakajima and Tsukasa Fujimoto vs. Maya Yukihi and Risa Sera

Sera and Yukihi charge their opponents as soon as the bell rings but the veterans quickly take back over and double team Sera. Fujimoto kicks Sera in the back and applies a stretch hold before throwing her to the mat by her hair. Sera comes back with a dropkick and tags Yukihi, but Fujimoto promptly slams her and tags Nakajima. Nakajima tosses Yukihi around and hits a combination of strikes, she puts Yukihi in the ropes and hits a dropkick to the back. Yukihi fights back but Fujimoto dropkicks her, Irish whip by Fujimoto and she hits another dropkick for a two count. Nakajima returns and puts Yukihi in a crab hold, suplex by Nakajima and she covers Yukihi for two. Jumping knee by Nakajima in the corner and she hits a double underhook suplex. Knees by Nakajima and she boots Yukihi in the face. Another boot by Nakajima but Sera runs in, Yukihi hits a STO and tags Sera. Sera dropkicks Nakajima but Fujimoto runs in, Sera puts both her opponents in the corner and hits a running knee to the stomach. Sera puts Nakajima in a crab hold and then into the Rocking Horse. Double knee drops by Sera and she goes for a swinging side slam, but Nakajima reverses it. Fujimoto runs in and kicks Sera, Nakajima does the same and covers Sera for two. Back up they trade elbows, and Nakajima catches Sera with a bridging fallaway slam for two. Fujimoto is tagged in, Nakajima runs back into the ring and kicks Sera in the head. Double dropkick to Sera and they go up top, but Yukihi comes in the ring and they throw Best Friends off the top turnbuckles.

Nakajima and Fujimoto are thrown into the same corner and hit with running strikes, Fujimoto goes for a hurricanrana on Sera but Sera catches her and applies a crab hold. Sera kicks Fujimoto into the corner and hits a running knee, full nelson slam by Sera and she gets a two count. Enzuigiri by Fujimoto, Nakajima runs in and suplexes Sera and Fujimoto applies a Jackknife for two. Sera picks up Fujimoto and hits a reverse neckbreaker, she hits a reverse double knee drop and covers Fujimoto for two. Sera tags in Yukihi and hits a few shoulderblocks but Fujimoto knocks her back and they trade elbows. Sera runs in and Fujimoto eats a double dropkick. They go for a double chokeslam but Fujimoto flips out of it and hits a double dropkick. Nakajima comes in and Yukihi is double teamed in the corner, they both go up top and hit double missile dropkicks for a two count cover. Fujimoto puts Yukihi in a cross-arm submission, Nakajima goes up top and she hits a diving crossbody. Fujimoto goes up top but Sera catches her when she jumps up and nails Ayers Rock. Yukihi kicks Fujimoto in the head, Sera comes in and they hit a double chokeslam. Yukihi goes up top and hits a somersault senton, Fujimoto fights back with elbows but Yukihi nails her with a high kick. Double underhook suplex by Yukihi, but Fujimoto kicks out. Yukihi picks up Fujimoto but she slides away, Fujimoto rolls up Yukihi and she gets a two count. Fujimoto goes up top and hits a diving neckbreaker to Yukihi, picking up a two. Fujimoto the Venus Shoot out of the corner, and she picks up the three count! Nakajima and Fujimoto win the match!

This was good but was missing something to take it to the next level. I don’t think that Yukihi is quite ready for this spot, there were several places that they didn’t seem to be on the same page and the match wasn’t the usual smoothness that I’ve come to expect from Joshi matches. There were also some really iffy transitions, for example towards the end when Fujimoto quickly recovered after Yukihi hit a combination of some of her better moves. I still enjoyed it as Nakajima and Fujimoto are top notch, but it was lacking in quite a few areas.  Mildly Recommended

The post Ice Ribbon on 2/6/16 Review appeared first on Joshi City.

Championships Held: Triangle Ribbon Championship and the International Ribbon Tag Team Championship
Tournaments Won: None
Awards Won: None

Notable Matches:

• May 4th, 2016 vs. Cherry vs. Misaki Ohata  (title win)
• September 17th, 2016 vs. Tsukasa Fujimoto  (title challenge)
• December 31st, 2018 with Maika Ozaki vs. Hamuko Hoshi and Mochi Miyagi  (title win)
• August 14th, 2019 vs. Tsukasa Fujimoto

Signature Moves:

• 619
• Back Cracker
• Blockbuster Hold
• Diving Crossbody
• Fisherman’s Suplex
• Kyuri Buster (Ki Crusher)
• Ne Kohistral
• Sling Blade
• Stretch Muffler

Sample of Matches Reviewed on Joshi City:

• February 6th, 2016 – 235, Makoto, and Maruko Nagasaki vs. Akane Fujita, Kyuri, and Miyako Matsumoto in Ice Ribbon
• May 4th, 2016 – Cherry vs. Misaki Ohata vs. Kyuri in Ice Ribbon
• August 23rd, 2016 – Hamuko Hoshi and Kyuri vs. Maya Yukihi and Mochi Miyagi in Ice Ribbon
• October 20th, 2016 – Kyuri vs. Leon in JWP
• April 29th, 2017 – Kyuri vs. Tsukushi in Ice Ribbon
• June 22nd, 2017 – Kyuri and Mio Momono vs. Yuki Miyazaki and Yumi Ohka in WAVE
• August 8th, 2018 – Kyuri, Mio Momono, and Nyla Rose vs. Rina Yamashita, Rin Kadokura, and Sareee in Marvelous
• May 25th, 2019 – Kyuri and Miyuki Takase vs. Makoto and Tsukushi in Ice Ribbon

In Action:

Blockbuster Hold

Diving Crossbody

Kyuri Buster

Back to Joshi Freelancers

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