Event: Pro Wrestling WAVE “Catch The Wave Final”
Date: July 1st, 2021
Location: Shinjuku FACE in Tokyo, Japan
Announced Attendance: 180
Broadcast: Streamed on Confetti Web

After a long break, I have finally grabbed a Pro Wrestling WAVE event to review! There are a few reasons I don’t watch WAVE often. A big one is as WAVE has no TV deal or regular streaming service, not as many of their shows are readily available. WAVE has been streaming off and on this year on a service called Confetti Web, but its expensive, ranging from $20 to $35 a show. Which I consider expensive due to the other reason I don’t watch much WAVE, which is that their base roster is lackluster so they depend on having quality wrestlers from other places to prop up their shows. Plus, some of their matches tend to be a bit too goofy for my personal taste. Luckily, for Catch the WAVE they did bring in quality outsiders, and this is a full event with six matches. So it could be fun. Here is the full card:

• Tomoko Watanabe vs. Shizuku Tsukata
• Catch The WAVE 2021 Semi Final: Nagisa Nozaki vs. Miyuki Takase
• Catch The WAVE 2021 Semi Final: Kaori Yoneyama vs. Rin Kadokura
• Itsuki Aoki, YAKO, and Yuu vs. SAKI, Yappy, and Yumi Ohka
• Ami Miura, Mio Momono, and Momo Kohgo vs. Hibiscus Mii, Sakura Hirota, and Yuki Miyazaki
• Catch The WAVE 2021 Final: Rin Kadokura vs. Miyuki Takase

All wrestlers on the show have a profile on Joshi City, you can click on their name above to go straight to it. As this match streamed via an online service, all matches will be shown in full.

Tomoko Watanabe vs. Shizuku Tsukata
We kick off the show with a very traditional veteran vs. rookie match. Tomoko Watanabe is on the Legend tier of veterans, as she has had over a dozen title reigns in a 30 year career. She comes in from Marvelous to take on WAVE’s newest wrestler, as Shizuku just debuted in April. She isn’t a kid, which will help her not get completely squashed, but this will likely still be a one-sided affair. But hopefully the rookie will learn a thing or two in defeat.

Shizuku offers a handshake to start but instead throws Watanabe into the corner, dropkick by Shizuku but Watanabe dropkicks her back. Scoop slam by Watanabe and she hits an elbow drop off the side ropes for a two count. Shizuku gets back up and elbows Watanabe to the ropes, dropkick by Watanabe but Watanabe stays up. Shizuku goes for a scoop slam but Watanabe blocks it, camel clutch by Watanabe but she lets go after a moment so she can apply a single leg crab hold. Shizuku crawls to the ropes to force the break, Watanabe picks up Shizuku and hits a vertical suplex. Watanabe puts the crab hold back on but Watanabe gets a foot on the ropes, Watanabe drags Shizuku back to the middle of the ring and puts her in a stretch hold. She switches to a bodyscissors but Shizuku rolls out of it and hits a series of mounted elbows. Shizuku picks up Watanabe but still can’t slam her, scoop slam by Watanabe and she knees Shizuku in the midsection. Watanabe picks up Shizuku, Shizuku fights back with elbows but again Watanabe slams her.

Shizuku returns to her feet quickly and hits more elbows, but gets slammed for her trouble. Shizuku slowly gets up and hits a few elbows, Watanabe goes for a slam but Shizuku lands on top of her. Dropkicks by Shizuku but Watanabe swats one away and puts her in a single leg crab hold. Shizuku gets to the ropes for the break, Watanabe pulls her back but Shizuku cradles her for two. Shizuku goes off the ropes and hits a dropkick, but Watanabe boots her to the mat for a two count. Irish whip by Watanabe to the corner but Shizuku dropkicks her, cover by Shizuku but it gets two. Shizuku hops up to the second turnbuckle but Watanabe catches her crossbody attempt and slams her to the mat. Watanabe goes to the second turnbuckle and hits a bodypress, cover by Watanabe but it only gets two. Watanabe picks up Shizuku but Shizuku sneaks in a backslide for two, lariat by Watanabe and she puts Shizuku in a Sharpshooter. Shizuku doesn’t struggle for long before tapping out! Tomoko Watanabe is the winner.

This was a very “by the numbers” veteran vs. rookie match. Which isn’t necessarily bad, this has been the trusted formula since the beginning of wrestling to help bring along new wrestlers. Watanabe dominated, Shizuku got in some hope spots, but ultimately Watanabe was too much for the young wrestler and put her away. A simple but logical story. Too soon to tell what Shizuku’s future in wrestling will be, but not a bad way to start the event.

Nagisa Nozaki vs. Miyuki Takase
Catch The WAVE 2021 Semi Final
The next two matches will determine who will wrestle in the tournament finals later tonight. Even though Miyuki Takase is affiliated with Actwres girl’Z, she has always been connected with WAVE too as she has wrestled a lot in WAVE since her debut in 2017. In fact she has wrestled in WAVE more than Actwres girl’Z in her career and did some training there as well, so WAVE is her home away from home. She is against Nagisa Nozaki, who is one of the top wrestlers in this “new” version of WAVE and she held their top title for almost the entirety of 2020. Both Nagisa and Miyuki are talented and would fit in well in the Finals of the tournament.

They charge each other to start as they get right into it, Nagisa boots back Miyuki repeatedly but Miyuki catches one and dropkicks Nagisa in the knee. Miyuki charges Nagisa but Nagisa moves, and she dumps Miyuki out onto the apron. Nagisa goes for a big boot but Miyuki moves, with Nagisa’s leg getting caught over the top rope. Miyuki takes advantage of this and starts working on Nagisa’s leg, Nagisa falls out of the ring after a moment and Miyuki goes after her. Kick by Nagisa and she boots Miyuki in the head, she waits for Miyuki to get up and charges her but Miyuki delivers a powerslam. Miyuki slams Nagisa’s knee into the floor before sliding her back into the ring, Miyuki drags Nagisa’s leg to the ring post and slams her knee repeatedly into it. Back in, Miyuki keeps up the leg work, cover by Miyuki but it gets two. Miyuki picks up Nagisa but Nagisa boots her away, elbow by Miyuki but Nagisa slaps on the sleeper. Miyuki drives Nagisa into the corner to break up the hold, dropkick by Miyuki off the second turnbuckle and she hits a lariat in the corner. Second turnbuckle elbow strike by Miyuki, and she covers Nagisa for two. Miyuki goes to the top turnbuckle but Nagisa elbows her and joins her, hitting a superplex down to the mat. Somato by Nagisa, but it gets a two count. A sliding kick by Nagisa follows, but that gets a two as well so Nagisa slaps on a sleeper hold. Miyuki struggles back up but Nagisa hits a STO before re-applying the hold. Miyuki is too close to the ropes however and makes it there for the break, kick to the ribs by Nagisa and she goes to the top turnbuckle.

Miyuki grabs her before she can jump off and climbs up as well, headbutt by Miyuki and she powerslams Nagisa back to the mat for a two count. Miyuki puts Nagisa in a submission but Nagisa is by the ropes and grabs the bottom one for the break. Miyuki charges Nagisa and hits a lariat, another lariat by Miyuki and she covers Nagisa for two. Miyuki picks up Nagisa and hits the Kamikaze, diving guillotine leg drop by Miyuki off the second turnbuckle but Nagisa barely kicks out. Vertical suplex by Miyuki, she drags up Nagisa but Nagisa fights her off. Miyuki charges Nagisa but Nagisa boots her in the face, Ripcord Boot by Nagisa and she hits another, but Miyuki blocks the third attempt and delivers a lariat. Both wrestlers are down on the mat and slowly get up at the same time, trading elbows in the process. Miyuki charges Nagisa but Nagisa blocks the lariat and rolls Miyuki to the mat, applying the sleeper. Miyuki almost goes out but gets a foot on the ropes right before doing so, Nagisa picks up Miyuki and nails a series of sliding kicks. Nagisa drags up Miyuki and hits a final sliding kick, but Miyuki barely kicks out. Nagisa waits for Miyuki to get up but Miyuki catches her with a Samoan Driver, lariat by Miyuki and she covers Nagisa for two. Miyuki drags Nagisa near the corner, she goes to the second turnbuckle and hits a guillotine legdrop, but Nagisa kicks out. Miyuki goes off the ropes but Nagisa boots her in the head, getting a two count of her own. Nagisa goes off the ropes but eats a lariat, Nagisa strikes back with another jumping kick but Miyuki returns fire with a lariat. Twister vertical suplex by Miyuki, she goes up to the top turnbuckle and nails the guillotine legdrop, picking up the three count! Miyuki Takase wins and advances to the Catch The WAVE 2021 Finale!

This match wasn’t without its issues but it was still entertaining. They went heavy into the move spam overkill, which is a little excessive for the second match on the card. I don’t mind overkill in the right situations but the repetitive moves and nearfalls is better suited for the main event. I also wish Nagisa had done a bit more to sell the leg with Miyuki’s work on it, but she didn’t seem phased a bit. That being said, this was a really fast paced and counter-full match and they have good chemistry together, so the action was smooth. Nagisa got a lot of very convincing nearfalls (and her sleeper is a legitimate finisher), so it felt like a very even match throughout that either wrestler could win. I think these two could do better, but still a solid match overall and a fitting Semi Final match for the tournament.  Mildly Recommended

Kaori Yoneyama vs. Rin Kadokura
Catch The WAVE 2021 Semi Final
Now the second match of the Catch the WAVE Semi Finals. These two are in very different phases of their careers. Kaori Yoneyama, better known to some fans as Fukigen Death in Stardom, is a respected veteran but has settled more into the “trainer” role that some vets opt for as she seems more interested in helping the next wave of wrestlers than going around and winning big matches. Which certainly is her choice to make, as she has been wrestling for over 20 years. Rin Kadokura is a young and far less experienced wrestler from Marvelous – she has had some injury issues in her career but has shown a lot of promise. Rin winning would make more sense, but its hard to count out someone with Yoneyama’s credentials.

Yoneyama quickly goes for a few flash pins as the bell rings, Irish whip by Yoneyama but Rin blocks it and hits an elbow. Jumping lariat by Rin and she charges Yoneyama, but Yoneyama holds down the top rope and Rin tumbles down to the floor. Yoneyama goes out to the apron and attacks Rin with a jumping knee, she slides Rin back in and knees her in the back of the head. Yoneyama goes to the second turnbuckle and delivers a diving senton, but it gets a two count. She then goes all the way up but Rin recovers and joins her, Yoneyama knocks her back but Rin charges in again and this time hits the Frankensteiner. Rin goes to the second turnbuckle and hits a diving footstomp, but it gets a two count. Rin picks up Yoneyama but Yoneyama blocks the suplex, superkick by Rin but Yoneyama connects with a jumping back kick for two. Rin shrugs off Yoneyama, schoolboy by Rin and the two trade cradle attempts until Rin holds down Yoneyama for the three count! Rin Kadokura wins and advances to the Catch The WAVE Finale!

Too short to get excited about, I wouldn’t have minded if they went a bit longer even if they were going to go the flash pin route. As its a fluky win, it doesn’t really do much to boost Rin, and Yoneyama isn’t generally a wrestler that cares too much about being protected. “Surprise” type wins are normal in tournaments but usually more so in the points round. Nothing wrong with it, but if you were looking for a long exciting match between these two, they opted not to go in that direction and basically gave Rin a free pass to the finals.

Itsuki Aoki, YAKO, and Yuu vs. SAKI, Yappy, and Ohka
WAVE is giving Miyuki Takase and Rin Kadokura a break before they have to wrestle again, so we are going to have two tag matches now as filler. Only Yumi Ohka here is affiliated with Pro Wrestling WAVE, as everyone else is a Freelancer or part of another promotion. This is really just a collection of wrestlers in the Catch The WAVE Tournament that didn’t reach the Semi Finals that they decided to throw together in a tag match. Which is a perfectly fine way to fill out a card, but I’m not expecting top level chemistry with teams that were randomly assigned using wrestlers from various places.

Ohka runs over and boots Itsuki before the match even starts, running boot by Ohka to Itsuki and she leaves the ring so Yappy can take over. Yappy attacks Itsuki in the corner before sitting on her for a two count cover. Yappy gets Itsuki on her shoulders but Itsuki gets away and hits a running elbow followed by a face crusher. Body press by Itsuki and she tags in Yuu. Yuu picks up Yappy and chops her repeatedly, but Yappy ducks one and hits an elbow as the two trade shots. Yuu throws Yappy into the corner but Yappy butts her in the face when she charges in, hip attacks by Yappy and she hits a running one of the corner. Seated senton by Yappy and she covers Yuu for a two count. Yappy tags in SAKI, SAKI hits a series of boots to the head but Yuu catches one and hits a chop. Yuu goes for a senton but SAKI moves, Itsuki and YAKO come in however and all three take turns attacking SAKI. YAKO is tagged in once she returns to the apron, hip attack by YAKO but SAKI avoids her charge in the corner and hits a series of knees. Vertical suplex by SAKI but YAKO blocks her kick attempt and hits a DDT. Hip attack by YAKO but SAKI avoids the next one and with Ohka they take turns booting YAKO in the head. SAKI picks up YAKO, double Irish whip but YAKO hits a hip attack on both of them.

YAKO talks a bit but Itsuki and Yuu don’t like whatever she is saying and both attack her. YAKO is thrown into the corner, and all five of the other wrestlers in the match hit running strikes. SAKI ends it with a big boot on YAKO, she tags in Ohka who boots YAKO again for a two count cover. Ohka goes for a brainbuster but YAKO blocks it and hits a Stunner, she charges Ohka but Ohka drops her with the Snake Eyes. Running boot by Ohka and Yappy follows with a seated senton, backdrop suplex by Ohka and she covers YAKO for two. Ohka picks up YAKO but YAKO blocks the suplex, DDT by Ohka and she hits a heel drop. Big boot by Ohka, she covers YAKO but YAKO barely kicks out. Chokebomb by Ohka, but Yuu breaks up the cover with a low crossbody. Itsuki takes care of Yappy before turning to Ohka, running strike by Itsuki and Yuu follows with a cannonball. Diving body press by Itsuki to Ohka and she throws YAKO on top of Ohka for the cover. Yappy tries to break it up but YAKO moves, and she ends up hitting a body press on Ohka by mistake. SAKI tries to help but has the same issue, Yuu goes to the second turnbuckle and hits a diving body press onto Ohka. YAKO then goes all the way up and nails the swivel body press, and she gets the three count! Itsuki Aoki, YAKO, and Yuu are the winners.

This is one of those WAVE matches that just does little for me. Its a weird blend of goofy and serious, and admittedly since I don’t know Japanese I don’t know what caused the random YAKO attack in the middle but the whole situation is just too odd. YAKO took way too much offense while her teammates just watched, but then suddenly they wanted to win so they helped YAKO until she got the three count. These teams were random so they weren’t friends going in, but without a storyline I’d prefer just a solid six wrestler tag than one with sporadic shenanigans. The action was generally ok and a few of these wrestlers are quite good, but it was just meandering and didn’t really click as a cohesive match. Just midcard filler.

Ami Miura, Mio Momono, and Kohgo vs. Hibiscus Mii, Sakura Hirota, and Miyazaki
I am not really sure how we got this combination of wrestlers. While the last match had a small amount of shenanigans and silliness, I am assuming this one will have even more. Miyazaki is a long time vet that can wrestle serious, but tends to sprinkle in more playful moments. Hibiscus Mii is the same way, and everyone knows Sakura Hirota’s manner of business. The other team has more “traditional” wrestlers, with two wrestlers from Actwres girl’Z and the delightful Mio Momono. I wish this match was clipped, but its not, so lets see what they put together.

Mii apparently wrestles in regular clothing with a bag over her shoulder, so not a great start to my dream of this match not being completely goofy. Mii and Ami start the match and naturally Mii is in a chatty mood so it takes time to get to any action. They eventually get to it as Ami hits a shoulderblock, scoop slam by Ami and Mii’s bag finally falls off as Ami hits a second one. A third slam by Ami and Mii rolls out of the ring to re-group. Hirota takes her place, chops by Ami to Hirota but Hirota blocks the Irish whip and hits a face crusher. Ami and Hirota trade lariats and Oil Checks, dropkick by Ami but Hirota gets her deep with her fingers and the two rolls out of the ring together. Mii has her bag back on as she comes in with Miyazaki to double team Momo, Hirota eventually returns and she grabs Momo’s wrist to do the rope walk. Momo pushes her off before Hirota can even get her to the corner, kick by Momo and she is the one that gets Hirota by the wrist to do the rope walk. She gets to the middle of the ropes and goes for Hirota’s second rope bounce trick, but struggles to execute it. Hirota gets her back in the ring and tells her she did a good try (I assume), Hirota lays down and lets Momo do the Hirota Hop over her.

Momo goes for a second one but Hirota jumps up and kicks her, and they talk some more. Put me out of my misery please. Momo challenges Hirota to put her fingers up her butt but Ami cuts her off with a dropkick, Ami then drives Hirota’s face into Momo’s butt repeatedly. Ami stays in and they both dropkick Hirota, Ami picks up Hirota but Hirota does some goofy stuff as she runs around and slips on all the ropes. Hirota takes herself out of the match so Mii comes in, but she talks a bit when Ami tries to engage her. Ami finally hits a body avalanche in the corner, shoulderblock by Ami and she covers Mii for two. Ami tags in Mio, diving crossbody by Mio and she dropkicks Mii. Another dropkick by Mio and she elbows Mii repeatedly before putting her in a stretch hold. The seconds around the ring all beat on the mat, with the vibration eventually knocking over Mio, giving Mii a chance to tag in Miyazaki. Miyazaki is triple teamed in the corner, missile dropkick by Mio and she covers Miyazaki for two. Mio ducks under Miyazaki’s lariat and hits a spinning headscissors, dropkick by Mio and she knocks Hirota off the apron. Miyazaki kicks Mio and applies multiple cradles, but each on gets a two count.

Mio goes up top but Mii grabs her from the apron, Momo and Ami both run in to help but Miyazaki lariats both of them. She then joins Mio up top but Mio hits a sunset flip powerbomb for a two count. Mio goes off the ropes but Miyazaki shrugs her off, elbows by Mio but Miyazaki goes for the Shy Hold. Mio blocks it and gets away, but Miyazaki threatens to put the hold on Ami or Momo so Mio ends up letting her put the hold on to protect them. Ami and Momo try to break it up but are held back, Mii gets a microphone and starts singing until Ami and Momo finally break it up. Miyazaki positions Mio and goes to the top turnbuckle, but Mio avoids the moonsault attempt. She goes for the JK Bomb but Miyazaki prevents her from fulling hitting the move, Mii and Hirota both try to help Miyazaki but botch their way into the ring. This gives Mio a chance to hit the JK Bomb on Miyazaki, and she gets the three count! Ami Miura, Mio Momono and Momo Kohgo are the winners!

I had to read a guide online just to get some of the comedy spots, which is way too much trouble for a comedy match. I don’t mind some comedy in my wrestling viewing but 17 minutes was just too much of it, and at the end of the day I’d rather see the Mio team in a more serious match as all three are fun to watch. I realize this is more catered to WAVE’s dedicated fanbase, which I can respect, but its not really my cup of tea. A few funny spots but too much “wrestling comedy” for me.

Rin Kadokura vs. Miyuki Takase
Catch The WAVE 2021 Final
Time for the tournament final! As I mentioned above, even though Miyuki is technically an outsider, she wrestles in WAVE as much as she does AgZ so to fans she is seen as one of their regulars. Rin is a true outsider, but equally skilled as Miyuki and ready for a big win. I like how even they made the Final as even though Miyuki does have an edge, Rin is equally qualified which should lead to a close and entertaining match.

They shake hands before the match but Rin charges Miyuki before the bell can ring and knocks her down in the corner. Cannonball by Rin, she quickly goes to the top turnbuckle and hits a missile dropkick for a two count. Suplex by Rin and she hits a footstomp, but Miyuki levels her with a lariat. Rin gets back up and they trade elbows, chops by Miyuki but Rin hits a jumping strike followed by the Murder Dropkick. Cover by Rin, but it gets two. Rin goes up top but Miyuki recovers and joins her, hitting a superplex back to the mat. Miyuki waits for Rin to get up but Rin catches her lariat attempt and goes for an armbreaker. Miyuki slams her way out of the hold, elbows and chops by Miyuki followed by two lariats for a quick cover. Miyuki gets Rin on her shoulders but Rin slides away, sliding kick by Rin but Miyuki catches her with a powerslam. Miyuki goes up top and delivers a missile dropkick, Rin lands in the opposite corner and Miyuki connects with a lariat. Diving elbow strike by Miyuki, and she covers Rin for two. Miyuki picks up Rin and hits the Kamikaze, she then gets on the second turnbuckle and delivers the diving guillotine legdrop for two.

Miyuki picks up Rin but Rin hits a Northern Lights Suplex Hold for two. Rin goes up top and hits a missile dropkick, she quickly goes to the second turnbuckle and nails a diving footstomp for another two count. DDT by Rin, she picks up Miyuki and hits a vertical suplex, but Miyuki hulks up and hits a suplex of her own. Rin comes back with another suplex and both wrestlers are down on the mat, Miyuki is up first and hits a fourth vertical suplex of this suplex battle. Rin is naturally up first and returns with a suplex but Miyuki hits another one too, Rin tries to return with a suplex but Miyuki reverses it into her own suplex, seemingly ending the vertical suplex exchange. Jumping DDT by Rin, she picks up Miyuki and hits a vertical suplex (I was wrong) for a close two count cover. Rin tries to get to the turnbuckle but Miyuki keeps grabbing her leg, she finally makes it but Miyuki recovers and joins her. Rin pushes Miyuki back to the mat but Miyuki elbows her and climbs back up, hitting a powerslam down to the mat for a two count.

Miyuki and Rin both slowly get up, they charge into each other and Miyuki hits a hard elbow. Another elbow by Miyuki and she hits a lariat for a two count. Rin gets up quickly but eats a double chop, tornado vertical suplex but Miyuki but Rin kicks out. Miyuki goes off the ropes but Rin catches her with a superkick, another superkick by Rin and she covers Miyuki for barely two. Rin gets Miyuki’s back and hits a crucifix slam, but Miyuki kicks out of the pin. Rin drags up Miyuki and gets on her back again, but Miyuki spins her off and hits a lariat. Rin fires back with a lariat but Miyuki delivers a Samoan Driver for two. Miyuki picks up Rin and hits a vertical suplex, she goes to the top turnbuckle and nails the diving guillotine legdrop for the three count! Miyuki Takase wins the match and the Catch The WAVE 2021 Tournament!

A very good match, but didn’t quite reach the level I was hoping for. Rin and Miyuki are both very talented wrestlers and when they were just trading strikes or bombs, the match was really entertaining. Their cardio is not an issue so they kept the pace up, and it was an even match from start to finish. The part I didn’t like was the trading vertical suplexes in the middle. I am generally a fan of the ‘trading moves’ spot but the vertical suplex is just a slower move to set up and deliver, and it just killed the pace of the match for a couple minutes. Nothing before or after really lined up to it so it felt disjointed and without a real purpose, except to hurt the match flow. If I took out those few minutes, everything else delivered. Overall an entertaining match that could have been even better with just a few small changes.  Recommended

The post Pro Wrestling WAVE “Catch The Wave Final” on 7/1/21 Review appeared first on Joshi City.

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

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

• P’s League 2021 Tournament A Block: Yappy vs. Yuuki Mashiro
• P’s League 2021 Tournament B Block: Banny Oikawa vs. Honori Hana
• P’s League 2021 Tournament B Block: Madeline vs. Satsuki Totoro
• Itsuki Aoki, Momo Kohgo, and Tsukushi Haruka vs. Matsuya Uno, Rina Shingaki, and Suzu Suzuki

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

Yappy vs. Yuuki Mashiro

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

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

Banny Oikawa vs. Honori Hana

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

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

Madeline vs. Satsuki Totoro

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

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

Itsuki Aoki, Momo Kohgo, and Tsukushi vs. Uno, Shingaki, and Suzu Suzuki

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

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

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

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

The post Ice Ribbon P’s Party #68 on 3/10/21 Review appeared first on Joshi City.

Event: Ice Ribbon New Ice Ribbon #1101 ~ Yokohama Ribbon 2021
Date: February 23rd, 2021
Location: Yokohama Radiant Hall in Yokohama, Kanagawa, Japan
Announced Attendance: 150
Broadcast Information: Streamed Live on Nico Nico PPV

It has been awhile since I checked in with Ice Ribbon, so let’s see what they are up to. Like with all promotions, 2020 was challenging for Ice Ribbon but they pushed through to still put on a lot of events and grew their International fan base in the process as they made most of their shows easily accessible. They continued that momentum in 2021 and started to have PPVs more often, which this event was, on Nico Nico. There is only one title on the line on this show, with Tsukushi Haruka taking on Thekla in the main event, but all the major wrestlers in the promotion are present. Here is the full card:

• Akane Fujita, Risa Sera, and Yappy vs. Banny Oikawa, Hiragi Kurumi, and Tae Honma
• Hamuko Hoshi vs. Miku Aono vs. Mochi Miyagi
• Rina Yamashita and Yuuki Mashiro vs. Saori Anou and Suzu Suzuki
• Maika Ozaki, Maya Yukihi, and Ram Kaicho vs. Matsuya Uno, Totoro Satsuki, and Tsukasa Fujimoto
• IW-19 Championship: Tsukushi Haruka vs. Thekla

All wrestlers have profiles on Joshi City, you can click on their name above to go to it. As this aired on PPV, all matches will be shown in full.

Akane Fujita, Risa Sera, and Yappy vs. Oikawa, Kurumi, and Honma

Team Yappy attacks before the match and triple team their opponents, as they all stack on Tae and Banny for a two count cover. Risa and Banny stay in as the legal wrestlers as Risa puts Banny in the Rocking Horse until Tae and Kurumi break it up. Double knee to the back by Risa and she covers Banny for two. Risa tags Akane, Akane throws Banny into the corner and hits a running shoulderblock. Elbow drop by Akane and she covers Banny for a two count. Akane tags Yappy but Banny throws Yappy into the corner, Banny charges Yappy but Yappy bumps her back and chokes her while sitting on the top turnbuckle. Yappy sits on Banny, but Banny kicks out of the cover. Irish whip by Yappy but Banny dropkicks her and makes the hot tag to Kurumi. Kurumi shoulderblocks Yappy, Akane and Risa come in to help but Kurumi throws them into each other. They try to knock over Kurumi but Kurumi hits a double lariat, she goes back to Yappy but Yappy blocks the powerbomb attempt and hits a back bodydrop. Leg drops by Yappy and she covers Kurumi for two. Yappy tags Risa, running elbow by Risa in the corner but Kurumi blocks the suplex attempt and the two trade elbows. Kurumi jumps on Risa’s back but Risa hits a Schwein for a two count cover. Risa picks up Kurumi but Kurumi throws her into the corner, body avalanche by Kurumi and she dropkicks Risa in the head.

Kurumi tags Tae, Banny comes in too and they double team Risa. Tae puts Risa in a kneelock but Risa gets to the ropes for the break, kicks to the leg by Tae and she dropkicks Risa in the knee. Risa gets away from her and puts Tae in an elevated crab hold, she flips Tae up and powerbombs her in the corner before hitting a running double knee strike. Reverse double knee drop by Risa out of the corner, Akane is tagged in and she joins Risa in shoulderblocking Tae. Akane slams Tae to the mat and covers her, but it gets two. Tae gets Akane down with a Fujiwara Armbar but Akane gets a foot on the ropes for the break, DDT by Tae and she covers Akane for a two count. Tae tags Banny, dropkick by Banny in the corner and she applies a modified armbar. Banny switches it to a cross armbreaker attempt but Akane gets into the ropes for the break. Banny goes up top but Risa hits her from the apron, giving Akane time to recover. Akane gets Banny on her shoulders but Banny slides off. Akane sits on her however, she goes for a cover but Tae dropkicks Akane to break it up. Armtrap crossface by Banny to Akane, but Yappy breaks it up. Banny goes off the ropes but Akane hits a shoulderblock, Yappy runs in with a seated senton before Risa hits a diving double knee drop off the second rope. Texas Cloverleaf by Akane, but Kurumi breaks it up with a superkick. Banny picks up Akane and kicks her in the head, Akane fires back with a shoulderblock however and covers Banny for two. Powerslam by Akane and she puts Banny in a cross-arm Camel Clutch, leading to the tap out! Risa Sera, Akane Fujita, and Yappy are the winners.

A generally inoffensive opener. Not everyone in this match is a great wrestler… not naming names so that Ice Ribbon Twitter doesn’t come after me but at times the action dragged a little bit and there were some awkward moments. Risa Sera shined the brightest, which is no surprise since she is so good, and Tae looked solid when she was in the ring. Nothing memorable in the slightest but not the worst way to begin an event.

Hamuko Hoshi vs. Miku Aono vs. Mochi Miyagi

All three circle to start, Miku is singled out first by the friends Mochi and Hamuko as they double team her in the corner. Double Irish whip to Miku but Miku rolls away and does the Hamuko pose on the mat. Mochi and Hamuko get on the mat and pose as well, they trade schoolboy covers but no one gets the three count and they end up posing again. Mochi and Hamuko go back to double teaming Miku before turning attention to each other, they both try to shoulderblock each other over until Hamuko finally sends Mochi to the mat. Crab hold by Hamuko but Miku interrupts things and trades strikes with Mochi. Dropkick by Miku in the corner and she kicks Mochi in the back a few times. Crab hold by Miku but Hamuko breaks it up, Hamuko throws Miku into the corner and rubs her belly on her. Miku goes for a scoop slam by Hamuko blocks it, Miku eventually delivers the slam anyway and applies a leg submission hold. Mochi helps as she rakes at Hamuko’s face, they both release Hamuko before Mochi attacks Miku from behind and covers both of them for two.

Hamuko recovers and she and Mochi both hit body avalanches on Miku, Mochi slams Hamuko onto Miku and both wrestlers try to cover Miku with no luck. Hamuko and Mochi push each other which gives Miku time to cover and hit a lariat on both of them. High kick by Miku on Hamuko and she lariats Mochi for a two count. Suplex by Miku to Mochi, but Hamuko breaks it up. Miku and Hamuko wait for Mochi to get up and both hit lariats, they go for a double vertical suplex but Mochi blocks it and DDTs both of them. Mochi positions Miku and Hamuko near the corner and goes for a Reverse Splash, but Hamuko moves and Mochi only ends up hitting Miku. Footstomp by Mochi to Miku, but Hamuko breaks up the cover. Body avalanche by Hamuko to Mochi and she nails the Shining Onaka for a two count. Hamuko goes off the ropes but Mochi hits the Lou Thesz Press, also getting a two count. Miku runs in but she gets a Lou Thesz Press as well, Mochi goes back to Hamuko but Hamuko reverses the press into a cradle for two. Onna no Shuunen (modified cradle) by Hamuko to Mochi, and she picks up the three count! Hamuko Hoshi is the winner.

My issues with Hamuko have probably been stated enough – she’s a solid enough wrestler but the blurry line between comedy and non-comedy makes it hard for me to take her seriously. Mochi is a hair better but not by much, so the ceiling for their matches for me is “mindless fun.” This match didn’t even reach that level as with the three way match rules it was just random offense with some mixed in flash pins with little of substance. I wouldn’t necessarily say the match was “bad” but it definitely was meaningless.

Rina Yamashita and Mashiro vs. Saori Anou and Suzu Suzuki

Rina and Suzu start the match, Suzu works a headlock but Rina Irish whips out of it and avoids Suzu’s dropkick. Headlock by Rina, Suzu gets out of it but Rina hits a hard shoulderblock. Rina poses which gives Suzu time to kick her from behind, and both wrestlers tag out. Saori and Mashiro circle each other, Mashiro asks for a knucklelock and gets it, which quickly backfires. Saori dances on Mashiro’s hands and throws her into the corner, Irish whip by Saori and she elbows Mashiro in the corner. Rina runs in and attacks Saori from behind, Rina jumps on Mashiro’s back but Mashiro collapses. Saori stumps on Rina and goes back to Mashiro, putting her in a chinlock. Stretch hold by Saori, Rina comes in but Suzu takes care of her. Saori lets go of Mashiro and tags Suzu, dropkick to the back by Suzu and she covers Mashiro for two. Suzu slams Mashiro repeatedly in the corner before driving her into the mat, she picks up Mashiro but Mashiro blocks the German suplex and dropkicks her in the back. This gives her time to tag in Rina, Suzu kicks Rina as Saori runs in but Rina suplexes both of them. Rina stomps on Suzu and goes for a suplex, but Suzu blocks it and elbows Rina in the chest. Rina elbows her back as they trade shots, Suzu goes for a high kick but Rina blocks it. Rina kicks Suzu in the head, cover by Rina but it gets a two count. Rina picks up Suzu but Suzu hits a jawbreaker and dropkicks Rina in the face for a two count. Irish whip by Suzu and she hits a spear, but that gets a two as well.

Suzu tags in Saori, Saori goes up top and she hits a missile dropkick. Saori charges Rina but Rina moves, Rina ducks the enzuigiri but Saori lands on her feet when Rina goes for a backdrop suplex. Anou boots Rina in the head before Suzu connects with a sliding dropkick from the apron, cover by Saori but it gets two. Rina kicks Saori but Saori delivers the enzuigiri, Rina fires back with a hard lariat however and both are down on the mat. Rina manages to tag Mashiro, Mashiro dropkicks Saori a few times and covers her for two. Mashiro gets on the second turnbuckle but Saori hits her before she can jump off, Rina grabs Saori from behind but Suzu then grabs Rina. They all end up on the mat except for Mashiro, Mashiro jumps down and picks up Saori, delivering a series of elbows. Boot by Saori, she picks up Mashiro but Mashiro blocks the Fisherman Suplex attempt. Rina cuts off Saori, giving Mashiro time to recover and apply an armlock. Suzu breaks it up, Mashiro gets on the second turnbuckle and hits a diving crossbody for two. Mashiro goes off the ropes but Saori catches her with a sidewalk slam, but Mashiro barely kicks out. Saori goes up top but Rina runs in and joins her, hitting a superplex. Rina picks up Mashiro but Suzu dropkicks Rina from behind, double Irish whip to Rina and she gets booted in the chest. Saori goes back to Mashiro and Mashiro quickly applies a few flash pins for a two count. Saori finally grabs Mashiro and delivers the Fisherman Suplex Hold, but Mashiro kicks out. Saori quickly applies the Potering, and she gets the three count!  Saori Anou and Suzu Suzuki are the winners.

It didn’t reach the heights I was hoping for, but a perfectly watchable midcard tag match. Really the main thing holding the match together was just the quality of the wrestlers themselves, as it was a bit disjointed at times and they didn’t seem to have a real structure planned. Part of that was Mashiro, who is obviously still a work in progress, but even when she wasn’t in the ring something really didn’t click. Some of the pairings were fun, particularly when Suzu squared off with Rina, and the ending was exciting. Still the best match on the card up to this point, but nothing they did really elevated it beyond just another midcard match.

Maika Ozaki, Yukihi, and Kaicho vs. Matsuya Uno, Satsuki, and Fujimoto

Maya and Tsukasa start the match, they trade wristlocks until Maya gets a headlock applied but Tsukasa Irish whips out of it. Back kick by Maya but Tsukasa hits an armdrag, Maya returns the favor and the two eventually reach a stalemate. Tsukasa dropkicks Maya in the corner and tags Totoro, Totoro goes for a slap but Maya blocks it and hits a drop toehold. Dropkick by Maya and she tags in Kaicho. Mounted elbows by Kaicho, Maya and Maika come in the ring and they triple team Totoro. Ram puts Totoro in a Camel Clutch with the help of Maika while Maya kicks Totoro in the face. Tsukasa eventually breaks things up, Kaicho goes off the ropes but Totoro catches her before dropping her to the mat. Totoro and her friends all stand on Kaicho’s back Totoro picks up Kaicho and slams her face into the mat. Totoro stands on Kaicho’s back before covering Kaicho for a two count. Totoro tags Matsuya and Matsuya puts Kaicho in a leglock, but Maya breaks it up. Matsuya grabs Kaicho and puts her in an abdominal stretch, but Kaicho gets into the ropes for the break. Kaicho chops Matsuya but Matsuya elbows her back and the two trade shots. Matsuya punches Kaicho into the corner, Irish whip by Matsuya but Kaicho kicks her back and hits a face crusher.

Kaicho can’t get to her corner as Matsuya puts her in an ankle hold, but Maika breaks it up. Dropkick by Kaicho and she finally makes it to her corner to tag Maya, kick to the chest by Maya and she puts Matsuya in an Anaconda Vice. Matsuya gets out of it and applies a Fujiwara Armbar, but Maya slides away. Matsuya re-applies the hold but Maya gets a foot on the ropes for the break, Matsuya goes off the ropes and hits a shoulder tackle but Maya trips her when she goes off the ropes again. Matsuya trips her back and applies an ankle hold, schoolboy by Matsuya but it gets two. Maya goes back to the ankle but Maika breaks it up, spear by Matsuya and she covers Maya for two. Matsuya tags Tsukasa, Tsukasa goes up top and hits a missile dropkick. Dropkick by Tsukasa in the corner and she covers Maya for two. Maya and Tsukasa jockey for position until Tsukasa applies an Octopus Hold but Maya gets into the ropes. Tsukasa goes off the ropes but Maya hits a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker, running knee by Maya and she delivers a PK. Maya picks up Tsukasa but Tsukasa reverses the suplex attempt into guillotine choke. Maya muscles out of it and hits a vertical suplex anyway, cover by Maya but it gets a two count. Tsukasa trips Maya and hits a PK, senton by Totoro and Tsukasa goes for the Infinity but Maya blocks it. Kaicho runs in and hits a Codebreaker on Tsukasa, hard shoulderblock by Maika and Maya delivers an enzuigiri to Tsukasa for a two count.

Maya picks up Tsukasa but Tsukasa nails an elevated Infinity, leaving both on the mat. Both wrestlers tag out as Maika and Totoro come in, elbows by Totoro but Maika hits a body avalanche in the corner. Hard shoulderblock by Maika, she picks up Totoro and tries to get her on her shoulders, but Totoro blocks it. Totoro gets Maika up but Maika slides away, Kaicho runs in but Matsuya grabs her from the apron. Scoop slam by Totoro by Maika and Tsukasa hits a PK, body press by Totoro but Maika kicks out. Maika goes off the ropes but Maya runs in and boots her, Tiger Feint Kick by Kaicho and Maika gets Totoro up on her shoulders in an Argentine Backbreaker. Matsuya breaks it up, Maika gets on the second turnbuckle and hits a diving senton to Totoro for a two count. Maika goes off the ropes but Totoro grabs her, Maika gets away however and hits a lariat for a two count. Maika goes up to the top turnbuckle but both Tsukasa and Matsuya run in to interrupt her, Totoro gets Maika on her shoulders and hits the Kamikaze for a nearfall. Matsuya hits a spear on Maika, Totoro gets on the second turnbuckle and delivers a diving senton, but Maika gets a shoulder up on the cover. Totoro goes all the way up while Matsuya and Tsukasa hold her arms, helping her hit a somersault senton but the pin is broken up. Totoro scoops up Maika and drops her with a modified Samoan Driver and she picks up the three count! Tsukasa Fujimoto, Matsuya Uno, and Totoro Satsuki are the winners!

I have some mixed feelings about this match but definitely more good than bad. First the good – Totoro and Maika are both limited wrestlers but they stayed within their limits here and did what they do well, so they added to the match rather than taking away from it. Also, the segments with Maya and Tsukasa were really good as they have great chemistry. I didn’t love the inclusion of Matsuya, as she wrestles a completely different style and it didn’t mesh with everyone else. It felt like five of the wrestlers were on the same page while Matsuya was applying random submission holds that had no connection or meaning. Not that her style isn’t one that has a place in wrestling, of course it does, it just didn’t vibe here. Also, while I love Ram Kaicho, she seems to have lost some of her personality since wrestling regularly in Ice Ribbon, she’s talented but she feels more like ‘just another wrestler.’ No posing, flipping off anyone, etc. as she just blended in with everyone else. An enjoyable match overall, just with some flow issues due to Matsuya not fitting in.  Mildly Recommended

(c) Tsukushi Haruka vs. Thekla
IW-19 Championship

Thekla jumps off the top turnbuckle as the bell rings but Tsukushi greets her with a dropkick, Tsukushi works a headlock but Thekla Irish whips out of it and they go into a high speed exchange. Thekla hits an armdrag out of the corner but Tsukushi hits an armdrag of her own, Thekla goes off the ropes but Tsukushi avoids the dropkick as they eventually reach a stalemate. Thekla sits on the top turnbuckle but Tsukushi dropkicks her and throws her back to the mat. Tsukushi stomps on Thekla’s hand repeatedly and puts her in Camel Clutch, she lets go after a moment and ties up Thekla in the ropes. Dropkick to the back by Tsukushi and she covers Thekla for two. Tsukushi throws Thekla into the corner but Thekla avoids her charge and hits a hard dropkick. Monkey Flip by Thekla and she covers Tsukushi for two. Thekla stomps on Tsukushi and throws her face into the mat, eye rake by Thekla and she hits a few bootscrapes. Irish whip by Thekla but Tsukushi avoids her charge and slides to the apron, Thekla goes for a lariat but Tsukushi slides back in and elbows Thekla in the head. Knee to the midsection by Thekla and she kicks Tsukushi back, Thekla gets tied up in the ropes but she avoids Tsukushi’s dropkick and kicks her in the back for a two count. Thekla goes up top but Tsukushi joins her before she can jump off, she knocks Thekla off so she is hanging from the ropes over the apron and delivers a diving footstomp. Tsukushi quickly gets back into the ring and hits a running elbow on Thekla, cover by Tsukushi but it gets a two count.

Tsukushi goes up top but Thekla jumps up as well and suplexes Tsukushi down to the mat. Both wrestlers slowly get up, head kick by Thekla but Tsukushi fires back with a release German Suplex. They elbow each other as they slowly return to their feet, Tsukushi knocks Thekla to the mat first and kicks her when she tries to bridge up. Thekla quickly hits a series of vertical suplexes, but Tsukushi kicks out of the cover. Spear by Thekla, but Tsukushi barely kicks out of the cover. Thekla applies a bridging leglock, but Tsukushi gets into the ropes for the break. Thekla applies a double underhook but Tsukushi gets away, head kick by Thekla and she follows with a Buzzsaw Kick. Elbows by Thekla and she toys with Tsukushi, but Tsukushi elbows her hard and attacks Thekla while she is on the mat. Thekla gets to the ropes to try to escape but Tsukushi keeps on her, she drags Thekla back into the ring and drills her with a dropkick. Tsukushi goes up top and hits a missile dropkick, cover by Tsukushi but Thekla kicks out. Tsukushi goes up top again but Thekla avoids the diving footstomp and hits a chop block. Thekla now goes up top and hits a diving footstomp of her own, covering Tsukushi for two. Double underhook into a slam by Thekla, she goes up top but Tsukushi gets her knees up on the body press attempt. Tsukushi quickly cradles Thekla and then goes for a La Magistral, but her pin attempts are unsuccessful. Thekla goes for some flash pins as well with the same result, Tsukushi cradles Thekla to the mat and hits a series of footstomps. Double underhook facebuster by Tsukushi, she goes up top and nails a diving footstomp for a two count. Tsukushi drags up Thekla and delivers a Tiger Suplex Hold, and she picks up the three count! Tsukushi Haruka wins and retains the championship!

A solid match, nothing that will blow you away but entertaining. Tsukushi has been an underrated talent for many years, as due to her age and the fact she was generally stuck in the midcard she didn’t get a ton of notice. She’s been great for awhile though and continues to be, I can’t call her a murder child anymore as she is an adult now but she hasn’t lost her aggression. The match was pretty non-stop as Tsukushi only has one speed, and Thekla was able to keep up. This is the first long singles matches I’ve seen with Thekla, she isn’t as crisp as Tsukushi but has a quality move arsenal and didn’t do anything to slow the match down or hold it back. The match was about 15 minutes and felt like it ended at the right time, no need to stretch something out just because its the main event. A good outing and first defense by Tsukushi, hopefully she continues to impress this year and gets more chances in big matches.  Recommended

The post Ice Ribbon #1101 Yokohama Ribbon 2021 on 2/23/21 Review appeared first on Joshi City.

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

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

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

Ibuki Hoshi, Miyagi, and Yappy vs. Matsuya Uno, Ishikawa, and Tsukushi

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

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

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

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

Akane Fujita vs. Suzu Suzuki

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

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

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

Risa Sera and Satsuki Totoro vs. Thekla and Tsukasa Fujimoto

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

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

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

Hamuko Hoshi vs. Maya Yukihi
IW-19 Championship

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

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

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

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

The post Ice Ribbon New Ice Ribbon #1044 on 5/31/20 Review appeared first on Joshi City.

Event: Ice Ribbon P’s Party #41
Date: May 13th, 2020
Location: Ice Ribbon Dojo in Saitama, Japan
Announced Attendance: 0

Some more pandemic Joshi wrestling viewing, this time swinging by Ice Ribbon. Ice Ribbon has been putting on small shows on Youtube and Nico from the Ice Ribbon Dojo, and this is one of their smaller events which made it ideal for a quick review. Not much introduction is needed, here is the full card:

As this aired on Nico, all matches will be shown in full. The wrestlers on the event have profiles on Joshi City, you can click on their names above to go straight to it.

Maika Ozaki and Tsukushi vs. Matsuya Uno and Yappy

Yappy and Matsuya attack before the bell rings, double teaming their opponents in the corner before isolating Tsukushi. Maika helps Tsukushi as things settle down with Tsukushi and Yappy in the ring, with Tsukushi stomping down on Yappy’s fingers. Tsukushi pretzels Yappy before kicking her in the butt, stomp by Tsukushi and she dropkicks Yappy in the corner. Tsukushi stands on Yappy before stomping down on her chest, she picks up Yappy but Yappy blocks the slam attempt and rams Tsukushi into the corner. Yappy sets up Tsukushi across the second rope before hitting a body avalanche, swinging necklock by Yappy and she covers Tsukushi for two. Tsukushi bridges out of the pin and hits a dropkick, giving her time to tag Maika. Maika picks up Yappy and works a headlock, Yappy Irish whips out of it and the two collide with neither going down. They both keep trying until Maika finally knocks Yappy over, elbow drop by Maika and she covers Yappy for two. Maika picks up Yappy but Yappy blocks the slam attempt and hits one of her own for a two count cover. Yappy sits down on Maika a few times, Irish whip by Yappy but Maika ducks her lariat and elbows Yappy in the back. Maika goes for the Argentine Backbreaker but Yappy elbows out of it and hits a hard shoulderblock for two. Yappy finally tags in Matsuya, dropkick by Matsuya to Maika but Maika blocks the STO attempt. Maika throws Matsuya into the corner and hits a body avalanche, boot by Maika and she covers Matsuya for two. Irish whip by Maika to the corner but Matsuya jumps on the top turnbuckle and applies a hanging armbar.

Matsuya picks up Maika and hits the STO, cover by Matsuya but Maika gets a shoulder up. Matsuya quickly applies a cross armbreaker but Maika manages to block it, she switches to a kimura lock but Tsukushi breaks it up. Matsuya picks up Maika but Maika gets her in the Argentine Backbreaker, however Yappy breaks it up. Maika tags in Tsukushi, Tsukushi quickly cradles Matsuya before hitting a footstomp, but Matsuya grabs her ankle and applies an ankle hold. She lets go so she can apply a Fujiwara Armbar, but Tsukushi gets to the ropes for the break. Back up the two trade elbows, Irish whip by Matsuya but Tsukushi blocks it and elbows her in the head. Yappy runs in and lariats Tsukushi, she and Matsuya both hit hip attacks but Maika appears and levels Matsuya with a shoulderblock. Karelin Lift by Maika to Matsuya and Tsukushi drills her with a dropkick, Tsukushi goes up top and delivers a missile dropkick for two. Tsukushi goes up top again as Maika gets on the second turnbuckle, but Matsuya avoids her senton attempt. Matsuya throws Tsukushi back into the ring, Yappy runs in with a body splash and Matsuya hits a spear for two count. Matsuya picks up Tsukushi but Tsukushi wiggles away, she trades flash pins with Matsuya but neither can get the three count. Drop toehold by Tsukushi and she applies La Magistral, and she gets the three count pinfall! Tsukushi and Maika Ozaki are the winners!

Aside from one pretty noticeable miscommunication, this was a fine match. You’d think how often they wrestle that their match layouts would be a bit more interesting, but it was a pretty basic story with nothing to really set it apart or make it memorable. Tsukushi as always looked great and Yappy held her own, with Matsuya not really doing enough to leave an impression either way. This was just an opener for a very small event and it showed in their output, a serviceable match but forgettable.

Satsuki Totoro and Fujimoto vs. Suzuki and Thekla

Satsuki and Suzu start the match, they lock-up and Satsuki pushes Suzu into ropes. She gives a clean break as they get back into the lock-up, they trade wristlocks until Satsuki applies a headlock. Suzu Irish whips out of it and dropkicks Satsuki, she goes to slam Satsuki but Satsuki reverses it into a slam of her own and tags in Tsukasa. Dropkick by Tsukasa and a second sends Suzu out of the ring, Tsukasa goes out after her and chops Suzu in the chest. Suzu elbows her back and they trade shots, Suzu gets a soccer ball and challenges Tsukasa, Tsukasa takes the ball into the ring and plays goalie while Suzu tries to kick it past her, which she succeeds in doing (according to the referee). Tsukasa argues with the referee about it before going back to Suzu, they have a sit-up and push-up contest before running the ropes. They both go up top but Suzu trips, and Tsukasa clearly wins their little duel. Irish whip by Tsukasa and she delivers a dropkick, Satsuki is tagged in and she elbows Thekla off the apron. Satsuki stomps on Suzu and chokes her against the ropes, she gets Suzu in the corner and pushes down on her with her boot. Satsuki slams Suzu’s head into the mat and sits down on her before applying a stretch submission hold. She lets go after a moment and stomps on Suzu’s back some more, Suzu fights back with elbows and she springboards out to the apron before snapping Satsuki’s arm over the top rope. Knee by Suzu and she dropkicks Satsuki, she goes up top and delivers a diving crossbody for two. She makes the tag to Thekla, dropkick by Thekla and she throws Satsuki into the corner. Dropkick by Thekla and she covers Satsuki for a two count. Thekla quickly applies an elevated armbar, schoolboy by Thekla but it gets a two.

She picks up Satsuki and elbows her against the ropes, she charges Satsuki but Satsuki hits a hard shoulderblock. She goes for a senton but Thekla rolls out of the way, she jumps on Satsuki’s back and puts her in a sleeper hold. Satsuki shakes her off and hits a senton, body press by Satsuki and she covers Thekla for a two count. Satsuki tags Tsukasa, Tsukasa puts Thekla in an Octopus Hold but Suzu comes up from behind and puts an eye mask on her. Thekla puts Tsukasa into an Octopus Hold of her own but Tsukasa inches to the ropes and forces the break. Thekla sets up Tsukasa in the ropes and dropkicks her in the back, cover by Thekla but it gets two. Thekla picks up Tsukasa but Tsukasa finally gets the mask off and they trade elbows. Dropkick by Tsukasa, she snapmares Thekla and puts the mask on her before kicking Thekla in the back. Suzu runs in and elbows Tsukasa, she gets the mask off Thekla and they hit a double spear onto Tsukasa. Cover by Thekla, but it gets two. Thekla applies a bridging headscissors but Satsuki breaks it up, Thekla is thrown into the corner and attacked by both Satsuki and Tsukasa. Tsukasa picks up Thekla and hits a scoop slam, cover by Tsukasa but it gets a two count. Tsukasa gets on the second turnbuckle but Thekla avoids her dropkick attempt and schoolboys the veteran for two. A backslide and cradle get the same results, Thekla goes off the ropes but Tsukasa kicks her back and applies a cover for two. Tsukasa kicks Thekla repeatedly in the back, PK by Tsukasa and she gets another two count. Tsukasa applies the Gokuraku Gatame, Thekla struggles but has no choice but to submit! Satsuki Totoro and Tsukasa Fujimoto are the winners!

Sometimes people ask me why I don’t watch/review Ice Ribbon more, and this match is a good example why. Ice Ribbon has a lot of great wrestlers but at times is a bit too goofy for me. Comedy in wrestling is always hit and miss with me and I prefer it just be in its own bubble, not randomly inserted with the bigger wrestlers in the promotion. They never really got into a flow in this match and there weren’t really any segments I can point to as must-see. Thekla seems to be fitting in well, no issues there and I still love Suzu and Tsukasa, but this just felt meandering without any hot sections before the match suddenly ended with a submission hold that wasn’t built up to. Even though this was just a Dojo Show, still a pretty lackluster and disappointing main event.

The post Ice Ribbon P’s Party #41 on 5/13/20 Review appeared first on Joshi City.

Event: Ice Ribbon New Ice Ribbon #1029
Date: March 14th, 2020
Location: Korakuen Hall in Tokyo, Japan
Announced Attendance: 553

Since I finally got around to updating the Ice Ribbon Roster, it seemed only fitting to review a recent Ice Ribbon show. Even though wrestling events are being delayed or cancelled around the world, that isn’t stopping Ice Ribbon as they return to Korakuen Hall. This is a big event, as we see Suzu Suzuki take on Tsukasa Fujimoto and Hiragi Kurumi challenge Maya Yukihi. Plus we have a four-way ladder match! Here is the full card:

• Banny Oikawa, Miku Aono, Thekla, and Yappy vs. Matsuya Uno, Rina Shingaki, Syuri, and Tae Honma
• Hamuko Hoshi and Mochi Miyagi vs. Maika Ozaki and Tsukushi
• Aja Kong vs. Ibuki Hoshi
• Suzu Suzuki vs. Tsukasa Fujimoto
• Ram Kaicho vs. Rina Yamashita vs. Risa Sera vs. Satsuki Totoro
• ICExInfinity Championship: Maya Yukihi vs. Hiragi Kurumi

As this event aired on Samurai TV!, some matches will be clipped. All the wrestlers have profiles on Joshi City, you can click on their name above to go straight to it.

Banny Oikawa, Aono, Thekla, and Yappy vs. Uno, Shingaki, Syuri, and Honma

We join the match in progress, with Rina and Banny in the ring. Rina applies a kneelock with The Joint Army running in also as all four members put someone on the other side in a submission hold. We jump ahead to Syuri being in the ring with Banny, Banny ducks Syuri’s kick and schoolboys her for two. Kick to the chest by Syuri and she tags in Uno, shoulderblock by Uno but Banny reverses the scoop slam into a cradle. Dropkick by Banny and she makes the tag to Yappy. Running leg drop by Yappy and she hits a backbreaker on Uno for a two count. Yappy goes off the ropes but Uno avoids the lariat and applies a sleeper, Joint Army protects her but Yappy rams Uno back into the corner to break the hold. Her teammates run in as Uno is attacked by all of them, Final Cut by Yappy but Syuri breaks up the cover. Yappy picks up Uno and goes for a chokeslam, but Uno blocks it and Tae hits a missile dropkick on Yappy. Diving crossbody by Rina and Syuri hits Yappy with a running knee. Uno picks up Yappy and slams her to the mat, but the cover is broken up. Uno gets Yappy up again and applies the RE:BORN Lock (cross armbreaker), and Yappy quickly taps out! The Joint Army win the match.

This was obviously way too clipped to really get a vibe of the match, but what they showed was fine. The Joint Army seems to work together really well which I think is all they wanted us to get out of this, and they effectively hid what I am sure were some awkward moments from the losing team. I wouldn’t have minded seeing a bit more of this match but considering the card I’m not surprised this match got chopped up.

Hamuko Hoshi and Mochi Miyagi vs. Maika Ozaki and Tsukushi

The Lovely Butchers attack before the bell rings and end up getting both opponents in opposite corners, but Maika and Tsukushi both make a comeback. Miyagi and Hoshi take the opportunity to pose, which Maika and Tsukushi don’t appreciate as they stomp on the Lovely Butchers. Things settle down with Tsukushi and Miyagi in the ring as the legal wrestlers, and Tsukushi stomps down on Miyagi’s hands. Tsukushi twists Miyagi’s leg in the second rope before tagging in Maika, Maika stomps Miyagi against the ropes and chokes her with her boot. Maika offers Miyagi her hand but its all a ruse as she hits a Mongolian Chop, Miyagi returns fire and throws Maika into the corner before hitting a body attack. Maika comes back with a lariat, elbow drops by Maika and she covers Miyagi for two. We jump ahead in the match to Tsukushi and Hoshi being in the ring, running body attack by Hoshi and she tags Miyagi. Miyagi sits down on Tsukushi and hits a seated senton, cover by Miyagi but it gets two. Hoshi comes in and they both hit Tsukushi with body blocks, Hoshi picks up Miyagi and tosses her onto Tsukushi for a two count. Miyagi picks up Tsukushi but Tsukushi gets away and applies a flying armbar. Maika comes in too and puts Hoshi in Argentine Backbreaker, but Miyagi gets into the ropes for the break.

Tsukushi elbows Miyagi but Miyagi elbows her back as they trade shots, Miyagi knocks Tsukushi down but Maika runs in and lariats her. Dropkick by Tsukushi while Miyagi is slouched against the ropes, she gets on the top turnbuckle and delivers a missile dropkick for two. Hoshi comes in and lariats both Maika and Tsukushi, Miyagi recovers and they hit a double backdrop suplex on Tsukushi. Miyagi goes up on the second turnbuckle and hits a Reverse Splash, but Maika breaks up the cover. Hoshi goes to the top turnbuckle but Tsukushi avoids her body press, Miyagi also goes up top but Tsukushi joins her and hits a Frankensteiner for a two count. Maika goes to the second turnbuckle and hits a diving senton, Tsukushi follows with a diving double footstomp but Hoshi breaks up the cover. Tsukushi picks up Miyagi but Miyagi blocks the Tiger Suplex, hurricanrana by Tsukushi but she lets go to hit footstomps. Tsukushi goes off the ropes but Miyagi delivers the Mochiri Body Scissors, with Maika makes the save. Hoshi takes care of Maika, Miyagi picks up Tsukushi but Tsukushi gets away from her and applies a jackknife cover for two. Halcaze by Tsukushi, and she picks up the three count! Maika Ozaki and Tsukushi are the winners!

A pretty by-the-numbers midcard tag match, but perfectly watchable. This was Miyagi’s first full match since she suffered an injury last July, and she didn’t seem to have any ring rust as she was her usual self. Tsukushi is one of my favorite wrestlers in Ice Ribbon and she was a bundle of fun here as always, alternating smoothly between killer moves and slick pinning situations with no hesitation. Nothing overly memorable but certainly a good enough match for where it was on the card.

Aja Kong vs. Ibuki Hoshi

They lock to to start to the match, Kong pushes Hoshi into the ropes but Hoshi switches positions with her and hits a series of elbows. Kong just looks at her when she goes for an Irish whip and blocks it, more elbows by Hoshi but Kong throws her into the ropes. Hoshi goes for shoulderblocks but Kong doesn’t budge, finally Kong clubs Hoshi with a lariat and kicks the kid out of the ring. Kong goes out after her and hits a vertical suplex on the floor, Kong gets a chair and cracks it over Hoshi’s head. She hits Hoshi with the chair again, the match clips ahead with them back in the ring but Hoshi’s situation has not improved in the meantime. Hoshi tries to fight back but Kong headbutts her back to the mat, Kong picks up Hoshi but Hoshi blocks the suplex attempt and elbows Kong in the chest. Kong doesn’t go down and fires back with a hard elbow, Hoshi struggles back to her feet and elbows Kong again, but Kong clubs her down. Hoshi slowly returns to her feet but gets elbows to the mat again, again she gets up but gets slapped in the face.

Kong goes for a lariat, Hoshi ducks it and goes for a schoolboy, but Kong blocks it. Hoshi moves when Kong tries to sit on her and delivers the Hamu Roll, but it only gets a two count. Kong drops Hoshi with a backdrop suplex, she picks Hoshi back up but Hoshi reverses the brainbuster attempt into an inside cradle for two. Hoshi delivers a series of mounted elbow strikes, she goes off the ropes but Kong lariats her. Kong gets on the second turnbuckle but Hoshi recovers before she can jump off and hits Kong from behind before tossing her to the mat. Hoshi hits a hard elbow and finally knocks Kong off her feet, cover by Hoshi but it gets two. Hoshi goes up to the top turnbuckle and hits the diving body press, but Kong kicks out of the cover. Hoshi picks up Kong and ducks the Uraken, elbow strike by Hoshi but her cover gets a two count. Hoshi goes up top but this time Kong avoids the diving body press, Kong gets her paint can and hits Hoshi in the head with it. Brainbuster by Kong, but Hoshi barely gets a shoulder up on the cover. Kong positions Hoshi, she gets on the second turnbuckle and nails the back elbow drop for the three count! Aja Kong wins!

There are few things in life I enjoy more than Aja Kong beating up a younger and smaller wrestler. It just fills me with happiness. So I enjoyed the bulk of this match, with Kong going way beyond what was needed to defeat a child just to prove a point. In a way its a compliment to Hoshi that instead of just putting her in a crab hold and winning, she hit her with a chair and dropped her with a brainbuster before driving her elbow into her soul. My only complaint actually is I think Hoshi had maybe one or two too many hope spots. The first elbow that knocked over Kong was fine, and the diving body press, but throwing in the second elbow strike just felt like overkill. But its hard to complain about a veteran giving a younger wrestler a bit of an extra rub. This over-delivered what my expectations were, a really fun quasi-squash match.  Recommended

Suzu Suzuki vs. Tsukasa Fujimoto

Suzu and Tsukasa tie-up and trade standing submissions, armdrag by Tsukasa but Suzu avoids her charge and rolls up Tsukasa for two. They end up reaching a stalemate, Tsukasa gets Suzu to the mat and puts her in a kneelock, but Suzu quickly reverses it. Tsukasa reverses it back and starts working over Suzu’s leg, she sets up Tsukasa in the ropes and dropkicks her in the back. Cover by Tsukasa, but it gets two. Tsukasa throws down Suzu by the hair but Suzu cartwheels out of it when she tries again and delivers a dropkick. Tsukasa bridges out of the pin attempt and hits a dropkick of her own, she throws Suzu into the corner and knees her in the face. Running cutter by Tsukasa, and she covers Suzu for two. Tsukasa kicks Suzu repeatedly in the back but Suzu catches the PK and hits a dragon screw. Suzu tries to roll up Tsukasa but Tsukasa rolls through it, she goes for a PK again but again Suzu catches it and hits another dragon screw. Suzu applies a kneelock, she grabs Tsukasa’s arm to try to slow her down but Tsukasa gets to the ropes for the break. Running shoulder tackle by Suzu in the corner, she gets on the top turnbuckle but Tsukasa hits her before she can jump off and flings her back to the mat. Tsukasa rolls through it and tosses Tsukasa into the corner, she charges Tsukasa but Tsukasa catches her with a dropkick. Suzu throws Tsukasa into the corner but Tsukasa flips out of it and dropkicks Suzu, she follows up with another dropkick before hitting a scoop slam for two. Tsukasa applies a crossface but Suzu inches to the ropes to get the break.

Tsukasa runs up the corner but Suzu slides out to the apron and grabs her, she tries to throw her off and finally manages to do so as Tsukasa lands on the apron. Tsukasa rolls out to the floor, Suzu goes to the top turnbuckle and dives out onto her with a plancha suicida. Suzu slides Tsukasa back into the ring and hits a swandive missile dropkick, cover by Suzu but it gets two. Octopus Hold by Suzu, but Tsukasa walks to the ropes to force the break. Suzu goes for a suplex but Tsukasa blocks it and puts Suzu in a cross-arm submission. Suzu gets a toe on the ropes to force Tsukasa to let go, Tsukasa goes up top and hits a missile dropkick for a two count. Tsukasa picks up Suzu but Suzu blocks the Yoshi Tonic, dropkick by Tsukasa and she hits a step-up enzuigiri. She goes off the ropes but Suzu catches her with a jumping front kick, and both wrestlers are down on the mat. Tsukasa and Suzu return to their feet and trade blows, spinning kick by Suzu and she hits a standing moonsault for two. Suzu picks up Tsukasa goes for a German suplex, but Tsukasa lands on her feet and kicks her in the back. PK by Tsukasa, but Suzu kicks out of the cover. Tsukasa goes up top and hits a diving neckbreaker, but the cover gets two. Tsukasa picks up Suzu but Suzu avoids the Infinity, jumping kick by Suzu and she covers Tsukasa for a two count. German suplex hold by Suzu, but Tsukasa gets a shoulder up. Suzu picks up Tsukasa but Tsukasa quickly rolls her up, getting a two count. PK by Tsukasa, but that gets a two count as well so she hits another one. A third PK by Tsukasa, but Suzu won’t stay down for three. Tsukasa goes for the Venus Shoot but Suzu ducks it, cradle by Suzu but it gets two. Suzu picks up Tsukasa but Tsukasa hits an enzuigiri, Infinity by Tsukasa but Suzu kicks out. Tsukasa goes for the Japanese Ocean Cyclone Suplex but Suzu reverses it into a front cradle for the three count! Suzu Suzuki wins!

Quite a big win so early in Suzu’s career. Even though she won with a cradle, it was a highly competitive match up to that point so it wasn’t a fluke victory. The match started a bit rough as the early exchanges weren’t great, but the next 15 minutes flew by. For someone at her experience level, Suzu is really smooth, the only thing she is missing is a ‘super’ finishing move but her offense feels fresh and she certainly does feel like a future star in the promotion. Tsukasa led her well, I wouldn’t say it was her best performance as she spent much of the match trying to make Suzu look good but she was solid. It needed more drama or suspense to really elevate to a high end match, but still very entertaining and a good showcase for Suzu Suzuki.  Recommended

Ram Kaicho vs. Rina Yamashita vs. Risa Sera vs. Satsuki Totoro

The match starts the ladder already set up in the ring, all four charge for it but they stop each other. Totoro knocks over the ladder for… reasons and gets into a tug-of-war over it with Rina, with Kaicho and Sera helping. We clip ahead to Totoro climbing the ladder, but Rina stops her and pulls her out of the ring. Kaicho and Sera then both climb the ladder but Kaicho flips off Sera once they reach the hop. Totoro and Rina both return and tip over the ladder, with Sera being “trapped” underneath it and Kaicho on top of it. Totoro and Rina trade shoulderblocks until Rina knocks over Totoro, she then grabs Kaicho off the ladder and puts her down. The ladder is set up in the middle with Kaicho and Rina going to climb it, but they are stopped by their opponents. Sera powerbombs Kaicho into the corner and hits a double knee strike, but Rina hits her from behind. She tries to suplex Sera onto the ladder but Sera blocks it and the two trade elbows. Knee by Rina but Sera gets her on her back and hits a Schwein onto a ladder. She picks Rina back up but Rina wiggles away and hits a backdrop suplex onto the ladder. They both get back up and Rina hits a hard lariat on Sera, but Sera comes back with a Samoan Driver and both wrestlers are down on the mat. Totoro gets on the second turnbuckle but Rina avoids the diving senton, Sera puts a ladder on top of Totoro and tries to suplex Rina on it, but it is blocked. Kaicho then runs over to help Rina, and they suplex Sera onto the ladder that is on top of Totoro. We clip ahead to Rina tries to climb the ladder, but Totoro grabs her from behind and hits the Kamikaze. Totoro goes to climb the ladder but Kaicho throws chalk in her face, Kaicho and Rina both climb the ladder but Sera stops Kaicho from behind. Kaicho dives off the ladder with a crossbody onto Sera, Rina keeps climbing and she gets one of the cards! Rina Yamashita moves on to the title match.

Kaicho quickly tries to climb the ladder but Sera grabs her from behind and drops her with a Schwein. She goes to climb the ladder but Totoro gets back in the ring and stops her. Totoro picks up Sera and slams her in front of the corner, she goes to the second turnbuckle and hits a diving senton. Totoro puts the ladder on top of Sera and goes up top, but Sera recovers and joins her. Superplex by Sera (partially on the ladder), Sera sets up the ladder near the corner and climbs up to the very top before delivering a diving double kneedrop. Sera pushes Totoro out of the way, she sets up the ladder and climbs to the top, grabbing the other card! Rina Yamashita and Risa Sera win the match and will advance to the title match in May.

I’m not saying this was the worst ladder match I’ve seen, but it is probably pretty close. There were a lot of things not to like here. Ranging from the lack of selling for the few “big” bumps of the match, the occasional comedy elements, the weird spot with Sera acting like she was pinned under the ladder when she wasn’t… it just had a lot of issues. On top of that, with a third of the match cut, it was hard to really get invested in whatever they were doing as there were constant jumps in the action. There were some quality wrestlers in this match, but the final product simply wasn’t very good.

(c) Maya Yukihi vs. Hiragi Kurumi
ICExInfinity Championship

They get into a knuckle-lock to start, knees by Maya but Kurumi knocks her down with a hard shoulderblock. Maya trips Kurumi and dropkicks her, she goes off the ropes but Kurumi does too and Pounces her out of the ring. Maya gets back on the apron but Kurumi goes out to the apron also and drops her with a modified piledriver. Maya drops down to the floor with Kurumi joining her, Kurumi throws Maya into the chairs at ringside before picking her up and doing the same on the opposite side. Kurumi goes for a suplex on the floor but Maya blocks it, Kurumi clubs Maya but Maya ducks an elbow and Kurumi hits the ring post by accident. Maya wraps Kurumi’s arm around the post and pulls on it, she lets go but only to get a chair and press it into Kurumi’s arm. Maya slides Kurumi back in and kicks her in the back before going back to Kurumi’s arm. Maya charges Kurumi but Kurumi moves, Maya slides out onto the apron and snaps Kurumi’s arm over the top rope. Maya goes up top but Kurumi avoids her dive, STO by Kurumi and she hits a few footstomps on Maya.

Kurumi throws Maya into the corner and hits a lariat, she goes for a dropkick but Maya moves out of the way and hits a kneedrop onto her arm. PK by Maya and she applies a choke, but Kurumi gets to the ropes for the break. Maya goes off the ropes and knees Kurumi in the head, she goes up top and hits a missile dropkick for two. Maya kicks Kurumi and goes off the ropes, but Kurumi catches her with a powerslam. Dropkick by Kurumi and she covers Maya for two. Kurumi picks up Maya but Maya elbows her and the two trade shots, kick combination by Maya but Kurumi catches her with a superkick. Kurumi ducks the enzuigiri attempt and hits a snap German, but Maya gets back up and delivers the enzuigiri, leaving both wrestlers down on the mat. They slowly get up and trade elbows again, Maya takes Kurumi to the mat and goes for a cross armbreaker but Kurumi prevents her from fully locking it in. Maya switches to a Triangle Choke attempt instead but Kurumi slams her way out of it, Nut Driver by Kurumi and she covers Maya for two. Kurumi goes up top but Maya avoids the diving body press, Omiwatari to the back by Maya and she kicks Kurumi in the arm. Superkicks by Maya and she hits a Buzzsaw Kick, cover by Maya but Kurumi gets a shoulder up.

Maya waits for Kurumi to get up and hits another Omiwatari, cover by Maya but that gets a two as well. Maya goes up top but Kurumi gets up before Maya can jump off and joins her, superplex by Kurumi but she is too hurt to capitalize. Maya recovers first and kicks at Kurumi, but Kurumi slaps her and stomps Maya into the mat. Turnbuckle Cannonball by Kurumi, she picks up Maya but Maya sneaks in a cradle for two. Kick by Maya and she kicks Kurumi in the arm, she goes off the ropes but Kurumi levels her with a lariat for a two count. Kurumi picks up Kurumi and nails the reverse piledriver, but Maya gets a shoulder up. Modified piledriver by Kurumi and she follows that with a German suplex hold, but it only gets a two count. Kurumi sets up Maya and goes to the top turnbuckle, she delivers a diving body press but Maya reverses the cover into a two count. Maya goes for another flash pin before putting Kurumi into a Triangle Choke. She rolls Kurumi over so she can apply the Icicle Back Triangle, and Kurumi has no choice but to submit! Maya Yukihi wins and retains the championship.

I guess I shouldn’t be surprised, but this match was pretty damn great. Kurumi may be young but she has been wrestling for a long time so she knows what she is doing, and Maya Yukihi is one of the most under-rated in-ring wrestlers in Joshi right now. I loved the arm work and the constant focus on it, and Kurumi respected that by giving the occasional arm shake which is all it takes to remind viewers that her arm is hurting even if she is on offense. Both wrestlers really stayed on task, with Kurumi going for high impact moves while Maya just wanted to knock Kurumi loopy enough to lock on a submission hold. Even though the match was 21 minutes there was no downtime, and the ‘outside the ring’ part was short and they stayed active so it didn’t feel like just wasting time like we sometimes see. Hard hitting and well-executed, this was one of the better Joshi matches I’ve seen so far in 2020.  Highly Recommended

The post Ice Ribbon New Ice Ribbon #1029 on 3/14/20 Review appeared first on Joshi City.

Since I am behind a few hundred events, I asked Twitter which event I should review next and this show won. So here we are! I am watching this event on NicoPro, a streaming service in Japan that streams wrestling events from a wide range of wrestling promotions (the show is no longer available on the service at the time of this review, since shows are only available for seven days). I have written a guide on how to sign up for NicoPro, highly recommended! Both the service and the guide. Ice Ribbon #1008 isn’t one of Ice Ribbon’s bigger events, however it does have two title matches so it is not your average house show either. Here is the full card:

• Asahi vs. Tequila Saya
• Maika Ozaki and Ram Kaicho vs. Nao Kakuta and Yappy
• Akane Fujita and Hiragi Kurumi vs. Miku Aono and Satsuki Totoro
• Ibuki Hoshi, Syuri, and Tae Honma vs. Risa Sera, Tsukasa Fujimoto, and Tsukushi
• Triangle Ribbon Championship: Matsuya Uno vs. Banny Oikawa vs. Cherry
• ICExInfinity Championship: Maya Yukihi vs. Suzu Suzuki

As this aired on NicoPro, the matches are unclipped. It also has that annoying commentary box in the corner, which I will tolerate. All the wrestlers have a profile on Joshi City, you can click on their names above to go straight to it.

Asahi vs. Tequila Saya

They circle other to start before trading wristlocks, Saya kicks Asahi and works a headlock, but Asahi reverses it. Snapmare by Saya and she slams Asahi’s head into the mat before hitting a kneedrop to the face for a two count. Saya puts Asahi in the ropes and presses her boot against her face, she lets go after a moment but Asahi quickly returns the favor and does the same to her. Saya throws Asahi into the corner and hits a running back elbow, another one by Saya but Asahi knocks her back with a dropkick. Saya throws Asahi into the corner but Asahi flips out onto the apron, she comes back in with a sunset flip before slamming Saya’s head repeatedly into the mat. Short armbar by Asahi but Saya gets into the ropes, Asahi goes for a Tiger Feint Kick but Saya moves out of the way and hits a crossbody. Scoop slam by Saya, she picks up Asahi but Asahi elbows her and the two trade shots. Asahi goes off the ropes but Saya catchers her with a knee, low crossbody by Saya and she drives Asahi’s face into the mat with her knees for a two count cover. Saya gets on the top turnbuckle but Asahi avoids her dive and connects with a series of dropkicks. Scoop slam by Asahi, and she covers Saya for two. Cross armbreaker by Asahi, but Saya quickly gets to the ropes for the break. Tiger Feint Kick by Asahi and she covers Saya for two. Asahi goes up top and hits a diving crossbody, but that gets a two count as well. Asahi goes off the ropes but Saya avoids the dropkick, they trade flash pins but both get two counts. Both wrestlers get up, Saya quickly applies the Gran Maestro de Tequila for the three count! Tequila Saya is the winner.

I am generally out of the loop with Ice Ribbon so I blame Ice Ribbon Twitter for me not knowing that Asahi is pretty damn solid for a 17 year old. She is in good condition so she had no issues keeping up with the slightly more veteran Saya, and she has a wide variety of moves that she does very smoothly. Since Saya is retiring they should have just had Asahi win, she doesn’t really have any big wins in the promotion and while this wouldn’t have counted as “big” it would have been something. Saya is who she is, perfectly capable but she wouldn’t blow anyone away with this match as she kept it basic. A good opener but I’d like to see Asahi in a more advanced match to see if she as good as she appeared to be here.

Maika Ozaki and Ram Kaicho vs. Nao Kakuta and Yappy

Maika and Yappy start off, Yappy gets Maika into the ropes but she gives a clean break. Yappy and Maika try to knock each other over with shoulderblocks until Maika wins the battle, cover by Maika but it gets two. Maika clubs Yappy in the back a couple times, she goes for a shoulderblock but Yappy comes off the ropes with a shoulderblock of her own. This gives her time to tag in Nao, mounted elbows by Nao and she chokes Maika while the poor referee (Mio Shirai) tries to get her to stop. She finally does, she picks up Maika but Maika drops Nao with a scoop slam and tags in Kaicho. Kaicho ducks a lariat and flips off Nao, but Nao grabs her and they struggle for control. Kaicho stomps on Nao’s hands and hits a jumping crossbody, she throws Nao into the corner and hits a running elbow. Kaicho throws Nao into the other corner but Nao jumps on the second turnbuckle, she grabs Kaicho and applies a hanging necklock. Nao snaps Kaicho’s neck on the top rope, she gets back in the ring and hits a DDT for a two count. Nao tags Yappy, Yappy picks up Kaicho and applies a swinging front necklock slam. Cover by Yappy, but it only gets two. Back up, Yappy throws Kaicho into the corner and hits a lariat, Nao returns and boots Kaicho in the face.

Yappy picks up Kaicho and sets her up in the ropes but Kaicho avoids her charge and hits a Tiger Feint Kick. Irish whip by Kaicho and she hits a double chop to the chest, she crawls to Yappy and covers her for two. Kaicho tags in Maika, and both of them take turns stomping on on Yappy. Maika picks up Kaicho and slams her onto Yappy, cover by Maika but it gets two. Maika puts Yappy in a crab hold but Yappy crawls to the ropes and forces the break. Maika picks up Yappy but Yappy elbows Maika off of her and delivers a backbreaker. Maika lands against the ropes, hip attacks by Yappy and she hits a seated senton for two. Yappy tags Nao, boot to the face by Nao and she boots her again for a two count. Yappy returns, side Russian leg sweep by Nao and Yappy hits a running leg drop. Nao goes off the ropes but Maika gets her on her shoulders, Nao slides off and applies a rolling cradle for two. Crossface by Nao, but Kaicho gets past Yappy and breaks it up. Nao tries to get Maika on her shoulders but can’t, Kaicho comes in and nails the Rainmaker on Nao. Diving senton by Maika, but Yappy barely breaks up the cover. Maika goes off the ropes and levels Nao with a lariat, but Nao barely kicks out. Maika drags up Nao and gets her on her shoulders, Argentine Buster by Maika and she picks up the three count! Maika Ozaki and Ram Kaicho win!

Another fun match. I love Kaicho so I am biased from the start, but all four here played their roles well and the time passed quickly. Not everyone in the match is a great wrestler and most (if not all) will never be main event wrestlers, but they stuck to what they knew how to do, kept the action fast enough, and kept the wrestlers fresh so no one was exposed. Another relatively simply laid out match but still a good one, so far this card is shaping up very well.

Akane Fujita and Hiragi Kurumi vs. Miku Aono and Satsuki Totoro

Kurumi and Satsuki start off, Miku immediately comes in to help but Kurumi shoulderblocks them both down. Akane comes in the ring as Kurumi gets Miku on her back, Akane jumps on her back as well as they go for a body press onto Satsuki but Satsuki moves out of the way. Satsuki puts Kurumi in a camel clutch but Akane breaks it up, footstomp by Kurumi to Satsuki and she tags in Akane. Akane puts Satsuki in the camel clutch, Kurumi returns to the ring and she dropkicks Satsuki in the face while she is still in the hold. Cover by Akane, but it gets two. Akane picks up Satsuki but Satsuki blocks the scoop slam, Kurumi holds Satsuki for Akane and she hits a running shoulderblock for two. Irish whip to the corner by Akane but Satsuki fires out of the corner with a shoulderblock and tags in Miku. Dropkicks by Miku to Akane, more kicks by Miku and she throws Akane into the corner. Miku charges at Akane but Kurumi intercepts her, Satsuki also is in the ring by now and Akane lariats her in the corner. Satsuki and Miku are stacked in the corner but Miku avoids their opponent’s charge, leading to Satsuki getting hit instead. Miku kicks Akane in the back repeatedly, cover by Miku but it gets two. Double underhook by Miku, she can’t pick up Akane up however and Akane chops her to the mat. Akane tags Kurumi, dropkick by Kurumi to Miku and she covers her for two.

Satsuki gets in the ring to help Miku hit a vertical suplex, cover by Miku but it gets a two count. Miku goes off the ropes but Kurumi hits a body avalanche, Miku comes back with a dropkick however and makes the tag to Satsuki. Satsuki goes off the ropes and hits a running senton on Kurumi, body press by Satsuki and she gets a two count. Satsuki goes for a seated senton but Kurumi moves, Kurumi hits a seated senton of her own and holds down Satsuki for two. Kurumi picks up Satsuki and kicks her in the head, jumping crossbody by Satsuki but it only gets two. Miku comes in and hits a fisherman suplex on Kurumi, Satsuki picks up Kurumi and hits a rolling fireman’s carry slam. Satsuki goes up to the top turnbuckle while Miku stands in the corner, Miku tries to assist Satsuki in hitting a senton but Kurumi moves. Kurumi and Satsuki trade elbows, Satsuki goes off the ropes but Akane runs in and drops her with a shoulderblock. Cannonball by Kurumi to Satsuki, but Satsuki barely kicks out of the cover. Akane gets Satsuki on her shoulders and hits a Samoan Drop, footstomp by Kurumi and she hits a somersault senton for two. Kurumi goes off the ropes and levels Satsuki with a lariat, but again Satsuki gets a shoulder up. Kurumi goes up to the top turnbuckle and nails the diving body press, and she picks up the three count! Akane Fujita and Hiragi Kurumi are the winners.

Not unwatchable but a step down from the last two matches. With the wrestlers in this match one could only expect so much, Satsuki and Akane are pretty average wrestlers (although Akane can be fun in hardcore matches) and with this being Miku’s first Ice Ribbon match there was going to be some feeling things out. For a shorter match it took too long to get going, and then they went straight to Joshi Chaos which is fine but it was more fast-paced than really entertaining. Nothing really wrong with it but the definition of a match that is “just there.”

Ibuki Hoshi, Syuri, and Tae Honma vs. Risa Sera, Fujimoto, and Tsukushi

Team Tsukasa attacks before the bell rings, they stack their opponents in the corner and Tsukasa’s teammates kneel in front of them so she can catapult off their backs with a dropkick. Things calm down with Tsukasa and Ibuki staying in as the legal wrestlers, with Tsukasa putting Ibuki in a submission hold. Risa is tagged in and she takes over on Ibuki, putting her in the Rocking Horse while Tsukasa plays defense. Double kneedrop by Risa, and she covers Ibuki for two. Tsukushi is tagged next as Ibuki continues getting beat down, while Syuri finally gets free and breaks it up. Tsukasa returns, she puts Ibuki in the ropes and with Tsukushi they both dropkick her in the back. Irish whip by Tsukasa but Ibuki hits a quick crossbody, Tsukasa bridges out of the pin and kicks Ibuki to the mat. Tsukasa goes off the ropes and she elbows Ibuki in the chest, cover by Tsukasa but it gets two. Scoop slam attempt by Tsukasa but Ibuki reverses it into a slam of her own, giving her time to tag in Tae. Diving crossbody by Tae, Tsukushi and Risa come in but Tae dropkicks both of them. Tilt-a-whirl headscissors by Tae to Tsukasa, Tae goes for a strike but Tsukasa blocks it and applies in Octopus Hold. Tae slowly walks to the ropes and forces the break, snapmare by Tsukasa and she kicks Tae in the back. More kicks by Tsukasa, she goes for a PK but Tae blocks it and elbows Tsukasa in the knee. Tae goes off the ropes but so does Tsukasa and she cradles Tae to the mat before kicking her in the chest.

Tsukasa tags in Risa, Risa elbows Tae in the chest and the two trade blows. Tae applies a short armbar but Risa quickly rolls out of it, Irish whip by Tae to the corner and she hits a running elbow followed by a dropkick. Tae gets the short armbar re-applied, but Risa gets to the ropes for the break. Tae goes up top but she is grabbed from the apron by Tsukasa, Risa gets Tae on her shoulders while Tsukasa goes up to the top turnbuckle while Syuri runs in the ring. Tsukasa jumps off the top turnbuckle and catapults off Tae’s back to hit a diving crossbody on Syuri, Tae wiggles off Risa’s back however and puts her in a submission hold. Risa gets to the ropes for the break, Tae tags in Syuri as Tsukasa also comes in, but Syuri fights them both off. Knee by Syuri to Risa in the corner, cover by Syuri but it gets two. Syuri goes for a cross armbreaker but Tsukushi quickly breaks it up, Syuri stomps on Risa’s back but Risa elbows her. The two trade elbows and knees, dropkick by Risa and she drops Syuri with the Schwein for a two count. Risa quickly gets a reverse double kneedrop off the ropes, but that gets a two as well. Risa tags in Tsukushi, dropkick by Tsukushi and Tsukasa comes in to slam Tsukushi onto Syuri. Tsukushi picks up Syuri, elbows by Tsukushi and she catches Syuri with a knee. Murder Dropkick by Tsukushi while Syuri is against the ropes, Tsukushi goes off the ropes again but she is kicked from ringside.

Double underhook suplex by Syuri, Tae dropkicks Tsukushi and Syuri connects with a kick to the chest for two. Syuri tags in Ibuki, Ibuki and Tsukushi trade elbows until Tsukushi knocks down Ibuki for a two count. Tsukushi goes up to the top turnbuckle but Ibuki avoids the diving footstomp, Tae runs in and drops Tsukushi with a DDT. Running knee by Syuri, Ibuki slams Tsukushi to the mat but her cover is broken up by both Tsukasa and Risa. Ibuki goes up top but Tsukushi avoids the diving body press, Tsukasa nails Ibuki with a missile dropkick and Risa hits a double knee strike in the corner. Tsukushi goes up top and hits a missile dropkick, she covers Ibuki but Syuri breaks it up. Tsukasa and Tsukushi both dropkick Syuri and then Tae out of the ring, Tsukushi knees Ibuki repeatedly in the head before stomping her. Tsukushi goes to the top turnbuckle and nails the diving footstomp, cover by Tsukushi but Ibuki barely bridges out of the cover. Tsukushi picks up Ibuki but Tae gets out of the double underhook, cradle by Tsukushi but Ibuki reverses it and the two trade flash pins. Jumping footstomp by Tsukushi and she goes for the Harukaze, but Ibuki rolls through it and holds down Tsukushi for the three count! Ibuki Hoshi, Syuri, and Tae Honma are the winners.

They took the easy way out by having Ibuki be the focus of the match, but this was still pretty damn good. Tsukasa is probably the best Joshi wrestler that Western fans don’t talk about much, she is fantastic at everything she does and all her segments were quality. Tsukushi has so much anger and fierceness, you’d have thought her opponents owed her money the way she fights, and she was fun to watch as well. Everyone else kind of blended in together, Syuri and Risa Sera both looked fine but mostly just came in for a few spots, same with Tae Honma. A match designed to have a rookie/child beatdown doesn’t need six wrestlers, but it did keep the action fast paced and everything was crisp. Even though I would have changed the format a bit, Tsukasa and Tsukushi alone made this match worth watching.  Recommended

(c) Matsuya Uno vs. Banny Oikawa vs. Cherry
Triangle Ribbon Championship

All three lock knuckles to start, they do a wristlock chain until the Ice Ribbon wrestlers stop to double team Cherry. It doesn’t work as Cherry fights them both off, Cherry and Matsuya have a chat until Cherry chokes Matsuya into the corner. Banny dropkicks Cherry and then Matsuya, another dropkick by Banny but Cherry covers her for two. Banny and Cherry argue, Matsuya breaks that up and they run through a sequence ending with Matsuya dropkicking both of her opponents. Matsuya puts both opponents in the ropes and takes turns chopping them, she picks up Banny and slams her head-first into the mat. She then puts Cherry on top of her and applies a submission to both, she lets go after a moment and stacks both in the corner. Matsuya charges in but Cherry moves, she still hits Banny but Cherry grabs her from behind and hits a monkey flip followed by mounted elbow strikes. Cherry goes for a scoop slam but Matsuya blocks it and hits one of her own, Cherry quickly goes for a Triangle Choke but Banny breaks it up. Banny dropkicks Cherry and Matsuya in different corners, she stacks them in one corner and hits a final dropkick.

Banny picks up Matsuya and kicks her in the chest a few times, jumping back kick by Banny but Cherry grabs her from the apron. Matsuya tries to dropkick Banny but Banny moves, cradle attempts by Banny but Matsuya kicks out of each. Banny goes up top as Cherry gets back in the ring, she eventually just falls off while Cherry beats down Matsuya. Cherry drop toeholds Banny onto Matsuya, Cherry covers her but it gets a two count. Cherry cradles Matsuya and hits mounted punches, but Banny picks her up from behind and they trade waistlocks. A double schoolboy attempt by Matsuya gets a two count, dropkick by Matsuya to Banny but Banny blocks the F Crash so Matsuya rolls her up instead for another two. Banny puts Matsuya in a crossface, she lets go and attempts a few flash pins, but Cherry breaks it up. Cherry tries to pin both Banny and Matsuya but can’t get the three count, she slams Banny in front of the corner and then slams Matsuya next to her. Cherry goes up top but both avoids the Swanton Bomb, Cherry is sent out of the ring and Banny schoolboys Matsuya for two. Matsuya quickly puts Banny in a cradle of her own, and she gets the three count! Matsuya Uno wins and retains the championship.

Since this title has been around forever there is clearly an audience for this style of match, but I am not the audience. I’m not a huge fan of triple threats and I’m not a huge fan of the vast majority of comedy matches, so if you combine those two together its not really my cup of tea. No one really got a chance to show off as the match was relatively short, although there weren’t any noticeable issues which is a plus. The match was exactly what I expected, if you enjoy these types of matches you’ll like it as there was nothing wrong with the action but skippable for me.

(c) Maya Yukihi vs. Suzu Suzuki
ICExInfinity Championship

Suzu dropkicks Maya right out of the gate but Maya dropkicks her back, running knee by Maya in the corner and she knees Suzu in the back. Backbreaker by Maya and she hits a few more knees before covering Suzu for two. Maya stretches Suzu for a moment, back up Suzu goes for a slam but Maya blocks it. Chops to the chest by Maya, Suzu goes for a dropkick but Maya sidesteps her. Maya picks up Suzu but Suzu reverses the scoop slam into one of her own, Suzu goes off the ropes and she hits a series of dropkicks. Irish whip by Suzu and she hits another dropkick, she charges Maya in the corner and hits a shoulder tackle. Suzu goes for a swandive move but Maya hits her before she can jump off, she grabs Suzu while she is still on the apron and brings her into the ring with a backbreaker. Maya knees Suzu while she is against the ropes and charges her, but Suzu moves out of the way and dropkicks Maya from the apron. Cover by Suzu, but it gets two. Suzu goes up top but Maya hits her before she can jump off, she tosses Suzu back in the ring but Suzu rolls to her feet and goes for a spear. Maya blocks it but Suzu slides behind her back and the two trade elbows. Suzu bridges to avoid an elbow and hits a spear, cover by Suzu but it gets a two count.

Suzu picks up Maya and goes for a suplex, but Maya blocks it and applies a Cobra Twist. Maya slams Suzu to the mat to end the hold before putting her in a Scorpion Deathlock, but Suzu crawls to the ropes for the break. Maya charges Suzu while she is against the ropes and nails a running knee, Maya goes up top but Suzu avoids the missile dropkick and hits a modified reverse STO. Suzu goes up top and hits a diving crossbody, cover by Suzu but it gets two. She goes out to the apron and delivers a swandive dropkick, cover by Suzu but it gets another two count. Suzu goes for the German Suplex but Maya grabs the ropes to block it, elbows by Suzu but Maya kicks Suzu in the chest. Suzu recovers and goes for a few flash pins, but Maya kicks out of each. Kicks to the chest by Maya and she hits a vertical suplex, Scorpion Deathlock by Maya, but Suzu makes it to the ropes. Maya picks up Suzu but Suzu slides away and she plants Maya with a release German Suplex. Suzu picks up Maya and nails the German Suplex Hold, but Maya gets a shoulder up. Strike combination by Maya, Suzu tries a cradle but Maya rolls through it and kicks Suzu in the head. Crystal of Snow by Maya, but Suzu gets a shoulder up on the cover. Maya picks up Suzu and delivers the Tiger Driver, and she picks up the three count! Maya Yukihi wins and retains the championship.

For a match with an obvious conclusion, still a pretty solid defense for Maya. As expected, Maya spent the bulk of the match on offense and focused on Suzu’s back, which was done well as she has a good variety of offense to stay on task. Suzu’s hope spots were few but solid, and when she finally hit the German Suplex Hold it was almost a believable nearfall. Sadly that was the climax for Suzu as she went down soon after, with Maya finishing her off without too much of an issue at that point. Both wrestlers are fun to watch and Maya looked good as she always does, it didn’t really feel like a championship match but it was enjoyable nonetheless and was probably a fitting main event for a smaller show.  Mildly Recommended

The post Ice Ribbon New Ice Ribbon #1008 on 11/23/19 Review appeared first on Joshi City.

Championships Held: None
Tournaments Won: None
Awards Won: None

Notable Matches:

• October 3rd, 2019 with Tequila Saya vs. Giulia and Maya Yukihi
• November 30th, 2019 vs. Maya Yukihi

Signature Moves:

• Backbreaker
• Chancery Swing
• Hip Attack
• Lariat

Sample of Matches Reviewed on Joshi City:

• November 23rd, 2019 – Maika Ozaki and Ram Kaicho vs. Nao Kakuta and Yappy in Ice Ribbon

In Action:

Chancery Swing

Hip Attack

Back to Ice Ribbon Roster

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