Category: Wrestling

Categories
Japan Reviews Wrestling

Merry Joshi Christmas 2017! Part 1: Ice Ribbon 12/23/17 Live Thoughts

December 23, 2017 in Tokyo, Japan

 

I can’t believe it’s so close to the holidays, and that it’s already time for me to be back in Tokyo. My first show for this trip was Christmas Ribbon at the Ice Ribbon Dojo.

This wasn’t a Shutter Ribbon event, so I don’t have any pictures of the matches.

 

Right before the show got going Sato and Tsukka came out in suits with a formal announcement that a settlement had been reached and that Tsukushi will be returning to Ice Ribbon at Ribbonmania in a “career reset.” Tsukushi then came out for a few words. Her time away and working in the background was appropriate, but I’m glad things are going better and an arrangement was reached for her second chance. She’ll be facing Tsukka in her re-debut.

 

The start of the show was then announced and the roster came out in Christmas outfits (to Maya singing a version of “Jingle Bells”) and had a lengthy, light hearted segment of opening comments.

 

Maika Ozaki vs Nagasaki Maruko  was a great opener, with good, hard hitting action (man did they lay in those forearm shots) with an underlying sense of tension, and a real sense both were growingly frustrated with being unable to win. Maika has really evolved a lot since she first started wrestling in Ice Ribbon and I think both these wrestlers will have big things ahead of them. There was a brief pull apart brawl afterwards as neither was satisfied with the time limit draw, so a rematch seems likely. Looking forward to it.

 

 

IMG_9766

 

 

The teams of Tsukasa Fujimoto, Miyako Matsumoto, & Karen DATE and Kyuri, & Novel Tornado (Satsuki Totoro & Nao DATE) each brought several balloons to ringside with them for their 6-woman tag match. It indicated another of IR’s special stipulation matches that highlight touches of comedy and amusingly absurd match conditions while still maintaining a strong sense of competition and the essential trappings of a wrestling match. IR is one of the best promotions there is at achieving that balance. In this case the balloons were legal to use during the match, and there were numerous clever spots involving popping the balloons on and around their opponents. From various splashes onto each other with balloons wedged in between people to hard kicks popping balloons on opponents’ chests and faces, etc there was so much amusement the fact that the competitors often had to hold balloons in place on themselves was easily overlooked. Another humorous highlight was “Merry Christmas Mama Mia,” in which Miyako laid out her three opponents in a line and had her partners Tsukka and Karen follow her around the ring posing while Miyako sang “we wish you a Merry Christmas.” Of course the entire opposing team got their legs up when Miyako’s trio went for the splashes at the end.

This was my first time seeing Novel Tornado team in any capacity, and they have great chemistry and nice double teams. Kyuri fit in well with them and the opposing trio was an equally suitable pairing. Again what I liked best is that underneath all the comedic elements was a solid, well wrestled match. And of course seeing Miyako get a rare win with a Super Mama Mia (onto a balloon of course) was a nice bonus. This was a ton of fun.

 

 

IMG_9764

 

 

Things went back to all business in the third match, an interesting non-title encounter between Ir’s Cross Infinity Champion Risa Sera and Uno Matsuya. Uno continues to be absolutely incredible at playing the underdog and getting the audience behind her, and with a little bit of dismissiveness thrown in from Risa they had the crowd fully invested and totally believing in a possible upset by Uno. Risa had a few close calls and eventually had to pull out several finishers to put the upstart down in another great contest.

The timing of this was intriguing, as Uno is still a part of the Young Ice Tournament. She was despondent with the loss, and while I don’t think this is how the tourney will play out her winning it and using the prize choice of championship opportunity to demand a rematch from Risa with the title on the line is certainly one logical way they could go and would be a highly satisfying story to watch unfold.

 

 

The main event saw a nice combination of build for two different matches at the next big show as Maya Yukihi & Ibuki Hoshi faced Akane Fujita & Asahi. The very next day Akane and partner Kurumi would be challenging Azure Revolution (Maya & Risa) for the International Ribbon Tag Team Championships, and Asahi and Ibuki would be facing off in a singles rematch. Akane started things off passive aggressively by shaking Ibuki’s hand but refusing Maya and from there all four kept up a good feeling of hostility and wanting to better their respective rivals here. This was best when the wrestlers were just trying to plow through one another and viciously striking their opponents. The sound of the impacts the smaller Asahi and Ibuki were managing when forearming each other was cringe inducing, and Akane playing wrecking ball is always a treat to watch.

There was some awkwardness during other sequences, such as Maya seemingly not being able to decide which corner to go up in at one point and repeatedly starting to go out just to come back in and think some more (given the sequence eventually ended with her partner getting involved I’d guess either someone was out of position or Maya momentarily lost track of where things were going and whether her choice of corner mattered). But they were minor things overall and the match was still quite a good main event to finish the show off  that provided some great build for the following day’s show. Maya eventually got Asahi isolated and kept hitting escalating moves until the rookie couldn’t kick out.

 

IMG_9761
Merry Christmas!

 

The post show roundtable was all about building up the next show, with a nice summary video package shown and several little scuffles and/or arguments between impending opponents. Asahi seemed quite broken up and was crying as she gave her portion, and Tsukka picked her to lead the show ending “Happy Ice Ribbon” cheer to the audience’s strong approval. Two new trainees were introduced as well.

 

I really enjoyed this. It had a diverse batch of matches and styles and was just generally good wrestling all around. The recent influx of talent is certainly having an effect, as having more power wrestlers such as Totoro, Nao, and Maika in addition to Akane and Kurumi and the MMA influence the Team Date women brought in to supplement mat technicians like Kyuri and Tsukka adds significant depth and variability to the stories that can be told. This show was a perfect way to start my trip.

 

Categories
Anime Art Cards Comics Manga Video Games Wrestling

Beautiful Dreams 2: More Art of Juri the Dreamer

As I mentioned in Beautiful Dreams, I’ve been a fan of Juri H Chinchilla’s amazing art for several years and have been fortunate enough to develop a nice collection of her work. Here I’d like to share and talk about more of it (as well as ramble a bit about the stories and inspirations behind certain pieces).

 

“Prayers” Witchcraft sketch card by Juri Chinchilla.
Hallowe’en 2 sketch card by Juri Chinchilla.
“Red Moon” Spellcasters II AP by Juri Chinchilla
Witchcraft AP by Juri Chinchilla.
“Friends” wind and water Elementals AP by Juri Chinchilla.
“Wraith” Hallowe’en 2 sketch card by Juri Chinchilla.

 

Juri continues to be heavily featured in Perna Studios excellent card sets. I’ve been lucky enough to get several diverse, beautiful sketch cards of hers from sets like Witchcraft, Elementals, etc, in addition to having the opportunity to commission some incredible Artist Proofs (APs) as well.

Juri’s also done promo and base card art for Perna’s sets, and special cards including metal and spot foil chase cards and variants.

 

Spellcasters II and Witchcraft metal chase cards by Juri Chinchilla.
Spellcasters II foil chase card by Juri Chinchilla.
Some of Juri’s base and promo cards from various Perna Studios sets.

 

Some particularly interesting pieces of my collection include unique original works, such as Juri’s original pencils underlying her Mistress of the Night piece (the final version of which I featured in Beautiful Dreams) and colored and original art versions of her page from Sarah “Sakky” Ruth Ford’s Magical Girl Coloring Book.

 

“The Mistress of the Night” original pencils.
Juri’s coloring of her page from Sarah “Sakky” Ruth Ford’s Magical Girl Coloring Book.
Juri’s original art for Sarah “Sakky” Ruth Ford’s Magical Girl Coloring Book.

 

Juri’s Personal Sketch Cards (PSCs) have been more fantastic additions to my collection, with the great opportunity to request particular subjects and design elements.

As always I adore her use of color, particularly in her hand drawn work, and like with her Perna sketch cards and APs above that aspect also really shines in her PSCs. Seeing her visions of some of my favorite characters come to life has been a real treat. I’m a diehard gamer, with particular preference to RPGs and fighting games over the years. With Juri’s pitch perfect confrontation between Kasumi and Ayane from Dead or Alive and jaw dropping melding of Morrigan and Lilith from Darkstalkers joining the original sketches I got from her featuring Millia Rage, Jam Kuradoberi, and Dizzy from Guilty Gear, I now have incredible renditions of all of my favorite characters to play from each of my favorite fighting game series.

 

Lenneth Valkyrie PSC by Juri Chinchilla.
Kasumi and Ayane PSC by Juri Chinchilla.
Morrigan and Lilith Aensland PSC by Juri Chinchilla.

 

Valkyrie Profile is my single favorite RPG of all time, and Juri’s intricately detailed, soft yet strong interpretation of Lenneth Valkyire is exquisite. Favorite series honors go to Persona, and I adore Juri’s vibrant, striking depiction of a key supporting character from one of the series’ best entries.

 

One of the more unique requests I’ve made is a card featuring one of my favorite professional wrestlers, Mitsuru Konno from Gatoh Move. Mitsuru’s already showing great potential and instincts even with only a little over a year in wrestling, and I adore the incredible way Juri’s captured and combined her strength, determination, grace, and beauty in this remarkable rendition.

 

IMG_9736
Mitsuru Konno PSC by Juri Chinchilla.

 

The last two pieces I’d like to talk about are anime/manga related. I’m using the word “favorite” a lot, but in explaining the inspirations for choosing these subjects across various mediums it has been appropriate and illustrative in every case. Gorgeous animation, thought provoking stories, and an incredible atmosphere come together to make Kino’s Journey my all time favorite anime. Juri perfectly related Kino’s cool, somewhat detached demeanor resting for a moment atop Hermes against a wonderful background horizon that evokes the show’s sense of traveling through a vast, intriguing world.

 

Rosario Vampire is an amusing, fan-service and action heavy harem style manga based around a high school for monsters where students regularly get into fierce battles with one another. It has solid story progression once it gets going, but is admittedly largely formulaic and trope ridden. However halfway through the second “season” of the manga there’s a side story,  introducing a relatively minor supporting character (who didn’t even make the anime adaptation), which embraces and upends cliches in equal measure to present a nuanced, emotional story that is easily at the top of the (long) list of things I’ve read. San Otonashi is a phenomenal character and (here’s that word again 😉 ) an absolute favorite of mine despite her relative obscurity. Even with being initially unfamiliar with San, Juri was able to create a gorgeous, spot on card of her, conveying both delicacy and strength and again really elevating the final work with her incredible coloring.

 

San Otonashi PSC by Juri Chinchilla. 
Kino PSC by Juri Chinchilla. 
Elizabeth PSC by Juri Chinchilla. 

 

More information about Juri’s art can be found on her artist page. I hope to continue to follow and collect her incredible creations for a long time to come. 🙂

 

——-

Edit 2/9/18: I recent received three more wonderful Personal Sketch Cards by Juri, and wanted to add them to this celebration of her art.

Shoulder-a-Coffin Kuro is an incredible, unique adventure. At its heart are Kuro’s ever curious companions Ninjuku and Sanju, enjoying their journey but also gradually losing their blissful ignorance of the larger world around them. Juri’s wonderfully captured their playfulness and variation of personality.

 

IMG_0079

 

Brian Q Miller’s Batgirl series was an wonderful comic with the headstrong yet lovable Stephanie Brown in the titular role. One of my favorite issues of the run was a lighthearted story about her friendship with Supergirl. I absolutely love Juri’s rendition of the two of them together.

 

IMG_0080

 

Finally, Food Wars is a surprisingly fantastic manga/anime with a sports competition manga feel applied to idea of a highly competitive cooking school. Beneath the (admittedly enjoyable) humor,fan service, and general ridiculousness are compelling story arcs featuring an interesting, fun cast. A personal favorite of mine is prodigy Alice Nakiri, who’s simultaneously sheltered/immature and world traveled/formidable in a highly amusing way. Her confidence and attitude are perfectly reflected in Juri’s depiction.

 

IMG_0078

Categories
Reviews Wrestling

Rise 5 Rising Sun Live Thoughts

November 10, 2017 in Berwyn, IL

Rise is a relatively new promotion (associated with the well established Shimmer) that is built around holding training seminars taught by professional wrestling veterans from around the world and having participants earn a chance to perform on the related Rise shows.

 

Rise 5: Rising Sun was held the Friday night before Shimmer’s Fall 2017 taping weekend and followed a day long seminar featuring Madusa (Alundra Blayze) and an advertised Joshi legend who turned out to be Aja Kong. Kong would later wrestle on the show, teaming with two seminar participants against another trio featuring Joshi talent (and Shimmer regular) Hiroyo Matsumoto and another pair of seminar participants.

This was my first time seeing Rise (outside of a couple of dark matches before the November 2016 Shimmer tapings). I like the concept behind the promotion and the unique opportunities it presents for both the participants and the promoters.

 

 

 

A three match pre-show started things off and was broadcast free on youtube, which was a worthwhile way to try to generate buzz. It also allowed a significant number of extra participants to be featured in a fine 6-woman tag of Paloma Starr, Samara & Trixie Tash vs Londyn Ali, Robyn & Savanna Stone, had a great contest between Indi Hartwell and Hyan (which very well may have been the best seminar participants only match of the night), and ended nicely with Layne Rosario getting a shot at veteran LuFisto.

 

 

To open the main show Delilah Doom came out with an emotional, tearful explanation that she injured her wrist during the seminar and had to pull out of the main event. I remember thinking it was appropriate if legit, and manipulative and overdone if part of a story. And since it was a full blown in ring interview instead of just an announcement and the cameras were rolling…

 

 

 

Wrestling-wise the early part of the main show had four (what I think were) participant vs participant matches of  Heather Monroe vs Renee Michelle, Jewells Malone vs Hawlee Layne, The Sinister Sweethearts (Brittany Blake & Samantha Heights) vs Amanda Carolina Rodriguez & Valentina Loca, and Tasha Steelz vs Allie Kat.  All were pretty much exactly what they were intended to be: ok matches allowing the wrestlers an opportunity to perform and the audience a chance to see some new faces.

 

 

 

Things picked up with the tryouts vs veterans section, starting with an impressive showing for Zoe Lucas (who earned a chance to travel to the US and appear at Rise and Shimmer via Rise 4’s seminar in Great Britain) against Cheerleader Melissa. Melissa’s ring style has changed significantly since last I saw her, but she still played the bullying powerhouse well against Zoe’s arrogant upstart challenge. Zoe looked great all weekend and I hope she returns.

 

 

 

The best storytelling of the night was certainly in the Four Way Match between Saraya Knight, Karen Q, Miranda Salinas, and Ray Lyn. Ray and Karen did everything in their power to avoid Saraya at all costs, working over Miranda constantly and scattering whenever Saraya was tagged in, leaving her no choice but to bring the beaten down rookie back in and hope she lasted long enough for Saraya to come back in. It was an odd dynamic, and I generally don’t like when mulit-person matches become quasi-tag team matches, but it really worked here. Everyone played their roles perfectly, and Miranda couldn’t have looked any more sympathetic. I came out of this fun story really wanting to see Saraya and Miranda as a team.

 

After a solid contest in which Nicole Savoy defeated Kylie Rae, Hudson Envy came out and demanded a match with someone new to Rise and Shimmer. Of course instead of a rookie from the seminar she’s answered by the debuting Taya Valkyrie (who was a last minute replacement when the advertised Courtney Rush couldn’t make it). Good, hard hitting match.

 

2

 

Another big debut, and one I’d really been looking forward to, saw Thunder Rosa face Heart of Shimmer Champion Shazza McKenzie in a non-title bout. Rosa looked fantastic and gave Shazza her best match in ages before the champ squeaked by with a rollup.

 

The semi main was the previously mentioned Joshi led 6-woman tag team match with The Blue Nation (Charli Evans & Jessica Troy) joining Aja Kong and Dynamite DiDi & Rachael Ellering on Hiroyo Matsumoto’s side. This was a ton of fun, with the two powerhouses pounding on each other in between really good showings from their partners.

 

 

 

The main event saw a 6-way “Incursion of the Phoenix” elimination match for the Phoenix Of RISE title featuring six original members of Rise roster (one year previous). Supposedly it was now a 5-way with Doom out injured. This was an ordered entry elimination match with pinfalls, submissions, disqualifications, and countouts in effect and increasing time intervals between entries (two minute first period, then three minutes after entrant #3 until entrant #4, etc).

The early going was decent, with Britt Baker and Deonna Purrazzo starting followed by Kikyo and the champion Shotzi Blackheart. No eliminations until four of the (supposed) five were in the ring, after which Kikyo cleared Baker and Purrazzo. The section with the four of them went on so long (seemingly much longer than the four minutes it was supposed to) that I was starting to think there was no one else when Dust finally came out.

 

61

 

Dust did not seem at all interested in reclaiming her title, instead getting herself disqualified and attacking Shotzi with a barbed wire bat after help from the promoter Kevin Harvey, then leaving after being told by him “she” (Courtney Rush) says that’s enough. The dominant Kikyo then finished off the scraps of the defending champion to become the NEW …. hahahahaha. No. She finished off Shotzi then surprise surprise Delilah Doom comes out to “valiantly” cheat her way into the last spot. Er, valiantly defeat the “unfairly” crowned champ Kikyo, who had actually kicked ass so much the crowd was cheering for her.

As Doom celebrates a scratchy recording of Courtney Rush played and poor Doom has to pretend she can’t tell, that it’s live, and she’s trying to figure out where Rush is speaking from. I know things had to be changed since Rush couldn’t appear, but this was eye-rollingly cheesy. It all leads to Doom vs Rush in a cage for the title being set for Rise 6.

 

 

 

I was quite interested in the match concept and appreciate the attempt at trying something new and notable, but honestly this was disappointing. It just didn’t come together, with inconsistent enforcement/execution of the overly convoluted rules leading to crowd confusion and disinterest. The three eliminations practically made Kikyo a face, and a corrupted authority figure is the LAST thing a developmental federation needed. The increasing time periods for entry had no logical reason from a competition standpoint, and I’d be shocked if they were properly timed, leading to awkward pacing. Doom either got preferential treatment (by the promoter who just turned heel mind you) by being allowed to enter the match last after the random draw had happened, or she drew anyway despite supposedly not being in the match and just happened to get the last spot. One lessens sympathy for her and both strain credulity.

I apologize if it seems like I’m nitpicking, but I want to explain in full the issues I had here, as they did make what could have been an exciting match with compelling stories a bit of a mess instead. Let me be clear: the wrestlers all put in great effort and did the best they could here, providing a lot of good action. And a good chunk of the audience did get behind Doom’s win.  But I felt the booking and overall execution let the wrestlers down.

 

65

 

Rising Sun had a nice mix of veterans brought in to work with the new / tryout talent, with a couple of matches between themselves to spice up the card. I understand the reason for having such matches as a draw and they were some of the best of the night. But from start to finish this was WAY too long at 14 matches, so I wonder if going with more tag matches involving participants and veterans would be better. I’d also cut down or out the pre-show and possibly just show the first match of the “main” show online for promotion.  But again, I’m explaining my criticisms in detail in hopes that Rise continues to refine itself and grow as a promotion. And the length of the show is less of an issue while watching on video versus live anyway.

Despite some issues this was a good show overall that I would recommend checking out, with a variety of new and experienced wrestlers all putting in incredible effort and a number of standout performances. There’s just room for improvement, and I’m sure Rise will iron out the rough spots as it progresses.

Categories
Japan Wrestling

The NXT Step for a Pirate

The signing of Stardom’s Kairi Hojo in early 2017 by the WWE created immediate buzz and excitement. It was wonderful to see that feeling build in anticipation as the Mae Young Classic and her debut as Kairi Sane approached.

 

Kairi is a masterful ring technician, measuring everything she does carefully and exerting expert body control for maximum visual impact. Her trademark diving elbow from the tope rope looks as beautiful as it does devastating. Her excellent selling draws the audience in and invests them emotionally in her matches, yet she always believably feels like a threat to her opponent no matter how much punishment she’s taken or how much bigger her opponent is. She brings something special and unique to WWE, and the hype surrounding her debut as it approached showed they realized it.

 

IMG_5023

 

My own perspective on Kairi’s pre-WWE career was bit different from when I wrote about Kana (NXT Step for a Legend) and Johnny Gargano (NXT Step for an Icon) heading to NXT, as I’d only seen her live on two occasions (though she essentially wrestled twice on each show). Even from that small sample it was easy to see the command she has of her craft.

 

My first time seeing Kairi live was under unique circumstances, as she was involved in Act Yasukawa’s retirement match at Climax 2015.

 

IMG_5380

 

Act’s retirement match and ceremony had an incredible atmosphere around it, and the entire spectacle was awesome to be at live. Kairi teamed with Act & Haruka Kato vs. Holidead, Kris Wolf & Kyoko Kimura in a match that went on for about 10 minutes, with back and forth action that saw Act and her teammates, particularly Kairi, more and more at odds. Both Act and Kairi did a phenomenal job at portraying two people who thought they had reconciled but were just never meant to get along. Things eventually exploded and the two fought into the crowd with everyone else along for the ride, resulting in a double countout.

 

IMG_5416

 

Then the “real” match began, as Act rejoined her former Oedo Tai stablemates leading to Act Yasukawa & Kyoko Kimura vs Haruka Kato & Kairi Hojo. This was a fitting send off, with Act and her teammates clearly enjoying themselves against long time rivals. Kairi was clearly genuinely emotional as she helped bid farewell to her fellow wrestler’s career.

 

IMG_5426_trim

 

The following year I was back for Climax 2016 and saw Kairi in a pair of equally impressive matches at opposite ends of the spectrum. In a special contest model Nana Suzuki made her debut in a singles match against Hojo, one of Stardom’s aces. Nana actually played her role as an overmatched but determined underdog well and the match was quite good, due in no small part to Kairi playing her own role of dominant veteran absolutely perfectly. She knew exactly how to rightly control most of the offense and avoid reducing her own standing yet still make her rookie opponent look strong. That takes an incredible amount of skill and a deft touch, and the two told a great story here.

 

 

Later that night Kairi told a completely different story as she and partner Yoko Bito looked to regain their Goddesses of Stardom Titles from Oedo Tai (Kyoko Kimura & Kagetsu). This time Kairi was in some sense the underdog, as there was a lot of interference from the Oedo Tai entourage outside the ring. The stacked odds and again excellent awareness of the story being told combined to generate quite the conquering hero reception for Hojo & Bito when they finally overcame it all and took their belts back. It was a treat not only seeing Kairi perform twice, but in such different (but complimentary and consistent) circumstances.

 

IMG_5094_trim

 

Fast forward back to a few months ago and Kairi entered a WWE ring for the first time as part of the Mae Young Classic. It was certainly no surprise when she provided several of the best matches of the whole thing, including a show-stealing first round encounter with Tessa Blanchard, great bouts with Bianca Belair, Dakota Kai, and Toni Storm, and a fitting finale to the whole thing against Shayna Baszler. Seeing her joy at becoming the well deserved first ever MYC winner was wonderful. Since then she has become an integral part of NXT’s women’s division, and is likely to feud with Shayna Baszler and eventually progress to a one on one challenge to champion Ember Moon.

 

IMG_9553
Incredible art print depicting (and signed by) Kairi by Rob Schamberger.

 

Kairi Sane is the epitome of the cliche “a joy to watch,” and I wish her all the best as this exciting new phase of her career continues.

Categories
Japan Wrestling

Farewell to a Legend

On November 3, 2017, in an hour long match with 50+ opponents, Manami Toyota ended her incredible 30 year career in professional wrestling.

Toyota is a innovator and standard bearer whose impact on the sport will be felt long after her retirement. I haven’t watched nearly as much as I want / intend to of Toyota’s older matches, but am of course well aware of her impact on professional wrestling.

As my own personal goodbye to her legendary career, I’d like to focus on the fortuitous opportunities I’ve had to see Toyota wrestle live.

 

IMG_4705

 

The first was a complete surprise, and an incredible moment for me during my first trip to Japan. Toyota was not scheduled for any of the 12 shows I saw during my two week trip to Tokyo at the end of 2015.

On December 20 I attended a show by Chigusa Nagayo’s Marvelous promotion. The main event was a 6 on 2 handicap match featuring Chigusa, Aki Shizuku, Chikayo Nagashima, Mima Shimoda, Takumi Iroha & Tomoko Watanabe vs Dump Matusmoto & Yumiko Hotta. Chigusa’s teammates were largely cannon fodder for Dump to  to hit with a kendo stick and other objects over and over. Hotta arrived wearing numerous pairs of handcuffs all over her gear, so it was obvious where things were eventually going. After the brawl spilled throughout the arena Chigusa’s team was eventually incapacitated by being handcuffed to the ropes.

The heat coming from sections of fans for both Dump and Chigusa was incredible, creating an electric atmosphere. If possible it intensified even more when Manami Toyota came out as surprise help for Chigusa. For me it was a jaw dropping moment, and I felt incredibly privileged to get to meet Toyota after the show.

 

 

Fast forward a year and I was back for the holiday shows again, including a personal favorite of mine in Ice Ribbon’s annual Ribbonmania. Toyota’s match this time was particularly interesting, as she was one of the challengers for Ai Shimizu’s Triangle Ribbon Title (along with Maruko Nagasaki).  This was a straight up slaughter, which might not have made for the most interesting of matches from the perspective of an completely overmatched champion, but Toyota plowing through both opponents and winning the Triangle title with a double pin after her moonsault was a strong spectacle and nice moment all the same. Toyota commented/joked afterwards about her winning a title in 2016, and it was again an honor to get to greet her in person and congratulate her.

Her Triangle Ribbon championship reign was a quiet one, as she successfully defended the title only once during her six month reign before losing it to her heir apparent Tsukasa Fujimoto. But a final championship before she retired was well deserved.

 

IMG_5959

 

 

My third opportunity to see Toyota wrestle live came during a shorter trip this past summer.  At SEAdLINNNG’s August 24 show she was again in a 3-way match with Maruko Nagasaki, this time under high speed rules with Kaho Kobayashi as the third participant. It was an amusing opener centered around the legend having some difficulty with the match concept (super quick counts and covers only valid after some sort of running move from what I could tell) and getting annoyed with special referee Natsuki Taiyo. She eventually adapted and outlasted the youngsters, picked up the win, then sold being exhausted from so much running. It was really amusing, particularly in watching Toyota’s protege Tsukka crack up at ringside at the various antics, and a fun format to see the veteran perform in. 

 

 

 

A few days later I saw what would be my final live Manami Toyota match at Ice Ribbon’s August 27 event. A somewhat poetic way to close things out, as Toyota was the opponent for the debuting Asahi. The rookie played the role of totally overmatched but determined underdog well against  the legend and the dynamic of the confident, somewhat dismissive Toyota acting more and more surprised at Asahi’s resiliency and the length she had to go to in order to beat the upstart was fantastic.

 

 

 

Tsukka and others cheering on Asahi excitedly each time she got a little edge on the veteran or survived a pin attempt added a lot to the atmosphere, and short of being in attendance for Toyota’s actual last match I couldn’t have asked for a better note to say goodbye on.

 

15

 

I appreciate everyone reading indulging me in my personal memories of interactions with one of wrestling’s brightest stars. I highly recommend seeking out anything and everything you can from her incredible career. Congratulations to Manami Toyota and best of luck with whatever’s next.

Categories
Japan Reviews Wrestling

Japan Trip Summer 2017: Top 5 Matches (Live)

I’ve been lucky enough to spend two and a half weeks in Tokyo over the end of the year holidays for the last two years. This summer the stars aligned for a shorter, somewhat unexpected additional trip with a specific purpose. Here I’ll be going over my top 5 matches from the 29 I saw that trip (across 5 shows from 5 different companies).

 

Match reviews copied/modified from my show specific blogs when possible/appropriate.

 

Honorable Mentions:

Tokyo Princess of Princess Title: Yuka Sakazaki(c) vs Reika Saiki –  Tokyo Joshi Pro 8/26/17

 

 

Yuka and Reika are two of my favorite wrestlers in the promotion, so I was thrilled to see this. Yuka is perhaps the most fundamentally sound and consistent performers on the roster, and also wows the crowd with her agility and rope walk spots, so was a great choice for champion. Reika seems their biggest rising star so this was exactly the right time for this confrontation. While I do have to admit I prefer and miss the Mil Clown persona, Yuka’s excellent in any incarnation.

The match was great, going back and forth and building well to a strong finish that saw Reika take advantage of a miss by Yuka with hard strikes and a sweet Shining Wizard, then hit the jackhammer (such a perfect choice of finisher for the Muscle Idol) to become the new Princess of Princess champion. Was awesome to be there for that moment, and Reika definitely deserves a chance to show what she can do as champ.

 

Team DATE (Nao, Hana, Nori, & Karen) vs Maruko Nagasaki, Satsuki Totoro, Uno Matsuya, & Tequilia Saya – Ice Ribbon 8/27/17

 

 

I was a little late coming back from intermission and unfortunately missed the beginning of this big blow off elimination match. As such Hanna was already eliminated and on the outside (and seemed to be nursing a knee injury of some sort) and I came in just as Uno also left the match. Uno’s actually my favorite on that team and I wish she was featured a bit more in general.

Even coming in partway, what I saw was excellent and this was my second favorite match of the night. Everyone was constantly fighting as appropriate for the intense rivalry that has been the cornerstone of the feud. This was my first look at any of the DATES as well as Totoro and even though the nature of the match meant not everyone got a lot of chance to shine they all looked good and payed their roles well. Nao and Satsuki went next (and in rapid succession), leaving Saya and Maruko against Karen and Nori. Nori and Saya had been mostly paired off throughout the match, and they had some really good exchanges in this section until Karen and Nori were able to isolate and eliminate Saya, leaving Maruko in a 2 on 1.

The most experienced of Ice Ribbon’s rookie team persevered to eliminate Karen to even things up and eventually get the better of Nori (in a really good final section) to win for her team. This was 100% the right outcome, as the building story had been the DATES’ dominance and this last battle was Maruko and company’s final chance to prove their equals and gain some respect. Great story, great match. Nori impressed me the most here, and I hope to see a lot more of everyone involved going forward.

After the match Maruko’s team seemed to head to the back without any consideration for their finally defeated rivals, but they came back with Ice Ribbon jackets for Team DATE instead, finally fully accepting them into the roster and leaving things peaceful and in a state of mutual respect between all eight wrestlers after the feud’s end. Again, really well done.

 

Top 5:

5. Gatoh Move Title Tournament Semi-Final: Kotori vs Aasa – Gatoh Move 8/26/17

The main event of Gatoh Move’s 8/26 show was the second semi-final of their title tournament and would determine who would face Riho in the finals at their September Greenhall show.  It was appropriately treated like a big deal and felt important. The outcome was never really in doubt with Kotori on a march to face her tag partner in the finals, but they did an excellent job building drama for near falls regardless and put on a main event that is a testament to their skill even at relatively short times in wrestling.

They went right for each other from the first second in another match that made good use of the environment yet felt different from the other two on the show. I continue to love Aasa’s gimmick, and her energetic onslaught trying to overwhelm the more experienced Kotori was a perfect story for the match as the latter was forced to get creative in countering Aasa’s exuberance. One particularly great spot involved them fighting out the window then running around the building back through the door. Kotori entered first and tried to ambush Aasa, but the latter just BARRELED through Kotori with one of her Vader splashes instead. As expected Kotori eventually prevailed, and she beamed pride throughout the roundtable and even during the meet and greet afterward while Aasa did likewise with little spots of disappointment and despondence. Great touches from both.

 

4. Avid Rival (Misaki Ohata & Ryo Mizunami) vs So On Flower (Aoi Kizuki & Moeka Haruhi) – Wave 8/30/17

 

This was a short but great opener with strong structure and story. Moeka and Aoi jumped their decorated and certainly favored opponents during their entrance pose and never let up, going full throttle trying to prove themselves in Avid Rival’s league. Misaki and Ryo fought back of course but couldn’t ever quite get full control of their opponents nor stop the underdogs’ onslaught. Aoi and Moeka essentially overwhelmed AR and Moeka eventually pinned Mizunami for the upset. This was action packed and really well worked to the point it was satisfying despite (and felt longer than) the literal few minutes it actually ran.

 

3. Meiko Satomura vs Miyu Yamashita –  Tokyo Joshi Pro 8/26/17

 

42

 

This was fantastic and edged out the main for match of the night. I’ve commented before that I felt Miyu was capable of more than I’d seen her show, and this was totally the breakout performance I’ve been wanting from her.

She wrestled like someone with something to prove from the very first second and really took it to Meiko, believably smothering the veteran at points with relentless offense, but just couldn’t put the larger, more experienced wrestler. Meiko of course is an artist in the ring and always a joy to watch. Loved this.

Afterwards Miyu slaps Meiko a couple of times out of frustration (and apparently in a challenge for another match) and Meiko’s so impressed with Miyu’s fire she applauds her for it. Great stuff.

 

2. Ultra U-7 Semi-Final: Mio Momono vs Yoshiko – SEAdLINNG 8/24/17 

 

21077234_1814982591860261_5768976190590537467_n

 

I hate to admit it given my personal bias, but Yoshiko was awesome here and this was easily the second best match of the night. She was a perfect monster for Mio to attempt to outlast while just refusing to stay down under the larger, more experienced wrestler’s onslaught. The crowd was evenly split between heavy home promotion support for Yoshiko and visiting Marvelous fans (like me) going nuts for Mio. They went to time limit, then overtime where only a two count was needed. The heat for the nearfalls during that final portion was insane.

Mio’s the hottest rookie there is right now (as I mention often), and I continue to marvel at how incredible she is this early into her career.

 

1.  Avid Rival (Misaki Ohata & Ryo Mizunami) vs Best Friends (Tsukasa Fujimoto & Arisa Nakajima) – SEAdLINNG 8/24/17 and Ice Ribbon 8/27/17

 

1

 

Ok, so this is a little bit of a cheat as I’m including both matches between these two teams in the #1 spot rather than take up two places and leave less room for other great matches.

During my first trip to Japan in 2015 my favorite match (well tied with one other) featured two incredible tag teams going full throttle competing for Ice Ribbon’s International Tag Ribbon Championships at Ribbonmania. When a best of three series of rematches (one hosted by each wrestler’s home promotion) was announced I was beyond excited, and ended up lucky enough to be able travel to see two of the three. These two matches were the previously mention purpose for the entire trip, and they certainly didn’t disappoint.

 

 

The time limit draw at SEAdLINNNG was great, if just a touch below the original match that inspired this series (due to the lack of finish and time spent on some comedy). The one at Ice Ribbon was neck and neck with the original, and a fantastic way to close things out for now. I was actually partially anticipating the “upset” victory and Avid Rival sweeping this series given the way difficulties between Best Friends were being stressed, leading to somewhat of a feud between Tsukka and Arisa. But them coming together on the same page as a team to dig down and prove they could still win was an equally satisfying story. Their entire record is now 2-1-1 in Best Friends’ favor (with Avid Rival’s sole victory coming at their home promotion of Wave in the one match between the teams I have yet to see).

One great thing I’ve noticed in Avid Rival’s development over time is the way they add and modify actual double team moves in their arsenal (in addition to having awesome versions of the also great rapid fire alternating offense a lot of Joshi teams rely on). It makes them feel more like a cohesive unit and gives a sense of evolution.

In my opinion these are the two best tag teams in all of wrestling, and seeing them face off is always a treat.

 

——-

Hope everyone enjoyed reading about these great matches, all of which are well worth checking out if possible. The five shows I saw this time were all extremely good in general, with numerous other good matches beyond the highlights talked about here.

Categories
Reviews Wrestling

Mae Young Classic Finals Review

maeyoungclassic

 

After four previous rounds featuring thirty matches it’s all down to Kairi Sane vs Shayna Baszler to see who will be crowned the inaugural Mae Young Classic winner.

I watched this live, so while it’s taken a while to catch up on writing up the previous rounds to get here the thoughts are from the initial airing. I wasn’t sure who would win. I predicted this final with Baszler taking it before the tourney started, but going into the match were reasonable arguments for either outcome.

 

My thoughts on round 1: episodes one, two, three, and four.

Round 2: episodes five and six.

Quarters: episode seven.

Semis: episode eight.

 

Mae Young Classic Final

 

 

 

“I want to prove size is not what it takes to be #1.”

“I wanted to send a message. Everyone knows now. If people weren’t shaking in their boots before, they definitely are now.”

Great video package hyping the final, both highlighting the competitors and making winning seem important. Why this wasn’t all over RAW and Smackdown is beyond me.

There’s a special guest feature with interviews focusing particularly on HHH, & Steph, WWE’s 4 Horsewomen, some of GLOW’s cast, and MMA’s 4 Horsewomen (well, Rousey). Did it’s job to make this seem like an important event, although the continued not-so-subtle use of the tourney as a backdrop building a feud between the two 4 Horsewomen factions is a bit heavy handed.

The final video packages with the two competitors specifically addressing each other were incredibly well done. Shayna talking about Kairi’s perseverance and wanting to finally break her will in front of her fans while Kairi acknowledged Shayna as a MMA star but said it doesn’t matter because wrestling is “my turf” was pitch perfect.

Lots of crowd shots of attendees such as Beth Phoenix, Alundra Blayze, prior round competitors, etc.

Around ten minutes of well done hype is over and it’s time for the match to start.

 

Kairi Sane vs Shayna Baszler ***3/4

Commentary highlights past accomplishments of both participants during entrances, including the fact that both have won important tournaments in their areas of expertise in a really nice touch. They’re walking a fine line of trying to make Shayna seem dangerous and dominant while still making it believable that Kairi has a legitimate chance against her, and doing it quite well. Specific mention of Kairi being a top star and multiple champion in Stardom.

Kairi showing no fear in the face of the 6 inch taller and about 50 pound heavier Baszler, raising her elbowpad defiantly into Shayna’s face during the ring announcements. Crowd is split and vocal.

The first exchange features Shayna going for submissions and Kairi reversing them into pin attempts. Great way to start. From there the story is Baszler’s strength, submission skills, and powerful strikes against Kairi’s speed, resiliency, and experience edge.

As I’ve stressed before Kairi’s selling is absolutely amazing. Little touches in the way she reacts to being hit and the pain she conveys when trapped in submissions makes everything Baszler does seem that much more lethal.

As the match goes on Shayna focuses her attack on Kairi’s elbow and Kairi targets hers on Shayna’s ribs. Nice strategy and psychology. It paid off in spades for Kairi in wonderfully logical fashion when she was able to land shots to Baszler’s ribs to become the first person to break out of Shayna’s deadly Rear Naked Choke. Great tease of a finish there as Baszler had reversed Kairi’s top rope forearm into the choke and it was a plausible end to the match.

Other highlights included them exchanging hard shots on the top turnbuckle leading to Kairi nailing a hanging double stomp, a beautifully targeted sliding forearm in the corner again to Shayna’s ribs, and of course the InSane Elbow connecting to give Kairi the win and the tournament.

 

 

Shayna accepted Kairi’s help to get to her feet afterwards and hugged Kairi in a gracious show of respect in defeat. It was the right call – Baszler’s heel persona can be reenforced later. Baszler sold the ribs constantly during the aftermath. HHH, Steph, and Sara Amato come in to congratulate Kairi and present her trophy, and we end on her celebrating her victory.

 

Winning the MYC put Kairi in the title picture for Asuka’s vacated NXT Women’s Championship, and Baszler has since been officially signed and I’d imagine is likely to show up directly on the main roster at some point to jumpstart a 4 Horsewomen feud.

Great endcap to a great tournament overall, and it was wonderful to see this spotlight on women’s wrestling featuring so many exceptional competitors.

Categories
Reviews Wrestling

Mae Young Classic Episode 8 Review

maeyoungclassic

 

Here we go. These were the last matches that was taped over the July weekend and this the penultimate episode of the tournament.

My thoughts on round 1: episodes one, two, three, and four.

Round 2: episodes five and six.

Quarters: episode seven.

 

Semi Finals:

Opening video package spotlights recaps the quarter finals and shows how each of the four remaining wrestlers advanced.

Crowd’s still nicely fired up despite two long days of tapings.

 

1) Shayna Baszler vs Mercedes Martinez ***

These two are stablemates on the indies (along with Nicole Savoy) in Trifecta. Mercedes is also the reigning Shimmer champion. Shayna justifies her post match actions towards Candice LaRae in her quarter final as sending a message in the build up video, while Mercedes talks about her long path to get here. They reference Mercedes being Shayna’s mentor and show footage of them together without mentioning Trifecta by name. Really good build up stating winning is more important to both than their history and pitting the experienced veteran trying to culminate her journey against the hungry, dangerous protege willing to stop at nothing to claim this for herself. 

Camera lingers of course on Rousey and company in the front row as Shayna comes out. Handshake to open, which is more respect than Shayna’s given anyone else in the tourney. Mercedes is the first to go heavy with the strikes and the story seems to be seeing if Shayna can take as well as she gives. Good approach.

Nice spot early on sees Mercedes seemingly about to go for a running kick on a seated Baszler, who is ready to counter it. Mercedes instead slips around and applies a chinlock. Crowd oohs in appreciation of her outmaneuvering her opponent.

After more dominating offense from Mercedes Shayna’s finally had enough and takes over with a frustrated flurry of strikes. Now Baszler in firm control for a bit, but Mercedes eventually reverses a submission into the Regal stretch. When Baszler powers out they end up exchanging strikes on their knees. After more back and forth once they get to their feet Mercedes hits the Fisherman’s Buster, but takes too long recovering and only gets 2 when she finally covers Baszler.

Martinex just wears Bazler out with a pair of Saito suplexes and a German, then goes for the Fisherman’s again. Baszler fights it off once, then reverses another attempt into a suplex. At the top, she reverses direction and drop Mercedes right into the choke. Mercedes fights longer than anyone else has, but has to tap.

Good, hard hitting match here with another cool finish of Shayna smoothly transitioning into her finisher. Easily Shayna’s best match of the tourney so far. One half of the finals is set.

 

Baszler selling effects of the battle, furthering the story of this being her biggest test to date. Stephanie, HHH, and Sara Amato are in the ring to congratulate her. Martinez hugs Baszler in congratulations and HHH presents Baszler with a rose bouquet signifying her win. I understand the real emotion behind the way this played out, but after being built up as a cocky heel for three rounds Shayna should have continued that role here instead of playing mutual respect with her mentor. The crowd was already cheering her a little because of her deadly finisher and skills. This made her a full face going into the finals. Of course that said, her opponent will be a bigger face, so perhaps it doesn’t matter much.

 

2) Toni Storm vs Kairi Sane ***1/2

Kairi sites Storm’s “classic wrestling technique” as her strength, then we cut to footage of Storm’s swivel “hip” attack to a seated opponent’s face. Sigh. Kairi plays up her elbow drop as the equalizer, and both are determined to win. Short and to the point.

Kairi salutes the trophy with a determined look on her face on her way to the ring. Near everyone has been acknowledging it in some way as they come out, and again little things like that really do a lot to drive home that there’s value and prestige to what they’re all fighting over.

Great chain wrestling sequence to start with constant smooth reversals from both. Insert shows Bazler watching on from the back. The early going is about them feeling each other out and mostly having an answer whenever the other gets an advantage. Well done. A bit in, Kairi goes for a crossbody from the top to Storm on the outside and Storm doesn’t quite catch her flush, leading to Kairi taking a header into the steel mesh ramp as they land. This is no doubt where Kairi got the concussion she was out with in the weeks following the tournament, and it’s amazing she didn’t get knocked completely cold there.

She gets right up and rolls Storm into the ring to continue. She works Toni’s back for a while with crab variations, but then gets caught with a nice kick counter by Storm when she goes for a sliding strike. Storm follows with a nice release German that sends Kairi to the corner and hits the running hip attack, but Kairi explodes out with the spear to counter a second. Great sequence.

Kairi’s got a nasty welt forming on her face from hitting the ramp. They both struggle to their feet and exchange hard strikes for a while, which Kairi eventually gets the better of to put Storm down and go up for the elbow. Storm gets to her feet and catches Kairi on the top turnbuckle though, pulling her off in Muscle Buster position and dropping into a Fisherman’s suplex for an extremely close 2. Toni’s in shock. She sets up for Strong Zero but Kairi fights out. Kairi looks to capitalize with a back fist but it’s blocked and Storm takes her down into a bridging armbar on the arm Storm’s been working all match. Storm’s working of the hold combined with Kairi incredible selling and expressions makes this look deadly. Kairi toughs it out and eventually manages to turn onto her back beneath Storm and roll the latter up for 2.

A hard strike from Storm lays Kairi out and Storm hits the top rope legdrop that beat Viper to Kairi’s back, but Storm’s hurt too from the move and can’t cover. Kairi’s actually the first to crawl up. When both are on their feet Kairi nails the backfist this time to put Storm right back down and abuses Storm’s back some more. With Storm face first on the mat Kairi goes up again and this time her beautiful signature elbow drop connects to Storm’s back and the after that the pinfall is academic.

 

Perfect endcap to the pre-taped rounds and one of the best matches in the tourney. This is the performance I’ve been waiting for from Storm, and Kairi has just killed it all tourney long.

Kairi’s crying in joy as her hand is raised and gives Storm a huge hug as the latter congratulates her on advancing. As with Shayna, HHH, Steph, and Sara come out again to celebrate with the winner.

 

Baszler comes out to square up with Sane at the top of the ramp, Kairi offers a handshake with a respectful smile, but when Baszler ignores it to stare her down and place her fist under Kairi’s chin the Pirate Princess gets a deadly stare of her own in her eyes and simply returns the gesture. Great moment resulting in a fantastic visual to build anticipation for the final. Kairi shakes her head at Baszler to indicate she can’t be intimidated, then pulls her arm back only to present the other in her standard way of calling for the elbow drop. Shayna smirks slightly and they keep eyes locked as we fade out. That whole confrontation was pitch perfect.

 

——-

This is the final I expected, and Baszler’s strength and grappling against Kairi’s speed and explosiveness is a great pairing. Two extremely good matches here set it all up wonderfully. One match to go.

Categories
Reviews Wrestling

Mae Young Classic Episode 7 Review

maeyoungclassic

 

My thoughts on round 1: episodes one, two, three, and four.

And round 2: episodes five and six.

 

Quarter Finals:

Opening video package spotlights all eight of the remaining wrestlers and who they each beat to get this far in a nice touch. Six of the eight (all but Storm and Sane) are former or current members of the Shimmer roster (including current champ Martinez), which is great to see.

 

1) Abbey Laith vs Mercedes Martinez **3/4

Commentary’s a little better here with the previous rounds to refer back to and provide structure for them. They focus heavily on Mercedes being the most experienced participant left, both in terms of the advantage it gives and the nagging injuries she may have hindering her.

This was all about the two just straight up striking at each other until one fell. Abbey had a nice dive from the tip onto Mercedes on the outside at one point, as well as a close near fall off of a sweet German suplex (one of her finishers on the indies). Their kick exchanges looked stiff as hell and were a highlight here. Mercedes planted Abbey with the Fisherman’s Buster to win this one. Solid.

In some ways I would have preferred Laith advancing, but she got a decent chance to shine in the tourney, I understand why Martinez won, and the competitor using Mae Young’s finish going out in the quarters instead of marching to the finals gives a nice appearance of unpredictability.

 

2) Shayna Baszler vs Candice LaRae **

The story here was Candice giving her overpowering opponent more than Shayna bargained for. Like in previous rounds, it wasn’t designed to allow Baszler to show her full range of skills, just flashes of dominance, power, and heel mannerisms. Another out of nowhere but pretty cool finish sees Baszler reverse Ms. LaRae’s Wild Ride in midair directly into the rear naked “sleeper” for a quick tapout.  Baszler viciously keeps it on after the match until Candice passes out. Then after having her hand raised Baszler goes BACK over to LaRae and literally kicks her while she’s down (to the consternation of Gargano, who was in the ring checking on his wife) in mocking fashion. Very well executed for what it was: a vehicle for making Baszler seem dangerous and callous. She’ll face her fellow Trifecta stablemate Martinez in the semis.

 

3) Toni Storm vs Viper ***

This had several fun exchanges and was a much better showcase for Toni than the first couple of rounds. Piper’s versatility was on full display here as she effortless alternated between chain wrestling, displays of her agility, and straight up power moves that made the most of her size. 

I had forgotten who won this so was a bit surprised when Storm pulled it out (with an unfortunately weak looking top rope leg drop to boot that didn’t seem like it would be the finish). I like Storm (and she looked the best yet here), but really wish Piper had advanced. She was extremely impressive in all her matches and more than earned a further look by the WWE. I hope she gets more opportunities in the future.

 

We get look at three of WWE’s Four Horsewomen (Charlotte, Bayley, and Becky) confronting Shayna’s three MMA Four Horsewomen stablemates backstage as the latter were being interviewed about Shayna’s success in the tournament. Rousey’s acting is not good, and the whole thing was surprisingly cheesy and awkward for a ten second posturing segment. The march of inevitability towards the two groups facing off continues.

 

4) Kairi Sane vs Dakota Kai ***1/4

It’s admittedly weird seeing Evie with the size advantage. This featured great strike battles and other highlights including a gorgeous cross run spear from Kairi, a vicious sliding kick in the corner by Kai, and Kairi following up a great double stomp dodge with her beautiful top rope forearm. Kairi’s selling is impeccable, and always does a lot to draw the viewer into her matches. Eventually Kairi lays Kai out and nails her deadly top rope elbow for the win. 

For me, this was the best of the quarters. I’ve heard some were disappointed and yes, they could have done more with a proper allotment of time, but they certainly made the most of what they had to work with and I liked the way this built as it went even within its limitations. Taping four rounds in two days (as well as the general structure WWE used for these tournament episodes) is going to impose some restrictions. I really enjoyed what we got though, and of course with both under contract a future rematch is definitely possible.

 

——-

Solid quarter final round, and we’re down to four competitors left. The pairings are interesting, and while everything’s building towards the final I expected all along getting there has been fun.

Categories
Japan Reviews Wrestling

Ice Ribbon Vol. 763 (Halloween Ribbon 2016) DVD Review

With October fast approaching this seemed a good time to look back and finally finish up my review of last year’s Ice Ribbon Halloween show.

 

Vol 763: October 26, 2016 in Tokyo, Japan

Ice Ribbon’s themed shows are always interesting, and this first Halloween show of theirs for me promised to be be highly amusing.

Everyone of course comes out in Halloween costumes to open the show. Nice variety, ranging from specific characters (Tsukka and Maruko as Mario and Luigi respectively, Maika as Asuka Langley, etc) to general Halloween costumes (Saya as a witch, Tsukushi and Maya as cops, etc) to Mizunami in a leopard suit, and so on. I’m sure I missed several specific references. Fun segment. Special mention to Miyako’s “Miyacoco in Wonderland!” costume, complete with Cheshire Cat hat.

 

 

1) Hiroe Nagahama & Maika Ozaki vs Tsukshi & Uno Matsuya **

The four wrestlers in this match are still in their Halloween costumes.

This was a basic match with a mix of really awkward exchanges and some nice, sharp spots and sequences. The main point was of course the wrestlers performing in their costumes and a couple of related jokes (like Hiroe’s samurai headpiece coming right off her head when Tsukushi tried a hairmare), so anything else was a bit of a bonus.

At one point Maika does a nice ripcord clothesline, which I really want her to keep and call the “RainMaika.” 😉

I understand it was tied into her costume and thus somewhat in the spirit of the match, but Tsukushi’s use of her toy gun and handcuffs as weapons to hit her opponents with (to cheers) took me out of the otherwise lighthearted nature of the match. Straight up heel tactics should only be used by heels, and booed. And I don’t understand the point of the ref checking people before the match for foreign objects at all if they’re going to watch wrestlers pick some up and beat their opponents with them later and say nothing.

After hitting Hiroe with the handcuffs and leaving her laid out in the corner Tsukushi follows up on a faceplant from Uno on Maika with the doublestomp from the top to win for her team.

 

 

2) Miyako Matsumoto vs Misaki Ohata vs Maruko Nagasaki ***3/4

These wrestlers have changed out of their Halloween costumes and this is a straight up triple threat. As always when in the ring with Miyako, Misaki has an air of barely restrained patience and general resigned exasperation at her antics. Misaki and Maruko completely ignore her early on to chain wrestle among themselves and swat her away when she approaches.  When they arrive at a stalemate Miyako celebrates with them, annoying them into join forces to attack her.

However Miyako reverses the double whip on just Maruko and sends her to the ropes, then grabs Misaki’s hands for an unintentional (on Misaki’s part) double clothesline. Misaki just stands there stoically as Miyako celebrates and double high fives her, then calmly catches the attempted cheap shot kick from Miyako we all knew was coming.

Misaki’s look of disdain as she half heartedly throws punches she knows will be ducked as part of Miyako’s posing routine is fantastic. She goes along with it in grudging fashion until Miyako gets to the forced pose part, then blocks it and levels Miyako with a forearm. Hairmares continue her abuse of the Dancing Queen. Standing choke in the corner follows, then a hard curbstomp.

As Misaki covers, Maruko tries a basement dropkick to Misaki’s face, but the vet moves and Maruko lands on Miyako, then Misaki double stomps the pile. A Camel Clutch variation has Maruko screaming. Misaki eventually releases it and slams Maruko to set up for a giant swing. Miyako comes in to encourage Misaki so she can spin and dance along with it in the corner. Misaki’s happy to oblige for a few rotations… then spins into Miyako with a forearm shot as she drops Maruko. Misaki stumbles to the corner dizzily as Miyako and Maruko try to recover, but then realizes the two are seated next to each other and wipes them both out with the running crossbody for a double 2 count.

Misaki then goes up top for a double crossbody, which Maruko dodges but Miyako eats. Misaki ducks the follow up attack by Maruko and goes for the German, but Maruko escapes the waistlock and drops between Misaki’s legs. She then spins Misaki around for her trademark rollup, but Misaki steps aside. The spinning double sledge ducked, but Maruko’s uranage is countered into a DDT. The back and forth these two are doing is great.

Maruko catches Misaki off the ropes with a dropkick and goes for another uranage attempt, which is interrupted by Miyako. Maruko and Misaki again look to deal with the annoyance first and each other later by going for a double dropkick as Miyako hits the ropes. Miyako however holds onto the ropes, then does a double Miyacoco Clutch as her opponents land from the missed dropkicks for a close 2.

Miyako getting serious (well, as serious as she gets anyway) and calls for the Angels Wing’s on Misaki, but Misaki blocks and Maruko rolls Miyako up for 2. The three take turns with rollups until Maruko and Miyako (awkwardly) end up in the ropes, at which point Misaki just breaks it all up with a hard double slap.

Miyako fights for a backslide on Misaki, so Maruko kicks the legs out from under them and rolls them sideways to put both sets of shoulders down for another close 2. She then tries to stack both opponents up for a double uranage, but they fight her off. Misaki’s double sledge is ducked by both, so she does it again. This one’s ducked by Maruko, but caught by Miyako, who tosses Misaki’s hands back the other way and it levels Maruko as she stands back up. Nice bit. Miyako hits a stunner (O_o?!) on Misaki and the Shining Wizard gets 2.

Miyako hits the ropes but gets caught with a dropkick by a recovered Maruko and slumps back against them in a seated position. When Maruko hits the far ones to take advantage of Miyako’s predicament Misaki intercepts and knocks Maruko down against the ropes herself. Misaki runs across the ring and nails the seated crossbody on Miyako, but when she comes back to do the same to Maruko the latter moves and Misaki goes tumbling out of the ring. Maruko gets her trademark rolling clutch as Miyako charges and with Misaki out of the picture there’s no one to save the pinfall.  Strong, logical finish that gives Maruko a win over two veterans (with the caveat that she pinned the weaker competitor of the two).

This was great. The individual personalities and styles meshed well and they put together several clever three way spots, and it all made for a thoroughly engaging match. Misaki and Miyako are two favorites of mine and I love their interactions, particularly Misaki’s general attitude towards Miyako’s existence. The exchanges between Misaki and Maruko makes me really want to see a series of singles matches between the two.

 

 

 

 

Main Event) “Miyako Matsumoto” (Ryo Mizunami) & “Mochi Miyagi” (Tequila Saya) vs “Tsukasa Fujimoto” (Maya Yukihi) & “Ryo Mizunami” (Tsukasa Fujimoto) ***3/4

In one of my favorite absurd match concepts (and one that’s spot on for Halloween), the participants are dressed as other wrestlers and have to wrestle like person they are dressed as. Pinfalls will only be counted after doing a move the person being imitated is known for.

Maya gets off easy here, being roughly the same size / body type as Tsukka and similar in style means she won’t have much trouble copying her partner’s moveset. Tsukka herself is clearly having a blast imitating the opposing Mizunami. She shakes the ropes, intimidates the ref, and generally plays up trying to be a power wrestler, perhaps the one area Tsukka is not a master of.

Powerhouse Mizunami as “Miyako” is just fantastic. The crowd agrees it seems, as a big “Miyako” chant rings out in support in the early going. Miyako herself on outside shouting “pointers” to Mizunami adds further hilarity. Poor Saya is so much smaller than Mochi that she had to wear her own gear under Mochi’s to remain decent, and the slim Saya’s ineffectiveness when trying to do things like Mochi’s belly smother and Earthquake splash was a great running joke throughout the match. In one hilarious bit her giant swing attempt never saw Maya’s shoulders leave the mat so Saya just walked around her holding her legs instead. “Miyako” of course spun and danced in the corner along with the “swing.”

This was incredibly enjoyable, with the wrestlers’ commitment to the concept making all the difference. “Mizunami” vs Mizunami was particularly awesome, as the real Ryo (exaggeratedly) had trouble adapting to Miyako’s posing based offense but was doing well defensively because often when Tsukka tried to use Ryo’s own moves against her they tended to backfire (like a spear attempt that saw Tsukka just stop dead in her tracks as she hit Ryo’s midsection). The parts where wrestlers “lost patience” with the rules and acted like themselves for a move or two (to loud boos) were also great touches.

An amusing finishing sequence saw Tsukka essentially teaching Maya how to do one of Tsukka’s signature rollups as she did it. Once completed it was good to keep Saya down for 3.

This is the type of match that really has to be seen to be understood and appreciated. It’s ridiculous but awesome, not being a technical masterpiece overall but still staying focused on wrestling with some great action down the stretch while providing humor and showcasing Ice Ribbon’s particular blend of such elements perfectly.

 

——-

This show is an excellent example of Ice Ribbon’s ability to mix action and comedy / lighter elements into shows that are just flat out fun. Having a (somewhat) more serious match in the middle provided nice balance, and again the costume matches were both entertaining in their silliness and yet still competitive and wrestling based. Had a great time with this show.