Tag: IceRibbon

April 26, 2018 in Tokyo, Japan

Fuerza Bruta shows are a unique experience that combines music, dance, and acrobatics and takes place around, above, and through a standing crowd. I saw their WAYRA show in New York a couple of years ago and really enjoyed it. In addition to being excited to see their performance again in general and being curious about what would be different for their Tokyo offering Fuerza Bruta WA!, being able to attend one of the two nights that Tsukasa Fujimoto and Maya Yukihi from one of my favorite wrestling promotions (Ice Ribbon) would be appearing was a fantastic additional treat.

The show itself was of course a tremendous amount of fun. It featured the same basic ideas and setups as the NY show, but with distinct Japanese themes and enough differences to make it its own experience. It’s an energetic, contagious spectacle from start to finish, easily captivating the crowd and keeping them full of anticipation to see what’s next.

On top of that since I went through Ice Ribbon as a special thing a small group of us were brought over to watch the show with Tsukka and Maya (when they weren’t participating) by a attendant from Fuerza Bruta for the group who always made sure we knew where to go, etc. Afterwards we each also got to get a picture with Tsukka and Maya, a really nice momento of the evening. Their participation in the show was great too. Both were wearing harnesses when we first met up, and a bit into the show they were raised into the ceiling with some of the regular performers. Later they danced through the crowd to a stage that then itself moved through the crowd to the center of the space. Really fun stuff.

Another cool aspect of the shows is the use of water, with performers running against sprays, mist being used while acrobats are swinging over the audience, and an incredible sequence where a a large, clear pool is lowered from the ceiling to just above the crowd’s head as people splash/swim/dance around in it. At one particularly enjoyable point for me they essentially had a water curtain running through the center splashing on the audience, and Tsukka stated splashing it towards me (which I of course responded in kind to 😉 ), resulting in me having a short water war with her and Maya. So amusing/awesome.

Standing out a bit in a Japanese crowd I also found myself the center of the performers’ attention a couple of times. I was near the center of the room when the crowd was split to form a corridor for someone to repel from the ceiling into and march towards the stage. He keyed in on me and stalked right up to me staring until we went forehead to forehead (which I clearly and gladly played along with) and he pushed me back a bit. Later while I was taking video of Tsukka and Maya dancing on the center stage the wandering drummer took notice of my Ice Ribbon t-shirt and gently poked at all the faces on it with his drumstick. This was all of course fantastic, but even without these personal experiences I was lucky enough to have the general atmosphere of the show with the show taking place IN the audience at several times and the general high level of interaction is incredible.

Last night was Tsukka and Maya’s final appearance so that part is no longer an option, but as I’ve been gushing about the show is a wonderful time in its own right and if anyone happens to be in Tokyo from now until May 6th I highly recommend catching it as it finishes its run.

January 6, 2018 in Tokyo, Japan

A week after Ribbonmania Ice Ribbon had show at Yokohama Radiant Hall headlined by the Young Ice tournament winner challenging for the Ice Cross Infinity Title in a refreshing spotlight on new talent in the main event.

The opening 6-woman tag match saw the recently re-debuted Tsukushi team with Karen DATE & Mio Momono against Giulia and the mother/daughter tandem of Hamuko & Ibuki Hoshi. This was fun with several amusing moments woven into fast paced action. Tsukushi’s rebuilding from the bottom continued as she takes the fall from Hamuko.

As I mention often I adore Mio and both her ring skills and charismatic antics were on full display here. Her continued involvement in Ice Ribbon makes me very happy.

As completely expected from the wrestlers involved, Miyako Matsumoto vs Marvelous’ Miki Tanaka was all comedy, with dueling posing, dancing, and even singing throughout the course of the match. Both are quite good with the humorous style, so this was an amusing diversion that didn’t overstay its welcome. Miyako’s victory I believe puts the number of times I saw her win this trip higher than all other live shows I’ve seen combined.

After being across the ring at Ribbonmania in a tag match that seemed to did little to ease the issue between them, Kyuri and Actwres Girlz’ Tae Honma wrestled to a ten-minute draw in an intense, appropriately heated contest that again left things unresolved between the two. This feud is fantastic and the match was great.

Another fun 6-woman tag for the show saw Satsuki Totoro, Akane Fujita & Maika Ozaki victorious over Tequila Saya, Uno Matsuya & Maruko Nagasaki. I really enjoyed this, with the general story being Saya, Uno, & Maruko gradually being worn down by the relentless power of their opponents. Totoro in particular came out looking like a monster, including picking up the win with the same senton that knocked Saya loopy the last time they faced (poor Saya). Everyone looked good, and in particular I adore Maika’s awesome double torture rack.

Afterwards the issues between Maika’s former Actwres Grilz compatriots and her & Kyuri continue as she challenges Saori Anou for a future match. Kyuri appears to try to make it another tag or otherwise work her way in somehow, but Maika insists on a singles match (presumably with Saori’s title on the line). Kyuri acquiesces but also pouts in the corner. Again, every little detail about this feud between the four has been fantastic.

In one of my most anticipated matches of the trip Hana DATE faced Ice Ribbon’s Ace Tsukasa Fujimoto in singles competition. While it’s obvious they have an even better match in them I’d love to see in the future this was still great and a strong spotlight for Hana. They worked a classic rising star versus veteran structure and, as Ice Ribbon in general and Tsukka in particular excels at, Hana was made to look quite strong even in defeat.

Riffing off of a dojo show where Mika Iida was a last minute replacement for a sick Maya Yukihi and took her place (ring gear and all) as part of Azure Revolution for a day, here similarly she took over for Risa Sera instead and teamed with Maya against said regular partner Risa & Mochi Miyagi. I enjoy Iida’s wrestling a lot and all the extra appearances she made for various companies this trip was a real treat for me as her retirement looms. Her happenstance third member status in Azure Revolution has been fun. Solid little tag match, if perhaps just a touch too long for what it was. I imagine this might be an odd/unpopular opinion to have of the reigning tag champs, but while they’re an ok team Risa and Maya continue to make much better opponents than partners.

I was beyond pleasantly surprised when Nao DATE upset Maruko Nagasaki in what previously seemed like a forgone conclusion final to win the Young Ice tournament at Ribbonmania. As a result she received this shot at new champion Kurumi Hiiragi’s Ice Cross Infinity Title.  They put on a great match featuring a establishing win for Kurumi and a nice spotlight on new face in the main event scene. Nao’s absolutely excellent for her experience, and I hope she remains a focal point in the promotion.

To close out there was a presentation for 2017 awards. On the heels of her first main event Nao was proclaimed Rookie of the Year. Risa took two with MVP and Best Tag Team (with Maya). Ribbonmania as Best Show, Karen DATE vs Maruko Nagasaki as Best Bout, and a for Best “Enemy” (outsider) between Maika and Manami Toyota rounded out the awards. Cute bit afterwards saw Hana continue to playfully try to claim her sisters’ glory (like when she posed with Nao’s trophy at Ribbonmania), briefly trying to grab Nao and Karen’s awards/envelopes.

Another enjoyable offering from top to bottom from Ice Ribbon and a cool way for me to wrap up their shows for this trip.

December 31, 2017 in Tokyo, Japan

As always for my holiday wrestling trips, one of my most anticipated events was Ice Ribbon’s biggest of the year.

The opening contest was an unusual one, as in featured the re-debut of Tsukushi to in-ring action after her hiatus.  As announced at the dojo show on 12/23 this was to be a career reset for her, underscored by the fact that this was the opener and Tsukushi came out for it in a plain white swimsuit style outfit befitting a rookie instead any of her old gear. It was the right approach, committing to the idea of this being a new start for her and not any sort of “triumphant return.”

She had an extremely emotional match against company ace Tsukasa Fujimoto.  It was much more even than I expected, with Tsukushi going toe-to-toe with Tsukka in an extremely good contest before her inevitable defeat. They both bowed to all sides of the ring afterwards, and Tsukka carried Tsukushi to the back via piggyback.

A pair of 6-woman tags followed, starting with “another” debut as Mammoth Ikino made her first Ice Ribbon appearance teaming with Hana DATE & Ibuki Hoshi in an elimination match against Satsuki Totoro, Karen DATE & Giulia.

This was energetic and fun. In general I do wish wrestlers still in eliminations matches  would get up on the apron. If they’re fighting with other active participants outside it’s one thing, but having them on the floor crouched next to the eliminated team members gets confusing. That minor point aside I really enjoyed this. It was a decent debut for Mammoth, everyone looked good. Totoro and Hana continue to be particularly impressive, including the latter’s flying kick that looks like something out of a video game.

What could have been essentially a throwaway catch all match between Uno Matsuya & The Lovely Butchers (Hamuko Hoshi & Mochi Miyagi) and Tequila Saya, Maya Yukihi & Makoto was a decent contest significantly elevated by the underlying story. Uno was briefly in good spirits coming out and dancing with the Butchers in a highly amusing attempted imitation of their entrance, but as soon as that was done she adopted the poise and posture of someone with something to prove. Throughout the match she was almost desperate in her quest to upstage her rival/frequent partner Saya, including things like knocking her own partner Mochi off the apron at one point so Hamuko would have to tag her in. It was a great thread to build the match around, and Uno’s aggressive, almost selfish attitude surprisingly paying off with her pinning Saya leaves several interesting ways to proceed from here.

At the Christmas Eve show at KFC Hall one week prior, Akane Fujita issued a challenge to SEAdLINNG’s Arisa Nakajima which was promptly accepted. This was a great showcase opportunity for Akane, who’s really been stepping up all parts of her performances over the past year. Arisa is simply one of the greatest wrestlers in the world, and this pairing was excellent.

A fantastic moment in this match happened when Akane dug into her recent hardcore tendencies to try to get the advantage. She hit Arisa with a chair repeatedly, but the latter got up and wrenched the weapon away from her. Arisa then seemed ready to return the favor, but at the last second tossed the chair away in a “I don’t need this” manner and WAYLAID Akane with forearms instead. Great character moment and a really strong sequence altogether.

Miyako Matsumoto’s glorious overconfidence was in full force again as she had challenged Hideki Suzuki to a singles match for this event. I had just been introduced to Hideki Suzuki a couple days prior at a Basara tournament and had no doubts the unlikely winning streak I had seen from Miyako so far this trip was going to run into a brick wall. Indeed, the bell rung and Miyako ran towards Hideki, who swept her legs into a cover and pinned her in 6 seconds.

Miyako would never let a little thing like losing rob her of her victory, so she challenged Hideki to an immediate rematch. He accepted, swept her legs in the same fashion again and won in 5 seconds this time.

But no one’s force of will and delusion is as strong as the Dancing Queen’s and as Hideki’s senior in the sports she demanded a third match. Miyako’s nothing (besides stubborn) if not consistent and charged the exact same way and fell victim to the same sweep and cover for the third time… but kicks out at 2.999 to a huge ovation. It’s the simple things that can be so effective when done right, and the third time’s always the charm.

From there they had a fun match with Miyako trying to do ridiculous things like Irish Whipping Hideki, but lucking into some actual offense here and there and pouring her heart into her efforts in her own Miyako way. This was well worked and fun, being ridiculous but on purpose and with reason.

It was cool to see a wrestler with a no-nonsense aura like Suzuki play his part in a humorous match so perfectly. Since then he’s been talking about being in Ice Ribbon’s “Men’s Division”  and has finagled his way into a title match against Tsukka (also including Miyako) where if he wins the belt Tsukka and Miyako become his assistants in expanding his division and if he loses he goes away and stops bothering them (I may have taken some liberties with that phrasing 😉 ). This was my favorite match(es) of Myako’s at Ribbonmania thus far and I’m finding the subsequent angle with Hideki highly amusing.

From comedy things progressed to palpable tension as GEKOKU (Kyuri & Maika Ozaki) faced the visiting Saori Anou & Tae Honma from Actwres girl’Z. Tae and Kyuri in particular seemed to want to tear into each other from the word go.

This was an excellent, heated tag match that ended with a too infrequent victory for Gekoku. A tense stare down between Kyuri and Tae afterwards emphasized things weren’t over. I knew of Saori and Tae but hadn’t seen either wrestle before, and I definitely left this wanting to see more of both.

The semi-main was the Young Ice Tournament final, and it was a great match made even better by an unexpected finish. I saw a Maruko Nagasaki victory as a foregone conclusion, with her vanquishing her third member of Team DATE in a row to win the tourney. So I was pleasantly shocked to see Nao DATE take it and Ice Ribbon use the tournament to significantly elevate a new face. These are two of IR’s brightest rising stars and the match they put on certainly reflected that.

Amusing aftermath saw Hana absolutely giddy with excitement for her sister’s victory, celebrating with the trophy until Nao seemed to be shooting her “uhm, you know *I* won that, right?” looks.

To close out the show Risa Sera defended her Ice Cross Infinity Title against a human wrecking ball in the form of Kurumi Hiiragi. This confrontation had been built to nicely, right up to Risa sucessfully defending her International Ribbon Tag Team Championship with partner Maya against Kurumi and Akane at KFC Hall a week prior.  This was a very good match and solid main event that suffered just a little in the pacing department. After a hard hitting affair Kurumi stood victorious as the new champion. It was time, and Kurumi was a suitable choice to dethrone Risa.

After Risa graciously congratulated the new champion, Nao Date came in to challenge Kurumi and that title match will headline Yokohama Ribbon!!! A main event shot for someone new in a fresh matchup is exactly what that type of tourney should build to, an this angle capped off an excellent show from top to bottom in a great way.

December 24, 2017 in Tokyo, Japan

A week out from Ribbonmania Ice Ribbon had another relatively major show at KFC Hall, headlined by the Ribbonmania challenger to Risa Sera’s Ice Cross Infinity Championship trying to take Risa’s other belt first as Kurumi Hiiragi & Akane Fujita challenged Azure Revolution (Risa Sera & Maya Yukihi) for the International Ribbon Tag Team Championships.

This was my second of four Christmas shows this year, taking place on Christmas Eve. The first was an Ice Ribbon dojo show the day before, which did a lot to build up some of the issues going into this show.

This was my first time at KFC Hall for anything. It’s a really nice venue with a good atmosphere. The show started with the roster dancing out in Santa hats while Maya sang part of “All I Want for Christmas.”

The first match saw a developing rivalry between rookies take the stage in a singles match pitting Asahi against Ibuki Hoshi. They were on opposite sides of the main event tag match for the previous day’s dojo show, and showed a lot of aggravation and frustration with each other. That vibe continued here in a hard hitting encounter (wow did they lay into each other with forearms) that saw IR’s younger Hoshi get the better of her rival. Ibuki has looked good in everything I’ve seen her in so far, and I’ve been even more impressed with Asahi. Looking forward to seeing both continue to develop their skills.

Tequila Saya had been out of action for a bit, and returned to face the daunting opposition of Satsuki Totoro. Another solid contest, with Saya trying to persevere against the onslaught of her larger opponent but eventually being overwhelmed. Satsuki landed hard on Saya for the finishing top rope senton, and Saya seemed knocked for a loop. She did stand and was helped out. I hope she’s ok.

As befitting a team of Matsumoto & The Lovely Butchers (Hamuko Hoshi & Mochi Miyagi) their match against Hana DATE, Makoto, & Julia was a strong blend of action and comedy. Hammy’s reindeer costume was highly amusing. Like the day before Miyako busted out the “We Wish You a Merry Christmas” Mama Miya, and it was likewise hilariously unsuccessful. This was my first live look at both Hana and Julia. Julia looked decent, even if it was obvious she was in the match to be take the fall. Hana’s style of strike based wrestling is great, and I certainly understand all the buzz I’ve seen about her.  She had my favorite spots of the match, including a sequence where she tried to wear down Hammy’s impervious stomach with a serious of quick strikes, and an absolutely beautiful flying kick to her three opponents stacked in the corner.

Miyako constantly trying to steal the spotlight from her own partners was also highly amusing. And with her team’s victory, I believe this is the longest winning streak I’ve seen from her live, at two whole matches. 😉

Honestly Makoto was just kind of there. Not bad, but didn’t really add anything and I’ve seen better from her.

My most anticipated match of the card was up next as GEKOKU (Kyuri & Maika Ozaki) got a shot at the more experienced and decorated Best Friends (Tsukasa Fujimoto & Arisa Nakajima). It started off interesting right away as after their entrance Kyuri and Maika quickly had ref Mio check them (as would normally happen after both teams had entered) and snuck out of the ring back to the sides of the entrance. Then as Best Friends came out they ambushed them from behind to jump start the match. I really liked this, as it showed both aggression and perhaps a bit of desperation from a great team that unfortunately hasn’t had much success lately facing formidable opponents. Little touches like Maika shushing the crowd to not give away their intentions were great.

This was simply a great match. I really wish GEKOKU had pulled out the upset, as there were a lot more interesting ways to go with that result, but they had a strong showing against one of the best tag teams in the world regardless.

The two semi-finals of the Young Ice Tournament (where the winner will be in line for a title match of her choice) were the last matches before the main event, starting with Nao DATE vs Uno Matsuya. Nao impresses me more and more the more I see her wrestle, and Uno is my favorite rookie in IR, so I was excited for this one. Hana had initially seemed a potential favorite for this tourney, so when Uno eliminated her in the first round it opened up the possibility of Uno as a dark horse candidate. I wish she had advanced here, as it would have kept a feeling of uncertainty alive and capitalized on the momentum of that first round victory instead of wasting it. The match was extremely good either way though and Nao certainly deserves the opportunity for a important match at Mania.

With Nao advancing to the finals, Karen DATE vs Maruko Nagasaki seemed even more like a forgone conclusion. Good match, with Karen doing really well against the most experienced participant in the tourney before Maruko put her away for the expected win. Maruko is very good, but I really wish someone else was winning this tournament. She’s already viewed at a slightly higher level than the rest of the field, and whatever title opportunity she’ll be pursuing could have easily been set up another way. In general IR needs to do more to elevate their undercard during tournaments, as they tend to have the favorites dominate. I will be absolutely (and pleasantly) SHOCKED if Nao wins at Ribbonmania.

Maruko and Nao have a tense staredown further setting up the finals as Nao comes out to check on her defeated sister after the match. If Maruko wins she will have gone through every member of Team DATE in the tourney except her former rival Hana.

 Azure Revolution (Maya Yukihi & Risa Sera) vs Akane Fujita & Kurumi Hiiragi for the International Ribbon Tag Titles was good, intense match where Akane in particular shined. Watching her and Kurumi level people like wrecking balls is great. The champs retained with Maya’s “Snow-ton” Bomb on Akane, giving Risa bragging rights over her impending challenger without slowing Kurumi’s momentum as a threat to Risa. I wanted a title change here, but this makes a Kurumi victory at Mania more likely (I don’t see Risa having both belts going into the new year). Kurumi got in Risa’s face for a pull apart when the latter tried to cut a post match promo. Good build to the main event on their biggest show of the year.

Akane took the microphone for a second during the post match tensions and challenged Arisa Nakajima. It was accepted and announced for Mania. This answers the question of Arisa’s involvement with her tag partner busy in Tsukushi’s re-debut. Will be a good match and Akane totally deserves the spotlight of a singles match against a big name opponent (even if Arisa’s victory or a draw is a foregone conclusion).

Great show overall, with not a bad match in the bunch and my only real criticism some of the booking choices.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.