January is a good month for wrestling. Not only do you have Ittenyon and companies setting out their stall for the year ahead, but I have a habit of wiping the backlog clean and starting fresh, leaving me motivated to check out as much new wrestling as possible. As a result of that, my matches of the month are significantly more eclectic than usual. There is all the regular stuff, but we’ve also a BJW tag, a lucha brawl and even an AEW rookie match. It’s as far out of the bubble as I am likely to venture, so fingers crossed you all enjoy it. As usual, if you’ve got any cool recommendations, let me know below or on Twitter.
Astronauts (Fuminori Abe & Takuya Nomura) vs Daisuke Sekimoto & Kosuke Sato, New Year Battle Beginning (2/1/24), BJW
Since watching their outstandingly silly encounter last year, I’ve made more of an effort to check out the work of Fuminori Abe and Takuya Nomura. It’s not that I was unaware of Astronauts as a pairing – I’ve come across them before – but the places they work have rarely, if ever, been high on my watchlist. Loving that match gave me the push I needed to start going out of my way to see what they were up to. That brings us to their first tag match of the year, where they relished the opportunity to bully the returning Kosuke Sato.
Before we get into this, it’s worth noting that I watched a clipped version, so there was little to no Sekimoto. However, I got the impression that wasn’t a huge issue. His role here was secondary to Sato, who is four years into his career but had been out for around six months. Unfortunately for him, what Daisuke mainly ended up doing was watching Abe and Nomura be fucking bellends. Japanese wrestling loves sending older wrestlers out to bully their juniors, so we’ve all seen this before, but there was some beautifully petty violence from Astronauts. It was a match of digs, little kicks, punches and slaps, which in isolation wouldn’t be that bad but quickly started to build up. They wanted to beat him black and blue to welcome him back from injury.
To give Sato credit, he fought gamely against it. When he got his chance to start swinging, he teed off on both of them with slaps and even threw a clunking shoot headbutt. He was never in control of this match, every comeback coming with the feeling that Astronauts were giving him a chance to see what he could do, but he also never gave up. If they were going to be pricks, he made sure that they at least didn’t get to do it without getting a small taste of their own medicine.
It doesn’t take a genius to figure out that this clipped, midcard BJW match isn’t Astronauts at their best. They were out there having fun, beating up on Sato and not going a thousand miles an hour, but I think it’s a good taste of what makes them so great. They’re violent buggers, but in a very matter-of-fact way, which takes away any sense that it’s all part of the act. They’ll punch you in the head without thinking twice about it, which, weirdly, has a lot more impact than someone milking it for all it’s worth. I suspect, now my eyes are on them, they’re going to pop up a lot on these lists in 2024, and I’m looking forward to that being the case.
Wakana Uehara vs Aja Kong, Tokyo Joshi Pro ’24 (4/1/24), TJPW
In my excessively long review of this show, I raved about Wakana’s performance in this match. I stand by it, too, as it’s the first time I’ve got what so many people seem to see in her. She felt desperate and hungry as she threw herself at Aja Kong, tossing ideas at the wall in the hope that one of them could help her to down the legend. Sure, it was a bit silly that she did a cartwheel as part of her initial cheapshot, and I think she needs someone to reign in those more flashy elements of her attempt to become a star, but I was willing to look past that because, for the first time, she got me to root for her. I wanted to see her succeed.
But this wasn’t just a great Wakana performance. You could complain that Aja Kong has a formula for these matches, helping people get over by giving them those slithers of hope before backfisting them into next week, and you wouldn’t be wrong. However, the mastery with which she does it still deserves all the praise in the world. It would be so easy to feel like Wakana was being handed this on a plate, destroying the illusion of it being something she’s earned. On the other hand, it would be even easier for Aja to give her too little, to shrug off the bulk of her offence and dispatch her without breaking a sweat. Yet, Kong seems to have an innate ability to give the exact right amount. To boost these younger wrestlers without once denting her immense aura.
And I know I go back to this topic again and again, but that’s why it’s so important to have people like her still involved in the scene. Sure, Kong doesn’t move like she used to, but that brain has, if anything, only got more powerful. These matches are meticulously crafted, and considering how much she is willing to give in the ring, it’s only natural to assume she’s giving ten times more out of it. Christ, just the fact that she’s now a semi-regular in TJPW, a company that doesn’t exactly align with the image she’s cultivated, tells you everything you need to know about her. If you’re good enough, Aja will give you that rub, and you’ll benefit more from it than any victory.
Wakana is still not my favourite of the current TJPW rookie class, and it’s unlikely she ever will be. Her approach to wrestling doesn’t appear to align with what I like, which is absolutely fine, but it means she’ll always lag behind a HIMAWARI or Shino Suzuki in my affections. Matches like this give me hope, though. They make me think that even if she’ll never be number one, she can at least put on a show that I’ll enjoy watching, and in the grand scheme of things, that’s more than enough for me.
The Great Asako vs Miku Aono, Step 28 New Year Special (5/1/24), AWG
Asako Mia was the weird kid that Miku Aono hung out with for a summer. The problem was that as the days grew shorter and the cold crept in – Asako was still there. Aono had humoured her, playing along with her games, but now it turned out that the wee weirdo actually thought they were friends and heartbreakingly, Aono disagreed. It all came to a head when they teamed together on the 20th of December, a match in which Asako gave her all, demanding double teams, storming the ring to protect her much stronger ‘pal’, and, in her own way, trying to be the best tag-team partner she could be. It wasn’t enough, though. In the aftermath, Aono finally made it clear that she had no intention to continue being Asako’s partner, and even Santa Todoroki turning up afterwards to pass on some Christmas spirit wasn’t enough to heal her broken heart.
And this is where we get to the genius of Asako Mia. Her response to all of that wasn’t to go away and sulk. It was to slap on her face paint, inhabit the role of The Great Asako, and get revenge. When she won a battle royal at Korakuen Hall, she made it clear that, while the search for her papa would continue, she had her eyes on one opponent. The then-champion, Miku Aono. Fuka booked it in seconds, and while Aono would go on to lose that title, she still had to start the year being forced into a main event with the pest that she just couldn’t get rid of.
I typically wouldn’t kick off one of these by laying out a story in that much depth, but I think it’s important context if you want to get as much out of this match as possible. Because sure, it’s a wonderful nonsense-fest, in which The Great Asako never stood a chance, but it’s also, sneakily, a great piece of wrestling storytelling. It’s the story of a menace who, deep down, knows she isn’t as strong as her opponent but feels the need to take revenge and is channelling whatever she can to do so. However, it’s also the story of a frustrated Ace who has just lost her belt and is now being forced to play along despite only wanting to start the journey back to that title.
For Aono, that meant this was a match of eye-rolls and looks of disgust. My favourite moment is Asako’s attempt at the Muta Lock, which culminated in her throwing herself backwards for a bump that was completely detached from the attempted hold. As Asako peeked to her left, almost checking to see if Miku noticed what just happened, the Ace was already rolling her eyes and pulling herself to her feet, ready to deal out the kicking Mia’s incompetence has earned. She’d had enough of this bollocks, and that makes the moments where Mia did frustrate her or catch her off-guard all the more satisfying.
Because, in her special Asako way, this match was a step forward for that wonderful wee weirdo. She never really troubled Miku, but she did catch her on a couple of occasions, even kipping up at one point, a feat of athleticism that far outstripped anything she had done before. For Asako, putting on that Muta face paint and trying to get revenge on Aono is a deadly serious thing. She was hurt by what happened, and while this wasn’t the conventional wrestling way to get even, it’s what she’s good at. At the very least, she could be a pain in her arse for long enough that Aono perhaps wouldn’t dismiss her quite as quickly the next time.
It all makes this sub-nine-minute Shinkiba main event an utter delight. In isolation, it’s an enjoyable piece of nonsense, but it’s even better within the context of what came before. It’s also proof that Asako is capable of painting a bigger picture than just throwing whatever silliness she can at the wall. There is a nuance that GIFs of that wonderful Moonsault will never quite capture. I already named her one of my wrestlers of the year for 2023, despite her only having 20-odd matches, and if we’re about to get another twelve months of these, I wouldn’t dare bet against her retaining that crown.
Pom Harajuku vs Kuishinbo Kamen, Inspiration #8 (6/1/24), TJPW
Shtick-based wrestlers like Kuishinbo Kamen are often more of a challenge for their opponents than people might think. He’s got his bits, which he’ll do, no matter who he’s wrestling. If you want proof, watch the opening of this match and then watch the opening to his ChocoPro appearance with Otoki a few days before. It doesn’t stop there, either. Watch the whole thing side-by-side with this, and while they might not quite sync up, they’ll get close. It’s not a complaint, as some of those bits are very funny, and the fans are waiting for them, but it makes it easy for his opponent to be dragged along in his wake, hitting their spots without ever contributing to the action.
Thankfully, while Pom is many things, someone who will sit quietly and follow another’s lead is not one of them. In many ways, she’s the perfect opponent for someone like Kamen, as not only will she add her twist to things (see her donning his mask for her entrance), but she’s a fantastic reactor. I would have happily watched a close-up of her face throughout this match, zooming in as she responded to the nonsense around her. Pom has long asserted that she’s three years old, and when you see her in the midst of this, eyes lit up with a childlike wonder, you begin to believe her. She seemed to be having as much fun as anyone, even if she still now and then found time to boot her opponent in the shin.
They saved the best for last, though, Kamen bursting into a dance routine that Pom soon joined in on, the two of them boogying their way to the back together, seemingly having forgotten that they were wrestling just minutes before. It was a perfect conclusion. Inspiration, meanwhile, is sneakily becoming where Pom does some of her best work, as she’s let off the leash to embrace the nonsense even more so than usual. I know giving CM Punk his own show turned out to be a mistake, but doing the same with Pom surely wouldn’t end with her beating up Jack Perry (although she could definitely take him). It’s something to think about TJPW.
Mio Momono vs AKINO, Wizard of Oz (7/1/24), Oz Academy
It didn’t take long for us to get the first great Mio Momono performance of the year. It was seven days, to be exact, and who knows, if we had a full version of the Sareee match, it might have happened even earlier. Still, that’s not bad, and considering she also picked up a title, we can probably put it down as an impressive start to the year. I wouldn’t be surprised if she kept up that hit rate with fantastic matches, but it might be harder to do so with title wins. Even Mio would struggle with that one.
And this match was all about Momono, who is a fantastic wee shit when she has to be (there is a reason Chigusa Nagayo refers to her as Chucky) but also has to be considered one of the best babyfaces in the world. As AKINO hammered away at her with kicks, if anything overstating her dominance, Mio sold her arse off, mining every bit of sympathy she could get out of an outing that was almost entirely one-way traffic. Whenever she gained an inch, it felt like a mile because AKINO gave her so little, but Mio made it work, fighting her way back in and opening up the avenue for the win.
She was so good that a crowd which started the match split eventually rallied entirely behind her, Oz and Marvelous fans coming together to cheer her on. That’s doubly impressive when you remember that, not long ago, she declared she didn’t only hate Mayumi Ozaki but all Oz Academy fans. That those same people were now cheering her name, willing her to victory, shows how irresistible Momono can be. You can lay into her, dropping her on her head and eating her up, but it just makes her stronger. She’s too good to be denied.
If you haven’t guessed, I didn’t necessarily love the presentation here, and it was a bit frustrating that Mio’s win was shoved to one side while everyone gave AKINO a lecture for losing. However, like the fans in attendance, that stuff ultimately didn’t bother me too much. Mio is just too good, and she’s started 2024 in the same form that she ended 2023. She is an outstanding wrestler, and if she doesn’t have another exemplary twelve months, it won’t be her fault.
Momoka Hanazono and Ichigaya Chocolate Square feel like a natural duo, particularly considering she regularly teams with Mei Suruga as MomoRingo, but it’s taken us a long time to get here. While I always felt like it would happen eventually, there was a sense that they were holding out on it for some reason, waiting for the perfect moment. That or she has a busy schedule and is, to the best of my knowledge, based in Osaka, but who wants to consider practical stuff like that?
Either way, it finally happened, and to the surprise of no one, Momoka settled in like it was her second home. If anything, she perhaps got herself a bit too comfy, revelling in the boos as she rained punches down on her Momoka Army underling Michio Kageyama. It’s weird to talk about someone being a natural fit for a venue, but then Ichigaya isn’t most venues, and as Momoka delved into her bag of toys and tricks, it felt right. She was able to bounce off the crowd, reacting to their boos one minute and then delighting them with bubble wands the next. I’ve said it before, but being trapped on that tiny mat with people packed in on all sides isn’t for everyone, and you sometimes see wrestlers wilt under that pressure, but there was none of that with Hanazono. She came alive.
It’s what makes her such a special talent. There are loads of brilliant wrestlers, but few can do what Momoka does. She can wander into a company, be slotted in at any level, and instantly deliver the right match for that spot. Funnily enough, one of the only other examples was on her team, and she regularly lights up the Oz Academy midcard by her side. They’re both stupidly talented people who could go out there and aim for classics every time but know better than that. Whether it’s Ichigaya, Korakuen Hall or a big Stardom show, they give the performance everyone wants, and that’s an ability that shouldn’t be taken for granted.
Jon Moxley vs Shingo Takagi, Battle In The Valley (13/1/24), NJPW
Jon Moxley is neither the best hardcore nor the best big-match wrestler around. However, when you put those things together, he is kind of undeniable. I know it’s become a bit of a thing to criticise Mox for bleeding all over AEW television, but those people are idiots because when you let that lad loose with a bunch of weapons, an opponent who is willing to go along with him and a free pass to spill blood, he will rarely, if ever, let you down.
What stood out against Shingo wasn’t so much the big spots as the little moments of improvisation. When Mox’s kendo stick started to come apart, he ran with it, cracking it apart so he could start jabbing at the already bleeding Takagi with the shards, even jamming them into his mouth to wrench at the inside of his cheek. Is that more painful than doing it with the whole stick? Probably not. If you look closely, you can even see them bend a bit as he jabs them into Shingo’s head, but that doesn’t matter because the idea of it is worse. Those sharp shards, with their splinters of wood, feel more dangerous, which is much more important than them actually being so.
And this match isn’t perfect. The crowd are annoying, chanting for tables and being overly American. On top of that, Shingo doesn’t contribute much in the first two-thirds, as he’s primarily there for Mox to be creative around until they get down to throwing bombs. However, crowds can be tuned out, and Takagi does the big stuff right, getting the blood flowing and wearing a white t-shirt so it looks good. Plus, any match with Mox staggering towards the camera and shoving his bloody forehead up against the lens can get away with a few flaws. That shit is cool, no matter what the moaners claim.
Wotan vs Trauma I, The Return (13/10/24), Producciones TC
If you want me to check out some wrestling outside my usual purview, sending it to me around January is generally a good bet. I usually come into the New Year excited to watch as much as possible, refreshed by my belief that if anything is still on my watchlist from the depths of 2023 at this point, I probably didn’t care all that much about it anyway. All of which explains how I ended up watching a bit of lucha that I saw being recommended on Twitter, involving two guys that I know fuck all about. If you’re looking for details, you’re in the wrong place. I’m going purely off first impressions here.
And I’m glad this happened on the same day as Mox vs Takagi because it allows them to sit next to each other on this list. On paper, these two bloody hardcore brawls have a lot in common. However, even as Mox and Shingo bled all over the place, their match had the sheen of a big show. It’s New Japan, and you can’t escape that fact. This had none of that. It was grimy and violent, played out in front of a wild crowd who were there to have a great time. They delivered the oft-mentioned football atmosphere, although as someone who generally attends matches in Scotland, there was a lot less grumbling and shouts of cunt than I’m used to.
Yet, it’s that griminess that makes the match work. When these two are actually wrestling, it’s a bit awkward and slow, but who cares? No one is there for the wrestling. They’re there to watch them brawl around the venue, ripping at each other’s masks and riling the crowd up. Wotan is a merciless shit, jabbing at Trauma with punches to the stomach to open him up to hooks to the face. They delivered all your light tubes and barbed wire antics, but the spot that has stuck with me was when they fought into the crowd, Wotan smashing Trauma’s hand into the metal stand, a moment that inspired a much more visceral reaction than any typical hardcore spot.
Maybe it’s the Mayumi Ozaki fan in me, but I also kind of love that he still went on to win. Knowing nothing about this promotion or these men, I was sure this was setting up for the Trauma I fight back, the battle from underneath against this brutal beating. Sure, we got a bit of that. He ripped away at Wotan’s mask and did some bloodletting of his own, but it was never permanent, and he’s the one who ends up with skewers being driven scarily deep into his skull. Trauma didn’t have it in him to match Wotan at this game, and he paid the price for that.
Like most wrestling fans of taste, I love a bloody lucha brawl, and this scratched that itch perfectly. I very much doubt I’ll still be checking out every recommendation I see on Twitter throughout 2024, but I’d quite like to, so if you have any, throw them my way – a little more of this certainly wouldn’t go amiss.
Chihiro Hashimoto vs Sareee, Sareee-ISM Chapter III (16/1/24), Sareee-ISM
I already went into detail about this in my review, so I hope you’ll forgive me for keeping it simple here. Sareee vs Big Hash getting violent with each other is cool as fuck. The powerbomb off the apron, Hash spearing Sareee through rows of chairs, the plethora of headbutts and more. It’s a simple formula, but it’s a great one. Sure, this match had more depth than two people going out there and laying into each other, but you know what? It would be fine if it didn’t. I like watching them hurt each other, and while it’s not a bad thing for them to run a narrative through that, I’d be willing to forgive them if they took that part of it easy.
It also feels fresh. In the grand scheme of things, Sareee wasn’t gone that long, but in that time, a lot happened. The dynamics of the scene shifted, arguably moving even further away from what Sareee holds dear, and she’s reentered with a will to prove herself. Not only because she ultimately failed in America but because the wrestling she loves is even further from the mainstream than it was when she was around. When you pair her up with Big Hash or Arisa, there is a sense that they’re fighting not only each other but also to prove that their way is right. That’s what pushes them to go that step further, to clamber back to their feet one more time and hit that little bit harder.
It’s hard not to love these matches. There is a visceral, lizard-brain thrill to them that wraps itself around you, pulling you in and making every head drop that little bit more exciting than the last. And yet, it’s not simple. If it was, everyone would do it. There’s an artistry to what Hash and Sareee do, an escalation and a way of threading it together that makes them the best, and while the world will keep shifting, perhaps drawing further and further away from the wrestlers they hold dear, you can rely on them to still be there, battling on, being better than the rest and putting on incredible matches.
Hook vs Samoa Joe, Dynamite (17/1/24), AEW
I’m never going to love AEW. Unless they have a complete philosophy change, it will continue to not align with my tastes, but elements of what they do are hard to hate. Whether it’s pushing Eddie Kingston, giving Bryan Danielson one last run on top or even the crumbs they’ve thrown towards Emi Sakura (which don’t even get close to being as much as she deserves), they have highlighted people who deserve it. Alongside that is giving Samoa Joe another chance to be the badass he’s always been. Has there ever been a bigger upgrade than MJF to Joe? I’m not sure there has.
And when you let Joe be a badass, he will give you matches like this. He approached Hook like an upstart to be ground into the mat, confident in his ability to dispatch him in seconds. There was a reason for that, too. When Joe was on offence, he was vicious, with the uranage onto the announce table being the perfect example. It wasn’t some clean slam delivered to the right spot to make the table explode underneath him. Instead, he sends Hook crashing down onto the edge, his spine digging into the corner. If anything, they were let down by the fact the table broke, as having Hook bounce off would have been even better, but we can’t have everything.
It wasn’t all Joe, though, as Hook delivered something we don’t see as often in American wrestling: the plucky rookie performance. It could have easily been the fifth match of a trial series, the one where you throw the kid against the toughest guy around and challenge him to survive. Hook didn’t only survive, either. He was determined to take his pound of flesh, launching himself at Joe from the start and catching the champ off guard. Even when he was being beaten down, Hook was defiant as hell, the kickout at one from the Muscle Buster and his final flurry showing he didn’t know he was beaten. On top of that, Taz, his dad, was fantastic on commentary, balancing the line between proud, doting father and analysis expertly, letting his emotion creep through just enough to make it sympathetic rather than cloying. It helped make this the definition of someone being made in defeat, and if Tony Khan knows what he’s doing, they’ll be playing clips of this match when Hook finally wins the big one.
CatMASK Calico vs Mari, Teppen Produce (19/1/24), AWG
Every wrestler needs a match like this. One that pushes them past their limits, opening up a new part of themselves and allowing them to reach the next level of their career. It doesn’t always have to come in the form of them getting the shit kicked out of them (I’m thinking of Raku finally getting her first pinfall while teaming with Itoh), but it usually comes alongside a more experienced hand, somehow who can force them to go a step further than they ever have before. In this case, it did also involve Mari kicking the shit out of Calico.
Despite the not-quite-so-wee-cat having already wrestled two matches on this show, Mari came into this determined to make her work. Her music had barely started before she was kicking Calico in the head, and she went on to launch her through several rows of chairs. With the title now settled around her waist, it felt like Mari sending a message. She represents AWG, and if you’re going to be part of it, you better step up to her level.
And Calico did. Not in the sense that she gave Mari a fight, she had lost this match the second the ninja booted her in the head, but in the sense that Calico didn’t accept that until she had no other choice. She was exhausted and beaten down, but she kept kicking out, getting up and trying to fight back. It was defiance for the sake of defiance, which, in its own way, is a powerful thing. Sometimes, you can’t win, but you can make sure you walk out with your head high.
It all culminated in Calico symbolically ripping off her trousers to reveal a pair of trunks underneath, a spot that, let’s face it, could have been very silly. Removing your trousers doesn’t quite have the same resonance as, say, El Desperado fighting on without his mask against Hiromu Takahashi, and if the match before that moment hadn’t been so great, I think it could have earned laughs. Thankfully, though, everything that came before made it feel impactful. Costume changes as a way to signal progression are nothing new in wrestling, and having it happen in the ring, in the middle of a career-best performance, made sure it connected as a big moment. It gave Calico the impetus for a final flurry, and while it was the last breath before the end, she still came out of this looking ten times the wrestler she did coming in.
Mio Momono, Chikayo Nagashima & Maria vs Takumi Iroha, Tomoko Watanabe & Riko Kawahata, In Nagayo (20/1/23), Marvelous
Marvelous’s second show of 2024 finished up with perhaps my favourite piss-about of the year so far. These six got half an hour to go out and play, and it’s a credit to how good they are that it never once dragged. It is another one that I’ve already reviewed, so I’ll keep it relatively brief, but there’s a joy in watching wrestlers try shit out. It was a smaller show with no real consequences, and there was a sense that everyone involved was throwing stuff at the wall to see what stuck. The only comparison I can think of is going to watch a stand-up perform a work in progress. You know it won’t be perfect, but it’s exciting watching that raw material be crafted in front of you.
It meant this was a match full of people being chased with umbrellas, Takumi and Tomoko discovering it was fun to swing people back and forth before throwing them across the ring and, mixed in there somewhere, some good wrestling. It never got serious, but they always knew when to pull back and focus on a pairing to ensure the chaos never got too much or ran out of steam. Plus, when the pairings you can focus on include Mio Momono vs Takumi Iroha, you’ve got to give the people at least a bit of what they want. It’s only fair.
As I said in my initial review, there is every chance this was all meticulously planned, and they knew what they were doing. But if that’s true, it doesn’t change anything. They still presented this match like something off the cuff and free, and if I could buy into that, a reality that I’ll never have confirmation of is irrelevant. Either way, they achieved what they wanted, and while I’m sure 2024 will include a few more great piss-abouts, the bar has been set high with this one.
They might not have won the Max Heart tournament, but I’ve got my fingers crossed that 2024 will be the year Kyoraku Kyomei get their due. With MagiRabbi gone, Free WiFi out of commission and Daydream focusing on singles stuff, they are the best long-term team in the division, and as desperate as I am to see Daisy Monkey get a chance, I’d sacrifice that for a Shoko and Misao run with the titles. This match was proof of why. Having dominated against Toyo Mates the day before, it was time for them to play the underdogs, battling back from underneath and grasping hold of little opportunities through a combination of Misao’s trickery and Shoko’s skill. They are perhaps TJPW’s most reliable pair, ready to do everything from main events to nonsense Ittenyon showdowns to opening tags. With the way Tokyo Joshi works, most of the roster gets thrown into these situations, but few, if any, do it with the talent that Shoko and Misao do.
And as much as I believe that not everyone deserves a title win, there is something to be said for Shoko and Misao having earned that right. The tag belts feel like they’re up in the air, as Aniki and Aino have ended up with them almost by accident, and we now have to see how TJPW get back to what they initially wanted. In a situation like that, turning to two of your more reliable hands would be no bad thing. They’ve proven they can have outstanding matches, with this battling defeat to Daydream being the latest of many, so give them the titles they deserve and let’s see what they can do with them.
Yuuki Mashiro vs Makoto, Winter Story 2024 (27/1/24), Ice Ribbon
She’s back! It might have only been a year and change since Yuuki Mashiro appeared in an Ice Ribbon ring, but as she opened this match by going straight to the Inoki playbook, dropping to her back to try and kick Makoto’s legs, it felt like the lights came back on. Sure, it didn’t work for her, but Mashiro lit Korakuen up, her wonderfully unique brain doing things that no one else would even think of. At one point, she did a lap of the orange seats, going for a Miyuki Takase-like build-up to a forearm against the ring post, despite the fact her chosen route required her to clamber over a couple of fences and readjust when she returned to the hitting zone, meaning that, if anything, she lost momentum.
And this match was a greatest-hits set. For the most part, Makoto’s job was to react as Mashiro ran through some of the classics, with a few smaller new bits thrown in here and there. However, they were the greatest hits of my favourite band, which I hadn’t seen in far too long and thought I would never see again. When she clambered up to the top rope, ready to attempt that crossbody, I was grinning from ear to ear, delighted to have that weirdo back doing what she does best. Mashiro, like all great nonsense wrestlers, exists in her own little world but has the talent to draw you into it, even if just for a second, and it’s a place I’ve missed getting to see.
I was going to write a review of this whole show, but I gave up after struggling to find something interesting to say about the fourth or fifth sub-five-minute match. Not necessarily because they were awful, but because Ice Ribbon is in a weird place and trying new stuff, not all of which will smash it out of the park. Christ, they only got 299 people through the door for this Korakuen, and even their most ardent defenders have to admit that’s rough. There are some good rookies there, a few solid veteran hands and a couple of special talents, but they’re all trying to figure out what this new-look company is, and it feels a touch disjointed because of that. It will take time, and while I accept that, I need something to hook me in. I can get my rookies and chop-heavy matches from elsewhere, but I can’t get Yuuki Mashiro. Like Asako Mia in AWG, she’s unique, and even in this return match where she wrestled a pal to get her feet back under the table, you could see that. If they’re going to let her loose to deliver matches like this once a week, I’ll be there, and at a time when Ice need something to set them apart, Mashiro’s return could be very important.
Long live the Gacha King!
Ramblings About Wrestling 