Takumi Iroha vs Sora Ayame, Marvelous (6/4/24)

Ow. Credit: Here

Takumi Iroha frustrates me. She has all the tools required to be an incredible Ace, but all too often, it feels like she’s holding back. It’s most evident in her tendency to slap her thigh rather than really punish people with those kicks, but it also shows elsewhere. She’s too cool (and protected) to convincingly play the underdog, but she also never seems to dominate people quite like I’d hope. I suspect it’s why my favourite matches of hers are often against other Marvelous wrestlers. Facing off with a Mio Momono or even an Ai Houzan, she feels comfortable enough to unleash. Yet, when you put her up against Mayumi Ozaki, setting her up to avenge Marvelous’s beatings, she doesn’t have the grit to make it feel definitive. Sadly for Sora Ayame, she had no such qualms when facing her.

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Ramblings About’s Matches of the Month for March 2025

My hero. Credit: TJPW

I thought I hadn’t watched that much wrestling this month, but the length of this list would suggest otherwise. Maybe I was only tuning into the good stuff? It also nips to a few of my less-visited locales, as we stop off in America, Mexico and Germany alongside all the usual Japanese nonsense. Does that sound like a good time? I certainly hope so.

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Sendai Girls The Top of Joshi Wrestling (19/3/25) Review

Oka always succeeds at being weird. Credit: Sendai Girls

Not many wrestlers can claim to be unbeaten against Meiko Satomura one-on-one, but Chihiro Hashimoto has the honour. With Satomura’s retirement on the horizon, they butted heads one last time. Would Meiko end her career by finally getting one over her prized pupil? Well, this show happened several days ago, so I imagine you already know, but hey, let’s keep the non-existent tension going.

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Chris Brookes vs Ram Kaichow, Vol. 19 (21/1/25), Baka Gaijin + Friends

Tall and small

I need to deliver a slight disclaimer before we get started. My first watch of this match was on the train home from a Napalm Death gig where I’d drunk around five pints. Understandably, I was in a rare jolly mood, which may have influenced my feelings towards it. However, I have since rewatched it, and I largely stand by my original thoughts, so fuck it. If my opinions on wrestling can’t be influenced by one of the greatest bands of all time, what can they be influenced by? And surely the ideal way to watch Baka Gaijin is while slightly intoxicated? I was merely getting in the mood.

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Ramblings About’s Matches of the Month for February 2025

Raku is in charge of the train now. Credit: TJPW

It doesn’t matter if the month is long or short – I always get to the end of it feeling like there are at least twenty matches I haven’t got to yet. Despite that, I think February’s ramble has a nice selection of gems to get excited about. There’s all the usual stuff (Ice Ribbon, ChocoPro and TJPW), but also a bit more lucha, a touch of New Japan and a trip over to Evolution, who are becoming one of my favourite promotions outside of my typical fare to keep up with. Hopefully, there is something there that you’ll enjoy, and if you think I’m missing anything particularly exciting, drop it in the comments.

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TJPW Max Heart Tournament Final (8/2/25), TJPW Review

That’s one way to stop them. Credit: TJPW

The Max Heart comes to an end, as TJPW managed to find the one team I might not complain about beating Kyoraku Kyomei. It should be Shoko and Misao’s time, but there is no world in which I would get grumpy about a Pompaler win. That Koda is a sneaky bugger. Anyway, you probably already know the result because it was several days ago, so let’s get on with the rambles.

(I want to quickly mention that you should be checking out friend-of-the-site Sebastian’s TJPW reviews. They’re a brilliant writer, and while I hope you’ll continue to read mine, you’re missing out if you’re not reading them.)

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Jaguar Yokota & Honori Hana vs Yumiko Hotta & Misa Kagura, Sareee-ISM Chapter VI (23/1/25), Sareee-ISM

She might be in trouble. Credit: Here

I don’t have many strong memories of Honori Hana’s first run. That’s not to say I don’t remember her, but the SEAdLINNNG rookie who stood out back then was Rico Kaiju, with Honori often sliding into the background. For the two and a bit years she was originally wrestling (most of which took place in the pandemic and only made up around 80 matches), she seemed destined to become a solid hand. Make no mistake about it, no one who comes out of a dojo run by Nanae Takahashi, Natsuki Taiyo, Arisa Nakajima and Yoshiko is going to stink the joint out, but I don’t remember there ever being a moment when I saw something big in her.

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Ramblings About’s Matches of the Months for January 2025

Arai booting 2025 into life. Credit: TJPW

We’re back for Ramblings Abouts’ first matches of the month for 2025. I apologise for missing a few of these towards the end of last year, but I had some personal shit that took up a lot of my brain space, and I’m sure the two of you who read this didn’t even notice. However, I am back for 2025 and planning to watch far too much of this dumb stuff while also complaining that I didn’t get to see everything I wanted to. Multiple big hitters are missing from this list because I haven’t had a chance to watch them yet, but that doesn’t mean what I have seen loses any value. They’re all great matches, which I recommend going out of your way to see. And if you have any recommendations, stick them in the comments below!

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Yappy vs Ancham, New Ice Ribbon #1395 (18/1/25), Ice Ribbon

Still pals. Credit: Screenshot

Getting back into Ice Ribbon is one of my wrestling goals for 2025, and one of the early joys of that has been watching more Bad Butts. I would never have conceived the idea of Yappy embracing her dark side because it seems to be the antithesis of her lovely public persona, but Ancham and her have got something with this pairing. They’re managing to be cool while retaining enough of a bumbling, heelish nature that they never slip into the tired trope of bad guys who are desperate to be cheered. Plus, on an Ice roster full of plucky young underdogs, having two experienced bullies to go after them will never be a bad thing.

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