Ramblings About’s Matches of the Month for August 2025

Endo runs the Miyu gauntlet. Credit: TJPW

Despite heading down to London for a weekend to watch the stuff (don’t expect any writing about that, much beer was drunk), I feel like I didn’t watch as much wrestling as usual in August. There is no grand reason for that. I just never quite got around to a bunch of shows that I’m sure I’ll catch up with eventually. All the same, there were a few matches that I enjoyed. They’re mostly hailing from my usual places, but hey, it’s not like anyone is coming here expecting anything different.

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01/09/2025 0

Ramblings About’s Matches of the Month for July 2025

A photo that tells you everything you need to know about Rika Tatsumi. Credit: TJPW

I had another busy month in July, but unlike the last couple of times that’s happened, this was almost entirely for fun reasons. There was a Japanese exam at the start, but the rest was music festivals and seeing some of my favourite people, so I didn’t have much time to devote to wrestling. Despite that, I think I managed to watch a respectable amount! It’s all fairly on brand, as I didn’t stray too far outside of my usual promotions, but they’re my go-to places for a reason. They’re great.

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01/08/2025 0

Ramblings About’s Matches of the Months for June 2025

The biggest match of the month, Hyper Misao vs imposter syndrome. Credit: TJPW

After a couple of months where I’ve struggled to put one of these together for various reasons, I feel like I got back into the groove in June. It’s been something of a return to safe ground, as I’m touching on a lot of TJPW, ChocoPro and Marvelous, but there are a couple of other things in there, and I just needed to find my spark again. Fingers crossed you enjoy it, and if you’ve got any cool recommendations that I missed, feel free to let me know!

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01/07/2025 0

Ramblings About’s Matches of the Month for May 2025

For the second month in a row, I’ve left a whole bunch of matches I would have loved to write about on the table. That’s partly because I was still incredibly busy at the start of May, so I’m working my way through my backlog, and partly because my brain hasn’t been playing fair recently, and I’ve been struggling to do, well, anything. However, I did manage to get a few words down, so hopefully, there’s something here to enjoy! Fingers crossed that normal service will be resumed next month.

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01/06/2025 0

Ramblings About’s Matches of the Month for April 2025

April into May is my busiest time of the year, so please excuse this list being a touch less fleshed out than usual. I had to leave a bunch of matches I would have liked to write about on the cutting room floor, and the to-watch list is pretty hefty coming into May (I still haven’t even seen the Satomura retirement show). Still, hopefully, there’s something here you haven’t seen or at least an interesting opinion on something you have. Enjoy!

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01/05/2025 0

Ramblings About’s Matches of the Month for March 2025

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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01/04/2025 0

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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01/03/2025 2

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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01/02/2025 0

Ramblings About’s Match of the Year 2024: Miu Watanabe vs Shoko Nakajima

It’s fitting that as I write this, Mizuki and Miu Watanabe are building to Ittenyon by debating whether Miu is a princess or a monster. While I’m not brave enough to say it to the champ’s face, the truth is I’d argue she graduated to monsterhood with this match. Sure, beating Miyu Yamashita to win the Princess of Princess Title was huge. It’s Miyu in a Tokyo Joshi main event. If you come out in one piece, you’re doing pretty well. However, while Miu vs Miyu was a battle of two different types of power, Shoko Nakajima represented a very different challenge. On the first defence of her new belt, Watanabe had to contend with the best pure wrestler in the company, and as Yamashita knows better than anyone, that’s a banana skin that it’s all too easy to slip on.

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31/12/2024 2

Ramblings About’s Matches of the Year 2024: Best of the Rest

Fuck knows how, but 2024 is drawing to an end, which means it’s time for me to wang on about my favourite things in wrestling from the last twelve months. Up first, the best of the rest. These are the matches that, on a different day, could have easily been my favourite of the year. I’ve seen a few people suggest it’s been a weaker period for wrestling, but I didn’t feel that way as I struggled to whittle this down to ten. A handful of bouts I assumed would be on here were pipped at the post and replaced by something that excited me that little bit more. So, if your favourite is missing, imagine it’s number 11.

As usual, it’s a list that reflects my tastes, which means there are some glaring holes. I intended to make this the year I dived into lucha, but I failed, so it has no representation here, not because it’s shite, but because I don’t watch enough of it. There are only so many hours in the day, and I like to spend a few of them on non-wrestling-related activities.

Anyway, on to the list!

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30/12/2024 0