25), Ice Ribbon

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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28/01/2025 0

Ice Ribbon After the Rain (23/6/24) Review

If you’d asked me at the start of the year to list the things that could help Ice Ribbon get close to filling Korakuen Hall in 2024, I would have got a few hundred deep before even considering the idea of pairing up with Stardom. It’s not that I would have doubted such a strategy’s ability to work, but with Rossy Ogawa involved, the idea seemed implausible. In recent years, Stardom and Ice Ribbon have not got along, and that’s putting it mildly. I would have been more comfortable betting on myself to win the ICExInfinity title than this relationship coming to pass. Yet, here we are. Following on from Best Friends beating Eye Contact at Flashing Champions, Mayu Iwatani stepped into a proper company to take on Tsukasa Fujimoto. By now, I’m sure you all know how it ended, but that doesn’t mean there isn’t still plenty to discuss.

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27/06/2024 0

Ice Ribbon #1337 (23/3/24) Review

After a sparsely attended Korakuen in January, Ice Ribbon returned to that famous old venue backed by what appeared to be a much healthier crowd. With the show headlined by a rare mother vs daughter battle, plus the return of the Triangle Ribbon title and a hoss pairing going after the tag belts, this had the structure of a pre-everything going wrong Ice card, which is what I want to see. Let’s see if the vibes were able to match the potential.

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29/03/2024 0

Ice Ribbon Ribbonmania (31/12/23) Review

2023 was a tough one for Ice Ribbon, as several cracks expanded into fissures. It was such a disaster that I worried we might be about to see the end of a company that I, and many others, have a lot of affection for. However, slowly but surely, things have started to turn around, and with new ownership at the top, there’s the possibility that things might be moving in the right direction. We’re a long way from the heights of a few years ago, and I have my doubts if we’ll ever get back there, but the chance to create a fun and exciting product is there if they can grasp it. What better place to start than Ribbonmania, the show that serves as both their year-ender and year-starter.

Final quick note: I never stopped watching Ice Ribbon entirely (I even went to the Korakuen in August), but I have been more out of the loop than usual, so I may be missing a few slithers of context. Let me know in the comments if I say anything egregiously stupid.

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02/01/2024 0

Ice Ribbon #1238 ~ 3rd Kizuna Tournament (30/10/22 Evening) Review

Show two of the Kizuna Tournament took place hours after the first, so there was no rest for those involved. However, with a big old trophy and a couple of wishes on the line, I’m sure they were all fired up to impress. Who would come out as the winner? Well, it was a few days ago, so you probably already know, but if you don’t, read on to find out!

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02/11/2022 0

Ice Ribbon #1237 ~ 3rd Kizuna Tournament (30/10/22 Afternoon) Review

The Ice Ribbon Kizuna Tournament has quickly become a yearly tradition and a fun one at that. With the winning team awarded a wish each, it’s a hefty prize and something worth the tough day’s work getting said victory means. I’ve been a bit lax on covering Ice recently as, to be brutally honest, I haven’t had enough money to justify buying their PPVs. However, I decided to treat myself to these two shows, so it seemed the perfect time to jump back in.

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31/10/2022 0

Ice Ribbon Summer Jumbo Ribbon (31/7/22) Review

Ice Ribbon finished up July with a trip to Korakuen, and while it took me a bit longer than usual to catch up with what went down, I am always in the mood for an Ice Ribbon show. They were dishing up a number one contender match, another visit from Hikaru Shida and a tag-title bout, so let’s get on with it.

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05/08/2022 0

Ice Ribbon 1187 (20/3/22) Review

At the end of my last Ice Ribbon review, I promised that I would stop talking about the transitional period the company was in. Of course, since then, Tsukushi has announced her retirement, and I got a fright when I glanced at Twitter in the pub on Friday and thought Tsukka was following her. Thankfully, that’s not the case, as she’s simply taking some time off to enjoy married life, but it would be nice if Ice Ribbon could have a quiet period. Anyway, no matter who is coming or going, the wrestling continues, and they were in Korakuen over the weekend, which is nearly always a good time.

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21/03/2022 0

Ice Ribbon #1182 ~ RE:BORN (26/2/22) Review

I love a live Ice Ribbon Korakuen. We don’t always get them, so they feel like an extra special treat when they do come along. They’re even better when the card looks great, and this was an intriguing blend of guests, youngsters and old favourites. Let’s get into it!

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28/02/2022 2

Ice Ribbon Ribbonmania (31/12/21) Review

I don’t think Ice Ribbon’s year is ending the way anyone expected it to. With a host of faces leaving the company, Ribbonmania 2021 feels like a changing of the guard, and I’m not entirely sure what their 2022 will look like. However, I know that I am more than happy to follow them along for the ride and have full faith in Tsukka and co figuring it out.

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