Rambles about the wonderful world of wrestling.
Korakuen may have been empty, but Tokyo Joshi were in town, and as I’ve been saying a lot recently, I can’t remember the last time they came to this building and put on anything less than an incredible show. Normally, the lack of a crowd would have me worried that their streak was about to come to an end, but look at this card! I think we’re in safe hands.
Continue reading “TJPW Yes! Wonderland (4/5/21) Review”
With the State of Emergency ramping up in Japan, Tokyo Joshi is back into empty arenas, but unlike the last time this happened, they are pushing ahead with their Korakuens. That’s a relief, to be honest, for the card that this show was building to is pretty damn spicy.
Continue reading “TJPW The Bullet (1/5/21) Review”
Okay, so removing the ten-match limit for these lists has maybe caused me to go a bit overboard. In my defence, April was a hell of a month for wrestling, despite the event I was looking forward to most, GAEAISM, being postponed because of Japan’s COVID issues. Thankfully, plenty of other stuff was there to pick up the slack, and, well, scroll down to see how much I had to talk about.
Continue reading “Ramblings About’s Matches of the Month for April 2021”
My journey through Stardom’s history has become a bit of a leisurely stroll, but that’s not a problem! Who is in a hurry to get anywhere? We’ve made it to their first anniversary, so that’s not too bad! Let’s see pop in and see how Stardom was getting on.
Continue reading “Stardom Throwback: New Year Stars (22/1/12) Review”
How about that for a show name? Joshi has an abundance of incredible show titles, but Ice Ribbon has outdone them all there. It was a fitting moniker for what will probably be the last show we see from a Korakuen with fans in it for a while, as Tokyo heads back into lockdown. I’ve no doubt Ice Ribbon will see it out in style, though. Go forth maidens and fight!
Continue reading “Ice Ribbon Spring Is Short, So You Maidens Should Fight! (24/4/21) Review”
As I edit this, several areas of Japan, including Tokyo, have declared another state of emergency. That puts the status of GAEAISM up in the air, which, if you discount all the actually important things, is one of the worst consequences of this pandemic so far. Sadly, I can’t do much about that, and before we got to what will hopefully still be the big one, Marvelous had one last show to give us. Appreciate it now because you ain’t going to be seeing much Japanese wrestling in front of fans over the next month.
Continue reading “Marvelous (22/4/21) Review”
Tokyo Joshi is a company with a plan. The way they book their titles suggests it’s all been laid out in advance, each piece of the puzzle slotted in to open up a spot for the next. The question is, what happens when things change? Not the unavoidable bad change, injury or retirement, but the good one, where a wrestler takes off in a way that you maybe didn’t expect. I suspect the plan was always for Maki Itoh to challenge Rika Tatsumi on this show but had Tokyo Joshi expected her to be coming in after making international headlines? Will the temptation to grab a few more of those cause those plans to be launched out the window? Well, it’s time to find out.
Continue reading “TJPW Still Incomplete (17/4/21) Review”
I love the Cinderella Tournament. The over the top rope nature of its rules makes it such a wonderfully unpredictable event, and while I’m a little disappointed that Stardom has chosen to split it over two days this year, it’s still a highlight of the calendar. I’ve been dipping in and out of the company over the last few months, watching big shows and stuff that sounds interesting, but this was one I was never going to skip.
Continue reading “Stardom Cinderella Tournament Round 1 (10/4/21) Review”
DDT were back in Korakuen for perhaps the most intriguing main event of the year so far. Imagine telling someone five years ago that Akiyama and Dieno were going to face-off for the KO-D title? I’m not sure anyone predicted that one.
Continue reading “DDT April Fools (11/4/21) Review”
It’s a marvellous day to watch some Marvelous. Damn, can’t believe I haven’t used that as an opening line before. That feels like day one stuff. Anyway, this was another packed Marvelous show, so if recent history tells us anything, it’s probably going to rule. Let’s see if I’m right.
Continue reading “Marvelous (8/4/21) Review”
Ramblings About Wrestling 