20) Review

It’s time. After stubbornly trying to catch-up for far too long, I have accepted defeat and sprung forward in time with Ice Ribbon. Quite frankly, people barely need my opinion on stuff happening in the here and now, never mind shit from a month ago, so it feels like the right decision and Ice Ribbon’s return to Korakuen seemed like the perfect time to do it. I will still be watching all those shows at some point, so if you want my opinion buy me a pint and I’ll happily fill you in.

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07/08/2020 0

Stardom Throwback: Grow Up Stars (26/6/11) Review

My Stardom Throwback project took a bit of a backseat recently (the ROH one is clinging to the outside of the car screaming for its life), but that doesn’t mean it’s over! As I’ve been saying for a while, we’re reaching exciting times in the early history of Stardom and today sees our first new rookie since show numero uno. Step forward, Saki Kashima.

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06/08/2020 0

Ramblings About’s Top Ten Matches of July 2020

Matt on Twitter: "Main event! Yuna Mizumori & Mitsuru Konno vs Emi ... — Safe to say Mitsuru was angry at this point. Credit: ChocoPro

I’m tweaking the match of the month formula a bit for July, ditching the top ten list to do it in chronological order. Partly that comes about because I think ranking matches was always a bit silly and partly because there was a series this month that told a story, so writing about them out of order would be weird. Anyway, it was another strong month for wrestling, so here are ten matches I reckon you should check out.

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05/08/2020 0

AJW Throwback: AJW Classics Episode 7 Review

Episode seven of AJW Classics is all from the same show, and it’s a biggy. This was AJW’s Summer Night Festival in Budokan, an event that features at least two legendary matches. It went down on the 22nd of August 1985 and it’s time for us to dive in.

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04/08/2020 0

Stardom Cinderella Summer In Tokyo (26/7/20) Review

You go forever without a Korakuen, and suddenly Stardom is there every second week. Their latest visit to that hallowed hall was all about putting those vacant belts back on people. Throw in a High Speed three-way that’s been long in the making, and you’ve got the potential for a decent show.

03/08/2020 0

Ice Ribbon 1048 (27/6/20) Review

You know, I’m not entirely sure why I’ve been trying to review every Ice Ribbon show. I don’t do that for any other company, so why did I set off on this pointless crusade? With that in mind, I’m going to start skipping around, picking up the big shows and hopefully catching up before a certain title shot. Wish me luck!

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31/07/2020 0

Wrestler Mixtape: Lulu Pencil

The second person to have the dubious honour of taking a spot in my wrestling mixtape series debuted nearly a year ago. However, it’s safe to say that over the last 11 and a bit months, Lulu Pencil has made a hell of an impression, proving that freelance writers and wrestlers are basically the same thing…

Despite the limited options (Lulu hasn’t had that many matches), I’ve decided not to include the obvious (so, no Honda) and instead pick out a few other Lulu efforts. Enjoy!

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30/07/2020 0

I Believe In Lulu Pencil

Lulu Pencil probably shouldn’t be a wrestler. All those people who claim they could snap Kenny Omega over one knee would be telling the truth if they made the same claim about The Pencil. Her long, skinny frame does not look like it should be involved in physical sport, appearing much more suited to the world of a freelance writer, the job she does when she’s not prowling the mats of Ichigaya. However, Lulu Pencil is a wrestler, and an inspiring one at that.

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29/07/2020 1

DDT Summer Vacation (23/7/20) Review

If Tokyo Joshi is back in Korakuen, you can bet DDT was going to fall straight after them. Their sister brand set a mighty high bar earlier in the day, so it was time to see if they could hurdle over it.

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28/07/2020 0

SEAdLINNNG Close To You (13/7/20) Review

The Korakuen returns continue as it’s SEAdLINNNG’s chance to step into that iconic room. Although it’s worth saying that this happened before the other Korakuens I’ve recently written about, it just aired later. Still, that’s not particularly important, and with a big title challenge on top, it promised to be a good show.

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27/07/2020 3