Rambles about the wonderful world of wrestling.
Yesterday it was announced that Arisa Hoshiki, the current Wonder of Stardom champion, has been forced to retire because of injuries. It was news that was both a surprise and not. She had been a notable absence from the last two Stardom shows while the lack of information about what was keeping her out suggested it wasn’t a mere knock. However, even if a part of me was scared this was coming, it didn’t stop it being gutting.
Continue reading “Thank You, Arisa”Two Ice Ribbon reviews in a row, don’t I spoil you all? We’re back in the dojo, and while the original IW19 match had to be cancelled due to Akane Fujita’s injury, it’s just possible there might be a replacement. More on that later.
Continue reading “Ice Ribbon 1040 (9/5/20) Review”Ice Ribbon #1039 took a break from the IW19 tournament, instead choosing to highlight the debut of Nao Ishikawa. We saw her in an exhibition match recently, but this has been a long time coming as it’s been cancelled or postponed a few times before. Sadly, she’ll have to do it in front of an empty dojo, but at least she gets the joy of being in the main event.
Continue reading “Ice Ribbon #1039 (4/5/20) Review”
DDT Universe has rebranded! With the addition of NOAH, not to mention the numerous other companies available on it, they’ve become Wrestle Universe. A name that’s perhaps not their most inventive moment, but it gets to the point. Honestly, it’s probably the best value streaming service out there, so if you’re not signed up to it, get on that.
Continue reading “DDT TV Show Episode 3 (16/5/20) Review”
With lockdown lingering Ice Ribbon has made the decision to bring back P’s Party. Now, as someone who only started watching Ice Ribbon at the start of the year, I have to admit that I don’t have a clue what P’s Party is. As best I can gather, it was a show based around highlighting Ice Ribbon’s rookies (okay, I didn’t really gather that, Yappy Tweeted it) which sounds like the perfect wrestling show! Can it live up to that expectation? Time to find out.
Continue reading “Ice Ribbon P’s Party 41 (13/5/20) Review”
There ain’t a huge amount to say up here. We’re still taking a jaunt through Stardom’s history, but we’re a couple of months from things starting to heat up. Still, it’s been an enjoyable wander so far, so let’s find out if that can continue.
Continue reading “Stardom Throwback: Grow Up Stars (8/5/11) Review”
Unlike most of the matches I’ve covered in Meltzer’s Classics, I watched this one live. Back in 2011, CM Punk sat down and cut the now-infamous pipe bomb promo, calling out WWE and Vince McMahon in a shocking and real way. It felt like a game-changing moment, and it set up a storyline where the whole world knew his contract was expiring after Money in the Bank 2011. On what could have been his final show, he was put up against the WWE champion and the man Vince crafted in a test tube, John Cena. Surely he couldn’t win… right?
Continue reading “Meltzer’s Classics: John Cena vs CM Punk (17/7/11)”Ice Ribbon has stringent rules about the pronunciation of the IW19 title as it must be juukyuu rather than nineteen. I’d love to brag about knowing that meant nineteen, but I’m sure even the most monolingual of you could have figured that one out. It’s been theorised on Twitter that it’s because it sounds a bit like IWGP? Whatever the reason, make sure and not get it wrong or they’ll come after you.
Continue reading “Ice Ribbon #1038 (2/5/20) Review”
Saturday morning wrestling (if you live in the UK) feels right, doesn’t it? DDT’s new weekly TV show is filling a niche I didn’t realise needed to be filled, but I’m glad to have it and, after a hot first week, let’s hope number two is just as good.
Continue reading “DDT TV Show Episode 2 (9/5/20) Review”
We recently watched the Dragon Gate match that, arguably, introduced lucharesu to a broader audience in America, so this ten-man tag feels like a natural follow-up. For Dragon Gate were far from the first company to blend lucha and puro (there is a reason for the proliferation of masks in Japanese wrestling), and they weren’t even the first to use it to put together wild multi-man tags. In fact, we’re heading back to 1996, where Great Sasuke’s Michinoku Pro was doing something surprisingly recognisable to a modern day audience.
Continue reading “Meltzer’s Classics: Kaientai Deluxe vs Super Delfin, Gran Hamada, Tiger Mask IV, Gran Naniwa and Masato Yakushiji (10/10/1996)”
Ramblings About Wrestling 