Ramblings About’s Matches of the Month for January 2023

A painful start to the year. Credit: TJPW

Maybe it’s just me, but January always feels like a fresh start for my wrestling viewing. My backlog from the previous year goes out of the window, under the assumption that if I haven’t watched it yet, I never will, and it’s a chance to jump back into promotions that I might have fallen away with it. When you throw in Ittenyon and all the excitement around that, it’s usually a good month, something this list makes clear.

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01/02/2023 0

Ramblings About’s Matches of the Year 2022: The Best Of The Rest

Somehow, we’ve made it through another year, and while I think it’s safe to say all is not well in the world, the wrestling has at least been very good. 2022 was a year of change in the world of joshi, a lot of which was quite anxiety-inducing for someone who takes comfort from this nonsense, but I think we’ve come out the other end of it all with the scene in strong and (more importantly) interesting health. There have also been a lot of incredible matches, and this is my list of the ones that aren’t quite my match of the year but which, on a different day, may well be so. Enjoy!

Quick note: I sorta cheated this year and snuck an extra match in by writing about it elsewhere. The brilliant and lovely Flupke (FlupkeDiFlupke on Twitter) invited me to write about the wonderful Ice Ribbon gauntlet of gauntlets as part of his newsletter. You can find my thoughts (alongside his much better ones) on that here. Then, once you’ve read that, you should also read the rest of his end-of-year stuff, which is equally great.

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29/12/2022 1

Ramblings About’s Matches of the Month for September 2022

The UK might have spent September doing the political version of loudly shitting itself while screaming and pointing in the opposite direction to distract us, but that doesn’t mean there wasn’t some great wrestling. This month I go deeper on Stardom than I have in a long time, find a new favourite bear and still have time to talk about a load of other stuff. So, if you’re looking for something to distract you from the UK’s incompetence (or any other country’s), here’s some good graps to watch by candlelight as you try to save money.

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01/10/2022 0

Yuna Mizumori: Finding ChocoPro’s Identity

It’s sometimes easy to forget that when ChocoPro began, there was no feeling (at least as a fan) that this would be a long-term thing. At the time, we thought COVID would be over sooner rather than later, and Emi Sakura throwing a live show on YouTube to highlight Baliyan Akki vs Minoru Suzuki felt like a fun way to pass the day. Those first few shows had no unique identity or distinguishing features but came across as Gatoh Move without the fans and with added squats. However, as it became clear COVID wasn’t going anywhere, ChocoPro began to search for what made it unique. And while they went through a few ideas (Mei Suruga’s arts and crafts period was a personal favourite), they eventually settled on the formula that exists to this day. And the key to finding that formula? Yuna Mizumori vs Emi Sakura.

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30/09/2022 0

Ramblings About’s Matches of the Month for June 2022

CyberFest went big on the entrances. Credit: TJPW

Where do these months keep going? I swear I finish one of these bastards up and then two days later have to write another. Still, July continued what I think has been a strong year for wrestling delivering everything from exciting rookies to new champions to violent cage matches. Does that sound like your idea of a good time? Because it’s mine.

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01/07/2022 0

Ramblings About’s Matches of the Month for August 2021

Where the fuck did August go? I probably say something like this every month, but Jesus Christ, the last thirty-one days have flown by. Still, there was plenty of wrestling to enjoy (although perhaps not as much as expected, thanks to COVID rearing its ugly head), so I have loads of great matches to tell you all about. Give it a read, and let me know if you think I’ve missed anything in the comments below.

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01/09/2021 0

Emi Sakura, Mei Suruga And Luck

That’s not the look I was talking about, but it was much harder to get a decent shot of. Credit: ChocoPro

There was a moment towards the end of Mei Suruga vs Emi Sakura, where Sakura, clutching her injured shoulder, looked up at Mei with a face that seemed to be saying, ‘I can’t beat her’. Emi was in pain, struggling to continue, and this wee goblin that she is partly responsible for creating refused to back off. Seconds later, Mei locked in Lucifer, and if Sakura had been anywhere else on the mat, she would have lost. Thankfully for her, she was right at the edge, able to wiggle herself to safety and somehow stay alive.

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10/08/2021 1

Ramblings About’s Matches of the Month for July 2021

Lulu Pencil is a wrestler. Credit: ChocoPro

How are we at the end of July? Where the fuck is 2021 going? Anyway, I feel like I’ve watched less wrestling than usual this month, mainly because of my newfound love of 3×3 Basketball and Volleyball, but that’s a different round-up. And, even if I have been taking it a bit easy, I’ve still seen more than enough to give you all a round-up of my favourite stuff. So, what are you waiting for? Get reading.

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01/08/2021 0

SEAdLINNNG Nanae Takahashi 25th Anniversary (11/7/21) Review

Twenty-five years is a long time to do anything, never mind something as physically demanding as wrestling. That’s doubly true when you are Nanae Takahashi, who hasn’t exactly taken it easy. Thankfully, she’s made it this far in one piece and chose to celebrate her 25th Anniversary by putting together one hell of a card. Although, I would question the logic of booking herself against Arisa Nakajima, who, let’s face it, probably wants to hurt her. But hey, what do I know?

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14/07/2021 1

Ramblings About’s Matches of the Month for May 2021

I don’t know if it’s just me, but May’s felt like a long old month. Maybe it’s because I’ve actually been able to do some stuff for the first time since March last year, and that’s exhausted me. Seeing other people is hard, you know? Anyway, enough about me because there has also been plenty of wrestling to enjoy, and that’s probably why you’re here.

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01/06/2021 1