25), ChocoPro

I don’t want to slag off Rina Yamashita. She’s a fantastic wrestler who has been part of some amazing stuff. However, in recent times, she’s been stuck in what I think of as the Hiroyo Matsumoto vortex. She’s old-reliable. A freelancer who pops up in countless promotions and can be trusted to fill a spot anywhere on the card. That’s no bad thing. In fact, it’s a talent in its own right. However, it’s easy to see why someone in that role would slip into a rut. There’s nothing to get your teeth into. You arrive, do your thing, and go home. The matches are rarely bad. They’re just not what you remember.

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16/09/2025 1

Mei Suruga vs Miya Yotsuba, It’s Timeee (18/7/25), ChocoPro

It’s quite the upgrade. Credit: Screenshot

Conventional wisdom dictates that we all eventually morph into our parents. It doesn’t matter how different a road you might walk down, nature or nurture will lead you back to the door you were born behind. That certainly seems true for Mei Suruga. The deeper into her career Mei gets, the more Emi Sakura creeps into her game. We’ve seen it with her bullying of youngsters in Ichigaya, and now we get the joy of watching her go in as the dominant champion against a wrestler she trained. Miya Yotsuba was Mei’s first student to debut, and while she perhaps doesn’t feel like she’s walking in Mei’s footsteps (more on that in a second), she was desperate to prove herself the equal of her teacher.

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31/07/2025 0

Ramblings About’s Matches of the Month for April 2025

April into May is my busiest time of the year, so please excuse this list being a touch less fleshed out than usual. I had to leave a bunch of matches I would have liked to write about on the cutting room floor, and the to-watch list is pretty hefty coming into May (I still haven’t even seen the Satomura retirement show). Still, hopefully, there’s something here you haven’t seen or at least an interesting opinion on something you have. Enjoy!

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01/05/2025 0

Baliyan Akki vs Shin Suzuki, ChocoPro #416 Purple Chocolate (30/12/24), ChocoPro

More than just a nice guy. Credit: Screenshot

There is a chance I might have unfairly pigeonholed Shin Suzuki. I don’t want to overplay it – I never disliked him or thought his wrestling was rubbish – but he wasn’t someone I sought out. Part of it might even be that he seems like a lovely bloke, and it’s always a delight when wee Konigiri-chan turns up on ChocoPro shows, which made what he did on the mat feel like it played second fiddle to his perceived decentness. I’d tagged him as a foil for more interesting partners. However, in the last few months, something has started to change.

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22/01/2025 0

Ramblings About’s Wrestlers of the Year 2024: Mei Suruga & Haru Kazashiro

Wrestler of the Year can be defined in a whole bunch of different ways. The worst people craft metrics based on business and how much money someone supposedly made, but it probably won’t surprise anyone to know that’s not my approach. Nope, it’s a pure vibes thing for me. When I reflect on the last twelve months, what wrestlers come to mind? Well, this year, it was relatively easy. These two people made me smile the most in 2024. So, while multiple other names could sit alongside them, they’re the ones with the dubious distinction of being named Ramblings About’s Wrestler of the Year.

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02/01/2025 0

Ramblings About’s Matches of the Year 2024: Best of the Rest

Fuck knows how, but 2024 is drawing to an end, which means it’s time for me to wang on about my favourite things in wrestling from the last twelve months. Up first, the best of the rest. These are the matches that, on a different day, could have easily been my favourite of the year. I’ve seen a few people suggest it’s been a weaker period for wrestling, but I didn’t feel that way as I struggled to whittle this down to ten. A handful of bouts I assumed would be on here were pipped at the post and replaced by something that excited me that little bit more. So, if your favourite is missing, imagine it’s number 11.

As usual, it’s a list that reflects my tastes, which means there are some glaring holes. I intended to make this the year I dived into lucha, but I failed, so it has no representation here, not because it’s shite, but because I don’t watch enough of it. There are only so many hours in the day, and I like to spend a few of them on non-wrestling-related activities.

Anyway, on to the list!

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30/12/2024 0

Mei Suruga vs Sayaka, ChocoPro 400 Day 2 (5/10/24) Review

Mei’s second title defence was the real test of her reign. Wrestling Miyuki Takase is easy. She rarely dips below a certain level and, with it taking place in a ring, you know what that match will look like. That’s not to suggest it wasn’t good or exciting – it was – but there was a comfort level there. Arguably, wrestling Sayaka in Ichigaya should be similar. It’s their home, and most of the sixty-plus times they’ve faced off before have taken place there. However, with that belt on the line, things change. We’ve never seen Sayaka in a high-profile one-on-one match before, and it’s always intriguing to see how someone adapts to that pressure.

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08/10/2024 0

Ramblings About’s Matches of the Month for September 2024

The year is slipping away, but Miu’s still smiling. Credit: TJPW

September’s matches of the month is one of the more diverse selections I’ve put together recently. We’ve got everything from rookies doing their pro-test to mask matches in Arena Mexico. There is even one match that happened in August! I never claim these things are definitive, but I would like to imagine this one has something for everyone, and hopefully, you’ll discover at least one match you haven’t seen. Enjoy!

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01/10/2024 0

Gatoh Move – To The Future

Gatoh Move probably shouldn’t have survived the last five years. When COVID shut down wrestling in Japan as we knew it, things looked bleak for even the big promotions, never mind the tiny one that inhabits an old dentist’s in Ichigaya. Emi Sakura has admitted that she thought it was the end, and honestly, with the world seemingly burning down, would anyone have blamed her for giving up? Thankfully, she’s made of tougher stuff. Instead of curling up in a ball, she took a wild swing, calling on an old friend in Minoru Suzuki and putting on a show intended entirely for YouTube. On that day, ChocoPro was born, and while we didn’t know it yet, Gatoh Move was saved.

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09/09/2024 0

Ramblings About’s Matches of the Month for August 2024

He’s a bit good that Dragon. Credit: AEW

August saw me attend some wrestling live as I put myself through the nightmare that was an MJF vs Will Ospreay match to see AEW at Wembley, alongside a wee jaunt to RevPro and EVE. More on that later. It was also another relatively busy month for me, so I haven’t quite hit everything I would have liked to see, but that’s just how it goes. There’s still plenty of good wrestling to enjoy!

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02/09/2024 2