Ramblings About’s Matches of the Month for November 2025

Another month, another host of matches that I think you should be watching. There are a couple of wildcards included, but the majority of it is me watching my usuals. It’s a lot of TJPW, ChocoPro and GAEA. Meanwhile, we’re entering match of the year territory, as I am, as always, running late in starting to put together my list. It’s a year where I don’t have an obvious front runner, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing, as there is a load of stuff I really love. I’m excited to watch them all again.

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01/12/2025 0

Ramblings About’s Matches of the Month for October 2025

After a quieter September, I’ve gone all out for October. We’ve got a host of exciting matches to talk about here, including two dives into uncharted territory and a somewhat accidental Meiko Satomura month as I continue my journey through the GAEAISM YouTube channel. It was getting so unruly that there were a couple of things I didn’t have time to write about. If you ever see me in the street, feel free to ask, and I’ll bore you about them.

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01/11/2025 0

TJPW Wrestle Princess VI (20/9/25) Review

It’s somehow Wrestle Princess time. I swear it comes round quicker every year. Before the show, I saw someone describe this as the weakest of TJPW’s Ota Ward cards this year, but I don’t agree with that. You’ve got Rika vs Pom for fuck sake! Not to mention the return of Apple Ice Cream. There was a whole lot I was looking forward to here, so let’s get on with it.

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22/09/2025 1

Rina Yamashita vs Mei Suruga, Game Changer (5/9/25), 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

Ramblings About’s Matches of the Month for July 2025

A photo that tells you everything you need to know about Rika Tatsumi. Credit: TJPW

I had another busy month in July, but unlike the last couple of times that’s happened, this was almost entirely for fun reasons. There was a Japanese exam at the start, but the rest was music festivals and seeing some of my favourite people, so I didn’t have much time to devote to wrestling. Despite that, I think I managed to watch a respectable amount! It’s all fairly on brand, as I didn’t stray too far outside of my usual promotions, but they’re my go-to places for a reason. They’re great.

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01/08/2025 0

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

Ramblings About’s Matches of the Month for February 2025

Raku is in charge of the train now. Credit: TJPW

It doesn’t matter if the month is long or short – I always get to the end of it feeling like there are at least twenty matches I haven’t got to yet. Despite that, I think February’s ramble has a nice selection of gems to get excited about. There’s all the usual stuff (Ice Ribbon, ChocoPro and TJPW), but also a bit more lucha, a touch of New Japan and a trip over to Evolution, who are becoming one of my favourite promotions outside of my typical fare to keep up with. Hopefully, there is something there that you’ll enjoy, and if you think I’m missing anything particularly exciting, drop it in the comments.

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01/03/2025 2

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