Rambles about the wonderful world of wrestling.
It feels like we went a while without any TJPW Korakuens, and now we’ve had two fairly close together. I won’t lie, the card for this one didn’t excite me as much as the last, but it wouldn’t be the first time Teej exceeded my expectations. Let’s have a ramble about what went down.
Continue reading “TJPW All Rise ’25 (9/11/25) Review”
TJPW returned to Korakuen with an intriguing line-up. The top of the card is dominated by first title defences, where we know the belts aren’t going to shift, but there’s still some excitement to be found in people getting an opportunity in those positions. Further down, you’ve got the joy of the Mahiro Ironman title reign continuing, and even more thrillingly, a trio of interesting showdowns between young wrestlers and veterans. It all had the potential to be great, so let’s see what went down.
Continue reading “TJPW Additional Attack (18/10/25) Review”
A bit late, as I was down in London seeing friends, drinking beer and being subjected to MJF matches, but it’s time for my rambles about the Princess Cup Final! It’s the show that gives us our first indication of what direction we’re heading in as we start to swing towards the end of the year. Is Arisu Endo getting bumped to the top of the card? Or are we going back to Miu vs Mizuki? As it all took place several days ago, you probably already know the answer, but let’s keep the suspense alive for my own amusement.
Continue reading “TJPW Princess Cup Final (23/8/25) Review”
It feels like forever since we’ve had a big Tokyo Joshi Pro-Wrestling show. Sure, there have been trips to America, farewells to beloved ring announcers and Yoppy’s retirement in that time, but we haven’t had a bells and whistles Tokyo Joshi event since March, which might as well be last year. Thankfully, they have come back with a bang. The now former idol has the championship shot, the two best tag teams in the company are facing off and a giant panda has turned up to wreck havoc in the undercard. It had the potential to be special – let’s find out if it was.
Continue reading “TJPW Summer Sun Princess (21/7/25) Review”
Whether it was intentional or not, the theme of this year’s Grand Princess was love. Pom vs Raku, Endo vs Suzume and Rika vs Mizuki were all matches defined by the love between the wrestlers involved. Did that lead to greatness? Or did it sizzle out on a Sunday afternoon in Ota Ward? Let’s find out.
Continue reading “TJPW Grand Princess (16/3/25) Review”
The Max Heart comes to an end, as TJPW managed to find the one team I might not complain about beating Kyoraku Kyomei. It should be Shoko and Misao’s time, but there is no world in which I would get grumpy about a Pompaler win. That Koda is a sneaky bugger. Anyway, you probably already know the result because it was several days ago, so let’s get on with the rambles.
Continue reading “TJPW Max Heart Tournament Final (8/2/25), TJPW Review”
Should I make the joke? Let’s make the joke. It’s Ittenyon, so it’s time to enjoy the biggest show in town. Yup, TJPW made their annual trip to Korakuen Hall, and as usual, they’ve put together a hell of a card for it. Would they deliver? I certainly wouldn’t bet against them, but let’s find out.
Continue reading “Tokyo Joshi Pro ’25 (4/1/25) Review”
After a sparsely attended Korakuen in January, Ice Ribbon returned to that famous old venue backed by what appeared to be a much healthier crowd. With the show headlined by a rare mother vs daughter battle, plus the return of the Triangle Ribbon title and a hoss pairing going after the tag belts, this had the structure of a pre-everything going wrong Ice card, which is what I want to see. Let’s see if the vibes were able to match the potential.
Continue reading “Ice Ribbon #1337 (23/3/24) Review”
2023 was a tough one for Ice Ribbon, as several cracks expanded into fissures. It was such a disaster that I worried we might be about to see the end of a company that I, and many others, have a lot of affection for. However, slowly but surely, things have started to turn around, and with new ownership at the top, there’s the possibility that things might be moving in the right direction. We’re a long way from the heights of a few years ago, and I have my doubts if we’ll ever get back there, but the chance to create a fun and exciting product is there if they can grasp it. What better place to start than Ribbonmania, the show that serves as both their year-ender and year-starter.
Final quick note: I never stopped watching Ice Ribbon entirely (I even went to the Korakuen in August), but I have been more out of the loop than usual, so I may be missing a few slithers of context. Let me know in the comments if I say anything egregiously stupid.
Continue reading “Ice Ribbon Ribbonmania (31/12/23) Review”
Ramblings About Wrestling 