Rambles about the wonderful world of wrestling.
The 8th of August is a special day in Marvelous canon, as it’s when Chigusa Nagayo debuted as a wrestler. In recent years, it has been reserved for Korakuen, and with the feud with Marigold only getting hotter, the roster was out to defend their honour on the anniversary of the start of their boss’s career. Let’s see if they did a good job.
Continue reading “Marvelous (8/8/25) Review”
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.
Continue reading “Ramblings About’s Matches of the Month for July 2025”
She’s back!
There is joy in watching Mio Momono wrestle. The grin on her face when she kipped up for the first time, the way she slapped Mirai across the face before standing toe-to-toe with her or even the affectionate chuckle with which Chigusa Nagayo calls her Chuckie on commentary, the love bursting through for her wee menace of a pupil. There are a lot of great wrestlers in the world, and I am fond of many of them, but there are none that make me feel as alive as Mio Momono does. In that, she stands alone.
Continue reading “Mio Momono & Senka Akatsuki vs Mirai & Kizuna Tanaka, Marvelous (13/7/25)”
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.
Continue reading “Ramblings About’s Matches of the Month for February 2025”
We’re back for Ramblings Abouts’ first matches of the month for 2025. I apologise for missing a few of these towards the end of last year, but I had some personal shit that took up a lot of my brain space, and I’m sure the two of you who read this didn’t even notice. However, I am back for 2025 and planning to watch far too much of this dumb stuff while also complaining that I didn’t get to see everything I wanted to. Multiple big hitters are missing from this list because I haven’t had a chance to watch them yet, but that doesn’t mean what I have seen loses any value. They’re all great matches, which I recommend going out of your way to see. And if you have any recommendations, stick them in the comments below!
Continue reading “Ramblings About’s Matches of the Months for January 2025”
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!
Continue reading “Ramblings About’s Matches of the Year 2024: Best of the Rest”
The older I get and the more comfortable I become in my opinions, the more I realise how little appeal your big, main-event style matches have for me. That’s not to say they can’t be great and that there isn’t catharsis in those moments, but it’s not the stuff I naturally gravitate towards. My eye is much more likely to be caught by intrigue like this. A rookie (who has less than ten matches under their belt) vs the best wrestler in the world who, before the show, was openly relishing in the idea of being booed for bullying her.
Continue reading “Mio Momono vs Senka Akatsuki, Marvelous (22/11/24) Review”
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!
Continue reading “Ramblings About’s Matches of the Month for September 2024”
Yes, I’m going to talk about Mio Momono again. No, I won’t apologise about it. If any other wrestlers ever get that good, I promise to go on about them incessantly, too.
I’m sad to admit it, but Mio is making glorious failure her trademark. Even when she succeeds, it’s inevitably followed by a crushing fall. As a fan of the Scottish football team, it’s all painfully familiar, and as I’ve firmly attached myself to the Momono express, I feel like I’ve cursed myself to spend even more time with my head in my hands dreaming about what could have been. I can’t help it. Mio makes me care, and it doesn’t matter if I try to sit back to watch from a position of detached cool – she always succeeds at drawing me in.
Continue reading “Mio Momono’s Glorious Failure”
The 8th of August is a pivotal date in Marvelous lore. Not only was it when the promotion started, but it was the date Chigusa Nagayo debuted in 1980, a mighty 44 years ago. With that in mind, Marvelous loaded this one up. Takumi Iroha became the latest person to step up and try to take back the AAAW Title from Mayumi Ozaki, Team 200kg challenged Magenta for the Tag Titles, and Chi Chi faced off with Nagayo in a Barbie Showdown. What is that last one? Who knows, but you’re in the right place to find out.
Continue reading “Marvelous 8th Anniversary (8/8/24) Review”
Ramblings About Wrestling 