Rambles about the wonderful world of wrestling.
Emi Sakura has been wrestling for twenty-five years. That’s longer than some of modern-day joshi’s biggest stars have been alive and covers a period where the scene has changed in countless ways. In that time, Emi has been an erratic constant. Despite having worked for some of the biggest companies and alongside the biggest stars, Sakura-san has ultimately ploughed her own path, doing things in a way that only she could.
Continue reading “Emi Sakura: The Perfect Wrestler”
The second person to have the dubious honour of taking a spot in my wrestling mixtape series debuted nearly a year ago. However, it’s safe to say that over the last 11 and a bit months, Lulu Pencil has made a hell of an impression, proving that freelance writers and wrestlers are basically the same thing…
Despite the limited options (Lulu hasn’t had that many matches), I’ve decided not to include the obvious (so, no Honda) and instead pick out a few other Lulu efforts. Enjoy!
Continue reading “Wrestler Mixtape: Lulu Pencil”
Since returning from injury, Natsumi Maki has been determined to prove herself. She might not have gone after the biggest dogs in the yard, but she definitely went after those who kick the hardest. Up first, was her close friend Sareee, with whom she had a fantastic match based on mutual respect. Maki lost, but she came out the other side feeling like she’d taken a step forward and was emboldened to challenge The Mega Champ, Miyu Yamashita.
Continue reading “Natsumi Maki vs Miyu Yamashita: Progression Through Defeat”
On January 6th, New Japan said goodbye to Jushin Thunder Liger. By wrestling at the Tokyo Dome on both the 4th and 5th Liger had made sure that during his thirty-five-year career (and he wasn’t far off hitting thirty-six) he’d wrestled in five decades. According to Cagematch, those five decades included 4205 matches (and let’s be honest, they’ll have missed a few) 113 of which took place in 2019. During that time, he arguably redefined the role of the Junior Heavyweight, becoming a star recognisable to anyone who has ever shared even a passing interest in the world of pro-wrestling.
Continue reading “Jushin Thunder Liger: The Perfect Wrestler”
When you strip it down to its bare bones, Maki Itoh’s journey through the world of wrestling has been a desperate quest for acceptance. She entered this weird and wonderful form of entertainment feeling like idol had rejected her, chewing her up and spitting her out. To recover, she sought to prove herself in a different medium, one that bore similarities but allowed Itoh to be a lot more, well, Itoh.
Continue reading “Maki Itoh vs Thunder Rosa: The Quest For Acceptance”
Minoru Suzuki is a badass. That’s a fair opinion to hold, right? Even at the age of fifty-one, the man is terrifying, while a twenty-second dive into his career will only add to your fear. There is not only the stellar pro-wrestling, filled with hard-hitting matches against some of the very best but the fact he was a founding figure in Pancrase, holding MMA victories over the likes of Ken Shamrock. His credentials weren’t dreamt up in the mixed-reality of kayfabe. They come from blood, sweat and the tears’ of his enemies.
Continue reading “Minoru Suzuki: The Perfect Wrestler”
Hopefully, the fact that you’re reading this means you’ve already read my preview of A Block in the 29th G1 Climax, and you know the deal. If for some reason you aren’t reading every word I produce, it might make more sense to start there? Click the link and enjoy. Done it? Great, onto Block B.
Continue reading “NJPW G1 Climax 29 B Block Preview”For a long time I, and many others, have been saying things like: ‘well, if a wrestler wants to go to WWE, I can’t hold it against them’ or ‘watch it if you must, but you do know there is better wrestling out there, yea?’ Like most, if not all, Western fans, WWE is a part of my history. It’s the thing that made me care about the stuff I write about nearly every day. However, enough is enough. I can no longer sit back and pretend that it’s okay to associate with that company. It’s not. It’s fucked-up.
Continue reading “Enough Is Enough, Fuck WWE.”
It’s becoming a recurring theme for this list to go up a bit late, but in my defence, there is a lot of wrestling that I want to review. I have a habit of giving that precedence and I’m not even sure why. Anyway, I need to apologise because this is a New Japan heavy list. I watched every single Super Juniors’ show and while I did catch some other bits and pieces, it was less than I would have liked. Still, it was one hell of a tournament, so I’m pretty sure that every match justified its spot on the list.
Continue reading “Ramblings About’s Top Ten Matches of May 2019”
After years in Korakuen Hall, New Japan rolled the dice and moved the Best Of The Super Junior final to Ryogoku. It was a massive statement of intent, and they backed it up by giving us the debut of Jon Moxley and Tanahashi’s return from injury underneath the tournament conclusion. Now, did they justify that move?
Continue reading “NJPW Best Of The Super Jr. 26 Final (5/6/19) Review”
Ramblings About Wrestling 