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

TJPW Summer Sun Princess (21/7/25) 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.

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22/07/2025 2

Mio Momono & Senka Akatsuki vs Mirai & Kizuna Tanaka, Marvelous (13/7/25)

Mio and her large adult daughter. Credit: Here

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.

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15/07/2025 1

Ramblings About’s Matches of the Months for June 2025

The biggest match of the month, Hyper Misao vs imposter syndrome. Credit: TJPW

After a couple of months where I’ve struggled to put one of these together for various reasons, I feel like I got back into the groove in June. It’s been something of a return to safe ground, as I’m touching on a lot of TJPW, ChocoPro and Marvelous, but there are a couple of other things in there, and I just needed to find my spark again. Fingers crossed you enjoy it, and if you’ve got any cool recommendations that I missed, feel free to let me know!

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01/07/2025 0

Magenta (Maria & Riko Kawahata) vs Takumi Iroha & Ai Houzan, Marvelous (31/5/25)

Tommy was not impressed. Credit: Screenshot

In many ways, the heel turn is the easy bit. You throw a tag team partner through a window, whack someone with a chair or shave off your eyebrows and don some black leather. It’s what comes next that most people struggle with. Especially if, like Maria and Riko Kawahata, you’ve spent most of your career working as an underdog babyface. Suddenly, you’re having to readjust everything you do in the ring, switching to being the one in control and setting other people up for the flurries that you once benefited from. It’s understandable that it would take a while to put that shtick together, but this match, on the typically light-hearted Marvelous tour of Hokkaido, might be the best example of Magenta doing so yet.

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09/06/2025 1

Ren Konatsu vs Suzume, Spring Tour In Nagoya (1/6/25), TJPW

The Arai influence comes through in the facial expressions. Credit: TJPW

When looking at a wrestler’s debut, I think it’s important to focus on what is there rather than what’s lacking. Despite what some like to claim, no one turns fully formed, and as brilliant as the likes of Mio Momono and Mei Suruga proved to be in their rookie years, they’ve only improved since. I’ve previously joked that I consider it a successful first match if they can make it through without hiding under the ring, crying (too much) or dropping someone on their head, but there’s a degree of truth to it. This isn’t music, no one’s best showing is their debut, so if you can get through it without messing up and, in the process, give the world a glimpse of what makes you special, then you’ve done damn well.

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03/06/2025 0

Ramblings About’s Matches of the Month for May 2025

For the second month in a row, I’ve left a whole bunch of matches I would have loved to write about on the table. That’s partly because I was still incredibly busy at the start of May, so I’m working my way through my backlog, and partly because my brain hasn’t been playing fair recently, and I’ve been struggling to do, well, anything. However, I did manage to get a few words down, so hopefully, there’s something here to enjoy! Fingers crossed that normal service will be resumed next month.

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01/06/2025 0

Marvelous 9th Anniversary (5/5/25) Ramblings

I hate reviewing one-day tournaments. The nature of the beast is that you end up with a bunch of short, simple matches that don’t necessarily lend themselves to my usual ramblings. I could, of course, cut it all back, but I don’t really see the point. Writing a 100 words that don’t say anything isn’t quite as mind-numbingly stupid as describing a match move-for-move, but it’s equally valueless. However, there was still stuff I wanted to talk about on this show, so I’m not going to skip it entirely. Instead of the usual shtick, here’s some semi-organised ramblings about Marvelous’s latest trip to Korakuen.

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09/05/2025 2

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

Mizuki vs Miyu Yamashita, TJPW Live in Las Vegas (18/4/25)

I was going to do a full review of this show, but having done my initial watch with friends, and therefore not exactly spent time taking notes, that would require watching it all again, and I can’t put up with that much of the fucking atrocious commentary and ring announcing. That shit is always excruciating in America (and Britain, to be fair), but it’s even worse when it’s about something you like.

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24/04/2025 0