Two Ice Ribbon reviews in a row, don’t I spoil you all? We’re back in the dojo, and while the original IW19 match had to be cancelled due to Akane Fujita’s injury, it’s just possible there might be a replacement. More on that later.
Continue reading “Ice Ribbon 1040 (9/5/20) Review”Ice Ribbon #1039 (4/5/20) Review
Ice Ribbon #1039 took a break from the IW19 tournament, instead choosing to highlight the debut of Nao Ishikawa. We saw her in an exhibition match recently, but this has been a long time coming as it’s been cancelled or postponed a few times before. Sadly, she’ll have to do it in front of an empty dojo, but at least she gets the joy of being in the main event.
Continue reading “Ice Ribbon #1039 (4/5/20) Review”DDT TV Show Episode 3 (16/5/20) Review
DDT Universe has rebranded! With the addition of NOAH, not to mention the numerous other companies available on it, they’ve become Wrestle Universe. A name that’s perhaps not their most inventive moment, but it gets to the point. Honestly, it’s probably the best value streaming service out there, so if you’re not signed up to it, get on that.
Continue reading “DDT TV Show Episode 3 (16/5/20) Review”Stardom Throwback: Grow Up Stars (8/5/11) Review
There ain’t a huge amount to say up here. We’re still taking a jaunt through Stardom’s history, but we’re a couple of months from things starting to heat up. Still, it’s been an enjoyable wander so far, so let’s find out if that can continue.
Continue reading “Stardom Throwback: Grow Up Stars (8/5/11) Review”Meltzer’s Classics: John Cena vs CM Punk (17/7/11)
Unlike most of the matches I’ve covered in Meltzer’s Classics, I watched this one live. Back in 2011, CM Punk sat down and cut the now-infamous pipe bomb promo, calling out WWE and Vince McMahon in a shocking and real way. It felt like a game-changing moment, and it set up a storyline where the whole world knew his contract was expiring after Money in the Bank 2011. On what could have been his final show, he was put up against the WWE champion and the man Vince crafted in a test tube, John Cena. Surely he couldn’t win… right?
Continue reading “Meltzer’s Classics: John Cena vs CM Punk (17/7/11)”Ice Ribbon #1038 (2/5/20) Review
Ice Ribbon has stringent rules about the pronunciation of the IW19 title as it must be juukyuu rather than nineteen. I’d love to brag about knowing that meant nineteen, but I’m sure even the most monolingual of you could have figured that one out. It’s been theorised on Twitter that it’s because it sounds a bit like IWGP? Whatever the reason, make sure and not get it wrong or they’ll come after you.
Continue reading “Ice Ribbon #1038 (2/5/20) Review”DDT TV Show Episode 2 (9/5/20) Review
Saturday morning wrestling (if you live in the UK) feels right, doesn’t it? DDT’s new weekly TV show is filling a niche I didn’t realise needed to be filled, but I’m glad to have it and, after a hot first week, let’s hope number two is just as good.
Continue reading “DDT TV Show Episode 2 (9/5/20) Review”Meltzer’s Classics: Kaientai Deluxe vs Super Delfin, Gran Hamada, Tiger Mask IV, Gran Naniwa and Masato Yakushiji (10/10/1996)
We recently watched the Dragon Gate match that, arguably, introduced lucharesu to a broader audience in America, so this ten-man tag feels like a natural follow-up. For Dragon Gate were far from the first company to blend lucha and puro (there is a reason for the proliferation of masks in Japanese wrestling), and they weren’t even the first to use it to put together wild multi-man tags. In fact, we’re heading back to 1996, where Great Sasuke’s Michinoku Pro was doing something surprisingly recognisable to a modern day audience.
Continue reading “Meltzer’s Classics: Kaientai Deluxe vs Super Delfin, Gran Hamada, Tiger Mask IV, Gran Naniwa and Masato Yakushiji (10/10/1996)”SEAdLINNNG Shin-Kiba (23/3/20) Review
If you thought yesterday’s Ice Ribbon review was a bit out of date, here’s a show from March. Normally, I wouldn’t bother with this over a month later, but SEAdLINNNG are unlikely to be running shows anytime soon, and they threw it up on YouTube so, why not? Plus, it’s nice to watch something relatively new where there are at least a handful of fans in attendance.
Continue reading “SEAdLINNNG Shin-Kiba (23/3/20) Review”Ice Ribbon #1037 (25/4/20) Review
I’ve been neglecting Ice Ribbon since the world went to shit. It’s not been an intentional move. They’ve continued shows behind closed doors and are putting them on YouTube, but to say the frame rate was low would be an offence to low frame rates everywhere. So, I decided to wait for the start of the month and sign up to their NicoNico channel to get better quality versions. It also meant that I am in time (roughly, this show did happen over a week ago) to cover their IW19 title tournament, which seems the perfect place to leap back in, no?
Continue reading “Ice Ribbon #1037 (25/4/20) Review”
Ramblings About Wrestling 