January the second was Stardom time! Wrestle Kingdom may have been the initial inspiration for this trip, but let’s not beat around the bush, I was just as excited about watching Stardom. I’ve fallen in love with this company over the last year and having reviewed every show (I think, I certainly didn’t miss many) of 2019, being at their first of 2020 was a no-brainer. I was sober and fully with it, so I’ll be returning to the traditional structure. However, don’t expect any great analysis of the matches themselves because I was not taking notes.
Continue reading “Stardom New Years Stars (2/1/20) Review”DDT D-Oh Grand Prix Final (28/12/19) Review

I intended to review this entire show, but it was already a week ago, and I’ve been to see DDT since then, so I can’t see myself getting a chance to do so before it becomes completely obsolete. However, I wanted to finish off my run through of the D-Oh, so here are my thoughts on Masato Tanaka vs Tetsuya Endo. It will be the last match I talk about from 2018, and while it’s a few days late, I would like to thank everyone that read the site in the last year. It was significantly more people than have ever read it before, and that means a lot to me.
Continue reading “DDT D-Oh Grand Prix Final (28/12/19) Review”Gatoh Move (1/1/20) Ramble

Down a nondescript alley in Ichigaya is a Chocolate Square. Nope, this isn’t the start to some weird Charlie and the Chocolate Factory rip-off, but it might be something just as magical.
Continue reading “Gatoh Move (1/1/20) Ramble”Stardom Year End Climax (24/12/19) Review
Stardom’s final show of the year has taken on all kinds of meaning. In many ways, it is setting up a new era for the company as they move forward under the stewardship of Bushiroad. However, it is a new era tinged by sadness as they said goodbye to Hazuki and had another wrestler announce their retirement (more on that later). Change is coming one way or another.
Continue reading “Stardom Year End Climax (24/12/19) Review”Ramblings About’s Top Twenty Matches of 2019

I’m not sure if you’ve noticed, but this is a wrestling website. So, while I’m sure you were all desperate for my takes on music and film, this is the biggy: my twenty favourite matches of the year. I’ll be keeping it short because I’ve written about all of these before, but there is no harm in dishing out a reminder.
Continue reading “Ramblings About’s Top Twenty Matches of 2019”DDT/BJW New Year’s Shuffle Tag Tournament (31/12/19) Ramble

My biggest worry about making this Japan trip solo was how I was going to spend my Hogmanay. The idea of being on the other side of the world, all on my lonesome and sat in some random bar while the bells rang felt, well, a bit depressing. Thankfully, Big Japan and DDT came to the rescue, with their Tag Team Shuffle tournament, a show that went through midnight and gave me an excuse to see in the New Year in Korakuen Hall. Like yesterday, this won’t be a traditional review, but instead a ramble about the experience.
Continue reading “DDT/BJW New Year’s Shuffle Tag Tournament (31/12/19) Ramble”Ramblings About’s Top Ten Matches of November 2019

Yes, it’s late, but it’s always late, so let’s not waste time on that. Here’s my rundown of the best wrestling I watched in November. As always, if you saw something better, let me know! The more wrestling, the better.
REad moreMinoru Suzuki: The Perfect Wrestler

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”DDT D-Oh Grand Prix (15/12/19) Review

DDT undercards are the best. While I’m still not going to review it, this one featured the D-Oh trophy winning the Ironman belt, Cherry taking on Gorgeous Matsuno and a match with Chris Brookes and Antonio Honda on separate sides. If any of that sounds fun to you, give it a watch. Outside of that, the B Block was coming to a close with Tanaka, HARASHIMA and Sasaki still in contention.
Continue reading “DDT D-Oh Grand Prix (15/12/19) Review”DDT D-Oh Grand Prix (14/12/19) Review

It’s time for the D-Oh block finals, with A, unsurprisingly, doing the honours first. Coming into this show, Iino, Brookes, Takeshita, Ishii and Endo all had a smidgen of a chance of coming top. The only one in complete control of his destiny, though, was Ishii. Who made it? Read on to find out.
Continue reading “DDT D-Oh Grand Prix (14/12/19) Review”
