Rambles about the wonderful world of wrestling.
Confession time. I was determined going into 2025 to watch more Ice Ribbon, but, as is often the case, I failed. Time, money and all those other boring things got in the way. However, with Ribbonmania closing out the year, I decided to pop back in, see what was going down and have a ramble about it. With that in mind, I apologise if I’m missing any context here. I’m sure there’s someone else out there who can fill in the gaps.
Continue reading “Ice Ribbon Ribbonmania (31/12/25) Review”
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”
Getting back into Ice Ribbon is one of my wrestling goals for 2025, and one of the early joys of that has been watching more Bad Butts. I would never have conceived the idea of Yappy embracing her dark side because it seems to be the antithesis of her lovely public persona, but Ancham and her have got something with this pairing. They’re managing to be cool while retaining enough of a bumbling, heelish nature that they never slip into the tired trope of bad guys who are desperate to be cheered. Plus, on an Ice roster full of plucky young underdogs, having two experienced bullies to go after them will never be a bad thing.
Continue reading “Yappy vs Ancham, New Ice Ribbon #1395 (18/1/25), Ice Ribbon”
If you’d asked me at the start of the year to list the things that could help Ice Ribbon get close to filling Korakuen Hall in 2024, I would have got a few hundred deep before even considering the idea of pairing up with Stardom. It’s not that I would have doubted such a strategy’s ability to work, but with Rossy Ogawa involved, the idea seemed implausible. In recent years, Stardom and Ice Ribbon have not got along, and that’s putting it mildly. I would have been more comfortable betting on myself to win the ICExInfinity title than this relationship coming to pass. Yet, here we are. Following on from Best Friends beating Eye Contact at Flashing Champions, Mayu Iwatani stepped into a proper company to take on Tsukasa Fujimoto. By now, I’m sure you all know how it ended, but that doesn’t mean there isn’t still plenty to discuss.
Continue reading “Ice Ribbon After the Rain (23/6/24) Review”
Somehow, March is over and done with, making it time for another roundup of my favourite matches from the past thirty-one days. We’re entering the busy portion of my working year, so I haven’t seen everything I would have liked, and a show like Grand Princess happened a touch too late for it to make the list (although, keep an eye on the site for a full review), but there is still plenty to get your teeth into. Enjoy!
Continue reading “Ramblings About’s Matches of the Month for March 2024”
After a sparsely attended Korakuen in January, Ice Ribbon returned to that famous old venue backed by what appeared to be a much healthier crowd. With the show headlined by a rare mother vs daughter battle, plus the return of the Triangle Ribbon title and a hoss pairing going after the tag belts, this had the structure of a pre-everything going wrong Ice card, which is what I want to see. Let’s see if the vibes were able to match the potential.
Continue reading “Ice Ribbon #1337 (23/3/24) Review”
2023 was a tough one for Ice Ribbon, as several cracks expanded into fissures. It was such a disaster that I worried we might be about to see the end of a company that I, and many others, have a lot of affection for. However, slowly but surely, things have started to turn around, and with new ownership at the top, there’s the possibility that things might be moving in the right direction. We’re a long way from the heights of a few years ago, and I have my doubts if we’ll ever get back there, but the chance to create a fun and exciting product is there if they can grasp it. What better place to start than Ribbonmania, the show that serves as both their year-ender and year-starter.
Final quick note: I never stopped watching Ice Ribbon entirely (I even went to the Korakuen in August), but I have been more out of the loop than usual, so I may be missing a few slithers of context. Let me know in the comments if I say anything egregiously stupid.
Continue reading “Ice Ribbon Ribbonmania (31/12/23) Review”
Ice Ribbon’s latest trip to Korakuen Hall would see the ICExInfinity title find itself a new champion. With Tsukushi Haruka retaining the belt upon her retirement, the tournament to determine her successor has come down to four names: Tae Honma, Saori Anou, Ibuki Hoshi and Yuuki Mashiro. Who is going to lead Ice Ribbon into a new era? Time to find out.
Continue reading “Ice Ribbon After The Rain (26/6/22) Review”
I love a live Ice Ribbon Korakuen. We don’t always get them, so they feel like an extra special treat when they do come along. They’re even better when the card looks great, and this was an intriguing blend of guests, youngsters and old favourites. Let’s get into it!
Continue reading “Ice Ribbon #1182 ~ RE:BORN (26/2/22) Review”
I don’t think Ice Ribbon’s year is ending the way anyone expected it to. With a host of faces leaving the company, Ribbonmania 2021 feels like a changing of the guard, and I’m not entirely sure what their 2022 will look like. However, I know that I am more than happy to follow them along for the ride and have full faith in Tsukka and co figuring it out.
I don’t think Ice Ribbon’s year is ending the way anyone expected it to. With a host of faces leaving the company, Ribbonmania 2021 feels like a changing of the guard, and I’m not entirely sure what their 2022 will look like. However, I know that I am more than happy to follow them along for the ride and have full faith in Tsukka and co figuring it out.
Ramblings About Wrestling 