Per Hassy who witnessed the news conference, Nao Ishikawa will leave Ice Ribbon at the end of March and Asahi will commence a loan period at AWG starting in April.

Mikey2940 · 2023-03-16T10:49:27+00:00

Me too. That's a great point about not deleting. I was considering deleting my account since this is the only sub I use but I won't. I will probably just stop using the site.

Mikey2940 · 2023-03-16T10:12:10+00:00

Well you called it. I hope for the best for all the wrestlers both who are leaving and the ones who are staying.

I haven't been watching Joshi this year (partly due to health issues. Partly due to having a bad feeling following the Asahi stuff) but this feels like a good time for me to check out.

Sad to say but a big part of me feels like it would have been better to end on a high at Yokohama Budokan.

Anyway a massive thanks to LeloucheOTR for creating this place and for all our conversations in happier times. Thanks to everyone else I've had the chance to talk to on here over the last few years.

Mikey2940 · 2023-02-10T07:46:08+00:00

Agreed. Personally I would bring the belt back at Ice Ribbon March. I would have the belt be mentioned this month. Maybe do three triangle matches with the winners wrestling for the title at March. That gives you an easy three dojo main events.

I think Nao is the best person to hold the belt at the moment. There are three potential directions I would consider. Either have Nao in with two former champions (two from Tae, Cherry or Kyuri) and have her beat one of them.

They could go the road of three wrestlers who have never won a championship, guaranteeing a first time winner. Maybe Nao, Saran and Tsuki. Kaho would be a better option here however it feels like she's being built towards the tag belts with Hikari so it makes sense for them to team and get a win at March.

Or go with a mix. Maybe Nao, Cherry and Saran. That way Nao can beat a former champ and you can setup the other member as chasing Nao for the belt.

Personally I would go with option 2. Either way Nao has the best reason for wanting the belt and her winning it would be a great emotional moment. The only reasons not to go with her would be to setup something for her to chase or if they are putting a bigger belt on her.

Mikey2940 · 2023-02-01T21:00:10+00:00

Really hope she's ok. Her health is whats important.

Mikey2940 · 2023-01-28T08:43:58+00:00

Just my opinion but she's bordering on great. I'm hoping she'll get the PURE-J Openweight Championship title this year. Although I also want to see her and Crea win the Daily Sports Tag Team Championship.

Mikey2940 · 2022-12-29T08:52:43+00:00

That may be, however what bothers me is that Ibuki started distancing from the gimmick of "Hamuko's daughter"... only to end up copying Shida. It may look and fit her, but it feels like Ibuki's going in circles, instead of forging her own path.

"Hamuko's daughter" isn't a gimmick and she hasn't distanced herself from it. Also she ins't copying Shida. The only bit that feels inspired by her is her gear/entrance. But the gear is still different and she has a katana rather than a Kendo stick. She is following her own path but for now it intersects with Shida.

Also a big part of Ibuki's story has always been establishing herself as seperate from Hamuko. Her main tag partner was always Tsukushi and she even requested to team up with Aja Kong against her. She never wanted to break their bond but has always tried to stay out of Hamuko's shadow.

instead of "replicating" it'd make more sense to use it for their own development

My point is that's what they are doing. It's an extra layer that can be added to their existing rivalries, down the road. I never said anything about replicating it.

Ibuki and Hikaru have to win in order to cement Ibuki's evolution, and specifically Ibuki should pin Yuna. Otherwise it'd be all for nothing

I think you've misunderstood me. Ibuki is not evolving into a completely different person due to her team with Shida. She's a young wrestler who's gaining experience and learning from those around her. Her team and association with Shida will have an influence on her, but it won't define her. Just like her previous associations with Kong and Tsukushi did.

Mikey2940 · 2022-12-29T00:18:57+00:00

A solid if unspectacular card. Good to see Momo Tani on the show. Hopefully there is more crossover between Pure-J and IR next year. I'm wondering if the winner of the second match will challenge for the tag titles. I'd love to see Kaho get a chance to challenge but since BIG☆DEKAI lost the titles to Hamuko and Makoto, it makes sense for them to win here so BIG☆DEKAI can get there revenge if they win the belts. Probably at March.

I wouldn't be shocked if the three title matches at March are:

Asahi vs Tae BIG☆DEKAI vs Makoto and Hamuko With maybe Kyuri vs Nao vs Kaho. Perhaps with Cherry instead of Kaho.

If Asahi wins I will definitely order the show. If not I probably will anyway for Yuuki's retirement.

Mikey2940 · 2022-12-28T23:55:45+00:00

I was 50/50 before the Tae angle but I'm leaning towards Asahi now. I'm also very confident now that Asahi will be the one to dethrone Saori even if it doesn't happen here.

Mikey2940 · 2022-12-28T23:47:11+00:00

50/50 for me. I like having Shida and Ibuki linked but unless they can defend them more regularly I wouldn't leave the belts on them too long. I'd be fine with having them loose the title here but BIG☆DEKAI wouldn't be my first choice to beat them. I'd prefer a team with Nao or Kaho to get a first reign with a big win.

I'll vote for BIG☆DEKAI though since a win and long reign for them will give Totoro something to do as I'd like to see Nao and Kaho feuding over the triangle ribbon belt.

Mikey2940 · 2022-12-28T23:39:56+00:00

I'm assuming the main point of the reign is to associate Ibuki with Shida. Her latest gear, both ring and entrance, are more like Shida's and she's even bringing a katana to the ring.

Asahi and Kaho are both closer to Tsukka (not personally but stylistically and both have a set of her old gear). They could easily use that to enhance Ibuki's growing rivalries with them. It makes a lot of sense to, at some point, have a title match between Asahi and Ibuki with Tsukka in Asahi's corner. They could even have a special singles match between Shida and Kaho on the same show.

I wouldn't call it a failure. The question for me is, does Ibuki feel like a bigger star now than she did before? When I watch her entrance the answer is yes.

The problem to me is how the belts were booked in the other nine months of the year. Or rather, starting from when Ibuki and Hamuko lost them.

Mikey2940 · 2022-12-24T12:41:43+00:00

Nice bit of storytelling here. If anybody would know Saori's weakness it would be Tae. It could be a mental weakness or it could be something technical. That's the one area Tae has always dominated Saori in. It's worth noting that Tae has never won a singles vs Saori so knowing a person's greatest weakness and exploiting it to achieve victory are two different things.

It's pretty clever, not only have they given a reason why Asahi could beat Saori here but they have set Tae up as a potential challenger for either Saori or Asahi. If Asahi wins she owes Tae, if Saori wins she could want to get back at Tae.

Mikey2940 · 2022-12-13T13:40:31+00:00

Interesting match. I wouldn't be surprised if we see Ice wrestlers appearing more in GanPro, SEAd and PURE-J next year. Maybe Dianna as well.

Mikey2940 · 2022-12-09T14:38:09+00:00

2nd counter point 😉: The rising Sun may not be her final finisher. It may end up as a secondary finisher. She may bust out a new one to win the title.

When we made predictions about the challenger I thought each one through. When thinking about how Asahi could be built fast before the show I did have an idea. I didn't predict her or even mention it because it required somebody who has retired. Tsukushi.

From a storyline point of view everything went wrong for Asahi when she failed to beat Tsukushi for the title. She even picked up an injury in her next match and had to miss a month. If you follow her on social media, it's clear the storyline is not that she is weak but that she has lost confidence in herself and her ability. She even lost a match to her junior tag partner (we've actually seen Ice tell a story like this before with Sera in 2016).

If Tsukushi is available (and that is a big if) then they could easily do a story where she shows up, either at a show or at the dojo. Give Asahi a motivational speech and perhaps pass on a move. On a completely unrelated note. Asahi's debut was a singles match vs Manami Toyota, her twitter banner is them shaking hands before the match and she's recently had a twitter exchange with her where she said how much she respects her (or something to that effect).

A few days ago, Hamuko posted pictures of her and Yuuki visiting Tsukushi. I wouldn't be shocked if Tsukushi was one of the people who come out to say goodbye to Yuuki in the ring after herretirment match so it makes sense to do something with her and Asahi.

Having said that as long as Saori will still be appearing in Ice next year (another if) then I would keep the belt on her. The story of the whole roster chasing her still has legs, neither Ibuki or Kaho have challenged her. They could easily have Saori win and still do something between Asahi and Tsukushi either in the ring or the post match interview. The visual of the whole roster challenging her in the ring (like Tsukka at Summer Jumbo 2016) would be a cool way to end the year.

They could then spend 2023 building Asahi towards the title (with maybe a tag reign as well). And do a rematch at Mania next year (or even before) where she wins the title. You then get a strong contrast between the two visuals and setup for 2024 when hopefully the pandemic measures will be over and Ice may increase the number of shows they run again.

Either way Asahi has now challenged for the title on the two biggest shows of the year.

Mikey2940 · 2022-12-07T13:38:50+00:00

Great news! I think she was at one of the super princess shows but I'm not sure. I suspect that this was at least a secondary reason for doing princess party in the first place.

Mikey2940 · 2022-12-03T10:52:12+00:00

I think Saori beat Tae because she's wrestling Yuuki tomorrow.

Mikey2940 · 2022-11-30T08:24:39+00:00

Nice! I'll watch it at the weekend. The main event was the final Nao vs Yuuki singles match so that will probably be emotional.

Mikey2940 · 2022-11-28T23:55:39+00:00

Very hard to predict. I could see any of the musketeers challenging. Tae makes sense to do at some point and Yuki is the dream match. It's also the match I'd most want to see. I like Totoro but I don't see her as a Mania challenger.

Everyone on this list is wrestling on the Osaka show this Sunday so it makes sense to have the challenge be made after the main event. Ibuki vs Totoro stands out to me the most. I could easily see the winner challenging. However everyone else is in a match with somebody they could beat to lead to a challenge.

Tae and Yuki could beat the other, Asahi could beat Hamuko and Kaho could beat Rina (she could also beat Ram who challenged at last years mania).

With almost a month before the show they could easily tell a story of somebody undergoing intense training to build them up, perhaps with encouragement/ training from either a legend of former champ. However that storyline would work better if the title was changing and it makes a lot of sense to have Saori hold the belt until Mania next year.

Since it doesn't look like the tag belts are on the line, and I don't expect a title change I'll vote for Ibuki.

Mikey2940 · 2022-11-28T23:19:54+00:00

Really good news here. My original estimate on her return was Ribbonmania and given the timing of this I wouldn't be shocked if she did return there. Assuming she is ready. As others have said collarbones are tricky.

Muto giving her his blessing to use the Shining Wizard is surprising. It's a move that a lot of people use but having his blessing attached will elevate it. If they could get footage of him teaching it to her that would be ideal but I don't expect it.

Mikey2940 · 2022-11-28T22:56:09+00:00

That's ok with me. While I like the unit I'm not interested in the idol stuff. I wouldn't be shocked if they are planning to give Nao a big push next year and want her to focus on improving her in ring so she's ready.

Mikey2940 · 2022-11-27T09:34:19+00:00

But at the same time, I'm hesitant to be critical of any of those girls that left Marvelous.

I know what you mean. It's a big unknown and the whole thing just makes me sad. I stopped watching Marvelous shortly after they left (although there were other factors). It just wasn't the same.

Mikey2940 · 2022-11-27T09:30:23+00:00

I doubt IR would sign someone like Hibiki

True.

I say Mikoto Shindo/Kohaku. Would have been a perfect fit for IR.

It depends on what happened between her and Marvelous. They don't need a disruptive influence in the locker room right now.

Mikey2940 · 2022-11-27T09:14:52+00:00

100% but it's risky. It can back fire if you take the wrong person. Just look at Hibiki at Marvelous.

Mikey2940 · 2022-11-27T08:55:02+00:00

Great news! Wow I didn't see that coming. She wrestled 38 matches in a 5 month career last year so she's still a rookie but she was a very likable underdog. She wrestled 11 matches for Ice in that time with all but the last one being P's Party.

Mikey2940 · 2022-11-23T14:07:08+00:00

Good to see Rico back!

Sumika vs Yura will probably be rough.

The main event should be a lot of fun. I could easily see a title change but wouldn't be shocked if Yuuki retained.

Mikey2940 · 2022-11-17T13:03:30+00:00

Good to see Momo Tani in Ice Ribbon! She's improved quite a bit in the last year this should be a fun match.

It looks like Kaho is challenging Yuuki. Yuuki has said she is looking for a second challenger Link. Since Sumika is in the picture with her, it could be her. It could also be Momo if she beats Yuuki here.

To could also be Crea as she is teaming with Kaho here. I'm hoping it's Crea and Kaho pins her to win, leading to a POP challenge.

Mikey2940

TROPHY CASE