Review: ICE Ribbon “RibbonMania” (31 Dec 2012)
ICE Ribbon present their year-end big show from Korakuen Hall, their first RibbonMania without founder Emi Sakura, and look to the future right from the opener to the main event.
Results
1. New Wrestler Elimination Match: Risa Sera, Hiroko Terada (debut) & 235 (debut) beat Rutsuko Yamaguchi (debut), Eri Wakamatsu (debut) & Ayano Takeda (debut) (8:26).
–
Takeda eliminated 235 with a Fisherman Suplex (3:46). Terada eliminated Takeda with an Anaconda Vice (4:31). Sera eliminated Wakamatsu with a modified Shubain (6:31). Yamaguchi eliminated Terada with a Heel Drop (7:16). Sera eliminated Yamaguchi via over-the-top-rope elimination (8:26).
2. Duel 120Kg!!: Jaiko Ishikawa beat Kuzira Oshima (4:31) with an Abdominal Stretch.
3. 4 Way Match: Makoto Oishi & Neko Nitta beat Cherry & Meari Naito and Hailey Hatred & Kurumi and Aki Shizuku & Shoko Hotta (8:21) with a Cross Kneelock from Nitta on Naito.
4. Yumiko Hotta vs. Hamuko Hoshi – Time Limit Draw (15:00).
5. Kazunari Murakami beat Miyako Matsumoto (5:19) with a Haraigoshi.
6. International Ribbon Tag Team Title & REINA World Tag Team Title: Aoi Kizuki & Tsukushi beat Kyoko Kimura & Sayaka Obihiro (c) (17:36) with a Denden Mushi from Tsukushi on Obihiro – New Champions.
7. Special Tag Match: Nanae Takahashi & Natsuki*Taiyo beat Hikaru Shida & Tsukasa Fujimoto (20:51) with a Taiyo*Chan Spanish Fly from Taiyo to Fujimoto.
8. ICEx60 Title: Maki Narumiya beat Mio Shirai (c) (13:28) with the You’ll Never – New Champion.
Hatred & Hoshi dethrone Fujimoto & Shida
A lot can happen in a week.
Seven days ago, Tsukasa Fujimoto and Hikaru Shida were preparing to defend their REINA x World Tag Team Championships and would attempt to unify them with the Ice Ribbon International Ribbon Tag Team belts, held at the time by Tsukushi and Kurumi. On Sunday in Nagoya, Japan, they accomplished that feat and doubled their stash of doubles titles. Yesterday, Fujimoto would score another title by winning the WAVE Tag Team Championships with Misaki Ohata, meaning she held three different tag team titles in three separate promotions. 24 hours later, she was relieved of two of those belts during Ice Ribbon’s weekday show in Saitama by two women who already hold titles there…
Triangle Ribbon Champion Hailey Hatred and IW19 Champion Hamuko Hoshi successfully joined forces to win the unified Ice Ribbon and REINA x World straps, marking their first reign as REINA x World champs as well as Hatred’s first run with the Ice Ribbon belts, though it is Hoshi’s fourth time holding that title.
In addition, the win means that like year, Hatred now holds six different championships at one time – the aforementioned REINA x World and Ice Ribbon tag belts, the Triangle Ribbon title, the IMW Hybrid Fighting Championship, the TLW World Women’s title, and Remix Pro‘s Women’s belt, which she successfully defended against MsChif seven weeks ago at Joshi4Hope IV. (more…)
Ringbelles Roundup (27 November 2012) – Eve Torres, Tsukasa Fujimoto wins ANOTHER title, plus more
In a recent interview with Edge, he was asked why so many women are voluntarily choosing to leave WWE. His reply: “I don’t think they get a shot and that’s why most leave. No incentive.”
Now, I was all set to expand on this, but there is the flip side – what about the fortunate ones who do get a shot? Do they seize the opportunity with both hands? Well, one is certainly doing so at the moment, and she seems to be the only one on the main roster taking the her role as a wrestler deadly seriously.
Consider what WWE Divas Champion Eve Torres has been up to in the last week. She was featured in a profile video for American Latino which focuses a large amount of time on the self defence for women programme she offers – something that she believes very passionately about. She teamed up with the Gracie Academy for the Women Empowered DVD set, and has worked hard promoting women being able to take care of themselves in potentially dangerous situations.
The interview also saw Torres justifying her heel character in WWE by saying she is a woman who gets what she wants, and her holding the WWE Divas belt is proof of that. It’s weird logic, but she has a point – it gets around the fact that she is a heel too, even though she is purporting herself to be on the side of the good girls. (more…)
Muscle Venus unify the REINA x World & Ice Ribbon Tag Team Championships
Tsukasa Fujimoto‘s year of winning things continued at the weekend, with she and her Muscle Venus tag team partner Hikaru Shida unifying the REINA x World Tag Team and Ice Ribbon International Ribbon Tag Team Championships in Nagoya, Japan on Sunday.
We discussed in June about how Fujimoto had enjoyed a strong six months since assuming the mother hen role in Ice Ribbon, and had captured a slew of titles along the way, both inside and outside the promotion in both the singles and doubles ranks. A week and a half ago, she won the Dual Shock WAVE Tag Team Tournament with partner Misaki Ohata, and they challenge GAMI & Tomoka Nakagawa for the WAVE Tag Team Titles tomorrow. She’ll likely be riding high after capturing the International Ribbon straps with Shida for a second time (and for a fourth time in total), and by the end of tomorrow, she could be holding tag team titles in three different promotions… (more…)
Ringbelles Roundup (4 September 2012) – Ice Ribbon exodus, Cameron’s woes, WSU & more
As we reported at the weekend, Riho is leaving Ice Ribbon after being with the promotion for the entire existence of the company. She’s leaving following her match against Aoi Kizuki on September 23 to focus on her high school entrance exams. Now 15 years old, Riho debuted at the age of 8 and won the ICEx60 Championship when she was 12. When she returns, she says it will not be for Ice Ribbon but for her trainer Emi Sakura in Thailand.
Riho’s departure is the latest in an expanding list of wrestlers who have left Ice Ribbon in the last 12 months or so. Chii Tomiya (now Micro), Ray, Makoto and founder Emi Sakura have all said their farewells, while Dorami Nagano has been missing since June, Sayaka Obihiro hasn’t had a match since July and Hikari Minami is also taking some time away to prepare for high school. For the most part, none of these acts have been replaced, and precious few have debuted in the last year.
Some have benefited. Kurumi has come on leaps and bounds to the point where she is one half of the International Ribbon Tag Team Champions; Aoi Kizuki returned at Christmas and has been a smiling presence since then; Maki Narumiya has improved too, and names like Hamuko Hoshi and Maeri Naito have also had more attention bestowed onto them. However, the top of the card looks a little sparse these days, with ICEx60 Champion Hikaru Shida and Tsukasa Fujimoto heading things up, names like 14-year old prodigy Tsukushi the next level down (and presumably will also be thinking about school soon), and Narumiya and Kizuki also around there. (more…)
Ringbelles Roundup (14 August 2012) – Femmes Fatales, Hiroyo Matsumoto, Maria Kanellis & more
Wrestling promotions spend a long time building up a reputation. Many groups which are starting out at the moment like SHINE and BLOW are looking to get some traction, credibility and a fan base behind them to be mentioned in the same sort of high regard as companies like SHIMMER and Women Superstars Uncensored. Another promotion which has created a great reputation for itself is Montreal, nCw Femmes Fatales, which was worked hard over the last three years to be known as the standard bearer for all-women shows in Canada.
Earlier this year, another promotion looking to start its own women’s show did not do as much research as it probably should have. Insane Championship Wrestling in Scotland called its group Femmes Fatales, but after realising that there was already another Femmes Fatales out there which already had a positive reputation and was working on heritage. After a brief contact from the original, ICW agreed to change the name to Fierce Females, admitting that there would have been some confusion, rebranded itself and looked ahead to promoting its first show, which takes place in Glasgow on September 30 (which Ringbelles will be attending, we may add). It was a considered, reasonable and mature approach exhibited by all which meant that nobody felt aggrieved or hard done by, and would mean that there would be no confusion by fans.
A similar situation came to light this week. (more…)
Ringbelles Roundup (10 July 2012)
Quite a few interconnected items to discuss this week, but they all start at the same point, so let’s go back to last Saturday night…
On the “Before They Were WWF Superstars” DVD back in 2001, we got a look at Edge and Christian’s background, learned about their friendship and how they were high school buddies. From there, they went back to their old school, walked the corridors and showed how a particular hallway entrance doubled up as their wrestling ring.
One element that is pertinent to this piece is that the group of friends that they hung around with were known as the Getalong Gang, as they got along with all the other cliques like the jocks, the geeks and so on. They were the middleground that everyone could be friendly with and not face any attitude, hostility or pretty grudges.
nCw Femmes Fatales is the Getalong Gang. (more…)
A good half year for… Tsukasa Fujimoto
January was an uncertain period for Ice Ribbon. After the departure of founder Emi Sakura, there were a lot of questions as to the future of the promotion, how it would react and adapt, and which wrestlers would fill the void that Sakura had left. At the same time, Tsukasa Fujimoto was also in a state of flux. Having lost the ICEx60 Championship to Hikaru Shida on December 25, she was also facing an uncertain future. However, the following six months would see the 28-year old former actress rack up the wins and amass a shedload of championships in the process… (more…)
Ringbelles Roundup (26 June 2012)
Back when it was still in single figures, we interviewed LuFisto for the Women of Wrestling Podcast. Among the mass of topics which were discussed, including her changing an Ontarian law which prevented men wrestling women and competing in brutal and bloody deathmatches, she pointed out one ambition which she held dear – one which has yet to be accomplished.
The last thing I would love to do is have one match with TNA. Just one. Dark match, whatever – I don’t care. I just want to experience what it is.
Considering she has been wrestling her entire adult life in numerous countries (and spilt blood in many of them – either her own or someone else’s) it sounds like a modest request. Debuting at the age of 17 in 1997, the Montreal native has broken barriers for women in her home country of Canada, competed and won championships in Combat Zone Wrestling, hanging with the guys there along the way, won deathmatch tournaments (one of which saw a piece of broken fluorescent bulb glass lodged in her back for around four years), and also proven that she’s not a one-trick pony by wrestling in SHIMMER without the benefit or distraction of weapons. Much like Mick Foley’s transformation from Cactus Jack and cellar dweller Mankind to the cuddly guy who is everyone’s happy uncle, LuFisto transitioned from a violent, partially masochistic maniac character to one which is based around Japanese anime and peppered with fun and happiness. LuFisto is a pioneer for women’s wrestling who has been trying for a number of years to get a foot in the door at either WWE or TNA, with the usual response being that she doesn’t have the “look” that they are after. However last Saturday, on the 15th anniversary of her debut, she got the opportunity she’s been after for years, when she got a chance to wrestle in a TNA ring as part of its Gut Check before the card in Oshawa, Ontario. (more…)
Ringbelles Roundup (19 June 2012)
Beyond Wrestling is the new owner of Women Superstars Uncensored. In truth, we heard about Beyond being interested in purchasing WSU about two weeks ago and thought it was a curious name to be in the running.
The model for Beyond is for having wrestling matches presented in front of an audience of fellow wrestlers, which creates a different sort of atmosphere. Only recently has Beyond started regularly running shows in front of regular fans – in fact, it was running a show in conjunction with St Louis Anarchy on Saturday when the announcement was made on WSU’s Uncensored Rumble V iPPV. Excerpts of the statement read out by commentator (as well as Beyond’s Director of Talent Relations and Director of Online Communications) Jon Harder include, “there will be a stronger online presence… all shows will be shot in high definition… future events will be available as video on demand streams and MP4 downloads in addition to the current DVD and iPPV releases.”
Three extra statements were released by Beyond yesterday on its website – most of which were buzz statements with no real substance to them (though in fairness, what more is there to say at the moment) – with the main points being a reassurance for WSU fans there will be no drastic changes to the product, though the logo has changed, as you can see, and the promotion’s website will be overhauled, which will be useful, as there is a lot going on when it comes to the front page at the moment. It also mentions the WSU will run shows in the Tri-State area, with the hope of expanding into new markets by the end of the year.
Let’s go through some of these points. (more…)
Ringbelles Roundup (12 June 2012)
It’s the end of an era as far as Women Superstars Uncensored is concerned on Saturday. At the conclusion of the Uncensored Rumble V iPPV from Deer Park, NY, the WSU founder Sean McCaffrey will hand over the reins to another group, described to us as a promotion which is as major as an indie promotion can be.
A month ago, WSU made the announcement that it had been sold to an “independent buyer”, but the initial buyer was said to have fallen through, with other options being explored. Clearly, one of those options paid off, as everything has been sorted out ahead of the Uncensored Rumble, where we will all find out just who has acquired the promotion.
It is an uncertain period though, as there is no guarantee that the new owners will share the same vision of WSU. There is a possibility that things will progress as planned, but there is also a chance that whoever Is taking over will have new ideas and suggestions for storylines and talent, so there could be some shake-ups to come too. WSU’s outlook may change over time, but it is unlikely that if there will be any alterations, they won’t happen immediately. After all, the fans are the ones who finance things in the long run, and to make changes immediately and in a big fashion could be too jarring to the WSU faithful and possibly drive them away. Much more likely would be a subtle movement in direction to enhance what already exists.
Tsukasa Fujimoto wins Ice Ribbon’s Grand Slam
Congratulations are in order for Tsukasa Fujimoto, who completed Ice Ribbon‘s Grand Slam of championships on this week’s episode of 19 Pro, when she defeated Kurumi win the IW19 Championship.
The new champion earned the right to challenge for the belt as a result of winning the IW19 number one contender’s tournament, defeating Aki Shizuku in the finals last week. While deemed to be the favourite, past encounters had seen 12-year old Kurumi pin Fujimoto, so things weren’t as cut and dry as they seemed. This was exacerbated at the start of the contest when Fujimoto seemingly hurt her knee or ankle during a brawl outside of the ring, before crawling back in to continue. The champion went after the injury, intent on making her challenger give up to a figure four leglock – a move she applied three times during the course of the match. (more…)
Ringbelles Roundup (8 May 2012)
It’s been Golden Week in Japan, which has meant a slew of wrestling across the country. However, we have a brief history lesson first…
Golden Week starts at the end of April and runs through until May 5, and incorporates a number of Japanese public holidays, including honouring the birthday of the late Emperor Hirohito, Constitution Memorial Day, Greenery Day – which is to commune with nature – and Children’s Day, which does exactly what it says on the tin. It is also the longest vacation period of the Japanese year, and many people are given paid time off as many companies completely close during that period. For that reason, Japan has a lot of spare time – many people travel, and the west coast of the US and Canada sees a slew of Japanese tourists during that time, but others stay at home, and can entertain themselves during their leisure time by watching pretty much any wrestling promotion that they choose, as most of them hold a show, while some stage supercards. Here’s a rundown of some of the things that went down during Golden Week in the world of joshi:
Kurumi’s push in Ice Ribbon continues – she and Ribbon Takanashi won the Golden Ribbon Mixed Tag Team Tournament on Saturday, defeating Hamuko Hoshi & Hoshi Tango, Hikari Minami & Dynasty and Maki Narumiya & Masamune to win the whole shebang. As well as winning tournaments to win the IW19 Championship and to earn the right to become Manami Toyota’s tag team partner to challenge for the International Ribbon Tag Team Titles at Ice Ribbon March, 12-year old Kurumi is quickly becoming the tournament queen in the promotion. Don’t bet against her in the future – you’ll lose money if you do so. (more…)
Kurumi will team with Manami Toyota
Back on April 1, 2000, Manami Toyota was already a bona fide legend. Having already claimed singles and doubles championships in All Japan Women’s Pro-Wrestling, GAEA, JWP and OZ Academy, winning tournament after tournament, as well as accruing ten five star matches and two Match of the Year awards from the Wrestling Observer, Toyota had already done it all by the turn of the millennium.
So why is that date so special? Well, as it happens, April 1, 2000 was the date when her tag team partner for the upcoming Ice Ribbon March event was born.
Last month, Stew discussed who could end up being Toyota’s teammate for her challenge of the International Ribbon Tag Team Championship against Tsukasa Fujimoto and Tsukushi. Names that were suggested included Ray, Hikari Minami and Hikaru Shida, with outside bets on Miyako Matsumoto, Dorami Nagano, Maki Narumiya or Riho. As it turns out, none of them would gain the honour – after seeing off Matsumoto and Narumiya in a four woman tournament that also included Neko Nitta, Kurumi earned the right to tag with Toyota against the champions. It is a massive show of support for the 11-year old, who has come a long way since we first started watching her wrestle close to a year ago… (more…)
Manami Toyota returns to ICE Ribbon in search of gold
New International Tag Champions Tsukasa Fujimoto & Tsukushi have a big challenge on their hands on March 20th at Korakuen Hall, as they face the legendary joshi puroresu queen Manami Toyota in a title defence. Toyota’s partner? That will be up to Toyota herself, who will handpick her partner from the regular ICE Ribbon roster.
It’s an intriguing match for a couple of reasons, not least of which is the fact that Toyota has history in the promotion with both members of the new championship combo. In the second half of 2011, Toyota defeated the 14 year old Tsukushi on a couple of occasions, but was sufficiently impressed that she was moved to take the youngster as her partner in the International Ribbon Tag Title tournament at Yokohama’s Radiant Hall on September 24th. Together, Toyota & Tsukushi made the finals (with Tsukushi picking up the pinfall in both the quarters and semi finals), before dropping in defeat to Sendai Girls’ DASH Chisako & Sendai Sachiko in the finals. Tsukushi was able to show Toyota her growth during an extended mid-match confrontation at Bull Nakano‘s EMPRESS show last month, and in fact it was Tsukushi’s team (led by Dump Matsumoto) which emerged victorious on that day. Likewise, Fujimoto has also crashed into the imposing wall of Toyota lately, falling in defeat at Sendai Ribbon on January 7th.
So who are Toyota’s likely options? (more…)
Fujimoto & Tsukushi become 23rd International Tag Champions at Yokohama Ribbon
The team of Tsukasa Fujimoto & Tsukushi triumphed over Hikaru Shida & Maki Narumiya in the main event of ICE Ribbon’s “Yokohama Ribbon” show today at Radiant Hall, becoming the 23rd generation of International Ribbon Tag Champions when Fujimoto pinned ICEx60 Champion Shida at 16:45 following a Venus Shoot. The title reign represents the second reigns for both Fujimoto (28 years old) & Tsukushi (14 years old), although it is their first reign as a team. Fujimoto had previously held the titles with Hikaru Shida (during the period where Fujimoto held all three of ICE Ribbon’s major championships concurrently), while Tsukushi held the titles as recently as December as part of a brief run alongside Emi Sakura. The International Ribbon Tag Titles seem to have been in a constant state of flux for much of the last half year, which has seen eight different title reigns and two periods of vacancy, and one hopes that the belts will find at least somewhat of a more permanent home around the waists of two of IR’s most prodigious talents. Interesting to note that Fujimoto pinned Shida for the win. Not only would it have been far more likely to see Fujimoto beat the junior member of the team (the rookie Narumiya), but considering it was Shida who beat Fujimoto on Christmas night to win ICE Ribbon’s top singles belt, perhaps this indicates an ICEx60 Title rematch is not far off? Perhaps at IR’s next excursion to Tokyo’s Korakuen Hall next month? (more…)
Review: Bull Nakano Produce “Empress” (8 Jan 2012)
Legendary Bull Nakano returns on her 44th birthday to finally bid farewell to her fans, and shines a light on the current stars of joshi puroresu
Results
1. Ayako Hamada beat Aja Kong (15:14) with an AP Cross.
2. Guillotine Drop Match: Kayoko Haruyama & Ryo Mizunami beat AKINO & Maki Narumiya (13:34) with a Diving Guillotine Drop from Mizunami on Narumiya.
3. 50s & 40s & 30s & 20s & 10s: Dump Matsumoto, Kyoko Inoue, Leon, Sawako Shimono & Tsukushi defeated Jaguar Yokota, Manami Toyota, Tomoka Nakagawa, Natsuki*Taiyo & Cherry (16:15) with a Powerbomb from Inoue on Cherry.
4. Kana beat Kagetsu (11:23) with the Kana Lock.
5. Nanae Takahashi, Meiko Satomura & Emi Sakura beat Ayumi Kurihara, Yoshiko & Tsukasa Fujimoto (21:41) with a 450 Splash from Sakura on Fujimoto.
6. Yuzuki Aikawa beat Hikaru Shida (15:11) with a Yuzupon Kick.
7. Bull Nakano Retirement Ceremony
Highlights
• Ayako Hamada and Aja Kong go from headlining at JoshiMania the previous month to opening the show here. Not that these two toned anything down for an opener.
• The Guillotine Drop match was four women (each from a different promotion) who all use the legdrop, as per Bull herself. Sendai Girls’ Mizunami eventually hit a top rope version on ICE Ribbon’s Maki Narumiya for the win.
• The concept for the ten woman tag match is genius. Each team has one competitor in their 50s, one in their 40s, one in their 30s, one in their 20s and one in their teens. Cherry is a bit of a cheat on her team, as she’s portrayed as a teenager, but otherwise the gimmick works very well.
• Kana vs Kagetsu was a total change of pace – a grappling and striking clinic early, leading to suplexes and submissions later. Stuck between two multi-women tags, it’s a bit of an unsung gem.
• The six woman tag in the semi-main slot was my most anticipated match of the card, and it was the one I ended up enjoying most. Emi Sakura pinned Tsukasa Fujimoto to win, but more about this match below.
• The positioning of a match between Hikaru Shida and Yuzuki Aikawa as the main event on the show (or at least the last match before the extended Nakano retirement) showed a lot of faith in these two. Aikawa is limited in experience, while Shida has only just moved to the top of ICE Ribbon cards. That being said, they did a phenomenal job in delivering a quality main event, with Aikawa eking out the win.
Click through for observations, match of the night and overall impressions (more…)
Review: ICE Ribbon “RibbonMania” (25 Dec 2011)
This is a new review style for Ringbelles, and one that I’ve adopted (with blessing) from Thomas Holzerman on The Wrestling Blog. I’ve never seen the need for huge swathes of play-by-play recapping, so this format appeals to me. It hopefully will tell you all you need to know about the show, and what I thought about it in an easy to read and digest format. It’s my first time reviewing a show like this, so feel free to offer any suggestions or opinions… thanks.
“Just Starting Out In The World Of Pandemonium”
(show subtitle)
Highlights
• The opening video of Emi Sakura walking along the painted lines on a road, and being joined on her journey by various members of the Ice Ribbon roster was quite lovely. Whimsical, carefree and actually quite cinematic. Emotional too, as Sakura wiped tears from her eyes over her imminent departure from ICE Ribbon (she would wrestle her last match for the promotion on January 7th, citing “personal reasons”)
• To fit the 2hr time block, some of the undercard matches are clipped/joined in progress, but there’s more than enough to enjoy about each of them, from Aoi Kizuki’s happiness, a fairly inconsequential elimination tag match (which includes over-the-top-rope elimination rules) and the bizarre nature of the Ice Ribbon vs UMA Corps match.
• The first ever ICEx60 Champion Seina retired on the show in a match with her little sister Riho.
• Minori Makiba also retired, having been special referee for Seina vs Riho.
• Both Makiba and Seina had apparent farewell speeches read to them by friends from the past, each complete with dipped lights and background music. Former IR competitor Makoto returned to read Makiba’s sendoff, while Hikari Minami was apparently overcome and unable to read the her speech for Seina. Riho read it instead, and the speech apparently called for one final match between Minami & Seina.
• Seina therefore had two “retirement” matches back to back, essentially – Neither the match with little sister Riho nor the impromptu match with Minami were particularly long, but both were dripping in emotion.
• The semi main event was a three way mixed tag match – which seemed quite storyline based, and was unfortunately fairly incomprehensible to me. There was dancing. A lot of dancing. Shenanigans too. A lot of shenanigans.
• Hikaru Shida overcame her peer Tsukasa Fujimoto to become the ICEx60 Champion for the first time.
Click through for the meat and potatoes of the review
EVE v Ice Ribbon: Day 2 results
Day two of Pro Wrestling: EVE v Ice Ribbon is underway with a double header, kicking off with a matinee show before the finale this evening.
Matches that we know are taking place on tonight’s card include Shanna challenging Hikari Minami for the ICEx60 Championship – decided after Shanna and Erin Angel‘s loss to Emi Sakura and Minami on last night’s show – and Sakura will challenge Jenny Sjodin for the EVE title after the Female Fight Machine retained the belt by defeating her tag team partner April Davids in the main event.
Speaking of Davids, she is most likely not going to be wrestling on today’s shows after suffering a suspected broken ankle during her match with Sjodin. She originally damaged it while receiving a superplex, and was made worse when she dived from the top rope to the outside onto the champion. We wish her a speedy recovery.
Click after the jump for the results of the matinee show. (more…)
EVE v Ice Ribbon: Day 1 results
The weekend we’ve been waiting for since it was announced back in April: Pro Wrestling: EVE v Ice Ribbon, featuring some of the best wrestlers in Europe against some of the best joshi talent in Japan. Later of this evening, EVE Champion Jenny Sjodin (who became a double champion in August when she defeated Aurora Flame for the NWWA Championship) will defend against her Northern Shooters tag team partner and European Empire teammate April Davids.
However, before the three #EVEvICE (as it is being hashtagged on Twitter) events take place, with the first starting this evening, Southside Wrestling Entertainment are holding a matinee show at the same venue – Gym Combat in Nottingham – with the four Ice Ribbon competitors facing each other in tag team action, with Emi Sakura and Hikari Minami defeating Hikaru Shida and Tsukasa Fujimoto, with Sakura getting the pinfall on Shida following a moonsault.
Click after the jump for more photos from this afternoon’s exhibition tag team match as well as the results and subsequent thoughts of night one. (more…)
Ringbelles Roundup (4 October 2011)
Well, that’s SHIMMER all over with for 2011 (see the complete results and extra thoughts by clicking here and here), but the flood of quality women’s wrestling doesn’t end there. This upcoming weekend sees two great promotions in two countries – nCw Femmes Fatales have a card on Saturday which sees International Champion LuFisto defending her title against Kalamity, with a distinct possibility of a title change, though instead of explaining it – and the rest of the card here, check out the latest edition of the Women Of Wrestling Podcast which will be online later today.
So let’s focus on the other promotion hosting three separate events over Saturday and Sunday in Nottingham, England.
Pro Wrestling: EVE has undergone a changing of the guard since the last time it ran a full show in April. At that time, Britani Knight became the first EVE Champion by wrestling five matches to win the title tournament, but lost the belt on her second defence to Jenny Sjodin under a series of circumstances that led to she, her mother Sweet Saraya and World Association of Wrestling breaking away. Things have stabilised since that warm June evening in Morecambe – Sjodin has become a double champion by adding the Norwegian Women’s Wrestling Alliance title to her collection by defeating Aurora Flame in a title for title affair, and is pitted to take on her teammate in the European Empire group – as well as her Northern Shooters tag team partner – April Davids with the EVE Championship on the line. (more…)
Show Review: Ice Ribbon “Ice’s Adventures In Wonderland 2011″ (21 August 2011)
It’s fair to say that we at Ringbelles have become quite the fans of Ice Ribbon – on the back of their weekly, free to air 19pro Ustream show, the easily accessible English information about the product (on twitter, tumblr and facebook) and the fact that their wrestlers are just really fun to watch – so when I got the chance to watch Ice Ribbon’s most recent Korakuen Hall show a mere two weeks after it happened, I jumped on it. Ice Ribbon usually run shows at their small Warabi Dojo in the Saitama area, but every so often they run Korakuen Hall in Tokyo (one of seemingly hundreds of promotions that run there regularly), and this most recent edition, entitled “Ice’s Adventures in Wonderland” promised the most enticing IR lineup at Korakuen this year.
The ethereal intro video introduces the main stories running into the show – Manami Toyota mentoring and encouraging Tsukushi, Sayaka Obihiro returning to face the challenge of JWP’s Kaori Yoneyama, Makoto’s final appearances (for now) with the company before heading off to SMASH, the feisty Riho challenging SMASH’s head man TAJIRI and the ICEx60 Title defense of Tsukasa Fujimoto against the dynamic Hikari Minami.
(more…)
Thoughts on last week’s CHIKARAsaurus Rex
It’s been a busy couple of days in the women’s wrestling world, so this is a little later than we had planned – but, as they say, better late than never…
We have received thoughts on last weekend’s CHIKARAsaurus Rex: King of Sequel events in Reading and Philadelphia, PA. In what has been described as an impressive pair of shows, there featured joshi, lucha, British and US styles of grappling, which would likely satisfy fans of most genres of wrestling.
One person who got in touch with us with his thoughts was joshi enthusiast David Falcon, who was keen to share with us his feelings and photos from the four matches involving women that took place over the two days.
**
The sole women’s match of night one was the trio match pitting Sara Del Rey, Daizee Haze and Makoto against Tsukasa Fujimoto, Portia Perez & Mima Shimoda. What blew me away was the amazing quality of the match product itself. Let’s be honest, we have all been to wrestling events where what happens in the ring doesn’t live up to the hype – the proverbial anti-climax. What amazed me about this match was how fluid and “perfect” it was for 20 minutes. (more…)
Who’s in line to win the PWI Female 50?
Now bear in mind that PWI still bases the criteria for the winner in the way any legitimate sport could be judged, so victories, title wins and lengths of reigns come way above match quality or column inches, so whoever you may think would win may not necessarily be the same as who PWI has in mind. When we asked the question on who you would think would win on our Facebook and Twitter, AJ Lee‘s name popped up a couple of times, with the reasoning being that she is the WWE Raw General Manager and has been embroiled in the WWE and World Championship pictures this year. However, she is unlikely to win the PWI editors’ pick because as an in-ring performer, she has only wrestled a handful of times, and hasn’t won any championships. Likewise, Sara Del Rey is probably an outside bet to win – despite placing in the men’s PWI 500 due to her victories over men in CHIKARA – as she doesn’t have many championship wins or reigns to speak of, and has lost quite a bit recently. (more…)
August 30, 2012 | Categories: Commentaries | Tags: AJ, Gail Kim, Hailey Hatred, Jessicka Havok, Kalamity, Layla, Mercedes Martinez, Nanae Takahashi, Sara Del Rey, TNA, Tsukasa Fujimoto, WWE, Yuzuki Aikawa | 2 Comments »