A nice video opening to showcase some of the bigger spots and as this is my first time watching Ice Ribbon it's nice to see a little bit of what it's all about. I am going to try and do my best with this review but this is in Japanese and so I might not always know what's going on or who is who.
The show opens with two men and a woman at a press conference style table talking. I'm not sure who these people are but I can't understand them anyway so we'll call it even. They sit in front of a wall with a cartoon version of a masked wrestler all over it as well as a lot of scribbled writing which I assume is signatures and messages from those wrestlers who have passed through here. The guy on the far right (camera side, to the left of the women in the middle) has a clear plastic cup in front of him and the liquid inside looks like Mountain Dew. I wonder if it is or if it's some sort of Japanese drink we haven't yet even heard of in the United States. I'm not sure what they're saying exactly but they seem to be having a good time as often times there are breaks for laughter. There is a match being highlighted in the ring now and I can tell you the first woman speaking is Kurumi. This match could actually be from Ice Ribbon #629, as I'm looking at Cage Match for some help here. I also used the official Ice Ribbon website as well: http://iceribbon.com/fighter_list.php Although there is also a tag match from #627 which involved both women in the main event tonight, one of whom is Kurumi, but I'm going to stick with my original pick. We now transition to our first match and apparently the people we met at the beginning are the commentators as well.
I also now can recognize that the match recapped in the opening had Tsukushi, Kurumi, Aoi Kizuki and some else in blue and red in it. I'm only left to assume, based on previous results, that fourth woman was Yuuka and this was in fact a tag match from #609, if not just some other random woman in the ring and it was only a promo as opposed to a match but it did look like the end of a match to me at least. I probably don't need to spend this much time worrying over and speculating about a clip that was only used briefly and to set up something later in the show.
Match One: Maya Yukihi vs. Tsukushi [#623]
Yukihi is in blue and gold with one long tights leg and one not there. Tsukushi is in bright pink and green with a piece of cloth on her back that kind of makes it look like she's wearing a skirt (or half skirt). Tsukushi takes the first to Yukihi early on. Some reversals and roll throughs and Tsukushi applies a submission hold on the arm of Yukihi. Clean break in the ropes. Tsukushi hits a dropkick on Yukihi as she is leaning face first on the top rope. As Yukihi falls to the middle rope, Tsukushi hits another running dropkick and sends Yukihi down to the mat for a two count. Yukihi comes back with three dropkicks of her own and then also gets a two count. Yukihi has a height advantage and the two trade blows. Yukihi seems to be able to overpower Tsukushi. Tsukushi whips Yukihi into the corner and hits a big dropkick on her. Lots of dropkicks in this match. Tsukushi goes up top but Yukihi waves off a dropkick attempt and applies a submission hold to her legs. It's like a rolled over figure four... Now she's got the arms and back arched for a surfboard. Now she's pulling on the neck and I'm not sure why she let go. Yukihi hits some big kicks for near falls. Tsukushi hits a move like the x-factory only with Yukihi behind her. Yukihi still kicks out. Tsukushi jumps off the top rope and hits a double foot stomp onto Yukihi for the pin and win.
The ring goes dark in between matches, which is a nice touch.
Match Two: Mochi Miyagi / Miyako Matsumoto vs. Kyuuri / Maki Narumiya [#623]
No intros for this one so I'm scrambling to figure out who is who. Mochi wears blue and orange and starts things off for her team. Kyuuri wears a green outfit that has this skirt to it and it's just awkward looking in the ring but whatever. She takes the fight to Mochi. Mochi then slams down Kyuuri. Mochi has a size advantage she is using well here. While in the corner, Mochi climbs the turnbuckles and begins rubbing the face of Kyuuri in her... I want to say breasts but I'm not getting a good look here and she might even just be shaking her head violently like it's in a vice. Running bulldog by Mochi for a two count and then Mochi knocks Narumiya off the ring apron. Matsumoto joins the match for the double team of Kyuuri. Matsumoto grabs the legs of Kyuuri and whips her into the corner where she meets Mochi, both women standing face to face, and Mochi just sort of weakly shoves Kyuuri down. Mochi cannot get a three count and so she tags in Matsumoto. Matsumoto immediately misses a clothesline and just like that Kyuuri is able to tag in Narumiya. Narumiya is in a more traditional womens wrestling outfit that looks like a bikini and it has a purple color scheme to it. As they held hands, there was a funny moment where both women extended their legs in a pose for a laugh from the commentators and me. Matsumoto would then hip toss Narumiya. Mochi would come back in to work over Narumiya a bit. Narumiya appears to be slightly taller than Mochi so they seem more evenly matched. Narumiya grabbed Mochi by- I believe- the stomach and sent her flying across the ring and down. Narumiya appeared to be trying for a suplex but couldn't get Mochi up so instead she hit her with an elbow. Narumiya signals for Kyuuri to come in and after Narumiya knocks Matsumoto off the ring apron they hit a nice double move on Mochi. Narumiya then hits a leg drop on the fallen Mochi. As Kyuuri comes off the ropes, Narumiya picks her up and slams her down onto Mochi. A lazy cover is good for only two by Narumiya. Narumiya tries for the suplex again but still can't get it. She sends some knees into the abdomen of Mochi while holding her. As Narumiya goes off the ropes she comes back only to be scooped up by Mochi who spins her around for a sideslam and two count. Mochi quickly tumbles towards her corner to tag in Matsumoto. Matsumoto knocks Kyuuri off the ring apron and then runs the ropes. Matsumoto stomps on the stomach of Narumiya as she runs one way and as Mochi runs the other way she drops down on Narumiya in a seated position. This sequence happens a few times and then Matsumoto goes for the cover but can only get two. Matsumoto uses the corner ropes to put Mochi on her back, piggyback style, and I'm not sure what they're going for here but Matsumoto buckles under the weight of the larger Mochi and they come crashing down before hitting Narumiya. Matsumoto goes for the pin attempt anyway and barely gets a one count. Matsumoto runs the ropes and Narumiya catches her. Matsumoto extends her arm and leg in a pose in which I believe she yells "TA-DA!" before Narumiya dumps her on the mat. Narumiya begins stomping away and oddly doesn't go for the tag. Narumiya tries to whip Matsumoto into the corner but it's reversed only for Matsumoto to go charging into the corner and have Narumiya bail to the ring apron. Narumiya hits a hard sounding kick to the head of Matsumoto and then jumps over the top rope back into the ring. After running the ropes, Narumiya hits a spear on Matsumoto for a near fall. Narumiya hits a suplex as Kyuuri runs across the ring (presumably to clear off Mochi) and it's only good for two. An arm drag and crucifex pin attempy by Narumiya on Matsumoto is broken up by Mochi so I have no idea what Kyuuri was doing off camera there. Probably getting beat up by Mochi. Narumiya picks up Matsumoto in a torture rack type of hold as the other two women return to their respective corners. Narumiya ends up slamming Matsumoto down face first into the mat (modified x-factor) and then tags in Kyuuri. Matsumoto somehow blocks a suplex attempt so Kyuuri instead locks on a triangle submission hold. Matsumoto eventually gets a foot on the bottom rope to break the hold. Matsumoto once again blocks a suplex attempt and turns Kyuuri around for a reverse neckbreaker (think RKO only with Kyuuri's head face up instead of face down). Running dropkick by Matsumoto and apparently the other two women were fighting on the outside, but Matsumoto is still able to bring in Mochi. A series of shoulder tackles send Kyuuri down as Mochi barely can get a two count from it. Mochi ends up down after a brief exchange and Kyuuri stomps on her stomach with both feet. As Kyuuri is applying the figure four leg lock to Mochi, Narumiya can be seen running across the ring, which is hopefully to take out Matsumoto more successfully than that last attempt with the other women. Mochi uses her power to drag Kyuuri across the ring, grab the rope and break the hold. Kyuuri runs the ropes but is given a drop toe hold into the middle rope for her troubles. Mochi does not hit the 619 but rather just plows into the back and head of Kyuuri with all her force. A near fall once again. An x-factor by Mochi followed up by a splash off the second rope (Vader Bomb style) should have been all but Narumiya manages to break it up. Matsumoto clears the ring of Narumiya as Mochi goes for a powerbomb but Kyuuri slides down her back/side as Narumiya hits a spear on Mochi. Kyuuri twists Mochi into a two count broken up by Matsumoto. Kyuuri hits a huge suplex into pin attempt and all four women end up crashing into each other to break it up. This might be the most I've written about any single match. More near falls. Finally, Mochi hit the Styles Clash on Kyuuri for the pin and win. Wow. This was certainly one hell of a match.
In ring promos now with a number of the women sitting in the ring, wearing shirts over their ring gear and what not. Kyuuri I believe was speaking before Mochi Miyagi got up to say something in response.
Match Three: Kurumi vs. Aoi Kizuki [#623]
A show of respect before the match. Kurumi works Aoi into the ropes and there is a fair break. Side headlock by Aoi. Aoi goes for a neckbreaker of some sort but it's blocked and Kurumi puts on her own headlock. They are doing what they like to call in WWE as trading rest holds. Kurumi wins a feats of strength. In a nice sequence Aoi smashes Kurumi head first into each turnbuckle and then several times by the bottom one. Aoi locks on a camel clutch type of submission hold but breaks it to work over the legs. Kurumi has her own modified camel clutch locked on now. Aoi gets the ropes to break it up. Chops from Aoi. A big slam by Kurumi but she misses the follow up splash. Aoi tries her own running splash but Kurumi swats her down like a fly. Top rope splash from Kurumi but Aoi rolls her over for a count of two. Some nice back and forth and Kurumi hits a cannonball type of move with Aoi tied up in the ropes. They begin trading blows in the middle of the ring. Aoi tries for a pin and then locks on a submission hold across the face of Kurumi. Not quite a crossface but close. They seem pretty close to the ropes though and Kurumi does eventually reach them. Huge belly to back suplex by Kurumi and Aoi fires back with one of her own. Aoi appears to have hurt her neck or back of her head on that exchange though. They trade blows as they get back to their feet. Aoi hits a big running and jumping clothesline. A few near falls from Aoi but she just cannot put Kurumi away. Kurumi comes back with a big shoulder tackle for a two count. Kurumi blocked another belly to back suplex attempt, then they rolled through a series of moves until Kurumi got some sort of crucifex pinning combination for a three count. No finisher really though, huh? That match felt kind of rough in spots if only because it didn't have that flow it should have with certain sequences.
More in ring promos in the seated group because why not. I feel like they're sitting around, talking about and remembering their favorite matches and then those matches are being shown like the AAA end of year special.
Match Four: Hayate / Komachi / Tsukasa Fujimoto vs. Neko Nitta / Nobutaka Moribe / Tetsuya Nakazato [#624]
Neko Nitta is out first, as she is the only woman on this side. Her partners are both men and they are not masked. Tsukasa Fujimoto on the other hand is a woman being paired with two masked men, one of which- Komachi- who also wrestles as Myzteziz. This should be an interesting match if only to see the men and women mix it up. Fujimoto may or may not have been the fourth woman in that opening video I can't stop thinking about (She is in blue and red) The women start things off and Nitta has a tail. No, really. A series of fast paced running moves and climbing the ropes like The Matrix. Nakazato (I believe) is in with Komachi next. Komachi hits his head scissors spot and the men trade up. Hayate hits a nice move on both Nakazato and Moribe. The three faces fake jumping to the outside and instead roll backwards and pose. Moribe is in with Fujimoto now and he offers a handshake. Now both men come in and all at once everyone jumps for no reason. Is Ice Ribbon a comedy fed? Everyone is leaving now but I didn't see the decision. Now everyone is back in the ring except Fujimoto. This is getting weird. Fujimoto is playing to the crowd and a member of the audience is waving her hand quickly in front of her face. Quick, what's Japanese for fart? Back in the action now, Nakazato begins working over Fujimoto, the dirty farter. Nitta is back in and it's woman vs. woman again. Moribe is in next and he no sells a punch from Fujimoto. A Vader Bomb for only two as the luchadore types just look on. Nakazato is back in again and he clears the ring apron of anyone Fujimoto could possibly tag. Nitta is back in again and hits a huge side slam on Fujimoto. Fujimoto ends up connecting with a knee to the face of Nitta that sounded like it really hurt. Hayate is in and he and Fujimoto hit a pair of sliding dropkicks. Komachi has Nitta now. She flips him over for a near fall. Komachi hits a sort of 619 and I can hear one of the commentators say "619" rather clearly. Moribe comes in to face Komachi now. Hayate is back in and gets a near fall on Moribe. Hayate looks a bit like Evil Knievel. Fujimoto is now kicking Nakazato in the back hard. Fujimoto has a near fall as Nakazato grabs the rope. And another, only to be broken up by Moribe. The three heels are picking Fujimoto apart now. Komachi is in to prevent a three count though. Komachi brings in Nitta for a surfboard sequence and as Hayate has one of the heels Fujimoto hits a top rope move to pin the other. Still, an all right if weird match.
Match Five: Mochi Miyagi vs. Kyuuri [#625]
A quick cut to this match. Kyuuri tries to come out with a quick pin attempt. Her quickness is overpowering Mochi thus far. Mochi ends up hitting a running bulldog for two. Mochi locks on the camel clutch. Kyuuri has her quickness come into play again and puts an arm bar on Mochi. Mochi manages to get her feet in the ropes to break the hold. Kyuuri hits some rapid fire elbows onto Mochi. She still isn't able to put her away. Huge cross body from the top by Kyuuri but it's only good for two. Mochi comes back and hits that running body press on the ropes that I thought was going to be a 619 in their tag team from earlier. Mochi has some good near falls herself. An x-factor into Vader Bomb is good for a two count now. Mochi goes up top and Kyuuri ultimately ends up raking her back and pulling her down. Lou Thesz press by Mochi, who is by far my favorite Ice Ribbon wrestler. Kyuuri runs the ropes to do something but Mochi follows her and hits her with a clothesline. Styles Clash (Mochi Clash?) for the pin and win. Whoever says that women can't wrestle or women based wrestling is boring or whatever should watch a Mochi Miyagi match. I now have three favorite female wrestlers. Thank you, Mochi Miyagi.
Match Six: Maki Narumiya vs. Miyako Matsumoto [#625]
This is the other half of the tag match from earlier being broken into singles matches and this is just a sort of "Greatest Hits" show. Narumiya starts working over the arm. Matsumoto comes back but Narumiya hits her with an arm drag. Matsumoto tries for a belly to back suplex but Narumiya blocks it. Matsumoto crawls backwards between the legs of Narumiya. Matsumoto does the one leg pose again. Narumiya is not impressed and stomps her for her troubles. Narumiya does the leg pose now as if to mock Matsumoto. Matsumoto hits some kicks while spinning in the corner and that's how she's going to make herself dizzy. Matsumoto hits some chops on Narumiya while she's tied up in the ropes... kind of... like Sheamus. Narumiya fires back as the tables turn wih a series of chops her own. Narumiya almost has the win with a camel clutch. Matsumoto gets stuck in the corner and Narumiya hits a big running drop kick from the opposite corner. Narumiya seems like she's winning this match yet she can't seem to put Matsumoto away. Matsumoto hits some heavy kicks. Matsumoto applies a submission hold right near the ropes so we knew that wasn't going to be it. An arm drag brings the favor back to Narumiya, who seemingly gets the pin and win out of nowhere. An okay match that Narumiya but gave Matsumoto a fighting chance. I kind of enjoy the playfulness and silly spots of Matsumoto to some extent now.
We're back in the ring for more promos as the women sit around. This has to be a "Best of 2015 So Far" type of deal, doesn't it? I only blame the fact that I'm not entirely certain what I am watching on it being in a different language. If I knew what these women were saying in the ring at these times though it might be rather entertaining. Matsumoto was just slapping the mat and the commentators laughed so apparently something funny happened there. It's like the entire roster is in the ring but why?
Match Seven: Mio Shirai vs. Tsukushi [#625]
And just like that we're onto our next match. Tsukushi is back and this time she's fighting the champ because Mio Shirai comes out sporting a title belt. Both women seem to be equally quick and this is just fast paced right from the start. With Mio down on her stomach, Tsukushi runs the ropes and repeatedly stomps on Mio's back. Tsukushi wastes time clapping when Mio is caught up in the ropes so Mio reverses it and hits a 619-style knee. The champ is mounting her comeback here. Mio has a great tilt-a-whirl move that she uses to swing Tsukushi around and then when she's done she simply lets her go. Mio has a definite size advantage here but Tsukushi is a firecracker. Tsukushi tries some different submission holds to no avail, as Mio is able to reach the ropes eventually. Tsukushi looks like she's trying to slide Mio over her back for something like a Razor's Edge but that height of Mio once again comes into play. Mio locks on a sleeper and then takes Tsukushi down with a headscissors submission hold. Tsukushi is somewhere between being pinned and tapping. Tsukushi eventually gets her foot on the bottom rope. Back on their feet, Tsukushi hits some rapid fire blows to Mio. Huge bridge suplex by Tsukushi but the pin attempt is broken up because Mio lands in the ropes. Mio hits an x-factor type move only for Tsukushi to get a two count out of it. Tsukushi does the top rope double foot stomp you can see Finn Balor also do in NXT and it gets a two count. Powerslam from the top rope by Mio and it only gets two but then a quick hit follow up is good for the three. A solid back and forth match with moments where I felt like Tsukushi might win even though I was pretty sure she wasn't going to capture the title here. Anyone who claims to not be a fan of womens wrestling should check this one out. Post match, Tsukushi kicks away a handshak attempt by Mio. Tsukushi is on the mic now with the rest of the roster behind her in the ring. This is getting emotional I think. Mio also says some words and we cut to the next match.
Match Eight: Miyako Matsumoto / Maki Narumiya vs. Tsukushi / Yume Hayashi [#626]
Tsukushi is out for the next match but I'm not sure yet who the woman that came out before her was. Their opponents are Matsumoto and Narumiya though Matsumoto is trying to be in the other corner and not tag with Narumiya which makes it that much more confusing for me. I did a search of matches on Cage Match dot net again and found out what this was based on that. I figured the one woman I didn't know must be Yume Hayashi and as I played it back the ring announcer confirmed my suspicions. (In Japan they also reverse the names when announcing them) Hayashi ended up tied up in the ropes outside on the ring apron somehow and Matsumoto and Narumiya traded chops on her. Funny how we just saw these two women fighting and now they're teaming together. Maybe this match will have Matsumoto grow on me some more. Tsukushi and Hayashi ended up hitting their own series of chops on both other women. Then there were some near falls and broken submission holds, as seen in other matches. Tsukushi had a good spot where she kind of rolled through on Narumiya after running off the ropes and then hit a double foot stomp to follow it up, I'm really enjoying the dynamic between those two and would like to see them in a one on one match. Narumiya hits the torture rack into x-factor move and it's followed up by Matsumoto hitting a shining wizard on Hayashi for the three count. Not sure what happened with Tsukushi there, but at one point in the match Tsukushi moved and Narumiya ended up hitting Matsumoto by accident. Oddly enough, their team work was what won them that match. Pretty decent match for what it was.
Back in the ring with more talking and shrieking by Matsumoto.
Match Nine: Mio Shirai vs. Kurumi [#626]
Kurumi is out first. This is the main event, as Mio Shirai still has the title and will likely be putting it on the line here. These two women seem equally tall. They engage in a feats of strength but Mio wins it (Kurumi won it in her match prior not against Mio though) Kurumi locks on a camel clutch near the middle of the ring. They break and Mio gets her own arm bar in an attempt to submit for the finish. Mio with a stiff kick to the back of Kurumi after that doesn't work. Kurumi is being worked over by Mio pretty well here. Both women work back and forth at trying to beat the other with submission holds and power moves. Mio takes Kurumi down with a head scissors and gets a near fall. Kurumi then hits a belly to back release suplex which sends Mio outside of the ring. Kurumi just went outside the ring and broke a chair over the head of Mio. Kurumi grabbed a new chair and hit Mio again. The referee then stepped in and pulled Kurumi back, preventing her from doing so again. Kurumi throws Mio back into the ring. Slams her down. But Mio meets her on the top rope and hits her with that huge top roper power slam. Only two. Mio hits a huge running knee which connects with the face of Kurumi and both women go down. Kurumi is clutching at her face and Mio is grabbing at her neck as if she might also be injured. The referee counts to ten and neither woman can continue so this one ends as such.
I thought it did this before and now I just saw it again. Kurumi was in the ring with the mic after the match- by herself- and then all of a sudden everyone else was surrounding her in the ring, mostly in non-ring gear though Kurumi is still wearing what she wrestled in and has the look of just having wrestled. Is this odd editing to anyone else?
And we're back to where we began with the commentators sitting at a press conference style table talking to each other and laughing. I'd probably cut this part off of the beginning and ending of the show but I'm not even sure what show I'm watching.
A collection of matches (but not all the matches) from shows numbered 623 to 626, which is from January 24th, 2015 to February 7th, 2015 so it doesn't quite cover the whole of 2015 thus far but rather a random week that closes out the first month and starts the second month. Okay.
From what I saw though I did enjoy this show. There were obviously some stand out performers here and others that I'd probably not mind never seeing wrestle again but for the most part I had fun watching and became invested in the characters throughout. Next time I watch some Ice Ribbon I'll hopefully be able to identify the wrestlers easier and not only that but I will also be looking forward to certain members of the roster fighting. I've gotten all that out of these nine matches I watched for the first time and yet WWE can't build most of their characters this well with something like twenty hours of television time per week. (Though if you account for The Network, WWE technically has unlimited time)
A show worth watching or just match picking depending upon how much time you have but I will be looking forward to more from Ice Ribbon.
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