A Review by Kevin Wilson
This is a pretty great airing by Ice Ribbon, as it has nine full matches, including the ICExInfinity Title #1 Contender Tournament. There are other matches as well though, including a “Lucharibbon” match and much more. Here are the matches shown:
- January 24th, 2015: Maya Yukihi vs. Tsukushi
- January 24th, 2015: Maki Narumiya and Kyuri vs. Mochi Miyagi and Miyako Matsumoto
- January 24th, 2015: ICExInfinity Title #1 Contender Tournament: Aoi Kizuki vs. Kurumi
- January 28th, 2015: Neko Nitta, Tetsuya Nakazato, and Nobutaka Moribe vs. Tsukasa Fujimoto, Hayate, and Komachi
- January 31st, 2015: Kyuri vs. Mochi Miyagi
- January 31st, 2015: Maki Narumiya vs. Miyako Matsumoto
- January 31st, 2015: ICExInfinity Title #1 Contender Tournament: Mio Shirai vs. Tsukushi
- February 7th, 2015: Maki Narumiya and Miyako Matsumoto vs. Tsukushi and Yua Hayashi
- February 7th, 2015: ICExInfinity Title #1 Contender Final: Kurumi vs. Mio Shirai
Let’s get started!
Maya Yukihi vs. Tsukushi
This match took place on January 24th, 2015. They tie-up to start things off and do some intro arm work. Tsukushi gets the better of it and throws Yukihi to the mat by her hair before standing on her in the corner. Tsukushi rolls Yukihi to the mat and applies an armbar before twisting her in the ropes and hitting a dropkick. Yukihi comes back with her own trio of dropkicks. Tsukushi dropkicks Yukihi to the mat and hits a crossbody for a two count cover. Tsukushi goes up top but Yukihi avoids the missile dropkick and applies a leg submission hold. Tsukushi gets out of it but Yukihi kicks her for a two count. Dropkick by Tsukushi out of the corner and she hits the Killswitch. Diving doublestomp by Tsukushi, and she picks up the three count. Tsukushi is fun to watch but Yukihi is still a bit clunky. She is lanky and still seems to be working things out in terms of coordination, but she is still new so she has time to get things under control. Short match but not bad. Score: 4.0
Maki Narumiya and Kyuri vs. Mochi Miyagi and Miyako Matsumoto
This match took place on January 24th, 2015. Miyagi and Kyuri begin things, and Kyuri elbows Miyagi but Miyagi slams her to the mat. Miyagi woman-handles Kyuri, Matsumoto comes in just to be excessive about it and Kyuri is monkey flipped into Miyagi’s stomach. Miyagi tags in Matsumoto but Kyuri knocks her to the mat and tags in Narumiya. Narumiya slams Matsumoto but Matsumoto dances around and tags in Miyagi. Miyagi throws Narumiya to the mat by her hair but Narumiya claws her stomach and throws Miyagi down. Kyuri comes in, Narumiya slams Miyagi and Kyuri hits a cartwheel body press. Narumiya throws Kyuri at Miyagi, cover by Narumiya but it gets two. Swinging side slam by Miyagi, but Narumiya kicks out of the cover. Miyagi tags in Matsumoto and both Matsumoto and Miyagi take turns hitting running attacks on Narumiya. Miyagi gets on Matsumoto’s shoulders but Matsumoto collapses before she reaches Narumiya (not sure if it was on purpose). Narumiya picks up Matsumoto and throws her down.
Narumiya goes out to the apron and kicks Matsumoto in the head, and Narumiya hits a spear for a two count. Vertical suplex by Narumiya to Matsumoto, but she still can’t get the pin. Argentine Backbreaker into a front slam by Narumiya, and she tags in Kyuri. Kyuri goes for Matsumoto’s arm but Matsumoto gets to the ropes. Matsumoto blocks the fisherman buster and hits a neckbreaker. Matsumoto tags in Miyagi, shoulderblocks by Miyagi but Kyuri hits a doublestomp. Kyuri tries to put on a figure four but doesn’t know how (she should ask The Miz), but she fakes it anyway. Miyagi drop toeholds Kyuri into the ropes and hits a splash from behind. Face buster by Miyagi and she hits a Reverse Splash. Miyagi picks up Kyuri but Narumiya runs in and hits a spear. Fisherman suplex by Kyuri to Miyagi but it is broken up. Lou Thesz Press by Miyagi to Kyuri, Matsumoto hits a Shining Wizard and Miyagi ends things with a Metabolic Sand for the three count. I’m not really a fan of Miyagi, I just don’t think she’s very good and stomach-based offense only works for really big people and comedy wrestlers. Kyuri is still really green, and while I adore Narumiya she couldn’t save this one. Just a bit awkward and disjointed. Score: 3.0
Aoi Kizuki vs. Kurumi
This match took place on January 24th, 2015 and is part of the ICExInfinity Title #1 Contender Tournament. This match is part of the ICExInfinity Title #1 Contender Tournament. Kizuki works the headlock like a boss but Kurumi returns the favor. They trade holds until Kizuki hits a face crusher and applies a leg submission hold. Kurumi gets out of it and applies a crab hold, but Kizuki gets to the ropes. Mongolian Chops by Kizuki but Kurumi hits a shoulderblock. Scoop slam by Kurumi but Kizuki hits a senton. Kurumi blocks a crossbody by standing still and then hits a body press followed by a somersault splash for two. Diving body press by Komachi but Kizuki rolls it over for a two count. Northern Lights Suplex by Kizuki, she goes up top but Kurumi grabs her and flings her to the mat. Doublestomp to the back by Kurumi and she hits a dropkick. Cannonball by Kurumi and she hits another second rope body press for two. Kurumi and Kizuki trade elbows, and Kizuki applies a STF. Kurumi snaps off a release German suplex but Kizuki gets up and gives her the same. Kizuki and Kurumi trade elbows, and Kizuki hits a lariat. Kizuki goes up top and hits a diving lariat. Kizuki goes up again and hits a rotating splash for another two. Kurumi comes back with a hard shoulderblock and they trade inside cradles. Kurumi goes for La Magistral but Kizuki blocks it, Kizuki picks up Kurumi and goes for a suplex but Kurumi reverses it with La Magistral, picking up the three count! This was a lot of fun, I enjoyed it. Kizuki and Kurumi are a good foil for each other, Kurumi is slightly larger and does more power moves but Kizuki is slippery. Both could go at a good pace and the action was very smooth. Good stuff between these two. Score: 7.0
Neko Nitta, Tetsuya Nakazato, and Nobutaka Moribe vs. Tsukasa Fujimoto, Hayate, and Komachi
This match took place on January 28th, 2015. No idea who is playing Komachi these days but Hayate is still the original. Nitta and Fujimoto start off and they trade armdrags. Moribe and Komachi are in next, Komachi flips to the apron but then back in and he hits a spinning headscissors. Hayate comes in with Nakazato but Hayate flips everyone and hits an armdrag. Hayate can still go for an old man. Hayate and company do a fake triple dive, Nakazato and Fujimoto become the legal wrestlers, Moribe comes in and everyone does the Osaka Hop. Except Komachi since no one told him what to do. Fujimoto armdrags everyone, which hurts everyone’s feelings so they all leave the ring. Fujimoto goes out to get them and the match resumes. Fujimoto and Moribe are in the ring and Moribe hits a scoop slam. Slingshot atomico by Moribe and he tags in Nitta. Nitta elbows Fujimoto in the corner and Nakazato is tagged in. Nakazato stomps on Fujimoto and hits a reverse splash for two. Nakazato tags in Moribe, Moribe yanks down Fujimoto and clears her friends from the apron. Nitta is tagged in next and she slams Fujimoto.
Fujimoto finally kicks Nitta and makes the hot tag to Hayate, and Hayate knocks both Moribe and Nakazato out of the ring. Fujimoto and Moribe baseball slide Moribe and Nakazato while Nitta and Komachi get in the ring and Nitta and Komachi dance around, with Komachi hitting a tiger feint kick. Komachi applies an overly convoluted submission hold until Nakazato breaks it up. Hayate comes in and hits a hurricanrana on Nakazato for two. Shoulderblock by Nakazato, he goes up top but Hayate joins him and hits a Frankensteiner. Rolling heel kick by Hayate but Moribe hits a backbreaker. Fujimoto comes in to help and she kicks Moribe. Dropkick by Fujimoto, she goes up top and hits a missile dropkick on Moribe. Fujimoto goes for the Tsukadora but Moribe blocks it and slams Fujimoto to the mat. Rolling vertical suplexes by Moribe, Fujimoto reverses one into the Tsukadora but Moribe lands in the ropes. Crucifix slam by Fujimoto, but the pin attempt is broken up. Nitta and Nakazato come in and help Moribe with Fujimoto, Nitta covers Fujimoto but Komachi breaks it up. Komachi dropkicks Nakazato and Moribe, and he puts Nitta in the surfboard. While he has the surfboard applied, Hayate hits a super hurricanrana on Nakazato while Nakazato hits the Tsukadora on Moribe, and they pick up a simultaneous three count pinfall. This was just wholesome Osaka Pro-style fun. The only thing missing was the dives, so it was more like a dumb downed version but it was still entertaining. Score: 6.0
Kyuri vs. Mochi Miyagi
This match took place on January 31st, 2015. Kyuri goes for flash pins to start with no luck, and Miyagi hits a body avalanche in the corner. Face crusher by Miyagi and she applies a crab hold. Kyuri gets to the ropes, she gets away from Miyagi and goes for the cross armbreaker, but Miyagi blocks it. Kyuri hits multiple lariats, she goes up top and hits a diving crossbody for two. Miyagi drop toeholds Kyuri into the second rope and hits a body avalanche. Cutter by Miyagi and she hits a running stomach smash. Face buster by Miyagi, she goes to the second turnbuckle and hits a reverse splash. Miyagi goes up top, but Kyuri recovers and joins her. Kyuri pulls Miyagi off and she hits a fisherman suplex hold for a two count. Lou Thesz Press by Miyagi, she picks up Kyuri but Kyuri sneaks in a backslide for two. Miyagi picks up Kyuri, she hits the Metabolic Sand and picks up the three count. This wasn’t great, Kyuri is still working out the kinks and Miyagi is a bit of a one trick pony, but it wasn’t a bad match. At least it wasn’t boring or full of mistakes, it just wasn’t very stimulating. Score: 4.0
Maki Narumiya vs. Miyako Matsumoto
This match took place on January 31st, 2015. This one should be more stimulating. They begin the match with arm work and armdrags, and Matsumoto throws Narumiya down by her hair. Kicks by Matsumoto in the corner and she chops Narumiya in the chest. Narumiya switches positions with her and chops her back, scoop slam by Narumiya and she hits a leg drop. Crab hold by Narumiya, she sets up Matsumoto in the corner and delivers a dropkick. Knees by Narumiya and she hits a spear followed by a second one for a two count. Vertical suplex by Narumiya but Matsumoto hits an enzigieri. Kicks by Matsumoto and she hits a Shining Kick, covering Narumiya for a two count. Matsumoto applies a submission hold but Narumiya makes it to the ropes. Crucifix pin by Narumiya, and she picks up the three count. Ok I was wrong, that wasn’t overly stimulating. I would call this one very fundamentally sound and it was smooth, but it was a bit basic. It was good but completely not memorable in any way. Score: 5.5
Mio Shirai vs. Tsukushi
This match took place on January 31st, 2015 and is part of the ICExInfinity Title #1 Contender Tournament. They tussle to start, knee by Tsukushi and she hits an armdrag followed by a dropkick. Tsukushi runs on Shirai’s back but Shirai twists up Tsukushi in the ropes before hitting a hard kick to the back of the head. Shirai knees Tsukushi in the corner but Tsukushi avoids the boot. Shirai applies a hanging necklock, she goes up top but Tsukushi avoids the missile dropkick. Tsukushi goes off the ropes but Shirai catches her and swings her around and around. Kick to the face by Shirai but Tsukushi avoids the tiger feint kick. Dropkick by Tsukushi and they trade elbows. Dropkick by Tsukushi and she applies the Twinkle Star Lock, but Shirai makes it to the ropes. Tsukushi goes up top and hits a missile dropkick, getting a two count. Shirai gets Tsukushi on her shoulders but Tsukushi gets away. Heel drop by Shirai and she applies a sleeper hold and then a figure four necklock, but Tsukushi gets to the ropes. Elbows by Tsukushi and she covers Shirai for two. Tiger suplex hold by Tsukushi, but Shirai gets a shoulder up. Shisenko by Shirai and she hits a double underhook facebuster. Hurricanrana by Tsukushi but that gets two as well. Step-up knee to the face by Tsukushi, she goes up top and she nails a diving doublestomp. Tsukushi goes up again but Shirai joins her and hits an avalanche-style powerslam for a two count. Egukeri by Shirai, and she picks up the three count. Now this was a really good match, I just wish that it was longer. The tournament feels more important when the wrestlers are pulling out all the stops, they both were going for all their big moves here to pick up the win. Everything was done with a purpose, I didn’t feel there was any wasted time. Exciting and fun, I enjoy both of these women quite a bit. Score: 8.0
Maki Narumiya and Miyako Matsumoto vs. Tsukushi and Yua Hayashi
This match took place on February 7th, 2015. Matsumoto is attacked before the match starts and eats a double dropkick. Tsukushi stays in with her and kicks her to the mat. Tsukushi tags in Hayashi, Hayashi is tied up in the ropes and she is chopped by Matsumoto and Narumiya. Tsukushi finally comes in to help, they put Matsumoto and Narumiya in the ropes and give out some chops of their own. Tsukushi runs on Matsumoto’s back, Narumiya runs in but she does more harm than good. Tsukushi and Hayashi pose on Hayashi, then Tsukushi puts Matsumoto in a stretch hold. Dropkick by Tsukushi but Matsumoto slams her to the mat. Matsumoto finally tags in Narumiya and Narumiya kicks down Tsukushi in the corner. Tsukushi comes back and trades elbows with Narumiya, Narumiya hits Matsumoto by accident and Tsukushi dropkicks her. Spear by Narumiya and she hits a vertical suplex to Tsukushi for a two count. Small package by Tsukushi and she tags in Hayashi. Hayashi ties up Narumiya but Narumiya gets away and hits a spear. Narumiya tags in Matsumoto, Matsumoto kicks Hayashi and hits a double chop for two. Hayashi and Matsumoto trade elbows, big boot by Hayashi and she covers for a two count. Short armbar by Hayashi but it is quickly broken up, cross armbreaker attempt by Hayashi but Matsumoto gets in the ropes. Hayashi goes up top but Matsumoto avoids the diving body press. Matsumoto goes up top and poses before walking the ropes. Narumiya isn’t amused by this and hits her, Hayashi schoolboys Matsumoto but Narumiya breaks it up. Gedo Clutch by Matsumoto to Hayashi, but it is broken up. Narumiya slams Hayashi to the mat, Matsumoto hits a Shining Wizard and she gets the three count! This was just a filler match, I enjoy Tsukushi and Narumiya but the other two are hit and miss. Nothing particularly wrong with it, just not exciting. Score: 5.0
Kurumi vs. Mio Shirai
This match took place on February 7th, 2015 and is the Final of the ICExInfinity Title #1 Contender Tournament. Shoulderblocks by Kurumi to start and she hits a body press. Crab hold by Kurumi but Shirai quickly gets out of it. Kurumi gets the hold re-applied but Shirai gets to the ropes. STO by Shirai and she applies a short armbar. Kurumi gets out of it and she dropkicks Shirai in the head. Shirai drop toeholds Kurumi into the ropes, she sets her up and hits a big boot to the back of the head. Big boot by Shirai again and she hits another one. A final big boot finally gets Kurumi off her feet and Shirai hits a snap vertical suplex. Figure four necklock by Shirai and she applies a sleeper but Kurumi slams her back into the corner. Shirai applies a necklock over the top rope, Shirai then goes up top but Kurumi misses the missile dropkick. Doublestomp by Kurumi and she hits a cannonball. Kurumi picks up Shirai and she reverses a submission with a side slam. Senton by Kurumi, but it gets a two count. Kurumi goes up to the second turnbuckle and hits a diving body press. Kurumi goes up top but Shirai joins her and hits a superplex.
Big boot by Shirai to a seated Kurumi, but it gets two. Kurumi elbows Shirai but Shirai hits a hurricanrana for two. Release German suplex by Kurumi and Shirai rolls out of the ring (for the record, Shirai is holding the back of her neck the rest of the match). Kurumi goes outside after her, she gets a chair and hits Shirai three times in the top of the head with it. Kurumi slides Shirai in, she slams her in front of the corner and goes up top, but Shirai recovers and joins her. Avalanche powerslam by Shirai but Kurumi kicks out of the pin. Egukeri by Shirai, but she is too hurt to capitalize and both wrestlers are counted down for the Double Countout. I could write an essay on the things about this I hated. During Shirai’s next event, she announced she would have to retire at the end of the year due to neck damage. I am not sure if it happened here on the German suplex or the unprotected (not hard, but still unprotected) chair shots but either way the chair shots made me cringe as it was completely unnecessary. Then the double KO after Shirai hit her finisher was just silly as she had just managed to cover Kurumi a moment earlier. Even if Shirai was hurt she clearly wasn’t too hurt to cover or be covered, so this was just a really lame ending to a tournament. I really like both of these wrestlers but this was just a disappointment, especially since the first 90% of the match was so good. Score: 3.5
Final Thoughts:
This was just a massive compilation by Ice Ribbon. Sometimes it is hard to find full matches of any joshi event, let alone have nine matches shown in full. There was some good and some bad, but the Shirai/ Tsukushi match was great and the Osaka-style match was a nice change of pace. The ending of the tournament was really disappointing, but as a full presentation it was an enjoyable offering from Ice Ribbon.
Grade: B-
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event reviewed on 3/12/15
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