Korakuen Hall 60th Anniversary Festival ~ Joshi Pro-Wrestling Dream Festival (4/15/2022)

7. Mina Shirakawa & Unagi Sayaka vs. Haruka Umesaki & Rin Kadokura

15 minutes of hotly contested action. Unagi is an outspoken radical who is always calling out wrestlers from other promotions on social media which creates a sort of built-in heat for when they eventually meet in the ring. That was the case with Umesaki here, who fought with a level of intensity I hadn't seen from her previously. All four wrestlers looked great, showing lots of zeal and fire. ****

8. Chihiro Hashimoto & Yuu vs. Maika Ozaki & MIRAI

Team 200kg dictated the pace for much of the match and it felt like a showcase of the team. The ground exchanges between MIRAI and Hashimoto were an exciting clash of judo and wrestling, and the first meeting between MIRAI and Yuu, who are often compared, was interesting. Maika Ozaki didn't stand out much, but she deserves credit for taking all of the big moves and getting crushed repeatedly by Hashimoto & Yuu. ***1/2

9. Maya Yukihi, Mayumi Ozaki & Starlight Kid vs. Nagisa Nozaki, SAKI & Takumi Iroha

The first half was the standard Ozaki-gun garbage fest, and the second half was mostly solid wrestling with some cool stereo moves, nothing in particular stood out. The only thing I found interesting about the match going in was the visual of Starlight Kid teaming up with Ozaki-gun and the freshness of Kid facing three opponents she had never fought before. Without Starlight Kid, this mishmash of indie veteran and aging wrestlers probably wouldn't fill up Shinjuku FACE, let alone Korakuen Hall. As a vehicle to further the ascension of Starlight Kid, I think the match was successful. As a match on its own, I don't think it was anything special. Baffling selection of participants for the main event of an event celebrating 60 years of women's wrestling at Korakuen Hall. Optimal match result though. In a previous era, someone who had recently become a new adult would almost certainly be on the losing end of an elder. It is refreshing to see the match was not affected by that kind of shortsighted, regressive thinking that was one of the reasons the industry collapsed in the first place. **

Asahi vs. Ibuki Hoshi (Ice Ribbon, 4/2/2022)

Ice Ribbon - Yokohama Ribbon 2022 Apr. (4/2/2022)

ICE×∞ Championship #1 Contendership: Asahi vs. Ibuki Hoshi

Asahi has great visuals but seems to lack physical strength. Her movements are lethargic and feeble. I think she has the same underdog qualities as Yuuki Mashiro or early Makoto, but in Asahi's case, it's not played for laughs. Ibuki, on the other hand, is the exact opposite. She puts a lot of energy into every movement and attack. This was quite an interesting match of contrasting styles, full of dynamism, charm and a youthful energy that reminded me of Ice Ribbon's early days. ****

Ice Ribbon - ICERIBBON MARCH 2022 (3/20/2022)

 6. Tsukasa Fujimoto & Hikaru Shida vs.  Hamuko Hoshi & Makoto

This was a great match regardless of whether or not you know the history of the Tsukasa Fujimoto & Hikaru Shida team. Fujimoto was working hardest of the four to make the match something special, and Hoshi & Makoto put up a formidable front against the strongest tag team in Ice Ribbon's history. ****

7. ICExInfinity Championship: Tsukushi (c) vs. SAKI

SAKI is known for her strong lower body which makes her an ideal partner for small opponents who use aerial techniques. There were a couple of moments here where she made use of that core strength to counter or make Tsukushi's offense look amazing. As a whole though, this felt all too similar to Tsukushi's previous defenses. She took a bunch of damage, shrugged it all off, and made a comeback that felt brief and unearned. Against a big and strong opponent like SAKI, I'd like to have seen Tsukushi dig deeper for the win. ***