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2023 Joshi Puroresu Discussion Thread

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lostinube

lostinube

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KAIRI is going to be taking an indefinite break after this September. I think there were rumours going around that she was re-signing with the WWE but who knows. I mean, the blog that I'm linking to has a transcript of her press conference and they were reporting that she might be going.

English translation of the transcript of her press conference:

https://karensensei.substack.com/p/kairi-holds-personal-press-conference

Edited by lostinube
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Stefanie Sparkleface

Stefanie Sparkleface

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So the turnaround for Ice Ribbon's dojo shows is three days now that they're no longer live streaming, because Saturday's dojo show posted today. Differences that I've noted:

- Video quality is improved (the streams were locked at 720p, the upload was 1080p)
- Entrances are cut and replaced by match card graphics (handy for those who are new to Ice Ribbon, especially since wrestler names are presented in both English and Japanese)
- More cuts to camera angles (the streams used to stay pretty stationary to the hard cam, where this went to more floor cam cuts)

... and that's it! I can deal with a couple of day delay and the entrances being cut if it means there's a video quality upgrade and it's a more approachable product. If you watched the streams, I can easily see newcomers not knowing who anyone was since there were no graphics or chyrons. Overall, worth it, I think.

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Kevin Wilson

Kevin Wilson

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On 8/7/2023 at 6:42 AM, lostinube said:

KAIRI is going to be taking an indefinite break after this September. I think there were rumours going around that she was re-signing with the WWE but who knows. I mean, the blog that I'm linking to has a transcript of her press conference and they were reporting that she might be going.

English translation of the transcript of her press conference:

https://karensensei.substack.com/p/kairi-holds-personal-press-conference

I don't put too much stock into her not mentioning WWE, as Asuka did the same thing in 2015. She announced in July she was taking a "hiatus" from wrestling after September of that year, then joined WWE. I'm not sure the advantage of it, but if I was a betting man I'd assume the rumors are true as its a bit too much of a coincidence that it would leak, then a few days later she announces she won't be taking any more dates after September.

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Eivion

Eivion

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24 minutes ago, Kevin Wilson said:

I don't put too much stock into her not mentioning WWE, as Asuka did the same thing in 2015. She announced in July she was taking a "hiatus" from wrestling after September of that year, then joined WWE. I'm not sure the advantage of it, but if I was a betting man I'd assume the rumors are true as its a bit too much of a coincidence that it would leak, then a few days later she announces she won't be taking any more dates after September.

Its more or less been universally accepted she is going to WWE. Her not mentioning it means nothing as its well known WWE doesn't like people mentioning their signing until its officially announced. 

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Stefanie Sparkleface

Stefanie Sparkleface

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I subscribed to Pure-J's YouTube a couple of months ago after getting used to seeing them crossing over on Ice Ribbon's shows, and that's been a lot of no frills fun. I personally like that they upload per match instead of per show so I can watch things out of order if I want, and jump right to what interests me most out of a show. Well worth the time to see more Crea and AKARI, I think.

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Stefanie Sparkleface

Stefanie Sparkleface

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On 8/4/2023 at 11:15 AM, Sparkleface said:

YuuRI's first defense of the Infinity title is happening on a Ganbare show as she has Ami Manase (or Rina Amikura under a mask proclaiming herself as Yuna Manase's sister) on 8/11. Ice Ribbon is also sending an offer match as Ibuki Hoshi and Kaho Matsushita go against Tsukina Umino and Yappy. It's weird that if you believe some Reddit/Twitter chatter, Ice Ribbon and Ganbare are supposed to be mortal enemies because Banny Oikawa and a former office staff member from Ice Ribbon went to work for Ganbare, yet here they are working together and holding title matches. It's almost like social media theories are just that! 🤔

Anyway, whoever wins that title match likely has Ibuki Hoshi at Ice in Wonderland at Korakuen on 8/26, as she put out a challenge after pinning Tsukka in Rifu. Ibuki and YuuRI had a really solid singles match last year at the dojo, so if they do rematch, it would be a great main event. That would also join an already scheduled International Ribbon Tag Title match of Hamuko Hoshi and Makoto defending against Yappy and AKARI if it comes through. Fingers crossed!

This is pretty much exactly what happened! YuuRI won, and Ibuki came out to challenge. Ibuki vs. YuuRI for the Infinity title is set for Ice in Wonderland on 8/26. The International Ribbon Tag match has been expanded into a three-way, as Sumika Yanagawa and Misa Kagura have joined the match after Sumika Yanagawa pinned Hamuko on 8/5. No word on if it's elimination or first fall, but I would guess first fall. The debut of the winner of the Challenger series, a trainee series on YouTube, will also be on this show.

If Ibuki wins, there are a lot of good avenues for her as far as title contenders. Such as:

- Totoro Satsuki. The former champion who beat Ibuki during her reign. Not only that, but Ibuki has never beaten Totoro in a singles match! This is why the potential transitional reign from Totoro to YuuRI to Ibuki strikes me as smart, as it not only builds their relationship with Ganbare, but it saves Ibuki's first win over Totoro as a defense, not as the title change, so you get two big Ibuki title matches. They'll be in Osaka again in October... maybe it could happen there?

- Hamuko Hoshi. Ibuki's mother! On Mother's Day, at Hamuko's special show, Ibuki said she wanted to have another title match against Hamuko before the year was out. A lot of people assumed she meant the International Ribbon Tag Titles, as Hamuko and Makoto just won them off Ibuki and Hikaru Shida, but if Ibuki is the Infinity champ... that also qualifies. Like Totoro, Ibuki has never beaten Hamuko one on one, so that would be another big defense.

- Makoto. She carries the cred of having been a former Infinity champ, she's the current International Ribbon champ with Hamuko, she's done practically everything in Ice Ribbon... and Ibuki's never beaten her in a singles match. Notice a pattern?

- Tsukasa Fujimoto. This is the big one, and it would mean Tsukka would need to come back from her recently reset maternity leave, but Ibuki did just pin Tsukka in Tsukka's own hometown in her first match in 15 months. I can see Tsukka wanting to come back and get revenge. Like all the others, Ibuki has, say it with me, never won a singles match here.

Then you have potential curveball challengers like Hikari Minami (who has looked good in her comeback), Kaho Matsushita (who had an excellent series against Ibuki in the spring), Tsukina Umino (who has been a pesky thorn in everyone's side), Yappy (who has been way stronger since returning from injury), and potential outsider challengers (maybe AKARI could get a shot? Maya Yukihi has also never been beaten one on one by Ibuki). Then you have the question mark of Asahi, whose loan with Actwresgirlz ends on September 30, though to be honest, I don't expect her to return just yet (if ever). I don't see where she fits in the current climate and I don't see a current exit strategy for where she is over at AWG. It seems like the best move for both is to let her stay over there for now.

Of course, Ibuki has to win the title first, but all signs are pointing to her doing it. If she does, I think we're looking at a pretty strong potential reign, and a main event at Ribbonmania (their year-end show) of Ibuki against either Hamuko or Tsukka.

If she doesn't win the title, well, then that would be a legitimate shock. But then all eyes would go to Kaho Matsushita...

Edited by Sparkleface
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Stefanie Sparkleface

Stefanie Sparkleface

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So remember how Ice Ribbon's Korakuen on 8/26 was going to have the winner of their Challenger series debut?

Well there wasn't one winner. There were six. Mio Shirai apparently declared that since all six made it to the final public practice, all six were capable of debuting, so Yuu Hanaya, Yuuki Minami, Nanae Furukawa, Mayuka Koike, Asuka Fujitaki, and Mifu Ashida will all debut at Korakuen. (I think those names are right!)

That, uh, that sure boosts up the roster for Ice Ribbon if they stick around!

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Stefanie Sparkleface

Stefanie Sparkleface

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The full lineup for Ice in Wonderland on 8/26 is set:

1. Totoro Satsuki & Mifu Ashida vs. Kyuuri & Asuka Fujitaki
2. Saran, Nanae Furukawa & Yuuki Minami vs. Arisa Shinose, Mayuka Koike & Yuu Hanaya
3. Hikari Shimizu & Kaho Matsushita vs. Kiku & HisokA
4. Hikari Minami & Hinata vs. Dark Silueta & Tsukina Umino
5. International Ribbon Tag Title Three-Way: Hamuko Hoshi & Makoto (c) vs. Yappy & AKARI vs. Sumika Yanagawa & Misa Kagura
6. ICExInfinity Title: YuuRI (c) vs. Ibuki Hoshi

A pretty solid card, not sure how well it'll draw at Korakuen but I'm definitely interested. The first two matches feature the debuting wrestlers from the Challenger. I sort of wish they had split the vets a little differently, maybe have Totoro and Kyuuri in the trios match instead of Saran and Arisa Shinose. Arisa has only been back for a month and is a little limited at the moment, and Saran is not really ready to lead a trios match. That said, I'll go in with measured expectations and hope that the debuts go well and that all six stick around!

The middle tag matches are intriguing, because I want to see what comes next for Hikaho as a team, and I also want to see how Hikari Minami and Hinata's return continues on.

Tag title match is a legitimate pick'em as far as I can tell. It's hard to see who would come out of the match as the winner. I personally would prefer to see Yappy and AKARI win, but literally all three teams could take the win and I wouldn't be bothered.

I've already mentioned that I think Ibuki is a slam dunk to take the title off of YuuRI and that if YuuRI retains it'd be a shock. I'm always up for a surprise though! That said, I'm hopeful they stay the course and go with Ibuki as champion because there are far more interesting prospects in her potential defenses. Nothing against YuuRI as champion, there's just more to work with if Ibuki is champion, and YuuRI can resume her team with Ancham to continue to bolster the tag ranks.

Edited by Sparkleface
It's Mifu Ashida, not Miho, just double-checked my translation!
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quackhell

quackhell

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1 hour ago, Sparkleface said:

Chi Chi is... well. I'll be polite. I've seen several of her matches now and she is definitely a rookie. Needs a lot of seasoning.

I would agree. I do think the effort is there, but I found SPACES and Sunny to be a bit stronger just to compare her to her Evolution peers.

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Elsalvajeloco

Elsalvajeloco

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On 8/13/2023 at 9:43 AM, Mr. Monday Morning said:

They announced some fairly spicy matches for the Stardom Dream Tag

Mayu Iwatani/Saki Kashima vs AZM/Starlight Kid

Tam Nakano/Mina Shirakawa vs Saori Anou/Natsupoi

Giulia/Suzu Suzuki vs Utami Hayashishita/Maika

Are the standouts, value to be had all over though.

Okay, I watched the presser the other night. Nanae as the over happy and over bearing mother who obsesses over her child's success in intramural sports yet also crushes her teenager's rebellious spirit/antisocial behavior won me over. Her chastising Ruaka during the presser was hilarious. This is a ABC mid season replacement sitcom waiting to happen.

Also this:

F30ZWDTbsAAEJPd?format=jpg&name=large

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