Fighting Spirit Review: Ice Ribbon “New Year Ribbon” 2014

Date: January 4th, 2014
Location: Yokohama, Kanagawa, Japan
Announced Attendance: 239

Another new promotion for 2014 reviews! Ice Ribbon got a reputation many years ago for having children wrestling in matches, because over the years they have had some underage wrestlers. But they also of course have veterans and quality wrestlers that sometimes get overlooked. Ice Ribbon is hardly the only promotion that uses underage wrestlers (Mexico has been using teenagers for many many years as do other Joshi promotions), but after a few of their videos of kids wrestling went online years ago it is a stigma it has kept in some circles. So hopefully over the year as I review their events, you will see there is a lot more to Ice Ribbon than just the age of a few of their wrestlers. Here is the full card:

– Mio Shirai and Miyako Matsumoto vs. 235 and Kaho Kobayashi
– Neko Nitta vs. Shuu Shibutani
– Cherry and Meari Naito vs. Maki Narumiya and Risa Sera
– Hamuko Hoshi vs. Tsukushi
– International Ribbon Tag Team Championship: Hikaru Shida and Fujimoto vs. Kurumi and Kyoko Inoue

This was a commercial DVD as this event was not aired on TV, currently Ice Ribbon does not have a TV show dedicated just to their promotion (occasionally their matches do show up on clip shows). Let’s get to it.

Mio Shirai and Miyako Matsumoto vs. 235 and Kaho Kobayashi

Kobayashi and Shirai start things off. Tie-up, but they break cleanly. Tie-up again, knees by Shirai but Kobayashi elbows her in the chest. Irish whip by Kobayashi, reversed, kicks by Shirai and Shirai kicks Kobayashi in the chest. Matsumoto comes in the ring, they pick up Kobayashi, double Irish whip by Kobayashi gets free. 235 comes in the ring, double Irish whip to Shirai and they kick her in the stomach. Matsumoto runs in the ring and jumps on Shirai’s back, and they pose for the crowd. Side headlock by Kobayashi onto Shirai and she tags in 235. Kick by 235 but Shirai punches her in the stomach and she slaps Matsumoto. Back to 235, elbow by Shirai to 235 and she drags her around the ring by her hair before throwing her to the mat. Kick to the back of the head by Shirai and she kicks 235 in the corner. Choke by Shirai and she tags in Matsumoto. Matsumoto kicks 235 in the corner and throws her to the mat before applying a neck crank. Side headlock by Matsumoto and he kicks 235 in the ribs. Matsumoto tags in Shirai, Shirai runs over and kicks Kobayashi off the apron and then kicks 235.

Shirai kicks Kobayashi off the apron again, she ties up 235 in the ropes but Matsumoto slides in the ring and poses in front of them. Shirai bops Matsumoto in the head before rubbing her arm into 235’s face. Shirai goes off the ropes and kicks 235 in the back of the head, cover by Shirai but 235 gets a shoulder up. Shirai tags in Matsumoto, scoop slam by Matsumoto and a cover, but she gets two. Irish whip by Matsumoto but 235 hits a crossbody for a two count. 235 tags in Kobayashi, and Kobayashi shoulderblocks Matsumoto twice. Matsumoto kicks Kobayashi from behind, Irish whip by Matsumoto, reversed, and Kobayashi delivers a dropkick. Cover, but it gets a two count. Kobayashi goes off the ropes and goes for a senton but Matsumoto moves out of the way and hits a running doublestomp. Cover by Matsumoto, but it gets two. Matsumoto picks up Kobayashi and they trade elbows, Kobayashi goes off the ropes but Matsumoto ducks her attack and applies an abdominal stretch. Roll-up by Matsumoto but it gets a two count.

Matsumoto goes off the ropes and hits a double chop, cover, but Kobayashi kicks out. Matsumoto tags in Shirai, and Shirai kicks Kobayashi in the back. Kicks to the chest by Shirai, Kobayashi crawls to the corner and she moves when Shirai goes for a kick. Shirai goes up to the top turnbuckle but Kobayashi throws her off and delivers a dropkick. Senton by Kobayashi, cover, but it only gets a two. Kobayashi tags in 235, elbows by 235 to Shirai into the corner, and 235 hits a jumping elbow. Irish whip by 235, reversed, and Shirai elbows 235 in the face. Kobayashi runs in the ring but Matsumoto does as well, Irish whips by Matsumoto and Shirai and they both kick their opponents down. Matsumoto and Shirai pose for the crowd with Matsumoto leading the way, but they get rolled up from behind for a two count.

Shirai throws Matsumoto out of the ring, Irish whip by 235 to Shirai to the corner and 235 hits an elbow. Jumping knee by 235 and she goes for a suplex, but Shirai blocks it. Sleeperhold by Shirai but 235 slams Shirai to the mat. 235 goes off the ropes and hits a crossbody, she goes off the ropes again and hits a second one. A third crossbody by 235, cover, but it gets two. 235 goes off the ropes but Shirai punches her in the face. Kick by Shirai and she applies a side headlock, but 235 reverses it into a sleeper. Matsumoto runs in the ring but Shirai kicks her back, Irish whip by 235 to Shirai but Shirai shoulderblocks her down. Waistlock by 235 to Shirai, and Kobayashi goes up to the top turnbuckle and hits a missile dropkick to Shirai. Roll-up by 235 to Shirai, but it gets a two count. Small package by 235, but it gets two as well. Backslide by 235, but Matsumoto breaks it up. 235 goes off the ropes but Shirai catches her with a knee to the stomach. High kick by Shirai and she nails the scissors kick. Cover, but Kobayashi breaks it up. Matsumoto throws Kobayashi out of the ring while Shirai applies a figure four necklock to Shirai, and 235 has no choice but to submit. Your winners: Mio Shirai and Miyako Matsumoto

Match Thoughts: Even though this was a short opening match, I still was able to pick up each wrestler’s gimmicks and style without any issues. Matsumoto clearly likes to pose and mess around during matches, and Shirai is the type that doesn’t really like doing that. 235 and Kobayashi more played it straight but 235 was the weaker link (even though Kobayashi is a newer and younger wrestler). For the most part I enjoyed the range of styles that we saw here, but I am so glad that Shirai was in the match as she was the main one holding it together. 235’s offense looks weak and while Kobayashi looked fine she didn’t do anything to stand out. Matsumoto is cute but I don’t think a long match would work with her shtick… having Shirai there as her foil made it work. The match did drag when Shirai was not involved and aside from her the action tended to stall, but overall it was an entertaining opener. Score: 6.0

Neko Nitta vs. Shuu Shibutani

Shibutani distracts Nitta with a bag of… something to start the match, playfully keeping it out of her reach. Maybe cat food. Small package by Shibutani, but it gets a two count. Another roll-up by Shibutani, but it gets another two. Kick by Shibutani, Irish whip, and she hits an armdrag. Another one by Shibutani and she hits a third. She goes for a dropkick but Nitta gets out of the way and she hits a springboard armdrag. Shibutani charges Nitta but Nitta moves and slides out of the ring. Shibutani tracks down the bag and teases Nitta with it again, but she throws it out of the ring to someone else and they play keep-away. Kick by Shibutani to the stomach and she clubs Nitta in the back. Elbows by Shibutani into the corner, Irish whip, and Shibutani hits a jumping elbow in the corner. Bodyslam by Shibutani, cover, but it gets a two count. Shibutani applies the Camel Clutch and stomps Nitta in the back. Shibutani picks up Nitta and hits a scoop slam, and she applies a crab hold. Nitta gets to the ropes to force the break, Shibutani throws Nitta into the corner, Irish whip, but Nitta moves when Shibutani charges in.

Elbow by Nitta, she goes up to the second turnbuckle and hits a diving crossbody for a two count. Eye rake by Nitta but she gets distracted by the food bag at ringside and Shibutani kicks her in the back. DDT by Shibutani and she gets the bag of food, taunting Nitta with it. Shibutani picks up Nitta, Irish whip, but Nitta gets the bag from her. Shibutani gets it back but Nitta goes off the ropes and hits a rebound elbow strike. Cover, but it gets a two count. Nitta applies a leg submission hold but Shibutani gets her hand on the ropes. Nitta goes up to the second turnbuckle and hits a missile dropkick. Nitta goes after the bag at ringside and gets it, bringing it back into the ring. Nitta goes up to the top turnbuckle with the bag but Shibutani pulls her off the top turnbuckle by her tail. Shibutani goes up to the top turnbuckle and hits missile dropkick, cover, but it gets a two count. Northern Lights Suplex by Shibutani, but that gets a two count as well. Shibutani hits a snap DDT, she goes off the ropes but Nitta delivers a spinning slap to the face. Nitta goes for a suplex but Shibutani elbows her off. Irish whip by Shibutani but Nitta hits a backstabber. Cover, but it gets a two count. Nitta charges Shibutani in the corner but Shibutani moves out of the way. Roll-up by Nitta but Shibutani gets out of it and rolls up Nitta for the three count! Your winner: Shuu Shibutani

Match Thoughts: This was a bit odd to say the least. Nitta didn’t show much here but it may be a case that she is so engrossed in her gimmick that she… overdoes it a bit to the point it negatively impacts the match. When they got down to actual action it wasn’t bad, it was just disjointed by the odd comedy stuff. Japanese comedy is a bit hit and miss with me, but this one counts as a ‘miss’. Score: 4.0

Cherry and Meari Naito vs. Maki Narumiya and Risa Sera

Narumiya and Naito start things off. They circle each other to start, tie-up, Naito gets Narumiya into the rope and goes off the far ropes, but Narumiya avoids the lariat. Narumiya elbows Cherry off the apron as Sera comes in, double Irish whip to Naito and Sera hits a dropkick. Narumiya follows with a double chop, they pick up Naito and stomp on her. Cherry comes in to bribe Narumiya and Sera, but she then kicks both of them. Cherry and Naito grabs Narumiya, double Irish whip and they hit a double chop. Double elbow drop by Naito and Cherry, Naito picks up Narumiya but Narumiya applies a side headlock. Narumiya slams Naito into the corner and tags in Sera. Sera grabs Naito by the hair and flings her to the mat. Sera picks up Naito and tries to fling her down again, but Naito blocks it and returns the favor. Stomps by Naito in the corner, she picks up Sera and clubs her in the back. Naito sides down onto Sera’s back before picking her back up and tagging in Cherry. Side headlock by Cherry and she yanks out her hair. Front facelock by Cherry and she scratches Sera in the back. Cherry tags Naito back in, Naito grabs Sera and hits a scoop slam.

Naito picks her back up and hits a second scoop slam before tagging in Cherry. Cherry rams Sera’s head into the corner repeatedly and pulls her by the hair. Wristlock by Cherry but Sera rolls out of it and reverses the hold. Cherry reverses it back and tags in Naito, Naito applies a side headlock to Sera, Irish whip, reversed, but Naito avoids Sera’s dropkick attempt. Naito picks up Sera but Sera hits a back bodydrop and tags in Narumiya. Narumiya chops Naito and Cherry in the chest, she picks up Naito, Irish whip to the corner, reversed, but Narumiya moves when Cherry rolls in and rolls her up for a two count. Narumiya picks up Naito but Naito elbows her off. They trade elbows but Naito chops Narumiya to the mat for a two count cover. Naito applies a crab hold to Narumiya but Narumiya gets to the ropes to force a break. Naito stomps on Narumiya, she picks her up in the corner, Irish whip, but Narumiya kicks Naito when she charges in and kicks her in the head. Narumiya goes out to the apron and snaps Naito’s neck over the top rope. Running double chop by Narumiya, cover, but it gets a two count. Narumiya picks up Naito and tries to put her on her shoulders, but Naito fights out of it and chops Narumiya in the chest.

Naito tags in Cherry, doublestomp by Cherry to Narumiya and she ties her up so that her and Naito can stomp on her. Sera comes in the ring but she gets knotted up as well and gets stomped on. Cherry keeps stomping on Narumiya, she goes off the ropes but Narumiya chops her in the chest. Narumiya picks up Cherry and applies a waistlock, but Cherry reverses the hold. Narumiya drops down to get out of the hold and puts Cherry in the Rocking Horse. Narumiya picks up Cherry and goes for a scoop slam, but Cherry blocks it and applies a side headlock. She then rips out Narumiya’s hair and throws it out of the ring but Narumiya pusher her off. Double chop by Narumiya and she tags in Sera. Sera picks up Cherry and hits a backbreaker. She then goes off the ropes and hits running double knee to the back. She goes this two more times, cover, but it gets two. Sera backs Cherry into the corner but Cherry rakes her in the eyes. Cherry chokes Sera in the corner, Irish whip, reversed, Cherry stomps on Sera’s foot repeatedly and hits an STO. Cover, but Sera kicks out.

Cherry goes off the ropes but Sera catches her with a dropkick, but Cherry tags in Naito. Naito charges Sera in the corner and hits a running elbow strike followed by a swinging neckbreaker. Cover, but it gets a two count. Naito applies a camel clutch to Sera but Narumiya breaks it up. Narumiya picks up Naito and puts her in an Argentine Backbreaker before throwing her into the top rope. Sera then hits a swinging side slam, cover, but it gets a two count. Sera picks up Naito but Naito elbows her off and they trade strikes. Sera goes off the ropes but Narumiya grabs her feet from the floor. Naito grabs Sera and chops her, Naito charges up but Sera dropkicks her. Cover, but it gets a two count. Narumiya comes into the ring and puts Naito in the Argentine Backbreaker, hitting a cutter. Sera then grabs Naito and hits a modified Schwein, cover, but Cherry breaks it up. Narumiya pushes Cherry out of the ring, Sera grabs Naito and hits a scoop slam. Sera then goes up to the top turnbuckle and nails the diving double knee drop, cover, and she picks up the three count. Your winners: Maki Narumiya and Risa Sera

Match Thoughts: This felt like the longest match ever, I don’t even know where to begin. Pretty much from start to finish it was very poorly done, I mean wrestlers were running off the wrong ropes, doing moves obviously just done to kill time (stomping, scoop slam, stomping, knee to the back, stomping, etc.) and in this particular match none of them looked good. Sera and Naito in particular looked really off at times, Narumiya was the only one of the foursome that didn’t leave a bad impression. This is definitely one of those matches that if it was say six minutes long I probably wouldn’t have noticed but the longer the match got the uglier it got. They have all been wrestling for years so I dunno what was going on here, but just not a good match in any way. Score: 2.5

Hamuko Hoshi vs. Tsukushi

Hoshi and Tsukushi circle each other to start, Tsukushi asks for a test of strength and Hoshi obliges, Hoshi pushes Tsukushi to the mat but Tsukushi bridges up and both return to their feet. Tsukushi goes for a lariat, Hoshi rolls out of the way but Tsukushi stomps her in the back. Tsukushi picks up Hoshi, Hoshi goes for another lariat but Tsukushi rolls under. They trade trip and pin attempts but neither can get the advantage. Kick to the stomach by Hoshi and they trade waistlocks and Hoshi bites Tsukushi in the arm. Hoshi puts Tsukushi in the corner and squishes her. Hoshi picks up Tsukushi and thumps her to the mat. Another stomach thump by Hoshi, she picks up Tsukushi and hits a third. Body press by Hoshi, cover, but it gets a two count. Hoshi picks up Tsukushi, Irish whip, but Tsukushi hits a spinning headscissors. Dropkick by Tsukushi in the corner and she goes for a scoop slam, but Hoshi blocks it and hits a scoop slam of her own.

Elbows by Tsukushi and she hits a drop toehold. Tsukushi stomps Hoshi in the back and runs over her before posing over Hoshi. Tsukushi puts her knees into Hoshi’s back and hits a pair of doublestomps. Tsukushi tries to roll up Hoshi onto her knees and finally gets the move applied. Tsukushi puts Hoshi into the ropes, she goes off the ropes and Tsukushi dropkicks Hoshi in the back. Cover, but it gets a two count. Tsukushi picks up Hoshi, Irish whip to the corner, reversed, and Hoshi hits a running body splash in the corner. Butt thumps by Hoshi and Hoshi hits a bulldog. Cover, but it gets a two count. Hoshi applies a crab hold to Tsukushi but Tsukushi gets out of it and delivers a dropkick. Tsukushi goes up to the second rope and hits a missile dropkick. Cover by Tsukushi, but Hoshi kicks out at two. Tsukushi applies a cross facelock to Hoshi followed by a choke with her legs. Hoshi slowly crawls to the ropes and she gets there to force a break. Tsukushi goes up to the top turnbuckle but Hoshi punches her while she is up there. Hoshi goes up to the top turnbuckle too but Tsukushi gets behind her back and applies a submission hold. The referee gets her to let go, Tsukushi goes for a powerbomb but Hoshi punches her off. Hoshi kicks Tsukushi back, kick by Tsukushi but Hoshi absorbs the blow and pushes Tsukushi to the mat.

Dropkick by Tsukushi, she goes up to the top turnbuckle and hits a diving doublestomp. Cover, but it gets a two count. Tsukushi goes off the ropes but Tsukushi rolls her up for a two count. Tsukushi grabs Hoshi and goes off the ropes, but Hoshi thumps Tsukushi to the mat. Running stomach thrust by Hoshi, cover, but it gets a two count. Hoshi picks up Tsukushi and hits a Samoan drop, cover, but it also gets two. Hoshi goes up to the second turnbuckle and hits a diving body press, she then goes up to the top turnbuckle and goes for a second one, but Tsukushi rolls roll out of the way. Bodyscissors rollup by Tsukushi, cover, but it gets a two count. Tsukushi rolls up Hoshi again but it also gets two. Tsukushi grabs Hoshi from behind but Hoshi grabs the ropes and pushes her off. Lariat by Hoshi, she goes off the ropes and hits a second one. Cover, but Tsukushi bridges up. Tsukushi waits for Hoshi to get up and hits a lariat from behind before hitting one final lariat. Cover, and Hoshi picks up the three count. Your winner: Hamuko Hoshi

Match Thoughts: Tsukushi is only 16 years old but from what I have seen just on this card she is one of the better wrestlers in Ice Ribbon. Not that it was perfect, they had some hiccups here and there (Tsukushi shouldn’t try to put stretch submission holds on someone twice her size), but overall the match flowed well and they did a good ‘little young wrestler’ vs. ‘bigger veteran wrestler’ match. Hoshi’s offense is unusual but it worked against the much smaller Tsukushi, and Tsukushi eventually realizing only a roll-up was going to get her a victory at all was the right way for the match to go. A fun little match. Score: 6.0

(c) Hikaru Shida and Fujimoto vs. Kurumi and Kyoko Inoue

This match is for the International Ribbon Tag Team Championship. Fujimoto and Kurumi start things off. Tie-up, wristlock by Fujimoto but Kurumi reverses it, hammerlock by Kurumi but Fujimoto reverses that. Kurumi picks up Fujimoto and slams her to the mat, she goes off the ropes but Fujimoto catches her with a bodyscissors. Fujimoto goes for a kick but Kurumi ducks it and both wrestlers return to their feet. Fujimoto tags in Shida, Kurumi asks for a knuckle lock and they go into a Test of Strength. Shida pushes Kurumi to the mat with ease, Kurumi comes back up and applies a side headlock, Shida Irish whips out of it and they collide with neither woman going down. Shida is eventually able to shoulderblock Kurumi to the mat, she throws her into the corner and invites Inoue to tag in. Inoue does so, now it is Shida that asks for a knuckle lock and Inoue obliges, pushes Shida to her knees. Kick to the stomach by Shida, Irish whip, but Inoue hits a shoulderblock.

Shida is up quickly, Irish whip by Shida, and Fujimoto runs in the ring so that they can hit a double dropkick on Inoue. Inoue doesn’t go down and she isn’t amused, and she throws Fujimoto out of the ring. Inoue then throws Shida into the corner, she tags in Kurumi, double Irish whip and they hit a double shoulderblock. Cover by Kurumi but it gets a two count. Kurumi grabs Shida by the hair and flings her to the mat, but Shida returns the favor and boots Kurumi in the head. Shida picks up Kurumi and tags in Fujimoto. Fujimoto runs over to knock Inoue off the apron before hitting a running elbow onto Kurumi. Irish whip by Fujimoto but Kurumi hits an elbow smash followed by a somersault senton. Cover, but it gets a two count. Kurumi tags in Inoue, and Inoue chips Fujimoto in the corner. Irish whip by Inoue but Fujimoto moves when Inoue charges in and knees Inoue in the corner. Fujimoto grabs Inoue and hits a running cutter, cover, but it gets a two count. Fujimoto kicks Inoue in the back, she goes off the ropes and kicks Inoue in the chest. Inoue returns to her feet, elbows by Fujimoto and she goes off the ropes but Inoue levels her with a lariat. Inoue charges Fujimoto and hits another lariat, she picks her up and goes for a powerbomb but Fujimoto slides down her back and hits a sunset flip for a two count. Fujimoto tags in Shida, Shida goes off the ropes and hits a jumping knee to Inoue.

Hurricanrana by Shida and she hits a running knee while Inoue is lying against the ropes. Shida picks up Inoue and goes for a suplex but Inoue blocks it. Elbow by Shida but Inoue elbows her back. They trade elbows, Shida goes off the ropes and she hits a dropkick. She hits a second dropkick, Fujimoto runs in and hits a dropkick as they take turns dropkicking Inoue. Catapult dropkick by Fujimoto then they hit a double dropkick to finally knock Inoue down. Shida picks up Inoue and hits a vertical suplex, she picks her up again but this time Inoue hits a suplex. Shida grabs Inoue and is able to hit the vertical suplex but Inoue quickly returns the favor. Inoue tags in Kurumi, Kurumi goes off the ropes and hits a shoulderblock to Shida. Two more shoulderblocks by Kurumi but Shida hits a scoop slam. Kick to the stomach by Kurumi, she goes off the ropes but Fujimoto knees her from the apron. Jumping knee by Shida, cover, but it gets a two count. Fujimoto comes in the ring and Shida flips Fujimoto onto Kurumi, Shida then picks up Kurumi and hits a landing piledriver. Cover, but it gets a two count.

Fujimoto is tagged in, she kicks Kurumi in the chest and covers her, but it gets a two count. Fujimoto applies a modified crossface but Inoue breaks it up by shoving Fujimoto into the hold. Double Irish whip to Inoue but she lariats both of her opponents down. Kurumi hits a rolling senton onto Fujimoto in the corner, Inoue then jumps in Kurumi’s back and they hit a body press onto Fujimoto. Cover, but it gets a two count. Kurumi picks up Fujimoto but Fujimoto slides off her back and hits a dropkick. Kurumi avoids Fujimoto’s kicks to the face, Fujimoto picks up Kurumi and goes for an enzigieri but Kurumi avoids it as well. Seated senton by Kurumi, cover, but Shida breaks it up. Fujimoto then hits a sunset flip onto Kurumi but it gets a two count as well. Shida and Fujimoto go up to the top turnbuckles, but Kurumi knocks Shida off of one while Inoue climbs up with Fujimoto and hits a superplex. Kurumi then comes off the top with a diving body press, cover, but Shida breaks it up. Inoue throws Shida out of the ring, Inoue picks up Fujimoto and holds her up for Kurumi, but Shida knocks Kurumi off the top turnbuckle and Fujimoto hits a hurricanrana onto Inoue. Shida dropkicks Inoue out of the ring, Fujimoto goes up to the top turnbuckle and hits a plancha down onto Inoue. In the ring, Shida picks up Kurumi and hits a body slam, she then picks her up again and slams her in front of the corner. Fujimoto and Shida then get on different turnbuckles and hit a double missile dropkick onto Kurumi. Cover by Fujimoto, but Kurumi gets a shoulder up. Fujimoto sits up Kurumi and goes for a kick, but Kurumi ducks it and its La Magistral for a two count. Enzigieri by Fujimoto, she goes up to the top turnbuckle and hits the Diving Rolling Neckbreaker. Cover, and Fujimoto picks up the three count. Your winners and still champions:  Hikaru Shida and Tsukasa Fujimoto

Match Thoughts: This was a fun match as it was fast paced but very well structured. Inoue is limited a bit these days but this is the perfect role for her as she can do her monster stuff but allow Kurumi to do most of the faster work. Kurumi doesn’t wrestle like she is 13, I wouldn’t have known her age just based on her wrestling ability, she has been wrestling for several years now and appears to be quite polished. Not as long a match as you’d hope for a title match/main event but they packed a lot into it. Good effort by all, Shida in particular was impressive, looking forward to seeing more of her this year. Score: 7.0

Final Thoughts:

Best Match: Hikaru Shida and Tsukasa Fujimoto vs. Kurumi and Kyoko Inoue. A no brainer as it was really the only match on the card that really elevated itself beyond just being a solid match. All the wrestlers played their roles well and it was one of the only matches on the card that didn’t really have any missteps. I wish it could have been a bit longer, why that other tag match got more time is beyond me, but still a really fun match worth watching.

MVP: Hikaru Shida. All four ladies in the main event were impressive but I thought that Shida stood out the most. She appears to have the full package as she is attractive but also skilled in the ring, and she just ‘carried’ herself different than the other wrestlers in the match. Her offense was very polished and to the point without a lot of extra fluff. I know she wrestles in a lot of different promotions in Japan so I assume that I will be seeing more of her as 2014 continues.

Overall: The main event did wonders to make the show better, but it still didn’t really save it overall. When you have a five match card, all the matches have to deliver on some level, or at least accomplish some type of goal. Two of the five matches didn’t do that, and while the main event was definitely good it was too short/too late to really make the event as a whole worth watching. A diehard Ice Ribbon fan would probably be satisfied, but if you are a casual fan or trying to get into a new promotion I wouldn’t start with this event.

Grade: D+