Spring is Short So You Maidens Should Fight! is Ice Ribbon’s next show on April 24th, coming from Korakuen Hall. The show features two titles on the line and the next match in Suzu Suzuki’s Hardcore Series. Originally scheduled was Saori Anou, but due to a spinal injury, she had to pull out. Here’s what viewers should expect.
Hamuko Hoshi, Banny Oikawa, and Yappy vs. Ram Kaichow (666), Thekla and Nao Ishikawa
Nao Ishikawa returns after being sidelined due to an elbow injury, so it will be nice for fans to see her return. She is teaming with Thekla, who recently had an eventful title match against Risa Sera for the FantastICE Championship. Despite losing, Thekla received plenty of positive attention, and rightfully so. In their corner is Ram Kaichow, who recently lost her Triangle Ribbon Championship to Uno Matsuya, but has picked up some victories in Ice Ribbon since. On Ice Ribbon’s sideshow, P’s Party, Yappy has been doing some great work in the P’s League. Whether she’s been on the winning end or not, Yappy has been fun to watch. Her partners, Banny Oikawa and Hamuko Hoshi, have not done much of note recently in terms of importance in Ice Ribbon, but they both do well in multi tags such as this.
Totoro Satsuki vs. Ibuki Hoshi vs. Miku Aono
Originally scheduled for this show was Ibuki Hoshi taking on Saori Anou. Due to an injury sustained by the latter, the match was changed at the last minute. Despite a last-minute switch of participants, this match should be quite enjoyable with the mix of people involved. Even though Hoshi is the youngest by a long stretch in this match, she makes up for it in her devastating chops that sound absolutely brutal. Miku Aono has been splitting her time between Actwres girl’Z and Ice Ribbon. Despite the good matches she has put on, she hasn’t won a match since February. Aono and Totoro Satsuki have faced off when the former got her last win in Ice Ribbon, so this match could go either way. No one in this Spring is Short match truly has nothing to lose.
Risa Sera vs. Rina Yamashita vs. Mochi Miyagi vs. Akane Fujita
This match is not for Risa Sera’s FantastICE Championship, but she is going against two women she has had intense hardcore matches with for the title. Meanwhile, Mochi Miyagi seems to be on her way to fighting Tsukasa Fujimoto for the ICExInfinity Championship. Outside of Ice Ribbon, Sera has been doing some of her best work, facing against the likes of ASUKA in SEAdLINNG, Hikari Noa in TJPW, and excelling in tag matches alongside her partner Minoru Fujita in Pro Wrestling FREEDOMS. No matter what match she’s in, she is usually the standout and this match will be no different.
Akane Fujita fought Sera for her title back in December in a good hardcore match. Since then, Fujita has been working primarily in tag matches, including alongside Sera, so this could be a factor in this match. As Ice Ribbon is planning a trip to Miyagi Prefecture, Mochi Miyagi can look forward to facing Fujimoto, but this can’t blind her sights in this match. Falling short could knock her confidence going into her hometown title match. If Sera doesn’t win here, she may want to avoid getting pinned because she may find herself with a new opponent after Spring is Short.
Triangle Ribbon Championship: Uno Matsuya (c) vs. Cherry vs. Tae Honma
After defeating Ram Kaichow for the Triangle Ribbon Championship at the end of March, Uno Matsuya gets ready for her first defense. Cherry lost to both Matsuya and Tae Honma at the April 11th show during a tag match. However, she has picked up wins in other companies. She is also a two-time Triangle Ribbon Champion, similar to Matusya, so if she did win, it would lead her to have the third most reigns in the existence of the championship.
Honma is also a previous Triangle Ribbon Champion, having held the title for almost a year. In her home promotion of Actwres girl’Z, she has picked up multiple wins as AWG Tag Team Champion with her partner Maika Ozaki. As her stock is rising, Honma could shock all and take the title off her teammate in her first defense. Since all of these women know each other so well, this could be a very close match. Expect plenty of technical work and submissions at Spring is Short.
Suzu Suzuki Seven-Match Hardcore Series: Masashi Takeda vs Suzu Suzuki
The third match of Suzu’s seven-match Hardcore Series, at Spring is Short, is against the ‘Crazy Kid,’ Masahi Takeda, one of the best deathmatch wrestlers that Japan has to offer. After two tough battles against Yuko Miyamoto and Takashi Sasaki respectively, Suzuki is starting to earn more respect within the deathmatch community. Even if she doesn’t get the win, she proves that she can handle the brutal world. Takeda, like her other opponents, won’t be an easy victory. However, Suzuki revealed her own plan to try and get the win over her opponent during the press conference: to kick him where it hurts, quite literally. While it might be obvious that Takeda will get the victory, it will be interesting to see what Suzuki will endure and who will be revealed as her fourth opponent.
International Ribbon Tag Team Championship: RebelxEnemy (Maya Yukihi & Maika Ozaki) (c) vs Hiroyo Matsumoto & Kurumi Hiiragi
After a successful International Ribbon Tag Team Championship defense against Tsukasa Fujimoto and Tsukushi Haruka, RebelxEnemy’s Maya Yukihi and Maika Ozaki take on the next challengers: the newly formed team of Hiroyo Matsumoto and Kurumi Hiiragi. While it seems that RebelxEnemy have been losing momentum, their last successful defense could put them in good spirits. However, if they lose this match, it will leave everyone in the faction without championship gold.
After the Frank Sisters started to slip, Hiiragi soon found a new partner in Matsumoto. Since then, they have won both of their matches as partners. Yukihi and Ozaki have pressure on them to keep some titles in their unit; this could give them a much bigger edge against their opponents who have far less experience as teammates. The champions should win this and continue their reign, but this could easily be the best match of Spring is Short either way.
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