Ice Ribbon - #1230 ~ Ribbon No Kishitachi 2022
ICExInfinity Championship: Saori Anou (c) vs. Stephanie Vaquer
A nichiboku visual battle. This reminded me of one of the better matches you'd see from "gaijin of the month" era Stardom. Stephanie Vaquer has been touring Japan for a while, but the general idea of a mysterious strong foreigner challenging the Japanese hero is as traditional as it gets in the world of Japanese pro-wrestling and martial arts. Physicality of this was like nothing I've seen in an Ice Ribbon ring before. Vaquer was brutal and relentless; every time Anou tried to fight back she was cut off by sheer force. Anou had to find a rare ferocity and violence to eventually make the comeback and win in grand fashion. It was simple in structure but the performances and execution were near-flawless. ****1/4
