ICE×∞ Championship #1 Contendership Four Way: Akane Fujita vs. Hiiragi Kurumi vs. Maika Ozaki vs. Nori DATE

What a wild ride, I did not expect this from a joshi 4WAY. It was non-stop bomb throwing with great pacing; all of the tandem spots felt organic. Maika and Nori close the match after the other two are eliminated, and I thought they delivered big. I was so proud of Maika when she got the win, big moment for her career. ****

This match is Ice Ribbon's roster in a nutshell. Fujita is a solid but unremarkable vet who is good at keeping things together. Kurumi is a supremely talented youngster whose on the verge of taking the next step to being a main eventer. Both Maika and Nori are both clearly talented youngsters who just need a few years to develop into more polished workers. The match was really well done from start to finish, especially the finishing run between Maika and Nori. That was a pleasant surprise because I thought that the match would go off the rails at that point but it actually got better. A great snapshot of what Ice Ribbon is now and especially what it could be in the future. ****