Reigning ICE x ∞ Champion Ibuki Hoshi relinquished her title upon announcing her pregnancy at Ice Ribbon’s show in Kamata, Tokyo. This marked the fifth time in history that the championship was vacated.
The official Japanese Ice Ribbon Twitter account then announced that a a league tournament will decide the new champion. The tournament commences at SKIP City on April 28th and culminates at Korakuen Hall on June 23. It will also follow a round robin setup (similar to the AEW Continental Classic) in which competitors are grouped into two blocks to earn points by scoring victories over their fellow competitors in the same block. The two women with the most points in each block will face off in the finals for a chance to become ICE x ∞ Champion.
The block assignments are as follows:
Block A
- Hamuko Hoshi
- Kyuuri
- Misa Kagura
- Kaho Matsushita
- Arisa Shinose
Block B
- Totoro Satsuki
- Yappy
- YuuRI
- Saran
- Asuka Fujitaki
From the lineup, only Hamuko Hoshi, Totoro Satsuki, and YuuRI have previously held Ice Ribbon’s top championship. The remaining competitors look to seize a taste of ICE x ∞ gold for the first time in their professional wrestling careers.
WrestleZone will provide more updates and information on the tournament as it becomes publicly available.
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