Month: December 2021

2021 Stanley Weston Award Recipients Revealed

Every year, the Editor and Senior Writers of PWI bestow upon one or more individuals the Stanley Weston Award for Lifetime Achievement in professional wrestling. Last year, Pro Wrestling Illustrated chose to honor Madusa Miceli and longtime PWI Editor/Publisher Stu Saks for their contributions to the sport. This year, we have once again recognized two individuals for their career accomplishments: Terry Funk and Ron Simmons.

The PWI Editors Award is a tradition dating back to 1981, wherein a single wrestler, promoter, manager, journalist, or other figure in the wrestling industry would be honored for their overall contributions to the sport of professional wrestling. The inaugural award was given to the legendary Bruno Sammartino, with Lou Thesz being the second recipient in 1982.

Today, the Award—renamed for PWI founder Stanley Weston—is the single most distinguished honor bestowed by our publication, as well as the only one of our year-end awards not determined by our readers.

We're delighted to announce the 2021 recipients of PWI's Stanley Weston Award for Lifetime Achievement in pro wrestling. This year, our most prestigious award goes to Terry Funk and Ron Simmons. Today, we honor these two legends for their myriad contributions to the sport. pic.twitter.com/RYrNHko5JJ

— PWI (Pro Wrestling Illustrated) (@OfficialPWI) December 16, 2021

Terry Funk is one of the most influential figures in the history of pro wrestling—a former NWA World champion, ECW champion, and holder of countless regional titles over the course of a career than spanned over 50 years. He is renowned for his toughness (including in wild, no-holds-barred environments) by fans across the globe, along with his colorful, unforgettable promos and many memorable in-ring encounters over the years.

Ron Simmons enjoyed a similarly expansive and influential career in the ring, with his most famous achievement being his WCW World heavyweight championship victory over Big Van Vader in August 1992. With that win, Simmons began a historic reign as the first widely recognized Black World champion, wearing a title belt that traced its lineage to the historic NWA title by Thesz, Funk, and so many others. He went on to additional success in the WWE, with multiple reigns as World tag team champion with Bradshaw and a WWE Hall of Fame induction in 2012.

We’ll have more about these two greats of the squared circle in our April 2022 “Achievement Awards” issue, which hits stores in January.

Eight Ice Ribbon Departures Have Big Implications for Joshi Promotion

WHAT A DIFFERENCE a couple weeks make! Wow! Ice Ribbon, a joshi promotion based out of Tokyo, Japan, looks like it’ll be going through a bit of a restructure in the new year with the departures of some of its top talent. 

First reported by Tokyo Sports Web by way of Yahoo Sports and confirmed by Ice Ribbon through a press conference later in the day, eight wrestlers will be leaving the influential promotion at the end of 2021. 

Current IcexInfinity tag champions Risa Sera & Maya Yukihi (Azure Revolution) and former ICExInfinity champion Suzu Suzuki are the most notable departures—as all three are positioned at the top of the company—along with ICExInfinity champion Tsukushi Haruka and head trainer Tsukasa Fujimoto. Akane Fujita, Kurumi Hiiragi, and Mochi Miyagi are also leaving but will continue their wrestling careers, while Kyuri plans on retiring from the sport altogether.

Risa Sera, Suzu Suzuki, Akane Fujita, Kurumi Hiiragi, and Mochi Miyagi will become a freelance unit focused on deathmatch and hardcore matches, according to Ice Ribbon’s official English Twitter account.

Maya Yukihi will continue her wrestling career as a freelance wrestler both domestically and internationally, while also pursuing other opportunities in the world of entertainment.

Sera, Yukihi, and Suzuki have expressed interest in keeping a working relationship with Ice Ribbon moving forward.

Coinciding with today’s news article and press conference, Thekla, an Austrian-based wrestler working with Ice Ribbon through 2021, will also be departing Ice Ribbon, according to her official Twitter account.

Fear not, Ice Ribbon fans! As of now, there are no plans for the company to shut down. In fact, Hajime Sato, president of Ice Ribbon, addressed those concerns in his interview with Tokyo Sports Web. “I have never had such a large amount [of wrestlers leave],” he said. “[But] there is no particular impact [on Ice Ribbon plans moving forward].” Sato acknowledged some fans may leave, but the three-year investment into P’s Party should help usher in a new era for Ice Ribbon.

Finally, while we’re seeing some wrestlers amicably leaving Ice Ribbon, Chiharu has been reinstated as the coach of Ice Ribbon’s Joshi Pro Wrestling Circle.

PWI will keep you updated on any new information as it becomes available regarding Ice Ribbon. And, as always, “Be Happy With Pro Wrestling.”