Stardom Gaijins in 2016 – A Complete Ranking

No Joshi promotion has brought in more gaijin talent in 2016 than Stardom, as they take steps to diversify their shows and expand their fan base all across the globe. While some of the foreign women that have wrestled in Stardom have done well, many have had trouble adjusting either to the Stardom style, touring in a new country, or both. I will update this ranking at the end of the year as Stardom does still have more new wrestlers coming in a few weeks, but since we are in a bit of a lull in action I figured now would be a good time to look at the wrestlers they have brought over so far.

Keep in mind of course this ranking is purely subjective because it is based 95% on the quality of their matches, not accomplishments won or how many tours they were on. Please note this is based solely on the wrestler’s matches in Stardom and is not a ranking of the wrestler considering their career as a whole. The following wrestlers are excluded from the list: Cat Power (only had one match), Kris Wolf (contracted Stardom wrestler), and Alex Lee (Freelancer used by many Joshi promotions). Without any further ado, here is my Official List of Best Gaijins in Stardom, 2016 Edition:

1. Kay Lee Ray Stardom Matches in 2016: 15 Titles Won in Stardom: None Best Matches in Stardom: vs. Iwatani on 1/17 and vs. Shirai on 9/22	2. Toni Storm Stardom Matches in 2016: 17 Titles Won in Stardom: SWA Undisputed World Women’s Championship Best Match in Stardom: vs. Shirai on 7/24	3. Evie Stardom Matches in 2016: 9 Titles Won in Stardom: Artist of Stardom Best Match in Stardom: vs. Iwatani on 2/21
4. Kellie Skater Stardom Matches in 2016: 9 Titles Won in Stardom: Artist of Stardom Best Match in Stardom: Hyper Destroyers vs. Three Daughters on 2/28	5. Alpha Female Stardom Matches in 2016: 12 Titles Won in Stardom: None Best Match in Stardom: vs. Shirai on 3/26	6. Leah Vaughan Stardom Matches in 2016: 12 Titles Won in Stardom: None Best Match in Stardom: with Wolf vs. Oedo Tai on 8/5
7. Viper Stardom Matches in 2016: 17 Titles Won in Stardom: None Best Match in Stardom: vs. Shirai on 2/21	8. Santana Garrett Stardom Matches in 2016: 8 Titles Won in Stardom: Wonder of Stardom Best Match in Stardom: vs. Hojo on 5/15	9. Chelsea Stardom Matches in 2016: 12 Titles Won in Stardom: None Best Match in Stardom: vs. Hojo on 8/5
10. Tessa Blanchard Stardom Matches in 2016: 9 Titles Won in Stardom: None Best Match in Stardom: vs. Shirai on 9/4	11. Diosa Atenea Stardom Matches in 2016: 14 Titles Won in Stardom: None Best Match in Stardom: Oedo Tai vs. Three Daughters on 6/11	12. Kaitlin Diemond Stardom Matches in 2016: 13 Titles Won in Stardom: None Best Match in Stardom: Oedo Tai vs. Thunder Rock on 2/21
13. Shanna Stardom Matches in 2016: 12 Titles Won in Stardom: None Best Match in Stardom: vs. Storm on 8/5	14. Blue Nikita Stardom Matches in 2016: 9 Titles Won in Stardom: None Best Match in Stardom: vs. KLR on 8/28	15. Courtney Stewart Stardom Matches in 2016: 5 Titles Won in Stardom: None Best Match in Stardom: vs. Hojo on 8/28
16. Chelsea Green Stardom Matches in 2016: 5 Titles Won in Stardom: None Best Match in Stardom: Elimination Tag on 2/7	17. Queen Maya Stardom Matches in 2016: 6 Titles Won in Stardom: None Best Match in Stardom: vs. Iwatani on 4/29	18. Lizzy Styles Stardom Matches in 2016: 3 Titles Won in Stardom: None Best Match in Stardom: n/a

And there we have it! I’ll have a more complete list with more details after the year has ended. By then, Stardom will have used over 20 different gaijin wrestlers, which is a lot of foreign talent for any promotion in the world, let alone a Joshi promotion. Some have worked out well, some have not, but either way it certainly adds something different to their cards. Hopefully in 2017 they will focus on the gaijins that performed well in the promotion as quality is better than quantity, but with new native wrestlers debuting soon they may not need to use as many gaijin talent in the future. I’ll check back in January to update a final list, since Chelsea Green has another tour coming up she in particular has an opportunity to move up the rankings if she has some bigger matches.