Stardom Goddess Of Stars 2019 on 12/14/19 Review

Event: Stardom Goddess Of Stars 2019
Date: December 14th, 2019
Location: Yokohama Radiant Hall in Yokohama, Japan
Announced Attendance: 365

While in the ideal world I’d like to catch up on all the Stardom I have missed, realistically that isn’t going to happen. So since I didn’t want to miss out on Hazuki’s last run before retiring, we will pick up at their big show from a few weeks ago, which was part of the Stardom Goddess of Stars tour. This is a pretty full card for a non-Korakuen Hall show, with seven matches and three singles matches. Plus, the main event brings us a tag title challenge, with Riho returning to Stardom to team with the young Starlight Kid. Here is the full card:

• Rina, Hina, and Ruaka vs. Saya Iida, Saya Kamitani, and Itsuki Hoshino
• AZM, Bea Priestley, Leo Onozaki, and Momo Watanabe vs. Jamie Hayter, Martina, Natsuko Tora, and Natsu Sumire
• Giulia vs. Saki Kashima
• Andras Miyagi vs. Utami Hayashishita
• Arisa Hoshiki, Mayu Iwatani, and Tam Nakano vs. Death Yama-san, Hana Kimura, and Zoe Lucas
• Hazuki vs. Kagetsu
• Goddesses Of Stardom Championship: Jungle Kyona and Konami vs. Riho and Starlight Kid

As this aired on Stardom World, all matches will be shown in full. The wrestlers on the event have profiles on Joshi City, you can click on their name above to go straight to it.

Rina, Hina, and Ruaka vs. Saya Iida, Saya Kamitani, and Itsuki Hoshino
The show kicks off with the young ones, as the rookies and children collide. Ruaka is the veteran of the bunch but she is only 15, so I am expecting rookie Saya Kamitani to control more of the match since at least she is an adult and the promotion seems to see a lot of potential in here. This is more about gaining experience than anything else, but I haven’t gotten a chance to see the newest rookie Hoshino yet so hopefully she impresses.

Ruaka and Itsuki start the match, elbows by Itsuki but Ruaka shoulderblocks her to the mat. She tags in Rina, Rina tosses Itsuki down by the hair a few times and stomps her in the corner. Hina is tagged in, scoop slam by Hina and she hits mounted elbows on Itsuki. Iida tries to help but Hina drop toeholds her onto Itsuki, the same happens to Kamitani before Hina jumps on top of the pile. We get back to just one vs. one as Hina trades elbows with Itsuki, Itsuki goes off the ropes but Hina hits a judo toss for two. Hina goes for a scoop slam but Itsuki reverses it into a small package, dropkick by Itsuki and she tags in Iida. Chops by Iida in the corner, Ruaka and Rina both come in to help but Iida throws Rina into Ruaka and then dropkicks Ruaka out of the ring. Iida clubs Hina to the mat, cover by Iida but it gets two. Iida goes off the ropes but Hina catches her with a judo toss and tags in Rina. Iida dropkicks Rina and tags Kamitani, dropkick by Kamitani and she puts Rina in the Muta Lock. She lets go after a moment and applies a single leg crab hold, but Hina breaks it up. Ruaka and Iida both run in but are taken care of, Rina goes to Kamitani but Kamitani connects with a dropkick. Another dropkick by Kamitani and she covers Rina for two. Scoop slam attempt by Kamitani but Rina blocks it and tosses Kamitani to the mat. STO by Rina, and she covers Kamitani for two. Ruaka returns as Kamitani is thrown into the corner, dropkick by Rina and Ruaka boots Kamitani in the chest. Cover by Rina, but it gets a two count. Rina picks up Kamitani and applies a modified Octopus Hold, but Iida breaks it up. Rina and company are all hit with dropkicks, handstand into a kneedrop by Kamitani to Rina and she nails the running Shooting Star Press for the three count! Saya Iida, Saya Kamitani, and Itsuki Hoshino are the winners.

I wouldn’t consider this the smoothest match as there were some miscommunications and awkward moments, that’s one of the common issues when you have a rookie match without a veteran in it to tie things together. Some of the wrestlers looked ok (for rookies/children anyway) and its hard to complain too much about a six minute match, but probably not a match structure that put them in the best position to excel. Not actively bad, just rough around the edges.

AZM, Priestley, Onozaki, and Watanabe vs. Jamie Hayter, Martina, Tora, and Sumire
Time for a faction battle, pitting Queen’s Quest vs. Oedo Tai! This is the classic “everyone not already in a match” faction battle, as it ranges from top of the card wrestlers to midcard, with no real storylines going on aside from the fact they are opposing squads. The Queen’s Quest team is certainly more stacked, with the former World of Stardom (Bea Priestley) and Wonder of Stardom (Momo Watanabe) champions, but they also have Leo so it evens out a bit. Nothing really at stake but ideally it’ll still be a fun and chaotic match.

Oedo Tai attacks before the bell rings as why wouldn’t they, Natsu ends up alone with Leo in the ring while everyone else battles outside of it. Natsu applies a front necklock while Oedo Tai controls the action in the crowd, scoop slam by Natsu and she puts Leo in a stretch hold. AZM runs in and breaks it up, Natsuko and Jamie toss AZM out of the ring as Martina comes in as the legal wrestler. Sidewalk Slam by Martina, but AZM breaks up the cover and tries to get Leo back to her corner. She gets cut off, Martina tags in Natsu and Natsu stomps on Leo’s back. Leo fights back with elbows and they trade shots, Natsu gets the better of it and throws Leo into the corner. Bronco Buster by Natsu, Martina comes in the ring but AZM cuts her off with a dropkick. AZM kicks Natsu in the head but again gets stopped from getting Leo back to her corner, Natsuko sets up Leo in the ropes and all of Oedo Tai pose around her. Jamie is tagged in, scoop slam by Jamie and she covers Leo for two. Jamie picks up Leo but Leo elbows her, more elbows by Leo and Bea runs in with an elbow to Jamie as well. Leo finally makes it to her corner and tags in Bea, Martina tries to help but AZM also comes in and and she drops both Jamie and Martina. Double dropkick by Bea and she nails Jamie with a running knee for a two count cover. Bea tags in Momo, Momo goes for a suplex but Jamie blocks it. Momo gets Jamie’s back but Jamie reverses position and hits a side slam onto her knee.

She tags Natsuko, spear by Natsuko to Momo and she delivers a spinning backfist. Natsuko goes off the ropes but Momo kicks her in the head, another head kick by Martina and she goes for the cover, but moves when Natsu runs in to try to interrupt it. Martina also tries to help but fails, Natsuko runs in but she lariats Natsuko by accident. Running kick by Momo to Natsuko, she tags in Leo and Leo hits a jumping elbow in the corner followed by a cutter. A second cutter by Leo and she covers Natsuko for a two count. Elbows by Leo but Natsuko grabs her from behind and stomps on her. Natsuko goes off the ropes but Bea catches her with a jumping knee, Somato by Momo to Natsuko before Leo covers her, but the pin is broken up. Leo tries to throw Natsuko in the corner but Natsuko reverses it, stomp by Leo and she hits a scoop slam for two. Leo picks up Natsuko and the two trade elbows, Leo elbows Natsuko into the corner but Natsuko avoids her charge and the rest of Oedo Tai all run into elbow her in the corner. Boot by Natsu before Martina hits a Codebreaker on Leo, Samoan Drop by Natsuko but Momo breaks up the cover. Natsuko picks up Leo but Leo reverses the slam attempt into a small package for two. Leo goes off the ropes but Natsuko connects with an elbow, rolling fireman’s carry slam by Natsuko and she goes up top, nailing the diving body press. Cover, and she picks up the three count! Oedo Tai wins the match.

Reddit will get mad at me but the main person holding this match back was Leo. Leo was part of the only real mistake of the match and a few smaller miscommunications, she is just a step behind everyone else in the match. Plus, slow beatdowns of rookies/young wrestlers isn’t incredibly entertaining and that was the bulk of the match. When the other wrestlers were the focus the match was pretty fun, and Bea looked great, but some wrestlers got to do virtually nothing just due to the time length and the structure of the match. Some good offense here and there, but overall it was lacking intrigue and cohesion.

Giulia vs. Saki Kashima
Finally the moment I have been waiting for, as I finally get to see Giulia in Stardom. Since I watch more promotions than just Stardom I am already very familar with Giulia and really liked her in Ice Ribbon, with her match against Maya Yukihi back in May being one of my favorite Joshi matches of the year. While some fans didn’t like the way she left Ice Ribbon for Stardom, its not something I really concern myself with, so I’m excited to see her getting more recognition. This is a good match for her as Saki Kashima is respected, but not a highly ranked wrestler, so she should be able to show off and pick up a win which she needs to establish her rank in Stardom.

Giulia offers her hand to Saki for a nice handshake, but attacks her instead as they get right to it. Giulia goes for the Glorious Buster but Saki slides out of it, and the two reach an early stalemate. They go into a knucklelock and trade wristlocks, Giulia gets Saki to the mat and applies a crossface which she switches to a headlock when Saki retains her footing. Saki reverses that into a headscissors but Giulia quickly gets out of it, Saki returns to her feet and elbows Giulia against the ropes. Giulia returns fire as they trade blows, Saki throws down Giulia by the hair and goes off the ropes, booting Giulia in the head. Saki goes off the ropes again but this time Giulia catches her with a face crusher, Giulia picks up Saki and throws her into the corner. Giulia knees Saki before dragging her back to her feet, snapmare by Giulia and she applies a reverse chinlock, but Saki wiggles to the ropes for the break.

Giulia throws Saki into the corner but Saki jumps up on the turnbuckle and hits a flying headscissors, boot by Saki and she covers Giulia for two. Saki picks up Giulia and they trade elbows, big boot by Giulia but Saki comes back with a boot of her own and covers Giulia for a two count. Double underhook by Saki but Giulia back bodydrops out of it, both go for quick cradles on the mat but have no luck. Giulia catches Saki’s leg and quickly puts her in the STF, however Saki gets to the ropes for a break. Giulia goes for an elbow but Saki avoids it and delivers a double underhook facebuster for two. Both wrestlers go for their finishers but their opponent slides away, Giulia trips Saki and puts her back in the STF. Saki manages to get a hand on the ropes to get the break, Giulia goes up to the top turnbuckle and nails the missile dropkick but Saki reverses her cover into one of her own for two. Giulia is up first and boots Saki, vertical suplex slam by Giulia but Saki barely kicks out of the cover. Giulia picks up Saki and delivers the Glorious Buster, and she picks up the three count! Giulia wins the match.

While I am happy to see Giulia again and this match was fundamentally solid, it had its sloppy moments and took some time to get going. I’m fine with matches starting slow and on the mat, but in a shorter match it just didn’t leave them a lot of time left once things heated up. The last few minutes were good but even then there were a few spots that didn’t look as smooth as would be ideal. It may take some time for Giulia to get chemistry with the Stardom wrestlers, but the effort was clear and Giulia looked strong so that’s a plus. Some potential for sure, just needs some smoothing out.

Andras Miyagi vs. Utami Hayashishita
We jump to another random singles match, with Oedo Tai vs. Queen’s Quest. Utami was out from mid-September to mid-November and is still working on finding her place back in Stardom, especially with all the changes going on. But she still holds three titles (none of which are being defended here) so she appears to still be part of Stardom’s plans going forward. Andras also appears lost in the shuffle, she briefly held the trios title but other than that she hasn’t done much of note since switching to Stardom earlier this year. Both will get a chance here to assert themselves however in this mid-card match with little to no long term ramifications.

They lock knuckles to start, Utami applies a wristlock but Andras reverses it. They end up on the mat as Andras applies a kneelock, but Utami kicks her off and they return to their feet. They tie-up, Utami pushes Andras into the ropes but Andras reverses positions with her before hitting a hard elbow. Utami throws Andras to the mat but Andras hits an armdrag, short armbar by Andras into a cross armbreaker but Utami gets to the ropes for the break. Andras kicks Utami and goes back to the arm as she twists it on the mat before stomping on it. Andras kicks at Utami, she picks her up and throws her into the corner, but Utami avoids her charge. Dropkick by Utami, she grabs Andras by the waist but Andras gets away and puts Utami in a modified armbar. Utami gets out of it, they trade waistlocks until Utami puts Andras in a sleeper. Andras slides out of it but Utami re-applies the hold, she takes Andras to the mat while maintaining the sleeper until Andras seems pretty out of it. Utami picks up Andras and nails a German suplex hold, and she picks up the three count! Utami Hayashishita wins the match.

So this match just screamed “house show mid-card time filler.” I think Utami only had three successful moves in the match total as most of it was arm work by Andras. And the arm work was done well but in this short of a match there was just no payoff, as she ended up not really hitting a single move of note either. Also, Utami using a “put someone to sleep, then hit a suplex to win” tactic is bizarre since in theory if you put your opponent to sleep you win the match anyway without the extra effort. Pretty much a nothing match, not offensive but not necessary either.

Arisa Hoshiki, Iwatani, and Nakano vs. Death Yama-san, Hana Kimura, and Zoe Lucas
Faction Wars continue, as now we get the two teams not featured a few matches ago with STARS colliding with Tokyo Cyber Squad. There is some top tier talent here, as Mayu comes in with the World of Stardom Championship and Arisa with the Wonder of Stardom Championship. The deck is definitely stacked towards the STARS team, as Tokyo Cyber Squad’s better wrestlers are in the main event which is why Yama-san and Zoe were elevated up the card. TCS will have an uphill battle to win in this one.

Tam and Yama-san start the match, Yama-san does her wacky bit until Tam kicks her in the back. Armdrag by Yama-san and she trips Tam, but Tam bridges out of the pin and hits a neckbreaker. Mayu and Arisa come in and they triple team Yama-san, ending with a triple dropkick. Cartwheel kneedrop by Tam, and she covers Yama-san for two. Tam goes off the ropes but Hana kicks her from the apron, Yama-san tags in Hana and they both boot Tam. Hana kicks Tam into the corner before tagging in Zoe, Zoe chokes Tam in the corner before stretching her in the ropes. Zoe tags Yama-san, Yama-san throws Tam into the corner but Tam avoids her charge and hits an elbow. Backdrop attempt by Tam but Yama-san blocks it and hits a suplex of her own, she goes off the ropes but Tam catches her with a backdrop suplex and makes the tag to Mayu. Irish whip by Mayu, she rolls Yama-san to the mat before kicking her in the face. Yama-san thrusts Mayu in the neck and applies a stretch hold, but Mayu gets into the ropes for the break. Yama-san tags Hana, Hana charges Mayu and boots her in the side of the head. She hits another boot, cover by Hana but Mayu kicks out.

Hana picks up Mayu but Mayu kicks her in the stomach, Mayu goes off the ropes but Hana plants her with a dropkick. Hana goes for a vertical suplex but Mayu blocks it and applies a front necklock, Hana muscles out of the hold and eventually hits her vertical suplex for a two count. Hana goes off the ropes but Mayu catches her with a Sling Blade, both wrestlers roll to their corners as Arisa and Zoe are tagged in. Kicks by Zoe, she goes off the ropes and slams Arisa’s head into the mat for a two count cover. Zoe picks up Arisa and hits a series of elbows, Arisa fires back with a kick as Tam arrives and they both hit Zoe with running strikes. Another kick to the head by Arisa, but the cover is broken up. Arisa picks up Zoe but Zoe ducks the Brazilian Kick as her teammates both run in to help. Split Legdrop by Zoe, but Arisa gets a shoulder up on the cover. Zoe goes off the ropes and delivers a Scissors Kick, but her pin attempt is broken up. Mayu and Tam stay in to take care of Hana and Yama-san, Mayu superkicks Zoe and Arisa nails a jumping knee. Brazilian Kick by Arisa, and she covers Zoe for the three count! Arisa Hoshiki, Mayu Iwatani, and Tam Nakano are the winners.

This match was perfectly fine but nothing special. Its a bit disappointing to see wrestlers like Mayu, Arisa, and Hana in a meaningless eight minute midcard match, but its a combination of this being a small show and Stardom simply being stacked right now so sometimes wrestlers aren’t in the ideal position. I’m not a big fan of Kaori Yoneyama’s shtick, at least not this high on the card, its more a comedy match or opening match gimmick than anything I could take seriously against the promotion’s top wrestlers. A decent enough match for what it was, but utterly forgettable in the grand scheme of things.

Hazuki vs. Kagetsu
I had to sit through a lot of average wrestling to get to this match, the main reason I am watching this show. Hazuki shocked the Joshi world (as much as the Joshi world can be shocked by such things) on November 24th when she announced she would retire at the end of December. Hazuki didn’t have a long career but had a large fan base and had a big year in 2019, so her leaving will at least temporarily leave a hole in Stardom. Kagetsu had become one of her best friends in Stardom as part of Oedo Tai, and as part of her retirement tour they decided to have a match to close their chapter. This is only their second singles match ever against each other, with Kagetsu defeating Hazuki last January. This may get emotional but I still anticipate this being a great match.

The match starts slow as they feel each other out, they trade holds on the mat but eventually reach a stalemate. Back up, Kagetsu takes Hazuki down and gets in the mount, she goes for a choke but Hazuki blocks it and switches into the dominate position. Kagetsu gets back in control with a front necklock, she twists Hazuki into a submission hold but Hazuki gets into the ropes for the break. Kagetsu kicks Hazuki in the chest repeatedly and goes off the ropes, but Hazuki catches her with a dropkick. Hazuki boots Kagetsu while she is against the ropes before connecting with a facewash, sending Kagetsu out of the ring. Hazuki goes off the ropes and sails out with a tope suicida, but Kagetsu moves and Hazuki lands on the rest of Oedo Tai instead. Kagetsu quickly returns to the ring and does a dive of her own, but Hazuki moves this time and again the rest of Oedo Tai takes the brunt of the assault. Hazuki gets another running start and this time lands on Kagetsu when she dives out of the ring (along with everyone else in Oedo Tai again), Hazuki rolls Kagetsu back in but immediately tosses her back out and throws Kagetsu into the chairs at ringside. Hazuki hits Kagetsu with chairs as she walks her around the crowd, they finally return to the ring and Hazuki hits a swandive missile dropkick to Kagetsu’s back. Running boot by Hazuki, she drapes Kagetsu over the second rope and twists on her neck before hitting a full nelson slam onto her knee for a two count. Modified armtrap crossface by Hazuki but Kagetsu gets to the ropes, Hazuki quickly picks her up and slams her in front of the corner. Hazuki goes up top but Kagetsu avoids the senton and delivers a running knee, leaving both hurt on the mat. Kagetsu recovers first and picks up Hazuki, Hazuki elbows her but Kagetsu returns fire and they trade blows.

Kagetsu wins the battle as she elbows Hazuki to the mat, she drags her up but Hazuki elbows her again as the exchange continues. Hazuki goes off the ropes but Kagetsu ducks an elbow and delivers a strike combination, Ebisu Drop by Kagetsu and she covers Hazuki for two. Kagetsu picks up Hazuki and hits the chokeslam, but again Hazuki kicks out of the cover. Kagetsu quickly puts Hazuki in a keylock but Hazuki rolls to the ropes to force the break. Kagetsu positions Hazuki and goes up to the top turnbuckle, but Hazuki recovers before she can jump off and boots her. Hazuki suplexes Kagetsu back into the ring, she sets her up in the corner and delivers a Codebreaker. Hazuki puts Kagetsu on the top turnbuckle and hits another Codebreaker, she goes up top herself this time and nails the diving senton for a two count. Hazuki drags Kagetsu to her feet and drops her with a brainbuster, she puts Kagetsu in the armtrap crossface, she switches it to the Rings of Saturn but Kagetsu gets a foot on the ropes for a break. Hazuki picks up Kagetsu but Kagetsu blocks the suplex attempt and throws Hazuki into the referee. Blue Mist by Kagetsu while the referee isn’t looking, she hits an Ebisu Drop in front of the corner before nailing the Oedo Coaster. She picks up Hazuki and tries to put her on her shoulders, but Hazuki slides off her back and applies La Magistral for two. Hazuki goes off the ropes but Kagetsu kicks her in the head, Death Valley Bomb by Kagetsu and she picks up the three count! Kagetsu wins!

I wish this match had been Hazuki’s retirement match, it would have been a much more fitting end to her career. Even though these two don’t wrestle against each other often, they still have great chemistry from being partners and from training, as this was a pretty flawlessly executed match. They started slow but they slowly ramped up the offense, and even when Hazuki took over with her bigger moves she still went for submissions as well so it wasn’t just non-stop bombs with little meaning. Hazuki’s offense is unique and fun to watch, and as everyone knows I am a mark for the mist so Kagetsu is always entertaining as far as I am concerned. A great match that really flew by and Kagetsu winning in part due to Oedo Tai tactics fit in well, one of the better singles matches of Hazuki’s short career.  Highly Recommended

(c) Jungle Kyona and Konami vs. Riho and Starlight Kid
Goddesses of Stardom Championship
Time for the main event and our lone title match of the evening. Kyona and Konami of Tokyo Cyber Squad won the tag titles on July 15th against Momo and Utami, and they have been somewhat active (by Stardom standards) as this is their third defense. Riho comes into the match as the AEW Women’s Champion and High Speed Champion but here she teams with the young Starlight Kid to try to win her third championship. The team isn’t completely random as they tagged together in the Goddesses of Stardom League, and during the league matches they went to a Draw with the champions so the challenge isn’t out of left field. While it seems unlikely they’d give the often unavailable Riho a second title, this is Stardom so anything is possible.

Kyona starts the match against Starlight Kid, and she immediately knocks the smaller wrestler to the mat. Starlight Kid quickly gets back up and they trade elbows, Kyona delivers a series of hard elbows but Starlight Kid stays up and slaps Kyona in the face. Starlight Kid goes off the ropes and goes for a tilt-a-whirl headscissors, Kyona initially blocks it but Starlight Kid completes the move anyway and hits a dropkick. Riho comes in and they double team Kyona, ending with a double knee to the back and a double dropkick. Footstomp by Starlight Kid, and she covers Kyona for two. Starlight Kid goes off the ropes but Kyona delivers a dropkick, sending Starlight Kid out of the ring. Konami quickly runs in and hits a baseball slide on both Starlight Kid and Riho before Kyona goes to the ropes and does a pescado down onto both of them. Kyona slides Starlight Kid back in and kicks her into the ropes, Konami grabs Starlight Kid from the apron and applies an armbar over the top rope. Kyona tags in Konami, Konami stomps on Starlight Kid before snapmaring her to the mat and kicking her in the back. Kyona returns as legal, she picks up Starlight Kid and applies a backbreaker. Gutbuster by Kyona and she puts Starlight Kid in a single leg crab hold, but Starlight Kid gets to the ropes for the break. Kyona tags Konami, Starlight Kid recovers and elbows Konami before hitting a rebound crossbody off the ropes. Standing moonsault by Starlight Kid, she crawls to her corner and makes the hot tag to Riho. Riho boots Konami and Kyona, she hits a jumping crossbody on Konami but Konami rolls through it. Riho quickly kicks out of the corner and hits a dropkick, armtrap crossface by Riho but Kyona breaks it up. Riho picks up Konami but Konami hits an enzuigiri before tagging in Kyona.

Body Avalanche by Kyona to Riho and she dropkicks her against the ropes, sliding lariat by Kyona and she goes for a powerbomb, but Starlight Kid breaks it up. Kyona hits a double suplex on both of them, Kyona picks up Riho for a powerbomb while Konami goes to the top turnbuckle, but Starlight Kid grabs Konami from the apron. Riho gets out of the powerbomb attempt with a hurricanrana, but she only gets a two. Lariat by Kyona to Riho but Riho comes back with a jumping knee, cover by Riho but again she gets a two count. Riho goes up top but Kyona recovers and joins her, they struggle for position until Riho knocks Kyona into a Tree of Woe position. Double kneedrop by Riho, she goes off the ropes and goes for the Somato, but Kyona moves out of the way and delivers a lariat. Riho tags in Starlight Kid, Starlight Kid prevents Kyona from tagging out before hitting her with a jumping lariat. Tiger Feint Kick attempt by Starlight Kid but Kyona blocks it, Starlight Kid cradles Kyona but it gets a two. Cartwheel powerbomb by Starlight Kid, she picks up Kyona and goes for a crossbody, but Kyona catches her and hits a backbreaker. Kyona tags Konami, sliding kick by Konami to Starlight Kid and she hits a vertical suplex for two. Konami goes for a cross armbreaker, Starlight Kid gets out of it so Konami applies a double armbar instead. Starlight Kid gets to the ropes to force the break, Konami picks her up but Starlight Kid blocks the suplex attempt and Riho runs in with a jumping knee to Kyona.

Capture Suplex Hold by Starlight Kid, but Konami gets a shoulder up. Starlight Kid goes up to the top turnbuckle and nails the Swivel Body Press, but Kyona breaks up the cover. Kyona stays in and elbows Starlight Kid, she swings her around in the sleeper giant swing before letting to so that Konami can put her in the Triangle Lancer. Riho breaks up the hold, Riho and Starlight Kid go off the ropes and both hit spinning headscissors on their opponents. Kyona and Konami fall out of the ring, Starlight Kid and Riho go to opposite corners and dive out of the ring onto them with planchas. Starlight Kid and Konami return to the ring, Konami pushes Starlight Kid off but Starlight Kid blocks the Triangle Lancer and the two trade flash pins. Starlight Kid goes off the ropes and jumps on Konami’s back, but Kyona runs in and lariats her. Sliding lariat attempt by Kyona but she hits Konami by accident, jumping knee by Riho to Konami and Starlight Kid dropkicks Konami in the knee. Somato to the back of the head by Riho, Starlight Kid delivers the Yoshi Tonic to Konami but Kyona breaks up the pin attempt. Starlight Kid positions Konami and goes up to the top turnbuckle, but Kyona grabs her before she can do the moonsault. She holds up Starlight Kid so that Konami can deliver a dropkick as she plants Starlight Kid with a powerbomb, Buzzsaw Kick by Konami but Starlight Kid grabs the bottom rope to break the pin. Konami grabs Starlight Kid and hits a bridging capture suplex, but Riho breaks it up. Kyona takes care of Riho while Konami puts Starlight Kid in the Final Lancer, and Starlight Kid has no choice but to submit! Jungle Kyona and Konami win and retain the championships.

With all the retirements going on, the one that will probably annoy me the most is Starlight Kid’s inevitable exit from wrestling. From all accounts, whoever is under the mask is a very intelligent woman who prioritizes her education over wrestling (or has up to this point), which is great for her but bad for us as she is really really good at wrestling. Everyone in this match is quality but Starlight Kid still managed to jump out of the screen and leave a lasting impression, as she is different from everyone else in Stardom and continues to improve each time I see her. This match is classic Joshi Chaos, with something always happening and not a ton of long term selling. As long as you enjoy Joshi Chaos, which I do, you’ll really enjoy this match. They kept Starlight Kid the focus since Riho is only a part-timer, with the story being if she could finally get a big pinfall over one of her seniors. She couldn’t, but not due to lack of trying as she really met the challenge. Konami and Kyona both seemed fired up as well and everything clicked, for all the action they squeezed into a 16 minute match it never felt out of sync or forced. A fantastic main event, and the last two matches really saved this show from being utterly forgettable.  Highly Recommended