Stardom “Osaka Day and Night” (Evening Show) on 3/28/21 Review
|Event: Stardom “Osaka Day and Night” (Evening Show)
Date: March 28th, 2021
Location: EDION Arena Osaka #2 in Osaka, Japan
Announced Attendance: 227
Broadcast Information: Streamed on Stardom World
As part of my project to review as many events as possible in April that are available to Western fans via an official streaming service, we next stop by Stardom! Even though this event took place in March, it was uploaded in April so it still qualifies. Stardom put on two events on March 28th (the other was uploaded at the end of March) that contained a Trios Tournament that spanned over both days. So we get the conclusion of that, plus some other random fun matches as well. Here is the full card:
- Bea Priestley vs. Lady C
- Momo Watanabe vs. Konami vs. Starlight Kid
- Mayu Iwatani and Saya Iida vs. Natsupoi and Syuri
- Top Unit Tournament Third Place Match: AZM, Saya Kamitani, and Hayashishita vs. Giulia, Himeka, and Maika
- Top Unit Tournament Final: Mina Shirakawa, Tam Nakano, and Sayaka vs. Natsuko Tora, Ruaka, and Kashima
All wrestlers on the show have profiles on Joshi City, you can click on their name above to go straight to it. As this streamed on Stardom World, all matches will be shown in full.
Bea Priestley vs. Lady C
We begin the show with the rookie Lady C against the Top Gaijin Bea Priestley. No real backstory of note here, Bea didn’t have a match on the card and Lady C needs experience, so they were paired together to take care of both situations. Bea is going to win, but hopefully Lady C gets a little chance to do something in defeat.
They lock up to start, Lady C pushes Bea into the ropes but Bea switches positions with her and kicks her in the stomach. Irish whip by Bea, Lady C goes for a shoulderblock but Bea doesn’t go down. Lady C tries a few more times and finally knocks Bea to the mat, Lady C goes off the ropes but Bea punches her in the midsection. Stomps by Bea and she chokes Lady C with her boot, Irish whip by Bea and she elbows Lady C in the face. Snapmare by Bea and she follows with a dropkick for a two count. Bea applies a chinlock but Lady C gets to the ropes for the break, Bea picks up Lady C but Lady C fights back with an elbow. Bea challenges Lady C, more elbows by Lady C but Bea elbows her hard to the mat. Bea goes off the ropes but Lady C boots her in the face, both wrestlers slowly get up and Lady C boots Bea in the face again for a two count cover. Lady C picks up Bea and hits a side Russian leg sweep, but that gets a two count as well. Lady C goes for the chokeslam but Bea blocks it and hits an elbow, running knee by Bea and she covers Lady C for two. Bea goes for a suplex but Lady C blocks it and boots Bea. Lady C picks up Bea but Bea reverses the chokeslam attempt into a cradle for two. Enzuigiri attempt by Bea but Lady C ducks it, running boot by Lady C and she gets a two count. Elbows by Lady C, she goes off the ropes but Bea drills her with a jumping knee. A second knee by Bea follows, and she covers Lady C for the three count! Bea Priestley is the winner.
I haven’t really formed a strong opinion on Lady C either way as she has a unique skill set that will take some dedication on Stardom’s part to build up, but this was fine for an opener. I was a little surprised that Bea gave Lady C so much offense, with the rookie even winning the shoulderblock battle, but knowing as I do now (at the time of the review) that Bea was on her way out of Stardom it makes more sense. Bea still treated Lady C like the rookie that she is, and won rather easily once she got in control, but she respected the chokeslam and gave Lady C several nearfalls. I think Lady C still has a bit of a ways to go, but solid experience for the young wrestler.
Momo Watanabe vs. Konami vs. Starlight Kid
Next we get an interesting three way match. All three wrestlers are in different factions, but did not take part in the Top Unit Tournament so here they are. Even though three way matches aren’t my favorite, at least this one has three quality wrestlers as Momo, Konami, and Starlight Kid are pretty great. They also all have different styles so they bring something unique to the table. This is either going to be glorious or a train-wreck mesh of styles, I don’t see a lot of middle ground.
They are slow to engage but eventually all three lock knuckles, they break and apply waistlocks to each other but Momo sneaks in a schoolboy on Konami for two. Starlight Kid goes off the ropes and elbows Konami out of the ring, Momo snapmares Starlight Kid and kicks her in the back. PK by Momo but it gets a two count. Momo kicks Starlight Kid in the chest and goes off the ropes, but Konami pulls her out of the ring and throws Momo into the ring post. Konami returns to the ring and dropkicks Starlight Kid in the head, cover by Konami but it gets two. Konami twists Starlight Kid in the ropes and dropkicks her in the back, stomps by Konami and she puts Starlight Kid in a camel clutch. Momo breaks it up, sending Konami back out of the ring as she gives Starlight Kid her attention. Starlight Kid fights back but not overly effectively, as Momo boots her back to the mat. Scoop slam by Momo and she applies a single leg crab hold, but Starlight Kid gets to the ropes for the break. Irish whip by Momo, Starlight Kid goes for a crossbody but Momo catches her. Starlight Kid cradles Momo to the mat anyway and dropkicks her, Konami runs in and delivers a sliding kick to Momo’s chest. Konami picks up Momo but Momo blocks the suplex, Starlight Kid comes over so Konami goes after her instead. Starlight Kid gets away and hits a side headlock takedown/headscissors on both Momo and Konami, she hits a standing moonsault on both of them but it only gets a two count.
Starlight Kid picks up Konami but Konami hits a kick combination, Starlight Kid slides away as Momo gets up and all three trade elbows. Momo wins the strike battle against both opponents, she charges Starlight Kid but Starlight Kid avoids her charge. Momo knocks Konami to the mat before going back to Starlight Kid, dropkick by Momo to Starlight Kid and she hits a second one. Vertical suplex by Momo, and she covers Starlight Kid for two. Momo applies a crossface chickenwing but Konami sneaks in and puts Momo in a sleeper hold. Momo gets out of it and the two trade kicks until Konami catches one and applies an ankle hold. Momo gets out of it but Konami quickly locks it back in, Starlight Kid returns and she tries to break it up but Konami trips her and puts them both in submissions. Momo and Starlight Kid work together to crawl to the ropes for the break, Momo rolls out of the ring while Konami focuses on Starlight Kid, but Starlight Kid avoids her boot and hits one of her own. Konami and Starlight Kid trade elbows but Momo hits a double Somato on both of them, regular Somato by Momo to Starlight Kid but it gets a two count. Momo picks up Starlight Kid, Starlight Kid slides away but Momo delivers a PK. Momo goes for a B Driver but Konami kicks her first, which allows Starlight Kid to hit a sunset flip powerbomb on Momo.
Konami breaks up the cover but Starlight Kid sends her out of the ring with a satellite headscissors. Starlight Kid goes to the top turnbuckle and dives out onto Oedo Tai with a plancha, but Bea and Natsuko catch her. Konami gets up on the apron and hits a sliding kick to Starlight Kid, Konami slides Starlight Kid back in the ring and delivers a leg clutch suplex hold for two. Konami picks up Starlight Kid and goes for the Triangle Lancer, but Starlight Kid rolls through it and they trade flash pins. Momo runs in and hits a suplex on Konami but Starlight Kid drops her with a double arm DDT. Release German by Konami and Starlight Kid, and all three wrestlers are down on the mat. They all make it up before the ten count, Konami grabs Starlight Kid and hits a German suplex hold for two. She goes for the Triangle Lancer and gets it locked in, but Momo kicks her in the head to break it up. Crossface chickenwing by Momo to Starlight Kid but Starlight Kid blocks the suplex attempt out of the hold into a cradle for two. She goes for the Ki-chan Bomb but Konami kicks her in the head, Konami goes off the ropes but Momo delivers a B Driver for two. Momo drags Konami to her feet but before she can hit the Peach Sunrise, the bell rings as the time has expired. The match is a Draw.
I’ll forgive this match for not giving me a more decisive ending as it was just so entertaining. I mentioned at the top that all three are quality wrestlers and they showed here that my evaluation was well-placed. Three way matches usually have some awkward pauses or dumb looking spots, but everything here was so fluid and they had so many reversals which showed how familiar they are with each other. Whether it be the B Driver breakup, Triangle Lancer breakup, Ki-chan Bomb breakup… they weren’t just interrupting moves but doing so in a violent fashion that immediately led to more offense, not wrestlers looking at each other planning the next spot. In a way these are the unsung heroes of Stardom, always putting on great matches but not getting the respect they deserve (although SK I think is in line to get a push soon). A great match that the rest of the wrestlers on the card will struggle to match. Highly Recommended
Mayu Iwatani and Saya Iida vs. Natsupoi and Syuri
This is your typical thrown together midcard tag match on paper but at least the wrestlers are solid. For whatever reason (I am sure there probably was one), STARS was not in the mini-tournament so they are filling in the rest of the gaps on the card. The STARS team goes against the two wrestlers in DDM that aren’t in the tournament in Syuri and Natsupoi, but they are no normal leftovers as Syuri comes into the match as the SWA Undisputed World Champion. Even a ‘standard’ tag match with these four should lead to a pretty fun match.
Syuri and Mayu start the match, Syuri takes it to the mat and they jockey for position before reaching a stalemate. They tag out as Saya and Natsupoi come in, hard shoulderblock by Saya and she covers Natsupoi for two. Natsupoi avoids Saya’s next strike and hits an armdrag, but Saya chops Natsupoi in the chest repeatedly. More chops by Saya, Natsupoi goes for the tag but Syuri is in no rush to get back in the ring. Saya drags Natsupoi to the middle of the ring but Natsupoi cradles her for two, spinning kick to the stomach by Natsupoi and she delivers a dropkick. She tags in Syuri, snapmare by Syuri and she kicks Mayu off the apron. Natsupoi returns and they double team Saya, Natsupoi leaves after a moment and Syuri kicks Saya into the corner. Running knee by Syuri and she covers Saya, but Mayu breaks it up. Saya clubs Syuri in the chest but Syuri knocks her back, she goes off the ropes but Saya hits a spinebuster and makes the tag to Mayu. Back kick by Mayu but Syuri kicks her into the corner, Mayu avoids her charge however and delivers a sliding kick to Syuri’s face. Natsupoi comes in to help but Mayu grabs both their hands and hits a double springboard armdrag. Saya runs into the ring and they both hit dropkicks on an opponent,
Mayu picks up Syuri but Syuri knees her in the stomach and hits a double underhook suplex. She tags Natsupoi, Natsupoi goes to the top turnbuckle and hits a diving crossbody for two. Superkick by Mayu and she tags Saya, dropkick by Saya and she chops Natsupoi in the chest. Syuri cuts her off but Mayu comes in too, as STARS hit jumping chops on their opponents. Running elbow by Saya to Natsupoi, but her cover gets a two count. Saya goes for the Northern Lights Suplex but Natsupoi blocks it and hits a running neckbreaker. Assisted splash by Natsupoi to Saya and she kicks her in the head, jackknife by Natsupoi but Mayu breaks it up. Double Irish whip to Iida but she ducks an attempted lariat and Mayu sails off the top with a double crossbody. Missile dropkick by Saya to Natsupoi, but it gets two. Saya picks up Natsupoi and delivers the Northern Lights Suplex, but Syuri breaks up the cover. Saya picks up Natsupoi but Natsupoi gets out of the suplex attempt, superkick by Natsupoi and she goes up top, hitting the Swivel Body Press for two. Natsupoi picks up Saya but Mayu superkicks her, lariat by Saya to Natsupoi and she covers Natsupoi for two. Saya picks up Natsupoi but Natsupoi reverses a suplex into an inside cradle for two. They trade flash pins until Natsupoi applies a rolling La Magistral and picks up the three count! Syuri and Natsupoi are the winners!
This was pretty pedestrian, with the main wrestler holding it back being Natsupoi. I like Natsumi a lot and I don’t think this match defines her or anything, but she was really off here as she messed up several moves. With most wrestlers in Stardom being so smooth, it really sticks out when a wrestler is not holding up their end of the match. Even beyond that, the action was *fine* but nothing memorable before it suddenly ended ten minutes in. Good wrestlers but average match.
AZM, Saya Kamitani, and Hayashishita vs. Giulia, Himeka, and Maika
Top Unit Tournament Third Place Match
Getting third place in a four team tournament seems like still not a great position to be in, but I guess its better than being last. Both of these teams lost earlier in the day on the first show, so here they are defending their honor for the right to not be the worst. The better wrestlers are actually in this match and not in the Finals, but keep in mind this was just a fun little four team tournament and doesn’t even officially come with a title shot (although it will likely lead to one if applicable) so they were able to play around a bit with the winners. Anyway, all six of these wrestlers are great so I expect even in this setting for them to put on an entertaining match.
Giulia and Utami start the match, Utami pushes Giulia into the ropes but she gives a clean break. Waistlock by Utami but Giulia reverses it into a wristlock and the two trade holds. Giulia gets Utami to the mat and works a headlock but Utami gets back to her feet and they continue going back and forth. Neckbreaker by Giulia, she picks up Utami and sags in Himeka. Himeka throws Utami into the corner and hits a body avalanche, they both run into each other with shoulderblocks until Himeka knocks Utami to the mat. Utami quickly gets back up and returns the favor, stomp by Utami and she tags in Saya. Stomps by Saya in the corner but Himeka blocks the scoop slam and clubs on Saya’s back. Himeka throws Saya into the corner and takes in Maika, Saya fights back but Maika returns her blows. Maika tags in Giulia, neckbreaker by Giulia and she covers Saya for two. Giulia picks up Saya and throws her down by the head, Himeka returns and stomps Saya in the corner. Backbreaker by Himeka and she applies a crab hold, but Saya gets into the ropes for the break. Saya finally gets away from Himeka and hits a dropkick, she goes for a slam but Himeka blocks it and goes for her own slam.
Saya blocks that as well and finally hits a scoop slam, giving her time to tag in AZM. Tilt-a-whirl armbar by AZM, she lets go and schoolboys Himeka but it only gets two. Maika comes in to help but AZM rolls them both to the mat and puts them both in armbars. Giulia breaks it up, AZM goes off the ropes but Giulia catches her with a knee. Armdrag by Maika and Himeka kicks AZM in the chest for a two count. Himeka tags Giulia, Irish whip by Giulia to the corner but AZM reverses it. Giulia avoids AZM’s charge and hits a neckbreaker out of the corner, she goes to the top turnbuckle but AZM joins her. Giulia puts AZM in a guillotine while on the top turnbuckle, she lets her go after a moment but AZM avoids her missile dropkick. AZM goes for a kick but Giulia catches it and puts her in a STF, but it is broken up. Giulia picks up AZM but AZM gets away from her and hits La Mistica, giving her time to tag Utami. Dropkick by Utami and she hits a running elbow on Giulia in the corner followed by a kick to the head for a two count. Utami picks up Giulia and tries to get her on her back, but Giulia slides away. Utami gets her up anyway and hits a Samoan Drop, picking up a two count cover. Utami picks up Giulia but Giulia elbows her and the two trade strikes.
Giulia goes off the ropes and applies a stretch hold, but Utami gets into the ropes for the break. Dropkick by Giulia and she tags in Maika. Maika flings Utami around the ring and hits a STO, cover by Maika but Utami kicks out. Sleeper by Maika but Utami drives her into the corner to break it up, crucifix roll by Maika and she goes for an armbar, but AZM breaks it up. Maika goes off the ropes and hits a judo toss, she picks up Utami and hits a scoop slam for a two count. Utami gets Maika’s back and applies a sleeper, she gets Maika to the mat and puts her in a guillotine choke but Maika muscles out of it and hits a vertical suplex. Utami fires back with a release German, Utami starts to fire up but Giulia kicks her from behind. Himeka comes in too but Utami fights them off, AZM dropkicks Himeka and Queen’s Quest all get on the ropes to hit Maika with a triple dropkick. Well that was the idea anyway. Deadlift German by Utami to Maika, but Himeka breaks it up. The ring clears with Utami and Maika alone, Utami picks up Maika and gets her on her shoulders but Maika slides off. Sleeper attempt by Maika and she gets it locked in, cover by Maika but the bell rings as the time has expired. The match is a Draw.
Couple things. First of all, Stardom being too big of cowards to even have a definite ending in a “3rd Place” match is annoying, its not like all six of these wrestlers can’t take a pin and its basically them saying “there is no 4th place unit!” which is lazy. The action also wasn’t as crisp as I’d expect from these six, with several awkward moments and missed spots. Maybe due to having two shows in one day these teams had little time to chat about the match, but it wasn’t very smooth. Some sections were great, as Utami and Maika have good chemistry and Giulia is really owning her new look to the point I think I now like this one better. But between the cop-out ending and the choppy action, definitely a disappointment considering the wrestlers involved.
Mina Shirakawa, Tam Nakano, and Sayaka vs. Natsuko Tora, Ruaka, and Kashima
Top Unit Tournament Final
For the main event, we get the finals of the tournament. This match is certainly style over substance, as I am not sure if any one of these six wrestlers is better in-ring than any of the wrestlers in the last match (I do think Tam is pretty great though). Since Cosmic Angels have the Trios Titles its only logical that Oedo Tai would win here to set up a future title match, so the overly telegraphed ending doesn’t help matters. Still, its the main event so I am sure the effort will be there, but after the last match I’m not going into this one with too high of expectations.
Saki and Unagi start the match, Saki immediately charges Unagi and boots her in the chest. Elbows by Saki in the corner, she goes off the ropes but Tam kicks her from the apron. Mina comes in too and they triple team Saki, Unagi covers Saki but it gets a two count. Unagi tags Tam, stomps by Tam and she snapmares Saki before kicking her in the back. Tam goes off the ropes but Ruaka trips her from ringside, giving Saki time to tag in Ruaka. Ruaka goes off the ropes and pushes over Tam, she grabs Tam by the hair and tosses her into the corner. Punch to the stomach by Ruaka and she puts Tam in the ropes before her Oedo Tai friends come over to help attack her. Big boot to the back of the head by Ruaka and she covers Tam for two. Ruaka picks up Tam and tags Natsuko, Natsuko knocks Unagi and Mina off the apron before going back to Tam and throwing her down by the hair. Bootscrapes by Natsuko and she boots Tam, she tags in Ruaka who hits a running boot while Tam is against the ropes. Tam falls out of the ring where Natsuko greets her, but Unagi comes over to even the odds. Unagi and Mina are knocked back while Tam is rolled back into the ring, Tam fights back with an elbow but Ruaka kicks her. They trade blows until Tam does the matrix cradle for a two count.
Tam knocks Ruaka back and finally makes the hot tag to Unagi, Unagi picks up Ruaka and hits a face crusher. Leg drop by Unagi and she covers Ruaka for two. Unagi picks up Ruaka and applies the Gory Special, but Saki breaks it up. Saki and Ruaka Irish whip Unagi but Unagi blocks it, Mina runs in and they both attack Ruaka and Saki. Unagi goes off the ropes but Ruaka boots her in the head and tags in Natsuko. Hard shoulderblocks by Natsuko, she picks up Unagi but Mina runs in and hits a Lou Thesz press. Leg drop by Unagi and she crawls to her corner to tag Tam. Neckbreaker and she hits a cartwheel kneedrop for two. Tam picks up Natsuko but Natsuko elbows her off, Tam elbows her back and they trade shots. After an assist from Unagi, Tam knees Natsuko in the back and hits a backdrop suplex for a two count. Tam charges Natsuko but Saki comes in and his a hurricanrana, Cannonball by Natsuko to Tam in the corner and she hits a Samoan Drop. Diving footstomp by Saki and Natsuko follows with a diving body press for a two count cover. Natsuko picks up Tam but Tam blocks the slam, eye rake by Natsuko and she hits a lariat for a two count. Natsuko picks up Tam and hits a few elbows, she goes off the ropes but Tam catches her with a heel kick. Tam tags in Mina while Natsuko tags Saki, they immediately trade elbows until Mina knocks over Saki with a double chop.
Mina charges Saki in the corner and hits an elbow, dropkick by Mina and she covers Saki for two. Mina throws Saki in the corner but Saki avoids her charge, Ruaka runs in and shoulderblocks Mina. Diving footstomp by Saki, but Mina kicks out of the cover. Saki picks up Mina and delivers a double underhook facebuster, but Tam breaks up the pin. Saki picks up Mina but Tam comes in and superkicks Saki, backdrop suplex attempt by Mina but Saki blocks it. Mina trips Saki instead and applies a submission hold, but Natsuko breaks it up. Cosmic Angels take control for a moment but it doesn’t last long, as Oedo Tai all hit slams around different corners. Natsuko, Ruaka, and Saki all go up different corners and go for diving body presses, but all three miss. Ruaka and Natsuko are knocked out of the ring, dropkick by Mina to Saki and she falls out of the ring as well. Unagi goes to the top turnbuckle and dives out onto all three with a plancha, Saki is rolled back in while Mina goes up top, hitting a diving elbow strike for two. Mina picks up Saki but Saki gets away, superkick by Tam to Saki and she hits a release German. DDT by Mina to Saki, but Natsuko breaks up the cover. Mina and Tam pick up Saki and hit heel drops, Mina grabs Saki but Saki quickly applies the Kishikaisei for the three count! Oedo Tai win the match and the tournament!
I can understand doing the tournament with the lesser wrestlers in a faction to try to put them over, but its hard to take this Oedo Tai team seriously while Bea and Konami are at ringside cheering along. And they didn’t even cheat! Just lots of boots. Its hard to accept Ruaka as a real main event threat due to her status as Child and Recent Opening Match Jobber, and she didn’t really add anything positive to the match. Uninspiring offense by Oedo Tai aside, Cosmic Angels looked pretty good here and had a variety of entertaining offense, which the match desperately needed. This is a very “house show” main event, it wasn’t bad but it wasn’t special either, I can respect Stardom wanting to spotlight the bottom section of the Oedo Tai faction but sadly it just didn’t lead to an entertaining match. Hot ending aside, the first half was just too drab and overall it was just an average match.
Final Thoughts:
There is a reason I usually skip Stardom ‘house show’ style cards, the match line-up itself was generally uninspired and the action followed suit. The three way match was so great and I give them credit for putting in that much effort while on the undercard of the second show. Outside of that match though, everything else is skippable. There were some bright points here and there in the other matches and nothing was “bad,” just nothing that needs to be sought out. Definitely watch the three way if you can, but there is nothing else here I’d recommend.
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