*I am slowing bringing my Joshi Reviews from Puroresu Central over to Joshi City so I can have all my Joshi reviews in one place. Some features of my current reviews on this site may be missing as my style has changed over the years, however I will have it match the Joshi City review format as closely as I can. The original review date can be found at the bottom of the review, I will try not to make any major changes to the text unless I see something that needs clarifying or correcting.*

Stardom is another promotion that I am introducing myself to as I broaden my wrestling viewing a bit. I have heard good things about the promotion as they have some skilled wrestlers, so hopefully their first event to be taped for 2014 leaves a positive first impression. This is a big event for Stardom as three of their titles are being defended. Here is the full card:

• Koguma vs. Yuna Manase
• Kaori Yoneyama, Kellie Skater, and Yuhi vs. Manami Toyota, Hiroyo Matsumoto, and Mayu Iwatani
• Takumi Iroha 10 Match Series 4th: Takumi Iroha vs. Yoshiko
• Goddesses of Stardom Championship: Nanae Takahashi and Miho Wakizawa vs. Kyoko Kimura and Alpha Female
• Wonder of Stardom Championship: Act Yasukawa vs. Kairi Hojo
• World of Stardom Championship: Io Shirai vs. Natsuki*Taiyo

All the Joshi wrestlers above have profiles on the website, you can click on their names to go straight to it. Let’s hop to it.

Koguma vs. Yuna Manase

A rookie match, although I am glad that Manase is over 18 with that outfit that she wears.  It was easy to tell these two are still learning, as they still haven’t mastered the staple of Puroresu – strike exchanges.  But besides the awkwardness of those it was not a bad match, just basic which is understandable.  Manase hit her kicks well (the Heel Drop was nice) and it wasn’t long enough to be offensive or anything.  Rookies need experience so while not a great match it wasn’t a bad way to start out the event.

Kaori Yoneyama, Kellie Skater, and Yuhi vs. Manami Toyota, Matsumoto, and Iwatani

I don’t care what all the results say on various websites, it was Matsumoto that got the pin, not Toyota… I know who Toyota is.   Only half of the match was shown but I assume we got the gist of it, I am not 100% sure what the significance of the brown bag is but in the grand scheme of things it doesn’t really matter.  We didn’t really see enough of this to get a great feel for it, but what we saw was fine.  Compared to the last match you could tell these were more seasoned wrestlers as the moves were all hit smoothly and they kept the pace going.  Solid match, just not a lot of it was shown.

Takumi Iroha vs. Yoshiko

Looks like we only saw about half the match.  Yoshiko needs a new killer move, I am generally not a big fan of repeating big moves in a match unless its a big title match or something, especially if the move is just a set-up for the finisher.  Iroha is a rookie going through her ‘trial series’ so it is more about her learning than it is about her actually winning matches.  Maybe here she learned that trading strikes with someone twice your size is not a great idea.  Seemed fine for what we saw but I would have liked to have seen the first half of the match.

(c) Nanae Takahashi and Miho Wakizawa vs. Kyoko Kimura and Alpha Female
Goddesses of Stardom Championship

Takahashi goes off the ropes but Kimura catches her with a big boot, Kimura goes off the ropes now but Takahashi hits a lariat.  Waistlock by Takahashi but Kimura elbows out of it.  Elbows by Takahashi and she applies another waistlock, Wakizawa comes in the ring to help and Takahashi is finally able to hit the backdrop suplex.  Cover, but Kimura gets a foot on the bottom rope.  We clip ahead as Alpha Female is in the ring and she lariats Wakizawa.  She and Takahashi both go off the ropes but Takahashi’s lariat hits the mark.  Takahashi goes up to the second turnbuckle, Wakizawa then runs in the ring and Wakizawa hurricanranas Takahashi onto Alpha Female.  German suplex hold by Wakizawa to Alpha Female but it gets a two count.  Wakizawa picks up Alpha Female but Alpha Female hits a short-arm lariat.  Alpha Female goes up to the top turnbuckle but Takahashi is back in the ring and hits Alpha Female.  Wakizawa then gets up, she joins Alpha Female on the top turnbuckle and hits a superplex.  Cover, but Alpha Female kicks out at two.  Wakizawa stomps Alpha Female, she goes up to the top turnbuckle but Kimura runs up on the apron and stops her.  Takahashi knocks Kimura out of the ring, while Alpha Female joins Wakizawa on the top turnbuckle.  Wakizawa quickly jumps down and sits Alpha Female on the top turnbuckle, Wakizawa then climbs back up and goes for a Frankensteiner, but Alpha Female catches her.  Kimura comes in the ring and holds Wakizawa, and Alpha Female comes off the top turnbuckle, slamming Wakizawa into the mat.  Cover, but Takahashi breaks it up.  Alpha Female picks up Wakizawa and hits a shoulder drop slam, cover, but again Takahashi breaks it up.  Alpha Female picks up Wakizawa and puts her on her shoulders, but Wakizawa gets off and hits a backslide for a two count.  Wakizawa and Takahashi put their opponents lying in the ring, they both go up to the top turnbuckle and go for diving body presses, but both Kimura and Alpha Female get their knees up.  Alpha Female hits a lariat onto Wakizawa, cover, but Wakizawa barely kicks out.  Alpha Female picks up Wakizawa and nails the Alpha Plex, and she picks up the three count.  Your winners and new champions:  Kyoko Kimura and Alpha Female

A solid match, but the clips in the action made it hard for the wrestlers to really get a good flow going as it was disjointed in parts.  Not that it is their fault, it is just the way the match was presented which is disappointing for a title match.  The wrestling was generally solid although a bit silly at times (such as the ketchup usage and Wakizawa doing a Frankensteiner on her own partner).  There wasn’t anything noticeably wrong with the match, the skipping just hurt the structure.  Mildly Recommended

(c) Act Yasukawa vs. Kairi Hojo
Wonder of Stardom Championship

Hojo crosses Yasukawa’s legs and goes for a crab hold but Yasukawa quickly gets a hand on the ropes.  Stomps to the back by Hojo, she puts Yasukawa on her shoulders but Yasukawa hops off and elbows Hojo in the chest.  Hojo elbows her back and they trade strikes, which Yasukawa gets the better of.  Hojo gets back up and elbows Yasukawa against the ropes, double chop by Hojo and she goes off the ropes, but Yasukawa catches her and slams Hojo to the mat.  Cover, but it gets a two.  Yasukawa goes up to the top turnbuckle but Hojo recovers in time and throws her off the top turnbuckle to the mat.  Hojo then goes up to the top turnbuckle and hits a diving elbow drop to Yasukawa’s back.  Cover, but Yasukawa gets a shoulder up.  Hojo crosses Yasukawa’s legs and cranks down, twisting Yasukawa’s back.  Yasukawa rakes Hojo in the face to break up the hold and hits Hojo in the head.  Hojo recovers first and elbows Yasukawa while they are still on their knees, and Hojo delivers a headbutt.  Cover, but  it only gets two.  Hojo picks up Yasukawa and elbows her in the head, she goes for another one but Yasukawa catches her with an STO.  Yasukawa goes up to the second turnbuckle and hits a rolling senton, cover, but Hojo gets a shoulder up.  Yasukawa picks up Hojo and puts her on her shoulder, but Hojo lands on her feet and elbows Yasukawa in the back of the head.  Jackknife hold by Hojo, but Yasukawa gets a foot on the ropes.  Hojo picks up Yasukawa, snapmare, she goes off the ropes but Yasukawa ducks the elbow and rolls her up for a two count.  Yasukawa quickly applies the Stretch Muffler, adding in a leg hook to apply more pressure.  Hojo fights it for several moments but she is stuck, and the referee calls for the bell! Your winner and still champion:  Act Yasukawa

This was a really good and well worked match.  The focus by Hojo on Yasukawa’s back was done really well as she never lost focus the entire match.  Yasukawa on her part also sold it the entire match and even failed to be able to apply her finishing move the first time because of it, something that I always enjoy seeing as it just shows that both wrestlers understand the psychology being used and won’t sacrifice that just to get a spot in.  Also the referee calling for the bell without Hojo submitting keeps her strong, as even though it was the right call she protested after the match and stayed crying in the ring while Yasukawa celebrated.  Just overall a really entertaining back and forth battle between these two.   Recommended

(c) Io Shirai vs. Natsuki*Taiyo
World of Stardom Championship

Taiyo goes back to the arm and goes for a jackknife hold, but Shirai pushes her way out of it.  Sit-down powerbomb by Taiyo, cover, but it gets two.  Taiyo goes off the ropes but Shirai catches her with a dropkick.  Taiyo falls out of the ring, she tries to skin the cat but Shirai dropkicks her in the back.  Shirai bounces off the far ropes and sails out onto Taiyo with a plancha through the ropes.  Shirai goes up to the top turnbuckle and hits a moonsault down onto Taiyo as she was starting to get up.  Shirai throws Taiyo into the ring, she then goes on the apron and hits a swandive dropkick.  Tiger feint kick by Shirai and she hits another swandive dropkick, cover, but it gets a two count.  Shirai waits for Taiyo to get up and goes for a kick, Taiyo blocks the first one but not the second one.  Kick to the side of the head by Shirai but Taiyo finally catches one and hits a powerbomb.  Shirai deflects Taiyo’s next attack and delivers another kick to the side of the head.  Shirai positions Taiyo in front of the corner and hits a standing moonsault, she then goes up to the second turnbuckle and hits a moonsault, and finally she hits one off the top turnbuckle.  Cover, but Taiyo kicks out at two.  Shirai goes up top again but Taiyo is up in plenty of time and jumps on top as well.  Taiyo goes for a German suplex off the top but Shirai lands on her feet and delivers a sliding kick to Taiyo.  Cover, but Taiyo gets a shoulder up.  Shirai picks up Taiyo and goes for a suplex but Taiyo slides between her legs.  They trade move attempts before getting into a strike battle, Taiyo grabs Shirai and hits the leg capture suplex hold for a two count.  Taiyo goes up to the top turnbuckle and nails the diving double stomp, cover, but Shirai gets a shoulder up.  Taiyo picks up Shirai, she goes off the ropes and delivers the Taiyo☆Chan Bomb for a two count.  Taiyo picks up Shirai, she goes off the ropes but Shirai catches her with a hurricanrana for a two count.  Shirai picks up Taiyo and hits a hard elbow, but Taiyo returns fire as they trade shots.  Headbutt by Shirai and a slap sends Taiyo to her knees.  Sliding kick by Shirai, cover, but Taiyo kicks out at two.  Shirai positions Taiyo in front of the corner, she goes up to the top turnbuckle and hits the moonsault doublestomp .  Shirai goes up top again and this time she hits a second incredibly accurate moonsault doublestomp.  Suplex de Io by Shirai and she picks up the three count.  Your winner and still champion:  Io Shirai

Well this was a match.  To get straight to the point I thought it was pretty amazing.  There were some little things here and there that didn’t work as they tried to get too cute, but considering the speed in which they go and having very little downtime some missteps here and there are expected.  It may stop the match from becoming an all-time classic but it doesn’t take away from all that they did right.  I have to admit any match with a perfect moonsault doublestomp automatically is good in my book, it is such an awesome looking move when hit properly like the second one was in this match.  I hadn’t seen either of these women before and Shirai is great fun to watch as she was just flying around everywhere.  They didn’t spend a lot of time with submission holds, just a few general ‘weaken your opponent’ ones and seemed content to just drop bombs and big moves on each other.  It felt like a big match, and it was as this was a big anniversary show for the promotion, so they were sure to end the event with a bang.  Overall just a great match, I can look past a few of the hiccups when a match is as exciting as this one, definitely a must-see.  Highly Recommended

review completed on 3/25/14

The post Stardom “Third Anniversary” on 1/26/14 Review appeared first on Joshi City.

*I am slowing bringing my Joshi Reviews from Puroresu Central over to Joshi City so I can have all my Joshi reviews in one place. Some features of my current reviews on this site may be missing as my style has changed over the years, however I will have it match the Joshi City review format as closely as I can. The original review date can be found at the bottom of the review, I will try not to make any major changes to the text unless I see something that needs clarifying or correcting.*

As a fan of just about anything, you tend to get sad when someone you enjoy retires. That is true for actors, sports players, and of course in this case wrestlers. Generally you are happy for them as usually people retire to move on to something else they want to do, but we still miss them. This event is for the retirement of Natsuki*Taiyo, who had been wrestling for ten years. It is not uncommon in Joshi for wrestlers to retire when still in their 20s (Taiyo had just turned 30), a lot of them start young but burn out early, leaving either to pursue their career or to start a family. So we are happy to have had her, and sad to see her go. Here is the full card for the event:

• Stardom vs. Enemy Army Elimination Match: Yoshiko, Act Yasukawa, Kairi Hojo, and Koguma vs. Danshoku Dino, Kyoko Kimura, Alpha Female, and Nakagawa
• Artist of Stardom Championship: Miho Wakizawa, Hiroyo Matsumoto, and Mayu Iwatani vs. Kaori Yoneyama, Hatsuhinode Kamen, and Sayaka Obihiro
• World of Stardom Championship: Io Shirai vs. Takumi Iroha
• Natsuki*Taiyo Retirement Match ~ Forever High Speed: Natsuki*Taiyo  vs. Nanae Takahashi

All the Joshi wrestlers above profiles on the website, you can click on their names to go straight to it.

Yoshiko, Act Yasukawa, Kairi Hojo, and Koguma vs. Danshoku Dino, Kyoko Kimura, Alpha Female, and Nakagawa

This is an elimination tag team match, but you can also be eliminated by being thrown over the top rope. Dino and Yoshiko start things off. Yoshiko pushes Dino but Dino pushes her back. Another push by Dino but Yoshiko pushes him in return and they trade pushes. Dino goes off the ropes but he can’t shoulderblock Yoshiko down. Yoshiko goes off the ropes but she also has no luck. Dino goes off the ropes but Yoshiko stays on her feet, Yoshiko does the same but finally Dino shoulderblocks her down. Yasukawa comes in the ring but Dino punches her back out of it. Hojo comes in, she gets punched as well. Koguma comes in next, punches by Dino but she ducks one and hits a series of elbows. Dino blocks one however and hits a series of headbutts, Dino goes off the ropes but Koguma delivers a dropkick. Yoshiko returns and she hits a big boot onto Dino. Facewashes in the corner by Yoshiko followed by a running kick. Yoshiko picks up Dino but Dino punches her off, he goes for the Testicular Claw but he has nothing to grab. Punches by Dino as his teammates come in the ring, and everyone hits running strikes in the corner. Snap vertical suplex by Dino and he pulls down his pants, Hojo comes in the ring and she slaps Dino, forcing Dino to sit on Yoshiko for a two count. Punch by Dino and he kicks Yoshiko into the corner. She rebounds out of it and almost falls into Dino’s tights, but stops herself. Dino and Yoshiko trade punches, Dino goes to go off the ropes but Hojo is standing in the way. She snaps his neck over the top rope, Dino goes to yell at Hojo outside the ring, allowing Yoshiko to send Dino crashing out of it. Danshoku Dino is eliminated.

Nakagawa comes in the ring next as does Koguma, and Nakagawa avoids Koguma’s dropkick. Nakagawa throws Koguma in the corner but Koguma avoids the charge and hits a monkey flip. Sunset flip by Koguma, but Nakagawa is in the ropes. Tornado DDT attempt by Koguma but Nakagawa shrugs her off as everyone comes in the ring to beat up Koguma. Kimura holds Koguma for Nakagawa but Koguma moves out of the way, she covers both Kimura and Nakagawa but it gets a two count. Face crusher/dropkick combination to Koguma, cover, but it gets a two count. Nakagawa hits a Fisherman Suplex on Koguma and then locks in the CRB, and Koguma has no choice but to submit. Koguma is eliminated.

Nakagawa stomps on Hojo, she picks her up and throws her in the corner before tagging in Alpha Female. Snapmare by Alpha Female and she clubs Hojo repeatedly in the chest. Alpha Female tags in Kimura, Kimura puts Hojo in the ropes and all three wrestlers press their boots into her face. Kimura goes off the ropes and jumps down onto Hojo, cover by Kimura but it gets a two count. Hojo gets back up and clubs Kimura in the chest, but Kimura absorbs the blow. She does it again and a third time, but still with no luck. Repeated clubs by Hojo, she goes off the ropes and goes for a spear but Kimura catches her and applies a grounded facelock. Hojo eventually gets a foot on the ropes to force a break, cover by Kimura but it gets a two count. Hojo tags in Nakagawa, Nakagawa picks up Hojo but Hojo applies an inside cradle for a two count. Waistlock by Nakagawa, reversed, and Yasukawa runs in the ring to attack everyone. Yoshiko hits a senton onto Nakagawa, and she tosses Hojo onto Nakagawa. Cover, but it gets a two count. Hojo goes up to the top turnbuckle but Nakagawa has recovered and elbows her. Nakagawa goes for a high kick, but she misses and goes over the top rope and onto the apron. Hojo hops back down into the ring and kicks Nakagawa off the apron to the floor. Tomoka Nakagawa is eliminated.

Alpha Female comes in and knocks Hojo to the mat, she picks her up and hits a scoop slam. Alpha Female picks up Hojo, Irish whip, Alpha Female tosses Hojo out to the apron but Hojo ducks when she charges in and jumps off the top turnbuckle to get back in the ring. Alpha Female gets Hojo on her shoulders but Hojo hits an armdrag, then Yoshiko runs in with a senton. Hojo goes up to the top turnbuckle and she nails the diving elbow drop. Cover, but Kimura breaks it up. Yoshiko knocks Kimura out of the ring, Hojo goes off the ropes but Kimura kicks her from the apron and Alpha Female hits a lariat. Cover, but Hojo gets a shoulder up. Alpha Female picks up Hojo and nails the Alpha Plex Hold, picking up the three count. Kairi Hojo is eliminated.

Yoshiko and Yasukawa both run into the ring, and Kimura puts Yasukawa in a sleeper hold. Yoshiko eventually runs in to break it up, Alpha Female comes in as well and Alpha Female elbows Yoshiko. Yoshiko elbows her back but Kimura kicks Yoshiko from behind. They pick up Yoshiko, double Irish whip but Yoshiko hits a double lariat. Yoshiko positions Alpha Female in front of the corner, she goes up to the second turnbuckle and hits the reverse splash. Cover, but Alpha Female kicks out at two. Yoshiko goes up to the second turnbuckle but Alpha Female rolls out of the way of the senton and Kimura kicks her in the head. Double Irish whip to Yoshiko into the corner, Alpha Female hits a lariat and Kimura follows with an elbow. Lariat by Alpha Female, cover, but Yoshiko gets a shoulder up. Kimura picks up Yoshiko while Alpha Female goes up to the second turnbuckle, but Yoshiko gets away and punches Kimura into Alpha Female. Yoshiko joins Alpha Female on the top turnbuckle, and Alpha Female dumps Yoshiko out to the apron. Yoshiko quickly gets up and pulls Alpha Female onto the apron with her, and both wrestlers hit lariats. They do it again, but Yoshiko ducks one and she knocks Alpha Female off the apron. Alpha Female is eliminated.

Dino gets on the apron and holds Yoshiko for Kimura, Kimura goes off the ropes but Yasukawa trips her from the floor. Yasukawa gets on the apron and holds Kimura for Yoshiko, Yoshiko charges in but Kimura moves. Yoshiko almost knocks Yasukawa off the apron but she stops in time, Kimura gets a running start and goes for a big boot but both Yasukawa and Yoshiko move out of the way and Kimura tumbles out of the ring. Kyoko Kimura is eliminated. Your winners of the match: Yoshiko, Act Yasukawa, Kairi Hojo, and Koguma

For a 15 minute eight wrestler elimination tag match this was fine. My main complaint would simply be that this match had some of my favorite Stardom wrestlers (Hojo, Yasukawa, Kimura, and Alpha Female) but obviously in this style of match they really didn’t get much of a chance to shine. I’d rather have seen them get more time to do something. Having Dino in the match was fun since 80% of his offense is normally gay-based which doesn’t really work on women. But he was the first one eliminated and after that it was just your standard action in these types of matches. It was nothing bad since the wrestlers in the match were quality, it is just a limiting match stipulation that gave them more restrictions than I’d have preferred.

(c) Miho Wakizawa, Matsumoto, and Mayu Iwatani vs. Kaori Yoneyama, Hatsuhinode Kamen, and Obihiro
Artist of Stardom Championship

Yoneyama and company attack their opponents to start the match and they all attack Iwatani together before making a little pyramid with her. Matsumoto is having none of that and pelts all three with tawashis (see below for what the hell a tawashis is, y’all about to get educated), then they hit Kamen and Yoneyama with ribbons. Obihiro is put into the ropes so they can wrap the ribbons around her before running into the crowd to I assume try to kill her, but the ribbon snaps which sends everyone flying. This never works. Back in the ring Obihiro and Kamen hit running strikes on Iwatani in the corner, Obihiro goes up to the top turnbuckle and she hits a diving double chop. Cover, but it gets a two count. Obihiro chops Iwatani against the ropes, Irish whip, blocked, and Iwatani flips Obihiro to the mat. She applies a submission but it is quickly broken up, Iwatani goes off the ropes but Obihiro hits a sunset flip for a two count. Yoneyama grabs Iwatani and applies a leg submission but Wakizawa uses a rope to try to help Iwatani to the ropes. This doesn’t work of course, Irish whip by Yoneyama to Iwatani but Iwatani hits a tilt-a-whirl headscissors. Kamen comes in the ring but Iwatani hits a springboard armdrag on both of them before tagging in Matsumoto. Matsumoto shoulderblocks all three of her opponents, Irish whip by Matsumoto to Yoneyama and she slams Yoneyama to the mat. Cover, but Yoneyama quickly gets out of it. Backdrop suplex by Matsumoto, but it only gets a two count. Matsumoto tags in Wakizawa, Matsumoto holds Yoneyama for Wakizawa but Yoneyama ducks and Wakizawa puts The Claw on Matsumoto.

Yoneyama rolls up Wakizawa from behind but it gets a two count. Yoneyama tags in Kamen, Wakizawa goes for The Claw on Kamen but it is blocked. Obihiro comes in the ring but Wakizawa bites her in the hand, Kamen kicks Wakizawa in the head but she only gets a two count. Kamen goes up to the top turnbuckle but Wakizawa recovers and joins her up top while Matsumoto dumps a box full of tawashis in the ring. Wakizawa hits a Frankensteiner into the pile, then Iwatani gets a big one and holds it against Kamen. Matsumoto charges in with a body avalanche, which hurts her just as much. Dropkick by Iwatani to Kamen, and Matsumoto puts the mega tawashi on her chest. Wakizawa and Iwatani get onto Matsumoto’s back and they all fall onto Kamen. Wakizawa goes up to the top turnbuckle and hits a diving body press onto Kamen, cover, but Obihiro breaks it up. Wakizawa picks up Kamen and she goes for a Fisherman Buster but Kamen blocks it. Kamen goes for a vertical suplex onto the mega tawashi, but Iwatani slides in and moves it so that Kamen actually lands on it and not Wakizawa. Wakizawa picks it up but Yoneyama grabs the tawashi from behind. Obihiro runs in and chops Wakizawa in the throat, inside cradle by Kamen but it gets a two count. Yoneyama throws the tawashi out of the ring, while in the ring Kamen puts Wakizawa on her shoulders. Yoneyama goes up top but Matsumoto hits her from the apron with a different tawashi, Backslide with Venom by Wakizawa to Kamen and she picks up the three count. Your winners and still champions: Wakizawa, Matsumoto, and Iwatani!

True story – I have been wondering for the last year what those little brown balls they use in these matches were, but I looked online and no one seemed to reference what they were. I mean its not like there are tons of Stardom reviews in English on the Internet. So I finally figured I’d just ask one of the wrestlers and hope for a reply. I tweeted Kellie Skater, and within a few hours she advised that they are tawashis. A tawashi is a hard, rough scrubbing brush, so when they are rubbed against someone’s skin, as you can imagine that would hurt. So thanks to Kellie for answering this question that has been bothering Stardom fans for a long time. Anyway, as far as the match, it was pretty much the same as it always is, except at least now I know what is going on. I am glad these matches aren’t too long since they are generally comedy matches, and they did get a few chuckles out of me such as when Kamen accidentally landed on the tawashi when going for the vertical suplex. I think a few of these wrestlers actually are good but its so hard to tell in short comedy matches, all the action was crisp anyway. Exactly what you’d expect, I can’t score it low since it does what it is trying to do and it is funny at times, but it isn’t what I would consider high quality wrestling.

(c) Io Shirai vs. Takumi Iroha
World of Stardom Championship

Shirai slaps Iroha to start the match but Iroha slaps her back, she goes off the ropes and hits a heel kick. German suplex by Iroha and she hits a second one, she picks up Shirai but Shirai gets away. Kick by Iroha and she hits a vertical suplex, cover, but it gets a two count. Iroha picks up Shirai but Shirai elbows her and they trade shots. Shirai goes off the ropes but Iroha hits a lariat, Iroha goes off the ropes but Shirai snaps off a hurricanrana for a two count. Kick to the head by Shirai, she picks up Iroha and hits a series of elbows. Iroha elbows Shirai as well and both wrestlers fall to their knees. Waistlock by Shirai, reversed by Iroha and Iroha applies a side headlock. Shirai eventually punches out of it and applies a side headlock of her own, Iroha gets out of it but Shirai hits a cartwheel dropkick. Iroha falls out of the ring, Shirai goes off the far ropes and sails between the ropes onto Iroha with a plancha suicida. Shirai slides Iroha back into the ring and applies a stretch hold before throwing Iroha to the mat. Kicks to the face by Shirai and she chokes Iroha with her boot. Shirai goes up to the top turnbuckle but Iroha runs over and dropkicks her off, sending Shirai to the apron. Iroha goes out to the apron as well and chops Shirai repeatedly in the chest. Waistlock by Iroha but Shirai slides through her legs and hits a reverse DDT on the apron. Shirai goes up to the top turnbuckle and dives out to the floor with a plancha onto Iroha. Iroha recovers as she is pulled back to the ring and elbows Shirai before hitting a vertical suplex on the floor. Iroha slides Shirai back into the ring and applies a crab hold, but Shirai makes it to the ropes to force the break. Iroha stomps Shirai and charges her in the corner, but Shirai slides out to the apron and kicks her back. Shirai goes for a swandive move but Iroha uppercuts her mid-move and then hits a doublestomp to her back while Shirai is lying over the ropes. Cover, but it gets two. Iroha picks up Shirai and applies the Gory Special, she then releases the hold and goes for Shirai’s leg but Shirai kicks her back.

Spinning kick to the head by Shirai and she hits the Shinkansen Attack. Cover by Shirai but it gets a two count. Arm trap crossface by Shirai but Iroha inches to the ropes and gets there to get the break. Shirai picks up Iroha, she puts Iroha on the second rope and hits the Tiger Feint Kick. Swandive missile dropkick by Shirai, cover, but it gets a two count. Shirai positions Iroha in front of the corner, she goes up to the second turnbuckle but Iroha has recovered and hits her from behind. Slingshot suplex by Iroha and she holds on to Shirai to hit a second suplex, cover, but it gets a two count. Iroha picks up Shirai around the waist but Shirai elbows free, Shirai goes off the ropes and goes for a hurricanrana but Iroha blocks it and applies a crab hold. Shirai slowly inches to the ropes and eventually makes it there to force a break. Iroha positions Shirai, she goes up to the top turnbuckle but Shirai has slid out to the apron. Shirai climbs up top with Iroha and they trade punches and elbows. High kick by Shirai, she slides back out to the apron and then springboards back up to the top to hit a Frankensteiner. Standing moonsault by Shirai, then she hits a moonsault off the second turnbuckle and finally one off the top turnbuckle. Cover, but Iroha gets a shoulder up. Shirai picks up Iroha and hits the Shining Wizard. Cover, but it gets a two count. Shirai goes for a swinging kick but Iroha ducks it and hits a German suplex hold for a two count. Heel kick to the back of the head by Iroha, she picks up Shirai and she nails the powerbomb. Cover, but Shirai kicks out at two. Iroha goes for a Scorpion Deathlock but Shirai rolls through it and kicked Iroha in the face. La Magistral by Shirai, but Iroha kicks out at two. Elbow by Shirai but Iroha elbows her back and they trade shots back on their feet. Uppercut by Shirai but Iroha slaps her, but Shirai turns around and hits a running headbutt. Package German Suplex Hold by Shirai, and she picks up the three count. Your winner and still champion: Io Shirai

There must be some backstory on how Iroha got a title shot considering how young and inexperienced she is, but looking over the results I couldn’t get any clues. But it made for a good superstar vs. underdog dynamic, even if you knew that Iroha had no chance of winning. That hurt the crowd reactions a bit but it was still a really good match. From watching it you’d know that Iroha was an underdog but she didn’t act over-matched at all, she was exchanging strikes and getting nearfalls the same as any other challenger. Shirai didn’t take it easy either, which she could have done since this event already had a major attraction, as she was doing dives and spring boarding off of things just like she always does. Even with Iroha’s more limited experience the match was really crisp, I didn’t notice any awkward moments, and the match flowed really well with no real downtime. A predictable ending but a fun journey to get there for sure.  Recommended

Natsuki*Taiyo vs. Nanae Takahashi

This is Natsuki*Taiyo’s Retirement Match. They lock knuckles to start, side headlock by Taiyo but Takahashi gets out of it. Wristlock by Taiyo, Takahashi gets Taiyo to the mat but Taiyo wiggles away as they trade submission attempts. Both wrestlers return to their feet, tie-up, side headlock by Taiyo, Takahashi Irish whips out of it and hits a shoulderblock. Takahashi goes off the ropes and hits an armdrag, springboard by Taiyo and she hits an armdrag of her own. Takahashi falls out of the ring, Taiyo fakes a dive but ends up swinging herself back into the ring. Takahashi returns after a moment, elbows by Taiyo and she clubs Takahashi in the back. Taiyo and Takahashi trade elbows, armbar by Taiyo but Takahashi reverses it. Armdrag by Taiyo and she dropkicks Takahashi in the knee. Taiyo goes up to the top turnbuckle and kicks Takahashi in the arm. Knee to the arm by Taiyo and she yanks on Takahashi’s arm. Kicks to the arm by Taiyo and she twists it around her knee. Takahashi gets out of it and gets Taiyo’s ankle, applying an ankle hold. Taiyo flips out of the hold, elbow by Takahashi but Taiyo elbows her back. Taiyo throws Takahashi into the corner and elbows her some more, Irish whip by Taiyo, reversed, Taiyo moves when Takahashi charges in and hits a palm thrust. Two more by Taiyo but Takahashi grabs her by the hair and tosses her to the mat. Dropkick to the knee by Takahashi and she applies a knee lock. Takahashi applies a stretch hold before going back to the leg, and she eventually applies a figure four leg lock. Taiyo gets into the ropes to force a break, Takahashi grabs her leg and hops down on it while it is propped on the bottom rope. Kicks to the head by Takahashi, Taiyo fights back but Takahashi knocks her back to the mat. Taiyo gets back up and they trade elbows, an exchange that Takahashi gets the better of. Takahashi throws Taiyo into the corner and chops her in the chest before hitting a lariat. Takahashi goes up to the top turnbuckle but Taiyo quickly joins her, Takahashi catches Taiyo with a sleeper and tosses her back to the mat. Missile dropkick by Takahashi, cover, but it gets a two count. Takahashi goes up to the top again but Taiyo jumps up with her and hits an armdrag. Springboard moonsault by Taiyo, cover, but it gets a two count. Waistlock by Taiyo but Takahashi elbows out of it. They trade elbows, Takahashi charges Taiyo in the corner but Taiyo kicks her back and flips out to the apron. Trip by Taiyo and she hits a slingshot double stomp before kicking Takahashi out of the ring.

Taiyo gets a running start and hits a triple jump springboard plancha out of the ring onto Takahashi. Irish whip by Taiyo, reversed, and Taiyo goes flying into a row of chairs. Takahashi throws her into some more chairs and a third time. Takahashi takes Taiyo to a different part of the arena and does the same thing, she then takes Taiyo up the aisle into the bleachers, but Taiyo starts fighting back. They trade elbows up in the crowd for a bit before Takahashi knocks Taiyo back down towards ringside, but Taiyo slaps Takahashi until she falls to the floor. Takahashi gets back up and they trade elbows again until both fall to ground. Takahashi gets back in the ring with Taiyo slowly following, Takahashi picks up Taiyo and elbows her, leading to another elbow exchange. Taiyo kicks Takahashi in the leg and then hits a dropkick, Taiyo goes up to the top turnbuckle and hits the missile dropkick. Dropkick in the corner by Taiyo, cover, but it gets a two count. Taiyo goes up to the top turnbuckle but Takahashi rolls out of the way of the double stomp and hits a backdrop suplex. Cover, but it gets a two count. Ankle hold by Takahashi but Taiyo is able to make it to the ropes. Takahashi picks up Taiyo and chops her in the corner, Irish whip, but Taiyo rebounds out of the corner with a crossbody. Tilt-a-whirl headscissors by Taiyo and she applies an armbar to Takahashi. Takahashi makes it into the ropes for a break, Taiyo picks her up and goes for a powerbomb, but Takahashi blocks it. Taiyo goes off the ropes, leapfrog, she kicks Takahashi and hits the Iguchi Bomb. Kick to the head by Taiyo, cover, but it gets a two count. Taiyo goes off the ropes but Takahashi catches her with a powerbomb and hits a sliding kick. Cover, but it only gets a two. Takahashi picks up Taiyo but Taiyo gets into the ropes. Takahashi pulls her back and hits a backdrop suplex and then hits a second one. Lariat by Takahashi, cover, but it gets a two count. Takahashi picks up Taiyo, Taiyo fights her off and she goes for the sunset flip powerbomb but Takahashi blocks it. Taiyo hits an armdrag before applying the Triple Taiyo☆Chan La Magistral for a two count.

Taiyo goes off the ropes and goes for a hurricanrana, but Takahashi catches her and sits down for a two count. Takahashi picks up Taiyo and hits the Nana☆Racka, cover, but Taiyo rolls through it for her own two count. Takahashi picks up Taiyo but Takahashi gets away and slams Takahashi to the mat. Taiyo goes up to the top turnbuckle and hits the diving doublestomp, cover, but it gets a two count. Taiyo picks up Takahashi and hits the leg trap German suplex hold for a two count. Taiyo goes off the ropes but Takahashi catches her and hits a second Nana☆Racka for a two count cover. Takahashi drags Taiyo to her feet, Taiyo gets away and kicks Takahashi in the stomach, back kick by Taiyo and she hits another one. Taiyo goes off the ropes but Takahashi hits a jumping kick to the face. Takahashi goes up to the top turnbuckle but Taiyo rolls out of the way of the body press. Taiyo goes for the Taiyo☆Chan Bomb but Takahashi sits down for a two count. Takahashi picks up Taiyo but Taiyo gets away from her, knees by Taiyo and she hits a back kick. Taiyo☆Chan Bomb by Taiyo, but Takahashi barely gets a shoulder up. Momo☆Latch by Taiyo, but Takahashi kicks out again at two. Taiyo clubs Takahashi in the back and puts her up on the top turnbuckle, she joins her but Takahashi clubs her off. Diving body press by Takahashi, cover, but it gets a two count. Takahashi picks up Taiyo and hits the Nana☆Racka, cover, but it gets a two count. Takahashi slowly goes up to the top turnbuckle but Taiyo is up and knocks her to a seated position. Taiyo tries to join her, Takahashi knocks her back to the mat but Taiyo gets back up and jumps up to the top turnbuckle. Takahashi slides off however, Taiyo jumps off the top turnbuckle and hits the Momo☆Latch, but it gets a two count. Taiyo picks up Takahashi, slaps by Taiyo, and she kicks Takahashi in the ribs. Headbutt by Takahashi and they trade elbows, Takahashi goes off the ropes and she hits a lariat. Cover, but it gets a two count. Takahashi picks up Taiyo and she nails the One Second EX. Cover, but Taiyo gets a shoulder up. Takahashi charges Taiyo but Taiyo knocks her back, Taiyo gets up on the top turnbuckle but Takahashi grabs her and hits the Nanaracka☆100. Cover, and she picks up the three count. Your winner: Nanae Takahashi

The match was probably a little bit longer than it needed to be as some parts of the match did drag (such as the battling up in the crowd section), but overall it was still a really good match. I have no idea how Taiyo can even concentrate as retirement matches can be so emotional, but for the most part the action was very crisp and fluid. The early limb work was ultimately blown off, but the limbs weren’t really targeted long enough to expect them to sell it for the rest of the match, so I won’t hold it against them. Taiyo has so much energy, even after a 30 minute match she was still springboarding around, things like that is why everyone loved her… she just has more gears than most humans do. Even though she lost, Taiyo didn’t go down easy as she took most of Takahashi’s big moves, some of them twice. Overall it was a fitting ending, shame she couldn’t get the win but generally in Japan wrestlers lose in their official retirement matches, that is just the way it goes. An emotional and exciting ending to the career of the original High Speed Champion.  Recommended

Natsuki*Taiyo’s Retirement Ceremony

I am not going to do a play by play of a Retirement Ceremony, but if you’ve never watched a Joshi Retirement Ceremony you really should sometime. First of all, from start to finish it was over 40 minutes long. It had a bit of everything, first Taiyo talked for a bit, they did some dancing, then all the Stardom wrestlers came down and gave Taiyo flowers one by one. It is pretty emotional as everyone is crying, so if you are an emotional person like me, don’t watch this with anyone else in the room as it will be really hard to explain. Along with the Stardom wrestlers, many legends came down to wish her well also, including Bull Nakano and Momoe Nakanishi. Some just gave flowers, some playfully attacked her, it likely depended on her personal relationships with them. Animal Hamaguchi came out last which got Taiyo the most emotional as he helped train her, and he talked a bit before leading the crowd in a cheer. It ends with everyone leaving the ring as the lights go down, and Taiyo gets her final farewell. Its a much more… personal retirement than most wrestlers get but its normal for long-time (and well liked) Joshi wrestlers. Probably too long for the common fan to sit through, especially if you don’t speak Japanese, but it does show that they know how to send people out the right way. I can’t imagine trying to do a wrestling match knowing all of this is coming, but that is why they are professionals and I just watch them while politely judging everything they do. But it was a really nice ceremony and you could tell from the emotions how much people will miss Taiyo, she was the life of Stardom at times and she will be hard to replace.

event originally reviewed on 1/5/15

The post Stardom “Natsuki Taiyo Retirement ~ High Speed Forever” on 6/1/14 Review appeared first on Joshi City.

Championships Held: Artist of Stardom Championship, DWA Ladies Championship, EWE Female Championship, World of Stardom Championship, SWE Ladies Championship
Tournaments Won: None
Awards Won: None

Notable Matches in Japan:

• March 17th, 2013 vs. Nanae Takahashi
• April 29th, 2013 vs. Io Shirai
• November 4th, 2013 with Female Predator Amazon and Kyoko Kimura vs. Kairi Hojo, Kaori Yoneyama, and Yuhi
• January 26th, 2014 with Kyoko Kimura vs. Miho Wakizawa and Nanae Takahashi
• April 29th, 2014 vs. Io Shirai
• March 26th, 2016 vs. Io Shirai

Signature Moves:

• Chokebomb
• German Suplex
• Lariat
• Omega Plex
• Omega Slam
• Sidewinder

In Action:

Coming Soon 

Back to Gaijin Invaders

The post Alpha Female appeared first on Joshi City.

With the upcoming Mae Young Classic in WWE, I thought it would be fun to upload a match from each of the participants with matches in Japan (that I had a copy of). Not all the matches are necessarily great, but do show them in a different environment.

• Nanae Takahashi vs. Mercedes Martinez in Stardom on 7/24/11
• Crazy Mary Dobson (Sarah Logan) vs. Mia Yim vs. Leah Von Dutch in REINA on 6/9/12
• Alpha Female vs. Nanae Takahashi in Stardom on 3/17/13
• Alex Lee vs. Carmen Rose vs. Demi Bennett (Rhea Ripley) in REINA on 5/5/15
• Princesa Sugehit vs. Maki Narumiya in REINA on 5/5/15
• Mayu Iwatani vs. Evie (Dakota Kai) in Stardom on 2/21/16
• Candice LaRae and Joey Ryan vs. Daisuke Sasaki and Shuji Ishikawa in DDT on 3/26/16
• Kairi Hojo (Kairi Sane) vs. Santana Garrett in Stardom on 5/15/16
• Kairi Hojo (Kairi Sane) and Yoko Bito vs. Kay Lee Ray and Nixon Newell in Stardom in Stardom on 1/15/17
• Io Shirai vs. Viper (Piper Niven) in Stardom on 1/15/17
• Io Shirai vs. Shayna Baszler in Stardom on 2/23/17
• Toni Storm vs. Jungle Kyona in Stardom on 3/20/17
• Hiroyo Matsumoto and Jungle Kyona vs. Jessicka Havok and Tessa Blanchard in Stardom on 5/14/17

The post Mae Young Classic Wrestlers in Japan appeared first on Joshi City.

After watching New Japan’s Wrestle Kingdom, I got inspired to watch and review one of the biggest Joshi show of the last decade. Joshi promotions rarely run Sumo Hall, one of the most famous venues for professional wrestling, due to the obvious reason that Sumo Hall is huge and most promotions in general struggle to fill it enough to make the venture profitable. Stardom decided to take a chance in 2013, however, as one of the most popular and “recognizable outside the wrestling bubble” Joshi stars was having her retirement match. Before she started wrestling, Yuzuki Aikawa was a famous model in Japan and was also in an idol group. She joined Stardom in 2010, and instantly gained an even bigger following as a combination of her looks, charisma, and fighting spirit made her the most visible new Joshi star of that (brief) time period. This is why after wrestling for less than three years, she was having her Retirement Match at Sumo Hall and not a smaller venue, she exploded onto the scene and left while she was still at the top of her game. Stardom stacked the entire show for the special occasion, here is the full card:

• Risa Sera and Rutsuko Yamaguchi vs. Yui Yokoo and Sumire Yoshino
• Manami Toyota vs. Miho Wakizawa
• Kota Ibushi, Gota Ihashi, Lin Byron, and Mayu Iwatani vs. Michael Nakazawa, Hikaru Sato, Makoto, and Eri Susa
• Meiko Satomura vs. Takumi Iroha
• Wonder of Stardom Championship: Act Yasukawa vs. Dark Angel
• High Speed Championship: Natsuki*Taiyo vs. Yuhi
• Goddesses of Stardom Championship: Kyoko Kimura and Hailey Hatred vs. Kairi Hojo and Natsumi Showzuki
• Kaori Yoneyama, Hiroyo Matsumoto, and Syuri vs. Nanae Takahashi, Tsukasa Fujimoto, and Mika Nagano
• World of Stardom Championship: Alpha Female vs. Io Shirai
• Yuzuki Aikawa Retirement Match: Yuzuki Aikawa vs. Yoshiko

Big show! Let’s get to it.

Risa Sera and Rutsuko Yamaguchi vs. Yui Yokoo and Sumire Yoshino
Ryogoku Starting Over Stardom vs. Ice Ribbon

Risa and Sumire begin the match, they trade elbows against the ropes until Sera hits a dropkick. She tags in Rutsuko as Yui is also tagged in, Rutsuko boots Yui and she applies The Claw against the ropes until Sumire breaks it up. Yui and Rutsuko trade elbows, Rutsuko slams Yui into her knee but Yui returns the favor. Dropkick by Yui and she tags Sumire, Sumire goes for a cartwheel mule kick but Rutsuko moves out of the way and puts her in a crab hold. Sumire gets to the ropes to force a break, Rutsuko tags in Risa and Risa hits a series of dropkicks on Sumire. Schwein by Risa, she picks up Sumire but Sumire slides behind her and applies a sleeper. Sumire reverts the hold into a cross armbreaker but Sera gets a foot on the ropes. Cartwheel mule kick by Sumire and she tags in Yui, Yui goes for a chokeslam but Sera blocks it. RainSleeper by Yui but Rutsuko breaks it up, Risa picks up Yui and hits Ayers Rock but Sumire breaks up the cover. Risa goes to the second turnbuckle and hits a diving body press, but Yui kicks out of the cover. Rutsuko comes in but she kicks Risa by accident, running elbow by Yui to Risa and she picks up the three count! Yui Yokoo and Sumire Yoshino are the winners.

I wouldn’t call this a good match, although it was generally inoffensive. Sumire was pretty rough around the edges, I am not terribly surprised she quit wrestling, and while Risa Sera is currently a really good wrestler she was still working out the kinks in 2013. Rutsuko stood out the most because she had the most personality, however Yui seemed like the most complete wrestler. A skippable opener, even if it is interesting to watch a match with young wrestlers from four years ago where three have already left the business.

Manami Toyota vs. Miho Wakizawa
All Japan Women’s Gold Tradition Ryogoku Advent

Wakizawa charges Toyota but Toyota hits a heel drop for a two count cover. Back up they trade slaps, a battle that Toyota wins, but Wakizawa fires back with elbows. Toyota bounces Wakizawa off the ropes and kicks her in the chest, Toyota charges Wakizawa but Wakizawa rolls her around the ring before covering Toyota for a two. Irish whip by Wakizawa but Toyota reverses it and gives Wakizawa a rolling cradle of her own. Toyota puts Wakizawa in the ropes but Wakizawa avoids the dropkick and kicks Toyota out of the ring. Wakizawa then goes up top and dives out onto Toyota with a plancha, she slides Toyota back into the ring and goes up top, connecting with a missile dropkick. Toyota gets back up but Wakizawa hits a Claw STO for a two count. Waistlock by Wakizawa but Toyota gets into the ropes, big boot by Toyota and she goes for the Japanese Ocean Cyclone Suplex but Wakizawa rolls out of it and hits a German suplex hold. Wakizawa picks up Toyota but Toyota elbows her off, release German by Toyota and she goes for a moonsault, but Wakizawa gets her feet up. Fisherman suplex hold by Wakizawa, but Toyota kicks out.

Wakizawa goes up top and hits another missile dropkick, she returns to the top turnbuckle but Toyota boots her down to the floor. Toyota climbs the turnbuckle and dives out onto Wakizawa with her own plancha, taking out a random innocent on the floor in the process. Toyota rolls Wakizawa back in and hits a missile dropkick, another missile dropkick by Toyota and she covers Wakizawa for two. Toyota returns to the top but Wakizawa joins her, Toyota pushes her off and dropkicks Wakizawa in the back of the head. Moonsault by Toyota, but Wakizawa barely gets a shoulder up. Toyota picks up Wakizawa and hits a German suplex hold, she goes up top but Toyota joins her and hits a Frankensteiner, which Toyota rolls through for a two count. Straight Jacket German by Toyota, she goes up top but Wakizawa joins her and hits an avalanche fisherman buster for two. Another fisherman buster by Wakizawa, but again Toyota kicks out. Wakizawa picks up Toyota but Toyota kicks her and hits the Japanese Ocean Queen Bomb, she goes for the cover but lifts up Wakizawa before the three. Toyota then drags Wakizawa up and hits a release Japanese Ocean Cyclone Queen Bee Bomb. She goes for one final one, but Wakizawa slides down her back and applies the Backslide From Venom for the three count! Miho Wakizawa wins!

Afterwards, Wakizawa is in tears as she is overcome with emotion, and Toyota gives her a hug. Streamers are even thrown for Wakizawa, so to say this win meant a lot to her is an understatement.

It feels odd that a match that clearly meant so much to Wakizawa is just an undercard match. An undercard match on a stacked show, but still. Anyone that has never seen Toyota will be an awe at how any times she goes to the top turnbuckle, she always lived up there in her heyday and still does even though at the time of the match she was over 40 years old. I couldn’t say this was a great match but they definitely gave it their all, as both were dropping bombs and trying everything to get the win. Wakizawa kicked out of Toyota’s best offense, but at this stage of her career that just wasn’t really a big deal to Toyota as clearly the point here was for Wakizawa to overcome and get a win that meant a lot to her on a personal level. An interesting match that is worth watching, even if in a vacuum it seems out of place.  Mildly Recommended

Ibushi, Gota Ihashi, Lin Byron, and Iwatani vs. Nakazawa, Hikaru Sato, Makoto, and Eri Susa
Ryogoku Special MIX Eight Person Tag Match

Mayu and Eri are the first two in, wristlock by Eri but Mayu armdrags out of it. Eri tags in Nakazawa, Sato comes in too but Mayu grabs their wrists and hits a springboard split-legged double armdrag. Mayu dropkicks both of them but Nakazawa soon takes back over and he tags in Sato. Sato puts on his swim gear and starts working over Mayu in the corner. He tags in Makoto, Makoto snaps Mayu off the ropes before tagging in Eri. DDT by Eri and she hits a second one, Mayu fights back and they trade elbows. Elevated DDT by Eri, and she covers Mayu for two. She tags Nakazawa, Nakazawa straddles Mayu on the top rope and slides her uh crotch-first across the ropes. That’s as nice as I can put it. Sato comes in and puts Mayu in a crab hold, but Mayu gets into the ropes. Sato goes off the ropes but Mayu dropkicks him and she hits a vertical suplex for a two count. Mayu tags in Byron, Byron DDTs Sato but Nakazawa runs in and attacks her. Eri comes in too as does Makoto, but Byron fights them all off. Sato recovers but Bryon drops him on the second rope, she goes for the Tiger Feint Kick but Nakazawa jumps in the way. Bryon punches him in the balls and hits the Tiger Feint Kick anyway, she goes up top but Nakazawa grabs her before she can jump off. Backdrop suplex by Sato, he tags in Nakazawa while Ibushi is also tagged in.

Pele Kick by Ibushi and he connects with a kick combination, standing moonsault by Ibushi but Makoto breaks it up. DDT by Makoto to Ibushi, she then hits a footstomp followed by a cartwheel kneedrop. Nakazawa covers Ibushi but Ihashi breaks it up, kick to the chest by Ihashi to Nakazawa and he hits a cartwheel moonsault. Ibushi then follows with a running shooting star press and a moonsault off the second turnbuckle, but Nakazawa kicks out of the cover. He tags in Mayu, double wrist armsault by Mayu but it gets two. Mayu picks up Nakazawa and they trade elbows, Mayu slaps Nakazawa but he takes off his clothes and hits a spear. He takes off his underwear and goes for the Ultimate Venom Arm, Makoto tries to stop him so she gets it instead. He goes back to Mayu but Mayu blocks it, Sato tries to help Nakazawa get the hold applied but both teams run in and have a Test of Strength with the underwear. Makoto come sin but she goes against Nakazawa as does Eri, helping Mayu successfully block the hold. Makoto and Eri continue helping Mayu’s team, as all the women hit running strikes on Nakazawa in the corner. Mayu picks up Nakazawa, Eri chops Nakazawa in the chest and Mayu nails the dragon suplex hold for the three count! Kota Ibushi, Gota Ihashi, Lin Byron, and Mayu Iwatani are the winners.

This was a bit too DDT-y for me as their brand of comedy isn’t my favorite, but I did like Eri and Makoto switching teams as they agreed with me. Mayu was still a bit shaky but still learning, and everyone else looked fine. A bit longer than it needed to be but if you enjoy Nakazawa you may enjoy this match too.

Meiko Satomura vs. Takumi Iroha
Takumi Iroha Debut Match

The match starts slow but Iroha fires up Satomura by elbowing her against the ropes instead of giving a clean break. Iroha kicks Satomura when they lock knuckles but Satomura elbows her hard in the face and kicks Iroha into the corner. Jumping elbow by Satomura and she applies a front necklock, armbar by Satomura but Iroha gets into the ropes. Back up they trade elbows, uppercut by Satomura and she knocks Iroha into the corner. Iroha swats Satomura away and kicks her in the chest, uppercut by Iroha and she dropkicks her into the opposite corner. Iroha picks up Satomura and flips her into a cross armbreaker, she reverts it into a triangle choke before then changing it to an ankle hold when she can’t keep Satomura down. Satomura gets out of it with a jawbreaker, she attempts an Irish whip but Iroha blocks it and re-applies the triangle choke. Satomura gets into the ropes, Iroha slams Satomura to the mat and goes up top, and she hits a diving crossbody for a two count. Iroha picks up Satomura but Satomura elbows her off, she goes off the ropes but Iroha hits a powerslam for another two count. Backdrop suplex by Iroha, she picks up Satomura and goes off the ropes, but Satomura kicks her in the stomach and knocks her down with an uppercut. Kick to the head by Satomura, and Iroha rolls out of the ring hurt. Iroha is pretty out of it so Satomura goes to get her, she slides Iroha back in and covers her for two. Satomura picks up Iroha but Iroha dropkicks her, Satomura quickly kicks Iroha in the ribs and nails the cartwheel kneedrop. Seated armbar by Satomura, but Iroha quickly gets a hand on the ropes. DDT by Satomura, she goes up top and she hits the diving body press for a two count cover. Satomura goes for a Death Valley Bomb, Iroha gets out of it but Satomura kicks her in the ribs. Backdrop suplex by Satomura, she covers Iroha but lifts her head before the three count. Satomura puts Iroha in a sleeper hold, Iroha can’t get to the ropes and goes to sleep. Meiko Satomura wins!

I enjoyed this one quite a bit, perhaps with some benefit of hindsight. Iroha no longer wrestles in Stardom as she left the promotion to join Chigusa Nagayo’s Marvelous, however she has really developed into a solid wrestler. I wouldn’t say she was a complete natural as aside from a few cool submission moves she didn’t do anything to really stand out in this match, but she sold really well and nothing ever felt awkward. Satomura gave the rookie a fair amount of offense but this was before Satomura went full ass-kicker on Stardom, I doubt a wrestler today in their debut match would have as much luck. An above average match with an obvious result, but it was nice to see someone debut on such a big stage.

Act Yasukawa vs. Dark Angel
Wonder of Stardom Championship

They trade holds to start, Dark Angel gets Act to the mat but Act gets out of it and they return to their feet. Dark Angel gets Act to the mat again, she pushes Act into the corner and she delivers a dropkick. Snapmare by Dark Angel and she rolls up Act for a two count, Dark Angel goes for a lariat but Act ducks it and puts Dark Angel in the Stretch Muffler. Dark Angel gets to the ropes, Act hangs her upside down from the top rope before kicking her in the leg. Act continues on Dark Angel’s leg, Dark Angel jumps up on the top turnbuckle but Act pushes her down to the floor. Act then goes out to the apron and she hits a cannonball down onto Dark Angel, Act slides Dark Angel back in and hits the ACT Special for a two count. Act goes off the ropes and knees Dark Angel in the head, but again her cover gets two. Act goes for a neck swing but Dark Angel gets out of it and the pair trade elbows. Springboard dropkick by Dark Angel, Act rolls out of the ring but Dark Angel goes up top and dives out onto Act with a plancha suicida, completely flattening her.

Act looks incredibly hurt but after a minute she manages to get back into the ring, slingshot bodypress by Dark Angel and she gets a two count. Dark Angel goes for the La Reienera but Act gets out of it, dropkick by Act but Dark Angel gets out of the tombstone and puts Act in the double chickenwing armlock with a neckscissors, but Act is too close to the ropes and gets the break. Dark Angel picks up Act and hits the Stun Gun, suplex by Dark Angel but Act kicks out. Dark Angel picks up Act but Act blocks the pedigree, reverse STO by Act and she delivers the Senton Bomb off the second turnbuckle. Act goes up again but Dark Angel recovers and tosses her off, Dark Angel goes up but Act joins her and powerslams Act to the mat for a two count. Act goes up top but Dark Angel hits the rope to knock her off, Act rolls Dark Angel to the mat but Dark Angel kicks out of the cover. Grounded necklock by Act but Dark Angel suplexes out of it, La Reienera by Dark Angel and after Act can’t escape the referee calls for the bell! Dark Angel is the new champion.

I like both of these wrestlers but I felt the match fell a bit flat. Something seemed off, they weren’t always on the same page and some of the moves just weren’t hit very cleanly. Act is always a bundle of fun to watch as she has a wide variety of offense and the pacing/time felt right as Dark Angel knows how to lay out a match, it just never sucked me in as the story was never really there (the crowd also never really got into it either). Some quality spots, but overall it didn’t reach the level I was hoping for.

(c) Natsuki*Taiyo vs. Yuhi
NEO High Speed Championship

After some fast paced rope running, things calm down with wristlocks until Yuhi pushes Taiyo into the ropes and goes for a Tiger Feint Kick. Taiyo ducks that, Yuhi grabs her arm and she hits a diving armdrag out of the corner. Taiyo goes off the ropes and hits an elbow onto Yuhi, kicks to the ribs by Taiyo and she applies an armbar. She releases the hold after a moment, kicks by Taiyo but Yuhi fights back with elbows. Taiyo dropkicks Yuhi hard in the chest, she goes up top and delivers a missile dropkick. Running dropkick by Taiyo in the corner, and she covers Yuhi for two. Taiyo goes for the Iguchi Bomb but Yuhi hurricanranas out of it, quebrada by Yuhi but Taiyo kicks out of the cover. Yuhi goes up top but Taiyo quickly joins her and armdrags her to the mat, Iguchi Bomb by Yuhi but it gets a two. Kick by Taiyo but Yuhi blocks the Taiyo-chan☆Bomb, kicks by Yuhi but Taiyo catches one and pushes her to the mat.

Kick to the chest by Taiyo, she goes off the ropes but Yuhi slides away and kicks Taiyo in the chest. Ankle Hold by Yuhi but Taiyo gets to the ropes to force a break. Kicks by Yuhi and she hits a strike combination, handstand capoeira by Yuhi and she kicks Taiyo in the head for a two count. Yuhi goes up top but Taiyo avoids the Firebird Splash, Taiyo-chan☆Bomb by Taiyo but Yuhi gets a shoulder up. Hard elbow by Taiyo but Yuhi returns fire, knees by Taiyo but Yuhi gets into the ropes. Release German by Taiyo but Yuhi springs up and hits a German suplex hold for two. Taiyo goes for La Magistral but Yuhi blocks it, jumping kick by Yuhi and she delivers the Honey Flash, but Taiyo barely gets a shoulder up. Yuhi goes for a kick but Taiyo catches it and hits a leg trap suplex hold, but it gets two. Taiyo picks up Yuhi and puts her onto the top turnbuckle, Taiyo joins her and nails the Taiyo-chan*Spanish Fly, picking up the three count! Natsuki Taiyo is still the High Speed Champion!

This was a really fun match that delivered what it was aiming for – a fast paced entertaining midcard match that kept the fans engaged without overshadowing the bigger matches on the card. Yuhi was such a great young talent, she retired before she was even 18 so we’ll never know how great she could have been. This type of match was Taiyo’s specialty as she had a lot of different high speed offense, and even though the match was over ten minutes it flew by. I could watch this all day, far from a classic but just what the card needed to get the crowd back into it.  Recommended

(c) Kyoko Kimura and Hailey Hatred vs. Kairi Hojo and Natsumi Showzuki
Goddesses of Stardom Championship

Kairi and Natsumi try to attack before the bell, but it quickly backfires as Kimura Monster-gun takes over. Kairi stays in the ring with Hailey but Kyoko pulls Kairi out of the ring and they battle on the floor. Hailey throws Kairi into the ring post while Kyoko slides Natsumi into the ring, Kyoko puts Natsumi in the Tree of Woe and jumps down on her in the corner. Hailey comes in too as they double team Natsumi, Hailey stays in and works over Natsumi’s leg. Kyoko is tagged in and she puts Natsumi in a leglock, but Natsumi rolls up Kyoko for a quick two count. Kyoko goes back to the leg but Natsumi hits a crossbody and tags in Kairi. Kyoko and Hailey double team Kairi as they slam her into the mat, but Kairi gets away and hits a double spear. Another spear by Kairi onto Kyoko and she hits another one followed by a third. Kairi picks up Kyoko but Kyoko slides away and pushes Kairi to the mat. Kairi recovers and elbows Kyoko but Kyoko boots her in the face for a two count cover. Front necklock by Kairi but Kyoko reverses it, Kairi gets into the ropes but Kyoko slaps her in the face. Kyoko picks up Kairi and puts her in a sleeper, but Natsumi runs in and breaks it up.

Slaps by Natsumi to Kyoko, she goes back out to the apron and Kairi tags her in. Knees by Natsumi to Kyoko, running knee by Natsumi and she covers Kyoko for a two count. Natsumi goes off the ropes but Hailey hits her from the apron, Kyoko tags in Hailey and they kick Natsumi around the ring, Kairi comes in too but ultimately Kimura Monster-gun keeps the advantage. Natsumi kicks Kyoko in the head while Kairi spears Hailey, kick by Natsumi to Hailey and she tags in Kairi. Assisted kneedrop by Natsumi, she goes up top and hits a diving double kneedrop onto Hailey. Kairi then goes up top and nails the diving elbow drop, but Kyoko breaks up the pin. Hailey clears the ring, she picks up Kairi and snaps off a German suplex hold for two. Hailey picks up Kairi again and throws her into the corner, Kyoko returns and they double team Kairi. High kick by Hailey, and she covers Kairi for two. Hailey gets on the second turnbuckle and they hit an assisted Gory Special, but Natsumi breaks up the pin. Hailey picks up Kairi but Kairi spins away and applies the 4173 (Gedo Clutch) for the three count! Natsumi Showzuki and Kairi Hojo are your new champions!

I haven’t seen a ton of Hailey Hatred, and maybe I am just watching the wrong matches, but I have yet to see her in a match look good. Every spear by Kairi to Hailey just looked rough, as if Hailey had never sold a spear before, and so much of it felt awkward. Her German Suplex was nice but nothing else was smooth. To be fair, some of the Kyoko segments looked rough too, it just felt disjointed as hell. Natsumi and Kairi were spunky as you’d assume and there were some solid parts, but overall just too rough around the edges to recommend.

Kaori Yoneyama, Hiroyo Matsumoto, and Syuri vs. Takahashi, Fujimoto, and Mika Nagano
Nanae Takahashi That’s Women’s Pro-Wrestling

Kaori and Fujimoto start off but they reach a stalemate and tag in Mika and Syuri. Mika takes down Syuri, kicks by Syuri but Mika slides away and hits mounted elbows. Mika goes for a cross armbreaker and gets it locked on, but Syuri gets a foot on the ropes. Nanae and Hiroyo are tagged in and they trade elbows, shoulderblock by Nanae and she throws down Hiroyo by the hair. Hiroyo returns the favor and hits a body avalanche before making the tag to Kaori. Abdominal Stretch by Kaori, she puts Nanae in the ropes so that her teammates can help her with the Stardom star. Syuri is tagged in next, Nanae slaps her but Syuri slaps her back and knees Nanae in the stomach. She goes off the ropes but Nanae delivers a lariat before making the hot tag to Fujimoto. Fujimoto kicks down all three of her opponents, Mika comes in and she dropkicks Syuri in the corner. Double catapult dropkick by Fujimoto to Syuri, she goes for a suplex but Syuri blocks it and hits a scoop slam. Syuri goes off the ropes but Fujimoto dropkicks her and tags in Mika, Mika and Syuri trade elbows, Syuri knees Mika into the corner and she hits a jumping knee. Suplex by Syuri, and she covers Mika for two. Mika goes for a cross armbreaker but it gets broken up, her teammates run in too however and Mika gets the hold re-applied. Mike gets out of it, knee by Mika but Syuri knees her back.

Syuri tags in Hiroyo and Hiroyo suplexes Mika with Kaori’s help. Hiroyo gets Mike on her back but Mika slides away and rolls up Hiroyo for two. Sleeper by Mika to Hiroyo, Nanae is tagged in and she lariats Hiroyo in the corner. Another lariat by Nanae, she goes for a suplex but Hiroyo blocks it. Hiroyo and Nanae trade elbows, Hiroyo slides to the apron and snaps Nanae’s neck over the top rope. Hiroyo goes up top and hits a missile dropkick, she charges Nanae but Nanae kicks her back and they trade strikes. Roaring Elbow by Hiroyo, but Nanae gets a shoulder up. Reverse Double Kneedrop by Hiroyo, but Fujimoto breaks up the cover. Hiroyo tags in Kaori, diving senton by Kaori to Nanae and she gets a two count. Everyone stacks on Hiroyo so she can hit a heavy kneedrop, cover by Kaori but Nanae kicks out at two. Nanae is thrown into the corner but Nanae lariats all of her opponents, she goes up top and hits the Refrigerator Bomb for a two count. Nanae picks up Kaori but Kaori sneaks in a flash pin for two. German suplex by Nanae but Kaori knees her in the back of the head, she goes up top and delivers the Takako Panic for a two count. Kaori picks up Nanae, elbow by Nanae and she hits a lariat. Yoshi Tonic by Kaori, she picks up Nanae but Fujimoto hits the Venus Shoot on her. Nanae picks up Kaori and delivers the Falcon Arrow, but Hiroyo breaks up the pin. The ring clears, Nanae picks up Kaori and she nails the One Second EX for the three count! Team Nanae Takahashi wins!

While a match like this isn’t going to blow anyone away, it was a smartly worked match that kept at a decent pace while giving all the wrestlers a chance to shine. Its a shame that Mika stopped wrestling as I love me a good MMA gimmick (well not a gimmick in her case), and her pairing with Syuri was entertaining. Nanae Takahashi was the star of the match by design but looked good, and everyone played their role well with no mistakes or miscommunications. Nothing special in the long run but a solid match bell to bell and quality filler.  Mildly Recommended

(c) Alpha Female vs. Io Shirai
This match is for the World of Stardom Championship

After Alpha Female jaws with the crowd they tie-up, Io tries to shoulderblock Alpha Female over but it obviously fails. Chops by Io, she goes for a slam but Alpha Female blocks it and hits a scoop slam of her own. Alpha Female throws Io into the corner but Io avoids her charge and hits a spinning headscissors followed by a standing moonsault for two. Io attempts to Irish whip Alpha Female but Alpha Female blocks it and hits a release German suplex. Alpha Female picks up Io and hits a German suplex hold, but Io kicks out at two. Clubs to the chest by Alpha Female and she hits a lariat, cobra clutch by Alpha Female but Io gets into the ropes for a break. Alpha Female picks up Io but Io lands on her feet on the suplex attempt and dropkicks Alpha Female into the corner. Space Rolling Elbow by Io but Alpha Female blocks the face crusher and delivers a release German. Alpha Female charges Io but Io ducks her lariat and applies the Tarantula in the ropes. Io releases it and goes for a swandive move, but Alpha Female grabs her before she can springboard and elbows her down to the floor. Alpha Female goes out after her and slams her into the apron, she puts Io against the ring post and goes for a lariat, but Io moves out of the way. Io then hits a Tiger Feint Kick around the ring post, she goes up top and delivers a moonsault down onto Alpha Female.

Alpha Female is rolled into the ring by Kyoko Kimura, Io gets on the apron and she hits a swandive dropkick to Alpha Female’s back. Tiger Feint Kick by Io and she hits another swandive dropkick, pinning Alpha Female for a two count. Armtrap Crossface by Io but Alpha Female muscles out of it, body avalanche by Io in the corner but Alpha Female elbows her in the other corner and they trade elbows. Palm strike by Io but Alpha Female elbows her hard in the face for a two count. Alpha Female charges Io but Io slides out to the apron, diving hurricanrana by Io and she hits a double knee strike in the corner. Alpha Female fires back with a lariat, she picks up Io and delivers a chokebomb, but Io barely gets a shoulder up. Cobra Clutch by Alpha Female but Io gets a foot on the ropes to force a break, Alpha Female picks up Io and goes off the ropes, but Io catches her with a Frankensteiner. Spinning kicks to the head by Io and she hits a standing moonsault followed by a moonsault off the second turnbuckle and top turnbuckle, but Alpha Female kicks out of the cover. Io goes for another hurricanrana but Alpha Female catches her and hits a Buckle Bomb. Alpha Female picks up Io and goes for a slam but Io blocks it and hits a Buzzsaw Kick. Io rains more Buzzsaw Kicks onto Alpha Female, rolling savate kick by Io and she hits a second one for a two count cover. They get up, kicks to the midsection by Io and she nails another rolling savate kick for the three count! Io Shirai is the new champion!

This match was good but weird. The ending felt… strange as while repeated kicks to the head is a solid way to win a match, it wasn’t one of Io’s regular ways and it would have been more impressive if she had won with a power move (like a bridging suplex). Odd ending aside, Alpha Female is one of the top female heels in all of wrestling and plays the part perfectly, she is strong enough to do just about anything but doesn’t mind taking the big bumps when needed to put over the ‘good guy.’ Watching the match four years after it happened, it didn’t really have an epic feel like you’d hope from the young local star defeating the evil gaijin for the promotion’s top championship, but it did show that Io is incredibly hard to beat, which is a theme that continues to this day. I liked it overall, but the ending was a bit flat and it didn’t feel as special as it was probably intended to be.  Mildly Recommended

Yuzuki Aikawa vs. Yoshiko
Yuzuki Aikawa Retirement Match

Aikawa and Yoshiko get right into it and end up on the mat, Yoshiko gets in the mount and holds down Aikawa. Aikawa hits an armdrag and kicks Yoshiko in the corner, figure four necklock by Aikawa and she rams Yoshiko’s head into the mat. Yoshiko kicks Aikawa into the corner and throws her down by the hair, bootscrapes by Yoshiko and she nails the running kick. Yoshiko puts Aikawa in the ropes and kicks her repeatedly in the chest, Irish whip by Yoshiko but Aikawa kicks her in the chest. Aikawa and Yoshiko trade elbow strikes, kicks to the leg by Aikawa but she poses for too long and Yoshiko bodyblocks her to the mat. Shoulderblocks by Yoshiko, she charges Aikawa in the corner but Aikawa hits a heel drop. Running body avalanche by Aikawa and she puts Yoshiko in a STF, but Yoshiko gets to the ropes. Aikawa goes for kicks but Yoshiko blocks them all and chokes Aikawa against the ropes. Aikawa goes for a fisherman suplex but Yoshiko gets out of it and hits a Codebreaker. Yoshiko applies a stretch hold before delivering a pump handle slam, she picks up Aikawa but Aikawa kicks her in the back. Fisherman suplex hold by Aikawa, but Yoshiko kicks out of the cover.

Hammerlock by Aikawa but Yoshiko slams her way out of it and hits a running senton. Another senton by Yoshiko and she hits one more for a two count. Yoshiko gets on the second turnbuckle and hits a diving senton, cover by Yoshiko but Aikawa gets a shoulder up. Yoshiko goes up top again but Aikawa snaps her neck over the top rope. Yoshiko falls out of the ring, Aikawa goes up top and dives out onto her with a plancha suicida. Aikawa returns to the ring and waits for Yoshiko, Yoshiko eventually slides back in and Aikawa hits her with the Shining Yuzard. Yuzupon Kick Blue by Aikawa, but Yoshiko barely kicks out of the cover. Aikawa goes for the Tiger Suplex but Yoshiko gets out of it, Yuzupon Stunner by Aikawa but Yoshiko drops her with a fireman’s carry slam for two. Yoshiko goes for the Reverse Splash but Aikawa moves out of the way, jumping knee by Aikawa in the corner and she kicks Yoshiko in the head again. Another head kick by Aikawa, but again Yoshiko kicks out. Aikawa picks up Yoshiko and kicks her in the head, but Yoshiko comes back with a headbutt. They both slowly get up and trade slaps, kicks by Aikawa to Yoshiko’s back and she hits the Yuzupon Kick Red, but Yoshiko gets up and fires off lariats. Aikawa ducks one and hits the Tiger Suplex Hold, but Yoshiko kicks out. Another Yuzupon Kick Red, but Yoshiko still won’t stay down for three. Aikawa goes for another Tiger Suplex Hold but Yoshiko pushes her off and hits a lariat. Chokebomb by Yoshiko, she gets on the top turnbuckle and nails a diving senton for the three count! Yoshiko wins!

When you think about it, this result is really different and Stardom went ‘all in’ on Yoshiko by structuring the match this way. I mean Yoshiko was only 19, and not fully established. Aikawa very rarely got pinned once she was the star of the promotion, she never even lost her singles title and ended up forfeiting it when her retirement was planned. But on the biggest event in Stardom’s history, Yoshiko not only defeats the most popular wrestler in Stardom but takes literally every move that she has in the process. I mean Aikawa had nothing left, if you check her move list on wikipedia she did everything with no success. Then the first time Yoshiko hits the diving senton from the top, she gets the win. The crowd really didn’t react as they didn’t know how to, while Yoshiko was a rising star she wasn’t really on this level at this point and probably wasn’t expected to win. The crowd didn’t boo, they were just stunned. Anyway, the issue with the match was that it was just really back and forth with no real transitions at times. Aikawa would hit a few moves, Yoshiko would stand up and hit a few moves, and so on. It didn’t feel like either really had a plan, it was just both hitting moves randomly with little to tie it together. Aikawa never really got desperate or emotional, as even though it was a Retirement Match she had such a short career that it didn’t have that epic feel like the Dynamite Kansai Retirement Match I watched a few weeks ago.  The match was good, but nothing more than that, even though I admire Stardom’s balls for putting all their chips in one basket and really going for it.  Mildly Recommended

The post Stardom Champion Fiesta Ryogoku Cinderella on 4/29/13 Review appeared first on Joshi City.

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.

The post Stardom Gaijins in 2016 – A Complete Ranking appeared first on Joshi City.

Event: Stardom “Gold May”
Date: May 15th, 2016
Location: Korakuen Hall in Tokyo, Japan
Announced Attendance: 910

About once a month, Stardom has a big event at Korakuen Hall, and they always go all out to put on an entertaining show. Here we get two big title matches, with Hojo looking to take the belt away from the often vacant Santana Garrett and Shirai battling against her tag team partner Mayu Iwatani for the #1 championship in the promotion. Plus we get Matsumoto killing a rookie and two giant gaijins going toe to toe. Here is the full card:

• Alex Lee, Azumi, and Kaori Yoneyama vs. Eimi Nishina, Haruka Kato, and Starlight Kid
• Hiroyo Matsumoto vs. Natsumi Maki
• Diosa Atenea, Kagetsu, and Kyoko Kimura vs. Hiromi Mimura, Jungle Kyouna, and Momo Watanabe
• Alpha Female vs. Queen Maya
• Wonder of Stardom Championship: Santana Garrett vs. Kairi Hojo
• World of Stardom Championship: Io Shirai vs. Mayu Iwatani

You can click on the names above to go to the wrestler’s profile on Joshi City. As this event was shown on Stardom World (just on a ringside camera, so multi-camera setup) the matches will not be clipped.

Alex Lee, Azumi, and Yoneyama vs. Eimi Nishina, Kato, and Starlight Kid

Starlight Kid and Yoneyama begin for their teams and trade holds but neither gets a real advantage so they tag in Azumi and Nishina. Azumi immediately gets the upper hand, her teammates come in and Nishina is triple teamed. Nishina comes back with a pair of dropkicks and she puts Azumi in a crab hold, but Azumi rolls out of it and tags in Lee. Kicks by Lee to Nishina and she throws her down by her hair, but Nishina hits a face crusher and covers Lee for two. Starlight Kid and Kato come in and they all dropkick Lee, Kato stays in but Lee knees her in the gut. Kato gets Lee’s back and rolls her to the mat with a cross armbreaker, but it is quickly broken up. Lee superkicks Kato a few times and hits a double underhook suplex, but the cover is broken up. Lee tags Yoneyama and she attacks Kato, but Starlight Kid comes in and hits Yoneyama with the Shiranui. Kato hits a diving crossbody on Yoneyama and tags in Starlight Kid, Starlight Kid rolls up Yoneyama and gets a two count. Yoneyama gets fed up and slams Starlight Kid, she tags in Azumi and they trade elbows. Dropkick by Starlight Kid and she hits a diving body press off the second turnbuckle, but the cover is broken up. Azumi suplexes Starlight Kid and hits a trio of DDTs, but again the pin is interrupted. Yoneyama and Lee are pulled out of the ring while in the ring Azumi goes for a Wing Clutch Hold, but Starlight Kid rolls though it and hits a standing moonsault for the three count! Nishina, Kato, and Starlight Kid are your winners.

Starlight Kid finally gets the big win over her arch rival! Needless to say a six wrestler tag that goes seven minutes is going to have some issues really getting moving but it was still an easy watch. The kids seem to be progressing and the veterans did their part keeping the match together. A few rough patches here and there but not a bad way to kick things off.

Hiroyo Matsumoto vs. Natsumi Maki

Maki wants Matsumoto to dance and do her pose as the match starts, which she does, but then Matsumoto kicks Maki in the gut. Maki applies a wristlock and poses again, giving Matsumoto time to knee her in the stomach. Matsumoto shrugs off a dropkick and throws down Maki by her hair, double kneedrop by Matsumoto and she rakes Maki’s face in the ropes. Chops by Matsumoto and she hits a scoop slam, cover by Maki but it gets two. Maki slides away from Matsumoto and applies a sleeper, but Matsumoto slams her into the corner to break it up. Armdrag by Maki and she applies a crucifix pin, Matsumoto kicks out and breaks Maki with a backbreaker. Body Avalanche by Matsumoto and she puts Maki in an Argentine Backbreaker, leading to Maki submitting! Matsumoto wins the match.

If I had to describe Maki as succinctly as possible, I would call her “full of energy but unpolished.” The crowd likes her, she has a bubbly personality and some bendy moves, but she is still early in her career in terms of some of the finer points of wrestling. Course she is still young and that is why she is wrestling early on the card, to gain some experience. Matsumoto is great of course and seemed to be having a great time also, but either way it was just a short opening-style match. A few cute spots though.

Diosa Atenea, Kagetsu, and Kimura vs. Mimura, Kyouna, and Watanabe

Atenea refuses to shake hands with the rookies, and quickly regrets her decision as all three of the rookies jump her. Atenea gets hit with many dropkicks but Atenea regains the advantage on Momo and kicks her out of the ring. Oedo Tai beats the rookies around the ring while Atenea returns with Momo, elbow by Atenea and she tags Kimura. Kimura throws Watanabe around by her hair before tagging in Kagetsu, as Momo plays the role of Face in Peril. Watanabe dropkicks Kimura and makes the hot tag to Kyouna, and Kyouna shoulderblocks all the members of Oedo Tai. Crossbody by Mimura (with help from Kyouna), but Oedo Tai gets all the rookies into submission holds. Atenea stays in with Kyouna and they trade elbows, kicks by Atenea but Kyouna catches her with a powerslam. Momo returns but Atenea tags Kagetsu, she goes for a swandive dropkick but Watanabe runs under it. Watanabe hits an armdrag. Missile dropkick by Watanabe, and she makes the tag to Mimura. Dropkicks by Mimura and she hits a DDT, cover by Mimura but it gets two. Rolling leglock by Mimura but all of Oedo Tai runs in and breaks it up. They stay in to attack the rookies, Mimura is isolated and they slam her to the mat. Kyouna runs in and hits a triple crossbody, she goes up top and she hits a diving crossbody on Kagetsu. Kyouna picks up Mimura and drops her into Kagetsu, but Kimura breaks up the pin. Kagetsu gets a parking sign and hits all three of the rookies with it, Kimura returns and they both boot Mimura in the chest. Mimura fires back with elbows to Kagetsu but Kagetsu gets her on her shoulders and hits the Ebisu Drop for the three count! Oedo Tai win the match.

Its a good idea in these Oedo Tai matches for Kagetsu to get the final pin, since she is new to the promotion it helps put her over a bit as more than just a lackey. The match was fine, lots of solid action and the rookies continue to grow early in their careers. Since I adore Wolf and Act I don’t mind them cheating when applicable, and Kimura does a solid job of being the base of the group. Everyone got a bit of a chance to shine, no real memorable moments but a good midcard match that flowed well.  Mildly Recommended

Alpha Female vs. Queen Maya

Alpha smashes Maya’s tiara before the match even starts to set the early tone, and Alpha immediately attacks Maya in the corner. They trade elbows until Alpha knocks Maya out of the ring, Maya gets a chair and sits down at ringside to re-group. Alpha grabs her by the hair but Maya hits Alpha in the head with the chair and covers her for two. Stomps by Maya and she clubs on Alpha’s chest, but Alpha finally blocks a shot and returns the favor. Big boot by Maya and she hits a second one, body avalanche by Maya and she hits an elbow drop for a two count. Maya goes to pick up Alpha but Alpha puts her in a triangle choke, but Maya gets a foot on the ropes. Vertical suplex by Alpha and she picks up Maya, but Maya slides away. Maya lariats Alpha out of the ring but Alpha pulls her out with her and throws her into the chairs at ringside. Alpha rams Maya into the apron, they battle up onto the stage and Female slams Maya onto the hard floor. Alpha gets Maya back into the ring but Maya blocks the Omega Slam and hits a lariat. DDT by Alpha, she picks up Maya but again Maya elbows herself free and hits a sidewalk slam for a two. Maya charges Alpha but Alpha levels her with a lariat, she picks up Maya and powerbombs her into the turnbuckles. Omega Plex by Alpha, and she picks up the three count! Alpha Female wins.

There were certainly some issues here, as Maya is limited and the pacing was off at times, but they did make up for it with some big moves. If this was the main event it would have been disappointing, but as a ‘special attraction’ monster gaijin collision and a change of pace match I thought it worked pretty well. Alpha is just so strong, I haven’t ever seen another wrestler hit moves to Maya like she does, and Maya was game for anything. A bit of a guilty pleasure match but definitely different from everything else on the card which is always a plus. I enjoyed it but no promises that you will, especially in a vacuum where it being a change of pace style match won’t matter as much.

(c) Santana Garrett vs. Kairi Hojo

They immediately start trading elbows and they take turns striking each other in the corner. Space Rolling Elbow by Garrett and she throws down Hojo by the hair, Hojo tosses Garrett out to the apron and slams Hojo into the turnbuckles, Garrett goes up top and flings Hojo out of the ring. Tope Suicida by Garrett, she pulls Hojo near the apron and puts her in a stretch hold while the referee tries to get her to let go. She eventually does and throws Hojo into the ring post before sliding her back into the ring. Garrett starts working on Hojo’s arm, Hojo goes up to the corner and goes to do her springboard move but she loses her balance and jumps out of the ring onto no one. That must have hurt. But she gets back into the ring like a trooper but Garrett kicks her in the face and covers Hojo for two. Shoulderblock and a neckbreaker by Hojo, she puts Garrett in a leg submission and then an arm submission before letting the hold go. Back up they trade elbows, Hojo goes off the ropes but Garrett catches her with a superkick. Enzuigiri by Garrett, but when get they back up Hojo levels her with a spear. Ikari by Hojo, she picks up Garrett and hits a Final Cut. Hojo goes up top but Garrett joins her, Hojo pushes Garrett into the Tree of Woe and hits a jumping footstomp to the chest. Hojo delivers the Sliding D and she covers Garrett for a two count. Hojo goes up top but Garrett blocks the Diving Elbow Drop and applies a short armbar. Garrett kicks Hojo in the head and drops her with a DDT, she nails the Shining Star Press but Hojo barely gets a shoulder up. After trading pin attempts, Garrett picks up Hojo and hits a handspring elbow, but Hojo catches her with a spinning double chop. Hojo picks up Garrett and hits a leg clutch bridging suplex, but Garrett kicks out. Hojo slams Garrett in front of the corner, she goes up top and delivers the Diving Elbow Drop for the three count! Kairi Hojo wins the match and the Wonder of Stardom Championship!

A very good match, not quite great in-ring wise but a necessary match to get the belt off of Garrett and continue Hojo’s storyline. I am not thrilled with every Stardom title (eight total) being held by three wrestlers but that is just where the promotion is right now, hopefully it gets resolved soon as the upper midcard is non-existent. The match itself was generally entertaining, Garrett doesn’t have a ton of chemistry with Hojo but they worked together pretty well and the crowd was into just about everything Hojo did. Good match with some emotional moments, but with some odd transitions and illogical decisions by both wrestlers that took it down a peg or two.  Mildly Recommended

(c) Io Shirai vs. Mayu Iwatani

Before the match even starts, Iwatani asks that the match have no time limit, which Shirai agrees to. They go through an extended feeling out process as Iwatani is all business, Iwatani tries to elbow Shirai but Shirai has none of it and pulls her by the hair. Iwatani flips Shirai to the mat and kicks her repeatedly, Shirai gets back up and they run the ropes until Shirai dropkicks Iwatani out of the ring. Shirai gets a running start and then sails out onto Iwatani with a plancha suicida, she goes up top but Iwatani kicks her to send Shirai back to the floor. Diving plancha by Iwatani to the floor, she goes for a dragon suplex but Shirai reverses it and hits a German suplex onto the floor. Stiff kicks by Shirai before she rolls Iwatani back in and hits a slingshot footstomp. More kicks by Shirai and she dropkicks Iwatani in the head, dragon screw by Shirai and she hits a hard palm strike. Shirai stays in control on the mat and flings Iwatani in the corner before hitting a running double knee strike.

Iwatani comes back with an armdrag and a headscissors before drilling her with a dropkick. Northern Lights Suplex by Iwatani, she goes up top but Shirai throws her back down. Iwatani joins Shirai and guillotines her on the top rope, Shirai is leaned over the second rope and Iwatani hits a footstomp to her back. Iwatani goes up top and hits a diving footstomp, cover by Iwatani but it gets two. Iwatani goes for the dragon suplex but Shirai blocks it and she hits a German suplex of her own for a two count cover. Iwatani kicks Shirai but Shirai blocks the hurricanrana and applies a crab hold. Iwatani gets into the ropes, Tiger Feint Kick by Shirai and she hits the swandive dropkick for two. Armtrap Crossface by Shirai, but Iwatani gets out of it and kicks her in the head. Palm strikes by Shirai but Iwatani catches her with a pair of superkicks, but Shirai catches her from behind and hits a big suplex. Texas Cloverleaf by Shirai, she picks up Iwatani and she delivers a tombstone piledriver.

Shirai goes up top but Iwatani avoids the moonsault, high kick by Iwatani and Shirai rolls to the apron. Iwatani joins her on the apron, she picks up Shirai and and nails a dragon suplex! Shirai flops to the floor and lands on her head for extra measure, Iwatani rolls back in the ring while Shirai slowly regains her bearing and barely makes the count. Iwatani hits a German suplex hold as soon as Shirai returns, but she gets a two count. Iwatani goes for the reverse hurricanrana but Shirai blocks it, frog splash by Iwatani but it gets a two as well. Dragon suplex hold by Iwatani, but Shirai barely gets a shoulder up. She goes for another one but Shirai blocks it and hits a tiger suplex. Package German suplex hold by Shirai, she goes up top and nails the moonsault for the three count! Io Shirai is still the champion!

Being the company ace has both its advantages and disadvantages. Io Shirai has to always be at the top of her game, luckily she is always up for the challenge as in the last year she has pretty much developed into the perfect character. She manages to still be pleasant but deadly serious and deadly accurate with her moves, she isn’t a heel but rather just really confident in her abilities and she pulls it off as well as anyone in wrestling. Iwatani was wrestling as the underdog all match, as her ‘big match’ moves couldn’t get her the win and she made a few miscues here and there. The only complaint about the match would just be that Io took so much damage and came back quickly to win but that is just who she is, if you are going to beat Io you will either have to sneak out a win or kill her, just normal moves aren’t going to do the trick. Mayu is still young, she’ll get more chances, so a loss here doesn’t hurt her or her story. An incredible match that had all the elements I look for in wrestling, just a must see.  Highly Recommended

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Event: Stardom “Golden Week Stars #2”
Date: May 8th, 2016
Location: Saitama Prefectural Industrial Center in Saitama, Japan
Announced Attendance: 235

The final event before Stardom’s big show at Korakuen Hall on May 15th! This is a particularly small offering by Stardom, with only four scheduled matches, but since it is the last event to help promote the upcoming title matches there is still some significance. In the last match, with future opponents teaming up I assume something interesting is bound to happen. Here is the full card:

• Azumi vs. Kaori Yoneyama vs. Starlight Kid
• Diosa Atenea and Kyoko Kimura vs. Hiroyo Matsumoto and Santana Garrett
• Jungle Kyouna and Momo Watanabe vs. Kairi Hojo and Hiromi Mimura
• Alpha Female and Queen Maya vs. Io Shirai and Mayu Iwatani

A unique variety here with a main event that won’t go well, let’s see how it works out.

Azumi vs. Kaori Yoneyama vs. Starlight Kid

Azumi and Starlight Kid begin the match and they go back and forth with armdrags, they trade elbows until Starlight Kid hits a monkey flip. Dropkick by Starlight Kid and she kicks Azumi in the face, Starlight Kid gets on the second turnbuckle but Azumi avoids her dive and puts her in La Magistral for a two count. Roll-up by Azumi but Starlight Kid reverses it and hits a standing moonsault for the three count! Starlight Kid gets the pin and a point.

Yoneyama enters the ring to face off with Starlight Kid, dropkicks by Starlight Kid and she puts Yoneyama in a crab hold. Starlight Kid stomps on Yoneyama and hits a standing moonsault, she hits a frog splash off the second turnbuckle but the pin attempt gets two. Yoneyama blocks the Shiranui  and hits an atomic drop, standing senton by Yoneyama and she puts Starlight Kid in a Giant Swing. Crab hold by Yoneyama and Starlight Kid submits! Yoneyama gets a point.

Azumi returns to square off with Yoneyama, Yoneyama chops Azumi but Azumi sneaks in an inside cradle for two. Crab hold by Azumi but Yoneyama gets to the ropes, senton by Azumi but Yoneyama hits a delayed scoop slam. Starlight Kid trips Yoneyama from the floor, dropkick by Azumi and she suplexes Yoneyama for a two count. Yoneyama blocks the La Magistral attempt and throws Azumi to the mat, but Starlight Kid grabs Yoneyama from the apron which gives Azumi time to apply a Wing Clutch Hold. Yoneyama rolls out of it however and she holds down Azumi for a three count! Yoneyama has two victories and wins the match!

A simple match, although Starlight Kid getting a pinfall is different since she typically doesn’t win anything. I did like that Starlight Kid was cheating for Azumi during the last fall, as if Azumi had pinned Yoneyama it would have given Starlight Kid a chance to win the match. Just a basic opener.

Diosa Atenea and Kyoko Kimura vs. Hiroyo Matsumoto and Santana Garrett

Atenea and Garrett start off, but Kimura immediately attacks Garrett from behind. Matsumoto comes in and helps Garrett even the odds, and Garrett hits the Space Rolling Elbow in the corner. Oedo Tai regains the advantage as the action spills out of the ring, and Atenea bites Garrett in the head. Atenea and Garrett get back in the ring, lariat by Garrett and she covers Atenea for two. Atenea elbows Garrett and tags Kimura, Kimura grabs Garrett and throws her around the ring by her hair. Kimura spanks Garrett in the ropes and then jumps down on her back before tagging in Atenea. Jumping lariat by Atenea and she puts Garrett in a wristlock before tagging Kimura back into the ring. Kimura works over Garrett’s arm but Garrett snaps off a hurricanrana and makes the hot tag to Matsumoto. Matsumoto clears the ring before throwing Oedo Tai in one corner and hitting a body avalanche.

Matsumoto goes up top and hits a missile dropkick, cover by Matsumoto but it gets two. Kimura gets away from Matsumoto and kicks her in the head, they trade running strikes until Kimura applies an Octopus Hold. Kimura tags Atenea and she armdrags Matsumoto, Matsumoto flips Atenea out to the apron but Atenea comes back in the ring with an diving armdrag. Matsumoto slams Atenea to the mat and tags Garrett, Garrett and Atenea trade blows until Garrett hits a flying headscissors. Superkick by Garrett but Kimura blocks the Shining Star Press, allowing Atenea to cover Garrett for a two. Kimura comes in with a rod and hits Garrett in the head with it, Atenea grabs Garrett with Kimura and they double team Garrett in the corner. Atenea puts Garrett in the Scorpion Deathlock but Matsumoto breaks it up. Garrett kicks Atenea, Garrett gets on Matsumoto’s back (with Kimura) and Matsumoto hits a double kneedrop on Atenea. Matsumoto powerbombs Atenea, Shining Star Press by Garrett and she gets the three count! Garrett and Matsumoto are the winners.

I have determined that Atenea isn’t gelling very well in Stardom. That isn’t to say she is a bad wrestler as it is a different style, but there were a few things here that didn’t quite line up correctly. Beyond that the match was fine, nothing special but nothing offensive. Garrett looked good, she seems to be getting more accustomed to the Stardom style which is a shame in a way as I don’t think she will be in Stardom much longer. Just a decent midcard match.

Jungle Kyouna and Momo Watanabe vs. Kairi Hojo and Hiromi Mimura

The rookies Mimura and Kyouna kick things off and they trade holds until Mimura hits a dropkick, but she misses her next one and both wrestlers tag out. Hojo and Watanabe go off the ropes, Watanabe pancakes one too many times and Hojo hits a footstomp on her back. They trade quick pins with no luck before facing off again, Kyouna and Mimura both come in the ring but JKGReeeeN stack their opponents in the corner for some double teaming. Mimura is chopped by both wrestlers in the ropes, scoop slam by Watanabe and she tags Kyouna. Kyouna puts Mimura in a crab hold, Hojo throws her a rope to try to help her to the ropes but Kyouna has none of that and breaks it up. Mimura gets away and hits a low crossbody to Kyouna, giving her time to tag in Hojo. Hojo chops Kyouna in the chest, shoulderblock by Hojo and when Kyouna runs in she eats a springboard elbow smash. Mimura comes in and Hojo catapults off of her with an elbow strike. They bring in their rope and tie up Kyouna and Watanabe, they get free after a moment and Kyouna catches Hojo with a powerslam.

Kyouna picks up Hojo and puts her in the corner and hits a body avalanche, Kyouna stomps Hojo but Hojo catches her with a spear. Hojo tags Mimura, dropkick by Mimura and she connects with another one to Kyouna. Rolling leglock by Mimura but Kyouna eventually makes it to the ropes, big lariat by Kyouna and she covers Mimura for two. Kyouna tags Watanabe, stomps by Watanabe to Mimura and she dropkicks Mimura in the corner. Another dropkick and she hits a series of vertical suplexes, but Mimura quickly rolls her up for two. Watanabe and Mimura trade elbows, Mimura tries for a few more quick pinning situations but all get a two. Kyouna comes in when Hojo does and tosses her to the mat, Watanabe gets on the second turnbuckle and hits Mimura with a missile dropkick. Watanabe gets on Kyouna’s shoulders and hits a double kneedrop, but Hojo breaks up the cover. Watanabe picks up Mimura but Mimura wiggles away and tags in Hojo. Diving elbow smash by Hojo and she hits a double chop to Watanabe’s chest for a two count. Kyouna kicks Hojo from the apron and then comes in to further help, double vertical suplex to Hojo and Watanabe covers her for two. Somato by Watanabe to Hojo, but Mimura breaks up the cover. Kyouna comes in, Mimura hits a crossbody and Hojo dropkicks them over. Spinning chop by Hojo to Watanabe, Mimura returns and Hojo nails Watanabe with a Sliding D. Mimura takes care of Kyouna while Hojo goes up to the top turnbuckle and she nails the Diving Elbow Drop for the three count! The Kai-Hiro Pirates win!

This match got a lot more time than I was expecting, and they used it pretty well. Since all four are familar with each other it was a pretty smooth match, a few very minor hiccups but nothing major which is all you can ask for with a group with so little experience. I love the teamwork in these matches, and Watanabe is really in her element in tag team matches as sometimes she loses her way a bit in longer singles matches. An entertaining match, and it gave Hojo something as she takes the older but less experienced Mimura under her wing.  Mildly Recommended

Alpha Female and Queen Maya vs. Io Shirai and Mayu Iwatani

Alpha and Iwatani begin the match for their respective teams, Alpha quickly gets the advantage which brings in Shirai and Maya. Maya gets Shirai on her back as they both apply backbreakers, Maya eventually lets Shirai go and Iwatani hits a headscissors on Alpha. Sunset flip by Iwatani and she rolls up Alpha again, but both times Alpha kicks out. Iwatani tags Shirai, and Alpha elbows Shirai hard in the chest. Maya tags herself in which pisses off Alpha so they are the first team to get annoyed with each other, which leads to Maya getting double teamed by Iwatani and Shirai in the corner. Iwatani charges Maya but Maya pulls Shirai in front of her, causing Shirai to hit Iwatani by accident. Shirai and Iwatani regain themselves and both dropkick Maya, but Maya avoids the next double team move. Alpha is still mad at Maya and comes in to elbow her, leading to them fighting in the corner. The referee has seen enough from them and calls the match off, leading to a No Contest.

Shirai gets on the microphone and says that is not a satisfactory ending, and since neither teams were in sync that they should re-start the match but with different partners. She picks Alpha (smart!), so now we are getting a new match!

Alpha Female and Io Shirai vs. Queen Maya and Mayu Iwatani

This gives her time to tag in Alpha while Maya is also tagged in, lariats by Alpha and she slams both Maya and Iwatani. Suplex by Alpha to Maya and then she suplexes Iwatani onto Maya. Alpha pounds on Iwatani’s chest and chokes her in the ropes, she puts Iwatani in a backbreaker before throwing her into the corner. Alpha tags Shirai, Tiger Feint Kick by Shirai and she hits a swandive dropkick. Shirai hits a footstomp on Iwatani and hits a dragon screw, Iwatani goes for a dragon suplex but Shirai blocks it. Leglock by Shirai but Iwatani gets to the ropes, back up Iwatani slaps Shirai but Shirai slaps her back. Palm strikes by Shirai but Iwatani drops her with a Sling Blade. Kick to the head by Iwatani and she makes the hot tag to Maya. Maya knocks Alpha off the apron, she grabs Shirai but Shirai kicks Maya in the head. Running double knee by Shirai in the corner, she goes up to the top turnbuckle but Maya elbows her and joins Shirai up top. Alpha comes in too and powerbombs Maya, Shirai hits a moonsault but Iwatani breaks up the cover. Maya tries to kick Shirai but boots Iwatani by accident, Maya chokeslams Shirai and covers her for two. Maya elbows Alpha and picks up Shirai, but Shirai slides away and Alpha lariats Maya. German suplex hold by Shirai, and she picks up the three count! Alpha Female and Io Shirai are the winners!

For a ‘storyline’ match this was fine, but for in-ring action it was probably the worst Stardom main event of 2016. Any match with Io Shirai and Iwatani is going to be good, and Alpha Female is a guilty pleasure of mine, but with such a strong focus on having the teammates turn on each other it took a bit of the rhythm out of the match. It was too foreshadowed what was going to happen so it didn’t come across as a surprise, and they should have just made the final pairing the original pairing. The Iwatani/Shirai parts were well done as they work really well together, it just wasn’t a very exciting main event. It served its general purpose but overall a bit disappointing.  Mildly Recommended

The post Stardom Golden Week Stars #2 on 5/8/16 Review appeared first on Joshi City.

Event: Stardom “Golden Week Stars #1”
Date: May 3rd, 2016
Location: Shin-Kiba 1st RING in Tokyo, Japan
Announced Attendance: 310

Stardom has finally started a new tour, as after the Cinderella Tournament we are moving in a new direction. This is a pretty laid back show, as events at Shin-Kiba 1st RING tend to be, with no title matches. The biggest match is the main event, which acted as a Prelude to their big show at Korakuen Hall on May 15th. Here is the card:

• Alpha Female vs. Azumi, Hiromi Mimura, and Starlight Kid
• Alex Lee vs. Diosa Atenea vs. Kaori Yoneyama
• Hiroyo Matsumoto vs. Momo Watanabe
• Jungle Kyouna and Queen Maya vs. Kagetsu and Kyoko Kimura
• Io Shirai and Santana Garrett vs. Kairi Hojo and Mayu Iwatani

This is a quick one, lots of opportunities for the rookies though.

Alpha Female vs. Azumi, Hiromi Mimura, and Starlight Kid

Mimura is the first one in but she quickly changes her mind and tags in Azumi. She has no luck either and tags Starlight Kid, Starlight Kid goes for dropkicks but Alpha doesn’t budge. Mimura and Azumi both come in but Alpha fights them off and drops Azumi to the mat. Mimura dropkicks Alpha and Azumi hits a DDT while Alpha is on her knees. Backflip into a moonsault by Starlight Kid, all three cover Alpha but it only gets two. Alpha gets back on her feet, Mimura tries to slam her which obviously doesn’t work. Slam by Alpha and she elbows Mimura into the corner, Azumi and Starlight Kid come in but Alpha throws all three in the corner. Alpha charges in, but Starlight Kid and Azumi move so she only splashes Mimura. Azumi hits Alpha with a chair which gives Mimura a chance to apply her rolling leglock, Starlight Kid comes in and hits Alpha with a pole. Alpha gets to the ropes, Azumi dropkicks Alpha but Alpha swats her away. Azumi escapes and tags Starlight Kid, high kick by Azumi and they all try to lift Alpha, but they can’t. Fuka (!!!) gets on the apron and comes in to help, and together all four are able pick up Alpha and toss her to the mat. Body press by Starlight Kid, but Alpha kicks out. Starlight Kid applies a sleeper while Mimura get her chain, but Alpha shakes off Starlight Kid and tosses Mimura to the mat by the chain instead. Lariat by Alpha, Azumi and Starlight Kid come in but Alpha stacks them on top of Mimura and sits on all three for the three count! Alpha Female wins!

Honestly this match was more entertaining than it had any right to be on paper. It wasn’t a squash in the traditional sense of the word as The Rookies had several two counts and had Alpha off her feet on a few occasions, which is a few more than I was expecting. Seeing Fuka come into the ring was fun, she is one of the trainers so it made sense she would come into help her young trainees against a much larger opponent. Just a fun little opener but it gave everyone a chance to shine and was very effective.  Mildly Recommended

Alex Lee vs. Diosa Atenea vs. Kaori Yoneyama

Atenea is double teamed to start but Yoneyama quickly turns on Lee and stomps down both of her opponents. Lee boots Yoneyama out of the ring but Atenea avoids Lee’s missile dropkick and puts her in a stretch hold. Yoneyama returns and trades armdrags with Atenea, Yoneyama rolls up Atenea but Lee breaks it up. Yoneyama and Lee trade elbows, jumping knee by Lee and she hits a double underhook suplex for a two count. Lee applies a short armbar but Atenea breaks it up, Lee kicks both Atenea and Yoneyama and hits a double dropkick. La Magistral by Atenea to Lee but it is broken up, superkick by Lee to Atenea and Lee suplexes Atenea. Armbar by Lee to Atenea and she puts her in a cross armbreaker, but Yoneyama covers Lee and gets the three count! Kaori Yoneyama is the winner.

Not a whole lot to say about this one, just a simple triple threat that was just what you’d expect. Not a great sign that Atenea is already in these types of matches, she may end up just being a one-and-done gaijin invader. Very skippable.

Hiroyo Matsumoto vs. Momo Watanabe

Watanabe doesn’t waste any time as she attacks Matsumoto before the bell rings, dropkicks by Watanabe but Matsumoto finally has enough and gives the kid a hard elbow. Matsumoto stands on Watanabe near the ropes and hits mounted elbows before putting her in a triangle choke. Watanabe gets into the ropes to get the break, she comes back with elbows but Matsumoto kicks her in the head. Matsumoto goes up top but Watanabe elbows her and she hits a dropkick followed by a double knee strike. Watanabe gets on the second turnbuckle and hits a missile dropkick, she gets on the second turnbuckle again but Matsumoto reverses the tornado DDT into a delayed vertical suplex. Body avalanche by Matsumoto in the corner, and she covers Watanabe for two. Matsumoto and Watanabe trade elbows, an exchange Watanabe doesn’t fare well in, Matsumoto goes for a backdrop suplex but Mom reverses it into a roll-up for two. Watanabe kicks Matsumoto in the chest but Matsumoto fires back with a roaring elbow. Big lariat by Matsumoto, she delivers the backdrop suplex and Matsumoto picks up the three count! The winner is Hiroyo Matsumoto.

The best thing about this match is that everything was smooth. In a few other recent Watanabe matches she has seemed off in a few places, which is expected but still notable. Here there were no such issues, everything was really fluid and Matsumoto led the kid pretty well. Watanabe got in a bit of offense but was never on the cusp of winning as she never had a series of impact moves in a row, which is a bit of a shame but not too surprising since Matsumoto is ranked well above Watanabe. A fun mid-card match but not much more than that.  Mildly Recommended

Jungle Kyouna and Queen Maya vs. Kagetsu and Kyoko Kimura

Maya and Kagetsu start the match with Maya taunting Kagetsu, Kimura comes in and puts Kagetsu on her shoulders so she is the same size as Maya and together they fight her off. Double dropkick to Maya but Mays drops Kagetsu with a backdrop suplex before tagging in Kyouna. Kimura tags in too, Kyouna is pulled out of the ring and everyone brawls out on the floor. Kimura and Kyouna return after a moment, and Oedo Tai poses with her up on the apron. Kagetsu is tagged back in and she dropkicks Kyouna, Kimura returns and she starts working on Kyouna’s leg. Kyouna fights back with elbows, she tries to shoulderblock Kimura over but Kimura spits in her face. Kyouna finally manages to knock her off her feet and tags in Maya, Maya boots Kimura but Kimura boots her back. Sidewalk slam by Maya, and she covers Kimura for two.

Maya goes for a chokeslam but Kimura blocks it and tags Kagetsu. Swandive missile dropkick by Kagetsu and she hits a jumping elbow in the corner, she tries to pick up Maya but Maya elbows her off. Big spear by Kagetsu, she picks up Maya but Maya boots her away and hits a scoop slam. Swinging side slam by Maya and she tags in Kyouna, shoulderblocks by Kyouna and she catches Kagetsu with a powerslam for a two count. Backbreaker by Kyouna but Kagetsu uses the referee to get out of it, Kyouna goes to shoulderblock her but Kagetsu pulls the referee in front. Kimura comes in with a metal rod and starts hitting people, but she hides it before the referee recovers. Samoan Drop by Kagetsu, but Maya breaks up the cover. Maya then lariats both Kagetsu and Kimura, chokeslam by Maya to Kagetsu and Kyouna gets on her shoulders to hit a diving body press for two. Act comes up and spits Sake at Maya, Kagetsu hits a sign and hits Kyouna in the head with it. Ebisu Drop by Kagetsu, and she picks up the three count! Kagetsu and Kyoko Kimura are the winners.

A good and effective match, although not necessarily memorable. There were a handful of really nice spots here, such as Kyouna hitting the splash off of Maya’s shoulders, although I have to say it was a bit odd for Maya to suddenly be on the ‘good guy’ side after being the monster heel during her run in Stardom dating back to last summer. The beatdown on Kyouna was fine but generally uninspired, I did like the ending though with as usual Act getting involved and Kagetsu cheating to win. I don’t mind having a heel cheating faction in any promotion, as long as it doesn’t get too out of hand as it adds some variety to the cards. Overall a decent match, and again I am glad to see Oedo Tai picking up some wins here in the midcard.

Io Shirai and Santana Garrett vs. Kairi Hojo and Mayu Iwatani

Hojo and Iwatani jump their opponents before the match even starts, they knock their opponents out of the ring and Hojo hits a jumping elbow off the apron. Iwatani then goes up top and delivers a diving crossbody down onto both Shirai and Garrett. Hojo and Garrett return to the ring, Iwatani comes in too and Garrett is double teamed. Hojo continues the beating of Garrett, she tags in Iwatani and Iwatani picks up where Hojo left off. Iwatani kicks Garrett repeatedly, Hojo returns and she elbows Garrett into the corner. Garrett fights back and kicks Hojo into the corner, Space Rolling Elbow by Garrett and she kicks Hojo in the chest. Garrett makes the hot tag to Shirai, Iwatani comes in too and she gets into it with Shirai which gives Hojo a chance to recover. Shirai smacks Iwatani to the mat and then dropkicks Hojo, catapult elbow by Shirai as she jumps off of Hojo to hit the move but Hojo blocks the double underhook facebuster. Garrett knees Hojo from the apron to help Shirai get back into control, she puts Hojo in a stretch hold while Garrett does the same to Iwatani. Shirai stomps down Hojo in the corner but Hojo hits a big spear when Shirai charges in for the double knee. Hojo tags Iwatani, Iwatani and Shirai trade elbows until Iwatani hits a headscissors.

Shirai avoids Iwatani’s dropkick and stands on her throat, more kicks by Shirai and she puts Iwatani in the armtrap crossface. Iwatani makes it to the ropes, she avoids Shirai’s Tiger Feint Kick and drills her with a dropkick while Shirai is against the ropes. Iwatani goes for the dragon suplex but Shirai elbows out of it, high kick by Iwatani and she hits a superkick. Another one by Iwatani and she hits a third, again Shirai gets out of the dragon suplex and Shirai drops Iwatani with a German suplex hold for two. Garrett and Hojo are both tagged in and trade strikes, Garrett rolls Hojo into a pin attempt but Iwatani breaks it up. Hojo goes up top and she nails the diving elbow drop, she is slow to cover which gives Shirai time to break it up. Hojo puts Garrett in a stretch hold, Iwatani goes up top and hits a diving footstomp onto Garrett’s midsection. Garrett is set up in the Tree of Woe, Hojo goes up top but Shirai comes over and pulls Hojo off the top turnbuckle while simultaneously hitting a swandive missile dropkick on Iwatani. Shirai is truly the best in the world. Garrett goes up top and hits a diving crossbody on Hojo, but it gets two.Rolling vertical by Garrett into a DDT, she goes for the Shining Star Press but Hojo grabs her leg and Iwatani hits an enzuigiri. Iwatani goes to kick Garrett but kicks Hojo by accident, Shirai runs in and she hits a tombstone piledriver on Iwatani but landing on top of Hojo. Shirai goes up top and hits a moonsault, Shining Star Press by Garrett and she gets the three count! Garrett and Shirai win the match.

I am at the point now that when I watch a Stardom main event, I am just so focused on Io Shirai that sometimes I forget about everyone else. Which isn’t really fair since all four of these wrestlers are great, but Shirai’s presence just tends to dominate. This is the best that Garrett has looked in Stardom, she was still a bit clunky in parts but that is only in comparison to three wrestlers that are more comfortable beating the crap out of each other since they have been doing it for years.  Lots of hard hits, smooth action, and Iwatani slowly tapping into her inner evil knowing that is what she will need to beat the Ace. Overall a great main event, which is the status quo for Stardom.  Recommended

The post Stardom Golden Week Stars #1 on 5/3/16 Review appeared first on Joshi City.

Event: Stardom “Cinderella Tournament 2016”
Date: April 29th, 2016
Location: Korakuen Hall in Tokyo, Japan
Announced Attendance: 1050

The Cinderella Tournament is a massive one day tournament in Stardom, with 16 participants. The tournament is single elimination, and every match has a ten minute time limit (except the Final, which is 30 minutes). If the time limit expires, both wrestlers are eliminated from the tournament. Also, wrestlers can win not only by pinfall and submission, but also by throwing their opponent over the top rope. Here are all the First Round matches:

• Dark Match: Azumi and Kaori Yoneyama vs. Eimi Nishina and Starlight Kid (winner is inserted into the tournament vs. Kyoko Kimura)
• Jungle Kyouna vs. Saori Anou
• Alex Lee vs. Santana Garrett
• Kyoko Kimura vs. TBD (Dark Match Winner)
• Kairi Hojo vs. Momo Watanabe
• Hiromi Mimura vs. Mayu Iwatani
• Hiroyo Matsumoto vs. Kagetsu
• Alpha Female vs. Queen Maya
• Diosa Atenea vs. Io Shirai

Just as a warning, with a ten minute time limit and multiple matches in one night, some of these matches will be really short. Also, keep in mind that if both wrestlers in a match are eliminated, their opponent in the next round gets a Bye, so we may not get the full slate of matches as there will no doubt be a Draw or two along the way.

Azumi and Kaori Yoneyama vs. Eimi Nishina and Starlight Kid

Azumi and Starlight Kid begin and trade wristlocks, they then exchange elbows but both miss their dropkicks. They tag out, Yoneyama avoids Nishina’s charge as Azumi comes in and they double team Nishina. Nishina and Yoneyama trade elbows, Nishina avoids Yoneyama’s charge this time and she hits a dropkick. Face crusher by Nishina and she hits a dropkick, covering Yoneyama for two. Nishina tags in Starlight Kid, Starlight Kid tries to dropkick Yoneyama over but is not successful. Drop toehold by Starlight Kid and she hits the Tiger Feint Kick, Shiranui by Starlight Kid to Yoneyama and she covers her for two. Starlight Kid tries to slam Yoneyama but Yoneyama reverses it and tags in Azumi. Azumi and Starlight Kid trade elbows until Azumi hits a dropkick, vertical suplex by Azumi and she gets a two count cover. They trade quick pin attempts with no luck, standing moonsault by Starlight Kid and Nishina runs in with a Somato to Azumi. Starlight Kid goes to the second turnbuckle and hits a diving body press, but Yoneyama breaks up the pin. Yoneyama stacks Nishina and Starlight Kid on top of each other and drags Azumi to her corner so she can tag in. She does so, Northern Lights Suplex by Yoneyama to Starlight Kid and she gets the three count! Yoneyama wins the match and is in the Cinderella Tournament!

About as good as one can hope for from a four minute opening match. The concept made no sense, if only one wrestler could go on in the tournament, why would a wrestler ever tag out or even allow their own teammate to attempt a pin? Probably should have been a four way. But the action was fine and the ‘right’ wrestler won since Yoneyama probably deserved to be in the tournament in the first place.

 
Jungle Kyouna vs. Saori Anou

Kyouna has a new outfit, so you know that she means business. She attacks Anou right from the start and stomps her into the corner, she goes for a body avalanche but Anou moves. Anou and Kyouna trade elbows, dropkick by Anou and she hits a shoulderblock. Anou starts working on Kyouna’s leg and puts her in a figure four leglock, but Kyouna makes it to the ropes. Sidewalk slam by Anou, but the cover gets two. Anou goes for the fisherman suplex but Anou blocks it, sunset flip by Anou but Kyouna kicks out. Anou goes off the ropes but Kyouna hits a shoulderblock, lariats by Kyouna and she gets on the top turnbuckle, but Anou recovers. Anou tries to push her off and over the top rope, but Kyouna blocks it so Anou hits her rolling fisherman suplexes instead for a near three count. Anou picks up Kyouna and slaps her, she goes off the ropes but Kyouna catches her with a lariat. Kyouna slams Anou, she goes up top and she nails the diving body press for the three count! Jungle Kyouna wins and advances in the tournament.

An issue we will see throughout the entire tournament is the time limit, but it didn’t matter too much here since rookie matches are generally short anyway. I thought this was a really solid match from these two, it was to the point but everything made sense and was hit well. These two have gotten pretty familar with each other, which is always a plus, and while Anou’s random leg work didn’t end up meaning anything it made sense she’d try to take out the larger wrestler’s base. Good way to kick off the show.  Mildly Recommended

Alex Lee vs. Santana Garrett

After some quick limb work, armdrag by Garrett and she dropkicks Lee to the mat. Lee comes back with a superkick, she snapmares Garrett and kicks her hard in the back for a two count cover. Kicks by Lee in the corner and she hits a scoop slam, another slam by Lee but the pin gets another two. Lee applies a short armbar but Garrett gets to the ropes, Lee goes for a suplex but Garrett knees out of it and elbows Lee against the ropes. Irish whip by Garrett and she hits a lariat, another lariat by Garrett and she hits a side Russian leg sweep. Space Rolling Elbow by Garrett, Lee hits a few knees but Garrett kicks her back to the mat. Lee avoids the superkick and hits a high kick of her own, cover by Lee but it gets two. Lee gets on the second turnbuckle but Garrett avoids the missile dropkick, superkick by Garrett and she nails the Shining Star Press for the three count!  Garrett is the winner and advances in the tournament.

Not a whole lot to this one, they kept the pace up but since it was a sub-five minute match you would expect that. The action was fine and the right wrestler won, since Garrett holds a title they needed to get her out of the first round, and Lee was a safe person to beat since she is an opener wrestler. Not a bad watch but nothing exciting or memorable about it.

Kyoko Kimura vs. Kaori Yoneyama

Yoneyama attacks Kimura from behind and hits the Chaos Theory, but Kimura kicks out of the pin attempt. Yoneyama tries more quick pins with no luck, kick to the head by Yoneyama but Kimura catches her with a choke. Yoneyama gets out of it by pushing off the ropes but Kimura quickly applies a sleeper, Yoneyama rolls out of it and she knees Kimura in the back of the head. Knee to the face by Yoneyama, and she covers Kimura for a two count. Big boot by Kimura, she goes off the ropes and hits another big boot, but Yoneyama bridges out of the pin. Yoneyama goes off the ropes but Kimura catches her with another big boot and picks up the three count! Kimura wins the match and advances in the tournament.

I think I can say without much hesitation that this was the best two minute match I have ever seen. I mean sure you’d like to see them go longer, but from the Chaos Theory to the vicious boots at the end everything was really entertaining. While you hate to see a veteran like Yoneyama go down that quickly, at least it took some hard hits to knock her out, and they both hit their moves so crisply. A really fun match, wish it went a few more minutes.  Mildly Recommended

Kairi Hojo vs. Momo Watanabe

They both go for dropkicks to start the match with no luck, Hojo stomps Watanabe down in the corner but Watanabe comes back and connects with a dropkick. Camel Clutch by Watanabe, she picks up Hojo but Hojo blocks the suplex. Hojo and Watanabe trade elbows, Hojo chops Watanabe to the mat and she covers her for two. Hojo chops Watanabe into the corner and she hits a running shoulder tackle followed by a neckbreaker for a two count cover. Crab hold by Hojo, but Watanabe crawls to the ropes and forces a break. Hojo stomps on Watanabe’s back and gets on the second turnbuckle, but Watanabe shakes the ropes and dropkicks Hojo out of the corner. Missile dropkick by Watanabe but Hojo avoids the Somato, elbow by Hojo but Watanabe returns fire. Watanabe ducks the rolling chop and hits the rolling vertical suplexes, cover by Watanabe but it gets two. Somato by Watanabe, but Hojo barely kicks out of the pin. Hojo clubs Watanabe and connects with the spinning chop, Irish whip by Hojo and she delivers the spear for two. Backfist by Hojo, she goes up top and she nails the diving elbow drop for the three count! Hojo is the winner and advances in the tournament.

I had to laugh at Watanabe missing the first time she tried to knock Hojo off the top, that type of mistake is easier to accept when you’re dealing with a 16 year old. This was a good match, fast paced and besides the aforementioned spot everything synced up well. Watanabe is easy to root for, being the underdog, but Hojo was just too much for her as Watanabe isn’t ready to pin someone on her level. I am surprised she made no attempt to throw Hojo over the top rope as that is really the only logical way she could have won this match. Overall a fun match between two high energy wrestlers.  Mildly Recommended

Hiromi Mimura vs. Mayu Iwatani

Mimura dropkicks Iwatani before the match starts to get the quick advantage, small package by Hiromi but it gets a two count. Iwatani briefly takes back over but Mimura rolls her up a few more times, but she isn’t able to secure a three count. Iwatani kicks Mimura but Mimura fires back with elbows, Northern Lights Suplex by Iwatani but it gets two. Iwatani goes to the second turnbuckle but Mimura avoids the footstomp, roll-up by Mimura but it gets two. Elevated DDT by Mimura, she gets on the top turnbuckle and she hits a diving crossbody for two. La Magistral gets a two as well, Mimura goes off the ropes but Iwatani catches her with another suplex. Hard superkick by Iwatani, she gets on the second turnbuckle and delivers a diving footstomp for two. Iwatani goes all the way up this time, she hits the frog splash and she picks up the three count! Iwatani wins and moves on in the tournament.

Perhaps a step down from the last few matches, however part of that was by design. Mimura kept trying for quick pins, which is a smart way to go about it but isn’t quite as much fun to watch as a back and forth match. Iwatani was bringing the pain here, with a really stiff kick and the footstomp, so clearly she wasn’t messing around. A fun quick match, but it didn’t click as well as many of the others in the first round.

 
Hiroyo Matsumoto vs. Kagetsu

Kagetsu attacks Matsumoto before the match (recurring theme for underdogs), she tries to throw her over the top rope but Matsumoto holds on. Matsumoto fights off Act while hanging there, she pulls Kagetsu onto the apron with her and gets back in the ring. Kagetsu hops back into the ring and applies a small package, but it gets two. Kagetsu and Matsumoto trade elbows, which Matsumoto gets the better of, she goes off the ropes but Kagetsu delivers a dropkick. Kagetsu pushes Matsumoto into the corner and hits a jumping elbow, missile dropkick by Kagetsu and she puts Matsumoto in a cross arm submission. Matsumoto reverses it into an elevated crab hold, but Kagetsu gets into the ropes. Matsumoto gets Kagetsu on her shoulders but Act helps from the apron, Kagetsu applies a schoolboy but it gets a two count. Samoan Drop by Kagetsu, she picks up Matsumoto but Matsumoto gets away and rolls up Kagetsu for two. Backdrop suplex by Matsumoto, but Kagetsu barely gets a shoulder up. Kagetsu gets a bat and tosses it to Matsumoto, the referee tries to take it from her which gives Kagetsu time to connect with a high kick. Kagetsu gets the bat but Matsumoto blocks it when she goes to hit her, Matsumoto throws the bat back at her and hits a body avalanche against the ropes. Backdrop suplex by Matsumoto, and she gets the three count! Matsumoto wins the match and advances in the tournament.

A liked the structuring of this one, Kagetsu had a clear plan on how to score the upset and tried her best to utilize it. This is much better than two wrestlers going at it with neither thinking in advance on how they are going to pick up the win, even in the wrestling-world preparation is always a good thing. There was very little downtime, which is good since the match was short, and overall it was pretty enjoyable. Plus it kept my prediction alive which I appreciate on a personal level.  Mildly Recommended

Alpha Female vs. Queen Maya

They start with a shoving match, they go into a Test of Strength until Maya knees Alpha in the stomach. Snapmare by Alpha and she clubs Maya in the chest, cover by Alpha but it gets two. Maya goes for a lariat but Alpha doesn’t go down, boot by Maya but Alpha hits a vertical suplex. Alpha picks up Maya and slams her to the mat, she charges her but Maya holds down the top rope and Alpha lands on the apron. Maya boots her back into the ring and picks up Alpha, but when she swings her around the referee is accidentally knocked out. Alpha puts Maya in an armtrap crossface, Maya taps but the referee is still out. Alpha looks at the referee, Maya has time to recover and she lariats Alpha over the top rope to the floor! Queen Maya wins the match and moves on the tournament.

A flat match, partially intentionally because (spoiler!) these two are signed to have a match after this one happened so the feud isn’t over yet. I am never a big fan of the ref bump/wrestler doesn’t notice/loses due to being confused thing, I know they needed a way to get one of these two monsters to lose but it didn’t really work for me. Accomplished its goal of continuing their feud, but not a great match.

Diosa Atenea vs. Io Shirai

Shirai goes right at Atenea but Atenea kicks her off and hits a hurricanrana. Armdrag by Atenea but Shirai tosses her out to the apron, she tries to knock her to the floor but Atenea hits her back and flips into the ring. Tilt-a-whirl backbreaker by Atenea and she drops a few elbows onto Shirai’s back. Atenea puts Shirai in a submission hold but Shirai gets out of it and hits a double footstomp onto Atenea’s midsection. Back up they trade elbows, Atenea throws Shirai into the corner and swings her legs over the second rope before dropping her with an elbow. Atenea gets on the top turnbuckle and hits a body press, but it gets a two count. Atenea goes up again but Shirai avoids the senton, La Magistral by Shirai but Atenea gets a shoulder up. Running double knee by Shirai in the corner and she delivers the double underhook facebuster for two. Shirai goes for a suplex but Atenea elbows her off, Shirai hits a palm strike and this time she hits the German suplex hold for the three count! Io Shirai wins and advances.

Not Io’s best match, but what I did enjoy was one small detail I thought was great – Shirai immediately tried to throw Atenea over the top rope to get the quick win. Everyone should have been doing that, but very wrestlers were, meanwhile the Ace that doesn’t have to was trying it to save her energy for the next two rounds. Sometimes it is the little things. Beyond that I thought the match wasn’t much above average, it never really felt like it got going as the shorter time wasn’t used as well here as it was in other matches. Not bad but it could have been better.

It is time for the Quarterfinals! The matches weren’t shown in the same order as the brackets, so it doesn’t line up with the order I reviewed them above. Here are the matches:

• Hiroyo Matsumoto vs. Jungle Kyouna
• Queen Maya vs. Mayu Iwatani
• Kairi Hojo vs. Santana Garrett
• Io Shirai vs. Kyoko Kimura

Let’s get right to the next round in the Cinderella Tournament.

Hiroyo Matsumoto vs. Jungle Kyouna

Kyouna attacks Matsumoto before she can even get into the ring, she leaves the ring herself (not over the top of course) and throws Matsumoto around on the floor. Kyouna throws Matsumoto into the ring post before hitting a body avalanche, she slides Matsumoto back in the ring and hits a series of elbows. Matsumoto comes back with her own elbows but Kyouna catches her with a powerslam for two. Kyouna goes up top and hits a diving body press, she picks up Matsumoto but Matsumoto blocks the lariat. Both wrestlers go for lariats, but Matsumoto sends Kyouna to the mat first. Sliding lariat by Matsumoto, and she picks up the three count! Matsumoto advances!

Like Kimura/Yoneyama, this was a high quality two minute match. While I don’t like seeing any wrestler lose in just two minutes, at least Kyouna went all out and held nothing back the two minutes she got. Matsumoto hit hard and often and needless to say it was very high paced. A fun match that worked well, even though I naturally would have liked a few more minutes.  Mildly Recommended

Queen Maya vs. Mayu Iwatani

Maya wants to lock knuckles but Iwatani stomps on her foot instead, she slides away from Maya’s lariats but her elbows have no impact. Maya throws Iwatani against the ropes, Iwatani goes for a springboard move but Maya catches her and throws her to the mat. Maya goes for a chokeslam but Iwatani elbows out of it, slap by Maya and she tries to chokeslam Iwatani over the top rope but she lands on the apron. Iwatani kicks Maya over the top rope, she gets on the turnbuckle and hits a missile dropkick. Cover by Iwatani, but Maya quickly kicks out. Iwatani applies a sleeper but Maya flings Iwatani over her head to get out of it. Big chokeslam by Maya, she covers Iwatani but she is too cocky with it and Iwatani gets a shoulder up. Maya is mad, she picks up Iwatani and goes for another one, but Iwatani rolls her up for a two count. Quick crucifix pin by Iwatani before Maya can get up, and she picks up the three count! Iwatani wins and moves on to the next round.

The best word I can use to describe this match is ‘effective.’ It did exactly what it was trying to do, the story was clear but it was told well, with Maya bringing the strength while Iwatani tried to find sneaky ways to win. Maya has a killer chokeslam and Iwatani sells everything like death anyway, I think if they had a bit more time they could put on a pretty solid match. It accomplished its goal, probably not a great match in a vacuum but it worked in a tournament setting.

Kairi Hojo vs. Santana Garrett

Hojo stomps on Garrett instead of shaking hands, she elbows Garrett down in the corner and delivers a Sliding D, but Garrett kicks out of the cover. Hojo goes for the Alabama Slam but Garrett blocks it, they trade elbows but neither gets an advantage. Monkey flip by Garrett and she holds down Hojo’s arms, but Hojo bridges out of the pin. Garrett throws Hojo into the corner and hits the Space Rolling Elbow, bulldog by Garrett and she covers Hojo for a two. Hojo comes back with a big spear, superkicks by Garrett and Hojo rolls out of the ring (under the bottom rope). Garrett gets a running start and sails out onto Hojo with a tope suicida (between the top and middle rope), she slams Hojo into the apron and slides her back in the ring. Vertical suplex by Garrett and she applies the Muta Lock, but Hojo gets a foot on the ropes. Garrett charges Hojo but Hojo moves, kick by Garrett and Hojo tries to run up the corner, but she slips. Hojo knocks down Garrett and tries again with a better result, as she hits a springboard elbow for two. Hojo applies a stretch hold but Garrett gets out of it, Final Cut by Hojo and she gets on the top turnbuckle, but Garrett recovers and hits her in the chest. Garrett goes for a headscissors but Hojo catches her and tosses her back to the mat. Hojo charges Garrett but Garrett gets her in a headscissors and tries to toss Hojo out of the ring. Hojo lands on the apron, Garrett goes to the apron also but Hojo kicks her so she is lying down on the apron. Garrett blocks the Sliding D attempt and tries to superkick Hojo off the apron, but Hojo hangs onto the ropes. She manages to get back in the ring, Garrett kicks Hojo in the head and covers her for two. DDT by Garrett, she goes for the Shining Star Press but Hojo grabs her leg and applies the Ikari. Garrett gets to the ropes, Hojo goes up top but Garrett avoids the diving elbow drop. Garrett goes for the cross armbreaker but Hojo wiggles to the ropes and forces a break. Hojo is up first and hits the spinning backfists, but the bell rings as time as expired. Both Hojo and Garrett are Eliminated from the tournament.

I went into this round thinking this one could steal the show, but it was a bit of the opposite. Garrett and Hojo are both great wrestlers, no doubt about that, but they have no chemistry to speak of. Besides the obvious mistakes there were some other just really awkward moments where they didn’t appear to be on the same page at all. When they were in sync, the action was great, but they weren’t in sync the whole match and it is just more noticeable when a match isn’t terribly long. I think (and hope) they will have a better match next time, it wasn’t that the match was bad, it just wasn’t up to either’s normal standard and was overall a disappointment.

Io Shirai vs. Kyoko Kimura

They start slow with wristlocks but things go up a notch as Kimura flings around Shirai by her hair. Shirai quickly rolls up Kimura for two, she hits a German suplex hold but it gets the same result. Kimura rolls out of the ring under the bottom rope, Shirai goes to do a dive but Act spits Sake at her from the apron before he can complete the dive. Kimura pulls Shirai out of the ring and throws her into a row of chairs, as the other members of Oedo Tai help. Back in the ring, Kimura gets a metal rod while Kagetsu comes into the ring and throws Shirai at the referee when his back is turned. Kagetsu hits Shirai with a bat, they both go off the ropes and boot Shirai in the chest. Kagetsu goes up top while Kimura picks up Shirai, and they both slam Shirai to the mat as the referee finally recovers. He gets Kagetsu out of the ring before starting his count, and Shirai gets a shoulder up. Kagetsu returns but Shirai backflips past them and dropkicks both out of the ring. She then goes out to the apron, Act runs over but Shirai boots her to the floor before hitting a moonsault down onto Kimura and Kagetsu. Shirai rolls Kimura back in and hits the swandive missile dropkick, Tiger Feint Kick by Shirai and she goes up top, nailing the Rider Kick! Cover, but Kimura gets a shoulder up. Double underhook facebuster by Shirai, she goes for a moonsault but Kimura gets both feet up. Back up, elbows by Kimura but Shirai snaps off a hurricanrana for two. Big boot by Kimura and she headbutts Shirai, covering her for a two count. Kimura tries to throw Shirai over the top rope but they both end up on the apron, where someone has set up a table on the floor nearby. They both walk onto the table, Kimura chokebombs Shirai onto the table which causes it to break and both crash to the floor. Kimura tries not to touch the floor in the process, but the referee says they hit the floor at the same time. Shirai and Kimura are both Eliminated.

A lot of different things going on in this match but overall I enjoyed it quite a bit. The ending spot was unique, but what Kimura should have done was toss Shirai off the table as by hitting the move each of them did hit the floor at just about the same time, so the referee ruling was correct. Shirai having to fight off Oedo Tai was fun, I have no issue with the Ace having to overcome the odds and nothing felt over the line since Oedo Tai doesn’t have top tier wrestlers in it at the moment (besides Kimura). Shirai busting out the Rider Kick showed the importance of winning and it was pretty hectic from bell to bell. The ending was a bit odd, but still a really fun match and a good way to end the second round.  Mildly Recommended

Because two of the last four matches ended with both wrestlers being eliminated, there is no Semifinals as only Iwatani and Matsumoto survived the Quarterfinals. So we are going straight to the Finals, with Mayu Iwatani vs. Hiroyo Matsumoto!

Mayu Iwatani vs. Hiroyo Matsumoto

Iwatani won’t shake Matsumoto’s hand before the match and attacks her from behind, looks like Iwatani isn’t in the mood to place nice today. Iwatani avoids Matsumoto in the corner and hits a high kick followed by a spinning headscissors and a dropkick while Matsumoto is against the ropes. Iwatani hits the dragon suplex hold, but Matsumoto barely gets a shoulder up and rolls out of the ring. Iwatani goes up to the top turnbuckle but Matsumoto throws a chair at her, she then gets up on the apron and powerbombs Iwatani onto the apron. Iwatani flops out to the floor (she had gone under the top rope to get to the turnbuckle, so this did not eliminate her), Matsumoto goes after her and tosses her around at ringside. Matsumoto takes Iwatani up onto the stage and hits a backbreaker, she picks up Iwatani and throws her off the stage onto some of the Stardom rookies. They finally return to the ring, Matsumoto puts the dinosaur mask on Iwatani’s head and hits a body avalanche in the corner. Hilarious visual. Matsumoto goes up top and hits a missile dropkick, cover by Matsumoto but it gets two. Matsumoto puts Iwatani on her shoulders and applies a backbreaker, but Iwatani gets out of it and elbows Matsumoto.

Kick by Iwatani but Matsumoto hits a hard elbow, crucifix bomb by Iwatani but Matsumoto kicks out. Iwatani gets on the second turnbuckle and hits a diving footstomp, she hits another one and covers Matsumoto for two. She goes up top a third time but this time Matsumoto recovers and joins her, as she goes to the well one too many times. Iwatani jumps off the top and grabs Matsumoto from behind, and she hits a release dragon suplex. Iwatani goes up top  and goes for a body press, but Matsumoto gets her knees up. Matsumoto is up first and nails a powerbomb before putting Iwatani in an elevated crab hold. Iwatani gets to the ropes, Matsumoto picks up Iwatani and drops her with a gutbuster. Knee by Matsumoto and she goes off the ropes, but Iwatani catches her with a superkick. Two more superkicks by Iwatani but Matsumoto turns her inside out with a lariat. Iwatani slowly gets up near the ropes, Matsumoto charges her and lariats Iwatani onto the apron. Matsumoto tries to kick her off to the floor but Iwatani hangs onto the ropes, Matsumoto charges Iwatani but Iwatani flips over the top rope and hurricanranas Matsumoto onto the apron with her. Both wrestlers get up on the apron, having both gone over the top rope so if either fall to the floor they lose. High kick by Iwatani but Matsumoto blocks the headscissors attempt. Iwatani gets back in the ring as Matsumoto tries to hang on, dropkick by Iwatani and Matsumoto falls to the floor! Iwatani has won the match and is the winner of the 2016 Cinderella Tournament for the second straight year!

Post match, Iwatani goes to the back and puts on the Cinderella dress. She gets on the microphone and announces she is using her wish to challenge Io Shirai for the World of Stardom Championship, which was expected. Io Shirai and other wrestlers take their turns on the microphone, then Yoko Bito comes down! Yoko Bito was a former Stardom wrestler that was forced to retire due to injuries back in 2012, you can read more about her here. She announces her return to Stardom as the crowd roars, so we end the event with two title matches set up for next month (Io Shirai vs. Mayu Iwatani and Kairi Hojo vs. Santana Garrett) and the return of Yoko Bito to Stardom.

This was by far the best match of the tournament but it still had its issues. I can’t say I like the Finals having the same over-the-top rules, it makes sense during the tournament itself but I wish the Finals was just a regular match. I also didn’t love Iwatani twice hitting the dragon suplex since it has been a really well protected move, but both times here not only did it not get a pin but Matsumoto was back on offense pretty quickly. Those two minor complaints aside, this was a great match. Matsomoto is so violent, and yet quirky at the same time, I loved both the apron and stage spots as well as putting the dinosaur head onto Iwatani. Iwatani as the fiery youngster worked well, and her starting the match by sneaking up behind Matsumoto underscored the importance of the match and showed her understanding that she needed every advantage she could get. Really fun, I wish it had ended with a pinfall or submission but still worth going out of your way to see.  Recommended

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