Event: Hana Kimura Memorial “MATANE”
Date: May 23rd, 2021
Location: Tokyo Korakuen Hall in Tokyo, Japan
Announced Attendance: 714
Broadcast: Streamed on FITE TV

Reviewing wrestling events can bring many different emotions, but an emotion you never want to have is sadness. I knew, like many others, that watching this event was going to be hard. A year ago today, Hana Kimura tragically passed away, and her death impacted people across the globe. Hana had everything – she was a great wrestler, charismatic, had a great look, and had fans invested in everything she did. But more importantly she was a great, loving, and incredible person that had her whole life in front of her. Having her Memorial show on the one year anniversary is fitting, as it brought new attention to the circumstances of her death and gave her friends a way to publicly celebrate her life, which I 100% support. But its going to be hard, the hardest wrestling event I’ve watched in 30 years of being a wrestling fan. Here is the card:

• HUB, Shisao, and Eisa8 vs. Shota, FUMA, and Mil Mongoose
• Battle Royal with Menso-re Oyaji, Tsutomu Oosugi, Hagane Shinnou, Yuko Miyamoto, Shotaro Ashino, Banana Senga, Gabai Ji-chan, Lingerie Muto, Yusuke Kodama, Super Delfin, Fuminori Abe, Miyuki Takase, Mika Iwata, DASH Chisako, Chihiro Hashimoto, Hanako Nakamori, Ram Kaicho, Cherry, Moeka Haruhi, Yuki Miyazaki, Eiger, Andras Miyagi, Kyusei Hana Kimura (Sakura Hirota), Jun Kasai, Masato Tanaka, Jinsei Shinzaki, and CIMA
• Kagetsu, Konami, Hazuki, and DEATH Yama-san vs. Natsupoi, Syuri, ASUKA, and Mio Momono
• ASUKA vs. Kagetsu

As you can see, a very interesting cast but it is filled with wrestlers that had a real life connection with Hana Kimura or her mother Kyoko Kimura (or both) as this memorial event is as much for them as it is for us, to say their final goodbyes. You’ll note only a few active Stardom wrestlers make an appearance, which is at least partly because Stardom opted to run an event on the same day, but that’s another topic for another time. I’m not going to do my typical review for this one as I’m probably going to be too emotionally into the event to be typing constantly, but I hope to not only discuss the matches but help newer fans that may not watch a lot of Joshi matches with who all the wrestlers are. As always, you can click on the Joshi wrestler’s name above to go straight to their profile on Joshi City.

After a musical and dance opening, the show began after a quick video montage of Hana Kimura.

HUB, Shisao, and Eisa8 vs. Shota, FUMA, and Mil Mongoose

I haven’t watched men’s promotions in Japan with any regularity in probably five or six years, so this was a fun throwback for me as I remember these guys from when I used to review every small underground indie promotion I could find. These six all are seasoned vets and know their way around the ring, and a six wrestler tag is a pretty straight-forward opener. Shota played the Face in Peril here which made sense – its not about the quality of wrestler but everyone loves wrestlers with masks and Shota probably had the least intimidating look of everyone in the match. So he got beaten for the first third of the match by HUB and Shisao in particular until the crowd finally spurred him to get out of the match.

They wrestled this under Lucha Tag Rules, meaning a wrestler didn’t have to make a tag to no longer be the legal wrestler, they just had to bail out of the ring and reach the floor. I wish the commentators had explained this as new fans were no doubt confused on why wrestlers weren’t always tagging, but in a laid back affair like this one I doubt anyone was too concerned. After five minutes they gave up with the “focus on one wrestler” plan which was for the best as all six of these guys have cool looking moves so no reason to not show off. HUB whipping everyone with his mask tail was entertaining as was HUB in general, Hana had good taste in wrestlers as HUB was always my favorite small-time indie wrestler. Great look, great wrestler. The match ended up being the HUB Show which was the way I would I gone too, honestly he at any point in his career could have been a player in a larger promotion. In the end, HUB planted Mil Mongoose into the mat and picked up the easy three count. The winners are HUB, Shisao, and Eisa8!

For an opener, I enjoyed it, but honestly they didn’t even need the first five minutes. The Shota beatdown segment was fine but was really just filler as once that was over, they just started quickly changing the legal wrestlers while everyone got a chance to hit their moves. That part of the match was quite enjoyable, the “lucharesu” style is entertaining with its quick speed and all six know the style well so there were no hiccups. HUB was and is great, so him being featured was a big plus not just for me personally but also considering his background with Hana Kimura. Overall a fun way to kick off the show.  Mildly Recommended

Battle Royal

A quick run-down of the Joshi wrestlers among the opening group:

• Miyuki Takase – The Ace of Actwres girl’Z, frequently wrestles in WAVE and Diana as well
• Mika Iwata – Young wrestler from Sendai Girls’, had a feud with Hana Kimura from 2017 to 2018 that led to several fun matches
• DASH Chisako – Veteran wrestler from Sendai Girls’
• Chihiro Hashimoto – The Ace of Sendai Girls’
• Ram Kaicho – Started as a child wrestler in Triple Six and went to school with Hana Kimura, she is still affiliated with Triple Six but also wrestles in Ice Ribbon
• Cherry – Long time veteran wrestler that wrestled most of her career in DDT, currently a Freelancer
• Yuki Miyazaki – Long time veteran wrestler from Pro Wrestling WAVE
• Hanako Nakamori – The Ace of PURE-J
• Moeka Haruhi – Long time Freelancer

With more wrestlers to come, it is assumed there would be some surprise entries from Hana and/or Kyoko’s past as the match progressed. In fact before the match could even start we got our first surprise, as Super Delfin makes his way down to the match. Super Delfin is a legend from indie wrestling’s past and also wrestled in New Japan, everyone knows and loves Super Delfin which I think is safe to assume includes Hana as well. The match starts pretty standard and playful, it should be noted that Battle Royals in Japan tend to be more lighthearted affairs than those in the US. But soon we get three new entries as Eiger, Andras Miyagi, and Yusuke Kodama come down! Quick recap of the Joshi wrestlers:

• Eiger (or Aiger) – A “ghost” wrestler who officially hails from LLPW-X but mostly wrestles in Sendai Girls’, likes to scare children
• Andras Miyagi – Also known as Cassandra Miyagi, current a Freelancer but known for her work in Sendai Girls’ and Stardom

They immediately go after Moeka, who is creeped out by the group and in short order is eliminated by them. Ram Kaicho appears to join them as they all pose together, they turn to Gabai Ji-chan but he outsmarts them and with help he pins Eiger and Yusuke Kodama, so they are eliminated as well. Ji-chan loses his cane and turns it on, as everyone in the match stands around and watches his brand of comedy. They help him eliminated Miyagi, and then hold down Ji-chan so that both are eliminated. Hana Kimura’s music starts playing as someone dressed as her comes down to the ring, and it turns out to be the cosplay legend Sakura Hirota! 

• Sakura Hirota – Veteran from WAVE, best known for being a comedy wrestler and sometimes cosplaying as her opponents

Once Sakura is in the ring, things settle down as we get the usual Battle Royal fare (big group moves, isolated strike-fests, and the like). We do get a Super Delfin Tornado DDT and Delfin Clutch though on Menso-re Oyaji to eliminate him, which is always a pleasure, before he is quickly pinned himself. Iwata and Hirota trade kicks which is fitting as Iwata is a wrestler that had a feud with Hana Kimura, but everyone breaks them up and Sakura is the next one eliminated (along with Lingerie Muto). While I definitely appreciate Sakura’s contribution to the match, eliminating her quickly was probably a good move as once she did her Hana tribute it may have felt a little too ‘off’ to have someone in Hana’s gear hanging around the match long term.

After Miyuki Takase is eliminated a minute later, some new music plays as Jun Kasai comes down to the ring! One of the biggest hardcore legends still active in Japan, Kasai comes in with his skewers (to jam in people’s heads) which leads to the ring clearing out. Mika Iwata returns first but asks him for an autograph, which he gives before he is attacked from behind. Chihiro Hashimoto and Shotaro Ashino pair up in a Hoss Battle, but the ring slowly fills back up as Chihiro and Shotaro slam everyone. Deadlift German by Chihiro but the blob covers both of them after the move, so both are eliminated! While this happens, more music plays as ZERO1 veteran Masato Tanaka comes down to the ring!

Tanaka cleans house a bit as he eliminates Shinnou and Kodama, Miyazaki puts him in the Shy Hold but it gets broken up. Cherry gets involved but she is covered by the wrestler blob and is eliminated. Music plays again, as another legend comes to the ring – Jinsei Shinzaki! Shinzaki is from Michinoku Pro but has wrestled in WWE and New Japan as well. He goes for one of his signature moves on the majority of the wrestlers at the same time, the rope walk, but gets pushed out of the ring for his trouble and is eliminated. No one appreciates Banana Senga and Tsutomu Oosugi eliminating Shinzaki so quickly everyone pins them, eliminating the tag team as well. We get music over the loudspeaker which means a new participant – CIMA!

That is all the wrestlers we are getting as CIMA goes after Abe and eliminates him. Miyazaki goes after CIMA but gets knocked out of the ring and eliminated, and then CIMA eliminates Nakamori. CIMA doing God’s work and clearing the ring a bit as we are down to seven wrestlers. Chisako appears with a chair but Miyamoto takes it from her, Tanaka then takes the chair from him but Kasai takes it from Tanaka. Chisako dropkicks the chair into Kasai but Mika Iwata saves him. Pearl Harbor Splash by Kasai to Chisako and he gets the three count! DASH Chisako is eliminated. Miyamoto hits Iwata and Kasai with the chair but Kasai takes it and hits Miyamoto in the head with it. Iwata cradles Miyamoto afterwards, and he is eliminated! Iwata high fives Kasai but then kicks him low and tosses him from the ring, as Jun Kasai is eliminated. CIMA and Tanaka dump Iwata out of the ring to eliminate her, leaving us with three wrestlers – CIMA, Masato Tanaka, and Ram Kaicho.

Kaicho steps right up to them while CIMA and Tanaka trade shoves, they push her out of the way and continue going at it. DDT by Tanaka but CIMA hits a Lung Blower, Tanaka gets CIMA onto the apron but Ram Kaicho pushes CIMA to the apron as well. Ram Kaicho gets a running start and she dropkicks them both to the floor! Ram Kaicho is the last woman standing and is the winner!

As I mentioned a few times, Battle Royals in Japan are not serious, as no one is really claiming that Ram Kaicho could beat CIMA or Masato Tanaka in a regular match. But there is no shame in being defeated in a Battle Royal, and giving Hana’s old childhood friend the win was a touching tribute. There were fun spots throughout the match (loved seeing Super Delfin and Jinsei Shinzaki), and the surprising Mika Iwata/Jun Kasai subplot was entertaining. These matches are a little too long for my taste considering the entertaining sections are so spread out, but there were many fun moments and for fans that are familar with the wrestlers I am sure there will be something here that fans will enjoy.

Up to this point, the event has been pretty lighthearted. We started with music and dancing, a lucharesu match, and a mostly comedic Battle Royal. The tone is going to change a bit, as while the next two matches won’t be ‘downers’ they will be more serious with wrestlers that have more of a recent connection with Hana Kimura. We knew going into the show that Kagetsu was making a one-time appearance after retiring over a year ago, but we didn’t know she was bringing a special friend with her to really honor Hana the best way they knew how.

Kagetsu, Konami, Hazuki, and DEATH vs. Natsupoi, Syuri, ASUKA, and Mio Momono

They are against four quality wrestlers with various connections to Hana. ASUKA was the closest to Hana, as they were also a tag team (when Hana wrestled outside of Stardom) and were friends. They are joined by Stardom wrestlers Natsupoi (formally Natsumi Maki) and Syuri, along with Mio Momono from Marvelous. All eight of these wrestlers are great and I am expecting a combination of tributes to Hana and the fast paced Joshi action that we are all accustomed to.

Kagetsu and Hazuki both have incorporated tie dye into their gear as a homage to Hana, giving them a fitting different look. One thing you should know about these wrestlers is that even though its a memorial match for Hana Kimura, and they are here for her, they are also incredibly competitive and no one was going to take it easy. While it is true that DEATH is more of a comedy gimmick and she did bring that to the table, at the end of the day she was far from the focus of the match as the others went in hard on each other. Seeing Hazuki again is such a treat as she was one of the most exciting wrestlers in Stardom, and the fact she seemed to have lost her passion for wrestling but still prepared for this event just really puts over how important it was to her to take part.

Kagetsu hasn’t missed a beat either and its kinda amazing that they are so good to not show an ounce of ring rust. If fans coming into the show didn’t know about the retirements, you’d have thought they were still active competitors. They didn’t go heavy with Hana-related spots, although Jungle Kyona did make a surprise appearance to pose with Konami and DEATH as she was in Tokyo Cyber Squad as well (she is currently unable to wrestle due to an injury). The fact they opted to not just make this a tribute match from bell to bell made the moments more special when they did honor Hana. Every segment was great – Kagetsu and Syuri had a quality exchange as did Mio Momono and Hazuki, and seeing Hazuki and Kagetsu do a final double tope suicida was an incredible moment. ASUKA being the wrestler that had to “overcome the odds” was a smart move due to their close connection to Hana Kimura, and their final exchange with Hazuki was well done. In the end, ASUKA took out everyone and made the cover on Hazuki, picking up the three count! Natsupoi, Syuri, ASUKA, and Mio Momono are the winners!

For fans of Stardom back in 2018, this really felt like an Oedo Tai throwback match with Kagetsu and Hazuki leading the way (with a little bit of cheating from Kyoko Kimura). I’ve said before that eight wrestler tags can make it hard for some wrestlers to shine and that was still the case here, as while Natsupoi and Syuri both hit their spots well and contributed, there are only so many opportunities and the match was simply laid out to make others shine. ASUKA, Hazuki, and Kagetsu all looked incredible and you’d have thought from watching this that these eight had wrestled many times before, due to the fluidity and pace they kept up. Mio Momono was the stealth star of the match, she not only is fierce but is sneakily charismatic and draws attention to whatever she is doing. While this may have been a bit better as a six wrestler tag due to the length of the match, the Oedo Tai/Tokyo Cyber Squad team needed four to really salute Hana Kimura so no complaints from me. This would have been an A+ match from me regardless just for the joy of seeing Kagetsu and Hazuki again, but when taking into account the meaning behind the match both for fans and the participants, its a no-breaker recommendation to watch.  Highly Recommended

On paper, that was the main event of the evening, but ASUKA had other plans. After the match, they challenged Kagetsu to a singles match, which needed approval from Kyoko Kimura and the crowd. All parties naturally agreed, so we are ending the show with a special first-time singles match between ASUKA and Kagetsu!

ASUKA vs. Kagetsu

ASUKA and Kagetsu clearly felt the best way to honor Hana Kimura was to put on a banger, and that is exactly what they did. Kagetsu was flying outside the ring like it was 2019 all over again, and ASUKA laid in the strikes hard. I have to respect their cardio as both were just in a match, then immediately jumped into a singles match without missing a beat. Kagetsu went out of her way to put over ASUKA, as ASUKA handled all of her offense while dishing out plenty in return. Which shows the level of unselfishness that Kagetsu has – she frequently put other wrestlers over even when she didn’t “have” to and knowing she is retired, she lost nothing by taking all of ASUKA’s offense. That’s not to say it was a one-side match as it was far from it – Kagetsu got to use the Oedo Tai board and nailed the Oedo Coaster for old time’s sake as they went back and forth, but once ASUKA got back in control the match was over. After a Blue Thunder Bomb, heel kick, chokeslam, and the Benibana Koromo, ASUKA was able to hold down Kagetsu for the three count. ASUKA is the winner!

A really entertaining sprint as they took their short time and did everything with it. ASUKA’s kiss to the sky before drilling Kagetsu with the Benibana Koromo was the perfect tribute, as they treated the match like a “regular” match but the meaning was always there – this was for Hana. Kagetsu returning from retirement to put on two great matches is pretty incredible, and she delivered everything in this match. The strikes, the pace, the heart, everything was there. And ASUKA was able to keep up, they have really been killing it the last couple years and hopefully this will give ASUKA more attention which is no doubt what Kagetsu wanted, and also what Hana Kimura would have wanted. A fantastic match to end a very memorable event.  Highly Recommended

After the main event, things got very emotional as Kagetsu spoke and a longer video package was shown with clips from Hana Kimura’s career. Once the video package was over, back to a live view of the ring, Kyoko Kimura was standing alone and holding a photo of Hana. Jungle Kyona performed the ten bell salute while the wrestlers stood at ringside, with their heads down as they no doubt were saying their own silent goodbyes. The video concluded with a video package with dozens of wrestlers from around the globe saying “Matane,” in memory of Hana.

The post Hana Kimura Memorial “MATANE” on 5/23/21 Review appeared first on Joshi City.

Event: Actwres girl’Z Act In Osaka
Date: October 18th, 2020
Location: Osaka 176BOX in Osaka, Japan
Announced Attendance: Unknown

Its been a long time since I reviewed an AgZ event on the site, over a year and a half in fact, so I figured we were long overdue. AgZ has changed quite a bit since then as they’ve had issues lately keeping wrestlers. Which is a common issue with smaller promotions, they build stars and then they move on to bigger and better things. Luckily for them they still have Miyuki Takase, the star of the promotion, who is a great wrestler. They also still (for now) employ Sekiguchi and Tae Honma, plus they are using Freelancer Andras Miyagi. So there are some good wrestlers on their roster, but a lot of them are still learning so its best to go in with lower expectations. But I’m still looking forward to it, here is the full card:

• Ayano Irie and Yuko Sakurai vs. Mai Sakurai and Yoshiko Hasegawa
• Andras Miyagi vs. Mari
• Hikari Shimizu and Misa Matsui vs. Momo Kohgo and Momo Tani
• Ami Miura and Tae Honma vs. Rina Amikura and SAKI
• AgZ Championship: Miyuki Takase vs. Kakeru Sekiguchi

As this aired on NicoPro, all matches should be shown in full. The wrestlers on the show have profiles on Joshi City, you can click on their names above to go straight to it.

Ayano Irie and Yuko Sakurai vs. Mai Sakurai and Hasegawa

Ayano and Hasegawa start the match, they go into a knucklelock but Mai comes in to help her partner as Ayano is double teamed. Yuko runs in to even the odds, she then joins Ayano in double teaming Hasegawa. Ayano snapmares Hasegawa and dropkicks hers, cover by Ayano but it gets a two count. She tags in Yuko, snapmare by Yuko and she applies a headscissors. Hasegawa gets to the ropes for the break, Yuko picks her up and slams her into the mat. She tags Ayano, Ayano puts Hasegawa in a crab hold but Hasegawa gets into the ropes again. Ayano goes off the ropes but Hasegawa drop toeholds her into the second rope and Mai kicks her from the apron. Dropkick by Hasegawa and she rolls to her corner to tag Mai, Mai boots Ayano and elbows Yuko when she runs in to help her partner. Mai throws Ayano into Yuko, boot to Ayano but Ayano elbows Mai in the chest.

Drop toehold by Mai but Ayano avoids the elbow drop, dropkick by Ayano and she covers Mai for two. Ayano tags Yuko, shoulderblock by Yuko and she hits a running elbow in the corner. Another shoulderblock by Yuko and she covers Mai for two. Scoop slam attempt by Yuko but Mai blocks it, Mai goes off the ropes but Yuko catches her with a scoop slam for a two count. Mai gets away from Yuko and boots her in the head, she tags in Hasegawa and they throw Yuko into the corner. Dropkick by Hasegawa and Mai follows with a boot, snapmare by Hasegawa and she hits a PK for a two count. Elbows by Hasegawa, Yuko picks up Hasegawa but Hasegawa gets her back for a sleeper hold. Ayano quickly breaks it up, double Irish whip to Hasegawa and Hasegawa is hit with a double dropkick. Yuko applies a Cobra Twist but it gets broken up by Mai, Mai stays in and helps set up their opponents so that Hasegawa can hit a double crossbody. Yuko avoids Hasegawa’s kick and rolls her up for two, Hasegawa goes for a flash pin but Yuko reverses it into her own cover for the three count! Ayano Irie and Yuko Sakurai are the winners!

The good news here is that no one looked like they didn’t belong. Some of the movements were stiff but the match flowed along without any major issues. The bad news is that no one really stood out here either. Hasegawa looked probably the best from an overall package standpoint but generally speaking they came across as competent wrestlers but nothing more. Which probably is why they are where they are. A decent enough way to open the show but overall pretty skippable.

Andras Miyagi vs. Mari

Mari wastes time to start, which is one of her fun things to do, but they finally get into it as Mari kicks Andras repeatedly. They trade waistlocks until Mari puts Andras in a stretch hold, Rocking Horse by Mari and she lets go only to stomp on Andras’ back. Single leg crab hold by Mari but Andras rolls out of the ring, Mari goes out to the apron but Andras ducks her kick. Mari kicks her anyway and goes out to the floor, kicking Andras in the head. Mari slides Andras back in the ring and kicks her in the head again, cover by Mari but it gets a two count. Mari picks up Andras and puts her on her shoulders, but Mari slides off and schoolboys Mari for two. An inside cradle also gets a two count for Andras, she charges Mari but Mari kicks her back and delivers a superkick. Mari picks up Andras and hits a Samoan Drop, cover by Mari but it gets a two count. Mari picks up Andras and goes for a backslide, but Andras blocks it and applies her own backslide for two. Schoolboy by Andras but Mari rolls through it, Andras throws Mari into the referee and schoolboys her again for the three count! Andras Miyagi is the winner!

Its so odd just seeing Andras with this new “style.” She didn’t really even do an offensive move in this match, Mari just kicked her around until she finally was successful with a flash pin. I don’t even know what to think about it. Mari looked really good, for someone who hasn’t gotten a lot of opportunities in wrestling I like her a lot. Her offense was tight and well done, I’m just eternally confused on what Andras is even bringing to the table these days. Maybe worth watching to see Mari but Andras didn’t do enough for me to recommend the match as a whole.

Hikari Shimizu and Matsui vs. Momo Kohgo and Momo Tani

Hikari and Tani start the match and go right into a fast exchange, eventually reaching a stalemate. They tag in Misa and Kohgo, footstomp by Misa and she puts Kohgo in an armbar. She lets go after a moment and throws Kohgo into the corner, Misa stomps down Kohgo as Hikari helps from the apron. Misa picks up Kohgo and tags Hikari, snapmares my Hikari and she tags Misa back in. Irish whip by Misa and she hits a dropkick, footstomp by Misa and she covers Kohgo for two. Scoop slam by Misa and she tags Hikari, footstomp by Hikari and she tosses Kohgo down by the hair. Hikari applies a crab hold to Kohgo but she eventually lets go, Irish whip by Hikari but Kohgo reverses it and hits a dropkick. She rolls to her corner and tags Tani, running knee by Tani and she knees Hikari from the apron. Double kneedrops to Hikari’s back by Tani but Misa strolls in and kicks her from behind. Double Irish whip to Tani but Tani hits a double Codebreaker followed by a double running knee to both opponents. Tani goes back to Hikari’s back but Hikari kicks her and snapmares Tani before delivering a series of kicks. Hikari puts Tani in a choke hold but it gets broken up, Hikari throws Tani into the corner and hits a step-up kick for a two count. Hikari tags Misa, jumping crossbody by Misa and she gets a two count. Tani swats away a dropkick as they both return to their feet and trade strikes.

DDT by Misa and she covers Tani for two. Misa goes off the ropes but Misa connects with a Backstabber, double knee to Misa’s back by Tani and she puts Misa in a stretch hold. Misa gets to the ropes for the break, Tani gets on the second rope and hits a diving double knee to Misa’s back. Tani goes back to the stretch hold but this time Hikari quickly breaks it up, Tani tags Kohgo and Kohgo dropkicks Misa a few times. Scoop slam by Kohgo and she covers Misa for two. Kohgo applies a crab hold but Hikari breaks up the hold, Tani comes in two and Misa is double teamed in the corner. Kohgo picks up Misa but Misa gets away, putting Kohgo in the Octopus Hold. That gets broken up, Misa gets on the second turnbuckle and hits a diving crossbody for a two count. Misa picks up Kohgo but Kohgo blocks the suplex attempt, sunset flip by Kohgo but Misa reverses it and the two trade flash pin attempts. Hikari kicks Kohgo in the back before Misa delivers a low crossbody for a two count. Misa goes to the second turnbuckle and hits a diving footstomp, but Kohgo kicks out of the cover. She goes all the way up the next time but Kohgo avoids the footstomp attempt, schoolboy by Kohgo but it gets two as does La Magistral. Kohgo goes off the ropes but Misa dropkicks her, low crossbody by Misa and she hits two more. Cover by Misa, but Kohgo gets a shoulder up. Misa drags up Kohgo and she nails the MARU X MARU Suplex, picking up the three count! Hikari Shimizu and Misa Matsui are the winners.

This match won’t blow anyone away, but it was smartly worked and all four played their parts well. I really enjoyed Misa’s work on her opponents’ back, really any type of body part-focused offense I am going to be fan of if it is done well and they certainly were trying to tell a story. The Hikari/Misa team seemed to be the only one with a path to victory as the Momos weren’t doing much effective, looking mostly for flash pins and what not to try to win. So even though the presentation was a little lopsided, it never got boring over the 15 minutes and there was a definitive winner which I like. For a midcard tag match, they went a little beyond what I was expecting and put on a solid match.  Mildly Recommended

Ami Miura and Tae Honma vs. Rina Amikura and SAKI

Tae and SAKI start the match, SAKI works a headlock but Tae Irish whips out of it and rolls SAKI to the mat. Tae goes for a dropkick but SAKI avoids it, cradle by Tae but it gets two. SAKI picks up Tae but Tae slides away, schoolboy by Tae but that gets two as well. They tag out as Rina and Ami run in, SAKI returns as well and Ami is double teamed. Body press by Rina, but it gets a two count. Rina throws down Ami by the hair and hits a scoop slam, she tags in SAKI and SAKI stomps on Ami. SAKI tags Rina back in, Rina tries to shoulderblock Ami over but Ami stays up. They both try to knock each other over with no luck until Rina finally sends Ami to the mat. Back up they trade chops, Rina chops Ami into the corner but Ami hits a shoulderblock and tags Tae. Tae comes in the ring with a missile dropkick but Rina connects with a body avalanche in the corner followed by a shoulderblock. She goes for a running senton but Tae moves, body press by Tae and Ami jumps on Tae’s back before Ami hits another body press. Cover by Tae, but it gets a two count.

Rina chops Tae and goes off the ropes, but Tae catches her with a Fujiwara Armbar. Rina gets to the ropes for the break, hard shoulderblock by Rina to Tae and she hits a senton. Body press by Rina, but it gets a two count. Rina makes the tag to SAKI, rolling cradle by SAKI but it gets two. SAKI picks up Tae but Tae gets away, knee by SAKI and she puts Tae across the ropes in the corner. Running knee to the midsection by SAKI but Tae hits a running elbow in the other corner followed by a dropkick. Fujiwara Armbar by Tae and she switches it to a double armbar, but SAKI gets a foot on the ropes for the break. Tae goes off the ropes and dropkicks SAKI, she tags in Ami but SAKI boots Ami in the chest. Ami elbows SAKI and the two trade shots, knee by SAKI and she kicks Ami to the mat for two. SAKI goes for a suplex but Tae breaks it up, double Irish whip to SAKI but SAKI fights them both off. SAKI puts Ami in a crab hold, but Ami gets to the ropes for the break.

SAKI goes to the second turnbuckle but Ami rolls out of the way of the Reverse Splash, dropkick by Ami but SAKI blocks the scoop slam and puts Ami in a stretch hold. Rocking Horse by SAKI but Tae breaks it up, Rina comes in but Ami throws SAKI into Rina and hits a dropkick. Tae goes up top and hits a missile dropkick on both opponents, Ami picks up Rina and scoop slams her. Double chop by Ami to SAKI, she picks her up and hits a scoop slam for two. Ami goes to pick up SAKI but SAKI cradles her for two, big boot by SAKI but Tae elbows her in the chest. SAKI boots Tae before Rina hits a somersault senton on her, but Ami dropkicks SAKI. Ami Irish whips SAKI but SAKI blocks it and hits a snap vertical suplex. SAKI positions Ami and goes to the second turnbuckle, nailing the Reverse Splash for the three count! SAKI and Rina Amikura win!

Even though the bulk of this match was fine, something was missing. Unlike the last match there wasn’t really a focus or story told in any way, it was mostly just random action as they didn’t do much to even play up the experience dynamic. Even though SAKI is decent enough there is a reason she is an eight year pro wrestling in the mid-card of AgZ – there is little special about her and some of her offense is lackluster. I couldn’t get a great feel of the less experienced wrestlers but Ami seemed fine, and though I like Tae she didn’t do a whole lot in this match. Overall a perfectly watchable match but one with nothing memorable about it whatsoever as they seemed to just be going through the basic motions for the bulk of it.

(c) Miyuki Takase vs. Kakeru Sekiguchi
AgZ Championship

Kakeru elbows Miyuki instead of shaking her hand, Miyuki avoids her dropkick however and stomps Kakeru in the back. The two trade elbows until Miyuki hits a DDT, Miyuki chops Kakeru into the corner and she delivers a dropkick. Another dropkick by Miyuki and she hits a scoop slam followed by a leg drop for two. Miyuki applies a single leg crab hold but Kakeru gets to the ropes, Miyuki stands on Kakeru’s back but Kakeru elbows her and they trade shots. Kakeru goes for a scoop slam but Miyuki reverses it into one of her own, Miyuki applies a guillotine choke but Kakeru gets out of it and the two end up in the ropes. They both get back up, takedown by Kakeru but Miyuki quickly gets in the dominate position and puts Kakeru in a submission hold. Kakeru quickly gets to the ropes, Miyuki chops Kakeru into the corner and hits a dropkick from the second turnbuckle. Miyuki dives off the second turnbuckle but Kakeru catches her with a Fujiwara Armbar, but Miyuki gets into the ropes. Kakeru twists on Miyuki’s arm and dropkicks her arm from the apron before snapping her arm over the top rope. Kakeru pulls Miyuki out of the ring and throws her into the ring post, Kakeru puts Miyuki’s hand on the apron and jumps down onto Miyuki’s arm.

Kakeru finally slides Miyuki back in but Miyuki pushes her off, scoop slam by Kakeru and she covers Miyuki for two. Kakeru applies an armlock but Miyuki wiggles to the ropes and forces the break. Miyuki elbows Kakeru and the two trade strikes, Kakeru wins the battle and goes to the top turnbuckle, hitting a missile dropkick. Slingshot doublestomp to the arm by Kakeru and she rolls Miyuki to the mat as she goes to the arm, but Miyuki lands too close to the ropes. Kakeru goes off the ropes but Miyuki catches her with a powerslam for two. Miyuki picks up Kakeru but Kakeru slides away and goes for the cross armbreaker, but Miyuki blocks it. Kakeru goes for a choke but Miyuki powerbombs out of it, Miyuki gets Kakeru on her shoulders and hits the Kamikaze. Miyuki goes to the second turnbuckle and hits a diving legdrop, cover by Miyuki but it gets two. Miyuki picks up Kakeru but Kakeru sneaks in a cradle for two, another cradle by Kakeru but that gets a two as well. Judo tosses by Kakeru and she hits a STO, picking up another two count. Kakeru picks up Miyuki and hits another STO, she goes off the ropes but Miyuki catches her with a lariat. Jackhammer by Miyuki, but Kakeru barely gets a shoulder up on the cover. Miyuki comes out of it holding her arm so she is slow to capitalize, Kakeru is up first but Miyuki elbows her against the ropes. Miyuki goes off the ropes and hits a lariat, another lariat by Miyuki and she covers Kakeru for two.

Miyuki picks up Kakeru but Kakeru reverses the Jackhammer attempt into a guillotine choke. Miyuki manages to get a foot on the ropes for the break, Kakeru goes off the ropes and delivers the running STO for two. Kakeru stomps at Miyuki but Miyuki grabs her leg as she tries to go up top, Kakeru finally makes it but Miyuki joins her and hits a series of headbutts. Superplex by Miyuki and she puts Kakeru in a modified headscissors, but Kakeru gets a foot on the ropes. Miyuki picks up Kakeru and lariats her while she is against the ropes, cover by Miyuki but Kakeru barely gets a shoulder up. Miyuki gets Kakeru up and drops he with a Jackhammer, but again Kakeru kicks out. Lariat by Miyuki and she hits another one, but Kakeru reverses the cover into one of her own for two. Kakeru goes off the ropes but Miyuki hits a lariat, she gets Kakeru on her shoulders and hits a Samoan Driver. Miyuki drags Kakeru to her feet and nails the Jackhammer, and she gets the three count! Miyuki Takase wins and retains the championship.

A pretty great match between two quality young wrestlers. Kakeru’s arm work was really well done and Miyuki didn’t (completely) forget about the damage as she’d occasionally signal that it was bothering her throughout the match. Miyuki’s strategy seemed to be lariats and power moves, and the two meshed their two different win strategies together well to make a cohesive match. Nothing they did felt wasted and the 17 minutes went by pretty quickly, it felt like it ended at about the right time. The last few minutes were a bit too big-move-spammy which happens sometimes in title matches, it didn’t put a major damper on the match as a whole but it probably could have been tightened up a bit. Still, a great title match and a fitting conclusion to the event.  Recommended

The post Actwres girl’Z Act In Osaka on 10/18/20 Review appeared first on Joshi City.

Event: JUST TAP OUT GIRLS 2
Date: February 18th, 2020
Location: Ice Ribbon Dojo in Saitama, Japan
Announced Attendance: 104

While this is a very small show, I didn’t want to miss it for a few different reasons. First, I always enjoy seeing new wrestlers and I haven’t seen a lot of Tomoka Inaba or Maika yet since both are still in the first year of their careers. Second, I dunno who Black Changita is but I am intrigued. And finally, with Kagetsu retiring I want to see as many of her matches on her final tour to different promotions as I possibly can. Plus we have an Andras Miyagi appearance as well. Here is the full card:

• Black Changita vs. Tomoka Inaba
• Aki Shizuku vs. Andras Miyagi
• Kagetsu vs. Maika

As this aired on NicoPro, all matches will be shown in full. All the wrestlers on the show have profiles on Joshi City except for Black Changita, you can click on their name above to go straight to it.

Black Changita vs. Tomoka Inaba

Black Changita immediately catches Tomoka with a strike combination, punch to the gut by Black Changita and Tomoka crumbles to the mat. Black Changita picks up Tomoka and hits more punches, knees by Black Changita and she hits a running knee for a two count. Black Changita applies an armtrap crossface but Tomoka quickly gets to the ropes to force the break. Black Changita kicks Tomoka into the corner and stomps on her, she stands up Tomoka and kicks her some more. She charges at Tomoka but Tomoka moves and boots her in the face, leg kick by Black Changita and Black Changita bails out of the ring to re-group. She eventually returns but Tomoka knees her as she gets on the apron, Black Changita punches her in the midsection and connects with a series of kicks.

Head kick by Black Changita, she covers Tomoka but Tomoka barely kicks out. Black Changita applies the armtrap crossface again, but Tomoka gets a hand on the ropes. Black Changita waits for Tomoka to get up but Tomoka blocks her kick and hits a kick of her own, high kick by Tomoka and she kicks Black Changita in the back. She goes for a PK but Black Changita ducks it and applies a Cobra Twist. Tomoka gets to the ropes again, Black Changita picks her up but Tomoka delivers a quick head kick. Tomoka sits up Black Changita and hits a PK, cover by Tomoka but it gets a two count. Tomoka applies a knee lock but Black Changita muscles into better position and holds down Tomoka for the three count! Black Changita is the winner.

What an odd little match. For the bulk of it, Black Changita was attempting to assert her will with strikes, some looking good but most not so much. Then she wins with basically a submission cutback, which is fine in most cases but she went from dominating heel to winning almost by fluke in a span of five minutes. Tomoka looked ok I guess but she still has a lot of room for growth. Not a good match, or a particularly interesting one, would have preferred Black Changita just dominate Tomoka and pick up the win with a strike to make it a more memorable victory.

Aki Shizuku vs. Andras Miyagi

They are slow to engage with Andras in particular being in no rush to get things started, so Aki attacks her from behind. Andras exits the ring and walks around the crowd, she eventually returns but Aki exits the ring as she does as they play mind games. Aki gets back in the ring but Andras exits it again. Aki finally gets tired of this and goes out to get Andras, she brings her back into the ring and clubs on her back. Aki goes for a shoulderblock but Andras stays up, Andras tries as well but has the same result. Finally Aki shoulderblocks Andras over, elbow drops by Aki and she puts Andras in a stretch hold. She lets go after a moment but Andras gets her to the mat and applies a modified armbar with a headscissors. She lets go and stomps on Aki, snapmare by Andras and she applies a headlock. She only lets go so she can complain to the referee, about what I am not sure, before going back to Aki and choking her with her boot. Aki tries to fight back but Andras clubs her and puts Aki in a chinlock. Andras kicks Aki in the back of the head and tries to throw her into the corner, Aki reverses it but Andras gets her from the back.

DDT by Andras and she kicks Aki out of the ring, she goes out after her and goes for the piledriver, but Aki blocks it. Andras charges Aki but Aki moves and hits the ring post by accident, lariat by Aki and she gets back into the ring. Andras slowly returns as well, lariat by Aki but Andras blocks the fisherman buster. Spear by Aki, she waits for Andras to get up and hits a lariat in the corner. Fisherman buster by Aki, and she covers Andras for two. Aki picks up Andras but Andras slides away, she uses the referee as a shield before dropping Aki with a tombstone piledriver. Cover by Andras, but the referee won’t count due to the Shield Incident. Andras gets a chair slid to her by Black Changita and hits the referee with it, she then hits Aki in the head with the chair before hitting a tombstone piledriver on it. The referee has seen enough after that, and DQs Andras. Your winner is Aki Shizuku!

Well that was a match. I know a popular heel shtick is to waste time, thus making the crowd hate you, but its 2020 and I am over that method of getting boos. I want to watch two people wrestle, not someone kill five minutes. And the payoff wasn’t really worth it anyway as they went straight into introductory trading of holds instead of anything interesting. Then they traded long submissions, all to get to the point which was Andras not caring about the rules and getting herself DQed. I have no issue with the ending, it puts over Andras as being a loose cannon, but the path to get there with the long submission holds and meandering action wasn’t worth it. Have her do that five minutes into the match, not after applying a two minute chinlock. Just a poorly structured match and I continue to be concerned about the immediate future of Andras Miyagi.

Kagetsu vs. Maika

They circle each other to start before locking up, armdrag by Maika and she applies a headlock. Kagetsu reverses it into a headscissors but Maika gets out of that and goes back to the headlock. Kagetsu reverses it but Maika gets into the ropes, forcing the break. Back up, kicks to the chest by Kagetsu and she snapmares Maika before applying a chinlock. She lets go and tosses Maika out of the ring, she takes Maika up into the crowd and throws her into a row of chairs. Kagetsu buries Maika under a bunch of chairs, giving no one a place to sit down, before taking Maika back to ringside and into the ring. Kagetsu gets on the apron and hits a swandive missile dropkick, she taunts Maika and throws her into the corner, hitting a jumping elbow. Running single leg kick by Kagetsu, she snapmares Maika and covers her for two. Kagetsu applies a submission hold but Maika gets into the ropes, Kagetsu gets a bottle of water and takes a drink before spitting some into Maika’s face. Kagetsu goes off the ropes but Maika catches her with a toss and applies a cross armbreaker. Kagetsu inches to the ropes and quickly makes it to get the break, Maika stomps on Kagetsu’s arm in the corner before delivering a running kick to it. Fujiwara Armbar by Maika which she switches to an armlock, but Kagetsu gets to the ropes again.

Back up, strike combination by Kagetsu and she hits a vertical suplex, cover by Kagetsu but Maika kicks out. Kagetsu picks up Maika and hits a Samoan Drop, but that gets a two count as well. Kagetsu goes off the ropes and hits a running knee, cover by Kagetsu but Maika gets a shoulder up. Kagetsu picks up Maika but Maika slides away and goes back to the cross armbreaker. She reverts it to a Triangle Choke attempt and she gets it locked on, but Kagetsu manages to stand up and get out of the hold. Maika goes for the STO but Kagetsu blocks it, elbow by Kagetsu but Maika elbows her back and the two trade strikes. Maika pulls down Kagetsu by the hair and armdrags her around the ring, monkey flip by Maika and she hits the STO. Cover by Maika, but it gets a two count. Maika picks up Kagetsu but Kagetsu knees her in the midsection, Kagetsu charges Maika but Maika slams her to the mat. Kagetsu tosses Maika into the corner towards the referee but the referee moves to avoid the collision, Kagetsu tries again but this time hits the referee. He doesn’t go down though and is staring at Kagetsu when she spits red mist into Maika’s face (I guess he didn’t get the memo), Kagetsu slams Maika in front of the corner and nails the Oedo Coaster for the three count! Kagetsu is your winner!

Even though it may not have been a main-event quality match, this was still pretty solid. As I figured, Kagetsu gave the rookie quite a bit of offense and it was far from one-sided, with Maika having several opportunities to win and Kagetsu selling for her offense pretty hard. The match started slow, for a short-ish match I think the “outside the ring” brawling could have been reduced some, but once they got back into the ring it stayed pretty engaging the rest of the match. The funniest part was the referee either not knowing the spot or not knowing he was supposed to look away when Kagetsu did the mist as he was not only looking at her but reacted to it. Its a *wink wink* thing since obviously the referee will always see the mist everywhere afterwards, but in theory its an illegal move so they should be looking in a different direction when the move is done. Anyway, a little clunky at times but overall a fun match, Maika still has a ways to go but the foundation is there to be a great wrestler down the road.  Mildly Recommended

The post JTO GIRLS 2 on 2/18/20 Review appeared first on Joshi City.

Event: Stardom New Years Stars 2020
Date: January 11th, 2020
Location: Osaka World Pavilion in Osaka, Japan
Announced Attendance: 221

This year I am going to try to balance the Stardom reviews so that I am not reviewing everything, but so that I am not only hitting the really big shows. I am still going to review all the Korakuen Hall events, but beyond that I am going to selectively review other shows of theirs if something catches my attention. For this show, two things caught my eye – Kagetsu vs. Giulia and Riho vs. Miyagi. That was enough to convince me to review the show, as some of the other matches look like fun too. Here is the full card:

• AZM and Utami Hayashishita vs. Itsuki Hoshino and Saya Iida
• Andras Miyagi vs. Riho
• High Speed Grand Prix: Leyla Hirsch vs. Starlight Kid
• Bea Priestley, Leo Onozaki, and Momo Watanabe vs. Jamie Hayter, Saki Kashima, and Zoey Skye
• Kagetsu vs. Giulia
• Arisa Hoshiki, Mayu Iwatani, Tam Nakano, and Saya Kamitani vs. Death Yama-san, Hana Kimura, Jungle Kyona, and Konami

As I am watching this event from Stardom World, all matches will be shown in full. There were a few match changes due to the flu going around Japan, but none of the bigger matches had any modifications. Every wrestler on the card has a profile on Joshi City, you can click on their name above to go straight to it.

AZM and Utami Hayashishita vs. Itsuki Hoshino and Saya Iida

Utami starts the match with Saya but Itsuki immediately runs in too as they double team Utami. Dropkicks by Saya and Itsuki to Utami’s back while she is in the ropes, cover by Saya but it gets two. Saya picks up Utami but Utami blocks the slam attempt and hits one of her own. She tries to tag in AZM but Itsuki cuts her off, Saya picks up Utami but again she fails on the slam attempt. Saya gets away from Utami, Itsuki comes in and they both dropkick Utami. Saya finally manages to scoop slam Utami, she covers her but AZM breaks it up. Saya throws Utami towards the corner but Utami reverses it, Saya avoids Utami’s charge and chops her repeatedly in the chest. Utami eventually ducks one and delivers a dropkick, but again Itsuki runs in and knocks AZM off the apron before Utami can make the tag. Saya tags in Itsuki, dropkicks by Itsuki and she covers Utami for two. Itsuki applies a sleeper but Utami quickly gets out of it and applies one of her own, but Itsuki gets into the ropes.

Itsuki goes for a hurricanrana but Utami blocks it, victory roll by Itsuki but Utami rolls through it for her own two count. Itsuki goes off the ropes but Utami catches her with a scoop slam and finally tags in AZM. AZM and Itsuki trade elbows until AZM knocks Itsuki to the mat, AZM goes off the ropes but Itsuki sneaks behind her and applies a sleeper hold. Utami breaks it up, Itsuki goes off the ropes but Utami armdrags her. PK by AZM, but Saya breaks up the pin. Utami takes care of her, Irish whip by AZM to Itsuki but Saya comes back and AZM eats a double dropkick. AZM ends up in the corner and gets dropkicked some more, cover by Itsuki but it gets two. Itsuki elbows AZM into the corner but AZM slides to the apron when she charges in, missile dropkick by AZM and she covers Itsuki, but Saya breaks it up. AZM goes back to the top turnbuckle but Itsuki avoids the diving footstomp, hurricanrana by Itsuki but AZM gets a shoulder up. Buzzsaw Kick by AZM, she goes up top and this time she nails the diving footstomp for the three count! AZM and Utami Hayashishita are the winners!

If you had told me that Utami would be the Face in Peril in this match and that Itsuki would get in so much offense, I’d have never believed you. It’s wild the way they structured this match, with the rookies basically dominating. Utami only hit a couple moves in the whole match and AZM didn’t fair much better. There was at least one pretty noticeable mistake (oddly enough, made by Utami and not one of the rookies) but otherwise it was pretty fluid and both teams worked together well. I don’t know if the match was good but it was definitely interesting and unexpected, so I’ll give them some credit for that considering it was a late addition to the card.

Andras Miyagi vs. Riho

They circle each other to start but quickly end up on the mat, Riho works a waistlock but Andras reverses it. Andras gets in the dominate position but Riho kicks her off as she returns to her feet, Andras pushes Riho into the ropes and she gives a clean break. Andras goes off the ropes and hits a shoulderblock, but Riho bridges out of the pin and headscissors Andras out of the ring. Riho goes after her and hits an ax handle, but Andras grabs her and hits a scoop slam on the floor. Andras slides Riho back into the ring and joins her, stomps by Andras and she chokes Riho with her boot. Snapmare by Andras and she applies a camel clutch, but Riho inches to the ropes and forces the break. Andras picks up Riho and hits a delayed scoop slam, cover by Andras but it gets two. Riho fights back but Andras boots her in the chest, Andras throws Riho into the corner and hits a running elbow.

Another elbow by Andras, she gets Riho up on her shoulders and spins her around before delivering a Liger Bomb for a two count. Riho rolls out of the ring to try to regroup but Andras goes out too and throws Riho into the ring post. Andras tries to ram her with a chair but Riho moves, Riho gets back in the ring to escape and hits Andras with a Tiger Feint Kick as she gets on the apron. Riho goes for a diving footstomp but Andras moves, dropkick by Riho and she puts Andras in a crossface. Andras inches to the ropes to get the break, quick footstomp off the second turnbuckle by Riho and she goes all the way up to deliver another diving footstomp for a two count cover. Riho picks up Andras but Andras quickly applies a crucifix pin, Riho gets out of it and knees Andras in the face. Riho goes off the ropes but Andras pushes the referee in front of her, Riho rolls Andras to the mat with a clutch hold and keeps her pinned for the three count! Riho is the winner.

I’m not really sure what they are doing with Andras and this match didn’t give me any clarity. It was a good enough match, about what you’d expect on the lower midcard of a smaller show, but Andras has just become a punching bag the last few months as she keeps getting slotted below new wrestlers coming into the promotion. Unlike Andras’ match with Giulia, these two had pretty good chemistry but some of the transitions were non-existent, and the ending didn’t really flow with everything else they had been doing. Not a bad match but ultimately forgettable, aside from the general confusion surrounding Andras Miyagi.

Leyla Hirsch vs. Starlight Kid

Starlight Kid tries going right into a fast exchange but Leyla shoulderblocks her down, they trade armdrags and leg trips before Starlight Kid hits a dropkick. Starlight Kid goes off the ropes but Leyla hits another hard shoulderblock, bodyscissors by Leyla and she lets go after a moment to stomp on Starlight Kid’s back. Irish whip by Leyla and she goes for a slam, but Starlight Kid reverses it with a DDT. Tiger Feint Kick by Starlight Kid and she hits a standing moonsault for a two count. Starlight Kid picks up Leyla, strikes by Leyla and she dropkicks Starlight Kid in the chest. Running double knee by Leyla in the corner, she covers Starlight Kid but it gets a two count. Leyla goes for a cross armbreaker but Starlight Kid quickly gets to the ropes, Leyla picks up Starlight Kid but Starlight Kid slides down her back and hits a swinging fisherman neckbreaker for two. Starlight Kid goes up top and delivers a diving crossbody, she picks up Leyla and nails a leg clutch suplex hold, but Leyla gets a shoulder up. Starlight Kid goes for the Yoshi Tonic but Leyla shrugs her off and drops her with a modified Samoan Drop. Running knee by Leyla, and she covers Starlight Kid for two. Leyla gets Starlight Kid around the waist but Starlight Kid cradles her for a quick two count. Starlight Kid goes off the ropes but Leyla levels her with a lariat, Leyla applies the cross armbreaker and Starlight Kid has no choice but to submit! Leyla Hirsch is your winner.

I hope that Leyla sticks around in Stardom, as she offers something that the High Speed division doesn’t really have. She is short in stature but is a power wrestler, which is a fun dynamic that gives the wrestlers a lot more options to put on a unique match. This was too short to get excited about but I enjoyed it, it didn’t have the chemistry issues that one may expect and its too early in her run to know if Leyla winning with the armbreaker was just a cop out to get a quick win or if its a move she is going to use to win matches regularly. Starlight Kid continues to impress with her smoothness but really this was more about Leyla showing why even as a first time wrestler in the promotion she still could win the tournament. Wish it was a longer but fun while it lasted.  Mildly Recommended

Bea Priestley, Onozaki, and Watanabe vs. Jamie Hayter, Kashima, and Zoey Skye

Oedo Tai attacks before the match with Saki staying in as the legal wrestler against Leo, scoop slam by Saki and she rubs Leo’s face along the top rope. Saki tags in Jamie and she rams Leo into the turnbuckle as Oedo Tai each take a turn beating up Leo, Leo makes a comeback against Zoey and makes the hot tag to Bea. Bea suplexes Zoey, they trade kick attempts until Bea lands with one but Zoey hits a Codebreaker for a two count. Zoey tags Jamie, Jamie knocks Bea into the corner but Bea blocks the suplex attempt and hits a high knee. Lariat by Jamie and both wrestlers are down, they both slowly crawl to their corners to tag in Saki and Momo. Momo kicks Saki in the chest, dropkick by Momo but Saki avoids her next attempt as Jamie and Zoey both run in to deliver running strikes. Side slam backbreaker by Jamie, Saki goes up top and hits a diving footstomp on Momo for the two count. Momo comes back with a side slam to Saki but Saki throws her to the mat by her hair. Saki cradles Mom but Bea kicks her in the head to break it up, Somato by Momo but it only gets a two count. Momo picks up Saki and goes for the Peach Sunrise but Saki blocks it, high kick by Momo but Saki pins down Momo with a crucifix hold for two. Momo goes for the B Driver but Saki blocks it and hits a double underhook facebuster. Momo immediately fires off a head kick and crawls to her corner to tag Leo, elbow to the back by Leo and she hits a cutter for two. Leo goes off the ropes but Saki kicks her in the chest, Saki slides out to the apron and kicks Leo between the ropes. Back in the ring, Bea runs in and knees Saki, suplex by Momo and Leo cradles Saki for two. Elbows by Leo, she goes off the ropes but Jamie hands Saki an Oedo Tai sign and she hits Leo with it. My Emblem by Saki to Leo, and she picks up the three count! Oedo Tai wins!

I don’t really like Stardom’s trend recently of having Leo Onozaki in these types of matches, as it makes the “fall guy” just way too obvious. When she is anywhere outside the opener there is a 90% chance she is going to be pinned, which is an issue since it kills some of the drama. Plus I’d rather see a high end wrestler in there with this group, not a wrestler that likely will never ‘make it’ past the midcard. Anyway, aside from that complaint I enjoyed the match, Bea looked great in the few things they let her actually do and Saki seems to be embracing her evil ways very well, a welcome change for her. An easy watch with some solid wrestling from some great wrestlers, just predictable and it could have been a few minutes longer.  Mildly Recommended

Kagetsu vs. Giulia

They lockup to start but end up in the corner, leading to a clean break. A Test of Strength with Kagetsu winning follows, but Giulia gets away from her and they return to their feet. They jockey for position on the mat, Kagetsu gets in the dominate position but Giulia makes it to the ropes for the break. Kagetsu kicks Giulia in the chest and chokes her in the corner, Irish whip by Kagetsu and she hits a running elbow. Dropkick to the knee by Kagetsu, she gets a drink of water and spits it in Giulia’s face. The referee complains so she spits water in his face as well, Kagetsu goes back to Giulia but Giulia fights back with elbows and they exchange blows. Big boot by Giulia but Kagetsu kicks her in the midsection, she jumps up to the top turnbuckle but Giulia elbows her down to the apron. Giulia snaps Kagetsu’s neck on the top rope, Kagetsu falls out of the ring and Giulia goes out after her, slamming Kagetsu on the floor. Curb Stomp by Giulia on the stage, she brings Kagetsu back to ringside and throws her into the ring post before finally back into the ring. Giulia sets up Kagetsu in the corner across the second rope and knees her in the midsection, she hangs Kagetsu over the side of the apron and boots her in the head. Back in the ring again, Giulia goes up top and hits a missile dropkick to the back of Kagetsu’s head. She goes up top again and hits another missile dropkick, cover by Giulia but it gets two.

Giulia applies a crossface, but Kagetsu gets to the ropes for the break. Falcon Arrow by Giulia, and she covers Kagetsu for two. Kagetsu recovers and gets Giulia on her shoulders, but Giulia slides away and stomps on Kagetsu. Strike combination by Kagetsu and she hits the Ebisu Drop, cover by Kagetsu but it gets a two count. Kagetsu goes up top but Giulia recovers and joins her, superplex by Giulia but Kagetsu comes back with a running knee strike. Big boot by Giulia, and both wrestlers are down on the mat. Giulia picks up Kagetsu and nails the Glorious Buster, but Kagetsu kicks out of the cover. As she kicks out, Kagetsu puts Giulia in a hammerlock hold, but Giulia gets to the ropes. Ebisu Drop by Kagetsu in front of the corner, she goes up top but again Giulia recovers and joins her on the turnbuckles. Elbows by Giulia, she pulls Kagetsu off the turnbuckles and hits a tombstone piledriver. Glorious Driver by Giulia, but Kagetsu barely kicks out of the pin. Giulia goes for a submission but Kagetsu quickly gets away and delivers a running knee, another knee by Kagetsu and she hits an Ebisu Drop near the corner. She goes up top and this time nails the Oedo Coaster, cover by Kagetsu but Giulia kicks out. Kagetsu picks up Giulia and gets her on her shoulders as the bell rings, signifying that time has expired. Kagetsu hits the Death Valley Bomb anyway, but the match is a Time Limit Draw.

This was fun but man there were issues with offensive transitions. There were several times that one wrestler would do a major move and the other just took over on offense for no explainable reasons seconds later, I normally give a lot of leeway for that but it shouldn’t be so obvious. Beyond that, this is the best I have seen of Giulia so far in Stardom as they looked like they had been wrestling against each other for years with how the match was structured and how it seamlessly flowed. There was a bit of time wasting outside the ring as it took a few minutes to get going, but once they got focused the action was fast paced and generally interesting. Even though it was a smaller show they weren’t holding back any, aside from the lack of Kagetsu Poison Mist, but maybe Giulia just didn’t want her face covered in green. Pretty solid, some definite issues that would keep it out of any MOTYC lists but entertaining nonetheless.  Recommended

Hoshiki, Iwatani, Nakano, and Kamitani vs. Yama-san, Kimura, Kyona, and Konami

Hana and Saya start the match for their respective teams, Saya fires away at Hana with elbows but Hana just invites her to throw more before eventually booting her to the mat. All of TCS attack/taunt Saya while she is in the ropes, Death comes in for a moment as Saya is double teamed. Hana tags in Kyona as she takes her turn on the rookie, with Konami helping from the apron as well. The rookie beatdown continues until Saya dropkicks Death and makes the hot tag to Mayu. Mayu rolls Death to the mat and stomps her in the head, Kyona and Hana come in but so do Tam and Arisa as the odds are evened up. STARS gets the better of the exchange, the ring clears leaving just Mayu and Death and Death thrusts Mayu in the throat. She tags in Hana, Hana goes off the ropes and she boots Mayu in the head. Another boot by Hana, she picks up Mayu but Mayu kicks her in the midsection. She goes off the ropes but is kicked by Konami from the apron, delayed vertical suplex by Hana to Mayu and she gets a two count cover. Hana picks up Mayu and applies the Ground Manjikatame, but Tam and Arisa quickly break it up. Hana goes off the ropes but Mayu catches her with a Sling Blade, Mayu tags in Arisa and Arisa hits a double knee to Hana in the corner. Double kneedrop by Arisa, and she covers Hana for two. Arisa picks up Hana but Hana elbows her and the two trade blows. Jumping knee by Arisa but Death run in and DDTs her, running boot by Hana and she covers Arisa for two. Hana tags Konami, strike combination by Konami but Arisa fires back with a kick of her own and both wrestlers end up on the mat.

Arisa tags Tam, boot by Tam to Konami and she hits a cutter. Tam goes off the ropes but Konami catches her kick and applies an ankle hold. German suplex by Konami and she hits a buzzsaw kick, but Tam kicks out of the cover. Bridging Suplex by Konami, but Saya breaks up the count. This leads to all the wrestlers running in and hitting their signature moves, Konami and Tam crawl to their corners and tag in Kyona and Saya. Kyona kicks at Saya, she goes off the ropes but Saya catches her with a dropkick. Konami kicks Saya from the apron, Hana comes in and helps Kyona hit an assisted face crusher. Sliding lariat by Kyona, she picks up Saya but Mayu runs in with Tam to help. They get cleared out of the ring, Kyona goes for a pescado but STARS move and she ends up landing on Tokyo Cyber Squad. Tam and Mayu both go up to different turnbuckles and dive out of the ring with dives onto their opponents, they rolls Kyona back into the ring and Tam, Arisa, and Mayu all superkick her. Saya goes up top and delivers a missile dropkick, cover by Saya but the pin is broken up. Saya hits the handstand kneedrop but Kyona avoids the running Shooting Star Press, she goes for a cradle but Saya reverses it for one of her own for two. STARS get in the ring but Kyona moves when they all go for dropkicks, TCS come in and they dropkick the members of STARS. Hard elbow by Kyona, but Saya gets a shoulder up on the cover. Kyona grabs Saya around the waist and plants her with the Hammer Throw Bomb, and she picks up the three count! Tokyo Cyber Squad win the match.

I don’t mind Saya being such a big part of this match as we saw earlier with Leo since at least Saya is being pushed as a future star, but for a main event this was still a bit lacking. It is hard for all eight wrestlers to get a chance to shine in an twelve minute match, I would have preferred that either they got more time or they trimmed a couple wrestlers. The plus here is that both teams work together really well, lots of fast paced exchanges and smart tag team work that made the match far more exciting than if they did just a traditional tag. Hana looked the best, probably by design, and if nothing else I can say that time flew by while I was watching this. While I’d like more from the main event, even for a smaller show, still a pretty enjoyable match.  Mildly Recommended

The post Stardom New Years Stars 2020 on 1/11/20 Review appeared first on Joshi City.

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

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

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

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

Rina, Hina, and Ruaka vs. Saya Iida, Saya Kamitani, and Itsuki Hoshino

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

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

AZM, Priestley, Onozaki, and Watanabe vs. Jamie Hayter, Martina, Tora, and Sumire

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

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

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

Giulia vs. Saki Kashima

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

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

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

Andras Miyagi vs. Utami Hayashishita

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

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

Arisa Hoshiki, Iwatani, and Nakano vs. Death Yama-san, Hana Kimura, and Zoe Lucas

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

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

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

Hazuki vs. Kagetsu

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

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

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

(c) Jungle Kyona and Konami vs. Riho and Starlight Kid
Goddesses of Stardom Championship

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

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

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

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

The post Stardom Goddess Of Stars 2019 on 12/14/19 Review appeared first on Joshi City.

Event: Stardom “World Big Summer In Tokyo”
Date: July 24th, 2019
Location: Korakuen Hall in Tokyo, Japan
Announced Attendance: 810

We are back to Stardom, as my quest to not miss any of the Korakuen Hall events in 2019 continues even if I am four months behind. I should be caught up by the end of the year. Stardom “World Big Summer In Tokyo” is Stardom’s marquee summer event and we have three titles on the line, including their top two singles titles. Here is the full card:

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

I am watching the Samurai TV version of the show so some matches may be clipped. All the wrestlers on the show have profiles on Joshi City, you can click on their name above to go straight to it.

Hina and Leo Onozaki vs. Natsuko Tora and Natsu Sumire vs. Rina and Ruaka

The match starts with all six brawling in the ring, Ruaka and Hina work together to get the early advantage but Natsuko slams them both into the corner and Natsu runs in with a Bronco Buster. Natsu picks up Hina and slams her in front of the corner, Ruaka is then stacked on top of her and Natsuko hits a diving bodypress on both of them for a two count. They go to Ruaka but Ruaka elbows them both back, double crossbody by Ruaka and she tags in Rina. Dropkick by Rina, Hina runs in and she hits a judo toss on her sister before tagging in Leo. Octopus Hold by Rina to Leo and she cradles her for a two count. Rina goes for a STO but Leo blocks it, Ruaka boots Leo in the chest and Rina covers her for two. Natsu comes in with her whip and hits everyone with it, Natsuko comes in too and she hits a legdrop on Leo for two. Rina and Ruaka come in and double team Leo, but Leo ducks Ruaka’s crossbody. Cutter by Leo to Rina, and she applies La Magistral for the three count! Leo Onozaki and Hina are the winners!

Not a whole lot to this one, and they didn’t always keep the teams straight. Not that it really mattered, with the loose tag rules and random interference, a structured match was not what they were going for. Too quick to be offensive but also too quick to be memorable, Natsu left an impression as she tends to do but otherwise not much here to get excited about.

Jamie Hayter vs. Saya Iida vs. Utami Hayashishita

Utami and Jamie shove each other to start while Saya watches, Saya tries to get involved but is shoved aside as the taller wrestlers want the ring to themselves. They eventually get rid of Saya, Jamie snapmares Utami and kicks her repeatedly in the back. Hard shoulderblock by Utami to Jamie, Saya returns but Utami scoop slams her onto Jamie before covering her for two. Utami picks up Jamie and charges her, but Jamie holds down the top rope and Utami lands on the apron. Jamie slaps her off the apron to the floor, she throws Utami back into the ring and kicks her in the corner. Uppercuts by Jamie to Utami but Utami avoids her charge, Jamie flips Utami out to the apron but Saya runs in and dropkicks Jamie. Another dropkick by Saya but Jamie fires back with a lariat, she goes back to Utami as Utami gets on the top turnbuckle and she joins her.

Saya tries to join in the fun but Jamie kicks her back, Utami pushes Jamie off the top turnbuckle and hits a missile dropkick. Utami goes to cover Jamie but Saya knocks her out of the way and covers Jamie for two. Saya drop toeholds Utami onto Jamie, she bridges over both of them but it gets a two count. Saya throws Jamie and Utami into different corners and dropkicks both of them, she then stacks them into the same corner but Utami catches her with a judo toss. Utami gets Saya up in the backbreaker but Jamie boots Utami in the face, she hits a vertical suplex into the corner on Utami before slamming Saya repeatedly onto her knee. Jamie picks up Saya but Saya sneaks in an inside cradle for two, she goes for a backslide but that gets a two as well. High kick by Jamie to Saya but Saya gets away from her, German suplex by Utami to Jamie and she hits a dropkick on Jamie. Argentine Backbreaker by Utami, Jamie tries to break it up but Utami swings Saya’s legs into her before Saya submits to the submission! Utami Hayashishita is the winner.

I would have loved to see Jamie and Utami go at it one on one but the inclusion of Saya guaranteed that this wasn’t going to be an overly serious match with any long term implications. Saya isn’t a bad wrestler, she has a lot of spunk, but she had no chance of winning and was here just to be the wrestler to take the loss. That being said, the match was pretty well done and all their cute ‘triple threat’ spots went off without a hitch. All three were given a bit of a chance to shine, which is an accomplishment in such a short match, and everything clicked. Perfectly fine for an undercard match, just wish that Utami and Jamie had something more important to do on the show.

Bobbi Tyler, Death Yama-san, Hana Kimura, and Lucas vs. Iwatani, Kashima, Starlight Kid, and Nakano

TCS attack before the bell because of course they did, Starlight Kid seems surprised by this and I have no idea why. TCS dominates for a moment as they focus on Starlight Kid, but STARS roars back and all four of them apply submission holds to their opponents. Starlight Kid and Hana stay in as the legal wrestlers as Hana gets to the ropes to break Starlight Kid’s hold, she goes off the ropes but Hana hits a drop toehold. Chinlock by Hana, she lets go after a moment and tosses down Starlight Kid by the mask. Hana tags in Zoe as Starlight Kid is triple teamed in the corner, Zoe snapmares Starlight Kid and sits down on the mat with her so she can stretch her (with Yama-san’s help). Zoe tags in Bobbi while she continues to choke Starlight Kid, Irish whip by Bobbi but Starlight Kid rebounds off the ropes with a crossbody and makes the hot tag to Saki. Bobbi throws Saki into the corner but she rebounds out of it with a bulldog, spinning headscissors by Saki but Bobbi avoids her boot attempt. Zoe comes in the ring but so does Tam, and STARS gets the in-ring advantage. Zoe and Bobbi take back over briefly but are thrown into each other before both eat dropkicks. Saki grabs Bobbi’s arm and snaps it against her foot, she tags in Mayu and Mayu dropkicks Bobbi in the chest. Elbows by Mayu but Bobbi comes back with the reverse STO from the ropes and makes the tag to Hana. Big boot by Hana to Mayu, she goes off the ropes and nails Mayu with a second one. Cover by Hana, but Mayu gets a shoulder up.

Hana picks up Mayu but Mayu blocks the suplex attempt, she goes off the ropes but Zoe grabs her so that Hana can boot Mayu in the face. Bobbi comes in and she helps Zoe toss Mayu to the mat, boot by Hana and she covers Mayu for a close two count. Hana picks up Mayu and puts her in a modified Ground Manjikatame but Mayu is too close to the ropes and forces the break. Hana charges Mayu in the corner but Mayu moves out of the way and kicks Hana in the face. Hana comes back with a vertical suplex, she picks up Mayu and elbows her, but Saki runs in and boots Hana in the chest. Tiger Feint Kick by Starlight Kid and Tam hits a backdrop suplex on Hana, Mayu has recovered and she goes up to the top turnbuckle, nailing the Frog Splash but Yama-san breaks up the cover. Mayu goes for a dragon suplex but Hana blocks it, Zoe kicks Mayu but Starlight Kid runs in and dropkicks Zoe. Both teams trade moves until everyone is down, Mayu and Hana are left alone in the ring and they trade elbows. Hana wins the battle and boots Mayu, but Mayu fires back with a superkick and both wrestlers are down again. They crawl to their respective corners to tag in Starlight Kid and Yama-san, Irish whip by Yama-san but Starlight Kid spins around her and the two trade flash pins. Back up, dropkick by Starlight Kid and they trade cradles until Starlight Kid holds down Yama-san for the three count! STARS win the match.

A fun mid-card tag match. As I mentioned above, a lot of quality wrestlers were jammed into this match so the action was really solid, with Hana being the main focus but others getting in their shots. Kaori Yoneyama and Tam Nakano mostly kept to the background as its hard for everyone to get in there in a ten minute eight woman tag, but not much one can do about that. I am not sure if Bobbi or Jamie is my favorite Gaijin in Stardom at the moment but I like them both a lot and hope they stay with the promotion for a long time to come, Bobbi fit in really well here. A fast paced entertaining match. Mildly Recommended

(c) Jungle Kyona and Konami vs. Andras Miyagi and Kagetsu
Goddesses of Stardom Championship

Andras and Kyona start off and immediately try to knock each other over, with Kyona getting the best of the duel. Kyona shoulderblocks Andras over again, she goes off the ropes but Kagetsu grabs her from the floor and pulls her out of the ring as things immediately break down. Andras and Kyona put on some hand sanitizer before getting into a Test of Strength, but Kyona breaks away and rubs it into Andras’ eyes. Andras gets back in control as they return to the ring, both wrestlers tag out as Konami and Kagetsu start trading kicks. Kagetsu catches one and hits a dragon screw, enzuigiri by Kagetsu and she tags in Andras. Elbows by Andras and she dropkicks Konami in the back of the head, Kyona runs in to help and Andras is double teamed as Kyona delivers the lariat. Kyona leaves the ring so that Konami can tag her in, snapmare by Kyona and she hits a sliding lariat for a two count. Kyona picks up Andras and hits a scoop slam, she goes up top but Andras avoids the diving body press and Kagetsu kicks her in the face. Konami comes in but Andras boots her back out, Oedo Tai kick Kyona and Andras hits a suplex. Ebisu Drop by Kagetsu, Andras follows with the Swanton Bomb but Konami breaks up the cover. They toss Andras into the ropes but Kagetsu hits a double springboard dropkick, Kyona and Konami fall out of the ring but they hit Oedo Tai with chairs when they go to do a dive. Release German by Konami to Andras, Kyona quickly goes to the top turnbuckle and nails the diving body press. Hammer Throw Powerbomb by Kyona, and she picks up the three count! Tokyo Cyber Squad win and retain the championship.

This match was clipped to hell (about 50%), which is surprising for a title match since there were some more… lowly matches on the show they could have cut up. I guess they were just making sure the next two matches got the time they need. The match started a little goofy but got good after that, Kagetsu is so great that she shines through in every match she is in, even heavily clipped ones. Solid action for sure but its hard for me to recommend a match that so much is cut out of, just too incomplete.

(c) Arisa Hoshiki vs. Hazuki
Wonder of Stardom Championship

They tie-up to start and get into a Test of Strength, Arisa tosses Hazuki to the mat and hops on top of her but Hazuki quickly reverses places with her as they jockey on the mat for position. Snapmare by Arisa and she kicks Hazuki in the back, she goes off the ropes but Hazuki trips her and drags her out of the ring. Hazuki tosses Arisa into the chairs at ringside, she brings her up into the bleachers and slams Arisa’s head into the column a few times. Hazuki brings Arisa back into the ring but immediately throws her back out of it and throws her into the chairs again. Hazuki slams Arisa into the ring post before scoop slamming her on the floor, she rolls her into the ring and hits two more scoop slams for a two count cover. Hazuki picks up Arisa and tosses her down by the hair, she goes for bootscrapes but Arisa kicks her in the leg and connects with a series of kicks to Hazuki’s chest. Arisa kicks Hazuki into the corner, Irish whip by Arisa but Hazuki rebounds out of the corner with a dropkick. Half nelson slam onto her knee by Hazuki, she pushes Arisa against the ropes and hits a series of bootscrapes followed by a running boot.

Hazuki throws Arisa into the corner and hits a running back elbow, Backstabber by Hazuki and she transitions it into an armtrap crossface. Arisa gets a foot on the ropes for the break, Hazuki picks her up but Arisa pushes her off and the two trade elbows. Pump Kick by Hazuki, she picks up Arisa but Arisa gets away and delivers a jumping kick. Both wrestlers are down but Hazuki is up first, running boot by Hazuki and she goes out to the apron, but Arisa avoids her springboard attack and puts Hazuki in a sleeper hold. Hazuki gets to the ropes for the break, Arisa goes up top but Hazuki recovers and joins her. They trade elbows while on the top turnbuckle until Arisa headbutts Hazuki off, 1399 by Arisa and she covers Hazuki for a two count. ADAMAS by Arisa, but Arisa lifts Hazuki up before the three count so she can nail the Brazilian Kick. Cover by Arisa, but Hazuki barely gets her shoulder up. Arisa goes for a running knee but Hazuki ducks it and hits a DDT, Michinoku Driver by Hazuki but her cover gets two. Hazuki picks up Arisa but Arisa blocks a suplex attempt and they trade elbows. Hazuki throws Arisa into the corner and hits a jumping elbow, Arisa elbows her back but Hazuki sets up Arisa in the corner and hits a Codebreaker.

Hazuki goes to the apron and hits a springboard missile dropkick to Arisa’s back, cover by Hazuki but it gets a two count. She transitions into an armtrap crossface, Arisa almost makes the ropes but Hazuki rolls her back and applies the Rings of Saturn. Again Arisa wiggles to the ropes and this time she makes it for the break, Hazuki goes off the ropes and nails a running boot to the side of Arisa’s head. Hazuki drags up Arisa and slams her in front of the corner, she goes up top but Arisa recovers and joins her. Hazuki knees Arisa and flips back to the mat, she boots Arisa in the head and then hits a neckbreaker. Hazuki goes up top but Arisa avoids the Bombs Away and hits a jumping knee, she connects with a second jumping knee and covers Hazuki for two. Arisa picks up Hazuki but Hazuki ducks the Brazilian Kick and applies La Magistral for two. Headbutt by Hazuki but Arisa kicks her in the head, Shining Impact by Arisa and she covers Hazuki for the three count! Arisa Hoshiki is the winner and still the champion.

I’m glad that Samurai TV didn’t clip this match as it was a hell of an encounter. Arisa has really grown on me, at first as she transitioned from midcard tag wrestler to suddenly a main event wrestler, I thought her offense was a bit repetitive and lacked creativity, but she is clearly over that hump as she was great here. All her strikes were snug and she is a lot of fun to watch. Hazuki also continues to improve as she showed a lot of fire, taking it hard to Arisa but never resorting to Oedo Tai Tactics as it was a pretty clean fight from start to finish. They mixed it up really well between strikes/power moves/submissions to keep things interesting and the ‘outside the ring’ portion was kept to the point. The near falls were convincing and the Shining Impact was the perfect way to end the match as it felt like a real exclamation point after a close back and forth battle. One of the better Stardom matches I have seen so far this year, just an exciting and well paced match between two wrestlers that keep getting better each time I watch them. Worth going out of your way to see.  Highly Recommended

(c) Bea Priestley vs. Momo Watanabe
World of Stardom Championship

They tie-up to start, Momo pushes Bea into the corner but quickly gives a clean break. Momo takes Bea to the mat and they trade holds, but neither gets the advantage and they return to their feet. Wristlock by Bea but Momo reverses it, snapmare by Bea and she applies a chinlock but Momo gets to the ropes for the break. They end up on the mat again with Momo in control, Bea returns to her feet and tosses Momo down before backing off. Headlock by Bea but Momo Irish whips out of it, elbow by Bea in the corner but Momo fires back with a dropkick and Bea rolls out of the ring to regroup. Momo goes to the apron and goes for a diving knee, but Bea moves out of the way and gets up on the apron to deliver a PK. Bea stomps on Momo’s arm and twists it around the ring post, she lets her go after a moment and returns to the ring. Momo doesn’t follow fast enough so Bea goes back out after her and throws her into the ring post. Bea kicks Momo in the arm and returns to the ring for good, Momo rolls in too but Bea immediately goes back to Momo’s arm.

Bea throws Momo into the corner but Momo rebounds out of it with a dropkick, another dropkick by Momo and she follows with a third. Momo picks up Bea and hits a snap vertical suplex, they slowly return to their feet and trade elbows. Bea takes Momo to the mat and applies a butterfly lock, Momo gets out of it but Bea cradles her for two. Running knee by Bea, she picks up Momo and hits a side suplex for another two count cover. Bea picks up Momo and gets her on her shoulders, but Momo reverses the Queen’s Landing and rolls Bea to the mat. Kick by Momo, she gets on the top turnbuckle and delivers the diving Somato for a two count. Momo quickly puts Bea in the chickenwing, Bea gets out of it but Momo drops her with a half nelson suplex. Somato by Momo, but Bea grabs the bottom rope to force the break. Momo picks up Bea and sets her up for the B Driver, she climbs the turnbuckles with Bea on her back but Bea gets away and hits a powerbomb for a two count. Bea waits for Momo to get up and charges, but Momo kicks her back and gets on the top turnbuckle.

Bea kicks her in the head to send Momo to the apron, Bea quickly jumps up to the top turnbuckle and hits a double footstomp to Momo’s back. Both wrestlers are slow to get up, they manage to get onto the apron and the pair trade elbows. Bea goes for a suplex but Momo blocks it before hitting the B Driver on the apron. Momo pulls Bea back in the ring and hits a second B Driver, cover by Momo but it gets a two count. Momo applies the crossface chickenwing, she nails the Tequila Sunrise but Bea gets a shoulder up. Momo gets Bea to her feet and delivers the Peach Sunrise, but again Bea manages to get a shoulder up. Momo pushes the referee before going back to Bea, she goes for another Peach Sunrise but Bea rolls out of it and drops Momo with a Peach Sunrise of her own for a two count. Both are slow to get up, they both kick each other in the head with Momo following with more kicks. Bea kicks her back, superkick by Bea and she nails a jumping knee. Trapped side suplex hold by Bea, but Momo kicks out at two. Bea drags Momo to her feet, she gets Momo onto her shoulders and delivers the Queen’s Landing for the three count! Bea Priestley wins and retains the championship.

From just a pure enjoyment standpoint, this match delivered, but if you scratch beneath the surface a bit there certainly were some issues. I’ll start with the good – Bea gets a lot of shit online, but she’s a very good wrestler and she showed it here as everything she did was on point. She can be rough around the edges sometimes but in this match she was at her best and delivered a great performance. Momo looked great too so just looking at their back-and-forths and execution, this was about as good as it could be. On the match layout side however, there were some issues. Bea did a good job on the arm of Momo for about five minutes, but as soon as she stopped it was immediately dropped from the match and never even got a callback spot later. So it was just wasted time, it had no impact on anything else in the match whatsoever. There were other smaller issues, like the ‘on the floor’ portion of the match felt too long with not a lot happening, but the arm offense was the biggest problem since it filled a large chunk of the match with meaningless offense. I’m not a big fan of wrestlers kicking out of their opponent’s big finisher, at least in this case Bea was mostly incapacitated for awhile so it wasn’t just blown off, but it is often a tip-off of the end result. Overall a really good match, it didn’t reach the level of the previous match but still worthy of a Korakuen Hall main event.  Recommended

The post Stardom World Big Summer In Tokyo on 7/24/19 Review appeared first on Joshi City.

Event: Stardom World Big Summer in Osaka
Date: July 20th, 2019
Location: Edion Arena Osaka #2 in Osaka, Japan
Announced Attendance: 563

This year for Stardom I have been focusing on their Korakuen Hall events, but I had to take a step away from that to take a look at this show. For Stardom World Big Summer in Osaka, Stardom put on a full (for them) six match card with three title matches, with a defense of the Artist of Stardom Championship in the main event. We also get some of the better Gaijin wrestlers joining us, with Bobbi Tyler, Jamie Hayter, Bea Priestley, and Zoe Lucas all on the show. Here is the full card:

• Bobbi Tyler vs. Starlight Kid
• Arisa Hoshiki and Saya Iida vs. Natsuko Tora and Jamie Hayter
• Bea Priestley, Momo Watanabe, and Leo Onozaki vs. Hana Kimura, Jungle Kyona, and Konami
• SWA Undisputed World Women’s Championship: Utami Hayashishita vs. Zoe Lucas
• High Speed Championship: Hazuki vs. AZM vs. DEATH Yama-san
• Artist of Stardom Championship: Mayu Iwatani, Saki Kashima, and Tam Nakano vs. Kagetsu, Andras Miyagi, and Natsu Sumire

Even though I prefer to watch the Samurai TV version of the bigger Stardom events, that wasn’t an option here so I am watching the show on Stardom World. All wrestlers on the card have a profile on Joshi City, you can click on their name above to go straight to it.

Bobbi Tyler vs. Starlight Kid

They tie-up to start, Bobbi pushes the smaller Starlight Kid into the ropes and gives her a clean break. They trade waistlocks, Starlight Kid gets Bobbi to the mat and applies a kneelock, but Bobbi kicks out of it and reverses the hold. They trade positions before reaching a stalemate, wristlock by Bobbi back on their feet but Starlight Kid uses the ropes to reverse it. Armdrag by Starlight Kid and she dropkicks Bobbi out of the ring, she goes off the ropes but feints back into the ring instead of doing a dive. Bobbi gets back in, Starlight Kid goes for a slam but Bobbi reverses it and hits one of her own. Bobbi picks up Starlight Kid and stretches her in the ropes, stomps by Bobbi and she chokes Starlight Kid with her boot in the corner. Cover by Bobbi, but it gets two. Irish whip by Bobbi but Starlight Kid ducks her lariat and hits a tilt-a-whirl headscissors,

Tiger Feint Kick by Starlight Kid and she hits a standing moonsault for two. Starlight Kid goes for a cross-legged suplex but Bobbi blocks it, Starlight Kid elbows Bobbi into the corner but Bobbi avoids her dropkick. Elbows by Bobbi and she hits a running elbow followed by a cutter. Superkick by Bobbi, and she covers Starlight Kid for two. Bobbi applies a choke before going off the ropes, but Starlight Kid ducks the pump kick and hits a springboard crossbody. Cross-legged bridging suplex by Starlight Kid, but Bobbi kicks out. Starlight Kid goes up top and delivers the swivel body press, but again Bobbi gets a shoulder up. Bobbi comes back with an enzuigiri and a superkick, cover by Bobbi but it gets a two count. Bobbi picks up Starlight Kid but Starlight Kid slides away and schoolboys her for two. Starlight Kid goes off the ropes but Bobbi catches her with a rope-assisted reverse STO. Bobbi waits for Starlight Kid to get up and nails the Pump Kick, cover by Bobbi and she gets the three count! Bobbi Tyler is the winner.

It started a bit slow for a shortish match, but once they got rolling I enjoyed it. These two don’t have a lot of experience against each other (in a live setting anyway) but meshed up pretty well, and Starlight Kid continues to slowly grow her arsenal as she becomes a more complete wrestler. Certainly a fun match, with only four or five minutes of meaningful action its hard to give a strong recommendation but a solid way to open the show.  Mildly Recommended

Arisa Hoshiki and Saya Iida vs. Natsuko Tora and Jamie Hayter

Natsuko and Saya kick things off, they go through some mat wrestling and trade holds until Saya gets a headscissors applied. Natsuko pushes out of it and they reach a stalemate, Saya goes to take out but Natsuko kicks her and rams her into the corner. Natsuko tags in Jamie, vertical suplex by Jamie and she mushes Saya in the face with her boot. Another suplex by Jamie, Natsuko comes in and they double team Saya in the corner. Natsuko stays in and tosses Saya by the hair a few times before hitting a scoop slam. Running body press by Natsuko, and she covers Saya for two. Natsuko kicks Saya in the head, Saya tries to fight back but Natsuko kicks her again before knocking Arisa off the apron. Natsuko picks up Saya but Saya ducks her lariat and dropkicks her in the knee. Another dropkick by Saya and she makes the hot tag to Arisa. Arisa boots Jamie off the apron and hits a jumping double knee on Natsuko, reverse diving kneedrop by Arisa to Natsuko and she kicks her in the head. More kicks by Arisa but Natsuko catches one and applies an ankle hold. And she appears to be biting her ankle as well. The referee gets her to stop, Arisa goes off the ropes but Natsuko catches her with a spinebuster.

Headscissors by Natsuko but it gets broken up by Saya, Jamie gets rid of Saya and they both elbow Arisa. Natsuko picks up Arisa and gets her on her shoulders, but Arisa slides off and goes off the ropes. Natsuko goes off the ropes too and hits a spear, she tags in Jamie who kicks Arisa in the chest. Sidewalk Slam onto her knee by Jamie, and she covers Arisa for two. Jamie picks up Arisa and goes off the ropes, but Arisa drills her with a jumping knee. Arisa tags Saya, she stays in the ring as they take turns elbowing Jamie. Double dropkick to Jamie, Saya footstomps off her back and covers Jamie for two. Saya goes for a scoop slam but Jamie blocks it, boot by Saya and this time she successfully hits the scoop slam for two. Saya picks up Jamie, Arisa returns and they take turns with strikes, but Natsuko breaks up Saya’s cover. Saya and Arisa go off the ropes but Natsuko catches them with a double spear, elbow and a kick by Jamie to Saya but her cover gets a two count. Jamie picks up Saya but Saya sneaks in an inside cradle for two. She tries another flash pin but Natsuko breaks it up, Saya goes off the ropes but Jamie delivers a lariat. Short-range lariat by Jamie and she nails a brainbuster unto her knee for the three count pinfall! Natsuko Tora and Jamie Hayter are the winners.

A step down from the last match but still generally inoffensive. The chemistry wasn’t quite there on a few spots as not everything was smooth, but no one really stuck out as not fitting in which is a plus. Saya Iida can be a bit hit-and-miss but looked fine for a rookie here, the match was just void of anything particularly memorable aside from Arisa’s always fun jumping knee, which generally connects pretty well. For its spot on the card, perfectly acceptable wrestling but nothing memorable.

Bea Priestley, Momo Watanabe, and Leo Onozaki vs. Hana Kimura, Jungle Kyona, and Konami

Kyona and Leo are the first two in, Kyona works a headlock and shoulderblocks Leo when she finally gets out of it. Leo fights back with elbows by Kyona returns the favor, she goes off the ropes but Leo elbows her again. Leo tries to knock over Kyona with elbows and finally succeeds with a dropkick, she goes for a suplex but Kyona blocks it. All the wrestlers end up running in to set up a vertical suplex line, and TCS delivers a triple vertical suplex. Giant Swing by Kyona to Leo, she lets go and covers her but Momo breaks it up. Kyona throws Leo into Hana’s boot before tagging her in, Hana tosses Leo by the hair a few times and chokes her with her boot in the corner. Hana picks up Leo and hits a scoop slam, she throws Leo in the corner and tags in Konami. Konami snapmares Leo and kicks her in the back, stomps by Konami but Leo elbows her into the corner. A hard elbow by Leo sends Konami to the mat and she makes the tag to Bea, running elbow by Bea in the corner and she dropkicks Konami in the back for a two count cover. Strike combination by Konami but Bea avoids her charge in the corner and kicks her in the head. Northern Light Suplex by Bea, but Hana and Kyona both break it up.

Bea dropkicks both of them out of the ring, she picks up Konami but Konami hits an enzuigiri. Konami goes off the ropes but Bea drops her with a jumping knee and tags in Momo. Dropkicks by Momo to Konami in the corner, she goes for a uranage but Konami blocks it and hits a high kick. That gives her time to tag in Hana, running boot by Hana to Momo and she hits a second one. Hana picks up Momo but Momo kicks her in the chest, they trade kicks but Hana accidentally boots Kyona when she tries to help. That leads to Hana being triple teamed, ending with a Momo Somato for a two count cover. Momo applies a crossface chickenwing but Kyona breaks it up, Momo goes up top but Hana avoids her dive off and hits a dropkick. Momo lands near her corner and tags Leo, but Hana promptly boots her in the face for a two count. Hana goes for a suplex but Leo reverses it, she goes for a few flash pins but Hana kicks out of each one. Leo picks up Hana and hits a series of elbows, she goes off the ropes but Kyona runs in with a lariat. TCS take turns on Leo, Hana hits a big boot but her cover is broken up. Kyona and Konami clear the ring, Hana goes up top and nails a missile dropkick on Leo for the three count! TCS win!

I am shocked, shocked I say that Leo was the one that took the fall. A good match but the issue with six wrestler tag matches that don’t get a lot of time is some wrestlers simply don’t get the chance to do anything of note. Here that was mostly Bea, who had one short segment, and since I like Bea I wish I could have seen her do a bit more on the show. Leo was the focus of course but she was given some shine spots so she wasn’t completely dominated, but I do prefer these matches not have such an obvious loser. The wrestler quality in this one was high so the action was fine, it just didn’t get the time that these wrestlers generally deserve.

(c) Utami Hayashishita vs. Zoe Lucas
SWA Undisputed World Women’s Championship

Tie-up to start, Utami pushes Zoe into the ropes but Zoe switches positions with her and slaps her in the face. Utami tackles Zoe and applies a stretch hold into a headlock, but Zoe quickly gets into the ropes. Irish whip by Utami but Zoe avoids her charge by sliding out to the apron and kicks her in the head. Scissors Kick by Zoe from the apron, she cradles Utami back in the ring but it gets a two count. Leg drop by Zoe to Utami’s leg and she slams her knee into the mat before twisting it in the ropes. Zoe gets Utami back to the middle of the ring and stretches her, another leg to Utami’s leg and she covers her for two. Zoe picks up Utami but Utami ducks a lariat, she goes for a dropkick but Zoe moves out of the way. Zoe picks up Utami and throws her into the corner to choke Utami with her boot. Zoe puts Utami’s leg across the second rope before kicking her and dropkicking Utami in the knee. Cover by Zoe, but it gets a two count. Zoe goes to the ropes and hits a slingshot splits legdrop, but Utami kicks out of the cover.  Zoe kicks at Utami, she picks up Utami but Utami fires back with elbows. Judo Throw by Utami and she hits a running elbow in the corner, STO by Utami and she covers Zoe for two.

Back up they trade elbows, Zoe kicks Utami in the knee and then in the head, she goes off the ropes and hits a bulldog. Cradle by Zoe, but Utami kicks out. Zoe applies a cross kneelock but Utami gets to the ropes for the break. Zoe picks up Utami and puts her leg across the second rope in the corner, she charges her but Utami moves out of the way and hits a lariat. Utami goes up top but Zoe kicks her before she can jump off, Zoe joins her but Utami pushes her off. Zoe kicks her again and tosses Utami to the mat, cover by Zoe but it gets a two count. Zoe goes off the ropes and nails a splits legdrop to Utami’s head, but that gets a two count as well. Zoe picks up Utami, head kick by Zoe but Utami slides behind her back and applies a sleeper hold. Zoe gets to the ropes for the break, Utami picks her up but Zoe applies a sunset flip. PK by Zoe, she picks up Utami and they quickly trade holds. Utami gets Zoe’s back and hits a German suplex hold, and she picks up the three count! Utami Hayashishita wins and retains the championship.

Even though I am the #1 Utami stan, I can still recognize when she has a match that isn’t very good, which is the case here. Even the structure itself seemed off, as I am surprised that the plan was for Zoe to dominate the match and for Utami to win with a ‘surprise’ German suplex without really any attempt to weaken Zoe first. Zoe’s offensive was fine, her leg work was done well and even though she spams the splits legdrop at least she hits it solidly, it was just odd that the champion won with only hitting a couple moves. Add in a miscommunication or two and overall the match was lacking, not a great title match and pretty skippable.

(c) Hazuki vs. AZM vs. DEATH Yama-san
High Speed Championship

AZM immediately charges Hazuki and all three end up running off the ropes before trading quick pin attempts. DEATH punches both of them but Hazuki trips her, slingshot footstomp by Hazuki and she gets into it. AZM hits a hurricanrana but Hazuki flips herself back to her feet and hits a dropkick. Hazuki picks up AZM and hits a scoop slam, she drop toeholds DEATH on top of her and hits a running senton on both. AZM ends up against the ropes, bootscrapes by Hazuki and she hits a running boot. Irish whip by Hazuki to the corner but AZM avoids her charge and headscissors Hazuki into the turnbuckle. Vertical suplex by AZM, and she overs Hazuki for two. AZM goes up top but DEATH runs in and puts Hazuki in a submission, but AZM come over and puts DEATH in a hanging armbar at the same time. Hazuki crawls to the rope and forces the break, AZM clubs on both of them but DEATH flips her out to the apron. AZM slides herself back in, all three go for quick pins but none have any success. Double Irish whip to Hazuki but she ducks under the lariat attempts and hits a double Codebreaker. Hazuki stacks them in the corner and hits a running elbow, Hazuki goes to the apron and hits a double swandive dropkick for a two count on DEATH. Hazuki goes to pick up DEATH but DEATH blocks it, she goes off the ropes but DEATH delivers a jumping back kick. Code Red by DEATH, but AZM breaks up the cover. Tilt-a-whirl headscissors into the Fujiwara Armbar by AZM, but DEATH cradles AZM from behind for two. Pump Kick by Hazuki to AZM, DEATH tries to roll up Hazuki but Hazuki reverses it into a La Magistral. AZM breaks that up, Hazuki goes out to the apron but DEATH pushes AZM into Hazuki to send her to the floor before cradling AZM for the three count! DEATH Yama-san is the new High Speed Champion!

For what they were going for, I thought the match was good but its a bit disappointing to see Hazuki drop the belt in this fashion. Hazuki has tried hard in the last seven months to make the title mean something after it kinda fell out of the spotlight during Mary Apache’s run, so her losing it without getting pinned feels like a cheap way to end things. While it was likely done to keep her “strong” as she goes for a bigger title, this was the easy way out and felt flat. The action itself was good, as good as a five minute match can be as it was smooth and fast paced as you’d expect. An entertaining match, and Hazuki looked great, just not what I’d consider an ideal conclusion to a eight month title reign for Hazuki.  Mildly Recommended

(c) Mayu Iwatani, Saki Kashima, and Tam Nakano vs. Kagetsu, Andras Miyagi, and Natsu Sumire
Artist of Stardom Championship

Oedo Tai attack STARS before the bell rings, which STARS for some reason seem surprised about, and the action immediately spills to the outside with Oedo Tai maintaining control. Mayu and Tam are both tossed into the chairs at ringside before Kagetsu spits water in Mayu’s face and Tam is thrown into the ring post. Natsu eventually returns to the ring with Saki, and Natsu hits her repeatedly with a weapon while the referee isn’t looking. She tags in Andras, boots by Andras in the corner and she hits a scoop slam. More slams by Andras, she picks up Saki and throws her into the corner before tagging in Kagetsu. Kagetsu spits water in Saki’s face and then at Tam as well, scoop slam by Kagetsu to Saki and she tags Natsu back in. Irish whip by Natsu but Saki reverses it, Natsu hits an atomic drop on her and then gives Mayu the same. Tam tries to help but also gets an atomic drop, Natsu goes off the ropes but Saki ducks her boot and kicks Natsu in the leg. Saki goes off the ropes and boots Natsu in the head, giving her time to tag in Tam. Andras is also tagged in, she throws Tam into the corner but Tam kicks her back when she charges in and hits a diving neckbreaker. Running knee by Tam but Andras catches her kick, Tam slides away and drops Andras with a backdrop suplex. Cartwheel into a kneedrop by Tam and she tags in Mayu.

Mayu runs in but promptly eats a DDT for her trouble, giving Andras time to tag in Kagetsu. Kicks by Kagetsu, she throws Mayu into the corner and hits a jumping elbow. Mayu returns the favor with an elbow of her own before dropkicking Kagetsu squarely in the head. Northern Lights Suplex by Mayu, but Kagetsu kicks out. Kagetsu ends up against the ropes, dropkick by Mayu and she puts Kagetsu in a crab hold. She switches it to a guillotine but Kagetsu makes it to the ropes, Natsu whips Mayu from the apron and Andras runs in with a dropkick. Ebisu Drop by Kagetsu, and she covers Mayu for two. Kagetsu hits another one, she gets up on the top turnbuckle but Tam hits her from the apron. Saki comes in and hits a Frankensteiner, Frog Splash by Mayu but Kagetsu gets a shoulder up on the cover. Mayu picks up Kagetsu and goes for the dragon suplex, but Kagetsu blocks it. Boot by Andras as all six wrestlers get involved, leaving the ring cleared with just Mayu and Kagetsu. They both crawl to their corners and tags in Natsu and Saki, Natsu charges Saki and hits the Bronco Buster in the corner. Natsu gets on the top turnbuckle but Saki avoids her diving crossbody, face crusher by Saki but Natsu drives her foot into Saki’s face.

Boot by Saki but Natsu sneaks in an inside cradle for two. Kagetsu and Andras both come in but Saki and Tam take care of them, triple dropkicks by STARS and they all take turns superkicking Natsu. Mayu and Tam double team Natsu with an assisted German suplex, Saki goes up top and delivers a diving double kneedrop to Natsu, but Andras breaks up the cover. Double arm facebuster by Saki and she hits a butterfly suplex hold for two. Saki nails the Unprettier, but Andras breaks up her pin attempt. Oedo Tai clear the ring, Andras and Kagetsu double team Saki before Natsu hits a jumping lariat. Bridging suplex by Natsu, but it gets a two count. Natsu goes for a fisherman buster but Saki blocks it, so Natsu drills her with the Demon (Capture DDT) instead. Cover by Natsu, but everyone breaks it up. Kagetsu and Andras clear the extra STARS members, Shining Wizard by Natsu to Saki but Saki quickly applies a crucifix pin for two. Oedo Tai toss all the members of STARS out of the ring, Kagetsu and Andras both get running starts and sail out onto all three with tope suicidas. Saki is quickly rolled back in, Steel Ball Run by Andras to Saki and Kagetsu delivers the Oedo Coaster. Demon by Natsu to Saki, and she picks up the three count! Oedo Tai are the new champions!

A quality main event, really enjoyable. It won’t reach any MOTYC discussions but it was what you’d expect – a fun chaos-filled match with six wrestlers very comfortable with each other so everything seemed seamless. A more dominating victory than I would have expected, as Oedo Tai controlled the match and then pinned Saki decisively with minimal cheating (for them). All six got at least a bit of a chance to shine but Kagetsu always stands out to me, she’s just so polished and on point with both her in-ring work and her overall character. An entertaining way to end the show, and a moment for Natsu to remember as she wins the first title in her career.  Recommended

The post Stardom World Big Summer in Osaka on 7/20/19 Review appeared first on Joshi City.

Event: Stardom Shining Destiny 2019
Date: June 16th, 2019
Location: Korakuen Hall in Tokyo, Japan
Announced Attendance: 890

As I stated during my last Stardom review, even though in general I am behind in reviews I want to make sure all the Korakuen Hall Stardom events are covered in a timely manner. Stardom Shining Destiny 2019 was a big event for the promotion, with three championship matches! Here is the full card:

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

All the wrestlers above have a profile on Joshi City, you can click on their names to go straight to it. I am reviewing the Samurai TV! version of this show, so some matches may be clipped.

Hina vs. Leo Onozaki

We join this one a bit in progress as they trade elbows, Leo goes off the ropes but Hina tosses her to the mat. STO by Hina, and she covers Leo for two. Scoop slam by Hina and she goes for a cross armbreaker, but Leo keeps her hands locked until she makes it into the ropes. Hina picks up Leo but Leo throws her into the corner, jumping elbow by Leo and she hits a cutter. Cover by Leo, but it gets two. Leo goes for a slam but Hina blocks it, Hina goes for a dropkick but Leo swats it out of the way. Hina doe the same to her and they trade flash pins until Leo holds down Hina for the three count! Leo Onozaki wins.

When you need a flash pin to beat a 12 year old, probably not a good sign for your long term career. This was a short match that was clipped even shorter, nothing wrong with it but too short and basic to get excited about. Not much to see here, unless you just really want to see their gradual improvement.

Bobbi Tyler, Death Yama-san, and Ruaka vs. Kashima, Iida, and Zoe Lucas

TCS won’t shake hands before the match so they get jumped from behind, Yama-san is isolated in the ring and triple teamed. We jump ahead to Ruaka and Saya in the ring, dropkick by Saya and she tags in Saki. Saki boots Ruaka in the head, Bobbi and Yama-san run in but Saki beats up all three of them. Saki picks up Ruaka and hits a butterfly suplex for a two count. Irish whip by Saki but Ruaka hits a jumping crossbody, that gives her time to tag in Bobbi but Saki grabs her wrist and hits a springboard hurricanrana. She tags in Zoe, Zoe is elbowed into the corner and Bobbi hits a pair of running elbows. Zoe avoids the third and boots Bobbi in the corner, cover by Zoe but it gets two. Zoe picks up Bobbi but Bobbi hits an enzuigiri, Zoe kicks her back however and both wrestlers end up on the mat. They crawl to their corners as Yama-san and Saya are tagged in, dropkicks by Saya and she covers Yama-san for a two count. Saki comes in and she elbows Yama-san in the corner, Saya follows with a dropkick by Saki hits a face crusher. Dropkick by Saya, she goes off the ropes but Yama-san knees her in the stomach. Yama-san picks up Saya but Saya rolls her up and the two trade flash pins. Zoe kicks Saya in the head, schoolboy by Yama-san and she gets the three count! Tokyo Cyber Squad are the winners.

I guess the swerve here is that Zoe Lucas joined Tokyo Cyber Squad, since Zoe wasn’t drafted she isn’t officially affiliated with STARS so this doesn’t break the draft mechanism. A short match slightly clipped to be even shorter and Saya Iida was the focus, which is fine but she obviously isn’t as good as most the other wrestlers. Even in this brief match she messed up a few times, she’s still learning. The match in general was pretty rough around the edges. Best to be forgotten, aside from Zoe Lucas’ heel turn.

AZM and Bea Priestley vs. Mayu Iwatani and Starlight Kid

Starlight Kid and AZM start the match, they go into a fast exchange until Starlight Kid dropkicks AZM to the mat. Mayu runs in and they Irish whip AZM, but Bea comes in and dropkicks both of them. Scoop slam by AZM to Starlight Kid and she stomps down on her arm before tagging in Bea. Armbreaker by Bea and she stomps down on Starlight Kid’s elbow, she tags AZM back in and AZM elbows Starlight Kid repeatedly in the chest. Irish whip by AZM but Starlight Kid rebounds off the ropes with a crossbody for two. She tags in Mayu, dropkick by Mayu and she throws AZM into the corner. Irish whip by Mayu, reversed, but rolls AZM to the mat before hitting a dropkick. Bea returns, double Irish whip to Mayu but Mayu grabs their wrists and hits a double springboard armdrag. Standing moonsaults by Starlight Kid and Mayu, cover by Mayu to AZM but it gets two. Elbows by Mayu to AZM, Irish whip to the corner but AZM hits a triple jump crossbody. AZM rolls to her corner and tags Bea, Irish whip by Bea to the corner, reversed by Mayu but Mayu jumps out of the corner and hits a jumping knee. She rolls Mayu to the mat and applies a scissored armbar, but Mayu wiggles to the ropes and gets there for the break.

Bea puts Mayu against the ropes but Mayu avoids the Bea-Trigger, kicks by Mayu but Bea kicks her in the head. Superkick by Mayu, she kicks Bea against and makes it to her corner to tag Starlight Kid. Starlight Kid dropkicks Bea in the corner, jumping lariat by Starlight Kid and she covers Bea for two. Starlight Kid picks up Bea but Bea swings away, Starlight Kid goes off the ropes but Bea blocks the tilt-a-whirl DDT. Mayu superkicks Bea, swinging neckbreaker by Starlight Kid and she goes up top, nailing a swivel body press. Cover by Starlight Kid, but Bea barely kicks out. Starlight Kid jumps on Bea’s back but Bea pushes her off, AZM tries to help but she kicks Bea by accident. Yoshi Tonic by Starlight Kid, but it gets a two count. A cradle by Starlight Kid gets the same result, she picks up Bea and goes off the ropes, but Bea nails her with the Bea-Trigger. Diving footstomp by AZM, Bea finishes with a PK but Starlight Kid kicks out of the cover. Bea picks up Starlight Kid and delivers the Regal-Plex, but Mayu breaks it up. AZM takes care of Mayu, Bea picks up Starlight Kid and goes goes the Queen’s Landing, but Starlight Kid reverses it into a cradle for two. High kick by Bea, she picks up Starlight Kid and delivers the Queen’s Landing for the three count! AZM and Bea Priestley win!

I know that the official Stardom account on Reddit has said that Starlight Kid’s place in the promotion is limited due to her height, but I think they’d be making a big mistake blocking her growth as she is already so smooth at the age of 17 or 18. She tends to be the highlight of any match she is in, which is saying something when Mayu and Bea are in the match as well. Aside from a moment or two of awkwardness, everything worked well here as both Mayu and Starlight Kid have offense that looks great and are capable of making other wrestler’s offense look great as well. There wasn’t much of a story here, just two teams wasting no time as there was constant action. A fun midcard match, and if Starlight Kid keeps wrestling after graduating and the promotion doesn’t hold her back, she could be a big star in just a few years.  Recommended

(c) Hana Kimura, Kyona, and Konami vs. Andras Miyagi, Kagetsu, and Natsu Sumire
Artist of Stardom Championship

TCS attacks Oedo Tai before the match starts and the brawl is on, the action spills to the outside and both teams take turns being in control. Hana and Kyona get in the ring with Andras and double team her, Konami joins in the fun too and all three pose on her. Hana and Konami go off the ropes but are tripped from the floor, leaving Andras along in the ring with Kyona. Andras flings down Kyona by the hair and tags in Kagetsu, Natsu also comes in and they both lariat Kyona. Cover by Kagetsu, but it gets a two count. Kagetsu picks up Kyona and tags Natsu, Natsu has her whip and she hits Kyona with it. The referee gets rid of the whip, Natsu gets Kyona in the corner and she hits the Bronco Buster. We clip ahead to Andras being in the ring with Kyona, headbutt by Andras and she hits a front dropkick. Kyona fires back with a lariat and both wrestlers are down on the mat, they roll to their corners and tag in Kagetsu and Hana. Kagetsu and Hana trade elbows, kicks by Hana and she boots Kagetsu in the face. Kagetsu elbows Hana back but Hana starts to put her in the Ground Manjikatame. She reverts it into a seated armbar but Kagetsu wiggles to the ropes and gets the break.

Hana picks up Kagetsu but Andras spits water in her face, Natsu runs in and boots Hana before Kagetsu hits a vertical suplex. Hana stops Kagetsu from tagging out and tags in Konami, Konami goes for the Triangle Lancer but Kagetsu blocks it and tags in Natsu. Natsu comes in with a diving crossbody, Kyona runs in and lariats Natsu, allowing Konami to cover her for two. Natsu is triple teamed before Konami kicks her in the head, but Andras breaks up the cover. Konami applies the Triangle Lancer but Kagetsu and Andras both break it up, they stay in the ring and take turns striking Konami. Natsu ends it with a neck drop, bridging suplex by Natsu and she gets a two count. Natsu applies a dragon sleeper but Konami reverses it, Andras runs in and dropkicks Konami before Natsu hits her with a Shining Wizard, Natsu picks up Konami and nails the capture brainbuster, but Kyona breaks up the cover. Natsu picks up Konami and kicks at her, she goes off the ropes but Konami ducks her boot. Natsu ducks her anyway and goes for a cover, but she didn’t notice that Hana had tagged herself in (neither did I). Hana hits a front dropkick and boots Natsu while she is against the ropes, another boot by Hana and she covers Natsu for two.

Hana picks up Natsu but Natsu blocks the suplex attempt and schoolboys Hana for two. She tags in Kagetsu, but Hana doesn’t notice so she gets hit by Kagetsu from behind with a sign board. Ebisu Drop by Kagetsu, but Hana gets a shoulder up on the cover. Kagetsu picks up Hana and nails he chokeslam, but Kyona breaks up the pin. She drags her up again and hits an Ebisu Drop in front of the corner, she goes up top but Konami kicks her from the apron. Kyona comes in and powerbombs Kagetsu, running boot by Hana to Kagetsu but Andras breaks up the pin. Natsu and Andras take care of Konami and Kyona, they throw Hana out of the ring before Andras and Kagetsu both hit dives out of the ring. Kagetsu gets on the top rope while Hana is dragged back into the ring, Oedo Coaster by Kagetsu but Hana barely kicks out. Kagetsu drags up Hana but Hana slides off her shoulders, Kagetsu nails her with a big boot and covers her for two. Hana quickly applies the Ground Manjikatame, Kagetsu struggles but she has no choice but to submit! Tokyo Cyber Squad retains the titles!

This was really good but it didn’t blow me away. It was slightly clipped but nothing too excessive, I think we got the gist of it. The best thing about the match, oddly, is they seemed to go out of their way to put over Natsu which was a good idea as she appeared to be the weak link in the match. That gave her some legitimacy, which she needed since a lot of times she is a comedy act or fighting against the kids. Hana looked great and may be in line for a bigger push soon. I didn’t love the ending though, Kagetsu was in the submission for a really long time, much longer than you’d expect in a six woman match without having a partner break it up, I’d have preferred a faster tap-out. An entertaining fast paced match with a lot of action, it just didn’t do anything special to elevate itself to the next level.  Mildly Recommended

(c) Momo Watanabe and Utami Hayashishita vs. Hazuki and Natsuko Tora
Goddesses of Stardom Championship

Utami and Natsuko start the match, they tie-up until Utami gets Natsuko in the ropes, but Natsuko pushes her away. Natsuko gets Utami to the mat and they jockey for position, Natsuko applies a side headlock but Utami reverses it into a headscissors. Natsuko gets out of it and they return to their feet, both tag out and Hazuki immediately gets into it with Momo. Armdrag by Momo but Hazuki flings her to the mat, another armdrag by Momo but Natsuko kicks her from the apron and Hazuki delivers a dropkick. Elbows by Hazuki but Hazuki runs in and hits a judo toss, Somato by Momo but it gets a two count. Momo applies the crossface chickenwing but Natsuko breaks it up, Utami throws Natsuko out of the ring while Momo picks up Hazuki, but Hazuki blocks the B Driver and hits a Somato for two. Hazuki goes off the ropes but Momo hits a high kick, half and half suplex by Momo but Hazuki lands on her feet and applies La Magistral for two. We jump ahead but Hazuki and Momo are still in the ring, pump kick by Hazuki and both wrestlers are hurt on the mat. Hazuki makes the tag to Natsuko and she cuts off Momo, hitting a spear. Another spear by Natsuko and she hits a third, getting a two count cover. Natsuko throws Momo into the corner but Momo jumps up on the second turnbuckle and hits a Diving Somato.

Utami comes in and slams Natsuko, running Somato by Momo but Hazuki breaks up the cover. Hazuki stays in and kicks Momo, Momo kicks them both but is caught by a Code Breaker by Hazuki and a spear by Natsuko. Natsuko goes up top and hits a diving body press, but Utami breaks up he cover. Utami throws Hazuki out of the ring, she goes to Natsuko but Hazuki hits a swandive dropkick on both Momo and Utami. Natsuko grabs Momo and slams her in front of the corner, Natsuko goes up top and hits another diving body press followed by another one before Hazuki drops Momo with a brainbuster. Natsuko goes up top again and hit a third diving body press, but Momo gets a shoulder up on the cover. Natsuko picks up Momo and hits a swinging side slam, but again Momo kicks out. Natsuko picks up Momo but Momo elbows her, Natsuko fires back with a spear and goes up top, hitting a diving leg drop for a two count when Utami breaks it up. Hazuki comes in but Utami drops her with a release German, she hits Natsuko with a lariat and then assists Momo in delivering the B Driver. Momo waits for Natsuko to get up and hits a high kick, half and half suplex hold by Momo but Hazuki breaks up the pin. Momo picks up Natsuko and nails the Peach Sunrise, and she picks up the three count! Momo Watanabe and Utami Hayashishita are still the champions.

Samurai TV did us no favors here, as a good chunk of the match was missing. What they showed was perfectly fine, all four are good to great wrestlers and they aren’t going to ever put on a bad match. I didn’t like how repetitive Natsuko’s offense was, she really needs more than just diving body presses and spears, hopefully if she is going to start getting title matches she will diversify her portfolio. I wanted to see more of Utami so of course she did very little with Momo doing the brunt of the work. Between the clipping and Natsuko’s unoriginality I can’t really say this needs to be sought out, but it was the hard hitting action you would expect.

(c) Arisa Hoshiki vs. Tam Nakano
World of Stardom Championship

They are slow to lockup as they size each other up, Tam gets Arisa to the mat and they trade positions back and forth. Tam gets a grounded necklock applied and then puts Arisa in a side headlock, but Arisa gets out of it. Tam goes for Arisa’s ankle but Arisa gets away and applies a crab hold, Tam gets to the ropes however and forces the break. Arisa puts Tam in the corner and charges her, but Tam kicks her back and applies a dragon sleeper from the top rope. Tam dumps Arisa out to the apron and kicks her out of the ring, Tam goes up top and dives out onto Arisa with a plancha. Tam slides Arisa back in and kicks her into the corner, she twists Arisa’s leg around the bottom rope and twists it until the referee gets her to stop. Scoop slam by Tam and she applies a modified figure four, but Arisa gets to the ropes for the break. Tam drops a knee on Arisa’s leg, Arisa fights back with elbows but Tam slaps her in the face. Tam goes off the ropes but Arisa kicks her in the chest, Arisa quickly gets on the second turnbuckle and hits a diving kneedrop for a two count.

Arisa goes off the ropes but Tam avoids her kick, she cartwheels Arisa to the mat and applies a cross kneelock. Arisa gets in the ropes for the break, running knee by Tam and she hits a backdrop suplex. Tam goes up top but Arisa recovers and joins her, Arisa and Tam trade elbows until Arisa knees Tam in the head, sending her to the apron. Arisa joins Tam on the apron and hits a running double knee, but Tam bridges away and drops Arisa on the apron with a German suplex. Tam returns to the ring with Arisa slowly following, Tam and Arisa trade elbows until delivers a jumping kick. Arisa picks up Tam and delivers the Diamond Buster, she goes up top but Tam avoids the ADAMAS. Spinning kick by Tam, she goes up top and nails the Destiny Hammer but Arisa grabs her when she goes off the ropes. Tam wiggles away and kicks Arisa in the head, another head kick by Tam and she covers Arisa for two. Tam goes for a tiger suplex but Arisa blocks it, high kick by Arisa and she goes up top, delivering the 1399.

Arisa picks up Tam and hits a jumping kick, she goes up top and nails the ADAMAS, but Tam kicks out of the cover. Arisa picks up Tam bu Tam ducks the Brazilian Kick and hits a high kick instead. Sliding knee by Tam, but Arisa grabs the ropes to break up the cover. Tam picks up Arisa and nails the tiger suplex hold, but Arisa gets a shoulder up. Tam drags Arisa to her feet and goes for an arm trapped German, but Arisa gets into the ropes before she ca hit the move. Tam goes off the ropes but Arisa nails her in the head with a jumping knee. Brazilian Kick by Arisa, but she is slow to make the cover and Tam gets a shoulder up before the three count. They slowly get to their knees and trade elbows, more elbows by Arisa as they are on their feet but Tam delivers a high kick. Tam picks up Arisa and kicks her repeatedly in the head, she goes off the ropes but Arisa plants her with a jumping knee. Running knee by Arisa and she drops Tam with a Brazilian Kick for the three count! Arisa Hoshiki retains the championship.

There were tiny issues here and there that would prevent this from being the MOTY for me, but this was a fantastic match. Arisa Hoshiki has improved so much just this year, she wasn’t spamming the same moves like she did in the Momo match and all her knees were on point. Tam wasn’t quite as tight with her strikes as Arisa was but still put on the best singles match of her career, her leg work was well done (even if forgotten) and they mixed in big spots well to pop the crowd at the right moments. A few issues – the apron German led to just a 50/50 elbow spot which felt off, the leg work was never sold by Arisa for even a second when she wasn’t in a hold, and some of the Tam’s kicks whiffed. Still, far more good than bad here and the overall package was an entertaining and hard hitting match between two wrestlers trying to show they belong in the top tier of Stardom.  Highly Recommended

The post Stardom Shining Destiny 2019 on 6/16/19 Review appeared first on Joshi City.

Event: Stardom Gold May 2019
Date: May 16th, 2019
Location: Korakuen Hall in Tokyo, Japan
Announced Attendance: 783

Even though I don’t have any intention of reviewing every Stardom event, I do want to try to hit all the Korakuen Hall events as they tend to be quality. This is their first big show since the draft (not counting the Cinderella Tournament which is its own beast), so we have a lot of fresh matches. They stacked the event with three title matches, including Cinderella Tournament winner Arisa Hoshiki challenging Momo Watanabe for the championship. We also get a “special attraction” match as Kagetsu faces off against the visiting Toni Storm. Here is the full card:

• Andras Miyagi and Natsuko Tora vs. Hanan and Starlight Kid vs. Hina and Leo Onozaki
• Death Yama-san (Kaori Yoneyama) vs. Natsu Sumire vs. Saya Iida
• Kagetsu vs. Toni Storm
• Artist Of Stardom Championship: Mayu Iwatani, Saki Kashima, and Tam Nakano vs. Hana Kimura, Jungle Kyona, and Konami
• World Of Stardom Championship: Bea Priestley vs. Hazuki
• Wonder Of Stardom Championship: Momo Watanabe vs. Arisa Hoshiki

Lots of potential here. I am watching the Samurai TV version of the event, so some matches may be clipped. All wrestlers on the show have profiles on Joshi City, you can click on their names above to go straight to it.

Andras Miyagi and Natsuko Tora vs. Hanan and Starlight Kid vs. Hina and Onozaki

They brawl to start with Oedo Tai being the focus of the offense, as STARS and Queen’s Quest clear the ring so they can battle each other. Hanan and Hina both hit judo throws, leaving just the two of them, they grapple until Hina gets Hanan to the mat. Cross armbreaker by Hina but Hanan quickly gets out of it, STO by Hanan and she applies a cross armbreaker of her own, but Leo breaks it up. Scoop slam by Hanan and she stomps on Hina’s arm before tagging in Starlight Kid. Stomps by Starlight Kid but Hina drops her with a STO and tags in Leo. Running elbow by Leo and she hits a cutter for a two count. Cradle by Leo but it gets broken up, Natsuko and Andras both come in but they are dropped by STOs. Hanan and Starlight Kid take out Leo and Hina, 619 by Starlight Kid to Leo and Hanan hits a STO. Standing Moonsault by Starlight Kid, but Hina breaks up the cover. Starlight Kid goes up to the top turnbuckle but Leo avoids the diving body press, Natsuko runs in and spears Starlight Kid. Hanan takes care of Natsuko but Andras boots Hanan, Hina runs in and dropkicks Andras and Leo elbows Andras to the mat. Natsuko runs in and spears Leo and Hina, Steel Ball Run by Andras to Leo and Natsuko sails off the top turnbuckle with a diving body press for the three count! Oedo Tai wins!

This was more fun than it had any right to be. Hanan and Hina sometimes working together was cute as they are still sisters, ultimately on opposite teams but in a match like this they could work together as well. Andras Miyagi had an easy night but everyone deserves a break sometimes, and for a five minute match with a bunch of underage wrestlers it was pretty cohesive. Solid way to kick off the event.

Death Yama-san (Kaori Yoneyama) vs. Natsu Sumire vs. Saya Iida

Kaori poses as the match starts while her opponents are confused, Saya and Natsu begin trading holds with Kaori occasionally chipping in until they reach a stalemate. They elbow each other while standing in a triangle formation, Kaori is briefly double teamed and eats a double dropkick. The cooperation ends when Natsu schoolboys Saya, Saya gets mad but Natsu convinces her that she is her friend. Natsu tries to schoolboy her again but Saya has smartened up and blocked it, she goes for a dropkick but both Natsu and Kaori move out of the way. Bronco Buster by Natsu to Saya but Kaori squashes her from behind, Kaori goes for a suplex but Natsu reverses it. Natsu goes off the ropes but Saya dropkicks her in the leg, another dropkick by Saya and she hits a scoop slam for a two count. Kaori runs in to hit a senton on them both but Saya moves so she only hits Natsu, Saya does a bridging cover on both of them but it only gets two. Natsu goes off the ropes and hits a neck drop on both of them, she goes up top but Kaori rams Saya into the corner to knock her off and rolls up Saya for the three count! Death Yama-san wins the match.

Unlike the last match, this one was not smooth as they didn’t always seem to be on the same page and the humor wasn’t at the level to make up for it. A few cute spots but ultimately a skippable match, triple threat matches are hard to pull off and they just didn’t click here.

Kagetsu vs. Toni Storm

They begin slow as they feel each other out, Toni gets Kagetsu to the mat first but Kagetsu switches positions with her as they grapple for position. Back up, Kagetsu goes for Toni’s arm but Toni gets away and hits a side headlock takedown. Headscissors by Kagetsu but Toni gets out of it, she offers a handshake but Kagetsu kicks her and takes Toni to the mat. Toni gets the headscissors applied, Kagetsu flips out of it and both wrestlers are back on their feet. Toni offers a handshake again but this time she hits a takedown and applies a modified figure four. Kagetsu gets into the ropes for the break, Toni goes off the ropes and she boots Kagetsu out of the ring before quickly sailing out onto her with a tope suicida. She gets back in the ring to attempt a second one but Kagetsu hits her in the head with the Oedo Tai sign and nails her with a running sliding kick while Toni is hanging over the ropes.

Kagetsu throws Toni into a row of chairs, she pulls a couple chairs from under the ring and starts stacking chairs on top of Toni before hitting her with another chair. Toni escapes and returns to the ring, Kagetsu goes to the top turnbuckle and hits a missile dropkick. Running elbow by Kagetsu in the corner, she sets up Toni’s leg on the second rope before hitting a dropkick. Vertical suplex by Kagetsu and she covers Toni for a two count cover. Kagetsu picks up Toni but Toni slides away and applies a dragon sleeper, but Kagetsu walks up the turnbuckles to reverse it. Toni reverses it back and then applies a grounded front necklock, but Kagetsu muscles out of it and hits a vertical suplex. Both wrestlers slowly get up and trade elbows, uppercuts by Toni and they trade headbutts, an exchange that Toni wins. Toni picks up Kagetsu but Kagetsu blocks the Strong Zero, Kagetsu goes for the chokeslam bu Toni gets away and drops her with a release German. Kagetsu quickly gets back up and hits a high kick followed by the Ebisu Drop, but her cover gets two.

Keylock by Kagetsu but Toni gets into the ropes to force the break. Kagetsu picks up Toni but Toni avoids the chokeslam and hits a hard lariat. German suplex hold by Toni, but Kagetsu kicks out. Toni picks up Kagetsu but Kagetsu blocks the Strong Zero, so Toni puts her in a modified STF instead. Kagetsu gets to the ropes to get a break, Toni picks up Kagetsu but Kagetsu avoids the Strong Zero. She tries to mist Toni but Toni ducks, and Kagetsu mists the referee by accident. Toni takes advantage of this and finally delivers the Strong Zero, but the referee is in no condition to count the cover. Toni checks on the referee, she gives up and goes to the top turnbuckle, but Kagetsu spits blue mist in her face as she dives off. Ebisu Drop by Kagetsu, she quickly gets on the top turnbuckle and nails the Oedo Coaster, but Toni barely kicks out of the cover. Kagetsu picks up Toni and delivers a Death Valley Bomb, but the bell rings before she can make a cover as the time has expired. The match is a Draw.

Even with the predictable non-ending, this was still a great match. Even with their limited experience against each other they have good chemistry, their match last year was fantastic and this wasn’t much below it as they wrestled it as if it was a big title match and not just a midcard match. The referee not calling for a DQ when he himself got misted goes beyond even normal Stardom “no DQ on anything” procedures, but beyond that everything flowed well and they kept the action interesting. I loved some of the transitions, such as Kagetsu hitting Toni with the sign and the final misting spot, as Kagetsu is one of the more innovative and unique high end wrestlers current in Joshi wrestling. I have to knock it a bit due to the ref spot and the predictable ending, but still a match worth watching.  Recommended

(c) Mayu Iwatani, Kashima, and Tam Nakano vs. Hana Kimura, Kyona, and Konami
Artist of Stardom Championship

TCS attack STARS before the match officially starts, they end up outside the ring with TCS staying in control. Hana wraps Mayu’s leg around a pole and hits it with a chair before dragging her back to the ring, stomps by Hana to Mayu’s leg and she slams it into the mat before tagging in Konami. Konami keeps up the leg work, she tags in Kyona and all three of them participate in hurting Mayu’s already banged up leg. Single leg crab hold by Kyona but Saki breaks it up, Tam comes in too and all three of the STARS members put a member of TCS into a submission hold. They eventually let go but Kyona stops Mayu from making the tag as she slams her knee into the mat. Kyona charges Mayu but Mayu snaps off a dropkick and she makes the hot tag to Tam. Running elbow by Tam in the corner but Kyona returns the favor, Konami comes in but Tam pushes Kyona into Konami and hits a cutter on Kyona. Hana runs in but Tam takes out both her and Konami, TCS end up against the ropes and STARS hit a trio of dropkicks.

Tam goes back to Kyona but Kyona delivers a lariat and tags in Hana. Running boot by Hana to Tam, another boot by Hana and she covers Tam for two. Tam goes off the ropes but Hana hits a sidewalk slam,  Hana picks up Tam but Tam pushes her way and hits a backdrop suplex. Cartwheel into a kneedrop by Tam, but her cover gets broken up. Tam goes for a kick but Hana ducks it and hits a vertical suplex, both wrestlers crawl to the corners and tag out, as Konami comes in along with both Miyu and Saki. Konami is double teamed as she eats a double kick, Mayu gets on the second turnbuckle and hits a diving footstomp. Cover by Mayu, but Konami kicks out. Mayu goes for a suplex but Konami gets out of it and nails a dragon screw. Sliding kick by Konami followed by a suplex, she applies a kneelock but Mayu inches to the ropes for the break. Konami nails a big leg trap release German, but Saki breaks up the cover. Tam comes in too and all three take turns kicking Konami in the head, assisted DDT to Konami and Mayu hits a German suplex hold for two.

The ring clears of the extra wrestlers as Mayu goes to the top turnbuckle, but Konami moves out of the way of the moonsault attempt and quickly goes for the Triangle Lancers. Mayu rolls out of it but Konami quickly puts her in a Stretch Muffler, but Mayu makes it into the ropes for the break. Konami charges Mayu but Mayu catchers her with a superkick, she crawls to her corner and tags Saki who boots Konami in the head. Butterfly suplex by Saki, she picks up Konami and delivers a double underhook facebuster for two. Saki goes off the ropes but Hana kicks her from the apron, sliding lariat by Kyona and Konami covers Saki for two. TCS all get their licks in on Saki, buzzsaw kick by Konami but Saki barely kicks out. Saki slides away from the Triangle Lancer and applies a crucifix pin, but it gets broken up. Tam and Mayu come in and suplex Kyona and Hana, Saki picks up Konami but Konami spins away and applies the Triangle Lancer. Saki struggles for a moment but she had no choice but to submit! Tokyo Cyber Squad are the new champions!

This is the exact type of match that I want to see from a six wrestler tag. Both teams were not only really in sync with each other but smooth with their opponents as well, everything clicked. The leg work on Mayu made sense as she came in with a bum leg, and even though it didn’t play into the finish it was referenced back to often enough that it didn’t just feel like wasted time. They focused on the better wrestlers so the action stayed crisp, and they continued to put over the Triangle Lancer as a death submission which is a-ok with me. Exciting and captivating, a great showing by all six wrestlers.  Highly Recommended

(c) Bea Priestley vs. Hazuki
World of Stardom Championship

Hazuki charges Bea as soon as the match starts and boots her in the face, Hazuki tosses Bea out of the ring and sails out onto her with a tope suicida. Hazuki quickly rolls Bea back in and hits a swandive missile dropkick followed by another boot, brainbuster by Hazuki but Bea gets a shoulder up on the cover. Hazuki slams Bea in front of the corner and goes up top, but Bea kicks her before she can jump off and joins her, stomping Hazuki in the back of the head. Bea picks up Hazuki, Hazuki tries to get away but Bea knees her back to the mat. Both are slow to get up, they trade elbows as they do so and trade running strikes until Bea obliterates Hazuki with a jumping knee. Hazuki rolls out of the ring to try to recover, Bea goes to the top turnbuckle and dives down onto Oedo Tai with a cannonball. Bea rolls Hazuki back into the ring and hits a dropkick in the corner. Running knee by Bea and she hits a backdrop suplex for a two count. Bea applies a double armbar but Hazuki inches to the ropes and makes it there for the break. Bea picks up Hazuki and sets her up in the corner, superkick by Bea and she goes for the Queen’s Landing, but Hazuki slides away and ferociously tosses Bea around by the hair. Facewashes by Hazuki, she picks up Bea but Bea avoids the Pump Kick and hits a backdrop suplex. Running knee by Bea and she nails a Regal-Plex, but Hazuki gets a shoulder up. Bea drags up Hazuki, she gets her on her shoulders but Hazuki slides off and applies La Magistral for two. Head kick by Bea and she delivers the Curb Stomp, Queen’s Landing by Bea and she picks up the three count! Bea wins and retains her championship.

Another great match, this show is on a roll. One of the big pluses is this felt very different from the last two matches, as it was fast paced but also a power struggle. Both had a sense of urgency, which has been Hazuki’s style lately but Bea kept up with her. Bea improves every time I see her and she is becoming one of my favorite wrestlers to watch, her strikes were on point and she has a wide enough variety of moves that her matches feel fresh. A really fun sprint, perfectly done by both wrestlers and a pleasant surprise as while I was expecting it to be a good match their pace and execution really put it over the top for me. One of the better sub-10 minute matches you’ll see in Joshi this year.  Recommended

(c) Momo Watanabe vs. Arisa Hoshiki
Wonder of Stardom Championship

They start cautiously, kick to the chest by Momo and she twists Arisa’s leg on the mat. Side headlock by Momo but Arisa reverses it, they trade holds until Momo gets Arisa with a kneelock. Side headlock takedown by Momo, Arisa gets out of it but Momo promptly kicks her in the chest. Snapmare by Momo and she kicks Arisa in the back, kick to the chest by Momo and she covers Arisa for two. Kicks to the chest by Momo, Arisa fights back with elbows and she hits a dropkick, but Momo dropkicks her back. They trade kicks, Arisa throws Momo into the corner but Momo hits a missile dropkick. Arisa falls out of the ring, Momo goes to the apron and she hits a PK. Momo goes for the B Driver but Arisa slides away and delivers the Diamond Buster on the floor. Back in the ring, running double knee strike by Arisa and she gets a two count. Step-up kick by Arisa, she goes to the top turnbuckle and nails the 1399 for another two. Arisa picks up Momo and hits another Diamond Buster, she goes to the top turnbuckle but Momo recovers and joins her. Superplex by Momo, they both slowly get up and they trade kicks to the chest.

They both hit high kicks, Somato by Momo and she covers Arisa for two. Momo picks up Arisa and hits the B Driver, she gets on the second turnbuckle and delivers a diving Somato before then going all the way up top and hitting another diving Somato for a two. Momo drags up Arisa and delivers the Tequila Sunrise, but Arisa barely gets a shoulder up. Momo goes for the Peach Sunrise but Arisa blocks it, cradling Momo for two. Momo drags Arisa back up but Arisa catches her with a Diamond Buster, ADAMAS by Arisa but Momo kicks out of the cover. Arisa goes for the Brazilian Kick but Momo ducks it and hits a Half and Half Suplex for another two. Momo keeps the hold partially applied and brings Arisa back to her feet, she nails the Peach Sunrise but Arisa’s feet land too close to the ropes and she gets a toe on one to break up the count. Momo goes off the ropes but Arisa catches her with a jumping knee, a second jumping knee by Arisa and she delivers a Brazilian Kick. Momo is badly staggered, Arisa nails a second Brazilian Kick and she covers Momo for the three count! Arisa Hoshiki is the new champion!

You know that you just watched a hell of a show when a match like this is the 4th best match on it. This is the best I have seen Arisa since she returned, she still needs a few more signature moves so she doesn’t spam Diamond Busters but generally she looked really good here. My main complaint is that the match started slow for a match that wasn’t going that long, under 13 minutes is on the short side for a big title match but it wasn’t a sprint like we saw with Hazuki and Bea. That doesn’t mean I necessarily wanted it to be longer, the ending felt right and with Arisa’s limitations she shouldn’t be in 20+ minute singles matches, but I wouldn’t have minded if they picked up the pace a bit. Still, the end stretch was done well and the moves were snug, and overall I was entertained by it even if I wish Momo’s long run had ended in a more ‘epic’ match.  Mildly Recommended

The post Stardom Gold May 2019 on 5/16/19 Review appeared first on Joshi City.

Event: Stardom Cinderella Tournament 2019
Date: April 29th, 2019
Location: Korakuen Hall in Tokyo, Japan
Announced Attendance: 1,050

It is time to watch the Stardom Cinderella Tournament! This is the fifth year Stardom has run the tournament, with the winner of the tournament being granted one wish (and gets to wear a pretty Cinderella dress). Last year’s winner, Momo Watanabe, used her wish to challenge Io Shirai for the World of Stardom Championship, so the assumption is that the winner will challenge for one of Stardom’s top titles. The Cinderella Tournament is a one-night tournament and has 16 participants. Every match in the tournament is a singles match with the following stipulations:

• Tournament is Single Elimination
• All matches up to the final have a 10 Minute Time Limit
• If the time limit expires, the match is a Draw and both wrestlers are eliminated from the tournament
• If both wrestlers are eliminated by Draw, their opponent in the next round gets a Bye
• Wrestlers can win by pinfall, submission, or throwing their opponent over the top rope to the floor

I previewed the event as well, where I predicted (mostly incorrectly) the outcome of the tournament. Here is the full bracket:

These are the first round matches in the order they take place on the show:

First Round

• Cinderella Tournament Round 1: AZM vs. Rebel Kel
• Cinderella Tournament Round 1: Starlight Kid vs. Natsu Sumire
• Cinderella Tournament Round 1: Bea Priestley vs. Hazuki
• Cinderella Tournament Round 1: Arisa Hoshiki vs. Saki Kashima
• Cinderella Tournament Round 1: Hana Kimura vs. Andras Miyagi
• Cinderella Tournament Round 1: Kagetsu vs. Tam Nakano
• Cinderella Tournament Round 1: Natsuko Tora vs. Jungle Kyona
• Cinderella Tournament Round 1: Konami vs. Momo Watanabe

All wrestlers have a profile on Joshi City, you can click their names to go straight to it. I’m switching back and forth between Stardom’s version and Samurai TV’s version of the show, which I realize is a bit obnoxious but the end result is the same anyway.

AZM vs. Rebel Kel

Rebel Kel flaunts her height advantage to start and tosses the much smaller AZM round the ring, AZM tries to dropkick Rebel Kel over but Rebel Kel stays standing tall. Rebel Kel hits a dropkick of her own, Irish whip by Rebel Kel but AZM pushes her to the mat and kicks her in the chest. AZM goes for an Irish whip but Rebel Kel reverses it, AZM avoids her charge in the corner and flips out to the apron. AZM trips Rebel Kel under the bottom rope, footstomp by AZM but Rebel Kel blocks the suplex attempt. Irish whip by Rebel Kel to the corner, AZM jumps up to the turnbuckles but Rebel Kel boots her in the chest. Rebel Kel flings AZM in the middle of the ring, cocky cover by Rebel Kel but it gets two. She tosses AZM around by her hair, kick by Rebel Kel and she gets on the second turnbuckle, but AZM recovers and joins her. Rebel Kel goes for an avalanche chokeslam but AZM blocks it and throws her back into the ring, high kick by AZM and she hits a vertical suplex. Elbows by AZM but Rebel Kel boots her when she goes off the ropes, she goes for a suplex but AZM lands on her feet. Rebel Kel blocks the cradle attempt, Falcon Arrow by Rebel Kel but AZM kicks out of the cover. Press slam attempt by Rebel Kel but AZM reverses it into a hurricanrana for the three count! AZM wins and advances in the tournament.

This was better than it had any right to be but its because they kept it simple. Big Person vs. Little Person is an old story but its a story that works if done well, and the structuring here was on point as they kept the match interesting bell to bell. The flash pin/upset was a nice way to kick of the tournament, and Rebel Kel looked better than she has in any match I’ve seen her up to this point. For a first tournament match, about all you could ask for.  Mildly Recommended

Starlight Kid vs. Natsu Sumire

Wristlock by Starlight Kid to start and she tosses Natsu down near the corner, dropkick by Starlight Kid and she hits a jumping lariat for two. She goes for a cradle but Natsu blocks it, stomps by Natsu and she stretches Starlight Kid in the ropes. Natsu gets a bottle of water and spits it into the crowd, big boot by Natsu to the back of the head and she covers Starlight Kid for barely two. Natsu kick Starlight Kids into the corner but Starlight Kid avoids the bronco buster and positions Natsu in front of the corner. Diving body press off the second turnbuckle by Starlight Kid, she picks up Natsu but Natsu gets away. Starlight Kid goes off the ropes but Natsu blocks the Tiger Feint Kick, she puts Starlight Kid across the ropes in the corner and hits a double knee drop. Natsu goes for the Bronco Buster again and this time succeeds, she goes for the DDT but Starlight Kid pushes her off and hits a swinging neckbreaker followed by a standing moonsault for two. Starlight Kid goes off the ropes but Natsu grabs her for a small package, but Starlight Kid reverses it and hits a dropkick. Small package by Starlight Kid and she picks up the three count! Starlight Kid wins and advances in the tournament.

A pretty simple match, not much to it. Starlight Kid looked smooth as usual and Natsu continued to serve her role well. There was no other outcome that would work here, more of a formality than anything else and generally skippable.

Bea Priestley vs. Hazuki

Hazuki and Bea circle each other, they go through a high speed exchange until Bea hits a hurricanrana. Bea can’t capitalize as Hazuki quickly takes over, she facewashes Bea against the ropes before hitting a running boot. Scoop slam by Hazuki, and she covers Bea for two. Back up they trade elbows, Hazuki throws Bea into the corner and charges her, but Bea flips Hazuki out onto the apron. Swandive dropkick by Hazuki and she puts Bea in an armtrap crossface, but Bea gets into the ropes for the break. Hazuki goes off the ropes but Bea avoids the boot and knees her, backdrop suplex by Bea and she delivers a curbstomp for two. Bea picks up Hazuki and goes for the Queen’s Landing, but Hazuki elbows out of it and headscissors Bea over the top rope, sending Bea to the floor! Hazuki wins by Over The Top Rope and advances in the tournament.

Even before I read it officially, it was clear that this was not the planned ending. Bea lost her grip and ended up on the floor, even as Hazuki tried to hold her up. The music played was Bea’s and initially Bea was announced as the winner, before they changed it since Hazuki clearly won. Before the botched ending the match was fine, both are smooth and everything was hit flush. A perfectly watchable first round match, just with an accidental winner.

Arisa Hoshiki vs. Saki Kashima

They trade strike attempts to start with neither connecting until Saki hits a quick footstomp. Saki starts on Arisa’s leg and kicks her against the ropes, she goes off the ropes but Arisa kicks her in the chest. Arisa chops Saki in the corner and hits a jumping double knee, double kneedrop by Arisa and she covers Saki for two. She goes off the ropes but Saki ducks the kick and hits a tilt-a-whirl headscissors into an Indian Deathlock. Arisa gets to the ropes for a break, Saki dropkicks her in the knee and hits a kneedrop to Arisa’s leg from the second turnbuckle. More kicks by Saki and she hits a dragon screw, she picks up Arisa and hits a double underhook facebuster for a two count. Saki goes up top but Arisa avoids the diving footstomp, kicks by Arisa but Saki avoids the Brazilian Kick. Saki goes for a roll-up but Arisa rolls through, jumping knee by Arisa and she covers Saki for a two count. Arisa picks up Saki and slams her to the mat, she goes up top and nails a twisting body press for the three count! Arisa Hoshiki is the winner!

While these five minute (or shorter) matches are hard to recommend on an individual basis, a common issue with “rating” tournaments like this, the match was an easy watch and both looked fine. Arisa is the crisper of the two and Saki’s leg work seemed weird since you can win by throwing your opponent over the top rope, but maybe making strategies just isn’t Saki’s strong suit. A good tournament match.

Hana Kimura vs. Andras Miyagi

They are slow to lock-up, Andras starts headbanging so Hana schoolboys her from behind for a two count. Now Hana starts to headbang so Andras joins her, Hana goes off the ropes and she boots Andras in the head. Hana celebrates in the ropes but Andras knocks her from behind onto the apron, Andras charges her but Hana slides back in the ring and hits a dropkick. Running boot by Hana and she hits a second one, cover by Hana but it gets two. Hana gets Andras’ back and goes for a sleeper, but Andras gets out of it with a jawbreaker. Hana quickly applies the Ground Manjikatame but Andras quickly gets a foot on the ropes for the break, Andras gets back up and the pair trade elbows until Hana hits a sidewalk slam for two. Andras throws Hana into the corner but Hana tosses her out onto the apron, Hana goes to elbow Andras off the apron but Andras snaps her neck on the top rope. Andras returns to the ring and boots Hana, backdrop suplex by Andras and she goes to the top turnbuckle, hitting a missile dropkick for a two count. Elbow by Andras but Hana boots her back and gets on the second turnbuckle, Andras boots her off of it however and Hana lands on the apron. Andras charges Hana but Hana holds the rope down and Andras ends up on the apron as well. They trade elbows while on the apron, Andras goes for a piledriver but Hana blocks it and goes for a vertical suplex. Andras blocks that too, boot by Andras but Hana dropkicks her off the apron and down to the floor! Hana Kimura wins via Over The Top Rope and advances into the tournament.

I’m not sure how these factions are going to work out but I will admit that I am afraid of Hana Kimura getting lost in the shuffle. She is a good wrestler but not as good as many of the other Stardom wrestlers, and her current gimmick is hard to take seriously. Andras is in a similar boat but doesn’t come across as goofy as Hana can so I’m not as concerned with her, I don’t think she’ll ever have the top title but she’ll find her place. Anyway the match was decent enough but they didn’t click as well as we’ve seen in the last few matches and it felt more like trading spots until the ending stretch than anything else. Not bad, but nothing special either.

Kagetsu vs. Tam Nakano

They jockey for position to start, they end up on the mat but they roll into the ropes for a break. They soon land on the mat again, Tam gets Kagetsu’s ankle but Kagetsu gets out of it and applies an ankle hold of her own. Tam wiggles to the ropes and gets to them to force a break, Kagetsu picks her up and tosses Tam towards the corner, but Tam collapses before she gets there. Kagetsu kicks Tam’s leg in the ropes before dropkicking it, Kagetsu puts Tam on the top turnbuckle but Tam jumps off with a neckbreaker. Cartwheel kneedrop by Tam, and she covers Kagetsu for a two count. Tam goes for a backdrop suplex but Kagetsu lands on her feet, grounded necklock by Tam but Kagetsu muscles out of it and hits a vertical suplex. Kagetsu charges Tam but Tam kicks her and applies a guillotine on the top turnbuckle, Takako Panic by Tam but Kagetsu blocks her knee attempt. Sleeper by Tam but Kagetsu gets out of it with a jawbreaker and applies an ankle hold. Again Tam gets to the ropes to get a break, Kagetsu picks her up and hits an Ebisu Drop in front of the corner. Kagetsu goes up top but Tam recovers and joins her, superplex by Tam but Kagetsu quickly hits a sliding knee. Death Valley Bomb by Tam and both wrestlers are on the mat trying to recover. They both get back to their knees and trade elbows, Kagetsu elbows Tam into the ropes but Kagetsu blocks one and goes for a chokeslam. Tam blocks it but Kagetsu delivers a high kick, Ebisu Drop by Kagetsu and she goes up top, but Tam avoids the Oedo Coaster. High kick by Tam and she nails a Tiger Suplex Hold, but Kagetsu barely gets a shoulder up. Tam applies a dragon sleeper but the time expires before Kagetsu submits, and the match is a Draw! Both wrestlers are eliminated.

Even though they telegraphed a bit that they were going long with the slow start, once it kicked into gear I really enjoyed this. Tam needed a good showing as she just hasn’t been able to break out of the midcard since joining Stardom, and Kagetsu doesn’t really need the win since she already has a belt anyway. Both wrestlers kicked out of a fair amount of offense but neither hit their big death move, so it never felt excessive or like they were blowing too much for a first round match. Tam has more skill than Stardom has let her show and I hope taking Kagetsu to the limit (and having perhaps the winning move applied when the bell rang) will be the start of her getting bigger spots in the promotion. Overall a fun match that told a solid story while helping putting over Tam as a force to be reckoned with even if she ran out of time.  Recommended

Natsuko Tora vs. Jungle Kyona

They waste no time as they quickly get into an elbow battle, Kyona tries to shoulderblock Natsuko over but Natsuko doesn’t budge. She tries again with no luck, quick spear by Natsuko and she throws down Kyona by the hair. Natsuko kicks at Kyona in the corner and puts her in the ropes to hit a series of chops, she gets a bottle of water and pours it over Kyona’s head. Kneelift by Natsuko and she covers Kyona, but it gets a two count. Natsuko slaps at Kyona but Kyona responds with a hard elbow, Natsuko elbows her back but Kyona absorbs the blows and slaps her. Lariat by Kyona, and she covers Natsuko for two. Another lariat by Kyona and she hits a couple more, but Natsuko gets a shoulder up on the cover. Kyona elbows Natsuko into the corner and hits a running lariat, another lariat by Kyona and she puts Natsuko on the top turnbuckle. She goes for a Muscle Buster but Natsuko gets out of it, Natsuko goes for a spear but Kyona blocks it and hits a gutbuster. Kyona goes up top but Natsuko gets her knees up on the body press attempt and knees Kyona in the head. Natsuko then goes up top and delivers a diving body press of her own, but Kyona gets a shoulder up on the pin attempt. Natsuko picks up Kyona but Kyona hits a lariat, Natsuko fires back with an elbow but Kyona connects with a sliding lariat for two. Kyona goes off the ropes but so does Natsuko and she delivers the spear. Swinging side slam by Natsuko, but her cover gets two. Natsuko goes back up top and nails a diving guillotine legdrop, cover by Natsuko and she picks up the three count! Natsuko Tora wins and advances in the tournament.

While I am not surprised that Natsuko won, I thought they’d do it by Over The Top Rope and not have Natsuko get a clean pinfall. This was probably necessary to really put Natsuko over as she begins her new journey, but Jungle Kyona fans will continue to be dismayed as she continues to slip down the totem pole to the point she is almost underground now. They had a lot of slick reversals as they know each other well, but some of Natsuko’s parts were clunky as she is not the smoothest wrestler on the roster. A good match but this was more about the end result then the action that came before it, as Natsuko asserts herself as someone to keep an eye on going forward.  Mildly Recommended

Konami vs. Momo Watanabe

They jump right into it as Konami swats a Momo dropkick attempt and kicks her against the ropes. Snapmare by Konami, she flips her off but Momo responds with a dropkick and some kicks of her own. Back in the middle of the ring they trade chest kicks, Konami slides away and puts Momo in an armbar, but Momo is too close to the ropes and gets the break. Konami goes off the ropes and delivers a sliding kick, fisherman suplex by Konami but Momo kicks out. Back on their feet Konami kicks Momo some more, Irish whip by Konami to the corner but Momo avoids her charge and hits a dropkick. Another dropkick by Momo and she delivers a uranage followed by a Somato for two. Momo goes up top and hits the diving Somato, but again Konami gets a shoulder up. Konami gets a way from Momo and hits a high kick, but Momo retorts with her own high kick. She goes for the Tequila Sunrise but Konami blocks it and applies an armbar, she reverts it into a seated armbar but Momo gets a foot on the ropes for the break. Konami gets on the second turnbuckle but Momo kicks her in the head and tosses Konami out to the apron. Konami grabs Momo and applies a hanging armbar over the top rope, she lets go after a moment and Momo kicks her in the head when she does so. Momo charges Konami but Konami holds down the top rope, Momo tumbles over the top rope and down to the floor, eliminating her from the match! Konami is the winner and advances in the tournament.

This was really just a tease on things to come between these two, but for a five minute match it was well done. These two will likely be at odds for awhile and they did the match as they were equals, trading kicks and everything else until it was very suddenly over. Konami winning will help if they do keep feuding as now she has one-up on the champion, but losing by Over The Top Rope won’t hurt Momo any either. The right winner and a fun sprint.  Mildly Recommended

Quarter Finals

• Cinderella Tournament Quarter Final: Starlight Kid vs. Hazuki
• Cinderella Tournament Quarter Final: AZM vs. Konami
• Cinderella Tournament Quarter Final: Natsuko Tora vs. Hana Kimura
• Cinderella Tournament Quarter Final:: Arisa Hoshiki receives a Bye into the Semi Finals

Starlight Kid vs. Hazuki

Starlight Kid charges Hazuki and dropkicks her into the corner, she hits a few more dropkicks followed by a tilt-a-whirl DDT. Starlight Kid cradles Hazuki but it only gets two, she dropkicks Hazuki against the ropes and hits the Tiger Feint Kick. Standing moonsault by Starlight Kid, but Hazuki kicks out of the cover. Starlight Kid picks up Hazuki but Hazuki blocks the swinging neckbreaker and hits the Code Breaker. Running elbow by Hazuki, she gets on the second turnbuckle but Starlight Kid dropkicks her out to the apron. Hazuki goes to do a swandive move but Starlight Kid pushes her as she gets to the top rope, sending Hazuki crashing to the floor! Starlight Kid wins by Over The Top Rope, advancing to the Semi Finals.

Between the fact this is a long show and this wasn’t the planned match, it makes sense they’d just make it a really quick affair before continuing on the tournament. Starlight Kid looked impressive as she tends to so I have no issues with her winning, once she graduates high school I expect her to get a pretty good push. Good enough match for what it was.

AZM vs. Konami

Konami flips off AZM the same she did to Momo, but AZM dropkicks her for her trouble. Tilt-a-whirl into a schoolboy by AZM and she dropkicks Konami again, but Konami rebounds back with a springboard kick. AZM jumps on the second turnbuckle and hits a missile dropkick, another dropkick by AZM and she applies an armbar. She lets the hold go after a moment and they trade elbows back on their feet, slap by AZM and she hits a hurricanrana for a two count. AZM cradles Konami for another two as they trade flash pins with neither having any luck. Head kick by AZM, she goes up top and nails a diving footstomp, but the cover gets two. AZM goes off the ropes and hits a tilt-a-whirl into an armbar, but Konami rolls through it and applies the Triangle Lancer. AZM struggles for a second but quickly taps out! Konami is the winner and advances in the tournament.

This match had a clear outcome but they made it a pretty fun journey anyway. The Cinderella Tournament is going to have matches like this – fast paced and very short as they are attempting to have 14 matches on one show. So its an easy watch for sure but more of a tease for future battles than anything else due to the time constraints.

Natsuko Tora vs. Hana Kimura

Hana goes for a knucklelock but Natsuko kicks her in the stomach, Natsuko knocks Hana against the ropes before tossing her into the corner and kicking her some more. Hana is attacked by the entire Oedo Tai team while she is against the ropes, Natsuko goes to toss Hana down by the hair but Hana blocks it and takes Natsuko out of the ring (under the top rope) to beat her in the crowd. Hana tosses Natsuko into chairs at ringside before returning to the ring, Natsuko slowly follows her and Hana tosses her around by the hair once she gets back in. Mounted elbows by Hana and she boots Natsuko before putting her in a camel clutch. Hana goes off the ropes but Natsuko catches her with a spear, cover by Natsuko but it gets two. Elbows by Natsuko but Hana boots her, spinning backfist by Natsuko but Hana dropkicks her. Vertical suplex by Hana, but her cover gets a two count. Hana applies the Ground Manjikatame but Natsuko is too close to the ropes and reaches them to break the hold. Hana goes off the ropes and goes for a boot, but Natsuko holds down the top rope and Hana lands out on the apron. Natsuko is slid the Oedo Tai sign, she hits Hana in the head with it before spearing her off the apron to the floor! Natsuko Tora wins by Over The Top Rope and advances to the semi finals.

Up to this point, this was to me the most surprising result of the tournament. Natsuko Tora has generally just been a midcarder in the last year, with occasional tag team success but never doing anything as a singles wrestler. She isn’t the best in-ring wrestler as she isn’t as smooth as most of the roster in her movements and execution, so while I understand them wanting to re-invent her after switching to Oedo Tai I am surprised they are doing it at the expense of Hana Kimura, who also needs some wins now that she is the leader of a new faction. The match itself was ok but nothing memorable as it wasn’t as captivating as most of the matches we’ve seen up to this point. In-ring probably one of the worst matches in the tournament so far, it still wasn’t bad but it never clicked for me before the unexpected ending.

Semi Finals

• Cinderella Tournament Quarter Final: Arisa Hoshiki vs. Natsuko Tora
• Cinderella Tournament Quarter Final: Konami vs. Starlight Kid

Arisa Hoshiki vs. Natsuko Tora

They tie-up to start, Natsuko pushes Arisa into the ropes and hits rapid-fire punches to her stomach. Natsuko knocks Arisa down in the corner and starts working on her knee, kicks by Natsuko and she covers Arisa for a two count. Kicks to the knee by Natsuko, she goes off the ropes but Arisa catches her with a kick to the chest. Diving double knee by Arisa to Natsuko’s midsection, she picks her up and goes off the ropes, but Natsuko elbows her in the chest. Another running back elbow by Natsuko and she pounds on Arisa’s chest, she tosses by Arisa by the hair and hits bootscrapes in the corner. Irish whip by Natsuko and she hits a running elbow, spear by Natsuko and she covers Arisa for two. Natsuko slams Arisa in front of the corner and goes up top, delivering a diving body press for another two count. Natsuko picks up Arisa but Arisa gets away, backfist by Natsuko and she hits a rolling fireman’s carry slam. She goes to the top turnbuckle but Arisa avoids the diving guillotine legdrop. Head kick by Arisa, she picks up Natsuko and slams her to the mat. Arisa positions Natsuko and goes to the top turnbuckle, twisting body press by Arisa and she picks up the three count! Arisa Hoshiki wins and advances to the Finals.

While this wasn’t the most exciting match, it was pretty effective. Natsuko looked a bit better than she has thus far in the tournament, although I think Arisa held everything together. Arisa timed her spurts well and Natsuko was pretty on-point with her offense. Not a long match but it accomplished its goal, it wasn’t really designed to be memorable but to get Arisa Hoshiki into the Finals were she belongs. Mildly Recommended

Konami vs. Starlight Kid

They start with wristlocks until Konami gets Starlight Kid to the mat and kicks her in the back, she goes for the PK but Starlight Kid ducks it and schoolboys her for a two count. Starlight Kid tries a few more flash pins with no luck, swinging neckbreaker by Starlight Kid but Konami blocks the cross-legged suplex. Konami goes for the Triangle Lancer but Starlight Kid blocks it, Starlight Kid goes for a dropkick but Konami grabs her leg and applies an ankle hold. Starlight Kid reverses that into a roll-up for two, cross-legged suplex hold by Starlight Kid but Konami gets a shoulder up. Shiranui by Starlight Kid, she goes to the second turnbuckle but Konami avoids the moonsault attempt. Triangle Lancer by Konami, and Starlight Kid quickly taps out! Konami wins and advances to the Finals of the Cinderella Tournament.

Short, so disappointing in that regard, but really not a surprise considering we are towards the end of a 16 wrestler one night tournament. Starlight Kid continues to (and will continue to) impress with her spots and Konami went straight for the kill, which is logical considering the winner still has another match to go. A simple match but nothing wrong with it under the circumstances.

Finals

• Cinderella Tournament Quarter Final: Arisa Hoshiki vs. Konami

Arisa Hoshiki vs. Konami

They start slowly as they trade kicks, but Konami grabs Arisa’s leg and takes her down to the mat. Konami goes for a sleeper but Arisa snapmares out of it and kicks Konami in the back, Konami gets up and returns fire and the two trade kicks to the chest. Arisa gets the better of the initial exchange but hits the mat after a hard kick from Konami, Konami sets up Arisa’s leg across the second rope in the corner before dropkicking it. Cover by Konami, but it gets two. Konami applies an ankle hold but Arisa is too close to the ropes and reaches them for the break. Konami goes back to the leg but Arisa reaches the ropes again, Arisa elbows Konami, Konami elbows her back but Arisa plants Konami with a dropkick. Rapid-fire kicks by Arisa and she chops Konami in the corner, jumping double knee strike by Arisa and she hits a reverse double kneedrop to Konami’s back for a two count. Arisa gets Konami on her shoulders but Konami quickly slides off and puts Arisa in an ankle hold.

Arisa gets a hand on the ropes, Konami charges her and hits a sliding kick. Fisherman Suplex Hold by Konami but Arisa gets a shoulder up, Arisa fights back and the two exchange strikes. High kick by Arisa, she picks up Konami and hits an over-the-shoulder slam. Arisa goes up to the top turnbuckle but Konami recovers and crawls up with her, applying an ankle hold while Arisa’s leg is tied up in the ropes. She lets go after a moment and hits a superplex, Konami applies a Stretch Muffler but Arisa gets to the ropes to force a break. Konami goes for a high kick but Arisa ducks it and hits one of her own, she slams Konami in front of the corner and she delivers the twisting diving body press, but Konami barely gets a shoulder up. Arisa picks up Konami but Konami ducks the Brazilian Kick and applies an armbar, but Arisa is in the ropes. Konami picks up Arisa and goes for the Triangle Lancer, but Arisa rolls through it and nails Konami with a jumping knee. A second jumping knee by Arisa, she picks up Konami and hits a third over-the-shoulder powerslam. A second twisting body press by Arisa, but like before Konami kicks out at two. Arisa drags up Konami and hits a kick combination ending with the Brazilian Kick, cover by Arisa and she picks up the three count! Arisa Hoshiki wins the match and the Cinderella Tournament!

I would have been happy with either Arisa Hoshiki or Konami winning, as even though I am not sure if Arisa’s current spot in the promotion means she will be a good title defense for Momo Watanabe, at least it is something different and someone new is being elevated. In some ways the match felt flat as Konami’s real journey in the tournament was over – she had taken down Queen’s Quest and she had no real beef with Arisa Hoshiki. Some of Arisa’s weaknesses were on display here as even though it was a ten minute match she repeated a lot of the same moves (three shoulder powerslams, two twisting bodypresses, etc.) and it felt like they ran out of ideas eight minutes into it which is really too soon to have those types of issues. I did enjoy Konami’s leg work and all the strikes were on point, I just wish it had a bit more urgency and felt more important. A good match but it didn’t really feel like as big of a match that they were trying to build up to.  Mildly Recommended

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