And we are once again back with Stardom! I know I skipped a show or two, but Stardom outputs shows faster than I can review them so I try to pick the bigger events. This show is small in attendance but big in importance, as Stardom crowns new Artist of Stardom Champions. Queen’s Quest held the titles last, but after Momo Watanabe was injured they were forced to vacate the championship. The tournament is the bulk of the card, but we also get my first look at Jessicka Havok in Stardom as well as a chance to see the newest rookie – Hanan. Here is the full card:

• Arisu Nanase vs. Hanan vs. Ruaka
• Kaori Yoneyama vs. Kris Wolf
• Artist of Stardom Championship Tournament Semi Final: Hiroyo Matsumoto, Jungle Kyona, and Natsuko Tora vs. Io Shirai, HZK, and AZM
• Artist of Stardom Championship Tournament Semi Final: Kagetsu, Hana Kimura, and La Rosa Negra vs. Kairi Hojo, Hiromi Mimura, and Konami
• Jessicka Havok and Tessa Blanchard vs. Mayu Iwatani and Hetzza
• Artist of Stardom Championship Tournament Final: Io Shirai, HZK, and AZM vs. Kagetsu, Hana Kimura, and La Rosa Negra

Per usual, you can click on the name’s above to go to the wrestler’s profile. This event aired on Stardom World, so nothing will be clipped.

Arisu Nanase vs. Hanan vs. Ruaka

They start with a triple knuckle lock, double Irish whip to Arisu but she avoids both her opponents dropkicks. She isolates Ruaka but Ruaka gets her to the mat in a headscissors, Arisu gets out of it and Hanan grabs Ruaka from behind. Ruaka takes down Hanan too but Hanan kips up and all three are back on their feet. Hanan is double teamed, which doesn’t seem fair, until Hanan hits a judo throw on both of them. Ruaka kicks Hanan but Hanan kicks her back and tosses Ruaka to the mat. This leaves Hanan alone with Arisu, Arisu pushes her against the ropes and she puts Hanan in a crab hold. Ruaka breaks it up and hits a reverse STO on Arisu, covering her for two. Hanan goes off the ropes and dropkicks Ruaka and then Arisu, another dropkick by Hanan but Ruaka breaks up her cover on Arisu. Ruaka stomps Hanan and throws both Hanan and Arisu in the corner, big boot by Ruaka and she hits a fisherman suplex hold on Arisu for a two count. Ruaka picks up Arisu but Arisu dropkicks her in the leg, Arisu puts Ruaka in a leg lock but Ruaka gets out of it. Arisu dropkicks Ruaka out of the ring, she picks up Hanan but Hanan sneaks in an inside cradle for two. Elbows by Hanan but Arisu dropkicks her in the corner and she nails the Blockbuster for the three count! Arisu Nanase is the winner.

This was actually better than I was expecting. For a 15 year old and two 12 year olds, the match was shockingly smooth with really nothing awkward or out of place. It was simple of course, but pretty well done. Hanan and Ruaka are too young to know if they will turn into stars down the road, but no red flags yet anyway. Good rookie opener.

Kaori Yoneyama vs. Kris Wolf

After kicking off the match with a high speed exchange (Kris is the High Speed Champion after all), Kris goes to run off the ropes but Kaori grabs her by the tail and ties it to the bottom rope. Not the first time this has happened to Kris and a definite downside to having a tail. Kaori puts Kris in a bodyscissors, stomps by Kaori but Kris hits a spinning headscissors before delivering a running knee. Kaori elbows Kris off and the two trade blows, kick to the chest by Kris but Kaori bridges out of the pin and hits a running knee of her own. Senton by Kaori, and she covers Kris for two. Kaori picks up Kris and tosses her into the ropes, but Kris hits a rebound crossbody for two. Running knee by Kris in the corner, she flings Kaori to the mat before kicking her in the back for a two count cover. Kris picks up Kaori but Kaori elbows her off, she goes off the ropes but Kris catches her with a suplex. Kris gets on the second turnbuckle but Kaori avoids her dive and knees Kris in the back of the head. Kaori gets on the second turnbuckle herself and delivers the diving senton, cover by Kaori but Kris gets a shoulder up. Kaori picks up Kris but Kris blocks the suplex, Kaori goes for the Chaos Theory but Kris hits a sunset flip for two. They trade flash pins before Kris boots Kaori in the chest, roll-up by Kaori but it gets a two count. Delayed Chaos Theory by Kaori, and she picks up the three count! Kaori Yoneyama is your winner.

Action-wise this was fine, but I am not really sure why it existed. Kaori is already above Kris on the pecking order due to her veteran status, so she didn’t need to pin her to earn herself a title shot. It just re-established what we already knew. Pretty short and without a reason to care, even though Kris is always fun to watch.

Hiroyo Matsumoto, Jungle Kyona, and Natsuko Tora vs. Io Shirai, HZK, and AZM

HZK and Natsuko begin the match and start trading elbows, Natsuko goes off the ropes but can’t shoulderblock HZK over. She finally succeeds in doing so, but HZK comes back with a dropkick and tags in AZM. AZM pushes Natsuko into her own corner so she tags in Hiroyo, AZM elbows Hiroyo with no luck as Hiroyo absorbs all her blows, dropkick by AZM but it has no impact either. Hiroyo kicks AZM but AZM bridges out of the pin, AZM goes for a crossbody but Hiroyo catches her and hits a backbreaker. Scoop slam by Hiroyo and she tags in Kyona, who also slams AZM to the mat. Natsuko returns as they take turns on the child, Hiroyo gets AZM on her shoulders and spins her into HZK before throwing her at Io. HZK recovers and helps AZM get Hiroyo down long enough for her to get to the corner to make the tag to Io, Hiroyo elbows Io but Io slides out of the ring and trips her. Slingshot dropkick by Io, Kyona and Natsuko come in but Io dropkicks both of them. Missile dropkick by Io to Hiroyo as she manages to clear the ring, she puts Hiroyo in a crossface but Hiroyo gets to the ropes for the break. Hiroyo grabs Io and gets her on her shoulders, gutbuster by Hiroyo and she goes off the ropes, but Io hits a hurricanrana for a two count.

Io kicks Hiroyo in the face but Hiroyo hits a backdrop suplex, leaving both wrestlers down on the mat. Io tags in HZK while Kyona is also tagged in, HZK elbows Kyona into the corner but Kyona puts HZK in a sleeper. Kyona swings HZK around while keeping her in the hold, Natsuko runs around the ring to stop AZM from interfering but Io recovers and breaks up the submission. Kyona hits a crossbody on both of them and tags in Natsuko, sentons by Natsuko to HZK but AZM runs in. Natsuko drop toeholds AZM onto HZK, senton by Natsuko and she covers HZK for a two count. Side Russian Leg Sweep attempt by Natsuko but HZK blocks it, Io and AZM run in but so do Kyona and Hiroyo. Hiroyo and Kyona lariat both HZK and Natsuko to help her (which wasn’t incredibly helpful), they nudge Natsuko out of the way and Kyona hits a diving body press onto HZK. Diving senton by Natsuko, but Io breaks up the cover. The ring clears as Natsuko picks up HZK, swandive missile dropkick by Io to Natsuko, and HZK covers Natsuko for two. HZK picks up Natsuko and hits a full nelson slam, AZM comes in but Hiroyo grabs her from the apron. Io and HZK get rid of Hiroyo and Kyona, they triple team Natsuko before HZK nails the Bombs Away for the three count! Queen’s Quest wins!

Not to spoil my thoughts on the next few matches, but this was my favorite match of the night. Hiroyo was the star here as she continues to have a killer 2017, she not only is smooth and deadly with her moves but she has so much passion and joy for what she is doing that you can’t help but be hooked in. I thought Natsuko would lag behind here but she didn’t, and all six wrestlers got a chance to shine. Hiroyo really took it to AZM, which was fun to watch as I thought they’d just hide her on the apron, and Io did her usual Io things. Even though it was just the first match of the tournament and a midcard match, I thought they really delivered.  Recommended

Kagetsu, Hana Kimura, and La Rosa Negra vs. Kairi Hojo, Hiromi Mimura, and Konami

The Chibis charge their opponents to start the match, as the action spills out to the floor and onto the apron. They stay in control for a few minutes, Kairi gets on the top turnbuckle and dives out onto all three members of Oedo Tai as The Chibis stand tall. Back in the ring they gang up on Kagetsu, Kairi chops her into the corner and hits a running shoulder tackle. Kairi tags in Hiromi, elbows by Hiromi but Kagetsu switches positions with her and chokes Hiromi in the corner. Hiromi dropkicks Kagetsu and hits a low crossbody before tagging in Konami. Knees by Konami and she kicks Kagetsu repeatedly in the back, she goes off the ropes but Hana trips her from the floor. Now it is Konami that is triple teamed for a bit, Kagetsu stays in with her and makes the tag to La Rosa Negra. La Rosa Negra drives Konami back and forth into all the corners before slamming her to the mat, cover by La Rosa Negra but Kairi breaks it up. La Rosa Negra charges Konami but Konami kicks her back and applies a hanging armbar, missile dropkick by Konami and she covers La Rosa Negra for a two count. Konami rolls up La Rosa Negra and applies an ankle hold, but it is broken up by Hana and Kagetsu. Fisherman suplex hold by Konami to La Rosa Negra, and she tags in Hiromi.

Elevated DDT by Hiromi, she goes off the ropes but La Rosa Negra catches her crossbody attempt, spinning spinebuster by La Rosa Negra but Kairi breaks up the pinfall. La Rosa Negra tags in Hana, Hana stomps Hiromi and hits a jumping double knee in the corner, cover by Hana but it gets two. Hana goes for a suplex but Hiromi blocks it, boot to the head by Hana and she hits a vertical suplex. Hana kicks at Hiromi but Kairi and Konami run in and both dropkick Hana. Sliding Kick by Konami followed by a Sliding D by Kairi, La Magistral by Hiromi but Kagetsu breaks it up. Konami and Kairi dropkick La Rosa Negra and Kagetsu out of the ring, Hiromi picks up Hana and elbows her but Hana elbows her back. Dropkick by Hiromi and she tags in Kairi, Kairi goes up top and she hits the diving elbow smash. Kicks to the back by Kairi and she puts Hana in the Ikari, but Kagetsu breaks it up. Kairi slams Hana in front of the corner and goes up top, but Kris Wolf grabs her from the apron to slow her down. This gives Hana time to recover, and she tosses Kairi back onto the mat. Spinning chop by Kairi to Hana, she goes off the ropes but Kagetsu hits her from the floor with a piece of luggage. Kagetsu comes in with a chair and hits Konami with it, she then goes to Kairi and whacks her in the head with the chair. Ebisu Drop by Kagetsu to Kairi, then La Rosa Negra comes diving off the top turnbuckle with a diving body press. Big boot by Hana, and she covers Kairi for the three count! Oedo Tai wins!

Something was missing here, and I couldn’t quite put my finger on what it was. Some parts I really enjoyed, as Hana is a pleasure and Kairi tends to make everything she does interesting since she fights with so much emotion. But La Rosa Negra didn’t really fit in well, and when Hiromi isn’t in a match with comedy elements she tends to fade into the background. They needed all six here of course since it was a tournament, but Kagetsu/Hana vs. Kairi/Konami would have been a much tighter match. A bit too loose and meandering for my liking, although it was still better than average as they kept the pace up and it was too short to be offensive.

Jessicka Havok and Tessa Blanchard vs. Mayu Iwatani and Hetzza

Havok and Mayu begin the match for their teams, with Havok throwing Mayu around like a child. Mayu thinks she has a good strategy as she dropkicks Havok in the leg but Havok shrugs it off. Mayu is scared so she tags in Hetzza while Tessa is also tagged in, they trade strikes awkwardly until Tessa knocks Hetzza to the mat. Tessa puts Hetzza in a stretch submission hold, she picks her back up and tags in Havok. Havok picks up Hetzza, Hetzza goes for a crossbody but Havok catches her and puts Hetzza in the Tree of Woe. Havok elbows Hetzza in the chest before tagging Tessa back in, Tessa drops Hetzza in the ropes and dropkicks Hetzza in the back. Running elbow by Tessa but Hetzza punches her and tags in Mayu. Mayu runs off the ropes and elbows Tessa, Tessa elbows her back but Mayu grabs her wrist and hits a triple jump split-legged armdrag. Dropkick by Mayu while Tessa is against the ropes, and she covers her for a two count. Mayu picks up Tessa, she drops her over the top rope onto the apron but Tessa lands on her feet and slides back in the ring quickly to hit a German suplex. Tessa tags in Havok, Havok picks up Mayu and press slams her to the mat. Mayu goes for a sunset flip but Havok blocks it, she tries to sit on Mayu but Mayu moves and kicks Havok in the head. More kicks to the head by Mayu, and she covers Havok for a two count. Mayu tags in Hetzza but Havok mushes her to the mat, kick by Havok and she scoop slams Hetzza for two. Mayu comes in but so does Tessa, Havok suplexes Mayu while Tessa hits a Codebreaker onto Hetzza. Tombstone Piledriver by Havok to Hetzza, and she picks up the three count! Tessa Blanchard and Havok are the winners.

Oh man. This match. I don’t like to bury people the first time I see them, but Hetzza is clearly way out of her element. She is green, which we knew, but I have to assume she is used to working with the same few people in the same style as she looked completely lost here. The strike exchanges and everything else she did just looked awkward. I’m not giving up on her, hopefully with some practice in the dojo over the next few months she gets better. That overshadowed the match, but Havok and Mayu had some good exchanges and Tessa looked better here than she did last summer. Still, a skippable match overall as some parts were just painful to watch.

Io Shirai, HZK, and AZM vs. Kagetsu, Hana Kimura, and La Rosa Negra

Kagetsu and AZM kick things off, Kagetsu hits an armdrag but AZM dropkicks her back and both wrestlers kip up. AZM tags in Io, Io throws Kagetsu into the corner but Kagetsu flips her onto the apron and Io falls to the floor. Hana throws Io around on the floor and into the crowd, she does this for several minutes before Io is finally rolled back in. Kagetsu picks up Io and hits a dropkick, she covers Io with one foot for a two count cover. Io is attacked by all the Oedo Tai members on the apron, Kris gets the rubber band and snaps it back into Io’s face. Hana puts Io in a Muta Lock but the referee forces her to break it, Hana tags in La Rosa Negra and La Rosa Negra stomps on Io in the corner. Kagetsu is tagged in but Io trips her, she crawls to her corner but Kagetsu cuts her off and stomps on her. Elbows by Kagetsu but when she goes for a triple jump dropkick she instead is dropkicked by Io. This gives Io time to tag in HZK, elbows by HZK and AZM comes in too to help clear the ring of Oedo Tai. All of Queen’s Quest put their opponents in submission holds, they release the holds after a moment and HZK boots Kagetsu in the corner. Codebreaker by HZK, she goes off the ropes but Kagetsu catches her with a Samoan Drop and both wrestlers are down on the mat.

Kagetsu is up first, she picks up HZK but HZK boots her in the face and hits a second one, she inches to her corner and tags in Io while Kagetsu tags in La Rosa Negra. La Rosa Negra tosses Io in the corner and hits a series of hip attacks, cannonball by La Rosa Negra and she covers Io for two. La Rosa Negra picks up Io but Io elbows away from her, Io goes off the ropes but Hana grabs her from the apron. HZK grabs La Rosa Negra but La Rosa Negra gets away from her, she comes in with a chair which distracts the referee while Kagetsu hits Io with the piece of luggage. Hana goes up top and hits a missile dropkick, La Rosa Negra picks up Io and hits a spinning spinebuster but the cover is broken up. La Rosa Negra goes up top but Io avoids the body press, they trade elbows as they get up but HZK kicks La Rosa Negra from the apron. German suplex hold by Io, but it gets a two count. Io positions La Rosa Negra so Queen’s Quest can do an AZM-assisted splash on La Rosa Negra, roll-up by Io but it gets broken up. HZK and Kagetsu come in with Hana, Hana tries to hit HZK with the luggage but she hits Kagetsu by accident. Running double knee by Io in the corner to La Rosa Negra, she tries to go up top but La Rosa Negra grabs her leg. Io gets the piece of luggage from her and hits La Rosa Negra in the head with it, Io goes up top and she nails the moonsault for the three count! Io Shirai, HZK, and AZM are your new champions!

I liked this match, but I didn’t love it. Its rare for me to say this, but the match had too much Io. Now normally I am in favor of having as much Io as possible, but in a six wrestler tag I would have liked to have seen a bit more from her teammates as this felt like her carrying them to the titles. Especially AZM, this is the first title of her career but she did virtually nothing in the match except stand on the apron and occasionally interfere. Oedo Tai was their usual solid selves, and I liked the chaotic-ness of the ending, but it didn’t really feel like a title match. A very good and at times exciting match, but nothing more than that.  Mildly Recommended

The post Stardom “Grow Up Stars” on 4/15/17 Review appeared first on Joshi City.

It feels like every week I am doing a Stardom review lately, but I am trying to hit all of the Korakuen Hall events this year for all Joshi promotions. So here we are again with Stardom, with another stacked show. “The Highest” is their annual big Spring offering, so they tend to put on a complete event. Three titles are being defended, plus we get a singles match between Mayu Iwatani and Hana Kimura. Here is the full card:

• Arisu Nanase and Ruaka vs. Kaori Yoneyama and Natsuko Tora
• AZM and HZK vs. Christi Jaynes and Deonna Purrazzo
• High Speed Championship: Kris Wolf vs. Hiromi Mimura
• Hana Kimura vs. Mayu Iwatani
• SWA Undisputed Women’s Championship: Toni Storm vs. Jungle Kyona
• World Of Stardom Championship: Io Shirai vs. Kairi Hojo

Like the last show, I am watching the Samurai TV version of the event, which means clipped matches and better production. The Samurai TV airings are just an easier watch, and the opening matches being clipped isn’t really a big deal to me even though in the perfect world I prefer full matches. As always, you can click on the wrestler’s name above to go to their profile for more information.

Arisu Nanase and Ruaka vs. Kaori Yoneyama and Natsuko Tora

Ruaka and Arisu attack before the match starts and isolate Yoneyama, as both chop her in the chest. Yoneyama fights back with Mongolian Chops but Arisu and Ruaka knock her into the ropes. We clip ahead to Arisu trading elbows with Natsuko, side Russian leg sweep by Natsuko and she hits a running senton for a two count. Yoneyama comes in, Natsuko launches off her back but Arisu rolls out of the way of the senton attempt. Double wrist armsault by Arisu to Natsuko, but it gets a two count. Arisu tags in Ruaka and Natsuko is double teamed in the corner, Ruaka tries to slam Natsuko but Natsuko blocks it, reverse STO by Ruaka and she kicks Natsuko in the head for a two count. Yoneyama comes in and hits a double crossbody on both her opponents, Ruaka goes for a few quick pins on Natsuko but she kicks out each time. Arisu dropkicks Natsuko, La Magistral by Ruaka but it gets a two count. Natsuko drop toeholds Ruaka before Yoneyama hits a senton, Natsuko ties up Ruaka’s legs and holds her down for the three count! Kaori Yoneyama and Natsuko Tora are the winners.

This was clipped and rough around the edges for sure, but there is some promise here. Arisu has shown some skill, and Ruaka has the much needed size that is lacking with most of Stardom’s rookie wrestlers. Skippable as presented, unless you just want to see the potential future stars of the promotion, assuming they don’t all quit within a year.

AZM and HZK vs. Christi Jaynes and Deonna Purrazzo vs. Konami and Zoe Lucas

Zoe, HZK, and Deonna start the match off, they do a triple lockup but they break cleanly. They do it again with the same result, they take turns elbowing each other until Zoe and Deonna get into a shoving match. HZK goes off the ropes but Deonna armdrags her, and all three wrestlers miss dropkicks. They all tag out, Konami kicks Jaynes but Jaynes boots her to the mat. Konami kicks her again, AZM jumps in and she throws Konami into Jaynes before throwing down Konami by the hair. She does the same to Jaynes as well, HZK comes in and they both facewash their opponents in different corners. They go to do it again but are grabbed by Deonna and Zoe from the apron, allowing Konami and Jaynes to dropkick them. We clip ahead to Zoe being double teamed by Jaynes and Deonna, Jaynes considers doing a dive but is tripped from the floor before she can do so. Konami and HZK get in the ring and trade strikes, Konami wins the battle but HZK recovers and elbows her back. High kick by Konami and she hits a fisherman suplex hold before putting HZK in an ankle hold, but ppp and Jaynes end up coming in the ring to break things up. Jaynes stays in and kicks HZK in the head, cover by Jaynes but it gets two. Apparently they aren’t doing any type of tag rule. Konami comes in and tries to kick HZK but she kicks Jaynes by accident, HZK takes care of Konami before going up top and hitting the Atomic Bombs Away for the three count! AZM and HZK win!

This wasn’t good in any sense of the word. Part of it wasn’t their fault, as the clipping just made it seem even less cohesive of a match than it probably already was. But not all of these wrestlers are particularly talented – they are young, it takes time – which lead to some awkward exchanges. Konami had a good segment briefly with HZK, two of the better wrestlers in the match, but besides that nothing worth watching.

(c) Kris Wolf vs. Hiromi Mimura
High Speed Championship

Kris avoids Hiromi to start but they eventually tie up, Hiromi gets Kris to the mat but Kris gets to the ropes for a break. Back up, they trade holds until Hiromi gets Kris down again, but Kris tries to smother Hiromi with her tail. That doesn’t work, but Kris kicks her away anyway, Hiromi pushes Kris in the corner and she delivers a dropkick. They both go off the ropes and trade trips and armdrags, until both wrestlers face off once again. Hiromi goes off the ropes and hits a crossbody, rolling leglock by Hiromi but Kris wiggles away. Dropkick by Hiromi, Kris recovers and hits a knee and the pair trade strikes. Kris slides under Hiromi’s legs and delivers a high kick, she goes up top but Hiromi recovers and knocks Kris down to the floor. Hiromi dives off the apron with a crossbody onto Kris, Hiromi slides Kris back in and she covers Kris for two. Hiromi goes up top but Kris avoids the diving crossbody, Kris quickly rolls her up but Hiromi reverses it and applies La Magistral for two. Bulldog armdrag (or something) out of the corner by Hiromi, but Kris barely kicks out of the pin. Hiromi goes up top but Kris elbows her and suplexes Hiromi off the turnbuckles, Kris gets on the top turnbuckle and nails the diving double kneedrop, but Hiromi kicks out at two. Kris quickly grabs Hiromi’s legs and holds down Hiromi again, and this time she gets the three count! Kris Wolf is still the champion.

By default, I love all of Kris Wolf’s matches because I love her, and for a clipped midcard match I thought this was pretty solid. Hiromi’s only weakness is her wrestling, which is a major one, as she is on point with being feisty and comedic and sympathetic. Unfortunately this match wasn’t designed to emphasize her strengths since Kris is just as small as she is, and since it was a title match they weren’t really doing comedy spots. Kris showed off some new moves, now that she is a champion she seems to have stepped it up another notch as this was a more ‘straight’ match than she usually does. Overall, a bit too clipped to get excited about, but if you like Kris then you’ll probably enjoy it.

Hana Kimura vs. Mayu Iwatani

After a dance off (which Hana clearly wins), they clip us ahead to Hana and Kris attacking Mayu on the apron. Hana goes off the ropes but Mayu kicks her in the stomach and then in the face, kick to the back by Mayu and she snapmares Hana so she can kick her in the back again. Hana gets up and the two trade elbows, until Hana takes off her cloth belt and jokes Mayu with it. Double knee by Hana in the corner and she delivers a dropkick, picking up a two count. Hana picks up Mayu but Mayu applies a guillotine, which Hana muscles out of and hits a vertical suplex for two. Hana goes up top and delivers a missile dropkick, getting another two count. Hana goes off the ropes but Mayu avoids the boot and hits a superkick, German suplex by Mayu but Hana kicks out. Mayu goes off the ropes and hits a dropkick, another dropkick by Mayu while Hana is against the ropes and she nails a diving footstomp. Mayu goes for a Dragon Suplex but Hana blocks it and boots Mayu in the face. Both wrestlers are slow to get up, Hana recovers first and elbows Mayu but Mayu hits a high kick followed by a German suplex hold for two. Mayu picks up Hana and nails the Dragon Suplex Hold, picking up the three count! Mayu Iwatani is your winner.

Unfortunately, too much of this was clipped (about half) on the Samurai TV airing for me to give much of a recommend it, even though what we saw was fun. Hana is really good at the sexy seductress role, and it shows her versatility as she doesn’t act like that in the other promotions she wrestles in. Mayu’s moves all looked killer here, both the dropkick against the ropes and diving footstomp were on point, and of course her dragon suplex is a thing of beauty. I liked everything that I saw, it likely was so heavily clipped because it was a non-title match but at least what they showed was entertaining.  Mildly Recommended

(c) Toni Storm vs. Jungle Kyona
SWA Women’s Undisputed Championship

Kyona and Storm tie-up but they break cleanly, waistlock by Kyona and she gets Storm to the mat. Storm switches positions with her and goes for Kyona’s knee but Kyona gets into the ropes, Storm starts on Kyona’s arm but Kyona gets out of it and the two trade holds. Storm goes for a cross armbreaker but Kyona quickly gets to the ropes, Kyona applies a cross-arm submission but Storm reverses it, Kyona flings Storm to the mat but Storm catches her kick and offers a handshake. Kyona kicks her instead and goes for shoulderblocks, which eventually sends Storm down to the mat. Storm gets back up and kicks Kyona in the chest, hip attacks by Storm and Kyona falls out of the ring. Storm goes out to the apron and kicks Kyona in the chest, she then goes down to the floor with Kyona but Kyona ducks her chop and Storm hits the ring post by accident. It happens again, Kyona runs down the aisle and hits a body avalanche to Storm against the post. Kyona rolls Storm back in and they trade elbows, Storm throws Kyona into the corner but Kyona blocks the Backstabber attempt and goes up top. Storm punches her before she can jump off and hits a bridging Samoan Drop for a two count. Storm picks up Kyona and hits a snap German, Kyona quickly gets back up however and hits a lariat for a two count. Kyona tackles Storm into the corner and puts her on the top turnbuckle, she grabs Storm and delivers a sit-down powerbomb for a two count. Kyona goes up top and hits the diving bodypress, but Storm kicks out of the corner. Kyona goes for the Hammer Throw Powerbomb but Storm blocks it and hits the Reverse Neckbreaker for a two count. Storm picks up Kyona but Kyona hits a back bodydrop, headbutt by Storm and she hits a second one before delivering the Backstabber. Storm goes up top and she nails the diving guillotine drop, and she gets the three count! Toni Storm retains the championship.

Samurai TV isn’t doing this show any favors, as again we are missing several minutes of the match. But what they showed was solid, Storm is a 21 year old that wrestles like a ten year veteran, and Kyona is progressing very well. Some of the transitions were rough but that may have been due to the clipping, and I liked that since Kyona never hit her big finisher that it always felt like she was one move away from stealing the win. Overall a good display by both, just wish the title match/co-main was shown in full.  Mildly Recommended

(c) Io Shirai vs. Kairi Hojo
World of Stardom Championship

They start slow as Io gets the early advantage, they trade leg holds on the mat until Kairi hits a flying neckbreaker. Kairi chops Io in the corner but Io shrugs it off and walks away, she back bodydrops Kairi over the top rope but Kairi lands on the apron. Io joins her and goes for the apron gansobomb again, but Kairi blocks it and hits a hard elbow. Kairi kicks Io back into the ring but Io avoids her charge in the corner, she goes out to the apron and snaps Kairi’s arm over the second rope. Io goes to work on Kairi’s arm before chopping her in the ropes, Kairi comes back with a headscissors however and Io falls out of the ring. Kairi goes up top but Io quickly rolls back into the ring, she joins Kairi up top and snaps her arm over the top rope. Io goes out to the floor with her but Kairi reverses and Irish whip and sends Io into a row of chairs. Kairi takes Io up into the bleachers and goes for the Alabama Slam on the floor, but Io blocks it. Io goes for a piledriver which is also blocked, but Io connects with the palm strike and goes up to the balcony. As Kairi stands up, Io dives off the balcony with a moonsault, landing on her feet while narrowly missing the top step in the process.

Io returns to the ring with Kairi very slowly following, Io stomps on Kairi and kicks her down into the corner. Io goes for a running double knee but Kairi springs up and hits the spear, Kairi elbows Io into the corner but Io avoids her charge and slides out to the apron. Io goes for the swandive dropkick but Kairi elbows her halfway through it, leaving Io hanging over the top rope. Kairi quickly goes up top and hits a diving footstomp to Io’s back, crab hold by Kairi but Io slowly crawls to the corner to force the break. Io tries to crawl to the apron but Kairi applies the Ikari anyway in the ropes, while the referee yells at her to let go. She does so after a moment and hits a footstomp to Io’s back, Kairi goes up top but Io slowly gets up and elbows her before she can jump off. Kairi knocks Io back into the ring, she goes for the FKE (Flying Kabuki Elbow) but Io dropkicks her on the way down. Tiger Feint Kick by Io and she delivers a swandive dropkick, cover by Io but it gets two. Io gets Kairi’s waist but Kairi elbows her off and kicks Io in the back. Kick by Io and she goes for the double underhook facebuster, but Kairi blocks it and hits the Sliding D. Kairi goes up top and goes for the diving elbow drop, but Io gets both feet up, kicking Kairi in her injured arm.

A dropkick by Io sends Kairi to the apron, and Io hits a slingshot dropkick to join Kairi. Io goes for the apron gansobomb again but Kairi blocks it and back bodydrops Io to the floor. Kairi then goes up top and delivers the diving elbow drop down onto Io and the blob of wrestlers surrounding her, sending everyone crashing to the floor. Kairi rolls back in with Io a few moments behind, Alabama Slam by Kairi in front of the corner and she goes for a Sliding D, but Io ducks it and rolls her up for two. Double underhook facebuster by Io, she goes up top quickly but Kairi recovers and knocks her down into the Tree of Woe. Marine Spike by Kairi, she goes back up top and nails the diving elbow drop, but Io barely gets a shoulder up on the cover. Spinning backfists by Kairi but Io blocks one and delivers the package German for a two count. Io goes up top and hits the moonsault, but Kairi kicks out of the pin. Palm strikes by Io, she goes off the ropes but Kairi catches her with a spear. Kairi goes for the Alabama Slam but Io blocks it and drops Kairi with a tombstone piledriver. Io goes back up top and hits a second moonsault, cover by Io and this time she gets the three count! Io Shirai is still your champion.

I’m not great at comparing matches against each other so I am not sure where I would rank this one compared to their last few matches, but it was certainly an excellent match. Samurai TV was kind enough to show this one in full, and I think the multiple camera angles helped put over how crazy some of the spots were. Io came within inches of tumbling down the steps on the moonsault off the balcony, which isn’t unusual for her on that move, and everything was hit snug throughout the match. I love that there were so many reversals, these two know each other so well that it makes sense that they would know what is coming next in order to block it. There were some issues with long term selling but that’s a staple of Io’s big matches and within the story they are telling it isn’t really something that bothers me. Innovative and most importantly captivating from bell to bell, another high quality match from one of the best wrestlers in the world.  Highly Recommended

The post Stardom “The Highest 2017” on 3/20/17 Review appeared first on Joshi City.

We are back again with Stardom! I know I just reviewed them, I am emotionally torn between wanting to mix up what promotions I review but also wanting to stay as current as I can. And it doesn’t get much more current than this, as this show aired on both Samurai TV! and Stardom World on Sunday. This is a really big show for Stardom and is chock full of interesting matches once you get past the opener. Four championships are on the line, plus we get a special singles match between Konami and Yoko Bito! Here is the full card:

• AZM and HZK vs. Christi Jaynes and Zoe Lucas vs. Hiromi Mimura and Arisu Nanase vs. Kaori Yoneyama and Natsuko Tora
• Konami vs. Yoko Bito
• SWA World Championship: Toni Storm vs. Deonna Purrazzo
• High Speed Championship: Mayu Iwatani vs. Kagetsu vs. Kris Wolf
• Wonder of Stardom Championship: Kairi Hojo vs. Jungle Kyona
• World of Stardom Championship: Io Shirai vs. Shayna Baszler

As always, you can click on the wrestlers’ names above to go to their profile. I am watching the Stardom World version but using GIFs from the Samurai TV! version, since I like to watch the event unclipped but the Samurai TV! version offers a better visual.

AZM and HZK vs. Christi Jaynes and Zoe Lucas vs. Hiromi Mimura and Arisu Nanase vs. Kaori Yoneyama and Natsuko Tora
Tag Team Elimination Match

All eight brawl to start, Yoneyama stays in with AZM and AZM dropkicks Yoneyama in the chest. Hiromi and Zoe are up next, they trade wristlocks until Zoe rams Hiromi back into the corner. Yoneyama tags herself in but Zoe knees her in the head, Christi comes in too but Yoneyama avoids their kicks and puts them both in a submission hold. Arisu and Hiromi charge the ring and dropkick Natsuko and Yoneyama, but then AZM and HZK stumble in and attack Hiromi and Arisu. They both connect with running boots in the corner, HZK stays in with Hiromi and goes off the ropes, but Christi kicks her from the apron. Christi tags herself in (this makes no sense in an elimination match), Hiromi and Christi trade elbows, Hiromi goes for a crossbody but Christi catches her and hits a backbreaker. Christi goes for a kick but Hiromi ducks it and hits a low crossbody for a two count. DDT by Hiromi, Arisu runs in and clears all their opponents off the apron before going back so Hiromi could tag her in. Zoe is tagged in too and she goes to suplex Arisu, but Arisu reverses it into an inside cradle for two. Cross leglock by Arisu, Hiromi and Christi come in which leads to Christi being put in a leglock as well. Zoe gets out of the hold, Arisu picks her up and hits a double wrist armsault for two. Back up, kicks by Zoe and she covers Arisu for the three count! Arisu Nanase and Hiromi Mimura are eliminated.

HZK and AZM quickly come in but Zoe hits a crossbody on both of them, Zoe holds HZK for Christi but Christi dropkicks Zoe by accident. AZM dropkicks Christi, HZK then goes up top and delivers a seated senton for the three count! Zoe Lucas and Christi Jaynes are eliminated.

This leaves Queen’s Quest and Yoneyama/Natsuko. AZM and Natsuko become the legal wrestlers, kicks by AZM and she suplexes Natsuko. Another suplex by AZM, she picks up Natsuko but Natsuko hits a side Russian leg sweep. She goes for a senton but AZM rolls out of the way and hits a satellite schoolboy, but Yoneyama breaks it up. Yoneyama and Natsuko are stacked in the corner but they both avoid AZM’s charge and get the upper hand. Yoneyama and Natsuko go up to different corners but both are pushed off and land on the apron. HZK and AZM go off the ropes and dropkick them to the floor, eliminating them from the match! AZM and HZK are the winners.

A necessary result, if AZM and HZK are going to be taken seriously at all they have to win a match like this. The logic was missing here, in an elimination match there is no reason to tag yourself in, just stay on the apron and let the other teams eliminate each other. But that is wrestling for you. Not a bad opener as it was generally fast paced, but the action wasn’t always great and the structure was all over the place. Accomplished its goal but nothing really worth noting.

Konami vs. Yoko Bito

Konami kicks Bito to start while trying to stay out of Bito’s range, elbows by Konami and both wrestlers avoid each other’s kicks before Bito rolls up Konami for two. Bito puts Konami on the apron and hits a leg sweep, sending Konami to the floor. Konami gets on the apron and Bito tries to kick her, but Konami catches her leg and elbows it repeatedly. Back in, Konami keeps on Bito’s leg, Bito goes for a high kick but Konami catches her leg and applies an ankle hold. Bito gets to the ropes to force the break, kicks by Konami and she goes off the ropes, but Bito catches her with a boot to the face. Bito goes for a suplex but Konami lands on her feet and applies a sleeper, Bito tosses her off but Konami quickly applies a grounded necklock. Bito gets out of the hold and hits a vertical suplex, kick by Bito and she covers Konami for two. Back up, Bito goes for a high kick but Konami ducks it, release German by Konami and she delivers a Buzzsaw Kick for a two count. Konami goes up top but Bito elbows her and joins Konami, they trade elbows until Bito hits a superplex. Bito picks up Konami and goes for the B Driver but Konami gets out of it and applies an ankle hold. Bito again makes it to the ropes, kick combination by Konami and she covers Bito for two. Konami goes off the ropes but Bito drills her with a head kick, Doll B by Bito and she finishes off Konami with the B Driver for the three count! Yoko Bito is the winner.

Konami has to lose these matches, she is the young Freelancer, but I hope that Stardom sees the same things that a lot of fans see when Konami wrestles – she’s pretty fantastic at it. Honestly Bito was better here than I’ve seen her in awhile, I am not sure if being against another striker made her more comfortable laying in her own kicks but she was more snug than usual. I love that Konami rarely lets her opponents get too much offense in a row, she did the same thing with Io where each time Bito had an advantage suddenly Konami would slap on a sleeper or an ankle hold. She’ll just find any way to get back in control. And Bito showed Konami a lot of respect as even though it was a short match, she finished her off with three finisher-level moves to pick up the win. Really solid match and a good showing by both wrestlers.  Recommended

(c) Toni Storm vs. Deonna Purrazzo
SWA World Championship

Storm and Purrazzo lock knuckles to start, Storm gets Purrazzo to the mat but Purrazzo puts her in a headscissors. They return to their feet, after a headbutt Purrazzo jumps out of the ring but Storm quickly follows with a somewhat sloppy tope suicida. Back in, Purrazzo knocks Storm back, snapmare by Purrazzo and she boots Storm in the chest for two. Running kneedrop by Purrazzo and she tries a few quick pins, but Storm reverses one of them and the two trade elbows. Purrazzo goes for a kneelift but Storm avoids it and hits a release German, running hip attack by Storm and she hits a fisherman suplex for two. Storm goes for a piledriver but Purrazzo gets out of it and applies a short armbar, but Storm gets to the ropes. Kneelift by Purrazzo and she chops Storm in the corner, but Storm avoids her charge and hits a Backstabber for a two count. Purrazzo quickly goes back to the arm but Storm rolls out of it, she goes for a suplex but Purrazzo blocks it and goes back to the short armbar. Storm kicks Purrazzo in the head to get out of it, another Backstabber by Storm and she nails the piledriver for the three count! Toni Storm retains the championship.

Both of these women are fine wrestlers, but I am still having an issue with these matches not feeling like title matches. It wasn’t very long and they really didn’t have much of a chance to tell a story. Purrazzo kept going for short armbars but there was no work on the arm previously, I never felt like it was a tactic that would work and she wasn’t making it interesting by going for a variety of moves to weaken the arm. Storm didn’t do a lot to get the win as Purrazzo went from perfectly fine to pinned after a quick series of moves. For just a run of the mill gaijin midcard match it was decent enough, but for a championship match it was disappointing.

(c) Mayu Iwatani vs. Kagetsu vs. Kris Wolf
High Speed Championship

As predicted, Wolf and Kagetsu start off working together against Mayu, she hits a double crossbody on both of them but is tripped from the apron by Hana Kimura. The double teaming continues, Mayu dropkicks Wolf and armdrags Kagetsu, Kagetsu quickly rolls up both of them for two which Wolf doesn’t appreciate. They do a triple wristlock, Mayu is kicked in the stomach by both but Mayu avoids their dropkicks and knocks them both out of the ring. Mayu goes up top but Wolf and Kagetsu run away before she can dive off and Mayu chases them, the chase abruptly ends however when Hana trips Mayu and she crashes hard to the floor. After Mayu is attacked on the apron, including the spot where Wolf carries a band into the crowd and snaps it back into Mayu’s face. Wolf goes to do it again but Mayu knocks the band back at her instead, she finally has Kagetsu alone in the ring but Kagetsu hits a spear. Mayu comes back with a Sling Blade, high kick by Kagetsu but Mayu delivers a superkick. Crucifix slam by Mayu, but Wolf breaks up the cover. Wolf goes to run off the ropes but Mayu grabs her tail, Backstabber by Wolf and she holds Mayu for Kagetsu, but Mayu moves when Kagetsu swandives into the ring.

Kagetsu slams on the breaks before hitting Wolf and they double team Mayu in the corner, Mayu fights back with a superkick to Kagetsu before flinging Wolf onto her. Diving footstomp by Mayu to Wolf (who is still on top of Kagetsu), Mayu goes for the dragon suplex on Kagetsu but Wolf rolls her up from behind for a two count. They both take turns covering Iwatani with no luck, they start disagreeing so Wolf schoolboys Kagetsu for two. Kagetsu pushes Wolf and slams her back into the corner before tying Wolf to the ropes by her tail. Kagetsu tries to hit Mayu with some luggage but Mayu kicks it out of her hand and hits a German suplex hold for a two count. Mayu goes up top and hits a diving footstomp, cover by Mayu but Wolf frees herself and tries to break it up. Mayu moves and Wolf accidentally knees Kagetsu instead, suplex by Wolf to Mayu but it gets two. Knee by Wolf and she covers Iwatani, but Kagetsu throws the luggage at her to break it up. Mayu superkicks both Kagetsu and Wolf, but they come back with an assisted slam. Ebisu Drop by Kagetsu to Mayu but Wolf jumps over her and holds down both Mayu and Kagetsu for the three count! Kris Wolf is the new champion!

It is hard for me to be subjective here, since I am a big fan of Kris Wolf and have been closely following her career since she debuted in August of 2014. She is that fun and feisty wrestler that all promotions need, she isn’t a threat to be the Ace but she has an important role and has worked hard at improving. She missed several months due to concussions but came back with even more fire and antics; she has been a pleasure to watch. This match had some cute spots but obviously was limited by the triple threat rules, everything was hit smoothly though as they have a lot of practice together. I would have liked Mayu to have lost the belt after having it for so long in a bigger match with more of a rub to whomever beat her, but this was an easy way to get the belt off of her without her really losing anything as she continues her feud with Io. A fun lighthearted match, maybe not what you’d hope for in a title match but the High Speed Championship isn’t taken too seriously most of the time. A big moment for Kris, and much deserved.  Mildly Recommended

(c) Kairi Hojo vs. Jungle Kyona
Wonder of Stardom Championship

They immediately get into it as Kyona throws Kairi into the corner, elbows by Kairi and they trade shots. Dropkick by Kairi, sending Kyona out of the ring, Kairi goes out after her but Kyona moves when she charges in which causes Kairi to run into the ring post. Kyona slams Kairi into the apron before hitting a back bodydrop, she rolls Kairi back in and puts her in a backbreaker. Body avalanche by Kyona, and she covers Kairi for a two count. Crab hold by Kyona but Kairi gets into the ropes, she returns to her feet as they trade elbows until Kairi delivers a spear. Kyona falls out of the ring, Kairi goes up top and dives out onto her with a plancha. Kairi slides Kyona back in, Kairi goes up top and she hits a diving elbow strike for two. Ankle hold by Kairi but Kyona gets in the ropes, Kairi stomps on Kyona and starts working on her lower back. Kyona fights back with elbows but Kairi slaps her in the chest, flipping neckbreaker by Kairi and she covers Kyona for two. Final Cut by Kairi, she goes up top but Kyona recovers and joins her, they go back and forth until Kyona powerslams Kairi down to the mat for a two count. Kyona and Kairi trade elbows as they slowly get up, clubbing blows by Kyona but Kairi hits a spear.

Kyona holds on from the spear and slams Kairi to the mat, back up Kyona puts Kairi in a sleeper and spins her around before taking Kairi to the mat. Powerslam by Kyona, she goes up top and delivers a diving body press for a two count cover. Kyona deadlifts Kairi up but Kairi slides away and rolls up Kyouna for two. Kairi picks up Kyona but Kyona blocks the Alabama Slam and hits a powerbomb for a two count. Kyona deadlifts Kairi again, spins her around and nails a sit-down powerbomb but Kairi barely gets a shoulder up. Kyona picks up Kairi and hits a lariat, but Kairi rolls through the cover. Kyouna goes off the ropes but Kairi smacks her with a backhand, more spinning backhands by Kairi and she covers Kyona for a two count. Sliding D by Kairi, she picks up Kyona and delivers End Voyage but Kyona kicks out at two. Kairi gets Kyona near the corner and hits an Alabama Slam, Kyona grabs her as she tries to go up top but Kairi comes back and hits an elbow drop onto her ribs. Kairi goes up again but Kyona slowly joins her, Kairi knocks her down in a Tree of Woe and delivers the Marine Spike. Kairi goes back up top one last time, she nails the Diving Elbow Drop and she picks up the three count! Kairi Hojo retains the championship.

One of the best matches I have seen in Joshi so far this year. Anyone that is unsure of Kyona’s future in Stardom needs to watch this match, she is one of the best wrestlers to debut in the last two years in Japan. She’s stealthy strong but so crisp, she very rarely makes mistakes or looks out of place, everything is so smooth. I loved her trying so hard at the end to stop Kairi from climbing the top turnbuckle, she knew if Kairi hit the diving elbow drop she was done and was using every ounce of strength she had to prevent Kairi from hitting it. The swinging sleeper by Kyona was great and they did a good job mixing high spots, suplexes, strikes, and submissions so that the match stayed interesting throughout. A really entertaining match and a must-see, even if you aren’t familar with Kyona you won’t forget her after watching this one.  Highly Recommended

(c) Io Shirai vs. Shayna Baszler
World of Stardom Championship

Io won’t shake Shayna’s hand off the start and elbows her instead, Shayna quickly applies a sleeper but Io rolls away and they return to their feet. Io goes for a leapfrog but Shayna catches her and slams Io to the mat. Shayna picks up Io but Io wiggles away, Io goes off the ropes but Shayna knees her in the face. Shayna starts on Io’s arm, Io gets away after a moment and rolls out to the apron to re-group. She returns and puts Shayna in a stretch hold, but Shayna muscles out of it and slams Io again. Shayna quickly goes back to the arm, Io gets to the ropes but Shayna picks her up and slaps on the Sleeper. Io backs Shayna into the corner but Shayna applies the sleeper from the top turnbuckle until the referee forces her to break. Io quickly gets up and hits a springboard dropkick while Shayna is on the top turnbuckle, Frankensteiner by Io and Shayna quickly rolls out of the ring. Io goes up top and she dives way out over the corner onto Shayna on the floor, she sets up a chair on the floor and puts Shayna’s head in it. Io then dropkicks the chair, she then grabs the chair and throws it at Shayna. Io throws Shayna into the crowd before returning to the ring, with Shayna slowly following behind. Stomps by Io, she picks up Shayna and puts her in the armtrap crossface. Shayna gets to the ropes, Tiger Feint Kick by Io and she hits a swandive dropkick to the back of Shayna’s head.

Running double knee strike by Io in the corner and she covers Shayna for two. Io goes up top but Shayna smacks her before she can jump off, Shayna joins her and hits a gutwrench suplex down to the mat. Shayna rolls through it and hits a second one, cover by Shayna but Io gets a shoulder up. Shayna and Io trade elbows, kicks by Shayna and Io falls to the mat. Shayna goes for a running knee but Io move and delivers a German suplex hold. Shayna quickly puts her in a kimura but Io is too close to the ropes and forces the break. Shayna picks up Io and nails a high kick and spins Io into a sleeper hold, cover by Shayna but it gets a two count. Shayna picks up Io and hits a strike combination, Io runs over and headbutts Shayna before stomping her in the back. Moonsault to the back by Io, and she covers Shayna but as she kicks out, Shayna puts her in an armbar. Io gets out of it and puts Shayna in a Texas Cloverleaf, she release the hold after a moment and hits a package German hold for a two count. Io picks up Shayna and hits a tombstone piledriver, moonsault by Io and she picks up the three count! Io Shirai retains the World of Stardom Championship!

The best thing about this match is it just felt different than most of Io’s recent gaijin defenses. Shayna’s offense is unique (especially compared to other Stardom wrestlers), and in the biggest wrestling match in her career she really stepped up as this is the longest and most complete match I’ve ever seen her in. Her selling was also really good, as Io targeted the back and Shayna was holding it throughout the match, and it did indirectly lead to Io winning. Io’s dive outside the ring was impressive and the ending stretch was really well done. They had a tough match to follow but I think they really delivered, a quality main event and a fitting ending to a great show.  Recommended

The post Stardom “Stardom of Champions 2017” on 2/23/17 Review appeared first on Joshi City.

It is time for some February reviews! Up first is Stardom, this month the two Stardom shows I will be reviewing are this show and their big event on 2/23. I chose this one because it looked like the second best of the bunch on paper, plus I really love Konami and wanted to see her against Io Shirai. We also have one title match here, as Viper challenges Toni Storm for the SWA Undisputed World Women’s Championship. Here is the full card:

• Kris Wolf vs. Ruaka
• Hiromi Mimura vs. Zoe Lucas
• Jungle Kyona, Arisu Nanase, and Natsuko Tora vs. Shayna Baszler, Deonna Purrazzo, and Christi Jaynes
• Io Shirai vs. Konami
• SWA World Championship: Toni Storm vs. Viper
• Io Shirai and HZK vs. Kairi Hojo and Yoko Bito

You can click on the names above to go to their profiles on the site, since this was shown on Stardom World it is unclipped.

Kris Wolf vs. Ruaka

Wolf and Ruaka lock knuckles before trading wristlocks, Wolf puts Ruaka in the ropes and stretches her face. Wolf elbows Ruaka in the corner and puts her across the ropes, she then stands up on her back and and poses in the corner. Running knee by Wolf, and she covers Ruaka for a two count. Ruaka fights back as they trade elbows, snapmare by Wolf and she puts Ruaka in a crab hold. Ruaka gets to the ropes, Wolf picks her up and she slams Ruaka in front of the corner. Wolf gets on the second turnbuckle but Ruaka avoids her dive and boots Wolf in the chest. Running boot by Ruaka in the corner, she goes for a slam but Wolf blocks it. Reverse STO by Ruaka and she rolls up Wolf, but Wolf reverses it. Knees by Wolf and she hits a running knee in the corner, snapmare by Wolf and she kicks Ruaka in the back. Scoop slam by Wolf, she gets on the second turnbuckle and she delivers the diving kneedrop for the three count! Kris Wolf is the winner.

Even on the Stardom Opener Scale this was pretty basic, but when one of the wrestlers is 12 years old that is to be expected. Kris Wolf was fun as always but she was nicer than usual, no biting or poking. Nothing offensive but not much to it.

Hiromi Mimura vs. Zoe Lucas

After trading wristlocks to start, Zoe gets Hiromi to the mat but Hiromi quickly wiggles away and they return to their feet. Zoe wants a Test of Strength but Hiromi can’t reach the high so she kicks her instead, Hiromi goes off the ropes but Zoe kicks Hiromi in the chest. Knee by Zoe and she puts Hiromi in a guillotine, but Hiromi gets out of it and dropkicks Zoe in the corner. Shoulder tackle by Zoe but Hiromi ducks the PK and rolls up Zoe for two. Running crossbody by Hiromi, she rolls Zoe to the mat and she applies a leglock. Zoe gets into the ropes for the break, Hiromi tries to slam Zoe but Zoe blocks it. High kick by Zoe and she hits a fisherman suplex hold for a two count. Back up they trade elbows until Hiromi sneaks in a backslide for two, La Magistral by Hiromi but that gets a two count as well. High kick by Zoe, Hiromi goes off the ropes but Zoe kicks her in the head again. Spin Kick by Zoe and she picks up the three count! Zoe Lucas wins!

I try to be a positive happy kind of guy but this was bad. Its not something I can defend or try to find the bright side of, there is nothing particularly good here. I never have seen Zoe before so maybe this was an issue of wrestling in a new promotion against a new wrestler but she looked very stiff and awkward. Hiromi was her usual self but she needs someone really good to pull her up and it didn’t happen here. Even the ending looked partially botched, which I think was Hiromi being out of position but who knows. Not a good first impression for a wrestler on her first Stardom tour.

Jungle Kyona, Arisu Nanase, and Natsuko Tora vs. Shayna Baszler, Purrazzo, and Jaynes

Kyona and Shayna start things off, they try to shoulderblock each other over but neither can, so Shayna kicks Kyona to the mat. Kyona comes back with a hard shoulderblock to send Shayna off her feet, she quickly gets up and connects with a strike combination. She tags in Deonna, Christi comes in too but Kyona hits a double crossbody on both of them. Natsuko and Arisu jump in the ring and Deonna is triple teamed in the corner before posing on her. Kyona tags in Natsuko, shoulderblocks by Natsuko and she hits a body press on Deonna for two. Deonna fights back with elbows, kneelift by Deonna and she rakes Natsuko’s eyes with her boot. Deonna tags Shayna in, kicks by Shayna and she tags in Christi. Christi twists Natsuko’s arm in the ropes before Shayna returns, as they take turns attacking the rookie. Natsuko fights back against Christi and dropkicks her into the corner, she crawls to her corner and makes the hot tag to Arisu. Elbows by Arisu to Christi and she dropkicks her, Kyona come sin to help but so does Shayna. Arisu hits a spinning headscissors onto Shayna and hits a crossbody on Christi, but Christi drops her with a STO.

Enzuigiri by Christi, but the cover is broken up. She tags in Deonna, she picks up Arisu and hits a neckbreaker for a two count. Arisu gets away and dropkicks Deonna, giving her time to tag in Kyona. Backdrop suplex by Kyona but Deonna retorts with a release German, she gets to her corner and tags Shayna. Natsuko is tagged in too and she dropkicks Shayna, but Shayna spears her for a two count. Shayna goes for a cross armbreaker but Kyona breaks it up, Kyona picks up Shayna and with Natsuko they hit a double shoulderblock. Senton by Natsuko, but Shayna kicks out. Christi comes in but Kyona lariats her, while Natsuko keeps the attack on Shayna. Natsuko gets on the second turnbuckle but Shayna grabs her and hits a bridging vertical suplex for two. Fisherman Buster by Shayna, but Kyona breaks up the pin. Arisu comes in too but Shayna suplexes both of them, she kicks Natsuko in the stomach and delivers a rolling gutwrench suplexes for the three count! Shayna Baszler, Deonna Purrazzo, and Christi James are the winners.

This match really lagged some towards the beginning and I was concerned, but it picked up at the end and turned out to be a decent match. Christi is still early in her career but never looked lost, easy to hide new wrestlers in six wrestler tag matches but no one in this one stood out as being out of place. Shayna continues to impress, and Kyona asserted herself as ready to continue her ascension up the card. Nothing overly exciting but an above average midcard match.

Io Shirai vs. Konami

Io won’t shake hands before the match, Konami gets Io on the ground first but Io switches positions with her and both return to their feet. Io pushes Konami into the ropes, Konami switches positions with her and instead of giving a clean break she kicks Io in the head. Punches and knees by Konami and she kicks Io in the chest for a two count cover. Waistlock by Konami but Io gets into the ropes, knees by Konami but Io ducks the PK and rolls Konami up before kicking her in the back of the head. Dropkick by Io and she knees Konami into the corner, Io goes up top and she delivers a missile dropkick. Io picks up Konami but she blocks the facebuster and puts Io in an ankle hold. Io inches to the ropes to force a break, kicks to the leg by Konami but Io knocks her back. Kick to the stomach by Konami and she dropkicks Io in the leg, Konami charges Io but Io moves out of the way and dropkicks Konami. Dragon screw by Io and she hits the running double knee in the corner, double underhook facebuster by Io and she covers Konami for a two count. Io goes for the moonsault but Konami kicks her in the leg before she can jump off, Konami pulls Io off the turnbuckles and puts her in a sleeper. Schoolboy into an ankle hold by Konami, release German by Konami and she nails the Buzzsaw Kick for two. Konami picks up Io and applies an ankle hold into a pin, but Io kicks out and rolls up Konami with the Magistra del Io for the three count! Io Shirai sneaks out a win.

Let me count the ways I loved this match. Just for full disclosure, I will openly admit these are two of my favorite current wrestlers so naturally I am going to enjoy watching them face off. But the reason they are two of my favorite is because they are so damn good in the ring, and they immediately had chemistry. It was very different than the normal Io match as Konami dominated, Io never did her big comeback or got a chance to be cocky as Konami stayed on her from bell to bell. Io still won since she is a crafty veteran with a big bag of tricks, but it came across as Konami having her number and Io having to get the win by any means. I wish it was longer of course, I’d love to see them in a main-event style match, but for a sub-10 minute match I thought it was fantastic. If you haven’t seen Konami before, just two years into her career she is already great at what she does, a really fun match.  Highly Recommended

(c) Toni Storm vs. Viper
SWA World Championship

After trading waistlocks and wristlocks Storm gets Viper to the mat, she starts working on Viper’s arm but Viper trips her and applies a leglock. Storm gets out of it and applies a headlock, headscissors by Viper but Storm gets out of it and shakes Viper’s hand as she lets her back up. Storm and Viper lock knuckles, monkey flip by Viper but they reach another stalemate. Hard shoulderblock by Viper, armdrag by Viper but Storm rolls her up for a two count. Viper returns the favor before they return to their feet again, Storm rakes Viper in the eyes and chops her in the corner. Viper jumps out to the apron but Storm boots her down to the floor, she gets a start off the far ropes and hits a tope suicida. Stomps by Storm and she tries to chop Viper against the post, but Viper moves out of the way. Storm rolls Viper back into the ring but Viper hits a crossbody as Storm returns herself.

Viper chops Storm in the corner, Storm fights back with elbows but Viper hits a crossbody for two. Viper jumps on the second turnbuckle and hits a quick tornado DDT, running butt smash by Storm and she covers Viper for a two count. Storm goes for a piledriver but Viper blocks it, she puts Storm on the top turnbuckle and Storm goes for another tornado DDT, but Viper blocks it and slams her to the mat. Cannonball by Viper, and she covers Storm for two. Viper picks up Storm but Storm slides away, headbutt by Viper but Storm headbutts her back. Backstabber by Storm, but Viper kicks out of the pin. Storm goes up top and delivers a diving leg drop, and again Viper barely gets a shoulder up. Storm goes off the ropes but Viper grabs her and hits a Michinoku Driver. Cover by Viper, but Storm rolls out of it and holds down Viper’s shoulders for a three count! Toni Storm is still the champion.

This match was weird. I don’t even know how to describe it. The first third was mat wrestling and a few “mutual respect” spots. Then it went straight to be moves (tope suicida, tornado DDT, etc.) before going into the home stretch with very little build. It wasn’t that anything they did was bad, but the way it was structured I never really got into the match. The action itself was generally smooth, just as a match it didn’t really do anything for me, it lacked the passion and the sense of urgency you’d like to see in a title match. Two good wrestlers but a disappointing match between them.

Io Shirai and HZK vs. Kairi Hojo and Yoko Bito

Kairi and HZK begin the match, quick dropkick by HZK but Kairi chops her to the mat. Elbows by HZK and she hits another dropkick, mounted elbows by HZK but Kairi trades positions with her and hits elbows of her own. HZK throws down Kairi by her hair repeatedly, Io grabs Kairi from the apron but Bito grabs HZK as well. Io gets in the ring and they double team Kairi, Bito comes in too however and they dropkick Io and HZK out of the ring. Kairi then gets on the top turnbuckle and dives out of the ring onto both of them, while Bito holds them in place. Kairi rolls HZK back in, Kairi slams HZK to the mat and covers her for two. She tags in Bito, kicks by Bito and she dropkicks HZK in the chest. Kairi is tagged back in, she knocks Io off the apron and invites Bito into the ring so they can double team HZK some more. Kairi picks up HZK but HZK hits a double chop and tags in Io. Bito immediately comes in too but Io dropkicks both of them, Io knees Kairi in the corner and covers her for two. Io tags HZK, HZK throws Kairi in the corner and nails a running boot to Kairi’s face. HZK puts Io in a camel clutch before hitting a curb stomp, Io returns and she kicks Kairi around the ring. Chops by Io but Kairi levels her with a spear and tags in Bito. Bito picks up Io and dropkicks her in the corner, vertical suplex by Bito and she suplexes HZK onto Io for a two count. Bito tries to PK Io but Io ducks it and puts Bito in the armtrap crossface, Kairi tries to help but HZK intercepts her and puts her in the same hold. Bito crawls to the ropes and eventually makes it for the break, Io goes for the Tiger Feint Kick but Bito ducks it and makes the hot tag to Kairi.

Kairi snaps Io’s leg and elbows it while it is in the ropes, she goes up top and hits a diving elbow smash for a two count. Kairi applies an ankle hold but Io kicks her away, Io is up first but Kairi hits a headscissors into a roll-up for two. Stretch Muffler by Kairi, Io stands up to get out of it but Kairi hits an Alabama Slam. She climbs up top but HZK grabs her from the apron, this gives Io times to recover and she hits a Frankensteiner. Running double knee by Io in the corner, but she hurts her own leg in the process, Kairi elbows Io but Io hits a palm strike and both wrestlers fall to the mat. They both crawl to their respective corners and tag out, Bito tosses HZK out to the apron before hitting a leg sweep and a kick to the back. Bito goes up top and hits a missile dropkick, cover by Bito but it gets two. Kairi then goes up top and hits a footstomp while HZK is hanging over the top rope, vertical suplex by Bito and Kairi goes for a backfist, but HZK ducks and Kairi hits Bito by accident. Swandive missile dropkick by Io to Kairi while HZK kicks Bito in the head, Manami Roll by HZK but Bito kicks out of the cover. Io and HZK double team Bito, Bito fights back and temporarily regains the advantage until Io helps HZK hit a tornado DDT. Assisted moonsault by Io to Bito, jackknife cover by HZK but Kairi breaks it up. HZK goes to the second turnbuckle and hits a diving senton, but Bito gets a shoulder up. HZK goes up top but Bito recovers and joins her, Io hits Bito from behind and powerbombs Bito. Io goes for a moonsault but Bito rolls out of the way, Kairi hits a diving elbow drop on Io while Bito hits a superplex on HZK. Sliding D/kick combination to HZK, Bito picks up HZK and hits the B-Driller for the three count! Kairi Hojo and Yoko Bito are the winners!

A solid house show main event but that’s about it. I really don’t think that Bito is on the level of Kairi or Io, at least not yet. She is still a bit awkward, which she was back in 2012 as well, she is good with strikes but is generally not as fluid as a lot of the other wrestlers in Stardom. HZK wasn’t asked to do as much but looked good in what she did, and Io remembering her injured leg (maybe even carrying it over from the previous match) was a nice touch. An entertaining home stretch and generally a fun match, but pretty standard with nothing to set it apart from other similar matches these teams have had the last few months.  Mildly Recommended

The post Stardom Kyoto Stars on 2/4/17 Review appeared first on Joshi City.

As I mentioned in my review of the Stardom show on January 8th, on this tour Stardom happened to bring in quite a few wrestlers that I like so I am looking forward to this event. The show lost a big match when Mayu Iwatani was too sick to wrestle Momo Watanabe for the High Speed Championship, so Momo got thrown into a different match instead. But we still do have two title matches, with Kay Lee Ray and Nixon Newell challenging for the tag team championship and Viper challenging for the World of Stardom Championship. Here is the full card:

• Arisu Nanase and Azumi vs. Ruaka and Natsuko Tora
• HZK vs. Konami vs. Kris Wolf
• Hiromi Mimura vs. Saori Anou
• Jungle Kyona vs. Momo Watanabe vs. Shayna Baszler
• Goddess of Stardom Championship: Kairi Hojo and Yoko Bito vs. Kay Lee Ray and Nixon Newell
• World of Stardom Championship: Io Shirai vs. Viper

Clicking on the names above will take you to that wrestler’s profile on Joshi City. Since I am watching the Stardom World version of the show, it will be shown in full but no multi-cam setup.

Arisu Nanase and Azumi vs. Ruaka and Natsuko Tora

Arisu and Natsuko start the match and they lock-up, Natsuko pushes Arisu into the ropes but she gives a mostly clean break. Azumi attacks Natsuko from behind and they double team her in the corner, but Natsuko snapmares Arisu and kicks her in the back. Natsuko tags in Ruaka, she kicks Arisu back into her own corner which allows her to tag in Azumi. Front necklock by Azumi to Ruaka and she throws her into the corner, but Ruaka elbows her and they trade strikes. Scoop slam by Azumi and she applies a crab hold, but Ruaka crawls to the ropes and forces the break. Natsuko tries to help but Azumi boots her off the apron and hits a footstomp onto Ruaka’s back. Ruaka is already in her corner so she tags Natsuko, shoulderblock by Natsuko to Azumi and she hits two more for a two count cover. Natsuko goes for a leg sweep but Azumi blocks it and hits a DDT. Dropkicks by Azumi and she applies a satellite roll-up for a two count. Azumi tags in Arisu, elbows by Arisu but Natsuko elbows her back. Natsuko throws down Arisu by her hair, Irish whip by Natsuko but Arisu rolls through it and hits a dropkick. Anther dropkick by Arisu but Natsuko hits a senton and tags in Ruaka. Big boot by Ruaka in the corner and she hits a second one, she goes for a scoop slam but Arisu blocks it. Natsuko comes in and hits a side Russian leg sweep on Arisu, big boot by Ruaka and she covers Arisu for two. Azumi comes in but Natsuko cuts her off, shoulderblock by Natsuko to Azumi but Arisu dropkicks her. Ruaka runs over and rolls up Arisu, but it only gets a two count. Back up, Reverse STO by Ruaka and she puts Arisu in a crab hold, but Arisu gets out of it and applies a jackknife cover for the three count! Arisu Nanase and Azumi win!

For an opening rookie match this was fine. It felt longer than it really was, which is never a good sign, and it lacked a veteran to help tie things together as the tag in/out transitions were pretty lackluster. But the action itself was ok, and Ruaka and Natsuko appear to be coming along nicely. Nothing special but nothing offensive either.

HZK vs. Konami vs. Kris Wolf

Kris Wolf immediately leaves the ring to sit in the crowd as the match starts, so HZK and Konami are alone in the ring. HZK and Konami trade holds until Kris suddenly returns to help Konami, they both kick HZK to the mat but Kris stops Konami when she goes for the cover. All three get back up and get into a triple knuckle lock, but HZK and Konami promptly kick Kris out of the ring. She returns and dropkicks Konami, but HZK dropkicks Kris back out and hits bootscrapes on Konami in the corner. HZK clubs Konami in the chest and covers her, but it only gets two. HZK goes off the ropes but Konami kicks her in the chest, running knee by Konami but that gets a two as well. Konami quickly goes for the cross armbreaker but Kris runs in and covers both of them for a two count. Enzuigiri by Kris to Konami and she hits a running knee in the corner, suplex by Kris but Konami kicks out of the cover. Kris goes off the ropes but HZK kicks her from the apron and snaps her neck over the top rope. Konami kicks HZK back to the floor and grabs Kris by the tail before hitting a release German. Buzzsaw Kick by Konami, but Kris barely gets a shoulder up. Konami applies a necklock but HZK breaks it up, she elbows Konami but Konami elbows her back and they trade shots. HZK punches Konami into the corner but Konami kicks her in the stomach, Konami charges HZK but HZK boots her in the head. HZK goes up top but Kris quickly runs in and covers Konami, so HZK has to hop back down to break up the pin. HZK goes off the ropes but Konami connects with a back kick, Konami charges HZK but HZK pulls down the top rope and Konami falls to the floor. Kris runs over and attacks HZK, she goes for a kick but HZK ducks it and applies the armtrap crossface. Bodyscissors by HZK, she rolls Kris around the ring before holding down her shoulders and getting the three count! HZK gets the win.

This was actually a lot better than I was expecting. Still a shortish early card match, but the action was really solid and they worked together well. Konami looked great, you wouldn’t have guessed this was her first tour with Stardom as she had good chemistry with both wrestlers. Kris trying to get the win by sneaky means throughout the match added a wrinkle to it, and the spots all connected well without any awkward moments. Hard to recommend a match like this in a vacuum, but for where it was on the card/expectations I thought it succeeded.

Hiromi Mimura vs. Saori Anou

Hiromi is all business here as they trade waistlocks, shoulderblock by Saori and she hits another, but Hiromi blocks the third with a drop toehold and dropkicks Saori near the ropes. Hiromi puts Saori in the ropes and dropkicks her a few more times, crab hold by Hiromi but Saori gets to the ropes for the break. Irish whip by Hiromi but Saori reverses it, dropkick by Hiromi but Saori fires back with a shoulderblock. Hiromi and Saori trade elbows, Saori wins the battle and gets Hiromi on her shoulders, but Hiromi slides off and stomps her to the mat. Hiromi goes off the ropes but Saori boots her and hits a sidewalk slam. Fisherman Suplex by Saori, and she covers Hiromi for two. Saori picks up Hiromi and hits a jumping knee in the corner, she goes for another one but Hiromi moves and schoolboys her for two. Elevated DDT by Hiromi and she hits a rebound bulldog out of the corner for another two count. Hiromi goes up top but Saori joins her before she can jump off, Hiromi slaps Saori back to the mat and hits a diving crossbody followed by La Magistral for two. Hiromi picks up Saori and applies a headlock, Saori punches out of it as Hiromi jumps up on the second turnbuckle, but Saori grabs her and hits rolling Fisherman Suplexes for a two count. Backslide by Hiromi, she charges Anou but Anou applies a backslide into a bridge for the three count! Saori Anou is the winner.

This was a touch better than their last match. Maybe. There are just too many small things that Hiromi doesn’t do quite right, her offense can look awkward (such as the bulldog) and she telegraphs transitions (such as sitting on the turnbuckles for no reason so Saori could suplex her off). Saori is solid but isn’t experienced enough to cover for these types of issues, so the match was just rough around the edges. Both are still early enough in their careers that it isn’t the end of the world, but I don’t think either are quite ready yet to be elevated higher on the card than they are right now.

Jungle Kyona vs. Momo Watanabe vs. Shayna Baszler

All three get into a knuckle lock to start, which Baszler wins with little issue and she puts both opponents in a headlock. Baszler locks both their arms before stacking Momo and Kyona in the corner, but both avoid her charge. Momo dropkicks Baszler but when Kyona goes after Baszler she is intercepted by a Momo dropkick. Momo quickly regrets this as Baszler kicks her repeatedly in the leg before a kick to the chest sends Momo to the mat. Baszler charges Momo but Momo dropkicks her, she charges again but she is caught in the ropes and Momo dropkicks her out of the ring. Kyona gives Momo a couple hard shoulderblocks but Momo gets away from her and kicks Kyona in the chest. Kyona kicks her back and applies the airplane spin before slamming Momo to the mat. Kyona picks up Momo and spins her into the returning Baszler, she puts them both into the corner and hits a body avalanche. Kyona goes for a face crusher on Baszler but Baszler slams on the breaks and hits a backdrop suplex. Baszler tries to pick up Kyona but Kyona flops to the mat, she finally gets her up as Momo gets on the second turnbuckle, but Baszler moves and Momo missile dropkicks Kyona on accident. Baszler charges Momo but Momo pulls down the top rope and Baszler lands out on the floor. Momo goes up top but Kyona avoids the avalanche Somato, hard shoulderblock by Kyona and she gets a two count. Momo and Kyona both go for backslides, Baszler comes back in the ring but she eats a double dropkick.

Kyona and Momo go off the ropes to do their old double team move, but Kyona instead hits a lariat onto Momo. Baszler punches Kyona, Momo tries to hit Baszler but she hits Kyona by accident. Double lariat by Baszler and she hits jumping knees on both Kyona and Momo in opposite corners. Baszler grabs Momo and suplexes her onto Kyona, double cover by Baszler but they kick out. Vertical suplex by Baszler to Momo, but Momo gets a shoulder up. Baszler kicks Momo and hits a dragon screw, she applies a kneelock but Kyona goes up top and hits a body press onto Momo, she covers her but Baszler breaks it up by picking her up and hitting rolling gutwrench suplexes. Cover, but Kyona kicks out. Baszler picks up Kyona and goes for the Waterwheel Drop, but Kyona slides away and goes off the ropes as she tries to lariat Baszler over. It doesn’t work, high kick by Baszler and she goes off the ropes, but Kyona finally does manage to lariat Baszler down. Cover by Kyona, but Momo breaks it up by hitting a Somato onto Kyona for a two count of her own. All three are slow to get up, but as they do Baszler hits a spear on Momo. Baszler picks up Kyona, Momo charges them but Baszler suplexes both of them to the mat. Baszler puts Kyona into a sleeper, once Kyona is out of it she spins her again and hits the Waterwheel Drop. Cover by Baszler and she gets the three count! Shayna Baszler wins!

All things considered, I thought they did a really good job. For a last minute situation, Momo and Kyona’s interactions were all on point as occasionally they’d have to work together since Baszler is so big, but other times they’d go after each other as bitter enemies. Kyona lariating Momo instead of doing their old move together was a great moment, showing that even if they sometimes helped each other here they were far from friends. Baszler looked good as she tends to, she hit her power moves well and looked like a dominate force and not a comedy act like in the last show I watched. Overall a pretty solid match that furthered a few storylines even if it wasn’t really planned.  Mildly Recommended

(c) Kairi Hojo and Yoko Bito vs. Kay Lee Ray and Nixon Newell
Goddesses of Stardom Championship

Kay Lee Ray and Nixon attack Kairi and Yoko during the customary handshake but the champions quickly take back over. The challengers recover as Nixon picks up Kay Lee Ray so that Kay Lee Ray can kick both of their opponents and they both then hit jumping lariats. Kairi is thrown into the corner but she slides out onto the apron, Yoko comes in and she knocks both Kay Lee Ray and Nixon out of the ring. Kairi then goes up top and dives down onto the floor, but her opponents move and she lands on Yoko by accident. Nixon and Kay Lee Ray take Yoko and Kairi up on different sides of the stands, leading up to opposite balconies. Kay Lee Ray and Nixon then get onto their own balcony and dive down onto they opponents, they quickly sprint back to the ring while the referee starts his count. Kairi and Yoko are assisted back to the ring, Nixon stays in with Kairi so they appear to the the legal wrestlers as Nixon covers Kairi for a two count. Nixon tags in Kay Lee Ray, Kay Lee Ray stomps on Kairi and she hits a scoop slam for two. Nixon returns as the Kairi Beatdown continues, she briefly gets away but Nixon stops her from making the hot tag. Kicks by Nixon, she goes off the ropes but Kairi does too and she delivers the spear. Kay Lee Ray runs in but Kairi kicks her off and she finally makes the tag to Yoko.

Kicks by Yoko to everyone but Nixon and Kay Lee Ray catch her with a double vertical suplex. She fires back with a double lariat, Yoko then picks up Kay Lee Ray and drops her onto Nixon for a two count cover. Yoko goes up top and connects with a missile dropkick to Nixon, she picks her up but Nixon headbutts her and tags in Kay Lee Ray. Kay Lee Ray chops Yoko into the corner but Yoko delivers a head kick, they trade kicks until both of them fall to the mat. They both manage to tag out, Nixon superkicks Kairi and hits a pair of running elbows in the corner, but Kairi avoids the third. Rebound crossbody by Nixon out of the corner and she tags Kay Lee Ray, double superkick to Kairi and they connect with a catapult dropkick for two. Yoko comes in but eats a double headbutt, they go back to Kairi but Kairi drops them with a headscissors/DDT combination. Yoko puts Kay Lee Ray draped over the top rope, Kairi hits a diving footstomp onto her back and Yoko follows with a suplex. Dragon Sleeper by Kairi to Kay Lee Ray and they hit a Final Cut/Kick combination, Kairi goes up top but Nixon kicks her from the apron, Kay Lee Ray grabs Kairi and with Nixon they hit a Gory Bomb/Superkick combination. Shining Wizard by Nixon, Kay Lee Ray covers Kairi but Yoko breaks it up. Kay Lee Ray crouches so that Nixon can go for a Super Shining Wizard, but Yoko catches her in midair with a kick to the face. Sliding D by Kairi to Kay Lee Ray, Yoko then picks up Kay Lee Ray and she delivers the B Driller. A Diving Elbow Drop by Kairi quickly follows and she picks up the three count pinfall! Kairi Hojo and Yoko Bito are still the champions!

I think a match like this would probably be better with full production so I reserve the right to come back later and change my opinion, but I still thought it was great. Both teams work so well together, everything was so smooth and seamless which says a lot as there was constantly something going on. The ending came quick but I actually liked it that way, both teams were having issues keeping both of their opponents down so the most logical way to win was to knock out one and finish off the other as fast as possible. We had balcony dives, devastating strikes, and everything else you could hope for. I do wish it was longer as it was under 15 minutes, but I often think that when two teams are really clicking. I am going to re-watch it in a couple days on Samurai TV to get a better view of all the action, but a very early contender for best Joshi match of 2017.  Recommended

(c) Io Shirai vs. Viper
World of Stardom Championship

Viper throws down Io after the bell rings to assert her dominance, elbows by Viper but Io kicks her away when she goes for an elbow drop. Io goes off the ropes but Viper decks her with a body block, Io gets Viper’s back but Viper gets away. Elbows by Io but Viper throws her into the corner and hits a body avalanche. Body press by Viper, but Io kicks out of the cover. Viper beats down Io for several minutes, she goes for a back bodydrop but Io kicks her in the head. Dropkick by Io, and Viper rolls out of the ring to re-group. Io goes off the ropes and sails out onto Viper with a tope suicida, she then puts a chair around Viper’s neck and slams it into the floor. With Viper’s head still in the chair, Io gets a running start and dropkicks it, she then gets on the top turnbuckle but Viper has recovered and hits her before she can jump off. Viper gets Io on her shoulders while standing on the apron before tossing her to the floor on top of other Stardom wrestlers. Viper then gets a running start on the apron and jumps down onto the crowd, hurting everyone in the process.

They slowly get back into the ring, Viper goes off the ropes but Io catches her arm and applies an armtrap crossface. Tiger Feint Kick attempt by Io but Viper catches her and puts Io in an Argentine Backbreaker. Cover by Viper, but it only gets two. Viper picks up Io but Io wiggles out of it and lands on the apron, she goes for a swandive move but Viper elbows her. Io stands up on the apron but Viper hits a lariat, Viper goes out to the apron and she hits a running senton while Io is still lying on the apron herself. Viper slides Io back into the ring and hits a running crossbody, but Io kicks out of the cover. Io gets away from Viper and hits a missile dropkick, she goes for a German suplex but Viper gets out of it. Io knees Viper in the back and hits the Tiger Feint Kick, swandive missile dropkick by Io and she covers Viper for two. Running double knee by Io in the corner, she goes for the moonsault but Viper gets both feet up to block it. Io charges Viper in the corner but Viper moves, cannonball by Viper and she hits a Reverse Splash for a two count. Viper goes up top but Io avoids the diving bodypress, leaving both wrestlers down on the mat. They slowly recover and trade elbows, palm strike by Io and she dropkicks Viper in the knee. Io goes for a kick but Viper elbows her leg away and delivers a lariat. Michinoku Driver by Viper, but Io gets a shoulder up on the cover. Viper puts Io up top and joins her, she puts Io on her shoulders but Io reverses whatever she planned on doing with a Frankensteiner. Moonsault by Io, she picks up Viper and hits a delayed German suplex. Instead of holding onto it, she rolls through the hold and delivers a cross-arm suplex hold, picking up the three count! Io Shirai retains the championship!

Another quality match, and better than their last singles match as they got more time and freedom to do bigger spots. Io is in an odd place right now, as she is simultaneously the head of the heel faction, but also still the Protector of Stardom Against Giant Gaijins, which in theory is a ‘good guy’ role. But her wrestling style really hasn’t changed either way, especially here since she was more the face than the heel. Viper’s offense can look a bit rough but it is effective, and Io showed off her strength by hitting a couple suplexes on her to send the crowd home satisfied. A good way to end the show, predictable but still an enjoyable journey as Io overcame another obstacle again to stay the Ace of Stardom.  Recommended

The post Stardom 6th Anniversary on 1/15/17 Review appeared first on Joshi City.

Jumping ahead with Stardom a little bit. For 2017 I am trying to not review more than two events for a promotion per month and since I will be reviewing Stardom 1/15 next week, I had to be selective. This was not Stardom’s 2nd biggest show of the month, I am reviewing it because I thought that Kairi and Konami teaming was adorable. Doesn’t mean it won’t be a fun show even though its a small one, as we have a fistful of new gaijins plus Queen’s Quest in the main event. Here is the full card:

• Arisu Nanase vs. Azumi
• Kris Wolf vs. Natsuko Tora
• Hiromi Mimura vs. Shayna Baszler vs. Viper
• Kairi Hojo and Konami vs. Kay Lee Ray and Nixon Newell
• Io Shirai, Momo Watanabe, and HZK vs. Yoko Bito, Jungle Kyona, and Mayu Iwatani

As always, you can click on the names above to go to the wrestler’s profile on Joshi City. Since this aired on Stardom World, it will be shown in full.

Arisu Nanase vs. Azumi

Azumi won’t shake Arisu’s hand so Arisu dropkicks her in the back when she turns around, backslide attempt by Arisu and she dropkicks Azumi. Double wrist armsault by Arisu, she throws Azumi into the corner but Azumi reverses it and hits a dropkick. Crab hold by Azumi but Azumi gets out of it and they trade quick pins. La Magistral by Azumi, but Arisu barely kicks out. An Oklahoma Roll gets the same result, Azumi then jumps on Arisu and applies a Japanese Leg Roll Clutch for the three count! Azumi wins!

A very short match but not without some purpose. This was Azumi’s first pinfall over Arisu, so it keeps up the storyline of these two battling for supremacy at the beginning of the card. Arisu is pretty great for a 15 year old but didn’t get much of a chance to show off anything here, just a quick storyline-driven match.

Kris Wolf vs. Natsuko Tora

They lock up to start, Kris gets Natsuko to the mat but Natsuko rolls her up for a two count. Back up they trade holds until Kris snaps Natsuko’s arm on the second rope. Kris goes out to the apron while Natsuko is hanging over it and hits a running knee, back in the ring she stands on Natsuko’s stomach before hitting a double knee drop. Kris slams Natsuko into the corner and chops her in the chest, jumping knee by Kris and she covers Natsuko for two. Belly Claw by Kris but Natsuko gets into the ropes, Natsuko fights back with elbows but Kris kicks her in the chest. Running knee by Kris, she picks up Natsuko but she ducks the next one and rolls up Kris for two. Natsuko bites on Kris’ tail but Kris bites her ankle until both let go, stomps by Natsuko and she hits a body press followed by a senton. Another senton by Natsuko and she hits a third for a two count cover. Natsuko gets on the second turnbuckle but Kris rolls to the other side, but she hops back off and hits a Side Russian Leg Sweep. Natsuko puts Kris in a submission but Kris inches to the ropes and forces a break. Natsuko picks up Kris but Kris sneaks in a roll-up, knee to the stomach by Kris and she applies a schoolboy. Kick to the face by Kris, she gets on the second turnbuckle and delivers the diving double knee drop for the three count! Kris Wolf is the winner.

Because Kris Wolf has a comedic element to her wrestling style, I think a lot of Stardom fans don’t notice that she is also a really solid wrestler. She has to stay within her character but her timing and strikes are on point and she led the rookie well here. Natsuko is still a bit rough around the edges, as would be expected, as that smoothness can take some time to develop. A fine early card match, simple but perfectly watchable.

Hiromi Mimura vs. Shayna Baszler vs. Viper

Shayna and Viper completely ignore Hiromi as the match starts as they are focused solely on each other, Viper punches Shayna but Shayna punches her back as thy trade blows. Hiromi jumps in and elbows them both but is swatted to the mat, waistlock by Shayna to Viper but Viper elbows her off. Viper clubs Shayna to her knees and goes off the ropes, but Shayna applies a cross armbreaker takedown. Viper gets out of it, Hiromi goes up top but Shayna puts her in a Triangle Choke when she jumps off. Viper breaks it up, Hiromi hits a diving crossbody on Viper but Shayna pulls her off and focuses back on Viper. Viper and Shayna trade strikes, Hiromi runs over to get involved but both Shayna and Viper fall to the mat before she can do so. Hiromi covers both of them for two counts, Shayna and Viper get back up and take turns trying to slam Hiromi but they keep stopping each other from completing the move. Hiromi dropkicks Shayna into Viper and kicks Shayna so that she gives Viper a Stunner, cover by Hiromi but Viper kicks out. Shayna hits rolling gutwrench suplexes on Hiromi, waterwheel drop but Viper breaks up the pin. Shayna tries to pick up Viper but Viper blocks it and hits a body avalanche in the corner. Body press by Viper to Hiromi, and she picks up the three count! Viper wins the match.

I realize this is just a midcard match on a house show that most people won’t see, but I actively hate this style of Stardom match. Not the comedy triple threat, but the comedy triple threats that have a monster gaijin that I am supposed to be taking seriously. In her first tour, I just don’t like seeing Shayna doing comedy spots with Hiromi, it doesn’t help that ‘asskicking’ aura that I think she naturally has without any help. Having Viper there too just made it worse since she is in the same boat. On top of that, much of the match wasn’t done well, it clearly was thrown together with some spot ideas but without thinking about how they would be executed. I’m glad this wasn’t at Korakuen, but still this match didn’t do anyone any favors.

Kairi Hojo and Konami vs. Kay Lee Ray and Nixon Newell

Kay Lee Ray and Nixon attack before the bell rings and the action spills out to the floor, with the European wrestlers controlling things. Kay Lee Ray throws Kairi into the ring post while Nixon slams Konami into the apron, Kay Lee Ray dropkicks Konami before Nixon hits a catapult dropkick onto Kairi. Kairi and Konami are both slid back into the ring as the double teaming continues, but the momentum swings as Konami and Kairi take over and connect with unison strikes on Kay Lee Ray and Nixon. Things finally settle down with Kay Lee Ray and Kairi in the ring together, they trade strikes until Kay Lee Ray chops Kairi to the mat. Headscissors by Kairi but Kay Lee Ray avoids her when Kairi charges in and plants her on the mat for a two count. Kay Lee Ray picks up Kairi, Nixon comes in but Kairi kicks Nixon away and rolls up Kay Lee Ray for two. Spear by Kairi to Kay Lee Ray and she makes the tag to Konami, kicks by Konami to Kay Lee Ray with a head kick sending Kay Lee Ray to one knee.

Konami goes for the fisherman suplex but Kay Lee Ray blocks it, Konami goes off the ropes but Kay Lee Ray catches her with a dropkick for a two count. Kay Lee Ray picks up Konami and tags Nixon, double superkick by Nixon and Kay Lee Ray and Nixon connects with running elbows in the corner. Konami finally avoids one but Nixon kicks her in the head, Nixon goes up top and she hits a diving crossbody for two when Kairi breaks up the cover. Takedown by Konami and she applies a kneelock, Kairi gets on the second turnbuckle while Nixon is still on the hold and hits a diving elbow drop. Kay Lee Ray tries to help but Kairi puts her in an Octopus Hold while Konami keeps the knee lock applied to Nixon, but Nixon finally makes it to the ropes. Release German by Konami and she nails a Buzzsaw Kick, but Kay Lee Ray breaks up the cover. Konami picks up Nixon and elbows her against the ropes, but Nixon superkicks her while Kay Lee Ray also superkicks Kairi. Nixon slams Konami in front of the corner, Swanton Bomb by Kay Lee Ray to Konami and Nixon follows with a Shining Wizard for the three count! Kay Lee Ray and Nixon Newell are your winners.

Even though this one had a ‘house show’ feel (under ten minutes, mostly general chaos), I still enjoyed it. Each of their individual strengths shown through, but Kay Lee Ray as usual stole the show. Her Swanton Bomb was absolutely insane, as Nixon set her up a bit far away so she had to clear half the ring. Kairi took a backseat which is unusual for her, as Konami did much of the work once they returned to the ring. A fun match, nothing mind-blowing but a good introduction for some new wrestlers to Stardom fans.  Mildly Recommended

Io Shirai, Momo Watanabe, and HZK vs. Yoko Bito, Jungle Kyona, and Mayu Iwatani

Momo and Mayu are the first two in, swinging headscissors by Mayu but Momo armdrags her and they end up in a stalemate. Io and Yoko tag in and lock knuckles, snapmare by Yoko but Io ducks the PK. Leg sweep by Yoko and she kicks Io in the back before hitting the PK on the second attempt. Back up, dropkick by Io and they tag out as HZK and Kyona come in. Kyona throws HZK in the corner but HZK avoids her charge and applies a sleeper. Kyona slams HZK into the corner to get out of it, body avalanche by Kyona but Momo kicks her from the apron. HZK kicks Kyona in the corner before hitting a body slam and tagging in Momo. Momo puts Kyona in the ropes and pulls her hair, dropkick by Momo and she covers Kyona for two. Momo tags in Io, HZK comes in too and they double team Kyona. Handstand kneedrop by Io, she throws Kyona into the corner and stomps her down to a seated position. The beatdown on Kyona lasts several minutes, Yoko comes in to help but HZK tosses her out of the ring. Yoko elbows Io from the apron and Kyona hits a jumping crossbody on all three opponents, giving her time to tag in Yoko. Yoko kicks Io in the chest and hits a double vertical suplex on Io and HZK before dropping Momo onto both of them. Cover by Yoko to Io, but it gets two. Yoko kicks Io in the corner repeatedly and tags in Mayu, missile dropkick by Mayu and she goes for the dragon suplex, but Io blocks it and applies an armbar. Mayu goes for a spinning headscissors but Io lands on her feet, Mayu knocks Io against the ropes but Io trips her and hits a slingshot dropkick.

Io tags Momo and Momo dropkicks Mayu in the corner, tornado DDT by Momo and she covers Mayu for two. Mayu kicks Momo but Momo kicks her back, Somato by Momo but Mayu reverses the pin and they trade quick covers. Superkick by Mayu to Momo and she kicks her in the head again, giving her time to tag in Kyona. HZK tags in too, shoulderblocks by Kyona and she hits a lariat on HZK for two. Kyona picks up HZK but HZK pushes her off and hits a Codebreaker, knees by HZK and she punches Kyona against the ropes. Momo comes in but Kyona gets away from them and Yoko delivers a double lariat. Mayu comes in too and catapult her at HZK with a dropkick, Kyona goes up top and nails the diving body press but Io breaks up the cover. Io drops Kyona with a German suplex, but Mayu comes in and hits a Sling Blade. Momo takes care of Mayu and then hits a missile dropkick on Yoko, as now all six wrestlers are down on the mat. Kyona and HZK slowly get up as they trade elbows until HZK nails Kyona with a jumping boot. HZK gets on the second turnbuckle and hits the diving senton, she then goes all the way up and delivers a second one, but the pin is broken up. Io hits a double swandive dropkick on Yoko and Mayu, she then gets on the top turnbuckle and hits a moonsault down onto both of them. In the ring, Momo hits an avalanche Somato onto Kyona, HZK then goes up top and nails the Atomic Bomb’s Away for the three count cover! Queen’s Quest win!

This was a pretty standard six woman tag match. I mean it was fine but it was by-the-book, the only ‘new’ thing was just seeing different double team spots since both of these sides are pretty recent factions tagging together. HZK looked good, I was concerned she may have more ring rust after taking so much time off when still in the ‘learning’ phase of her career but she doesn’t seem to have missed a beat. Io was Io, loved her landing on her feet on the headscissors attempt as she always does, but there was nothing that really stood out as special. A good match, but a pretty tame main event.  Mildly Recommended

The post Stardom New Years Stars 2017 on 1/8/17 Review appeared first on Joshi City.

It is time for Stardom’s last big event of 2016, the Year End Climax. After treading water for much of the year, the last two months we have seen a lot of changes for Stardom. Io turned evil and took young Momo and the returning HZK with her to the dark side, which completely shook things up since it meant both Mayu and Kyona lost their friends and tag partners. More new wrestlers debuted, with Ruaka and Tora beginning their in-ring career. Kairi and Yoko are friends now and have created a new team, while young Hana Kimura continues to find success. Also on this show, Kana’s protégé Konami has her first match in Stardom as well. So a lot is going on! Here is the full card:

• Arisu Nanase vs. Azumi vs. Ruaka
• Hiromi Mimura vs. Konami
• Kaori Yoneyama and Saori Anou vs. Kris Wolf and Hana Kimura vs. Jungle Kyona and Natsuko Tora
• NWA Western States Tag Team Championship: Thunder Rosa and Holidead vs. HZK and Momo Watanabe
• Goddesses of Stardom Championship: Kyoko Kimura and Kagetsu vs. Kairi Hojo and Yoko Bito
• World of Stardom Championship: Io Shirai vs. Mayu Iwatani

You can click on the wrestler’s names above to go to their profile if I have one here on Joshi City. Please note I am watching the Samurai TV version of the show, so some matches may be clipped to fit the show into two hours. There were two additional dark matches, however neither were shown on Stardom World nor the Samurai TV broadcast since they were filmed for an Asahi show.

Arisu Nanase vs. Azumi vs. Ruaka

Arisu fakes a handshake to start but rolls up Azumi instead, leading to Arisu being double teamed. Ruaka boots Arisu in the corner with Azumi following with a dropkick, but Ruaka knocks Azumi out of the way and covers Arisu for two. Azumi throws Ruaka out of the ring and trades wristlocks with Arisu before Azumi hits a dropkick, but Ruaka returns and rolls up Azumi. They all trade roll-ups with no one getting the pin before returning to their feet, DDT by Azumi to Arisu and she dropkicks her repeatedly. Arisu gets away from Azumi and dropkicks her, double wrist armsault by Arisu but Azumi kicks out. Arisu picks up Azumi and hits the Blockbuster, but Ruaka breaks up the pin. Ruaka slams Azumi and puts her in a crab hold, but Arisu rolls out of it and applies a jackknife for the three count! Arisu Nanase is the winner.

This is about what you’d expect. I think Arisu has shown some promise for a 15 year old rookie, she hits moves crisply, but too early to figure out much from Ruaka. With three children wrestling you can’t take it too seriously, there is a loose storyline here of Azumi being passed by the newer rookies like Arisu but not much more than that. A typical Stardom opening match.

Hiromi Mimura vs. Konami

Konami immediately slaps on a kneelock onto the unsuspecting Hiromi, but Hiromi gets into the ropes for the break. Konami takes Hiromi back to the mat and they jockey for position, Konami applies a keylock but they end up back on their feet. Dropkick by Hiromi but Konami connects with a kick combination, she goes off the ropes but Hiromi ducks the PK and rolls her up for two. Dropkick to the knee by Hiromi and she goes for La Magistral, but Konami reverses it into an ankle hold. Hiromi gets to the ropes so Konami releases the hold, kick to the knee by Konami and she dropkicks Hiromi in the other knee. Konami charges Hiromi but Hiromi moves, Konami’s leg gets stuck in the ropes and Hiromi snaps it. Running low crossbody by Hiromi, but it gets a two. Running knee by Konami and she hits a fisherman suplex hold, but Hiromi kicks out. High kick by Konami but Hiromi comes back with a DDT and applies La Magistral for a two count. Hiromi goes off the ropes but Konami kicks her in the head, Konami applies a kneelock and Hiromi has to submit! Konami wins the match.

I am on record as loving Konami. She isn’t a literal Kana clone as she her move set is mostly different, but the attitude is there as well as the focus on strikes and submissions. She is different than most other wrestlers in Stardom, the closest comparison would be Yoko Bito but Konami is a bit less clunky. Hiromi was fine here, she’s low on the totem pole for a reason but she kept up with Konami and didn’t look out of place. A fun short match and a good way to introduce Konami to a new crowd, hopefully she sticks around.  Mildly Recommended

Yoneyama and Saori Anou vs. Kris Wolf and Hana Kimura vs. Kyona and Natsuko Tora

Kris, Natsuko, and Kaori start off for their respective teams and do a triple knuckle lock, Kris kicks them away and they trade quick pins but no one has any luck so they tag out. Hana dances around the ring and then challenges Saori to do the same, Saori dances too and then challenges Kyona. Kyona dances but the crowd boos while Hana tells her to go away, hurting her feelings. Hana and Saori continue their dance off until Hana is double teamed and knocked over with a double shoulderblock. Saori and Kyona then go at it until Hana dropkicks them both, Natsuko comes in but Hana puts her in a leg lock. She dances for too long so Kaori comes in, so does Kris and Kris squares off with Saori. There is a lot going on here as the wrestlers are all just running in at will, I have no idea who is legal at this point. Kaori and Saori both put Natsuko in a submission hold but it is broken up, Hana and Kyona trade elbows until Kyona applies a backbreaker. Hana gets out of it and rolls up Kyona, but Kaori comes in and rolls up Hana. Kaori then covers both of them, but Kris runs in to break it up. Natsuko kicks Kris and she along with Kyona put their opponents in an airplane spin, but Oedo Tai fights back and dropkicks their opponents. Hana and Kris go up top but are knocked off, they fall to the floor while Saori applies a fisherman suplex hold to Kyona for two. Kyona comes back with a double lariat on Kaori and Saori, running senton by Natsuko to Saori but Hana runs in and boots both Natsuko and Kyona in the face. Kris runs in and covers Natsuko, and she picks up the three count! Oedo Tai win!

Rating a match like this isn’t really possible or fair since it wasn’t trying to be a high end match. It had some quality dancing from Hana, lots of high speed action from all six of them, and some clever spots which is about all you can hope for. I enjoyed it as midcard fodder, anytime I get to see Hana I am not going to complain, but it was 99% style and 1% substance. An easy fun watch but nothing more than that.

(c) Thunder Rosa and Holidead vs. HZK and Momo Watanabe
NWA Western States Tag Team Championship

HZK and Momo attack before the bell rings but the veterans quickly regain the advantage as HZK is isolated. Holidead stays in with HZK and rams her into the turnbuckles, but HZK gets her leg and applies a Figure Four. Holidead gets into the ropes to force the break, Momo is tagged in and she hits a missile dropkick off the turnbuckles. Momo and HZK both kick on Holidead before hitting a double dropkick, senton by HZK and Momo hits the Somato for a two count. Momo goes up top but Rosa grabs her, giving Holidead time to recover and toss her off. Sit-down spinebuster by Holidead, but Momo kicks out at two. Holidead tags in Rosa, Rosa and Momo trade strikes until Rosa hits a DDT. Rosa picks up Momo and hits a sit-down hammerlock drop for a cocky two count cover. Rosa goes up top and hits a footstomp to Momo’s back, cover by Rosa but HZK breaks it up. Rosa goes off the ropes but Momo kicks her in the stomach, snap vertical suplex by Momo and she covers Rosa for two. Momo tags HZK, double chop by HZK but Rosa avoids her charge in the corner. Holidead comes in to help and they double team HZK, Rosa gets HZK across her back and slams her stomach-first into the mat for a two count. Rosa goes off the ropes but HZK catches her with a bicycle kick, Momo comes in and she hits the F Crash. HZK goes up top and delivers the diving senton, cover by HZK but Holidead breaks it up. HZK goes off the ropes and applies quick roll up, she goes for a bicycle kick but Rosa blocks it and rolls up HZK for the three count! Holidead and Thunder Rosa retain the championship.

This was probably the most clipped match of the show, which is understandable since it had a non-Stardom title and not particularly high ranked wrestlers. This was the most I’ve gotten to see from HZK, even in clipped form, and I think she looked solid even if I am not sure having her get pinned in a fluky manner does a lot for her short term. Rosa and Holidead were hitting a fair number of power moves, I just wish one of them had ended the match instead of it being a flash pin. Too clipped up to recommend, definitely some solid action by the younger Stardom team though and overall a solid match even if I didn’t love the ending.

(c) Kyoko Kimura and Kagetsu vs. Kairi Hojo and Yoko Bito
Goddesses of Stardom Championship

Kyoko and Kairi begin the match but Kyoko immediately jumps out of the ring to play with the crowd. She returns after a moment, Kairi knocks Kagetsu off the apron when she tries to help and Yoko runs in to boot Kyoko while Kairi dives out of the ring onto Kagetsu. Kyoko gets out of the ring, Yoko thinks about doing a dive but Kyoko pulls Yoko out of the ring with her. They battle up into the stands and around the ring, Oedo Tai brings Kairi back into the ring and all the members of Oedo Tai pose around her. Kyoko stays in with Kairi and hits a backbreaker, kick to the butt by Kyoko and she hits a backbreaker on her while also DDTing Yoko. Kyoko applies a crab hold to Kairi while Kagetsu stands guard, Kyoko releases her after a moment and chops Kairi to the mat. Kairi fights back with her own chops but Kyoko returns fire, Kyoko goes off the ropes but Kairi catches her with a double chop to the chest and makes the hot tag to Yoko. Kicks to the chest by Yoko but Kagetsu pokes Yoko in the eyes, Yoko kicks both Kyoko and Kagetsu before hitting Kyoko with a PK for a two count. Kyoko gets away from Yoko and applies a Cobra Twist, she goes off the ropes but Yoko catches her with a lariat. Kairi is tagged back in, she goes up top and hits Kyoko with a diving elbow smash. She goes up top again but this time Kagetsu joins her, elbows by Kagetsu but Kairi blocks the superplex attempt and knocks Kagetsu into the Tree of Woe.

Kyoko runs over and boots Kairi before she can do anything, Kagetsu slides out to the apron and Kyoko goes up top with Kairi and Kagetsu they hit an avalanche Gory Special/face crusher onto Kairi down to the mat. Kyoko picks up Kairi but Kairi rolls out of the Gory Special this time, elbow by Kairi but Kyoko headbutts her and both wrestlers crumble to the mat. Kairi tags in Yoko while Kagetsu is also tagged in, Kagetsu and Yoko trade elbows until Kagetsu hits two jumping elbows in the corners and follows that with a big spear. Kagetsu goes off the ropes but Yoko elbows her, Kyoko runs in and boots Yoko and Yoko is double teamed. Double chokeslam to Yoko, cover by Kagetsu but Kairi breaks it up. Kyoko and Kagetsu hit another assisted Gory Special, but Kairi breaks up Kagetsu’s cover. Kagetsu goes for a high kick but Kairi pulls down Yoko to prevent her from getting hit, Kairi gets control of the situation and hits Kagetsu with a pair of Sliding Ds. Yoko recovers and hits a German suplex hold on Kagetsu, but it gets a two count. Bicycle Kick by Yoko, Kairi goes for a Sliding D but Kagetsu holds up a metal briefcase. All hell breaks loose as the briefcase assault continues, until Kagetsu hits Kyoko by accident. High Kick by Yoko to Kagetsu, but Kagetsu quickly hits an Ebisu Drop for a two count. Kyoko returns but eats a Kairi spear, Kagetsu spears Kairi in return but Yoko drills Kagetsu with the Doll B. Kairi goes up top and delivers a diving elbow drop onto Kagetsu, B Driver by Yoko and she picks up the three count! Yoko Bito and Kairi Hojo are the new champions!

A really entertaining tag team match with two veteran teams that know how to keep things interesting. I appreciate when wrestlers don’t waste time on limb work if the limb work isn’t going to mean anything, this match just stayed high impact and fast paced from bell to bell. The outside-the-ring stuff doesn’t really contribute but is a staple of Oedo Tai matches and isn’t going away, and they kept it pretty brief. Yoko still looks a bit stiff at times (as in non-graceful, not as in actually hurting people), but Kairi makes up for that by being one of the best wrestlers in the world in making you care about her and her matches. The end came when Kairi and Yoko were on the same page while Kyoko and Kagetsu were the ones that made the mistake, and the end stretch worked well as if it lasted any longer than Kyoko would have recovered to come to her teammates aid. A fun match that felt like it got just the right amount of time and stayed engaging throughout.  Recommended

(c) Io Shirai vs. Mayu Iwatani
World of Stardom Championship

Io offers a handshake to start the match but Mayu slaps her and goes for a dragon suplex. Io elbows out of it, both wrestlers go off the ropes until Mayu hits a spinning headscissors, but Io lands on her feet. Irish whip by Io but Mayu hits a springboard back elbow, running elbow by Mayu in the corner but Io slides out of the ring and trips Mayu before ramming her knee into the ring post. Mayu falls out of the ring, Io removes part of the mat at ringside and goes for a suplex, but Mayu slips away. Mayu goes for a crossbody but Io catches her and slams her onto the exposed floor, Io gets back in the ring and goes to do a dive but Mayu ducks. Io does a baseball slide instead, she jumps back out of the ring and gets a chair, setting it up at ringside. Io puts Mayu’s leg into the chair and dropkicks it, she slides Mayu back in and starts twisting on her knee. Dropkick by Io, and she covers Mayu for a two count. Irish whip by Io from the corner but Mayu kicks her back when she charges in and hits a spinning headscissors. Dropkick by Mayu while Io is against the ropes, she springboards over the top rope and jumps down repeatedly onto Io’s back. Io flops out of the ring, Mayu goes up top and dives out onto Io with a plancha. Mayu picks up Io and goes for the dragon suplex, Io tries to block it but Mayu hits it anyway, slamming Io hard onto the floor.

Mayu gets back into the ring with Io slowly following, missile dropkick by Mayu and she hits the crucifix slam for a two count. Elbows by Mayu, she goes off the ropes but Io trips her and hits a slingshot dropkick. Running double knee in the corner by Io but she is too banged up to capitalize, Mayu goes for a kick but Io catches her leg and hits a dragon screw leg whip. Io goes for a dragon suplex but Mayu blocks it, Mayu goes for the move but Io blocks her attempt as well and hits a package German for a two count. Io applies an armtrap crossface but Mayu gets into the ropes, Io goes for a Tiger Feint Kick but Mayu catches her legs and hangs Io over the top rope. A dropkick by Mayu sends Io crashing onto the apron, Mayu joins her on the apron and nails a dragon suplex! Mayu slides Io back into the ring, dragon suplex hold by Mayu but Io somehow gets a shoulder up. Mayu goes for another quick pin with no luck, she goes off the ropes and hits a reverse hurricanrana for another two count. Mayu gets on the second turnbuckle but Io hits her from behind and suplexes her down to the mat. Io goes up top but Mayu springs up and joins her, she goes for an avalanche dragon suplex, but Io lands on her feet and hits Mayu with rolling German suplexes for a two count. Io picks up Mayu and hits a dragon suplex hold, but Mayu kicks out at two. Io positions Mayu and goes up top and she nails the moonsault, but Mayu kicks out at one and superkicks Io in the face. Dragon suplex hold by Mayu, but Io gets a shoulder up. Mayu goes for a tombstone but Io reverses it into her own tombstone piledriver. Io goes up and hits a second moonsault, instead of covering Mayu she delivers a third moonsault, and this time she picks up the three count! Io Shirai is still the champion.

I am not sure where to even begin with a match like this. If you are new to Stardom it is important to note that Io Shirai is notoriously difficult to pin, you have to kill her to get her to stay down, and while Mayu hit her with many different dragon suplexes she never hit her with the version that gets her wins in her bigger matches. The amount of brutality in this match was off the charts, ranging from the dragon suplex on the apron, or on the floor, or even just a simple headscissors where Io lands on her head. The early limb work by Io didn’t go anywhere but I thought Mayu sold it the right amount, she limped for a bit but shook it off when Io wasn’t really able to capitalize on it due to being tossed around the ring like a rag doll. Perhaps most importantly, the match felt epic and important, which to me is a requirement for a quality championship match. Non-stop offensive and the definition of an Io Main Event Match, and perhaps one of the best Stardom matches of the year just based off emotion and how far both were willing to go to pick up the win against their former best friend.  Highly Recommended

The post Stardom Year End Climax 2016 on 12/22/16 Review appeared first on Joshi City.

When it comes to reviewing Stardom, I am generally torn between reviewing the newest show or the biggest show, since we established I am not reviewing every single Stardom event as they have so many. Well this is a bit in the middle but it is the most recent Joshi show I have readily available, plus it has six matches so its more beefy than the usual Stardom house show. This event has a Rookie of Stardom Tournament as well as a Goddesses of Stardom Championship match and a big six woman main event. Here is the full card:

• Rookie of Stardom Semifinal: Arisu Nanase vs. Ruaka
• Rookie of Stardom Semifinal: Natsuko Tora vs. Azumi
• Hiromi Mimura and Kaori Yoneyama vs. Hana Kimura and Kris Wolf vs. Taya and Hiroyo Matsumoto vs. Yoko Bito and Saori Anou
• Rookie of Stardom Final: Arisu Nanase vs. Natsuko Tora
• Goddesses of Stardom Championship: Kyoko Kimura and Kagetsu vs. Thunder Rosa and Holidead
• Io Shirai, Momo Watanabe, and HZK vs. Mayu Iwatani, Kairi Hojo, and Jungle Kyona

This is a Nico Nico presentation, but looks like it was shown in full. So we get pro-shot and no clipping. Win-win.

Arisu Nanase vs. Ruaka

They tie-up, Arisu gets Ruaka into the ropes and they take turns elbowing each other in the chest. Ruaka takes Arisu to the mat but Arisu gets a foot on the ropes, dropkick by Ruaka and they trade elbows again. Ruaka stomps on Arisu but Arisu avoids her charge in the corner and hits a dropkick. Jumping crossbody for Ruaka for two, she picks up Arisu but Arisu scoop slams her. Another scoop slam by Arisu and she puts Ruaka in a crab hold, but Ruaka gets a hand to the ropes. Arisu goes for another slam but Ruaka lands on top of her, running boot by Ruaka in the corner but Arisu delivers a dropkick. Another dropkick by Arisu and she puts Ruaka in a crab hold, and this time Ruaka submits! Arisu wins the match and reaches the Finals of the tournament.

A really basic match, which is what you’d expect when a match has a 12 year old that debuted just a couple weeks prior. All things considered it was well-worked, not all the strikes looked strong but neither looked lost at any point. Not a bad match between two youngsters with very little experience.

Natsuko Tora vs. Azumi

No-nonsense Azumi doesn’t shake Natsuko’s hand before the match, both wrestlers trade dropkick attempts before Azumi applies a few La Magistrals for two. Natsuko drives Azumi back into the corner but Azumi hits a dropkick, she goes for a scoop slam but Natsuko blocks it. Natsuko and Azumi trade elbows until Azumi hits a DDT, kick to the back by Azumi but Natsuko shoulderblocks her to the mat for a two count. Natsuko picks up Azumi and hits a scoop slam, she goes to run off the ropes but Azumi trips her and hits a dropkick. More dropkicks by Azumi and she elbows Natsuko in the chest, but Natsuko grabs her and hit a side Russian leg sweep. Natsuko applies an armtrap necklock but releases it after a moment, she goes off the ropes but Azumi avoids the senton and applies a crucifix pin for two. Tilt-a-whirl roll-up by Azumi for two, Natsuko goes off the ropes but Azumi kicks her in the stomach and they trade quick roll-ups. Azumi goes for La Magistral but Natsuko blocks it and holds down Azumi for the three count! Natsuko continues on in the tournament!

Simple, but Natsuko already shows some promise. She has been training in Stardom since the beginning of the year and is 25, so it makes sense that she is quite capable of having short-ish matches without looking confused. Azumi wore a new outfit but still lost anyway, she is a great character but didn’t look like the better wrestler here even though she has a couple years experience. A fun little match between the young wrestler and the newbie.

Hiromi Mimura and Kaori Yoneyama vs. Hana Kimura and Kris Wolf
vs. Taya and Hiroyo Matsumoto vs. Yoko Bito and Saori Anou

As an Elimination Match, two teams are legal at a time and if one partner is pinned the team is eliminated. Bito and Yoneyama start the match, kicks by Bito but Yoneyama avoids the next few and rolls her up for two. Saori and Hana are tagged in, Hana does a dance around the ring and challenges Saori to do the same. Saori does but Hana rolls her up from behind, Saori elbows Hana and the two trade blows. Lariat by Hana but Anou hits a hard shoulderblock, Hiromi attacks her from behind but Taya comes in too and they become the legal wrestlers. Taya asks for a knuckle lock even though the much smaller Hiromi can’t reach her, Yoneyama comes in and puts Hiromi on her shoulders to even the odds but Taya Irish whips them and pushes them over. Everyone else comes in as Hiroyo and Taya stack their opponents in the corner, cannonball by Taya and Hiroyo stays in with Hiromi. Hiroyo tries to throw Hiromi out of the ring but Hiromi slides out onto the apron.

Hana dropkicks Hiroyo into Hiromi to knock her off the apron, elbows by Hana but Hiroyo elbows her to the mat. Hana gets up and hits more elbows but Hiroyo snapmares her and hits a double knee drop. Hana takes off her belt and chokes Hiroyo with it, running double knee by Hana in the corner and she hits a dropkick for two. Hana goes for a suplex but Hiroyo blocks it and hits a backbreaker, Kris runs in but she gets a backbreaker too. Hiroyo puts them both in a crab hold, Bito and Anou ‘help’ by pulling on Hiroyo’s hair, which leads to Hiroyo breaking the hold. Hiromi and Yoneyama run in and clear the ring, Taya gets on the apron and dives down on the whole bunch. Hiromi tries to do the same but she gets caught, until Yoneyama runs over and helps knock them over. Yoneyama rolls Kris into the ring and hits a diving senton off the second turnbuckle, but Kris gets a shoulder up. Hiromi goes for an assisted senton but Kris moves, big boot by Hana and Kris jackknifes Hiromi for the three count! Hiromi Mimura and Kaori Yoneyama are eliminated. Saori and Bito quickly run in and double team Kris, B-Driver by Bito and she covers Kris for three! Kris Wolf and Hana Kimura are eliminated.

This leaves Taya/Hiroyo and Bito/Saori as the remaining teams. Hiroyo and Bito trade elbows, Saori hits Hiroyo from the apron which allows Bito to hit a big boot. Back bodydrop by Bito and she kicks Hiroyo in the back, more kicks by Bito but Hiroyo hits a body block followed by a big lariat. Taya comes in and jumps on Hiroyo’s back before hitting a double kneedrop. Reverse double kneedrop by Hiroyo out of the corner to Bito, but Saori runs in and breaks up the cover. Taya jumps on Hiroyo’s back again and they do a double kneedrop on Saori, Taya throws Saori into the corner and she hits a back elbow. Lariat by Taya but Saori avoids her charge in the corner. Dropkick by Taya, Hiroyo comes back in but so does Bito and she hits a double lariat. Bito kicks Taya in the head, Saori covers her with a bridge but the pin is broken up. Hiroyo lariats Bito, double knee strike by Taya to Saori and she hits a Northern Lights Suplex. Taya bridges out of the suplex and hits a double footstomp, cover by Taya and she gets the three count! Taya and Hiroyo Matsumoto are the winners!

I am not sure if Stardom plans on using Taya much going forward as she does have a lot of commitments in the US and Mexico, but I think she added quite a bit to this match. No one wrestler stood out in terms of in-ring prowess, there just wasn’t enough time, but everyone worked together well and their personalities really were on display. Hana did a “sexy dancer” thing to trick Anou, Hiromi was in her usual cute underdog role, and the veterans brought the bulk of the pain. It feels like a low match on the card for Bito but its just the way the dice were rolled on this show, she’ll back back up towards the main event next time. A really fun mid-card event, no big spots or anything like that but everyone worked together well and it had a fair number of entertaining stretches.  Mildly Recommended

Arisu Nanase vs. Natsuko Tora

A solid ending to the mini-tournament. It may say a lot that Arisu won the tournament (or it could mean nothing and they will all be in the opener for the next year regardless). Arisu is already showing some attitude, the only thing holding her back at this point is her age as Stardom isn’t going to push her by so hard until she is at least 16. But both showed here they are well trained and prepared rookies as both stayed on target and focused without any miscommunications. Stardom builds up wrestlers slow so it may be awhile until either move too far up the card, but it was a fun rookie match.

(c) Kyoko Kimura and Kagetsu vs. Thunder Rosa and Holidead

Kagetsu starts with Rosa and actually shakes her hand beforehand. See, they are friends. They bounce off the ropes and Rosa hits a spinning headscissors, Kagetsu falls out of the ring but she quickly rolls back in when Rosa goes out after her. They tag out, Holidead and Kyoko lock knuckles but Kyoko pokes Holidead in the eyes and hits a shoulderblock. Holidead returns the favor with her own shoulderblock before tagging in Rosa, Kyoko is back up by now and the two trade chops. Rosa goes for a springboard move but Kyoko sidesteps it and tags Kagetsu, Kagetsu elbows Rosa in the head and hits a scoop slam for two. Headlock by Kagetsu, she picks up Rosa and clubs on her until she tags Kyoko back in. Kyoko puts Rosa in a Figure Four but Rosa gets into the ropes, Kagetsu is tagged in and she continues the work on Rosa. Rosa flings Kagetsu to the mat with a hurricanrana and makes the hot tag to Holidead, Kyoko comes in too however and she blows in Holidead’s face.

Holidead lariats both of her opponents but Kagetsu comes back with a missile dropkick, Samoan Drop by Holidead and she tags in Rosa, Rosa elbows Kagetsu but Kagetsu returns with elbows of her own. Hard dropkicks by Rosa and she hits a STO for a two count cover. Rosa kicks Kagetsu in the back but Kagetsu retorts with a kick to the head, and both wrestlers crawl to their corners to tag out. Big boot by Holidead but Kyoko blocks the second attempt and kicks Holidead in the leg. Kick to the head by Kyoko, Kagetsu comes in and they both boot Holidead for a two count. Kyoko picks up Holidead and puts her in a stretch hold, but Holidead muscles out of it and hits an Air Raid Crash. Kyoko goes off the ropes but Holidead hits a sit-down spinebuster, picking up a two. Kyoko is thrown a briefcase but Holidead pushes it away and Rosa hits both Kyoko and Kagetsu with it. Double underhook facebuster by Holidead, diving footstomp by Rosa and Holidead hits a diving legdrop but Kagetsu breaks up the cover. Kris Wolf jumps on the apron and hits Holidead in the head, Holidead goes for a chokeslam but Kyoko rolls her up for the three count! Kyoko Kimura and Kagetsu retain the championship.

I can’t say that I loved this match. The wrestlers are all fine and all have had quality matches in the last month in Stardom, but something didn’t mesh here. Time may have been an issue but they struggled to tell a story to get the audience into it as it went from trading spots to brief leg work to “Oedo Tai” finish without anything to tie it together. Both teams are heels so the hot tag wasn’t too hot, and it didn’t have the excitement you’d hope from an Oedo Tai match or a title match. It was technically sound but just felt flat, not one of the better Kyoko and Kagetsu matches I have seen in Stardom recently.

Io Shirai, Momo Watanabe, and HZK vs. Mayu Iwatani, Kairi Hojo, and Kyona

They start with a brawl and immediately go outside the ring, Kyona and Kairi return with Io but Io quickly turns the tables and dispatches both of them. Mayu comes in but the rest of Queen’s Quest also comes in and all three triple team Mayu. Momo kicks down Mayu in the corner as Queen’s Quest takes turns on poor Mayu as they tag in and out, but Mayu eventually hits a missile dropkick on Momo and makes the hot tag to Kyona. Kyona shoulderblocks Momo before knocking both Io and HZK off the apron, she goes back to Momo but Momo dropkicks her. Another hard shoulderblock by Kyona, she picks up Momo but Io and HZK both run in to help. Kyona is thrown in the corner but Kyona gets away and hits a crossbody on all three of them. Kyona hits more shoulderblocks on Momo but Momo fires back with kicks, elbows by Kyona but Momo slaps her. Running boot by Momo, Kairi tags in and goes up top, hitting a diving elbow smash. She grabs some water and splashes Kyona with it to fire her up, Mayu comes in too and Momo is knocked over with a catapult dropkick. Kairi picks up Momo but Momo floats over her back with a sunset flip. Dropkick by Momo and she tags HZK, chop to the chest by HZK and she applies an armtrap crossface to Kairi. Kairi gets a foot on the ropes to force the break, HZK picks her up and elbows Kairi in the ropes. Kairi switches positions with her and returns the favor, HZK slides out to the apron and snaps Kairi’s neck on the top rope. Raideen Drop by HZK off the second rope, she picks up Kairi but Kairi hits a spear. Punch to the gut by HZK but Kairi hits a double chop to the chest for a two count.

Both wrestlers tag out as Io and Mayu come in, elbows by Mayu but Io trips her and hits a slingshot dropkick from the apron. Io kicks at Mayu’s head, Mayu goes for a springboard move but stops herself on the ropes as Io had moved out of the way. When Io turns around, Mayu then springboards off with a dropkick and follows up with another dropkick while Io is against the ropes. Cover by Mayu, but it gets a two count. Kairi and Kyona come in and go for the catapult dropkick, but Io dropkicks Mayu and palm strikes both her teammates. Running double knee by Io in the corner, HZK comes in and kicks Mayu in the head before Momo connects with the avalanche Somato. Io goes for a moonsault, Mayu moves but Io lands on her feet and hits a palm strike. Package German by Io, but Mayu gets a shoulder up. Io picks up Mayu but Kyona grabs Mayu from the apron to help, Kairi comes in too but Io throws Kairi into both of them. German Suplex by Io to Mayu, but it only gets a two count. Io goes towards the turnbuckle but Mayu grabs her foot, stomps by Io and she goes up top anyway but Kyouna clubs her leg out from under her. Io lands in the Tree of Woe, diving footstomp by Kairi and now it is Mayu that goes up top. Diving Footstomp by Mayu, but Io kicks out of the pin. Superkick by Mayu and she applies a crucifix pin, but Momo breaks it up. Kyona lariats Momo and HZK, they knock Io into the corner and this time connect with the catapult dropkick. Mayu goes for the dragon suplex, Io blocks it and rolls up Mayu, but Mayu reverses the roll-up and applies a cradle of her own for the three count! Mayu, Momo, and Kairi win!

The issue here isn’t the match quality itself, it is just putting so many quality wrestlers in a short six wrestler tag so that less get a chance to shine. Kairi wasn’t needed here, I love her to death but she just got lost in the shuffle since everyone else had a purpose. Momo and Kyona are friends turned enemies so their pairing had meaning, obviously Mayu and Io have their issues, while HZK is the “new” wrestler (she also wasn’t really necessary). But aside from the fact I thought the match had too many wrestlers, I loved the interactions between Io and Mayu, everything was perfect. Io has always been a bit cocky in the ring but has stepped it up a notch, everything she does has purpose and its so captivating watching her. Mayu bumps like she wants to die so everything done to her looks impactful, and anytime they were in the ring together it worked so well. The build to their big match later this match was the important theme and they did a great job putting that over. If you don’t mind that not all the wrestlers were used to their full abilities, a really fun house show main event, with Io showing again why she is one of the best wrestlers in the world.  Recommended

The post Stardom Goddesses of Stars on 12/4/16 Review appeared first on Joshi City.

We are skipping ahead a bit, as if I reviewed every Stardom show my head would probably explode. Since we last checked in with Stardom, not a lot has happened except that Io Shirai turned on her long time friend Mayu Iwatani to turn heel. This is the first time Stardom has had a true heel since Yoshiko left (Oedo Tai is too cute and funny to be considered true heels), giving the main events a different dynamic. When she turned on Mayu, Io also brought in a new partner, the mysterious HZK (formally known as Reo Hazuki). This is Stardom’s first event since Io shocked the Stardom World, as Mayu looks for her revenge. Here is the full card:

• Azumi and Natsuko Tora vs. Arisu Nanase and Ruaka
• Kris Wolf vs. Thea Trinidad
• Kairi Hojo and Hiromi Mimura vs. Thunder Rosa and Holidead
• Jungle Kyouna vs. Yoko Bito
• Io Shirai and HZK vs. Mayu Iwatani and Momo Watanabe
  

Since this is a house show I have low expectations, but hopefully it will be fun.

Azumi and Natsuko Tora vs. Arisu Nanase and Ruaka

Ruaka attacks Natsuko from behind before the match starts, perhaps showing she is more than just your average rookie, slap to the chest by Ruaka and she hits another dropkick for a one count cover. She goes off the ropes again but this time Natsuko kicks her and hits a scoop slam. Ruaka elbows Natsuko but Natsuko elbows her hard back and makes the tag to Azumi. Snapmares by Azumi and she throws down Ruaka by her hair, Ruaka lands in her own corner and makes the tag to Arisu. Natsuko comes in the ring and with Azumi they hit a leapfrog footstomp, running body press by Natsuko and she hits a shoulderblock. Arisu pushes Natsuko away and they trade elbows, side Russian leg sweep by Natsuko and she covers Arisu for two. Natsuko elbows Arisu into the corner but Arisu dropkicks Natsuko, another dropkick by Arisu and she gets a two count cover. Ruaka is tagged back in but Natsuko chokes her to the mat, body press by Natsuko but Ruaka avoids the senton. Jumping crossbody by Ruaka, Arisu comes in and they hit a leapfrog footstomp of their own. Roll-up by Ruaka, but Azumi breaks up the cover. Natsuko puts Ruaka in a crab hold, but Ruaka gets to the ropes to force the break. Natsuko tags Azumi, dropkicks by Azumi and she covers her for two. Vertical suplex by Azumi, she applies a waistlock but Ruaka blocks it, Natsuko comes in but she kicks her partner by accident. Arisu also enters the ring but eats a DDT from Azumi, modified STO by Ruaka to Azumi and she covers her for a two count. Ruaka goes off the ropes but Azumi kicks her, sunset flip by Azumi but it gets two. La Magistral by Azumi, and this time she gets the three count! Azumi and Natsuko Tora are the winners.

While you can’t expect high-end wrestling in an opening rookie match, I can say that there weren’t any serious miscues and the action stayed at a decent pace. Some of the strikes weren’t hit very crisp and they were a few moments where the action didn’t click, but Arisu and Natsuko both looked good and Ruaka is already bigger than the other four even though she is only 12 so she didn’t seem out of place. Slightly different than usual since there were more new wrestlers, obviously nothing great but a watchable opener.

Kris Wolf vs. Thea Trinidad

Kris has no interest in the pre-match handshake and puts Thea in a headlock instead, Kris bails out to the apron but Thea elbows her and bites Kris in the arm. Kris rams Thea’s head into the turnbuckle before jumping back into the ring, they both trade kick attempts but neither can connect. Kick to the stomach by Thea and she hits a spinning headscissors, she charges Kris but Kris moves out of the way and Thea ends up in the ropes. Kris spanks Thea before applying a leglock around the bottom rope, kick to the leg by Kris and she connects with a kneedrop. Running dropkick to the leg by Kris in the corner and she chokes Thea with her tail, she picks up Thea but Thea wiggles away and hits a series of kicks. Thea applies a choke in the ropes, she then climbs the second turnbuckle and hits a diving crossbody for a two count. Kris kicks Thea away but Thea kicks her back, Thea charges Kris but Kris quickly suplexes her. Kris gets on the second turnbuckle and delivers a somersault senton, but it gets a two count. They trade quick pin attempts with no luck, Backstabber by Kris and she kicks Thea in the back for a two count. Swinging neckbreaker by Thea, she goes up top and she nails a moonsault for the three count! Thea Trinidad is your winner.

I sometimes affectionately refer to these matches as ‘card fillers’, but at least in this case it was also used to introduce Thea Trinidad to a new crowd in a safe match. This is a lot easier than debuting a new wrestler against someone like Io, as the expectations can become way too high. Six minutes isn’t long enough to get much of a match but there was nothing wrong with it, Thea generally hit her moves fine and Kris was her usual consistent self. Not overly memorable but effective in what it was going for.

Kairi Hojo and Hiromi Mimura vs. Thunder Rosa and Holidead

Kairi and Rosa kick things off, Kairi armdrags Rosa into the corner but Rosa flips her out onto the apron when she charges in. Kairi slides under the bottom rope and rolls up Rosa, but Rosa gets out of it and they return to their feet. Hiromi and Holidead tag in, Hiromi comes in with her knife (a fake knife of course) but Holidead isn’t intimidated as she takes it form her before “stabbing” Hiromi in the stomach. Holidead mocks Kairi’s pose but Hiromi reverses a suplex attempt into a few flash pins. The trick doesn’t work on Holidead who chokes Hiromi until Kairi comes in to break it up, crossbody attempt by Hiromi but Holidead catches her and throws Hiromi at Kairi. Rosa comes in as they choke the Kaihiro Pirates in the ropes, double elbow to Hiromi and they apply a double crab hold. Kairi tries to help Hiromi by throwing her a rope, but Holidead intercepts it and attacks Hiromi with it. Backbreakers by Holidead to Hiromi, and she covers her for two. Holidead tags in Rosa, Rosa puts Hiromi across the ropes in the corner and jumps down onto her back with a double knee. Holidead is tagged back in as they work over Hiromi near the corner, but Hiromi dropkicks Holidead a few times before tagging in Kairi.

Kairi spears Holidead and elbows her against the ropes, but Rosa kicks Kairi from the apron. Rosa comes in the ring but Kairi armdrags both of them, Kairi chops Holidead in the corner before hitting a triple jump elbow smash. Kairi applies the Octopus Hold but Holidead slams her way out of it and hits a vertical suplex. Holidead picks up Kairi but Kairi hits a spinning chop to the face and both wrestlers are down. Hiromi and Rosa are both tagged in, Argentine Backbreaker by Rosa but Hiromi slides out of it and applies a sunset flip for two. Facebuster by Rosa, Hiromi fights back with elbows but Rosa drives Hiromi into the corner. Rosa puts Hiromi on the top turnbuckle but Hiromi kicks her before hitting a Tornado DDT for a two count. Holidead lariats both Kairi and Hiromi, the Twisted Sisters wait for their opponents to get up but they accidentally lariat each other. Spear and a Sliding D by Kairi, Hiromi puts Rosa in La Magistral but it gets a two count. Hiromi gets on the second turnbuckle but Rosa pops her and hits a chokebomb for two. Rosa picks up Hiromi and hits a modified fisherman driver, but Kairi breaks up the cover. Heel drop by Rosa, she gets on the top turnbuckle and she hits a diving footstomp to Hiromi’s back for the three count! The Twisted Sisters win the match.

A pretty fun midcard match, the teams really clicked well together and it stayed amusing from start to finish. Of the new wrestlers that debuted in the last year or so, Hiromi has probably progressed the least amount as in-ring she still is lacking, but at least she has the personality to still entertain anyway. Kairi is great and helped tie the match together and the Twisted Sisters are fun wrestlers that are solid in ring but like Hiromi also have fun characters as well. The story was basic but well told, and the end stretch was well done. Nothing that will change the world, but a solid tag match, and I think the Twisted Sisters are worthwhile additions to Stardom events.  Mildly Recommended

Jungle Kyouna vs. Yoko Bito

Bito and Kyouna lock knuckles to start, elbows by Yoko and they take turns trying to shoulderblock each other over. Kyouna finally wins the battle, she goes for a body press but Bito moves out of the way. Bito goes for a PK but Kyouna avoids it, Bito stomps on Kyouna anyway and throws her down into the corner. Kicks by Bito and she throws Kyouna again, she puts Kyouna across the ropes in the corner and chops her in the stomach. Cover by Bito, but it gets two. Single leg crab hold by Yoko but Kyouna gets to the ropes, Bito goes off the ropes but Kyouna avoids her lariat. Kyouna charges Bito but she lands on the apron, Bito tries to kick Kyouna off the apron but Kyouna catches her leg. Kyouna clubs on Bito’s leg while it is on the second rope, dropkick to the knee by Kyouna and she hits a body avalanche in the corner. Kyouna puts Bito upside down in the corner and hits another body avalanche, cover by Kyouna but Bito kicks out. Back bodydrop by Kyouna, she goes off the ropes and she hits a sliding lariat. Kyouna charges Bito again and hits a lariat, cover by Kyouna but it gets a two count. Kyouna gets on the second turnbuckle and hits a diving body press, she then goes all the way up but Bito recovers and joins her. Superplex by Bito, and she covers Kyouna for two. Release German by Bito but Kyouna springs to her feet and lariats Bito, and both wrestlers stay down on the mat. Kyouna elbows Bito but Bito hits a lariat, Kyouna lariats her back however and hits a short-range lariat for two. Kyouna goes off the ropes but Bito nails her in the head with a kick, Bito goes up top and she hits a missile dropkick. Bito picks up Kyouna and drills her with the Doll-B, cover by Bito and she gets the three count! Yoko Bito wins!

I liked this match quite a bit, one of the better Yoko Bito matches since she returned. It wasn’t a long match but that worked well for them as they stayed focused and didn’t waste any time with moves that ultimately wouldn’t matter. This is one of the first times also that Bito really connected with the Doll-B, maybe she is finally shaking off the last of that ring rust. Kyouna wasn’t ever going to win this but she still looked good in defeat, going toe to toe with the FIVE STAR GP Winner while winning several of the strike battles. Matches like these are the reason I sometimes watch Stardom house shows as it gives the young wrestlers more chances, an entertaining match and more proof that Kyouna has a bright future in Stardom.  Recommended

Io Shirai and HZK vs. Mayu Iwatani and Momo Watanabe

Io offers to shake Mayu’s hand as the match starts, Mayu takes it but Io immediately elbows her in the face. HZK comes in and hits a Codebreaker on Mayu, Io takes control until Momo comes in too to assist Mayu. Io dropkicks both of them and they fall out of the ring, Asai goes to the apron and hits an Asai Moonsault down onto the floor. Io slides Mayu back in and tags HZK, HZK kicks at Mayu’s head, Io returns and continues beating Mayu down. Mayu goes for a springboard move but Io just steps out of the way to avoids it, Mayu goes for a tilt-a-whirl headscissors but Io lands on her feet and dropkicks her. Mayu finally knocks Io back and makes the hot tag to Momo, Momo dropkicks Io and she hits a crossbody out of the corner. HZK runs in but Momo puts her in a Tree of Woe, she then puts Io in the Tree of Woe too before dropkicking both of them. Mayu returns and dropkicks Io, Momo goes off the ropes but Io dropkicks her in the leg. Io applies the armtrap crossface, Momo inches to the ropes and she reaches them to force the break. Momo knocks down Io with a dropkick and tags Mayu, elbows by Mayu and she connects with a jumping elbow to the face. Kicks by Mayu and she hits a diving footstomp, she goes for the cover but Io kicks out. Mayu charges Io but Io slides out to the apron, she misses the springboard but elbows Mayu in the face anyway.

Double underhook facebuster by Io, Momo runs in but Io suplexes her onto Mayu. Io picks up Mayu but Mayu blocks the German suplex, Mayu goes for a dragon suplex but Io lands on her feet. Superkick by Mayu and she hits a German suplex, but Io quickly hits a German suplex of her own and both wrestlers are out on the mat. Both Io and Mayu tag out, full nelson slam by HZK to Momo and she gets a two count. HZK picks up Momo but Momo dropkicks her into the corner, Momo gets on the second turnbuckle but HZK avoids the missile dropkick and hits a senton. HZK hits a running elbow in the corner, after choking Momo she gets on the top turnbuckle and delivers the diving senton, but Mayu breaks it up. Io runs in to dropkick Mayu, HZK goes for a kick but Momo avoids it and kicks HZK in the chest for a two count. Momo suplexes HZK, she gets on the second turnbuckle and connects with the missile dropkick. She goes for another one but Io grabs her from the apron, Mayu runs in to dropkick Io to the floor which allows Momo to nail the avalanche Somato, but Io barely breaks up the cover. Triple jump dropkick out of the corner by Mayu, she goes up top and sails out of the ring onto Io with a plancha. Back in the ring, HZK avoids Momo’s Somato and puts her in an armtrap crossface, but Mayu breaks it up. Mayu holds HZK for Momo, HZK ducks but Momo intentionally kicks Mayu in the chest anyway. PK by Momo onto her own partner, HZK ‘rolls up’ Momo from behind and she holds her down for the three count! Io Shirai and HZK are the winners.

After the match, Momo stomps down Mayu until Kairi comes in to stop her. Io officially welcomes Momo to her new faction, as now the lines are officially drawn with Io, HZK, and Momo against Kairi, Yoko Bito, and Jungle Kyouna.

Of all the ways for a wrestler to turn heel, this is probably my least favorite. I never liked a wrestler waiting until the very end of a match to turn on their partner, as it basically means Momo fought her real friends for 18 minutes just as a ruse. At least wait until after the match and turn on your partner out of frustration, as doing it this way just feels like a swerve for the sake of having a swerve, there was no foreshadowing or reason for it being done this method. That being said, I am enjoying heel Io quite a bit, although I also enjoyed face Io so that shouldn’t be a big surprise. HZK looked really good but was in the ring a very limited amount of time, maybe she is still working off the ring rust or on her conditioning as Io did the vast majority of the work. Mayu showed some fire, which is the point of all this as if she is going to lead Stardom she will have to show some of that passion. A fun match, the action stayed at a decent pace and they did a good mix of strikes, big moves, and submissions to keep the crowd into it. Didn’t love the “Finger Poke of Doom” ending but otherwise a fun display and one that continues to change the landscape of Stardom.  Recommended

The post Stardom Goddesses of Stars on 11/20/16 Review appeared first on Joshi City.

I am trying not to review every Stardom show since they have so many and there are other quality promotions in Japan, but this was too big of a show to skip over. Tonight we have the FIVE STAR GP winner, Yoko Bito, cashing in her title shot as she battles Io Shirai for the World of Stardom Championship. We have two other title matches as well, plus we get the debut of young Natsuko Tora! Here is the full card:

• Arisu Nanase and Natsuko Tora vs. Azumi and Kaori Yoneyama
• Mayu Iwatani vs. Saori Anou
• Kasey Owens, Leah Owens, and Santana Garrett vs. Thunder Rosa, Holidead, and Kris Wolf
• Artist of Stardom Championship: Kyoko Kimura, Kagetsu, and Hana Kimura vs. Momo Watanabe, Jungle Kyouna, and Hiromi Mimura
• Wonder of Stardom Championship: Kairi Hojo vs. Chelsea Green
• World of Stardom Championship: Io Shirai vs. Yoko Bito

I am stupidly watching the Stardom World version because I am stubborn about watching full events if they are available, even though the early matches could really use some clipping. But hopefully they will pleasantly surprise me as I march towards the title matches.

Arisu Nanase and Natsuko Tora vs. Azumi and Kaori Yoneyama

Natsuko and Azumi are the first two in for their teams, but Yoneyama attacks Natsuko from behind and helps Azumi double team her. Welcome to wrestling. Yoneyama stays in and tosses around Natsuko by her hair, but Arisu comes in to try to help. She fails in helping as Yoneyama successfully swats them both away, and Yoneyama tags in Azumi. Dropkick by Azumi but Natsuko scoop slams her and hits mounted elbows. Azumi returns the favor and the two go back and forth, crab hold by Natsuko but Azumi gets to the ropes. Natsuko picks up Azumi and they trade elbows, DDT by Azumi and she throws down Natsuko by the hair. Natsuko tags in Arisu and she trades elbows with Azumi, Azumi avoids Arisu’s dropkick and hits a dropkick of her own for a two count. Yoneyama is tagged in, Mongolian Chops by Yoneyama but Arisu rolls her up and hits a dropkick. Cross legged submission by Arisu, Natsuko comes in and hits a running senton but Yoneyama still makes it to the ropes. Arisu tags Natsuko, shoulderblock by Natsuko but Yoneyama blocks the scoop slam. Side Russian leg sweep by Natsuko, but Yoneyama kicks out of the cover. Blockbuster Suplex by Arisu, running senton by Natsuko but Azumi breaks up the cover. Natsuko goes off the ropes but Yoneyama kicks her leg out from under her, scoop slam by Yoneyama and she hits a senton. Azumi comes in and suplexes Natsuko, diving senton by Yoneyama and she picks up the three count! Azumi and Kaori Yoneyama are your winners.

A fine opener, although nothing special. Azumi still seems surprisingly lost sometimes, yes I realize she is a still a child but she has been wrestling opening matches for two years so I’d think she’d have the basic style down pat at this point. Too soon of course to get a feel of Natsuko but she seemed fine, didn’t make any mistakes and didn’t look out of place during the match. Decent, but nothing memorable.

Mayu Iwatani vs. Saori Anou

They begin with a quick exchange, with Mayu getting the better of it with a hard kick to the back followed by a running elbow smash. Mayu throws Saori into the corner and dropkicks her, cover by Mayu but it gets two. Footstomp to the back Mayu and she applies a camel clutch, she toys with the younger wrestler as she continues her slightly cocky offense. Saori knees Mayu into the corner, jumping knee by Saori and she hits hard shoulderblock for a quick two count. Saori picks up Mayu but Mayu elbows her off and they trade blows, backslide by Saori but Mayu kicks two. Figure Four by Saori, but Mayu gets a hand on the ropes to break the hold. Saori picks up Mayu and goes off the ropes, but Mayu catches her with a kick to the gut, elbows by Saori but Mayu returns fire. Both wrestlers go off the ropes, Mayu goes for a headscissors but Saori catches her and hits a sidewalk slam. Fisherman suplex hold by Saori, but Mayu gets a shoulder up. Saori sits Mayu on the top turnbuckle but Mayu slaps her away and hits a missile dropkick. Mayu goes up top again and delivers the diving footstomp, she grabs Saori from behind but Saori fights her off and rolls up Mayu for two. Buzzsaw Kick by Mayu, she picks up Saori around the waist and delivers the German Suplex Hold for the three count! Mayu Iwatani wins.

It is interesting that Stardom wrestlers just default to being cocky assholes when against young wrestlers, Mayu must have learned that from Io. Too short to get excited about, but I did like that Mayu sold the leg the rest of the match after being in the Figure Four for so long, even though it was a throw-away match she still took it seriously. Saori showed her usual spurts of ability but Mayu controlled this one, decent match but that’s about it.

Kasey Owens, Leah Owens, and Santana Garrett vs. Thunder Rosa, Holidead, and Kris Wolf

Oh goodie, a match with twins I am not familar with, this will be fun. Thank goodness for tattoos. Kasey and Rosa start, they trade armdrags back and forth with neither getting the advantage. Holidead and Santana tag in, Holidead shoves Santana to the mat and gets her on her shoulder, but Santana punches out of it and goes for a roll-up. Holidead doesn’t budge and chokes Santana, Holidead charges Santana but Santana flips away and both wrestlers tag in the last pairing. Leah throws Wolf in the corner and hits a neckbreaker, she sits Wolf on the second turnbuckle but Wolf switches positions with her and hits a series of kicks to the chest. Running knee by Wolf, she rolls Leah to the mat and kicks her in the back for a two count. Holidead and Rosa come in to help as they triple team Leah, ending Holidead being flapjacked onto Leah for a two count. Oedo Tai continues triple teaming Leah until Kasey finally comes in to help out her sister, Wolf tags in Rosa and Rosa kicks Wolf in the back for a two count. Rocking Horse by Rosa and she tags in Holidead, sleeper by Holidead by Leah hits a jawbreaker to get out of it. Holidead stays in control, she Irish whips Leah but Leah  slams Holidead into her knee and hits a side slam for two. Leah finally gets away and tags in Santana, Wolf is tagged in too and Wolf hits a springboard crossbody for two. A sunset flip gets the same result, Santana pushes Wolf away and she hits a Side Russian Leg Sweep. Rosa comes in but Santana puts them both in a submission hold, with help from the Owens Twins. Holidead comes in and breaks that up, running knee by Kasey to Wolf and Santana goes for the Shining Star Press, but Holidead breaks it up. Rosa and Holidead come in the ring, tope suicida by Holidead onto the Owens Twins with Rosa following with a diving crossbody off the top turnbuckle to the floor. Wolf goes up top but Santana kicks her before she can jump off, headscissors by Santana and she hits the Shining Star Press for the three count!The Owns Twins and Santana Garrett win the match.

Not a very exciting match but not bad either. I say this all the time but I never know when someone is reading one of my reviews for the first time – six wrestler tags that go in the ten minute range are rarely going to be any more than solid. It just isn’t enough time, by the time each wrestler gets a turn at the start and they do the finishing stretch there is little left to have any meat to the action. Leah played Face in Peril fine and no one looked lost or out of place, just not enough happened to leave a lasting impression.

(c) Kyoko Kimura, Kagetsu, and Hana Kimura vs. Watanabe, Kyouna, and Hiromi Mimura
Artist of Stardom Championship

Hana is immediately isolated by The Rookies, but Hana dropkicks both Kyouna and Momo to leave just her and Momo in the ring together. Hana elbows Momo but Momo elbows her back, Hana takes her off scarf however and she chokes Momo with it. Hiromi tags herself in but Kyoko runs in and pulls Kyouna to the floor. Kyoko attacks Kyouna near the stands as things break down on different sides of the ring, Oedo Tai pulls Hiromi near the apron and all the members of the team pose on her, even those not in the match. Hana and Hiromi return to the ring, jumping knee by Hana in the corner and she tags in Kagetsu. Kagetsu mostly toys with Hiromi before tagging in Kyoko, as Oedo Tai controls the action against the oldest rookie in Stardom. Hiromi finally escapes and tags in Kyouna, Kyouna clears the ring of all the Oedo Tai members and Momo comes in to lend a hand against Kyoko. Face crusher by Kyouna onto Momo’s knee, but Kyoko regains the advantage and puts all three rookies in a stretch hold before tagging in Kagetsu. Kagetsu kicks Kyouna in the chest but Kyouna fires back with a shoulderblock, giving her a chance to tag in Momo. Momo goes off the ropes and armdrags Kagetsu, drop toehold by Kagetsu and she dropkicks Momo in the head.

Momo fights back with kicks, she goes off the ropes but Kagetsu kicks her in the head. Kagetsu picks up Momo but Momo drives her down with a double knee, Momo crawls to her corner and tags in Hiromi while Kagetsu tags in Hana. Hiromi dropkicks Hana and hits an elevated DDT, dropkick to the head by Hiromi and she covers Hana for a two count. Hiromi stomps at Hana’s head but Hana connects with a hard elbow, he knocks Hiromi against the ropes and decks her with a hard running boot for a two count. Kagetsu gets her Parking Sign but Momo dropkicks it away from her, Kyouna knocks over Kagetsu then hits a PK/sliding lariat combination with Momo on Hana. Somato by Momo, jackknife cover by Hiromi to Hana but Kyoko breaks up the cover. Hiromi gets on the second turnbuckle but Kagetsu comes in and catches Hiromi when she goes for the diving crossbody. Kagetsu slams Hiromi on the Parking Sign and then hits Momo and Kyouna with it, she gives Hiromi a shot as well before Hana drops Hiromi with a suplex for a two count. Hana goes for a big boot but Hiromi ducks it, Hiromi elbows Hana in the chest but Hana elbows her back and covers Hiromi for two. Hana goes up top and nails a missile dropkick, cover by Hana and she gets the three count! Oedo Tai retain the championship.

I am not sure what it is with this event, but things just aren’t clicking for me. It may be over-saturation, not that this is Stardom’s fault but after you watch 30+ events in one year from a promotion with only about ten wrestlers on their roster, you start feeling like you’ve seen everything they can do. Hana was the standout for me here, again likely because she is the ‘new’ factor in the match, but Kyoko added very little which was a disappointment. Momo still seems a bit lost at time, she’s only 16 so its not a big deal but it does impact the match. Kyouna was the top rookie here as she seemed to always know what was going on, even though like Kyoko she didn’t do much in the match. It just felt more like a random six wrestler tag than a title match. A few good moments but in general a bit disappointing.

(c) Kairi Hojo vs. Chelsea Green
Wonder of Stardom Championship

Kairi and Chelsea both go off the ropes early in the match, Kairi goes for her spear but Chelsea sidesteps it. They trade wristlocks and headlocks, Kairi flips out to the apron but Chelsea boots her down to the floor. Chelsea gets on the apron and goes for a kick, but Kairi avoids it and trips Chelsea onto the apron. Chelsea rolls back into the ring while Kairi goes up top, but Chelsea kicks her as she jumps off. Kairi falls out to the floor, Chelsea goes off the ropes and sails out onto Kairi with a tope suicida. Chelsea battles Kairi up into the stands, smashing her arm into various things before kicking her back near the ringside area. Chelsea returns to the ring and waits for Kairi, uppercut by Chelsea and Kairi falls back out of the ring again. Kairi rolls back in and is greeted with boots, as Chelsea continues to go after Kairi’s arm. Kairi fights back with elbows, she knocks Chelsea into the corner but Chelsea grabs her arm and kicks it. Snapmare by Chelsea and she hits a flipping neckbreaker followed by a Somato for a two count cover.

Running knee by Chelsea in the corner but Kairi goes off the ropes and levels Chelsea with a spear. Chops by Kairi and she knocks Chelsea back into the corner, running shoulder tackle by Kairi and she hits a triple jump elbow smash out of the corner for a two. Kairi grabs Chelsea by the hair and puts her in an Octopus Hold, but Chelsea gets out of it. Elbow by Chelsea but Kairi elbows her in return, Kairi goes for the Sliding D but Chelsea blocks it by getting her leg up. Armbar by Chelsea and she reverts it into a cross armbreaker, but Kairi gets a foot on the ropes to force a break. Jumping lariats by Chelsea and she boots Kairi in the chest, she goes up top and she hits a missile dropkick for two. Chelsea slaps Kairi before slamming her head into the mat, running stomp to the back by Chelsea and she hits a second one for a two count cover. Chelsea goes up top but Kairi avoids the footstomp, spinning slaps by Kairi and she delivers the Sliding D for two. Kairi picks up Chelsea and hits a Final Cut, she goes up top but Chelsea kicks her before she can jump off. Chelsea joins Kairi but Kairi elbows her down into the Tree of Woe and hits the diving footstomp. Kairi goes back up top and this time she nails the diving elbow drop, picking up the three count! Kairi Hojo wins the match and retains the championship.

This match wasn’t actually as bad I was expecting, but it still wasn’t particularly good. The issue was two fold, both in the layout and and in the execution. Wrestlers keep going for Kairi’s arm in her matches but it never ends up mattering, she always still hits the Sliding D and diving elbow drop so they really need to come up with a new method of wearing her down. Chelsea isn’t a bad wrestler, her strikes just aren’t great and she is a bit awkward in the ring, which isn’t unusual with taller wrestlers when they first start out (she isn’t that tall, but much taller than Kairi). I think Kairi is a really good wrestler but needs the right opponent and they haven’t been doing her a lot of favors lately, hopefully her next defense is someone that wrestles more her style so it will be more fluid and less fragmented in its execution. As a lower card match this would have been acceptable, it just fell flat as a title match at Korakuen Hall.

(c) Io Shirai vs. Yoko Bito
World of Stardom Championship

Io and Bito get right into it as they start trading elbows, Io charges Bito in the corner but Bito gets Io behind her back to go to the B-Driver, but Io reverses it with a sunset flip. Bito swats Io away and goes for a kick, but Io catches her leg and dropkicks her in the other leg. Io clips away from Bito and dropkicks her out of the ring, Io goes off the far ropes but fakes the dive before quickly jumping out with a plancha suicida. Io slides Bito back in and puts her in the Figure Four, Io picks up Bito and kicks her hard in the back. Stomps by Io and she slaps at Bito, she goes off the ropes but Bito delivers a lariat. Cover by Bito, but it gets two. Bito picks up Io and dumps her out onto the apron, leg sweep by Bito and she kicks Io out of the ring. Io tries to springboard back in the ring but Bito grabs her and hits a slingshot suplex. Kicks to the back by Bito, and she covers Io for a two count. Bito goes up top but Io joins her, springboard dropkick by Io and Bito falls out of the ring. Io charges the corner, she jumps up on the top turnbuckle and she hits a moonsault down to the floor.

Io goes out after Bito but Bito delivers a B-Driver at ringside on the floor, Bito slowly rolls back into the ring with Io following, missile dropkick by Bito and she hits a vertical suplex for two. Bito picks up Io but Io blocks the B-Driver and hits a dragon screw leg whip. Running knee by Io in the corner, Io twists Bito’s leg in the second rope before dropkicking it. Tiger Feint Kick by Io and she hits the swandive missile dropkick, cover by Io but it gets two. Io hits a moonsault off the second turnbuckle, she goes to the turnbuckles again but Bito kicks her from behind. Io gets up on the apron, Bito goes for a kick but Io grabs her leg and hits a dragon screw in the ropes. Moonsault off the second turnbuckle by Io, but Bito kicks out. Io puts Bito in a cross-legged submission, but Bito gets to the ropes to force the break. Io goes up top but Bito recovers and hits her from behind, Bito joins Io and she hits a superplex. Bito picks up Io but Io fights back with elbows, Io goes off the ropes but Bito kicks her in the head and hits a German suplex hold for a two count. Bito picks up Io and hits a heel drop, B-Driver by Bito but instead of covering her she hits a second one for a two count. Bito goes for the Doll B but Io collapses, the referee checks on Io but Bito hits a heel drop on Bito for two. Bito picks up Io but Io hits a series of palm strikes, German suplex hold by Io but Bito gets a shoulder up. Package German by Io, but again Bito kicks out at two. Io positions Bito, she goes up top and nails the moonsault for the three count! Io Shirai wins the match and is still the World of Stardom Championship.

By far the best match on the show, although that isn’t a high bar. But it was well laid out and the action stayed a decent pace throughout, and Bito had several nearfalls that could have realistically ended the match. The leg work probably lasted a bit longer than it needed to since it didn’t play into the end of the match, but Io needed something to focus on even if Bito didn’t do much on her own to make it meaningful. Io was slightly more cocky than usual here but not by much as she tends to be a bit full of herself in her title matches, nothing that really tipped off the fans that just a week after this show she would officially turn heel. Definitely a fun match with the big moves spaced out well to help make the action more memorable without it just becoming a spotfest, worth a watch for sure even though its not one of Io’s top matches of 2016.  Recommended

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