Championships Held: Impact Knockouts Championship
Tournaments Won: None
Awards Won: None

Notable Matches in Japan:

• October 30th, 2016 vs. Kairi Hojo

Signature Moves:

• Curb Stomp
• Elevated DDT
• Legsweep DDT
• Unprettier

In Action:

Coming Soon 

Back to Gaijin Invaders

The post Chelsea Green 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

The post Stardom October Showdown! on 10/30/16 Review appeared first on Joshi City.

A new yearly tradition for Stardom is having a ‘Mask Festival” for Halloween. This is as fun and laid back event, where all the wrestlers wear masks and have a new name just for the night. While these events don’t pump out any Five Star Classics since the mood is different, they can still be fun as it pairs up wrestlers that don’t usually wrestle each other and its interesting to see the wrestlers in a different environment. Here are the matches (with their real identities):

• Mini Iotica (Azumi) and Blood Rayne (Kris Wolf) vs. Twinkle Rabbit (Arisu Nanase) and Kumami (Eimi Nishina)
• Poison Shamrock (Leah Owens) and Kasey Quinzell (Kasey Owens) vs. Serpiente Del Mal (Thunder Rosa) and Osore (Holidead)
• Santana Wonder (Santana Garrett) and Princesa Gato (Chelsea Green) vs. Shin Gorilla (Jungle Kyouna) and Lucky Blanca (Hiromi Mimura)
• IOTICA (Io Shirai), MAYUCHIKA (Mayu Iwatani), and Poi Man (Natsumi Maki) vs. Pirates Kaiser (Kairi Hojo), Aloha Beat (Yoko Bito), and Fuzzy Peach (Momo Watanabe)

This event was shown in full, so let’s see if the fun atmosphere translated to fun matches.

Mini Iotica and Blood Rayne vs. Twinkle Rabbit and Kumami

Kumami recovers and dropkicks Blood Rayne in the back, Twinkle Rabbit returns and they both attack Blood Rayne in the ropes. Kumami puts Blood Rayne in the corner but Blood Rayne avoids her charge and goes up top, she jumps back into the ring but Kumami catches her with a dropkick. Blood Rayne and Kumami trade strikes, big knee by Blood Rayne and she tags in Mini Iotica. Mini Iotica and Blood Rayne both dropkick Kumami, Blood Rayne slams Mini Iotica onto Kumami and then Mini Iotica returns the favor. Cover, but Twinkle Rabbit breaks it up. With all four in the ring they trade slams on each other, until only Kumami and Mini Iotica are left standing. Kumami and Mini Iotica trade elbows, face crusher by Kumami and she tags in Twinkle Rabbit. Twinkle Rabbit dropkicks Mini Iotica twice, cover by Twinkle Rabbit but Mini Iotica gets a shoulder up. Scoop slam by Twinkle Rabbit but Blood Rayne breaks up the cover, Mini Iotica and Kumami trade elbows until Mini Iotica jumps on Twinkle Rabbit’s back and applies a stretch hold. Sunset flip by Mini Iotica, and she picks up the three count! Mini Iotica and Blood Rayne are the winners!

A really fun match to kick off the event. Obviously these are the less experienced wrestlers in Stardom (plus Kris), but when they wear masks and are playing characters it isn’t as noticeable. In the regular world, Nishina would never get the better of Io Shirai, but she can in the Mask Fiesta. Everyone did their parts well and even though it was a short match it still managed to squeeze in some memorable moments. Solid way to start.

Poison Shamrock and Kasey Quinzell vs. Serpiente Del Mal and Osore

Bizarre ending aside, you could tell that these four are quite not as familar with each other. There were some segments that had some quality back and forths but most of the match was pretty telegraphed. This is my first time seeing the Owens Twins, I won’t judge them off of just this of course but nothing shown in this match made either stand out. In fact no one really stood out here, it was just kinda ‘there’ until the odd ending. Not a surprising development with four non-regular Stardom wrestlers, but pretty average.

Santana Wonder and Princesa Gato vs. Shin Gorilla and Lucky Blanca

Princesa Gato puts Lucky Blanca in a crab hold, she picks Lucky Blanca back up and tags in Santana. They take turns attacking Lucky Blanca in the corner, Lucky Blanca fires back with elbows but Princesa Gato catches the crossbody attempt and slams her to the mat. Dropkick by Lucky Blanca but she can’t make the tag to Gorilla, Santana comes in but on an Irish whip attempt Lucky Blanca is able to tag in Gorilla. Gorilla slams Santana into Lucky Blanca’s back before hitting a running body press, cover by Gorilla but it gets two. Santana takes off Gorilla’s gloves and hits her with them, leg sweep by Santana and she covers Gorilla for two. Space Rolling Elbow by Santana but Gorilla drives Santana into her knee, she goes to eat I am guessing candy so Lucky Blanca tags herself in. Low crossbody by Lucky Blanca and she applies the rolling leglock, but Santana gets into the ropes. Lucky Blanca kicks Santana into the corner but Santana avoids the dropkick, Muta Lock by Santana but Gorilla breaks it up. Gorilla picks up Lucky Blanca and spins her into both Princesa Gato and Santana, she then slams Santana and Princesa Gato next to each other before going up top, but they both avoid her diving body press. Gorilla is kicked out of the ring, they go to Lucky Blanca and delivers a double DDT. Shining Star Press by Santana, and she picks up the three count! Santana Wonder and Princesa Gato are your winners!

This was more playful than the last match but not as much fun as the first match, so it never really had an identity. Kyouna was the main wrestler just having fun, which in these types of matches is fine, but Santana and Chelsea weren’t really playing back with her so it never really clicked. Some creative moments but overall a bit lackluster, although to be fair a match between these four without funny gimmicks would likely have been equally lackluster.

IOTICA, MAYUCHIKA, and Poi Man vs. Pirates Kaiser, Aloha Beat, and Fuzzy Peach

Poi Man and MAYUCHIKA make it in the ring but are they are all put into submission holds, Pirates Kaiser picks up IOTICA and she hits a double chop to the chest. Elbow drop by Pirates Kaiser, and she covers IOTICA for a two count. Back up they trade elbows, IOTICA gets on Pirates Kaiser’s back and she puts her in a stretch hold. Roll-up by IOTICA, it only gets two but it does give her a chance to tag in Poi Man. Dropkick by Poi Man to Pirates Kaiser but Aloha Beat kicks her from the apron, Pirates Kaiser gets a water gun and squirts Poi Man repeatedly in the face. Pirates Kaiser goes off the ropes but Poi Man kicks her back, kick to the knee by Poi Man and she kicks Aloha Beat as well. Fuzzy Peach comes in but she gets armdragged, MAYUCHIKA comes in the ring, she grabs Aloha Beat and Fuzzy Peach by the arm before hitting a split-legged springboard armdrag. Dropkicks by Poi Man and MAYUCHIKA, MAYUCHIKA goes up top and she hits a missile dropkick onto Pirates Kaiser, she picks up Pirates Kaiser and flips her out onto the apron, but Pirates Kaiser shoots her in the face and hits a diving elbow smash. Hojo tags in Aloha Beat, Aloha Beat comes in with a lei which distracts MAYUCHIKA, she chokes MAYUCHIKA with it but MAYUCHIKA gets it off and chokes Aloha Beat back. Poi Man and Fuzzy Peach are both tagged in, the two mysterious masked wrestlers trade elbows until Fuzzy Peach kicks Poi Man in the chest. Poi Man goes up top but Fuzzy Peach avoids the diving crossbody as Poi Man accidentally takes out IOTICA and MAYUCHIKA. Rolling verticals by Fuzzy Peach, and she covers Poi Man for two.

Missile dropkick by Fuzzy Peach, she goes off the ropes but Poi Man avoids the Somato. Flipping neckbreaker by Poi Man, she rolls her to corner and tags in IOTICA. Running double knee by IOTICA to Fuzzy Peach in the corner, cover by IOTICA but Fuzzy Peach kicks out. IOTICA goes for a package German but Fuzzy Peach blocks it, armdrag by Fuzzy Peach and she armdrags everyone in her excitement (including the referee) before the all do the Osaka Hop! Always a classic. After being excited for a moment they go back to fighting as all six trade elbows, they do the six wrestler suplex spot but MAYUCHIKA switches the referee for her to give her side the 4 vs. 3 advantage. Sunset flip by IOTICA to Fuzzy Peach but Fuzzy Peach rolls through it and kicks IOTICA in the chest. Somato by Fuzzy Peach, but it only gets a two count. Things break down as Aloha Beat and Poi Man run in, Poi Man kicks Aloha Beat out of the ring as most of the wrestlers brawl on the floor. Pirates Kaiser quickly gets back in the ring, she goes up top and delivers a diving body press, but she accidentally takes out her own teammates. IOTICA gets on the apron and delivers an Asai Moonsault, then MAYUCHIKA goes up top and hits a diving crossbody to the floor. Poi Man goes last with her own diving crossbody onto the blob of wrestlers, the referee then gets on the apron and hits a springboard splash down onto the wrestlers! He poses in the ring, excited, but is hit with a baseball bat for his trouble. IOTICA drags Fuzzy Peach back in the ring, diving footstomp by MAYUCHIKA and IOTICA nails the moonsault for the three count! IOTICA, MAYUCHIKA, and Poi Man are the winners!

This match had a good blend of comedy spots and smooth action, and since it was 20 minutes long they had time for both. The throwback to Osaka Pro comedy spots was great, as was the referee getting involved as those are the types of things Stardom can’t normally do since they don’t ever have that style of comedy in their matches. Some wrestlers seemed to be more into it, Bito didn’t do a whole lot in the match, but everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves. There was also plenty of solid wrestling as well, with Mayu and Io flying everywhere and Natsumi showing off the different ways she can cartwheel out of moves. Overall easily the best match of the night and an entertaining spectacle.  Recommended

The post Stardom Mask Fiesta Halloween Party on 10/23/16 Review appeared first on Joshi City.

Keep in mind of course this ranking is purely subjective because it is based 95% on the quality of their matches, not accomplishments won or how many tours they were on. Please note this is based solely on the wrestler’s matches in Stardom and is not a ranking of the wrestler considering their career as a whole. The following wrestlers are excluded from the list: Cat Power (only had one match), Kris Wolf (contracted Stardom wrestler), and Alex Lee (Freelancer used by many Joshi promotions). Without any further ado, here is my Official List of Best Gaijins in Stardom, 2016 Edition:

1. Kay Lee Ray Stardom Matches in 2016: 15 Titles Won in Stardom: None Best Matches in Stardom: vs. Iwatani on 1/17 and vs. Shirai on 9/22	2. Toni Storm Stardom Matches in 2016: 17 Titles Won in Stardom: SWA Undisputed World Women’s Championship Best Match in Stardom: vs. Shirai on 7/24	3. Evie Stardom Matches in 2016: 9 Titles Won in Stardom: Artist of Stardom Best Match in Stardom: vs. Iwatani on 2/21
4. Kellie Skater Stardom Matches in 2016: 9 Titles Won in Stardom: Artist of Stardom Best Match in Stardom: Hyper Destroyers vs. Three Daughters on 2/28	5. Alpha Female Stardom Matches in 2016: 12 Titles Won in Stardom: None Best Match in Stardom: vs. Shirai on 3/26	6. Leah Vaughan Stardom Matches in 2016: 12 Titles Won in Stardom: None Best Match in Stardom: with Wolf vs. Oedo Tai on 8/5
7. Viper Stardom Matches in 2016: 17 Titles Won in Stardom: None Best Match in Stardom: vs. Shirai on 2/21	8. Santana Garrett Stardom Matches in 2016: 8 Titles Won in Stardom: Wonder of Stardom Best Match in Stardom: vs. Hojo on 5/15	9. Chelsea Stardom Matches in 2016: 12 Titles Won in Stardom: None Best Match in Stardom: vs. Hojo on 8/5
10. Tessa Blanchard Stardom Matches in 2016: 9 Titles Won in Stardom: None Best Match in Stardom: vs. Shirai on 9/4	11. Diosa Atenea Stardom Matches in 2016: 14 Titles Won in Stardom: None Best Match in Stardom: Oedo Tai vs. Three Daughters on 6/11	12. Kaitlin Diemond Stardom Matches in 2016: 13 Titles Won in Stardom: None Best Match in Stardom: Oedo Tai vs. Thunder Rock on 2/21
13. Shanna Stardom Matches in 2016: 12 Titles Won in Stardom: None Best Match in Stardom: vs. Storm on 8/5	14. Blue Nikita Stardom Matches in 2016: 9 Titles Won in Stardom: None Best Match in Stardom: vs. KLR on 8/28	15. Courtney Stewart Stardom Matches in 2016: 5 Titles Won in Stardom: None Best Match in Stardom: vs. Hojo on 8/28
16. Chelsea Green Stardom Matches in 2016: 5 Titles Won in Stardom: None Best Match in Stardom: Elimination Tag on 2/7	17. Queen Maya Stardom Matches in 2016: 6 Titles Won in Stardom: None Best Match in Stardom: vs. Iwatani on 4/29	18. Lizzy Styles Stardom Matches in 2016: 3 Titles Won in Stardom: None Best Match in Stardom: n/a

And there we have it! I’ll have a more complete list with more details after the year has ended. By then, Stardom will have used over 20 different gaijin wrestlers, which is a lot of foreign talent for any promotion in the world, let alone a Joshi promotion. Some have worked out well, some have not, but either way it certainly adds something different to their cards. Hopefully in 2017 they will focus on the gaijins that performed well in the promotion as quality is better than quantity, but with new native wrestlers debuting soon they may not need to use as many gaijin talent in the future. I’ll check back in January to update a final list, since Chelsea Green has another tour coming up she in particular has an opportunity to move up the rankings if she has some bigger matches.

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

Stardom records all their shows, even ones that are not scheduled to be televised, so even though this was shot from a ringside camera we still get the pleasure of watching it. This event did have a big title match, as Thunder Rock take on Kaitlin Diemond and Viper for the Goddesses of Stardom Championship. We also get Evie and Kellie Skater in singles matches as well.  Here is the complete card:

• Evie vs. Haruka Kato
• Kaori Yoneyama vs. Kellie Skater
• Chelsea Green and Santana Garrett vs. Hiromi Mimura and Kairi Hojo
• Hiroyo Matsumoto vs. Jungle Kyouna
• Goddesses of Stardom Championship: Io Shirai and Mayu Iwatani vs. Kaitlin Diemond and Viper

The good part of this being shot at ringside and not for TV is there is no clipping, every match will be shown in full.

Evie vs. Haruka Kato

Evie works a headlock to start, Kato turns it into a hammerlock but Evie reverses it. Evie rolls around the ring while Kato looks confused, they trade trips until Kato gets the cross armbreaker applied but Evie quickly got out of it. Evie and Kato trade elbows, kicks by Evie and she drills Kato in the back before covering her for two. Evie chokes Kato in the corner and kicks her some more, Kato goes for the armbreaker but Evie blocks it and slams Kato to the mat. Chinlock by Evie but Kato gets out of it and hits a face crusher. Evie comes back with a side slam onto her knee, she throws Kato in the corner but Kato avoids the big boot and applies an armbreaker over the top rope. Diving crossbody by Kato, she picks up Evie but Evie sneaks in an inside cradle. Facebuster by Evie, and she covers Kato for a two count. Satellite roll-up by Kato and she applies the cross armbreaker, but Evie gets a foot on the ropes. Evie throws Kato into the corner and hits a running big boot, Evie picks up Kato and she delivers the TTYL for a three count! Evie wins!

This was a decent and straight-forward opener. I like Kato, but she is limited, all of her matches are pretty similar. She really only has a handful of moves and tends to do them all in every match, so it is generally up to her opponent to make the match special. Evie was good here but there just wasn’t enough time for her to do too much before she quickly picked up the win after hitting two of her signature moves. Perfectly watchable but not much more than that.

Kaori Yoneyama vs. Kellie Skater

Yoneyama pushes Skater into the corner, she tosses her to the other side but Skater kicks her back. Armdrag by Skater but Yoneyama returns the favor and they return to their feet. Full nelson by Skater and she gets Yoneyama to the mat, but Yoneyama applies a leg lock. Muta Lock by Yoneyama but Skater gets into the ropes and forces a break. Yoneyama puts Skater in a bodyscissors  but Skater gets out of it, Yoneyama grabs Skater by the hair and flings her across the ring. She does it again before pounding on Skater near the ropes, Skater fires back with a boot but Yoneyama hits an elbow in the corner. They trade shots, kicks to the leg by Skater but Yoneyama chops her in the throat. Kick to the chest by Skater, Yoneyama bridges out of the pin and hits a jumping crossbody for two. Northern Lights Suplex by Yoneyama for another two count, back up Skater kicks Yoneyama and hits a PK for a two count of her own. Bodyslam by Skater and she hits an elbow drop, Skater puts Yoneyama in a cross armbreaker but Yoneyama, Yoneyama gets Skater in the ropes and hits a knee to the back of the head. Another knee by Yoneyama and she sneaks in a school boy for two. They trade quick pin attempts with no luck, DDT by Skater and she hits a Buzzsaw Kick for a two count. Skater throws Yoneyama in the corner, Yoneyama bounces off the ropes and she applies a reverse sunset flip for the three count! Yoneyama is your winner.

I wish the match had more substance but I enjoyed what they did. Skater is one of my guilty pleasures, she hasn’t put on many ‘classics’ but has so much energy and I love a good striker. Yoneyama has been around the block so everything she does is really fluid. A lot more basic than I was hoping and what they are capable of but a decent mid-card match anyway.

Chelsea Green and Santana Garrett vs. Hiromi Mimura and Kairi Hojo

Mimura and Green begin the match, Mimura stomps on Green’s foot and goes for a roll-up, but Green throws her to the mat and gets a quick cover. They tag out, Garrett and Hojo shove each other back and forth, elbows by Hojo but Garrett trips her and kicks Hojo in the chest. Garrett flips away from Hojo and hits a Space Rolling Elbow, she puts Hojo in the ropes and Green assists from the apron. Garrett rolls on Hojo and applies a Camel Clutch, but Mimura comes in and breaks it up. Garrett elbows Mimura before going for Hojo’s arm, she tags in Green  but Hojo avoids Green’s boot and delivers a spear. This gives her time to tag Mimura, Mimura attacks Green with elbows but Garrett comes in to help. Mimura knocks down Garrett and rolls up Green, but it only gets two. Mimura throws both opponents in the corner, Hojo returns and she hits a catapult elbow smash in the corner. Dropkick by Mimura to Green, but the cover gets two. Green has had enough and slams Mimura, heel kick by Green and she covers Mimura for a two count. Lariat by Green but Mimura lands by her corner and tags in Hojo.

Hojo chops Green into the corner an hits a running shoulder tackle followed by a front flip neckbreaker for two. Cross arm submission by Hojo but Garrett breaks it up, elbows by Green to Hojo and she hits a heel kick. Green goes up top and she hits a missile dropkick for a two count. Green tags Garrett, side Russian leg sweep by Garrett to Hojo and she applies a rolling Muta Lock. Mimura breaks it up, Hojo picks up Garrett and hits an elbow Final Cut, but Garrett blocks the Sliding D. Garrett goes for the Shining Star Press but Hojo grabs her leg and hits a spinning backhand slap.  Garrett comes back with a kick and both wrestlers fall to the mat, Hojo recovers first and tags Mimura, Mimura elbows Garrett as Hojo goes up top and hits a diving elbow smash. La Magistral by Mimura, but Green breaks up the cover. Elbows by Mimura but Garrett ducks a lariat and hits a fisherman suplex hold for two. Green comes in and they both kick Mimura, but Mimura barely gets a shoulder up. Hojo comes in but Garrett superkicks her, Mimura sneaks in a small package but it gets a two count. Garrett catches Mimura off the ropes and slams her to the mat, Shining Star Press by Garrett and she gets the three count! Green and Garrett win the match.

A fun match, I thought that both teams worked together well and the Stardom team in particular stood out. Green is still honing her craft so to speak, a few parts didn’t look smooth, but nothing terrible and the close camera isn’t doing them any favors in that regard as every little mistake is clear. Mimura is quickly becoming my favorite Stardom rookie, she has more of a ceiling than Kyouna but she has the personality to fit in well and if she sticks with it she may find the most success in the long run. Overall a solid effort by all four and worth a casual watch for sure.  Mildly Recommended

Hiroyo Matsumoto vs. Jungle Kyouna

Kyouna goes on the attack immediately, she tries to shoulderblock the veteran down but is unable to do so. Headlock takedown by Matsumoto, they return to their feet and lock knuckles before trading wristlocks. Matsumoto bites Kyouna’s arm and stomps on her, elbows by Matsumoto and she dropkicks Kyouna for a two count. Matsumoto beats on Kyouna as Kyouna tries to fight back, backbreaker by Matsumoto and she covers Kyouna for two. Matsumoto puts Kyouna in the corner across the ropes and hits a body avalanche, she covers Kyouna again but the rookie kicks out. Matsumoto goes for a piledriver but Kyouna blocks it and hits a back bodydrop. Kyouna throws Matsumoto in the corner and hits a body avalanche, powerslam by Kyouna but the covers gets two. Kyouna goes up top and hits a diving body press, she picks up Matsumoto but Matsumoto catches her with a lariat. They trade lariats without going down until Matsumoto floors Kyouna first, she goes off the ropes and they go back and forth with slaps and elbows. Kyouna knocks down Matsumoto with a lariat, she goes to run off the ropes but Matsumoto grabs her. Backdrop suplex by Matsumoto, but Kyouna gets a shoulder up. Sliding lariat by Matsumoto and she puts Kyouna in an elevated crab hold. Kyouna crawls to the ropes and finally reaches them, Matsumoto gets on the second turnbuckle and she hits a Reverse Diving Double Knee Drop for the three count! Hiroyo Matsumoto wins.

There was a lot to like here, my only real complaint is the match started really slow. The part where Matsumoto was just stomping Kyouna went just a bit long, the match lagged for a few minutes prior to Kyouna’s comeback with the back bodydrop. From then on the match was really good, I thought that Matsumoto would give Kyouna a lot and I was right, with Kyouna even winning a few of the strike battles which is really rare in rookie matches. I liked Matsumoto immediately finishing Kyouna after the crab hold didn’t work, Kyouna was able to escape the way that rookies typically lose but was too hurt to do anything else afterwards. So often we see a ‘hope’ spot there that I liked them doing something different. This would have been an upper tier ‘rookie match’ if it hadn’t slowed down for a few minutes, but overall still a fun battle.  Mildly Recommended

(c) Thunder Rock (Io Shirai and Mayu Iwatani) vs. Kaitlin Diemond and Viper

The first two in the match are Iwatani and Diemond, Iwatani pops Diemond in the head repeatedly before hitting an armdrag, but Diemond quickly rolls back to her feet. Shirai and Viper tag in, Viper tosses Shirai around the ring and drives her into the corner, but Shirai avoids her charge when she runs in. Dropkick by Shirai and she tags Iwatani, both attack Viper in the corner before applying armbars and posing. Viper has none of that and shoves them off, Diemond comes in and they hit a double elbow drop before throwing Iwatani onto Shirai. Shirai falls out of the ring but Viper goes out after her and slams her into the apron, while Diemond and Iwatani battle in the ring. Backbreaker by Diemond and she tags Viper, running body press by Viper to Iwatani and she gets two. Yasukawa gets on the apron and all three squish Iwatani in the ropes, in the ring Viper and Diemond charge Iwatani but Iwatani moves out of the way. Viper picks up Iwatani but Shirai dropkicks Iwatani to help tip over Viper, giving Iwatani time to tag Shirai. Diemond stays in but Shirai does a cartwheel and dropkicks both of them, Shirai drop toeholds Viper onto Diemond and covers Diemond for two. Shirai elbows Diemond but Diemond boots her in the face, Shirai hits the Tiger Feint Kick followed by the swandive missile dropkick for two. Iwatani is tagged in, she elbows Diemond and hits a Northern Lights Suplex for two. Iwatani jumps at Diemond but Diemond catches her and hits a back bodydrop.

Diemond tags Viper, Viper pounds on Iwatani but Iwatani sneaks in a school boy for two. Big shoulderblock by Viper and she hits a jumping crossbody to Iwatani’s head. Argentine Backbreaker by Viper, Shirai tries to help but fails, leaving Iwatani to get out of the hold herself. Footstomp by Iwatani and she tags Shirai, Shirai goes up top and hits a missile dropkick, she goes for a German suplex but Viper blocks it. Sleeper by Shirai but Viper gets into the ropes and throws Shirai off.  Running senton by Viper, she gets Shirai on her shoulders and hits an electric chair slam for a two count when Iwatani breaks it up. Diemond comes in too and they suplex their opponents, Viper gets on the second turnbuckle but Shirai avoids the Reverse Splash. Dropkick by Shirai and she kicks Viper in the head, running double knee by Shirai in the corner but she hurts her knee, giving Viper time to tag Diemond. Diemond hits a side slam on Shirai, she picks her up and hits a hard elbow for a two count. Double chokeslam to Shirai, Diemond holds Shirai for Viper but Viper hits Diemond on accident. Viper flattens Shirai, she gets on the second turnbuckle but Iwatani hits her from the apron. Shirai joins Viper and hits a Frankensteiner, Shirai and Iwatani get up on the same turnbuckle and hit a double missile dropkick. Diemond returns, Iwatani goes up top and with Shirai they nail the spike piledriver. Yasukawa tries to spit Sake into Shirai’s face, but Shirai ducks and she hits Diemond by accident. Package German Suplex by Shirai, and she gets the three count! Thunder Rock retain the championship.

I really liked this one, a quality championship match with lots of back and forth action. Stardom does sometimes have titles change hands on small events like this so it wasn’t a foregone confusion which team was winning, leading to the crowd staying into it throughout. Iwatani and Shirai are two of the best women wrestlers in the world as far as entertainment value goes, they are so high energy and Iwatani sells like a demon so everything done to her looks really painful. The ringside camera was fine, we didn’t miss any of the action and it made the moves feel even more impactful. A fun match and worth watching, it wasn’t an instant classic but a solid and entertaining match from bell to bell.  Recommended

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At the last televised event for Stardom, the “World” team defeated the Stardom team in the main event which led to another skirmish here today at Korakuen Hall. Multiple titles are on the line for this big event, including all three of Stardom’s singles titles. Here is the complete card:

• Azumi, Haruka Kato, and Kaori Yoneyama vs. Maki Natsumi, Saori Anou, and Starlight Kid
• Chelsea Green vs. Hiromi Mimura
• Cat Power vs. Momo Watanabe
• Jungle Kyouna vs. Kellie Skater
• Hiroyo Matsumoto vs. Kaitlin Diamond
• High Speed Championship: Mayu Iwatani vs. Evie
• Wonder of Stardom Championship: Santana Garrett vs. Kairi Hojo
• World of Stardom Championship: Io Shirai vs. Viper

Some of these matches will be really clipped as eight matches is a ridiculous amount for a two hour televised show, but the main matches will likely all be shown in full or really close to it. Let’s get started.

Azumi, Haruka Kato, and Kaori Yoneyama vs. Maki Natsumi, Saori Anou, and Starlight Kid

Azumi and Starlight Kid kick things off, they bounce off the ropes a bunch and both go for dropkicks with no luck. Azumi dropkicks Starlight Kid from behind so she tags in Natsumi, Natsumi works the arm of Azumi, but Azumi reverses it. Yoneyama and Kato come into the ring and triple team Natsumi, Yoneyama stays in the ring but Natsumi flips her to the mat. Spinning headscissors by Natsumi and she tags in Starlight Kid, she tosses Yoneyama to the mat before tagging in Anou. Anou tries the same but Yoneyama blocks it, Anou gets Yoneyama to the mat and applies a bridging leg lock while Starlight Kid and Natsumi pose nearby. Kato and Azumi run in to help, we clip ahead in the match to Starlight Kid dropkicking Yoneyama. La Magistral by Azumi to Starlight Kid, she kicks out, but Azumi quickly applies a rolling foot cradle for the three count! Azumi, Kato, and Yoneyama win the match.

They actually showed a bit more of this match than I was expecting, but still not a lot was shown. It was fun seeing the Actress girl’Z wrestlers though, always enjoyable to see some new younger wrestlers. Not enough substance here to get a good feel of the match but what they showed was fine.

Chelsea Green vs. Hiromi Mimura

Mimura attacks Green with elbows but Green withstands them and takes her to the mat. Mimura stomps on Green’s foot and jumps on her back to apply a sleeper, but Green flings her off. Mimura tries a few quick pins with no luck, knee by Green and she stomps Mimura in the chest. Jumping double footstomp by Green and she covers Mimura for three! Chelsea Green wins!

Not a whole lot to this, it was a short match that was clipped even further. Mimura never had any chance of winning as her flash pins weren’t having any luck, and Green won the match really easily (or they clipped the build-up). The finish didn’t look great and overall it was pretty lackluster.

Cat Power vs. Momo Watanabe

Cat Power looks really different, I am just assuming it is her since that is what the match listing says. Watanabe tries working on Cat Power’s arm but Cat Power shrugs it off, Watanabe goes for a dropkick but Cat Power swats it away. Cat Power stomps on Watanabe’s head and hits a lariat, she puts Watanabe in a Texas Cloverleaf but Watanabe gets to the ropes. Anaconda Buster by Cat Power, she picks up Watanabe and hits a lariat in the corner. Cat Power throws Watanabe in the corner but Watanabe jumps up in the corner and hits a missile dropkick. Somato by Watanabe, but Cat Power kicks out of the cover. Knee by Cat Power and she throws Watanabe hard into the corner. Hurricane Driver by Cat Power, and she picks up the three count! Cat Power is your winner.

Like the last few (and probably the next few) this was a basic match, it only went six minutes but was clipped down further than that. If Watanabe has a new attitude she didn’t get a chance to display it here as Cat Power was simply too much for her. Cat Power being on a Stardom show surprised me as normally she Freelancers elsewhere, it will be interesting to see if this leads to a longer stay or they just needed a Gaijin to beat a young Stardom wrestler. I thought Cat Power looked impressive here but too small a sample size to get excited about.

Jungle Kyouna vs. Kellie Skater

We join this one in progress as Kyouna throws Skater into the corner before hitting a face crusher. Camel clutch by Kyouna but Skater gets out of it and applies an ankle hold. Skater stomps on Kyouna and kicks her repeatedly, knee by Skater in the corner and she covers Kyouna for two. Kyouna blocks a slam and hits a back bodydrop, powerslam by Kyouna but it gets two. Kyouna goes to the second turnbuckle and hits a diving body press, but Skater kicks out again. Kyouna goes all the way up this time but this time Skater is up and tosses her to the mat. Leg drop by Skater, she picks up Kyouna and nails a kick to the head. Skater picks up Kyouna but Kyouna pushes her off and hits a lariat. Kyouna goes off the ropes but Skater connects with a superkick, Cross Arm Russian Leg Sweep by Skater and she gets the three count! Kellie Skater is the winner.

Kyouna did get in a bit of offense here or there but it still never reached the point that it felt like she may win. Skater looked good as she always does, but the match was a bit clipped so it was a bit disjointed. I did like Kyouna hitting some of her moves, this was certainly not a squash as she got in quite a bit of offense, but Skater was always ready to kick her in the head when needed. The best match of the card so far and above average overall, but due to its length not something worth going out of your way to see.

Hiroyo Matsumoto vs. Kaitlin Diamond

They start with a test of strength, Matsumoto gets the better of it and she shoulderblocks Diamond to the mat. Diamond comes back with a choke but Matsumoto elbows her and tosses her in the corner. Diamond throws the referee at Matsumoto and chokes her with a shirt, side Russian leg sweep by Diamond and Act helps her choke Matsumoto in the ropes. Matsumoto snaps Diamond’s neck on the to rope, Act pours sake on her but Matsumoto spits the sake back at Act. Matsumoto gets Diamond up in the Argentine Backbreaker before slamming her to the mat, cover by Matsumoto but it gets two. Matsumoto gets on the second turnbuckle but Diamond gets her knees up on the Reverse Splash attempt. Diamond picks up Matsumoto but Matsumoto elbows her off and hits a release German suplex. Diamond blocks the lariat and hits a side slam, she picks up Matsumoto but Matsumoto gets away and hits an elbow. Matsumoto gets Diamond up and powerbombs her into the corner, backdrop suplex by Matsumoto and she gets the three count! Hiroyo Matsumoto wins!

Clipping hurt this match too as the middle portion was missing, which is a shame as it looked it like had potential. Matsumoto is a solid veteran that very rarely has bad matches, and everything that we saw looked tight, especially the backdrop suplex at the end. Plus it is always a pleasure to see Act Yasukawa. I can’t with a clear conscious recommend a match that only six minutes was shown of but nothing bad here.

(c) Mayu Iwatani vs. Evie

After starting with wristlocks and rope running with neither getting the upper hand, they go back and forth until Evie flips Iwatani out to the apron and Iwatani does a split legged armdrag to return to the ring. Dropkick by Iwatani but Evie connects with a couple kicks and applies a stretch hold. Iwatani gets to the ropes but Evie slaps on a crab hold, Evie picks up Iwatani and Iwatani goes for a springboard move, but Evie kicks her in the head to block it. Evie gets on the apron and knees Iwatani in the head until Iwatani also falls onto the apron. Evie picks up Iwatani and slams her on the apron, sending Iwatani down to the floor. Evie slides Iwatani back into the ring and throws her into the corner, she sets up Iwatani across the ropes and hits a series of kicks before slamming Iwatani onto her knee for a two count. Evie charges Iwatani but Iwatani avoids the big boot and hits a high kick followed by a diving footstomp to the back.

Iwatani picks up Evie, Evie gets away but Iwatani still hits a Northern Lights Suplex. Iwatani goes off the ropes but Evie hits a side slam onto her knee, Evie goes up top but Iwatani recovers and joins her. Iwatani suplexes Evie back into the ring, she gets on the second turnbuckle and she hits a missile dropkick. Iwatani goes up top herself and delivers the diving footstomp, she picks up Evie but Evie blocks the dragon suplex. High kick by Evie and she hits a trio of big boots in the corner, cover by Evie but Iwatani gets a shoulder up. Evie picks up Iwatani but Iwatani slides away and sneaks in a sunset flip for two. They both miss high kicks but Iwatani connects with one and hits a hurricanrana for a two count. Superkick by Iwatani and she hits two more as Evie is on her knee. Buzzsaw Kick by Iwatani, she picks up Evie and nails the dragon suplex hold for a three count! Iwatani retains her High Speed Championship.

This was a condensed but very entertaining match. It was brutal (in a good way) without going over the top with it, there were some really stiff strikes from both but it never went into excess to make the viewer start to squirm. There was really no downtime here, it was just a fierce sprint, and Evie was really impressive as she held her own against Iwatani from start to finish. I wish it was a bit longer as they had great chemistry, a really fun back and forth match that is definitely worth a watch.  Highly Recommended

(c) Santana Garrett vs. Kairi Hojo

Hojo wastes no time as she attacks Garrett from behind, elbows by Hojo but Garrett elbows her back. We jump ahead just a little bit as Garrett goes for a sunset flip, but Hojo kicks out. Big spear by Hojo, Garrett falls out of the ring and Hojo hits a jumping forearm off the apron. Back in the ring Hojo jumps down on Garrett’s back, she goes up top and hits a diving forearm smash for a two count cover. Chops by Hojo in the corner and she heel drops Garrett in the back for another two. Stretch hold by Hojo and she throws Garrett in the corner, she goes for a forearm but Garrett slides to the apron and rams Hojo into the turnbuckles. Diving armdrag by Garrett and she hits a side Russian leg sweep for a two count. Space Rolling Elbow by Garrett and she thrust kicks Hojo out of the ring to the floor. Garrett goes off the ropes and dives out onto Hojo and others with a big tope suicida! Garrett boots Hojo after sliding her into the ring and applies an armbar over the second rope before finally returning to the ring herself. Garrett rolls onto Hojo and applies a stretch hold, Garrett releases he hold after a moment but stomping Hojo into the mat.

Garrett kicks Hojo in the arm but Hojo fights back with elbows, Hojo trips Garrett and she puts her in a crab hold, but Garrett makes it to the ropes. Hojo drags her to the middle of the ring but Garrett quickly rolls her up for a two count. Garrett snaps Hojo’s arm and hits a snap suplex, she goes for the Shining Star Press but Hojo rolls out of the way. Back up they go back and forth with elbows until Hojo hits a modified Final Cut. Hojo goes up top but Garrett recovers and goes for a headscissors. Hojo blocks that however, she knocks Garrett so she is hanging from the top rope before hitting a jumping double footstomp to her chest. Cover by Hojo, but Garrett gets a shoulder up. Hojo goes off the ropes and dropkicks Garrett in the back, Sliding D by Hojo but again Garrett kicks out. Hojo puts Garrett in the cross legged crab hold but releases it after a moment, she goes up top and she delivers a diving elbow drop to Garrett’s back. She goes up top again after turning Garrett over, but this time Garrett rolls out of the way. Hojo goes for a spinning back chop but Garrett ducks it and kicks Hojo in the head. Shining Star Press by Garrett, but Hojo barely kicks out before the three count. Garrett kicks Hojo, she gets Hojo in a sunset flip and applies a rolling cradle into a three count cover! Garrett wins the match and retains the Wonder of Stardom Championship.

A solid match with great effort shown by both. They weren’t as fluid as many Stardom pairings as Garrett doesn’t wrestle in Stardom as much, but they stayed focused on what their target areas were and there weren’t any noticeable miscues. It is interesting that both title matches Garrett has had in Stardom she has won with a roll-up or a cradle of sorts, not a bad thing but does give the impressive her normal ‘finishing’ moves aren’t effective against the top tier in Stardom. Poor Hojo, she put up a fight here and got everything in until missing the second diving elbow drop and it was over for her. I am not sure how much longer her losing streak will continue but the crowd is still behind her so no harm done yet. A step down from the last match but still quite good.  Mildly Recommended

(c) Io Shirai vs. Viper

Viper won’t shake Shirai’s hand before the match, once the match starts she tosses Shirai into the ropes before flinging her to the mat. Body press by Viper and Shirai rolls out of the ring to try to recover. She rolls back in and goes for a suplex, but Viper blocks it, Viper chases Shirai around the ring but Shirai moves and hits a drop toehold. Dropkick by Shirai, Viper falls out of the ring but she catches Shirai when she goes for an Asai Moonsault. Viper throws Shirai into the ring post, she takes Shirai up into the bleachers and puts her in a backbreaker. Viper brings Shirai back to the ringside and throws her into the ring post before sliding Shirai in the ring.  Viper, Diamond, and Yasukawa all attack Shirai on the apron, Viper picks up Shirai but Shirai cartwheels away from her and hits a dropkick. Shirai charges Viper but Viper hits a crossbody followed by a senton for a two count. Viper charges Shirai in the corner but Shirai slides out to the apron and hits a missile dropkick. Shirai goes for a sunset flip, Viper blocks it but Shirai slides away and hits another dropkick for two. Somato by Shirai and she puts Viper in an armtrap crossface, but Viper gets to the ropes.

Tiger Feint Kick by Shirai and she hits a swandive missile dropkick, she picks up Viper but Viper blocks the German suplex hold. Shirai goes for a backdrop suplex but Viper lands on top of her, she goes off the ropes and hits a bodypress for a two count cover. Viper charges Shirai but Shirai hits a hurricanrana for a two count. Buzzsaw Kick by Shirai, they slowly get up as they trade elbows, a battle which Viper easily wins. Michinoku Driver by Viper, she gets on the second turnbuckle but Shirai is up and hits a palm strike. Shirai joins Viper up top and hits a Frankensteiner, and Viper rolls out of the ring. Shirai sails out of the ring with a moonsault off the top turnbuckle, she slides Viper back in and delivers the Ryder Kick, but Viper doesn’t go down. Shirai elbows Viper and she slaps her repeatedly, Shirai goes up top but Viper grabs her from behind. Shirai slides away and kicks Viper, but Viper hits a big lariat. Viper picks up Shirai and hits an electric chair slam, cover by Viper but Shirai gets a shoulder up. Viper gets on the second turnbuckle and hits the Reverse Splash, but Shirai gets an arm in the ropes. Viper goes all the way up top but Shirai avoids the body press, uppercut by Shirai and she hits a German suplex hold for a two count. Shirai goes up top and hits a moonsault to Viper’s back, she goes up top again and hits another moonsault for the three count cover! Shirai wins and is still the World of Stardom Champion.

I liked this match more than I thought I would based on their past interactions, Viper has seemed solid in Stardom but I had not seen her in a longer singles match yet. Those fears were unnecessary as nothing lagged here and everything flowed well. This was pretty brutal as Viper was bleeding from the nose from Lord knows what, I didn’t re-watch it to find out but any of the hard strikes could have done it. It was what you’d expect along the smaller faster wrestler vs. bigger stronger wrestler theme, and even the moonsaults at the end were rougher than usual as Shirai landed both times with her knees onto Viper. A really solid defense by Shirai, the outside the ring action probably wasn’t needed and Shirai’s comebacks can be head tilting sometimes but overall I really enjoyed it.  Recommended

The post Stardom vs. World Selection #2 on February 21, 2016 Review appeared first on Joshi City.

Another Stardom event has aired, which of course means I am going to review it promptly since they are one of my favorite promotions in the world. Even though this event has five matches, it is in essence a one match card. There are no titles on the line here, but the main event sees Stardom take on gaijins from everywhere in a big 5 vs. 5 elimination tag team match. This is “Survivor Series” style, not 1 vs. 1 style like what we saw in Sendai Girls’ back in October, but you can also eliminate your opponent by throwing them over the top rope. Here is the full card:

• Azumi vs. Kaori Yoneyama
• Haruka Kato vs. Starlight Kid
• Hiromi Mimura vs. Kaitlin Diamond
• Alex Lee vs. Hiroyo Matsumoto
• Stardom vs. World Elimination Tag: Team Stardom (Io Shirai, Jungle Kyouna, Kairi Hojo, Mayu Iwatani, and Momo Watanabe) vs. World Selection (Chelsea Green, Evie, Kellie Skater, Santana Garrett, and Viper)

To make the review complete of course I am going to review all the matches, but none of the first four matches even went more than eight minutes and are mostly rookie/basic style since all the main players are in the main event.

Azumi vs. Kaori Yoneyama

Azumi dropkicks Yoneyama before the match starts and stomps on her, but Yoneyama quickly turns the tide and tosses Azumi to the mat. Sleeper by Yoneyama, she picks up Azumi and hits a scoop slam. Yoneyama throws Azumi in the corner and hits a knee, she charges Azumi again but Azumi moves and hits a dropkick. Elbows by Azumi but Yoneyama blocks the crossbody. Dropkick by Azumi and she hits a satellite into a sunset flip for a two count. She goes for another one but Yoneyama blocks it and slams Azumi to the ground. Running senton by Yoneyama and she picks up the three count! Yoneyama wins the match.

There isn’t a hell of a lot to say about this match, it was under five minutes long and neither got much of a chance to do a whole lot. Yoneyama put Azumi away pretty easy even by opening match standards. Just filler, nothing more.

Haruka Kato vs. Starlight Kid

Starlight Kid charges Kato to start the match and hits a dropkick, another dropkick by Starlight Kid and she connects with a third. Kato has had enough and kicks Starlight Kid, she starts on the arm and gets an armbreaker applied, but Starlight Kid gets a foot on the ropes. Seated armbar by Kato and she hits a scoop slam, covering Starlight Kid for two. Kato works a headlock but Starlight Kid gets out of it and hits a standing moonsault. She picks up Kato and hits a scoop slam, Starlight Kid goes to the second turnbuckle and hits a diving body press for a two count. Shiranui by Starlight Kid, but again Kato kicks out. Starlight Kid applies a sunset flip but Kato reverses it, Kato and Starlight Kid trade elbows but Kato gets Starlight Kid to the mat and goes for the arm again. Cross armbreaker by Kato in the middle of the ring, and Starlight Kid taps out! Haruka Kato is your winner.

I liked this one better, as at least Starlight Kid did get in some legitimate offense, including the standing moonsault and the Shiranui. Everyone knew that Kato was winning with an armbreaker, no surprises there, but it wouldn’t have been near as fun to watch if Starlight Kid didn’t get a chance to do anything. Still nothing to get excited about, however it was at least somewhat satisfying and I think Starlight Kid has a bright future as a spunky undersized underdog.

Hiromi Mimura vs. Kaitlin Diamond

Diamond attacks Mimura while she is trying to be cute, she throws Mimura out of the ring and then dances with Mimura’s streamers. That is just cold. Act Yasukawa supervises while Diamond beats Mimura around the floor, they return to the ring and Mimura connects with a few elbows. Dropkick by Mimura and she goes for a bodyscissors, but Diamond slams her to the mat. Backbreaker by Diamond, she puts Mimura in the ropes and Yasukawa pours sake on her. Punches by Diamond but Mimura slides away and lariats her in the back of the head. Rolling leglock by Mimura and she slams Diamond’s knee into the mat, she gets on the second turnbuckle but Yasukawa runs in. Mimura hits a crossbody on Yasukawa instead, Diamond grabs her and hits a swinging backbreaker for a two count. Mimura sneaks in a roll-up for two followed by a La Magistral, she goes for another roll-up but Diamond catches her with a modified jawbreaker for a two count. Crossface by Diamond, and Mimura taps out! Diamond wins the match!

I wish that Mimura would have gotten a bit more of a chance here as I like her quite a bit, but when a match is under five minutes long it is hard to get much of a chance to shine. Diamond looked fine here and I liked seeing Yasukawa still mix it up, but just not enough here to get excited about.

 
Alex Lee vs. Hiroyo Matsumoto

Lee dropkicks Matsumoto to kick things off, for some reason Matsumoto poses on the apron and Lee kicks her in the back of the head. Matsumoto swats Lee away and his a double knee drop before choking Lee in the corner. Matsumoto catches Lee’s kick and pushes her to the mat before applying a crab hold, but Lee gets to the ropes to force the break. Matsumoto charges Lee but Lee moves, kicks by Lee and she hits a jumping knee in the corner. Suplex by Lee, she goes up top but Matsumoto rolls out to the apron. Matsumoto grabs Lee and walks her over to the ramp, but Lee slides off her back. Body avalanche by Matsumoto against the ropes, she goes for a powerbomb on the stage but Lee reverses it into a back bodydrop. Back in the ring, superkick by Lee and she picks up a two count. She goes for a piledriver but Matsumoto blocks it, Matsumoto goes for a backdrop suplex but Lee elbows out of it. Matsumoto blocks the chokebomb but Lee connects with the superkick, chokebomb by Lee and she goes up top, but Matsumoto avoids the diving footstomp. Spinning elbow by Matsumoto and she hits a German suplex, lariat by Matsumoto and she delivers the backdrop suplex for the three count! Your winner is Hiroyo Matsumoto.

This match was short but still felt like it dragged which is never a good thing. I don’t think Lee is a bad wrestler, she is clearly trained but a lot of what she does just doesn’t feel natural. While some wrestlers are quick to adapt, Lee at times looks like she is still feeling things out, if it ever really clicks is anyone’s guess. So a few sections didn’t look quite right, the one thing I did like about the match is the decisive ending. Lee had her chances to win but once Matsumoto took over, it was bang-bang-bang dead. I like matches that have a sense of finality to them. So that was a plus, but otherwise just an average match.

 
Team Stardom (Io Shirai, Jungle Kyouna, Kairi Hojo, Mayu Iwatani, and Momo Watanabe) vs. World Selection (Chelsea Green, Evie, Kellie Skater, Santana Garrett, and Viper)

Kyouna and Green begin the match for their teams but after trading quick pin attempts they tag out as Evie and Hojo enter the ring. Evie goes for roll-ups on Hojo with no luck so they next two come in, Garrett and Shirai. Shirai and Garrett trade elbows, hurricanrana by Garrett but Shirai throws her out to the apron. Garrett kicks Shirai back and returns to the ring with a bulldog but Shirai tosses her to the mat. Skater and Iwatani are tagged in, spinning headscissors by Iwatani but Skater hits a springboard armdrag. Viper and Watanabe then come in (noticing a pattern?), with Viper having little issue with the smaller Watanabe. Team Stardom all enter the ring and attack Viper in the corner and they do the ten wrestler suplex spot, with World Selection getting the better of it.

Viper goes back to pounding on Watanabe before tagging in Garrett, and Garrett hits a side Russian leg sweep. Green takes her turn next, then Skater as Watanabe continues to be attacked, until she manages to dropkick Skater and tags in Kyouna. Green comes in to help but Kyouna escapes them both and shoulderblocks Green. Kyouna picks up Skater and hits a back bodydrop, Skater tags in Viper but Kyouna manages to avoid Viper as she charges her around the ring. Viper finally catches Kyouna with a lariat, the rest of Team Stardom runs in but Viper body bumps them all to the mat. Team Stardom are all put lying on the mat, and Team Selection takes turns hitting jumping body presses on all of them. Viper picks up Kyouna and slams her to the mat, body press by Viper and she picks up the three count! Kyouna is eliminated, the match is now World Selection – 5, Team Stardom – 4.

Watanabe and Garrett enter the ring, kicks by Garrett and she applies La Magistral for a two count. Watanabe hits a diving crossbody off the second turnbuckle and hits a snap vertical suplex for two. DDT by Watanabe, she gets on the second turnbuckle and hits a missile dropkick. Watanabe picks up Garrett but Garrett kicks her twice in the face for a two count. Iwatani and Shirai go up top to try to help, but Viper comes in and throws them off. Viper smashes them in the corner, then Skater and Evie both kick Watanabe. Shining Star Press by Garrett to Watanabe, and she gets the three count! Watanabe is eliminated, and now it is World Selection – 5, Team Stardom – 3.

Hojo comes in and Garrett tags in Green, jumping lariat by Green and she delivers a high kick for a two count. Cross-arm submission by Green, she goes up top and hits a missile dropkick to Hojo’s stomach. Shirai and Iwatani break up the cover, Skater and Evie come in but Hojo moves when they all charge in. Missile dropkicks by Iwatani and Shirai, and they catapult Iwatani into Green with a dropkick. Hojo goes up top and nails the diving elbow drop to the head of Green, picking up the three count cover! Green is eliminated, and it is World Selection – 4, Team Stardom – 3.

Hojo and Garrett trade elbows, both end up on the mat and they crawl to the corners to tag in Shirai and Skater. Skater kicks Shirai and she hits a DDT. Back kick by Skater, she picks up Shirai and throws her into the corner. Sliding lariat by Skater, but the cover is broken up. Skater picks up Shirai but Shirai lands on her feet on the suplex attempt. Shirai dumps Skater onto the apron, Evie and Garrett run in but so does Hojo. Hojo spears Evie and Garrett, Viper comes in as Iwatani does but Viper is dropped by a triple dropkick. Spike Piledriver to Skater by Iwatani and Shirai, Shirai picks up Skater and hits a package German suplex hold for the three count! Skater is eliminated, and we are tied 3 – 3.

Iwatani and Evie trade kick attempts, Iwatani grabs Evie’s arm but Evie knocks her out to the apron. Viper comes in but Shirai jumps on her back with a sleeper while Garrett suplexes Hojo.  Garrett goes for the Shining Star Press but Iwatani stops her, Evie tries to dump Hojo over the top rope but Hojo hangs on. Hojo goes up top, Garrett goes for a headscissors but Hojo knocks her onto the apron. Diving elbow shrike by Hojo from the top turnbuckle on the apron but Garrett blocks the Sliding D. Spinning backfist by Hojo on the apron and Garrett falls off the apron. As Garrett is falling to the floor, she grabs Hojo’s leg and pulls her down with her, eliminating both of them! The score is now 2-2. Shirai and Iwatani are left on Team Stardom, while World Selection has Viper and Evie.

Shirai and Viper come in as the legal wrestlers, dropkick by Shirai and she covers Viper for two. Waistlock by Shirai but even with Iwatani’s help she can’t get Viper over, Evie comes in as Viper lariats Shirai over the top rope, but Shirai lands on the apron. Iwatani goes for a crossbody on Viper but Viper catches her and throws Iwatani to the mat. Shirai holds onto Iwatani so she won’t fall to the floor, Evie dropkicks both of them but they hang onto the top rope. They skin the cat to get back in the ring and go after Viper, Iwatani goes for a hurricanrana on Viper while Shirai goes for one on Evie, but both fail. High kick by Evie to Shirai, Viper puts Shirai in an Argentine Backbreaker while Evie hits Iwatani with the TTYL, picking up the three count! Iwatani is eliminated, leaving Shirai against both Viper and Evie.

Evie boots Shirai in the corner, Viper goes for a reverse splash but Shirai rolls out of the way. Viper collides into Evie on accident, Shirai hits Viper to the mat and all three wrestlers are down. They slowly get up as Viper hits lariats on Shirai, cover by Viper but it gets two. Viper gets Shirai on her shoulders but Shirai rolls out of it and covers Viper for two. Evie runs in but Shirai drops her with a double underhook facebuster, Shirai then drop toeholds Viper onto Evie. Shirai goes up top but they both avoid the Moonsault, TTYL by Evie to Shirai and Viper nails the Reverse Splash for the three count! Shirai is eliminated and Team World Selection wins!

It took a bit of time to get going, which is understandable since they had time to kill, but once they were rolling it was a fun match. I don’t really like the ‘over the top’ rule in matches that are supposed to be meaningful, it is almost too much of an easy cop-out and it kills some of the flow as no matter what is happening in the match the wrestlers have a quick and easy way to get a fluke win. I really did like the constant assistance from teammates, it made it seem more like two teams that really did know each other than a bunch of singles wrestlers thrown in together. The World team winning was necessary to set up new challenges for the Stardom titles, and the action itself was very solid, it was just a bit meandering to start and I didn’t love the match rules.  Mildly Recommended

The post Stardom vs. World Selection on February 7th, 2016 Review appeared first on Joshi City.

Every January, Stardom has a big event to celebrate their anniversary, and this January continued that tradition with a big card at Korakuen Hall. The invading Gaijins are in full force here as they are involved in three of the matches, and in the main event it is Kairi Hojo trying to win back the Wonder of Stardom Championship against Stardom Ace Io Shirai. Here is the full card:

• Azumi vs. Starlight Kid
• Jungle Kyouna and Momo Watanabe vs. Hiromi Mimura and Saori Anou
• Chelsea Green vs. Haruka Kato
• #1 Contender of Goddesses of Stardom Championship: Evie and Kellie Skater vs. Kaitlin Diamond and Viper
• High Speed Championship: Mayu Iwatani vs. Kay Lee Ray
• World of Stardom Championship: Io Shirai vs. Kairi Hojo

This may be clipped in parts, at least early on, I’ll make a note if the match was not shown in full.

 
Azumi vs. Starlight Kid

They get right to it with waistlocks and headlocks, but neither gets an advantage. Azumi dropkicks Starlight Kid but Starlight Kid returns the favor. Dropkick by Azumi and she suplexes Starlight Kid, Azumi gets on the second turnbuckle but Starlight Kid throws her off. Starlight Kid hits a body press off the second turnbuckle, standing moonsault by Starlight Kid and she gets the three count! Starlight Kid wins the match.

This was clipped in half, but we did see the continued potential of Starlight Kid. Due to her size she won’t ever be main-event level but she already has shown a lot of promise for a wrestler so early in her career. Not the worst way to spend two minutes but not enough meat to get excited about.

   
Jungle Kyouna and Momo Watanabe vs. Hiromi Mimura and Saori Anou

Watanabe and Anou begin the match with elbows, crab hold by Watanabe but Mimura runs in and breaks it up (although not overly successfully). Kyouna is tagged in and Anou is double teamed in the corner, scoop slam by Kyouna and she puts Anou in a crab hold. Mimura runs in and lariats Kyouna, Anou hits a rolling Fisherman suplex hold on Watanabe which gets a two count. Anou tags Mimura, crossbody by Mimura to Watanabe but Watanabe drills Mimura into the mat with a reverse STO. Lariats by Kyouna on Mimura and Watanabe delivers the Somato, but Mimura barely kicks out. Anou runs in and suplexes Watanabe off the second turnbuckle, but Kyouna powerslams Anou. Mimura rolls up Watanabe with no success, slap by Watanabe and she dropkicks Mimura in the face. Missile dropkick by Watanabe and she delivers the F-Crush for the three count! Kyouna and Watanabe are your winners.

A really solid undercard tag match. It was clipped a bit but everything that we saw was really good. Watanabe is still a kid but has really grown in the ring over the last year, and the crowd is already taking to Kyouna. Stardom has a good batch of rookies, hopefully they will continue to develop.

 
Chelsea Green vs. Haruka Kato

Green gets the first move of the match with a low dropkick but Kato dropkicks her back and starts to work on Green’s arm. Green gets out of it and stomps Kato before hitting a flipping neckbreaker for two. Camel Clutch by Green but Kato inches to the ropes to get the break. Green goes up top and hits a missile dropkick, covering Kato for a two count. Kato jumps on Green’s back and applies a sleeper, she transitions it into a cross armbreaker but Green gets out of it. Satellite into a schoolboy by Kato and she gets the armbreaker back on, Green gets to the ropes and drops Kato with a DDT. Unprettier by Green, and she gets the three count! Green picks up the win.

The issue here is that there was really no effort to do anything special, which I guess isn’t completely their fault since they only got a little over six minutes. Kato did her usual arm work, and she did it well, but it didn’t mean anything as Green was never bothered by her arm so the offense wasn’t very effective. Green is a bit lanky and wasn’t smooth in everything she did, although its still too early to figure out what her ceiling is in Stardom. Not bad, just too short and lacking in substance.

     
Evie and Kellie Skater vs. Kaitlin Diamond and Viper

Evie and Diamond kick things off, they lock knuckles and trade armdrags but neither gets an advantage. Viper and Skater tag in and Viper knocks Skater to the mat several times before Skater takes over and hits a rope walk armdrag. Evie runs in to help clear the ring, they go up to different turnbuckles and dive out of the ring onto their opponents. Evie returns to the ring with Diamond and delivers a kick combination, but Diamond catches her with an Uranage for a two count cover. Viper comes in and helps Diamond hit a double chokeslam, but Skater breaks up the pin. Crossbody by Viper but Evie boots her in the face and tags in Skater. Skater elbows Viper but Viper hits a lariat. Ankle hold by Skater but Viper blocks the suplex and hits one of her own. Skater avoids Viper’s senton and hits a high kick, Evie takes care of Diamond but Yasukawa gets on the apron and spits Sake at both Skater and Evie. Electric Chair Drop by Viper to Skater and she covers her for two. Superkick by Skater to Viper but Viper hits a Michinoku Driver. Reverse Splash by Viper to Skater and she picks up the three count! Diamond and Viper are the new #1 Contenders to the Goddesses of Stardom Championship.

This was by far the best thing on this card so far, which admittedly isn’t saying much. It was also slightly clipped, which means the event is 4 for 4 on not showing matches in full, that is what happens when you have a 30 minute main event. All four looked good here, admittedly I love about everything that Skater does but everyone played their part well and no one looked out of place. A well paced match with good teamwork from both sides, an easy match to watch.  Mildly Recommended

(c) Mayu Iwatani vs. Kay Lee Ray

They start fast but neither can connect with anything of significance, Ray gets Iwatani on the mat but Iwatani quickly reverses it to her own advantage. Ray snaps off a pair of Northern Lights Suplexes and applies a bodyscissors, but Iwatani gets out of it and hits a springboard armdrag. Iwatani goes for her dropkick while Ray is against the ropes but Ray moves out of the ring, sending Iwatani crashing out of it. Ray hits a trio of tope suicidas, Ray dropkicks Iwatani as they return to the ring and covers her for two. Ray applies a guillotine but Iwatani gets into the ropes for the break, Ray gets Iwatani on her back and rams her into the turnbuckles. Ray grabs Iwatani and chops her in the corner, running elbow by Ray and she nails a springboard heel kick for another two count. Iwatani returns the favor with a springboard crossbody, Iwatani dropkicks Ray against the ropes and drills her hard with another one.

Iwatani gets on the second turnbuckle and hits a diving footstomp, she sets up Ray in the corner and chops her in the chest. Dropkick by Iwatani in the corner and she applies a stretch hold, Ray gets out of it and she drops Iwatani with a superkick. Ray gets on the second turnbuckle but Iwatani moves when she jumps off and they trade pin attempts. Ray slams Iwatani to the mat, she goes to the top turnbuckle and nails a diving senton. Iwatani gets back up and hits a release Dragon suplex, and both wrestlers are down on the mat. They slowly get up and trade elbows, hurricanrana by Iwatani but Ray kicks out at two. Ray kicks Iwatani back and goes up top, but Iwatani joins her and suplexes her down to the mat. Kicks to the head by Iwatani, she goes up top and delivers a diving footstomp. Waistlock by Iwatani, Ray gets out of it but Iwatani gets her up and nails the Dragon Suplex Hold for the three count! Iwatani retains her championship.

I no longer need other people to tell me Kay Lee Ray is awesome, I can confirm it myself. I really hope she sticks around in Stardom long term, she fit in very naturally with Iwatani and everything clicked. My only quibble is the random no-sell spot, I don’t mind Fighting Spirit sequences but this wasn’t that, it was just Iwatani no-selling a move with Ray never getting the chance to return the favor. Besides that, the match was structured really well, both wrestlers got a chance to shine and the transitions were smooth. A quality match, I wish it had lasted another 15 minutes, I could watch these two go at it all day.  Recommended

(c) Io Shirai vs. Kairi Hojo

They waste no time as they start trading ‘bows and slaps, Irish whip by Shirai but Hojo hits a big spear. The Sliding D misses however and they trade strikes again, with both women ending up on the mat holding their faces. They go to the mat and jockey for position but nothing comes of it, they trade quick pins and Hojo footstomps Shirai in the stomach. Cartwheel by Shirai and she dropkicks Hojo out of the ring, Shirai goes to the apron and she hits an Asai Moonsault down to the floor. They battle around the ring, Hojo goes for a spear while Shirai is against the post but Shirai moves, sending Hojo shoulder-first into the steel. Back up the apron, Shirai picks up Hojo and slams her onto it as she continues to focus on Hojo’s back. Shirai slides Hojo into the ring and pounds on Hojo’s back, but Hojo avoids the missile dropkick. Hojo goes for a crab hold but super flexible Shirai gets out of it and stomps on Hojo. Shirai charges Hojo but she falls out to the apron, she goes for a springboard move but Hojo slaps her and hits a footstomp while Shirai is hanging on the top rope. Hojo goes up top but Shirai kicks her right in the nose and hits a springboard dropkick, sending Hojo crashing to the floor.

Shirai goes up top and sails out of the ring with a crossbody, she then brings Hojo up into the stands, she gets up on the ledge but Hojo joins her and throws Shirai down the stairs. Hojo gets on the ledge and dives off with a diving forearm smash, she gets a running start and levels Shirai with a spear. Back in the ring, chops by Hojo and she hits a jumping neckbreaker for two. Hojo drops knees on Shirai’s back and chops her in the back, she goes up top but can’t pull the trigger on the moonsault, giving Shirai time to join her and hit a Frankensteiner. Dropkick to the head by Shirai and she applies a cross facelock, Tiger Feint Kick by Shirai and she hits a swandive dropkick for a two count cover. Hojo blocks the facebuster and hits a Sliding D, and both wrestlers are down. Shirai and Hojo trade elbows as they get back up, Hojo gets the better of the exchange and spears Shirai into the corner, but Shirai kicks her in the face. Another kick by Shirai and she hits four rolling Germans for a two count cover. Shirai goes up top and delivers a diving elbow drop, but Hojo barely kicks out. Double underhook facebuster by Shirai but Hojo grabs her before she can climb up top. Hojo powerbombs Shirai and hits some backfists, Sliding D by Hojo but Shirai gets a shoulder up on the cover. Hojo goes up top but Shirai rolls to the ropes before she can jump off, Shirai joins her but Hojo knocks her back to the mat and nails the Diving Elbow Drop. Cover, but Shirai kicks out. She goes for another one but Shirai gets her feet up, tombstone piledriver by Shirai and she nails a package German for two. Tiger suplex by Shirai, she goes up top and she nails the moonsault for the three count! Io Shirai is still the World of Stardom Champion.

In the past when these two battled, it generally felt like something was off. Here though I thought that they synced up really well, it was a perfectly paced and well executed match which is not easy when going almost 30 minutes. Some of the moves were just brutal (in a good way) as they were really laying it into each other, I have no idea how they manage to go this hard as often as they do without literally breaking. Hojo going for the moonsault was a callback to Shirai starting to use the Elbow Drop, which temporarily was her undoing and allowed Shirai to get back in control. Everything was on point, it is only the first month but this is the best Joshi match of the year so far and will likely stay in the Top 5 for the year. A must see match.  Highly Recommended

The post Stardom 5th Anniversary on January 17, 2016 Review appeared first on Joshi City.