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.

For whatever reason, Stardom continued to call the tour the “5★Star Grand Prix” even after the Grand Prix was over, so we are onto Day 10! This is a small show but with a big main event with the trios title on the line! Here is the full card:

• Azumi vs. Eimi Nishina vs. Kaori Yoneyama
• Arisu Nanase vs. Momo Watanabe
• Hiromi Mimura vs. Saori Anou
• Jungle Kyouna and Hiroyo Matsumoto vs. Yoko Bito and Toni Storm
• Artist of Stardom Championship: Io Shirai, Kairi Hojo, and Mayu Iwatani vs. Hana Kimura, Kagetsu, and Kyoko Kimura

This will be unclipped, lets get to it.

Azumi vs. Eimi Nishina vs. Kaori Yoneyama

They try to all lock knuckles to start but keep kicking each other’s arms, Azumi dropkicks Eimi but Yoneyama drops her with an armdrag. Azumi kips up and they go to double team Eimi, but Eimi gets the better of both of them. Azumi and Eimi start working together and both dropkick Yoneyama before putting her in a double armbar. Yoneyama comes back with a double crossbody, she chops Eimi and sends her to the mat with a throat thrust. Eimi dropkicks Yoneyama out of the ring, Azumi returns and she hits a DDT. Azumi flips Eimi to the mat and hits a vertical suplex, covering her for two. Yoneyama gets back in the ring and Eimi is double teamed in the corner, Azumi monkey flips Yoneyama and kicks her repeatedly in the chest for a two count cover. Scoop slam by Yoneyama and she hits a running senton on Azumi, she goes up top but Azumi avoids the reverse splash. Eimi runs in and covers both Yoneyama and Azumi, but she only manages two counts. Yoneyama hits a quick running senton on Eimi, she then gets on the second turnbuckle and hits a diving senton on Eimi for the three count! Kaori Yoneyama wins!

The main goal of matches like this is to get the younger wrestlers some experience while having something resembling a storyline to make it a little more fun. Azumi is still young enough that I don’t see her progressing up the card in the next year, but wrestling Yoneyama on a weekly basis can only help her learn. Nothing offensive, just a cute little opener.

Arisu Nanase vs. Momo Watanabe

Arisu dropkicks Momo right as the match starts but Momo returns the favor, kick to the back by Momo and she applies a sleeper. Momo lets go of it and stomps on Arisu, they return to their feet and go back and forth with elbows. Crab hold by Momo but Arisu gets to the ropes, Momo throws Arisu in the corner but Arisu flips away and hits a dropkick. Cross leg ankle hold by Arisu, she lets go after a moment and dropkicks Momo in the head for a two count. Momo kicks Arisu into the corner and hits a running dropkick, she picks up Arisu and hits a snap vertical suplex for a two count cover. Momo positions Arisu and goes towards the corner, but Arisu quickly schoolboys her for a two count. Another quick pin by Arisu gets two, she hits the Blockbuster Suplex but Momo gets a shoulder up. Arisu goes off the ropes but Momo catches her with a dropkick, she picks up Arisu but Arisu reverses the F Crash into a sunset flip. Momo reverses the sunset flip, she goes off the ropes and nails the Somato for the three count cover! Momo Watanabe is the winner.

Momo held this match together fine, but since it was a short and basic match that wasn’t too hard. Short basic matches of course are all Arisu is doing at this stage in her career, if anything the match seemed more competitive than it should have been considering that Momo has been wrestling for almost two years. Short and fine to watch, but nothing special.

Hiromi Mimura vs. Saori Anou

The match starts slow as they trade holds, dropkicks by Hiromi and she applies a sunset flip for a two count. Hiromi goes off the ropes and hits a DDT, she goes for a dropkick but Saori moves out of the way, sending Hiromi out of the ring. Saori punches Hiromi as she gets on the apron, but Hiromi puts Saori in a headlock. Hiromi slides back in the ring and hits a dropkick, Saori falls out to the floor but Hiromi gets on the apron and dives out of the ring with a crossbody. Hiromi and Saori trade elbows on the floor, Hiromi gets the better of it and puts Saori in the ropes before running up the ramp with an elbow to the back. Back in the ring, stomps by Hiromi and she applies a crab hold. Saori gets to the ropes to break the hold but Hiromi puts her in a cross arm submission. Hiromi throws down Saori by the hair a few times, dropkick by Hiromi but Saori avoids the next one and hits a shoulderblock.

Saori returns the favor and throws down Hiromi by the hair, jumping knee by Saori and she hits a scoop slam. Camel Clutch by Saori, Hiromi gets out of it and the two trade elbows. Hiromi rolls Saori to the mat and applies an ankle submission, but Saori is too close to the ropes. Stretch hold by Hiromi and she goes for La Magistral, but Saori blocks it. Figure four by Saori, but Hiromi forces the break. Hiromi and Saori trade elbows while on their knees, low crossbody by Hiromi and she gets a two count. Hiromi goes up top and hits a diving crossbody, but it gets another two. Hiromi goes off the ropes but Saori catches her with a fisherman suplex hold, she picks up Hiromi but Hiromi applies an inside cradle for two. La Magistral by Hiromi but that gets a two as well, Saori gets Hiromi in the corner and hits a rolling fisherman suplex hold for a two count. The bell then rings, as time has expired. The match is a Draw.

Bless their hearts, they tried. Two wrestlers with limited experience against each other and limited experience in long matches going to a 15 minute Draw isn’t a great idea, but this is the type of thing that Stardom does sometimes on their smaller events. Its not that either would have been hurt by the loss, but it was more an attempt to show that they are on a level field. Which doesn’t say much for poor Hiromi, but at her age as a rookie and size she was fighting an uphill battle. The match was generally disjointed and lacked structure, but it did have some fun moments and the effort was definitely there. Not a good match in the classic sense of the term, but they certainly gave it their best which is worth something.

Jungle Kyouna and Hiroyo Matsumoto vs. Yoko Bito and Toni Storm

Toni and Hiroyo begin the match, Hiroyo takes Storm to the mat but Toni gets away and offers Hiroyo a handshake. Hiroyo accepts it and both wrestlers tag out, Kyouna and Bito trade shoulderblocks which Kyouna gets the better of. Hiroyo puts masks on both Storm and Bito and they are twisted up in the ropes, but Bito comes right back and returns the favor to Kyouna while kicking her in the chest. Storm and Bito both attack Kyouna in the corner, cover by Bito but it gets a two count. Storm hip attacks Kyouna but Kyouna hits a face crusher and tags in Hiroyo. Hiroyo hits a backbreaker on Storm, chops by Hiroyo but Storm headbutts her and boots Hiroyo in the head. Storm tags Bito, kicks by Bito to the back and she covers Hiroyo for two. Vertical suplex by Bito, she picks up Hiroyo but Hiroyo gets away. Hard elbow by Hiroyo but Bito returns fire, lariat by Hiroyo and Bito is laid out on the mat. Backdrop suplex by Hiroyo, but Bito gets a shoulder up. Bito snaps off a quick German suplex hold for two, both wrestlers crawl to their respective corners but Hiroyo tags in Kyouna first.

Back bodydrop by Kyouna to Bito, she picks her up but Bito kicks her to the mat and delivers a running knee for two. Bito tags in Storm, kicks by Storm and she headbutts Kyouna. Storm picks up Kyouna and hits some uppercuts, she goes for a Backstabber but Kyouna blocks it. Kyouna goes up top but Bito kicks her from the apron, fisherman suplex hold by Storm but Hiroyo breaks it up. Storm goes up top but Hiroyo gets in the ring and joins her, and she eventually hits a superplex. Kyouna goes up top and nails a diving body press, but Bito breaks up the cover. Hiroyo and Kyouna grab Bito but Bito lariats both of them, Storm comes over and they take turns attacking Kyouna. Bito elbows Storm by accident, lariat by Kyouna to Storm but Storm barely kicks out. Kyouna picks up Storm and goes off the ropes, but Storm kicks her in the stomach and hits a modified Backstabber for two. Release German by Storm and she hits a running hip attack in the corner, Air Raid Crash by Storm and she picks up the three count! Your winners are Toni Storm and Yoko Bito.

To think that Hiromi and Kyouna both debuted in the same month, but Kyouna is so much further along than Hiromi. That isn’t necessarily a knock on Hiromi (well it is), but Kyouna always elevates herself to the same level as whomever she is wrestling, she really has come a long way in just a year. This was a solid match, all four did well and the match stayed at a fast pace. Bito still looks a slight step behind, I am not sure if it is ring rust at this point or she is just still lagging behind a bit, but everyone else looked good. It is a shame that Hiroyo is a Freelancer as she is one of the better wrestlers in Stardom, she could have a solid run with one of the major titles. Not an overly long tag team match but still entertaining, even if in the grand scheme of things not overly memorable.  Mildly Recommended

Io Shirai, Kairi Hojo, and Mayu Iwatani vs. Hana Kimura, Kagetsu, and Kyoko Kimura
Artist of Stardom Championship

Hana and Kairi are the first two in, they trade strikes but reach a stalemate, so they tag in Io and Kyoko. Io kicks Kyoko but Kyoko avoids her in the corner, and they tag in Mayu and Kagetsu. Headscissors by Kagetsu but Mayu returns fire and tags in Kairi, stomps by Kairi to Kagetsu but Kyoko trips her from ringside. The action spills to the floor and into the crowd before Kagetsu and Kairi eventually return to the ring, Kagetsu tags in Hana and Hana knees Kairi into the ropes. Oedo Tai takes turns on Kairi with an occasional assist from Kris Wolf, but Kairi spears Kyoko and makes the hottest tag to Mayu. Kagetsu comes in to help Kyoko as does Hana, but Mayu hits a double springboard armdrag on Kyoko and Kagetsu. Oedo Tai are all put against the ropes and dropkicked, they fall out of the ring and Mayu goes up top to deliver a diving crossbody to the floor onto all three. Kyoko is rolled back in, Mayu goes up top and she hits a missile dropkick. Mayu tags Io but Kyoko puts her in in a stretch hold, Mayu comes in but she slaps her in the hold as well. Kyoko boots Io but Io snaps off a hurricanrana for a two count cover. Big boot by Kyoko and she tags her daughter, double knee by Hana to Io and she hits a dropkick.

Hana goes up top and hits a missile dropkick, vertical suplex by Hana and she gets a two. Kyoko come sin but Io dropkicks both of them, double knee by Io in the corner to Hana and she gets a two count. Kairi comes in and hits an elbow drop onto Hana, double underhook facebuster by Io but Hana chokes Io with her scarf. Kagetsu is tagged in and she trades elbows with Kairi, spear by Kairi and she chops Kagetsu into the corner. Dropkick out of the corner by Kagetsu, jumping elbow by Kagetsu but Kairi hits a triple jump rebound elbow out of the corner. Spinning chop by Kairi and she makes the tag to Mayu, Sling Blade by Mayu and she goes up top, but Hana runs in and pulls her off by her scarf. Mayu is triple teamed in the corner, Io and Kairi come in to even the odds and in the end Mayu is alone in the ring with Kagetsu. Superkicks by Mayu but Kagetsu hits one of her own, Kyoko and Hana return but Io hits them both with a swandive dropkick. Mayu picks up Kagetsu and with Io hits an assisted spike piledriver, but the referee is pulled out of the ring during the three count. Kyoko comes in with a Parking Sign and hits all of Threedom with it, Hana and Kyoko then both kick Mayu in the chest. Assisted Gory Special to Mayu, cover by Kagetsu but Mayu gets a shoulder up. Kyoko headbutts Mayu, Ebisu Drop by Kagetsu but the cover is broken up. Kagetsu gets on the second turnbuckle and is fed Mayu, avalanche powerbomb by Kagetsu and she picks up the three count! Oedo Tai are the new champions!

This was a fun match, and the right team won, but trios matches are typically not my favorite match style as they tend to follow a similar formula. While all six of these wrestlers range from good to Best in the World, no wrestler really gets a chance to shine as there is constant interference and tagging, making it more random than anything else. This also wasn’t “Big Match Io” as she mostly took a backseat, and its unusual for her to not stand out. It was still entertaining though, and the home stretch was really well done as the chemistry between the wrestlers really helped the match be smooth and fluid. Good for a casual watch, and with this much star power there was no way it was going to be bad, but not the high end match you may expect from Stardom. I am recommending the match partly because it shows the continued rise of Oedo Tai and Hana Kimura, but I think any fan of Stardom would enjoy it. Recommended

The post Stardom 5★Star GP Day 10 on 10/2/16 Review appeared first on Joshi City.

It has been a few weeks since I last reviewed a Stardom show, so lets see what they are up to. Io Shirai is out due to an injury, which gives their cards a different dynamic as with Io around you always knew there would be at least one great match. Now we have no such guarantee. There are three title matches on this show however so there are several opportunities to impress, here is the full card:

• Arisu Nanase vs. Eimi Nishina
• Hiroyo Matsumoto and Hiromi Mimura vs. Kaori Yoneyama and Natsumi Maki
• Goddesses of Stardom Championship: Kagetsu and Kyoko Kimura vs. Kris Wolf and Leah Vaughan
• Jungle Kyouna and Mayu Iwatani vs. Momo Watanabe and Yoko Bito
• SWA Undisputed Women’s Championship: Toni Storm vs. Shanna
• Wonder of Stardom Championship: Kairi Hojo vs. Chelsea

Please note that I am reviewing the Samurai TV version and not the Stardom World version of the event, so it will be clipped but pro-shot. You can click on the names above to go to their profile if I have one on the site.

Arisu Nanase vs. Eimi Nishina

The match is joined in progress as Eimi hits a backbreaker followed by the Somato for a two count. Eimi goes for a slam but Arisu gets out of it, backslide by Eimi and she gets the three count! Eimi Nishina wins!

Ok that was clipped even more than I was expecting, nothing much to really see here. Nice backslide I guess?

Hiroyo Matsumoto and Hiromi Mimura vs. Kaori Yoneyama and Natsumi Maki

Natsumi and Matsumoto start the match together, Natsumi dances around the ring which Matsumoto doesn’t like so she puts her in a backbreaker. Yoneyama comes in to break it up and they pose on her, Hiromi feels left out and comes in the ring to pose too which Matsumoto does not appreciate. Natsumi elbows Matsumoto but Matsumoto chops her back, Natsumi goes for a crossbody but Matsumoto doesn’t budge. Matsumoto tags in Hiromi, Hiromi goes for La Magistral but Natsumi blocks it and hits a bridging leg hook neckbreaker but Matsumoto breaks it up. Yoneyama comes in but Matsumoto lariats both Natsumi and Yoneyama, Hiromi puts Natsumi in La Magistral and she picks up the three count! Matsumoto and Hiromi are the winners!

This was too clipped but the spots they showed were fine, a few cute spots with Hiromi posing instead of helping Matsumoto and I like Natsumi’s bridging moves. But not enough shown to get excited about.

(c) Kagetsu and Kyoko Kimura vs. Kris Wolf and Leah Vaughan

Kagetsu and Wolf begin the match, Kagetsu gets the early advantage but Wolf tricks her with a fake handshake and stomps on Kagetsu’s foot. Springboard crossbody off the ropes by Wolf, but she only gets a quick two. Kagetsu throws Wolf to the mat and takes her outside of the ring while Kimura throws chairs at Leah. Kagetsu hits Wolf with chairs too, Kimura gets into the ring and sets a chair up before putting Wolf on it and hitting her with another chair. Kimura goes off the ropes but Wolf avoids the big boot and gets a metal stick. Leah comes in with magic feel good spray but Kimura blocks her attempt to use it with a sign. Wolf takes the sign from Kimura and hits her repeatedly with it, Leah comes in and hits a lariat on Kimura. Assisted body press by Wolf to Kimura, and she covers her for a two count. Wolf gets on the top turnbuckle and hits a diving double kneedrop, but Kagetsu breaks up the cover. Kagetsu is thrown into the corner but she hits a double missile dropkick, Kagetsu picks up Wolf and she hits the Samoan Drop. Kagetsu and Kimura both boot Wolf, Kagetsu gets up top while Kimura grabs Wolf and they hit an assisted Gory Bomb. Leah runs in but she lariats Wolf by accident, Kagetsu gets a parking sign but she accidentally hits Kimura with it. Wolf goes off the ropes but Kimura nails her with a big boot, and she picks up the three count! Kagetsu and Kimura are still the champions.

The clipping of the match made it a big disjointed, hard to really get into a match when it jumps around so much. But from what I could make of it, it was a fun match, Oedo Tai is a great faction and I like all four of them quite a bit. Leah is my favorite gaijin wrestler in Stardom of the last few months and Kagetsu is extremely under-rated, although she has slowly started getting some much deserved buzz. Too clipped to recommend but what they showed was good.

Jungle Kyouna and Mayu Iwatani vs. Momo Watanabe and Yoko Bito

Momo and Iwatani kick things off, they trade armdrags and takedowns but neither can get a clear advantage so they tag out. Bito and Kyouna lock up, hard shoulderblock by Kyouna but Bito kicks her when she goes for another one and kicks the rookie repeatedly in the back. She tags Momo back in, dropkick by Momo but Kyouna fires back with a shoulderblock. She tags Iwatani, snapmare by Iwatani and she kicks Momo in the back. Mom gets away and tags in Bito, Bito kicks Iwatani and then hits a double vertical suplex on her and Kyouna. Iwatani and Bio trade kick attempts, high kick by Bito and she gets a two count cover. Iwatani goes for a dragon suplex by Bito blocks it, superkick by Iwatani but Bito makes it to her corner first and tags in Momo. Kicks by Momo and she dropkicks Iwatani into the corner, another dropkick by Momo and she follows up with a missile dropkick. Momo picks up Iwatani but Iwatani hits a Northern Lights Suplex for a two count pinfall. Iwatani goes for the dragon suplex but Momo blocks it and rolls up Iwatani for two. Iwatani returns the favor with her own roll-up, kick to the head by Iwatani and she tags Kyouna. Kyouna waits for Momo to get up and hits a lariat, Iwatani rolls in and she superkicks Momo. Diving body press by Kyouna, but Bito breaks up the cover. Iwatani takes care of Bito, Kyouna picks up Momo but Momo wiggles away and hits a snap vertical suplex. Kyouna and Momo trade elbows, kick to the chest by Momo and she hits the Somato, but Iwatani breaks up the pin. Momo picks up Kyouna as Bito returns, and they both kick Kyouna in the chest. Double PK to Kyouna, but she kicks out of the cover. Iwatani goes up top but Bito shakes the rope and then kicks her off the top turnbuckle to the floor. Missile dropkick by Bito to Kyouna, Momo goes up top and she nails a diving Somato for the three count! Momo Watanabe and Yoko Bito win the match.

Finally a match we get to see enough of to enjoy. I liked this match a lot, all four are quality wrestlers and they have great chemistry together. This was a bit of a ‘coming out’ party for Momo, as she showed off a new finisher to go with her new outfit and pinned Kyouna, who is a rookie but due to her age had been placed on the same level as Momo. Bito continues to shake off the rust and looked solid here, and everyone got a bit of a chance to shine. Really good midcard match.  Mildly Recommended

(c) Toni Storm vs. Shanna

Storm gets Shanna on the mat early in the match but Shanna quickly switches positions with her and they jockey for control on the mat. Back up they trade wristlocks, armdrag by Storm but Shanna rolls her up for a quick two. Storm kicks at Shanna but Shanna comes back with elbows and they trade blows until Shanna connects with a big kick to the face. Storm retorts with a release German, Shanna crawls to the corner but Storm hits a running hip attack followed by a fisherman suplex hold for a two count. Enzuigiri by Shanna and she applies a trap submission on the mat, but Storm gets into the ropes to force a break. Leg drop by Shanna and she hits an elbow drop for a two count cover. Storm goes for a Backstabber from the ropes but Shanna blocks it, Shanna goes up top but Storm grabs her and suplexes Shanna back into the ring.

Storm goes to the second turnbuckle but Shanna recovers and joins her, hitting an Avalanche Frankensteiner. Tilt-a-whirl slam of sorts by Shanna, but it gets a two count. Rolling dragon suplexes by Shanna, but Storm rolls out of the ring before Shanna can cover her. Shanna goes up top and dives out onto Storm with a plancha suicida, she slides Storm back in but Storm goes off the ropes and sails out of the ring with a tope suicida. Back in the ring, Storm hits the Backstabber off the ropes and tosses Shanna with a capture suplex. Another Backstabber by Storm, but Shanna grabs the ropes to break up the pin. Storm picks up Shanna but Shanna sneaks in a sunset flip, Storm goes for a double underhook but Shanna gets out of it and hits a Stunner. Double underhook slam by Shanna, but the pin gets a two count. Shanna goes up to the top turnbuckle but Storm avoids the diving crossbody attempt and plants Shanna with a piledriver. Storm positions Shanna and goes up to the top turnbuckle, diving leg drop by Storm and she gets the three count! Storm retains the championship.

Talk about a mixed bag. I could write an essay on ‘no selling as fighting spirit’ vs. ‘no selling due to being lazy at transitions’ but it would be boring to read (and everyone would call me a nerd). But this match was the latter, they did some really shady selling such as on the Avalanche Frankensteiner but it wasn’t for Fighting Spirit purposes, they were just doing what they had to do to get to their next spot in the match. Which is annoying on bigger moves that should get a bit more respect. Also the early strike exchange was really weak (until Shanna kicked Storm’s head off) as strikes don’t appear to be their strong suit. On the flip side, they did a good job of making the match feel important, like it was a title match, as both were pulling out every move they had to try to win. It was pretty exciting in slightly clipped form, it just had a few bad moments that took me out of it a bit. Overall more good than bad but with some noticeable flaws.  Mildly Recommended

(c) Kairi Hojo vs. Chelsea

The friends tie-up to start, they trade holds and end up on the mat where Chelsea gets a headscissors applied. Hojo gets out of it with a bridge and they return to their feet, they lock knuckles until Hojo gets away and dropkicks Chelsea. Chelsea boots Hojo in the face but Hojo ducks the high kick and armdrags Chelsea. Springboard ax handle by Chelsea, she chops Hojo and dropkicks her out of the ring. Chelsea goes up to the top turnbuckle and she literally falls out of the ring back-first and onto Hojo and other minions at ringside. Don’t think I’ve ever seen a ‘dive’ quite like that before. Chelsea then gets on the apron and hits a heel drop onto Hojo’s head before rolling her back into the ring, working over Hojo’s arm in the process. Back in the ring, Chelsea continues focusing on Hojo’s left arm before hitting a jumping knee in the corner, but Hojo spears her when she goes for another one. Hojo slams Chelsea into the corner and elbows her repeatedly in the back, Sliding D in the corner to Chelsea’s back by Hojo and she hits an avalanche diving elbow strike. Crab hold by Hojo but Chelsea gets into the ropes, Hojo jumps down on Chelsea’s back and charges Chelsea, but Chelsea moves and Hojo ends up on the apron.

Chelsea drapes Hojo over the second rope and hits a leg drop, Hojo fights back with elbows and she chops Chelsea to the mat. More chops by Hojo, she goes off the ropes but Chelsea catches her with a high kick. Another kick by Chelsea, and she covers Hojo for a two count. Chelsea quickly applies a reverse armbreaker, she reverts it into a regular armbreaker but Hojo gets a foot on the ropes. Chelsea goes up top but Hojo elbows her, Chelsea catches Hojo’s arm and she applies a hanging armbar over the top rope. Chelsea releases the hold and hits a diving crossbody, cover by Chelsea but it gets a two count. Chelsea picks up Hojo and goes for a kick, but Hojo ducks it and hits a Final Cut Elbow. Hojo goes off the ropes and elbows Chelsea in the back, cover by Hojo but it gets a two. Hojo smacks Chelsea in the ass and goes for the Ikari, but Chelsea quickly gets to the ropes. Hojo goes up top but Chelsea recovers and hits her before she jumps off. Chelsea joins her but Hojo headbutts her into the Tree of Woe, diving footstomp by Hojo and she covers Chelsea for two. Hojo picks up Chelsea but Chelsea wiggles away and applies a sunset flip for two. Chelsea applies the figure four necklock, but Hojo gets out of it and puts her in the Ikari. Hojo releases the hold, she goes up top and she nails the Diving Elbow Drop to Chelsea’s back for the three count pinfall! Kairi Hojo retains the championship!

I can say with full confidence that this is the best match of Chelsea’s career. That isn’t to say it was perfect, but it told several stories very well and it stayed fun throughout. Both wrestlers targeted a body part and stayed on that body part all match, including going for their finishers that targeted that area. I wouldn’t have minded if they sold the part a bit more between segments, but that both kept going back to it was a big plus. Chelsea never gets a ton of height on her kicks but she connected with them forcefully and the Trust Fall Dive as I am calling it has to be seen as that is a new one to me. They also had solid chemistry, with no noticeable miscommunications which happens in Chelsea’s matches sometimes. It started a little slow, but overall a really good match and the best one we saw tonight.  Recommended

The post Stardom “Shining Stars #9” on 8/5/16 Review appeared first on Joshi City.

There are small shows, and there are really shows, and this certainly is the latter. Before the Stardom World days we would never seen a bit of this event as of six matches, five are rookie matches which is a high percentage even for Stardom. The main event is a title match, and while it does have three of the best wrestlers in Stardom in it (Shirai, Iwatani, and Kagetsu), it still is one of the lesser titles in Stardom. Still, the rookies can be fun to watch and Threedom will no doubt bring it in the main event. Here are the matches:

• Arisu Nanase vs. Kris Wolf
• Azumi and Kaori Yoneyama vs. Eimi Nishina and Natsumi Maki
• Chelsea vs. Hiromi Mimura
• Jungle Kyouna vs. Leah Vaughan
• Momo Watanabe vs. Shanna
• Artist of Stardom Championship: Io Shirai, Kairi Hojo, and Mayu Iwatani vs. Diosa Atenea, Kagetsu, and Kyoko Kimura

As is usually the case, click on the wrestler’s name above to go to their profile on Joshi City.

Arisu Nanase vs. Kris Wolf

Nanase starts the match fired up as she attacks Wolf from behind and knocks her into the corner, the kid works a headlock and a wristlock but Wolf reverses it and takes her to the mat. Wolf beats Arisu around the ring, the rookie fights back however and dropkicks Wolf in the corner. Kick to the chest by Wolf and she spanks Nanase before setting her up in the corner and hitting a double knee strike. Kick to the back by Wolf but Nanase avoids her dive and dropkicks Wolf in the chest. Blockbuster by Nanase, but Wolf manages to get a shoulder up. Wolf knees Nanase after she goes off the ropes, running knee to the head by Wolf but Nanase kicks out of the pin. Wolf waits for Nanase to sit up and kicks her in the chest, Wolf holds down Nanase and she picks up the three count! Kris Wolf wins.

This match was cute and fun in parts. Nanase still has a ways to go of course but shows potential, and Wolf is constant energy and excitement so it is hard to get bored watching her matches. A perfectly fine way to kick off the show.

Azumi and Kaori Yoneyama vs. Eimi Nishina and Maki Natsumi

Azumi and Maki begin for their teams and trade holds, Azumi attacks Maki from behind and Yoneyama runs in to assist. They pose on Maki with arm submissions, Yoneyama twists Maki’s hair and she flings her to the mat. Maki cartwheels away from Yoneyama and kicks her, Eimi come sin and they both dropkick Yoneyama. Maki tags in Eimi, dropkick by Eimi but Yoneyama hits a scoop slam and tags in Azumi. Dropkicks by Azumi and she applies a rolling crab hold, but Eimi gets into the ropes. Face crusher by Eimi and she dropkicks Azumi before making the tag to Maki. Rolling neckbreaker by Maki and she puts Azumi in a stretch hold, she goes to run off the ropes but Yoneyama grabs her from the apron. DDT by Azumi, but Eimi breaks up the cover. Yoneyama elbows Azumi by accident, cyclone neckbreaker by Maki and she covers Azumi. Yoneyama tries to break it up but Maki moves and Yoneyama hits Azumi by accident, Maki picks up Azumi and hits another swinging neckbreaker but this time Yoneyama breaks it up successfully. Yoneyama drags Azumi to her corner so she can tag herself in, punch by Yoneyama to Maki but Maki avoids the senton. She tags in Eimi, Somato by Eimi but Yoneyama kicks out. Maki comes in and they both dropkick Yoneyama, but Yoneyama hits a crossbody on both of them. DDT by Azumi to Maki while Yoneyama rolls up Eimi for the three count! Azumi and Yoneyama are your winners.

The early card feud of Azumi vs. Maki is a unique one, usually you don’t see so much time dedicated to giving the rookies something to do so its a nice change of pace. The match itself was pretty basic, but Azumi hadn’t gotten a win in awhile so even though it was indirect it still helped her build some confidence. Definitely a match just for hardcore fans but not without some worth.

Chelsea vs. Hiromi Mimura

They lock knuckles and trade wristlocks, they did a cute spot where Chelsea did a big step over their arms to reverse the hold, but since Mimura is so small in order to duplicate the step she had to take out Chelsea’s legs first before stepping over. Hey I am trying to find things I like. Mimura gets Chelsea to the mat first but Chelsea quickly reverses things, dropkick by Mimura and she rolls up Chelsea for two. Rolling leglock by Mimura, she applies La Magistral but Chelsea kicks out. Chelsea applies a short armbar, they return to their feet and Mimura hits a rebound side headlock takedown. Mimura charges Chelsea but Chelsea catches her with a kick to the midsection, jumping heel drop by Chelsea and she covers Hiromi for two. Rolling Armbreaker by Chelsea, and Mimura has to submit! Chelsea is the winner of the match.

This was really short and just forgettable. Neither looked bad here, aside from Chelsea’s kicks, but there wasn’t really any substance here to get excited about. A lackluster way to kick off the series.

Jungle Kyouna vs. Leah Vaughan

Kyouna immediately rolls up Leah for two as she goes for quick win, shoulderblocks by Kyouna but Leah takes over and chokes the rookie in the corner before putting her in the camel clutch. A slightly intoxicated Wolf helps from ringside as Leah stays in control, and she puts Kyouna in a headscissors. Leah continues putting Kyouna in submission holds, they get back up and Kyouna finally hits a big lariat to get the gaijin off her feet. Backbreaker by Kyouna and she rams Leah into the corner before hitting a body avalanche. Kyouna gets on the second turnbuckle and hits a diving bodypress, picking up a two count. Crab hold by Kyouna but Leah gets to the ropes, Leah drops Kyouna on the top rope and hits quick suplex for a two count cover. Leah goes for a Lionsault but Kyouna gets her knees up, they trade strikes as they return to their feet until Kyouna hits a powerslam. Kyouna goes up top but Leah recovers in time and throws her off, Lionsault by Leah but Kyouna gets a shoulder up. Vertical suplex by Leah, she goes up top but Kyouna joins her, Leah elbows her off and she delivers the Tornado DDT. Leah applies the Leah Lock, and Kyouna quickly submits! Leah Vaughan is the winner.

I enjoyed this match quite a bit and by far the best match of the night so far. Leah looked pretty impressive here, I thought she showed she could have a place in Stardom as while there were a few awkward moments it generally flowed really well. Kyouna continues to impress also as she went over ten minutes with an invading Gaijin which is no small feat. Solid showing by both wrestlers and a good match overall, probably forgettable in the long run but for a smaller house show it delivered.  Mildly Recommended

Momo Watanabe vs. Shanna

Momo immediately dropkicks Shanna but Shanna dropkicks her back and they go back and forth with dropkicks. Momo wins the dropkick battle, she gets on the second turnbuckle and hits a missile dropkick. Momo goes for the Somato but Shanna moves and goes for Momo’s leg. Dropkicks by Momo in the corner but Shanna grabs the ropes when she goes for a cover. Momo gets on the second turnbuckle, it looks like Shanna tried to reverse it with a double knee but Momo overshoots her and lands on Shanna’s face. This opens a cut over Shanna’s eye and probably knocks her a bit loopy, the referee checks her and has the doctor look, and they decide to stop the match. Your winner by Doctor Stoppage is Momo Watanabe.

I don’t want to go on a rant in a review but this wasn’t a satisfying ending. In 25 years of watching wrestling I have never seen a wrestler request to be checked by the referee/doctor due to a cut. Most wrestlers are like Samoa Joe in his match against Finn Balor, trying to avoid the doctor at all costs, and I don’t think I’ve ever seen a match stopped for a cut unless it was for storyline reasons (only possible exception being Joey Mercury but the match continued without him in it plus his face literally exploded). I am not judging Shanna too harshly, this was a house show mid-card match and she was hoping for a bandage rather than having the match stopped by the doctor, but it still wasn’t ideal and since it happened so early in the match we didn’t get to see much of it. So, disappointing overall.

Io Shirai, Kairi Hojo, and Iwatani vs. Diosa Atenea, Kagetsu, and Kimura

Old foes Kagetsu and Iwatani start the match but Kimura quickly runs in and they double team Iwatani. Iwatani falls out of the ring while Oedo Tai do a dance at ringside (still no Act Yasukawa but Wolf is out with them). Diosa and Hojo come in as the legal wrestlers and Diosa armdrags Hojo out of the ring, she goes to do a baseball slide but Hojo pulls her out of the ring with her. Shirai and Kagetsu get in the ring but Shirai armdrags her out of the ring, she goes to do a dive but Kimura hits her in the head with a metal sheet. Kimura takes Shirai around ringside before the match returns to ‘normal’ with Iwatani being isolated in the ring (she has been the legal wrestler all along). Oedo Tai takes turns on Iwatani as she plays Face in Peril for a significant amount of time, but Iwatani finally hits a double split legged moonsault armdrag on Kimura and Kagetsu followed by a double dropkick which gives her time to tag in Hojo.

Kimura immediately puts Hojo in a grounded necklock but Hojo gets into the ropes to force a break. Stomps by Kimura but Hojo comes back with a series of chops. Kagetsu comes in to assist as does Diosa, but Shirai has seen enough and comes in too. It temporarily backfires, but eventually the Threedom wrestlers get the better of Kimura and Kagetsu, Space Rolling Elbow by Shirai to Kimura and she dropkicks her in the head for a two count (not sure if she is legal, but what can ya do). Double knee by Shirai in the corner, she goes for the moonsault but Kimura moves out of the way. Kimura traps Shirai’s arms and blows in her face, which apparently is quite painful, Kagetsu comes in and they drop Shirai with an assisted Gory Bomb. Iwatani returns but Kagetsu dropkicks her in the face, superkicks by Iwatani but Kagetsu delivers a high kick. Diosa comes in the ring with a diving bodypress to Iwatani, and the referee counts the two count (I guess we are officially under Lucha Libre tag rules).

Shirai comes in, she gets Diosa on her shoulders while Hojo goes up top and hits a jumping elbow smash. Diving footstomp by Iwatani, but Kimura breaks up the cover. Kagetsu hits Iwatani and Hojo with the Parking Sign before bopping Shirai as well, and all three of Oedo Tai put Threedom in submission holds. Ebisu Drop by Kagetsu to Iwatani, Diosa hits a diving senton but the cover is broken up. Big Match Io tries to clear the ring but Kimura drops her with a chokebomb, Wolf crawls in and tries to hit Iwatani but she hits Kagetsu on accident. Hurricanrana by Iwatani to Kagetsu, but the referee’s count is interrupted. Swandive dropkick by Shirai, Hojo runs in and they catapult Iwatani into Diosa. Assisted Tombstone Piledriver to Diosa, Shirai sails out of the ring onto Kimura and Kagetsu while Hojo hits a diving elbow drop onto Diosa. Iwatani then goes up top and hits a frog splash, cover by Iwatani and she gets the three count! Threedom are still the Artist of Stardom Champions.

A really fun match to end the show, as they got plenty of time and everyone got a chance to shine. Diosa was the clear weak link of the team so it was no surprise she got pinned here, although it took a few big moves to keep her down. I am not a huge fan of six wrestler tags as it usually has the same structure as this one – one wrestler isolated for a bit followed by random chaos until the match ends. For a smaller show though a suitable main event and an entertaining watch, even though it didn’t do much to set itself apart from other big Stardom matches.  Recommended

The post Stardom Shining Stars #3 on 6/11/16 Review appeared first on Joshi City.

Even though this event is not at Korakuen, it is still a really big show for the promotion with 800+ in attendance and two high end matches. It is unusual for Stardom to have this many fans present outside of their bigger monthly events, so I’m excited for them. Here are the matches we will be watching:

• Alex Lee and Azumi vs. Eimi Nishina and Maki Natsumi
• Arisu Nanase and Momo Watanabe vs. Starlight Kid and Hiromi Mimura
• Chelsea, Hiroyo Matsumoto, and Shanna vs. Diosa Atenea, Kris Wolf, and Leah Vaughan
• Chihiro Hashimoto vs. Jungle Kyouna
• High Speed Championship: Mayu Iwatani vs. Kagetsu
• Io Shirai and Kairi Hojo vs. Meiko Satomura and Mika Iwata

Per usual, click the names above to go to their profile. Lots of exciting stuff, let’s get to it.

Alex Lee and Azumi vs. Eimi Nishina and Natsumi Maki

Azumi and Natsumi (aka Grandma according to Azumi since she is ‘old’) start the match, but they reach a quick stalemate and tag out. Nishina is tossed to the mat by Lee but Nishina hits a quick drop toehold followed by a face crusher. Natsumi comes in and they both dropkick Lee, Natsumi puts Lee in a stretch hold before stomping her repeatedly. She tags Nishina back in but Lee slams Nishina before hitting a high knee in the corner. Another knee by Lee, and she covers Nishina for a two count. Azumi comes in to help work over Nishina, Lee covers Nishina with one foot but Nishina kicks out. Lee tags Azumi, dropkick by Azumi and she puts Nishina in a crab hold. Nishina gets out of it and goes for a Somato, but Azumi ducks it and rolls up Nishina for two. Nishina tags Natsumi, rolling neckbreakers by Natsumi but Azumi wiggles away and stomps on her. DDT by Azumi and she applies a cradle for a quick two count. Lee comes in but she superkicks Azumi by accident. Nishina hits the Somato on Azumi, swinging neckbreaker by Natsumi and she applies a bridge to get the three count! Nishina and Natsumi are the winners.

A fun opener, simple but effective. I hope that these rookies stick around for many years to come for how much time I am investing watching them develop, but all three looked good here while Lee was her usual self. A few little rough patches but not as many as one may expect with three inexperienced wrestlers, and it was too short to get dull. A fine way to start the show.

Arisu Nanase and Momo Watanabe vs. Starlight Kid and Hiromi Mimura

Mimura and Momo start the match at 100 as they run off the ropes back and forth, both hit armdrags until Momo dropkicks Mimura into the corner. Momo tags Arisa, Arisa starts working over Mimura but Mimura gets away and tags in Starlight Kid. Momo is tagged in too, and Starlight Kid drops her with a multiple rotation satellite headscissors but Momo slams her to the mat in return. Momo goes for a Tree of Woe dropkick but Starlight Kid gets out of it, she gets on the second turnbuckle but Arisu grabs her from the apron so she can’t jump off. Momo recovers and throws Starlight Kid back to the mat, kicks by Momo and Arisu kicks Starlight Kid from the ropes again. Satellite sunset flip by Starlight Kid and she makes the hot tag to Hiromi, dropkicks by Hiromi and she hits a diving crossbody for a two count. Starlight Kid and Hiromi both dropkick Mom in the corner, but Arisu runs in and evens the score. Momo hits a vertical suplex on Hiromi, she gets on the second turnbuckle and she hits a missile dropkick. Momo tags Arisu, dropkicks by Arisu and she covers Hiromi for a two count. Hiromi comes back with her rolling leglock, but Momo quickly breaks it up. Arisu picks up Mimura and hits the Blockbuster Suplex, but Hiromi gets a shoulder up. She goes for another one but Hiromi blocks it this time, elbows by Hiromi but the rookie Arisu (I am assuming) gets confused on the next spot and they all look confused for about 15 seconds. Starlight Kid dropkicks Arisu, then Momo dropkicks Starlight Kid, Momo goes to do the Somato but Starlight Kid trips her from the apron. This leaves Hiromi with Arisu, La Magistral by Hiromi and she picks up the three count! The Dancing Stars win!

I am not going to eviscerate a bunch of rookies for getting lost in a match, obviously something like that would pretty unforgivable when dealing with veterans but there are no real veterans here so miscues like that are going to happen sometimes. Besides that awkward 15 seconds I thought they did pretty good here, with Starlight Kid being the standout with her smooth rotational moves that keep getting better. She is almost ready for her excursion to Mexico. Nothing to get excited about and a step down execution-wise from the last match, but there is something fun about watching the future stars of a promotion while they are still feeling things out.

Chelsea, Hiroyo Matsumoto, and Shanna vs. Diosa Atenea, Kris Wolf, and Leah Vaughan

Team Freelancer tries to do a cute pose before the match but thankfully Oedo Tai has none of that and attacks them, leading to a big brawl which the Freelancers get the better of. Chelsea and Shanna dive off the apron onto their opponents, Matsumoto then picks up Wolf in the ring and tosses her out onto her two teammates. Wolf is rolled back in, Matsumoto slams her and covers the feisty creature for two. Chelsea is tagged in but she is tripped from the floor by Vaughan and Atenea. They come in the ring and triple team Chelsea in the ropes, Atenea is tagged in but Chelsea kicks her in the stomach. Chelsea is triple teamed again as Oedo Tai controls the action, but she gets away from Vaughan and hits a leg drop, which gives her time to tag in Matsumoto. Wolf is tagged in too and Oedo Tai handles Matsumoto in the corner, but Matsumoto regains the advantage and hits a missile dropkick on Atenea. Matsumoto tags Shanna, armdrag by Shanna but Atenea armdrags her back before both wrestlers lariat each other. Wolf comes in but Chelsea goes up top and hits a crossbody on both Wolf and Atenea, Vaughan comes in but Matsumoto puts her onto her shoulders, but Wolf bites her leg. They all put each other in submission holds in a unique but ultimately not effective train, they all get out of that and the Freelance team takes control of Oedo Tai. Wolf is isolated, Shanna and Chelsea get on Matsumoto’s back and Matsumoto hits a double kneedrop onto Wolf. Cover by Chelsea, but Vaughan breaks it up. Vaughan boots Matsumoto out of the ring, she get some spray but she sprays her own partner Wolf on accident. Chelsea puts Wolf in a headscissors headlock, and Wolf submits! Chelsea, Matsumoto, and Shanna win!

I enjoyed this probably more than I legally should have, as I really like Oedo Tai and the Freelancer team oddly worked quite well together. There were a lot of memorable spots, some better than others but at no point was the match boring for sure. Shanna and Chelsea wrestled similarly so they are a good pair, maybe they can become a regular tag team if Shanna stays in Stardom longer term. A good mixture of lighthearted fare and action and a fun midcard match.  Mildly Recommended

Chihiro Hashimoto vs. Jungle Kyouna

Hashimoto grabs Kyouna right as the match starts but Kyouna gets away from her, Kyouna gets out of the ring to re-group but returns after a moment with extra fire. They struggle in a tie-up until Hashimoto gets Kyouna in the ropes, and she gives her fellow rookie a clean break. Hashimoto rolls Kyouna on the mat, wristlock by Hashimoto and she continues working over the Stardom wrestler. Kyouna finally fights back and hits mounted elbows, she puts Hashimoto in a crab hold but she crawls to the ropes to force a break. Hashimoto tosses Kyouna to the mat and goes for a cross armbreaker, but Kyouna blocks it and they return to their feet to trade elbows. Shoulderblocks by Hashimoto in the corner and she hits an elbow followed by a couple hip attacks for a two count cover. Another hip attack by Hashimoto but Kyouna avoids her charge and hits a body avalanche in the corner, face crusher by Kyouna and she covers Hashimoto for two. They take turns trying to knock each other over, a battle that Hashimoto wins, but Kyouna gets her to the mat and hits a diving body press off the second turnbuckle. Crab hold by Kyouna, but Hashimoto gets into the ropes. Kyouna tries to slam Hashimoto but Hashimoto blocks it, Kyouna goes off the ropes but Hashimoto slaps her in the face and hits a judo throw. Cross armbreaker by Hashimoto, but Kyouna wiggles to the ropes and gets there to force a break. Back up they exchange strikes, body avalanche by Hashimoto but Kyouna levels her with a lariat. Kyouna forces up Hashimoto and elbows her repeatedly before back bodydropping her to the mat. Kyouna goes up top but Hashimoto gets her knees up when Kyouna goes for the diving body press. Hashimoto tries to pick up Kyouna, Kyouna blocks it the first time but Hashimoto then gets her up and hits a Waterwheel Drop for a nearfall. Hashimoto picks up Kyouna, she hits the Waterwheel Drop with a bridge this time, and she picks up the three count! Hashimoto wins!

There was a lot to love here. For those that think that Joshi is just high speed and crazy dives, there are wrestlers that have a more ground-based offense as well. Hashimoto and Kyouna are both rookies so hopefully they will be around for a long time, and with their backgrounds they are both more strength/submission oriented than flying around and being constant motion. Both are really good already, I’ve been impressed the few times I have seen Hashimoto but Kyouna is not far behind her, and their styles matches up perfectly. A bit slower than you may be expecting but really well worked with no overkill and a logical ending. If you want to see some rookies that have a different style, definitely check this out.  Recommended

(c) Mayu Iwatani vs. Kagetsu

Kagetsu doesn’t cheat right off the start, which shows some respect for the fact they are in a title match, and the two quickly trade armdrags before reaching a stalemate. Iwatani goes for her split-legged armdrag but Kagetsu blocks it, and Iwatani rolls out of the ring to ponder what to do next. She tries to return to the ring but Kagetsu knocks her back out and this time goes out with her to attack Iwatani around the floor. Kagetsu gets a chair and hits Iwatani in the head with it, she throws her into the ring post and hits Iwatani with the chair again. The rest of Oedo Tai attacks Iwatani before they return to the ring (Oedo Tai comes in too) and they all hit running strikes in the corner. Swandive missile dropkick by Kagetsu, she sets up a chair in the ring and dropkicks it into Iwatani’s head. Iwatani tries to hit a missile dropkick as a comeback move but Kagetsu sidesteps it, Kagetsu puts Iwatani in the ropes and all of Oedo Tai return again as Iwatani is heavily outnumbered. Iwatani finally hits an offensive move and she hits a spinning headscissors, dropkick by Iwatani while Kagetsu is against the ropes, Kagetsu falls out of the ring but Iwatani dives out onto her with a plancha suicida.

Back in the ring, bridging suplex by Iwatani but it gets two. Iwatani goes off the ropes but Kagetsu catches her with a pop-up Samoan Drop, Iwatani returns to her feet and the foes trade elbows. Big dropkick by Kagetsu and she hits a high kick, but Iwatani retorts with a high kick of her own. Kagetsu charges Iwatani but Iwatani hits a hip toss followed by a quick footstomp off the second turnbuckle. Iwatani goes all the way up this time but Kagetsu joins her and hits a superplex. Iwatani charges Kagetsu but Kagetsu hits a cross armbreaker takedown, but Iwatani gets to the ropes. Vertical suplex by Kagetsu and she hits the Ebisu Drop, but Iwatani barely gets a shoulder up. High kick by Kagetsu but Iwatani blocks the Yoshi Tonic. Quick roll-ups by Iwatani for two, she goes for a crucifix hold but that gets a two count as well. Kagetsu gets her Parking Sign but Iwatani ducks the blow and she hits Kris Wolf by accident. Hurricanrana by Iwatani, she gets the sign and she puts it onto Kagetsu’s chest before hitting a diving footstomp off the second turnbuckle. Superkicks by Iwatani, she picks up Kagetsu and she nails the enhanced Dragon Suplex Hold for the three count! Iwatani wins the match and retains the High Speed Championship.

Before I get into my slight annoyance with the booking, I thought this was a solid match. The shenanigans didn’t bother me here as on paper this is Stardom’s #3 singles title, plus Oedo Tai calmed down after the initial stretch and didn’t break up pinfalls which is the most annoying thing that heel factions do. Iwatani took a lot of offense but just because she never gets pinned I never really brought into any of the nearfalls, it would take a ‘super’ move to keep Iwatani down and I don’t know what move Kagetsu has in her arsenal that would do the trick. Which is the problem when you have a wrestler (or group of wrestlers) that seem unbeatable, some of the suspense is taken out of it, and I don’t know why Iwatani really needs three titles when Oedo Tai has none. Still, a fun match with some well done spots, wish it was a bit longer and that Kagetsu was more of a challenge but I still enjoyed it quite a bit as a change of pace from the typical Stardom title match.  Mildly Recommended

Io Shirai and Kairi Hojo vs. Meiko Satomura and Mika Iwata

Iwata and Hojo begin the match and Iwata immediately hammers in the elbows, but Hojo has none of it and returns fire. Big hammer fist by Hojo to get Iwata down, Hojo works over the rookie with holds but Iwata dropkicks her to the mat and tags Satomura. Satomura knees Hojo against the ropes before rolling her to the mat and putting Hojo in a headlock. Satomura tags Iwata back in, PK by Iwata and she covers Hojo for two. Iwata tags Satomura as Hojo is officially the Face in Peril, she goes for her spear but Satomura blocks it and hits a bodyslam. Shirai comes in to help but Satomura slams Shirai onto Hojo for her trouble before throwing Shirai out of the ring. I just love sequences like that, one of my favorites. Satomura tags Iwata but Hojo levels her with a spear and tags in Shirai. Shirai goes up top and comes in the ring with a missile dropkick, she kicks Iwata out of the ring as Satomura come in, and Shirai back bodydrops Satomura to the floor. Shirai then gets on the second turnbuckle and hits a moonsault down to the floor onto both the Sendai Girls’ wrestlers. Back in, cocky Ace Shirai takes over on Iwata before tagging Hojo back in. Hojo tosses Iwata by her hair before Shirai returns, and Shirai does her patented hand walk kneedrop. Shirai methodically attacks Iwata, Iwata slides away but Shirai stops her from making a tag. Superkick by Iwata and now she makes the tag, rebound elbow by Satomura to Shirai and she knocks Hojo off the apron just for good measure. Shirai and Satomura engage in a strike battle until Satomura slams Shirai to the mat and covers her for two.

Shirai comes back with the cartwheel dropkick, she goes off the ropes and dropkicks Satomura in the head. Shirai tags Hojo, chops by Hojo but Satomura kicks her in return. Irish whip by Satomura to the corner but Hojo hits the triple jump rebound elbow, Sliding D by Hojo and she covers Satomura for two. Submission hold by Hojo but Satomura gets out of it and hits a backdrop suplex. Kicks by Satomura, Shirai tries to help with a swandive move but Satomura smacks her before she can jump. Cartwheel into a kneedrop by Satomura to Hojo, she goes up top but Hojo hits a palm strike and throws Satomura into the mat. Pele Kick by Satomura but Hojo fights back with elbows before hitting a backfist. Kick to the head by Satomura and both wrestlers crawl to their own corners to tag out. Iwata kicks Shirai in the chest, high kick by Iwata and she hits a suplex for a two count. Enzuigiri by Iwata, Satomura comes in and she drops Shirai with a backdrop suplex. Iwata goes off the ropes but she dropkicks Satomura by accident, Shirai puts Satomura on her shoulders while Hojo goes up top and Hojo hits a jumping elbow smash. Shirai grabs Iwata and hits a double underhook facebuster, but she lifts Iwata before the three count to taunt Satomura. Satomura comes in but so does Hojo, and Satomura kills Hojo with a high kick. Pele Kick by Satomura to Shirai, and Iwata rolls up Shirai for a two count. Iwata goes for a bodyscissors but Shirai catches her and hits a German suplex. Shirai hits a dragon screw on Satomura, Iwata slaps Shirai and Irish whips her but Shirai sails out of the ring with a plancha suicida onto Satomura. Hojo comes in the ring and hits a diving elbow drop onto Iwata, Shirai returns and nails a moonsault for the three count! Io Shirai and Kairi Hojo are the winners!

This match did so much that I love. Satomura’s kicks, for starters, as she was blasting everyone that walked too close to her. I love when a wrestler comes in to help their partner and instead gets destroyed, one of my favorite wrestling things as its the opposite of what normally happens. Everyone looked good, Iwata did not look out of place even though she was the clear underdog in the match. Io was in full Cocky Champion mode here, toying with the young Iwata throughout and not minding who she took out with her crazy plancha suicida. Overall this was just a really fun hard hitting match, it would have been a touch better without one wrestler that ranked so much lower than the rest, but still top notch.  Highly Recommended

The post Stardom Premium Star Wars on 6/5/16 Review appeared first on Joshi City.

I realize I said that I review way too much Stardom and I plan on mixing it up some more going forward, but I’ll be damned if Stardom didn’t put on back to back shows so here I am reviewing Stardom today once again. This is the second show in the Shining Stars tour, and also takes place away from their home in Tokyo. This is a small show but it does have an Io Shirai championship match as she defends one of her four titles. Here is the full card:

• Arisu Nanase vs. Natsumi Maki
• Azumi vs. Eimi Nishina vs. Starlight Kid
• Chelsea and Kairi Hojo vs. Alex Lee and Hiroyo Matsumoto
• Elimination Match: Diosa Atenea, Kagetsu, Kris Wolf, and Vaughan vs. Mimura, Jungle Kyouna, Iwatani, and Momo Watanabe
• SWA Undisputed Championship: Io Shirai vs. Shanna

Lots of rookies and the return of big match Io! As always, click on the wrestler’s name above to go to their profile if I have one on the site.

Arisu Nanase vs. Natsumi Maki

Nanase and Maki trade holds, Maki keeps cutely doing cartwheels to reverse wristlocks but Nanase gets Maki to the mat. Back up they trade elbows, dropkick by Maki and she puts the super rookie into a crab hold. Nanase gets to the ropes, dropkick by Nanase and she slams Maki before putting her in a leg submission hold. Maki gets out of the hold and cartwheels out of a slam, bridging fallaway slam by Nanase but it gets two. Maki blocks the next one and applies a backslide, getting her own two count. Swinging neckbreaker by Maki, and she bridges over Nanase for the three count! Maki is the winner.

Maki was so surprised she won that she didn’t even apply the cover correctly. It is hard to hate a match like this, two young but well trained wrestlers putting on a short match but not one without some memorable moments. Both are a ways away from moving up the card, expect them both to be in a similar position to this for the rest of 2016, but still an enjoyable way to kick things off.

Azumi vs. Eimi Nishina vs. Starlight Kid

Azumi and Starlight Kid go after each other first, Nishina  joins in after a moment but they both kick her down. Starlight Kid and Azumi reach a stalemate, Starlight Kid is thrown into the corner and both her opponents dropkick her. Starlight Kid dropkicks Azumi back, Nishina slams Azumi and puts her in a camel clutch, but Starlight Kid dropkicks Nishina. Nishina is briefly double teamed until Azumi applies an inside cradle to Starlight Kid. All three wrestlers return to their feet and they do the triple sleeper spot, Starlight Kid gets out of it first and dropkicks Azumi before trading elbows with Nishina. Face crusher by Nishina and she hits a Somato, but Azumi breaks up the cover. Starlight Kid flings Azumi to the apron, she goes to the second turnbuckle and hits a diving crossbody for two. Monkey flip by Azumi to Starlight Kid and she applies a wing clutch hold for two. Azumi goes for a suplex but Starlight Kid reverses it and hits her standing moonsault for the three count! Starlight Kid wins.

That is twice now that Starlight Kid has pinned Azumi, and I don’t think she likes it. Not as good as the last match as I think the three way battle structure is a hard one to make entertaining, but it was still fine. Nothing really interesting as it was too short but nothing offensive either.

Chelsea and Kairi Hojo vs. Alex Lee and Hiroyo Matsumoto

Lee and Chelsea begin the match and awkwardly trade holds, scoop slam by Lee and she kicks Chelsea in the chest for a two count. Matsumoto comes in as they double team Chelsea, Hojo finally comes in to help and Lee ends up being double teamed herself. Leg drop by Chelsea, and she covers Lee for two. Lee manages to tag in Matsumoto and Matsumoto flings Chelsea around the ring. Lee returns and puts Chelsea in a crab hold, jumping knee by Lee and she kicks Chelsea in the back before covering her for a two count. Matsumoto is tagged back in and she snaps Chelsea’s neck over the top rope, missile dropkick by Matsumoto and she covers Chelsea, but Hojo breaks it up. Chelsea finally slides away from Matsumoto and hits a standing guillotine legdrop, giving her time to make the hot tag to Hojo. Hojo chops Matsumoto into the corner but Matsumoto returns the favor, Hojo goes for a spear but Matsumoto blocks it and throws Hojo to the mat.

Hojo fights back and hits her triple jump elbow smash out of the corner, Matsumoto goes for a powerbomb but Hojo gets out of it. Roaring elbow by Matsumoto, she goes off the ropes but Hojo gets up and levels her with a spear. Back up they trade strikes, Matsumoto grabs Hojo and gets her onto her shoulders before dropping her with a gutbuster. Lee is tagged in and kicks Hojo into the corner, high kick by Lee and she hits a single arm suplex for a two count. Chelsea and Matsumoto both run in to help which Chelsea gets the better of, heel kick by Chelsea to Lee and Hojo hits the Sliding D. Hojo goes up top but Matsumoto runs over and joins her, hitting a superplex. Lee pick up Hojo and hits a backdrop suplex, but Chelsea breaks up the cover. Matsumoto elbows Lee by accident, Chelsea knocks Matsumoto over the top rope before sailing after her with a sloppy but effective plancha suicida. Superkick by Lee to Hojo but Hojo catches her with a spinning backfist, she goes up top and she nails the diving elbow drop for the three count! Candy Crush win!

The most interesting thing in his match to me is that in a 15 minute match, Candy Crush had one tag. Almost unheard of. Anyway, this was not great but not bad either. Lee looked good here as she got the chance to mix it up with a great wrestler like Hojo, and I give Chelsea credit for putting in maximum effort even though skill-wise she lags behind most the other wrestlers in Stardom. The Matsumoto/Hojo segments were great, the match was just a little slow in a few parts. I liked it quite a bit but still with its flaws.  Mildly Recommended

Diosa Atenea, Kagetsu, Kris Wolf, and Vaughan vs. Mimura, Kyouna, Iwatani, and Watanabe

Oedo Tai naturally attacks before the bell rings, because why wouldn’t they, but Team Stardom quickly recovers and isolates Vaughan. Vaughan isn’t wearing all green this week so she doesn’t look like Kellie Skater, which is a plus. A brawl ensues as the action spills out of the ring, with Atenea and Watanabe left inside. They all end up outside the ring as Oedo Tai throws their opponents into chairs at ringside, Mimura is eventually slid back in and is quadruple teamed in the ropes. Oedo Tai takes turns on Mimura, Mimura hits a DDT on Kagetsu which gives her time to tag in Momo. Atenea comes in too but Watanabe hits a crossbody on both, with Kyouna running in to help knock the duo over. Kagetsu is attacked by all the members of the Stardom team, Iwatani stays in with Kagetsu and armdrags her into the corner. Kagetsu comes back with a dropkick and they trade elbows, Iwatani gets the better of it and both tag out as Wolf and Kyouna come in. Kyouna gets Wolf on her shoulders but Wolf slides away, Vaughan runs in but she dropkicks Wolf by accident. Iwatani and Momo both kick Wolf, Kyouna goes up top and she nails a diving body press for the three count! Kris Wolf is eliminated.

Atenea replaces her, she can’t knock over Kyouna with a shoulderblock but she connects with a kick to the head. Kyouna tosses Atenea to the mat and tags Mimura, Mimura goes off the ropes and hits a dropkick on Atenea. Mimura and Atenea trade chops to the chest, Atenea puts Mimura in a fireman’s carry and tosses her to the mat. Mimura is kicked from the apron, Atenea puts Mimura in a unique bendy submission hold and Mimura submits! Hiromi Mimura is eliminated.

Kyouna comes in, she knocks Atenea out to the apron over the top rope but when she charges her to knock Atenea to the floor, she ends up on the apron as well. Wolf tugs on Kyouna from the floor while Kyouna hangs onto Atenea, Watanabe dropkicks Atenea from inside the ring and both Atenea and Kyouna flop to the floor. Both Diosa Atenea and Jungle Kyouna are eliminated.

All four remaining wrestlers stay in the ring and trade blows, Kagetsu grabs Iwatani but Iwatani blocks her kicks and hits her in the face. Iwatani and Kagetsu trade blows, Iwatani grabs Kagetsu’s arm and runs up the corner but Kagetsu pushes Iwatani to the apron. Kagetsu charges Iwatani to try to knock her to the floor, but Iwatani grabs Kagetsu and pulls her over the top rope. Both immediately fall to the floor in the process, and both Kagetsu and Mayu Iwatani are eliminated.

This leaves only Vaughan and Watanabe as the last two wrestlers. Watanabe quickly dropkicks Vaughan a few times until she is tripped from the floor and all of Oedo Tai come in to help. Watanabe is quadruple teamed in the corner until Team Stardom finally pulls the extra wrestlers out of the ring. Kagetsu gets her Parking Sign but Iwatani fights it from her, Watanabe dropkicks Kagetsu before turning her attention back to Vaughan. Missile dropkick by Watanabe and she hits a vertical suplex for a two count. Watanabe charges Vaughan in the corner but Vaughan moves and hits a fisherman suplex. Elbows by Watanabe, she goes off the ropes but Vaughan catches her with a big spear for the three count cover! Team Oedo Tai wins the Elimination Match!

A fun and fast paced match, although not much more than that. I am not a huge fan of the over-the-top elimination rule, its a staple in Stardom but most of the time it is just used as a cop-out for quick eliminations, as it was here. Having five wrestlers eliminated in under three minutes isn’t incredibly satisfying. But when they were given time to develop a rhythm it was entertaining, and I really like the Oedo Tai faction even if Stardom seems hell bent on not letting them win any titles. Not a bad co-main, just wish it had gotten more time and had a bit more beef to it.  Mildly Recommended

(c) Io Shirai vs. Shanna

After the introductory feeling out process, Shanna gets Shirai to the mat and starts twisting on her arm. Shirai gets into the ropes to force a break, Shanna applies a headlock but Shirai gets out of the hold, both wrestlers go for dropkicks but both miss and return to their feet. Shirai dumps Shanna onto the apron and out of the ring, she goes to do a dive but flips back into the ring instead and poses. Shanna returns to the ring and twists Shirai awkwardly into a modified DDT of sorts, Shirai falls out of the ring and Shanna dives out after her with a tope suicida. Shanna throws Shirai around at ringside and wraps her head in a chair for extra measure before eventually returning to the ring with Shirai. Shanna stomps on Shirai and chokes her in the corner, cover by Shanna but it gets a two. Fisherman suplex hold by Shanna, but Shirai kicks out of that as well. Shirai recovers and hits a missile dropkick out of the corner, Shanna rolls out of the ring and Shirai sails after her with a plancha suicida. Shirai tosses Shanna back into the ring, Tiger Feint Kick by Shirai and she hits a swandive missile dropkick for a two count.

Armtrap crossface by Shirai, but Shanna gets a hand on the bottom rope for a break. Shirai hits a running double knee in the corner, she sits up Shanna and goes up top, but Shanna recovers and tries to throw Shirai to the mat, but Shirai lands on her feet. Hurricanrana by Shanna but Shirai rolls through it and they trade quick pins. Enzuigiri by Shanna, she picks up Shirai and drapes her over the top rope before diving off the turnbuckle with a kick to the head. Shanna goes for a double underhook but Shirai blocks it, they trade holds until Shirai drops Shanna with the Schwein. Double underhook facebuster by Shirai, but Shanna blocks the Package German and hits a Stunner. Shanna goes up top and delivers the diving body press, but Shirai kicks out. Shanna picks up Shirai and drops her with the double underhook side facebuster, but Shirai gets a shoulder up on the cover. Shanna drags up Shirai but Shirai ducks the enzuigiri and hits a deadlift German for two. They trade elbows as they slowly get up, back kick by Shanna but Shirai hits a palm strike. Tombstone Piledriver by Shirai, she goes up top and nails the moonsault for the three count! Shirai retains the championship.

I wouldn’t call this one of Shirai’s best singles matches but there was certainly no shortage of effort from either wrestler. Shanna appeared a bit sloppy at times, if not slightly unsafe, but being a little rough around the edges can enhance the match in some circumstances. Definitely not as smooth as most Io matches, however. I was surprised that Shanna hit the only move we have seen her win with, as once she hit that and Io kicked out, she really didn’t have anything else to go to that the crowd had seen before that could win her the match. Course if Shanna is a one and done in Stardom then it doesn’t really matter. A really good small show main event, probably forgettable in the long run but its always a pleasure to see Io in a championship-style match.  Recommended

The post Stardom Shining Stars #2 on 6/4/16 Review appeared first on Joshi City.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Hiroyo Matsumoto vs. Natsumi Maki

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

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

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

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

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

Alpha Female vs. Queen Maya

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

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

(c) Santana Garrett vs. Kairi Hojo

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

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

(c) Io Shirai vs. Mayu Iwatani

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

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

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

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

The post Stardom Gold May on 5/15/16 Review appeared first on Joshi City.

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

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

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

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

Azumi and Kaori Yoneyama vs. Eimi Nishina and Starlight Kid

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

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

 
Jungle Kyouna vs. Saori Anou

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

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

Alex Lee vs. Santana Garrett

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

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

Kyoko Kimura vs. Kaori Yoneyama

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

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

Kairi Hojo vs. Momo Watanabe

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

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

Hiromi Mimura vs. Mayu Iwatani

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

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

 
Hiroyo Matsumoto vs. Kagetsu

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

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

Alpha Female vs. Queen Maya

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

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

Diosa Atenea vs. Io Shirai

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

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

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

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

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

Hiroyo Matsumoto vs. Jungle Kyouna

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

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

Queen Maya vs. Mayu Iwatani

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

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

Kairi Hojo vs. Santana Garrett

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

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

Io Shirai vs. Kyoko Kimura

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

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

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

Mayu Iwatani vs. Hiroyo Matsumoto

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

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

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

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

The post Stardom Cinderella Tournament on 4/29/16 Review appeared first on Joshi City.

Event: Stardom “Grows Up Stars #5”
Date: April 17th, 2016
Location: Shin-Kiba 1st Ring in Tokyo, Japan
Announced Attendance: 290

After a one week break we are back with more Stardom! This is a small event at Shin-Kiba 1st Ring, but even though the series name has not changed we do have new gaijin wrestlers to enjoy. Viper and Diemond have gone back home, but in their place we have Lizzy Styles and Diosa Atenea! I don’t know much about them at the moment but I will by the time I get to their match. We also get the rookies/young wrestlers challenging for the Artist of Stardom Championship! Here is the full card:

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

Short show, let’s get to the action.

Alex Lee vs. Azumi vs. Eimi Nishina vs. Kaori Yoneyama vs. Natsumi Maki

Maki is wearing a different color today, which she proudly announces, but she is stomped out by all four of the other wrestlers. She successfully fights back but Yoneyama goes after her, and each time Maki breaks away to pose another wrestler stops her. Azumi sneaks in a La Magistral when no one else is looking, annoying the other three so she gets stomped as well. Azumi takes it out on Nishina, they then turn to the two veterans but Yoneyama and Lee outsmart the younglings. Maki falls out of the ring, leading to Yoneyama and Lee going after each other, Maki trips Yoneyama from the floor, she goes up top but Azumi grabs her while Lee puts Nishina in a crab hold. That gets broken up, and both Maki and Nishina put Lee in a crab hold, Lee gets out of it and she superkicks Maki. Somato by Nishina to Lee, but it gets two. Nishina dropkicks Lee but Lee suplexes her, Maki and Azumi return and Azumi suplexes Maki. Azumi goes for a Japanese Leg Clutch Hold on Yoneyama, but Yoneyama blocks it and holds down Azumi for the three count! Kaori Yoneyama win the match.

You can’t take too much away from a match like this, a five minute match with five participants doesn’t give enough time for any one wrestler to shine. Both the Actress girl’Z wrestlers continue to look solid and show some flashy moves (and both are adorable), and Azumi’s character progression continues. Course she is only 13 so where it goes from here is hard to tell but at least she is getting some mic work. About what you’d expect, nothing great but not bad either.

Hiroyo Matsumoto vs. Starlight Kid

Starlight Kid attacks Matsumoto from behind but it doesn’t work out for her, Starlight Kid applies a wristlock but Matsumoto quickly reverses it. Strikes by Starlight Kid but Matsumoto hits a backbreaker and Starlight Kid rolls out of the ring. She returns after a moment but Matsumoto bends her back again and stands on Starlight Kid near the ropes. Camel Clutch by Matsumoto and she covers Starlight Kid for a two count. Starlight Kid avoids Matsumoto’s charge and hits a quick Shiranui, backflip into a standing moonsault by Starlight Kid but it gets a two. Dropkicks by Starlight Kid but Matsumoto hits a hard elbow. Matsumoto charges Starlight Kid but again she moves, Starlight Kid goes for a Tiger Feint Kick but Matsumoto blocks it. Elbow by Matsumoto, she puts Starlight Kid in a crab hold and Starlight Kid submits! Hiroyo Matsumoto wins the match.

This was simple as one would expect, but it has been fun the last few weeks watching Starlight Kid gain confidence and grow as a wrestler. Early on she was looking hesitant on the moonsault and missing the Tiger Feint Kick, but here she hit everything solidly and looked better than you’d expect from a 15 year old. Matsumoto had her way with her of course and Starlight Kid being bendy helped make the offense look even better. Short and predictable, but a fun match.

Alpha Female vs. Haruka Kato

Alpha Female taunts the much smaller Kato to start before leveling her with a lariat and clubbing Kato repeatedly in the chest. Alpha picks up Kato but Kato hits a headscissors and rolls up Alpha for two. Alpha throws Kato into the corner but Kato applies the hanging armbar, she then gets on the second turnbuckle but Alpha catches her when she drives off and hits a series of backbreakers. Alpha works over Kato, Kato manages to put Alpha in a sleeper before transitioning it into a cross armbreaker. Alpha gets to the ropes, dropkick by Kato and she stomps on Alpha. Mimura hops on the apron to give Alpha advice, but Alpha returns to her feet and elbows Kato to the mat. Alpha puts Kato in a dragon sleeper with her good arm, she puts Kato on her shoulders and throws her into the corner. Alpha charges Kato but Kato moves and dropkicks Alpha in the knee. Face crusher by Kato, but Alpha kicks out. Kato goes up top and hits a diving crossbody, cross armbreaker by Kato but Alpha gets out of it. Cross armbreaker takedown by Kato but Alpha dumps her onto the apron before hitting a lariat. Hard knees by Alpha, she picks up Kato and she slams Kato to the mat for a two count. Omega-Plex by Alpha Female, and she gets the three count! Alpha Female is your winner.

I enjoyed this match quite a bit. It was a good dynamic with Kato just going for the arm and Alpha Female going for power moves/trying to break Kato in half. Alpha did a great job of selling the arm, to the point she changed up how she applied some of her normal moves, which is a small touch that you just don’t see a lot in wrestling. So I appreciate the extra effort. It felt it went the right amount of time as even though it wasn’t a squash by any means, Alpha was always one move away from defeating her smaller opponent. Overall a solid midcard match.  Mildly Recommended

Diosa Atenea and Kyoko Kimura vs. Kagetsu and Lizzy Styles

Atenea and Kagetsu are the first two in the match, springboard armdrag by Kagetsu but Atenea hits an armdrag of her own. They tag out, Kagetsu and Styles circle each other and they trade holds back and forth. Styles hits a few armdrags, Kagetsu falls out of the ring but she avoids Styles’s dive and Yasukawa pulls Styles down to the floor. Kimura attacks Styles up into the bleachers before they return to the ring, Styles is put into the ropes and all of Oedo Tai pose around her. Atenea tags back in but Styles catches her with an elbow, but Kimura stops her from making a hot tag. Lariat by Atenea, Kimura is tagged in and she starts working on Styles’s leg. Styles fights back with elbows and she connects with a dropkick, finally giving her a chance to tag in Kagetsu. Kimura pokes Kagetsu in the eyes, Atenea comes in but Kagetsu dispatches her and goes back to Kimura. Kimura knocks Kagetsu back and they trade elbows, big boot by Kimura but Kagetsu hits a spear. Another big boot by Kimura, she tags in Atenea and Atenea chops Kagetsu near the corner. Kagetsu fights back but Atenea hits a lariat followed by a dropkick in the corner. Another lariat by Atenea, and she covers Kagetsu for two. Samoan Drop by Kagetsu and she tags in Styles, Styles kicks Atenea and she hits a running elbow in the corner. Missile dropkick by Styles and she covers Atenea for a two count. Kagetsu comes in and they both dropkick Atenea, vertical suplex by Styles but Kimura comes in with a bat and start hitting Styles with it. She tosses the bat to Kagetsu as Kimura has been trying to recruit her into Oedo Tai, Kagetsu first hits Kimura and Atenea with the bat before laying into her partner Styles. Kimura and Kagetsu both kick Styles, Atenea picks up Styles and nails the Atenea Destroyer for the three count! Atenea and Kimura win the match.

This match was more about Kimura finally getting Kagetsu into Oedo Tai, it just happened to come at the expense of poor Styles. I didn’t get enough of a look at the new wrestlers to get a strong opinion. Styles is the a bubbly crowd-pleasure babyface type, but she didn’t have on a proper outfit, leading to her constantly adjusting it with limited effectiveness. Which was a bit distracting. Atenea looked more seasoned but also left less of an impression since she wasn’t really interacting with the crowd or doing anything to make herself stand out. Overall it was a bit of a flat match but with a memorable ending, with the baseball bat being used and Atenea finishing Styles off. Worth a watch for the payoff, but the match itself was a bit pedestrian.

(c) Io Shirai, Kairi Hojo, and Iwatani vs. Mimura, Kyouna, and Watanabe

Mimura attacks Shirai before the match officially starts and the brawl is on, with the youngsters taking it to the champions. Shirai is isolated as they pose on her, Mimura stays in with Shirai but Shirai quickly takes control. Dropkick by Shirai and she hits a second one, Mimura gets back up but Shirai puts her in a sleeper. They end up back on their feet again, Watanabe and Iwatani are both tagged in and Iwatani hits an armdrag off the ropes. They trade quick moves before kipping up, and they tag in Hojo and Kyouna. Kyouna elbows Hojo against the ropes and hits a shoulderblock, armdrag by Hojo and she delivers the neckbreaker. Hojo tags Iwatani, Iwatani kicks Kyouna in the back before raking her face in the ropes. Shirai is tagged in but Kyouna picks her up and she hits a powerslam for a two count. Kyouna tags in Watanabe, dropkick by Watanabe and she puts Shirai in the Tree of Woe. Hojo and Iwatani both run in but so does Mimura, Watanabe puts Iwatani in the same corner with Shirai before putting Hojo in the corner as well. All three of the challengers hit running strikes in the corner, things settle down with Watanabe and Shirai trading elbows and Shirai puts Watanabe in an armtrap crossface.

Watanabe gets out of the hold and dropkicks Shirai, she tags in Kyouna, all the wrestlers run in and they all suplex each other. Kyouna ends up the last woman standing on the rookie team, running knee by Shirai in the corner and she covers Kyouna for two. Shirai tags in Iwatani, missile dropkick by Iwatani but Kyouna slides away and hits a body avalanche followed by a face crusher. Kyouna goes up top but Hojo throws her off, Shirai comes in too but so does Mimura and Watanabe as things break down again. Iwatani superkicks everyone, she picks up Kyouna but Kyouna gets away and tosses her to the mat. Kyouna then joins Shirai up top and hits a bodyslam to the mat, she goes back to Iwatani and she hits a big lariat. They both tag out as Hojo and Mimura come in, and Hojo drops the rookie with a spear. Kyouna comes in and lariats Hojo, Mimura twists on Hojo’s arm but Hojo ducks the lariat and hits a double chop to the chest. Hojo goes up top and hits the diving elbow smash, but the cover only gets two. Hojo picks up Hojo but Hojo rolls her up for two, Watanabe runs in and she hits the Somato on Hojo but Shirai breaks up Mimura’s La Magistral. Elbows by Mimura but Iwatani and Shirai get in the ring to help Hojo regain control. Sliding D by Hojo, but Mimura cuts it back into a cradle for a two count. All six wrestlers end up in the ring but they all knock each other out, they slowly recover and Shirai hits a swandive missile dropkick on Kyouna and Watanabe. All three of the rookie team are stacked in the corner and hit with the Iwatani Dart, diving elbow drop by Hojo to Mimura and she picks up the three count! Threedom retain the championship!

Top to bottom this wasn’t quite as good as some of the other 3 v 3 matches I have seen recently, but it was still an entertaining match. The best thing about it is just how well the rookies are coming along (I know Watanabe isn’t technically a rookie but she is only 16 so I still refer to her thusly). If you show this match to someone that didn’t know the wrestlers, there is no way they’d know one of the teams was so inexperienced. Everything was smooth and fast paced, and I loved the teamwork from both team even though it did make the match feel a bit disjointed since no two wrestlers ever got much of a groove going. A really fun lowkey match and a fitting main event for a smaller show.  Recommended

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Another week has passed, which means we have another Stardom show to review! This is a bigger show than the one I reviewed last week but it isn’t their biggest event style either, as it is still only a five match card with just one title match. But it is a massive title match, with Satomura teaming with her former enemy Kairi Hojo! Here is the card:

• Azumi, Eimi Nishina, and Kaori Yoneyama vs. Hiromi Mimura, Natsumi Maki, and Starlight Kid
• Alex Lee vs. Kaitlin Diemond
• Hiroyo Matsumoto and Kagetsu vs. Jungle Kyouna and Momo Watanabe
• Alpha Female vs. Viper
• Goddesses of Stardom Championship: Io Shirai and Mayu Iwatani vs. Kairi Hojo and Meiko Satomura

Azumi, Eimi Nishina, and Kaori Yoneyama vs. Hiromi Mimura, Natsumi Maki, and Starlight Kid

Azumi and Starlight Kid begin the match, they trade dropkicks until Azumi starts working on the kid’s arm. Well the other kid. Starlight Kid gets out of it and they tag in Yoneyama and Mimura. They chest bump, Yoneyama makes Mimura run the ropes until she gets tired is easily hiptossed for a two count. Mimura tags out due to exhaustion as Nishina and Maki are brought in, Maki kicks down Nishina but Yoneyama kicks her from the apron. Dropkick from Nishina as Azumi and Yoneyama both get in the ring to help and pose on Maki. Yoneyama stays in and chops Maki before applying a leg lock, Mimura comes in and elbows Yoneyama which simply applies more pressure to the move. Maki gets away and tags Starlight Kid, and Starlight Kid hits the backflip into a standing moonsault for a two count. Mimura comes in and Starlight Kid runs up Mimura to hit a Shiranui onto Yoneyama. Starlight Kid gets on the second turnbuckle and she hits the diving body press for a two count. Yoneyama has had enough and slams Starlight Kid, and she tags in Azumi.

Azumi dropkicks Starlight Kid and they trade elbows, DDT by Azumi and Nishina runs in with a Somato. Suplex by Azumi, but Mimura breaks up the cover. Azumi dropkicks Mimura but Mimura applies the rolling leg submission as apparently they are legal now (did I miss a tag or do they just not care?). Mimura smacks Azumi in the back of the head and dropkicks her, Starlight Kid picks up Azumi (guess she hadn’t tagged in) and she hits a Tiger Feint Kick for a two count. Starlight Kid tags Mimura, sliding crossbody by Mimura and she gets a two as well. Mimura dropkicks Azumi and slams her, but Yoneyama breaks up the cover. Starlight Kid hits a headscissors on Yoneyama, Maki and Nishina get in the ring and Maki hits a swinging neckbreaker. Yoneyama and Azumi come in but Azumi dropkicks Yoneyama on accident, La Magistral by Mimura on Azumi but it gets two. Mimura starts her rolling leg hold but stops halfway and holds Azumi in a cradle, and she picks up the three count! Mimura, Maki, and Starlight Kid win!

This was longer than the typical Stardom opener, I am not sure if that is a new direction or just the way it went since six wrestlers were in the match. As for the good parts – Starlight Kid was more smooth than she has been recently, it is expected of course for a new 15 year old wrestler to have good days and bad days but this was a good day. The action was fast paced, no real lull anywhere which is always a plus. I thought that Maki has good… gymnastics, she hasn’t really put it together yet in terms of wrestling itself but the base is there to do entertaining things. The main issue is that it wasn’t the most fluid match, a few pauses and re-starts with random wrestlers running in with little structure to it. A perfectly watchable match with some bright spots, but not much more than that even though I always enjoy seeing the rookies.

Alex Lee vs. Kaitlin Diemond

Lee immediately takes Diemond to the mat, kicks to the chest by Lee and she covers Diemond for two. Wolf trips Lee from ringside to help Diemond out, Diemond picks up Lee and throws her down by the hair. Sidewalk Slam by Diemond but Lee gets the armbar applied until Diemond gets a foot on the ropes. Lee charges Diemond but Diemond hits a backbreaker, Lee falls out of the ring and she is attacked by both Wolf and Yasukawa. Lee is rolled back in, Diemond gets her in the ropes and she is attacked by all three members of Oedo Tai. Diemond goes for a leg drop but Lee moves, jumping knee by Lee in the corner and she delivers a kick combination. Lee gets on the second turnbuckle and hits a missile dropkick, covering Diemond for two. Lee goes for a Chokebomb but Diemond blocks it and hits a side slam. Knee by Lee and she delivers a buzzsaw kick, cover by Lee but Diemond kicks out. Superkick by Lee and she hits the Chokebomb, but Diemond barely gets a shoulder up. Yasukawa gets on the apron while Diemond gets some Sake, she spits it into Lee’s face and applies the schoolboy for the three count! Kaitlin Diemond steals the victory.

I won’t complain about any match that gets Yasukawa and Wolf on my screen but this was a pretty simple match. I will give them credit, I liked it more than I thought I would as everything was smooth and they stayed active from bell to bell. It worked well to put over Oedo Tai as the lead faction in Stardom, but overall it was just a standard midcard match.

Hiroyo Matsumoto and Kagetsu vs. Jungle Kyouna and Momo Watanabe

Kyouna is wearing lots of make-up and its freaking me out a bit, she looks really different. Watanabe and Kagetsu start off, armdrags by Kagetsu and she dropkicks Watanabe, but Watanabe dropkicks her back. Both wrestlers tag out, Matsumoto and Kyouna run into each other until Matsumoto shoulderblocks Kyouna to the mat. Kyouna lariats Matsumoto in the corner but Matsumoto suplexes her and tags in Kagetsu. Kagetsu tries to pick up Kyouna and eventually hits a bodyslam, picking up a two count. Matsumoto is tagged back in and she chops Kyouna before applying a chinlock, stretch hold by Matsumoto and Kagetsu dropkicks Kyouna in the face. Kagetsu elbows Kyouna in the corner but Kyouna picks her up and tosses her to the mat. Kyouna tags in Watanabe, Watanabe elbows both Kagetsu and Matsumoto and dropkicks Kagetsu in the corner.

Missile dropkick by Watanabe to Matsumoto, Kagetsu tries to do a springboard move but trips, so Watanabe dropkicks her again. More dropkicks by Watanabe and she hits a suplex, covering Kagetsu for a two count. Samoan Drop by Kagetsu, and she makes the hot tag to Matsumoto. Matsumoto gets Watanabe on her shoulders and throws her at Kyouna, knees by Matsumoto and she boots Watanabe in the chest. Kyouna grabbed Matsumoto, allowing Watanabe to dropkick her, and Watanabe tags in Kyouna. Face crusher by Kyouna to Matsumoto, and she gets a two count. Matsumoto shoulderblocks Kyouna over but Kyouna hits a powerslam. Lariat by Kyouna, and she covers Matsumoto for two. Kyouna goes up top but Kagetsu joins her, Matsumoto then goes up to them but Watanabe dropkicks Matsumoto. Kyouna dives off the top with a body press to Matsumoto, but it only gets two. Watanabe returns but Kagetsu hits a swandive missile dropkick on both of them. Matsumoto and Kagetsu double team Watanabe, backdrop suplex by Matsumoto to Kyouna and she gets the three count! Matsumoto and Kagetsu are your winners.

To be honest, this was not nearly as fluid as I was hoping. It was still a really good match, as all four are good wrestlers and it had a really hot ending, but it wasn’t without its flaws. Kagetsu was a bit off in a few places, which is unusual, although they covered each miscue pretty well. Matsumoto looked great however and was the star of the match, which doesn’t seem fair since she is the veteran and should be the best wrestler, but she was really on point. Overall it was fun and worth a watch, it just had a few rough patches that are unusual in Stardom matches.  Mildly Recommended

Alpha Female vs. Viper

They tie-up to start, Alpha Female shoulder tackles Viper in the corner, but Viper comes back with a body avalanche. Alpha Female kicks her back when she tries again, she goes for a bodyslam but Viper blocks it. Sleeper by Alpha Female but Viper gets out of it, running knee by Viper in the corner but Alpha Female fires back with lariats. Viper doesn’t go down and charges Alpha Female, but Alpha Female holds down the top rope and Viper falls out of the ring. Alpha Female goes out after her and gets a chair, but Act Yasukawa grabs it and hits Alpha Female in the head with it. Both wrestlers are rolled back in and trade elbows on their knees, they keep elbowing each other until Alpha Female goes for a body slam and Viper lands on top of her. Running senton by Viper, she goes for a slam but Alpha Female gets away and applies a sleeper. Viper rams Alpha Female into the corner to get out of it but she avoids Viper’s charge and chokes her in the corner. Elbow by Alpha Female and she clubs Viper repeatedly in the chest. Armtrap crossface by Alpha Female but Viper gets out of it, Viper gets on the second turnbuckle but Alpha Female knocks her off. Alpha Female goes up top but Viper walks too far away so she jumps off and slaps her. Bodyslam by Alpha Female, and she covers Viper for two. Alpha Female tries to pick up Viper, Yasukawa runs in the ring but Alpha Female pushes the referee into her. Viper accidentally hits a running crossbody on the referee, she then flattens Alpha Female but the referee is out. He wakes up angry, and he DQs Viper for crushing him. Alpha Female wins the match!

The ending was almost what it had to be, as it didn’t make a lot of sense for either of the gaijin monsters to lose. They did the expected but still entertaining strength vs. strength match, as each tried to knock the other over and tried for various slams to show they were the stronger wrestler. Act Yasukawa gave Alpha Female a wicked chair shot, which was a fun surprise, and the chaotic ending worked well. A good match that accomplished what it was trying to do, both came out of it looking strong.  Mildly Recommended

(c) Io Shirai and Mayu Iwatani vs. Kairi Hojo and Meiko Satomura

Iwatani and Satomura are the first two in the ring, elbows by Satomura but Iwatani blocks one and hits the split-legged armdrag off the ropes. Iwatani kicks Satomura in the back but Satomura has none of that and hits a scoop slam. Iwatani tags in Shirai, Satomura works the headlock but Shirai gets away from her and they return to their feet. Satomura tags in Hojo, Hojo and Shirai trade elbows, Iwatani runs in and they both dropkick Hojo. Hojo is double teamed in the corner and is put in a double armbar, Shirai slams Hojo and puts her in a crab hold. Satomura encourages her from the apron, double kneedrop by Shirai to Hojo’s back and she hits a standing moonsault. Shirai tags in Iwatani, Iwatani chops Hojo in the corner and dropkicks her in the chest. Footstomps by Iwatani and she tags Shirai back in as they continue to focus on the weaker Hojo, Hojo finally fights back against Iwatani but Satomura isn’t around for the tag. Iwatani tags Shirai, Shirai goes for an underhook facebuster but Hojo blocks it and hits a Sliding D. Hojo makes the tag to Satomura, Satomura elbows Shirai but Iwatani runs in and elbows her. Satomura is dropped by a double vertical suplex but Satomura fights back, Shirai goes for a swandive dropkick but Satomura uppercuts her out of the ring. Iwatani is dumped out of the ring, Satomura and Hojo join them and attack the champions around the ring.

They fight up near the balcony, Satomura and Hojo both get on opposite balconies and dive down onto their opponents! Satomura is crazy, I expect that from the kids, not her. Satomura and Shirai return to the ring, Hojo gets up top and hits a diving forearm smash on Hojo on Iwatani, Satomura elbows Shirai and kicks her repeatedly. Shirai snaps off a hurricanrana and hits a head kick, dropkick by Shirai and she tags in Iwatani. Iwatani goes up top and hits a missile dropkick, Iwatani hits another dropkick and then drills Satomura while she is against the ropes. Northern Lights Suplex by Iwatani, but Satomura kicks out at two. Iwatani goes up top but Satomura moves as she dives off, heel kick by Satomura and she hits a backdrop suplex for two. Satomura tags in Hojo, running neckbreakers by Hojo and she covers Iwatani for a two count. Hojo chops Iwatani in the corner but Iwatani comes back with a high kick. Big spear by Hojo and she rolls up Iwatani for two. Satomura comes in but Shirai hits a swandive missile dropkick on both, knocking the challengers out of the ring. Shirai and Iwatani then get onto different turnbuckles and dive out of the ring onto their opponents. Iwatani rolls Hojo back in, she goes up top and delivers the diving footstomp for two. She goes up top again and hits a diving bodypress, but Satomura breaks up the cover. Shirai picks up Hojo and Iwatani hits a face crusher, superkick by Iwatani to Hojo and she covers her for a two count.

Tiger Feint Kick by Shirai, she goes up top and hits a missile dropkick. Running double knee by Shirai and she hits the double underhook facebuster. Shirai picks up Hojo while Iwatani goes up top but Satomura knocks Iwatani off. Satomura tries to kick Shirai but knocks Hojo’s head off by accident, she tries again but has the same result. La Magistral with a bridge by Shirai, but Satomura breaks up the pin. Shirai picks up Hojo and hits a German suplex hold, but Hojo barely kicks out. Shirai goes up top but Satomura kicks her, Hojo recovers and goes up top herself, hitting a footstomp to Shirai’s chest. Sliding D by Hojo, but Iwatani breaks up the cover. Hojo and Shirai trade elbows but Satomura drills her with the Pele Kick. Death Valley Bomb by Satomura, Hojo goes up top and she nails the diving elbow drop, but Shirai somehow kicks out. Satomura slams Iwatani on top of Shirai but Shirai gets her feet up when she goes for another diving elbow drop. Hojo chops Shirai in the face but Iwatani gets away from Satomura, Shirai picks up Satomura and they hit the assisted piledriver. Iwatani grabs Hojo and hits a dragon suplex, Shirai then goes up top and nails the moonsault for the three count pinfall! Shirai and Iwatani retain their championship!

This was just a great match, it is difficult to pinpoint all the awesome things about it. All four of these wrestlers have tremendous chemistry with each other as they have been wrestling with or against each other in some combination for almost a full year now. For a 25 minute match, everything was smooth as silk and nothing felt wasted. Io Shirai is one of the best wrestlers in the world of any nationality or gender and she was on her game here. Originally my only complaint was the single camera did miss a few spots, but then I got to see the multi-cam version and all of my issues wilted away, such as missing the double balcony dive by Satomura and Hojo. Hojo being the weaker wrestler fit the theme, I wish Satomura had done a bit more to help her but since they aren’t really friends it was logical she wasn’t constantly risking her health for her partner. A really high end match, worth seeking out for all fans.  Highly Recommended

Mark and I discussed this event on Joshi Island #1, you can check it out below if you would like an audio review of the show as well.

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