Hana Kimura Memorial Book 2024
Released Spring 2024

Background: Giulia joined Stardom in 2019, and quickly began a feud with Stardom wrestler Hana Kimura. Tragically, Hana passed away in May of 2020. Since her passing, every year her mother Kyoko Kimura puts on a memorial show. For the 2024 event, Giulia was scheduled to have a match in memory of her former friend and in-ring adversary.

— Translation begins below —

Giulia: The first exchange I had with Hana: “Ah, it’s me!”

The Fighting Spirit of Girlhood.
Fighting with Hana.

Fumi Saito: I would like to talk about your relationship with Hana Kimura, or rather, about your encounter with Hana.

Giulia: October 14, 2019, Korakuen Hall. The day I announced I was joining Stardom. It was the day I stood in the Stardom ring for the first time. That day, Hana fought for the red belt. It was a title match in the main event. Just before I stepped into the ring, we were in the waiting room together for a short time. At that time, our eyes met, and I remember one thing that Hana said to me.

Saito: What was the one thing?

Giulia: “Ah, it’s me!” she said. She looked at me and said “it’s me!”

Saito: What did she mean by that? It sounds as if there are two of her.

Giulia: We were kind of eye to eye and she looked at me and said “Ah, it’s me!”, and then she stopped for a second or two. Then she just went away with that cheerful excitement.

Saito: That was a shocking encounter.

Giulia: I had been wondering what kind of wrestler Hana Kimura was. She looks really good, she is half Japanese, and I had seen her on SNS and in magazines, so I was like, ‘Oh it’s Hana Kimura!’. It was the first time I heard her voice, and it left a big impression.

Saito: When was the next time you met?

Giulia: It was not at a match, but a press conference. At the press conference to announce that Stardom had joined Bushiroad, I said “I’m sorry for the trouble I’ve caused you, but I’ve decided to join the group”, and Hana interrupted. She said something like “You’re making things difficult for everyone. I’m the only half member”. Then we got into a fight. ‘Ah, this person is really strong minded’, I thought. But I already knew that. Hana is younger than me, but in my late teens and early 20’s, I was also very bossy. I could see she had a rough temperament, and she was coming in with guns blazing, so I knew I could not step back from her. I had to take a stand against Hana.

Saito: I can understand Hana’s temperament, or rather her personality.

Giulia: I had a fighting spirit since I was a small child. But, at the time I was moving from Ice Ribbon to Stardom, I was feeling beaten up and really down, and I felt like I could not show myself. But Hana’s gung-ho attitude revived my fighting spirit, and it brought it back to life. I thought to myself, ‘Ah, this person, she’s really going to come at me. I need to be aggressive too’. Then there was the brawl at Shin-Kiba, with cameras following us to the waiting room.

Saito: You could hear the banging of the building’s shutters outside of the fans’ sight.

Giulia: When I was in elementary school, I had fights. This was the first time since then. I was like a kid again pretending to go horseback-riding, seeing someone I could get messed up with and wrestle. At that time, I thought ‘This is what being a pro-wrestler is all about’. Until then, I had never felt that way. Even when I was playing against seniors who pissed me off or whom I hated, I didn’t know how to turn on the switch, and I felt frustrated like that for a long time.

Saito: It was great you were able to clash with Hana in the ring at Stardom.

Giulia: I don’t think anyone wanted to get involved with me at that time. I felt that everyone wanted to avoid getting involved with me as much as possible.

Saito: Was there an atmosphere like that?

Giulia: There was. Among the wrestlers. I was beaten up so much, and I don’t have a good image. I had only been with Ice Ribbon for less than two years, and before that I was just an ordinary person. So, the slander on the internet was a big shock to me back then.

Saito: Why did you decide to become a professional wrestler in the first place?

Giulia: I don’t know if I can explain it well, but when I was still a fan, I used to go women’s wrestling and there were people who looked like they could beat her easily. Like, this isn’t a fight. Every time I saw a match like that, I thought to myself, ‘I’ll do it, too’. But when I tried it, I realized I didn’t have any talent, and I didn’t make any progress for over a year.

Saito: Once you made your debut, did you notice any contradictions within yourself?

Giulia: I did. I debuted at 24 and that’s when I saw the reality. After a year I gave up, and I thought about retiring. I thought that if I didn’t quit quickly, my body would just get worn out, I wouldn’t be able to earn money, and my life would be a mess.

Saito: Then the opportunity to move to Stardom presented itself?

Giulia: The choice was to retire or to start over as a trainee at Stardom. It was a gamble for me. Stardom was a great company and I had always admired them. Hana Kimura, Mayu Iwatani, Iyo, Kairi, all the stars were there. When Iyo said “I’m going to WWE” at Ryogoku, I was at the venue watching it. I thought that if I was serious about wrestling, this was the environment for me. It was a time when I was really worried about wrestling.

Saito: Have you always been aware of Hana Kimura?

Giulia: I mean, a girl that flashy, you can’t help but notice her, even if you’ve never met her. A really cool woman in Stardom. I’ve known about her since W-1, and she’s often appeared in the media since she joined Stardom.

Saito: Hana was active for four years, but only one year with Stardom.

Giulia: Oh, only four years? A legend was created in four years.

Drawn to Hana.
Encounter with VENY

[Editor’s Note: Giulia was scheduled to have a match against VENY on the Hana Kimura Memorial Show on 5/23/24, but it was cancelled due to Giulia being injured]

Saito: Do you know VENY, who you’ll be fighting this time?

Giulia: Yes, I know her. She’s Asuka right? I saw her fight with Syuri in Hana’s memorial match. I also saw her match with Sareee.

Saito: This is your first match. You’ve never even come into contact with each other?

Giulia: Not at all.

Saito:  There’s a relationship between Hana Kimura and Giulia. There’s a relationship between Hana Kimura and VENY. It is because of Hana Kimura that this singles match was made possible, right?

Giulia: If that hadn’t happened, I don’t think we would have this fight. I think wrestling can sometimes be a mysterious connection. I think Hana has drawn in all kinds of things to me in this way.

Saito: Can you imagine what kind of match this will be?

Giulia: Hana and I had some fierce matches. I think Hana likes that kind of thing. So I hope that when Hana watches my match with VENY she gets excited.

Full Original Interview:

The post Translation of Giulia’s Interview in Hana Kimura Memorial Book 2024 appeared first on Joshi City.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Battle Royal

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

ASUKA vs. Kagetsu

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

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

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

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

After the tragic passing of Hana Kimura, Weekly Pro Wrestling covered Hana Kimura’s memorial service in the next magazine, which came out on June 3rd, 2020. The spread covered five pages, and included both older pictures of Hana Kimura and pictures from the service itself.

Normally I don’t do larger scans of magazines and photobooks, however since this magazine contained some content that a lot of fans wanted to see, I decided to give everyone a chance to see the pages and translate the text if they wanted to read it. Below are all the pages that have content related to Hana Kimura. The images as uploaded are larger than they appear below, however you may need to save the pictures to your device to display the full size.

The post Weekly Pro Wrestling Magazine on 6/17/20 with Hana Kimura Memorial appeared first on Joshi City.

After the tragic passing of Hana Kimura, Weekly Pro Wrestling quickly put together a tribute for her to include in the next edition of the magazine, which was coming out just a few days later. On May 27th, the June 10th edition of the magazine was released (the official dates on the magazine are always a few weeks ahead). Not only did it have several pages remembering Hana Kimura, but it also included a “last” interview with Arisa Hoshiki and a section on Asuka’s success in WWE, which were already planned.

Normally I don’t do full scans of magazines and photobooks, however since this magazine was highly sought after and going for high prices on eBay, I wanted to give everyone a chance to see the pages and translate the text/interview if they wanted to read it. Below are all the pages that had content with Hana Kimura, Arisa Hoshiki, or Asuka in the magazine. The images as uploaded are far larger than they appear below, open them in a new tab to display the full size.

The post Weekly Pro Wrestling Magazine on 6/10/20 with Hana Kimura appeared first on Joshi City.

Any regular visitor to Joshi City knows that I am rarely at a loss for words. Normally I can drone on forever about anything related to Joshi, as I enjoy talking about it on the website and online with fellow Joshi fans. But as I sit here in front of the computer, there is so much that I want to say but I’m struggling on getting any words out. The sudden and shocking death of Hana Kimura has left her family, friends, and fans around the globe heartbroken.

There will be many many articles and tweets and posts on Reddit about the cause of her death, and how it could have been prevented. Those are 100% valid issues to discuss, and I encourage everyone that needs help right now to seek it out, whether it be with a trusted friend or a professional. But if you’ll allow me, for this article I’d like to focus on all the happiness that Hana gave fans over the last four years, and the positive impact that she had on more people than she probably knew.

Hana Kimura grew up around wrestling, as her mother Kyoko Kimura was a popular wrestler for over ten years in JWP, WAVE, NEO, Stardom, and many other promotions in Japan. Hana officially debuted on March 30th, 2016 at the age of 18. Even though her mom was still an active wrestler, Hana did not just ride her coattails as she completed training in WRESTLE-1 under the tutelage of Kaz Hayashi. Once her training was completed, she wrestled in WRESTLE-1 and also participated on shows with Kyoko Kimura, sometimes in her own matches while also teaming with her on occasions. Hana immediately showed she had the “it” factor, as she demanded attention whenever she was on the screen. She had the rare combination of a great look along with a mean streak in the ring, and fans gravitated to her as she wrestled in different promotions and gained valuable experience.

Hana won her first title just three months into her career, as she won JWP’s Princess of Pro Wrestling Championship. The title is designed for younger and less experienced wrestlers, but it was still a big moment for her as she had three successful defenses before losing the title later in the year. Still officially affiliated with WRESTLE-1, Hana was a regular in JWP as well and had her first matches in Stardom in late 2016 as she teamed with her mother as part of Oedo Tai. She even produced her own show in the summer of 2016, facing her mom in the main event. Hana didn’t officially join Stardom until 2019, but was a fan favorite well before then. She was no one trick pony however, as while she was an “evil” heel as part of Oedo Tai in Stardom, she was a bubbly babyface in JWP at the same time, taking on a different role depending on where she was wrestling that day. Even though she was only 20 years old and wrestled mostly in the midcard, her fan base was growing as she mastered the on-screen personalities she practiced on a nightly basis.

After seeing success with ASUKA as the team FloÜrish, Hana Kimura officially signed with Stardom in 2019 and made the promotion her home. As her mother Kyoko Kimura had retired in early 2017, Hana was on her own now but had proven her value and had taken full advantage of the boost her mom gave her. By 2019, Hana had broken away from her friends in Oedo Tai and soon created her own faction, called Tokyo Cyber Squad. TCS was built around bright colors, happy chaos, and about being your true self as everyone is special the way they are. Tokyo Cyber Squad didn’t fall easily in the heel/face dynamic, as while they sometimes used dubious tactics the faction was full of fan favorites and were a fun-loving free spirit bunch more than anything else. With TCS, she twice held the Artist of Stardom (Trios) Championship, and was in the mix at the top of the promotion.

In January of 2020, Hana Kimura wrestled at New Japan’s Wrestle Kingdom event at the Tokyo Dome, a huge deal for both Stardom and for Hana. As Stardom recently had been purchased by Bushiroad, there was new interest for Stardom as a whole and Hana specifically, as she was poised to be pushed to be one of the leaders of the promotion. In her last wrestling match, she went to a Draw with who was set to rival for many years to come, Mayu Iwatani. Tragically, Hana Kimura passed away on May 23rd, 2020, at the age of just 22 years old. In under four years, Hana had accomplished so much but she still had a long career and life ahead of her, and there aren’t words to express how devastating her death is and the impact it will have on everyone that knew her or had the chance to be entertained by her.

On a personal note, Hana Kimura has been one of my favorite wrestlers since she first debuted, and even at a young age she had great matches against Mika Iwata, Kagetsu, Bea Priestley, and many others. But beyond her skill as a wrestler, she was so much more than that. I had the chance to meet Hana back in 2018, when she wrestled (as part of Oedo Tai) in Fairfax, VA for Ring of Honor. All the Stardom wrestlers were very nice and polite, but Hana went the extra mile to make sure every fan was happy. Her meet and greets were not rushed as she talked to everyone (in English), signed everything put in front of her, and made a connection with her fans. I’ve never heard a story of someone having a bad experience with Hana, she was a literal bright light in an industry that sometimes can feel cold and distant.

As a Joshi fan, I am used to wrestlers retiring early. That’s the norm. But there is no way to prepare yourself for a 22 year old young woman taking her own life, and I am still not sure how to process it or how I am going to cope with it. I, like thousands of others, am heartbroken but not because she won’t be in a Stardom ring, but because Hana was an incredible person that deserved so much more, and society as a whole failed her. This is the hardest a wrestling-related real life incident has impacted me, and I need to step away for a few days. Honestly, I don’t even want to watch wrestling right now or be on social media until I figure out how to process what happened. But I encourage everyone to please, reach out if you need to, and also celebrate all that Hana Kimura brought to the world before her life tragically ended way too soon. Hana Kimura was a beautiful, wonderful, caring soul that we didn’t deserve, and the impact of her death will be felt by all for many years to come.

The post Celebrating the Life of the Dangerous Flower, Hana Kimura appeared first on Joshi City.

Event: Stardom Cinderella Tournament 2020
Date: March 24th, 2020
Location: Korakuen Hall in Tokyo, Japan
Announced Attendance: 538

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

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

Here is the full list of participants:

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

First Round

• Cinderella Tournament Round 1: Momo Watanabe vs. Starlight Kid
• Cinderella Tournament Round 1: Jungle Kyona vs. Giulia
• Cinderella Tournament Round 1: AZM vs. Konami
• Cinderella Tournament Round 1: Syuri vs. Jamie Hayter
• Cinderella Tournament Round 1: Saki Kashima vs. Tam Nakano
• Cinderella Tournament Round 1: Natsuko Tora vs. Saya Kamitani
• Cinderella Tournament Round 1: Utami Hayashishita vs. Maika
• Cinderella Tournament Round 1: Mayu Iwatani vs. Hana Kimura

All wrestlers in the tournament have a profile on Joshi City, you can click their names to go straight to it. I’m watching Samurai TV’s version of the show, so some matches will likely be clipped.

Momo Watanabe vs. Starlight Kid

Starlight Kid charges Momo to start the match and dropkicks her, Irish whip by Starlight Kid but Momo reverses it. They go through a quick exchange, armdrag by Momo but Starlight Kid fires back with an armdrag of her own and dropkicks Momo. Starlight Kid goes off the ropes but Momo drills her with her own dropkick, elbows by Momo but Starlight Kid hits a crossbody off the ropes. Starlight Kid goes off the ropes but Momo avoids the Tiger Feint Kick, tilt-a-whirl headscissors and she delivers the Tiger Feint Kick on the second try. Standing moonsault by Starlight Kid, but it gets a two count cover. Starlight Kid goes for a slam but Momo blocks it, schoolboy by Starlight Kid but Momo catches her crossbody attempt and hits a side slam. Somato by Momo, but it only gets two. Momo goes to the second turnbuckle but Starlight Kid dropkicks her out to the apron, she tries to kick Momo to the floor but Momo hangs on and kicks Starlight Kid over the top rope. Momo goes on top again and hits a diving Somato, but Starlight Kid reverses the cover into one of her own. Momo goes for the B Driver but Starlight Kid reverses it into a sunset flip. Momo reverses the roll-up and the two trade flash pins, Starlight Kid goes for the Ki-chan Bomb but Momo blocks it and hits a B Driver. Head kick by Momo, she picks up Starlight Kid and drops her with a running B Driver for the three count! Momo Watanabe wins and advances in the tournament.

Its hard to recommend a sub-five minute match but this was just about perfect. It had everything you could ask for. It was fast paced and interesting from bell to bell, it smartly teased the ‘over the top’ rules, and Starlight Kid had her hope spots. About as perfectly done as a match can be in the Cinderella Tournament, both of them have a very bright future in Stardom if they stick to it.  Recommended

Jungle Kyona vs. Giulia

They tie-up to start, Kyona pushes Giulia into the ropes but Giulia escapes. They trade submissions, hard shoulderblock by Kyona and she applies a headscissors. Giulia gets to the ropes for the break, elbows by Kyona and she hits a powerslam. Dropkick to the back by Kyona and she hits a sliding lariat, cover by Kyona but it gets two. Kyona goes off the ropes but Giulia kicks her, Kyona fires back with a lariat but Giulia kicks her again. Giulia applies a standing armbar but Kyona gets into the ropes, boot by Giulia and she goes to the top turnbuckle, hitting a missile dropkick. Cover by Giulia, but it gets two. Giulia picks up Kyona but Kyona elbows her, Giulia elbows her back however and kicks Kyona to the mat. Giulia goes off the ropes but Kyona hits her with a hard elbow, scoop slam by Kyona and she hits a diving body press for two. Kyona gets Giulia around the waist and plants her with a powerbomb, she keeps hold of Giulia and picks her back up, tossing her over her head into the turnbuckles. Lariat by Kyona in the corner, she goes for the Muscle Buster but Giulia gets away. Giulia blocks Kyona’s lariat and hits a series of knees followed by a DDT, cover by Giulia but it gets two. Giulia applies a STF and chokes Kyona with her own arm, she switches the hold to the Stealth Viper and Kyona goes unconscious! Giulia wins the match and advances.

This actually felt like a normal midcard match as they didn’t really adapt much to the Cinderella Tournament rules. There was no sense of urgency to win in under ten minutes, and neither attempted to toss the other over the top rope. Its interesting though that instead of protecting Kyona in any way, they had her get choked into oblivion. As a Giulia fan, I enjoyed it, but it never felt like Kyona had a chance of winning. The action was pretty solid, nothing really wrong with it, I just wish they had done something that recognized the Cinderella Tournament aspect. Certainly watchable, just hard to recommend as it didn’t really fit into the event and didn’t have that exciting feel you’d hope to see on a show known for lots of short and high energy matches.

AZM vs. Konami

AZM attacks Konami from behind before the match starts, knocking her off the turnbuckles and out of the ring. The bell rings as AZM dives off the top turnbuckle to the floor onto Konami, before returning to the ring to wait for Konami to recover (AZM went under the bottom rope to then climb up to the top turnbuckle, so she didn’t go “Over The Top” to accidentally eliminate herself). AZM kicks her in the head as Konami gets in the ring, AZM goes to the top turnbuckle and hits a diving footstomp, but Konami kicks out of the cover. Fujiwara Armbar by AZM but Konami rolls through it as the two trade submission attempts. Konami gets into the ropes, AZM goes out to the apron but Konami kicks her as she goes for a swandive move. Konami goes for another kick but AZM grabs her foot and pulls her over the top and onto the apron. AZM quickly gets back in the ring and tries to push Konami off the apron, but Konami applies a hanging armbar over the top rope. She lets go and returns to the ring, dropkick to the head by Konami and she delivers a sliding kick. Fisherman suplex hold by Konami, but AZM kicks out. Konami picks up AZM but AZM blocks the Triangle Lancer attempt and kicks her in the head. Konami kicks AZM back but AZM trips her, AZM goes for a roll-up but Konami blocks it and slaps on the Triangle Lancer. Konami really sinks in the hold and AZM quickly taps out! Konami wins and continues in the tournament.

This match was more like the first one and was really well done. Very short but literal non-stop action, as AZM took it to Konami early and often, trying to win by any method as she took full advantage of the modified rules. This felt like Konami just trying to catch AZM before AZM could sneak out a lucky win, and once she finally caught her the match was over. Somehow AZM comes out looking strong as she loses in under three minutes, which I think says a lot for both of them and how the match was structured. A really fun match that highlights what this tournament should be all about.  Recommended

Syuri vs. Jamie Hayter

Syuri gets the first advantage as she strikes Jamie into the corner, running knee by Syuri but Jamie reverses the Irish whip and hits a running elbow. Lariat by Jamie and she hits a neckbreaker, cover by Jamie but it gets two. Snap vertical suplex by Jamie, she elbows Syuri against the ropes and hits a running knee for a two count cover. Jamie charges Syuri but Syuri avoids her strike, kick by Syuri and she applies a cross armbreaker. She switches it to a seated armbar and then into a hammerlock/armbar combination, and Jamie submits! Syuri wins and advances in the tournament.

This was a short match clipped even shorter. What they showed (about two minutes) was fine, Jamie got in a few spots but she wasn’t much of a threat to Syuri. The special rules never really came into play with what they showed, but not sure if they teased any spots with what was cut. Nothing wrong with it but nothing special either.

Saki Kashima vs. Tam Nakano

Saki avoids locking up with Tam which just infuriates Tam, Tam gets sloppy and Saki knees her to the mat. They finally lock up, Irish whip by Tam but Saki hits a hurricanrana. Tam bridges out of the pin attempt and hits a neckbreaker, snapmare by Tam and she kicks Saki in the back. Tam goes for a PK but Saki catches her leg and hits a dragon screw, Saki chokes Tam into the corner and stomps her down to a seated position. Saki twists on Tam’s leg back in the middle of the ring, but Tam inches to the ropes and makes it there for the break. Back up, Tam slaps Saki but Saki slaps her back, Saki goes off the ropes but Tam bridges down to avoid her strike and rolls up Saki for two. Tam goes off the ropes but Saki avoids her and cradles Tam for two. Saki puts Tam on the ropes and kicks her out to the apron, she tries to knock her off but Tam snaps her neck on the top rope. Tam goes up top and delivers a jumping kick, head kick by Tam and she covers Saki for two. Tam picks up Saki but Saki blocks the suplex attempt, she goes for a flash pin but Tam reverses it for a two count. Running knee by Tam, she picks up Saki and nails the Tiger Suplex Hold for the three count! Tam Nakano advances in the tournament.

Just judging from this match, these two still lack chemistry when against each other. More clunky than you’d expect and they just didn’t feel to be on the same page, which is more noticeable when a match is only five minutes long. At least they teased an “over the top rope” spot, so there is that. Not terrible but definitely skippable.

Natsuko Tora vs. Saya Kamitani

We join this one slightly in progress as Natsuko throws Saya into the corner, Natsuko chokes Saya with her boot and rakes her face over the ropes. Bootscrapes by Natsuko and she hits a running boot to Saya, Natsuko brings Saya to the middle of the ring and kicks her in the head some more. Saya fights back with elbows and goes for a dropkick, but Natsuko avoids it and hits a senton. Camel Clutch by Natsuko but she lets go after a moment, she goes off the ropes but Saya does as well and does a flip before delivering a dropkick. She goes for a slam but Natsuko blocks it, Saya gets Natsuko to the mat and puts her in the Sickle Hold. Crab hold by Saya but Natsuko inches to the ropes to force the break. Saya gets on the second turnbuckle and hits a footstomp to Natsuko’s back, she gets on the turnbuckles again but Natsuko recovers and grabs her. Saya wiggles away and the two trade elbows, Saya goes off the ropes but Natsuko lariats her to the mat for two. Natsuko picks up Saya and slams her in front of the corner, she goes up top and delivers the diving body press for the three count! Natsuko Tora wins and advances in the tournament.

This was better than I was expecting. That’s not to say it was great, but Natsuko didn’t look as out of place as she does sometimes and she led the rookie pretty well. Saya didn’t do a lot of her flashy offense (or it was cut out) which is a shame since she can be exciting to watch, so the focus was on Natsuko’s more plodding offense. The right wrestler won as Natsuko needs to do well in this tournament if she is going to be seen as a leader of her faction, but I wouldn’t call it a high end match.

Utami Hayashishita vs. Maika

We join this one in progress as Maika is in control, Maika goes off the ropes and kicks Utami in the arm. Maika picks up Utami but Utami drops her with a dropkick, she picks up Maika and hits a scoop slam. Utami applies a crab hold but Maika gets to the ropes for the break, stomps to the back by Utami but Maika rolls her to the mat and applies a double armbar. Utami gets to the ropes to get Maika to release the hold, armdrag by Maika and she monkey flips Utami to the mat. Utami fires back with a couple tosses, she charges Maika in the corner and hits a back elbow. Maika returns with a big boot and the two trade elbows until Maika hits a side slam, STO by Maika and she covers Utami for two. Maika goes for the cross armbreaker and gets it locked in, but Utami quickly gets to the ropes for the break. Maika picks up Utami but Utami armdrags her to the mat and puts Maika in a sleeper hold. Maika almost goes to sleep but gets to the ropes first, Utami picks up Maika and plants her with a German suplex hold for two. Utami drags Maika to her feet and puts her on the top rope, but Maika elbows her off. She lands on the apron but she elbows Utami when she charges in and returns to the ring. Maika clubs on Utami but the bell rings as time as expired. The match is a Draw and both wrestlers are eliminated from the tournament.

I wish they had shown more of this as I really liked what I saw. This is the best I have seen from Maika, of course she is still early in her career but here her strikes all looked on point and her submissions were well-timed. Utami looked great too, as they have already started developing some chemistry. Its hard to give a high recommendation to a match clipped in half, but still very well done and entertaining.  Mildly Recommended

Mayu Iwatani vs. Hana Kimura

Hana asks for a handshake to start but shockingly its a ruse as she smacks Mayu. She goes for a package piledriver but Mayu gets out of it, running boot by Hana but Mayu kicks her in the gut when she goes off the ropes. They trade elbows until Hana hits a front dropkick, Octopus Hold by Hana but Mayu quickly gets out of it and kicks Hana in the back. Armdrag by Mayu and she applies a stretch hold, she lets go after a moment and dropkicks Hana into the ropes. She goes off the ropes again but this time Hana catches her and tries to powerbomb her out of the ring. Mayu manages to land on the apron, Hana tries to kick Mayu down to the floor but Mayu hangs on. Mayu pulls Hana out to the apron with her, they both try to knock the other off the apron but neither falls to the floor. Hana rolls back into the ring, Mayu goes up top but Hana grabs her before she can jump off.

Hana joins Mayu but Mayu slides back to the mat, she goes for the Running Three but Hana gets away. Hana goes for a suplex but Mayu reverses it into a guillotine choke, but Hana muscles back to her feet and hits the suplex for a two count. Hana goes off the ropes and boots Mayu in the head, heel drop by Hana and she covers Mayu for two. Hana picks up Mayu and applies the Ground Manjikatame, but Mayu gets to the ropes for the break. Hana charges Mayu but Mayu avoids her boot and kicks Hana in the face. Mayu hits a German suplex hold, but Hana gets a shoulder up. Mayu goes up top and delivers a Frog Splash, but again Hana kicks out. Mayu goes to the top turnbuckle but Hana recovers and joins her, she tries to apply the armbreaker but she loses her balance and tumbles out of the ring, taking Mayu with her. The referee declares they both hit the floor at the same time, and the match is a Draw. Both wrestlers are eliminated from the tournament.

A fun match, as you’d expect these two have great chemistry. They don’t seem to mind actually kicking each other in the head as snugly as possible, which is a plus, and they both were wrestling with a sense of urgency which is important with the ten minute time limit. The double elimination is a bit of a cop out but they did a good job with it and it didn’t look like the most fun tumble so it didn’t come across as too silly. A pretty solid way to end the first round.  Mildly Recommended

Onto Round 2! Due to the Draws in the last two matches, there are only three Round 2 matches, which are:

• Cinderella Tournament 2020 Round 2: Momo Watanabe vs. Giulia
• Cinderella Tournament 2020 Round 2: Konami vs. Syuri
• Cinderella Tournament 2020 Round 2/Semi Final: Tam Nakano vs. Natsuko Tora

Lets get to it!

Momo Watanabe vs. Giulia

Giulia quickly boots Momo as the match starts, Momo kicks her back and the two trade strikes. Giulia goes for the Glorious Buster but Momo slides away, missile dropkick out of the corner by Momo and she connects with another dropkick. A third dropkick by Momo while Giulia is down in the corner, vertical suplex by Momo and she covers Giulia for two. Momo goes for the crossface chickenwing but Giulia blocks it, Momo gets Giulia on her back and hits the B Driver, but it only gets two. Momo charges Giulia but Giulia holds down the top rope and Momo ends up on the apron. Giulia tries to knock off Momo but goes over the top and lands on the apron herself, and the two trade elbows. High kick by Momo and she goes for the B Driver, but Giulia gets out of it and kicks Momo in the head. Giulia then grabs Momo and plants her with the Glorious Driver on the apron, causing Momo to flop down to the floor! Giulia wins by Over The Top and advances in the tournament.

By design, this was just a really condensed version of a match these two would have with more time. They went straight from strikes to signature move attempts to apron hilarity in four minutes, without much downtime between. Even though Giulia won by Over The Top, it was still an emphatic victory as she dropped Momo with one of her finishers in the process so that it didn’t seem fluky. Overall, not a bad match but it wasn’t as fun as some of the other short matches we’ve seen on the card.

Konami vs. Syuri

They circle each other to start as they begin cautiously, they trade holds but eventually reach a stalemate. Konami kicks Syuri in the leg but Syuri catches one and pushes her to the mat, Syuri applies a side headlock but Konami struggles back to her feet. Konami applies a side headlock of her own but Syuri gets out of it, both go for kicks until Syuri sends Konami to the mat with a kick to the chest. Syuri picks up Konami but Konami kicks her in the leg, they trade kicks with Konami eventually knocking Syuri off her feet. Sliding kick by Konami, she picks up Syuri and puts her in a Fujiwara Armbar. Konami goes for the cross armbreaker but Syuri blocks it, Konami goes for the Triangle Lancer and gets it locked in, but Syuri gets a foot on the ropes to force the break. Konami picks up Syuri and goes for it again, but Syuri spins out of it and kicks Konami in the head. Syuri puts Konami in the Scorpion Deathlock, and Konami has no choice but to submit! Syuri wins and advances in the tournament.

All this match did is show me that these two could have a great match in a normal situation. Sadly this was not a normal situation as it felt like they were going at their normal pace as if it was a fifteen minute match before suddenly ending it with a random hold. Konami wasn’t really hurt bad enough to think she’d lose to the Scorpion Deathlock, which isn’t even one of Syuri’s primary submissions so it just felt quickly planned. Their exchanges on their feet were solid, it was just not structured very well and overall disappointing due to that.

Tam Nakano vs. Natsuko Tora

They face off and grab each other’s hair to start, both wrestlers go off the ropes in an attempt to knock each other over but neither has success. Natsuko pulls down Tam by the hair and hits a trio of running sentons, she tries to throw Tam over the top rope but Tam gets away. They trade elbows, Tam elbows Natsuko into the corner and Irish whips her, but Natsuko reverses it. Tam kicks Natsuko as she charges in and applies a dragon sleeper while sitting on the top turnbuckle, but Saki Kashima hits her from the apron. Natsuko joins Tam but Tam headbutts her off, she goes for a diving knee but Natsuko moves. Tam avoids Natsuko’s lariat and hits a cutter, Tam charges Natsuko but Natsuko moves and lariats Tam over the top rope to the apron. Natsuko goes for a spear but Tam moves out of the way, with Natsuko getting caught up between the second and third ropes. Tam kicks Natsuko out to the apron and delivers a German suplex, Natsuko falls down to the floor but she is not eliminated as she did not go over the top rope. Natsuko rolls back into the ring and lariats Tam off the apron to the floor, picking up the win! Natsuko Tora wins via Over The Top, advancing to the Finals.

I’ve been thinking about how I feel about the end of the match and I decided I don’t like it. Its somewhat creative for the Cinderella Tournament, with Tam not realizing Natsuko had not gone over the top and thus wasn’t eliminated, but it annoyed me that Natsuko basically didn’t sell a German suplex on the apron which should be a killer spot. They should have just had Tam push Natsuko off the apron, as then it would have made more sense that she quickly recovered. Beyond that, the match was ok but obviously short. A unique ending so maybe memorable, but I didn’t love the execution of it.

We move on the third round of the tournament, the Semi Finals! As explained above, Natsuko Tora goes straight to the Finals as the other matches in her bracket went to a Draw, so she gets a Bye. Here is the lone legitimate Semi Final match:

• Cinderella Tournament 2020 Semi Final: Giulia vs. Syuri

Giulia vs. Syuri

They shake hands before the match but Syuri kicks Giulia in the stomach, Syuri works a headlock but Giulia gets out of it. Shoulderblock by Syuri but Giulia gets back up and elbows her as the two trade blows. Big boot by Giulia but Syuri avoids the next one, waistlock by Syuri but Giulia reverses it and hits a backdrop suplex. Giulia picks up Syuri and throws her into the corner, running boot by Giulia and she hits a neckbreaker. Cover by Giulia, but it gets two. Giulia goes for a suplex but Syuri blocks it and knees Giulia into the corner, running knee by Syuri and she hits a double underhook suplex. Syuri goes for a cross armbreaker and gets it locked on, but Giulia gets a foot on the ropes for the break. Syuri picks up Giulia and throws her into the corner, but Giulia avoids her charge. Syuri gets on the second turnbuckle and applies a hanging armbar, she lets go after a moment while sliding out to the apron and holds down the rope when Giulia charges her. Giulia ends up on the apron with Syuri, Giulia goes for the Glorious Driver again but Syuri blocks it and attempts to suplex Giulia off the apron. Giulia won’t let go of the ropes so Syuri gives up, high kick by Syuri but Giulia boots her off the apron down to the floor! Giulia wins and advances to the Finals!

Besides this match having two of my favorite wrestlers in Stardom in it, there wasn’t a lot going on here. The way they got onto the apron was a bit convoluted as Syuri had no real reason to jump out to it in the first place, since swandive moves aren’t really her thing. The callback to how Giulia won her last match was nice though, and they kept the pace up as you’d expect from a four minute match. This was more about getting to the right conclusion as quickly as possible, good for what it was but not incredibly creative.

Time for the Cinderella Tournament 2020 Finals!

Giulia vs. Natsuko Tora
Cinderella Tournament 2020 Finals

Natsuko attacks Giulia from behind before the match starts and knocks her out of the ring, she follows her out and tosses Giulia around the ringside area. She takes her up into the bleachers and slams her head into a column a few times, they return to ringside and Natsuko throws her into a row of chairs. Natsuko finally rolls Giulia back into the ring and returns herself with a chain, she drops the chain on the mat and scoop slams Giulia onto it. The referee gets rid of the chain, Natsuko throws to throw Giulia into the corner but Giulia reverses it and hits a hanging neckbreaker. Giulia gets on the second turnbuckle and hits a missile dropkick, cover by Giulia but it gets two. The chain returns as Giulia has it now, she goes to hit Natsuko with it but changes her mind and throws it on the mat. Natsuko picks it up but tosses it aside as well as the two decide to trade elbows instead. Natsuko elbows Giulia into the corner, the referee tries to stop her but Natsuko throws him down. He tries again but this time Giulia pushes him down and elbows Natsuko repeatedly, he has learned his lesson and is now just watching as Giulia stomps Natsuko to the mat. He finally tries to intervene again but gets shoved away for his trouble, Giulia brings Natsuko back to the middle of the ring but Natsuko blocks the suplex attempt. Big boot by Giulia but Natsuko follows with a running elbow, another boot by Giulia but Natsuko levels her with a spear.

Both wrestlers slowly get up and trade elbows, knee by Giulia and she hits a DDT. Cover by Giulia, but it gets a two count. STF by Giulia but Natsuko crawls to the ropes and forces the break. Natsuko gets the chain as she gets up and lariats Giulia with it, she picks up Giulia and goes for a side slam but Giulia blocks it and applies a standing armbar. Natsuko gets out of it by falling back onto Giulia, she goes up top but Giulia rolls out of the way of her body press and boots her in the back of the head. Giulia picks up Natsuko but Natsuko blocks the Glorious Buster, Giulia goes off the ropes but Natsuko catches her with a swinging side slam for two. Natsuko goes up top and nails the diving body press, she picks up Giulia and slams her in front of the corner before going up top again. Diving Leg Drop by Natsuko, she covers Giulia but Giulia barely kicks out. Natsuko picks up Giulia and smacks her around but Giulia fires up and returns fire. Samoan Driver by Giulia, but it only gets two. Giulia picks up Natsuko and drops her with a Glorious Driver, but Natsuko barely gets a shoulder up on the cover. Natsuko tries to sneak in a flash pin but it only gets a two count, Giulia goes off the ropes and boots Natsuko in the face. Giulia puts Natsuko in a Stealth Viper, and Natsuko taps out! Giulia wins the match and the Cinderella Tournament!

For a match on the shorter side, I think these two delivered. Natsuko doesn’t always click with me but this is the best version of her, just no-nonsense and focusing on big strikes (and cheating when necessary) and being tough. The outside-the-ring portion was short enough that it didn’t detract from the match, and the action was pretty even. The pacing felt right and I am glad it ended when it did as if they tried to stretch it five more minutes they probably would have lost their way as Natsuko is still limited. I also think Giulia was the right person to win, it gives her the further push she needs and Natsuko looked good in defeat. A solid way to end the Cinderella Tournament, which overall I’d consider a success this year.  Recommended

The post Stardom Cinderella Tournament 2020 on 3/24/20 Review appeared first on Joshi City.

Event: Stardom No People Gate
Date: March 8th, 2020
Location: Korakuen Hall in Tokyo, Japan
Announced Attendance: No fans in attendance

We are living in unusual times in early 2020, as we are getting our first ever Stardom event not taking place in front of a crowd. Due to concerns over the coronavirus, many events in Japan are either being cancelled or taking place in an empty arena. Most of Stardom’s events for a month were cancelled, however this event still took place, possibly due to TV contracts. Also for the first time ever, this event was streamed live on Youtube, so we got to watch it in real time. This is not the strongest Korakuen Hall show but there is still some potential, with the tag title match in particular giving me hope for an excellent match. Here is the full card:

• Time Change Battle Royal with Death Yama-san, Saya Iida, AZM, Momoe Nakanishi, Ruaka, Rina, Hina, Captain STARDOM, Starlight Kid, Leyla Hirsch, Konami, Tam Nakano, Natsu Sumire, Saya Kamitani, and Super Strong Starlight Machine
• Natsuko Tora vs. Battle Royal Winner
• Giulia and Maika vs. Hana Kimura and Jungle Kyona
• Goddesses of Stardom Championship: Bea Priestley and Jamie Hayter vs. Momo Watanabe and Utami Hayashishita
• Lumberjack Match: Mayu Iwatani vs. Saki Kashima

Originally, this event was supposed to have Natsuko Tora vs. Arisa Hoshiki, but Arisa was a very late scratch due to a neck injury. So the matches were changed to have Natsuko Tora challenge the winner of the Battle Royal, that way she didn’t lose her spot on the card altogether. As this aired live on Youtube, it will be shown in full. All wrestlers on the show have profiles on Joshi City, you can click on their names above to go straight to it.

Time Change Battle Royal

The first two participants in the match are Death Yama-san and Saya Iida. Death does Death things until Iida gets tired of it and kicks her from behind, dropkick by Iida but Death blocks the scoop slam. Chops by Iida as the next wrestler comes down, AZM! AZM is in no rush to get in the ring but eventually does and covers Saya Iida for the three count! Saya Iida is eliminated. AZM and Death trade chops while the next wrestler comes down, Momoe Nakanishi (in a mask)! Well that’s a hell of a surprise. She does some Death things but they rip the mask off of her, as Ruaka comes down to the ring as the fourth wrestler. They all go after Nakanishi but she manages to stay in the ring, so AZM and Ruaka go at it while the next wrestler comes down, Rina! Rina puts AZM in an Octopus Hold while Ruaka has Nakanishi in an armbar, as the countdown goes and the next wrestler runs in the ring – Rina’s sister Hina! Hina goes after Death and hits a hip toss, Momo☆Latch by Nakanishi to Death and she picks up the three count! Death Yama-san is eliminated. All four wrestlers cover Ruaka next, and she is eliminated! Rina and Hina both attack AZM while Nakanishi gets some water, there seems to be some delay with the next wrestler since music has been playing for awhile. Finally a wrestler wearing a green mask and cape comes down, and its… Captain STARDOM! I think its Saya Iida again but she is attacked by everyone and they rip at her mask, but they don’t get it off as Starlight Kid enters the match.

Starlight Kid and Captain STARDOM are attacked by everyone else, they are both covered but both kick out at two. Starlight Kid is trying to protect the other masked wrestler while the next participant comes down, Leyla Hirsch! Leyla goes after Rina and then AZM, as she slams AZM on top of her. Rina is slammed on the stack as well but Nakanishi feigns an injury to avoid Leyla’s wrath. The next wrestler arrives as Konami enters the match, she goes after AZM as they make a suplex chain with six wrestlers. Konami’s side wins the battle as Tam Nakano arrives. We have a headscissors chain in the ring, with Tam hopping on the end of it while Nakanishi runs over the entire group. Nakanishi turns them over with a crab hold while the next wrestler comes down, Natsu Sumire! Natsu brings some water in the ring with her, she takes a drink before spraying some of the wrestlers with cold spray. She then uses the water to drool on all of them, leading to the headscissors chain to finally be broken. Saya Kamitani makes her entrance with a mask that will probably be on Depo Mart tomorrow for $700 dollars, meanwhile Captain STARDOM rolls up Rina for the three count! Rina is eliminated. Starlight Kid then cradles Hina, and she is eliminated as well! Leyla and Captain STARDOM trade flash pins with no luck, another cradle by Leyla and she holds down Captain STARDOM for the three count! Captain STARDOM is eliminated.

Konami and Leyla control the action while the next wrestler comes down, Mima Shimoda! She has a chair, of course. Natsu gets Konami in the corner and hits the Bronco Buster, but Shimoda hits her from behind with a chair and covers her for three! Natsu Sumire is eliminated. Meanwhile, a new masked wrestler comes down, Super Strong Starlight Machine! Who oddly resembles Saya Iida. Meanwhile, Starlight Kid goes for a moonsault on Nakanishi but misses, moonsault by Nakanishi and she gets the three count! Starlight Kid is eliminated. Tam and Konami trade kicks, Fujiwara Armbar by Konami and she hits a sliding kick, but Tam holds down the tope rope when Konami charges in to send her to the apron. Konami applies a hanging armbar but Tam kicks her as she gets back in the ring and sends her to the floor! Konami is eliminated. Shimoda ends up on the mat and is literally run over by all the other wrestlers still in the match, but Shimoda recovers and dumps Tam onto the apron. Tam pulls Shimoda out onto the apron with her and goes for a suplex, but Shimoda blocks it. Shimoda kicks Tam’s arms until she can’t hold on, and she falls to the floor! Tam Nakano is eliminated. Shimoda manages to get back in the ring but eats a suplex from Nakanishi, Pele Kick by Kamitani and she hits the running Shooting Star Press on Shimoda, but Nakanishi breaks up the pin.

Shimoda and Nakanishi hug but are dropkicked, Shimoda momentarily gets back in control until Kamitani dropkicks her. Missile dropkick by Kamitani, but Shimoda kicks out of the cover. Kamitani picks up Shimoda and hits a scoop slam, she goes up top but Shimoda recovers and pulls her back to the mat. Shimoda gets on the second turnbuckle but Kamitani dropkicks her, sending Shimoda out of the ring! Mima Shimoda is eliminated. Super Strong Starlight Machine and Kamitani go at it next, dropkick by Kamitani to Super Strong Starlight Machine and she hits the Pele Kick. Running Shooting Star Press attempt by Kamitani but Super Strong Starlight Machine rolls out of the way and hits a lariat. Devil Windmill Suplex by Super Strong Starlight Machine, and she picks up the three count! Saya Kamitani is eliminated. Nakanishi and AZM both attack Super Strong Starlight Machine but AZM attacks Nakanishi. Nakanishi pulls AZM onto the apron with her, but Super Strong Starlight Machine runs over and dropkicks them both to the floor! Super Strong Starlight Machine is the last wrestler remaining and wins the Battle Royal!

I think I missed Leyla Hirsch’s elimination but there was a lot going on. While I went in with low expectations since Battle Royals aren’t overly serious affairs in Japan, I loved the surprise of Momoe Nakanishi. Nakanishi retired back in 2005 and has only done a few exhibition matches since then, so she was definitely unexpected. Of course she hasn’t lost a step and out-worked most of the other wrestlers in the ring, which isn’t too big of a surprise as she was pretty great back in her day. Logically it doesn’t make sense that Iida can enter the match multiple times but it goes in with the general wackiness of Battle Royals so no complaints. A few fun surprises and the action moved pretty quick, so overall a pretty satisfying Battle Royal.

Natsuko Tora vs. Super Strong Starlight Machine

This match was decided on pretty late, and it showed since they didn’t do a whole lot. Most memorable thing for me is how Natsuko Tora’s new finisher looks rough, they need to figure out how to make that smoother or its just going to be a flat way to end her matches. A decent enough match and I’ll give them credit for trying to make changes to include a fifth match on the card, but pretty skippable aside from Iida getting a bit of the rub in this whole sequence.

Giulia and Maika vs. Hana Kimura and Jungle Kyona

Maika and Kyona start the match, Kyona tries to shoulderblock Maika over but Maika doesn’t budge. Maika returns the favor as they both go for shoulderblocks, but Kyona eventually sending Maika to the mat. Giulia grabs Kyona from the apron but Hana grabs Maika from the opposite apron, as they have a stalemate. They both eventually get free, Giulia gets in the ring to help and Kyona is double teamed. Hammerlock by Maika to Kyona and she drives her into the corner, Maika tags Giulia who puts Kyona in an armlock. Double armbar by Giulia but Hana comes in to break it up, Maika comes in but Hana tosses her out of the ring. Giulia sends Hana out of the ring as well before going back to Kyona, she throws Kyona in the corner and tags Maika. Maika twists Kyona’s arm in the ropes and kicks it, Giulia comes back in and they take turns booting Kyona. Giulia holds Kyona while Maika pulls out her extensions, which pisses off Kyona and she bodyslams Maika. She makes the tag to Hana, Hana gets rid of Giulia before booting Maika in the head. She boots her a second time, cover by Hana but it gets two. Hana picks up Maika but Maika blocks the suplex attempt, Giulia attacks Hana from behind but Hana dropkicks both of them.

Hana picks up Maika and applies a Cobra Twist, Giulia tries to break it up but Hana puts her in a dragon sleeper at the same time. She lets go after a moment and picks up Maika, but Maika flips her to the mat and makes the tag to Giulia. Neckbreaker by Giulia, and she covers Hana for two. Giulia picks up Hana but Hana pushes her away and the two trade elbows. Hana goes off the ropes but Giulia boots her, Hana boots her back however but Giulia sends Hana to the mat with one final boot. Both get back up as Giulia goes for the Spider Web, finally getting it locked in. Hana muscles out of the hold and slams Giulia to the mat, she picks up Giulia but Giulia boots her in the face and both wrestlers are down on the mat. Both tag out as Kyona and Maika come back in, Maika puts Kyona in an armbar but Kyona gets into the ropes for the break. STO by Maika, and she covers Kyona for two. Maika applies the cross armbreaker but Kyona gets out of it, Giulia comes in and they hit a double STO. Giulia goes off the ropes and assists Maika in hitting a cross armbreaker takedown, Maika gets the hold locked in but Kyona is too close to the ropes and makes it to get the break. Hana runs in and boots Maika, double dropkick to Maika and Kyona hits a sliding lariat for two. Giulia throws Hana out of the ring and stomps on Kyona, but Kyona throws them into each other and Hana comes off the top with a double missile dropkick. Kyona lariats Maika in the corner and puts her on the top turnbuckle, she goes for the Kinniku Buster and drops her in the middle of the ring. Cover by Kyona, and she gets the three count! Tokyo Cyber Squad win!

This was a step down from the last Donna del Mondo match I watched but still solid. Maika isn’t quite ready for this type of spot, and while I appreciate them trying she really needs more experience. When she was in the ring the match tended to be far less crisp, she has the mat game but just isn’t smooth with it. The match needed more Hana and Giulia going at it, but what we got from them was really good and elevated the match. It was still a decent match overall since the other three really enhanced it, but Maika still being a bit light with her strikes and clunky brought it down from the level I was hoping it may reach.  Mildly Recommended

(c) Bea Priestley and Jamie Hayter vs. Momo Watanabe and Utami Hayashishita 
Goddesses of Stardom Championship

Queen’s Quest try to attack before the match but Jamie and Bea both bail out of the ring, Utami and Momo go after them but are immediately jumped for their trouble. Bea and Jamie both take a victory lap around the ring before hitting a high five, they go back to stomping on Momo and Utami before Momo is finally slid back in. Bea joins Momo and twists her arm in the ropes, she props up Momo’s arm on the mat before stomping on her elbow. Cover by Bea, but it gets two. Bea throws Momo into the corner so Jamie can help her with Momo, she tags in Jamie and Jamie elbows Momo in the corner. Scoop slam by Jamie and she slams Momo into the turnbuckles, strikes by Jamie but Momo hits a missile dropkick and makes the hot tag to Utami. Utami shoulderblocks Jamie and throws her into the corner, Bea runs in but Utami slams Bea into the same corner before hitting a running elbow. Utami gets on the second turnbuckle and hits a missile dropkick, cover by Utami but it gets two. Utami charges Jamie but Jamie catches her and suplexes her into the turnbuckle, running elbow and she hits a lariat. Short-range lariat by Jamie, and she covers Utami for a two count. Knees by Jamie and she hits an elbow combination, side slam onto her knee by Jamie and she hits a vertical suplex for two. Bea is tagged in, Irish whip by Bea but it is reversed. Bea kicks Utami when she charges in but Utami ducks her boot, elbows by Bea and she goes off the ropes but Utami catches her with a lariat.

Utami tags Momo, dropkick by Momo in the corner but Jamie grabs her from the apron. Bea runs over but dropkicks Jamie by accident, kicks by Momo to Bea and she hits a low dropkick in the corner. Side slam by Momo, and she covers Bea for two. Momo goes off the ropes but Bea catches her with a jumping knee, cover by Bea but it gets two. Bea goes off the ropes and knees Momo in the head, Momo ends up on the apron but Bea springs up to the top turnbuckle to jump after her. Momo moves and grabs Bea, hitting the B Driver on the apron. Utami holds Bea while Momo goes up top and hits a Somato to her back, regular Somato by Momo and she covers Bea for two. Momo hits a second B Driver, but Jamie breaks up the cover. Utami tries to get rid of Jamie but Jamie throws her out instead, leading to Momo being double teamed. Jamie and Bea wait for Momo to get up but Momo avoids their charge, she hits a Tequila Sunrise on Bea while Utami hits a German suplex on Jamie. Momo goes up top a nails the diving Somato, but it only gets two. Peace Sunrise by Momo to Bea, but Jamie barely breaks up the cover. Utami collects Jamie and they exit the ring, Momo picks up Bea but Bea snaps off a Regal Plex. Bea grabs Momo by the arms and knees her in the head, cover by Bea but Momo kicks out. Jamie gets rid of Utami and stays in the ring, they wait for Momo to get up and deliver a double strike. Bea knees Momo in the back of the head, she sets her up in the corner and nails the Queen’s Landing, and she gets the three count! Bea Priestley and Jamie Hayter retain the championship.

This was good, it took a few minutes to get going but the last few minutes were really exciting. This is the first Joshi event that took place in Japan that I’ve ever watched unspoiled, so its extra fun not knowing who is going to win as the match unfolds. I love all four of these wrestlers, both teams work together well and while Bea is obnoxious I find her obnoxious in an good way. Everything was smooth as there wasn’t a “weak link” in the match, and Momo takes a beating pretty well. No major complaints about the match, it didn’t reach the high peak but stayed interesting up to the hot ending. Not a MOTYC, but a fun co-main with four of my personal favorites in Stardom.  Recommended

Mayu Iwatani vs. Saki Kashima
Lumberjack Match

Mayu attacks Saki before the match starts but Saki quickly gets in control and throws Mayu into the turnbuckles. Mayu kicks Saki and tosses her out of the ring, but she runs away from the STARS lumberjacks and slides back in. Saki throws Mayu out and she is beaten by Oedo Tai, Natsu Sumire wraps up Mayu in the ring apron while Natsuko hits her with an umbrella. Natsu slides Mayu back in and Saki starts working over Mayu’s leg. Saki sets up Mayu in the ropes while Natsu takes off one of the turnbuckle pads, Saki throws Mayu into the exposed corner before choking her in it. Saki trips Mayu and applies an ankle submission hold, but Mayu gets to the ropes for the break. Saki sets up Mayu’s leg in the ropes and dropkicks it, sending Mayu crashing out of the ring. Natsu beats her with the turnbuckle pad until STARS comes over to try to help, but Oedo Tai wins the melee and go back to attacking Mayu. STARS returns as they brawl again, with STARS getting the better of it this time. Saki comes out to and hits Mayu with the turnbuckle pad herself, she slides Mayu back into the ring and continues stomping on her. Saki throws Mayu into the corner but Mayu avoids her charge and delivers a dropkick.

Mayu goes off the ropes and hits a dropkick, sending Saki out of the ring. Mayu goes up to the top turnbuckle and dives out onto Oedo Tai with a plancha suicida, but they catch her and carry Mayu up into the (empty) stands. STARS run after them and rescue Mayu, Mayu goes to the top of the balcony and dives off of it onto the crowd. Saki hits her from behind with a chair while she is celebrating, Saki takes Mayu even higher into the stands and kicks her down the stairs. They finally get back into the ring, Saki goes for a diving footstomp but Mayu rolls out of the way and drop toeholds her into the exposed turnbuckle. Mayu gets Saki up in the Running Three position and tosses her out of the ring and down onto the lumberjacks. They roll Saki back in, dropkick by Mayu and she kicks Saki in the back. Slap by Mayu but Saki slaps her back, kicks by Saki and she slams Mayu into the mat. More slaps by Saki and she boots Mayu, cover by Saki but it gets two. Saki picks up Mayu but Mayu gets away and hits a release dragon suplex.

Saki charges Mayu but Mayu moves, she goes for a superkick but hits the referee by accident. The rest of Oedo Tai all run in the ring and attack Mayu in the corner, but STARS come in and do the same to Saki. Mayu goes up top and hits a missile dropkick, cover by Mayu but there is still no referee. Mayu goes up top again and hits a diving body press, she calls for the moonsault and nails it as the referee returns. Cover by Mayu, but Saki barely gets a shoulder up. Mayu goes for the Two Stage Dragon Suplex but Saki blocks it and cradles her for two. Head kick by Mayu, she picks up Saki and hits the dragon suplex hold, but the referee is pulled out of the ring before he can finish the count. Mayu goes off the ropes but Natsu hits her with a chair, Bea boots Mayu but STARS come in to even the odds as they clear the ring. Superkick by Mayu to Saki and she hits two more, Buzzsaw Kick by Mayu and she hits a tombstone piledriver. Mayu goes up top (referee is back) and hits a second moonsault, cover by Mayu and she gets the three count! Mayu Iwatani wins the match.

There was so much going on in this match. First, the good – Mayu Iwatani is amazing. She held this match together, while people around her were having issues she was laying in hard kicks and diving off things and tumbling down things to make the match memorable and fun. As for the bad, there were a lot of little missed spots like Natsu with the chair and the lumberjack setup at times was overly chaotic. Its a fine line, some chaos is good but a few times it felt like it was just dragging things out. The referee bump wasn’t really necessary since the rules were pretty loose anyway, but at least he recovered both times pretty quickly. All in all, a fun match that had a lot of small flaws but ultimately was enjoyable due to the strong effort by Mayu.  Recommended

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Event: Stardom The Way To Major League
Date: February 8th, 2020
Location: Korakuen Hall in Tokyo, Japan
Announced Attendance: 1,519

And we are already back with a Stardom review! Trying to stay as current as possible with their Korakuen Hall events so I don’t fall too far behind. This is another big show for the promotion, as they packed Korakuen Hall with over 1,500 fans for the second straight month. Today we have two title matches, plus a special singles match between Mayu Iwatani and Takumi Iroha! Here is the full card:

• Gauntlet Match: Jamie Hayter and Zoey Skye vs. Hina and Rina vs. Saya Iida and Saya Kamitani vs. Death Yama-san and Leyla Hirsch vs. Starlight Kid and Tam Nakano
• Natsuko Tora, Natsu Sumire, and Saki Kashima vs. Hana Kimura, Jungle Kyona, and Konami
• Artist Of Stardom Championship: AZM, Momo Watanabe, and Utami Hayashishita vs. Giulia, Maika, and Syuri
• Wonder Of Stardom Championship: Arisa Hoshiki vs. Bea Priestley
• Mayu Iwatani vs. Takumi Iroha

I am watching the Samurai TV! version of the event, so some matches will be clipped. All the wrestlers have a profile on Joshi City, you can click on their name above to go straight to it.

Jamie Hayter and Zoey Skye vs. Hina and Rina vs. Saya Iida and Saya Kamitani vs. Death Yama-san and Leyla Hirsch vs. Starlight Kid and Tam Nakano
Gauntlet Match

First two tag teams in are STARS (Starlight Kid and Tam Nakano) and the sister team of Hina and Rina. Who are in different factions. Anyway, Starlight Kid starts with Hina, Hina tosses Starlight Kid to the mat and goes for a cross armbreaker, but Starlight Kid blocks it and they trade flash pins. Hina almost gets one but Tam breaks it up, Hina picks up Starlight Kid and goes off the ropes, but Tam kicks her from the apron. Cyclone Suplex by Starlight Kid, she slams Hina in front of the corner and goes to the top turnbuckle. Swivel Body Press by Starlight Kid, and she picks up the three count! Rina and Hina are eliminated.

3838 Tag are the next team down and they immediately attack Tam and Starlight Kid, Kamitani and Iida throws Starlight Kid into the corner and both connect with dropkicks. Tam recovers and helps Starlight Kid even the odds, they set up Iida and Kamitani in the ropes and both hit Tiger Feint Kicks. Standing moonsault by Starlight Kid to Iida, and she covers her for two. Starlight Kid picks up Iida but Iida throws her into the corner, chops by Iida and she sends Starlight Kid to the mat. Iida tags in Kamitani, dropkick by Kamitani and she puts Starlight Kid in a crab hold. Tam breaks it up, Kamitani picks up Starlight Kid but Starlight Kid slides away. Tam slams Kamitani to the mat, Starlight Kid goes up top and she connects with the Swivel Body Press, but Iida breaks up the cover. Starlight Kid tries to go off the ropes but Kamitani grabs her and traps her with a jackknife hold for two. Tam tries to help but kicks Starlight Kid by accident, Kamitani goes up top and hits a missile dropkick on Starlight Kid. Iida hits a missile dropkick of her own, Kamitani picks up Starlight Kid and delivers a Pele Kick. Running Shooting Star Press by Kamitani, and she picks up the three count! Kamitani covers Starlight Kid and gets the three count! STARS are eliminated.

Jamie Hayter and Zoey Skye run down as the next challengers, they jump their opponents in the corner before isolated Iida in the ring. Double Irish whip to Iida but Iida dropkicks them both, Jamie clubs on Iida and stomps on her back. Jamie picks up Iida but Iida fires up and chops her in the chest, but Jamie blocks one and elbows Iida to the mat for a two count. Jamie picks up Iida but Iida sneaks in a small package for two. Kamitani dives in the ring with a missile dropkick to Jamie, Iida goes up top and hits her own missile dropkick for a two count. Iida Bridge by Iida, but Zoey breaks it up. Iida goes off the ropes but Jamie catches her with a lariat, Cow Killer by Jamie and she picks up the three count! 3838 Tag are eliminated.

The last tag team of the match are next, as Death and Leyla enter the match. They are attacked before they even get to the ring by Jamie and Zoey, Leyla is thrown into the ring but she immediately goes off the ropes and dives out onto her opponents with a tope suicida. They rolls Jamie back into the ring, double Irish whip and Jamie eats a double DDT. They go for a double vertical suplex but Jamie blocks it and lariats both of them. She tags in Zoey, Zoey stomps on Leyla and drops her with a Codebreaker. Chokeslam onto her knee by Jamie, cover by Zoey but Death breaks it up with a senton. Zoey boots Jamie by accident, Leyla hits a German suplex on Zoey and with Death they connect with a double running knee. Triangle jump moonsault by Leyla out of the corner, and she covers Zoey for the three count! Death Yama-san and Leyla Hirsch win the match!

It would have been more interesting by not having the ‘new’ team win every time, but for an early-card match this was fine. All the wrestlers got a chance to show a little something (except Rina but I think that was just due to some clipping), with everyone hitting their spots. Not much to it but fast paced and an easy watch.

Natsuko Tora, Sumire, and Kashima vs. Hana Kimura, Kyona, and Konami

Hana and Saki start the match, Irish whip by Hana and she shoulderblocks Saki down. Saki fires back with an elbow but Hana just laughs at her, Saki pulls Hana down by her hair and goes off the ropes, but Konami kicks her from the apron. Boot by Hana, and the match clips ahead to Kyona being in the ring with Saki. Saki goes off the ropes and hits a hurricanrana, Kyona ends up in the corner and Saki connects with a running boot. Saki tags in Natsu, Natsu stomps Kyona in the corner and charges her, but Hana cuts her off before she can do the Bronco Buster. Atomic Drop by Natsu to Hana and Konami, she kicks Kyona down in the corner again and this time delivers the gyrating Bronco Buster. Natsu kicks Kyona low, cover by Natsu and she covers her for two. She tags in Natsuko but Kyona suplexes both of them, she goes off the ropes and tries to shoulderblock Natsuko but Natsuko stays on her feet. She tries again but Natsuko knocks her down, Kyona returns the favor but Natsuko levels her with a spear.

They both return to their feet and go for lariats, hard elbow by Kyona and she tags in Konami. Konami kicks Natsuko repeatedly in the chest, she goes for the Fujiwara Armbar but Natsuko rolls out of it. Knee by Konami in the corner but Natsuko avoids her next charge and the other Oedo Tai members run in to help. In control now, Natsuko goes up top and she delivers the diving body press for two. Natsuko picks up Konami but Konami gets away, Natsuko goes off the ropes but Konami blocks the spear and applies the Triangle Lancer. Natsu breaks it up, Konami knees Natsuko a few times and goes off the ropes, but Natsu hits her with a bucket. She tags Saki, Saki goes up top and hits a diving footstomp on Konami for two. Kick combination by Konami to Saki and she hits a wrist-clutch suplex for a two count cover. Kyona and Hana both end up in the ring and they dropkick Natsuko, Konami kicks Saki in the head and Kyona delivers an assisted face crusher. Kick to the head by Konami, but Saki barely kicks out. Konami picks up Saki and goes for the Triangle Lancer, but Saki blocks it and applies the Kishikaisei for the three count! Oedo Tai win the match.

A short match clipped down even further, which didn’t really give them time to get into a real flow. My issue with matches like this is that none of the wrestlers really get a chance to show what they can do or get into a groove. We’ve seen Kyona and Konami as a team have great matches, but this didn’t really click. One of the problems is that the current Oedo Tai team doesn’t have a great worker so to speak, they are better characters than technicians, making it difficult for the Tokyo Cyber Squad team to put together a cohesive match. Not an actively bad match or anything, just too disjointed and random to really get invested in.

(c) AZM, Momo Watanabe, and Hayashishita vs. Giulia, Maika, and Syuri
Artist of Stardom Championship

Maika and Utami start the match, Maika gets Utami to the mat and they jockey for position. Utami gets a headlock applied but Maika reverses it into a headscissors, Utami gets out of it and they return to their feet. Syuri and Momo are tagged in, they trade wristlocks until Momo gets Syuri’s back but Syuri switches positions with her and tosses Momo to the mat. Both wrestlers hit armdrags with Syuri holding onto hers with an armbar, she lets go after a moment and kicks Momo in the back. Momo gets up and returns the favor with her own kick, she sits down on the mat and challenges Syuri to go again. Syuri kicks Momo in the back and invites Momo to kick her, but she catches Momo’s kick and applies an ankle hold. Momo gets out of it and they too reach a stalemate, tagging in the last pairing. AZM and Giulia immediately get into it with a high speed exchange, AZM tries to do a kip up but Giulia boots her as soon as she gets back to her feet. Giulia knocks AZM out of the ring and goes out after her, and she throws the child into the chairs at ringside. She slides AZM back into the ring and steps on her head, she tags in Maika but AZM dropkicks her. AZM tags Utami, Utami slams Maika and puts her in a Camel Clutch while both Momo and AZM kick her. Utami scoop slams Maika and tags Momo, scoop slam by Momo and she covers Maika for a two count. Momo kicks at Maika but Maika catches her with a toss and makes the tag to Syuri.

Syuri kicks and knees Momo, Utami runs in but Syuri kicks her as well. AZM comes in also but Syuri throws AZM at Momo and drops her with a Backstabber. Jumping knee in the corner by Syuri to Momo and she hits a suplex for a two count cover. Syuri picks up Momo but Momo kicks her in the leg, Syuri kicks her back as they go back and forth. Momo dropkicks Syuri in the corner before dropkicking her again, a third dropkick by Momo and she covers Syuri for two. Momo tags Utami, hard shoulderblock by Utami and she throws Syuri into the corner. Running elbow by Utami and she hits the STO for a two count. Utami goes off the ropes but Syuri knees her, snapmare by Syuri and she kicks Utami in the back. PK by Syuri, but her cover only gets two. Syuri tags Maika, Maika picks up Utami and she puts her in a Fujiwara Armbar. She then applies a cross armbreaker but Utami quickly wiggles to the ropes to force the break. Maika picks up Utami but Utami elbows her and they trade shots. Side slam by Maika, she hits a monkey flip followed by a judo toss and a STO of her own for a two count cover. Maika waits for Utami to get up but Utami tosses her to the mat, she gets Maika on her shoulders in the Argentine Backbreaker but Maika grabs her arm and reverses it into a cross armbreaker attempt.

Utami tries to block it but ends up in a Triangle Choke for her trouble, but Utami slams her way out of it. Backdrop suplex by Utami and she makes it to her corner to tag AZM while Giulia was also tagged in. They avoid each others kicks before trading elbows, AZM goes off the ropes but Giulia catches her with a knee to the face. Neckbreaker by Giulia and she puts AZM in the STF, but it gets broken up. Giulia goes up top but Utami tosses her off and Momo nails her with a Somato. Diving Footstomp by AZM to Giulia, but Giulia barely kicks out. AZM, Utami, and Momo all dropkick Giulia, AZM goes off the ropes and hits the La Mistica, but Giulia gets into the ropes for the break. Irish whip by AZM but Giulia reverses it, dropping her with the Glorious Buster. Syuri and Maika both come in to get their shots on AZM, knee by Giulia and she covers AZM, but it gets broken up. AZM picks up Giulia but Giulia pushers her off, she gets up AZM for a Glorious Buster again but AZM gets away and cradles Giulia for two. Giulia picks up AZM and hits a delayed Falcon Arrow, but AZM gets a shoulder up. Syuri and Maika return, with both Giulia and Syuri kicking AZM while Maika has her elevated in the air. Giulia picks up AZM and nails the Glorious Driver, cover by Giulia and she picks up the three count! Donna del Mondo are the new champions!

Its possible I loved this more than I should have, but man did I enjoy this match. Donna del Mondo just feel legitimately different and fresh in Stardom, which has a pretty set match structure they use throughout the card. Its a structure I enjoy, not really complaining, but when a group comes along and does things a bit different its a breath of fresh air. From Giulia cutting off AZM’s high speed segment, to Syuri cutting off the “taking turns” kicks with Momo, to just being dominate I thought everything clicked to make the group stand out. While I am afraid they will find some way to change them in the future, how they are currently being used is perfect. All six wrestlers looked good here even though not everyone got much of a chance to show off, with Utami in particular standing out on the Queen’s Quest team. The time just flew by as they kept the action going, and from start to finish its the most fun I’ve had watching a Stardom match in awhile. It probably won’t hold up in the long run, but watching it ‘in the moment’ I couldn’t think of a way to make it any better. Really great match.  Highly Recommended

(c) Arisa Hoshiki vs. Bea Priestley
Wonder of Stardom Championship

Bea won’t shake Arisa’s hand at the start of the match and instead immediately dropkicks her into the corner, elbows by Bea and she hits another dropkick for a two count. Bea grabs Arisa’s wrist and walks the ropes, but Arisa kicks her before she can do a move, sending to to the mat. Bea leaves the ring to re-group but returns after a moment, Irish whip by Arisa and she kicks Bea in the chest. Arisa walks on Bea’s midsection before hitting a double kneedrop, Irish whip by Arisa to the corner but Bea reverses it and hits a Backstabber for two. Bea picks up Arisa and hits a scoop slam, kick to the back by Bea and she chokes Arisa in the corner with her boot. Arisa fights back with elbows but Bea hits a dragon screw leg whip, she taunts Arisa and Arisa kicks her in the face. Arisa lays in the kicks while Bea is in the ropes, she wraps Bea’s arms around the second rope and goes out to the apron so she can kick her some more. Arisa returns to the ring and connects with a running kick to Bea’s back, Bea rolls out of the ring but Arisa goes out after her and hits the 1399 off the ropes to the floor. Arisa brings Bea back up onto the apron and applies a sleeper over the ropes before dragging her into the ring, she re-applies the choke but Bea gets a foot on the ropes for the break. Arisa kicks Bea before putting her in a leg lock, but again Bea gets to the ropes. Running knee to the head by Arisa, she goes off the ropes again but this time Bea catches her with a jumping knee. Cyclone neckbreaker by Bea, she puts Arisa in the corner and goes for the Queen’s Landing, but Arisa pushes her away.

Jumping Somato by Arisa, but Bea kicks out at two. Arisa goes for a kick but Bea ducks it and delivers a German suplex, she goes for a Regal Plex but Arisa blocks it and kicks her in the head. Arisa goes up top and hits the 1399, cover by Arisa but it gets a two count. Arisa goes for the Shining Star Cutter but Bea catches her before she can rebound off the ropes and delivers a German suplex. Bea goes off the ropes and knees Arisa in the back of the head, cover by Bea but Arisa gets a hand in the ropes. Bea applies an ankle hold, Arisa struggles but eventually gets to the ropes for the break. Bea stomps on Arisa and clubs her in the back, she runs to the corner to rebound out of it but Arisa catches her with a face crusher. Arisa grabs Bea by the wrists and knees her in the face, cover by Arisa but it gets a two count. Arisa goes for the Shining Impact but Bea moves out of the way and connects with a running knee of her own. They both slowly get up as they trade elbows, kick to the knee by Bea and she kicks Arisa in the side of the head for two. Bea picks up Arisa and delivers the Regal Plex, but Arisa gets a shoulder up. Bea knees Arisa in the back of the head as she starts to get up, she sets her up in the corner and kicks her in the face. Bea goes for the Queen’s Landing but Arisa reverses it with a front roll into a cradle. Back up, jumping knee by Bea and she goes for another knee, but Arisa catches it and hits a jumping knee of her own. Another jumping knee by Arisa, and she covers Bea for a two count. Arisa goes off the ropes and hits the Shining Star Cutter, she picks up Bea and drops her with the Brazilian Kick. Shining Impact by Arisa, and she covers Bea for the three count! Arisa Hoshiki wins and retains the championship.

This match was good but not without its issues. Bea and Arisa are both a bit… clunky sometimes, which isn’t the end of the world but when paired together there were some issues here and there with execution. Nothing earth-shattering, just little things like a move not being hit quite right or a spot looking awkward that can add up. Bea’s random ankle hold mid-way through the match just screamed “killing time” since she did no prior work on the leg, its one thing to do that to open a match but its different when its in the latter portion, it should mean something at that point. Still, when they were focusing on kneeing each other in the face they did well, and there was certainly a lot of that, and I think the fans really did buy into some of the nearfalls as they were very convincing. When they stuck to their strengths (throwing strikes mostly), it was good, but it didn’t reach the levels of some of Arisa’s recent title defenses.  Mildly Recommended

Mayu Iwatani vs. Takumi Iroha

After a feeling out process to start they trade wristlocks, Takumi works a headlock until Mayu Irish whips out of it. They end up at a stalemate, Takumi kicks Mayu in the midsection but she waits for Mayu to get up without taking advantage. Mayu charges Takumi but Takumi puts her in an armbar, Mayu gets the break in the ropes but Takumi keeps on the offense. Takumi wraps Mayu’s arm in the ropes and yanks on it as she stays focused on her limb, she pulls Mayu out of the ring and rams her shoulder-first into the ring post. Takumi slides Mayu back in and hits a double knee to her arm, Takumi goes off the ropes but Mayu catches her with a Sling Blade. Mayu goes off the ropes and dropkicks Takumi out of the ring, Mayu goes to the top turnbuckle and dives out of the ring onto Takumi. Mayu rolls Takumi back in and goes up top, but Takumi avoids her dive, they trade attempted attacks in the corner until Mayu rolls Takumi to the mat and hits a dropkick. Takumi kicks Mayu in the chest, Mayu gets back up so Takumi kicks her in the chest again. Mayu returns to her feet but she is greeted by more kicks. Dropkick by Takumi, she picks up Mayu and hits a snap vertical suplex for a two count.

Takumi goes off the ropes but Mayu dropkicks her in the knee, she goes off the ropes but Takumi grabs her arm and kicks it. Takumi dropkicks Mayu in the arm before putting her in a Fujiwara Armbar, but Mayu makes it to the ropes for the break. Mayu rolls out of the ring to attempt to regroup but returns after a moment just to eat more kicks, Takumi grabs Mayu around the waist and spins her around before nailing a German suplex hold for a two count. Powerbomb by Takumi, but that gets a two count as well, so Takumi quickly transitions into a Fujiwara Armbar. Mayu gets to the ropes for the break, Takumi goes up top and she delivers the Swanton Bomb for two. Takumi picks up Mayu and goes for the Running Three, but Mayu blocks it and cradles Takumi for two. Kick to the head by Mayu, she goes up top and hits the diving footstomp. Mayu goes up top again but Takumi recovers and kicks her in the head before she can jump off. Takumi joins Mayu up top and delivers a delayed superplex, Takumi waits for Mayu to return to her feet and kicks her in the chest. Mayu catches one of the kicks and hits a dragon screw, Scorpion Deathlock by Mayu but Takumi is too close to the ropes and makes it there to break the hold.

Mayu picks up Takumi but Takumi elbows her, Mayu elbows her back and they trade blows. Mayu ducks Takumi’s kick combination and hits a German suplex hold, getting a two count. Mayu goes up top and delivers the Frog Splash, but Takumi gets a shoulder up. Mayu goes up top again and nails the moonsault, but again Takumi kicks out. Mayu goes for a dragon suplex but Takumi grabs the ropes to block it, Mayu puts Takumi in the corner and goes for the Running Three, but Mayu slides away. Dodonpa by Mayu, but it gets two. Mayu goes for the Two Stage Dragon Suplex but Takumi blocks it, hard elbow by Takumi but Mayu fires back with a superkick. Head kick by Takumi and she drops Mayu with another powerbomb, Last Ride Powerbomb by Takumi but Mayu barely kicks out. Takumi sets up Mayu for the Running Three, but Mayu reverses it into a hurricanrana for a two count. Kick combination to the head by Takumi, but Mayu reverses her cover into one of her own for a two count. Back up, another head kick by Takumi and this time she nails the Running Three for the three count cover! Takumi Iroha is the winner.

The lasting memory from this match will be the last five minutes or so, when Takumi was just killing Mayu in a variety of entertaining ways. That’s not to say there was nothing good about the lead-up, as Takumi’s arm work was solid and Mayu had her fair share of offense so it wasn’t too one-side, but the last few minutes were just a clinic on how to put down an opponent. Mayu is very hard to pin, so it seemed perfectly reasonable that it would take a head kick, a powerbomb, a Last Ride, another kick combination, a head kick, and a Running Three within a couple minutes of each other to finally keep Mayu on the mat. Takumi carries herself as such a weapon that she feels different than anyone else in Stardom, she just has an aura to her and she delivers on that visual promise with her in-ring performances. She’d work out great in Stardom as a long term outsider since they don’t have anyone quite like her, but even if she just pops in a few times a year I won’t complain. A really entertaining match between two of the better wrestlers in Japan and a great way to end the event.  Highly Recommended

The post Stardom The Way To Major League on 2/8/20 Review appeared first on Joshi City.

Event: Stardom 9th Anniversary
Date: January 19th, 2020
Location: Korakuen Hall in Tokyo, Japan
Announced Attendance: 1,602

The Bushiroad Era has officially begun. Bushiroad purchased Stardom in the fall of 2019 but since they are doing a gradual transition, this event feels like the first one Bushiroad really had a major hand in, especially after Stardom wrestlers had a match at the Tokyo Dome a few weeks prior for added publicity. So this feels like the real start, and what a start it is. With the help of extra marketing and buzz, tonight’s attendance at Korakuen Hall is the most in recent memory for Stardom, with additional seats being opened up before the show. Its a stacked event, with three title matches and a special singles match between Kagetsu and Tam Nakano. Here is the full card:

• AZM vs. Starlight Kid vs. Zoey Skye
• Itsuki Hoshino, Saya Iida, and Saya Kamitani vs. Natsuko Tora, Natsu Sumire, and Saki Kashima
• Kagetsu vs. Tam Nakano
• Goddesses Of Stardom Championship: Jungle Kyona and Konami vs. Bea Priestley and Jamie Hayter
• Death Yama-san, Hana Kimura, and Leyla Hirsch vs. Giulia, Maika, and X
• Wonder Of Stardom Championship: Arisa Hoshiki vs. Utami Hayashishita
• World Of Stardom Championship: Mayu Iwatani vs. Momo Watanabe

A lot of potential for goodness. I am watching the Samurai TV! version of the show so some matches may be clipped. All wrestlers have profiles on the site, you can click on their names above to go straight to it.

AZM vs. Starlight Kid vs. Zoey Skye

After a quick test of strength they get into it, Starlight Kid is isolated first as AZM and Zoey work together. That is short-lived as Starlight Kid fights them off, double dropkick by Starlight Kid and she hits a Tiger Feint Kick on AZM. Standing moonsault by Starlight Kid, and she covers AZM for two. Starlight Kid picks up AZM and they have a strike exchange, AZM headscissors Starlight Kid into the turnbuckles before hitting a dropkick. Zoey gets on the apron and kicks AZM, she gets back in the ring and throws both opponents in opposite corners, hitting running strikes on both. Jawbreaker by Zoey to AZM, and she covers her for two. Zoey goes to the second turnbuckle but Starlight Kid recovers and joins her, AZM jumps up as well but Zoey pushes them both into a hanging position and hits a double footstomp on both of them for a two count cover. AZM and Starlight Kid go off the ropes, dropkick by Starlight Kid to Zoey and she avoid AZM’s sneak attack PK. Vertical suplex by AZM and she kicks Starlight Kid in the head, she goes to the top turnbuckle and hits a diving footstomp but Zoey breaks up the cover. Zoey grabs Starlight Kid and kicks her in the head, she goes off the ropes but AZM hits a tilt-a-whirl armbar into a cradle for the three count! AZM wins the match.

This was clipped but what they showed was fine. Starlight Kid was the star as she tends to be in her matches but no one looked out of place and they kept the action going at a quick pace. An enjoyable enough way to kick off the show, just not enough time given to get excited about.

Itsuki Hoshino, Saya Iida, and Kamitani vs. Natsuko Tora, Sumire, and Kashima

We join his one in progress, as Saki swats away Iida’s dropkick attempt. Stomps by Saki but Iida catches one and hulks up, chopping Saki in the chest repeatedly. Saki grabs Iida by the hair and flings her to the mat, Itsuki and Kamitani run in and dropkick Saki before Iida delivers a missile dropkick for two. Iida Bridge by Iida, but Saki kicks out at two. Natsuko comes in and spears both Kamitani and Itsuki, Natsu hits Iida with the board Saki boots her in the face. My Emblem by Saki, and she picks up the three count! Oedo Tai are the winners.

Well this was all clipped to hell, with eleven minutes taken down to two. Hard to really comment much with so little shown, but Saki Kashima was highlighted as expected. Not much to see here though, literally.

Kagetsu vs. Tam Nakano

They tie-up to start, armdrag by Kagetsu but Tam rolls away as they jockey for position on the mat. They reach a stalemate and return to their feet, kick by Kagetsu and she hits an armdrag. Tam returns the favor and Kagetsu rolls out of the ring to re-group, she gets back on the apron and spits water at Tam as she approaches her. Kagetsu pulls Tam out of the ring and throws her into the chairs at ringside, she quickly gets back into the ring and goes for a tope suicida, but Tam moves and she lands on Oedo Tai on accident. Tam goes up to the top turnbuckle and dives down onto Oedo Tai with a plancha suicida, she puts Kagetsu up on the apron and applies a Dragon Sleeper while sitting on the top turnbuckle. She lets go after a moment and delivers the Destiny Hammer, cover by Tam but it gets a two count. Tam picks up Kagetsu but Kagetsu elbows her off, she goes off the ropes but Tam catches her with a backdrop suplex. Kagetsu springs back to her feet and hits a kick combination, Ebisu Drop by Kagetsu and she goes to the top turnbuckle, but Tam recovers and joins her before she can jump off. Superplex by Tam but Kagetsu gets to her feet and hits a running knee, Tam fires back with a running knee of her own and both wrestlers are down on the mat.

They elbow each other as they slowly return to their feet, kick by Kagetsu and she goes off the ropes, but Tam catches her with a kick of her own. Two more kicks by Tam, she picks up Kagetsu around the waist and hits a German suplex hold for two. t gets Kagetsu up and hits a double underhook facebuster, but again Kagetsu kicks out. Tam gets Kagetsu’s back but Kagetsu slides away, she pushes Tam into the referee and spits red mist in her face. Tiger Suplex Hold by Kagetsu, but it only gets a two count. Ebisu drop by Kagetsu in front of the corner, she goes up top and nails the Oedo Coaster, but Tam gets a shoulder up on the cover. Kagetsu quickly picks up Tam and goes for the Death Valley Bomb, but Tam gets away and nails a roundhouse kick. Tiger Suplex Hold by Tam, but it gets a two. Tam goes off the ropes and delivers a trio of running knees, Tiger Suplex by Tam and she picks Kagetsu back up, debuting the Twilight Dream Suplex for the three count! Tam Nakano wins!

While I am not a huge fan of no-selling without a receipt, which Kagetsu did once here, overall I really enjoyed this. Tam has always been a fun wrestler but she hasn’t always been technically sound, being in Stardom as a regular for the last couple years has really helped her grow and she has started pulling everything together. Kagetsu is a machine and does everything with such precision; there may not be a tighter wrestler in Joshi than her just with her movements and execution. I wouldn’t have minded if the match was a longer but it was a fast paced and entertaining match, definitely worth a watch.  Recommended

(c) Jungle Kyona and Konami vs. Bea Priestley and Jamie Hayter
Goddesses of Stardom Championship

This one is Joined in Progress, with Jamie in the ring with Kyona. Elbows by Jamie in the corner and she hits a lariat, Jungle fires back with her own lariat but Jamie hits another one too as they go back and forth. Elbows by Jamie and she his a sidewalk slam onto her knee followed by a running knee. Falcon Arrow by Jamie, but Kyona kicks out of the cover. Jamie picks up Kyona and goes for a suplex, but Kyona blocks it and hits a vertical suplex of her own. Big lariat by Kyona, and the match clips ahead to Konami being in he ring with Bea as Konami gets on the top turnbuckle. Bea elbows her before she can jump off and joins her, but Kyona comes up from behind and hits Bea. Kyona slams Jamie on the mat, she then grabs Bea and powerbombs her onto Jamie’s head while Konami delivers a missile dropkick. Konami picks up Bea and hits a suplex, Buzzsaw Kick by Konami and she covers Bea for two.

Konami quickly applies an armlock which she switches to an armbar, Jamie tries to break it up but Kyona dropkicks her out of the ring. Konami rolls Bea around the ring while keeping the armbar applied, but Bea gets to the ropes for the break. Konami goes off the ropes but Jamie cuts her off with a lariat, she dumps Kyona out of the ring too before diving out onto both of them with a tope suicida. Jamie brings Konami onto the apron and goes for a side slam, but Konami blocks it. Bea jumps up to the top turnbuckle and hits her from behind, she gets back into the ring quickly with Konami and Jamie, and the Gaijin connect with a double strike to Konami. Knee to the back of the head by Bea, she gets Konami on her shoulders and nails the Queen’s Landing for the three count! Bea Priestley and Jamie Hayter are the new champions!

Samurai TV clipped this down by several minutes but what they showed was entertaining. I love Bea and Jamie so I have no issue with them winning the titles, and if it means more of Jamie in Stardom than that’s even better. Even in defeat, Kyona looked great and Konami was her usual sound self. I am sure this match was better in full, but at least everything they decided to show us looked pretty fun.

Death Yama-san, Hana Kimura, and Hirsch vs. Giulia, Maika, and Syuri Kondo

Death and Maika start the match, Death tries doing her shtick but Maika attacks her from behind and applies a wristlock. Death gets out of it and tags Hirsch while Syuri also tags in, Hirsch works a headlock which is reversed by Syuri. Hard shoulderblock by Syuri but Hirsch kips up, snapmare by Syuri and she kicks Hirsch in the back. Hirsch ducks the PK, they return to their feet both both miss their strike attempts. Giulia and Hana tag in and they immediately start trading elbows, they switch to trading boots until Death knees Giulia from the apron to give Hana the advantage. Hana boots Giulia out of the ring and goes out after her, as all six wrestlers brawl on the floor and into the crowd. Back in the ring, Death and Hana double team Giulia before Hana tags in Death as the legal wrestler. Giulia quickly gets back in control and chokes Death against the ropes, with her teammates lending a hand. Giulia tags in Maika, Maika stomps down Death in the corner, armdrags by Maika and she hits a monkey flip. Maika applies a Fujiwara Armbar but Death gets into the ropes, Syuri is tagged in and she kicks Death in the back.

All three members of Giulia’s team apply submission holds in the ring, they let go after a moment as the ring clears for Death and Syuri, with Syuri applying a hanging armbar over the top rope. Syuri gets back in the ring but Death chops her in the throat and makes the tag to Hana. Hana boots Syuri in the face twice, cover by Hana but it gets two. Hana grabs Syuri but Syuri blocks the suplex attempt, Giulia comes in and clubs on Hana but Hana dropkicks both of them. Death and Hirsch both come in the ring, TCS gets their opponents in opposite corners and all three take turns delivering running strikes. Dropkicks by Tokyo Cyber Squad, and they pose in the ring while their opponents are slumped in the corner. Hana grabs Syuri and hits a vertical suplex, cover by Hana but it gets a two count. Hana goes off the ropes but Syuri kicks her in the stomach and hits a half hatch suplex. PK by Syuri, and she covers Hana for two.

Syuri tags in Giulia, Giulia goes to the top turnbuckle and delivers a missile dropkick. Maika comes in too but Hana rams them into each other, she goes off the ropes but Maika hits her with a face crusher. Giulia applies a crossface but it gets quickly broken up, Giulia picks up Hana but Hana slides away from her and Giulia eats a double DDT. Boot by Hana and she covers Giulia, but the cover is broken up. Hana puts Giulia in the Ground Manjikatame, but Giulia gets into the ropes for the break. Giulia recovers and boots Hana, Hana rolls to her corner and tags in Hirsch. Giulia and Hirsch trade elbows until Hirsch hits a release German, running knee by Hirsch and she hits a moonsault for a two count. Hirsch applies a cross armbreaker but Syuri breaks it up, Syuri and Maika clear the ring before double teaming Hirsch. Knee by Giulia to Hirsch, she picks her back up and nails the Glorious Driver for the three count! Giulia, Maika, and Syuri are the winners!

This was a good way to introduce a new group, although I wouldn’t necessarily say the match was great. Hirsch felt out of place during some of her spots, and disappeared for long stretches. That’s not to say she isn’t a fine wrestler, but probably without a lot of prior experience with this batch of wrestlers there were definitely some chemistry issues here and there. Maika was better but she is only in her first year of wrestling, so really it was up to the other four to carry things. They needed to make it 3 vs. 3 to form the new faction, but for match-quality purposes it would have worked better with just four of them. Hana and Giulia looked great however, with Hana in particular standing out. Both groups also worked together well, which is a plus. The beginning and the end were a little awkward at times but the middle portion was well done, and I think they accomplished their goal of introducing two new wrestlers to Stardom fans.  Mildly Recommended

(c) Arisa Hoshiki vs. Utami Hayashishita
Wonder of Stardom Championship

Arisa asks for a knucklelock to start but Utami kicks her instead, Arisa pulls Utami by the hair and elbows her, but Utami elbows Arisa back and the two trade blows. Dropkick to the back by Utami and she kicks Arisa into the corner, snapmare by Utami and she kicks Arisa in the back. Irish whip by Utami to the corner and she hits a running elbow, she tosses Arisa to the mat before kicking her for a two count cover. Neck crank by Utami but Arisa wiggles to the ropes and makes it for the break. Utami picks up Arisa and hits a scoop slam, she goes off the ropes but Arisa catches her with a pump kick followed by a high kick and a jumping knee. Utami rolls out of the ring but Arisa goes out after her, she rams Utami’s head into the apron, busting her head open in the process. The referee gets Utami a towel as he checks on Utami’s cut, but she is deemed to be ok as Arisa nails her with a 1399 off the ropes down to the floor.

Arisa returns to the ring with the bloody Utami slowly following, mounted punches by Arisa and she punches her again as they get to their feet. Cover by Arisa, but the referee won’t count (probably due to all the illegal punches). Back up, Arisa goes for a kick but Utami ducks it and applies a sleeper. Arisa switches positions with her and applies a choke, but Utami gets into the ropes for the break. Kick by Arisa but Utami ducks the next one, she goes for a suplex but Arisa elbows out of it. They trade blows before Arisa hits a high kick, she springboards off the ropes but Utami catches her with a release German suplex. German suplex hold by Utami, but it gets a two count. Utami picks up Arisa and puts her in an Argentine Backbreaker, Arisa slides away but Utami puts her in a hanging submission. Schwein by Utami, but Arisa kicks out of the cover. She goes for the backbreaker again but Arisa gets away and applies a Cobra Clutch, she lets go before Utami can reach the ropes and kicks her in the head.

Arisa goes for the Shining Star Cutter but Utami grabs her around the waist to block it, sleeper hold by Utami and she goes off the ropes but Arisa catches her with a jumping knee. Arisa goes up to the top turnbuckle and delivers the 1399, cover by Arisa but it gets two. Running knee by Arisa, she goes off the ropes but again Utami blocks the Shining Star Cutter attempt and puts Arisa in the Argentine Backbreaker. She slides her to the front and hits the German suplex hold, but Arisa kicks out at two. Utami picks up Arisa and sits her on the second rope, she goes for a suplex but Arisa knocks her back and finally hits the Shining Star Cutter. Arisa waits for Utami to get to her knees and plants her with a Shining Impact, she lifts her up instead of completing the cover and nails her with the Brazilian Kick for the three count! Arisa Hoshiki wins and retains the championship.

I strongly feel that blood helps most matches (unless it is just overdone on a given event) and I think that was the case here as well. Everything just feels more real when a wrestler with blood running down their face starts making their comeback, its an image that sparks more emotion than most other situations in wrestling. Without that added drama, this was a good match but probably on the lower end of Arisa’s recent big matches. I actively dislike the Shining Star Cutter in any variation and this match showed why, as she kept going for it at bad times and when she finally did ‘hit’ the move, she didn’t hit it cleanly and it was just a rough looking spot. Everything else in the match was smooth at least, and while Utami is still working on some things she showed the fire here that you’d expect from a young challenger. Arisa being extra vicious (such as pulling Utami up after the Shining Impact) was a bit puzzling as normally she’s a pretty pure babyface, but maybe seeing blood just got her excited too. Overall a fun match, not a high-end one but entertaining nonetheless.  Recommended

(c) Mayu Iwatani vs. Momo Watanabe
World of Stardom Championship

They circle each other to start, Mayu gets Momo’s waist but Momo trips her as they jockey for position on the mat. Momo applies a kneelock but Mayu gets into the ropes for the break, Momo picks up Mayu and starts working on her arm. Kick to the arm by Momo but Mayu cradles her, she goes for a dropkick but Momo moves and applies a modified double armbar. Mayu eventually gets to the ropes, she gets out of the ring but Momo goes up to the top turnbuckle and dives out to the floor with a Diving Somato. Momo gets back into the ring but gets tired of waiting for Mayu so she goes out to get her, dropkick by Momo in the corner and she hits a side slam followed by a knee to the back of the head. Running Somato by Momo, but Mayu kicks out of the cover. Momo picks up Mayu  and drops her with the B Driver, but that gets a two count as well. Momo goes up to the top turnbuckle but Mayu grabs her from behind before she can jump off, she goes for a powerbomb but Momo slides away. Mayu blocks Momo’s suplex attempt and kicks her in the head, dragon suplex by Mayu but Momo quickly recovers and hits a tiger suplex.

Both wrestlers are down on the mat, they trade elbows as they return to their feet, Dodonpa by Mayu but Momo kicks out of the cover. Mayu goes up to the top turnbuckle but Momo avoids the moonsault and kicks Mayu in the head. Momo gets on the second turnbuckle and hits a Diving Somato, she goes up top and hits another Diving Somato for a two count cover. Momo locks up Mayu and hits a release Tequila Sunrise, she nails the Peach Sunrise but Mayu barely kicks out of the cover. Momo picks up Mayu and delivers a double wrist-clutch suplex hold, but that gets a two count as well. Momo picks up Mayu and puts her on the second turnbuckle, she goes for another suplex but Mayu blocks it and his a reverse hurricanrana. Mayu quickly goes up top and hits a Frog Splash, but she only gets two. She goes up top again and this time delivers a moonsault, but again Momo kicks out of the cover. DDT by Mayu and she hits a tombstone piledriver, she nails the Two Stage Dragon Suplex Hold and she picks up the three count! Mayu Iwatani wins and retains the championship.

Post match: During the usual promo work after a big match, Bea came down in support of her faction teammate Momo Watanabe, but instead of helping her she kneed her in the head. She then announced that she was joining Oedo Tai, as the group came into the ring and celebrated with her. At the end as Mayu was closing the show, Sareee showed up on the screen in a recorded video, challenging Mayu to a match!

This match was clipped by Samurai TV but I think it was mostly mat work that we missed and nothing too critical. A great match between these two, and I hope Momo’s rumored demotion from the top tier in Stardom doesn’t come true as she may be the best wrestler on the roster (and is only 19 years old). The chemistry these two have is off the charts, everything else on the card felt pretty fluid but Momo and Mayu took it to another level as they put on a masterclass. Momo showed how important the match was to her with the Diving Somato out of the ring, which looked great, and the match had the fast past action you’d expect from Mayu. My only small quibble is that Momo went through all her finishers (including the Peach Sunrise), making it unclear in the home stretch how Momo would have even won the match since she had already emptied her arsenal instead of keeping a big move in her pocket. Still, that is more excusable in a Korakuen Hall main event title match as wrestlers tend to go all out and kick out of things that normally work. I’m not sure if they quite reached that “must see” MOTYC level but it was critically close, and either way a fitting ending to a quality Korakuen Hall show.  Highly Recommended

The post Stardom 9th Anniversary on 1/19/20 Review appeared first on Joshi City.

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

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

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

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

AZM and Utami Hayashishita vs. Itsuki Hoshino and Saya Iida

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

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

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

Andras Miyagi vs. Riho

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

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

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

Leyla Hirsch vs. Starlight Kid

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

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

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

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

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

Kagetsu vs. Giulia

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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