Now this should be a better event than the Stardom show I reviewed from the week before. There are a lot of possibilities for goodness here, as we get the amazing Kay Lee Ray in a title match plus the return of The Icon Mayu Iwatani! The main event is a big ten woman elimination match, with the last wrestler to be pinned for her team being kicked out of their faction. High stakes indeed. Here is the full card:

• Hanan, Shiki Shibusawa, and Starlight Kid vs. Hiromi Mimura, Konami, and Ruaka
• Jungle Kyona, Kaori Yoneyama, and Natsuko Tora vs. Miranda, Nicole Savoy, and Xia Brookside
• High Speed Championship: Mary Apache vs. Kay Lee Ray
• Mayu Iwatani vs. Rachael Ellering
• Elimination Tag Team Gauntlet Match: AZM, HZK, Io Shirai, Watanabe, and Viper vs. Hana Kimura, Kagetsu, Kris Wolf, Natsu Sumire, and Tam Nakano

I am watching the Samurai TV version of this match, as if I watch another full Stardom rookie match I will literally die. Plus I like the replays. All the wrestlers above have profiles on Joshi City, you can click on their names to go straight to it. Onto the fun!

Hanan, Shiki Shibusawa, and Starlight Kid vs. Hiromi Mimura, Konami, and Ruaka

Shiki and Hiromi start the match, dropkick by Shiki but Hiromi hits an armdrag and puts Shiki in a stretch hold. Shiki’s friends run in to help and triple team Shiki in the corner, they put Hiromi into the ropes to attack her some more but she manages to tag in Konami. Shiki teams in Hanan and Hanan gets all three of her opponents to the mat, standing moonsault by Starlight Kid and she hits Konami with a Tiger Feint Kick. Konami gets Hanan to the mat and goes for a triangle choke, but it is quickly broken up. Hanan tags in Starlight Kid but Konami kicks her in the head, cover by Konami but it gets two. Konami hits a vertical suplex and tags in Ruaka, Ruaka boots Starlight Kid in the corner and boots her in the chest for a two count. Ruaka picks up Starlight Kid but the fisherman suplex is blocked and Ruaka hits a reverse STO. Hiromi comes in and dropkicks Starlight Kid, Ruaka comes in and she hits a fisherman suplex hold onto Starlight Kid for two. Ruaka picks up Starlight Kid but Starlight Kid rolls her up for two, dropkick by Starlight Kid and Shiki hits a missile dropkick. Standing moonsault by Starlight Kid on Ruaka, but Ruaka barely gets a shoulder up. Cyclone suplex by Starlight Kid, Konami and Hiromi come in but they quickly get cleared out. Starlight Kid goes up top and nails the Frog Splash on Ruaka, and she picks up the three count! Hanan, Shiki Shibusawa, and Starlight Kid win!

They did as well as could be expected, as they kept the speed up with very limited downtime/silliness (except when Hiromi Mimura was around). Not as much was clipped as I was expecting but what they showed was perfectly fine. I’ll give Konami much of the credit since she by far was the best person in this match, but everyone played their roles well. Not bad for an opener.

Jungle Kyona, Yoneyama, and Natsuko Tora vs. Miranda, Savoy, and Xia Brookside

Team Jungle attacks before the bell rings, Xia is isolated in the ring until Savoy runs in to help even the odds. Savoy slams Natsuko before suplexing Kaori onto her, she then grabs Miranda and tosses her onto Natsuko for extra measure. Xia and Kaori stay in as the legal wrestlers, chop to the throat by Kaori and she connects with the running senton. Kaori tags in Natsuko but Xia drops her with a headscissors, knee by Xia in the corner and she slams Natsuko’s face into the mat. Dropkick by Xia, and she covers Natsuko for two. Xia tags in Savoy, butterfly suplex by Savoy and she hits a gutwrench suplex onto Natsuko. Natsuko quickly rolls up Savoy but it only gets a two, Savoy boots Natsuko but Natsuko hits a running shoulder tackle in the corner. She goes for the spear but Savoy catches her and hits a suplex, Savoy picks up Natsuko but Natsuko hits a back bodydrop. Spear by Natsuko and she makes the hot tag to Kyona, Kyona shoulderblocks Savoy and goes up to the second turnbuckle, but Savoy avoids the bodypress. Sliding Kick by Savoy, but Kyona kicks out of the cover. Knees by Savoy to the midsection and she delivers a backdrop suplex, Savoy tags in Miranda while Xia comes in as well. Kyona is triple teamed, ending with a satellite roll-up by Miranda of sorts for a two count. Miranda picks up Kyona and hits an enzuigiri, cutter by Miranda but Kyona barely kicks out of the cover. Miranda picks up Kyona but Kyona levels her with a lariat, Savoy and Xia come in but so does Natsuko and she spears both of them. Kaori comes in as Miranda is now isolated, Hammerthrow Powerbomb by Kyona on Miranda and she picks up the three count! Team Jungle are the winners.

Just a short fun midcard match. I will say that Xia was really fired up and Savoy looked good with her suplexes. No surprise that Team Jungle won, no reason for them not to since Miranda is basically in Stardom for this tour to eat pins. Not long enough to get excited about but fine for what it was.

(c) Mary Apache vs. Kay Lee Ray
High Speed Championship

They get right into it, as KLR springboards off the ropes, but Apache moves and knocks her to the mat. Camel Clutch by Apache, she picks up KLR and swings her around in the Gory Special but KLR gets away and rolls her up for two. KLR rolls Apache to the mat and kicks her in the chest, KLR elbows Apache but Apache elbows her back and they trade blows. Heel Kick by Apache, they trade elbows again until Apache slams KLR to the mat with a spinebuster. Mexican Surfboard by Apache but KLR spins out of it and applies a choke. Apache goes off the ropes but KLR trips her and slides out of the ring, she pulls Apache up on the apron but Apache knocks her down and puts KLR in a Surfboard while still on the apron. Apache picks up KLR but KLR superkicks her down to the floor, KLR gets a running start in the ring and sails out onto Apache with a tope suicida. Apache stands up but KLR dives out onto her again, KLR goes up top and dives onto Apache a third time with a cannonball. KLR slides Apache back into the ring, she goes off the ropes and dropkicks Apache in the chest for a two count. Gory Bomb by KLR, but Apache kicks out of the cover. KLR puts Apache in a submission, but Apache wiggles to the ropes and forces the break. KLR chops Apache and goes off the ropes, but Apache catches her with a sit-down powerbomb for two. Apache gets on the top turnbuckle and delivers a diving heel kick, Apache picks up KLR and drops her with a Michinoku Driver II for the three count! Mary Apache retains the championship.

While I wouldn’t have minded if the match was a bit longer, it was still entertaining. KLR is a pleasure to watch, she’s such a firecracker and flies around the ring like few other female wrestlers can. Apache is more old school but really solid as well, her submissions are always on point and she doesn’t mind dropping people on their heads if necessary to pick up victories. I loved KLR going the reckless route since Apache was stronger, and even though it didn’t work out she came out of the match looking strong. A really solid midcard championship match.  Recommended

Mayu Iwatani vs. Rachael Ellering

They lock-up to start, Rachael pushes Mayu into the ropes and she gives a clean break. They trade shoves, wristlock by Rachael but Mayu rolls out of it and reverses the hold. Snapmare by Rachael and she puts Mayu in a headlock, Mayu elbows out of it and she delivers a dropkick. Elbows by Mayu and she dropkicks Rachael again, she goes off the ropes but Rachael boots Mayu in the face. Rachael stomps on Mayu’s still wrapped up arm, she pulls Mayu’s arm while it is in the ropes and continues to focus on it with kicks. Rachael picks up Mayu, superkick by Mayu and she dropkicks Rachael while she is against the ropes. Rachael falls out of the ring, Mayu goes up top and she dives out onto Rachael with a plancha suicida. Mayu slides Rachael back into the ring, she goes up top again and delivers a missile dropkick for a two count. Mayu picks up Rachael and goes for the dragon suplex, but Rachael blocks it and boots Mayu in the head. Spinebuster by Rachael, she charges Mayu and hits a jumping elbow. Another elbow by Rachael and she hits a scoop slam, slingshot leg drop out of the corner and Rachael covers Mayu for two. Rachael picks up Mayu but Mayu hits a crucifix slam, she charges Rachael but Rachael takes off her head with a lariat. Swinging Side Slam by Rachael, but Mayu barely kicks out. Rachael picks up Mayu but Mayu gets away and hits a German suplex, she goes up top and delivers the diving footstomp. Mayu kicks Rachael in the head, another high kick by Mayu and she nails her dragon suplex hold for the three count! Mayu Iwatani wins!

It is so nice to have Mayu Iwatani back, she is such an important part of Stardom now and cards have been noticeably lacking something during her time away. Mayu makes matches exciting just by being her natural self, such as bumping like a crazy person and showing so much emotion. For her part, Rachael was pretty great here too and executed her moves in such a way that I almost was sold on the idea she could win the match. Just almost of course, but it was a very back and forth match with both getting a chance to show off. I am not sure if this match was super great or if I just missed Mayu, but either way I was really entertained by this one. Definitely worth a watch.  Recommended

Queen’s Quest (Io, AZM, HZK, Viper, and Momo) vs. Oedo Tai (Kris, Sumire, Kagetsu, Hana, and Tam)
Elimination Tag Team Gauntlet Match

AZM vs. Kris Wolf – We start with the recently injured Kris against the youngest wrestler in the match, Kris charges AZM and hits a knee, but AZM rolls her up for the three count! Kris Wolf is eliminated and Queen’s Quest is up 5-4.

AZM vs. Natsu Sumire – Natsu quickly runs into the match and starts beating on AZM, she put AZM in the ropes and all the members of Oedo Tai attack her. The cheating continues as the referee has already lost control, Natsu gets some water in her mouth and spits it down onto AZM. AZM slides behind Natsu and tries to throw her over the top rope to the floor, but Natsu lands on the apron. AZM tries to kick Natsu off but Natsu slides back into the ring and lariats AZM to the mat. Knees by Natsu but AZM fights back with an elbow as they trade blows, they both go off the ropes until Natsu boots AZM in the face for two. A Cutie Special gets a two count for Natsu as well, she picks up AZM but AZM cradles her for a two count. AZM charges Natsu but Natsu catches her and nails the Yoran (cradle DDT) for the three count! AZM is eliminated and the teams are tied 4-4.

Natsu Sumire vs. Io Shirai – Hard elbow by Io, she goes after Natsu but Natsu grabs the top rope to get a break. Natsu wastes some time and lays down on the mat, Io covers her but Natsu quickly rolls up Io for two. Natsu goes for the Yoran but Io blocks it and applies an armtrap crossface, Natsu rolls out of it but Io knees her in the head. Io drags up Natsu and slams her on front of the corner, she goes for the moonsault but Natsu recovers and tries to push Io from the top to the floor, which would eliminate her. Io holds onto the top rope as Natsu tries to pry her fingers off, Natsu goes to charge at Io but Io skins the cat before Natsu reaches her. Dragon screw by Io and she puts Natsu in the Texas Cloverleaf. Natsu struggles for a quick moment but has to tap out! Natsu is eliminated and Queen’s Quest is up 4-3.

Io Shirai vs. Kagetsu – They feel each other out and end up grappling on the mat, but neither gets a clear advantage. Irish whip by Io but Kagetsu shoulderblocks her down, she goes off the ropes but Io avoids her charge and does a backflip into a dropkick. Io goes to pick up Kagetsu but Kagetsu slams her into the corner, running elbow by Kagetsu and she hits a vertical suplex for two. Kagetsu picks up Io and goes off the ropes, but Io catches her with a hurricanrana for a two count. Kick attempts by Kagetsu but Io blocks them, palm strike by Io but Kagetsu blocks the double underhook facebuster. Io flips away from Kagetsu and hits a German suplex hold, but Kagetsu gets a shoulder up. Io goes for the Texas Cloverleaf but Kagetsu quickly gets to the ropes for the break, running double knee by Io in the corner and she hits the double underhook facebuster. Io goes up top but Tam Nakano hits her with a sign before she can jump off, Kagetsu then dropkicks Io off the top turnbuckle down onto the apron. Io gets up on the apron but Kagetsu dropkicks her as she tries to return to the ring, Kagetsu picks up Io while still in the ring but Io hits a palm strike. Tiger Feint Kick by Io while she is still on the apron, she goes to springboard back into the ring, but Kagetsu spits blue mist at her face. Kagetsu then slides out to the apron and chokeslams Io off the apron down onto the floor (and a mob of wrestlers), giving her the win! Io Shirai is eliminated and the match is tied 3-3.

Kagetsu vs. Viper – Kagetsu immediately goes for the chokeslam but it doesn’t work, Viper throws Kagetsu into the corner but Kagetsu avoids her charge and applies a few flash pins for two counts. Viper returns the favor but also gets a two, kick by Kagetsu but Viper catches the next one and hits a backdrop suplex. Viper goes off the ropes but Kagetsu avoids the senton, she gets on the second turnbuckle but Viper catches her hurricanrana attempt and powerbombs Kagetsu to the mat for a two count. Natsu gets on the apron to distract the referee while the rest of Oedo Tai sneaks into the ring to attack Viper. It doesn’t help for long as Viper is quickly back in control, she goes off the ropes but Kagetsu spits water in her face. Kagetsu jumps up to the top turnbuckle but Viper runs into the ropes to send Kagetsu out onto the apron. Kagetsu tries to springboard back in the ring but Viper knocks her back to the apron, Kagetsu almost falls out but Oedo Tai catches her and pushes her back to safety. Viper also almost tumbles out but she catches herself, and both wrestlers end up safely back in the ring. Viper picks up Kagetsu but she gets away, running crossbody by Viper and she delivers the senton followed by a low crossbody for a two count cover. Viper picks up Kagetsu but Kagetsu gets away and kicks Viper in the head. Ebisu Drop by Kagetsu, but Viper gets a shoulder up on the cover. Kagetsu positions Viper and goes up top, but Viper avoids the Oedo Coaster. Viper picks up Kagetsu and headbutts her repeatedly, Viper Driver by Viper but the bell rings before she can make the cover, as time has expired. Both wrestlers are eliminated, and the match is tied at 2-2.

Hana Kimura vs. HZK – Hana and HZK trade elbows as soon as the bell rings, HZK goes off the ropes but Hana catches her with a dropkick. Hana picks up HZK and they pull each other’s hair, Hana goes off the ropes and she pulls HZK down to the mat. Stomps by Hana and she knees HZK against the ropes before connecting with a running boot. Cover by Hana, but it gets a two. Hana picks up HZK and hits a delayed vertical suplex, she goes to the second turnbuckle but HZK recovers and hits a Codebreaker. Now HZK gets on the second turnbuckle and delivers the diving senton, HZK slams Hana to the mat and covers her for a two count. HZK charges Hana but Hana avoids the pump kick and pushes HZK onto the apron. Hana tries to boot HZK to the floor but HZK moves and she pulls Hana out onto the apron with her. Hana and HZK trade elbows on the apron, Hana goes for a suplex but HZK blocks it. Hana puts HZK on the second turnbuckle but HZK kicks her back and nails a sunset flip powerbomb down to the floor! Hana is hurt and both wrestlers are eliminated, as we are down to the last members of each team.

Momo Watanabe vs. Tam Nakano – The loser of this pairing must leave their respective faction. After a stare down they trade strikes, snapmare by Tam and she kicks Momo in the back. Momo returns the favor, more kicks by Momo and she covers Tam for two. Momo kicks Tam into the corner and delivers a dropkick, she goes for a second one but Tam moves out of the way and hits a dropkick of her own. Irish whip by Tam and she hits the Space Rolling Elbow followed by a running cutter, kicks by Tam and she dropkicks Momo in the chest. Senton by Tam, and she covers Momo for a two count. Elbows by Tam but Momo dropkicks her, vertical suplex by Momo and she holds down Tam for two. Momo gets Tam on her back but Tam rolls out of the hold, high kicks by Tam and she finishes Momo with a spinning head kick. Another spinning kick by Tam, but Momo kicks out of the cover. Kicks to the chest by Tam, she goes for another high kick but Momo ducks this time and delivers two high kicks of her own. Somato by Momo, but when she goes for the cover, Tam reverses it into her own pin attempt for two. Momo picks up Tam and slaps her, she goes up to the second turnbuckle and nails the diving Somato for the three count! Queen’s Quest wins the match and Tam Nakano must leave Oedo Tai!

That was a hell of a match, and there is a lot to digest. First, I should note that since I watched the Samurai TV version, some parts were clipped with Viper/Kagetsu’s portion being the most notable. But top to bottom this was an enjoyable match with the Kagetsu/Io pairing being the highlight. Both are just so good and I loved the ending with Io getting the mist (I’m a sucker for mist in matches, its one of my weaknesses). I can’t say I loved the Hana/HZK ending, not because it was dangerous since I enjoy dangerous spots, but it didn’t make a lot of sense for HZK to intentionally eliminate herself. That was the only real logic fail of the match though, as everyone else acted as one would expect in a match with such high stakes. Momo/Tam wasn’t quite as good as I was hoping, Tam is a great character but is a bit hit-and-miss in the ring while Momo is still working off some rust, but the emotion was there anyway. Top to bottom a really entertaining match, not without its flaws but as a package deal a quality effort by all involved.  Recommended

The post Stardom 7th Anniversary on 1/21/18 Review appeared first on Joshi City.

It is that time of the month again that Stardom has aired on Samurai TV and we catch up on what they are up to. While I don’t currently have the time/desire to watch all of Stardom’s smaller events, they really do their best to stack their Korakuen Hall shows. This one is a bit more iffy because the current crop of Gaijins are a bit more iffy, but there are still some big matches. Plus, this will be my first time seeing Sumire Natsu since she started in Stardom, I wasn’t ever really impressed with her in WAVE but in a new promotion and with a new attitude anything can happen. Here is the full card:

• Hanan vs. Ruaka
• Jungle Kyona, Kaori Yoneyama, and Natsuko Tora vs. Konami, Shiki Shibusawa, and Starlight Kid
• Kris Wolf vs. Momo Watanabe
• AZM and HZK vs. Chardonnay and Scarlett
• Hiromi Mimura vs. Sumire Natsu
• Goddesses Of Stardom Championship: Hana Kimura and Kagetsu vs. Bea Priestley and Kelly Klein
• Wonder Of Stardom Championship: Yoko Bito vs. Io Shirai

Since I am watching the Samurai TV version, I assume the undercard will be mercifully clipped. Per usual, all wrestlers above have a profile on Joshi City, you can click on their names above to go straight to it.

Hanan vs. Ruaka

They lock right up to start, trading holds and elbows until Ruaka hits a reverse STO. Ruaka goes off the ropes but Hanan does too and cradles her for a two count, charging STO by Hanan but that gets a two count as well. Big Boot by Ruaka and a second one, she hits the Fisherman Suplex Hold and picks up the three count! Ruaka wins!

This was only a four minute or so match but was clipped in half from that, probably just highlighting the bigger moves in the match. Sometimes these two can have some awkward moments but none here, so either they were clipped out or they are improving. Just a standard Stardom rookie match, nothing particularly memorable was shown.

Kyona, Yoneyama, and Natsuko Tora vs. Konami, Shiki Shibusawa, and Starlight Kid

We join the match very much in progress, with Natsuko and Shiki getting hot tags to become the legal wrestler. Natsuko and Shiki trade elbows, face crusher by Shiki and she puts Natsuko in a headscissors armbar. It quickly gets broken up but all six wrestlers end up in the ring, Team Jungle throws their opponents into each other before hitting body avalanches. Kyona, Kaori, and Natsuko go up top but all three are knocked off before they can jump, leaving Natsuko isolated in the ring. Natsuko is triple teamed in the corner, cover by Shiki but it gets a two count. Shiki gets on the second turnbuckle and hits a missile dropkick, she goes all the way up the next time but Natsuko avoids the second missile dropkick. Running knee by Natsuko, but Shiki gets her shoulder up on the cover. Natsuko picks up Shiki but Shiki sneaks in an inside cradle for two, Konami comes in to help and Shiki cradles Natsuko for another two count. Kaori and Kyona come in and clear the ring, Kaori hits a diving senton with Kyona following with a diving body press off the second turnbuckle. Natsuko then hits a diving body press off the top turnbuckle, and she covers Shiki for the three count. Team Jungle is victorious.

Even in heavily clipped form, they had some minor communication issues. Shiki isn’t very smooth and probably never will be, I see her more likely going the Hiromi Mimura route than ever elevating all the way up the card. Not enough shown to really give an opinion on, but I did like how Team Jungle worked together.

Kris Wolf vs. Momo Watanabe

Momo dropkicks Kris right as the match starts, Momo stomps on Kris and whips her down by the arm. Irish whip by Momo but Kris springboards away and avoids her dropkick. They trade armdrags before reaching a stalemate, Momo asks for a handshake but Kris won’t return the gesture so they go back to trading holds. Snapmare by Momo and she kicks Kris repeatedly in the back, Tam gets on the apron but Kris knocks her back to the floor by accident. Momo kicks Kris in the back but Kris avoids her next kick and hits a dragon screw. Crab hold by Kris but Momo gets out of it and kicks her in the chest, more kicks by Momo but Kris gets back in control. Kris puts Momo against the ropes but Momo avoids her charge, Momo runs at Kris but Kris catches her leg on the second rope and kicks it. Kris goes for a running kick but Momo ducks it, vertical suplex by Momo but it gets a two count. Enzuigiri by Kris and she hits a suplex, but Momo kicks out of the cover. Kris goes up top but Momo dropkicks the top rope to send her back to the mat, Somato by Momo but Kris rolls through it for a two count. Kris goes off the ropes but Momo dropkicks her, Mom charges Kris in the corner but Kris moves out of the way. Momo jumps up to the second turnbuckle and hits a missile dropkick, diving Somato by Momo and she picks up the three count! Momo Watanabe is your winner.

Momo’s injury last January came at the worst time for her, as she was finally hitting her stride and putting everything together. She looked a little rusty here, some shaky transitions, but I’m sure she’ll get back into it once she gets a few more matches in. The “high speed” sections Kris does so well weren’t too high speed in this case, but they worked together well and have good chemistry. Kris is fun to watch and it was an important win for Momo so she can continue moving up the card like she was late last year. A good match with solid action, but I expect to see more from Momo shortly.  Mildly Recommended

AZM and HZK vs. Chardonnay and Scarlett

Scarlett and HZK start the match but AZM comes in to take HZK’s place, AZM kicks Scarlett while she is dancing and goes off the ropes before hitting a hurricanrana. AZM poses to the crowd but Scarlett attacks her from behind, hip toss by Scarlett and she hits a scoop slam followed by a senton for a two count. Scarlett goes off the ropes but AZM trips her, HZK runs in and she dropkicks Scarlett in the head. AZM tags in HZK, bootscrapes by HZK but Scarlett recovers and the two trade elbows. Scarlett gets the better of the exchange and she hits HZK some hip attacks, cover by Scarlett but it gets two. Snapmare by Scarlett and she knees HZK in the back of the head, but that gets a two count as well. Scarlett finally tags in Chardonnay, Chardonnay rams HZK into Scarlett’s and hits a lariat followed by a dropkick. Body avalanche by Scarlett in the corner and Chardonnay hits one as well, hip attack by Scarlett and they both suplex HZK. Chardonnay goes off the ropes and boots HZK, but HZK responds with a pump kick and makes the hot tag to AZM. AZM dropkicks Chardonnay and Scarlett, hanging armbar by AZM and she schoolboys Chardonnay for a two count. AZM goes off the ropes and applies a tilt-a-whirl schoolboy, but she gets another two. Chardonnay catches AZM and hits a backbreaker, double underhook suplex by Chardonnay and she covers AZM, but HZK breaks it up. Scarlett comes in and hits a modified brainbuster onto HZK, scissors kick by Chardonnay to AZM but AZM gets a shoulder up. Chardonnay picks up AZM and puts her on the top turnbuckle, London Tower by Chardonnay and she picks up the three count! Chardonnay and Scarlett win!

I will say that this was better than I was expecting. That’s not to say it was great, the wrestler quality was going to be a bit of a blockade, but they worked well within their limitations and there weren’t any noticeable miscommunications. Chardonnay and Scarlett have a fair amount of ass-based offense and controlled the action, but HZK and AZM’s comebacks were well done and the match flowed along without any hiccups. I wouldn’t say it was a good match necessarily, but it was definitely watchable.

Hiromi Mimura vs. Sumire Natsu

Sumire beats down Hiromi to start but Hiromi dropkicks her back, sending her out of the ring. Hiromi goes out after her and gets up on the stage, but Sumire elbows her as she comes back to the floor. Sumire throws Hiromi back on the stage but she talks too much, giving Hiromi a chance to recover and hit a diving crossbody. Back to the ring, Sumire takes back over and even gets a chance to drink some water in the ring before drooling it onto Hiromi’s face. Bronco Buster by Sumire and she elbows Hiromi, but Hiromi keeps getting back up. Knee by Sumire and she boots Hiromi in the head, but Hiromi delivers a DDT. Acid Drop by Hiromi and she dropkicks Sumire, covering her for a two count. A La Magistral by Hiromi also gets two, she goes up top but Sumire avoids her diving crossbody. Hiromi cradles Sumire and they trade flash pins, with Tam providing some assistance from ringside. Tam elbows Hiromi, cover by Sumire with her feet on the ropes, but the referee notices. Bodyscissors roll-up by Hiromi for two, boot by Sumire and she hits a bridging suplex. Shining Wizard by Sumire, she picks up Hiromi and delivers a capture DDT for the three count! Sumire Natsu is the winner.

This wasn’t totally bad which is about as positive as I can be. The beginning of the match was weird and didn’t get them off to the best start, and Sumire is far from convincing in the dominate heel role which was the middle portion of the match. Hiromi certainly tried her best in the underdog role and she is pretty good at it, it just would have worked better against a true “monster” and not a wrestler just trying to be one. The ending helped put over Sumire as a wrestler to be reckoned with, which was the true point of the match anyway. About as good as it could have been but still not a particularly well structured match.

(c) Hana Kimura and Kagetsu vs. Bea Priestley and Kelly Klein
Goddesses of Stardom Championship

Kelly and Bea attack before the bell rings but they both eat a dropkick for their trouble, Kelly and Bea throw their opponents into each other before Kelly press slams Hana out of the ring (well on the apron). Kelly then tosses Kagetsu out of the ring as well, Bea manages to get herself to the apron and hits a cannonball down to the floor. Back in the ring, Kagetsu is double teamed, Bea stays in as the legal wrestler and she covers Kagetsu for two. She tags in Kelly but Hana blind tags herself in, which Kelly doesn’t see as she hits a Northern Lights Suplex on Kagetsu. Hana sneaks in and schoolboys Kelly for two, Hana and Kelly go back and forth until Hana rolls up Kelly and tags in Kagetsu. Kagetsu comes in the ring with a diving footstomp, punches by Kagetsu in the corner and Hana comes in to distract the referee while Kris and Tam help by kicking Kelly. Kagetsu wraps up Kelly in a submission but Kelly gets a foot on the ropes, Kelly is put between the ropes and all of Oedo Tai pose around her. Kagetsu tags Hana back in, vertical suplex by Hana and she covers Kelly for a two count. Hana gets on the second turnbuckle but Kelly avoids her dive and hits a Samoan Drop for two. Hana spits I assume water into Kelly’s face, although she drank no water so many she just blew on her, and she knees Hana in the corner.

Kelly quickly regains the advantage and with Bea they kick Hana in the corner, slingshot splash by Kelly and she makes the tag to Bea while Kagetsu is tagged in as well. Bea goes for a suplex but Kagetsu blocks it, Hana runs in but she dropkicks Kagetsu by mistake. Kelly elbows Kagetsu, cyclone suplex by Bea but Hana breaks up the cover. Kelly returns and hits a fallaway slam, PK by Bea to Kagetsu but Kagetsu barely kicks out. Kagetsu fights back and trades elbows with Bea, side suplex by Kagetsu but Kagetsu springs up and hits a kick combination. Ebisu Drop by Kagetsu but Bea reverses the cover into a pin attempt of her own for two. Sunset flip with a jackknife by Kagetsu, but Kelly breaks it up. Kelly elbows Kagetsu but Tam hits her from the apron and Hana boots her in the face. Hana picks up Bea and feeds her to Kagetsu on the second turnbuckle, and Kagetsu hits an avalanche powerbomb for two. Kagetsu and Hana both hit running boots to Bea, Ebisu Drop by Kagetsu and she nails the Oedo Coaster for the three count! Hana Kimura and Kagetsu are still the champions!

I saw some love for this match online, and maybe the Samurai TV clipping didn’t do it any favors but this never went past just “good” for me. Kelly and Bea have some ability for sure but some sections of this match didn’t look very smooth. I also really didn’t like Kagetsu randomly no-selling the suplex, which Bea had been building up to, with really no return to the no-sell. In the ‘old days’, two wrestlers would no-sell each others moves and then collapse to the mat, I like that type of thing but when a wrestler just no-sells a move and stays in control it just comes across to me as a really lazy transition. On the plus side, Kagetsu was otherwise fantastic and helped tie the match together, and Bea was impressive on the Gaijin team. More good than bad as the match was generally exciting, it just wasn’t without its faults.  Mildly Recommended

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

They take it to the mat after a brief feeling out process, Bito gets Io up while locking in a headlock before snapping her to the mat and kicking Io in the back. Io returns to her feet but Bito does it again, PK by Bito and she covers Io for two. Bito kicks at Io but Io backflips away from her and hits a dropkick, sending Bito out of the ring. Io dives out onto her with a plancha suicida, she briefly returns to the ring before sliding back out to kick Bito and toss her into the crowd. Io removes the mat off the floor and goes for a suplex, but Bito blocks it and kicks her in the head. Bito grabs Io and delivers the B Driver on the bare floor, the referee tends to Io while Bito gets back into the ring. Io manages to beat the 20 count, Bito puts her in the ropes and chops Io repeatedly in the chest before dropkicking her in the upper leg for a two count. Bito throws Io into the corner and kicks her in the chest, running knee by Bito but Io dropkicks Bito in the knee in return. Io picks up Bito but Bito elbows her in the head, she goes off the ropes but Io elbows her back and dropkicks her in the head for a two count. Io charges Bito but Bito boots her in the chest, she goes for the B Driver but Io blocks it and puts her in a stretch submission hold. Bito gets out of the hold after a moment, Tiger Feint Kick by Io and she delivers the swandive dropkick for a two count. Bito comes back with a big boot to the chest, she then goes up top and hits the missile dropkick.

Bito nails a brainbuster, cover by Bito but Io gets a shoulder up. Bito goes for the B Driver again but Io wiggles away and hits a palm strike, Io charges Bito in the corner but Bito gets Io on her back and finally hits the B Driver for two. Bito picks up Io but Io slides away from her and hits a dragon screw leg whip. Double knee strike by Io, she goes up top but Bito hits her from behind before she can jump off with a moonsault. Bito pulls Io back to the mat, Io gets Bito’s ankle and puts her in an ankle hold. Io snaps down onto Bito’s leg before putting her in a Texas Cloverleaf, but Bito gets to the ropes. Io kicks Bito in the head as she gets up, she goes to the top turnbuckle and goes for a moonsault, but Bito gets her knees up. Both wrestlers slowly get up, elbows by Io but Bito elbows her back to send the Ace to the mat. Head kick by Bito and she delivers a killer German suplex, Buzzsaw Kick by Bito but Io barely kicks out of the cover. Doll B by Bito, she gets Io on her shoulders and hits the Splash Mountain, but again Io gets a shoulder up on the pin. Bito picks up Io and puts her on the top turnbuckle, she joins her as she gets Io on her shoulders, but Io reverses the avalanche Splash Mountain attempt into a Frankensteiner. Io waits for Bito to get to her knees and hits a running double knee strike to her back, rolling German suplexes by Io and she hits a final package German for a two count. Both wrestlers get up, tiger suplex hold by Io but that gets a two as well. Io goes up top and nails the moonsault, cover by Io and she gets the three count! Io Shirai is the new champion!

After the match, Yoko Bito announces that she will be retiring in December, which helps explain the result. This was an entertaining match with a lot of memorable moments, as is generally the case in Io title matches. Bito has always been less smooth than the other wrestlers at the top of Stardom this year and in-ring I wouldn’t consider her a Top 5 in the promotion, however her kicks were on point here. There were a couple awkward moments where the moves didn’t look quite right, but they overcame that in the final stretch as the last five minutes or so were very exciting. Io pulled out everything she had and looked great as usual, while Io doesn’t “need” a belt I am glad she has one again as it means more big singles matches like this one. A fitting main event and a quality title match, it wouldn’t make my MOTYC list but an enjoyable match nonetheless.  Recommended

The post Stardom Best Of The Goddesses on 11/19/17 Review appeared first on Joshi City.

*I am slowing bringing my Joshi Reviews from Puroresu Central over to Joshi City so I can have all my Joshi reviews in one place. Some features of my current reviews on this site may be missing as my style has changed over the years, however I will have it match the Joshi City review format as closely as I can. The original review date can be found at the bottom of the review, I will try not to make any major changes to the text unless I see something that needs clarifying or correcting.*

A flashback to 2015, and the event that had perhaps the best match of Kairi Hojo’s career up to this point. Here is the full card:

• Haruka Kato vs. Hatsuhinode Kamen
• Kaori Yoneyama vs. Kris Wolf vs. Momo Watanabe
• Reo Hazuki vs. Thunder Rosa
• Chelsea vs. Melissa
• Goddesses of Stardom Championship: Io Shirai and Mayu Iwatani vs. Nikki Storm and Starfire
• World of Stardom Championship: Kairi Hojo vs. Meiko Satomura

All the wrestlers above profiles on the website, you can click on their names to go straight to it.

Haruka Kato vs. Hatsuhinode Kamen

Kato dropkicks Kamen from behind to start the match and hits a few more dropkicks to Kamen’s arm, but Kamen hits a double chop to the chest. Kato footstomps Kamen’s arm and applies a cross armbreaker, seated armbar by Kato but Kamen gets to the ropes. Irish whip by Kato but Kamen hits a shoulderblock, slap by Kato but Kamen blocks the scoop slam. Kamen hits a scoop slam of her own followed by an elbow drop for two. Kamen picks up Kato but Kato sneaks in a backslide for two. Kato goes off the ropes but Kamen hits a big boot followed by another kick for a two count. Kamen goes for a delayed vertical suplex but Kato gets out of it and hits a tilt-a-whirl into a schoolboy for two. Cross armbreaker takedown by Kato and Kamen quickly taps out! Haruka Kato wins the match.

I liked the arm work by Kato in this match but not much else. Kamen is just really tentative at times so her strikes lack impact, and while Kato is great to look at she isn’t at the skill level to get a good match out of Kamen. A typical Stardom opener but skippable nonetheless.

Kaori Yoneyama vs. Kris Wolf vs. Momo Watanabe

Yoneyama kicks Watanabe as they all give each other side headlocks, shoulderblock by Yoneyama but Wolf hits a tilt-a-whirl headscissors. Wolf knees Watanabe in the corner and hits a diving crossbody, they grab Yoneyama and hit a double vertical suplex. Double kneedrop by both Wolf and Watanabe to Yoneyama, Watanabe puts Yoneyama in the tree of woe and Watanabe hits a dropkick. Wolf grabs Watanabe and applies a choke before covering her for the three count! The winner is Kris Wolf.

Besides the awkward ending (which Wolf made up for by doing a well balanced dance on the top turnbuckle afterwards) this was just way too clipped up. Very little of the match was shown. But just skim to Wolf’s top rope dance and you’ll be fine.

Reo Hazuki vs. Thunder Rosa

They tie-up to start, wristlock by Hazuki but Rosa reverses it. Hazuki gets the hold re-applied as they trade the hold back and forth, takedown by Rosa but Hazuki gets out of it and they return to their feet. Hazuki kicks Rosa and throws her down by her hair, facewashes by Hazuki in the corner and she nails the running kick. Hazuki goes for an elbow in the corner but Rosa moves and hits a dropkick. Double knee by Rosa in the corner and Rosa elbows Hazuki in the midsection. Leg drop by Rosa and a cover, but it gets two. Rosa picks up Hazuki but Hazuki slides away and applies a sleeper. Elbows by Hazuki in the corner, Irish whip, and Hazuki hits a running elbow. Hazuki goes to the second turnbuckle and hits a diving senton, but the cover only gets two. Hazuki goes all the way up top but Rosa slaps her and tosses her off. Rosa picks up Hazuki and she applies a hammerlock before dropping Hazuki to the mat. Back up, Rosa hits a wrist-clutch overhead suplex, cover by Rosa but Hazuki barely gets a shoulder up. Rosa looks annoyed, which gives Hazuki time to sneak in a schoolboy for the three count! Reo wins!

This was too clipped to recommend (about 40% was missing) but I liked what I saw. Rosa is fun to watch and Hazuki is coming along nicely, though its possible that any awkward parts were simply edited out. What was shown was perfectly fine wrestling though.

Chelsea vs. Melissa

Chelsea continues wrestling veterans, no better way to learn I guess. Armdrag by Chelsea to start but Melissa returns the favor. Chelsea kicks Melissa back and they face off again, waistlock by Chelsea but Melissa gets her back. Melissa picks up Chelsea and applies a front facelock and they trade holds until Melissa starts snapping Chelsea’s leg. Knees to the back by Melissa and she applies a bodyscissors but Chelsea gets out of it and applies a stretch hold. Side headlock by Chelsea but Melissa shoulderblocks her down and hits a scoop slam, Irish whip by Melissa but Chelsea hits a big boot. Roll-up by Chelsea but Melissa gets out of it and wraps up Chelsea’s legs into a modified crab hold. Chelsea gets to the ropes, Melissa picks her up and they trade elbows. Melissa goes off the ropes but Chelsea catches her with a heel kick for a two count. Lariat by Chelsea and she hits a back elbow, Chelsea charges Melissa and she gives her the monkey flip. Cover by Chelsea but it gets two. Chelsea goes up top but Melissa joins her. Chelsea pushes Melissa off but Melissa puts Chelsea on her shoulders, Chelsea slides off and goes for a sunset flip but Melissa sits on her for a two count. Irish whip by Chelsea, reversed, but Chelsea hits a hurricanrana for a two count. Chelsea goes off the ropes but Melissa hits a Samoan Drop for a two count. Kondo Clutch by Melissa but Chelsea rolls close enough to the ropes to force the break. Curbstomp by Melissa, another cover, but Chelsea gets a hand on the ropes. Melissa grabs Chelsea but Chelsea gets away, Melissa goes off the ropes but Chelsea hits a full nelson slam. Cover by Chelsea but Melissa kicks out at two. Chelsea goes up top and goes for a diving crossbody, but Melissa ducks it. Melissa gets her up, spins around a few times and nails the Air Raid Crash for the three count! Melissa is the winner.

Let’s be honest, Chelsea isn’t a great wrestler. She may become one as she is young and training in Stardom, but currently she knows the basics and that’s about it. But she is cute as hell, is photogenic, and the crowd loves her so she has something going for her. Anyway this match was watchable but it never had any moment that stuck out or anything. It was a bit basic but it didn’t have any awkwardness which is a plus. I dunno, it wasn’t really a good match but it wasn’t bad either, just forgettable.

(c) Io Shirai and Mayu Iwatani vs. Nikki Storm and Starfire

This match is for the Goddesses of Stardom Championship. Shirai and Starfire start off, Starfire armdrags Shirai into the corner but Shirai avoids her charge and elbows her in the chest. Starfire grabs Shirai’s arm and springboards off the ropes with a takedown, schoolboy by Shirai but it gets two. Iwatani runs in to help and Starfire is double teamed in the corner. Iwatani dropkicks Starfire in the corner and with Shirai they both apply armbars until the referee gets them to stop. Storm emerges in the ring but Shirai dropkicks them both back out of it. Shirai goes off the far ropes and sails out onto both of them with a plancha suicida. Shirai slides Storm back in the ring and she hits a double knee in the corner. Cover by Shirai, but it gets two. Irish whip by Shirai and she applies an Octopus Hold, Starfire runs in but Iwatani comes in too and she puts Starfire in a stretch hold as well. Shirai rolls up Storm from the hold but it gets two, she then applies an armtrap crossface but Storm gets to the ropes. Shirai goes for the tiger feint kick but Starfire kicks Shirai from the apron. Storm then grabs Shirai from inside the ring and hits the Cyclone Neckbreaker, but Iwatani breaks up the pin. Double Irish whip to Storm but she throws Iwatani into Shirai and hits a double neck breaker. Cyclone Neckbreaker by Storm to Shirai, cover, but it gets two. Storm tags in Starfire and Starfire hits a spinning DDT on Shirai, she picks her up and hits a wrist clutch suplex hold for a two count. Starfire drags Shirai up and elbows her but Shirai snaps off a hurricanrana. Head kick by Shirai, she goes up top but Starfire grabs her and shoves Shirai back to the mat. Now Starfire goes up to the second turnbuckle but Iwatani grabs her from the apron. Frankensteiner by Shirai, her and Iwatani go up to the same corner and hit a double missile dropkick. Cover, but Starfire kicks out. Shirai picks up Starfire but Starfire hits a wheelbarrow suplex. Back up they trade elbows, palm strike by Shirai but Starfire reverses the tombstone piledriver and hits a reverse DDT.

Package Piledriver by Starfire but she can’t make the cover, instead rolling to her corner and tagging in Storm. Iwatani is tagged in too, Iwatani trades elbows with Storm and Iwatani hits a crucifix hold for a two count. Wrist clutch Northern Lights Suplex by Iwatani, but Storm gets a shoulder up. Iwatani picks up Storm, she goes off the ropes but Storm levels her with a lariat. Storm picks up Iwatani and she hits a neckbreaker, she drags up Iwatani and she delivers the Cyclone Neckbreaker but Iwatani barely kicks out. Back up, Iwatani kicks Storm back but Storm uses the referee as a shield. Starfire comes in but Iwatani avoids her dropkick, Storm puts Iwatani’s legs on the top rope and nails the Cyclone Neckbreaker. Package Piledriver by Starfire, Storm grabs Iwatani and with Starfire they hit an assisted Cyclone Neckbreaker. Cover, but Iwatani again kicks out. Storm holds Iwatani but Starfire lariats Storm by accident, then Iwatani hits a reverse hurricanrana on Storm for a two count. Storm picks up Iwatani and hits the Perfect Storm, cover, but Iwatani still won’t stay down. Storm picks up Iwatani, they trade waistlocks as Shirai gets on the apron and hits a swandive missile dropkick. Iwatani throws in a dropkick of her own and they also throw Starfire out of the ring. Iwatani and Shirai then spring up onto different corners and dive out of the ring onto Storm and Starfire. Iwatani slides Storm back in but Storm blocks the dragon suplex. Iwatani picks up Storm in a piledriver position, Shirai goes up top and they nail the spike piledriver. Dragon suplex hold by Iwatani, and she picks up the three count! Shirai and Iwatani are still your champions.

This one… I’m a bit torn. I enjoyed it, no doubt there. But I think the random clipping hurt the flow (about five minutes or so was cut total), the clips were rather obvious and it was almost like hitting reset on the match. That being said the match was fast paced and they both had some great moves without going into overkill. Iwatani was a beast here, just kicking out of everything, they are really building her up. It also felt like an important match, which I always appreciate in a title match. I still recommend to watch it, just don’t go in expecting a MOTYC, it fell quite a bit short of that due to the clipping and a few mistakes here and there.  Recommended

(c) Kairi Hojo vs. Meiko Satomura

This match is for the World of Stardom Championship. They jockey around to start, Hojo gets Satomura in the ropes and hits a spinning backfist before backing off. They lock knuckles, Satomura throws Hojo to the mat and she hits a scoop slam. Elbows by Satomura but Hojo hits a shoulder tackle. More shoulder tackles in the corner by Hojo, snapmare, and she dropkicks Satomura in the back. Hojo gets Satomura’s leg and applies a crab hold, but Satomura makes it to the ropes. Satomura slams Hojo to the mat and she goes for a crab hold, but Hojo slaps her. Kicks by Satomura as Hojo returns with elbows, but Satomura catches an elbow and applies a single leg crab hold. Hojo crawls to the ropes to force a break but Satomura quickly applies a stretch hold. Hojo rolls out of it but Satomura kicks Hojo in the back before hitting a hard knee to the chin. Satomura goes for a backdrop suplex but Hojo blocks it and applies a side headlock. Irish whip by Satomura but Hojo hits a really violent spear, she goes off the ropes again but Satomura nails a high kick. Hojo falls out of the ring to have her neck sprayed with the magic healing stuff only Japan has discovered before she rolls back in, but Satomura promptly kicks her in the chest. Irish whip by Satomura but Hojo reverses it, armdrag by Satomura and she applies a STF with a chinlock. Satomura picks up Hojo and hits a backdrop suplex. Kicks by Satomura in the corner, Irish whip, but Hojo collapses. Hard elbow by Satomura and she hits a jumping elbow in the corner. Satomura goes up top but Hojo avoids the body press, she picks up Satomura and chops her in the chest. Satomura fires back with elbows but Hojo holds down the rope when she charges, sending Satomura out to the apron. Hojo shoulder tackles her down to the floor, Hojo goes up top and she delivers a plancha suicida down to the floor. Hojo waits for Satomura to get up and from the apron hits a diving elbow smash, she slides Satomura back in the ring and goes up top, hitting another diving elbow smash.

Hojo charges Satomura and hits a shoulder tackle in the corner followed by a neckbreaker for a two count. Cross-armed submission hold by Hojo but Satomura wiggles to the ropes to force the break. Hojo hits a few footstomps to Satomura’s back and she stretches Satomura some more, but Satomura kicks her off. Satomura gets up and they trade elbows, back kick by Satomura and she nails the spinning kick to the head. Cartwheel knee drop by Satomura, she positions Hojo before going up top, but Hojo gets her feet up on the diving body press. Hojo puts Satomura in the tree of woe, she goes up top but Satomura goes up with her and goes for a death valley bomb. Hojo blocks it and pushes Satomura back into the tree of woe, hitting the diving footstomp. Cover by Hojo, but Satomura kicks out. Hojo stomps on Satomura in the stomach but Satomura gets back up and elbows her. Hojo elbows her back, she goes off the ropes but Satomura kicks her hard in the face. Cross armbreaker by Satomura but Hojo manages to wiggle to the ropes. Satomura drags Hojo out and re-applies it, but again Hojo gets a toe on the ropes. Satomura kicks Hojo out of the ring, where Hojo gets more magic healing spray. Satomura goes out after her, she drags Hojo up to the entrance stage and drills her with a Death Valley Bomb! Satomura brings Hojo back to the ring, she picks up Hojo and drops her with a backdrop suplex. Cover, but it gets a two. Satomura applies a sleeper hold, cover by Satomura but Hojo kicks out. Satomura positions Hojo, she goes up top and she finally hits the frog splash, but Hojo barely gets a shoulder up. Satomura picks up Hojo but Hojo avoids the Death Valley Bomb by grabbing the top rope. Satomura shakes her free and nails it anyway, but she can’t keep Hojo down. Satomura goes for another one but Hojo slides down her back, elbow by Satomura but Hojo blocks the overhead kick.

Backfist by Hojo and she hits a series of elbows, but Satomura levels her with a high kick. Hojo ducks Satomura’s heel kick and finally knocks her down with a backfist, Hojo picks up Satomura and hits an Alabama Slam. Hojo goes up top and nails her beautiful diving elbow drop, she covers Satomura but it gets two. Hojo goes up top again but Satomura is up and she nails a Pele Kick. Satomura goes up with Hojo but Hojo elbows her off, she goes for another diving elbow drop but Satomura gets her legs up and quickly applies a cross armbreaker. Seated armbar by Satomura but Hojo rolls to the ropes to force a break. Satomura picks up Hojo and kicks her in the chest repeatedly, she picks up Hojo but Hojo rolls up Satomura for a two count. Satomura gets on the sleeper but Hojo is too close to the ropes and gets a foot on them. Satomura goes up top but Hojo punches her and joins her, hitting a superplex. Cover, but it gets a two count. Hojo goes up top but Satomura avoids the diving elbow drop, Satomura picks up Hojo and hits a Death Valley Bomb before applying the cross armbreaker. Satomura traps her leg too, she then rolls over Hojo and applies an elevated single leg crab hold before rolling it back over, but Hojo gets free. Satomura kicks Hojo in the chest a few times and then drills her with a kick to the head. Satomura picks up Hojo but Hojo gets away and applies a guillotine choke. Satomura slams out of it and applies the cross armbreaker but Hojo gets her hands linked and gets out of it. Satomura picks up Hojo and hits another Death Valley Bomb, she covers Hojo but the bell rings signifying the match is a Draw. Kairi Hojo is still your champion!

Man what a match. To call this hard hitting would be an understatement, everything they did was brutal. Even something simple like a kick breakout or a spear was made to look extra violent, there was no holding back here at all. The time went quickly for a 30 minute match as they did a good job mixing in strikes, submissions, and big moves to pop the crowd. I didn’t mind the slight overkill since it was a title match, overall it was just great stuff. MOTYC right here.  Highly Recommended

event reviewed on 6/21/15

The post Stardom “Galaxy Stars 2015” on 6/14/15 Review appeared first on Joshi City.

Even though Stardom has way too many events for me to watch them all, I do try to catch their Korakuen Hall events since they tend to deliver. This is an odd show and probably the least star-powered one they have had in awhile. Kairi Hojo is gone, Mayu Iwatani is hurt, Hiroyo Matsumoto isn’t used as much anymore, and Toni Storm isn’t on the tour so Stardom looked outside the promotion for a bit of help. In her first singles match in Stardom since leaving the promotion in 2015, Takumi Iroha from Marvelous takes on Yoko Bito for the Wonder of Stardom Championship. We also get a ‘match series’ between Queen’s Quest and Oedo Tai, plus this is my first look at Chardonnay and Scarlett. Here is the full card:

• Ruaka and Hanan vs. Starlight Kid and Shiki Shibusawa
• Elimination Tag Match: Chardonnay and Scarlett vs. Jungle Kyona and Natsuko Tora vs. Mimura and Konami vs. Kelly Klein and Bea Priestley
• AZM vs. Kris Wolf
• Hana Kimura vs. Io Shirai
• HZK vs. Kagetsu
• Wonder of Stardom Championship: Yoko Bito vs. Takumi Iroha

I added profiles for the Gaijin wrestlers, so everyone above has a profile on Joshi City. You can click on their names to go straight to it. As I am watching the Samurai TV version, some matches may be clipped, which I am putting up with in the interest of saving time. Plus its prettier on Samurai TV and I like replays.

Ruaka and Hanan vs. Starlight Kid and Shiki Shibusawa

Hanan and Starlight Kid start the match, they do a fast paced exchange but neither gets a clear advantage. Shiki and Ruaka tag in but Ruaka tags right back out for reasons unknown, elbows by Hanan to Shiki but Shiki strikes her back. Ruaka runs in to try to help but Shiki dropkicks them both in the corner before tagging in Starlight Kid. Hanan avoids Starlight Kid’s dropkick and throws her down by the mask, leading to Shiki tagging back in. Shiki elbows Hanan but Hanan kips up, dropkick by Shiki and she puts Hanan in a crab hold. Hanan eventually gets to the ropes for the break, Hanan tags in Ruaka while Starlight Kid is also tagged in. Ruaka and Starlight Kid trade elbows before Ruaka hits a reverse STO, cradle by Ruaka but Starlight Kid reverses it and they trade flash pins. Starlight Kid goes off the ropes but Ruaka catches the crossbody and they trade pins again. Jumping crossbody by Ruaka, but Starlight Kid kicks out at two. Hanan comes in and they hit dual fisherman suplexes onto Starlight Kid, but that gets a two count as well. Ruaka goes off the ropes but Starlight Kid ducks the boot, Shiki comes in and she drops Ruaka with a face crusher. Standing moonsault by Starlight Kid, she picks up Ruaka but Ruaka blocks the Shiranui. Hanan comes in and hits a STO onto Starlight Kid, Shiki comes in and with Hanan they roll out of the ring as they elbow each other. Back in the ring, schoolboy by Starlight Kid to Ruaka, Shiki returns and they both dropkick her. Shiki gets on the second turnbuckle and hits a missile dropkick, Frog Splash by Starlight Kid to Ruaka and she picks up the three count! Starlight Kid and Shiki Shibusawa win!

This was a bit awkward. Shiki isn’t good yet, doesn’t mean she can’t be good but she isn’t a natural and it will just take time and practice if she is going to get it (I don’t have high hopes). Ruaka and Starlight Kid got a bit confused too, and when a match is this simple those little mistakes really stick out. A very skippable opener.

Chardonnay and Scarlett vs. Kyona and Natsuko Tora vs. Mimura and Konami vs. Kelly Klein and Bea Priestley

Scarlett not having red hair is throwing me off and likely will the entire match. She and Jungle start the match, running elbow by Scarlett in the corner and with Chardonnay they double team Jungle by pushing their asses into her face. Kelly isn’t amused by this and comes in to clear the ring, she offers Jungle a handshake but elbows her in the chest and throws her from the ring as well. Natsuko comes in but Kelly elbows her also, Natsuko comes in and dropkicks Kelly but Kelly doesn’t go down. Kelly puts Hiromi on her back but Konami saves her, double Irish whip to Kelly but she lariats them both to the mat. They finally get Kelly hurt in the corner, dropkick by Konami but Kelly boots Hiromi when she goes for one as well. Kelly tosses Konami out of the ring before going back to Hiromi, she covers Hiromi but for whatever reason all the other wrestlers break up the pin. Kelly stacks them all in the corner but Hiromi then dropkicks Kelly and Bea into the same cover, Hiromi charges them all but everyone moves when she goes for a dropkick. Hiromi lands on the apron but she moves when everyone tries to knock her to the floor, Chardonnay ends up in the ring with Hiromi and Chardonnay hits a butterfly suplex for a two count. Final Cut by Chardonnay, but Konami breaks up the pin. Chardonnay and Hiromi trade flash pins, until Scarlett boots Hiromi in the head and Chardonnay holds her down for the three count! Hiromi Mimura is eliminated.

Jungle comes in the ring and has some success until Scarlett catches her with a Codebreaker, they botch a spinning headscissors before Scarlett hits a side Russian Leg Sweep for a two count. Jungle smacks Scarlett and they trade lariats, Jungle lariats Scarlett onto the apron before knocking her down to the floor. Scarlett is eliminated.

Chardonnay comes into the ring but Kelly promptly press slams her to the floor. Chardonnay is eliminated.

Konami comes in the ring but  Bea and Kelly double team Konami, hitting a spinning slam to the mat. Kelly boots Bea by accident however, schoolboy by Konami but Kelly kicks out at two. Konami gets Kelly’s back and goes for a sleeper, but Kelly throws her off. Kicks by Konami and she delivers the sliding kick, but Bea breaks up the cover. Kelly and Bea both boot Konami, fallaway slam by Kelly and she picks up the three count! Konami is eliminated.

Jungle and Natsuko come into the ring and apply small packages to both opponents, but they both get a two count. Double dropkick to Kelly and a double shoulderblock to Bea, and Jungle slams Bea in front of the corner. Natsuko goes up top but Kelly elbows her from the apron and pulls her out with her. Jungle tries to pull Natsuko back into the ring but Bea dumps Jungle over the top rope onto the apron as well, Bea then goes off the ropes and dropkicks Jungle, and Jungle falls to the floor. Jungle Kyona is eliminated.

Spear by Natsuko to Bea, and she covers her for two. Natsuko picks up Bea but Kelly returns and they both suplex Natsuko for a two count. Bea picks up Natsuko but Natsuko fights back as she elbows both her opponents, high kick by Bea and she delivers a modified cyclone suplex for the three count! Natsuko is eliminated, and the winners of the match are Kelly Klein and Bea Priestley!

I didn’t see any website that had the match structure of this correctly laid out, so I was a bit confused at first. I think some of the wrestlers were confused too but in an eight wrestler match that tends to happen anyway. We need to get Kelly Klein in training with Mari Apache stat, she wrestles too soft for someone that does the “I destroy everyone” gimmick. She has the size and attitude, she just doesn’t bring the pain. Hiromi still did her comedy spots which isn’t a big deal on lower matches, but is a reason why I don’t take her seriously. Too chaotic and random to get excited about, however some wrestlers (mainly Jungle, Konami, and Bea) did look pretty good.

AZM vs. Kris Wolf

They start the match quick, as expected, although not necessarily as smoothly as one may hope. Kris stomps down AZM in the corner but AZM goes off the ropes and delivers a dropkick. AZM charges Kris in the corner, Kris tosses her out to the apron but AZM quickly gets back in the ring and goes for a dropkick. Kris avoids it but AZM returns the favor, and they both end up trading flash pins on the mat with neither having any luck. Takedown by AZM but Kris gets away and they return to their feet again. Kris twists at AZM’s ankle but AZM gets out of it and hits a dropkick, she goes off the ropes but Kagetsu trips her from the floor. All of Oedo Tai get in the ring and stomp on AZM while the referee is distracted by Tam Nakano, but AZM fights them off and applies the hanging armbar. AZM lets go and hits the satellite schoolboy, but it gets a two count. AZM goes for the hurricanrana but Kris blocks it and powerbombs her into the turnbuckles, running knee by Kris and she kicks AZM in the back for two. Kris gets on the second turnbuckle but AZM avoids the diving double kneedrop, AZM goes for a leg sweep but Kris jumps and kicks AZM in the head. Kris picks up AZM and goes for a suplex, but AZM reverses it into a roll-up for two. La Magistral by AZM, but Kris gets a foot on the ropes. AZM goes for a backslide but Kris reverses it for two, kick to the head by Kris but AZM reverses her cover attempt. AZM goes off the ropes but Kris avoids her dropkick and applies a modified Japanese Rolling Clutch for the three count! Kris Wolf wins and Oedo Tai is up 1-0 in the series.

Oedo Tai beats down AZM after the match, until Momo Watanabe returns and clears the ring! Queen’s Quest fifth member has finally healed up and will be returning to action soon.

I can’t say that AZM’s style is really one I like, as she still basically wrestles in a similar style as she has for the last few years. Which is lots of flash pins and simple offense. And I get she is 15 but they have put her higher on the card so I expect more from someone in this match than I would from Hanan or Ruaka in the opener, I still am not sure she was ready for the elevation. I also don’t love any faction openly cheating in the middle of the ring, referees are pretty lax in Japan on what happens on the floor but having a beat down in the ring is pushing it a bit. So while I love Kris, and she looked good here, not really a match I’d recommend as it is basically every AZM match with not a lot interesting going on.

Hana Kimura vs. Io Shirai

Hana asks Io for a handshake to start but obviously doesn’t mean it so they pull each other’s hair instead, armdrags by Hana but Io hits a flapjack and puts Hana in an armtrap crossface. Hana gets a foot on the ropes for the break, Io goes for the Tiger Feint Kick but Hana blocks it. Both wrestlers end up on the apron but on opposite sides of the ring post, Hana goes for a suplex to the floor but Io doesn’t budge. Hana rams her into the post instead, she goes for another suplex but Io pushes her back into the ring. Hana returns to the ring also and dropkicks Io, stomps by Hana and she elbows Io against the ropes. Irish whip by Hana but Io hits a backflip dropkick, Hana falls out of the ring and Io goes to the top turnbuckle, but Tam throws a board at her before she can jump off. Io falls to the apron, Hana goes to the other side and superplexes Io over the top rope down onto the floor (and onto a blob of wrestlers). Back in the ring, Hana gets on the second turnbuckle and she hits a missile dropkick. She goes back up top and hits another missile dropkick, cover by Hana but Io kicks out at two. Stomps by Hana and she hits a big boot, she picks up Io but Io gets away and hits a series of palm strikes. German suplex hold by Io, but it gets a two count. Tiger Feint Kick by Io, swandive missile dropkick by Io and she hits the running double knee in the corner. Io picks up Hana and hits the double underhook facebuster, she goes up top but Hana catches her from behind and joins her. Superplex by Hana, but Io kicks out of the cover. Hana goes off the ropes but Io snaps off a hurricanrana, palm strike by Io and she hits a tombstone piledriver. Moonsault by Io, and she picks up the three count! The Queen’s Quest vs. Oedo Tai Series is tied 1-1.

A bit disjointed in some places, but overall entertaining. Io and Hana don’t usually run in the same circles as this is just their second ever singles match, and Hana has become so popular that it is easy to forget she is just in her second year. But Io is good enough to overcome these type of issues for the most part, so while the chemistry wasn’t there I still enjoyed it. I was glad they delivered on the suplex spot to the floor since it was teased twice, and Hana had a few convincing nearfalls so it was far from a squash. Solid mid-card match, not much more than that but it had some good spots and was a fun watch.  Mildly Recommended

HZK vs. Kagetsu

HZK throws her sucker at Kagetsu before the match, Kagetsu goes to give it back to her but HZK greets her with a slap. HZK goes for a full nelson bomb but Kagetsu blocks it, HZK flings Kagetsu to the mat before stepping on her throat. Back up, Kagetsu pushes HZK against the ropes and chokes her, but Kagetsu gains control of the match and stomps at HZK. HZK tries to fight back with elbows but Kagetsu returns fire, jumping elbow by Kagetsu in the corner and she hits a vertical suplex for a two count cover. Kagetsu quickly applies a cross-arm submission, she then puts HZK in the ropes and with the other members of Oedo Tai they attack/tickle HZK. Kagetsu dumps water on HZK’s head and goes off the ropes, but HZK hits a springboard dropkick. HZK sends Kagetsu out of the ring, she then gets on the second turnbuckle and dives out onto her. Back in the ring, HZK picks up Kagetsu but Kagetsu blocks the slam. Knee to the stomach by HZK and she hits a running elbow in the corner, she then straddles Kagetsu over the second ropes and drops her with a Codebreaker. Bombs Away to the back by HZK and she puts Kagetsu in an armtrap crossface, but with Tam’s help she makes it to the ropes for the break. Kagetsu pushes HZK back and delivers a strike combination, Ebisu Drop by Kagetsu but HZK kicks out of the cover. Both wrestlers are slow to get up and they trade elbows, HZK goes off the ropes but Kagetsu kicks her in the head and nails a chokeslam. Buzzsaw Kick by Kagetsu, but HZK bridges out of the pin. She goes for another chokeslam but HZK gets out of it and hits a Pump Kick, more Pump Kicks by HZK and she covers Kagetsu for two. Full nelson bomb by HZK, but that gets a two count as well. HZK picks up Kagetsu but Kagetsu gets away and throws HZK into the referee, HZK slams Kagetsu in front of the corner and nails the Bombs Away, but Kagetsu spits water in her face as she is on the way down. Ebisu Drop by Kagetsu, she goes up top and delivers the Oedo Coaster for the three count! Your winner is Kagetsu, and Oedo Tai wins the match series 2-1.

To be a wrestling fan, you have to accept that wrestling does things that aren’t logical. But sometimes they do things that are so illogical that even in the context of wrestling, its just too much. When Kagetsu spit the water on HZK, HZK still completed the move and hit the Bombs Away, but Kagetsu basically no-sold the finisher and went straight to the end like nothing happened. It was just a poorly thought-out spot, have Kagetsu jump up and do the mist so she can avoid the move, not take the move in its entirety and ignore it. Beyond that it was a good enough match, although I find it odd that in a match series only one faction was helping their teammates (Oedo Tai) while the other (Queen’s Quest) was just politely watching. On the plus side, Kagetsu is great and HZK has really come along this year, so when they were just focused on wrestling it was fast paced and captivating. Far from a must see match and I didn’t like the structure of the ending, but the nine minutes of action before that were well done.  Mildly Recommended

(c) Yoko Bito vs. Takumi Iroha
Wonder of Stardom Championship

After a long star down they finally lock-up, Takumi gets Bito in the corner but she gives a mostly clean break. Scoop slam by Takumi but Bito shoulderblocks her to the mat, Bito kicks Takumi into the corner but Takumi avoids her scissors kick and kicks Bito in the leg. Takumi applies a kneelock, but Bito gets back to her feet and delivers a lariat. Knees by Bito and she hits a vertical suplex, Takumi charges her in the corner but Bito ducks and hits a B Driver for a two count. Takumi rolls out of the ring holding her head but Bito goes out after her, hitting an ax handle from the apron. Bito throws Takumi into the chairs at ringside and then into the ring post, Bito charges Takumi but Takumi catches her with a powerslam on the floor. Back in the ring both wrestlers slowly recover and trade elbows, snapmare by Bito and she kicks Takumi in the shoulder. Takumi tries to bail out of the ring but Bito grabs her and puts Takumi across the second rope before kicking her in the back. Takumi delivers a kick combination and hits a butterfly suplex hold, but Bito kicks out at two. Takumi goes up top but Bito joins her, Takumi knocks her back down but Bito kicks her in the head and delivers the superplex. Bito goes back up top and hits a missile dropkick, she goes off the ropes but Takumi catches her with a heel kick. Knees by Bito and she hits a running elbow in the corner, but Takumi hits an elbow of her own before delivering a half hatch suplex. Swinging guillotine by Takumi and she puts Bito in a sleeper, but Bito gets to the ropes for the break. Takumi quickly hits a backdrop suplex and kicks Bito twice in the head, cover by Takumi but Bito barely gets a shoulder up.

Another kick by Takumi, she goes up top and delivers the diving body press before going right back up top again to hit the Swanton Bomb, but again Bito kicks out. Takumi stays on the offense and tries to get Bito up for the powerbomb, but Bito blocks it. Release German by Bito and she hits a scissors kick before delivering a second release German Suplex. Buzzsaw Kick by Bito and she hits a heel drop, but her cover only gets a two count. Bito goes for the B Driver, Takumi reverses it and goes for a powerbomb, but Bito reverses that into a hurricanrana. Bito manages to hit the B Driver on the second try, but Takumi kicks out. Both wrestlers connect with high kicks before hitting simultaneous shoulderblocks, and both wrestlers are down on the mat. They recover and trade mid-kicks, dragon screw by Takumi and she puts Bito in a figure four leglock. Takumi drags Bito to the apron and kicks her in the head, Bito kicks her back and they trade blows. They return to the ring and continue going back and forth, Bito wins the battle and she hits another B Driver. Doll B by Bito, she is slow to make it to Takumi for the cover, and Takumi manages to get a shoulder up. Takumi gets Bito in the corner and nails the Running Three, cover by Takumi but Bito barely kicks out. Takumi picks up Bito but Bito hits a high kick, Takumi strikes her back and they both fall to the mat. Before either can budge, the bell rings, as time has expired. The match is a Draw, and Yoko Bito retains the championship!

About five minutes or so was missing from the Samurai TV broadcast but not a big deal with a match of this length. They tried to do more a power/striking match than you usually see in Stardom, and I think they did a good job of it. Their styles are similar enough that they had some natural chemistry as they both are kickers with some suplexes and power moves tossed in. Unless it was clipped out, there weren’t really miscommunications, even though not everything was hit smoothly since Bito in general can be a bit awkward sometimes. The Draw was predictable and I don’t mind it here since it was an inter-promotional match, hopefully it leads to more cooperation in the future. A bit slow at times but I liked the drama and both were giving if their all. A different style than you’d expect to see in a Stardom main event, and overall I think it was pretty entertaining.  Recommended

The post Stardom “True Fight 2017” on 10/17/17 Review appeared first on Joshi City.

*I am slowing bringing my Joshi Reviews from Puroresu Central over to Joshi City so I can have all my Joshi reviews in one place. Some features of my current reviews on this site may be missing as my style has changed over the years, however I will have it match the Joshi City review format as closely as I can. The original review date can be found at the bottom of the review, I will try not to make any major changes to the text unless I see something that needs clarifying or correcting.*

I am a bit behind in my Stardom reviewing, so we are going to catch up really quick. This is a big show for Stardom on several different levels. First, Act Yasukawa has a big singles match against Kairi Hojo to find the #1 Contender for the World of Stardom Championship. Also, Iwatani challenges La Rosa Negra for the High Speed Championship and Dark Angel challenges Io Shirai for the Wonder of Stardom Championship! This was billed as Dark Angel’s last match in Japan before going to WWE. Here is the full card:

• Hiromi Mimura vs. Kris Wolf
• Haruka Kato vs. Saori Anou
• Kaori Yoneyama vs. Momo Watanabe vs. Starlight Kid
• Act Yasukawa vs. Kairi Hojo
• High Speed Championship: La Rosa Negra vs. Mayu Iwatani
• Wonder of Stardom Championship: Io Shirai vs. Dark Angel

As is a normal feature on Joshi City, you can click on the wrestler names above to go directly to the wrestler’s profile.

Hiromi Mimura vs. Kris Wolf

This is Hiromi Mimura’s debut. I can’t find a lot of information on her, but she is 29 years old and was set to debut several times but it was delayed due to injury. But here she finally has her first match and it is against the energetic Wolf. This will no doubt be basic but I am sure that Mimura and Wolf have interacted quite a bit in the dojo so hopefully it will at least be smooth.

Wolf toys with Mimura to start but Mimura kicks her from behind and they go to the mat trading holds. Wolf bites Mimura in the arm but Mimura applies a wristlock. Wolf quickly gets out of it, snapmare by Wolf and she kicks Mimura in the back. Mimura gets back up and elbows Wolf, but Wolf kicks her in the leg as they go back and forth trading strikes. Mimura surprisingly gets the better of it, dropkick by Mimura and she covers Wolf for two. Back up, Mimura rolls Wolf to the mat and applies a leg submission, but Wolf gets out of it and gives Mimura a hard knee to the head. Running kneelift by Wolf, she goes up to the second turnbuckle but Mimura rolls out of the way of her dive and hits a quick crossbody for two. Wolf elbows Mimura away and they trade shots until Wolf pulls down Mimura by her hair and hits a double kneedrop for a two count. Jumping knee by Wolf in the corner and she kicks Mimura in the back for another two. Wolf suplexes Mimura, she goes to the top turnbuckle and nails a diving double kneedrop for a three count! Kris Wolf wins the match.

This was not your typical wrestler debut, for a few reasons. First, Mimura is not a child so she can physically hang with Wolf as their sizes/strength are similar. Second, Mimura started training a year ago, so she has some decent experience. And finally, Wolf just debuted in August 2014 herself, so while she does have more experience it is not a significant amount. I thought this was pretty solid for a debut, I am sure there are some nerves but it was pretty smooth and Mimura showed off some really solid moves. If she sticks with it and continues improving, Mimura will likely have success in Stardom down the road, the match was too short to get excited about but not a bad way to start the event.

Haruka Kato vs. Saori Anou

This is random as hell. If you don’t know who Anou is, don’t feel bad. Anou wrestles for a small promotion called Actress girl’Z (now Actwres girl’Z). They are a beginners level promotion (their twitter handle is actually “Beginning Pro”) that puts on small events that never make television. So I have never seen Anou before and I am not sure why she is wrestling on a Stardom card. Kato is a solid midcard wrestler that likes doing cross armbreakers, which is the primary reason I like her and not because she is stunningly cute.

They tie-up to kick things off, shoulderblock by Anou and she hits another one. Anou picks up Kato but Kato elbows her away and they trade shots. Scoop slam by Kato and she applies a cross armbreaker, but Anou rolls it into a cover for two. They both go off the ropes, Anou hits a shoulderblock and hits a nice fisherman suplex hold for a two count. Backslide with a bridge by Anou, but that gets a two as well. Anou goes for another fisherman suplex but Kato gets out of it and hits a tilt-a-whirl schoolboy for two. Kato goes back to the arm, she gets the cross armbreaker locked in and Anou has to submit! Kato is your winner.

I thought this was a step down from the last match, as these two did not have the chemistry that Mimura and Wolf had. When Anou had a chance to show a few things she can do it worked fine, she is very bendy, but the match itself was disjointed. Kato isn’t known for her high-end matches so the bar was low for Anou’s Stardom debut, and while it may have worked to introduce her to the crowd it wasn’t the best situation to put Anou in to succeed. Watchable, but nothing more than that.

Kaori Yoneyama vs. Momo Watanabe vs. Starlight Kid

Another debut, as this is Starlight Kid’s first match. I can’t find much information on her, the fact she wears a mask and has a gimmick name obviously doesn’t make it any easier. But this is a pretty low key situation to debut, as it is a short triple threat match against a seasoned veteran in Yoneyama and a literal child that debuted late last year.

Watanabe is teamed up on first but Starlight Kid rolls up Yoneyama for a quick two count. Handstand into a spinning headscissors by Starlight Kid to Yoneyama and she hits a tilt-a-whirl headscissors on Watanabe. Watanabe falls out of the ring but returns after a moment, and Starlight Kid hits a dropkick for a two count. Yoneyama comes back in and throws Watanabe and Starlight Kid in the same corner, but they avoid her when she charges in. Watanabe and Starlight Kid both attack Yoneyama in the corner, Watanabe dropkicks Starlight Kid in the opposite corner and take turns dropkicking both of them. Reverse STO by Watanabe to Starlight Kid and she hits rolling vertical suplexes for a two count. Shiranui by Starlight Kid to Watanabe, but Yoneyama breaks up the cover. Starlight Kid falls out of the ring, Yoneyama goes up top and she hits a diving senton on Watanabe for the three count! Yoneyama wins the match.

I gotta say, for a debut I thought this was about as good as you can get. Starlight Kid showed a lot of ability in this short match, obviously it wasn’t long enough to see much of her but she showed a lot of quickness. Beyond that this was nothing special, as these triple threat Stardom matches generally aren’t, but it was fun to watch the rookie go.

Act Yasukawa vs. Kairi Hojo

This match is for the #1 Contendership for the World of Stardom Championship held my Meiko Satomura. These two need no introduction. Hojo is the former champion and just won the FIVE STAR GP, while Yasukawa just recently returned after being injured in a match earlier this year against Yoshiko. Really Hojo should not have had to wrestle anyone for the #1 Contendership since she won the tournament, but she is never one to back down from a fight, and since Yasukawa was unable to be in the tournament it only seemed fair.

They start with tie-ups and wristlocks, but neither gets a clear advantage. Next they trade elbows, Hojo knocks Yasukawa into the corner and starts marching but Yasukawa pulls her down from behind by her hair. Yasukawa picks up Hojo but Hojo slides away and they trade elbows. Hojo gets the better of it and goes up top, hitting a diving elbow strike. Hojo applies a crab hold but Yasukawa gets a hand on the ropes to force a break. Hojo goes for the Sliding D but Yasukawa kicks her arm and dropkicks Hojo in the knee. Yasukawa and Hojo go back and forth with elbows, powerslam by Yasukawa and she covers Hojo for a two count. Yasukawa goes up top but Hojo rolls out of the way of the somersault senton and hits a Sliding D to Yasukawa’s back. Cross legged crab hold by Hojo, she lets go of the hold but Yasukawa ducks the spinning backfist and rolls up Hojo for two. Stretch Muffler by Yasukawa, she picks up Hojo but Hojo slides away and rolls up Yasukawa for a two count. Cross-legged crab hold by Hojo but Yasukawa won’t give up, Hojo goes to the second turnbuckle but falls as she goes to jump off. She gets on the second turnbuckle again and hits a diving elbow drop to Yasukawa’s back, but Yasukawa barely gets a shoulder up. Hojo goes up top again, she nails the diving elbow drop and she picks up the three count! Hojo wins the match and is the new #1 Contender.

No one can ever say I am too biased, as while I love both Yasukawa and Hojo I thought this wasn’t a great match. First of all it was clipped which I am sure hurt it a bit, but it was probably clipped for a reason. This was Yasukawa’s first big match since last February so I have no doubt she was rusty, there were a few good sections and I liked Yasukawa’s attitude but it wasn’t cohesive. Also, and I always complain about this, if a move is botched it annoys me when wrestlers just repeat the spot. Poor Yasukawa had to lay on the mat way too long since Hojo slipped off the turnbuckle, I have no issue with her slipping as that happens but she should have gone over and slammed or kicked Yasukawa then gone back up top. So between the clipping, lack of focus, and messed up ending I can’t recommend this match, even though I think both are great wrestlers that on a normal day are two of the best in Stardom.

(c) La Rosa Negra vs. Mayu Iwatani
High Speed Championship

La Rosa Negra won the High Speed Championship last month from Starfire in an upset, in a match that also saw Starfire injure her knee which may have led to that ending. Iwatani on the other hand is one of Stardom’s rising stars and already has the tag team championship with Io Shirai. Of course, Shirai has her own singles title so Iwatani wants one too, and all she has to do is beat La Rosa Negra to get one.

La Rosa Negra and Iwatani do the usual wristlocks trading to begin, La Rosa Negra goes for a wheelbarrow facebuster but Iwatani gets out of it. Dropkick by La Rosa Negra and she chops Iwatani into the corner, she goes for a suplex but Iwatani lands on her feet and hits a Northern Lights Suplex for a two count. Iwatani grabs La Rosa Negra’s wrist and flips off the ropes with an armdrag, La Rosa Negra falls out of the ring and Iwatani goes to the top turnbuckle. La Rosa Negra recovers, she jumps on the apron and throws Iwatani down to the floor. La Rosa Negra then gets in the ring and dives out onto Iwatani with a tope suicida. Back in the ring, Iwatani kicks La Rosa Negra in the gut and she delivers a spinning headscissors. Dropkick by Iwatani in the corner and she kicks La Rosa Negra in the back, La Rosa Negra throws Iwatani into another corner but La Rosa Negra rebounds out of the corner with a crossbody. Back up they trade elbows until La Rosa Negra snaps off a reverse neckbreaker, La Rosa Negra charges Iwatani in the corner and hits an elbow drop. Cover by La Rosa Negra but Iwatani kicks out at two. La Rosa Negra picks up Iwatani and applies the airplane spin before slamming Iwatani to the mat. La Rosa Negra goes up top but Iwatani avoids the Rose Splash, schoolboy by Iwatani but it gets two. Iwatani kicks La Rosa Negra back, she gets on the second turnbuckle and delivers a missile dropkick. Diving footstomp by Iwatani, she goes up top again and she hits a diving body press for a two count. Iwatani picks up La Rosa Negra and she hits a crucifix slam for another two. Buzzsaw Kick by Iwatani, she picks up La Rosa Negra but La Rosa Negra sneaks in a schoolboy for two. Back up, backslide with a bridge by Iwatani but it gets two as well. Iwatani charges La Rosa Negra but La Rosa Negra catches her with a powerslam, La Rosa Negra goes up top but Iwatani gets up and joins her. Superplex by Iwatani, she goes up top and nails the diving footstomp. Iwatani drags La Rosa Negra up and she delivers the dragon suplex hold, getting the three count pinfall! Your winner and new champion is Mayu Iwatani!

This was really solid, the best I have seen of La Rosa Negra so far. There was no time filler, no meandering limb work that didn’t go anywhere, and it lasted the perfect length. The moves were hit crisply and they were on the same page, which was my primary fear since they don’t have a lot of experience wrestling against each other. About as good as I could have hoped for and entertaining from start to finish, even if you aren’t familiar with La Rosa Negra it is definitely worth a watch.  Recommended

(c) Io Shirai vs. Dark Angel
World of Stardom Championship

This is a special match, as it is also billed as Dark Angel’s last match in Japan. Dark Angel, also known as Sarah Stock, was already signed to WWE before this match took place as she was headed there to become a trainer in NXT. While I am sure she will have another match down the road, at the time of this review this was her last match period as she did not wrestle again after this one before joining NXT. She of course is going out on a high note, challenging Stardom superstar Io Shirai for her World of Stardom Championship.

Dark Angel immediately gets a double underhook applied but Shirai gets away, they lock knuckles and Dark Angel flips Shirai to the mat. Back up they trade elbows, armdrag by Dark Angel and they trade quick pin attempts. Hard dropkick by Dark Angel but Shirai cartwheels away from Dark Angel and dropkicks her out of the ring. Shirai goes up top to do a moonsault but Dark Angel knocks her down and powerbombs Shirai right on the apron. Dark Angel returns to the ring while Shirai gets the magic spray, back in the ring Dark Angel grabs Shirai and she hits a neckbreaker. Dark Angel stretches Shirai’s back and covers her for a two count. Rolling senton by Dark Angel and she hits a backbreaker, another cover but it gets another two. Dark Angel gets Shirai on her shoulders and applies a backbreaker before flinging her to the mat. Dark Angel goes off the ropes but Shirai drop toeholds her into the ropes, Shirai charges Dark Angel to hit a tiger feint kick but Dark Angel reverses it with an armdrag. Jumping knee by Dark Angel in the corner and she hits another one, Dark Angel throws Shirai into the corner but Shirai springs up to the top turnbuckle and hits a missile dropkick. Dark Angel falls out of the ring, Shirai gets a running start and sails out onto Dark Angel with a tope suicida. Shirai slides Dark Angel back in and hits a springboard missile dropkick, tiger feint kick by Shirai but Dark Angel avoids the next missile dropkick and puts Shirai in an elevated crab hold.

Shirai eventually gets to the ropes, Dark Angel picks up Shirai and hits a few knees to the back before dropping her in the corner and rolling Shirai up for two. Dark Angel picks up Shirai but Shirai avoids the jumping knee and hits a running double knee in the corner. Dropkick by Shirai, she picks up Dark Angel and hits a few elbows, but Dark Angel comes back with a dropkick. Shirai falls out of the ring, Dark Angel goes up top and dives out onto Shirai with a plancha suicida. Back in the ring, Dark Angel goes up top and she hits a diving crossbody for a two count. Dark Angel picks up Shirai but Shirai slides away and hits the double underhook facebuster. German suplex hold by Shirai, she picks up Dark Angel and plants her with a tombstone piledriver. Shirai goes up top but Dark Angel gets both feet up when Shirai goes for the moonsault. Both wrestlers are slow to get up and trade elbows, Dark Angel kicks Shirai against the ropes and hits the Tiger Driver, but Shirai barely gets a shoulder up. Dark Angel gets Shirai on her back in La Reienera but Shirai gets out of it and applies a choke. Dark Angel elbows out of that and goes for another Tiger Driver, but Shirai reverses it and hits an Air Raid Crash. Shirai kicks Dark Angel in the head, she goes up to the top turnbuckle and nails the moonsault for the three count! Shirai is still the World of Stardom Champion.

This was a great match for a lot of reasons, most of which in this case I will credit to Dark Angel. Dark Angel is a seasoned veteran that knows what she is doing, there is a reason she is going to be a trainer at NXT. Her focus on the back was on point, almost all of her offense focused on Shirai’s back area which directly lead to her finisher which targets… the back. It is so simple but so few wrestlers take the time to tell a logical story from start to finish that I appreciate it when it happens. It helped that her offense was all interesting, between backbreakers and powerbombs on the apron she was mixing up how she was hurting Shirai. Shirai was fine here, she sold the back pretty well and only forget about it when she had to do her spots. Which I understand the crowd came to see her do her spots but when she was on offense it became the standard Shirai match we’ve all seen before. Which is still entertaining, just a bit predictable. Dark Angel is the one that made this one, probably by design since it was her farewell match, and I thoroughly enjoyed it.  Highly Recommended

event reviewed on 10/28/15

The post Stardom “Appeal The Heart” on 10/11/15 Review appeared first on Joshi City.

Welcome to the final show of the Stardom FIVE STAR GP! I realize I didn’t review any of the events leading up to the finale but it was just way too much to watch so we are skipping right to the good stuff. Here are the standings going into the show:

This event has all the wrestlers’ last matches in the tournament, then the Finals will immediately take place. Here is the full card:

• AZM, Mari Apache, and Shiki Shibusawa vs. Natsuko Tora, Ruaka, and Starlight Kid
• FIVE STAR GP 2017 Block B: Hiromi Mimura vs. Xia Brookside
• FIVE STAR GP 2017 Block A: Konami vs. Mandy Leon
• FIVE STAR GP 2017 Block B: Hana Kimura vs. Kris Wolf
• FIVE STAR GP 2017 Block A: Jungle Kyona vs. Tam Nakano
• FIVE STAR GP 2017 Block A: Kay Lee Ray vs. Toni Storm
• FIVE STAR GP 2017 Block A: HZK vs. Io Shirai
• FIVE STAR GP 2017 Block B: Viper vs. Yoko Bito
• FIVE STAR GP 2017 Block B: Kagetsu vs. Mayu Iwatani
• FIVE STAR GP 2017 Final

A long event, and since it was shown on Stardom World, all matches are unedited. The hard cam is slightly elevated which may annoy me, but a ten match card like this will be too clipped on Samurai TV to enjoy so I am going to push through it. As always, you can click on the wrestler’s name above to go straight to their profile on Joshi City.

AZM, Mari Apache, and Shiki Shibusawa vs. Natsuko Tora, Ruaka, and Starlight Kid

AZM (in new gear) starts the match with Natsuko, Natsuko attacks her from behind and AZM is triple teamed in the corner. Natsuko goes off the ropes and hits a hard shoulderblock, she picks her up but AZM whips off a hurricanrana. AZM tags in Mari, who promptly boots everyone in the face. Shiki and AZM get in the ring and all three put their opponents in submission holds, Mari cradles Natsuko but it gets a two count. Kicks by Mari but Natsuko elbows her back and hits a spear, she tags in Ruaka (also in new gear) while AZM is tagged back in. AZM throws down Ruaka by the hair but Ruaka comes back with a boot, another boot by Ruaka and she covers AZM for two. Shiki hops in and hits a missile dropkick, suplex by AZM and she covers Ruaka, but the pin is broken up. Ruaka tags in Starlight Kid but Mari is also tagged in and she quickly puts Starlight Kid in a submission hold. Starlight Kid gets out of it and hits a hurricanrana, dropkick by Starlight Kid and she hits the Shiranui. Body Press from the second turnbuckle by Starlight Kid, but Mari kicks out of the cover. Things break down as everyone runs in the ring, but Mari lariats both Natsuko and Ruaka. Mari puts Starlight Kid in the Atlantida (spinning backbreaker rack) and Starlight Kid submits! AZM, Mari Apache, and Shiki Shibusawa win!

This was simple, and at times a bit sloppy. Mari was the star as she should be, hitting her strikes soundly while also giving Starlight Kid quite a bit of offense as well so it wasn’t too one-sided. Ruaka hasn’t improved since I last saw her and Shiki didn’t do enough to get a feel of. Just a short opener with nothing particularly memorable.

Hiromi Mimura vs. Xia Brookside

After they confirm that Xia is taller than Hiromi, Xia picks up Hiromi but Hiromi wiggles away and applies a sunset flip for two. They trade flash pins with neither having success, Hiromi stomps down on Xia near the ropes before hitting a scoop slam. Camel Clutch by Hiromi, she picks up Xia but Xia puts her in the Tree of Woe and hits a dropkick to her face. Irish whip attempt by Xia, Hiromi reverses it but Xia hits a high knee in the corner. Face crusher by Xia and she dropkicks Hiromi for a two count. Xia picks up Hiromi and hits the Codebreaker, but again Hiromi kicks out of the cover. Xia picks up Hiromi again but this time Hiromi slides away and hits a jumping crossbody, dropkick by Hiromi and she dropkicks Xia again for a two count. Hiromi goes off the ropes but Xia delivers a high kick, sunset flip by Xia but Hiromi reverses it and they go back and forth with quick pins. La Magistral attempt by Hiromi, Xia blocks it but Hiromi puts her in the Endless Waltz for the three count! Hiromi Mimura wins the match and ends the tournament with four points.

They might have put on an even more basic match than the last match. No one will ever accuse Hiromi of being a high-end wrestler but in the right situations she can be entertaining as she is cute and has good comedic timing. But this was more a ‘dropkicks and flash pins’ style of match that didn’t do a whole lot for me. Technically sound, just not particularly interesting.

Konami vs. Mandy Leon

Lock-up to start, they end up on the mat but Mandy pulls Konami to her feet and hits a shoulderblock. Dropkick by Konami but Mandy quickly gets back up and they lock knuckles, monkey flip by Mandy and she keeps their knuckles locked so she can fling Konami to the mat again. Konami gets out of it and applies a short armbar, but Mandy rolls away and covers her for two. Cross armbreaker by Konami but Mandy gets a foot in the ropes, lariat by Mandy in the corner and she hits a running elbow. She goes for another one but Konami kicks her away and applies a hanging armbar, missile dropkick by Konami and she covers Mandy for two. Seated armbar by Konami but Mandy gets to the ropes, Konami goes off the ropes but Mandy catches her with a lariat. Elbow drop by Mandy, but her cover gets a two count. Mandy picks up Konami and throws her to the mat, DDT of sorts by Mandy but Konami kicks out of the pin. Mandy goes for a wrist-clutch slam but Konami reverses it with a cradle for the three count! Konami wins the match and ends the tournament with two points.

We have reached the part of the event that I regret not just watching the clipped up Samurai TV version. Like the last two matches, it wasn’t actively bad, it just wasn’t interesting or memorable or good either and was the least fluid match so far. Mandy’s offense is rough, and while I love Konami she isn’t really at the stage of her career where she is going to be able to elevate a wrestler much past where they already are. A watchable match in execution, but a skippable match in regards to entertainment value.

Hana Kimura vs. Kris Wolf

Hana has meat with her to taunt Kris with, I guess her sexy dancing wouldn’t work on her friend so she had to go in a different direction. Hana kicks Kris when she goes for the corn dog she is holding, stomps by Hana and she pulls back on Kris after twisting her in the ropes. Hana puts Kris in a Camel Clutch while waving some meat in her face, Irish whip by Hana but Kris ducks the lariat and hits a spinning headscissors. Jumping knee by Kris in the corner followed by a face crusher for a two count cover. Kris picks up Hana but Hana gets the meat out, Kris grabs it which gives Hana time to elbow her in the chest. Kris elbows her back and they trade blows on the mat, Kris gets the better of it but Hana blocks the suplex attempt. Eye poke by Kris and she applies a small package for two. Suplex by Kris, she gets on the top turnbuckle but Hana joins her and hits a superplex. Running boot by Hana, but the cover gets a two count. Hana picks up Kris but Kris applies a cradle and they go back and forth with flash pins. Kris goes off the ropes but Hana catches her with a dropkick, but boot by Hana and she nails the missile dropkick for the three count! Hana Kimura wins and ends the tournament with eight points.

I love both of these wrestlers. I was the first person on the Kris Wolf Bandwagon (I have documented proof), and I think Hana brings a lot to the table. They certainly weren’t trying to put on an epic match here as it barely went five minutes, and like every other match so far it was mostly strikes and flash pins. The meat thing was a bit too silly for me, I am not sure where the line is but Oedo Tai in general has been more “vicious” lately so I’d rather not it be a long term thing that Kris forgets to wrestle if she gets meat waved in her face. Its always a pleasure to see Hana and Kris, but not much of a match.

Jungle Kyona vs. Tam Nakano

They start the match trying to knock each other over with Kyona having success, cover by Kyona but Tam bridges out of it and hits a dropkick. Snapmare by Tam and she kicks Kyona in the back, Kyona returns to her feet and blocks Tam’s kick. Backbreaker by Kyona and she drapes Tam over the top rope before delivering a body avalanche. Single leg crab hold by Kyona, but Tam eventually makes it to the ropes for the break. Kyona goes off the ropes and hits a lariat, but Tam blocks the next one and applies an abdominal stretch. Sunset flip by Tam, but it only gets a two count. Stomps by Tam to Kyona’s already wrapped up arm but Kyona hits a body avalanche in the corner followed by a dropkick. Sliding lariat by Kyona, and she covers Tam for two. Kyona goes up top but Tam elbows her from behind, kicks by Tam and she suplexes Kyona back to the mat. Cover by Kyona, but it gets a two count. Tam picks up Kyona but Kyona blocks her kick and clubs her in the face, she goes off the ropes but Tam delivers a head kick for two. Tam picks up Kyona but Kyona elbows her off, Tam returns fire and nails another head kick, but Kyona is too close to the ropes and grabs the bottom one to break the pin. Elbows by Tam but Kyona hits a hard lariat, Kyona picks up Tam and drops her with a short range lariat. Hammerthrow Powerbomb by Kyona and she hits another short range lariat, she goes up top and delivers the diving body press for the three count! Jungle Kyona wins the match and picks up two points in the tournament.

Now we are getting somewhere, this was a really good match. Tam really looks better each time I see her, hanging around Stardom wrestlers and training with them seems to be helping. Easily the longest match on the show so far, they had a chance to tell a bit of a story so it wasn’t just strikes and pins. Tam’s kicks were on point and Kyona showed a lot of fire throughout, an exciting match from bell to bell. Really enjoyable and worth the watch.  Recommended

Kay Lee Ray vs. Toni Storm

Lock-up to start, Irish whip by KLR but Toni shoulderblocks her to the mat. Toni goes off the ropes but KLR trips her with a pancake, Toni trips KLR and she rolls her up for two. KLR gets Toni on her back but Toni cradles her before both wrestlers return to their feet. KLR fakes a handshake but kicks Toni in the head instead, KLR throws Toni into the corner and chops her in the chest. KLR rolls Toni to the mat and applies a front necklock, Toni muscles out of it however and hits a vertical suplex. Northern Lights Suplex by KLR, she rolls through it to hit another one but Toni reverses it with a DDT. They slowly get up and trade elbows, snap German by Toni and she hits a running hip attack in the corner. Suplex by Toni, she gets on the top turnbuckle but KLR kicks her before she can jump off, sending Toni to the floor. KLR quickly jumps on the top turnbuckle and sails out of the ring with a Swanton, she slides Toni back in the ring but Toni blocks the Gory Bomb. Toni goes for a kick but KLR catches it and hits the Gory Bomb anyway, cover by KLR but Toni gets a shoulder up. KLR gets on the top turnbuckle but Toni hits her before she can jump off, Toni grabs her but KLR wiggles away. KLR goes for a springboard off the ropes but Toni catches her with a German Suplex, piledriver by Toni but KLR barely kicks out of the cover. Toni picks up KLR and goes off the ropes, but KLR dropkicks her in the knee and hits a neckbreaker. KLR applies a choke but Toni gets a hand on the ropes, KLR gets on the top turnbuckle but Toni recovers and joins her. KLR goes for an elbow but Toni blocks it, and she nails the Strong Zero from the second turnbuckle. Cover by Toni, and she gets the three count! Toni Storm wins and now has 11 points in the tournament.

For a short tournament-style match (meaning more flash pins), I thought this was pretty damn good. KLR and Toni Storm are two of my favorite wrestlers period, and this was really smooth as they have great chemistry. Since it mattered for who won the Blue Block, they went a bit further with big moves and kicking out of finishers than we had seen thus far, raising the drama and excitement. The piledriver off the second turnbuckle was sick but a very definitive way to end the match while keeping KLR strong in the process. Fast paced and entertaining, wish it was longer but I can’t find any fault with the action itself.  Recommended

HZK vs. Io Shirai

They trade holds to start, they go off the ropes until HZK throws down Io by her hair. Bootscrapes by HZK, she goes off the ropes but Io dropkicks her in the face. Io returns the favor and boots HZK in the head, cover by Io but HZK kicks out. Stretch hold by Io, she lets go after a moment and stomps down on HZK’s stomach. Scoop slam by Io, and she covers HZK for a two count. Io picks up HZK and Irish whips her, but HZK slides out to the apron and snaps Io’s neck over the top rope. Dropkick by HZK into the corner and she finally hits the running kick that Io had prevented earlier, choke by HZK and she drives Io’s head into her knee. HZK picks up Io and hits a full nelson slam, cover by HZK but it gets a two count. She goes for the crossface but Io blocks it and applies her own armtrap crossface, she lets go after a moment and delivers a Tiger Feint Kick. Swandive dropkick by Io, she picks up HZK and elbows her in the face. They trade shots, Io gets the better of it and goes for a suplex, but HZK reverses it and hits a double stomp to Io’s stomach. HZK knocks Io into the corner and hits a running elbow, cover by HZK but it gets a two count. HZK goes up top but Io knocks her to the apron, Io joins HZK but HZK slides back in to avoid her palm thrust and knocks Io to the floor. HZK goes to the second turnbuckle and dives out onto Io with a diving lariat. HZK slides Io back into the ring, she gets on the second turnbuckle and hits a diving senton to Io’s back. Armtrap crossface by HZK but Io gets a foot on the ropes to force a break. Boot by HZK and she headbutts Io, scoop slam by HZK and she nails the Bombs Away, but Io barely gets a shoulder up. Armtrap crossface by HZK but again Io gets to the ropes. Io recovers and hits a German suplex hold, running double knee by Io and she hits the double underhook facebuster. Moonsault to the back by Io, she covers HZK but HZK kicks out of the cover. Quick roll-up by HZK but Io kicks out and boots HZK in the head. Texas Cloverleaf by Io but the bell rings, as the time limit has expired. The match is a Draw.

And Io is officially eliminated from winning the tournament. Another really good match, we had to get through some fluff but once the meaningful matches started this show has really delivered. HZK has improved tenfold since returning last December and looked like a legitimate challenger to Io here. Io did kick out of the Bombs Away, but HZK kicked out of the moonsault so they were even. Maybe too many armtrap crossfaces since neither ever win with the move so it felt a bit excessive that both kept using it, but otherwise everything made sense and it was an entertaining match. Keep an eye on HZK, if she sticks around this time she may be a future main event star.  Recommended

Viper vs. Yoko Bito

Viper dropkicks Yoko Bito while her streamers are flying in the ring, getting an early advantage in the match. Viper picks up Bito and clubs on her, sit-out slam by Viper but Bito rolls out of the ring to try to recover. Viper immediately goes out after her however and slams Bito into the apron, lariat against the post by Viper and she gets on the apron before hitting a cannonball down to the floor. Viper returns to the ring to wait for Bito, Bito slowly gets back in but Viper quickly puts her in a cobra clutch. Viper clubs on Bito some more, but Bito goes off the ropes and hits a jumping lariat. Running elbow by Bito and she hits a vertical suplex, Viper gets back up but Bito delivers a head kick for a two count cover. Viper and Bito trade elbows as they return to their feet, Bito goes off the ropes but Viper knocks her back with a headbutt. More headbutts by Viper and she hits a low running crossbody for a two count. Running senton by Viper, but that gets a two count as well. Viper throws Bito into the turnbuckles, cannonball by Viper and she goes for the Reverse Splash, but Bito rolls out of the way. High kick by Bito and she hits a second one, a third head kick by Bito and she nails the B Driver for the three count! Yoko Bito wins and gets two points in the tournament.

A step down from the last few matches. It was a simple story but told well, my main issue is that due to the time length, Bito’s comeback was really short in comparison to the amount of offense she took. I mean Viper threw everything at her but Bito won with a few head kicks and the B Driver with very little beforehand to weaken Viper. But that happens sometimes in tournament matches, these two could have a better longer match but as presented a bit disappointing.

Kagetsu vs. Mayu Iwatani

Kagetsu attacks Mayu as soon as she gets through the curtain, and with Oedo Tai’s help she beats her down on the stage. In an insane spot that has to be seen, Kagetsu tosses Mayu near the railing and then pushes over the entrance rigging on top of her, trapping her neck between the rigging and the guard rail. Mayu miraculously survives this and they finally make it back into the ring to officially start the match, Mayu immediately goes up top but Mayu manages to roll out of the way of the Oedo Coaster. Mayu grabs Kagetsu but Kagetsu gets away and hits a dragon suplex hold, picking up a two count. Mayu snaps off a quick Ebisu Drop for her own two count, as the wrestlers both steal each other’s signature moves. Both wrestler kip-up, they go off the ropes until Mayu hits a jumping elbow. Triple jump dropkick by Kagetsu and she hits a running elbow, vertical suplex by Kagetsu and she puts Mayu in a cross-arm submission hold. Mayu gets to the ropes for the break, the rest of Oedo Tai get on the apron as they all attack Mayu as she is in the ropes.

Kagetsu gets a bottle of water and dumps it onto Mayu, but Mayu regains the advantage with a dropkick. Elbows by Mayu and she kicks Kagetsu in the stomach before hitting a Sling Blade. Cover by Mayu, but it gets two. Mayu picks up Kagetsu, they both block each other’s strikes until Kagetsu delivers a high kick. Another high kick by Kagetsu and a third, Buzzsaw Kick by Kagetsu but she doesn’t go for the cover. Kagetsu goes off the ropes but Mayu hits a superkick, another superkick by Mayu and she hits several more until Kagetsu finally ends on her knees. Buzzsaw Kick by Mayu, and she covers Kagetsu for a two count. Iwatani goes off the ropes and gives Kagetsu a hard dropkick, she goes up top and nails the diving footstomp. Mayu drags up Kagetsu and goes for the Sakauchi but Kagetsu blocks it, kick combination by Kagetsu and she drops Mayu with a chokeslam. Kagetsu goes for the Ebisu Drop but Mayu reverses it with the Sakauchi, but Kagetsu barely kicks out of the cover. Kagetsu pushes Mayu into the referee, knocking him off his feet, allowing Kagetsu to spit blue mist into Mayu’s face. Kagetsu slams Mayu in front of the corner, she quickly goes up top and she nails the Oedo Coaster for the three count! Kagetsu wins the match and ends the tournament with ten points.

After the hot start the match dipped a bit in excitement, but still a great match. The stage spot looked incredibly dangerous and painful, which almost made the fact Mayu was fine a minute later doing a fast paced exchange difficult to believe. It was certainly a memorable moment though. The rest of the match was really fluid, they have great chemistry and every match they have they just ramp up the things they do to each other. Lots of hard strikes and snug suplexes, which is all one can ask for in life. I wouldn’t have minded if it was longer or if the opening killer move felt a bit more important to the match overall, but still a high end match between two of the best in Stardom.  Recommended

I don’t know what convoluted method Stardom used to determine who won the Red Block, but it is Yoko Bito! The finals of the FIVE STAR GP will now immediately take place!

Toni Storm vs. Yoko Bito
FIVE STAR GP 2017 Final

They shake hands but Bito immediately hits a pump kick afterwards, running elbow by Bito in the corner and she delivers a series of kicks. Bito puts Toni in the ropes and chops her in the chest from the apron, she charges Toni but Toni moves and Bito ends up stuck in the ropes. Toni kicks Bito out of the ring, she goes off the ropes and sails out onto her with a tope suicida. Toni chops Bito down onto a chair, she gets a running start and hits Bito with a jumping knee. Toni goes for a piledriver but Bito blocks it and hits a B Driver on the floor. Bito and Toni slowly return to the ring and they trade elbows, Bito goes off the ropes but Toni boots her in the chest. Neck crank by Toni and she hits a series of hip attacks, cover by Toni but it gets two. Toni goes back to the neck to help set up Bito for the Strong Zero, she picks her up but Bito ducks the lariat attempt and hits one of her own. Bito goes up top and delivers a missile dropkick, cover by Bito but it gets two. STF by Bito but Toni crawls to the ropes and forces the break. Bito picks up Toni and delivers a high kick, elbows by Bito but Toni headbutts her and hits a quick Strong Zero. Cover by Toni, but Bito barely kicks out. They both slowly get up and Bito drops Toni with a B Driver, he picks Toni up but Toni ducks her kicks and hits another Strong Zero. Toni rolls through it and hits a second Strong Zero, she then hits a third Strong Zero and covers Bito for the three count! Toni Storm is the new FIVE STAR GP Champion!

Its rough having the finals on the same event as nine other matches, as the show is already long so you know the main event is going to be a bit condensed. I liked what they did during the match though, I didn’t mind Toni hitting her finisher three times for the win as it wasn’t like Bito was kicking out between them, Toni was just being extra thorough. Toni is just so much fun to watch, between the dives and the hip attacks and her piledriver its hard for me not to get into her matches. Bito was mostly along for the ride in this one but she held her own as well, I never really got the sense she was winning as the match wasn’t long enough to have an epic end run. A solid match overall, I just wish the match was on a future event so they could have had more time.  Mildly Recommended

The post Stardom FIVE STAR GP Finale on 9/18/17 Review appeared first on Joshi City.

*Over the next few months, I will be slowly bringing my Joshi Reviews from Puroresu Central over to Joshi City so I can have all my Joshi reviews in one place. Some features of my current reviews on this site may be missing as my style has changed over the years, however I will have it match the Joshi City review format as closely as I can. The original review date can be found at the bottom of the review, I will try not to make any major changes to the text unless I see something that needs clarifying.*

As far as Joshi events go, this one is pretty massive. The attendance for the show is one of the higher attendances for a Joshi event so far this year, with a very respectable crowd for Korakuen Hall. Sendai Girls and Stardom have had an unofficial feud for the last six months but this is their first official promotion vs. promotion clash, which is something you rarely see these days. Invading wrestlers are normal, but a full blown six vs. six elimination match is another story. Here is the full card:

– Kyoko Kimura and Sareee vs. Alex Lee and Chikayo Nagashima
– Ray and Sakura Hirota vs. Hiroyo Matsumoto and Santana Garrett
– Sendai vs. Stardom 6 x 6 Elimination: Cassandra Miyagi, Chihiro Hashimoto, DASH Chisako, Meiko Satomura, Mika Iwata, and Sendai Sachiko vs. Hiromi Mimura, Io Shirai, Kairi Hojo, Kris Wolf, Mayu Iwatani, and Momo Watanabe

All the wrestlers above have profiles on Joshi City, you can click their names to go straight to it.

Kyoko Kimura and Sareee vs. Alex Lee and Chikayo Nagashima

The entire card is not Sendai vs. Stardom, as this is more of a normal opener. Kimura is a Freelancer that frequently wrestles in Stardom, while Sareee hails from Diana. Alex Lee is a Freelancer but wrestles in Stardom a lot, while Nagashima is a Freelancer as well that bounces around to different promotions. So no real storyline going on here, just a match to warm up the crowd.

Looks like this match is joined in progress, which I am perfectly ok with. I know I complain about it sometimes but only if it is an important match, openers being clipped isn’t a big deal. We pick things up with Sareee and Lee in the ring, Lee tags in Nagashima but Sareee gets away and tags Kimura. Nagashima and Kimura trade boots, Lee comes back in to help but Kimura pokes them both in the eyes and hits a double facecrusher. Lee schoolboys Kimura from behind for two (is she legal?), Kimura is double teamed again while Sareee watches, as Lee hits a jumping knee. Tilt-a-whirl DDT by Nagashima, then Lee hits a tornado DDT. Chokebomb by Lee, but Sareee breaks up the cover. Sareee hits a German suplex on Lee, big boot by Kimura and she hits another one on Lee for the three count! Kimura and Sareee win the match.

There wasn’t much to this one, between it being clipped and most of the action being meddling. Some of these wrestlers are good but none really got a chance to shine, which is a bit of a shame but this show is about the big main event and I have my doubts that any other match will be memorable on this card.

Ray and Sakura Hirota vs. Hiroyo Matsumoto and Santana Garrett

Another random wrestlers type of match, at least on one side. Ray and Hirota are certainly not a regular team, as Ray is a serious talented wrestler while Hirota mostly does comedy shtick. Matsumoto and Garrett were not a regular team until a few weeks ago, but have been teaming recently in Stardom.  This is going to be a major styles clash and I am not sure exactly what to expect.

We join this one as Matsumoto is beating on Hirota (thank goodness it is clipped), and Matsumoto applies a crab hold. Hirota eventually gets to the ropes to force a break, but Garrett comes in the ring and puts Hirota in the Muta Lock. Ray breaks that up, and we jump ahead in the match to Ray and Matsumoto being in the ring together. German suplex by Ray and she tags in Hirota. Hirota grabs Matsumoto’s arm and runs up the corner, she walks the ropes but Matsumoto crotches her to knock her back to the ring. Hirota drops Matsumoto into the ropes and gives her the Oil Check, tiger feint kick by Ray and Hirota hits the half hatch suplex for a two count. Garrett comes in to help and hits a superkick on Hirota, backdrop suplex by Matsumoto and she picks up the three count! Your winners are Garrett and Matsumoto.

I said that I was glad it was clipped because Hirota comedy gets old to me pretty quick, so the shorter the match the better. Nothing against the other wrestlers but any match with Hirota in it just kinda becomes her style of match. But this was too short to even get an opinion on, I enjoy both Ray and Matsumoto quite a bit but they did very little here. Safe to skip, although that Oil Check was vicious.

Team Sendai Girls (Miyagi, Chihiro Hashimoto, DASH Chisako, Satomura, Iwata, and Sachiko)
vs. Team Stardom (Mimura, Io Shirai, Hojo, Kris Wolf, Mayu Iwatani, and Watanabe)

This is a 6 vs. 6 Elimination Match. Each team starts with one wrestler in the ring, when a wrestler is pinned the next wrestler from that team comes in. This is repeated until a team is out of wrestlers. There is a ten minute time limit for each pairing, so if the time expires then both wrestlers are eliminated and the next two come in. There is no time limit if the contest comes down to just two wrestlers. Now that I got the rules out of the way, this is a big match as it is rare to have any promotion or factions battle that feel this important. The teams are pretty even, as both teams range from the best in the promotion to a couple less experienced wrestlers, so it balances out. I’m excited about it, let’s see how it plays out.

Chihiro Hashimoto vs. Momo Watanabe

Hashimoto immediately picks up Watanabe and puts her in the corner, Irish whip by Hashimoto and she hits a body avalanche. Watanabe comes back with a dropkick and hits another one, cover by Watanabe but it gets a two count. Hashimoto gets Watanabe to the mat and puts her in a leg submission, but Watanabe inches to the ropes to force a break. Watanabe goes off the ropes and hits a few dropkicks, but Hashimoto picks her up and hits a scoop slam. Another slam by Hashimoto and she covers Watanabe for two. Watanabe elbows Hashimoto but Hashimoto elbows her back and they trade blows.  Reverse STO by Watanabe and she hits a vertical suplex for a two count cover. Watanabe nails the Somato, but Hashimoto barely gets a shoulder up. Watanabe goes for a crossbody off the second turnbuckle but Hashimoto catches her and slams Watanabe to the mat.  Hashimoto deadlifts Watanabe back up and slams her again, and this time she gets the three count cover! Momo Watanabe is eliminated and Sendai Girls’ is winning the series 6-5.

Chihiro Hashimoto vs. Hiromi Mimura

Mimura comes in next for Stardom, she takes it to Hashimoto as soon as the bell rings, finally knocking her down with a series of dropkicks. Back up, spear by Hashimoto and she applies an armtrap headlock, Hashimoto picks up Mimura and applies a backbreaker before dropping Mimura to the mat. Fireman’s carry rolling slam by Hashimoto, she picks up Mimura and she hits a second one, but Mimura sneaks in a crucifix pin for a two count. The La Magistral gets the same result, dropkicks by Mimura but Hashimoto hits a judo throw and slaps on the cross armbreaker, forcing Mimura to tap! Mimura is eliminated, and Sendai Girls’ is up 6-4.

Chihiro Hashimoto vs. Kris Wolf

Wolf is the next wrestler down for Stardom. Wolf snapmares Hashimoto and kicks her in the back, but Hashimoto blocks her kick and applies a headlock on the mat. Wolf gets out of it but Hashimoto applies a full nelson, Wolf reverses it but Hashimoto quickly gets out of it. Kick by Wolf and she knees Hashimoto into the corner, kick to the back by Wolf and she covers Hashimoto for two. Wolf goes to the second turnbuckle but Hashimoto grabs her from behind, Wolf wiggles away however and hits a dropkick.  Wolf goes up top but Hashimoto avoids the dive and she delivers a Waterwheel Drop for the three count! Wolf is eliminated, and Sendai Girls’ is now up 6-3.

Chihiro Hashimoto vs. Io Shirai

Shirai is the next Stardom wrestler to try to beat the dominating rookie. Hip attack by Hashimoto but Shirai kicks her when she goes for a second one, Hashimoto fires back with a series of hip attacks and covers she covers Shirai for two. Irish whip by Hashimoto but Shirai hits a dropkick out of the corner, she gets on the second turnbuckle and delivers a missile dropkick. She hits another missile dropkick, cover by Shirai but it gets a two count. Shirai applies a double underhook, Hashimoto gets out of it and hits a rolling shoulder powerslam for two. Hashimoto picks up Shirai but Shirai gets away and kicks Hashimoto twice in the head.  Double underhook facebuster by Shirai, she tries to go up top but Hashimoto grabs her leg. Hashimoto charges Shirai but Shirai flips out to the apron and hits a missile dropkick off the top turnbuckle. Double knee by Shirai in the corner, she goes up top and she nails the moonsault for the three count! Hashimoto is eliminated, Sendai Girls’ is up 5-3.

Io Shirai vs. Mika Iwata

Shirai draws another Sendai Girls rookie, the young Iwata. Iwata is fired up but Shirai absorbs her blows, Shirai returns fire with elbows but Iwata hasn’t given up and elbows her back. A dropkick by Iwata finally sends Shirai to the mat, she picks up Shirai but Shirai blocks the dropkick, kicks by Iwata but Iwata pushes her to the mat and applies a crab hold. Double knee to the back by Shirai and she hits a standing moonsault before applying a sleeper, camel clutch by Shirai but she releases the hold after a moment. Shirai kicks Iwata into the corner but Iwata moves when she charges in and kicks Shirai in the chest.  Dropkick by Iwata and she puts Shirai in a leg trap chinlock, but Shirai makes it to the ropes. Scoop slams by Iwata, she picks up Shirai and she hits a vertical suplex for a two count. Iwata tries to kick Shirai in the back but Shirai catches it, Iwata gets away from Shirai and she hits a bodyscissors roll-up for two. Kick to the back by Iwata and she kicks Shirai in the head for another two. This is fantastically fun by the way, I’d love to see them wrestle a longer match at some point. Iwata picks up Shirai but Shirai grabs her and hits an Air Raid Crash. Dropkick to the head by Shirai, she picks up Iwata and hits the package German suplex for the three count! Iwata is eliminated and Sendai Girls’ is up 4-3.

Io Shirai vs. Sendai Sachiko

They trade strikes to start their pairing, Sachiko knocks Shirai out of the ring and goes after her, but Shirai throws Sachiko into the crowd. Vertical suplex by Sachiko on the floor, and back in the ring Sachiko starts working on Shirai’s back. DDT by Sachiko and she hits another one, German suplex hold by Sachiko but it gets two. Sachiko goes up top but Shirai gets her knees up on the diving body press attempt, Sachiko stays in control at first but Shirai front flips away and hits a dropkick. Sachiko falls out of the ring, Shirai goes to the apron and hits an Asai Moonsault down to the floor. Back in, swandive dropkick by Shirai followed by the tiger feint kick, she goes for another swandive move but she falls off and crashes to the floor. Sachiko goes out to get her and brings Shirai back in the ring, but Shirai hits a scoop slam and this time connects with the swandive bodypress. Shirai goes up top but Sachiko headscissors her back to the mat and hits a jumping DDT. Superkicks by Sachiko and she hits a German suplex hold for two. Sachiko goes up top and she delivers the diving body press, but Shirai kicks out of the cover. Mounted elbows by Sachiko and she applies the sleeper, cover by Sachiko but it gets a two count. Palm thrust by Shirai and she kicks Sachiko in the head, tombstone by Shirai but Sachiko gets a shoulder up on the cover. A German suplex hold by Sachiko gets the same result, superkick by Sachiko and she hits a suplex hold of her own. They quickly trade pins and submissions as the time is getting close, but neither can get the win before the bell rings. The match is a draw, and both wrestlers are eliminated. Sendai Girls’ is leading Stardom 3-2.

Meiko Satomura vs. Kairi Hojo

The two rivals are the next two wrestlers in for their teams, they roughly feel each other out until Satomura kicks Hojo into the corner. Spinning chop by Hojo and she charges Satomura, hitting a spear and then a rolling neckbreaker for two. Hojo goes for another spear but Satomura catches her and applies a front necklock. Spinning kick by Satomura and she covers Hojo for a two count. Satomura goes for the Death Valley Bomb, Hojo slides away and she hits the Sliding D to Satomura. A Wing Clutch pin by Hojo gets two, she goes up top and hits a diving elbow strike. Sliding D by Hojo in the corner, she goes up top again but Satomura recovers and joins her. Hojo knocks Satomura to the mat but Satomura delivers a high kick and re-joins Hojo, but Hojo knocks Satomura to the floor. Satomura gets back on the apron and kicks Hojo in the head, Satomura gets on the second turnbuckle and hits a superplex back into the ring for two. Kicks by Satomura, and she levels Hojo with a high kick. Cartwheel Kneedrop by Satomura and she applies the sleeper, but Hojo gets to the ropes. Satomura goes up top but Hojo gets her feet up on the diving body press attempt.  Jumping footstomp by Hojo, she gets Satomura up and hits the Alabama Slam. Hojo goes up top and nails the beautiful diving elbow drop, cover by Hojo but Satomura gets a shoulder up. Hojo goes up top again but Satomura rolls out of the way this time, death valley bomb by Satomura but the pin attempt gets a two. She hits a second one, she tries to do a third but Hojo grabs her leg. While they struggle, the bell rings and the match is a draw. Both Hojo and Satomura are eliminated, leaving Sendai Girls with two wrestlers remaining and Stardom with one.

DASH Chisako vs. Mayu Iwatani

The next two representatives come in, Chisako dropkicks Iwatani but Iwatani blocks the hurricanrana attempt and applies a crab hold. Snapmare by Iwatani and she kicks Chisako hard in the back, but Chisako slaps her and they trade blows. Chisako wins the battle and dropkicks Iwatani in the face, Chisako clubs on Iwatani and dropkicks her again before attempting a pin. Iwatani regains the advantage and dropkicks Chisako out of the ring, she goes up top and dives out after her but Chisako moves and she lands on Shirai instead. Opps.  Chisako stomps on both of them before sliding Iwatani back in, dropkick by Chisako and she hits a missile dropkick for a two count. Another dropkick by Chisako and she hits a cutter, but Iwatani kicks out of the pin. Diving footstomp by Chisako, she goes up top and hits another one, but Iwatani bridges out of the cover.  Superkick by Iwatani and she snaps off a release Dragon suplex, they both slowly get up and Iwatani applies a crucifix pin for two. Kick to the head by Iwatani, she goes up top but Chisako recovers and joins her. Iwatani knocks Chisako off but Chisako climbs back and hits a Frankensteiner. Diving footstomp by Chisako, cover, but it gets two. She goes up top again but Iwatani avoids the diving body press, cradle by Iwatani but it gets two. They trade quick pin attempts as the time is running low, but neither gets a successful pinfall. Back up they trade elbows, Northern Lights Suplex by Chisako but it also gets two. Back up, superkick by Iwatani, and she quickly hits the Fubukirana to get the three count! Chisako is eliminated, leaving the last two wrestlers.

Mayu Iwatani vs. Cassandra Miyagi

There is no time limit for the final pairing, the winner wins the main for their team.  Due to Iwatani just having wrestled for almost ten minutes, Miyagi controls the early potion of the match, throwing Iwatani around the ring. Iwatani fights back and hits a split legged armdrag off the ropes, but Miyagi avoids the dropkick and she knocks Iwatani to the floor. Miyagi takes Iwatani into the stands and tosses her around the bleachers, Miyagi brings Iwatani back to ringside and slams her onto the floor. Miyagi gets a stick but the referee stops her, then Satomura takes the stick from her as she doesn’t want Miyagi to get DQed. Back in the ring, dropkicks by Miyagi and she hits a front suplex before applying a stretch submission hold.  She picks up Miyagi but Iwatani hits two quick dropkicks, Miyagi throws Iwatani into the corner and she hits a jumping elbow. Face crusher by Miyagi and she kicks Iwatani in the head for two.  Elbow drops by Miyagi and she hits a backdrop suplex, delayed vertical suplex and she covers Iwatani for another two count.  Miyagi goes off the ropes but Iwatani catches her with a superkick, diving footstomp by Iwatani and she covers Miyagi for two. Iwatani goes up top but Miyagi avoids the bodypress, Miyagi now goes up top but Iwatani joins her and suplexes her to the mat. Crucifix slam by Iwatani, she picks up Miyagi but Miyagi blocks the dragon suplex and hits the ‘ol airplane spin. Miyagi goes up top and hits a missile dropkick, backdrop suplex by Miyagi but Iwatani kicks out of the pin. Miyagi hits three more but Iwatani fires back with the Sling Blade and they trade elbows as they slowly get up.  Superkicks by Iwatani, she goes up top and she delivers a diving footstomp for a two count.  Iwatani picks up Miyagi and she nails her version of the dragon suplex hold, picking up the three count pinfall! Team Stardom wins the match!

I am not even sure how to fairly evaluate a match like this, but I can say that it was a lot of fun to watch. Some of the pairings worked better than others. The rookies all looked good, especially Hashimoto, so even though those segments were short they were still solid and worth watching. The highlight was Shirai vs. Sachiko as I thought they had great chemistry, but I thought that Satomura/Hojo was the worst of the three times they have met in singles matches this year (but still good). The biggest issue is that while I really enjoy Miyagi’s character, she isn’t ready yet for a 15 minute singles match of this much importance. Iwatani was great, but Miyagi was clearly a few steps below and she is still a bit awkward in her wrestling. Which is normal for rookies, but rookies aren’t usually put in this type of situation. So while I though the match started strong, and peaked in the middle, the ending was a bit lackluster and predictable. Course that could also just be general exhaustion after watching an hour long match. One thing I loved is that while the teams stayed at ringside, there was no cheating. If this match happened in WWE there would have been run-ins, ref bumps, and all kinds of shenanigans. This was just two teams seeing which team was better, no extra craziness needed. I should also point out that it either wasn’t clipped at all or very very slightly, I didn’t time it but it was really long and there was no noticeable clippings. Entertaining and it had an epic feel to it, but certainly not without its fault.  Recommended
event reviewed on 12/1/15

The post Sendai Girls’ “Sendai Girls’ vs. Stardom” on 11/12/15 Review appeared first on Joshi City.

And we are back with Stardom! This event is their last before the big tournament starts, and features four championship matches. Io Shirai has returned after a brief absence due to a neck issue, and Kagetsu challenges for the World of Stardom Championship! Here is the full card:

• AZM vs. Hanan vs. Ruaka
• FIVE STAR Grand Prix 2017 Qualifying Match: Natsuko Tora vs. Tam Nakano
• Gabby Ortiz and Hiromi Mimura vs. Hana Kimura and Kris Wolf vs. Konami and Yoko Bito vs. Shiki Shibusawa and Starlight Kid
• SWA Undisputed Women’s Championship: Toni Storm vs. Xia Brookside
• High Speed Championship: Shanna vs. Mari Apache
• Artist Of Stardom Championship: Hiroyo Matsumoto, Jungle Kyona, and Kaori Yoneyama vs. HZK, Io Shirai, and Viper
• World Of Stardom Championship: Mayu Iwatani vs. Kagetsu

All wrestlers above have profiles on Joshi City, you can click on their name to go straight to it. I start off watching the Stardom World version of this event, but by the end I’ll be reviewing the Samurai TV version, I’ll explain why when I get there.

AZM vs. Hanan vs. Ruaka

Hanan and Ruaka tie-up while AZM watches, elbows by Hanan but Ruaka elbows her back. AZM gets involved, Hanan elbows her in the corner but Ruaka rolls up Hanan for two. AZM tosses Hanan by her hair, AZM grabs Hanan’s arm and applies a wristlock. Hanan kicks AZM but AZM trips her and hits a dropkick. Ruaka kicks AZM from behind but AZM drops Hanan, AZM avoids Ruaka’s big boot the first time but Ruaka connects the second time for a two count. Dropkick by AZM, she throws Ruaka into the corner and delivers another dropkick. Crab hold by AZM but Hanan breaks it up, AZM and Hanan trade elbows until AZM kicks Hanan out of the ring. AZM goes for a crossbody on Ruaka but Ruaka catches her and tosses AZM to the mat, big boot by Ruaka in the corner and she hits a fisherman suplex hold for two. Hanan returns and helps Ruaka on AZM, judo toss by Hanan to Ruaka and she hits a STO. Cover by Hanan, but Ruaka kicks out. Hanan picks up Ruaka and elbows her into the corner, vertical suplex by AZM to Ruaka but Hanan quickly covers AZM for two. STO by Hanan to AZM, Ruaka comes back and they double team AZM. Hanan dropkicks AZM but Ruaka rolls up Hanan for two, she goes off the ropes but Hanan rolls Ruaka to the mat and cradles her for the three count! Hanan wins!

Short and to the point, I will say that there were no issues of miscommunications here which is no small feat when dealing with a fast paced match with three really young wrestlers. I still see Hanan as the best of the bunch, but too early to really tell for any of them. At least AZM is back where she belongs on the card, so that’s one plus.

Natsuko Tora vs. Tam Nakano

Tam and Natsuko run into each other as the match starts but neither wrestler goes down, they trade elbows until Natsuko puts Tam in a headlock. Tam Irish whips out of it and hits a hard shoulderblock, but Natsuko returns the favor. Snapmare by Natsuko and she hits a dropkick, leglock by Natsuko but Tam gets into the ropes for the break. Natsuko charges Tam and dropkicks her into the corner, cover by Natsuko but it gets a two count. Tam comes back with her own dropkick, kick to the back by Tam and she applies a Dragon Sleeper. She lets go after a moment and goes off the ropes, but Natsuko hits a shoulderblock. Jumping elbow by Natsuko but Tam dropkicks her, running shoulder tackle by Natsuko and she levels Tam with a spear. Natsuko applies an armbar with a headscissors, cradle by Natsuko but it gets two. A backslide by Natsuko gets the same result, Natsuko goes off the ropes but Tam ducks the PK and kicks Natsuko in the head. Kicks to the chest by Tam and she kicks Natsuko in the head for a two count. Tam throws Natsuko into the corner and hits the Space Rolling Elbow, she follows with a Stunner and running footstomps. Senton by Tam, but Natsuko gets a shoulder up on the cover. Kick to the chest by Tam, she gets on the second turnbuckle and delivers a diving senton for another two count. Tam goes up top but Natsuko joins her, Natsuko gets Tam on her shoulders and hits a Samoan Drop. Natsuko goes off the ropes and knees Tam in the stomach, running knee by Natsuko but Tam kicks out. Natsuko picks up Tam but Tam blocks the slam and kicks Natsuko in the head. More kicks by Tam but Natsuko mostly blocks them and slaps her, two more kicks by Tam but Natsuko gets a shoulder up. Spinning Back Kick by Tam, and she picks up the three count! Tam Nakano wins and is in the FIVE STAR GP.

For two inexperienced wrestlers, this was a really solid match. Natsuko looks really smooth already in her career and showed some fire, she’s really progressed a lot since joining Team Jungle. Tam for most of the match looked really good as well, a few kicks at the end had too much hesitation but its their first ever match together so I can excuse some minor communications issues. A well done match, excited to see what Tam Nakano can do in the tournament.  Mildly Recommended

So I started this show watching the Stardom World version, which is why those two matches I saw in full, but I’m switching over to the Samurai TV version now because there is something wrong with Stardom’s hard cam. Everything looks tinted and weird, which is distracting. It normally isn’t like that so I’ll assume it was just a one-time issue.

Gabby Ortiz and Hiromi Mimura vs. Hana Kimura and Kris Wolf vs. Konami and Yoko Bito vs. Shiki Shibusawa and Starlight Kid

The match begins with Hana, Hiromi, Bito, and Shiki in the ring so naturally they have a pose off. Which Samurai TV did not clip. After everyone gets a turn they start fighting, with Hana being triple teamed in the corner. Everyone runs in to attack Hana, with them all having success except for Hiromi. Konami stays in the ring and helps Bito attack Shiki, but Starlight Kid re-enters and both deliver dropkicks to Konami and Bito. Gabby and Hiromi enter and both hit DDTs on Starlight Kid and Shiki, but Hana and Kris attack them from behind. We clip ahead to Bito hitting a double lariat on Gabby and Hiromi, Bito drops Hiromi on Gabby and covers her for two. Bito goes off the ropes but Kris trips her from the floor, Konami goes outside the ring and kicks both Hana and Kris while Gabby drops Bito with a Cyclone Neckbreaker. Small package by Gabby, she goes off the ropes but Bito kicks her in the head. Bito picks up Gabby and delivers the B Driver, but Hana boots Bito when she goes for the pin. Kris runs in and quickly covers Gabby, and she picks up the three count! Kris Wolf and Hana Kimura win!

Samurai TV kindly clipped this one quite a bit. The pose off is cute and fine for a midcard thing, and I laughed pretty good when Hana booted Hiromi in the face, but nothing else here was really memorable. I am glad Oedo Tai got the win though, it may not seem like much but every pinfall counts when trying to get a faction over. Quite skippable but harmless.

(c) Toni Storm vs. Xia Brookside
SWA Undisputed Women’s Championship

This match is joined very in progress, as Xia drops Toni with a spinning headscissors. Running knee by Xia and she hits a face crusher, cover by Xia but it gets a two count. Xia goes for a kick but Toni ducks it and hits a release German, running hip attack by Toni in the corner and she hits a snap vertical suplex. Toni goes up to the top turnbuckle but Xia elbows her before she jumps off, Xia tosses Toni to the mat and covers her for two. Crucifix slam by Xia, she picks up Toni and elbows her in the chest, but Toni throws her into the corner. Buckle Bomb by Toni, and she nails the piledriver for the three count! Toni Storm is still the champion.

Since the match was clipped down to under three minutes its hard to give a real opinion on it, but everything they showed was fine. Toni Storm is one of the best, she hits everything so crisp and I love watching her. Obviously too short to really recommend not a bad way to spend a couple minutes.

(c) Shanna vs. Mari Apache
High Speed Championship

Apache quickly armdrags Shanna around to start the match, but Shanna hits a spinning bodyscissors and dumps Apache out of the ring. Apache returns after a moment, Shanna elbows her into the corner before snapmaring Apache and kicking her in the back. Sleeper by Shanna, she lets go after a moment and knocks Apache into the corner. Irish whip by Shanna but Apache kicks her when she charges in, kick to the back by Apache and she puts Shanna in an armlock. She lets go of the hold after a moment, she tosses Shanna towards the corner but Shanna reverses it and hits a running elbow. Elbow smash by Shanna, and she covers Apache for two. Back up they trade elbows, drop toehold by Apache and she puts Shanna in the rolling Mexican Surfboard. Apache ties up Shanna’s legs, she then picks up Shanna and stretches her over her back. Shanna spins out of it and hits a hurricanrana, cover by Shanna but it gets a two count. Superkick by Shanna, Apache rolls out of the ring but Shanna quickly goes to the top turnbuckle and dives down onto her with a plancha suicida. Shanna and Apache return to the ring, elbow by Shanna but Apache blocks the suplex attempt. Enzuigiri by Shanna, she goes up top but Apache avoids her dive and delivers a heel drop. Shanna temporarily regains the advantage but Apache knocks her down with a lariat, sit-down powerbomb by Apache but Shanna barely gets a shoulder up on the cover. Apache picks up Shanna but Shanna reverses the slam attempt into a DDT. Shanna goes up top and hits a diving crossbody, but Apache rolls out of the pin and covers Shanna for two. Tiger Suplex Hold by Shanna, but Apache kicks out at two. Shanna goes off the ropes but Apache catches her with a Michinoku Driver, she goes up top and nails the Swanton Bomb for the three count! Mari Apache is the new champion!

For whatever reason, this match never really clicked. I think part of the reason the match wasn’t gripping is there was just no clear structure to it, I never was sure what either wrestler’s plan to win was as the offense was so random. Apache knows what she is doing but her offense here had no rhyme or reason to it, and Shanna wasn’t very crisp as several moves didn’t connect as she intended. I think I actually liked their match on July 23rd better, something just felt off here. No lack of effort, it just never hooked me and didn’t have that title match feel.

(c) Hiroyo Matsumoto, Jungle Kyona, and Kaori Yoneyama vs. HZK, Io Shirai, and Viper
Artist of Stardom Championship

Io and Kaori begin the match, they quickly get into a fast exchange with Io being Io, as she shows that she hasn’t lost anything in her month off. She tags in Viper while Hiroyo also tags in, Hiroyo works a headlock but Viper takes Hiroyo to the mat. Hiroyo quickly gets out of it, HZK and Kyona tag in next and Kyona hits a body avalanche in the corner. Scoop slam by Kyona but HZK avoids the body press, Viper comes in but Kyona avoids her body press as well. Io kicks Kyona from the apron and comes in the ring, and  Kyona is triple teamed. Kaori and Hiroyo come in to help but they all end up being cannonballed by Viper in the corner, dropkick by HZK to Kyona and she covers her for two. Bootscrapes by HZK in the corner and she hits a running boot, she tags in Io and Io hits a running boot as well. Cover by Io, but it gets a two count. Io kicks Kyona and hits a double knee in the corner, she goes for another one but Kyona meets her with a hard shoulderblock. Kyona tags in Kaori but Io avoids her running senton, HZK comes in but Kaori fights them both off. Kaori picks up Io and hits Mongolian Chops, throat trust by Kaori but Io trips her and hits a slingshot dropkick. Io hits a running knee on Kaori in the corner and tags in Viper, bodyblock by Viper on Kaori but Kaori hops on her back and applies a sleeper. Viper drives Kaori into the corner to get her off, Viper charges Kaori but Kaori moves and goes for a suplex. Viper blocks it, Kaori goes off the ropes and she drops Viper with a DDT. She tags in Hiroyo, Hiroyo throws Viper into the corner and hits a body avalanche. Viper and Hiroyo trade lariats, Hiroyo crushes Viper against the ropes and goes for a suplex, but Io dives in the ring with a sunset flip onto Hiroyo.

Crossbody by Viper and she hits a running senton onto Hiroyo for a two count. Viper picks up Hiroyo but Hiroyo hits a German suplex, sliding lariat by Hiroyo and she covers Viper for two. Hiroyo tags in Kyona but Viper also tags in HZK, Kaori goes up top and hits a missile dropkick onto HZK. Pump Kick by HZK and she applies a rolling cradle, but Kyona kicks out at two. Kyona sneaks in a pin on her own two count, lariat by Kyona and she gets another two count cover. Kyona goes for the powerbomb but Io flies in the ring with a swandive missile dropkick, Io dropkicks Kaori and Hiroyo but Hiroyo fires back with a lariat. Double lariat by Kyona and Hiroyo to HZK, Kyona goes for the cover but Viper comes in to break it up. Viper lands on top of HZK by accident, diving attacks by Kaori and Kyona but Kyona’s cover gets broken up. Kyona picks up HZK for the Hammerthrow Bomb but HZK gets out of it, Viper comes in and hits a jumping crossbody on all three Team Jungle members. Pump Kick by HZK to Kyona, but Kyona barely gets a shoulder up. HZK picks up Kyona but Kyona hits a lariat, Io runs in and kicks Kyona before dives out of the ring onto Hiroyo. In the ring, Viper knocks Kyona into the corner and hits the Michinoku Driver, then Io goes up top and nails a moonsault. Bombs Away by HZK to Kyona, and she covers her for the three count! Queen’s Quest are the new champions!

Trios matches generally aren’t my favorite, but I do enjoy them a lot more if they are just pure chaos like this match. There was always something going on, it wasn’t a match about limb work or submissions, it was about playing the odds game and seeing which team could hit the winning combination of moves first long enough for the pinfall. Which I think they did a great job of, I have no idea how they do what they do so smoothly but everything flowed really well. Kyona got legit knocked hard in the face and started bleeding but it had no impact on the match as she kept on trucking as if nothing was wrong. An exciting match, I’m glad Queen’s Quest upgraded their third member for trios and it really helped here as all six wrestlers looked fantastic. I still prefer a quality singles match, but this was pretty damn entertaining.  Recommended

(c) Mayu Iwatani vs. Kagetsu
World of Stardom Championship

They start in the traditional fashion, with a tie-up, Kagetsu pushes Mayu into the ropes but she surprisingly gives a clean break. Kagetsu gets Mayu to the mat but Mayu springs up, hard shoulderblock by Kagetsu and they run off the ropes until Mayu hits an armdrag. Dropkick by Mayu but Kagetsu hits a back bodydrop, another dropkick by Mayu and both wrestlers kip-up. Snap German by Mayu but Kagetsu moves when Mayu goes for her dropkick and Mayu falls out of the ring. Kris and Hana beat on Mayu at ringside before sliding her back in, Mayu throws Kagetsu into the corner but Kagetsu avoids her charge and dropkicks Mayu in the knee. Kagetsu picks up Mayu and slaps at her, running knee by Kagetsu and she goes for a swandive dropkick, but Mayu dropkicks her mid-air which sends Kagetsu out of the ring. Mayu dives from the top turnbuckle down to the floor but Oedo Tai jumps her, Natsuko and Jungle come over to help though and Mayu gets free and chops Kagetsu into the crowd. Mayu pulls Kagetsu up near the balconies and they trade elbows, vertical suplex on the floor by Mayu and she goes up to the balcony. She goes to do a dive but Kris grabs her leg, Kagetsu joins Mayu up at the top of the balcony and Kagetsu hangs Mayu off the balcony.

She drops her after a moment and Mayu falls down onto the steps below, Kagetsu brings Mayu to the steps and kicks her down them. Literally, Mayu tumbled down the stairs end over end like a bag of potatoes. Kagetsu slides Mayu back into the ring, she picks her up but Mayu slides away. Kagetsu kicks Mayu in the head, she goes up top but Mayu recovers and joins her. Frankensteiner by Mayu, she goes up top and delivers a missile dropkick. Cover by Mayu, but it gets a two count. High kick by Mayu and she delivers a German suplex hold, but Kagetsu kicks out. Mayu goes back up top and hits the diving body press, but that also only gets a two. A dragon suplex hold also doesn’t get a three count. Mayu drags up Mayu but Kagetsu gets away and Hana hits a missile dropkick while Kris has the referee distracted. Chokeslam by Kagetsu, and she covers Mayu for a two count. Ebisu Drop by Kagetsu, she goes up top but Mayu gets her knees up on the Oedo Coaster attempt. Mayu picks up Kagetsu but Kagetsu lands on her feet on the dragon suplex attempt, Sakauchi by Mayu and she drops Kagetsu on her head with a dragon suplex. Mayu nails her version of a dragon suplex hold, and she finally picks up the three count! Mayu Iwatani is still the champion!

The main takeaway from this match is that Mayu Iwatani is insane. Kagetsu isn’t much better but some of the things Mayu did in this match aren’t really things I’d recommend any wrestler doing. I mean it was entertaining and exciting, so I am not complaining, but she is certainly risking her health for my amusement. Them doing crazy bumps was the highlight of the match, whether it was Mayu tumbling down the stairs or Kagetsu landing on her head on a dragon suplex, but there wasn’t a lot connecting those moves. A few minutes was clipped which may explain some of the issues, but at times it was mostly a match about big spots. Certainly no lack of effort, both were going all out, and since they have long time feud they have great chemistry. It felt like it was lacking something to really be a ‘must see’ match but it was still very enjoyable.  Recommended

The post Stardom Midsummer Champions on 8/13/17 Review appeared first on Joshi City.

The Stardom 5★STAR Grand Prix starts next week, and after today’s show in Stardom the Blocks are finally set. Here is everything we know about the tournament so far, plus I’ll throw in some predictions at the end based on years of extensive Joshi research.

The 5★STAR GP is a round-robin tournament, similar to the G1 Climax in New Japan. Every wrestler has a match against all the other wrestlers in their Block (spread out over several weeks), with the winner of each Block meeting in the Finals. Traditionally the scoring is done in traditional fashion as well: two points for a win, one point each for a draw, with each match having a 15 minute time limit. You can click on the wrestler’s name below to go to their profile here on Joshi City if you need more information on the individual wrestlers. Here are the Blocks this year:

Red Block:

• Hana Kimura
• Hiromi Mimura
• Kagetsu
• Kris Wolf
• Mayu Iwatani
• Viper
• Xia Brookside
• Yoko Bito

Blue Block:

• HZK
• Io Shirai
• Jungle Kyona
• Kay Lee Ray
• Konami
• Mandy Leon
• Tam Nakano
• Toni Storm

Stardom has also released on which dates each match will happen, so you can plan your Stardom viewing accordingly:

August 19th

• Red Block: Mayu Iwatani vs. Viper
• Red Block: Yoko Bito vs. Hana Kimura
• Red Block: Kagetsu vs. Hiromi Mimura
• Red Block: Kris Wolf vs. Xia Brookside
• Blue Block: Io Shirai vs. Mandy Leon
• Blue Block: Jungle Kyona vs. Toni Storm
• Blue Block: HZK vs. Tam Nakano
• Blue Block: Konami vs. Kay Lee Ray

August 20th

• Red Block: Mayu Iwatani vs. Hana Kimura
• Red Block: Yoko Bito vs. Kagetsu
• Red Block: Hiromi Mimura vs. Kris Wolf
• Blue Block: Io Shirai vs. Toni Storm
• Blue Block: Jungle Kyona vs. Mandy Leon
• Blue Block: Kay Lee Ray vs. TTam Nakano
• Blue Block: HZK vs. Konami

August 26th

• Red Block: Mayu Iwatani vs. Yoko Bito
• Red Block: Kagetsu vs. Xia Brookside
• Red Block: Hiromi Mimura vs. Hana Kimura
• Red Block: Viper vs. Kris Wolf
• Blue Block: Io Shirai vs. Jungle Kyona
• Blue Block: HZK vs. Toni Storm

August 27th

• Red Block: Kagetsu vs. Viper
• Red Block: Hana Kimura vs. Xia Brookside
• Red Block: Yoko Bito vs. Hiromi Mimura
• Blue Block: HZK vs. Kay Lee Ray
• Blue Block: Konami vs. Toni Storm

September 2nd

• Red Block: Mayu Iwatani vs. Hiromi Mimura
• Red Block: Viper vs. Xia Brookside
• Blue Block: Io Shirai vs. Kay Lee Ray
• Blue Block: Toni Storm vs. Mandy Leon
• Blue Block: Konami vs. Tam Nakano

September 3rd

• Red Block: Mayu Iwatani vs. Kris Wolf
• Red Block: Yoko Bito vs. Xia Brookside
• Blue Block: Io Shirai vs. Konami
• Blue Block: Jungle Kyona vs. Kay Lee Ray
• Blue Block: Toni Storm vs. Tam Nakano
• Blue Block: HZK vs. Mandy Leon

September 10th

• Red Block: Kagetsu vs. Hana Kimura
• Red Block: Mayu Iwatani vs. Xia Brookside
• Red Block: Yoko Bito vs. Kris Wolf
• Red Block: Hiromi Mimura vs. Viper
• Blue Block: Io Shirai vs.. Tam Nakano
• Blue Block: Kay Lee Ray vs. Mandy Leon
• Blue Block: Jungle Kyona vs. HZK

September 16th

• Red Block: Kagetsu vs. Kris Wolf
• Red Block: Hana Kimura vs. Viper
• Blue Block: Mandy Leon vs. Tam Nakano
• Blue Block: Jungle Kyona vs. Konami

September 18th

• Red Block: Mayu Iwatani vs. Kagetsu
• Red Block: Yoko Bito vs. Viper
• Red Block: Hana Kimura vs. Kris Wolf
• Red Block: Hiromi Mimura vs. Xia Brookside
• Blue Block: Io Shirai vs. HZK
• Blue Block: Toni Storm vs. Kay Lee Ray
• Blue Block: Konami vs. Mandy Leon
• Blue Block: Jungle Kyona vs. Tam Nakano
• 5★STAR GP Finals

Predictions

Tournaments like these are always hard to predict, which is part of the fun of watching. But here are my general predictions for the tournament:

• Mayu Iwatani wins the Red Block. Stardom isn’t known for being subtle, if they want to push someone as an Ace they don’t generally lose very often. Also, the Red Block in general is pretty weak this year. Hana, Kris, Hiromi, and Xia have no chance of winning, and since Yoko Bito won last year I don’t think they’d put her in the finals two straight years. Kagetsu just had a title shot against Mayu on August 13th and lost, which hurts her chances of winning the tournament. Viper I’d have as my #2 pick, but she also recently had a title shot and just won the Trios Championship. They do like to have gaijin in the finals so I wouldn’t be surprised at all if Viper did win the Red Block, but Mayu is still my pick.
• Io Shirai wins the Blue Block and the Tournament. Remember I mentioned that Stardom isn’t subtle? One of their greatest booking tendencies is putting over their best wrestlers as strong as possible, so now that Io is back, I suspect she will win the tournament to go straight after Mayu again for the belt. This is a harder block though to predict, as both Toni Storm and Jungle Kyona I could see arguments for winning as well. I just don’t see Stardom passing up having Io in the Finals of their biggest fall show, I suspect she will pick up right where she left off.
• Oedo Tai comes out strong. Last year, only one Oedo Tai wrestler was in the tournament, and Kris Wolf only got one point. This year they have three wrestlers, with Kagetsu, Hana Kimura, and Kris Wolf. I don’t see any of them winning the tournament, but I do expect them to get at least 12 points between them and to score an upset or two in order to put over the faction as one to be reckoned with. If the opposite happens and they are just fodder, it would pretty much be the end of the faction as a serious threat, which I don’t think Stardom wants to happen. It is odd they put them all in one Block so I have no idea what they have in mind, they may work together to try to dethrone Mayu which could lead to a tournament-long storyline to keep things interesting.
• Kay Lee Ray and Toni Storm will be the MVPs. Last year, KLR and Toni Storm were in some of the best matches of the tournament, and I expect the same to happen again this year. Kay Lee Ray is one of my favorite gaijin that Stardom uses, but since she only comes in a couple times a year,  her matches always feel fresh. Toni Storm is starting to get appreciated globally as one of the best female wrestlers in the world for a good reason, she’s fantastic. I don’t think either will reach the Finals, but I suspect when the tournaments ends any “Best Matches” list will have their names mentioned many times.

The tournament starts next weekend with a full slate of matches, with the Finals taking place on September 18th, so we have a long journey coming ahead. Joshi City will be there every step along the way, so keep checking back for reviews of each show as they are added to Stardom World!

The post Stardom 5★STAR Grand Prix 2017 Preview and Predictions appeared first on Joshi City.

While normally I don’t review Stardom house shows, Michiko Omukai making a return was enough to get me to watch it. But its actually a pretty big show in general, as there are seven matches which is very unusual for Stardom. We also get a title match between Viper and Mayu Iwatani, and a grudge match between Jungle Kyona and HZK. Lots of potential on this show, here is the full card:

• Hanan and Ruaka vs. Shiki Shibusawa and Starlight Kid
• Gabby Ortiz and Xia Brookside vs. Kaori Yoneyama and Natsuko Tora
• AZM vs. Hiromi Mimura
• Mari Apache vs. Shanna
• HZK vs. Jungle Kyona
• Hana Kimura, Kagetsu, and Kris Wolf vs. Konami, Michiko Omukai, and Yoko Bito
• Wonder Of Stardom Championship: Mayu Iwatani vs. Viper

All the wrestlers have profiles on the site, you can click on their name to go straight to it. Since this aired on Stardom World, all matches are shown in full.

Hanan and Ruaka vs. Shiki Shibusawa and Starlight Kid

Hanan and Starlight Kid start off, they go through a sequence off the ropes but they reach a stalemate. Shiki comes in briefly to help Starlight Kid get the advantage, Starlight Kid tags in Shiki and Shiki puts Hanan in a crab hold. Hanan gets to the ropes to force a break, scoop slam by Shiki and she puts Hanan in a sleeper. Hanan slides out of it and they trade front necklocks, Shiki goes off the ropes and she dropkicks Hanan to the mat. Another dropkick by Shiki and she covers Hanan for two. Shiki goes off the ropes but Ruaka grabs her, but Starlight Kid grabs Hanan too. STO by Hanan to Shiki, and she gets a two count cover. Hanan tags in Ruaka, Ruaka goes for the big boot but Shiki moves out of the way. Reverse STO by Ruaka to Shiki and she nails the big boot in the corner, she goes for a fisherman suplex but Shiki blocks it. Hanan and Starlight Kid both come in, Hanan is knocked out of the ring and Starlight Kid hits a standing moonsault onto Ruaka. Missile dropkick by Shiki, but Hanan breaks up the cover. Shiki tags Starlight Kid, Starlight Kid goes for a crossbody but Ruaka catches her and throws Starlight Kid to the mat. Tiger Feint Kick by Starlight Kid but Ruaka mostly blocks it, Ruaka and Starlight Kid trade elbows until Ruaka hits a side Russian leg sweep. Ruaka tags Hanan, dropkicks by Hanan to Starlight Kid and she covers her for two. Hanan and Starlight Kid trade waistlocks, Shiki comes in but she dropkicks Starlight Kid by accident. Ruaka boots Shiki while Hanan throws Starlight Kid to the mat. Fisherman suplex by Ruaka to Starlight Kid, Hanan goes off the ropes and she hits Starlight Kid wit a STO for a two count. Hanan goes off the ropes but Shiki trips her from the floor, Tiger Feint Kick by Starlight Kid to Hanan, and she hits a standing moonsault. Starlight Kid gets on the second turnbuckle and hits a diving crossbody, cover by Starlight Kid and she picks up the three count! Shiki Shibusawa and Starlight Kid win!

Some definite miscommunications but considering their experience levels that is to be expected. Its hard to criticize a bunch of wrestlers with less than a year of experience (some much less than a year), its all a learning process. Some good spots and a few of them show some early promise, but I wouldn’t say it was a good match.

Gabby Ortiz and Xia Brookside vs. Kaori Yoneyama and Natsuko Tora

Team Jungle attacks before the match starts and attack both of their opponents in the corner. Double body block by Team Jungle, scoop slam by Natsuko on Xia and she slams her a couple more times. Xia elbows Natsuko and hits a dropkick, she tags in Gabby and they hit a double face crusher onto Natsuko. Gabby picks up Natsuko and hits a flipping neckbreaker, dropkick by Gabby and she covers Natsuko for two. Stretch hold by Gabby, Kaori comes in to help but Xia puts her in an Octopus Hold. Irish whip by Gabby to Natsuko but Natsuko hits a shoulderblock and tags in Kaori. Kaori boots Gabby in the head, Xia comes in but Kaori hits a crossbody onto both of them followed by a senton. Kaori picks up Gabby and they trade strikes, back elbow by Gabby and she tags in Xia. Xia goes off the ropes and hits a spinning headscissors onto Kaori, jumping knee by Xia and she hits a face crusher for a two count. Northern Lights Suplex by Kaori and she tags Natsuko, shoulderblocks by Natsuko and she covers Xia for two. Gabby comes in but Natsuko hits a spear onto both of them, another spear by Natsuko to Xia and she covers her for two. Kaori comes in and gets on the second turnbuckle, but Xia avoids her diving senton. Xia tosses Natsuko off the top turnbuckle and applies the Japanese Leg Roll Clutch, picking up the three count! Team Jungle wins the match.

Pretty short, just a hair over six minutes, so still not a great look at the wrestlers new to Stardom. I was surprised to see Xia pick up the pinfall, not sure if they have something in mind for her or if they just didn’t put too much thought into a midcard house show match. Solid action, and Kaori looked great as she tends to, but too short to recommend.

AZM vs. Hiromi Mimura

They get right to it as AZM quickly gets Hiromi to the mat and dropkicks her, AZM throws Hiromi into the corner and connects with another dropkick. Footstomps by AZM near the ropes and she puts Hiromi in a camel clutch, she lets Hiromi up but Hiromi delivers a dropkick. AZM tosses Hiromi out to the apron but Hiromi elbows her back, she returns to the ring but AZM hits a satellite cradle for two. AZM and Hiromi trade elbows, sunset flip by AZM but Hiromi rolls through it and hits a crossbody for two. AZM blocks a suplex and hits rolling verticals for two, she jumps on Hiromi’s back but Hiromi shrugs her off and applies La Magistral for a two count. Hiromi goes off the ropes and delivers a DDT, she charges AZM in the corner but AZM moves and cradles her for two. A backslide by AZM gets a two count as well, she goes for the Japanese Leg Roll Clutch but Hiromi blocks it. The two trade flash pins, until Hiromi is able to hold down AZM for the three count! Hiromi Mimura is the winner!

This match was even shorter, but I am not complaining since these are not two of the better in-ring wrestlers in Stardom. I am not sure what the long term plan can be with either, AZM is still a kid but Hiromi hasn’t improved much in the last year and her last singles win in Stardom (which was also against AZM). The flash pins I guess were done well and nothing stuck out as bad, just nothing was particularly memorable. Short and inoffensive.

Mari Apache vs. Shanna

Shanna hits the first big move of the match with a hurricanrana, dropkick by Shanna and Mari rolls out of the ring to re-group. She returns after a moment, Shanna goes for another dropkick but Mari avoids it and hits a backbreaker. Mari puts Shanna in the Mexican Surfboard while rolling her around the ring, modified STF by Mari but Shanna gets a hand on the ropes for the break. Kick by Mari in the corner but Shanna snaps off a hurricanrana for a two count. Mari pushes Shanna against the ropes and boots her in the head, heel drop by Mari and she covers Shanna for two. Camel Clutch by Mari, she lets go of the hold after a moment and puts Shanna in a single leg crab hold. Shanna eventually gets to the ropes, stomps by Mari and she puts Shanna on the top turnbuckle, but Shanna kicks her back and hits a diving hurricanrana. Stunner by Shanna, and she covers Mari for a two count. Shanna puts Mari in a cross armbreaker but Mari gets a foot on the ropes for the break, Shanna picks up Mari but Mari rocks her with a lariat. Sit-down powerbomb by Mari, but Shanna gets a shoulder up on the cover. Elbow by Shanna and she delivers a high kick, sending Mari rolling out of the ring to the floor. Shanna gets a running start and dives out onto Mari with a tope suicida, but Mari grabs her and stomps Shanna in the head. Mari throws Shanna into the chairs at ringside but Shanna returns the favor, Shanna goes to re-enter the ring but Mari grabs her from behind as they take turns trying to get back into the ring. Neither can make it however in time, as the referee reaches a 20 Count with both still on the floor! The match is a Double Count Out.

I was enjoying this until the overly telegraphed ending. Its always suspicious in Stardom when the referee is obviously counting since Stardom wrestlers are known for taking forever on the floor without the referee caring. Plus the spots with both wrestlers pulling each other by the leg to prevent the other from getting back in weren’t very well done. Up to that point it was a pretty fun match, a bit mat-based but Mari has some quality submissions so it was entertaining. Impressed that Shanna managed to squeeze three hurricanrana variations in such a short match, but it was more a Mari match than a Shanna match in structure. Above average overall, the ending was just a bit lame.

HZK vs. Jungle Kyona

HZK asks for a knuckle lock to start, which Kyona accepts, and they go into a Test of Strength. They both end up on the mat while still locked up, they get back on their feet and HZK gives Kyona a hard headbutt. Both are staggered but recover at about the same time, hard shoulderblock by Kyona and she hits a second one. Cover by Kyona, but it gets a two count. Kyona throws HZK into the corner but HZK catches her with a dropkick, HZK tosses Kyona into the corner and gives Kyona some bootscrapes. Running boot by HZK and she kicks Kyona in the back, more strikes by HZK but Kyona keeps fighting back. Kyona gets HZK’s back and puts her in a sleeper before spinning her around, Kyona keeps the hold applied on the mat. HZK manages to get back to her feet and falls backwards to get Kyona off of her, running elbow by HZK in the corner and she covers Kyona for two. Kyona goes for a powerbomb but HZK gets out of it and kicks Kyona in the head before jackknifing her for a two count. Hard lariats by Kyona but HZK ducks one and hits a release German. HZK nails the Pump Kick, she picks up Kyona and hits a backbreaker in front of the corner. HZK goes up top and delivers the diving senton, but Kyona gets a shoulder up on the cover. She goes up top again but Kyona recovers and joins her, they trade elbows until Kyona powerslams HZK off the top down to the mat. Kyona picks up HZK but HZK snaps off a DDT, they trade elbows as they return to their feet until Kyona levels HZK with a lariat for a two count. Kyona goes up top and delivers the diving body press, but she gets another two. Kyona deadlifts HZK up and nails the Hammer Throw Powerbomb, and she picks up the three count! Jungle Kyona wins the match.

A great match, which was expected as they have really solid chemistry. Some complained about the headbutt spot but I have no issue with it, I’m not their mother and adding an occasional bit of realism to wrestling is welcome in my book. A very back and forth match, both came out of it looking strong as the dominating wrestler constantly changed as they ramped up the violence. Plus they protected HZK’s finisher which they can use down the road when they inevitably have a rematch. This one will fly below the radar since it was a shorter midcard match on a smaller show, but they both delivered.  Recommended

Hana Kimura, Kagetsu, and Kris Wolf vs. Konami, Michiko Omukai, and Yoko Bito

Oedo Tai attacks before the bell and knocks all of their opponents out to the floor, they quickly join them as the brawl spills to ringside. Kris pairs up with Omukai but it doesn’t go well for her for long as Omukai quickly gets the advantage. Konami and Kagetsu eventually return to the ring as the legal wrestlers, and all the members of Oedo Tai attack Konami near the apron. Dropkick by Kagetsu to Konami, she tags in Hana and Hana chops Konami in the corner. Kris is in next, she sets up Konami in the corner and dropkicks her in the midsection. Kagetsu returns and spits water (I assume) into Konami’s face, kicks by Kagetsu but Konami delivers a kick of her own and makes the tag to Omukai. Omukai boots Kagetsu and knocks Kris out of the ring, she goes back to Kagetsu and throws her down by the hair. Bito comes in and they double team Kagetsu, Konami comes in too and all three pose on their opponent. Konami stays in and kicks Kagetsu, dropkick by Konami and she goes for Kagetsu’s arm, but Kagetsu slams her into the corner. Konami applies a hanging armbar and dropkicks Kagetsu, she goes for a suplex but Kagetsu reverses it with a suplex of her own and tags in Hana. Hana hits a jumping knee on Konami before delivering a dropkick, running boot by Hana and she covers Konami for two.

Hana picks up Konami but Konami sneaks in an inside cradle for two. Konami tags in Omukai, Hana elbows her but Omukai elbows her back and they trade shots. Omukai wins the battle, she kicks Hana in the back but Hana boots her and both wrestlers end up down on the mat. Omukai tags in Bito while Kris is also tagged in, vertical suplex by Bito and she covers Kris for two. Bito goes off the ropes but Kagetsu trips her from the floor, she comes in the ring and Bito is triple teamed in the corner. Bito fights off all three of them but eventually eats a triple dropkick, spear by Kagetsu and Hana dropkicks Bito against the ropes. Suplex by Kris, and she covers Bito for two. All six wrestlers end up in the ring, Bito eventually regains the advantage and hits a missile dropkick onto Kris. Cover by Bito, but Kris gets a shoulder up. Kris and Bito trade elbows, Bito knocks Kris to the mat and she hits a dropkick. Hana comes in and boots Bito in the face, quick cover by Kris but it gets a two. Kris goes for a footstomp but Bito moves, Omukai comes in to kick Kris and Bito delivers the B Driver for a two count. Omukai and Bito both kick Kris, buzzsaw kick by Konami and Omukai nails a Shining Wizard. Bito picks up Kris and nails the BT Bomb, picking up the three count pinfall! Konami, Michiko Omukai, and Yoko Bito win.

While not a ‘high end’ match, it sure was fun to see Omukai again. Omukai still looks great, its been a long time since she was a regular wrestler but they were able to protect her a bit from any ring rust in a six woman tag. A few minor miscommunications, oddly not with Omukai but with some of the regulars, and as one would expect there wasn’t much of a structure as it was mostly just random violence. Still, I couldn’t help but enjoy it just seeing Omukai mix it up again. A solid match overall, nothing to get excited about but a fun watch nonetheless.  Mildly Recommended

(c) Mayu Iwatani vs. Viper
Wonder of Stardom Championship

Mayu tries avoiding Viper to start the match, with limited success, Mayu goes for a scoop slam but Viper easily blocks it. Viper picks up Mayu but Mayu wiggles away, she goes for a crossbody but bounces off of Viper. Running senton by Viper and she throws Mayu out of the ring, where she is beaten down by Oedo Tai. They roll Mayu back in and she is attacked more by all the members of Oedo Tai while the referee is distracted, cover by Viper but she gets a two count. Viper twists on Mayu’s arm and puts her in a cobra clutch, short range lariat by Viper and she covers Mayu for two. Snapmare by Viper and she hits a running crossbody, but Mayu bridges out of the cover. Viper throws Mayu hard in the corner and hits a body avalanche, she goes for a second one but Mayu moves and hits an enzuigiri. Viper doesn’t go down so Mayu goes for a hurricanrana, but Viper catches her and nails a powerbomb. Viper picks up Mayu and throws her head-first into the corner, cannonball by Viper and she goes up for a reverse splash, but Mayu recovers and elbows her back to the mat. Mayu goes up top but Viper joins her, Mayu slides away and she delivers a superkick. Dropkick by Mayu, she goes up to the second turnbuckle and hits a diving footstomp. Cover by Mayu, but it gets two. Mayu picks up Viper but Viper blocks her dragon suplex attempt and hits a Michinoku Driver. Viper gets on the second turnbuckle but Mayu rolls out of the way of the reverse splash, kick combination by Mayu but Viper lariats her when Mayu goes off the ropes. Viper positions Mayu and gets on the turnbuckles again, but Mayu grabs her from behind and delivers a release dragon suplex. Mayu goes up top and nails the Frog Splash, but Viper kicks out of the cover. Mayu picks up Viper but Viper blocks the dragon suplex, superkick by Mayu and she delivers a Reverse Hurricanrana for the three count! Mayu Iwatani retains the championship!

A good match, but its a bit hard to take Viper seriously at this point as a title challenger, with her historical levels of failure in them. They really need to get her a title in Stardom, even if its just the Trios title, to give her a bit of legitimacy. Viper as one would assume dominated the match, Mayu is an A+ seller and a few times you’d have been convinced she was genuinely hurt. They stayed away from doing the “dumb gaijin” stuff they sometimes do with Viper, which was much appreciated, and while Mayu’s win seemed sudden that was the only way she was realistically beating Viper anyway. It was also a bit short for a main event title match, one of the downsides of having a seven match card is the matches get less time. Pretty fun, but it definitely felt like a ‘house show’ main event with its telegraphed ending and match time.  Mildly Recommended

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