Anytime a Joshi event airs in a timely fashion, I try to watch it, and this one certainly arrived quickly. Sendai Girls’ doesn’t run Korakuen Hall very often so they tend to put their best foot forward when they do, with several big matches on the card. We get a young wrestler battle between Hana and Mika that is bound to be good, and the tag team of Aja Kong and Meiko Satomura that doesn’t sound very fair. Then, in the main event there is a tag title defense, with Chisako and KAORU defending against Heidi Katrina and Cassandra Miyagi. Here is the full card:

• Ami Sato vs. Manami
• Eiger vs. Kyusei Sakura Hirota
• Ami Sato, Hikaru Shida, and Alex Lee vs. La Rosa Negra, Mio Momono, and Hiroyo Matsumoto
• Hana Kimura vs. Mika Shirahime
• Aja Kong and Meiko Satomura vs. Chihiro Hashimoto and Ayako Hamada
• Sendai Girls’ Tag Team Championship: DASH Chisako and KAORU vs. Heidi Katrina and Cassandra Miyagi

Since this aired on Samurai TV, it may be slightly clipped. All the wrestlers above have profiles on the website, you can click on their names to go straight to it.

Ami Sato vs. Manami

Manami immediately dropkicks Ami into the corner, elbows by Manami but Ami switches positions with her and elbows her back. Armdrag by Ami, she picks up Manami but Manami snapmares her and applies a bodyscissors. Ami gets out of it and puts Manami in a camel clutch, she lets go after a moment and hits a series of shoulderblocks for a two count. Elbows by Ami but Manami dropkicks her into the corner, Ami fights back with an elbow and the two trade blows. Front roll into an elbow by Ami, but Manami kicks out of the cover. Ami applies a crab hold but Manami crawls to the ropes for the break, Irish whip by Ami but Manami ducks the lariat and delivers a dropkick. Another dropkick by Manami and a third, a final dropkick by Manami and she covers Ami for a two count. Ami kicks Manami and hits a scoop slam, she goes for a crab hold but Manami blocks it and rolls up Ami for two. Manami tries a few more flash pins with no luck, she goes off the ropes but Ami avoids her charge and schoolboys her for the three count! Ami Sato wins!

Basic, as one would expect, but fundamentally sound. This wasn’t clipped, so they wrestled for six-plus minutes without making any mistakes which is a real plus when dealing with wrestlers this inexperienced. Nothing exciting but a good rookie opener.

Eiger vs. Kyusei Sakura Hirota

They waste no time confusing me on what they are doing, as Eiger plays with a cloth before putting it over Sakura’s head and hitting a DDT. Eiger creeps out Sakura before hitting a lariat, but the cover only gets two. Sakura responds with a face crusher, she puts Eiger in the ropes and delivers the Oil Check. Sakura bounces around in a comedic way before hitting a headbutt, but Eiger kicks out of the cover. I am normally against clipping matches but I am not sure if I’ve ever seen a full Eiger or Sakura comedy match and I’m not sure if I needed to. Sakura bounces off the ropes before kissing Eiger, she grabs Eiger’s arm and walks the ropes, but she eventually crotches herself and Eiger pushes her out of the ring. Eiger does a fake dive before blowing dust into Sakura’s face, they some comedy bits around the crowd before the referee fusses at them and tells them to get back in the ring. They do so, backslide by Sakura but it gets two. After more Eiger shenanigans, she finally hits a lariat and she pins Sakura for the three count! Eiger wins the match.

This match really really didn’t need to be shown in full. I think Eiger is generally funny, and Sakura is sometimes funny, but ten minutes of their shtick was too much. There is certainly a place for this type of match on a card, it just needs to either be shorter or have a non-comedy wrestler to help as both Eiger and Sakura are too “gimmick” to even have normal sections in their matches. An easy skip from me.

Ami Sato, Hikaru Shida, and Alex Lee vs. La Rosa Negra, Mio Momono, and Hiroyo Matsumoto

We join this one very slightly in progress with Ami being triple teamed, but it quickly switches to Rosa Negra being on the wrong end of a beatdown. Shida stays in with Rosa Negra, armdrag by Rosa Negra and both wrestlers dropkick each other. Backbreaker by Shida and she tags in Ami, elbows by Ami but Shida tags in Mio. Mio and and Ami trade elbows until Ami connects with her rolling elbow smash for a two count. Ami tags in Shida, Mio goes for a crossbody but Shida catches her and puts Mio in the corner. Alex Lee comes in so that Shida can suplex her onto Mio, Shida picks up Mio but Mio blocks the suplex attempt and hits a series of elbows. Shida finally blocks one but Mio smacks her repeatedly in the head, she goes off the ropes but Shida nails a jumping knee. Shida tags in Lee, kicks by Lee to Mio and she hits a hip toss for two. Lee chokes Mio but Rosa Negra kicks her from behind, Lee superkicks Rosa Negra but Mio rolls up Lee for a two count. Mio dropkicks Lee and tags in Hiroyo, body avalanche by Hiroyo and she goes up top, but Ami grabs her from the apron. Shida comes over and superplexes Hiroyo into the ring, Lee goes up top and she hits a diving footstomp onto Hiroyo for a two count cover. Ami is tagged back in and tries to shoulderblock Hiroyo over, Shida runs in and hits an enzuigiri as she tries to help Ami knock over Hiroyo, and finally she succeeds before covering Hiroyo for two. Ami scoop slams Hiroyo but Hiroyo elbows her back and hits a backbreaker. Hiroyo gets on the second turnbuckle and hits a reverse double kneedrop, crab hold by Hiroyo but it gets broken up. Mio goes up top and hits a diving crossbody onto Lee and Shida, Rosa Negra comes in and dives out of the ring onto everyone but Hiroyo and Ami with a tope suicida. In the ring, Hiroyo picks up Ami but Ami rolls her up for two. Ami goes off the ropes but Hiroyo hits a hard elbow, vertical suplex by Hiroyo and she covers Ami for two. Hiroyo puts Ami in an Argentine Backbreaker, and Ami taps out! La Rosa Negra, Mio Momono, and Hiroyo Matsumoto are the winners.

It didn’t pop as much as I was hoping, but it was still a fun match. Ami shows a lot of fire, which is probably why they put her in the match, and everyone got a bit of a chance to shine. I really liked the Mio/Shida segment, Mio is definitely one to watch and Shida is always a pleasure. A bit all over the place but a good match with some memorable spots throughout.  Mildly Recommended

Hana Kimura vs. Mika Shirahime

They tie-up to start, Hana pushes Mika into the ropes but slaps her face instead of doing a clean break. Mika kicks her back and gives her a slap of her own, more slaps by Hana and she flings down Mika by the hair. Hana picks up Mika and hits a dropkick, Mika dropkicks her back but Hana hits another dropkick for a two count cover. Hana picks up Mika but Mika pushes her away, kicks by Mika and she hits a Codebreaker for two. Mika kicks Hana into the corner but Hana ducks one and headbutts her, superkick by Mika and she nails Hana in the face with another one for a two count. Double wrist-clutch suplex by Mika, but that gets a two as well. High kick by Mika, she goes up top but Hana dropkicks her in mid-air when she dives off. Sliding Kick by Hana, and she covers Mika for two. Hana gets up on the second turnbuckle and nails a missile dropkick, running boot by Hana and she covers Mika for the three count! Hana Kimura wins!

Even though the match was only about five minutes, I loved every moment of it. These two went into it hard, with stiff slaps, kicks, and a killer headbutt by Hana. With the time constraints, everything had to matter and it did, and even though the match was short it still felt right. Hana is starting to combine having a great personality with on-point offense and an attitude, if she sticks with Joshi I can really see her being one of the biggest stars in a few years at her current trajectory. One of the better five minute matches I’ve seen in awhile, check it out.  Recommended

Aja Kong and Meiko Satomura vs. Chihiro Hashimoto and Ayako Hamada

Chihiro and Satomura start the match, Chihiro takes Satomura to the mat but Satomura puts Chihiro in an ankle hold. Chihiro rolls into the ropes for the break, back up Satomura kicks Chihiro in the leg before letting Chihiro up. Chihiro drives Satomura into the corner and hits a body avalanche, but Satomura slaps her back and knocks her into the corner. Jumping elbow by Satomura and she tags in Kong, Kong and Chihiro trade holds on the mat, Kong gets the better of it and kicks Chihiro in the back. Chihiro scoop slams Kong and makes the tag to Hamada, Hamada and Kong trade strikes until Kong chops Hamada to the mat. Backdrop suplex by Kong, and she covers Hamada for two when Hamada gets a foot on the ropes. Kong tags in Satomura, kicks by Satomura but Hamada snapmares her and kicks Satomura in the back of the head. Running boots by Hamada and they trade slaps, Satomura goes off the ropes but Hamada delivers a heel kick. Satomura heel kicks her back, she tries to rebound out of the corner with an elbow strike but Hamada catches her with a dropkick. Hamada goes off the ropes but Kong throws her paint can at her head, cartwheel kneedrop by Satomura and she tags in Kong. Hamada grabs Kong’s arm and jumps up to the turnbuckle the ropes, Satomura meanders in the ring so that Hamada can hit an armdrag/headscissors combination on them. Hamada tries to knock down Kong with lariats and finally does so, Kong gets back up and they trade strikes until both end up hurt on the mat. Hamada recovers first and tags Chihiro, Chihiro picks up Kong and hits a waterwheel drop for two.

Chihiro grabs Kong around the waist but Kong slides away, Chihiro kicks her however and delivers the somersault senton. Chihiro gets on the second turnbuckle but Kong avoids the diving somersault senton, Kong snaps Chihiro’s neck and slaps her hard in the face. Kong tags in Satomura, Satomura kicks Chihiro repeatedly in the chest before kicking her in the head, but Hamada runs in and slams Satomura to the mat. Chihiro gets on the second turnbuckle and hits a somersault senton, gutwrench suplex by Chihiro and she covers Satomura for two. Chihiro goes off the ropes and hits a lariat, Satomura recovers and the two trade elbows until Chihiro lariats Satomura in the back of the head to win the duel. Chihiro picks up Satomura and nails a powerbomb, she goes to the top turnbuckle but Satomura kicks her before she can jump off and delivers a Pele Kick. Death Valley Bomb by Satomura, Kong hits a diving elbow drop and Satomura hits another Death Valley Bomb, but Hamada breaks up the cover. Satomura drags up Hamada, Kong tries to backfist Chihiro but Chihiro ducks and she hits Satomura by accident. Release German by Chihiro to Kong, she picks up Satomura and hits a German suplex hold but Kong breaks it up. Chihiro picks up Satomura but Satomura elbows her off, superkick by Hamada to Satomura but when she goes for a heel kick she hits Chihiro by mistake. Scorpion Rising by Satomura to Chihiro, she picks her up and finishes her off with a Death Valley Bomb for the three count! Meiko Satomura and Aja Kong win the match!

To be honest, Chihiro didn’t take the beating I was expecting, although her getting pinned was in line with my thoughts of the veterans wanting to show her they weren’t ready to roll over quite yet. The first half of the match had some really shaky transitions and it felt like they were just running through spots with no regard, but about halfway through it got cleaned up. Chihiro is a beast, loved her suplexes here and at least Hamada tried to help her throughout and didn’t just watch from the apron. A good match, I was hoping for a bit more but you can’t go too wrong with these four.  Mildly Recommended

(c) DASH Chisako and KAORU vs. Heidi Katrina and Cassandra Miyagi
Sendai Girls’ Tag Team Championship

Chisako and Cassandra start for their teams, Chisako gets Cassandra into the ropes but she gives a clean break. Cassandra gets Chisako to the mat and applies a crab hold, but Chisako reverses it into a crab hold of her own until Cassandra gets into the ropes. Chisako and Cassandra trade elbows until Chisako avoids one and applies a short armbar, but Cassandra gets to the ropes for the break. Chisako gets Cassandra to the mat again and schools her a bit, but Cassandra gets out of it and both wrestlers reach a stalemate again. Heidi tags in, she slams Chisako to the mat but Chisako springs back up, armdrag by Heidi and she hits an elbow drop. KAORU attacks Heidi from behind but Heidi dropkicks both of them before tagging Cassandra back in. Cassandra slaps at Chisako and boots Chisako in the head, cover by Cassandra but Chisako kicks out. Heidi returns and elbows Chisako hard in the face, another elbow by Heidi and she covers Chisako for two. Heidi drops Chisako to the mat again before tagging Cassandra, Cassandra comes in the ring with a slingshot leg drop before elbowing Chisako hard for a two count cover. Cassandra goes off the ropes but Chisako drop toeholds her, KAORU comes in and she puts Cassandra in a camel clutch. Chisako goes off the ropes and dropkicks Cassandra, Heidi comes in but she gets double teamed as well and dumped out of the ring. Chisako and KAORU leave the ring too as things have broken down, with KAORU beating Heidi into the stands. Cassandra and Heidi eventually swing the tide and Cassandra hits a double missile dropkick off the apron, she then finds a ladder and sets it up at ringside.

She starts to climb it but Chisako promptly pushes it over, Chisako puts Cassandra near the bleachers before jumping off of them with a double footstomp. Heidi helps Cassandra back into the ring so they don’t get counted out, double Irish whip to Cassandra and she eats a double boot from Chisako and KAORU. Chisako tags in KAORU and the double teaming of Cassandra continues. KAORU knees Cassandra before hitting a vertical suplex, but Cassandra fights back with a jumping elbow and a boot and makes the hot tag to Heidi. Heidi shoulderblocks KAORU and hits a suplex, side Russian leg sweep by Heidi and she covers KAORU for two. Heidi goes for a lariat but KAORU dropkicks her in the knee and cradles her for two, Heidi then hits her lariat before booting KAORU in the chest. KAORU lands in her corner and tags in Chisako, missile dropkick by Chisako and KAORU boots Heidi in the corner. Double face crusher to Heidi, and Chisako covers her for a two count. Knee lift by Heidi and she dropkicks Chisako, she goes up to the second turnbuckle and delivers a diving legdrop. Heidi tags in Cassandra, dropkicks by Cassandra to Chisako and she connects with a missile dropkick for two. Cassandra goes off the ropes but KAORU grabs her, running elbow by Chisako but on the second attempt she hits KAORU by accident. Cassandra knocks Chisako out of the ring, Heidi holds open the ropes for Cassandra and Cassandra sails out of the ring onto KAORU and Chisako with a tope suicida. Fallaway Slam by Heidi and she gives Chisako the Giant Swing, Cassandra goes up up and hits a missile dropkick, but Chisako kicks out of the cover.

Airplane Spin into a Samoan Driver by Cassandra, she goes off the ropes but KAORU trips her from the floor and Chisako hits a dropkick. Brainbuster by KAORU to Cassandra and Chisako follows with a diving footstomp, but the cover only gets two. Chisako goes back up top but Cassandra joins her, Chisako elbows her off but Cassandra hits a dropkick before climbing back up. Superplex by Cassandra, back up she trade elbows with Chisako until Chisako beats Cassandra down to the mat. Chisako goes off the ropes but Cassandra kicks her in the head, cover by Cassandra but it gets two. Chisako goes off the ropes but Cassandra catches her with a tombstone, but KAORU breaks up the cover. Cassandra picks up Chisako but Chisako lands on her feet on the suplex attempt and cradles Cassandra for a two count. More flash pins by Chisako with no luck, KAORU comes in the ring and they hit Cassandra with a catapult dropkick. German suplex by Chisako, but Cassandra blocks her crucifix attempt and hits a Samoan Drop. Cassandra goes up top but KAORU grabs her from the apron, Chisako joins Cassandra up top and nails an avalanche Ace Crusher, but Heidi breaks up the cover. Chisako goes back up top while KAORU gets on the second turnbuckle, Chisako gets onto KAORU’s shoulders and hits a diving senton, but Cassandra barely gets a shoulder up. Chisako quickly goes back up top and nails the Hormone Splash, and this time she gets the three count! DASH Chisako and KAORU are still the champions!

Due to the participants I wanted to love this match, but it was just a bit too disjointed for my tastes. Longer tag matches need a hook and this match didn’t really have one – it didn’t have a super worker to tie everything together, it didn’t have a sympathetic babyface the crowd was really behind, it didn’t have fast paced sections, it didn’t have but a few memorable spots. Heidi isn’t a bad wrestler but she doesn’t have a lot of chemistry yet with Chisako or KAORU, making some parts of the match a bit rocky, and really only the Cassandra/Chisako parts had any pop to them. That being said, the home stretch was really good as they finally started going all out, lots of brutal moves done to Cassandra and they finally hit their rhythm. It just took too long to get there. A hot ending gives the match some value, just not enough to make it worth going too far out of your way to see.  Mildly Recommended

The post Sendai Girls’ on 11/17/17 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.

Championships Held: High Speed Championship, PWS Bombshells Championship, WWC Women’s Championship
Tournaments Won: None
Awards Won: Stardom 5★Star GP Technique Award (2015)

Notable Matches in Japan:

• September 23rd, 2015 vs. Star Fire
• April 15th, 2017 with Hana Kimura and Kagetsu vs. Io Shirai, HZK, and AZM
• April 23rd, 2017 vs. Toni Storm

Signature Moves:

• Frog Splash

In Action:

Coming Soon 

Back to Gaijin Invaders

The post La Rosa Negra appeared first on Joshi City.

It is time for Stardom’s Cinderella Tournament! This is the third year Stardom has run the tournament, with the winner of the tournament being granted one wish (and gets to wear a pretty Cinderella dress). Last year’s winner, Mayu Iwatani, used her wish to challenge Io Shirai for the World of Stardom Championship, so the assumption is that the winner will challenge for one of Stardom’s titles. Mayu Iwatani actually won in 2015 as well, so she is looking here to go for the three-peat. The Cinderella Tournament is a one-night tournament and has 16 participants. Every match in the tournament is a singles match with the following stipulations:

• Tournament is Single Elimination
• All matches up to the final have a 10 Minute Time Limit (Finals have a 30 Minute Time Limit)
• If the Time Limit expires, the match is a Draw and both wrestlers are Disqualified
• If both wrestlers are eliminated by Draw, their opponent in the next round gets a Bye
• Wrestlers can win by pinfall, submission, or throwing their opponent over the top rope

The entire tournament takes place on April 30th, so there will be a maximum of 15 matches in one night (there will likely be less, since at least a match or two will end in a draw which will eliminate both wrestlers). Here are all the matches in order:

First Round

• Cinderella Tournament Round 1: Toni Storm vs. Rebel
• Cinderella Tournament Round 1: Tessa Blanchard vs. Kris Wolf
• Cinderella Tournament Round 1: Kairi Hojo vs. Hiromi Mimura
• Cinderella Tournament Round 1: Jungle Kyona vs. HZK
• Cinderella Tournament Round 1: Mayu Iwatani vs. Hetzza
• Cinderella Tournament Round 1: Kagetsu vs. Konami
• Cinderella Tournament Round 1: La Rosa Negra vs. Jessicka Havok
• Cinderella Tournament Round 1: Hana Kimura vs. Io Shirai

Second Round

• Cinderella Tournament Round 2: Winner of Storm/Rebel vs. Winner of Blanchard/Wolf
• Cinderella Tournament Round 2: Winner of Hojo/Mimura vs. Winner of Kyona/HZK
• Cinderella Tournament Round 2: Winner of Iwatani/Hetzza vs. Winner of Kagetsu/Konami
• Cinderella Tournament Round 2: Winner of La Rosa Negra/Havok vs. Winner of Kimura/Shirai

Semifinals

• Cinderella Tournament Semi Finals: One of Storm/Rebel/Blanchard/Wolf vs. One of Hojo/Mimura/Kyona/HZK
• Cinderella Tournament Semi Finals: One of Iwatani/Hetzza/Kagetsu/Konami vs. One of La Rosa Negra/Havok/Kimura/Shirai

Cinderella Tournament Finals

Tournament Predictions

And now I will try to predict who will win this very unpredictable tournament. For the sake of coming up with “odds,” 16:1 will be the base since mathematically, that is everyone’s odds of winning the tournament. So any wrestler I think has a “better than average” chance of winning will be below that, and any wrestler I think has a “worse than average” chance will be higher. Sometimes much, much higher. Taking all things into consideration, here are my odds of each wrestler winning, in the order that they are wrestling on the show:

Toni Storm (4:1) – I have Toni as my favorite, although I am not overly confident on it. Toni has been really tough to beat in Stardom and has not challenged for the White or Red belt since she joined the promotion, so winning the tournament would finally get her a much deserved title shot. Plus, she is the last wrestler to pin Io Shirai in a title match so she has a built-in storyline. The only thing working against her is that thus far we don’t know if Stardom would have a Gaijin win the tournament, since the past two years they haven’t even had one reach the semifinals.

Rebel (750:1) – Since it is Rebel’s first tour in Japan, and isn’t really a highly sought after Freelancer, there is virtually no chance that she is winning this tournament. In fact I have her at the lowest odds of anyone, there is just no way, she is at best the #4 Gaijin in this tournament so even if they went in that direction, it wouldn’t be her.

Tessa Blanchard (25:1) – While Tessa has gotten a decent push in Stardom in the past, reaching the final of the FIVE STAR GP last year, since returning they haven’t really established her as a high end threat and winning this tournament would be a stretch. It isn’t impossible, since at least some path has been laid in that direction, but I just don’t see it as likely.

Kris Wolf (250:1) – As much as I love Kris Wolf, this isn’t her tournament to win. She already has the High Speed Championship and that is still pretty much her level in the promotion, her challenging for the White or Red belt would be too much. She couldn’t even beat Kaori Yoneyama a few weeks ago. Maybe next year she’ll be built up enough to go for it, but not this year.

Kairi Hojo (30:1) – If Kairi is going to WWE in the next couple months this should be lower, but… it is Stardom, anything can happen. If she is going in June, for example, she’d still have time to challenge Io and give us one final great match before she left. Or she could end up not going at all, who knows. I lowered her odds due to the uncertainty of it all, but as the #2 wrestler in the promotion she can’t be completely written off.

Hiromi Mimura (400:1) – Hiromi is the lowest ranked contracted Stardom wrestler in the tournament, so she isn’t going to win. I only didn’t give her worse odds because I can see a scenario that she may beat Kairi, if Kairi is indeed leaving soon she may want to do something to put over her friend before she does. But Hiromi is midcard comedy and cuteness, not a challenger for a major title.

Jungle Kyona (15:1) – In a normal world, Kyona should be the favorite to win, but Stardom isn’t a normal place. Kyona is the perfect combination of youth and success to get the push, but she did recently challenge for Kairi’s championship so it may be too soon for her to get another title shot. I give her better than average odds of winning, but just barely, I don’t think its her year quite yet.

HZK (50:1) – The only reason I think HZK could win is she could challenge Kairi for her title, win it, and Queen’s Quest could continue their domination. But really, HZK is more on the High Speed Championship level right now and isn’t quite ready for the next level. I think she’ll do well in the tournament to show her growth, but fall short.

Mayu Iwatani (8:1) – I have Mayu with the best odds of any native wrestler, as storyline-wise it makes sense. She hasn’t had a title shot in awhile and currently doesn’t have much of a storyline, outside of some attempts by Hana to get her to join Oedo Tai. I am not sure if winning the last two years helps her or hurts her, she can cement herself as Ms. Cinderella but it wouldn’t feel like very creative booking. No one in the tournament needs a story and a title shot more than Mayu, so I do think there is a decent chance she walks away with it again.

Hetzza (500:1) – Hetzza is still really green, and the chances of her even getting out of the first round are really slim. If she showed superstar potential I could see them giving her a run, but she hasn’t, so she isn’t doing well in the tournament.

Kagetsu (200:1) – I have her odds this bad not based on skill, but since she announced a hiatus after this show it wouldn’t make a lot of sense for her to win it. Unless its all storyline and she is going to win to keep the ‘wish’ hostage, I don’t see it happening.

Konami (20:1) – Konami is a hard one to figure out. She has had some success in Stardom, but not really against the top stars. She’s had better luck in the midcard however and has been fairly well protected there, so I could see her winning and having a great match again with either Kairi or Io. I probably have her odds too good since I am a bit biased towards her, but she is a young talented wrestler and Stardom could make worse choices than giving Konami the crown.

La Rosa Negra (500:1) – There isn’t any scenario that La Rosa Negra wins this, as she is low on the Gaijin totem pole and doesn’t have the necessary skills to have a great 20+ minute match with Kairi or Io anyway. She is just filler here to get the tournament up to 16 participants.

Jessicka Havok (10:1) – I can see several scenarios where Havok wins this. First, it would be a radical change from past years and set up every future tournament with an “anyone can win” vibe. Also, we all assume Havok is going after Io at some point anyway, but since nothing has been announced, a win would give her that match. On top of that, due to her size she will be hard to toss over the top rope, and promotions like having “monsters” win anything with “over the top” rules. The only thing working against her is that this is her first tour with the promotion, and it may be too big of a jump for someone that is so new to the audience.

Hana Kimura (100:1) – My brain says there is no way that Hana is sniffing the finals, but my heart says otherwise. The only advantage she has is popularity and that being a “princess” would fit her character, but really she is still too inexperienced to be getting a title shot. I’d love it, but not very likely. Combine that with a really tough first round draw as I don’t see Io going out this early, and her chances go down even more.

Io Shirai (12:1) – You’d think that Io would have no chance of winning, between her already having the major title and the rumors of her leaving, and those are both solid points. The counter argument is that it is Io, the Ace of Stardom and Best in the World. So you can’t ever completely write her off, she wins too much to just assume she’ll lose, however it wouldn’t make a lot of sense for her to walk away with the tournament here.

The post Stardom Cinderella Tournament 2017 Preview appeared first on Joshi City.

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

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

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

Arisu Nanase vs. Hanan vs. Ruaka

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

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

Kaori Yoneyama vs. Kris Wolf

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Jessicka Havok and Tessa Blanchard vs. Mayu Iwatani and Hetzza

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Current Champions:

• World of Stardom Championship – Io Shirai (488 days)
• Wonder of Stardom Championship – Kairi Hojo (344 days)
• SWA World Championship – Toni Storm (274 days)
• High Speed Championship – Kris Wolf (60 days)
• Goddesses of Stardom Championship – Hiroyo Matsumoto and Jungle Kyona (50 days)
• Artist of Stardom Championship – HZK, Io Shirai, and AZM (9 days)

Recent Results:

Kairi Hojo Homecoming on April 22nd, 2017
Shimin Hall in Hikari, Yamaguchi, Japan
415 fans

• 3 Way Match: Kris Wolf defeated Hetzza and (L) Natsuko Tora via pinfall (5:15)
• (W) Kagetsu and La Rosa Negra defeated Kaori Yoneyama and (L) Hiromi Mimura with a Brainbuster (9:48)
• (W) Jessicka Havok and Tessa Blanchard defeated Hiroyo Matsumoto and (L) Jungle Kyouna with a Tombstone Piledriver (10:25)
• Toni Storm, (W) Mayu Iwatani, and Konami defeated Io Shirai, HZK, and (L) AZM with a Frogsplash (14:41)
• Wonder of Stardom Championship: Kairi Hojo (c) defeated Hana Kimura with the Diving Elbow Drop (20:44)

Shining Stars on April 23rd, 2017
Symbol Tower 1st Floor Exhibition Hall in Takamatsu, Kagawa, Japan

• 3 Way Match: Kris Wolf defeated (L) AZM and Kaori Yoneyama via pinfall (5:53)
• Kagetsu defeated Natsuko Tora with the Ebisu Drop (9:28)
• Io Shirai and (W) HZK defeated Kairi Hojo and (L) Hiromi Mimura with the Bombs Away (14:00)
• SWA World Women’s Championship: Toni Storm (c) defeated La Rosa Negra with the Drill-A-Hole Piledriver (10:55)
• (W) Mayu Iwatani, Jungle Kyouna, and Konami defeated Jessicka Havok, Tessa Blanchard, and (L) Hetzza with a Frog Splash (12:15)

Upcoming Events:

April 30th, 2017 – 

• Dark Match: AZM vs. Natsuko Tora vs. Kaori Yoneyama vs. Hanan vs. Ruaka
• Cinderella Tournament Round 1: Toni Storm vs. Rebel
• Cinderella Tournament Round 1: Tessa Blanchard vs. Kris Wolf
• Cinderella Tournament Round 1: Kairi Hojo vs. Hiromi Mimura
• Cinderella Tournament Round 1: Jungle Kyona vs. HZK
• Cinderella Tournament Round 1: Mayu Iwatani vs. Hetzza
• Cinderella Tournament Round 1: Kagetsu vs. Konami
• Cinderella Tournament Round 1: La Rosa Negra vs. Jessicka Havok
• Cinderella Tournament Round 1: Hana Kimura vs. Io Shirai
• Cinderella Tournament Round 2: Winner of Storm/Rebel vs. Winner of Blanchard/Wolf
• Cinderella Tournament Round 2: Winner of Hojo/Mimura vs. Winner of Kyona/HZK
• Cinderella Tournament Round 2: Winner of Iwatani/Hetzza vs. Winner of Kagetsu/Konami
• Cinderella Tournament Round 2: Winner of La Rosa Negra/Havok vs. Winner of Kimura/Shirai
• Cinderella Tournament Semi Finals:
• Cinderella Tournament Semi Finals:
• Cinderella Tournament Finals:

May 1st, 2017 – 

• Io Shirai, Dr. Wagner Jr., and El Hijo de Dr. Wagner vs. Mayu Iwatani, Black Tiger, and Heat
• Kairi Hojo vs. Toni Storm
• Hiroyo Matsumoto, Jungle Kyona, and Natsuko Tora vs. Jessicka Havok, Tessa Blanchard, and Rebel
• HZK and AZM vs. Hana Kimura and La Rosa Negra vs. Hiromi Mimura and Hetzza
• Konami vs. Hanan

May 6th, 2017 – 

• Artist of Stardom Championship: (c) HZK, AZM, and Io Shirai vs. Konami, Hiromi Mimura, and Kairi Hojo
• Toni Storm and Mayu Iwatani vs. Hana Kimura and La Rosa Negra
• Jungle Kyona and Natsuko Tora vs. Jessicka Havok and Tessa Blanchard
• Hiroyo Matsumoto and Rebel vs. Kaori Yoneyama and Hetzza

The post This Week in Stardom: April 24th, 2017 Edition appeared first on Joshi City.

Current Champions:

• World of Stardom Championship – Io Shirai (482 days)
• Wonder of Stardom Championship – Kairi Hojo (338 days)
• SWA World Championship – Toni Storm (268 days)
• High Speed Championship – Kris Wolf (54 days)
• Goddesses of Stardom Championship – Hiroyo Matsumoto and Jungle Kyona (44 days)
• Artist of Stardom Championship – HZK, Io Shirai, and AZM (2 days)

Recent Results:

Grow Up Stars on April 15th, 2017
Yokohama, Japan
285 fans

• 3 Way Match: Arisu Nanase defeats (L) Hanan and Ruaka with the Blockbuster (7:04)
• Kaori Yoneyama defeats Kris Wolf with a German Suplex Hold (6:40)
• Artist of Stardom Tournament: Io Shirai, (W) HZK, and AZM defeat Hiroyo Matsumoto, Jungle Kyona, and (L) Natsuko Tora with the Bombs Away (12:04)
• Artist of Stardom Tournament: Kagetsu, (W) Hana Kimura, and La Rosa Negra defeat (L) Kairi Hojo, Hiromi Mimura, and Konami with the Big Boot (12:28)
• (W) Jessicka Havok and Tessa Blanchard defeat Mayu Iwatani and (L) Hetzza with the Tombstone Piledriver (8:17)
• Artist of Stardom Tournament Finals: (W) Io Shirai, HZK, and AZM defeat Kagetsu, Hana Kimura, and (L) La Rosa Negra with the Moonsault Press (14:58)
  • Queen’s Quest win the tournament to claim the vacant Artist of Stardom Championship

Grow Up Stars on April 16th, 2017
Osaka, Japan
305 fans

• La Rosa Negra defeats AZM with the High Angle Facebuster (4:45)
• Hiroyo Matsumoto and (W) Jungle Kyona defeat Konami and (L) Natsuko Tora with the Hammer Throw Powerbomb (10:03)
• High Speed Championship 3 Way:  (c) Kris Wolf defeats Kaori Yoneyama and (L) Hetzza via pinfall (5:35)
• Kagetsu and (W) Hana Kimura defeat Mayu Iwatani and (L) Arisu Nanase with a Brainbuster (13:02)
• 3 Way Tag Match: (W) Io Shirai & HZK defeat Kairi Hojo & (L) Hiromi Mimura and Jessicka Havok & Tessa Blanchard with the Moonsault Press (14:15)

Upcoming Events:

April 22nd, 2017 – 

• Wonder of Stardom Championship: (c) Kairi Hojo vs. Hana Kimura
• Io Shirai, HZK, and AZM vs. Toni Storm, Mayu Iwatani, and Konami
• Hiroyo Matsumoto and Jungle Kyona vs. Jessicka Havok and Tessa Blanchard
• Kaori Yoneyama and Hiromi Mimura vs. La Rosa Negra and Kagetsu
• Natsuko Tora vs. Kris Wolf vs. Hetzza

April 23rd, 2017 – 

• SWA World Championship: (c) Toni Storm vs. La Rosa Negra
• Mayu Iwatani, Jungle Kyona, and Konami vs. Jessicka Havok, Tessa Blanchard, and Hetzza
• Io Shirai and HZK vs. Kairi Hojo and Hiromi Mimura
• Natsuko Tora vs. Kagetsu
• Kaori Yoneyama vs. Kris Wolf vs. AZM

The post This Week in Stardom: April 17th, 2017 Edition appeared first on Joshi City.