With the upcoming Mae Young Classic in WWE, I thought it would be fun to upload a match from each of the participants with matches in Japan (that I had a copy of). Not all the matches are necessarily great, but do show them in a different environment.

• Nanae Takahashi vs. Mercedes Martinez in Stardom on 7/24/11
• Crazy Mary Dobson (Sarah Logan) vs. Mia Yim vs. Leah Von Dutch in REINA on 6/9/12
• Alpha Female vs. Nanae Takahashi in Stardom on 3/17/13
• Alex Lee vs. Carmen Rose vs. Demi Bennett (Rhea Ripley) in REINA on 5/5/15
• Princesa Sugehit vs. Maki Narumiya in REINA on 5/5/15
• Mayu Iwatani vs. Evie (Dakota Kai) in Stardom on 2/21/16
• Candice LaRae and Joey Ryan vs. Daisuke Sasaki and Shuji Ishikawa in DDT on 3/26/16
• Kairi Hojo (Kairi Sane) vs. Santana Garrett in Stardom on 5/15/16
• Kairi Hojo (Kairi Sane) and Yoko Bito vs. Kay Lee Ray and Nixon Newell in Stardom in Stardom on 1/15/17
• Io Shirai vs. Viper (Piper Niven) in Stardom on 1/15/17
• Io Shirai vs. Shayna Baszler in Stardom on 2/23/17
• Toni Storm vs. Jungle Kyona in Stardom on 3/20/17
• Hiroyo Matsumoto and Jungle Kyona vs. Jessicka Havok and Tessa Blanchard in Stardom on 5/14/17

The post Mae Young Classic Wrestlers in Japan appeared first on Joshi City.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Arisu Nanase vs. Eimi Nishina

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

(c) Toni Storm vs. Shanna

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

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

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

(c) Kairi Hojo vs. Chelsea

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

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

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

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

After a bit of a break, we are back with Stardom. Not a whole lot has changed since last time we checked in, no title changes or anything like that as all that we missed were house shows. This is a pretty big event for Stardom as the gaijin have three title challenges on the card against the Three Daughters of Stardom. Yoko Bito has a singles match as well as she continues to work off any ring rust to hopefully go for a title herself by the fall. Here is the full card:

• Alex Lee, Azumi, and Momo Watanabe vs. Arisu Nanase, Hiromi Mimura, and Natsumi Maki
• Chelsea, Hiroyo Matsumoto, and Jungle Kyouna vs. Kagetsu, Kris Wolf, and Leah Vaughan
• Saori Anou vs. Yoko Bito
• Wonder of Stardom Championship: Kairi Hojo vs. Viper
• High Speed Championship: Mayu Iwatani vs. Shanna
• SWA Women’s Championship: Io Shirai vs. Toni Storm

Per usual, you can click on the names above if I have a profile for them on Joshi City.

Alex Lee, Azumi, and Momo vs. Arisu Nanase, Mimura, and Natsumi Maki

Momo and Natsumi start the match off, armdrag by Natsumi but Momo dropkicks her into the corner. Natsumi comes back with a jumping crossbody and both wrestlers tag out as Azumi and Arisu. They tussle for a moment before Lee and Hiromi come in, and young Hiromi is triple teamed. She fights back against Azumi, Natsumi then runs in and hits a cartwheel bomb on Azumi before Hiromi applies La Magistral. Lee breaks it up and hits a backbreaker, Natsumi goes for a crossbody on Lee but Lee catches her. General carnage ensues as it tends to in opening matches with way too many wrestlers but things settle back down with Azumi and Hiromi still as the legal wrestlers. Azumi goes off the ropes but Hiromi catches her with a small package, and she picks up the three count! Arisu, Hiromi, and Natsumi win!

If you have seen one Stardom opener you’ve seen them all, but I thought that they did a good job here of picking up the pace and making it more interesting than it sometimes can be. Hiromi, Natsumi, and Arisu are a great “young” team with a lot of fire, so its hard to be bored with any match with them, and it was slightly clipped (I think, I didn’t time it) so any slower moments may have been taken out. Not a ton of substance but some cute moves and some valuable experience for the rookies.

Chelsea, Matsumoto, and Jungle Kyouna vs. Kagetsu, Kris Wolf, and Vaughan

Oedo Tai attacks before the bell rings as one would expect, but Team Matsumoto quickly takes over as she picks up Wolf and chucks her out of the ring onto her teammates. We clip ahead to Kagetsu in the ring with Chelsea and she is triple teamed, elbows by Kagetsu in the corner but Chelsea kicks her back and delivers a heel kick. Heel Drop by Chelsea and she makes the hot tag to Matsumoto, Matsumoto gets Kagetsu up in a backbreaker but Leah and Wolf come in to break it up. Matsumoto stacks them in the corner and hits a running body avalanche, she goes up top and she hits a missile dropkick for a two count cover. Big elbow by Kagetsu but Matsumoto elbows her back and they trade shots until Matsumoto sends Kagetsu to the mat. Kagetsu comes back with a dropkick however and she makes the tag to Leah, Leah goes off the ropes but Matsumoto catches her with a back elbow.

She tags in Kyouna, she goes for a powerbomb but Leah slides away and hits a knee followed by lariat. Leah tags in Wolf, Wolf goes up top and hits a diving double kneedrop on Kyouna for a two count cover. Wolf picks up Kyouna but Kyouna hits a back bodydrop, lariat by Kyouna and she goes up to the top turnbuckle, but Kagetsu comes in with a Yield Sign and hits Kyouna with it. Big spear by Leah to Kyouna and Wolf follows with a Shining Wizard, but Chelsea breaks up the cover. Full Nelson Slam by Chelsea to Leah but Kagetsu dropkicks her out of the ring, Matsumoto comes in and she hits backdrop suplexes on both Kagetsu and Wolf. Kyouna and Matsumoto wait for Wolf to get up and hit double body blocks, Kyouna goes up top and nails the diving body press for the three count! Your winners are Chelsea, Matsumoto, and Kyouna!

I really really like this combination of Oedo Tai, not to dis any past versions but I think Kagetsu, Wolf, and Leah are all entertaining as hell to watch. This was a bit clipped too but nothing overly excessive, Chelsea is still silly sometimes with her offense but everyone else in the match was really on point. Fast paced and entertaining, about all you can ask for from an undercard match, worth a casual watch for sure.  Mildly Recommended

Saori Anou vs. Yoko Bito

They politely shake hands before the match, so our first match of the night that doesn’t start with an ambush, but the pleasantries quickly stop as the duo trade strikes. Dropkick by Bito and she kicks Saori in the chest, but Saori sneaks in a backslide for a two count. Leg sweep by Bito and she kicks Saori in the back, more kicks by Bito and she dropkicks Saori to the mat. Saori avoids the next dropkick attempt and puts Bito into the Figure Four, but Bito gets a hand on the ropes to break it up. Elbows by Saori while Bito is against the ropes but Bito fights back, she puts Saori in a headlock before applying a single leg crab hold, but Saori makes it to the ropes. Bito gets on the second turnbuckle but Saori hits her and brings her back down with rolling fisherman suplexes. Bito blocks the last suplex attempt and reverses it with a vertical suplex, Bito gets up on the top turnbuckle and she hits the missile dropkick for a two count. Bito picks up Saori and hits a high kick, B-Driller by Bito and she picks up the three count! Yoko Bito is the winner.

This is probably a good way to ease Bito back in, she needs these midcard matches to shake some ring rust but she certainly doesn’t need to be losing either to establish herself as a solid upper midcarder. Bito looked a little stiff at times but she always has, even back in 2011 she was never as natural as the Three Daughters are now, she is more reliant on crisp kicks than sheer athleticism. I wouldn’t say it was a great match but it was solid, Bito continues to get her legs back under her and Saori put up a good fight against her senior.

(c) Kairi Hojo vs. Viper

Unlike the last match, these two don’t start as nicely as they don’t particularly like each other, Hojo goes for a spear but Viper easily catches her and tosses her away. Hojo tries to elbow Viper with no luck, Viper throws Hojo into the corner but Hojo avoids her charges and gets Viper into the corner herself. Punches and chops by Hojo and she throws her to the opposite corner, Viper tosses Hojo out onto the apron but Hojo lands on her feet. Hojo goes for a sunset flip but Viper sits on her for her trouble, stomps by Viper and she starts working on Hojo’s elbow. Which is logical. Viper lariats Hojo and tosses her over the top rope, where Oedo Tai stomps on her while the referee watches on confused. Viper gets on the apron and dives out onto Hojo, crushing several other people in the process. Viper brings Hojo back into the ring, Hojo tries to fight back with elbows but Viper just shrugs them off. Viper slams Hojo to the mat before going up to the second turnbuckle and calling for the elbow drop, but Hojo rolls out of the way. Chops by Hojo and she palm thrusts Viper into the corner, Hojo goes off the ropes and hits a tilt-a-whirl schoolboy for a two count. Hojo applies something resembling a Stretch Muffler before changing it into the cross leg crab hold, but Viper muscles out of it.

Sliding D by Hojo, but Viper gets a shoulder up. Hojo goes up top but Viper recovers and hits a chokebomb, picking up a two count. Viper positions Hojo near the corner and hits the Reverse Splash, but Hojo gets a hand on the ropes. Viper sits down on Hojo’s arm and applies an armbreaker, but Hojo quickly wiggles to the ropes to force the break. Viper puts Hojo on the top turnbuckle and joins her, but Hojo punches her down into the Tree of Woe and hits the diving footstomp. Diving Elbow Drop by Hojo, but she is too hurt to make a quick cover and by the time she does so, Viper is able to kick out. Hojo goes up top again but this time Viper recovers and joins her, hitting a superplex. Viper goes up top herself  but Hojo chops her and elbows Viper off the top turnbuckle and down to the floor. Hojo then gets on the top turnbuckle and dives out onto the standing Viper with a diving elbow drop. The referee starts a ten count for the first time in Stardom history, Hojo barely makes it back into the ring but Viper does not and the referee calls for the bell. Kairi Hojo wins the match by Countout and retains her title.

I have some mixed feelings about that one. I thought the structure/story was solid, with Viper working over the arm and thinking outside the box a bit by also trying to win by submission. Kairi sold the arm well when it was being worked on but otherwise was still throwing elbows, which is a little annoying but not a big deal. My main issue with the match was the ending, Stardom wrestlers battle in the crowd and up to the balcony on a regular basis and no one ever gets counted out, so it seemed like an obvious cop-out that the referee would immediately start the count after a dive. I’d rather they brawled around for way too long and both got counted out, or have Hojo win normally with something other than an elbow move to expand her capabilities. So I liked a good bit of it and thought they both worked their style well, I just wish the ending was more satisfying and logical.  Mildly Recommended

(c) Mayu Iwatani vs. Shanna

The start with a bang, as while Iwatani is spinning around in her streamers, Shanna runs up and plants her with a dragon suplex! Iwatani rolls out of the ring as her friends try to unwrap her (the match hadn’t officially started yet), Shanna goes out after Iwatani and stomps her down on the floor. I guess the match started at some point as the referee is counting while Shanna beats Iwatani around the ring. They finally get into the ring and Shanna hits a leg drop followed by an elbow drop for a two count cover. Iwatani comes back with an enzuigiri and a superkick, Iwatani applies a stretch hold on the mat before putting Shanna in a sleeper. Iwatani knees Shanna and goes off the ropes, but Shanna catches her with an elbow. They both run off the ropes with Shanna hitting a roaring lariat, cover by Shanna but it gets two. Shanna goes for a double underhook facebuster but Iwatani gets out of it and knocks down Shanna with a pair of kicks. Dropkick by Iwatani and she hits the Northern Lights Suplex for a two count. Iwatani goes to the second turnbuckle and hits a diving footstomp, she then goes all the way up and hits another one for a two count cover. Iwatani goes for the dragon suplex but Shanna shoves her off, quick roll-up by Shanna but it gets a two count as does the hurricanrana. Shanna goes for the dragon suplex but Iwatani blocks it, Shiranui by Shanna but it only gets two. Iwatani elbows out of the dragon suplex attempt but Shanna gets it re-applied and drops her with it anyway. Iwatani comes back with a Stunner, high kick by Iwatani and she nails the dragon suplex hold for the three count! Iwatani wins the match and retains the High Speed Championship.

I guess this show is going to just be chock full of decent but flawed matches. The main flaw here is simply that Shanna hasn’t shown much during her stay in Stardom… I haven’t seen her outside of Stardom so I don’t know if it is just a chemistry issue but her matches just aren’t very smooth and some moves don’t work right. I did love the hot start but both wrestlers being so focused on hitting a dragon suplex instead of just winning however they could got a bit old and the ending was very sudden. Not bad but a step down from the previous match and overall one of the worst Iwatani singles matches of 2016.

(c) Io Shirai vs. Toni Storm

Shirai won’t shake Storm’s hand before the match since she is in Cocky Io mode, they begin things working holds and get into a knuckle lock battle which neither really wins. Irish whip by Storm, she charges Shirai but Shirai flips her onto the apron before knocking her out of the ring. Shirai jumps out to the apron but Storm pulls her out of the ring and they trade elbows on the floor. Shirai throws Storm into the ring post (referee isn’t counting, imagine that?), Shirai gets onto the top turnbuckle but Storm hits her before she can dive off and knocks her back down to the floor. They finally get back into the ring as Storm twists Shirai’s leg in the ropes, she keeps working on Shirai’s leg and goes for a big boot, but Shirai avoids it and dropkicks Storm in the ropes. Storm pushes her off but Shirai hits the cartwheel into a dropkick, sending Storm out of the ring. Shirai jumps up to the top turnbuckle and sails out onto Storm with a moonsault, she slides Shanna back in and hits a swandive missile dropkick. Tiger Feint Kick by Shirai and she hits the swandive sunset flip for a two count cover. Armtrap Crossface by Shirai, but Storm wiggles to the ropes and forces the break. Shirai goes for the running double knees in the corner but Storm avoids it, Backstabber by Storm and she puts Shirai in the Kondo Clutch.

Shirai eventually makes it into the ropes, Shirai jumps up onto the turnbuckle but Storm grabs her and hits a bridging muscle buster for a two count. Storm gets on the second turnbuckle but Shirai elbows her and and hits a Frankensteiner. Running double knee by Shirai in the corner and she dropkicks Storm in the head for a two count. Storm and Shirai trade elbows as they return to their feet, they then trade boots and palm thrusts until Storm hits a release German suplex. Shirai is back up and hits a German suplex hold of her own, but it gets a two count. Shirai picks up Storm but Storm blocks the double underhook facebuster and knees her in the face. Storm then hits a double underhook facebuster of her own, picking up a two count. Storm gets on the top turnbuckle but Shirai avoids the diving leg drop and kicks Storm in the face repeatedly. Shirai goes up top but Storm avoids the moonsault, kick to the face by Storm and she hits the Air Raid Crash for a two count. Back up they struggle for position, Shirai gets Storm with the Package German but it only gets two. Shirai picks up Storm but Storm hits an uppercut, dropkick to the knee by Storm and she plants her with a piledriver. Storm goes up to the top turnbuckle and she nails the Diving Leg Drop, picking up the three count cover! Toni Storm is the new SWA Women’s Champion!

The best match on the card, although I wouldn’t put it on the level of other Shirai big matches this year. They had better chemistry than most the other pairings today, as they had a lot of smooth transitions throughout the match. This is my first time seeing Storm and I was pretty impressed, for someone so young she has a lot going for her. The one issue with Big Match Io is that it is almost not believable when she gets pinned, the diving leg drop was fine but it didn’t look uber-killer and I think it caught everyone off guard when it actually worked. Still, a fun match with the dives and fast exchanges you’d expect from Io, really good showing by both wrestlers.  Recommended

The post Stardom X Stardom on 7/24/16 Review appeared first on Joshi City.

I am doing something different this week. Since Stardom World launched in the spring, I have been watching and reviewing their version of the shows, which is shown in full and not professionally shot (multiple angles, replays, video recaps, etc.). A lot of times that wasn’t by choice as it was the only way to watch the events, but their Korakuen Hall shows are also shown on Samurai TV, which is how I decided to watch this event. The downside is that matches are clipped (particularly the early matches), but the upside is a crisper presentation. I figured I was overdue for a break from watching every minute of every opening-style match, this way I will get the highlights of them while still getting to enjoy the show. A big card from Stardom, with the return of Yoko Bito and a Goddesses of Stardom Championship defense! Here is the full card:

• Alex Lee, Azumi, and Kaori Yoneyama vs.  Arisu Nanase, Natsumi Maki, and Starlight Kid
• Diosa Atenea, Kris Wolf, and Leah Vaughan vs. Hiromi Mimura, Momo Watanabe, and Jungle Kyouna
• Chelsea vs. Shanna
• Hiroyo Matsumoto vs. Saori Anou
• Kairi Hojo vs. Yoko Bito
• Goddesses of Stardom Championship: Io Shirai and Mayu Iwatani vs. Kagetsu and Kyoko Kimura

Let’s hop right to it.

Alex Lee, Azumi, and Kaori Yoneyama vs.  Nanase, Natsumi Maki, and Starlight Kid

Yoneyama and Starlight Kid kick things off, Yoneyama gets the advantage over the much smaller rookie but they trade quick trips before returning tot heir feet. Nanase and Natsumi jump Yoneyama from behind and all three attack her in the corner before connecting with a triple dropkick. Starlight Kid tags Natsumi but Yoneyama avoids her dropkick and she poses with her teammates on Natsumi in the corner. We clip ahead to Azumi and Nanase in the ring, suplex by Azumi but Lee kicks Azumi by accident when she tries to kick Nanase. Azumi is double teamed by Natsumi and Starlight Kid, but Yoneyama breaks up Nanase’s cover. Blockbuster by Nanase to Azumi, but Yoneyama breaks it up again and then hits a crossbody on both Natsumi and Starlight Kid. Yoneyama tags herself in but Nanase avoids her running senton and she is attacked by Starlight Kid and Natsumi. Nanase applies a submission to Yoneyama but Lee breaks it up, running senton by Yoneyama to Nanase and she gets the three count! Azumi Army wins!

A bit clipped and a run of the mill Stardom opener, but not a bad match. Yoneyama gave the youngsters some offense which is always nice to see, and of the little bit we saw there weren’t any issues. Decent way to start, even though I feel like I’ve seen this match 20 times already in 2016.

Diosa Atenea, Kris Wolf, and Leah Vaughan vs. Hiromi Mimura, Watanabe, and Kyouna

They start the match with a brawl, as it normal in Oedo Tai matches, but things settle down with Wolf and Momo in the ring. Atenea tries to help but Wolf dropkicks her by accident, and the rookies all attack Wolf while she is in the ropes. Everyone runs into the ring as Oedo Tai takes back over, suplex by Wolf to Momo and they stack all three rookies on top of each other. Wolf keeps the attack up on Momo as she hits a strike in the corner, then we clip ahead to Atenea in the ring with Kyouna. Atenea clubs Kyouna in the back of the head but Kyouna hits a powerslam for two. Leah and Mimura are tagged in and they trade elbows, Leah gets Mimura to the match and she hits the Lionsault for a two count. Mimura avoids Leah’s boot in the corner and rolls her up for two, she goes for a crossbody but Leah catches her. Momo dropkicks them over as she and Kyouna come into the ring, and Leah is double teamed. Kyouna then picks up Mimura and powerbombs her somewhat onto Leah, and Mimura covers Leah for two. Atenea and Wolf come in the ring, Momo tries to hit a missile dropkick on them but she accidentally hits Kyouna. Leah gets Mimura on her shoulders but Momo and Kyouna block Atenea and Wolf from doing whatever they had planned to do to her. Mimura sneaks in a quick pin on Leah for two, elbows by Mimura but Leah decks her with a spear for the three count! Oedo Tai win the match.

I like these types of opening-style matches, as it mixes a few different elements together. Leah continues to impress me, I hope that she comes back to Stardom one day as she really has her character down pat and works well in Oedo Tai. The rookies here are above what I’d consider your typical rookie tier, and wrestle as if they are on the same level as wrestlers much their senior which makes for a better match. A bit too clipped to get super excited about but a solid match and a good showcase for all six wrestlers.

Chelsea vs. Shanna

The match begins pretty politely with tie-ups and limb work (they have a lot of time to kill), some of the exchanges are a bit rough but they are trying. Shanna gets Chelsea to the mat but Chelsea hits a monkey flip and hits a running elbow in the corner. Shoulder tackles by Chelsea but Shanna returns fire and and downs Chelsea with a flipping neckbreaker for two. Shanna goes for a suplex but Chelsea mostly reverses it, kick by Chelsea but Shanna superkicks her back. Leg trip by Shanna and she punts Chelsea in the face for a two count. Shanna goes up top but Chelsea grabs her and hits a modified atomic drop followed by a bridging vertical suplex for two. They get back up and lariat each other, they both go for crossbodies and collide before flopping to the mat. Chelsea goes up top but Shanna recovers and joins her and pushes Chelsea to the mat. Diving footstomp to the back by Shanna but the bell rings, signifying time has expired. The match is a Draw.

Sadly, they did not surprise me. Half of this match was cut out of the Samurai TV broadcast and it still wasn’t a good match. Just lots of awkwardness… things ranging from armdrags to reversals just were not crisp at all and there were multiple times that the moves looked stiff and not smooth. Both were trying hard so I will give them that, but there wasn’t a lot to like here as they just didn’t have any chemistry to speak of. Not sure why they made people sit through 15 minutes of this, a cruel joke by someone for sure. Best to just skip this one.

Hiroyo Matsumoto vs. Saori Anou

Anou tries to attack Matsumoto before the match starts but it quickly backfires as Matsumoto takes over and works the headlock. Anou gets out of it and hits a few elbows but Matsumoto sends her to the mat with a shoulderblock. Back up they trade strikes again until Matsumoto hits a DDT, running boot by Matsumoto and she covers Anou for two. Matsumoto goes for a lariat but Anou bridges down to avoid it and rolls up Matsumoto for two. Backslide with a bridge by Anou, but that gets a two count as well. Figure four by Anou but Matsumoto gets out of it and reverses it into her own figure four. Anou eventually gets to the ropes to force a break, Anou avoids Matsumoto’s charge in the corner but Matsumoto boots her to the mat anyway. Matsumoto gets on the second turnbuckle but Anou recovers and hits a fisherman suplex hold. Anou rolls Matsumoto up to go for another one but Matsumoto reverses it into a vertical suplex. Hard elbow by Matsumoto and she drops Anou with a backbreaker from her shoulders for a two. Matsumoto gets up on the second turnbuckle and nails the reverse diving double kneedrop, and she picks up the three count! Matsumoto is your winner.

I liked this match quite a bit, it was a lot of fun. Matsumoto gave Anou a lot of offense as it was far from a squash, but she still established herself as the veteran and constantly was cutting off Anou’s comebacks when the rookie looked like she may be turning the corner. Course then Matsumoto killed her with two moves to win the match in emphatic fashion. A predictable match but an entertaining one nonetheless.  Mildly Recommended

Kairi Hojo vs. Yoko Bito

After some armlocks as Bito works off some of the rust, things get serious as Bito shoves Hojo hard to the mat after a knuckle lockup. Kicks to the back and chest by Bito, Hojo goes off the ropes but Bito catches her with a high kick which sends Hojo out of the ring. She returns after a moment but Bito quickly puts her in a stretch hold before letting her go so she can kick Hojo hard in the back. Crab hold by Bito, but Hojo gets to the ropes to force a break. Back up they trade elbows until Hojo levels Bito with a spear for a two count. Chops by Hojo in the corner and she hits her jumping neckbreaker for another two. Leglock by Hojo, but Bito crawls to the ropes to get the break. Hojo goes off the ropes but Bito catches her with a lariat, she goes up top and she hits a missile dropkick for a two count. Suplex by Bito, she goes for a high kick but Hojo blocks it and delivers a backfist for two. She goes for the Sliding D but Bito catches her with a heel kick and the duo trade elbows as they return to their feet. Hojo wins the battle and hits the Sliding D, she goes up top but Bito gets her feet up when she goes for the diving elbow drop. Heel drop by Bito and she nails a high kick on Hojo for a nearfall. Bito gets Hojo on her back to go for a reverse piledriver, but Hojo gets out of it and goes for a Stretch Muffler. Bito kicks out of that and kicks Hojo some more, but Hojo catches her with a spear for a two count. Spinning chop by Hojo, she goes up to the top turnbuckle but Bito recovers and hits a high kick. Bito joins Hojo up top but Hojo knocks her into the Tree of Woe and nails a diving footstomp. Hojo then goes back up top, she delivers her diving elbow drop but Bito barely gets a shoulder up. Hojo goes right back up top and hits a second diving elbow drop, and this time she gets the three count! Kairi Hojo is the winner.

I loved this one a lot, it really exceeded my expectations. I was worried that Bito may be rusty but her time in the dojo the last few months has done her a lot of good as she looked about the same as her last few matches in the summer of 2012. This was a pretty even match, Bito was on the defense quite a bit but did hit her big kicks that she used to win with so there was always that feeling that she could pull off the upset. Bito also kicked out of the first diving elbow drop, which is unheard of, further putting over Bito as a wrestler that is instantly being elevated back to where she used to be. Which is very exciting since Stardom needs more upper midcarders. A really entertaining match and one that showed that Bito really is back.  Recommended

(c) Io Shirai and Mayu Iwatani vs. Kagetsu and Kyoko Kimura

Iwatani and Kagetsu start the match for their respective teams, armdrags by Iwatani but neither gets a clear advantage as they are very familar with each other. They tag out, Kimura blows on Shirai so Iwatani tags herself back in. Kimura and Kagetsu take turns kicking Iwatani but Iwatani avoids one of their charges and hits a double split-legged armdrag which sends both her opponents out of the ring. Shirai goes to do a dive but Kimura hits her in the head with a pan while Wolf pulls Iwatani off the top turnbuckle to the floor. They battle around the ring but after they return, Shirai takes back over with a double crossbody. Kagetsu and Kimura fall out of the ring again, and this time Shirai jumps out onto them with an Asai Moonsault. She tags in Iwatani, Iwatani goes up top and hits a missile dropkick on Kimura. Northern Lights Suplex by Iwatani, but Kimura reverses it into a grounded front facelock. Kagetsu keeps Shirai busy but Iwatani rolls to the ropes and forces a break. Kagetsu comes in with a parking sign and hits Iwatani in the head with it repeatedly, Shirai comes in but the referee has come to his senses and stops Kagetsu from hitting Shirai with it. Kimura hits the referee in the back with a chair, but Iwatani has the chair in her hands when he recovers so he thinks that Iwatani hit him. Kagetsu then hits the referee from behind with another sign, she then hits Shirai with the parking sign.

All of Oedo Tai come into the ring and attack Iwatani in the corner, big spear by Leah Vaughan and Oedo Tai celebrates while the referee is tended to outside the ring. Iwatani continues being assaulted by five wrestlers while Shirai and the referee are hurt outside the ring, Oedo Tai retrieve Shirai as a new referee comes down, he gets in the ring and restores order, kicking all the weapons out of the ring. Iwatani and Kagetsu trade strikes until Iwatani levels Kagetsu with a superkick, more kicks by Iwatani but Kimura kicks Iwatani from the apron. She gets in the ring and Kagetsu hits a swandive missile dropkick. Shirai comes into the ring with a swandive missile dropkick of her own before she sails out of the ring onto Kimura with a tope suicida. Kagetsu throws Iwatani into the corner but she springs up to the top turnbuckle and jumps down to the floor onto Kimura with a plancha. Shirai gets in the ring with Kagetsu while Iwatani goes up top and they hit the assisted piledriver, dragon suplex hold by Iwatani but Kimura hits the referee to break up the cover. Iwatani picks up Kagetsu and goes for the super dragon suplex, but Kagetsu blocks it and hits an Ebisu Drop for a two count. Shirai palm strikes everyone, she picks up Kimura to go for the assisted piledriver but Kimura reverses it while Kagetsu hits Iwatani with a parking sign. Kagetsu joins Iwatani up top and nails an avalanche Ebisu Drop, cover by Kagetsu and she gets the three count! Kagetsu and Kimura win the Goddesses of Stardom Championship!

This was the result I wanted but not necessarily the way I’d preferred it happen. I have no issue with Oedo Tai cheating occasionally in matches, they are the heel faction and that is what heel factions do. But it was just a bit overdone in this match, the wrestlers really never got into a flow as there was constantly something nefarious going on. Even in Stardom, the referee getting hit by weapons is generally a DQ, and they just really ramped it up to higher degree than I’d want to see in a title match. I can understand it storyline wise, after going 0-2, Oedo Tai was doing all they could to finally win a title. But I still would have enjoyed it better if it just had the normal level of Oedo Tai cheating, not it ramped up to ten. When it was just a straight match it was great as all four wrestlers have great chemistry together, and I loved that Kagetsu got the pin as she is one of my favorite wrestlers in Stardom. Overall it was good, but disappointing for a title match main event.  Mildly Recommended

The post Stardom Premium Stars on 6/16/16 Review appeared first on Joshi City.

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

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

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

Arisu Nanase vs. Kris Wolf

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

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

Azumi and Kaori Yoneyama vs. Eimi Nishina and Maki Natsumi

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

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

Chelsea vs. Hiromi Mimura

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

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

Jungle Kyouna vs. Leah Vaughan

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

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

Momo Watanabe vs. Shanna

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Alex Lee and Azumi vs. Eimi Nishina and Natsumi Maki

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Chihiro Hashimoto vs. Jungle Kyouna

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

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

(c) Mayu Iwatani vs. Kagetsu

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Arisu Nanase vs. Natsumi Maki

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

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

Azumi vs. Eimi Nishina vs. Starlight Kid

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

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

Chelsea and Kairi Hojo vs. Alex Lee and Hiroyo Matsumoto

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

(c) Io Shirai vs. Shanna

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

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

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

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

After a bit of a break, due mostly to the Europe tour, Stardom is finally back! A new tour has begun, Shining Stars, which means not only that we get new gaijins but also a new Stardom wrestler debuting as well. On top of that, Kris Wolf and Chelsea are back! So much going on. Here is the full card:

• Arisu Nanase vs. Momo Watanabe
• Kris Wolf vs. Starlight Kid
• Azumi vs. Kaori Yoneyama vs. Natsumi Maki
• Hiromi Mimura vs. Shanna
• Chelsea and Kairi Hojo vs. Haruka Kato and Hiroyo Matsumoto
• Diosa Atenea, Kagetsu, and Leah Vaughan vs. Io Shirai, Jungle Kyouna, and Mayu Iwatani

As is usually the case, you can click on the names above to go to that wrestler’s profile on Joshi City. Lots going on, let’s get to the action.

Arisu Nanase vs. Momo Watanabe

They start the match trading holds, Watanabe gets Nanase to the mat first but she picks her up and puts her in a guillotine. Watanabe stomps Nanase down in the corner, Nanase fights back with elbows, armbar by Nanase but Watanabe rolls her up for two. Crab hold by Watanabe but Nanase makes it to the ropes, Irish whip by Watanabe but Nanase avoids the dropkick. Dropkick by Nanase and she hits two more, but Watanabe takes back over and applies a cross arm submission. Watanabe goes for the Somato but Nanase ducks, kick to the stomach by Watanabe and she covers Nanase for two. Watanabe gets on the second turnbuckle but Nanase avoids the missile dropkick and applies a bridging suplex hold for two. Nanase applies a leg submission hold, she lets it go after a moment and hits a bridging fallaway slam for two. Nanase goes off the ropes but Watanabe does too and hits a dropkick, dropkick by Watanabe in the corner and she hits another one for two. Suplex by Watanabe and she delivers the Somato, picking up the three count! Momo Watanabe is the winner.

Who was winning was never in doubt, but since Watanabe is still a kid herself, she was able to give Nanase a bit more offense than we are used to seeing in rookie matches. By that I mean that Nanase hit about four moves but two were nearfalls so it was still a successful debut. Nanase looked fine for a 14 year old in her first match, she sold well and has a nice bridge. Just the beginning of hopefully a successful career, but so far so good.

Kris Wolf vs. Starlight Kid

Wolf sniffs at Starlight Kid to start, which since she is a Wolf is ok to do even though usually smelling a 15 year old isn’t socially acceptable. She likes what she smells as Wolf bites Starlight Kid in the arm, she puts her into the ropes and then bites the kid in the ear. Wolf picks up Starlight Kid but the rookie slides behind her back and applies a sleeper. Wolf eventually gets her off and she puts Starlight Kid in a submission hold. Jumping knee by Wolf but Starlight Kid comes back with a pair of dropkicks. Another dropkick by Starlight Kid but Wolf blocks the Tiger Feint Kick and puts Starlight Kid in the Giant Swing. Starlight Kid reverses the crab hold attempt however, she goes off the ropes and hits a crossbody into a sunset flip for a two count. Shiranui by Starlight Kid, she gets on the second turnbuckle but Wolf avoids the diving body press. Knees by Wolf, she sets up Starlight Kid in the corner and she hits a running knee to the midsection. Starlight Kid avoids the diving double kneedrop, elbow by Starlight Kid and they trade shots back and forth. Buzzsaw Kick by Wolf, she pulls Starlight Kid in front of the corner and connects with the diving double kneedrop, but Starlight Kid reverses her cover into a roll-up. Starlight Kid goes off the ropes but Wolf grabs her with a small package, and Wolf picks up the three count! Kris Wolf is the winner.

This match was exactly what it was trying to be – a fun midcard match. Having Wolf back is great as she is an entertaining character and a bundle of joy, and these types of matches she excels in as she can be goofy fun without worrying about someone like Io ruining everything. Starlight Kid is still really young but has all the basics down pat and executes well. About all you could ask her, mindless entertainment.  Mildly Recommended

Azumi vs. Kaori Yoneyama vs. Natsumi Maki

Before the match, Maki gives Azumi a gift so they double team Yoneyama to start. Yoneyama hits a crossbody on both of them and goes to steal Azumi’s gift, but Azumi attacks her from behind. Maki dropkicks Yoneyama but Yoneyama throws her down by the hair before stomping her in the corner. Yoneyama tries to toss Maki but twice Maki cartwheels out of it, Azumi returns and Maki is double teamed against the ropes. Vertical suplex by Azumi and she focuses back on Yoneyama, Yoneyama and Azumi trade strikes until Maki recovers, but Maki just dances. Yoneyama and Azumi get annoyed with her and stomp on Maki, Maki jumps on Yoneyama’s back, Azumi goes to attack Maki but she is distracted by another gift. Maki suplexes Yoneyama but Azumi breaks up the pin, Azumi trades elbows with Maki until Azumi hits a DDT for two. Tilt-a-whirl roll-up by Azumi but Yoneyama rolls up Azumi and she gets the three count! Kaori Yoneyama wins!

Probably the least entertaining of the three “opening” matches. It was certainly cute in parts and I like Maki quite a bit, but it wasn’t as smooth and was mostly just random carnage as they didn’t have enough time to really tell a story so to speak (besides Azumi having gifts). The pre and post match was fun but the match itself was pretty pedestrian.

Hiromi Mimura vs. Shanna

Mimura starts the match fired up and elbows Shanna into the corner, she goes for a quick pin but Shanna blocks it and applies a pin of her own for two. Mimura slaps and dropkicks Shanna, crossbody by Mimura but it only gets a two. Discus Lariat by Shanna and she connects with a running kick to the face, snapmare by Shanna and she drops a leg across Mimura’s chest. Grounded necklock by Shanna but Mimura gets a foot onto the bottom rope, Shanna throws Mimura into the turnbuckles before hitting a cyclone neckbreaker for a two count. Double underhook by Shanna but Mimura gets out of it, roll-up by Mimura but Shanna kicks out. Rolling leglock by Mimura but Shanna gets to the ropes, elbows by Mimura but Shanna elbows her back. Enzuigiri by Shanna, she puts Mimura near the corner before going up top and delivering a diving body press for two. Double underhook facebuster by Shanna, and she gets the three count! Shanna is the winner!

For her first match in Stardom, I thought Shanna was pretty solid. Sometimes gaijins come in and it takes them some time to get used to wrestling different wrestlers in a different style (sometimes they never get used to it) but everything flowed well here and they seemed in sync throughout. Mimura may be a rookie but she can wrestle a basic match quite well, and while Mimura got in more offense than I was expecting, it was a pretty thorough win by Shanna. Too early to tell if Shanna will be around Stardom a lot or is just in town for one tour, but I like what I have seen of her so far.  Mildly Recommended

Chelsea and Kairi Hojo vs. Haruka Kato and Hiroyo Matsumoto

Hojo and Matsumoto start the match, elbows by Hojo but Matsumoto hits a hard shoulderblock. They get back up and do the Respect Stalemate before tagging in Chelsea and Kato. Kato and Chelsea trade wristlocks, Kato trades Matsumoto back in and Matsumoto chokes Chelsea against the ropes. Kato comes back in and stomp on Chelsea, but Chelsea slams Kato and tags in Hojo. Candy Crush double team Kato, and Chelsea gets so excited she jumps over Kato so she can hug Hojo. So cute. Hojo isn’t as playful and tosses Kato by her hair, Kato fights back but Hojo hits a hard elbow. She tags in Chelsea, Chelsea hits the dreaded Running Hug to soften up Kato before hitting a dropkick. She tags Hojo back in, hard elbows by Hojo but Kato applies a hanging armbar over the top rope. Chelsea tries to help but gets elbows for her trouble, face crusher by Kato on Hojo and she tags in Matsumoto. Hard shoulderblock by Matsumoto, Hojo comes back with chops but Matsumoto blocks the spear attempt and puts Hojo in a backbreaker. Matsumoto slams Hojo to the mat, she goes up top and hits the missile dropkick for a two count. Backbreaker by Matsumoto, she picks up Hojo, Hojo slides away but Matsumoto decks her with a hard elbow.

Spear by Hojo and she makes the tag to Chelsea, leg drop by Chelsea to Matsumoto and she then hits an elbow drop. Chelsea applies an armlock but Matsumoto gets out of it and applies a crab hold. Chelsea gets in the ropes, Matsumoto tags Kato and Chelsea is double teamed. Kato goes off the ropes but Chelsea hits a spinning heel kick, and she tags in Hojo. Hojo goes up top and hits a diving forearm shot on Kato, Chelsea lariats Kato and Hojo covers her for two. Heel drop to the back by Hojo, Matsumoto comes in and she hits a backdrop suplex on both Chelsea and Hojo. Hojo and Chelsea fall out of the ring, Matsumoto picks up Kato and throws her out of the ring and onto both of their opponents. Back in the ring, Matsumoto slams Kato onto Hojo a few times, diving crossbody by Kato but Chelsea breaks up the cover. Back up, Kato and Hojo trade strikes and Kato spins Hojo to the mat before applying a cross armbreaker. Hojo gets into the ropes, Chelsea kicks Kato from the apron and Hojo hits a spear on Kato. Hammerlock fisherman suplex hold by Hojo, but Matsumoto breaks up the cover. Hojo goes up top but Matsumoto joins her, Hojo elbows Matsumoto into the Tree of Woe and hits a diving footstomp. Kato avoids the Alabama Slam but Hojo catches her with a spinning backfist. Hojo goes up top and she nails the diving elbow drop, picking up the three count! Candy Crush win!

It is very rare for me to say this but here it goes – this match was a bit too long. As a re-introduction to Candy Crush and with a known jobber in the match (no offense to the departing Kato), there was really no need for this one to go 18 minutes as some parts just dragged a bit. Chelsea, bless her heart, showed some ring rust for sure and the crowd didn’t react quite as much as I am used to for the team, it will be interesting to see where they go from here since Hojo now holds two titles. There was definitely some solid action, as Hojo and Matsumoto are top notch, but it was just a bit too slow and when Matsumoto and Hojo were on the apron the match suffered. Farewell to Kato, we will miss you!

Diosa Atenea, Kagetsu, and Leah Vaughan vs. Io Shirai, Kyouna, and Iwatani

Oedo Tai attacks before the match starts and immediately isolate the rookie Kyouna. Shirai and Iwatani return and help turn the tide, they toss Oedo Tai out of the ring but Oedo Tai blocks them from doing a dive out (with an assist from Wolf). Kagetsu then does a cannonball off the apron, Atenea follows with a dive off the apron and Vaughan finishes with a plancha off the top turnbuckle. They battle around the ring and into the stands before Kagetsu and Iwatani return, and Iwatani is triple teamed in the ropes. Atenea stays in with Iwatani and stomps her in the apron, but Iwatani comes back with a crossbody. Iwatani tags in Shirai, Vaughan runs in too but Shirai crossbodies both of them with the help of Kyouna. Shirai and Kyouna clear the ring, Shirai grabs Atenea but Atenea gets away and hits a hurricanrana. Armdrag by Atenea and she jumps down on Shirai’s back before covering her for two. Vaughan is tagged in, chops by Vaughan and Kagetsu comes in to slam Shirai.

Moonsault off the ropes but Vaughan and she puts Shirai in a submission, but it broken up and Shirai hits a standing moonsault on Vaughan. She tags Iwatani but Vaughn boots her and hits a suplex. Vaughan tags Kagetsu, Iwatani grabs Kagetsu’s arm and hits a split legged armdrag off the ropes. Kagetsu comes back with a dropkick and elbows Iwatani in the corner, but Iwatani returns fire. Iwatani knocks down Kagetsu with a jumping forearm, Shirai comes in but Kagetsu spears her for her trouble. Kick to the head by Iwatani and she makes the tag to Kyouna. Shoulderblocks by Kyouna, Kagetsu temporarily gets away but Kyouna plans her with a powerslam. This leads to a brawl as everyone comes in the ring, Shirai hits a double missile dropkick on Vaughan and Atenea before hitting a running double knee on Kagetsu. Diving body press by Kyouna to Kagetsu, but the cover is broken up. Kagetsu throws the referee at Kyouna, she gets a bottle and hits everyone in the head with it. Wolf comes in too to help attack Kyouna, they all kick Kyouna but Shirai breaks up the cover. Kagetsu gets a parking sign, Iwatani takes it from her but Shirai accidentally spears the sign into Iwatani. Kagetsu gets the sign back and hits Kyouna with it, roll-up with a jackknife by Kagetsu and she gets the three count! Oedo Tai win!

This was a fun match event, and a perfectly acceptable one for a smaller show. I wish it was a little longer as it went under 13 minutes, but it was action packed and they did the best the could with the constraints. It wasn’t a great look at Vaughan since she didn’t have a ton of in-ring time but she seems solid, although from a distance she looks just like Kellie Skater as she has a similar outfit and hair. Kagetsu getting the win was nice as Oedo Tai keeps racking up victories, they worked together really well and are a cohesive team. Overall an entertaining match, but nothing to get too excited about.  Mildly Recommended

The post Stardom Shining Stars #1 on 5/29/16 Review appeared first on Joshi City.