Event: Marigold New Years Golden Garden 2025
Date: February 7th, 2025
Location: Shinjuku FACE in Tokyo, Japan
Announced Attendance: 356
Broadcast: Wrestle Universe

The last time I watched Marigold was their debut show, and a lot has changed since then. The biggest change of course is Giulia is gone, as she joined WWE a few months after Marigold was launched (which was always the plan). There are also a fistful of new rookies since last May, including the latest Super Rookie – Seri Yamaoka. We also have titles now, with one being defended in the main event. This isn’t a huge show for Marigold but is still a mid-sized one with all the major players present. Here is the full card:

• Nao Ishikawa vs. Ryoko Sakimura
• CHIAKI and Nagisa Nozaki vs. Rea Seto and Riara
• Megaton vs. MIRAI
• Utami Hayashishita vs. Yuuki Minami
• Chika Goto and Natsumi Showzuki vs. Nanae Takahashi and Seri Yamaoka
• Chanyota and Mai Sakurai vs. Miku Aono and Naho Yamada
• Marigold Superfly Championship: Victoria Yuzuki vs. Misa Matsui

My first full show review in almost a year, let’s see how long it takes me to get through it. All wrestlers above have profiles on Joshi City, you can click on their names to go straight to it. Onto the show!

Nao Ishikawa vs. Ryoko Sakimura

Ryoko and Nao tie-up, wristlock by Nao but Ryoko reverses it and the two trade holds. Dueling wristlocks goes on for a bit, side headlock by Nao but Ryoko Irish whips out of it. Shoulderblock by Nao and she hits an elbow drop for two. Camel clutch by Nao, she lets go after a moment and stomps on Ryoko’s back. Irish whip by Nao but Ryoko hits a dropkick, another dropkick by Ryoko but Nao absorbs the blow and stomps on Ryoko. Nao picks up Ryoko and goes off the ropes, hitting a shoulderblock. Crab hold by Nao but Ryoko crawls to the ropes and forces the break. Nao picks up Ryoko and throws her into the ropes, but Ryoko hits a dropkick. Nao doesn’t go down so Ryoko hits a few more dropkicks. Ryoko finally sends Nao to the mat, cover by Ryoko and she gets a two count. Ryoko goes to pick up Nao but Nao pushes her off, elbows by Nao and the two trade blows. Nao elbows Ryoko hard to the mat, Nao picks up Ryoko but Ryoko sneaks in an inside cradle for two. A schoolboy by Ryoko also gets two, she puts Nao in a submission hold but Nao gets to the ropes. Ryoko charges Nao but Nao catches her with a scoop slam for two. Nao picks up Ryoko and she hits a delayed bodyslam for the three count! Nao Ishikawa is the winner.

These matches are important for a wrestler’s development but can have limited entertainment value. Ryoko is only two months in so I’m not going to judge her yet, although if she threw those same dropkicks in GAEA Japan her face would have been bloody soon thereafter. Nao has average-level skill and that showed here as she didn’t really assert herself as the dominate veteran before winning with a bodyslam. Good enough to be an opener, curious to see how Ryoko develops over the next six months.

CHIAKI and Nagisa Nozaki vs. Rea Seto and Riara

Rea and CHIAKI start the match, CHIAKI works a headlock and slams Rea into the corner. Running boot by CHIAKI, she covers Rea with one foot but it gets a two count. CHIAKI picks up Rea but Rea elbows her away, chop by CHIAKI and she boots Rea to the mat for two. CHIAKI tags Nagisa, Nagisa kicks Rea against the ropes and then again from the apron. Back in the ring, vertical suplex by Nagisa but Rea avoids her charge and delivers a dropkick followed by a facebuster. Rea applies the Cattle Mutilation but CHIAKI quickly breaks it up, Rea picks up Nagisa but Nagisa boots her. Nagisa swats away Rea’s dropkick attempt but Rea avoids the sliding kick and delivers a dropkick. Neckbreaker drop by Rea and she tags in Riara. Dropkick by Riara and she hits a second one, a third dropkick by Riara and she covers Nagisa for two. Riara goes to the second turnbuckle but Nagisa avoids her dive and boots Riara in the head. Riara comes back with elbows but Nagisa dropkicks her into the corner, big boot by Nagisa and CHIAKI hits one of her own from the apron.

CHIAKI comes in the ring but Rea runs in with a double neckbreaker drop, dropkick by Riara to Nagisa and she covers her for two. Ankle hold by Riara but Nagisa gets to the ropes for the break. Rea goes to the top turnbuckle and rides Nagisa face-first into the mat, diving footstomp by Riara but CHIAKI breaks up the cover. CHIAKI gets rid of Rea and hits a Codebreaker onto Riara, sleeper by Nagisa to Riara but Rea eventually breaks it up. Kick to the ribs by Nagisa to Riara, she goes off the ropes and hits a Somato for two. Kick to the face by Nagisa, but Rea breaks up the cover. Nagisa and CHIAKI grab Rea and both kick her in the side of the head, Nagisa goes back to Riara and kicks her in the chest. Nagisa drags Riara up and nails the Noa Lancer High (running knee strike), and she picks up the three count! CHIAKI and Nagisa Nozaki are the winners.

This was honestly better then I was expecting, always good to go into matches with an open mind. Nagisa played the veteran here but not at all selfishly (we’ll see that later in the show in Nanae’s match), while she was in the dominate position she gave the younger wrestlers a lot of offense and bumped around for them. Everything was hit crisply, with both Rea and Riara looking solid in defeat. Fast paced solid action from these four, for a house show style event a good effort by all involved.

Megaton vs. MIRAI

MIRAI charges Megaton as the match starts and kicks her in the stomach, she goes for an Irish whip but Megaton doesn’t budge. Megaton sits on the mat and challenges MIRAI to join her, MIRAI does and applies a cross armbreaker but Megaton gets to the ropes and rolls out of the ring. MIRAI eventually goes after her but Megaton punches her as she does so, Megaton gets a chain and she jokes MIRAI with it. Megaton licks MIRAI’s hair for reasons unknown, she eventually rolls MIRAI back in but MIRAI gets her feet up as she goes for a body press. Megaton charges MIRAI but MIRAI jumps over her, she avoids her next charge as well and MIRAI gets out of the ring. She slides back in as Megaton chases her, Megaton gets tired of the game and sits down in the middle of the ring.

MIRAI returns and kicks her in the back, but MIRAI quickly bails again as Megaton chases her. They do this routine for a bit until MIRAI gets back in the ring, Megaton is too tired to get back in the ring so she gets the little ring steps out to help her. MIRAI dropkicks her in the head as she gets to the apron, MIRAI slides Megaton back into the ring and chops her in the chest. Megaton elbows her back as they trade shots, a battle that MIRAI wins. Megaton yells at MIRAI to stun her, she goes for a few quick pins but MIRAI kicks out. Megaton picks up MIRAI and chops her, body avalanche against the ropes and Megaton drops on MIRAI with a body splash for two. Megaton picks up MIRAI but MIRAI punches her in the face, she puts Megaton in a modified double armbar and Megaton has to submit! MIRAI is the winner!

Before we discuss this goofy match, I first just want to acknowledge the work that MIRAI has done on her fitness. She looks great, and its the type of dedication you like to see from a wrestler that down the road may have a leading role in the promotion. As for the match, Megaton mostly does comedy and for better or worse (depending on how you feel about it), MIRAI had to wrestle at her level. Some of the bits were silly or just time wasting, although I will admit I did laugh when I saw Megaton was getting out the little steps to get into the ring after MIRAI ran her around. There was very little substance here and not how I’d ideally get to watch a MIRAI match, I can’t say it was “bad” but it didn’t do a lot for me either.

Utami Hayashishita vs. Yuuki Minami

They tie-up to start, side headlock by Utami but Minami reverses it. Irish whip by Utami but Minami hits a dropkick, however Utami stays on her feet. Minami tries again with no luck, she goes off the ropes again but Utami dropkicks her in the midsection. Scoop slam by Utami and she applies a crab hold, but Minami gets to the ropes for the break. Minami returns to her feet and fights back, but Utami knocks her down with a hard elbow. Irish whip by Utami and she swats aside Minami’s dropkick attempt, she goes off the ropes but this time Minami catches her and knocks Utami down.

Minami throws Utami to the mat and hits another dropkick, Minami applies a guillotine with a hammerlock but Utami slams her into the corner to break the hold. Dropkick to the arm by Minami and she re-applies the hold, but Utami gets to the ropes for the break. Minami picks up Utami and goes for the hold again, but Utami is too close to the ropes. Minami goes to the top turnbuckle and hits a missile dropkick, cover by Minami but it gets a two count. Utami levels Minami with a lariat, another lariat by Utami and she hits a sliding lariat for two. Utami picks up Minami and hits the Air Raid Crash, but Minami reverses the cover into her own cradle for two. Minami charges Utami but Utami hits an Argentine Backbreaker Drop. Utami drags Minami up and hits a German suplex hold, and she picks up the three count! Utami Hayashishita is the winner.

Maybe now I understand why Minami didn’t get more a push out of the gate, as while she did have training in both Ice Ribbon and Marigold she still looks really green and needs more seasoning before anyone could take her as a threat. Minami spamming the same submission finisher was a sign she doesn’t have the deepest moveset and there wasn’t a lot for Utami to work with here so the match stayed really basic. Minami is still young, in no way am I writing her off but a year into her career she still has a ways to go.

Chika Goto and Natsumi Showzuki vs. Nanae Takahashi and Seri Yamaoka

Seri and Showzuki start the match, they jockey for position on the mat with Seri getting the eventual advantage with a kneelock. Showzuki can’t reach the ropes so Chika breaks it up and hits an atomic drop, running knee by Showzuki to Seri and she covers her for two. Showzuki tags Chika, Chika grabs Seri and hits a scoop slam. Another scoop slam by Chika and she hits another one followed by a hip attack. Running hip attack by Chika and she tags Showzuki, dropkick by Showzuki and she hits Seri with a second one. Showzuki drops a double knee on Seri’s back, she picks her up but Seri tries to fight back. It doesn’t work, Irish whip by Showzuki but Seri hits a gutwrench suplex and tags Nanae. Nanae and Showzuki trade elbows until Nanae hits a hard shoulderblock. Chops by Nanae in the corner but Chika runs in to break it up, Nanae throws Chika in the corner with Showzuki and gives her some chops as well. Showzuki sneaks around to Nanae’s back to get her to stop chopping Chika, but Nanae lariats her in the corner.

Chika charges in but Nanae tosses her down and slams Showzuki on top of Chika. Nanae still as dominate as ever. Back to Showzuki, Nanae picks her up but Showzuki lands on her feet on the backdrop suplex attempt and kicks Nanae in the back. She challenges Nanae to kick her back and she does, Showzuki goes for a PK but Nanae catches her leg and kicks her in the chest. Showzuki gets Nanae’s back and applies an Octopus Hold, Nanae gets to the ropes. Showzuki tags Chika, she hits a running knee on Nanae in the corner with Chika following with one as well. Chika charges Nanae but Nanae kicks her back and hits a lariat. Nanae gets on the second turnbuckle but Showzuki grabs her from the apron, giving Chika time to recover. Chika grabs Nanae and hits her a quick Giant Swing, Showzuki goes up top and hits a diving kneedrop onto Nanae. Chika follows with a sliding lariat, but Seri breaks up the cover. Chika picks up Nanae but Nanae slaps her and rolls her to the mat before applying a crossface. Chika gets a toe on the ropes to force a break, Nanae picks up Chika and throws her into the corner. Lariat by Nanae and she tags Seri, Seri drives Chika into the corners but Chika wiggles away. Seri goes off the ropes but Chika hits a big boot, she goes for a crab hold but Seri lifts her way out of it. Chika grabs Seri around the waist and swings her around, facebuster by Chika but Nanae breaks up the cover.

Nanae stays in but Showzuki runs in too to even the odds. Chika chokeslams Seri, cover by Chika but Nanae breaks it up. Nanae lariats both Showzuki and Chika, Seri recovers and they hit a double sidewalk slam on Chika for two. Seri picks up Chika but Chika elbows out of the waistlock, she scoops up Seri but Seri wiggles away. Showzuki kicks Seri in the back, Chika slams Seri and covers her for two. Chika picks up Seri but Nanae grabs her and hits a backdrop suplex. Seri picks up Chika so Nanae can hit a lariat, jackknife cover by Seri but it gets broken up. Hard lariat by Nanae to Showzuki, Seri picks up Chika and hits a hammerlock suplex for two. Seri picks up Chika and nails a German suplex, cover by Seri and she gets the three count! Nanae Takahashi and Seri Yamaoka are the winners!

I may not always like Nanae’s methods but her type of style is going to be missed when all the mid-90s stars are retired. The way she dominated both opponents in portions of this match would seem off if that just wasn’t the Nanae Experience, and she did give most of it back so it wasn’t a one-sided affair. Seri didn’t get as much of a chance to shine but everything she did looked well executed, I can understand what Rossy sees her in as she seems to have the complete package even this early in her career. Chika and Showzuki both were solid, hitting everything smoothly even if neither really stood out. A good match, engaging from start to finish even if it wasn’t trying to set the world on fire.  Mildly Recommended

Chanyota and Mai Sakurai vs. Miku Aono and Naho Yamada

Chanyota and Miku start the match, they trade shoulderblock attempts until Miku finally knocks Chanyota to the mat. Irish whip by Chanyota and she hits another one, covering Miku for two. Both wrestlers tag out, Naho and Mai lock-up, Mai pushes Naho into the ropes and gives a clean break. They trade waistlocks, headlock by Mai but Naho gets out of it and reverses it. Mai gets the headlock re-applied but Naho gets out of it and they return to their feet. Naho goes for a dropkick but Mai swats her aside, Mai goes off the ropes but Miku kicks her from the apron. Dropkick by Naho and both she and Miku dropkick Mai. Double Irish whip to Mai but Mai hits a dropkick on both opponents and tags Chanyota. Chanyota and Mai both attack Naho in the corner, scoop slam by Chanyota and with Mai they elbow drop Naho. Cover by Chanyota, but Naho kicks out. Chanyota picks up Naho and tags Mai, Mai throws Naho into the corner and rams her head into the turnbuckle. Running boot by Mai and she hits a scoop slam, Mai picks up Naho but Naho fights back with elbows.

Irish whip by Mai but Naho delivers a dropkick and rolls to her corner to tag Miku. Chanyota runs in to help her partner but Miku fights off both of them, dropkick by Miku to Mai and she hits a PK. Miku picks up Mai but Chanyota lariats Miku, suplex by Mai to Miku and she applies a cross armbreaker. Miku gets to the ropes for the break, Mai goes off the ropes and boots Miku in the head. Mai picks up Miku but Miku hits a vertical suplex, she goes to the top turnbuckle but Mai recovers and tries to cut her off. Mai joins Miku and hits a superplex, shining kick by Mai and she covers Miku for two. STO by Mai, she picks up Miku but Miku drops her with a lariat. Both wrestlers slowly get up, big boot by Mai but Miku hits a lariat. Mai fires back with a jumping knee, and both wrestlers are down on the mat. Mai manages to tag Chanyota, shoulderblocks by Chanyota in the corner and she covers Miku for two. Irish whip by Miku but Chanyota hits a jumping shoulderblock, Chanyota goes off the ropes but Miku catches her with a powerslam.

Miku tags Naho, dropkicks by Naho and she hits a neckbreaker. Naho picks up Chanyota but Chanyota kicks her in the knee and drops her o the mat. Lariat by Chanyota and Mai hits a big boot, another lariat and big boot to Naho and they hit a double vertical suplex. Cover by Chanyota, but Naho gets a shoulder up. Chanyota picks up Naho but Naho gets away, high kick by Miku and Naho hits a Stunner. Lariat by Miku and Naho covers Chanyota for two. Naho applies a headscissors with a bridge, but Mai breaks it up. Miku and Naho go to Mai but Chanyota drops them both with a double lariat. Mai kicks Naho out of the ring, she goes to the top turnbuckle and dives out onto her with a plancha. She rolls Naho back into the ring where Chanyota is waiting, Chanyota gets Naho on her shoulders while Mai goes to the top turnbuckle and they hit a Samoan Drop/Missile Dropkick combination. Chanyota picks up Naho and goes off the ropes but Naho cradles her for a two count. Naho charges Chanyota but Chanyota drops her with a lariat, Chanyota drags up Naho and nails the Jackhammer for the three count! Mai Sakurai and Chanyota are the winners!

Another solid tag team match. The greatest compliment I can give a sub-15 minute non-stakes midcard tag match is it held my attention and was well executed, which this match was. I came away with the match fairly impressed with all four of them, although Naho lagged a bit behind the other three in regards to execution. Interestingly, the match seemed for a vehicle to put over Chanyota since she isn’t even a Marigold wrestler, but the fact she is challenging for a singles title soon explains that process and in that regard they were successful. Good stuff all-around.  Mildly Recommended

(c) Victoria Yuzuki vs. Misa Matsui
Marigold Superfly Championship

Yuzuki and Misa both charge each other to start and go into a fast exchange, armdrag by Yuzuki and she delivers a dropkick. Misa bridges out of the cover and hits a dropkick of her own, she picks up Yuzuki and throws her into the corner. Misa throws down Yuzuki by the hair, she does it again and a third time. Misa picks up Yuzuki and elbows her but Yuzuki elbows her back, scoop slam by Misa but Yuzuki hits a tilt-a-whirl headscissors followed by a dropkick. Yuzuki goes off the ropes but Misa dropkicks her, Yuzuki kips up however and delivers her own dropkick for a two count. Crossface by Yuzuki, but Misa gets a foot on the ropes for the break. Stomps by Yuzuki but Misa regains the advantage and puts Yuzuki in the Stretch Muffler. Yuzuki gets to the ropes to force the break, Misa picks her up and hits an elbow in the corner. Misa goes for a suplex but Yuzuki blocks it, Misa goes off the ropes but Yuzuki delivers a side slam followed by a double wrist-clutch suplex for a two count.

Yuzuki goes off the ropes but Misa drop toeholds her onto the second rope, Misa charges in but Yuzuki avoids her charge as Misa ends up on the apron. Yuzuki dropkicks Misa to the floor, she goes out after Misa and stomps on her but Misa fights back and the two trade blows while outside the ring. Yuzuki goes for a suplex but Misa blocks it, Misa puts Yuzuki’s feet on the apron and nails a hanging DDT to the floor. Misa goes up to the top turnbuckle and dives down onto Yuzuki with a plancha. Misa slides Yuzuki back in, she goes off the ropes and delivers a sliding kick for a two count. Misa picks up Yuzuki and delivers the MKD, but Yuzuki kicks out of the cover and returns to her feet with an elbow to Misa. Misa elbows her back as they exchange shots, Yuzuki goes off the ropes but Misa boots her in the head. Headbutt by Yuzuki and she hits a backdrop suplex, Misa ends up against the ropes and Yuzuki nails her with the Murder Dropkick. Cover by Yuzuki, but it gets two.

Crossface by Yuzuki before she switches it to a stretch hold, but Misa gets a foot on the ropes for the break. Yuzuki dropkicks Misa in the corner, she goes to the top turnbuckle before hitting a missile dropkick. Yuzuki picks up Misa but Misa reverses a suplex attempt into a cradle. Footstomp by Misa, she kicks Yuzuki against the ropes and delivers a low crossbody. Scoop slam by Misa, she goes to the top turnbuckle and nails a diving footstomp for two. Misa goes for a few flash pins with no luck, running knee by Misa and she hits a cross-leg suplex hold for two. Misa goes to the top turnbuckle and hits a missile dropkick, but Yuzuki fires back with a superkick. Cross-arm German Suplex by Yuzuki, but it only gets two. Yuzuki hits a backbreaker in front of the corner, she follows with a trio of moonsaults out of the corner before covering Misa for the three count! Yuzuki retains her championship!

I hate to be that guy so a disclaimer: I have no issue with no selling/fighting spirit spots. I think they are great! But they work better if its even, or there is a delayed sell, or the fighting spirit wrestler gets their comeuppance moments later. That being said, I really didn’t like the Yuzuki no-sell/fighting spirit spot at the end because it had none of those elements. She eats a lot of Misa offense and then just pops up from a missile dropkick, hits a series of moves and wins the match. It came across as more of a really lazy transition then a normal fighting spirit spot and made Misa look like a chump to have Yuzuki brush aside her offense like it was nothing. She did the same thing after Misa hit the MKD. Took me out of the match a bit. Everything besides that element was great though, Misa was really impressive (arguably more impressive than Yuzuki) with her execution and felt like the stronger wrestler. Loved the variety of offensive moves from both as it kept the match interesting, and with their pacing there was never a dull moment. Overall I enjoyed it, really fun match but just with one really obvious flaw.  Mildly Recommended

The post Marigold New Years Golden Garden on 2/7/25 Review appeared first on Joshi City.

Event: Marigold Fields Forever
Date: May 20th, 2024
Location: Korakuen Hall in Tokyo, Japan
Announced Attendance:  1,539
Broadcast: Streamed on Wrestle Universe

If there was one thing that the wrestling landscape in Japan needed, it was a new promotion! Marigold was formed after Rossy Ogawa left/was fired from Stardom and decided he wasn’t quite done being involved with wrestling. With his influence and money, Ogawa was able to sign for Marigold several of the top wrestlers on the Joshi scene, as well as other talented young wrestlers to be the future of the promotion. Ogawa also secured a distribution deal, as their events will air on Wrestle Universe! An exciting time, except for fans of Actress girl’Z as Marigold took their best young wrestlers. Here is the full card!

• Nanae Takahashi vs. Victoria Yuzuki
• Miku Aono vs. Nao Ishikawa
• CHIAKI vs. MIRAI
• Mai Sakurai and Zayda Steel vs. Nagisa Nozaki and Myla Grace
• Kouki Amarei and Chika Goto vs. Natsumi Showzuki and Misa Matsui
• Giulia and Utami Hayashishita vs. Sareee and Bozilla

All the wrestlers on the show have a profile on Joshi City, you can click on their names above to go straight to it. Onto the show!

Nanae Takahashi vs. Victoria Yuzuki

The tie-up to start, Takahashi pushes Yuzuki into the ropes but she gives a clean break. Tie-up again, this time Yuzuki gets Takahashi in the ropes and she slaps Takahashi. Yuzuki goes off the ropes but Takahashi avoids the dropkick and slaps Yuzuki back. Kicks by Takahashi, she picks up Yuzuki but Yuzuki hits an armdrag followed by a dropkick. Takahashi gets back up and they lock knuckles, Takahashi wins that battle and applies a wristlock. They trade holds, Takahashi pushes Yuzuki into the ropes and chops her in the chest. Sidewalk Slam by Takahashi and she applies a chinlock, elbow to the back by Takahashi and she hits a scoop slam. Takahashi picks up Yuzuki but Yuzuki elbows her, Takahashi tells her to keep elbowing her but Takahashi eventually knocks her down with a shoulderblock for a two count. Takahashi picks up Yuzuki but Yuzuki gets her back with a sleeper, Takahashi gets out of it but Yuzuki keeps her in a bodyscissors. Takahashi gets out of it and puts Yuzuki in a single leg crab hold, but Yuzuki gets to the ropes for the break. Takahashi randomly bites Yuzuki’s hand before picking her up and chopping her in the corner. Irish whip by Takahashi but Yuzuki reverses it, Takahashi boots Yuzuki but Yuzuki grabs Takahashi’s wrist.

Before she can do anything, Takahashi swats Yuzuki away and the two trade elbows. Yuzuki goes off the ropes but Takahashi absorbs the dropkick, elbows by Yuzuki and she goes for a springboard move while holding Takahashi’s wrist, but she loses her footing and flops to the mat. Ever the pro, Takahashi hits a leg drop on Yuzuki and covers her for two. Armtrap crossface by Takahashi but Yuzuki gets to the ropes for the break, Takahashi picks her up but Yuzuki blocks the slam attempt. Yuzuki tries to slam Takahashi and finally manages to do so, mounted elbows by Yuzuki but Takahashi switches positions with her and returns the favor. They go back and forth until returning to their feet, lots of dropkicks by Yuzuki as she finally gets Takahashi off her feet with strikes. Takahashi finally has had enough of this and hits a hard elbow, cover by Takahashi but it gets two. Takahashi applies a stretch submission but Yuzuki quickly gets to the ropes, Takahashi picks up Yuzuki but Yuzuki slaps her. Lots of slaps by Yuzuki but Takahashi slaps her back, Yuzuki ducks Takahashi’s kick however and hits a trio of kicks of her own. Yuzuki goes for a slam but Takahashi blocks it, so she applies a small package for two. Knee by Takahashi and she hits a short range lariat, cover by Takahashi but it gets two. Takahashi picks up Yuzuki and delivers a backdrop suplex, cover by Takahashi but Yuzuki barely gets a shoulder up. Takahashi positions Yuzuki and goes to the top turnbuckle, Refrigerator Bomb by Takahashi and she picks up the three count! Nanae Takahashi is the winner.

Aside from the botch during Yuzuki’s offensive comeback that immediately killed said comeback, this was an acceptable opener. Nanae gave more here than she usually does, which is a low bar but she did let Yuzuki get in some offense before immediately cutting her off. I wish Yuzuki had some type of convincing nearfall, not that anyone thought she was winning but at no point in a 15 minute match did she seem like she was even close to winning, a hot 30 second stretch of her hitting some bigger moves to get a semi-close three count would have been fun to watch. I can’t say it was a good match but it set some groundwork for Yuzuki in Marigold and I’m looking forward to see how she continues to improve.

Miku Aono vs. Nao Ishikawa

Miku quickly gets the advantage as she applies a headlock, Nao gets out of it and hits a shoulderblock but Miku kips back up to her feet. Nao throws Miku into the corner and tosses her down by the hair, bootscrapes by Nao but Miku dropkicks her into the opposite corner. Another dropkick by Miku and she kicks Nao hard in the back. Kick to the chest by Miku but Nao fires up and elbows Miku. Nao delivers her own kicks to the back, she picks up Miku but Miku kicks Nao in the ankle after blocking the double underhook. Miku picks up Nao and hits a kneebreaker, kicks by Miku but Nao catches one and hits a dragon screw. Ankle lock by Nao but Miku makes it to the ropes for the break. Running elbow by Nao in the corner and she delivers a double underhook suplex for two. Hard elbow by Nao, she goes off the ropes but Miku catches her with a powerslam. Miku goes off the ropes and kicks Nao in the ribs, lariat by Miku and she goes to the top turnbuckle. Missile dropkick by Miku and she covers Nao for a two count. Miku elbows Nao but Nao weakly elbows her back, slap by Nao but Miku slaps her back. Miku goes off the ropes but Nao catches her with a German suplex, sit-out slam by Nao and she covers Miku for two. Nao picks up Miku and hits a half and half bridging suplex hold, but Miku barely kicks out. Nao picks up Miku but this time Miku gets away and lariats Nao in the back of the head. Irish whip by Miku and she hits another lariat for a two count cover. Miku goes for a kick but Nao ducks, bridging cover by Nao but it gets two. Miku kicks Nao in the head, she picks her up and nails the Styles Clash for the three count! Miku Aono is the winner.

It is hard to “recommend” matches like this but they are an important part of any wrestling show. Well worked, not too long to wear out its welcome, and it helped showcase two wrestlers that may be stuck in midcard hell for the next year but have the ability to be called up if needed. In this short showing, Miku looked like the better wrestler but both were fairly crisp and they kept the action going from bell to bell so it never dragged. Simple, but effective and non-offensive.

CHIAKI vs. MIRAI

They run into each other to start the match before trading elbows, shoulder tackle by CHIAKI but MIRAI ducks on her next charge and CHIAKI flies out of the ring. MIRAI goes to the top turnbuckle but MIRAI grabs her from the apron and tosses her back into the ring. CHIAKI grabs MIRAI and slams her back into the corner, CHIAKI trips MIRAI and hits her with the bootscrapes. Running boot by CHIAKI, she goes of the ropes and hits a cartwheel double kneedrop. CHIAKI picks up MIRAI and hits a scoop slam, she goes for a fisherman suplex but MIRAI blocks it and kicks CHIAKI in the best. MIRAI charges CHIAKI and hits a back elbow, she hits another followed by a lariat. MIRAI goes to the top turnbuckle and hits a missile dropkick, cover by MIRAI but it gets two. Neck crank by MIRAI and she hits a snapmare, dropkick by MIRAI but CHIAKI starts fighting back with elbows.

MIRAI welcomes this as the two trade shots, palm strike by CHIAKI and she hits a shoulderblock. MIRAI hits a shoulderblock of her own, CHIAKI goes off the ropes and she delivers a spear. CHIAKI picks up MIRAI and hits rolling fisherman suplexes, but MIRAI blocks the last one and hits a reverse STO. MIRAI waits for CHIAKI to get up but CHIAKI snaps off a fisherman suplex hold for two. CHIAKI gets MIRAI on her shoulders in an Argentine Backbreaker before slamming her to the mat for a two count cover. CHIAKI picks up MIRAI but MIRAI wiggles away, applying a submission hold. CHIAKI gets a toe on the ropes, MIRAI goes off the ropes but CHIAKI catches her with a powerslam. Backdrop suplex by MIRAI, both wrestlers slowly get up but CHIAKI knocks over MIRAI with a dropkick. She goes off the ropes but MIRAI hits a lariat, MIRAI drags up CHIAKI and hits a fireman’s carry slam for two. MIRAI goes off the ropes and rocks CHIAKI with a hard lariat, cover by MIRAI and she gets the three count! MIRAI wins!

This was a really good showcase for MIRAI, who clearly has been putting in work recently to be her best self in Marigold. Her strikes and power moves are still snug but she also had more speed and agility then she did early in her career, keeping up a fast pace or the entire match. CHIAKI looked fine as well, she clearly is below MIRAI but put up a good fight and had a strong showing. I love strike and suplex battles and these two are both well versed in that style, so I was very entertained. My only real complaint is I wish it was longer and it lacked some drama since the winner was never in doubt. Looking forward to seeing more of MIRAI in this new environment, the sky is the limit for her if she is given the opportunities (which I am sure she will get).  Mildly Recommended

Mai Sakurai and Zayda Steel vs. Nagisa Nozaki and Myla Grace

Steel and Grace start the match, they tie-up and trade holds, ending with a Grace La Magistral for two. Steel goes for her own pin as they trade flash pin attempts, neither has any luck as Steel tags Mai. Grace fights off both of them and hits a double dropkick, Grace drops Mai with a tilt-a-whirl headscissors and tags Nozaki. Mai boots Nozaki as she gets in the ring, snapmare by Nozaki but Mai ducks the PK. Curb Stomp by Nozaki on Mai and she hits a second one, cover by Nozaki but it gets two. Nozaki throws Mai into the corner and stomps her down, Nozaki picks her back up and slaps Mai in the chest repeatedly. Mai fights back with elbows but Nozaki knocks her back to the mat and applies a camel clutch. She switches it to a facelock but Mai wiggles to the ropes for the break. Mai gets back up and the two trade elbows, Nozaki grabs Mai around the neck and tags Grace. Elbows by Grace but Mai returns fire, jumping lariat by Grace and she hits a swinging neckbreaker for two. Grace goes off the ropes but Mai delivers a jumping kick, she ties up Grace in a pretzel and makes the tag to Steel. Mai mouths off to Nozaki, giving Grace time to recover but Steel retains the advantage and chops Grace while she is in the ropes.

Modified Code Breaker by Steel, she picks up Grace and elbows her against the ropes. Irish whip attempt by Steel but Grace slides through her legs and kicks her in the head. Splits legdrop by Grace, but it gets two. Grace picks up Steel, Steel ends up in the corner and Grace hits a 619. Tornado DDT by Grace, and she covers Steel for a two count. Grace tags Nozaki but Steel delivers a kick combination, Nozaki kicks her back however and delivers a vertical suplex. Running boot by Nozaki in the corner and she hits another one, Nozaki kicks Steel again while she is hanging over the second rope before joining her on the apron. Steel and Nozaki trade kicks while still on the apron, until Steel delivers a Code Breaker. Nozaki falls out of the ring, Steel gets a running start and sails out onto her with a tope suicida. Steel slides Nozaki back in, cover by Steel but it gets two. Steel picks up Nozaki and drives her into the corner, running knee by Steel and she spins Nozaki to the mat before kicking her in the back. Steel tags Mai, Mai goes to the top turnbuckle and delivers a missile dropkick.

Mai goes off the ropes and boots Nozaki in the head, Mai chokes Nozaki with her leg while applying a seated armbar but has to release the hold as Nozaki is too close to the ropes. Mai picks up Nozaki but Nozaki fires off a series of elbows, Mai returns fire but Nozaki plants a boot on her face. Nozaki picks up Mai, Grace runs in and hits Mai with a backdrop suplex. Double superkick to Mai, but it gets two. Nozaki puts Mai in a sleeperhold but Steel breaks it up, Nozaki goes off the ropes and kicks Mai in the face for a two count. Nozaki picks up Mai but Mai knocks her back and hits a legdrop for two. Bridging vertical suplex by Mai, but that gets a two as well. Mai drops Nozaki to the mat and goes to the top turnbuckle, but Nozaki avoids the diving elbow drop and kicks Mai in the face. Another boot by Nozaki, but the bell rings as the time has expired. The match is a Draw.

This wasn’t as bad as I was anticipating, but the main issue is that it felt like they didn’t even plan for an ending. By that I mean there wasn’t a nearfall stretch or anything that felt like a wrestler was in real trouble, they structured it like it was an exhibition match going to a Draw. Which it was, but the wrestlers shouldn’t wrestle like its a planned Draw, there was no sense of urgency or trying to win as time was running out. The tag team partners also interacted with each other very little, so it felt more like a series of singles matches than a meaningful tag match. The action itself was generally pretty fluid, no real signs of miscommunications which is a plus. It just didn’t hit any high notes or present anything memorable.

Kouki Amarei and Chika Goto vs. Natsumi Showzuki and Misa Matsui

Kouki and Misa start, Kouki asks Misa to lock knuckles but Misa can’t reach her hands. Misa kicks Kouki but Kouki applies a side headlock, Misa Irish whips out of it but Kouki cartwheels away. They continue a fast back-and-forth but they reach a stalemate and stare each other down. Natsumi and Goto tag in, elbows by Natsumi but Goto elbows her back and they trade blows. Natsumi applies a Fujiwara Armbar but Goto wiggles to the ropes to get the break. Natsumi tags Misa, and Misa throws down Goto by the hair. Misa picks up Goto and works over her arm in the corner, running knee by Misa and she applies an arm submission on the mat. Natsumi comes in and kicks Goto in the arm to help out, Misa releases the hold and tags Natsumi who hits a rebound double kneedrop off the ropes. Goto tries to fight back but eats knees for her trouble, Natsumi goes off the ropes but Goto grabs her and spins her around in a Giant Swing. This gives Goto time to tag Kouki, Kouki goes off the ropes and boots Natsumi in the head. Kouki goes off the ropes again but Natsumi ducks the lariat, Misa boots Kouki from the apron and Natsumi follows with a boot of her own for two. Natsumi picks up Kouki but Kouki ducks the head kick and slams Natsumi to the mat for a two count. Kouki positions Natsumi and goes to the top turnbuckle, but Natsumi avoids the Amethyst Butterfly and delivers a running knee for two.

Kick by Natsumi, she goes to the top turnbuckle and hits a diving double kneedrop for a two count. Natsumi tags Misa, Misa goes to the top turnbuckle and hits a missile dropkick for two. Misa puts Kouki on the ropes and drops he with a DDT, but Kouki barely kicks out of the cover. Misa goes to run off the ropes but Kouki grabs her, Misa rolls Kouki to the mat however and hits a series of footstomps. Misa goes off the ropes and hits a body press while Kouki is against the ropes, Natsumi runs in and hits a running knee before both hit jumping knees on Kouki. Cover by Misa, but again Kouki barely gets a shoulder up. Misa goes off the ropes but Goto runs in and plants her with a chokeslam. Kouki recovers and both grab Misa, dropping her to the mat. Kouki and Misa slowly recover, hard elbow by Kouki but Misa elbows her back. Misa goes off the ropes but Kouki hits a powerslam, cover by Kouki but Misa bridges out of it and applies a flash pin. It quickly gets broken up, Natsumi tries to help Misa but Kouki drops them both to the mat. Kouki picks up Misa and hits a Samoan Drop, but the cover only gets two. Kouki positions Misa and goes to the top turnbuckle, she nails the Amethyst Butterfly and picks up the three count! Kouki Amarei and Chika Goto are the winners!

Now this is my kind of wrestling. Everything wasn’t perfectly executed but they made up with that with great fluid tag team action. Unlike the last match, both of these teams worked as actual teams and not individuals, leading to fast paced and attention grabbing action from bell to bell. There was always something happening and it was a great display by all four to what is likely mostly a new audience. Kouki looked like a star but Natsumi was the most “clean” of the group, her age and experience really shone through as she hit everything hard and fast. I don’t want to over-hype a 12 minute mid-card tag match, but it did its goal of presenting four wrestlers they no doubt hope will become stars in the new promotion.  Recommended

Giulia and Utami Hayashishita vs. Sareee and Bozilla

Sareee and Giulia start the match, they tie-up and end up in the ropes but Sareee gives a hard elbow instead of a break. They trade strike attempts with neither connecting as they reach a stalemate, and both wrestlers tag out. Utami and Bozilla circle each other, Bozilla tosses Utami down a couple times but Utami delivers a dropkick after Giulia distracts Bozilla. Giulia is tagged in, they both try to Irish whip Bozilla but they can’t get her to budge. Giulia and Utami take turns striking Bozilla until they get her to her knees, but Bozilla gets back up and eats Giulia’s strikes. Bozilla gets Giulia on her shoulders but Giulia applies a hanging armbar, Bozilla gets out of it so Utami runs in to help, but Bozilla slams them both to the mat. Sareee comes in as they kick Giulia and Utami out of the ring, Bozilla gets Sareee up in a press and tosses her out of the ring and down onto both opponents. Bozilla gets out of the ring and tosses Giulia around the ring while Sareee does the same to Utami, Utami regains the advantage on Sareee and the two trade shots. Bozilla and Giulia gets back in the ring and Bozilla delivers a vertical suplex, cover by Bozilla but it gets two. Bozilla tags Sareee, Sareee goes to the top turnbuckle and hits a missile dropkick.

Sickle Hold by Sareee, she switches to a leg submission but Giulia gets to the ropes for the break. Giulia snaps off a vertical suplex, Irish whip by Giulia to Sareee and Giulia delivers a dropkick. Giulia tags Utami, running elbow by Utami and she kicks Sareee in the back. Utami picks up Sareee but Sareee elbows her, Bozilla comes in but Utami fights off both of them and hits a lariat on Sareee for two. Utami picks up Sareee and hits an Argentine Backbreaker Slam, she picks her up again but Sareee hits a double footstomp and tags Bozilla. Bozilla throws Utami into the corner and hits a Body Avalanche, she throws Utami to the mat and covers her for two. Bozilla picks up Utami and runs into her, Utami stays up and elbows Bozilla but Bozilla sends her to the mat with a body attack. Utami knocks Bozilla into the corner but Bozilla picks her up, Utami slides away and she punches Bozilla in the face. Rolling elbow by Utami, she gets on the second turnbuckle but Bozilla recovers and joins her, hitting a superplex down to the mat. Running shoulderblock by Bozilla and she covers Utami for two. Bozilla puts Utami on the top turnbuckle to get Utami on her shoulders, but Utami wiggles away and applies a sleeper. Bozilla slams Utami into the corner to break out of it, but Utami quickly re-applies it. Bozilla gets out of it again and hits a running senton, picking up a two count. Bozilla picks up Utami and hits a Fallaway Slam, she gets on the second turnbuckles and delivers a Reverse Splash, but the cover is broken up.

Bozilla picks up Utami but Utami gets her around the waist, hitting a release German suplex. This gives her time to tag Giulia while Sareee also tags in, hard boot by Giulia but Sareee elbows her back and the two trade shots. Giulia goes off the ropes but Sareee catches her with a dropkick, another dropkick by Sareee but Giulia blocks the fisherman suplex and applies a STF. Sareee gets to the ropes to force a break, Giulia picks up Sareee and suplexes her for a two count. Giulia goes to the top turnbuckle but Bozilla grabs her, this gives Sareee time to join Giulia and she hits an avalanche fisherman suplex for two. Sareee goes up top again but Utami slows her down, Giulia hits Sareee and joins her, delivering an avalanche underhook suplex. Giulia goes to boot Sareee but Sareee moves, they trade waistlocks until Utami runs in and dropkicks Sareee. Giulia goes to the top turnbuckle while Utami gets Sareee on her shoulders and they hit a missile dropkick/Argentine Backbreaker Slam combo for a two count. Giulia puts Sareee in a double armbar  but Bozilla breaks free of Utami and breaks up the hold. Bozilla grabs Giulia and hits a powerbomb, Sareee goes up top and delivers a diving footstomp but Utami breaks up the cover. Bozilla goes up top and with Sareee’s help goes for a somersault senton, but Utami pulls Giulia out of the way. Lariat by Utami to Sareee and she drops her with a German suplex, another release German by Utami to Sareee and all four wrestlers are down on the mat.

Giulia and Sareee slowly get to their knees and trade elbows, they continue trading strikes once on their feet until Giulia headbutts Sareee to her knees. Giulia goes for a suplex but Sareee kicks her in the head, hard elbows by Giulia but Sareee hits a German suplex hold for two. Giulia fires back with a Saito Suplex, knee strike by Giulia and she covers Sareee for two. Giulia applies a hammerlock before nailing the Glorious Driver, cover by Giulia but Bozilla breaks it up. Giulia picks up Sareee but Sareee gets away, she goes off the ropes but Bozilla knocks Giulia over with a shoulderblock. Bozilla stays in the ring and challenges Giulia and Utami, double Irish whip attempt to Bozilla but Bozilla hits a lariat on both of them. Sareee picks up Giulia and drops her with a uranage, cover by Sareee but Utami breaks it up. Sareee picks up Giulia but Bozilla snaps off a backdrop suplex, she goes off the ropes but Bozilla shoulderblocks her again, giving Sareee time to hit a second uranage. She nails Giulia with a third, she picks up Giulia and hits one more but Giulia barely kicks out of the cover. Bozilla goes to the second turnbuckle and hits a moonsault on Giulia, Sareee picks up Giulia and delivers one last uranage for the three count! Bozilla and Sareee are the winners!

A lot to unpack here, but a great match. The big question mark going in was Bozilla but they used her really smart here as while she is limited she is good at what she does. And what she does well is hit hard. Sareee did the bulk of the “work” but that wasn’t a problem for her as she’s one of the top Joshi wrestlers, so with Sareee putting in the minutes and Bozilla contributing the boom they worked as a solid team. Utami and Giulia of course are both fantastic, they cooperated when they needed to but at the same time they didn’t pretend to be best buddies since we all know they aren’t (in storyline). The super hot crowd really helped as that elevates any match, and it was the hard hitting/hard dropping affair you’d expect. I wouldn’t put it at full MOTYC status as it felt like something was missing from the end stretch (where did Utami go?) and there were a few miscommunications/awkward moments but still a fantastic match and a fitting ending to Marigold’s debut show.  Highly Recommended

The post Marigold Fields Forever on 5/20/2024 Review appeared first on Joshi City.

Event: Stardom X Stardom 2022 Nagoya MidSummer Encounter
Date: August 21st, 2022
Location: Aichi Prefectural Gymnasium in Nagoya, Aichi, Japan
Announced Attendance: 1,353
Broadcast: PPV and streamed on Stardom World

Stardom is easily my favorite Joshi promotion, but I don’t review their events very often for one primary reason – they are long. These reviews take a fair amount of time to do. Its not because of the play by play – I have to watch the matches anyway and I type super fast so no time lost there, but I do a fair amount of prep work to make the reviews as informative as possible. That means setting up the formatting, finding pictures, looking up why the match is happening, the stakes, the fallout, making GIFs, etc. and the more matches there are, the longer this takes. But occasionally I have to go back and review a Stardom event since I know a lot of Stardom fans visit the website.

Since I do not want to parachute into the middle of the FIVE STAR GP, which would require a lot of work, instead I am going to review their latest standalone show -Stardom X Stardom 2022. A pretty massive show with eight matches, all their stars are here and there are five title matches. They tend to stack their PPV events when they can. The downside is originally, KAIRI was on the event but missed it due to coming down with COVID. So I am sad I will miss out on seeing her, but the show still has a lot going for it, including Nanae Takahashi returning to take on Syuri! Here is the full card:

• Future Of Stardom Championship: Hanan vs. Miyu Amasaki
• Hina vs. Maika
• Ami Sourei and MIRAI vs. Giulia and Mai Sakurai vs. Rina and Ruaka
• Captain’s Fall: AZM, Lady C, and Utami Hayashishita vs. Saya Iida, Mayu Iwatani, and Momo Kohgo
• Artist Of Stardom Championship: Momo Watanabe, Saki Kashima, and Starlight Kid vs. Mina Shirakawa, Unagi Sayaka, and SAKI
• Goddesses Of Stardom Championship: Hazuki and Koguma vs. Natsupoi and Tam Nakano
• Wonder Of Stardom Championship: Saya Kamitani vs. Himeka
• World Of Stardom Championship: Syuri vs. Nanae Takahashi

All wrestlers on the show have a profile on Joshi City, you can click on their name above to go straight to it. Onto the show!

(c) Hanan vs. Miyu Amasaki
Future of Stardom Championship

Miyu dropkicks Hanan as the bell rings, Miyu elbows Hanan in the corner and Irish whips her, hitting the Space Rolling Elbow. She goes off the ropes but Hanan catches her with a judo toss, Irish whip by Hanan but Miyu hits a dropkick. Hanan fires back with a dropkick of her own, trip by Hanan but Miyu rolls away and dropkicks Hanan in the knee. Miyu rolls Hanan to the mat and applies a knee submission, but Hanan gets to the ropes for the break. Miyu picks up Hanan and goes off the ropes, and she somewhat hits an overly ambitious springboard tornado DDT. She tries the spot again and nails it this time, cover by Miyu but it gets two. Double underhook by Miyu but Hanan spins away, she runs to the corner and rebounds out with a crossbody for two. Hanan picks up Miyu but Miyu gets out of the scoop slam, nailing a jumping DDT for two.

Miyu picks up Hanan and applies a double underhook, but Hanan gets away and hits a jumping knee. Hanan goes off the ropes but Miyu avoids her strike attempt and applies a kneelock. Hanan again makes the ropes for the break, Miyu picks up Hanan and delivers a double underhook facebuster, but Hanan barely kicks out. Elbows by Miyu to Hanan, she goes off the ropes but Hanan catches her with a Cutie Special. Hanan goes off the ropes and hits a Fameasser, double wrist-clutch suplex hold by Hanan but it only gets two. Hanan picks up Miyu but Miyu gets away, cradle by Miyu with a jackknife but it gets two. Miyu charges Hanan but Hanan hits a STO, Fameasser by Hanan but Miyu kicks out of the cover. Hanan drags Miyu up and knees her in the face, Blockbuster Hold by Hanan and she picks up the three count! Hanan wins the match and retains the championship.

Hmm this wasn’t very good. The match felt a lot longer than it was as they kept repeating spots, and Miyu probably isn’t quite ready yet to be trying some of the moves she is trying. In a way she reminds me of Saya Kamitani – Saya in her first year also tried a lot of moves with limited success, but she figured it out. Hopefully Miyu can figure it out as well, but she’s not there yet. Hanan is solid enough but isn’t able to carry a match, so this was pretty sloppy and not structured very well. I appreciate the effort from both, but this didn’t click.

Hina vs. Maika

Maika and Hina circle each other, they end up on the mat but neither can get a clear advantage. They return to their feet, Maika throws Hina into the corner and hits a hard shoulderblock. Maika goes off the ropes but Hina ducks her charge and hits a hip toss. STO by Hina, he quickly picks Maika back up and hits a second one for a two count. Hina goes for the cross armbreaker and gets it looked in, but Maika quickly gets to the ropes to force a break. Hina grabs Maika but Maika elbows off of her, she goes off the ropes but Hina does as well and she slams Maika to the mat. Hina picks up Maika and delivers a wrist-clutch side slam, cover by Hina but Maika kicks out. Hina goes for a slam but Maika blocks it, Hina goes off the ropes but Maika levels her with a lariat. Maika picks up Hina but Hina snaps off a quick STO, covering Maika for two. Hina goes for a scoop slam but Maika pushes her off and hits a powerslam. Maika picks up Hina and hits the cross-arm STO, but Hina barely gets a shoulder up. Maika drags Hina to her feet but Hina slides away, Gedo Clutch by Hina but it gets two. Lariat by Maika, but Hina sneaks in an small package when Maika goes to pick her up. Maika kicks out of it and hits another lariat, Enka Otoshi by Maika, and she picks up the three count! Maika is the winner.

This was a good short match. Hina has improved since her debut, which makes sense as she debuted when she was about 12 years old. She doesn’t have the most varied offense but she hits what she does well. Maika is great, I’d have liked to have seen her in a bigger match but she executed here and all her moves had impact. Solid way to kick off the show.

Ami Sourei and MIRAI vs. Giulia and Sakura vs. Rina and Ruaka

Under triple threat rules, all three teams have one legal wrestler at a time. Rina, Mai, and Ami start the match, Ami is double teamed right off the bat but she starts getting the better of things until Giulia and Ruaka run in to help. Ruaka and Ami end up in the ring as the legal wrestlers apparently, but Rina pulls Ami out of the ring as things break down quickly. Rina grabs MIRAI and throws her into Ami, Oedo Tai then do the same to the two DDM members. Mai is rolled into the ring and is double teamed by Oedo Tai, Rina stays in as the legal wrestler and she covers Mai for a two count. Mai fights back as Ruaka runs in, and she hits a reverse DDT/Stunner combination on both of them. Giulia comes in with Rina and MIRAI, she takes care of both of them before suplexing Rina to the mat. Giulia goes towards the ropes but Rina grabs her by the hair and throws her to the mat. Giulia grabs Rina by the throat but lets go, Rina offers her hand but she throws Giulia to the mat instead.

Rina goes for a slam but Giulia reverses it, Giulia applies a STF but Ruaka breaks it up. Mai also comes in but Ami lariats both DDM members, she gets into a shoulderblock contest with Ruaka which Ruaka gets the better of. Complete Shot by Ruaka, she goes for the cover but moves when Mai sails into the ring with a diving elbow drop. Mai then goes for the cover on Ami but Mai dives off the top turnbuckle with a double kneedrop. MIRAI goes to grab Rina but Giulia jumps off the top turnbuckle with a missile dropkick/senton combination. Giulia picks up Rina and hits a Falcon Arrow, but Ruaka breaks up the cover. Ami clubs on Ruaka but Ruaka blocks the scoop slam. Ami comes in to help but Ruaka punches them both, she goes off the ropes but eats a double lariat. Ami and MIRAI slam Rina on top of Ruaka, full nelson slam by MIRAI on Rina and she goes off the ropes, but Rina sneaks in a jackknife cover for two. Rina charges MIRAI but MIRAI levels her with a lariat, she applies the Miramare and Rina submits! MIRAI and Ami Sourei are the winners.

I am glad they just didn’t worry about having tag rules, who was keeping track of that anyway and it doesn’t really matter on an undercard match. With an eight minute match containing six wrestlers, not all of them were really able to stand out but on the positive side no one lagged behind either. There was always something going on, and Giulia looked great which is the most important thing. MIRAI was impressive with her power offense, and overall it clicked better than I was expecting. Nothing to get excited about, but an entertaining chaotic undercard match.

AZM, Lady C, and Hayashishita vs. Iida, Iwatani, and Kohgo
Captain’s Fall Match

Saya and Lady C start the match, Saya poses for the camera but is attacked from behind for her trouble. All of Queen’s Quest try to throw Saya over the top rope, which would make this a really quick match, but Momo and Mayu stop her from going over. They get in the ring and all three STARS wrestlers hit dropkicks, they isolate Lady C and triple team her. Saya sits up Lady C and she eats a triple dropkick, cover by Saya but it gets two. Saya picks up Lady C and the two trade chops, Saya chops Lady C against the ropes but Lady C catches her with a side Russian leg sweep. Giant Swing by Lady C, she covers Saya but it gets a two count. Irish whip by Lady C from the corner and she hits a running elbow, jumping lariat by Lady C and she covers Saya for two. Lady C picks up Saya but Saya gets away, Mayu runs in and she hits a hurricanrana on Lady C for the three count! Lady C is eliminated.

AZM runs in and puts Mayu in the Azumi Sushi, but Momo breaks up the cover. Momo picks up AZM, double Irish whip and the STARS team double team her. Double 619 by Momo and Mayu, cover by Momo but it gets two. Momo throws AZM into the corner, Irish whip by Momo but AZM jumps onto the top turnbuckle. Momo elbows her down to the apron, she charges AZM but AZM holds down the top rope and both end up on the apron. AZM and Momo trade elbows while still on the apron, Momo trips AZM but AZM avoids her kick and slides back into the ring. Momo and AZM trade flash pins, AZM puts Momo in the Azumi Sushi and she picks up the three count! Momo Kohgo is eliminated.

Utami and Mayu come in the ring, Mayu grabs Utami and AZM but they knock her out to the apron. They go off the ropes but Saya re-appears to even the odds, with Mayu hitting a missile dropkick on both opponents. Saya goes up top and delivers a diving shoulderblock to Utami, cover by Saya but it gets two. Saya picks up Utami but Utami blocks the suplex attempt, Utami hits a Samoan Drop but Mayu cradles Utami from behind for two. Superkick by Mayu to AZM and Saya bridges AZM, but Utami breaks up the cover. Double Irish whip to Utami but she levels both opponents with a lariat, Utami picks up Saya and delivers the Air Raid Crash for two. Utami picks up Saya but Saya blocks the German suplex hold, Utami keeps the waistlock applied however and nails the German suplex hold anyway for the three count! Queen’s Quest wins the match!

A pretty typical Stardom midcard match – meaningless, but very watchable. Utami and Mayu were protected, maybe even too much as they put away their opponents pretty easily when they were in the ring. The chosen captains alone showed this wasn’t going to be a match with any real stakes, and it definitely came across as filler. Nothing offensive, but it just lacked any substance and its a match I’ll forget by the time the next one starts.

(c) Watanabe, Kashima, and Starlight Kid vs. Shirakawa, Sayaka, and SAKI
Artist of Stardom Championship

The Cosmic Angels charge to start the match, immediately isolating Kashima and triple teaming her. SAKI stays in as the legal wrestler, Kashima whips off a hurricanrana and boots SAKI while she is against the ropes. Face crusher by Kashima, and she covers SAKI for two. Kashima tags Starlight Kid, Starlight Kid picks up SAKI and elbows her in the chest. SAKI fires back with a big boot, she gets Starlight Kid on her shoulders and slams her to the mat for a two count. SAKI goes off the ropes but Unagi tags herself in, sitout face crusher by Unagi but Starlight Kid avoids the leg drop and hits a standing moonsault for two. Starlight Kid picks up Unagi but Unagi gets Starlight Kid on her back in the Gory Special. Momo breaks that up, Unagi hits a leg drop on Starlight Kid and covers her for two. Back up, Unagi throws Starlight Kid into the corner but Unagi avoids her charge and all three members of Oedo Tai attack her.

Starlight Kid goes to the top turnbuckle and nails the swivel body press, but her pin attempt gets broken up. Starlight Kid picks up Unagi but Unagi spins out of her hold and hits a flapjack. Jumping kick by Starlight Kid but Unagi gets her arm and drops her face-first into the mat. Starlight Kid tags in Momo while Mina also tags in, kicks by Momo but Mina eventually catches one and hits a backfist. Kicks to the chest by Mina as she drives Momo into the corner and sends her down with a final kick to the midsection, cover by Mina but it gets two. She picks up Momo and goes off the ropes, but Kashima kicks her from the apron. SAKI runs in and slam Momo, Reverse DDT by Mina to Momo but Momo kicks out. SAKI, Mina, and Unagi all hit heel drops, Unagi gets Momo on her shoulders and with Mina’s help she drops her to the mat. Mina picks up Momo but Kashima runs in to help, striking Mina to the mat. Momo gets a wrench but Mina kicks it out of her hand, jumping kick by Mina to Momo and she delivers the jumping DDT, but Kashima breaks up the cover.

Things break down as all six wrestlers end up in the ring, with Starlight Kid and Kashima both hitting spinning headscissors. Starlight Kid sails out of the ring with a moonsault while Momo and Mina remain in the ring, roaring elbow by Mina but Momo kicks her in the head. B Driver by Momo, but Mina gets a shoulder up. Momo picks up Mina and delivers a cradle belly to belly piledriver, but SAKI breaks up the cover. Momo picks up Mina but Mina trips her and applies a crucifix pin for two. Starlight Kid stays in to help Momo deliver a side slam, Momo picks up Mina and punts her in the face. Peach Sunrise by Momo, and she gets the three count! Oedo Tai win and retain the championships.

The biggest surprise here is SAKI not taking the fall, she must have some political power I don’t know about. This match was definitely good, Starlight Kid is really great and everyone else here held up their ends. It was pretty short for a trios title match (under 12 minutes) and it felt like not everyone even got much in-ring time, I didn’t record the time splits but it didn’t feel even and the match left me wanting more. No one pairing was able to really get into a flow until the end stretch, which was really good from Momo and Mina. Fast paced and interesting, but it came across as more of an afterthought since the teams were lopsided and they simply didn’t get a lot a time considering the stakes of the match.  Mildly Recommended

(c) Hazuki and Koguma vs. Natsupoi and Tam Nakano
Goddesses of Stardom Championship

Koguma and Natsupoi start the match, they take turns shoving each other until Hazuki grabs Natsupoi from the apron. Tam grabs Koguma as well, but Hazuki runs in the ring and dropkicks her while Koguma hits a body avalanche on Natsupoi. Hazuki stays in and they double team Natsupoi, cover by Koguma but it gets two. Scoop slam by Koguma, she picks up Natsupoi and tags Hazuki. Hazuki slaps Natsupoi in the back before throwing her down by the hair, she pushes Natsupoi against the ropes and nails the running boot. Cover by Hazuki, but it gets two. Scoop slam by Hazuki and she tags Koguma, crab hold by Koguma but Natsupoi makes it to the ropes for the break. Koguma puts Natsupoi in a Camel Clutch but Natsupoi breaks it up, Hazuki takes care of Tam while Koguma slams Natsupoi in front of the corner. Hazuki is tagged and comes into the ring with a slingshot footstomp, Hazuki kicks Natsupoi repeatedly in the face but Natsupoi gets Hazuki against the ropes and hits the Murder Dropkick. This gives her time to tag Tam, Koguma quickly comes in to help Hazuki but Tam avoids their lariat and hits a double dropkick. Running knee by Tam, she picks up Hazuki and kicks her in the midsection.

Tam charges Hazuki but Hazuki moves, Koguma shows back up and Tam eats a double dropkick. Running elbow by Hazuki, she gets on the second turnbuckle and delivers a missile dropkick for two. Armtrap crossface by Hazuki, Natsupoi tries to break it up but Koguma grabs her and throws her out of the ring. Hazuki charges Tam and kicks her hard in the face, she goes for a suplex but Tam lands on her feet and hits a head kick. She goes off the ropes but Hazuki hits a pump kick, she goes for another one but Tam swats her away and hits a backdrop suplex. Tam waits for Hazuki to get up and superkicks her in the head, Hazuki follows with a Codebreaker and both wrestlers are down on the mat. Both wrestlers tag out, scoop slam by Koguma to Natsupoi and she hits a footstomp to her midsection for a two count. Natsupoi elbows Koguma and goes off the ropes, Koguma applies a quick cradle but it gets two. Both wrestlers go off the ropes and go for jumping crossbodies, sending both crashing to the mat. They slowly get up, body avalanche by Koguma in the corner and she hits a cutter. Koguma goes to the top turnbuckle and hits a missile dropkick, she applies a waistlock but Tam grabs Natsupoi to prevent the German suplex. Hazuki breaks her free (awkwardly) so Koguma can connect with the German suplex, Hazuki stays in the ring and they hit an assisted cutter on Natsupoi. Koguma goes to the top turnbuckle but Natsupoi rolls out of the way of the diving body press. Hazuki dives in with a senton onto Natsupoi, but Tam hits a diving crossbody onto Hazuki.

Tam picks up Hazuki while Natsupoi grabs Koguma, but Hazuki and Koguma both get away and hit DDTs. They eat superkicks for their trouble but fire back with dropkicks, and all four wrestlers are down on the mat. Hazuki and Tam both roll out of the ring while Natsupoi and Koguma trade elbows on their knees, Natsupoi goes to the top turnbuckle but Koguma elbows her before she can jump off and joins her. Koguma drops Natsupoi throat-first onto the to rope which sends her out of the ring, she goes to the top turnbuckle but Tam kicks her down to the floor. Hazuki sails out of the ring with a tope suicida but hits her own partner on accident, Tam and Natsupoi both go to the ropes and dive out with stereo springboard crossbodies. Tam slides Koguma back in the ring, both she and Natsupoi go to the same turnbuckle with Tam diving off first with the Takako Panic. Natsupoi follows with the swivel body press, but Hazuki breaks up the cover. Natsupoi and Tam both hit German suplexes on an opponent, with Natsupoi’s getting a two count. Natsupoi picks up Koguma again but Koguma spins away and applies the 120% Schoolboy for two. Koguma goes off the ropes but Natsupoi superkicks her, Tam is in too and they both connect with superkicks. Hazuki is back but Tam drops her with a release tiger suplex, they go back to Koguma and slam her to the mat. Natsupoi picks up Koguma and nails the Fairy Strain, and she picks up the three count! Cosmic Angels win and are the new champions!

Aside from one botched move, this was a really smooth and well worked tag match. I know they wrestle and train a lot together but it always amazes me how in sync Stardom wrestlers are. There are some advantages to being an isolated promotion, as it allows their stars to really gel. Koguma and Hazuki have worked off all their ring rust and the cardio of everyone involved is commendable as there was no slowdown whatsoever. They were firing on all cylinders from start to finish. The match also “felt” like a title match and not just another match (like the last one), with big moves and late saves to add to the drama. A really entertaining match, four really good wrestlers just going non-stop for 15 minutes.  Recommended

(c) Saya Kamitani vs. Himeka
Wonder of Stardom Championship

They lock knuckles to start, Himeka pushes Saya to the mat but Saya bridges back up and they end up facing off again. Kick by Himeka but Saya throws her into the corner, Himeka fires out of it with a shoulderblock, Saya kips up but Himeka shoulderblocks her again. Himeka kicks Saya out of the ring and goes out after her, slamming Saya onto the floor. Another scoop slam by Himeka, she picks up Saya and rams her back-first into the ring post. Himeka slides Saya back in and hits a lariat in the corner followed by a backbreaker. Cover by Himeka, but it gets two. Himeka goes for a crab hold but Saya blocks it and hits a double footstomp, she goes off the ropes but Himeka catches her with another backbreaker. Himeka throws Saya out of the ring and goes out as well, but Saya slides back in as she does. They repeat these steps again, but this time Saya dropkicks Himeka back to the floor and hits a sliding headscissors under the bottom rope. Saya slides Himeka back in and goes to the top turnbuckle, hitting a missile dropkick. Saya picks up Himeka but Himeka blocks the suplex attempt and elbows her. Saya elbows her back and they trade shots, Saya goes off the ropes but Himeka knees her in the midsection. Saya knees her back but Himeka blocks the big boot and they trade elbows again.

After a minute of trading elbows Saya finally sends Himeka crashing to the mat, more elbows by Saya but Himeka hulks up and returns to her feet to return the favor. More elbows from both until they both fall to the mat, holding their heads. They slowly get up at the same time, Saya charges in but Himeka drops her with a backdrop suplex. Single leg crab hold by Himeka, Saya crawls to the ropes and eventually makes it to force the break. Himeka picks up Saya and gets her on her shoulders in an Argentine Backbreaker, she throws her off after a moment and hits a lariat. Sliding lariat by Himeka, but her cover gets two. Himeka gets Saya on her shoulders again and hits the JP Coaster, but again Saya kicks out. Himeka throws Saya into the corner and lariats her in the back, she puts her on the second turnbuckle to get her on her shoulders, but Saya slides off and hits a spinning heel kick. Saya hits a rolling fisherman suplex into a backslide, Himeka rolls through it but Saya boots her in the face. Saya positions Himeka and goes to the top turnbuckle, but Himeka rolls out of the way of the Firebird Splash. Kick to the head by Saya but Himeka levels her with a Rainmaker, but Saya plants Himeka with a pump kick. Saya picks up Himeka and hits the sitout fisherman driver, but it gets a two count. Saya goes to the top turnbuckle and nails the Firebird Splash, but Himeka gets a shoulder up on the cover. Saya goes back up top and attempts the Phoenix Splash, but Himeka clubs her from behind before she can jump off and joins her.

Elbows by Himeka while they stand on the turnbuckles, but Saya jumps over Himeka’s back in an attempted powerbomb. Himeka blocks that so Saya dropkicks her instead, she re-joins Himeka on the turnbuckles but Himeka blocks the Frankensteiner with a powerbomb. Himeka waits for Saya to get up and nails the jumping knee, she picks up Saya and delivers the powerbomb but Saya barely kicks out. Himeka drags up Saya and throws her into the corner, lariat to the back by Himeka and she sits Saya on the second turnbuckle. Running powerbomb by Himeka, but Saya kicks out. Himeka picks up Saya and elbows her against the ropes, lariat by Himeka but Saya lands on her feet on the apron. Saya springboards back in the ring but Himeka catches her with a lariat, another lariat by Himeka and she picks up Saya. Himeka gets Saya on her shoulders but Saya snaps off a Fubuki Rana and picks up the three count! Saya Kamitani wins and retains the championship!

Let me just start off by saying that I loved this match. I love Himeka’s power based offense and it worked so well with Saya’s whacky high flying offense. Himeka was killing Saya with her backbreakers and lariats, but Saya would come back with something sneaky as their contrasting styles worked perfectly with each other. Himeka really wrestled as the “better” wrestler, with her hitting all her big moves and Saya needing to do a desperation move to win the match. I have one small quibble – I don’t think the long elbow strike battle wasn’t necessary, as it didn’t add anything to the match and it went against the theme of the rest of the match which was Himeka being the stronger wrestler. But if you take that out, everything else really hit the spot with me, a hard hitting and entertaining match with two of the brightest young stars of Stardom.  Highly Recommended

(c) Syuri vs. Nanae Takahashi
World of Stardom Championship

The match starts slow as they jockey for position, Syuri gets Nanae into the ropes and she slaps Nanae before backing off. Nanae quickly pushes Syuri into the ropes on the other side and also gives a slap as she breaks, kick by Syuri but Nanae drops her with a release German. Syuri tackles Nanae and starts on her ground game, she gets the cross armbreaker locked in but Nanae gets a foot on the ropes for the break. Nanae rolls out of the ring to re-group, she gets up on the apron and catches Syuri leg when she goes for a kick. Lariat by Nanae, she pulls Syuri’s head over the apron and dropkicks her from the floor. Nanae picks up Syuri and suplexes her on the floor, she slides Syuri back in the ring and hits a backdrop suplex. Nanae applies a facelock but releases it after a moment to apply a neck crank. She throws Syuri into the corner and chops her in the chest, snapmare by Nanae and she kicks Syuri in the back. Syuri kicks her back, snapmare by Syuri and she kicks Nanae again. Nanae returns to her feet and dropkicks Syuri, she picks up Syuri but Syuri dropkicks her into the corner. Knee by Syuri and she hits a single arm suplex for two.

Kicks to the head by Syuri and she delivers a running knee, she goes to the top turnbuckle but Nanae joins her. Superplex by Nanae, and she covers Syuri for two. Backdrop suplex by Nanae, she goes to the second turnbuckle and applies a choke to Syuri. She lets go after a moment but sits on the top turnbuckle too long so Syuri boots her off of it to the floor. Syuri gets on the second turnbuckle and dives out onto Nanae with a missile dropkick. Syuri slowly sits up Nanae and kicks her in the back before dropping her with a DDT on the floor. Syuri slides Nanae back into the ring, she gets on the top turnbuckle and hits a diving legdrop for two. Scoop slam attempt by Syuri but Nanae slides off, Syuri goes off the ropes but Nanae catches her with a release German. Sliding D by Nanae, but Syuri barely kicks out. Nanae goes to the top turnbuckle but Syuri rolls out of the way of the refrigerator bomb, running knee by Syuri but Nanae kicks out. Syuri picks up Nanae but Nanae slaps her and the two trade strikes. Spinning backfist by Syuri but Nanae punches her right in the face, sending both hurt to the mat. Nanae is up first, Falcon Arrow by Nanae but it gets two. Nanae picks up and hits a short range lariat, Syuri slowly gets up but Nanae drops her with another lariat. A third lariat by Nanae but Syuri again gets back up, elbows by Syuri and they go back and forth. Mutual headbutts, they go off the ropes but Nanae hits the lariat for a two count cover.

Nanae picks up Syuri and hits the Nana Racka, but Syuri reverses the cover into a guillotine. Nanae gets into thee ropes for the break, Syuri picks her up and kicks Nanae in the chest. More kicks by Syuri but Nanae hits the cradle back to belly piledriver, she picks up Syuri but Syuri hits a jumping knee. Nanae fires back with a lariat, but her cover gets two. Nanae goes to the top turnbuckle and nails the Refrigerator Bomb, but Syuri barely kicks out. Armtrap crossface by Nanae, she switches it into a double armbar but Syuri gets a foot on the ropes for the break. Scoop brainbuster by Nanae, but again Syuri kicks out of the cover. Nanae picks up Syuri but Syuri slides away and puts Nanae in a sleeper. Nanae rolls into the ropes to get a break, Syuri picks up Nanae and hits the Emerald Frosion for a two count. Syuri picks up Nanae and delivers a release German, but Nanae ends up on her feet and hits a lariat. One Second EX by Nanae, she covers Syuri but Syuri barely gets a shoulder up. Nanae headbutts Syuri repeatedly, she goes off the ropes but Syuri drills her with a head kick. Buzzsaw Kick by Syuri, both wrestlers slowly get up and Nanae hits a headbutt. Syuri punches Nanae in the face in return, she picks up Nanae and knees her in the midsection. Knee to the head by Syuri, she waits for Nanae to get up and kicks her in the head. Syuri gets Nanae on her shoulders before sliding her into a fireman’s carry position, Red World by Syuri and she picks up the three count! Syuri wins and retains the championship.

Even though Nanae is no longer in her prime and has a lighter schedule, she can certainly still bring it when she needs to. This at times definitely felt like an old school Joshi match. Lots of strikes and suplexes, questionable selling, big moves. It was interesting that Syuri particularly at the beginning was doing more moves off the turnbuckles, which I don’t normally associate with her, but being in the main event of a Stardom PPV can bring out the “extra” in wrestlers. I will say that the nearfalls were very convincing – it wasn’t outside the realm of possibility that Nanae would return and win the belt, so the drama was legitimate and it kept my attention for sure. It may have been a few minutes longer than it needed to be and not everything was perfectly smooth, but the action was hard hitting and generally they were on the same page. I don’t think it was quite as entertaining as the last match, but still pretty damn good and with the drama it was a suitable main event for Stardom’s big summer show.  Recommended

The post Stardom X Stardom 2022 Nagoya MidSummer Encounter on 8/21/22 Review appeared first on Joshi City.

Full Details

Title: Bikiniing Winter
Release: February 2022
Pages: 68
Size: A4
Cost: ¥4,000
Where to Buy: Various Third Party Vendors (eBay, Buyee, Mercari, etc.)

For this special edition of Bikiniing, the following wrestlers were featured:

• Tam Nakano
• Mina Shirakawa
• Unagi Sayaka
• Mai Sakurai
• Waka Tsukiyama
• Mayu Iwatani
• Lady C
• Momo Watanabe
• AZM
• Utami Hayashishita
• Saya Kamitani
• Giulia
• Syuri
• Maika
• Himeka
• Natsupoi

For the first time since the series launched, Stardom surprised its fans with a “bonus” edition of Bikiniing. This edition did not follow the traditional numbering system as it came out (as the name implies) in the winter, and thus was simply called “Bikiniing Winter.” Even though it isn’t part of the official series, it still is the same size as the regular photobook with the same basic content, so while some may see it as an easy cash-in at least they did not produce an inferior product in the process.

The photobook follows the regular themes of Bikiniing – no wrestlers from Oedo Tai (doesn’t fit the gimmick!) and no one under the age of 18 (a development since Bushiroad took over but an appreciated one). Also, all pictures are of wrestlers in some type of beach-wear, although not necessarily bikinis. Bikiniing Winter is what you’d expect from a Stardom Bikiniing photobook so I’ll take a moment to complain about one aspect – I wish they had just gone full into the gimmick and had the wrestlers in (studio, not real) winter scenes. It would have made it stand out from the other Bikiniing photobooks, they gave themselves an excuse to have unique scenery but for the most part its just standard model posing/backgrounds like most of their other photobooks. A couple of the wrestlers did wear some type of jacket/fur in their photos but that was the extent of it. A missed opportunity to do something a little different from the norm.

Beyond that, the roster for the photobook is strong and every wrestler got at least three photos, plus most wrestlers had multiple outfits so the variety is certainly there. For those that like photobooks featuring the whole roster and not just one wrestler/faction, its hard not to recommend Bikiniing Winter, even if I wish they had leaned more into the “Winter” aspect beyond it just acknowledging when the photobook was released. Here is a sample of pictures from the photobook:

The post Bikiniing Winter Stardom Visual Photobook Review appeared first on Joshi City.

Event: Stardom “NEW BLOOD 3”
Date: July 8th, 2022
Location: Shinagawa Intercity Hall in Tokyo, Japan
Announced Attendance: 419
Broadcast: Streamed on YouTube

In early 2022, Stardom announced a new concept for the promotion that gives a bigger platform for less experienced Joshi wrestlers. As part of the idea, wrestlers from other promotions would also be invited to join, giving the events a unique feel and separating it from their normal events. Called “New Blood,” the first event was well received and the series continued, with this being the third show with the “New Blood” branding. The main event has Stardom’s Miyu Amasaki, who debuted this year, against one of the top wrestlers in Stardom – Giulia. But as mentioned, this is not an “all Stardom” affair as we also have wrestlers from Ganbare, JUST TAP OUT, PROMINANCE, Diana, and COLOR’S on the show plus Ram Kaicho. A pretty interesting line-up, here is the full card:

• Mai Sakurai vs. YuuRI
• Ami Sourei vs. Nanami
• Aoi, Misa Kagura, and Tomoka Inaba vs. Hanan, Momo Kohgo, and Saya Iida
• MIRAI vs. Suzu Suzuki
• Ram Kaicho vs. Waka Tsukiyama
• Haruka Umesaki, Rina, Ruaka, and Starlight Kid vs. Mina Shirakawa, Unagi Sayaka, Rina Amikura, and Yuko Sakurai
• Giulia vs. Miyu Amasaki

All wrestlers on the show have a profile on Joshi City, you can click on their name above to go straight to it. As this aired on YouTube, every match will be shown in full.

Mai Sakurai vs. YuuRI

YuuRI forces Mai to shake her hand, then dropkickers her into the corner. She charges in again but Mai moves, hitting a big boot followed by a dropkick. YuuRI avoids Mai’s elbow drop and hits a somersault senton, body press by YuuRI and she covers Mai for two. Camel Clutch by YuuRI and she pulls on Mai’s nose too for good measure, she eventually lets go but Mai blocks the scoop slam attempt as she hits one of her own. Stomp by Mai and she applies a Camel Clutch of her own, she lets go and knees YuuRI in the back. YuuRI elbows her and the two trade blows, YuuRI goes off the ropes and she applies a flying sleeper hold. Mai gets into the ropes for the break, YuuRI goes for the 619 but Mai moves out of the way. Mai goes off the ropes but YuuRI trips her before kneeing Mai in the back. Dropkick by YuuRI and she connects this time with the 619, jackknife cover by YuuRI but it gets two. YuuRI goes to the top turnbuckle but Mai recovers and elbows her before she can jump off, tossing YuuRI back into the ring. Boot by Mai and she hits two more before dropping YuuRI with a standing leg lariat. Mai picks up YuuRI but YuuRI pushes her off and applies a rolling Schoolboy for two. YuuRI goes to the top turnbuckle again and this time hits a missile dropkick, cover by YuuRI but it gets two. YuuRI goes off the ropes but Mai boots her, but YuuRI kicks out of the pin. Shining Yakuza Kick by Mai, she goes to the top turnbuckle and delivers a diving elbow drop, but YuuRI reverses the cover. Both wrestlers get back up, YuuRI goes for a couple flash pins but they don’t work. Shining Yakuza Kick by Mai, she picks up YuuRI and delivers the Shining Buster for the three count! Mai Sakurai is the winner!

I am as impressed with YuuRI as I am unimpressed with Mai so they kinda cancelled each other out here. YuuRI has a variety of fun looking offense, I loved the running sleeper hold, and at her stage of experience she really looked good. Mai has a very limited moveset and doesn’t necessarily even hit those moves crisply, every promotion needs lower end wrestlers to eat pins and I doubt Mai will ever move past that unless she really ups her game. More good than bad thanks to YuuRI and a suitable opener for this type of event.

Ami Sourei vs. Nanami

They tie-up to start, Ami pushes Nanami into the ropes but Nanami switches positions with her and hits a series of elbows. Irish whip by Ami and they collide with neither going down, Nanami tries to knock over Ami a few more times but has no luck. Kick by Nanami but Ami hits a hard shoulderblock, Ami picks up Nanami and throws her into the corner. Ami puts Nanami across the second rope and hits a running body avalanche, cover by Ami but it gets two. Ami picks up Nanami and hits a scoop slam, crab hold by Ami but Nanami gets to the ropes for the break. Irish whip by Ami to the corner but Nanami shoulderblocks her down when she charges in, Nanami goes for a slam but Ami blocks it. Nanami eventually hits the scoop slam, but Ami kicks out of the cover. Nanami picks up Ami and drops her to the mat, rolling bodyscissors by Nanami but Ami breaks out and gets to the corner.

Nanami charges in but Ami moves, body avalanche by Ami and she chops Nanami in the chest. Ami gets Nanami on her shoulders and hits a death valley bomb, she puts Nanami in a crab hold but Nanami gets to the ropes. Ami picks up Nanami, Nanami elbows her off and the two trade blows. Nanami sneaks in a backslide and a schoolboy for two counts, cradle by Nanami but that gets a two as well. Nanami charges Ami and hits a knee, neckbreaker by Nanami and she hits a body press off the second turnbuckle for two. Ami ducks an elbow and delivers a lariat, she picks up Nanami and hits a second lariat for a two count. Ami picks up Nanami and puts her on her shoulders in the Argentine Backbreaker, Nanami struggles for a moment but has to submit! Ami Sourei is the winner!

This was an interesting match. New Blood shows are kinda in their own bubble as Stardom’s most recent acquisition really shouldn’t be having a 50/50 match with a mediocre 15 year old. But since the idea of the show is to give young wrestlers a chance, I won’t complain too much. It was odd that Nanami was at times presented as almost even when it came to strength and strikes since Ami was brought in as a “bodyguard” for God’s Eye, it definitely came across more as a way to showcase Nanami than a match within the Stardom universe. Which is fine, it just seems wasted on someone like Nanami who has shown minimal improvement since debuting years ago and likely will stay low on the pecking order in Diana. Not a bad match, but kinda weird and the action was never overly interesting.

Aoi, Misa Kagura, and Inaba vs. Hanan, Kohgo, and Saya Iida

Inaba and Hanan start the match, they trade holds and end up on the mat with Hanan going after Inaba’s arm. Inaba gets away and they reach a stalemate, Hanan tags MIRAI while Aoi also tags in. Irish whip by MIRAI ad they both go off the ropes, armdrag by MIRAI and she delivers a dropkick. Aoi tags Misa so Iida also tags in, they bump chests until Iida knocks over Misa with a hard shoulderblock. She tags Momo as Hanan also comes in, and all three attack Misa. The ring eventually clears as Momo throws Misa into the corner, but Misa avoids her dropkick and hits a shoulderblock. Running senton by Misa and she covers Momo for two. Misa tags Inaba but Hanan and Iida both get in the ring too, Inaba takes care of both of them however before going back to Momo. Inaba throws Momo into the corner but Momo avoids her charge and hits a crossbody off the second turnbuckle for two. Dropkick by Momo, she goes for the Tiger Feint Kick but Inaba moves and punches Momo in the gut. Momo returns fire with a dropkick, she tags in Iida while Inaba tags Aoi.

Iida and Aoi trade strikes, chops by Aoi against the ropes and she hits a jumping double chop. Iida gets one of her own and tags Hanan, dropkick by Hanan to Aoi and they trade elbows. Judo toss by Hanan, she picks up Aoi but Aoi blocks the suplex attempt and hits a jumping forearm. This gives her time to tag Misa, dropkick by Misa into the corner and she hits a lariat. Misa jumps on Hanan’s back with a submission, the other members of JTO come in the ring and put a respective opponent in a submission hold as well. Misa cradles Hanan and puts her in a crab hold, but Hanan gets to the ropes for the break. Back up, STO by Hanan but her covers gets two. Hanan picks up Misa but Misa blocks the slam, she goes off the ropes and clubs Hanan for a two count. Momo picks up Misa and clubs her in the back, Iida goes up top and delivers a diving shoulderblock. Hanan jumps on Iida’s back as does Momo, and together they fall on Misa with a triple body press. Wrist-clutch suplex hold by Hanan, but it gets broken up. Iida and Momo clear the ring while Hanan hits a Fameasser on Misa, but Misa barely kicks out. Hanan picks up Misa and delivers a backdrop suplex hold, and she picks up the three count! STARS win the match.

More of a showcase for Stardom’s young wrestlers than doing a lot of favors for JUST TAP OUT, but not a bad match even if it was pretty basic. Every time I watch Hanan I forget how tall she has gotten, she got the most shine in this match and I wonder once she turns 18/graduates if they are looking to move her up the card. Everyone else looked fine but it Aoi didn’t get to really do anything and Inaba only got about 30 seconds to impress. Too short to really get going, mostly mid-card filler but at least Hanan looked good.

MIRAI vs. Suzu Suzuki

They tie-up to start, Suzu gets MIRAI into the ropes but she gives a clean break. MIRAI quickly pushes her into the ropes on the opposite side but also gives a clean break, headlock by Suzu and she gets MIRAI to the mat. MIRAI gets back up and escapes the hold, she applies her own headlock but Suzu gets out of it and kicks MIRAI against the ropes. Kick by MIRAI in return but Suzu knocks her out of the ring and throws MIRAI onto the floor. Hard elbow by Suzu on the floor and she throws MIRAI into a table at ringside before pushing her onto the ramp. Suzu joins MIRAI on the ramp but MIRAI blocks the scoop slam, elbows by Suzu and she finally hits the slam. She returns to the ring while MIRAI slowly recovers, MIRAI rolls back in and Suzu greets her with stomps. MIRAI gets back to her feet and elbows Suzu, she goes off the ropes but Suzu knees her and mushes MIRAI against the ropes. Suzu goes up top and delivers a missile dropkick, MIRAI lands in the corner and Suzu drills her with a running knee. Cover by Suzu, but it gets two.

Waistlock by Suzu but MIRAI grabs the ropes to block the suplex, Suzu pulls her back but MIRAI elbows herself free. Kick by MIRAI and she rolls Suzu to the mat in a cross armbreaker, but Suzu gets to the ropes just as the lock is applied. MIRAI picks up Suzu, her Irish whip is reversed but MIRAI knocks down Suzu with a hard shoulderblock. MIRAI puts Suzu in a wrist-clutch Scorpion Deathlock, she releases the hold after a moment and covers Suzu for two. MIRAI keeps on Suzu’s arm and slams Suzu in front of the corner, she gets on the second turnbuckle but Suzu elbows her from behind and joins her. Headbutt by Suzu and she delivers a Frankensteiner, head kick by Suzu and she covers MIRAI for two. Suzu picks up MIRAI but MIRAI spins away and slams Suzu face-first into the mat. MIRAI picks up Suzu and hits a headbutt, Suzu headbutts her back and both wrestlers collapse to the mat. They slowly return to their feet and trade elbows, Suzu wins the battle and picks up MIRAI just to elbow her some more. MIRAI ducks the next elbow attempt and hits a lariat, mounted elbows by MIRAI and she hits a half nelson slam for two. MIRAI puts Suzu in an armlock, she picks up Suzu but Suzu gets away and hits a superkick. Another kick by Suzu, and she covers MIRAI for two. Suzu gets MIRAI up but MIRAI elbows free, lariat by MIRAI and she hits a second one for a two count. MIRAI picks up Suzu, Suzu gets away as the bell rings but Suzu hits a German suplex anyway. Still, the match is over and declared a Draw.

As expected, a damn good match. The Draw here wasn’t surprising, no need for either of them to drop a fall on a throwaway show as both have bigger things going on. This was a fairly even match but MIRAI generally felt more on control, as Suzu wasn’t able to hit the German until the match was over while MIRAI rocked Suzu on several occasions. The action was smooth and they mixed in different offensive methods to keep the match interesting. These two have a better match in them on a bigger stage, but still a good showcase for both, really looking forward to seeing more of Suzu in Stardom.  Recommended

Ram Kaicho vs. Waka Tsukiyama

Waka avoids Kaicho’s elbow to start and goes to flip her off, but Kaicho blocks her from doing so. Kaicho tries to then flip off Waka but she blocks it as well, trip by Kaicho and she goes off the ropes, but Waka delivers a dropkick. Waka picks up Kaicho but Kaicho kicks her in the knee, elbows by Waka and the two trade blows. Stomps by Kaicho and she gets Waka into the corner, kick by Kaicho and she drags Waka back to the middle of the ring to start working on her leg. Waka gets to the ropes for the break, Waka goes for an elbow by Kaicho moves and chokes Waka. Kaicho slams Waka’s head into the mat repeatedly, she picks up Waka but Waka jumps out to the apron and trips Kaicho when she charges at her. Dropkick to the back by Waka and she puts Kaicho in a stretch hold, but Kaicho gets to the ropes. Kaicho quickly hits a Codebreaker, she picks up Waka but Waka ducks the Rainmaker and hits a Complete Shot. Waka goes to the top turnbuckle and hits a missile dropkick, she goes up top again and hits a second one for a two count. Waka argues with the referee so Kaicho dropkicks her from behind, she gets a hand full of powder and throws it into Waka’s face. Onryo Clutch by Kaicho, and she gets the three count! Ram Kaicho is the winner.

Just to address the elephant in the room – Waka came out with face paint that was meant to play mind games with Kaicho as it was basically the inverse of the face paint that Kaicho wears. Unfortunately the inverse looks like blackface, and while that was not the intent, it certainly upset some Western fans. Even though no offense was obviously intended, since Stardom does market to US fans its probably best if they were a little more aware of such things and err on the side of not offending part of their fanbase. Anyway, this match was pretty pedestrian. A fair bit of the action looked slightly off without being straight botched, it was like they were on different parts of the same page so they didn’t completely click. It was also short, but that may have been for the best. Not quite the spotlight I would have liked for Kaicho but she did her best, luckily this won’t be the last time we will see Kaicho in Stardom.

Haruka Umesaki, Rina, Ruaka, and Starlight Kid vs. Shirakawa, Unagi Sayaka, Amikura, and Sakurai

Team Mostly Oedo Tai attack before the bell rings with general chaos taking place, eventually Unagi is isolated and quadruple teamed. Rina stays in as the legal wrestler, she puts Unagi in the ropes and she is attacked by all four of her opponents again. Rina throws down Unagi by the hair and stomps her in the corner, she tags in Ruaka but Unagi hits a Codebreaker and makes the tag to Amikura. Body avalanche by Amikura to Ruaka and she hits a running senton for a two count. Amikura goes off the ropes but Ruaka does go over with the shoulderblock attempt, they take turns trying to knock each other over until Amikura hits a crossbody. The rest of her team comes in the ring as they hit a double body press on Ruaka, Amikura picks up Ruaka but Ruaka shoulderblocks her over and reluctantly tags Haruka. Unagi tags in too, they both miss moves until Unagi hits a heel drop. Unagi picks up Haruka but Haruka elbows her, and the two trade shots. Kick by Unagi but Haruka hits a jumping neckdrop followed by a footstomp. Mina runs in and helps out, leg drop by Unagi but Haruka kicks out. Unagi tags Mina, Mina picks up Haruka and hits a series of elbows. Mina goes off the ropes but Haruka catches her with a dropkick, hard elbow by Mina and she hits a Reverse DDT for two. Mina picks up Haruka and applies a front headlock, Haruka gets away and Runa comes in and hits a hip toss.

Senton by Ruaka to Mina and Haruka follows with a neckbreaker for a two count. Mina sneaks in a cradle which also gets two, suplex by Haruka but Mina drops her with a backfist. Starlight Kid and Sakurai are tagged in, shoulderblock by Sakurai and she hits a dropkick. Elbows by Sakurai but Starlight Kid connects with a jumping forearm, kicks by Starlight Kid but Sakurai hits another shoulderblock. Sakurai charges Starlight Kid but Starlight Kid moves, the rest of her team runs in and everyone hits running strikes on Sakurai. Cover by Starlight Kid, but it gets a two count. Double Irish whip to Sakurai but Amikura comes in and they knock down Rina and Starlight Kid with shoulderblocks. They fall out of the ring, Mina goes to the top turnbuckle and dives out onto the Oedo Tai blob at ringside. Amikura rolls Starlight Kid back in where her teammates are waiting, and Haruka helps Amikura slam Starlight Kid. Elbow drop by Sakurai, but the cover is broken up. Dragon Sleeper by Sakurai but Starlight Kid gets to the ropes, Sakurai grabs her but Starlight Kid slides away and Haruka dropkicks Sakurai. Starlight Kid goes off the ropes and hits a quebrada, but Mina breaks up the cover. Amikura and Mina go off the ropes but get tripped from ringside, Unagi knocks down Starlight Kid but she eats a dropkick from Haruka and Starlight Kid. Starlight Kid goes up top and hits the swivel body press on Sakurai, but Sakurai barely gets a shoulder up. Starlight Kid picks up Sakurai but Sakurai sneaks in a small package for two. Dropkick to the knee by Starlight Kid and she puts Sakurai in the Kuro Tora Leg Killing, with Sakurai quickly tapping out! Starlight Kid, Rina, Ruaka, and Haruka Umesaki are the winners.

I was worried at first they were going to let everyone but Starlight Kid get a chance, luckily they were just saving her for last. Starlight Kid is a step above the others here in terms of general excitement to watch, but there were several other quality wrestlers (Haruka, Unagi, Mina in particular) to hold the match together. Much of it was too random without a real story, but that is what happens in an eight wrestler tag match that only goes eleven minutes. The COLOR’S wrestlers aren’t high end but are fine with the basics, but coming out of the match per usual I was focused on how crisp Starlight Kid is. She’s really good. Anyway, a perfectly fine match with a few good peaks, but nothing to get too excited about.  Mildly Recommended

Giulia vs. Miyu Amasaki

Giulia and Miyu lock-up, Giulia works a headlock and she gets Miyu into the ropes. Giulia gives a clean break, she blocks Miyu’s tackle attempt but they end up on the mat anyway with Giulia in the dominate position. Giulia goes for an armbreaker but Miyu quickly gets to the ropes for the break. Back up they lock-up, Miyu gets Giulia into the ropes this time but Giulia switches positions with her, she gives a clean break but Miyu elbows her in the chest. Giulia elbows her back which sends Miyu to her knees, she gets back up though and returns fire. Hard elbow by Giulia, Miyu connects with a few in return but Giulia tackles her and gets her back. Sleeper by Giulia but Miyu switches places with her, Giulia quickly rolls out of it however and Miyu grabs the ropes. Slam by Giulia and she gets in the mount position, Miyu tries to fight out of it and eventually rolls into the ropes to get the break. Giulia knocks Miyu into the corner and hits a dropkick, snapmare by Giulia and she applies a sleeper. Giulia picks up Miyu and hits a scoop slam, cover by Giulia but it gets two. Giulia picks up Miyu but Miyu snaps off a vertical suplex, she goes for the Space Rolling Elbow but Giulia moves. Miyu hits a dropkick anyway but Giulia doesn’t go down, a second dropkick doesn’t knock her over either.

Miyu runs at Giulia and this time hits a jumping DDT, cover by Miyu but it gets a two count. Miyu picks up Giulia and applies a double underhook, but Giulia gets out of it and hits a back bodydrop. Giulia goes for a cocky pin but Miyu grabs her leg and goes for a cross kneelock, she finally gets it locked in and Giulia gets to the ropes. Miyu stomps on Giulia’s leg and twists it in the second rope, dropkick to the knee by Miyu and she covers Giulia for two. Double underhook by Miyu but Giulia blocks it again, Giulia pushes Miyu off but Miyu delivers a dropkick. Miyu goes off the ropes but Giulia does too, Miyu spins Giulia around and nails a double underhook sit-out facebuster for a nearfall. Miyu elbows Giulia as they get up but Giulia hits a front dropkick, covering Miyu for two. STF by Giulia, but Miyu gets a hand on the ropes. Giulia picks up Miyu and drops her with a backdrop suplex, which Miyu is very slow to recover from. She eventually gets back up and is promptly dropkicked in the back for her trouble, Giulia goes to the top turnbuckle but Miyu doesn’t get up for a bit. Giulia patiently waits and hits a missile dropkick when she finally does, cover by Giulia but Miyu gets a shoulder up. Giulia picks up Miyu but Miyu gets her back and quickly cradles Giulia with a jackknife for two. Giulia quickly recovers, Miyu elbows at Giulia but Giulia grabs her and nails the Glorious Driver for the three count! Giulia is the winner.

Either Miyu is the best seller in wrestling or she was in serious pain by the end of this match. Probably the latter. Giulia was very giving here but also clever in how she did it, with her cockiness directly leading to Miyu getting in control. First was the cocky cover, allowing Miyu to get her to the mat, but Giulia also didn’t take Miyu’s kneelock seriously until it was locked on and too late. That little segment helped lead to Miyu getting a minute or two to show off and get a close fall or two, not that anyone thought they’d work but it was far from a squash match or a traditional “Veteran vs. Rookie” match. Its hard to recommend a match too highly when the winner is clear and one of the wrestlers is still pretty basic, but Miyu looked good in defeat and Giulia showed why she isn’t your typical top star. Overall a pretty good match and a fitting main event for this type of show.  Mildly Recommended

The post Stardom “NEW BLOOD 3” on 7/8/22 Review appeared first on Joshi City.

Event: Stardom World Climax 2022 ~ The Best
Date: March 26th, 2022
Location: Tokyo Ryogoku Kokugikan (Sumo Hall) in Tokyo, Japan
Announced Attendance: 2,712
Broadcast: Streamed Live on PPV, later added to Stardom World

There are big events, and there are massive holy shit big events, and this show is the latter. Stardom really went all-out for their two day stint in Sumo Hall. There is a lot going on here to be excited about – Prominence continues their invasion, Syuri and Giulia collide, and we also have the return of Kairi Hojo! Wrestling now as KAIRI, this is her first match since leaving WWE back in 2020. There are three other title matches as well, with Kamitani vs. Hayashishita having a chance of stealing the whole show. Here is the full card:

• Future of Stardom Championship: Hanan vs. Rina
• MIRAI vs. Saya Iida
• Gauntlet Match: AZM, Lady C, and Miyu Amasaki vs. Himeka, Natsupoi, and Mai Sakurai vs. Mina Shirakawa, Waka Tsukiyama, and Momo Kohgo vs. Saki Kashima, Fukigen Death, and Ruaka
• Maika and Thekla vs. Risa Sera and Suzu Suzuki
• Goddesses of Stardom Championship: Hazuki and Koguma vs. Momo Watanabe and Starlight Kid
• Mayu Iwatani and KAIRI vs. Tam Nakano and Unagi Sayaka
• Wonder of Stardom Championship: Saya Kamitani vs. Utami Hayashishita
• World of Stardom Championship: Syuri vs. Giulia

What a show. As this aired live on PPV, all matches will be shown in full. Every wrestler on the event has a profile on Joshi City, you can click on their name above to go straight to it. This is going to be a long one so let’s hop to it.

(c) Hanan vs. Rina
Future of Stardom Championship

They immediately trade elbows to start, with Rina getting the better of her older sister. Scoop slam by Rina and she covers Hanan for barely a two count. She quickly applies an armbar but Hanan inches to the ropes and makes it for the break. Stomps by Rina, she picks up Hanan and twists her arm in the ropes. More stomps by Rina but Hanan tosses her with a judo throw, Rina rolls Hanan to the mat however and kicks her in the face. Rina charges Hanan but Hanan trips her and applies a kneelock. Rina gets to the ropes for the break, Hanan puts Rina’s leg in the ropes and dropkicks her in the knee. Double wrist-clutch armsault by Hanan, but it gets a two count. Hanan picks her up and elbows Rina into the corner, her Irish whip is reversed however and Rina kicks Hanan in the stomach when she goes for a crossbody.

Rina picks up Hanan and they trade elbows, with again Rina winning the dual. She goes off the ropes but Hanan catches her with a dropkick, Stretch Muffler by Hanan but Rina reaches the ropes. Hanan picks up Rina but Rina slips away and applies the Octopus Hold. She gets Hanan to the mat with the Ground Manjikatame but Hanan gets a foot on the ropes for the break. Rina throws Hanan into the corner and hits a running double knee, she goes to the top turnbuckle and nails a diving double kneedrop for a two count. Rina tries to get Hanan on her back but Hanan spins away and delivers a STO. Blockbuster by Hanan but Rina rolls through it, she gets Hanan on her back and slams her to the mat for a two count cover. Rina picks up Hanan but Hanan nails a jumping knee, Fameasser by Hanan and she covers Rina for a two count. Hanan picks up Rina and hits a backdrop suplex, she keeps the hold on and hits a second backdrop suplex, keeping Rina down for the three count! Hanan wins and retains the championship.

For an opener with two underage wrestlers, this was pretty decent. The match started a little slow as Rina on offense isn’t overly interesting (lots of stomps) but once her more talented sister took over it got more interesting. Hanan has had an off-and-on career due to injuries and taking time off, plus her schedule is limited due to still being in school, but if she decides to fully commit to wrestling once she graduates I think they may have something special with her. Good for what it was, Rina still has a bit of a ways to go to move up from being just the “other” wrestler in any match she is in, but she didn’t drag the match down and overall this was perfectly watchable wrestling.

MIRAI vs. Saya Iida

They lock-up to start but break cleanly, they lock knuckles as MIRAI gets Saya to her knees but Saya recovers and gets the advantage on MIRAI. MIRAI gets out of the hold and elbows Saya, Saya chops her back and the two trade shots for a solid minute. Saya chops MIRAI against the ropes but MIRAI ducks one, she goes off the ropes but Saya clubs her to the mat. Saya elbows MIRAI against the ropes but MIRAI elbows her back, she goes for a slam but Saya blocks it and hits one of her own. Saya picks up MIRAI and chops her in the chest some more, but MIRAI avoids one and puts Saya in a stretch hold. She lets go after a moment, MIRAI goes off the ropes and hits a lariat, but Saya stays on her feet. Saya hits a lariat with the same result as they go back and forth until MIRAI finally knocks Saya off her feet. Saya springs back up however and lariats MIRAI over, but MIRAI is back up as well as they keep at it. Eventually they lariat each other at the same time, and both collapse exhausted to the mat. MIRAI applies a sleeper but Saya slams MIRAI into the corner to get out of it, lariat by Saya and she goes to the top turnbuckle to hit a diving shoulderblock. Saya picks up MIRAI but MIRAI blocks the Northern Lights Suplex, slamming Saya face-first into the mat. Both wrestlers slowly get up and hit lariats, they both block each other from hitting one until Saya levels MIRAI and covers her for two. Saya picks up MIRAI but MIRAI rolls her to the mat and applies the Miramare. Saya almost makes it to the ropes but MIRAI gets her back to the middle of the ring, and Saya has no choice but to tap out! MIRAI is the winner.

I understand what they were going for here, and I respect it even though I’m still not convinced on Saya Iida. Saya has a lot of Western fans and its easy to understand why, as she has the type of fighting spirit energy that pops off the screen. Its not her fault, but for me its a little hard to totally buy into her offense just because she is tiny. There is nothing wrong with being a smaller wrestler of course, but its tough to be both a powerhouse and 4’9″. MIRAI certainly gave her equal ground to put the idea over and like I said I respect what they are doing with her character, I’m just not sure it has long term potential. The fact MIRAI had to “escape” with a flash submission that wasn’t foreshadowed shows the effort to protect Saya even in defeat. I would say it was a pretty good hoss-style match, even if part of me is having trouble seeing Saya Iida as a true hoss.

AZM, Lady C, and Miyu Amasaki vs. Himeka, Natsupoi, and Mai Sakurai vs. Mina Shirakawa, Waka Tsukiyama, and Momo Kohgo vs. Saki Kashima, Fukigen Death, and Ruaka

Cosmic Angels and Oedo Tai are the first two teams in. Cosmic Angels charge before the match starts but it epically fails as Oedo Tai immediately takes control and triple teams Momo in the ring. Death stays in as the legal wrestler and throws down Momo by the hair before choking her in the corner with her boot. She tags in Ruaka, Irish whip by Ruaka to the corner but Momo slides out to the apron before springboarding back into the ring with a crossbody off the second rope. She tags in Mina, Mina elbows Rina and hits a dropkick. Mina goes off the ropes and does a tilt-a-whirl, Ruaka blocks the leg sweep but Momo helps out with a swandive dropkick. Mina picks up Ruaka but Ruaka pushes her into the ropes, Irish whip by Ruaka but Mina blocks it and hits an elbow. Hard shoulderblock by Ruaka and she tags Saki, but Mina dropkicks her in the knee. Mina puts Saki in a Mexican Surfboard, she lets her go after a moment and tags in Waka. Double Irish whip to Saki, Saki briefly gets the better of it but Momo runs in and hits a 619. Waka goes up top and hits a missile dropkick, cover by Waka but Ruaka breaks it up. Uppercut by Saki to Waka and Death runs in with a senton. Body press by Ruaka, Saki picks up Waka and hits a double underhook suplex hold for two. Head kick by Saki, she picks up Waka and delivers the My Emblem for the three count! Oedo Tai wins.

The next team in is Queen’s Quest to take on Oedo Tai. Oedo Tai attacks as QQ gets in the ring, they isolate Miyu and boot her to the mat. Death stays in and throws Miyu into the corner, but Miyu boots her when she charges in. It happens two more times, Miyu goes off the ropes and delivers a jumping DDT. She tags AZM, dropkick by AZM but Ruaka grabs her from behind. AZM fights them both off as she hits an armdrag/headscissors combination. Double dropkick by AZM and she covers Death for two. AZM goes off the ropes but Death drop toeholds her and tags Saki. Saki goes off the ropes but Miyu dropkicks her, knee drop by Lady C and AZM drops Saki with a vertical suplex. Head kick by AZM, she goes to the top turnbuckle but Saki avoids the diving footstomp. Kishikaisei by Saki, but the cover is broken up. AZM goes for a kick but Saki ducks it, AZM quickly applies a Leg Roll Clutch Hold and she gets the three count! Queen’s Quest wins.

For the final pairing, DDM enters to face Queen’s Quest. AZM and Natsupoi start the match and immediately get into a fast paced exchange, they end up rolling around on the mat with AZM applying a cradle for a two count. They trade kick attempts and flash pins after with no success, sliding kick by AZM and she tags Lady C. Lady C boots Natsupoi against the ropes but Natsupoi avoids the next boot attempt and hits a dropkick. Cover by Natsupoi, but it gets two. Natsupoi tags Himeka, shoulderblock by Himeka and she throws Lady C into the corner. Lariat by Himeka but Lady C avoids her next charge, Miyu runs in and hits a Space Rolling Elbow and Lady C hits a jumping neck drop on Himeka. Lady C goes to the second turnbuckle and delivers a brain chop, cover by Lady C but it is broken up. Lady C picks up Himeka but Himeka spins away from her and hits a lariat. Himeka picks up Lady C and gets her on her shoulders, but AZM hits a missile dropkick off the second rope to knock Himeka over. Natsupoi suplexes AZM but Miyu dropkicks Natsupoi, cutter by Mai to Miyu and the ring is cleared aside from the legal wrestlers. Lariat by Himeka to Lady C, but Lady C gets a shoulder up. Himeka picks up Lady C and gets her on her shoulders, JP Coaster by Himeka and she covers Lady C for the three count! DDM win the match!

They really ran through this match quick, as all three pairings combined lasted under ten minutes. Needless to say, this wasn’t really enough time for them to really get things going, and some wrestlers did virtually nothing at all (look at you, Mai). There was a ton of talent in this match so its not a knock on the wrestlers, AZM and Himeka are really enjoyable to watch and looked good here, but obviously they couldn’t really get anything cohesive going. Pretty good for a filler match, but ultimately forgettable the minute it was over.

Maika and Thekla vs. Risa Sera and Suzu Suzuki

The DDM team attacks before the bell rings and the action quickly spills out to the floor, with Prominence soon regaining the advantage. Risa and Maika return to the ring as the legal wrestlers, crab hold by Risa and she puts Maika in the Rocking Horse. Risa lets go after a moment and picks up Maika, putting her into the ropes before tagging Suzu. Suzu hits a sliding kick from the floor to Maika, she enters the ring and kicks at Maika. Suzu goes off the ropes but Maika catches her with a slam and tags in Thekla. Risa comes in too however, double Irish whip attempt to Thekla but Thekla fights them both off. Double spear by Thekla and she hits a running elbow on Suzu in the corner, monkey flip by Thekla but Suzu lands on her feet and knocks Thekla to the mat. She tags Risa, elbow by Risa in the corner but Thekla hits a tilt-a-whirl headscissors and tags Maika. She tags in as both she and Maika hit running strikes on Risa in the corner, boot by Thekla and Maika hits a lariat. Shoulderblock by Maika but Risa doesn’t go down, but she does on the second attempt. Maika picks up Risa but Risa blocks the slam, she picks up Maika and drops her with a Schwein.

Running double knee by Risa in the corner, she picks up Maika but Maika quickly hits a vertical suplex. Back up, Maika goes off the ropes but Risa catches her with a TKO. They trade elbows in the middle of the ring, Risa goes off the ropes but Maika catches her with a lariat. A second lariat by Maika, but her cover gets two. Maika picks up Risa but Risa hits another Schwein, both wrestlers crawl to their corners and tag in their partners. Elbows by Thekla to Suzu, Suzu goes off the ropes but Thekla kicks her. She goes for a dropkick but Suzu swipes her aside, Thekla gets Suzu to the mat and puts her in a Sickle Hold. Risa breaks it up, Maika gets rid of her and picks up Suzu, hitting a suplex while Thekla also delivers a superkick. Double sliding attack by DDM to Suzu, but Suzu barely kicks out of the cover. Thekla picks up Suzu, Irish whip to the corner but its reversed. Suzu spins Thekla so she is sitting on the second rope and slides under her, while suplexing Thekla back into the ring. Risa jumps on the second turnbuckle, Suzu hops on her back and Risa comes down with a double kneedrop onto Thekla. Suzu picks up Thekla but Thekla elbows her, chops by Suzu and she delivers a jumping kick. Suzu tries to climb the turnbuckles but Thekla stops her, Suzu kicks Thekla in the head and proceeds to the top anyway. Thekla recovers and joins her but Suzu maintains the advantage and slams Thekla to the mat for a two count. Suzu drags up Thekla and nails a deadlift German suplex hold, picking up the three count! Prominence are the winners.

This was an interesting little match. Generally speaking I thought the action was really good, wide variety of violence was used and there was very little downtime so there was never a dull moment. Maybe too little downtime, as some of the selling (by all involved) was incredibly suspect, even more so than usual, meaning that even the bigger moves didn’t have a ton of impact. Suzu was my favorite wrestler in Ice Ribbon and the main reason I kept up with the promotion at all, so I am excited to see her in Stardom and where this storyline goes. The right team won, as they need Prominence to pick up some wins in front of a new audience if they are to be taken seriously. A good match with fresh pairings, I wouldn’t have minded if the match was a little longer and given some time to breath but still pretty solid.  Mildly Recommended

(c) Hazuki and Koguma vs. Momo Watanabe and Starlight Kid
Goddesses of Stardom Championship

Hazuki and Momo start the match, they jockey for position before Momo snapmares Hazuki to the mat. Hazuki blocks the kick attempt and dropkicks Momo against the bottom rope, bootscrapes by Hazuki and she hits a running boot. Hazuki tags Koguma and runs on Momo’s back, she picks up Momo but Starlight Kid runs in the ring and trips her. Starlight Kid pulls Koguma out of the ring while Momo goes after Hazuki as they battle around the floor. Starlight Kid slams Koguma to the floor and Momo slams Hazuki on top of her, as Oedo Tai pose on their opponents. Momo and Koguma return to the ring, stomp by Momo but Koguma elbows her to knock her back. Koguma hits more elbows while Momo shrugs them off, kick to the chest by Momo and she covers Koguma for two. Momo tags Starlight Kid, Starlight Kid stomps on Koguma and kicks her repeatedly in the head. Starlight Kid goes off the ropes but Koguma hits a drop toehold followed by a dropkick. This gives her time to tag Hazuki, elbow by Hazuki to Starlight Kid and she puts her in an armtrap crossface. Momo quickly breaks it up, double Irish whip by Oedo Tai but Hazuki hits a double springboard armdrag followed by a double dropkick.

Momo and Starlight Kid fall out of the ring, Hazuki gets a running start in it and sails out onto both with a tope suicida. Hazuki slides Starlight Kid back in and gets on the apron, hitting a swandive dropkick. Cover by Hazuki, but Starlight Kid kicks out. Starlight Kid throws Hazuki into the corner but Hazuki drops her onto the apron, Starlight Kid slams Hazuki’s head into the turnbuckles and goes to the top turnbuckle, hitting a diving crossbody. Starlight Kid picks up Hazuki but Hazuki elbows her and the two trade strikes. Hazuki goes off the ropes but Momo cuts her off with a dropkick, Tiger Feint Kick by Starlight Kid and she hits a standing moonsault for two. Starlight Kid picks up Hazuki but Hazuki blocks the suplex attempt, cradle by Starlight Kid but Hazuki reverses it before hitting a Codebreaker. Hazuki goes off the ropes but Starlight Kid hits a jumping kick, Hazuki quickly fires back with a boot and both wrestlers are down on the mat. Both wrestlers tag out, elbows by Koguma to Momo but Momo avoids her charge in the corner and hits a dropkick. Kick to the chest by Momo, she picks up Koguma and snaps off a uranage for two. Momo gets on the second turnbuckle but Koguma elbows her before she can jump off, Koguma joins her and hits a cutter down to the mat. Koguma goes to the top turnbuckle and hits a missile dropkick, cover by Koguma but it gets two. Koguma goes for a suplex but Momo elbows out of it, snap half nelson suplex by Momo but Koguma ducks a head kick and drops Momo with a release German.

Both wrestlers slowly get up, DDT by Koguma but she is too hurt to take advantage. Starlight Kid slides in to attack Koguma but Hazuki quickly comes in too, both teams trade double team attempts until STARS win the exchange. Hazuki and Koguma deliver a slam/cutter combination to Momo, diving body press by Koguma but Starlight Kid breaks up the cover. Koguma picks up Momo but Momo gets her back with a crossface chickenwing. Starlight Kid goes to the top turnbuckle as Momo lets go and hits a swivel body press, Momo picks up Koguma and drops her with the B Driver but Hazuki breaks up the cover. Momo and Starlight Kid pick up Koguma but Hazuki cuts them off, high kick by Momo to Koguma but Hazuki breaks up the cover. Double Irish whip to Hazuki but Hazuki fights them both off until Momo whacks her in the head with a chair. Momo goes back to Koguma and hits a modified tombstone, she picks Koguma back up but Koguma rolls away from her. Starlight Kid tosses the chair to Koguma and dropkicks it in her face, they pick up Koguma and deliver an assisted side slam. Momo picks up Koguma and nails the Peach Thunder, cover by Momo and she gets the three count. Momo Watanabe and Starlight Kid are the new champions!

Really enjoyable match, about everything one could ask for in this spot. Starlight Kid and Momo are just so good and have already built great chemistry as a team, really loved their constant cooperation and everything they did was fluid. I wouldn’t put Koguma on the level as the other three but she held her own here, and mostly let the others control the action. Very fast paced with something constantly happening to hold your attention, but it never felt excessive either as they’d slow down enough to let you catch your breath. They kept the big spots to a minimum due to their card placement but they sprinkled in enough, and the weapon violence was well done. I’m looking forward to seeing more Momo and Starlight Kid matches in the future, they are a great team. A fun match as we ramp up to the big matches on the event.  Recommended

Mayu Iwatani and KAIRI vs. Tam Nakano and Unagi Sayaka

Mayu and Tam start the match, they do some introductory trading of holds before trading armdrags. They end up in a stalemate after some missed kicks, Tam tags Unagi and Unagi calls for KAIRI to be tagged in. Mayu obliges, Unagi asks for a knuckle lock but KAIRI sweeps out her leg instead. They tie-up, KAIRI pushes Unagi into the ropes and gives a clean break after teasing a backfist. Elbows by Unagi and she slaps KAIRI, KAIRI get angry and rolls up Unagi before putting her in a stretch muffler. KAIRI tags in Mayu, dropkick by Mayu and with KAIRI they double team Unagi. Mayu picks up Unagi, snapmare by Mayu and she kicks Unagi in the back. Another kick by Mayu and she covers Unagi for two. Mayu tags KAIRI back in, KAIRI puts Unagi in the ropes and chops her in the chest. Sliding elbow by KAIRI, Unagi falls out of the ring and KAIRI hits a footstomp while Unagi is bridged over the apron. KAIRI returns to the ring and waits for Unagi, Unagi eventually rolls back in and KAIRI covers her for two.

Dropkick by KAIRI and she tags Mayu, dropkick by Mayu and she stomps on Unagi. Mayu applies a Camel Clutch but Tam quickly breaks it up, Mayu throws Tam out of the ring and tosses Unagi in the corner. Chop by Mayu and she tags KAIRI, Unagi elbows KAIRI but KAIRI blocks the scoop slam and applies an ankle hold. She lets go after a moment to knock Tam off the apron, KAIRI picks up Unagi but Unagi hits a Codebreaker. Unagi finally makes the hot tag to Tam, Tam goes to the top turnbuckle and hits a diving crossbody. Tam picks up KAIRI but Mayu hits her from behind, double Irish whip to Tam but Tam cartwheels past them and dropkicks them. Tam get on the mat and poses towards KAIRI, KAIRI poses back at her but the happy moment doesn’t last long as they grab each other by the hair and return to their feet. KAIRI and Tam trade elbows, they go at it for a minute until Tam floors KAIRI with a spinning head kick. KAIRI tags Mayu while Tam tags Unagi, Unagi and Mayu avoid each other’s kicks until Mayu kicks Unagi in the chest. Dropkick by Mayu, she goes to the top turnbuckle and delivers a diving body press for two. She goes back up to attempt a moonsault but Tam grabs her from the apron, knocking her off.

Unagi grabs Mayu from inside the ring and drags her over the top rope, dropping her head-first into the mat for a two count. KAIRI comes in but so does Tam and they both slam KAIRI to the mat, kick by Tam to Mayu and Unagi hits a leg drop for two. Unagi picks up Mayu and hits a fisherman driver, but KAIRI breaks up the cover. Tam comes in but KAIRI spears her, spinning backfist by KAIRI to Unagi and both Cosmic Angels fall out of the ring. Mayu and KAIRI go to different corners and dive down onto Unagi and Tam, Mayu gets Unagi back into the ring and kicks her in the head. Mayu goes for a dragon suplex but Unagi gets out of it, superkick by Mayu and she drags Unagi near the corner. KAIRI goes to the top turnbuckle and nails the Diving Elbow Drop, Mayu then goes up top and delivers a moonsault for the three count! Mayu Iwatani and KAIRI are the winners!

I don’t think I would have ever correctly guessed the structure of this match. Its interesting as while KAIRI was the draw, she wasn’t the focus. The first third of the match had Unagi playing the “face in peril,” with Tam getting the big hot tag to take on Mayu and KAIRI. Its not that I expected KAIRI to have that role in her re-debut but this was almost structured like a Southern Tag match with the focus being on the Cosmic Angels. In fact if I didn’t know this was KAIRI’s return match I wouldn’t have known from the action as she really was presented on the same level (at best) as Mayu and Tam. I assume this was by design to slowly integrate her back into the promotion, but if she is going to be a “special attraction” wrestler I think they missed the mark. The match was fairly entertaining and KAIRI looked good, but the weakest link (Unagi) being such a focus took it down a notch from what it could have been. It was great to see KAIRI again but as a match it was a little disappointing as far as general excitement goes, even if it still was a solid tag match.  Mildly Recommended

(c) Saya Kamitani vs. Utami Hayashishita
Wonder of Stardom Championship

They tie-up to start, Utami pushes Saya into the ropes but gives her a clean break. They tie-up again and Utami pushes Saya again in the ropes but she lets her free. Side headlock by Utami, Saya Irish whips out of it but Utami hits a shoulderblock. Saya kips up, they go through an exchange off the ropes until Saya hits a hurricanrana which sends Utami out of the ring. Saya goes off the ropes but Utami charges back in the ring and shoulderblocks Saya to the mat. Stomps by Utami and she hits a scoop slam, Utami picks up Saya and slams her again, crab hold by Utami but Saya gets to the ropes for the break. Utami throws Saya into the corner, Irish whip by Utami and she whips Saya hard into the corner multiple times. Utami stomps at Saya and hits a double kneedrop to her back, camel clutch by Utami but she releases the hold to cover Saya for a two count. Saya fights back with elbows, Utami goes off the ropes but Saya catches her with a dropkick. Saya picks up Utami, snapmare by Saya and she applies a facelock. Saya puts Utami in a headscissors but Utami gets a foot on the ropes. Saya pulls Utami’s head so its hanging over the ropes and kicks her in the head, heel drop by Saya and she dropkicks Utami. Back in the ring, Saya picks up Utami and delivers a jumping heel kick. Neckbreaker by Saya and she covers Utami for two.

Saya picks up Utami and the two trade elbows, which Utami gets the better of. Dropkick to the back by Utami, she charges Saya in the corner but Saya moves. Utami tosses Saya out to the apron, elbow by Saya but Utami blocks it when Saya goes for a swandive move and back bodydrops her into the ring. Sliding elbow by Utami and she covers Saya for two. Irish whip by Utami, but Saya flips herself out to the apron and nails a swandive hurricanrana. Utami falls out of the ring, Saya gets a running start and sails out onto her with a no hands tope con hilo. Saya slides Utami back in the ring, she goes to the top turnbuckle and hits a missile dropkick for two. Saya picks up Utami but Utami blocks the hook attempt, elbows by Saya but Utami snaps off a dropkick. Saya dropkicks her back but Utami throws her against the ropes and tosses her to the mat. Both wrestlers slowly get up and exchange elbows until Utami elbows Saya hard to the mat. Utami tries to go off the ropes but Saya grabs her and hits an elbow, Utami elbows Saya in the back in response and puts her in an Argentine Backbreaker before dropping Saya to the mat. Cover by Utami, but Saya kicks out. Utami picks up Saya but Saya grabs the ropes to block a suplex attempt, elbow to the back by Utami but Saya gets free and goes off the ropes. Utami gets Saya on her shoulders but Saya wiggles free, release German attempt by Utami but Saya lands on her feet and hits a moonsault side slam for two.

Saya goes to the top turnbuckle but Utami clubs her before she can jump off, sending Saya to the apron. Utami then lariats Saya, sending her crashing to the floor. Utami slides Saya onto the apron, she joins her and gets Saya on her shoulders, but Saya escapes and nails a hurricanrana down to the floor. Saya gets back into the ring with Utami slowly following, Saya goes for a pump kick but Utami catches it and hits an Air Raid Crash. Utami goes to the top turnbuckle and hits a missile dropkick, she picks up Saya and hits a German suplex hold for a two count. Utami drags Saya to her feet and gets her on her shoulders, but Saya gets away and delivers a reverse hurricanrana. Heel kick by Saya and she quickly hits a fisherman suplex hold for two. Saya positions Utami and goes to the top turnbuckle, but Utami recovers and elbows her in the back. Utami goes for a crucifix powerbomb but Saya reverses it into a hurricanrana, Saya charges Utami but Utami hits a sidewalk slam. Big lariat by Utami, she picks up Saya and goes for the Hijack Bomb, but again Saya reverses it with a hurricanrana. Pump kick by Saya, she cradles Utami before scooping her up with a suplex. Jumping heel kick by Saya, she picks up Utami and delivers a fisherman driver for a two count. Saya positions Utami and goes to the top turnbuckle, nailing a Phoenix Splash for the three count cover! Saya Kamitani wins and retains the championship!

Even though the match wasn’t perfect, any claims that it was reckless or sloppy are very greatly exaggerated. Both wrestlers showed off their strengths here, as Utami was a beast and Saya stayed in the match with her quick moves and high flying expertise. With how many high risk moves Saya does, not every one is going to be hit perfectly, but she is still the most exciting wrestler in Stardom right now and just brings that unpredictability that is hard to find. While I really loved the bulk of the match as they meshed together well their two styles, I do think the end stretch was probably a couple minutes too long. There can be a point of excess and they may have crossed it, which isn’t really uncommon with big title matches and at least they didn’t let it go on for more than a few minutes. A really great match between two wrestlers that are only getting better, the fact they can do a match like this so early in their careers says so much about their potential down the road.  Highly Recommended

(c) Syuri vs. Giulia
World of Stardom Championship

Giulia and Syuri quickly end up on the mat and trade holds, but they end up in a stalemate and back on their feet. Syuri works a headlock but Giulia Irish whips out of it, Giulia kicks Syuri in the leg but Syuri tackles her when she goes off the ropes and both wrestlers spill out of the ring. They jockey for position down on the floor and Syuri goes for an armbreaker, but Giulia blocks it so Syuri applies a seated armbar instead. The referee gets her to stop but Giulia grabs Syuri from behind and tries to suplex her into the ring post. Syuri blocks it and goes for a high kick, but Giulia ducks and she kicks the post by accident. Giulia throws Syuri into the post before sliding her back into the ring, Giulia picks up Syuri but Syuri elbows her and they trade shots. Giulia trips Syuri and puts her in a STF, but Syuri gets to the ropes for the break. Giulia hits a running elbow in the corner, she sits Syuri on the top turnbuckle before picking her up and suplexes her to the mat. Giulia picks up Syuri but Syuri swats her away and hits a Backstabber. Syuri throws Giulia into the corner, knees by Syuri and she hits a suplex. Sleeper by Syuri but Giulia is too close to the ropes and quickly gets the break. Snapmare by Syuri and she kicks Giulia in the back a few times. Giulia crawls to the corner, Syuri charges her but Giulia slides out to the apron and dumps Syuri out of the ring. Kick from the apron by Giulia, she goes out after Syuri and puts her in a stretch submission hold on the floor.

The referee again has to tell them to knock it off, Giulia lets go and throws the referee into Syuri. Giulia then catapults off the referee’s back and dropkicks Syuri, she picks her up and drags Syuri up onto a table with her. Giulia grabs Syuri while standing on the table and nails a piledriver, breaking the table in the process. Giulia gets back in the ring while Syuri holds her head on the floor, the referee by now has recovered and he starts the count. Giulia goes back out after Syuri and brings her back to the ring, Giulia goes to the top turnbuckle and hits a missile dropkick for a two count. Syuri falls back out of the ring so Giulia has to go after her, snapmare by Giulia and she kicks Syuri in the back. Another kick by Giulia, she gets a running start but Syuri hits her with a piece of plexiglass that the commentary table was using. Syuri picks up Giulia and hits a single arm suplex, she gets up on the apron and hits a dropkick down to the floor. Syuri gets Giulia back to the ring, she goes to the top turnbuckle and hits a diving Fameasser, but Giulia reverses her cover into a submission, but Syuri gets to the ropes. Giulia picks up Syuri, Syuri gets away and hits a release German. Giulia fires back with her own release German, Codebreaker by Syuri but Giulia catches her kick and delivers a capture suplex. Both wrestlers slowly get up and face off from opposite corners, they charge each other and Giulia kicks Syuri in the head. Syuri fires back with a jumping knee, she picks up Giulia and hits a double knee gutbuster for two. Syuri goes for Giulia’s arm and applies an armbar, Giulia reaches for the ropes so Syuri traps that arm as well.

Giulia eventually manages to get a boot on the bottom rope, running knee by Syuri and she goes to the top turnbuckle. Giulia recovers and joins her, but Syuri knocks her back to the mat. Giulia slaps Syuri to the apron but Syuri kicks her in the head over the top rope, kick to the chest by Syuri and she returns to the turnbuckles. Giulia gets back up again and climbs the turnbuckles with her, hitting a double underhook suplex down to the mat. Giulia charges Syuri but Syuri spears her into the turnbuckles, Syuri gets Giulia on her shoulders but Giulia wiggles away and the two trade cradles. Backdrop suplex by Giulia, she picks up Syuri but Syuri avoids the Glorious Driver and slams Giulia to the mat. Syuri picks up Giulia again but Giulia slides off and nails an Emerald Flowsion for a two count. Both wrestlers are slow to cover and trade slaps while still on their knees, Syuri kicks Giulia when they return to their feet which sends Giulia crashing back to the mat. More kicks by Syuri, but Giulia eventually ducks one and suplexes Syuri. Knee to the face by Giulia, but Syuri kicks out of the cover. Giulia picks up Syuri and nails the Glorious Driver II, but again Syuri gets a shoulder up. Giulia immediately gets Syuri to her feet and drops her with a Northern Lights Bomb, but they are too close to the ropes and Syuri grabs the bottom one to stop the count. Giulia drags Syuri up but Syuri blocks it when Giulia goes for another one, Giulia goes off the ropes but Syuri kicks her in the head. Another high kick by Syuri, she picks up Giulia and hits a modified Emerald Flowsion of her own for two. Syuri gets Giulia on her shoulders but Giulia spins off and covers Syuri. Syuri gets out of it and hits a Buzzsaw Kick. Spinning backfist by Syuri and she hits a few more, Syuri gets Giulia on her shoulders and nails the Red World for the three count! Syuri wins and retains the championship.

This match was great for a few different reasons. First, after a long show they put on a match that played out differently than everything we’ve seen so far. It was more grounded and strike-oriented, but with enough big spots spread around to keep the excitement up and make the match feel special. These two are both so fluid, everything was snug but not to the point of feeling reckless or dangerous, they just have really good chemistry for two wrestlers that don’t face off often. Its quite a contrast to the last match, as here the ending stretch felt just right (even though the matches had the same run time) and it felt like it ended at the precise right time within the match flow which is easier said than done. Syuri is one of the best strikers in wrestling but Giulia looked great as well, it felt like a real war between the two with both having convincing near falls. A well structured match with two of the best wrestlers in Joshi wrestling, a must-see match that delivers on every level.  Highly Recommended

The post Stardom World Climax 2022 ~ The Best on 3/26/22 Review appeared first on Joshi City.

Event: Stardom “OSAKA SUPER WARS ~ OSAKA SUPER WOMEN’S WAR”
Date: December 18th, 2021
Location: Osaka Edion Arena in Osaka, Japan
Announced Attendance: 1,222
Broadcast: PPV and Stardom World

Even though I am a little behind (when am I not?), I still wanted to review this event just because its wacky. This show is very unique as Stardom isn’t generally known for crazy gimmick matches. Here though, several matches have a gimmick or an unusual quality to them, including a ladder match! Also we get a big elimination tag match, with the end result being either Momo Watanabe joining Oedo Tai or Starlight Kid being forced to unmask. Here is the full card:

• Gauntlet Match: Syuri vs Lady C, Mai Sakurai, and Waka Tsukiyama
• Artist of Stardom Championship and 10 Million Yen Prize Contest Unit Tournament Semi Final: Maika, Himeka, and Natsupoi vs. Takumi Iroha, Rin Kadokura, and Maria
• 10 Million Yen Prize Contest Unit Tournament Semi Final: Mayu Iwatani, Hazuki, and Koguma vs. Tam Nakano, Unagi Sayaka, and Mina Shirakawa
• Captain’s Fall Match: Konami, Starlight Kid, Saki Kashima, and Ruaka vs. Utami Hayashishita, Momo Watanabe, Saya Kamitani, and AZM
• Artist of Stardom Championship and10 Million Yen Prize Contest Unit Tournament Final, Elimination Ladder Match: Maika, Himeka, and Natsupoi vs. Mayu Iwatani, Hazuki, and Koguma

All wrestlers on the show have a profile on Joshi City, you can click on their name above to go straight to it.

Syuri vs Lady C, Mai Sakurai, and Waka Tsukiyama
Gauntlet Match
Syuri didn’t have anything to do on this event, so here she is in the opener in what will no doubt be a series of easy wins for her. In theory, a gauntlet match wouldn’t favor the wrestler that has to go against three different wrestlers in a row, but they made sure this was lopsided enough that we all know what is going to happen. Maybe this will be good experience for the newer wrestlers, but in the end I doubt this match will accomplish much.

Syuri vs. Waka Tsukiyama is the first match of the gauntlet. Syuri quickly takes down Waka and they trade holds on the mat, elbows by Waka but Syuri avoids the dropkick. Syuri gets Waka on her shoulders but Waka slides off, she tries a few flash pins but doesn’t have any luck. Waka gets Syuri’s back but Syuri flings her to the mat before kicking Waka in the back. Syuri throws Waka into the corner, Irish whip attempt by Syuri but Waka blocks it and slams her to the mat for two. Waka gets on the second turnbuckle and hits a missile dropkick, she picks up Syuri and hits a series of elbows. Waka goes off the ropes but Syuri nails her with a head kick, cover by Syuri and she gets the three count! Syuri wins!

Syuri vs. Mai Sakurai starts immediately, strikes by Mai and she hits a drop toehold. STF by Mai but Syuri crawls to the ropes and makes it for the break. Mai goes off the ropes but Syuri knees her in the midsection, snap suplex by Syuri and she covers Mai for two. Syuri gets on the second turnbuckle but Waka elbows her before she can jump off, cutter by Mai back to the mat and she hits a diving elbow drop from the second turnbuckle for a two count cover. Syuri catches Mai with a STO, sleeper by Syuri and Mai taps out! Syuri wins again!

Syuri vs. Lady C again starts with no delay, boot by Lady C but Syuri avoids the next attempt. The two trade elbows in the middle of the ring, boots by Lady C and she hits a jumping neckdrop for a two count. Lady C picks up Syuri but Syuri blocks the chokeslam, DDT by Syuri and she puts Lady C in a figure four leglock. Lady C makes it to the ropes for the break, stomps by Syuri but Lady C ducks a kick and chops Syuri in the head. Lady C gets Syuri up and nails the chokeslam, cover by Lady C but it gets a two count. Lady C applies a modified chokehold but Syuri gets out of it, running knee by Syuri and she covers Lady C for two. Syuri pulls Lady C to the middle of the ring and re-applies the figure four leglock, and this time Lady C taps out! Syuri wins the final match of the gauntlet!

This went about how you’d expect. Syuri gave all three a little bit of offense but not enough to be meaningful before putting them away with relative ease. Since this was a pre-show match, it didn’t hurt anything to have it exist, but it certainly didn’t really do anything for any of the wrestlers long term either. Really just an exhibition to show that Syuri is a danger to lower-end wrestlers.

Maika, Himeka, and Natsupoi vs. Takumi Iroha, Kadokura, and Maria
Artist of Stardom Championship and 10 Million Yen Prize Contest Unit Tournament Semi Final
Marvelous invades Stardom to not only get a title shot but to take part in the 10 Million Yen Contest tournament. Since the Trios champions are in the tournament, the titles are also on the line for each match so whichever team wins the tournament will also end up the champs as well. The champions come in representing DDM, led by Giulia. The challengers all hail from Marvelous, a promotion run by Chigusa Nagayo and includes their ace in Iroha along with young wrestlers Kadokura and Maria. The champions come in the favorites but it still should be a solid match as all six are quality wrestlers with various skill sets.

Rin and Maika start the match and tie-up, but end up breaking cleanly. They get back into it and trade holds but again end up in a stalemate so they tag out as Himeka and Takumi come in. Irish whip by Takumi as they both try to shoulderblock each other over, with Himeka eventually winning as she sends Takumi to the mat. Takumi fires back with an uppercut and stomps on Himeka, she tags in Maria and Maria dropkicks Himeka in the head. Maria goes for a scoop slam but Himeka blocks it, hitting one of her own before she tags in Natsupoi. Stomps by Natsupoi and she dropkicks Maria in the back, elbows by Natsupoi but Maria catches her with a dropkick. Bootscrapes by Maria and she hits a slingshot footstomp, kick to the ribs by Maria and she covers Natsupoi for two. Maria tags Takumi, Takumi kicks Natsupoi in the chest and drops her with a scoop slam. Body press by Takumi, but Natsupoi kicks out of the cover. Takumi chops Natsupoi in the corner but Natsupoi fires back with elbows, leg kick by Takumi and she tags Rin. Snapmare by Rin and she delivers a sliding kick to Natsupoi’s chest, cover by Rin but Natsupoi kicks out.

Jumping lariat by Rin, she picks up Natsupoi but Natsupoi flips away from her and delivers a dropkick. Natsupoi goes off the ropes but Rin avoids her dropkick, Rin then goes off the ropes and hits a dropkick of her own. She goes for a slam but Natsupoi blocks it, the two trade elbows until Natsupoi kicks Rin in the midsection and connects with a neckbreaker. This gives her time to tag in Maika, shoulderblocks by Maika to all her opponents and she lariats Rin in the corner. Another shoulderblock by Maika to Rin, and she covers her for two. Maika goes off the ropes but Rin catches her with a superkick, vertical suplex by Rin and she covers Maika for two. Maika elbows Rin but Takumi tags herself in and nails a jumping heel kick on Maika. She goes for a kick but Maika catches it, the two trade elbows until Takumi superkicks Maika in the back of the head. Irish whip by Takumi to the corner, reversed, but Rin and Maria both run in and all three attack Maika in the corner. Maika fires out of the corner with a shoulderblock on Takumi, kick combination by Takumi to Maika and she delivers a sliding kick. Takumi picks up Maika and hits a snap vertical suplex, Takumi goes off the ropes but Maika catches her with a powerslam.

She tags in Himeka as they triple team Takumi, PK by Himeka to Takumi and she covers her for two. High kick by Takumi to Himeka, Rin goes to the top turnbuckle and delivers a missile dropkick. Assisted Fameasser by Rin to Himeka, cover by Takumi but it gets broken up. Takumi goes up top but Maika joins her and hits a superplex. Sliding lariat by Himeka, she goes off the ropes but Takumi grabs her arm and applies a Fujiwara Armbar. Himeka rolls out of it, Takumi drops her with a pair of head kicks and she tags in Maria. Dropkick by Maria and she applies a cross armbreaker, but it quickly gets broken up. Maria gets Himeka’s back but Himeka gets into the ropes to get a break, Himeka tries to get Maria on her shoulders but Maria slides off and applies a cradle for two. They trade flash pins with neither having any luck, Maria goes off the ropes but Maika and Natsupoi both run in to attack her. Diving crossbody by Natsupoi to Maria, cover by Himeka but Takumi breaks it up. Sliding lariat by Himeka and she hits a second hard lariat, she sets up Maria in the turnbuckle and grabs her, nailing a powerbomb for the three count! DDM retain their titles advances in the tournament!

A perfectly fine match, although ultimately forgettable. The chemistry wasn’t an issue, although they didn’t have the more complex spots you see from Stardom sometimes since the Stardom wrestlers are so familiar with each other that it probably takes a bit of an adjustment when Marvelous comes to town. While I like all six of these wrestlers, Maika and Himeka are two of my favorites so I wish they could have done more – luckily they will be wrestling again in the main event. Time went by pretty quick and everything clicked well, this combination of wrestlers couldn’t have a bad match if they tried, but while the action was solid it was missing that something something to put it over the top. Still fun though.  Mildly Recommended

Mayu Iwatani, Hazuki, and Koguma vs. Nakano, Sayaka, and Shirakawa
10 Million Yen Prize Contest Unit Tournament Semi Final
This is the other Semi Final of the tournament, as we get ready for the Finals later tonight. Here we see STARS vs. Cosmic Angels, two of the other factions in Stardom. The STARS team is pretty stacked, with The Icon teaming with the recently returned Hazuki and Koguma. On the other team, Tam Nakano leads the Cosmic Angels and is the most accomplished of the trio, as she is joined by Sayaka and Shirakawa. In terms of overall ability I’d give the edge to the STARS team but anything can happen in a six woman tag.

Koguma and Mina start the match, Mina gets cute and poses but Koguma quickly cradles her from behind for two. Mina gets the last laugh as she poses on top of Koguma, Tam and Sayaka come in and they triple team Koguma. Cover by Mina, but it gets two. Mina puts Koguma in the Romero Special but lets her go after a moment before tagging in Tam. Tam hits a running elbow in the corner, kick combination by Tam and she delivers a heel drop for a two count. Tam throws Koguma in the corner and tags Sayaka, snapmare by Sayaka and she puts Koguma in a camel clutch. Sayaka picks up Koguma and boots her in the face, running facebuster by Sayaka and she covers Koguma for two. Sayaka goes off the ropes but Koguma trips her, dropkick by Koguma and she makes the hot tag to Mayu. Dropkick by Mayu and she kicks Sayaka in the stomach, Irish whip by Mayu and she hits a bridging suplex for two. Mayu goes off the ropes but Sayaka catches her with a Codebreaker, she goes for a leg drop but Mayu rolls out of the way.

Sayaka gets Mayu on her back with the Gory Special, but Hazuki breaks it up. Hazuki stays in but Sayaka drops both of them before hitting a double legdrop. Sayaka tags in Tam, Tam comes in the ring with a diving crossbody to Mayu for a two count. Tam picks up Mayu and elbows her into the corner, Tam charges but Mayu moves and delivers a sliding kick to Tam’s face. Tam slides away from Mayu and both miss high kicks, mid-kick by Mayu and she superkicks Tam in the head. She goes off the ropes but Sayaka snaps her neck over the top rope from the apron, German Suplex Hold by Tam but it gets broken up. Irish whip by Tam but Mayu hits a Sling Blade, giving her time to tag Hazuki. Hazuki hits a swandive missile dropkick on Tam before applying an armtrap crossface, but Tam gets into the ropes for the break. Hazuki goes for the boot but Tam moves, Backstabber by Hazuki and Koguma hits a DDT. Running senton by Hazuki, but Tam kicks out at two. Hard elbow by Hazuki but Tam returns fire and the two trade blows. Tam eventually ducks a Hazuki lariat and cradles her for two, backdrop suplex by Tam and both wrestlers are hurt on the mat. Tam is up first and tags in Mina, running elbow by Mina in the corner and she delivers a sliding kick for two.

Mina goes for a slam but Hazuki blocks it, Mayu runs in and superkicks Mina before Koguma hits a cutter. Pump Kick by Hazuki to Mina and she slams Mina for a two count. Koguma picks up Mina but Mina reverses the suplex, head kick by Tam to Hazuki and Sayaka hits a leg drop. Assisted face crusher by Mina to Hazuki, but the cover is broken up. Tam and Sayaka take care of Mayu and Koguma, sending both out of the ring. Tam then gets on the top rope and with help dives out onto all three opponents with a plancha. Sayaka slides Hazuki back in while Mina goes to the top turnbuckle, hitting a diving forearm smash on Hazuki for two. Mina gets Hazuki up but Hazuki blocks the DDT, spinning backfist by Mina and she nails the elevated DDT this time. Cover by Mina, but it barely gets broken up by Mayu. Tam and Sayaka get rid of Mayu and Koguma again, they all go to Hazuki and deliver heel drops. Mina picks up Hazuki but Hazuki slides away and quickly applies the Hazukistral for the three count! STARS win the match and advance to the Finals.

The structure of this one was unique, as they did very few tags. I’m too lazy to count but I believe that STARS only had two tags all match and the Cosmic Angels didn’t have many more than that. Probably made it easier for planning purposes but it almost felt like a series of singles matches except for the constant teamwork. That chaos did make the match more entertaining and was its saving grace, as much of the 1 vs. 1 action was nothing special. Mina and Sayaka continue to improve since joining Stardom in what they showed here, and Mayu always takes over any match she is in. I’m not a huge trios fan in general for the reason this match showed, as with under 15 minutes I didn’t feel like I got to really enjoy any one wrestler as there wasn’t enough time for everyone to show off. The chaotic cooperation within each team helped make the match pretty enjoyable, but I wish it felt more like a tag match with the general structure.  Mildly Recommended

Konami, Starlight Kid, Kashima, and Ruaka vs. Hayashishita, Watanabe, Kamitani, and AZM
Captain’s Fall Elimination and Unit Change Match
In a match heavily built-up leading into the show, one of the factions in Stardom is about to change and maybe we get to see Starlight Kid’s face. Momo Watanabe and Starlight Kid have been feuding for months, climaxing with this match. There are several stipulations here – first, it is a Captain’s Fall Elimination Match, meaning the match can’t end until Momo or Starlight Kid are eliminated. Eliminations can take place via pinfall, submission, DQ, or Over The Top Rope. As this is also a Unit Change Match, the loser between Momo Watanabe and Starlight Kid will be forced to join the other faction. AND if Starlight Kid loses, she must unmask. So a lot going on! This match is pretty packed with talent, the edge goes to Queen’s Quest but Starlight Kid has been on a tear since joining Oedo Tai.

All eight wrestlers brawl to start the match, Queen’s Quest gets the early advantage as they isolate Starlight Kid. Utami stays in as the legal wrestler, she tries to throw Starlight Kid out of the ring but Starlight Kid gets out of it and rolls up Utami. Scoop slam by Utami and she tags AZM, AZM throws Starlight Kid into the corner and delivers a dropkick. Cover by AZM, but it gets two. AZM goes off the ropes but Konami cuts her off, Starlight Kid hits a springboard crossbody and tags Konami into the match. Snapmare by Konami and she kicks AZM in the back, Konami applies a stretch hold but it gets broken up. Konami throws AZM into the corner and chokes her with her boot, she tags in Ruaka and Ruaka kicks at AZM. Irish whip by Ruaka but AZM snaps off a hurricanrana, dropkick by AZM and she tags Utami. Dropkick by Utami but Saki comes in to help Ruaka, Utami throws Ruaka into Saki however and dropkicks her. Irish whip by Utami, reversed, and the two both try to shoulderblock over the other. Ruaka wins the exchange and tags in Konami, running knee by Konami and she delivers a sliding kick. Konami picks up Utami but Utami gets Konami on her shoulders, Konami slides off and applies a submission but it gets quickly broken up. Utami quickly picks up Konami and hits a Samoan Drop, the rest of her teammates come in and all four of Queen’s Quest dropkick Konami. Utami gets Konami up and tries to throw her out of the ring, but Konami hang onto her arm to block as she dangles over the top rope. Konami keeps tugging and eventually falls out of the ring after her, as both wrestlers crash to the floor. Utami Hayashishita and Konami are both eliminated via Over The Top.

Momo and Starlight Kid come in as the legal wrestlers, Momo goes for a slam but Starlight Kid blocks it and sends Momo to the mat. Standing moonsault by Starlight Kid, she goes off the ropes and hits a spinning headscissors. The rest of Oedo Tai run in and deliver strikes in the corner, Starlight Kid goes to the top turnbuckle and hits the Swivel Body Press but the pin is broken up. AZM dropkicks Starlight Kid, Momo follows with a Somato but it gets a two count. Momo goes for the B Driver and nails it, but Saki breaks up the cover. Momo tags Saya, knee by Saya in the corner to Starlight Kid and she delivers a dropkick. Saki tagged herself in from the apron and comes in with a headscissors on Saya, Irish whip by Saya to the corner but Saki flips her out to the apron. Saya goes for a springboard move but Saki pushes her back to the apron, she goes off the ropes but Saya recovers and hits a swandive crossbody. Northern Lights Suplex Hold by Saya, but it gets broken up. Momo and Saya both get up in the same turnbuckle and hit jumping knees, Saya picks up Saki but Saki blocks the fisherman suplex and puts Saya in the Kishikaisei for two. Saki goes off the ropes but Saya catches her with a jumping heel kick, Saya picks up Saki but Saki slides away and applies the Kishikaisei for the three count! Saya Kamitani is eliminated via pinfall.

AZM replaces Saya in the ring, she gets Saki to the mat and goes to the top turnbuckle, but Saki avoids the diving footstomp. Ruaka tags in and hits a hard shoulderblock, fisherman suplex attempt by Ruaka but AZM reverses it into a Fujiwara Armbar. Ruaka quickly gets to the ropes for the break, Momo comes in but Ruaka gets the better of things and hits a lariat on AZM. Cover by Ruaka, but Momo breaks it up. Ruaka goes to the top turnbuckle but AZM avoids the Freezer Bomb, dropkick by AZM and she goes up top to deliver a diving footstomp. Cover by AZM, but Ruaka barely gets a shoulder up. Momo comes back and they both dropkick Ruaka in the head, AZM goes off the ropes and puts Ruaka in the Numero Uno (modified armbar). Ruaka struggles for a moment but has to submit! Ruaka is eliminated.

Saki comes in as the new legal wrestler, she goes for the Kishikaisei but AZM blocks it and applies the Azumi Sushi for the three count! Saki Kashima is eliminated. The match is now Momo Watanabe and AZM vs. Starlight Kid.

Starlight Kid as the last wrestler left for Oedo Tai is the legal wrestler, and she is promptly double teamed by Momo and AZM. AZM goes up top but Konami gets on the apron to distract her, but that doesn’t stop Momo from hitting Starlight Kid with a PK. Ruaka trips Momo from the apron, giving Starlight Kid time to armdrag AZM off the top turnbuckle. AZM goes for the Azumi Sushi but Starlight Kid reverses it and the two trade flash pins with neither getting the three count. Momo returns and beats down Starlight Kid, she goes out to the apron so that AZM can tag her in. Kicks by Momo to Starlight Kid but Starlight Kid catches one and hits a dragon screw leg whip, she goes off the ropes but AZM kicks her from the apron. Assisted footstomp by AZM to Starlight Kid and she kicks her in the head, suplex by Momo to Starlight Kid but it only gets two. Momo drags on Starlight Kid but Starlight Kid blocks the Peach Sunrise, Momo then hits the Tequila Sunrise instead but the referee is pulled out of the ring while he tries to make the three count. Momo and AZM both kick Starlight Kid in the head, but Starlight Kid blocks the next attempt and AZM kicks Momo in the head by mistake. Victory roll by Starlight Kid, but it gets two. Starlight Kid picks up Momo and hits a side Russian leg sweep, she goes to the top turnbuckle and nails a moonsault. Starlight Kid drags up Momo and hits a modified Tombstone, but her cover is broken up. Starlight Kid gets a Oedo Tai briefcase tossed to her, but the referee takes it before she can use it. She then gets a chair instead, she tosses it to Momo and then dropkicks the chair into her. Momo stands up with the chair however, she acts like she is going to hit Starlight Kid but she hits AZM instead! She then hits the referee as well, leading to her being disqualified. Momo Watanabe is eliminated via DQ, and Oedo Tai wins the match!

I’m going to not talk about the action itself (it was fine?) and rant (again!) about the stupidity of these types of matches in wrestling. Stardom didn’t invent wrestlers turning on their teammates mid-match but they certainly have embraced it, and it has to be one of my least favorite wrestling tropes. Besides the lack of logic in Momo attacking her future teammates for 19 minutes, you then have the issue where the match could have ended many many times before that. If a wrestler is going to turn on their own team it should be early in the match, like the first time they tag in, not at the end of it. I don’t mind Momo going to Oedo Tai but I didn’t need a convoluted match with stipulations that ended on meaning nothing as Momo wanted to join them anyway. I don’t think that Stardom will ever stop doing these “forced to change factions” or worse the “forced to change factions but wait they wanted to change factions” matches like they’ve done twice now in 2021, but I won’t ever like it. Starlight Kid looked great in the match, I will give her that, her future is bright even if this match was dumb and the action was disjointed.

(c) Maika, Himeka, and Natsupoi vs. Mayu Iwatani, Hazuki, and Koguma
Artist of Stardom Championship and10 Million Yen Prize Contest Unit Tournament Final, Elimination Ladder Match
More trios action, as we reach the Finals of the tournament in a ladder match! Not only is it a ladder match but its also a title match and an elimination match and a WINNER GETS 10 MILLION YEN match all wrapped into one. Stardom really went into gimmick overkill for this event and I am not really sure why, they have the best women’s roster of any promotion in the world and don’t have to fall back on such things to get attention. But I won’t deny it is fun to see a ladder match in Stardom, and both of these teams are really good. I hope they can adjust to the stipulation better than the last match did, I doubt they’d have the titles change hands on an overly gimmicky match but who knows what will happen on this event.

Koguma and Natsupoi start the match and immediately start climbing the ladder to get the briefcase, they get pulled off and all six wrestlers are already in the ring. Everyone clears out with Koguma and Natsupoi alone again, Natsupoi throws Koguma under the ladder before Koguma starts climbing it once again, but Natsupoi knocks her off and goes for the briefcase herself. Koguma pulls Natsupoi off the ladder, both wrestlers go off the ropes until Koguma tips the ladder on top of Natsupoi. Mayu and Hazuki come in the ring as they put the ladder down and triple team their opponent. Triple dropkick to Natsupoi, Koguma covers her (remember its also an elimination match) but it gets a two count. Scoop slam by Koguma near the ropes and she runs on her back, footstomp by Koguma and she covers Natsupoi for two. Koguma tags in Mayu, chop by Mayu in the corner and she snapmares Natsupoi before kicking her in the back. Camel Clutch by Mayu but it gets broken up, Mayu throws Natsupoi into the corner and delivers a dropkick for two. Mayu tags Hazuki, scoop slam by Hazuki and she gives Natsupoi bootscrapes near the ropes followed by a big boot. Hazuki clubs on Natsupoi but Natsupoi flips out of the snapmare and hits a crossbody. She manages to tag in Himeka, shoulderblocks by Himeka but Koguma runs in to break up the Argentine Backbreaker. Himeka shoulderblocks both of them but Hazuki hits a Codebreaker before making the tag to Mayu.

Running strike by Mayu in the corner and she follows that with a sliding kick for a two count. Natsupoi and Maika come in to try to help but Mayu hits a springboard double armdrag on both of them, double dropkick by Mayu but Himeka attacks Mayu from behind. Himeka grabs the ladder and sets it up, she climbs it but Mayu climbs up the other side and the two trade blows at the top of it. Himeka jumps off and runs to Mayu’s side, she gets Mayu on her shoulders and hits a Samoan Drop. The referee gets the ladder out of the way while Maika is tagged in, lariat by Maika to Mayu in the corner and she hits the Fallaway Slam for two. Maika picks up Mayu but Mayu slides away and delivers two kicks for a quick cover. Mayu gets the ladder and sets it up near the corner, she goes to the top of the ladder but Maika recovers and joins her. Superplex by Maika off the ladder down to the mat, Maika slowly cover Mayu but Koguma breaks it up. Maika picks up Mayu and nails the cross-arm STO, but Mayu barely kicks out. Maika goes off the ropes but Hazuki hits her with a pump kick, cutter by Koguma and they throw Maika into the corner against the ladder. Catapult dropkick by Mayu, she then climbs up the ladder in the corner and nails the moonsault for the three count! Maika is eliminated.

Natsupoi comes in as the legal wrestler with a diving crossbody, she picks up Mayu but Mayu superkicks her into the corner with the ladder propped against it. She tags in Koguma, Koguma hits a body avalanche in the corner followed by a cutter for two. Koguma gets the ladder out of the corner and sets it up in the middle of the ring, she climbs it but Himeka grabs her from behind. All five wrestlers end up trying to climb the ladder at the same time, which naturally doesn’t work and all five end up back on the mat. The action spills out of the ring, Natsupoi goes to the top turnbuckle and dives out but accidentally lands on her own teammates. STARS quickly get back into the ring, they set up the ladder near the ropes and Koguma climbs to the top, diving down onto all three members of DDM. Hazuki and Mayu then get a running start in the ring and hit stereo tope suicidas, Natsupoi is rolled back into the ring while Koguma goes up top and hits a missile dropkick, but Himeka breaks up the cover. Koguma picks up Natsupoi but Natsupoi blocks the suplex attempt and hits a release German of her own. Natsupoi tags in Himeka, Himeka picks up Koguma but Koguma cradles her for two. Koguma goes off the ropes but Himeka levels her with a lariat, she gets Koguma on her shoulders before slamming her to the mat. Hazuki breaks up the cover with the ladder, Koguma recovers first and goes up top but Himeka runs over and grabs her before she can jump off. Koguma blocks the powerbomb attempt and goes for a slam, but Himeka gets out of it and clubs on Koguma’s back. Lariat by Himeka, and she covers Koguma for the three count! Koguma is eliminated.

Hazuki comes in and boots Himeka in the face, Himeka falls in her corner and tags in Natsupoi, who promptly dropkicks Hazuki. She goes for another one but Hazuki boots her in the face, Mayu comes in and they double team Natsupoi. Double boot to Natsupoi, Hazuki picks her up and hits the Michinoku Driver for a two count. Hazuki sets up the ladder and starts climbing it, but Natsupoi grabs her from being and drops her with a German suplex. Natsupoi starts climbing but Mayu grabs her, Himeka gets Mayu up in a powerbomb position and Natsupoi dives off the ladder with a crossbody onto Mayu. Natsupoi sets the ladder back up and climbs it, but Hazuki hits a swandive boot on the ladder to knock her off. Hazuki goes to get the ladder but Himeka comes up from behind and hits a backdrop suplex. Mayu comes in but Himeka plants her with a lariat, Himeka helps Natsupoi climb the ladder while Maika holds the ladder still, and Natsupoi gets the briefcase! DDM win the match, the money, and retain the championship!

This match just had way too much going on. It didn’t need to be both a ladder match and an elimination match and I don’t see what being an elimination match added to it except it gave the wrestlers an excuse to go for covers. The fact two were eliminated had no bearing on the results and it gave the match almost two halves, where for a bulk of it they wrestled it as just a straight match before remembering the ladder, which then was heavily featured in the second half. There were still positives though – the wrestlers have great chemistry and the “big” ladder spots all went off without a hitch. Since ladder matches are rare in Joshi, it does add a layer of excitement and I was impressed by Koguma’s fearlessness. I still mostly enjoyed myself watching this as they kept the action up and they are great wrestlers, but it was just over-gimmicked and had so much going on it distracted from the match.  Mildly Recommended

The post Stardom “OSAKA SUPER WARS” on 12/18/21 Review appeared first on Joshi City.

Event: Actwres girl’Z Act In Osaka
Date: October 18th, 2020
Location: Osaka 176BOX in Osaka, Japan
Announced Attendance: Unknown

Its been a long time since I reviewed an AgZ event on the site, over a year and a half in fact, so I figured we were long overdue. AgZ has changed quite a bit since then as they’ve had issues lately keeping wrestlers. Which is a common issue with smaller promotions, they build stars and then they move on to bigger and better things. Luckily for them they still have Miyuki Takase, the star of the promotion, who is a great wrestler. They also still (for now) employ Sekiguchi and Tae Honma, plus they are using Freelancer Andras Miyagi. So there are some good wrestlers on their roster, but a lot of them are still learning so its best to go in with lower expectations. But I’m still looking forward to it, here is the full card:

• Ayano Irie and Yuko Sakurai vs. Mai Sakurai and Yoshiko Hasegawa
• Andras Miyagi vs. Mari
• Hikari Shimizu and Misa Matsui vs. Momo Kohgo and Momo Tani
• Ami Miura and Tae Honma vs. Rina Amikura and SAKI
• AgZ Championship: Miyuki Takase vs. Kakeru Sekiguchi

As this aired on NicoPro, all matches should be shown in full. The wrestlers on the show have profiles on Joshi City, you can click on their names above to go straight to it.

Ayano Irie and Yuko Sakurai vs. Mai Sakurai and Hasegawa

Ayano and Hasegawa start the match, they go into a knucklelock but Mai comes in to help her partner as Ayano is double teamed. Yuko runs in to even the odds, she then joins Ayano in double teaming Hasegawa. Ayano snapmares Hasegawa and dropkicks hers, cover by Ayano but it gets a two count. She tags in Yuko, snapmare by Yuko and she applies a headscissors. Hasegawa gets to the ropes for the break, Yuko picks her up and slams her into the mat. She tags Ayano, Ayano puts Hasegawa in a crab hold but Hasegawa gets into the ropes again. Ayano goes off the ropes but Hasegawa drop toeholds her into the second rope and Mai kicks her from the apron. Dropkick by Hasegawa and she rolls to her corner to tag Mai, Mai boots Ayano and elbows Yuko when she runs in to help her partner. Mai throws Ayano into Yuko, boot to Ayano but Ayano elbows Mai in the chest.

Drop toehold by Mai but Ayano avoids the elbow drop, dropkick by Ayano and she covers Mai for two. Ayano tags Yuko, shoulderblock by Yuko and she hits a running elbow in the corner. Another shoulderblock by Yuko and she covers Mai for two. Scoop slam attempt by Yuko but Mai blocks it, Mai goes off the ropes but Yuko catches her with a scoop slam for a two count. Mai gets away from Yuko and boots her in the head, she tags in Hasegawa and they throw Yuko into the corner. Dropkick by Hasegawa and Mai follows with a boot, snapmare by Hasegawa and she hits a PK for a two count. Elbows by Hasegawa, Yuko picks up Hasegawa but Hasegawa gets her back for a sleeper hold. Ayano quickly breaks it up, double Irish whip to Hasegawa and Hasegawa is hit with a double dropkick. Yuko applies a Cobra Twist but it gets broken up by Mai, Mai stays in and helps set up their opponents so that Hasegawa can hit a double crossbody. Yuko avoids Hasegawa’s kick and rolls her up for two, Hasegawa goes for a flash pin but Yuko reverses it into her own cover for the three count! Ayano Irie and Yuko Sakurai are the winners!

The good news here is that no one looked like they didn’t belong. Some of the movements were stiff but the match flowed along without any major issues. The bad news is that no one really stood out here either. Hasegawa looked probably the best from an overall package standpoint but generally speaking they came across as competent wrestlers but nothing more. Which probably is why they are where they are. A decent enough way to open the show but overall pretty skippable.

Andras Miyagi vs. Mari

Mari wastes time to start, which is one of her fun things to do, but they finally get into it as Mari kicks Andras repeatedly. They trade waistlocks until Mari puts Andras in a stretch hold, Rocking Horse by Mari and she lets go only to stomp on Andras’ back. Single leg crab hold by Mari but Andras rolls out of the ring, Mari goes out to the apron but Andras ducks her kick. Mari kicks her anyway and goes out to the floor, kicking Andras in the head. Mari slides Andras back in the ring and kicks her in the head again, cover by Mari but it gets a two count. Mari picks up Andras and puts her on her shoulders, but Mari slides off and schoolboys Mari for two. An inside cradle also gets a two count for Andras, she charges Mari but Mari kicks her back and delivers a superkick. Mari picks up Andras and hits a Samoan Drop, cover by Mari but it gets a two count. Mari picks up Andras and goes for a backslide, but Andras blocks it and applies her own backslide for two. Schoolboy by Andras but Mari rolls through it, Andras throws Mari into the referee and schoolboys her again for the three count! Andras Miyagi is the winner!

Its so odd just seeing Andras with this new “style.” She didn’t really even do an offensive move in this match, Mari just kicked her around until she finally was successful with a flash pin. I don’t even know what to think about it. Mari looked really good, for someone who hasn’t gotten a lot of opportunities in wrestling I like her a lot. Her offense was tight and well done, I’m just eternally confused on what Andras is even bringing to the table these days. Maybe worth watching to see Mari but Andras didn’t do enough for me to recommend the match as a whole.

Hikari Shimizu and Matsui vs. Momo Kohgo and Momo Tani

Hikari and Tani start the match and go right into a fast exchange, eventually reaching a stalemate. They tag in Misa and Kohgo, footstomp by Misa and she puts Kohgo in an armbar. She lets go after a moment and throws Kohgo into the corner, Misa stomps down Kohgo as Hikari helps from the apron. Misa picks up Kohgo and tags Hikari, snapmares my Hikari and she tags Misa back in. Irish whip by Misa and she hits a dropkick, footstomp by Misa and she covers Kohgo for two. Scoop slam by Misa and she tags Hikari, footstomp by Hikari and she tosses Kohgo down by the hair. Hikari applies a crab hold to Kohgo but she eventually lets go, Irish whip by Hikari but Kohgo reverses it and hits a dropkick. She rolls to her corner and tags Tani, running knee by Tani and she knees Hikari from the apron. Double kneedrops to Hikari’s back by Tani but Misa strolls in and kicks her from behind. Double Irish whip to Tani but Tani hits a double Codebreaker followed by a double running knee to both opponents. Tani goes back to Hikari’s back but Hikari kicks her and snapmares Tani before delivering a series of kicks. Hikari puts Tani in a choke hold but it gets broken up, Hikari throws Tani into the corner and hits a step-up kick for a two count. Hikari tags Misa, jumping crossbody by Misa and she gets a two count. Tani swats away a dropkick as they both return to their feet and trade strikes.

DDT by Misa and she covers Tani for two. Misa goes off the ropes but Misa connects with a Backstabber, double knee to Misa’s back by Tani and she puts Misa in a stretch hold. Misa gets to the ropes for the break, Tani gets on the second rope and hits a diving double knee to Misa’s back. Tani goes back to the stretch hold but this time Hikari quickly breaks it up, Tani tags Kohgo and Kohgo dropkicks Misa a few times. Scoop slam by Kohgo and she covers Misa for two. Kohgo applies a crab hold but Hikari breaks up the hold, Tani comes in two and Misa is double teamed in the corner. Kohgo picks up Misa but Misa gets away, putting Kohgo in the Octopus Hold. That gets broken up, Misa gets on the second turnbuckle and hits a diving crossbody for a two count. Misa picks up Kohgo but Kohgo blocks the suplex attempt, sunset flip by Kohgo but Misa reverses it and the two trade flash pin attempts. Hikari kicks Kohgo in the back before Misa delivers a low crossbody for a two count. Misa goes to the second turnbuckle and hits a diving footstomp, but Kohgo kicks out of the cover. She goes all the way up the next time but Kohgo avoids the footstomp attempt, schoolboy by Kohgo but it gets two as does La Magistral. Kohgo goes off the ropes but Misa dropkicks her, low crossbody by Misa and she hits two more. Cover by Misa, but Kohgo gets a shoulder up. Misa drags up Kohgo and she nails the MARU X MARU Suplex, picking up the three count! Hikari Shimizu and Misa Matsui are the winners.

This match won’t blow anyone away, but it was smartly worked and all four played their parts well. I really enjoyed Misa’s work on her opponents’ back, really any type of body part-focused offense I am going to be fan of if it is done well and they certainly were trying to tell a story. The Hikari/Misa team seemed to be the only one with a path to victory as the Momos weren’t doing much effective, looking mostly for flash pins and what not to try to win. So even though the presentation was a little lopsided, it never got boring over the 15 minutes and there was a definitive winner which I like. For a midcard tag match, they went a little beyond what I was expecting and put on a solid match.  Mildly Recommended

Ami Miura and Tae Honma vs. Rina Amikura and SAKI

Tae and SAKI start the match, SAKI works a headlock but Tae Irish whips out of it and rolls SAKI to the mat. Tae goes for a dropkick but SAKI avoids it, cradle by Tae but it gets two. SAKI picks up Tae but Tae slides away, schoolboy by Tae but that gets two as well. They tag out as Rina and Ami run in, SAKI returns as well and Ami is double teamed. Body press by Rina, but it gets a two count. Rina throws down Ami by the hair and hits a scoop slam, she tags in SAKI and SAKI stomps on Ami. SAKI tags Rina back in, Rina tries to shoulderblock Ami over but Ami stays up. They both try to knock each other over with no luck until Rina finally sends Ami to the mat. Back up they trade chops, Rina chops Ami into the corner but Ami hits a shoulderblock and tags Tae. Tae comes in the ring with a missile dropkick but Rina connects with a body avalanche in the corner followed by a shoulderblock. She goes for a running senton but Tae moves, body press by Tae and Ami jumps on Tae’s back before Ami hits another body press. Cover by Tae, but it gets a two count.

Rina chops Tae and goes off the ropes, but Tae catches her with a Fujiwara Armbar. Rina gets to the ropes for the break, hard shoulderblock by Rina to Tae and she hits a senton. Body press by Rina, but it gets a two count. Rina makes the tag to SAKI, rolling cradle by SAKI but it gets two. SAKI picks up Tae but Tae gets away, knee by SAKI and she puts Tae across the ropes in the corner. Running knee to the midsection by SAKI but Tae hits a running elbow in the other corner followed by a dropkick. Fujiwara Armbar by Tae and she switches it to a double armbar, but SAKI gets a foot on the ropes for the break. Tae goes off the ropes and dropkicks SAKI, she tags in Ami but SAKI boots Ami in the chest. Ami elbows SAKI and the two trade shots, knee by SAKI and she kicks Ami to the mat for two. SAKI goes for a suplex but Tae breaks it up, double Irish whip to SAKI but SAKI fights them both off. SAKI puts Ami in a crab hold, but Ami gets to the ropes for the break.

SAKI goes to the second turnbuckle but Ami rolls out of the way of the Reverse Splash, dropkick by Ami but SAKI blocks the scoop slam and puts Ami in a stretch hold. Rocking Horse by SAKI but Tae breaks it up, Rina comes in but Ami throws SAKI into Rina and hits a dropkick. Tae goes up top and hits a missile dropkick on both opponents, Ami picks up Rina and scoop slams her. Double chop by Ami to SAKI, she picks her up and hits a scoop slam for two. Ami goes to pick up SAKI but SAKI cradles her for two, big boot by SAKI but Tae elbows her in the chest. SAKI boots Tae before Rina hits a somersault senton on her, but Ami dropkicks SAKI. Ami Irish whips SAKI but SAKI blocks it and hits a snap vertical suplex. SAKI positions Ami and goes to the second turnbuckle, nailing the Reverse Splash for the three count! SAKI and Rina Amikura win!

Even though the bulk of this match was fine, something was missing. Unlike the last match there wasn’t really a focus or story told in any way, it was mostly just random action as they didn’t do much to even play up the experience dynamic. Even though SAKI is decent enough there is a reason she is an eight year pro wrestling in the mid-card of AgZ – there is little special about her and some of her offense is lackluster. I couldn’t get a great feel of the less experienced wrestlers but Ami seemed fine, and though I like Tae she didn’t do a whole lot in this match. Overall a perfectly watchable match but one with nothing memorable about it whatsoever as they seemed to just be going through the basic motions for the bulk of it.

(c) Miyuki Takase vs. Kakeru Sekiguchi
AgZ Championship

Kakeru elbows Miyuki instead of shaking her hand, Miyuki avoids her dropkick however and stomps Kakeru in the back. The two trade elbows until Miyuki hits a DDT, Miyuki chops Kakeru into the corner and she delivers a dropkick. Another dropkick by Miyuki and she hits a scoop slam followed by a leg drop for two. Miyuki applies a single leg crab hold but Kakeru gets to the ropes, Miyuki stands on Kakeru’s back but Kakeru elbows her and they trade shots. Kakeru goes for a scoop slam but Miyuki reverses it into one of her own, Miyuki applies a guillotine choke but Kakeru gets out of it and the two end up in the ropes. They both get back up, takedown by Kakeru but Miyuki quickly gets in the dominate position and puts Kakeru in a submission hold. Kakeru quickly gets to the ropes, Miyuki chops Kakeru into the corner and hits a dropkick from the second turnbuckle. Miyuki dives off the second turnbuckle but Kakeru catches her with a Fujiwara Armbar, but Miyuki gets into the ropes. Kakeru twists on Miyuki’s arm and dropkicks her arm from the apron before snapping her arm over the top rope. Kakeru pulls Miyuki out of the ring and throws her into the ring post, Kakeru puts Miyuki’s hand on the apron and jumps down onto Miyuki’s arm.

Kakeru finally slides Miyuki back in but Miyuki pushes her off, scoop slam by Kakeru and she covers Miyuki for two. Kakeru applies an armlock but Miyuki wiggles to the ropes and forces the break. Miyuki elbows Kakeru and the two trade strikes, Kakeru wins the battle and goes to the top turnbuckle, hitting a missile dropkick. Slingshot doublestomp to the arm by Kakeru and she rolls Miyuki to the mat as she goes to the arm, but Miyuki lands too close to the ropes. Kakeru goes off the ropes but Miyuki catches her with a powerslam for two. Miyuki picks up Kakeru but Kakeru slides away and goes for the cross armbreaker, but Miyuki blocks it. Kakeru goes for a choke but Miyuki powerbombs out of it, Miyuki gets Kakeru on her shoulders and hits the Kamikaze. Miyuki goes to the second turnbuckle and hits a diving legdrop, cover by Miyuki but it gets two. Miyuki picks up Kakeru but Kakeru sneaks in a cradle for two, another cradle by Kakeru but that gets a two as well. Judo tosses by Kakeru and she hits a STO, picking up another two count. Kakeru picks up Miyuki and hits another STO, she goes off the ropes but Miyuki catches her with a lariat. Jackhammer by Miyuki, but Kakeru barely gets a shoulder up on the cover. Miyuki comes out of it holding her arm so she is slow to capitalize, Kakeru is up first but Miyuki elbows her against the ropes. Miyuki goes off the ropes and hits a lariat, another lariat by Miyuki and she covers Kakeru for two.

Miyuki picks up Kakeru but Kakeru reverses the Jackhammer attempt into a guillotine choke. Miyuki manages to get a foot on the ropes for the break, Kakeru goes off the ropes and delivers the running STO for two. Kakeru stomps at Miyuki but Miyuki grabs her leg as she tries to go up top, Kakeru finally makes it but Miyuki joins her and hits a series of headbutts. Superplex by Miyuki and she puts Kakeru in a modified headscissors, but Kakeru gets a foot on the ropes. Miyuki picks up Kakeru and lariats her while she is against the ropes, cover by Miyuki but Kakeru barely gets a shoulder up. Miyuki gets Kakeru up and drops he with a Jackhammer, but again Kakeru kicks out. Lariat by Miyuki and she hits another one, but Kakeru reverses the cover into one of her own for two. Kakeru goes off the ropes but Miyuki hits a lariat, she gets Kakeru on her shoulders and hits a Samoan Driver. Miyuki drags Kakeru to her feet and nails the Jackhammer, and she gets the three count! Miyuki Takase wins and retains the championship.

A pretty great match between two quality young wrestlers. Kakeru’s arm work was really well done and Miyuki didn’t (completely) forget about the damage as she’d occasionally signal that it was bothering her throughout the match. Miyuki’s strategy seemed to be lariats and power moves, and the two meshed their two different win strategies together well to make a cohesive match. Nothing they did felt wasted and the 17 minutes went by pretty quickly, it felt like it ended at about the right time. The last few minutes were a bit too big-move-spammy which happens sometimes in title matches, it didn’t put a major damper on the match as a whole but it probably could have been tightened up a bit. Still, a great title match and a fitting conclusion to the event.  Recommended

The post Actwres girl’Z Act In Osaka on 10/18/20 Review appeared first on Joshi City.

Championships Held: None
Tournaments Won: None
Awards Won: None

Notable Matches:

• November 24th, 2020 with Yoshiko Hasagawa vs. Ayano Irie and Yuko Sakurai
• August 13th, 2021 vs. Unagi Sayaka  (title challenge)

Signature Moves:

• Big Boot
• Dropkick

Sample of Matches Reviewed on Joshi City:

• October 18th, 2020 – Ayano Irie and Yuko Sakurai vs. Mai Sakurai and Yoshiko Hasegawa in Actwres girl’Z

In Action:

Big Boot

Back to Marigold Roster

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