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.

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 Nagoya Supreme Fight
Date: January 29th, 2022
Location: Aichi Prefectural Gymnasium in Nagoya, Aichi, Japan
Announced Attendance: 1,306
Broadcast: PPV and Stardom World

For once I am reviewing a recent event! Few promotions can get me to stop what I am doing and watch their shows, but some of these big Stardom cards are too good to miss. Stardom has really elevated themselves to become the undisputed #1 Joshi promotion, its been the case for many years but now its undeniable as they’ve lapped all other promotions both in presentation and the quality of their wrestlers. This is a very complete show, with five title matches. We also get to see some of the new Stardom wrestlers in big matches, as both Thekla and MIRAI battle for championships. There is also a big surprise on this event, but I’ll get to that when it happens. Here is the full card:

• Future Of Stardom Championship: Hanan vs. Lady C
• AZM and Utami Hayashishita vs. Momo Watanabe and Starlight Kid
• SWA Undisputed World Women’s Championship: Mina Shirakawa vs. Thekla
• Goddesses Of Stardom Championship: Hazuki and Koguma vs. Himeka and Maika
• Wonder Of Stardom Championship: Saya Kamitani vs. Unagi Sayaka
• Giulia vs. Mayu Iwatani
• World Of Stardom Championship: Syuri vs. MIRAI

All wrestlers on the show have a profile on Joshi City, you can click on their name above to go to it. I will be reviewing the PPV version of the event, which I assume will be similar to the Stardom World version except that Samurai TV did not broadcast the pre-show match.

(c) Hanan vs. Lady C
Future of Stardom Championship

Maybe Lady C doesn’t have the size advantage, Hanan has gotten tall. They trade wristlocks to start, Hanan works a headlock but Lady C gets out of it and boots Hanan while she is against the ropes. Lady C goes off the ropes but Hanan hits a hip toss, chop by Lady C but Hanan elbows her as the two trade blows. Lady C chops Hanan into the corner, Irish whip by Lady C but Hanan rebounds out of the corner with a diving crossbody. Hanan picks up Lady C but Lady C blocks the double wrist suplex, she doesn’t block it for long however as Hanan hits it anyway for a two count. Chop to the head by Lady C, she picks up Hanan but Hanan blocks the backdrop suplex. Lady C hits a backbreaker instead, cobra clutch backbreaker by Lady C but Hanan gets into the ropes. Lady C goes for a chokeslam but Hanan reverses it into a cross armbreaker takedown. She lets go after a moment and drops Lady C with a STO, bridging fallaway slam by Hanan but Lady C kicks out of the cover. Hanan waits for Lady C to get up but Lady C boots her in the face, chokeslam by Lady C and she covers Hanan for two. Lady C picks up Hanan but Hanan spins away from her and hits a Fameasser. Hanan drags Lady C to her feet and nails a backdrop suplex hold, picking up the three count! Hanan wins and retains the championship.

For an opener involving a less experience wrestler and a child, it was pretty good. They did what they should do in these matches – kept it short with quick action, so the match never dragged or felt like it over-stayed its welcome. Things continue to not go great for Lady C as she is still at the bottom of the pecking order in Stardom, but maybe in 2022 she will finally turn the corner. A perfectly acceptable way to kick off the show.

Before the next match, we get a surprising development as the group Prominence walk down to the ring! Prominence are former Ice Ribbon wrestlers – Suzu Suzuki, Risa Sera, Akane Fujita, Harari Kurumi, and Mochi Miyagi. They have beef with Giulia as Giulia also used to be in Ice Ribbon. Looks like we are getting more excitement in Stardom, this is a great development for Stardom fans (and a sad one for Ice Ribbon fans). Looking forward to see where it goes from here.

AZM and Utami Hayashishita vs. Watanabe and Starlight Kid

Queen’s Quest attacks before the match starts and isolate Momo, double teaming her while the referee looks unconcerned. AZM stays in as the legal wrestler, she grabs Momo’s hair but Momo returns the favor before elbowing her. Kick to the chest by Momo and she dropkicks AZM in the corner, Momo goes to charge in again but AZM catches her with a dropkick. Side slam by Momo but AZM avoids the Punt and kicks Momo in the head. AZM tags Utami, Utami picks up Momo and delivers a scoop slam. Stomps by Utami, she goes off the ropes but Momo hits a dropkick and tags Starlight Kid. Starlight Kid throws Utami into the corner but Utami fires out with a hard shoulderblock, Irish whip by Utami but Starlight Kid hits a spinning headscissors. AZM kicks Starlight Kid from the apron and comes in the ring to help, but Starlight Kid fights off the both of them, ending with a double dropkick. Starlight Kid goes back to Utami and hits a standing moonsault, picking up a two count. Starlight Kid tags Momo, kick by Momo to Utami but Utami elbows her. Momo elbows Utami back but Utami catches her kick and hits a Samoan Drop. Utami goes for a sliding lariat but Momo kicks her arm away and hits a Buzzsaw Kick.

Momo charges Utami but Utami drops her with a release German, Momo recovers quickly and plants Utami with a Tequila Sunrise. Both wrestlers slowly crawl to their corners and tag out, Starlight Kid dropkicks AZM and the two trade elbows. Utami runs in and dropkicks Starlight Kid but Ruaka gets involved from the floor, AZM gets rid of Ruaka before hitting a swandive dropkick on Starlight Kid. Starlight Kid gets away from AZM but Utami re-appears and they deliver the 3D. AZM goes to the top turnbuckle and nails a diving footstomp, but Momo breaks up the cover. AZM picks up Starlight Kid but Starlight Kid avoids La Mistica and pushes AZM into the referee. Dropkick by AZM (into the referee again) and AZM applies the Azumi Sushi but the referee isn’t around to make the count. Rina runs in and elbows AZM, Death and Saki also come in and everyone attacks AZM. Fisherman Driver by Ruaka to AZM, Utami comes in to try to even the odds but eats a double dropkick. Starlight Kid goes to the top turnbuckle and hits the swivel body press, the referee is finally back but Utami breaks up the cover. Starlight Kid picks up AZM but AZM gets away and applies the Azumi Sushi, but Momo breaks it up. Momo picks up AZM and with Starlight Kid’s help she hits a side slam, Momo puts AZM on the top turnbuckle before Starlight Kid climbs up as well. Spanish Fly by Starlight Kid, and she covers AZM for the three count! Starlight Kid and Momo Watanabe are the winners!

For where it as on the card, the match layout made sense. I’m not a huge fan of referee bumps or one faction helping while the other does not, but at this point they are still just re-enforcing the feud. I suspect it is far from over. Starlight Kid continues to amaze, loved her using the Spanish Fly, and the match was very fast paced which kept it interesting. While the general match structure isn’t my personal favorite, there is no denying these four have great chemistry and will likely be battling against each other in some capacity for years to come.  Mildly Recommended

Mina Shirakawa vs. Thekla
SWA Undisputed World Women’s Championship

Thekla mocks Mina to start, which Mina doesn’t like as she kicks Thekla in the chest. Thekla goes off the ropes, Mina rolls her to the mat but Thekla avoids her dropkick and they end up in a posing stalemate. Mina quickly delivers a sliding dropkick and kicks at Thekla, but Thekla twists herself in the ropes when Mina goes for an Irish whip. Thekla avoids Mina’s charge and jaws with her as Mina stands outside the ring. Thekla goes out after her but Mina slides back in and they reach another stalemate. Thekla kicks Mina in the chest, Mina returns to her feet and they trade elbows. Thekla chops Mina in the chest, Irish whip by Thekla but Mina ducks the lariat and hits a jumping double chop. Thekla is up first but Mina elbows her in the corner, jumping lariat by Mina and she covers Thekla for two. Mina picks up Thekla but Thekla drops her with a hammerlock DDT. Thekla applies a facelock but Mina gets into the ropes for the break.

Double underhook by Thekla but Mina blocks the suplex, Thekla goes off the ropes but Mina levels her with a roaring elbow. Suplex by Mina, and she covers Thekla for two. Mina goes up top and delivers a diving elbow strike, roaring elbow to the back by Mina and she puts Thekla’s feet on the top turnbuckle before hitting a DDT. Cover by Mina, but Thekla barely kicks out. Mina goes for an elevated DDT but Thekla blocks it, elbow by Mina but Thekla crawls under her next attack and hits a spear. Mina quickly returns with a Lou Thesz Press, but it gets two. Backfist to the back by Mina, she picks up Thekla and nails the elevated DDT, but Thekla gets a shoulder up on the pin. Mina picks up Thekla but Thekla gets away, high kick by Thekla and she delivers a double underhook slam for a two count. Thekla picks up Mina, Mina gets out of her grasp but Thekla kicks her in the head. Back up, Thekla sets up Mina and nails the Toxic Spider Death Drop for the three count! Thekla wins and is the new champion!

Not the longest title match, but it was pretty entertaining. A short match was probably the smart way to go, as Thekla continues to get used to her new surroundings and Mina isn’t known for twenty minute plus matches anyway. They did a little bit of ‘showmanship’ as that was part of the build-up for the match, but once they got down to it they didn’t let that distract from the match overall. Thekla has some unique high impact offense and brings something different to Stardom, hopefully since she now has a belt they will be featuring her on future events. A solid mid-card title match, not long enough to leave too much of an impression but fun to watch.  Mildly Recommended

(c) Hazuki and Koguma vs. Himeka and Maika
Goddesses of Stardom Championship

Koguma does her cub poses to start the match, she gets Maika to join in but then schoolboys her for a two count. Himeka comes in the ring to help Maika get the advantage, Maika throws Koguma into the corner and chokes her with her boot. Maika tags Himeka and she does the same, scoop slam by Himeka and she hits a second one for a two count. Himeka tags Maika, scoop slam by Maika and she drops Koguma with another one. Himeka returns as the legal wrestler as she slams Koguma again before putting her in a Camel Clutch. Himeka lets go and goes off the ropes, but Koguma hits a drop toehold followed by a dropkick. This gives her time to tag Hazuki, Codebreaker by Hazuki and she knocks Maika off the apron. Back to Himeka, Hazuki hits a running elbow in the corner followed by a missile dropkick off the second turnbuckle for a two count. Hazuki quickly transitions to crossface but Maika breaks it up, Hazuki fights off both of them before hitting Himeka with some bootscrapes. Running boot by Hazuki and she hits a running senton for a two count.

She applies an armtrap chinlock but Himeka wiggles to the ropes to force a break. Hazuki goes to the apron and goes for a swandive move, but Himeka blocks it and knocks her down with a shoulderblock. Himeka tags Maika, Maika hits a hard shoulderblock of her own but Koguma dropkicks her. Backstabber by Hazuki and she hits an assisted Codebreaker on Maika for a two count. They trade elbows once they return to their feet, Himeka runs in to cut off Hazuki and DDM hit her with a double sliding lariat. Himeka leaves while Maika dropkicks Hazuki, but Hazuki fires back with a pump kick and both wrestlers are down on the mat. Hazuki tags in Koguma, Koguma goes for a few cradle pins but each one gets a two count. Himeka gets Koguma on her shoulders but Koguma slides off, dropkick by Koguma and she stands on Himeka’s back near the ropes. Koguma puts Himeka in the corner but Himeka avoids her charge and hits a body avalanche. Backbreaker by Himeka and she applies a single leg crab hold, but Hazuki breaks it up. Himeka picks up Koguma and gets her on her shoulders in an Argentine Backbreaker, but Hazuki re-appears and hits a swandive missile dropkick on Himeka.

Koguma kicks Himeka out of the ring, Hazuki then gets a running start in it and dives out onto both Himeka and Maika with a tope suicida. Hazuki slides Himeka back in while Koguma goes to the top turnbuckle and hits a missile dropkick. Waistlock by Koguma but Himeka spins out of it, release German by Koguma but Maika breaks up the cover. Hazuki picks up Himeka and with Koguma she hits an assisted cutter, both Koguma and Hazuki go to the top turnbuckle but Maika runs in and joins her. With Himeka’s help she superplexes them both down to the mat, Himeka goes off the ropes and hits a sliding lariat on Koguma for two. Himeka gets Koguma on her shoulders and drives her into the mat, but Hazuki breaks up the cover. Himeka goes off the ropes and turns Koguma inside out with a lariat, but when she goes for the cover, Koguma applies a small package hold for the three count! Hazuki and Koguma win and retain the championships.

This match was very very good but something didn’t click to make it feel like a title match. I am always a bit more… picky I guess with title matches, there should be something that elevates a match from “normal midcard tag match” to “title match” and this match really didn’t have that. Which isn’t to say it wasn’t well worked – Himeka and Maika are treasures and Hazuki hasn’t missed a beat. Koguma’s ring-style isn’t as serious and at times it didn’t mesh with what everyone else was doing, she didn’t seem fully out of place but I found myself enjoying the match more when Hazuki was the legal wrestler. That being said, DDM are so good at what they do that I found the action itself quite enjoyable, I could watch Himeka and Maika beat up people all day. Overall a solid match, even if it never really got to the next level before it suddenly ended.  Mildly Recommended

(c) Saya Kamitani vs. Unagi Sayaka
Wonder of Stardom Championship

Unagi wants to shake hands to start but Saya backs away from her instead, they tie-up and Saya gets Unagi into the ropes. She gives a clean break but slaps Unagi after Unagi charges in, kick by Saya and she works a headlock. Unagi Irish whips out of it and hits an armdrag, she goes for a leg drop but Saya moves. Back on their feet, big boot by Unagi but Saya returns to her feet and the two trade elbows. Headlock by Unagi but Saya drives her into the corner, Unagi avoids her charge however and hits a running elbow. Saya fires back with a dropkick, she picks up Unagi and clubs on her back. Snapmare by Saya and she applies a chinlock, but Unagi gets a foot on the ropes for the break. Saya picks up Unagi and puts her head over the second rope, she goes out to the apron and kicks Unagi repeatedly in the head. Saya returns to the ring and covers Unagi, but it gets a two count. Saya picks up Unagi, Saya challenges Unagi so Unagi hits her with a series of elbows. Saya absorbs them and knocks Unagi back to the mat, Saya goes off the ropes but Unagi drops her on the top rope with a Stun Gun.

Unagi goes out of the ring and pulls Saya’s head over the apron before hitting a cyclone DDT down to the floor. Unagi slides Saya back into the ring, jawbreaker by Unagi and she slams Saya face-first into the mat. Unagi tries to get Saya on her back but Saya blocks it, Unagi gets Saya in the corner but Saya avoids her charge and hits a hurricanrana. Unagi falls out of the ring, Saya goes to the ropes and dives down onto Unagi with a springboard plancha. Saya goes for a suplex out on the floor but Unagi reverses it into a DDT, Unagi waits for Saya to get up and they trade elbows. Unagi gets Saya up in the Gory Special (still on the floor) before dropping Saya onto the apron. Unagi returns to the ring with Saya following, Unagi applies a Dragon Sleeper but Saya inches to the ropes and makes it for the break. Unagi goes off the ropes but Saya catches her with a dropkick, Unagi catches Saya with an elbow but Saya delivers a spinning heel kick. Pump Kick by Saya and she connects with a second one for a two count cover. Saya goes to the top turnbuckle but Unagi recovers and elbows her off, sending Saya to the apron. Unagi drags Saya over the top rope and hits a cyclone DDT back into the ring, both wrestlers are slow to recover and start trading elbows while on their knees.

They keep it up as they return to their feet, Saya sends Unagi to the mat with a hard elbow before dropkicking her in the back of the head. Saya goes to the top turnbuckle, hitting a missile dropkick to Unagi’s back. Saya picks up Unagi and delivers the fisherman suplex hold, but Unagi kicks out of the cover. Saya picks up Unagi but Unagi quickly hits the Sister Abigail for a two count. Unagi picks up Saya, boot by Unagi but Saya boots her back. Saya schoolboys Unagi and keeps the hold applied as she hits a bridging suplex hold for a two count. Saya tries to go to the turnbuckles but Unagi grabs her leg, Saya stomps herself free and starts climbing again but Unagi grabs her from behind and slams Saya to the mat. Unagi positions Saya and goes to the top turnbuckle, nailing a diving body press for a two count. Unagi picks up Saya but Saya snaps off a hurricanrana, picking up two. Saya hits a spinning heel kick, she picks up Unagi and they struggle for control until Saya plants Unagi with a fisherman driver for a two count. Saya positions Unagi and goes to the top turnbuckle, nailing the Phoenix Splash for the three count! Saya Kamitani wins and retains the championship.

Considering the participants and the length of the match, this probably went about as well as it could have. Both wrestlers are still relatively early in their careers in regards to in-ring minutes (especially in big singles matches), and if you look close you can sometimes tell as some of the transitions were iffy and there was more dead time here than in the last few matches. They struggled at times ending offensive strings with the right person getting the best of it (for example, Unagi knocking Saya to the mat but Saya being up first and on offense), as they had the match planned but maybe not every connection to all the dots. But the effort was certainly there, and unlike the last match this *felt* like a title match. Whether it was the big moves or the “fighting spirit” shown by both, they presented the match as high stakes which can make a match seem better than maybe it really was. This probably won’t end up being a highly remembered title defense by Saya, but likely an important one for her growth as she makes the shift to being a major player in the promotion. Mildly Recommended

Giulia vs. Mayu Iwatani

They trade holds to start, Mayu gets a guillotine choke applied but Giulia gets out of it and Mayu ends up rolling out of the ring to ponder things. She returns after a moment and they trade wristlocks, headlock by Giulia but Mayu Irish whips out of it. Hard shoulderblock by Giulia, she goes off the ropes but Mayu hits a side headlock takedown. They end up at a stalemate and reset, kick by Mayu and she hits a jumping back elbow. Mayu picks up Giulia and flings her by the hair, kick to the back by Mayu and she applies a headscissors. Giulia gets to the ropes for the break, Mayu picks up Giulia and drops her with a cutter. Cover by Mayu, but it gets two. Head kick by Mayu, she sets up Giulia in the ropes and yanks down on her hair. Dropkick by Mayu and she covers Giulia for two. Mayu throws Giulia into the corner, Irish whip by Mayu and she delivers a dropkick. Mayu goes off the ropes and drills Giulia in the chest with another dropkick, Giulia falls out of the ring and Mayu goes to do a dive but Mayu hits her in the head with an umbrella. Mayu ends up hanging from the second rope so Giulia takes advantage and applies a neck crank. Mayu elbows out of it but Giulia gets back in the ring and kicks Mayu in the head. Dropkick by Giulia and she puts Mayu in a STF.

She switches it to an armbar but Mayu gets to the ropes, Giulia picks up Mayu and elbows her in the arm. Giulia keeps working over Mayu’s arm with a variety of strikes and submissions, scoop slams by Giulia and she covers Mayu for two. Giulia mushes Mayu in the face with her boot before kicking her in the ribs, Giulia picks up Mayu and throws her into the corner. Irish whip by Giulia, reversed, but Giulia sits Mayu on the top turnbuckle and suplexes her to the mat for a two count. Giulia charges Mayu in the corner but Mayu moves and delivers a dropkick, both wrestlers are slow to recover and end up trading running elbows once they return to their feet. Superkick by Mayu and she delivers a double wrist armsault for two. Back up, superkick by Mayu and she goes to the top turnbuckle. Giulia avoids her dive, Mayu lands on her feet but Giulia puts her in an Octopus Hold. Mayu slams her way out of it and superkicks Giulia, sending Giulia out of the ring. Mayu gets a running start and tries to dive out onto Giulia with a tope suicida, but Giulia moves and Mayu ends up landing on her STARS teammates instead. Giulia grabs Mayu but Mayu punches her off and they trade elbows. Giulia gets the better of things, the referee tries to get her to stop but she pushes him to the ground and then catapults off his back with a dropkick. Giulia picks up Mayu and gets her on her shoulders for the Glorious Buster, but Mayu reverses positions with her and goes for a tombstone.

Giulia gets away but Mayu superkicks her, head kick by Mayu and she plants Giulia on the floor with the tombstone piledriver. Mayu gets back in the ring but Giulia grabs her from the floor and brings her back outside with a neckbreaker. Giulia and Mayu both barely make the count as they slide back in the ring, headbutts by Giulia but Mayu avoids her charge and goes for a schoolboy. Giulia blocks it and hits a release German, but Mayu springs up and hits a release German of her own. They both hit another German suplex before collapsing to the mat, they slowly return to their feet and Mayu drills Giulia with a jumping kick. Mayu gets on the second turnbuckle and hits a missile dropkick, cover by Mayu but it gets two. Mayu picks up Giulia and delivers a dragon suplex hold, but Giulia gets a shoulder up. Mayu goes to the top turnbuckle but Giulia gets her feet up on the moonsault attempt, Giulia applies a triangle choke but Mayu gets her foot on the bottom rope. Giulia goes to the top turnbuckle and hits a missile dropkick, cover by Giulia but it gets two.

Giulia puts Mayu in the Stealth Viper, but Mayu is too close to the ropes and makes it for the break. Giulia picks up Mayu and hits a Falcon Arrow, but Mayu rolls through it for a two count cradle. Giulia waits for Mayu to get to her knees and hits a sliding kick, she picks up Mayu and drops her with a wrist-clutch backdrop suplex. Giulia picks up Mayu and knees her right in the head, cover by Giulia but it gets two. Giulia picks up Mayu but Mayu reverses the Glorious Driver attempt into a Dodonpa for two. Giulia goes to the top turnbuckle but Mayu recovers and joins her, Giulia puts Mayu in a guillotine choke but has to let her go. Mayu re-joins Giulia before she can do anything, this time sending Giulia off with a Frankensteiner. Giulia falls out of the ring, Mayu goes to the top turnbuckle and dives out onto her with a plancha suicida. Mayu slides Giulia back in, she goes to the second turnbuckle and hits a moonsault. She then goes all the way up top and delivers another moonsault, but Giulia kicks out of the cover. Blood is gushing from Giulia’s chin, she goes into a rage but Mayu is saved from her wrath as the bell rings as 30 minutes has expired. The match is a Draw.

Due to the Draw, both Giulia and Mayu will get a title shot, one on the 26th and one on the 27th. I imagine this was always the plan, for Giulia and Mayu to walk out with title challenges, they just had to go about it a different way than they thought. Anyway, this match was great. It had a few hiccups and Giulia’s early arm work was quickly forgotten, but considering they had to plan a 30 minute match with very little time I’m impressed with what they came up with. Giulia is an underrated suplex thrower as she was just planting Mayu, and Mayu is still one of the best sellers in wrestling as she made everything Giulia did look extra painful. The last ten minutes or so were fire, as they just traded big moves with barely taking a moment to catch their breath. Hard hitting and exciting, this won’t go down as a MOTYC due to the slow and at times somewhat awkward beginning but the end more than made up for it, a really entertaining match between two fantastic wrestlers.  Highly Recommended

(c) Syuri vs. MIRAI
World of Stardom Championship

They start slow as they size each other up, Syuri gets MIRAI into the corner but MIRAI drives her back into the opposite corner before giving a clean break. Syuri quickly gets MIRAI to the mat and goes for an armbreaker, MIRAI gets out of it and they jockey for position. Syuri lets MIRAI up after a moment and they square off, drop toehold by Syuri and she applies a waistlock. MIRAI gets out of that too, Syuri goes for MIRAI’s leg but eventually they end up in another stalemate and return to their feet. Side headlock by Syuri, MIRAI Irish whips out of it and stands strong when Syuri goes for a shoulderblock. They trade shoulderblocks until Syuri kicks MIRAI, snapmare by Syuri but MIRAI ducks the PK and cradles Syuri for two. MIRAI bounces off the ropes a few times and knocks Syuri off her feet with a shoulderblock, leading to Syuri rolling out of the ring to regroup. MIRAI goes after Syuri but Syuri re-enters the ring, forcing MIRAI to come back to her. She does so, armdrag by Syuri and she applies an armbar but MIRAI gets to the ropes. Syuri picks up MIRAI and throws her into the corner, choking her with her boot. Irish whip by Syuri, reversed, but Syuri avoids her charge and knees MIRAI in the stomach. Running knee by Syuri and she covers MIRAI for two. Sleeper by Syuri but MIRAI wiggles to the ropes to force the break.

Suplex by Syuri, she sits up MIRAI and kicks her repeatedly in the back. Syuri nudges MIRAI with her foot and stomps her before picking her up, Syuri goes off the ropes but MIRAI catches her with a scoop slam. MIRAI goes off the ropes and hits a shoulderblock, two more shoulderblocks by MIRAI and she covers Syuri for two. MIRAI goes to the top turnbuckle and hits a missile dropkick, she picks up Syuri and trips her to get her to the mat. MIRAI applies a kneelock but Syuri kicks her off, Syuri applies a front necklock before putting MIRAI’s legs on the top rope and hitting a DDT. MIRAI rolls out of the ring, Syuri goes to the apron but MIRAI catches her kick attempt and pulls Syuri out with her. MIRAI picks up Syuri and gets her on her shoulder before slamming Syuri hard to the floor. MIRAI slides Syuri back into the ring, she goes to the second turnbuckle and hits a senton for a two count. MIRAI picks up Syuri but Syuri gets away, kicks by Syuri but MIRAI elbows her in the chest. Head kick by Syuri, MIRAI elbows her back and the two trade shots. Knees by Syuri, she goes off the ropes but MIRAI hits another elbow followed by a shoulderblock. Boot to the face by Syuri and she hits a Codebreaker, leading to both wrestlers being down on the mat. Syuri recovers first but MIRAI ducks her head kick, waistlock by MIRAI but Syuri elbows out of it. Mid-kick by Syuri and she kicks MIRAI in the chest a few more times, but MIRAI eventually catches one and elbows Syuri in the leg. Elbows by MIRAI but Syuri elbows her back, leading to another exchange. Syuri eventually boots MIRAI in the head to send her to the mat, stomps by Syuri but MIRAI fires back with elbows.

More elbows by MIRAI while in the mount and she goes for Syuri’s arm, but Syuri blocks it and gets MIRAI in a seated armbar. MIRAI is too close to the ropes and gets a boot on one for the break, Syuri gets MIRAI on her shoulders and delivers the double knee gutbuster for two. Syuri goes to the top turnbuckle but MIRAI recovers and joins her, suplexing Syuri back down to the mat. MIRAI picks up Syuri and slams her back down, she goes off the ropes and hits a hard lariat for a two count. MIRAI picks up Syuri and hits a hammerlock bridging suplex, she applies the Miramare but Syuri eventually gets to the ropes for the break. MIRAI gets Syuri on her shoulders but Syuri slides off, hitting a release German. MIRAI blocks Syuri’s next strike attempt, she lifts Syuri into a side slam and gets a two count cover. MIRAI gets Syuri on her back in a stretch submission before dropping her to the mat, lariat by MIRAI and she hits a Samoan Driver for a two count. MIRAI picks up Syuri and goes off the ropes, but Syuri catches her with a high kick. MIRAI fires back with a lariat but Syuri hits a running knee, Syuri kicks out of MIRAI’s flash pin and picks her up but MIRAI slides away and hits a series of elbows. Syuri connects with a kick to get back in control, Buzzsaw Kick by Syuri but MIRAI barely kicks out of the cover. Backfists by Syuri and she delivers a high kick, she gets MIRAI on her shoulders and nails the Red World (Death Valley Bomb) for the three count! Syuri wins and retains the championship!

I appreciate the effort here by both women but this really shouldn’t have been the main event of a PPV. I mentioned in the last event I reviewed that I really prefer main events not have such a skill/experience gap as while upsets do happen, its rarely one of this magnitude and it never really felt like MIRAI had a chance. The match was also too long which is another side effect of it being the main event, they could have told the same basic story and snipped ten minutes from it. MIRAI looked good and they had surprisingly good chemistry, which does speak well of her as Syuri matches can be a little awkward if the pairing doesn’t work. Very strike and submission based, both of which they executed well even if it went too long which forced them to repeat moves a lot. If this was in the Saya/Unagi spot and was more condensed, this could have been a high end match, however as presented it was entertaining but lacked the excitement one would hope for in the headlining spot. Mildly Recommended

The post Stardom Nagoya Supreme Fight on 1/29/22 Review appeared first on Joshi City.

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

Notable Matches:

• None

Signature Moves:

• Backdrop Suplex
• Dropkick
• Lariat

Sample of Matches Reviewed on Joshi City:

• None

In Action:

Coming Soon

Back to Marigold Roster

The post MIRAI appeared first on Joshi City.

Full Photobook Details

Title: ビジュアルショックス!! (Visual Shocks!! Sexy Queens Shots in Women’s Pro-Wrestling) Sakura Mook 70
Release: June 18th, 2004
Pages: 96
Cost: ¥1,575 (at release in 2004)
Where to Buy: Currently Unavailable

While in 2019 we are used to the Stardom-style of photobooks, this mook (magazine + book, as the name implies it is between the size you’d expect from a magazine and a book) is quite different. To start, the following wrestlers are featured in the mook:

• Kana
• Michiko Omukai
• Mika Nishio
• Mirai
• Sachie Abe
• Emi Tojo

All six wrestlers had about the same number of photos in the mook, and in addition to the wrestler photos there are also about six pages with interviews. The whole mook is in color and full-sized, however it is soft-cover like a magazine. The pictures inside are, I think most would agree, less “appropriate” than the photos seen in the photobooks released today. There is still no nudity (although some may think Michiko Omukai is straddling the line), however there are a lot of “crotch” pictures included for each wrestler. Many zoomed in to ensure that is the only part of the body one could reasonably look at by looking at the photo. These photos may make some uncomfortable, but luckily there are photos for each wrestler that do not follow the crotch-focused theme.

The bigger deal with this mook is it is the first time that Kana was involved in any gravure-style pictures, and the only release of hers before her retirement in 2005. Kana had 12 photos in the book so she is well represented, and its a unique peek back into her past. She was well over 18 at the time of the photobook, as was everyone involved, so no issues there as I know that is a concern for many Western fans. Overall just for that purpose this is a mook I’d recommend tracking down if you are a collector of such things, but just keep in mind that its not something you’d want to leave on the coffee table if company was coming over. Below is a sample of the photos, to keep the website at least somewhat SFW, I did not include the more risque pictures:

The post Visual Shocks!! (ビジュアルショックス!!) Sakura Mook 70 Review appeared first on Joshi City.

Time to review a new promotion! Major Girl’s Fighting AtoZ (short for “ARISON to Zenjo”) was a short-lived wrestling promotion that ran shows from 2003 to 2006. ARISON was a popular Joshi promotion that went out of business in 2003, it was taken over by Yumiko Hotta who changed the name to AtoZ. “Zenjo” was a nickname for AJW, which is where Hotta originally wrestled, hence the name. Anyway, Hotta led the promotion with Mariko Yoshida, and current Stardom boss Rossy Ogawa was involved backstage as well. The promotion did not have a lot of its own contracted wrestlers but did have a world title, and also was the starting place for many future stars including Arisa Nakajima and Kana/Asuka. Finding information on the shows is difficult as they were one of many smaller Joshi promotions at the time, but I’ll do the best I can to gather the information available.

I picked this event to review for two reasons. First, it is the earliest recorded match I could find in Kana’s career, as she just debuted the month prior in AtoZ. Second, this was a major show for the promotion as it had a number of big singles matches, a retirement road match, and what may be a classic main event. Here is the full card:

• Bullfighter Sora vs. Ofune
• Flesh Girl’s Fighting: Kana vs. Natsumi Mizushima
• Battle of J-Connection: Sachie Abe and Teruko Kagawa vs. The Bloody and Maru
• Rie Tamada Retirement Road 3rd: Rie Tamada, GAMI, and PIKO vs. Azumi Hyuga, Yoshiko Tamura, and Misae Genki
• Future Manifest: Mirai vs. Saki Maemura
• Revive Violence: Amazing Kong vs. Mima Shimoda
• Battle of A-Connection: Leona vs. Mariko Yoshida
• Battle of Z-Connection: Mika Nishio vs. Takako Inoue
• CLIMAX: Momoe Nakanishi and Nanae Takahashi vs. Yumiko Hotta and Kumiko Maekawa

They somehow squeezed all this into a two hour show, so I think it is safe to assume there will be clipping. Hopefully not in the matches I want to see the most.

Bullfighter Sora vs. Ofune

The match is Joined in Progress with Sora body blocking Ofune, but Ofune kicks out of the cover. Sora goes up top but Ofune shakes the ropes and Sora falls out of the ring. She returns after a moment, tornado DDT by Ofune but the cover gets two. Ofune chops Sora but Sora headbutts her, vertical suplex by Sora and she covers Ofune for another two count. Sora runs up the corner and goes for a diving elbow but Ofune moves, Ofune goes up top and hits a diving knee strike for two. Ofune picks up Sora but Sora hits a backdrop suplex, Ofune quickly rolls up Sora and she gets the three count! Ofune wins the match.

As I figured, pretty clipped, but at least the ending stretch was all shown in full instead of just doing random cuts. Ofune was a rather beloved wrestler the few years she was around so its always fun to see her, but not enough was shown to be memorable.

Kana vs. Natsumi Mizushima

Kana and Mizushima get right into it as the bell rings, trading elbows until Mizushima throws down Kana by the hair. Kana boots Mizushima and dropkicks her, snapmares by Kana and she starts working on Mizushima’s arm. Mizushima gets away and dropkicks Kana, knees by Mizushima but Kana hits mounted elbows. Mizushima returns fire and headbutts Kana before throwing her down by the hair, modified Camel Clutch by Mizushima  but Kana applies a backslide for two. Dropkick by Kana, she picks up Mizushima and dropkicks her into the corner before dropkicking her some more. Mizushima finally is tired of being dropkicked and headbutts Kana in the gut, she goes up top but Kana pulls her back into the ring. Hip attack by Kana and she hits another one, they trade chops until Mizushima hits a scoop slam. Mizushima gets on the second turnbuckle and hits a diving headbutt, cover by Mizushima but it gets a two count. Mizushima picks up Kana but Kana sneaks in a schoolboy for two, Irish whip by Kana but Mizushima applies a backslide. Mizushima goes up top but Kana joins her, Mizushima headbutts Kana back to the mat and hits a diving headbutt for the three count! Natsumi Mizushima is the winner.

They actually showed the bulk of this match as only a couple minutes were clipped. This was a really solid match considering both were rookies, both showed fire with their strikes and the action was pretty smooth. I won’t say the obnoxious “from watching this match it is no surprise both turned out to be big stars” as that would be silly, but I will say that both showed a natural ability early in their careers. A fun match.  Mildly Recommended

Sachie Abe and Teruko Kagawa vs. The Bloody and Maru

Bloody and Abe start the match for their teams and quickly end up in a strike battle, Abe elbows Bloody into the corner but Bloody kicks her in the head. Abe gets back in control and hits mounted elbows on Bloody, but Bloody hits a release German suplex. Abe dropkicks Bloody and throws her into the corner, Bloody jumps up onto the second turnbuckle but Abe joins her. Bloody stretches Abe on the top turnbuckle, she lets go after a moment and Abe hits a springboard elbow followed by a missile dropkick for a two count. Abe gets on the top turnbuckle but Bloody avoids the diving body press, Bloody boots Abe but Abe flips her out to the apron before kicking her out of the ring. Abe goes out after her while Kagawa gets on the top turnbuckle and dives out of the ring onto Bloody. Abe then goes up top and dives out onto Bloody and Maru, Bloody is slid back into the ring and Abe hits a diving victory roll for a two count. Snap dragon suplexes by Bloody to Abe, she kicks Abe in the head before tagging in Maru. This quickly backfires as Abe applies quick flash pins for two, Abe puts Maru in the Victory A Clutch and Maru has no choice but to submit! Abe and Kagawa are the winners.

While I love me some Bloody, the match was too short and random. I am assuming the end was clipped and Maru wasn’t literally pinned 30 seconds after getting into the ring, I’ll forgive the oddness of the layout if it wasn’t the wrestlers’ fault. Abe and Bloody both looked good with their high spots, but we didn’t get to see much from Kagawa and Maru. Just too clipped to be good.

Rie Tamada, GAMI, and PIKO vs. Azumi Hyuga, Yoshiko Tamura, and Misae Genki

Tamada and Hyuga are the first two in, after some shenanigans dealing with GAMI things settle down with Hyuga being triple beamed in a comedic way. For a ‘Retirement Road” match this one didn’t start overly serious. GAMI puts Tamura in a crab hold, they do the thing where someone at ringside grabs GAMI’s arm to provide extra pressure but they do it in a chain all the way into the crowd and up into the balcony. GAMI eventually lets go, PIKO goes for a dive out of the ring but Misae and Tamura catch her before sliding her back into the ring. Tamada and Hyuga end up in the ring, tornado DDT by Tamada and she tags in PIKO. PIKO applies an armbar before rolling up Hyuga, and we clip ahead to Tamada being in the ring with Misae. Release German by Tamada, and we clip ahead again to Tamada and GAMI double teaming Hyuga. PIKO comes in too and they triple team Misae in the corner, Frankensteiner by GAMI and PIKO hits a diving hurricanrana. German suplex hold by Tamada, but the cover gets broken up. Tamada goes for another suplex but Misae blocks it, Tamada goes off the rope but Misae catches her with a chokeslam. Tamura runs in and elbows Tamada, G-Driver by Misae and she covers Tamada for a two count. Misae picks up Tamada but Tamada ducks the discus lariat and hits a German suplex hold for two. GAMI tries to help but it backfires, another G-Driver by Misae and she gets the three count! Azumi Hyuga, Yoshiko Tamura, and Misae Genki are the winners.

Too odd of a match for my personal tastes, when matches try to be a hybrid of comedy and straight up wrestling it tends to not really work out. The clipping didn’t help of course, as if there was any type of structure to it we wouldn’t know from the way the match aired. I liked Misae Genki a lot and appreciated she took the match back to a more serious level, but I was hoping for a bit more in one of Rie Tamada’s last wrestling matches.

Mirai vs. Saki Maemura

They lock knuckles which the much taller Mirai easily gets the better of, Mirai takes down Maemura with a headlock but Maemura quickly reverses it. Mirai gets in the mount and rains down elbows while Maemura applies a bodyscissors, Mirai chokes Maemura to get her to release the hold before hitting a pair of jumping lariats. Back up they trade strikes, atomic drop by Mirai and she hits the Giant Swing on her smaller opponent. Bridging scoop suplex by Mirai, she goes up top but Maemura ducks the diving crossbody. Maemura dropkicks Mirai out of the ring, she gets out on the apron and hits a missile dropkick. She then goes up to the top turnbuckle and delivers a diving plancha, she slides Mirai back in before going back up top and hitting a missile dropkick. Diving body press by Maemura, but Mirai kicks out of the cover. Mirai elbows out of the German and chops Maemura, Maemura slaps her however and hits a release fisherman suplex. Hard chop to the chest by Mirai and she applies an Octopus Hold before rolling Maemura to the mat while keeping it applied, but Maemura gets a foot onto the ropes. Mirai quick re-applies it, she lets go after a moment and goes for a scoop slam, but Maemura reverses it into a roll-up. Mirai chops Maemura into the corner but Maemura ducks one and hits a release German suplex, fisherman suplex hold by Maemura and she picks up the three count! Saki Maemura wins the match.

This was a really fun match, I enjoy watching two young wrestlers that have passion for wrestling going non-stop with a variety of strikes and suplexes. Mirai used her height and size advantage well, winning a few exchanges with it, but Maemura was too slick to keep down and her high flying moves helped make the difference. A bit clipped but a good percentage of it was shown, no real complaints as it was an entertaining match bell to bell.  Mildly Recommended

Amazing Kong vs. Mima Shimoda

Shimoda attacks Kong before the match starts and the streamers fly, pink streamers are literally everywhere as Kong and Shimoda battle at ringside. Kong takes Shimoda into the crowd and throws her around before they return to the ring, she goes for a powerbomb but Shimoda reverses it with a back bodydrop. Kong fires back with a lariat, Shimoda drives Kong into the corner but Kong avoids he charge and nails a Buckle Bomb. Shimoda takes back over with kicks to the back of Kong’s head, Shimoda stomps down Kong in the corner and takes her out of the ring before assaulting her with chairs. Shimoda slides some chairs in the ring and brings Kong in with her, Shimoda throws Kong onto the chair pile and goes up top, hitting a diving footstomp onto Kong. Kong blocks the slam attempt and lands on top of Shimoda, and we get a good shot of Shimoda’s face which at some point got busted up all the hell. Shimoda goes up top but Kong pushes her out of the ring to the floor, Kong goes out after her and takes her up onto the balcony (Joshi promotions during this time period loved the balcony at Yokohama Cultural Gymnasium), she tries to throw Shimoda off of it but Shimoda hangs on by the railing.

Kong goes back down to the floor to try to pull Shimoda off the railing, but Shimoda kicks Kong away and with help drops down to the floor unscathed. Kong isn’t on the defense for long and she rolls Shimoda into the ring before going to get a table, she sets up the table at ringside before continuing to toss Shimoda around the floor. Kong brings Shimoda up onto the apron and tries to powerbomb her through the table, but she partially misses it and Shimoda barely touches it before going straight down to the floor. Somehow she isn’t injured, she gets on the apron but Kong lariats her from inside the ring. Double underhook facebuster by Kong, Kong get on the second turnbuckle but Shimoda avoids the body press. Lariat by Kong, she goes for a powerbomb but Shimoda reverses it with a hurricanrana. Kong hits another lariat, she goes up top but Shimoda hits her before she can jump off. Shimoda joins Kong and tosses her to the mat, somersault legdrop to the back of the head by Shimoda but Kong kicks out of the cover. Shimoda picks up Kong but Kong pushes her off, both wrestlers connect with punches but Kong connects better as Shimoda is knocked out. She barely makes the referee’s count, Kong promptly lariats her before hitting a Uraken. Powerbomb by Kong, she goes up top and she nails the diving body press for the three count cover! Your winner is Amazing Kong!

Well I enjoyed the hell out of this match. Kong at the time was still pretty raw, she was a solid wrestler but was mostly a brawler as she wasn’t always super smooth with her moves. Shimoda being the underdog was fun as normally she is the one using weapons and being the heel, here she was outdone by Kong in both of those departments. These types of matches work well as a change of pace, lots of brawling and chair shots and general chaos. Kong almost killed Shimoda with the missed powerbomb and the balcony spots always add a degree of excitement since you never know what will happen. An entertaining crowd brawling match, with a convincing win by Amazing Kong.  Recommended

Leona vs. Mariko Yoshida

Yoshida quickly takes Leona to the mat but Leona repeatedly wiggles away from her, Yoshida generally stays in control but she can’t get a hold locked in. Yoshida finally gets a kneelock applied while also kicking Leona in the back, but Leona gets a hand in the ropes to force a break. Yoshida takes Leona back down and kicks her in the back, Irish whip by Yoshida but Leona reverses it before Yoshida flips Leona out to the apron. Diving armdrag by Leona, Yoshida falls out of the ring and Leona dropkicks her when Yoshida gets on the apron. Leona charges the ropes, she jumps straight to the top rope and springboards out onto Yoshida with a Plancha. Back in the ring, diving somersault senton by Leona but it gets a two count. We jump ahead to Yoshida being back in control, Air Raid Crash by Yoshida but Leona barely gets a shoulder up on the somewhat cocky cover. Yoshida goes to pick up Leona but Leona puts her in the Spider Twist, which is one of Yoshida’s finishing moves. Yoshida gets a toe on the ropes, back up Yoshida kicks Leona in the chest but Leona hits a spear for a two count. German suplex hold by Leona, she goes off the ropes but Yoshida boots her hard in the chest. Yoshida picks up Leona in a vertical suplex position before dropping her with a kneeling tombstone piledriver, picking up the three count! Mariko Yoshida wins!

Since I have not seen Yoshida finish a match with that move, I will assume that was her way of sticking it to Leona for trying to take her finishing move. Leona put up more of a fight than I was expecting, which made the match a lot more fun to watch as she is a really solid high speed wrestler. The match was too short/clipped to make it worth seeking out, but it was a fun back and forth match and Yoshida’s reaction when Leona put on the Spider Twist showed that she realized Leona wasn’t going to be as easy to beat as she may have originally thought. Overall entertaining, I just wish more was shown.  Mildly Recommended

Mika Nishio vs. Takako Inoue

Takako and Nishio circle to start, armdrag by Takako and she attacks Nishio in the corner. Kicks by Takako from the apron and she hits a double underhook suplex, picking up a two count. DDT by Takako but Nishio fires back with elbows, they trade slaps until Takako sends Nishio to the mat. Backdrop suplex by Takako but Nishio ducks the spinning backfist, Takako connects with the next one and goes for the Takako Panic, but Nishio ducks it and hits a jumping heel kick. Nishio picks up Takako but Takako blocks the suplex, another jumping heel kick by Nishio and she gets another two count. German suplex hold by Nishio and she picks up Takako, but Takako rolls her to the mat and covers her for two. Back up, tiger suplex hold by Nishio but Takako gets a shoulder up. She goes for another one and hits it, but again it gets a two count. Nishio goes off the ropes but Takako nails her with a spinning backfist, she hits a second one and covers Nishio for the three count! Takako Inoue is the winner.

A step down from the last few matches but still not a bad one. It was just a bit disjointed, the transitions were shaky at best as they seemed to mostly take turns hitting moves on each other with little rhyme or reason. Nishio must not have had a deep pool of moves as she kept going for the same two or three during the last half of the match, and without a ‘bigger’ finishing move it was hard to believe she would beat Takako. Some solid parts and its always good to see Takako, but overall a bit underwhelming.

Momoe Nakanishi and Nanae Takahashi vs. Yumiko Hotta and Kumiko Maekawa

Nanae and Momo have no time for streamers and attack Hotta and Maekawa before the match starts, as the battle spills out of the ring. Nanae and Momo control the action on the floor and into the crowd, eventually they bring Hotta back into the ring but Hotta hits a double face crusher on them. Hotta gets her chain but Momo dropkicks her in the knee, elbow drop by Nanae and they both attack Hotta in the corner. Momo stays in but Maekawa gives Hotta her chain again and she hits Momo in the head with it. More chain shots by Hotta, she wraps it around Momo’s neck and applies a choke with it while Maekawa kicks Momo in the chest. Maekawa is tagged in and she kicks Momo in the face, but Nanae comes in and they both dropkick Maekawa. Missile dropkick by Nanae but Maekawa kicks her into the corner and tags in Hotta. Nanae greets Hotta with elbows but Hotta applies a sleeper until Momo breaks it up. Well she tries anyway but Hotta keeps it locked in while Maekawa grabs Momo, Momo gets away from Maekawa and chokes Hotta with her own chain until she lets go of Nanae. Nanae elbows Hotta against the ropes but Hotta comes back with a spinning heel kick, she hits a second one before Maekawa chokes Nanae in the corner with the chain. Hotta Irish whips Nanae but instead of bouncing off the ropes she sails out of the ring with a tope suicida onto Maekawa. Momo comes in the ring with a missile dropkick, she goes up top again and dives out onto Maekawa while Nanae hits a backdrop suplex onto Hotta. Dropkick by Nanae to Hotta, she goes for the Reverse Splash but Hotta moves and kicks her in the head. Tiger Driver by Hotta, but Nanae kicks out at two. Maekawa comes in but Nanae gets away from her and they trade strikes, big boot by Maekawa but Nanae fires back with a shoulderblock. A superkick sends Nanae to the mat but she pops back up and hits a lariat for a two count cover. Hotta comes in and kicks Nanae, they both boot Nanae in the stomach but she avoids Maekawa’s rolling kick. Maekawa hits a high kick anyway, Nanae finally hits the Reverse Splash but Maekawa bridges out of the pin and kicks Nanae out of the ring. Momo lays out Maekawa on the floor, she slides her back in and Nanae hits a reverse double footstomp for a two count.

Momo stays in and dropkicks Maekawa in the head, but Maekawa comes back with a high kick. Jumping kick by Maekawa, and she covers Momo for two. Rolling kick by Maekawa, but this time Nanae breaks up the cover. Drop down kick by Maekawa and she hits a running boot in the corner, she goes up top but Momo joins her, Nanae comes in and she superplexes Maekawa. Diving body press by Momo, Nanae picks up Maekawa and delivers a backdrop suplex. Lariat by Nanae, German suplex hold by Momo but Maekawa kicks out. Mom picks up Maekawa but Hotta runs in and slaps her, kick by Maekawa and she tags in Hotta. Hotta comes in with her chain and shoves down the referee, but Momo sneaks in a victory roll for two. Maekawa returns but Nanae does too and they dropkick Hotta and Maekawa. Momo goes up top and goes for a diving body press, but Hotta gets her feet up. Hotta picks up Momo but Momo slides away and hits a German suplex hold for a two count. Momo picks up Hotta again and dumps her out of the ring, but Maekawa runs in and hoots Momo out of the ring as well. Maekawa then kicks Nanae out of the ring and follows her out, as all four brawl on the floor. Maekawa grabs she chairs and throws them in the ring for Hotta, Momo is slid back in and Hotta puts her on the second turnbuckle. Hotta joins her and hits a German suplex down onto the pile of chairs, cover by Hotta but the referee is not interested in counting due to all the cheating. Nanae runs in and lariats Hotta, Momo and Hotta trade elbows until Hotta punches her in the face and hits a Liger Bomb for a two count. Hotta picks up Momo but Momo gets away, punch by Hotta as Maekawa runs in but Maekawa boots Hotta by accident. German suplex by Nanae to Hotta, Momo jackknifes over Hotta as she picks up a two count. Momo☆OK by Momo and she hits a second one, but Hotta kicks out of the cover. Momo☆Latch by Momo, but Hotta barely gets a shoulder up. Momo picks up Hotta she is hit by a fireball from Hotta’s help at ringside, Hotta picks up Momo and drops her with the Pyramid Driver. Momo comes back with another Momo☆OK but Hotta hits her with the chain. Pyramid Driver by Hotta, but Momo gets a shoulder up on the pin attempt. Hotta picks up Momo but Momo elbows her, Nanae tries to help but Hotta swats her away. A Momo☆Latch gets a two count, Hotta gets Momo up on her shoulder and she nails a Pyramid Driver EX for the three count! Hotta and Maekawa are the winners!

I don’t even know where to begin for a match like this. It had an old school feel, lots of being stubborn and generally not selling things nearly long enough considering what they were doing to each other. Hotta has a reputation as being a selfish worker, likely deserved, and its just odd watching her as its like a relic from the old days where wrestlers didn’t want to ever look weak. She wasn’t uncooperative, she just wasn’t putting a lot of effort into making her opponents look good. Momo and Nanae were the better team as they were putting a lot more effort into making the match entertaining, Maekawa was fine but was mostly just doing kicks and otherwise letting Hotta do the heavy lifting. I enjoyed parts of it, rolled my eyes during other parts and scratched my head more than once, just an oddly put together match. More good than bad for sure but not exactly a classic, watching Hotta is a bit of a chore in of itself unless she is in the ring with someone that doesn’t put up with her shit, which wasn’t really an option for Momo and Nanae. Maybe worth a watch but mostly for Momo and Nanae.  Mildly Recommended

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