Event: Stardom 10th Anniversary ~Hinamatsuri All-Star Dream Cinderella~
Date: March 3rd, 2021
Location: Nippon Budokan in Tokyo, Japan
Announced Attendance: 3,318
Broadcast Information: Streamed Live on PPV and Samurai TV!

It is time for what will likely be the biggest Joshi event of the year! Since Bushiroad purchased Stardom, one of their goals was to have Stardom run in bigger buildings when the time was right, which leads them to Nippon Budokan for All-Star Dream Cinderella. They went all-out for the show, as SEAdLINNNG invades with big singles matches involving Nanae Takahashi and Yoshiko. Also, there is a Rumble with former wrestlers returning, and a total of five title matches. This review will be long so strap in, here is the full card:

• High Speed Championship: AZM vs. Natsupoi
• Goddesses Of Stardom Championship: Himeka and Maika vs. Natsuko Tora and Saki Kashima
• All-Star Rumble with Momoe Nakanishi, Mima Shimoda, Chigusa Nagayo, Kyoko Inoue, Kikutaro, Gokigen Death, Emi Sakura, Hiroyo Matsumoto, Miho Wakizawa, Yuzuki Aikawa, Yoko Bito, Yuuri Haruka, Koguma, Yuna Manase, Hiromi Mimura, Starlight Kid, Rin Kadokura, Bea Priestley, Ruaka, Mei Hoshizuki, Mina Shirakawa, Unagi Sayaka, Saya Iida, and Lady C
• Nanae Takahashi vs. Momo Watanabe
• SWA Undisputed World Women’s Championship: Syuri vs. Konami
• Mayu Iwatani vs. Yoshiko
• World Of Stardom Championship: Utami Hayashishita vs. Saya Kamitani
• Wonder Of Stardom Championship, Hair Vs. Hair Match: Giulia vs. Tam Nakano

I will be watching the live broadcast, so matches will be shown in full. All Joshi wrestlers on the event have profiles on Joshi City, you can click on their name above to go straight to it.

(c) AZM vs. Natsupoi
High Speed Championship

They charge each other and get right into a fast exchange, they avoid each others dropkicks and after some flash pins attempts they end up back on their feet. Kick by Natsupoi and she throws AZM into the corner, dropkicking her down to the floor. She goes up top but AZM quickly recovers and gets onto the apron before kicking Natsupoi in the head. Natsupoi falls to the floor, AZM gets on the second turnbuckle and dives out of the ring with a double footstomp. AZM rolls Natsupoi back in and hits a swandive dropkick, cover by AZM but it gets two. She applies the Fujiwara Armbar but Natsupoi quickly gets to the ropes, Natsupoi throws AZM into the corner but AZM avoids her charge. Kick to the chest by Natsupoi, she goes off the ropes and delivers a dropkick. Natsupoi goes up top and hits a diving crossbody, but AZM rolls through it and applies a submission.

Natsupoi quickly gets to the ropes again, AZM goes up top and nails a diving double footstomp for two. AZM goes off the ropes and hits La Mistica, but Natsupoi rolls out of it. Head kick by AZM, she goes off the ropes but AZM hits La Mistica again. Natsupoi gets to the ropes, AZM runs to the corner but when she goes for the triple jump attack, she is greeted by a dropkick from Natsupoi. AZM and Natsupoi trade elbows as they return to their feet, AZM goes off the ropes but Natsupoi catches her with a kick. Backlash by Natsupoi, but AZM kicks out. Waistlock by Natsupoi and she nails a German suplex hold, but that gets a two as well. Natsupoi goes up top and delivers the twisting body press, but the cover gets a two count. Natsupoi picks up AZM but AZM elbows her off, rolling inside cradle by AZM but it gets a two count. They trade flash pins with neither having any luck, so Natsupoi superkicks AZM in the face. Natsupoi drags up AZM and hits rolling German suplexes, but the third only gets a two count. Natsupoi picks up AZM and nails a Cross-Arm German Suplex, and she picks up the three count! Natsupoi wins and is the new champion!

A really fun way to kick off the show. Not everything was super smooth but the energy helped make up for that as it was just go-go-go from the opening bell. Fans that only watch Stardom may not been as familar with what Natsumi has been up to in recent years but she is fantastic, and she got a pretty dominating win here as by the end of the match she was firmly in control. AZM hit some killer footstomps and stayed in the match, but it almost felt like a coming-out party for Natsumi and I assume she’ll hold the title for awhile. A quality match to begin the big event.  Recommended

(c) Himeka and Maika vs. Natsuko Tora and Saki Kashima
Goddesses of Stardom Championship

Oedo Tai jump DDM before the match starts and isolate Maika, double teaming her. Saki stays in as the legal wrestler and kicks Himeka before tagging in Natsuko, bootscrapes by Natsuko but Himeka kicks her from the apron. This gives Maika time to recover and she tags Himeka, Himeka and Natsuko trade shoulderblocks with Himeka winning the battle. Saki runs in but Himeka stacks them both in the corner and hits a lariat. She puts both up on the turnbuckle and places them in an Argentine Backbreaker together before dropping them to the mat. Himeka picks up Natsuko and delivers a Jumping Knee, but Natsuko kicks out of the cover. Himeka tags Maika, Maika tosses Natsuko around the mat before hitting a STO for a two count. Stomps by Maika and she hits a lariat, but she didn’t notice that Saki blind tagged herself in. Saki jumps in the ring with a bulldog to Maika, Maika is thrown into the corner and Saki hits a running knee. Saki gets on the top turnbuckle and hits a headscissors into a cradle, picking up a two count.

Natsuko is tagged back in, she stacks both opponents in the corner and delivers a cannonball. Samoan Drop by Natsuko, she tags Saki and Saki hits a diving footstomp. She quickly tags Natsuko back in, diving body press by Natsuko but Maika kicks out of the cover. Swinging side slam by Natsuko, but that gets a two count as well. Natsuko picks up Maika but Himeka runs in to help, Saki kicks Himeka however and she falls out of the ring. Natsuko tags Saki, flying headscissors by Saki to Maika but Himeka cuts her off with a knee. Himeka and Maika charge Saki but accidentally lariat each other, scoop slam by Saki to Maika and she goes up top but Maika recovers and joins her. Superplex by Maika to Saki, she picks her back up and hits a STO but Natsuko breaks up the cover. Himeka comes in and with Maika they hit a lariat on Saki followed by a sliding lariat for a two count. Maika picks up Saki but Saki slides away and pins her down for a two count. Natsuko has found her way back in but she eats a double chokeslam, Maika picks up Saki and nails a Michinoku Driver II for the three count! Donna del Mondo win and retain the championship.

Normally I like title matches to be a little longer than this, but considering the participants and the fact this was a pre-show match, I don’t mind it as much here. This was pretty well-worked, nothing mind blowing but a good match within their limitations. Maika and Himeka are a bundle of fun, I could watch them all day as they bring something fresh and interesting to Stardom’s matches. Saki really brought her A game today which helped elevate the match, and Natsuko didn’t do much which is for the best. Oedo Tai wrestled the match oddly straight besides from the pre-bell jumping, with no cheating which surprised me. A solid match to keep the show rolling along, even if it was nothing special.

Stardom All-Star Rumble

Starlight Kid and Mei Hoshizuki are the first two in the match. They start pretty traditionally as they trade holds, armdrag by Starlight Kid, Mei catches her crossbody attempt but Starlight Kid spins it around into a cradle for two. Dropkick by Mei as Gokigen Death comes down, but she just poses while the other two keep fighting. They get tired of this and jump her, but Starlight Kid and Death end up double teaming Mei. Momoe Nakanishi is the next wrestler to enter the match, she goes up top but Death and Starlight Kid shake the ropes to knock her off. Irish whip to Momoe but she runs over all three opponents and poses on the mat with Death. The veterans stay in control and pose on Starlight Kid and Mei, as Koguma enters the match! First time we have seen Koguma wrestling in almost six years. Koguma hits a falling body press on Death and Starlight Kid before they all get into a fast exchange. Meanwhile the next wrestler is already on their way to the ring, Unagi Sayaka! Starlight Kid is attacked by everyone in the corner but is able to knock back Unagi, Unagi is stomped on by everyone while Saya Iida enters the match. Saya chops everyone, and while she is doing that Mina Shirakawa comes down as the next wrestler in the match.

By now there are too many people in the ring, a common issue in Battle Royal style matches. The Stardom wrestlers get into an exchange while Yuna Manase enters the match. Yuna and Saya exchange shots, Starlight Kid comes over to help but Yuna lariats both of them. Suddenly all of Gatoh Move appear on the ramp as Emi Sakura is the next wrestler down, Emi immediately goes after Momoe and hits a crossbody in the corner. Everyone watches as Emi and Momoe trade dropkick attempts before they hug, but we take a break as Lady C is wrestler #11 to join the match. Lady C snapmares Emi and puts her in a headscissors, and you know what is coming as this starts a giant headscissors chain with all the wrestlers (except Momoe, who runs over all of them instead of joining them). яндекс As it is broken up, Kyoko Inoue enters the ring but she is immediately attacked by everyone. She fights back but Lady C drops her with a chokeslam, everyone covers Kyoko but she kicks out. Lariat by Kyoko to Lady C, and she covers her for the three count! Lady C is eliminated.

Ruaka is the next wrestler, she shoulderblocks Kyoko to the mat and boots her, but Kyoko fires back with a lariat for the three count! Ruaka is eliminated. Rina Kadokura enters the match while Emi tricks Kyoko and gets everyone to cover her again, this time getting the three count! Kyoko Inoue is eliminated. We get some Random Chaos in the ring a Hiroyo Matsumoto is the next entry, she is in no rush to enter but eventually makes it into the ring. Miho Wakizawa is wrestler #16, while in the ring Hiroyo is beating everyone with a giant tawashi. Or something like one. Momoe is set up in the ropes to get a rubber band snapped in her face, but it accidentally gets sent back into Miho by mistake. Mima Shimoda comes into the match and dumps Yuna Manase over the top rope! Yuna Manase is eliminated. The legend Bea Priestley enters but Emi chops her in the chest and everyone tries to throw her out of the ring. She hangs on as Yuuri Haruka makes her entrance, meanwhile Mima is thrown over the top rope along with Bea in quick succession. Mima Shimoda and Bea Priestley are eliminated!

Yuuri applies an armbar to Death but it gets broken up, the camera pans to the stage and we see Hiromi Mimura is on her way down. Before she gets in the ring, Emi helps dump Yuuri over the top rope to the floor! Yuuri Haruka is eliminated. Hiromi winds up for an attack but is kicked by Miho, but Starlight Kid comes to the rescue. Hiroyo whacks Hiromi with a backpack, Miho puts Hiromi in the Backslide and she gets the three count! Hiromi Mimura is eliminated. Yoko Bito is the 21st entry, while Hiroyo dumps a box full of tawashis in the ring. Miho hits a Frankensteiner on Emi onto all the tawashis, and Emi is covered by multiple wrestlers for the three count. Emi Sakura is eliminated. Miho is slow to recover so everyone covers her as well, picking up another three count! Miho Wakizawa is eliminated. Not done yet, the mob rolls up Hiroyo, keeping her down for the three count! Hiroyo Matsumoto is eliminated. That clears the ring a little bit. Yuzuki Aikawa enters as the next wrestler, and she still looks the same as she did when she retired eight years ago. As she slowly walks down, Saya and Starlight Kid work together to throw Rin over the top rope. Rin Kadokura is eliminated. Not wasting time, Chigusa Nagayo quickly follows as she enters the match, Saya Iida greets her and the two trade blows. While they duke it out, the final wrestler enters the match – Kikutaro! 

Back in the ring (which most wrestlers aren’t even in anymore as they stand on the apron) Chigusa drops Saya with a Death Valley Bomb but Saya kicks out of the cover. Chigusa picks up Saya and drops her with a heel kick, but again Saya gets a shoulder up. Saya hulks up and knocks over Chigusa with a double chop, but her cover gets two as Chigusa puts Saya in an armlock. No one helps her and Saya submits! Saya Iida is eliminated. Yuzuki comes in the ring finally and challenges Chigusa, kicks by Yuzuki but Chigusa blocks the heel drop and punches her in the stomach. Yuzuki throws Chigusa into the corner and hits a body avalanche, as everyone else joins in attacking Chigusa in the corner. Yuzuki and Yoko both kick Chigusa, cover by Yuzuki but it gets a two count. She tries again with everyone else helping her, but that gets a two count as well. Chigusa gets back up but is schoolboyed from behind, and finally she is held down for the three count! Chigusa Nagayo is eliminated.

Kikutaro still hasn’t entered the ring but finally does so, he’s in full creeper mode as everyone runs away from him. He grabs Unagi but Mina attacks him, Kikutaro covers both of them but Starlight Kid breaks it up. Starlight Kid attacks at Kikutaro, he gets away but Chigusa jaws at him from the apron. Chigusa takes one for the team as Kikutaro grabs her… intimately, she gets back in the ring and hits him with an elbow. Everyone else joins in stomping down Kikutaro, Momo☆Latch by Momoe and she holds down Kikutaro for the three count! Kikutaro is eliminated. Moonsault by Momoe to Death, and she holds her down for the three count as well! Gokigen Death is eliminated. Starlight Kid and Momoe go after each other, Momoe jumps up to the top turnbuckle but Starlight Kid pushes her off before she can hit a move. She keeps hitting Momoe as she dangles on the top rope, dropkick by Starlight Kid and Momoe crashes to the floor. Momoe Nakanishi is eliminated. Snapmare by Yoko to Koguma, she picks her up but Koguma snaps off a DDT. Starlight Kid grabs Koguma and holds her for Yoko, but Koguma ducks and Yoko kicks Starlight Kid by accident. Yoko charges Kid but Kid holds down the top rope, sending Yoko to the apron. Koguma runs over and kicks Yoko, sending her to the floor! Yoko Bito is eliminated. 

We are down to five wrestlers! Cutter by Koguma on Starlight Kid and she nails a German Suplex Hold for the three count! Starlight Kid is eliminated. Koguma and Unagi trade flash pins, but Unagi gets help from Mina and Yuzuki as they hold down Koguma for the three count! Koguma is eliminated. We are down to three – Mina Shirakawa, Yuzuki Aikawa, and Unagi Sayaka. Yuzuki fights off both Cosmic Angels before getting into an elbow exchange with Mina, slap by Mina but Yuzuki slaps her back. Mina elbows Yuzuki against the ropes and charges her, but Yuzuki avoids the dropkick and hits a heel drop. Yuzuki goes for a tiger suplex but Unagi saves Mina, Mina then returns the favor but Yuzuki nails Mina with a heel kick and delivers the Tiger Suplex Hold for the three count! Mina Shirakawa is eliminated. Yuzuki charges Unagi but Unagi dumps her onto the apron, she goes for a kick but Yuzuki gets her out onto the apron with her. Kicks by Yuzuki as they both stand on the apron but Unagi catches one, heel drop to the back by Unagi and she hits another one to send Yuzuki to the floor. Yuzuki Aikawa is eliminated.  Unagi Sayaka is the last wrestler standing and is the winner!

Its always hard to ‘rate’ Battle Royals, and ones that take place in Japan tend to be even more difficult due to the more lighthearted atmosphere. There was a lot of wrestlers standing out of the way while the planned spots were going on, with some wrestlers such as Koguma disappearing for long periods of time. Some of the exchanges were really enjoyable though, such as Chigusa Nagayo/Saya Iida and the final threesome, and it was really nice of Chigusa Nagayo to “take one for the team” with Kikutaro as I can only imagine the Internet’s reaction if he had done that to Starlight Kid. It was great seeing Yuzuki again in particular, and none of the returning wrestlers looked too out of place. Its a long match with stretches of nothing, but still enough fun moments that long time Joshi fans will likely find something to enjoy.

Nanae Takahashi vs. Momo Watanabe

Momo and Nanae face off and trade slaps, Nanae pushes Momo into the corner and hits a series of elbows. Momo avoids one and kicks Nanae in the head, she hits her own elbows but Nanae gets her back and hits a German suplex. Nanae elbows Momo while she is against the ropes, snapmare by Nanae and she kicks Momo in the back. Momo returns the favor but Nanae catches the PK attempt and hits a dragon screw. Lariat by Nanae but Momo fires back with a dropkick, she dropkicks Nanae down in the corner and delivers a hard dropkick to the chest. More dropkicks by Momo and she kicks Nanae repeatedly in the chest. Nanae eventually catches one but Momo slaps her, headbutts by Nanae and she kicks Momo onto the apron. Nanae picks up Momo and hits a short range lariat, elbows by Nanae and she slams Momo to the mat for a two count cover. Nanae goes off the ropes but Momo nails a head kick, elbows by Momo and she kicks Nanae in the head. Momo goes off the ropes and hits the Somato, but Nanae kicks out of the cover.

Momo gets on the second turnbuckle and delivers the diving Somato, but again Nanae kicks out. Momo applies the crossface chickenwing but Nanae gets to the ropes for the break, Momo picks up Nanae and hits the B Driver, but Nanae rolls through it and hits one of her own for a two count. Both wrestlers slowly get up, jumping kick by Nanae and she goes to the top turnbuckle, but Momo avoids the Refrigerator Bomb and hits a knee to the back of the head. Momo goes to the top turnbuckle and delivers the diving Somato, but it gets two. Momo goes back up again but Nanae joins her and hits a superplex. Nanae goes to the top turnbuckle and this time nails the Refrigerator Bomb, but the cover only gets a two. Nanae picks up Momo but Momo slides away and delivers a Tequila Sunrise for two. Momo drags up Nanae but Nanae gets away and hits an elbow. Head kick by Momo, she goes off the ropes but Nanae catches her with a lariat. Nanae picks up Momo and drops her with the Nana☆Racka but Momo barely kicks out. Nanae picks Momo back up and nails the One Second EX, and she picks up the three count! Nanae Takahashi is the winner.

While this match was “good,” something felt like it was missing. Maybe due to the length or placement on the card, it didn’t have that pop I was expecting and never really felt like it elevated itself. If not for the history between Nanae and Stardom, it would have felt like a pretty standard veteran vs. young star match. Which probably isn’t fair, there was nothing “wrong” with the match at all, it just didn’t feel special either. Even with their limited time they seemed to run of out ideas, with lots of Somatos and elbows, and it makes you wonder if they just aren’t too familar with each other and decided to keep it simple. Hard hitting for sure, and Momo held her own, it just felt more like an introduction than an all out war. A decent enough match, but ultimately nothing that will leave a lasting impression once the show ends.  Mildly Recommended

(c) Syuri vs. Konami
SWA Undisputed World Women’s Championship

They circle each other to start before grappling for position on the mat, Syuri goes for the armbreaker but Konami easily blocks it and goes for one of her own. Syuri gets to the ropes to break the hold, sliding kick by Konami and Syuri falls out to the floor. Natsuko comes over but Konami pushes her away and slides Syuri back in, stomps by Konami and she delivers a dropkick for a two count. Konami quickly transitions to the Fujiwara Armbar, Syuri rolls out of it but Konami keeps a hold on the arm. Syuri rolls out again and gets a hold of Konami’s ankle, but Konami reverses it and applies her own ankle hold. Konami gets Syuri’s back in a crucifix before driving her to the mat, she gets a stretch hold locked in but Syuri gets to the ropes. Strike combination by Konami and she delivers a head kick, but Syuri fires back with a release German. Konami hits a suplex of her own and applies a sleeper, Syuri gets up but Konami plants her with a Sleeper Suplex for two. Konami goes for a Buzzsaw Kick but Syuri catches her leg and hits a double knee gutbuster.

Konami quickly connects with a head kick but is too hurt to capitalize, they slowly get to their knees and trade elbows. They trade kicks as they return to their feet, running knee by Syuri and she covers Konami for two. Syuri applies a guillotine before putting Konami’s feet on the top rope and dropping her with a DDT for a two count. Syuri picks up Konami but Konami slides away and applies a cross armbreaker. Syuri quickly gets out of it and applies a Stretch Muffler, but Konami gets to the ropes for the break. Syuri gets Konami on her shoulders and hits a modified Emerald Frosion, but Konami kicks out of the cover and quickly applies a modified armbar. Syuri muscles out of it and gets the Stretch Muffler re-applied, but modifies it to also tie up Konami’s arm (Stardom called this move the “White Tiger”). Konami struggles for a moment but is forced to submit! Syuri wins the match and retains the championship.

Konami shook Syuri’s hand after the match and gave her a hug, showing a level of post-match respect that is rare for a member of Oedo Tai. This definitely had a different feel than most matches in Stardom, as it was a very ground-based and submission focused match. It really did feel like a match these two would have had against each other in 2016, obviously Konami is more polished now than she was back then but the structure reminded me of the older days of Konami. As far as mat-based matches go, this was pretty fun to watch and very fluid, and you could tell they are very comfortable with each other as nothing looked forced. I wouldn’t have minded a little more excitement in the closing stretch as it ended with little warning, but still an enjoyable match that probably meant more to the wrestlers than it meant to anyone else.  Recommended

Mayu Iwatani vs. Yoshiko

They tie-up to start, Yoshiko pushes Mayu into the ropes and gives a clean break. Kick by Mayu but Yoshiko blocks the armdrag, hitting one of her own. Hard shoulderblock by Yoshiko, she picks up Mayu and throws her down by the hair. Bootscrapes by Yoshiko in the corner and she delivers a running boot, cover by Yoshiko but it gets two. Yoshiko quickly applies a headlock but Mayu gets into the ropes, Yoshiko picks up Mayu and kicks her in the back. Yoshiko keeps stomping on Mayu’s back before picking her up and applying a stretch hold. Mayu gets into the ropes for the break, Irish whip by Yoshiko but Mayu reverses it and hits a headscissors. Mayu goes off the ropes and drills Yoshiko with a dropkick, sending the SEAdLINNNG wrestler out of the ring. Mayu gets a running start and sails out onto Yoshiko (mostly missing) with a plancha suicida, she slowly recovers and slides Yoshiko back in the ring. Mayu goes up top and hits a missile dropkick, cover by Mayu but it gets a two count. Mayu picks up Yoshiko but Yoshiko blocks the suplex attempt, low kick by Mayu but Yoshiko catches her with a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker. Crab hold by Yoshiko but Mayu crawls to the ropes and makes it for the break. Yoshiko quickly gets on the second turnbuckle and hits a diving senton onto Mayu’s back, she goes back up to the second turnbuckle and connects with a regular diving senton for a two count cover.

Yoshiko picks up Mayu but Mayu gets her to the mat with a reverse hurricanrana. Dodonpa by Mayu, but it gets a two count. Mayu picks up Yoshiko but Yoshiko gets to the ropes to block the dragon suplex, Mayu pulls her off the ropes but Yoshiko elbows her off. Mayu ducks a lariat and drops Yoshiko with a release German, Yoshiko gets back up but Mayu delivers the dragon suplex hold for a two count. Mayu goes up top and goes for a moonsault, but Yoshiko gets her feet up to block the move. Both wrestlers are slow to recover, they trade strikes when they return to their feet until Yoshiko knocks Mayu back to the mat. Mayu gets back up but eats another hard elbow for her trouble, Mayu returns to her feet and temporarily knocks Yoshiko to her knees before eating two hard lariats. Yoshiko picks up Mayu and slams her to the mat from a fireman’s carry, but Mayu kicks out of the cover. Yoshiko positions Mayu and goes to the top turnbuckle, she nails the diving senton but Mayu barely kicks out of the cover. Yoshiko drags up Mayu but Mayu gets her back and applies a schoolboy for two. Superkick by Mayu and she kicks Yoshiko in the head, another superkick by Mayu and she covers Yoshiko for two. Mayu picks up Yoshiko and delivers the Two Stage Dragon Suplex Hold, but Yoshiko barely gets a shoulder up. Mayu quickly goes up to the top turnbuckle and nails the moonsault, cover by Mayu and she gets the three count! Mayu Iwatani is the winner.

There was a lot to enjoy here, a really entertaining match. Its kinda amazing these two still have such great chemistry after all these years, and everything they did here clicked. Yoshiko’s work on Mayu’s back was top notch, probably good enough it could have used a little more long term selling by Mayu but Mayu constantly looks in pain so it still worked out. I really loved the ending, with Mayu not wasting a second before going to the moonsault. No slow dramatic climb up the turnbuckles and pointing to the crowd, just quickly taking advantage of a hurt Yoshiko who is not the easiest wrestler to pin. The time just flew by and I wouldn’t have minded if it was a few more minutes, but they told their story and told it well. I don’t know where Stardom and SEAdLINNNG’s relationship is going from here, but this was a great hard hitting match that delivered on the expectations.  Highly Recommended

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

They tie-up to start, Utami pushes Saya into the ropes but she gives a clean break. Saya quickly kicks her and they lock-up before trading holds, they go through an exchange off the ropes ending with Utami dropkicking Saya in the chest. Utami picks up Saya and hits a scoop slam, another slam by Utami and she covers Saya for two. Utami puts Saya in the ropes and delivers a sliding kick to the back, double kneedrop to the back by Utami and she covers Saya for two. Utami applies a Camel Clutch but Saya inches to the ropes for the break. Utami stomps at Saya and boots her in the corner, Utami picks her up and hits a scoop slam for a two count. Saya fights back but Utami avoids her dropkick and kicks Saya in the back. Saya fires back with a dropkick of her own, hurricanrana by Saya and Utami falls out of the ring. Saya goes off the ropes and dives out onto Utami with a tope con hilo, she picks up Utami and tosses her back into the ring. Saya goes up top and hits a missile dropkick, cover by Saya but it gets a two count. Saya picks up Utami but Utami elbows her and the two trade shots. Utami wins the battle, she picks up Saya and goes off the ropes but Saya catches her with a dropkick. Another dropkick by Saya and she covers Utami for a two count. Saya picks up Utami but Utami slides away and delivers a sliding kick.

Utami picks up Saya but Saya snaps off a Canadian Destroyer, scoop slam by Saya and she goes up top but Utami hits her from behind and knocks her onto the apron. Saya comes back into the ring with a swandive hurricanrana, she picks up Utami and hits a Northern Lights Suplex Hold for two. Saya picks up Utami but Utami slides away and hits a release German. Utami gets Saya on her shoulders but Saya spins off and delivers a heel kick. Saya picks up Utami and drops her with a fisherman sitout slam, cover by Saya but it gets a two count. Saya picks up Utami and slams her in front of the corner, she goes to the top turnbuckle but Utami avoids the Phoenix Splash. Utami applies a sleeper but Saya drives her back into the corner to break it up, Saya charges Utami but Utami gets her on her shoulders and nails the Air Raid Crash. Utami gets the sleeper on but Saya gets a toe on the ropes for the break. Utami picks up Saya and gets her onto her shoulders, she spins Saya around and slams her to the mat for a two count. Utami picks up Saya and gets her up in a crucifix, but Saya hits a hurricanrana for a two count. Utami recovers first and picks up Saya, rocking her with a hard lariat. Another lariat by Utami, she picks up Saya and nails the Hijack Bomb (Spinning BT Bomb) for the three count! Utami Hayashishita wins and retains the championship.

While the last match was great, this one was even better. Even though Saya wasn’t an A+ challenger, she still brought everything she had and she has never looked better than she did here. Everything she hit was smooth as butter and her selling was top-notch, as she made everything Utami did look like death. She did so well in the match, I actually was buying into the nearfalls which is the biggest compliment I can give to a match that on paper had a clear winner. The dynamic between Utami’s power and Saya’s finesse created constantly entertaining back and forths, and I was on the edge of my seat the entire match as there was no telling what they were going to do. The ending was definitive as Utami threw Saya right through the ring, a fitting ending to an evenly contested match. These two are the future of Stardom if they stick with wrestling, easily the best match of Saya Kamitani’s career and a great showing from Utami as well.  Highly Recommended

(c) Giulia vs. Tam Nakano
Wonder of Stardom Championship

After circling each other they start tracking strikes, waistlock by Giulia and they trade holds. Tam gets Giulia to the mat but Giulia applies a headscissors, Tam slaps Giulia before returning to her feet. Tam goes for a cutter but Giulia applies a sleeper, snapmare by Tam and she kicks Giulia in the back. Giulia goes for a dropkick but Tam moves and applies a sleeper, Giulia tries to get out of it with a backdrop suplex but Tam lands on top of her. They trade elbows until Tam knocks Giulia to the mat, Giulia rolls out of the ring to recover while Tam waits for her in the ring. Giulia returns after a moment and picks up Tam, but Tam wiggles away. Release German by Giulia with Tam ending up on the apron, Giulia goes out to the apron as well and kicks Tam in the head. Giulia goes for a suplex but Tam blocks it, big boot by Giulia and she hits a cutter onto the apron. Tam falls out of the ring with Giulia going out after her, Giulia twists Tam in the guardrail and chokes her. Giulia stops choking her long enough to throw Tam into the railing, big boot by Giulia and she throws Tam into the rail again. Giulia gets a table and sets it up at ringside, she grabs Tam and pulls her up onto the table with her. Giulia gets Tam up and drops her onto the table with a piledriver, she returns to the ring while Tam slowly follows behind her. Giulia plants a sliding kick on Tam, cover by Giulia but it gets a two count.

Giulia gets on the top turnbuckle but Tam slowly gets up and joins her, Giulia grabs her head however and applies a guillotine choke while still on the turnbuckles. She lets go after a moment and Tam flops back to the mat, she goes for a missile dropkick but Tam avoids it. Tam goes for a knee but Giulia catches it, she gets Tam up in a Glorious position but Tam reverses it with Reverse DDT. Giulia recovers first and mounts Tam, slapping her in the face. Hard elbow by Giulia and she goes off the ropes, but Tam catches her with a heel kick. Giulia falls out of the ring, Tam goes up to the top turnbuckle and dives out onto her with a plancha. Tam slides Giulia back in, Tiger Suplex Hold by Tam but Giulia gets a shoulder up. Tam picks up Giulia but Giulia blocks her suplex attempt, getting to the ropes. Tam pulls her away and hits Giulia’s Glorious Driver, but it gets a two count. Tam drags up Giulia and kicks her repeatedly in the head, but Giulia ducks a kick and drops her with a backdrop suplex. Giulia picks up Tam but Tam pushes her away, headbutt by Giulia and she delivers a Glorious Driver for a two count cover. They both slowly get up and trade slaps, Tam connects with a series of slaps before knocking Giulia to the mat. Giulia gets back up and returns the favor, heel kick by Tam and she hits a second one. Giulia comes at Tam but Tam picks her up and drills Giulia with a Sitout Tam Screwdriver for a two count. Tam drags Giulia back up and nails the Twilight Dream, and she keeps Giulia down for the three count! Tam Nakano wins and is the new Wonder of Stardom Champion!

There is a lot to digest here. First, the emotion was certainly there and it just had a more urgent feeling than the last few matches. They weren’t really focused on trading bombs but having a real struggle, full of one-upmanship and emotion that was tangible. They still had a couple big moves but honestly they weren’t needed, the table spot was neat but added little to the match as that wasn’t what the match was about. Its harder to rate matches that are more about story and heart than smooth wrestling and big moments, but when considering all things this was a very captivating and memorable match. They didn’t fall into the ‘trading 2.999 nearfalls’ trap that many “epic” matches fall into, so each pinfall felt meaningful. Tam killed Giulia at the end, which was needed as a non-definitive ending just wouldn’t have worked to end this match and feud. A fitting way to end one of the best Joshi events in years, a very entertaining match that will be talked about in Stardom circles for years to come.  Highly Recommended

The post Stardom All-Star Dream Cinderella on 3/3/21 Review appeared first on Joshi City.

Event: Stardom No People Gate
Date: March 8th, 2020
Location: Korakuen Hall in Tokyo, Japan
Announced Attendance: No fans in attendance

We are living in unusual times in early 2020, as we are getting our first ever Stardom event not taking place in front of a crowd. Due to concerns over the coronavirus, many events in Japan are either being cancelled or taking place in an empty arena. Most of Stardom’s events for a month were cancelled, however this event still took place, possibly due to TV contracts. Also for the first time ever, this event was streamed live on Youtube, so we got to watch it in real time. This is not the strongest Korakuen Hall show but there is still some potential, with the tag title match in particular giving me hope for an excellent match. Here is the full card:

• Time Change Battle Royal with Death Yama-san, Saya Iida, AZM, Momoe Nakanishi, Ruaka, Rina, Hina, Captain STARDOM, Starlight Kid, Leyla Hirsch, Konami, Tam Nakano, Natsu Sumire, Saya Kamitani, and Super Strong Starlight Machine
• Natsuko Tora vs. Battle Royal Winner
• Giulia and Maika vs. Hana Kimura and Jungle Kyona
• Goddesses of Stardom Championship: Bea Priestley and Jamie Hayter vs. Momo Watanabe and Utami Hayashishita
• Lumberjack Match: Mayu Iwatani vs. Saki Kashima

Originally, this event was supposed to have Natsuko Tora vs. Arisa Hoshiki, but Arisa was a very late scratch due to a neck injury. So the matches were changed to have Natsuko Tora challenge the winner of the Battle Royal, that way she didn’t lose her spot on the card altogether. As this aired live on Youtube, it will be shown in full. All wrestlers on the show have profiles on Joshi City, you can click on their names above to go straight to it.

Time Change Battle Royal

The first two participants in the match are Death Yama-san and Saya Iida. Death does Death things until Iida gets tired of it and kicks her from behind, dropkick by Iida but Death blocks the scoop slam. Chops by Iida as the next wrestler comes down, AZM! AZM is in no rush to get in the ring but eventually does and covers Saya Iida for the three count! Saya Iida is eliminated. AZM and Death trade chops while the next wrestler comes down, Momoe Nakanishi (in a mask)! Well that’s a hell of a surprise. She does some Death things but they rip the mask off of her, as Ruaka comes down to the ring as the fourth wrestler. They all go after Nakanishi but she manages to stay in the ring, so AZM and Ruaka go at it while the next wrestler comes down, Rina! Rina puts AZM in an Octopus Hold while Ruaka has Nakanishi in an armbar, as the countdown goes and the next wrestler runs in the ring – Rina’s sister Hina! Hina goes after Death and hits a hip toss, Momo☆Latch by Nakanishi to Death and she picks up the three count! Death Yama-san is eliminated. All four wrestlers cover Ruaka next, and she is eliminated! Rina and Hina both attack AZM while Nakanishi gets some water, there seems to be some delay with the next wrestler since music has been playing for awhile. Finally a wrestler wearing a green mask and cape comes down, and its… Captain STARDOM! I think its Saya Iida again but she is attacked by everyone and they rip at her mask, but they don’t get it off as Starlight Kid enters the match.

Starlight Kid and Captain STARDOM are attacked by everyone else, they are both covered but both kick out at two. Starlight Kid is trying to protect the other masked wrestler while the next participant comes down, Leyla Hirsch! Leyla goes after Rina and then AZM, as she slams AZM on top of her. Rina is slammed on the stack as well but Nakanishi feigns an injury to avoid Leyla’s wrath. The next wrestler arrives as Konami enters the match, she goes after AZM as they make a suplex chain with six wrestlers. Konami’s side wins the battle as Tam Nakano arrives. We have a headscissors chain in the ring, with Tam hopping on the end of it while Nakanishi runs over the entire group. Nakanishi turns them over with a crab hold while the next wrestler comes down, Natsu Sumire! Natsu brings some water in the ring with her, she takes a drink before spraying some of the wrestlers with cold spray. She then uses the water to drool on all of them, leading to the headscissors chain to finally be broken. Saya Kamitani makes her entrance with a mask that will probably be on Depo Mart tomorrow for $700 dollars, meanwhile Captain STARDOM rolls up Rina for the three count! Rina is eliminated. Starlight Kid then cradles Hina, and she is eliminated as well! Leyla and Captain STARDOM trade flash pins with no luck, another cradle by Leyla and she holds down Captain STARDOM for the three count! Captain STARDOM is eliminated.

Konami and Leyla control the action while the next wrestler comes down, Mima Shimoda! She has a chair, of course. Natsu gets Konami in the corner and hits the Bronco Buster, but Shimoda hits her from behind with a chair and covers her for three! Natsu Sumire is eliminated. Meanwhile, a new masked wrestler comes down, Super Strong Starlight Machine! Who oddly resembles Saya Iida. Meanwhile, Starlight Kid goes for a moonsault on Nakanishi but misses, moonsault by Nakanishi and she gets the three count! Starlight Kid is eliminated. Tam and Konami trade kicks, Fujiwara Armbar by Konami and she hits a sliding kick, but Tam holds down the tope rope when Konami charges in to send her to the apron. Konami applies a hanging armbar but Tam kicks her as she gets back in the ring and sends her to the floor! Konami is eliminated. Shimoda ends up on the mat and is literally run over by all the other wrestlers still in the match, but Shimoda recovers and dumps Tam onto the apron. Tam pulls Shimoda out onto the apron with her and goes for a suplex, but Shimoda blocks it. Shimoda kicks Tam’s arms until she can’t hold on, and she falls to the floor! Tam Nakano is eliminated. Shimoda manages to get back in the ring but eats a suplex from Nakanishi, Pele Kick by Kamitani and she hits the running Shooting Star Press on Shimoda, but Nakanishi breaks up the pin.

Shimoda and Nakanishi hug but are dropkicked, Shimoda momentarily gets back in control until Kamitani dropkicks her. Missile dropkick by Kamitani, but Shimoda kicks out of the cover. Kamitani picks up Shimoda and hits a scoop slam, she goes up top but Shimoda recovers and pulls her back to the mat. Shimoda gets on the second turnbuckle but Kamitani dropkicks her, sending Shimoda out of the ring! Mima Shimoda is eliminated. Super Strong Starlight Machine and Kamitani go at it next, dropkick by Kamitani to Super Strong Starlight Machine and she hits the Pele Kick. Running Shooting Star Press attempt by Kamitani but Super Strong Starlight Machine rolls out of the way and hits a lariat. Devil Windmill Suplex by Super Strong Starlight Machine, and she picks up the three count! Saya Kamitani is eliminated. Nakanishi and AZM both attack Super Strong Starlight Machine but AZM attacks Nakanishi. Nakanishi pulls AZM onto the apron with her, but Super Strong Starlight Machine runs over and dropkicks them both to the floor! Super Strong Starlight Machine is the last wrestler remaining and wins the Battle Royal!

I think I missed Leyla Hirsch’s elimination but there was a lot going on. While I went in with low expectations since Battle Royals aren’t overly serious affairs in Japan, I loved the surprise of Momoe Nakanishi. Nakanishi retired back in 2005 and has only done a few exhibition matches since then, so she was definitely unexpected. Of course she hasn’t lost a step and out-worked most of the other wrestlers in the ring, which isn’t too big of a surprise as she was pretty great back in her day. Logically it doesn’t make sense that Iida can enter the match multiple times but it goes in with the general wackiness of Battle Royals so no complaints. A few fun surprises and the action moved pretty quick, so overall a pretty satisfying Battle Royal.

Natsuko Tora vs. Super Strong Starlight Machine

This match was decided on pretty late, and it showed since they didn’t do a whole lot. Most memorable thing for me is how Natsuko Tora’s new finisher looks rough, they need to figure out how to make that smoother or its just going to be a flat way to end her matches. A decent enough match and I’ll give them credit for trying to make changes to include a fifth match on the card, but pretty skippable aside from Iida getting a bit of the rub in this whole sequence.

Giulia and Maika vs. Hana Kimura and Jungle Kyona

Maika and Kyona start the match, Kyona tries to shoulderblock Maika over but Maika doesn’t budge. Maika returns the favor as they both go for shoulderblocks, but Kyona eventually sending Maika to the mat. Giulia grabs Kyona from the apron but Hana grabs Maika from the opposite apron, as they have a stalemate. They both eventually get free, Giulia gets in the ring to help and Kyona is double teamed. Hammerlock by Maika to Kyona and she drives her into the corner, Maika tags Giulia who puts Kyona in an armlock. Double armbar by Giulia but Hana comes in to break it up, Maika comes in but Hana tosses her out of the ring. Giulia sends Hana out of the ring as well before going back to Kyona, she throws Kyona in the corner and tags Maika. Maika twists Kyona’s arm in the ropes and kicks it, Giulia comes back in and they take turns booting Kyona. Giulia holds Kyona while Maika pulls out her extensions, which pisses off Kyona and she bodyslams Maika. She makes the tag to Hana, Hana gets rid of Giulia before booting Maika in the head. She boots her a second time, cover by Hana but it gets two. Hana picks up Maika but Maika blocks the suplex attempt, Giulia attacks Hana from behind but Hana dropkicks both of them.

Hana picks up Maika and applies a Cobra Twist, Giulia tries to break it up but Hana puts her in a dragon sleeper at the same time. She lets go after a moment and picks up Maika, but Maika flips her to the mat and makes the tag to Giulia. Neckbreaker by Giulia, and she covers Hana for two. Giulia picks up Hana but Hana pushes her away and the two trade elbows. Hana goes off the ropes but Giulia boots her, Hana boots her back however but Giulia sends Hana to the mat with one final boot. Both get back up as Giulia goes for the Spider Web, finally getting it locked in. Hana muscles out of the hold and slams Giulia to the mat, she picks up Giulia but Giulia boots her in the face and both wrestlers are down on the mat. Both tag out as Kyona and Maika come back in, Maika puts Kyona in an armbar but Kyona gets into the ropes for the break. STO by Maika, and she covers Kyona for two. Maika applies the cross armbreaker but Kyona gets out of it, Giulia comes in and they hit a double STO. Giulia goes off the ropes and assists Maika in hitting a cross armbreaker takedown, Maika gets the hold locked in but Kyona is too close to the ropes and makes it to get the break. Hana runs in and boots Maika, double dropkick to Maika and Kyona hits a sliding lariat for two. Giulia throws Hana out of the ring and stomps on Kyona, but Kyona throws them into each other and Hana comes off the top with a double missile dropkick. Kyona lariats Maika in the corner and puts her on the top turnbuckle, she goes for the Kinniku Buster and drops her in the middle of the ring. Cover by Kyona, and she gets the three count! Tokyo Cyber Squad win!

This was a step down from the last Donna del Mondo match I watched but still solid. Maika isn’t quite ready for this type of spot, and while I appreciate them trying she really needs more experience. When she was in the ring the match tended to be far less crisp, she has the mat game but just isn’t smooth with it. The match needed more Hana and Giulia going at it, but what we got from them was really good and elevated the match. It was still a decent match overall since the other three really enhanced it, but Maika still being a bit light with her strikes and clunky brought it down from the level I was hoping it may reach.  Mildly Recommended

(c) Bea Priestley and Jamie Hayter vs. Momo Watanabe and Utami Hayashishita 
Goddesses of Stardom Championship

Queen’s Quest try to attack before the match but Jamie and Bea both bail out of the ring, Utami and Momo go after them but are immediately jumped for their trouble. Bea and Jamie both take a victory lap around the ring before hitting a high five, they go back to stomping on Momo and Utami before Momo is finally slid back in. Bea joins Momo and twists her arm in the ropes, she props up Momo’s arm on the mat before stomping on her elbow. Cover by Bea, but it gets two. Bea throws Momo into the corner so Jamie can help her with Momo, she tags in Jamie and Jamie elbows Momo in the corner. Scoop slam by Jamie and she slams Momo into the turnbuckles, strikes by Jamie but Momo hits a missile dropkick and makes the hot tag to Utami. Utami shoulderblocks Jamie and throws her into the corner, Bea runs in but Utami slams Bea into the same corner before hitting a running elbow. Utami gets on the second turnbuckle and hits a missile dropkick, cover by Utami but it gets two. Utami charges Jamie but Jamie catches her and suplexes her into the turnbuckle, running elbow and she hits a lariat. Short-range lariat by Jamie, and she covers Utami for a two count. Knees by Jamie and she hits an elbow combination, side slam onto her knee by Jamie and she hits a vertical suplex for two. Bea is tagged in, Irish whip by Bea but it is reversed. Bea kicks Utami when she charges in but Utami ducks her boot, elbows by Bea and she goes off the ropes but Utami catches her with a lariat.

Utami tags Momo, dropkick by Momo in the corner but Jamie grabs her from the apron. Bea runs over but dropkicks Jamie by accident, kicks by Momo to Bea and she hits a low dropkick in the corner. Side slam by Momo, and she covers Bea for two. Momo goes off the ropes but Bea catches her with a jumping knee, cover by Bea but it gets two. Bea goes off the ropes and knees Momo in the head, Momo ends up on the apron but Bea springs up to the top turnbuckle to jump after her. Momo moves and grabs Bea, hitting the B Driver on the apron. Utami holds Bea while Momo goes up top and hits a Somato to her back, regular Somato by Momo and she covers Bea for two. Momo hits a second B Driver, but Jamie breaks up the cover. Utami tries to get rid of Jamie but Jamie throws her out instead, leading to Momo being double teamed. Jamie and Bea wait for Momo to get up but Momo avoids their charge, she hits a Tequila Sunrise on Bea while Utami hits a German suplex on Jamie. Momo goes up top a nails the diving Somato, but it only gets two. Peace Sunrise by Momo to Bea, but Jamie barely breaks up the cover. Utami collects Jamie and they exit the ring, Momo picks up Bea but Bea snaps off a Regal Plex. Bea grabs Momo by the arms and knees her in the head, cover by Bea but Momo kicks out. Jamie gets rid of Utami and stays in the ring, they wait for Momo to get up and deliver a double strike. Bea knees Momo in the back of the head, she sets her up in the corner and nails the Queen’s Landing, and she gets the three count! Bea Priestley and Jamie Hayter retain the championship.

This was good, it took a few minutes to get going but the last few minutes were really exciting. This is the first Joshi event that took place in Japan that I’ve ever watched unspoiled, so its extra fun not knowing who is going to win as the match unfolds. I love all four of these wrestlers, both teams work together well and while Bea is obnoxious I find her obnoxious in an good way. Everything was smooth as there wasn’t a “weak link” in the match, and Momo takes a beating pretty well. No major complaints about the match, it didn’t reach the high peak but stayed interesting up to the hot ending. Not a MOTYC, but a fun co-main with four of my personal favorites in Stardom.  Recommended

Mayu Iwatani vs. Saki Kashima
Lumberjack Match

Mayu attacks Saki before the match starts but Saki quickly gets in control and throws Mayu into the turnbuckles. Mayu kicks Saki and tosses her out of the ring, but she runs away from the STARS lumberjacks and slides back in. Saki throws Mayu out and she is beaten by Oedo Tai, Natsu Sumire wraps up Mayu in the ring apron while Natsuko hits her with an umbrella. Natsu slides Mayu back in and Saki starts working over Mayu’s leg. Saki sets up Mayu in the ropes while Natsu takes off one of the turnbuckle pads, Saki throws Mayu into the exposed corner before choking her in it. Saki trips Mayu and applies an ankle submission hold, but Mayu gets to the ropes for the break. Saki sets up Mayu’s leg in the ropes and dropkicks it, sending Mayu crashing out of the ring. Natsu beats her with the turnbuckle pad until STARS comes over to try to help, but Oedo Tai wins the melee and go back to attacking Mayu. STARS returns as they brawl again, with STARS getting the better of it this time. Saki comes out to and hits Mayu with the turnbuckle pad herself, she slides Mayu back into the ring and continues stomping on her. Saki throws Mayu into the corner but Mayu avoids her charge and delivers a dropkick.

Mayu goes off the ropes and hits a dropkick, sending Saki out of the ring. Mayu goes up to the top turnbuckle and dives out onto Oedo Tai with a plancha suicida, but they catch her and carry Mayu up into the (empty) stands. STARS run after them and rescue Mayu, Mayu goes to the top of the balcony and dives off of it onto the crowd. Saki hits her from behind with a chair while she is celebrating, Saki takes Mayu even higher into the stands and kicks her down the stairs. They finally get back into the ring, Saki goes for a diving footstomp but Mayu rolls out of the way and drop toeholds her into the exposed turnbuckle. Mayu gets Saki up in the Running Three position and tosses her out of the ring and down onto the lumberjacks. They roll Saki back in, dropkick by Mayu and she kicks Saki in the back. Slap by Mayu but Saki slaps her back, kicks by Saki and she slams Mayu into the mat. More slaps by Saki and she boots Mayu, cover by Saki but it gets two. Saki picks up Mayu but Mayu gets away and hits a release dragon suplex.

Saki charges Mayu but Mayu moves, she goes for a superkick but hits the referee by accident. The rest of Oedo Tai all run in the ring and attack Mayu in the corner, but STARS come in and do the same to Saki. Mayu goes up top and hits a missile dropkick, cover by Mayu but there is still no referee. Mayu goes up top again and hits a diving body press, she calls for the moonsault and nails it as the referee returns. Cover by Mayu, but Saki barely gets a shoulder up. Mayu goes for the Two Stage Dragon Suplex but Saki blocks it and cradles her for two. Head kick by Mayu, she picks up Saki and hits the dragon suplex hold, but the referee is pulled out of the ring before he can finish the count. Mayu goes off the ropes but Natsu hits her with a chair, Bea boots Mayu but STARS come in to even the odds as they clear the ring. Superkick by Mayu to Saki and she hits two more, Buzzsaw Kick by Mayu and she hits a tombstone piledriver. Mayu goes up top (referee is back) and hits a second moonsault, cover by Mayu and she gets the three count! Mayu Iwatani wins the match.

There was so much going on in this match. First, the good – Mayu Iwatani is amazing. She held this match together, while people around her were having issues she was laying in hard kicks and diving off things and tumbling down things to make the match memorable and fun. As for the bad, there were a lot of little missed spots like Natsu with the chair and the lumberjack setup at times was overly chaotic. Its a fine line, some chaos is good but a few times it felt like it was just dragging things out. The referee bump wasn’t really necessary since the rules were pretty loose anyway, but at least he recovered both times pretty quickly. All in all, a fun match that had a lot of small flaws but ultimately was enjoyable due to the strong effort by Mayu.  Recommended

The post Stardom No People Gate on 3/8/20 Review appeared first on Joshi City.

Championships Held: AJW Championship, AJW Jr. Championship, All Pacific Championship, AtoZ World Championship, Japanese Tag Team Championship, NEO Championship, WWWA Tag Team Championship, and the WWWA World Championship
Tournaments Won: Japan Grand Prix (2001) and the AJW Tag League the Best (1998 and 2002)
Awards Won: Tokyo Sports Women’s Award (2002)

Notable Matches:

• April 12th, 1998 vs. Emi Motokawa
• July 11th, 1999 vs. Chaparita Asari
• February 24th, 2002 vs. Kumiko Maekawa
• June 2nd, 2002 with Nanae Takahashi vs. Rumi Kazama and Takako Inoue

Signature Moves:

• Dragon Suplex
• Momo☆Latch
• Momo☆O
• Otenba Dash
• Uramomo☆Latch

In Action:

Coming Soon 

Back to Retired Wrestlers

The post Momoe Nakanishi 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

The post AtoZ “1st Anniversary Mainstream” on 7/19/04 Review appeared first on Joshi City.

Let’s jump back to some AJW, but not to classic AJW but rather ‘towards the end of its life’ AJW. By 2004, AJW wasn’t doing well. The heyday of arenas full of tens of thousands of people was long gone, as AJW lost its regular TV slot in 2002 and had struggled to keep their head above water with the lost revenue. The promotion still had quality wrestlers for sure, but none that really captured the hearts of fans like The Crush Gals, Manami Toyota, Jaguar Yokota, and all the stars that at one time made AJW one of the most successful promotions in the world. I picked this show intentionally as it had a big title match plus three matches with young wrestlers versus veterans which tend to be pretty entertaining. Plus we have two Tag League the Best Tournament matches and baby Kana! Here is the full card:

• Rising Generation 1: Takako Inoue vs. Haruka Matsuo
• Tag League the Best First Round: Yumiko Hotta and Kana vs. Tomoko Watanabe and Emi Tojo
• Tag League the Best First Round: The Bloody and Fang Suzuki vs. Dump Matsumoto and Sasori
• Rising Generation 2: Momoe Nakanishi vs. Saki Maemura
• Rising Generation 3: Lioness Asuka vs. Hikaru
• Kumiko Maekawa vs. Amazing Kong
• WWWA World Championship: Ayako Hamada vs. Nanae Takahashi

I am sure some of this event will be clipped, but we’ll see which matches are as we get into it.

Takako Inoue vs. Haruka Matsuo

They jockey to start, Haruka avoids Takako’s boot and she hits a springboard armdrag off the ropes. Stomps by Haruka and she applies a seated armbar, but Takako gets into the ropes. Dropkicks by Haruka but Takako shrugs them off and plants the youngster with a DDT. Double underhook suplex by Takako and she applies a leg submission, but Haruka makes it into the ropes. Haruka goes for a crossbody by Takako catches her on the first attempt and ducks the second one before leveling Haruka with a high kick. Avalanche chokeslam of sorts by Takako, but Haruka barely kicks out of the cover. Haruka avoids Takako’s dive off the top turnbuckle and hits a hurricanrana, dropkick by Haruka and she hits a missile dropkick. She hits another missile dropkick, cover by Haruka but it gets two as does the Northern Lights Suplex. High kick by Takako, she picks up Haruka and hits a snap backdrop suplex hold for a two count. Spinning backfist by Takako, but again Haruka gets a shoulder up. Haruka slaps Takako and applies a wing clutch hold for a two count, she goes up top and delivers a diving body press before hitting a German suplex hold for two. Takako’s Night Night by Takako, she goes up top and hits the Takako Panic for the three count! Your winner is Takako Inoue!

One of the benefits of this series being young wrestlers but not rookies is that we get real match. Takako looked great here as she was on point with all her offense but still gave Haruka enough that both came out looking fine. Not a very long match and it might have been clipped a bit, but a fun way to kick off the show.  Mildly Recommended

Yumiko Hotta and Kana vs. Tomoko Watanabe and Emi Tojo

Kana and Watanabe start the match as Kana quickly hits a trio of dropkicks, but Watanabe dropkicks her back and hits a scoop slam. Rebound elbow drop by Watanabe, Tojo runs in and hits a body press before Watanabe covers her for two. Watanabe works over Kana on the mat, and we clip ahead to Kana kicking Watanabe in the corner. That doesn’t last long as Watanabe fights back, Tojo comes in and Kana is double teamed in the corner. Watanabe suplexes Tojo onto Kana, Tojo stays in and applies a headlock to Kana but Kana fires off some elbows and hits a dropkick. The young pair jockey for position on the mat until Tojo hits a quick suplex. Tojo tags in Watanabe, sunset flip by Kana but Watanabe grabs the ropes. Hotta comes in and hits a heel kick on Watanabe, Watanabe hits a back bodydrop but Kana dropkicks Watanabe. Watanabe knocks them both back with a springboard double elbow but Hotta grabs her and hits a Tiger Driver for a two count. Hotta tags Kana by slapping her, missile dropkick by Kana but Watanabe kicks her in the chest. Dropkick by Kana but Watanabe fires back with a lariat for a two count. Watanabe tags Tojo, knees by Tojo in the corner and she hits a dropkick. Scoop slam by Tojo but Kana dropkicks her, back bodydrop by Tojo but Kana dropkicks her again and covers her for two. Tojo and Kana trade elbows, Kana goes off the ropes and she hits three hip attacks for a two count. Tojo and Kana trade slaps, roll-up by Kana but Watanabe comes in and Kana is double teamed. Tojo gets on the second turnbuckle and hits a missile dropkick, but Kana makes the tag to Hotta. Dropkicks by Tojo to Hotta but Hotta hits a double face crusher, Tojo blocks the Tiger Driver and Watanabe comes in to kick Hotta in the chest. Tojo goes for a sunset flip by Hotta sits on her chest to block it, Hotta picks up Tojo but Watanabe knocks her over. Shining Wizard by Tojo to Hotta, but it only gets a two count. Tojo goes off the ropes but Watanabe hits a palm thrust, Hotta knocks Watanabe to the mat and then hits a Tiger driver on Tojo for the three count! Hotta and Kana win the match and move on in the tournament.

Good, but not great. It was fun to see Kana in her first year, still a bit rough around the edges and not at all like what she is today, but with some glimpses of skill and fire like you want to see in wrestlers early in their career. The match was just a bit too random and had no flow whatsoever, most of it was just them taking turns hitting moves on each other without a sense that either team had a strategy. The clipping may be slightly to blame but the match was probably like that in full as well. The action was generally solid so no complaints there, it just lacked something special to make it a memorable match or to feel like an important tournament match.

The Bloody and Fang Suzuki vs. Dump Matsumoto and Sasori

Matsumoto attacks Bloody before the match starts and the action immediately spills outside of the ring, with Matsumoto’s friends helping as well. Matsumoto and Bloody finally get in the ring with Matsumoto’s masked friend doing a bulk of the work, Suzuki comes in but Matsumoto quickly knocks her back out. Sasori comes in and trades elbows with Bloody, Matsumoto hits Bloody with kendo stick but Suzuki hits Sasori with a chair. Bloody tags Suzuki and Suzuki hits Sasori with a chair, but the masked friend returns and takes it from her. She then hits Suzuki with the chair as Suzuki is triple teamed in the corner. Sasori bites Bloody in the head and hits a hard elbow, cover by Sasori but it gets two. Matsumoto comes in and hits Bloody with the kendo stick, Bloody sneaks in a sunset flip but it only gets two. Sasori suplexes Bloody, the masked woman comes in and she hits a suplex to Suzuki. Matsumoto hits everyone with a paint can, including the referee (well especially the referee), but Suzuki comes in with a chair and hits Sasori in the head. Bloody gets Sasori in the corner and chokes her, snap backdrop suplex by Suzuki and Bloody hits a diving senton off the rope. Bloody is pulled outside the ring and attacked, at some point in all this the referee wakes and DQs Matsumoto and Sasori. Bloody and Suzuki move on in the tournament.

So this was an experience. I knew that it would be a brawl but it was one of those types where Matsumoto never even left the ring and just interfered whenever she felt like it. At least they did get DQed, unlike the old days, but it still wasn’t really a match in the traditional sense of the word. None of these four by 2004 were great wrestlers in the traditional sense of the word but the brawl just wasn’t heated enough to make up for it. Interesting perhaps, but still not something I could really recommended.

Momoe Nakanishi vs. Saki Maemura

Momoe and Saki get right into it with no wasted time, quick dropkick by Momoe and the pair trade elbows back and forth until Saki throws down Momoe by her hair. She does it again and hits a few snapmares before applying a sleeper, bodyscissors by Saki but Momoe gets out of it and delivers with a dropkick. Momoe goes up top and hits a missile dropkick but Saki hits a rebound crossbody out of the corner for two. Saki goes up top but Momoe hits her and joins her. Saki slides off and dropkicks Momoe, release German by Saki and she hits a missile dropkick. Saki dropkicks Momoe out of the ring, she then goes up top and hits a diving crossbody down to the floor. Saki slides Momoe back in but Momoe hits a dropkick, Saki falls out of the ring and Momoe goes for a moonsault, but Saki moves out of the way. Dropkick by Saki from the apron, she slides Momoe back in and hits a missile dropkick for a two count. Fisherman suplex by Saki, but Momoe gets a shoulder up again. Saki goes up top but Momoe gets her feet up on the diving body press attempt, quick roll-up by Saki gets a two. She tries another one with the same result, double underhook suplex by Momoe but it gets a two. Momoe goes up top and hits a missile dropkick but Saki comes back with a German suplex hold. German suplex hold by Momoe but Saki blocks the dragon suplex attempt and the two trade pick pins. Saki goes off the ropes but Momoe catches her with a Momo☆OK, a second Momo☆OK by Momoe and she picks up the three count!  Momoe Nakanishi is the winner.

A very high speed match and a hell of a sprint, both hit a million dropkicks and were flying around everywhere. It still had some big moves, with a dive by Saki and a dropkick off the apron, but most of it was focused between the ropes. There wasn’t a lot in terms of things like long term selling as they were going too fast to worry about such things, but for a shorter match it worked fine. A good display by both and overall enjoyable.  Mildly Recommended

Lioness Asuka vs. Hikaru

Asuka shows immediately that she has not mellowed with age, as she attacks Hikaru during the handshake and then sprays green mist in her face. Snapmares and kicks by Asuka, she gets her table and catapults it into Hikaru’s face. Asuka’s posse helps (as if she needed it) as Hikaru falls outside of the ring to be tended to by her corners. Asuka goes out to get her and rams her head into the table, Asuka charges Hikaru and lariats her against the table before rolling her back into the ring. Hikaru is then attacked with chairs as Hikaru is now bleeding, Blue Thunder Driver by Asuka but the referee won’t count it due to all the cheating. Asuka doesn’t care and starts choking Hikaru, knee drops by Asuka but Hikaru finally fights back with elbows. She bounces off the ropes but is tripped from ringside, Asuka grabs Hikaru and puts her in the Tree of Woe. Sliding dropkicks to Hikaru and Asuka puts her in a modified Camel Clutch. Hikaru manages to hit a big spear, knees by Asuka and she kicks Hikaru in the head. The table is propped up in the corner but Hikaru knocks Asuka back and hits a missile dropkick. Hikaru charges Asuka but Asuka moves so Hikaru runs into the table. Asuka puts the table onto Hikaru, she gets on the top turnbuckle and she hits a diving footstomp onto the table. Liger Bomb by Asuka, but Hikaru gets a shoulder up. Asuka gets Hikaru on her shoulders but she slides away and goes up top. Asuka joins her but Hikaru knocks her back down and and hits a missile dropkick for a two count. Asuka elbows Hikaru but Hikaru hits a spear, Hikaru picks up Asuka and she hits a Samoan Drop for a two count. Spinebuster by Hikaru, she picks up Asuka as Asuka’s friend comes in, but the friend hits Asuka with the chair by accident. Fisherman Driver by Hikaru, but Asuka gets a toe on the ropes. Hikaru goes to pick up Asuka but Asuka throws a fireball at her face, Hikaru rolls out of the ring and Asuka throws her into the stands. Asuka goes up to the top turnbuckle and hits a diving footstomp through the table (and obviously Hikaru), she slides Hikaru back in and she nails the Towerhacker Bomb, but Hikaru gets a shoulder up. Asuka goes for the LSD II, but Hikaru blocks it and rolls up Asuka for two. Heel kick by Asuka and she hits a second one, but Hikaru kicks out. Hikaru slaps Asuka but Asuka slaps her back and hits the LSD III for the three count! Lioness Asuka wins!

I love Asuka, here she was just a few months from retiring due neck injuries but she was holding nothing back to put on a good show. Diving footstomps through tables, fireballs, it was fun to watch. Asuka has a reputation as being a selfish worker, mostly deserved, but she wasn’t here as Hikaru kicked out of some of her bigger moves and had several close nearfalls against the Joshi legend. It was constant action with no wasted time, from the first misting to the final LSD something was always happening. A really solid match and to me just further cements Asuka’s place as one of the top Joshi wrestlers of all time.  Recommended

Kumiko Maekawa vs. Amazing Kong

Maekawa and Kong lock knuckles, chops by Kong and she lariats Maekawa to the mat. Maekawa gets back up and puts Kong in a seated armbar, but Kong gets a foot onto the ropes to break the hold. Kicks by Maekawa but she lets up Kong while smiling, Kong avoids the next kick however and she tosses Maekawa out of the ring. She goes out after her but Maekawa rolls in real quick, Maekawa kicks Kong as she gets on the apron and exits the ring to throw Kong into the guard rail. Maekawa battles Kong around the ring but Kong regains the advantage and throws Maekawa into the railing. Vertical suplex by Kong on the floor and she goes for a powerbomb, but Maekawa slides away and drop toeholds Kong onto some chairs. Maekawa slides Kong back in and hits a heel drop in the corner, Calf Branding by Maekawa and she covers Kong for two.

Kong fires back with a lariat and hits a double underhook facebuster, she gets on the second turnbuckle and hits a diving bodypress for a two count. Kong goes for a powerbomb but Maekawa gets out of it and hits a leg sweep. She goes off the ropes but Kong hits a lariat, Maekawa kips up however and delivers a heel kick for two. Kong finally hits the powerbomb, but the cover only gets a two count. Heel Drop by Maekawa, but Kong barely kicks out. Maekawa picks up Kong but she blocks the next Heel Drop attempt, quick roll-up by Maekawa but Kong kicks out. Kong returns the favor with her own roll-up for two, she picks up Maekawa but Maekawa blocks the spinning backfist. Kong finally hits one but Maekawa comes back with a high kick as they trade strikes back and forth. Back kick by Maekawa and she hits a rolling heel kick, she goes for a boot in the corner but Kong avoids it and applies a backslide for two. Sit-down Powerbomb by Kong, she picks up Maekawa and clubs her in the face. Kong goes up to the second turnbuckle and hits a diving legdrop, she gets on the second turnbuckle again but Maekawa avoids the diving bodypress. Kicks to the head by Maekawa but Kong sneaks in an inside cradle for two. Heel Drop by Maekawa, but Kong kicks out of the pin. Another Heel Drop by Maekawa, and this time she gets the three count! Maekawa is the winner.

Definitely an interesting match. It was odd seeing the monster Kong being the one going for sneaky pins while Maekawa was content in kicking the hell out of her. I love Maekawa’s Heel Drops, she gets so much elevation on her kick, I’ve never seen anything like it. Only issue it that she was so dominating that I never really brought into Kong winning as even though she hit her powerbomb you knew it would take more than that. Lots of hard strikes and solid action, it just had too much meandering brawling and not enough emotion.

(c) Ayako Hamada vs. Nanae Takahashi

They shake hands but Hamada grabs Takahashi and hits a quick powerbomb. Superkick by Hamada and a heel kick, and she delivers the AP Cross for a two count. Back up Hamada hits another heel kick, but Takahashi ducks the next one and hits a backdrop suplex. Another backdrop suplex by Takahashi and she hits a lariat before delivering a Nana☆Racka for two. Dropkick by Takahashi but Hamada returns fire. Hamada and Takahashi trade elbows as they return to their feet, Hamada charges Takahashi but Takahashi dumps her out of the ring. Plancha suicida by Takahashi, she rolls Hamada back in the ring but Hamada avoids the reverse splash. Hamada goes for a moonsault but Takahashi gets her feet up and hits a release German suplex. Takahashi goes up top but Hamada smacks her and joins her, hitting an Avalanche Frankensteiner down to the floor. Both wrestlers are hurt but Hamada is up first and slides Takahashi back in the ring, missile dropkick by Hamada and she hits a sit-down powerbomb for two. Takahashi rolls out of the ring, still in a good amount of pain, but Hamada goes out after her and hits her with a set of chairs. Vertical suplex by Hamada and she climbs up onto the stage, and she hits a moonsault down onto Takahashi. They battle up onto the balcony, Hamada tries to throw her off but Takahashi blocks it and slides her over the edge.

Hamada hangs for a moment before falling down to the floor, Takahashi then climbs to the other side of the railing and jumps down onto Hamada. So far this match is just a series of big spots but I love it. Takahashi tosses Hamada around the ring before they get up on the apron, Hamada gets a chair but tosses it at Takahashi and pretends like Takahashi hit her. The referee fusses at her, giving Hamada time to roll the ring, she then dropkicks Takahashi off the apron and goes for a moonsault, but Takahashi side steps it and puts Hamada on the apron. Takahashi then grabs Hamada and hits a vertical suplex off the apron down to the floor, she puts her back in the ring and hits a backdrop suplex for two. Big lariat by Takahashi, footstomp by Takahashi and she hits a Nana☆Racka for two. Hamada goes for a kick but Takahashi catches it and suplexes her to the mat. Lariat by Takahashi but Hamada sneaks in an inside cradle for a two count. Another lariat by Takahashi but Hamada springs back up just to eat another one. La Magistral by Hamada, but Takahashi gets a shoulder up. Enzuigiri by Hamada but Takahashi slides away from the powerbomb attempt. Dropkick by Hamada, she picks up Takahashi and hits the Pyramid Driver for a two count. AP Cross by Hamada, but Takahashi barely gets a shoulder up. Hamada kicks Takahashi in the head and she puts Takahashi in a backslide for two. Running slap by Hamada and she hits two heel kicks, AP Cross by Hamada but Takahashi kicks out. Lariat by Takahashi and she hits a Nana☆Racka, but it only gets a one. Takahashi charges Hamada but Hamada catches her and hits a AP Cross Diamond for two. Takahashi comes back with a jumping knee, Takahashi goes up top but Hamada joins her, she goes for a cutter but Takahashi blocks it and slides off. Hamada kicks Takahashi back but Takahashi punches her back and gets her in the Muscle Buster position. Nana Racka II by Takahashi, and she picks up the three count! Takahashi is the new champion!

Well that was one hell of a spotfest, just twenty minutes of them doing big moves until finally someone did a move strong enough to keep the other down. Which in a way is the problem with a match like this, the Nana Racka II is a great move but after everything that had been done it seemed almost anti-climatic. But they did two very similar bumps to the Kobashi/Akiyama match, which I doubt was a coincidence as that was the ‘big match’ of the year that had happened six months prior. It was certainly exciting as they kept ramping up the violence and there was never a dull moment, definitely worth tracking down for the “oh shit” moments if nothing else, and Hamada was on another level back in 2004.  Recommended

The post AJW Rising Generation Special in KAWASAKI 12/12/04 Review appeared first on Joshi City.