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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Hina vs. Maika

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Full Details

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

(c) Hanan vs. Rina
Future of Stardom Championship

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

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

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

MIRAI vs. Saya Iida

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Maika and Thekla vs. Risa Sera and Suzu Suzuki

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Mayu Iwatani and KAIRI vs. Tam Nakano and Unagi Sayaka

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

(c) Syuri vs. Giulia
World of Stardom Championship

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Event: Stardom “KAWASAKI SUPER WARS ~ KAWASAKI SUPER WOMEN’S WAR”
Date: November 3rd, 2021
Location: Todoroki Arena in Kawasaki, Kanagawa, Japan
Announced Attendance: 906
Broadcast: Streamed on Stardom World and on PPV

It has been a long time since I’ve sat down and reviewed a Stardom event. Stardom has some of my favorite Joshi wrestlers and I’ve still been spot-watching matches, but due to time and other hobbies I haven’t been as focused on reviewing events lately. But with Utami Hayashishita and Hazuki in the main event of Stardom KAWASAKI SUPER WARS, I figured this was as good of an event as any to jump back into it. There are other fun things on the show as well, the winners of the big matches are fairly obvious but that doesn’t mean the matches won’t be entertaining. Here is the full card:

• Future Of Stardom Championship: Ruaka vs. Lady C
• Goddesses Of Stardom Tag League: Fukigen Death and Saki Kashima vs. Hanan and Rina
• Maika vs. Mina Shirakawa vs. Saya Kamitani
• Himeka and Natsupoi vs. Koguma and Mayu Iwatani
• High Speed Championship: Starlight Kid vs. Momo Watanabe
• SWA Undisputed World Women’s Championship and 5STAR Grand Prix Contract: Syuri vs. AZM
• Wonder Of Stardom Championship: Tam Nakano vs. Unagi Sayaka
• World Of Stardom Championship: Utami Hayashishita vs. Hazuki

All wrestlers on the show have a profile on Joshi City, you can click on their names above to go straight to it. I’m watching the live version of the show, which probably won’t be any different from the Stardom World version but wanted to note that just in case.

(c) Ruaka vs. Lady C
Future of Stardom Championship
We start the show with a title match. Ruaka has been in Stardom for several years but is only 17 years old, she isn’t a high end wrestler (yet) but seems to have embraced her Oedo Tai persona and the promotion is giving her a solid go at it as she nears adulthood. Lady C has been wrestling for a year and has struggled to find any success – she very rarely picks up wins and even though she is 27 she currently ranks near the bottom of the promotion. She has won exactly one singles match in her career and so far is 0-3 against Ruaka in singles matches, so needless to say the odds are stacked against her picking up the championship.

Lady C charges Ruaka to start the match and boots her, elbows by Lady C and she chops Ruaka in the chest. Lady C charges at Ruaka but Ruaka hits a shoulderblock, Ruaka kicks at Lady C and challenges her to get back up, chop but Lady C but Ruaka knocks her down with another shoulderblock. Ruaka goes for a running senton but Lady C moves, hip toss by Lady C and she hits a running boot to Ruaka’s face. Another boot by Lady C and she covers Ruaka for two. Lady C picks up Ruaka and puts her in a stretch hold, but Ruaka gets out of it and hits a shoulderblock. Ruaka picks up Lady C but Lady C blocks the fisherman suplex, Lady C clubs Ruaka and goes for a choke hold, but Ruaka quickly gets out of it. Crossbody by Ruaka, but it gets a two count. Ruaka goes to the top turnbuckle but Lady C recovers and elbows her before she can jump off. Ruaka knocks Lady C back but Lady C hits a boot before tossing Ruaka back to the mat. Running kneedrop by Lady C and she covers Ruaka for a two count. Lady C applies a cobra clutch but Ruaka spins out of it and hits a lariat. Running senton by Ruaka, she picks up Lady C and delivers a fisherman suplex hold for a two count. Ruaka goes up to the top turnbuckle and nails the Freezer Bomb, picking up the three count! Ruaka wins and retains the championship.

A simple match, as one would expect. There is a reason that Lady C is struggling to move up the card – she is fundamentally coming along ok but she is a little awkward still and isn’t ready yet for a bigger role. Maybe one day. Ruaka isn’t great either but does enough to get by, so combining the two it wasn’t going to be a technical masterpiece. They were smart to keep the match short (under five minutes) as it allowed them to stay on point and get through the match with minimal downtime. Not a bad way to start the event, but hopefully the Future of Stardom Championship gets some better matches soon.

Fukigen Death and Saki Kashima vs. Hanan and Rina
Goddesses Of Stardom Tag League
As this event took place in the middle of the Goddesses of Stardom Tag League, they decided to put one filler match from the tournament onto this show. I say its a filler match as neither of these teams have any chance at winning the tournament as on one side is a clown and on the other side are two literal children. Really, its a case where these four probably would have had nothing to do on this show anyway so it made sense to go ahead and get their tag league match out of the way. Course, Rina is in Oedo Tai with Death and Saki Kashima, so this may not go well for Hanan either way. I’m not overly excited about it although I haven’t seen Hanan in awhile and I am curious to see how she is progressing based on the early promise she showed.

Saki and Death attack Hanan as the match starts with Rina (her own partner) watching as she is in Oedo Tai so she doesn’t actually like Hanan (in wrestling, I am sure IRL the sisters are good friends). Rina beats on Hanan before Saki hits a scoop slam, Saki chokes Hanan and tags in Death. Death grabs Hanan and throws her down by the hair but Hanan hits a judo toss and tags in Rina. Rina picks up Hanan and slams her onto Death, she then grabs Hanan and drop toeholds her onto Death for a two count cover. Rina puts Death in an Octopus Hold into a cradle, but Death kicks out at two. Irish whip by Rina, reversed, and Death pokes Rina in the eyes. Back elbow by Death, and she covers Rina for two. Death tags in Saki, she hesitates to hit Rina so Rina elbows her and hits a hip toss.

Hanan comes in and they Irish whip Saki, but Saki breaks through their arms and kicks Hanan out of the ring. Capture suplex by Rina to Saki, but it only gets two. She makes the tag to Hanan, dropkicks by Hanan but Saki blocks the suplex attempt. Face crusher out of the corner by Saki and she delivers a big boot for a two count. Rina comes in and they both toss Saki to the mat, Hanan picks up Saki and delivers a Cutie Special for a two count. Death comes in but Hanan dropkicks her, Hanan tries to dropkick Saki but kicks Rina by mistake. Rina isn’t happy about this and she helps Saki boot Hanan before all three hit running strikes in the corner. Double arm suplex by Saki, but Hanan barely gets a shoulder up. Saki drags up Hanan and delivers the My Emblem, and she picks up the three count! Saki Kashima and Fukigen Death win and gets two points in the tournament.

While at least this had something resembling a story due to the Hanan/Rina dynamic, still not a whole lot here to get excited about. Faction wrestlers do frequently wrestle against each other (as we’ll see later tonight) so it wasn’t outside the realm of normal in Stardom for Rina to fight her own teammates to try to get the win, but she didn’t stay committed to that theory for very long. A short match that I guess showed that the Oedo Tai family is tighter to Rina than her real family.

Maika vs. Mina Shirakawa vs. Saya Kamitani
Business has picked up a little bit as we have a unique three way match. Three way matches by definition can struggle to find their footing, as it can be awkward with a third wheel, but these three are all pretty solid wrestlers. Saya Kamitani I wish had a bigger match on the event as she is one of the brighter young stars in the promotion, but Maika and Mina are no slouches so its not like she is wrestling too low on the card. The three way element makes the winner less predictable than most of the matches on the show, which is nice, and if the match is long enough to give the individuals a chance to shine it should be a solid match.

Mina goes on the offense to start as she armdrags both opponents, but gets kicked by both for her trouble. Mina briefly gets them to pose with her before Saya kicks Mina and she is double teamed. Saya and Maika face off, Saya flips away from Maika but Maika avoids the dropkick. Saya then avoids the sliding lariat and dropkicks Maika in the back, Saya throws Maika into the corner but Maika flips her out to the apron. Saya knocks back Maika and goes for a springboard crossbody, but Maika catches her and slams Saya to the mat for a two count. Maika picks up Saya but Saya blocks the suplex, she goes off the ropes but Maika re-appears and hits a jumping double chop on her. Dropkick by Mina, and she covers Saya for two. Mina asks Maika to help her so she does, as they put Saya in a double Mexican Surfboard. Saya rolls out of the ring as Mina and Maika face each other, Mina blocks the suplex and the two trade elbows.

Saya dives in with a combo springboard dropkick/crossbody to interrupt, Maika throws Saya into the corner and hits a lariat. Hard shoulderblock by Maika, she picks up Saya but Mina rolls up Maika from behind as all three trade flash pins. Mina grabs Maika but Maika levels her with a short-range lariat, Saya returns and dropkicks Maika but Maika knocks her back. Heel kick by Saya, she goes to the top turnbuckle but Maika recovers and joins her. Maika hits a superplex while Mina sneaks in and powerbombs Maika, sending both crashing to the mat. Mina elbows Saya in the back of the head, she props her legs up on the top rope and delivers a DDT for a two count. Mina picks up Saya but Saya blocks the DDT, Maika runs in and lariats Saya in the back. Rolling kick by Mina to Maika, she goes back to Saya and goes for the DDT again, but Saya blocks it and snaps off a hurricanrana for two. Saya charges Mina but Mina hits a Lou Thesz Press, she picks up Saya and this time nails the Implant DDT for the three count! Mina Shirakawa is the winner!

If I had to predict a winner, it would not have been “Mina pins Saya” but all three are on a similar level right now in Stardom. Mina has vastly improved since joining Stardom, similar to Maika – whatever they are doing in the dojo at Stardom is working as everyone they sign gets better. For a short chaotic three way match this wasn’t bad, Saya looked impressive with her high flying and Mina controlled the action well. Maika got lost in the shuffle here and wasn’t memorable, but that’s just the way that things go sometimes. A perfectly fine midcard match, but nothing you’ll really remember by the end of the event.

Himeka and Natsupoi vs. Koguma and Mayu Iwatani
Another match that ultimately means nothing but still could be a banger if they put the effort into it. I enjoyed Himeka in AgZ but she’s really stepped it up since joining Stardom, her partner Natsupoi has had some iffy moments in Stardom with execution however I still find her exciting to watch. On the other side, the Icon Mayu Iwatani teams with the recently returned Koguma, I haven’t seen much of Koguma since her comeback so I am interested to see how she is coming along. A fun combination of wrestlers so I’m expecting good things.

Natsupoi and Koguma start off and get right to it, getting into a fast exchange ending in a stalemate. Koguma slides out of the ring and pulls Himeka out with her, using Himeka as a distraction as she runs around the ring. She eventually slides back in as Natsupoi follows, she jumps out to the apron and slides back in with a sunset flip for two. She tags in Mayu, snapmare by Mayu and she kicks Natsupoi in the back. Chinlock by Mayu, Himeka tries to break it up but Koguma sends her out of the ring. Mayu lets go after a moment and throws down Natsupoi by the hair, she tosses Natsupoi into the corner and tags in Koguma. Stomps by Koguma and she hits a scoop slam, body press by Koguma but it only gets a two count. Mayu is tagged back in as Natsupoi continues being the Face In Peril, but she finally gets away and delivers a jumping crossbody which gives her time to tag in Himeka. Hard shoulderblocks by Himeka, she throws Mayu into the corner but Mayu avoids her charge and delivers a sliding kick. Mayu tags in Koguma, body avalanche by Koguma in the corner to Himeka but Natsupoi runs in to help her partner. She doesn’t help much as Koguma stacks them both in the corner and hits a body avalanche followed by a jumping crossbody for two. Koguma picks up Himeka but Himeka gets Koguma on her shoulders and hits a Samoan Drop.

She makes the tag to Natsupoi, dropkick by Natsupoi but Koguma avoids the next attempt and stands on Natsupoi’s back near the ropes. Natsupoi avoids the jumping footstomp and nails Koguma with the Murder Dropkick, cover by Natsupoi but it gets two. Natsupoi picks up Koguma and goes for a cradle, however Koguma reverses it for a two count of her own. Scoop slam by Koguma, she picks up Natsupoi but Himeka runs in with a knee. Neckbreaker by Natsupoi, she goes for a cover but Koguma cradles her for two. Koguma applies a sleeper and she swings her around before dropping her to the mat. Koguma goes off the ropes but Natsupoi ducks the lariat and drops Koguma with a release German. Koguma follows with a release German of her own, both wrestlers roll to their corners and tag in their partners. Kick by Mayu but Himeka fires out of the corner with a shoulderblock and she puts Mayu in an elevated crab hold. Mayu gets into the ropes for the break, Himeka gets Mayu on her shoulders but Mayu slides off and schoolboys Himeka for two. She quickly follows with a sliding kick, Mayu goes for a slam of some sort but Himeka blocks it. Koguma flies in over Mayu with a face crusher onto Himeka, Koguma stays in and helps double team Himeka but Natsupoi breaks up Mayu’s cover. Mayu goes to the top turnbuckle but Natsupoi hits her from the apron, Himeka joins Mayu on the turnbuckle and gets her on her shoulders, but Mayu slides off as she lands on the mat. Natsupoi dropkicks Mayu, double Irish whip to Mayu but Mayu grabs their hands and delivers a double springboard armdrag.

Koguma comes in and they both dropkick an opponent, sending them out of the ring. Mayu goes off the ropes and goes for a plancha suicida, but her opponents move and she ends up landing on her own partner and random ringside wrestlers instead. Natsupoi then goes up top and dives down onto Mayu and Koguma, Himeka slides Mayu back in and nails a big lariat for a two count. Himeka picks up Mayu and hits a backdrop suplex, sliding lariat by Himeka but again her cover only gets two. Himeka drags Mayu to her feet and throws her into the corner, Himeka sets up Mayu for a powerbomb while Natsupoi goes to the top turnbuckle, but Mayu ducks Natsupoi’s crossbody while hitting a hurricanrana on Himeka for a two count. Superkick by Mayu to Himeka with Koguma following with a missile dropkick. German Suplex Hold by Mayu to Himeka, but it gets a two count. Koguma is still in the ring as they both grab Himeka, but Himeka pushes them off before Natsupoi hits a diving crossbody on both. Himeka gets Mayu on her shoulders and nails the JP Coaster, but Mayu kicks out of the pin. Himeka lariats Mayu in the back and sets her up on the turnbuckle, she sets up Mayu for a powerbomb while Natsupoi dives off the top with a crossbody. Cover by Himeka, but Mayu barely gets a shoulder up. Himeka scoops up Mayu before nailing a powerbomb, but that gets a two as well. Lariat by Himeka as she gets Mayu up for a powerbomb again, she nails the running powerbomb but Koguma breaks up the cover. Before she can do anything else, the bell rings as time has expired. The match is a Draw.

Even though this was only a 15 minute match, they packed A LOT into it. They had no downtime whatsoever, it was pretty much go-go-go from bell to bell. Everyone looked really good here and the chemistry they have is off the charts, as the action was smooth and the teamwork was always on point. Himeka continues to really elevate herself in any match I see her in, she presents herself as a power wrestler really well and Stardom wrestlers are generally so tiny that she has no issue throwing them around and leveling them with hard lariats. Koguma appears to have knocked all the rust off as she kept up with the others without any issue, and the match just clicked. While having a Draw is a bit of a cop-out, its not a big deal on the midcard. A really well structured and entertaining match.  Recommended

(c) Starlight Kid vs. Momo Watanabe
High Speed Championship
This one is interesting as I think everyone (including myself) expected some type of shenanigans as neither of these two should be losing clean here. Starlight Kid has been on a tear since joining Oedo Tai and its way too early for her to be dropping a title while in her new persona. Momo hasn’t had as much success lately but she is a respected vet and is capable of going after a major title whenever she wants to, plus she’s one of the better in-ring wrestlers they have. Even though I went into this not expecting a legitimate ending, they have good chemistry so whatever they do should be entertaining.

Starlight Kid pushes Momo into the ropes but Momo knocks her down with a dropkick, another dropkick by Momo but Ruaka trips Momo from the floor to give Starlight Kid the upper hand. Starlight Kid grabs Momo by the hair before going to the apron and pulling her head through the ropes. All of Oedo Tai jump on the apron to pose on Momo, kicks to the head by Starlight Kid and she boots Momo in the face. Back in the ring, cover by Starlight Kid but it gets a two count. Stomps by Starlight Kid and she throws Momo into the corner, Momo jumps up on the turnbuckle but Starlight Kid quickly pulls her back off and stomps her again. Starlight Kid charges Momo but Momo catches her with a double knee strike, she throws Starlight Kid out of the ring and hits a PK from the apron. Momo picks up Starlight Kid but Starlight Kid punches her and goes for a slam on the floor. Momo blocks it and eventually connects with a vertical suplex. Momo slides Starlight Kid back in, kick by Momo but Starlight Kid chops her back as the two trade blows. Momo delivers a series of kicks and goes for the B Driver, Starlight Kid blocks it but Momo kicks Starlight Kid in the shin. She goes for the Somato but Starlight Kid ducks it, Momo quickly recovers though and still hits the Somato anyway for a two count. Momo gets on the second turnbuckle and nails the diving Somato, but Starlight Kid gets a shoulder up on the cover.

Crossface chickenwing by Momo and she spins Starlight Kid around, dropping her with the B Driver for another two. Momo picks up Starlight Kid but Starlight Kid blocks the Tequila Sunrise, she goes for a hurricanrana but Momo blocks it and kicks Starlight Kid in the head. Momo picks up Starlight Kid but Starlight Kid quickly snaps off a Ki-chan Bomb for two. Starlight Kid picks up Momo and hits the cyclone neckbreaker, Starlight Kid goes to the top turnbuckle and nails the moonsault for a two count. Starlight Kid goes for a suplex but Momo blocks it, kick to the head by Momo and she charges Starlight Kid, but Starlight Kid holds down the top rope and Momo tumbles out of the ring. Starlight Kid goes out after her and they jockey for control out on the floor, hard head kick by Momo but Starlight Kid blocks the Tequila Sunrise and delivers a dropkick. Starlight Kid slides Momo back in but then pulls her right back out, as the rest of Oedo Tai come over to help. Starlight Kid sets up a chair on the ramp and Momo is sat on it, while Starlight Kid assaults her with food. Running boot by Starlight Kid but Momo hulks up and starts kicking everyone, she slams Starlight Kid’s head repeatedly into a chair and rips at her mask. Starlight Kid gets away and the two start trading elbows, Starlight Kid pushes Momo against the railing but Momo switches positions with her as they continue to brawl. The referee eventually has had enough and starts the count, and he reaches 20 while the two are still way down the ramp. The match is a Draw, Starlight Kid retains the championship.

A non-conclusive ending as was expected, but what they did was fun to watch. Momo is at her best when she’s an ass kicker and she kicked a bunch here, as she was in no mood for Starlight Kid’s attitude and showed off her more aggressive side as a result. She really came across as the better wrestler, but that’s ok as she is more accomplished than Starlight Kid, who is still building her career. The ending will lead to a bigger match down the road more than likely on a bigger event, so this was an entertaining taste of things to come. A little short, but overall still a good time.  Mildly Recommended

(c) Syuri vs. AZM
SWA Undisputed World Women’s Championship and 5STAR Grand Prix Contract
They really tried to build intrigue for this match, but it was a hard sell to Stardom fans. Syuri not only is popular but traditionally is extremely difficult to defeat. There is a reason she went to a Draw with Utami and won the 5STAR Grand Prix – she’s one of the toughest wrestlers in the promotion. AZM has been doing better in the last year but is still only 19 years old with one singles title run in her career. She’s feisty, but there is no way she was going to take down Syuri. Still, Syuri is a giving wrestler so AZM should put up a good fight before losing.

They trade waistlocks to start, Syuri gets AZM to the mat first but AZM switches positions with her as they jockey for position. They eventually return to their feet and lock knuckles, Syuri gets AZM’s back as they continue going back and forth. Hard shoulderblock by Syuri but AZM quickly returns to her feet and armdrags Syuri out of the ring. AZM gets on the apron but Syuri catches the PK and pulls AZM down to the floor with her. AZM whips off a hurricanrana, she gets back in the ring and dives out onto Syuri with a triple jump plancha from the corner. AZM returns to the ring, Syuri slowly gets on the apron and AZM hurricanranas her through the ropes for a two count cover. AZM picks up Syuri but Syuri scoops her up and drops AZM on her face. Syuri puts AZM in a crab hold but AZM makes it to the ropes for the break, stomps by Syuri but AZM slaps her in the face. More slaps by AZM and she goes off the ropes, but Syuri knees her in the midsection. AZM fires back with a vertical suplex, she gets on the top turnbuckle but Syuri recovers and joins her. AZM slides to the apron and kicks Syuri, sending her into the Tree of Woe, allowing AZM to quickly hit a diving kneedrop.

AZM whips Syuri to the mat and puts her in an armbar. She lets go after a moment to hit a diving footstomp to Syuri’s arm, she goes up top and nails a regular diving footstomp for a two count. AZM picks up Syuri but Syuri kicks her in the head, both slowly get up and AZM hits a series of elbows. Syuri blocks her slam attempt and hits a Final Cut, picking up a two. AZM avoids a Syuri kick and hits a high kick of her own, Syuri snaps off a German suplex however and dropkicks AZM into the corner. Running knee by Syuri and she drops AZM with a DDT for two. Syuri goes up top but AZM avoids her diving legdrop, La Mistica by AZM but Syuri gets a foot on the ropes. Kick to the leg by AZM and she delivers a head kick, Canadian Destroyer by AZM but it only gets two. AZM goes for a cradle but Syuri reverses it, AZM goes off the ropes and applies La Mistica again. She rolls it over into a seated armbar but Syuri gets out of it and hits a double knee gutbuster. Cover by Syuri, but it gets a two count. Syuri puts AZM in a Scorpion Deathlock but AZM crawls to the ropes and makes it for the break. Kicks to the chest by Syuri, she sits up AZM but AZM catches her kick and delivers a cross-legged suplex hold for two. Elbows by AZM and she goes for La Mistica again, but this time Syuri catches her and slams AZM to the mat. Syuri puts AZM in the White Tiger, and AZM has no choice but to submit! Syuri wins and retains her championship.

Just because the ending is known in advance doesn’t mean the match can’t be entertaining. AZM continues to grow in the ring every time I see her, and while her size may hold her back a bit, she certainly has the talent to be a major player in Stardom for years to come. She didn’t look out of place at all in the ring with Syuri, who traditionally has been known to sometimes have awkward matches with wrestlers that can’t match her style. AZM going for the La Mistica one too many times was a fitting mistake for a younger wrestler to make, and Syuri certainly capitalized in a very even match. Not a real long match but it felt like it went the right amount of time, really good match and an important stepping stone for AZM as her upward climb continues.  Recommended

(c) Tam Nakano vs. Unagi Sayaka
Wonder Of Stardom Championship
Like the last match, the winner here is clear. Tam Nakano is one of the most popular wrestlers in the promotion and has held the Wonder of Stardom Championship for 250 days. While no doubt she will drop the title sooner than later, it won’t be to Unagi, who is more of a B-Tier title challenger. Unagi briefly held the Future of Stardom Championship earlier this year but otherwise has had limited success as a singles wrestler and currently ranks 3rd in her own faction (behind Tam and Mina). If they are smart, they will keep this match relatively short as more of a sprint, but knowing Stardom that won’t happen as most title matches get stretched out. I hope that Unagi pulls something special out as on paper, this is the major title match I was most concerned about delivering.

The match starts slow as they trade holds on the mat, Tam applies a guillotine into a side headlock as they return to their feet as Unagi struggles to get out of it. She eventually does so and hits a hard shoulderblock, she goes for a lariat but Tam brides under it and cradles Unagi for two. Head kick by Tam, she picks up Unagi and snapmares her before kicking Unagi in the back for a two count. Irish whip by Tam from the corner and she hits a running elbow, she rolls Unagi to the mat and kicks her repeatedly for another two. Headscissors by Tam as she slams Unagi’s head into the mat, but Unagi makes it to the ropes for the break. Back up, Unagi fights back with elbows but Tam absorbs the blows and elbows her to the mat. Head kick by Tam but she lifts her up on the cover attempt, Tam goes off the ropes but Unagi drops her throat-first onto the top rope. Tam ends up half out of the ring, Unagi exits and grabs Tam’s head while it is hanging over the apron, delivering a corkscrew DDT down to the floor.

Unagi returns to the ring with Tam slowly following, Unagi clubs Tam and hits a jawbreaker. Leg drop by Unagi, and she covers Tam for two. Heel drop by Unagi, she goes up top but Tam recovers and joins her. They trade elbows while on the turnbuckles, slaps by Tam but Unagi hits a headbutt. Tam headbutts her back and Unagi falls down to the floor, Tam quickly returns to the top turnbuckle and dives out of the ring with a plancha. Back in the ring, running knee by Tam but Unagi kicks out of the cover. Tam picks up Unagi but Unagi slides away, she gets Tam to the mat and puts her in a Dragon Sleeper. Tam gets to the ropes for the break, Unagi picks her up but Tam gets away from her and hits a Tiger Driver. Both wrestlers are slow to recover as they trade elbows on their knees, Unagi knocks Tam over but Tam hits an up-kick. Back up, elbows by Unagi and she goes off the ropes, but Tam catches her with a superkick. Another head kick by Tam, she picks up Unagi but Unagi blocks the Tiger Suplex and drops her face-first into the mat.

Unagi waits for Tam to get up but Tam avoids her boot and hits a German suplex hold for two. Tam goes up top but Unagi boots her down to the apron, Unagi grabs Tam and hooks her feet on the top rope before driving her into the mat. Unagi puts Tam in the Gori Special before delivering a face buster, cover by Unagi but Tam kicks out. Unagi picks up Tam and nails the Taigi De Atta, but again Tam gets a shoulder up. Unagi kicks Tam into the corner and puts her onto the top turnbuckle, Unagi joins Tam but Tam elbows her off. Tam dives off the top but Unagi avoids her, Tiger Suplex by Tam and she nails a pair of head kicks. Sliding knee strike by Tam, and she covers Unagi for two. Tam drags up Unagi and hits the Tiger Suplex, she rolls Unagi back up and delivers the Twilight Dream for the three count! Tam Nakano wins and retains the championship.

This may have been a smidge longer than it needed to be but overall it was pretty good. Unagi has improved since joining Stardom but she still needs a slightly more varied offensive moveset, which will come with time. The only part of the match I didn’t like was Tam lifting Unagi on one of the covers instead of pinning her. This wasn’t a blood feud where two people really wanted to beat each other up, they are in the same faction so it didn’t make any logical sense that Tam would have a chance to win but not do it to inflict more violence. Plus it came way too early in the match to be a believable moment anyway. The fact I knew Unagi couldn’t win took out some of the drama but they tried hard to show them on the same footing and Unagi had some quality near-falls. A few moments I would have probably cut out, but overall it exceeded my expectations.  Mildly Recommended

(c) Utami Hayashishita vs. Hazuki
World of Stardom Championship
It is time for the main event and my primary motivation for watching this show. Hazuki shocked the Joshi world when in August she stepped back in a Stardom ring and announced she was returning to the promotion. She retired in December of 2019 and appeared to be on not the best terms with Stardom at the time, but things change and here she is back again for her third run in Stardom. This is just her 6th match since returning but is already challenging Utami for the top title in the promotion. Utami won the championship last November and this is her 8th defense as she has been a pretty active champion. The chances of Hazuki taking down Utami so soon after returning are slim, but I’m still excited to see her back and being put in such a big match for Stardom.

They lock knuckles before trading waistlocks, Hazuki gets Utami to the mat first but Utami eventually switches positions with her as they go back and forth. They reach a stalemate but tie back up, Hazuki goes off the ropes but Utami knocks her over with a shoulderblock. Stomps by Utami and Hazuki rolls out of the ring, but Utami quickly goes out and gets her before slamming her to the mat. Irish whip by Utami, Hazuki goes for a dropkick but Utami swats it away. Hazuki fights back with feeble elbows but Utami kicks her back down, Irish whip by Utami but Hazuki connects with the dropkick this time. Hazuki puts her boot on Utami but Utami stands back up and hits a dropkick of her own, scoop slam by Utami and she puts Hazuki in a crab hold. Hazuki gets to the ropes to force the break, Utami picks up Hazuki and slams her head into the mat for a two count. Utami puts Hazuki in the corner, Irish whip by Utami but Hazuki jumps up on the turnbuckles and hits a dropkick. Full nelson into a backbreaker by Hazuki and she hits a running senton, Utami ends up against the ropes so Hazuki gives her a series of bootscrapes. Running boot by Hazuki, she throws Utami into the corner and hits a running back elbow. Codebreaker by Hazuki, and she covers Utami for two.

Hazuki applies the armtrap crossface but Utami muscles out of it and drops her with the Air Raid Crash. Sliding kick by Utami and she covers Hazuki for two. Utami applies a sleeper but Hazuki gets out of it and snaps off a DDT. Running boot by Hazuki which sends Utami out of the ring, Hazuki gets a running start to do a dive but Utami gets back on the apron and elbows her. Utami gets Hazuki out on the apron with her and drops her with a modified Air Raid Crash, with Hazuki’s head bouncing off the apron. Utami slides Hazuki back into the ring, she gets on the top turnbuckle and delivers a missile dropkick for a two count. Utami picks up Hazuki and gets her on her shoulders, but Hazuki quickly slides off and the two trade elbows. Utami wins the strike battle at first but Hazuki comes firing back, back elbow by Utami but Hazuki hits one as well. Sidewalk slam by Utami, Hazuki quickly gives her a boot but Utami drills her with a dropkick. Utami picks up Hazuki and gives her a hard elbow, she gets Hazuki on her shoulders but Hazuki spins off and hits a hurricanrana. Utami falls out of the ring, Hazuki goes off the ropes and flies out onto her with a tope suicida. Hazuki returns to the ring and hits a second one, she slides Utami back in the ring and gets on the apron as she delivers a swandive dropkick for a two count. Armtrap crossface by Hazuki, Utami almost makes it to the ropes so Hazuki switches to the Rings of Saturn.

Utami eventually gets a toe on the ropes for the break, Hazuki goes off the ropes and boots Utami in the face. Scoop slam by Hazuki in front of the corner, she goes up top but Utami elbows her before she can jump off. Utami gets Hazuki on her shoulders and hits a Samoan Drop, sliding lariat by Utami and she covers Hazuki for two. Hazuki picks up Utami and hits the Air Raid Crash, but that gets a two as well. Utami gets Hazuki around the waist but Hazuki blocks the suplex as she cradles Utami for two. Hard shoulderblock by Utami and this time she connects with the German Suplex, picking up a two count. Utami gets Hazuki to her feet but Hazuki slides away and hits a Backstabber followed by a sliding kick for two. Running elbow by Hazuki and she hits a Codebreaker out of the corner, she puts Utami on the top turnbuckle and hits a second Codebreaker back down to the mat. Hazuki goes to the top turnbuckle and delivers the diving senton, but Utami kicks out of the pin. Scoop slams by Hazuki and she hits a brainbuster for another two count. Hazuki picks up Utami and goes for a suplex, but Utami gets away and hits a German Suplex. Both wrestlers slowly get up in opposite corners, Hazuki goes foot but Utami ducks and drops Hazuki with a lariat. Utami picks up Hazuki and hits a series of short-range lariats for a two count. Utami picks up Hazuki and gets her in a crucifix, but Hazuki slides off and applies La Magistral for a nearfall. Lariat by Utami, she picks up Hazuki and hits a backdrop suplex. Hazuki charges Utami but Utami catches her and slams her to the mat, she picks up Hazuki and finally nails the Hijack Bomb for the three count! Utami Hayashishita wins and retains the championship.

This one took a bit to get going but once it did, it was a quality match. They were telling the story that Hazuki wasn’t ready for someone like Utami, which is a fine story to tell but it made the first five minutes or so a little slow as Utami was just handling Hazuki with offense that wasn’t always overly interesting. Once Hazuki started her comeback and worked her way up to standing toe to toe with Utami it got better, and while I think she showed a little bit of rust with some of her timing overall she hasn’t missed much of a step. I think the story could have been tightened up a bit, or the first chunk could have just been more interesting in general, but I really enjoyed the last half and just seeing Hazuki back in the ring again. This won’t make anyone’s MOYTC list, but a solid defense for Utami.  Recommended

The post Stardom “KAWASAKI SUPER WARS” on 11/3/21 Review appeared first on Joshi City.

Full Details

Title: Bikiniing 10 Stardom Visual Book
Release: July 4th, 2021
Pages: 64
Size: A4
Cost: ¥3,000
Where to Buy: Will be on on Stardom’s Online Shop

For the 10th edition of the photobook, the following wrestlers were featured:

• Maika
• Himeka
• Momo Watanabe
• Utami Hayashishita
• Syuri
• Starlight Kid
• Mayu Iwatani
• Tam Nakano
• AZM
• Giulia
• Lady C
• Unagi Sayaka
• Mina Shirakawa
• Natsupoi

It is a new year, which means another edition of Bikiniing – everyone’s favorite or least favorite Stardom photobook release. Stardom continues the recent trend of not having Oedo Tai take part in the photobook, a decision I like (even though I love Konami) as it wouldn’t really fit in their faction image to take part in such a playful shoot. Everyone else you’d expect to see in the book is here however, and Western fans will be happy to know there are not any wrestlers under 18 this year as Stardom seems to have moved away from that as well.

I do feel for the wrestlers in one respect, as they clearly took a lot more pictures that didn’t make the final cut. At only 64 pages for 14 wrestlers, even without any text pages you are still looking at about four pages per wrestler. Yet every wrestler has two outfits, meaning they probably took a whole lot of pictures to only have four or five included. That was one benefit of the DDM and Cosmic Angel photobooks from a few months ago, as those being faction specific allowed the individual wrestlers to be featured more. Also, a small quibble for me is Giulia has on a wig in all her pictures, which since I like the short hair was a little disappointing. Still, for a presentation that features the bulk of the Stardom roster, if you are into the “visual” photobooks you can’t go wrong with Bikiniing. They didn’t reinvent the wheel but if you are looking for professional pictures of women in swimwear then they delivered. Here is a sample of pictures from the photobook:

The post Bikiniing 10 Stardom Visual Photobook Review appeared first on Joshi City.

Event: Stardom Tokyo Dream Cinderella Special Edition
Date: June 12th, 2021
Location: Ota City General Gymnasium in Tokyo, Japan
Announced Attendance: 1,240
Broadcast: Streamed on Stardom World

I tend to fall behind in my Joshi watching and rarely get around to reviewing “new” events, so for me this is a quick turnaround. This was a huge event for Stardom on several levels. First, just in its presentation as not only was it live on PPV but for the first time they had live English commentary, making the event far more accessible for Western fans. Second, the long delayed ending of the Cinderella Tournament is taking place, with both the Semi Finals and Finals happening tonight. To top it all off, we also have a killer main event as Utami Hayashishita and Syuri battle for the World of Stardom Championship! Plus a few fun tag matches to fill out the rest of the show, as even those are filled with high-end talent. Here is the full card:

As this streamed on both PPV and on Stardom World, all matches 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. I will be reviewing the PPV version of the event, with the only major difference being the PPV did not have the dark match.

Maika vs. Unagi Sayaka
Cinderella Tournament Semi Final

They immediately start trading elbows after the bell rings, Unagi gets Maika in the corner but Maika gets her foot up on the charge. Unagi catches it however and hits a running boot to Maika’s apparently already injured leg (its wrapped up), she flings Maika to the mat and covers her for two. Unagi keeps working on Maika’s leg, she picks up Maika but Maika plants her with a side slam. Vertical suplex by Maika, she goes off the ropes but Unagi catches her with an elbow. A dropkick by Unagi sends Maika to the apron, Unagi charges her again but Maika avoids her slide and hits a double footstomp. Maika returns to the ring and hits a scoop slam, sliding elbow by Maika and she applies a sleeper. Unagi gets to the ropes for the break, Maika picks her up and the two trade elbows. Judo toss by Maika but Unagi blocks the monkey flip attempt and hits a leg drop.

Unagi picks up Maika and she hits a running facecrusher, double legdrop by Unagi and she covers Maika for two. Unagi positions Maika and goes to the top turnbuckle, but Maika recovers and elbows her before she can jump off. Maika joins Unagi and hits a delayed superplex back to the mat, but Unagi kicks out of the pin attempt. Maika picks up Unagi but Unagi pushes her off and hits a spinebuster. Unagi goes back up top and hits a Frog Splash, but Maika barely gets a shoulder up. Unagi goes off the ropes but Maika levels her with a lariat, cross-arm STO by Maika but her cover gets two. Maika picks up Unagi but Unagi wiggles away and schoolboys her for two. Heel drop by Unagi, she picks up Maika but Maika spins away and applies a sleeper. Cover by Maika, but it gets a two count. Maika drags Unagi to her feet and delivers a Michinoku Driver, and she picks up the three count! Maika is the winner and advances to the Finals.

The effort was there but this was a bit sloppy. Unagi tries hard but she is a bit loose when it comes to her mechanics, as several moves here were either not hit clean or looked awkward. Maika was the grounded force she always is, keeping things together with her simple but impactful offense. The right wrestler definitely won, maybe Unagi’s time will come but its not here yet. I won’t drag it too much as they kept the pace up and the end stretch went well, but not a high-end match.

Himeka vs. Saya Kamitani
Cinderella Tournament Semi Final

They get right into it as they go into a fast paced exchange, dropkick by Saya but Himeka boots her and goes for a scoop slam. Saya slides away and hits another dropkick, she hangs Himeka over the second rope and goes out to the apron to deliver an ax kick. Back in the ring, neck crank by Saya and she lets go so she can apply a full nelson. Himeka gets to the ropes to force the break, Saya throws Himeka into the corner but Himeka moves when she charges in and gets Saya on her shoulders. She dumps her over the top rope onto the apron, Himeka charges her but Saya springboards back into the ring. Himeka stays in control and delivers a backbreaker, crab hold by Himeka but Saya gets to the ropes for the break. Himeka picks up Saya and gets her in an Argentine Backbreaker, she slams Saya to the mat and covers her for two. Himeka goes off the ropes but Saya delivers a big boot, leaving both wrestlers on the mat.

Himeka recovers first and elbows Saya, Saya returns fire as they trade shots while still on their knees. They keep trading back on their feet, Saya goes off the ropes and hits a spinning heel kick. Saya picks up Himeka but Himeka blocks the suplex attempt and plants Saya with a short-range lariat. Sliding lariat by Himeka, and she covers Saya for two. Himeka picks up Saya and drops her with a powerbomb, but Saya barely kicks out. Himeka picks up Saya and throws her into the corner, lariat to the back by Himeka before she sets up Saya for a powerbomb, but it is blocked. Saya slides out to the apron and hits a swandive crossbody, but Himeka kicks out. Dropkick by Saya, she picks up Himeka but Himeka drills her with a short-range lariat. Saya quickly returns to her feet and hits another heel kick, Fisherman Suplex Hold by Saya but it gets two. Saya gets Himeka back up and delivers the Star Crusher, and she picks up the three count! Saya Kamitani wins and advances to the Finals.

I could watch these two wrestle all day. Its interesting that neither match went with the Over The Top cop-out victory, showing both Maika and Saya Kamitani were the better wrestlers and not just the luckiest. A good mixture of hard hitting and high flying, the time flew by as they kept the action interesting. My one quibble is Saya no-selling the lariat and immediately going into the end stretch of the match. I don’t mind no-selling or delayed selling if its returned by the opponent, but here it was more Saya completely shrugging off a big move and dominating from there until she won. Not the end of the world, but certainly a smoother transition could have been used. Overall a solid match though.  Mildly Recommended

AZM and Natsupoi vs. Giulia and Nakano vs. Shirakawa and Watanabe

All seem to have accepted their short term tag partners as the match begins, with the legal wrestlers being Tam, Natsupoi, and Mina. Tam and Natsupoi lock up first while Mina messes with her partner Momo, Momo decides to pose like Mina but gets knocked off the apron for her efforts. Mina is double teamed but shoulderblocks both Natsupoi and AZM, Momo comes in the ring and helps Mina out. Tam breaks things up and tries to steal a cover, but she only gets a two count. Tam and Mina have an exchange, elbow by Mina and with Momo they both hit running strikes on Tam. Mina goes off the ropes but Giulia hits her from the apron, Giulia holds Mina but Momo holds Tam. Natsupoi and AZM come in and take care of both pairs, Giulia gets in the ring as maybe the legal wrestler (who knows) and plays around with Natsupoi. Tam tries to help but doublestomps Giulia by accident, dropkick by Natsupoi to Tam and she lands on Giulia in the process. Natsupoi asks Giulia for forgiveness but Giulia kicks her in the face, cover by Giulia but AZM breaks it up.

Tam and Giulia both hit backdrop suplexes before going to the top turnbuckle, but AZM and Natsupoi joins them in their respective corners. Giulia and Tam both get them back and deliver diving moves, but the pin is broken up. Now it is Momo and Mina’s turn but they eat a dropkick by Giulia, Tam randomly elbows Giulia but Giulia elbows her back and the partners trade shots while everyone else watches. Mina and Momo interrupt them with dropkicks, Momo throws Giulia in the corner and hits another dropkick. High kick by Tam to Momo, Giulia recovers and fights over who can beat up Momo with Tam. They eventually both kick Momo before Giulia picks up Tam and slams her onto Momo for a two count. Sliding Kick by Giulia but AZM suddenly returns and hits a triple jump crossbody out of the corner. Momo reemerges and trades elbows with AZM, vertical suplex by Momo but it gets two. Irish whip by Momo but AZM delivers La Mistica, Momo rolls out of it but AZM hits a vertical suplex.

Natsupoi comes in to help but Tam and Giulia interrupt them, they get Tam and Giulia to their knees before Natsupoi jumps off their backs and hits a footstomp. Mina tries to do the same trick but trips, everyone gets annoyed at her and stomps Mina out. Mina is thrown into the corner but Mina avoids their charges and takes out all four of her opponents. Mina and Natsupoi are alone for a moment, high kick by Natsupoi but Mina drops her with a powerslam for two. Momo finally comes back to help her partner but AZM comes in too and they deliver dropkicks. Natsupoi and AZM both go up the same turnbuckle and hit double… double footstomps, but Momo hits them both with a Somato. She goes up top but Giulia joins her, Tam comes over to help as they create a suplex tower down to the mat. Natsupoi gets Mina’s back, AZM tries to help but kicks her own partner by mistake. AZM goes for La Mistica, Mina rolls through it but AZM applies the A. Cyclone for the three count! AZM and Natsupoi win!

They certainly leaned more into the silly than the serious with this one, which isn’t totally surprising considering the way the match was formed. Even with that though there still was plenty of hard hitting action as well, as when it gets down to it all of these wrestlers enjoy inflicting violence (even if on their own partner, in the case of Tam and Giulia). There were a lot of cute spots but needless to say it was pure chaos, with the referee not even attempting to keep things under control. Maybe a little more random and meandering than my personal preference would be but it did make me laugh a few times and they seemed to be having a good time. An interesting match, I enjoyed it as a one time thing but hopefully it doesn’t become a recurring gimmick.  Mildly Recommended

Hanan, Koguma, Iwatani, Starlight Kid, and Kadokura vs. Fukigen Death, Konami, Natsuko Tora, Ruaka, and Kashima
Elimination Match, Loser Must Join Other Faction

STARS attack Oedo Tai before the bell rings as both teams brawl, Mayu gets isolated in the ring and all of Oedo Tai take turns attacking Mayu. Natsuko stays in as the legal wrestler, she throws Mayu in the corner and tags Saki. Stomps by Saki and she connects with a series of mounted elbows, she tags in Ruaka as the Mayu beatdown continues. Konami is next as she comes in and kicks Mayu in the back, she goes off the ropes but Hanan runs in and hits a judo toss. This gives Mayu time to tag in Rin, dropkick by Rin to Konami and Koguma comes in too so they can double team her. All of STARS eventually join in the fun as they attack various Oedo Tai members, but things finally calm back down with Rin and Konami alone in the ring. Cross armbreaker takedown by Konami but it gets broken up, she hits a sliding kick on Rin before connecting with a vertical suplex. She tags in Saki, hurricanrana by Saki on Rin and she delivers a big boot. Saki charges Rin but eats a superkick, Saki boots her back however and makes the tag to Ruaka. Hanan is tagged as well, dropkick by Hanan but Ruaka hits a shoulderblock. Ruaka and Hanan trade elbows, drop toehold by Hanan and Starlight Kid flies in with a 619. Hanan tags Mayu, dropkick by Mayu as Starlight Kid and Koguma get in the ring as well. Ruaka’s teammates take care of Koguma and Starlight Kid for her, Mayu is thrown in the corner and all the members of Oedo Tai deliver running strikes. Ruaka goes up top and hits the diving body press, but Hanan breaks up the cover. Ruaka goes back up top but Rin joins her, hitting a Frankensteiner down to the mat. Double superkicks to Ruaka, Mayu hits the Dodonpa on Ruaka while Rin dropkicks her, and Mayu gets the three count cover! Ruaka is eliminated.

Konami runs in as the legal wrestler and hits a release German on Mayu, knees by Konami but Koguma runs in and dropkicks her. This gives Mayu time to recover and tags in Koguma, dropkick by Koguma and she stomps on Konami. Footstomps by Koguma against the ropes, she picks up Konami but Konami gets away and kicks her in the midsection. Throat Trust by Death on Koguma, Konami plants Koguma with a Fisherman Suplex Hold but it only gets two (Koguma didn’t kick out though). The match breaks down as both teams charge the ring, Starlight Kid hits a double diving crossbody and Koguma follows with a missile dropkick on Konami. Mayu jumps on Koguma’s shoulders, Starlight Kid then gets on the top turnbuckle to stand on Mayu’s shoulders, hitting a diving body press down onto Konami. Mayu follows with a diving footstomp, German suplex hold by Koguma to Konami and she picks up the three count! Konami is eliminated.

Death enters but Koguma plants her with a DDT, she tags in Hanan but Death swats away her dropkick attempt. Crossbody from Hanan out of the corner and she hits a monkey flip for two. She goes for the cross armbreaker but it gets broken up quickly, Natsuko picks up Hanan and Saki boots her. Diving senton by Death to Hanan, and she covers her for the three! Hanan is eliminated. Koguma quickly runs in and hits a Northern Lights Suplex Hold on Death, but it gets a two count. Rin goes to the top turnbuckle but Konami kicks her from the apron, sending Rin to the apron. Death charges Rin but Rin holds down the rope, so Death ends up on the apron with her. They battle on the apron until Mayu dropkicks Death, which sends both her and Rin crashing to the floor! Fukigen Death and Rin Kadokura are both eliminated.

Saki and Koguma come in as the legal wrestlers, drop toehold by Koguma and she hits a dropkick. She puts Saki in the corner, Irish whip by Koguma and she hits a body avalanche followed by a face crusher for two. Starlight Kid and Mayu get in the ring and they triple team Saki, cover by Koguma but Natsuko breaks it up. Koguma picks up Saki but Saki quickly puts her in the Kishikaisei and picks up the three count! Koguma is eliminated. The wrestlers left are Mayu Iwatani, Starlight Kid, Saki Kashima, and Natsuko Tora. Mayu and Saki trade strikes, superkick by Mayu and she drops Saki with a tombstone piledriver. Mayu goes up top but Saki avoids the moonsault, Kishikaisei by Saki but the cover is broken up. Mayu picks up Saki and hits a headbutt, she goes for the Tiger Suplex but Saki blocks it and applies the Kishikaisei again, picking up the three count! Mayu Iwatani is eliminated.

Natsuko comes in when Starlight Kid does and attacks her in the corner, cannonball by Natsuko while Saki goes to the top turnbuckle. Diving footstomp by Saki, and she covers Starlight Kid for a two count. Saki picks up Starlight Kid but Starlight Kid avoids their charge, goes for a few flash pins on Saki before finally holding her down for the three count! Saki Kashima is eliminated. Natsuko goes for a senton but Starlight Kid avoids it, she can’t avoid the sliding elbow however and Natsuko covers her for two. Natsuko picks up Starlight Kid and gets her on her shoulders, but Starlight Kid slides off. Starlight Kid charges Natsuko but Natsuko plants her with a Black Hole Slam for a two count. Natsuko picks up Starlight Kid and goes off the ropes, but Starlight Kid trips her and applies a fireman’s carry cover, but Oedo Tai pulls the referee out of the ring. Konami and Saki return to the ring to attack Starlight Kid, Natsuko goes up top and hits the diving body press on Starlight Kid, but Starlight Kid barely gets a shoulder up. Natsuko picks up Starlight Kid and hits a Death Valley Bomb, she follows up with a second one and covers Starlight Kid for the three count! Starlight Kid is eliminated and must join Oedo Tai.

Putting aside my thoughts on the stipulation, which I’ve already kvetched about, this was a fun match but not without its issues. Having a ten wrestler elimination match go only 17 minutes means some eliminations and spots are going to be rushed, and not everyone is going to get a chance to shine. There are also more chances for mistakes with all the chaos going on, like with what looked like Koguma not kicking out of a cover because I assume she thought it would be broken up by a teammate. That being said, there were a lot of good spots throughout the match and having so many wrestlers helped protect those in the match that aren’t really on that high of a level. Even with the match being too short to give them time to do anything too memorable, still an entertaining sprint.  Mildly Recommended

Maika vs. Saya Kamitani
Cinderella Tournament 2021 Final

They charge each other to start as Saya immediately takes out Maika’s injured leg and starts working it over. Saya applies the Sickle Hold but Maika gets into the ropes for the break, stomps by Saya and she throws Maika into the corner. Saya charges Maika but Maika moves, Saya slides out of the ring however and slams Maika’s knee into the ring post. Saya returns to the ring and picks up Maika, she goes off the ropes but Maika catches her with a backbreaker. Maika picks up Saya and hits a scoop slam, single leg crab hold by Maika but Saya gets to the ropes. Maika throws Saya into the corner and elbows her repeatedly in the back, stomps by Maika and she hits a scoop slam. Crab hold by Maika but Saya gets to the ropes again, Maika charges Saya but Saya goes off the ropes as well as they trade move attempts. Saya wins the battle as she dropkicks Maika in the back, she then puts Maika’s leg on the second rope and kicks it. Saya gets on the second turnbuckle and delivers another dropkick to the knee, she goes to the apron and goes for a swandive crossbody but Maika catches her and hits a Fallaway Slam. Lariat by Maika, she charges Saya and hits a second one for a two count.

Maika picks up Saya but Saya slides out of the suplex attempt and hits a double kneedrop to Maika’s leg. Running Shooting Star Press by Saya, and she covers Maika for two. Saya goes up to the top turnbuckle but Maika hits her from behind, Saya kicks her back and keeps climbing but Maika elbows her again before she can jump off. Maika joins Saya and delivers a superplex down to the mat, she is too hurt to make a cover however and the two trade shots as they slowly stand back up. They keep exchanging elbows once on their feet, a battle ultimately won by Maika. Saya gets back up but Maika plants her with a backdrop suplex, picking up a two count cover. Maika applies a chinlock while controlling Saya’s wrist, but Saya gets a foot on the ropes for the break. Maika picks up Saya and hits the cross-arm STO, cover by Maika but Saya barely gets a shoulder up. Maika gets Saya up but Saya spins way, Maika levels her with a lariat but Saya returns with a big boot. Both wrestlers get back up and Maika hits another lariat, she goes off the ropes but Saya reverses her lariat with a moonsault side slam for a two count. Fisherman Driver by Saya, she goes to the top turnbuckle and nails the Phoenix Splash for the three count! Saya Kamitani wins the match and is the 2021 Cinderella Winner!

This was a great match. Its been really fun watching both Saya and Maika grow so much over the last year, and while Stardom may be overly stacked with quality wrestlers right now they seem determined to continue to grow these two young talents. Saya’s entire game plan was on point, as it was logical to go after Maika’s leg, while Maika tried to keep Saya grounded with power moves and the occasional submission. Saya was a little sloppy early in her career but she has figured it out, as all her high spots were delivered flawlessly, including a real impressive Phoenix Splash. Fast paced with many convincing nearfalls, I really have nothing bad to say about the match. I could nitpick Maika not selling the leg more considering Saya’s work on it, but it wasn’t distracting and since Maika doesn’t fly around the ring anyway it didn’t hurt the match. Overall just a really entertaining match and a good showcase for two great young wrestlers.  Recommended

(c) Utami Hayashishita vs. Syuri
World of Stardom Championship

They start slow as they get into a long lockup, Utami gets Syuri in the ropes but she gives a clean break. Syuri gets Utami into the ropes on the second tie-up, she goes for a kick but Utami ducks out of the way. Armdrag by Syuri and she keeps the armbar applied, but Utami gets out of it and the two trade holds. They end up breaking cleanly and returning to their feet, takedown by Syuri and she gets a front necklock applied. Utami gets out of it and applies a wristlock but Syuri reverses it, they trade standing holds until Syuri gets Utami back to the mat. Utami wiggles away as they get to their feet again, side headlock by Syuri but Utami hits a hard shoulderblock. Syuri gets the headlock re-applied and goes for a few covers, but she can’t keep Utami down. Back up they trade waistlocks, snapmare by Syuri and she hits an armdrag, but Utami returns the favor. They reach a stalemate as they get back up, hard elbow by Syuri but Utami elbows her back as they trade blows. Syuri tackles Utami through the ropes and down to the floor, stomps by Syuri and she gets on the apron to hit Utami with a running kick. She follows up with a hurricanrana down to the floor, stomps by Syuri but Utami catches a kick and slams Syuri knee-first into the ring apron. Utami slides Syuri back in the ring and keeps on Syuri’s leg, cross kneelock by Utami but Syuri gets to the ropes for the break. Utami goes back to the leg but Syuri knees her in the corner, Utami avoids her lariat however and pulls Syuri back to the middle of the ring. Syuri trips her and applies a submission, she goes for the cross armbreaker but Utami quickly gets to the ropes.

Snapmare by Syuri and she kicks Utami in the back, she sits up Utami and kicks her in the chest. More kicks by Syuri, she throws Utami into the corner and stomps her into a seated position. Running knee by Syuri and she goes for the cross armbreaker, Utami blocks it so Syuri goes for a Triangle Choke instead. Utami stands up and gets out of the hold by slamming Syuri into the corner, running elbow by Utami and she hits a missile dropkick off the second turnbuckle. Lariat by Utami and she delivers a sliding lariat for a two count. Utami picks up Syuri but Syuri kicks her repeatedly, head kick by Syuri and she punts Utami in the face. Utami rolls out of the ring while the referee checks on her, Syuri gets tired of waiting and comes out after her, sliding Utami back in the ring. Cover by Syuri, but Utami barely kicks out. Dropkick into the corner by Syuri and she hits a running knee, Syuri goes up to the top turnbuckle and hits a diving legdrop to Utami’s back for two. Syuri picks up Utami but Utami gets her back and German suplexes Syuri into the turnbuckles. Lariat by Utami in the corner and she sits Syuri on the top turnbuckle, she joins her and hits Syuri on her shoulders. Avalanche Air Raid Crash attempt by Utami but Syuri flips out of it, allowing her to kick Utami in the face. Syuri gets Utami on her shoulders and connects with a double knee gutbuster, but again Utami rolls out of the ring before Syuri can cover her. Syuri goes to the apron but Utami avoids her running kick, as Syuri splats down to the floor. They both slowly return to the apron and trade elbows, kicks by Syuri but Utami catches one and drops Syuri with an Air Raid Crash on the apron. Utami returns to the thing but Syuri rolls back up, Utami goes after her but Syuri hits a front dropkick.

Tilt-a-whirl slam by Syuri and she follows with a DDT (which is likely what she was going for the first time), and both wrestlers are down on the floor. Syuri tries to get back in the ring but Utami grabs her from behind and German suplexes her neck-first into the edge of the apron. Utami gets back in as Syuri follows, Utami goes to the top turnbuckle and delivers a missile dropkick for two. Sleeper by Utami but she lets go so she can hit a backdrop suplex for a two count. Utami picks up Syuri and gets her on her shoulders, she spins Syuri around but Syuri reverses it with a DDT. Knees by Syuri to the midsection and she applies a cross armbreaker takedown, but Utami gets into the ropes for the break. Syuri scoops up Utami but Utami slides off to apply the sleeper, she gets Syuri to the mat while keeping the hold applied but Syuri gets a foot on the ropes. Utami puts Syuri on the top turnbuckle and suplexes her back down to the mat, she picks up Syuri but Syuri slaps her in the face. They trade strikes with Syuri winning the exchange, Syuri goes off the ropes but Utami strikes her to the mat. Release German by Utami and she delivers the Air Raid Crash, cover by Utami but it gets a two count. Utami gets Syuri on her shoulders but Syuri slides off and cradles Utami for two. Rolling cradle by Syuri, but that gets a two count as well. Syuri picks up Utami but Utami blocks the head kick and hits a short-range lariat. They both get up, jumping knee by Syuri and she hits a series of elbows. Utami elbows her back, but while they struggle to stand the bell rings, as time has expired! The match is a Draw.

Syuri isn’t satisfied and gets on the microphone, clearly wanting the match to continue. Utami agrees, and after OKing it with Rossy Ogawa, the match continues! Syuri and Utami charge each other and immediately start trading elbows, Utami elbows Syuri to the mat but Syuri connects with a series of knees. Syuri picks up Utami and darts her head-first into the turnbuckle, Syuri grabs her and plants Utami with a DDT for a two count. Syuri picks up Utami, Utami fights back but Syuri delivers a kick combination. Cross armbreaker takedown by Syuri and she switches it to a seated armbar. Utami rolls out of it and puts Syuri in a sleeper hold, but Syuri gets out of it with a jawbreaker. Kicks by Syuri but Utami avoids her charge and hits a release German. Slaps by Utami but Syuri slaps her back and the two trade shots. Takedown by Syuri and she hits mounted slaps, she goes for the cross armbreaker but Utami blocks it. Syuri goes for a PK but Utami ducks, she gets Syuri on her shoulders but Syuri hops off. Elbows by Utami but Syuri hits the Codebreaker, but Utami lands on top of Syuri for a two count cover. They both slowly get up, head kick by Syuri and she puts Utami in the Stretch Muffler. Utami is too close to the ropes and makes it for the break, Syuri grabs Utami and deadlifts her up before dropping her back to the mat for a two count. Syuri picks up Utami but Utami dropkicks her, she gets on the second turnbuckle but Syuri recovers and joins her.

Avalanche modified armdrag by Syuri and she applies a Kimura, but Utami gets to the ropes for the break. Utami picks up Syuri and hits a German suplex, she gets Syuri on her shoulders and delivers the Torture Rack Bomb for a two count cover. Utami picks up Syuri and gets her up in the crucifix, she spins her around but Syuri breaks free and puts Utami in a cross armbreaker. Seated armbar by Syuri but Utami again inches to the ropes, so Syuri switches the hold to a double armbar. Utami finally makes it to the bottom rope for the break, Syuri sits up Utami and nails a running knee but Utami gets a shoulder up on the cover. Syuri gets Utami on one shoulder and drops her with the Emerald Frosion, cover by Syuri but again it gets two. Syuri waits for Utami to sit up but Utami catches her kick attempt and hits a powerbomb. Utami picks up Syuri and gets her up, nailing the Hijack Bomb but Syuri lands too close to the ropes and grabs the bottom one to break the cover. Utami picks up Syuri but Syuri kicks her in the head, clubbing blows by Utami but Syuri nails a series of spinning backfists. High kick by Syuri but Utami fires back with a lariat, Syuri gets up and delivers a Buzzsaw Kick but she collapses to the mat along with Utami. The referee starts a count and makes it to ten, counting down both wrestlers. The match is declared a Draw due to a Double Knockout, and Utami Hayashishita retains the championship!

A lot has already been said about this match, but I am going to say a little bit more. First, I have no issue with the ending. These two gave literally everything over 40+ minutes and its perfectly believable that they used up every ounce of energy they had. I was beyond impressed that after such a physical match, Utami was still hitting the Torture Rack Bomb and the Hijack Bomb, showing how strong she is and how great both of their cardio is. They had every right to be puddles of goo by the end after going at each other so hard, but they kept a surprisingly fast pace up for much of the match. Normally matches that are Draws can drag for me but this match never did, as the early mat work stayed interesting and they spaced out the big spots so there was rarely a chance to let your guard down.

Utami’s early work on Syuri’s leg and later work on her neck was so well done it almost was unbelievable that Syuri was still functioning, and Syuri has some of the hardest strikes in the business as Utami at times seemed to be legitimately feeling the effects. There were one or two small miscues but its hard to really focus on those in a 45 minute match, and none had any real impact on what they were doing. The subtle and random violence like Syuri darting Utami into the turnbuckles or Syuri getting suplexed head-first into the ring apron were nice little surprises in an already enthralling match, and to say both gave it everything they had would be an understatement. This match may be what finally puts Utami over the edge into super stardom, a spot she has been destined for since she debuted just a few years ago, and Syuri showed she is still one of the best at what she does. A must-see match and one that will likely be remembered by Joshi fans for years to come, an instant must-see classic.  Very Highly Recommended

The post Stardom Tokyo Dream Cinderella Special Edition on 6/12/21 Review appeared first on Joshi City.

Event: Hana Kimura Memorial “MATANE”
Date: May 23rd, 2021
Location: Tokyo Korakuen Hall in Tokyo, Japan
Announced Attendance: 714
Broadcast: Streamed on FITE TV

Reviewing wrestling events can bring many different emotions, but an emotion you never want to have is sadness. I knew, like many others, that watching this event was going to be hard. A year ago today, Hana Kimura tragically passed away, and her death impacted people across the globe. Hana had everything – she was a great wrestler, charismatic, had a great look, and had fans invested in everything she did. But more importantly she was a great, loving, and incredible person that had her whole life in front of her. Having her Memorial show on the one year anniversary is fitting, as it brought new attention to the circumstances of her death and gave her friends a way to publicly celebrate her life, which I 100% support. But its going to be hard, the hardest wrestling event I’ve watched in 30 years of being a wrestling fan. Here is the card:

• HUB, Shisao, and Eisa8 vs. Shota, FUMA, and Mil Mongoose
• Battle Royal with Menso-re Oyaji, Tsutomu Oosugi, Hagane Shinnou, Yuko Miyamoto, Shotaro Ashino, Banana Senga, Gabai Ji-chan, Lingerie Muto, Yusuke Kodama, Super Delfin, Fuminori Abe, Miyuki Takase, Mika Iwata, DASH Chisako, Chihiro Hashimoto, Hanako Nakamori, Ram Kaicho, Cherry, Moeka Haruhi, Yuki Miyazaki, Eiger, Andras Miyagi, Kyusei Hana Kimura (Sakura Hirota), Jun Kasai, Masato Tanaka, Jinsei Shinzaki, and CIMA
• Kagetsu, Konami, Hazuki, and DEATH Yama-san vs. Natsupoi, Syuri, ASUKA, and Mio Momono
• ASUKA vs. Kagetsu

As you can see, a very interesting cast but it is filled with wrestlers that had a real life connection with Hana Kimura or her mother Kyoko Kimura (or both) as this memorial event is as much for them as it is for us, to say their final goodbyes. You’ll note only a few active Stardom wrestlers make an appearance, which is at least partly because Stardom opted to run an event on the same day, but that’s another topic for another time. I’m not going to do my typical review for this one as I’m probably going to be too emotionally into the event to be typing constantly, but I hope to not only discuss the matches but help newer fans that may not watch a lot of Joshi matches with who all the wrestlers are. As always, you can click on the Joshi wrestler’s name above to go straight to their profile on Joshi City.

After a musical and dance opening, the show began after a quick video montage of Hana Kimura.

HUB, Shisao, and Eisa8 vs. Shota, FUMA, and Mil Mongoose

I haven’t watched men’s promotions in Japan with any regularity in probably five or six years, so this was a fun throwback for me as I remember these guys from when I used to review every small underground indie promotion I could find. These six all are seasoned vets and know their way around the ring, and a six wrestler tag is a pretty straight-forward opener. Shota played the Face in Peril here which made sense – its not about the quality of wrestler but everyone loves wrestlers with masks and Shota probably had the least intimidating look of everyone in the match. So he got beaten for the first third of the match by HUB and Shisao in particular until the crowd finally spurred him to get out of the match.

They wrestled this under Lucha Tag Rules, meaning a wrestler didn’t have to make a tag to no longer be the legal wrestler, they just had to bail out of the ring and reach the floor. I wish the commentators had explained this as new fans were no doubt confused on why wrestlers weren’t always tagging, but in a laid back affair like this one I doubt anyone was too concerned. After five minutes they gave up with the “focus on one wrestler” plan which was for the best as all six of these guys have cool looking moves so no reason to not show off. HUB whipping everyone with his mask tail was entertaining as was HUB in general, Hana had good taste in wrestlers as HUB was always my favorite small-time indie wrestler. Great look, great wrestler. The match ended up being the HUB Show which was the way I would I gone too, honestly he at any point in his career could have been a player in a larger promotion. In the end, HUB planted Mil Mongoose into the mat and picked up the easy three count. The winners are HUB, Shisao, and Eisa8!

For an opener, I enjoyed it, but honestly they didn’t even need the first five minutes. The Shota beatdown segment was fine but was really just filler as once that was over, they just started quickly changing the legal wrestlers while everyone got a chance to hit their moves. That part of the match was quite enjoyable, the “lucharesu” style is entertaining with its quick speed and all six know the style well so there were no hiccups. HUB was and is great, so him being featured was a big plus not just for me personally but also considering his background with Hana Kimura. Overall a fun way to kick off the show.  Mildly Recommended

Battle Royal

A quick run-down of the Joshi wrestlers among the opening group:

• Miyuki Takase – The Ace of Actwres girl’Z, frequently wrestles in WAVE and Diana as well
• Mika Iwata – Young wrestler from Sendai Girls’, had a feud with Hana Kimura from 2017 to 2018 that led to several fun matches
• DASH Chisako – Veteran wrestler from Sendai Girls’
• Chihiro Hashimoto – The Ace of Sendai Girls’
• Ram Kaicho – Started as a child wrestler in Triple Six and went to school with Hana Kimura, she is still affiliated with Triple Six but also wrestles in Ice Ribbon
• Cherry – Long time veteran wrestler that wrestled most of her career in DDT, currently a Freelancer
• Yuki Miyazaki – Long time veteran wrestler from Pro Wrestling WAVE
• Hanako Nakamori – The Ace of PURE-J
• Moeka Haruhi – Long time Freelancer

With more wrestlers to come, it is assumed there would be some surprise entries from Hana and/or Kyoko’s past as the match progressed. In fact before the match could even start we got our first surprise, as Super Delfin makes his way down to the match. Super Delfin is a legend from indie wrestling’s past and also wrestled in New Japan, everyone knows and loves Super Delfin which I think is safe to assume includes Hana as well. The match starts pretty standard and playful, it should be noted that Battle Royals in Japan tend to be more lighthearted affairs than those in the US. But soon we get three new entries as Eiger, Andras Miyagi, and Yusuke Kodama come down! Quick recap of the Joshi wrestlers:

• Eiger (or Aiger) – A “ghost” wrestler who officially hails from LLPW-X but mostly wrestles in Sendai Girls’, likes to scare children
• Andras Miyagi – Also known as Cassandra Miyagi, current a Freelancer but known for her work in Sendai Girls’ and Stardom

They immediately go after Moeka, who is creeped out by the group and in short order is eliminated by them. Ram Kaicho appears to join them as they all pose together, they turn to Gabai Ji-chan but he outsmarts them and with help he pins Eiger and Yusuke Kodama, so they are eliminated as well. Ji-chan loses his cane and turns it on, as everyone in the match stands around and watches his brand of comedy. They help him eliminated Miyagi, and then hold down Ji-chan so that both are eliminated. Hana Kimura’s music starts playing as someone dressed as her comes down to the ring, and it turns out to be the cosplay legend Sakura Hirota! 

• Sakura Hirota – Veteran from WAVE, best known for being a comedy wrestler and sometimes cosplaying as her opponents

Once Sakura is in the ring, things settle down as we get the usual Battle Royal fare (big group moves, isolated strike-fests, and the like). We do get a Super Delfin Tornado DDT and Delfin Clutch though on Menso-re Oyaji to eliminate him, which is always a pleasure, before he is quickly pinned himself. Iwata and Hirota trade kicks which is fitting as Iwata is a wrestler that had a feud with Hana Kimura, but everyone breaks them up and Sakura is the next one eliminated (along with Lingerie Muto). While I definitely appreciate Sakura’s contribution to the match, eliminating her quickly was probably a good move as once she did her Hana tribute it may have felt a little too ‘off’ to have someone in Hana’s gear hanging around the match long term.

After Miyuki Takase is eliminated a minute later, some new music plays as Jun Kasai comes down to the ring! One of the biggest hardcore legends still active in Japan, Kasai comes in with his skewers (to jam in people’s heads) which leads to the ring clearing out. Mika Iwata returns first but asks him for an autograph, which he gives before he is attacked from behind. Chihiro Hashimoto and Shotaro Ashino pair up in a Hoss Battle, but the ring slowly fills back up as Chihiro and Shotaro slam everyone. Deadlift German by Chihiro but the blob covers both of them after the move, so both are eliminated! While this happens, more music plays as ZERO1 veteran Masato Tanaka comes down to the ring!

Tanaka cleans house a bit as he eliminates Shinnou and Kodama, Miyazaki puts him in the Shy Hold but it gets broken up. Cherry gets involved but she is covered by the wrestler blob and is eliminated. Music plays again, as another legend comes to the ring – Jinsei Shinzaki! Shinzaki is from Michinoku Pro but has wrestled in WWE and New Japan as well. He goes for one of his signature moves on the majority of the wrestlers at the same time, the rope walk, but gets pushed out of the ring for his trouble and is eliminated. No one appreciates Banana Senga and Tsutomu Oosugi eliminating Shinzaki so quickly everyone pins them, eliminating the tag team as well. We get music over the loudspeaker which means a new participant – CIMA!

That is all the wrestlers we are getting as CIMA goes after Abe and eliminates him. Miyazaki goes after CIMA but gets knocked out of the ring and eliminated, and then CIMA eliminates Nakamori. CIMA doing God’s work and clearing the ring a bit as we are down to seven wrestlers. Chisako appears with a chair but Miyamoto takes it from her, Tanaka then takes the chair from him but Kasai takes it from Tanaka. Chisako dropkicks the chair into Kasai but Mika Iwata saves him. Pearl Harbor Splash by Kasai to Chisako and he gets the three count! DASH Chisako is eliminated. Miyamoto hits Iwata and Kasai with the chair but Kasai takes it and hits Miyamoto in the head with it. Iwata cradles Miyamoto afterwards, and he is eliminated! Iwata high fives Kasai but then kicks him low and tosses him from the ring, as Jun Kasai is eliminated. CIMA and Tanaka dump Iwata out of the ring to eliminate her, leaving us with three wrestlers – CIMA, Masato Tanaka, and Ram Kaicho.

Kaicho steps right up to them while CIMA and Tanaka trade shoves, they push her out of the way and continue going at it. DDT by Tanaka but CIMA hits a Lung Blower, Tanaka gets CIMA onto the apron but Ram Kaicho pushes CIMA to the apron as well. Ram Kaicho gets a running start and she dropkicks them both to the floor! Ram Kaicho is the last woman standing and is the winner!

As I mentioned a few times, Battle Royals in Japan are not serious, as no one is really claiming that Ram Kaicho could beat CIMA or Masato Tanaka in a regular match. But there is no shame in being defeated in a Battle Royal, and giving Hana’s old childhood friend the win was a touching tribute. There were fun spots throughout the match (loved seeing Super Delfin and Jinsei Shinzaki), and the surprising Mika Iwata/Jun Kasai subplot was entertaining. These matches are a little too long for my taste considering the entertaining sections are so spread out, but there were many fun moments and for fans that are familar with the wrestlers I am sure there will be something here that fans will enjoy.

Up to this point, the event has been pretty lighthearted. We started with music and dancing, a lucharesu match, and a mostly comedic Battle Royal. The tone is going to change a bit, as while the next two matches won’t be ‘downers’ they will be more serious with wrestlers that have more of a recent connection with Hana Kimura. We knew going into the show that Kagetsu was making a one-time appearance after retiring over a year ago, but we didn’t know she was bringing a special friend with her to really honor Hana the best way they knew how.

Kagetsu, Konami, Hazuki, and DEATH vs. Natsupoi, Syuri, ASUKA, and Mio Momono

They are against four quality wrestlers with various connections to Hana. ASUKA was the closest to Hana, as they were also a tag team (when Hana wrestled outside of Stardom) and were friends. They are joined by Stardom wrestlers Natsupoi (formally Natsumi Maki) and Syuri, along with Mio Momono from Marvelous. All eight of these wrestlers are great and I am expecting a combination of tributes to Hana and the fast paced Joshi action that we are all accustomed to.

Kagetsu and Hazuki both have incorporated tie dye into their gear as a homage to Hana, giving them a fitting different look. One thing you should know about these wrestlers is that even though its a memorial match for Hana Kimura, and they are here for her, they are also incredibly competitive and no one was going to take it easy. While it is true that DEATH is more of a comedy gimmick and she did bring that to the table, at the end of the day she was far from the focus of the match as the others went in hard on each other. Seeing Hazuki again is such a treat as she was one of the most exciting wrestlers in Stardom, and the fact she seemed to have lost her passion for wrestling but still prepared for this event just really puts over how important it was to her to take part.

Kagetsu hasn’t missed a beat either and its kinda amazing that they are so good to not show an ounce of ring rust. If fans coming into the show didn’t know about the retirements, you’d have thought they were still active competitors. They didn’t go heavy with Hana-related spots, although Jungle Kyona did make a surprise appearance to pose with Konami and DEATH as she was in Tokyo Cyber Squad as well (she is currently unable to wrestle due to an injury). The fact they opted to not just make this a tribute match from bell to bell made the moments more special when they did honor Hana. Every segment was great – Kagetsu and Syuri had a quality exchange as did Mio Momono and Hazuki, and seeing Hazuki and Kagetsu do a final double tope suicida was an incredible moment. ASUKA being the wrestler that had to “overcome the odds” was a smart move due to their close connection to Hana Kimura, and their final exchange with Hazuki was well done. In the end, ASUKA took out everyone and made the cover on Hazuki, picking up the three count! Natsupoi, Syuri, ASUKA, and Mio Momono are the winners!

For fans of Stardom back in 2018, this really felt like an Oedo Tai throwback match with Kagetsu and Hazuki leading the way (with a little bit of cheating from Kyoko Kimura). I’ve said before that eight wrestler tags can make it hard for some wrestlers to shine and that was still the case here, as while Natsupoi and Syuri both hit their spots well and contributed, there are only so many opportunities and the match was simply laid out to make others shine. ASUKA, Hazuki, and Kagetsu all looked incredible and you’d have thought from watching this that these eight had wrestled many times before, due to the fluidity and pace they kept up. Mio Momono was the stealth star of the match, she not only is fierce but is sneakily charismatic and draws attention to whatever she is doing. While this may have been a bit better as a six wrestler tag due to the length of the match, the Oedo Tai/Tokyo Cyber Squad team needed four to really salute Hana Kimura so no complaints from me. This would have been an A+ match from me regardless just for the joy of seeing Kagetsu and Hazuki again, but when taking into account the meaning behind the match both for fans and the participants, its a no-breaker recommendation to watch.  Highly Recommended

On paper, that was the main event of the evening, but ASUKA had other plans. After the match, they challenged Kagetsu to a singles match, which needed approval from Kyoko Kimura and the crowd. All parties naturally agreed, so we are ending the show with a special first-time singles match between ASUKA and Kagetsu!

ASUKA vs. Kagetsu

ASUKA and Kagetsu clearly felt the best way to honor Hana Kimura was to put on a banger, and that is exactly what they did. Kagetsu was flying outside the ring like it was 2019 all over again, and ASUKA laid in the strikes hard. I have to respect their cardio as both were just in a match, then immediately jumped into a singles match without missing a beat. Kagetsu went out of her way to put over ASUKA, as ASUKA handled all of her offense while dishing out plenty in return. Which shows the level of unselfishness that Kagetsu has – she frequently put other wrestlers over even when she didn’t “have” to and knowing she is retired, she lost nothing by taking all of ASUKA’s offense. That’s not to say it was a one-side match as it was far from it – Kagetsu got to use the Oedo Tai board and nailed the Oedo Coaster for old time’s sake as they went back and forth, but once ASUKA got back in control the match was over. After a Blue Thunder Bomb, heel kick, chokeslam, and the Benibana Koromo, ASUKA was able to hold down Kagetsu for the three count. ASUKA is the winner!

A really entertaining sprint as they took their short time and did everything with it. ASUKA’s kiss to the sky before drilling Kagetsu with the Benibana Koromo was the perfect tribute, as they treated the match like a “regular” match but the meaning was always there – this was for Hana. Kagetsu returning from retirement to put on two great matches is pretty incredible, and she delivered everything in this match. The strikes, the pace, the heart, everything was there. And ASUKA was able to keep up, they have really been killing it the last couple years and hopefully this will give ASUKA more attention which is no doubt what Kagetsu wanted, and also what Hana Kimura would have wanted. A fantastic match to end a very memorable event.  Highly Recommended

After the main event, things got very emotional as Kagetsu spoke and a longer video package was shown with clips from Hana Kimura’s career. Once the video package was over, back to a live view of the ring, Kyoko Kimura was standing alone and holding a photo of Hana. Jungle Kyona performed the ten bell salute while the wrestlers stood at ringside, with their heads down as they no doubt were saying their own silent goodbyes. The video concluded with a video package with dozens of wrestlers from around the globe saying “Matane,” in memory of Hana.

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Full Details

Title: DDM “Destiny Dream Mode”
Release:  March 3rd, 2021
Pages: 64
Size: A4
Cost: ¥3,000
Where to Buy: Stardom Online Shop and Third Party Vendors

After Bushiroad purchased Stardom in late 2019, their photobook productivity seemed to slow as the new parent company focused on other aspects of the promotion. Only two photobooks were released in 2020, and the annual Stardom World photobook did not come out in January. Just as it seemed they were easing away from photobooks, Stardom surprised their fans with three photobooks released at once, including this one – DDM “Destiny Dream Mode.” Destiny Dream Mode features the wrestlers in the Donna del Mondo faction – Giulia, Himeka, Syuri, Maika, and Natsupoi.

Stardom photobooks tend to have a theme and DDM “Destiny Dream Mode” is no different. Some of the pictures are in normal casual wear, but others almost have a Western/old time-y look. I’m not sure exactly what they were going for but its very unique and sets it apart from other photobook released in the past. Most of the pictures are of the wrestlers solo or in pairs, as there are very few group pictures. While all five wrestlers looked good, Himeka and Maika really jumped off the page as its not a look we are used to seeing them in and they nailed it.

The photobook may be a little too short to please fans of any one wrestler, as five wrestlers had to share 60 pages. But each one still got a chance to shine in solo pictures, with some being more memorable than others as Natsupoi for whatever reason didn’t leave as much of an impression as the others. Still, fans of DDM will certainly enjoy the photobook, and its unique look will help keep even more casual Stardom fans interested. Here is a sample of pictures from the photobook:

The post DDM “Destiny Dream Mode” Stardom Photobook Review appeared first on Joshi City.

Event: Stardom “Osaka Day and Night” (Evening Show)
Date: March 28th, 2021
Location: EDION Arena Osaka #2 in Osaka, Japan
Announced Attendance: 227
Broadcast Information: Streamed on Stardom World

As part of my project to review as many events as possible in April that are available to Western fans via an official streaming service, we next stop by Stardom! Even though this event took place in March, it was uploaded in April so it still qualifies. Stardom put on two events on March 28th (the other was uploaded at the end of March) that contained a Trios Tournament that spanned over both days. So we get the conclusion of that, plus some other random fun matches as well. Here is the full card:

• Bea Priestley vs. Lady C
• Momo Watanabe vs. Konami vs. Starlight Kid
• Mayu Iwatani and Saya Iida vs. Natsupoi and Syuri
• Top Unit Tournament Third Place Match: AZM, Saya Kamitani, and Hayashishita vs. Giulia, Himeka, and Maika
• Top Unit Tournament Final: Mina Shirakawa, Tam Nakano, and Sayaka vs. Natsuko Tora, Ruaka, and Kashima

All wrestlers on the show have profiles on Joshi City, you can click on their name above to go straight to it. As this streamed on Stardom World, all matches will be shown in full.

Bea Priestley vs. Lady C

They lock up to start, Lady C pushes Bea into the ropes but Bea switches positions with her and kicks her in the stomach. Irish whip by Bea, Lady C goes for a shoulderblock but Bea doesn’t go down. Lady C tries a few more times and finally knocks Bea to the mat, Lady C goes off the ropes but Bea punches her in the midsection. Stomps by Bea and she chokes Lady C with her boot, Irish whip by Bea and she elbows Lady C in the face. Snapmare by Bea and she follows with a dropkick for a two count. Bea applies a chinlock but Lady C gets to the ropes for the break, Bea picks up Lady C but Lady C fights back with an elbow. Bea challenges Lady C, more elbows by Lady C but Bea elbows her hard to the mat. Bea goes off the ropes but Lady C boots her in the face, both wrestlers slowly get up and Lady C boots Bea in the face again for a two count cover. Lady C picks up Bea and hits a side Russian leg sweep, but that gets a two count as well. Lady C goes for the chokeslam but Bea blocks it and hits an elbow, running knee by Bea and she covers Lady C for two. Bea goes for a suplex but Lady C blocks it and boots Bea. Lady C picks up Bea but Bea reverses the chokeslam attempt into a cradle for two. Enzuigiri attempt by Bea but Lady C ducks it, running boot by Lady C and she gets a two count. Elbows by Lady C, she goes off the ropes but Bea drills her with a jumping knee. A second knee by Bea follows, and she covers Lady C for the three count! Bea Priestley is the winner.

I haven’t really formed a strong opinion on Lady C either way as she has a unique skill set that will take some dedication on Stardom’s part to build up, but this was fine for an opener. I was a little surprised that Bea gave Lady C so much offense, with the rookie even winning the shoulderblock battle, but knowing as I do now (at the time of the review) that Bea was on her way out of Stardom it makes more sense. Bea still treated Lady C like the rookie that she is, and won rather easily once she got in control, but she respected the chokeslam and gave Lady C several nearfalls. I think Lady C still has a bit of a ways to go, but solid experience for the young wrestler.

Momo Watanabe vs. Konami vs. Starlight Kid

They are slow to engage but eventually all three lock knuckles, they break and apply waistlocks to each other but Momo sneaks in a schoolboy on Konami for two. Starlight Kid goes off the ropes and elbows Konami out of the ring, Momo snapmares Starlight Kid and kicks her in the back. PK by Momo but it gets a two count. Momo kicks Starlight Kid in the chest and goes off the ropes, but Konami pulls her out of the ring and throws Momo into the ring post. Konami returns to the ring and dropkicks Starlight Kid in the head, cover by Konami but it gets two. Konami twists Starlight Kid in the ropes and dropkicks her in the back, stomps by Konami and she puts Starlight Kid in a camel clutch. Momo breaks it up, sending Konami back out of the ring as she gives Starlight Kid her attention. Starlight Kid fights back but not overly effectively, as Momo boots her back to the mat. Scoop slam by Momo and she applies a single leg crab hold, but Starlight Kid gets to the ropes for the break. Irish whip by Momo, Starlight Kid goes for a crossbody but Momo catches her. Starlight Kid cradles Momo to the mat anyway and dropkicks her, Konami runs in and delivers a sliding kick to Momo’s chest. Konami picks up Momo but Momo blocks the suplex, Starlight Kid comes over so Konami goes after her instead. Starlight Kid gets away and hits a side headlock takedown/headscissors on both Momo and Konami, she hits a standing moonsault on both of them but it only gets a two count.

Starlight Kid picks up Konami but Konami hits a kick combination, Starlight Kid slides away as Momo gets up and all three trade elbows. Momo wins the strike battle against both opponents, she charges Starlight Kid but Starlight Kid avoids her charge. Momo knocks Konami to the mat before going back to Starlight Kid, dropkick by Momo to Starlight Kid and she hits a second one. Vertical suplex by Momo, and she covers Starlight Kid for two. Momo applies a crossface chickenwing but Konami sneaks in and puts Momo in a sleeper hold. Momo gets out of it and the two trade kicks until Konami catches one and applies an ankle hold. Momo gets out of it but Konami quickly locks it back in, Starlight Kid returns and she tries to break it up but Konami trips her and puts them both in submissions. Momo and Starlight Kid work together to crawl to the ropes for the break, Momo rolls out of the ring while Konami focuses on Starlight Kid, but Starlight Kid avoids her boot and hits one of her own. Konami and Starlight Kid trade elbows but Momo hits a double Somato on both of them, regular Somato by Momo to Starlight Kid but it gets a two count. Momo picks up Starlight Kid, Starlight Kid slides away but Momo delivers a PK. Momo goes for a B Driver but Konami kicks her first, which allows Starlight Kid to hit a sunset flip powerbomb on Momo.

Konami breaks up the cover but Starlight Kid sends her out of the ring with a satellite headscissors. Starlight Kid goes to the top turnbuckle and dives out onto Oedo Tai with a plancha, but Bea and Natsuko catch her. Konami gets up on the apron and hits a sliding kick to Starlight Kid, Konami slides Starlight Kid back in the ring  and delivers a leg clutch suplex hold for two. Konami picks up Starlight Kid and goes for the Triangle Lancer, but Starlight Kid rolls through it and they trade flash pins. Momo runs in and hits a suplex on Konami but Starlight Kid drops her with a double arm DDT. Release German by Konami and Starlight Kid, and all three wrestlers are down on the mat. They all make it up before the ten count, Konami grabs Starlight Kid and hits a German suplex hold for two. She goes for the Triangle Lancer and gets it locked in, but Momo kicks her in the head to break it up. Crossface chickenwing by Momo to Starlight Kid but Starlight Kid blocks the suplex attempt out of the hold into a cradle for two. She goes for the Ki-chan Bomb but Konami kicks her in the head, Konami goes off the ropes but Momo delivers a B Driver for two. Momo drags Konami to her feet but before she can hit the Peach Sunrise, the bell rings as the time has expired. The match is a Draw.

I’ll forgive this match for not giving me a more decisive ending as it was just so entertaining. I mentioned at the top that all three are quality wrestlers and they showed here that my evaluation was well-placed. Three way matches usually have some awkward pauses or dumb looking spots, but everything here was so fluid and they had so many reversals which showed how familiar they are with each other. Whether it be the B Driver breakup, Triangle Lancer breakup, Ki-chan Bomb breakup… they weren’t just interrupting moves but doing so in a violent fashion that immediately led to more offense, not wrestlers looking at each other planning the next spot. In a way these are the unsung heroes of Stardom, always putting on great matches but not getting the respect they deserve (although SK I think is in line to get a push soon). A great match that the rest of the wrestlers on the card will struggle to match.  Highly Recommended

Mayu Iwatani and Saya Iida vs. Natsupoi and Syuri

Syuri and Mayu start the match, Syuri takes it to the mat and they jockey for position before reaching a stalemate. They tag out as Saya and Natsupoi come in, hard shoulderblock by Saya and she covers Natsupoi for two. Natsupoi avoids Saya’s next strike and hits an armdrag, but Saya chops Natsupoi in the chest repeatedly. More chops by Saya, Natsupoi goes for the tag but Syuri is in no rush to get back in the ring. Saya drags Natsupoi to the middle of the ring but Natsupoi cradles her for two, spinning kick to the stomach by Natsupoi and she delivers a dropkick. She tags in Syuri, snapmare by Syuri and she kicks Mayu off the apron. Natsupoi returns and they double team Saya, Natsupoi leaves after a moment and Syuri kicks Saya into the corner. Running knee by Syuri and she covers Saya, but Mayu breaks it up. Saya clubs Syuri in the chest but Syuri knocks her back, she goes off the ropes but Saya hits a spinebuster and makes the tag to Mayu. Back kick by Mayu but Syuri kicks her into the corner, Mayu avoids her charge however and delivers a sliding kick to Syuri’s face. Natsupoi comes in to help but Mayu grabs both their hands and hits a double springboard armdrag. Saya runs into the ring and they both hit dropkicks on an opponent,

Mayu picks up Syuri but Syuri knees her in the stomach and hits a double underhook suplex. She tags Natsupoi, Natsupoi goes to the top turnbuckle and hits a diving crossbody for two. Superkick by Mayu and she tags Saya, dropkick by Saya and she chops Natsupoi in the chest. Syuri cuts her off but Mayu comes in too, as STARS hit jumping chops on their opponents. Running elbow by Saya to Natsupoi, but her cover gets a two count. Saya goes for the Northern Lights Suplex but Natsupoi blocks it and hits a running neckbreaker. Assisted splash by Natsupoi to Saya and she kicks her in the head, jackknife by Natsupoi but Mayu breaks it up. Double Irish whip to Iida but she ducks an attempted lariat and Mayu sails off the top with a double crossbody. Missile dropkick by Saya to Natsupoi, but it gets two. Saya picks up Natsupoi and delivers the Northern Lights Suplex, but Syuri breaks up the cover. Saya picks up Natsupoi but Natsupoi gets out of the suplex attempt, superkick by Natsupoi and she goes up top, hitting the Swivel Body Press for two. Natsupoi picks up Saya but Mayu superkicks her, lariat by Saya to Natsupoi and she covers Natsupoi for two. Saya picks up Natsupoi but Natsupoi reverses a suplex into an inside cradle for two. They trade flash pins until Natsupoi applies a rolling La Magistral and picks up the three count! Syuri and Natsupoi are the winners!

This was pretty pedestrian, with the main wrestler holding it back being Natsupoi. I like Natsumi a lot and I don’t think this match defines her or anything, but she was really off here as she messed up several moves. With most wrestlers in Stardom being so smooth, it really sticks out when a wrestler is not holding up their end of the match. Even beyond that, the action was *fine* but nothing memorable before it suddenly ended ten minutes in. Good wrestlers but average match.

AZM, Saya Kamitani, and Hayashishita vs. Giulia, Himeka, and Maika
Top Unit Tournament Third Place Match

Giulia and Utami start the match, Utami pushes Giulia into the ropes but she gives a clean break. Waistlock by Utami but Giulia reverses it into a wristlock and the two trade holds. Giulia gets Utami to the mat and works a headlock but Utami gets back to her feet and they continue going back and forth. Neckbreaker by Giulia, she picks up Utami and sags in Himeka. Himeka throws Utami into the corner and hits a body avalanche, they both run into each other with shoulderblocks until Himeka knocks Utami to the mat. Utami quickly gets back up and returns the favor, stomp by Utami and she tags in Saya. Stomps by Saya in the corner but Himeka blocks the scoop slam and clubs on Saya’s back. Himeka throws Saya into the corner and takes in Maika, Saya fights back but Maika returns her blows. Maika tags in Giulia, neckbreaker by Giulia and she covers Saya for two. Giulia picks up Saya and throws her down by the head, Himeka returns and stomps Saya in the corner. Backbreaker by Himeka and she applies a crab hold, but Saya gets into the ropes for the break. Saya finally gets away from Himeka and hits a dropkick, she goes for a slam but Himeka blocks it and goes for her own slam.

Saya blocks that as well and finally hits a scoop slam, giving her time to tag in AZM. Tilt-a-whirl armbar by AZM, she lets go and schoolboys Himeka but it only gets two. Maika comes in to help but AZM rolls them both to the mat and puts them both in armbars. Giulia breaks it up, AZM goes off the ropes but Giulia catches her with a knee. Armdrag by Maika and Himeka kicks AZM in the chest for a two count. Himeka tags Giulia, Irish whip by Giulia to the corner but AZM reverses it. Giulia avoids AZM’s charge and hits a neckbreaker out of the corner, she goes to the top turnbuckle but AZM joins her. Giulia puts AZM in a guillotine while on the top turnbuckle, she lets her go after a moment but AZM avoids her missile dropkick. AZM goes for a kick but Giulia catches it and puts her in a STF, but it is broken up. Giulia picks up AZM but AZM gets away from her and hits La Mistica, giving her time to tag Utami. Dropkick by Utami and she hits a running elbow on Giulia in the corner followed by a kick to the head for a two count. Utami picks up Giulia and tries to get her on her back, but Giulia slides away. Utami gets her up anyway and hits a Samoan Drop, picking up a two count cover. Utami picks up Giulia but Giulia elbows her and the two trade strikes.

Giulia goes off the ropes and applies a stretch hold, but Utami gets into the ropes for the break. Dropkick by Giulia and she tags in Maika. Maika flings Utami around the ring and hits a STO, cover by Maika but Utami kicks out. Sleeper by Maika but Utami drives her into the corner to break it up, crucifix roll by Maika and she goes for an armbar, but AZM breaks it up. Maika goes off the ropes and hits a judo toss, she picks up Utami and hits a scoop slam for a two count. Utami gets Maika’s back and applies a sleeper, she gets Maika to the mat and puts her in a guillotine choke but Maika muscles out of it and hits a vertical suplex. Utami fires back with a release German, Utami starts to fire up but Giulia kicks her from behind. Himeka comes in too but Utami fights them off, AZM dropkicks Himeka and Queen’s Quest all get on the ropes to hit Maika with a triple dropkick. Well that was the idea anyway. Deadlift German by Utami to Maika, but Himeka breaks it up. The ring clears with Utami and Maika alone, Utami picks up Maika and gets her on her shoulders but Maika slides off. Sleeper attempt by Maika and she gets it locked in, cover by Maika but the bell rings as the time has expired. The match is a Draw.

Couple things. First of all, Stardom being too big of cowards to even have a definite ending in a “3rd Place” match is annoying, its not like all six of these wrestlers can’t take a pin and its basically them saying “there is no 4th place unit!” which is lazy. The action also wasn’t as crisp as I’d expect from these six, with several awkward moments and missed spots. Maybe due to having two shows in one day these teams had little time to chat about the match, but it wasn’t very smooth. Some sections were great, as Utami and Maika have good chemistry and Giulia is really owning her new look to the point I think I now like this one better. But between the cop-out ending and the choppy action, definitely a disappointment considering the wrestlers involved.

Mina Shirakawa, Tam Nakano, and Sayaka vs. Natsuko Tora, Ruaka, and Kashima
Top Unit Tournament Final

Saki and Unagi start the match, Saki immediately charges Unagi and boots her in the chest. Elbows by Saki in the corner, she goes off the ropes but Tam kicks her from the apron. Mina comes in too and they triple team Saki, Unagi covers Saki but it gets a two count. Unagi tags Tam, stomps by Tam and she snapmares Saki before kicking her in the back. Tam goes off the ropes but Ruaka trips her from ringside, giving Saki time to tag in Ruaka. Ruaka goes off the ropes and pushes over Tam, she grabs Tam by the hair and tosses her into the corner. Punch to the stomach by Ruaka and she puts Tam in the ropes before her Oedo Tai friends come over to help attack her. Big boot to the back of the head by Ruaka and she covers Tam for two. Ruaka picks up Tam and tags Natsuko, Natsuko knocks Unagi and Mina off the apron before going back to Tam and throwing her down by the hair. Bootscrapes by Natsuko and she boots Tam, she tags in Ruaka who hits a running boot while Tam is against the ropes. Tam falls out of the ring where Natsuko greets her, but Unagi comes over to even the odds. Unagi and Mina are knocked back while Tam is rolled back into the ring, Tam fights back with an elbow but Ruaka kicks her. They trade blows until Tam does the matrix cradle for a two count.

Tam knocks Ruaka back and finally makes the hot tag to Unagi, Unagi picks up Ruaka and hits a face crusher. Leg drop by Unagi and she covers Ruaka for two. Unagi picks up Ruaka and applies the Gory Special, but Saki breaks it up. Saki and Ruaka Irish whip Unagi but Unagi blocks it, Mina runs in and they both attack Ruaka and Saki. Unagi goes off the ropes but Ruaka boots her in the head and tags in Natsuko. Hard shoulderblocks by Natsuko, she picks up Unagi but Mina runs in and hits a Lou Thesz press. Leg drop by Unagi and she crawls to her corner to tag Tam. Neckbreaker and she hits a cartwheel kneedrop for two. Tam picks up Natsuko but Natsuko elbows her off, Tam elbows her back and they trade shots. After an assist from Unagi, Tam knees Natsuko in the back and hits a backdrop suplex for a two count. Tam charges Natsuko but Saki comes in and his a hurricanrana, Cannonball by Natsuko to Tam in the corner and she hits a Samoan Drop. Diving footstomp by Saki and Natsuko follows with a diving body press for a two count cover. Natsuko picks up Tam but Tam blocks the slam, eye rake by Natsuko and she hits a lariat for a two count. Natsuko picks up Tam and hits a few elbows, she goes off the ropes but Tam catches her with a heel kick. Tam tags in Mina while Natsuko tags Saki, they immediately trade elbows until Mina knocks over Saki with a double chop.

Mina charges Saki in the corner and hits an elbow, dropkick by Mina and she covers Saki for two. Mina throws Saki in the corner but Saki avoids her charge, Ruaka runs in and shoulderblocks Mina. Diving footstomp by Saki, but Mina kicks out of the cover. Saki picks up Mina and delivers a double underhook facebuster, but Tam breaks up the pin. Saki picks up Mina but Tam comes in and superkicks Saki, backdrop suplex attempt by Mina but Saki blocks it. Mina trips Saki instead and applies a submission hold, but Natsuko breaks it up. Cosmic Angels take control for a moment but it doesn’t last long, as Oedo Tai all hit slams around different corners. Natsuko, Ruaka, and Saki all go up different corners and go for diving body presses, but all three miss. Ruaka and Natsuko are knocked out of the ring, dropkick by Mina to Saki and she falls out of the ring as well. Unagi goes to the top turnbuckle and dives out onto all three with a plancha, Saki is rolled back in while Mina goes up top, hitting a diving elbow strike for two. Mina picks up Saki but Saki gets away, superkick by Tam to Saki and she hits a release German. DDT by Mina to Saki, but Natsuko breaks up the cover. Mina and Tam pick up Saki and hit heel drops, Mina grabs Saki but Saki quickly applies the Kishikaisei for the three count! Oedo Tai win the match and the tournament!

I can understand doing the tournament with the lesser wrestlers in a faction to try to put them over, but its hard to take this Oedo Tai team seriously while Bea and Konami are at ringside cheering along. And they didn’t even cheat! Just lots of boots. Its hard to accept Ruaka as a real main event threat due to her status as Child and Recent Opening Match Jobber, and she didn’t really add anything positive to the match. Uninspiring offense by Oedo Tai aside, Cosmic Angels looked pretty good here and had a variety of entertaining offense, which the match desperately needed. This is a very “house show” main event, it wasn’t bad but it wasn’t special either, I can respect Stardom wanting to spotlight the bottom section of the Oedo Tai faction but sadly it just didn’t lead to an entertaining match. Hot ending aside, the first half was just too drab and overall it was just an average match.

The post Stardom “Osaka Day and Night” (Evening Show) on 3/28/21 Review appeared first on Joshi City.