A few times a year, Stardom releases a ‘complete’ photobook that features all the wrestlers that have been recently active in the promotion.  While it was advertised as a “Photo and Interview Book,” the vast majority of the book is pictures. The following wrestlers are featured in the photobook:

• Kairi Hojo
• Mayu Iwatani
• Yoko Bito
• Io Shirai
• Toni Storm
• HZK
• Jungle Kyona
• Hiromi Mimura
• Natsuko Tora
• AZM
• Arisu Nanase
• Konami
• Kris Wolf
• Viper
• Kay Lee Ray
• Nixon Newell
• Shayna Baszler
• Deonna Purrazzo
• Zoe Lucas
• Christi Jaynes
• Jessicka Havok
• Tessa Blanchard
• Rosa Negra
• Hetzza

The last ten pages feature interviews with the gaijin talent, however the interviews are in Japanese. Here is a look at some of the pictures in the photobook:

The post Stardom World Vol. 2 Photobook Review appeared first on Joshi City.

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

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

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

At least I got in two other event reviews between Stardom reviews this time, so I’m slowly getting better. Like last time, this event was uploaded very quickly over at Stardom World, a clipped version aired on Samurai TV a couple days ago but I prefer to see it unclipped. This is a massive show for Stardom, as they stack it with three title matches, including perhaps Kairi Hojo’s last big singles match in the promotion. Here is the full card:

• AZM vs. Hanan
• Kaori Yoneyama, Natsuko Tora, and Ruaka vs. Hetzza, Hiromi Mimura, and Konami
• Hana Kimura vs. HZK vs. Rebel
• Goddesses Of Stardom Championship: Hiroyo Matsumoto and Jungle Kyona vs. Jessicka Havok and Tessa Blanchard
• Wonder Of Stardom Championship: Kairi Hojo vs. Mayu Iwatani
• World Of Stardom Championship: Io Shirai vs. Toni Storm

As always, you can click on the wrestler’s name to go to their profile. Let’s hop to it.

AZM vs. Hanan

AZM offers a handshake but Hanan slaps it away and starts working on AZM’s arm. They trade wristlocks until AZM pounds Hanan to the mat, but Hanan quickly goes back to the arm and hits a judo throw. AZM gets out of it and throws down Hanan by the hair, dropkick by AZM and she covers Hanan for two. Crab hold by AZM but Hanan gets into the ropes, scoop slam by AZM but Hanan avoids her dive off the second rope. Hanan rolls to the apron but AZM quickly hits a slingshot footstomp, AZM goes for a suplex but Hanan blocks it and hits a judo throw. Hanan hits mounted elbows but AZM slaps her hard in the chest, AZM goes off the ropes but Hanan hits a dropkick. Hanan grabs AZM but AZM hits a DDT, Hanan comes back with a pair of STOs but AZM blocks it when Hanan goes for another. Hanan throws AZM to the mat but AZM gets away from her, Japanese Leg Clutch Hold by AZM and she gets the three count! AZM is the winner.

They started fine but at some point it went off the rails a bit, which isn’t overly shocking when dealing with two young wrestlers. Still, Hanan’s tosses all looked really good and her STO is solid, so there is some hope there that she will develop into a quality wrestler down the road. Not much to it, but both showed some improvement with their general execution.

Kaori Yoneyama, Natsuko Tora, and Ruaka vs. Hetzza, Hiromi Mimura, and Konami

Konami and Ruaka are the first two in, they do some intro submission work until Konami kicks Ruaka in the chest. Ruaka boots her back but Konami returns the favor, so both wrestlers tag out as Kaori and Hetzza come in. Armdrag by Hetzza and they trade trips before both return to their feet to tag in Natsuko and Hiromi. Kaori and Ruaka run in and attack Hiromi from behind, and all three pose on Hiromi. Natsuko tags Kaori back in, Kaori beats Hiromi down in the corner and hits a series of Mongolian Chops. Hiromi hits a dropkick which gives her time to tag in Konami, dropkick by Konami and she kicks Kaori repeatedly while she is seated on the mat. Another dropkick by Konami, Kaori kicks out of the cover but Konami quickly applies an armbar. Konami goes for the Fisherman Suplex, Kaori blocks it so Konami kicks her in the chest instead. Kaori bridges out of the corner and knees Konami in the head, she tags in Natsuko but Konami kicks Natsuko in the chest and tags in Hiromi. Diving crossbody by Hiromi and she hits an elevated DDT, she goes for La Magistral but Kaori breaks it up before she can even start the move. Kaori and Ruaka assist Natsuko in attacking Hiromi in the corner, reverse STO by Ruaka and Kaori hits a running senton. Natsuko hits one as well, cover by Natsuko but Konami breaks it up. Hiromi sneaks in a backslide and schoolboy on Natsuko, but both get a two count. Side Russian Leg Sweeps by Natsuko, she gets on the second turnbuckle but Hiromi avoids the diving senton. La Magistral by Hiromi, Natsuko gets out of it but Hiromi applies another cradle and she picks up the three count! Hetzza, Hiromi Mimura, and Konami are your winners.

Nothing particularly special, but nothing offensive. They kept Hetzza out of it almost completely, probably for the best, and everyone else got a bit of a chance to shine. I wish Konami could have been in a bigger match, but with such a stacked card she was downgraded to six woman tag duty. Natsuko continues to come along nicely, and even Hiromi I think is slowly improving. Overall forgettable, but not a bad casual watch.

Hana Kimura vs. HZK vs. Rebel

As predicted, Hana and Rebel start with a sexy dance-off, while HZK watches. They try to talk HZK into playing along but she won’t, so HZK is attacked from behind for being a poor sport. Hana is kicked to the mat, HZK then sends Rebel out of the ring before focusing on Hana in the corner. Running boot by HZK but Rebel trips her from the floor when she goes for another one and rides her while she is in the ropes. Hana has recovered and helps Rebel work over HZK, double knee by Hana in the corner and Rebel hits a jumping elbow. Hana and Rebel both slam HZK while dancing, but Hana elbows Rebel by accident to interrupt the flow. It happens a second time so Rebel pushes Hana, HZK dropkicks Hana out of the ring before dropkicking Rebel as well. Armtrap crossface by HZK to Rebel, but Rebel gets into the rope for a break. HZK gets on the second turnbuckle but Rebel avoids the senton, Hana runs in and boots HZK in the head before turning her attention to Rebel. Hana avoids Rebel’s lariat and rolls her up for two, she picks her up and delivers a dropkick but HZK breaks up the cover. HZK and Hana trade elbows, HZK gets the better of it but Hana takes off her belt and chokes HZK with it. Rebel breaks that up, neckbreaker by Rebel to HZK but it gets a two count. Hana has recovered but Rebel boots her in the chest, she gets on the second turnbuckle but Hana avoids the moonsault. Vertical suplex by Hana, but HZK breaks up the pin. HZK kicks Hana out of the ring, she hits a backbreaker on Rebel near the corner and nails the Bombs Away for the three count! HZK wins.

I was correct, this was silly. I like Hana’s act but I think she needs to be careful that it doesn’t consume her. Do the dancing as a way to get under her opponent’s skin, but then she needs to stick to actual wrestling (which she is good at) and not just become a routine. To be fair, part of it here was Rebel’s fault as I don’t think she knows how to turn it off, so Hana and her kept going back and forth with it. HZK wasn’t of course so she was the prop most of the match for their decadence. Not a particularly great showing by any of them and a step back for Hana and HZK.

(c) Hiroyo Matsumoto and Jungle Kyona vs. Jessicka Havok and Tessa Blanchard
Goddesses of Stardom Championship

In a change of pace, it is Hiroyo and Kyona that attack before the bell rings, Hiroyo and Havok end up fighting on the floor while Kyona and Tessa stay in the ring. Kyona and Tessa run around until Tessa rolls up Kyona, hard shoulderblock by Kyona and she puts her in a backbreaker. Hiroyo tries to do the same to Havok but can’t get her up until Kyona comes over to help, Hiroyo knocks down Tessa and monkey flips her to Kyona, who hits a lariat. Body press by Kyona, but Havok breaks it up. Tessa and Havok finally take over and isolate Kyona, Tessa tags in Havok and Havok kicks Kyona in the stomach. Kyona goes for a crossbody but Havok catches her and hits a fallaway slam, stomp by Havok and she tags in Tessa. Dropkick by Tessa and she connects with a sliding elbow before hitting a vertical suplex for two. Kyona and Tessa trade elbows until Kyona hits a hard lariat, both wrestlers crawl to their corners and tags in their respective partners. Hiroyo and Havok take turns trying to lariat each other over with in luck, they then trade chops until Havok tosses Hiroyo to the mat. Havok goes for the tombstone but Havok gets out of it, Havok blocks the backdrop suplex attempt but Hiroyo snaps her neck over the top rope. Havok absorbs it and lariats Hiroyo, Kyona runs in and she evades Havok until Hiroyo recovers and hits a missile dropkick. Reverse double knee by Hiroyo, but Havok gets a shoulder up. Hiroyo tags in Kyona, palm strikes by Kyona and she hits a body avalanche against the ropes.

She goes for a second one but Havok bumps her to the mat, boot by Havok and she chokes Kyona until Hiroyo breaks it up. Havok throws them into each other and delivers a double lariat before making the tag to Tessa. Tessa goes off the ropes and sails out onto both Hiroyo and Kyona with a tope suicida, Havok then goes off the far ropes and flies out onto them as well. Tessa slides Kyona back in the ring and hits a few short-range lariats, backdrop suplex by Kyona but it only gets a two count. Kyona tries to fight back but Havok attacks he from behind, assisted Codebreaker to Kyona but Kyona barely kicks out of Tessa’s pin. Hiroyo grabs Tessa from the apron but Havok elbows her off, Tessa goes up top and she hits the Diving Codebreaker, but Hiroyo breaks up the cover. Tessa picks up Kyona but Kyona reverses a bodyslam attempt, Havok runs over to help but she lands on Tessa by accident. Kyona gets Tessa on her shoulders and spins her down to the mat, she goes up top but Havok joins her. Hiroyo hits Havok before she can do anything and powerbombs her to the mat, Kyona then dives off the top with a diving body press to Tessa, but it gets a two count. Kyona deadlifts Tessa up but Tessa elbows off of her and delivers a cutter. Cradle by Tessa, but it gets two. Kick by Tessa but Hiroyo grabs her from behind and hits a release German. Hiroyo and Kyona delivers a high/low double lariat, Hammer Throw Powerbomb by Kyona and she covers Tessa for the three count! Kyona and Hiroyo are still the champions.

This was a solid match, nothing that will blow you away but overall well done. I know I have complained about it before but I’ll do it again – I don’t like Stardom using Havok like she is an idiot as I think the “aimlessly chase around” spot they like to do with larger Gaijins looks really ridiculous. But beyond that I enjoyed it, they did a few things to put over the match was important such as Havok’s dive to the floor, and I thought it was good that it was Kyona that got the pin so she can slowly elevate herself instead of just being in Hiroyo’s shadow. Not a very long title match at only about 12 minutes, but they used the time well and aside from the Havok issue everyone looked good.  Mildly Recommended

(c) Kairi Hojo vs. Mayu Iwatani
Wonder of Stardom Championship

The match starts slowly as they tie-up, but quickly go into a strike exchange with neither getting a clean blow. They go back to jockeying for position, Kairi gets the first advantage but after bouncing off the ropes it is Mayu that knocks Kairi out of the ring. Mayu goes up top but Kairi has crawled under the ring to creep up behind her, Kairi joins Mayu but Mayu kicks her back down to the floor. Mayu then gets off the top turnbuckle, she charges the corner and sails out onto Kairi with a triple jump plancha! Perfectly hit. Mayu takes Kairi up into the stands but Kairi chops her and the two trade strikes. Kairi wins the battle, she gets up on the balcony and dives down onto Mayu with an elbow smash. Kairi returns to the ring and waits for Mayu, who slowly returns with a bit of help, but Kairi immediately pounces on her and stays on the attack. Dropkick by Kairi, she goes up top and hits another elbow smash, she covers Mayu but Mayu’s leg is in the ropes. Kairi pulls Mayu in the middle of the ring and applies a stretch hold, she rolls Mayu around the ring before cradling her for a two count. Mayu comes back with the Sling Blade, Mayu yanks on Kairi’s arm before knocking her to the mat.

Mayu starts on Kairi’s arm in various torturing ways, she goes for a dragon suplex but Kairi blocks it. Superkick by Mayu but Kairi hits a spinning chop and both wrestlers collapse to the mat. They both slowly get up and trade elbows, crucifix slam my Mayu but it gets a two count. Mayu goes up top but Kairi smacks her and joins her, but Mayu trips Kairi into the Tree of Woe and hits a diving footstomp to her chest. Mayu goes back up top and hits another diving footstomp, cover by Mayu but Kairi gets a shoulder up. Mayu tries to dragon suplex Kairi into the turnbuckles but Kairi blocks it and hits the Sliding D. Kairi picks up Mayu, she blocks Mayu’s kick and puts her in the Ikari. Kairi lets go after a moment and slams her in front of the corner, Diving Elbow Drop by Kairi to Mayu’s back but instead of going for the cover she goes up to try another Diving Elbow Drop. The strategy fails, as this time Mayu gets her feet up and kicks Kairi in her already injured arm. German suplex by Mayu, she goes up top and delivers the Frog Splash. Dragon suplex hold by Mayu, but Kairi barely gets a shoulder up. Back up they trade elbows, Kairi goes off the ropes but Mayu hits a superkick. Another kick to the head by Mayu, she picks up Kairi and she delivers her enhanced dragon suplex hold for the three count! Mayu Iwatani is the new champion!

Even though I came in with high expectations, Kairi and Mayu met them and then some. To say they have great chemistry would be an understatement and it was a nearly flawless match in execution. Everyone always works on Kairi’s arm but it felt more effective here than usual, as after Mayu blocked the diving elbow drop by kicking her arm she was never in serious danger the rest of the match. I always hold my breath when they do a balcony dive since the steps are right there, but its a great visual and adds a sense of importance. I’m glad that Mayu didn’t hit a dragon suplex into the turnbuckles as that is the type of thing that Kairi would agree to do, and they managed to hit big spots without actually hurting each other. An exciting, creative, and entertaining match between two of the best in Stardom.  Highly Recommended

(c) Io Shirai vs. Toni Storm
World of Stardom Championship

They start with feeling each other out, they end up on the mat but they reach several stalemates. Io flings Toni to the mat and hits a double knee stomp, cover by Io but Toni quickly kicks out. Shoulderblock by Io but Toni trips her and they trade flash pins with neither getting the three count, Toni kicks Io out of the ring but Io slides back in when she goes to do a dive. Double backflip by Io but Toni kicks her, she goes off the ropes but Io hits a hurricanrana for two. Dropkick to the head by Io and Toni rolls out of the ring, Io goes to the ropes and hits a pescado down to the floor. Io gets a chair and puts Toni’s head on it, Io then gets a running start and dropkicks the chair. Stomps by Io, she puts Toni against the ring post and charges in with a double knee to Toni’s back. They get back in the ring and Io puts Toni in a crab hold, but Toni makes it to the ropes. Io kicks Toni in the back and kicks her into the corner, double knee by Io but Toni avoids her charge and hits a Backstabber in the ropes. Toni charges Io but Io moves, Io now charges Toni but Toni holds down the top rope and Io spills out of the ring. Toni then goes off the far ropes and sails out with a tope suicida, Toni sits Io in the chair and delivers a jumping hip attack to her face.

Uppercut by Toni and she slides Io back in, but Io slides back out of the ring and pulls Toni with her. Io throws Toni in the crowd before removing the mat at ringside, she goes for the double underhook facebuster but Toni blocks it and hits a sidewalk slam onto the floor. Toni drags Io back into the ring and covers her, but it gets two. Hip attacks by Toni in the corner, she covers Io again but it gets another two count. Running hip attack by Toni and she hits the fisherman suplex hold, but Io gets a shoulder up. Toni goes for a piledriver but Io gets out of it and quickly puts Toni in the armtrap crossface. Toni inches to the ropes and forces a break, Tiger Feint Kick by Io and she delivers the swandive dropkick for two. Io picks up Toni and hits a delayed German suplex hold, but Toni kicks out. Io picks up Toni and elbows her, Toni kicks her and she hits the reverse neckbreaker for a two count. Io slowly gets up and they trade strikes, headbutt by Toni and she nails the snap piledriver. Before she can make a cover, the super shady senior referee literally rolls Io out to the apron and prevents Toni from covering her, so that the doctor can check her. Since that is a normal thing that referees do after wrestlers hit their signature move.

This goes on too long while I sit here actively annoyed, the referee pretends like he is counting but somehow never makes it to ten even after 30 seconds passes. Toni finally picks up Io anyway and hits another reverse neckbreaker, but it only gets a two count. Toni goes up top but Io crawls to the apron so again the referee holds Toni, this gives Io time to recover and she joins Toni, hitting a Frankensteiner back into the ring. Io puts Toni in the Texas Cloverleaf, but she releases the hold after a moment after Toni doesn’t submit. Double underhook facebuster by Io, she goes up top but Toni gets her feet up on the moonsault attempt. Toni picks up Io and hits a release German, she goes up top and quickly hits a diving legdrop, but Io barely kicks out of the cover. Toni puts Io in the Kondo Clutch, but the bell rings as the time has expired. The match is a Draw and Io Shirai is still the champion.

Sometimes, something can happen in a wrestling match that completely takes you out of it, which is what happened here to me. The spot with the referee was one of the dumbest things I have seen in recent memory, as in no way should a referee be rolling a wrestler out of the ring and physically holding back their opponent from making the cover after they hit their signature move. The point of wrestling is to hurt your opponent enough to cover them. Some will say “well he is the referee and wanted to make sure she was OK” but that’s not what a referee generally does (in storyline), particularly when their opponent is trying to pin them. Sometimes a referee will have a doctor check a wrestler due to blood loss, which is something fans are familiar with since they do that in boxing and MMA too, but not out of general concern. Then he did it again when Toni went to the top turnbuckle, for no reason (didn’t even have a doctor check that time). I guess they thought it was protecting Toni’s finisher but in reality it was just actively stupid and a time waster. In general, Toni and Io were “wrestling to a Draw” so there were some slow moments, but that was the only one that really felt excessive. Otherwise, the match was extremely well done and I loved the passion both were showing. The hip attack on the floor was one of the best hip attacks I have ever seen and neither were holding back. The referee “break” was just too much and I can’t really recommend a match that goes so far outside the realm of what is generally expected in wrestling just to fill time.  Mildly Recommended

The post Stardom “Gold May 2017” on 5/14/17 Review appeared first on Joshi City.

I typically try not to review Stardom back to back to back but other promotions are being a bit quiet right now and since Stardom is the most popular Joshi promotion, I figure I may as well keep trucking with them. This event was uploaded very quickly over at Stardom World, they are really stepping up their game. This was a smaller show for Stardom but a unique one, as a few luchadores make an appearance and we get a special match between Toni Storm and Kairi Hojo! Here is the full card:

• Hanan vs. Konami
• 3 Way Tag Match: Hana Kimura and Kris Wolf vs. Hiromi Mimura and Hetzza vs. HZK and AZM
• Hiroyo Matsumoto, Jungle Kyona, and Natsuko Tora vs. Jessicka Havok, Tessa Blanchard, and Rebel
• Kairi Hojo vs. Toni Storm
• Io Shirai, Dr. Wagner Jr., and El Hijo de Dr. Wagner Jr. vs. Mayu Iwatani, Black Tiger, and Dragon Heat

All the Joshi wrestlers above have profiles on Joshi City, you can click on their name to go straight to it. Since this was shown on Stardom World, all the matches are unedited.

Hanan vs. Konami

Hanan dropkicks Konami as soon as the match starts, but Konami knees her in the stomach and applies a headlock on the mat. Hanan gets out of it and they trade holds back and forth, Konami gets a short armbar applied but Hanan makes it to the ropes for a break. Konami keeps working on Hanan’s arm, elbows to the corner by Konami and she dropkicks Hana before covering her for two. Hanan fights back with an elbow but Konami returns fire, kick to the leg by Konami but Hanan catches her with a judo throw. STO by Hanan, and she covers Konami for a two count. Dropkicks by Hanan but Konami goes beneath one of her elbow attempts and applies a sleeper. Hanan inches to the ropes to force a break, Konami picks her up and kicks Hanan in the gut, but Hanan ducks her next kick and applies a schoolboy for two. Snapmare by Konami and she kicks Hanan in the chest, she goes for a suplex but Hanan blocks it and hits a scoop slam. Konami comes back with a kick to the chest, fisherman suplex hold by Konami and she gets the three count! Konami wins.

I was surprised by how much offense Hanan got in, considering she has been wrestling for a month and is 12. Normally I’d say that Stardom sees something special in her, but at her age there is only so much that they can do. A few minor awkward moments but otherwise well-worked, Hanan seems to be picking things up pretty quickly. A basic rookie opener but not a bad watch.

Hana Kimura and Kris Wolf vs. Hiromi Mimura and Hetzza vs. HZK and AZM

Hiromi, AZM, and Hana start the match for their respective teams. Hana wants to dance so she does so, she challenges Hiromi but Hiromi is attack by both of her opponents instead. Hiromi is briefly double teamed until they all trade schoolboys, but none of them can get the three count so they all tag out. Triple knucklelock and Hetzza armdrags both her opponents, but Hana runs in and knocks her to the mat. Kris kicks HZK in the back and tags in Hana, HZK is double teamed until Hana puts HZK in a crab hold. AZM tries to break it up but fails in epic fashion, HZK crawls to the ropes and she makes it to force a break. Hana picks up HZK but HZK elbows her and the pair trade shots, Hiromi runs in and elbows both of them against the ropes. She goes off the ropes but eats a double boot for her trouble, Hana throws HZK into the corner and she hits a double knee drop.

Dropkick by Hana, but HZK kicks out of the cover. HZK comes back with a dropkick of her own, she picks up Hana but Hana elbows her and they trade shots again. HZK and Hana trade running knees until both fall to the mat, for whatever reason Hiromi and Hetzza are both on the apron just watching. Kris and AZM are tagged in, kick by Kris but AZM delivers a dropkick. Hiromi finally returns and dropkicks AZM, DDT by Hiromi and she applies La Magistral, but Kris jumps off with a jackknife. All three trade flash pins, Kris gets back in control and hits a double knee on AZM in the corner before kicking her in the back for two. Hana goes for a missile dropkick but she kicks Kris by accident, HZK runs in and boots Hana and with AZM they attack Hetzza and Hiromi. HZK slams Hetzza in front of the corner and nails the Bombs Away, cover by HZK and she gets the three count! HZK and AZM win the match.

These matches are always a bit all over the place, and tend to not really be my cup of tea. The Hiromi/Hetzza team would just disappear for chunks of the match with little explanation, and the only good exchange they had was HZK and Hana a bit towards the middle. More midcard filler than anything else.

Hiroyo Matsumoto, Kyona, and Natsuko Tora vs. Havok, Tessa Blanchard, and Rebel

Kyona and Tessa start the match, they both go off the ropes until Kyona hits a hard shoulderblock. Both Hiroyo and Natsuko come in the ring as they triple team Tessa, Kyona goes off the ropes but Havok grabs her from the apron and Tessa hits a dropkick. Tessa tags in Havok, Kyona drives Havok back into the corner and makes the tag to Hiroyo. Hiroyo and Havok lock knuckles and go into a Test of Strength, headlock by Hiroyo but Havok reverses it. Hiroyo elbows Havok but Havok returns fire, they trade chops until Havok slams Hiroyo to the mat. Havok charges Hiroyo but Hiroyo slides to the apron and snaps Havok’s neck over the top rope. She tags in Natsuko, dropkicks by Natsuko but Havok swats her to the mat. Havok tags in Rebel, Space Rolling Elbow by Rebel and she chokes Natsuko in the corner with her boot. Rebel rides Natsuko in the ropes before tagging Havok back in, Natsuko goes for a crossbody but Havok catches her and hits a fallaway slam. Tries to sit on Natsuko but Natsuko moves and makes the tag to Kyona, Kyona goes off the ropes while Hiroyo goes up top and knocks her over with a missile dropkick. Palm strikes by Kyona, she goes off the ropes and hits a body avalanche but Havok stays on her feet.

Kyona goes for shoulderblocks with no luck, they both go off the ropes and Havok sends Kyona to the mat. Both crawl to their corners and tag in Natsuko and Tessa respectively, dropkick by Natsuko but Tessa avoids the senton attempt and hits a pair of lariats. Backdrop suplex by Tessa, and she covers Natsuko for two. Natsuko goes for the leg sweep but Tessa blocks it, she applies an Octopus Hold instead while her teammates run in to cut off their opponents. Hiroyo tries to get Havok up in a backbreaker, Kyona comes over to help but Havok lariats both of them. Havok picks up Natsuko and hits a backbreaker, dropkick by Tessa and she covers Natsuko for two. Irish whip by Havok but Natsuko holds he ropes, Havok charges her but Natsuko holds down the top rope and Havok falls to the apron. Tessa tries to dropkick Natsuko but hits Havok instead, Kyona and Hiroyo come in to help Tessa as Kyona hits a diving body press. Natsuko follows with a diving senton, but Rebel breaks up the cover. Tessa and Natsuko trade elbows, scoop slam by Tessa and she goes up top, but Natsuko joins her. Havok hits Natsuko from behind and kicks her in the head, Diving Codebreaker by Tessa and she gets the three count! Tessa Blanchard, Jessicka Havok, and Rebel win the match.

While midcard six wrestler tag matches generally are nothing special, they did about as much as they could here by making Havok the focus. Havok at least brings something different to the table and gives the wrestlers something a bit different to do, and she could tag out when needed so it didn’t get stale. They kept Rebel’s involvement to a minimum but she looked fine, and Natsuko continues to show a lot even though she is just a rookie. A difficult situation as ten minute six woman tag matches tend to just be the wrestlers going through the motions, but this was a step above that as they did some fun stuff.  Mildly Recommended

Kairi Hojo vs. Toni Storm

They grapple for the first few minutes of the match, showing that both are more than just flashy moves, but either can get a clear advantage and they end up in a stalemate. Toni continually tries to focus on Kairi’s arm and gets the cross armbreaker applied, but Kairi quickly gets into the ropes. They continue grappling with Kairi getting the advantage this time, chop by Kairi but Toni boots her out of the ring and sails out onto Kairi with a tope suicida. Toni chops Kairi while she is against the ropes and hits an uppercut, she slams Kairi into the apron before rolling her back into the ring. Hip attacks by Toni, she picks up Kairi and hits a snap vertical suplex. Chops by Toni in the corner, she trips Kairi down to a seated position but Kairi counters the running hip attack attempt with a spear. Kairi stomps repeatedly on Toni’s butt, she puts Toni upside down in the corner and chops her repeatedly in the butt some more. Kairi really didn’t like those hip attacks. Dropkick by Kairi, and she covers Toni for a two count.

Kairi picks up Toni and puts her in the Octopus Hold while spanking her, but Toni slowly gets to the ropes to force the break. Kairi kicks Toni in the butt some more and goes up top, Toni briefly joins her but Kairi elbows her off and they trade shots in the middle of the ring. Kairi goes off the ropes but Toni punches her in the face, backdrop suplex by Kairi and both are down on the mat. Release German by Toni and she hits a running hip attack in the corner, fisherman suplex by Toni but it gets a two count. Toni goes for a piledriver but Kairi blocks it, Sliding D by Kairi and she applies the 4173 for a two count. Kairi elbows Toni in the back and goes for the Ikari, Toni gets to the ropes but Kairi quickly goes up top and nails a Diving Elbow Drop to Toni’s back. Toni slowly rolls out of the ring, Kairi goes up top but Toni hits her and gets back in the ring, pulling Kairi off the top turnbuckle and hitting a fisherman suplex hold for two. Snap piledriver by Toni, but she is too hurt to quickly cover and the time limit expires. The match is a Draw.

A good match, but it definitely felt more toned down than if it was a title match. I didn’t mind the first few minutes being a grappling-fest and it showed that both wrestlers have skills beyond just doing flashy moves, but it never really picked up until about five minutes in. Kairi beating on Toni’s ass as a retort for the hip attacks was funny, but ultimately nothing more than that since Kairi doesn’t have any finishers that focus on that region so it was forgotten as well. Kairi finally did get focused with a few minutes left to Toni’s back, but it was too late at that point. Toni was polished as she always is but I never felt she was in control of this one, it was mostly Kairi in charge with Toni occasionally getting in some offense so as to not get slaughtered. I enjoyed it since both are really high end wrestlers, but on a bigger stage and with a winner I think they could have put on something near MOTYC status.  Mildly Recommended

Io, Dr. Wagner Jr., and El Hijo de Dr. Wagner Jr. vs. Mayu, Black Tiger, and Dragon Heat

Wagner Jr. and Dragon Heat start the match, Wagner Jr. pushes Dragon Heat into the corner and gives a clean break while posing. Dragon Heat works on Wagner Jr.’s arm a bit, Dragon Heat goes for shoulderblocks but he can’t knock Wagner Jr. over. They reach a stalemate so they tag in Mayu and Io, Mayu and Io go off the ropes and do a high speed exchange which also ends in a stalemate (while Wagner Jr. dances on the apron). Hijo de Wagner Jr. and Black Tiger come in next, Black Tiger and Hijo de Wagner Jr. trade chops until Hijo de Wagner Jr. hits a jumping double chop and covers Black Tiger for two. Black Tiger rakes Hijo de Wagner Jr. in the eyes and tags in Dragon Heat, Mayu comes in too and they hit a double elbow to Hijo de Wagner Jr.’s chest. Dragon Heat kicks Hijo de Wagner Jr. in the chest and applies a chinlock, Hijo de Wagner Jr. gets out of it however and he makes the tag to Io. Io tries to Irish whip Dragon Heat but instead Dragon Heat kicks her back into the corner, Irish whip by Dragon Heat but Io slides out onto the apron and hits a missile dropkick for a two count. Io picks up Dragon Heat but Dragon Heat hits an armdrag, dropkick by Dragon Heat and he does a kip up to show off a bit. Suplex by Dragon Heat and he tosses Io out of the ring, where Black Tiger rakes her in the eyes. He slides Io back in, Dragon Heat kicks Io in the back and makes the tag to Mayu. Mayu puts Io in the ropes and delivers a dropkick, cover by Mayu but it gets two.

Dragon Heat returns and puts Io in a crab hold, but Io makes it to the ropes. He tags Mayu back in as Io plays the Face in Peril, Sling Blade by Mayu but Io avoids her when she goes for a dropkick against the ropes. Mayu cuts off Io before she can tag out but Io dropkicks her when Mayu jumps off the turnbuckle, and Io finally makes the tag to Wagner Jr.. Black Tiger is also tagged in, Wagner Jr. hits a bunch of dragon screws and when Black Tiger falls out of the ring, Wagner Jr. quickly goes out to the apron and hits a cannonball. Black Tiger is slid back in, Hijo de Wagner Jr. slams Black Tiger in front of the corner and hits a moonsault, cover by Wagner Jr. but the pin is broken up. Mayu comes in but is promptly triple teamed, Wagner Jr. puts Mayu on the top turnbuckle and hits a superplex while Io and Hijo de Wagner Jr. go up to different corners and hit a simultaneous diving headbutt/diving elbow drop. All three pose on Mayu, Black Tiger and Dragon Heat break that up, Black Tiger low blows Wagner Jr. and delivers the tombstone piledriver. Diving elbow drop by Black Tiger, but Hijo de Wagner Jr. breaks up the cover. Io and Hijo de Wagner Jr. clear the ring before sailing out onto Dragon Heat and Mayu, while Black Tiger tries to lariat Wagner Jr. in the ring with no success. La Magistral by Wagner Jr. to Black Tiger, but Black Tiger gets a shoulder up. Kick by Wagner Jr., he picks up Black Tiger and nails the Wagner Driver for the three count! Io, Dr. Wagner Jr., and El Hijo de Dr. Wagner Jr. win!

A pretty lighthearted affair, although at least it looked like everyone was having fun. Matches like this to me is just another reason Dr. Wagner Jr. is a legend and I love him – he easily could have coasted here but he didn’t. Not saying he did anything really crazy but he was actively involved the entire match and reacting to what was going in the ring, not just collecting a paycheck. Black Tiger seemed a bit less into it but that’s his general demeanor anyway, and Io of course was having a ball. This is the definition of a small card main event though, it wouldn’t have worked for a bigger show since there was no substance or story to it. Still, it was a fun atmosphere, and I enjoy seeing Io adapt to new situations instead of just doing Gaijin Battles all the time. An easy match to watch, nothing that will stick in your head for too long but enjoyable nonetheless.  Mildly Recommended

The post Stardom Golden Week Stars on 5/3/17 Review appeared first on Joshi City.

I have to give Stardom credit, as they added this event really fast to Stardom World. The annual Cinderella Tournament is one of Stardom’s biggest events of the year, as it takes place during Golden Week (a major holiday in Japan). 16 wrestlers battle in a one night tournament, with the winner getting one “wish” granted (generally assumed to be a title shot). Below is the full card:

• 4 Way Match: AZM vs. Hanan vs. Kaori Yoneyama vs. Ruaka
• Cinderella Tournament Round 1: HZK vs. Jungle Kyona
• Cinderella Tournament Round 1: Jessicka Havok vs. Natsuko Tora
• Cinderella Tournament Round 1: Kris Wolf vs. Tessa Blanchard
• Cinderella Tournament Round 1: Kagetsu vs. Konami
• Cinderella Tournament Round 1: Hetzza vs. Mayu Iwatani
• Cinderella Tournament Round 1: Rebel vs. Toni Storm
• Cinderella Tournament Round 1: Hiromi Mimura vs. Kairi Hojo
• Cinderella Tournament Round 1: Hana Kimura vs. Io Shirai
• Cinderella Tournament Round 2: Tessa Blanchard vs. Toni Storm
• Cinderella Tournament Round 2: HZK vs. Kairi Hojo
• Cinderella Tournament Round 2: Kagetsu vs. Mayu Iwatani
• Cinderella Tournament Round 2: Io Shirai vs. Jessicka Havok
• Cinderella Tournament Finals: Mayu Iwatani vs. Toni Storm

Quick reminder of the rules for the Cinderella Tournament – it is single elimination, each match has a ten minute time limit, and a wrestler can also win by throwing their opponent over the top rope. If a match ends in a Draw, both wrestlers are eliminated from the tournament.

Now that I have finished all the profiles, every wrestler above has one on the website, you can click on their names above for more information on the wrestler. As I am (obviously) watching this on Stardom World, all matches will be shown in full. Lets get to it!

AZM vs. Hanan vs. Kaori Yoneyama vs. Ruaka

AZM acts at first like she is on Kaori’s side against the rookies, but instead attacks her as the veteran is triple teamed. She hits a jumping crossbody on all of them for their trouble, AZM grabs Kaori but they are both dropkicked over by Hanan and Ruaka. This leaves the two 12 year olds alone in the ring, judo throw by Hanan and they trade holds on the mat until Ruaka throws Hanan off of her. Kaori and AZM return, AZM dropkicks Kaori but Kaori bridges out of the pin. AZM returns the favor but Kaori catches her crossbody attempt and drops AZM on the ground. Ruaka and Hanan trip Kaori and all three dropkick her while she is in the ropes before the rookies pose on her. AZM takes advantage of this and attacks both rookies, Hanan dropkicks Ruaka and then AZM dropkicks Hanan, all four wrestlers trade schoolboys but no one gets the three count as they return to their feet. AZM has had enough and sits on the top turnbuckle to watch, STO by Hanan to Ruaka but Kaori dropkicks her while hitting a senton on Ruaka at the same time.

AZM jumps down to break up the cover but soon returns to the turnbuckle, Kaori wraps up Hanan’s legs but AZM comes down again and puts Kaori in a hanging armbar. AZM yells for Ruaka and they double team Kaori, AZM gets on the second turnbuckle but Ruaka hits a Fisherman Suplex Hold on Kaori before AZM can jump off. Hanan sneaks in a cover on Kaori which AZM also breaks up, AZM and Hanan trade elbows until Hanan hits another STO. Hanan goes for a toss on Kaori but Kaori blocks it, she lays all three of her opponents next to each other and goes for a diving senton, but all three roll out of the way. Satellite schoolboy by AZM to Kaori but it gets a two count, Ruaka boots AZM in the corner as Hanan recovers, but Kaori drop toeholds Hanan on Ruaka. Kaori goes for a senton on both of them but Hanan rolls out of the way, so Kaori only hits Ruaka. Hanan quickly schoolboys Ruaka, and she picks up the three count! Hanan is the winner!

This is the first win of Hanan’s career.  A pretty well structured match, rookie matches can be all over the place but clearly they planned this match well and no one ever looked lost. There were some minor things here and there but nothing match-breaking, and all four wrestlers got a chance to shine a bit since it was a decent length opener. Not a bad way to kick things off.

HZK vs. Jungle Kyona

They immediately charge each other to start and HZK connects with a few kicks, but Kyona shrugs them off and the two trade elbows. Kyona applies a sleeper and swings HZK around, she tries to throw HZK over the top rope but HZK lands on the apron. HZK goes off the ropes but HZK avoids her shoulder tackle and kicks Kyona back into the ring. HZK goes up top but Kyona joins her, she tries to push HZK out of the ring but HZK hangs on. Kyona powerslams HZK back into the ring, she returns to the top turnbuckle and delivers a diving body press for a two count. She goes for a gutwrench but HZK quickly gets out of it, elbows by Kyona but HZK pulls her down by the hair and hits a series of mounted elbows. HZK picks up Kyona but Kyona palm thrusts her, Codebreaker by HZK and she slams Kyona in front of the corner. HZK goes up top but Kyona recovers and slaps her, Kyona grabs HZK and she goes for a powerbomb, but HZK pushes off of her and kicks Kyona in the head. She goes for the Full Nelson Slam but Kyona blocks it and hits a lariat, both wrestlers go for quick pins but neither gets the three. Kyona is up first and goes off the ropes, but HZK knees her. Lariat by Kyona but HZK connects with the jumping front kick, HZK slams Kyona in front of the corner and she nails the Bombs Away for the three count! HZK wins and advances in the tournament.

Generally speaking, the short time limit doesn’t do the matches in the Cinderella Tournament any favors (which we will see in a minute), but HZK and Kyona used the time really well. There was a constant sense of urgency from both wrestlers, and I liked that Kyona tried to toss HZK over the top rope the first chance she got. They threw in so much offense that it didn’t feel like a cheap win even though the match wasn’t very long, and it shouldn’t be slept on that HZK beat Kyona cleanly in the middle of the ring instead of by throwing her over the top. A big win for HZK and well-earned.  About all that you hope for from a 1st Round match.  Recommended

Jessicka Havok vs. Natsuko Tora

Natsuko attacks Havok before the bell rings, but Havok absorbs her punches and knocks Natsuko to the mat. Clubbing blows by Havok, she goes for a lariat but Natsuko blocks it and applies a guillotine. Havok tosses her off and charges Natsuko, Natsuko ducks and tries to toss Havok over the top rope, but Havok easily blocks it. Havok chokes Natsuko but Natsuko gets away, she goes off the ropes but Havok boots her in the face. Havok gets Natsuko on her shoulders but Natsuko slides down her back, Havok tries to sit on Natsuko but Natsuko moves and rolls up Havok for two. Havok tosses Natsuko in the corner but Natsuko avoids her charge and schoolboys her again for a two count. Elbows by Natsuko and a dropkick, she goes off the ropes but Havok knees her in the stomach. Lariat by Havok, she picks up Natsuko and drops her with a tombstone piledriver for the three count! Jessicka Havok advances in the tournament.

As odd as it may sound, I think Natsuko got too much “offense” in this match. Havok was made to look like a fool for most of it, as the rookie over and over was getting out of her moves or avoiding them, as if she had done weeks of scouting even though she just was put in the match the day before. I’d rather have had Havok just crush her, instead 75% of the match was Natsuko successfully avoiding Havok. The right person won, but I don’t think the structure of it did anyone any favors.

Kris Wolf vs. Tessa Blanchard

After some Fast Paced Action, Kris hits a Backstabber before hitting a jumping knee in the corner. Wolf chokes Tessa with her tail before straddling Tessa in the corner and dropkicking her in the… lower stomach area. Very low. Tessa is annoyed by this and elbows Kris repeatedly, she gets Kris in the corner and delivers a modified Codebreaker. Irish whip by Tessa but Kris hits a tilt-a-whirl slam, Kris gets on the second turnbuckle but Tessa recovers and throws her off. Tessa now goes up top and nails a Diving Codebreaker, picking up the three count! Tessa Blanchard advances in the tournament.

Here is where things go off the rails a bit, not only due to the time limit but due to the fact Stardom has so many matches on the card that some have to be super short. Since Kris is a champion in Stardom, she deserved a bit better than losing in two minutes, which is shorter than your average veteran vs. rookie match. Not only is it not enough time to do much, but having Tessa pin a champion so easily (and with no interference/cheating/etc.) doesn’t do Kris any favors, at least have her win by tossing Kris over the top since that protects the losing wrestler a bit. I liked some of the spots and the action was fine, just not anywhere near long enough.

Kagetsu vs. Konami

They circle each other to start, seemingly in no rush to engage, Konami kicks Kagetsu to a seated position before kicking her in the back. Konami sits down to let Kagetsu kick her back, but instead Kagetsu elbows her in the head and rakes Konami’s eyes. Dropkick by Kagetsu and she kicks Konami into the ropes, she gets a quick drink of water before spitting it into Konami’s face. Kagetsu picks up Konami but Konami kicks her repeatedly in the chest, Konami goes for a dropkick but Kagetsu slides out to the apron. Kagetsu goes for a swandive move but Konami kicks her as she enters the ring, running kick by Konami and she covers Kagetsu for two. Konami goes for the cross armbreaker but Kagetsu muscles out of it, short armbar by Konami and she then puts Kagetsu in a seated armbar. Kagetsu gets to the ropes for the break, kicks by Konami and she delivers the Fisherman Suplex Hold for two. Konami goes for a kick but Kagetsu ducks it and applies a Wing Clutch Hold for two. Kagetsu gets the piece of luggage but puts it down when the referee sees her, Konami goes for a kick to the chest but Kagetsu holds up the luggage and Konami kicks it by accident. Schoolboy by Kagetsu, and she picks up the three count! Kagetsu wins and advances in the tournament.

Unlike Kris, unless Konami lost quickly via shenanigans and wasn’t cleanly pinned, giving her a bit of a break even if she did lose in under five minutes. Lots of kicks here, which can be expected, but it didn’t really have time to get going before it was over. Overall just a forgettable match.

Hetzza vs. Mayu Iwatani

After a polite handshake, Mayu kicks Hetzza but Hetzza quickly rolls her up for two. They trade flash pins with neither having any luck, dropkick by Hetzza and she puts Mayu in a stretch hold. Mayu gets to the ropes to force the break, Hetzza starts working on Mayu’s arm in the ropes but Mayu dropkicks her. Hetzza gets Mayu in a sunset flip for two, kick by Mayu and she kicks Hetzza again in the head for a two count cover. Mayu goes up top and she nails the frog splash, picking up the three count! Mayu Iwatani advances in the tournament.

This result was never in doubt, although it was even shorter than expected. Not much to say about a two minute match, however Mayu sold the hell out of that sunset flip.

Rebel vs. Toni Storm

Storm quickly gets Rebel to the mat with a headlock, Rebel gets out of it however and they return to their feet. Storm takes Rebel down again but Rebel struggles back up, wristlock by Rebel but Storm gets out of it and goes back to the headlock. Riveting offensive display for a four minute match. Now it is Rebel with the headlock, Storm Irish whips out of it but Rebel shoulderblocks her to the mat. Storm trips Rebel and hits an uppercut, snapmare by Storm and she hits a few hip attacks for a two count cover. Rebel knees Storm and throws her down by the hair, Space Rolling Elbow by Rebel and she rides Storm in the ropes. Rebel chokes Storm in the corner but Storm avoids the second Space Rolling Elbow attempt and hits a Backstabber. Storm goes for the piledriver but Rebel blocks it, high kick by Rebel and she hits a scoop slam. Rebel goes to the second turnbuckle but Storm avoids the moonsault, Gedo Clutch by Storm and she gets the three count! Toni Storm wins and advances in the tournament.

You’d think a four minute match would be action packed, but this certainly was not. They kept Rebel protected, which is good I guess if she hangs around, but the first half of the match had the same buildup as it would if they were going 20 minutes. Just no heat/sense of urgency/etc. from either wrestler, and not overly eventful. It wasn’t necessarily bad, just really dry and not worth watching.

Hiromi Mimura vs. Kairi Hojo

Hiromi tries to attack Kairi before the bell rings but she misses, as Kairi avoids several of her opening dropkicks. Hiromi manages to roll up Kairi a few times but only gets two counts, elbows by Hiromi and she hits Kairi with more of them as Kairi lands in the corner. Kairi charges Hiromi but Hiromi avoids her charge and sneaks in a sunset flip for two, dropkick by Hiromi and she applies the rolling leglock. Kairi inches to the ropes and forces a break, Hiromi charges Kairi but Kairi tosses her out onto the apron. Kairi joins Hiromi and hits a Sliding D while still on the apron, but Hiromi doesn’t fall to the floor. Kairi picks up Hiromi and chops her while she is in the ropes, which eventually sends Hiromi back into the ring. Kairi goes up top and hits the diving elbow smash, cover by Kairi but it gets a two count. Crab hold by Kairi but Hiromi gets to the ropes, Kairi jumps on Hiromi’s back and scoop slams her to the mat. She goes for another Sliding D but Hiromi avoids it and quickly rolls up Kairi for two. Jumping DDT by Hiromi, she goes up top and hits a diving crossbody before quickly putting Kairi in La Magistral, but Kairi gets a shoulder up. Hiromi for another DDT but Kairi pushes her off and nails a spinning chop to the face. Kairi picks up Hiromi but Hiromi gets out of the Alabama Slam and rolls up Kairi for two. Elbows by Hiromi but Kairi hits a spear, Alabama Slam by Kairi in front of the corner and she nails the Diving Elbow Drop for the three count! Kairi Hojo wins and advances in the tournament.

I thought this match was better than it had any right to be, as they told a solid story. Hiromi knew like we all did that she doesn’t have Kairi’s skill, so instead she went for flash pins throughout the match when Kairi wasn’t beating her around the ring. Unlike the Havok/Natsuko match, it felt more natural here since that is Hiromi’s general style anyway, and Kairi slowly changed as the match progressed from playing around with Hiromi to taking it more seriously. While still a bit limited by the tournament setting, they worked within those limits well and put on a fun match.  Mildly Recommended

Hana Kimura vs. Io Shirai

Hana does her normal dance before the match starts, but when she gets towards the ropes, Io comes up from behind and tries to throw her out of the ring for a quick win. Hana manages to hang on, backflip by Io and she dropkicks Hana to the mat. Io does her handstand walk kneedrop, cover by Io but it gets a two count. Hana takes off her belt and chokes Io with it, she sets up Io and puts her in the Muta Lock. She releases the hold after a moment, Hana charges Io in the corner and hits a double knee strike followed by a dropkick for two. Hana picks up Io but Io blocks the suplex and gets back to her feet. Hana and Io trade running strikes, Hana finally hits the vertical suplex before covering Io for two count. Hana boots Io in the face while she is against the ropes, but Io barely kicks out of the cover. Hana goes up top and delivers a missile dropkick, but Io again gets a shoulder up on the pin attempt. Hana goes off the ropes but Io catches her boot attempt and hits a dragon screw, Io charges Hana in the corner but Hana avoids her charge and tosses Io onto the apron. Io almost falls to the floor but hangs on, Hana tries to boot her off but Io hits a dragon screw in the ropes. Io hops up and hits a swandive missile dropkick, cover by Io but it gets two. Double underhook facebuster by Io, she goes up top and she nails the moonsault for the three count! Io Shirai advances in the tournament.

Another fun match, the first round ended on a high note. Io is just so good its virtually impossible for her to have a bad match (well more on that in about 30 minutes), but I thought that Hana kept up with her reasonable well and as I assumed she did get in a fair amount of offense and even a couple close falls. I loved the dragon screws to counter the big boot, that isn’t one of Io’s regular moves so it shows she did some research and figured out some counters. Always a plus to see wrestlers adapt to their opponent instead of just always doing their usual stuff. Not overly long but they kept the action up, an enjoyable match. Recommended

Tessa Blanchard vs. Toni Storm

Short, but they packed in a fair amount of offense. Tessa has looked a lot better on this tour than the one with Stardom last summer, either she has gotten better in general or has just adapted better to wrestling in the promotion but I’ve been impressed. Storm is a great young wrestler, everything she does is so smooth and she has very limited wasted motion. Not long enough to recommend, but a fine watch.

HZK vs. Kairi Hojo

I am glad that a match finally got plenty of time, even though some parts of it were a bit headscratchy. I understand that HZK is a young wrestler, but knowing time was almost out it didn’t make a lot of sense for her to not even try to cover Kairi after the Diving Senton since a moment earlier she was going for quick pins. The Draw made sense here so no issue there, it was just an odd disconnected moment at the end of the match. Otherwise, this was pretty solid as HZK was made to look like Kairi’s equal, which is a good thing since Kairi is rumored to be leaving soon and they need to make new stars. It didn’t have the creativity or high paced offense of Kyona/HZK or Hana/Io, but still enjoyable overall.  Mildly Recommended

Kagetsu vs. Mayu Iwatani

A small step down from the last few matches, but not a big one. Its hard for a sub-five minute match to be bad since most of it was high speed offense, my only quibble is that Hana stopping Kagetsu from hitting the floor was a cute spot that they did nothing with. Mayu just kicked her out anyway. I’d have liked for that to have temporarily saved Kagetsu at least long enough for her to get back on the apron, leading to Mayu doing something with more impact to finally send Kagetsu down to the floor. A good idea by them that was wasted. But I loved the action, Kagetsu is a lot of gimmick in Stardom but she showed here she is a great wrestler as well as she hit everything perfectly. Nothing bad here, just a bit too short and I didn’t love the end sequence.

Io Shirai vs. Jessicka Havok

While I do think that Io and Havok could have a good match, this wasn’t it. It started fine, but the last minute or so was garbage. I am not a fan of the “heel stupidly chases the face around the ring” spot, and here it lasted way longer than usual which only made it worse. The idea that Havok would fall for that and then tumble out of the ring is insulting even by normal wrestling standards. Than Io applying the sleeper while hanging off of Havok, while a neat visual, wasn’t very logical. Then they both tumble out to the floor anyway. Sure it helps protected Io, but it just didn’t make for a very good match. Definitely skippable.

Since two of the second round matches ended in a Draw, we are going straight to the finals with Mayu Iwatani vs. Toni Storm.

Mayu Iwatani vs. Toni Storm

Mayu takes Storm to the mat off the bat, but Storm gets away and they return to their feet. Mayu gets Storm down again and they trade holds for a few minutes until Mayu gets into the ropes, Mayu Irish whips Storm and she hits a jumping elbow smash. Slaps by Storm and she hits a snap vertical suplex, she kicks at Mayu’s head before covering her for two. Storm chops Mayu in the corner and hits an uppercut, Irish whip by Storm but Mayu drop toeholds her into the second rope. Mayu goes for a dropkick but Storm moves, sending Mayu crashing out of the ring. Storm quickly goes off the far ropes and sails out onto Mayu with a plancha suicida, she slides Mayu back in and covers her for two. Storm kicks Mayu in the corner and chops her, snapmare by Storm and she gets a two count cover. Storm headbutts Mayu into the corner before hitting a knee, Storm charges Mayu but Mayu avoids her and hits a high kick. Dropkick by Mayu, she goes off the ropes and dropkicks Mayu while she is against the ropes. Mayu goes up top and dives out onto Storm with a diving plancha, she slides Storm back in and hits a missile dropkick followed by a diving footstomp. Mayu goes up top again and delivers the Frog Splash, but Storm reverses the pin into one of her own for a two count. Superkick by Mayu and she hits a Buzzsaw Kick, another superkick by Mayu but Storm blocks the suplex attempt and hits a Stunner. Storm picks up Mayu but Mayu elbows her off and they trade shots, Mayu kicks Storm in the chest but Storm blocks the next kick attempt and delivers a snap German. Running hip attack by Storm in the corner and she nails a reverse neckbreaker, but Mayu springs up and hits a release dragon suplex. Mayu goes up top but Storm avoids the diving footstomp, headbutt by Storm and she nails a snap piledriver, but Mayu gets a corner up. Storm goes up to the top turnbuckle and connects with the Diving Guillotine Legdrop, cover by Storm and she gets the three count! Toni Storm wins the match and the Cinderella Tournament!

I enjoyed the bulk of this one, aside from one hiccup. I absolutely love Toni Storm’s offense, she has so many “snap” moves that all look great and I’m always a fun of hip attacks. Mayu is a hell of a bumper so everything Storm did looked great, and the action stayed fast paced throughout. I actively disliked, however, the random no-sell spot in the middle. I don’t mind “Fighting Spirit” spots, in fact I like it, but this wasn’t that as Mayu took two of Storm’s bigger moves and then hopped up on offense like nothing happened. So it came across more as a really lazy transition than “Fighting Spirit,” its a fine line that I don’t think they walked well. But even with that, it was a high end match and showed why Toni Storm was the right person to win as she is one of the best 21 year old or younger wrestlers in the world.  Recommended

The post Stardom “Cinderella Tournament” on 4/30/17 Review appeared first on Joshi City.

Championships Held: ECWA Women’s Championship, Shimmer Tag Team Championship
Tournaments Won: ECWA Super 8 ChickFight Tournament
Awards Won: None

Notable Matches in Japan:

• September 22nd, 2016 vs. Yoko Bito

Signature Moves:

• German Suplex
• Slingshot Belly to Belly Suplex

In Action:

Coming Soon 

Back to Gaijin Invaders

The post Tessa Blanchard appeared first on Joshi City.

It is time for Stardom’s Cinderella Tournament! This is the third year Stardom has run the tournament, with the winner of the tournament being granted one wish (and gets to wear a pretty Cinderella dress). Last year’s winner, Mayu Iwatani, used her wish to challenge Io Shirai for the World of Stardom Championship, so the assumption is that the winner will challenge for one of Stardom’s titles. Mayu Iwatani actually won in 2015 as well, so she is looking here to go for the three-peat. The Cinderella Tournament is a one-night tournament and has 16 participants. Every match in the tournament is a singles match with the following stipulations:

• Tournament is Single Elimination
• All matches up to the final have a 10 Minute Time Limit (Finals have a 30 Minute Time Limit)
• If the Time Limit expires, the match is a Draw and both wrestlers are Disqualified
• If both wrestlers are eliminated by Draw, their opponent in the next round gets a Bye
• Wrestlers can win by pinfall, submission, or throwing their opponent over the top rope

The entire tournament takes place on April 30th, so there will be a maximum of 15 matches in one night (there will likely be less, since at least a match or two will end in a draw which will eliminate both wrestlers). Here are all the matches in order:

First Round

• Cinderella Tournament Round 1: Toni Storm vs. Rebel
• Cinderella Tournament Round 1: Tessa Blanchard vs. Kris Wolf
• Cinderella Tournament Round 1: Kairi Hojo vs. Hiromi Mimura
• Cinderella Tournament Round 1: Jungle Kyona vs. HZK
• Cinderella Tournament Round 1: Mayu Iwatani vs. Hetzza
• Cinderella Tournament Round 1: Kagetsu vs. Konami
• Cinderella Tournament Round 1: La Rosa Negra vs. Jessicka Havok
• Cinderella Tournament Round 1: Hana Kimura vs. Io Shirai

Second Round

• Cinderella Tournament Round 2: Winner of Storm/Rebel vs. Winner of Blanchard/Wolf
• Cinderella Tournament Round 2: Winner of Hojo/Mimura vs. Winner of Kyona/HZK
• Cinderella Tournament Round 2: Winner of Iwatani/Hetzza vs. Winner of Kagetsu/Konami
• Cinderella Tournament Round 2: Winner of La Rosa Negra/Havok vs. Winner of Kimura/Shirai

Semifinals

• Cinderella Tournament Semi Finals: One of Storm/Rebel/Blanchard/Wolf vs. One of Hojo/Mimura/Kyona/HZK
• Cinderella Tournament Semi Finals: One of Iwatani/Hetzza/Kagetsu/Konami vs. One of La Rosa Negra/Havok/Kimura/Shirai

Cinderella Tournament Finals

Tournament Predictions

And now I will try to predict who will win this very unpredictable tournament. For the sake of coming up with “odds,” 16:1 will be the base since mathematically, that is everyone’s odds of winning the tournament. So any wrestler I think has a “better than average” chance of winning will be below that, and any wrestler I think has a “worse than average” chance will be higher. Sometimes much, much higher. Taking all things into consideration, here are my odds of each wrestler winning, in the order that they are wrestling on the show:

Toni Storm (4:1) – I have Toni as my favorite, although I am not overly confident on it. Toni has been really tough to beat in Stardom and has not challenged for the White or Red belt since she joined the promotion, so winning the tournament would finally get her a much deserved title shot. Plus, she is the last wrestler to pin Io Shirai in a title match so she has a built-in storyline. The only thing working against her is that thus far we don’t know if Stardom would have a Gaijin win the tournament, since the past two years they haven’t even had one reach the semifinals.

Rebel (750:1) – Since it is Rebel’s first tour in Japan, and isn’t really a highly sought after Freelancer, there is virtually no chance that she is winning this tournament. In fact I have her at the lowest odds of anyone, there is just no way, she is at best the #4 Gaijin in this tournament so even if they went in that direction, it wouldn’t be her.

Tessa Blanchard (25:1) – While Tessa has gotten a decent push in Stardom in the past, reaching the final of the FIVE STAR GP last year, since returning they haven’t really established her as a high end threat and winning this tournament would be a stretch. It isn’t impossible, since at least some path has been laid in that direction, but I just don’t see it as likely.

Kris Wolf (250:1) – As much as I love Kris Wolf, this isn’t her tournament to win. She already has the High Speed Championship and that is still pretty much her level in the promotion, her challenging for the White or Red belt would be too much. She couldn’t even beat Kaori Yoneyama a few weeks ago. Maybe next year she’ll be built up enough to go for it, but not this year.

Kairi Hojo (30:1) – If Kairi is going to WWE in the next couple months this should be lower, but… it is Stardom, anything can happen. If she is going in June, for example, she’d still have time to challenge Io and give us one final great match before she left. Or she could end up not going at all, who knows. I lowered her odds due to the uncertainty of it all, but as the #2 wrestler in the promotion she can’t be completely written off.

Hiromi Mimura (400:1) – Hiromi is the lowest ranked contracted Stardom wrestler in the tournament, so she isn’t going to win. I only didn’t give her worse odds because I can see a scenario that she may beat Kairi, if Kairi is indeed leaving soon she may want to do something to put over her friend before she does. But Hiromi is midcard comedy and cuteness, not a challenger for a major title.

Jungle Kyona (15:1) – In a normal world, Kyona should be the favorite to win, but Stardom isn’t a normal place. Kyona is the perfect combination of youth and success to get the push, but she did recently challenge for Kairi’s championship so it may be too soon for her to get another title shot. I give her better than average odds of winning, but just barely, I don’t think its her year quite yet.

HZK (50:1) – The only reason I think HZK could win is she could challenge Kairi for her title, win it, and Queen’s Quest could continue their domination. But really, HZK is more on the High Speed Championship level right now and isn’t quite ready for the next level. I think she’ll do well in the tournament to show her growth, but fall short.

Mayu Iwatani (8:1) – I have Mayu with the best odds of any native wrestler, as storyline-wise it makes sense. She hasn’t had a title shot in awhile and currently doesn’t have much of a storyline, outside of some attempts by Hana to get her to join Oedo Tai. I am not sure if winning the last two years helps her or hurts her, she can cement herself as Ms. Cinderella but it wouldn’t feel like very creative booking. No one in the tournament needs a story and a title shot more than Mayu, so I do think there is a decent chance she walks away with it again.

Hetzza (500:1) – Hetzza is still really green, and the chances of her even getting out of the first round are really slim. If she showed superstar potential I could see them giving her a run, but she hasn’t, so she isn’t doing well in the tournament.

Kagetsu (200:1) – I have her odds this bad not based on skill, but since she announced a hiatus after this show it wouldn’t make a lot of sense for her to win it. Unless its all storyline and she is going to win to keep the ‘wish’ hostage, I don’t see it happening.

Konami (20:1) – Konami is a hard one to figure out. She has had some success in Stardom, but not really against the top stars. She’s had better luck in the midcard however and has been fairly well protected there, so I could see her winning and having a great match again with either Kairi or Io. I probably have her odds too good since I am a bit biased towards her, but she is a young talented wrestler and Stardom could make worse choices than giving Konami the crown.

La Rosa Negra (500:1) – There isn’t any scenario that La Rosa Negra wins this, as she is low on the Gaijin totem pole and doesn’t have the necessary skills to have a great 20+ minute match with Kairi or Io anyway. She is just filler here to get the tournament up to 16 participants.

Jessicka Havok (10:1) – I can see several scenarios where Havok wins this. First, it would be a radical change from past years and set up every future tournament with an “anyone can win” vibe. Also, we all assume Havok is going after Io at some point anyway, but since nothing has been announced, a win would give her that match. On top of that, due to her size she will be hard to toss over the top rope, and promotions like having “monsters” win anything with “over the top” rules. The only thing working against her is that this is her first tour with the promotion, and it may be too big of a jump for someone that is so new to the audience.

Hana Kimura (100:1) – My brain says there is no way that Hana is sniffing the finals, but my heart says otherwise. The only advantage she has is popularity and that being a “princess” would fit her character, but really she is still too inexperienced to be getting a title shot. I’d love it, but not very likely. Combine that with a really tough first round draw as I don’t see Io going out this early, and her chances go down even more.

Io Shirai (12:1) – You’d think that Io would have no chance of winning, between her already having the major title and the rumors of her leaving, and those are both solid points. The counter argument is that it is Io, the Ace of Stardom and Best in the World. So you can’t ever completely write her off, she wins too much to just assume she’ll lose, however it wouldn’t make a lot of sense for her to walk away with the tournament here.

The post Stardom Cinderella Tournament 2017 Preview appeared first on Joshi City.

And we are once again back with Stardom! I know I skipped a show or two, but Stardom outputs shows faster than I can review them so I try to pick the bigger events. This show is small in attendance but big in importance, as Stardom crowns new Artist of Stardom Champions. Queen’s Quest held the titles last, but after Momo Watanabe was injured they were forced to vacate the championship. The tournament is the bulk of the card, but we also get my first look at Jessicka Havok in Stardom as well as a chance to see the newest rookie – Hanan. Here is the full card:

• Arisu Nanase vs. Hanan vs. Ruaka
• Kaori Yoneyama vs. Kris Wolf
• Artist of Stardom Championship Tournament Semi Final: Hiroyo Matsumoto, Jungle Kyona, and Natsuko Tora vs. Io Shirai, HZK, and AZM
• Artist of Stardom Championship Tournament Semi Final: Kagetsu, Hana Kimura, and La Rosa Negra vs. Kairi Hojo, Hiromi Mimura, and Konami
• Jessicka Havok and Tessa Blanchard vs. Mayu Iwatani and Hetzza
• Artist of Stardom Championship Tournament Final: Io Shirai, HZK, and AZM vs. Kagetsu, Hana Kimura, and La Rosa Negra

Per usual, you can click on the name’s above to go to the wrestler’s profile. This event aired on Stardom World, so nothing will be clipped.

Arisu Nanase vs. Hanan vs. Ruaka

They start with a triple knuckle lock, double Irish whip to Arisu but she avoids both her opponents dropkicks. She isolates Ruaka but Ruaka gets her to the mat in a headscissors, Arisu gets out of it and Hanan grabs Ruaka from behind. Ruaka takes down Hanan too but Hanan kips up and all three are back on their feet. Hanan is double teamed, which doesn’t seem fair, until Hanan hits a judo throw on both of them. Ruaka kicks Hanan but Hanan kicks her back and tosses Ruaka to the mat. This leaves Hanan alone with Arisu, Arisu pushes her against the ropes and she puts Hanan in a crab hold. Ruaka breaks it up and hits a reverse STO on Arisu, covering her for two. Hanan goes off the ropes and dropkicks Ruaka and then Arisu, another dropkick by Hanan but Ruaka breaks up her cover on Arisu. Ruaka stomps Hanan and throws both Hanan and Arisu in the corner, big boot by Ruaka and she hits a fisherman suplex hold on Arisu for a two count. Ruaka picks up Arisu but Arisu dropkicks her in the leg, Arisu puts Ruaka in a leg lock but Ruaka gets out of it. Arisu dropkicks Ruaka out of the ring, she picks up Hanan but Hanan sneaks in an inside cradle for two. Elbows by Hanan but Arisu dropkicks her in the corner and she nails the Blockbuster for the three count! Arisu Nanase is the winner.

This was actually better than I was expecting. For a 15 year old and two 12 year olds, the match was shockingly smooth with really nothing awkward or out of place. It was simple of course, but pretty well done. Hanan and Ruaka are too young to know if they will turn into stars down the road, but no red flags yet anyway. Good rookie opener.

Kaori Yoneyama vs. Kris Wolf

After kicking off the match with a high speed exchange (Kris is the High Speed Champion after all), Kris goes to run off the ropes but Kaori grabs her by the tail and ties it to the bottom rope. Not the first time this has happened to Kris and a definite downside to having a tail. Kaori puts Kris in a bodyscissors, stomps by Kaori but Kris hits a spinning headscissors before delivering a running knee. Kaori elbows Kris off and the two trade blows, kick to the chest by Kris but Kaori bridges out of the pin and hits a running knee of her own. Senton by Kaori, and she covers Kris for two. Kaori picks up Kris and tosses her into the ropes, but Kris hits a rebound crossbody for two. Running knee by Kris in the corner, she flings Kaori to the mat before kicking her in the back for a two count cover. Kris picks up Kaori but Kaori elbows her off, she goes off the ropes but Kris catches her with a suplex. Kris gets on the second turnbuckle but Kaori avoids her dive and knees Kris in the back of the head. Kaori gets on the second turnbuckle herself and delivers the diving senton, cover by Kaori but Kris gets a shoulder up. Kaori picks up Kris but Kris blocks the suplex, Kaori goes for the Chaos Theory but Kris hits a sunset flip for two. They trade flash pins before Kris boots Kaori in the chest, roll-up by Kaori but it gets a two count. Delayed Chaos Theory by Kaori, and she picks up the three count! Kaori Yoneyama is your winner.

Action-wise this was fine, but I am not really sure why it existed. Kaori is already above Kris on the pecking order due to her veteran status, so she didn’t need to pin her to earn herself a title shot. It just re-established what we already knew. Pretty short and without a reason to care, even though Kris is always fun to watch.

Hiroyo Matsumoto, Jungle Kyona, and Natsuko Tora vs. Io Shirai, HZK, and AZM

HZK and Natsuko begin the match and start trading elbows, Natsuko goes off the ropes but can’t shoulderblock HZK over. She finally succeeds in doing so, but HZK comes back with a dropkick and tags in AZM. AZM pushes Natsuko into her own corner so she tags in Hiroyo, AZM elbows Hiroyo with no luck as Hiroyo absorbs all her blows, dropkick by AZM but it has no impact either. Hiroyo kicks AZM but AZM bridges out of the pin, AZM goes for a crossbody but Hiroyo catches her and hits a backbreaker. Scoop slam by Hiroyo and she tags in Kyona, who also slams AZM to the mat. Natsuko returns as they take turns on the child, Hiroyo gets AZM on her shoulders and spins her into HZK before throwing her at Io. HZK recovers and helps AZM get Hiroyo down long enough for her to get to the corner to make the tag to Io, Hiroyo elbows Io but Io slides out of the ring and trips her. Slingshot dropkick by Io, Kyona and Natsuko come in but Io dropkicks both of them. Missile dropkick by Io to Hiroyo as she manages to clear the ring, she puts Hiroyo in a crossface but Hiroyo gets to the ropes for the break. Hiroyo grabs Io and gets her on her shoulders, gutbuster by Hiroyo and she goes off the ropes, but Io hits a hurricanrana for a two count.

Io kicks Hiroyo in the face but Hiroyo hits a backdrop suplex, leaving both wrestlers down on the mat. Io tags in HZK while Kyona is also tagged in, HZK elbows Kyona into the corner but Kyona puts HZK in a sleeper. Kyona swings HZK around while keeping her in the hold, Natsuko runs around the ring to stop AZM from interfering but Io recovers and breaks up the submission. Kyona hits a crossbody on both of them and tags in Natsuko, sentons by Natsuko to HZK but AZM runs in. Natsuko drop toeholds AZM onto HZK, senton by Natsuko and she covers HZK for a two count. Side Russian Leg Sweep attempt by Natsuko but HZK blocks it, Io and AZM run in but so do Kyona and Hiroyo. Hiroyo and Kyona lariat both HZK and Natsuko to help her (which wasn’t incredibly helpful), they nudge Natsuko out of the way and Kyona hits a diving body press onto HZK. Diving senton by Natsuko, but Io breaks up the cover. The ring clears as Natsuko picks up HZK, swandive missile dropkick by Io to Natsuko, and HZK covers Natsuko for two. HZK picks up Natsuko and hits a full nelson slam, AZM comes in but Hiroyo grabs her from the apron. Io and HZK get rid of Hiroyo and Kyona, they triple team Natsuko before HZK nails the Bombs Away for the three count! Queen’s Quest wins!

Not to spoil my thoughts on the next few matches, but this was my favorite match of the night. Hiroyo was the star here as she continues to have a killer 2017, she not only is smooth and deadly with her moves but she has so much passion and joy for what she is doing that you can’t help but be hooked in. I thought Natsuko would lag behind here but she didn’t, and all six wrestlers got a chance to shine. Hiroyo really took it to AZM, which was fun to watch as I thought they’d just hide her on the apron, and Io did her usual Io things. Even though it was just the first match of the tournament and a midcard match, I thought they really delivered.  Recommended

Kagetsu, Hana Kimura, and La Rosa Negra vs. Kairi Hojo, Hiromi Mimura, and Konami

The Chibis charge their opponents to start the match, as the action spills out to the floor and onto the apron. They stay in control for a few minutes, Kairi gets on the top turnbuckle and dives out onto all three members of Oedo Tai as The Chibis stand tall. Back in the ring they gang up on Kagetsu, Kairi chops her into the corner and hits a running shoulder tackle. Kairi tags in Hiromi, elbows by Hiromi but Kagetsu switches positions with her and chokes Hiromi in the corner. Hiromi dropkicks Kagetsu and hits a low crossbody before tagging in Konami. Knees by Konami and she kicks Kagetsu repeatedly in the back, she goes off the ropes but Hana trips her from the floor. Now it is Konami that is triple teamed for a bit, Kagetsu stays in with her and makes the tag to La Rosa Negra. La Rosa Negra drives Konami back and forth into all the corners before slamming her to the mat, cover by La Rosa Negra but Kairi breaks it up. La Rosa Negra charges Konami but Konami kicks her back and applies a hanging armbar, missile dropkick by Konami and she covers La Rosa Negra for a two count. Konami rolls up La Rosa Negra and applies an ankle hold, but it is broken up by Hana and Kagetsu. Fisherman suplex hold by Konami to La Rosa Negra, and she tags in Hiromi.

Elevated DDT by Hiromi, she goes off the ropes but La Rosa Negra catches her crossbody attempt, spinning spinebuster by La Rosa Negra but Kairi breaks up the pinfall. La Rosa Negra tags in Hana, Hana stomps Hiromi and hits a jumping double knee in the corner, cover by Hana but it gets two. Hana goes for a suplex but Hiromi blocks it, boot to the head by Hana and she hits a vertical suplex. Hana kicks at Hiromi but Kairi and Konami run in and both dropkick Hana. Sliding Kick by Konami followed by a Sliding D by Kairi, La Magistral by Hiromi but Kagetsu breaks it up. Konami and Kairi dropkick La Rosa Negra and Kagetsu out of the ring, Hiromi picks up Hana and elbows her but Hana elbows her back. Dropkick by Hiromi and she tags in Kairi, Kairi goes up top and she hits the diving elbow smash. Kicks to the back by Kairi and she puts Hana in the Ikari, but Kagetsu breaks it up. Kairi slams Hana in front of the corner and goes up top, but Kris Wolf grabs her from the apron to slow her down. This gives Hana time to recover, and she tosses Kairi back onto the mat. Spinning chop by Kairi to Hana, she goes off the ropes but Kagetsu hits her from the floor with a piece of luggage. Kagetsu comes in with a chair and hits Konami with it, she then goes to Kairi and whacks her in the head with the chair. Ebisu Drop by Kagetsu to Kairi, then La Rosa Negra comes diving off the top turnbuckle with a diving body press. Big boot by Hana, and she covers Kairi for the three count! Oedo Tai wins!

Something was missing here, and I couldn’t quite put my finger on what it was. Some parts I really enjoyed, as Hana is a pleasure and Kairi tends to make everything she does interesting since she fights with so much emotion. But La Rosa Negra didn’t really fit in well, and when Hiromi isn’t in a match with comedy elements she tends to fade into the background. They needed all six here of course since it was a tournament, but Kagetsu/Hana vs. Kairi/Konami would have been a much tighter match. A bit too loose and meandering for my liking, although it was still better than average as they kept the pace up and it was too short to be offensive.

Jessicka Havok and Tessa Blanchard vs. Mayu Iwatani and Hetzza

Havok and Mayu begin the match for their teams, with Havok throwing Mayu around like a child. Mayu thinks she has a good strategy as she dropkicks Havok in the leg but Havok shrugs it off. Mayu is scared so she tags in Hetzza while Tessa is also tagged in, they trade strikes awkwardly until Tessa knocks Hetzza to the mat. Tessa puts Hetzza in a stretch submission hold, she picks her back up and tags in Havok. Havok picks up Hetzza, Hetzza goes for a crossbody but Havok catches her and puts Hetzza in the Tree of Woe. Havok elbows Hetzza in the chest before tagging Tessa back in, Tessa drops Hetzza in the ropes and dropkicks Hetzza in the back. Running elbow by Tessa but Hetzza punches her and tags in Mayu. Mayu runs off the ropes and elbows Tessa, Tessa elbows her back but Mayu grabs her wrist and hits a triple jump split-legged armdrag. Dropkick by Mayu while Tessa is against the ropes, and she covers her for a two count. Mayu picks up Tessa, she drops her over the top rope onto the apron but Tessa lands on her feet and slides back in the ring quickly to hit a German suplex. Tessa tags in Havok, Havok picks up Mayu and press slams her to the mat. Mayu goes for a sunset flip but Havok blocks it, she tries to sit on Mayu but Mayu moves and kicks Havok in the head. More kicks to the head by Mayu, and she covers Havok for a two count. Mayu tags in Hetzza but Havok mushes her to the mat, kick by Havok and she scoop slams Hetzza for two. Mayu comes in but so does Tessa, Havok suplexes Mayu while Tessa hits a Codebreaker onto Hetzza. Tombstone Piledriver by Havok to Hetzza, and she picks up the three count! Tessa Blanchard and Havok are the winners.

Oh man. This match. I don’t like to bury people the first time I see them, but Hetzza is clearly way out of her element. She is green, which we knew, but I have to assume she is used to working with the same few people in the same style as she looked completely lost here. The strike exchanges and everything else she did just looked awkward. I’m not giving up on her, hopefully with some practice in the dojo over the next few months she gets better. That overshadowed the match, but Havok and Mayu had some good exchanges and Tessa looked better here than she did last summer. Still, a skippable match overall as some parts were just painful to watch.

Io Shirai, HZK, and AZM vs. Kagetsu, Hana Kimura, and La Rosa Negra

Kagetsu and AZM kick things off, Kagetsu hits an armdrag but AZM dropkicks her back and both wrestlers kip up. AZM tags in Io, Io throws Kagetsu into the corner but Kagetsu flips her onto the apron and Io falls to the floor. Hana throws Io around on the floor and into the crowd, she does this for several minutes before Io is finally rolled back in. Kagetsu picks up Io and hits a dropkick, she covers Io with one foot for a two count cover. Io is attacked by all the Oedo Tai members on the apron, Kris gets the rubber band and snaps it back into Io’s face. Hana puts Io in a Muta Lock but the referee forces her to break it, Hana tags in La Rosa Negra and La Rosa Negra stomps on Io in the corner. Kagetsu is tagged in but Io trips her, she crawls to her corner but Kagetsu cuts her off and stomps on her. Elbows by Kagetsu but when she goes for a triple jump dropkick she instead is dropkicked by Io. This gives Io time to tag in HZK, elbows by HZK and AZM comes in too to help clear the ring of Oedo Tai. All of Queen’s Quest put their opponents in submission holds, they release the holds after a moment and HZK boots Kagetsu in the corner. Codebreaker by HZK, she goes off the ropes but Kagetsu catches her with a Samoan Drop and both wrestlers are down on the mat.

Kagetsu is up first, she picks up HZK but HZK boots her in the face and hits a second one, she inches to her corner and tags in Io while Kagetsu tags in La Rosa Negra. La Rosa Negra tosses Io in the corner and hits a series of hip attacks, cannonball by La Rosa Negra and she covers Io for two. La Rosa Negra picks up Io but Io elbows away from her, Io goes off the ropes but Hana grabs her from the apron. HZK grabs La Rosa Negra but La Rosa Negra gets away from her, she comes in with a chair which distracts the referee while Kagetsu hits Io with the piece of luggage. Hana goes up top and hits a missile dropkick, La Rosa Negra picks up Io and hits a spinning spinebuster but the cover is broken up. La Rosa Negra goes up top but Io avoids the body press, they trade elbows as they get up but HZK kicks La Rosa Negra from the apron. German suplex hold by Io, but it gets a two count. Io positions La Rosa Negra so Queen’s Quest can do an AZM-assisted splash on La Rosa Negra, roll-up by Io but it gets broken up. HZK and Kagetsu come in with Hana, Hana tries to hit HZK with the luggage but she hits Kagetsu by accident. Running double knee by Io in the corner to La Rosa Negra, she tries to go up top but La Rosa Negra grabs her leg. Io gets the piece of luggage from her and hits La Rosa Negra in the head with it, Io goes up top and she nails the moonsault for the three count! Io Shirai, HZK, and AZM are your new champions!

I liked this match, but I didn’t love it. Its rare for me to say this, but the match had too much Io. Now normally I am in favor of having as much Io as possible, but in a six wrestler tag I would have liked to have seen a bit more from her teammates as this felt like her carrying them to the titles. Especially AZM, this is the first title of her career but she did virtually nothing in the match except stand on the apron and occasionally interfere. Oedo Tai was their usual solid selves, and I liked the chaotic-ness of the ending, but it didn’t really feel like a title match. A very good and at times exciting match, but nothing more than that.  Mildly Recommended

The post Stardom “Grow Up Stars” on 4/15/17 Review appeared first on Joshi City.

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

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

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

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

And now we are jumping ahead to the final day of the tournament! I mentioned in my last review there was no way I was going to be able to review every show, just too much going on with the website and I don’t want Joshi City to become Stardom City. Still, I wasn’t going to skip this one, not only because it has the finals of the tournament but also has Io Shirai vs. Kay Lee Ray, two of my favorite female wrestlers. Yoko Bito and Tessa Blanchard won their blocks and will be battling for the tournament crown, here is the full card:

• Arisu Nanase and Natsumi Maki vs. Saori Anou and Azumi
• Kaori Yoneyama vs. Kris Wolf
• Hiromi Mimura vs. Kairi Hojo
• Kyoko Kimura, Kagetsu, and X vs. Mayu Iwatani, Momo Watanabe, and Jungle Kyouna
• SWA World Championship: Toni Storm vs. Blue Nikita
• World of Stardom Championship: Io Shirai vs. Kay Lee Ray
• 5★Star Grand Prix Final: Tessa Blanchard vs. Yoko Bito

This aired live, so no clipping! Let’s get to the action.

Arisu Nanase and Natsumi Maki vs. Saori Anou and Azumi

Natsumi and Azumi start the match, they both go off the ropes and Natsumi dropkicks Azumi. Natsumi poses too much however and Azumi attacks her from behind and throws Natsumi into her career so she can tag in Arisu. Arisu and Azumi trade elbows, DDT by Azumi and she tags in Saori. Saori tries to slam Arisu but Arisu blocks it before putting Anou in a crab hold. She gets into the ropes but Arisu had already let her go by then and she stops the rookie in the back. Shoulderblocks by Anou and she applies a leg submission, she goes for a suplex but Arisu blocks it and applies a cross-leg submission hold. Arisu tags in Natsumi, Natsumi goes up top and she hits a diving crossbody on Anou. Dropkick by Arisu, swinging neckbreaker by Natsumi and she covers Anou for a two count. Elbows by Natsumi but Anou applies a backslide with a bridge, but that gets two as well. Azumi is tagged back in and she dropkicks Natsumi, Natsumi cartwheels away however and hits a body press. Monkey flip by Azumi and she kicks Natsumi in the back, vertical suplex by Azumi and she gets a two count. Azumi gets on the second turnbuckle but Natsumi tosses her off, she gets on the turnbuckle but Anou hits a Fisherman Suplex. DDT by Azumi, but Natsumi rolls out of the cover. Back Crash by Natsumi, and she picks up the three count! Arisu Nanase and Natsumi Maki are the winners.

This was a much more… ‘real’ match than I am used to seeing from the opener. By that I mean there was less goofiness or playing around, everyone acted like winning the match was their priority. Natsumi continues to improve, she already has the moves but just needs some experience to put it all together. A solid way to kick off the show.

Kaori Yoneyama vs. Kris Wolf

Kris actually shakes hands, which is unusual for her, but she attacks Yoneyama anyway and hits a flying headscissors. Yoneyama bites Kris on the arm and hits Mongolian Chops, she goes for a German suplex but Kris gets out of it. Yoneyama gets Kris by the tail and twists it in the ropes, cross-leg hold by Yoneyama but Kris gets to the ropes. Yoneyama ties Kris to the bottom rope by her tail, she unties her and scoop slams Kris. Chinlock by Yoneyama but Kris gets to the ropes, Irish whip by Yoneyama but Kris hits a springboard crossbody for a two count. Kicks by Kris and she knees Yoneyama in the corner, high knee by Kris and she kicks Yoneyama in the back. Kris gets on the second turnbuckle and hits a diving double kneedrop, but Yoneyama barely kicks out of the cover. Kris goes all the way up this time but Yoneyama moves out of the way, knee to the back by Yoneyama and she hits a running senton. Yoneyama picks up Kris but Kris reverses the suplex attempt into a roll-up. Yoneyama picks up Kris and she nails the Chaos Theory, getting the three count cover! Kaori Yoneyama wins the match.

This was fun, Kris is a bundle of excitement and Yoneyama is a long time veteran that knows how to put on a good match. It was too short to recommend but for a five minute match it did about all it could. Yoneyama biting Kris showed that the veteran could do anything Kris could do, plus more, which is why she didn’t have too much difficulty winning. Always a pleasure to see Kris, never can go too wrong watching one of her matches.

Hiromi Mimura vs. Kairi Hojo

Hiromi is all business in her big chance against her friend, normally they are fun and games together but not today. They trade wristlocks to start, Kairi gets Hiromi to the mat but Hiromi gets away from her and they take turns having the advantage. Hiromi drives Kairi into the corner and hits a flurry of elbows, dropkick by Hiromi but Kairi stays on her feet. More dropkicks still can’t knock the champion over, and Kairi hits a double chop. Chops by Kairi in the corner and she hits a running shoulder tackle, she gets on the top turnbuckle and she hits a diving forearm smash for a two count. Hiromi and Kairi trade elbows, Kairi goes off the ropes but Hiromi dropkicks her to the mat. Dropkicks by Hiromi in the corner and she rolls Kairi to the mat before applying a kneelock, but Kairi crawls to the ropes and forces the break. Hiromi goes off the ropes but Kairi levels her with a spear, spinning chop by Kairi and she covers Hiromi for two. Crab hold by Kairi, but Hiromi gets out of it and goes for a few flash pins with no success. Hiromi goes up top and hits a diving elbow strike, she goes up again but Kairi joins her this time and the two trade elbows while on the second rope. Kairi chops Hiromi in the throat and tosses her to the mat, Sliding D by Kairi and she nails the diving elbow drop for the three count! Kairi Hojo wins!

The reason that everyone loves Kairi Hojo isn’t because she is the best wrestler in Stardom (that’s Io) or the best striker (Yoko) or the best bumper (Mayu), but because she always shows so much emotion and passion while wrestling. On paper this is a pretty simple mid-ard match, but Kairi wrestles at 100% regardless of the situation and its easy to get sucked into her matches. It helped that these two have solid chemistry, not only do they tag together but I am sure they train together too, and this was Hiromi’s best singles match since debuting. It wasn’t technically a high-end match, but Kairi’s natural charisma and intensity made it seem more special than it probably was even though the action itself was mostly simple.  Mildly Recommended

Kyoko Kimura, Kagetsu, and Hana Kimura vs. Iwatani, Momo Watanabe, and Kyouna

As predicted, Oedo Tai attacks before the match starts and while Mayu is still wrapped in streamers (she really should stop doing that), the action immediately spills out to the floor and Oedo Tai tosses their opponents around the stands. Things settle back down with Hana in the ring with Momo, Hana drags Momo around the ring before tagging in Kagetsu. Momo plays the Face in Peril while Oedo Tai takes turns attacking her, Momo finally hits a dropkick on Kyoko and make the hot tag to Mayu. Mayu clears the apron but kicks Kyouna in the head by accident, Kagetsu and Hana come in the ring but Mayu slides out of the ring and Kyouna hits a diving crossbody on all three. Missile dropkick by Mayu on Kyoko, then Kyouna slams Mayu into Kyoko. She does it again, cover by Mayu but it gets two. Momo wants to be tagged back in so Mayu tags her, but she promptly misses a missile dropkick. Kyoko tags Kagetsu, kicks by Kagetsu but Momo returns fire with kicks of her own. Momo hits a missile dropkick, cover by Momo but it gets two. She tags Mayu, armdrag by Mayu but Kagetsu hits an armdrag of her own and they reach a stalemate. Mayu gets Kagetsu’s arm and hits a triple jump split legged armdrag, dropkick by Mayu but Kagetsu kicks her in the head.

Iwatani comes back with a superkick, Kagetsu rolls to her corner and tags in Hana while Kyouna is also tagged in. Shoulderblock by Kyouna but Hana chokes her with a scarf, Kyoko and Kagetsu come in and everyone chokes Kyouna together. Kicks by Hana and Kyoko, and Hana covers Kyouna for two. Hana goes for a suplex but Kyouna reverses it, she tries to tag out but Hana schoolboys her and hits a vertical suplex. Hana tags her mom, Mayu and Momo run in and they both attack Kyoko. Kyoko kicks all three of them in the head repeatedly but when she goes off the ropes she eats a triple dropkick. Superkick by Mayu, knee by Momo and Kyouna ends with a diving body press, but Kris Wolf runs in and grabs the referee so he can’t count. Kagetsu gets a parking sign but the referee stops her from using it, Hana hits Kagetsu by accident as does Kyoko, but Hana dropkicks Mayu and Momo. Kagetsu dropkicks Kyouna and Mayu, spear by Kagetsu to Kyouna and Kyoko kicks her in the head for a two count. Kyoko picks up Kyouna but Kyouna slides away, Kagetsu hits Kyouna from the apron but Kyouna lariats Kyoko anyway for a two count. Kyoko blocks the gutwrench suplex and Kagetsu hits Kyouna with a sign, but Momo breaks up the cover. Assisted Gory Special by Kimura to Kyouna, and she picks up the three count! Oedo Tai wins!

I wouldn’t say I loved this match, it was a bit too ‘all over the place’ and it took about ten minutes before it really heated up. I do like Hana Kimura being in Oedo Tai, I think she has shown a lot of promise as a rookie and being with her mom will likely help her progress since Kyoko has a lot she can offer. None of the other wrestlers got much of a chance to shine since there was a lot of in-and-out, but no one looked bad. The Kagetsu/Mayu section was great though, they work really well together. An above average match, but overall not very memorable.

Toni Storm vs. Blue Nikita
SWA World Championship

After some polite trading of holds and mat work, the tide turns a bit when Storm hits Nikita a hard slap and kicks her in the head. More strikes by Storm but Nikita starts returning fire with elbows. Snapmare by Nikita and she kicks Storm before rolling her up in a crucifix for a two count. Scoop slam by Nikita and she hits a running senton, she knocks Storm into the corner and chokes her against the ropes. Nikita applies a bodyscissors but Storm gets into the ropes to force a break. Nikita chops Storm but Storm moves when Nikita charges in and Nikita falls out of the ring. Storm quickly sails out onto her with a tope suicida, she tries to throw Nikita into the ring post but Nikita reverses it. Nikita picks up Storm on the apron but Storm wiggles away, kick to the chest by Nikita but Storm drops her with a piledriver. Storm gets back in the ring first with Nikita slowly following, Storm charges Nikita in the corner but Nikita moves and hits a dropkick. Cannonball by Nikita, and she covers Storm for two. Big boots by Nikita and she dropkicks Storm, covering her for another two count. Nikita picks up Storm but Storm gets away, elbow by Nikita but Storm hits the Backstabber. Running butt smash by Storm, and she delivers a fisherman suplex hold for a two count. Storm goes up top but Nikita has recovered and joins, Storm headbutts her but Nikita grabs her and hits a Death Valley Bomb. Nikita picks up Storm and hits two more Death Valley Bombs, but Storm kicks out of the cover at one and hits a release German. I can’t really justify that, and I am more lenient than most. Piledriver by Storm, and she hits the diving leg drop for the three count! Storm is still your champion.

There isn’t any way I could recommend a match that ended like that. Did they lose track of time and the referee told them they had to finish immediately? The Death Valley Bomb is Nikita’s finisher, not only did Storm practically no-sell being hit by three of them but she never returned the favor, she then quickly hit her three finishing moves and won the match. One of the worst finishing stretches I’ve seen. Course after being piledrove on the apron, Nikita hit the first offensive move back in the ring so maybe there were just trying to do crazy shit. Some fun moments but the action was just way too off, I like my pro wres at least 5% realistic.

Io Shirai vs. Kay Lee Ray
World of Stardom Championship

Io and Kay Lee Ray feel each other out to begin, they trade elbows until Kay Lee Ray hits rolling Northern Light Suplexes for a two count. Io rolls out of the ring to re-group, Kay Lee Ray goes off the far ropes and sails out onto Io with a tope suicida. She goes for a second one but Io elbows her before she can dive out and pulls Kay Lee Ray back out of the ring. Io tries to throw Kay Lee Ray into the apron but Kay Lee Ray rebounds off of it with an attack on Io. Back in the ring, cover by Kay Lee Ray but it gets a two count. Kay Lee Ray puts Io in a stretch hold, she picks her up and kicks Io a few times before covering her for another two. Io and Kay Lee Ray trade elbows, cartwheel by Io and she dropkicks Kay Lee Ray near the corner. Running double knee by Io, she sits up Kay Lee Ray and dropkicks her in the head for two. Io goes up top and hits a diving crossbody, Kay Lee Ray kicks out but Io immediately puts her in an armtrap crossface. Kay Lee Ray gets to the ropes, Io charges her but Kay Lee Ray hits a pair of superkicks. Io falls out of the ring, Kay Lee Ray runs up the corner and she flips out of the ring onto Io and her friends. Io gets her arm sprayed, Kay Lee Ray rolls her back in but Io avoids the Gory Special. Io rolls to the apron and snaps Kay Lee Ray’s neck on the ropes, swandive missile dropkick by Io and she covers Kay Lee Ray for two. Io charges Kay Lee Ray but Kay Lee Ray slides out to the apron and hits a swandive missile dropkick. Io elbows Kay Lee Ray but Kay Lee Ray kicks her back and hits the Gory Special for a two count cover. Kay Lee Ray goes up top but Io gets her knees up on the Swanton Bomb attempt, Io and Kay Lee Ray trade elbows on their knees and continue on their feet, Kay Lee Ray goes for a springboard off the ropes but Io catches her in midair with a German suplex. Swinging kick to the head by Io, package German by Io but Kay Lee Ray barely gets a shoulder up. Io goes up top and nails the moonsault, picking up the three count pinfall! Io Shirai wins and keeps her championship title.

While I wish they had gotten more time, they did the best they could under the constraints and it was a great match. Kay Lee Ray is only 24 years old but is so good, I love her high flying and she is crisp with her kicks. They had great chemistry considering they don’t have a lot of experience against each other, with some well done reversals and fluid exchanges. They also combined the high spots with based offense pretty well, although they were a bit rushed at times due to the time issues. Overall a really fun match though, definitely worth tracking down.  Recommended

Tessa Blanchard vs. Yoko Bito
5★Star Grand Prix Final

The match starts slow as they look for leverage, Tessa misses a dropkick but she avoids Bito’s kicks and hides in the corner. Dragon screw by Tessa and she twists Bito’s leg around the bottom rope, elbows by Tessa and she hits a running elbow in the corner. Tessa applies a headscissors but Bito gets to the ropes, elbows by Tessa and she knees Bito but comes back with a hard lariat for a two count cover. Tessa immediately takes back over and attacks Bito while she is in the ropes, she goes out to the apron with Bito and goes for a piledriver, but Bito blocks it. Tessa tosses Bito to the floor but Bito drags her down with her and kicks her against the apron. Tessa throws Bito into a chair at ringside before finally returning to the ring, and the pair trade elbows. Reverse STO by Tessa, but Bito gets a shoulder up. Vertical suplex by Bito and she kicks Tessa in the back, missile dropkick by Bito and she covers Tessa for two. Bito goes for a crossbody but Tessa moves, landing Bito hanging over the second rope. Tessa kicks Bito out of the ring but then brings her up onto the apron, elbows by Tessa until Bito nails a high kick. Bito goes for another kick but Tessa catches it and rams Bito’s leg into the apron. Both wrestlers slowly roll back in before the 20 Count, Tessa goes for the Tessa Attack but Bito blocks it and hits a German suplex hold for two. B-Driver by Bito, but Tessa barely gets a shoulder up, Bito goes for another one but Tessa reverses it with a Yoshi Tonic for a two count. High kick by Bito, she picks up Tessa and she hits a second B-Driver for another two count. Doll B by Bito, she picks up Tessa and hits a second Doll B for the three count! Yoko Bito is the winner of the FIVE STAR GP!

I really wanted to like this since I love tournaments and want to see Bito do well, but it was a really flat final. There were a number of issues with it, first with just who they picked to be in the final as the Tokyo crowd had virtually no idea who Tessa was which hurt the reactions. Then Tessa was in control most of the match, doing offense that wasn’t too captivating, which led to the place being pretty dead. Then they had some miscommunications, and the offense wasn’t very snug. This may have worked as an eight minute tournament match, but as the final on one of their biggest shows of the year it was just disappointing. The right person won for sure, it just wasn’t a great journey to get there.

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