Event: TJPW Tokyo Joshi Pro 2020
Date: January 4th, 2020
Location: Korakuen Hall in Tokyo, Japan
Announced Attendance: 1,467

Starting the year with something new – Tokyo Joshi Pro! Not a new promotion of course, but one that I didn’t watch much (if at all) in 2019 as their general style doesn’t always line up with my interests. This is one of their biggest shows of the year however, and the card is really stacked with four title matches and a special singles match between Natsumi Maki and Sareee. Here is the full card:

• Haruna Neko and Suzume vs. Mahiro Kiryu and Sena Shiori
• Rename In The Pinata Loser Name Change Match: Hyper Misao vs. Shoko Nakajima
• DDT Ironman Heavymetalweight Championship: Saki Akai vs. Yuki Kamifuku
• Aja Kong, Pom Harajuku, and Raku vs. Mina Shirakawa, Mirai Maiumi, and Yuna Manase
• Natsumi Maki vs. Sareee
• Mizuki vs. Thunder Rosa
• International Princess Championship: Maki Itoh vs. Hikari Noa
• Princess Tag Team Championship: Miu Watanabe and Rika Tatsumi vs. Nodoka Tenma and Yuki Aino
• Princess Of Princess Championship: Yuka Sakazaki vs. Miyu Yamashita

As Tokyo Joshi Pro is not a promotion I watch very often, I may miss some of the smaller nuances on what is going on but I’ll do my best. All wrestlers have profiles on the site, you can click on their name above to go straight to it.

Haruna Neko and Suzume vs. Kiryu and Sena Shiori

Suzume and Sena start, they trade holds on their feet before Suzume takes Sena down to the mat. Sena switches positions and applies a leglock but it gets quickly reversed, they jockey for position but end up in a stalemate. Back up, Suzume backs into her corner to tag in Haruna, while Mahiro is also tagged in. Haruna gets the first strike on Mahiro and tries to knock her over, but Mahiro stays up and applies a side headlock. Haruna Irish whips out of it but Mahiro hits a hard shoulderblock, she applies a front necklock as she tags in Sena. Sena tries to throw Haruna into the corner but it gets reversed, seated senton by Haruna to Sena and she covers her for two. Haruna tags in Suzume, Sena is thrown into the corner and she eats running strikes from both her opponents. Cover by Suzume, but it gets two. Suzume picks up Sena but Sena elbows her and the two trade blows, Sena tags in Suzume but Mahiro catches her with a scoop slam. Mahiro slams Suzume into the corner but Suzume connects with a dropkick and tags Haruna. Haruna goes for a slam but it gets blocked, Mahiro goes for a slam but Haruna gets out of it and hits a lariat. Cover by Haruna, but it gets a two count. Haruna tags Suzume, Suzume goes up top and she hits a diving crossbody for two. Suzume elbows Mahiro in the chest but Mahiro connects with a hard elbow and tags in Sena. Dropkick by Sena and she applies a single leg crab hold, but Haruna breaks it up. Mahiro throws Haruna out of the ring, Irish whip by Sena to Suzume but Suzume reverses it. Sena avoids Suzume’s dropkick and re-applies the crab hold, but Suzume wiggles to the ropes and gets the break. Elbows by Sena but Suzume elbows her back, schoolboy attempt by Suzume but Sena rolls through it. Dropkick by Suzume and she puts Sena in a sleeper hold, Sena struggles to escape but taps out! Haruna Neko and Suzume are the winners.

Even for a rookie/young wrestler match, the ending here was pretty sudden as there wasn’t really any foreshadowing that a sleeper finisher was in play. I was really impressed by Mahiro, her poise and mannerisms are great for a rookie and I could see her becoming a force down the line. I was less impressed by Haruna and Suzume, however I concede this was a really small sample size. Sena looked fine for a debut, seemed to be confident and didn’t mess up anything. Not a bad way to start, although a slightly longer end stretch would have been nice.

Hyper Misao vs. Shoko Nakajima

For their respective weapons, Shoko brought with her a giant bag of kaiju action figures while Misao will use…. Tokyo Joshi Pro producer Tetsuya Koda, who is in no way a wrestler. But he does distract Shoko off the start which allows Misao to attack her from behind, Rocking Cradle by Misao while Koda puts a sheet down on the mat. They roll up Shoko in the sheet, Misao gets the ladder and starts climbing up, but the still-cocooned Shoko knocks it over. Koda and Misao grab the ladder but Shoko dropkicks it away from them and gets the sheet off, she puts the ladder on her shoulders and spins it into Misao. Misao falls out of the ring but Shoko dives out onto her, she goes back in the ring to get some of her action figures and starts throwing them at Misao. Misao crawls under the ring to get away, Shoko goes out to try to find her but Misao sneaks up from behind and sprays her from a spray can. Back in the ring, Irish whip by Misao and she hits a crossbody, she sets up the ladder but Shoko pulls her off. They fight over the ladder until Misao smashes Shoko’s hands between the rungs and then throws the ladder at Shoko. Shoko recovers and hits a bulldog into the turnbuckle, she goes up top and delivers a missile dropkick.

Shoko charges Misao but Misao hiptosses her onto the ladder, Misao sets up the ladder but Shoko takes it back down and drives Misao into the corner with it. Shoko puts the ladder across the ropes in the corner, trapping Misao in, and sets up her toys in the middle of the ring. Misao gets free and charges her, Shoko puts Misao on the top turnbuckle and joins her, hitting a Frankensteiner. Shoko gathers the toys again into a pile, Shoko scoop slams Misao onto the toys before going up top, but Koda runs in and protects Misao. Shoko dives off with a senton attempt but Koda helps Misao get out of the way (maybe?), Misao sets up the ladder and climbs it, but Shoko pulls her off. They trade punches until Misao back bodydrops Shoko onto the toys, but Shoko spins away from her and they both start to climb the ladder. They elbow each other at the top of it, Shoko knocks Misao off the ladder and breaks open the pinata, pulling out the banner! Misao runs up and tries to get it from her but its too late, as Shoko puts it on. Shoko Nakajima is the winner!

These types of matches always annoy me, as just based on skill they could have had a pretty fun ten minute ladder match but in the end it was just about the silly gimmick tied to it. There were a few really nice/painful bumps hidden in here, and when they just got a chance to wrestle this was fine, but when it was about the Hello! Project concert and Koda and toys everything came to a halt. I am sure this match is for someone out there in the world, just not really for me. I want to see destruction in ladder matches, not sub-par comedy.

(c) Saki Akai vs. Yuki Kamifuku
DDT Iron Man Heavymetalweight Championship

Saki starts with a side headlock, Yuki reverses it and takes Saki to the mat but it only lasts a moment as they return to their feet. Yuki stomps on Saki’s feet and trips her, Saki is thrown into the corner and Yuki elbows her. Saki switches positions with her but Yuki avoids the boot, Yuki charges Saki but Saki kicks her in the stomach. Saki stomps Yuki and chokes her in the corner, kick to the back by Saki and she covers Yuki for two. Saki picks up Yuki and hits a drop toehold into a headscissors, Yuki inches to the ropes and makes it there for the break. Saki goes off the ropes and boots Yuki in the head, cover by Saki but it gets another two. Yuki returns to her feet but Saki kicks her back down again, Saki throws Yuki into the corner and delivers a big boot. Saki goes for a suplex but Yuki lands on her feet and hits a handstand face crusher.

Yuki tosses Saki into the corner and slams her into the turnbuckle repeatedly, boot by Yuki and she covers Saki for two. Yuki picks up Saki but Saki kicks her arm away and the two trade blows, with Saki finally knocking down Yuki with a big boot but Yuki quickly gets up and delivers a “dropkick.” Yuki throws Saki into the corner but Saki knocks her back, head kick by Saki and she goes to the top turnbuckle, but Yuki dropkicks her as she jumps off. Scissors Kick by Yuki, but Saki is too close to the ropes and using them to break up the count. Yuki goes after Saki, Saki quickly puts her in a Triangle Choke but Yuki gets to the ropes. Schoolboy by Yuki, but it gets two. Yuki goes for a dropkick but Saki swats it away and hits a PK for a two count. Saki goes up top again and this time hits a diving crossbody, but Yuki kicks out of the cover. Kick to the chest by Saki and she hits the Pendulum Knee Strike, Quetzalcoatl by Saki and she picks up the three count! Saki Akai wins and is still the champion.

I hate to go back on what I said about nine minutes ago, but this match really needed some comedy elements. Or something. No one has ever accused Saki of being a super worker (I assume, if they have they are wrong), but she can work a good match if put in the right situation. Going up against someone of the same type of wrestler, but worse, was not the right situation. This was awkward, uncoordinated, and poorly laid out. I am not sure why they would do this to Saki and Yuki. Make it a wacky tag match or a five way match or something, give them some protection. The rookies in the opening match put on a better performance, including Sena. Skip this one.

Aja Kong, Harajuku, and Raku vs. Shirakawa, Maiumi, and Manase

Mirai and Pom kick things off and trade wristlocks, they end up on the mat but Mirai locks in a side headlock as they get back up. Mirai drives Pom back and tags in Yuna, while Kong tags in as well. They lock up, Kong pushes Yuna into the ropes and she gives a clean break. Yuna elbows Kong and goes off the ropes, but she fails in her attempts to shoulderblock Kong over. Kong slaps Yuna against the ropes, Irish whip by Yuna and she hits a double chop to the chest. Kong goes for the elbow drop but Yuna moves and kicks Kong in the back, she quickly tags in Mina and Mina goes for the Romero Special, but Kong ignores her and rolls over to break it up. Kong kicks Mina in the leg and tags Raku, Raku runs over Mina’s midsection but Mina moves when she tries to sit down on her. Pom comes in to help get Mina back to the mat, they invite Kong in but she stays on the apron. Raku tries to sit on Mina again but once again she moves, Mina is knocked down and finally Kong agrees to come in. All three take turns running over Mina’s midsection with Kong sitting on Mina to end the spot, cover by Raku but it gets a two count. Mina scoop slams Raku and puts her in the Romero Special, she lets go after a moment and tags in Mirai. Scoop slam by Mirai and she elbows Raku in the corner, Yuna is tagged back in but Raku greets her with elbows to the chest. Yuna avoids Raku’s lariat and hits a hard shoulderblock, she goes for a kick but Raku catches it and hits a face crusher. She makes the tag to Pom, swinging headscissors by Pom to Yuna and she rolls over Yuna for a two count.

Pom kicks Yuna in the leg but Yuna delivers a big boot in the corner, shoulderblock by Yuna and she tags Mina. Diving double chops by Mina but Pom trips her and delivers a dropkick for two. Pom picks up Mina but Mina blocks the scoop slam, Lou Thesz Press by Mina and she covers Pom for two. Pom ducks the backfist and kicks Mina in the shin, giving her time to tag Kong while Mirai is also tagged in. Mirai tries to knock over Kong with no luck, Mirai goes for a scoop slam but Kong doesn’t budge. Scoop slam by Kong, she gets on the second turnbuckle but Mirai pulls her off from behind. Kong quickly comes back with a punch to the face, Mina runs in to try to help and she hits a backfist on Kong. Yuna also gets in the ring and shoulderblocks Kong over, lariat by Mirai to Kong but Kong kicks out at two. Mirai picks up Kong and goes for a backdrop suplex, but Kong blocks it. Elbows by Mirai and she goes off the ropes, but Pom catches her with a forearm. Mina runs in and DDTs Pom, but Raku hits a diving chop to Mina. Yuna boots Raku, she goes to Kong and tries to help Mirai hit a double vertical suplex, but it gets reversed. Kong waits for Mirai to get up and hits a hard lariat, cover by Kong but Mirai bridges out of the pin. Kong looks annoyed, she picks up Mirai and plants her with a backdrop suplex, but the cover is broken up. Kong positions Mirai and gets on the second turnbuckle, falling back elbow drop by Kong and she picks up the three count! Aja Kong, Raku, and Pom Harajuku are the winners.

Post match, they try to trick Aja Kong and pin her to win the DDT Iron Man Heavymetalweight Championship, but Kong is too smart and bails.

For a midcard match, this was perfectly fine. Not everyone here is a great wrestler so hiding them in a six wrestler tag was a good idea, as it was really about Aja Kong either playing along with some silliness or the younger wrestlers trying to knock her over. Not an original theme but an effective one that I can appreciate. I thought Mirai looked good here, showed a lot of fire and the offense she did connected pretty well which I can’t say for everyone involved. Not critical viewing but decent enough for what it was going for.

Natsumi Maki vs. Sareee

Natsumi dropkicks Sareee right as the match starts, another dropkick by Natsumi but Sareee blocks the crossbody and slams Natsumi. Natsumi bridges out of the pin, armdrag by Natsumi but Sareee armdrags her back and they reach a stalemate after a few trips. Tie-up, Natsumi gets Sareee into the ropes and slaps her as she gives the break. Sareee slaps her back, she throws Natsumi into the corner and tosses her down by the hair. Natsumi returns the favor but Sareee whips her down again, elbows by Natsumi but Sareee elbows her hard to the mat. Stomps by Sareee and she hits a scoop slam, modified Muta Lock by Sareee but she lets go after a moment to kick Natsumi in the leg. Crab hold by Sareee but Natsumi inches to the ropes and makes it there for the break. Sareee jumps down on Natsumi’s back, Irish whip by Sareee but Natsumi connects with a dropkick for two. Natsumi quickly goes for the cross armbreaker and gets it locked in, but Sareee wiggles to the ropes to force the break. Dropkicks by Natsumi before Sareee can get back up, Natsumi goes off the ropes and dropkicks Sareee in the face. Sareee falls out of the ring, Natsumi goes to the top turnbuckle and dives out onto Sareee with a plancha suicida.

Natsumi slides Sareee back in, she goes up top again and hits a diving crossbody for two. Natsumi applies a waistlock but Sareee reverses it and hits a wheelbarrow German suplex. Sareee picks up Natsumi, Natsumi elbows her but Sareee elbows her right back, sending Natsumi off her feet. They trade elbows back and forth with Sareee generally getting the better of it, dropkick by Natsumi but Sareee dropkicks her back. Running dropkick by Sareee, she picks up Natsumi and hits a fisherman suplex hold for two. Sareee goes for the uranage but Natsumi blocks it, Irish whip by Sareee but Natsumi ducks the lariat and schoolboys Sareee for two. Natsumi goes off the ropes, Sareee goes for a uranage but Natsumi blocks it and cradles Sareee for two. Natsumi picks up Sareee, kick to the head by Natsumi and she goes off the ropes, hitting the Backlash for a two count. Back up, Sareee blocks the suplex attempt and drops Natsumi with a German suplex hold, but Natsumi gets a shoulder up. Sareee goes towards the turnbuckles but Natsumi grabs her leg, Natsumi slaps Sareee but Sareee elbows her and kicks her in the jaw with a back kick. Uranage by Sareee, and she covers Natsumi for the three count! Sareee is the winner!

Even though Natsumi (in experience) isn’t on Sareee’s level, she sure did try to match her move for move. Sareee tried submissions, Natsumi did too, Sareee threw elbows, Natsuki returned fire, almost as if she was trying to prove she could do anything Sareee can. But in the end that was her undoing – her elbows weren’t as hard, her dropkicks weren’t as on point, and her submissions weren’t as effective. It wasn’t a complex story but it was a smart one, realistically Natsumi wasn’t winning this but she wanted to show the fans that she wasn’t intimidated or backing down to The Sun God. Sareee has gotten so good in the last few years, she doesn’t look intimidating but she hits harder than anyone and her suplexes are beautifully executed. While I wish they had gotten more time, they were able to tell the story they wanted to, and overall I really enjoyed it and look forward to where Natsumi goes from here in Tokyo Joshi Pro.  Recommended

Mizuki vs. Thunder Rosa

Mizuki offers her hand to start the match, Thunder Rosa goes to shake it but Mizuki tries to kick her. Thunder Rosa catches the kick and throws Mizuki to the mat. Mizuki is up quickly and hits a tilt-a-whirl armdrag, dropkick by Mizuki but Thunder Rosa throws her into the corner. Mizuki kicks Thunder Rosa back when she charges and goes for a diving crossbody, but Thunder Rosa catches her and hits a backbreaker. Front slam by Thunder Rosa and she covers Mizuki for a two count. Stomps by Thunder Rosa, she picks up Mizuki and slams her again. Thunder Rosa puts Mizuki in the Tree of Woe and dropkicks her in the leg, she picks up Mizuki and hits a scoop slam for two. Single leg crab hold by Thunder Rosa into the rocking cradle, she picks up Mizuki and chops her against the ropes. Mizuki goes for a quick cradle but Thunder Rosa kicks out and boots her in the head, she rakes at Mizuki’s face before slamming her into the mat. Thunder Rosa puts Mizuki in the ropes and chops her in the chest, Irish whip by Thunder Rosa but Mizuki ducks the lariat and connects with a dropkick. Mizuki charges Thunder Rosa and hits a crossbody, sending Thunder Rosa off the apron to the floor.

Mizuki goes up to the top turnbuckle and dives out of the ring with a plancha suicida, she slides Thunder Rosa back into the ring and goes up top again, hitting a diving crossbody for two. Mizuki picks up Thunder Rosa but Thunder Rosa knees her in the head, she picks up Mizuki but Mizuki slides down her back and delivers a Backstabber. Armtrap crossface by Mizuki but Thunder Rosa muscles out of it, she gets Mizuki on her shoulders and drives her into the turnbuckles before hitting a Death Valley Bomb. Cover by Thunder Rosa, but Mizuki barely bridges out. Stomps by Thunder Rosa, she gets on the top turnbuckle but Mizuki recovers and joins her. Superplex by Mizuki and both wrestlers are down, they slowly get to their feet as they trade strikes. Chops by Thunder Rosa but Mizuki goes off the ropes and hits a tilt-a-whirl crossbody for two. Mizuki charges Thunder Rosa, Thunder Rosa tries to kick her back but Mizuki slides her legs onto the second ropes and hits a reverse double kneedrop. Mizuki goes up top but Thunder Rosa avoids her dive, running kick by Thunder Rosa and she drops Mizuki with the Thunder Driver for the three count! Thunder Rosa wins!

I guess the best way to describe this match would be fundamentally sound. It was pretty basic but solid, the two worked together pretty well and they kept it short enough that it never felt like it was pushing its time. The beginning was a bit clunky as I didn’t buy Mizuki has being able to out-strike Thunder Rosa, but once she got more to her high flying moves everything they were doing started to sync up. One of the better matches on the show so far, which I mostly credit to the veteran Thunder Rosa, but Mizuki held her own once they got to the meat of the match. Not a bad showing by either.  Mildly Recommended

(c) Maki Itoh vs. Hikari Noa
International Princess Championship

They circle each other to start, Hikari trips Maki and goes for her ankle, Maki reverses it and the two go back and forth. Maki applies a side headlock and takes Hikari down, but Hikari quickly gets out of it and dropkicks Maki out of the ring. Hikari goes out after her and they trade blows, scoop slam attempt by Maki on the floor but Hikari blocks it. Maki drags Hikari around the ring and this time manages to hit the scoop slam, she tells the crowd to move and she hits Hikari down in a chair. Maki stands over Hikari but Hikari slides between her legs and hits her in the back with a chair, she slams Maki into the ring apron and then into the ring post. Back in the ring, cover by Hikari but it gets a two count. Elbows by Hikari and she Irish whips Maki, but Maki reverses it and hits a scoop slam. Maki picks up Hikari but Hikari throws her into the corner, Maki avoids Hikari’s charge and smacks her in the midsection. Maki stands over Hikari in the corner and delivers rapid fire punches, she tosses Hikari back to the middle of the ring but Hikari quickly cradles her for two. Maki goes for a strike, Hikari bridges down to avoid it but Maki hits a falling headbutt. She goes for a submission but Hikari quickly gets out of it, rolling cradle by Hikari and she holds down Maki for two.

Hikari gets on the top turnbuckle but Maki recovers and joins her, headbutt by Maki and she tosses Hikari back to the middle of the ring. Itoh Special by Maki to Hikari, but Hikari crawls to the ropes and makes it for the break. Maki stomps at Hikari, Irish whip by Maki but Hikari blocks it and applies a grounded cobra twist. Hikari drags up Maki and hits a short-range lariat, cover by Hikari but it gets a two count. Hikari tries a few more quick pins with no luck, she goes for a lariat but Maki blocks it. Maki goes for a DDT but Hikari pushes her off and hits a dropkick, but Maki kicks out of the cover. Hikari goes for a suplex but Maki blocks it, she goes off the ropes but Maki plants her with a DDT. Maki goes to the top turnbuckle and delivers the diving headbutt, but Hikari barely gets a shoulder up. Maki picks up Hikari but Hikari avoids the headbutt and suplexes Maki to the mat. Hikari elbows Maki as they start to get up, but Maki elbows her back. They trade blows as they get up, dropkick by Hikari but Maki isn’t phased and she goes after Hikari’s injured leg as she puts her in the Itoh Deluxe (Elevated Texas Cloverleaf). Hikari struggles for a moment but is forced to submit! Maki Itoh wins the match and retains the championship.

While the ending felt a bit sudden, I still enjoyed this one. Maki has gotten better since the last time I saw her, I still wouldn’t call her a high-end wrestler but she connects well with the crowd and her offense was both smart and effective. Hikari still wrestles a simple style but it works at this level, my main complaint is that Maki did great work on Hikari’s leg but she never really showed any signs it was hurting her until the very end with the dropkick. I appreciate some quality limb work, but a little limp can go a long way. Still a pretty well structured and executed match, Maki could have just done a bit more to foreshadow the end with the submissions finally wearing her down to the point of having to submit. Mildly Recommended

(c) Miu Watanabe and Rika Tatsumi vs. Nodoka Tenma and Yuki Aino
Princess Tag Team Championship

Miu and Yuki start the match, they both try to shoulderblock each other over until Yuki sends Miu to the mat. Nodoka tags in as does Rika, Rika takes Nodoka to the mat but Nodoka reverses positions with her and the two trade holds. Rika goes off the ropes but Nodoka knocks her down with a shoulderblock, she tags Yuki back in and they double team Rika. Yuki picks up Rika and throws her into the corner but Rika kicks her back when she charges in and tags Miu. Miu elbows Yuki in the corner, elbows to the back by Miu and she hits a running elbow. Miu puts Yuki in a bear hug before throwing her in the corner, she tags Rika and they double team Yuki. Rika puts Yuki in a waistlock but Yuki gets a foot on the ropes for the break. Rika picks up Yuki but Yuki elbows her back, she knocks over Rika and makes the tag to Nodoka. Shoulderblocks by Nodoka to both her opponents and she hits a scoop slam on Rika, crossbody by Nodoka and she gets a two count. Rika throws Nodoka into the corner, she puts her leg over the second rope and dropkicks her in the leg. Rika slams Nodoka’s leg into the ring post a couple times before dropkicking it into the post, cover by Rika but it gets two. Rika hits a dragon screw on Nodoka and follows with a hip attack, Nodoka gets Rika around the waist and picks her up, but her knee gives out.

She tries again and this time hits a Samoan Drop, She crawls to her corner but Rika tags in Miu and Miu cuts off Nodoka, body avalanche by Miu in the corner and she hits a hard shoulderblock. Giant Swing by Miu, she picks up Nodoka but Nodoka slides away and applies a side headlock. Nodoka picks up Miu and hits a fallaway slam, she gets to her corner and tags in Yuki. Yuki boots Miu and Nodoka jumps off her back with a crossbody. Cover by Yuki, but it gets two. Yuki elbows Miu and hits a running elbow in the corner, she gets on the second turnbuckle but Miu avoids her dive. Bulldog by Yuki but Rika comes in and rescues her, Nodoka also comes in however and Rika eats a double shoulderblock. Yuki gets on her shoulders as Nodoka goes up to to give her the Bakuretsu Bulldog, but Miu gets away and Rika hip attacks Nodoka off the top turnbuckle. Miu and Rika drop Yuki with an assisted Dragon Twist of Fate, cover by Miu but Nodoka breaks up the pin. Nodoka goes for the Unprettier on Rika but Rika blocks it and hip attacks Nodoka out of the ring, Miu picks up Yuki and she hits a shoulder backbreaker for two. Miu goes for a punch but Yuki ducks it and hits a gutwrench suplex, Yuki applies a full nelson but Miu snapmares out of it. Punch by Miu, she picks up Yuki and nails the Tear Drop for the three count! Daydream win and retain the tag team championship.

Another solid match. From an outsider’s perspective, the Bakuretsu Sisters appear to be done as threats, as if after two years together all you have are three failed title challenges, maybe its time to move on to something else. Miu and Nodoka were my favorite two here, both of their segments on offense were entertaining and they have a variety of ways to hurt people. The leg work was quickly forgotten but it wasn’t enough of a focus to hurt the match, and the end stretch was really good. Rika and Aino didn’t do anything wrong in the match but it just felt like they were kinda ‘present’ rather than doing anything overly memorable, but Tokyo Joshi Pro is full of wrestlers without a lot of experience and not all wrestlers are going to make a difference in every match. Pretty short for a semi-main title match, but an ease to watch with good pacing and a satisfying ending.  Mildly Recommended

(c) Yuka Sakazaki vs. Miyu Yamashita
Princess of Princess Championship

They begin trading wristlocks and headlocks but reach an early stalemate, Yuka sends Miyu to the mat but Miyu reverses positions with her as they jockey for control. Yuka bails out of the ring to regroup but Miyu goes after her, Yuka strikes Miyu as she leaves the ring and kicks her from the apron. Yuka clubs on Miyu’s back and takes her up into the bleachers before throwing her into a wall. Yuka takes Miyu up further into the crowd and scoop slams her on the floor, she gets a table and gets it ready at the top of the stairs to use as a sled. Yuka sits Miyu on the table and pushes her down the stairs, but security is in the way so she only gets about halfway down. Yuka runs down and pushes her the rest of the way, sending Miyu crashing down to the floor at the bottom. They make their way back to ringside and Yuka throws Miyu into the ring post, Yuka props a table up against the post but Miyu fights back with elbows. Yuka elbows her back and scoop slams Miyu into the table (which obviously doesn’t break), Yuka picks Miyu up and slams her into the table again (it kinda breaks this time, Yuka seems satisfied). Yuka brings Miyu up onto the apron but Miyu gets Yuka on her shoulders and slams her onto the apron.

Miyu throws Yuka back into the ring finally, cover by Miyu but it gets a two count. Snapmare by Miyu and she kicks Yuka in the back, Yuka returns to her feet but Miyu knocks her to the mat again. Running knee by Miyu and she hits a gutbuster, kick combination by Miyu and she puts Yuka in a chinlock, but Yuka gets out of it and pushes Miyu out of the ring. Miyu kicks Yuka from the apron as she returns but Yuka catches her with a diving double chop. Running hurricanrana by Yuka and she hits a jumping forearm, missile dropkick by Yuka but Miyu avoids the Sliding D. Yuka connects on her second try, cover by Yuka but it gets two. High kick by Miyu and she nails a rebound high kick out of the corner, running kick by Miyu and Yuka collapses to the mat. Yuka recovers but Miyu kicks her in the back of the head, cover by Miyu but it gets two. Yuka gets back up and elbows Miyu, Miyu elbows her back but Yuka catches her with a vertical suplex. Rolling vertical suplexes by Yuka, she goes up top but Miyu recovers and joins her.

Yuka pushes Miyu off the top turnbuckle to the floor, she gets on the apron and hits a diving hurricanrana. Yuka puts Miyu up on the apron with her head hanging over and goes to the top turnbuckle, delivering a diving body press. Yuka rolls Miyu back in, cover by Yuka but it gets a two count. Swandive body press attempt by Yuka, but Miyu gets her knees up. Kicks to the chest by Miyu but Yuka slaps on a leg submission hold, Miyu inches to the ropes and makes it for the break. Yuka puts Miyu on the top turnbuckle and joins her, hitting a reverse STO down to the mat. Yuka goes out to the apron and gets on the ropes, but Miyu kicks her in the head before she can jump off. Another head kick by Miyu, she goes out to the apron and dives off the ropes with an elbow to Yuka. Cover by Miyu, but it gets two. More kicks by Miyu but Yuka ducks one and cradles Miyu for two. Rolling elbow by Miyu but Miyu gets her back and hits a German suplex hold for two. Miyu kicks Yuka in the head some more, she goes off the ropes but Yuka catches her with a hammerlock suplex. Miyu goes out to the apron and nails the Magical Magical Girl Splash, cover by Yuka and she picks up the three count! Yuka Sakazaki wins and retains the championship.

I had heard going in that this match was sloppy, and while there were one or two moves that didn’t hit well I wouldn’t consider that overly unusual in a 20 minute match. Maybe the type of thing that keeps a match from being a true MOTYC, but nothing that impacted my overall enjoyment of the match. My main complaint is the ‘outside the ring’ portion felt too long and wasn’t completely satisfying since the sled spot didn’t appear to go as planned, so it felt more like wasting time than contributing to the match. Once they got back into the ring though, business really picked up and both wrestlers are so much fun to watch. Miyu’s kicks are killer, and she can hit them from anywhere as she can deliver a kick to someone that is well over her own head (which she did several times). A classic flyer vs. strikes match, I wouldn’t have minded if the end stretch was longer so Yuka could get in some more offense, but still a fitting main event as they both went all out. I appreciate the effort and desire to create something amazing and memorable even if not everything landed as smooth as they had planned, hopefully next time things will sync better and they will create a true epic.  Recommended

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*I am slowing bringing my Joshi Reviews from Puroresu Central over to Joshi City so I can have all my Joshi reviews in one place. Some features of my current reviews on this site may be missing as my style has changed over the years, however I will have it match the Joshi City review format as closely as I can. The original review date can be found at the bottom of the review, I will try not to make any major changes to the text unless I see something that needs clarifying or correcting.*

A flashback to 2015, and the event that had perhaps the best match of Kairi Hojo’s career up to this point. Here is the full card:

• Haruka Kato vs. Hatsuhinode Kamen
• Kaori Yoneyama vs. Kris Wolf vs. Momo Watanabe
• Reo Hazuki vs. Thunder Rosa
• Chelsea vs. Melissa
• Goddesses of Stardom Championship: Io Shirai and Mayu Iwatani vs. Nikki Storm and Starfire
• World of Stardom Championship: Kairi Hojo vs. Meiko Satomura

All the wrestlers above profiles on the website, you can click on their names to go straight to it.

Haruka Kato vs. Hatsuhinode Kamen

Kato dropkicks Kamen from behind to start the match and hits a few more dropkicks to Kamen’s arm, but Kamen hits a double chop to the chest. Kato footstomps Kamen’s arm and applies a cross armbreaker, seated armbar by Kato but Kamen gets to the ropes. Irish whip by Kato but Kamen hits a shoulderblock, slap by Kato but Kamen blocks the scoop slam. Kamen hits a scoop slam of her own followed by an elbow drop for two. Kamen picks up Kato but Kato sneaks in a backslide for two. Kato goes off the ropes but Kamen hits a big boot followed by another kick for a two count. Kamen goes for a delayed vertical suplex but Kato gets out of it and hits a tilt-a-whirl into a schoolboy for two. Cross armbreaker takedown by Kato and Kamen quickly taps out! Haruka Kato wins the match.

I liked the arm work by Kato in this match but not much else. Kamen is just really tentative at times so her strikes lack impact, and while Kato is great to look at she isn’t at the skill level to get a good match out of Kamen. A typical Stardom opener but skippable nonetheless.

Kaori Yoneyama vs. Kris Wolf vs. Momo Watanabe

Yoneyama kicks Watanabe as they all give each other side headlocks, shoulderblock by Yoneyama but Wolf hits a tilt-a-whirl headscissors. Wolf knees Watanabe in the corner and hits a diving crossbody, they grab Yoneyama and hit a double vertical suplex. Double kneedrop by both Wolf and Watanabe to Yoneyama, Watanabe puts Yoneyama in the tree of woe and Watanabe hits a dropkick. Wolf grabs Watanabe and applies a choke before covering her for the three count! The winner is Kris Wolf.

Besides the awkward ending (which Wolf made up for by doing a well balanced dance on the top turnbuckle afterwards) this was just way too clipped up. Very little of the match was shown. But just skim to Wolf’s top rope dance and you’ll be fine.

Reo Hazuki vs. Thunder Rosa

They tie-up to start, wristlock by Hazuki but Rosa reverses it. Hazuki gets the hold re-applied as they trade the hold back and forth, takedown by Rosa but Hazuki gets out of it and they return to their feet. Hazuki kicks Rosa and throws her down by her hair, facewashes by Hazuki in the corner and she nails the running kick. Hazuki goes for an elbow in the corner but Rosa moves and hits a dropkick. Double knee by Rosa in the corner and Rosa elbows Hazuki in the midsection. Leg drop by Rosa and a cover, but it gets two. Rosa picks up Hazuki but Hazuki slides away and applies a sleeper. Elbows by Hazuki in the corner, Irish whip, and Hazuki hits a running elbow. Hazuki goes to the second turnbuckle and hits a diving senton, but the cover only gets two. Hazuki goes all the way up top but Rosa slaps her and tosses her off. Rosa picks up Hazuki and she applies a hammerlock before dropping Hazuki to the mat. Back up, Rosa hits a wrist-clutch overhead suplex, cover by Rosa but Hazuki barely gets a shoulder up. Rosa looks annoyed, which gives Hazuki time to sneak in a schoolboy for the three count! Reo wins!

This was too clipped to recommend (about 40% was missing) but I liked what I saw. Rosa is fun to watch and Hazuki is coming along nicely, though its possible that any awkward parts were simply edited out. What was shown was perfectly fine wrestling though.

Chelsea vs. Melissa

Chelsea continues wrestling veterans, no better way to learn I guess. Armdrag by Chelsea to start but Melissa returns the favor. Chelsea kicks Melissa back and they face off again, waistlock by Chelsea but Melissa gets her back. Melissa picks up Chelsea and applies a front facelock and they trade holds until Melissa starts snapping Chelsea’s leg. Knees to the back by Melissa and she applies a bodyscissors but Chelsea gets out of it and applies a stretch hold. Side headlock by Chelsea but Melissa shoulderblocks her down and hits a scoop slam, Irish whip by Melissa but Chelsea hits a big boot. Roll-up by Chelsea but Melissa gets out of it and wraps up Chelsea’s legs into a modified crab hold. Chelsea gets to the ropes, Melissa picks her up and they trade elbows. Melissa goes off the ropes but Chelsea catches her with a heel kick for a two count. Lariat by Chelsea and she hits a back elbow, Chelsea charges Melissa and she gives her the monkey flip. Cover by Chelsea but it gets two. Chelsea goes up top but Melissa joins her. Chelsea pushes Melissa off but Melissa puts Chelsea on her shoulders, Chelsea slides off and goes for a sunset flip but Melissa sits on her for a two count. Irish whip by Chelsea, reversed, but Chelsea hits a hurricanrana for a two count. Chelsea goes off the ropes but Melissa hits a Samoan Drop for a two count. Kondo Clutch by Melissa but Chelsea rolls close enough to the ropes to force the break. Curbstomp by Melissa, another cover, but Chelsea gets a hand on the ropes. Melissa grabs Chelsea but Chelsea gets away, Melissa goes off the ropes but Chelsea hits a full nelson slam. Cover by Chelsea but Melissa kicks out at two. Chelsea goes up top and goes for a diving crossbody, but Melissa ducks it. Melissa gets her up, spins around a few times and nails the Air Raid Crash for the three count! Melissa is the winner.

Let’s be honest, Chelsea isn’t a great wrestler. She may become one as she is young and training in Stardom, but currently she knows the basics and that’s about it. But she is cute as hell, is photogenic, and the crowd loves her so she has something going for her. Anyway this match was watchable but it never had any moment that stuck out or anything. It was a bit basic but it didn’t have any awkwardness which is a plus. I dunno, it wasn’t really a good match but it wasn’t bad either, just forgettable.

(c) Io Shirai and Mayu Iwatani vs. Nikki Storm and Starfire

This match is for the Goddesses of Stardom Championship. Shirai and Starfire start off, Starfire armdrags Shirai into the corner but Shirai avoids her charge and elbows her in the chest. Starfire grabs Shirai’s arm and springboards off the ropes with a takedown, schoolboy by Shirai but it gets two. Iwatani runs in to help and Starfire is double teamed in the corner. Iwatani dropkicks Starfire in the corner and with Shirai they both apply armbars until the referee gets them to stop. Storm emerges in the ring but Shirai dropkicks them both back out of it. Shirai goes off the far ropes and sails out onto both of them with a plancha suicida. Shirai slides Storm back in the ring and she hits a double knee in the corner. Cover by Shirai, but it gets two. Irish whip by Shirai and she applies an Octopus Hold, Starfire runs in but Iwatani comes in too and she puts Starfire in a stretch hold as well. Shirai rolls up Storm from the hold but it gets two, she then applies an armtrap crossface but Storm gets to the ropes. Shirai goes for the tiger feint kick but Starfire kicks Shirai from the apron. Storm then grabs Shirai from inside the ring and hits the Cyclone Neckbreaker, but Iwatani breaks up the pin. Double Irish whip to Storm but she throws Iwatani into Shirai and hits a double neck breaker. Cyclone Neckbreaker by Storm to Shirai, cover, but it gets two. Storm tags in Starfire and Starfire hits a spinning DDT on Shirai, she picks her up and hits a wrist clutch suplex hold for a two count. Starfire drags Shirai up and elbows her but Shirai snaps off a hurricanrana. Head kick by Shirai, she goes up top but Starfire grabs her and shoves Shirai back to the mat. Now Starfire goes up to the second turnbuckle but Iwatani grabs her from the apron. Frankensteiner by Shirai, her and Iwatani go up to the same corner and hit a double missile dropkick. Cover, but Starfire kicks out. Shirai picks up Starfire but Starfire hits a wheelbarrow suplex. Back up they trade elbows, palm strike by Shirai but Starfire reverses the tombstone piledriver and hits a reverse DDT.

Package Piledriver by Starfire but she can’t make the cover, instead rolling to her corner and tagging in Storm. Iwatani is tagged in too, Iwatani trades elbows with Storm and Iwatani hits a crucifix hold for a two count. Wrist clutch Northern Lights Suplex by Iwatani, but Storm gets a shoulder up. Iwatani picks up Storm, she goes off the ropes but Storm levels her with a lariat. Storm picks up Iwatani and she hits a neckbreaker, she drags up Iwatani and she delivers the Cyclone Neckbreaker but Iwatani barely kicks out. Back up, Iwatani kicks Storm back but Storm uses the referee as a shield. Starfire comes in but Iwatani avoids her dropkick, Storm puts Iwatani’s legs on the top rope and nails the Cyclone Neckbreaker. Package Piledriver by Starfire, Storm grabs Iwatani and with Starfire they hit an assisted Cyclone Neckbreaker. Cover, but Iwatani again kicks out. Storm holds Iwatani but Starfire lariats Storm by accident, then Iwatani hits a reverse hurricanrana on Storm for a two count. Storm picks up Iwatani and hits the Perfect Storm, cover, but Iwatani still won’t stay down. Storm picks up Iwatani, they trade waistlocks as Shirai gets on the apron and hits a swandive missile dropkick. Iwatani throws in a dropkick of her own and they also throw Starfire out of the ring. Iwatani and Shirai then spring up onto different corners and dive out of the ring onto Storm and Starfire. Iwatani slides Storm back in but Storm blocks the dragon suplex. Iwatani picks up Storm in a piledriver position, Shirai goes up top and they nail the spike piledriver. Dragon suplex hold by Iwatani, and she picks up the three count! Shirai and Iwatani are still your champions.

This one… I’m a bit torn. I enjoyed it, no doubt there. But I think the random clipping hurt the flow (about five minutes or so was cut total), the clips were rather obvious and it was almost like hitting reset on the match. That being said the match was fast paced and they both had some great moves without going into overkill. Iwatani was a beast here, just kicking out of everything, they are really building her up. It also felt like an important match, which I always appreciate in a title match. I still recommend to watch it, just don’t go in expecting a MOTYC, it fell quite a bit short of that due to the clipping and a few mistakes here and there.  Recommended

(c) Kairi Hojo vs. Meiko Satomura

This match is for the World of Stardom Championship. They jockey around to start, Hojo gets Satomura in the ropes and hits a spinning backfist before backing off. They lock knuckles, Satomura throws Hojo to the mat and she hits a scoop slam. Elbows by Satomura but Hojo hits a shoulder tackle. More shoulder tackles in the corner by Hojo, snapmare, and she dropkicks Satomura in the back. Hojo gets Satomura’s leg and applies a crab hold, but Satomura makes it to the ropes. Satomura slams Hojo to the mat and she goes for a crab hold, but Hojo slaps her. Kicks by Satomura as Hojo returns with elbows, but Satomura catches an elbow and applies a single leg crab hold. Hojo crawls to the ropes to force a break but Satomura quickly applies a stretch hold. Hojo rolls out of it but Satomura kicks Hojo in the back before hitting a hard knee to the chin. Satomura goes for a backdrop suplex but Hojo blocks it and applies a side headlock. Irish whip by Satomura but Hojo hits a really violent spear, she goes off the ropes again but Satomura nails a high kick. Hojo falls out of the ring to have her neck sprayed with the magic healing stuff only Japan has discovered before she rolls back in, but Satomura promptly kicks her in the chest. Irish whip by Satomura but Hojo reverses it, armdrag by Satomura and she applies a STF with a chinlock. Satomura picks up Hojo and hits a backdrop suplex. Kicks by Satomura in the corner, Irish whip, but Hojo collapses. Hard elbow by Satomura and she hits a jumping elbow in the corner. Satomura goes up top but Hojo avoids the body press, she picks up Satomura and chops her in the chest. Satomura fires back with elbows but Hojo holds down the rope when she charges, sending Satomura out to the apron. Hojo shoulder tackles her down to the floor, Hojo goes up top and she delivers a plancha suicida down to the floor. Hojo waits for Satomura to get up and from the apron hits a diving elbow smash, she slides Satomura back in the ring and goes up top, hitting another diving elbow smash.

Hojo charges Satomura and hits a shoulder tackle in the corner followed by a neckbreaker for a two count. Cross-armed submission hold by Hojo but Satomura wiggles to the ropes to force the break. Hojo hits a few footstomps to Satomura’s back and she stretches Satomura some more, but Satomura kicks her off. Satomura gets up and they trade elbows, back kick by Satomura and she nails the spinning kick to the head. Cartwheel knee drop by Satomura, she positions Hojo before going up top, but Hojo gets her feet up on the diving body press. Hojo puts Satomura in the tree of woe, she goes up top but Satomura goes up with her and goes for a death valley bomb. Hojo blocks it and pushes Satomura back into the tree of woe, hitting the diving footstomp. Cover by Hojo, but Satomura kicks out. Hojo stomps on Satomura in the stomach but Satomura gets back up and elbows her. Hojo elbows her back, she goes off the ropes but Satomura kicks her hard in the face. Cross armbreaker by Satomura but Hojo manages to wiggle to the ropes. Satomura drags Hojo out and re-applies it, but again Hojo gets a toe on the ropes. Satomura kicks Hojo out of the ring, where Hojo gets more magic healing spray. Satomura goes out after her, she drags Hojo up to the entrance stage and drills her with a Death Valley Bomb! Satomura brings Hojo back to the ring, she picks up Hojo and drops her with a backdrop suplex. Cover, but it gets a two. Satomura applies a sleeper hold, cover by Satomura but Hojo kicks out. Satomura positions Hojo, she goes up top and she finally hits the frog splash, but Hojo barely gets a shoulder up. Satomura picks up Hojo but Hojo avoids the Death Valley Bomb by grabbing the top rope. Satomura shakes her free and nails it anyway, but she can’t keep Hojo down. Satomura goes for another one but Hojo slides down her back, elbow by Satomura but Hojo blocks the overhead kick.

Backfist by Hojo and she hits a series of elbows, but Satomura levels her with a high kick. Hojo ducks Satomura’s heel kick and finally knocks her down with a backfist, Hojo picks up Satomura and hits an Alabama Slam. Hojo goes up top and nails her beautiful diving elbow drop, she covers Satomura but it gets two. Hojo goes up top again but Satomura is up and she nails a Pele Kick. Satomura goes up with Hojo but Hojo elbows her off, she goes for another diving elbow drop but Satomura gets her legs up and quickly applies a cross armbreaker. Seated armbar by Satomura but Hojo rolls to the ropes to force a break. Satomura picks up Hojo and kicks her in the chest repeatedly, she picks up Hojo but Hojo rolls up Satomura for a two count. Satomura gets on the sleeper but Hojo is too close to the ropes and gets a foot on them. Satomura goes up top but Hojo punches her and joins her, hitting a superplex. Cover, but it gets a two count. Hojo goes up top but Satomura avoids the diving elbow drop, Satomura picks up Hojo and hits a Death Valley Bomb before applying the cross armbreaker. Satomura traps her leg too, she then rolls over Hojo and applies an elevated single leg crab hold before rolling it back over, but Hojo gets free. Satomura kicks Hojo in the chest a few times and then drills her with a kick to the head. Satomura picks up Hojo but Hojo gets away and applies a guillotine choke. Satomura slams out of it and applies the cross armbreaker but Hojo gets her hands linked and gets out of it. Satomura picks up Hojo and hits another Death Valley Bomb, she covers Hojo but the bell rings signifying the match is a Draw. Kairi Hojo is still your champion!

Man what a match. To call this hard hitting would be an understatement, everything they did was brutal. Even something simple like a kick breakout or a spear was made to look extra violent, there was no holding back here at all. The time went quickly for a 30 minute match as they did a good job mixing in strikes, submissions, and big moves to pop the crowd. I didn’t mind the slight overkill since it was a title match, overall it was just great stuff. MOTYC right here.  Highly Recommended

event reviewed on 6/21/15

The post Stardom “Galaxy Stars 2015” on 6/14/15 Review appeared first on Joshi City.

Championships Held: AIWF International Women’s Championship
Tournaments Won: None
Awards Won: None

Notable Matches in Japan:

• November 23rd, 2016 vs. Mayu Iwatani
• December 4th, 2016 with Holidead vs. Kagetsu and Kyoko Kimura

Signature Moves:

• Dragon Sleeper
• Inverted DDT

In Action:

Coming Soon

Back to Gaijin Invaders

The post Thunder Rosa appeared first on Joshi City.

It is time for Stardom’s last big event of 2016, the Year End Climax. After treading water for much of the year, the last two months we have seen a lot of changes for Stardom. Io turned evil and took young Momo and the returning HZK with her to the dark side, which completely shook things up since it meant both Mayu and Kyona lost their friends and tag partners. More new wrestlers debuted, with Ruaka and Tora beginning their in-ring career. Kairi and Yoko are friends now and have created a new team, while young Hana Kimura continues to find success. Also on this show, Kana’s protégé Konami has her first match in Stardom as well. So a lot is going on! Here is the full card:

• Arisu Nanase vs. Azumi vs. Ruaka
• Hiromi Mimura vs. Konami
• Kaori Yoneyama and Saori Anou vs. Kris Wolf and Hana Kimura vs. Jungle Kyona and Natsuko Tora
• NWA Western States Tag Team Championship: Thunder Rosa and Holidead vs. HZK and Momo Watanabe
• Goddesses of Stardom Championship: Kyoko Kimura and Kagetsu vs. Kairi Hojo and Yoko Bito
• World of Stardom Championship: Io Shirai vs. Mayu Iwatani

You can click on the wrestler’s names above to go to their profile if I have one here on Joshi City. Please note I am watching the Samurai TV version of the show, so some matches may be clipped to fit the show into two hours. There were two additional dark matches, however neither were shown on Stardom World nor the Samurai TV broadcast since they were filmed for an Asahi show.

Arisu Nanase vs. Azumi vs. Ruaka

Arisu fakes a handshake to start but rolls up Azumi instead, leading to Arisu being double teamed. Ruaka boots Arisu in the corner with Azumi following with a dropkick, but Ruaka knocks Azumi out of the way and covers Arisu for two. Azumi throws Ruaka out of the ring and trades wristlocks with Arisu before Azumi hits a dropkick, but Ruaka returns and rolls up Azumi. They all trade roll-ups with no one getting the pin before returning to their feet, DDT by Azumi to Arisu and she dropkicks her repeatedly. Arisu gets away from Azumi and dropkicks her, double wrist armsault by Arisu but Azumi kicks out. Arisu picks up Azumi and hits the Blockbuster, but Ruaka breaks up the pin. Ruaka slams Azumi and puts her in a crab hold, but Arisu rolls out of it and applies a jackknife for the three count! Arisu Nanase is the winner.

This is about what you’d expect. I think Arisu has shown some promise for a 15 year old rookie, she hits moves crisply, but too early to figure out much from Ruaka. With three children wrestling you can’t take it too seriously, there is a loose storyline here of Azumi being passed by the newer rookies like Arisu but not much more than that. A typical Stardom opening match.

Hiromi Mimura vs. Konami

Konami immediately slaps on a kneelock onto the unsuspecting Hiromi, but Hiromi gets into the ropes for the break. Konami takes Hiromi back to the mat and they jockey for position, Konami applies a keylock but they end up back on their feet. Dropkick by Hiromi but Konami connects with a kick combination, she goes off the ropes but Hiromi ducks the PK and rolls her up for two. Dropkick to the knee by Hiromi and she goes for La Magistral, but Konami reverses it into an ankle hold. Hiromi gets to the ropes so Konami releases the hold, kick to the knee by Konami and she dropkicks Hiromi in the other knee. Konami charges Hiromi but Hiromi moves, Konami’s leg gets stuck in the ropes and Hiromi snaps it. Running low crossbody by Hiromi, but it gets a two. Running knee by Konami and she hits a fisherman suplex hold, but Hiromi kicks out. High kick by Konami but Hiromi comes back with a DDT and applies La Magistral for a two count. Hiromi goes off the ropes but Konami kicks her in the head, Konami applies a kneelock and Hiromi has to submit! Konami wins the match.

I am on record as loving Konami. She isn’t a literal Kana clone as she her move set is mostly different, but the attitude is there as well as the focus on strikes and submissions. She is different than most other wrestlers in Stardom, the closest comparison would be Yoko Bito but Konami is a bit less clunky. Hiromi was fine here, she’s low on the totem pole for a reason but she kept up with Konami and didn’t look out of place. A fun short match and a good way to introduce Konami to a new crowd, hopefully she sticks around.  Mildly Recommended

Yoneyama and Saori Anou vs. Kris Wolf and Hana Kimura vs. Kyona and Natsuko Tora

Kris, Natsuko, and Kaori start off for their respective teams and do a triple knuckle lock, Kris kicks them away and they trade quick pins but no one has any luck so they tag out. Hana dances around the ring and then challenges Saori to do the same, Saori dances too and then challenges Kyona. Kyona dances but the crowd boos while Hana tells her to go away, hurting her feelings. Hana and Saori continue their dance off until Hana is double teamed and knocked over with a double shoulderblock. Saori and Kyona then go at it until Hana dropkicks them both, Natsuko comes in but Hana puts her in a leg lock. She dances for too long so Kaori comes in, so does Kris and Kris squares off with Saori. There is a lot going on here as the wrestlers are all just running in at will, I have no idea who is legal at this point. Kaori and Saori both put Natsuko in a submission hold but it is broken up, Hana and Kyona trade elbows until Kyona applies a backbreaker. Hana gets out of it and rolls up Kyona, but Kaori comes in and rolls up Hana. Kaori then covers both of them, but Kris runs in to break it up. Natsuko kicks Kris and she along with Kyona put their opponents in an airplane spin, but Oedo Tai fights back and dropkicks their opponents. Hana and Kris go up top but are knocked off, they fall to the floor while Saori applies a fisherman suplex hold to Kyona for two. Kyona comes back with a double lariat on Kaori and Saori, running senton by Natsuko to Saori but Hana runs in and boots both Natsuko and Kyona in the face. Kris runs in and covers Natsuko, and she picks up the three count! Oedo Tai win!

Rating a match like this isn’t really possible or fair since it wasn’t trying to be a high end match. It had some quality dancing from Hana, lots of high speed action from all six of them, and some clever spots which is about all you can hope for. I enjoyed it as midcard fodder, anytime I get to see Hana I am not going to complain, but it was 99% style and 1% substance. An easy fun watch but nothing more than that.

(c) Thunder Rosa and Holidead vs. HZK and Momo Watanabe
NWA Western States Tag Team Championship

HZK and Momo attack before the bell rings but the veterans quickly regain the advantage as HZK is isolated. Holidead stays in with HZK and rams her into the turnbuckles, but HZK gets her leg and applies a Figure Four. Holidead gets into the ropes to force the break, Momo is tagged in and she hits a missile dropkick off the turnbuckles. Momo and HZK both kick on Holidead before hitting a double dropkick, senton by HZK and Momo hits the Somato for a two count. Momo goes up top but Rosa grabs her, giving Holidead time to recover and toss her off. Sit-down spinebuster by Holidead, but Momo kicks out at two. Holidead tags in Rosa, Rosa and Momo trade strikes until Rosa hits a DDT. Rosa picks up Momo and hits a sit-down hammerlock drop for a cocky two count cover. Rosa goes up top and hits a footstomp to Momo’s back, cover by Rosa but HZK breaks it up. Rosa goes off the ropes but Momo kicks her in the stomach, snap vertical suplex by Momo and she covers Rosa for two. Momo tags HZK, double chop by HZK but Rosa avoids her charge in the corner. Holidead comes in to help and they double team HZK, Rosa gets HZK across her back and slams her stomach-first into the mat for a two count. Rosa goes off the ropes but HZK catches her with a bicycle kick, Momo comes in and she hits the F Crash. HZK goes up top and delivers the diving senton, cover by HZK but Holidead breaks it up. HZK goes off the ropes and applies quick roll up, she goes for a bicycle kick but Rosa blocks it and rolls up HZK for the three count! Holidead and Thunder Rosa retain the championship.

This was probably the most clipped match of the show, which is understandable since it had a non-Stardom title and not particularly high ranked wrestlers. This was the most I’ve gotten to see from HZK, even in clipped form, and I think she looked solid even if I am not sure having her get pinned in a fluky manner does a lot for her short term. Rosa and Holidead were hitting a fair number of power moves, I just wish one of them had ended the match instead of it being a flash pin. Too clipped up to recommend, definitely some solid action by the younger Stardom team though and overall a solid match even if I didn’t love the ending.

(c) Kyoko Kimura and Kagetsu vs. Kairi Hojo and Yoko Bito
Goddesses of Stardom Championship

Kyoko and Kairi begin the match but Kyoko immediately jumps out of the ring to play with the crowd. She returns after a moment, Kairi knocks Kagetsu off the apron when she tries to help and Yoko runs in to boot Kyoko while Kairi dives out of the ring onto Kagetsu. Kyoko gets out of the ring, Yoko thinks about doing a dive but Kyoko pulls Yoko out of the ring with her. They battle up into the stands and around the ring, Oedo Tai brings Kairi back into the ring and all the members of Oedo Tai pose around her. Kyoko stays in with Kairi and hits a backbreaker, kick to the butt by Kyoko and she hits a backbreaker on her while also DDTing Yoko. Kyoko applies a crab hold to Kairi while Kagetsu stands guard, Kyoko releases her after a moment and chops Kairi to the mat. Kairi fights back with her own chops but Kyoko returns fire, Kyoko goes off the ropes but Kairi catches her with a double chop to the chest and makes the hot tag to Yoko. Kicks to the chest by Yoko but Kagetsu pokes Yoko in the eyes, Yoko kicks both Kyoko and Kagetsu before hitting Kyoko with a PK for a two count. Kyoko gets away from Yoko and applies a Cobra Twist, she goes off the ropes but Yoko catches her with a lariat. Kairi is tagged back in, she goes up top and hits Kyoko with a diving elbow smash. She goes up top again but this time Kagetsu joins her, elbows by Kagetsu but Kairi blocks the superplex attempt and knocks Kagetsu into the Tree of Woe.

Kyoko runs over and boots Kairi before she can do anything, Kagetsu slides out to the apron and Kyoko goes up top with Kairi and Kagetsu they hit an avalanche Gory Special/face crusher onto Kairi down to the mat. Kyoko picks up Kairi but Kairi rolls out of the Gory Special this time, elbow by Kairi but Kyoko headbutts her and both wrestlers crumble to the mat. Kairi tags in Yoko while Kagetsu is also tagged in, Kagetsu and Yoko trade elbows until Kagetsu hits two jumping elbows in the corners and follows that with a big spear. Kagetsu goes off the ropes but Yoko elbows her, Kyoko runs in and boots Yoko and Yoko is double teamed. Double chokeslam to Yoko, cover by Kagetsu but Kairi breaks it up. Kyoko and Kagetsu hit another assisted Gory Special, but Kairi breaks up Kagetsu’s cover. Kagetsu goes for a high kick but Kairi pulls down Yoko to prevent her from getting hit, Kairi gets control of the situation and hits Kagetsu with a pair of Sliding Ds. Yoko recovers and hits a German suplex hold on Kagetsu, but it gets a two count. Bicycle Kick by Yoko, Kairi goes for a Sliding D but Kagetsu holds up a metal briefcase. All hell breaks loose as the briefcase assault continues, until Kagetsu hits Kyoko by accident. High Kick by Yoko to Kagetsu, but Kagetsu quickly hits an Ebisu Drop for a two count. Kyoko returns but eats a Kairi spear, Kagetsu spears Kairi in return but Yoko drills Kagetsu with the Doll B. Kairi goes up top and delivers a diving elbow drop onto Kagetsu, B Driver by Yoko and she picks up the three count! Yoko Bito and Kairi Hojo are the new champions!

A really entertaining tag team match with two veteran teams that know how to keep things interesting. I appreciate when wrestlers don’t waste time on limb work if the limb work isn’t going to mean anything, this match just stayed high impact and fast paced from bell to bell. The outside-the-ring stuff doesn’t really contribute but is a staple of Oedo Tai matches and isn’t going away, and they kept it pretty brief. Yoko still looks a bit stiff at times (as in non-graceful, not as in actually hurting people), but Kairi makes up for that by being one of the best wrestlers in the world in making you care about her and her matches. The end came when Kairi and Yoko were on the same page while Kyoko and Kagetsu were the ones that made the mistake, and the end stretch worked well as if it lasted any longer than Kyoko would have recovered to come to her teammates aid. A fun match that felt like it got just the right amount of time and stayed engaging throughout.  Recommended

(c) Io Shirai vs. Mayu Iwatani
World of Stardom Championship

Io offers a handshake to start the match but Mayu slaps her and goes for a dragon suplex. Io elbows out of it, both wrestlers go off the ropes until Mayu hits a spinning headscissors, but Io lands on her feet. Irish whip by Io but Mayu hits a springboard back elbow, running elbow by Mayu in the corner but Io slides out of the ring and trips Mayu before ramming her knee into the ring post. Mayu falls out of the ring, Io removes part of the mat at ringside and goes for a suplex, but Mayu slips away. Mayu goes for a crossbody but Io catches her and slams her onto the exposed floor, Io gets back in the ring and goes to do a dive but Mayu ducks. Io does a baseball slide instead, she jumps back out of the ring and gets a chair, setting it up at ringside. Io puts Mayu’s leg into the chair and dropkicks it, she slides Mayu back in and starts twisting on her knee. Dropkick by Io, and she covers Mayu for a two count. Irish whip by Io from the corner but Mayu kicks her back when she charges in and hits a spinning headscissors. Dropkick by Mayu while Io is against the ropes, she springboards over the top rope and jumps down repeatedly onto Io’s back. Io flops out of the ring, Mayu goes up top and dives out onto Io with a plancha. Mayu picks up Io and goes for the dragon suplex, Io tries to block it but Mayu hits it anyway, slamming Io hard onto the floor.

Mayu gets back into the ring with Io slowly following, missile dropkick by Mayu and she hits the crucifix slam for a two count. Elbows by Mayu, she goes off the ropes but Io trips her and hits a slingshot dropkick. Running double knee in the corner by Io but she is too banged up to capitalize, Mayu goes for a kick but Io catches her leg and hits a dragon screw leg whip. Io goes for a dragon suplex but Mayu blocks it, Mayu goes for the move but Io blocks her attempt as well and hits a package German for a two count. Io applies an armtrap crossface but Mayu gets into the ropes, Io goes for a Tiger Feint Kick but Mayu catches her legs and hangs Io over the top rope. A dropkick by Mayu sends Io crashing onto the apron, Mayu joins her on the apron and nails a dragon suplex! Mayu slides Io back into the ring, dragon suplex hold by Mayu but Io somehow gets a shoulder up. Mayu goes for another quick pin with no luck, she goes off the ropes and hits a reverse hurricanrana for another two count. Mayu gets on the second turnbuckle but Io hits her from behind and suplexes her down to the mat. Io goes up top but Mayu springs up and joins her, she goes for an avalanche dragon suplex, but Io lands on her feet and hits Mayu with rolling German suplexes for a two count. Io picks up Mayu and hits a dragon suplex hold, but Mayu kicks out at two. Io positions Mayu and goes up top and she nails the moonsault, but Mayu kicks out at one and superkicks Io in the face. Dragon suplex hold by Mayu, but Io gets a shoulder up. Mayu goes for a tombstone but Io reverses it into her own tombstone piledriver. Io goes up and hits a second moonsault, instead of covering Mayu she delivers a third moonsault, and this time she picks up the three count! Io Shirai is still the champion.

I am not sure where to even begin with a match like this. If you are new to Stardom it is important to note that Io Shirai is notoriously difficult to pin, you have to kill her to get her to stay down, and while Mayu hit her with many different dragon suplexes she never hit her with the version that gets her wins in her bigger matches. The amount of brutality in this match was off the charts, ranging from the dragon suplex on the apron, or on the floor, or even just a simple headscissors where Io lands on her head. The early limb work by Io didn’t go anywhere but I thought Mayu sold it the right amount, she limped for a bit but shook it off when Io wasn’t really able to capitalize on it due to being tossed around the ring like a rag doll. Perhaps most importantly, the match felt epic and important, which to me is a requirement for a quality championship match. Non-stop offensive and the definition of an Io Main Event Match, and perhaps one of the best Stardom matches of the year just based off emotion and how far both were willing to go to pick up the win against their former best friend.  Highly Recommended

The post Stardom Year End Climax 2016 on 12/22/16 Review appeared first on Joshi City.

When it comes to reviewing Stardom, I am generally torn between reviewing the newest show or the biggest show, since we established I am not reviewing every single Stardom event as they have so many. Well this is a bit in the middle but it is the most recent Joshi show I have readily available, plus it has six matches so its more beefy than the usual Stardom house show. This event has a Rookie of Stardom Tournament as well as a Goddesses of Stardom Championship match and a big six woman main event. Here is the full card:

• Rookie of Stardom Semifinal: Arisu Nanase vs. Ruaka
• Rookie of Stardom Semifinal: Natsuko Tora vs. Azumi
• Hiromi Mimura and Kaori Yoneyama vs. Hana Kimura and Kris Wolf vs. Taya and Hiroyo Matsumoto vs. Yoko Bito and Saori Anou
• Rookie of Stardom Final: Arisu Nanase vs. Natsuko Tora
• Goddesses of Stardom Championship: Kyoko Kimura and Kagetsu vs. Thunder Rosa and Holidead
• Io Shirai, Momo Watanabe, and HZK vs. Mayu Iwatani, Kairi Hojo, and Jungle Kyona

This is a Nico Nico presentation, but looks like it was shown in full. So we get pro-shot and no clipping. Win-win.

Arisu Nanase vs. Ruaka

They tie-up, Arisu gets Ruaka into the ropes and they take turns elbowing each other in the chest. Ruaka takes Arisu to the mat but Arisu gets a foot on the ropes, dropkick by Ruaka and they trade elbows again. Ruaka stomps on Arisu but Arisu avoids her charge in the corner and hits a dropkick. Jumping crossbody for Ruaka for two, she picks up Arisu but Arisu scoop slams her. Another scoop slam by Arisu and she puts Ruaka in a crab hold, but Ruaka gets a hand to the ropes. Arisu goes for another slam but Ruaka lands on top of her, running boot by Ruaka in the corner but Arisu delivers a dropkick. Another dropkick by Arisu and she puts Ruaka in a crab hold, and this time Ruaka submits! Arisu wins the match and reaches the Finals of the tournament.

A really basic match, which is what you’d expect when a match has a 12 year old that debuted just a couple weeks prior. All things considered it was well-worked, not all the strikes looked strong but neither looked lost at any point. Not a bad match between two youngsters with very little experience.

Natsuko Tora vs. Azumi

No-nonsense Azumi doesn’t shake Natsuko’s hand before the match, both wrestlers trade dropkick attempts before Azumi applies a few La Magistrals for two. Natsuko drives Azumi back into the corner but Azumi hits a dropkick, she goes for a scoop slam but Natsuko blocks it. Natsuko and Azumi trade elbows until Azumi hits a DDT, kick to the back by Azumi but Natsuko shoulderblocks her to the mat for a two count. Natsuko picks up Azumi and hits a scoop slam, she goes to run off the ropes but Azumi trips her and hits a dropkick. More dropkicks by Azumi and she elbows Natsuko in the chest, but Natsuko grabs her and hit a side Russian leg sweep. Natsuko applies an armtrap necklock but releases it after a moment, she goes off the ropes but Azumi avoids the senton and applies a crucifix pin for two. Tilt-a-whirl roll-up by Azumi for two, Natsuko goes off the ropes but Azumi kicks her in the stomach and they trade quick roll-ups. Azumi goes for La Magistral but Natsuko blocks it and holds down Azumi for the three count! Natsuko continues on in the tournament!

Simple, but Natsuko already shows some promise. She has been training in Stardom since the beginning of the year and is 25, so it makes sense that she is quite capable of having short-ish matches without looking confused. Azumi wore a new outfit but still lost anyway, she is a great character but didn’t look like the better wrestler here even though she has a couple years experience. A fun little match between the young wrestler and the newbie.

Hiromi Mimura and Kaori Yoneyama vs. Hana Kimura and Kris Wolf
vs. Taya and Hiroyo Matsumoto vs. Yoko Bito and Saori Anou

As an Elimination Match, two teams are legal at a time and if one partner is pinned the team is eliminated. Bito and Yoneyama start the match, kicks by Bito but Yoneyama avoids the next few and rolls her up for two. Saori and Hana are tagged in, Hana does a dance around the ring and challenges Saori to do the same. Saori does but Hana rolls her up from behind, Saori elbows Hana and the two trade blows. Lariat by Hana but Anou hits a hard shoulderblock, Hiromi attacks her from behind but Taya comes in too and they become the legal wrestlers. Taya asks for a knuckle lock even though the much smaller Hiromi can’t reach her, Yoneyama comes in and puts Hiromi on her shoulders to even the odds but Taya Irish whips them and pushes them over. Everyone else comes in as Hiroyo and Taya stack their opponents in the corner, cannonball by Taya and Hiroyo stays in with Hiromi. Hiroyo tries to throw Hiromi out of the ring but Hiromi slides out onto the apron.

Hana dropkicks Hiroyo into Hiromi to knock her off the apron, elbows by Hana but Hiroyo elbows her to the mat. Hana gets up and hits more elbows but Hiroyo snapmares her and hits a double knee drop. Hana takes off her belt and chokes Hiroyo with it, running double knee by Hana in the corner and she hits a dropkick for two. Hana goes for a suplex but Hiroyo blocks it and hits a backbreaker, Kris runs in but she gets a backbreaker too. Hiroyo puts them both in a crab hold, Bito and Anou ‘help’ by pulling on Hiroyo’s hair, which leads to Hiroyo breaking the hold. Hiromi and Yoneyama run in and clear the ring, Taya gets on the apron and dives down on the whole bunch. Hiromi tries to do the same but she gets caught, until Yoneyama runs over and helps knock them over. Yoneyama rolls Kris into the ring and hits a diving senton off the second turnbuckle, but Kris gets a shoulder up. Hiromi goes for an assisted senton but Kris moves, big boot by Hana and Kris jackknifes Hiromi for the three count! Hiromi Mimura and Kaori Yoneyama are eliminated. Saori and Bito quickly run in and double team Kris, B-Driver by Bito and she covers Kris for three! Kris Wolf and Hana Kimura are eliminated.

This leaves Taya/Hiroyo and Bito/Saori as the remaining teams. Hiroyo and Bito trade elbows, Saori hits Hiroyo from the apron which allows Bito to hit a big boot. Back bodydrop by Bito and she kicks Hiroyo in the back, more kicks by Bito but Hiroyo hits a body block followed by a big lariat. Taya comes in and jumps on Hiroyo’s back before hitting a double kneedrop. Reverse double kneedrop by Hiroyo out of the corner to Bito, but Saori runs in and breaks up the cover. Taya jumps on Hiroyo’s back again and they do a double kneedrop on Saori, Taya throws Saori into the corner and she hits a back elbow. Lariat by Taya but Saori avoids her charge in the corner. Dropkick by Taya, Hiroyo comes back in but so does Bito and she hits a double lariat. Bito kicks Taya in the head, Saori covers her with a bridge but the pin is broken up. Hiroyo lariats Bito, double knee strike by Taya to Saori and she hits a Northern Lights Suplex. Taya bridges out of the suplex and hits a double footstomp, cover by Taya and she gets the three count! Taya and Hiroyo Matsumoto are the winners!

I am not sure if Stardom plans on using Taya much going forward as she does have a lot of commitments in the US and Mexico, but I think she added quite a bit to this match. No one wrestler stood out in terms of in-ring prowess, there just wasn’t enough time, but everyone worked together well and their personalities really were on display. Hana did a “sexy dancer” thing to trick Anou, Hiromi was in her usual cute underdog role, and the veterans brought the bulk of the pain. It feels like a low match on the card for Bito but its just the way the dice were rolled on this show, she’ll back back up towards the main event next time. A really fun mid-card event, no big spots or anything like that but everyone worked together well and it had a fair number of entertaining stretches.  Mildly Recommended

Arisu Nanase vs. Natsuko Tora

A solid ending to the mini-tournament. It may say a lot that Arisu won the tournament (or it could mean nothing and they will all be in the opener for the next year regardless). Arisu is already showing some attitude, the only thing holding her back at this point is her age as Stardom isn’t going to push her by so hard until she is at least 16. But both showed here they are well trained and prepared rookies as both stayed on target and focused without any miscommunications. Stardom builds up wrestlers slow so it may be awhile until either move too far up the card, but it was a fun rookie match.

(c) Kyoko Kimura and Kagetsu vs. Thunder Rosa and Holidead

Kagetsu starts with Rosa and actually shakes her hand beforehand. See, they are friends. They bounce off the ropes and Rosa hits a spinning headscissors, Kagetsu falls out of the ring but she quickly rolls back in when Rosa goes out after her. They tag out, Holidead and Kyoko lock knuckles but Kyoko pokes Holidead in the eyes and hits a shoulderblock. Holidead returns the favor with her own shoulderblock before tagging in Rosa, Kyoko is back up by now and the two trade chops. Rosa goes for a springboard move but Kyoko sidesteps it and tags Kagetsu, Kagetsu elbows Rosa in the head and hits a scoop slam for two. Headlock by Kagetsu, she picks up Rosa and clubs on her until she tags Kyoko back in. Kyoko puts Rosa in a Figure Four but Rosa gets into the ropes, Kagetsu is tagged in and she continues the work on Rosa. Rosa flings Kagetsu to the mat with a hurricanrana and makes the hot tag to Holidead, Kyoko comes in too however and she blows in Holidead’s face.

Holidead lariats both of her opponents but Kagetsu comes back with a missile dropkick, Samoan Drop by Holidead and she tags in Rosa, Rosa elbows Kagetsu but Kagetsu returns with elbows of her own. Hard dropkicks by Rosa and she hits a STO for a two count cover. Rosa kicks Kagetsu in the back but Kagetsu retorts with a kick to the head, and both wrestlers crawl to their corners to tag out. Big boot by Holidead but Kyoko blocks the second attempt and kicks Holidead in the leg. Kick to the head by Kyoko, Kagetsu comes in and they both boot Holidead for a two count. Kyoko picks up Holidead and puts her in a stretch hold, but Holidead muscles out of it and hits an Air Raid Crash. Kyoko goes off the ropes but Holidead hits a sit-down spinebuster, picking up a two. Kyoko is thrown a briefcase but Holidead pushes it away and Rosa hits both Kyoko and Kagetsu with it. Double underhook facebuster by Holidead, diving footstomp by Rosa and Holidead hits a diving legdrop but Kagetsu breaks up the cover. Kris Wolf jumps on the apron and hits Holidead in the head, Holidead goes for a chokeslam but Kyoko rolls her up for the three count! Kyoko Kimura and Kagetsu retain the championship.

I can’t say that I loved this match. The wrestlers are all fine and all have had quality matches in the last month in Stardom, but something didn’t mesh here. Time may have been an issue but they struggled to tell a story to get the audience into it as it went from trading spots to brief leg work to “Oedo Tai” finish without anything to tie it together. Both teams are heels so the hot tag wasn’t too hot, and it didn’t have the excitement you’d hope from an Oedo Tai match or a title match. It was technically sound but just felt flat, not one of the better Kyoko and Kagetsu matches I have seen in Stardom recently.

Io Shirai, Momo Watanabe, and HZK vs. Mayu Iwatani, Kairi Hojo, and Kyona

They start with a brawl and immediately go outside the ring, Kyona and Kairi return with Io but Io quickly turns the tables and dispatches both of them. Mayu comes in but the rest of Queen’s Quest also comes in and all three triple team Mayu. Momo kicks down Mayu in the corner as Queen’s Quest takes turns on poor Mayu as they tag in and out, but Mayu eventually hits a missile dropkick on Momo and makes the hot tag to Kyona. Kyona shoulderblocks Momo before knocking both Io and HZK off the apron, she goes back to Momo but Momo dropkicks her. Another hard shoulderblock by Kyona, she picks up Momo but Io and HZK both run in to help. Kyona is thrown in the corner but Kyona gets away and hits a crossbody on all three of them. Kyona hits more shoulderblocks on Momo but Momo fires back with kicks, elbows by Kyona but Momo slaps her. Running boot by Momo, Kairi tags in and goes up top, hitting a diving elbow smash. She grabs some water and splashes Kyona with it to fire her up, Mayu comes in too and Momo is knocked over with a catapult dropkick. Kairi picks up Momo but Momo floats over her back with a sunset flip. Dropkick by Momo and she tags HZK, chop to the chest by HZK and she applies an armtrap crossface to Kairi. Kairi gets a foot on the ropes to force the break, HZK picks her up and elbows Kairi in the ropes. Kairi switches positions with her and returns the favor, HZK slides out to the apron and snaps Kairi’s neck on the top rope. Raideen Drop by HZK off the second rope, she picks up Kairi but Kairi hits a spear. Punch to the gut by HZK but Kairi hits a double chop to the chest for a two count.

Both wrestlers tag out as Io and Mayu come in, elbows by Mayu but Io trips her and hits a slingshot dropkick from the apron. Io kicks at Mayu’s head, Mayu goes for a springboard move but stops herself on the ropes as Io had moved out of the way. When Io turns around, Mayu then springboards off with a dropkick and follows up with another dropkick while Io is against the ropes. Cover by Mayu, but it gets a two count. Kairi and Kyona come in and go for the catapult dropkick, but Io dropkicks Mayu and palm strikes both her teammates. Running double knee by Io in the corner, HZK comes in and kicks Mayu in the head before Momo connects with the avalanche Somato. Io goes for a moonsault, Mayu moves but Io lands on her feet and hits a palm strike. Package German by Io, but Mayu gets a shoulder up. Io picks up Mayu but Kyona grabs Mayu from the apron to help, Kairi comes in too but Io throws Kairi into both of them. German Suplex by Io to Mayu, but it only gets a two count. Io goes towards the turnbuckle but Mayu grabs her foot, stomps by Io and she goes up top anyway but Kyouna clubs her leg out from under her. Io lands in the Tree of Woe, diving footstomp by Kairi and now it is Mayu that goes up top. Diving Footstomp by Mayu, but Io kicks out of the pin. Superkick by Mayu and she applies a crucifix pin, but Momo breaks it up. Kyona lariats Momo and HZK, they knock Io into the corner and this time connect with the catapult dropkick. Mayu goes for the dragon suplex, Io blocks it and rolls up Mayu, but Mayu reverses the roll-up and applies a cradle of her own for the three count! Mayu, Momo, and Kairi win!

The issue here isn’t the match quality itself, it is just putting so many quality wrestlers in a short six wrestler tag so that less get a chance to shine. Kairi wasn’t needed here, I love her to death but she just got lost in the shuffle since everyone else had a purpose. Momo and Kyona are friends turned enemies so their pairing had meaning, obviously Mayu and Io have their issues, while HZK is the “new” wrestler (she also wasn’t really necessary). But aside from the fact I thought the match had too many wrestlers, I loved the interactions between Io and Mayu, everything was perfect. Io has always been a bit cocky in the ring but has stepped it up a notch, everything she does has purpose and its so captivating watching her. Mayu bumps like she wants to die so everything done to her looks impactful, and anytime they were in the ring together it worked so well. The build to their big match later this match was the important theme and they did a great job putting that over. If you don’t mind that not all the wrestlers were used to their full abilities, a really fun house show main event, with Io showing again why she is one of the best wrestlers in the world.  Recommended

The post Stardom Goddesses of Stars on 12/4/16 Review appeared first on Joshi City.

We are skipping ahead a bit, as if I reviewed every Stardom show my head would probably explode. Since we last checked in with Stardom, not a lot has happened except that Io Shirai turned on her long time friend Mayu Iwatani to turn heel. This is the first time Stardom has had a true heel since Yoshiko left (Oedo Tai is too cute and funny to be considered true heels), giving the main events a different dynamic. When she turned on Mayu, Io also brought in a new partner, the mysterious HZK (formally known as Reo Hazuki). This is Stardom’s first event since Io shocked the Stardom World, as Mayu looks for her revenge. Here is the full card:

• Azumi and Natsuko Tora vs. Arisu Nanase and Ruaka
• Kris Wolf vs. Thea Trinidad
• Kairi Hojo and Hiromi Mimura vs. Thunder Rosa and Holidead
• Jungle Kyouna vs. Yoko Bito
• Io Shirai and HZK vs. Mayu Iwatani and Momo Watanabe
  

Since this is a house show I have low expectations, but hopefully it will be fun.

Azumi and Natsuko Tora vs. Arisu Nanase and Ruaka

Ruaka attacks Natsuko from behind before the match starts, perhaps showing she is more than just your average rookie, slap to the chest by Ruaka and she hits another dropkick for a one count cover. She goes off the ropes again but this time Natsuko kicks her and hits a scoop slam. Ruaka elbows Natsuko but Natsuko elbows her hard back and makes the tag to Azumi. Snapmares by Azumi and she throws down Ruaka by her hair, Ruaka lands in her own corner and makes the tag to Arisu. Natsuko comes in the ring and with Azumi they hit a leapfrog footstomp, running body press by Natsuko and she hits a shoulderblock. Arisu pushes Natsuko away and they trade elbows, side Russian leg sweep by Natsuko and she covers Arisu for two. Natsuko elbows Arisu into the corner but Arisu dropkicks Natsuko, another dropkick by Arisu and she gets a two count cover. Ruaka is tagged back in but Natsuko chokes her to the mat, body press by Natsuko but Ruaka avoids the senton. Jumping crossbody by Ruaka, Arisu comes in and they hit a leapfrog footstomp of their own. Roll-up by Ruaka, but Azumi breaks up the cover. Natsuko puts Ruaka in a crab hold, but Ruaka gets to the ropes to force the break. Natsuko tags Azumi, dropkicks by Azumi and she covers her for two. Vertical suplex by Azumi, she applies a waistlock but Ruaka blocks it, Natsuko comes in but she kicks her partner by accident. Arisu also enters the ring but eats a DDT from Azumi, modified STO by Ruaka to Azumi and she covers her for a two count. Ruaka goes off the ropes but Azumi kicks her, sunset flip by Azumi but it gets two. La Magistral by Azumi, and this time she gets the three count! Azumi and Natsuko Tora are the winners.

While you can’t expect high-end wrestling in an opening rookie match, I can say that there weren’t any serious miscues and the action stayed at a decent pace. Some of the strikes weren’t hit very crisp and they were a few moments where the action didn’t click, but Arisu and Natsuko both looked good and Ruaka is already bigger than the other four even though she is only 12 so she didn’t seem out of place. Slightly different than usual since there were more new wrestlers, obviously nothing great but a watchable opener.

Kris Wolf vs. Thea Trinidad

Kris has no interest in the pre-match handshake and puts Thea in a headlock instead, Kris bails out to the apron but Thea elbows her and bites Kris in the arm. Kris rams Thea’s head into the turnbuckle before jumping back into the ring, they both trade kick attempts but neither can connect. Kick to the stomach by Thea and she hits a spinning headscissors, she charges Kris but Kris moves out of the way and Thea ends up in the ropes. Kris spanks Thea before applying a leglock around the bottom rope, kick to the leg by Kris and she connects with a kneedrop. Running dropkick to the leg by Kris in the corner and she chokes Thea with her tail, she picks up Thea but Thea wiggles away and hits a series of kicks. Thea applies a choke in the ropes, she then climbs the second turnbuckle and hits a diving crossbody for a two count. Kris kicks Thea away but Thea kicks her back, Thea charges Kris but Kris quickly suplexes her. Kris gets on the second turnbuckle and delivers a somersault senton, but it gets a two count. They trade quick pin attempts with no luck, Backstabber by Kris and she kicks Thea in the back for a two count. Swinging neckbreaker by Thea, she goes up top and she nails a moonsault for the three count! Thea Trinidad is your winner.

I sometimes affectionately refer to these matches as ‘card fillers’, but at least in this case it was also used to introduce Thea Trinidad to a new crowd in a safe match. This is a lot easier than debuting a new wrestler against someone like Io, as the expectations can become way too high. Six minutes isn’t long enough to get much of a match but there was nothing wrong with it, Thea generally hit her moves fine and Kris was her usual consistent self. Not overly memorable but effective in what it was going for.

Kairi Hojo and Hiromi Mimura vs. Thunder Rosa and Holidead

Kairi and Rosa kick things off, Kairi armdrags Rosa into the corner but Rosa flips her out onto the apron when she charges in. Kairi slides under the bottom rope and rolls up Rosa, but Rosa gets out of it and they return to their feet. Hiromi and Holidead tag in, Hiromi comes in with her knife (a fake knife of course) but Holidead isn’t intimidated as she takes it form her before “stabbing” Hiromi in the stomach. Holidead mocks Kairi’s pose but Hiromi reverses a suplex attempt into a few flash pins. The trick doesn’t work on Holidead who chokes Hiromi until Kairi comes in to break it up, crossbody attempt by Hiromi but Holidead catches her and throws Hiromi at Kairi. Rosa comes in as they choke the Kaihiro Pirates in the ropes, double elbow to Hiromi and they apply a double crab hold. Kairi tries to help Hiromi by throwing her a rope, but Holidead intercepts it and attacks Hiromi with it. Backbreakers by Holidead to Hiromi, and she covers her for two. Holidead tags in Rosa, Rosa puts Hiromi across the ropes in the corner and jumps down onto her back with a double knee. Holidead is tagged back in as they work over Hiromi near the corner, but Hiromi dropkicks Holidead a few times before tagging in Kairi.

Kairi spears Holidead and elbows her against the ropes, but Rosa kicks Kairi from the apron. Rosa comes in the ring but Kairi armdrags both of them, Kairi chops Holidead in the corner before hitting a triple jump elbow smash. Kairi applies the Octopus Hold but Holidead slams her way out of it and hits a vertical suplex. Holidead picks up Kairi but Kairi hits a spinning chop to the face and both wrestlers are down. Hiromi and Rosa are both tagged in, Argentine Backbreaker by Rosa but Hiromi slides out of it and applies a sunset flip for two. Facebuster by Rosa, Hiromi fights back with elbows but Rosa drives Hiromi into the corner. Rosa puts Hiromi on the top turnbuckle but Hiromi kicks her before hitting a Tornado DDT for a two count. Holidead lariats both Kairi and Hiromi, the Twisted Sisters wait for their opponents to get up but they accidentally lariat each other. Spear and a Sliding D by Kairi, Hiromi puts Rosa in La Magistral but it gets a two count. Hiromi gets on the second turnbuckle but Rosa pops her and hits a chokebomb for two. Rosa picks up Hiromi and hits a modified fisherman driver, but Kairi breaks up the cover. Heel drop by Rosa, she gets on the top turnbuckle and she hits a diving footstomp to Hiromi’s back for the three count! The Twisted Sisters win the match.

A pretty fun midcard match, the teams really clicked well together and it stayed amusing from start to finish. Of the new wrestlers that debuted in the last year or so, Hiromi has probably progressed the least amount as in-ring she still is lacking, but at least she has the personality to still entertain anyway. Kairi is great and helped tie the match together and the Twisted Sisters are fun wrestlers that are solid in ring but like Hiromi also have fun characters as well. The story was basic but well told, and the end stretch was well done. Nothing that will change the world, but a solid tag match, and I think the Twisted Sisters are worthwhile additions to Stardom events.  Mildly Recommended

Jungle Kyouna vs. Yoko Bito

Bito and Kyouna lock knuckles to start, elbows by Yoko and they take turns trying to shoulderblock each other over. Kyouna finally wins the battle, she goes for a body press but Bito moves out of the way. Bito goes for a PK but Kyouna avoids it, Bito stomps on Kyouna anyway and throws her down into the corner. Kicks by Bito and she throws Kyouna again, she puts Kyouna across the ropes in the corner and chops her in the stomach. Cover by Bito, but it gets two. Single leg crab hold by Yoko but Kyouna gets to the ropes, Bito goes off the ropes but Kyouna avoids her lariat. Kyouna charges Bito but she lands on the apron, Bito tries to kick Kyouna off the apron but Kyouna catches her leg. Kyouna clubs on Bito’s leg while it is on the second rope, dropkick to the knee by Kyouna and she hits a body avalanche in the corner. Kyouna puts Bito upside down in the corner and hits another body avalanche, cover by Kyouna but Bito kicks out. Back bodydrop by Kyouna, she goes off the ropes and she hits a sliding lariat. Kyouna charges Bito again and hits a lariat, cover by Kyouna but it gets a two count. Kyouna gets on the second turnbuckle and hits a diving body press, she then goes all the way up but Bito recovers and joins her. Superplex by Bito, and she covers Kyouna for two. Release German by Bito but Kyouna springs to her feet and lariats Bito, and both wrestlers stay down on the mat. Kyouna elbows Bito but Bito hits a lariat, Kyouna lariats her back however and hits a short-range lariat for two. Kyouna goes off the ropes but Bito nails her in the head with a kick, Bito goes up top and she hits a missile dropkick. Bito picks up Kyouna and drills her with the Doll-B, cover by Bito and she gets the three count! Yoko Bito wins!

I liked this match quite a bit, one of the better Yoko Bito matches since she returned. It wasn’t a long match but that worked well for them as they stayed focused and didn’t waste any time with moves that ultimately wouldn’t matter. This is one of the first times also that Bito really connected with the Doll-B, maybe she is finally shaking off the last of that ring rust. Kyouna wasn’t ever going to win this but she still looked good in defeat, going toe to toe with the FIVE STAR GP Winner while winning several of the strike battles. Matches like these are the reason I sometimes watch Stardom house shows as it gives the young wrestlers more chances, an entertaining match and more proof that Kyouna has a bright future in Stardom.  Recommended

Io Shirai and HZK vs. Mayu Iwatani and Momo Watanabe

Io offers to shake Mayu’s hand as the match starts, Mayu takes it but Io immediately elbows her in the face. HZK comes in and hits a Codebreaker on Mayu, Io takes control until Momo comes in too to assist Mayu. Io dropkicks both of them and they fall out of the ring, Asai goes to the apron and hits an Asai Moonsault down onto the floor. Io slides Mayu back in and tags HZK, HZK kicks at Mayu’s head, Io returns and continues beating Mayu down. Mayu goes for a springboard move but Io just steps out of the way to avoids it, Mayu goes for a tilt-a-whirl headscissors but Io lands on her feet and dropkicks her. Mayu finally knocks Io back and makes the hot tag to Momo, Momo dropkicks Io and she hits a crossbody out of the corner. HZK runs in but Momo puts her in a Tree of Woe, she then puts Io in the Tree of Woe too before dropkicking both of them. Mayu returns and dropkicks Io, Momo goes off the ropes but Io dropkicks her in the leg. Io applies the armtrap crossface, Momo inches to the ropes and she reaches them to force the break. Momo knocks down Io with a dropkick and tags Mayu, elbows by Mayu and she connects with a jumping elbow to the face. Kicks by Mayu and she hits a diving footstomp, she goes for the cover but Io kicks out. Mayu charges Io but Io slides out to the apron, she misses the springboard but elbows Mayu in the face anyway.

Double underhook facebuster by Io, Momo runs in but Io suplexes her onto Mayu. Io picks up Mayu but Mayu blocks the German suplex, Mayu goes for a dragon suplex but Io lands on her feet. Superkick by Mayu and she hits a German suplex, but Io quickly hits a German suplex of her own and both wrestlers are out on the mat. Both Io and Mayu tag out, full nelson slam by HZK to Momo and she gets a two count. HZK picks up Momo but Momo dropkicks her into the corner, Momo gets on the second turnbuckle but HZK avoids the missile dropkick and hits a senton. HZK hits a running elbow in the corner, after choking Momo she gets on the top turnbuckle and delivers the diving senton, but Mayu breaks it up. Io runs in to dropkick Mayu, HZK goes for a kick but Momo avoids it and kicks HZK in the chest for a two count. Momo suplexes HZK, she gets on the second turnbuckle and connects with the missile dropkick. She goes for another one but Io grabs her from the apron, Mayu runs in to dropkick Io to the floor which allows Momo to nail the avalanche Somato, but Io barely breaks up the cover. Triple jump dropkick out of the corner by Mayu, she goes up top and sails out of the ring onto Io with a plancha. Back in the ring, HZK avoids Momo’s Somato and puts her in an armtrap crossface, but Mayu breaks it up. Mayu holds HZK for Momo, HZK ducks but Momo intentionally kicks Mayu in the chest anyway. PK by Momo onto her own partner, HZK ‘rolls up’ Momo from behind and she holds her down for the three count! Io Shirai and HZK are the winners.

After the match, Momo stomps down Mayu until Kairi comes in to stop her. Io officially welcomes Momo to her new faction, as now the lines are officially drawn with Io, HZK, and Momo against Kairi, Yoko Bito, and Jungle Kyouna.

Of all the ways for a wrestler to turn heel, this is probably my least favorite. I never liked a wrestler waiting until the very end of a match to turn on their partner, as it basically means Momo fought her real friends for 18 minutes just as a ruse. At least wait until after the match and turn on your partner out of frustration, as doing it this way just feels like a swerve for the sake of having a swerve, there was no foreshadowing or reason for it being done this method. That being said, I am enjoying heel Io quite a bit, although I also enjoyed face Io so that shouldn’t be a big surprise. HZK looked really good but was in the ring a very limited amount of time, maybe she is still working off the ring rust or on her conditioning as Io did the vast majority of the work. Mayu showed some fire, which is the point of all this as if she is going to lead Stardom she will have to show some of that passion. A fun match, the action stayed at a decent pace and they did a good mix of strikes, big moves, and submissions to keep the crowd into it. Didn’t love the “Finger Poke of Doom” ending but otherwise a fun display and one that continues to change the landscape of Stardom.  Recommended

The post Stardom Goddesses of Stars on 11/20/16 Review appeared first on Joshi City.

I am trying not to review every Stardom show since they have so many and there are other quality promotions in Japan, but this was too big of a show to skip over. Tonight we have the FIVE STAR GP winner, Yoko Bito, cashing in her title shot as she battles Io Shirai for the World of Stardom Championship. We have two other title matches as well, plus we get the debut of young Natsuko Tora! Here is the full card:

• Arisu Nanase and Natsuko Tora vs. Azumi and Kaori Yoneyama
• Mayu Iwatani vs. Saori Anou
• Kasey Owens, Leah Owens, and Santana Garrett vs. Thunder Rosa, Holidead, and Kris Wolf
• Artist of Stardom Championship: Kyoko Kimura, Kagetsu, and Hana Kimura vs. Momo Watanabe, Jungle Kyouna, and Hiromi Mimura
• Wonder of Stardom Championship: Kairi Hojo vs. Chelsea Green
• World of Stardom Championship: Io Shirai vs. Yoko Bito

I am stupidly watching the Stardom World version because I am stubborn about watching full events if they are available, even though the early matches could really use some clipping. But hopefully they will pleasantly surprise me as I march towards the title matches.

Arisu Nanase and Natsuko Tora vs. Azumi and Kaori Yoneyama

Natsuko and Azumi are the first two in for their teams, but Yoneyama attacks Natsuko from behind and helps Azumi double team her. Welcome to wrestling. Yoneyama stays in and tosses around Natsuko by her hair, but Arisu comes in to try to help. She fails in helping as Yoneyama successfully swats them both away, and Yoneyama tags in Azumi. Dropkick by Azumi but Natsuko scoop slams her and hits mounted elbows. Azumi returns the favor and the two go back and forth, crab hold by Natsuko but Azumi gets to the ropes. Natsuko picks up Azumi and they trade elbows, DDT by Azumi and she throws down Natsuko by the hair. Natsuko tags in Arisu and she trades elbows with Azumi, Azumi avoids Arisu’s dropkick and hits a dropkick of her own for a two count. Yoneyama is tagged in, Mongolian Chops by Yoneyama but Arisu rolls her up and hits a dropkick. Cross legged submission by Arisu, Natsuko comes in and hits a running senton but Yoneyama still makes it to the ropes. Arisu tags Natsuko, shoulderblock by Natsuko but Yoneyama blocks the scoop slam. Side Russian leg sweep by Natsuko, but Yoneyama kicks out of the cover. Blockbuster Suplex by Arisu, running senton by Natsuko but Azumi breaks up the cover. Natsuko goes off the ropes but Yoneyama kicks her leg out from under her, scoop slam by Yoneyama and she hits a senton. Azumi comes in and suplexes Natsuko, diving senton by Yoneyama and she picks up the three count! Azumi and Kaori Yoneyama are your winners.

A fine opener, although nothing special. Azumi still seems surprisingly lost sometimes, yes I realize she is a still a child but she has been wrestling opening matches for two years so I’d think she’d have the basic style down pat at this point. Too soon of course to get a feel of Natsuko but she seemed fine, didn’t make any mistakes and didn’t look out of place during the match. Decent, but nothing memorable.

Mayu Iwatani vs. Saori Anou

They begin with a quick exchange, with Mayu getting the better of it with a hard kick to the back followed by a running elbow smash. Mayu throws Saori into the corner and dropkicks her, cover by Mayu but it gets two. Footstomp to the back Mayu and she applies a camel clutch, she toys with the younger wrestler as she continues her slightly cocky offense. Saori knees Mayu into the corner, jumping knee by Saori and she hits hard shoulderblock for a quick two count. Saori picks up Mayu but Mayu elbows her off and they trade blows, backslide by Saori but Mayu kicks two. Figure Four by Saori, but Mayu gets a hand on the ropes to break the hold. Saori picks up Mayu and goes off the ropes, but Mayu catches her with a kick to the gut, elbows by Saori but Mayu returns fire. Both wrestlers go off the ropes, Mayu goes for a headscissors but Saori catches her and hits a sidewalk slam. Fisherman suplex hold by Saori, but Mayu gets a shoulder up. Saori sits Mayu on the top turnbuckle but Mayu slaps her away and hits a missile dropkick. Mayu goes up top again and delivers the diving footstomp, she grabs Saori from behind but Saori fights her off and rolls up Mayu for two. Buzzsaw Kick by Mayu, she picks up Saori around the waist and delivers the German Suplex Hold for the three count! Mayu Iwatani wins.

It is interesting that Stardom wrestlers just default to being cocky assholes when against young wrestlers, Mayu must have learned that from Io. Too short to get excited about, but I did like that Mayu sold the leg the rest of the match after being in the Figure Four for so long, even though it was a throw-away match she still took it seriously. Saori showed her usual spurts of ability but Mayu controlled this one, decent match but that’s about it.

Kasey Owens, Leah Owens, and Santana Garrett vs. Thunder Rosa, Holidead, and Kris Wolf

Oh goodie, a match with twins I am not familar with, this will be fun. Thank goodness for tattoos. Kasey and Rosa start, they trade armdrags back and forth with neither getting the advantage. Holidead and Santana tag in, Holidead shoves Santana to the mat and gets her on her shoulder, but Santana punches out of it and goes for a roll-up. Holidead doesn’t budge and chokes Santana, Holidead charges Santana but Santana flips away and both wrestlers tag in the last pairing. Leah throws Wolf in the corner and hits a neckbreaker, she sits Wolf on the second turnbuckle but Wolf switches positions with her and hits a series of kicks to the chest. Running knee by Wolf, she rolls Leah to the mat and kicks her in the back for a two count. Holidead and Rosa come in to help as they triple team Leah, ending Holidead being flapjacked onto Leah for a two count. Oedo Tai continues triple teaming Leah until Kasey finally comes in to help out her sister, Wolf tags in Rosa and Rosa kicks Wolf in the back for a two count. Rocking Horse by Rosa and she tags in Holidead, sleeper by Holidead by Leah hits a jawbreaker to get out of it. Holidead stays in control, she Irish whips Leah but Leah  slams Holidead into her knee and hits a side slam for two. Leah finally gets away and tags in Santana, Wolf is tagged in too and Wolf hits a springboard crossbody for two. A sunset flip gets the same result, Santana pushes Wolf away and she hits a Side Russian Leg Sweep. Rosa comes in but Santana puts them both in a submission hold, with help from the Owens Twins. Holidead comes in and breaks that up, running knee by Kasey to Wolf and Santana goes for the Shining Star Press, but Holidead breaks it up. Rosa and Holidead come in the ring, tope suicida by Holidead onto the Owens Twins with Rosa following with a diving crossbody off the top turnbuckle to the floor. Wolf goes up top but Santana kicks her before she can jump off, headscissors by Santana and she hits the Shining Star Press for the three count!The Owns Twins and Santana Garrett win the match.

Not a very exciting match but not bad either. I say this all the time but I never know when someone is reading one of my reviews for the first time – six wrestler tags that go in the ten minute range are rarely going to be any more than solid. It just isn’t enough time, by the time each wrestler gets a turn at the start and they do the finishing stretch there is little left to have any meat to the action. Leah played Face in Peril fine and no one looked lost or out of place, just not enough happened to leave a lasting impression.

(c) Kyoko Kimura, Kagetsu, and Hana Kimura vs. Watanabe, Kyouna, and Hiromi Mimura
Artist of Stardom Championship

Hana is immediately isolated by The Rookies, but Hana dropkicks both Kyouna and Momo to leave just her and Momo in the ring together. Hana elbows Momo but Momo elbows her back, Hana takes her off scarf however and she chokes Momo with it. Hiromi tags herself in but Kyoko runs in and pulls Kyouna to the floor. Kyoko attacks Kyouna near the stands as things break down on different sides of the ring, Oedo Tai pulls Hiromi near the apron and all the members of the team pose on her, even those not in the match. Hana and Hiromi return to the ring, jumping knee by Hana in the corner and she tags in Kagetsu. Kagetsu mostly toys with Hiromi before tagging in Kyoko, as Oedo Tai controls the action against the oldest rookie in Stardom. Hiromi finally escapes and tags in Kyouna, Kyouna clears the ring of all the Oedo Tai members and Momo comes in to lend a hand against Kyoko. Face crusher by Kyouna onto Momo’s knee, but Kyoko regains the advantage and puts all three rookies in a stretch hold before tagging in Kagetsu. Kagetsu kicks Kyouna in the chest but Kyouna fires back with a shoulderblock, giving her a chance to tag in Momo. Momo goes off the ropes and armdrags Kagetsu, drop toehold by Kagetsu and she dropkicks Momo in the head.

Momo fights back with kicks, she goes off the ropes but Kagetsu kicks her in the head. Kagetsu picks up Momo but Momo drives her down with a double knee, Momo crawls to her corner and tags in Hiromi while Kagetsu tags in Hana. Hiromi dropkicks Hana and hits an elevated DDT, dropkick to the head by Hiromi and she covers Hana for a two count. Hiromi stomps at Hana’s head but Hana connects with a hard elbow, he knocks Hiromi against the ropes and decks her with a hard running boot for a two count. Kagetsu gets her Parking Sign but Momo dropkicks it away from her, Kyouna knocks over Kagetsu then hits a PK/sliding lariat combination with Momo on Hana. Somato by Momo, jackknife cover by Hiromi to Hana but Kyoko breaks up the cover. Hiromi gets on the second turnbuckle but Kagetsu comes in and catches Hiromi when she goes for the diving crossbody. Kagetsu slams Hiromi on the Parking Sign and then hits Momo and Kyouna with it, she gives Hiromi a shot as well before Hana drops Hiromi with a suplex for a two count. Hana goes for a big boot but Hiromi ducks it, Hiromi elbows Hana in the chest but Hana elbows her back and covers Hiromi for two. Hana goes up top and nails a missile dropkick, cover by Hana and she gets the three count! Oedo Tai retain the championship.

I am not sure what it is with this event, but things just aren’t clicking for me. It may be over-saturation, not that this is Stardom’s fault but after you watch 30+ events in one year from a promotion with only about ten wrestlers on their roster, you start feeling like you’ve seen everything they can do. Hana was the standout for me here, again likely because she is the ‘new’ factor in the match, but Kyoko added very little which was a disappointment. Momo still seems a bit lost at time, she’s only 16 so its not a big deal but it does impact the match. Kyouna was the top rookie here as she seemed to always know what was going on, even though like Kyoko she didn’t do much in the match. It just felt more like a random six wrestler tag than a title match. A few good moments but in general a bit disappointing.

(c) Kairi Hojo vs. Chelsea Green
Wonder of Stardom Championship

Kairi and Chelsea both go off the ropes early in the match, Kairi goes for her spear but Chelsea sidesteps it. They trade wristlocks and headlocks, Kairi flips out to the apron but Chelsea boots her down to the floor. Chelsea gets on the apron and goes for a kick, but Kairi avoids it and trips Chelsea onto the apron. Chelsea rolls back into the ring while Kairi goes up top, but Chelsea kicks her as she jumps off. Kairi falls out to the floor, Chelsea goes off the ropes and sails out onto Kairi with a tope suicida. Chelsea battles Kairi up into the stands, smashing her arm into various things before kicking her back near the ringside area. Chelsea returns to the ring and waits for Kairi, uppercut by Chelsea and Kairi falls back out of the ring again. Kairi rolls back in and is greeted with boots, as Chelsea continues to go after Kairi’s arm. Kairi fights back with elbows, she knocks Chelsea into the corner but Chelsea grabs her arm and kicks it. Snapmare by Chelsea and she hits a flipping neckbreaker followed by a Somato for a two count cover.

Running knee by Chelsea in the corner but Kairi goes off the ropes and levels Chelsea with a spear. Chops by Kairi and she knocks Chelsea back into the corner, running shoulder tackle by Kairi and she hits a triple jump elbow smash out of the corner for a two. Kairi grabs Chelsea by the hair and puts her in an Octopus Hold, but Chelsea gets out of it. Elbow by Chelsea but Kairi elbows her in return, Kairi goes for the Sliding D but Chelsea blocks it by getting her leg up. Armbar by Chelsea and she reverts it into a cross armbreaker, but Kairi gets a foot on the ropes to force a break. Jumping lariats by Chelsea and she boots Kairi in the chest, she goes up top and she hits a missile dropkick for two. Chelsea slaps Kairi before slamming her head into the mat, running stomp to the back by Chelsea and she hits a second one for a two count cover. Chelsea goes up top but Kairi avoids the footstomp, spinning slaps by Kairi and she delivers the Sliding D for two. Kairi picks up Chelsea and hits a Final Cut, she goes up top but Chelsea kicks her before she can jump off. Chelsea joins Kairi but Kairi elbows her down into the Tree of Woe and hits the diving footstomp. Kairi goes back up top and this time she nails the diving elbow drop, picking up the three count! Kairi Hojo wins the match and retains the championship.

This match wasn’t actually as bad I was expecting, but it still wasn’t particularly good. The issue was two fold, both in the layout and and in the execution. Wrestlers keep going for Kairi’s arm in her matches but it never ends up mattering, she always still hits the Sliding D and diving elbow drop so they really need to come up with a new method of wearing her down. Chelsea isn’t a bad wrestler, her strikes just aren’t great and she is a bit awkward in the ring, which isn’t unusual with taller wrestlers when they first start out (she isn’t that tall, but much taller than Kairi). I think Kairi is a really good wrestler but needs the right opponent and they haven’t been doing her a lot of favors lately, hopefully her next defense is someone that wrestles more her style so it will be more fluid and less fragmented in its execution. As a lower card match this would have been acceptable, it just fell flat as a title match at Korakuen Hall.

(c) Io Shirai vs. Yoko Bito
World of Stardom Championship

Io and Bito get right into it as they start trading elbows, Io charges Bito in the corner but Bito gets Io behind her back to go to the B-Driver, but Io reverses it with a sunset flip. Bito swats Io away and goes for a kick, but Io catches her leg and dropkicks her in the other leg. Io clips away from Bito and dropkicks her out of the ring, Io goes off the far ropes but fakes the dive before quickly jumping out with a plancha suicida. Io slides Bito back in and puts her in the Figure Four, Io picks up Bito and kicks her hard in the back. Stomps by Io and she slaps at Bito, she goes off the ropes but Bito delivers a lariat. Cover by Bito, but it gets two. Bito picks up Io and dumps her out onto the apron, leg sweep by Bito and she kicks Io out of the ring. Io tries to springboard back in the ring but Bito grabs her and hits a slingshot suplex. Kicks to the back by Bito, and she covers Io for a two count. Bito goes up top but Io joins her, springboard dropkick by Io and Bito falls out of the ring. Io charges the corner, she jumps up on the top turnbuckle and she hits a moonsault down to the floor.

Io goes out after Bito but Bito delivers a B-Driver at ringside on the floor, Bito slowly rolls back into the ring with Io following, missile dropkick by Bito and she hits a vertical suplex for two. Bito picks up Io but Io blocks the B-Driver and hits a dragon screw leg whip. Running knee by Io in the corner, Io twists Bito’s leg in the second rope before dropkicking it. Tiger Feint Kick by Io and she hits the swandive missile dropkick, cover by Io but it gets two. Io hits a moonsault off the second turnbuckle, she goes to the turnbuckles again but Bito kicks her from behind. Io gets up on the apron, Bito goes for a kick but Io grabs her leg and hits a dragon screw in the ropes. Moonsault off the second turnbuckle by Io, but Bito kicks out. Io puts Bito in a cross-legged submission, but Bito gets to the ropes to force the break. Io goes up top but Bito recovers and hits her from behind, Bito joins Io and she hits a superplex. Bito picks up Io but Io fights back with elbows, Io goes off the ropes but Bito kicks her in the head and hits a German suplex hold for a two count. Bito picks up Io and hits a heel drop, B-Driver by Bito but instead of covering her she hits a second one for a two count. Bito goes for the Doll B but Io collapses, the referee checks on Io but Bito hits a heel drop on Bito for two. Bito picks up Io but Io hits a series of palm strikes, German suplex hold by Io but Bito gets a shoulder up. Package German by Io, but again Bito kicks out at two. Io positions Bito, she goes up top and nails the moonsault for the three count! Io Shirai wins the match and is still the World of Stardom Championship.

By far the best match on the show, although that isn’t a high bar. But it was well laid out and the action stayed a decent pace throughout, and Bito had several nearfalls that could have realistically ended the match. The leg work probably lasted a bit longer than it needed to since it didn’t play into the end of the match, but Io needed something to focus on even if Bito didn’t do much on her own to make it meaningful. Io was slightly more cocky than usual here but not by much as she tends to be a bit full of herself in her title matches, nothing that really tipped off the fans that just a week after this show she would officially turn heel. Definitely a fun match with the big moves spaced out well to help make the action more memorable without it just becoming a spotfest, worth a watch for sure even though its not one of Io’s top matches of 2016.  Recommended

The post Stardom October Showdown! on 10/30/16 Review appeared first on Joshi City.

A new yearly tradition for Stardom is having a ‘Mask Festival” for Halloween. This is as fun and laid back event, where all the wrestlers wear masks and have a new name just for the night. While these events don’t pump out any Five Star Classics since the mood is different, they can still be fun as it pairs up wrestlers that don’t usually wrestle each other and its interesting to see the wrestlers in a different environment. Here are the matches (with their real identities):

• Mini Iotica (Azumi) and Blood Rayne (Kris Wolf) vs. Twinkle Rabbit (Arisu Nanase) and Kumami (Eimi Nishina)
• Poison Shamrock (Leah Owens) and Kasey Quinzell (Kasey Owens) vs. Serpiente Del Mal (Thunder Rosa) and Osore (Holidead)
• Santana Wonder (Santana Garrett) and Princesa Gato (Chelsea Green) vs. Shin Gorilla (Jungle Kyouna) and Lucky Blanca (Hiromi Mimura)
• IOTICA (Io Shirai), MAYUCHIKA (Mayu Iwatani), and Poi Man (Natsumi Maki) vs. Pirates Kaiser (Kairi Hojo), Aloha Beat (Yoko Bito), and Fuzzy Peach (Momo Watanabe)

This event was shown in full, so let’s see if the fun atmosphere translated to fun matches.

Mini Iotica and Blood Rayne vs. Twinkle Rabbit and Kumami

Kumami recovers and dropkicks Blood Rayne in the back, Twinkle Rabbit returns and they both attack Blood Rayne in the ropes. Kumami puts Blood Rayne in the corner but Blood Rayne avoids her charge and goes up top, she jumps back into the ring but Kumami catches her with a dropkick. Blood Rayne and Kumami trade strikes, big knee by Blood Rayne and she tags in Mini Iotica. Mini Iotica and Blood Rayne both dropkick Kumami, Blood Rayne slams Mini Iotica onto Kumami and then Mini Iotica returns the favor. Cover, but Twinkle Rabbit breaks it up. With all four in the ring they trade slams on each other, until only Kumami and Mini Iotica are left standing. Kumami and Mini Iotica trade elbows, face crusher by Kumami and she tags in Twinkle Rabbit. Twinkle Rabbit dropkicks Mini Iotica twice, cover by Twinkle Rabbit but Mini Iotica gets a shoulder up. Scoop slam by Twinkle Rabbit but Blood Rayne breaks up the cover, Mini Iotica and Kumami trade elbows until Mini Iotica jumps on Twinkle Rabbit’s back and applies a stretch hold. Sunset flip by Mini Iotica, and she picks up the three count! Mini Iotica and Blood Rayne are the winners!

A really fun match to kick off the event. Obviously these are the less experienced wrestlers in Stardom (plus Kris), but when they wear masks and are playing characters it isn’t as noticeable. In the regular world, Nishina would never get the better of Io Shirai, but she can in the Mask Fiesta. Everyone did their parts well and even though it was a short match it still managed to squeeze in some memorable moments. Solid way to start.

Poison Shamrock and Kasey Quinzell vs. Serpiente Del Mal and Osore

Bizarre ending aside, you could tell that these four are quite not as familar with each other. There were some segments that had some quality back and forths but most of the match was pretty telegraphed. This is my first time seeing the Owens Twins, I won’t judge them off of just this of course but nothing shown in this match made either stand out. In fact no one really stood out here, it was just kinda ‘there’ until the odd ending. Not a surprising development with four non-regular Stardom wrestlers, but pretty average.

Santana Wonder and Princesa Gato vs. Shin Gorilla and Lucky Blanca

Princesa Gato puts Lucky Blanca in a crab hold, she picks Lucky Blanca back up and tags in Santana. They take turns attacking Lucky Blanca in the corner, Lucky Blanca fires back with elbows but Princesa Gato catches the crossbody attempt and slams her to the mat. Dropkick by Lucky Blanca but she can’t make the tag to Gorilla, Santana comes in but on an Irish whip attempt Lucky Blanca is able to tag in Gorilla. Gorilla slams Santana into Lucky Blanca’s back before hitting a running body press, cover by Gorilla but it gets two. Santana takes off Gorilla’s gloves and hits her with them, leg sweep by Santana and she covers Gorilla for two. Space Rolling Elbow by Santana but Gorilla drives Santana into her knee, she goes to eat I am guessing candy so Lucky Blanca tags herself in. Low crossbody by Lucky Blanca and she applies the rolling leglock, but Santana gets into the ropes. Lucky Blanca kicks Santana into the corner but Santana avoids the dropkick, Muta Lock by Santana but Gorilla breaks it up. Gorilla picks up Lucky Blanca and spins her into both Princesa Gato and Santana, she then slams Santana and Princesa Gato next to each other before going up top, but they both avoid her diving body press. Gorilla is kicked out of the ring, they go to Lucky Blanca and delivers a double DDT. Shining Star Press by Santana, and she picks up the three count! Santana Wonder and Princesa Gato are your winners!

This was more playful than the last match but not as much fun as the first match, so it never really had an identity. Kyouna was the main wrestler just having fun, which in these types of matches is fine, but Santana and Chelsea weren’t really playing back with her so it never really clicked. Some creative moments but overall a bit lackluster, although to be fair a match between these four without funny gimmicks would likely have been equally lackluster.

IOTICA, MAYUCHIKA, and Poi Man vs. Pirates Kaiser, Aloha Beat, and Fuzzy Peach

Poi Man and MAYUCHIKA make it in the ring but are they are all put into submission holds, Pirates Kaiser picks up IOTICA and she hits a double chop to the chest. Elbow drop by Pirates Kaiser, and she covers IOTICA for a two count. Back up they trade elbows, IOTICA gets on Pirates Kaiser’s back and she puts her in a stretch hold. Roll-up by IOTICA, it only gets two but it does give her a chance to tag in Poi Man. Dropkick by Poi Man to Pirates Kaiser but Aloha Beat kicks her from the apron, Pirates Kaiser gets a water gun and squirts Poi Man repeatedly in the face. Pirates Kaiser goes off the ropes but Poi Man kicks her back, kick to the knee by Poi Man and she kicks Aloha Beat as well. Fuzzy Peach comes in but she gets armdragged, MAYUCHIKA comes in the ring, she grabs Aloha Beat and Fuzzy Peach by the arm before hitting a split-legged springboard armdrag. Dropkicks by Poi Man and MAYUCHIKA, MAYUCHIKA goes up top and she hits a missile dropkick onto Pirates Kaiser, she picks up Pirates Kaiser and flips her out onto the apron, but Pirates Kaiser shoots her in the face and hits a diving elbow smash. Hojo tags in Aloha Beat, Aloha Beat comes in with a lei which distracts MAYUCHIKA, she chokes MAYUCHIKA with it but MAYUCHIKA gets it off and chokes Aloha Beat back. Poi Man and Fuzzy Peach are both tagged in, the two mysterious masked wrestlers trade elbows until Fuzzy Peach kicks Poi Man in the chest. Poi Man goes up top but Fuzzy Peach avoids the diving crossbody as Poi Man accidentally takes out IOTICA and MAYUCHIKA. Rolling verticals by Fuzzy Peach, and she covers Poi Man for two.

Missile dropkick by Fuzzy Peach, she goes off the ropes but Poi Man avoids the Somato. Flipping neckbreaker by Poi Man, she rolls her to corner and tags in IOTICA. Running double knee by IOTICA to Fuzzy Peach in the corner, cover by IOTICA but Fuzzy Peach kicks out. IOTICA goes for a package German but Fuzzy Peach blocks it, armdrag by Fuzzy Peach and she armdrags everyone in her excitement (including the referee) before the all do the Osaka Hop! Always a classic. After being excited for a moment they go back to fighting as all six trade elbows, they do the six wrestler suplex spot but MAYUCHIKA switches the referee for her to give her side the 4 vs. 3 advantage. Sunset flip by IOTICA to Fuzzy Peach but Fuzzy Peach rolls through it and kicks IOTICA in the chest. Somato by Fuzzy Peach, but it only gets a two count. Things break down as Aloha Beat and Poi Man run in, Poi Man kicks Aloha Beat out of the ring as most of the wrestlers brawl on the floor. Pirates Kaiser quickly gets back in the ring, she goes up top and delivers a diving body press, but she accidentally takes out her own teammates. IOTICA gets on the apron and delivers an Asai Moonsault, then MAYUCHIKA goes up top and hits a diving crossbody to the floor. Poi Man goes last with her own diving crossbody onto the blob of wrestlers, the referee then gets on the apron and hits a springboard splash down onto the wrestlers! He poses in the ring, excited, but is hit with a baseball bat for his trouble. IOTICA drags Fuzzy Peach back in the ring, diving footstomp by MAYUCHIKA and IOTICA nails the moonsault for the three count! IOTICA, MAYUCHIKA, and Poi Man are the winners!

This match had a good blend of comedy spots and smooth action, and since it was 20 minutes long they had time for both. The throwback to Osaka Pro comedy spots was great, as was the referee getting involved as those are the types of things Stardom can’t normally do since they don’t ever have that style of comedy in their matches. Some wrestlers seemed to be more into it, Bito didn’t do a whole lot in the match, but everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves. There was also plenty of solid wrestling as well, with Mayu and Io flying everywhere and Natsumi showing off the different ways she can cartwheel out of moves. Overall easily the best match of the night and an entertaining spectacle.  Recommended

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The first event took place on October 16th, 2015 in Covina, CA. Here is the full card:

• Act Yasukawa, Kris Wolf, and Kyoko Kimura vs. Brittany Wonder, Datura, and Shayna Baszler
• Mayu Iwatani vs. Nicole Savoy
• Hiroyo Matsumoto and Kellie Skater vs. Kahmora and Kairi Hojo
• Hudson Envy and Thunder Rosa vs. Melina Perez and Santana Garrett
• Wonder of Stardom Championship: Io Shirai vs Mia Yim

All the matches are shown in full, but none are terribly long, as the in-ring time for the event was a little over an hour. Let’s get to the first match.

Act Yasukawa, Kris Wolf, and Kyoko Kimura vs. Brittany Wonder, Datura, and Shayna Baszler

Wolf and Datura kick things off but after trading holds they tag in Wonder and Yasukawa. Yasukawa spits Sake in Wonder’s face and dropkicks her, Wonder gets Yasukawa in the corner but she avoids the charge and tags in Kimura. Baszler is also tagged in, Baszler gets Kimura’s leg but Kimura rolls out of it. Datura is tagged back in and is quickly triple teamed by Oedo Tai, she temporarily gets away but Kimura whips Datura down by her hair. Datura finally armdrags her way out of the situation and tags in Baszler, Baszler stacks up Oedo Tai in the corner and hits a body avalanche. Kimura pokes Baszler in the eyes to calm her down, twice, Wolf rolls up Baszler but it gets a two count. Baszler for reasons unknown tags in Datura, and Wolf quickly gets in control, hitting a high knee in the corner. Wolf tags Yasukawa, rollings reverse STOs by Yasukawa and she covers Datura for two. Kicks by Datura and she dropkicks Yasukawa, getting a two count cover. Datura goes for a moonsault but misses, giving Yasukawa time to tag in Kimura. Wonder is also tagged in, and they trade hip attacks and elbows. Wonder wins the battle, Baszler comes in and she slams Kimura to the mat. Banzai Drop by Wonder, but Wolf saves Yasukawa from being pinned. Kimura gets a metal pole and cleans house, Yasukawa spits Sake at Wonder and Kimura puts her in a sleeper. Wonder struggles for a moment but has to submit! Oedo Tai win the match.

My lasting impression from this match was Baszler. This was only her second match and she really seems like a natural, wrestlers strong enough to deadlift and toss other wrestlers around are ok in my book. I didn’t mind Oedo Tai cheating to win, that is what they do, and all the wrestlers got a chance to do a little something in the match. It didn’t get a ton of time but it got enough to get their point across, and overall I thought it was a solid opener. Keep an eye out for Baszler, if she keeps into it she could be something special down the road. Mildly Recommended

Mayu Iwatani vs. Nicole Savoy

Savoy and Iwatani roll around on the mat to begin but they quickly return to their feet and start trading elbows. Savoy gets Iwatani’s arm but Iwatani crawls to the ropes, Iwatani springboards off the ropes and armdrags Savoy into the ropes. Running dropkick by Iwatani and she hits a Northern Lights Suplex for a two count. Another bridging suplex by Iwatani gets two and she hits a third with the same result. Savoy takes back over and hits a suplex, she applies a cross armbreaker but Iwatani gets out of it and kicks Savoy in the back. Diving footstomp by Iwatani but Savoy fires back with a kick to the chest and they trade shots. Savoy gets the armbreaker put back on but Iwatani gets to the ropes. Jumping knee by Savoy but Iwatani rebounds out of the corner with a dropkick. Kick by Iwatani, she goes up top and hits another diving footstomp for a two count. Savoy goes for a tiger suplex but Iwatani switches positions with her and hits the dragon suplex hold for the three count! Iwatani is your winner.

This was too condensed of a match to impress. Savoy going for armbreakers is fine but there was no buildup to them or other arm work, it was just random armbreakers. Same with Iwatani, she didn’t really have time to build up to the ending, they were trading moves and suddenly Iwatani won. There was nothing bad here, both wrestlers were smooth and they had solid chemistry, it was just too short to get anything going.

Hiroyo Matsumoto and Kellie Skater vs. Kahmora and Kairi Hojo

Matsumoto and Hojo are the first legal wrestlers and go right at it with elbows, Matsumoto wins the exchange and drops a knee onto Hojo’s chest. Skater comes in but Hojo armdrags both of them and gets help from Kahmora to knock Matsumoto over. Skater is tagged in and she suplexes Hojo for a two count. Kicks by Skater and she knees Hojo hard in the chest before tagging Matsumoto back in. Hojo is double teamed as the referee hopelessly tries to keep control, and Matsumoto hits a backbreaker. Hojo plays Face in Peril, at least Hojo is putting the work in since she is no doubt one of the main wrestlers the American crowd came to see. Course she is getting her ass kicked but thus is life. Hojo finally hits a nifty headscissors and makes the hot tag to Kahmora, and Kahmora quickly takes control of Skater before Hojo runs back in and Kahmora slams Hojo onto Skater.

Hojo stays in and elbows Skater, neckbreaker by Hojo and she gets a two count. Hojo applies a cross-arm submission but it is broken up, and Skater plants Hojo with a DDT. Hojo goes off the ropes but Skater kicks her and drops Hojo in the corner. Lariat by Skater, but it gets two. Skater tags Matsumoto but Hojo kicks her, Kahmora comes in but Matsumoto puts them both in the corner and hits a body avalanche. Backdrop suplex by Matsumoto to Hojo but Hojo ducks the backfist and hits a spear. Hojo goes up top and hits a diving forearm smash before tagging in Kahmora. Kahmora hits a seated senton in the corner and applies a jackknife pin for a two count. Dropkick by Kahmora and she powerslams Matsumoto, but Skater breaks up the cover. Kahmora and Hojo try to double team Matsumoto but they eat a double backdrop suplex for their trouble, Matsumoto and Kahmora trade elbows, with Matsumoto winning the exchange. Big backdrop suplex by Matsumoto to Kahmora, and she picks up the three count! Matsumoto and Skater win the match.

They structured this match really smartly, as Skater and Hojo did the bulk of the work. That isn’t a knock on Matsumoto, but Skater and Hojo were able to get a bit of a flow going so the match wasn’t just constant tag-ins and tag-outs. Skater looked great here but everyone held their own, Kahmora was the least smooth of the four being with wrestlers she probably wasn’t very familiar with, but there were no awkward moments or anything like that. The match got enough time to tell the story, and while the offense was a bit random it stayed entertaining throughout. Another solid match but not overly memorable, although it was a pleasure getting to see Skater again. Mildly Recommended

Hudson Envy and Thunder Rosa vs. Melina Perez and Santana Garrett

Melina finally hits a seated senton on Melina to change the momentum, but Envy kicks Melina hard in the chest. Bridging suplex hold by Envy, but Melina ducks her lariat attempt and kicks Envy out of the ring with a splits kick. Garrett comes in but she gets double teamed, Envy returns to the ring and she hits a Samoan Drop on Melina followed by a rolling kick. Both wrestlers slowly crawl to their corners and tag out, lariats by Garrett to Rosa and she kicks Rosa in the chest. Space Rolling Elbow by Garrett but Rosa hits a full nelson twisting slam. Rosa stretches Garrett and slams her to the mat, Rosa gets on the second turnbuckle but Garrett recovers and headscissors Rosa back down to the mat. Garrett applies a submission but Envy breaks it up, Melina comes in too and she hits Envy with the splits legdrop. They roll out of the ring, Garrett kicks Rosa to the mat and she nails the Shining Star Press for the three count! Melina Perez and Santana Garrett are your victors!

Just to get it out of the way, the mere fact that Melina was in the match elevated it, I haven’t seen her in a long time and it felt like a big deal that she was involved. And she didn’t just stay on the apron, as she hit most of her big moves and was the Face in Peril at one point. It wasn’t 100% smooth, there were a few timing issues which you’d expect after a long layoff, but overall I was impressed by her performance. Everyone was on their game actually and the match stayed engaging from start to finish. Definitely an enjoyable experience for me personally, but even without the Melina factor it was an entertaining match. Recommended

(c) Io Shirai vs Mia Yim

Yim and Shirai go straight into a Test of Strength, Shirai pushes Yim into the ropes and gives a clean break. Shirai tries to shoulderblock Yim over with no luck, Shirai rolls up Yim but she quickly kicks out. Shirai armdrags Yim out of the ring, Shirai goes to do a dive but Yim hits her before she can dive through. Yim rolls Shirai out of the ring and kicks her into chairs at ringside, she gets on the apron and kicks Shirai as she stands up on the floor. Back in the ring, Yim applies a camel clutch before hitting a vertical suplex. Big boot by Yim and she applies a crab hold, Shirai reverses it into an ankle hold but Yim quickly grabs the ropes. Kicks to the chest by Yim but Shirai catches her leg and hits a dragon screw. Space Rolling Elbow by Shirai and she dropkicks Yim in the head for a two count. Shirai goes up top but Yim kicks her in the leg before she can jump and plants her with a powerbomb for two. PK by Yim and she puts Shirai in a stretch hold, she releases her after a moment and hits a few knees. Shirai cartwheels away from Yim and dropkicks her out of the ring, Shirai goes out to the apron and hits an Asai Moonsault down to the floor. Back in, swandive missile dropkick by Shirai followed by the Tiger Feint Kick. Palm strike by Shirai but Yim comes back with a high kick. German suplex hold by Yim, but Shirai kicks out. Yim goes up top but Shirai joins her and hits the Frankensteiner. German suplex hold by Shirai, but it only gets two. Double underhook facebuster by Shirai, she goes up top and she nails the moonsault for a three count! Shirai is still your champion!

This didn’t quite reach the level I was hoping for, maybe I was just still on a high from the last match. The match wasn’t as long as I would have expected, so in some ways it was a more condensed version of a normal Shirai title match. They did take it up a step, with high flying moves and dives that I think other matches were intentionally not doing to make this one feel more special. It was smooth and well-executed, and it was fun to see Shirai against a different opponent that presented different challenges. A fitting way to end the show, it just didn’t reach that higher level I have learned to expect from Stardom main events. Recommended

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