Weekly Pro Wrestling Magazine Erokawa VII Photobook Details:

Title: Weekly Pro Wrestling Magazine Erokawa VII
Release: May 31st, 2017
Pages: Unknown
Cost: ¥1,250
Where to Buy: Currently sold out, can be found on Ebay

For the 7th edition of Weekly Pro Wrestling Magazine Erokawa, the following wrestlers were featured:

• Io Shirai
• Toni Storm
• Hana Kimura
• Natsu Sumire
• Saori Anou
• Natsumi Maki
• Konami

All seven wrestlers had their own separate spreads, as there were not any dual or group shot pictures since I assume they all took their pictures separately. Each wrestler received a fair number of pages, however Io Shirai, Toni Storm, and Hana Kimura received more coverage than the other four. Since most Western fans will be purchasing these magazines for the pictures, I’ll focus my review on that portion. Approximately 45 pages from the magazine are modeling/gravure pictures for the wrestlers featured. It is a solid variety of wrestlers, as since the magazine is not affiliated with any promotions in particular every wrestler came from a different promotion or area (as of the date of this review, three of the wrestlers are members of/regularly wrestle in Stardom but that was not the case at the time of release).

The majority of the pictures are bikini/lingerie attire but it does not dip into more risqué territory than that. The Weekly Pro Wrestling Magazine Erokawa series is one of the best available due to the wrestler variety and the quality of the pictures, and I always recommend checking them out if they can be found at a reasonable price. Here is a sample of pictures from the magazine:

The post Weekly Pro EXTRA: Women’s Wrestling Erokawa Vol. VII Review appeared first on Joshi City.

Event: Stardom Gold May 2019
Date: May 16th, 2019
Location: Korakuen Hall in Tokyo, Japan
Announced Attendance: 783

Even though I don’t have any intention of reviewing every Stardom event, I do want to try to hit all the Korakuen Hall events as they tend to be quality. This is their first big show since the draft (not counting the Cinderella Tournament which is its own beast), so we have a lot of fresh matches. They stacked the event with three title matches, including Cinderella Tournament winner Arisa Hoshiki challenging Momo Watanabe for the championship. We also get a “special attraction” match as Kagetsu faces off against the visiting Toni Storm. Here is the full card:

• Andras Miyagi and Natsuko Tora vs. Hanan and Starlight Kid vs. Hina and Leo Onozaki
• Death Yama-san (Kaori Yoneyama) vs. Natsu Sumire vs. Saya Iida
• Kagetsu vs. Toni Storm
• Artist Of Stardom Championship: Mayu Iwatani, Saki Kashima, and Tam Nakano vs. Hana Kimura, Jungle Kyona, and Konami
• World Of Stardom Championship: Bea Priestley vs. Hazuki
• Wonder Of Stardom Championship: Momo Watanabe vs. Arisa Hoshiki

Lots of potential here. I am watching the Samurai TV version of the event, so some matches may be clipped. All wrestlers on the show have profiles on Joshi City, you can click on their names above to go straight to it.

Andras Miyagi and Natsuko Tora vs. Hanan and Starlight Kid vs. Hina and Onozaki

They brawl to start with Oedo Tai being the focus of the offense, as STARS and Queen’s Quest clear the ring so they can battle each other. Hanan and Hina both hit judo throws, leaving just the two of them, they grapple until Hina gets Hanan to the mat. Cross armbreaker by Hina but Hanan quickly gets out of it, STO by Hanan and she applies a cross armbreaker of her own, but Leo breaks it up. Scoop slam by Hanan and she stomps on Hina’s arm before tagging in Starlight Kid. Stomps by Starlight Kid but Hina drops her with a STO and tags in Leo. Running elbow by Leo and she hits a cutter for a two count. Cradle by Leo but it gets broken up, Natsuko and Andras both come in but they are dropped by STOs. Hanan and Starlight Kid take out Leo and Hina, 619 by Starlight Kid to Leo and Hanan hits a STO. Standing Moonsault by Starlight Kid, but Hina breaks up the cover. Starlight Kid goes up to the top turnbuckle but Leo avoids the diving body press, Natsuko runs in and spears Starlight Kid. Hanan takes care of Natsuko but Andras boots Hanan, Hina runs in and dropkicks Andras and Leo elbows Andras to the mat. Natsuko runs in and spears Leo and Hina, Steel Ball Run by Andras to Leo and Natsuko sails off the top turnbuckle with a diving body press for the three count! Oedo Tai wins!

This was more fun than it had any right to be. Hanan and Hina sometimes working together was cute as they are still sisters, ultimately on opposite teams but in a match like this they could work together as well. Andras Miyagi had an easy night but everyone deserves a break sometimes, and for a five minute match with a bunch of underage wrestlers it was pretty cohesive. Solid way to kick off the event.

Death Yama-san (Kaori Yoneyama) vs. Natsu Sumire vs. Saya Iida

Kaori poses as the match starts while her opponents are confused, Saya and Natsu begin trading holds with Kaori occasionally chipping in until they reach a stalemate. They elbow each other while standing in a triangle formation, Kaori is briefly double teamed and eats a double dropkick. The cooperation ends when Natsu schoolboys Saya, Saya gets mad but Natsu convinces her that she is her friend. Natsu tries to schoolboy her again but Saya has smartened up and blocked it, she goes for a dropkick but both Natsu and Kaori move out of the way. Bronco Buster by Natsu to Saya but Kaori squashes her from behind, Kaori goes for a suplex but Natsu reverses it. Natsu goes off the ropes but Saya dropkicks her in the leg, another dropkick by Saya and she hits a scoop slam for a two count. Kaori runs in to hit a senton on them both but Saya moves so she only hits Natsu, Saya does a bridging cover on both of them but it only gets two. Natsu goes off the ropes and hits a neck drop on both of them, she goes up top but Kaori rams Saya into the corner to knock her off and rolls up Saya for the three count! Death Yama-san wins the match.

Unlike the last match, this one was not smooth as they didn’t always seem to be on the same page and the humor wasn’t at the level to make up for it. A few cute spots but ultimately a skippable match, triple threat matches are hard to pull off and they just didn’t click here.

Kagetsu vs. Toni Storm

They begin slow as they feel each other out, Toni gets Kagetsu to the mat first but Kagetsu switches positions with her as they grapple for position. Back up, Kagetsu goes for Toni’s arm but Toni gets away and hits a side headlock takedown. Headscissors by Kagetsu but Toni gets out of it, she offers a handshake but Kagetsu kicks her and takes Toni to the mat. Toni gets the headscissors applied, Kagetsu flips out of it and both wrestlers are back on their feet. Toni offers a handshake again but this time she hits a takedown and applies a modified figure four. Kagetsu gets into the ropes for the break, Toni goes off the ropes and she boots Kagetsu out of the ring before quickly sailing out onto her with a tope suicida. She gets back in the ring to attempt a second one but Kagetsu hits her in the head with the Oedo Tai sign and nails her with a running sliding kick while Toni is hanging over the ropes.

Kagetsu throws Toni into a row of chairs, she pulls a couple chairs from under the ring and starts stacking chairs on top of Toni before hitting her with another chair. Toni escapes and returns to the ring, Kagetsu goes to the top turnbuckle and hits a missile dropkick. Running elbow by Kagetsu in the corner, she sets up Toni’s leg on the second rope before hitting a dropkick. Vertical suplex by Kagetsu and she covers Toni for a two count cover. Kagetsu picks up Toni but Toni slides away and applies a dragon sleeper, but Kagetsu walks up the turnbuckles to reverse it. Toni reverses it back and then applies a grounded front necklock, but Kagetsu muscles out of it and hits a vertical suplex. Both wrestlers slowly get up and trade elbows, uppercuts by Toni and they trade headbutts, an exchange that Toni wins. Toni picks up Kagetsu but Kagetsu blocks the Strong Zero, Kagetsu goes for the chokeslam bu Toni gets away and drops her with a release German. Kagetsu quickly gets back up and hits a high kick followed by the Ebisu Drop, but her cover gets two.

Keylock by Kagetsu but Toni gets into the ropes to force the break. Kagetsu picks up Toni but Toni avoids the chokeslam and hits a hard lariat. German suplex hold by Toni, but Kagetsu kicks out. Toni picks up Kagetsu but Kagetsu blocks the Strong Zero, so Toni puts her in a modified STF instead. Kagetsu gets to the ropes to get a break, Toni picks up Kagetsu but Kagetsu avoids the Strong Zero. She tries to mist Toni but Toni ducks, and Kagetsu mists the referee by accident. Toni takes advantage of this and finally delivers the Strong Zero, but the referee is in no condition to count the cover. Toni checks on the referee, she gives up and goes to the top turnbuckle, but Kagetsu spits blue mist in her face as she dives off. Ebisu Drop by Kagetsu, she quickly gets on the top turnbuckle and nails the Oedo Coaster, but Toni barely kicks out of the cover. Kagetsu picks up Toni and delivers a Death Valley Bomb, but the bell rings before she can make a cover as the time has expired. The match is a Draw.

Even with the predictable non-ending, this was still a great match. Even with their limited experience against each other they have good chemistry, their match last year was fantastic and this wasn’t much below it as they wrestled it as if it was a big title match and not just a midcard match. The referee not calling for a DQ when he himself got misted goes beyond even normal Stardom “no DQ on anything” procedures, but beyond that everything flowed well and they kept the action interesting. I loved some of the transitions, such as Kagetsu hitting Toni with the sign and the final misting spot, as Kagetsu is one of the more innovative and unique high end wrestlers current in Joshi wrestling. I have to knock it a bit due to the ref spot and the predictable ending, but still a match worth watching.  Recommended

(c) Mayu Iwatani, Kashima, and Tam Nakano vs. Hana Kimura, Kyona, and Konami
Artist of Stardom Championship

TCS attack STARS before the match officially starts, they end up outside the ring with TCS staying in control. Hana wraps Mayu’s leg around a pole and hits it with a chair before dragging her back to the ring, stomps by Hana to Mayu’s leg and she slams it into the mat before tagging in Konami. Konami keeps up the leg work, she tags in Kyona and all three of them participate in hurting Mayu’s already banged up leg. Single leg crab hold by Kyona but Saki breaks it up, Tam comes in too and all three of the STARS members put a member of TCS into a submission hold. They eventually let go but Kyona stops Mayu from making the tag as she slams her knee into the mat. Kyona charges Mayu but Mayu snaps off a dropkick and she makes the hot tag to Tam. Running elbow by Tam in the corner but Kyona returns the favor, Konami comes in but Tam pushes Kyona into Konami and hits a cutter on Kyona. Hana runs in but Tam takes out both her and Konami, TCS end up against the ropes and STARS hit a trio of dropkicks.

Tam goes back to Kyona but Kyona delivers a lariat and tags in Hana. Running boot by Hana to Tam, another boot by Hana and she covers Tam for two. Tam goes off the ropes but Hana hits a sidewalk slam,  Hana picks up Tam but Tam pushes her way and hits a backdrop suplex. Cartwheel into a kneedrop by Tam, but her cover gets broken up. Tam goes for a kick but Hana ducks it and hits a vertical suplex, both wrestlers crawl to the corners and tag out, as Konami comes in along with both Miyu and Saki. Konami is double teamed as she eats a double kick, Mayu gets on the second turnbuckle and hits a diving footstomp. Cover by Mayu, but Konami kicks out. Mayu goes for a suplex but Konami gets out of it and nails a dragon screw. Sliding kick by Konami followed by a suplex, she applies a kneelock but Mayu inches to the ropes for the break. Konami nails a big leg trap release German, but Saki breaks up the cover. Tam comes in too and all three take turns kicking Konami in the head, assisted DDT to Konami and Mayu hits a German suplex hold for two.

The ring clears of the extra wrestlers as Mayu goes to the top turnbuckle, but Konami moves out of the way of the moonsault attempt and quickly goes for the Triangle Lancers. Mayu rolls out of it but Konami quickly puts her in a Stretch Muffler, but Mayu makes it into the ropes for the break. Konami charges Mayu but Mayu catchers her with a superkick, she crawls to her corner and tags Saki who boots Konami in the head. Butterfly suplex by Saki, she picks up Konami and delivers a double underhook facebuster for two. Saki goes off the ropes but Hana kicks her from the apron, sliding lariat by Kyona and Konami covers Saki for two. TCS all get their licks in on Saki, buzzsaw kick by Konami but Saki barely kicks out. Saki slides away from the Triangle Lancer and applies a crucifix pin, but it gets broken up. Tam and Mayu come in and suplex Kyona and Hana, Saki picks up Konami but Konami spins away and applies the Triangle Lancer. Saki struggles for a moment but she had no choice but to submit! Tokyo Cyber Squad are the new champions!

This is the exact type of match that I want to see from a six wrestler tag. Both teams were not only really in sync with each other but smooth with their opponents as well, everything clicked. The leg work on Mayu made sense as she came in with a bum leg, and even though it didn’t play into the finish it was referenced back to often enough that it didn’t just feel like wasted time. They focused on the better wrestlers so the action stayed crisp, and they continued to put over the Triangle Lancer as a death submission which is a-ok with me. Exciting and captivating, a great showing by all six wrestlers.  Highly Recommended

(c) Bea Priestley vs. Hazuki
World of Stardom Championship

Hazuki charges Bea as soon as the match starts and boots her in the face, Hazuki tosses Bea out of the ring and sails out onto her with a tope suicida. Hazuki quickly rolls Bea back in and hits a swandive missile dropkick followed by another boot, brainbuster by Hazuki but Bea gets a shoulder up on the cover. Hazuki slams Bea in front of the corner and goes up top, but Bea kicks her before she can jump off and joins her, stomping Hazuki in the back of the head. Bea picks up Hazuki, Hazuki tries to get away but Bea knees her back to the mat. Both are slow to get up, they trade elbows as they do so and trade running strikes until Bea obliterates Hazuki with a jumping knee. Hazuki rolls out of the ring to try to recover, Bea goes to the top turnbuckle and dives down onto Oedo Tai with a cannonball. Bea rolls Hazuki back into the ring and hits a dropkick in the corner. Running knee by Bea and she hits a backdrop suplex for a two count. Bea applies a double armbar but Hazuki inches to the ropes and makes it there for the break. Bea picks up Hazuki and sets her up in the corner, superkick by Bea and she goes for the Queen’s Landing, but Hazuki slides away and ferociously tosses Bea around by the hair. Facewashes by Hazuki, she picks up Bea but Bea avoids the Pump Kick and hits a backdrop suplex. Running knee by Bea and she nails a Regal-Plex, but Hazuki gets a shoulder up. Bea drags up Hazuki, she gets her on her shoulders but Hazuki slides off and applies La Magistral for two. Head kick by Bea and she delivers the Curb Stomp, Queen’s Landing by Bea and she picks up the three count! Bea wins and retains her championship.

Another great match, this show is on a roll. One of the big pluses is this felt very different from the last two matches, as it was fast paced but also a power struggle. Both had a sense of urgency, which has been Hazuki’s style lately but Bea kept up with her. Bea improves every time I see her and she is becoming one of my favorite wrestlers to watch, her strikes were on point and she has a wide enough variety of moves that her matches feel fresh. A really fun sprint, perfectly done by both wrestlers and a pleasant surprise as while I was expecting it to be a good match their pace and execution really put it over the top for me. One of the better sub-10 minute matches you’ll see in Joshi this year.  Recommended

(c) Momo Watanabe vs. Arisa Hoshiki
Wonder of Stardom Championship

They start cautiously, kick to the chest by Momo and she twists Arisa’s leg on the mat. Side headlock by Momo but Arisa reverses it, they trade holds until Momo gets Arisa with a kneelock. Side headlock takedown by Momo, Arisa gets out of it but Momo promptly kicks her in the chest. Snapmare by Momo and she kicks Arisa in the back, kick to the chest by Momo and she covers Arisa for two. Kicks to the chest by Momo, Arisa fights back with elbows and she hits a dropkick, but Momo dropkicks her back. They trade kicks, Arisa throws Momo into the corner but Momo hits a missile dropkick. Arisa falls out of the ring, Momo goes to the apron and she hits a PK. Momo goes for the B Driver but Arisa slides away and delivers the Diamond Buster on the floor. Back in the ring, running double knee strike by Arisa and she gets a two count. Step-up kick by Arisa, she goes to the top turnbuckle and nails the 1399 for another two. Arisa picks up Momo and hits another Diamond Buster, she goes to the top turnbuckle but Momo recovers and joins her. Superplex by Momo, they both slowly get up and they trade kicks to the chest.

They both hit high kicks, Somato by Momo and she covers Arisa for two. Momo picks up Arisa and hits the B Driver, she gets on the second turnbuckle and delivers a diving Somato before then going all the way up top and hitting another diving Somato for a two. Momo drags up Arisa and delivers the Tequila Sunrise, but Arisa barely gets a shoulder up. Momo goes for the Peach Sunrise but Arisa blocks it, cradling Momo for two. Momo drags Arisa back up but Arisa catches her with a Diamond Buster, ADAMAS by Arisa but Momo kicks out of the cover. Arisa goes for the Brazilian Kick but Momo ducks it and hits a Half and Half Suplex for another two. Momo keeps the hold partially applied and brings Arisa back to her feet, she nails the Peach Sunrise but Arisa’s feet land too close to the ropes and she gets a toe on one to break up the count. Momo goes off the ropes but Arisa catches her with a jumping knee, a second jumping knee by Arisa and she delivers a Brazilian Kick. Momo is badly staggered, Arisa nails a second Brazilian Kick and she covers Momo for the three count! Arisa Hoshiki is the new champion!

You know that you just watched a hell of a show when a match like this is the 4th best match on it. This is the best I have seen Arisa since she returned, she still needs a few more signature moves so she doesn’t spam Diamond Busters but generally she looked really good here. My main complaint is that the match started slow for a match that wasn’t going that long, under 13 minutes is on the short side for a big title match but it wasn’t a sprint like we saw with Hazuki and Bea. That doesn’t mean I necessarily wanted it to be longer, the ending felt right and with Arisa’s limitations she shouldn’t be in 20+ minute singles matches, but I wouldn’t have minded if they picked up the pace a bit. Still, the end stretch was done well and the moves were snug, and overall I was entertained by it even if I wish Momo’s long run had ended in a more ‘epic’ match.  Mildly Recommended

The post Stardom Gold May 2019 on 5/16/19 Review appeared first on Joshi City.

Stardom has had quite a few shows since I last reviewed one of their events, but this was one I couldn’t miss. I love crazy gimmick matches so how couldn’t I review an exploding bat death match? Even beyond the main event this was a big show for Stardom, as they stacked it up for one of their largest recent attendances outside of Korakuen Hall. They had a total of nine matches, which is a crazy high amount for Stardom, so while match times will probably be short we get a lot of singles matches to give the wrestlers a chance to shine. Here is the full card:

• Hanan and Nao Yamaguchi vs. Leo Onozaki and Ruaka
• IPW:UK Women’s Championship: Xia Brookside vs. Konami
• Future Of Stardom Championship: AZM vs. Starlight Kid
• Bea Priestley vs. Momo Watanabe
• Hana Kimura vs. HZK
• Faby Apache, Mary Apache, and Natsumi vs. Natsuko Tora, Saki Kashima, and Shiki Shibusawa
• SWA Undisputed World Women’s Championship: Viper vs. Jungle Kyona
• World Of Stardom Championship: Toni Storm vs. Mayu Iwatani
• Current Blast Exploding Bat Death Match: Io Shirai and Tam Nakano vs. Kagetsu and Natsu Sumire

What a card. All the wrestlers above have profiles on Joshi City, you can click on their name to go straight to it. I will be watching the Samurai TV Version of the event because I like the presentation and with a nine match card I figured some match clipping may help me get through it in a more timely fashion.

Hanan and Nao Yamaguchi vs. Leo Onozaki and Ruaka

Ruaka and Nao start off and try to knock each other over with no luck, body block by Nao against the ropes and she finally knocks down Ruaka with a lariat for two. Nao picks up Ruaka but Xia boots her in the chest, another boot by Ruaka and she covers her for two. Ruaka picks up Nao and delivers the fisherman suplex hold, picking up the three count! Ruaka and Leo are the winners.

Even without clipping this match was pretty damn short so we didn’t miss much. Hopefully next time I’ll get a chance to see Leo and Hanan participate, Ruaka is still pretty rough around the edges which was even evident in a clipped three minute matches. Nothing to see here.

(c) Xia Brookside vs. Konami
IPW:UK Women’s Championship

We join this one in progress as the pair trade strikes, dropkick by Xia and she knees Konami in the corner. Face crusher by Xia and she dropkicks Konami again, covering her for two. Head kick by Xia and she sits Konami on the top turnbuckle, but Konami kicks her away and applies a hanging armbar. Armdrag by Konami and she applies the cross armbreaker in the middle of the ring, back up Konami delivers a head kick and hits a fisherman suplex hold for a two count. Konami goes off the ropes but Xia catches her with a Codebreaker, but Konami barely kicks out of the cover. Xia puts Konami in the Tree of Woe and hits a sliding kick, Xia flings Konami off the top turnbuckle and applies the Leg Roll Clutch for the three count! Xia retains the championship.

We only got to see half of this but what they showed was fine. Xia gets a bit better each time I see her, she is still a teenager but has shown some natural ability (not surprising) early in her career. And the crowd has taken to her quite a bit which is always a plus. Konami continues to be proficient but still hasn’t gotten anywhere in Stardom, we’ll see if that ever changes or if she’ll have to go elsewhere to find success. Too clipped to recommend but both are solid wrestlers.

AZM vs. Starlight Kid
Future of Stardom Championship

Starlight Kid charges AZM as the match starts, AZM goes for an armdrag but Starlight Kid lands on her feet. AZM connects with the next armdrag and they trade trips before reaching a stalemate back on their feet. AZM fakes a handshake and goes for a kick, Starlight Kid catches it and they take turns throwing each other to the mat by the head. They trade elbows and dropkicks, Starlight Kid kips up but AZM kicks her in the chest. Kicks to the back by AZM and she puts Starlight Kid in a camel clutch, after a moment she releases the hold and sets up Starlight Kid in the ropes. Dropkick to the back by AZM but Starlight Kid trips her when she goes for a second one, she goes for a Tiger Feint Kick but AZM ducks. Starlight Kid hits the move on the lower ropes instead, standing moonsault by Starlight Kid and she covers AZM for two. Irish whip by Starlight Kid to the corner and she delivers a dropkick, but AZM dropkicks her back. Rebound crossbody by AZM but Starlight Kid dropkicks her, and both wrestlers are down on the mat. Starlight Kid is up first, she trips AZM and puts her in a crab hold, but AZM rolls out of it and they trade flash pins. Back up, high kicks by AZM and she covers Starlight Kid for a two count. AZM runs to the corner and goes for a triple jump attack, but Starlight Kid kicks her in the stomach and hits the cyclone suplex. Starlight Kid goes up top and she nails the swivel body press, cover by Starlight Kid and she picks up the three count! Starlight Kid is the first Future of Stardom Champion!

For a short match, I thought this was good. AZM was pretty iffy the first few years of her career (to be fair, she is a child) but has gotten a lot better in the last year or so. Starlight Kid has always had the flashy moves but just didn’t always string them together well, here though she was pretty tight with everything and they played off each other well. I’m not sure if another title was really necessary just for the children but at least they got a good match out of it.  Mildly Recommended

Bea Priestley vs. Momo Watanabe

We join this one in progress as they trade elbows while on their needs, they get to their feet and Momo hits a quick side slam followed by the Somato for a two count. Momo picks up Bea and goes for the B Driver, but Bea blocks it and superkicks Momo in the head. Bea traps Momo’s arm and elbows her repeatedly, she lets go and goes for a kick, but Momo catches her leg and delivers a head kick of her own. A second Somato by Momo, but Bea is too close to the ropes and grabs them when she goes for the cover. elbows by Momo but Bea grabs her and slams Momo into the mat. Bea steps off of Momo’s back and crushes her face into the mat with a double footstomp, cover by Bea and she picks up the three count! Bea Priestly is the winner.

This was way too clipped to really judge but everything they showed was solid. Momo stood no chance here, she is too far down on the totem pole to beat someone that Stardom will be building up to lose in more title matches down the road. All hope isn’t lost for Momo, she’ll be fine if she continues improving, but it isn’t her time yet.

Hana Kimura vs. HZK

Hana ducks a HZK boot early on and takes the time to pose to the crowd, which HZK doesn’t like as she dropkicks Hana in the back. Hana spits at HZK, HZK goes off the ropes and she hits an armdrag. Hana bails out of the ring, HZK follows her but Hana quickly slides back in. Armdrags by HZK but Hana sends her out of the ring, Hana follows her out and throws HZK into the ring post. Hana scoop slams HZK onto the floor and returns to the ring with HZK slowly following, stomps by Hana and she puts HZK in the Mexican Surfboard. Hana goes off the ropes but HZK catches her with a springboard dropkick, bootscrapes by HZK and she boots Hana in the face. HZK elbows Hana but Hana elbows her back as they trade blows, Hana grabs HZK and gets her in the Ground Manjikatame but HZK gets a toe on the ropes for the break. Hana goes off the ropes but HZK avoids her boot and drops her with the Codebreaker. HZK goes for a running senton but Hana moves and boots HZK while she is against the ropes, a second boot by Hana and she hits a series of elbows. Vertical suplex attempt by Hana but HZK blocks it, Hana delivers on her second attempt and she covers HZK for two. Back up, another boot by Hana but HZK decks her with the Pump Kick, she waits for Hana to get up and hits a running elbow in the corner. Tornado DDT by HZK and she covers Hana for a two count. Scoop slam by HZK, she goes up top and goes for the Bombs Away, but Hana moves. Hana quickly applies the Small Package to HZK, and she picks up the three count! Hana Kimura wins!

While there is no way to know what the future holds for these two, I can say that so early in their careers both are progressing well. They are getting a lot more crisp with their respective offense while expanding it, as I really love Hana’s Ground Manjikatame and HZK’s tornado DDT was on point. It wasn’t perfect as some of the bigger moves were recovered from a bit too quickly, and it was a little clipped, but overall a fun match between two of the rising stars in Stardom.  Mildly Recommended

Faby Apache, Mary Apache, and Natsumi vs. Natsuko Tora, Kashima, and Shibusawa

We join slightly in progress with Saki and Natsumi in the ring, stomps by Saki but Mary comes in help her daughter. Natsumi attempts a slam and eventually succeeds in hitting her, giving her time to tag in Mary. Boots by Mary to everyone, Faby comes in too with Natsumi and all three put their opponents in a submission hold. Team Apache all hit dropkicks before continuing their assault, the ring eventually clears expect for Saki and Mary and Mary tags in Faby. Saki hits a spinning headscissors on Faby and applies a cradle, but it only gets two. Saki grabs Faby and hits the Unprettier, but Mary breaks up the cover. Saki tags Shiki but Faby promptly kicks Shiki in the chest, Shiki comes back with a dropkick followed by a face crusher for a two count. Faby drives Shiki into the corner and she boots Shiki in the face, giving her time to tag in Mary. Natsuko tags in as well, knees by Natsuko but Mary hits a lariat followed by a scoop slam. Heel drop by Mari, she picks up Natsuko and with Faby they place Natsuko on the top turnbuckle. Double Muscle Buster to Natsuko, but Mary’s cover is broken up. Saki stays in to help and they hit a double face crusher, Natsuko runs in with a knee and she goes up top to hit a diving frog splash for two. Natsuko goes off the ropes but Mary blocks the spear, Natsuko gets away however and she cradles Mary for two. Another roll-up by Natsuko also gets a two, she goes off the ropes but Mary plants her with a lariat. Mary gets on the top turnbuckle and nails the diving kneel kick, cover by Mary and she gets the three count! Team Apache are your winners.

In a continued trend on this card, this was short but ok. One of the downsides of having so many matches on a card is they weren’t going to get a ton of time, but honestly I’m not sure I would have wanted this particular match to be any longer. The Apache sisters were fine but Natsumi and Shiki in particular are still pretty rough and Saki is still working things out after such a long layoff. So there were some issues with technique here. The youngsters still have a ways to go but having Mary and Faby in the match at least gave it some structure so it wasn’t a bad watch.

(c) Viper vs. Jungle Kyona
SWA Women’s Championship

Kyona tries to knock over Viper as the match begins without any luck, elbows by Kyona but Viper swipes her to the mat. Viper pushes Kyona into the ropes but she gives a clean break, hard shoulderblock by Viper but Kyona wiggles away and goes for the sliding lariat. Viper blocks it but Kyona trips her, quick cover by Kyona but it gets a two count. Kick by Kyona but Viper blocks the scoop slam and hits one of her own, running senton by Viper and Kyona rolls out of the ring to re-group. Viper goes out to the apron but Kyona knocks her legs out from under her, Kyona pulls Viper out of the ring but Viper throws Kyona into the ring post. Viper gets on the apron and dives down onto Kyona (and other wrestlers) with a cannonball, she returns to the ring with Kyona slowly following. Headbutts by Viper and she hits another cannonball in the corner, cover by Viper but Kyona kicks out. Viper gets on the second turnbuckle but Kyona recovers and elbows Viper before she can jump off. Kyona powerbombs Viper off the second turnbuckle to the mat, but Viper barely gets a shoulder up on the cover. Kyona elbows Viper but Viper elbows her back as they trade blows, Kyona goes for a lariat but Viper absorbs the blow. Kyona finally knocks down Viper with a lariat, she slowly makes the cover but it only gets a two count. Kyona picks up Viper but Viper knocks her down with a lariat, Reverse Splash by Viper but Kyona gets a hand on the rope to break up the cover. Viper picks up Kyona and hits the Michinoku Driver, but Kyona reverses the cover into a cradle of her own for two. Viper goes up top but Kyona avoids the diving body press, lariat to the back of the head by Kyona and she body slams Viper. Kyona goes up top and delivers the diving body press, but she only gets a two count. Kyona goes for a powerbomb but Viper blocks it, headbutt by Viper and she hits a backdrop suplex. Cannonball by Viper in the corner, she picks up Kyona and nails the Michinoku Driver for the three count! Viper is still the champion.

The layout of this match was predictable, but it was still an entertaining match. While for the bulk of it I felt that it was too lopsided to Viper and Kyona wasn’t getting enough in, they got the crowd into it a bit towards the end as Kyona had some quality near falls and even in defeat she didn’t look weak. Kyona wasn’t going to hit her finisher on Viper but she has enough in her arsenal that she could have won without it, and it helps keep the Hammerthrow Bomb stronger anyway that she didn’t do a finisher spam on the way to defeat. The match stayed pretty well paced and the Hoss vs. Hoss spots were fine, even if the Hossness between the two is lopsided. Overall I liked it, Kyona isn’t quite ready yet to take down someone like Viper but she is slowly getting there, and perhaps she will get another chance at her down the road.  Mildly Recommended

(c) Toni Storm vs. Mayu Iwatani
World of Stardom Championship

They circle each other to start, Toni gets Mayu to the mat but Mayu recovers and they end up back on their feet. Springboard armdrag by Mayu and she dropkicks Toni, she goes for another dropkick but Toni gets back up and boots Mayu in the head. Toni goes for a dropkick by Mayu moves, Toni feigns injury but rolls up Mayu before delivering a hip attack. Uppercut by Toni and she starts on Mayu’s previously injured arm, Toni knocks Mayu into the corner and chops her in the chest before covering her for two. Toni drags Mayu back up and sends her into the corner, but Mayu kicks her back and rolls Toni to the mat before kicking her in the face. Northern Lights Suplex by Mayu, but it gets a two count. Mayu knocks Toni against the ropes and delivers a hard dropkick, sending Toni out of the ring to the floor. Mayu goes up top and dives down onto Toni with a plancha suicida, she rolls Toni back in the ring and goes up top, hitting a missile dropkick. Hurricanrana by Mayu, but it gets two. Superkick by Mayu and she hits a diving footstomp, she goes up top again and delivers a diving body press, but Toni barely gets a shoulder up on the pin attempt.

Mayu goes for the dragon suplex but Toni elbows out of it, she then goes for the piledriver but Mayu blocks it and hits a super kick. German suplex hold by Mayu, but it gets two. Toni grabs Mayu and delivers a quick Strong Zero, but is too hurt to capitalize. They trade elbows on their knees as they recover, Mayu goes for a kick but Toni catches it and hits a snap release German Suplex. Hip attack by Toni in the corner and she hits the reverse neckbreaker, cover by Toni but Mayu kicks out. Toni quickly applies an armbar, but Mayu gets a foot on the ropes for the break. Toni picks up Mayu but Mayu cradles her for two, Mayu scoops up Toni and goes for the tombstone, but Toni reverses the hold. Mayu slides away from Toni and applies a quick backslide, but Toni gets out of it and delivers a Strong Zero for a two count. Toni goes to the top turnbuckle but Mayu hits her before she can jump off and joins her. Toni slides under Mayu and hits a Buckle Bomb, Strong Zero by Toni and she rolls Mayu into a second Strong Zero for the three count pinfall! Toni Storm retains the championship.

This was a really good match but something was missing from letting it hit that next level. Maybe just not being the main event/focus of the event alone hurt it, and it is a shame that such a big (on paper) title match got overshadowed by the Exploding Bat Death Match. Everything they did was great, I enjoyed the arm work as a throwback to how Toni won the title, it had lots of hard strikes and memorable spots and big moments. I wish it was longer of course, 13 minutes is a bit shot for a title match, and it just didn’t have the aura of a title grudge match. Which isn’t really their fault and I won’t take away from them that it was a really well executed and entertaining match. It just felt a bit flat, I hope they get a re-match in the future on a bigger stage where they can go all out and have the type of match I know they are capable of.  Recommended

Io Shirai and Tam Nakano vs. Kagetsu and Natsu Sumire
Exploding Bat Death Match

Oedo Tai attack before the bell rings and the action immediately spills to the floor, as they use chairs on both of their opponents. Tam is isolated in the ring, Kagetsu gets the exploding bat but Tam kicks her from behind and hits a series of elbows. Backdrop suplex by Tam, Io comes in but so does Natsu, Io dropkicks both of her opponents out of the ring before kipping back up to her feet. Io goes off the ropes and dives out onto both Kagetsu and Natsu with a tope suicida, Io slides Kagetsu back into the ring and delivers a dropkick. Io goes off the ropes and hits the Tiger Feint Kick, she goes for a swandive move but Kagetsu gets out of the way and kicks her to the mat. Kagetsu gets the exploding bat and waits for Io to get back up, but Io blocks it when Kagetsu tries to use it. Io gets the bat but gets distracted before she could use it, Kagetsu gets the back bat but Io ducks her swing and hits a palm strike. Tam runs in and hits a double kneedrop onto Kagetsu, dragon sleeper by Tam and she hits a Stunner. Tam goes off the ropes but Kagetsu catches her kick, Tam slides away however and kicks Kagetsu in the head anyway.

Tam grabs the exploding bat while Io knocks Natsu off the apron, Tam goes to hit Kagetsu with the bat but Kagetsu ducks. Kagetsu gets the bat but Io hits a swandive dropkick on her, running double knee by Io to Kagetsu in the corner and she hits a second one, cover by Io but it gets a two count. Io goes up top but Kagetsu knocks her to the apron, she superplexes Io back into the ring and covers her for two. Kicks by Kagetsu, she picks up Io and drops her with a chokeslam. Ebisu Drop by Kagetsu, she goes up top and nails the Oedo Coaster, but Tam breaks up the cover. Kagetsu picks up Io and kicks her in the head, she gets the exploding bat and hits Io in the chest with it a few times before she hits the button to make it explosive. Kagetsu finally hits the button, she then hits Io in the chest again with the bat, sending sparks flying everywhere. Io rolls out of the ring and gets water poured on her before she is rushed to the back, temporarily leaving Tam alone. Natsu slides Tam into the ring, Kagetsu gets the bat again and gives it to Natsu, but Io is suddenly back and hits a missile dropkick onto Natsu. Io hits Natsu repeatedly in the chest with the bat (its not explosive at the moment), cover by Io but it gets a two count. Io goes for the double underhook facebuster but Natsu gets out of it and whips Io repeatedly. Natsu scoops up Io but Io slides away, waistlock by Io but Natsu gets into the ropes and Kagetsu hits Io with the bat. Roll-up by Natsu to Io, but Tam breaks it up.

Kagetsu gets the bat but hits Natsu with it by accident, Io and Tam take turns striking Kagetsu before taking care of Natsu as well. Diving senton by Tam to Natsu, but Natsu kicks out of the cover. Tam gets the bat and hits the trigger in the corner, she waits for Natsu to get up and hits her in the chest, causing another massive explosion. Io picks up Natsu and hits a double underhook facebuster, moonsault by Io but Kagetsu breaks up the cover by spitting red mist in her face. She tries the same with Tam but Tam kicks Kagetsu in the head, Kagetsu kicks her back however and hits the Ebisu Drop for two. Io and Kagetsu trade blows until Io hits a hurricanrana, Kagetsu falls out of the ring and Io dives out onto her with a moonsault from the top turnbuckle. Back in the ring, Natsu is up and knees Tam in the head, boot by Natsu but Tam boots her back. High kick by Tam and she nails a spinning heel kick, Violent Shooting (running knee strike) by Tam and she covers Natsu for the three count! Io Shirai and Tam Nakano are the winners!

Even though this had a few of the common pitfalls of wild gimmick matches, I still enjoyed it a lot. The main issue of course with the bat is for the middle chunk of the match they did a lot of the ‘one wrestler gets the bat, another steals it, another steals it’ etc. without a lot of actual action going on. But the explosions did not disappoint, the “exploding bat” is the gimmickiest of all gimmicks but its still fun as its so over the top, and seeing a different match style in Stardom was a treat. The last five minutes of the match was really hot as it became less about the gimmick and more about four talented wrestlers executing a really well done home stretch, and that really helped put over the match as more than just a big boom. There were a lot of little things here that were done well and only a few small annoyances, overall definitely a match worth a watch and probably one of the most ridiculous yet entertaining matches we will see in Joshi wrestling this year.  Highly Recommended

The post Stardom Dream Slam In Nagoya on 4/1/18 Review appeared first on Joshi City.

And we are back to Stardom, as I still plan on reviewing all their Korakuen Hall events in 2018. This is a really big show that got a fair amount of buzz online, as the promotion has hit onto a few hot storylines. The split we saw last month with Oedo Tai comes to a head as Tam tags with Mayu to go for the tag team titles, and we also get Meiko Satomura vs. Toni Storm in a mini dream match. In the main event, Momo Watanabe has her first Korakuen Hall main event singles match as she goes for Io Shirai’s Wonder of Stardom Championship! Here is the card:

• Hanan, Ruaka, and Shiki Shibusawa vs. Kaori Yoneyama and Konami
• Elimination Match: AZM and HZK vs. Jungle Kyona and Natsuko Tora vs. Miranda and Nicole Savoy vs. Starlight Kid and Xia Brookside
• Hiromi Mimura vs. Natsu Sumire
• Goddesses Of Stardom Championship: Hana Kimura and Kagetsu vs. Mayu Iwatani and Tam Nakano
• Meiko Satomura vs. Toni Storm
• Wonder Of Stardom Championship: Io Shirai vs. Momo Watanabe

All the Joshi wrestlers above have profiles on Joshi City, you can click on their names above to go straight to it. I am watching the Stardom World version of the show for the first three matches so I can see the matches unclipped, then for the bigger matches I’ll switch to the Samurai TV airing for the better camera angles. Here we go.

Hanan, Ruaka, and Shiki Shibusawa vs. Kaori Yoneyama and Konami

Ruaka and Konami start the match but Yoneyama immediately attacks Ruaka from behind, Shiki and Hanan run in and hit dropkicks, giving them a chance to triple team Konami. The extras leave as Ruaka elbows Konami, but Konami kicks her back and delivers a dropkick before making the tag to Yoneyama. Yoneyama tosses down Ruaka by her hair, chops by Yoneyama and she punches Ruaka in the gut. Ruaka comes back with a big boot and tags Shiki, dropkicks by Shiki and she covers Yoneyama for two. Knee by Yoneyama but Shiki blocks the Irish whip and hits a face crusher, scoop slam by Shiki but Yoneyama bridges out of the cover and boots Shiki in the face. Yoneyama tags in Konami, kicks to the chest by Konami but Shiki catches one. Konami quickly applies a short armbar things break down as all five wrestlers end up in the ring. With the odds in their favor, the rookies take over as Shiki tags in Hanan and everyone attacks Konami in the corner. Missile dropkick by Shiki, Ruaka picks up Konami and hits the fisherman suplex before Hanan delivers the STO for a two count. Hanan goes for a suplex on Konami but Konami blocks it, Ruaka comes in to help but Yoneyama and Shiki come in too and they end up in a stalemate. Yoneyama and Konami dropkick all three of their opponents, fisherman suplex by Konami to Hanan and she nails the Buzzsaw Kick for the three count! Kaori Yoneyama and Konami are the winners!

This was good enough mindless fun. And at least it was structured differently so it wasn’t the same literal match we have been watching in the opening of Stardom for the last six months. While not all the rookies are great, they kept the match short (about five minutes) so each got a little bit of a chance to shine without being asked to do too much. Nothing special but at least it was watchable.

AZM and HZK vs. Miranda and Nicole Savoy vs. Jungle Kyona and Natsuko Tora vs. Starlight Kid and Xia Brookside
Elimination Tag Team Match

The rules of the match are that each team still in the match has one wrestler active, so it starts with four legal wrestlers in the ring. Natsuko is triple teamed to start but quickly turns the tide as she stacks all her opponents in the corner. Natsuko goes for a body avalanche but everyone moves so she just hits the turnbuckle, Kyona tries to do the same but she accidentally hits Natsuko. Miranda hits a spear on both Starlight Kid and AZM, Miranda dropkicks Starlight Kid in the knee and delivers a DDT for two. Elbows by Starlight Kid but Miranda shrugs them off, Nicole comes in to help but is quickly sent back out of the ring as things quickly (and predictably) break down. Starlight Kid and Xia isolate AZM in the ring, Codebreaker by Xia and Starlight Kid hits a standing moonsault for two. HZK breaks up the next cover attempt, AZM rebounds out of the corner with a crossbody and holds down Starlight Kid for the three count! Starlight Kid and Xia Brookside are eliminated.

AZM tags in HZK as Kyona comes in the ring, they trade elbows until HZK DDTs Kyona for a two count. Nicole comes in and suplexes both HZK and Kyona, she then puts them both in a stretch hold but after she lets go both her opponents toss her to the mat. We end up with HZK and Kyona alone again, hard headbutt by HZK and both wrestlers are down. AZM and Natsuko replace them, HZK boots Natsuko and AZM applies the Wing Clutch Hold for two. Natsuko goes for a suplex but AZM reverses it, AZM picks up Natsuko and goes off the ropes, but Kyona runs in and lariats her. Spear by Natsuko and she nails the swinging side slam for the three count! AZM and HZK are eliminated.

We are down to the final pair, Team Jungle dropkick Nicole and Miranda and Kyona goes for the powerbomb on Miranda, but Miranda slides away and hits a cutter. Tilt-a-whirl something by Miranda gets a two count and she tags in Nicole, sliding knee by Nicole and she covers Kyona for two. Nicole goes for the suplex but HZK blocks it, cradle by Nicole and she puts Kyona in a single leg crab hold. Natsuko breaks it up, Nicole goes off the ropes but Kyona hits a lariat. Nicole stays up and goes off the ropes but finally is sent off her feet with another lariat, Natsuko comes in and they both hit body blocks. Diving bodypress by Kyona and then Natsuko, cover by Natsuko but it gets two. Fallaway Slam by Nicole, she picks up Natsuko and goes off the ropes, but Kyona cuts her off with a lariat. Miranda runs in and spears Natsuko, she then kicks Kyona in the head before Nicole goes back to Natsuko and delivers a backdrop suplex for a two count. Nicole picks up Natsuko and delivers a fisherman suplex hold, and she picks up the three count! Nicole Savoy and Miranda win the match.

I have to give credit where it is due, this match was more entertaining than I was expecting. The vast majority of this was solid, they worked together really well and it stayed fast paced and interesting. Miranda was the only one that lagged behind as she isn’t quite as skilled as everyone else on the match, but aside from a few of her segments, everything else was gravy. About as good as a Stardom undercard match can get, it kept me amused which is all I can ask for.  Mildly Recommended

Hiromi Mimura vs. Natsu Sumire

After some mic work, Natsu manages to trick Hiromi into thinking she is emotional and sad about this match but quickly suplexes Hiromi and knees her in the head. Natsu stomps Hiromi and elbows her in the corner, running elbow by Natsu and she puts Hiromi in a camel clutch. Headscissors by Natsu and she slams Hiromi’s head into the mat, Natsu lets go after a moment and gets her whip, but Hiromi avoids the whip blows. Natsu pulls the referee in front of her to stop Hiromi’s charge and hits a lariat, she then drinks some water to try to spit it onto Hiromi but Hiromi kicks her back and hits a scoop slam. Now it is Hiromi that get some water and spits it onto Natsu, stomps by Hiromi and she goes for the Acid Drop, but Natsu shoves her off. Natsu picks up Hiromi but Hiromi gets away, she goes off the ropes and hits a low crossbody followed by a dropkick. Hiromi goes up top and delivers a diving crossbody and she delivers a… modified Acid Drop to Natsu, Hiromi charges Natsu but Natsu whips her in the face. Natsu keeps whipping Hiromi as the referee tries to get her to stop, Natsu pushes the referee away as she continues her assault, but Hiromi dropkicks Natsu back into the referee. Hiromi charges Natsu but Natsu drop toeholds her into the referee in the corner. Bronco Buster by Natsu and she chokes Hiromi with the whip, the referee gets her to stop but Natsu whips the referee. The referee has finally seen enough and calls for the bell, giving Hiromi the victory by DQ.

Well this match certainly had lots of “style” to it. For what it was, it was decent enough and was kept short, but neither of these two will ever win any awards for their in-ring ability. Still, variety on  a card isn’t a bad thing and it certainly is different than the other matches on the card. Oedo Tai to me sometimes walks the line too close between being a goofy stable and being an ass-kicking one but at least Natsu has her character pretty down-pat so love it or not she is consistent. In a vacuum, not a good match, but a bit of a perhaps necessary breather before the big matches on the card get going.

(c) Hana Kimura and Kagetsu vs. Mayu Iwatani and Tam Nakano
Goddesses of Stardom Championship

Mayu and Tam try to shake hands before the match, their efforts are rejected so they jump Oedo Tai from behind instead. Hana is double teamed in the corner and gets kicked both both opponents in the stomach, Tam kicks Hana into the corner but Hana blocks the suplex attempt. Leg sweep by Tam and she stomps on Hana’s back before hitting a running senton. Fisherman suplex hold by Tam, but Hana gets a shoulder up. Tam hits a backdrop suplex, but that gets a two count as well. Mayu comes in and they hit a double vertical suplex, superkick by Mayu and Tam hits a high kick. Kagetsu runs in but she eats a double superkick, as does Hana, before Tam delivers a heel kick to Hana for a nearfall. Tam gets on the second turnbuckle but Hana avoid the diving senton and makes the hot tag to Kagetsu. Kagetsu throws Tam into the corner so that Mayu can tag in, Mayu does and they go through a quick exchange with neither getting the advantage. Strike combination by Kagetsu but Mayu kicks her in the leg, dragon suplex hold by Kagetsu but it gets a two count. Mayu picks up Kagetsu and hits an Ebisu Drop, but Kagetsu fires back with elbows. Superkick by Mayu and she nails a Buzzsaw Kick, German suplex by Mayu but it only gets a two count.

Mayu gets on the top turnbuckle but Kagetsu elbows her and chokeslams Mayu to the mat. Both wrestlers roll to their corners to tag out, Kris gets on the apron and spits water at Tam before Hana hits a dropkick. Running boot by Hana and she hits a vertical suplex, she applies a seated armbar but Mayu breaks it up. Hana goes for a boot but Tam moves and hits a high kick, Hana returns with a big boot before booting Tam in the head again for a two count cover. Tam avoids the next boot attempt and hits a heel kick, Tam goes up top but Kris hits her from the apron with a board. Big boot by Hana and she flings Tam back to the mat, cover by Hana but she pulls up Tam’s head before the three count. She then tags in Kagetsu, high kick by Kagetsu but Tam kicks her back. More kicks by Tam but Kagetsu doesn’t go down until she is hit by about a dozen of them. Kagetsu still recovers first as Tam is feeling the effects from previous damage, strike combination by Kagetsu and she nails a Buzzsaw Kick. Kagetsu goes for the Ebisu Drop but Tam rolls away, kick to the stomach by Tam but Kagetsu catches her with a chokeslam. Ebisu Drop by Kagetsu, she goes up top and she delivers the Oedo Coaster for the three count! Oedo Tai retain the titles.

As a general rule, matches start slow and build to a climax, but I thought in this match they did the opposite. The match started super hot and I loved the frantic pace and urgency shown by Mayu and Tam as they dominated the first portion of the match, but it did slow down once Oedo Tai took over. Not that the match got bad but I wish they had gone ahead and just maintained that pace since it wasn’t a very long title match anyway (about 12 minutes). The story here of Tam trying her damndest but not being good enough yet was well done and Hana was really great both in her move execution and expressions. For a short midcard title defense, they really delivered an exciting match, hats off to all of them.  Recommended

Meiko Satomura vs. Toni Storm

They start with a grappling session and end up on the mat trading holds, but they reach a stalemate and shake hands back on their feet. Meiko kicks Toni in the face but lets Toni recover, Toni applies a wristlock on the mat but Meiko reverses it. Kicks by Meiko and she hits a double kneedrop, but Toni kicks out of the cover. Meiko charges Toni but Toni ducks behind her and drops Meiko with a release German. Hip attack by Toni and she hits a reverse neckbreaker, armbar by Toni but Meiko gets to the ropes. Toni picks up Meiko but Meiko blocks the piledriver, elbow by Meiko but Toni returns fire. Kick to the gut by Meiko and she hits a series of uppercuts which sends Toni to the mat. Meiko goes up top but Toni headbutts her down to the floor, she goes off the ropes and sails out onto Meiko with a tope suicida. Toni gets Meiko back into the ring but still can’t hit the piledriver, Meiko goes for the Death Valley Bomb but Toni slides down her back and hits a Backstabber. Toni goes up top but Meiko joins her, Toni slides under her legs however and hits a Buckle Bomb. Meiko comes back with a Pele Kick, kicks to the chest by Meiko and she drops Toni with a DDT. Meiko goes for the cartwheel kneedrop but Toni moves and applies the armbar. Meiko gets out of it and goes back to kicking Toni, slingshot footstomp by Meiko and she finally hits the cartwheel kneedrop. Meiko picks up Toni but Toni blocks the Death Valley Bomb attempt, snap piledriver by Toni but Meiko kicks out of the cover. Toni goes for a kick but Meiko swats her away and applies a sleeper, but Toni gets to the ropes. Death Valley Bomb by Meiko, but it only gets a two count. Meiko goes for another one but Toni hits the Strong Zero, she goes for another one but Meiko reverses it into a Death Valley Bomb. They slowly get up and Meiko delivers another one, but Toni rolls out of the ring before Meiko can make the cover. The bell rings as Toni reaches the floor, as time has expired. The match is a Draw.

Somewhere, hiding within this match, was a great match just waiting to come out. But it never really did. Part of the issue, as I mentioned above, is that everyone and their mother knew this match would be a draw. Now matches can overcome that, being predictable doesn’t automatically equal not entertaining, it just makes it harder. The beginning mat work dragged a bit wasn’t a big deal, but it felt like it went from the feeling out process straight to trading finishers without much ‘meat’ to the match. That isn’t to say it was bad, I’m just explaining why it wasn’t the epic I think these two could have based on their talent. They are both super smooth wrestlers with killer strikes, and I loved Toni’s suplex to Meiko. Plus her snap piledrivers are some of the best in the business. Certainly a good match but it never really did anything to go beyond that.  Mildly Recommended

(c) Io Shirai vs. Momo Watanabe
Wonder of Stardom Championship

Momo immediately starts elbowing Io and throws her into the corner before hitting a dropkick, she goes to charge Io again but Io catches her in the face with a dropkick. Kicks by Io and she hits a scoop slam, footstomp by Io and she kicks Momo in the leg. Io keeps on Momo’s leg, Momo gets back to her feet and hits an elbow but Io elbows her back. More strikes by Io in the corner, Irish whip by Io but Momo springboards out of the corner and hits a dropkick. Double backflip into a dropkick by Io, Momo rolls out of the ring and Io goes off the ropes to do a dive, but Momo rolls back in and kicks Io in the chest. Momo gets on the second turnbuckle and hits a tornado DDT, kicks by Momo and Io bails out of the ring to regroup. The Stardom referee seems overly concerned as he continues being biased towards Io (which is a common theme in Stardom title matches), Momo finally goes out to the apron and kicks Io in the chest as she stands on the floor. Momo slides Io onto the apron, she gets Io on her shoulders and nails the B Driver. Back in the ring, dropkick by Momo in the corner and she hits a second dropkick, hard kick to the back by Momo and she covers Io for two. Momo picks up Io but Io elbows her off, dragon screw leg whip by Io and Momo rolls out to the floor.

Io goes to the apron and sails out of the ring with an Asai Moonsault, Io slides Momo back in and hits a swandive dropkick. Running double knee by Io in the corner followed by a double underhook facebuster, and she covers Momo for a two count. Io goes up top but Momo kicks her leg out before she can jump off, Momo joins Io and slaps her before hitting a superplex. Momo picks up Io and hits a side slam, another side slam by Momo and she delivers the Somato for a two count. Momo puts Io in a modified chickenwing choke but Io gets a foot on the bottom rope for the break. Momo picks up Io and goes for the B Driver but Io blocks it, cradle by Momo and she hits another Somato for two. B Driver by Momo, she goes up top and nails the avalanche Somato before putting Io back in the submission hold. Io gets to the ropes again but Momo keeps a hold of her arm and hits a dragon suplex hold for a two count. High kick by Momo, she puts Io on the top turnbuckle and goes for an avalanche B Driver, but Io reverses it into a powerbomb. Io grabs Momo from behind but Momo elbows her off, she goes for a kick but Io catches her leg and applies an ankle hold. She reverts it into a pair of German suplexes, Io then hits the package German but Momo kicks out at two. Io picks up Momo and nails a palm strike, busting open Momo’s lip in the process. Tombstone Piledriver by Io, she goes up top and she nails a moonsault for the three count! Io Shirai is still the Wonder of Stardom Champion.

First of all, its a good thing the match was already ending because Momo’s lip was cut open something fierce. This was a great match and honestly I didn’t know that Momo had this in her. By far the best match in her career and it isn’t even close. Io Shirai gets a lot of credit for that but Momo was on point from start to finish, hitting everything under the sun to try to keep Io down. Io did her usual superwoman act at times but I’ve never had an issue with that, she’s the Ace and that is what Ace’s do, they are supposed to be incredibly difficult to keep down for the three count. But they still wrestled with a purpose, as Io kept after Momo’s leg and Momo kept throwing every bomb she has in her arsenal. A must see match and my favorite Stardom match of 2018 so far, I’d recommend going out of your way to see it.  Highly Recommended

The post Stardom Queen’s Fes on 2/18/18 Review appeared first on Joshi City.

  

• Championships and Tournaments Won: This includes any championship won during 2017, or any championship that was held when 2017 began. The prestige of the championship or tournament will be taken into account.
• Match Quality: The most subjective criteria, extra consideration is given to wrestlers that had high quality matches throughout the year, especially if it was with a variety of opponents.
• Wrestler Popularity: Being able to connect with the crowd is important in wrestling, wrestlers that have success interacting with the crowd and getting reactions will get credit for that.
• Wrestler Status in a Promotion: Generally speaking, the Ace of one promotion will be ahead of the #3 wrestler in another promotion, since wrestling on top means bigger matches, longer matches, and more opportunities. There isn’t a direct correlation, but leading a promotion or being the ‘face’ of a promotion can help a wrestler’s rank as it increases the wrestler’s visibility and importance.
• Match Frequency/Availability: How often a wrestler wrestled is taken into consideration. A wrestler with 100 matches is more likely to be on the list than a wrestler with 10 matches. Also, it is harder to ‘rate’ a wrestler if their matches rarely were distributed via TV or an online streaming service, so visibility is a factor.

One criteria I am not using, because I disagree with it, is ‘drawing power.’ In the current wrestling landscape there are very few wrestlers that by themselves are draws (I could probably count them on one hand), usually it is more the benefit of a good storyline or a hot region that impacts the size of the crowd. While the larger Joshi promotions may have more wrestlers on the list due to the other criteria (visibility being a major one), the size of the crowds will not be taken in consideration.

1. Hiroyo Matsumoto (Freelancer)

Championships Held: OZ Academy Openweight Championship, Artist of Stardom Championship, Sendai Girls’ World Championship, and the Goddesses of Stardom Championship
Biggest Matches:  with Kagetsu vs. Shida and Syuri on 1/25, with Kyona vs. Hojo and Bito on 3/5, vs. Chihiro Hashimoto on 6/10, vs. Chihiro Hashimoto on 7/15, vs. Yoshiko on 10/29
Best Match: vs. Chihiro Hashimoto in Sendai Girls’ on 6/10

What made 2017 so special for Hiroyo Matsumoto is not only did she dominate, but she dominated in multiple different promotions. Hiroyo held the top title in two different promotions (OZ Academy and Sendai Girls’) and held two additional titles in Stardom all during the year. Over the course of the year, she had singles wins over Kyoko Kimura, Meiko Satomura, Arisa Nakajima, Chihiro Hashimoto, AKINO, Hikaru Shida, and Mariko Yoshida. In addition to her success against a variety of opponents, in-ring she was on the top of her game, putting on high-end matches throughout the year. No one could have expected that Hiroyo would have the type of year she had in 2017, just showing how unpredictable the Joshi landscape can be.

2. Risa Sera (Ice Ribbon)

Championships Held: Ice Ribbon ICExInfinity Championship and the Ice Ribbon Tag Team Championship
Biggest Matches:  vs. Rina Yamashita on 3/26, vs. Akane Fujita on 5/28, vs. Maya Yukihi on 8/27, with Yukihi vs. Lovely Butchers on 10/29, vs. Kurumi on 12/31
Best Match: vs. Rina Yamashita in Ice Ribbon on 3/26

Risa Sera was the undisputed Ace of Ice Ribbon in 2017. She won the main title in the promotion, the ICExInfinity Championship, on the last day of 2016 and did not lose it until the last day of 2017. During that span, she had seven successful defenses against seven different opponents, including Rina Yamashita, Mochi Miyagi, and Maya Yukihi. In addition to the singles championship, she also won the tag team championship with Maya Yukihi in October and held it until the end of the year, with one successful defense during that time. Of all the wrestlers in 2017, none dominated their promotion like Risa Sera did in 2017, so while she didn’t go outside the promotion like I would have preferred for different types of challenges she still had a year to remember.

3. Io Shirai (Stardom)

Championships Held: World of Stardom Championship, Wonder of Stardom Championship, and the Artist of Stardom Championship
Biggest Matches:  vs. Shayna Baszler on 2/23, vs. Kagetsu on 3/5, vs. Kairi Hojo on 3/20, with AZM and HZK vs. Oedo Tai on 4/15, vs. Toni Storm on 5/14, vs. Mayu Iwatani on 6/21, vs. Yoko Bito on 11/19
Best Match: vs. Mayu Iwatani in Stardom on 6/21

It was an interesting year for Io Shirai. She started on top, where she always seems to be, as she held both the Wonder of Stardom Championship and the Artist of Stardom Championship early in the year. Then the rumors started of her going to WWE, leading to her dropping all her titles in mid-June. But she didn’t go, and she ended up winning two more titles before the end of the year, as she concluded 2017 the Ace of Stardom just as she started it. All told, she had 19 title matches in 2017, with big wins over Viper, Shayna Baszler, Kagetsu, Kairi Hojo, and Yoko Bito. Io Shirai also continued being one of the top in-ring wrestlers in Japan, with many great and memorable matches.

4. Chihiro Hashimoto (Sendai Girls’)

Championships Held: Sendai Girls’ World Championship
Biggest Matches:  vs. Aja Kong on 1/9, vs. Aja Kong on 4/6, vs. Hiroyo Matsumoto on 7/15, vs. Meiko Satomura on 9/24
Best Match: vs. Meiko Satomura in Sendai Girls’ on 9/24

By far the least experienced wrestler in the Top 10, Chihiro Hashimoto had a big year in 2017. She held the Sendai Girls’ World Championship three different times during the year and picked up some big wins along the way, including singles victories over Aja Kong, Hiroyo Matsumoto, and Meiko Satomura. She also branched outside of Sendai Girls’, with fun matches against WAVE’s Rina Yamashita and Takumi Iroha from Marvelous. In-ring, Chihiro showed a lot of improvement in 2017 compared to 2016, and I expect her to continue working to solidify herself as one of the top Joshi wrestlers in 2018.

5. Manami Toyota (OZ Academy)

Championships Held: Ice Ribbon Triangle Championship
Biggest Matches:  Gauntlet Match on 11/3
Best Match: vs. Aja Kong on 10/29

Placing Manami Toyota on this list was hard, as even though I knew she deserved to be on it, her 2017 arch was very different than everyone else. Manami Toyota is one of the most legendary female wrestlers in the world, period, and the impact she had on Joshi wrestling can not be overstated. Toyota announced early in the year that she was retiring on November 3rd, which lead to her having a lot of “farewell” style matches throughout the year. Her farewell tour was grand, as she made stops by virtually every promotion (with Stardom noteably missing) including OZ Academy, ZERO1, Big Japan, WAVE, Ice Ribbon, PURE J, and multiple wrestler produced shows. Along the way she had singles matches with many old foes and current stars, including Shinobu Kandori, Yumiko Hotta, Aja Kong, Takako Inoue, Hikaru Shida, Sonoko Kato, Nanae Takahashi, and many more. She ended her career with a very entertaining 50 Match Gauntlet, refusing to ease her way into retirement. A true living legend, Manami Toyota ended her career with a bang, and gave us many happy memories in the process.

6. Ryo Mizunami (Pro Wrestling WAVE)

Championships Held: Regina Di WAVE Championship, WAVE Tag Team Championship, and the International Ribbon Tag Team Championship
Biggest Matches:  vs. Misaki Ohata on 2/11, with Ohata vs. Kurumi and Tsukushi on 3/26, vs. Rina Yamashita on 7/2
Best Match: with Ohata vs. Best Friends in SEAdLINNNG on 8/24

Ryo Mizunami had the longest run with WAVE’s biggest title in 2017, and for much of the year acted as the face of the company. She had stiff competition from Rina Yamashita and Misaki Ohata, but when also taking in considering her work in the Avid Rivals tag team, she had the best year of any wrestler in the promotion. Ryo entered the year with both the singles and multiple tag championships, but quickly lost the WAVE Tag Team Championship in January and then the Ice Ribbon Tag Team Championship in March. She held onto the singles championship until July however, and picked up wins over Misaki Ohata, Yuki Miyazaki, and Moeka Haruhi along the way. She cooled off the second half of the year however and lost singles matches to Nagisa Nozaki and Yumi Ohka, keeping her out of the title scene. Ryo will look to climb back to her old spot in 2018.

7.  Mayu Iwatani (Stardom)

Championships Held: High Speed Championship, Wonder of Stardom Championship, and the World of Stardom Championship
Biggest Matches:  vs. Kairi Hojo on 5/14, vs. Io Shirai on 6/21, vs. Yoko Bito on 7/16, vs. Kagetsu on 8/13, vs. Yoko Bito on 9/23
Best Match: vs. Io Shirai on 6/21

Sometimes the perfect story gets spoiled by a force outside anyone’s control, which was the case for Mayu in 2017. She should be much higher on this list but fate was not on her side. The first half of the year was set up to position Mayu as a potential Ace of the company – she defeated Kairi Hojo for the Wonder of Stardom Championship in May and then beat Io Shirai for the World of Stardom Championship in June, making her the undisputed top wrestler in Stardom. But then Io Shirai didn’t leave for WWE as expected, and even worse, Mayu was injured in September and missed the rest of the year. So 2017 concluded with Mayu holding no titles, and Io Shirai back to resume her role as Ace. Mayu still had a very good year but it could have been better, she’ll look to rebuild in January 2018 when she returns from injury.

8.  Misaki Ohata (Pro Wrestling WAVE)

Championships Held: Regina Di WAVE Championship, International Ribbon Tag Team Championship, and the WAVE Tag Team Championship
Biggest Matches:  vs. Ryo Mizunami on 2/11, with Mizunami vs. Kurumi and Tsukushi on 3/26, vs. Rina Yamashita on 10/9, vs. Nagisa Nozaki on 11/16
Best Match: with Ryo Mizunami vs. Best Friends in SEAdLINNNG on 8/24

Like Ryo Mizunami, Misaki Ohata entered the year with both the WAVE and Ice Ribbon Tag Team Championships. She also won the Regina Di WAVE Championship, defeating Rina Yamashita in October, but lost the belt before the end of the year against Yumi Ohka. Ohata was a very active champion however, and in less than three months had five successful defenses, including wins over Nagisa Nozaki and Manami Katsu. Ohata ended the year with no belts, so she’ll have her work cut out for her in 2018.

9.  Hanako Nakamori (PURE-J)

Championships Held: JWP Openweight Championship, JWP/Daily Sports Tag Team Championship, and the PURE-J Openweight Championship
Biggest Matches:  with Kimura vs. Bolshoi and Leon on 1/9, vs. Yoneyama on 3/8, vs. Kuragaki on 4/2, vs. Manami Katsu on 10/9, vs. DASH Chisako on 12/27
Best Match: vs. Manami Katsu on 10/9

Nakamori is in an interesting position, as she was the clear leader of a promotion with very little TV time, so most of her matches were not available for easy viewing. I purchased some JWP/PURE J DVDs just so I could keep up, but I certainly recognize that even more hardcore Joshi fans may have only seen a handful of Hanako matches in 2017. Still, she had a very good year, as she easily transitioned from being the JWP Openweight Champion to the PURE-J Openweight Champion when JWP officially closed and PURE-J was launched in its place. As JWP Champion, she had wins over Leon, Kaori Yoneyama, and Tsubasa Kuragaki, while she did not have any successful defenses with the PURE-J Championship before losing it to DASH Chisako. I wouldn’t consider Hanako a great in-ring wrestler, but she still had a year worth discussing as she helped lead the struggling promotion.

10.  Rina Yamashita (Daijo Pro/Pro Wrestling WAVE)

Championships Held: Regina di WAVE Championship
Biggest Matches:  vs. Risa Sera on 3/26, vs. Ohata on  6/4, vs. Mizunami on 7/2, vs. ASUKA on 9/17, vs. Misaki Ohata on 10/9
Best Match: vs. Yoshiko in WAVE on 8/12

While Rina Yamashita did not have the numerous title reigns of most others in the Top 10, she asserted herself in so many promotions in 2017 and really raised her stock overall more than perhaps any other wrestler. Rina invaded SEAdLINNNG, Marvelous, Ice Ribbon, and OZ Academy throughout the year, and had big matches against Yoshiko, Hikaru Shida, and Risa Sera. In WAVE, Rina won the Catch the WAVE Tournament, defeating Misaki Ohata, and then beat Ryo Mizunami in July for the Regina di WAVE Championship. She had three successful defenses before losing the title to Misaki Ohata in October, including wins over Yoshiko and ASUKA. On top of all that, Rina in-ring was fantastic in 2017, with many memorable matches. Keep an eye out for Rina Yamashita in 2018, her stock is only going to go up.

    

12. Yoshiko (SEAdLINNNG) – Yoshiko had a resurgence in 2017, as she had success in a number of promotions outside of her home base. She feuded with Rina Yamashita from Pro Wrestling WAVE, Takumi Iroha in Marvelous, and Hiroyo Matsumoto in OZ Academy, with a fair amount of success whenever she went. She won the OZ Academy Openweight Championship in October, her first title since leaving Stardom in 2015.  Yoshiko has also continued to excel in ‘hoss’ style matches, with entertaining brawls against a variety of opponents throughout the year.

13. Yoko Bito (Stardom) – Bito had an interesting year and would have had a chance of being higher on the list, but she missed a few months due to injury and was simply outranked by too many other wrestlers in her own promotion. She did win two titles in the Stardom, including the Wonder of Stardom Championship which she won from Mayu Iwatani. Yoko Bito retired on December 24th, ending her wrestling career for a second time.

14. Tsukasa Fujimoto (Ice Ribbon) – While still the veteran face of Ice Ribbon, Fujimoto took a bit of a back seat in 2017. She held the Triangle Ribbon belt for half the year, which is a less serious title in Ice Ribbon, while concentrating on building up the younger wrestlers such as the DATE sisters. She did do a ‘tour’ of other promotions with Arisa Nakajima as Best Friends, perhaps for the last time, and still was putting on high end matches even though she wasn’t in the main event scene.

15. Takumi Iroha (Marvelous) – After a quiet year as she trained and grew in Marvelous, Iroha branched outside the promotion more in 2017. She won her first title since leaving Stardom in 2015, winning the WAVE Tag Team Championship with Rin Kadokura in September and they kept the titles through the end of the year. She also challenged for both the Regina di WAVE Championship and the Wonder of Stardom Championship during the year. In-ring, Iroha continued to improve as well, and overall for someone that is affiliated with a promotion with no TV deal, she had a fair amount of exposure and success.

    

17. Meiko Satomura (Sendai Girls’) – Meiko Satomura took the Tsukasa Fujimoto route in 2017, letting the younger wrestlers take over Sendai Girls’ while she mostly took a back seat. Satomura had a high number of singles losses (compared to past years) and only once challenged for the Sendai Girls’ World Championship, losing to Chihiro Hashimoto. Still, Satomura continued to excel in match quality and is one of the top in-ring wrestlers in Joshi wrestling.

18. Hikaru Shida (Freelancer) – Shida mostly had success in the tag scene in 2017, with her and Syuri dominating the first half of the year. Unfortunately for Shida, Syuri stopped wrestling in July to concentrate on MMA, leaving Shida with less of a purpose. She challenged for the OZ Academy Openweight Championship in August, but failed, and that was her last title match in Japan for the rest of the year. Shida is still a force in the ring and had many entertaining matches, but she’ll need to find her place next year to have more success.

19. Arisa Nakajima (Freelancer/SEAdLINNNG) – When I was compiling this list and doing research, I was shocked to see how much of a drop Nakajima had in 2017 compared to past years. Nakajima had no titles in 2017 and only had one title match period, which was a failed defense at the Ice Ribbon Triangle Ribbon Championship. She is only on the list at all because her matches as part of Best Friends were great, and she had some entertaining matches in SEAdLINNNG. I don’t know what the future holds for Nakajima, but she is still a high-end wrestler so I hope we see more of her in 2018.

20. Reika Saiki (Freelancer/TJP) – I really wanted a wrestler from Tokyo Joshi Pro here since the promotion got more popular in 2017, but they didn’t have a real dominate wrestler and since their wrestlers rarely go outside the promotion, they have limited visibility. Reika Saiki won the Princess of Princess Championship on August 26th from Yuka Sakazaki and held the title the rest of the year, with two successful defenses. She also had a fair amount of exposure outside of the promotion, as she is also a body builder and model. Saiki is definitely one to keep an eye on next year, however I think Miyu Yamashita will likely have the bigger year so watch for her as well.

The post Top 20 Joshi Wrestlers of 2017 appeared first on Joshi City.

Welcome to the final show of the Stardom FIVE STAR GP! I realize I didn’t review any of the events leading up to the finale but it was just way too much to watch so we are skipping right to the good stuff. Here are the standings going into the show:

This event has all the wrestlers’ last matches in the tournament, then the Finals will immediately take place. Here is the full card:

• AZM, Mari Apache, and Shiki Shibusawa vs. Natsuko Tora, Ruaka, and Starlight Kid
• FIVE STAR GP 2017 Block B: Hiromi Mimura vs. Xia Brookside
• FIVE STAR GP 2017 Block A: Konami vs. Mandy Leon
• FIVE STAR GP 2017 Block B: Hana Kimura vs. Kris Wolf
• FIVE STAR GP 2017 Block A: Jungle Kyona vs. Tam Nakano
• FIVE STAR GP 2017 Block A: Kay Lee Ray vs. Toni Storm
• FIVE STAR GP 2017 Block A: HZK vs. Io Shirai
• FIVE STAR GP 2017 Block B: Viper vs. Yoko Bito
• FIVE STAR GP 2017 Block B: Kagetsu vs. Mayu Iwatani
• FIVE STAR GP 2017 Final

A long event, and since it was shown on Stardom World, all matches are unedited. The hard cam is slightly elevated which may annoy me, but a ten match card like this will be too clipped on Samurai TV to enjoy so I am going to push through it. As always, you can click on the wrestler’s name above to go straight to their profile on Joshi City.

AZM, Mari Apache, and Shiki Shibusawa vs. Natsuko Tora, Ruaka, and Starlight Kid

AZM (in new gear) starts the match with Natsuko, Natsuko attacks her from behind and AZM is triple teamed in the corner. Natsuko goes off the ropes and hits a hard shoulderblock, she picks her up but AZM whips off a hurricanrana. AZM tags in Mari, who promptly boots everyone in the face. Shiki and AZM get in the ring and all three put their opponents in submission holds, Mari cradles Natsuko but it gets a two count. Kicks by Mari but Natsuko elbows her back and hits a spear, she tags in Ruaka (also in new gear) while AZM is tagged back in. AZM throws down Ruaka by the hair but Ruaka comes back with a boot, another boot by Ruaka and she covers AZM for two. Shiki hops in and hits a missile dropkick, suplex by AZM and she covers Ruaka, but the pin is broken up. Ruaka tags in Starlight Kid but Mari is also tagged in and she quickly puts Starlight Kid in a submission hold. Starlight Kid gets out of it and hits a hurricanrana, dropkick by Starlight Kid and she hits the Shiranui. Body Press from the second turnbuckle by Starlight Kid, but Mari kicks out of the cover. Things break down as everyone runs in the ring, but Mari lariats both Natsuko and Ruaka. Mari puts Starlight Kid in the Atlantida (spinning backbreaker rack) and Starlight Kid submits! AZM, Mari Apache, and Shiki Shibusawa win!

This was simple, and at times a bit sloppy. Mari was the star as she should be, hitting her strikes soundly while also giving Starlight Kid quite a bit of offense as well so it wasn’t too one-sided. Ruaka hasn’t improved since I last saw her and Shiki didn’t do enough to get a feel of. Just a short opener with nothing particularly memorable.

Hiromi Mimura vs. Xia Brookside

After they confirm that Xia is taller than Hiromi, Xia picks up Hiromi but Hiromi wiggles away and applies a sunset flip for two. They trade flash pins with neither having success, Hiromi stomps down on Xia near the ropes before hitting a scoop slam. Camel Clutch by Hiromi, she picks up Xia but Xia puts her in the Tree of Woe and hits a dropkick to her face. Irish whip attempt by Xia, Hiromi reverses it but Xia hits a high knee in the corner. Face crusher by Xia and she dropkicks Hiromi for a two count. Xia picks up Hiromi and hits the Codebreaker, but again Hiromi kicks out of the cover. Xia picks up Hiromi again but this time Hiromi slides away and hits a jumping crossbody, dropkick by Hiromi and she dropkicks Xia again for a two count. Hiromi goes off the ropes but Xia delivers a high kick, sunset flip by Xia but Hiromi reverses it and they go back and forth with quick pins. La Magistral attempt by Hiromi, Xia blocks it but Hiromi puts her in the Endless Waltz for the three count! Hiromi Mimura wins the match and ends the tournament with four points.

They might have put on an even more basic match than the last match. No one will ever accuse Hiromi of being a high-end wrestler but in the right situations she can be entertaining as she is cute and has good comedic timing. But this was more a ‘dropkicks and flash pins’ style of match that didn’t do a whole lot for me. Technically sound, just not particularly interesting.

Konami vs. Mandy Leon

Lock-up to start, they end up on the mat but Mandy pulls Konami to her feet and hits a shoulderblock. Dropkick by Konami but Mandy quickly gets back up and they lock knuckles, monkey flip by Mandy and she keeps their knuckles locked so she can fling Konami to the mat again. Konami gets out of it and applies a short armbar, but Mandy rolls away and covers her for two. Cross armbreaker by Konami but Mandy gets a foot in the ropes, lariat by Mandy in the corner and she hits a running elbow. She goes for another one but Konami kicks her away and applies a hanging armbar, missile dropkick by Konami and she covers Mandy for two. Seated armbar by Konami but Mandy gets to the ropes, Konami goes off the ropes but Mandy catches her with a lariat. Elbow drop by Mandy, but her cover gets a two count. Mandy picks up Konami and throws her to the mat, DDT of sorts by Mandy but Konami kicks out of the pin. Mandy goes for a wrist-clutch slam but Konami reverses it with a cradle for the three count! Konami wins the match and ends the tournament with two points.

We have reached the part of the event that I regret not just watching the clipped up Samurai TV version. Like the last two matches, it wasn’t actively bad, it just wasn’t interesting or memorable or good either and was the least fluid match so far. Mandy’s offense is rough, and while I love Konami she isn’t really at the stage of her career where she is going to be able to elevate a wrestler much past where they already are. A watchable match in execution, but a skippable match in regards to entertainment value.

Hana Kimura vs. Kris Wolf

Hana has meat with her to taunt Kris with, I guess her sexy dancing wouldn’t work on her friend so she had to go in a different direction. Hana kicks Kris when she goes for the corn dog she is holding, stomps by Hana and she pulls back on Kris after twisting her in the ropes. Hana puts Kris in a Camel Clutch while waving some meat in her face, Irish whip by Hana but Kris ducks the lariat and hits a spinning headscissors. Jumping knee by Kris in the corner followed by a face crusher for a two count cover. Kris picks up Hana but Hana gets the meat out, Kris grabs it which gives Hana time to elbow her in the chest. Kris elbows her back and they trade blows on the mat, Kris gets the better of it but Hana blocks the suplex attempt. Eye poke by Kris and she applies a small package for two. Suplex by Kris, she gets on the top turnbuckle but Hana joins her and hits a superplex. Running boot by Hana, but the cover gets a two count. Hana picks up Kris but Kris applies a cradle and they go back and forth with flash pins. Kris goes off the ropes but Hana catches her with a dropkick, but boot by Hana and she nails the missile dropkick for the three count! Hana Kimura wins and ends the tournament with eight points.

I love both of these wrestlers. I was the first person on the Kris Wolf Bandwagon (I have documented proof), and I think Hana brings a lot to the table. They certainly weren’t trying to put on an epic match here as it barely went five minutes, and like every other match so far it was mostly strikes and flash pins. The meat thing was a bit too silly for me, I am not sure where the line is but Oedo Tai in general has been more “vicious” lately so I’d rather not it be a long term thing that Kris forgets to wrestle if she gets meat waved in her face. Its always a pleasure to see Hana and Kris, but not much of a match.

Jungle Kyona vs. Tam Nakano

They start the match trying to knock each other over with Kyona having success, cover by Kyona but Tam bridges out of it and hits a dropkick. Snapmare by Tam and she kicks Kyona in the back, Kyona returns to her feet and blocks Tam’s kick. Backbreaker by Kyona and she drapes Tam over the top rope before delivering a body avalanche. Single leg crab hold by Kyona, but Tam eventually makes it to the ropes for the break. Kyona goes off the ropes and hits a lariat, but Tam blocks the next one and applies an abdominal stretch. Sunset flip by Tam, but it only gets a two count. Stomps by Tam to Kyona’s already wrapped up arm but Kyona hits a body avalanche in the corner followed by a dropkick. Sliding lariat by Kyona, and she covers Tam for two. Kyona goes up top but Tam elbows her from behind, kicks by Tam and she suplexes Kyona back to the mat. Cover by Kyona, but it gets a two count. Tam picks up Kyona but Kyona blocks her kick and clubs her in the face, she goes off the ropes but Tam delivers a head kick for two. Tam picks up Kyona but Kyona elbows her off, Tam returns fire and nails another head kick, but Kyona is too close to the ropes and grabs the bottom one to break the pin. Elbows by Tam but Kyona hits a hard lariat, Kyona picks up Tam and drops her with a short range lariat. Hammerthrow Powerbomb by Kyona and she hits another short range lariat, she goes up top and delivers the diving body press for the three count! Jungle Kyona wins the match and picks up two points in the tournament.

Now we are getting somewhere, this was a really good match. Tam really looks better each time I see her, hanging around Stardom wrestlers and training with them seems to be helping. Easily the longest match on the show so far, they had a chance to tell a bit of a story so it wasn’t just strikes and pins. Tam’s kicks were on point and Kyona showed a lot of fire throughout, an exciting match from bell to bell. Really enjoyable and worth the watch.  Recommended

Kay Lee Ray vs. Toni Storm

Lock-up to start, Irish whip by KLR but Toni shoulderblocks her to the mat. Toni goes off the ropes but KLR trips her with a pancake, Toni trips KLR and she rolls her up for two. KLR gets Toni on her back but Toni cradles her before both wrestlers return to their feet. KLR fakes a handshake but kicks Toni in the head instead, KLR throws Toni into the corner and chops her in the chest. KLR rolls Toni to the mat and applies a front necklock, Toni muscles out of it however and hits a vertical suplex. Northern Lights Suplex by KLR, she rolls through it to hit another one but Toni reverses it with a DDT. They slowly get up and trade elbows, snap German by Toni and she hits a running hip attack in the corner. Suplex by Toni, she gets on the top turnbuckle but KLR kicks her before she can jump off, sending Toni to the floor. KLR quickly jumps on the top turnbuckle and sails out of the ring with a Swanton, she slides Toni back in the ring but Toni blocks the Gory Bomb. Toni goes for a kick but KLR catches it and hits the Gory Bomb anyway, cover by KLR but Toni gets a shoulder up. KLR gets on the top turnbuckle but Toni hits her before she can jump off, Toni grabs her but KLR wiggles away. KLR goes for a springboard off the ropes but Toni catches her with a German Suplex, piledriver by Toni but KLR barely kicks out of the cover. Toni picks up KLR and goes off the ropes, but KLR dropkicks her in the knee and hits a neckbreaker. KLR applies a choke but Toni gets a hand on the ropes, KLR gets on the top turnbuckle but Toni recovers and joins her. KLR goes for an elbow but Toni blocks it, and she nails the Strong Zero from the second turnbuckle. Cover by Toni, and she gets the three count! Toni Storm wins and now has 11 points in the tournament.

For a short tournament-style match (meaning more flash pins), I thought this was pretty damn good. KLR and Toni Storm are two of my favorite wrestlers period, and this was really smooth as they have great chemistry. Since it mattered for who won the Blue Block, they went a bit further with big moves and kicking out of finishers than we had seen thus far, raising the drama and excitement. The piledriver off the second turnbuckle was sick but a very definitive way to end the match while keeping KLR strong in the process. Fast paced and entertaining, wish it was longer but I can’t find any fault with the action itself.  Recommended

HZK vs. Io Shirai

They trade holds to start, they go off the ropes until HZK throws down Io by her hair. Bootscrapes by HZK, she goes off the ropes but Io dropkicks her in the face. Io returns the favor and boots HZK in the head, cover by Io but HZK kicks out. Stretch hold by Io, she lets go after a moment and stomps down on HZK’s stomach. Scoop slam by Io, and she covers HZK for a two count. Io picks up HZK and Irish whips her, but HZK slides out to the apron and snaps Io’s neck over the top rope. Dropkick by HZK into the corner and she finally hits the running kick that Io had prevented earlier, choke by HZK and she drives Io’s head into her knee. HZK picks up Io and hits a full nelson slam, cover by HZK but it gets a two count. She goes for the crossface but Io blocks it and applies her own armtrap crossface, she lets go after a moment and delivers a Tiger Feint Kick. Swandive dropkick by Io, she picks up HZK and elbows her in the face. They trade shots, Io gets the better of it and goes for a suplex, but HZK reverses it and hits a double stomp to Io’s stomach. HZK knocks Io into the corner and hits a running elbow, cover by HZK but it gets a two count. HZK goes up top but Io knocks her to the apron, Io joins HZK but HZK slides back in to avoid her palm thrust and knocks Io to the floor. HZK goes to the second turnbuckle and dives out onto Io with a diving lariat. HZK slides Io back into the ring, she gets on the second turnbuckle and hits a diving senton to Io’s back. Armtrap crossface by HZK but Io gets a foot on the ropes to force a break. Boot by HZK and she headbutts Io, scoop slam by HZK and she nails the Bombs Away, but Io barely gets a shoulder up. Armtrap crossface by HZK but again Io gets to the ropes. Io recovers and hits a German suplex hold, running double knee by Io and she hits the double underhook facebuster. Moonsault to the back by Io, she covers HZK but HZK kicks out of the cover. Quick roll-up by HZK but Io kicks out and boots HZK in the head. Texas Cloverleaf by Io but the bell rings, as the time limit has expired. The match is a Draw.

And Io is officially eliminated from winning the tournament. Another really good match, we had to get through some fluff but once the meaningful matches started this show has really delivered. HZK has improved tenfold since returning last December and looked like a legitimate challenger to Io here. Io did kick out of the Bombs Away, but HZK kicked out of the moonsault so they were even. Maybe too many armtrap crossfaces since neither ever win with the move so it felt a bit excessive that both kept using it, but otherwise everything made sense and it was an entertaining match. Keep an eye on HZK, if she sticks around this time she may be a future main event star.  Recommended

Viper vs. Yoko Bito

Viper dropkicks Yoko Bito while her streamers are flying in the ring, getting an early advantage in the match. Viper picks up Bito and clubs on her, sit-out slam by Viper but Bito rolls out of the ring to try to recover. Viper immediately goes out after her however and slams Bito into the apron, lariat against the post by Viper and she gets on the apron before hitting a cannonball down to the floor. Viper returns to the ring to wait for Bito, Bito slowly gets back in but Viper quickly puts her in a cobra clutch. Viper clubs on Bito some more, but Bito goes off the ropes and hits a jumping lariat. Running elbow by Bito and she hits a vertical suplex, Viper gets back up but Bito delivers a head kick for a two count cover. Viper and Bito trade elbows as they return to their feet, Bito goes off the ropes but Viper knocks her back with a headbutt. More headbutts by Viper and she hits a low running crossbody for a two count. Running senton by Viper, but that gets a two count as well. Viper throws Bito into the turnbuckles, cannonball by Viper and she goes for the Reverse Splash, but Bito rolls out of the way. High kick by Bito and she hits a second one, a third head kick by Bito and she nails the B Driver for the three count! Yoko Bito wins and gets two points in the tournament.

A step down from the last few matches. It was a simple story but told well, my main issue is that due to the time length, Bito’s comeback was really short in comparison to the amount of offense she took. I mean Viper threw everything at her but Bito won with a few head kicks and the B Driver with very little beforehand to weaken Viper. But that happens sometimes in tournament matches, these two could have a better longer match but as presented a bit disappointing.

Kagetsu vs. Mayu Iwatani

Kagetsu attacks Mayu as soon as she gets through the curtain, and with Oedo Tai’s help she beats her down on the stage. In an insane spot that has to be seen, Kagetsu tosses Mayu near the railing and then pushes over the entrance rigging on top of her, trapping her neck between the rigging and the guard rail. Mayu miraculously survives this and they finally make it back into the ring to officially start the match, Mayu immediately goes up top but Mayu manages to roll out of the way of the Oedo Coaster. Mayu grabs Kagetsu but Kagetsu gets away and hits a dragon suplex hold, picking up a two count. Mayu snaps off a quick Ebisu Drop for her own two count, as the wrestlers both steal each other’s signature moves. Both wrestler kip-up, they go off the ropes until Mayu hits a jumping elbow. Triple jump dropkick by Kagetsu and she hits a running elbow, vertical suplex by Kagetsu and she puts Mayu in a cross-arm submission hold. Mayu gets to the ropes for the break, the rest of Oedo Tai get on the apron as they all attack Mayu as she is in the ropes.

Kagetsu gets a bottle of water and dumps it onto Mayu, but Mayu regains the advantage with a dropkick. Elbows by Mayu and she kicks Kagetsu in the stomach before hitting a Sling Blade. Cover by Mayu, but it gets two. Mayu picks up Kagetsu, they both block each other’s strikes until Kagetsu delivers a high kick. Another high kick by Kagetsu and a third, Buzzsaw Kick by Kagetsu but she doesn’t go for the cover. Kagetsu goes off the ropes but Mayu hits a superkick, another superkick by Mayu and she hits several more until Kagetsu finally ends on her knees. Buzzsaw Kick by Mayu, and she covers Kagetsu for a two count. Iwatani goes off the ropes and gives Kagetsu a hard dropkick, she goes up top and nails the diving footstomp. Mayu drags up Kagetsu and goes for the Sakauchi but Kagetsu blocks it, kick combination by Kagetsu and she drops Mayu with a chokeslam. Kagetsu goes for the Ebisu Drop but Mayu reverses it with the Sakauchi, but Kagetsu barely kicks out of the cover. Kagetsu pushes Mayu into the referee, knocking him off his feet, allowing Kagetsu to spit blue mist into Mayu’s face. Kagetsu slams Mayu in front of the corner, she quickly goes up top and she nails the Oedo Coaster for the three count! Kagetsu wins the match and ends the tournament with ten points.

After the hot start the match dipped a bit in excitement, but still a great match. The stage spot looked incredibly dangerous and painful, which almost made the fact Mayu was fine a minute later doing a fast paced exchange difficult to believe. It was certainly a memorable moment though. The rest of the match was really fluid, they have great chemistry and every match they have they just ramp up the things they do to each other. Lots of hard strikes and snug suplexes, which is all one can ask for in life. I wouldn’t have minded if it was longer or if the opening killer move felt a bit more important to the match overall, but still a high end match between two of the best in Stardom.  Recommended

I don’t know what convoluted method Stardom used to determine who won the Red Block, but it is Yoko Bito! The finals of the FIVE STAR GP will now immediately take place!

Toni Storm vs. Yoko Bito
FIVE STAR GP 2017 Final

They shake hands but Bito immediately hits a pump kick afterwards, running elbow by Bito in the corner and she delivers a series of kicks. Bito puts Toni in the ropes and chops her in the chest from the apron, she charges Toni but Toni moves and Bito ends up stuck in the ropes. Toni kicks Bito out of the ring, she goes off the ropes and sails out onto her with a tope suicida. Toni chops Bito down onto a chair, she gets a running start and hits Bito with a jumping knee. Toni goes for a piledriver but Bito blocks it and hits a B Driver on the floor. Bito and Toni slowly return to the ring and they trade elbows, Bito goes off the ropes but Toni boots her in the chest. Neck crank by Toni and she hits a series of hip attacks, cover by Toni but it gets two. Toni goes back to the neck to help set up Bito for the Strong Zero, she picks her up but Bito ducks the lariat attempt and hits one of her own. Bito goes up top and delivers a missile dropkick, cover by Bito but it gets two. STF by Bito but Toni crawls to the ropes and forces the break. Bito picks up Toni and delivers a high kick, elbows by Bito but Toni headbutts her and hits a quick Strong Zero. Cover by Toni, but Bito barely kicks out. They both slowly get up and Bito drops Toni with a B Driver, he picks Toni up but Toni ducks her kicks and hits another Strong Zero. Toni rolls through it and hits a second Strong Zero, she then hits a third Strong Zero and covers Bito for the three count! Toni Storm is the new FIVE STAR GP Champion!

Its rough having the finals on the same event as nine other matches, as the show is already long so you know the main event is going to be a bit condensed. I liked what they did during the match though, I didn’t mind Toni hitting her finisher three times for the win as it wasn’t like Bito was kicking out between them, Toni was just being extra thorough. Toni is just so much fun to watch, between the dives and the hip attacks and her piledriver its hard for me not to get into her matches. Bito was mostly along for the ride in this one but she held her own as well, I never really got the sense she was winning as the match wasn’t long enough to have an epic end run. A solid match overall, I just wish the match was on a future event so they could have had more time.  Mildly Recommended

The post Stardom FIVE STAR GP Finale on 9/18/17 Review appeared first on Joshi City.

And we are back with Stardom! This event is their last before the big tournament starts, and features four championship matches. Io Shirai has returned after a brief absence due to a neck issue, and Kagetsu challenges for the World of Stardom Championship! Here is the full card:

• AZM vs. Hanan vs. Ruaka
• FIVE STAR Grand Prix 2017 Qualifying Match: Natsuko Tora vs. Tam Nakano
• Gabby Ortiz and Hiromi Mimura vs. Hana Kimura and Kris Wolf vs. Konami and Yoko Bito vs. Shiki Shibusawa and Starlight Kid
• SWA Undisputed Women’s Championship: Toni Storm vs. Xia Brookside
• High Speed Championship: Shanna vs. Mari Apache
• Artist Of Stardom Championship: Hiroyo Matsumoto, Jungle Kyona, and Kaori Yoneyama vs. HZK, Io Shirai, and Viper
• World Of Stardom Championship: Mayu Iwatani vs. Kagetsu

All wrestlers above have profiles on Joshi City, you can click on their name to go straight to it. I start off watching the Stardom World version of this event, but by the end I’ll be reviewing the Samurai TV version, I’ll explain why when I get there.

AZM vs. Hanan vs. Ruaka

Hanan and Ruaka tie-up while AZM watches, elbows by Hanan but Ruaka elbows her back. AZM gets involved, Hanan elbows her in the corner but Ruaka rolls up Hanan for two. AZM tosses Hanan by her hair, AZM grabs Hanan’s arm and applies a wristlock. Hanan kicks AZM but AZM trips her and hits a dropkick. Ruaka kicks AZM from behind but AZM drops Hanan, AZM avoids Ruaka’s big boot the first time but Ruaka connects the second time for a two count. Dropkick by AZM, she throws Ruaka into the corner and delivers another dropkick. Crab hold by AZM but Hanan breaks it up, AZM and Hanan trade elbows until AZM kicks Hanan out of the ring. AZM goes for a crossbody on Ruaka but Ruaka catches her and tosses AZM to the mat, big boot by Ruaka in the corner and she hits a fisherman suplex hold for two. Hanan returns and helps Ruaka on AZM, judo toss by Hanan to Ruaka and she hits a STO. Cover by Hanan, but Ruaka kicks out. Hanan picks up Ruaka and elbows her into the corner, vertical suplex by AZM to Ruaka but Hanan quickly covers AZM for two. STO by Hanan to AZM, Ruaka comes back and they double team AZM. Hanan dropkicks AZM but Ruaka rolls up Hanan for two, she goes off the ropes but Hanan rolls Ruaka to the mat and cradles her for the three count! Hanan wins!

Short and to the point, I will say that there were no issues of miscommunications here which is no small feat when dealing with a fast paced match with three really young wrestlers. I still see Hanan as the best of the bunch, but too early to really tell for any of them. At least AZM is back where she belongs on the card, so that’s one plus.

Natsuko Tora vs. Tam Nakano

Tam and Natsuko run into each other as the match starts but neither wrestler goes down, they trade elbows until Natsuko puts Tam in a headlock. Tam Irish whips out of it and hits a hard shoulderblock, but Natsuko returns the favor. Snapmare by Natsuko and she hits a dropkick, leglock by Natsuko but Tam gets into the ropes for the break. Natsuko charges Tam and dropkicks her into the corner, cover by Natsuko but it gets a two count. Tam comes back with her own dropkick, kick to the back by Tam and she applies a Dragon Sleeper. She lets go after a moment and goes off the ropes, but Natsuko hits a shoulderblock. Jumping elbow by Natsuko but Tam dropkicks her, running shoulder tackle by Natsuko and she levels Tam with a spear. Natsuko applies an armbar with a headscissors, cradle by Natsuko but it gets two. A backslide by Natsuko gets the same result, Natsuko goes off the ropes but Tam ducks the PK and kicks Natsuko in the head. Kicks to the chest by Tam and she kicks Natsuko in the head for a two count. Tam throws Natsuko into the corner and hits the Space Rolling Elbow, she follows with a Stunner and running footstomps. Senton by Tam, but Natsuko gets a shoulder up on the cover. Kick to the chest by Tam, she gets on the second turnbuckle and delivers a diving senton for another two count. Tam goes up top but Natsuko joins her, Natsuko gets Tam on her shoulders and hits a Samoan Drop. Natsuko goes off the ropes and knees Tam in the stomach, running knee by Natsuko but Tam kicks out. Natsuko picks up Tam but Tam blocks the slam and kicks Natsuko in the head. More kicks by Tam but Natsuko mostly blocks them and slaps her, two more kicks by Tam but Natsuko gets a shoulder up. Spinning Back Kick by Tam, and she picks up the three count! Tam Nakano wins and is in the FIVE STAR GP.

For two inexperienced wrestlers, this was a really solid match. Natsuko looks really smooth already in her career and showed some fire, she’s really progressed a lot since joining Team Jungle. Tam for most of the match looked really good as well, a few kicks at the end had too much hesitation but its their first ever match together so I can excuse some minor communications issues. A well done match, excited to see what Tam Nakano can do in the tournament.  Mildly Recommended

So I started this show watching the Stardom World version, which is why those two matches I saw in full, but I’m switching over to the Samurai TV version now because there is something wrong with Stardom’s hard cam. Everything looks tinted and weird, which is distracting. It normally isn’t like that so I’ll assume it was just a one-time issue.

Gabby Ortiz and Hiromi Mimura vs. Hana Kimura and Kris Wolf vs. Konami and Yoko Bito vs. Shiki Shibusawa and Starlight Kid

The match begins with Hana, Hiromi, Bito, and Shiki in the ring so naturally they have a pose off. Which Samurai TV did not clip. After everyone gets a turn they start fighting, with Hana being triple teamed in the corner. Everyone runs in to attack Hana, with them all having success except for Hiromi. Konami stays in the ring and helps Bito attack Shiki, but Starlight Kid re-enters and both deliver dropkicks to Konami and Bito. Gabby and Hiromi enter and both hit DDTs on Starlight Kid and Shiki, but Hana and Kris attack them from behind. We clip ahead to Bito hitting a double lariat on Gabby and Hiromi, Bito drops Hiromi on Gabby and covers her for two. Bito goes off the ropes but Kris trips her from the floor, Konami goes outside the ring and kicks both Hana and Kris while Gabby drops Bito with a Cyclone Neckbreaker. Small package by Gabby, she goes off the ropes but Bito kicks her in the head. Bito picks up Gabby and delivers the B Driver, but Hana boots Bito when she goes for the pin. Kris runs in and quickly covers Gabby, and she picks up the three count! Kris Wolf and Hana Kimura win!

Samurai TV kindly clipped this one quite a bit. The pose off is cute and fine for a midcard thing, and I laughed pretty good when Hana booted Hiromi in the face, but nothing else here was really memorable. I am glad Oedo Tai got the win though, it may not seem like much but every pinfall counts when trying to get a faction over. Quite skippable but harmless.

(c) Toni Storm vs. Xia Brookside
SWA Undisputed Women’s Championship

This match is joined very in progress, as Xia drops Toni with a spinning headscissors. Running knee by Xia and she hits a face crusher, cover by Xia but it gets a two count. Xia goes for a kick but Toni ducks it and hits a release German, running hip attack by Toni in the corner and she hits a snap vertical suplex. Toni goes up to the top turnbuckle but Xia elbows her before she jumps off, Xia tosses Toni to the mat and covers her for two. Crucifix slam by Xia, she picks up Toni and elbows her in the chest, but Toni throws her into the corner. Buckle Bomb by Toni, and she nails the piledriver for the three count! Toni Storm is still the champion.

Since the match was clipped down to under three minutes its hard to give a real opinion on it, but everything they showed was fine. Toni Storm is one of the best, she hits everything so crisp and I love watching her. Obviously too short to really recommend not a bad way to spend a couple minutes.

(c) Shanna vs. Mari Apache
High Speed Championship

Apache quickly armdrags Shanna around to start the match, but Shanna hits a spinning bodyscissors and dumps Apache out of the ring. Apache returns after a moment, Shanna elbows her into the corner before snapmaring Apache and kicking her in the back. Sleeper by Shanna, she lets go after a moment and knocks Apache into the corner. Irish whip by Shanna but Apache kicks her when she charges in, kick to the back by Apache and she puts Shanna in an armlock. She lets go of the hold after a moment, she tosses Shanna towards the corner but Shanna reverses it and hits a running elbow. Elbow smash by Shanna, and she covers Apache for two. Back up they trade elbows, drop toehold by Apache and she puts Shanna in the rolling Mexican Surfboard. Apache ties up Shanna’s legs, she then picks up Shanna and stretches her over her back. Shanna spins out of it and hits a hurricanrana, cover by Shanna but it gets a two count. Superkick by Shanna, Apache rolls out of the ring but Shanna quickly goes to the top turnbuckle and dives down onto her with a plancha suicida. Shanna and Apache return to the ring, elbow by Shanna but Apache blocks the suplex attempt. Enzuigiri by Shanna, she goes up top but Apache avoids her dive and delivers a heel drop. Shanna temporarily regains the advantage but Apache knocks her down with a lariat, sit-down powerbomb by Apache but Shanna barely gets a shoulder up on the cover. Apache picks up Shanna but Shanna reverses the slam attempt into a DDT. Shanna goes up top and hits a diving crossbody, but Apache rolls out of the pin and covers Shanna for two. Tiger Suplex Hold by Shanna, but Apache kicks out at two. Shanna goes off the ropes but Apache catches her with a Michinoku Driver, she goes up top and nails the Swanton Bomb for the three count! Mari Apache is the new champion!

For whatever reason, this match never really clicked. I think part of the reason the match wasn’t gripping is there was just no clear structure to it, I never was sure what either wrestler’s plan to win was as the offense was so random. Apache knows what she is doing but her offense here had no rhyme or reason to it, and Shanna wasn’t very crisp as several moves didn’t connect as she intended. I think I actually liked their match on July 23rd better, something just felt off here. No lack of effort, it just never hooked me and didn’t have that title match feel.

(c) Hiroyo Matsumoto, Jungle Kyona, and Kaori Yoneyama vs. HZK, Io Shirai, and Viper
Artist of Stardom Championship

Io and Kaori begin the match, they quickly get into a fast exchange with Io being Io, as she shows that she hasn’t lost anything in her month off. She tags in Viper while Hiroyo also tags in, Hiroyo works a headlock but Viper takes Hiroyo to the mat. Hiroyo quickly gets out of it, HZK and Kyona tag in next and Kyona hits a body avalanche in the corner. Scoop slam by Kyona but HZK avoids the body press, Viper comes in but Kyona avoids her body press as well. Io kicks Kyona from the apron and comes in the ring, and  Kyona is triple teamed. Kaori and Hiroyo come in to help but they all end up being cannonballed by Viper in the corner, dropkick by HZK to Kyona and she covers her for two. Bootscrapes by HZK in the corner and she hits a running boot, she tags in Io and Io hits a running boot as well. Cover by Io, but it gets a two count. Io kicks Kyona and hits a double knee in the corner, she goes for another one but Kyona meets her with a hard shoulderblock. Kyona tags in Kaori but Io avoids her running senton, HZK comes in but Kaori fights them both off. Kaori picks up Io and hits Mongolian Chops, throat trust by Kaori but Io trips her and hits a slingshot dropkick. Io hits a running knee on Kaori in the corner and tags in Viper, bodyblock by Viper on Kaori but Kaori hops on her back and applies a sleeper. Viper drives Kaori into the corner to get her off, Viper charges Kaori but Kaori moves and goes for a suplex. Viper blocks it, Kaori goes off the ropes and she drops Viper with a DDT. She tags in Hiroyo, Hiroyo throws Viper into the corner and hits a body avalanche. Viper and Hiroyo trade lariats, Hiroyo crushes Viper against the ropes and goes for a suplex, but Io dives in the ring with a sunset flip onto Hiroyo.

Crossbody by Viper and she hits a running senton onto Hiroyo for a two count. Viper picks up Hiroyo but Hiroyo hits a German suplex, sliding lariat by Hiroyo and she covers Viper for two. Hiroyo tags in Kyona but Viper also tags in HZK, Kaori goes up top and hits a missile dropkick onto HZK. Pump Kick by HZK and she applies a rolling cradle, but Kyona kicks out at two. Kyona sneaks in a pin on her own two count, lariat by Kyona and she gets another two count cover. Kyona goes for the powerbomb but Io flies in the ring with a swandive missile dropkick, Io dropkicks Kaori and Hiroyo but Hiroyo fires back with a lariat. Double lariat by Kyona and Hiroyo to HZK, Kyona goes for the cover but Viper comes in to break it up. Viper lands on top of HZK by accident, diving attacks by Kaori and Kyona but Kyona’s cover gets broken up. Kyona picks up HZK for the Hammerthrow Bomb but HZK gets out of it, Viper comes in and hits a jumping crossbody on all three Team Jungle members. Pump Kick by HZK to Kyona, but Kyona barely gets a shoulder up. HZK picks up Kyona but Kyona hits a lariat, Io runs in and kicks Kyona before dives out of the ring onto Hiroyo. In the ring, Viper knocks Kyona into the corner and hits the Michinoku Driver, then Io goes up top and nails a moonsault. Bombs Away by HZK to Kyona, and she covers her for the three count! Queen’s Quest are the new champions!

Trios matches generally aren’t my favorite, but I do enjoy them a lot more if they are just pure chaos like this match. There was always something going on, it wasn’t a match about limb work or submissions, it was about playing the odds game and seeing which team could hit the winning combination of moves first long enough for the pinfall. Which I think they did a great job of, I have no idea how they do what they do so smoothly but everything flowed really well. Kyona got legit knocked hard in the face and started bleeding but it had no impact on the match as she kept on trucking as if nothing was wrong. An exciting match, I’m glad Queen’s Quest upgraded their third member for trios and it really helped here as all six wrestlers looked fantastic. I still prefer a quality singles match, but this was pretty damn entertaining.  Recommended

(c) Mayu Iwatani vs. Kagetsu
World of Stardom Championship

They start in the traditional fashion, with a tie-up, Kagetsu pushes Mayu into the ropes but she surprisingly gives a clean break. Kagetsu gets Mayu to the mat but Mayu springs up, hard shoulderblock by Kagetsu and they run off the ropes until Mayu hits an armdrag. Dropkick by Mayu but Kagetsu hits a back bodydrop, another dropkick by Mayu and both wrestlers kip-up. Snap German by Mayu but Kagetsu moves when Mayu goes for her dropkick and Mayu falls out of the ring. Kris and Hana beat on Mayu at ringside before sliding her back in, Mayu throws Kagetsu into the corner but Kagetsu avoids her charge and dropkicks Mayu in the knee. Kagetsu picks up Mayu and slaps at her, running knee by Kagetsu and she goes for a swandive dropkick, but Mayu dropkicks her mid-air which sends Kagetsu out of the ring. Mayu dives from the top turnbuckle down to the floor but Oedo Tai jumps her, Natsuko and Jungle come over to help though and Mayu gets free and chops Kagetsu into the crowd. Mayu pulls Kagetsu up near the balconies and they trade elbows, vertical suplex on the floor by Mayu and she goes up to the balcony. She goes to do a dive but Kris grabs her leg, Kagetsu joins Mayu up at the top of the balcony and Kagetsu hangs Mayu off the balcony.

She drops her after a moment and Mayu falls down onto the steps below, Kagetsu brings Mayu to the steps and kicks her down them. Literally, Mayu tumbled down the stairs end over end like a bag of potatoes. Kagetsu slides Mayu back into the ring, she picks her up but Mayu slides away. Kagetsu kicks Mayu in the head, she goes up top but Mayu recovers and joins her. Frankensteiner by Mayu, she goes up top and delivers a missile dropkick. Cover by Mayu, but it gets a two count. High kick by Mayu and she delivers a German suplex hold, but Kagetsu kicks out. Mayu goes back up top and hits the diving body press, but that also only gets a two. A dragon suplex hold also doesn’t get a three count. Mayu drags up Mayu but Kagetsu gets away and Hana hits a missile dropkick while Kris has the referee distracted. Chokeslam by Kagetsu, and she covers Mayu for a two count. Ebisu Drop by Kagetsu, she goes up top but Mayu gets her knees up on the Oedo Coaster attempt. Mayu picks up Kagetsu but Kagetsu lands on her feet on the dragon suplex attempt, Sakauchi by Mayu and she drops Kagetsu on her head with a dragon suplex. Mayu nails her version of a dragon suplex hold, and she finally picks up the three count! Mayu Iwatani is still the champion!

The main takeaway from this match is that Mayu Iwatani is insane. Kagetsu isn’t much better but some of the things Mayu did in this match aren’t really things I’d recommend any wrestler doing. I mean it was entertaining and exciting, so I am not complaining, but she is certainly risking her health for my amusement. Them doing crazy bumps was the highlight of the match, whether it was Mayu tumbling down the stairs or Kagetsu landing on her head on a dragon suplex, but there wasn’t a lot connecting those moves. A few minutes was clipped which may explain some of the issues, but at times it was mostly a match about big spots. Certainly no lack of effort, both were going all out, and since they have long time feud they have great chemistry. It felt like it was lacking something to really be a ‘must see’ match but it was still very enjoyable.  Recommended

The post Stardom Midsummer Champions on 8/13/17 Review appeared first on Joshi City.

The Stardom 5★STAR Grand Prix starts next week, and after today’s show in Stardom the Blocks are finally set. Here is everything we know about the tournament so far, plus I’ll throw in some predictions at the end based on years of extensive Joshi research.

The 5★STAR GP is a round-robin tournament, similar to the G1 Climax in New Japan. Every wrestler has a match against all the other wrestlers in their Block (spread out over several weeks), with the winner of each Block meeting in the Finals. Traditionally the scoring is done in traditional fashion as well: two points for a win, one point each for a draw, with each match having a 15 minute time limit. You can click on the wrestler’s name below to go to their profile here on Joshi City if you need more information on the individual wrestlers. Here are the Blocks this year:

Red Block:

• Hana Kimura
• Hiromi Mimura
• Kagetsu
• Kris Wolf
• Mayu Iwatani
• Viper
• Xia Brookside
• Yoko Bito

Blue Block:

• HZK
• Io Shirai
• Jungle Kyona
• Kay Lee Ray
• Konami
• Mandy Leon
• Tam Nakano
• Toni Storm

Stardom has also released on which dates each match will happen, so you can plan your Stardom viewing accordingly:

August 19th

• Red Block: Mayu Iwatani vs. Viper
• Red Block: Yoko Bito vs. Hana Kimura
• Red Block: Kagetsu vs. Hiromi Mimura
• Red Block: Kris Wolf vs. Xia Brookside
• Blue Block: Io Shirai vs. Mandy Leon
• Blue Block: Jungle Kyona vs. Toni Storm
• Blue Block: HZK vs. Tam Nakano
• Blue Block: Konami vs. Kay Lee Ray

August 20th

• Red Block: Mayu Iwatani vs. Hana Kimura
• Red Block: Yoko Bito vs. Kagetsu
• Red Block: Hiromi Mimura vs. Kris Wolf
• Blue Block: Io Shirai vs. Toni Storm
• Blue Block: Jungle Kyona vs. Mandy Leon
• Blue Block: Kay Lee Ray vs. TTam Nakano
• Blue Block: HZK vs. Konami

August 26th

• Red Block: Mayu Iwatani vs. Yoko Bito
• Red Block: Kagetsu vs. Xia Brookside
• Red Block: Hiromi Mimura vs. Hana Kimura
• Red Block: Viper vs. Kris Wolf
• Blue Block: Io Shirai vs. Jungle Kyona
• Blue Block: HZK vs. Toni Storm

August 27th

• Red Block: Kagetsu vs. Viper
• Red Block: Hana Kimura vs. Xia Brookside
• Red Block: Yoko Bito vs. Hiromi Mimura
• Blue Block: HZK vs. Kay Lee Ray
• Blue Block: Konami vs. Toni Storm

September 2nd

• Red Block: Mayu Iwatani vs. Hiromi Mimura
• Red Block: Viper vs. Xia Brookside
• Blue Block: Io Shirai vs. Kay Lee Ray
• Blue Block: Toni Storm vs. Mandy Leon
• Blue Block: Konami vs. Tam Nakano

September 3rd

• Red Block: Mayu Iwatani vs. Kris Wolf
• Red Block: Yoko Bito vs. Xia Brookside
• Blue Block: Io Shirai vs. Konami
• Blue Block: Jungle Kyona vs. Kay Lee Ray
• Blue Block: Toni Storm vs. Tam Nakano
• Blue Block: HZK vs. Mandy Leon

September 10th

• Red Block: Kagetsu vs. Hana Kimura
• Red Block: Mayu Iwatani vs. Xia Brookside
• Red Block: Yoko Bito vs. Kris Wolf
• Red Block: Hiromi Mimura vs. Viper
• Blue Block: Io Shirai vs.. Tam Nakano
• Blue Block: Kay Lee Ray vs. Mandy Leon
• Blue Block: Jungle Kyona vs. HZK

September 16th

• Red Block: Kagetsu vs. Kris Wolf
• Red Block: Hana Kimura vs. Viper
• Blue Block: Mandy Leon vs. Tam Nakano
• Blue Block: Jungle Kyona vs. Konami

September 18th

• Red Block: Mayu Iwatani vs. Kagetsu
• Red Block: Yoko Bito vs. Viper
• Red Block: Hana Kimura vs. Kris Wolf
• Red Block: Hiromi Mimura vs. Xia Brookside
• Blue Block: Io Shirai vs. HZK
• Blue Block: Toni Storm vs. Kay Lee Ray
• Blue Block: Konami vs. Mandy Leon
• Blue Block: Jungle Kyona vs. Tam Nakano
• 5★STAR GP Finals

Predictions

Tournaments like these are always hard to predict, which is part of the fun of watching. But here are my general predictions for the tournament:

• Mayu Iwatani wins the Red Block. Stardom isn’t known for being subtle, if they want to push someone as an Ace they don’t generally lose very often. Also, the Red Block in general is pretty weak this year. Hana, Kris, Hiromi, and Xia have no chance of winning, and since Yoko Bito won last year I don’t think they’d put her in the finals two straight years. Kagetsu just had a title shot against Mayu on August 13th and lost, which hurts her chances of winning the tournament. Viper I’d have as my #2 pick, but she also recently had a title shot and just won the Trios Championship. They do like to have gaijin in the finals so I wouldn’t be surprised at all if Viper did win the Red Block, but Mayu is still my pick.
• Io Shirai wins the Blue Block and the Tournament. Remember I mentioned that Stardom isn’t subtle? One of their greatest booking tendencies is putting over their best wrestlers as strong as possible, so now that Io is back, I suspect she will win the tournament to go straight after Mayu again for the belt. This is a harder block though to predict, as both Toni Storm and Jungle Kyona I could see arguments for winning as well. I just don’t see Stardom passing up having Io in the Finals of their biggest fall show, I suspect she will pick up right where she left off.
• Oedo Tai comes out strong. Last year, only one Oedo Tai wrestler was in the tournament, and Kris Wolf only got one point. This year they have three wrestlers, with Kagetsu, Hana Kimura, and Kris Wolf. I don’t see any of them winning the tournament, but I do expect them to get at least 12 points between them and to score an upset or two in order to put over the faction as one to be reckoned with. If the opposite happens and they are just fodder, it would pretty much be the end of the faction as a serious threat, which I don’t think Stardom wants to happen. It is odd they put them all in one Block so I have no idea what they have in mind, they may work together to try to dethrone Mayu which could lead to a tournament-long storyline to keep things interesting.
• Kay Lee Ray and Toni Storm will be the MVPs. Last year, KLR and Toni Storm were in some of the best matches of the tournament, and I expect the same to happen again this year. Kay Lee Ray is one of my favorite gaijin that Stardom uses, but since she only comes in a couple times a year,  her matches always feel fresh. Toni Storm is starting to get appreciated globally as one of the best female wrestlers in the world for a good reason, she’s fantastic. I don’t think either will reach the Finals, but I suspect when the tournaments ends any “Best Matches” list will have their names mentioned many times.

The tournament starts next weekend with a full slate of matches, with the Finals taking place on September 18th, so we have a long journey coming ahead. Joshi City will be there every step along the way, so keep checking back for reviews of each show as they are added to Stardom World!

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

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

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

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

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

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