Event: Marigold New Years Golden Garden 2025
Date: February 7th, 2025
Location: Shinjuku FACE in Tokyo, Japan
Announced Attendance: 356
Broadcast: Wrestle Universe

The last time I watched Marigold was their debut show, and a lot has changed since then. The biggest change of course is Giulia is gone, as she joined WWE a few months after Marigold was launched (which was always the plan). There are also a fistful of new rookies since last May, including the latest Super Rookie – Seri Yamaoka. We also have titles now, with one being defended in the main event. This isn’t a huge show for Marigold but is still a mid-sized one with all the major players present. Here is the full card:

• Nao Ishikawa vs. Ryoko Sakimura
• CHIAKI and Nagisa Nozaki vs. Rea Seto and Riara
• Megaton vs. MIRAI
• Utami Hayashishita vs. Yuuki Minami
• Chika Goto and Natsumi Showzuki vs. Nanae Takahashi and Seri Yamaoka
• Chanyota and Mai Sakurai vs. Miku Aono and Naho Yamada
• Marigold Superfly Championship: Victoria Yuzuki vs. Misa Matsui

My first full show review in almost a year, let’s see how long it takes me to get through it. All wrestlers above have profiles on Joshi City, you can click on their names to go straight to it. Onto the show!

Nao Ishikawa vs. Ryoko Sakimura

Ryoko and Nao tie-up, wristlock by Nao but Ryoko reverses it and the two trade holds. Dueling wristlocks goes on for a bit, side headlock by Nao but Ryoko Irish whips out of it. Shoulderblock by Nao and she hits an elbow drop for two. Camel clutch by Nao, she lets go after a moment and stomps on Ryoko’s back. Irish whip by Nao but Ryoko hits a dropkick, another dropkick by Ryoko but Nao absorbs the blow and stomps on Ryoko. Nao picks up Ryoko and goes off the ropes, hitting a shoulderblock. Crab hold by Nao but Ryoko crawls to the ropes and forces the break. Nao picks up Ryoko and throws her into the ropes, but Ryoko hits a dropkick. Nao doesn’t go down so Ryoko hits a few more dropkicks. Ryoko finally sends Nao to the mat, cover by Ryoko and she gets a two count. Ryoko goes to pick up Nao but Nao pushes her off, elbows by Nao and the two trade blows. Nao elbows Ryoko hard to the mat, Nao picks up Ryoko but Ryoko sneaks in an inside cradle for two. A schoolboy by Ryoko also gets two, she puts Nao in a submission hold but Nao gets to the ropes. Ryoko charges Nao but Nao catches her with a scoop slam for two. Nao picks up Ryoko and she hits a delayed bodyslam for the three count! Nao Ishikawa is the winner.

These matches are important for a wrestler’s development but can have limited entertainment value. Ryoko is only two months in so I’m not going to judge her yet, although if she threw those same dropkicks in GAEA Japan her face would have been bloody soon thereafter. Nao has average-level skill and that showed here as she didn’t really assert herself as the dominate veteran before winning with a bodyslam. Good enough to be an opener, curious to see how Ryoko develops over the next six months.

CHIAKI and Nagisa Nozaki vs. Rea Seto and Riara

Rea and CHIAKI start the match, CHIAKI works a headlock and slams Rea into the corner. Running boot by CHIAKI, she covers Rea with one foot but it gets a two count. CHIAKI picks up Rea but Rea elbows her away, chop by CHIAKI and she boots Rea to the mat for two. CHIAKI tags Nagisa, Nagisa kicks Rea against the ropes and then again from the apron. Back in the ring, vertical suplex by Nagisa but Rea avoids her charge and delivers a dropkick followed by a facebuster. Rea applies the Cattle Mutilation but CHIAKI quickly breaks it up, Rea picks up Nagisa but Nagisa boots her. Nagisa swats away Rea’s dropkick attempt but Rea avoids the sliding kick and delivers a dropkick. Neckbreaker drop by Rea and she tags in Riara. Dropkick by Riara and she hits a second one, a third dropkick by Riara and she covers Nagisa for two. Riara goes to the second turnbuckle but Nagisa avoids her dive and boots Riara in the head. Riara comes back with elbows but Nagisa dropkicks her into the corner, big boot by Nagisa and CHIAKI hits one of her own from the apron.

CHIAKI comes in the ring but Rea runs in with a double neckbreaker drop, dropkick by Riara to Nagisa and she covers her for two. Ankle hold by Riara but Nagisa gets to the ropes for the break. Rea goes to the top turnbuckle and rides Nagisa face-first into the mat, diving footstomp by Riara but CHIAKI breaks up the cover. CHIAKI gets rid of Rea and hits a Codebreaker onto Riara, sleeper by Nagisa to Riara but Rea eventually breaks it up. Kick to the ribs by Nagisa to Riara, she goes off the ropes and hits a Somato for two. Kick to the face by Nagisa, but Rea breaks up the cover. Nagisa and CHIAKI grab Rea and both kick her in the side of the head, Nagisa goes back to Riara and kicks her in the chest. Nagisa drags Riara up and nails the Noa Lancer High (running knee strike), and she picks up the three count! CHIAKI and Nagisa Nozaki are the winners.

This was honestly better then I was expecting, always good to go into matches with an open mind. Nagisa played the veteran here but not at all selfishly (we’ll see that later in the show in Nanae’s match), while she was in the dominate position she gave the younger wrestlers a lot of offense and bumped around for them. Everything was hit crisply, with both Rea and Riara looking solid in defeat. Fast paced solid action from these four, for a house show style event a good effort by all involved.

Megaton vs. MIRAI

MIRAI charges Megaton as the match starts and kicks her in the stomach, she goes for an Irish whip but Megaton doesn’t budge. Megaton sits on the mat and challenges MIRAI to join her, MIRAI does and applies a cross armbreaker but Megaton gets to the ropes and rolls out of the ring. MIRAI eventually goes after her but Megaton punches her as she does so, Megaton gets a chain and she jokes MIRAI with it. Megaton licks MIRAI’s hair for reasons unknown, she eventually rolls MIRAI back in but MIRAI gets her feet up as she goes for a body press. Megaton charges MIRAI but MIRAI jumps over her, she avoids her next charge as well and MIRAI gets out of the ring. She slides back in as Megaton chases her, Megaton gets tired of the game and sits down in the middle of the ring.

MIRAI returns and kicks her in the back, but MIRAI quickly bails again as Megaton chases her. They do this routine for a bit until MIRAI gets back in the ring, Megaton is too tired to get back in the ring so she gets the little ring steps out to help her. MIRAI dropkicks her in the head as she gets to the apron, MIRAI slides Megaton back into the ring and chops her in the chest. Megaton elbows her back as they trade shots, a battle that MIRAI wins. Megaton yells at MIRAI to stun her, she goes for a few quick pins but MIRAI kicks out. Megaton picks up MIRAI and chops her, body avalanche against the ropes and Megaton drops on MIRAI with a body splash for two. Megaton picks up MIRAI but MIRAI punches her in the face, she puts Megaton in a modified double armbar and Megaton has to submit! MIRAI is the winner!

Before we discuss this goofy match, I first just want to acknowledge the work that MIRAI has done on her fitness. She looks great, and its the type of dedication you like to see from a wrestler that down the road may have a leading role in the promotion. As for the match, Megaton mostly does comedy and for better or worse (depending on how you feel about it), MIRAI had to wrestle at her level. Some of the bits were silly or just time wasting, although I will admit I did laugh when I saw Megaton was getting out the little steps to get into the ring after MIRAI ran her around. There was very little substance here and not how I’d ideally get to watch a MIRAI match, I can’t say it was “bad” but it didn’t do a lot for me either.

Utami Hayashishita vs. Yuuki Minami

They tie-up to start, side headlock by Utami but Minami reverses it. Irish whip by Utami but Minami hits a dropkick, however Utami stays on her feet. Minami tries again with no luck, she goes off the ropes again but Utami dropkicks her in the midsection. Scoop slam by Utami and she applies a crab hold, but Minami gets to the ropes for the break. Minami returns to her feet and fights back, but Utami knocks her down with a hard elbow. Irish whip by Utami and she swats aside Minami’s dropkick attempt, she goes off the ropes but this time Minami catches her and knocks Utami down.

Minami throws Utami to the mat and hits another dropkick, Minami applies a guillotine with a hammerlock but Utami slams her into the corner to break the hold. Dropkick to the arm by Minami and she re-applies the hold, but Utami gets to the ropes for the break. Minami picks up Utami and goes for the hold again, but Utami is too close to the ropes. Minami goes to the top turnbuckle and hits a missile dropkick, cover by Minami but it gets a two count. Utami levels Minami with a lariat, another lariat by Utami and she hits a sliding lariat for two. Utami picks up Minami and hits the Air Raid Crash, but Minami reverses the cover into her own cradle for two. Minami charges Utami but Utami hits an Argentine Backbreaker Drop. Utami drags Minami up and hits a German suplex hold, and she picks up the three count! Utami Hayashishita is the winner.

Maybe now I understand why Minami didn’t get more a push out of the gate, as while she did have training in both Ice Ribbon and Marigold she still looks really green and needs more seasoning before anyone could take her as a threat. Minami spamming the same submission finisher was a sign she doesn’t have the deepest moveset and there wasn’t a lot for Utami to work with here so the match stayed really basic. Minami is still young, in no way am I writing her off but a year into her career she still has a ways to go.

Chika Goto and Natsumi Showzuki vs. Nanae Takahashi and Seri Yamaoka

Seri and Showzuki start the match, they jockey for position on the mat with Seri getting the eventual advantage with a kneelock. Showzuki can’t reach the ropes so Chika breaks it up and hits an atomic drop, running knee by Showzuki to Seri and she covers her for two. Showzuki tags Chika, Chika grabs Seri and hits a scoop slam. Another scoop slam by Chika and she hits another one followed by a hip attack. Running hip attack by Chika and she tags Showzuki, dropkick by Showzuki and she hits Seri with a second one. Showzuki drops a double knee on Seri’s back, she picks her up but Seri tries to fight back. It doesn’t work, Irish whip by Showzuki but Seri hits a gutwrench suplex and tags Nanae. Nanae and Showzuki trade elbows until Nanae hits a hard shoulderblock. Chops by Nanae in the corner but Chika runs in to break it up, Nanae throws Chika in the corner with Showzuki and gives her some chops as well. Showzuki sneaks around to Nanae’s back to get her to stop chopping Chika, but Nanae lariats her in the corner.

Chika charges in but Nanae tosses her down and slams Showzuki on top of Chika. Nanae still as dominate as ever. Back to Showzuki, Nanae picks her up but Showzuki lands on her feet on the backdrop suplex attempt and kicks Nanae in the back. She challenges Nanae to kick her back and she does, Showzuki goes for a PK but Nanae catches her leg and kicks her in the chest. Showzuki gets Nanae’s back and applies an Octopus Hold, Nanae gets to the ropes. Showzuki tags Chika, she hits a running knee on Nanae in the corner with Chika following with one as well. Chika charges Nanae but Nanae kicks her back and hits a lariat. Nanae gets on the second turnbuckle but Showzuki grabs her from the apron, giving Chika time to recover. Chika grabs Nanae and hits her a quick Giant Swing, Showzuki goes up top and hits a diving kneedrop onto Nanae. Chika follows with a sliding lariat, but Seri breaks up the cover. Chika picks up Nanae but Nanae slaps her and rolls her to the mat before applying a crossface. Chika gets a toe on the ropes to force a break, Nanae picks up Chika and throws her into the corner. Lariat by Nanae and she tags Seri, Seri drives Chika into the corners but Chika wiggles away. Seri goes off the ropes but Chika hits a big boot, she goes for a crab hold but Seri lifts her way out of it. Chika grabs Seri around the waist and swings her around, facebuster by Chika but Nanae breaks up the cover.

Nanae stays in but Showzuki runs in too to even the odds. Chika chokeslams Seri, cover by Chika but Nanae breaks it up. Nanae lariats both Showzuki and Chika, Seri recovers and they hit a double sidewalk slam on Chika for two. Seri picks up Chika but Chika elbows out of the waistlock, she scoops up Seri but Seri wiggles away. Showzuki kicks Seri in the back, Chika slams Seri and covers her for two. Chika picks up Seri but Nanae grabs her and hits a backdrop suplex. Seri picks up Chika so Nanae can hit a lariat, jackknife cover by Seri but it gets broken up. Hard lariat by Nanae to Showzuki, Seri picks up Chika and hits a hammerlock suplex for two. Seri picks up Chika and nails a German suplex, cover by Seri and she gets the three count! Nanae Takahashi and Seri Yamaoka are the winners!

I may not always like Nanae’s methods but her type of style is going to be missed when all the mid-90s stars are retired. The way she dominated both opponents in portions of this match would seem off if that just wasn’t the Nanae Experience, and she did give most of it back so it wasn’t a one-sided affair. Seri didn’t get as much of a chance to shine but everything she did looked well executed, I can understand what Rossy sees her in as she seems to have the complete package even this early in her career. Chika and Showzuki both were solid, hitting everything smoothly even if neither really stood out. A good match, engaging from start to finish even if it wasn’t trying to set the world on fire.  Mildly Recommended

Chanyota and Mai Sakurai vs. Miku Aono and Naho Yamada

Chanyota and Miku start the match, they trade shoulderblock attempts until Miku finally knocks Chanyota to the mat. Irish whip by Chanyota and she hits another one, covering Miku for two. Both wrestlers tag out, Naho and Mai lock-up, Mai pushes Naho into the ropes and gives a clean break. They trade waistlocks, headlock by Mai but Naho gets out of it and reverses it. Mai gets the headlock re-applied but Naho gets out of it and they return to their feet. Naho goes for a dropkick but Mai swats her aside, Mai goes off the ropes but Miku kicks her from the apron. Dropkick by Naho and both she and Miku dropkick Mai. Double Irish whip to Mai but Mai hits a dropkick on both opponents and tags Chanyota. Chanyota and Mai both attack Naho in the corner, scoop slam by Chanyota and with Mai they elbow drop Naho. Cover by Chanyota, but Naho kicks out. Chanyota picks up Naho and tags Mai, Mai throws Naho into the corner and rams her head into the turnbuckle. Running boot by Mai and she hits a scoop slam, Mai picks up Naho but Naho fights back with elbows.

Irish whip by Mai but Naho delivers a dropkick and rolls to her corner to tag Miku. Chanyota runs in to help her partner but Miku fights off both of them, dropkick by Miku to Mai and she hits a PK. Miku picks up Mai but Chanyota lariats Miku, suplex by Mai to Miku and she applies a cross armbreaker. Miku gets to the ropes for the break, Mai goes off the ropes and boots Miku in the head. Mai picks up Miku but Miku hits a vertical suplex, she goes to the top turnbuckle but Mai recovers and tries to cut her off. Mai joins Miku and hits a superplex, shining kick by Mai and she covers Miku for two. STO by Mai, she picks up Miku but Miku drops her with a lariat. Both wrestlers slowly get up, big boot by Mai but Miku hits a lariat. Mai fires back with a jumping knee, and both wrestlers are down on the mat. Mai manages to tag Chanyota, shoulderblocks by Chanyota in the corner and she covers Miku for two. Irish whip by Miku but Chanyota hits a jumping shoulderblock, Chanyota goes off the ropes but Miku catches her with a powerslam.

Miku tags Naho, dropkicks by Naho and she hits a neckbreaker. Naho picks up Chanyota but Chanyota kicks her in the knee and drops her o the mat. Lariat by Chanyota and Mai hits a big boot, another lariat and big boot to Naho and they hit a double vertical suplex. Cover by Chanyota, but Naho gets a shoulder up. Chanyota picks up Naho but Naho gets away, high kick by Miku and Naho hits a Stunner. Lariat by Miku and Naho covers Chanyota for two. Naho applies a headscissors with a bridge, but Mai breaks it up. Miku and Naho go to Mai but Chanyota drops them both with a double lariat. Mai kicks Naho out of the ring, she goes to the top turnbuckle and dives out onto her with a plancha. She rolls Naho back into the ring where Chanyota is waiting, Chanyota gets Naho on her shoulders while Mai goes to the top turnbuckle and they hit a Samoan Drop/Missile Dropkick combination. Chanyota picks up Naho and goes off the ropes but Naho cradles her for a two count. Naho charges Chanyota but Chanyota drops her with a lariat, Chanyota drags up Naho and nails the Jackhammer for the three count! Mai Sakurai and Chanyota are the winners!

Another solid tag team match. The greatest compliment I can give a sub-15 minute non-stakes midcard tag match is it held my attention and was well executed, which this match was. I came away with the match fairly impressed with all four of them, although Naho lagged a bit behind the other three in regards to execution. Interestingly, the match seemed for a vehicle to put over Chanyota since she isn’t even a Marigold wrestler, but the fact she is challenging for a singles title soon explains that process and in that regard they were successful. Good stuff all-around.  Mildly Recommended

(c) Victoria Yuzuki vs. Misa Matsui
Marigold Superfly Championship

Yuzuki and Misa both charge each other to start and go into a fast exchange, armdrag by Yuzuki and she delivers a dropkick. Misa bridges out of the cover and hits a dropkick of her own, she picks up Yuzuki and throws her into the corner. Misa throws down Yuzuki by the hair, she does it again and a third time. Misa picks up Yuzuki and elbows her but Yuzuki elbows her back, scoop slam by Misa but Yuzuki hits a tilt-a-whirl headscissors followed by a dropkick. Yuzuki goes off the ropes but Misa dropkicks her, Yuzuki kips up however and delivers her own dropkick for a two count. Crossface by Yuzuki, but Misa gets a foot on the ropes for the break. Stomps by Yuzuki but Misa regains the advantage and puts Yuzuki in the Stretch Muffler. Yuzuki gets to the ropes to force the break, Misa picks her up and hits an elbow in the corner. Misa goes for a suplex but Yuzuki blocks it, Misa goes off the ropes but Yuzuki delivers a side slam followed by a double wrist-clutch suplex for a two count.

Yuzuki goes off the ropes but Misa drop toeholds her onto the second rope, Misa charges in but Yuzuki avoids her charge as Misa ends up on the apron. Yuzuki dropkicks Misa to the floor, she goes out after Misa and stomps on her but Misa fights back and the two trade blows while outside the ring. Yuzuki goes for a suplex but Misa blocks it, Misa puts Yuzuki’s feet on the apron and nails a hanging DDT to the floor. Misa goes up to the top turnbuckle and dives down onto Yuzuki with a plancha. Misa slides Yuzuki back in, she goes off the ropes and delivers a sliding kick for a two count. Misa picks up Yuzuki and delivers the MKD, but Yuzuki kicks out of the cover and returns to her feet with an elbow to Misa. Misa elbows her back as they exchange shots, Yuzuki goes off the ropes but Misa boots her in the head. Headbutt by Yuzuki and she hits a backdrop suplex, Misa ends up against the ropes and Yuzuki nails her with the Murder Dropkick. Cover by Yuzuki, but it gets two.

Crossface by Yuzuki before she switches it to a stretch hold, but Misa gets a foot on the ropes for the break. Yuzuki dropkicks Misa in the corner, she goes to the top turnbuckle before hitting a missile dropkick. Yuzuki picks up Misa but Misa reverses a suplex attempt into a cradle. Footstomp by Misa, she kicks Yuzuki against the ropes and delivers a low crossbody. Scoop slam by Misa, she goes to the top turnbuckle and nails a diving footstomp for two. Misa goes for a few flash pins with no luck, running knee by Misa and she hits a cross-leg suplex hold for two. Misa goes to the top turnbuckle and hits a missile dropkick, but Yuzuki fires back with a superkick. Cross-arm German Suplex by Yuzuki, but it only gets two. Yuzuki hits a backbreaker in front of the corner, she follows with a trio of moonsaults out of the corner before covering Misa for the three count! Yuzuki retains her championship!

I hate to be that guy so a disclaimer: I have no issue with no selling/fighting spirit spots. I think they are great! But they work better if its even, or there is a delayed sell, or the fighting spirit wrestler gets their comeuppance moments later. That being said, I really didn’t like the Yuzuki no-sell/fighting spirit spot at the end because it had none of those elements. She eats a lot of Misa offense and then just pops up from a missile dropkick, hits a series of moves and wins the match. It came across as more of a really lazy transition then a normal fighting spirit spot and made Misa look like a chump to have Yuzuki brush aside her offense like it was nothing. She did the same thing after Misa hit the MKD. Took me out of the match a bit. Everything besides that element was great though, Misa was really impressive (arguably more impressive than Yuzuki) with her execution and felt like the stronger wrestler. Loved the variety of offensive moves from both as it kept the match interesting, and with their pacing there was never a dull moment. Overall I enjoyed it, really fun match but just with one really obvious flaw.  Mildly Recommended

The post Marigold New Years Golden Garden on 2/7/25 Review appeared first on Joshi City.

Event: Marigold Fields Forever
Date: May 20th, 2024
Location: Korakuen Hall in Tokyo, Japan
Announced Attendance:  1,539
Broadcast: Streamed on Wrestle Universe

If there was one thing that the wrestling landscape in Japan needed, it was a new promotion! Marigold was formed after Rossy Ogawa left/was fired from Stardom and decided he wasn’t quite done being involved with wrestling. With his influence and money, Ogawa was able to sign for Marigold several of the top wrestlers on the Joshi scene, as well as other talented young wrestlers to be the future of the promotion. Ogawa also secured a distribution deal, as their events will air on Wrestle Universe! An exciting time, except for fans of Actress girl’Z as Marigold took their best young wrestlers. Here is the full card!

• Nanae Takahashi vs. Victoria Yuzuki
• Miku Aono vs. Nao Ishikawa
• CHIAKI vs. MIRAI
• Mai Sakurai and Zayda Steel vs. Nagisa Nozaki and Myla Grace
• Kouki Amarei and Chika Goto vs. Natsumi Showzuki and Misa Matsui
• Giulia and Utami Hayashishita vs. Sareee and Bozilla

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

Nanae Takahashi vs. Victoria Yuzuki

The tie-up to start, Takahashi pushes Yuzuki into the ropes but she gives a clean break. Tie-up again, this time Yuzuki gets Takahashi in the ropes and she slaps Takahashi. Yuzuki goes off the ropes but Takahashi avoids the dropkick and slaps Yuzuki back. Kicks by Takahashi, she picks up Yuzuki but Yuzuki hits an armdrag followed by a dropkick. Takahashi gets back up and they lock knuckles, Takahashi wins that battle and applies a wristlock. They trade holds, Takahashi pushes Yuzuki into the ropes and chops her in the chest. Sidewalk Slam by Takahashi and she applies a chinlock, elbow to the back by Takahashi and she hits a scoop slam. Takahashi picks up Yuzuki but Yuzuki elbows her, Takahashi tells her to keep elbowing her but Takahashi eventually knocks her down with a shoulderblock for a two count. Takahashi picks up Yuzuki but Yuzuki gets her back with a sleeper, Takahashi gets out of it but Yuzuki keeps her in a bodyscissors. Takahashi gets out of it and puts Yuzuki in a single leg crab hold, but Yuzuki gets to the ropes for the break. Takahashi randomly bites Yuzuki’s hand before picking her up and chopping her in the corner. Irish whip by Takahashi but Yuzuki reverses it, Takahashi boots Yuzuki but Yuzuki grabs Takahashi’s wrist.

Before she can do anything, Takahashi swats Yuzuki away and the two trade elbows. Yuzuki goes off the ropes but Takahashi absorbs the dropkick, elbows by Yuzuki and she goes for a springboard move while holding Takahashi’s wrist, but she loses her footing and flops to the mat. Ever the pro, Takahashi hits a leg drop on Yuzuki and covers her for two. Armtrap crossface by Takahashi but Yuzuki gets to the ropes for the break, Takahashi picks her up but Yuzuki blocks the slam attempt. Yuzuki tries to slam Takahashi and finally manages to do so, mounted elbows by Yuzuki but Takahashi switches positions with her and returns the favor. They go back and forth until returning to their feet, lots of dropkicks by Yuzuki as she finally gets Takahashi off her feet with strikes. Takahashi finally has had enough of this and hits a hard elbow, cover by Takahashi but it gets two. Takahashi applies a stretch submission but Yuzuki quickly gets to the ropes, Takahashi picks up Yuzuki but Yuzuki slaps her. Lots of slaps by Yuzuki but Takahashi slaps her back, Yuzuki ducks Takahashi’s kick however and hits a trio of kicks of her own. Yuzuki goes for a slam but Takahashi blocks it, so she applies a small package for two. Knee by Takahashi and she hits a short range lariat, cover by Takahashi but it gets two. Takahashi picks up Yuzuki and delivers a backdrop suplex, cover by Takahashi but Yuzuki barely gets a shoulder up. Takahashi positions Yuzuki and goes to the top turnbuckle, Refrigerator Bomb by Takahashi and she picks up the three count! Nanae Takahashi is the winner.

Aside from the botch during Yuzuki’s offensive comeback that immediately killed said comeback, this was an acceptable opener. Nanae gave more here than she usually does, which is a low bar but she did let Yuzuki get in some offense before immediately cutting her off. I wish Yuzuki had some type of convincing nearfall, not that anyone thought she was winning but at no point in a 15 minute match did she seem like she was even close to winning, a hot 30 second stretch of her hitting some bigger moves to get a semi-close three count would have been fun to watch. I can’t say it was a good match but it set some groundwork for Yuzuki in Marigold and I’m looking forward to see how she continues to improve.

Miku Aono vs. Nao Ishikawa

Miku quickly gets the advantage as she applies a headlock, Nao gets out of it and hits a shoulderblock but Miku kips back up to her feet. Nao throws Miku into the corner and tosses her down by the hair, bootscrapes by Nao but Miku dropkicks her into the opposite corner. Another dropkick by Miku and she kicks Nao hard in the back. Kick to the chest by Miku but Nao fires up and elbows Miku. Nao delivers her own kicks to the back, she picks up Miku but Miku kicks Nao in the ankle after blocking the double underhook. Miku picks up Nao and hits a kneebreaker, kicks by Miku but Nao catches one and hits a dragon screw. Ankle lock by Nao but Miku makes it to the ropes for the break. Running elbow by Nao in the corner and she delivers a double underhook suplex for two. Hard elbow by Nao, she goes off the ropes but Miku catches her with a powerslam. Miku goes off the ropes and kicks Nao in the ribs, lariat by Miku and she goes to the top turnbuckle. Missile dropkick by Miku and she covers Nao for a two count. Miku elbows Nao but Nao weakly elbows her back, slap by Nao but Miku slaps her back. Miku goes off the ropes but Nao catches her with a German suplex, sit-out slam by Nao and she covers Miku for two. Nao picks up Miku and hits a half and half bridging suplex hold, but Miku barely kicks out. Nao picks up Miku but this time Miku gets away and lariats Nao in the back of the head. Irish whip by Miku and she hits another lariat for a two count cover. Miku goes for a kick but Nao ducks, bridging cover by Nao but it gets two. Miku kicks Nao in the head, she picks her up and nails the Styles Clash for the three count! Miku Aono is the winner.

It is hard to “recommend” matches like this but they are an important part of any wrestling show. Well worked, not too long to wear out its welcome, and it helped showcase two wrestlers that may be stuck in midcard hell for the next year but have the ability to be called up if needed. In this short showing, Miku looked like the better wrestler but both were fairly crisp and they kept the action going from bell to bell so it never dragged. Simple, but effective and non-offensive.

CHIAKI vs. MIRAI

They run into each other to start the match before trading elbows, shoulder tackle by CHIAKI but MIRAI ducks on her next charge and CHIAKI flies out of the ring. MIRAI goes to the top turnbuckle but MIRAI grabs her from the apron and tosses her back into the ring. CHIAKI grabs MIRAI and slams her back into the corner, CHIAKI trips MIRAI and hits her with the bootscrapes. Running boot by CHIAKI, she goes of the ropes and hits a cartwheel double kneedrop. CHIAKI picks up MIRAI and hits a scoop slam, she goes for a fisherman suplex but MIRAI blocks it and kicks CHIAKI in the best. MIRAI charges CHIAKI and hits a back elbow, she hits another followed by a lariat. MIRAI goes to the top turnbuckle and hits a missile dropkick, cover by MIRAI but it gets two. Neck crank by MIRAI and she hits a snapmare, dropkick by MIRAI but CHIAKI starts fighting back with elbows.

MIRAI welcomes this as the two trade shots, palm strike by CHIAKI and she hits a shoulderblock. MIRAI hits a shoulderblock of her own, CHIAKI goes off the ropes and she delivers a spear. CHIAKI picks up MIRAI and hits rolling fisherman suplexes, but MIRAI blocks the last one and hits a reverse STO. MIRAI waits for CHIAKI to get up but CHIAKI snaps off a fisherman suplex hold for two. CHIAKI gets MIRAI on her shoulders in an Argentine Backbreaker before slamming her to the mat for a two count cover. CHIAKI picks up MIRAI but MIRAI wiggles away, applying a submission hold. CHIAKI gets a toe on the ropes, MIRAI goes off the ropes but CHIAKI catches her with a powerslam. Backdrop suplex by MIRAI, both wrestlers slowly get up but CHIAKI knocks over MIRAI with a dropkick. She goes off the ropes but MIRAI hits a lariat, MIRAI drags up CHIAKI and hits a fireman’s carry slam for two. MIRAI goes off the ropes and rocks CHIAKI with a hard lariat, cover by MIRAI and she gets the three count! MIRAI wins!

This was a really good showcase for MIRAI, who clearly has been putting in work recently to be her best self in Marigold. Her strikes and power moves are still snug but she also had more speed and agility then she did early in her career, keeping up a fast pace or the entire match. CHIAKI looked fine as well, she clearly is below MIRAI but put up a good fight and had a strong showing. I love strike and suplex battles and these two are both well versed in that style, so I was very entertained. My only real complaint is I wish it was longer and it lacked some drama since the winner was never in doubt. Looking forward to seeing more of MIRAI in this new environment, the sky is the limit for her if she is given the opportunities (which I am sure she will get).  Mildly Recommended

Mai Sakurai and Zayda Steel vs. Nagisa Nozaki and Myla Grace

Steel and Grace start the match, they tie-up and trade holds, ending with a Grace La Magistral for two. Steel goes for her own pin as they trade flash pin attempts, neither has any luck as Steel tags Mai. Grace fights off both of them and hits a double dropkick, Grace drops Mai with a tilt-a-whirl headscissors and tags Nozaki. Mai boots Nozaki as she gets in the ring, snapmare by Nozaki but Mai ducks the PK. Curb Stomp by Nozaki on Mai and she hits a second one, cover by Nozaki but it gets two. Nozaki throws Mai into the corner and stomps her down, Nozaki picks her back up and slaps Mai in the chest repeatedly. Mai fights back with elbows but Nozaki knocks her back to the mat and applies a camel clutch. She switches it to a facelock but Mai wiggles to the ropes for the break. Mai gets back up and the two trade elbows, Nozaki grabs Mai around the neck and tags Grace. Elbows by Grace but Mai returns fire, jumping lariat by Grace and she hits a swinging neckbreaker for two. Grace goes off the ropes but Mai delivers a jumping kick, she ties up Grace in a pretzel and makes the tag to Steel. Mai mouths off to Nozaki, giving Grace time to recover but Steel retains the advantage and chops Grace while she is in the ropes.

Modified Code Breaker by Steel, she picks up Grace and elbows her against the ropes. Irish whip attempt by Steel but Grace slides through her legs and kicks her in the head. Splits legdrop by Grace, but it gets two. Grace picks up Steel, Steel ends up in the corner and Grace hits a 619. Tornado DDT by Grace, and she covers Steel for a two count. Grace tags Nozaki but Steel delivers a kick combination, Nozaki kicks her back however and delivers a vertical suplex. Running boot by Nozaki in the corner and she hits another one, Nozaki kicks Steel again while she is hanging over the second rope before joining her on the apron. Steel and Nozaki trade kicks while still on the apron, until Steel delivers a Code Breaker. Nozaki falls out of the ring, Steel gets a running start and sails out onto her with a tope suicida. Steel slides Nozaki back in, cover by Steel but it gets two. Steel picks up Nozaki and drives her into the corner, running knee by Steel and she spins Nozaki to the mat before kicking her in the back. Steel tags Mai, Mai goes to the top turnbuckle and delivers a missile dropkick.

Mai goes off the ropes and boots Nozaki in the head, Mai chokes Nozaki with her leg while applying a seated armbar but has to release the hold as Nozaki is too close to the ropes. Mai picks up Nozaki but Nozaki fires off a series of elbows, Mai returns fire but Nozaki plants a boot on her face. Nozaki picks up Mai, Grace runs in and hits Mai with a backdrop suplex. Double superkick to Mai, but it gets two. Nozaki puts Mai in a sleeperhold but Steel breaks it up, Nozaki goes off the ropes and kicks Mai in the face for a two count. Nozaki picks up Mai but Mai knocks her back and hits a legdrop for two. Bridging vertical suplex by Mai, but that gets a two as well. Mai drops Nozaki to the mat and goes to the top turnbuckle, but Nozaki avoids the diving elbow drop and kicks Mai in the face. Another boot by Nozaki, but the bell rings as the time has expired. The match is a Draw.

This wasn’t as bad as I was anticipating, but the main issue is that it felt like they didn’t even plan for an ending. By that I mean there wasn’t a nearfall stretch or anything that felt like a wrestler was in real trouble, they structured it like it was an exhibition match going to a Draw. Which it was, but the wrestlers shouldn’t wrestle like its a planned Draw, there was no sense of urgency or trying to win as time was running out. The tag team partners also interacted with each other very little, so it felt more like a series of singles matches than a meaningful tag match. The action itself was generally pretty fluid, no real signs of miscommunications which is a plus. It just didn’t hit any high notes or present anything memorable.

Kouki Amarei and Chika Goto vs. Natsumi Showzuki and Misa Matsui

Kouki and Misa start, Kouki asks Misa to lock knuckles but Misa can’t reach her hands. Misa kicks Kouki but Kouki applies a side headlock, Misa Irish whips out of it but Kouki cartwheels away. They continue a fast back-and-forth but they reach a stalemate and stare each other down. Natsumi and Goto tag in, elbows by Natsumi but Goto elbows her back and they trade blows. Natsumi applies a Fujiwara Armbar but Goto wiggles to the ropes to get the break. Natsumi tags Misa, and Misa throws down Goto by the hair. Misa picks up Goto and works over her arm in the corner, running knee by Misa and she applies an arm submission on the mat. Natsumi comes in and kicks Goto in the arm to help out, Misa releases the hold and tags Natsumi who hits a rebound double kneedrop off the ropes. Goto tries to fight back but eats knees for her trouble, Natsumi goes off the ropes but Goto grabs her and spins her around in a Giant Swing. This gives Goto time to tag Kouki, Kouki goes off the ropes and boots Natsumi in the head. Kouki goes off the ropes again but Natsumi ducks the lariat, Misa boots Kouki from the apron and Natsumi follows with a boot of her own for two. Natsumi picks up Kouki but Kouki ducks the head kick and slams Natsumi to the mat for a two count. Kouki positions Natsumi and goes to the top turnbuckle, but Natsumi avoids the Amethyst Butterfly and delivers a running knee for two.

Kick by Natsumi, she goes to the top turnbuckle and hits a diving double kneedrop for a two count. Natsumi tags Misa, Misa goes to the top turnbuckle and hits a missile dropkick for two. Misa puts Kouki on the ropes and drops he with a DDT, but Kouki barely kicks out of the cover. Misa goes to run off the ropes but Kouki grabs her, Misa rolls Kouki to the mat however and hits a series of footstomps. Misa goes off the ropes and hits a body press while Kouki is against the ropes, Natsumi runs in and hits a running knee before both hit jumping knees on Kouki. Cover by Misa, but again Kouki barely gets a shoulder up. Misa goes off the ropes but Goto runs in and plants her with a chokeslam. Kouki recovers and both grab Misa, dropping her to the mat. Kouki and Misa slowly recover, hard elbow by Kouki but Misa elbows her back. Misa goes off the ropes but Kouki hits a powerslam, cover by Kouki but Misa bridges out of it and applies a flash pin. It quickly gets broken up, Natsumi tries to help Misa but Kouki drops them both to the mat. Kouki picks up Misa and hits a Samoan Drop, but the cover only gets two. Kouki positions Misa and goes to the top turnbuckle, she nails the Amethyst Butterfly and picks up the three count! Kouki Amarei and Chika Goto are the winners!

Now this is my kind of wrestling. Everything wasn’t perfectly executed but they made up with that with great fluid tag team action. Unlike the last match, both of these teams worked as actual teams and not individuals, leading to fast paced and attention grabbing action from bell to bell. There was always something happening and it was a great display by all four to what is likely mostly a new audience. Kouki looked like a star but Natsumi was the most “clean” of the group, her age and experience really shone through as she hit everything hard and fast. I don’t want to over-hype a 12 minute mid-card tag match, but it did its goal of presenting four wrestlers they no doubt hope will become stars in the new promotion.  Recommended

Giulia and Utami Hayashishita vs. Sareee and Bozilla

Sareee and Giulia start the match, they tie-up and end up in the ropes but Sareee gives a hard elbow instead of a break. They trade strike attempts with neither connecting as they reach a stalemate, and both wrestlers tag out. Utami and Bozilla circle each other, Bozilla tosses Utami down a couple times but Utami delivers a dropkick after Giulia distracts Bozilla. Giulia is tagged in, they both try to Irish whip Bozilla but they can’t get her to budge. Giulia and Utami take turns striking Bozilla until they get her to her knees, but Bozilla gets back up and eats Giulia’s strikes. Bozilla gets Giulia on her shoulders but Giulia applies a hanging armbar, Bozilla gets out of it so Utami runs in to help, but Bozilla slams them both to the mat. Sareee comes in as they kick Giulia and Utami out of the ring, Bozilla gets Sareee up in a press and tosses her out of the ring and down onto both opponents. Bozilla gets out of the ring and tosses Giulia around the ring while Sareee does the same to Utami, Utami regains the advantage on Sareee and the two trade shots. Bozilla and Giulia gets back in the ring and Bozilla delivers a vertical suplex, cover by Bozilla but it gets two. Bozilla tags Sareee, Sareee goes to the top turnbuckle and hits a missile dropkick.

Sickle Hold by Sareee, she switches to a leg submission but Giulia gets to the ropes for the break. Giulia snaps off a vertical suplex, Irish whip by Giulia to Sareee and Giulia delivers a dropkick. Giulia tags Utami, running elbow by Utami and she kicks Sareee in the back. Utami picks up Sareee but Sareee elbows her, Bozilla comes in but Utami fights off both of them and hits a lariat on Sareee for two. Utami picks up Sareee and hits an Argentine Backbreaker Slam, she picks her up again but Sareee hits a double footstomp and tags Bozilla. Bozilla throws Utami into the corner and hits a Body Avalanche, she throws Utami to the mat and covers her for two. Bozilla picks up Utami and runs into her, Utami stays up and elbows Bozilla but Bozilla sends her to the mat with a body attack. Utami knocks Bozilla into the corner but Bozilla picks her up, Utami slides away and she punches Bozilla in the face. Rolling elbow by Utami, she gets on the second turnbuckle but Bozilla recovers and joins her, hitting a superplex down to the mat. Running shoulderblock by Bozilla and she covers Utami for two. Bozilla puts Utami on the top turnbuckle to get Utami on her shoulders, but Utami wiggles away and applies a sleeper. Bozilla slams Utami into the corner to break out of it, but Utami quickly re-applies it. Bozilla gets out of it again and hits a running senton, picking up a two count. Bozilla picks up Utami and hits a Fallaway Slam, she gets on the second turnbuckles and delivers a Reverse Splash, but the cover is broken up.

Bozilla picks up Utami but Utami gets her around the waist, hitting a release German suplex. This gives her time to tag Giulia while Sareee also tags in, hard boot by Giulia but Sareee elbows her back and the two trade shots. Giulia goes off the ropes but Sareee catches her with a dropkick, another dropkick by Sareee but Giulia blocks the fisherman suplex and applies a STF. Sareee gets to the ropes to force a break, Giulia picks up Sareee and suplexes her for a two count. Giulia goes to the top turnbuckle but Bozilla grabs her, this gives Sareee time to join Giulia and she hits an avalanche fisherman suplex for two. Sareee goes up top again but Utami slows her down, Giulia hits Sareee and joins her, delivering an avalanche underhook suplex. Giulia goes to boot Sareee but Sareee moves, they trade waistlocks until Utami runs in and dropkicks Sareee. Giulia goes to the top turnbuckle while Utami gets Sareee on her shoulders and they hit a missile dropkick/Argentine Backbreaker Slam combo for a two count. Giulia puts Sareee in a double armbar  but Bozilla breaks free of Utami and breaks up the hold. Bozilla grabs Giulia and hits a powerbomb, Sareee goes up top and delivers a diving footstomp but Utami breaks up the cover. Bozilla goes up top and with Sareee’s help goes for a somersault senton, but Utami pulls Giulia out of the way. Lariat by Utami to Sareee and she drops her with a German suplex, another release German by Utami to Sareee and all four wrestlers are down on the mat.

Giulia and Sareee slowly get to their knees and trade elbows, they continue trading strikes once on their feet until Giulia headbutts Sareee to her knees. Giulia goes for a suplex but Sareee kicks her in the head, hard elbows by Giulia but Sareee hits a German suplex hold for two. Giulia fires back with a Saito Suplex, knee strike by Giulia and she covers Sareee for two. Giulia applies a hammerlock before nailing the Glorious Driver, cover by Giulia but Bozilla breaks it up. Giulia picks up Sareee but Sareee gets away, she goes off the ropes but Bozilla knocks Giulia over with a shoulderblock. Bozilla stays in the ring and challenges Giulia and Utami, double Irish whip attempt to Bozilla but Bozilla hits a lariat on both of them. Sareee picks up Giulia and drops her with a uranage, cover by Sareee but Utami breaks it up. Sareee picks up Giulia but Bozilla snaps off a backdrop suplex, she goes off the ropes but Bozilla shoulderblocks her again, giving Sareee time to hit a second uranage. She nails Giulia with a third, she picks up Giulia and hits one more but Giulia barely kicks out of the cover. Bozilla goes to the second turnbuckle and hits a moonsault on Giulia, Sareee picks up Giulia and delivers one last uranage for the three count! Bozilla and Sareee are the winners!

A lot to unpack here, but a great match. The big question mark going in was Bozilla but they used her really smart here as while she is limited she is good at what she does. And what she does well is hit hard. Sareee did the bulk of the “work” but that wasn’t a problem for her as she’s one of the top Joshi wrestlers, so with Sareee putting in the minutes and Bozilla contributing the boom they worked as a solid team. Utami and Giulia of course are both fantastic, they cooperated when they needed to but at the same time they didn’t pretend to be best buddies since we all know they aren’t (in storyline). The super hot crowd really helped as that elevates any match, and it was the hard hitting/hard dropping affair you’d expect. I wouldn’t put it at full MOTYC status as it felt like something was missing from the end stretch (where did Utami go?) and there were a few miscommunications/awkward moments but still a fantastic match and a fitting ending to Marigold’s debut show.  Highly Recommended

The post Marigold Fields Forever on 5/20/2024 Review appeared first on Joshi City.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Hina vs. Maika

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Full Details

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

(c) Hanan vs. Rina
Future of Stardom Championship

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

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

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

MIRAI vs. Saya Iida

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Maika and Thekla vs. Risa Sera and Suzu Suzuki

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Mayu Iwatani and KAIRI vs. Tam Nakano and Unagi Sayaka

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

(c) Syuri vs. Giulia
World of Stardom Championship

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

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

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

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

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

• Championships and Tournaments Won: This includes any championship won during 2021, or any championship that was held when 2021 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 match 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 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. Also, it should be noted that this ranking is based only on a wrestler’s matches/participation in Japan. This is not a list of my personal favorite wrestlers or fun rookies that I enjoy watching, but rather my version of what a “real” ranking of Joshi wrestlers would look like based on their success and status in 2021.

2021 continued to be impacted by the pandemic, even as many promotions returned to a more normal schedule. The trend of “more Joshi” being available via streaming methods continued, which is great, but also made it harder to keep up with everything. I did my best to do so however, and attempted to come up with a Top 20 list that I feel best shows who in lead the Joshi landscape during these unusual times.

Onto the Top 20 Joshi Wrestlers of 2021!

1. Syuri (Stardom)

Championships Held: SWA Undisputed World Women’s Championship (365 days), Goddess of Stardom Championship (272 days), and the World of Stardom Championship (3 days)
Biggest Matches: with Giulia vs. Himeka and Maika on 4/4, vs. Utami Hayashishita on 6/12, vs. Momo Watanabe on 9/25, vs. Utami Hayashishita on 12/29
Best Match: vs. Utami Hayashishita in Stardom on June 12th, 2021

14 years after she debuted in professional wrestling, Syuri finally had the year that her fans always knew she was capable of. After years of being a Freelancer or focusing on her MMA career, Syuri finally got the chance to take over in Stardom and she did not disappoint. Syuri had a dominant year in both singles and tag matches, going 13-0-1 in title matches. She also won the Stardom FIVE STAR GP, the most prestigious annual tournament in Joshi. As far as match quality, she had one of the best matches of the year against Utami in June, and had five matches rated **** or higher by the Wrestling Observer (all singles matches). She capped off the year winning the World of Stardom Championship, as she goes into 2022 as the top wrestler in the promotion. A hell of a year for Syuri, and one that her fans have long been waiting for.

2. Utami Hayashishita (Stardom)

Championships Held: World of Stardom Championship (363 days)
Biggest Matches: vs. Bea Priestly on 4/4, vs. Syuri on 6/12, vs. Tam Nakano on 9/25, vs. Takumi Iroha on 10/9, vs. Syuri on 12/29
Best Match: vs. Syuri in Stardom on June 12th, 2021

Even though Utami Hayashishita only held one title in 2021, it happened to be the top title in Stardom and she held it for virtually the entire year. In her title reign she had a number of high-end defenses, including wins over Bea Priestley, Takumi Iroha, Hazuki, and Maika. She only stumbled when facing Syuri, as she went 0-2-2 against her in singles matches, which is the reason Syuri ranking over her was an easy decision. At only 23 years old, Utami is poised to lead Stardom for many years to come if that is the path she decides to take in her career.

3. Miyu Yamashita (Tokyo Joshi Pro)

Championships Held: Tokyo Joshi Pro Princess Of Princess Championship (242 days)
Biggest Matches: vs. Rika Tatsumi on 5/4, vs. Yuka Sakazaki on 6/6, vs. Sakisama on 6/26, vs. Mizuki on 7/31, vs. Maki Itoh on 10/9
Best Match: vs. Maki Itoh in Tokyo Joshi Pro on October 9th, 2021

What really puts Miyu Yamashita over the top isn’t just her success in Tokyo Joshi Pro, but her popularity and her ability to put on high-end matches against a variety of opponents. She had four successful title defenses in 2021, and over the course of the year she was 18-1 in singles matches, with her only loss being against Mizuki in the Tokyo Princess Cup. To show her level of popularity in Japan, she finished 4th in the Weekly Pro Magazine fan voting for Joshi MVP, the highest of any non-Stardom wrestler.

4. Tsukasa Fujimoto (Ice Ribbon)

Championships Held: ICExInfinity Championship (294 days) and the International Ribbon Tag Team Championship (16 days)
Biggest Matches: vs. Rina Yamashita on 2/20, with Tsukushi vs. Risa Sera and Suzu Suzuki on 2/21, vs. Maya Yukihi on 3/27, vs. Hiroyo Matsumoto on 8/9, vs. Tsukushi Haruka on 11/13
Best Match: vs. Tsukushi Haruka in Ice Ribbon on November 13th, 2021

With Ice Ribbon going through some turmoil in 2021, their long time Ace took back over as she won the ICExInfinity Championship for the first time since 2018 and held it for the bulk of the year. She was an extremely active champion, with 11 title defenses and wins over Hiroyo Matsumoto, Tsukushi Haruka, and Maya Yukihi along the way. She also had a brief run with the tag titles, although she had no successful defenses of the belt. Tsukasa Fujimoto was the undisputed leader of Ice Ribbon in 2021, showing that even at 38 years old she is one of the best in Joshi wrestling.

5. Tam Nakano (Stardom)

Championships Held: Wonder of Stardom Championship (301 days) and the Artist of Stardom Championship (276 days)
Biggest Matches: vs. Giulia on 3/3, with Cosmic Angels vs. STARS on 3/7, vs. Natsupoi on 4/4, with Cosmic Angels vs. Queen’s Quest on 7/6, vs. Starlight Kid on 7/21, vs. Mayu Iwatani on 10/9, vs. Saya Kamitani on 11/27
Best Match: vs. Giulia in Stardom on March 3rd, 2021

Tam Nakano had a hell of a year in 2021. She entered the year as one of the Artist of Stardom champions, but her big moment came when she finally defeated Giulia in a Title vs. Hair match in March to win the Wonder of Stardom Championship. She held the title for almost the rest of the year, with successful defenses against Natsupoi, Starlight Kid, and Mina Shirakawa before losing the belt to Saya Kamitani. As the leader of the Cosmic Angels, Tam was frequently in major storylines and was a constant focus of the promotion. Easily the biggest year of her career, Tam showed in 2021 she has what it takes to lead a promotion.

6. Maya Yukihi (Freelancer)

Championships Held: OZ Academy Openweight Championship (137 days) and the International Ribbon Tag Team Championship (257 days)
Biggest Matches: vs. Tsukasa Fujimoto on 3/27, with Maika Ozaki vs. Dropkicks on 4/11, vs. Kaori Yoneyama on 7/18, with Sera vs. Matsumoto and Fujimoto on 8/9, vs. Mayumi Ozaki vs. Saori Anou vs. Yumi Ohka on 8/18, with Sera vs. Saori Anou and Suzu Suzuki on 11/13, vs. Yuu on 12/30
Best Match: vs. Tsukasa Fujimoto in Ice Ribbon on March 27th, 2021

Maya Yukihi is a constant force in Joshi, as even though she is a Freelancer she has a regular home in both Ice Ribbon and OZ Academy. As a regular, that gives her more consistent opportunities in both promotions, and she took full advantage in 2021 as she found success in both places. In OZ Academy, she won the Openweight Championship in August and held it the rest of the year, with one successful defense against Yuu. Over in Ice Ribbon, her “nicer” persona won the tag titles twice, with nine successful defenses between her two reigns. Being one of the top wrestlers in two different promotions is quite a feat, and I expect that trend to continue in 2022.

7. Rina Yamashita (Freelancer)

Championships Held: Ice Ribbon FantastICE Championship (187 days), Daily Sports Tag Team Championship (241 days), King of FREEDOM Tag Team Championship (107 days), and the OZ Academy Tag Team Championship (2 days)
Biggest Matches: vs. Tsukasa Fujimoto on 2/20, vs. ASUKA on 3/17, vs. Risa Sera on 6/27, vs. Suzu Suzuki on 8/9, vs. with Nakamori vs. Cherry and Leon on 8/29, with Hiroyo Matsumoto vs. Aoki and Kuragaki on 12/30
Best Match: vs. Suzu Suzuki in Ice Ribbon on August 9th, 2021

I love Rina Yamashita. She is capable of wrestling such a diverse style, and is so well-respected by promotions that she held titles in 2021 in FOUR different promotions. OZ Academy and Ice Ribbon were her primary homes in 2021, as she won the hardcore-friendly FantastICE Championship in Ice Ribbon and ended the year winning the OZ Academy Tag Championship with Hiroyo Matsumoto. She also held titles in PURE-J and FREEDOMS, showing her versatility. More wild and unpredictable than your average Joshi wrestler, Yamashita brings a sense of danger to all her matches and is captivating to watch. Yamashita may not ever find a permanent home but she is doing quite well for herself as one of the most popular Freelancers on the Joshi market.

8. Giulia (Stardom)

Championships Held: Wonder of Stardom Championship (62 days) and the Goddesses of Stardom Championship (272 days)
Biggest Matches: vs. Starlight Kid on 2/13, vs. Tam Nakano on 3/3, with Syuri vs. Himeka and Maika on 4/4, with Syuri vs. Mayu and Starlight Kid on 5/15, vs. Mayu Iwatani on 8/1
Best Match: vs. Tam Nakano in Stardom on March 3rd, 2021

The only thing that held Giulia back in 2021 was an injury that kept her out for a few months, but she still stayed in the spotlight in Stardom as one of their most important wrestlers. She had a great match in March against Tam Nakano, in which she ended up losing her hair. Giulia had no issue rocking the “short hair” look however and never really missed a beat, as she held the tag titles with Syuri for the bulk of the year. As the leader of DDM she was the focus of multiple major storylines, and ended the year defeating Konami in Konami’s last match before going on a long-term break. Even a “down” year for Giulia is a damn good one, and she’ll look to rebound in 2022.

9. Mei Suruga (Gatoh Move)

Championships Held: Asia Dream Tag Championship (365 days) and the Princess Tag Team Championship (175 days)
Biggest Matches: with Akki vs. Emi Sakura and Fujita on 3/27, with Sakisama vs. Tenma and Aino on 4/17, with Sakisama vs. BeeStar on 5/4, vs. Minoru Fujita on 6/12, with Sakisama vs. Maki Itoh and Yamashita on 6/17, vs. Emi Sakura on 8/9/21, with Sakisama vs. Sugar Rabbits on 10/9
Best Match: vs. Emi Sakura in Gatoh Move on August 9th, 2021

When I was compiling the ranking, I really struggled with the rest of the list as almost every wrestler has a different justification for being ranked ahead of another. What put Mei over the the top for me (if I can be permitted to put kayfabe aside) is her run in Tokyo Joshi Pro. As Mei Saint-Michel, Mei won the tag titles with Sakisama and together they had two successful defenses during their 175 day run. It also helps that Mei’s matches are extremely accessible, which builds up her popularity and makes all her bigger matches available to watch. In Gatoh Move, Mei held the tag titles for the entire year, with nine successful defenses. Mei may have reached her ceiling if she remains primarily in Gatoh Move, but even though she is in a smaller promotion she still puts on great matches and has a wide fanbase that spans the globe.

10. Miyuki Takase (AgZ)

Championships Held: AgZ Championship (94 days) and the Diana Tag Team Championship (289 days)
Biggest Matches: vs. SAKI on 4/4, with Umesaki vs. 3A on 4/18, vs. Rin Kadokura on 7/1, vs. Leon on 12/13
Best Match: vs. Mio Momono in WAVE on June 1st, 2021

Miyuki Takase gained more visibility in 2021 due to wrestling in more promotions and AgZ regularly updating their streaming service, but she was hurt by missing a chunk of the year due to an injury. Miyuki only had 60 matches during the year but made the most of it, as she held titles in two different promotions. Miyuki’s epic run as AgZ Champion ended in 2021, but she continued to be the best wrestler in the promotion. In WAVE, she won the Catch the WAVE Tournament, which is still one of the most prestigious Joshi tournaments even though WAVE itself has dropped in popularity. In Diana, Miyuki had two runs with their tag team championship, although she had a lack of defenses due to missing so much time. As the year ended, AgZ folded their wrestling division so Miyuki officially became a Freelancer. Hopefully she can turn that into a successful 2022 as she is well regarded in several Joshi promotions from her work over the years.

11. Chihiro Hashimoto (Sendai Girls’) – Chihiro again fails to crack the Top 10 for the same reason as last year – visibility. Sendai Girls’ doesn’t run as many shows as other promotions, and not as many of their events “make air” as they don’t have a dedicated streaming service. Hopefully next year we will get to see more of Chihiro as the matches we have seen (vs. Mio Momono and vs. Takumi Iroha in particular) were great and she deserves more attention.

12. Arisa Nakajima (SEAdLINNNG) – The only thing holding back Arisa Nakajima is she continues to have a light schedule, with only 32 matches on the year. Seven of those matches were title matches however, so when Arisa did wrestle she wrestled with a purpose. Over the course of the year she held three titles (SEAdLINNNG singles, SEAdLINNNG tag, and PURE-J tag) and continued to put on high-end matches. I’d like to see more of Arisa, but she seems to be happy with her current situation and she has certainly earned the lighter workload after the long career she has had.

13. Starlight Kid (Stardom) – In regards to growth in 2021, few wrestlers had the success of Starlight Kid. Starlight Kid has been a great wrestler for years, but she stepped up her game in 2021 not only by winning the High Speed Championship but turning on her friends and joining Oedo Tai. Ever since she became more…. dark, she’s become one of the stars of the promotion as she was immediately thrust into several major storylines. She is still a little young and undersized to expect a climb to the top in 2022, but I’m not going to be the one to doubt her as she has shown she is capable of anything.

14. Maki Itoh (Tokyo Joshi Pro) – Like Starlight Kid, Maki Itoh is here on the list due to her growth in popularity. Arguably the most popular wrestler in Tokyo Joshi Pro, Itoh didn’t win any titles in 2021 but did win the Tokyo Princess Cup when she defeated Shoko Nakajima in the Finals. She challenged twice for the Princess of Princess Championship without success, so even though she didn’t win as many matches as she’d have liked, she stayed in the main event scene. Itoh’s career path is one of the harder ones to predict, but I don’t see her popularity waning anytime soon.

15. Leon (PURE-J) – Leon dominated PURE-J in 2021, holding both the Openweight Championship and the PURE-J Tag Team Championship. At 41 years old, Leon is still a very good wrestler but doesn’t put on the high end matches anymore that many others on this list do. Still, she provided the old school promotion with stability and due to their streaming services, virtually all of her big matches were available for fans to watch.

16. ASUKA/Veny (Freelancer) – ASUKA was everywhere in 2021, as they wrestled in over a dozen promotions over the course of the year. ASUKA’s main home was SEAdLINNNG, where they won both the singles and tag team championship. A very active Freelancer that puts on high end matches wherever they go, even though in some ways this was a down year for ASUKA I am sure they will rebound next year and find even more success.

17. Nagisa Nozaki (Pro Wrestling WAVE) – Nagisa continues to lead a promotion that no one watches, due to WAVE not having a regular streaming service and most of their events only being available via PPV. Nagisa won the Regina Di WAVE Championship in August and held it for the rest of the year, however she only had one successful defense in that time. She is a very solid wrestler, not spectacular but whenever her matches do become available they are generally entertaining. I hated to have a promotion with no representation and Nagisa is the best pick from WAVE, but if you haven’t seen any of her matches from 2021 I assure you that you are not alone.

18. Tsukushi Haruka (Ice Ribbon) – Now that Suzu Suzuki is gone from Ice Ribbon, Tsukushi becomes the wrestler most likely to take the role of Ace from Tsukasa Fujimoto. She started that process by winning the ICExInfinity Championship in November – she has held many titles in Ice Ribbon before but this time it feels more serious as Tsukushi is now an adult and has started using her last name. A spunky murder machine, Tsukushi is poised for a big 2022 if she can keep up her current momentum.

19. Rika Tatsumi (Tokyo Joshi Pro) – Rika started the year hot but cooled off a bit as it came to a close. She came into 2021 the Princess of Princess Champion but lost the title in May and did not even challenge for any other titles for the rest of the year. She is only ranked at all based on her being the top title holder for the first quarter, but by the end of the year she had been passed by several other Tokyo Joshi Pro wrestlers. Rika is going to have to re-find that magic in 2022 or she will likely drop off the list altogether.

20. Suzu Suzuki (Ice Ribbon/Prominence) – Suzu gets the final spot this year (there are a dozen wrestlers that could have a legitimate argument for being on this list that aren’t) mostly due to her love of being blown up. Suzu turned to hardcore wrestling in 2021, which apparently is her true love and she wrestled anyone she could find that didn’t mind some extra pain. Her love for deathmatches helped lead to her leaving Ice Ribbon and forming her own group, which needless to say was a major step for the young wrestler. It remains to be seen if her venture will be a success, but I respect her willingness to risk it all by giving up her comfy Ice Ribbon “future Ace” role for the less steady realm of Joshi hardcore wrestling.

The post Top 20 Joshi Wrestlers of 2021 appeared first on Joshi City.

Event: Stardom Nagoya Supreme Fight
Date: January 29th, 2022
Location: Aichi Prefectural Gymnasium in Nagoya, Aichi, Japan
Announced Attendance: 1,306
Broadcast: PPV and Stardom World

For once I am reviewing a recent event! Few promotions can get me to stop what I am doing and watch their shows, but some of these big Stardom cards are too good to miss. Stardom has really elevated themselves to become the undisputed #1 Joshi promotion, its been the case for many years but now its undeniable as they’ve lapped all other promotions both in presentation and the quality of their wrestlers. This is a very complete show, with five title matches. We also get to see some of the new Stardom wrestlers in big matches, as both Thekla and MIRAI battle for championships. There is also a big surprise on this event, but I’ll get to that when it happens. Here is the full card:

• Future Of Stardom Championship: Hanan vs. Lady C
• AZM and Utami Hayashishita vs. Momo Watanabe and Starlight Kid
• SWA Undisputed World Women’s Championship: Mina Shirakawa vs. Thekla
• Goddesses Of Stardom Championship: Hazuki and Koguma vs. Himeka and Maika
• Wonder Of Stardom Championship: Saya Kamitani vs. Unagi Sayaka
• Giulia vs. Mayu Iwatani
• World Of Stardom Championship: Syuri vs. MIRAI

All wrestlers on the show have a profile on Joshi City, you can click on their name above to go to it. I will be reviewing the PPV version of the event, which I assume will be similar to the Stardom World version except that Samurai TV did not broadcast the pre-show match.

(c) Hanan vs. Lady C
Future of Stardom Championship

Maybe Lady C doesn’t have the size advantage, Hanan has gotten tall. They trade wristlocks to start, Hanan works a headlock but Lady C gets out of it and boots Hanan while she is against the ropes. Lady C goes off the ropes but Hanan hits a hip toss, chop by Lady C but Hanan elbows her as the two trade blows. Lady C chops Hanan into the corner, Irish whip by Lady C but Hanan rebounds out of the corner with a diving crossbody. Hanan picks up Lady C but Lady C blocks the double wrist suplex, she doesn’t block it for long however as Hanan hits it anyway for a two count. Chop to the head by Lady C, she picks up Hanan but Hanan blocks the backdrop suplex. Lady C hits a backbreaker instead, cobra clutch backbreaker by Lady C but Hanan gets into the ropes. Lady C goes for a chokeslam but Hanan reverses it into a cross armbreaker takedown. She lets go after a moment and drops Lady C with a STO, bridging fallaway slam by Hanan but Lady C kicks out of the cover. Hanan waits for Lady C to get up but Lady C boots her in the face, chokeslam by Lady C and she covers Hanan for two. Lady C picks up Hanan but Hanan spins away from her and hits a Fameasser. Hanan drags Lady C to her feet and nails a backdrop suplex hold, picking up the three count! Hanan wins and retains the championship.

For an opener involving a less experience wrestler and a child, it was pretty good. They did what they should do in these matches – kept it short with quick action, so the match never dragged or felt like it over-stayed its welcome. Things continue to not go great for Lady C as she is still at the bottom of the pecking order in Stardom, but maybe in 2022 she will finally turn the corner. A perfectly acceptable way to kick off the show.

Before the next match, we get a surprising development as the group Prominence walk down to the ring! Prominence are former Ice Ribbon wrestlers – Suzu Suzuki, Risa Sera, Akane Fujita, Harari Kurumi, and Mochi Miyagi. They have beef with Giulia as Giulia also used to be in Ice Ribbon. Looks like we are getting more excitement in Stardom, this is a great development for Stardom fans (and a sad one for Ice Ribbon fans). Looking forward to see where it goes from here.

AZM and Utami Hayashishita vs. Watanabe and Starlight Kid

Queen’s Quest attacks before the match starts and isolate Momo, double teaming her while the referee looks unconcerned. AZM stays in as the legal wrestler, she grabs Momo’s hair but Momo returns the favor before elbowing her. Kick to the chest by Momo and she dropkicks AZM in the corner, Momo goes to charge in again but AZM catches her with a dropkick. Side slam by Momo but AZM avoids the Punt and kicks Momo in the head. AZM tags Utami, Utami picks up Momo and delivers a scoop slam. Stomps by Utami, she goes off the ropes but Momo hits a dropkick and tags Starlight Kid. Starlight Kid throws Utami into the corner but Utami fires out with a hard shoulderblock, Irish whip by Utami but Starlight Kid hits a spinning headscissors. AZM kicks Starlight Kid from the apron and comes in the ring to help, but Starlight Kid fights off the both of them, ending with a double dropkick. Starlight Kid goes back to Utami and hits a standing moonsault, picking up a two count. Starlight Kid tags Momo, kick by Momo to Utami but Utami elbows her. Momo elbows Utami back but Utami catches her kick and hits a Samoan Drop. Utami goes for a sliding lariat but Momo kicks her arm away and hits a Buzzsaw Kick.

Momo charges Utami but Utami drops her with a release German, Momo recovers quickly and plants Utami with a Tequila Sunrise. Both wrestlers slowly crawl to their corners and tag out, Starlight Kid dropkicks AZM and the two trade elbows. Utami runs in and dropkicks Starlight Kid but Ruaka gets involved from the floor, AZM gets rid of Ruaka before hitting a swandive dropkick on Starlight Kid. Starlight Kid gets away from AZM but Utami re-appears and they deliver the 3D. AZM goes to the top turnbuckle and nails a diving footstomp, but Momo breaks up the cover. AZM picks up Starlight Kid but Starlight Kid avoids La Mistica and pushes AZM into the referee. Dropkick by AZM (into the referee again) and AZM applies the Azumi Sushi but the referee isn’t around to make the count. Rina runs in and elbows AZM, Death and Saki also come in and everyone attacks AZM. Fisherman Driver by Ruaka to AZM, Utami comes in to try to even the odds but eats a double dropkick. Starlight Kid goes to the top turnbuckle and hits the swivel body press, the referee is finally back but Utami breaks up the cover. Starlight Kid picks up AZM but AZM gets away and applies the Azumi Sushi, but Momo breaks it up. Momo picks up AZM and with Starlight Kid’s help she hits a side slam, Momo puts AZM on the top turnbuckle before Starlight Kid climbs up as well. Spanish Fly by Starlight Kid, and she covers AZM for the three count! Starlight Kid and Momo Watanabe are the winners!

For where it as on the card, the match layout made sense. I’m not a huge fan of referee bumps or one faction helping while the other does not, but at this point they are still just re-enforcing the feud. I suspect it is far from over. Starlight Kid continues to amaze, loved her using the Spanish Fly, and the match was very fast paced which kept it interesting. While the general match structure isn’t my personal favorite, there is no denying these four have great chemistry and will likely be battling against each other in some capacity for years to come.  Mildly Recommended

Mina Shirakawa vs. Thekla
SWA Undisputed World Women’s Championship

Thekla mocks Mina to start, which Mina doesn’t like as she kicks Thekla in the chest. Thekla goes off the ropes, Mina rolls her to the mat but Thekla avoids her dropkick and they end up in a posing stalemate. Mina quickly delivers a sliding dropkick and kicks at Thekla, but Thekla twists herself in the ropes when Mina goes for an Irish whip. Thekla avoids Mina’s charge and jaws with her as Mina stands outside the ring. Thekla goes out after her but Mina slides back in and they reach another stalemate. Thekla kicks Mina in the chest, Mina returns to her feet and they trade elbows. Thekla chops Mina in the chest, Irish whip by Thekla but Mina ducks the lariat and hits a jumping double chop. Thekla is up first but Mina elbows her in the corner, jumping lariat by Mina and she covers Thekla for two. Mina picks up Thekla but Thekla drops her with a hammerlock DDT. Thekla applies a facelock but Mina gets into the ropes for the break.

Double underhook by Thekla but Mina blocks the suplex, Thekla goes off the ropes but Mina levels her with a roaring elbow. Suplex by Mina, and she covers Thekla for two. Mina goes up top and delivers a diving elbow strike, roaring elbow to the back by Mina and she puts Thekla’s feet on the top turnbuckle before hitting a DDT. Cover by Mina, but Thekla barely kicks out. Mina goes for an elevated DDT but Thekla blocks it, elbow by Mina but Thekla crawls under her next attack and hits a spear. Mina quickly returns with a Lou Thesz Press, but it gets two. Backfist to the back by Mina, she picks up Thekla and nails the elevated DDT, but Thekla gets a shoulder up on the pin. Mina picks up Thekla but Thekla gets away, high kick by Thekla and she delivers a double underhook slam for a two count. Thekla picks up Mina, Mina gets out of her grasp but Thekla kicks her in the head. Back up, Thekla sets up Mina and nails the Toxic Spider Death Drop for the three count! Thekla wins and is the new champion!

Not the longest title match, but it was pretty entertaining. A short match was probably the smart way to go, as Thekla continues to get used to her new surroundings and Mina isn’t known for twenty minute plus matches anyway. They did a little bit of ‘showmanship’ as that was part of the build-up for the match, but once they got down to it they didn’t let that distract from the match overall. Thekla has some unique high impact offense and brings something different to Stardom, hopefully since she now has a belt they will be featuring her on future events. A solid mid-card title match, not long enough to leave too much of an impression but fun to watch.  Mildly Recommended

(c) Hazuki and Koguma vs. Himeka and Maika
Goddesses of Stardom Championship

Koguma does her cub poses to start the match, she gets Maika to join in but then schoolboys her for a two count. Himeka comes in the ring to help Maika get the advantage, Maika throws Koguma into the corner and chokes her with her boot. Maika tags Himeka and she does the same, scoop slam by Himeka and she hits a second one for a two count. Himeka tags Maika, scoop slam by Maika and she drops Koguma with another one. Himeka returns as the legal wrestler as she slams Koguma again before putting her in a Camel Clutch. Himeka lets go and goes off the ropes, but Koguma hits a drop toehold followed by a dropkick. This gives her time to tag Hazuki, Codebreaker by Hazuki and she knocks Maika off the apron. Back to Himeka, Hazuki hits a running elbow in the corner followed by a missile dropkick off the second turnbuckle for a two count. Hazuki quickly transitions to crossface but Maika breaks it up, Hazuki fights off both of them before hitting Himeka with some bootscrapes. Running boot by Hazuki and she hits a running senton for a two count.

She applies an armtrap chinlock but Himeka wiggles to the ropes to force a break. Hazuki goes to the apron and goes for a swandive move, but Himeka blocks it and knocks her down with a shoulderblock. Himeka tags Maika, Maika hits a hard shoulderblock of her own but Koguma dropkicks her. Backstabber by Hazuki and she hits an assisted Codebreaker on Maika for a two count. They trade elbows once they return to their feet, Himeka runs in to cut off Hazuki and DDM hit her with a double sliding lariat. Himeka leaves while Maika dropkicks Hazuki, but Hazuki fires back with a pump kick and both wrestlers are down on the mat. Hazuki tags in Koguma, Koguma goes for a few cradle pins but each one gets a two count. Himeka gets Koguma on her shoulders but Koguma slides off, dropkick by Koguma and she stands on Himeka’s back near the ropes. Koguma puts Himeka in the corner but Himeka avoids her charge and hits a body avalanche. Backbreaker by Himeka and she applies a single leg crab hold, but Hazuki breaks it up. Himeka picks up Koguma and gets her on her shoulders in an Argentine Backbreaker, but Hazuki re-appears and hits a swandive missile dropkick on Himeka.

Koguma kicks Himeka out of the ring, Hazuki then gets a running start in it and dives out onto both Himeka and Maika with a tope suicida. Hazuki slides Himeka back in while Koguma goes to the top turnbuckle and hits a missile dropkick. Waistlock by Koguma but Himeka spins out of it, release German by Koguma but Maika breaks up the cover. Hazuki picks up Himeka and with Koguma she hits an assisted cutter, both Koguma and Hazuki go to the top turnbuckle but Maika runs in and joins her. With Himeka’s help she superplexes them both down to the mat, Himeka goes off the ropes and hits a sliding lariat on Koguma for two. Himeka gets Koguma on her shoulders and drives her into the mat, but Hazuki breaks up the cover. Himeka goes off the ropes and turns Koguma inside out with a lariat, but when she goes for the cover, Koguma applies a small package hold for the three count! Hazuki and Koguma win and retain the championships.

This match was very very good but something didn’t click to make it feel like a title match. I am always a bit more… picky I guess with title matches, there should be something that elevates a match from “normal midcard tag match” to “title match” and this match really didn’t have that. Which isn’t to say it wasn’t well worked – Himeka and Maika are treasures and Hazuki hasn’t missed a beat. Koguma’s ring-style isn’t as serious and at times it didn’t mesh with what everyone else was doing, she didn’t seem fully out of place but I found myself enjoying the match more when Hazuki was the legal wrestler. That being said, DDM are so good at what they do that I found the action itself quite enjoyable, I could watch Himeka and Maika beat up people all day. Overall a solid match, even if it never really got to the next level before it suddenly ended.  Mildly Recommended

(c) Saya Kamitani vs. Unagi Sayaka
Wonder of Stardom Championship

Unagi wants to shake hands to start but Saya backs away from her instead, they tie-up and Saya gets Unagi into the ropes. She gives a clean break but slaps Unagi after Unagi charges in, kick by Saya and she works a headlock. Unagi Irish whips out of it and hits an armdrag, she goes for a leg drop but Saya moves. Back on their feet, big boot by Unagi but Saya returns to her feet and the two trade elbows. Headlock by Unagi but Saya drives her into the corner, Unagi avoids her charge however and hits a running elbow. Saya fires back with a dropkick, she picks up Unagi and clubs on her back. Snapmare by Saya and she applies a chinlock, but Unagi gets a foot on the ropes for the break. Saya picks up Unagi and puts her head over the second rope, she goes out to the apron and kicks Unagi repeatedly in the head. Saya returns to the ring and covers Unagi, but it gets a two count. Saya picks up Unagi, Saya challenges Unagi so Unagi hits her with a series of elbows. Saya absorbs them and knocks Unagi back to the mat, Saya goes off the ropes but Unagi drops her on the top rope with a Stun Gun.

Unagi goes out of the ring and pulls Saya’s head over the apron before hitting a cyclone DDT down to the floor. Unagi slides Saya back into the ring, jawbreaker by Unagi and she slams Saya face-first into the mat. Unagi tries to get Saya on her back but Saya blocks it, Unagi gets Saya in the corner but Saya avoids her charge and hits a hurricanrana. Unagi falls out of the ring, Saya goes to the ropes and dives down onto Unagi with a springboard plancha. Saya goes for a suplex out on the floor but Unagi reverses it into a DDT, Unagi waits for Saya to get up and they trade elbows. Unagi gets Saya up in the Gory Special (still on the floor) before dropping Saya onto the apron. Unagi returns to the ring with Saya following, Unagi applies a Dragon Sleeper but Saya inches to the ropes and makes it for the break. Unagi goes off the ropes but Saya catches her with a dropkick, Unagi catches Saya with an elbow but Saya delivers a spinning heel kick. Pump Kick by Saya and she connects with a second one for a two count cover. Saya goes to the top turnbuckle but Unagi recovers and elbows her off, sending Saya to the apron. Unagi drags Saya over the top rope and hits a cyclone DDT back into the ring, both wrestlers are slow to recover and start trading elbows while on their knees.

They keep it up as they return to their feet, Saya sends Unagi to the mat with a hard elbow before dropkicking her in the back of the head. Saya goes to the top turnbuckle, hitting a missile dropkick to Unagi’s back. Saya picks up Unagi and delivers the fisherman suplex hold, but Unagi kicks out of the cover. Saya picks up Unagi but Unagi quickly hits the Sister Abigail for a two count. Unagi picks up Saya, boot by Unagi but Saya boots her back. Saya schoolboys Unagi and keeps the hold applied as she hits a bridging suplex hold for a two count. Saya tries to go to the turnbuckles but Unagi grabs her leg, Saya stomps herself free and starts climbing again but Unagi grabs her from behind and slams Saya to the mat. Unagi positions Saya and goes to the top turnbuckle, nailing a diving body press for a two count. Unagi picks up Saya but Saya snaps off a hurricanrana, picking up two. Saya hits a spinning heel kick, she picks up Unagi and they struggle for control until Saya plants Unagi with a fisherman driver for a two count. Saya positions Unagi and goes to the top turnbuckle, nailing the Phoenix Splash for the three count! Saya Kamitani wins and retains the championship.

Considering the participants and the length of the match, this probably went about as well as it could have. Both wrestlers are still relatively early in their careers in regards to in-ring minutes (especially in big singles matches), and if you look close you can sometimes tell as some of the transitions were iffy and there was more dead time here than in the last few matches. They struggled at times ending offensive strings with the right person getting the best of it (for example, Unagi knocking Saya to the mat but Saya being up first and on offense), as they had the match planned but maybe not every connection to all the dots. But the effort was certainly there, and unlike the last match this *felt* like a title match. Whether it was the big moves or the “fighting spirit” shown by both, they presented the match as high stakes which can make a match seem better than maybe it really was. This probably won’t end up being a highly remembered title defense by Saya, but likely an important one for her growth as she makes the shift to being a major player in the promotion. Mildly Recommended

Giulia vs. Mayu Iwatani

They trade holds to start, Mayu gets a guillotine choke applied but Giulia gets out of it and Mayu ends up rolling out of the ring to ponder things. She returns after a moment and they trade wristlocks, headlock by Giulia but Mayu Irish whips out of it. Hard shoulderblock by Giulia, she goes off the ropes but Mayu hits a side headlock takedown. They end up at a stalemate and reset, kick by Mayu and she hits a jumping back elbow. Mayu picks up Giulia and flings her by the hair, kick to the back by Mayu and she applies a headscissors. Giulia gets to the ropes for the break, Mayu picks up Giulia and drops her with a cutter. Cover by Mayu, but it gets two. Head kick by Mayu, she sets up Giulia in the ropes and yanks down on her hair. Dropkick by Mayu and she covers Giulia for two. Mayu throws Giulia into the corner, Irish whip by Mayu and she delivers a dropkick. Mayu goes off the ropes and drills Giulia in the chest with another dropkick, Giulia falls out of the ring and Mayu goes to do a dive but Mayu hits her in the head with an umbrella. Mayu ends up hanging from the second rope so Giulia takes advantage and applies a neck crank. Mayu elbows out of it but Giulia gets back in the ring and kicks Mayu in the head. Dropkick by Giulia and she puts Mayu in a STF.

She switches it to an armbar but Mayu gets to the ropes, Giulia picks up Mayu and elbows her in the arm. Giulia keeps working over Mayu’s arm with a variety of strikes and submissions, scoop slams by Giulia and she covers Mayu for two. Giulia mushes Mayu in the face with her boot before kicking her in the ribs, Giulia picks up Mayu and throws her into the corner. Irish whip by Giulia, reversed, but Giulia sits Mayu on the top turnbuckle and suplexes her to the mat for a two count. Giulia charges Mayu in the corner but Mayu moves and delivers a dropkick, both wrestlers are slow to recover and end up trading running elbows once they return to their feet. Superkick by Mayu and she delivers a double wrist armsault for two. Back up, superkick by Mayu and she goes to the top turnbuckle. Giulia avoids her dive, Mayu lands on her feet but Giulia puts her in an Octopus Hold. Mayu slams her way out of it and superkicks Giulia, sending Giulia out of the ring. Mayu gets a running start and tries to dive out onto Giulia with a tope suicida, but Giulia moves and Mayu ends up landing on her STARS teammates instead. Giulia grabs Mayu but Mayu punches her off and they trade elbows. Giulia gets the better of things, the referee tries to get her to stop but she pushes him to the ground and then catapults off his back with a dropkick. Giulia picks up Mayu and gets her on her shoulders for the Glorious Buster, but Mayu reverses positions with her and goes for a tombstone.

Giulia gets away but Mayu superkicks her, head kick by Mayu and she plants Giulia on the floor with the tombstone piledriver. Mayu gets back in the ring but Giulia grabs her from the floor and brings her back outside with a neckbreaker. Giulia and Mayu both barely make the count as they slide back in the ring, headbutts by Giulia but Mayu avoids her charge and goes for a schoolboy. Giulia blocks it and hits a release German, but Mayu springs up and hits a release German of her own. They both hit another German suplex before collapsing to the mat, they slowly return to their feet and Mayu drills Giulia with a jumping kick. Mayu gets on the second turnbuckle and hits a missile dropkick, cover by Mayu but it gets two. Mayu picks up Giulia and delivers a dragon suplex hold, but Giulia gets a shoulder up. Mayu goes to the top turnbuckle but Giulia gets her feet up on the moonsault attempt, Giulia applies a triangle choke but Mayu gets her foot on the bottom rope. Giulia goes to the top turnbuckle and hits a missile dropkick, cover by Giulia but it gets two.

Giulia puts Mayu in the Stealth Viper, but Mayu is too close to the ropes and makes it for the break. Giulia picks up Mayu and hits a Falcon Arrow, but Mayu rolls through it for a two count cradle. Giulia waits for Mayu to get to her knees and hits a sliding kick, she picks up Mayu and drops her with a wrist-clutch backdrop suplex. Giulia picks up Mayu and knees her right in the head, cover by Giulia but it gets two. Giulia picks up Mayu but Mayu reverses the Glorious Driver attempt into a Dodonpa for two. Giulia goes to the top turnbuckle but Mayu recovers and joins her, Giulia puts Mayu in a guillotine choke but has to let her go. Mayu re-joins Giulia before she can do anything, this time sending Giulia off with a Frankensteiner. Giulia falls out of the ring, Mayu goes to the top turnbuckle and dives out onto her with a plancha suicida. Mayu slides Giulia back in, she goes to the second turnbuckle and hits a moonsault. She then goes all the way up top and delivers another moonsault, but Giulia kicks out of the cover. Blood is gushing from Giulia’s chin, she goes into a rage but Mayu is saved from her wrath as the bell rings as 30 minutes has expired. The match is a Draw.

Due to the Draw, both Giulia and Mayu will get a title shot, one on the 26th and one on the 27th. I imagine this was always the plan, for Giulia and Mayu to walk out with title challenges, they just had to go about it a different way than they thought. Anyway, this match was great. It had a few hiccups and Giulia’s early arm work was quickly forgotten, but considering they had to plan a 30 minute match with very little time I’m impressed with what they came up with. Giulia is an underrated suplex thrower as she was just planting Mayu, and Mayu is still one of the best sellers in wrestling as she made everything Giulia did look extra painful. The last ten minutes or so were fire, as they just traded big moves with barely taking a moment to catch their breath. Hard hitting and exciting, this won’t go down as a MOTYC due to the slow and at times somewhat awkward beginning but the end more than made up for it, a really entertaining match between two fantastic wrestlers.  Highly Recommended

(c) Syuri vs. MIRAI
World of Stardom Championship

They start slow as they size each other up, Syuri gets MIRAI into the corner but MIRAI drives her back into the opposite corner before giving a clean break. Syuri quickly gets MIRAI to the mat and goes for an armbreaker, MIRAI gets out of it and they jockey for position. Syuri lets MIRAI up after a moment and they square off, drop toehold by Syuri and she applies a waistlock. MIRAI gets out of that too, Syuri goes for MIRAI’s leg but eventually they end up in another stalemate and return to their feet. Side headlock by Syuri, MIRAI Irish whips out of it and stands strong when Syuri goes for a shoulderblock. They trade shoulderblocks until Syuri kicks MIRAI, snapmare by Syuri but MIRAI ducks the PK and cradles Syuri for two. MIRAI bounces off the ropes a few times and knocks Syuri off her feet with a shoulderblock, leading to Syuri rolling out of the ring to regroup. MIRAI goes after Syuri but Syuri re-enters the ring, forcing MIRAI to come back to her. She does so, armdrag by Syuri and she applies an armbar but MIRAI gets to the ropes. Syuri picks up MIRAI and throws her into the corner, choking her with her boot. Irish whip by Syuri, reversed, but Syuri avoids her charge and knees MIRAI in the stomach. Running knee by Syuri and she covers MIRAI for two. Sleeper by Syuri but MIRAI wiggles to the ropes to force the break.

Suplex by Syuri, she sits up MIRAI and kicks her repeatedly in the back. Syuri nudges MIRAI with her foot and stomps her before picking her up, Syuri goes off the ropes but MIRAI catches her with a scoop slam. MIRAI goes off the ropes and hits a shoulderblock, two more shoulderblocks by MIRAI and she covers Syuri for two. MIRAI goes to the top turnbuckle and hits a missile dropkick, she picks up Syuri and trips her to get her to the mat. MIRAI applies a kneelock but Syuri kicks her off, Syuri applies a front necklock before putting MIRAI’s legs on the top rope and hitting a DDT. MIRAI rolls out of the ring, Syuri goes to the apron but MIRAI catches her kick attempt and pulls Syuri out with her. MIRAI picks up Syuri and gets her on her shoulder before slamming Syuri hard to the floor. MIRAI slides Syuri back into the ring, she goes to the second turnbuckle and hits a senton for a two count. MIRAI picks up Syuri but Syuri gets away, kicks by Syuri but MIRAI elbows her in the chest. Head kick by Syuri, MIRAI elbows her back and the two trade shots. Knees by Syuri, she goes off the ropes but MIRAI hits another elbow followed by a shoulderblock. Boot to the face by Syuri and she hits a Codebreaker, leading to both wrestlers being down on the mat. Syuri recovers first but MIRAI ducks her head kick, waistlock by MIRAI but Syuri elbows out of it. Mid-kick by Syuri and she kicks MIRAI in the chest a few more times, but MIRAI eventually catches one and elbows Syuri in the leg. Elbows by MIRAI but Syuri elbows her back, leading to another exchange. Syuri eventually boots MIRAI in the head to send her to the mat, stomps by Syuri but MIRAI fires back with elbows.

More elbows by MIRAI while in the mount and she goes for Syuri’s arm, but Syuri blocks it and gets MIRAI in a seated armbar. MIRAI is too close to the ropes and gets a boot on one for the break, Syuri gets MIRAI on her shoulders and delivers the double knee gutbuster for two. Syuri goes to the top turnbuckle but MIRAI recovers and joins her, suplexing Syuri back down to the mat. MIRAI picks up Syuri and slams her back down, she goes off the ropes and hits a hard lariat for a two count. MIRAI picks up Syuri and hits a hammerlock bridging suplex, she applies the Miramare but Syuri eventually gets to the ropes for the break. MIRAI gets Syuri on her shoulders but Syuri slides off, hitting a release German. MIRAI blocks Syuri’s next strike attempt, she lifts Syuri into a side slam and gets a two count cover. MIRAI gets Syuri on her back in a stretch submission before dropping her to the mat, lariat by MIRAI and she hits a Samoan Driver for a two count. MIRAI picks up Syuri and goes off the ropes, but Syuri catches her with a high kick. MIRAI fires back with a lariat but Syuri hits a running knee, Syuri kicks out of MIRAI’s flash pin and picks her up but MIRAI slides away and hits a series of elbows. Syuri connects with a kick to get back in control, Buzzsaw Kick by Syuri but MIRAI barely kicks out of the cover. Backfists by Syuri and she delivers a high kick, she gets MIRAI on her shoulders and nails the Red World (Death Valley Bomb) for the three count! Syuri wins and retains the championship!

I appreciate the effort here by both women but this really shouldn’t have been the main event of a PPV. I mentioned in the last event I reviewed that I really prefer main events not have such a skill/experience gap as while upsets do happen, its rarely one of this magnitude and it never really felt like MIRAI had a chance. The match was also too long which is another side effect of it being the main event, they could have told the same basic story and snipped ten minutes from it. MIRAI looked good and they had surprisingly good chemistry, which does speak well of her as Syuri matches can be a little awkward if the pairing doesn’t work. Very strike and submission based, both of which they executed well even if it went too long which forced them to repeat moves a lot. If this was in the Saya/Unagi spot and was more condensed, this could have been a high end match, however as presented it was entertaining but lacked the excitement one would hope for in the headlining spot. Mildly Recommended

The post Stardom Nagoya Supreme Fight on 1/29/22 Review appeared first on Joshi City.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Full Details

Title: Utami Hayashishita “Luxury”
Release: September 2021
Size: A4
Pages: 52
Cost: ¥3,000
Where to Buy: Stardom Online Shop and Third Party Vendors

Currently in Stardom, Utami Hayashishita leads the Queen’s Quest faction and spent the bulk of 2021 as the World of Stardom Champion. At only 23 years old, she is one of the top female wrestlers in the world, recognized by both fans and wrestling critics alike as one of the best on the current scene. As is generally the case with Stardom, Utami Hayashishita is not only great in-ring but she takes an active part in their photobooks as well, as she gets her second “solo” photobook release since joining the promotion in 2018 with Luxury.

Unlike Utami’s last photobook, which was part of the MyStar series, Luxury is a full-sized photobook and clocks in at over 50 pages. The additional pages allow for a more varied photobook this time, with many different locations and outfit changes. Luxury definitely leans more into the ‘gravure’ side of modeling, with Utami posing in a range of lingerie. Unlike Bikiniing, which is a more narrow focused and includes the bulk of the Stardom roster, the solo photobooks allow for a more diverse photospread and are the better option for fans of a specific Stardom wrestler. Fans of Utami and Stardom photobooks will want to find this one, however Joshi fans that do not enjoy the more risqué photobooks should probably skip Luxury. Here are a sample of pictures from the photobook:

The post Utami Hayashishita “Luxury” Stardom Photobook Review appeared first on Joshi City.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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