Review: Stardom – 2017.8.6

Ruaka vs. Hanan vs. Shiki Shibusawa
Without one of the more experienced youngsters such as AZM & Starlight Kid this match suffered. It was a very standard Stardom opener with lots of basic strikes and holds and Ruaka rolled up Hanan after Hanan had dropkicked Shiki. Shiki looked like she didn’t know where to be in a couple of spots but it’s only her fourth match so it’s understandable. Hanan & Ruaka have already shown that they have a lot of potential and we will know more about Shiki in a few months.

Natsuko Tora vs. Konami
Tora won the early tests of strength before Konami took over with strikes. Tora twice took Konami to the ground but Konami made it to the ropes and broke free. A nice spear from Tora 830 but Konami kciked out of the pin. Tora tried for a body slam but Konami reversed into an arm lock. Tora got to the ropes but Konami delivered a big kick to the head. A beautiful german suplex and another big kick from Konami won the match. This was solid.

Jungle Kyona & Mari Apache vs Shanna & Starlight Kid
Kid & Kyona start with Kyona countering an early 619 attempt with a sideslam. Apache tags in and works stiff on Kid. Kyona is back in for a double team. Then there is a great double Mexican surfboard applied to both Kid & Shanna 8:50. Shanna finally gets going with a big running forearm to Kyona & a hurricanrana to Apache, followed by assisting Kid with a hurricanrana of her own. Shanna follows up with an enziguri. Apache kicks out then delivers a great spinning heel kick. Kyona is back in and they trade big moves. Shanna & Kid deliver simultaneous shiranui followed by standing moonsaults (at least I think Shanna attempted this but didn’t make the rotation). Kid attempts a crossbody from the middle rope but Kyona catches her, Kid transitions into an unsuccessful pin. Kyona & Apache with a big double suplex to Kid, Shanna breaks up the pin. Shanna sends Apache to the outside and then performs a suicide dive. Kid dodges one attempt at a lariat by Kyona but gets hit with the second. Jungle Kyona pins Starlight Kid for the win. An entertaining match.

Queen’s Quest (Viper, HZK & AZM) vs Toni Storm, Xia Brookside & Gabby Ortiz
AZM & Ortiz start off the match with standard wristlocks & headlocks. HZK vs. Brookside is next. Brookside works quite a bit smoother than her last few matches. Viper vs. Storm is next and they trade forearms to start. They work well together. QQ gets everyone in a corner and Viper delivers a cannonball to all three. QQ are eventually thrown to the outside. Storm delivers a suicide dive, Ortiz & Brookside jumped from the apron to the standing members of QQ which looked pretty weak. Viper teased jumping from the apron herself but instead she threw Azumi into her opponents in a nice spot. Once the match returned to the ring Brookside hit a rather nice hurricanrana on Viper. HZK & AZM worked over Brookside for a while with some nice dropkicks. Brookside hit a nice knee to the face in the corner on HZK before tagging in Ortiz. Ortiz reversed a bodyslam by HZK into a nice DDT. Eventually Storm & Viper faced off again with Storm delivering a great German suplex. Storm went for the finish but the other QQ members cut her off and together they isolated Ortiz and Viper pinned her after an elbow drop. The first half of this match had no pace and was really awkward but the second half was much better with Brookside & Ortiz looking much better than their other Stardom matches.

Yoko Bito, Hiromi Mimura & Mayu Iwatani vs Oedo Tai (Kris Wolf, Kagetsu & Hana Kimura)
MAyu & Kagetsu start things off, again looking great as they build to their title match. Wolf & Bito are in next with some good kick exchanges. Hana & Hiromi tag in. Hana does her poses and challenges Hiromi to do the same, Oedo Tai fake vomiting as she does so. Hiromi gets mad but Oedo Tai pull her to the outside. Kagetsu beats her with an umbrella. Oedo Tai isolate Hiromi in the ring. Hana takes over and her strikes look great. Hiromi creates an opening for Mayu to get in. Mayu dominates and Bito joins in for simultaneous drop kicks. Mayu hits Hana with a nice enziguri. Bito tags in and trades suplexes with Hana. Hana hits a missile dropkick and a big boot to the face. Bito makes some space with a nice kick to the face and makes the tag to Hiromi and Wolf also tags in. Hiromi briefly holds off all of Oedo Tai before they take control. Mayu breaks up a near fall after Wolf had delivered the double knees from the corner. Bito clears the ring and sets up Mayu and Hiromi for their corner moves but Kagetsu breaks it up. Bito & Hana hit each other with more great kicks. Wolf & Hiromi exchange pins and counter pins. Hiromi does not see when Kagetsu tags herself in and tries to pin Wolf. Kagestu uses the confusion to set up a 450 splash on Hiromi for the win. This was a very good match but did not really feel like a main event.