Review: Stardom – 2017.11.19

Ruaka vs. Hanan
Great intensity from both girls but this was still a standard opener in terms of the wrestling. Ruaka pinned Hanan after a Fisherman’s Suplex. 2/5 

Team Jungle (Jungle Kyona, Natsuko Tora & Kaori Yoneyama) vs. Starlight Kid, Konami & Shiki Shibusawa
Fun match even if the quality wasn’t great in places. Shiki made a small mistake when running to the wrong ropes for a spot and then showed her inexperience by just stopping and running to the right ones instead of improvising. She did fine for the rest of the match though. The rest of the match was fairly standard back-and-forth with a few comedy spots thrown in. Natsuko Tora pinned Shiki Shibusawa after a splash. 2.5/5

Kris Wolf vs. Momo Watanabe
Another great match between these two. They both move with such energy around the ring and their technique is becoming really good too. This was very fast-paced and back-and-forth. I loved the little detail of Tam Nakano giving P-Chan CPR after he was hurt helping Kris distract Momo. Momo Watanabe pinned Kris Wolf after a diving double knee drop. 3.5/5

Queen’s Quest (HZK & AZM) vs. Chardonnay & Scarlett
The rate at which AZM is improving is astounding. Her ring awareness and general ability is better than a lot of wrestlers twice her age. She certainly elevated this from an average match into something much more entertaining with her great pace and enthusiasm. It was a fairly even contest with everyone getting some solid offence in before Chardonnay isolated AZM and hit the Tower of London for the pin. 3/5

Sumire Natsu vs. Hiromi Mimura
This was Sumire’s first Stardom singles match and I was very impressed. She showed great character work (helped by the fact she was in the ring with arguably the best Stardom character worker, Hiromi) and her ring ability seemed good. I particularly liked her running knee she used to set up her finisher. Sumire Natsu pinned Hiromi Mimura for the win. Tam Nakano, who was at ringside, also did some nice character work throughout the match as she seemed displeased to have to help Sumire. 3/5

Oedo Tai (Kagetsu & Hana Kimura) vs. Kelly Klein & Bea Priestley (Goddesses of Stardom Tag Championship)
A really great match. The teamwork between all of the members of Oedo Tai was really on display as they really felt insurmountable as they used their numbers around the ring so well. There were a lot of cool moments throughout the match including Bea & Kelly dumping Oedo Tai over the top rope and then Bea doing a cannonball off the apron and a nice doubleteam powerbomb from the middle rope by Oedo Tai. My favourite moment though was Bea reversing a chokeslam attempt by Kagetsu into an armbar and then Kagetsu, after struggling to break free for quite a while, deadlifting Bea into another chokeslam, it was just incredibly well planned and executed and a great show of strength. Kagetsu pinned Bea Priestley after an Oedo Coaster to retain the Goddesses of Stardom Tag Belts. 4.25/5

Io Shirai vs. Yoko Bito (Wonder of Stardom Championship)
This is an incredibly strong contender for the match of the year. It started slow with Bito keeping Io contained in a headlock. Once Io was free the action quickly moved outside of the ring. With Io in control she removed the safety mats but as she attempted a German suplex Bito reversed it and delivered a B-Driver to the hard floor. Back in the ring Bito assumed control for a while until she attempted another B-Driver and Io used her legs to counter it into a nice submission hold. They traded big moves and Bito finally hit the B-Driver but Io kicked out. Io gained control but her moonsault was countered by the knees of Bito who then delivered a beautiful crucifix powerbomb. Bito then attempted another crucifix powerbomb from the top rope in an insanely ambitious spot. It wasn’t very pretty but Io reversed it into an insane Frankensteiner. Io used several German suplexes in succession but Bito kicked out before finally succumbing to a moonsault. Io Shirai pinned Yoko Bito to win the Wonder of Stardom Championship. 4.5/5  

Io looked to be back to her very best in this match which is certainly very exciting for the future of Stardom. Yoko Bito also deserves enormous credit for the part she played in what seems likely to be her last big match after she announced her retirement.