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Review: Stardom – 2018.03.04

Starlight Kid vs. Hanan (Future of Stardom Tournament)
The first match in a tournament to crown the inaugural Future of Stardom champion. The tournament is for anyone under the age of 20 and/or those with less than two years experience. This was a solid first match with Hanan showing good speed and confidence and worked well with the always impressive Starlight Kid. Starlight Kid pinned Hanan after a spinning frog splash. 2.25/5

AZM vs. Ruaka (Future of Stardom Tournament)
This was by far Ruaka’s best singles performance and AZM looked fantastic. Ruaka was on top for the a lot of the match delivering two huge running big boots and a very slightly messy superplex. There were tons of near falls and AZM’s athleticism and blossoming matchcraft really added to a fast-paced and intense match. AZM eventually got the pin with a diving crossbody. 2.75/5 

Nao Yamaguchi vs. Shiki Shibusawa
This was Nao Yamaguchi’s debut. All things considered she did very well. She did not look nervous, never got lost, had a good ring presence and sold well. She did not offer much in terms of offence, only a few forearms and a bodyslam, but I felt there was enough here to be optimistic about her future. Shiki also did well and looked confident as she helped Nao through her first match, even if the whole thing was very basic. Shiki Shibusawa pinned Nao Yamaguchi after a missile dropkick. 2/5

Konami & Hiromi Mimura vs. Kaori Yoneyama & Natsuko Tora
A fairly average tag match with not much of note other than great spear from Natsuko Tora. Natsuko Tora pinned Hiromi Mimura for the win. 2.5/5

Xia Brookside vs. Io Shirai
This was arguably Xia’s biggest match in Stardom so far and she did pretty well. Io was only working at around 50% but Xia showed some nice moves and I was impressed with her movement and smoothness, I really liked her smooth counter of the 619 into a pin attempt. Io did a few moves from her standard repertoire but it was clear this match was more about making Xia seem impressive than it was a showcase for Io. Io Shirai submitted Xia Brookside with a Texas Cloverleaf. 3.5/5

After the match Xia spoke in Japanese and said she wanted to be a Stardom member which got a good crowd reaction. Io accepted and handed her her new Stardom gear which was a nice touch.

Queen’s Quest (Momo Watanabe & HZK) vs. Toni Storm & Bea Priestley
My enjoyment of this match was hurt slightly by the fact that Bea has become almost as protected as Toni in terms of booking but this match was still very good. Toni and Bea hit a couple of great double team moves and Bea in particular looked impressive throughout, probably the best she has looked in Stardom. I felt Momo and HZK did not get enough offence in but the match still flowed well enough and was never dull. Bea Priestley submitted Momo Watanabe with the Fatality (kimura lock). 3.75/5

Oedo Tai (Kagetsu, Hana Kimura & Sumire Natsu) vs. Tam Nakano, Mayu Iwatani & Jungle Kyona
Another very good match between these groups. The first couple of minutes was largely outside and chaotic but there was lot of actual wrestling once things got back inside the ring. Tam took a huge amount of punishment throughout the match but had the chance to pin Sumire but decided to beat her more instead and ended up losing the opportunity. Mayu and Jungle Kyona both had a few good moments but were largely peripheral. Kagetsu and Sumire did most of the work for Oedo Tai, with Sumire dumping a garbage can over Tam and also taking a lot of punishment herself. Hana was not too involved but her intense moments with Tam continue to be great. Sumire Natsu pinned Tam Nakano after a cradle DDT. 4/5

After the match there was a great promo between Kagetsu, Sumire and Tam. It ended up Tam challenging Sumire to an explosion death match. Kagetsu wanted to get involved and wanted it to be Kagetsu and Sumire vs. Tam and Io. Io came out and said she wanted no part of it. A brawl ensued and as the members at ringside came in to break it up Saki Kashima and Hana Kimura started fighting. Saki asked Rossy for her first match to be against Oedo Tai. This was a really great segment.

Starlight Kid vs. Hanan
AZM vs. Ruaka (Future of Stardom Tournament)
Nao Yamaguchi vs. Shiki Shibusawa
Konami & Hiromi Mimura vs. Kaori Yoneyama & Natsuko Tora
Xia Brookside vs. Io Shirai
Momo Watanabe & HZK vs. Toni Storm & Bea Priestley
Oedo Tai (Kagetsu, Hana Kimura & Sumire Natsu) vs. Tam Nakano, Mayu Iwatani & Jungle Kyona

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