Review: Stardom – 2018.03.25

Momo Watanabe vs. Nao Yamaguchi
This was quite a surprise. Whilst Nao still didn’t show much offence in this match, she did show a lot of character and strength as she took a lot of stiff punishment from Momo. Momo deserves a lot of credit for making the match compelling as she really delivered in making Nao look tough by both testing Nao’s resolve with her kicks and selling Nao’s limited offence well. If Nao continues to show as much personality and toughness, she has a bright future ahead of her. Momo Watanabe pinned Nao Yamaguchi for the win. 2.5/5

Leo Onozaki vs. Natsuko Tora
This was the second rookie debut for Stardom this month. It was another very promising debut with Leo looking confident and athletically strong. It was a solid match with Leo showing some solid forearms, running bulldogs and displaying a lot of heart which the crowd appreciated. Natsuko Tora submitted Leo Onozaki for the win. 2.25/5

Shiki Shibusawa vs. AZM (Future of Stardom Tournament)
It’s safe to say the result of this was a shock. Shiki has done a lot better over the last few months and again she did well in this match but AZM is both her senior and far more accomplished in the ring. Only looking ahead at results after this does the cooking make sense. The match was enjoyable and AZM nearly got the pin a couple of times but Shiki Shibusawa got a surprise win by rolling up AZM. 2.5/5

Jungle Kyona, Ruaka & Konami vs. Starlight Kid, Tam Nakano & Keneisha Moon
Keneisha Moon is a luchadore making her Stardom debut. She looks fairly new but did okay. This match was fine but a little messy in places. There was no real rhythm or flow but it was at least entertaining. Starlight Kid pinned Ruaka after a spinning frog splash. 2.5/5

Oedo Tai (Kagetsu, Hana Kimura & Sumire Natsu) vs. Mayu Iwatani, Mari Apache and Faby Apache
A great match. Faby is a fantastic addition to Stardom and I hope she can appear somewhere near as regularly as Mari. She is so fast and smooth and the crowd really has taking a liking to her. Everyone looked really good in this but it was the Apache sisters who stood out the most, delivering some great double teams. This was fast-paced and high quality. Mari Apache pinned Kagetsu with a Michinoku Driver II for the win. 4/5

Queen’s Quest (HZK, Io Shirai & Viper) vs. Toni Storm, Bea Priestley & Xia Brookside (Artists of Stardom Titles)
Another really good match. Toni & Viper started the match and showed a lot of what has made their previous Stardom and Mae Young Classic matches so good. Io vs. Bea was similarly impressive as Bea’s stiff kicks and Io’s impeccable selling combined. The match got a little more chaotic as it went on but maintained a very good quality. HZK pinned Xia Brookside after Bombs Away to retain the trio’s titles for Queen’s Quest. 4/5

There was a great promo after this involving Kagetsu, Io and Tam where Io agreed to both a white belt match against Kagetsu and teaming in an explosive bat deathmatch with Tam Nakano against Oedo Tai.

Hiromi Mimura vs. Stardom (Gauntlet Match)
With Hiromi leaving on the 28th March, this was her final Shinkiba match. She faced 12 opponents each for 1 minute. There was not a lot of wrestling but plenty of good comedy spots, my favourite being Natsuko Tora who posed like she wanted a hug and when Hiromi approached she hit her with a spear. The first nine matches were time-limit draws against Hanan, Shiki, Starlight Kid, AZM, Natsuko Tora, Tam, HZK, Kagetsu (assisted by the rest of Oedo Tai) and Viper. Hiromi then lost to both Io and Mayu. Finally Kris Wolf came out for her first Stardom match in months (sadly this is not a return as explained below) and Hiromi pinned her to get her solitary win. 3/5

After the match Hiromi thanked the crowd and announced her final match on the 28th March would be her and Konami vs. Momo Watanabe and Jungle Kyona. She also introduced Kris Wolf and told the crowd that today was Kris’s last day in Stardom. Kris thanked the crowd and wished everyone in Stardom well. It is really sad to see Kris leave as she adds so much personality and has been a great ambassador and access point for western fans. With that over, Hiromi introduced two new trainees who will debut later in the year and ended the show.