Review: Stardom – 2018.04.01 – Dreamslam Day Three

Ruaka & Leo Onozaki vs. Hanan & Nao Yamaguchi
A very basic and short match. I thought Hanan’s and Ruaka’s forearms looked a lot better but other than that there was nothing noteworthy. Ruaka pinned Nao Yamaguchi after a Fisherman’s Suplex. 1.75/5

Konami vs. Xia Brookside
This was Xia’s last match of her current tour and was the kind of match I wish Stardom would do more of in the mid-card instead of endless tag matches. It was two wrestlers given time and the spotlight to really try to put together a match and improve. It was not the greatest match ever but it had meaning and was far more interesting than seeing them just doing a few of their signature moves in a two minute cameo in a multi-person tag match. Both women worked well with Konami delivering a multitude of kicks and submissions and Xia working a smooth, albeit basic, style. Both certainly have a lot of room for improvement but they are only going to be able to do that if they continue to have matches like this. Xia Brookside pinned Konami to retain the IPW Women’s Title. 3/5 

AZM vs. Starlight Kid (Future of Stardom Title)
Incredible. This singles match has been being built to for months and not only did it not disappoint,  it also surprised. It has been obvious for months that these two work really well in a high-speed style but this match had more with some genuinely brutal looking submissions and some really clever and innovative twists on a lot of their best moves. Even small things such as forearms and dropkicks seemed to be delivered with a lot more impact than I have seen from them before. I loved AZM ducking from the middle rope to the bottom rope to dodge a 619 only for Starlight Kid to immediately deliver another and also AZM’s crossbody after running up the corner being met with a well timed kick from Kid. The only real complaint I have about the match is that at just over 6 minutes it was a little short. With both of these wrestlers still in their mid-teens the sky really is the limit for how good they can get. Starlight Kid pinned AZM after a spinning frog splash. 4/5

Momo Watanabe vs. Bea Priestley
This was another good match, if again a little short. There were a ton of stiff kicks and strikes throughout the match and both women worked well together. Bea faceplanted Momo off her shoulders into the the ring apron which looked great. Bea Priestley pinned Momo Watanabe after a curb stomp. 3.75/5

HZK vs. Hana Kimura
A great match and a great showcase for the passion and intensity of Stardom. Both wrestlers have been great in recent months of making you believe they really hated each other and throughout this match both were very vocal and did great character work. Almost everything was very stiff and I think Hana’s Octopus Hold is one of the best looking submissions in wrestling. The ending was a slight disappointment as Hana Kimura pinned HZK with a small package after HZK had missed with Bombs Away, I would have liked a bigger climax but this was still great. 4/5

Faby Apache, Mari Apache & Natsumi vs. Shiki Shibusawa, Natsuko Tora & Saki Kashima
There was really two halves to this match. The first half saw the rookie Natsumi struggling a little and making a rather large botch when she collapsed while trying a body slam. It also saw Saki showing impressive athleticism with a beautiful hurricanrana but also looking a bit rusty as she mistimed a few other moves. The second half saw Natsuko take over and she put on a really good show against Mari as they traded very near falls and worked very smooth. Mari Apache pinned  Natsuko Tora after a diving spinning heel kick. 3/5

Jungle Kyona vs. Viper (SWA Title)
A fantastic match and one of the best singles matches for both of these two wrestlers in Stardom. It was hard hitting from the start and only got bigger and better as the match went on, eventually culminating in several minutes of huge moves, near falls and reversals. Kyona kicked out of a Viper Bomb and a Michinoku Driver II. She also almst got the pin on Viper with an impressive powerbomb and several nice reversals. Eventually Viper got the upper-hand and pinned Jungle Kyona after another Michinoku Driver II. 4.25/5

Mayu Iwatani vs. Toni Storm (World of Stardom Title)
This was the rematch after Toni won the championship by default after Mayu dislocated her elbow in their title match last year. It was another great match on this great show. It was fairly slow start with a lot of mat-based work from Toni as she targeted Mayu’s elbow. Things picked up as Mayu performed a crossbody from the top rope to the outside and back in the ring Toni hit two big piledrivers but Mayu kicked out of both pin attempts. There was a lot of emotion in the match, especially from Mayu who sold extremely well throughout and really had a look of desperation. Toni Storm took control at the end of the match and delivered three piledrivers in a row to pin Mayu Iwatani and retain the World of Stardom title. 4/5

Io Shirai & Tam Nakano vs. Oedo Tai (Kagetsu & Natsu Sumire) (Exploding Bat Death Match)
This match has been quite divisive since it was announced with many feeling that Stardom doesn’t need dangerous gimmicks but the spectacle in this match paired with some great wrestling from Io and Kagetsu made this match special and a must-see. The sense of tension every time the alarm sounded as somebody pressed a button to arm the explosives was incredible. There was some actual great wrestling too with Kagetsu performing a great middle rope apron-lifted suplex on Io and Io herself dodging exploding bat repeatedly. Io eventually became the first to get hit by the exploding bat by Kagetsu and the explosion was huge and hopefully did not do too much damage to Io’s exposed legs. Sumire deserves credit after taking a lot of punishment, first from the used exploding bat as Io hit her with it repeatedly and then being hit by the second explosion from a bat from Tam. After this hit Io performed a moonsault from the top rope to the outside to keep Kagetsu down and Tam managed to pin Sumire Natsu for the win. Whilst I wouldn’t like to see this type of match often in Stardom, as a one-off special match it was spectacular and very well executed. 4.5/5