Review: Stardom – 2018.05.06 – The STARS Produced Show

Before the wrestling Stardom held a Janken tournament which is well worth watching if you are a Stardom fan.

Nao Yamaguchi vs. Hanan vs. Leo Onozaki
This was pretty messy with Nao botching several times. Hanan pinned Nao Yamaguchi for the win. 1.5/5

Starlight Kid vs. Ruaka (Future of Stardom Title)
A nice, solid match and probably Ruaka’s best singles performance. Ruaka almost got the pin with a suplex from the middle rope but Starlight Kid kicked out just in time in a great looking spot. The rest of the match flowed well and Ruaka’s kicks looked like they had good impact. Starlight Kid eventually won with a spinning frog splash. 2.75/5

Queen’s Quest (Konami, AZM, Chardonnay & Bea Priestley) vs. Oedo Tai (Hana Kimura, Sumire Natsu, Session Moth Martina & Brandi Rhodes)
This was a really fun match with a lot of comedy courtesy of Martina, Sumire and AZM. I loved Martina attempting to spit beer in AZM’s face and all members of both sides coming in the ring to stop her. Konami also impressed with a great triple armbar spot. Hana, Bea & Chardonnay displayed more serious wrestling with Hana performing a great octopus hold on Chardonnay. Hana Kimura eventually got the pin on Chardonnay after a missile dropkick. 3.75/5

Queen’s Quest (Io Shirai & Momo Watanabe) vs. Oedo Tai (Kagetsu & Hazuki)
After some nice ground-based work by Momo and Hazuki there was quite a long lull while several familiar spots such as throwing into chairs and spitting water were performed. Eventually the pace really picked up and there was a lot of great offence from everyone. It never quite elevated itself to something special but it was a very enjoyable match. It ended in a time-limit draw. 3.75/5

STARS (Mayu Iwatani, Tam Nakano, Saki Kashima, Shiki Shibusawa & Natsumi) vs. STARS (Jungle Kyona, Natsuko Tora, Kaori Yoneyama, Mari Apache & Candy Floss)
Despite being chaotic and a little predictable at times there were some great moments in this. Natsumi faced her mother Mari Apache and looked really impressive. Mayu, Tam and Natsuko all were great and had fantastic workrate. But it was Jungle Kyona who really cemented the position as the next Stardom talent to really hit the top of the company with Mayu, Kagetsu and Momo after Io Shirai leaves. It was a brilliant performance made better with a great passionate promo afterwards. The full list of eliminations were: Tam Nakano pinned Candy floss. Mari Apache submitted Shiki Shibusawa with a torture rack and then pinned Natsumi. Mayu eliminated Mari overe the top rope with accidental help from Jungle Kyona and Natsuko Tora. Natsuko Tora eliminated Saki Kashima over the top rope. Mayu pinned Natsuko. Kari Yoneyama and Mayu were fighting on the apron and Jungle Kyona eliminated both of them. Tam and Kyona were left and had a very stiff face-off before Jungle Kyona hit the hammer throw powerbomb to get the pin and the win. 4/5

After the match there was a great segment between Jungle Kyona and Mayu where Kyona announced Team Jungle were leaving STARS and forming their own group. The new Team Jungle consists of: Jungle Kyona, Natsuko Tora, Kaori Yoneyama, Leo Onozaki & Ruaka.