June 17th, 2018
Please note: This is my first Stardom review, and you’ll notice it’s a show from last month. I will ONLY be reviewing the Korakuen Hall shows, along with the entire 5* Grand Prix tournament, which is coming soon. It takes Stardom a week or two to have the entire show’s uploaded anyways, so these reviews won’t be up immediately after the shows take place. That said, this show featured Io Shirai’s farewell match, along with Momo Watanabe’s first defense of the Wonder of Stardom Championship.
J.A.N. (Kaori Yoneyama and Ruaka) vs. J.A.N. (Leo Onozaki and Natsuko Tora)
Certainly an interesting choice for a tag match, we had J.A.N. taking on J.A.N. This was a fine little tag, but what you’ll come to see in these reviews is that the openers for Stardom are usually short, and never any too great. When you have Ruaka in there (who is only 13), not everything is guaranteed to click and all go smoothly. Thankfully, this was a fine match that was kept short, with a good showing from most. It was all action, and these four got to go out there and make the most out of it. There have been way worse Stardom opener’s in the past, but this was actually solid.
Winners: Leo Onozaki and Natsuko Tora
Match Rating: **1/4
Match Length: 5:12
Hanan vs. Natsu Sumire
Much like the first match, this was solid, and could have gone a lot worse. Hanan is 13 years old, but was working with someone like Natsu, who has much more experience and carries a ton of charisma with her. This match was a bit longer than the opener, and had some better action throughout. Natsu is capable of doing a lot here in Stardom, so we’ll see where she goes moving forward. Hanan was fine, never impresses me a ton, but definitely isn’t as bad as some of the other rookies. As expected Natsu got the win, but she used a northern lights suplex to finish it off… Which was the exact same finish as the opener. Odd.
Winner: Natsu Sumire
Match Rating: **1/2
Match Length: 8:49
ShiKid (Shiki Shibusawa and Starlight Kid) vs. Queen’s Quest (AZM and Konami)
We had another short tag in this one, but it’s good it was kept short because it featured Shiki. I’m pretty sure every Stardom fan knows that Shiki isn’t the best, and she hasn’t ever stood out to me as someone that would make a great champion down the line. Luckily for her, she’s been protected in ShiKid, which really just makes Starlight Kid stand out even more. Kid was the first Future of Stardom Champion, and she has held the title for just over 100 days. Overall, she has developed a great chemistry with AZM, and that showed here. Konami is someone who has A TON of potential, and is one of my favorites to win the 5* this year. Overall, this was the MOTN so far (but I’m sure that’ll change) with good action all around, just less of Shiki please.
Winners: Queen’s Quest
Match Rating: **3/4
Match Length: 6:21
Deonna Purrazzo and Zoe Lucas vs. Saki Kashima and Tam Nakano
Zoe Lucas is one of the newer rookies to Stardom, and she’s been improving quite a bit since she first got there. While not the greatest yet, she avoids looking like Shiki, which is much appreciated. There were too many interactions between Zoe and Saki for my taste, because those two just didn’t click, and it was a bit awkward at times. There were a lot of weird pinfall attempts, where the shoulders clearly weren’t on the mat. That aside, I’m so glad we got Deonna to tour in Stardom before she is off to bigger things with Io. Deonna fits perfectly in Stardom, and is one of the better women in the US scene. I would’ve preferred a straight up singles match with Tam, because that would’ve been killer. We don’t always get what we want, and that’s fine. Tam has the potential to be an absolute mega star one day, and I hope she absolutely kills it in the 5* this year. Anyways, this was about the same quality as the previous match, with all four looking good in the limited time given.
Winners: Saki Kashima and Tam Nakano
Match Rating: **3/4
Match Length: 7:40
Io Shirai’s Farewell Match: Thunder Rock (Io Shirai and Mayu Iwatani) vs. Oedo Tai (Kagetsu and Hazuki)
Io and Mayu used to team in Stardom, before both became HUGE singles stars. This was a perfect send off for Io, as there was a ton to go off of. Io and Mayu teaming together for one last time was probably the best way to send Io off, because it allowed for Mayu to get the pin on Kagetsu in the end, which could easily set up a title shot for her. Also, Hazuki used to be in Queen’s Quest with Io, which allowed for a different dynamic there as well. This was a great match, with crowd brawling, Io got her signature dive off the balcony, Stardom attacking Io (a Stardom specialty for farewell matches), lots of good spots inside the ring with all four women, and a well executed finishing stretch, where Io and Mayu hit every single finisher they could, for the final time. Io will be so missed here in Stardom, as she has been a crucial part of their roster for years. Definitely check this one out.
Winners: Thunder Rock
Match Rating: ****
Match Length: 25:45
Wonder of Stardom Championship: Momo Watanbe (c) vs. Jungle Kyona
Coming in it seemed like it would be impossible for these two to follow Io Shirai’s farewell, but they did very well. This was a great match, with good teases of both winning. Jungle has been waiting for her big Korakuen Hall singles match, and she got it here. I’ve been waiting for Jungle to get a big title run, or just something, because she’s been one of my favorites for the past year. She’s charismatic, can carry herself in the ring, and pulls out a lot of cool moves. Stardom sees big things in Momo, as she took the title off of Io, and now pretty much runs Queen’s Quest. This was a very good match, even though it probably shouldn’t have main evented, I’m not complaining. Momo makes her first defense of the title, and Jungle has to find her way back from here.
Winner: Momo Watanabe
Match Rating: ****
Match Length: 17:31
After the match, Deonna Purrazzo comes out to challenge Momo for the title. Momo accepts, and says when she has another successful title defense, she’s coming after Hazuki. Those two then get in each other’s faces, and now we have two White Belt matches set up!
Final Thoughts:
This show was mainly built around Io Shirai’s farewell, and there’s no problem with that. The three undercard tags were alright, with nothing too special, but that’s expected, and the same can be said for the singles match. We got an absolutely amazing farewell match for Io, which everyone should check out before she heads to NXT. The main event delivered, against all of the odds that it wouldn’t. Overall this was a solid show, but all you need to check out is the final two matches. It definitely felt like one of the weaker Korakuen Hall shows.
Final Rating: 6.2/10