August 12th, 2018
The latest Stardom Korakuen Hall show features two big title shots, a debut, along with two other matches. Not the biggest card, but there’s enough on here to make it great. This is the final Korakuen Hall show before the 5* Grand Prix begins!
Dust vs. Leo Onozaki
This was far from a bad match, just your typical Stardom opener. Dust played the heel, while Leo continues to slowly improve. She really has to work on her selling and bumping. It’s very inconsistent, but that all comes together with time. Dust was the perfect opponent, as she could pick up the win, and she has lots of experience to carry with her, which benefits Leo in the long run. Nothing terrible, a totally average professional wrestling match.
Winner: Dust
Match Rating: **1/4
Match Length: 6:20
Goddesses of Stardom Championship #1 Contenders Gauntlet: Queens Quest (Konami and AZM) vs. Shiki Shibusawa and Hanan vs. Oedo Tai (Hazuki and Natsu Sumire) vs. J.A.N. (Kaori Yoneyama and Natsuko Tora) vs. Starlight Kid and Tam Nakano
Gauntlet matches can be tricky to pull off. There were some fun and sloppy moments in this one, but the good mostly overruled the bad. Queen’s Quest got to run the gauntlet for a bit, as they knocked off Shiki/Hanan, and then tossed Oedo Tai over the top rope (I love when Stardom uses the top rope eliminations in these type of matches). Eventually, AZM’s work became very sloppy, and proves that she still has a long way to go. J.A.N. would’ve been the worst team to win, but thankfully Starlight and Tam picked up the win. Starlight and Tam will challenge Mayu and Saki, which should be awesome. Good stuff here.
Winners: Starlight Kid and Tam Nakano
Match Rating: ***1/4
Match Length: 21:31
Jungle Kyona vs. Utami Hayashishita
To have your debut match in Korakuen Hall is a big deal. To have your debut match against Jungle Kyona is a big deal. To go FIFTEEN MINUTES with Jungle Kyona at Korakuen Hall in your debut match… Unheard of. Utami Hayashishita absolutely proved she has what it takes. This was a great back and forth match, with everyone rooting on Utami. Jungle is amazing in big time matches, and proved that here. Utami sold very well, and if I wasn’t a Stardom fan, there’s no way you could convince me that this was Utami’s first match. She already has a unique moveset, almost made Jungle tap, almost put her away with the Torture Rack bomb, but it just wasn’t meant to be. Great stuff in this one, the closing stretch was phenomenal. Find me a better 15 minute debut match, I dare you.
Winner: DRAW
Match Rating: ****
Match Length: 15:00
After the match, Rossy congratulates Utami, but also mentions there’s one open spot left in the 5* Grand Prix. Utami accepts, and she’s already in Stardom’s biggest tournament!
Wonder of Stardom Championship: Momo Watanabe (c) vs. Saki Kashima
Saki came into this match knowing she needed to knock it out of the park, because this was her first big singles match since returning to the company. In the end, both ladies benefited from this match, and while a bit weaker than Utami/Jungle, this was a very good title match. It wouldn’t make sense for Saki to hold tag gold with Mayu, and then be Wonder of Champion on top of that, but they did a great job with the near falls, and Saki was constantly trying to steal the victory at the end. Lots of good roll ups, and one great one before the finish. The closing stretch started off sloppy, but thankfully they recovered and this ended up being a great match. Saki delivered, and Momo continues to have a great run as Champion.
Winner: Momo Watanabe
Match Rating: ***3/4
Match Length: 11:33
World of Stardom Championship: Kagetsu (c) vs. Mayu Iwatani
As expected, this was a great match to close out the show. I’m not against these girls getting 20 minutes to work, but there seems to be quite a bit of downtime during the longer main events, which takes away from the match just a little. This was above the previous match, but I don’t think it topped Utami’s debut. Mayu never disappoints, and Kagetsu has shown great fire as champion so far. They pulled out all the signature stuff, Mayu got a good near fall or two, but it seemed obvious that Kagetsu would retain. With a few minutes chopped off, and a hotter closing stretch, this would’ve been match of the night.
Winner: Kagetsu
Match Rating: ***3/4
Match Length: 21:49
After the match, Kagetsu grabs a micorphone and puts over Mayu, only to take her hand away and mention how she was better than Mayu yet again. When it comes to the 5*, they may be on different blocks, but come the end of it, Kagetsu hopes to see Mayu in the finals. Mayu is disappointed and frustrated that she lost, but she’ll give it her all in the upcoming 5* Grand Prix. Momo Watanabe makes her way into the ring, and says she’ll be the one winning the 5*. Eventually Hazuki and Jungle come out, but it leads to an Oedo Tai dance, finalized with Utami giving the send off.
Final Thoughts:
This was a really strong Korakuen Hall show, something that Stardom has been missing lately. The final three matches delivered big time, and there was nothing wrong with the “undercard”. Dust picked up a little singles win, and we had the team of Starlight Kid and Tam Nakano become #1 Contender’s to the Tag Belts. Utami Hayshasihita’s debut delivered BIG TIME, something I totally didn’t expect. Utami/Jungle was MOTN, but closely behind were the two title bouts. While it was rather obvious that both champions would retain, it was great seeing Saki get a big time singles match, and Kagetsu/Mayu delivered, as expected. Great stuff here from Stardom, and now we head into the 5* Grand Prix.
Final Rating: 7.3/10