AZM & Miyu Amasaki Retain Goddesses of STARDOM Titles As Xena Says Goodbye

By: Lewis Carlan

On July 8th, STARDOM held STARDOM NIGHTER IN KORAKUEN JULY at Korakuen Hall with an announced attendance of 1,069 fans on hand for the event.

The featured bout saw AZM & Miyu Yamasaki making their second defense of the Goddesses of STARDOM Titles against Maika & HANAKO.

The evenly matched hard-fought bout lasted nearly twenty minutes and it could have gone either way. It was an Avalanche style Tensei by Amasaki on HANAKO that ended the match which enabled the champions to retain their titles.

Following the bout, Amasaki addressed the crowd with a message for HANAKO:

From Miyu Amasaki:

“I’ve never thought of HANAKO as just a junior—I’ve always seen her as a rival. Ever since that draw at Future, I’ve been so frustrated, but today I finally feel like I’ve gotten my revenge. Still, HANAKO hasn’t paid me back enough yet. Every time I defend this Goddess title, every day I hold it, I can’t help but feel that I—and 02line—are leveling up. If you want to level up even more, please come challenge me again.” (Translated via Deepl)

There was an emotional farewell at the event as Xena ended her time with STARDOM after three years of being a mainstay with the promotion.

Xena had a special send off as she faced Waka Tsukiyama in a singles bout. Tsukiyama spoiled Xena departure by defeating her at the 9:12 mark with an Aussie Suplex.

Despite the loss, Xena took the mic after the bout and spoke to the crowd. She indicated that while she is sad to leave, she knows in her heart that she will return to STARDOM one day.

From Xena:

“Japan has been my home for three years, but I’m very sad I have to leave. But I know in my heart that I’m going to return back here. This is my life. I built a home here. STARDOM is my family. And I can’t say I’m sad, because I’m happier that I got to experience this. So, I’m trying to picture every good memory I had with everybody here. I’m glad I got to wrestle my EXV members one last time. The only person missing here is Mina Shirakawa. I have to thank Mina, because I came here under Mina’s faction. Mina Shirakawa changed my life. And I’m so happy I have the EXV girls and the whole STARDOM staff behind me.” (H/T to meraWRESTLING for the transcription)

Here are the full results for STARDOM NIGHTER IN KORAKUEN JULY courtesy of purolove.com:

• Xena Send-Off Special Singles Match: Waka Tsukiyama defeated Xena (9:12) with an Aussie Suplex.
• 3 Way Battle: Hanan defeated Rina Yamashita & Fukigen Death★ (5:25) with the Seventeen against Fukigen.
• Starlight Kid, Mei Seira & Ema Maishima defeated Maki Itoh, Kikyo Furusawa & Rian (8:26) after Seira’s Shooting Star Dragon against Rian.
• 4 Way Battle: Hazuki & Koguma defeated Utami Hayashishita & Fuwa-chan, Momo Watanabe & Konami and Saya Iida & Matoi Hamabe (9:10) after Hazuki’s Love Bears~ Bear Heart~ against Hamabe.
• Natsupoi, Saori Anou, Aya Sakura, Sayaka Kurara, Yuna Mizumori & Anne Kanaya defeated Syuri, Ami Sohrei, Hina, Lady C, Ranna Yagami & Kotatsu (13:52) against Yagami after a Natsupoi style Made in Japan by Natsupoi.
• Saya Kamitani, Ruaka & Azusa Inaba defeated Suzu Suzuki, Itsuki Aoki & Akira Kurogane (11:45) after Kamitani’s star crusher against Kurogane.
• Goddesses of Stardom Title: AZM & Miyu Amasaki (c) defeated Maika & HANAKO (19:26) after an Avalanche-style Tensei from Amasaki against HANAKO (2nd defense).