Saori Anou Picks Up 2 Losses and 1 Win at STARDOM in Otsu

By Noah Leatherland

STARDOM was in Saori Anou’s hometown of Otsu for their event on February 20th. The returning star saw plenty of the limelight as she ended up having three matches on the show, suffering two defeats before getting to celebrate a win in the main event.

Anou was set to face Saki Kashima in a special singles match to mark her hometown return. Much to Anou’s surprise, the match lasted a grand total of 7 seconds, with Anou getting caught in a pin by Kashima.

Anou requested an immediate rematch. The bell rang once more, but the fortunes remained the same for the two competitors. In just under 4 minutes, Kashima caught Anou in the exact same hold and scored a second pinfall.

Anou had the opportunity to redeem herself in the main event. She tagged with Natsupoi to take on Neo Genesis’s Starlight Kid and Miyu Amasaki. In a much more competitive contest, Anou gained the win for her team, hitting a leg-clutch suplex on Amasaki and scoring a pinfall, much to the delight of the Otsu crowd.

Elsewhere on the card, Hina built some momentum heading into her Wonder of Stardom title match next week. She was in 6-on-6 action, taking on H.A.T.E. with Lady C, Ranna Yagami, Hanan, Momo Kohgo and Yuria Hime to her side. Hina won the match with a pin on Fukigen Death, but speaking in her post-match comments, she was far from satisfied:

I beat Fukigen today. But since it wasn’t Konami, I’m not satisfied at all. On February 28th, it’ll just be me and Konami in the ring. We’ll beat each other to a pulp until one of us loses. But in the end, the one who wins will be me.

(Quote translated via DeepL)

Hina challenges Konami for the Wonder of Stardom Championship on February 28th at Korakuen Hall.

Here are the full results for STARDOM in Otsu:

• Akira Kurogane & Kikyo Furusawa def. Anne Kanaya & Fuwa-chan (11:11)
• Saki Kashima def. Saori Anou (0:07)
• Saki Kashima def. Saori Anou (3:51)
• Rina Yamashita & Itsuki Aoki def. HANAKO & Rian (9:25)
• Syuri, Ami Sohrei & Tomoka Inaba def. Yuna Mizumori, Aya Sakura & Sayaka Kurara (8:35)
• AZM, Mei Seira, India Sioux & Tabata def. Maika, Waka Tsukiyama, Maki Itoh & Hazuki (8:21)
• Hina, Lady C, Ranna Yagami, Hanan, Momo Kohgo & Yuria Hime vs Konami, Natsuko Tora, Ruaka, Rina, Azusa Inaba & Fukigen Death (12:27)
• Saori Anou & Natsupoi def. Starlight Kid & Miyu Amasaki (14:22)