By: Jeff Brown
Every month Monthly Puroresu will be bringing you a guide to the previous month’s happenings in STARDOM. Whether you’re someone who can only occasionally watch, are looking to get into the promotion and want to know what’s going on, or just been too busy to keep up, we have you covered! This is what happened in STARDOM during the month of April…
Artist of Stardom Championships: Prominence (Risa Sera, Suzu Suzuki, Hiiragi Kurumi) vs. Queen’s Quest (AZM, Saya Kamitani, Utami Hayashishita)
An absolute main event-worthy outing where all six went to war, as is the case in multi-person Prominence matches. The main focus was on AZM and Suzuki getting to go hold-for-hold in the high-speed style. There was no downtime or rest holds for this bout; it started with the foot on the gas pedal and kept shifting gears. It seemed early for Prominence to lose, and this defense keeps them strong for future challenges.
High-Speed Championship: AZM (c) vs. Saki Kashima
The cagey and elusive Kashima professed to wrestle this match honorably and without shortcuts, and she quickly went to said shortcuts. It was a fun and short match that was about AZM weathering the early onslaught of chicanery and quick pin attempts and was a departure for a high-speed match.
April 14 Korakuen Hall
◆High Speed Title Match
AZM pinned Saki Kashima. V11 for AZM. pic.twitter.com/tEEuVM3KYu— We Are Stardom (@we_are_stardom) April 14, 2023
MIRIA defeats Saya Iida
Xena defeats Thekla
Mai Saukria defeats Mariah May
Natsuko Tora defeats Tam Nakano
Saki Kashima defeats Syuri
Waka Tsukiyama defeats Saki Kashima
MIRIA vs Xena
Ami Sourei defeats Natsuko Tora
Mai Sakurai defeats Momo Watanabe
Semi-Final: Mai Sakurai defeats Waka Tsukiyama
Semi-Final: MIRAI defeats Ami Sourei
Finals: Mai Sakurai vs. MIRAI
The former Donna Del Mondo stablemates squared off in this year’s Cinderella Tournament Finals. After getting an upset win against Giulia and riding the momentum of her new Ladyship persona, Sakurai was a heavy favorite to win. This was a technically sound outing, but it felt a bit overshadowed by the main-event drama.
MIRAI winning back-to-back tournaments makes sense if she is setting her sights on the winner of Mercedes Mone and Mayu Iwatani and the IWGP Joshi championship. That title belt being in play adds an interesting element to future Cinderella Tournaments and the wish of the dress wearer.
どんな苦難があっても信じ続けていれば
必ず夢は叶う。
埋もれるつもりはない
高みへ行く
そして、時代を動かす
絶対諦めないよ？
自分は
リアル・シンデレラのMIRAIだから！！
さぁ、みんな一緒に
魂込めて、次のステージへ。#STARDOM #MIRAISS #前人未到の新境地 pic.twitter.com/jmSYKS8VxZ
— MIRAI プロレスラー (@mirai_SS_) April 15, 2023
Himeka and Miyuki Takase vs Natsupoi and Kakeru Sekiguchi
This was an Actwres girl’Z reunion for the fans in the know, the match was perfectly enjoyable without that knowledge however. All four wrestlers had in the past been members of the AWG roster as had ringside seconds Tam Nakano, Waka Tsukiyama, Mai Sakurai, Momo Kohgo and Ami Sourei. In the case of Ami and Momo that was the only reason for them to be out there as they are not part of either DDM or Cosmic Angels factions. Sekiguchi especially seemed determined to make the most of this opportunity and went all out in the ring. While a time limit draw is a stable of Stardom cards this one felt right as it was about getting a win. It was about four Joshi having one last chance to perform together in front of a crowd.
Golden Generation Six-Man Tag Match: Himeka, Saya Iida & Utami Hayashishita vs. Maika, MIRAI & Saya Kamitani
The most jarring aspect of this match was Hayashishita, who, due to her successful red belt reign, felt really out of place in this reunion. It was akin to George Clooney returning to ER; a lot of who Hayashishita is was built around being referenced as a future star, but she achieved that greatness and more over the last few years. This was a fun one-last-time kind of affair, but it felt a bit like an exhibition, maybe more for the performers involved than the fans. Himeka visited main events but often found herself with Maika in tag matches, which adds up to a more than solid run and delivers on being involved in a Golden Generation.
MaiHime (Himeka and Maika) vs. Alto Livello KABALIWAN (Giulia and Syuri)
These two teams once battled for the Stardom tag titles, but now it’s for that last grab at nostalgia. This whole road to retirement has been about one last time and call-backs. It’s good for the box office, and it’s good for the soul to dabble in nostalgia from time to time. Himeka, on her way out, was allowed some grand requests, and the one-night return of Giulia and Syuri as ALK is surely one of them. There was a lot of action and drama, as one would expect given the circumstances of this match. The type of match that, regardless of outcome, was going to be worthy of your time.
April 14 Korakuen Hall
◆Himeka Retirement Road – Last MaiHime Tag
Syuri & Giulia defeated Maika & Himeka. pic.twitter.com/HqNajypl5V— We Are Stardom (@we_are_stardom) April 14, 2023
Himeka vs. Maika Retirement Match
As a way to mirror her debut in Actwres girl’Z at Shinkiba, Mina was the special ring announcer to close the book on Himeka’s wrestling run. Instead of current AWG champion Miku Aono, Himeka is now opposite her best friend and MaiHime teammate Maika. Himeka made a grand entrance, looking every bit the “Jumbo Princess” with her sparkling new ring gear and crown. Maika arrived with red hair and no doubt a broken heart, as was evident in the final minutes of this match.
This was two friends knocking the souls out of one another because they had reached the end of the line and the tears were about to flow. The emotion alone would have carried this, but their wrestling was as good as anything else on the card. If you are a fan of drama in Puro, then the end sequence delivered by Maika, a howling mess, headbutts Maika and puts a period on Himeka’s career.
Goddesses of Stardom Tag Championship: 7Upp (Nanae Takahashi and Yuu) (C) vs. God’s Eye (Ami Sourei and MIRAI)
The tag champions Nanae Takahashi and Yuu seemed to be an unstoppable force, with the biggest and baddest teams failing to beat them. God’s Eye’s Ami Sourie and MIRIA, while not small at all in most matches, seemed to be underdogs here. As with their whole title run, Nana and Yuu just put a beating on whoever stood in the ring with them. However, wise beyond their years, Ami and MIRIA took advantage of the out-of-ring mayhem and beat the champs via countout. A title changing hands that way is somewhat uncommon in the West, especially in modern times, but it was a perfectly legitimate way to take the belts without a pin or submission.
Artist Of Stardom Championship Prominence (Risa Sera, Suzu Suzuki, Hiragi Kurumi) (c) vs REstart (KAIRI, Natsupoi & Saori Anou)
Saori Anou, fresh off her Ice Ribbon ICExInfinity Championship run, made news by appearing at Korakuen Hall and entering a STARDOM ring. When she makes her entrance she doesn’t demand your attention, she knows she already has it. With a cool enigmatic aura along with over the tops masks and costumes she looks right out of a Richard Avedon photoshoot. In the ring she lives up to expectations with a smooth graceful style and she carries herself like it’s an honor for the Stardom canvas to host one of her performances. Anou has a darker side that appears in OZ Academy since she is a member of Ozaki-gun – something to keep in mind as her Stardom run unfolds.
This is a match that has history outside of Stardom including Actwres Girlz and Ice Ribbon, however a viewer can enjoy it as a standalone performance without knowing the backstories. With the title change and the announcement of Suzuki leaving Prominence this match has future implications. KAIRI has only had big main event style matches since her return and each outing is rightfully treated as a big deal.
Photography by Monthly Puroresu photographer Masahiro Kubota.
Wonder of Stardom title: Saya Kamitani (c) vs. Mina Shirakawa
With her cameo in Himeka’s retirement done, it was time to focus on a pivotal moment in Mina’s career. After the brutal finish in her last attempt at the white belt, Mina transformed and left the Cosmic Angels for her own Club Venus stable.
Kamitani has had a record run and faced a who’s who of challengers; however, this felt like a sea change. Mina felt at the peak of her power as she had her Club Venus teammates waiting for her to enter the arena. This was a broken warrior reborn as a leader, walking to the ring.
These two wanted to have a special championship match on a card loaded with championship matches, and for the most part, they delivered. Mina went heavy on the knee work as a way to negate Kamintani’s high flying, especially the Phoenix Splash. After surviving another Phoenix Splash, Mina ended the reign of Kamintani and began her title run as the leader of a faction, carving her own path.
IWGP Women’s title: Mercedes Mone (c) vs. Mayu Iwatani
Mercedes Mone, of all the WWE roster members, always seemed the most plugged in to Japan, so her journey to the IWGP Women’s title was not completely out of left field. Mayu Iwatani is very much an Ace of the Universe like Hiroshi Tanahashi, but this title was something new for her to strive for. Mone taunting Iwatani and saying she sucked was very similar to Bea Priestley constantly mocking Momo Watanabe.
Mone has always been able to bring it under the brightest lights, and tonight was no different as she and Iwatani threw everything at each other. Mone had a knot on her head when the dust settled after the Iwatani moonsault secured a title change. Mone did not feel out of place on this card and more than held up her side of the bargain. Where Mone goes from here is a question the wrestling world waits to see answered.
Photography by Monthly Puroresu photographer Masahiro Kubota.
World of Stardom title: Giulia (c) vs. Tam Nakano
It had been two years since the white belt chase that culminated in a hair-vs.-hair stipulation. Now Giulia was at the top and truly looking down at Nakano, very confident that this was just a stop in the road, surely a prolonged violent battle but a stop nonetheless.
Giulia strives for blood feuds, and this literally became one at the press conference and continued with repeated headbashings on the road to the main event. Giulia being crowned champion seemed inevitable, but Nakano had a long crawl to the white belt, so this task seemed even more daunting and less likely.
A lot has changed since the hair match, mainly the membership of the Cosmic Angels. This turbulent era for Nakano could have been a distraction as she prepared for her biggest match. Instead, the most over-the-top form of Nakano appeared on stage with full angel’s wings and a heart set on the title. Every time these two meet, it’s trench warfare, with both standing toe to toe and neither wanting to budge.
Giulia had her head partially shaved as a preamble to this bout and entered with fire in her eyes. That might have been her undoing, as after 20 odd minutes of searching for the Violet Screwdriver, Nakano hits a delayed and twisting variant that ends Giulia’s reign. The closing scene is not Nakano on Mina and Unagi’s shoulders as with the white belt, but Saori Anou, Natsupoi, and even KAIRI all clunking titles together in celebration.
Date:
April 30, 2023
Category:
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