Photo courtesy of Stardom
By: Jeff Brown
On September 29th, STARDOM had their 11th installment of New Blood. As usual, the Future of Stardom championship and New Blood Tag Team titles are the focal points, with a mixture of young outside talent getting a spotlight.
Kizuna Tanaka is a young rookie prospect from Pro Wrestling WAVE. She debuted in early April and already shows a lot of potential. Tanaka teamed up with her fellow WAVE rookie, Honoka, at New Blood 10. HANAKO was the big giant that used her size and strength, while Hina is more of an all-rounder who utilizes her judo training. Short opener and a good chance for an outsider like Tanaka to get exposure and ring time against different opponents.
It was a very short match; Lady C has been out with injuries while Ruaka has recently been through a Passion match, so she brought a bit of urgency to her offense. Ruaka did not cheat nor use outside Oedo Tai help here to get the win.
This is one of Mariah May’s final matches before departing STARDOM, so it was just a quick shenanigan-filled match. She was under a mask and billed as Sexy Dynamite Princess, but was unmasked. The pre-match and post-match were almost as long as the bout itself; everyone had fun with Thekla being a good sport and indulging in some comedy with Club Venus members Mariah May and Waka Tsukiyama.
September 29 New Blood 11
Shinagawa, Tokyo
◆Cosmic Angels Membership Assessment Match
Tam Nakano pinned Yuna Mizumori with the Violet Screwdriver.Tam invited Yuna to officially become a member of Cosmic Angels!
Part 2 pic.twitter.com/e9uADL3XsO
— We Are Stardom (@we_are_stardom) September 29, 2023
A big main event Tam Nakano story that was compressed into a 12-minute match. Yuna Mizumori has desperately wanted to join the Cosmic Angels, even going to the lengths of working out to impress Nakano and the rest of the unit. Mizumori brought her incredibly hard lariats while showing a never-say-die attitude. She got some very convincing near falls towards the end, but Nakano got the 3 with her Violet Screwdriver. The post-match was full of emotion, as is often the case in Nakano matches; she praised Mizumori’s heart and dedication in her tireless quest to join the unit and granted her membership in the faction. Natsupoi and Saori Anou entered as the new iteration of the Cosmic Angels performed their signature sign-off.
Mei Seira wasn’t an obvious candidate for a Passion Injection match, as she is quite good and energetic already. It is likely Nanae Takahashi just wanted to have a match with Seira, and that in itself is a big deal for Seira as Takahashi has more matches behind her than in front of her in 2023. Seira hit Takahashi with dropkicks from behind to show her fire and never back down. This was like previous Passion matches: an endurance test for Seira; a win was not likely, though she had a few 2.9-pin attempts. Takahashi put Seira down after about 15 minutes and then told her she’s ready to go for the High Speed Title.
New Blood shows have shifted to really being a platform for Rina to have meaningful matches and advance up the ladder among a very stacked roster. Just Tap Out’s Azusa Inaba is the younger sister of Tomaka Inaba, who is a regular in God’s Eye. Her style and look are rooted in Karate but not identical to those of her sisters. While both of the Inaba sisters use lots of strikes, Azusa favors a variation of knees in addition to crescent kicks. Rina got the win but got on the microphone to say she wishes to join up with fellow youngster Inaba and form a tag team.
September 29 New Blood 11
Shinagawa, Tokyo
◆New Blood Tag Team Title 3 Way
Hanan pinned Starlight Kid to win the titles.Teams were (C) Kid & KARMA, Hanan & Saya Iida, and AZM & Miyu Amasaki.
Part 4 pic.twitter.com/GG8sO9sIrU— We Are Stardom (@we_are_stardom) September 29, 2023
Once again, Starlight Kid and KARMA close out the show, this time in a 3-way match for the New Blood Tag Team titles. It was a wild match that appeared to have tornado rules; chaos broke out with all 6 going for big moves and pin attempts. There was a lot of downtime with AZM and Kid both bringing a high-speed style tempo to this fight. Saya Iida, who has visited Diana lately, has gained a bit more confidence; Hanan continues to improve; and Amasaki is back from a hiatus and is picking up nicely. Amasaki was once what these New Blood shows were built around, but injuries have tapered off some of her momentum this year. There was no outside interference from Oedo Tai, nor did KARMA use her flash paper in the match itself. Hanan gets the win on SLK with her signature rollup, Seventeen. Hanan and Iida both celebrated, noting that it has been awhile since either has held a title. They called everyone to the ring for the closing pose.
Overall, this was a really quick show that lasted just over 2 hours. These cards are special because rookies from other promotions get experience on a larger stage, while STARDOM’s own hopefuls get a chance at leading a show on a smaller scale. Also, it gives talent to have a fun match mid-show or a talent like Haruka Umesaki to experiment with a new gimmick like KARMA. It’s always refreshing to see companies of all sizes and styles working together, even if it’s only occasionally. 11 shows in, and STARDOM has established a proving ground and a stage for new talent or new ideas for more tenured Joshi. Having their own tag titles has been a nice touch, so everyone involved has a tangible goal to work towards. As 2023 comes to an end, this sub-promotion really is living up to its name.
Hina defeats HANAKO and Kizuna Tanaka
Ruaka defeats Lady C
Thekla defeats Sexy Dynamite Princess (Mariah May) and Waka Tsukiyama
Cosmic Angels Membership Assessment: Tam Nakano defeats Yuna Mizumori
Passion Injection: Nanae Takahashi defeats Mei Seira
Future of Stardom championship: Rina (c) defeats Azusa Inaba
New Blood Tag Team Championship: Hanan and Saya Iida (wing☆gori) defeat KARMA & Starlight Kid (c) and AZM and Miyu Amasaki (02line)
Date:
October 3, 2023
Category:
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