World Wonder Ring Stardom
Stardom Gold May
May 16th 2019
Korakuen Hall
Tokyo, Japan
Watch: Stardom World
Stardom return to Korakuen with the highly anticipated clash between Arisa Hoshiki and Momo Watanabe for the Wonder Of Stardom Championship. Bea Priestley defends her World Of Stardom Championship and Tokyo Cyber Squad are aiming to take STARS’ Artist Of Stardom Championships, all this on one stacked show.
Oedo Tai (Andras Miyagi & Natsuko Tora) Def. STARS (Hanan & Starlight Kid) & Queen’s Quest (Hina & Leo Onozaki)
Onozaki and Hina debuted their new Queen’s Quest attire and their own personal masks. This was a fun opener with most of the action revolving around the rookies trying to take down Tora and Miyagi. Natsuko pinned Onozaki for the win as the Oedo Tai duo are kept simmering with a win **1/2
Death Yama-San Def. Natsu Sumire & Saya Iida
Any match with characters like Yama or Natsu is going to be very entertaining, unless you hate fun, Iida hasn’t really worked a match like this yet so the two veterans helped her work through that. Iida is a great wrestler for someone who only debuted in late 2018 but matches like this where she’s in there with veterans can only help her growth. Both Natsu and Yama are Teflon and wins and losses don’t matter to the characters so Natsu isn’t hurt by not winning. **3/4
Toni Storm vs Kagetsu- Draw
The chemistry between these two is off the charts. I loved the spot in the middle where Storm offered to shake Kagetsu’s hand only for Kagetsu to kick her and take advantage, so Storm offered a handshake again later only to sweep Kagetsu’s leg and take advantage. I thought that was a cool little character moment. This was paced like a main event epic and both women threw everything they had at one another. Kagetsu looked to be on the verge of victory when the time was up which makes her look strong. Storm wins so often in Stardom that avoiding a defeat is an achievement ****
Artist Of Stardom Championships: Tokyo Cyber Squad (Konami, Hana Kimura & Jungle Kyona) Def. STARS (Mayu Iwatani, Saki Kashima & Tam Nakano) (c)
Credit where it’s due Mayu Iwatanit was fantastic in this match. She sold her knee really well and made every comeback spot seem like the most important moment of the match. The knee work really helped to anchor this match as Artist matches are usually really fun spotfests but this one told a great story before kicking it up a gear to the nonstop action. Tokyo Cyber Squad get their first big win as a group, since the faction’s formation they have been getting a big push with Konami especially being made to look like a killer both in the Cinderella Tournament last month and in this match by getting the win. TCS has become what JAN never could and that’s a viable threat, they have just taken on and beaten three of STARS’ best and one of the best in Stardom’s history in Mayu Iwatani. Things are on the up for Kimura’s ragtag group and as they continue to gel and get better they will only get more dangerous. ****1/4
World Of Stardom Championship: Bea Priestley (c) Def. Hazuki
Hazuki is the high-speed champion so naturally, she came out of the gates quickly and caught Priestley off guard. Priestley grew into the match and eventually came back from the initial onslaught to get the win. Priestley makes defence number one of her title and put on a good match with one of the most solid performers in Stardom, she’ll need to improve if she wants fan acceptance but she certainly hasn’t dragged any match down. Hazuki as the first challenger made sense as she eliminated Bea from the Cinderella tournament and was representing Oedo Tai to try and get their belt back. A loss doesn’t hurt Hazuki too much as she’s still the High Speed champion and took Priestley to her limit in this one. ***1/2
Wonder Of Stardom Championship: Arisa Hoshiki Def. Momo Watanabe (c)
Over the past year, Watanabe has held the Wonder Of Stardom title with an iron grip, making a record number of defenses and becoming, in her own words, the “absolute ruler” as she took the mantle of Ace from Io Shirai. Her reign saw her knock back all challengers as they built her up as an unstoppable force within the company. Arisa Hoshiki won the Cinderella Tournament and used that as a launching pad of momentum as she was intent on taking down Momo. The Shining Star of Stardom was an original member of the Stardom roster and back in 2012 was seen as someone that could potentially lead the company, since her comeback she has shown all the qualities that made her such a hot prospect and she has shown all the qualities needed to be a main event level star for the company. With this win, Hoshiki finally established herself as one of the top performer’s in Stardom. She took everything Momo Watanabe had, including two Peach Sunrise’s, and in the end, used to of her lethal Brazilian Kicks to take Momo down. Long, historic reigns like Watanabe’s often fall flat at the final hurdle but this one lived up to all expectations as Hoshiki established herself as a star after a great match. ****1/2
Final Thoughts: Stardom Gold May is possibly the best Stardom show I have ever seen. Everything in Stardom is clicking right now and since the Draft, they have been producing great matches and pushing exciting new talent. Tokyo Cyber Squad vs STARS, Momo Watanabe vs Arisa Hoshiki and Kagetsu vs Toni Storm all delivered and Bea Priestley vs Hazuki was a fun match. Even the first two matches were fun and short so I have nothing to complain about when it comes to this show.
