WORLD WONDER RING STARDOM
GO TO BUDOKAN! VALENTINE SPECIAL DAY 1
FEBRUARY 13, 2021
KORAKUEN HALL
TOKYO, JAPAN

Watch: Stardom-World

Stardom returns to Korakuen Hall for back-to-back shows as they make the final major stop on the road to All Star Dream Cinderella at the Nippon Budokan.  This card features two exciting title matches as well as Rin Kadokura’s return to Stardom as she teams with Mayu Iwatani.  Should be a fun one!

ELIMINATION TAG
QUEEN’S QUEST (MOMO WATANABE & UTAMI HAYASHISHITA) DEF. STARS (RUAKA & SAYA IIDA), & GOKIGEN DEATH & LADY C

A fun, if sloppy at times, opener.  Momo Watanabe and Utami Hayashishita winning was the most reasonable result as both have big matches coming up, they did though make sure to give Saya Iida some shine as they continue to make her look good in defeats. **3/4

DONNA DEL MONDO (NATSUPOI, HIMEKA & MAIKA) DEF. OEDO TAI (KONAMI, SAKI KASHIMA & NATSUKO TORA)

Solid stuff to build to the Goddess Of Stardom title match on the February 14th show.  Natsupoi got the win by pinning Saki Kashima after showcasing some High-Speed prowess as they continue to build her up as AZM’s next challenger. ***

SAKI KASHIMA VS BEA PRIESTLEY – DRAW

This match was all about Saya Kamitani, as it should be she’s the world title challenger for the Budokan, Priestley did a really good job of making Kamitani look good in this one.  Priestley would dominate and control large parts of the match but left room for Kamitani to fire up and get the crowd behind her.  Kamitani did her job well too as she was near perfect with all of her moves, even ones that she’s just debuted.

They also gave Kamitani the last laugh as she was setting up for the Star Crusher when the bell rang signaling that she was on the verge of winning against a former world champion and current titleholder in the company.  Stardom has an uphill battle to make me believe Kamitani has any chance of dethroning Hayashishita but performances like this go a long way to at least make her credible.  ***1/4

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MAYU IWATANI & RIN KADOKURA DEF. COSMIC ANGELS (TAM NAKANO & UNAGI SAYAKA)

This was a fun tag team match even though all involved have different feuds to focus on at the moment.  Unagi Sayaka got a lot of focus as Stardom continues to put her in sink or swim positions as they’re clearly building herp up for a big push in the future.  Iwatani pinning Sayaka not only sets up their match on the February 14 show but also gives Mayu a high-profile win ahead of the Yoshiko match at All-Star Dream Cinderella. ***1/4

Post Match: Rin Kadokura asked to be a part of the Nippon Budokan event.  Iwatani said she can be in the battle royal before asking Chigusa Nagayo to take part in the battle royal as well.  Nagayo agreed, which means Chigusa Nagayo will wrestle at Nippon Budokan for the first time in 25 years.  Nagayo also asked Stardom’s president Rossy Ogawa to let Rin Kadokura appear in Stardom sometimes so it looks like we may see more Marvelous crossover with Stardom going forward.

SWA UNDISPUTED WORLD WOMEN’S CHAMPIONSHIP
SYURI (C) DEF. AZM

This was standard pro wrestling as the technician Syuri looked to ground the High-Speed stylings of AZM. For the most part that’s exactly what Syuri did as every time AZM would try to get a foothold in the match, she’d find herself in a submission.  Your mileage may vary on this style of match as Syuri never really looked to be on the ropes and the lack of any feud between the two meant there wasn’t much heat to proceedings. ***3/4

Post Match: Syuri wants Konami to be her challenger at the Budokan.  Syuri claimed that she wanted to introduce people to “our world” which likely means the two will wrestle a more realistic, technical style at All-Star Dream Cinderella.

WONDER OF STARDOM CHAMPIONSHIP
GIULIA (C) DEF. STARLIGHT KID

Giulia has seemingly put it all together recently as she has been doing some of the best work of her Stardom career in recent weeks.  This match follows up her fantastic mini-feud with Unagi Sayaka with her arrogantly controlling the match for large parts.  Starlight Kid showed a lot of fight and once her mask was ripped showcased her fullest potential as she let loose on Giulia, if this Kid is ever unleashed full time then Stardom’s roster better watch out.

Heading into her hair vs hair match with Tam Nakano we’ve seen Giulia doing her best work as she has fully embraced her more heelish side, so much so that I can’t wait for Nakano to beat her and take both her title and her hair just to knock her down a peg. ****1/4

FINAL THOUGHTS

Stardom once again delivers at Korakuen Hall, these shows are some of the most consistently entertaining in wrestling and they managed to not only put on great matches but they also heated a number of talents and stories up ahead of All Star Dream Cinderella.  The main event is fantastic and well worth a watch to see Giulia at her best as well as the endless potential of Starlight Kid.