Stardom
NEW BLOOD 1
March 11, 2022
Tokyo, Japan

NEW BLOOD 1 is a unique show for Stardom to put together. Not only will it feature mainly the young upstarts of the promotion but the upstarts of the Joshi scene as well. Marvelous, Gatoh Move, JUST TAP OUT, and Diana will all be represented on the show and facing off with Stardom talent. It’s going to be a must-see for that alone but with Stardom’s newest trainee making her debut in the main event, it is one that could help reveal part of the future for Stardom as we know it.

Momo Kohgo vs. Sayaka

Momo Kohgo, one of Stardom’s newest talents, will take on Gatoh Move’s Sayaka in the opening match of NEW BLOOD 1. Kohgo has blended in perfectly to the roster and more specifically STARS. Under the teachings of Hazuki, it’s become clear that the sky is the limit when it comes to her future. Stardom has noted that Hazuki’s sensei, which was teased in a video on Twitter, will be revealing themselves at the show as well.

Sayaka, on the other hand, began her career in 2019 after being a cosplayer prior. At the age of 30, she is coming around in more ways than one while having to learn (for the most part) on the Ichigaya Chocolate Square of ChocoPro. Her style is very hard-hitting, which should pair well with Kohgo who has some hard-hitting forearms of her own to exchange with Sayaka. It’ll be interesting to see how these two interact with one another but it’s a big shot for both to show what they are made of. Prediction: Momo Kohgo

Unagi Sayaka & Waka Tsukiyama vs. Maria & Ai Houzan

Unagi Sayaka teams with her Cosmic Angels partner Waka Tsukiyama to take on the Marvelous duo of Maria and Ai Houzan. This is one of the more interesting matches to predict on the card seeing that Sayaka is so far above the three with two Wonder of Stardom Championship matches to her name over the last six months but Tsukiyama doesn’t have a single win to her name when it comes to her Stardom career. There’s certainly a chance that Sayaka can carry the team to a win but Maria and Houzan are capable of nabbing the win here.

Stardom fans got a chance to see Maria wrestle at the 10th Anniversary Grand Final at Osaka-Jo Hall as she faced off with Sayaka and Mina Shirakawa in tag team action. Unfortunately for Maria, her teammate then was Rin Kadokura. This time around, it will be Houzan who has to try and keep up. Houzan has shown gradual improvement in her time with Marvelous, showing the potential to be another great wrestler out of Chigusa Nagayo’s promotion.

Maria and Sayaka should have some solid exchanges and they could be what decides this one in the end. Prediction: Maria & Ai Houzan

Saya Kamitani & Lady C vs. MIRAI & Mai Sakurai

An all Stardom tag team match is scheduled here as it will be the Wonder of Stardom Champion Saya Kamitani teaming up with her Queen’s Quest teammate Lady C. On the other side of the ring will be MIRAI and Mai Sakurai of Donna del Mondo. There’s not too much here that we don’t know already about the participants but what is exciting is getting a chance to see Kamitani and MIRAI matchup. A singles match is potentially set for these two at Stardom World Climax if Kamitani loses her championship at ~The Best~ (day one), making this a good tease for it. Kamitani’s high-flying style mixed with the powerful grounded game of MIRAI makes us believe that it would be one heck of a fight between the two.

The battle between each women’s partners could be what decides this match so keep an eye out for that. Sakurai is still trying to get used to being in Donna del Mondo but a win here could only benefit her standing in the group moving forward. Prediction: Saya Kamitani & Lady C

Hanan & Saya Iida vs. Tomoka Inaba & Aoi

Outside of the main event, this may be the most exciting match on the card. There are a number of factors to play here but maybe the most important is that this will be the return match of Saya Iida. When she went down with injury nearly a year ago, she had been the Future of Stardom Champion and on the upswing to showing why it was her time. Iida returns with a different vibe than when she left with. Seriousness and determination take up who was often a playful member of STARS — which makes Iida more dangerous than ever. She will team with current Future of Stardom Champion Hanan, making a case to be one of the more exciting young tag teams in Stardom if they wanted to stick together more moving forward.

Opposing them will be none other than the fascinating team of JUST TAP OUT’s Tomoka Inaba and Aoi. First up is Inaba, who is the reigning Sendai Girls Junior Champion after defeating fellow standout junior Yurika Oka for the championship at the end of February. Inaba’s mixture of grappling and hard strikes makes her one of the best-kept secrets in Joshi. Inaba should use NEW BLOOD 1 as her breakout. She actually was in the same class as current Stardom star, Maika, who joined professional wrestling through JTO. Then there’s Aoi. Everything about Aoi screams star waiting to be discovered. Her look is different from pretty much everyone as her break dancing background helps her stand out from the crowd. With less than a year’s experience under Aoi’s belt, that’s likely what ends up being the downfall for team JTO. Prediction: Hanan & Saya Iida

Starlight Kid & Ruaka vs. Haruka Umesaki & Nanami

Starlight Kid and Haruka Umesaki initially felt as if they’d be the ones main eventing NEW BLOOD 1 after the first press conference for the show but instead they will have to take a backseat to being the semi-main event. They decided at the time that they would pick their own partners to face off in tag team action and, well, it has been settled. To no one’s surprise, Kid will be rolling with Ruaka while Umesaki brings along Diana’s Nanami with her for the match. Kid and Umesaki have faced one another in singles action before as they wrestled to a 15-minute draw at a Diana show back in December 2020. Hopefully, this time around will see a winner, even if it’s Ruaka or Nanami having to take the fall.

Ruaka has been adding up wins as of late thanks to her top rope Fridge Bomb. It’s good timing as this should allow her to carry some momentum into the match. Nanami has been wrestling since 2019 but surely does not have a ton of matches to her name. The opportunity she has here will be a big one for her and she will have to live up to it one way or another. Prediction: Starlight Kid & Ruaka

Miyu Amasaki vs. Utami Hayashishita

The main event of the evening might be bigger than anyone realizes. Yes, Utami Hayashishita is in it but it’s more so due to her opponent. Miyu Amasaki is the first Stardom trainee since Lady C to join the roster and this will be her first match ever. Laying down the challenge to someone who many would call the face of Stardom is a bold strategy, but also a perfect way to show the world where she’s at in her development. Amasaki has been highly regarded by Stardom booker Rossy Ogawa. He stated ” I want you to be at the forefront of the new era of Stardom,” when discussing Amasaki following the press conference. Those are some big expectations for Amasaki seeing no one outside of the Stardom inner circle has ever seen her compete.

There’s more to this than meets the eye, however. It’s no mistake that Hayashishita is the first opponent for Amasaki, which could spell a few scenarios. After all, Hayashishita was the “Big Rookie” at one time in her career who exploded onto the Stardom scene. Perhaps Amasaki has the same future in her. Or Amasaki might be hoping for a breakout performance that impresses Hayashishita to the point that she gets an invite to join Queen’s Quest. Amasaki’s career won’t all be decided at NEW BLOOD 1. But what can be decided is the potential that she contains. Main eventing with the first match of your career against “The Red Queen.” Doesn’t get much grander than that for a debut. Prediction: Utami Hayashishita

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