Stardom
Fukuoka Goddess Festival
May 5, 2022
Fukuoka International Center
Fukuoka, Japan

Watch: TBD

Waka Tsukiyama vs. Hina

The hunt for win number one continues and there may not be a better chance to get it than this one for Waka Tsukiyama. Hina challenged for the Future of Stardom Championship a week ago against her sister Hanan and while she came out of it with no title, she delivered one of the best outings of her career. Tsukiyama has shown continuous fire in all of her matches with a determination like never before to actually win a match. There’s no saying as to whether or not this will be Tsukiyama’s moment, but it’s her best shot yet. Prediction: Waka Tsukiyama

Hanan, Saya Iida & Momo Kohgo vs. Rina, Saki Kashima & Ruaka

Much like Cinderella Journey back in February, this PPV channels a lot of the undercard with matches that carry minimal stakes. The young wrestlers of STARS will team up to take on two-thirds of Young OED and Saki Kashima in trios action. Despite Hanan’s success as Future of Stardom Champion, no one in this match is riding as much momentum as Kashima is. While she was eliminated by eventual Cinderella winner MIRAI in the tournament, it seems Kashima’s Revival pin is currently unstoppable. Hard to expect a different result in this one. Prediction: Rina, Saki Kashima & Ruaka

AZM, Utami Hayashishita & Lady C vs. Mina Shirakawa, Tam Nakano & Unagi Sayaka

The random trios continue as one of Stardom’s MVPs this year, AZM, teams with her Queen’s Quest stablemates Lady C and Utami Hayashishita ahead of their captain battle on May 15 at Korakuen Hall. They will battle the Cosmic Angels, who have the Color’s sub-group looking for a match against them in the future. Seeing Mina Shirakawa, Tam Nakano, and Unagi Sayaka were able to win the big trios gauntlet at the Cinderella Tournament Finals, it seems they have the ability to win here as well if they can keep Lady C tagged in. Prediction: Mina Shirakawa, Tam Nakano & Unagi Sayaka

Syuri, MIRAI, Ami Sourei & Konami vs. Giulia, Himeka, Natsupoi & Mai Sakurai in an Elimination Match

This is where the card gets very interesting. God’s Eye and Donna del Mondo will square off for the first time since Syuri left the group (as well as MIRAI). With it being an elimination match, over-the-top rope is in play as well as the undefeated start of God’s Eye. The most interesting aspects of this match will be Syuri and MIRAI interacting with their former group and how Konami looks as she will be three matches into her five-match return as part of God’s Eye. Who will walk away from this match with the victory? 

Konami is the wild card in all of this. In her first few matches, she has looked as though she hasn’t missed a day in the ring. Add in the fact Konami performs best with Syuri involved and you know she will do everything in her power to help God’s Eye get the win. Donna del Mondo was the unbeatable powerhouse of Stardom for two years but the reality now is that all eyes are on God’s Eye. Prediction: Syuri, MIRAI, Ami Sourei & Konami

SWA World Championship
Thekla (c) vs. Mayu Iwatani

The biggest SWA World Championship ever? Perhaps that is giving it too much credit but it’s certainly not far off. Mayu Iwatani is aiming to make history as the first-ever Grand Slam Champion of Stardom by capturing the SWA World Championship for the first time in her career. Thekla, however, isn’t going down without a fight. Everyone assumes that “The Icon” is going to walk through “The Toxic Spider” but there’s just no sense in underestimating the unpredictability of Thekla. The SWA World Champion hasn’t faced a challenge like Iwatani as of yet in her reign but her craftiness gives her a chance to retain. That being said, this is Mayu Iwatani.

“The Icon” plans to travel around the world defending the championship against all challengers. But it would be wrongful to not acknowledge Iwatani’s recent track record in big matches. She has had a Wonder and World of Stardom Championship match over the last year and was unable to walk out of the match with gold. Iwatani can shake off any loss and if she lost here, it would be fine, but she’d need to start looking for answers. Never doubt Iwatani when she is most determined. She’s the one who was World and Wonder of Stardom Champion at the same time after all. Thekla is going to do all she can to win but this should be “The Icon’s” night. Prediction: Mayu Iwatani

Goddess of Stardom Championship
Starlight Kid & Momo Watanabe (c) vs. Koguma & Hazuki

The Goddess of Stardom Championship rematch will be the semi-main event of the night as Black Desire defends against FWC. The former champions are looking to regain their tag team titles in their hometown of Fukuoka and certainly have a chance to do so. Koguma and Hazuki are fresh off facing one another in the semi-finals Cinderella Tournament, where Koguma picked up the big upset. After the match, they showed there’s no problem between them as they now sit at 1-1 since Hazuki made her return. The reason FWC shouldn’t be favored in their hometown though is that Starlight Kid and Momo Watanabe are only getting better and better as a duo.

If you haven’t taken notice, Oedo Tai is gaining steam which they haven’t had since the departure of Kagetsu. Watanabe and Kid are at the head of that, completely shifting the mold of the team to a more physical and dominant squad instead of cheating in all matches they have. Watanabe and Kid as a duo have added more offense to their tag team arsenal, quickly becoming one of the best teams Stardom has seen in years. There’s still so much mileage on these two as Goddess of Stardom Champions and there’s no way for them to gain some more hatred from fans than beating the hometown favorites. Prediction: Starlight Kid & Momo Watanabe

Wonder of Stardom Championship
Saya Kamitani (c) vs. Maika

The main event will see “The Golden Rivalry” (as titled by myself) take center stage for the first time since the 2021 Cinderella Tournament Final. It goes without saying that Saya Kamitani and Maika know each other like the back of their hands. They trade pins on one another back and forth but when it comes to their biggest matches, Kamitani has the edge with the Cinderella victory. It has to be acknowledged that “The Golden Phoenix” has had the best year in all of Stardom. The Wonder of Stardom Champion has gone out there and put on fantastic performance after fantastic performance while successfully defending the championship. If anyone can stop her current run, it’s her biggest rival in Maika.

“The Empress” is going to deliver. That’s a guarantee. But can she, in her hometown, finally win the big one? After two failed challenges against Kamitani’s AphroditE partner Utami Hayashishita for the World of Stardom Championship in 2021, Maika is still looking for the signature win of her career. Each time she earns herself an opportunity, it feels like we are closer to the big win that puts her at the next level like Kamitani achieved last year. Knowing that she has had Kamitani’s number before, she should have some confidence heading into this match.

There’s zero doubt from this writer that these two will have anything less than a great match. Their chemistry was great a year ago and they are miles better than they were then (especially Kamitani). If you’re looking for a title match that can legitimately go either way, this is the one. Expect the best match of their rivalry and maybe of each of their careers as well. Prediction: Saya Kamitani

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