Notes
- Ami Sohrei will be absent from all cards as she begins the process of recovering from ACL and meniscus tears in her knee.
- Kaori Yoneyama – more commonly known as Fukigen Death in Stardom – has also suffered an ACL tear and will be out of action for a year.
- Saori Anou will be absent from this card due to taking part in the Oz Academy Battle Big Bonus 2024 Fukuoka show.
- 27th High-Speed Champion Mei Seira has been champion for for 42 days – in her second reign. This will be their first title defence of this second reign.
- If Xena is successful in her challenge, she will become the first foreigner to win the belt since Mary Apache back in August of 2017.
Quick Results
- Singles Match: Starlight Kid def. Rian w/ Black Tiger Leg Killer (7:18)
- Tag Team Match: Cosmic Angels (Aya Sakura & Sayaka Kurura) def. H.A.T.E (Rina & Ruaka) w/ School-boy (7:26)
- Three-Way Match: Mina Shirakawa def. Saya Iida & Ranna Yagami w/ Glamorous Driver MINA (11:39)
- 6-Woman Tag Team Match: NEO-GENESIS (AZM, Suzu Suzuki & Miyu Amasaki) def. STARS (Mayu Iwatani, Koguma & Momo Kohgo) w/ Tequila Shot (8:36)
- 8-Woman Tag Team Match: H.A.T.E (Natsuko Tora, Momo Watanabe, Konami & Saya Kamitani) def. God’s Eye (Syuri, Saki Kashima, Lady C & Hina) w/ Knee Kick (13:01)
- Wonder of Stardom Championship #1 Contendership Three-Way Match: Hazuki def. Thekla & Hanan w/ Hazukistral (12:54)
- 6-Woman Tag Team Match: EXV (Maika, HANAKO & Waka Tsukiyama) def. Cosmic Angels (Tam Nakano, Natsupoi & Yuna Mizumori) w/ Shirasagi (15:40)
- High-Speed Championship Match: Mei Seira (c) vs. Xena Ended in a Time Limit Draw (15:00)
Match #1 – Starlight Kid def. Rian w/ Black Tiger Leg Killer (7:18)
It’s a thunderous crowd in Korakuen tonight, and you can tell almost immediately that both Kid and Rian are feeding off it – even if the ring microphones are turned up far too high!
Rian for her part is on fire, attacking SLK with a level of passion, speed and intensity we haven’t seen from her yet. She matches Kid in every facet, not an easy task by any stretch of the imagination, even mirroring her Springboard Crossbody. It’s only when Kid begins targeting the leg that Rian begins to falter in the contest. She manages to fight to the ropes initially when locked in the Black Tiger Leg Killer, but Kid is relentless in her attack, as she was throughout the 5Star Grand Prix.
She lands a modified Gory Bomb that forces Rian to land on her bad knee and allows Kid to lock in the Black Tiger Leg Killer for a second time. Though Rian guts through the pain and almost makes it to the ropes, Kid is able to roll her back into the middle of the ring and lock in the Neckscissors, forcing the submission victory.
A spritely and enjoyable opener in front of a really hot crowd. Kid has audiences around Japan eating out of the palm of her hand at this point, while this is easily Rian’s most accomplished singles performance with her really beginning to show some real strides in her development.
Match #2 – Cosmic Angels (Aya Sakura & Sayaka Kurura) def. H.A.T.E (Rina & Ruaka) w/ School-boy (7:26)
Aya and Sayaka waste no time in attacking Rina and Ruaka, Dropkicking them the moment the bell sounds. The Cosmic Angels pairing actually look very cohesive tonight, but it’s not long before the H.A.T.E team are able to sway the tide with a series of double teams and Ruaka choking Kurura in the ropes.
That being said, Aya in particular is keen to mount a counter-offensive, and lays in a whole host of kicks to Rina before employing her Triangle Choke to almost get a submission victory. Rina gets a leg on the ropes, and it looks momentarily like H.A.T.E are going to cheat their way to another win as the Future of Stardom Champion holds Aya in place for Ruaka to hit her over the head with a plastic crate.
However, Sakura moves, meaning that Ruaka accidentally clobbers Rina over the head instead. Kurura throws herself into a Spear on Ruaka, with Sakura managing to roll-up Rina in the melee with a School-boy for the shock win; only her second tag team victory of the calendar year! Immediately, she puts herself forward as Rina’s next challenger for the Future of Stardom Championship, which will be her first attempt at the belt and Rina’s 12th title defence!
Match #3 – Three-Way Match: Mina Shirakawa def. Saya Iida & Ranna Yagami w/ Glamorous Driver MINA (11:39)
This is Mina’s first match back in Japan since returning from her time in the USA, and she is carrying some brand-new hardware, having dethroned Dani Luna to become the new Undisputed British Women’s Champion at RevPro’s 12th Anniversary Show in London. She’s evidently learn much on her travels, however she still hasn’t learned not to trust a pre-match handshake, and this almost costs her when Yagami baits her in on the pretence of congratulating her on her title win.
Mina is undoubtedly the star of this match, but it’s a fun three-way irrespective of that, with a rapid-fire start accented by quick pinfall attempts and some desperate avoidance of kicks from Mina and Ranna. Each of the three women gets their chance to shine, Ranna locking in an impressive variation of the Rings of Saturn, Saya chopping everything in sight and Mina hitting her patented leg trap and DDT combination to both women. Ranna and Saya’s strike exchange in the middle of the match is beautiful to behold, with Ranna refusing to back down, throwing some cavernous kicks into Saya’s chest, and showing once again that she is more than capable of hanging with this calibre of talent.
As I previously mentioned however, Mina is the star of this match, and with this in mind it is only a matter of time before she secures the win. After dispensing with Saya via an Implant DDT, Mina rides the momentum of avoiding Yagami’s Beat Kick and plants her with Glamorous Driver MINA for the victory. She is given an emphatic welcome back reception from the Korakuen Hall crowd, and leads them in chants of ‘We Want Mina’ and ‘Mina Shirakawa’ before leaving with her titles aloft.
Match #4 – NEO-GENESIS (AZM, Suzu Suzuki & Miyu Amasaki) def. STARS (Mayu Iwatani, Koguma & Momo Kohgo) w/ Tequila Shot (8:36)
Miyu Amasaki appears to have learned her lesson in regards to the Kuma Dance, having none of Koguma’s shenanigans and shoving her to the ground when she tries to get her to dance. However, upon realising that the crowd are in fact booing her for this, Miyu reluctantly picks Koguma up and – even more reluctantly – does the dance. Of course these leads to Koguma attempting to roll her up, which in turn leads to STARS taking it in turns to victimise poor Amasaki.
Eventually, after Miyu plants Mayu with a DDT and can finally tag out, we get another brief sequence between Mayu and AZM, continuing to allude to their possible IWGP Women’s Championship match down the line. NEO-GENESIS attempt their trademark stereo Dropkicks but are cut off, which allows Momo Kohgo the opportunity to impress in a sequence with Suzu,
STARS utilise the wonderful chemistry they have to continue to dominate, even if it does result in Mayu misjudging the distance of a Dropkick so badly that even the referee begins laughing. However, after Miyu takes out Momo with a Jumping DDT, NEO-GENESIS are able to hold off Mayu and Koguma long enough for Suzu to hit Momo with the Tequila Shot. She covers for the victory, and NEO-GENESIS celebrate by performing a hilarious air-instrument rendition of Suzu’s theme, like a cool version of Three-Man Band; these group must be protected at all costs!
Match #5 – H.A.T.E (Natsuko Tora, Momo Watanabe, Konami & Saya Kamitani) def. God’s Eye (Syuri, Saki Kashima, Lady C & Hina) w/ Knee Kick (13:01)
There is still understandably a lot of residual hate – pardon the pun – between Syuri and Konami. One thing you don’t ordinarily associate with Syuri however, is being overly emotional. Unfortunately, she lets it get the better of her in confronting Konami as the match starts, and this allows the latter and rake her eyes, and for H.A.T.E to attack.
After our usual round of chair bowling, H.A.T.E work to isolate Hina, with Tora in particular using her significant size and power advantage to halt attempts at her Judo Throws. It’s only when Saki Kashima inserts herself in a bid to help her, that Hina is able to tag out to Syuri.
In a pattern that appears to be repeating itself with worrying regularity, Syuri seems to take it upon herself to try and fight the battle single-handedly. Though certainly a terrifying presence, and with her early battering of both Tora and Momo, even she is incapable of combating the H.A.T.E numbers game. Lady C has a great showing, culminating in an intense showdown with former Queen’s Quest partner Saya Kamitani. We also get flashes of what has made Lady C and Hina such an effective tag team over the past few weeks, but this is all ultimately for nought.
Once Konami re-enters, she is able to effectively quell the Lady C fire and, though the latter is able to block the first attempt, hits her with the Knee Kick for the emphatic victory.
Another crushing blow for God’s Eye and Syuri, with the latter looking like she is nowhere near finished with Konami who, since her betrayal in July, has had the upper hand on her former mentor at every single turn.
Match #6 – Wonder of Stardom Championship #1 Contendership Three-Way Match: Hazuki def. Thekla & Hanan w/ Hazukistral (12:54)
Of the three people in this match, only Thekla has never competed for the Wonder of Stardom Championship before. Hanan was unsuccessful in her one and only attempt earlier in the year in Yokohama against Saori Anou, while Hazuki harbours one of the most unsuccessful streaks in the company; having lost all five of her previous attempts at the title.
Unsurprisingly, Hanan and Hazuki team up initially to try and neutralise the threat of Thekla, but this is ultimately unsuccessful with H.A.T.E immediately becoming involved at ringside, dragging the STARS pair to the outside. Thekla uses this opportunity to isolate and torture Hanan, with Hazuki eventually making her way back into the match by Springboarding off of Hanan’s doubled-over back to hit Thekla with a forearm. This doesn’t give Hanan any respite however, as Hazuki then takes the opportunity to land her Facewash Kicks on her.
Hazuki is the overwhelming favourite of the crowd in this match, but it’s Thekla that appears to be playing spoiler, hitting Hazuki with a Double Footstomp before then tying her to the ring post with her belt. This leads to the Icon Killer brutalising Hanan further, slamming into her with a Spear. Eventually, and apparently through nought but magic, Hazuki frees herself and breaks up a pinfall with a Diving Senton.
When Thekla finally snaps and brings a chair into play, Hazuki shoves Hanan into it before neutralising Thekla. The Young Lioness then gets two incredibly close two counts with the Blockbuster Hold and the Seventeen after breaking free of Hazuki’s Brainbuster attempt. The Wildheart then uses the momentum of her kicking out of the Seventeen to roll Hanan immediately into the Hazukistral for the victory and, most importantly a chance at Natsupoi’s White Belt at Namba Grand Fight on Saturday.
There seems to be no animosity between Hanan and Hazuki, and it even seems that Hanan gives Hazuki her blessing before rolling from the ring and allowing The Wildheart the space to have her face-to-face with Natsupoi!
6-Woman Tag Team Match: EXV (Maika, HANAKO & Waka Tsukiyama) def. Cosmic Angels (Tam Nakano, Natsupoi & Yuna Mizumori) w/ Shirasagi (15:40)
A brand-new look HANAKO is given the spotlight during the entrances, being allowed out last on the EXV team sporting new gear, a new hairstyle and a new attitude. The excursion itself may have been small, but the change appears to be massive.
Though it’s certainly clear that this match is being used as a preview for Tam and Maika’s, whose face-off in the middle of this match is the undoubted highlight if a little too brief, and their upcoming Red Belt match, it’s impossible to ignore how confidence HANAKO is. From showcasing her strength in the opening throes against Natsupoi and then re-entering the fray in order to embark on a great closing stretch with Yuna Mizumori, Stardom are clearly keen on giving HANAKO the platform to shine a light on what she’s learned from her brief time away.
After ragdolling Yuna, and after the Tropical Yahho eats a typically-thunderous Lariat from Maika, HANAKO hits the JP Coaster. Rather than going for the pin however, she snatches Mizumori into her brand-new Triangle Choke she calls the Shirasagi for the submission victory.
Post-match, we have a confrontation of sorts between Maika and Tam, who seem to agree that this preview tag alone isn’t enough before their 14th September title match. Therefore, the pair agree to a second preview match to take place at the upcoming New Blood 14 show, with Tam choosing Sayaka Kurura as her partner, and Maika choosing Rian.
Match #8 – High-Speed Championship Match: Mei Seira (c) vs. Xena Ended in a Time Limit Draw (15:00)
Credit where credit is due, Xena fits snugly in the High-Speed division! I certainly wouldn’t have thought so a month or so ago, but not only has she got a significant power advantage over the much-smaller champion, but she has a frightening turn of pace and a deceptive agility that makes her a very real threat to Mei.
After an initial false start as both women attempt to garner the louder support from the Korakuen crowd, the match explodes into life with a typically frantic and athletic opening. Both women break out incredible ingenuity as the match progresses, Mei flipping expertly over Xena in the corner and landing on her with a Double Footstomp, while a crazy sequence on the outside sees the challenger repeatedly avoid the champion on the apron before catching her in mid-air as she attempts the Codebreaker.
With the match back in the ring, Xena wisely decides to try and ground Seira by locking her in a protracted Single Leg Crab, dragging Mei’s arms into the hold as she looks to scrabble toward the safety of the bottom rope. She does eventually get free, and this leads to a blistering closing to-and-fro, with trading pinfalls and increasingly frantic moves to try and steal the win. However, the time-limit defeats both women, with the bell sounding just as the champion reverses a Thunderstruck into a Checkmate.
Mei is phenomenal, and is rightly seen as the lynchpin of this division. However, Xena proved here that not only can she hang in the High-Speed division, but she can downright thrive. With a draw being the result here, don’t bet against a rematch and, honestly as Stardom fans, who on Earth would complain about that!
You can check out the Stardom roster win/loss records for 2024 right here; https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/103h_Y27csTgcS-CcBwswaj-D7hVazTC_Wn0SPn0BZBM/edit
You can check out a comprehensive run down of the Stardom Championship Histories here; https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1-Dk6T0ukSXm6R8eOTQU96i4rsfoy34wnz0-rKP5mwmQ/edit
Upcoming Shows
- Friday 13th September – New Blood 14, Yokohama Budokan, Kanagawa (LIVE)
- Saturday 14th September – Namba Grand Fight 2024, EDION Arena Osaka, Osaka (PPV)
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