BITE-SIZE SHOW REPORT: Stardom x NJPW Historic X-Over II (Sunday, 17th November 2024)

Pre-Show 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.
• Xena has suffered a ligament injury in her knee, and will be out of action for an undisclosed period of time.
• 3rd IWGP Women’s Champion Mayu Iwatani has been champion for 574 days – in her first reign. This will be the eighth title defence of her reign. This reign is the longest in the modern history of Stardom, and the fifth longest reign in the company’s history.
• Mayu Iwatani and Momo Watanabe’s singles record currently sits at 6-4-1 in the champion’s favour, with Mayu winning their last singles match in the 2024 5Star Grand Prix, as well as their match in the tournament to crown the inaugural IWGP Women’s Champion back in 2022.
• Momo Watanabe is celebrating her 10th Anniversary of wrestling – with this being her 751st match in Stardom; only behind Mayu (928) as the most tenured wrestler in Stardom history. Her overall record is currently 374-329-47 and has an exactly 50% win percentage when it comes title matches, winning 34 of her 68 matches.
• 16th KOPW Champion Great-O-Khan has been champion for 162 days – in his second reign. This will be the first title defence of his reign. Should he lose this match, there is an added stipulation that he must lose his head and beard.
• Attendance Notes: The announced attendance for the show from the EDION Arena, Osaka was 3547. Though this is a significant drop from the previous instalment (7,102 in Ariake Arena), this show is still broadly in line with other New Japan shows emanating from the venue. For comparison, New Beginning in Osaka drew 5327 (February 11th with United Empire vs. War Dogs cage match and Okada’s final NJPW singles match against Hiroshi Tanahashi) but since then the company has got nowhere near that number. The G1 Climax 34 Night 1 show drew 4177, but the second night only drew 2545, while Power Struggle drew 3773 (November 4th with Zack Sabre Jr. vs. Shingo Takagi for the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship and three other title matches). Considering there is no Tetsuya Naito, David Finlay, Shingo Takagi, EVIL, Shota Umino, Hiromu Takahashi, Yota Tsuji, Douki, SANADA, Henare, Hirooki Goto, YOSHI-HASHI or any other New Japan champions save for Zack Sabre Jr, this has to be considered a great number for Stardom.

Quick Results

• Tag Team Match: Aya Sakura & HANAKO def. Sayaka Kurura & Ranna Yagami w/ JP Coaster (9:57) (***)
• Tag Team Match: Cosmic Angels (Tam Nakano & Saori Anou) def. Karate Brave (Syuri & Tomoka Inaba) w/ Violet Screwdriver (10:16) (***3/4)
• 6-Woman Tag Team Match: NEO-GENESIS (AZM, Mei Seira & Miyu Amasaki) def. H.A.T.E (Konami, Rina & Ruaka) w/ Diving Double Footstomp (10:41) (***1/2)
• 6-Man Tag Team Match: United Empire (Jeff Cobb, Callum Newman & Akira Francesco) def. Tiger Mask, Boltin Oleg & Toru Yano w/ Fireball (8:05) (***)
• 8-Person Mixed Tag Team Match: Gabe Kidd, Drilla Maloney, Saya Kamitani & Natsuko Tora def. Hiroshi Tanahashi, Rysuke Taguchi, Hanan & Saya Iida w/ Piledriver (13:57) (***3/4)
• NJPW KOPW 2024 Championship Hardcore Rules Match: The Great-O-Khan (c) def. Suzu Suzuki w/ Eliminator (21:13) (****)
• Mixed Tag Team Match: Natsupoi & Taichi def. Violence & Sex (Clark Connors & Thekla) w/ Fairial Gift (22:37) (***1/2)
• IWGP Women’s Championship Match: Mayu Iwatani (c) def. Momo Watanabe w/ Two-Step Dragon Suplex (24:13) (*****)
• Mixed Tag Team Match: Zack Sabre Jr. & Maika def. El Desperado & Starlight Kid w/ Michinoku Driver II (21:23) (****1/4)

Show Notes

• Walker Stewart, Chris Charlton, Thom Fain and Xena are the English commentary team – Xena mentions early on that it will not be too long before we see her return to in-ring competition.
• Following the kick-off tag team match, HANAKO and Ranna Yagami continued to attack each other following the bell; they will face each other in the tag league when Cup High Mate and Inaba & Yagami square off on the 20th November in Tohaku.
• Just prior to the finish to the match, Natsuko Tora spat mist into the face of Tanahashi and Kamitani low-blowed Taguchi, leading to the latter being hit with a Gabe Kidd Piledriver. After Kidd then attacked Tanahashi post-match, Tora took to the microphone and demanded another match with him further down the line.
• Suzu Suzuki came out carrying a polystyrene board with a whole host of forks sticking out of it. Though O-Khan was eager to wrestle the match, Suzu had the upper hand when it came to the hardcore elements, making sure O-Khan knew she was serious by stapling herself in the face. We saw chairshots, forks in the mouth for a Drive-By, bin shots, a Tequila Shot onto chairs and staple-gun shots to the head and groin. Suzu set for a German Suplex off a ladder through the board of forks, but ended up going through it herself. O-Khan hits the Eliminator onto a pile of chairs and a bin for the win.
• During the IWGP Women’s Championship match, Momo Watanabe – coming to the ring replete with brand-new white and gold gear – chose not to use the baseball bat to win the match, wanting instead to surpass the Icon of Stardom by beating her cleanly.
• Following her defeat of Momo, Mayu laid out her challenge for AZM to become her next challenger for the IWGP Women’s Championship. Rather than being at Sumo Hall on December 29th as many predicted it might be, Mayu preferred the idea of it taking place at Wrestle Kingdom, inside the Tokyo Dome, on January 4th. Though not official yet, this would be Mayu’s second televised Wrestle Kingdom match, and AZM’s first.
• This is El Desperado’s first competitive New Japan match since losing the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship match to DOUKI back in July, having then gone on to have knee surgery.

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

• Wednesday 20th November – Goddesses of Stardom Tag League – Night 10, Aomori Budokan, Tohaku (VIDEO ON DEMAND)
• Thursday 21st November – Goddesses of Stardom Tag League – Night 11, Akita Furusato Village Dome Theatre, Tohaku (VIDEO ON DEMAND)
• Saturday 23rd November – Goddesses of Stardom Tag League – Night 12, Aztec Museum Sendai Industrial Exhibition Hall, Miyagi (VIDEO ON DEMAND)
• Sunday 24th November – Goddesses of Stardom Tag League – Night 13, Big Palette Fukushima, Koriyama City (VIDEO ON DEMAND)
• Saturday 30th November – Goddesses of Stardom Tag League – Night 14, Ishibashi Sports Center, Tochigi (LIVE)
• Sunday 1st December – Goddesses of Stardom Tag League – Night 15, DUO CEREZO, Niigata (TBA)
• Saturday 7th December – Goddesses of Stardom Tag League – Night 16, Act City Hamamatsu, Hamamatsu (TBA)
• Sunday 8th December – Goddesses of Stardom Tag League – Night 17, Act City Hamamatsu, Hamamatsu (TBA)