BITE-SIZE SHOW REPORT: New Year Stars 2025 in Matsuyama (Friday, 17th January 2025)

Pre-Show Notes

• This show marks the beginning of the New Year Unit League, the spiritual successor to the seemingly defunct Triangle Derby, with the final taking place on the 23rd January in Shin-Kiba 1st RING.
• Rules: The New Year Unit League sees a return to a round robin format, with two blocks of three teams. Each match is a 6-woman tag team format, with a 30-minute time limit and the team with best of three falls being declared the victor. The competitors from each unit that will be taking part in each fall will be announced before the match with a different combination of wrestlers needed for each of the falls. In terms of a points tally, points are given per fall rather than per match, with a maximum of 5 points per match available per team (2 points for a win, 1 for a draw via double countout or double KO, and 0 for a loss). The two top teams following all block matches will then face each other in the final. Should there be a tie at the top of the blocks, then it will go down to head to head results with the team garnering the most points in the match progressing to the final.
• RED BLOCK: STARS, God’s Eye and Empress neXus Venus
• BLUE BLOCK: Cosmic Angels, H.A.T.E & NEO-GENESIS
• Ami Sohrei will be absent from all cards as she begins the process of recovering from ACL and meniscus tears in her knee.
• Xena has suffered a ligament injury in her knee, and will be out of action for an undisclosed period of time.
• Mayu Iwatani, AZM, Maika, Mina Shirakawa and HANAKO all return to action after their absence due to their participation in San Jose as a part of New Japan’s Battle in the Valley show on the 11th January.
• Rian, Hanan and Ruaka all return to action following their respective Coming of Age ceremonies.
• Ehime Pro-Wrestling’s Tsuruhimeka makes her Stardom debut on this show when she teams with Lady C against the H.A.T.E team of Momo Watanabe and Ruaka.
• Attendance Notes: The announced attendance inside the Matsuyama City General Community Center was 366. This is the first time since 2013 that Stardom have run the venue, with this show outdrawing its 2013 counterpart by just 6 people. This does however appear to be the largest house in the venue’s history, with only Ehime Pro-Wrestling (who don’t seem to announce attendances) running the venue regularly. Dragongate have run one show a year there since 2021, but have failed to surpass the 300 mark on any occasion. Big Japan also ran one show there in 2024, with their Matsuyama Death Island 2024 show drawing around 120 people.

Quick Results

• Tag Team Match: H.A.T.E (Momo Watanabe & Ruaka) def. Lady C & Tsuruhimeka w/ Neck Hanging Bomb (9:23)
• Singles Match: Saki Kashima def. Matoi Hamabe w/ Super Hot (7:17)
• 6-Woman Tag Team Match: H.A.T.E (Natsuko Tora, Saya Kamitani & Fukigen Death) def. God’s Eye (Syuri, Ranna Yagami & Kiyoka Kotatsu) w/ Star Crusher (8:18)
• New Year Unit League Red Block Match: Cosmic Angels (Tam Nakano, Natsupoi, Saori Anou, Yuna Mizumori, Aya Sakura & Sayaka Kurura) (3) vs. NEO-GENESIS (AZM, Starlight Kid, Miyu Amasaki, Suzu Suzuki & Mei Seira) (3) Ended in a Draw [3:3] (21:15) (****1/4)
  • Fall One: NEO-GENESIS (AZM, Mei Seira & Miyu Amasaki) (2) def. Cosmic Angels (Yuna Mizumori, Aya Sakura & Sayaka Kurura) w/ Amanohashidate (7:02)
  • Fall Two: Cosmic Angels (Tam Nakano, Natsupoi & Saori Anou) (1) vs. NEO-GENESIS (AZM, Starlight Kid & Suzu Suzuki) (3) Ended in a Double Countout (5:19)
  • Fall Three: Cosmic Angels (Tam Nakano, Natsupoi & Sayaka Kurura) (3) def. NEO-GENESIS (Mei Seira, Suzu Suzuki & Starlight Kid) (3) w/ Fairy Magic (8:54)
• New Year Unit League Blue Block Match: EXV (Maika, Mina Shirakawa, HANAKO, Waka Tsukiyama & Rian) (4) def. STARS (Mayu Iwatani, Hazuki, Koguma, Momo Kohgo, Hanan & Saya Iida) (2) [4:2] (22:06) (***3/4)
  • Fall One: STARS (Mayu Iwatani, Hanan & Saya Iida) (2) def. EXV (Maika, HANAKO & Waka Tsukiyama) (0) w/ Seventeen (7:51)
  • Fall Two: EXV (Mina Shirakawa, Rian & Waka Tsukiyama) (2) def. STARS (Hazuki, Koguma & Momo Kohgo) (2) w/ Glamorous Collection MINA (7:13)
  • Fall Three: EXV (Maika, Mina Shirakawa & HANAKO) (4) def. STARS (Mayu Iwatani, Hanan & Momo Kohgo) (2) w/ Michinoku Driver II (7:02)

Other Show Notes

• Following their singles match, Saki Kashima offered a shoulder of support for Matoi after pinning her with the Super Hot. This comes after Matoi made it known that she ultimately wished to join God’s Eye.

Block Standings

You can check out the Stardom roster win/loss records for 2025 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

• Saturday 18th January – New Year Stars 2025 in Osaka – Night 1, EDION Arena Osaka #2, Osaka (LIVE)
• Sunday 19th January – New Year Stars 2025 in Osaka – Night 2, EDION Arena Osaka #2, Osaka (LIVE)
• Thursday 23rd January – New Year Unit League – Championship Deciding Match, Shin-Kiba 1st RING, Tokyo (TBA)
• Saturday 25th January – Stardom Award 2024 in Takadanobaba – Night 1, Belle Salle Takadanobaba, Tokyo (LIVE)
• Sunday 26th January – Stardom Award 2024 in Takadanobaba – Night 2, Belle Salle Takadanobaba, Tokyo (LIVE)