BITE-SIZE SHOW REPORT: Stardom New Year Stars 2025 in Sakae – Night 1 (Saturday, 11th January 2025)

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.
• 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 will all be absent from the shows on the 11th, 12th and 13th due to their matches in San Jose as a part of New Japan’s Battle in the Valley show.
• Rian will be absent from this show due to taking part in her Coming of Age ceremony.
• Attendance Notes: The announced attendance for the show inside Chunichi Hall in Aichi was 409. This is only the second time Stardom have run the venue and is an almost 25.5% increase on the previous time they were there (13th September 2024 for New Blood 14).

Quick Results

• 6-Woman Tag Team Match: Athena, Hanan & Koguma def. H.A.T.E (Saya Kamitani, Momo Watanabe & Thekla) w/ Straight Jacket Powerbomb (16:11) (***1/2)
• Three-Way Match: Saori Anou def. Matoi Hamabe & Waka Tskuiyama w/ Pottering (5:56) (**3/4)
• 8-Woman Tag Team Match: God’s Eye (Syuri, Tomoka Inaba, Kiyoka Kotatsu & Saki Kashima) def. NEO-GENESIS (Starlight Kid, Mei Seira, Suzu Suzuki & Miyu Amasaki) w/ Super Hot (9:29) (***1/2)
• Tag Team Match: meltear (Tam Nakano & Natsupoi) def. H.A.T.E (Ruaka & Azusa Inaba) w/ Fairy Ring (10:54) (***1/2)
• Artist of Stardom Championship #1 Contendership Tournament 1st Round Match: Cosmic Angels (Yuna Mizumori, Aya Sakura & Sayaka Kurura) def. STARS (Hazuki, Momo Kohgo & Saya Iida) w/ TP Sunshine (14:18) (***3/4)
• Artist of Stardom Championship #1 Contendership Tournament 1st Round Match: H.A.T.E (Natsuko Tora, Fukigen Death & Rina) def. God’s Eye (Lady C, Hina & Ranna Yagami) w/ Pink Devil (12:49) (***1/4)

Show Notes

• Prior to the beginning of the show, there was a contract signing for the High-Speed Championship match between Mei Seira and Saki Kashima at Korakuen Hall on the 13th January, with the new rules for High-Speed title match also being unveiled; a ten minute time-limit with each bout contested under a two-out-three falls rules and a ten count on the outside replacing the international twenty count.
• Once again, H.A.T.E lost a match with a misplaced baseball bat shot, this time Momo hitting Thekla in the face so that Athena ultimately got the victory.
• Athena confronted Thekla after the opening match, ahead of their Ring of Honor Women’s World Championship match at Korakuen Hall. Athena promised victory, but Thekla said that Stardom was her realm, and she is queen bitch.
• Courtesy of their victory over STARS, the Cosmic Angels team of Yuna Mizumori, Aya Sakura and Sayaka Kurura are the first into the tournament final on 12th January.
• After Hazuki was highly critical of STARS’ loss in the Artist of Stardom Championship tournament, Hanan took to social media to say that Hazuki sometimes confused being mean with being passionate, seemingly building on rising tensions inside of STARS.
• The H.A.T.E team of Natsuko Tora, Rina and Fukigen Death will face Cosmic Angels on the 12th January for the right to challenge Tam Nakano, Saori Anou and Natsupoi at Korakuen Hall on the 13th January.

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

• Sunday 12th January – New Year Stars 2025 in Sakae – Night 2, Chunichi Hall, Aichi (VIDEO ON DEMAND)
• Monday 13th January – New Year Stars 2025 in Korakuen – Korakuen Hall, Tokyo (LIVE)
• Friday 17th January – New Year Stars 2025 in Matsuyama Ehime, Matsuyama City General Community Center, Ehime (VIDEO ON DEMAND)
• 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)