SHOW REPORT: Stardom Namba Grand Fight 2024 (Saturday, 14th September 2024)

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.
• 19th World of Stardom Champion Tam Nakano has been champion for for 14 days – in her second reign. This will be her first title defence of this second reign. Should she lose to Maika, she will become the shortest-reigning Red Belt champion in history.
• If Maika is successful in her challenge, she will become only the fourth person in history to hold the World of Stardom Championship twice; the others being Mayu Iwatani, Io Shirai and Tam Nakano.
• 23rd Wonder of Stardom Champion Natsupoi has been champion for for 52 days – in her first reign. This will be her first title defence of her reign.
• This is Hazuki’s sixth attempt at the Wonder of Stardom Championship, against a sixth different champion. Should she lose here, she will consolidate her run as the most unsuccessful in terms of challenges in White Belt history.
• Pro Wrestling: Wave’s Kohaku makes her first PPV appearance for Stardom, having previously appeared only on New Blood events; both New Blood 9 and 10 from back in 2023.

Quick Results

• Singles Match: Xena def. Rian w/ German Suplex (8:06)
• Singles Match: Saya Kamitani def. Mina Shirakawa w/ (10:58)
• Tag Team Match: EXV (HANAKO & Waka Tsukiyama) def. God’s Eye (Ranna Yagami & Hina) w/ Shirasagi (8:03)
• 8-Woman Tag Team Match: Cosmic Angels (Saori Anou, Aya Sakura, Sayaka Kurura & Yuna Mizumori) def. H.A.T.E (Natsuko Tora, Ruaka & Rina) & Azusa Inaba w/ Triangle Choke (11:56)
• 6-Woman Tag Team Match: NEO-GENESIS (Starlight Kid & Mei Seira) & Kohaku def. STARS (Koguma, Saya Iida & Momo Kohgo) w/ Direct Teaching W Arm T (8:41)
• 6-Woman Tag Team Match: H.A.T.E (Momo Watanabe, Thekla & Konami) def. God’s Eye (Syuri, Saki Kashima & Lady C) w/ Buzzsaw Kick (12:04)
• Singles Match: Suzu Suzuki def. Tomoka Inaba w/ German Suplex (13:10)
• Tag Team Match: Eye Contact (Mayu Iwatani & Hanan) def. 02 Line (AZM & Miyu Amasaki) w/ Back Drop Hold (14:23)
• Wonder of Stardom Championship Match: Natsupoi (c) def. Hazuki w/ Fairy Magic (19:08)
• World of Stardom Championship Match: Tam Nakano (c) def. Maika w/ Twilight Dream (22:32)

The Undercard

Rian continues her impressive development with a short opening match with the reliably fantastic Xena. The post-match that sees Xena raise the arm of Rian is potentially more interesting, as Rian has made it known she is actively looking for a faction; EXV would certainly be a good fit for her. (**3/4)

It’s not the best of the singles matches these two have had, but that’s more a compliment to Mina and Saya Kamitani’s brilliant 2022/23 feud than it is a criticism of this match. Both women are in completely different places, with Saya relishing her new heel role and providing us with a litany of outstanding new facial reactions. Mina’s star-power is only seeming to increase every time she enters a Stardom ring, but her increasing annoyance at Saya’s shenanigans, leading to her attempting to destroy her leg at every opportunity, reminds you that she is a serious wrestler Just to add a apt little bow on top of the match, to have Saya so blatantly cheat to win, hoisting her legs into the top for leverage in a backslide pin after having already hurled the referee at Mina to break a Figure-Four, is the best way to end this match and, potentially, open a brand new chapter between the pair. (***)

The EX and God’s Eye tag team match is all about HANAKO and Hina – though I would be remiss to not mention Waka’s striking new golden gear, coupled with the way she comes to the ring atop HANAKO’s shoulders. It’s great to see HANAKO get another win though, locking in the brand-new Shirasagi for the submission victory, and it looks like may be on the road to a title shot of her own – whether that’s a shot at the New Blood Tag Titles with Waka, or the Future of Stardom Championship. (**3/4)

In 8-woman action, we continued the build to the inevitable Future of Stardom Championship match between Aya Sakura and Rina, with the pair afforded a large portion of the 11 or so minutes of this match. Newest H.A.T.E member Azusa Inaba impressed in her exchanges with Kurura, while Anou played her part as the ring leader directing traffic for Cosmic Angels masterfully. A second big victory for Sakura over Rina, submitting her with Triangle Choke, leads to her officially challenging Rina for the Future of Stardom Championship. (***)

Pro-Wrestling: Wave’s Kohaku is saved from experiencing the Kuma Dance for the first time by Starlight Kid, with her and Koguma subsequently embarking on a dance-off. Saya Iida shows in a brief exchange with Mei Seira why she is such a good fit for the High-Speed division, before Kohaku and Momo Kohgo close the match out with a really entertaining sequence, the latter in particular impressing despite eating the definitive pinfall. (***1/4)

It’s interesting to think what will end first; H.A.T.E’s reign of terror, or Saki Kashima’s unwavering dislike of Lady C. A typically H.A.T.E opening brawl eventually gives way to Momo Watanabe and Syuri getting the time to remind us of their stellar 5Star Grand Prix 2021 final match, with the pair leathering each other with brutal kicks and throwing each other around the ring with suplexes. As is so often the way though, the referee takes a bump which serves H.A.T.E on two fronts. First, the referee misses Saki rolling Konami up with Kishikaisei, before then missing Momo wallop Kashima around the throat with the bat. With Watanabe then wrapping Syuri in the Chickenwing and forcing her to watch, Konami pins Saki after a Buzzsaw Kick. God’s Eye do manage to clear the ring after the bell before Syuri and Saki make a furious challenge for Thekla and Momo’s Goddesses of Stardom Championships. (***1/2)

One of the matches I was personally most intrigued to see was the special singles match between Suzu Suzuki and Tomoka Inaba, and it certainly doesn’t disappoint. Two of the better strikers on the roster doing their best to one-up the other with a litany of blistering kicks, only truly relenting when Inaba locks in a modified Dragon Sleeper, or for Suzuki to hit the Drive-By. After building the Inaba Drop as a dangerous move the night before, we get a great moment here where Inaba hits it out of nowhere, only for her to be too exhausted from the strike exchange to be able to crawl over to Suzuki. This exhaustion also eventually leads to the finish, with Inaba managing to kick out of the Tequila Shot, but not having enough left in the tank to kick out of the Locomotion German Suplexes. Perhaps Suzu’s best match since her return from injury, and another timely reminder as to why Stardom should be doing all in their power to sign Tomoka Inaba full-time. (****1/4)

Main Event Matches

Eye Contact (Mayu Iwatani & Hanan) def. 02 Line (AZM & Miyu Amasaki) – I really hope this match doesn’t simply get lost to time as ‘the match where Toni Storm made a challenge for the IWGP Women’s Championship’, because these two teams knocked it out of the park.

Much as a I love Winggori and am excited by the prospect of an AZM and Starlight Kid team in this year’s Goddesses of Stardom Tag League, both Eye Contact and 02 Line showcased some excellent tag team synergy throughout the course of this match, highlighting why the Stardom tag team division is so stacked. However, away from the great tag team chemistry, we had sprints that saw AZM and Mayu Iwatani square off once again, and Hanan and Miyu Amasaki. It’s a breathless match, with the exchanges between AZM and Iwatani in particular making for some scintillating viewing as we seemingly continue towards AZM becoming the challenger to the IWGP Women’s Championship. We almost got an official challenge immediately following this match, but that was interrupted by the arrival of Toni Storm on the big screen, who challenged Mayu to a title match at Nagoya Golden Fight in October.

Great match, and two future IWGP Women’s Championship matches set up. What more could you ask for? (****)

Wonder of Stardom Championship Match: Natsupoi (c) def. Hazuki – There is palpable emotion embroidered into the very fabric of this match that make it so compelling to watch. The White Belt plight of Hazuki is one of the most devastating journeys in Stardom history, and the way the two desperately close nearfalls with the Hazukistral and the Vertical Drop Brainbuster lead to her almost openly weeping, visibly praying to the heavens, tugs incredibly hard on the heart-strings of even the most cold-hearted of people. It’s a blistering match even without that emotion, both women doing everything they possibly can to come out on top, embodied by Hazuki repeatedly getting up from a volley of Natsupoi kicks to the head, taking slightly longer to get up after each blow.

Add to all of this the fact that Hazuki has recently got the ‘endorsement’ of former-Wonder and World of Stardom Champion Kairi, and brought this into the match by locking Natsupoi in The Anchor, and it’s little wonder – pardon the pun – that this match has received the praise it has. The same Kairi by the way, who gifted Natsupoi her old gear in the latter’s own quest for the White Belt, and another interesting wrinkle into the match.

Apart from the heavy strikes, the disgusting bump Hazuki takes from an Avalanche German Suplex, the huge welt swelling on Natsupoi’s chin and the ferocious intensity of the closing stretch, it is the facials of both competitors. The disbelief of Natsupoi as Hazuki refuses to stay down, and the desperation etched into every line of Hazuki’s face as she throws herself into every pinfall really does make this a fascinating watch. I hate that Hazuki has lost, and as she despondently storms backstage without a word following the loss, you can feel her anguish. This doesn’t feel like the end for her however and, as the old saying goes, it’s always darkest just before the dawn!

An incredible addition to the ever-growing pantheon of great Wonder of Stardom matches. (****3/4)

World of Stardom Championship Match: Tam Nakano (c) def. Maika – A match that has been steadily building since before Maika lost the Red Belt against Natsuko Tora back in July, we finally arrive at Tam vs. Maika, the latter having won the 5Star Grand Prix just a month ago, and the former becoming the new World of Stardom Champion for a second time on the same night. Though only having two matches together since the match was officially announced, one key point has been highlighted by Maika; why is Tam not acting like a champion.

With the challenger having questioned whether Tam has been thinking too much about her appearance and other’s opinions of her rather than behaving and conducting herself as a champion should, we get a wonderfully conflicted Tam in this match. Though we do get a brief moment of Tam posing near the start of the match, this proves to be the only instance, as she instead focuses on showcasing her skill and resilience in the face of Maika’s significant power advantage.

Refreshingly, after weeks of being tortured match-after-match, Tam’s knee is not made the central focus, and instead is injured ‘accidentally’ when she takes a tumble over the top rope and cracks it on the corner of the apron. Maika doesn’t target it though, and the conflict is instead within Tam as she still attempts to wrestle at a high-octane pace despite it being very obviously painful. The best showcasing of this is when Nakano attempts to hit a Violet Shooting on the ramp, but stumbles that often from the knee injury that Maika has more than ample time to hit her with the Spinning Powerslam on the floor. Far from abandoning the knee strikes, Tam seems to take it as a personal challenge to hit the knee strikes in spite of the obvious pain it is causing her. This level of dogged determination is enough to secure her the win, and finally gains her the approval of Maika – who also acknowledges the welts on Tam’s face make her look more like a champion! (****1/4)

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 18th September – Stardom Aomori 2 Days in Aomori, Aomori Industrial Hall, Aomori (VIDEO ON DEMAND)
• Thursday 19th September – Stardom Aomori 2 Days in Hachinohe, Aomori U-Tree 1st Floor Multipurpose Hall, Aomori (VIDEO ON DEMAND)
• Saturday 21st September – Stardom in Sendai 2024 Sept., Sendai PIT, Miyagi (LIVE)
• Sunday 22nd September – Stardom in Kaminoyama, Yamagata Sanyu Engineer Sports & Culture Centre, Yamagata (VIDEO ON DEMAND)
• Monday 23rd September – Stardom in Niigata, Niigata City Industrial Promotion Center, Niigata (VIDEO ON DEMAND)
• Saturday 28th September – Stardom in Korakuen 2024 Sep 2., Korakuen Hall, Tokyo (LIVE)
• Sunday 29th September – New Blood 15, Saitama Tokorozawa Sakura Town Japan Pavilion Hall, Saitama (LIVE)