SHOW REPORT: Stardom Sapporo World Rendezvous (Sunday, 28th July 2024)

July 30, 2024 Rob Goodwin News, Show Reports, Stardom 0
Photo Courtesy: World Wonder Ring Stardom

Notes

  • Ami Sohrei will be absent from all cards as she begins the process of recovering from ACL and meniscus tears in her knee.
  • 17th World of Stardom Champion Maika has been champion for 212 days in her 1st reign, making her the 9th longest-reigning Red Belt Champion. This will be her seventh title defence, and if she is successful, this will put her as joint sixth as the most successful World of Stardom Champion.
  • If Natsuko Tora wins, it will be her first singles championship since her debut in 2016. This will be her fifth attempt at either the World or Wonder of Stardom Championship.
  • 26th High-Speed Champion Saya Kamitani has been champion for 92 days. This will be her third title defence.
  • If Mei Seira wins, she will become only the fifth person to hold the belt more than once, the others being; Natsuki Taiyo, Kaori Yoneyama, AZM and Saki Kashima.

Quick Results

  • Four-Way Match: Yuna Mizumori def. Ruaka, Rian & Momo Kohgo w/ Tropicana (4:43)
  • High-Speed Championship Match: Mei Seira def. Saya Kamitani (c) w/ Checkmate (8:39)
  • 5Star Grand Prix Red Stars Play-In Final Match: Miyu Amasaki def. Lady C w/ Amanohashidate (11:04)
  • Singles Match: HANAKO def. Aya Sakura w/ JP Coaster (10:04)
  • Gauntlet 6-Woman Tag Team Match: God’s Eye (Saki Kashima, Hina & Ranna Yagami) def. NEO-GENESIS (Starlight Kid, AZM & Suzu Suzuki), Oedo Tai (Rina, Momo Watanabe & Thekla), EXV (Mina Shirakawa, Waka Tsukiyama & Xena), STARS (Hazuki, Koguma & Saya Iida)
  • Singles Match: Syuri def. Konami via DQ (8:05)
  • Tag Team Match: Eye Contact (Mayu Iwatani & Hanan) def. meltear (Tam Nakano & Natsupoi) w/ Backdrop Hold (14:01)
  • World of Stardom Championship Match: Natsuko Tora def. Maika (c) w/ Swanton Bomb (19:45)

Match #1 – Yuna Mizumori def. Ruaka, Rian & Momo Kohgo w/ Tropicana (4:43)

There’s not a tremendous amount to say about this YouTube-exclusive opener. Mizumori makes her way to the ring before launching her jacket at Ruaka before the bell can even ring, beginning a furious beatdown as revenge for Ruaka’s attack on Tuesday night inside Korakuen Hall.

It doesn’t last long though, with Ruaka using nefarious means to regain a foothold in the match. However, as Momo Kohgo and Rian are distracted outside, and with Yuna having neutralised the threat of the crate, she manages to surprise Ruaka with the Tropicana, gaining herself a victory over the person who split her lip open in their singles bout on Tuesday.

Match #2 – High-Speed Championship Match: Mei Seira def. Saya Kamitani (c) w/ Checkmate (8:39)

These two have wrestled a lot recently in prelude tags, and that is evident by the way in which Mei is able to reverse an abundance of Saya’s early offence. Mei’s early advantage however is then wiped out by a Shining Wizard and a Springboard Plancha to the outside by the champion. Saya continues to ground Mei on the inside of the ring, crushing her with a Springboard Splash and a Bodyslam before locking in a Modified Kneebar.

After fighting from her knees and attempting to lay in some desperate strikes, the challenger finally regains a foothold with a Spin Kick and a Springboard Missile Dropkick from the middle rope through the obvious discomfort she is still feeling in her knee. When Saya then kicks out of the resultant pinfall attempt, Mei goes instantly for a Rear Naked Choke. The challenger then dodges a whole host of Saya Spinning Kicks before going to a suplex attempt. When this doesn’t work, she runs the ropes, only for Saya jump out of the way and land, hard, in Mei’s midriff with a Double Footstomp.

Twice Kamitani goes for the Star Crusher, but each time it’s reversed. Seira hits the Release German Suplex to regain a footing before the pace intensifies again. There’s a roll-through from the Shooting Star and the Frankensteiner before Mei is able to avoid the Spin Kick and hit the Checkmate out of nowhere to secure the victory and become the new High-Speed Champion, ending Kamitani’s reign at 92 days!

Match #3 – 5Star Grand Prix Red Stars Play-In Final Match: Miyu Amasaki def. Lady C w/ Amanohashidate (11:04)

What seems like a lifetime ago but in reality is a mere month, Miyu Amasaki and Lady C were both members of Queen’s Quest. There’s no familial consideration here however, with The Human Tower utterly pulverising Miyu throughout the duration of this 11-minute encounter.

Coming off the back of a victory over Momo Kohgo in Korakuen Hall to reach this match, Lady C asserts her overwhelming power advantage almost from the get go, tossing the Supernova around the ring and grinding her down with a Triangle Choke. Even when Miyu does fire up and mount some sort of offence, Lady C is able to beat her back down with a series of thumping forearms. It looks briefly like Miyu may have turned the tide when she reverses a Giant Chokeslam into a DDT, but when Lady C successfully plants her with one seconds later, it looks like the beginning of the end. The DDT has done enough to rock The Human Tower though, and she can’t make the cover in time.

Opting to go to the Reverse Oklahoma Stampede she used to defeat Momo Kohgo on Tuesday in Korakuen Hall, Lady C is oozing confidence, but this is what spells the end for her. Miyu is able to slip out of the hold and completely surprise her with the Amanohashidate roll-up, keeping Lady C down for the three count and booking her spot in her first ever 5Star Grand Prix.

Match #4 – HANAKO def. Aya Sakura w/ JP Coaster (10:04)

Coming off the back of a really good match with Mayu Iwatani, HANAKO comes into this final match before her mini-excursion to America with what must be bags of confidence. There’s also a little bit of history between this pair, with both women having debuted on the Stardom roster on the same show; 25th March 2023 at New Blood Premium.

Having already been announced for the NJPW Academy show, New Texas Pro and MLW, The Wonder Tower started the match as you may expect; in completely dominant fashion. However, Sakura did what she could to remain within touching distance of HANAKO, and landing kicks into the head and chest when she could. However, just as she had with Mayu the night before, HANAKOAKO began targeting Sakura’s back, catching Aya in the corner and landing a Backbreaker before keeping her locked deeply in a Boston Crab.

Aya fought free, and had her best chance of winning the match when she snatched The Wonder Tower into a Triangle Choke before levelling her with a High Kick. Unfortunately, she couldn’t make the dominance count and was ultimately hit with the JP Coaster to give HANAKO a victory as she headed out across the pond for the first time.

Match #5 –

Match #6 – Syuri def. Konami via DQ (8:05)

Konami wastes no time at all in attacking Syuri, not even letting her former friend make it to the ring before wiping her out on the ramp with a Jumping Knee Strike.

Syuri does inevitably fight back with an aggression that is always terrifying to those watching. Even briefly when it becomes little more than a 3-on-1 Handicap match when Momo Watanabe and Thekla insert themselves into it, Syuri doesn’t back down and wipes them both out with an impressive Tornado DDT. Konami’s turn to the darkside has imbued her with a renewed violence however, and she is immediately on Syuri wherever possible, hitting her with anything and everything that isn’t screwed into the Sapporo floor!

The numbers game is always an issue when wrestling Oedo Tai, and this match is no different with the referee struggling to keep a handle on the repeated interference. Eventually though, Konami goes too far when she brings out the spray paint again, coating Syuri’s face and causing the referee to finally throw it out.

This in no way deters Oedo Tai who continue the beatdown, with God’s Eye finally choosing to make an appearance to help their leader – only to be fought off with relative ease. Konami produces a chair and then breaks it over Syuri’s head, choking her with the chair frame before beating her with the seat cushion. Ever the Goliath, Syuri gets to her feet and immediately chases Konami backstage, determined that this feud is only just beginning.

Match #7 – Eye Contact (Mayu Iwatani & Hanan) def. meltear (Tam Nakano & Natsupoi) w/ Backdrop Hold (14:01)

This is the first time we’ve seen meltear in tag team action since their loss to Aja Kong and Kaoru Ito inside the Yokohama Buntai in April, and the moment they step out on stage I find myself wondering why; in terms of aura and showmanship, there are few teams that carry it as well as Natsupoi and Tam Nakano.

Far from standing on ceremony, Hanan immediately calls out the new Wonder of Stardom champion, demanding her open the match with her. Natsupoi obliges, and her and the Young Lioness have a blistering ex

change, but the latter soon finds herself isolated from Mayu Iwatani with Tam and Poi taking it in turns to brutalise her. When she eventually gets the tag out to The Icon, she takes great pleasure in taking apart Natsupoi, making long and unblinking eye contact with Tam at ringside while she does it.

With a pairing possessing such a storied history as Tam and Mayu, it’s unsurprising that the brief exchanges we get between the two up the violence levels significantly. However, it’s Hanan who embarks on the closing stretch with Tam with the two increasing the pace and trading close pinfall attempts. Nakano kicks out of a Back Drop Hold, but a surprise second one – something Hanan has been utilising with great success over recent shows – is enough to ensnare the Kawaii of the Cosmos and give Hanan a rare pinfall over her.

Post-match, Hanan makes it abundantly clear that she is gunning for Natsupoi’s newly-won White Belt in the future. Tam stands toe-to-toe with Mayu, her opponent on the opening night of the 5Star Grand Prix, declaring that she will challenge for Iwatani’s IWGP Women’s Championship should she win; her second attempt at the belt having unsuccessfully challenged KAIRI in the Tokyo Dome back in 2023.

Match #8 – World of Stardom Championship Match: Natsuko Tora def. Maika (c) w/ Swanton Bomb (19:45)

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

  • Sunday 4th August – Stardom in Hamamatsu Aug., Act City Hamamatsu
  • Saturday 10th August – 5Star Grand Prix 2024 – Opening Round, Yokohama Budokan, Kanagawa
  • Sunday 11th August – 5Star Grand Prix 2024 – Night 2, Shibuya Sports Center, Tokyo
  • Monday 12th August – 5Star Grand Prix 2024 – Night 3 (Afternoon Show), Tochigi Light Cube, Utsonomiya
  • Monday 12th August – 5Star Grand Prix 2024 – Night 3 (Evening Show), Tochigi Light Cube, Utsonomiya
  • Thursday 15th August – 5Star Grand Prix 2024 – Night 4, Korakuen Hall, Tokyo
  • Saturday 17th August – 5Star Grand Prix 2024 – Night 5, KBS Hall, Kyoto
  • Sunday 18th August – 5Star Grand Prix 2024 – Night 6, Kobe Arts Center, Hyogo
  • Tuesday 20th August – 5Star Grand Prix 2024 – Night 7, EDION Arena Osaka #2, Osaka
  • Friday 23rd August – 5Star Grand Prix 2024 – Night 8, Sendai PIT, Miyagi
  • Saturday 24th August – 5Star Grand Prix 2024 – Night 9, Fukushima Parse Izaka, Fukushima
  • Sunday 25th August – 5Star Grand Prix 2024 – Night 10, Yamagata Big Wing, Yamagata
  • Wednesday 28th August – 5Star Grand Prix 2024 – Night 11, Shinjuku, Tokyo
  • Saturday 31st August – 5Star Grand Prix 2024 – Championship Match, Musashino Forest Sports Plaza, Tokyo
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About Rob Goodwin 394 Articles
Hailing from Stoke-on-Trent, Rob fell back in love with the Wrestling Business in 2016 after a decade-long break. Rob is the host of the PodMania Wrestling Podcast, the StardomCast and reviews retro PPVs - with an odd fascination with 1995 WWF/WCW!
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