Pantoja’s STARDOM Cinderella Tournament 2026 Quarterfinals Review

STARDOM Cinderella Tournament Night 3

March 11^th, 2026 | Korakuen Hall in Tokyo, Japan | Attendance: 1,164

It’s time for the quarterfinals and we’re back in Korakuen Hall with a slightly larger crowd than the last time out.

Cinderella Tournament Quarterfinals: Hanan vs. Maki Itoh

Two fun wrestlers here. Maki got overwhelmed by Hanan’s hot start and took a powder, which was basically her goading Hanan into a body slam on the outside. Hanan’s natural babyface style allowed Maki to kind of work heel. She was taking underhanded tactics but doing them in a somewhat lovable way, making sure she stayed a bit on the crowd’s good side. There was drama as they battled on the apron before bringing the fight back inside. I liked Maki working a Sharpshooter because that’s a move I’ll always love. A fight over flash pins led us to the finish where Hanan got three on a rollup. That went 11:22 and was quite good. The stakes added something to it and Hanan advancing makes sense. [***]

Cinderella Tournament Quarterfinals: Aya Sakura vs. Rian

Rian had one of her best performances ever (if not, the best) against Natsupoi in her first round upset. She delivered another quality outing here. Aya isn’t nearly as experienced as Poi, yet she did well enough to mostly lead the way here. She isn’t used to being in control, yet she pulled that off well and that worked because Rian is incredibly sympathetic. The crowd rallies behind her as she fights from beneath and once she gets everything else down, she’ll be a super lovable midcard babyface. She worked a lengthy submission that Aya had to get to the ropes to break. Aya rallied and fired off a series of kicks before winning with a German Suplex in 13:17. Better than I was expecting. It looks like 2026 will be the year that Rian takes the next step, while Aya (like Sayaka) has become a trusted singles wrestler. [***¼]

Cinderella Tournament Quarterfinals: Rina vs. Sayaka Kurara

One of the best young babyfaces on the roster against the top young heel. Rina had a masterful 2025 and is looking to continue that in 2026. She started hot and did the HATE thing of tossing her opponent into a bunch of chairs a few times. That put Rina in the driver’s seat and she proceeded to pick Sayaka apart. They built some great drama on teases of over the top rope eliminations. Sayaka’s rallying spots were the best she’s ever had. These two had the crowd in the palm of their hands, reacting perfectly to everything they laid out. That set the stage for an intense closing stretch filled with several near falls. When Sayaka hit the Spear from out of nowhere, the fans reacted like it was the end, only for Rina to kick out at one. The Gory Bomb only getting two for Rina was less liked for me as that has been an established finisher for her. I also didn’t need the second Spear kick out, though I did like how Sayaka hit that one with more force. They continued on with a series of counters until Rina busted out the Vertebreaker to win in 15:14. A hell of a match and easily the best of the tournament to this point. Rina continues to prove that she’s a star, while Sayaka showcased the kind of performance that makes a top babyface. [****¼]

Cinderella Tournament Quarterfinals: Hina vs. Miyu Amasaki

Kind of surprised that this is the main event. Even before we saw the quality of the last match, it was bigger on paper. This is also face vs. face, which often can’t garner the same emotion from the crowd that you want in a main event. Still, these two went out there and had a very good match. They worked this like a High Speed match, with the pace almost never stopping and the action being almost non-stop. An interesting moment came when Miyu was on the verge of losing via over the top elimination only for Hina to pull her back in. Like a babyface, she wanted to actually beat her opponent. That played into this as the two remained close throughout, evening doing some WRIST CONTROL spots that Dave would be itching to give five stars to. The bridge on one of Miyu’s suplexes was gorgeous, I love that kind of shit. When Miyu countered Hina into an inside  cradle, I bit. Miyu survived the Jackhammer and got her feet up on the Frog Splash. She countered the next Jackhammer into a DDT (a spot they basically HAD to do given their signature moves) and then won after a flurry capped by hitting Tensei twice in 14:39. A very good main event and one of the better showings from both. [***¾]

7.5

The final score: review Good

The 411

A welcome step up in quality ahead of the semifinals and finals. Each match is good and the last two rule, especially that semi main event. STARDOM has a ridiculous amount of young talent. They’ve lost Mayu, Tam, Giulia, Yuzuki, Utami, and several others in the past few years and have so many young wrestlers stepping up, evidenced here.