Pantoja’s STARDOM at Korakuen Hall Review 7.9.23

STARDOM at Korakuen Hall

July 9^th, 2023 | Korakuen Hall in Tokyo, Japan | Attendance: 1,411

We’ve got a day or two before the G1 Climax takes up my time so I figured I’d check out this notable STARDOM show given it has the Generational Struggle rematch.

Fukigen Death vs. Hina vs. Ram Kaichow

Your typical three-way opener on one of these shows. It featured a lot of goofy antics given the nature of two of the characters involved. Hina was trying to have a normal match but that wasn’t happening here. There’s not much else to say other than that the finish saw Fukigen Death knock Hina into Ram (which launched her off the apron) and then rolled up Hina to win in 4:20. Nothing to see here. [*]

Mei Seira vs. Momo Kohgo

A battle of two women who aren’t part of the Grand Prix. Momo’s exclusion is understandable though I was surprised Mei wasn’t included. I guess she only did recently return. This was worked at the fast pace Mei is known for to start and Momo was able to more than keep up. Surprisingly, it was Mei who slowed the pace first with a submission though that didn’t last too long. They had some solid back and forth afterward until Mei won with a unique looking submission at the 5:44 mark. Another relatively fine match and a big step up from the opener though a few sloppy moments held it back. [**½]

AZM, Lady C and Miyu Amasaki vs. Momo Watanabe, Natsuko Tora and Ruaka

As much as I like AZM, she’s not paired with the top ladies of her stable and Oedo Tai is known for their teamwork so the outcome felt pretty obvious in this one. That was kind of the gist of this match as the Oedo Tai trio was in firm control because of that aforementioned teamwork. Even when AZM was the legal woman, she got isolated and kept grounded by quick tags but once she got free, she reeled off some moves and made the tag. Lady C and Miyu both got changes to strut their stuff in quick bursts but Oedo Tai was always able to stop them in their tracks after a bit. Momo put down Miyu with the B Driver in 6:50, capping another solid little match. [**½]

Hanan and Saya Iida vs. Hazuki and Koguma

I was kind of surprised by the jump start from Hanan and Iida. Not only are both duos faces but they’re all from the same stable too. While the entire match wasn’t totally physical or felt like it pit enemies against each other, it did have a bit more aggression than you’d expect from these four. Hanan and Hazuki were throwing some pretty solid elbows and shots at each other that made me want to see them in the Grand Prix though they’re in separate blocks. Things were less interesting when it was Koguma against Iida though not bad at all. Given they have more experience as a duo, it makes sense that Hazuki and Koguma won here. They used some nice double team moves and got the three after a Koguma splash on Iida in 8:55. Better than I expected because of the physical nature here. [***]

HANAKO and Nanae Takahashi vs. Mai Sakurai and Thekla

Interesting to see Nanae team up with one of the younger women she faced in a Passion Injection match. On the opposite side are two-thirds of the Artist of Stardom Champions. Maybe it’s teaming with Nanae that did it but HANAKO looked like she had a fire lit under her. Nanae was her usual self but you could tell this was kind of a day off for her. HANAKO handled the bulk of this and honestly looked better here than she did when she worked the lengthy singles match with Nanae. Mai and Thekla showed off better team chemistry, as you’d expect, and that’s where HANAKO really ran into trouble. We got some close calls late on both sides before Mai bested HANAKO with her elbow off the top in 8:49. A fine tag here with HANAKO showing good strides. [**½]

Ami Sourei and Saki Kashima vs. Rina and Starlight Kid

I am so intrigued by Saki Kashima being in God’s Eye. These ladies made sure to move at a quick pace fitting of Saki’s High Speed Title. Rina has been really impressive given her age and Sourei has a chance in this upcoming tournament to really break out. She’s someone who hasn’t hit that next level for me. Starlight Kid was her usual great self but it is notable that she seems to be losing a fair bit lately. I like that Saki hasn’t changed all that much. Like she’s still talking trash and being a little shit despite being in a new stable. A fair bit of this focused on Rina against Saki which isn’t what I was expecting. That led to our finish as Saki beat Rina with the Unprettier and I’ll always pop for that move. This went 8:25 and was another solid match. [**¾]

Post-match, Saki had some positive words for Rina despite the youngster being in Oedo Tai. Mei Seira came out to challenge Saki for the High Speed Title but the champion declined. However, she did accept the challenge from Koguma.

Mariah May, Mina Shirakawa and Waka Tsukiyama vs. Natsupoi, Saori Anou and Yuna Mizumori

I love that Saori brushed past the opening Cosmic Angels dance and then Club Venus ran out to do theirs in the ring though only Rose Gold danced as Waka just watched instead. I like most of the women involved here so I was pretty interested for most of this. Mariah May continues to look like a star out there, Mina was Mina, and Waka showed fire. On the other side, Yuna was kind of just there but Natsupoi is always great and Anou brought a more physical, aggressive nature to this. Anou in there against Mina and Mariah worked as a preview for the Grand Prix since they’re all in the same blocks. Club Venus took control and hit some dives outside before the trio isolated Natsupoi. She rallied for a strong back and forth against Waka and then the Club Venus member took a trio of axe kicks. Natsupoi got the win with a cartwheel splash off the top in 10:25. Good, energetic stuff here. [***¼]

After the bell, Natsupoi and Saori Anou made the challenge to Rose Gold for the Goddesses of Stardom Titles. I am all for that match. Mina accepted for the 8/13 show in Osaka but made sure to note that Natsupoi and Saori don’t have the best relationship for a tag team.

Generational Struggle Elimination Match: Giulia, Mayu Iwatani, Syuri & Tam Nakano vs. Maika, Saya Kamitani, Suzu Suzuki & Utami Hayashishita

The first iteration of this match wans’t elimination and went to a 30 minute draw (****¼). Of note, Utami Hayashishita was out and MIRAI, our new white belt holder, replaced her. Right off the bat, Suzu went after Giulia to give us more of them after their fantastic title match earlier this year. Giulia kind of got isolated to start but once she made this tag, her team turned the tide as the veterans started kicking ass. Whether it was tandem moves or just something like Syuri kicking ass, it was working for them. I loved that team members would just calmly watch from ringside as shit was going down. Like Syuri and Mayu were just watching as Giulia and Tam nearly came to blows. That rivalry feels like it’ll never be over.  With so many moving parts, there were a few spots that came off awkwardly. Things got tense when Tam and Saya fought on the apron. Tam hit a Tiger Suplex but then Saya snapped off a rana and both hit the floor, eliminating them. Mayu and Suzu had a great exchange and they’ll be meeting in the Grand Prix which has me pumped. Then we got a prolonged Mayu/MIRAI battle that ended with both of them falling from the top rope to the outside. Maika and Suzu, who have done very well as a team lately, took down the old rivals/friends in Giulia/Syuri to end it. Suzu and Syuri both went out together (another Grand Prix preview) and we were down to Giulia against Maika in a DDM vs. DDM battle. Maika picked up several near falls but was never able to put away her stable leader. Giulia found a way to avoid a lariat and use a pinning combination to win in 28:07. I preferred the first match by a bit but this was still fantastic and moved along so nicely despite being nearly 30 minutes. [****]

The post-match stuff saw a lot get set up. Suzu seemed to blame Maika for the loss and they teased meeting in the Grand Prix Finals. Tam and Saya teased a match for the World of Stardom Title but they’ll also meet on the 5 Star opening night. The same went for Suzu and Syuri. Mayu was just chilling as this went down and then did a show closing promo where she also correctly pointed out that there’s no real difference between her IWGP Women’s Title and Giulia’s STRONG Women’s Title. New Japan really just has duplicate belts.

6.5

The final score: review Average

The 411

For the most part, this feels like a house show. Lots of typical “road to” tags and such that nobody needs to see but then you get a good semi-main event and a great main event. Basically, watch the Generational Struggle and that’s really all you need but if you stick around, it’s solid enough.