Pantoja’s STARDOM Cinderella Tournament 2024 Finals Review

STARDOM Cinderella Tournament Finals

March 20^th, 2024 | Nagoya Conference Center in Nagoya, Aichi | Attendance: 994

NOTE: For anyone following all of my reviews, my WrestleMania Series is still ongoing. It’s something I’m doing in my free time though so reviews from 2024 (like this one) take precedence.

I’ve waited nearly a week for this to get uploaded but it’s finally here.

Mayu Iwatani vs. Yuzuki

We’ve got an inter-stable match here as Yuzuki recently joined STARS and faces the leader. They shook hands ahead of what was a teacher vs. student style match. Yuzuki looks up to Mayu which meant she kind of knew a lot of what the veteran would do but of course, Mayu is great and adjusted to take the upper hand. Yuzuki is still very young and inexperienced but she always does a good job of hanging in there with the best and this was no different. They had some good back and forth late that included Yuzuki nearly stealing it with a crucifix style pin. Mayu won with her signature Dragon Suplex in 7:46. That was a really good start and the kind of match I wanted from them. Yuzuki is going to be a big deal in a few years. The two hugged after the bell. [***¼]

HANAKO, Mina Shirakawa, Waka Tsukiyama & Xena vs. MIRAI, Ranna Yagami, Saki Kashima & Syuri

A look at ExV ahead of one of their leaders defending the top title in the main event. For the most part, this was your standard multi-woman match that you’ll find on pretty much any of the company’s many house shows. There wasn’t really anything specific it was building to either, so it really felt like an exhibition. I will say, I did like Xena stepping up to trade shots with MIRAI. She needs to do more to stand out in the same way that Mariah May did last year. Waka took a lot of the heat but when you think about it, the same role could’ve gone to Xena and HANAKO. The biggest issue with ExV right now is that there’s a wide gap between the top two and the other three. They need a midcard piece to level things out. The finish here saw Mina hit a splash off of HANAKO and Xena’s shoulders onto Ranna, who they were holding. It was an interesting idea but weirdly executed. This was fine and lasted 9:36. Mina and Syuri came face to face afterward, teasing an Artist of Stardom Title match though Mina needs Maika to make that competitive. [**½]

Cinderella Tournament Semifinals: Hanan vs. Ruaka

Right from the start, the thing plaguing this match was that the outcome was never in doubt. Hanan is in the midst of a push and Ruaka is just a random undercard heel. The bracket would’ve been better served if Hanan beat Ruaka in the previous round and met Starlight Kid here. Anyway, I appreciated Ruaka keeping with her theme of trying for cheap wins. She knows she’s not likely to get a straight win over Hanan, so she’ll look for underhanded tactics or the easier over the top elimination. Hanan had to withstand that and when Oedo Tai attempted to intervene, Hanan got help from her STARS teammates. Hanan fought back, laid in strikes, hits some Fameassers, and won with Seventeen at the 9:18 mark. Decent enough but you want more from a semifinal. [**½]

Cinderella Tournament Semifinals: Ami Sourei vs. AZM

There’s more potential with this one. I might not be a Sourei fan but she’s a lot better than Ruaka right now. It’s wild to think that Ami is several years older than AZM when it’s AZM who feels on the verge of being the next big star. This followed a similar formula to Ami’s bout with Mei Seira earlier in the tournament but AZM is the kind of wrestler who can take that and improve it. This also got about double the time so they were able to do a bit more. It felt like AZM had the upper hand for a lot of this, first using her speed and then going a more technical route and nearly making Ami submit. As Ami rallied, the two fought on the apron leading to some close calls. I liked that things went more in Ami’s favor as this went on since she’s able to throw bigger strikes and bombs due to a strength advantage. She threw some big lariats that AZM sold well and then won with her finisher in 11:35. Slightly better than Ami/Mei though still not the standout match Ami needs. [***¼]

 

Crazy Star and Mai Sakurai vs. Hazuki, Koguma and Saya Iida vs. Lady C, Miyu Amasaki and Saya Kamitani

I’ve said it before but one of my favorite things in STARDOM are the three-way tags. Keeping three legal competitors in at once makes them so much better than other promotions. And adding the spin of this being a six-woman variation only makes it more intriguing. There’s not much to say about this other than that it was a ton of fun. Like the earlier tag, it was kind of random but that’s okay as long as it’s a blast. Obviously, some interactions were better than others as the usual suspects of Saya, Hazuki, Mei, and Suzu were awesome when they were in there together. The closing stretch featured a bunch of cool spots involving those ladies and Hazuki hit a dive onto a big crowd outside. She seemed to have Saya right where she wanted her but Mei took her out and then stole the pin on Saya in 10:28. Just a really fun, energetic tag that I thoroughly enjoyed. [***½]

Giulia vs. Tam Nakano

There’s a long history here that includes Tam winning a match that led to Giulia shaving her head, Natsupoi turning on DDM to join Cosmic Angels, Giulia beating Tam in the Grand Prix Finals, Tam beating Giulia for the World of Stardom Title last year, and more. They collide once more before Giulia departs the company. I will say, right off the bat, that I’ve heard very mixed things on this match. Some love it, some hate it, and very few seem to be in the middle. They opened this by trading big blows and you got the sense they weren’t going long because they really were throwing bombs. It’s like they were going for a Cinderella Tournament style sprint. All of that back and forth was strong, as was seeing them trade slaps and strikes. Where it ran into some trouble was the issue of the “fighting spirit” popups and kickouts at one. I get the idea behind it but when you do it too often in a match, it starts to lose its luster. They hit finishers that couldn’t get the job done and resumed slapping each other as the time limit expired in 15:00. I’m closer to the group that loved the match though it’s not some MOTYC. A hell of a war that wasn’t up to their best work. [****]

Aya Sakura, Natsupoi, Saori Anou, Sayaka Kurara & Yuna Mizumori vs. Fukigen Death, Momo Watanabe, Natsuko Tora, Rina & Starlight Kid

Words cannot express how happy I am to have Natsupoi back. Alas, this wasn’t really about her (that was in her actual return match) and this was more of the same from the earlier multi-woman tags. It was basically a house show match where everyone got a bit of time to do stuff but the focus was on some of the newer girls. Momo and Natsuko were the bullies they’re known to be, those aforementioned newer ladies showed off some of their skills, Fukigen Death was Fukigen Death, and then you got some pairs that really worked with the most notable being Poi against SLK. Rina got the win with a double stomp off the top in 13:05. This was a solid tag but there’s not much to say about it. [**¾]

Cinderella Tournament Finals: Ami Sourei vs. Hanan

These two attacked right at the opening bell, looking to keep up the sprints this tournament has become known for. Ami was the aggressor, which made sense given her power advantage. It allowed Hanan to fight from beneath which is a good spot for her. The fast pace benefitted Ami too because she didn’t get bogged down in some of the slower stuff that hurts a lot of her matches. She got to throw stiff strikes and plant Hanan with some bigger offensive moves that made her look like something of a beast at points. Hanan’s comeback was filled with fire and you bought a lot of her flash pin attempts as being desperate at points. Down the stretch, Hanan really got going and won out a battle of trading stuff by hitting the Backdrop Driver to win the tournament in 10:59. About as good as you get from an Ami Sourei match because the style worked for her. Hanan was great and a deserving winner who should have a huge 2024. Very strong match to end the tournament. [***½]

World of Stardom Championship: Maika [c] vs. Utami Hayashishita

I saw them meet in the Grand Prix last year (***¾). Coming into this, the only issue for me is that it’s pretty clear Utami is leaving to go with Rossy soon so it lacked some drama. It’s getting late so I’m trimming down a bit on the final few match reviews so what I’ll say about this is that it reminded me of big New Japan main events. It started slowly with some standard grappling and exchanges. The kind of stuff that isn’t bad but also feels kind of hollow and like you’re watching two people conserving energy to go long. Of course, they picked up the pace after a third or so of this throwing bigger bombs and then ended on a high note. The standout moments were a vicious exchange of lariats outside and that closing stretch which saw them empty the tanks as they neared the time limit. Maika started reeling off Michinoku Drivers, finishing with a hammerlock variation to retain in 29:41. A great main event that really helps put Maika over which is smart since she’ll be around. [****]

Post-match, Momo Watanabe came out to challenge Maika but the champion rejected her and instead issued a challenge to Megan Bayne for the U.S. show.

7.5

The final score: review Good

The 411

The Cinderella Tournament isn’t STARDOM at its best but it was still good. You’ve got two pretty great matches, a few very good ones, and the crowning of Hanan as someone ready to take that next step. That’s about all I could ask for from this one.