Pantoja’s STARDOM Cinderella Tournament 2024 Night 4 Review

STARDOM Cinderella Tournament Night 4

March 17^th, 2024 | Bunka Industry Hall in Maibara, Shiga | Attendance: 344

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.

It’s time for the quarterfinals of the Cinderella Tournament. I will be covering those four matches.

Cinderella Tournament Quarterfinals: Ruaka vs. Xena

Looks like we’ve got another single-camera night of wrestling. We start with the two women who were the most recent to advance. I think the idea of having Xena’s power combated by Ruaka’s size could’ve been interesting but the execution as way off. They were sloppy throughout from simple moves to things like a tornado DDT that looked really bad. That was kind of this match in a nutshell, which was disappointing even with low expectations. Then, we got the ref bump and the Oedo Tai interference. What is this, the House of Torture? Ruaka used their help to set up a splash to advance in 6:39. The less said about that the better, as it was one of the worst STARDOM matches I can recall. [*]

Cinderella Tournament Quarterfinals: AZM vs. Miyu Amasaki

The quality of this one comes down to which Miyu we get. The one who has shown flashes of brilliance or the one who can become something of a botch machine in the ring. We got the former as she was on her game. Maybe it’s because she’s wrestling a friend and stablemate who she trains with but whatever it was, it worked. They were on point with everything from the fast-paced exchanges to trading forearm strikes. There was moment where their quick action led to a suplex by AZM that kept both ladies down for an extended period of time. The flash pin counters were good and you believed in whatever potential result would come from it given how the tournament has gone so far. Down the stretch, AZM began throwing some vicious kicks though Miyu did fire up after one and challenge her to bring it even more. AZM responded by trapping her in a brutal looking submission that I believe is called Numero Uno. Miyo submitted at the 8:50 mark, capping a very good sprint. Hopefully, that’s the start of the tournament getting good again. [***¼]

Cinderella Tournament Quarterfinals: Ami Sourei vs. Mei Seira

It’s a Mei Seira match, so of course it kicked off with some high speed stuff. Ami Sourei can handle herself well enough there even if her game isn’t quickness. So, they actually played into that as she started using her strength and some strikes to wear down her quicker counterpart. Since she was consistently getting overpowered, Mei often had to resort to flash pin attempts with plenty of rolls to throw Ami’s equilibrium off. Two simple, yet effective game plans. I always appreciate when a match is smartly done. There was a moment where Mei stumbled on the ropes but I liked how they covered it. Wrestling shouldn’t always look smooth and Ami pounced by grabbing her and turning it into something that made sense. The fighting on the apron late was well done but I think it needed another 30 seconds to a minute to sell the drama. Ami won with a suplex that sent Mei to the floor in 6:31. Yeah, we’re back on it with some good stuff here. [***]

Cinderella Tournament Quarterfinals: Hanan vs. Starlight Kid

Certainly my most anticipated match of the quarterfinals given Hanan’s recent performances and Starlight Kid being Starlight Kid. Neither woman could gain a clear upper hand in the early stages until Oedo Tai intervened and pulled Hanan outside for an assault. It was hard to see what happened though given the camera setup. Hanan didn’t stay down long, responding with a dropkick and keeping this as an evenly matched contest. Pretty much everything they did looked good (outside of a popup uppercut by Hanan) and the crowd was heavily invested throughout. I actually really liked how this was played so evenly, really hammering home that Hanan is someone who has upped her game and can now be seen as level with the likes of SLK. The finish continued that trend with a series of counters that led to a flash pin close call for SLK. Hanan pounced and pulled her into her own pinning combination to win in 9:27. One of the better matches of the tournament and a huge win for Hanan, who continues her push into the finals. [***½]

6.5

The final score: review Average

The 411

That’s more what I want from this tournament. Four matches that aren’t too long, gave us some varied finishes, and were entertaining. Outside of that opener which was a mess but at least we’re past it. I’m looking forward to the finals, which I plan on reviewing from start to finish.