Pantoja’s STARDOM Dream Queendom 2023 Review

STARDOM Dream Queendom

December 29^th, 2023 | Ryogoku Kokugikan Sumo Hall in Tokyo, Japan| Attendance: 3,063

So the time has arrived for Dream Queendom. It’s not the card most expected or that the company wanted but it’s what we get with all the injuries. Wild to think that this show won’t have the likes of Tam or Natsupoi, only just recently got back Saya and Utami, and the likes of Mayu was too hurt for a proper build to this show.

Due to some technical difficulties with the live PPV stream, STARDOM made the entire show available on YouTube for a limited time which is home I’m watching this and attempting to get a review out asap.

Azusa Inaba, Miyu Amasaki and Yuzuki vs. HANAKO, Rana Yagami and Sayaka Kurara

Basically the Young Lions around here as all of these women are relatively new. Many have been a staple of undercards and New Blood shows this past year. A friendly handshake got this going. This was laid out exactly as you’d expect, giving each woman a chance to strut their stuff on a relatively big stage. That meant HANAKO used her size and Inaba delivered some solid strikes, for example. Once again, I have to point out that Yuzuki is quite impressive for someone so new. She continues to stand out. The final exchanges saw a bunch of pin attempts until Yuzuki managed to roll up Sayaka at the 7:01 mark. About what I was looking for coming into this and the team that has impressed me the most consistently won so that’s a bonus. Solid. [**½]

Before the next match, Tam Nakano came out to a standing ovation. She cut an emotional promo that (at least based on the translation I found online) where she apologized for not being able to fulfill her commitment as World of Stardom Champion. She said she contemplated quitting wrestling but the love of the fans and her friends is too much and she promised to be back in the ring in 2024. Great to hear as she’s one of my favorites.

Ami Sourei & Saki Kashima vs. Hina & Lady C vs. Mai Sakurai & Thekla vs. SAKI and Yuna Mizumori

I love me a good four-way tag. And STARDOM does these matches right, with one legal person in from each team at a time. I’ve said over and over how four or three-way tags with only two legal competitors was stupid. That allowed for fun, creative spots and these ladies were out to have a good time. From Mai doing a Paradise Lock on multiple people to Lady C’s big swing, there was a lot to be entertained about here. SAKI looked so glad to be back in a STARDOM ring and she had some of the most enjoyable moments. It should come as no surprise though that Ami Sourei and Saki Kashima won. Ami has been getting a push and Saki only just returned. It was a Blue Thunder Bomb on Yuna Mizumori that earned Ami the win in 7:25. A fun undercard match. [**¾]

Fukigen Death, Rina, Ruaka and Starlight Kid vs. Hanan, Hazuki, Mayu Iwatani and Saya Iida

Mayu Iwatani’s return. It’s Oedo Tai, so of course we got the fight around the arena at the start. Mayu took a bit of a beating in the ring until her teammates helped break things up. Hazuki had a spirited run where she basically hit everything moving. Someone get that woman a championship in 2024, please. I liked the spot where they all did the Hazuki running boot spot as a quartet. We also got to see the New Blood Tag Champions work together for a bit. I really dug the SLK/Mayu interactions. I’ll take a singles match at some point in 2024 too. Even Fukigen Death was more fun than usual here. The crowd was way into everything here too, which only boosted it. Mayu got the win in her comeback with a moonsault on Fukigen after 10:24. Really fun stuff with a hot crowd. Give me more SLK/Mayu, please. [***¼]

AZM, Nanae Takahashi and Yuu vs. Mei Seira, Mina Shirakawa and Syuri

Not only did Mei Seira want to start this match but she did so by going right at Nanae despite being totally outmatched. She used her speed to her advantage until AZM put the numbers game in her team’s favor. Seeing Syuri and Mina work together for double team moves was great. It’s not a combo we get a lot and the vibes were immaculate. The rest of this featured really good exchanges from everyone. Yuu stands out in a lot of ways, Nanae was a bully, Mina and Syuri kept up the great tandem stuff, and AZM vs. Mei was the High Speed action you’ve come to love from them. Mina looked for the big win against Nanae but kept getting cut off, ultimately leading to Nanae beating her with a series of moves capped by what looked like a modified Emerald Flowsion in 11:41. That had a lot of fire and the Mina/Nanae interactions were easily the high point. [***½]

Goddesses of Stardom Championship: AphroditE [c] vs. Momo Watanabe and Natsuko Tora

The pre-match video package recapping Saya and Utami coming together after some problems in the sick cage match against Oedo Tai at Sunshine earlier this year great. Kind of strange to see Utami and Saya here since I feel like they were the two favorites to win the Grand Prix before injuries took them out. Early on, we got some good interactions, especially when it came to Utami and Natsuko trading blows. There’s an intensity level there that really stands out whenever they face each other. Momo is someone who I’ve heard a lot about in recent years but in early 2023, she didn’t wow me. The Grand Prix and onward has been a different story and she was once again really good here. Utami got misted by Momo in a move that felt like a match ending situation but they botched a spot where she was supposed to be saved by Saya and the ref just stopped counting despite her not kicking out. From there, it was time to get to the finish, meaning we had some really good stuff from everyone involved. Maybe they were out to make up for the botched spot. The Queen’s Quest ladies hit their finishers in stereo and both pinned to retain in 16:22. That was the first great match on the show, especially if you can get past the mistake. There was a high level of heat and they beat the hell out of each other. [****]

NJPW Strong Women’s Championship: Giulia [c] vs. Megan Bayne

On paper, this is interesting. Bayne has impressed in STARDOM but this feels like a true test. Her biggest singles match before was against Tam and it was very good but it told an easy David vs. Goliath story. Here, Giulia is no David and it’ll be interesting to see how they play this. Right off the bat, this felt like a heavyweight fight. A top star against the powerhouse of the roster. The setup for this match was again simple and that’s why it worked so well. Giulia is the kind of wrestler who is just going to keep hitting Megan with everything she’s got. She wasn’t backing down no matter how much of a beating she took or no matter how many times she was stopped by a big power move. Giulia threw herself into every bump and found creative counters to match what Megan brought to the table. The drama was ramped up late too. Giulia’s contract discussions have been all over Twitter and with word that she is leaning toward WWE, a title change seemed plausible (even if her contract isn’t up until March). That was bolstered by Megan hitting the F5 that has put down so many people so far, including Giulia in a recent tag. When Giulia kicked out, the reaction was perfect. This is why you protect finishers, folks. When you do a big kick out in a  big match, it means something instead of doing them on every spot on the card each week for a small pop. Megan busting out a moonsault made for a great, unexpected spot. Giulia used several Northern Lights Drivers that weren’t enough before finally putting down the tough opponent with a guillotine choke in 17:02. Tremendous match and it’s gonna be real sad to see Tony Khan book Megan Bayne after she’s been so good here. Like Mariah May earlier this year, Bayne had her best outing against Giulia. [****¼]

Post-match, Giulia put Bayne over on the mic and she got a loud ovation from the crowd on her way out. Then Giulia was interrupted on screen by Trish Adora issuing a challenge for the title, which was obviously accepted.

Wonder of Stardom Championship: MIRAI [c] vs. Saori Anou

I haven’t loved this pairing but it is still good. Saori won in the Grand Prix (***¼) before a 30 minute draw over this title (***¾). Maybe this is where they crack that **** barrier. Natsupoi was with Saori and man do I miss her. Anyway, this suffered from a similar issue to the 30 minute draw in that it got off to a relatively slow start. It was done in a way that felt like “okay, we’re going to go long” rather than feeling like it was organically going long. In a lot of ways, it felt like the Okada Formula I often complain about. The first third or half of this was never really engaging but once they turned that corner, they turned it on a big way and delivered a finishing stretch that will stick in the mind of a fan. It saw them throwing suplexes where they basically got dropped on their heads and ramped up the intensity to the next level. They were trading big moves and delivering near falls without ever really overdoing it, which is appreciated. Saori kicked out of a lariat that was one of the best I’ve ever seen MIRAI throw, which is saying something. Saori’s counter into a Poison Rana was one of the best spots of the show and not too long after, won the title with a Japanese Ocean Suplex in 24:43. About on par with the draw. I laid out my issues with it above though there is still a lot to like here. Now I just need Natsupoi to win the title from her at some point in 2024. [***¾]

World of Stardom Championship: Maika vs. Suzu Suzuki

It’s a rematch from the Grand Prix Finals (****¼). Can Suzu pull off the repeat and reach the top at just 21 years of age? Or will Maika reach the next level that has eluded her thus far? They opened with a big brawl fitting of the rivalry and the match basically saw the women going blow for blow. They never wanted to show weakness to the other, with Maika even popping up quickly after being thrown into chairs. Some ideas didn’t work as well as they probably wanted though, like Suzu running down the stairs for more momentum just looked goofy and the table spot off the apron didn’t come off cleanly. Once they were in the ring and just hitting each other with regular moves, this worked out much better. The extra stuff made sense with the feud but I don’t think it was totally needed. Like the previous match though, the back half rocked and since this first half was a bit better, I preferred this. It was hard hitting, filled with action late, and there was drama because it really was anyone’s match to win. Maika won after three Michinoku Drivers in 20:39, winning the big one in the biggest match of her career. This company isn’t afraid to reward their stars who get over and that’s what we have here. It might’ve been because of various injuries but this feels no less earned as Maika has been a standout since I started watching this company and likely long before. Having Giulia help an emotional Suzu out of the ring only added to the emotion of it all. [****]

8.0

The final score: review Very Good

The 411

It has certainly been a rocky back half of the year for STARDOM but they capped it as well as they could have. Maika got her feel good crowning moment, the show was entertaining from top to bottom, some great matches took place, and they set up some interesting things for 2024.