Pantoja’s STARDOM Goddesses Of Stardom Tag League 2024 Night 9 Review

STARDOM Goddesses of Stardom Tag League Night 9

November 11^th, 2024 | Korakuen Hall in Tokyo, Japan | Attendance: 1,026

As is the case for basically all of these tournaments across promotions in Japan, a night in Korakuen means a big card. We’ve got seven matches on deck with major implications for the standings as we inch closer to the end of the Tag League. That said, I didn’t realize this runs until 12/8 and that’s a lot for me to keep up with so we’ll see if I can keep to it.

Red Block: PsyQueen [2] vs. Sayaka Kurara and Tam Nakano [2]

Neither team has been lighting it up but PsyQueen feels like they have a better shot at turning things around since Konami and Saya are legit while Tam is World Champ and Sayaka is a rookie. I liked that this opened with Tam against Saya. It reminded me about their Grand Prix match that headlined night one last year and was going well until Saya’s injury. Once Sayaka became legal, the heels took over as they isolated the youngster and worked a relatively short heat segment. Tam came in with a cross body but ran into a boot soon after. That set up the next heat segment as PsyQueen focused on her arm. Tam fought through that and we got a cool spot where she and Sayaka did stereo submissions while seated on the top rope. It came down to Saya and Tam again and in a very surprising finish, Saya beat her with the Star Crusher in 12:41. Oh, is it time for Saya/Tam? I thought Saya was going to win the GP last year and though this heel turn slowed her, I could see her dethroning Tam. Either way, this was a good opener. [***]

Blue Block: Gamushara Fantasy [4] vs. Starlight Kid and Suzu Suzuki [3]

We haven’t seen Gamushara Fantasy, which is Rian and Waka Tsukiyama, since the early days of the tournament. This is one of those cases where one team is pretty great, especially as individuals, and the other tandem is a lower card duo you don’t expect great matches from. Together, it made for something that was solid enough. Seeing Starlight Kid and Suzu work together was nice and they have very strong chemistry for being such new partners. They kind of dominated at times here and they were kind of arrogant about it. I like that as Neo Genesis having some edge is welcome. Waka fared better than Rian and even survived the Stretch Muffler a couple of times but on the third attempt, with Suzu holding Rian in a submission of her own, Waka gave up at the 10:00 mark. Like I said, solid enough. [**¼]

Blue Block: Devil Princess [4] vs. Kohaku and Mei Seira [5]

Both teams have been a fun part of the tournament so I’m looking forward to this one. Early on, they mostly delivered on that promise. Kohaku had some solid exchanges with Devil Princess and Mei brought her speed to the table until she seemed to damage her leg, which slowed her down. Despite that, it was Kohaku who kind of got isolated as Devil Princess really put the focus on her. They really impressed, working like a well-oiled machine. I like them as New Blood Champions and would like to see them get a lengthy run with the titles. There was a very good Rina/Mei exchange that made me want to see them in a High Speed Title match down the line. And I might get that given Rina pinned Mei following her Gory Bomb finisher in 12:39. We’ve gotten a lot of results like this in the tournament with champions or major names eating pins. That was some good stuff from start to finish. [***¼]

Red Block: Anecon [4] vs. Peach*Rock [4]

Saki offered to start and nearly beat Mayu with a pinning combination in the first few seconds. I love that Saki has done that so often that people buy it as a finish almost every time. The bell even rang and the referee had to confirm that the pin was broken up in time, so the match continued. That hurt Saki’s momentum as Peach*Rock took it to her for a while until Syuri got the tag and cleaned house a bit. That turned the tide because once Saki was back in there, we kind of got to the finish quicker than I expected. Syuri negated Mayu and then took out Momo, placing Saki on her. Momo kicked out of that but then Saki beat her with a double underhook knee strike of sorts at the 8:56 mark. That was solid enough but did nothing to make anyone remember any of it. [**½]

Blue Block: Sakuradamon [2] vs. wing*gori [1]

The fact that wing*gori have yet to win a match is wild given they’ve arguably been the best tag team I’ve seen all year. Their loss to Hina and Lady C was a low point for them too. Sakuradamon is about on that level so wing*gori has to make up for that bad loss. There was a quick pace to this one which fit the styles of everyone involved. Hanan and Saya are both very good at it, Yuna showed how good she is at it in her recent title shot, and Aya could find success there down the line. That meant this moved along nicely and kept me engaged throughout even if it didn’t wow me. I usually enjoy Saya’s machine gun corner chops but they looked goofy here with both opponents in the corner. The highlight was probably Saya and Yuna exchanging blows. Yuna isn’t quite a powerhouse but she kept up with Saya and laid her out with a lariat. The Hanan/Aya back and forth was solid but not quite as good. I did like Aya using an effective chokehold with her legs to wear down Hanan. It was just different enough to stand out. Hanan finally got her team on the board with a bridging back suplex in 12:23. Another good match on the card but I do feel like nothing has grabbed me the way you want a Korakuen show to. [***]

Red Block: BMI2000 [6] vs. High Mate [6]

This is kind of two hoss teams going at it. Natsuko and Maika are former World Champions while HANAKO and Ruaka are lower card girls, so the teams are somewhat even. Instead of getting entrances, all four women just showed up brawling from the back and they kept the fight up throughout the crowd. It took a while but things eventually got to the ring and the match officially began. They kind of played to the aforementioned statues of the girls. Maika and Natsuko were evenly matched when they battled and the same went for HANAKO and Ruaka but when things got mixed up, it went in favor of the top stars. At one point, Natsuko just slapped up Maika a few times and it was pretty brutal. Maika survived everything Natsuko threw at her and then teamed up with HANAKO for a tandem Samoan Drop. Maika followed that with a Michinoku Driver to secure the win in 14:29. Kind of what I was expecting. BMI2000 matches aren’t all that interesting to me though I do think it’s interesting that another notable name ate a fall. [**¾]

Blue Block: H.A.T.E. Supreme [4] vs. REStart [9]

A hugely important match here. REStart is threatening to run away with things so the tag champs need a win to really keep pace. Plus there’s the added story of Thekla and Natsupoi’s recent feud over the white belt. REStart attacked before the bell, looking to get the jump on a team that is often the ones jumping people. That triggered the usual HATE brawl around the ring, complete with Poi and Saori getting throwing into a bunch of chairs. The heels ended up in control for a while because of it with Natsupoi taking the beating. Once she made the tag to Saori, the tide turned and she traded some vicious kicks and strikes with Momo. They seriously went at it in one of the better exchanges of the tournament. There was also some Poi/Thekla interaction which was a bit better than their disappointing title match. Just when Poi seemed to get the clear upper hand, Momo got involved and she ended up trapped in a submission. They gave us a callback to the Clark Connors moment earlier this year when Thekla pointed behind Natsupoi. Scared, she looked back but he wasn’t there and Thekla used that opening to hit a Spear of her own. Saori saved her partner, giving us a fantastic near fall that set up a frantic final few minutes. With some help from Momo, Thekla won out, beating Natsupoi with her twisting DDT in 18:29. A very good main event and the best match on the show. [***½]

Red Block	Points	Blue Block	Points
High Mate	8 (4-0)	REStart	9 (4-1-1)
FWC	8 (4-1)	H.A.T.E. Supreme	6 (3-0)
BMI2000	6 (3-3)	Devil Princess	6 (3-3)
Anecon	6 (3-3)	Kohaku & Mei Seira	5 (2-1-1)
PsyQueen	4 (2-2)	SLK & Suzu	5 (2-2-1)
Peach*Rock	4 (2-4)	Gamushara Fantasy	4 (2-1)
Tam & Sayaka	2 (1-3)	wing*gori	3 (1-3-1)
02line	2 (1-3)	Sakuradamon	2 (1-4)
Ranna & Tomoka	2 (1-3)	Hina & Lady C	2 (1-4)

6.5

The final score: review Average

The 411

I was disappointed by this show. Korakuen is usually a spot for some major nights of wrestling but this was mostly average up until a strong main event. Not a bad show at all, just not as good as I was hoping.