wrestling / TV Reports
Pantoja’s STARDOM Golden Week Fight Tour Review 5.5.24
Image Credit: STARDOM
Loading...STARDOM Golden Week Fight Tour
May 5th, 2024 | Acros Fukuoka in Fukuoka, Japan | Attendance: 691
I was going to try and cover the Best of the Super Juniors Tournament but it really hasn’t grabbed me in terms of names involved and such so I’m sticking with what works. This show isn’t called anything special for being a PPV but does have two title matches, so let’s jump in.
Aya Sakura vs. Waka Tsukiyama
Although Waka isn’t a rookie, her winning percentage feels in line with those girls. In fact, so does her style as she always brings a plucky energy to her matches. This gave me vibes of a Young Lion match from New Japan. Two wrestlers giving it their all on the undercard. A few things worked well like the energy they bought brought and a few exchanges but a few things missed like Aya awkwardly sitting there as Waka geared up for a hip attack. Aya looks like she’ll carve out a solid niche as a resilient underdog babyface down the line, maybe in a similar role as Waka. In the end, Waka won with a Tiger Suplex at the 7:22 mark. A solid little opener and nothing more, which is what I expected. [**¼]
HANAKO vs. Konami vs. Yuna Mizumori
A classic undercard triple threat with a bit of a twist. Konami may have only recently returned but she’s still a bit higher on the card than her opponents. And still, both Yuna and HANAKO have had impressive performances on recent shows. I love that HANAKO has lifted the Natalya double Sharpshooter spot but she does it as a half crab and, like Natalya, uses it at every chance she gets. It’s almost like a rib. Konami also one-upped her with a double submission of her own, albeit a more creative one. Yuna went a different route, using her quickness to gain the upper hand. It came down to a submission though as Konami forced HANAKO to submit to a modified armbar in 8:20. Konami and Yuna had a shoving match after the bell. That was entertaining from start to finish and just a good time. Better than I expected. [***]
AZM and Miyu Amasaki vs. Natsupoi and Sayaka Kurara
Natsupoi and AZM across from each other? Yes please. Also, I believe the official name for AZM and Miyu is 02line. At least that’s what the Wiki says for the Tag League last year. The opening AZM/Poi exchange was just what I was looking for from them even if it was kept relatively short. Of course, being a more consistent team, 02line had stronger chemistry and busted out some tandem moves. They were able to do that and isolate Sayaka to really get in firm control. Miyu seems much more comfortable in this tag setting than when she worked as a singles girl. She would often rush things or get sloppy but maybe having the safety net of AZM has helped her relax. I liked the spot where Natsupoi and Sayaka hit stereo suplexes for near falls. 02line took out Natsupoi with a sweet tandem move and then beat Sayaka with a barrage of a Sliced Bread, double stomp, and Facebuster in 9:09. Again, another quality match that I had a really good time with. [***]
Ami Sourei and Saki Kashima vs. Lady C and Saya Kamitani
It’s gonna take a while to get used to High Speed Champion Saya Kamitani. Anyway, we got the usual Saki Kashima antics in the early stages here, offering faux handshakes and such. She even ran to the timekeeper’s section at one point to try and steal the High Speed Title, leading to a short brawl over there. The action outside of that was relatively fine. You know we weren’t getting the best of Saya as this was something of a night off for her and I’ve made my feelings clear on how I’m not really into what Ami Sourei has been bringing. Even some of the power offense I’ve enjoyed from her recently wasn’t really on display because of Lady C’s size. I appreciated the ending here as Ami planted Lady C with a Blue Thunder Bomb and then dragged Saki over to cover her for the win in 9:17. An inoffensive match that had a few fun moments courtesy of Saki the show stealer. [**½]
Momo Watanabe, Natsuko Tora and Thekla vs. Saori Anou, Starlight Kid and Tam Nakano
I saw that Starlight Kid recently confirmed that she was not joining any specific stable because she liked teaming with different groups and I love that. It has given us some fresh matchups, especially since it keeps her away from Oedo Tai, who isn’t exactly my favorite faction from a match quality standpoint. I liked Cosmic Angels getting the jump on Oedo Tai, turning the tables on them. It makes sense that SLK would suggest that given her history with her opponents. It sparked the expected brawl both in and out of the ring. Once again, Thekla shined for Oedo Tai as she just has a knack for getting the most out of whatever small role she’s given. She can inject some personality into any match and that was the case here. Her and SLK had some of the best interactions of the match. SLK played the face in peril and it’s a role I like for her. She’s sympathetic, sells well, and showed fire in her hope spots. I can’t believe she was working heel for so long. When the tags came to Saori and Tam, they did their usual goodness. The closing stretch focused on SLK against Momo, with the latter winning via Peach Sunrise in 17:20. The best match on the show so far with a lot of action and some intense SLK/Momo interactions. [***½]
Artist of Stardom Championship: Maika, Mina Shirakawa and Xena [c] vs. Hanan, Mayu Iwatani and Saya Iida
On paper, this kind of rules. Maika, Mayu, and Mina are obviously great but it’s the other ladies to focus on here. Xena has been working hard to establish herself as a solid powerhouse and the Hanan/Saya duo has put on some of the company’s best matches of the year so far. I really liked Saya choosing to start against Maika. She might not be anywhere near her level on the card but she wasn’t backing down from a strength perspective. Both trios worked well together and played faces, so there wasn’t a level of animosity or anything like that involved. That said, Hanan still took on the role of face in peril, which lined up because she’s a strong underdog. Meanwhile, Xena and Saya had some good exchanges playing off of their power games. I’d actually like an undercard singles match between them at some point. Mayu came in hot and I swear it’s like that woman never takes a night off. She’s always out there doing her thing. Hanan went toe-to-toe with Maika, stepping up to the top champion and I loved it. Like a lot of multi-person matches, things picked up late with a Mayu tope suicida onto a crowd being a standout moment. Hanan picked up a few near falls on Maika before falling to the Michinoku Driver in 18:23. Another very good match here. Can’t ask for much more than that. [***½]
Goddesses of Stardom Championship: Crazy Star [c] vs. FWC
For those unaware, Crazy Star is Suzu Suzuki and Mei Seira, while FWC is Hazuki and Koguma, former champions in their own right. Hazuki and Mei had one of the best matches of the year so far and they basically brought that energy to a tag here. This was High Speed all the way, with both teams seemingly never stopping and keeping the action at a wild pace from start to finish. We got things like a super rana, suplexes, and a vicious pump kick all in the first half and they never let up. I will say that a few things might’ve moved too quickly. For example, FWC did a double dropkick spot and it was hard to tell whether Mei rolled away from it or was selling a phantom kick. Even the slower moments, like Hazuki trapping Mei in an especially violent looking crossface, didn’t really slow the pace because of the intensity as they fought through the spot. I liked how Suzu and Koguma brought a harder hitting battle to combat the ridiculous pace of Mei vs. Hazuki. Like, Koguma got DROPPED on a German but popped up and traded forearms with Suzu. Mei and Hazuki got the final exchange to themselves, reliving their classic and Mei survived a lot but stayed down after a Brainbuster, giving us new champions in 22:14. One hell of a main event with a ton of action and a surprising result as I expected Crazy Star to hold the titles for a while. Crying Mei was sad but I’ll always pop for Hazuki wins. [****¼]
