wrestling / TV Reports
Pantoja’s STARDOM Golden Week Tour Review 4.29.23
Image Credit: STARDOM
Loading...STARDOM Golden Week Tour
April 29th, 2023 | Nagoya Conference Center in Nagoya, Aichi | Attendance: 1,053
Coming off of one of the best wrestling shows of the year, STARDOM presents the Golden Week Tour ahead of their next bigger shows with the one coming up on 5/4. I welcome the return of more STARDOM for me to review.
Aya Sakura vs. HANAKO vs. Suzu Suzuki
This feels like a typical opener for one of these STARDOM shows, giving younger girls and newcomers some time to shine. I haven’t seen much of HANAKO or Aya Sakura but Suzu Suzuki is fantastic and in the conversation for best 20-year-old wrestler I’ve ever seen alongside AZM. The match itself was standard fare with the lesser experienced women doing stuff that helps them gain knowledge but wasn’t all that interesting. Suzuki would chime in from time to time to do her thing and be the highlight. In the end, she won with a simple pinning combination on Sakura in 5:22. This was fine. [**¼]
Hanan and Saya Iida vs. Jessie and Xena
The most notable thing about this match came before the opening bell as Hanan now has new theme song and even something of a new look. Could a push be coming soon? Jessie continues to do alright with the character aspects of the role, stopping to pose and taunt her opponents. Her in-ring stuff needs work as she doesn’t seem too comfortable there. Thankfully, Xena handled the bulk of the match in that department. The STARS team seemed to have better chemistry as Club Venus is still learning to click together. Given Hanan’s new look, I was a bit surprised to see Club Venus win this when Xena used a gutbuster on Iida at the 5:38 mark. I liked that for its position on the card. [**½]
Ami Sourei, MIRAI and Syuri vs. Miyu Amasaki, Saya Kamitani and Utami Hayashishita
Seeing Saya without the white belt is going to take some getting used to. It’s also our first look at Sourei and MIRAI as tag champs. Though a lot of this was standard multi-woman tag stuff, it felt like the focal point was MIRAI. She’s on a hot streak with the new title and the Cinderella Tournament win, so giving her more shine here made sense. I also liked that Sourei held serve over Kamitani a fair bit because the former now has two titles while the latter is without a belt for the first time in over a year. There was a weird spot where the champs did stereo fireman’s carries only to run into each other. They both collapsed and it didn’t do damage to their opponents so I was confused. MIRAI and Miyu had a strong closing stretch before MIRAI hit a lariat and used an armbar that she rolled through to win via submission in 11:18. A step up in quality with some interesting throughlines in the individual matchups. [***]
Giulia, Maika, Mai Sakurai and Thekla vs. Momo Watanabe, Natsuko Tora, Ruaka and Saki Kashima
Also find it odd to see Giulia with no championship. I thought she’d hold it more than four months. This got off to a hard hitting start which led to a brawl around the ring. It’s something I’ve come to expect from Oedo Tai matches but this was one of the better cases of it. Things calmed down soon after and became a more traditional tag but remained pretty stiff. Giulia and Momo had a particularly strong interaction and I’m down for a little singles match between them down the line. Maika took a bit of a beating at points and got isolated so all four of her opponents could wear her down. DDM turned the tide soon after and Maika secured the win with the Michinoku Driver in 11:11. Back-to-back good matches here even if it feels unimportant in the grand scheme. [***]
AZM and Mei Seira vs. Koguma and Starlight Kid
This is promoted as a High Speed Showcase of sorts. It’s also a preview of sorts as AZM will be defending her title against Seira in a few days. Koguma had her own SLK mask and wanted to pose with her partner before the bell but SLK wanted no part of it. Koguma isn’t someone who I’ve associated with this division but she more than held her own running back and forth with AZM. Seira does not work like someone who has missed two years. She was on point with everyone else. I loved the character bit of Koguma and Seira goofing around, causing their partners to slap some sense into them. The AZM/SLK interactions were great as always because those two can do no wrong together. AZM and Seira worked really well together, which bodes well for their singles match. Late, Koguma accidentally splashed her own partner and that might’ve resulted in a finish but we hit the 15:00 time limit soon after for a draw. Of course this ruled. A fast paced, really good match and one that previewed something bigger coming up. [***¾]
Hazuki and Mayu Iwatani vs. Nanae Takahashi and Yuna Mizumori
I’ve grown so used to Nanae with Yuu that seeing her in a straight up tag with Yuna is interesting. Mayu apparently forgot to bring her IWGP Women’s Title out with her which led to a funny moment during her introduction. For the most part, this match felt like a way to give us a preview of a potential Nanae/Mayu match for the Women’s Title, which I am all for. Hazuki and Yuna played their parts well but they felt like the side additions to a match in the same way that guys like BUSHI are used in LIJ multi-man tags. I like that Yuna uses Billy Goat’s Curse or whatever someone not named Colt Cabana calls it. I always thought it was a painful looking move when done right. Mayu got double teamed late but found a way to turn the tide a bit and delivered stereo tope suicidas with Hazuki. The biggest issue with this match came in the flubbed finish. Mayu countered Yuna with a reverse rana that fell apart and then her pin attempt also didn’t look good. It got her the 1-2-3 in 11:13 though. Other than that ending, this was entertaining and did what it had to. [***¼]
Mariah May, Mina Shirakawa and Waka Tsukiyama vs. Natsupoi, Saori Anou and Tam Nakano
Mina with the white belt. Tam with the red belt. Natsupoi also having a title. This all warms my cold heart. There are other stories in here too with the main one being that Mina officially left Cosmic Angels and how Waka followed her despite everything Tam did for her. On top of that, this also previews the upcoming Mina/Natsupoi title match that I’m pumped for. Poor Waka hasn’t learned the Club Venus entrance dance so she just clapped for them. The tease of Waka calling out Tam to start was good but I wish they did it instead of having Mariah step in to face Saori. We did get the Cosmic Angels beating up Waka for a bit though. While Saori, Waka, and Mariah did well here, the focal points were Natsupoi, Tam, and Mina. Just Mina and Tam facing off and trading shots was great. The Mina/Natsupoi exchange was also very good, adding to my excitement for their upcoming bout. Down the stretch, Natsupoi laid out Waka with one of the best superkicks I’ve ever seen. It looked vicious and had a wild uppercut feel to it. A trio of Germans by Cosmic Angels didn’t finish it but an additional one by Natsupoi on Waka ended this in 14:02. I enjoyed the hell out of that for the combination of the intertwining stories and the action itself. [***¾]
Post-match, Natsupoi cut a promo calling Mina a traitor and promising to take the white belt from her. She also shoved a magazine in her face that she expects to grace the cover of. Mina said that Natsupoi can take her place next to Tam but she’ll never take the title.
