wrestling / TV Reports
Pantoja’s STARDOM New Blood Premium Review 3.25.23
Image Credit: STARDOM
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March 25th, 2023 | Yokohama Budokan in Yokohama, Japan | Attendance: 724
I’ve been doing my best to keep up with STARDOM but haven’t been reviewing the smaller shows. This one is notable though as we’ve got the end of the New Blood Tag Title Tournament. The Cinderella Tournament is also on the horizon, as is the big 4/23 show.
Of note, I’ll be reviewing this and trying to get the Cinderella review up quickly. I will be late on reviews for WrestleMania Night 1 and Stand & Deliver due to family plans. I’m also going on vacation the week after Mania.
Hanan and Hina vs. Momo Kohgo and Saya Iida vs. Rina and Ruaka
Some good old pre-show action. There’s a lot to get to on this show so I’ll keep this one brief. This was a simple case of getting some recognizable faces out there before newer wrestlers take up most of the main card. Everyone got a moment or two to shine and get their stuff in. The finish saw Hanan roll up Kohgo after 5:44 of a pretty enjoyable little match. [**½]
Aya Sakura vs. Giulia
Interesting to see the champ open things up. It’s also the debut of Aya. It was also surprising to Giulia come out first. Apparently, Sakura is a black belt. Onto the match itself, it was a solid way to start the official show. It was exactly what it needed to be as Giulia held serve and dominated for the most part but Sakura was given the chance to show a bit of what she’s got. She also gave off the vibe of someone who wasn’t going to quit or back down despite the huge challenge in front of her. Giulia weathered a small storm and won with the Glorious Driver in 8:51. Like I said, that was just what it needed to be. Giulia was a good person to throw the newbie in there with. [**½]
HANAKO and Lady C vs. Himeka and Maika
HANAKO is the second of I believe three ladies who are making their debuts today. Though she smiled a bit during intros, HANAKO had the vibe of someone who took things seriously. It was nice to hear Kohgo on commentary for this. HANAKO kind of took a beating here as the more experienced tandem isolated her and really worked her over. Maybe it’s like a “welcome to STARDOM” moment. I kind of like the pairing of HANAKO and Lady C purely because both are probably the tallest women on the roster. Lady C fared better when she got involved and the eventual tag back to HANAKO led to some tandem offense for them. Once Himeka and Maika got going again though, HANAKO was in clear trouble. She survived a half crab but fell to an Argentine Backbreaker Slam in 10:46. Another solid match here and I’m really going to miss the Himeka and Maika duo. [**¾]
Sexy Dynamite Princess vs. Super Strong Stardom Big Machine
This was intended to be Hazuki against the debuting Komomo Minami but an injury to the latter changed that. So now, we get the running Super Strong Stardom Machine gimmick against the debuting Sexy Dynamite Princess. Nobody knew who the princess would be but it turned out to be a masked Mariah May, who even came out with Mina Shirakawa. Oh, this is Super Strong Stardom Big Machine, who I’m less familiar with. This was lighthearted and not meant to be taken seriously. Super Strong Stardom Machine and Mina Shirakawa both got involved at different points as the women kind of played into the characters they had here. That included stereo Bronco Busters from Club Venus. Sexy Dynamite Princess won with a Pedigree (complete with crotch chop) at the 5:18 mark. It was what it was. [**]
New Blood Tag Team Title Tournament Semifinals: Ami Sourei and Nanami vs. MIRAI and Tomoaki Inaba
This is where the real meat of the show starts as the tournament continues. I liked seeing Nanami and Inaba go at it early since I’m not too familiar with either woman. It was a chance to see what they’ve got and they performed well. Inaba also had some solid back and forth with Sourei but this got taken up a notch when MIRAI got the tag. She is fresh off of a remarkable performance against Hashimoto at a recent major show. The MIRAI/Sourei battle was the highlight as they were hitting each other pretty hard throughout. I’d be down for a singles match between them at some point even though they’re stablemates. Nanami survived a fair bit of late MIRAI offense before tapping out to a vicious looking arm submission in 10:19. That was some really good stuff in a high energy, hard hitting match. [***¼]
New Blood Tag Team Title Tournament Semifinals: Chanyota and Mai Sakurai vs. Karma and Starlight Kid
Judging by how the teams looked and were presented in the first round, I feel like you could sense the finals coming a mile away. That means I came into this fully expecting a win for Kid and Karma. The Karma gimmick is a strange one. Anyway, this lacked some of the chemistry that made the previous match work. They still put on a relatively fine match but it never really did anything to make me feel like it was something special. Chanyota is in great shape and she took some time to pose whenever she got something going on offense. I did like Starlight Kid arrogantly slapping her around. She’s young but she’s accomplished enough to pull that off. Chanyota got isolated but the tide turned when Sakurai came in. She’s someone who I’ve liked on undercards. Starlight Kid was the show stealer here, as usual. We got some late close calls on both sides before Karma beat Sakurai with a pinning combination in 7:05. [**¾]
Miyu Amasaki vs. Syuri
Apparently, this is part of a trial series for Amasaki, who is another wrestler that has been pretty good in undercard tags. I came in expecting the kind of match I typically like, which involves someone trying to prove themselves against a top star. And Syuri is a TOP STAR. Miyu attacked before the bell, looking to gain any kind of upper hand. Syuri taught her a quick lesson but Miyu wasn’t giving in easily. I like the idea in theory but as this kept going on, I felt it was a bit too long. Miyu is still a rookie and she probably gave a bit too much of a fight here. Syuri should’ve had a bit of an easier time with her. It did the job that it needed to as Miyu looked as good as ever and she withstood a lot of what Syuri threw at her. Miyu had a few flash pin near falls but I don’t think anyone bought her winning at any point. She fired back during a strike exchange but got put to sleep soon after, losing in 13:04. Like I said, it was good but lacked a few bits that could’ve made it great. [***]
New Blood Tag Team Title Tournament Finals: MIRAI and Tomoka Inaba vs. Karma and Starlight Kid
Only one match off for Karma and SLK. They came out together this time around. The titles aren’t the best looking and that’s the nicest way I can say that. Starlight Kid is always great and MIRAI is on a heck of a roll so they were both on their game here, as expected. It was all about what Inaba and Karma could bring to the table. They more than held their own and I found this to be the best match of the three in the tournament tonight. The MIRAI vs. SLK interaction late was the best part, from the airplane spin to the rollup near fall. It didn’t last long but what we got was really good. I thought MIRAI fell to a moonsault but she managed to just get the shoulder up in time. She then came back and trapped Kid in a version of the arm submission that won the previous match. When that didn’t end it, I assumed one of the newer girls would eat the pin. Instead, Starlight Kid beat MIRAI with a pretty Tiger Suplex at the 13:07 mark. The best match on the show so far and it really made me want both a MIRAI/SLK match and to see MIRAI win a title. [***½]
KAIRI and Nanae Takahashi vs. Tam Nakano and Waka Tsukiyama
This is what it’s all about. Sure the titular titles have been decided but this is what everyone cares about. Can Tsukiyama finally win a match (I believe she’s at something like 0-100+)? If she loses here, against two of the company’s toughest opponents, she’s out of Cosmic Angels and STARDOM as a whole. I love that Waka wasn’t doing any pandering to the crowd or posing. She was focused as soon as she stepped through the curtain. Early on, KAIRI and Nanae toyed with Waka. They shrugged off some of her offense, gave her dirty looks, and KAIRI even kicked her in the butt. When KAIRI asked to face Tam, Waka declined and went in for more. That was kind of the tale of the first part of this match. Waka taking a beating. She finally got going enough to open the door for a tag to Tam on her own terms. That changed the course of the match a bit as Tam is a top name in her own right and more than able to hold her own against this caliber of opponent. Tam vs. KAIRI was far better here than it was at Wrestle Kingdom. Tam ran into major trouble when took an Alabama Slam onto the apron. That led to tags and Waka managed to send Takahashi over the top to the outside before both hit dives. Still, try as Waka may, she was getting worked over at every turn even when she got offense in. The crowd was way behind her and after she avoided a Takahashi senton, she came ever so close on a rollup. The late near falls were wild from the stereo tiger suplexes to Waka being pulled to safety from the popup KAIRI elbow. Waka finally got the elusive win with a tiger rollup after 21:58. Masterfully done, filled with drama, several storyline developments, and a hot crowd. Emotion from start to finish. [****¼]
Waka got respect paid to her by Nanae and KAIRI, had an emotional conversation with Tam where she was told she could stay in Cosmic Angels, and she got to close the show.
