Pantoja’s STARDOM New Year Stars In Korakuen Review 1.31.26

STARDOM New Year Stars in Korakuen Hall

January 31^st, 2026 | Korakuen Hall in Tokyo, Japan | Attendance: 1,332

We have a solid looking house show here that will help set the stage for the upcoming PPV.

Aya Sakura, Ranna Yagami and Saki Kashima vs. Maki Itoh, Sayaka Kurara and Yuna Mizumori

I’ve been enjoying these tags with Maki Itoh. She brings some fun energy to her matches that feels fresh for STARDOM. I also think it’s quite interesting to have Sakurara on opposite sides. As expected in any match with Maki and Saki, there was fun to be had with some shenanigans on both sides. I also got a kick out of watching Sayaka against Aya. They’re such a good team but a feud years down the line would probably rock. Maki beefing with her own partners remains an enjoyable bit. The focus was on her budding rivalry with Aya though. Sayaka and Ranna also had a solid exchange that led to the finish where Sayaka ducked a kick and hit a Spear to win after 10:57. A good start to the show. [***]

Side note, but Maki will face Aya at Supreme Fight for the “Cutest of Cute” Championship.

Hina and Tomoka Inaba vs. Natsupoi and Saori Anou

This might be an undercard tag on paper but they weren’t working like it was. These four ladies were going at it. You can always count on Natsupoi and Saori to bring it, while Tomoka has been super impressive of late and Hina is really starting to step up. Here, they were kind of kicking each other’s asses like this was a major title match or something. Hard strikes, crisp offense, and solid tag team moves were everywhere. Hina had a pretty lengthy back and forth with Saori where she didn’t look out of place at all. Then, just as this was really getting good, Hina countered Saori’s signature backslide into a pin of her own for a huge win in 9:57. That was really good and better than expected. I’m intrigued by what this means for Hina. [***½]

Kikyo Furusawa vs. Sareee

The simple setup made sure this was exactly what it needed to be. The vicious veteran Sareee beating the snot out of the rookie. As always, Kikyo was given enough to make her feel like a mild threat and show that she wasn’t going to back down despite being outmatched. That said, Sareee still slapped her around and hit some explosive suplexes. There’s not much else to say here because that was the crux of the bout. Sareee kicks ass, Kikyo shows fire and rallies a bit, but then Sareee still puts her down when she had to. Sareee used a brutal Octopus Stretch to win in 8:11. To the point and it worked because of that. [***]

Anne Kanaya, Fuwa-chan and Hazuki vs. AZM, Mei Seira and Miyu Amasaki

Lots of potential for something super fun here given the teams. I was surprised at the intensity during the AZM/Anne interactions early. If this is any indication, Anne is gonna be a hell of a High Speed Champion at some point. Neo Genesis isolated Anne until Hazuki got the tag and did her thing. She really is the best wrestler that nobody talks about. AZM vs. Hazuki here was great and it’s a shame that we haven’t had that singles match since a five minute BANGER in the Cinderella Tournament in 2023. Fuwa-chan continues to impress as a standout celebrity wrestler. It’s good to have her around full time. The spot where she hit a suplex of her own to interrupt AZM’s Three Amigos was great. In the end, AZM beat Fuwa-chan with a diving double stomp in 10:58. Another really good match on a consistently strong show. [***½]

Post-match, Hazuki and Fuwa-chan were attacked by Rina. Her target was mainly Fuwa-chan, who she cut a promo on. They’ll have a singles match on the 2/7 PPV.

Azusa Inaba, BMI2000 and Fukigen Death vs. Hanan, Momo Kohgo, Saya Iida and Yuria Hime

Surprisingly, this didn’t open with a jump attack by HATE. That said, it was pretty standard fare for the stable’s B-Team. As much potential as I think Azusa has, she’s clearly on that second tier behind Saya, Konami, Rina, and Momo. Add in that the face team had lower card women like Momo Kohgo and Yuria Hime and this lacked a lot of what made earlier matches work. The stuff they did out there wasn’t bad from a technical standpoint, it was just kind of dull which is par for the course with BMI2000 and Fukigen Death. Saya Iida used a pinning combination to beat Fukigen Death in 8:23 and it didn’t mean all that much. [**]

Elimination Match: Empress Nexus Venus vs. Mi Vida Loca

This kind of match is often used to end a feud between stables. Which makes sense on a non-PPV like this because this hasn’t exactly been a stellar rivalry. Of note, ExV has five members competing (HANAKO, Maika, Rian, Waka Tsukiyama, and Xena), while Mi Vida Loca only has four (Akira Kurogane, Itsuki Aoki, Rina Yamashita, and Suzu Suzuki). Elimination occurs via pinfall, submission, or over the top rope. I knew this match was in trouble when HANAKO pinned Suzu with a big boot in about two minutes. That was the best wrestler on Mi Vida Loca and put the babyfaces in a 5-on-3 advantage, which is an odd way to book a match. That led to a stretch where Mi Vida Loca basically had to rally, eliminating Rian, losing Akira, and then getting rid of Xena, Waka, and HANAKO. That left it down to Maika and Rina Yamashita, who have been waging war in recent weeks. The end result was a suplex on the apron that led to both going out, giving us a weak draw in 19:07. Also, Rina clearly hit the floor first so technically ExV won. So this wasn’t very good and ended in a draw, meaning they’re doing it again at Supreme Fight. [**]

Ami Sohrei, Starlight Kid and Syuri vs. Konami, Rina and Saya Kamitani

Well, this should turn the show back around. We get Syuri and Rina in there with our two big PPV title matches, Saya vs. Starlight Kid and Konami vs. Ami. I liked that the face trio jumped HATE as a nice turnaround to what we normally get. The fight spilled outside rather quickly, with some intense action between the upcoming PPV opponents. The Ami/Konami preview was hard hitting, but it was Saya and Starlight Kid that, as expected, stole the show. That’s the most excited I’ve been for any match in a while. If this was any indication, we’re in for a treat at Supreme Fight. Starlight Kid wrenched that Black Tiger Leg Killer in with vigor and you could see Saya possibly tap in what would’ve been a big moment. The HATE members at ringside got involved, cutting off her momentum. After some more interference, Saya pinned Starlight Kid with the Star Crusher in 18:15. A very good main event with lots of action. [***½]

After the match, Saya attacked Starlight Kid and removed her mask. I mean, you beat her and removed her mask. Logic says Starlight Kid should win the title as revenge but I don’t think that’s happen so this is unfortunate.

7.0

The final score: review Good

The 411

A classic 7/10 show from STARDOM. It was on pace to be a better than usual house show but those two tags before the main event brought things down. Still, three recommended matches, some good early matches, and several major angles were set up or advanced.