Pantoja’s STARDOM Nighter in Korakuen 6.14.26 Review

STARDOM Nighter in Korakuen

June 14^th, 2026 | Korakuen Hall in Tokyo, Japan | Attendance: 1,494

Alright, STARDOM’s last PPV I reviewed was good but I still couldn’t figure a way to get totally back into wrestling. I’ve still been keeping up with the must-see matches (like Okada/Takeshita and Mask vs. Mask) but I’m attempting to fully get back invested again here, at least with STARDOM and AEW.

HANAKO and Saya Iida vs. Hanan and Matoi Hamabe

wing*gori explodes! Given the history between Hanan and Saya as partners, it made sense that this was a lighthearted match where both teams showed respect. HANAKO continued to impress as she learns to use her size more and more, wearing down Matoi for a solid section. Matoi’s role here was basically just to get her ass kicked. Hanan got the tag and fared much better, including a fun back and forth with Saya. I wonder if we’ll get a singles match between them. Matoi kept going for an armbar on HANAKO, who responded by powerbombing her to break it and score the three count in 10:17. A fun, solid way to start the show. Post-match, we seemed to indeed get a tease of Hanan/Saya for the white belt. [**¾]

Ema Maishima, Mei Seira and Starlight Kid vs. Kikyo Furusawa, Maki Itoh and Rian

I like Mei Siera’s new hair. Also, Starlight Kid being booked for Forbidden Door is enough to get me to pay for the show. I could watch her wrestle all day. Indeed, she was a blast here, getting her spots in while throwing in some bits of personality to combat the likes of Maki Itoh. Rian and Kikyo continue to bring energy to their bouts, while Mei was her usual good self and Ema was also solid. It all combined to make for an entertaining tag. It was interesting to see Rian pick up the win by rolling Ema up at the 8:41 mark. I don’t see her win very often. Fun stuff. [***]

Anne Kanaya vs. Sayaka Kurara

Some non-title action for our World of Stardom Champion. It still feels weird to call Sayaka the World Champion but not in a bad way. It’s weird that she’s one half of the New Blood Tag Champs though. This worked as a rookie vs. veteran match, though Sayaka is older than Anne. That set up a good back and forth affair where Sayaka seemingly tried to pull the best out of her opponent, who was overmatched but never gave up. It’s a tried and true formula in wrestling and it’s honestly a trope I love, so I was into this. It helps that Anne always brings good energy to her outings. Anne laid in shots as best as she could but you knew she wasn’t going to win here. The champion beat her with a Spear in 9:39. Good stuff and there was at least one near fall that I bit on. [***¼]

Akira Kurogane, Itsuki Aoki and Xena vs. Kiyoka Kotatsu, Nanami Hatano and Syuri

I actually like Xena with Mi Vida Loca. I know she’s not an official member but it fits. It looks like Tomoka Inaba was meant to be on Syuri’s team but isn’t. I don’t know if there was an injury or something like that. This was a pretty standard tag without much of note happening. Just a solid little tag where everyone got a moment or two to shine. Xena continues to be a good piece of the midcard. She blends power and speed well. She also dished out some vicious sounding chops. It was kind of a night off for Syuri, who came in and delivered some kicks but outside of a fun exchange with Akira, didn’t do too much. I’d be down for Syuri/Akira, especially after Akira’s strong run since the tail end of 2025. The finish saw Kiyoka fall to a German suplex by Xena after 9:52. [**½]

Azusa Inaba, BMI2000 and Konami vs. Fuwa-chan, Maika, Saori Anou and Utami Hayashishita

Man, it’s good to see Utami back in STARDOM. I liked her in Marigold too but this was where I first saw her, so it’s a welcome sight. Since it’s a HATE match, it had to involve some brawling around the ring and throwing the babyfaces into rows of chairs. That’s just how they roll. The highlight here was watching the Fuwa-chan/Saori partnership. They’re such polar opposites and that’s usually a recipe for success in wrestling. Once we got past the section that’s mostly generic HATE stuff, it was really good. Utami looked motivated out there and there wasn’t too much BMI2000. The Utami/Natsuko section was actually quite good. There were some HATE shenanigans down the stretch, leading to Natsuko pinning Utami after a Swanton Bomb at the 9:51 mark. Surprising result and a very good match overall. [***¼]

Future of Stardom Championship: Ranna Yagami [c] vs. Miku Kanae

I don’t know too much about Miku, though I’m intrigued about this run for Ranna. The likes of, Ami, Hina and Rina, have used this title to take a big step forward. Honestly, that has quietly been one of the best championships in all of wrestling these past few years. Miku looked to start hot but Ranna weathered the storm and began to wear her down. I still really like her blend of kicks and submissions. She stands out from others at her level because of it. Miku kept having her attempts at rallying cut off by Ranna’s ability to work the arm and slow the pace. In that way, a lot of the match felt like a struggle as Miku just couldn’t fully pull ahead. Miku survived a lengthy submission and rallied with flash pins and quick offense. A missed Swanton stopped her momentum, allowing Ranna to fire off some kicks and retain with her suplex finisher in 10:37. Better than I expected. Ranna has had a good reign so far and she feels like she might be on the cusp. [***½]

Artist of Stardom Championship: Ami Sohrei, Hina and Lady C [c] vs. Aya Sakura, Natsupoi and Yuna Mizumori

The titles finally being off HATE sounds like a recipe to make this a place for super fun matches again. Cosmic Angels attacked before the bell, so I see the spirit of HATE is still with the belts. Here, it worked though because it set the tone for a match that almost never stopped. There were great spots throughout, even from something as simple as Lady C doing her giant swing in the ring on Aya while Hina spun Natsupoi outside in a much less impressive fashion. They were creative like that throughout. Hina and Yuna had a fun little High Speed style match in the middle of this, which was worth a shout. Lady C has found new life working like a bigger wrestler and her Chokeslam here looked vicious. Ami has also had a lot of success working a power-based style and that continued here. Aya picked up some huge close calls late from a lengthy triangle choke to a flash rollup but she was bested by a Fire Thunder Driver from Ami at the 18:58 mark. Well that was awesome. Just non-stop action with a red hot crowd and some great drama. [****¼]

Post-match, Maki Itoh, Kikyo Furusawa, and Rian came out to issue a challenge to the champions.

Goddesses of Stardom Championship: 02line [c] vs. FWC

This is right up my alley as it’s two of the best tag teams going today. As you would expect with these two teams, this was action from bell to bell (a theme of the night actually). A hot start with all four women involved led to a more traditional tag where only two ladies were legal, yet they never really slowed the pace. Koguma and Miyu are good but Hazuki and AZM are two of the best on the planet, so this was special when they were in there against each other. 02line haven’t been a team as long as FWC, yet they were out there looking just as fluid in their tandem offense. The arm submissions and traps that AZM caught Hazuki with were some of the best I’ve ever seen. The champions survived whatever the challengers threw at them in a resilient showing, yet it was the flash pins and close calls late that really made this match pop. In the end, it was an Azumi Sushi that held Hazuki down long enough for the three count after 18:35. A tremendous main event. Two great teams doing their thing and having a dramatic match with believable close calls without relying on finisher kickouts. [****¼]

7.5

The final score: review Good

The 411

Always going to recommend a show with two ****1/4 matches on it. Although not one of STARDOM’s PPVs, this had the action to match some of those events. Those last few matches are really good stuff and STARDOM is back to having the top tag team wrestling around.