Pantoja’s STARDOM Path of Thunder Review 2.24.25

STARDOM Path of Thunder

February 24^th, 2025 | Light Cube Utsunomiya in Utsunomiya, Tochigi | Attendance: 896

This show is FINALLY available on Stardom World so I can check it out. They’re in a small venue but it is home to Hanan, Rina, and Hina, the sisters who are all in title matches.

Mayu Iwatani vs. Yuria Hime

The GOAT against a rookie. That’s a simple formula that works well because Mayu can make anything work. Yuria fired off dropkicks to start and Mayu mostly shrugged them off before taking her to the mat to teach her some lessons. That was kind of the idea of the match. Mayu beat down on the rookie but would then give her just enough on a rally to let her showcase her stuff. It helped that the crowd reacted properly to all of this, popping for Yuria’s effort. The forearms she laid in on Mayu were pretty good looking for someone so new. She countered Mayu’s finisher to a flash pin in her last hope before Mayu beat her with a Dragon Sleeper in 9:26. Of course it was good, Mayu is great like that. [***¼]

Aya Sakura, Natsupoi, Saori Anou and Yuna Mizumori vs. Lady C, Ranna Yagami, Saki Kashima and Tomoka Inaba

Cosmic Angels vs. God’s Eye. There’s not much to recap in terms of action. STARDOM runs these kind of matches all the time and while they’re almost always solid, it’s tough for any of them to do anything to stand out. Here, the focus was on a couple of things. Aya Sakura and Ranna Yagami seem to have some issues and look like they’re setting up a mini-feud of sorts. The other thing to note was Lady C. She got a real chance to strut her stuff and she delivered. This was ahead of her leading a challenge for the Artist of Stardom Titles on 3/3 (which she was fantastic in) so it made sense to make her a focal point. It’s also always welcome to see girls like Tomoka and Ranna mix it up with the likes of Natsupoi and Saori. In the end, the Lady C push continued when she beat Yuna with a big boot in 9:04. Good stuff. [***]

Akira Kurogane vs. AZM vs. Fukigen Death vs. Waka Tsukiyama

We’ve got a rookie in Akira, a goofy character in Fukigen, one half of the New Blood Tag Champs in Waka, and one third of the Artist of Stardom Champs in AZM. Again, this was another match where there wasn’t a lot to write home about. It an energetic, fun little multi-woman match that didn’t mean much. Fukigen brought the character antics that the crowd always enjoys and I think Akira did a solid job of stepping up. She has only been wrestling for a few months yet she didn’t look out of place out there. Fukigen tried to steal it with a rollup but AZM kicked her in the head. She then used the Azumi Sushi to beat Akira in 6:14. Some lighthearted fun. [**½]

FWC and Momo Kohgo vs. HANAKO, Maika and Rian vs. Momo Watanabe, Ruaka and Thekla

The main focus here is to further the Maika/Thekla issue. STARS are just in there to get a place on the card and mix things up. For example, Maika and Thekla faced off at the bell only for Koguma to do her taunt stuff and break things up. The action here was solid again but I do wonder about the story. Why is Maika only just now having issues with Thekla joining HATE? There’s also not much intrigue, especially since Maika is so much higher on the card than Thekla. She’s been booked as a top star since Rossy left. Momo got a lot of shine here and it even took Maika and Hazuki working together to stop her momentum. She feels like someone who needs to win something soon. Hazuki too. Everyone came in for some offense down the stretch before HATE used weapons to take out FWC. Maika ended up pinning Thekla shortly after with the Michinoku Driver in 11:25. Again, just solid stuff here. STARDOM usually knows how to do consistently good wrestling. [***]

Azusa Inaba and Konami vs. Kiyoka Kotatsu and Syuri

A way to further the disappointing Konami/Syuri angle while including some new blood. Azusa Inaba is still very young but she has impressed greatly. Her and her sister. I will say, Kiyoka has been something of a shot in the arm, boosting these Konami/Syuri interactions. The heels worked together to wear down Kiyoka and did a number on her arm which she sold rather well. Syuri came in with the hot tag and lit up Azusa while not totally getting her hands on Konami. Having these four in this was a good choice because of their similar styles. There were a lot of kicks and strikes thrown in by everyone. In the end, Konami trapped Kiyoka in a vicious armbar to win at the 10:15 mark. That was very good, hard hitting, and better than I expected. Could the Syuri/Konami feud be saved? [***½]

Natsuko Tora and Saya Kamitani vs. Sayaka Kurara and Tam Nakano

This is the weird thing about watching these shows out of order. I already know that Tam loses to Saya on 3/3 (the match actually got made official in the post-match here) so it’s pretty awkward. Anyway, the story here was Sayaka. She had tension with Tam coming into this over some miscommunication and there was a chance she could’ve betrayed her mentor. Tam and Saya opened this with some intense brawling both in and out of the ring. Natsuko got the tag and pounded on Tam, really pitting the veteran as the face in peril. HATE also played into this, pulling Tam in the way of some Sayaka offense to add to their issues. Tam was unsure about tagging Sayaka in but she ultimately did. Sayaka continues to impress, has the crowd behind her, and feels like someone who could step into Tam’s main event spot. Sayaka did well until she tried to slam Natsuko. We got more Tam vs. Saya and some dives by the Cosmic Angels ladies. Sayaka accidentally dropkicked Tam again and was then beside herself, crying in the ring as Tam got beaten up. It didn’t totally work for me but it did for the crowd. Saya held Tam in place for Sayaka to Spear her and turn on her but Sayaka hit the champion instead, staying on the side of good. The pop was legit. That led to the Screwdriver beating Saya in 14:23. Obviously, that result led to Tam/Saya on 3/3. The match here was very good and added a lot to the ongoing story. [***¾]

Future of Stardom Championship: Miyu Amasaki [c] vs. Hina

Can Hina follow in the footsteps of her sisters and win this title? She feels a step or two behind her siblings but this is her biggest opportunity. The two shook hands before going right at it. That set the tone for a match that was back and forth throughout and played rather evenly. Miyu’s DDT based offense continues to make for unique matches. It doesn’t always means the match will be great but it does stand out. Similar vibes to The Great-O-Khan just not quite on his level. The fans were totally behind Hina, adding to her rallies and any bit of offense that she got in. I liked when Hina opted for submission stuff like the Boston Crab that she turned into the STF. On the flip side, I liked Miyu’s spinning back elbow. They kept countering each other late until Hina hit the Jackhammer but it wasn’t enough. So, she went up top and used a frog splash to win the title in 13:40. That was a good match even if it wasn’t anything special. I’m intrigued to see where Hina goes as champion. [***¼]

Goddesses of Stardom Championship: wing*gori [c] vs. Mei Seira and Suzu Suzuki

Oh, there’s potential for this to be special. They had a short banger in Osaka last year (****). The champs attacked quickly and the teams were slugging it out at the opening bell. Like their previous outing, this worked because every pairing ruled. Hanan kept up with Mei in some action that would’ve felt at home in a High Speed Title match while Suzu and Saya were throwing bigger bombs at each other. But when they’d switch off, the exchanges were all still engaging. Like, Suzu and Saya were just laying into each other like they were in a NEVER Title match. The Tequila Shot always looks cool. Due to the exhaustion of their battle, Hanan and Mei got stereo tags and kept up the pace. Also, Hanan sells desperation better than most as she looked like she was struggling big time in the STF. Great job. The final few minutes featured some great close calls, culminated by wing*gori using a back suplex/diving shoulder block combo followed by a Hanan back suplex to retain in 17:12. A step up from their already great match last year. STARDOM has the best in tag team wrestling these days. [****¼]

Wonder of Stardom Championship: Starlight Kid [c] vs. Rina

The pre-match video package focused a lot on Rina’s backstory, including her bond with the late Hana Kimura, who trained her. Rina also had her hair styled similarly to Hana and came out with Hana’s old light up sword. Though the heel, Rina had the hometown crowd advantage and used that to get the early upper hand. She still used underhanded tactics like a good villain. Starlight Kid’s arm was targeted and she responded by going after the leg, looking to set up the Black Tiger Leg Destroyer. They’d kind of been building to that on the preview tags in recent weeks. That was the crux of the match going forward. Rina hit the champion with everything she could, including her signature diving knees off the top. That led to “Rina” chants and I love that they didn’t make this a typical HATE match with a bunch of interference. Rina was out there to show that, despite being just 18, she was ready for this main event spot. Starlight Kid got going after that and came close a handful of times. Rina made a crucial mistake by attempting Hana’s Tiger Lilly move. The crowd wanted her to connect but she couldn’t and it may have cost her. Starlight Kid had survived a Gory Bomb and a Vertebreaker so Rina had to dig deep but that stopped her momentum. Starlight Kid hit a Tiger Driver and then took the kickout right into the Black Tiger Leg Destroyer to retain in 23:21. What an outstanding performance from Rina. She stepped up in a huge way. The pacing was fantastic, the action was nonstop, the crowd was hot, and you had the added emotion of Rina’s connection to Hana to boost it. Starlight Kid truly is one of the best in the world. [****½]

8.5

The final score: review Very Good

The 411

One of the better STARDOM shows in recent memory. Nothing bad on the card, some consistently good matches, and then it ends on a high note with some standout final bouts. Plus, they set up Saya/Tam and made Rina into a star.