Pantoja’s Stardom Triangle Derby I Review 1.28.23

Stardom Triangle Derby I

January 28^th, 2023 | Funabashi Arena in Funabashi, Chiba | Attendance: 563

Hina vs. Rina vs. Tomoka Inaba

We’ve got us a triple threat opener. I learned that the title Inaba has is from TAKA Michinoku’s promotion. For the most part, this was your typical opener like this from Stardom with the twist being that Rina and Hina are sisters. That allowed them to play with the dynamic of teaming up only to then turn on each other. Seeing Rina and Hina go at it was also a lot of fun. While Inaba did her part, I was mostly interested in their interactions and thankfully, they got the closing stretch which saw Hina secure the win using a pinning combination after 6:24. Just a fun little match. [**½]

Hanan, Mayu Iwatani and Momo Kohgo vs. Natsupoi, Tam Nakano and Waka Tsukiyama

Trios action that isn’t part of the Triangle Derby? Interesting. This could fit the mold but Waka isn’t meltear’s partner in the tourney. Like the previous match, with nothing on the line here, this just worked as a good house show bout. The teams were out there having fun, they did some enjoyable trios moves, and had plenty of fan interaction. Mayu was even shown talking to fans for a moment. That’s fine because of the low stakes and while meltear and Mayu were the clear stars here (including a blast of a Natsupoi/Mayu exchange), the focus was on the other girls which made sense. The finishing sequence was between Hanan and Waka, with Hanan even surviving when meltear got involved. She ultimately won with a sick high angle back suplex in 12:25. [***]

Hazuki, Koguma and Saya Iida [2] vs. Giulia, Mai Sakurai and Thekla [2]

Time for the tournament! One thing I’m liking from the tourney is that the spotlight is often on the girls who aren’t major stars. For example, Iida and Thekla were the focal point here and they made me laugh early on with their push-up contest. I don’t think either team has a shot at really winning it all so some lighthearted antics here are fine. Thekla also did her best Bray Wyatt crab walk. The other girls all did their thing too but you got the sense this was the Thekla and Iida show, which was fine with me. Giulia really only had a short stint in there but as always, was great to see. Iida and Thekla had another fun battle down the stretch with Thekla scoring the victory after hitting the Toxic Spider Death Drop in 12:37. Quality tournament stuff with a different focus than I expected in a good way. [***¼]

Mariah May, Mina Shirakawa and Xia Brookside [4] vs. Momo Watanabe, Natsuko Tora and Saki Kashima [6]

CLUB VENUS THEME TIME! Brookside opened against Watanabe and quickly learned how vicious her bigger opponent could be. She did her best to hold her own but was obviously outmatched and the same was the case when she battled Tora. Mina had to hit the ring and make something of a save for her team. She was able to trade kicks with her opponents in a way that May and Xia couldn’t. The numbers game got to her though and Mariah came in with a hot tag, yelling and throwing chops. It’s not the best of hot tags but it worked. She also did her double team rebound suplex spot with Xia that they’ve been perfecting. The closing stretch was on more of a level playing field and Mariah May scored the win with her Tombstone in 11:30. I sound like a broken record but yes, this was another good match in this tournament. [***¼]

Ami Sourei, MIRAI and Syuri [5] vs. Haruka Umesaki, Ruaka and Starlight Kid [4]

A win for the God’s Eye trio would give them 7 and put them in second place. Umesaki and Sourei threw some big shots in the early stages and I liked it. Umesaki threw in some fun comedy too, which is what makes her pretty enjoyable. What made this match really good was getting to see interactions like Starlight Kid and Syuri. They’re two of my favorites in the company. While that was the high point, every combination of wrestlers was pretty entertaining here with everyone giving their all. I don’t have too many specific notes of this match as there was simply just a lot of good stuff in here. MIRAI secured the win for her trio and moved them higher in the standings with a single leg crab style submission in 12:06. [***½]

Himeka, Lady C and Maika [4] vs. Nanae Takahashi, Yuna Mizumori and Yuu [6]

There’s major potential here. The 7UPP team has been really good while Lady C is an underrated MVP of this tournament. I’m loving our Goddesses of Stardom Champions because they’re just tough women who know how to use their size to their advantage. Like, Himeka just gets totally run over by Yuu and it’s great. Lady C worked over Mizumori to turn the tide a little bit. Yuu gives me Samoa Joe vibes with how she’ll just throw herself into a senton at the most random of times. Lady C battled her in a standout moment of this match but Yuu was kind of too much for her. That was the case in the end as Yuu choked Lady C out at the 11:56 mark. That was good though a step down from the last two matches. [***]

AZM, Saya Kamitani and Utami Hayashishita [5] vs. Hiragi Kurumi, Risa Sera and Suzu Suzuki [8]

In terms of tourney matches, this is pretty big. The Prominence team leads in points and Suzuki is about to get a World Title shot, while the Queen’s Quest team is basically an All-Star trio. AZM and Suzuki opened this was a great exchange. I keep saying it but AZM is absurdly good for her age. Some quick tags put AZM in trouble for a while before Hayashishita became legal and got things going alongside Kamitani. In fact, Kamitani got the longest sustained run and that eventually led to her taking offense from all three opponents. She got saved from a loss and four of the ladies fought outside, leaving Kamitani with Kurumi. She countered her into a pinning combination to take this in 13:18. That was a good main event but lacked something to take it to the next level. [***¼]

7.0

The final score: review Good

The 411

This seems to be where this tournament lives. It’s all very good but nothing has been great and nothing has cracked ****. I’m really hoping something does soon but even if it doesn’t, I’m enjoying this.