FanPost

STARDOM Recap & Reactions: Shinkiba 11/24/19

The latest Stardom event to be fully uploaded to Stardom World took place in Shinkiba on November 24th, here’s how it went down:

Goddesses of Stardom Championship match: Jungle Kyona & Konami def. Arisa Hoshiki & Tam Nakano – In what was one of the year’s best matches, in my book, the reigning champions of Tokyo Cyber Squad defeated their challengers, this year’s Goddess Tag League winners, Dream Shine. If you’re the type of Stardom viewer that doesn’t have the time to watch every match, every week, this is one you won’t want to miss. All 4 women brought their A-game, and this was the best tag match in Stardom since Konami and Jungle originally won the titles. Dream Shine seemed to be closing in on claiming the titles at one point, as Tam executed the deadly Tiger Suplex on Konami, but Kyona was just able to break up the pin attempt. After disposing of Arisa to the outside, she rocked Tam with her signature forearm shiver, allowing Konami an opening to lock in the Triangle Lancer for a victory by submission.

The post-match segment would include Konami continuing her psychological warfare offensive on Arisa in preparation for their White Belt match at Year End Climax next month, including licking the title to Arisa’s shock and disgust. I’m looking forward to that one – Arisa has shown all year that a good opponent plus any type of build will result in a high end match when she’s involved.

Hana then cuts my favorite promo of the year – ranting about how she’s tired of being placed 3 way matches and 6-woman tag matches, and claiming that Stardom is wasting her talents. She even asks Rossy if he’s listening (calling him "Grandpa", getting a laugh out of him), and saying she may be in love with someone with whom she wants a match…but doesn’t reveal who it is. More to come on that.

Oedo Tai (Kagetsu, Hazuki, & Natsu Sumire) def. Stars (Mayu Iwatani, Saki Kashima, & Riho) – A lot of different dynamics were in play in this trios match – from Saki’s continued dislike for Natsu after their confrontations during the 5 Star, to Natsu’s fascination with Riho making the latter visibly uncomfortable, to the mind games between Mayu and her #1 contender, Kagetsu. Natsu’s repeated attempts to execute her Bronco Buster on Riho were genuinely hilarious stuff – and even resulted in the ultimate babyfaces of Stars getting boos from the crowd for foiling those attempts at one point. Though her role in the match was brief, Hazuki would score the win for Oedo Tai with the brainbuster on Saki.

This finish would feel fitting shortly thereafter, as Hazuki took the mic to announce her retirement after next month’s Year End Climax. This is a huge loss for Stardom, and also for wrestling in general; Hazuki is one of the great young talents whose ceiling was sky high, already being among the best high-flyers on the planet at just 22 years old. Whether there is a health concern, burnout in play, or she just has better opportunities outside of wrestling, all the best to Hazuki in whatever is next for her.

The rest

AZM & Leo Onozaki def. Hina & Itsuki Hoshino – Itsuki Hoshino’s 2nd career match turned out better than it had any right to be, as AZM picked up the win for her team with a double stomp for the three count on Hina; she also further established herself as no longer being a junior needing to be led in the ring, but a veteran who does the leading – at just 17 years old. Sky’s the limit for Kagetsu’s favorite wrestler.

Bea Priestley def. Starlight Kid, Andras Miyagi – There was no missing the different feel surrounding Andras Miyagi coming off her betrayal of Oedo Tai in the previous day’s Artists of Stardom Championship match, including refusing to make any pre-match comments. The match itself was an enjoyable little sprint, with Bea getting the pin on Andras off a leg-hook Saito suplex.

Oedo Tai (Jamie Hayter, Natsuko Tora, & Session Moth Martina) def. Tokyo Cyber Squad (Hana Kimura, Zoe Lucas, & Rina) – An exciting opportunity for Rina to be in a match like this, and she made the most of it. Though she took the loss, getting pinned by Natsuko Tora, she carried the bulk of the action for TCS and was the focal point of the match. Always love to see her in her role as Mini-Hana. The match was pretty fun, too.

Momo Watanabe & Utami Hayashishita def. Saya Iida & Saya Kamitani – About as big a mismatch as you can get here, but all involved did the best they could to give the impression SayaSaya had a chance. Ultimately, Utami’s power game was the deciding factor, as she pinned the smaller Saya off a monstrous deadlift German suplex into a bridging pin.

Grade: A-

This was a great show, top to bottom. It felt like most of the matches over-delivered, and that’s a testament to what these talents can do when they’re at their best. There was also some solid story building towards Year End Climax, and I’m more hyped for each of the known matches than I was before I watched – and at this time of year, that is the prime directive.

Tweet of the Day: Hana Kimura let Bushiroad founder and president Takaaki Kidani know who's the boss around here at today's press conference.



The FanPosts are solely the subjective opinions of Cageside Seats readers and do not necessarily reflect the views of Cageside Seats editors or staff.