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STARDOM GLORY STARS
MAY 4, 2019
TOKYO, JAPAN AT SHIN-KIBA 1ST RING
AIRED ON STARDOM WORLD
REPORT BY HARLEY R. PAGEOT, PWTORCH CONTRIBUTOR
Queen’s Quest (Hina, Leo Onozaki, Bea Priestley, Utami Hayashishita, & Momo Watanabe) were introduced one at a time. Watanabe said they thought of everything from start to finish today. They ran down the card. Not listed on their paper was something called a blind sword fight tournament.
Arisa Hoshiki & Tam Nakano entered together followed by Andras Miyago & Natsu Sumire and Jungle Kyona & Rina. It was a single elimination tournament with the wrestlers wearing eye masks to blindfold them and wielding inflatable swords. Before each match, the two contestants would run the ropes for ten seconds. The number of laps they made would determine how many swings they were allowed with their sword. First person to hit their opponent won or the first person to run out of swings lost. The winner earned a cash prize.
(1a) HINA vs. RINA – BLIND SWORD FIGHT TOURNAMENT OPENING ROUND
Both missed on their first swings before bumping into each other and using the rest of their swings.
WINNER: Rina in 0:14.
(1b) ARTIST OF STARDOM CHAMPION TAM NAKANO vs. ANDRAS MIYAGI – BLIND SWORD FIGHT TOURNAMENT OPENING ROUND
Miyagi crawled toward Nakano while swinging. She connected with Nakano’s leg but there was debate as to whether she used all her swings first. A slow-motion instant replay clarified that she did.
WINNER: Tam Nakano in 0:22.
(1c) JUNGLE KYONA vs. NATSU SUMIRE – BLIND SWORD FIGHT TOURNAMENT OPENING ROUND
Sumire tripped Kyona as she ran the ropes. As a result Kyona was only awarded two strikes. Kyona was blindfolded and holding her sword by the blade. She nailed Sumire with a one strike kill to the shoulder.
WINNER: Jungle Kyona in 0:15.
(1d) WONDER OF STARDOM & GODDESS OF STARDOM CHAMPION MOMO WATANABE vs. ARISA HOSHIKI – BLIND SWORD FIGHT TOURNAMENT OPENING ROUND
Both missed on their first two strikes as they inched closer to each other. Hoshiki swung and sliced open Watanabe’s guts on her third swing.
WINNER: Arisa Hoshiki in 0:30.
(1e) ARTIST OF STARDOM CHAMPION TAM NAKANO vs. RINA – BLIND SWORD FIGHT TOURNAMENT SEMI-FINAL
Nakano crouched, Rina swung and missed, and Nakano took out her legs.
WINNER: Tam Nakano in 0:16.
(1f) JUNGLE KYONA vs. ARISA HOSHIKI – BLIND SWORD FIGHT TOURNAMENT SEMI-FINAL
Hoshiki swung as Kyona twirled. She caught the back of Kyona’s hair but no serious damage. Hoshiki exhausted the rest of her swings.
WINNER: Jungle Kyona in 0:23.
(1g) JUNGLE KYONA vs. ARTIST OF STARDOM CHAMPION TAM NAKANO – BLIND SWORD FIGHT TOURNAMENT FINAL
Kyona stomped to draw Nakano’s attention to the northwest corner of the ring before quickly moving down to the south. Nakano headed toward the source of the noise in a crouching position. Kyona caught her in the back of the head.
WINNER: Jungle Kyona in 0:19.
-Hayashishita presented her with an envelope containing the cash prize.
(Pageot’s Perspective: This was weird and goofy and funny. I’ve been a wrestling fan my entire life and in 30+ years I’ll admit I’ve never seen something like this on a wrestling show.)
Rina said regardless of her sister’s seniority she would win. Hanan said her kid sister has been doing well since the draft but she was going to put a stop to her momentum.
(2) HANAN vs. RINA
Rina stomped on her sister’s foot. Hana took her down with a side headlock. They traded roll-ups. Rina with an armbar but Hanan made it to the rope break. Rina with Kimura’s octopus stretch. Another rope break. Hanan with a hip toss. Back and forth with forearms. STO from Rina. STO from Hanan. Another octopus stretch from Rina. Jackknife pin got her two and a half. Rolling armbar from Hanan for the tap out.
WINNER: Hanan in 4:51.
(Pageot’s Perspective: My girlfriend says both sisters have been looking better in the ring since the draft. I’m inclined to agree. There’s more of a confidence for sure.)
Hina said she’d do her best for AZM. (Kimura was originally supposed to face AZM before AZM got injured with Hina joining her sisters in a three-way in the previous match.)
(3) HANA KIMURA vs. HINA
Running dropkicks from Hina but Kimura quickly took over. Hina mounted a comeback with a body slam at 3:30 and hit some forearms but Kimura put her in a sleeperhold. Rope break. Face wash from Kimura. Octopus stretch ended things.
WINNER: Hana Kimura in 6:13.
(Pageot’s Perspective: Queen’s Quest is in a weird state right now. Hayashishita and AZM are injured, Viper’s off in NXT UK, and Chardonnay hasn’t been seen in 2019. That leaves just four active members. Watanabe and Priestley have been booked strong but Hina and Onozaki are just enhancement talent. It’s given Hina a chance to be put in some bigger matches but she’s still guaranteed to lose any given time.)
Onozaki said Iida was a junior to her in JAN but she was going to use her head to get the win. Iida said she’d use all her strength to get the win. (Neither wrestler had ever won a singles match in Stardom before.)
(4) LEO ONOZAKI vs. SAYA IIDA
The rookie Onozaki was aggressive against the even rookier Iida. Iida mounted and unloaded with forearms. Two running cutters from Onozaki but Iida caught her with the Iidabashi. It was good!
WINNER: Saya Iida in 3:00.
-Onozaki was pissed. She kicked Iida as Iida celebrated, teased leaving, then came back and kicked her again.
(Pageot’s Perspective: Saya Iida wins her first singles match! Like Hanan vs. Ruaka on the Stars show yesterday the concept of this match seemed to be that QQ wanted to give Onozaki her first win by booking her in a match against a winless competitor that she could actually beat. Unfortunately it didn’t work out as planned. Iida picks up her first singles win less than four months after debuting whereas Onozaki has been competing in Stardom since March of last year with no success as of yet.)
TCS celebrated Kyona’s sword fight victory. Kimura suggested they all go out for Korean barbecue with her prize money. Sumire made Tora speak for Oedo Tai. She said there were a lot of people in the match but they’d try their best. Stars debated who they’d each fight. Kid wanted to focus on Hazuki ahead of their high speed title match tomorrow.
(5) STARS (Artist Of Stardom Champion Tam Nakano, Artist Of Stardom Champion Saki Kashima, Arisa Hoshiki, & Starlight Kid) vs. OEDO TAI (High Speed Champion Hazuki, Natsu Sumire, Andras Miyagi, & Natsuko Tora) vs. TOKYO CYBER SQUAD (Jungle Kyona, Konami, Rebel Kel, & Ruaka)
Kel and Sumire volunteered to start for their teams. Stars insisted Kashima start since Sumire was in the ring. She reluctantly agreed. Kel and Sumire agreed to work together. Kashima pulled Kel aside and suggested they work together instead. Kel stepped aside and let them battle, before clotheslining both of them and tagging in Konami. Kyona and Tora brawled again before Hoshiki inserted herself. Hoshiki and Hazuki fought for a while. Ruaka, Hazuki, and Kid mixed it up. Ruaka took a triple superkick from Stars. Kid hit her twisting splash but Oedo Tai broke up the pin. Oedo train to Kid and she took their signature moves in succession. Ruaka took out Hazuki with a boot. Kid folded up Ruaka for the pin.
WINNERS: Stars in 7:17.
(Pageot’s Perspective: Just a lot of action. Ruaka being involved with Kid and Hazuki as much as she was may be noteworthy. It’s unclear how long AZM will be out of action so there’s a chance for someone else to be inserted into the high speed division.)
Watanabe said it’s a great honor to wrestle Storm. She never competes outside of Stardom so it’s nice to have this match here. If she can beat Storm, it will be proof that she’s ready for the red belt. Her goal is to face the winner of tonight’s main event. Storm said she’s feeling a bit rough after yesterday’s match with Nakano but it’s always Toni time.
(6) WONDER OF STARDOM & GODDESS OF STARDOM CHAMPION MOMO WATANABE vs. NXT UK WOMEN’S CHAMPION TONI STORM – NON-TITLE MATCH
Slow mat wrestling to start. Storm hit a German suplex that left both women down at 8:00. Running dropkicks from Watanabe to Storm in the corner. Double knees from the top rope for a two-count. Peach Sunrise but Storm kicked out. Roundhouse kick connected and Storm was dead weight. Headbutt to Watanabe. Strong Zero piledriver but Watanabe kicked out. Storm looked for a second on the apron but Watanabe fought out. Running knees off the apron to Storm standing at ringside. Watanabe rolled Storm into the ring at the referee’s count of 9. Rear naked choke. Watanabe stood her up for another Peach Sunrise. Storm kicked out again.
DECISION: Time limit draw in 15:00.
(Pageot’s Perspective: Obviously Storm isn’t losing in Stardom as long as she’s NXT UK champion. At least they didn’t have her go over Watanabe here. The match was good but I can’t say it holds up to Watanabe’s other singles matches this year. I haven’t seen much of Storm’s work outside the Mae Young Classic but I’ve yet to see a match from her that I really loved.)
-Kagetsu said this was her 9th defense of the red belt. No one has matched her confidence and she was going to show that here. Priestley didn’t get a pre-match promo.
(7) KAGETSU vs. BEA PRIESTLEY – WORLD OF STARDOM CHAMPIONSHIP
Feeling out process to start. Priestley took Kagetsu to the floor with a dropkick that knocked her off the apron. Priestley was aggressive with elbow strikes and trash talking. She was also dressed in all black with Kagetsu in all white, really making the Brit come across as the heel here. Priestley went up top but Kagetsu hit a springboard dropkick that sent her to ringside and followed with a suicide dive. A second sent them both into the front row of fans. Kagetsu hit a third on the third side of the ring. Top rope missile dropkick in the ring and a suplex for the first pin of the match. Priestley with a front choke. Kagetsu countered into an arm submission. Rope break. Springboard stomp onto Priestley’s right arm. Priestley blocked a second springboard, though, and hit a saito suplex. Kagetsu with a firewoman’s carry slam. Both women were down. They got to their knees at the referee’s nine count.
They traded strikes. Priestley with a jumping knee strike. Kagetsu rolled to the floor. Priestley with a cannonball off the top rope onto all of Oedo Tai. Bridging back suplex for a two-count in the ring. Curb stomp (sort of). Kagetsu kicked out. Abdominal stretch. Rope break. Priestley stomped away at the back of Kagetsu’s head. The referee pulled her off and checked on the champion. Kagetsu slipped out of an electric chair and shoved Priestley toward the ref. As he covered up, she misted Priestley. Oedo Coaster connected but Priestley kicked out. Kagetsu went back up top but Priestley stunned her with an enziguiri. She hit a double stomp to Kagetsu’s back with the champ seated on the top turnbuckle and pulled her off into a Japanese Ocean Cyclone Suplex.
WINNER: Bea Priestley in 16:44 to capture the red belt.
-Priestley thanked Kagetsu. She said a lot of people thought she was going to AEW but she’s actually moving to Japan in June. She declared herself the top gaijin and said she’ll be full-time with Stardom. She called the rest of Queen’s Quest into the ring and asked Watanabe to close the show. Watanabe congratulated her but said she still wants the red belt one day too. Utami Hayashishita presented Priestley with the Stardom tracksuit that only official full-time roster members get. QQ closed out the show.
-Backstage Priestley cut a full heel promo saying that nobody thought she could beat Kagetsu. She didn’t do it for any of the fans at home; she did it for herself. She owns Stardom. This is the era of Queen’s Quest.
(Pageot’s Perspective: Very good match, very shocking result. In January word came out that Priestley had turned down an NXT contract in favor of going to AEW and her AEW signing was announced on their YouTube series in February. Is she going to balance the two while living in Japan and wrestling full-time for Stardom or has she chosen to turn down AEW? Priestley becomes the tenth Wonder Of Stardom Champion and only the third gaijin to hold the title. Of the previous two, Alpha Female only held the title for 43 days and Toni Storm was never supposed to win the belt in the first place. She was only awarded it due to referee stoppage when Mayu Iwatani dislocated her elbow mid-match. The high speed title and the trios titles are now the only championships preventing Queen’s Quest from holding all the gold. Priestley’s attitude in the main event and her backstage promo seem to set her up as the arrogant foreigner as we anxiously wait for somebody to topple her off her pedestal. I suspect we’ll have to wait until the 5Star Grand Prix is over to find out what that will be.)
It was a great match, but I’m not fond of Bea’s title win at all because it had almost no build. Surprises are one thing, but I prefer semi-predictable booking over title wins that seem to come out of nowhere. Hopefully she has a solid reign regardless.
As an aside, there’s no saying Toni Storm wouldn’t have won the red belt even had Mayu not gotten hurt in that match. Storm had been essentially mega-pushed and won both the Cinderella Tournament and 5 Star GP in the same year, which is unprecedented.
Actually forweg, it was confirmed Mayu was supposed to win the match. Storm may or may not have won the red belt at some point, but she most certainly was NOT meant to win it then.