6/16 STARDOM SHINING DESTINY report: Arisa Hoshiki vs. Tam Nakano for the white belt in a match of the year candidate, tag and trios titles on the line

STARDOM GLORY STARS
JUNE 16, 2019
TOKYO, JAPAN AT KORAKUEN HALL
AIRED ON STARDOM WORLD
REPORT BY HARLEY R. PAGEOT, PWTORCH CONTRIBUTOR

Hina pointed out that she was taking on Onozaki, even though they’re stable mates in Queen’s Quest. Onozaki said that if she won here it would be her first singles victory ever.

(1) LEO ONOZAKI vs. HINA

Hina got the armbar at 3:00 but Onozaki made the rope break. Running cutter from Onozaki. Inside cradle from Hina. They each side-stepped dropkicks. Onozaki grabbed Hina for a pinning combination.

WINNER: Leo Onozaki in 4:07.

(Pageot’s Perspective: It took 15 months and being booked against a 12 year-old but the 25 year-old Onozaki finally picked up her first win.)

-Ruaka said she was aiming for Iida, because she beat her last time. This is the first time she’d teamed with Tyler and Death. Kashima said Lucas was back in Stardom! She’s pretty and sparkly and just fits in with Stars so they were officially inducting her. “Let’s win together! She’s so cute!”

(Pageot’s Perspective: Lucas is a British wrestler and the current Phoenix Of Rise Champion and RevPro British Women’s Champion. She’s done two previous tours of Stardom, from February to March 2017 and from May to June 2018.)

(2) STARS (Saki Kashima, Saya Iida, & Zoe Lucas) vs. TOKYO CYBER SQUAD (Death Yama-san, Ruaka, & Bobbi Tyler)

Stars triple-teamed Death to start. TCS came back quickly and worked over Iida. The Brits face off at the four-minute mark and both went down. Tags to Iida and Death. Iidabashi to Death but Lucas broke it up?? Iida was just as confused and took a roundhouse kick from Lucas. Death rolled up Lucas off the betrayal.

WINNERS: Tokyo Cyber Squad in 6:03.

-Lucas posed with TCS while she and the other three mocked Iida and Kashima. A serious Jungle Kyona and Konami marched down to the ring. Hana Kimura was close behind. Kimura hugged Lucas and said they’re actually good friends. No one knew that they’d kept in touch. She would never join f’n Stars. From here on out she’s TCS.

(Pageot’s Perspective: I dig it. I didn’t see the heel turn coming and it sets up some more personal stories for Lucas against Kashima and Iida throughout the rest of her tour. I just want Kyona out of TCS now. Everyone else in the group is perfectly fine cast in the role of the Hot Topic brat who thinks she’s badass because she gives people the middle finger and makes fun of everybody else. But then you have the noble Kyona who believes in fighting fairly against all odds and never giving up, no matter what. She just doesn’t fit.)

-Kid said it felt like three years since she and Iwatani teamed as a duo. She wanted to settle the score with AZM and Iwatani said she’d handle Priestley. AZM said they’re her favorite opponents.

(3) QUEEN’S QUEST (World Of Stardom Champion Bea Priestley & AZM) vs. STARS (Mayu Iwatani & Starlight Kid)

Kid and AZM started. Stereo standing moonsaults from Stars. Iwatani and Priestley battled. Kid ducked and Priestley took a kick to the head from AZM. It didn’t matter, though. Priestley pulled Kid into position for a top rope double-stomp from AZM. Kid countered Queen’s Landing into a victory roll but Priestley kicked out. She failed to get Kid up on the second try. Connected on the third.

WINNERS: Queen’s Quest in 8:44.

(Pageot’s Perspective: Nothing special. How long until they feed Iwatani to Priestley in the continued attempt to get her over?)

-Kagetsu said it was Miyagi’s birthday and they’d take the titles for her present. Kyona said she could only think about tearing away Miyagi’s stupid face. Kimura said she wanted to see Konami’s triangle lancer.

The entire TCS squad came out to accompany their leaders. Konami and Kyona had bright-colored extensions in their hair while Miyagi had new purple fur on her gear and Sumire added some mesh to the side of hers.

(4) TOKYO CYBER SQUAD (Hana Kimura, Jungle Kyona, & Konami) vs. OEDO TAI (Kagetsu, Andras Miyagi, & Natsu Sumire) – ARTIST OF STARDOM CHAMPIONSHIP

The two teams brawled to the floor immediately and Kagetsu chucked Kimura into the crowd. Kyona and Miyagi oiled up their hands before battling in a test of strength. Sumire whipped Kyona behind the referee’s back. Crotch assault to Kyona. TCS came back and worked over Miyagi. It was then Kimura’s turn to take the prolonged selling. Konami looked for the triangle lancer on Sumire but Kagestu and Miyagi broke it up. Sumire with the northern lights suplex to Konami but she kicked out. Kimura with the blind tag as Konami ran the ropes. Kimura shoved the referee out of the ring and Kagetsu used the opportunity to hit her twice with the placard. Chokeslam. Death valley driver. Konami with a kick and Kyona powerbombed Kagetsu off the top rope. The heels took out the ravers and Kagetsu and Sumire hit stereo suicide dives. Sumire pulled Kimura into position. Oedo Coaster connected but Kimura kicked out. Big boot from Kimura. Octopus. Kagetsu fought it but Kimura twisted her down to the mat and there was nowhere to go. Kagetsu was forced to submit.

WINNERS: Tokyo Cyber Squad in 17:56 to retain the trios titles.

-Kimura declared that they’ve purged themselves of Oedo Tai. She implied there were no more challengers because they’re too strong.

Saki Kashima showed up. Kimura said she’s not talking to her anymore. Kashima said they’re the former champions and next week they’re in her hometown. She wants their titles back. Like zombies, they’ll keep coming back until they get their titles back. Kimura said she’s not worried because Kashima’s an easy mess to clean up.

(Pageot’s Perspective: Good match with kind of a shocking finish. Kagetsu rarely loses, let alone by submission. The post-match declaration seems to imply that the TCS-Oedo Tai feud is finished for now and we’re pivoting back to TCS-Stars instead. I guess they’re saving a QQ rivalry for the fall. Kimura’s character works better against Stars now anyway as her character is essentially a complete heel.)

Hazuki said they want to win and make the tag titles both the best belts and the worst belts. Watanabe said their opponents claim they want to take away everything from her and make her cry but they’ll definitely keep the belts.

(5) QUEEN’S QUEST (SWA World Champion & Future Of Stardom Champion Utami Hayashishita & Momo Watanabe) vs. OEDO TAI (High Speed Champion Hazuki & Natsuko Tora) – GODDESS OF STARDOM CHAMPIONSHIP

Hayashishita and Tora started. Slow moving strength-based action resulted in a stalemate. Tag to Hazuki and Watanabe. Tora got a kick in while Watanabe ran the ropes and Oedo Tai began to isolate her. Hayashishita got the tag at 5:45. Miyagi distracted the referee but Hayashishita avoided a double-team and took out both opponents. Watanabe wound up being worked over again by the heels. Running knees connected on Hazuki but Miyagi again distracted the ref from counting the pin at 10:00.

Release German suplex from Watanabe but Hazuki landed on all fours. Tora tagged in and speared Watanabe three times. Kick out. Torture rack slam from Hayashishita. Double-teaming from Oedo Tai and a top rope frog-splash from Tora to Watanabe. Hazuki with a springboard dropkick to both opponents. Body slam from Tora to Watanabe and a second top rope splash. And a third. And a fourth. Watanabe rolled the shoulder up. F-Crash but Watanabe kicked out again. Top rope leg drop. Hayashishita broke up the pin on what should have been the referee’s four-count. Peach Sunrise to Tora but Hazuki broke up the pin. Hayashishita took her out and a second from Watanabe to Tora ended it.

WINNERS: Queen’s Quest in 17:16 to retain the tag titles.

-Hana Kimura and Bobbi Tyler suddenly appeared on the apron. They addressed the champions as Plain Girl and Injured Girl and challenged them for the tag titles. Kyona and Konami rushed out and seemed confused, clearly left out of the loop by Kimura. She defended her decision. “Bobbi is my best friend. It’s easy to work with gaijin.” Kyona said she understood but had a better idea. Let Kimura & Tyler challenge for the titles. Whoever wins will have a date with Kyona & Konami on July 15. Watanabe said whatever, they accept. She yelled at them to get out.

(Pageot’s Perspective: Yikes. Oedo Tai looked pathetic. Watanabe was worked over consistently for sixteen minutes, then took four top rope splashes in a row and Tora’s finishing move and still kicked out. Hayashishita was barely in the match but, during the times that she was, she easily outsmarted Miyagi and disposed of both Tora and Hazuki at the same time. Luckily the post-match made up for it.

Kimura & Tyler challenging fits their characters and would have been fine as a stand-alone. But Kimura’s trios partners not being told and feeling ignored? Are there cracks forming in TCS already? Kyona is a leader, not somebody else’s second-in-command. It’s clear that she’s not comfortable with Kimura’s pettiness and dirty tactics and I’m sure it pains her to see how Ruaka and Rina have fallen under the influence of their “big sister.” I don’t know how long Kyona will be able to tolerate the situation without doing something about it. Worse, I suspect the second Kyona gets a little bit more of the spotlight or booked in a bigger match than Kimura Kimura’s old jealousy will arise. Don’t forget what happened between Kimura and her one-time besties in Oedo Tai. That was only last September. A leopard doesn’t change her spots.)

Nakano said Hoshiki returned about six months ago. Sometimes it’s hard to communicate your feelings… Hoshiki said her goal was to defend her title and find a way to communicate with Nakano through the match since they seem unable to communicate with each other through words.

(6) ARISA HOSHIKI vs. TAM NAKANO – WONDER OF STARDOM CHAMPIONSHIP

The bell rang but they just stared at each other for a minute before slowly advancing. Lock-ups were attempted but quickly abandoned. They both swung at each other with kicks while the other did their best to dodge. Hoshiki connected twice and they locked up. Take down and they struggled on the mat. With their respective martial arts backgrounds this is basically an MMA fight at this point. Hoshiki managed an ankle lock but Nakano made it to the rope break. Nakano with a dragon sleeper while seated on the top turnbuckle. She kicked Hoshiki to the floor and followed with a high crossbody off the top. Kicks to Hoshiki’s chest with the champ seated in the corner. Big body slam and an Indian deathlock from Nakano. Rope break. Nakano stomped away at Hoshiki. Hoshiki connected with a kick that put down Nakano. Springboard rolling double knees. Nakano went back to the leg with an ankle lock of her own. Hoshiki made another rope break at 10:00.

Running knee to the side of Hoshiki’s head in the ropes. Back body drop. Nakano went up top but Hoshiki met her on the ropes. They traded forearms on the second rope. A kick from Hoshiki knocked Nakano onto the apron. She charged for a double knees but Nakano managed to duck the brunt of the blow and nailed a German suplex to Hoshiki on the apron. A grinning Nakano waited for Hoshiki to return. They traded blows. Hoshiki connected with a jumping kick. Over the shoulder slam from Hoshiki. Nakano avoided a springboard splash from the second rope at 15:00.

Nakano off the top rope with a knee to the head. Two roundhouse kicks hit a staggering Hoshiki in the side of the head. A series of kicks from Hoshiki found their mark. She landed her second rope twisting splash for a near-fall. Nakano with a reverse roundhouse kick and running double knees! Hoshiki grabbed the bottom rope to prevent the three-count. Bridging German suplex but Hoshiki kicked out. She wanted a second but Hoshiki dropped her waist to fight it. Nakano hung on and Hoshiki ran them both into the ropes to force the break. Hoshiki caught a charging Nakano with a high knee. Two more kicks connected and she crawled for the cover. Nakano kicked out! Both women were dead on the mat as the referee began to count them out. They weren’t able to get to their feet but they showed enough signs of life that he called off his count. They traded blows from their knees at 20:00.

Both women staggered to their feet. Hoshiki unloaded with forearm after forearm after forearm to the back of Nakano’s head. I lost count after the first dozen. Nakano knocked Hoshiki back to the mat with an enziguiri and hit her with a right kick, left kick, right kick, left kick… back and forth to the head. Nakano ran the ropes and Hoshiki bounced up with a high knee. She charged with a fierce knee strike that plowed straight through Nakano. Nakano stumbled to her feet in a daze and Hoshiki struck with her Brazilian kick. The end.

WINNER: Arisa Hoshiki in 21:41 to retain the white belt.

-Nakano offered a handshake and Hoshiki accepted. Hoshiki proclaimed that she made her first defense. When she won the title there were many people she wanted to defend against but the first opportunity had to go to Nakano. Nakano told her she still wants to take it from her and not to lose the title to anyone else. If Nakano comes again, she’ll defend again. She thinks she understands Nakano better after this match. Now she’s ready to name her next challenger. She called out Hazuki.

Hazuki told her not to throw her name around like she’s somebody. Name the time and place. Hoshiki pitched next month in Osaka.

(Pageot’s Perspective: Wow. All the hype on social media ahead of this one did not take away at all. This was tremendous. I’ve found Hoshiki’s matches a little dull in the past because her offense is so centered around her kicks but, paired up against a fellow martial artist like herself, it works perfectly. They’ve also had Nakano’s dislike of Hoshiki, and her fear that Hoshiki would steal her best friend Iwatani away from her, simmering in the background for so long that all of the strikes and animosity felt real. I would not be surprised at all if these two end up in the same block in the 5Star Grand Prix for a rematch.)