SPOTLIGHTED PODCAST ALERT (YOUR ARTICLE BEGINS A FEW INCHES DOWN)...
STARDOM GODDESSES OF STARDOM
NOVEMBER 4, 2019
TOKYO, JAPAN AT KORAKUEN HALL
AIRED ON STARDOM WORLD
REPORT BY HARLEY R. PAGEOT, PWTORCH CONTRIBUTOR
Hina said she was on a little losing streak (little??) so she wanted to be smart and win. Rina planned to stick and move. Lucas suddenly realized how young they both are and had an existential crisis about how old she is by comparison.
(1) ZOE LUCAS vs. RINA vs. HINA
The twins double-teamed Lucas to start but eventually turned on each other. Lucas hit a running facebuster to Rina, then a Lucas Landslide to Hina onto Rina and pinned them both.
WINNER: Zoe Lucas in 3:43.
-Sumire & Martina were still hung over and drinking on the floor backstage. Kimura & Tyler played with a Toy Story alien toy. Kashima said she and Nakano are the Stardom Dream Zombie Tag. They wanted to win and give Stars momentum ahead of Hoshiki and Iwatani competing in the main matches later on.
(2) DREAM ZOMBIE (Saki Kashima & Tam Nakano) vs. TOKYO CYBER SQUAD (Hana Kimura & Bobbi Tyler) vs. THE DRUNK QUEENS (Artist Of Stardom Champion Natsu Sumire & Session Moth Martina)
Sumire, Kashima, and Kimura started. In the end Martina tapped to Kimura’s octopus.
WINNERS: Tokyo Cyber Squad in 8:48.
-Kagetsu & Miyagi didn’t say anything. The Sayas said they’re both rookies but they’ve got heart. Kamitani teased that she had a new move in her arsenal she was waiting to deploy. The possibilities are endless.
(3) ARTIST OF STARDOM CHAMPIONS OEDO TAI (Kagetsu & Andras Miyagi) vs. 3838 TAG (Saya Iida & Saya Kamitani) – BLUE GODDESSES BLOCK
Oedo Tai attacked the rookies during their entrance to boos. The ref called for the bell. Immediately to ringside and they tossed the young ones into the audience chairs. Body slam to Kamitani at ringside. Kagetsu stacked some chairs on her and hit a double-stomp off the apron. The rookies came back briefly with a flurry of offense but were quickly put back down. Kagetsu tried to hit Kamitani with the Oedo Tai placard but she managed to turn and Miyagi got clocked. Running shooting star press from Kamitani to Miyagi and it was good!
WINNERS: 3838 Tag in 5:06.
-Kamitani was in tears over winning her first match ever. She promised to keep improving her skills and do her best. Iida leapt into her arms.
(Pageot’s Perspective: Huge upset! Kamitani not only wins her first match ever but she pins a credible midcarder in Miyagi. And it doesn’t hurt Oedo Tai too much. They could have won the match early but they got too wrapped up in hazing the rookies and dishing out extra punishment that wasn’t necessary. The placard shot set up Miyagi for the finish but it was Kamitani who put the sauce on it.)
-Tora & Hazuki continued to phone in their promos. Kyona said they can’t lose anymore. If they lose here the road out of the tag league will be rough with them being obliged to defend against everyone who beat them. (Priestley & Hayter and Riho & Kid are already owed title matches.)
A fan gifted Kyona a huge bouquet of flowers on her way to the ring. Oedo Tai again attacked their opponents during introductions.
(4) GODDESS OF STARDOM CHAMPIONS TOKYO CYBER SQUAD (Jungle Kyona & Konami) vs. OEDO TAI (Hazuki & Natsuko Tora) – RED GODDESSES BLOCK
Tora beat Kyona with the bouquet to loud boos. Oedo Tai threw their opponents into the crowd chairs again. Tora pinned Kyona with a top rope leg drop.
WINNERS: Oedo Tai in 9:32.
(Pageot’s Perspective: I like Hazuki and Tora seemed to have initial potential coming out of the draft but they have been just spinning their wheels for months now. The exact same promos over and over again. The exact same match format. No real significant wins. It feels like there’s a large contingent of fans who would love to see people like Hazuki, Watanabe, and Kyona in the red belt picture but Ogawa just won’t let them climb to that next level.)
-Watanabe and AZM said “Yay!” (Apparently unphased by being dead last in their block with zero points.) Kid said this was her and Riho’s last tag league match. They weren’t sure whether or not they could still make it to the finals with a win here. (They can’t.)
(5) HIGH SPEED CHAMPION & AEW WOMEN’S CHAMPION RIHO & STARLIGHT KID vs. QUEEN’S QUEST (Momo Watanabe & AZM) – RED GODDESSES BLOCK
AZM made Kid tap to an armbar.
WINNERS: Queen’s Quest in 10:06.
-Hayter said she was challenging for the white belt for the second time this year. She beat Hoshiki in the Grand Prix and ended her undefeated streak so why should today be any different? Hoshiki said this was her seventh defense. Watanabe holds the record at 13 so she’s halfway there.
(6) ARISA HOSHIKI vs. JAMIE HAYTER – WONDER OF STARDOM CHAMPIONSHIP
Hayter, a member of Oedo Tai, of course attacked during the introductions. Hayter with a suicide dive. Hoshiki tried to bounce back but Hayter locked on a single-leg crab. Both women were down at 6:30 after trading kicks. Hayter with a superplex. She hung on and rolled through into a falcon arrow for a two-count. Hayter wanted another superplex but Hoshiki headbutted her off the turnbuckle and stepped off into her head kick. Hayter with two lariats and a curb stomp. Kick out from Hoshiki. Falcon arrow backbreaker but the champ kicked out again. She hit a barrage of kicks and a springboard stunner. Running knee strike. Another.
WINNER: Arisa Hoshiki in 11:37 to retain the white belt.
-Hoshiki called out Konami, saying she beat her in the Cinderella tournament but Konami beat her in the Grand Prix. Konami said Hoshiki took away her chance to win the Cinderella so she would take away her white belt. Hoshiki pitched it for the next Korakuen show.
(Pageot’s Perspective: A good match but the outcome was never in doubt. Honestly, I’ve felt pretty divorced from Stardom lately. The wrestlers are all terrific but they never accentuate the storytelling or follow through with things in a deeper manner that I would hope for and it hinders my emotional investment. The story of Hayter and Priestley crossing faction lines to team up seemed like it should have huge ramifications for the entire promotion but at this point I expect them to just win the tag league, challenge for the titles and lose, and then go their separate ways again. Over the course of the summer Queen’s Quest went from being the most dominant faction to having the worst record in the company but that’s never acknowledged. Even tonight’s main event seems lacking. Bea Priestley’s reign of terror as the heel gaijin champion has been setting her up to be toppled by a babyface patriot and Iwatani fits that bill but this match was just announced suddenly with no real setup. Iwatani was given a title shot out of nowhere when Kyona, Kagetsu, and Hoshiki were owed title shots first due to wins over Priestley in the Grand Prix and there’s been barely any interaction since it was announced. If Iwatani wins the belt here it won’t mean nearly as much as it could have if they had invested more storyline build and emotional weight.)
-Iwatani said she was a mess. It had been a while since she’d been this nervous but she wants to lead as the icon of Stardom. Priestley said this was the toughest competition she’d had since Kagetsu. She believes herself to be the toughest wrestler in Stardom but she knew what she was up against.
(7) BEA PRIESTLEY vs. MAYU IWATANI – WORLD OF STARDOM CHAMPIONSHIP
Iwatani went to the floor early to try to put some space between them. Priestley quickly took over and went to work on her right knee. She yelled the f-word again (so rebellious, so tough) and thumped Iwatani’s leg against the ring post. Iwatani with a high crossbody onto Priestley at ringside. Top rope double-stomp for a two-count. Top rope frog-splash but Priestley rolled her over for a pin at 10:00.
Moonsault attempt by Iwatani avoided by Priestley. Knee strikes from Priestley. Queen’s Landing blocked. Crucifix bomb from Iwatani. Iwatani looked for a top rope Frankensteiner. Priestley tried to counter into a powerbomb but badly botched it and slammed Iwatani onto her face and the side of her neck. It was horrific. The referee checked on her while Priestley crawled away. Iwatani hulked up and hit a release German suplex. Priestley responded with two suplexes of her own and locked on a leg submission. Iwatani made the rope break. More knee strikes from Priestley. She dropped her kneepad and hit another to the back of the head. Iwatani tried to block another Queen’s Landing so Priestley turned it into a sort of Go To Sleep variation. Queen’s Landing attempted again, this time countered into a poisonrana for a near-fall. More back and forth and Iwatani hit her top rope moonsault. Priestley kicked out at 20:00. Bridging dragon suplex for the win.
WINNER: Mayu Iwatani in 20:23 to capture the red belt.
-An emotional Iwatani accepted the title belt and a microphone before collapsing to the mat. “I thought I had gotten injured during the match.” Last time she had the red belt she got injured maybe one or two minutes into the match. In 90 seconds she lost the belt (to Toni Storm after Iwatani dislocated her elbow) but she finally has it back! From here on she’ll protect the belt as the Stardom icon. Who is the first person she wants to defend against? Her biggest rival, of course. Kagetsu.
Kagetsu came out and said the only answer is yes. They settled on Christmas Eve in Korakuen Hall. Kagetsu left and Iwatani called out the rest of Stars. Iwatani congratulated Hoshiki on her defense but said she wants to beat her too. She vowed to take the white belt from her someday and encouraged her to try to take the red belt too. Believe now, shine tomorrow.
(Pageot’s Perspective: There it is. With Bushiroad purchasing Stardom and planning a big ad campaign for the new year it seemed only logical that they’d put the belt back on the face of the promotion. Iwatani joins Io Shirai as the only people to hold the red belt twice. She’s got a long way to go to catch Shirai’s impressive record, though. Roughly 919 days and 22 more successful defenses. We’ll see if she has it in her but, knowing Ogawa, she’ll probably drop the title to Utami Hayashishita sometime in the spring.)
Blue Goddesses standings after show 6:
DREAM*SHiNE (Arisa Hoshiki & Tam Nakano) – 4
Tokyo Death Squad (Hana Kimura & Death Yama-San) – 4
3838 Tag (Saya Iida & Saya Kamitani) – 2
The Drunk Queens (Natsu Sumire & Session Moth Martina) – 2
Oedo Tai (Kagetsu & Andras Miyagi) – 2
Tokyo Cyber Squad (Bobbi Tyler & Zoe Lucas) – 2
Red Goddesses standings after show 6:
Top Gaijins (Bea Priestley & Jamie Hayter) – 8
Riho & Starlight Kid – 5
Tokyo Cyber Squad (Jungle Kyona & Konami) – 3
Oedo Tai (Hazuki & Natsuko Tora) – 2
Queen’s Quest (Momo Watanabe & AZM) – 2
Stars (Mayu Iwatani & Saki Kashima) – 2
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