5/16 STARDOM GOLD report: Momo Watanabe vs. Arisa Hoshiki for the white belt, Stars vs. TCS for the trios titles, Bea Priestley vs. Hazuki for the red belt

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

Miyagi said they’re in the opening contest and facing a bunch of little turds. They will have an overwhelming victory. They’re the best and the worst. Tora was scrolling through her phone the whole time. Onozaki told Hina to join forces. Kid and Hanan said this was a weekday show after school but they’d teach Oedo Tai what the youth can do.

(1) STARS (Starlight Kid & Hanan) vs. QUEEN’S QUEST (Leo Onozaki & Hina) vs. OEDO TAI (Andras Miyagi & Natsuko Tora)

The QQ girls had new gear in the style of AZM’s with Onozaki in her signature orange and Hina in her blue. All four of the kids attacked Tora and Miyagi to start and cleared them from the ring. Hanan dumped Onozaki and Hina dumped Kid next, then the sisters squared off. Tora with a piledriver to Onozaki. Top rope frog-splash for the win.

WINNERS: Oedo Tai in 4:51.

(Pageot’s Perspective: The Stardom wrestlers sure do love their piledrivers and armbars. With this win Oedo Tai have surpassed Queen’s Quest for the first time in 2019 to claim the top faction slot. Oedo Tai are now 21-12-1 in tag matches while QQ are 24-15.)

-Sumire said today she meets this weird wrestler that just came to Stardom called Death. She said there’s a rumor she’s a demon from the underworld like Miyagi but she thinks she’s just an idiot. Yama-san just yelled “Death!” a lot. Iida said she wasn’t sure whether Yama-san was the same Kaori Yoneyama she once teamed with in JAN but she wanted to beat them both either way. Sumire carried her own camera to the ring with her and filmed herself and the crowd using the Natsu Cam.

(2) NATSU SUMIRE vs. SAYA IIDA vs. DEATH YAMA-SAN

Sumire convinced Iida to work together against Death but of course betrayed her at the first opportunity. Iida pinned them both with the Iidabashi at the same time but they both kicked out. Sumire went up top and the other two alternated trying to hold each other in place for Sumire to dropkick. Instead Yama-san ran Iida into the corner, knocking Sumire to the floor, and rolled up Iida for the pin.

WINNER: Death Yama-san in 5:07.

(Pageot’s Perspective: Fun little match. Sumire and Iida never disappoint. Yama-san’s being played for laughs right now so it seems like she’ll just be a midcard act but a win is a win. Who can say where this will go?)

-Kagetsu said it’s not Toni time anymore, it’s Kage-Kage time. Storm said she lost to Kagetsu the last time she was in Stardom last year (for the red belt). But that wouldn’t happen again because she doesn’t lose anymore. And it won’t be a time limit draw because nobody has time for that.

(3) NXT UK WOMEN’S CHAMPION TONI STORM vs. KAGETSU – NON-TITLE MATCH

Slow mat wrestling through the first five minutes as they felt each other out. Storm got the bow and arrow lock in but Kagetsu made it to the ropes. Storm went for a suicide dive but dove into a shot from the Oedo Tai placard instead. Kagetsu threw her into the crowd’s folding chairs. Kagetsu buried her under a pile of folding chairs and smashed the top of the stack with another chair. Missile dropkick. Running kicks to Storm hung up in the ropes. Dragon sleeper to Kagetsu. Reversed. Reversed again. Front chokehold from Storm but Kagetsu powered her up and over for a suplex. They traded forearms, then headbutts. Storm came out on top. Release German suplex. Death valley driver from Kagetsu. Kimura but Storm made the rope break. Bridging German suplex for a two-count. Submission from Storm. Kagetsu crawled to the ropes and made it after a minute. Kagetsu blocked the piledriver and tried to mist Storm but she moved and the referee took the red mist. (Red mist is the one that burns.) Storm hit Strong Zero but the ref wasn’t there to count it. The seconds tried to rinse his eyes out at ringside and Kagetsu blasted her with the blue mist. (Blue mist puts your opponent to sleep.) Death valley driver. Oedo Coaster. Storm kicked out. Death valley driver. The bell rang.

DECISION: Time limit draw in 15:00.

(Pageot’s Perspective: Very good match and nice to see that they didn’t feel the need to give Storm her win back from their last match. Kagetsu remains protected as if she were a champion even after dropping the red belt. I believe Storm said she’ll be back at the end of summer but otherwise this is goodbye for now. Too bad we can’t see Kagetsu do a mini-tour of NXT UK but WWE doesn’t do those sorts of things.)

-Kimura said they came to Korakuen for the Artist titles. Their opponents have a cripple on the team so it should be easy money. Iwatani said a retention from them would be their fifth successful defense, a new record for the trios titles. (No acknowledgment of whether Iwatani was cleared to compete. At the end of our last show she said she couldn’t defend the titles because she wasn’t medically ready to return to action.)

(4) STARS (Mayu Iwatani, Tam Nakano, & Saki Kashima) vs. TOKYO CYBER SQUAD (Hana Kimura, Jungle Kyona, & Konami) – ARTIST OF STARDOM CHAMPIONSHIP

TCS attacked during Iwatani’s introduction and the teams fought into the crowd. Kimura wrapped Iwatani’s bandaged leg around a guardrail and blasted her knee with a folding chair. She dragged her back to the ring by her hair. She stomped away at Iwatani to loud boos. Tag to Konami, who continued to go after Iwatani’s injured leg. Triple dropkick from TCS to the knee. Iwatani caught Kyona with a dropkick and tagged in Nakano. She put down all three opponents. Nakano and Kyona traded blows. Kimura tagged in and worked over Nakano. Both women were down at 10:10. Konami and Iwatani tagged in. Iwatani took a leg whip and a submission before crawling to the ropes. A release German suplex dropped her on the back of her head. Konami took a barrage of kicks from the three Stars women and some double-team offense from Iwatani and Nakano. Iwatani foolishly went up top for a moonsault and Konami moved. Stretch muffler. Somehow she made the rope break. Tag to Kashima. Pedigree but Konami kicked out. Things broke down with everyone getting involved. Konami countered an unprettier from Kashima into the triangle lancer for the tap out.

WINNERS: Tokyo Cyber Squad in 17:18 to capture the trios titles.

-Kimura proclaimed that TCS has become the champions. She asked if anyone wanted to challenge them. No? Then they’d issue a challenge. They challenge the shitty motherfucking fuckers Oedo Tai. She wants to crush that unit. Winners get the trios titles and can keep wearing camouflage but the losers have to find new gear. Konami said first is her homecoming show on May 26 and she wants a singles match against Kagetsu.

(Pageot’s Perspective: It pains me to say that I really didn’t care for much of any of this. I can’t believe I’m so indifferent about Kyona winning a championship. The match was alright but mostly just a bunch of stuff thrown at the wall. Iwatani’s leg injury was the only real story and that didn’t factor into the finish at all. We also didn’t get any sort of explanation there for how she was able to compete. At the end of our last show on May 6 she said she wouldn’t be able to defend because she wasn’t medically cleared. Then she just showed up here and wrestled a fully competitive match, hitting dropkicks and moonsaults. Kimura’s tweener role is really hurting my interest in her. I love Kyona and like a lot of what TCS are doing so I want to cheer and support them. But she was just unnecessarily mean and bratty here, attacking an already-injured babyface with a chair moments into the match. She in particular, and Konami to a lesser extent, came across as strong heels, even garnering vocals boos from the crowd. But now they’re facing Oedo Tai next so I guess they’ll be the babyfaces in that situation? It’s a mess.)

-Hazuki said she was about to become a double champion. Priestley addressed that she was supposed to face Toni Storm here but that got changed due to… contract reasons. She said Hazuki beat her in the first round of the Cinderella tournament but that didn’t concern her.

(5) BEA PRIESTLEY vs. HIGH SPEED CHAMPION HAZUKI – WORLD OF STARDOM CHAMPIONSHIP

Hazuki charged with a kick that sent Priestley immediately to the floor. Suicide dive, springboard dropkick, face wash, and brainbuster in rapid succession for a two-count. Body slam but Priestley caught her when she went up top. Double-stomp to Hazuki’s back on the top rope. Both women were down. Kagetsu was shown watching the match while seated in the crowd. The wrestlers traded strikes. High knee from Priestley. She landed a less-than-graceful cannonball off the top rope onto Oedo Tai at ringside. Back suplex for two. Hazuki avoided Priestley’s finisher and tossed the Brit around by the hair. Another back suplex from Priestley. A curb stomp and Queen’s Landing ended things.

WINNER: Bea Priestley in 9:14 to retain the red belt.

(Pageot’s Perspective: That was the longest Hazuki match we’ve seen in a while and a nice reminder of how reliable she is. Priestley was fine but continues to be fairly bland as a personality. Apologies to her, Konami, and most teenage boys but using the f-word a lot is not a personality trait. I still believe Priestley’s reign will be short-lived and the title will be back on a babyface champion by the fall.)

-Hoshiki said this was her second time challenging for the white belt. (The first was over seven years ago in December 2011.) Watanabe beat her in a tag title match so she wants double revenge. Watanabe said she beat Io Shirai last May to win the title. Over the past year she became the absolute ruler. She’ll take Hoshiki’s kicks and do her best.

The camera caught Hoshiki backstage ahead of the match. She was wearing a feathery white coat and a bird-like mask. Watanabe was also shown backstage in her usual QQ mask and robe with AZM at her side.

(6) GODDESS OF STARDOM CHAMPION MOMO WATANABE vs. ARISA HOSHIKI – WONDER OF STARDOM CHAMPIONSHIP

Watanabe went after Hoshiki’s legs right away with an Indian deathlock. Another leglock followed, then a series of kicks to Hoshiki in the ropes. A dropkick sent Hoshiki to the floor and Watanabe ran the apron with a soccer kick that put her back down. Hoshiki managed to scoop her up for a body slam on the floor, her first offense at the six-minute mark. Kicks from Hoshiki in the ring for a two-count. Another body slam. She took too long going to the top rope and Watanabe cut her off. Superplex from Watanabe left them both down on the mat. They traded kicks. Watanabe with her running double knees for two. Another from the second rope. And a third from the top rope but Hoshiki kicked out. Peach Sunrise connected but Hoshiki rolled her shoulder to stop the three-count. Roll-up from Hoshiki. Another body slam and a springboard splash. Watanabe with a second Peach Sunrise. She hung on for a third but Hoshiki’s leg fell backwards over the bottom rope to stop the count. Watanabe ran into two leaping knee strikes and two Brazilian kicks.

WINNER: Arisa Hoshiki in 12:57 to capture the white belt.

-“I won the white belt!” Hoshiki proclaimed. She lost her white belt challenge back when she was a rookie. After Watanabe pinned her to win the tag titles she knew she wanted to win the Cinderella tournament and challenge again. She’s happy they could fight but she’s not content. She wants to reach the next level. She’ll do her best from here on out.

She started to wrap up the show when Hazuki strolled out. Hazuki grabbed her by the hair and was pulled off by Kagetsu. Stars and TCS surrounded Hoshiki while Oedo Tai congregated on the other side of the ring. Hoshiki pulled Nakano over to stand next to her for the show close. Nakano looked crestfallen at the woman she hates winning a championship in the main event.

(Pageot’s Perspective: Very good match. Probably Hoshiki’s best this year, if not Watanabe’s. I enjoyed her defenses against Nakano and Kyona more. Watanabe has to be a strong favorite to win the 5Star Grand Prix this year now. Meanwhile Hoshiki is now 5-0 in singles matches in 2019. She not only has the best record of any act in Stardom, she is also the only woman to wrestle at least three singles matches and maintain a perfect record. Iwatani is at 2-0 currently and Storm’s two time-limit draws blemish her three-victory record.)