Tag: stardom

Stardom announced the latest card for their US event Thursday in Philadelphia, PA, which is as follows (slightly lean right now with just 5 matches):

High Speed Champion Mei Seira vs. Ram Kaichow & Saki Kashima in a 3-way for the title
AZM, Saya Kamitani & Camron Branae vs. Stephanie Vaquer, Starlight Kid & Momo Watanabe
Syuri & Konami vs. Willow Nightingale & SAKI
Mayu Iwatani, Tam Nakano & Momo Kohgo vs. Mona Hsorakawa, Mariah May & Xis Brookside
World Of Stardom Champion Maika vs. Megan Bayne for the title

Thursday’s event will be live on PPV via TrillerTV/FITE for $24.99 in English only and is scheduled to begin at 3 PM ET/Noon PT. It will not be available on Pia Stream in Japan and there will be no Japanese commentary option. As I normally telework for my IRL job on Thursdays I plan to buy the PPV and, if I do, there will be live results posted.

Stardom ran the second half of a weekend house show doubleheader today, serving as the second of two events that were used to test live streaming on their Stardom World streaming service.

Today’s event was held at Kyoto KBS Hall in Kyoto and can be watched on demand on Stardom World. It may also be available on YouTube as it was also live streamed there.

The announced paid attendance was 511, a full house/near sellout.

Match 1: Yuna Mizumori beat Aya Sakura.

Match 2: Starlight Kid & Rina beat Yuzuki & Mayu Iwatani. Rina pinned Yuzuki after Pink Devil.

Match 3: Momo Watanabe, Ruaka & Natsuko Tora beat Lady C, Saya Kamitani & AZM. Watanabe pinned Kamitani after Peach Sunrise.

Match 4: Mei Seira & Suzu Suzuki beat Gina & Mina Shirakawa and Koguma & Hazuki in a 3-way when Suzuki pinned Gina.

Match 5: Mai Sakurai, Natsupoi, MIWRAI, Syuri, Maika & Giulia beat Saori Anou, Sayaka Kurara, Ranna Yagami, Saki Kashima, Tam Nakano & Ami Sohrei. Natsupoi pinned Kurara.

Match 6: Utami Hayashishita beat Miyu Amasaki.

Main Event: New Blood Tag Team Champions Hanan & Saya Iida beat HANAKO & Waka Tsukiyama to retain the titles. Iida pinned HANAKO after Giant Killer. V3 for the champs.

The next event is Saturday (Friday night US time) at Sendai Pit in Sendai. Broadcast plans TBA.

In the wake of the rumored talent exodus from Stardom, the promotion made another intriguing announcement today: On Tuesday at 3 PM JST (2 AM ET/Monday at 11 PM PT) a press conference will be held to announce the inauguration of the Japan Pro Wrestling Federation, possibly aka United Japan Pro Wrestling per logos displayed on Stardom’s website. In attendance will be New Japan Chairman Naoki Sugabayashi, New Japan President/CEO Hiroshi Tanahashi, CyberFight President Sanshiro Takagi (DDT) and CyberFight Vice President Naomichi Marufuji (Pro Wrestling NOAH). In addition to a possible ABEMA live broadcast, the presser will also be streamed live on the Stardom YouTube channel.

This has me thinking it could be a new strategic alliance/working partnership much like when Mitsuharu Misawa started the Global Pro Wrestling Alliance after forming Pro Wrestling NOAH. If this involves CyberFight & Bushiroad Corporation, it could also include Stardom and Tokyo Joshi Pro Wrestling, which on paper is a win-win. But perhaps noticeably absent from said alliance, for now, could be All-Japan Pro Wrestling. No mention of this on their website.

More as it becomes available. The announcement can be viewed below (in Japanese) at Stardom’s website:
https://wwr-stardom.com/news/20240322-2/

To the dismay of many Stardom fans, the rumored wrestler exodus at the end of the month, when many contracts are up, is now official. Stardom has confirmed these wrestlers will be leaving the promotion when their contracts expire on 3/31: Utami Hayashishita, Giulia, Mai Sakurai, MIRAI and Yuzuki. Hayashishita & Giulia will finish up with Stardom on 4/12, the rest are done after 3/31. Yuzuki is a rookie who just debuted in November, Giulia’s departure was expected, the rest all have been competing for at least 4-5 years. This will have title implications because Hayashishita half of the current Goddesses Of Stardom Champions, so unless a title match happens on 4/12 or perhaps in the USA on 4/4 the titles will have to be vacated.

At this time it’s not known if anyone else is leaving, what is certain is that Mayu Iwatani and Tam Nakano appear to be staying put (Iwatani’s contract is not up for a while, Nakano says she’s not leaving), also probably staying is Maika. The question now is if the departing wrestlers follow Rossy Ogawa to his reported new promotion, but Giulia is rumored to be headed to WWE later this year.

More as it becomes available.

Stardom wrapped up the 2024 Cinderella Tournament today with the tour-ender in Nagoya.

Today’s event was held at Nagoya Congress Center Event Hall in Nagoya and can be watched on demand on PPV via Pia Stream for 4400 Japanese yen (around $30 US) until Saturday morning. It should be available on demand on Stardom World after that. It is Japanese commentary with Haruo Murata, Kagehiro Osano & special guest MIRAI (but not for the whole event).

The announced paid attendance was 994, a full house/near sellout. The Event Hall has a normal full capacity of 1800 so they probably had a max setup of maybe 1200.

Match 1: Mayu Iwatani beat Yuzuki.

Match 2; Gina, HANAKO, Waka Tsukiyama & Mina Shirakawa beat Ranna Yagami, Saki Kashima, MIRAI & Syuri. Shirakawa pinned Yagami after Venus Tower.

Cinderella Tournament Semifinals:
Match 3: Hanan beat Ruaka.
Match 4: Ami Sohrei beat AZM.

Match 5: Mei Seira, Suzu Suzuki & Mai Sakurai beat Miyu Amasaki, Lady C & Saya Kamitani. and Saya Iida, Koguma & Hazuki in a 3-way when Seira pinned Kamitani.

Match 6: Tam Nakano vs. Giulia went to a 15 minute time limit draw.

Match 7: Momo Watanabe, Starlight Kid, Fukigen, Rina & Natsuko Tora beat Saori Anou, Sayaka Kurara, Aya Sakura, Yuna Mizumori & Natsupoi. Rina pinned Sakura after a diving double knee drop.

Match 8: Cinderella Tournament Finals: Hanan beat Ami Sohrei to win the tournament. Hanan wins a trophy and a Cinderella dress for winning. If she gets a title shot, Hanan made it clear she wants the Wonder Of Stardom Championship.

Main Event: World Of Stardom Champion Maika beat Utami Hayashishita to retain the title. V2 for Maika. With only 19 seconds left to spare before it would have been a 30 minute time limit draw. Next up: If what Maika said post-match holds true, Meghan Bayne. That match will happen on 4/4 in Philadelphia, PA if so. It also has been announced that 4/4 will be a PPV only on TrillerTV (fka FITE) in English only for $24.99. No Pia PPV or Japanese option. Start time will be 3 PM ET/Noon PT. Note that the event is on a Thursday so keep that in mind for watching live (you do get unlimited on demand replays with purchase on Triller).

The next event is Saturday (Friday night US time) at Nara Convention Center in Nara. It will be available on demand on Stardom World at a later date.

Stardom continued the Cinderella Tournament 2024 this weekend with the rest of Round 2 yesterday and the Quarterifnals today.

Yesterday’s event was held at Atelier Himeji in Hyogo and can be watched on demand on Stardom World.

The announced paid attendance was 398.

Match 1; Hanan & Saya Iida beat Ranna Yagami & Mei Seira. Iida pinned Yagami.

Match 2: Cinderella Tournament Round 2: AZM beat Sayaka Kurara.

Match 3: Cinderella Tournament Round 2: Miyu Amasaki beat Mai Sakurai.

Match 4; Saki Kashima, Ami Sohrei, MIRAI & Syuri beat Saori Anou, Aya Sakura, Yuna Mizumori & Natsupoi. Syuri pinned Sakura.

Match 5; Cinderella Tournament Round 2: Gina beat Waka Tsukiyama.

Match 6: Cinderella Tournament Round 2: Ruaka beat Hazuki by over the top rope.

Match 7: HANAKO, Mina Shirakawa & Maika beat Lady C, Saya Kamitani & Utami Hayashishita. Maika pinned C after Michinoku Driver 2.

Main Event: Suzu Suzuki, Tam Nakano & Mei Seira beat Yuzuki, Koguma & Mayu Iwatani and Natsuko Tora, Starlight Kid & Momo Watanabe in a 3-way when Nakano pinned Yuzuki.

Today’s event was held at Shiga Prefectural Cultural Industry Exchange Center in Shiga and can be watched on demand on Stardom World.

The announced paid attendance was 344.

Match 1; Suzu Suzuki beat Mai Sakurai, Mirai & Lady C in a 4-way by pinning Sakurai.

Match 2: HANAKO & Waka Tsukiyama beat Yuzuki & Saya Iida. Tsukiyama pinned Yuzuki with an Osui suplex hold.

Match 3: Ranna Yagami, Saki Kashima & Syuri beat Aya Sakura, Yuna Mizumori & Tam Nakano. Kashima pinned Sakura.

Match 4: Cinderella Tournament Quarterfinals: Ruaka beat Gina.

Match 5: Cinderella Tournament Quarterfinals: AZM beat Miyu Amasaki.

Match 6: Hazuki, Koguma & Mayu Iwatani beat Saori Anou, Sayaka Kurara & Natsupoi. Hazuki pinned Kurara after a diving senton.

Match 7: Cinderella Tournament Quarterfinals: Ami Sohrei beat Mei Seira by over the top rope.

Match 8: Cinderella Tournament Quarterfinals: Hanan beat Starlight Kid.

Main Event: Mina Shirakawa & Maika beat Saya Kamitani & Utami Hayashishita & Natsuko Tora & Momo Watanabe in a 3-way when Maika pinned Hayashishita.

As a result of today, the Semifinals of the tournament will be Ami SOhrei vs. AZM & Hanan vs. Ruaka.

The Semifinals and Finals are Wednesday at Nagoya Congress Center Event Hall in Nagoya. It will be available on demand on Stardom World at a later date unless a last-minute decision is made to have it live on PPV.

UPDATE: Wednesday will be a PPV. 4400 Japanese yen (around $30) on Pia Stream worldwide. It should be available on Stardom World Saturday afternoon.

That or the relentless Japan injury/illness bug strikes again in Stardom. Curious in timing and circumstances because this time it’s Giulia. The ever-vague poor health/physical condition. Out this weekend. For tomorrow, she was to have been in a 3-way 6-woman tag match. Mei Seira is the replacement. For Sunday, TBA. This is all amidst rumors she is leaving Stardom at the end of the month.

More as it becomes available.

The injury bug continues to be relentless in Japan…Stardom has announced Mono Kohgo was injured at Sunday’s event. Unspecified. Out at least 1 week. She is off the 3/16 & 3/17 events but is scheduled to appear on 3/19 & 3/20, at which point her status for the future will be determined.

More as it becomes available.

Stardom continued the 2024 Cinderella Tournament today with the second half of the major opening doubleheader.

Today’s event was held at Korakuen Hall in Tokyo and can be watched on demand on PPV via Pia Stream for 2200 Japanese yen (around $15 US) until Wednesday morning. It should be available on demand on Stardom World Thursday for subscribers.

The announced paid attendance was 1344.

Match 1: Aya Sakura Return Match: Sayaka Kurara & Mai Sakurai beat HANAKO & Aya Sakura. Sakurai pinned Sakura after Shining Buster. Sakura, a rookie about to finish her first year in wrestling, had been out since July due to injury.

Match 2: Yuzuki, Momo Kohga, Hazuki, Koguma & Mayu Iwatani beat Fukigen, Momo Watanabe, Rina, Ruaka & Natsuko Tora by DQ. Tora DQ’d. Deadly weapon use (pipe).

Match 3: Cinderella Tournament Round 2: Mei Seira beat Saya Iida.

Match 4: Cinderella Tournament Round 2: Ami Sohrei beat Yuna Mizumori.

Match 5: Cinderella Tournament Round 2: Hanan beat MIRAI.

Match 6: Cinderella Tournament Round 2: Starlight Kid beat Suzu Suzuki by over the top rope.

Match 7: Saori Anou, Natsupoi & Tam Nakano beat Ranna Yagami, Saki Kashima & Syuri. Natsupoi beat Yagami with Fairy Princess (jumping cross armbar).

Match 8: Gina, Waka Tsukiyama, Mina Shirakawa & Maika beat Miyu Amasaki, Lady C, Saya Kamitani & AZM. Maika pinned C after Michinoku Driver 2.

Main Event: Stephanie Vaquer (CMLL) beat STRONG Women’s Champion Giulia to win the title. Vaquer becomes the 3rd STRONG Women’s Champion. That seems to make the rumors official-it’s over for Giulia in Stardom. No V10 as champion either. She is reportedly headed to former Stardom producer Rossy Ogawa’s new promotion to help get it started then possibly to WWE. But before Giulia could leave, the Oedo Corps faction rushed out for a big beatdown on Giulia until Tam Nakano made the save. It sounds like the question now is whether or not Nakano will get to fight her rival-Giulia-one more time before they part ways. As for new champion Vaqyer, she has thrown down the open challenge gauntlet for anyone, anywhere.

The next event is Saturday at Atelier Himeji in Hyogo. It will be available on demand on Stardom World at a later date, but there are reports they will try to have the video up the following day.

Stardom kicked off the 2024 Cinderella Tournament today with the first half of a major weekend doubleheader.

Today’s event was held at Yokohama Budokan in Yokohama and can be watched on demand on PPV via Pia Stream in Japanese for 4400 Japanese yen (around $30 US). You can also watch the first 2 matches FOR FREE on YouTube. The entire event should be available on Stardom World Wednesday (The PPV viewing window is until Tuesday).

The announced paid attendance was 1555.

Match 1: Suzu Suzuki beat Mai Sakurai, MIRAI, Ami Sohrei, Mei Seira, HAZUKI, AZM & Waka Tsukiyama in an 8-way by pinning Sakurai.

Match 2: Future Of Stardom Champion Rina beat Miran (Diana) to retain the title. V7 for Rina.

Match 3: Cinderella Tournament Round 1: Starlight Kid beat Yuzuki. As a result, Kid advances to Round 2 and will face Suzu Suzuki.

Match 4: Cinderella Tournament Round 1; Sayaka Kurara beat Natsuko Tora by DQ. Ref assault. As a result, Kurara advances to Round 2.

Match 5: Cinderella Tournament Round 1: Yuna Mizumori beat Lady C. As a result, Mizumori advances to Round 2 and will face Ami Sohrei.

Match 6: Cinderella Tournament Round 1: Gina beat Momo Kohgo. As a result, Gina advances to Round 2 and will face Waka Tsukiyama.

Match 7: Cinderella Tournament Round 1: Miyu Amasaki beat Ranna Yagami. As a result, Amasaki advances to Round 2.

Match 8: Cinderella Tournament Round 1: Ruaka beat Koguma by over the top rope. As a result, Ruaka advances to Round 1.

Match 9: Cinderella Tournament Round 1: Saya Iida beat Saki Kashima. As a result, Iida advances to Round 2 and will face Mei Seira.

Match 10: Cinderella Tournament Round 1: Hanan beat HANAKO by submission. As a result, Hanan advances to Round 2 and will face MIRAI.

Match 11: Konami, Syuri & Giulia beat Fukigen, Stephanie Vaquer & Momo Watanabe. Syuri beat Fukigen with White Tiger.

Match 12: Natsupoi Return Match: Chihiro Hashimoto (Sendai Girls) & Sareee (Independent/Freelancer) beat Saori Anou & Natsupoi. Sareee pinned Natsupoi after a wrist clutch deformed back toss.

Main Event: Mina Shirakawa & Maika beat Saya Kamitani & AZM and Mayu Iwatani & Tam Nakano in a 3-way when Maika pinned AZM. This was to have been Utami Hayashishita teaming with Kamitani but Hayashishita is off this weekend due to the ever-vague poor physical condition/ill health. AZM was the replacement. Afterwards, Sareee came out again and challenged Iwatani for the IWGP Women’s Championship.

The next event is tomorrow (tonight US time) at Korakuen Hall in Tokyo. It will be a live PPV broadcast on Pia Stream for 2200 yen (around $15 US) and will begin TONIGHT at 6:30 PM PT/9:30 PM ET. The likely main event is STRONG Women’s Champion Giulia vs. Stephanie Vaquer for the title. It should be available on demand on Stardom World Thursday. There will be no commentary for this event.

In other news, the 5 STAR GP Tournament was announced for later this year. It will start on 8/10 at Yokohama Budokan and end on 8/31 at Musashino Forest Sports Plaza Main Arena in Tokyo. More details TBA. Also announced was a major doubleheader for 7/27 & 7/28 at Chateraise Gateau Kingdom Sapporo in Hokkaido.