Tag: stardom

Lots of Stardom news today:

The full bracket for the 2024 Cinderella Tournament has been announced. This is a singles tournament in single-elimination format. The rules are as follows:
Round 1 matches are 10 minute time limit.
Round 2 & Quarterfinals matches are 15 minute time limit.
Semifinals are 20 minute time limit.
Finals are no time limit.
Until the Semifinals, over the top rope rules are in place, meaning if a wrestler goes over the top rope outside the ring and both feet touch the floor, the match is over and they lose.
If there is any draw or match that ends without a winner before the Finals, both wrestlers in that match are out.
Finals will be under normal rules. The winner received a Cinderella dress.

Round 1 matches on 3/9 at Yokohama Budokan, Yokohama:
Hanan vs. HANAKO
Yuzuki vs. Starlight Kid
Momo Kohgo vs. Gina
Koguma vs. Ruaka
Saya Iida vs. Saki Kashima
Yuna Mizumori vs. Lady C
Sayaka Kurara vs. Natsuko Tora
Miyu Amasaki vs. Ranna Yagami

Round 2 matches on 3/10 at Korakuen Hall, Tokyo:
MIRAI vs. Hanan/HANAKO winner
Suzu Suzuki vs. Yuzuki/Starlight Kid winner
Mei Seira vs. Saya Iida/Saki Kashima winner
Ami Sohrei vs. Yuna Mizumori/Lady C winner

Round 2 matches on 3/16 at Atelier Himeji, Hyogo:
Waka Tsukiyama vs. Momo Kohgo/Gina winner
AZM vs. Sayaka Kurara/Natsuko Tora winner
Mai Sakurai vs. Miyu Amasaki/Ranna Yagami winner
Hazuki vs. Koguma/Ruaka winner

Quarterfinals: 3/17 at Shiga Prefectural Cultural Industry Exchange Center Event Hall, Shiga

Semifinals & Finals: 3/20 at Nagoya Congress Center, Nagoya

A New Japan STRONG Women’s Championship match has been announced for 3/10 as current champion Giulia will defend against Stephanie Vaquer. This will be the 10th defense for Giulia, coming amidst more rumors of her impending departure from Stardom, possibly to help start Rossy Ogawa’s rumored new promotion then heading to WWE. Vaquer competes primarily in CMLL (Mexico) but has made several appearances in New Japan over the past year.

2 wrestlers sidelined with injuries will also be returning next weekend: Natsupoi is scheduled to return on 3/9 and Aya Sakura is scheduled to return on 3/10. 3/9 will also feature the Stardom debut of Sareee, who has been a freelancer since her return to Japan after being released by WWE. She will team with Sendai Girls’ Chihiro Hashimoto to face Natsupoi & Saori Anou. For 3/10, Sakura’s return match will be announced after the 3/9 event.

The Stardom English Twitter is reporting the 3/9 event will be a live PPV. All the other events, and 3/9 after the PPV viewing window ends, will be available on demand on Stardom World at a later date.

Stardom has announced another injury coming out of this past weekend’s events, but it’s a minor one-Lady C suffered an injury at one of the events. Cut. Out 1-2 weeks. She is now off the promotion’s 3/2 & 3/3 events but is expected back on 3/9 per the Stardom English Twitter account.

Tokyo Sports is reporting that, in a perhaps expected but still huge blow to Stardom and Bushiroad if true, Giulia is leaving the promotion at the end of March. What’s less certain is where she will go-she has been rumored to be following former Stardom head Rossy Ogawa to his pending new promotion, but the rumor mills have also heavily linked her to WWE, suggesting the Japanese-Italian born in England is a very high priority. What this also perhaps leaves in limbo is the New Japan STRONG Women’s Championship which Giulia has has a stronghold on since July. Does it follow her to her next stop? If it’s WWE almost certainly not. The internet fanbase will also be screaming for her to go to All Elite Wrestling which is a possibility despite AEW being ridiculed for what is viewed as poor use of a very loaded women’s division.

Do keep in mind that Tokyo Sports borders on tabloid/dirt sheet in reliability and they’re maybe more flamboyant/out there compared to other mainstream sources like Weekly Pro & Nikkan Sports. But should you wish to decipher this yourself, below is the link (in Japanese):

https://t.co/eF4ZF82nwn

UPDATE: Related rumors have Giulia following Ogawa to his new promotion to help get it started then going to WWE. That would maybe put her in WWE by this fall. All wait and see

Stardom followed up their big Tokyo doubleheader with a house show today.

Today’s event was held at Belle Salle Shibuya 1 in Tokyo and will be available on demand on Stardom World at a later date.

The announced paid attendance was 356, a full house/near sellout.

Match 1: Rina & Ruaka beat HANAKO & Waka Tsukiyama. Rina pinned HANAKO.

Match 2; Mei Seira beat Mai Sakurai & Hanan in a 3-way by pinning Sakurai.

Match 3: Momo Watanabe, Starlight Kid & Natsuko Tora beat Sayaka Kurara, Yunz Mizumori & Tam Nakano. Kid beat Kurara.

Match 4; Suzu Suzumi & Giulia beat Koguma & Hazuki. Suzuki pinned Koguma with a German suplex hold.

Match 5: Miyu Amasaki, Lady C, AZM, Saya Kamitani & Utami Hayashishita beat Ranna Yagami, Saki Kashima, Ami Sohrei, MIRAI & Syuri. Amasaki pinned Yagami after Tensei.

Main Event: Hina, Mina Shirakawa & Maika beat Yuzuki, Saya Iida & Mayu Iwatani. SHirakawa beat Yuzuki with a figure 4.

The next event is Saturday at G Messe Gunma in Gunma. It will be available on demand on Stardom World at a later date.

Stardom ran the second half of a Tokyo doubleheader today, headlined by a New Japan STRONG Women’s Championship match.

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 Tuesday morning. It will be available on demand on Stardom World after the PPV viewing window ends.

The announced paid attendance was 956.

Match 1; Starlight Kid & Ruaka beat Lady C & AZM. Kid beat C. (This event happened before the New Japan event in Chiba today, which Kid & Ruaka were part of)

Match 2; Suzu Suzuki beat Ranna Yagami.

Match 3: Mei Seira beat Waka Tsukiyama.

Match 4: Miyu Amasaki, Saya Kamitani & Utami Hayashishita beat Momo Watanabe, Fukigen & Rina. Amasaki pinned Rina after Tensei.

Match 5: Saki Kashima, Ami Sohrei, MIRAI & Syuri beat Yuzuki, Koguma, Hazuki & Mayu Iwatani. Syuri beat Yuzuki with a sleeper hold.

Match 6: New Blood Tag Team Champions Hanan & Saya Iida beat Chanyota & Mai Sakurai to retain the titles. Iida pinned Chanyota. V2 for the champs.

Match 7: Gina, HANAKO, Mina Shirakawa & Maika beat Saori Anou, Sayaka Kurara, Yuna Mizumori & Tam Nakano. Maika pinned Kurara after a lariat.

Main Event: STRONG Women’s Champion Giulia beat Natsuko Tora to retain the title. V9 for Giulia.

The next event is tomorrow at Belle Salle Shibuya 1 in Tokyo. It will be available on demand on Stardom World at a later date.

Stardom ran the first half of a big Tokyo doubleheader today.

Today’s event was held at Korakuen Hall in Tokyo and will be available on demand on Stardom World at a later date. It was possibly going to be a YouTube live broadcast but plans changed last-minute in a move that also affects Saturday.

The announced paid attendance was 690z

Match 1: MIRAI beat Ranna Yagami by submission.

Match 2: Yuna Mizunori beat Mai Sakurai.

Match 3: Utami Hayashishita beat Lady C.

Match 4: Fukigen, Rina & Ruaka beat Miyu Amasaki, Saya Kamitani & AZM. Rina pinned Amasaki after a diving double kneedrop.

Match 5: Saki Kashima, Ami Sohrei & Syuri beat Saori Anou, Sayaka Kurara & Tam Nakano. Syuri beat Kurara with a sleeper hold.

Main Event: In an elimination match, Hina, HANAKO, Waka Tsukiyama, Mina Shirakawa & Maika beat Yuzuki, Koguma, Hanan, Saya Iida & Mayu Iwatani. Order of elimination: Tsukiyama by Iida, Yuzuki by Hina, HANAKO by Hanan, Hina by Hazuki, Hazuki by Maika, Hanan by Maika, Iida by Shirakawa. Shirakawa & Maika remain and win.

The next event is Saturday. It was decided today that it will be a live PPV via Pia Stream and can be pre-ordered now with viewing available from the live broadcast start until Tuesday morning. It should be available on demand on Stardom World for paid subscribers Wednesday (maybe Tuesday afternoon US time).

Stardom ran a standalone house show today in Aichi ahead of a big doubleheader in Tokyo.

Today’s event was held at Loisir Hotel Toyohashi in Aichi and will be available on demand on Stardom World at a later date.

The announced paid attendance was 339.

Match 1: Suzu Suzuki beat Yuzuki.

Match 2: Saki Kashima beat Lady C & Hazuki in a 3-way by pinning C.

Match 3: Starlight Kid & Ruaka beat Waka Tsukiyama & Maika. Ruaka pinned Tsukiyama after Freezer Bomb.

Match 4; Ranna Yagami, Ami Sohrei, MIRAI & Syuri beat Miyu Amasaki, Saya Kamitani, AZM & Utami Hayashishita. Syuri beat Amasaki with a body sleeper hold.

Match 5; Yuna Mizumori & Tam Nakano beat Sayaka Kurara & Mei Seira. Nakano pinned Kurara after Violet Shooting.

Match 6: Mai Sakurai & Giulia vs. Momo Watanabe & Natsuko Tora went to a double countout.

Main Event: Hanan, Saya Iida & Mayu Iwatani beat HANAKO, Gina & Mina Shirakawa. Hanan pinned HANAKO with a blockbuster hold.

The next event is Wednesday at Korakuen Hall in Tokyo. It will be available on demand on Stardom World at a later date.

After a very tumultuous week for the promotion following the sudden firing of founder & lead producer Rossy Ogawa, Stardom returned to action today in Shizuoka amidst a lot of short-term uncertainty regarding the short-term duture of the promotion.

Today’s event was held at Fujisan Messe in Shizuoka and will be available on demand on Stardom World at a later date.

The announced paid attendance was 506, a full house/near sellout.

Match 1: Yuzuki & Saya Iida beat Sayaka Kurara & Mai Sakurai. Yuzuki pinned Kurara after a rolling arrow.

Match 2; Momo Watanabe beat Lady C & MIRAI in a 3-way by pinning C.

Match 3: Waka tsukiyama & Maika beat Yuna Mizumori & Tam Nakano. Maika pinned Mizumori after Flame Drop.

Match 4: Miyu Amasaki, Saya Kamitami, AZM & Utami Hayashishita beat Ranna Yagami, Ami Sohrei, Saki Kashima & Syuri. Amasaki pinned Tagami after Tensei.

Match 5: HANAKO, Gina & Mina Shirakawa beat Hazuki, Hanan & Mayu Iwatani. Gina pinned Hazuki after Sanderstruck.

Main Event: Starlight Kid, Ruaka & Natsuko Tora beat Mei Seira, Suzu Suzuki & Giulia. Tora pinned Giulia after a swanton bomb. Afterwards, Tora issued a STRONG Women’s Championship challenge to Giulia. That match will happen Saturday (Friday US time) at Korakuen Hall in Tokyo.

The next event is tomorrow (tonight US time) at Loisir Hotel Toyohashi in Aichi. It may be a legit advance sellout by event time. It will be available on demand on Stardom World at a later date.

This is MASSIVE…Stardom has just fired founder/head/executive producer Rossy Ogawa. A quick translation of the statement on Stardom’s Japanese-language website suggests it was due to his being involved in the departures of many wrestlers & staff (most recently, and notably, the possible impending departure of Giulia, although she is still with Stardom as a freelancer, but she may have just disbanded her Donna Del Mundo faction, that being said there are constant rumors she is potentially headed to WWE, and more recently Stardom let Kairi return to WWE for a second time [as Kairi Sane]).
Ogawa has been involved with wrestling going back to the days of All-Japan Women in the 20th century and was part of Stardom’s event earlier today (yesterday Japan time) in Osaka. Staff and wrestlers were informed of the move yesterday per Stardom’s English-language Twitter..

The full statement is at the below link (in Japanese):
https://wwr-stardom.com/news/20240205-4/

More as it becomes available.

UPDATE: There are now rumors that a mass exodus of wrestlers from Stardom could be coming soon after this as most if not all contracts are up in March, and the split between Stardom & Ogawa was reportedly going to happen at the end of this month before the announcement. The rumors also are that Stardom felt Ogawa was “poaching” talent for WWE, but that may be the view only of one Tony Khan, AEW owner/head, who thinks he can’t get Stardom talent to work with AEW because of that (AEW does have a working relationship with fellow Bushiroad-owned promotion New Japan Pro Wrestling). Stardom also believes Ogawa will create another new promotion. And some US reporters believe Kairi left to go back to WWE because she knew Ogawa was leaving this year.

This story is far from over.

UPDATE 2: Tokyo Sports has picked up the story and they claim Ogawa announced last November that he was going to retire this spring (Ogawa is 66). And he confirmed his intent to create a new promotion. Translation of the article sounds like a lot of he said, they said. Link below (in Japanese):

https://www.tokyo-sports.co.jp/articles/-/291313

Stardom held another 13th Anniversary blowout event today in Osaka, Stardom Supreme Fight 2024.

Today’s event was held at Osaka Prefectural Gym in Osaka and can be watched on demand on PPV via Pia Live for 4400 Japanese yen (around $30 US) until Wednesday morning. It will be available on demand on Stardom World at a later date after that, probably next weekend.

The announced paid attendance was 1377.

There was a last-minute change to the event because Sayaka Kurara was pulled from the card just before it started. Illness. She was to have teamed with Lady C & Miyu Amasaki to face Natsuko Rota, Momo Watanabe & Ruaka. Ruaka was removed from the match and added to the first match, which originally was Mai Sakurai vs. HANAKO & Ranna Yagami in a 3-way, to make it a 4-way.

Match 1: Mai Sakurai beat Ruaka, HANAKO & Ranna Yagami in a 4-way by pinning Yagami.

Match 2: Hanan & Saya Iida beat Saki Kashima & Ami Sohrei. Hanan pinned Kashima after 17.

Match 3: Future Of Stardom Champion Rina beat Yuzuki to retain the title. V5 for Rina.

Match 6: Momo Watanabe & Natsuko Tora beat Miyu Amasaki & Lady C. Watanabe pinned C after B Driver.

Match 7: Tam Nakano Return Match: Yuna Mizumori & Tam Nakano beat Waka Tsukiyama & Mina Shirakawa. Nakano pinned Tsukiyama with a tiger suplex hold. Nakano had been out for 4 months due to injury and it cost her the World Of Stardom Championship, which she had to vacate as a result.

Match 8: High Speed Champion Mei Seira vs. Hazuki went to a 15 minute time limit draw. As a result, Seira retains the title. V4 for Seira.

Match 9: Stardom 13th Anniversary Match: Nanae Takahashi, AZM, Utami Hayashishita & Mayu Iwatani beat Suzu Suzuki, MIRAI, Syuri & Giulia. Iwatani pinned Suzuki after a moonsault press.

Match 10: Wonder Of Stardom Champion Saori Anou beat Starlight Kid to retain the title. V1 for Anou.

Main Event: World Of Stardom Champion Maika beat Saya Kamitani to retain the title. V1 for Maika. Next up: Possibly Nakano, who of course wants back the title she didn’t lose.

The next event is 2/11 at Fujisan Messe in Shizuoka. It will be available on demand on Stardom World at a later date.