Stardom – Sunshine 2023, June 25th, 2023

Howdy!

Took a bit off but this show was really good so I’m writing about it. That’s what I do around here.

Let’s watch some wrestling, shall we?

When last we left our heroines of Stardom, everything was different than it is now. As simple a sentence as that seems, it holds very true, with every single title that was defended changing hands on All Star Grand Queendom, one of the biggest shows in Stardom history.

And after that, things went even further as Tam Nakano united both the red and white belts to the delight of some, the horror of others, and the ambivalence of myself. She won the World of Stardom belt from Giulia in what I thought was a decent enough match, then won the Wonder of Stardom belt from Mina Shirakawa in what I thought was not a decent enough match. I’ve been upfront about the fact that I don’t think I ‘get’ Tam the way that others do; she gets the reactions of a superstar in Japan so I get why they go with her in the main events, but the super emotional style she portrays really requires that you become very invested in her character. And I’m just not, it’s not my favorite thing in wrestling.

Like I said, I get it and different strokes for different folks. Nakano is over and she is a star, I don’t question that.

As for the rest of my faves, Suzu Suzuki now considers Stardom her main promotion going forward, which of course fills me with glee. Utami is leading a Queen’s Quest unit with a lot of underlying tensions, which we’ll get to in the main event tonight. AZM has dropped the high-speed title and I’m ready to see what’s next on her agenda. Syuri is still tapping bitches out after sending Hashimoto to the showers.

Grand Queendom was a show of the year candidate, you all should watch it – I meant to review it but, as happens to me sometimes these days, life found a way to take up all the time.

But it didn’t for this show, so let’s do this thing.

Skipping the preshow matches, because I don’t need even more Nanae Takahashi in my life.

Xena vs Syuri

Xena is the newest member of Club Venus while Syuri is the destroyer of worlds and has no time for any of your shit. Xena stalls to start with a big smile on her face. I wish pain to come for her. My wish is soon granted as Syuri takes control and suplexes her for two. Kicks of disdain from Syuri, but she runs into an impressive spinning side suplex from Xena that rivals Claudio for rotations. Xena with chops in the corner, but Syuri bulldogs her and kicks the fuck out of her for two. They slug it out and Xena holds her own for a bit, with Syuri just selling for her like crazy to get her over. Do we say enough about how good Syuri is at selling an opponent’s offense? She’s just so fantastic. Syuri gets a comeback with the White Tiger, but Xena counters a high kick into a nasty looking suplex for two. Speaking of nasty, Syuri escapes a DVD attempt and kicks Xena right in the face with a Buzzsaw kick, then puts the White Tiger on for the submission. (Syuri over Xena, submission, 7:49)

THOUGHTS: ***. Best Xena match I’ve ever seen. Have to wait to pass any judgment since Syuri can have a good match with a discarded takeout menu (or Charlotte Flair, even), so how much was Syuri and how much was Xena I don’t know. But the spinning side slam was a really great spot and it was a fun match.

Post-match, Syuri gives Xena a hug and raises her hand to put her over. Just have her tap out Tam in 9 seconds and get her belt back.

Cosmic Angels (Natsupoi/Tam Nakano)/KAIRI vs Maika/Mei Seira/Suzu Suzuki

I’m still processing Suzu not with Prominence. I’m happy she’s in Stardom as her primary company, don’t get me wrong, but it’s still weird. If you’re keeping score – not big on Tam, still wanting to see a bit more of Mei, like everyone else in the match except for Suzu, whom I worship because I fear her wrath.

Kairi and Mei start us off, and man oh man, every time I see Kairi I still can’t believe that WWE fumbled the ball that badly on her. And I have no faith in that company anyway yet I STILL can’t believe it. Anyway, Kairi and the Angels play heel a bit here to start, with Kairi taking a cheap shot off a handshake and then a triple team on Mei.

Hot tag to Suzu and violence ensues as she takes over on Natsupoi. Kairi in with Suzuki now, and talk about a match I want to see get 20 minutes just to revel in it, it’s these two. Suzu takes it to the floor, which is her domain, and tosses Kairi into the chairs. Back in now for Maika to bring the offense as she shoulderblocks Kairi down. Natsupoi comes in but Maika channels her inner Tommy Dreamer – she’ll take them both, as she puts both women on her shoulders for a double Samoan Drop.

Kairi gets to her corner and tag to Tam, who comes in a house afire but quickly ends up on the wrong end of a Maika lariat for two. Nakano back with a German suplex and a roundhouse kick, but Maika slugs her and both women are down. I’m really digging this match, they’re speeding all over the place in there. Natsupoi and Mei are in, and Mei spams dropkicks a bit for two. Mei’s stuff needs to start hitting a bit closer, there’s some air in there on some of these.

Triple team on Mei and it seems like the end is near, but Maika cuts off Natsupoi and superplexes her, and now everyone trades off finishers (Suzu no-sells a Tiger suplex from Tam and hits the Tequila Shot in a really neat little bit) as the pier-six brawl continues, with our final result being Natsupoi hitting a bridging German on Mei for the pin. (Kairi/Cosmic Angels over Suzu Suzuki/Maika/Mei Seira, pinfall, 14:41)

THOUGHTS: ***1/4. Totally energetic tag match with some of my faves. Maika looked great in there, really had a lot of the big spots and sequences. Mei looked a bit lost in a few places and her stuff seems kind of soft, but we’ll wait on see on that one.

Club Venus (Mina Shirakawa/Mariah May) vs God’s Eye (Ami Sourei/MIRAI) (C) – Goddesses of Stardom title match

Before the match, they show footage of Mina breaking down in tears after losing her belt to Tam, which probably should have been a tip off of where this one was going. Shirakawa starts with MIRAI, and we quickly get some Club Venus doube-teaming. MIRAI quickly takes back over, though, tag to Ami.

They torture Mina for awhile in there, with MIRAI no-selling and being dismissive towards Mina in general, which…..look, Mina is fine. But she’s got a ceiling, you know? She’s fine. Mariah comes in and does a bit better. I like May for her potential, whilst still acknowledging there’s quite a bit to go on her journey. Ami comes in and gives the advantage back to MIRAI, who puts May in a keylock before Mina makes the save.

Tags on both sides and Ami puts Mina in a Boston Crab, then a Liontamer from that, but Mina makes the ropes to break. Miscommunication puts everyone outside and Ami drops Mina on top of Mariah from the apron. Ami with Death Valley Driver and a Torture Rack, but Mina won’t quit, so Ami hangs her in the corner and splashes her for two. Mina hits a spinning backfist and both women are down.

Mina with a Dragon Screw and a figure-four and now Ami is in trouble. May puts MIRAI in a front choke as Mina yanks Ami away from the ropes, but a last bit of effort gets Sourei to the bottom strap. MIRAI back in and they double-team Mina for two, May makes the save. Blue Thunder Bomb from Ami gets two on Mina. Mariah comes back in with a missile dropkick on Ami, which sets up a top rope Bulldog, 1, 2, MIRAI saves the match! May suplexes her and sends her out, and now Mina hits the Implant DDT for two! I thought that was the finish for a second. But we’re only off by seconds, as Mina picks her up and hits the Glamorous Driver Mina for the pin and the titles right away. Ladies and Gentlemen, we have NEW Goddesses of Stardom champions! (Club Venus over God’s Eye, pinfall, 16:04)

THOUGHTS: **3/4. I didn’t get into this one. It had a good finishing sequence and I think Mariah may have something, but I gotta say that now that Mina is done with beating Saya, I’m not sure what’s there. She’s certainly competent but doesn’t really rock my world.

Post-match, after everyone has left, MIRAI sits contemplating things and Tam Nakano comes in to be a thundering BITCH while MIRAI is down. She asks if MIRAI will be ready for their title match next week, asking “Did Mama Syuri teach you to put your whole soul into it?” Hey, you keep Syuri’s name out your mouth or she’s gonna make Will Smith’s Oscar slap look like a lovetap. Tam threatens to crush her empty soul at the Boudakan and grabs her by the hair, so MIRAI knocks her PUNK ASS DOWN, calls her an old bitch, and promises to finish her off next week. Tam grabs the mic while still lying on her back and tells her that her mic performance still sucks. Ha! Natsupoi comes to help her leader to the back and that was a good fucking segment there. Really well done.

STARS (Hazuki/Koguma/Mayu Iwatani) vs Donna Del Mondo (Giulia/Mai Sakurai/Thekla) (C) – Artist of Stardom title match

Bring on the cage as DDM is defending! And I mean bring on the cage, because STARS has to carry Mayu to the ring to get her in the damn thing. Her look of resignation and sadness while Rossy holds up the belts is fabulous; she very clearly does not want to be in this match at all. I know this is a little thing, but I mean it – I like when a babyface doesn’t just default to being ‘brave’ in every instance. It’s repetitive and boring. She’s fucking scared and acting like a real person about it.

And then the match starts and while Koguma and Hazuki rush at DDM, Mayu LEAPS for the fence to try to get the hell out of there, but gets pulled down. Escape rules, gotta get your whole team out to win. Thekla and Giulia look to get out right away now, but it means leaving Mai behind to get triple-teamed and killed, so they head back down and we’re back at it. Have I mentioned that Thekla rules? She rules. I adore that woman.

Action is too fast to call in there as everyone trades off for double and triple teams. Thekla leaps to the top quickly and is the first one over to the floor, 1-0 for DDM. Giulia and Mai rule the ring and then attempt the climb, but a pair of spears sends both to the cage as STARS regains the advantage. Mayu is getting into things now, big smile on her face after a dropkick.

Hazuki and Giulia end up on top of the cage and Hauzki proceeds to get my favorite spot of the last six months or so, sending Giulia crashing to the mat and then hitting a Senton off the top of the cage and bouncing up to immediately run to the other side, scale the fence, and drop to the floor! That was AWESOME and popped the crowd like crazy. Kenny and Will can keep their Tiger Drivers, that was fucking GREAT. STARS ties it up at 1.

Mai puts both Mayu and Koguma in a double submission hold and Giulia attempts to climb out, but Hazuki scales the cage and pops balloons in her face to send her back in. That was certainly unique. Giulia and Mai hit a double elbow off the top rope and Giulia goes full on extra BADASS BITCH and puts Koguma in a leglock and Mayu in a front chancery at the SAME TIME, allowing Mai to climb out and give DDM a 2-1 edge.

So now, we’ve got DDM only one member away from winning, but it leaves Giulia on her own in there against Iwatani and Koguma, and they beat her ass with double teams. It’s a good stip because the closer you get to winning, you have to leave your partners on their own as a result. Koguma goes to the top of the cage and Mayu screams at her to get out, so she does…..with a flying bodypress to the goddamn floor onto everyone.

THIS RULES.

So we’re down to Giulia and Mayu, and now Mayu is in it. Suplex, Superkick, Giulia pops up with a suplex of her own! Mayu, who didn’t even want to do this, taps into her inner violence and brings the pain, and now she’s on the top rope with Giulia…..double underhook superplex! Mayu pops up and hits a Tombstone! Both women are out!

Mayu makes the climb but Giulia cuts her off and hits a missile dropkick off the top rope, then a sitout Tombstone. V-Trigger follows and then a Northern Lights Bomb. Mayu is DEAD and Giulia climbs, but Mayu makes one last desperate attempt to stop her. They meet at the top of the cage and you would think that we’re going to do a big spot, but instead Giulia puts her in a Guillotine, then shoves her to the mat and falls to the floor to keep the titles with Donna Del Mondo. Fabulous. (DDM over STARS, escape the cage, 16:48)

THOUGHTS: ****. This was a crazy collection of giant moves and a virtuouso performance by Mayu Iwatani, who overcame her fear of the cage as a character to get into the match and convey how badly she wanted to win. And it built an issue with Giulia to pay off in the future. Hazuki’s senton off the top was insane and I still can’t believe it having seen it more than once, as was Koguma’s dive off the top to everyone on the floor. Absolute insanity from bell to bell in the best way.

Post-match, Giulia gets the stick and talks about how as she turns 30, she’s not so good with heights and got more and more nervous as this title defense got closer, but the reason they could defend is their strong bond! Now, she wants to make things more personal – on July 4th and 5th, there’s 2 New Japan Strong shows. So there’s something she’s wanted for a while – she always wanted to visit a foreign country. So, New Japan, put Giulia on the Strong show and bring Willow Nightengale! It seems she has a new goal – so everyone watch over her! She hands the mic to Mai, who thanks the commoners who came out today. She says the cage is taller than the Empire State Building or the Eiffel Tower in Paris! I’m not sure I agree with your detective work there, Mai. She says they’ll eat steak tonight and the commoners can eat at the food stand!

And that wasn’t even the best match on this show.

Oedo Tai (Momo Watanabe, Natsuko Tora, Rina, Ruaka, Saki Kashima & Starlight Kid) vs Queen’s Quest (AZM, Hina, Lady C, Miyu Amasaki, Saya Kamitani & Utami Hayashishita) – Loser Leaves Faction match

Okay, so here’s the deal. Queen’s Quest has been in the doldrums for a bit now with losses and inter-faction problems. Saya and Utami aren’t getting along and now we’re in a Loser Leaves Faction match against the most evil group in Stardom. Oedo Tai, of course, just wants to watch the world burn and sees a chance to do it against the top group in the company.

I love the Loser Leaves Faction stip and think that it’s a crime that no one has stolen it here in North America. AEW especially could make some serious hay out of it – imagine putting the stip on Blood and Guts that the loser of the fall has to leave the group? There’s always a ton of tension in these matches because someone is going to lose more than the match, and it hits harder to lose than if you lost a title; you lose a faction mate, you lose someone who ostensibly has your back.

This is also in the cage, and Oedo Tai comes out clad in black and meaning business. Queen’s Quest gets in and let’s do this thing. Huge brawl to start as there’s too many people in the ring to really recap things for a bit. Both factions control for a bit and Oedo Tai gets a table out, as they brought many toys with them. Lady C gets the honors of being splashed through it. Awesome sequence as everyone gets judo thrown. Rina gets out first to give Oedo Tai a lead, but it evaporates as Hina goes out the other side right away to keep everything even. That gives us Starlight Kid vs AZM chapter 1001, which I’m more than fine with. They do their usual goodness and both end up on the top rope before Lady C chokeslams Kid off the top and AZM tries to outdo Hazuki from earlier, hitting a double foot stomp off the top rope onto Starlight and running across to climb out and give QQ a 2-1 lead.

Everyone pairs off now and Oedo Tai ends up with too many women down and that allows Miyu to climb out to get QQ halfway home, 3-1. But that leaves them at a 3-5 disadvantage inside the ring, and Momo goes wild with her bat, beating the crap out of all of them and making it over the top to make it 3-2 QQ. Lady C dropkicks Starlight into the fence and climbs, but gets cut off by Ruaka and Kid hits an assisted brainbuster before going up and moonsaulting C off the top of the cage! She kinda missed, but still. She climbs out now and we’re tied up 3-3, both factions are halfway home.

A ladder comes into play and that backfires on the baddies, as Lady C ends up sacrificing her back to hit a double side Russian legsweep onto the ladder on Ruaka and Tora. Utami boosts her up and she’s out, so QQ regains the advantage outside, 4-3. That leaves Saya and Utami in the ring against 3 Oedo Tai members, though, and they’re not exactly on the same page these days. Utami saves Saya from a shot with the case, but swings it and ends up hitting her anyway. Whoops. Meanwhile, in all of that clamor, Ruaka goes over the top and now we’re down to 2 on 2, tied at 4 on the outside.

Utami sets up the ladder and tells Saya to climb up and out, but Utami tries to follow and Tora yanks the ladder down. Saya makes it out, though, and we’re down to 1 versus 2 in the ring and holy shit does it get good. The butterflies are off the charts as anything could happen here with the story they’re telling. Tora levels Utami with a chain and hits a Death Valley Driver onto two chairs, then makes the climb but Utami recovers to suplex her off the top onto the chairs as karma is a bitch.

Utami with the climb but Natsuko stops that and meets her at the top where they slug it out, then Kid hands Tora a bat and Tora swings it to send Utami crashing to the mat. Tora then enters the crazy move of the night sweepstakes with a Swanton off the top onto Utami before escaping and now we’re down to one on one and anyone can win this. Utami is busted open with blood pouring down her face and the drama is off the fucking CHARTS. Utami puts Saki down and climbs for it. Momo heads up from the outside to try to stop her, and Saya heads up to stop HER.

And now, Momo hands Saya the bat. It’s her choice to make! Does she hit Utami and surely cause her to lose the match? Likely handing leadership of Queen’s Quest to Saya? She thinks for a moment, raises the bat….and NAILS Momo, sending her crashing off the cage and the crowd into a frenzy, then reaches out her hand to Utami to help her over the cage. They share a look at the top before both climb down and Utami hits the floor to win the match, keeping Queen’s Quest intact and sharing a hug with Saya as the bell rings. (Queen’s Quest over Oedo Tai, escape the cage, 23:23)

THOUGHTS: ****1/2. Okay. So yeah, I can see the argument that there was a bit of bloat to this match but I don’t care because it was GREAT. The stuff between Saya and Utami was great. The little bits like giving us more of AZM and Starlight was great. The last sequence with a bloody Utami where she looked like a warrior was great. The stakes felt real and the drama had me on the edge of my seat while I watched it, even when I saw it the second time and I already knew who won! You didn’t know what Saya was going to do and I could have seen either direction. If this big win is going to lead to Utami ending Tam eventually, I’m all aboard that train. I adored this match as they used the stipulation to it’s greatest effect, building and building to the dramatic conclusion – when we lost some of the lesser factioners like Hina and Rina early, you knew that someone of consequence was losing this thing. Killer match on all levels as Utami remains my favorite women’s wrestler in the world.

Post-match, Oedo Tai takes things as well as they normally do, getting in the cage and beating the shit out of Kashima for losing. Unit Warfare is the pride of Oedo Tai! They lost because Saki was weak! Queen’s Quest gets in and goes after Oedo Tai again as Tora tells Utami that she didn’t beat her today and she’ll pay for what she’s done. Oedo Tai leaves as AZM gets the mic. She tells Saki she didn’t like her taking her belt, but what is she going to do now that she has to leave Oedo Tai? Why not team up with AZM? AZM offers the hand, but Saki stumbles away from the ring alone.

Utami has wiped the blood from her face; well, most of it. She puts over everyone in Queen’s Quest on the mic, thanking them. She crawls over to Saya and gives her a tearful apology, saying she’s sorry for everything, then hands her the mic. Saya says that usually she wouldn’t say this, but she respects her, loves her, and wants to continue to be by her side. Everyone hugs on the mat in a giant pile and it’s just warm and beautiful because you know what? Wrestling can be that sometimes. Sometimes, the good women win the day and love and honor and respect each other. And when that happens, it’s at it’s best. Utami with the mic again and she thanks everyone individually for believing in her, promising to never let them down as their leader and they’ll work together to make it to the top of Stardom! Bow down to the Queens! And Utami collapes to the mat, spent, and Saya helps pick her up and the rest of Queen’s Quest help her to the back.

And we’re done.

FINAL THOUGHTS: One of the best 1-2 punches to finish a show in recent memory, with a great ending and a reminder of how great Utami is as a top babyface. I wrote about this show mostly due to the feeling I had while watching it, because I don’t always get feelings from wrestling as much as I used to; but I got it here. What a great show this was. And you all should watch it.

That’s it for this one. Up next for me……the G-1. Yep, I’m going to give it a shot. And I will be back with Stardom as well, I never stopped watching it and I don’t intend to stop now.

As always, thanks for reading this thing I wrote,

Rick Poehling
@MrSoze on Twitter
jedimacewindu@yahoo.com