STARDOM in Osaka
April 10th, 2025 | EDION Arena in Osaka, Japan | Attendance: 507
We’re on the road to All-Star Grand Queendom. That means it’s likely our final few looks at Tam Nakano given the ongoing storyline. Combine that with some intrigue in the opener and this was a show I had to check out in full.
Akira Kurogane, FWC and Yuria Hime vs. Mayu Iwatani, Momo Kohgo and wing*gori
Things have gotten heated between Hanan and Hazuki. Though stablemates, the two went after one another verbally in a recent presser with Hanan suggesting Hazuki bullied Matoi last year, Hazuki dissing Hanan’s status on the STARS totem pole, and more. The whole thing was uncomfortable and spills over onto the 4/27 show when FWC faces wing*gori. It’s interesting that FWC tagged with the non-STARS girls here. Hanan wanted to start this against Hazuki but the veteran declined and let Akira do the honors. It didn’t go too well for Akira. We eventually got the moment where Hazuki tagged herself in to face off against Hanan and it has me ready for that tag title match at the PPV. Since it’s STARS here, it should come as no surprise that the wrestling was high quality and almost every combination worked. Interestingly, a shot from Hanan set up the finish as Saya then covered Hazuki to beat her in 10:08. Hyped the tag title match perfectly and was filled with action. Very good way to start the show. [***¼]
Ranna Yagami and Tomoka Inaba vs. Sayaka Kurara and Yuna Mizumori
Not much in the way of story for this one. Instead, it was just a classic tag involving some of the undercard talents. You can always count on them to bring the effort and give you a solid match. That’s just what we got here. Ranna and Tomoka have become a team I really like. Their array of kicks and their styles set them apart from the rest of the tag division. Yuna was her usual self while Sayaka continues to impress. I really liked her exchanges with Ranna in this one. The finish involved them too as Ranna laid her out with a kick and then pulled her into a pinning combination to win in 8:46. Like I said, solid pro wrestling. [**¾]
Azusa Inaba, Fukigen Death and Konami vs. Mei Seira, Miyu Amasaki and Tabata
Tabata has been up and down since arriving in STARDOM. At times, she’s looked like a solid, high speed inclusion with potential and at other times, she gets botchy and her matches end up rather messy. This was more of the latter as some of her stuff with the HATE girls came off awkwardly. The heels did isolate her and work her over, meaning she did more selling than anything else but when she got on offense, it wasn’t exactly clicking. This got a bit better when it was Mei or Miyu in there but not enough to make this something I particularly enjoyed. The finish saw Miyu beat Fukigen Death with a pinning combination after 8:10. It was a match that happened. That’s the most I can say for it. [**]
Lady C and Syuri vs. Natsuko Tora and Rina
At least we’re finally about to get Syuri vs. Mayu because I have been dying for Syuri to have something of note to do for a while. That said, there’s no build for that here so it was just a standard tag. Natsuko beat up on Lady C a fair bit as the bully that she is. However, the match stepped up when we got Syuri against Rina. She had a good 2024 but since the calendar turned to 2025, Rina has been on a tear and seeing her mix it up with Syuri showcased that again. Honestly, just put Rina in there with all the top girls. Of course, only person in this match was ever going to eat the pin. Syuri is too important, Rina is on the rise, and Natsuko rarely jobs. That means Natsuko pinned Lady C after a top rope splash in 9:45. Not even a Swanton Bomb. Just a splash. The match itself was decent, with Rina/Syuri being the highlight. [**½]
HANAKO vs. Suzu Suzuki
Suzu Suzuki is in an interesting place right now, having just broken away from her Neo Genesis stablemates. She’s kind of off on her own right now which is rare in STARDOM. Meanwhile, HANAKO has been getting more shine since her tag league run with Maika. I didn’t see much difference in how Suzu worked this match. She wasn’t more aggressive or anything like that. You’d think she was still just a member of Neo Genesis with this. That said, she did have a few spots where something different kind of popped out, like her sitting on HANAKO and just slapping her in the back of the head. HANAKO did her best to slug with Suzu, trading forearms in the middle of the ring but she’s a few notches below Suzu on the card for a reason. She never felt like a true threat here. Suzu withstood HANAKO’s best stuff and won with the Tequila Shot in 9:25. I appreciate that being a secondary finisher to put away lower card ladies. A solid match. [***]
Aya Sakura, Natsupoi and Saori Anou vs. Maika, Rian and Waka Tsukiyama
I’ve missed Natsupoi. She’s been dealing with an injury and hasn’t had anything to do since losing the white belt at the end of 2024. Poi got right into the mix, opting to open the match for her team against Rian. The match was its best when Maika was in there. She continues to come across like a true force in STARDOM, tossing the Cosmic Angels around. There was some fun to be had here, particularly in a spot where Maika held Natsupoi in the ropes and got the other Cosmic Angels girls to awkwardly pose with her for a bunch of photos. That’s the kind of thing you get when your semi-main event isn’t hyping up an important match. A key to this match working though was Aya Sakura. She continues to impress each time out and feels like she’s ready to be the next big thing from this unit, especially if Tam Nakano is on her way out. Down the stretch, Maika had one more run as a dominant force and it took both Poi and Saori to take her down. A trio of kicks to the head from Aya put down Rian after 13:35. Again, some good wrestling here even if didn’t mean much. [***]
Ruaka and Saya Kamitani vs. Starlight Kid and Tam Nakano
One of these things is not like the other. The HATE members jumped their opponents before the bell and took the fight to the outside for some brawling around the ring. You know, the same thing they do at least once per show. The New Japan booking is strong with STARDOM. Once back in the ring, the top two champions went at it. They had a great match in the Grand Prix last year. Here, SLK was at a disadvantage thanks to the pre-match assault, so she played the face in peril. The tag finally went to Tam, who flew in with a cross body only to quickly have her momentum stopped by a cheap shot from Saya. There was a very awkward moment where Tam and Ruaka miscommunicated and just kind of stood there waiting for one of them to strike. Things broke down late as they tend to do in these matches with the highlight being SLK and Tam hitting stereo dives to the outside. SLK had Saya in trouble in the Black Tiger Leg Destroyer but Ruaka interrupted with the weird briefcase gimmick. Saya then beat her with the Star Crusher to win in 15:28. I didn’t think Starlight Kid would eat the pin there. A good main event though. [***¼]
0 – 0.9
Torture
1 – 1.9
Extremely Horrendous
2 – 2.9
Very Bad
3 – 3.9
Bad
4 – 4.9
Poor
5 – 5.9
Not So Good
6 – 6.9
Average
7 – 7.9
Good
8 – 8.9
Very Good
9 – 9.9
Amazing
10
Virtually Perfect
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