STARDOM Syuri and Maika Headline Hiroshima Goddess Festival

November 3, 2022 Karen Peterson NEWS, Show Reports
Syuri reconciles her Five Star Grand Prix Loss to former DDM Stablemate Maika (c) STARDOM

DISCLOSURE: Karen Peterson is currently working with Bushiroad (parent company of New Japan and Stardom) on a limited basis on a series of articles on the history of Stardom leading into the Historic X-Over event in November that will appear on their website.

  • Show Availability: The event archive will be available until November 6th at 11:59 PM JST via Pia Livestream; to be added to STARDOM WORLD sometime after the archive period ends.
  • Japanese Commentary: Haruo Murata (play-by-play), Makoto Ohe (color commentary) with guest commentator Koguma in her live commentary debut!
  • English Commentary: Unavailable

STARDOM made its Hiroshima Sun Plaza with Hiroshima Goddess Festival. With the opening of the Goddesses Tag League on October 23rd and the road to Historic X-Over and STARDOM Dream Queendom, STARDOM is celebrating Culture Day (11/3) with another packed card that stands outside the realm of the tag league tournament matches. 

Spoiler Warning: Includes 5 Way Battle* as the Opening match

Spoiler-Free Synopsis

  • Opening Match: 5 Way Battle (1/15): Can Waka break her 100-match losing streak? – Worth a Watch
  • Tag Match (1/15): FWC take on OET – Worth a Watch
  • Special Single Match (1/15): Jumbo Pineapple Yahho~! – Worth a Watch
  • The Revenge Match (1/15): Will Natsuko finish what she and Utami started last year? – Recommended
  • 6-Woman Tag Match (1/15): Konami is back once more! – Recommended
  • SWA World Championship (1/30): Second defense for Mayu in the same week! – Worth a Watch
  • Goddesses of STARDOM Championship (1/30): Two of the most popular tag teams square off before their League Match – Highly Recommended
  • Wonder of STARDOM Championship (1/15): Can Chanmina curb Kamitani’s runaway success with the White Belt? – Highly Recommended
  • World of STARDOM Championship (1/15): Syuri’s Five Star GP Loss Defense Road Starts with The Empress – Highly Recommended

5 Way Battle: AZM defeated Miyu Amasaki, Saya Iida, Waka Tsukiyama & Lady C (5:43) – AZM pinned Waka with a leg roll clutch

The central focus of this match was Waka Tsukiyama’s continued epic journey to shatter her 100-match losing streak since her first match on September 6, 2021. With Momo Kohgo out of the match due to feeling unwell, the odds were tipped in favor of Queen’s Quest, as the previous three-way tag, turned into an every woman for herself five-way battle. 

Honestly, my favorite moment in the match was Lady C, trying to help Waka get her first win over AZM in a C-Moon reunion double team. Unfortunately, it was not meant to be as Amasaki slid in and thwarted their attempt. It was a short, fun opening match, focusing more on the more junior members of the roster as opposed to the seasoned veterans in Iida and AZM.

What’s Next:

  • AZM – Likely a High-Speed Championship match at STARDOM Gold Rush; continuing in Goddess Tag League with Amasaki as 02line
  • Saya Iida – continuing in Goddess Tag League with Hanan as wing★gori
  • Lady C – continuing in Goddess Tag League with DDM’s Mai Sakurai as Mai Fair Lady
  • Miyu Amasaki – continuing with AZM in Goddess Tag League with AZM as 02line
  • Waka Tsukiyama – continuing her quest for her first win in STARDOM since her debut last fall. THE WORLD IS CHEERING FOR YOU, WAKA!!!!

Tag Match: Fukuoka Double Crazy (Hazuki/Koguma) defeated OedoTai (Saki Kashima/Ruaka) (6:49) – with Koguma pinning Kashima with a bridging roll-up

Take the tag league and make it high-speed. This match helped give some Tag League vibes to an otherwise stand-alone on the outside of Goddess Tag League card. With Kashima and Ruaka both tagging with other members of OedoTai, this was Fukuoka Double Crazy’s match to lose with their reputation as defending Goddesses of Stardom Tag League Champions and as former Goddesses Tag Team Champions. 

With the bulk of Oedo Tai tied up elsewhere on the card, this match had virtually no time for shenanigans either.  

What’s Next:

  • Hazuki & Koguma – continuing in Goddess Tag League as defending tournament champions and hopefully going for back-to-back wins!
  • Saki Kashima – continuing in Goddess Tag League with Fukigen Death as We Love Tokyo Sports
  • Ruaka – continuing in Goddess Tag League with Natsuko Tora as Team BMI 2000

Intermission Video Package

Tam Nakano will be featured in a special STARDOM show in Anjo City in honor of the city’s 70th Anniversary. Another pro wrestler who hails from Anjo City would be none other than The Rainmaker, Kazuchika Okada. Anjo City’s 70th Anniversary Memorial Show Triangle Derby 1 in Anjoy ~Tam’s Road~  will be held at Tosho Arena Anjou on 1/9/2023. Additional details, matches, and more will be announced at later dates on STARDOM’s official social media channels and homepage.

 

STARDOM Awards Day & Night events will be at Belle Salle Takadanobaba in Tokyo on 1/21/2023. Usually, the annual awards show opens the new year, however, they decided to move the date to STARDOM’s foundation date. The daytime session will have a special event card and the evening session will have the awards show and photo sessions with the talent by unit.   

Special Singles Match: Himeka defeated Yuna Mizumori (7:41) with a running powerbomb

I do love that Mizumori sings her own entrance song as she makes her way down to the ring. The connection between Himeka and Yunamon is they spent time together in ActWres GirlZ, wrestling against and with one another. While I love Mizumori’s fun-loving, lighthearted approach to wrestling, I genuinely loved seeing her flip the switch with her old comrade and take a more serious, hard-hitting approach. Their reunion was brief, but Yunamon left with a handshake from Himeka. 

What’s Next:

  • Himeka – continuing in Goddess Tag League with Maika as MaiHime and one of the fan favorites to win this year’s tag tournament
  • Yuna Mizumori has been popping by in STARDOM’s  NEW BLOOD series since her surprise entrance at the Cinderella Rumble earlier this year. With another NEW BLOOD and SHOWCASE show in the next month, we may be seeing more Tropical Yahho sooner rather than later. 

The Revenge Match: Utami Hayashishita defeated  Natsuko Tora (12:50) with a Highjack Bomb

7/4/2021 World of Stardom championship  Yokohama Budoukan It started out with an emotional promise after a heartbreaking doctor stop last summer. During Natsuko’s World of Stardom Championship challenge against the champion, Utami Hayashishita, the leader of OET blew out her knee on a table splash. “(Until the time you return)… I’ll protect this belt…”  were Utami’s famous last words as five months later at STARDOM Dream Queendom, Syuri finally dethroned her as red belt champion in the final match on the final show on the final day of the company’s 2021. 

“The Utami I want to fight is the one from back then. She was the strongest in the world. Now, she’s only a shadow of what she was and messing around. It’s a damned shame.”

– Natsuko (in the press conference)”

This felt less like a revisiting of their World of STARDOM Championship match, and more of a fresh start. Natsuko ripped off the bandage to attempt the table spot that put her on the shelf, but Utami slipped out, gave her an air raid crash on the apron, and turned the tables. With Natsuko’s black rose between her teeth, Utami splashed through the table. Their match was closing in on the time limit, but after a couple of beautiful suplexes,  Utami finished Natsuko off with a  Highjack Bomb. She closed the previously unfinished chapter, while simultaneously opening a new one as Queen’s Quest still isn’t finished with OedoTai and their poaching of Momo Watanabe last December.

I was surprised this match didn’t go to a time-limit draw, but with all the assistance Natsuko had from Ruaka and Saki Kashima throughout the match, I’m glad it didn’t.

What’s Next:

  • Utami Hayashishita – continuing in Goddess Tag League with Saya Kamitani as AphroditE; scheduled to tag with Hiroshi Tanahashi at Historic X-Over against Maika & Hirooki Goto (11/20)
  • Natsuko Tora – continuing in Goddess Tag League with Ruaka as Team 2000 BMI. 

6- Woman Tag Match: God’s Eye (MIRAI, Ami Sohrei & Konami) vs. Donna del Mondo (Giulia, Thekla & Mai Sakurai) (15:00) – Time Limit Draw… but Giulia made sure Konami was paying attention!!

Konami returns to God’s Eye in her hometown of Hiroshima for a special trios tag with MIRAI and Ami Sohrei) for the first time in six months. Previously, Konami joined God’s Eye during the Golden Week tour of west Japan. I say it each time I see Konami again, she doesn’t look or feel like she’s been gone for months at a time! She looks great and it makes me happy to see her healthy and continuing to wrestle!

The heart of this match was a sneaky Goddesses Tag League bonus match with Mafia Bella (Giulia and Thekla) and THE NEW ERAS (MIRAI and Ami Sohrei) at the center of it. While Konami and Mai did get to show off and show out a little here and there, there is a possible League Finals preview as MB are in the Blue  Goddesses and NEs are in the Red Goddesses blocks! Loved all the submissions and team moves. MIRAI got a little DDM comeuppance for abandoning the group when Syuri left as well!

More than anything, I want a Konami x Thekla singles match… and Holy Hiroshima Okonomiyaki, I have MISSED Konami’s Triangle Lancer with its 100% success rate. Giulia intentionally dragged out the closing run to the bell and then chose to punctuate her point by giving Konami with not one but two Glorious Drivers after the bell.

*chef’s kiss*

What’s Next:

  • Giulia – continuing in Goddess Tag League with Thekla as Mafia Bella; scheduled to tag with Zack Sabre Jr  at Historic X-Over against Syuri & Tom Lawlor (11/20) 
  • Thekla –  continuing in Goddess Tag League with Giulia as Mafia Bella
  • Mai Sakurai – continuing in Goddess Tag League with Lady C  as Mai Fair Lady
  • MIRAI continues in Goddess Tag League with Ami Sohrei as THE NEW ERAS. 
  • Ami Sohrei – continuing in Goddess Tag League with MIRAI  as THE NEW ERA; the Future of STARDOM Champion will likely have her first defense soon.
  • Konami with STARDOM Dream Queendom being the one-year anniversary of her final match in STARDOM prior to her hiatus, I would love to see her on the card.  

SWA World Championship: Mayu Iwatani © defeated Jazzy “Alpha Female” Gabert (11:07) with a moonsault press and pin combination

When this match was announced prior to the Stardom Bracket of the IWGP Women’s Championship, my initial reaction was twofold: 1) KAIRI would be advancing to the finals, and 2) Mayu would meet her there. I liked that STARDOM afforded Gabert an extended residence in Japan due to her participation at Royal Quest 2 and the International Bracket of the  IWGP Women’s Championship Tournament. 

The match was good, and I am glad to see it live up to its global purpose, especially after Iwatani’s defense against KiLynn King at Rumble on 44th Street. However, immediately after the match, Iwatani requested to surrender the SWA so she could focus on her  IWGP Women’s Tournament Final against KAIRI, which is understandable. 

“In order to best focus my energy and effort on the IWGP Women’s Championship, allow me vacate the SWA World Championship. I know it may be selfish, but please understand and support this decision.”

– Mayu Iwatani (post-match, in-ring promo)

This is the second time this year that the SWA Championship has been vacated. Previously, Syuri vacated it in January after becoming World of Stardom Champion. Perhaps another tournament will be held to crown the next champion.  

What’s Next:

  • Mayu Iwatani – continuing in Goddess Tag League with Momo Kohgo as Peach☆Rock; scheduled to face KAIRI at Historic X-Over in the finals of the IWGP Women’s Championship Tournament (11/20) 
  • Jazzy Gabert – We’ll have to see if the NEO STARDOM ARMY causes any more trouble in the coming months, especially with Nanae Takahashi and Yuu as 7Upp in Goddesses Tag League. 

Goddesses of Stardom Tag Championship: meltear (Tam Nakano & Natsupoi) © defeated BLACK DESIRE (Starlight Kid & Momo Watanabe) (1522) with Natsupoi pinning Starlight Kid with Fairy Strain

I love the tag team entrance themes and want those tracks to drop now! …much like how OedoTai dropped Tam and Natsupoi during their entrance telling them to stop acting like idols. I was wondering where the OedoTai shenanigans were, but they started heavy and right out of the gate before the bell even rang. 

This was a great way to feature the Goddesses Tag League, especially against a pair of former champions. Both teams are in the Blue Goddesses Block and will meet later on in the tournament, so this is a fantastic preview of what we can expect from arguably two wildly popular tag teams. I loved that there was the added layer of Natsupoi and SLK revisiting their High-Speed days, which feels like a lifetime ago. Natsupoi and SLK have been trading singles wins and a losses since the Cinderella Tournament, meeting again over the summer in the Five Star Grand Prix. 

Tam and Momo without a doubt make great cases for tag team wrestlers but also as singles championship contenders much like their respective tag team partners. I really enjoyed this match, and it brings the spotlight back onto the Tag League. My only beef with the officiating is that the match should have been thrown out the moment Ruaka threw her OED Suitcase into the ring and hit Natsupoi square in the head. The plastic bat wasn’t necessary, and I don’t get why OET wasn’t ejected as a result. 

Loved Momo’s Tequila Sunrise. Loved Tam’s Tiger Suplex. Loved Natsupoi’s Fairy Ring. L-O-V-E-D SLK’s Stretch Muffler Hold. With a Fairy Strain, Natsupoi pins SLK for meltear’s second successful defense. The tag tournament is just over a week in and the bar is set exceptionally high for whoever steps up to Tam and Natsupoi. 

What’s Next:

  • Tam Nakano – continuing in Goddess Tag League with Natsupoi as meltear; scheduled to tag with Natsupoi, Taichi and Yoshinobu Kanemaru against SLK/Watanabe, El Desperado, and DOUKI at Historic X-Over (11/20)
  • Natsupoi  – continuing in Goddess Tag League with Tam  as meltear; scheduled to tag with Tam, Taichi, and Yoshinobu Kanemaru against SLK/Watanabe, El Desperado, and DOUKI at Historic X-Over (11/20)  
  • Starlight Kid – continuing in Goddess Tag League with Momo Watanabe  as BLACK DESIRE; scheduled to tag with Momo, El Desperado & DOUKI against Tam, Natsupoi, Taichi & Kanemaru  at Historic X-Over (11/20) 
  • Momo Watanabe– continuing in Goddess Tag League with Starlight Kid as BLACK DESIRE; scheduled to tag with SLK, El Desperado & DOUKI against Tam, Natsupoi, Taichi & Kanemaru  at Historic X-Over (11/20) 

Wonder of Stardom Championship: Saya Kamitani © defeated  Mina Shirakawa (20:35) with a Phoenix Splash/pin 

Much like Tam Nakano and Saya Kamitani before her, Mina Shirakawa has been chasing the Wonder of STARDOM Championship for some time. Her first attempt against Tam in 2021 at Tokyo Super Wars led to the arrival of her alter ego, The Bloody Angel. When she lost, she vowed to get stronger.  In the 2022 Five Star Grand Prix, Shirakawa had one of the upsets of the tournament with a new attitude, and a sharpened skill set and managed to take down Saya Kamitani with a Glorious Driver Mina. Fresh off her trip to NYC for Rumble on 44th Street, The Venus of Victory danced her way in with Big Match Belly Dancing Gear (with little light blue and teal accents for Kamitani)!  

Kamitani used a couple of new moves, like the reverse triangle choke hold, that felt very fresh. Shirakawa working on Saya’s knee throughout the match really played into the events of the match, which I really liked. It made Shirakawa look like a legitimate contender and also put Kamitani in plenty of peril to keep the Golden Phoenix busy. It also makes the possibility of a Phoenix Splash seem hopeless. Full marks to that standing Frankensteiner and the Avalanche DDT. WHEW! 

I could have done without the double Phoenix Splash, especially after the second one landed square on Shirakawa’s unprotected face, which looked more like a Guillotine Leg Drop.  I know it was done for emphasis, proving to everyone that she can still do the move, but the accident could have been avoided. This marks Kamitani’s 10th successful defense as Wonder of STARDOM Champion. 

In my heart, I wanted Shirakawa to win, however, my head told me that Kamitani is retaining at least until Dream Queendom. Much like her previous challenge for the Wonder, Mina showed her aggression, but also her growth over the last two years. Having a championship match on the second anniversary of her arrival in STARDOM is certainly special, but I hope it’s only the beginning for her. Kamitani continues her outstanding run as Wonder of STARDOM Champion, slowly closing in on Momo Watanabe’s longest record. 

After the match, Kamitani calls out the name synonymous with the Wonder of STARDOM Championship – the match which had been canceled due to illness earlier in the summer – against KAIRI. While Kamitani has shattered KAIRI’s record with the belt in numbers, she won’t be satisfied until she checks the Pirate Queen’s name off her list. 

What’s Next:

  • Saya Kamitani – continuing in Goddess Tag League with Utami Hayashishita as AphroditE; KAIRI accepted Saya’s call out for STARDOM Gold Rush in Osaka on 11/19.  
  • Mina Shirakawa –  continuing in Goddess Tag League with SAKI as KAWILD VENUS. Let 2023 be the year she finally claims the white belt.

World of Stardom Championship: Syuri © defeated Maika (25:56) with SyuSekai

They were scouted from the independents by Giulia together. They joined DDM and won the Artists of STARDOM Championship together. Then they started to run parallel trajectories in the tag division with Maika teaming with Himeka and Syuri with Giulia. Between Five STARS and Cinderellas, they traded time as champions and in the spotlight and even wrestled at Wrestle Grand Slam in MetLife Dome.

“Stop talking down to me because right now,  you and I are standing side by side.”

– Maika to Syuri at the press conference.

While Syuri’s been wrestling for 14 years and is one of the top wrestlers today, the growth Maika has shown in her short career since coming to STARDOM has been tremendous. Their match was exactly what I expected focused on power fighting with both trying to break down and outlast the other. With their journey in STARDOM starting together, it’s been one of my favorite things to see them fight. Syuri is at the stage of her run with the World Championship where she isn’t simply defending the championship, but elevating those around her like Maika.

What love about this match is that much like their match in the Five Star, Maika pushes herself to prove to everyone that she is not only worthy of the red belt but that she is on equal footing with those hovering around the conversation namely Utami and Giulia. Maika’s growth since May when she challenged Kamitani at Fukuoka Goddess Festival for the Wonder of STARDOM Championship is very clear.

Maika’s Michinoku Driver IIs. SWEET CHEESUS.

Syuri — I cannot say enough wonderful things about her. She’s added her own vermillion flavor to the Red Belt, carefully selecting opponents who make its flavor so incredibly rich. I want to know the secret recipe of SyuSekai because the title defenses she is serving up are so fulfilling, but leave me craving seconds and thirds! This is the fifth serving that has cleared the twenty-five-minute mark, not including the thirty-six-minute match against Utami where she won the championship. The Champion is sending opponent after opponent on first-class tickets to SyuSekai, and we’re all just living in her world now.

While Maika has challenged for both the Wonder and World Championships with no results, I could easily see her in the conversation for a singles championship in 2023. Her matches with both Kamitani and Syuri prove that.

“MAIKAAAAAA!!!! YOU’VE BECOME SO STRONG!!!”

– Syuri to Maika (post-match, in-ring)

The Champion checks off the first name in her Kill Bill-esque List of 5TAR Debts. With felling Maika, Syuri takes her defense streak to nine, but still has four more names remaining on her path to the main event of STARDOM Dream Queendom on December 29th. She decided to go from the frying pan with Maika and into the fryer… as Utami Hayashishita strolled out and declared herself as her next opponent. Having yet to face Giulia in singles competition and recently getting eliminated by Mayu Iwatani in the IWGP Women’s Championship Tournament, Utami is eager to start her new chapter and second reign as World of STARDOM Champion!!

If you’re new to STARDOM, might I suggest you chase up their 2021 Dream Queendom World of STARDOM Championship match AND their 43-minute time limit World of STARDOM match from June 2021.

The remaining names standing between Syuri and Giulia: Utami Hayashishita (11/19), Risa Sera, Koguma, and Saki Kashima.

What’s Next:

  • Syuri – continuing in Goddess Tag League with Just Tap Out’s Tomoka Inaba as KARATE BRAVE; scheduled to tag with Team Filthy’s Tom Lawlor  at Historic X-Over against Giulia and Zack Sabre Jr; currently on track to face Giulia at STARDOM Dream Queendom on 12/29 for the World of STARDOM Championship barring any defense loses  in the next month and a half. Next up: Utami Hayashishita at Osaka GOLD RUSH on November 19th.
  • Maika  continuing in Goddess Tag League with Himeka as MaiHime; tagging with Hirooki Goto against Utami Hayashishita & Hiroshi Tanahashi at Historic X-Over.  

Big Match 2022 Calendar – Results included in Dream Slam Weekly unless otherwise indicated

  • STARDOM Gold Rush 2022 (11/19) – Osaka Edion Arena
  • STARDOM x NJPW (11/20) – Ariake Arena – Full Event Report!
  • STARDOM in Showcase 3 (11/26) Todoroki Arena, Kawasaki City
  • *NEW* STARDOM Goddess Tag League Finals (12/4)
  • STARDOM Dream Queendom 2022 (12/29) – Ryogoku Sumo Hall – Full Event Report!

2023 Big Match Calendar – Results included in Dream Slam Weekly unless otherwise indicated

  • STARDOM Triangle Derby (1/3/2023) – New Trios Tournament! – Yokohama Budoukan
  • Wrestle Kingdom 17 (1/4/2023) – Inaugural IWGP Women’s Champion First Defense – Tokyo Dome
  • *NEW* STARDOM Triangle Derby 1 in Nagoya (1/8/2023) Nagoya International Conference Center, 

Karen’s Corner

Keep an eye out for photos and updates from Osaka (11/19) and Tokyo (11/20) as I am packing my own bags and going to Japan! I had to pick between Historic X-Over and Wrestle Kingdom 17, and I couldn’t resist the first ever co-promotional show.

While 2022 is winding down, I am already looking forward to a brilliantly sparkling 2023, and I hope you’ll join me. Salamat po! See you soon!

About Karen Peterson 120 Articles
Occasionally drops by wrestling podcasts, but remains rather elusive. Joined the Japanese wrestling fan scene in summer 2017, and continues to work on bridging the language gap between fans. Outside of wrestling, she’s a dog mom, perpetual Japanese learner, and when conditions permit, world traveler. Never skips dessert.
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