Stardom - Oedo Tai Produce: Golden Week Stars 2018 (5/3/2018)

3. STARS (Kaori Yoneyama & Ruaka) vs. Shiki☆d (Shiki Shibusawa & Starlight Kid)

Great tag match where things get heated between SLK and Ruaka leading into their FoS match.

***1/2

4. STARS (Jungle Kyona, Mary Apache & Natsuko Tora) vs. STARS (Mayu Iwatani, Saki Kashima & Tam Nakano)

Kyona & Tora are pissed about being snubbed during the draft so they are exploding with emotion. STARS trio had cool tandem attacks, and Team Jungle sold the defeat well in the post-match. Kyona has been on a roll lately.

***1/2

5. European Rounds Match: Chardonnay vs. Session Moth Martina

This is the most comfortable these two have looked in a Stardom ring, I was surprised to see they haven't had any prior matches together elsewhere. Highly entertaining. Martina showed what her character is all about.

***1/4

6. Elimination: Oedo Tai (Brandi Rhodes, Hana Kimura, Hazuki, Kagetsu & Sumire Natsu) vs. Queen's Quest (AZM, Bea Priestley, Io Shirai, Konami & Momo Watanabe)

You can't go wrong with these multi-man scrambles in front of a hot 1stRING crowd. The avalanche powerbomb that Kagetsu hits on Io was breathtaking!

***3/4

SEAdLINNNG - Shinkiba 3rd Night (4/18/2018)

1. Catch The WAVE 2018 Violence Block: Arisa Nakajima vs. Mio Momono

This was Arisa's return match after a short time away and she's having a hard time putting the sneaky little shit Momono away - these two match up so well. 

****

4. Best Friends (Arisa Nakajima & Tsukasa Fujimoto) vs. Command Bolshoi & Yoshiko

Good match. Arisa and Bolshoi are colliding for the first time since the former left JWP, and Yoshiko also wants a piece of the action. This was splendid.

****

LEVEL 5 (Yuu Yamagata, Tomoko Watanabe & Natsumi Maki vs. W-FIX (KAORU, Chikayo Nagashima & Megumi Yabushita) (Marvelous, 5/3/2018)

Marvelous (5/3/2018)

LEVEL 5 (Yuu Yamagata, Tomoko Watanabe & Natsumi Maki vs. W-FIX (KAORU, Chikayo Nagashima & Megumi Yabushita)

W-FIX for control segment of the year with their torture session on Natsumi. KAORU scored some gnarly hits with her block of wood. Maybe went longer than it needed to be, but they were going all out in this main event.

***1/4

Marvelous (4/15/2018)

1. Tsukasa Fujimoto & Asahi vs. Mio Momono & Ibuki Hoshi

What an amazing way to open a show, fast-paced and filled with energy.

***3/4

3. Reina Isis & La Jarochita vs. W-FIX (KAORU & Chikayo Nagashima)

Reina's attire, my days. This was better than it looked on paper, these teams gelled surprisingly well together and created a fun tag match. One of the better W-FIX-led matches I've seen.

***1/4

4. Yuu Yamagata vs. Megumi Yabushita

Enjoyable hero performance from Yamagata against the heel forces of W-Fix. Did its job in fueling the LEVEL 5-Fix feud.

***

5. NEW-TRA (Takumi Iroha & Rin Kadokura) & Leo Isaka vs. KUSO ONNA NIGHT (Yuki Miyazaki & Nagisa Nozaki) & Keisuke Goto

This was a spectacular trios match, crazy-fun from start to finish. The best match I've seen from Marvelous so far. Miyazaki is a riot.

****1/4

Sumire Natsu & Rin Kadokura vs. Mabudachi❤Chu2byo卍卍 (Maruko Nagasaki & Mio Momono) (Marvelous, 4/8/2018)

Marvelous (4/8/2018)

Sumire Natsu & Rin Kadokura vs. Mabudachi❤Chu2byo卍卍 (Maruko Nagasaki & Mio Momono)

Strong storytelling in this match, with Sumire trying to prove herself worthy of joining NEW-TRA and the generational feuding between Rin and Momo.

***3/4

Kyusei Sakura Hirota, Sumire Natsu & Rin Kadokura vs. Mabudachi❤Chu2byo卍卍 (Kyuuri, Maruko Nagasaki & Mio Momono (Marvelous, 2/26/2018)

Marvelous (2/26/2018)

Kyusei Sakura Hirota, Sumire Natsu & Rin Kadokura vs. Mabudachi❤Chu2byo卍卍 (Kyuuri, Maruko Nagasaki & Mio Momono)

An enjoyable trios main event. Mabudachi being little shits with their coordinated attacks, and Sumire and Hirota's comedy is where it shined.

***1/2

Stardom - Cinderella Tournament 2018 (4/30/2018)

12. Cinderella Tournament 2018 - Quarter Finals: Brandi Rhodes vs. Io Shirai

This was a fine match. Good layout, nothing outside of Brandi's skill set. Brandi is obviously limited in the ring, and she also lacks in charisma and physical confidence... insanely attractive woman though, so she does her part in increasing the visual of Oedos.

**1/4

13. Cinderella Tournament 2018 - Quarter Finals: Jungle Kyona vs. Momo Watanabe

Awesome match from these two, a desperate and passionate struggle with plenty of stiff hits. Kyona's selling of the B Driver on the apron and the way Momo just flicks her to the floor was excellent. Cool character moment for Momotaro.

***1/2

14. Cinderella Tournament 2018 - Semi-Finals: Io Shirai vs. Mayu Iwatani

What a treat that these two met in Cinderella. Slow, heavy pacing, selling the damage from their previous matches. I liked Io's targeting of Mayu's arm and that gnarly knee that she connected to Mayu's skull. Mayu springs back into action like a zombie with a fun comeback sequence.

***1/2

15. Cinderella Tournament 2018 - Finals: Bea Priestley vs. Momo Watanabe

An intense back and forth struggle. Some great trades, but it never reached that next level. I'm stoked that Momo won the tournament though.

***

Stardom - Rebirth (4/22/2018)

4. STARS (Mayu Iwatani, Saki Kashima & Shiki Shibusawa) vs. Queen's Quest (Io Shirai, Konami & Momo Watanabe)

This was another enjoyable trios from this pair of Osaka house shows. Great work over on Shiki in the opening segment. Saki's best showing since her return, some of her high-flying maneuvers reminded me of Natsuki Taiyo (albeit slower and loose in execution).

***1/4

5. Goddesses of Stardom Championship: Oedo Tai (Hana Kimura & Kagetsu) (c) vs. Queen's Quest (Bea Priestley & Chardonnay)

Competitive tag title match with momentum shifts happening on a whim. The action didn't all connect in a meaningful way, but it was a lot of fun to watch. The doomsday dropkick from Oedo Tai looked devastating.

***1/4

Oedo Tai (Hana Kimura, Hazuki & Kagetsu) vs. Team Jungle (Jungle Kyona, Kaori Yoneyama & Natsuko Tora) (Stardom, 4/21/2018)

Stardom - Rebirth (4/21/2018)

Oedo Tai (Hana Kimura, Hazuki & Kagetsu) vs. Team Jungle (Jungle Kyona, Kaori Yoneyama & Natsuko Tora)

Killer trios with fast-paced action. Team Jungle have come into their own lately, finding move sets that work for them, Kyona with her lariats and the interesting ways she sets them up, and Natsuko with those tackles.

***3/4