Stardom - New Years Stars 2018 (1/6/2018)

2. Kay Lee Ray & Xia Brookside vs. Queen's Quest (HZK & Momo Watanabe)

Pretty sweet match, all four competitors looked good. HZK hits an awesome heel kick - great addition to her moveset.

**1/2

4. AZM vs. Kagetsu

What a great match, easily the best AZM singles performance so far. Kagetsu doesn't take AZM seriously, until AZM shows that she can be a threat. AZM' selling and offense were top notch - I didn't see that corner springboard coming! The juji gatame finish was unexpected too. Good stuff.

***

5. Io Shirai vs. Sumire Natsu

 A solid house show match event. Sumire wasn't presented as a threat, relying mostly on outside interference from her stablemates; her use of Io's photobook was great heelwork. Io hits an awesome wrist-clutch knee strike (similar to the kamigoye) before she sets up the moonsault for the win.

**3/4

Stardom - New Years Stars 2018 (1/3/2018)

2. Hiromi Mimura vs. Kaori Yoneyama

This was boring during Yoneyama's control segment, per usual with Yoneyama matches, but once they start getting into the shouto stuff it gets really good.

**1/4

5. Oedo Tai (Hana Kimura, Kagetsu, Kris Wolf & Sumire Natsu) vs. Queen's Quest (AZM, HZK, Io Shirai & Momo Watanabe)

This was enjoyable, a lot of fun. Nothing in joshi puroresu comes close to the intimacy of Stardom's 1stRING shows.

***

Stardom - Goddesses of Stars 2017 (12/10/2017)

1. Kaori Yoneyama & Ruaka vs. Natsuko Tora & Starlight Kid

**1/4

2. Rookie of Stardom 2017: Hanan vs. Shiki Shibusawa

***

3. Chibis (Hiromi Mimura & Konami), Jungle Kyona & Mary Apache vs. Oedo Tai (Hana Kimura, Kagetsu, Kris Wolf & Sumire Natsu)

***

4. Bea Priestley, Chardonnay & Scarlett vs. Queen's Quest (AZM, HZK & Momo Watanabe)

**1/2

5. Wonder of Stardom Championship Match: Io Shirai (c) vs. Kelly Klein

Another solid filler defense for Io. The builds and set-ups were good. Klein came across better here than she has in any of the other matches I've seen her in. Io hits a moonsault off of a truck because she can, and shows off her strength with a tombstone piledriver counter.

***

6. Gauntlet Match: Yoko Bito vs. AZM, Hanan, Hiromi Mimura, Hiroyo Matsumoto, HZK, Io Shirai, Jungle Kyona, Kagetsu, Kaori Yoneyama, Konami, Kris Wolf, Mayu Iwatani, Momo Watanabe, Natsuko Tora, Ruaka, Shiki Shibusawa & Starlight Kid

***

Oedo Tai (Kagetsu, Hana Kimura & Kris Wolf) vs. Queen’s Quest (Io Shirai, HZK & Momo Watanabe) (Stardom , 12/13/2017)

Stardom - Momoiro Christmas (12/13/2017)

Oedo Tai (Kagetsu, Hana Kimura & Kris Wolf) vs. Queen’s Quest (Io Shirai, HZK & Momo Watanabe)

This was an enjoyable match, they kept a good energy going and the crowd was engaged. Tam assists her teammates by spanking QQ with a giant fan. Hana and HZK once again had a great exchange, and Momo looked great.

***

Sendai Girls - Big Show In Osaka (12/2/2017)

3. Heidi Katrina & La Rosa Negra vs. Hana Kimura & Mio Momono

***

4. Aja Kong vs. Cassandra Miyagi

***1/4

5. Chihiro Hashimoto & Hiroyo Matsumoto vs. Io Shirai & Meiko Satomura

***3/4

6. Sendai Girls Tag Team Championship: DASH Chisako & KAORU (c) vs. Strong Style Rush (Alex Lee & Mika Shirahime)

***1/2

Oedo Tai (Hana Kimura, Kagetsu, Kris Wolf & Natsu Sumire) vs. Queen's Quest (AZM, HZK, Io Shirai & Momo Watanabe) (Stardom, 11/25/2017)

Stardom - Best of the Goddesses (11/25/2017)

Oedo Tai (Hana Kimura, Kagetsu, Kris Wolf & Sumire Natsu) vs. Queen's Quest (AZM, HZK, Io Shirai & Momo Watanabe)

The Oedo Tai in-fighting is super fun and has added an interesting dynamic to their matches. All of the pairings here were great and everyone did their thing -- there's a hard-hitting segment between Hana and HZK that I was especially into. Great main event for an otherwise weak show.

***1/4

Stardom - Goddesses of Stardom Tag League 2017 (11/12/2017)

2. Shiki Shibusawa vs. Starlight Kid

What you'd expect from this match-up, but maybe a little bit better. Shiki was blasting the hell out of Starlight Kid with those dropkicks. There were a couple of awkward moments, but I thought this was a fine junior match.

**

4. New Chibis (Hiromi Mimura & Konami) & Team Jungle (Jungle Kyona & Natsuko Tora) vs. Oedo Tai (Hana Kimura, Kagetsu, Kris Wolf & Sumire Natsu)

This was a fantastic debut for Sumire, she fits so well alongside the colorful characters in Oedo Tai. Hiromi is a perfect target for her, their heat-building was brilliant. Hana and Tamu are not getting along with the newest addition to the stable so there was also a relevos increibles element to this match that was amusing. Hot crowd, quality brawling and comedy.

***1/4

5. Four on Three Handicap Match: Bea Priestley, Kelly Klein & Yoko Bito vs. Queen's Quest (AZM, HZK, Io Shirai & Momo Watanabe)

Man, this turned out to be really great. Mari had some travel issues so it was made a 3-on-4 handicap match. Bito's team was at a disadvantage, but they were putting up one hell of a fight. The Bito-Io segments were smashing; Io's answer to the B Driver was neat. Fantastic main event.

***1/2

Stardom - Goddesses of Stardom Tag League 2017 (11/05/2017)

2. Goddesses of Stardom Tag League 2017: AZM & Starlight Kid vs. Natsuko Tora & Shiki Shibusawa

AZM & Starlight Kid should team up more after this tournament; they make a good pair of tricksters.

**

5. Goddesses of Stardom Tag League 2017: Oedo Tai (Hana Kimura & Kagetsu w/ Michiko Ohmukai) vs. Queen's Quest (HZK & Io Shirai)

Ohmukai is supporting Oedo Tai in this match and she made her presence felt. Kagetsu accidentally painted her face blue with her poison mist in a very cool spot. This had great brawling, and I like the sadism shown by Oedo Tai when they pull Io's legs open. HZK's always showing improvement, adding new things to her arsenal, like the springboard dropkick she hits here.  Good match.

***

6. Goddesses of Stardom Tag League 2017 - Finals: Bea Priestley & Kelly Klein vs. Jungle Kyona & Yoko Bito

I thought this was a solid main event, even though I didn't particularly care for either team. They worked a fast pace and the action was generally good. Bea hits a sunset flip on Kyona from the second rope that was sold like DEATH, strong way to close the tournament.

**3/4

Stardom - Goddesses of Stardom Tag League 2017 (11/04/2017)

2. Kris Wolf vs. Momo Watanabe

MOMO'S BACK! This was her return from an ACL injury. She was a little rusty, but she showed that she could still move and deliver those middle kicks. Her new attire is amazing, really happy to see her back.

**1/2

3. Goddesses of Stardom Tag League 2017: Scarlett & Chardonnay vs. Chibis (Hiromi Mimura & Konami)

Chardonnay has a great look, but she's bland as a performer. Scarlett has interesting moves, though she doesn't execute them properly most of the time.

**

4. Goddesses of Stardom Tag League 2017: Oedo Tai (Kagetsu & Hana Kimura) vs. Natsuko Tora & Shiki Shibusawa

Kagetsu's first match as a member of the Stardom roster. The crowd is very into Oedo Tai, they are riding a wave of momentum and it creates a special feel to their matches. Shibusawa gave one heck of an underdog performance in the closer, scoring a near-fall on Kagetsu. Good stuff.

***1/2

5. Goddesses of Stardom Tag League 2017: AZM & Starlight Kid vs. Queen's Quest (Io Shirai & HZK)

AZM & Starlight Kid focus on HZK and try their best to keep Io out of the equation. Starlight Kid was impressive here, she nearly dies taking a packaged German from Io. It was frightening to watch. Awesome little match.

***1/4

6. Goddesses of Stardom Tag League 2017: Kelly Klein & Bea Priestley vs. Yoko Bito & Jungle Kyona

bad

Stardom - Goddesses of Stardom Tag League 2017 (10/29/2017)

1. Hanan vs. Kris Wolf

*

2. Kaori Yoneyama vs. Ruaka

**

3. Goddesses of Stardom Tag League 2017: AZM & Starlight Kid vs. Hiromi Mimura & Konami

This was a match. The finish was all over the place.

**

4. Goddesses of Stardom Tag League 2017: Jungle Kyona & Yoko Bito vs. Natsuko Tora & Shiki Shibusawa

Bito & Kyona have surprisingly chemistry for a team that was thrown together, their double team sequences are fun to watch. Best match of Shiki's career so far.

***

5. Goddesses of Stardom Tag League 2017: Chardonnay & Scarlett vs. Queen's Quest (HZK & Io Shirai)

Not a bad match.

**

6. Goddesses of Stardom Tag League 2017: Bea Priestley & Kelly Klein vs. Oedo Tai (Hana Kimura & Kagetsu)

Solid. Klein still feels like a waste of size, but she got in a couple of good hits and power moves. Bea is probably the best gaijin I have seen as far as execution goes, she got a reaction with her movez. Crowd was really into Oedo Tai.

**3/4

Stardom - Mask Fiesta 2017 (10/29/2017)

1. Bear Cat (Hanan) vs. Kikimaru (Ruaka) vs. Starlight Kid

**

2. Nightmare Demon (Bea Priestley) & Lady Punk (Kelly Klein) vs. Sweet and Spicy (Chardonnay) & Spindra (Scarlett)

This match was fun, it helped that they were playing wacky characters.

**1/4

3. Fairy God Jungle (Jungle Kyona), Shiki Melody (Shiki Shibusawa) & Viola Tiger (Natsuko Tora) vs. Gakirou (Kris Wolf), Gekkimaru (Kagetsu) & Kikahime (Hana Kimura)

Jungle Kyona is doing a Fairy Nipponbashi gimmick where she has a magic wand that flips people and stops time -- she was fucking amazing here. It gives you a sense of just how charismatic she is. There's a hilarious moment where she beats the hell out of P-Chan and Tamu's too busy distracting the official to notice.

***

4. Aloha Bito (Yoko Bito), Masked Wan-chan (Konami) & Shout Woman (Hiromi Mimura) vs. Chupa Panda (HZK), IOTICA (Io Shirai) & Mini IOTICA (AZM)

Good and fun vibes everywhere, I loved every second.

****

Stardom - Taiwan (10/21/2017)

1. Natsuko Tora vs. Shiki Shibusawa

**

2. Chardonnay vs. HZK vs. Konami

**3/4

3. Kelly Klein & Scarlett vs. Team Jungle (Hiroyo Matsumoto & Jungle Kyona)

**1/2

4. SWA World Championship / World of Stardom Championship: Toni Storm (c) vs. Bea Priestley

bad

5. Hiromi Mimura, Io Shirai & Yoko Bito vs. Oedo Tai (Hana Kimura, Kagetsu & Kris Wolf)

***

HZK, Io Shirai & Momo Watanabe vs. Jungle Kyona, Mayu Iwatani & Yoko Bito (Stardom, 11/27/2016)

Stardom - Goddesses of Stars (11/27/2016)

HZK, Io Shirai & Momo Watanabe vs. Jungle Kyona, Mayu Iwatani & Yoko Bito

This was the debut of the unit that would become known as "Queen's Quest", the first in a series of awesome trios involving them. The heat between Mayu and Io was tremendous, with Io's final boss aura adding to the drama. HZK and Bito have a really cool segment, and Momo, the junior of the group, was a great bully. Everyone looked amazing in an awesome match.

***3/4

Stardom - TRUE FIGHT 2017 (10/17/2017)

2. Elimination: Kelly Klein & Bea Priestley vs. Chardonnay & Scarlett Bordeaux vs. Hiromi Mimura & Konami vs. Jungle Kyona & Tora Natsuko

***

5. Queen's Quest vs. Oedo Tai Challenge Series: HZK vs. Kagetsu

HZK was going all out to put down the big bad wolf of Oedo Tai. This was great. HZK delivered one of the best singles performances I've ever seen from her. Hope she's able to maintain this momentum.

***1/2

6. Wonder of Stardom Championship: Yoko Bito (c) vs. Takumi Iroha

It was refreshing to see Iroha work a 'high drama' style match, and it felt like a return to form for her. The action was great for the most part; they managed to keep things fresh for the 30-minute draw. I didn't think the B Driver near-falls were as effective as they could have been, Bito doesn't put that certain 'finality' into the move. Iroha on the other hand was doing a fine job of that. A good match, but there were a couple of things that prevented it from being great.

***1/2

Stardom - Goddesses of Stardom Tag League 2017 (10/14/2017)

5. Goddesses of Stardom Tag League 2017: Oedo Tai (Kagetsu & Hana Kimura) vs. Chibis (Konami & Hiromi Mimura)

Chibis got a lot of shine, and they did some double team stuff. Hiromi's charge-up dropkick is a fun spot. Hana's selling during the closer was good and her submission finisher always looks vicious.

**3/4

6. Goddesses of Stardom Tag League 2017: Queen's Quest (Io Shirai & HZK) vs. Yoko Bito & Jungle Kyona

Solid main event. Proper cohesion, double maneuvers, etc. It goes without saying that Io is a genius of the ring, she worked hard to make this feel special. The heated interactions between HZK and Jungle were also very good.

***1/4

Stardom - 5★STAR GP 2017 x Champions (10/1/2017)

3. Mari Apache & Hiromi Mimura vs. Yoko Bito & Konami

***

4. Jungle Kyona & Natsuko Tora vs. NEW-TRA (Takumi Iroha & Rin Kadokura)

It's nice to see Iroha back in Stardom. I actually thought this was one of her better performances even though the match itself was nothing special.

**3/4

5. Queen's Quest (Io Shirai, HZK & AZM) vs. Oedo Tai (Kagetsu, Hana Kimura & Tam Nakano)

**3/4

Stardom - 5★STAR GP2017 x Champions (9/24/2017)

3. High Speed Championship: Mari Apache (c) vs. Hiromi Mimura

This was solid, probably one of the better HS matches I've seen recently. Mari's offense looked deadly, and Hiromi did good too.

***

4. Wonder of Stardom Championship: Yoko Bito (c) vs. Jungle Kyona

Good. There's continuity to this match (that neither competitor mentions) since Kyona won the tag belt from Bito the last time they were in Nagoya. They put on an engaging performance, and it's Kyona's hometown so the crowd was hot.

***1/2

5. Artist of Stardom Championship: Queen's Quest (HZK, Io Shirai & Viper) (c) vs. Oedo Tai (Kagetsu, Kris Wolf & Tam Nakano)

There were some timing issues/awkwardness here, but nothing too bad. I love this feud between HZK and Nakano, they had a good segment here.

**3/4

HZK & Io Shirai vs. Mayu Iwatani & Momo Watanabe (Stardom, 11/20/2016)

Stardom - Goddesses of Stars: Winter Darkness Road (11/20/2016)

HZK & Io Shirai vs. Mayu Iwatani & Momo Watanabe

This had massive heat. Segments between Mayu and Io were obviously good, but I liked how the match wasn't just about them. This was also HZK's return from hiatus, and she was better than ever, and worked very well with Momo. 

****

Queen's Quest (HZK & Io Shirai) vs. Bambi & ERINA (K-DOJO, 9/4/2017)

K-DOJO - TAKA Michinoku 25th Anniversary ~ Simple Is Best (9/4/2017)

Queen's Quest (HZK & Io Shirai) vs. Bambi & ERINA

Once Bami & ERINA started to make their comebacks things got interesting. Bambi's offense was strong -- she knocks Io out of the ring with a hip attack, and fucking plants HZK with an STO. QQ did their thing with cut-offs and a workover..

***1/4

Stardom - 5★STAR GP2017 (9/18/2017)

4. 5★STAR GP Red Stars Block: Hana Kimura vs. Kris Wolf

Hana used a variety of meats to distract Kris, and things got heated between them. Fun little match, loved the aggression Hana-chan showed.

**3/4

5. 5★STAR GP Blue Stars Block: Jungle Kyona vs. Tam Nakano

The crowd was lively for this one. Tam is green, but she makes up for that with her charisma. Kyona's leg gives out when she lifts Tam for her powerbomb finisher and the move falls apart. She doesn't know how to lift. She needs to work on lifting!

***

7. 5★STAR GP Blue Stars Block: HZK vs. Io Shirai

Good! The best of HZK's tournament (for what that is worth). She went toe-to-toe with Io in counters and kicked out of the moonsault.

***

8. 5★STAR GP Red Stars Block: Viper vs. Yoko Bito

Viper ambushes Bito, and they're just going back and forth with big moves. Viper's offense could have looked better... I wasn't really into this until Bito's comeback.

**1/4

9. 5★STAR GP Red Stars Block: Kagetsu vs. Mayu Iwatani

Kagetsu tries to murder Mayu by pushing the entrance gate on top of her. Mayu's neck ends up sandwiched between the structure and a guardrail, it looked horrific. This was good, these two obviously have amazing chemistry and they put on a fresh installment to their feud.

***3/4

10. 5★STAR GP - Finals: Toni Storm vs. Yoko Bito

bad