Stardom - Champions Around the World in Nagoya (3/5/2017)

1. Arisu Nanase vs. AZM

Solid minis opener.

**1/2

5. World of Stardom Championship: Io Shirai (c) vs. Kagetsu

This actually felt more like a High Speed match than it did a Red Belt match, if that makes sense. Really enjoyable action and some Dragon Gate-style heel tactics from Kagetsu. A good semi-main.

***1/2

6. Goddesses of Stardom Championship: BY Ho (Kairi Hojo & Yoko Bito) (c) vs. Hiroyo Matsumoto & Jungle Kyona

Kyona's the hometown hero so she got a lot of shine. I thought her offense looked soft until the third act where she started laying in her stuff against Hojo, who was egging her on. Hiroyo assisting Kyona with the finishing powerbomb was a great moment. Solid stuff.

***1/4

Stardom - Grow Up Stars 2017 (3/3/2017)

2. Konami vs. Zoe Lucas

One of Zoe's better showings, mostly thanks to Konami leading the way. Her strikes looked good and she worked well underneath, even though she dropped Konami on the top of her head King's Road style.

*3/4

3. Oedo Tai (Kagetsu & Kris Wolf) vs. Mayu Iwatani & Arisu Nanase

Tight Pants Wolf is an automatic *1/2 and I rate from there. Fun match. Arisu's selling is enthralling. Loved the outside brawl and the platform truck spot, and the never-ending high speed feud of Mayu and Kagetsu always yields greatness.

***3/4

4. Toni Storm & Yoko Bito vs. Shayna Baszler & Christi Jaynes

Toni's faults are hidden well in tags. She is best served in small segments. Christi takes kicks to the back and a hip attack to the face simultaneously! Kick! Hip attack! Kick! Hip attack! Kick! Hip attack! Kick! Hip attack! ...isn't that exciting!? 

**1/2

5. Kairi Hojo, Hiromi Mimura & Jungle Kyona vs. Queen’s Quest (Io Shirai, HZK & AZM)

Good trios match, as expected from Queen's Quest. I like the interactions between HZK and Hojo; their mini-feud is enjoyable with HZK always trying to get into Hojo's head. Hiromi has a heated exchange with HZK too! HZK brought the fire. Then there's AZM, who is a black leather-clad killer.

***1/4

Stardom (2/18/2017)

4. Christi Jaynes, Deonna Purrazzo & Shayna Baszler vs. Queen's Quest (AZM, HZK & Io Shirai)

AZM relies on evasive maneuvers and assists from her partners rather than fighting directly, which made for a neat dynamic for the QQ trio. Really fun tag.

***

5. Hiroyo Matsumoto, Jungle Kyona & Kaori Yoneyama vs. BY Ho (Kairi Hojo & Yoko Bito) & Natsuko Tora

There's some great tension between Hojo and Kyona building up to their match at Korakuen. Kyona gets the clean win over Hojo with a gutwrench spinning powerbomb. Satisfying finish to a good main event.

***1/2