Sunday, March 29, 2020

Stardom - Cinderella Tournament 2020 (3/24/2020)

1. Cinderella Tournament 2020 - First Round: Momo Watanabe vs. Starlight Kid

This was a fun opening round that established the over-the-top elimination element of the tournament. Momo countering a yoshi tonic with the B Driver was amazing.

***1/4

2. Cinderella Tournament 2020 - First Round: Jungle Kyona vs. Giulia

Giulia had bandages all over her neck and she got dropped straight on her head by a powerslam that clearly took something out of her since her movement became worse. Amazingly the match itself didn't suffer much, as they exchanged heavy offense and built up the intensity. It was short, but Giulia endured a lot and came out of it looking strong.

***1/2

4. Cinderella Tournament 2020 - First Round: Syuri vs. Jamie Hayter

This was awesome for its length, which was about 4-minutes. A fast-paced back and forth where they really maximized the time given and created a special encounter.

***1/2

7. Cinderella Tournament 2020 - First Round: Utami Hayashishita vs. Maika

Another great match between these two, with a focus on the fundamentals and exchanging judo techniques. This was just Maika's 25th career match and she already feels like someone who has been around for more than a year.

***1/2

8. Cinderella Tournament 2020 - First Round: Mayu Iwatani vs. Hana Kimura

This was a fun match, with some exciting elimination teases. They showed personality and worked well off of each other.

***1/4

13. Cinderella Tournament 2020 - Finals: Natsuko Tora vs. Giulia

The finals of the tournament was a "heel vs. heel" match, but Natsuko made a sympathetic figure out of Giulia, who had endured heavy damage coming into the match, by being the nastier, more violent heel. A hard hitting bout with some amazing moments, such as the shoten countered into an octopus hold.

***3/4

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