Queen's Quest (Momo Watanabe & AZM) vs. Oedo Tai (Starlight Kid & Ruaka) (Stardom, 10/17/2021)

Stardom - 11th Goddess of Stardom - Tag League Opener ~ (10/17/2021)

Blue Goddess - Tag League: Queen's Quest (Momo Watanabe & AZM) vs. Oedo Tai (Starlight Kid & Ruaka)

A match like this, with an average age in the teens, shows the depth and youth of the Stardom roster. It was a great 20-minute draw with lots of room for growth and development. There were some impressive sequences, including a crazy assisted powerbomb. There was also the story of Kid trying to prod Momo into challenging for the HS belt. Ruaka is a slow grower, but she has something special and I'm glad she hasn't been abandoned. ***1/2

Stardom - 10th Anniversary Grand Final: Osaka Dream Cinderella 2021 ~ Osaka Meccha STARDOM (10/9/2021)

5. Hazuki Return Match: Hazuki vs. Koguma

This was a great return match for Hazuki, who has barely missed a step despite her 2-year absence. Koguma's speed, technique and bumping were amazing as usual. As someone who saw the previous matches between these two, this was easily the best one they've had yet. ****

7. Wonder of Stardom Championship: Tam Nakano (c) vs. Mayu Iwatani

This went contrary to my lofty expectations, but that doesn't necessarily make it a disappointment. It was just a different type of match than I was expecting. It was a gradual climb into a thrilling race to the finish. There were scrambles for control and lots of heavy strike battles. Nakano unleashed some truly wicked punishment, and Mayu answered with big hits of her own. Both showed the zombie-like endurance they're known for. A full and well-done draw battle. ****

8. World of Stardom Championship: Utami Hayashishita (c) vs. Takumi Iroha

This was another hard-hitting war over the red belt, which is becoming known for its high-level battles. Utami looked as if she had taken on the form of a demon, with a menacing death glare and a destructive attack aimed at the legs. She showed an unforeseen level of aggression. Iroha's explosive, lightning-quick offense was great as always, but I was also impressed with her limb selling and transition work. The finisher teases and the counters they worked around them were so amazing. I was surprised when the 30-minute call was made because the match hardly felt like it and for me that is the mark of a classic. ****1/2

SAKI vs. Ami Miura (AWG, 9/25/2021)

AWG - ACT54 (9/25/2021)

SAKI vs. Ami Miura

Next generation ace against current top champion. They traded elbows and shoulder tackles early, building into bigger moves as the match developed. SAKI answered Miura's chops with chops of her own to not get outdone by the rookie. Miura used her stature well, smoothly transitioning from a high prawn hold into a Boston crab. This was another impressive performance from Ami Miura against a veteran wrestler. She looked physically dominant throughout the match and SAKI looked to be struggling even during the closing moments. Miura is a convincing powerhouse despite her inexperience and I wouldn't mind seeing her hot shotted into the singles title picture in the very near future. ***3/4

SAKI vs. Misa Matsui (AWG, 5/3/2021)

AWG - ACT Yokohama (5/3/2021)

AWG Championship: SAKI vs. Misa Matsui

This was a solid match. SAKI looked assured and confident as she controlled the pace of the match. Unfortunately, I think she was too confident. Even at the climax of the match, I didn't get any sense of danger from her and Misa never felt like a threat. Misa's technique isn't the best, but she makes up for it with her fire and timing. She has a lot of potential, but she hasn't quite figured it out yet. I felt that she was still a long way from being a champion. ***1/4

Misa Matsui vs. Ami Miura (AWG, 8/21/2021)

AWG - ACT53 (8/21/2021)

Misa Matsui vs. Ami Miura

Great opening match. Miura looked like a monster. Her chops were dull sounding and she had some cool power counters. Misa, despite being the more experienced competitor, was surprisingly dominated for much of the match and barely pulled off the win with a pinning combination. ***1/2

Tae Honma & Maika Ozaki vs. Ami Miura & Haruka Umesaki (AWG, 2/23/2021)

AWG - Beginning Yokohama (2/23/2021)

Tae Honma & Maika Ozaki vs. Ami Miura & Haruka Umesaki

This was a good senior-junior match in which the less experienced wrestlers steadily gained ground and showed their growth. The power exchange between Maika and Miura was great. Miura is good at chops. Surprisingly, not many women's wrestlers use chops in Japan, so this is a good way for Miura to stand out. Umezaki is not only cute but also possesses a strong striking power, similar to her former senpai Sareee. ***1/2

Miyuki Takase & Momo Tani vs. SAKI & Rina Amikura (AWG, 3/22/2021)

AWG - ACT52 (3/22/2021)

Miyuki Takase & Momo Tani vs. SAKI & Rina Amikura

Miyuki and SAKI, accompanied by junior wrestlers from their respective brands, previewed their upcoming title match. Both of them were desperately trying to make a statement before the scheduled title match, but the battle-hardened Miyuki was especially fierce. I found this to be more exciting than the actual match it was building up.  ***3/4

SAKI & Misa Matsui vs. Mari & Ayumi Hayashi (AWG, 1/9/2021)

 AWG - Color's (1/9/2021)

SAKI & Misa Matsui vs. Mari & Ayumi Hayashi

A great main event that was much better than I had anticipated. Fast-paced with timely momentum shifts. Ayumi was given the spotlight as the face-in-peril, with extended segments against Misa and SAKI where she made some great comebacks. I especially liked how she countered SAKI's Vader Bomb. ***3/4

AWG - Color's (4/29/2021)

2. AWG Championship #1 Contendership Color's Tournament Semi-Finals: Ayumi Hayashi vs. Misa Matsui

These two are close in age and debuted around the same time, but have taken different paths as wrestlers. Misa is the frontrunner of the promotion’s generational shift, while Ayumi, athletic and physically gifted as she is, has been more geared towards comedy. Here though, Ayumi gave a sincere performance. Needless to say, this was an interesting matchup. Even before the bell rang, you could feel an aura of excitement as the rivals stood in their respective corners. The match was high-paced from the beginning, an energetic back and forth with some exciting near-falls. ***1/2

6. AWG Championship #1 Contendership Color's Tournament Finals: Hikari Shimizu vs. Misa Matsui

Solid main event. The outcome was a tad unusual. According to the tournament rules, if a match ends in a timeout draw, the less experienced opponent advances in the tournament, to even the playing field. Shimizu dominated the match, but Misa, who was able to endure the full 10 minutes, was declared the victor. The match itself was great, but for a tournament finals, the finish was underwhelming and made the winner look unimpressive. ***1/2

Arisa Nakajima vs. Hanako Nakamori (SEAdLINNNG, 10/13/2021)

SEAdLINNNG - 6th Anniversary Show (10/13/2021)

Arisa Nakajima vs. Hanako Nakamori

I didn't find either performance particularly compelling, but the offense looked and sounded good and was diverse enough to keep me from getting bored, and the match didn't feel long despite its length. There wasn't much to the match. Whatever history they share wasn't really conveyed through their performances. They just fought like they normally do. And I thought the finish came out of nowhere, with no sense of excitement or escalation. ***1/4

Stardom - 5STAR Grand Prix 2021 (9/24/2021)

3. 5STAR Grand Prix 2021 Red Stars: Himeka vs. Koguma

Another short but good match in the undercard. Koguma took a gnarly bump for Himeka's lariat, and her counter roll-ups were really smooth. She seems to have good control of her body. ***1/4

4. 5STAR Grand Prix 2021 Red Stars: Mayu Iwatani vs. Starlight Kid

This match had great action and storytelling for its duration. Starlight Kid has been using Mexican wrestling-style overhand chops since joining Oedo Tai and that led to a great chop battle here. Botches are natural, but in Kid's last few performances she hasn't had the best accuracy with her " rana" moves. I can only hope this is a temporary issue. Still, great performance from her, which showed her growth. I liked the way she evoked some of Mayu's signature moves. ***1/2

6. 5STAR Grand Prix 2021 Blue Stars: Saya Kamitani vs. Unagi Sayaka

There were moments that felt unfocused during the middle, but the overall match was good. I liked seeing the more aggressive side of Kamitani, and Unagi was fighting with a sense of tenacity, unleashing a new diving leg drop. Loving this cute rivalry between relatively tall wrestlers with long limbs. ***1/2

8. 5STAR Grand Prix 2021 Blue Stars: Syuri vs. Takumi Iroha

The red belt triangle of Utami, Syuri and Iroha has been the most exciting thing about the latter half of this tournament. This match was an impeccable blend of MMA and traditional wrestling, with some very heavy smacks traded between the two. A short 20 minutes of high-level grappling and striking from world-class professionals. ****1/2

9. 5STAR Grand Prix 2021 Blue Stars: Tam Nakano vs. Utami Hayashishita

This was everything you could want from a 14-minute tournament match between the promotion's top champions, underpinned by Tam's compelling underdog performance. Tam and Utami are very different wrestlers but they both specialize in suplexes so there were plenty of great ones here. ****1/4

10. 5STAR Grand Prix 2021 - Finals: Momo Watanabe vs. Syuri

Syuri came in after 20 minutes of struggling with Takumi Iroha and fought frantically from the bell, and used big moves early on that she normally uses later in the match. Momo was steady as usual and landed a number of powerful head kicks. There was a lot of striking, especially heavy dull sounding kicks. This was an amazing tournament final, the best in tournament history in my opinion. ****1/2

Tokyo Joshi Pro - Wrestle Princess 2 (10/9/2021)

4. Suzume & Arisu Endo vs. Riho & Shoko Nakajima

This was actually one of my most anticipated matches on the card and I'm glad it was given a decent amount of time for them to have a good back and forth. They're all lightweights so there was lots of exciting rope work and high-flying maneuvers. Riho made her return to Japan after a long time and showed a couple of new little quirks. ***1/2

5. Aja Kong & Moka Miyamoto vs. Miu Watanabe & Yuki Arai

Aja has adapted to the times without having an ego and I respect that about her. Her knees are tattered so her movement isn't so good, but like Abdullah the Butcher, she has the charisma and aura to get a lot of mileage out of a simple move. This was a really good match. Miu was not able to giant swing Aja, which was a letdown, but she was able to show her strengths in other ways, including one of the quickest giant swing transitions I've ever seen. Arai standing up to Aja and taking her big offense was very compelling. ***3/4

6. International Princess Championship: Hikari Noa (c) vs. Yuki Aino

This match had basically nothing going for it coming in so I was pleasantly surprised by how good it turned out to be. Easily my favorite match for this belt since the inaugural decision match between Natsupoi and Gisele Shaw. Very well built with great submission struggles and a tense finish. For the first time during this reign, it felt like Hikari's comeback was earned. Aino, often overlooked, almost always delivers. ***3/4

7. Princess Tag Team Championship: NEO Biishiki-gun (Saki-sama & Mei St-Michel) (c) vs. magical sugar rabbits (Yuka Sakazaki & Mizuki)

This was an action-packed semi-main with all sorts of creative genius on display. It was chaotic but never seemed to get too far out of control. Mei was great as usual, with her broom knee drop and a Japanese leg roll clutch counter I've never seen. The finish was way too sudden, it almost felt like the sort of finish you'd see in a match where an injury occurred. I was also surprised Mizuki's whirling candy wasn't used here, seemed like an appropriate occasion. ***1/2

8. Princess of Princess Championship: Miyu Yamashita (c) vs. Maki Itoh

This was a strong main event, which packed a lot of drama and emotion into a relatively short duration for a big show title match. Like some previous main events in this promotion, the middle part of the match seemed to lack focus; there's an Avalanche Attitude Adjustment used as a transition move in the middle of the match... still, it improved as it went on and the finishing segment where they were trading hard strikes was hot. ****

Stardom - 5STAR Grand Prix 2021 (9/16/2021)

5. 5STAR Grand Prix 2021 Red Stars: Mina Shirakawa vs. Momo Watanabe

This was much better than expected and an easy improvement over their previous match this year. Mina has been consistently producing high-energy sprints this tournament and this was no exception. I wouldn't be surprised if she becomes a contender for a top title in the near future. And of course, Momo was stable as usual. ***3/4

6. 5STAR Grand Prix 2021 Blue Stars: AZM vs. Saya Kamitani

Brillant high speed action. AZM's arm bar counter and the triangle jump body press were amazing, she was so precise and accurate in her movements. The ring out tease was very well executed, the sequence where they were evading each others attacks and jumping on and off the apron was something out of a martial arts movie. ***3/4

7. 5STAR Grand Prix 2021 Blue Stars: Takumi Iroha vs. Unagi Sayaka

When Unagi Sayaka made her pro wrestling debut, I never expected to see her facing Takumi Iroha in a Stardom ring. This was a great match, with a particularly great underneath performance from Unagi. It got off to a slow start, but that only added to the tension and made the work more engrossing as the two started doing more. ***1/2

10. 5STAR Grand Prix 2021 Blue Stars: Syuri vs. Tam Nakano

This was a great back and forth battle. Admittedly, there wasn't much of a "story", just a lot of big attacks being exchanged. But they did it in a flashy, dynamic way, with well-timed pauses to build up the tension between the big moves and sequences, which kept the action engaging all the way through. ***3/4

Tsukasa Fujimoto vs. Ibuki Hoshi (Ice Ribbon, 9/18/2021)

 Ice Ribbon - #1145 ~ Knights of the Ribbon 2021 (9/18/2021)

ICExInfinity Championship: Tsukasa Fujimoto vs. Ibuki Hoshi

The outcome of the match was never in question. It was all about how absolute ace, Tsukasa Fujimoto, would carry out the match en route to the inevitable victory. It was an unexpectedly interesting match, and my favorite match of her title reign so far. It has been compared to Kobashi-Sasaki because of the many chops, but the chop battles in this match were not long and uninterrupted, but rather dispersed. Other than the chops, it was a compelling intergenerational struggle, with the young Ibuki bringing plenty of heat. ****1/4

Maki Itoh vs. Tenma Nodoka (Tokyo Joshi Pro, 9/11/2021)

Tokyo Joshi Pro - Live With Your Time (9/11/2021)

Maki Itoh vs. Nodoka Tenma

A solid, well-paced match. Both of them are rather eccentric, but here they had an orthodox and serious match. Personally, I would have liked to have seen some of their eccentricities and comical elements in addition to their traditional wrestling. It was a fine match but I felt it lacked the color these two usually can provide. ***1/4

AZM vs. Tam Nakano (Stardom, 9/12/2021)

 Stardom - 5STAR Grand Prix 2021 (9/12/2021) 

AZM vs. Tam Nakano

AZM's performance here had some intangible qualities that I felt her most recent performances had been missing. She showed a good range of emotions, from arrogance when she was in control at the beginning of the match to desperation when Nakano began to gain ground as the match progressed. Perhaps Nakano was able to draw that from AZM. This was a heated, contentious match that felt like it could have gone either way down to the finish. I wouldn't mind seeing a title match between these two in the future. ****

Stardom - 5STAR Grand Prix 2021 (9/11/2021)

6. 5STAR Grand Prix 2021 Blue Stars: AZM vs. Utami Hayashishita

This was an exciting and fun burst of action. There was nothing more to it than that; the two did their moves well, and there were some sharp counters. However, the finish felt abrupt and not well built up enough.

***1/4

7. 5STAR Grand Prix 2021 Blue Stars: Saya Kamitani vs. Takumi Iroha

At the GP press conference, Kamitani spoiled Iroha's surprise participation and that was referenced here with Kamitani apologizing at the start before launching a surprise attack. This was a great match, stylistically they made an interesting pairing. Iroha was powerful and cool on offense and Kamitani had compelling energy and fighting spirit as usual. The ending was not ideal, but everything that preceded it was amazing.

***3/4

8. 5STAR Grand Prix 2021 Red Stars: Himeka vs. Momo Watanabe

A tense match where it really felt like they were putting forth a strong effort. It was a heavyweight style match with thicker sluggers going at it and working over their respective damaged backs. Momo countering strikes with timely kicks always looks so cool. Himeka's targeted attack on Momo's waist included a brutal shove into the edge of the ring which Momo sold like she got the wind knocked out of her.

****1/4

Stardom - 5STAR Grand Prix 2021 (9/20/2021)

7. 5STAR Grand Prix 2021 Red Stars: Momo Watanabe vs. Starlight Kid

There was some clunkiness, but nothing that hampered the flow of the action. Again, the always reliable Momo provides a sense of stability to her singles matches and this was no exception. They did a good job building around the big moves and there was some nice counterwork.

***1/2

8. 5STAR Grand Prix 2021 Blue Stars: Takumi Iroha vs. Utami Hayashishita

The much anticipated takarazuka ikemen battle. This was a comprehensive, well laid out time limit draw. There were some hard hitting counter strikes and they used the moments of downtime effectively to build anticipation for the next big sequence. Utami is a stamina monster who excels in wars of attrition.

****1/4

Stardom - 5STAR Grand Prix 2021 (9/6/2021)

6. 5STAR Grand Prix 2021 Red Stars: Himeka vs. Natsupoi

Himeka used her size and power to work over the mid section of Natsupoi. Natsupoi used her speediness, technical ability and picked her spots with explosive attacks. Despite her size, Natsupoi landed a nice bridging German suplex on the larger opponent.

***1/2

7. 5STAR Grand Prix 2021 Red Stars: Giulia vs. Mina Shirakawa

This was a short but lively match. It only went about 5 minutes, but they wrestled with a clear purpose, with Mina targetting Giulia's injured neck and Giulia looking for that one-shot to make her return. The finish was sudden but I think they set it up really well and I was convinced by it. Giulia's heavy elbow strikes sounded great as always.

***1/2

8. 5STAR Grand Prix 2021 Red Stars: Koguma vs. Starlight Kid

Koguma is extraordinary. She is deceptively athletic and you never know what amazing things she might do in a match. Awesome junior style bout, with technical wrestling, aerial maneuvers and flashy moves. Koguma, who usually has a calm atmosphere, attacked before the bell and showed a more aggressive side in a match that felt like the start of a high speed rivalry between her and Starlight Kid.

***3/4

10. 5STAR Grand Prix 2021 Blue Stars: Takumi Iroha vs. Tam Nakano

These two had never faced each other before but with their natural chemistry, they were able to produce a super match. Everything flowed smoothly and the strikes and suplexes had a sense of weight to them. Tamu, as always, did a great job of injecting emotion into the proceedings.

****1/4

Donna del Mondo (Giulia & Syuri) vs. Queen's Quest (Momo Watanabe & Saya Kamitani) (NJPW, 9/5/2021)

 NJPW - "Card Fight!! VANGUARD overDress" presents WRESTLE GRAND SLAM in MetLife Dome (9/4/2021)

Donna del Mondo (Giulia & Syuri) vs. Queen's Quest (Momo Watanabe & Saya Kamitani)

This was a solid match, not quite as flashy and exciting as the first day's Stardom match. Giulia and Momo had a great little exchange and I'm looking forward to a future singles match between them.

***1/4

Queen's Quest (Momo Watanabe & Saya Kamitani) vs. Lady C & Maika (NJPW, 9/4/2021)

NJPW - "Card Fight!! VANGUARD overDress" presents WRESTLE GRAND SLAM in MetLife Dome (9/4/2021)

Queen's Quest (Momo Watanabe & Saya Kamitani) vs. Lady C & Maika

This was an amazing match, just non-stop action from the four competitors. Stardom tag matches are generally engaging and easy to understand for potential new fans and I thought this was no different. Kamitani was the easy MVP, but Lady C also impressed, channeling Giant Baba in her best performance to date.

***3/4