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.

***

Stardom - Goddesses of Stars 2017 (12/3/2017)

1. Hiromi Mimura vs. Ruaka

Hiromi's shouto gimmick is the best. Early in the year, I wondered if she would ever find what she needs and here it is. Her growth is what joshi puroresu is all about. Solid stuff here. Ruaka's a solid worker, I was impressed with what I saw.

**1/2

2. Hanan vs. Konami

It's been a while since Konami has had a singles match. Hana has bandages on her lower back, I hope she's doing okay. Hanan hit her throws. Konami worked the leg, her offense looked crisp and painful. She wins with a vicious knee bar. Couple of awkward spots, but this was a decent little match.

**

3. Mari Apache vs. Shiki Shibusawa vs. Starlight Kid

**1/4

4. Oedo Tai (Hana Kimura, Kagetsu & Sumire Natsu) vs. Team Jungle (Jungle Kyona & Natsuko Tora) & Yoko Bito

Oedo Tai are on such a great run right now, loved this.

***1/2

5. Elimination: Bea Priestley, Chardonnay, Kelly Klein & Scarlett vs. Queen's Quest (AZM, HZK, Io Shirai & Momo Watanabe)

This was an enjoyable main event. Momo was the last survivor on her team and got a good spotlight. The ending was super awkward, there seemed to be timing issues between Momo and Kelly. It's unfortunate because Kelly was supposed to be put over like a monster here heading into her match with Io, but the awkwardness made her look like a goof. Fun match overall, though.

**3/4

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 (11/04/2017)

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

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

Hiromi Mimura vs. Momo Watanabe vs. Natsuko Tora (Stardom, 11/23/2016)

Stardom - Goddesses of Stars (11/23/2016)

Hiromi Mimura vs. Momo Watanabe vs. Natsuko Tora

This was Momo's first match after turning and becoming a member of Queen's Quest. It's interesting to see the change in character while she's still wearing her face gear. Match was alright... I miss Hiromi's old attire.

**1/4

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. 

****

Mayu Iwatani vs. Momo Watanabe (Stardom, 3/12/2016)

Stardom - Stardom Grows Up Stars 2016 (3/12/2016)

High Speed Championship: Mayu Iwatani (c) vs. Momo Watanabe

This was magic. Momo puts on a spectacular performance in her first title match. Mayu wrestled like she had some place else to be until Momo shows that she is to be taken seriously. Everything just falls into place here, it is mesmerizing.

****3/4

Momo Watanabe vs. Kagetsu (Stardom, 1/3/2017)

Stardom - New Years Stars 2017 (1/3/2017)

Momo Watanabe vs. Kagetsu

Kagetsu's kind of fucking around at the start, but these two get a nice rhythm going as this went on, with great counters and exchanges. Momo was the defacto face, and you could rally behind her in the way that she sold and made her comebacks. Solid timeout draw match.

***

Arisu Nanase & Momo Watanabe vs. Hiromi Mimura & Starlight Kid (Stardom, 6/5/2016)

Stardom - Premium Star Wars in Nagoya (6/5/2016)

Arisu Nanase & Momo Watanabe vs. Hiromi Mimura & Starlight Kid

Jesus Christ... what went wrong here. The match derails completely. Alice looks lost; this is only her third match, but man... the crowd is laughing at her awkwardness, and the official counts the fall when she clearly kicked out at 2!

DUD

Jungle Kyona, Mayu Iwatani & Yoko Bito vs. Queen's Quest (HZK, Io Shirai & Momo Watanabe) (Stardom, 1/8/2017)

Stardom - New Years Star 2017 (1/8/2017)

Jungle Kyona, Mayu Iwatani & Yoko Bito vs. Queen's Quest (HZK, Io Shirai & Momo Watanabe)

Watching this now has made me realize just how much I miss seeing Momo in action! The Io-Mayu, Momo-Mayu stuff was great. Beatrice connected awesome kicks; HZK beat the hell out of Kyona. An enjoyable trios match.

***3/4

Arisu Nanase vs. Momo Watanabe (Stardom, 5/29/2016)

Stardom - Shining Stars (5/29/2016)

Arisu Nanase vs. Momo Watanabe

Solid debut for Alice, where she shows off her impactful Cuty Special not once, but twice! It was cool to see Momo in such a dominant position and she connected great, hard kicks.

**1/4

Oedo Tai (Kagetsu, Kyoko Kimura & Viper) vs. Queen's Quest (HZK, Io Shirai & Momo Watanabe) (Stardom, 1/8/2017)

Stardom - New Years Stars 2017 (1/8/2017)

Artist of Stardom Championship (decision): Oedo Tai (Kagetsu, Kyoko Kimura & Viper) vs. Queen's Quest (HZK, Io Shirai & Momo Watanabe)

I like Viper as Oedo Tai's ultima weapon, she was an absolute tank. Momo's pop-up somato is a thing of beauty, and Kagetsu running wild with the gas canister was great. Kyoko puts over Io during her retirement run. Fun match.

***

Stardom - New Years Stars 2017 (1/29/2017)

2. Konami vs. Natsuko Tora

Good. Konami is such a breath of fresh air on these cards and Natsuko did an excellent job selling her offense.

**3/4

3. Christi Jaynes, Deonna Purrazzo & Shayna Baszler vs. Oedo Tai (Kagetsu, Kris Wolf & Viper)

Christi Jaynes wears her glasses while wrestling. Shayna looked good here, only problem I have with her is the thigh-slapping. It looks silly when a shooter does it.

**

4. ICW Women's Championship: Kay Lee Ray (c) vs. Jungle Kyona

This was Jungle Kyona's first singles belt opportunity and probably her best singles performance yet. She showed off more of her moveset and looked poised and confident. Kay Lee Ray looks like a sinewy, urban fantasy Wicked Witch of the West. Her speed is scary and her facial expressions even scarier.

**1/2

5. Mayu Iwatani, Yoko Bito & Hiromi Mimura vs. Queen's Quest (Io Shirai, HZK & Momo Watanabe)

Another great QQ trios match. I don't have much to say about this, but it was very good. I can't wait to see what Mayu and Momo do in Korakuen.

***1/2

6. Wonder of Stardom Championship: Kairi Hojo (c) vs. Nixon Newell

Hojo seemed inspired here, she was working the leg with hard kicks, taking a new approach to her offense with moves I haven't seen from her, but Nixon dragged this thing way down. Nixon sold the leg well, I'll give her that, but everything else was terrible on her part. That Shining Wizard is the worst I've seen.

*1/4

Stardom - 5★STAR GP2016 FINALS (9/22/2016)

3. Kairi Hojo vs. Hiromi Mimura

Hojo's return after getting eggplanted by Io. She cosplayed as Tessa Blanchard for some reason. Maybe she forgot her attire at home. Obviously Hiromi is no threat for the holder of the White Belt, but she managed a very believable near-fall.

**1/4

4. Momo Watanabe, Jungle Kyona, Mayu Iwatani vs. Oedo-Tai (Kyoko Kimura, Kagetsu & X)

Kyoko Kimura's daughter Hana is revealed as Oedo-Tai's mystery member. She wears a ninja-style jumpsuit. I like it. Kagetsu looked like a beast.

***

5. SWA World Championship: Toni Storm (c) vs. Blue Nikita

"what a terrible match without selling moves." - Renown joshi journalist Dedy Silveria

no

6. World of Stardom Championship: Io Shirai (c) vs. Kay Lee Ray

KLR lost her final match in the GP, but gets a title opportunity anyway because Rossy booking. This was an enjoyable spotfest; they did some neat things and didn't insult my intelligence.

***

7. 5★STAR GP Finals: Yoko Bito vs. Tessa Blanchard

Tessa is main eventing in the legendary Koraken Hall. She has made it as a wrestler by all accounts, and she does a brilliant job heeling it up on Bito, sort of... the crowd is unfortunately not into it, but I was. There were some sloppy moments, but overall I thought this was solid.

**3/4