Stardom - Gold May 2017 (5/21/2017)

1. Hetzza vs. Kaori Yoneyama

**

2. AZM vs. Jessicka Havok

*

3. HZK vs. Toni Storm

**1/4

4. Io Shirai vs. Rebel

**1/2

5. Artist of Stardom Championship: Hiromi Mimura, Kairi Hojo & Konami (c) vs. Jungle Kyona, Mayu Iwatani & Natsuko Tora

***3/4

AJPW - Super Power! 2017 Super Power Series (5/21/2017)

4. GAORA TV Championship: Jun Akiyama (c) vs. Mitsuya Nagai

Nagai beats up Akiyama with a camera, a steel chain and chairs. He's the orc of Dark Nightmare, and he manhandles Nikkan Lee! What an asshole! The old man fighting spirit sequence was gold.

**

5. World Junior Heavyweight Championship: Hikaru Sato (c) vs. Black Tiger VII

Sato's entrance theme fucking rules! Dragon screw followed by a Shining Wizard from Black Tiger right out the gate, so NOSAWA is still wrestling like NOSAWA in this gimmick. I guess putting him in a mask and a full body suit makes him more aesthetically-pleasing for All Japan viewers.

**1/2

6. AJPW World Tag Team Championship: The Big Guns (The Bodyguard & Zeus) (c) vs. KAI & Kengo Mashimo

Sprint semi-main with Big Guns tossing motherfuckers left and right. KAI & Mashimo are an odd couple tag team who can't get on the same page. KAI did the heavy lifting. Mashimo looked like a doofus, but at least he gets the fall!

***

7. Triple Crown Championship: Kento Miyahara (c) vs. Shuji Ishikawa

This was a great match, worked at a 'brisk' pace. Miyahara took every chance he could to strike with the blackout, and every single one of them looked awesome. Shuji was Shuji. Miyahara's selling of the backwork was practically nonexistent, but he had some great emotes and bumps, especially for the finish.

****

Keisuke Ishii vs. Hikaru Sato (AJPW, 4/28/2017)

AJPW - Champion Carnival 2017 (4/28/2017)

World Junior Heavyweight Championship: Keisuke Ishii (c) vs. Hikaru Sato

Armwork, neckwork, armwork, neckwork -- isn't that exciting!? Sato's goes after the arm with surgical kicks and arm bars. Ishii brought the explosive stuff with a neckbreaker on the apron and a DDT onto the turnbuckle. Ishii was giving it his all, but Sato was a semi-shoot machine. It was great to see Sato win the belt again, especially in his hometown of Okayama.

***1/2

OZ Academy - Disorder (5/28/2017)

1. AKINO vs. Aoi Kizuki

***

2. Hikaru Shida vs. Kaho Kobayashi

***3/4

3. Aja Kong & Yoshiko vs. Akane Fujita & Hamuko Hoshi

***

4. Kaori Yoneyama vs. Sonoko Kato

***1/2

5. Hiroyo Matsumoto, Rina Yamashita & Tsubasa Kuragaki vs. Sekigun (Alex Lee, Maya Yukihi & Mayumi Ozaki)

***1/4

「Kotori」vs. Mitsuru Konno (Gatoh Move, 2/19/2017)

Gatoh Move - Japan Tour・274 (2/19/2017)

「Kotori」vs. Mitsuru Konno

I wish I could name the hold Konno applies in the closing segment... some kind of surfboard turned into a modified straightjacket crossface. This was good; the rough body-on-body contact gave it that 'dogfight' vibe. All of the near-falls are effective, and it feels like a match that can end at any second.

****1/2

Stardom - Gold May 2017 (5/14/2017)

3. Hana Kimura vs. HZK vs. Rebel

**

4. Goddesses of Stardom Championship: Hiroyo Matsumoto & Jungle Kyona (c) vs. The Craft (Jessicka Havok & Tessa Blanchard)

**3/4

5. Wonder of Stardom Championship: Kairi Hojo (c) vs. Mayu Iwatani

**3/4

6. World of Stardom Championship: Io Shirai (c) vs. Toni Storm

This was excellent; an intense high drama main event. Io puts a beating on the challenger in the first act, with a dropkick while Toni's neck is trapped in a chair, followed by stomps, and a double knee smash into the ring post. This is the most vulnerable Toni Storm has ever looked in Stardom. Storm has Io down for the count after she hits her deadly piledriver, the culmination of neck-work, but her pride won't allow her to win that way. Io sells the damage amazingly, lunging around on the mat with a stiff upper body as she fights to make the comeback; easily the best selling I have ever seen from her. Great match!

****

Stardom - Grows Up Stars 2017 (5/7/2017)

3. Hana Kimura vs. Hetzza vs. Rebel

**

4. The Craft (Jessicka Havok & Tessa Blanchard) vs. Natsuko Tora & Toni Storm

***

5. Threedom Final Tag: Threedom (Io Shirai, Kairi Hojo & Mayu Iwatani) vs. Hiromi Mimura, HZK & Jungle Kyona

***1/4