It’s officially a new era in the world of STARDOM, and their biggest show of the year, All Star Grand Queendom 2024, was the launching point.
Bushiroad Fight President Taro Okada has taken over as the booker for this company following the exit of Rossy Ogawa. While Ogawa has now been gone for nearly three months, this feels like the first chance for the new STARDOM to officially begin.
So, is the future of STARDOM exciting after this show? Exciting, sure. Interesting? Absolutely. And that can be considered a win coming out of such an important show.
Let’s dive into this review.
Future of Stardom Championship: Rina (c) def. Sayaka Kurara
If there’s been a change this year that I’ve enjoyed, it’s the return of the Future of Stardom Championship to these pay-per-views. And it’s even better because the work Rina has done since winning this belt has earned her the privilege to shine.
As she closes in on her sister Hanan’s defense record, her latest challenge was the Cosmic Angels’ star rookie, Sayaka Kurara.
The match had to live up to some pretty high standards — even as a Future of Stardom Title match. Rina’s past defenses against Yuzuki, Miyu Amasaki, and Miran have been some of the best the title has seen, so it was going to be tough for this to stand out. It didn’t reach that level, which feels unfair considering how new Kurara still is in her career. These two still showed good enough chemistry, with Kurara hitting her Spear and a version of Sliced Bread No. 2. But in the end, it was never really a question as to who would win as Rina still has places to go with this belt. The devastating Double Knee Drop was all this one had for Kurara.
I have all the confidence this belt will be Kurara’s down the line, but it’s still Rina’s for as long as she wants it.
A future star who grows with every big title match.
Rating: **½
God’s Eye (Syuri, Konami & Ami Sohrei) def. EXV (Xena, Waka Tsukiyama & HANAKO)
I wish I could sit here and write that there was a ton that Syuri did in this match, seeing as she’s one of the best in the world… but this match was all about officially reintroducing Konami to the rosters as a full-time member.
The highlights of this match can be taken down to a short list; Xena and Ami Sohrei exchanging chops and Konami winning with her signature Triangle Lancer. That’s really all there was to this match besides your usual house show-type trios action.
Welcome back to Konami, here’s to hoping there’s more for both she and Syuri moving forward. The win could set these three up for an Artist of Stardom Championship match down the line.
Rating: **¼
High-Speed Championship: Saya Kamitani def. Saki Kashima (c), Saya Iida, and Fukigen Death
Saya Kamitani is the new High-Speed Champion, and I love it. Is that the best way to review this match? Maybe. But it’s ultimately the main takeaway from what was a fine four-way that had a limited participant.
It was apparent that Saki Kashima was banged up for this — she didn’t wrestle for half the match despite defending the High-Speed Championship. It was revealed a day later that she did, in fact, injure her ankle, and it’s why this match never really featured the champion.
The good news for this match is that what it did feature was Saya Kamitani and Saya Iida bringing it for the few times they matched up. Fukigen Death, while always so good in her spots, was in this match for one reason, and it was to take the pin.
After a blitz of near falls, it was Kamitani who hit a surprise Hurricarranna on Fukigen Death to steal the victory and earn herself the championship.
They used this match to give Iida a title match on the big show and to get the High-Speed Title onto ‘The Golden Phoenix.’ For that, it was a success. Here’s to hoping this High-Speed Championship reign of Saya Kamitani goes down as one to remember.
Rating: **¾
Mina Shirakawa def. Natsuko Tora via disqualification
Sometimes, matches are just used to fuel an angle rather than be much of a match. That’s what we saw here in a match that I figured would be a Mina Shirakawa showcase heading into the big show. After all, it’s been Shirakawa who has been making waves in America as part of a story in AEW — why wouldn’t you want to showcase what she’s all about in a big singles match?
Well, it’s because this match was all about the changing of OEDo Tai — beginning with the return of Thekla.
The match itself really had nothing to write about. Shirakawa did her usual working of the leg, trying to cut down the OEDo Tai leader in her efforts to win. The EXV co-leader was in control before OEDo Tai began to attack in the ring, cutting off Shirakawa and leaving her looking for answers. This is when Thekla made her way down to the ring, looking as though she’d make the save for Mina before drilling her in the stomach with Tora’s Steel Bar.
Thekla’s attack marked the end of the match and the beginning of a new story — one where Thekla wants to be alongside Tora and OEDo Tai as she attempts to “eradicate” idol culture in STARDOM, beginning with the EXV co-leader.
Post-match-wise, there’s a lot to be excited about moving forward with a new story beginning. But the match itself, sadly, didn’t hit a mark that’d make it worth watching on its own.
Rating: **
Aja Kong & Kaoru Ito def. meltear (Tam Nakano & Natsupoi)
Let me say this right away — this match was better than expected. Plain and simple. Far exceeded my initial expectations, but it shouldn’t come as a shock as to why.
Natsupoi and Tam Nakano did everything in their power to make this match work.
These two took a beating in this match. Natsupoi experienced a second rope Double Foot Stomp from Kaoru Ito — which had to be a rough one to take as she got all of it. Nakano continuously fought back against Aja Kong. These two actually were having a great match that made me wish it had been a one-on-one bout between the two.
But what was a bigger shock was the finish of the match itself. My mindset is that sooner than later, Nakano is getting a World of Stardom Championship match. So, I figured it’d be Natsupoi taking the loss in the end, likely to a Uraken via Kong. It was instead Nakano suffering the defeat following a brutal Elbow Drop from Kong.
On the surface, the match overdelivered and was the best of the first half of this card. But meltear and their importance to the new STARDOM we are experiencing shouldn’t have seen them lose to two names who won’t be around in the promotion tomorrow.
Rating: ***
Goddesses of Stardom Championship: CRAZY STAR (Suzu Suzuki & Mei Seira) (c) def. FWC (Hazuki & Koguma), 02Line (AZM & Miyu Amasaki), and Starlight Kid & Ruaka
Finally, a great, great championship match. This match is what STARDOM is all about.
Initially, when this match was announced, I wasn’t thrilled with the decision to throw all of this amazing talent into a singular match. But once you sit back and realize what these eight could be capable of, it made up for it being thrown together at the last second.
The Goddesses of Stardom Championship have given us some of the best matches in STARDOM these last few years, and that will continue with the gold around CRAZY STAR’s waists. Suzu Suzuki and Mei Seira have become a super team. They had the chance to establish themselves as champions for the second-straight weekend against three talented duos — and that’s what they did.
These titles served as the High-Speed Championship match of the evening, with all four teams going to the absolute limit to try and take home the gold. 02Line’s growth as a unit has shown the past few months — really since the Goddesses of Stardom Tag League. FWC never fails to deliver in the big spot, and there were a few times they looked like they’d be taking the win in this match.
The major spots in this match came toward the end, with countless near falls coming into play. Starlight Kid and Ruaka looked as though they’d be closing in on the belts as Ruaka went up for the Refridgerator Bomb before splatting onto the mat and missing. CRAZY STAR would ultimately see their chance to take the win. Seira would hit her new finisher — a flip-over Crucifix Bomb that planted Ruaka for the victory. It was perfect.
I’d recommend this as the first match to go out of your way to see — it’s what STARDOM does so well, and we’re now on our way to CRAZY STAR vs. FWC in a straight-up tag match next weekend. That’s what we love to see.
Rating: ****¼
After this match, Starlight Kid was attacked by Ruaka and the rest of OEDo Tai — getting kicked out of the group in a move that felt as if it was out of nowhere. Tam Nakano was the one to go out there and make the save by simply protecting her from the beatdown. It remains to be seen as to whether or not these two are going to work together well in the future, but it’s a development that everyone needs to be following as SLK may become Cosmic in the near future.
IWGP Women’s Championship: Mayu Iwatani (c) def. Sareee
The Match of the Year. A dream match that overdelivered. That’s only what Mayu Iwatani and Sareee can do.
Four years in the making. That’s how long this match has left people waiting. When Sareee signed with WWE, the World of Stardom Championship match between these two disappeared. It took two dramatically different roads between these competitors to get back to going head-to-head, but it was all worth it once we got there.
Mayu Iwatani, for my money, is the greatest ever, and Sareee has been the best wrestler in the world since returning to Japan in May of last year. It was only right that on the biggest stage for STARDOM, they fought for the prize that Iwatani has tried to make special — the IWGP Women’s Championship.
Sareee’s appreciation for Antonio Inoki made this match inevitable. Challenging for the IWGP Women’s Championship was always going to happen — and Mayu Iwatani being the one to be holding that title was necessary.
The lead-up to this match established the two sides. Sareee is the aggressor — the one who is confident in her abilities and not going to hold anything back in her mission to win the title to show the world what a true champion is. Iwatani was, somehow, the underdog. She has always ended up in that role in her career, but as she often does, Iwatani reminded the world why she’s ‘The Icon of Women’s Wrestling.’
When the bell rang and these two were finally face-to-face, you could feel how special this match was going to be. It worked the way it was planned — Sareee working over Iwatani and in many ways outclassing her at times. Iwatani’s first miscue was when she attempted her signature Suicide Dive to the outside but was met with nothing but her own STARS members as Sareee moved out of the way and got onto offense. Iwatani was getting folded and out-maneuvered by the invading challenger — more than she had been in a very, very long time. These two have only ever met in a match once before — but you’d think they’d been long-time rivals. And it wasn’t until the challenger angered Iwatani that this match would be flipped on its head.
Mayu Iwatani slapped Sareee across the face, flipping the switch that we’ve seen Mayu do in her career. It was at that moment that she went from underdog to “Killer Mayu.” The scariest version of Iwatani, but the best as well. These two entered an all-out war from there, as Iwatani wiped away those brutal forearms that Sareee is so famous for and continuously hit her back. She kicked Sareee in the head, exchanged nasty headbutts with “The Sun God,” and amazed again and again.
That’s just what these two do. They meshed so well at bringing together each of their matches, morphing them into one special match that will go down as one of the best in all of pro wrestling.
Sareee looked to have the win and the answer to Iwatani’s surge.
‘The Sun God’ dropped Mayu on her head time and time again with her Uranage. It was nastier and nastier, with Iwatani looking like she was down and out with no more answers left. But as ‘The Icon’ always does, she was able to survive. And not only survive, but overcome Sareee in the end with a Moonsault and the Dragon Suplex Hold finish — pinning her in the middle of the ring.
Considering all the violence in this match, and everything Iwatani went through (including Sareee’s unmatchable Basement Dropkick and a breathtaking stomp), this match just served as another reminder as to why Iwatani is the greatest ever in my humble opinion.
There was just so much in this match. It’d be wrong for you to only read my review and recap. It’s the best match of the year. The best singles match in STARDOM since at least Giulia vs. Syuri at Stardom Dream Queendom 2022 — but probably even further back if you weren’t invested in that story. We don’t always get the best vs. the best. We never really do. So go out of your way to watch this match once, and then twice, and then again and again and again.
Mayu Iwatani and Sareee are the best in the universe. And I’m grateful they got to have this match.
Now, run it back, and let’s see what a rematch would look like. Truly outstanding.
Rating: *****
As if this match wasn’t enough, Ice Ribbon’s Tsukasa Fujimoto made her way down to the ring to challenge Iwatani to a tag team match. Fujimoto and her Best Friends partner, Arisa Nakajima, against Mayu Iwatani and a partner of her choosing.
Oh my god.
“Runaway Wrestler” has given us so many incredible Iwatani matches, and if she is to face Best Friends and potentially Fujimoto in a singles match for the first time ever, then it’s the greatest gift to wrestling fans. 2024 is the year of ‘The Icon.’
Wonder of Stardom Championship: Saori Anou (c) def. Hanan
Hanan is a superstar.
I’ve written that, said that, and repeated that for the past six months. And this match was her opportunity to show it to the entire world.
Winning the Cinderella Tournament was step one in Hanan’s rise to the top of STARDOM. The signature tournament of STARDOM’s history has made countless stars — Mayu Iwatani, Arisa Hoshiki, Momo Watanabe, and many others. When she won the tournament, I had hoped that her Wonder of Stardom Championship match would be placed in the right spot.
Well, they gave her the biggest spot possible. And she shined brighter than anyone else on this show.
Saori Anou was the Wonder of Stardom Champion heading into this match, but she knew this was the vehicle to officially establish Hanan — allowing her to be the start from start to finish. Every minute of this match saw Hanan get more confident. She was believing in herself, and the crowd did, too. Anou had answers for everything the “Future Ace” was bringing in this match. She never lost her cool, as she often doesn’t. And that’s what spelt such trouble for the challenger, with this being her first big championship match.
It was hard for Hanan to keep the momentum, and it looked like it’d all go down the drain when Anou had hit her signature Temps Tendre neckbreaker that had won her countless matches in her career and since she joined STARDOM a year ago.
But Hanan kicked out. That’s when everyone, including myself, had the belief that this was Hanan’s match to win.
The Cinderella Tournament winner would hit multiple suplexes before planting Anou with her signature Backdrop Driver for a beautiful near fall. She’d then hit another Backdrop Driver, but knew it wouldn’t be enough. Hanan would roll through, going for a second to lay out Anou once and for all. Experience won out here, as Anou was able to reverse it and get her signature Pottering flash pin to steal the win and rip the hope away from many. Man, what a finish to this match.
Hanan is undeniable. That’s been the case for a long, long time despite just being 19 years old. Everything worked against these two. Having to go after Mayu vs. Sareee plus the Tsukasa Fujimoto surprise. Hanan didn’t let the spotlight hurt her. She shined brighter than that spotlight.
Anou had her best singles title match since joining STARDOM, and a lot of that has to do with Hanan’s magical performance.
If you’re reading this review to figure out what you want to see on this show — this is the match to watch besides Mayu vs. Sareee. A truly special performance where both wrestlers walk out as winners. A major accomplishment by both wrestlers.
Rating: ****¼
World of Stardom Championship: Maika (c) def. Momo Watanabe 2-1 in a Three Stages of Hell Match
I don’t envy what Maika and Momo Watanabe had to do in this main event. Not only did they have to follow the unbelievable match of Mayu Iwatani and Sareee, but they also had to follow the tremendous performance of Hanan against Saori Anou. Oh, and they had to have a match that neither of them have ever experienced — a Three Stages of Hell match.
One of the toughest challenges of any World of Stardom Championship match, so their efforts in this match were greatly appreciated. It just didn’t work for all three falls. It’s only to review this fall by fall.
First Fall, Singles Match
Fantastic. This first fall was Maika and Momo Watanabe wrestling their match to the highest level. Watanabe would hit her brutal kicks, Maika would respond with hard-hitting Lariats. They’d trade nonstop throughout this fall and proved that if this match was just the one fall, they could have done something special. The challenger was able to outdo the World of Stardom Champion, planting her with the Peach Thunder to get the three count.
Maika and Momo Watanabe delivered in the first fall, and sadly, for the match, it ended up being the best fall.
Second Fall, Hardcore Match
Violence? Yes. But a bit plodding? Also yes. The difficulty of a Hardcore Match is how far the two sides can go — rather than willing to go. Maika and Momo Watanabe did all they could within the Hardcore parameters, using weapons and setting up big move after big move. Watanabe went into this match saying it was “her match,” and utilized her usual baseball bat to smash Maika as she was stuck inside a garbage can. The resilient world champion didn’t allow that to stop her.
‘The Empress’ hit a Superplex from the top of a Ladder and Powerbombed the ‘Black Peach’ through a table — setting her up for an eventual Michinoku Driver II onto two tables to get the big victory.
The fall was… okay. It had the big moments you’d want from a match with no rules but didn’t go to the extreme either to stand out. Setting up spots was to be expected, but that was much of the final stretch. OEDo Tai’s involvement was also conspicuous by their absence, as this is a match you’d expect them to get involved as they have time and time again. The faction had one more fall to do so, and, well, they didn’t.
Third Fall, Last Woman Standing
The final fall is where the match is won or lost — in terms of the actual result but the overall quality on the match. After a successful first fall and a wild second fall, the third fall had the chance to make this match a winner. And for me, it just missed the mark.
Last Woman Standing left me expecting to take from the first two falls and bring it to the final level — featuring desperation and the want to win. Tied up and the decision just minutes away, it looked as though these two ran out of ideas by the end of the match to make this dramatic.
The drama was missing, and the crowd didn’t bite for many of the 10-second counts that are necessary for such an important main event.
Maika would hit a Spinning Michinoku Driver II to get the win, ending this match in what I really did feel was an anti-climatic fashion. What I do appreciate is two things — 1. The efforts of these two wrestlers. Maika and Watanabe gave it everything they had, even if the stipulation handcuffed them in the closing two falls. The chemistry between the two was evident. 2. There was a desperation and near heartbreak when Watanabe couldn’t get the job done. OEDo Tai didn’t help her — which didn’t make much sense — but she did everything to win on her own. Her story continues to be coming so close, but just coming up short in the end. Next time her group isn’t going to help her, I’d like if they added that to the story to make sense.
A good championship match, but nothing that hit the levels of what happened in the three matches prior. That hurt it as much as the stipulation. In another situation, these two can have the blowaway match of the night and potentially the best bout of Maika’s title reign. For me, this just wasn’t the case this time around.
Rating: ***½
FINAL THOUGHTS
The World of Stardom Championship remains around Maika for the time being, and the next steps in her reign will be important because now is officially her time to lead the new STARDOM. What’s next in STARDOM finally has an answer — I’m interested in what Thekla is going to bring under her new role in OEDo Tai.
I’m excited for whatever Starlight Kid brings, as the return of the natural babyface will only make STARDOM better. Whether she returns to her former STARS group and brings back the MK Sisters (please) or joins Tam Nakano in Cosmic Angels — it’s going to be the best story in STARDOM.
The rise of Hanan doesn’t just stop at this PPV either — it’s just the beginning of her greatness, and EVERYONE should be taking notice.
Finally, Mayu Iwatani is in the midst of a truly special year. She’s at the top of her game, and if the rumors do end up being true, this could be her final year in STARDOM. Whether that ends up being true or not, she’s going to show why she can’t be matched by anyone when it comes to the big match.
Taro Okada now takes the full reigns with nothing left from the previous regime. The roster is set, the champions are set, and stories are in play. All Star Grand Queendom 2024 may not have reached the levels of last year’s event, but it had some great matches and gave us plenty to follow in the coming months.
That’s a win for STARDOM.
