Mercedes Mone Wins IWGP Women’S Title, Maya Yukihi Accepts Giulia’s Challenge, Triangle Derby Semis Decided| Weekly Joshi Guide

STARDOM

On Wednesday Stardom had the final Block matches of the Triangle Derby where it was decided who is advancing to the Semifinals on March 4th. Before the show, Stardom introduced 3 new Rookies that recently passed their pro test. Komomo Minami (153 cm), Hanako Ueda (181 cm) Sakura Ishiguro (158 cm). They will all make their pro debut on March 25 at New Blood premium! Sakura instantly challenged the World of Stardom Champion Giulia for her debut match.

The first team advancing to the semis was 7Upp after they defeated Team Lollipop in front of a hot Korakuen Hall crowd. The crowd loves Waka, and she’s the most overact in the entire company right now. Every second they beg for her to get the first win, and she is getting closer and closer in each match. Her interaction with Nanae has been fantastic over the last couple of months, and their Singles Match on the New Blood PPV will be fantastic. This Match was fantastic and showed another time how good 7Upp has been in the last couple of months.

Queen’s Quest had a chance to advance as well, they had a tough challenge ahead of them with Koguma, Hazuki and Saya Iida. The STARS trio hasn’t had a successful run in Triangle Derby coming into this match and needed a big win on their way out of the tournament to gain at least a bit of momentum and knock out the tournament champions is a way to do so, but what occurred was even bigger. Hazuki planted Saya Kamitani and pinned her for the win. After the Match, Hazuki challenged the Wonder Of Stardom Champion for a Title Match that will happen at the Triangle Derby. It will be her 5th challenge for the title, with her last challenge being 3 1/2 years ago against Arisa Hoshiki.

Queen’s Quest had one last hope to stay in the tournament, and that was hoping that the undefeated God’s Eye trio defeats SAKI & meltear. The Cosmic Angels trio needed to win to advance, while God’s Eye already advanced. Tam Nakano pinned Ami Sourei in the end to get the win for her team. The Trio advances to the semis after winning five matches in a row and working themselves up to be a favorite to win it all. There is only one spot left in the final and that was decided in the main event where the reigning Artist Of Stardom Champions Prominence are facing Giulia, Thekla and Mai Sakurai. The Donna del Mondo trio needed to win, while a draw was enough for the Champions to advance. All Six Women gave it all here to get the win for their trio, but the death match Wrestlers had the advantage on this day and were able to pick up the win. After the Match, Maya Yukihi came out to officially accept the challenge of Giulia to face her for the World Of Stardom Championship. They are going back to their Ice Ribbon days, where they fought each other for the IceXInfinity Championship in one of the best matches of both careers.

Mercedes Mone made her official in-ring return after she left WWE and challenged KAIRI for the IWGP Women’s Title at NJPW’s Battle In The Valley 2023 in San Jose. This Match has been one of the most anticipated matches of the entire year with all eyes being on Mercedes in what she can do against the best Women’s Wrestler in the entire world and the match against KAIRI showed that she not only can hang in with them but will compete on the same level as them. A fantastic performance of both Wrestlers as they were stealing not only this show but the entire wrestling weekend, putting on a clinic that won’t be forgotten this easily. Mercedes made her return a successful one when she hit her finisher, the “Monemaker” and beat KAIRI to win the IWGP Women’s Championship. It’s her first title outside of WWE in twelve years.
Not even 24h later, the first challenger for the new Champion emerged. The current High Speed Champion AZM challenged Mone at the Triangle Derby Final Press conference. Mone named AZM as one of her dream opponents after her debut on Ittenyon at Wrestle Kingdom. The Match between the CEO and the High Speed Bomb Girl will likely happen at Sakura Genesis in April.

Official Triangle Derby Standings
RED TRIANGLE BLOCK –
11 – 7Upp (Nanae Takahashi, Yuu & Yuna Mizumori) (5-1-1)
10 – Cosmic Angels (Tam Nakano, Natsupoi & SAKI) (5-2-0)
9 – Queen’s Quest (Utami Hayashishita, AZM & Saya Kamitani) (4-2-1)
8 – Club Venus (Mina Shirakawa, Mariah May & Xia Brookside) (4-3-0)
6 – Unique Glare (Starlight Kid, Ruaka & Haruka Umesaki) (3-4-0)
6 – Bari Bari Bombers (Giulia, Thekla & Mai Sakurai) (3-4-0)
2 – H & M’s (Mayu Iwatani, Momo Kohgo & Hanan) (1-6-0)

BLUE TRIANGLE BLOCK –
10 – Abarenbo GE (Syuri, MIRAI & Ami Sourei) (4-1-2)
10 – Prominence (Suzu Suzuki, Risa Sera & Kurumi Hiiragi) (5-2-0)
8 – Gold Ship (Momo Watanabe, Natsuko Tora & Saki Kashima) (4-3-0)
8 – Rebel x Enemy (Ram Kaichow, Maika Ozaki & Maya Yukihi) (4-3-0)
6 – Classmates (Hazuki, Saya Iida & Koguma) (3-4-0)
4 – MaiHime With C (Maika, Himeka & Lady C) (2-5-0)
0 – Team Lollipop (Waka Tsukiyama, Rina Amikura & Yuko Sakurai) (0-7-0)

With that the official semi-finals for the Triangle Derby are:
7Upp (Nanae Takahashi, Yuu & Yuna Mizumori) vs Prominence (Suzu Suzuki, Risa Sera & Kurumi Hiiragi)
Cosmic Angels (Tam Nakano, Natsupoi & SAKI) vs Abarenbo GE (Syuri, MIRAI & Ami Sourei)