STARDOM returns to America for the first time in five years on April 4th as part of WrestleMania Weekend in the 2300 Arena. The show features talent not only from STARDOM but also from CMLL, AEW, and TNA. The five-match card is a cool mix of tag team matches, a comedy high-speed match, and a World of Stardom Championship match between Maika and Megan Bayne. The show is available on PPV on Triller TV.
Mei Seira (c) vs Ram Kaichow vs Saki Kashima for the High-Speed Championship
This match-up for the High-Speed Championship is an interesting clash of styles as Mei Seira is defending her title against two strong characters in Saki Kashima & Ram Kaichow. If you have seen clips from STARDOM High-Speed matches before, then you know what to expect normally from the division: a fast-paced match with many counters, many flash pins attempts, and just full of action. Here, it will be mixed with the comedy aspects of Kashima & Kaichow, which will create a unique but cool match-up for the show.
The match is a showcase match for Mei Seira, who just won the Goddess of Stardom Championship together with Suzu Suzuki, ahead of her match on the Ring of Honor show on Friday. She will almost certainly be the standout in this match from an in-ring part and will likely walk out of this weekend as one of the most talked about Joshi talents. There is a logical outcome for this match, where Kashima wins the title back so that Seira can focus on the Goddess Title, but with the run Seira is on currently, it would be surprising if she loses here.
Prediction: Mei Seira
Queen’s Quest (AZM & Saya Kamitani) & Camron Branae vs. OEDo Tai (Starlight Kid & Momo Watanabe) & Stephanie Vaquer
OEDo Tai & Queen’s Quest have been in a rivalry for a long time now, especially since Momo Watanabe, who was the former leader of QQ, betrayed Queen’s Quest to join the villainous unit at the end of 2021. This is also the first tag team match for Queen’s Quest since the departure of Utami Hayashishita as AZM & Kamitani team up in this match, who are both the favorites to take over the leader spot.
On top, this is a little bit of a preview match as AZM is challenging Vaquer for the NJPW STRONG Women’s Championship on the April 12th New Japan show in Chicago. Stephanie Vaquer will be familiar to STARDOM fans after recently beating Giulia for the title and has built up some connection to OEDo Tai thus far. Aside from Vaquer, AZM will likely be paired with Starlight Kid for most of the match so that both can showcase their high-speed greatness against each other, which will leave fans impressed.
Watanabe has been one of the more pushed wrestlers since the departure of Rossy Ogawa and has been aiming for the World of Stardom Championship for the past few months. She has been pinning some major names, including Kamitani, who she will likely pair up with in this match leading to her picking up the win in the match to build up more momentum before her inevitable title challenge. The odd one out in this match is Camron Branae, formerly known as Amari Miller in WWE. It’s her debut in STARDOM, and with a great performance, she may get the chance to come over to Japan later this year.
Prediction: Oedo Tai (Starlight Kid & Momo Watanabe) & Stephanie Vaquer
God’s Eye (Syuri & Konami) vs Willow Nightingale & SAKI
Willow Nightingale is making her STARDOM debut as she teams with SAKI to face Syuri & Konami. An interesting match-up for Willow, who has been a stand-out in AEW these past few months, as neither Syuri nor Konami are typically a natural pairing for Willow, as both are rather technician-strikers than powerhouses Willow can bounce off. Regardless, it’s still a match to look out for. While it might not be the most natural pairing, Syuri & Willow will kill it and deliver some of the best sequences you will see this weekend.
Prediction: God’s Eye (Syuri & Konami)
STARS (Mayu Iwatani & Momo Kohgo) & Tam Nakano vs Club Venus (Mina Shirakawa, Xia Brookside & Mariah May)
The original Club Venus lineup is back together and features the return of Xia Brookside and Mariah May to STARDOM. Mariah’s breakout year in 2023 was a huge story that led to her getting a prominent spot in AEW next to the AEW Women’s Champion Toni Storm, which will bring some excitement to this match, especially with the start of the AEW-STARDOM partnership that has been kicked off recently with Shirakawa appearing in Ring of Honor. Xia Brookside has done well for herself following her brief STARDOM run as she is now a regular in TNA and even got a Knockouts Championship match recently.
On the other side, Mayu Iwatani & Momo Kohgo are teaming up with Tam Nakano. The trio will have an interesting dynamic since Nakano left STARS in 2020 to form the Cosmic Angels together with Unagi Sayaka and Mina Shirakawa, who is an opponent of the STARS & Tam trio here. I could see both teams picking up the win here, with Nakano potentially challenging for the World of Stardom Championship at BUNTAI, but looking at the Club Venus return and potentially Mina having a few dates in ROH & AEW in the upcoming week, Club Venus seem likely to be the winners here.
Prediction: Mina Shirakawa, Xia Brookside & Mariah May
Maika (c) vs. Megan Bayne for the World of Stardom Championship
The World of Stardom Championship is on the line in the main event of the show, as Maika is defending her title against Megan Bayne. Maika has been placed as the top star of STARDOM since she won the Red Belt in December of last year, with her getting great wins over Suzu Suzuki, Saya Kamitani, and Utami Hayashishita in championship matches and will continue to be established as a top player by facing her Divine Kingdom partner Megan Bayne here. The ‘Megasus’ had a great run in STARDOM last year and has continued that form across the independent scene. A standout talent with great in-ring work and a ton of presence that will want to show the fanbase here why STARDOM chose her for this match.
Together, they won the Goddess of Stardom Tag League and were a great duo in STARDOM. Megan was the key to success for Maika as she was the one motivating the ‘Empress’ after her devastating loss in the 5STAR Grand Prix Final. Now, they will face off in a World of Stardom Championship match in the main event of the show. Their styles fit well together as they love to bounce off their opponents, which they can do perfectly against each other.
The winner should be obvious with Megan not being a regular, while Maika has been chosen as the new face of the promotion. The match will be great and by far the best match on this show in terms of the in-ring quality.
Prediction: Maika
