After a wild year in the world of STARDOM, Friday saw their year-end show Stardom Dream Queendom 2023 emanate from Ryogoku Sumo Hall in Japan. In a promotion that has desperately needed a world champion after a tumultuous year for the belt, this show proved to deliver exactly who should be leading STARDOM into their next chapter.
Let’s dive in.
STARDOM DREAM QUEENDOM 2023 REVIEW
Miyu Amasaki, Yuzuki & Azusa Inaba def. HANAKO, Rana Yagami & Sayaka Kurara
If you want to know whether or not the future of STARDOM will be in good hands, look no further than this match right here. Whether it’s the prodigy that Yuzuki has quickly become, the new rookies via Rana Yagami and Sayaka Kurara, or an outsider like Azusa Inaba, all six of these competitors showed that they’re stars in the making.
Kicking off a show like this is tough. It’s even tougher with the experience level of these wrestlers but give them opportunities and they’ll rise to the occasion. Starting the match off with Yagami and Inaba was fun to see them tease kicks and a matchup that should be all the more exciting years down the line. If there’s anyone who really shined though, it’s Sayaka Kurara. She entered the match by hitting a Springboard Arm Drag before hitting a Spear later in the match. Impressive for someone wrestling in their second career match.
Yuzuki got the first win of many in her career, making for the right move and now setting her up with momentum for the Rookie of the Year tournament. I’ll take an opener like this any show.
Rating: **¾
God’s Eye (Ami Sourei & Saki Kashima) def. Donna del Mondo (Thekla & Mai Sakurai), Queen’s Quest (Lady C & Hina), and Yuna Mizumori & SAKI
Instead of doing a battle royal, STARDOM opted for a four-way tag team match which I welcome. Everyone gets a little shine this way and instead of playing to the over-the-top-rope eliminations, there’s just chaos in the ring that actually matters. Ami Sourei and Yuna Mizumori had the one moment of the match that had anything of note as they ran into one another with Mizumori eventually coming up on the shortened and losing to Sourei. Fine for what it was.
Rating: **
STARS (Mayu Iwatani, Hanan, Saya Iida & Hazuki) def. Oedo Tai (Starlight Kid, Rina, Ruaka & Fukigen Death)
STARDOM is not STARDOM without Mayu Iwatani. So, a big reason why this show felt like the STARDOM so many fans love is because of her return. And as we saw in her performance, she’s beyond ready to be back in the ring.
This match wasn’t supposed to be much of anything, but the efforts were through the roof in a 10-minute back-and-forth between these two factions. Iwatani was a big part of it but surprisingly, Fukigen Death was as well. With matches like these, you just want everyone to shine or someone to step up and that’s what Iwatani did ahead of her big match against Syuri next weekend.
No complaints, Mayu is back thus wrestling is saved.
Rating: ***¼
7Upp (Nanae Takahashi & Yuu) & AZM def. Mina Shirakawa, Syuri & Mei Seira
All-Star tags in wrestling need to be a regular thing because more often than not, they rock. And this was no different.
While I would have preferred to see the likes of Mina Shirakawa and Syuri in bigger, more important matches at this show, I accepted my fate that they’d have to deliver in this instead and that’s what they did. The action was expectedly off the charts for much of the match, getting the great high-speed sequences from AZM and Mei Seira while physicality was brought from the other four. One of the most stunning moments of the match was when Yuu slapped the hell out of Shirakawa, but the former Wonder of Stardom Champion continued to fight back despite that.
If I were to name an MVP for the match, it’d come down to Shirakawa. Her overall spirit lifted this match, fighting back and not allowing 7Upp to run through her like they have many times with other competitors.
The only sour taste I’m left with in this match was the finish. Shirakawa getting pinned by Nanae Takahashi isn’t something anyone asked for. My only hope is that this leads to a story for Shirakawa, who can not only get her win back but get back into a featured role. Here’s to hoping.
Rating: ***¾
Goddess of Stardom Championship: AphroditE (Utami Hayashishita & Saya Kamitani) (c) def. XL (Natsuko Tora & Momo Watanabe)
Wrestling is better when AphroditE is hitting on all cylinders. It certainly is for me. And as we saw in this match, they’re back on the right track for what should be an incredible 2024.
The story of this match carried over from two years ago when Momo Watanabe turned her back on Queen’s Quest and that led to earlier this summer as Natsuko Tora tried to tear Queen’s Quest apart. Their final shot to try and take down AphroditE was to take their Goddess of Stardom Championships. Utami Hayashishita and Saya Kamitani not only wanted to stop this from happening, but finish off this rivalry once and for all. The match played to exactly that, accomplishing it by the end of the match.
Everyone was working in this match, really just continuing what they did from earlier this year. Kamitani was matched up with Watanabe while Tora was matched with Hayashishita, making for a perfect combination. Watanabe using Tora’s mist was a massive change in this match, resulting in a near end to the match. A pin miscue on behalf of everyone involved didn’t hurt the match, but pushed it forward with the belief of the ref seeing the mist and stopping the pin. Getting to the closing minutes, the save of the match came when Watanabe saved Tora following a BT Bomb — a brilliant near fall.
The perfect finish to this match was the completion of the story. Hayashita would hit the Torture Rack Bomb and Kamitani hit the Star Crusher, pinning both Watanabe and Tora at the same time.
A home run of a match.
Rating: ****
STRONG Women’s Championship: Giulia (c) def. Megan Bayne
Excitement for this match was real and by the end of the match, it was for good reason. The unexpected part, however, was that it’d be Megan Bayne, not Giulia, who’d be the shining star of the match.
“Megasus” had her breakout moment, utilizing her size, power, and updated moveset to look like the complete package against one of the best wrestlers in the entire world. I thought the match sputtered a bit out of the gate with Giulia doing holds and not packing her usual punch. But Bayne lifted it up from there, hitting power spots by catching Giulia and leaving the Sumo Hall crowd in awe time and time again. It almost looked as though Giulia had no answer, but she’d work towards cutting down the AEW powerhouse.
The second half of this match was tremendous, bringing up the slow first half with jaw-dropping moments and terrific kickouts. Giulia hit her Northern Lights Bomb but it was Bayne who managed to kickout. The best moment of the match was when Bayne hit her finishing F5 on Giulia, getting the near fall. Bayne was out of answers but went to the top and broke out a Moonsault, something we’ve never seen her do. The shame was that Bayne missed, allowing Giulia to hit another Northern Lights Bomb which again, was kicked out of. She’d win the match by locking in the Guillotine Choke, forcing Bayne to go out.
Breakout matches are ones you remember and this is the match that proved Bayne is ready for whatever comes her way.
Rating: ****
Wonder of Stardom Championship: Saori Anou def. MIRAI (c)
2023 was a year of ups and downs for STARDOM. So much of that has to do with the Wonder of Stardom Championship and the road that it has taken.
From Saya Kamitani’s incredible, historic reign to Mina Shirakawa’s moment, all looked good for the belt. And then Tam Nakano became a double champion and it’s been all downhill from there. When MIRAI won the championship, I had hope and optimism but was met with an overall disappointment when it was all said and done. When Saori Anou first challenged for the championship, I was let down by what they put together with them being two incredibly gifted wrestlers.
For so much of this match, I was left thinking the same thing. Why are these two not clicking? What is missing? The moment in this match where it lost me for quite a while was the odd near-20-second count out of MIRAI sitting on the outside of the ring and having no part of her rush into the ring. She seemed out of it and that, after a hot start, took me out of it until the last few minutes of the match. Their pacing doesn’t connect, especially seeing how these two wrestle at their best.
The only good news is that their final stretch was so good that it made the finish an exciting one, even despite my disappointment for much of the match. Saori Anou hit MIRAI with everything after kicking out of a number of MIRAI Lariats, including her own version of Tam Nakano’s Twilight Dream to get the victory.
If they were able to match the energy for the full 24 minutes rather than the last 10 or so, this might have been one of the best matches of the year. Instead, the unmemorable start brings this match down. Going with Anou is the right choice for STARDOM. She’s had an excellent year that should result in her losing this belt to Natsupoi. That’d make this all the better.
Rating: ***½
World of Stardom Championship: Maika def. Suzu Suzuki
Heading into this match, everything was about the rivalry between these two and how heated it was. Yet, by the end of the match, it was about Maika and only Maika — which was the right choice in every which way.
This wasn’t pure dominance, but it wasn’t a Suzu Suzuki match. It was all Maika’s and her ability to overcome doubters this year. She not only put on a show but there was zero doubt when the match ended if she was going to win or not.
They played to their rivalry, throwing each other around ringside early on but it was once they got back into the ring where things heated up. Maika tried to slow down the offense of Suzuki by time and time again, using her power in creative ways to do so. It was looking to go into Suzuki’s favor though when she reversed a Powerbomb attempt on the apron into a Hurricarrana, sending Maika through a table and down to the floor.
All looked good from Suzuki from there, but this is the part of the match where everything heated up and got to where I wanted it to go.
Maika not got back into it but wouldn’t allow Suzuki to hit her Shooting Sky Twister Press, avoiding what cost her in the 5STAR Grand Prix Finals three months ago. And the biggest turn of the match was hitting the first Michinoku Driver II on Suzuki to get fully back in the match.
It’d start to get emotional when she’d hit her former MaiHime partner Himeka’s signature Running Powerbomb, followed by an Enka Otoshi. As the match came to a close, it was Maika hitting three Michinoku Driver II’s to get the win in an emphatic fashion.
This was the crowning moment needed for Maika. She is the right wrestler to lead STARDOM into the new year and finally, their next era.
A great match that didn’t need to be anything special to hit home.
Rating: ****
Final Thoughts
STARDOM’s future is now in the hands of Maika. And based on what she accomplished in 2023, it’s exactly where the future should be moving forward. Stardom Dream Queendom 2023 wasn’t a perfect show. But it was the show that STARDOM desperately needed. Having new champions to lead them into the new year hopefully allows STARDOM to have the World of Stardom and Wonder of Stardom Champions as the centerpieces of the promotion again — something that wasn’t always apparent in 2023.
Maika has shown the ability to deliver in the ring and tell a great story. She’s a special talent and should be the focal point of an eventful 2024. There’s no one better to lead the way than “The Empress” in the new year.
