After a year of ups and (many) downs, STARDOM has felt like it’s back throughout the first month of the year. However, all would really be right if they delivered in their first true pay-per-view of the year — Supreme Fight 2024.
While this show was a fantastic effort by everyone involved, it will be forgotten in the wake of Rossy Ogawa being removed from STARDOM by Bushiroad. A decision that will not only go down in history, but that will continue to be discussed by people who are actually knowledgeable about what’s going on and those who ride with nothing but speculation who don’t actually care.
Anyway, let’s get to the show because it’s worth your time.
STARDOM Supreme Fight 2024 Review
Future of Stardom Championship: Rina (c) def. Yuzuki
Yuzuki is the one. And she’s been the one since she debuted back in November. This was her first real chance to show how much of a star she can in a singles match since her debut against Momo Watanabe and, well, she showed why she’s the future.
Yuzuki and Rina had the best Future of Stardom Title match since Hanan held this championship — that’s a huge credit to what they accomplished here. It wasn’t as clean as a World of Stardom Championship match but it carried the same drama that one would. Yuzuki was fighting, surviving with that championship looking more and more like hers as the match went on. But as Rina has shown throughout her reign, she isn’t an easy champion to defeat. After all, she beat Ami Sourei for a reason.
The best parts of the match were at the end as Yuzuki kicked out of Rina’s devastating Diving Knee Drop, a move that has helped her defend the championship countless times. She’d manage to hit Tsukasa Fujimoto’s Infinity for a near fall and eventually get her Rolling Arrow flash pin in, but Rina kicked out on an incredible close call.
Rina would end the dreams of “Moon Arrow” fans around the world when she’d hit the Gory Bomb for the win, but what matters is that we had hope. I do not often recommend early matches on STARDOM pay-per-views, but this is a time I absolutely will. The future is bright and these two are a big reason why.
Rating: ***¼
Natsuko Tora & Momo Watanabe def. Lady C & Miyu Amasaki
There’s only so much I can say about a match that is as undercard as it gets. This was originally scheduled to be a trios match but due to Sayaka Kurara having poor physical condition, that was no longer happening. Sad. Very sad as a believer of Kurara. But it’s fine.
Instead, this match was by the books. The underdogs got a little offense before the heel duo of Tora and Watanabe essentially destroyed them. That, at the very least, was entertaining. A house show tag on the pay-per-view. Since it was the only match on the main card without much meaning, it’s fine.
Rating: **
Tam Nakano & Yuna Mizumori def. Mina Shirakawa & Waka Tsukiyama
Billed as the big return of Tam Nakano, this was a simple one but important for her as the first step back to challenging for the World of Stardom Championship — a belt she never lost.
It didn’t come as a shock that Mina Shirakawa would instantly work the leg of Nakano, which she injured all the way back in October and it left her out of action until now. That didn’t necessarily do much for the match rather than have it start very slow and it was that way until Nakano tagged back in later on. It was only then that Nakano switched things back on, hitting a huge forearm to the skull of Shirakawa and leading them to share a flurry of strikes on one another.
Honestly, that was the highlight of what was a very basic return match for STARDOM’s Twilight Dream. She’d hit an Attitude Adjustment on Waka Tsukiyama before hitting a Tiger Suplex to get the victory.
After a hot start to this show, two matches in a row of average action certainly slowed down the entertainment. But hey, Tam is back. That’s a plus.
Rating: **½
High-Speed Championship: Mei Seira (c) vs. Hazuki ended in a time-limit draw
There’s nothing better in wrestling than a Hazuki title challenge. Or at least that’s how I was feeling when this match was over.
Heading into this match, it was all about Mei Seira proving to everyone why she’s a complete wrestler. She’s had the tag team performances, the trios performances, but she needed that one singles match to fully win people over. She got it. And then some.
As I wrote when this match was over — this was all about bringing back the prestige of the High-Speed Championship. This match should be in the discussion of what AZM and Starlight Kid did back in 2022. It should be in the discussion as the best high-speed match since then because, quite frankly, it was.
There are moments in this match that you need to see to fully appreciate. One was when Hazuki threw Seira over the rope but instead of lading on the apron, she landed all the way on the floor. That was quickly answered by three straight Tope Suicidas to the floor, taking out Seira and leaving her with no answers.
She eventually found the answer, hitting Hazuki with the blitz of offensive moves that she’d managed to put together. But as we got to those “championship minutes,” Hazuki looked to be closing in on the win.
We learned the heart of a champion in these moments, and Seira had exactly that. She managed to make it out of a brutal submission by AZM, where she twisted Seira into a pretzel and left her looking for answers. The only answer was to break it up with a rope break. As the match came to a close, we had the amazing near fall of a Hazukistral, where Seira just kicked out.
Hazuki finally got Seira up for the Brainbuster but by then, it was too late and the time expired. It didn’t matter. 15 minutes of high-speed greatness. That’s what this was. Anyone who is interested in this show needs to go out of their way to see this as soon as possible. It’s what has always made STARDOM different from the rest of the world. And with the future looking uncertain, it’s nice to see that on the 13th Anniversary celebration, we were able to see it once again.
Rating: ****½
13th Anniversary Special Tag: Mayu Iwatani, Utami Hayashishita, Nanae Takahashi & AZM def. Giulia, Suzu Suzuki, Syuri & MIRAI
There are few things better and more consistent in pro wrestling than a STARDOM tag team match full of their all-stars being awesome. It wasn’t a surprise that the 13th Anniversary tag team match was exactly that.
In matches like these, you have to watch them to get the full appreciation because so much is happening. You’ll have small comedic moments like with Syuri continuously kicking Nanae Takahashi, who had Giulia’s leg trapped in the process and was also hurt with each kick. Then there are the serious moments that we all await — which is when these eight wrestlers destroy each other. That happened plenty and that’s what made this match so great.
Mayu Iwatani is locking down a Wrestler of the Year entry early this year. Her spots in this match were off the charts, with none being better than the closing stretch she shared with Suzu Suzuki. They traded and showed us how special a potential IWGP Women’s Championship match would be between them.
The finish to the match featured one of the nastiest Threedom Dropkicks in some time as Takahashi and Utami Hayashishita launched (!!!) Iwatani into Suzuki, who completely ate a kick to her face. Iwatani would finish the match up with her Moonsault, getting the win for her team and completing a match everyone again needs to check out.
Rating: ****¼
Wonder of Stardom Championship: Saori Anou (c) def. Starlight Kid
Another big Wonder of Stardom Championship match, another time I leave looking for just a bit more.
That isn’t to say the match between Saori Anou and Starlight Kid was bad by any stretch. Their closing stretch was one of the best all night after all! It’s just that getting there wasn’t as clean a process as I’d hoped with two wrestlers as talented as these two.
Now, the reality is that this match was about two things. Saori Anou needed to get her reign off to a strong start with her first defense. And, maybe more importantly, it was a match that Starlight Kid really needed to get her back on track. After a brutal 2023, anything was going to work for her. And that’s why, even with my feelings on the match not being super high, I leave this match being a positive more than anything else. A start for SLK is better than anything else.
What I’ve learned in Anou’s title matches between the two MIRAI bouts and now this one is that there isn’t a locked-in formula that many champions would have. Instead, they’re interchangeable and we’ve yet to find the right one. Whatever type of match she was having in the 5STAR Grand Prix is the one to do but I digress.
A lot of this match was about working Anou’s leg after Kid had smashed it on a table early. It’s the main reason it didn’t click for me because that focus held things down for three-quarters of the match.
The moment of the match that has stuck with me was the near fall of the night. Kid was able to hit the Momo Latch that she learned from Momoe Nakanishi, looking like she had won her first Wonder of Stardom Championship before a 2.99 kickout.
Anou would eventually get the win after a hot closing to the match to raise this match up to a good effort overall.
What’s next for Saori Anou’s title reign? Who knows at this stage. Wait and see like everything else moving forward.
Rating: ***½
World of Stardom Championship: Maika (c) def. Saya Kamitani
A great world title fight. That’s what was expected and that’s what Maika and Saya Kamitani delivered.
It shouldn’t come as a shock with these two. Their rivalry speaks for itself. These two are a perfect match and will be for as long as they can work against one another. This was an important match for Maika. As important as any first defense but then some. She needs to show why she is the World of Stardom Champion. Winning the championship was one thing, being a reigning champion is another.
Within the first five minutes, it was clear that Maika was establishing her match style. She is the puro fans favorite Joshi wrestler. Maika wrestles the epic-style main event which is a test for someone like Saya Kamitani, whose pace in her title matches goes a lot faster than the usual epic. The early going was slow as expected but it’s the second half where this match goes from good to great.
One of the big moments to remember was Kamitani considering the Phoenix Splash for the first time since returning, just for Maika to answer with a gnarly Himeka-style Running Powerbomb. Later in the match, Kamitani would hit her new Phoenix Spike finisher but “The Empress” managed to kick out.
When it looked as though “The Golden Phoenix” would close in on the victory, it was a Michonku Driver II out of nowhere that shifted the match back into Maika’s favor and an eventual win. She’d hit another Michinoku Driver II but somehow, Kamitani kicked out. It wasn’t until the World of Stardom Champion hit an arm-trapped Michonku Driver II on Kamitani that she’d get the win and complete an incredible main event.
Maika deserves to be World of Stardom Champion. And with times so uncertain for STARDOM, she will be needed more than nearly any champion to make things right as many questions are answered. Here’s to hoping her title reign can mirror what this match gave us moving forward.
Rating: ****¼
Final Thoughts
Writing this review wasn’t easy. And whatever is coming won’t be easy if you’re a fan of Rossy Ogawa, STARDOM, the wrestlers, and the world of Joshi. But the best thing we can do is hope for the best — whatever that looks like.
Until more is revealed, appreciate a show like Supreme Fight 2024 because it was a show that reminds us all how great this company can be. It may never be like this again. We just don’t know.
And that’s how this review ends. If there’s any hope I can give you, it’s that I’m optimistic about what’s to come even in the face of uncertainty. The spirit of STARDOM lives through the wrestlers — no matter where they are. That’s enough right now.
