{"id":7565,"date":"2014-03-30T13:34:31","date_gmt":"2014-03-30T17:34:31","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/crazymax.org\/newsite\/?p=7565"},"modified":"2014-03-30T16:01:16","modified_gmt":"2014-03-30T20:01:16","slug":"fighting-spirit-review-stardom-third-anniversary-on-12614","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/crazymax.org\/newsite\/reviews\/fighting-spirit-review-stardom-third-anniversary-on-12614\/","title":{"rendered":"Fighting Spirit Review: Stardom “Third Anniversary” on 1\/26\/14"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Date: January 26th, 2014
\nLocation: Tokyo Korakuen Hall
\nAnnounced Attendance: 1,150<\/strong><\/p>\n

Stardom is another promotion that I am introducing myself to as I broaden my wrestling viewing a bit. I have heard good things about the promotion as they have some skilled wrestlers, so hopefully their first event to be taped for 2014 leaves a positive first impression. This is a big event for Stardom as three of their titles are being defended. Here is the full card:<\/p>\n

– Koguma vs. Yuna Manase
\n– Kaori Yoneyama, Kellie Skater, and Yuhi vs. Toyota, Matsumoto, and Mayu Iwatani
\n–\u00a0Takumi Iroha 10 Match Series 4th:<\/em>\u00a0Takumi Iroha vs. Yoshiko
\n–\u00a0Goddesses of Stardom Championship<\/em>: Takahashi and Wakizawa vs. Kimura and Alpha Female
\n–\u00a0Wonder of Stardom Championship:<\/em>\u00a0Act Yasukawa vs. Kairi Hojo
\n–\u00a0World of Stardom Championship<\/em>: Io Shirai vs. Natsuki*Taiyo<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Koguma vs. Yuna Manase<\/strong><\/h4>\n

<\/strong>Wristlock by Koguma to start, Manase cartwheels out of it and yanks on Koguma\u2019s arm.\u00a0 Koguma rolls out of it and hits an armdrag, she charges Manase in the corner and delivers a dropkick.\u00a0 Kicks by Koguma, she picks up Manase but Manase pushes her off and throws Koguma in the corner.\u00a0 Irish whip by Manase and she hits a running dropkick.\u00a0 Stomps by Koguma, Irish whip to the corner, reversed, and Manase delivers a running boot to the face.\u00a0 Koguma falls down to a seated position and Manase stomps on her repeatedly.\u00a0 Knee by Manase, she pulls out Koguma and covers her for a one count.\u00a0 Manase picks up Koguma but Koguma clubs her off, and the two trade strikes.\u00a0 Big boot by Manase but Koguma hits a DDT, cover, but it gets a two count.\u00a0 Koguma applies a sleeper before applying a stretch hold, but Manase gets out of it.\u00a0 Front facelock by Koguma but Manase stomps her foot and hits a scissors kick.\u00a0 Armbar by Manase but Koguma wiggles to the ropes to force a break.\u00a0 Manase waits for Koguma to get up but Koguma avoids the big boot and hits an elbow.\u00a0 Slap by Manase, she goes for a scissors kick but Koguma catches it and covers Manase for a two count.\u00a0 Koguma picks up Manase, Irish whip, reversed, and Manase kicks Koguma in the chest.\u00a0 Grounded front facelock by Manase and she hits the Payday for a two count cover.\u00a0 Manase picks up Koguma and goes for it again, but Koguma gets out of it and rolls up Manase for a two count.\u00a0 Running boot by Manase near the corner, she grabs Koguma and nails the Heel Drop.\u00a0 Cover, and she picks up the three count.\u00a0 Your winner:\u00a0 Yuna Manase<\/p>\n

Match Thoughts:<\/strong>\u00a0 A rookie match, although I am glad that Manase is over 18 with that outfit that she wears.\u00a0 It was easy to tell these two are still learning, as they still haven\u2019t mastered the staple of Puroresu \u2013 strike exchanges.\u00a0 But besides the awkwardness of those it was not a bad match, just basic which is understandable.\u00a0 Manase hit her kicks well (the Heel Drop was nice) and it wasn\u2019t long enough to be offensive or anything.\u00a0 Rookies need experience so while not a great match it wasn\u2019t a bad way to start out the event.\u00a0\u00a0Score:\u00a0 4.0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Yoneyama, Kellie Skater, and Yuhi vs. Toyota, Matsumoto, and Iwatani<\/strong><\/h4>\n

<\/strong>Iwatani and Yuhi start things off.\u00a0 Yuhi kicks Iwatani to start the match, Irish whip, reversed, Yuhi goes off the ropes as well and Yuhi knocks Iwatani to the mat.\u00a0 Wristlock by Yuhi and she goes for a springboard move, but Matsumoto shakes the ropes.\u00a0 Matsumoto comes in the ring and they beat down Yuhi, double Irish whip but Yuhi cartwheels by them.\u00a0 Skater comes in the ring, and she hits a springboard armdrag while Yuhi hits one onto Matsumoto at the same time.\u00a0 Yuhi and Skater kick Iwatani and Yoneyama is tagged in.\u00a0 Toyota and Skater beat down Iwatani, triple Irish whip by Iwatani but she slams on the breaks and Toyota comes off the top turnbuckle with a diving crossbody onto all three. \u00a0Skater is singled out in the ring and Matsumoto hits a running splash onto Skater.<\/p>\n

A little brown backpack of some sort is put onto Skater\u2019s chest,\u00a0 Iwatani goes up to the top turnbuckle and hits a body splash onto Skater.\u00a0 They then dump a box full of little brown things (they look like mini-hamburgers), Toyota goes up to the top turnbuckle but Skater moves out of the way of the diving body press.\u00a0Yoneyama comes back in the ring and attacks Iwatani from behind, German suplex hold by Yuhi to Iwatani but it gets a two count.\u00a0 Skater waits for Iwatani to get up and kicks her in the chest before hitting a cross-armed Side Russian Leg Sweep for a two count cover.\u00a0 Matsumoto gets in the ring, the brown bag is put over Skater\u2019s head and Toyota hits a missile dropkick from the top turnbuckle.\u00a0 Matsumoto grabs Skater and hits a Liger Bomb, cover, and she picks up the three count.\u00a0 Your winners:\u00a0 Manami Toyota, Hiroyo Matsumoto , and Mayu Iwatani<\/p>\n

Match Thoughts:<\/strong>\u00a0 I don\u2019t care what all the results say on various websites, it was Matsumoto that got the pin, not Toyota… I know who Toyota is.\u00a0\u00a0 Only half of the match was shown but I assume we got the gist of it, I am not 100% sure what the significance of the brown bag is but in the grand scheme of things it doesn\u2019t really matter.\u00a0 We didn\u2019t really see enough of this to get a great feel for it, but what we saw was fine.\u00a0 Compared to the last match you could tell these were more seasoned wrestlers as the moves were all hit smoothly and they kept the pace going.\u00a0 Solid match, just not a lot of it was shown.\u00a0Score:\u00a0 5.0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Takumi Iroha vs. Yoshiko<\/strong><\/h4>\n

<\/strong>Joined in Progress.\u00a0 Elbow by Iroha but Yoshiko hits her back and they trade shots.\u00a0 Yoshiko splashes Iroha from behind and gets her on her shoulders, but Iroha gets out of it.\u00a0 Iroha goes for a suplex, Yoshiko gets out of it and goes off the ropes but Iroha delivers a dropkick.\u00a0 Backdrop lift into a front sit-down slam by Iroha, cover, but it gets a two\u00a0 count.\u00a0 Iroha waits for Yoshiko to get up and goes for a kick but Yoshiko catches it and headbutts Iroha.\u00a0 Chokebomb by Iroha and she hits a senton for a two count cover.\u00a0 Yoshiko positions Iroha in front of the corner, she goes for a reverse splash but Iroha rolls out of the way.\u00a0 Waistlock by Iroha but Yoshiko elbows out of it, Iroha goes off the ropes and hits a spinning heel kick.\u00a0 Cover, but Yoshiko kicks out.\u00a0 Iroha stomps Yoshiko and goes up to the top turnbuckle, delivering a diving body press.\u00a0 Cover, but again it gets two.\u00a0 Iroha picks up Yoshiko and applies a waistlock, German suplex hold by Iroha but Yoshiko kicks out.\u00a0 Iroha picks up Yoshiko and goes for a vertical suplex, but Yoshiko blocks it.\u00a0 Lariat by Yoshiko, cover, but it gets two.\u00a0 Yoshiko picks up Iroha and hits a second chokebomb, cover, but Iroha gets a shoulder up. Yoshiko positions Iroha in front of the corner, she goes up to the second turnbuckle and hits a diving senton.\u00a0 Cover, and she picks up the three count. Your winner:\u00a0 Yoshiko<\/p>\n

Match Thoughts:<\/strong>\u00a0 Looks like we only saw about half the match.\u00a0 Yoshiko needs a new killer move, I am generally a big fan of repeating big moves in a match unless its a big title match or something, especially if the move is just a set-up for the finisher.\u00a0 Iroha is a rookie going through her \u2018trial series\u2019 so it is more about her learning than it is about her actually winning matches.\u00a0 Maybe here she learned that trading strikes with someone twice your size is not a great idea.\u00a0 Seemed fine for what we saw but I would have liked to have seen the first half of the match.\u00a0\u00a0Score:\u00a0 4.0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

(c) Takahashi and Wakizawa vs. Kyoko Kimura and Alpha Female<\/strong><\/h4>\n

<\/strong>This match is for the Goddesses of Stardom Championship.\u00a0 Kimura and Alpha Female attack their opponents with the belts before the match has started, and beat them down in the ring.\u00a0 Wakizawa and Takahashi are thrown into different corners but they get the advantage and lariat Kimura and Alpha Female.\u00a0 Kimura is isolated but she applies The Claw to Takahashi and Wakizawa.\u00a0 Wakizawa hits a neckbreaker onto Kimura and Takahashi follows with a dropkick.\u00a0 Wakizawa puts Kimura in a camel clutch while Takahashi poses over them.\u00a0 Double Irish whip to Kimura but she avoids the double dropkick and kicks both of her opponents.\u00a0 Kimura tags in Alpha Female, and Alpha Female applies a stretch hold.\u00a0 Kimura comes back in the ring with some ketchup (I am assuming) in a bottle, and she hits Takahashi with it.\u00a0 She then sets up Wakizawa in the ropes and sprays ketchup all over her face.\u00a0 If it had been mayo this would have been a far more disturbing image.\u00a0 Kimura gets a running start in the ring and kicks Wakizawa in the back of the head while she is still tied up in the ropes.\u00a0 Kimura tags in Alpha Female, and Alpha Female stands on Wakizawa\u2019s face before rubbing her face into the mat.\u00a0 Alpha Female stomps Wakizawa into the mat and goes for a lariat but Wakizawa ducks it and rolls up Alpha Female for a two count.\u00a0 Wakizawa tags in Takahashi, Takahashi clubs Alpha Female against the ropes, Irish whip, reversed, and Takahashi hits an elbow.\u00a0 Alpha Female returns the favor, Kimura comes in the ring but Takahashi hits a crossbody onto both of them.\u00a0 Takahashi hits lariats onto both Kimura and Alpha Female in the corner, Wakizawa goes up to the second turnbuckle and hits a diving body press onto Alpha Female.\u00a0 Cover, but it gets a two count.\u00a0 Wakizawa applies a crossface onto Alpha Female but Alpha Female muscles out of it and hits a side slam.\u00a0 Alpha Female picks up Takahashi and hits a fallaway slam.\u00a0 Alpha Female tags in Kimura, knees by Kimura to the head of Takahashi and she tries to hit her with the ketchup, but Takahashi blocks it.\u00a0 Lariats by Takahashi, cover, but it gets a two count.<\/p>\n

Takahashi goes off the ropes but Kimura catches her with a big boot, Kimura goes off the ropes now but Takahashi hits a lariat.\u00a0 Waistlock by Takahashi but Kimura elbows out of it.\u00a0 Elbows by Takahashi and she applies another waistlock, Wakizawa comes in the ring to help and Takahashi is finally able to hit the backdrop suplex.\u00a0 Cover, but Kimura gets a foot on the bottom rope.\u00a0 We clip ahead as Alpha Female is in the ring and she lariats Wakizawa.\u00a0 She and Takahashi both go off the ropes but Takahashi\u2019s lariat hits the mark.\u00a0 Takahashi goes up to the second turnbuckle, Wakizawa then runs in the ring and Wakizawa hurricanranas Takahashi onto Alpha Female.\u00a0 German suplex hold by Wakizawa to Alpha Female but it gets a two count.\u00a0 Wakizawa picks up Alpha Female but Alpha Female hits a short-arm lariat.\u00a0 Alpha Female goes up to the top turnbuckle but Takahashi is back in the ring and hits Alpha Female.\u00a0 Wakizawa then gets up, she joins Alpha Female on the top turnbuckle and hits a superplex.\u00a0 Cover, but Alpha Female kicks out at two.\u00a0 Wakizawa stomps Alpha Female, she goes up to the top turnbuckle but Kimura runs up on the apron and stops her.\u00a0 Takahashi knocks Kimura out of the ring, while Alpha Female joins Wakizawa on the top turnbuckle.\u00a0 Wakizawa quickly jumps down and sits Alpha Female on the top turnbuckle, Wakizawa then climbs back up and goes for a Frankensteiner, but Alpha Female catches her.\u00a0 Kimura comes in the ring and holds Wakizawa, and Alpha Female comes off the top turnbuckle, slamming Wakizawa into the mat.\u00a0 Cover, but Takahashi breaks it up.\u00a0 Alpha Female picks up Wakizawa and hits a shoulder drop slam, cover, but again Takahashi breaks it up.\u00a0 Alpha Female picks up Wakizawa and puts her on her shoulders, but Wakizawa gets off and hits a backslide for a two count.\u00a0 Wakizawa and Takahashi put their opponents lying in the ring, they both go up to the top turnbuckle and go for diving body presses, but both Kimura and Alpha Female get their knees up.\u00a0 Alpha Female hits a lariat onto Wakizawa, cover, but Wakizawa barely kicks out.\u00a0 Alpha Female picks up Wakizawa and nails the Alpha Plex, and she picks up the three count.\u00a0 Your winners and new champions:\u00a0 Kyoko Kimura and Alpha Female<\/p>\n

Match Thoughts:<\/strong>\u00a0 A solid match, but the clips in the action made it hard for the wrestlers to really get a good flow going as it was disjointed in parts.\u00a0 Not that it is their fault, it is just the way the match was presented which is disappointing for a title match.\u00a0 The wrestling was generally solid although a bit silly at times (such as the ketchup usage and Wakizawa doing a Frankensteiner on her own partner).\u00a0 There wasn\u2019t anything noticeably wrong with the match, the skipping just hurt the structure.\u00a0\u00a0Score:\u00a0 6.0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

(c) Act Yasukawa vs. Kairi Hojo<\/strong><\/h4>\n

This match is for the Wonder of Stardom Championship.\u00a0 Hojo wants to shake Yasukawa\u2019s hand to start the match, Yasukawa won\u2019t shake it so Hojo dropkicks her in the back instead.\u00a0 Another dropkick by Hojo and she hits a third before stomping Yasukawa down in the corner.\u00a0\u00a0 Snapmare by Hojo and she hits an elbow drop.\u00a0 Cover, but Yasukawa kicks out.\u00a0 Hojo applies a single leg crab hold but Yasukawa quickly gets to the ropes to force a break.\u00a0 Yasukawa slams Hojo into the turnbuckle, Irish whip by Yasukawa and she delivers a dropkick.\u00a0 Yasukawa picks up Hojo and throws her against the ropes before choking her with her boot.\u00a0 Yasukawa picks up Hojo, puts her over her shoulder and applies a submission hold.\u00a0 Yasukawa releases it and picks up Hojo, but Hojo elbows her in the chest.\u00a0 Hojo goes off the ropes and goes for a spear, but Yasukawa blocks it and spins Hojo to the mat.\u00a0 Cover by Yasukawa but it gets two.\u00a0 Yasukawa picks up Hojo and goes for a slam but Hojo slides down her back.\u00a0 Clubs to the back by Hojo and she stomps Yasukawa.\u00a0 Hojo goes off the ropes and hits a running neck whip, cover, but it gets a two count.\u00a0 Cross-armed choke applied by Hojo and she stomps Yasukawa in the back.\u00a0 Hojo goes up to the second turnbuckle but Yasukawa rolls out of the way of the diving elbow drop.\u00a0 Yasukawa picks up Hojo and puts her on her shoulder, but Hojo rolls her up for a two count.\u00a0 Crab hold by Hojo and she pulls it all the way, wrenching Yasukawa\u2019s back.\u00a0 Elbow drops to the back by Hojo, she covers Yasukawa but she gets a shoulder up.\u00a0 Hojo picks up Yasukawa, Irish whip, reversed, and Yasukawa rolls up Hojo for a two count.\u00a0 Yasukawa goes for the Stretch Muffler but her back gives out, preventing her from locking in the move.\u00a0 Yasukawa picks up Hojo, Irish whip, reversed, and Hojo hits a running shoulder tackle.\u00a0 Spear by Hojo, cover, but it gets two.<\/p>\n

Hojo crosses Yasukawa\u2019s legs and goes for a crab hold but Yasukawa quickly gets a hand on the ropes.\u00a0 Stomps to the back by Hojo, she puts Yasukawa on her shoulders but Yasukawa hops off and elbows Hojo in the chest.\u00a0 Hojo elbows her back and they trade strikes, which Yasukawa gets the better of.\u00a0 Hojo gets back up and elbows Yasukawa against the ropes, double chop by Hojo and she goes off the ropes, but Yasukawa catches her and slams Hojo to the mat.\u00a0 Cover, but it gets a two.\u00a0 Yasukawa goes up to the top turnbuckle but Hojo recovers in time and throws her off the top turnbuckle to the mat.\u00a0 Hojo then goes up to the top turnbuckle and hits a diving elbow drop to Yasukawa\u2019s back.\u00a0 Cover, but Yasukawa gets a shoulder up.\u00a0 Hojo crosses Yasukawa\u2019s legs and cranks down, twisting Yasukawa\u2019s back.\u00a0 Yasukawa rakes Hojo in the face to break up the hold and hits Hojo in the head.\u00a0 Hojo recovers first and elbows Yasukawa while they are still on their knees, and Hojo delivers a headbutt.\u00a0 Cover, but\u00a0 it only gets two.\u00a0 Hojo picks up Yasukawa and elbows her in the head, she goes for another one but Yasukawa catches her with an STO.\u00a0 Yasukawa goes up to the second turnbuckle and hits a rolling senton, cover, but Hojo gets a shoulder up.\u00a0 Yasukawa picks up Hojo and puts her on her shoulder, but Hojo lands on her feet and elbows Yasukawa in the back of the head.\u00a0 Jackknife hold by Hojo, but Yasukawa gets a foot on the ropes.\u00a0 Hojo picks up Yasukawa, snapmare, she goes off the ropes but Yasukawa ducks the elbow and rolls her up for a two count.\u00a0 Yasukawa quickly applies the Stretch Muffler, adding in a leg hook to apply more pressure.\u00a0 Hojo fights it for several moments but she is stuck, and the referee calls for the bell! Your winner and still champion:\u00a0 Act Yasukawa<\/p>\n

Match Thoughts:<\/strong>\u00a0 This was a really good and well worked match.\u00a0 The focus by Hojo on Yasukawa\u2019s back was done really well as she never lost focus the entire match.\u00a0 Yasukawa on her part also sold it the entire match and even failed to be able to apply her finishing move the first time because of it, something that I always enjoy seeing as it just shows that both wrestlers understand the psychology being used and won\u2019t sacrifice that just to get a spot in.\u00a0 Also the referee calling for the bell without Hojo submitting keeps her strong, as even though it was the right call she protested after the match and stayed crying in the ring while Yasukawa celebrated.\u00a0 Just overall a really entertaining back and forth battle between these two.\u00a0\u00a0Score:\u00a0 7.5<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

(c) Io Shirai vs. Natsuki*Taiyo\u00a0<\/strong><\/h4>\n

<\/strong>This match is for the World of Stardom Championship. \u00a0\u00a0Tie-up, wristlock by Taiyo but Shirai reverses it into a side headlock.\u00a0 Taiyo spins out of it, side headlock takedown by Taiyo, headscissors by Shirai and both wrestlers return to their feet.\u00a0 They lock-up and go into a Test of Strength, monkey flip by Taiyo but Shirai hits a Bodyscissors into an armdrag.\u00a0 Shirai charges Taiyo but Taiyo trips her up and both are back up again.\u00a0 Wristlock by Shirai and an Irish whip, and she throws Taiyo to the mat.\u00a0 Taiyo is back up and goes off the ropes, shoulderblock by Shirai and she flips off the ropes.\u00a0 They flip around each other for a moment until Shirai hits an armdrag and Taiyo falls out of the ring.\u00a0 Shirai goes off the ropes but Taiyo rolls back in and dropkicks Shirai in the knee.\u00a0 Taiyo goes up to the top rope and does a doublestomp on Shirai\u2019s arm as she gets up.\u00a0 Taiyo kicks Shirai in the arm, elbow by Shirai and they trade elbow shots.\u00a0 Taiyo gets the better of it, she goes off the ropes and a hard elbow sends Shirai to the mat.\u00a0 Taiyo picks up Shirai and kicks her in the back and then in the leg.\u00a0 Taiyo tries to kick Shirai while she is seated on the mat but Shirai ducks multiple times and rolls up Taiyo for a two count.\u00a0 Taiyo kicks Shirai in the chest but Shirai doe a kip-up and hits a dropkick.\u00a0 Back up they trade elbows, slaps by Taiyo and she hits Shirai down in the corner.<\/p>\n

Taiyo backs up to get a running start and dropkicks Shirai in the chest.\u00a0 Taiyo goes up to the top turnbuckle and delivers the missile dropkick, she goes for a corner dropkick but Shirai moves out of the way.\u00a0 Running double knee strike by Shirai in the corner, she goes up to the top turnbuckle but Taiyo is up and jumps up on the top turnbuckle as well.\u00a0 Shirai grabs Taiyo by the arm and jumps down onto the apron, snapping Taiyo\u2019s arm on the top rope.\u00a0 Shirai then goes back up top and hits a missile dropkick, cover, but it gets a two count.\u00a0 Shirai picks up Taiyo and hits a facebuster, cover, but gets a two count.\u00a0 Shirai applies a crossface into more of a choke hold, and Shirai releases the hold after a moment.\u00a0 Shirai goes up to the top turnbuckle but Taiyo hops up and hits an armdrag off the top.\u00a0 Double springboard moonsault by Taiyo, cover, but it gets two.\u00a0 Shirai grabs Taiyo around the waist but Taiyo trips her up and applies a seated armbar.\u00a0 Shirai gets to the ropes to force a break, Taiyo goes up to the top turnbuckle and hits the diving body press for a two count.<\/p>\n

Taiyo goes back to the arm and goes for a jackknife hold, but Shirai pushes her way out of it.\u00a0 Sit-down powerbomb by Taiyo, cover, but it gets two.\u00a0 Taiyo goes off the ropes but Shirai catches her with a dropkick.\u00a0 Taiyo falls out of the ring, she tries to skin the cat but Shirai dropkicks her in the back.\u00a0 Shirai bounces off the far ropes and sails out onto Taiyo with a plancha through the ropes.\u00a0 Shirai goes up to the top turnbuckle and hits a moonsault down onto Taiyo as she was starting to get up.\u00a0 Shirai throws Taiyo into the ring, she then goes on the apron and hits a swandive dropkick.\u00a0 Tiger feint kick by Shirai and she hits another swandive dropkick, cover, but it gets a two count.\u00a0 Shirai waits for Taiyo to get up and goes for a kick, Taiyo blocks the first one but not the second one.\u00a0 Kick to the side of the head by Shirai but Taiyo finally catches one and hits a powerbomb.\u00a0 Shirai deflects Taiyo\u2019s next attack and delivers another kick to the side of the head.\u00a0 Shirai positions Taiyo in front of the corner and hits a standing moonsault, she then goes up to the second turnbuckle and hits a moonsault, and finally she hits one off the top turnbuckle.\u00a0 Cover, but Taiyo kicks out at two.<\/p>\n

Shirai goes up top again but Taiyo is up in plenty of time and jumps on top as well.\u00a0 Taiyo goes for a German suplex off the top but Shirai lands on her feet and delivers a sliding kick to Taiyo.\u00a0 Cover, but Taiyo gets a shoulder up.\u00a0 Shirai picks up Taiyo and goes for a suplex but Taiyo slides between her legs.\u00a0 They trade move attempts before getting into a strike battle, Taiyo grabs Shirai and hits the leg capture suplex hold for a two count.\u00a0 Taiyo goes up to the top turnbuckle and nails the diving double stomp, cover, but Shirai gets a shoulder up.\u00a0 Taiyo picks up Shirai, she goes off the ropes and delivers the Taiyo\u2606Chan Bomb for a two count.\u00a0 Taiyo picks up Shirai, she goes off the ropes but Shirai catches her with a hurricanrana for a two count.\u00a0 Shirai picks up Taiyo and hits a hard elbow, but Taiyo returns fire as they trade shots.\u00a0 Headbutt by Shirai and a slap sends Taiyo to her knees.\u00a0 Sliding kick by Shirai, cover, but Taiyo kicks out at two.\u00a0 Shirai positions Taiyo in front of the corner, she goes up to the top turnbuckle and hits the moonsault doublestomp .\u00a0 Shirai goes up top again and this time she hits a second incredibly accurate moonsault doublestomp.\u00a0 Suplex de Io by Shirai and she picks up the three count.\u00a0 Your winner and still champion:\u00a0 Io Shirai<\/strong><\/p>\n

Match Thoughts:<\/strong>\u00a0 Well this was a match.\u00a0 To get straight to the point I thought it was pretty amazing.\u00a0 There were some little things here and there that didn\u2019t work as they tried to get too cute, but considering the speed in which they go and having very little downtime some missteps here and there are expected.\u00a0 It may stop the match from becoming an all-time classic but it doesn\u2019t take away from all that they did right.\u00a0 I have to admit any match with a perfect moonsault doublestomp automatically is good in my book, it is such an awesome looking move when hit properly like the second one was in this match.\u00a0 I hadn\u2019t seen either of these women before and Shirai is great fun to watch as she was just flying around everywhere.\u00a0 They didn\u2019t spend a lot of time with submission holds, just a few general \u2018weaken your opponent\u2019 ones and seemed content to just drop bombs and big moves on each other.\u00a0 It felt like a big match, and it was as this was a big anniversary show for them.\u00a0 Overall just a great match, I can look past a few of the hiccups and a few minor selling when a match is as exciting as this one, definitely a must-see.\u00a0\u00a0Score:\u00a0 8.5<\/span><\/p>\n

Final Thoughts:<\/span><\/strong><\/h3>\n

Best Match:<\/strong>\u00a0Io Shirai vs. Natsuki*Taiyo.<\/strong>\u00a0 What have I not already said about this match?\u00a0 It was exciting, high flying, brutal, and non-stop.\u00a0 It wasn\u2019t flawless, but both women put on a hell of a match.\u00a0 A definite recommendation for anyone, even if you are not into Joshi I think that most fans of wrestling would enjoy this one.<\/p>\n

MVP:<\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Io Shirai<\/strong>.\u00a0 Between the two, Shirai was the more total package of being both elegant and brutal at the same time.\u00a0 She has great kicks, but also has no issue doing crazy moonsaults all over the place.\u00a0 I am looking forward to seeing more of her as I continue my review of Stardom in 2014.<\/p>\n

Overall:<\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0The event started slow, but each of the three title matches was better than the last one, climaxing with a great encounter in the main event.\u00a0 The wrestlers were really going all out here for their anniversary show, and win or lose there was certainly no lack of passion.\u00a0 The last two matches are definitely worth watching, and the others aren\u2019t bad even though some are clipped and as a general rule of thumb I hate clipping in matches.\u00a0 Definitely worth picking up if you are already a fan of Stardom, but even if not I think this event has a lot of good going for it even with the clipped matches.<\/p>\n

Grade: \u00a0B<\/strong><\/h3>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Featuring a great match for the World of Stardom Championship pitting Io Shirai vs. Natsuki*Taiyo in Natsuki’s final pro wrestling match, plus much more<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":81,"featured_media":7705,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[399,40],"tags":[438,233],"class_list":["post-7565","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-fsreview","category-reviews","tag-joshi","tag-puroresu"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/crazymax.org\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7565","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/crazymax.org\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/crazymax.org\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/crazymax.org\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/81"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/crazymax.org\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7565"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/crazymax.org\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7565\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7715,"href":"https:\/\/crazymax.org\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7565\/revisions\/7715"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/crazymax.org\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7705"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/crazymax.org\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7565"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/crazymax.org\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7565"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/crazymax.org\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7565"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}