Cero Reviews STARDOM World Climax 2022 ~The Best~

[cero2k]

STARDOM World Climax 2022 - Day 1: The Best
March 26, 2022
Ryogoku Kokugikan, Tokyo, Japan

Future Of Stardom Championship Match
Hanan (c) vs. Rina - 6.5/10
Good match, it was one of those were some of the spots look soft as hell, but then they do a top rope double knee and it's the stiffest thing you've ever seen. Match was about the two sisters going back and forth, but as Rina got more and more offense, Hanan kept finding ways to dodge the pin. Hanan made a comeback and dropped Rina with several backdrops until she bridged the last one for the pin.

Saya Iida vs. MIRAI - 7/10
The battle of the little tanks. They had a 100% hoss fight, mostly based on striking and tackles, it wasn't until the end that we started to see some slams, but surprisingly, the match came to an end when both Iida and MIRAI went for arm submissions, with MIRAI locking in IIda with a Kimura for the tap out.

Post-match - Both women seemed happy with each other and the battle they just had. They bumped fists in acknowledgement.

Gauntlet Match
Queen's Quest (AZM, Lady C & Miyu Amasaki) vs. Oedo Tai (Fukigen Death, Ruaka & Saki Kashima) vs. Donna del Mondo (Himeka, Mai Sakurai & Natsupoi) vs. Cosmic Angels (Mina Shirakawa & Waka Tsukiyama) & Momo Kohgo - 4.5/10
It really annoys me that Kohgo is teaming up with Cosmic Angels when it wasn't long ago that Kohgo rejected the Angels in order to join STARS.

First two teams were Oedo Tai and Cosmic Angels. The match was ok, Kohgo and Shirakawa looked good, but at the end, Kashima pinned Tsukiyama with a Killswitch. Second team to come in was QQ's and their match wasn't that long before AZM pinned Kashima with Azumi Sushi. Final team was DDM and they had a great short pair up with AZM and Natsupoi, only to transition to Himeka taking out C for the win. Mai and Amasaki didn't do much.

Overall, the match wasn't anything special, not enough time and too many people means no one gets to really shine.

Donna del Mondo (Maika & Thekla) vs. Prominence (Risa Sera & Suzu Suzuki) - 7.5/10
This was pretty great. They gave Thekla and Suzuki so much time together that they were able to build a strong match together, that built all the way to the finish with Suzuki dropping Thekla with a deadlift Germna bridge pin. Maika and Sera were great too early on, but just not as great as the other two.

Seriously, give us a DDM vs Prominence special show, I wanna see them get more time and in singles.

Post-match - Suzuki cut a quick promo telling DDM that they're going to destroy them tomorrow. Maika answered and both teams came to blows, brawling to the back.

Goddesses Of Stardom Championship Match
STARS (Hazuki & Koguma) (c) vs. Oedo Tai (Momo Watanabe & Starlight Kid) - 8/10
Fun match. STARS started with the upper hand, but after the fight spilled to the floor, Oedo Tai cut them off and took control, isolating Koguma. HZK and SLK paired up afterwards for a good exchange. We had an ok Koguma versus Momo part, but once they started going for near falls and SLK and HZK kept running in for spots, the action got really really good, Koguma was out there kicking out of Peach Drivers, pushing SLK and Momo to use chairs to take out HZK and later on Koguma for the double team and Peach Sunday driver for the win.

Post-match - SLK and Momo attacked and mocked Koguma and Hazuki, dumping water on them. There was an interesting shot of a non-thrilled Natsuko Tora at ringside.

KAIRI & Mayu Iwatani vs. Cosmic Angels (Tam Nakano & Unagi Sayaka) - 7.5/10
This was a huge showcase for KAIRI and for her reunion with Iwatani, showing that they, as a team, still got it. They isolated Sayaka for a long while before Tam finally tagged in and we got the 2022 KAIRI versus Tam dream match that we've all been waiting for. They got into a striking exchange that Tam somewhat dominated until KAIRI a huge backfist. things eventually came down to Iwatani and Sayaka with a couple of near falls here and there, a lot of assistance from KAIRI and Tam, and after tandem planchas to the floor, KAIRI delivered her top rope elbow drop and a Mayu moonsault to Sayaka for the win. Fun match, so happy to see KAIRI wrestle after so many years.

Post-match - KAIRI talked about being back and thanked the crowd.

Wonder Of Stardom Championship Match
Saya Kamitani (c) vs. Utami Hayashishita - 9/10
Even when you consider that Kamitani had to defeat the former white belt champion to become herself a champion, Hayashishita is really the biggest test in Kamitani's title run.

Story of the match saw Hayashishita dominate early on, but once Kamitani was able to get some space and pick up some speed, she was able to get some offense in. That wasn't enough to really take down Hayashishita, who kept coming strong on Kamitani's back, working towards the Towerhacker Bomb. The match had started slow, but once they were both beaten down and chasing their signature moves and near falls, the action got really intense. Some of the spots were a bit sloppy out of tiredness, but it just added to the drama. At the end, it was Kamitani, who managed to keep Hayashishita down while she hit the Phoenix Splash for the win.

There was a point that I was worried that Hayashishita would dominate a lot and then Kamitani would win with a quick comeback, but they really went long and beat each other up, I was quite happy with how they got the end.

Tomorrow, Kamitani must defend against Tam Nakano in a rematch from when Kamitani first won the title.

Post-match - Kamitani cut her winner's promo, thanking Hayashishita. Nakano came out and apparently, she has lost her voice, but she still cut a quick promo telling Kamitani that she's getting her title back tomorrow. Maybe she was immitating Honma.

World Of Stardom Championship Match
Syuri (c) (w/Ami Miura) vs. Giulia - 9.25/10
This was a big one, Syuri and Giulia's rivalry for the red belt took them from tag team partners to Syuri announcing that Alto Livello is done and she will leave Donna del Mondo because even if they don't actually hate each other, they both understand that things can never be the same once this match comes to an end. We all know what it took for Syuri to finally win the red belt, but it's the one belt that Giulia has never been able to win. They would stop at nothing to end the night as champions. There are some other details coming into this match that have cause the rift between Giulia and Syuri, but it really comes down to being the top woman in DDM and the promotion itself.

After announcing that she was leaving DDM, Syuri did tease that she would start a new faction and that her second would be the start of such a faction. That person ended up being Ami Miura, who debuted two years ago and has been wrestling as a freelancer.

Match saw Giulia get the early advantage as Syuri accidentally kicked the ringpost while they brawled on the outside, then rammed into the same post. After Giulia worked over Syuri for some minutes, even hitting a piledriver through a table, Syuri made a desperate comeback slamming a plexiglass on Giulia. From there one, they continued trading momentum and going after each other's heads, slowly escalating to the final minutes, where the fight came down to some huge strikes until Syuri dropped Giulia with Syu-sekai.

This did a great job at giving us a top level main event and making it feel completely different from everything we had seen tonight, even the previous title match. This had a perfect combination of striking, submission, and big spots. It felt incredibly heated on a personal level, incredibly stiff, but not to the point that the heat felt gimmicked.

From here on, we can only assume that Donna del Mondo will see some restructuring, I have to assume that Thekla, Sakurai, and MIRAI are there to stay with Giulia, but we'll have to see where Himeka, Natsupoi, and Maika's loyalty falls.

Post-match - Syuri cut her winner's promo, expressing to Giulia how she felt and that she will lead a new unit going forward. Giulia took the mic and also had some words for Syuri, talked that tomorrow, she must focus on Prominence, and then said her goodbyes to Syuri.

Syuri then addressed Iwatani, her challenge for tomorrow. Mayu Iwatani came out and had some words for each other. This may had been one of Iwatani's most energetic promos in a while that didn't turn into laughter. A serious Mayu Iwatani is something else. Afterwards, Syuri closed the show

OVERALL THOUGHTS
An awesome show by STARDOM, the start of what surely is a great weekend for the promotion and for the fans. When it comes to quality, I just never doubt STARDOM.