Cero Reviews STARDOM Yokohama Dream Cinderella In Summer

[cero2k]

STARDOM Yokohama Dream Cinderella In Summer
July 4th, 2021
Yokohama Budokan, Yokohama, Japan

Gauntlet Tag Team Match
Hanan & Hina vs. Lady C & Maika vs. Oedo Tai (Fukigen Death & Konami) vs. Oedo Tai (Rina & Saki Kashima) - 6.5/10
This was a good match, but there was space to make it even better if the pairing of the teams had been somewhat different. It's kinda hard since they had two Oedo Tai teams. The order we had was Hanan and Hina losing to Rina and Kashima first, then Lady C and Maika came in and defeated Oedo Tai, only to get replaced by the other Oedo Tai team of Death and Konami. So I did think that leaving Lady C for the end weakened the match a bit, I like her and she's ok, but the final minutes could had been stronger.

I personally would have had Hanan and Hina at the end, they're incredibly strong as rookies, have Lady C and Maika eliminate Rina and Kashima in the first match, have Konami and Death come in after, defeat C and Maika, and then let Konami and Death battle Hanan and Hina in the last match. Just by watching the match they gave it, Rina, Hina, and Hanan were definitely some of the highlights.

Himeka made her return from injury here, she was seconding Maika and C.

Tag Team Match
Queen's Quest (AZM & Momo Watanabe) vs. Oedo Tai (Ruaka & Starlight Kid) - 7.5/10
Even if QQs won, this was all about the debut and showcase of SLK's new dark side. On the build up to this show, we saw SLK take the black mask that Tora and Oedo Tai made for her, and say that she was embracing the dark side, but in her own way. What I saw in this match was the complain about Oedo Tai that I've had forever, and that is that as soon as someone joins them, forced or not, it doesn't take long for them to just kinda embrace the dark side and play into the Oedo Tai playbook. Whether the story is about SLK fighting against joining Oedo Tai, or embracing them as a means to get better, this happening in less than a month feels rushed, shallow, and it gives me the idea that it's not fully planned out.

The match itself was great, Ruaka aside, the other 3 women are top notch wrestlers that in any combination, could give us a top match. Ruaka is green, but she's coming along and she's way more comfortable in the ring with her style, she's just not at the level of the other three.

Future Of Stardom Championship Tournament Finals Match
Mina Shirakawa vs. Unagi Sayaka - 8/10
Great match, I really liked both women's performances. This was heated from the start, they built some dissension between the two since the tournament started, and as soon as they both made it to the finals, that tension escalated. For that reason, when they both got into an early striking battle, I wasn't taken by surprise. The thing that did feel off was that after that one striking exchange, they then proceeded to work a more technical match, with a lot of submissions and slams. The same intensity as that early striking battle, but a submission just feels less 'heated' than a strike. Anyway, that little nitpick aside, everything was good.

Some of the move executions were not pristine and some of the selling could use a bit more work, but it's called the Future of STARDOM title for a reason, not the Now Title.

Post-match - Shirakawa cut her winner's promo. With her and Nakano being double champions, the idea was brought up that Sayaka get the SWA title. Shirakawa offered Sayaka a handshake, but Sayaka walked away instead, the dissension is gonna take a bit more to clear.

Goddesses Of Stardom Championship Match
Donna del Mondo (Giulia & Syuri) (c) vs. STARS (Koguma & Mayu Iwatani) - 9/10
This was a story of two matches, one where Iwatani wrestled Donna del Mondo to a great match, and the other were Koguma wrestled a match that was far beyond her current ability. She's not a bad wrestler, she's quite good, but this was just outside of her comfort zone, she had trouble keeping up with Giulia and Syuri, and some moves looked like she may be gassed out, but we're talking about Giulia and Syuri of all people, she had the task to keep up with two of the top women in the industry. She could have made for a great underdog, but that wasn't the story that they told on the build up, and by that means, this match definitely felt like it was Giulia getting her win back.

Half of this match was Iwatani versus DDM for the top notch action, but then they transitioned into a Giulia versus Koguma matchup where all the drama came about. The pair up worked, it's one of those where any sloppiness comes off as struggle, and not lack of ability, and given the pin Koguma had over Giulia, they were able to get some good near falls.

The one praise I do have for Koguma, she takes a hell of a bump, she sold Giulia's dropkicks like a champ.

Post-match - Giulia cut one of her passive aggressive winning promos and got herself and Syuri slapped by Koguma before leaving. Also, Syuri accepted Sayaka's challenge for the SWA belt as she had a win over Syuri from the Cinderella tournament.

5★STAR Grand Prix 2021 Announcement - We got the participants for this year's tournament.

Red Block has Giulia, Momo Watanabe, Natsuko Tora, Saki Kashima, Starlight Kid, Natsupoi, Himeka, Koguma, Mina Shirakawa, and Mayu Iwatani.

Blue Block has Utami Hayashishita, Syuri, Tam Nakano, Saya Kamitani, Maika, AZM, Ruaka, Konami, Unagi Sayaka, and a mystery participant soon to be announced, which I wouldn't be surprised if it's Jungle Kyona's return.

So we're getting the Hayashishita vs Syuri rematch under a rigid 30 minute time limit. Also, good for Ruaka to make it in, they could have gone for the safe Fukigen Death, but maybe Yoneyama may have a harder time keeping up with the schedule if she has dates with other promotions.

Wonder Of Stardom Championship Match
Tam Nakano (c) vs. Saya Kamitani - 9/10
This went down really similar to the Nakano vs Natsupoi match from earlier this year, where Nakano just looks way stronger and in charge, with Kamitani having an upwards battle. Nakano has been getting into this style where she can absorb pain and none of her opponents can make much of a dent when they get into a strike exchange. Kamitani did have far better near falls towards the end of the match, with Michinoku Driver II-B and chasing the Phoenix Splash, but beyond that, she also pushed Nakano way more to the edge.

I guess my only disappointment was that the match was more of a Nakano match with very little Kamitani style. When it comes to the STARDOM roster, I tend to get excited for Kamitani matchups because I want to see other wrestles go against a high flyer, but every now and then, and more often than not, she's the one that wrestles the other person's style and only gets to pull off a couple of high flying moves.

It's hard to say this about someone who is having 9/10 matches, but I feel that Nakano's reign needs a big challenge that actually pushes her to a better performance. One where she gets into a striking battle and can't take the pain as she does with women like Natsupoi or Saya.

Post-match - Kamitani is crying. Nakano tries to make peace with Saya, they have a past together, but Kamitani can't take Nakano's hand.

After Saya was gone, Oedo Tai's Starlight Kid came out and challenged Nakano for the title. She said that she's not the same Starlight Kid as before. Nakano accepted.

Nakano celebrated with the Cosmic Angels after the match. She forced Sayaka and Shirakawa to shake hands and make up.

World Of Stardom Championship Match
Utami Hayashishita (c) vs. Natsuko Tora - No Rating.
I was really enjoying this match when Natsuko Tora unfortunately tore her ACL with the simplest of moves, but that's how it usually happens. She had just done a top rope plancha to the floor through a table, and when she went for a simple stomp from the apron to the floor, her ankle buckled, went sideways, and she was immediately out. She tried to get up, but immediately fell down, it was actually quite gruesome to hear her scream in real pain while the doctor checked her and the venue was quiet. Hayashishita, who had just gone through the table, sold the whole time until Ogawa and the referee informed her that the match was off and that's when she went back to the ring and the match was officially called off.

Before being taken, a desperate and frustrated Tora told Hayashishita that she will come back. Oedo Tai had to legit hold her back from trying to get back up. This was incredibly heartbreaking.

After Tora was carried out, Hayashishita tried to send off the crowd in a positive note with a speech, but you could tell that Hayashishita herself was really shook too.

I think I should still talk about the match a bit, they were telling an interesting story, where Tora actually had some strong edge over Hayashishita. Tora showed that she could mat wrestle with her, she got the better of the striking exchange, and even put Hayashishita through a table. Talk about a ray of light in the storm, this story could be perfect for Tora to come back and say that she had Hayashishita beat and that only an injury saved her. An ACL recovery is long, but if Hayashishita were to miraculous have a title for when that happens, the story writes itself. I do have to imagine that Tora may get a champion's welcome.

Another interesting thing here is that Tora was involved in a heavy story with Iwatani and Starlight Kid, so it'll be interesting to see how that proceeds and if someone takes over Oedo Tai meanwhile.

OVERALL THOUGHTS
Fantastic show. I say it every show, but I have no doubt that STARDOM is the promotion of the year so far, they feel like 2010-2012 NJPW, with strong personalities, a strong roster where everyone has something going on for them, and those who don't, tend to be the lower midcard only. Matches top to bottom, whether it's a Korakuen Hall or Budokan show, are quite strong, and this show was just that. It was a card that had some matches that felt rushed or put together out of nowhere, but by the time this show started, everything had something going on for it and it delivered in the ring.