This day, June 12, 2021: World Wonder Ring Stardom is at the Ota City Gymnasium and on pay-per-view. Utami Hayashishita will try to defend her World of Stardom Championship for a fifth time and the magically-named but pandemic-delayed Cinderella Tournament will have its’ final matches.
Let’s talk about Stardom’s intro video first though. It may be the most efficient table-setting in professional wrestling. Since 2011, these powerful warriors have displayed style and grace in search of dreams come true. They are the future. They are elite. They have skill and determination and are the best in women’s wrestling. How did I wait so long??
0. 3-Way Battle: Hina vs. Rina vs. Lady C
3-Way Battle, Triple Threat, 3-Way Dance – it’s the same match! It is what it is, that’s what they say. Hina and Rina fought, then they didn’t, then they did. Some Fast & Furious near falls towards the end brought this a little above the usual dumb match you can find anywhere, but only a little. **
1. Cinderella Tournament – Semi Final: Maika vs. Unagi Sayaka
Even before she won the Battle Royal on the 10th Anniversary Show, Unagi Sayaka was a standout for being an effective and generally wonderful bunch of babyface energy. In the semis of the Cinderella Tournament, she drops that and just gets right in Maika’s goddamn face. She attacks the leg, an easy target given Maika’s mass of bandages on it, but Maika is soon able to stop short a baseball slide and double stomp Sayaka on the apron.
And that was kind of the best part. At only 8 minutes the match kept moving, but never got going. A few iffy spots of delivery did not help, though the Michinoku Driver that ended it was pretty great. **1/2
2. Cinderella Tournament – Semi Final: Saya Kamitani vs. Himeka
When I last watched Saya Kamitani she was flipping me out and taking The Champ to the limit; here she is in a cape ready to win a tournament. She completely out-works Himeka early, a couple back handsprings and nasty axe kick to start and establish a new type of wrestling dominance. This ran the same 8 minutes the last match did, but earns its’ momentum from the possibility of Kamitani throwing some crazy kick out of nowhere at any time: axe kick, pump kick, spin kick — watch your back.
Himeka meanwhile has a real powerbomb-based offense, which is objectively good. She tries one off the top towards the end but Kamitani kicks her away and hits a springboard crossbody for 2. Back up Kamitani hits a dropkick, Himeka hits a clothesline, and Kamitani hits a spin kick — watch your back!! Good kicking, good times. ***1/4
3. 3-Way Battle: Giulia & Tam Nakano vs. AZM & Natsupoi vs. Momo Watanabe & Mina Shirakawa
Come on, really? Not only is this a triple threat tag match which if you check my public record I have disavowed numerous times, but it is one where they draw straws at the start to see who teams with who. No issue with shaking things up but can we not think of the guy watching his second Stardom show? Giulia, more badass as a result of short haircut, ends up with Nakano and everyone does the requisite, “oooh, how about that?!”
The match is kind of just silly, everybody improvising to keep it relevant. There were chuckles, double Romero specials, and Giulia definitely threw hands with Nakano. AZM and Natsupoi pull off a double double foot stomp from the top rope before the match ends up where so many matches ultimately do: a tower of doom superplex and a rollup. **1/2
4. STARS vs. Oedo Tai All-Out War Elimination Match: Mayu Iwatani, Starlight Kid, Rin Kadokura, Hanan & Koguma vs. Natsuko Tora, Konami, Saki Kashima, Fukigen Death & Ruaka
The clown turned heel. I am so happy. COVID-19 hits and the Undertaker retires in a Thunderdome, while Gokigen Death becomes Fukigen Death and continues to re-invent herself. The match is a little basic and messy but otherwise ideal, all-action and clear good vs. bad guys.
They take their time to get to the falls too, avoiding that feel these matches can have where people are eliminated out of convenience. When the action does get frantic, it’s at a point that makes sense. Fukigen Death drops a nasty diving senton to eliminate Hanan but is gone soon after, then Kashima gets a big pin over Iwatani. Starlight Kid is able to take down Kashima, but Tora re-appears and ensures bad guy victory. ***
5. Cinderella Tournament – Final: Saya Kamitani vs. Maika
This is another tremendous performance by Kamitani, who has quickly stood out for both main event quality matches mixed with the aura of modern day Sabu. She provides the right amount of engaging limb work and epic moments down The Stretch, and every so often she will throw out a maneuver or bump that practically moves time and space.
She goes after Maika’s bandaged leg with the same relentlessness of Sayaka early, building on her repertoire with a bridging Indian deathlock but also doing simple things like just smacking Maika’s leg really hard. It’s just about balance, you know?
A tilt-a-whirl backbreaker provides Maika an opening but it’s on the dang leg, folks. Kamitani hits a brutal backflip kneedrop directly onto the leg later on, then balances the brutality with grace by winning the match with a Phoenix Splash. Maika was competitive but this was the Kamitani show, a little wacky but mostly tremendous. ***3/4
6. World of Stardom Title: Utami Hayashishita [c] vs. Syuri
This is Hayashishita’s fifth defense of the World of Stardom Title, an impressive run as the top dog considering she is 22-years-old and has been wrestling for less than three years. I only found that out when I looked it up too – for all I knew she was a 15-year vet finally getting the spotlight.
This match is 43 minutes long and not just that: it is 30 minutes long, ends in a time limit draw, gets restarted, and goes another 13 minutes before ending in a double KO. I have to say that upfront because it takes a special kind of professional to make that work. The long wrestling match is a complicated thing, more complicated when there is so much wrestling out there. The rule is always that you at least try and spend the time well, if you can’t make it seem competitive or dramatic then at least try for interesting. Utami and Syuri managed all three.
The first 30 minutes are pretty great on their own, tight holds early on before a Syuri rana to the floor starts some HEAT. Hayashishita absorbs kicks and manages a gutbuster, but before she can gain any momentum Syuri wilds out with a missile dropkick off the apron. Hayashishita fights back with an Air Raid Crash on the apron, and she is triumphant but hurt. Syuri responds by wilding out again with a tilt-a-whirl DDT on the floor. Hayashishita responds to this with a German suplex on the apron. They’re just vibing.
Back inside Syuri catches Hayashishita in a series of rolling cradles, a move that is sometimes ridiculous and sometimes the perfect dramatic peak of a wrestling match. She follows it up with a massive jumping knee smash but can’t cover. The bell rings, a time limit draw at 30 minutes. As with any good pro wrestling draw, the people want more — and they actually get it.
The first 30 minutes were good, but the non-stop action combined with some exceptional near falls after the restart made this special. There are buckle bombs, a moonsault Hoverboard Lock, a torture rack slam… but some of the slaps they threw might have been the most dangerous. Syuri grabbing the ropes at 2.99 after the Hijack Bomb was some STUFF, man. They kick each other until they can’t stand, and even though it winds up at another standstill everybody is fine because they just saw one of the best matches of the year. ****1/2
Happy Thoughts: The undercard is not very good but Saya Kamitani and the main event make this well worth seeking out. Another strong show from the crew. 4.0 / 5.0
