Rambles about the wonderful world of wrestling.
It might be happening in the bizarre world of COVID restrictions and quiet crowds, but Stardom in Budokan is Stardom in Budokan. That’s a special thing, and even as someone who has fallen slightly out of love with the company in recent times, I got those big show tingles as we built up to this. How would Stardom look in one of Japan’s most iconic venues? Well, I guess it’s time to find out.
Continue reading “Stardom All Star Dream Cinderella (3/3/21) Review”
I managed to avoid the temptation to lock myself into reviewing all of Stardom’s Tag League, but a Korakuen is a Korakuen, and I’m honestly not sure when I last failed to ramble about a Stardom trip there. With this being Giulia’s third anniversary, she was defending against one of her own, Jumbo cashing in her 5STAR victory over the boss.
Continue reading “Stardom Goddesses of Stardom Tag League (29/10/20) Review”
I thought I was safe from Stardom making me emotional, but they’ve only gone and pulled Kagetsu back for one last match. The traditional retirement gauntlet headlined this show, and I wasn’t going to miss a chance to ramble about that.
Continue reading “Stardom New Year Stars (15/2/20) Review”
On their 9th birthday Stardom did something they’d never done before and packed Korkauen Hall right up to the balcony. That famous old venue was bursting at the seams, and it was a beautiful sight. Yes, you can point to the advertising power of Bushiroad, but a card headlined by Mayu vs Momo is one of the biggest Stardom can deliver, and it had the crowd it deserved. Now, it was down to the wrestlers to impress.
Continue reading “Stardom 9th Anniversary Show (19/1/20) Review”
A quick note before I get started, I am going to be cutting down on the number of shows I review this year. I’ll still be doing a decent amount, but I want to write about some other things, and it’s hard to do that when you’re trying to keep up to date on multiple promotions. With companies like Stardom, I’ll pick and choose the exciting or noteworthy events while I wouldn’t expect in-depth reviews of every New Japan tournament (cheerio, Tag League). It’s a small change, but one I thought was worth mentioning.
Anyway, today I am going to have a look at Stardom’s second show of the year, which ended on an angle that saw them give the hornet’s nest a boot before 2020 had properly woken up.
Continue reading “Stardom New Year Stars (3/1/20) Review”
January the second was Stardom time! Wrestle Kingdom may have been the initial inspiration for this trip, but let’s not beat around the bush, I was just as excited about watching Stardom. I’ve fallen in love with this company over the last year and having reviewed every show (I think, I certainly didn’t miss many) of 2019, being at their first of 2020 was a no-brainer. I was sober and fully with it, so I’ll be returning to the traditional structure. However, don’t expect any great analysis of the matches themselves because I was not taking notes.
Continue reading “Stardom New Years Stars (2/1/20) Review”
Stardom’s final show of the year has taken on all kinds of meaning. In many ways, it is setting up a new era for the company as they move forward under the stewardship of Bushiroad. However, it is a new era tinged by sadness as they said goodbye to Hazuki and had another wrestler announce their retirement (more on that later). Change is coming one way or another.
Continue reading “Stardom Year End Climax (24/12/19) Review”
The build to Stardom’s final Korakuen of the year has been almost perfect so far and with their last stop taking place in the comfortable surroundings of Shinkiba, let’s see if they could nail the landing.
Continue reading “Stardom Goddess of Stars (15/12/19) Review”
The build to Korakuen continues with Stardom not only putting Giulia’s debut on this show but backing it up with a good old-fashioned rookie tournament. You know that’s going to be great, right?
Continue reading “Stardom Goddess of Stars (8/12/19) Review”
Tag League is done and dusted, but Stardom’s year is far from over. They were back in Shin-Kiba for a show headlined by Andras and Kagetsu defending their Artists Titles for the first time since things went, well, let’s go with sour. How did it go down? The picture is a bit of a spoiler, but read on to find out.
Continue reading “Stardom Goddess of Stars (23/11/19) Review”
