WORLD WONDER RING STARDOM
NEW YEARS STARS 2024
JANUARY 3, 2024
YOKOHAMA BUDOKAN

Watch: Via PPV or later on Stardom World

In some ways, only STARDOM could run a PPV at the Yokohama Budokan four days after their big Sumo Hall event. Not only that, but this PPV in the Yokohama Budokan is focused on a trios tournament and a rookie tournament. Whether that’s a compliment to STARDOM or a criticism is up to the readers to decide!

ROOKIE OF THE YEAR SEMI-FINAL
YUZUKI DEF. RANNA YAGAMI

This was really well done considering the most experienced wrestler has less than 20 matches to her name. It put on display just how different Yuzuki and Yagami are but also how exciting that could be as a feud, the long-term potential to have the submission-striker Yagami endeavor to take down the all-rounder and prodigy Yuzuki is almost too good to pass up and I hope this is just the first of many matches in that narrative.

Yuzuki getting the win was the obvious choice as her vs HANAKO was the most likely final as soon as the pairings for this tournament was announced. Having a flash pin finisher out of the gate is a solid way to give her wins early especially if she’s going to topple some of her more experienced classmates. **3/4

ROOKIE OF THE YEAR SEMI-FINAL
HANAKO DEF. SAYAKA KURARA

Like the opening match, these two were a perfect fit for each other. HANAKO is the powerhouse of this class (which STARDOM seems to be grouping as Miyu Amasaki, HANAKO, Comomo Minami, Aya Sakura, Yuzuki, Ranna, Kurara, and Rian) while Kurara is the pin-eating underdog who fights for her life in every match. The dynamic works really well especially when one of the wrestlers is as good as HANAKO who was the best gift they could’ve received after Himeka retired. Also, I get more impressed with Kurara with each new match I may have underestimated her. **3/4

LADY C DEF. HINA

STARDOM was forced into this after Miyu Amasaki was pulled from the show and their team was eliminated from the Triangle Derby. It’s nice to see Hina getting a singles match on PPV and I like both wrestlers but it was nothing amazing. **1/2

TRIANGLE DERBY OPENING ROUND
QUEEN’S QUEST (UTAMI HAYASHISHITA, AZM & SAYA KAMITANI) VS SUZU SUZUKI, MEGAN BAYNE & MEI SEIRA – DRAW

After taking the tag belts from Bayne last month, the AphroditE reupped their interest in the powerhouse in this star-studded match. It was pretty much always going to end in a draw as both teams were a bit too strong to be in this tournament, any big matches involving this QQ trio should be saved for title matches. The wrestling was great, and it’ll be interesting to see if any match ends up beating this one for quality when the night is done. ***3/4

TRIANGLE DERBY OPENING ROUND
OEDO TAI (MOMO WATANABE, STARLIGHT KID & NATSUKO TORA) DEF. STARS (MAYU IWATANI, HANAN & SAYA IIDA)

It’s difficult for this pairing of factions to ever really bring anything new to proceedings as we’ve seen them face off countless times by now but this was a well done match with a solid heel-face dynamic at play. ***

TRIANGLE DERBY OPENING ROUND
GOD’S EYE (MIRAI, SYURI & AMI SOREI) DEF. OEDO TAI (FUKIGEN DEATH, RINA & RUAKA)

This was fairly one-sided in favor of God’s Eye who stomped out the Oedo Tai B-team with ease. The reason for that became more apparent after the match with this ending up being more of a preview angle than a fully-fledged match. **1/2

TRIANGLE DERBY SEMI-FINAL
GOD’S EYE (MIRAI, SYURI & AMI SOREI) DEF. OEDO TAI (NATSUKO TORA, MOMO WATANABE & STARLIGHT KID)

I like the larger story they’ve opted to tell with God’s Eye in this single-day tournament. They got jumped and beaten down by Oedo Tai before scraping the win via countout, which I like in this case as the match was scrappy and disorganised from the bell. Solid match but it’s best watched as part of the storyline they’re putting together. ***1/4

SAKI KASHIMA, YUU, NANAE TAKAHASHI & HAZUKI DEF. SAORI ANOU, MAIKA, MINA SHIRAKAWA & YUNA MIZUMORI

For what could have been a nothing tag they tried to inject some life into this that made it that bit better. To start off, Hazuki getting right in Anou’s face and teasing a white belt match was great. Something as simple as that can really help breathe some life into otherwise aimless tags. The grudge that began at Dream Queendom between Mina Shirakawa and Nanae Takahashi continued as they also went at it, even fighting one another while the match ended.

Saki Kashima was almost a show stealer with her cowardly antics getting a chuckle when she finally opted to tag into the match when Yunamon had already been worn down. There was a lot to like with this match from the work to the characters, to the storytelling. Great effort. ***3/4


ROOKIE OF THE YEAR FINAL
YUZUKI DEF. HANAKO

Impressive match that let Yuzuki really shine as the babyface taking down a stronger opponent that’s actually on her level. This wasn’t the usual veteran beating up the senior dynamic it was a genuine powerhouse vs underdog fight and she played her role really well. It often takes wrestlers a long time to pick up the intangible qualities that Yuzuki already possesses, and this match was a good showcase of those abilities.

Again, HANAKO is great in her spot as the power wrestler of this class and provides a mountain for her colleagues to beat.

Yuzuki winning is about the biggest indication we could get that she’s going to get the rocket strapped to her back. She won this tournament after debuting just two months ago, defeating her senior HANAKO, who has a big experience advantage over her. Defying that standard seniority tells me that this is Yuzuki’s world for as long as she wants it to be. ***1/4

ARTIST OF STARDOM CHAMPIONSHIP & TRIANGLE DERBY FINAL
GOD’S EYE (SYURI, MIRAI & AMI SOREI) DEF. BARI BARI BOMBERS (GIULIA, THEKLA & MSAI SAKURAI) – NEW CHAMPIONS

For the second year running the final of the Derby was made into an impromptu title match, which made a bit more sense this time as Bari Bari Bombers got through to the final without even wrestling after their round 1 match was won via forfeit and the QQ vs Bayne/Seira/Suzuki draw saw both teams eliminated.

God’s Eye having to fight back-to-back and then face the champions made them the story of the night and made their win all the more impactful, especially with Syuri taking centre stage and standing tall to win the match for her team, adding yet another accolade to her already ridiculous trophy cabinet.

I enjoyed the match, but I would have liked to see more of the Syuri and Giulia pairing, considering Giulia looks to be WWE-bound, and there are not many more chances we’ll get to see those two go at it. Otherwise, I liked the single-show story they told with God’s Eye to make their first artist win that much more impactful. ***3/4

FINAL THOUGHTS

STARDOM New Year Stars 2024 is not a show that’ll knock you off your feet, but I enjoyed what they did here to kick off 2024. The focus on the rookies and making the God’s Eye trio into world beaters was enough to make this show worthwhile; the special tag match was also surprisingly good, with both a Hazuki/Anou and Takahashi/Shirakawa match teased through it.

Listen to Voices of Wrestling’s Joshi podcast: Jumping Bomb Audio!

Powered by RedCircle