Review: Stardom – 2017.12.24 – Year End Climax

Kaori Yoneyama & Ruaka vs. Hanan & Shiki Shibusawa
A couple of sloppy moments in this but nothing too bad. The only real thing of note was that Shiki seems to be getting stronger as she had little trouble bodyslamming Kaori Yoneyama. Shiki Shibusawa pinned Ruaka for the win. 1.75/5

Rachael Ellering & Scarlett vs. AZM & Momo Watanabe
This was Rachael Ellering’s debut and Scarlett’s final Stardom match of this tour. Scarlett has been very consistent throughout her Stardom run as a very solid worker and while not the most athletically gifted she has a great look and a lot of character. It was pretty hard to judge Rachael Ellering as she was not in the ring long but she seems to be more athletic than the recent Stardom gaijin which should hopefully lead to some good matches. There wasn’t much to this match, QQ dominated Scarlett for most of it before she tagged in Rachael Ellering who hit a couple of moves before pinning AZM for the win. 2.75/5 

Hiromi Mimura & Konami vs. Kris Wolf & Sumire Natsu
A really fun comedy match with a few nice wrestling exchanges too. The story of this was the winner would be able to use the “SHOUTA!” gimmick. Hiromi was great from the start, frequently getting the biggest laughs with her naive use of the gimmick. Konami provided some nice strikes and Kris and Sumire looked good too. Hiromi Mimura pinned Kris Wolf after a Shouta Dropkick. 3.5/5

Starlight Kid vs. Mari Apache
Starlight Kid gets a much-deserved title match and she certainly justified it with possibly her best in-ring performance so far against a very good Mari Apache. Early on Starlight Kid hit a hurricanrana off the apron to the outside and throughout the match she consistently provided some innovative counters to Mari Apache’s moves. Apache dominated the middle of the match with some strong holds including a beautiful Mexican Surfboard. Starlight Kid made a brief comeback hitting a reverse frog splash and standing moonsault but Mari Apache recovered and hit a spinning heel kick from the top rope followed by a Michinoku Driver for the win. 3.75/5  

Oedo Tai (Hana Kimura & Kagetsu) vs. Team Jungle (Natsuko Tora & Jungle Kyona) (Goddesses of Stardom Championship)
A high-quality match with a very abrupt finish. Team Jungle attacked Oedo Tai before they could do their dance and dominated the early exchanges. When Kagetsu accidentally spat water in Hana’s face they started pushing each other but Team Jungle took advantage before anything came of it. Jungle Kyona gave Hana some very stiff forearms and chops. As Team Jungle looked to be about to finish off Hana, Sumire Natsu made the save as she pushed Hana out of the way of a double dropkick and got hit herself. Hana and Natsuko fought, Hana hit a missile dropkick from the top rope and then a big boot to the face as Natsuko ran off the ropes and got the pin for the win and to retain the the tag championships. It was a slightly underwhelming finish to what had been a good match. 3.75/5   

After the match Hana Kimura and Tam Nakano shook the hand of Sumire Natsu and all of Oedo Tai embraced to hopefully signal a unified Oedo Tai will be coming in 2018!

HZK vs. Io Shirai (Wonder of Stardom Championship)
HZK has grown so much in 2017. This match is another to add to her best matches of 2017 collection. Both women worked so stiff throughout and the selling was unbelievable, particularly Io’s selling of a codebreaker fro the middle rope.. Io dominated a lot of the match as you would expect but HZK got in a lot of strikes of her own and almost got the three count after a senton followed by Bomb’s Away. Io Shirai eventually got the better of HZK, getting the pin after a moonsault. In 2018 it would be really nice to see HZK get a belt as she looks ready. 4.25/5

After the match Rachael Ellering challenged Io Shirai to a championship match and Oedo Tai challenged Queen’s Quest to a series of matches in 2018.

Yoko Bito & Takumi Iroha vs. Meiko Satomura & Toni Storm
A really good match and a fitting send off for Yoko Bito. It is really sad to see Bito retire as she has had her best year by far and has been involved in some of the best matches of the year, but also it is nice to see someone retire without serious injury. With the amount of talent in the ring there was a lot to enjoy in the match. Bito and Satomura had a good kicking exchange and Storm and Iroha did some nice mat work. But this was all about Yoko Bito and having kicked out of a piledriver at one, Toni Storm proceeded to give her three more to get the pin and to bring to an end a very good career. 4/5

After the match there was a very touching retirement ceremony held for Yoko Bito. Guests included Kairi Sane (formerly Kairi Hojo) and many of the Stardom stars had really nice thing to say about Yoko Bito, It’s a really nice watch if you are a Stardom fan!