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I'm amazed at how pretty much all of the buzz that Io Shirai had about six months ago has evapourated. There are some valid reasons for this, but still, the matches she had with Kagetsu and Yoko Bito in the last few months were as good as anything else that she had done in the first half of 2017. I didn't see any buzz about either of these matches online. The Bito match is particularly surprising since it was a Korakuen main event.

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I'm amazed at how pretty much all of the buzz that Io Shirai had about six months ago has evapourated. There are some valid reasons for this, but still, the matches she had with Kagetsu and Yoko Bito in the last few months were as good as anything else that she had done in the first half of 2017. I didn't see any buzz about either of these matches online. The Bito match is particularly surprising since it was a Korakuen main event.

 

I think Shirai's work in the latter half of the year has generally been as strong as the first half, but she hasn't been given the same opportunities. Its generally been tag/trios matches or league matches. She brings it every single night but hasn't been asked to deliver at the level she was as champion during the first 6 months of the year. I liked the Kagetsu and Bito matches quite a bit, but found the botches and timing spots you noted in your review to be more problematic. Still very good matches, but not as outstanding as her earlier title defenses. Still at worst a top 5 WOTY candidate in my book.

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I liked the Bito match but I'm starting to be indifferent with Stardom cause of the Oedo Tai saga and the some of the wrestlers they brought in towards the end of the year. This current crop of foreigners are better but there isn't a main program that hooks me. I could care less about another QQ vs OT match but if Toni Storm vs Meiko Satomura happens, then I will be interested.

 

On another note, I recommend people watch Miyu Yamashita vs Reika Saiki from the Tokyo Jyoshi Pro 1/4 Korakuen Hall show. Usually Saiki isn't good but she looks great in this match along with Miyu. It's not a MOTYC but it's match that I would put up against any big match from Stardom in the last year. I've started to become a fan of Yamashita and need to watch more of her from last year.

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Stardom has been too conservative in their booking since Io came back. Nobody got a big win in the 5*GP, QQ/OT feud has been monotonous, and it seems like the only reason Io is Wonder of Stardom champ is so there's a reason for her to have singles matches at the top of the card. Foreigners are booked predictably so that when they're bad it stands out even more. It doesn't help that they book too many girlfriends/daughters of people in the wrestling business. Io vs. Rachel Ellering is interesting but Ellering is very inconsistent so who know how that match will turn out. After watching more of her matches from Europe, Toni Storm is turning into more of a "get your shit in" type wrestler so I'm not really sure how good of a match she could have with Meiko at this point. They need to get more serious about moving Jungle Kyona, HZK, and Momo Watanabe into the main event mix. A strong return by Mayu Iwatani would help to.

 

I watched the 1/4 Tokyo Joshi Pro show and thought it was interesting. Talent wise, I don't think they are too far off of Ice Ribbon if you took Tsukasa Fujimoto and the type of outsiders the usually bring in out of the equation. Saiki/Yamashita was good but it felt a bit too much like two young wrestlers doing a typical title match main event for a Japanese wrestling show rather than trying to make it into something that was there own. Still, both have a lot of potential and should be able to do much better down the road.

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Toni has definitely become that type of wrestler. In 2016, she was very solid in ring but still was exploring what she was as a wrestler overall. On the Stardom house shows in early 2017, she started to try out more things inside and outside but reached a point midway through the year where she seemed to consolidate everything into a set routine, which makes sense cause she was going to be in the MYC. I remember either Grimmas or Dylan saying she's a female Chris Jericho now and that's she what comes across as.

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Stardom is very conservative in their booking, I wish they would deviate from their formula sometimes (like HZK winning the white belt from Io, something unpredictable!). It is mostly a promotion I enjoy for the matchups, although I am also enjoying the bizarreness of the new Oedo Tai.

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It seems to me that Stardoms booking conservatism is no different to the conservatism that was endemic in the past in major Japanese promotions, e.g., All Japan. Their roster of natives is not particularly large, so to do match-ups within the roster, they either have to stretch things out or risk blowing throw all of their potential match-ups in short order.

 

I think Io as white belt champion was necessary to overcome having the Red Belt on an absentee champion. Thats not unlike in 2015 when Satomura was the holder of the Red Belt. Unfortunately, Io seems to be getting the same sort of match-ups that Hojo had during her reign--second-tier foreigners. I dont follow Kelly Klein so I dont know what the consensus is on her, but she came across as being green and awkward. Chardonnay was pretty decent, but Ellering is green too. I think Ios done well with what shes been given, but other than the Bito match (which I thought was excellent, perhaps Bitos best performance in a long singles match), she really hasnt been put in a position to steal the show. I think the white belt will eventually go to elevate Kagetsu or Kyona (or someone else on that level), either directly or via a foreigner as transitional champ.

 

Stardoms roster seems stronger and better balanced than a year ago. Oedo Tai is now a set stable rather than a couple of regulars augmented by a rotating series of foreigners. Nakano and Natsu are both solid additions to the mid-card roster. Coupled with AZM and Tora moving out of the rookie ranks and into the mid-card, the roster seems less polarized than at the beginning of 2017 (threedom and the pre-teen rookies and no enough to fill the gap in between!).

 

I think they need to get the Red Belt off of Storm ASAP. Ill admit, Storm is not my cup of tea (her development is going in a direction I dont care for). But at this point, being an absentee champ is not cutting it. I dont really want to see Io get it back so soon, but she needs a big win over Storm given their past history: shes 0-1-2 against her in the last 18 months. I think Iwatani also needs redemption against Storm. Maybe Storm -> Shirai -> Kagetsu -> Iwatani over the next year would do.

 

In the near future, I think the QQ v. Oedo Tai 5 v. 5 will likely blow off that feud for a bit. I expect Viper to be the one forced to leave her faction as per the stipulation; maybe she responds by relieving Io of the white belt? Im not too enthused about Satomura v. Storm, but it should be pretty watchable nonetheless. I think the Shirai v. Ellering match will be a pleasant surprise. The first Ellering match I ever saw was the abomination in the first round of the Mae Young Classic. Everything subsequent to that has been solid. Im sure Io will get the most out of her.

 

Okay... enough rambling by me.

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All Japan wasn't conservative when Tenryu and company left to go start SWS, or when Jumbo got sick. Also, Stardom took a big risk putting the World of Stardom title on Kairi Hojo after the Act/Yoshiko incident and even Io's first title run was risky since they didn't really build her up before she got the belt. So it's not like they haven't taken risks before, in fact some of them have paid off pretty well for them. With Hojo/Sane and Bito gone now, Stardom needs new people in those spots. Pushing the likes of Kyona, HZK, and Watanabe is less risky than either of the two examples that I just gave so I don't understand why they haven't tried. I know Oedo Tai is over with the existing fanbase but the group doesn't have a good history of drawing when they are a main program. This goes all the way back to the days of Kyoko Kimura and a bunch of foreigners.

 

I don't think you can really blame either Stardom or Toni Storm for how her title run has been booked. They were forced into it with Iwatani's injury and didn't have any way to deal with it in the short term. They should have a better idea of what to do now and they have some decent options whether they decided to keep the belt on her, give it back to Iwatani, or go in a different direction.

 

For as much as people harp on Stardom's booking it's still better than the likes of WAVE and OZ Academy. Honestly, Sendai Girls booking is more worrisome than this. The only joshi groups with decent booking right now are Ice Ribbon, and Tokyo Joshi Pro. If you want to count it, that wrestling TV show with all the J-Pop idols had better booking than any joshi group in 2017.

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All Japan wasn't conservative when Tenryu and company left to go start SWS, or when Jumbo got sick.

 

Well, the All Japan examples are the two obvious exceptions to the rule of All Japan's conservatism. They stand out for being completely against type for Baba. But I take your point and agree with it. Stardom has had success with bold moves in the past and could do with another one or two now.

 

 

I don't think you can really blame either Stardom or Toni Storm for how her title run has been booked. They were forced into it with Iwatani's injury and didn't have any way to deal with it in the short term. They should have a better idea of what to do now and they have some decent options whether they decided to keep the belt on her, give it back to Iwatani, or go in a different direction.

 

No, I certainly don't blame them, although I might have sent someone out to wrestle Storm in a "decision match" for the title, both to keep the belt off an outsider who was going away (assuming that Storm winning the Red Belt wasn't something that they wanted to eventually happen) and to give the fans a replacement for the main event that fizzled when Iwatani got hurt. I am curious as to what their long-term booking plan was. I suppose we'll never know. I am left wondering whether Stardom is trying to get back to when they would have been without Mayu's injury or whether they're taking things in a completely different direction than they had planned. The wild card in all of this is the business end of things. I'm not conversant with Stardom's attendance and merchandise statistics, so the creative direction I'd prefer them to take may not be the direction in which the business numbers dictate they should go.

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Stardom announced that they are introduce a new title at there show called the Future of Stardom. To compete for the title you have to be under the age of 20 or have less than two years of experience. I've seen some people dump on this, but honestly, this title immediately has more purpose than either the Artists, High Speed, or SWA titles. Hell, the way they've booked the Wonder of Stardom title the last while has made the SWA title redundant already. The Future of Stardom gives them a title that can have a meaningful mid-card role that can help along their younger or less experienced wrestlers.

 

Overall, I think it's clear that Tam Nakano is getting a big push and be positioned as the next Yuzupon. I would be really surprised if she didn't beat Io for the Wonder Stardom title and probably win either the Cinderella or 5* tournaments.

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Stardom announced that they are introduce a new title at there show called the Future of Stardom. To compete for the title you have to be under the age of 20 or have less than two years of experience. I've seen some people dump on this, but honestly, this title immediately has more purpose than either the Artists, High Speed, or SWA titles. Hell, the way they've booked the Wonder of Stardom title the last while has made the SWA title redundant already. The Future of Stardom gives them a title that can have a meaningful mid-card role that can help along their younger or less experienced wrestlers.

 

Overall, I think it's clear that Tam Nakano is getting a big push and be positioned as the next Yuzupon. I would be really surprised if she didn't beat Io for the Wonder Stardom title and probably win either the Cinderella or 5* tournaments.

Absolutely with the point with Tam. I thought she would be that the moment she came into the promotion.

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Watched the two Ohata/Nakajima matches back to back. To put it simply, the WAVE title match is exactly the match you would expect these two to have while the SEAdLINNNG match is just completely void of that intensity. Go out of your way to watch the WAVE match if you can.

 

Also, Io Shirai vs. Nicole Savoy was awesome. If your wondering what the hype about Savoy is all about this is the match to watch as she was amazing here. Io was Io here which was nice to see after a couple of disappointing matches versus Sumire Natsu and Rachel Ellering.

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DW-CE_wWsAAEPQc.jpg

 

 

The lineup for this year's Catch the WAVE tournament looks awesome! One block has Arisa Nakajima in fresh, interesting matchups against ASUKA, Nagisa Nozaki, and Mio Momono. The other block has a phenomenal lineup of talent which includes rematches of my top two joshi matches from last year (Yamashita/Ohata and Mizunami/Shida.)

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  • 2 weeks later...

 

DW-CE_wWsAAEPQc.jpg

 

 

The lineup for this year's Catch the WAVE tournament looks awesome! One block has Arisa Nakajima in fresh, interesting matchups against ASUKA, Nagisa Nozaki, and Mio Momono. The other block has a phenomenal lineup of talent which includes rematches of my top two joshi matches from last year (Yamashita/Ohata and Mizunami/Shida.)

I saw the blocks floated around on Twitter and Discord. Private Eyeball on Twitter made the suggestion of ASUKA going over Hamada in the finals which would be awesome cause of the student vs teacher aspect.

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I should know better than to go off of posters since they almost never have the official blocks. Anyway, here are the actual blocks:

 

Crasy Block: Yumi Ohka, Ryo Mizunami, Rina Yamashita, ASUKA, Nagisa Nozaki, and Miyuki Takase

 

Violence Block: Misaki Ohata, Hikaru Shida, Ayako Hamada, Arisa Nakajima, Hiroe Nagahama, and Mio Momono

 

Catch the WAVE usually has two people from each block making it so I'm sure ASUKA is at least making the semis and is a smart pick to win. She has just as much experience as Yamashita when she won last year. The other block seems wide open. Typical political joshi booking would Arisa making the semis but, again, the other spots seems wide open. Ayako would make story line sense but WAVE never been that strong of a story line promotion. Ohata is also the first WAVE champ to be in the tournament in a while as well.

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Wait a minute. I don't watch Joshi, so forgive me for being a little confused, but is the Asuka in Pro Wrestling Wave a different person from the WWE Asuka? I'm assuming WWE isn't letting her go over to participate in a Japanese tournament, but I guess I'm also not really sure why they would name WWE Asuka after another Joshi wrestler instead of just letting her keep her Joshi name...

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Different person.

 

Finished watching the first night of Catch the WAVE and it was a good show as a whole. None of the matches were out of this world but ASUKA/Yamashita, Mizunami/Nozaki, and Ohata/Nagahama were all pretty good. Well worth going out of your way to watch. Ayako/Arisa was a disappointment, it had some really amazing moments but fell apart on the back end of the match. I've seen some praise for Shida/Momono but I've seen too many young, undersized, vet versus star veteran matches and this one didn't do anything to standout.

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I feel like I'm stating the obvious here, but Best Friends vs. Seven Star Sisters from the 2/9 SEAdLINNNG show was awesome! Definitely must watch.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CdW5vc6EqEM

Just watched it and wow that was great stuff. Only thing I didn't like was Best Friends superplexing each other. But it's the typical Best Friends layout match, where it's all out chaos in terms of tempo.

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