Puro Ponderings

[TildeGuy~!]

The New Japan YouTube channel uploaded Okada/Omega 2/3 falls today, was looking forward to watching it until I realised they’ve cut the last 5 minutes of the 64 minute match

Twats

[The King Of Swing]

Been quite a while since I covered Stardom. To be honest things had gotten pretty stale (especially when it came to H.A.T.E dominating the title scene) so I gave the promotion a break. 

But enough has changed recently to grab my interest again. 

Spoiler

Stardom in Kobe 30th May 2026

Of course the biggest story coming into this show is the shocking return of Utami Hayashishita, after spending two years in Marigold. 

That aside a lot has changed since I last posted about Stardom. Biggest change being H.A.T.E’s title dominance crumbling. 

Current champions as of typing this. 

World of Stardom Champion: Sayaka Kurara. 

Wonder of Stardom Champion: Hanan.

Goddess of Stardom Champions: AZM & Miyu Amasaki. 

Artist of Stardom Champions: Lady C, Ami Sohrei & Hina. 

High Speed Champion: Yuna Mizumori. 

New Blood Tag Team Champions: Sayaka Kurara & Aya Sakura. 

The biggest shock of course is Sayaka Kurara toppling the seemingly unstoppable Saya Kamitani, for the World of Stardom Championship.  

Funny looking back, how I was posting that Cosmic Angels and Stars were lacking momentum. Only for members of both units (factions in Stardom) to take the top two belts. 

So right now H.A.T.E have zero titles and Saya also has to deal with her former partner and BFF, Utami. Be interesting to see how things play out for the once dominant unit, throughout the rest of 2026.

Utami Hayashishita Vs. Akira Kurogane (Mi Vida Loca) 

The returning Utami puts Akira away with a big German Suplex in a decent opening match.

Immediately booking Utami on smaller shows is a good move and shows everyone that she is sticking around, even if she hasn't officially signed a contract. 

Yet. 

Syuri, Tomoka Inaba & Ranna Yagami (God's Eye) Vs. Natsuko Tora, Azusa Inaba & Ruaka (H.A.T.E) 

Syuri puts Azusa away in a watchable if uneventful trios match. The only real highlight is a very brief exchange between the Inaba sisters. 

Alright. 

Waka Tsukiyama Vs. Rian Vs. Matoi Hamabe 

Since I last posted about a Stardom show, Empress Nexus Venus has disbanded, leaving Waka among others without a unit to call home. 

Just noticed that a cameraman has a Maki Itoh missing person flyer, taped to his back. Brilliant stuff. 

Oh yeah, the match.

I was about to type a typical stardom three way match. However Matoi pulls off the upset by pinning both opponents with a double rollup, that move/spot traditionally never ends a three way match.

Pretty sure that's the first time I've seen that work in one of these matches. So yeah a typical Stardom three way match, until the finish. 

Maika & Hanako Vs. Kikyo Furusawa, Koguma & Maki Itoh 

I swear that Maika and Hanako team up more, now that Empress Nexus Venus is no more. 

Story coming into this show is that following back to back loses, Maki Itoh snapped and stormed out of Korakuen Hall recently and hadn't been seen since. 

This led to her regular tag partner Kikyo Furusawa, frantically searching for her missing senior. 

And now Maki has just casually rocked up in her pajamas during Maika and Hanako’s entrance and took a seat in the crowd. Kikyo eventually spots Maki and rolls her into the ring, making what was originally a tag match, a handicap match.

Maika puts Kikyo away with a lariat, in an entertaining match. Of course Maki is the highlight, moving around like an old man and even going full Orange Cassidy, with weak forearm shots. 

Maki might never be the best pure wrestler in the world, but she doesn't need to be. And Stardom was smart to sign her. 

I'm genuinely interested to see where this storyline goes. 

Lady C, Ami Sohrei & Hina (God's Eye) Vs. Starlight Kid, AZM (Neo Genesis) & Ema Maishima 

Starts off a little sloppy but turns into a decent match. Ami eventually puts Ema away with the Blue Thunder Bomb. 

The main highlight is Lady C planting SLK, with a huge Chokeslam. Fuck bumping on that ring, it looks rock solid. 

Saya Kamitani, Konami, Rina & Bea Priestley (H.A.T.E) Vs. Natsupoi, Yuna Mizumori, Aya Sakura (Cosmic Angels) & Anne Kanaya 

To the surprise of probably two people, Bea betrayed Stars and joined H.A.T.E. Of course joining the unit just as they crash and burn, is pretty funny. 

H.A.T.E pick up a much needed win in a decent match filled with the usual H.A.T.E antics.

Saya planted Anne with the Star Crusher (awesome name for a finisher) for the win. 

Main Event 

Sayaka Kurara (Cosmic Angels) & Hanan (Stars) Vs. Suzu Suzuki (Mi Vida Loca) & Saya Iida (Stars) 

Suzu recently scored a win over current Red Belt holder Sayaka, at Korakuen and I'm guessing Saya is eying up a shot at the White Belt, against her unit leader Hanan. 

Funny moment during the intros when Saya does her throw my jacket up in the air spot, only for it to get stuck. 

Suzu scores yet another pin on Sayaka, after nailing the Tequila Shot, in a good main event.

The usual back and forth on the mic, post match. 

At first I wasn't on board with Sayaka as World champion, but honestly I now think that having an underdog champion really freshens up the main event scene.

Now most challengers feel like a legitimate threat. Nobody was buying into Suzu beating Saya Kamitani, for example and at the very least, things ain't as predictable as they were a few months ago. 

A decent house show. Nothing really stood out other than Maki Itoh's antics, but it was an easy watch. 

Edited May 30 by The King Of Swing

[Merzbow]

Speaking of, what's the deal with Rossy? Gabe Kidd is now threatening to take a shit on his head and it doesn't seem like it's a work.. I know Kenny has bad mouthed him and Kenny is the most diplomatic nice guy usually.

[The King Of Swing]

People on bluesky seem to think it's over comments he made concerning Utami, fucking off. 

Found this after a quick search 

Basically called Utami fat. Pretty sure it's not the first time he's said shit like that but I stopped paying attention to the cunt ages ago.

[The King Of Swing]

Onto KBS Hall in Kyoto, for Stardom. Long time puro fans will immediately recognise that lovely little venue due to it's large stained glass window. 

Spoiler

Stardom in Kyoto 31st May 2026

Saya Kamitani, Natsuko Tora, Konami, Rina & Bea Priestley (H.A.T.E) Vs. Natsupoi, Aya Sakura, Yuna Mizumori (Cosmic Angels), Syuri & Tomoka Inaba (God's Eye)

Big ten woman tag to open the show.

Really fun match elevated by a very hot crowd, that respond to everyone and everything. H.A.T.E clearly loving every second of it.

Also minimal H.A.T.E shenanigans. 

Saya looking strong again as she puts Aya away with the Star Crusher. Everyone involved looked good though, and put the effort in.

Mostly pretty basic stuff but good fun. 

Hanan & Saya Iida (Stars) Vs. Utami Hayashishita & Matoi Hamabe  

Tougher opposition for Utami in her second match back, going up against former Goddess of Stardom champions Hanan & Saya Iida, with Hanan also being the current Wonder of Stardom champion. 

I like how Utami isn't being rushed straight back to the top of the card. No need to rush things and it eliminates any potential fan resentment over her departure a couple of years ago. 

Matoi's surprise win on the previous show now makes sense. Can't have someone of Utami's status teaming with a loser. 

Hanan pins Matoi with the Cutie Special in a decent match. 

Matoi is still rough around the edges and struggles a couple of times but nothing overly bad. 

Utami and Saya have a fun striking exchange and post match they goof around a little at ringside, in a nice moment. 

Lady C, Ami Sohrei, Hina & Kiyoka Kotatsu (God's Eye) Vs. Maki Itoh, Kikyo Furusawa, Waka Tsukiyama & Rian

Once again Maki is the highlight in a fun match. Switching between old Maki and depressed Maki, throughout the match. 

Hina gets the win for God's Eye, after hitting the Jackhammer Powerslam on Rian. 

Post match Maki seems to get her confidence back which is a shame if so, because I think they could have played that out longer. 

Also Rian seems to join Maki and Kikyo in the Itoh Respect Gundam, which as of typing is still not an official Stardom unit.

And now I'm wondering what the official process for starting a unit, actually is.

Sayaka Kurara (Cosmic Angels) & Anne Kanaya Vs. Suzu Suzuki & Akira Kurogane (Mi Vida Loca) 

Akira ties Anne up forcing the submission in an alright match. Probably the weakest on the card but watchable.

Like Matoi, Anne is still a ways off but you can see the potential. Akira clearly whiffs a a basement dropkick to Anne resulting in them repeating the spot, which was a little awkward. 

Nothing post match which is surprising since Sayaka Vs. Suzu is clearly where things are heading. 

Saori Anou (Cosmic Angels) & Fuwachan Vs Ruaka & Azusa Inaba (H.A.T.E) 

Fuwachan is a social media star and comedian (was/is apparently a big deal in Japan) who debuted as a pro wrestler for Stardom back in 2022 and showed genuine aptitude for pro wrestling. 

However following some sort of controversy (something involving comments towards another comedian on social media, I believe) she went on a long term hiatus, before returning to Stardom last year. 

History lesson out of the way, Fuwachan catches Azusa with the Magistral for the win in a decent enough effort. Kind of surprised it wasn't Anou who got the win. 

Ruaka and Azusa with a brief post match attack on the winners.

Main Event 

Starlight Kid, AZM, Miyu Amasaki (Neo Genesis) & Ema Maishima Vs. Ranna Yagami (God's Eye), Maika, Koguma & Hanako

Ranna and Koguma sharing a ring means only one thing, kuma shenanigans and a pissed off Syuri incoming. 

Goddess title co-holder Miyu Amasaki returns after missing a couple of shows. Also I forgot to mention in my previous review that Ranna Yagami is the current Future of Stardom champion. 

Immediate Kuma pose for the returning Amasaki. Some fans hate it but it's over with the live crowds, which is what really matters. 

As expected lots of the previously mentioned Kuma antics in the early goings, with Maika dragging Suyri away so Ranna can "reluctantly" get in on the fun. 

Things then settle down into the standard Stardom house show main event. Good action with everyone getting something in. 

Watching this match, one thing I really like about SLK is that even after getting booted out of Oedo Tai (now H.A.T.E) and founding Neo Genesis, she can still be a massive shit head at times. In this match adding extra stomps to Maika's gut before hitting her standing moonsault spot. 

She also takes a couple of big bumps off of Maika's power based offence, which never bores me. 

In the end Hanako puts Ema away with JP Coaster, for the win. 

Post match it looks like Maika and Hanako are pushing for a Goddess title shot, but I could be wrong since I obviously don't speak Japanese. 

Even with the lack of singles matches, I thought this was a much more enjoyable show than the Kobe one. 

Good fun with a pretty hot crowd. 

Edited May 31 by The King Of Swing

[pol_pot_rick]

On 5/30/2026 at 5:04 PM, The King Of Swing said:

Suzu recently scored a win over current Red Belt holder Sayaka, at Korakuen and I'm guessing Saya is eying up a shot at the White Belt, against her unit leader Hanan. 

At the last PPV (Queen's Destiny - 23/5) Suzu won a 4way (against Maika, Tora and SLK) to become #1 Contender, and after successfully defending the White Belt against Bea, Hanan then challenged Saya to be her next opponent.

[Merzbow]

So with CyberAgent now owning a large portion of NJPW do we think there's more chance they sell NOAH? The rumours have been going around for over a year now that TKO/WWE were wanting to buy the company.

[The King Of Swing]

5 hours ago, Merzbow said:

So with CyberAgent now owning a large portion of NJPW do we think there's more chance they sell NOAH? The rumours have been going around for over a year now that TKO/WWE were wanting to buy the company.

Could be proven wrong but imo, if that was going to happen it would have happened by now. Pretty sure those rumours have been around, since WWE tried to make NXT Japan, a thing.

I think CyberAgent are just happy to have another promotion on their books. 

As for TV Asahi. The general feeling seems to be that they bought in, because they are losing the rights to the WWE, to Netflix. 

Obviously I'm no expert though and I'm too lazy, to do any real research.

Whenever it was reported that WWE looked into buying a Japanese promotion, it either went nowhere or like with Stardom, another Japanese corporation ended up buying it.

[Merzbow]

 

That's a bit bat shit but I want to see it happen now.

[Merzbow]

I swear this better get English subs.

[The King Of Swing]

Stardom streamed their recent Korakuen show, for free. Walker Stewart on English commentary. 

Like last year, it's to set up the final four of the 5* GP. 

Didn't have a full review in me, so just my general thoughts on the main event and final four.

Spoiler

A rock solid show, elevated by an excellent and emotional main event, between H.A.T.E members (and previously Tokyo Cyber Squad members) Rina and Konami. 

Rina goes over in the main event at Korakuen, for the second year in a row. Putting Konami away with the Tiger Lilly, which of course was one of the late Hana Kimura's finishers.

Credit to Walker Stewart, who did a good job imo, explaining the long history between Rina and Konami as well as their connection to Hana Kimura. 

Final four this year are Rina, Maika, Starlight Kid and current World of Stardom champion, Suzu Suzuki. 

Unlike last year, it feels like Rina's tournament for the taking.

Though I wouldn't be shocked if SLK goes over. 

Worth checking out.

Edited August 20 by The King Of Swing

[simonworden]

Last night at Vietnam Pro Wrestling's The Rumble event Yota Tsuji made an appearance to invite their champion (well former now) Ares to train at the New Japan Dojo. 

The IWGP Champ didn't make any appearance apart from sauntering down at the end to cut the brief promo but he did carry the beautiful IWGP title belt.

Very touching moment with quite a few of the VPW wrestlers having tears in their eyes. It might be unusual to see that emotion for just a training opportunity but Ares is the first Vietnamese wrestler to really attract international attention. 

I'm proud to say I've done a lot of work with him and my wife captured a touching video of me and him talking at the end but my trousers were falling down so it's never being broadcast. 

He'll be in Japan for about three months if not longer which is why they've switched the title to Da Butcherman who's been slugging it out in Singapore with Naito, Minoru Suzuki and Inamura (sp?) over last twelve months. 

I've stuck a few pics up on the site 

 

https://seawrestling.net/vpw-the-rumble-results-da-butcherman-wins-vietnam-title-yota-tsuji-offers-ares-njpw-dojo-spot

 

 

Edited August 23 by simonworden