STARDOM: The Maidenverse

[CakeWalker]

- Triangle Derby I will be the first addition of a new annual six-woman tag team round-robin tournament hosted by World Wonder Ring Stardom. The tournament will be split into two pools (Triangle Red & Triangle Blue) with each team facing each team from the opposite pool, rather than facing those within their own pool. The top two teams from each pool will advance to a final single-elimination bracket, consisting of semifinals and finals.

- Each pool will be made up of six teams, meaning that a total of 36 talented Joshi will feature in this unique tournament. The pools as determined by the Stardom management group are as follows.

1. Neo Stardom Army [Alpha Female, Nanae Takahashi & Yuu]
2. BariBari Bombers [Giulia, Thekla & Mai Sakurai]
3. Club Venus [Mina Shirakawa, Mariah May & Xia Brookside]
4. On Tour [Serena Deeb, Madison Rayne & Julia Hart]
5. Cosmic Elite [Tam Nakano, SAKI & Unagi Sayaka]
6. YoungOED [Starlight Kid, Ruaka & Rina]

1. Gold Ship [Natsuko Tora, Momo Watanabe & Saki Kashima]
2. Prominence [Risa Sera, Suzu Suzuki & Hiragi Kurumi]
3. Abarenbo GE [Syuri, Mirai & Ami Sourei]
4. Queen’s Quest [Utami Hayashishita, Saya Kamitani & AZM]
5. STARS [Mayu Iwatani, Saya Iida & Hazuki]
6. MaiHime & Lady [Maika, Himeka & Lady C]​

 

[CakeWalker]

Episode One - 2nd January [Yokohama Budokan]

The first episode would begin with introductions from the official English speaking commentary team pairing of Stewart Fulton & Veda Scott. Stewart Fulton would explain he had departed NOAH and joined Stardom on the basis that Bushiroad (the owners of both Stardom & NJPW) had shared their plans for an expansion of Stardom as a brand with the intention of every single episode of Purple Moon & Super Card having English commentary.

Veda Scott would then reflect that being part of this new era of Stardom, would hopefully open the door to the rest of the world and introduce a new audience to the promotion. Veda would add that ‘The Triangle Derby’ was the perfect way to start the new year and looking forward to being part of the journey and reveal that all twelve trios would compete this evening in the first official round of the Derby.

+ + + + + + +

|| MATCH ONE ||
Abarenbo GE [Syuri, MIRAI & Ami Sourei]

vs.
On Tour [Serena Deeb, Madison Rayne & Julia Hart]

Summary
There would be excitement amongst the fans in Yokohama about the involvement of the AEW in the Derby, although it would be clear from the get go that the representatives of God’s Eye were very much the favourites coming into the contest. This would be shown with Syuri and Mirai very much focusing on Julia Hart who was very much the weak link in the chain for ‘On Tour’ with the match coming to an end with MIRAI forcing Hart to tap by locking in the Miramare (Kimura) to secure the victory for Abarenbo GE.

Post-Match
After the contest, Future of Stardom Champion Ami Sourei would request a microphone. Sourei would talk about all the positives of starting this new tournament with a victory and that it was an honour knowing she would go down in history as part of the first team to win a match at the inaugural Triangle Derby. Ami would then look at her championship belt and comment that within this new era of Stardom, especially now a global audience was more likely to be tuning in on a weekly basis she intended to become the very best version of the Future of Stardom Champion she could be and that in a fortnights time on 16th January she was offering Miyu Amasaki a shot at her strap.

+ + + + + + +

|| MATCH TWO ||
Gold Ship [Natsuko Tora, Momo Watanabe & Saki Kashima]

vs.
Neo Stardom Army [Alpha Female, Nanae Takahashi & Yuu]

Summary
During the contest an intense rivalry between Nanae Takahashi and Natsuko Tora would become apparent with both Joshi seeming to have a large amount of anger and disdain for each other which would show when they contested with each other in the ring. So much so that they would both seem to become frustrated with their tag partners for seeming to step on their toes. The match would end with Alpha Female nailing Saki Kashima with the The Omega Slam (Inverted front powerslam) to give Neo Stardom Army the victory.

+ + + + + + +

STARS (Iwatani, Iida & Hazuki) would stand in the backstage interview area and offer high praises for their opponents tonight, the Baribari Bombers. Iwatani would offer particular praise for the new World of Stardom Champion Giulia and that she was very much looking forward to sharing the ring with the new champion and that perhaps if one of her stars managed to achieve the pin - they would earn the right of being the first challenger for Giulia’s belt.

+ + + + + + +

|| MATCH THREE ||
Queen’s Quest [Utami Hayashishita, Saya Kamitani & AZM]

vs.
YoungOED [Starlight Kid, Ruaka & Rina]

Summary
With two champions walking into the ring, if either AZM or Kamitani were to suffer the fall there would have been expectation of a future shot at their respective titles. And it seemed to be on this basis that the Queen’s Quest would tighten up their ranks and really not allow any of their three opponents to penetrate them and gain any sort of tactical advantage. YoungOED would become noticeably frustrated, which would lead to Rina making a mistake that would allow Saya to draw her in and nail her with the Star Crusher (Fisherman buster) to claim the W.

Post-Match
AZM would thank YoungOED for turning up tonight, but that all members of Oedo Tai continued to be substandard now that their greatest assets were wrestling elsewhere in the world. AZM would then name drop Momo Kohgo and say she he had been disappointed that Mayu hadn’t thought of involving Momo in the Derby, but that she happy to give her an opportunity to shine on TV - so next week on Purple Moon she would put her High Speed Championship on the line against Kohgo and continue to do so against everyone else on the roster that had been looked past by their various unit leaders.

+ + + + + + +

|| MATCH FOUR ||
MaiHime & Lady [Maika, Himeka & Lady C]

vs.
Club Venus [Mina Shirakawa, Mariah May & Xia Brookside]

Summary
The contest would see Xia Brookside make her first appearance on Stardom since 2019, whilst Mariah May would make her debut as Cosmic Angel’s newest sub-unit Club Venus would make their debut on Purple Moon. Prior to the match starting Mina Shirakawa would introduce Mariah and Xia and make the point that the two newest members of Cosmic Angels were a shining addition to the unit and that she had high hopes for the new blood of Stardom. Club Venus would impress in their debut showing great overall chemistry with the victory being claimed with Mariah May locking Lady C in Thirst Trap (Octopus Stretch) to claim the victory.

+ + + + + + +

Miyu Yamashita would shock everyone by appearing on Stardom programming for the first time in her career and reveal herself as the newest member of Stardom and that she had signed with the intention of winning championship gold. Yamashita would raise the point that the SWA World Champion was currently without a holder and would suggest that perhaps the management group could find her suitable opponent, because she couldn’t think of a better match debut than one that involved a world title as the prize waiting for the victor.

+ + + + + + +

|| MATCH FIVE ||
Cosmic Elite [Tam Nakano, SAKI & Unagi Sayaka]

vs.
Prominence [Risa Sera, Suzu Suzuki & Hiragi Kurumi]

Summary
The contest would see the very best that Cosmic Angels had to offer, going up against the newly crowned Artist of Stardom Champions Prominence. Both teams would feature in an epic contest filled with near falls left, right and centre with the fans being treated to what was very much the contest of the night with everyone involved giving a good account of themselves. Suzu Suzuki would look to finish the contest off with the German Suplex Hold, but before the referee could begin the count the ring bell would be rung to inform everyone that the match’s time limit had been reached after fifteen captivating minutes of hard hitting wrestling.

Post-Match
Cosmic Elite and Prominence would have an intense staredown following the contest, and it seemed as though a draw was almost as bad as a loss. Suzu Suzuki was noticeably the most frustrated and would have to be physically calmed down by Risa Sera and Hiragi Kurumi with the pair removing Suzuki from the ring to prevent further fighting taking place between both teams.

Unagi Sayaka would openly mock Suzu for being nothing more than an angry little brat and that if tonight had shown anything it was that Prominence would be the champions for a very short period of time and that as much as she was looking forward to the rest of The Derby she was far more interested in going one-on-one with Suzu later down the line and showing her younger foe what it meant to compete in a real five star classic, that would even turn the head of an old crocodile like Dave Meltzer.

+ + + + + + +

|| MAIN EVENT ||
STARS [Mayu Iwatani, Saya Iida & Hazuki]

vs.
BariBari Bombers [Giulia, Thekla & Mai Sakurai]

Summary
Giulia would be greeted with a massive pop as she would make her way out from the the back with the World of Stardom Championship very much in her possession and it was clear from Thekla and Sakurai’s reactions that her partners were also loving the spotlight and extra attention that came about with a unit member holding the most important belt in the company. Mayu Iwatani would very much be the best that STARs brought to the table, but the Baribari Bombers would very much control the contest, with Giulia picking up the win by nailing Hazuki with the Glorious Northern Lights Bomb (Pumphandle scoop brainbuster).

Post-Match
Giulia would thank Mayu Iwatani for throwing her hat into the circle, but it was going to take someone a lot more competent to earn a shot at her belt and that she wished the best of luck to all the other teams in Triangle Blue she, Thekla and Mai would face in the coming weeks before ending the promo and the show with her catchphrase “Arrivederci!”

- - - - - - - - - - -

Results
Match One: Abarenbo GE def. On Tour
Match Two: Neo Stardom Army def. Gold Ship
Match Three: Queen’s Quest def. YoungOED
Match Four: Club Venus def. MaiHime & Lady
Match Five: Cosmic Elite vs. Prominence - DRAW
Main Event: Barbari Bombers def. STARS
​

 

[CakeWalker]

Tour Show One - 6th January [Korakuen Hall]
1. Tag Team Contest - MaiHime def. Oedo Clown Town (Fukigen Death & Karma)
2. Tag Team Contest - STARS (Mayu Iwatani & Hazuki) def. God’s Eye (Konami & Tomoaka Inaba)
3. Triangle Derby: Prominence def. BariBari Bombers
4. Triangle Derby: Queen’s Quest def. Club Venus
5. Triangle Derby: Cosmic Elite def. Gold Ship​

 

[CakeWalker]

A highlight package would play, showing all of the finishes from the Tour Show from Korakuen Hall that took place on the 6th January - with Veda Scott providing the sole commentary for the exclusive content:

- Oedo Tai’s newest tag team OCT (Oedo Clown Town) would debut as a team [Fukigen Death & Karma], but prove to be no match for MaiHime who would win the contest when she would flatten Karam with the Enka Otoshi (Front powerslam into a sidewalk slam) to pick up the win.

- STARS would get some practice in with clear intent on getting back to winning ways with Iwatani & Hazuki beating God’s Eye [Konami & Inaba] with Hazuki hitting Konami with the Codebreaker to secure the victory.

- Three matches from the Triangle Derby would also take place during the show, with these matches getting slightly longer highlight packages.

- Prominence would claim a victory over the BariBari Bombers, that would come about with Risa Sera and Giulia battling out at ringside that would draw Thekla to come to her tag partner’s aid. This would allow Suzuki & Kurumi to collide into Sakurai with a Double Clothesline before Hiragi would drag Mai up to her feet and pound her back down onto the canvas with the Scrapbuster (Swinging Sideslam) to give Prominence the W and their first win of the Derby.

- Queen’s Quest would claim a second win in a row - this time by beating Club Venus. Utami Hayashishita would end the contest by spiking Xia Brookside with the BT Bomb (Sitout crucifix powerbomb). After the contest, Momo Kohgo would come out from the back and would have an intense staredown with AZM- with the two set to compete for the High Speed Champion when Purple Moon went live after the pre-show highlight package concluded.

- The final match of the Tour Show would be an interesting contest between Cosmic Elite and Gold Ship in an ending that would leave the fans shocked, as it would be Oedo Tai’s leader Natsuko Tora who would suffer the pinfall after Nakano would collide with a violent Violet Shoot (Running knee strike) which would be enough to earn the three count, much to everyone’s surprise that it hadn’t taken more to keep down Tora.

Episode Two - 9th January [Nagoya Congress Center Event Hall]

- The second episode of Purple Moon would see the official English commentary team pairing of Stewart Fulton & Veda Scott welcoming the fans back to the newest and hottest show in the world of professional wrestling. Fulton would inform the fans that a total of three Triangle Derby matches would take place tonight, as well an opening contest of a High Speed Championship defence with AZM taking on Momo Kohgo.
+ + + + + + +

|| MATCH ONE - HIGH SPEED CHAMPIONSHIP ||

AZM (c) vs. Momo Kohgo

Summary
Momo would offer a strong challenge for AZM - but the former leader of Queen’s Quest would ultimately prove to be too tough and too technically brilliant for Kohgo to really get any foothold in the contest. AZM would end the match by hitting the C4 Bakudan (Bridging leg-wrap German suplex) to successfully retain the belt for the tenth time of her reign.

Post-Match
After the contest, AZM would find herself attacked from both sides by Julia Hart and Serena Deeb with Veda revealing that Queen’s Quest would face On Tour in the Triangle Derby on next week’s episode of Purple Moon. Hart and Deeb would flee the ring before Hina and Miyu Amasaki would emerge from the back to come to their unit member’s aid.

+ + + + + + +

|| MATCH TWO - TAG TEAM CONTEST ||
Queen’s Quest [Hina & Miyu Amasaki]

vs.
Club Venus [Mariah May & Xia Brookside]

Summary
Both pairings were very much the bottom of the totem pole for their respective units, but that wouldn’t stop both teams from treating the fans to a fast paced and aggressive tag team contest. The end would come about with Xia and Hina battling in the ring, with Brookside taking hold of the young teenage rocket with the Brookside Bomb to pick up the win.

Post-Match
When Hina and Amasaki were making their way towards the back, Miyu would find her path blocked by Ami Sourei with the pair set to fight for Ami’s title on next week's show.

+ + + + + + +

- Backstage Maika and Himeka would cut a promo in which the pair would come off as both frustrated and annoyed with the former Goddess of Stardom Champions making the point that the tourists from AEW should be more focused on facing themselves and Lady C tonight, rather than looking into the horizon although the results to both matches would be the same. A big fat loss for On Tour, with Himeka stating that she really believed the combination of Deeb, Hart and Rayne would most likely go back to Tony Khan without a single win to their names and hopefully AEW sent some more competent talent on their next foreign excursion.

+ + + + + + +

|| MATCH THREE - TRIANGLE DERBY ||
On Tour [Serena Deeb, Madison Rayne & Julia Hart]

vs.
MaiHime & Lady [Maika, Himeka & Lady C]

Summary
The members of Donna del Mondo would come into the contest with real purpose, so much so that Maiki and Himeka were so effective as a pairing that Lady C barely got involved in the contest. MaiHime would spot Hart as the weakest link, with Hart taking the fall for the second match in a row this time after taking the Enka Otoshi(Front powerslam into a sidewalk slam) for Maika.

+ + + + + + +

- Kairi would appear on Stardom programming for the first time in 2023 and would bring up the promo that Miyu Yamashita had made last week regarding the vacant SWA World Championship. Kairi would divulge that management had offered her the opportunity to battle Miyu for the title, but she had turned down the offer because she was more interested in facing legitimate opponents rather than someone who was effectively a rookie who had never proven herself in the big leagues and that if she actually put in the hard work maybe she would actually get an opponent to face her instead of working herself into a title shot without having earned it.

+ + + + + + +

|| MATCH FOUR - TRIANGLE DERBY ||
Abarenbo GE [Syuri, MIRAI & Ami Sourei]

vs.
YoungOED [Starlight Kid, Ruaka & Rina]

Summary
Abarenbo GE would continue their positive start and continue to wave the flag for God’s Eye by earning the trio another two points in the Triangle Derby with Syuri, Sourei and MIRAI all putting a good account of themselves in the contest. A miscommunication between Rina and SLK would result in the pair arguing between each other at ringside, leaving Ruaka exposed and vulnerable. This would allow MIRAI to watch the outside, as Syuri would nail Ruaka with a Roundhouse kick before Ami Sourei would follow up with an Argentine Backbreaker into Running Facebuster to claim the victory.

Post-Match
As Abarenbo GE were celebrating the victory, Ami would slide out the ring to collect her title only to be surprised with her belt missing. She would be tapped on her shoulder only for Miyu Amasaki to nail her with the Future of Stardom Championship before jumping the barricade before Syuri and MIRAI were able to react and come to their partner’s aid.

+ + + + + + +

|| MAIN EVENT ||
STARS [Mayu Iwatani, Saya Iida & Hazuki]

vs.
Neo Stardom Army [Alpha Female, Nanae Takahashi & Yuu]

Summary
STARS and Neo Stardom would feature in a riveting main-event, with it being evidently clear that Iwatani wanted to guide her unit back to winning ways. The Goddess of Stardom Champions showed exactly why they were the champions and looked very effective in the ring, but Yuu almost seemed caught off by the strength of Saya Iida - with Saya lifting Yuu into the air and dropping her down with a Brainbuster although she would be saved by Alpha Female who would break up the pin. The match would end with Iwatani coming in the ring and preventing Yuu from tagging out and hitting the Dodonpa (Crucifix driver) to pick up the win.

Post-Match
Mayu Iwatani would have a staredown with Yuu, whilst Iida would lock eyes with Takahashi and Hazuki would lock heads with Alpha Female. After about half a minute Neo Stardom Army would exit the ring, with Iwatani and Iida looking particularly pleased with themselves.

- - - - - - - - - - -

Results
Match One: AZM def. Momo Kohgo
Match Two: Club Venus def. Queen’s Quest
Match Three: Donna del Mondo def. On Tour
Match Four: Abarenbo GE def. Young OED
Main Event: STARS def. Neo Stardom Army​

 

[Deco90]

I don't think I've ever seen a Stardom booker being done before, so I'm really intrigued. Aside from a couple of names, I don't have any of the people or anything about the promotion so it's going to be cool going on this ride through your booking of the promotion. I like how the commentary opened the show as this being a gateway to hopefully open the company to viewers around the world and I feel like this is what your BTB could actually do!

Good luck with it. I'm going to be reading along!

 

[EZ3]

As others have said, never really followed a Stardom project.

Beautiful setup for the formatting and is nice to read which is half the battle. I like the use of the known names from the western side of things and I think you're doing a good job in using them to draw someone like myself in. I'm interested to see how those kinds of names like Serena Deeb and Tessa are used throughout the thread mixed with the talent Stardom has full-time.

Kairi segment in the latest show did a good job in hyping what could be a potential World Title match. I know in the segment Kairi said she turned it down for a want of a legitimate opponent, but that just made me want to see it more. Hopefully, this builds to Miyu Yamashita "proving" that she is a legitimate opponent or doing something to draw Kairi out into that fight.

Early days but I'll be following along for sure.

 

[CakeWalker]

Tour Show Two - 11th January [Tosho Arena Anjo]
1. Queen’s Quest (Miyu Amasaki, Hina & AZM) def. God’s Eye (Ami Sourei, Konami & Tomoaka Inaba)
2. STARS (Saya Iida & Mayu Iwatani) def. Club Venus (Mina Shirakawa & Xia Brookside)
3. Queen’s Quest (Utami Hayashishita & Saya Kamitani) def. On Tour (Serena Deeb & Julia Hart)
4. Prominence (Risa Sera & Hiragi Kurumi) def. Young OED (Starlight Kid & Rina)
5. Suzu Suzuki def. Ruaka​

 

[CakeWalker]

A highlight package would play, showing all of the finishes from the Tour Show from Tosho Arena Anjo that took place on the 11th January - with Veda Scott providing the sole commentary for the exclusive content:

- With Sourei and Amasaki set to battle for the Future of Stardom Championship, the two Joshi would find themselves in trios match between Queen’s Quest (Amasaki, Hina & AZM) and God’s Eye (Sourei, Konami & Inaba). The match would be won by Queen’s Quest, with AZM by forcing Inaba to tap by locking in the La Mystica Fujiwara Armbar

- STARS & Club Venus would meet each other on the next episode of Purple Moon in the Triangle Derby and a regular tag team match would take place in which would see STARS (Saya Iida & Mayu Iwatani) def. Club Venus (Mina Shirakawa & Xia Brookside). After the match, Mayu Iwatani would look very pleased with herself following the win and would make a point to congratulate Iida for claiming the pinfall over Xia Brookside.

- A regular tag team match between Queen’s Quest (Utami Hayashishita & Saya Kamitani) and On Tour (Serena Deeb & Julia Hart) would also serve as a preview of a Triangle Derby match on the next episode of Purple Moon with Hayashishita and Kamitani claiming a pretty comprehensive win over the touring AEW workers.

- Prominence (Risa Sera & Hiragi Kurumi) would claim a win over Young OED (Starlight Kid & Rina). After the match Sera would make a point that she was looking forward to beating the crap out of Young OED next week in the Triangle Derby.

- The Tour Show would be rounded off with an intense singles match between Suzu Suzuki and Ruaka. With the fans treated to a contest that could have been a feature contest during a super card event. The contest would come to an end with Suzu claiming the finish by hitting Ruaka with the German Suplex Hold to pick up the three count victory.

Episode Three - 16th January [EDION Arena Osaka #2]

- The third episode of Purple Moon would begin with Stewart Fulton informing the fans that this Friday at New Blood 7 - the first round tournament of the New Blood Tag Team Title Tournament would take place with matchups and entrants set to be announced throughout the night as well as a number of matches that would act as a platform to potentially earn their place on the main roster. Veda Scott would then remind the fans that later on tonight Ami Sourei would defend the Future of Stardom Championship against challenger Miyu Amasaki.

+ + + + + + +

- Mai Sakurai would come out from the back and make a point that being part of Donna Del Mondo continued to be the correct decision and she had very much enjoyed living a dance free life. Mai would then reveal that she would be taking part in the tournament for the New Blood Tag Team Championship belts and that although her partner wasn’t a member of her unit - she hoped that a winning performance in the tournament could perhaps convince her to fight alongside her on a permanent basis. Sakurai would then be joined by Maki Itoh in the ring, with Mai introducing the pair asMakiMai and they would test themselves out tonight against Oedo Town Clown and prove they more than deserving of being seen as the best form of fresh blood.

|| MATCH ONE ||
Oedo Clown Town [Fukigen Death & Karma]

vs.
MakiMai [Maki Itoh & Mai Sakurai]

Summary
The match would focus on showing the true potential of Sakurai and Itoh as a pair, whilst also serving as Maki making her official debut as a member of the Stardom roster. Itoh would prove to be massively over with the Osaka fans and would claim the win by hitting Karma with a Jumping DDT.

Post-Match
Neo Stardom Army would come out from the back in their entirety, with unit leader Alpha Female revealing that at New Blood it would be Mizumori & Manase who would represent the unit at New Blood and it had been decided by management that they would face off against MaiMaki in the first round this coming Friday. She would continue to talk though, and demand that MaiHime come out from the back, because she wanted to taste their flavour before she met in the Triangle Derby at some point in the coming weeks.

+ + + + + + +

|| MATCH TWO ||
Neo Stardom Army [Alpha Female & Nanae Takahashi]

vs.
MaiHime [Maika & Himeka]

Summary
With one half of the Goddess of Stardom Champions present in the match, it was obvious that both Maika and Himeka seemed incredibly focused when they found themselves standing opposite Nanae. This would allow Alpha Female to maintain her stamina and charge forward and knock Himeka down with The Pounce to pick up the win for NSA.

+ + + + + + +

|| MATCH THREE - FUTURE OF STARDOM CHAMPIONSHIP ||

Ami Sourei (c) vs. Miyu Amasaki

Summary
The match would be a crowd pleaser, although from start to finish it would Sourei that would look like champion and would impress at every turn and would successfully retain the strap by wiping Amasaki out with the Argentine Backbreaker Facebuster to bring the match to an end. It would be noticeable that Amasaki would look in a really bad way and would be attended to by fellow Queen’s Quest member Hina who would help her unit member up to her feet.

Post-Match
Ami would be joined in the ring by Tomoaka Inaba, with Inaba whispering something into Ami’s ear. Sourei would then proceed to grab hold of the microphone and offer her praises for Amasaki and that she had high hopes for Miyu’s future. She would then reveal that herself and Inaba would team up at New Blood this coming Friday and their opponents in the tag team opponent had been confirmed as the Club Venus pairing of Xia Brookside and Mariah May.

+ + + + + + +

- KAIRI would cut a passionate promo focused on Mercedes Mone and that total disrespect she had endured on what should have been one of the great nights of her life, but instead the historic occasion at WrestleKingdom would always be marred by the unwanted arrival of Mercedes. KAIRI would explain that as the IWGP Women’s Champion she was the link that connected Stardom with New Japan and that she would do everything to be the face that both companies needed and was looking forward to kicking the crap out of Mercedes all over San Jose.

+ + + + + + +

- TJPW’s Muscle JK Strikers (Marika Kobashi & Reika Saiki) would reveal that they had both been offered a chance to compete at New Blood 7 - but that the only concern was that they would do so as opponents and that despite having not team up since 2019, they had continued to be strong friends but that with an opportunity of potential future contracts and suchlike they had no choice but to go as hard as hell against each other to impress the Stardom management group.

+ + + + + + +

|| MATCH FOUR - TRIANGLE DERBY ||
Queen’s Quest [Utami Hayashishita, Saya Kamitani & AZM]

vs.
On Tour [Serena Deeb, Madison Rayne & Julia Hart]

Summary
Queen’s Quest would tear through On Tour, with Utami, Saya and AZM just looking phenomenal with only Deeb offering any sort of challenge to what was very much a one-sided affair. The match would come to an end with AZM nailing Julia Hart with a Snap Suplex to claim the victory and maintain the unit's perfect start of three wins out of three.

+ + + + + + +

- Zoe Lucas would make her first appearance on Stardom programming for the first time since 2019. Lucas would show her clear frustrations following the lockdown and that despite having success winning championship gold at RevPro and having a good time at Pro-Wrestling: EVE she had now returned to Stardom on a full time basis and would make her return by taking on Miyu Yamashita for the SWA World Championship.

+ + + + + + +

|| MATCH FIVE - TRIANGLE DERBY ||
STARS [Mayu Iwatani, Saya Iida & Hazuki]

vs.
Club Venus [Mina Shirakawa, Mariah May & Xia Brookside]

Summary
Much of the match would be dominated on a clear dislike between Iwatani and Shirakawa, although everyone involved in the contest would be given the platform to shine and impress. The match came to an end with Iwatani pushing Mina backwards with force, only for Mariah to tag herself in with a blind tag. With Mayu unaware of the tag, May would manage to catch her off guard with the MMKO (TKO) to take the victory and give Club Venus an important second victory at the halfway stage of the round robin.

+ + + + + + +

- The final two first round match in the New Blood Tag Team Tournament would be announced via an infographic with Queen’s Quest Hina and Miyu Amasaki taking on the STARS combination of Saya Iida and Momo Kohgo, whilst in the final match COLORS’ Rina Amikura & Yuko Sakurai would team up to take on the Oedo Tai’s Rina and Starlight Kid. It would also be revealed that a member of AEW’s On Tour would feature in a Special Singles match with their opponent to be announced this Friday at New Blood 7.

+ + + + + + +

|| MAIN EVENT - TRIANGLE DERBY ||
Prominence [Risa Sera, Suzu Suzuki & Hiragi Kurumi]

vs.
YoungOED [Starlight Kid, Ruaka & Rina]

Summary
YoungOED would offer a strong challenge to Prominence, but the current Artist of Stardom would still seem to be shaking their disappointment at drawing even with Cosmic Elite and would really look to do some real damage to their opponents. The ending would come about with Kurumi wiping out Ruaka with the Black Hole Slam to pick up the win and leave YoungOED with a record of 0-3 in the Triangle Derby.

Post-Match
Prominence would celebrate the win with Suzu Suzuki looking particularly pleased with herself, only to find herself interrupted by Unagi Sayaka. Sayaka would bring up the draw between their respective trios on the first episode of Purple Moon and express her desire to get her hands on Suzu and would suggest that at Stardom 12th Anniversary - Supreme Fight she wanted to take on Suzu in a Special Singles match. Suzuki would nod her head and seem to accept the challenge.

- - - - - - - - - - -

Results
Match One: Donna Del Mondo (Mai Sakurai & Maki Itoh) def. Oedo Town Clown (Fukigen Death & Karma)
Match Two: Neo Stardom Army (Nanae Takahashi & Alpha Female) def. MaiHime (Maika & Himeka)
Match Three: Ami Sourei (c) def. Miyu Amasaki
Match Four: Queen’s Quest def. On Tour
Match Five: Club Venus def. STARS
Main Event: Prominence def. YoungOED​

 

[Deco90]

Good to see this ticking on and the shows coming out dude.

While I'm still getting to know and understand a lot of these characters, it's nice to see some people I am familiar with so it was good to see Maki Itoh make her Stardom debut and potentially create this new team.

Alpha Female such a BEAST in this environment and her picking up the win with the pounce was nice!

I enjoyed Kairi's fired up response to the interruption from Mercedes at WrestleKingdom too! I'm glad that's continuing in this Universe because the familiarity and star power of a Mercedes Mone could really benefit this BTB and Stardom, of course.

Presentation continues to be really nice and easily readable.

Enjoying it mate! Keep it coming

 

[CakeWalker]

20th January

New Blood 7 would begin with Stewart Fulton and Veda Scott sitting at the English commentary desk. The evening was crammed with all four first round matches in the New Blood Tag Tournament, as well as a match for the vacant SWA World Championship between Miyu Yamashita and Zoe Lucas. Stewart Fulton would then go on to reveal that along with the trial contest between Marika Kobashi and Reika Saiki, a second match featuring unsigned talent had been booked that would see Killer Kelly taking on Hikari Noa - with that match set to open the show.

+ + + + + + +

Mariah May and Xia Brookside would be standing backstage in the interview area, with the clear intention of cutting a promo ahead of their match in the tournament later on tonight.

Xia Brookside: Saya. Momo. Stars may just shine in your eyes, but myself and Mariah we left England together with the desire to make a name for ourselves and so far we have been able to do this alongside Mina in the Triangle Derby. And we’ve done it on our own when the two of us claimed a win over Hina and Miyu - so we can’t think of any reason why we would be worthy or deserving of becoming the inaugural New Blood champions. Mariah do you have anything to add?

Mariah May: I certainly do and what people in Stardom need to understand is that Xia brings the nice to Club Venus, whilst I bring the naughty and I am not afraid of saying how it really is. We didn’t come to play, we came to win and that is exactly what we intended on doing. I also think it's important that not only should the fans be listening, but also the wrestling of the wrestling community. The red carpet has been rolled out for Club Venus and we are more than happy to accommodate a few more like minded ladies in the future.

+ + + + + + +

|| MATCH ONE - TRIAL MATCH ||

Hikari Noa vs. Killer Kelly

Summary
- For Killer Kelly this would only be her second excursion to Japan, having wrestled in three match with Sendai Girls in April of 2019 and would face a much more familiar star in Japan Hikari Noa who had been a regular members of the TJPW for the last five few that had been capped of with a solid reign as the International Princess Champion that had spanned over 200 days last year.

- The two women would put on a good show, with both realising the importance of making a good first impression of themselves. This would result in a match that was filled with respect and neither of the two were willing to break the rules in order to gain any sort of advantage.

- The match would end with both women having hit each other with their respective finishers. Kelly had come close to tapping after being locked in the Cobra Twist and had only escaped by managing to grab the ropes, whilst Noa had managed to raise her shoulders at the last possible moment after Kelly had thrown her over with the Fisherman’s Suplex. Kelly had come charging in with a Superkick only for Noa to counter and whip Kelly over and transition it into the Japanese Leg Roll Clutch to pick up the win.

Winner: Hikari Noa

+ + + + + + +

With Noa enjoying her victory in the ring, after a respectful handshake with Killer Kelly she would pose in the ring to enjoy the moment. ‘Crusade’ would start to blast out around the Bella Salle Takadanobaba and Utami Hayashishita would walk out from the back with a smile on her face and a microphone lead in her hands.

Utami Hayashishita: Myself and Saya were both standing in the back doing our best to offer words of advice to Hina and Miyu ahead of their match later on tonight, but instead I found myself looking at your match with Kelly on the monitor with a high level of intrigue. And that if Hikari was serious about making Stardom her home and continued to impress when she was given the opportunity to, perhaps she would be able to find a home for her.

Noa wouldn’t say anything, but offer a respectful bow and smile as Utami would pose for the fans before turning to the back.

+ + + + + + +

|| MATCH TWO - NEW BLOOD TAG TOURNAMENT ||
MNTN Dew [Yuna Mizumori & Yuna Manase]

vs.
MakiMai [Maki Itoh & Mai Sakurai]

Summary
- Maki Itoh would prove to be massively over with the fans and the surge of support she would be greeted with would seem to rub off on Mai Sakurai and the pair would really prove to be a force to reckoned with with fast tags, good communication and would would show really chemistry with some effective double team maneuvers.

- MNTN Dew would also impress with Mizumori and Manase continuing to act as the youth and support structure within the Neo Stardom Army. However, at times Mizumori came off as the weak link in the chain and would make a few mistakes that would really put the pressure on herself and her partner.

- The finish to the match would come by way of a double team finish with Maki Itoh connecting with the Flying Big Head (Diving Headbutt) before Sakurai would waiting patiently for Manase to stumble back to her feet before felling her like a tree with a monstrous Big Boot to claim the victory.

Winners: MakiMai (Mai Sakurai & Maki Itoh)

+ + + + + + +

|| MATCH THREE - NEW BLOOD TAG TOURNAMENT ||
Tsikuri [Ami Sourei & Tomoka Inaba]

vs.
Club Venus [Mariah May & Xia Brookside]

Summary
- Tomoka Inaba was the only person in the match that hadn’t wrestled on Purple Moon on Monday, and therefore had an extra spring in her step in the contest that would seem to catch Xia and Maria off slightly. Inaba would shock everyone and connect with a kick so hard it would be heard in the back row with the Tomoka Kick that would almost result in Brookside falling to a pin, if Mariah hadn’t intervened to break up the count.

- Club Venus would get back into the swing of things and as soon as Sourei was back in the ring, they would do everything in their power to keep the Future of Stardom Champion from tagging out and really capitalising on the fact that she had only just defended the belt a few days ago and would almost find herself suffering a big loss when Brooskide would nail her Broken Wings (Double Knee Backbreaker), but Sourei would kick out at the last possible moment.

- Sourei would look shattered and after she managed to tag Tomoka back in, Inaba would find herself having to handle business for the rest of the match and would be levelled in an impressive manner by Mariah May with the MMKO to claim the win and advance Club Venus to the semi finals.

Winners: Club Venus (Mariah May & Xia Brookside)

+ + + + + + +

Serena Deeb would make her way out from the back, with it having been announced that a member of On Tour would compete on tonight’s card. It would be confirmed by Veda Scott that this in fact would be Deeb first ever singles match ever on Stardom. Deeb would look towards the back and request a microphone as she would begin to speak.

Serena Deeb: I was sent here by Tony Khan to act as representative of All Elite Wrestling, but unfortunately I have been sidled with two women who are less than up to par. Madison Rayne is a washed out bimbo who was relevant before the likes of Angelina Love had melted off her face and an edgelord chipmunk in Julia Hart. Honestly, I don’t have high hopes for the remainder of the Derby and if I had the choice I would just forfeit the rest of our matches. But that's not how that is going to go. However, I am looking towards the back now and wondering who on earth I am going to be facing tonight.

‘Don’t Stop The Party’ would start to blast around the arena with the Tokyo fans getting really excited as Ryo Mizunami would make her first appearance on Stardom in over ten years. And would have a big grin on her face as she would point at Deeb before taking hold of a mouth guard and pop it into her mouth before walking down towards the ring.

+ + + + + + +

|| MATCH FOUR - SPECIAL SINGLES MATCH ||

Serena Deeb vs. Ryo Mizunami

Summary
- It would be confirmed that the match would have a strict ten minute time limit and prior to the bell being rung Deeb and Mizunami would seem to exchange some words before shaking hands and heading back to their respective corners with the referee calling for the bell to kick start the contest.

- Both women would feature in a really even contest with both women impressing and despite the fact that Deeb was very much putting herself forward as the villian, they would both be met with claps of applause after varying technical encounters whether it be in the form of chain wrestling or technical transitions and reversals.

- Both women would come close to winning the match. Deeb would almost force Ryo to tap out after locking in the Serenity Lock (high angle calf hold), but Mizunami would dig deep and reach out to the ropes and manage to grab hold of them to force a rope break. Mizunami would also come close to winning after leaping off the turnbuckle with the Guillotine Drop (Diving Legdrop) with Deeb managing to push up the shoulders at the last possible moment. Both women were really starting to ramp the pressure on each other, before the ring bell would be rung to signal that the ten minute time limit had been reached.

- Both women would look slightly frustrated with the result, with the fans clearly wanting to see more from these two women in the future.

Result: Time Limit Draw

+ + + + + + +

|| MATCH FIVE - NEW BLOOD TAG TOURNAMENT ||
Queen’s Quest [Hina & Miyu Amasaki]

vs.
Milky Way [Saya Iida & Momo Kohgo]

Summary
- Both teams would feature in a very even contest, with it clear that Kohgo and Amasaki had both acquired additional fans in recent weeks despite the fact they had fallen short in respective title challenges. Iida would also be met with massive cheers of support, and had really been impressive in the Triangle Derby alongside Iwatani and Hazuki despite the fact that the trio had only secured one win so far in the Derby so far.

- With no real standout stars in the contest, all four Joshi would really be given a chance under the spotlight in a number of varying spots. Whether it be Momo hitting the 619, Amasaki connecting with Jumping DDT, Hina making height with a drop kick or Iida with the Vertical Drop Brainbuster the fans were only their feet and really enjoying that once again all those involved were putting all their focus into progress in this tournament for these brand new title belts.

- The match would end with Momo and Hina in the ring and Kohgo would wipe out Hina with a Swandive Dropkick, with Iida charging forward and knocking Amasaki off the ring apron that would prove to be enough for Momo to secure the the win and advance Milky Way into the semis.

Winners: Milk Way (Momo Kohgo & Saya Iida)

+ + + + + + +

- Cameras would cut backstage to footage of Zoe Lucas being attended to by a number of referees and medical staff backstage, with Stewart Fulton stating that Lucas been attacked backstage by an unknown assailant and it had just been confirmed that the the official head doctor for Stardom had ruled that Lucas would be unable to compete in tonight’s match and that as things stood that match for the vacant SWA World Championship would have to be cancelled.

+ + + + + + +

|| MATCH SIX - TRIAL MATCH ||

Marika Kobashi vs. Reika Saiki

Summary
- The two former tag team partners would feature in another interesting trial match, with New Blood continuing to be the platform for the young and new talent within the walls of Stardom. A few chants for Muscle JK Strikers would be scattered around the audience, with a clear suggestion that pockets of the crowd were also followers of TJPW.

- A clear difference in quality would be noticed after just a couple of minutes though, with Reika really showing herself as head and shoulder above her competition and would starting working heavily into Kobashi by connecting with a heavy flurry of kicks and punches before springing off the ropes and nailing Marika with a Shining Wizard before flipping her over and locking in the Camel Clutch to claim the victory.

- Marika would look absolutely dejected following the loss, whilst Saiki had a massive smile on her face as she would have her hand raced to signal her as the winner of the contest.

Winner: Reika Saiki

+ + + + + + +

|| MATCH SEVEN - NEW BLOOD TAG TOURNAMENT ||
Barracudas [Rina & Starlight Kid]

vs.
COLORS [Rina Amikura & Yuko Sakurai]

Summary
- The final match in the first round would end up being the most one-sided with Rina and SLK, so much so that at no point was Yuko Sakurai even capable of tagging in. This was largely due to the fact that in the early minutes of the match, unsighted by the referee Rina would smash a steel chair into Sakurai’s lower legs before taking hold of her and nailing her with an STO down onto the same crumpled chair and would seem to have bumped her head in the bump and would be attend to by a medic at ringside with it seemed she might be suffering from a concussion.

- With Rina very much on her own, Rina and SLK would run circle around their opponent and would very methodically wear Amikura down before Starlight Kid would take Amikura off her feet with a Shiranui before Rina would follow up with a Jackknife Hold to secure the three count.

Winners: Barracudas (Rina & Starlight Kid)

+ + + + + + +

Takaaki Kidani would make his way out from the back and confirm that the Semi Finals of the New Blood Tag Team Tournament would take at New Blood 8 and that the management group had drawn lots and the two matches in the next round had been decided with MakiMai [Sakurai & Itoh] set to face Milky Way [Iida & Kohgo], whilst Club Venus [May & Brookside] would do battle with Barracudas [Rina & Starlight Kid].

+ + + + + + +

The camera would cut backstage to find former WWE Superstar Jinny Couture standing with a microphone in her hand in what was Jinny’s first ever appearance on Stardom.

Jinny Couture: For those who don’t know who I am, I want to apologise for your lack of education and general ignorance. My name is Jinny Couture and I am the face of the Couture Club and first want to clarify that unfortunately Zoe Lucas was unwilling to listen to reason and so certain actions were taken that were unfortunate, but that was just unfortunately how business tends to go in this industry. I want to apologise that the match this evening for the SWA World Championship was cancelled, but I personally don’t think anyone particularly really cares about it. Sometime in the next few weeks, once I have packed my bags I will be making Tokyo my new home away from home and perhaps some of my friends will also appear from out of the shadows.

+ + + + + + +

Stewart Fulton would announce that a replacement for Zoe Lucas had been found and that Marvelous wrestler Takumi Iroha who had been present in the building and had been drafted into tonight’s main event would face Miyu Yamashita for the SWA World Championship.

|| MAIN EVENT - SWA WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP ||

Miyu Yamashita vs. Takumi Iroha

Summary
- For someone who hadn’t originally been scheduled to compete, Takumi Iroha would impress with a great attitude and would look hot out of the gates despite having had any sort of proper warm up or preparation. On the other side of things, Miyu looked somewhat annoyed and it was suggested by Fulton that perhaps she wasn’t getting the marquee match that she had originally been hoping for. Veda countered that arguably Iroha was a bigger opponent than Lucas, but without preparation the advantage was very much in Yamashita’s court.

- Iroha would impress and the closest she got to claiming the win would be after she connected with a solid forearm smash before taking hold of Miyu and bringing her down hard on the canvas with a Bochi Bomb (Elevated sitout powerbomb) with Takumi reached a two count before Yamashita would kick out.

- Yamashita would build up a head of steam though and really star to work down Iroha, before crashing into Iroha with Crash Rabbit Heat (Running knee strike) and then transitioning her body into her version of the modified armlock the TRF with Takumi rolling around on the floor in clear pain and coming incredibly close to tapping out.

- However, a woman would leap the barricade and slide into the ring with Veda Scott revealing her as former EVE Champion Alex Windsor, who had been the woman that Yamashita had beaten for that particular belt. Windsor would charge forward and nail Miyu with a Penalty Kick that would result in the referee calling for the bell and ending the match via DQ.

Winner: Miyu Yamashita via Disqualification [SWA World Championship remains vacant]

- New Blood 7 with Alex Windsor picking up the vacant SWA World Championship and looking at it before lifting it up into the air as if she had won the belt herself before flipping off the hands with her free hand and being met with boos from the local crowd.​

 

[Canadian Dragon]

 

[CakeWalker]

Episode Four - 23rd January [Funabashi Arena, Chiba]

- The fourth episode of Purple Moon would be a direct followup to New Blood 7 that had taken place only a few days ago and Fulton and Scott would reflect on some of key moments that had taken place at the event, with a particular focus on a number of debuts and surprise returns that had taken over the course of a memorable evening.

- Stewart would then remind fans that in just a few weeks time, the first supercard of 2023 would take place as the Osaka Prefectural Gymnasium on the 4th February, with Veda adding that on next week’s episode of Purple Moon the card would see every single team compete in round four of the Triangle Derby.

+ + + + + + +

|| MATCH ONE ||
On Tour [Madison Rayne & Julia Hart]

vs.
STARS [Mayu Iwatani & Hazuki]

Summary
Serena Deeb would trail a few steps behind Hart and Rayne, although rather than watch them from ringside would take a seat with the English commentary team. Deeb would focus on two topics, the disappointment of her match at New Blood 7 ending in a time limit draw and that she grew more and more annoyed with Hart and Rayne and had no faith in her teammates leading into the rest of the Derby.

Iwatani and Hazuki would very much be the stronger of the two teams though and there seemed very little doubt about the direction of the contest. Hazuki would end the match by nailing Julia Hart with Atomic Bomb's Away (Diving Seated Senton) to pick up the win for STARS.

Post-Match
After the contest Hazuki would grab hold of the microphone and would talk of a desire of becoming the Highspeed Champion once again and that it would be nice to be seen as a potential singles star for the future. Hazuki would add that she very much enjoyed being a member of STARS - but that eventually she wanted to be recognised as her own woman and not just an additional member of a unit.

+ + + + + + +

- Alex Windsor would cut a promo backstage in which she would explain her actions at New Blood 7. Windsor would talk about the EVE Championship very much being something of the past, but she very much had a target locked on Miyu Yamashita and was very much looking forward to being a disruptive force and doing everything in her power to prevent Miyu from winning the SWA World Championship. Winsor would end with the comment that she didn’t even need to be involved in the contest, to prevent Miyu from becoming the next holder of the strap.

+ + + + + + +

|| MATCH TWO ||
Queen’s Quest [AZM & Saya Kamitani]

vs.
YoungOED [SLK & Ruaka]

Summary
Queen’s Quest had previously beaten YoungOED in the Triangle Derby, so it was clear going into this contest that SLK & Ruaka wanted a degree of revenge although going up against two active champions was never going to be an easy task. However, YoungOED would come into the contest all guns blazing and Starlight Kid would claim the victory by nailing AZM with a well timed Sling Blade.

Post-Match
After the bell, SLK and AZM would come face to face with SLK making a gesture towards the High Speed Championship. However, before either Saya or Ruaka could pull either of their respective unit members away from the fight it would be Hazuki who would appear from the back and tell SLK she would have to wait her turn. AZM would smile at both women and simply state that at Supreme Fight it seemed she would be defending her title in a Triple Threat Match and it would serve as a reminder to both Oedo Tai and STARS that the only unit worth their salt was Queen’s Quest.

+ + + + + + +

|| MATCH THREE - TRIANGLE DERBY ||
Neo Stardom Army [Alpha Female, Nanae Takahashi & Yuu]

vs.
MaiHime & Lady [Maika, Himeka & Lady C]

Summary
Lady C would very much be the weakest member of her team and Neo Stardom Army would very much make this the focus of this strategy, with if anything was the reason for their undoing. NSA would be so intent on wearing down Lady C, that Nanae would totally miss the fact that Maika had blind tagger herself in and would nail Takahashi with a Judo Throw before locking in a quick Cross Armbreaker which would surprise everyone as she managed to force her opponent to tap out giving MaiHime & Lady the victory.

+ + + + + + +

|| MATCH FOUR ||

Natsupoi vs. Suzu Suzuki

Summary
The matchup had pretty obvious intentions behind it, and that was for Suzu to face one of the Cosmic Angels ahead of her match against Unagi Sayaka at Supreme Fight. Natsupoi would put up a good fight and do her best to offer Suzu a real challenge, but it was far in stating that Suzuki’s stock was up and she looked really dangerous as soon as she started to build up momentum. Eventually Suzu would nail Natsupoi with a Lariat to the back of the neck with a German Suplex Hold to pick up the W.

Post-Match
Suzu Suzuki would request a microphone and name drop Sayaka and talk that as much as she was enjoying participating in the Triangle Derby, as one third of the Artist of Stardom Champions there was no really benefit of actually winning the competition, but that it was proving to be a great scouting tool for Prominence of what to expect from whoever their next challengers ended up being. Suzuki though would talk that she fully intended her battle with Unagi to actually mean something, and suggest that the two meet in a style she was more than happy to treat the fans to. A Hardcore Match and would end if Sayaka cowered from the challenge then she wouldn’t be surprised in the slightest.

+ + + + + + +

|| MATCH FIVE - TRIANGLE DERBY ||
Abarenbo GE [Syuri, MIRAI & Ami Sourei]

vs.
Cosmic Elite [Tam Nakano, SAKI & Unagi Sayaka]

Summary
Abarenbo GE and Cosmic Elite would feature in a standout contest in the Derby, with all six Joshi really shining through and it being evidently clear that Takano, SAIKI and Sayaka were a real draw and were very fast becoming a popular trio with the fans with a line of new merchandise being worn by various pockets of the fans in attendance. Syuri, MIRAI and Sourei though would continue to show why God’s Eye were arguably the hottest new unit in the Joshi wrestling scene. The match would finish anticlimactically, as the match would reach its fifteen minute limit and a draw would be declared. Cosmic Elite would look particularly annoyed as they would remain undefeated, but have not picked up their second draw in the Derby.

+ + + + + + +

- The BariBari Bombers would be in the backstage area preparing for their main-event match in the Derby against Gold Ship. Giulia would offer high praise for Mai Sakurai before inviting Maki Itoh into the shot. Giulia would see that from the last two matches she had seen from the pair, had been more than enough for her to make a decision and that as of this moment Maki was worthy of being part of their little club and would present her with her very own Donna del Mondo shirt officially patching Itoh into the unit.

+ + + + + + +

|| MAIN EVENT - TRIANGLE DERBY ||
BariBari Bombers [Giulia, Thekla & Mai Sakurai]

vs.
Gold Ship [Natsuko Tora, Momo Watanabe & Saki Kashima]

Summary
The main-event would prove to be an absolute banger with the top members of both units really putting on quite the blockbuster with both teams throwing everything into the hat with a clear desire of climbing up the totem pole, especially considering the fact that between them they had only achieved on win in the derby so far. The match would be littered with near finishes, but the match victory would be achieved with just 30 seconds left on the match clock as Oedo Tai’s leader Natsuko Tora would prevent Giulia from tagging out and wipe out the reigning World of Stardom Champion with a Swinging Side Slam to claim a pinfall victory over Giulia

Post-Match
With Giulia down on the back, Tora would shout instructions at Watanabe and Kashima with the pair sliding in the World of Stardom Championship. Natsuko Tora would smile and pick up the belt and and look at it for a moment and smile before kneeling down over Giulia and resting the belt back on the champion’s wait with very clear intentions behind her action as Gold Ship would celebrate their first victory in the Triangle Derby as Purple Moon would come to a close.

- - - - - - - - - - -

Results
Match One: STARS [Mayu Iwatani & Hazuki] def. On Tour [Madison Rayne & Julia Hart]
Match Two: YoungOED [SLK & Ruaka] def. Queen’s Quest [AZM & Saya Kamitani]
Match Three: MaiHime & Lady [Maika, Himeka & Lady C] def. Neo Stardom Army [Alpha Female, Nanae Takahashi & Yuu]
Match Four: Suzu Suzuki def. Natsupoi
Match Five: Cosmic Elite [Tam Nakano, SAKI & Unagi Sayaka] vs.Abarenbo GE [Syuri, MIRAI & Ami Sourei] - DRAW
Main Event: Gold Ship [Natsuko Tora, Momo Watanabe & Saki Kashima] def. BariBari Bombers [Giulia, Thekla & Mai Sakurai]​

 

[CakeWalker]

The Triangle Derby has reached the midway point, with each trio having competed in three matches each. With the standing for each pool shown below:

​

Team​	Points ​
Cosmic Elite​	4​
Club Venus​	4​
Neo Stardom Army​	2​
BariBari Bombers​	2​
On Tour​	0​
YoungOED​	0​

- As it stands Cosmic Elite are the only team in the Red Pool that haven't lost a match, but only have four points due to have two time limit draws against both Prominence & Abarenbo GE

- On Tour & YoungOED are the only two teams in the Triangle Derby that are without a win.

Team​	Points​
Queen's Quest​	6​
Prominence​	5​
Abarenbo GE​	5​
MaiHime & Lady​	4​
STARS​	2​
Gold Ship​	2​

- Queen's Quest remain the only team in the Triangle Derby to have a perfect record of 3-0.

- Prominence and Abarenbo GE are also yet to lose a match, with the pair each having a time limit draw to their name.

+ + + + +

Purple Moon Episode Five comes live from Yamada Green Dome Maebashi, Gunma, Japan - with all Round Four matches taking place on the go-home show in the build up to Supreme Fight 2023. The card will see two units clash, with two teams from Donna del Mondo and two teams representing Oedo Tai going head-to-head knowing that only one team from the unit is able to leave with the win. The complete fixtures for the card are as follows:

Prominence [Risa Sera, Suzu Suzuki & Hiragi Kurumi] vs. Neo Stardom Army [Alpha Female, Nanae Takahashi & Yuu]
BariBari Bombers [Giulia, Thekla & Mai Sakurai] vs. MaiHime & Lady [Maika, Himeka & Lady C]
Club Venus [Mina Shirakawa, Mariah May & Xia Brookside] vs. Abarenbo GE [Syuri, Mirai & Ami Sourei]
On Tour [Serena Deeb, Madison Rayne & Julia Hart] vs. STARS [Mayu Iwatani, Saya Iida & Hazuki]
Cosmic Elite [Tam Nakano, SAKI & Unagi Sayaka] vs. Queen’s Quest [Utami Hayashishita, Saya Kamitani & AZM]
YoungOED [Starlight Kid, Ruaka & Rina] vs. Gold Ship [Natsuko Tora, Momo Watanabe & Saki Kashima]

+ + + + +

After Purple Moon went off the air, World of Stardom Champion Giulia confirmed that at Supreme Fight 2023 she found herself in a position where she had to offer Natsuko Tora a shot at her championship belt. This would confirm that the leader of Oedo Tai would be the first Joshi to challenge the new champion for the belt. Giulia would reflect that she had been hoping for the BariBari Bombers to have a more positive start in the Triangle Derby, but recognized that she had a target on her back and everyone wanted an excuse to get that much closer to the red belt. Giulia would close her promo by stating that fully intended on becoming a double champion alongside Thekla and that she very much had the desire for Mafia Bella to become the Goddess of Stardom Champions sometime in the near future.​

 

[CakeWalker]

Episode Five - 30th January [Yamada Green Dome Maebashi, Gunma, Japan]

- The fifth episode of Purple Moon would begin with Stewart Fulton and Veda Scott welcoming the viewers to the final show before Supreme Fight, and remind everyone that tonight was a jam packed with every single team in the Triangle Derby competing tonight in the fourth round of the tournament. The pair would then discuss the fact that only three matches had been booked so far for the Supreme Fight, so there was a whole night for management to put either a few more title matches together or perhaps a few more contests in the Triangle Derby would also feature on the card.

+ + + + + + +

|| MATCH ONE - TRIANGLE DERBY ||
Neo Stardom Army [Alpha Female, Nanae Takahashi & Yuu]

vs.
Prominence [Risa Sera, Suzu Suzuki & Hiragi Kurumi]

Summary
The opening contest of the night would see the Goddess of Stardom Champions and Artist of Stardom Champions going head to head in a really interesting match to kick off the episode. With five champions represented in the contest, it was strange to consider that Alpha Female was the only member of the match without a belt and this seemed to be the factor that seemed to really motivate her in the contest. And this ramp of pressure was really starting to build up, until Kurumi would prove to be somewhat of a brick wall leaving NSA’s leader no choice but to duck and tag in Yuu. Hiragi would continue to be deadly force though and would take hold of her opponent and lay her out with the Nut Driver to pick up the W.

+ + + + + + +

|| MATCH TWO - TRIANGLE DERBY ||
STARS [Mayu Iwatani, Saya Iida & Hazuki]

vs.
On Tour [Serena Deeb, Madison Rayne & Julia Hart]

Summary
Madison Rayne and Julia Hart would find themselves in a difficult position, as Serena Deeb would come out to the ring with them, but would refuse to actually get involved in the contest and throw insults and abuse at her teammates. Saya Iida would prove to be the most impressive member of the STARS trio and would pick up the win for her team by nailing Rayne with a Dropkick before transitioning into the Iida Bridge to pick up the W.

Post-Match
Saya Iida would reach for a microphone and name drop Ami Sourei. Iida would comment that she noticed that Ami seemed to have her schedule clear this weekend because she not only wanted to hold a title that she had never actually lost, but that there would be nothing sweeter than if both herself and Hazuki would walk out of Supreme Fight with two titles to show for their troubles. Saya would say that she didn’t need a response from Sourei because she had already had the match signed off by management. Saya would end by stating she would remain at ringside to scout out Ami in the evening’s next contest.

+ + + + + + +

|| MATCH THREE - TRIANGLE DERBY ||
Abarenbo GE [Syuri, MIRAI & Ami Sourei]

vs.
Club Venus [Mina Shirakawa, Mariah May & Xia Brookside]

Summary
It was clear that with Saya Iida watching Ami Sourei, the Future of Stardom Champion seemed somewhat flustered and was very aware that her every move was being watched by someone she knew she would be battling in the coming days. The match would be quite the tough contest, with Mina Shirakawa and Syuri really going at it with the aggression levels between both really being felt between the pair that would end with Mina nailing her with the Glamorous Driver MINA to secure the victory.

Post-Match
With Club Venus enjoying the victory and claiming their third win the Triangle Derby and looking closer and closer to claiming a top two spot in the Red Pool. Before anyone else realised what was going on Syuri would slide into the ring and chase Mariah and Xia out of the ring before nailing Min over the head with a kendo stick. Syuri would be heard screaming that she would have her revenge at Supreme Fight and that Shirakawa better show up if she knew what was best for her.

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|| MATCH FOUR - TRIANGLE DERBY ||
MaiHime & Lady [Maika, Himeka & Lady C]

vs.
BariBari Bombers [Giulia, Thekla & Mai Sakurai]

Summary
In this Donna Del Mondo superfight, newest recruit Maki Itoh would come out with the BariBari Bombers meaning that all seven members of the unit were present and it would officially be the first time all seven members of the unit were on camera together. The match would be filled with friendly competition, whilst at the same time neither trio would go easy on the other. The victory would be claimed by Thekla who would finish the contest by hitting Himeka with a Superkick to scoop an important second win for herself, Sakurai and Giulia.

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- Backstage Mercedes Mone would cut a promo in which she would express her frustration that KAIRI had the nerve to even mention her name and that the only place she belonged was underneath her shoes. Mercedes would suggest that perhaps she and KAIRI should meet each other at Supreme Fight and each bring a tag team partner of their own, in which would serve as a perfect tune-up contest ahead of their match at Battle In The Valley.

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|| MATCH FIVE - TRIANGLE DERBY ||
Cosmic Elite [Tam Nakano, SAKI & Unagi Sayaka]

vs.
Queen’s Quest [Utami Hayashishita, Saya Kamitani & AZM]

Summary
Cosmic Elite and Queen’s Quest would come into the contest without having suffered a loss, but Queen’s Quest were very much the in-form team as the only team with a record of 3-0. Both teams would continue to put their best feet forward and with two very different looks and styles the fans would really be treated to a great overall contest. The match would end with Nakano and Kamitani. Tam would look to claim the win by lifting Saya over her head with a Tiger Suplex, but rather than take the full impact Kamitani would turn her body and instead push herself upwards and lock Nakano in the Sickle Hold forcing her opponent to tap. This would not only push Queen’s Quest further up the standing in the Blue Pool, whilst Cosmic Elite would suffer their first loss in the Derby.

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|| MAIN EVENT - TRIANGLE DERBY ||
Gold Ship [Natsuko Tora, Momo Watanabe & Saki Kashima]

vs.
YoungOED [Starlight Kid, Ruaka & Rina]

Summary
The match would very much be a tale of the present versus the future, and with YoungOED without a win to their name there was a certain amount of pressure on all three Joshi and even more so than that of AEW’s On Tour. Following their success at New Blood 7 Rina and SLK would bring an extra level of spice, but it just wouldn’t be enough. The finish would come about when Momo Watanbe would launch herself off the turnbuckle on top of Rina with the Diving Somato to claim the win Gold Ship. The show would end with Giulia making her way down to the ring the ring and sharing the ring with Tora, with the two staring face to the face as Purple Moon would fade to black with the Stardom fans knowing the next time they both met the World of Stardom Championship would be on the line.

- - - - - - - - - -

Results
Match One: Prominence [Risa Sera, Suzu Suzuki & Hiragi Kurumi] def. Neo Stardom Army [Alpha Female, Nanae Takahashi & Yuu]
Match Two: STARS [Mayu Iwatani, Saya Iida & Hazuki] def. On Tour [Serena Deeb, Madison Rayne & Julia Hart]
Match Three: Club Venus [Mina Shirakawa, Mariah May & Xia Brookside] def. Abarenbo GE [Syuri, MIRAI & Ami Sourei]
Match Four: BariBari Bombers [Giulia, Thekla & Mai Sakurai] def. MaiHime & Lady [Maika, Himeka & Lady C]
Match Five: Queen’s Quest [Utami Hayashishita, Saya Kamitani & AZM] def. Cosmic Elite [Tam Nakano, SAKI & Unagi Sayaka]
Main Event: Gold Ship [Natsuko Tora, Momo Watanabe & Saki Kashima] def. YoungOED [Starlight Kid, Ruaka & Rina]
​

 

[CakeWalker]

4th February [Osaka Prefectural Gymnasium, Osaka]

Pre-Show Match

Hikari Noa and Reika Saiki both impressed in their respective trial matches at New Blood 7 and have been given a chance to shine as part of the pre-show. Management has promised that whichever Joshi walks out as the winner would be offered a chance to win a permanent contract at New Blood 8. It would also be announced that going forward, unproven talent would most likely have to jump similar hurdles to earn a place on the permanent roster.


1st Match

The night’s opening contest will be the ‘Naniwa Roulette Single Elimination Tournament’ with an exact set of rule in place:

- two wrestlers begin the match, with each match having a five minute time limit.
- a win can be achieved by pin, submission or being thrown over the top rope.
- if the match ends in a time limit draw, both wrestlers are eliminated from the contest.
- as the soon as the fall occurs,the next entrant is decided by the Naniwa Roulette
- the final winner earns the right to challenge for any Stardom title of their choice.
- a limit would be placed on all units, with a maximum of two entrants into the tournament.

There are a total of sixteen confirmed entrants coming into the contest:

Cosmic Angels - Tam Nakano & Waka Tsukiyama
Donna del Mondo - Thekla & Lady C
God’s Eye - MIRAI & Konami
Neo Stardom Army - Alpha Female & Yuna Manase
Oedo Tai - Rina & Karma
Prominence - Risa Shera & Hiragi Kurumi
Queen’s Quest - Utami Hayashishita & Miyu Amasaki
STARS - Mayu Iwatani & Momo Kohgo


2nd Match

Ami Sourei has already defended the Future of Stardom Championship once this year, as she claimed a convincing win over Miyu Amasaki on the third episode of Purple Moon in what was her second successful defence of the belt. Saya Iida has being put on a strong account of herself for STARS in the Derby, and following a strong win over On Tour putting herself forward as the next challenge for Sourei’s belt - with a clear intention of wanting to reclaim a championship that she never lost, but rather was forced to vacate during to a long-term injury. For Sourei this will surely be the toughest defence so far and arguably the toughest singles match of her four year career so far.


3rd Match

This Special Singles Match was a result of the aftermath of the Triangle Derby match between Abarenbo GE and Club Venus. It was obvious that the former world champion Syuri was far from pleased that she found herself pinned by Mina for the three-count and would end up completely snapping and attacking Shirakawa with a kendo stick following the contest.

In the days that followed Mina Shirakawa made a statement, that she would not tolerate the level of disrespect she was shown and accepted Syuri’s challenge to meet at Supreme Fight. A strong performance during this contest, will surely put the winner one step closer to being the next person to challenge for the World of Stardom Championship.


4th Match

AZM tenth championship sees her take on two Joshi who she has previously been involved with in past High Speed Championship matches, with both Starlight Kid and Hazuki having both been past holders of this belt. AZM made it clear that she wasn’t worried about the challenge offered by either of her opponents and so welcomed the challenge of facing both of them in the same match. If AZM retains the strap, then she will become very close to holding the title for an entire calendar year. This is an achievement only held by four Josh previously and one has to assume that sooner or later AZM might be considered for higher honours in the future.


5th Match

The rivalry between Sayaka and Suzuki can be rooted all the way back to the first episode of Purple Moon where Cosmic Elite and Prominence’s Derby match ended in a time limit draw. After the contest Sayaka would openly criticise Suzu and be very candid in announcing her desire to have a one-on-one contest with her younger counterpart in the future. Two weeks later Sayaka would come following Prominence’s victory over YoungOED and the two would come to some sort of agreement to face each other at Supreme Fight.

Suzu would go on to express her desire of facing Sayaka and would add an extra element to the contest by having it contested under Hardcore Rules, which Unagi accepted off-screen. Although not official, many Stardom fans feel that whoever walks out of Osaka the winner will in many ways be the next in line for a shot at the World of Stardom Championship.


Co-Main Event

Kairi and Mercedes Mone are lined up to face each other for the IWGP Women’s Championship at Battle of the Valley in San Jose on the 18th February, with this match having been in the works since Mone attacked Kairi following her victory over Nakano at Wrestle Kingdom 17. As part of the build on the last episode of Purple Moon, Mercedes expressed her desire of having a tune up match and bringing a mystery partner to the contest.

During the buildup press conference, Mercede Mone would reveal Tessa Blanchard as her partner at Supreme Fight. Tessa would express her personal motivation of returning to Stardom for the first time since 2017 and really wanted to add some major championship belts to her record and that having been both the Reina de Reinas Champion and the Impact Knockouts Champion having success in Japan would really add another feather in her cap and get her career back on track.

Kairi’s partner announcement would be met with massive enthusiasm from the fans as it would be revealed that Arisa Hoshiki would step out of retirement and wrestle for the first time in nearly three years. Arisa wouldn’t confirm whether this match would be a one time match or whether she was considering returning to Stardom on a more permanent basis. It would be confirmed that the Stardom Special Tag Team match would be the evening’s Co-Main Event, with it being clearly stated that there was an extra importance considering the importance of an IWGP recognised belt very much guaranteed to be represented on future Stardom programming moving forward.


Main Event

Giulia is set to defend the World of Stardom Championship for the first time since winning the belt from Syuri at Stardom Dream Queendom 2022. Giulia has been actively competing in the Triangle Derby alongside Thekla and Mai Sakurai as a member of the BariBari Bombers, and so this will also be the first singles contest that the champion will have wrestled in since becoming the champion.

Following the match between the BariBari Bombers and Gold Ship, with the victory achieved by Natsuko Tora hitting the champion with the Swinging Side Slam. After the result, Tora picked up the belt and sent a clear message to the champion. After Purple Moon went off air, Giulia would cut a post-show promo and confirm that she would in fact put the red belt on the line against Tora.

Tora has only challenged for the World Tile once in career, when she fell short to then champion Utami Hayashishita at Stardom Yokohama Dream Cinderella in Summer [July 4th, 2021]. Will Tora win her first singles title and prove to be the strong leader that Oedo Tai needs to take the next step forward or will Giulia continue to show herself as the face of the company moving into this new era for Joshi wrestling.

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Predictions are welcomed with open arms.​