WhiteTail Wrestling

The first ever Stardom show took place at Shin-Kiba 1st Ring in front of a crowd of 466 on the 23rd of January 2011.

The opening match was a tag encounter Nanae Takahashi the most experienced wrestler in the promotion teamed with Iris against the team of high speed wrestler Natsuki Taiyo & Yuzuki Aikawa in just her second match. The first match in the history of Stardom ends up being an excellent ***3/4 match. The match did a good job of never exposing the inexperience of Iris and Aikawa with Iris rarely in the match and when she was she maintained a fast lucha style offense which you would expect from a Mexican performer. Aikawa used a kick heavy offense which she was clearly confident with perhaps too kick heavy at times and she showed glimpses of being an excellent performer far above her level of experience. Aikawa also has a great look and with her idol background she has the potential to be a major star. Taiyo and Takahashi had some great showdowns with some physical action which gave Takahashi the upper hand but also some moments where Taiyo would use her high speed style to gain near falls. The match was a little slow to start but the final few minutes was quite intense with some good moments where first Taiyo would gain a near fall and then Takahashi including perhaps my favorite moment of the match where Taiyo goes for the code red but is countered into the B driver. Aikawa spends a long time in the ring at the end of the match and got some near falls on Takahashi but she got some help from Taiyo who would intervene whenever it looked like Takahashi would finish off the match including when Takahashi landed the top rope splash for a certain fall that is broken up at two by Taiyo but when Iris intervenes and dives onto Taiyo from the outside the path is open to Takahashi who wins a slap battle and then the match after a bridging back suplex.

A thankfully short match between two green wrestlers. Eri Susa who was dressed like a schoolgirl had some moments but was always vulnerable to her opponent Mika Nagano who was dressed like a fighter and used numerous submissions including a cross armbreaker which she used to gain the submission victory. **

The next match was hard to rate as Haruka a small child took on Natsuki Taiyo in a mask. This match was known as a kids fight and these matches involving Haruka would become an early fixture of Stardom shows and like this match most would end in a five minute draw.

The first match in the careers of both Mayu Iwatani the icon of Stardom and Arisa Hoshiki took place next. It’s clear from the opening bell that both women are green and inexperienced but the match is not terrible and has value in seeing particularly Iwatani right at the beginning of her career before she became one of the finest women’s wrestlers in the world. The match begins with chain wrestling with some striking entering into the match later. The wrestling and the striking isn’t all that good and Iwatani looks tired by the half way point. The match does improve a little towards the end with a slap battle that had a little intensity and a few submission attempts. Hoshiki wins the match using the Brazillian kick that she would become known for with one stunning and Iwatani and the next ending the match. **1/4

The main event of this show featured Yoko Bito taking on Yoshiko in a very good match. Intense and physical right from the start in a way that was lacking from other matches other than the opener. Bito tries to use her strikes in particular her strong kicking skills with Yoshiko using strength and power and a bit of cheating with hair pulls and chokes. After a short bit of action where both women attempt some pinfalls Yoshiko begins to take control attempting submissions using choke holds and gaining a close near fall after a middle rope senton. Despite this dominance Bito was always dangerous and she gets the win with a spin kick from nowhere. ***1/4

Show Thoughts

A memorable first show from Stardom which considering that the majority of the wrestlers were right at the beginning of their careers was very well done. The opening match was excellent with the experienced wrestlers protecting the green ones and a main event that had a good level of intensity from two wrestlers that were clearly seen as two of the brightest stars in the early days of the promotion. To see Mayu Iwatani in her first match is important for wrestling history given her success as the icon of Stardom and one of the finest wrestlers of her generation. A show well worth watching.