Mercedes' belt looks like it should connect with some other belt and become a giant mystical Lucha Underground medallion.

TJPW

Spoiler

Rika retained. Bee is her next challenger

Mizuki retained. She remains double crown.

 

Edited April 15, 20233 yr by Red King

I am not too familiar with how Stardom is traditionally booked but 

Spoiler

Mercedes must be dropping the belt to Mayu right?  She's been very dominant in every encounter they've had.

Which then begs the question, what's next? 

Not happy with MIRAI winning Cinderella again. It really should've been Waka in that final. But with MIRAI winning I'm positive Saya retains over Mina to set-up MIRAI winning the white belt.

James

Re: Waka

Spoiler

At least she was still made to matter when Mina asked her to join.

 

46 minutes ago, J.H. said:

Not happy with MIRAI winning Cinderella again. It really should've been Waka in that final. But with MIRAI winning I'm positive Saya retains over Mina to set-up MIRAI winning the white belt.

James

I concur. In general though I thought the final four were not good choices to win. 

So with Mina breaking away from CA and taking Waka with her (which should be a bigger deal given how Tam stood by her), Tam is now in Mayu's position from when CA first formed. Add to that, Tam is probably losing to Giulia next week, the question begs are we seting up for Tam to win the 5 Star on some sortvofcredempion arc?

James

19 hours ago, Red King said:

  Hide contents

Mayu Iwatani was attacked by Mercedes, post 5th match.

MIRAI won the Cinderella Tournament again, second year in a row. She's trying to establish herself as the real ACE of Stardom.

Mina and Waka left Cosmic Angels and Waka has joined Club Venus. Saori Anou offered to help CA.

 

 

 

9 hours ago, J.H. said:

Not happy with MIRAI winning Cinderella again. It really should've been Waka in that final. But with MIRAI winning I'm positive Saya retains over Mina to set-up MIRAI winning the white belt.

James

Mina wins the White Belt.  MIRAI challenges Mayu for the IWGP belt?  Re-Start win the trios belts, and Tam is left beltless (and possibly soon to be friendless?)...

I don’t know if I should post this here or not because it isn’t current. I watched Devil Masami vs Chigusa Nagayo from 85 (the longer version) and hot dang that was excellent. My kind of wrestling! Such great grappling. Every position fought for and every move and strike felt earned. Absolutely perfect.

As a tribute Like when I posted screen shots of Yuji Okabayashi vs Daisuke Sekimoto grappling, here are pics of Devil Masami and Chigusa Nagayo’s struggle!

Spoiler

Fantastic match. Low quality video but I was so excited throughout. There’s a shorter version on YouTube but I recommend dig for the full version

 

Remember American wrestlers shoving stuff in wrestlers mouths in the old days? Rika remembers

According to Meltzer, Bushiroad are looking to get another match out of Mone.  I guess that's why Mone has all of the sudden started calling out Giulia:

 

10 minutes ago, nofuture said:

According to Meltzer, Bushiroad are looking to get another match out of Mone.  I guess that's why Mone has all of the sudden started calling out Giulia:

I wonder if they (Bushiroad) has a plan to basically roll out having women's matches on New Japan cards to build toward the IWGP women's matches that do occur on New Japan cards in Japan. I get doing it now just cause availability, but at some point, callouts/angles after every title match is going to get a bit tired. Stardom has a strong enough roster where 3 or 4 women can miss a Stardom show every now and then.

Unless I haven't seen the option, Bushiroad should think about doing bundles for NJPW World and Stardom's service

A pretty good preview of this weekend's Stardom show for those who are unfamiliar with the product:

 

Mercedes and Giulia both brought out the high fashion vibes for the press conference. I think they'd have an amazing blood feud.  

We Are Stardom on Twitter: "The Champ is here! https://t.co/gi6MlRyefH" / Twitter

We Are Stardom on Twitter: "World of Stardom Champion Giulia! https://t.co/FpDjQ8e5ab" / Twitter

Edited April 22, 20233 yr by Niners Fan in CT

53 minutes ago, Niners Fan in CT said:

Mercedes and Giulia both brought out the high fashion vibes for the press conference. I think they'd have an amazing blood feud.  

We Are Stardom on Twitter: "The Champ is here! https://t.co/gi6MlRyefH" / Twitter

We Are Stardom on Twitter: "World of Stardom Champion Giulia! https://t.co/FpDjQ8e5ab" / Twitter

We really need Mercedes vs. Giulia before Mercedes moves on to whatever the next phase of her career is. 

34 minutes ago, Kevin Wilson said:

We really need Mercedes vs. Giulia before Mercedes moves on to whatever the next phase of her career is. 

She claimed in an interview with Sports Illustrated that she's learning Japanese and looking for a more permanent residence in Japan. 

2 hours ago, Niners Fan in CT said:

She claimed in an interview with Sports Illustrated that she's learning Japanese and looking for a more permanent residence in Japan. 

It’s possible she’s trying to help the integrity of the match. If it’s her last match then everyone knows she’s losing. But I hope she’s staying for more big matches. Her vs Giulia will be awesome. 

1 hour ago, matt925 said:

It’s possible she’s trying to help the integrity of the match. If it’s her last match then everyone knows she’s losing. But I hope she’s staying for more big matches. Her vs Giulia will be awesome. 

It's intriguing that Trinity (Fatu) poured cold water on the Bushiroad budget issue story from this week. It's also intriguing that there was a story of a trademark for a new name going away.

It seems like Mercedes would probably prefer to bring her in possibly for an angle or tag match, but Stardom may be more interested in just having her do only one or two more matches.

This was good stuff at the press conference.   The card is stacked.  

【スターダム】岩谷麻優がメルセデス・モネにキレる！モネはIWGP王座防衛でスターダムと新日本プロレスのアイコン＆エース宣言！-4.22 前夜祭 特別調印式-【STARDOM】 - YouTube

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=keSxIhuy1fY

1 hour ago, Elsalvajeloco said:

It's intriguing that Trinity (Fatu) poured cold water on Bushiroad budget issue story from this week. It's also intriguing that there was a story of a trademark for a new name going away.

Trinity was training with Kalisto today.  Looks like she's gearing up for an in-ring return somewhere. 

Observer is saying she signed an extension and next match is likely in the US, which is Long Beach. If it’s Mercedes vs giulia I will be seriously considering going. 

Edited April 23, 20233 yr by matt925

4 minutes ago, matt925 said:

Observer is saying she signed an extension and next match is likely in the US, which is Long Beach. If it’s Mercedes vs giulia I will be seriously considering going. 

Shit, I don't even live in California and I would consider going.

20 minutes ago, Elsalvajeloco said:

Shit, I don't even live in California and I would consider going.

There’s a cheap motel 6 right on the corner of the campus. Stayed there before and thats I’ll I need. Drive down in the morning, check in and prefade before walking to the venue. I’ve already made up my mind lol I’m gonna get the ticket before it’s officially announced. 

Would they do a match of that magnitude on a NJPW Strong show?  I guess they would considering she's their biggest U.S. based star but I don't know A) how much they want to push the women's division in NJPW and B) what their objectives are for it.