Date:  September 23rd, 2014
Location:  Tokyo Korakuen Hall in Tokyo, Japan
Announced Attendance:  910

This will be my last Joshi review for a bit, promise, I just wanted to go ahead and finish up the tournament.  We return to Stardom for the final day of the 5*G1 Grand Prix.  Going into the event it was literally anyone’s game as the bulk of the wrestlers had between 4 and 6 points.  The last round of the tournament and the finals are both on the same card, so two wrestlers will obviously be fighting twice.  Here is the full card:

-  Hatsuhinode Kamen, Kris Wolf, and Azumi vs. Miho Wakizawa, Reo Hazuki, and Maya
-  5*Star GP:  Koguma vs. Mayu Iwatani
-  5*Star GP:  DASH Chisako vs. Kyoko Kimura
-  5*Star GP:  Takumi Iroha vs. Yoshiko
-  5*Star GP:  Kairi Hojo vs. Star Fire
-  5*Star GP:  Kaori Yoneyama vs. Melissa
-  5*Star GP:  Io Shirai vs. Nanae Takahashi
-  5*Star GP - Final: Io Shirai vs. Yoshiko

And away we go.

Hatsuhinode Kamen, Kris Wolf, and Maya vs. Miho Wakizawa, Reo Hazuki, and Azumi
Two rookies, two goofy people, and two children, what could possibly go wrong?  We start with Wolf and Azumi in the ring with Azumi and applies a camel clutch, Kamen comes in the ring to pose with them until Wolf releases the hold.  We clip ahead to Wolf and Hazuki being in the ring, Hazuki goes off the ropes but Wolf kicks her in the face.  Wolf goes off the ropes but Wakizawa grabs her from the apron with The Claw.  Hazuki rolls up Wolf from behind but it gets a two count.  Wolf throws Hazuki into the corner and hits a jumping knee.  Wolf drags Hazuki to the middle of the ring, cover, but it gets a two count.  Wolf tags in Kamen, double Irish whip to Hazuki to the corner, Wolf hits an elbow and Kamen follows with a body avalanche.  Kamen grabs Hazuki but Hazuki elbows her, punches to the stomach by Kamen and she knocks Hazuki into the corner.  Irish whip by Kamen but Hazuki blocks it, elbow by Hazuki a grounded necklock.  Wolf breaks it up, Hazuki goes off the ropes but Kamen hits her with a big boot.  Wolf runs in and kicks Hazuki, Kamen picks up Hazuki and she hits a vertical suplex.  Kamen celebrates while Hazuki tags in Wakizawa, and Wakizawa applies the Backslide From Venom for the three count.  Your winners:  Miho Wakizawa, Reo Hazuki, and Azumi

Match Thoughts:   This was clipped up pretty good so even if there was a structure, we wouldn’t know what it was.  Quite an odd assortment of wrestlers though, I’ll give them that, although the match results I saw had the participants wrong which confused me for a few seconds. Not enough shown for me to really give a score but nothing wrong with it either. Score: N/A

Koguma vs. Mayu Iwatani
This match is part of the 5*Star GP.  Koguma dropkicks Iwatani while her streamers are still being thrown into the ring, Irish whip by Koguma and she hits a dropkick.  Iwatani falls out of the ring, still wrapped in her streamers, and Koguma hits a seated senton off the apron.  Koguma chops Iwatani and slaps her into the crowd.  Iwatani elbows her back and they trade blows, Koguma rolls Iwatani into the ring as she gets up on the top turnbuckle, and Koguma hits a missile dropkick.  Cover, but it gets a two count.  Irish whip by Koguma, reversed, but Koguma hits a cutter off the second turnbuckle.  Irish whip by Koguma but Iwatani moves when she charges in and hits a slingshot dropkick.  Iwatani picks up Koguma but Koguma shrugs her off, elbow by Koguma but Iwatani elbows her back.  Iwatani and Koguma trade shots, Koguma goes off the ropes but Iwatani catches her with a dropkick.  Dropkick by Iwatani while Koguma is against the bottom rope, and Iwatani hits a bridging suplex for a two count.  Iwatani waits for Koguma to get up and goes for a crucifix, but Koguma reverses it with a Samoan Drop.  Dropkick to the face by Koguma and she runs on Iwatani’s back.  Tornado DDT by Koguma, she picks up Iwatani but Iwatani pushes her off.  Koguma goes off the ropes and she rolls up Iwatani for a two count.  Koguma picks up Iwatani and hits a German suplex hold for a two count.  Koguma picks up Iwatani, she goes up to the top turnbuckle but Iwatani puts Koguma on her shoulders and suplexes her to the mat.  Iwatani goes up to the top turnbuckle and hits a missile dropkick.  Cover by Iwatani, but it gets a two count.  Iwatani picks up Koguma and applies a full nelson, but Koguma reverses it and drops Iwatani on her head.  Rollup by Koguma but it gets a two count, Iwatani reverses the pin but she gets a two as well.  Koguma goes for a lariat but Iwatani ducks it and hits a high kick.  Iwatani  applies an elevated crab hold and Koguma quickly submits.  Your winner:  Mayu Iwatani

Match Thoughts:  The results called the finishing move the “Mexican Pinfall”, which I am assuming is some weird mistranslation, it was just a modified elevated crab hold that looked very hurty. Koguma showed a whole lot of fight here, more than I have seen from her before, and while I don't see her ever being a top tier fighter I think she can definitely become a solid mid to upper card wrestler as her career progresses. It was also fun seeing Iwatani in a serious match since most of the year I have seen her in silly half comedy matches that didn't give her a chance to really shine. The match wasn't long but they kept it going from bell to bell and the action was crisp. Good match. Score: 6.5

DASH Chisako vs. Kyoko Kimura
This match is part of the 5*Star GP.  Joined in Progress, with Kimura picking up Chisako and kneeing her in the head.  Stomps by Kimura and she hits a running doublestomp.  Kimura goes up to the top turnbuckle but Kimura recovers and joins her up top.  Chisako hits a cutter from the top turnbuckle, she goes up to the top turnbuckle but Kimura gets her feet up when she goes for the Hormone Splash.  Roll-up by Kimura, but it gets a two count.  Kimura boots Chisako in the face, Chisako gets back up and returns the favor.  Headbutt by Kimura, cover, but it gets a two count.  Kimura gets Chisako up on her shoulders and slams her to the mat, cover, but Chisako gets a shoulder up.  Kimura goes off the ropes but Chisako ducks the big boot.  Hurricanrana by Chisako, but it gets a two count.  Chisako goes off the ropes but Kimura takes her head off with a big boot.  Cover, and Kimura picks up the three count.  Your winner:  Kyoko Kimura

Match Thoughts:  This was too clipped up for me to give an honest assessment of, which is a shame since Chisako is really fun to watch, wonder why they picked this match to butcher. What we saw was perfectly fine wrestling but they just didn't show very much which is disappointing. Score: N/A

Takumi Iroha vs. Yoshiko
This match is part of the 5*Star GP.  Iroha goes off the ropes to start but she can’t shoulderblock Yoshiko down Yoshiko goes off the ropes and does find success, she picks up Iroha, Irish whip, reversed, but Yoshiko avoids the dropkick and kicks Iroha in the head.  Facewashes by Yoshiko and she hits a running kick.  Yoshiko goes off the ropes and hits a second one, she goes off the far ropes and hits a third running kick.  Yoshiko goes for a scoop slam, Iroha gets away and she chops Yoshiko in the chest.  Iroha charges Yoshiko but Yoshiko holds down the top rope and Iroha tumbles out of the ring.  Yoshiko goes out after her, she knocks Iroha to the floor and kicks her in the head.  Yoshiko goes all the way up the aisle and charges Iroha, but Iroha rolls out of the way of the senton attempt.  Iroha picks up Yoshiko and she goes for a suplex, but Yoshiko blocks it.  Punch to the ribs by Iroha and she delivers the vertical suplex.  Iroha picks up Yoshiko and stomps her in the back.  Iroha picks up Yoshiko and slides her back into the ring.  Slingshot doublestomp by Iroha to the back followed by a dropkick, cover, but it gets a two count.  Single leg crab hold by Iroha but Yoshiko gets to the ropes.  Iroha goes up to the top turnbuckle and hits a diving doublestomp to Yoshiko’s back.  Cover by Iroha, but it gets a two count.  Irish whip attempt by Iroha, kick by Iroha but Yoshiko delivers a lariat.  Yoshiko charges Iroha in the corner and hits a body avalanche.  Cover by Yoshiko, but it gets a two count.  Yoshiko picks up Iroha but Iroha gets away, Iroha goes off the ropes but Yoshiko ducks the heel kick.  Senton by Yoshiko, but it gets a two count.  Yoshiko picks up Iroha and she gets Iroha on her shoulders, hitting a Samoan Drop.  Yoshiko goes up to the second turnbuckle but Iroha has recovered and slams Yoshiko to the mat.  Diving body press by Iroha, cover, but it gets a two count.  Iroha puts Yoshiko in a Scorpion Deathlock but Yoshiko gets a hand on the ropes.  Iroha picks up Yoshiko and drags her to the middle of the ring, Iroha goes up to the top turnbuckle but Yoshiko gets her feet up when Iroha dives off.  Yoshiko goes for a diving senton but Iroha rolls out of the way.  Yoshiko and Iroha both slowly get up but Yoshiko boots Iroha in the head.  Yoshiko picks up Iroha and hits the chokebomb, cover, but it gets a two count.  Yoshiko picks up Iroha, she goes off the ropes but Iroha hits a jumping heel kick.  Cover, but it gets another two.  Iroha picks up Yoshiko and hits a German suplex hold, but Yoshiko gets a shoulder up.  Iroha picks up Yoshiko and goes for another one but Yoshiko gets away.  Kick by Iroha and she goes off the ropes, but Yoshiko catches her with a lariat for the two count cover.  Yoshiko picks up Iroha and gets her onto her shoulders before slamming her to the mat.  Cover, but Iroha kicks out.  Yoshiko positions Iroha and goes up to the second turnbuckle, and she delivers the diving senton.  Cover, and she picks up the three count.  Your winner:  Yoshiko

Match Thoughts:  Really like Iroha’s new ring gear, it’s like she graduated to being a legitimate wrestler. Iroha did a lot of damage to Yoshiko in defeat, and even though Yoshiko would win her bracket she was not going to be in great shape for the final. Yoshiko was brutal at times, in a good way, and the match was structured really well as it felt like both wrestlers were familiar with each other and reversing/preventing their opponent from doing a lot of their usual routines. The match was clipped very little, if any, so clearly Stardom knew they had a good match on their hands. I wish I could have brought more that Iroha had a chance of winning, Yoshiko really took it to her at the end without a hope spot, but still really entertaining. Score: 7.0 

Kairi Hojo vs. Star Fire
This match is part of the 5*Star GP.  Hojo asks for a handshake to start the match but Star Fire boots her in the head.  Poor Hojo.  Irish whip by Star Fire, reversed, Star Fire rolls under the lariat and kicks Hojo in the legs and arms.  Star Fire goes off the ropes and she hits a dropkick, cover, but it gets a two count.  Star Fire picks up Hojo and throws her into the corner.  Kicks to the chest by Star Fire, she goes out to the apron and hits a slingshot dropkick.  Clubs to the back by Star Fire, Irish whip, reversed, Star Fire pushes Hojo out to the apron but Hojo hits a shoulder tackle.  Hojo gets back in the ring and Hojo hits a headscissors.  Star Fire falls out of the ring, Hojo goes up to the top turnbuckle and hits a plancha suicida down to the floor.  Hojo picks up Star Fire and chops her in the chest while she is against the apron.  Hojo gets up on the apron and she stomps down with both feet onto Star Fire.  Hojo kicks Star Fire back into the ring, she goes up to the top turnbuckle and she hits a diving elbow smash.  Hojo goes off the ropes and hits a running neckbreaker, cover, but it gets a two count.  Hojo charges Star Fire but Star Fire moves and Hojo gets caught over the second rope.  Star Fire kicks Hojo out of the ring and she hits a springboard backsplash onto Hojo.  Back in the ring, Star Fire puts Hojo in the corner and hits a series of kicks.  Hojo pushes Star Fire back, elbow by Star Fire but Hojo elbows her back.  They trade shots, Hojo goes off the ropes and she goes for a spear, but Star Fire blocks it.  Star Fire hits a double underhook front slam onto her knees, she kicks Hojo repeatedly in the back before hitting a running neck snap.  Cover by Star Fire, but it gets a two count. 

Star Fire goes for a kick but Hojo catches it, Star Fire rolls up Hojo but it gets a two count.  Hojo tries to scoot away but Star Fire grabs her and rolls her around the ring before sitting back for a two count cover.  Star Fire picks up Hojo and hits a Michinoku Driver.  Star Fire goes up to the second turnbuckle and hits a diving doublestomp, cover, but it gets a two count.  Star Fire goes up top this time but Hojo moves out of the way.  Sliding D to the back of the head by Star Fire, she goes off the ropes and goes for one from the front but Star Fire ducks it and rolls her up for a two count.  Star Fire goes off the ropes and she delivers a dropkick.  Cover, but it gets a two count.  Star Fire picks up Hojo and goes for  a package piledriver, but Hojo gets out of it and hits a spear.  Gedo Clutch by Hojo with a bridge, but it gets a two count.  Hojo goes up to the top turnbuckle but Star Fire is up and slaps Hojo.  Star Fire goes up top with her but Hojo elbows her down into a tree of woe before hitting a double kneedrop.  Sliding D in the corner by Hojo, cover, but Star Fire gets a shoulder up.  Hojo positions Star Fire, she goes up to the top turnbuckle and goes for a diving elbow drop, but Hojo misses.  Hojo goes up top again and this time she hits the diving elbow drop, cover, and she picks up the three count.  Your winner:  Kairi Hojo

Match Thoughts:  My thoughts on Hojo are well known, but on the first diving elbow drop she just missed Star Fire.  She gets so much hang time on the move that she just… misjudged.  It is rare for a wrestler to just miss their finishing move and just go straight to doing it again, while Star Fire laid there.  They really needed at that point to go to Plan B, but Hojo is still young and maybe ad-libbing just isn’t in the cards.  So obviously that took some of the goodness of the match, botched endings just leave a bad taste in the viewer’s mouth.  Besides that it was a solid match but not great, Hojo’s Sliding D’s around the ring were fun but Star Fire isn’t very crisp.  Disappointing due to the ending but not a bad effort overall.  Score:  4.5

Kaori Yoneyama vs. Melissa
This match is part of the 5*Star GP.  Joined in Progress, Melissa picks up Yoneyama and Yoneyama clubs Melissa.  Melissa Irish whips Yoneyama into the corner but Melissa hits a jumping elbow.  Kick to the back of the head by Melissa and she hits a curb stomp.  Cover by Melissa, but Yoneyama quickly kicks out.  Kondo Clutch by Melissa but Yoneyama gets a hand on the ropes.  Melissa picks up Yoneyama, Melissa puts Yoneyama on her shoulders but she slides off.  Samoan Drop by Melissa, cover, but it gets a two count.  Melissa picks up Yoneyama and goes for the Air Raid Crash, but Yoneyama elbows out of it.  Yoneyama goes for a sunset flip powerbomb, Melissa blocks it but Yoneyama rolls her up for a two count.  Yoneyama goes off the ropes but Melissa catches her with a lariat for a two count cover.  Melissa goes up to the top turnbuckle but Yoneyama smacks her before she can jump off, and Melissa falls out of the ring to the floor.  Yoneyama then gets on the apron and she hits a jumping knee down to the floor.  Yoneyama brings Melissa back on the apron but Melissa grabs her before Yoneyama can get back in the ring.  Melissa picks up Yoneyama around the waist and swings her repeatedly into the chairs at ringside.  Melissa stomps on Yoneyama and picks her up before slamming her into the apron.  She slams her into the apron a few more times, she gets on the apron with Yoneyama and goes for an Air Raid Crash, but Yoneyama gets out of it and hits a release German suplex on the apron.  Yoneyama pushes Melissa down to the floor and jumps off, kneeing Melissa in the head.  Yoneyama goes to get back in the ring but Melissa grabs her foot, and both wrestlers are counted out.  The match ends in a Double Countout.

Match Thoughts:  This was clipped up too but not quite as bad, most of it was shown. The Double Countout just felt really forced, we have seen many matches in Stardom where they wrestle for several minutes on the floor without being counted out. I know technically the referee is always counting but it was only a countout here due to the tournament setting, normally the referee would have let them just do whatever they wanted to do. Since the match was clipped, that was the bulk of the match, although the first part was solid. Between it being clipped and the ending being done just to get the points lined up right, not much I can recommend here, although I loved the suplex on the apron. Score: 3.5

Io Shirai vs. Nanae Takahashi
This match is part of the 5*Star GP.  Shirai and Takahashi circle each other to start, Takahashi gets Shirai to the mat and applies a chinlock but Shirai wiggles away from it. Waistlock by Shirai but Takahashi applies a hammerlock, takeover by Shirai but Takahashi quickly gets out of it and goes back to the arm. Cover by Takahashi, but it gets a two count. Side headlock by Takahashi and she takes Shirai to the mat, but Shirai springs up and hits an armdrag. Takahashi pushes Shirai into the ropes and she chops her in the chest, Irish whip by Shirai, reversed, both wrestlers go off the same ropes and springboard off of them before Takahashi applies a wristlock. Shirai flips out of the corner and hits an armdrag to get out of it, Shirai charges Takahashi but Takahashi tosses her over the top rope. Takahashi goes off the far ropes but Shirai elbows her and dumps her down to the floor. Shirai gets back in the ring and she sails out onto Takahashi with a tope suicida. Back in the ring, Irish whip by Shirai and she hits the cartwheel elbow strike. Shirai goes for a face crusher but Takahashi pushes him off and kicks Shirai in the head. Takahashi picks up Shirai and she goes for a fisherman buster, but Shirai gets out of it. Lariats by Takahashi in the corner but Shirai moves when she charges in and goes out to the apron. Shirai goes to do a swandive move but Takahashi lariats her before she can jump. Takahashi picks up Shirai and hits a short armed lariat, she goes up to the top turnbuckle but Shirai rolls out of the way of the diving body press. Shirai picks up Takahashi and applies a double underhook, but Takahashi back bodydrops out of it. Shirai reverses that into a sunset flip and she kicks Takahashi in the back of the head. Shirai picks up Takahashi, elbow by Takahashi and Shirai finally hits the lifting sitout double underhook facebuster. Cover, but it gets a two count.

Shirai goes for a kick but Takahashi blocks it and hits a spin-out powerbomb for a two count cover. Takahashi kicks Shirai in the head, she picks her up but Shirai gets Takahashi's back. Takahashi elbows her back and they trade strikes. Takahashi goes for a suplex but Shirai gets out of it and hits a headbutt. Shirai goes off the ropes but Takahashi connects with a jumping kick to the face. Back up they trade elbows, lariats by Takahashi against the ropes, she goes off the far ropes as Shirai bridges, but Takahashi elbows Shirai in the midsection. Takahashi goes off the ropes but Shirai catches her with a hurricanrana for a two count. Swinging leg kick by Shirai, she goes up to the top turnbuckle but Takahashi is up in time and joins her. Shirai flips over Takahashi and back to the floor, she then grabs Takahashi around the waist and hits a German suplex hold for a two count. Shirai goes up to the top turnbuckle, Takahashi hits her and joins her up top and Takahashi hits a headbutt. Suplex into a spin-out powerbomb by Takahashi, but it only gets a two count. Takahashi goes up to the top turnbuckle but Shirai is back up and she kicks Takahashi in the head. From the apron Shirai hits a springboard Frankensteiner, she goes back up top again but Takahashi rolls out of the way of the moonsault. Shirai lands on her feet and knees Takahashi in the corner, she charges Takahashi but Takahashi is back up. Shirai springboards up to the corner, Takahashi gets her up in the muscle buster position but Shirai gets away and kicks Takahashi in the head. La Magistral into a bridge by Shirai but it gets a two count. Shirai picks up Takahashi but Takahashi gets her on her back and hits the Axe Guillotine Driver. Cover, but Shirai gets a shoulder up. Takahashi gets up Shirai and goes for a slam, but Shirai slips away from it and reverses it into a tombstone piledriver. Shirai picks up Takahashi and hits a package German suplex hold, and she picks up the three count. Your winner: Io Shirai

Match Thoughts: In general I enjoyed this match but there were stretches I didn't like. The worst section was towards the end, when for some reason they went through a spell of just not selling each other's moves. We had three straight sequences of a wrestler doing a big move, going up top, but in that brief period the wrestler recovering, hitting a big move, going up top, etc. which just takes me out of it a bit. The moves don't seem as big or dangerous when they never mean anything, and long term selling was pretty much out the window in this match. When they weren't doing that I thought the match was fun though, both were going all out to win the match and some of the counter-based sections were done really smoothly. So overall it was good, I just wish they hadn't blown off each other's moves so much. Score: 6.0

Io Shirai vs. Yoshiko
This match is the Final in the 5*Star GP. Shirai kicks Yoshiko as the match starts and throws her out of the ring. Shirai goes out after her and clubs Yoshiko in the back. Shirai jumps off of Yoshiko's back before hitting a double kneedrop onto it. Shirai slams Yoshiko's head into a chair, she then jumps up on the stage and hits a moonsault off of it onto a standing Yoshiko. Shirai picks up Yoshiko and knees her in the ribs. Yoshiko is slid back into the ring, Shirai gets on the apron and twists Yoshiko in the ropes, applying a stretch hold. Shirai goes off the far ropes and dropkicks Yoshiko in the back. Yoshiko starts fighting back with slaps and elbows before kicking Shirai repeatedly while she is on the mat. Hard slap by Yoshiko and Shirai rolls out of the ring. Shirai then rolls under the ring, Yoshiko goes out after her but Shirai appears on a different side and hits a springboard plancha down onto Yoshiko. Shirai applies a camel clutch outside of the ring before sliding her back in, Shirai gets on the apron and hits a swandive missile dropkick. Tiger Feint Kick by Shirai and she hits a swandive sunset flip for a two count. Armtrap crossface by Shirai but Yoshiko gets a foot on the ropes to force a break. Shinkansen Attack by Shirai, cover, but it gets two. Shirai picks up Yoshiko, Irish whip to the corner, reversed, and Yoshiko hits a lariat followed by a running boot to the face as Shirai sat in the corner. Yoshiko gets Shirai on her shoulders but Shirai flips off and hits a palm thrust. Waistlock by Shirai, reversed by Yoshiko, reversed again, Yoshiko goes for a backdrop suplex but Shirai lands on her feet and kicks Yoshiko in the back and in the back of the head. Yoshiko tries to catch one but Shirai rolls away and hits a swinging kick to the head.

Yoshiko gets back up though and hits a lariat, cover, but Shirai kicks out at two. Yoshiko and Shirai trade elbows, and Shirai hits a headbutt. Shirai goes for the package suplex but Yoshiko gets away, slaps by Shirai and she delivers the package German suplex for a two count. Shirai picks up Yoshiko, she goes off the ropes but Yoshiko takes off her head with a lariat. Cover, but Shirai gets a shoulder up. Yoshiko gets Shirai onto her shoulders and slams her to the mat, cover, but it gets a two count. Yoshiko goes up to the top turnbuckle but Shirai rolls out to the apron and kicks Yoshiko. Shirai goes for the Frankensteiner but Yoshiko catches her and powerbombs Shirai to the mat. Diving senton off the second turnbuckle by Yoshiko and she hits a second one, cover, but Shirai somehow kicks out. Yoshiko walks towards the turnbuckles but Shirai grabs her foot. Shirai picks up Yoshiko and hits a Samoan Drop, she then hits a standing moonsault followed by a second turnbuckle moonsault. Top turnbuckle moonsault by Shirai but Yoshiko rolls through it and gets a two count cover. Shirai goes off the ropes but Yoshiko catches her and hits a lariat. Cover, but it gets two. Lariat by Yoshiko but when she goes for a second one Shirai blocks it and hits a package German suplex for a two count. Shirai goes up to the top turnbuckle and she hits the moonsault, cover, and she picks up the three count. Your winner of the 2014 5*Star GP Tournament is Io Shirai.

Match Thoughts: Another really good match but I think in some ways the time limitations are really impacting the matches. This one had less issues than the last one but there were still some times that one wrestler did a big move to the other and they just quickly moved on to the next spot. Their last match was 26 minutes, this one was 12, so they may just be hurrying a bit to try to get everything in. I liked Shirai focusing on Yoshiko's back to start the match since her back was hurt in her prior match, sadly it was forgotten about halfway through the match and from then on there were really no signs that either had already wrestled earlier on. I really enjoyed Yoshiko here, she seemed even more vicious than normal and aside from some transition issues the match flowed really well. A fun match, I wish they had had the Final on a different day so they could have had more time/energy but it was still worth watching. Score: 7.0

Final Thoughts:

Best Match:  Io Shirai vs. Yoshiko. I enjoyed both this match and the Yoshiko/Iroha match about equally, but Shirai being better than Iroha tipped the scales in the Finale's favor. While at times it felt like they were rushing, this was still a really entertaining match. Shirai showed a bit of a mean streak with destroying Yoshiko's back, and Yoshiko's offense looked extremely hurty. Both wrestlers were not holding back and it was very stiff, although we didn't get any busted mouths on this card which is a good thing. I wish it was longer and structured a bit better, but still a fitting main event for the show.  

MVP:   Yoshiko.  I am starting to come around on Yoshiko, I don't know if she is getting better or if I am just getting more used to her. But she was great in both of her matches on this card, between the hard shots, fast pace, selling the back for both matches, just overall goodness. Going forward I will give her more of an open minded look as she showed me on this card she brings a lot to the table.

Overall:   Like the other tournament show I reviewed, the main thing lacking from this event was that really memorable standout match. The main event was really entertaining and some of the other matches were good as well but none went to that next level. This event also had more matches clipped, reason being is they had to save 20 minutes to show the crowning ceremony, which is a shame since I would have preferred to see more wrestling. Lots of solid action here but some disappointing matches as well, I might have recommended the event if the matches were shown more in full but as it was presented it is probably best just for Stardom fans.

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review completed on 1/8/15