Stardom NewYear Stars 2020
Event Date: January 12, 2020 (12:30 JST)
matches published individually on Stardom World
City: Shimizu, Shizuoka, Shizuoka, Japan
Venue: Shimizu Marine Building
Attendance: 222
Series: NEWYEAR STARS 2020
Commentary: none
Ring Announcer: Yurie Kozakai
Match 1
Itsuki Hoshino vs Starlight Kid
(referee: Duke Sado)
Result: Starlight Kid wins via pinfall with a twisting frog splash
Time: 5:36
Match Thoughts
Good match. It was short and simple, and both women looked good. I was interesting seeing Starlight Kid in the role of a senior wrestler in a match. Starlight Kid is almost always the underdog, but Hoshino played the underdog role today. This was a quickly fought, fun match.
Match 2
Zoey Skye vs Bea Priestley vs Hana Kimura
(referee: Duke Sado)
Result: Hana Kimura submits Zoey Skye with Hydrangea
Time: 7:11
Match Thoughts
Very good match. Hana Kimura usually stars matches pretty quickly (especially when she wants a little revenge like she wanted against Bea Priestley) but everyone was very cautious when the opening bell rang. Kimura did start the attack though, and that kicked off a fast and fun three-way match. There were moments of one-on-one, and lots of moments with all three women working very well together. I liked this quite a bit.
Match 3
High Speed Grand Prix Round Robin Match
Leyla Hirsch (2 pts. – 1:0:0) vs AZM (2 pts. – 1:0:0) (Artist Champ)
(referee: Daichi Murayama)
Result: Leyla Hirsch wins via pinfall with a double-jump moonsault press
Time: 4:30
Match Thoughts
Good match. With only four round-robin matches for each person in the grand prix, this was already a vitally important match for both Leyla Hirsch and AZM. AZM mostly tried to use her speed, which was smart as well as apropos, but Hirsch’s strength was difficult for her to overcome. This was a nice match. I’m liking the High Speed Grand Prix so far.
Match 4
Jamie Hayter & Saki Kashima & Kagetsu vs Saya Iida & Tam Nakano & Riho (High Speed Champ, AEW Women’s Champ)
(referee: Duke Sado)
Result: Saki Kashima pins Saya Iida after My Emblem
Time: 12:53
Match Thoughts
Very good match. This was Kagetsu’s last match as a group with Oedo Tai during her retirement road. Kagetsu had some nice moments early in the match, but it always felt like everything was building up to Tam Nakano battling Saki Kashima. Nakano was still angry about Kashima’s betrayal of Stars recently, and she wanted to beat some answers out of Kashima. Nakano ended up just barely getting the better of Kashima when they did finally face each other in the ring, but some nice teamwork by all three members of Oedo Tai helped push the momentum back in their favor once Saya Iida got tagged in. This was a very solid match with some nice emotion in it.
Match 5
Andras Miyagi & Giulia vs Konami & Jungle Kyona (Goddess Champs)
(referee: Duke Sado)
Result: Jungle Kyona pins Andras Miyagi after a combination missile dropkick (Konami) and powerbomb (Kyona)
Time: 9:38
Match Thoughts
Very good match. Jungle Kyona and Konami might have been looking past this match. The next show is Korakuen Hall where they’ll defend the titles against Bea Priestley and Jamie Hayter, and their pre-match comments made it seem like they didn’t care much about tonight. Giulia, on the other hand, wanted to win this match so she could get into the tag title picture. Giulia and Miyagi looked good for most of the match. They focused heavily on Jungle Kyona’s taped shoulder, and they isolated Kyona for most of the match. Konami started to help turn things around for her team late in the match, but regardless of the outcome, Kyona took a lot of damage just a week before a big title defense.
Ring Area
After the match, Jungle Kyona says Giulia and Andras Miyagi weren’t a very good team today. Giulia interrupts and says she’s going to find a new parter. Giulia says “goodbye” to Andras Miyagi and leaves on her own.
Match 6
Leo Onozaki & Utami Hayashishita (Future, SWA, & Artist Champ) & Momo Watanabe (Artist Champ) vs Saya Kamitani & Arisa Hoshiki (Wonder Champ) & Mayu Iwatani (World Champ)
(referee: Daichi Murayama)
Result: Arisa Hoshiki pins Leo Onozaki after Shining Impact
Time: 10:00
Match Thoughts
Very good match. There were a couple of title matches previewed in this match, and I think the Wonder of Stardom match might have had the best look today. Arisa Hoshiki looked great, and her strikes were brutal towards the end of the match. Everyone else looked good too, but Hoshiki really stood out to me. There were lots of double and triple teams, and the pace was kept high throughout. I liked this a lot.
Ring Area
After the match, Arisa Hoshiki says she’s looking forward to defending her tite at Korakuen Hall, but Utami Hayashishita grabs Hoshiki and puts her in a choke hold. Hayashishita says Hoshiki talks too much, and she’s going to beat the crap out of Hoshiki at Korakuen Hall. Hoshiki is amused that Hayashishita is finally showing some emotion, saying she is emotionally disturbed. Stars then closes the show.
Show Impressions
I think this was a good final show before Korakuen Hall. The title match previews were nice, and there was a fair amount of mystery to get excited about (mostly, what is going to happen when Giulia finds some new friends?).
Match of the Night
Queen’s Quest vs Stars (main event)
There were a few good tag matches on this show, but I think the main event gave the best preview of matches to come, and it was just an entertaining match on its own.
Official Results (Japanese): https://wwr-stardom.com/news/2020%e5%b9%b41%e6%9c%8812%e6%97%a5%e3%80%80newyear-stars2020/