This is part of the “Stardom’s Favorite Daughter—Icon or Illusion?” watch series, which you can find here.

Finally, something to chew on.

If you’ve been following the series chronologically, there’s quite a bit to catch up on. Integrally—at least to the extent that it matters to the series—Mayu Iwatani is the Wonder of Stardom Champion. She won the belt less than a month prior to this match, defeating Kairi Hojo and Miho Wakizawa in a one-night tournament. It’s her first singles title of her career, and naturally, absolutely no footage of either match for the vacant belt exists. Also, she’s dropped the Artist belts by this point too, not that I’ve gone out of my way to seek any of those matches out since their win to kickstart the reign. Lastly, relevant to this match are the four other women who carry belts; Yoshiko is the World of Stardom Champ, Io wears the High Speed title, and the team of Nanae Takahashi and Kairi Hojo are tag champions.

Right off the bat, I’ll say the match itself isn’t perfect. There are moments where it could breathe a bit more; not everyone here is a fully realized version of themselves. It stutters with any big ideas, y’know, all the typical stuff that has anchored down pretty much everything we’ve looked at so far. What’s true is true, but the way in which this is something to get wrapped up in is unlike anything else so far, and those faults, too, exist to a lesser extent.

Like so many all-star tags, straightforward expectations drive the thing. It’s all about seeing the top of the card clash, or in the case of 16-year-old Koguma, it’s about seeing if she can hang. We’re far off from the absolute wars Meiko Satomura will draw out of this roster in a few years’ time, nor is this the type of grand spectacle Sareee will put together with her Sareee-ISM events even further down the line. What they do achieve is past that baseline of intrigue, though, because this thing is plenty frantic and heated.

Attribute that to the guarantee that is hurling all the biggest things at each other in opposite directions, but also to some strong mechanics. Real good strikes, pretty seamless execution, and nothing that looks egregiously premeditated. The almost house-show environment makes it clear and easy too; no one gets isolated for too long, no precautionary booking narratives to bounce around, just straight-up high-octane wrestling in an environment where it’s immediately apparent that everyone is only going to dare to do what they’re best at. For whatever reason, it’s the thing these “stacked” joshi tags have always been so good at. They’re basic structurally, no doubt, but it always feels like the wrestlers understand why they look so interesting in the first place. A genuine contest, the right part means breezy, never too ambitious, and a whole lot of fun as a result.

Match of the project so far.

Rating: ***3/4