Stardom All Star Grand Queendom

Stardom All Star Grand Queendom
Promotional poster of the event featuring various wrestlers
PromotionWorld Wonder Ring Stardom
DateApril 23, 2023
CityYokohama, Japan
VenueYokohama Arena
Attendance5,539[1]
Tagline(s)Greatest Show In Stardom History[1]
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2024

Stardom All Star Grand Queendom (スターダム オールスター グランドクイーンダム, Sutādamu ōrusutā gurandokuīndamu) was a professional wrestling event promoted by World Wonder Ring Stardom. The event took place on April 23, 2023, in Yokohama at the Yokohama Arena.[2]

Eleven matches were contested at the event, including two on the pre-show. The main event saw Tam Nakano defeat Giulia to win the World of Stardom Championship. In other prominent matches, Mayu Iwatani defeated Mercedes Moné to win the IWGP Women's Championship, Mina Shirakawa defeated Saya Kamitani to win the Wonder of Stardom Championship, and Maika defeated Himeka in the latter's retirement match.

Production

Background

On December 29, 2022, during Dream Queendom 2, Stardom announced that on April 23, 2023, at the Yokohama Arena, for the first time, All Star Grand Queendom will take place. The event took place 30 years after All Japan Women's Pro-Wrestling (AJW) All-Star Dream Slam, which is still considered one of the best wrestling events of all time. The event's press conference took place on April 3, 2023, and was broadcast on Stardom's YouTube Channel.[3]

Storylines

The show featured eleven professional wrestling matches that result from scripted storylines, where wrestlers portray villains, heroes, or less distinguishable characters in the scripted events that build tension and culminate in a wrestling match or series of matches.[4]

On February 10, 2023, Himeka announced her retirement from professional wrestling. She underwent a "retirement road" series of matches ever since and expressed her wish of facing her long time MaiHime tag team partner Maika as her last-ever opponent in a Stardom match.[5]

On February 18, 2023, at New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW)'s Battle in the Valley, Mercedes Moné defeated Kairi to win the IWGP Women's Championship.[6] On April 8, at NJPW's Sakura Genesis, Moné had her first successful title defense after defeating AZM and Hazuki in a three-way match.[7] After the match, Mayu Iwatani challenged Moné for the title at Queendom. Moné accepted Iwatani's challenge, and slapped her across the face afterwards.[7]

On March 8, 2023, Kairi announced that she will take part into the event's card alongside a mystery partner. On April 2, on the third night of the Stardom Cinderella Tournament 2023, it was later revealed that she picked freelancer Saori Anou and Natsupoi as her partners. They named their trio as "REstart" as they challenged Hiragi Kurumi, Risa Sera and Suzu Suzuki for the Artist of Stardom Championship.[8] The following day, Saya Kamitani revealed on Twitter that Saori Anou was in fact one of the two mysterious white-hatted women (one of them already revealed to be Kairi) from before the events of the Stardom World Climax 2022 as her return to Stardom was foreshadowed for more than a year prior.[9]

Event

Other on-screen personnel
Role Name
Japanese commentators Makoto Oe
Teppei Arita
Momoe Nakanishi
Maika
English commentators[10] Chris Charlton
Sonny Gutierrez
Mariah May
Ring Announcers[11] Yurie Kozakai
Yoritaka Ando
Referees[12] Daichi Murayama
Barb Sasaki
Duke Sado

The first two preshow matches were broadcast on Stardom's YouTube channel. In the first one, Mai Sakurai won the Yokohama Rumble match by last eliminating Super Strong Stardom Giant Machine. In the second one, Ruaka,Momo Watanabe, Natsuko Tora and Saki Kashima picked up a win over Jessie, Mariah May, Xena and Thekla.[13]

In the first main card match, Mei Seira and Starlight Kid picked up a victory over AZM and Mei Suruga. Seira challenged AZM for a High Speed Championship match on further notice. next up, Miyu Amasaki and Utami Hayashishita defeated Hazuki and Fuwa-chan. The fifth match saw the retirement match of Himeka who fell short to her long time tag team partner Maika. The sixth bout saw Ami Sourei and Mirai defeating Nanae Takahashi and Yuu to win the Goddesses of Stardom Championship, ending the latter team's reign at 115 days and two defenses. Sourei became double champion with the Future of Stardom Championship. In the seventh bout, Kairi, Natsupoi and Saori Anou defeated Hiragi Kurumi, Risa Sera and Suzu Suzuki to win the Artist of Stardom Championship. The eighth bout saw Mina Shirakawa defeating Saya Kamitani to win the Wonder of Stardom Championship, ending the latter's reign at 480 days and then-time 15 consecutive defenses record. In the ninth bout, Syuri defeated Chihiro Hashimoto by knockout in a match that could only be won by knockout, count out, submission or referee stoppage.

In the semi main event, Mayu Iwatani defeated Mercedes Moné to become the new IWGP Women's Champion.[14][15][16]

In the main event, Tam Nakano defeated Giulia to win the World of Stardom Championship, ending the latter's reign at 115 days and two consecutive defenses.[17]

Results

No.Results[18]StipulationsTimes[1]
1PMai Sakurai won by last eliminating Super Strong Stardom Giant Machine[a]Yokohama Rumble match26:38
2POedo Tai (Ruaka and Gold Ship (Momo Watanabe, Natsuko Tora and Saki Kashima)) defeated Club Venus (Jessie, Mariah May and Xena) and TheklaEight-woman tag team match9:54
3Mei Seira and Starlight Kid defeated AZM and Mei SurugaTag team match9:49
4Queen's Quest (Miyu Amasaki and Utami Hayashishita) defeated Stars (Hazuki and Fuwa-chan)Tag team match14:19
5Maika defeated HimekaSingles match[5]
This was dubbed as Himeka's last Stardom match. Her actual retirement bout took place on May 14, 2023 at Stardom Jumbo Princess Forever.		14:17
6The New Eras (Ami Sourei and Mirai) defeated 7Upp (Nanae Takahashi and Yuu) (c) by countoutTag team match for the Goddesses of Stardom Championship12:25
7REstart (Kairi, Natsupoi and Saori Anou) defeated Prominence (Hiragi Kurumi, Risa Sera and Suzu Suzuki) (c)Six-woman tag team match for the Artist of Stardom Championship16:55
8Mina Shirakawa defeated Saya Kamitani (c)Singles match for the Wonder of Stardom Championship17:56
9Syuri defeated Chihiro Hashimoto by knockoutSubmission match[b]16:07
10Mayu Iwatani defeated Mercedes Moné (c)Singles match for the IWGP Women's Championship[7]12:56
11Tam Nakano defeated Giulia (c)Singles match for the World of Stardom Championship23:40
(c) – the champion(s) heading into the match
P – the match was broadcast on the pre-show

Notes

  1. ^ The other participants were Momoe Nakanishi, Lady C, Yuna Mizumori, Saya Iida, Chanyota, Hanako, Momo Kohgo, Sakura Aya, Ram Kaicho, Hanan, Hina, Koguma, Waka Tsukiyama, Fukigen Death, Rina, Super Strong Stardom Machine and Super Strong Stardom Big Machine.
  2. ^ Match could only end by submission, knockout or referee stoppage.

References

  1. ^ a b c Kreikenbohm, Philip (April 23, 2023). "Stardom All-Star Grand Queendom". cagematch.net. Retrieved April 23, 2023.
  2. ^ World Wonder Ring Stardom (December 3, 2022). 【怒涛のPR展開】12/1～JR東日本首都圏全線の中吊り・上広告、12/5～電車内ビジョンをスターダムがジャック！【年末年始もSTARDOMざんまい】. stardom.com (in Japanese). Retrieved December 3, 2022.
  3. ^ World Wonder Ring Stardom (April 3, 2023). 【★フワちゃん登場★】4・23『ALLSTAR GRAND QUEENDOM 2023 Powered by Softbank NFT LAB』横浜アリーナ大会記者会見【4/3(月)17:00生配信】. youtube.com (in Japanese). Retrieved April 3, 2023.
  4. ^ Grabianowski, Ed (January 13, 2006). "How Pro Wrestling Works". HowStuffWorks, Inc. Discovery Communications. Archived from the original on November 29, 2013. Retrieved March 10, 2023.
  5. ^ a b Edwards, Scott (February 10, 2023). "Himeka Announces Retirement, Final Match Set For April 23 Vs. Maika". Fightful. Archived from the original on March 19, 2023. Retrieved March 11, 2023.
  6. ^ Lambert, Jeremy (February 18, 2023). "NJPW Battle In The Valley Results (2/18): Mercedes Mone vs. KAIRI, Tanahashi vs. Okada, Loser Leaves NJPW". Fightful. Archived from the original on March 19, 2023. Retrieved April 8, 2023.
  7. ^ a b c Jeffrey, Harris (April 8, 2023). "Mercedes Mone vs. Mayu Iwatani IWGP Women's Title Bout Confirmed for STARDOM All-Star Grand Queendom". 411Mania. Archived from the original on April 24, 2023. Retrieved April 8, 2023.
  8. ^ Harris, Jeffery (March 8, 2023). "KAIRI To Bring Mystery Guest At STARDOM'S All-Star Grand Queendom Event". 411Mania. Archived from the original on March 10, 2023. Retrieved March 10, 2023.
  9. ^ @sayachan38vv (April 3, 2023). あれ？見たことある。#謎の女性 #STARDOM. twitter.com (in Japanese). Retrieved April 11, 2023.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  10. ^ "English". 30 January 2023.
  11. ^ "English". 30 January 2023.
  12. ^ "English". 30 January 2023.
  13. ^ World Wonder Ring Stardom (April 23, 2023). 【第0試合 無料配信】4・23『 ALLSTAR GRAND QUEENDOM 2023 Powered by SoftBank NFT LAB 』神奈川・横浜アリーナ【#STARDOM】. youtube.com (in Japanese). Retrieved April 23, 2023.
  14. ^ Thomas, Jeremy (April 23, 2023). "STARDOM All Star Grand Queendom Results: New Champions Crowned, More". 411Mania. Archived from the original on April 27, 2023. Retrieved April 23, 2023.
  15. ^ Edwards, Scott (April 23, 2023). "STARDOM All Star Grand Queendom Results (4/23/23): Mercedes Moné vs. Mayu Iwatani, Giulia vs. Tam Nakano, And More". Fightful. Archived from the original on April 27, 2023. Retrieved April 23, 2023.
  16. ^ Post Wrestling Staff (April 23, 2023). "STARDOM All Star Grand Queendom Review". Post Wrestling. Archived from the original on April 29, 2023. Retrieved April 25, 2023.
  17. ^ Fritts, Chick (April 23, 2023). "Stardom All Star Grand Queendom live results: Mercedes Mone vs. Mayu Iwatani Giulia faces Tam Nakano in the show's main event". Wrestling Observer Figure Four Online. Archived from the original on April 27, 2023. Retrieved April 23, 2023.
  18. ^ Coyle-Simmons, Patrick (April 23, 2023). "Stardom All Star Grand Queendom: Every Match Ranked From Worst To Best". The Sportster. Archived from the original on April 28, 2023. Retrieved April 23, 2023.