Wrestling With Thoughts

My weekly column that explores the best of professional wrestling through combing through Cagematch's Matchguide continues on Voices of Wrestling.

20. Amazin’: We took a look at matches from some American indies, Marvelous, and Marigold.

Mike Bailey vs. Amazing Red (HOG, May 1, 2026)

Unsigned and Don’t Care (Aaron Williams & Gary Jay) vs. Cowboy Way (1 Called Manders & Thomas Shire) (SLA, April 16, 2026)

North Shore Wrestling (Jack Osborne, Sam Osborne & Will Kiedis) vs. Camaro Jackson, Everett Connors & Mike Outlaw) (SLA, April 16, 2026)

Mio Momono vs. Mei Seira (Marvelous, May 5, 2026)

Takumi Iroha (c) vs. Sareee (Marvelous, May 5, 2026)

Seri Yamaoka vs. Senka Akatsuki (Marigold, May 23, 2026)

21. Fight Like an Apple Goblin and Sting Like a Bee Girl: We checked in on Suzume, Mei Suruga, and some cool matches from DDT.

Suzume (c) vs. Haru Kazashiro (TJPW, May 4, 2026)

Suzume vs. Miya Yotsuba (ChocoPro, May 24, 2026)

MIRAI vs. Chie Koishikawa (ChocoPro, May 24, 2026)

Baliyan Akki vs. Mei Suruga (ChocoPro, May 24, 2026)

Kazuma Sumi vs. MAO (DDT, May 4, 2026)

The column continues on Voices of Wrestling.

18. Syuri, You Jest: I took a look at some notable matches from Syuri and Chihiro Hashimoto.

Syuri vs. Chihiro Hashimoto (Sendai Girls, April 12, 2026)

Miria Kouga vs. Syuri (SEAdLINNNG, April 17, 2026)

Syuri vs. Megan Bayne (Stardom, April 26, 2026)

Chihiro Hashimoto vs. Sareee vs. Saya Kamitani (Fortune Dream, April 16, 2026)

Chihiro Hashimoto & Manami vs. Seri Yamaoka & Yuuka Yamazaki (Shinya Aoki Produce, April 20, 2026)

Honori Hana & Unagi Sayaka vs. Selene Misora & VENY (SEAdLINNNG, April 17, 2026)

19. Carnival of Carnage: I took a look at matches from the second half of this year's Champion Carnival and from Big Japan Pro-Wrestling's Beyond the Survivor.

Kengo Mashimo vs. Kento Miyahara (AJPW, May 5, 2026)

Madoka Kikuta vs. Go Shiozaki (AJPW, May 17, 2026)

Go Shiozaki vs. Hideki Suzuki (AJPW, May 17, 2026)

Kosuke Sato (c) vs. Satsuki Nagao (BJW, April 29, 2026)

15. Here Comes the Carnival

Daisuke Sekimoto vs. Yuma Aoyagi (AJPW, April 12, 2026)

Yuma Anzai vs. Go Shiozaki (AJPW, April 12, 2026)

Go Shiozaki vs. Kento Miyahara (AJPW, April 18, 2026)

Yuma Anzai vs. Kento Miyahara (AJPW, April 19, 2026)

Kengo Mashimo vs. Yuma Anzai (AJPW, April 23, 2026)

El Lindaman vs. Fuminori Abe (Shinya Aoki Produce, April 20, 2026)

16. 2026 30 Under 30 Scouting Reports Vol. 3

Jordan Cruz: Jordan Cruz vs. Fred Rosser (UWN, April 5, 2026)

Ryan Clancy: Jordan Cruz vs. Ryan Clancy (Prestige, February 20, 2026)

Danny Orion: Danny Orion vs. Lil Evil (New Texas Pro, June 1, 2025)

Shimbashi: Danny Orion vs. Shimbashi (New Texas Pro, October 5, 2025)

Jiah Jewell: Jiah Jewell vs. Daisuke Sasaki (Pandemonium Pro, April 15, 2026) and Aaron Solo & Alan Angels vs. Cajun Catch Revival (Jiah Jewell & Seabass Finn) (West Coast Pro, April 16, 2026)

Andrew Cass: Andrew Cass vs. Adam Brooks (West Coast Pro, April 16, 2026)

Johnnie Robbie: Johnnie Robbie vs. Mio Momono (West Coast Pro, April 16, 2026) and Johnnie Robbie vs. Natsupoi (Pandemonium Pro, April 15, 2026)

Mio Momono: Johnnie Robbie vs. Mio Momono (West Coast Pro, April 16, 2026)

Isaiah Moore: Trevor Lee vs. Isaiah Moore (AAW, March 20, 2026)

Jesse Funaki: Timur the Great vs. Jesse Funaki (New Texas Pro, April 5, 2026)

Joe Alonzo: Rich Swann vs. Joe Alonzo (AAW, March 20, 2026)

17. 2026 30 Under 30 Scouting Reports Vol. 4

MAO: MAO vs. Shunma Katsumata (DDT, March 22, 2026)

Aya Sakura and Ranna Yagami: Aya Sakura vs. Ranna Yamagi (Stardom, March 25, 2026)

Mika Iwata: Chihiro Hashimoto vs. Mika Iwata (Sendai Girls, September 23, 2025)

Tatsuya Hanami and Takuro Niki: Tatsuya Hanami vs. Takuro Niki (2AW, November 9, 2025) and Tatsuyna Hanami vs. Takuro Niki (2AW, February 22, 2026)

Yuya Aoki: Daichi Hashimoto vs. Yuya Aoki (ZERO1, April 3, 2026)

Takahiro Hirakimoto: Takahiro Hirakimoto vs. Shinya Ishida (Sportiva, October 1, 2025)

SUZAKU: Ultimate Spider Jr. vs. SUZAKU (Osaka Pro, May 24, 2025)

Genta Yubari and IBUKI: Genta Yubari vs. IBUKI (JTO, October 4, 2025)

Ali Najima: Ali Najima vs. Kotaro Sawada (Sportiva, April 29, 2026) and Ali Najima vs. Yu Shimizu (Sportiva, Aprill 29, 2026)

The latest columns covered another set of wrestlers under the age of 30 for Voices of Wrestling's annual 30 Under 30 project and took a look at some of Sareee's best matches this year.

13. All-Winners Squad

Spark Rush (Takumi Iroha & Sareee) vs. Syuri & Chihiro Hashimoto (Sareee-ISM, March 22, 2026)

Miyu Yamashita & Arisu Endo & vs. Spark Rush (Takumi Iroha & Sareee) (TJPW, March 29, 2026)

Mercedes Mone (c) vs. Alexxis Falcon (RevPro, March 21, 2026)

Jay Joshua (c) vs. 1 Called Manders (RevPro, March 21, 2026)

Jinsei Shinzaki vs. Alexander Otsuka (Michinoku Pro, March 1, 2026)

Kohei Kinoshita, Naoki Tanizaki & TiiiDA vs. Mexa Boy’s (Aguila Oriental, Noisy Boy & Spider Fly) (MeriPro, March 27, 2026)

14. 2026 30 Under 30 Scouting Reports Vol. 2

Rhio: Rhio vs. Emersyn Jayne (EVE, April 10, 2026)

Kasai: Kasai vs. Bronson King (PWF, November 1, 2025)

Emman Azman: Da Butcherman vs. Bryson Blade vs. Emman Azman vs. Andrew Tang (SPW, January 31, 2026)

JJ Furno: JJ Furno vs. Jarvis (PCW, December 6, 2025)

Robbie Thorpe: Robbie Thorpe vs. Jarvis (MCW, February 1, 2026)

Jarvis: Furno vs. Jarvis and Thorpe vs. Jarvis

Randy Chambers: Dan Archer vs. Randy Chambers (SLAM!, April 11, 2026)

Koshiro Asakura: Hideyoshi Kamitani vs. Koshiro Asakura (BJW, April 1, 2025)

Towa Iwasaki: Daichi Hashimoto vs. Towa Iwasaki (BJW, June 22, 2025)

The column continued with some looks at wrestling from around the world and at WrestleMania Week 2026.

7. Worldwide Choppers

Capitan Suicida vs. Yutani from CMLL (February 6, 2026)

Ahura vs. Kouga from GWF (February 7, 2026)

Titus Alexander vs. Masato Tanaka from NOAH (February 9, 2026)

The Tuckman vs. Jessica Troy vs. Robbie Eagles vs. Mark Davis from PWA (February 13, 2026)

Kuro vs. Ricky Sosa from APC (February 15, 2026)

8. Hash-tag Blessed

Mio Momono vs. Ai Houzan from Marvelous (February 5, 2026)

LALLIE (Lana Austin & Hollie Barlow) vs. French Art (Cory Zero & JGU) from EVE (February 6, 2026)

Chi Chi & Chihiro Hashimoto vs. Hiroyo Matsumoto & ZONES from Evolution (February 4, 2026)

Miyuki Takase vs. Chihiro Hashimoto from Sendai Girls (February 8, 2026)

Senka Akatsuki vs. Chihiro Hashimoto from Sendai Girls (February 15, 2026)

9. That's 16 Carat Gold, Jerry, Gold!

Mala Fama (Arez & Toxin) & Ricky Sosa vs. Spider Fly, Titus Alexander & Zoltan from wXw (March 8, 2026)

Chihiro Hashimoto vs. Dani Luna from wXw (March 8, 2026)

Ahura vs. Peter Tihanyi from wXw (March 8, 2026)

Hanan vs. Rina from Stardom (March 15, 2026)

Aran Sano & Tigers Mask vs. VerteX (SUZAKU & TiiiDA) from Osaka Pro (March 8, 2026)

10. 2026 30 Under 30 Scouting Reports Vol. 1

KANON: Yuki Ueno vs. KANON from DDT (March 22, 2026)

Chanyota, MIRAI, and Echika Miyabi: Chanyota & MIRAI vs. Echika Miyabi & Takumi Iroha from P.P.P. Tokyo (March 10, 2026)

Aysha: Aysha vs. Shay Kassidy from MCW (August 30, 2025)

Shay Kassidy: Aysha vs. Shay Kassidy and Robbie Eagles vs. Shay Kassidy from PWA (July 12, 2025)

Joe Lando and Danny Black: Joe Lando vs. Danny Black from RevPro (January 4, 2026)

The Parea (Eli Theseus & Gabriel Aeros): The Parea vs. Better Together from LPW (May 17, 2025)

11. The 2026 WrestleMania Week Streaming Path to Glory

The column continues with looks at some matches of note from February.

5. The Next Episode

Saya Kamitani vs. Starlight Kid from Stardom (February 7, 2026)

Saori Anou vs. Hiroyo Matsumoto from OZ Academy (February 8, 2026)

Unagi Sayaka & Honori Hana vs. Selene Misora & VENY from SEAdLINNNG (February 10, 2026)

Mayu Iwatani vs. Rin from Marigold (February 23, 2026)

Spark Rush (Sareee & Takumi Iroha) vs. Fuwa-chan & Hazuki from Stardom (February 28, 2026)

6. Two DDTs, a GLEAT, and a Dragongate

Yuki Ueno vs. Kaisei Takechi from DDT (February 22, 2026)

Kazuma Sumi vs. Takeshi Masada from DDT (February 22, 2026)

Hayato Tamura & T-Hawk vs. So Daimonji & Shigehiro Irie from GLEAT (February 11, 2026)

The column continues with looks at matches of note from January.

3. The Old Ones Were; The Old Ones Are

Masakatsu Funaki vs. Takanori Ito from GLEAT

Hiromu Takahashi vs. AMAKUSA from Pro Wrestling NOAH

AMAKUSA vs. Daiki Odashima from Pro Wrestling NOAH

Junta Miyawaki vs. Shinya Aoki from DDT

4. I'm Checkin' In

Takumi Iroha vs. Mayu Iwatani from Marigold

Miu Watanabe vs. Suzume from Tokyo Joshi Pro Wrestling

Hazuki vs. Mei Seira from Stardom

Chihiro Hashimoto vs. Saya Iida from Sendai Girls

I've revived the column earlier than I had expected and with a slightly different format. Rather than diving deep into any particular match, I focused on some of the best matches of January 2025 that may have gone under the radar.

I. The G in Grimy Stands for Gajo went through some of the notable matches from some Japanese micro-indies.

Takahiro Tababa vs. Gajo from H-Production out of the Tokyo Underground Arena

Shu Asakawa vs. Kohei Kinoshita from KOBE Meriken Pro-Wrestling out of Motomachi Ringsoul

Ali Najima & Ryutaro Ono vs. Masanori Kanu Watanabe & Yuta Oya from Sportiva Entertainment out of Sportiva Arena

JeTank1997 (Jet Wei & Kodai Nozaki) vs. Hitamaru Sasaki & Minoru Tanaka from Kyushu Pro Wrestling

Kuro vs. Michael Oku from Association les Professionnels du Catch

II. It’s No MIRAI-ge! went through some of MIRAI's best matches from January.

Sareee vs. MIRAI from Tochigi Pro

Chanyota vs. MIRAI from P.P.P. Tokyo

Arisu Endo vs. MIRAI from TJPW

Miku Kanae & Rin vs. MIRAI & NORI from LLPW-X

Here are the pieces that have gone up in my column for Voices of Wrestling.

The column is taking a break now that we are past the voting period of the best matches of 2025, and it will return as we gear up for Voices of Wrestling's annual 30 Under 30 project.

Saya Kamitani vs. Suzu Suzuki, February 2, 2025

Sareee vs. Syuri, March 10, 2025

Hirooki Goto vs. Callum Newman, May 4, 2025

Starlight Kid vs. Rina, February 24, 2025

YAMATO vs. Shun Skywalker, July 13, 2025

Masato Tanaka vs. Hayabusa, August 3, 2025

Kenoh vs. KENTA, July 20, 2025

The 37KAMINA vs. The Astronauts, March 20, 2025

Grizzled Young Veterans vs. Violence Is Forever, April 18, 2025

Los Golpeadores vs. Daga & Daiki Odashima, October 11, 2025

Kyoraku Kyomei vs. Hakuchumu, July 21, 2025

Saya Kamitani vs. Tam Nakano, March 3, 2025

Tam Nakano vs. Saori Anou, April 2, 2025

Saya Kamitani vs. Tam Nakano, April 27, 2025

Mei Seira vs. Suzu Suzuki, April 27, 2025

Hechicero vs. El Barbaro Cavernario, February 28, 2025

Bandido vs. Mascara Dorada, June 17, 2025

Azusa Inaba vs. Tomoka Inaba, May 7, 2025

VENY vs. Rina, May 23, 2025

Robbie Eagles vs. The Tuckman, August 1, 2025

Aliss Ink vs. Mercedes Mone, October 10, 2025

Mei Suruga vs. Rina Yamashita, September 5, 2025

Alex Windsor vs. Jamie Hayter, February 7, 2025

Mayu Iwatatani vs. Syuri, April 27, 2025

Syuri vs. Sareee (June 21, 2025)

Syuri vs. Alex Windsor (June 6, 2025)

Sareee vs. Alex Windsor (October 2, 2025)

Sareee vs. Syuri (October 13, 2025)

Aja Kong & Chihiro Hashimoto vs. Manami & Meiko Satomura (April 29, 2025)

Nanae Takahashi vs. Mayu Iwatani (May 4, 2025)

Miu Watanabe vs. Shoko Nakajima (August 17, 2025)

Mizuki vs. Miu Watanabe (September 20, 2025)

AZM vs. Momo Watanabe (August 23, 2025)

Saya Kamitani vs. AZM (September 27, 2025)

For the record, the column consisted of 68,206 words over 34 columns. I was really pleased that 21 of the columns (or 61.76%) were focused on joshi and that we covered a selection of wrestling companies around the world.

Here are the pieces that have gone up in my column for Voices of Wrestling.

New columns usually get published twice a week, but this week we are publishing every day.

Saya Kamitani vs. Suzu Suzuki, February 2, 2025

Sareee vs. Syuri, March 10, 2025

Hirooki Goto vs. Callum Newman, May 4, 2025

Starlight Kid vs. Rina, February 24, 2025

YAMATO vs. Shun Skywalker, July 13, 2025

Masato Tanaka vs. Hayabusa, August 3, 2025

Kenoh vs. KENTA, July 20, 2025

The 37KAMINA vs. The Astronauts, March 20, 2025

Grizzled Young Veterans vs. Violence Is Forever, April 18, 2025

Los Golpeadores vs. Daga & Daiki Odashima, October 11, 2025

Kyoraku Kyomei vs. Hakuchumu, July 21, 2025

Saya Kamitani vs. Tam Nakano, March 3, 2025

Tam Nakano vs. Saori Anou, April 2, 2025

Saya Kamitani vs. Tam Nakano, April 27, 2025

Mei Seira vs. Suzu Suzuki, April 27, 2025

Hechicero vs. El Barbaro Cavernario, February 28, 2025

Bandido vs. Mascara Dorada, June 17, 2025

Azusa Inaba vs. Tomoka Inaba, May 7, 2025

VENY vs. Rina, May 23, 2025

Robbie Eagles vs. The Tuckman, August 1, 2025

Aliss Ink vs. Mercedes Mone, October 10, 2025

Mei Suruga vs. Rina Yamashita, September 5, 2025

Alex Windsor vs. Jamie Hayter, February 7, 2025

Mayu Iwatatani vs. Syuri, April 27, 2025

Syuri vs. Sareee (June 21, 2025)

Syuri vs. Alex Windsor (June 6, 2025)

Sareee vs. Alex Windsor (October 2, 2025)

Sareee vs. Syuri (October 13, 2025)

Aja Kong & Chihiro Hashimoto vs. Manami & Meiko Satomura (April 29, 2025)

Nanae Takahashi vs. Mayu Iwatani (May 4, 2025)

Here are the pieces that have gone up in my column for Voices of Wrestling.

New columns usually get published twice a week, but this week we are publishing every day.

Saya Kamitani vs. Suzu Suzuki, February 2, 2025

Sareee vs. Syuri, March 10, 2025

Hirooki Goto vs. Callum Newman, May 4, 2025

Starlight Kid vs. Rina, February 24, 2025

YAMATO vs. Shun Skywalker, July 13, 2025

Masato Tanaka vs. Hayabusa, August 3, 2025

Kenoh vs. KENTA, July 20, 2025

The 37KAMINA vs. The Astronauts, March 20, 2025

Grizzled Young Veterans vs. Violence Is Forever, April 18, 2025

Los Golpeadores vs. Daga & Daiki Odashima, October 11, 2025

Kyoraku Kyomei vs. Hakuchumu, July 21, 2025

Saya Kamitani vs. Tam Nakano, March 3, 2025

Tam Nakano vs. Saori Anou, April 2, 2025

Saya Kamitani vs. Tam Nakano, April 27, 2025

Mei Seira vs. Suzu Suzuki, April 27, 2025

Hechicero vs. El Barbaro Cavernario, February 28, 2025

Bandido vs. Mascara Dorada, June 17, 2025

Azusa Inaba vs. Tomoka Inaba, May 7, 2025

VENY vs. Rina, May 23, 2025

Robbie Eagles vs. The Tuckman, August 1, 2025

Aliss Ink vs. Mercedes Mone, October 10, 2025

Mei Suruga vs. Rina Yamashita, September 5, 2025

Alex Windsor vs. Jamie Hayter, February 7, 2025

Here are the pieces that have gone up in my column for Voices of Wrestling.

New columns get published twice a week; we aim for Tuesdays to Thursdays.

Saya Kamitani vs. Suzu Suzuki, February 2, 2025

Sareee vs. Syuri, March 10, 2025

Hirooki Goto vs. Callum Newman, May 4, 2025

Starlight Kid vs. Rina, February 24, 2025

YAMATO vs. Shun Skywalker, July 13, 2025

Masato Tanaka vs. Hayabusa, August 3, 2025

Kenoh vs. KENTA, July 20, 2025

The 37KAMINA vs. The Astronauts, March 20, 2025

Grizzled Young Veterans vs. Violence Is Forever, April 18, 2025

Los Golpeadores vs. Daga & Daiki Odashima, October 11, 2025

Kyoraku Kyomei vs. Hakuchumu, July 21, 2025

Saya Kamitani vs. Tam Nakano, March 3, 2025

Tam Nakano vs. Saori Anou, April 2, 2025

Saya Kamitani vs. Tam Nakano, April 27, 2025

Mei Seira vs. Suzu Suzuki, April 27, 2025

Hechicero vs. El Barbaro Cavernario, February 28, 2025

Bandido vs. Mascara Dorada, June 17, 2025

Azusa Inaba vs. Tomoka Inaba, May 7, 2025

Here are the pieces that have gone up in my column for Voices of Wrestling.

New columns get published on Mondays and Thursdays.

Saya Kamitani vs. Suzu Suzuki, February 2, 2025

Sareee vs. Syuri, March 10, 2025

Hirooki Goto vs. Callum Newman, May 4, 2025

Starlight Kid vs. Rina, February 24, 2025

YAMATO vs. Shun Skywalker, July 13, 2025

Masato Tanaka vs. Hayabusa, August 3, 2025

Kenoh vs. KENTA, July 20, 2025

The 37KAMINA vs. The Astronauts, March 20, 2025

Grizzled Young Veterans vs. Violence Is Forever, April 18, 2025

Los Golpeadores vs. Daga & Daiki Odashima, October 11, 2025

Kyoraku Kyomei vs. Hakuchumu, July 21, 2025

Saya Kamitani vs. Tam Nakano, March 3, 2025

Tam Nakano vs. Saori Anou, April 2, 2025

I have a column on Voices of Wrestling, and so far I've reworked some of the pieces that I've published here for that column. We will hit new material starting next week.

New columns get published on Mondays and Thursdays.

Saya Kamitani vs. Suzu Suzuki, February 2, 2025

Sareee vs. Syuri, March 10, 2025

Hirooki Goto vs. Callum Newman, May 4, 2025

Starlight Kid vs. Rina, February 24, 2025

YAMATO vs. Shun Skywalker, July 13, 2025

Masato Tanaka vs. Hayabusa, August 3, 2025

Kenoh vs. KENTA, July 20, 2025

As I had mentioned, Stardom All-Star Grand Queendom 2025 was a showcase of the company's past, present, and future. In the 22-years-old AZM and 24-years-old Starlight Kid's match for the Wonder of Stardom title, we have a high stakes match that features two of Stardom's most popular and most talented wrestlers, women who should be future foils for Saya Kamitani, the current face of the company.

Both wrestlers are part of the Neo Genesis faction, and Suzu Suzuki claims that AZM's decision to challenge her fellow member was the reason her loyalty to the group broke. One must appreciate the way a story in Stardom can affect multiple matches on a show and how helpful factions can be to this type of story construction in a wrestling company. AZM's costume, in particular the neon tubing, the headset, and the gas mask, reminds me of the Tokyo Cyber Squad faction that Hana Kimura had led, though AZM was never a member of that group. (On the other hand, Starlight Kid's first challenger in her current Wonder of Stardom reign, Rina, was. In a faction-based company, the connections between wrestlers make it seem like it's a very small world.)

The theme of the match is speed and technical precision. Both are former High Speed Champions, so they value quick strikes and taking risks to exact high damage on their opponents and maximum rewards for themselves. So, AZM, for example, will haltingly try to stop Kid with a top rope plancha.

And Kid and AZM will kick at the other's legs to try to slow their opponent down.

AZM will also target Kid's arm, and Kid will occasionally shake the arm out, but it doesn't slow her down much overall.

In general, AZM's offensive war crate is entertaining and well executed, as one would expect from a wrestler wrestling in such a prominent match. In particular, I thought the decision to follow a double stomp while AZM held herself up in the corner with an attempt at a double stomp from the top turnbuckle to a supine Kid and then a top rope dropkick that effectively serves as a double stomp on Kid's ribs was an entertaining chain.

And then AZM throws out a La Mistica armbreaker for good measure, which was delightful because the crossover of lucha libre to joshi puroresu is an unexpected cultural and professional interaction.

(I did two double takes when AZM and Starlight Kid both repeated the some of the brutal moments from the Mayu Iwatani vs. Syuri match, which preceded this match on the show. AZM, like Syuri, used the Rings of Saturn, a submission hold that wrenches back both of the opponent's arms to stretch the shoulder joints. Kid used her leg to try to choke out AZM while she had AZM trapped in the Stretch Muffler, a leg submission that stretches the knee, after Syuri made choking her opponent with her leg while she trapped her in a submission hold a featured part in her match. The graceful interpretation is that great minds think alike. The less graceful interpretation is that the person who planned out the show should have made sure there wasn't notable repetition between two consecutive matches.)

Starlight Kid had to play this match from the defensive role, so she had to make AZM look like a credible challenger and to make the most of her windows of offense. To Kid's credit, her offense looked terrific, like this running double knee strike to AZM's shoulders.

And she is able to turn defense into offense, like this counter to AZM's Tiger Driver into a stalling Tiger Driver of her own.

It's also notable that Starlight Kid wrestled much of the match with a nosebleed; it's crusted over by the time we see a close-up of it after AZM hits a desperate Canadian Destroyer flipping piledriver.

I appreciated that Starlight Kid's offensive burst was curtailed by something simple: a strong elbow strike to the jaw.

And I appreciated that AZM showed me something new: a Tiger Canadian Destroyer.

It's appropriate that AZM has to pick Starlight Kid and prop her on the top turnbuckle after the Tiger Canadian Destroyer.

After all that, it's a bit anticlimactic when Starlight Kid beats AZM after hitting a Spanish Fly from the top rope and a pair of Tiger Suplexes on the mat.

As of this writing, this match is the 147th highest rated match of 2025 on Cagematch, ahead of matches like YAMATO vs. Kzy and El Desperado vs. Francesco Akira. The ending felt rushed, especially after Starlight Kid played dead so well after AZM's chain of offense. AZM seemed unsure of her footing at the start of the match, but she found it by the end. Of the matches from All-Star Grand Queendom 2025 that we've touched on so far, I would put this behind Mei Seira vs. Suzu Suzuki and Mayu Iwatani vs. Syuri.

It's funny to think that Sareee, who is not wrestling on Stardom All-Star Grand Queendom 2025 (although she did wrestle Mayu Iwatani at All-Star Grand Queendom 2024), is the connective thread between these two Stardom stalwarts in our journey. We last encountered Syuri when she wrestled Sareee to a 30-minute draw in March, and we last encountered Iwatani when she teamed with Sareee to face Chihiro Hashimoto (who did wrestle at All-Star Grand Queendom 2025) and VENY.

All-Star Grand Queendom represented the past, present, and future of Stardom. Former World of Stardom Champion Meiko Satomura wrestled a six-woman tag team match as a part of her retirement tour. Iwatani, who made her debut on Stardom's first show, defends her IWGP Women's Championship against Syuri, another wrestler who is closely identified with Stardom. Tam Nakano, another wrestler in Iwatani's generation in Stardom, wrestles for her career against Saya Kamitani, the current World of Stardom Champion and point of focus for the company, in a rematch from their battle from March. Elsewhere on the show, Starlight Kid and AZM wrestled for Starlight Kid's Wonder of Stardom title, while Maika challenged Hashimoto for her Sendai Girls World title. And we've already seen Mei Seira and Suzu Suzuki clash in a bloody brawl.

After defeating Mercedes Mone for the title in 2023, Iwatani has defended the title against nine of the best wrestlers in the world, including Syuri. This is the only rematch in Iwatani's reign, and the narrative is simple: Syuri wants revenge, and Iwatani wants to deny Syuri the satisfaction.

Oh, look who's here.

Syuri and Iwatani try to impress us with intensity from the start as they grab each other's hair after the regular opening trade of holds. Iwatani makes her game plan clear by kicking Syuri's leg, hoping to weaken Syuri's powerful kicks. For good measure, Iwatani flies with a dropkick on to Syuri's chest.

Iwatani then makes the mistake of trying to go blow for blow with Syuri; you'd expect the former mixed martial arts fighter to win such an engagement. Syuri doesn't disappoint, and she batters Iwatani with lifting knee strikes until Iwatani gets a little breathing space and dives on to Syuri.

Let's skip to the chase: I really enjoyed this match, and I would easily recommend it to anyone. There are nits to pick with the match (like the funnily awkward shuffle that Syuri has to do along the bottom rope after a running kick in the corner from Iwatani so that Syuri is in position to battle Iwatani on the middle turnbuckle or Iwatani's loose headscissors on Syuri once she wins the battle on the ring post or how annoying it must be for Syuri to have Iwatani's tail in her face when Iwatani sits on her chest to pin her or the missed headscissors from Iwatani that ends with Syuri dropping to a seated position with Iwatani on her shoulders or Syuri's finishing slams that look both too complex and too simple), but I'd rather just bask in the cool stuff in the match, like:

Syuri kicking the hell out of Iwatani

Iwatani returning the favor with a thrust kick to the face

Syuri then kicking Iwatani right in the head too

And then we got the natural conclusion, both woman kicking each other in the face, which shows remarkably good timing.

Iwatani portraying her level of fatigue and hurt in the match in little ways like how she's slumped over slightly while preparing to climb the turnbuckles for a dive on to Syuri

Syuri's armbreaker suplex, which feels a natural combination of her MMA background and professional wrestling

Iwatani moving her lower body constantly to try to wiggle out of Syuri's submission attempt and moving her body so she can reach the ropes instead of laying there and just acting with her face to show how much it's supposedly hurting her and the way she kicks her legs against the mat in pain after Syuri releases the hold

The way the audio distortion and Syuri's hoarse voice combined to make her screaming sound digitally enhanced, making Syuri seem monstrous as she continues to beat on Iwatani

The way Iwatani stumbles after flinging Syuri around with a headscissors to again impart on the audience how hurt she is

This submission choke from Syuri, which made me gasp, especially after Iwatani's eyes faded like she were actually getting choked out.

In the end, Iwatani manages a last gasp kick out at 1 after kicking getting in the head again by Syuri, but she can mount no comebacks from there. Instead, Syuri kicks her in the head a bunch more times, drops her on her back a couple of times, and beats Iwatani for the title.

Not only does Syuri beat Iwatani for the title, she also effectively ends Iwatani's tenure in Stardom as Iwatani announces after the match that she would be leaving the company. There were no more worlds to conquer in Stardom for Iwatani, and she does instead what most had been expecting her to to do: to join Rossy Ogawa in Dream Star Fighting Marigold as soon as she was able.

Meanwhile, to no one's surprise, Sareee immediately challenges Syuri to a rematch from their time-limit draw, this time for Syuri's newly won title.

As of this writing, this match is the 16th highest rated match of 2025 on Cagematch behind matches like Sareee vs. Syuri and a match that we will discuss very soon. The match is great and easily recommended.