Sondre reviews Puro special volume: Go Shiozaki & Kenta Kobashi vs. Katsuhiko Nakajima & Kensuke Sasaki

Go Shiozaki & Kenta Kobashi vs. Katsuhiko Nakajima & Kensuke Sasaki

NOAH 3rd Great Voyage 2005

5th of November 2005

Disclaimer:
I DON'T CLAIM ANY RIGHT TO SCREENSHOTS USED UNDER HERE.

Foreword

So I have just finished a rewatch of this match and since I plan on doing a review of the Go Shiozaki 2020 run as GHC champion next week, I thought I might as well write a quick breakdown of one of my favorite tag matches of all time. I will of course give my star rating but I warn you it's high.

 

The Story leading up to the match. (This is taken from someone else's review of the match I'll shout them out at the end.)

This is a tag team match between NOAH ace at the time Kenta Kobashi and his protégé Go Shiozaki on one side, and on the other side is former NJPW star and then-freelancer Kensuke Sasaki and his protégé, Katsuhiko Nakajima. Sasaki and Nakajima were outsiders from Sasaki’s Diamond Ring promotion wrestling in enemy territory on a NOAH show. Sasaki was looking for revenge on Kobashi after losing to him at Destiny 2005, while Kobashi wanted to prove that victory wasn’t just a fluke. Sasaki’s protégé Nakajima was less than two years into his pro wrestling career and was only 17 years old when this match happened. Not only was Nakajima out to prove himself to his mentor Sasaki, but he also wanted to out-perform his NOAH counterpart Shiozaki, who was six years older yet had debuted six months after Nakajima. 

Match Breakdown

The first act: The young show promise.

The two students run to the ring before the legends come out, both Go and Katsuhiko had just started their careers, so they did not get any big entrance.

The match starts with the two young stars running at each other with forearms they have a great exchange, you really see the shades of the two great wrestlers they will become.
When Kobashi tags in he and Sasaki have a great staredown and do some chops before both deciding to test each other's strength Kobashi manages to do a northern lights suplex but Sasaki gets up impatiently they then square up again and goes into the corner where Shiozaki tags in again.
He really shows that fighting spirit that he would become known for later doing chops and forearms but takes a lot of offense from the bigger Sasaki.
When Nakajima gets tagged in you really see the killer he would become with fast accurate kicks and chops but when the bigger Kobashi gets tagged in he gets dominated a lot taking a lot of punishing chops and overhand strikes.
Shiozaki gets tagged in and does a camel clutch after a dropkick but Sasaki comes to his student's aid and chops Shiozaki to the back but he answers by dropkicking Sasaki back into the corner.
Shiozaki puts Nakajima in a surfboard hold, and while the ref tries to keep Sasaki from entering the ring again Kobashi comes in and delivers a devastating chop to the elevated chest of Nakajima.
Kobashi tags in shortly after this and dominates some but Nakajima manages to get out of it and deliver a great diving front dropkick before hot tagging in Sasaki again.

The Second act: Nakajima and Sasaki dominate.

This is the first time since the start that the two veterans have been in and they go after each other hard, chops and lariats and every member of the crowd goes wild for each chop, after about a minute of chopping each other as hard as they can. 

It ends when Sasaki manages to deliver a backdrop suplex to Kobashi but Kobashi gets back up right away and they continue for a bit until Kobashi does his Burning Sword chop and tags in Shiozaki. Shiozaki really tries everything to get the big man down and when he finally manages to after a series of running forearms, Sasaki gets right up and chops him down before tagging in Nakajima, the two rookies got back and forth a bit with Nakajima doing most of the offense a great moment is when Nakajima has Shiozaki in a sleeping hold, and Kobashi makes the crowd clap 

for Shiozaki do get out of it by clapping himself, Shiozaki manages to get to the ropes, Nakajima tags Sasaki in again and Sasaki does a lot of lariats to Shiozaki and 

pins him but at 2 Kobashi comes into the ring and kicks Sasaki of him, Sasaki then does a great running slam into the corner and pins Shiozaki but Shiozaki kicks out. 

Nakajima gets tagged in and goes on the hunt but Shiozaki still fights back this reminds me a lot of their modern battles. 

Kobashi really shows support for Shiozaki getting the crowd to clap for him and shouting at him, Nakajima continues to punish Shiozaki. 

Sasaki gets tagged in and tries to do a suplex to Shiozaki but he fights back and after a test of strength manages to do a great suplex, the crowd gasps and Shiozaki crawls to his corner and tags in Kobashi.

The Third act: The Invaders Prevail.

When Kobashi comes he does his legendary machine gun chops to Sasaki in the corner, they go back and forth with both hitting a lot of machine-gun chops. 

It ends when Kobashi manages to hit a tiger suplex on Sasaki but he stands up again right after so Kobashi does another, but Nakajima comes in and does a german suplex to Kobashi, Shiozaki comes in right after and does a backdrop to Nakajima, Sasaki gets up a does a dragon suplex to Shiozaki to send him out again this was one of the best moments in a match with a lot of great moments. The crowd gives the four men a standing ovation as they are getting up again.

Kobashi and Sasaki get back at the same time and go back and forth a bit before Sasaki manages to put Kobashi in his stranglehold submission but Kobashi gets to the rope.

Kobashi tries to fight back and goes for a running lariat but Sasaki manages to catch him in a power slam and pins him but Kobashi kicks out.

Nakajima asks loudly to be tagged in and gets tagged in he hits a diving dropkick that sends Kobashi into the corner and he does his own machine gun kicks in the corner to Kobashi.

Kobashi however soon comes back by chopping Nakajima out of the air when he goes for a dropkick then he puts Nakajima in Texas clover hold, Sasaki tries to save him by coming

into the ring and kicking Kobashi but Shiozaki gets him in a sleeper hold however Nakajima gets to the rope. 

Shiozaki tags in and goes on the offense finally he is in control, Nakajima however comes back when Shiozaki climbs up on the top rope by doing a jumping kick to him, Shiozaki falls down and Nakajima capitalizes and does a german suplex for and bridges for a very close nearfall. that is saved when Kobashi comes in for the save, the veterans go outside and have chop battle something interesting is that I think this was the first time in this match that they had gone to the ringside to fight.

Meanwhile, in the ring, Shiozaki and Nakajima go back and forth and it ends when Shiozaki does a really scary german suplex to Nakajima into the middle rope corner pad, he follows up with a bridging German suplex in the middle of the ring but Nakajima just manages to kick out this was amazing.

Shiozaki followed up with a picture-perfect moonsault, but Nakajima manages to get up in time before Shiozaki expected it and hits a series of kicks to 

Shiozaki before they are both knocked to the floor.

They both try to get to their own corner to tag in their teachers but Nakajima is the one that manages it first and Sasaki but Shiozaki fights back, a lot before Sasaki manages to hit a lariat and goes for the pin but Kobashi comes in and breaks it up. Kobashi and Sasaki go back and forth some but then Nakajima gets in and they do a sweet double-team maneuver to Kobashi (I don't know the name but it looks hella cool).

Sasaki hits the Tornado Bomb to Shiozaki but he kicks out at two and the crowd goes wild.

Sasaki follows up with a Lariat than ends the match 1.2.3

After the match, both teams shake hands and bow to each other a great moment.

Closing Thoughts and rating:

This match is ageless. Like many of the big matches in both Kobashi and Sasaki's careers. But this showed off the next generation of Noah Main eventers, the current stars, the two who just main event the Budokan (The same arena as this match was in) on January 1st, 2022 for the GHC Heavyweight Title almost seventeen years later.

They really created two stars in this match, they are now both two of my favorite wrestlers so I will rate this very high. Please remember that this match is special to me and I warned you in the first volume that I can go over 5 sometimes. So don't hate me too much for going a little bit Meltzer here.

Final Rating ******on the Sondre Rating.

Source for a review that I copy-pasted some of the backstory from (its also really good better than my): https://tjrwrestling.net/feature/almost-5-star-match-reviews-kenta-kobashi-and-go-shiozaki-vs-kensuke-sasaki-and-katsuhiko-nakajima-noah-11-05-05-by-alex-podgorski/

Thanks for reading! This was fun for me, I'll hope you'll read the Go Shiozaki review when it comes out in two weeks or so.

Feel free to follow me on Twitter: https://twitter.com/SondreBjorn

Bye <3

Sondre reviews Puro special volume: Wonder of Tam Nakano Part II

 

Tam Nakano's 2021: A truly Wonderful Year Part II.

Disclaimer:
I DON'T CLAIM ANY RIGHT TO SCREENSHOTS USED UNDER HERE.
All credit goes to Stardom and Bushiroad.

Forword:

This is part II of my Tam Nakano Wonder of Stardom reign review. Before you start reading further I recommend reading the first part first.

A lot of the quotes I'm going to use is from a blog with translations by Dana find her here: https://twitter.com/ItsDanaNow (Great Follow DO IT)

“Ever since I joined Stardom fans have been telling me, “Tam-chan, I want you to win the white belt for sure,” and I was finally able to make those dreams come true. Once you make one dream come true though, you can make another dream come true. We can make dreams come true together forever. So in a way, I hope I stay unfinished forever,”  - Tam Nakano

Wonder of Stardom Championship match #5

10th Anniversary Grand Final Osaka Dream Cinderella

Defense #4 

9th of October 2021

Mayu Iwatani vs. (c) Tam Nakano

“Mayu Iwatani is a wrestling prodigy. But when she started, she was so weak and clumsy, and she struggled to grow. But she never gave up, no matter how many times she lost, and now she’s known as the “Icon of Women’s Wrestling.” As I was getting better I was always looking at Mayu’s back, so I think she’s the strongest.”- Tam Nakano

When it was announced that Mayu Iwatani vs. Tam Nakano for the Wonder of Stardom title would not be the main event for this PPV, some fans were mad it was not given the Main Event slot since this story in essence had been building since 2018 when Tam joined STARS. I was both against and for it being in the Semi-Final, I thought this match should have been the main event for the backstory but I was fine with it because it seemed like this was the first of two matches for the Wonder title in 2021. Anyways On September 25th Tam Nakano, after her win over Utami Hayashishita in the 5 star Grand Prix requested that her title challenger for this PPV would be Mayu Iwatani. Mayu said that if she would have won the Grand Prix, she would have challenged for the White Belt anyway. This was also a rematch from earlier in 2021 when they went to a 15minute time limit draw.

During the entrance Mayu revealed that she had dyed her hair blond, is this important to the match? No, do I prefer it over brown? No.

Something I liked a lot during the entrances was that Mayu had her back turned to Tam the whole entrance and only turned around when the pre-match ceremony began.

The match starts with almost a minute of just staring at each other while the crowd claps.

They do some feeling out and grappling but that ends when Mayu does a devastating kick to Tam's ribs and Tam rolls out of the ring.

When Tam gets back in the ring the intensity picks up she manages to connect with a high kick followed by a german suplex and gets a very early nearfall.

Tam dominates some after that especially focusing on Mayu's neck and disrespecting her at one point ramming Mayu's head repitvly to the mat.

She puts Mayu in the corner dragon sleeper twice and on the second she lifts Mayu out over the ropes to the ringside, Tam goes for her plancha but Mayu hits her with a thurst kick in the air, she rolls Tam inside the ring and climbs up in the corner and connects with a great diving dropkick and pin her for a close nearfall.

Mayu does a lot of dominating after this going after Tam's ribs with double foot stomps and kicks, she dropkicks Tam out from the ring and goes for a suicide dive, but Tam gets up on the apron before Mayu comes and kicks Mayu and does a rope-assisted neckbreaker on Mayu to the apron.

They go back and forth on the outside with forearms and at one point both women push the ref away so he can let them fight, the ref a short time after that actually shove them back into the ring, that was very funny to me.

They keep going very hard inside the ring both hitting each other hard, Tam gets the upper hand and does a lot of kicks to the back and neck of Mayu and goes for the Violet Shoot but Mayu counters with a thrust kick, but Tam is quick to get back up and hits a spinning back kick.

Tam takes her up and does four german suplexes in a row and pins her but Mayu kicks out right before 3, great nearfall.

Tam tries to hit her with a tiger suplex but Mayu rolls her up and gets 2 then hits a dragon suplex but can't bridge to make the cover.

They go back and forth a bit after that with kicks at one point both sitting and kicking each other, but then moves over to trading headbutts with Mayu winning the exchange.

A slap fight starts and something interesting is that here it is Tam hitting weak slaps that Mayu doesn't notice, this is something every challenger has done to Tam and I really like that in the match against the wrestler who took her in after Tam was kicked from Oedo Tai she can't connect with the slaps, and eventually collapse from trying.

Mayu kicks her after she collapsed and pin her for a nearfall she, climbs up and try to go for a moonsault but Tam moves out of the way slap her in the face, and follows up with a 

violet shoot that sends Mayu out from the ring, Tam follows her with her plancha to the outside. 

Tam rolls Mayu inside again and hits her with another violet shoot then a tiger suplex but Mayu kicks out at 2.

Mayu comes back some after getting out of an attempted suplex and hits the Dodonpa for another good nearfall, when they get up Mayu hits a fantastic inverted frankensteiner for another good nearfall.

Mayu goes for another moonsault but Tam rolls away, we then hear the ring announcer say that 5 minutes are remaining, and I still shout "what?!" when I hear that, this match had been going so fast that I had noticed the time.

They go back and forth in the ring with some kicks and after a kick from both they both fall out of the ring but at opposite ends, they both get back in at the 19 counts. 

They continue fighting in the ring, Mayu gets the upper hand and climbs up and hits a frog splash from the corner, then she hit a dragon suplex for another great nearfall. 

After the tiger suplex, she climbs up and finally connects with a moonsault, but Tam just kicks out right before 3, Mayu picks her up and looks like she's about to hit her high-end dragon suplex, but Tam takes her arm and rolls her up, Mayu kicks out and rolls Tam up but Tam kicks out, they both stand up and slap each other at the same time, and both fall.

Tam tries for the pin but Mayu kicks out, she gets Mayu up and hits the Violet Screwdriver but Mayu kicks out, we hear that there are 10 seconds remaining.

Tam tries to do the Twilight Dream but the bell ring before she can do it, she still does it but it is too late the time has expired it is a Time Limit Draw.

Tam is heartbroken she couldn't defeat Mayu, she has retained her title but she still can't beat Mayu. I really love this match, the passion they both show really draws me in but especially Tam really shows how much she needs this win against Mayu something she never has done.

The draw didn't matter to me at the time but now I don't like it because I feel that Tam should have gotten the win over Mayu during this reign. Guess it could always be in the Red Belt run *crosses fingers*. 

This still is an outstanding match filled with emotion, passion, and most importantly desire to beat Mayu Iwatani. 

*****on the Sondre rating.

"I've climbed this far just so I could surpass you! I can't accept a draw. There's no point if you don't win! We're absolutely going to settle this, absolutely!" -Tam Nakano.

"Tam I couldn't beat you for the White Belt today. Tam, thinking positively, we had a draw today. Since things weren't settled I should be able to challenge for that belt one more time! If Tam can overcome Mayu, well, Mayu can overcome Tam!" -Mayu Iwatani.

After the match, Unagi Sayaka Tam's fellow cosmic angel comes out and announces her desire to challenge for the belt.

"In Osaka-Jo Hall, I lost my belt. I lost two belts in under two weeks and honestly, my heart went numb. But on that day, watching Tam-san and Mayu-san’s match, their pure pro-wrestling moved my heart and I thought, pro wrestling is amazing. I won’t look down just because I lost my belt, I’ll keep looking up and forwards, more than anyone else, I want to keep moving. As such, I want to challenge for the thing that’s shining the brightest in Stardom right now, that white belt. Let’s do it." - Unagi Sayaka

Wonder of Stardom Championship match #6

Kawasaki Super Women's War

Defense #5

3rd of November 2021

Unagi Sayaka vs. (c) Tam Nakano

Unagi, Unagi as far as this match I hope it leaves you happy you joined Cosmic Angels but at the same time I kind of hope you realize how incredibly outclassed you are. Please, come at me with all your heart. - Tam Nakano before this match.

When the match starts the two Cosmic angles shake hands, and then start a pretty standard feeling out process.

The intensity picks up when Tam begins kicking Unagi on the ground, she dominates some with a lot of kicks to the back and head of Unagi.

Unagi comes back with some forearms but Tam still has the upper hand at one point after a high kick she goes for the cover and lifts Unagi up right before 3, and continues to kick her. Tam really wants Unagi to show the passion and heart she promised, and Tam has yet to see it.

Unagi comes back with a flapjack to the ropes that sends Tam to the apron, Unagi is quick to react and hits a swinging reverse STO to the floor.

Unagi gets Tam back in the ring and starts hitting her to the back, at one point hitting her spinning sit-out facebuster followed by her leg drop and pins Tam but only gets 2.

She climbs up to the corner to go for her frog splash but Tam climbs up after her, they go back and forth a bit on the top rope, I really like this point in the match, they have a slap fight on the top robe, Unagi after one slap starts bleeding from the lip, she does a devastating headbutt, Tam follows with a headbutt and a kick to the head of her own and Unagi falls to the ground, Tam hits her plancha to her and rolls her back inside the ring.

In the ring Tam hits a violet shoot to the Unagi and pins her for a great nearfall, Tam tries to go for her german suplex but Unagi reverses.

Unagi gains some control and is able to but Tam in the dragon sleeper, Tam really struggles to get out of it but gets to the rope. Unagi shows clear frustration, and Tam is able to take advantage of it and hits a tiger driver but can't get in for a pin.

They both start hitting and kicking each other while they are getting up, when they get up Unagi hits a series of forearms that all don't seem to face Tam until one brings Tam to her knees.

Unagi tries to go for a lariat but Tam is too quick and hits her with a thrust kick, then a backspin kick when she gets up, Tam goes for a tiger suplex but Unagi gets out and manages to hit a swinging reverse STO.

They go back and forth a bit and Tam hit a high bridge German suplex for a near fall, Tam goes up to the top rope, but before she can do anything Unagi gets her down and manages to hit a rope-assisted swinging reverse STO. Unagi then picks up Tam and has her in the gory special for some time but realizes Tam won't tap and hit a reverse Michinoku driver for a great nearfall.

Unagi picks Tam up and hits one of her finishers "Taigi de atta", but Tam just manages to kick out. Unagi shows frustration she has hit Tam with everything she has but she still won't go down.

Unagi dominates some after that, but Tam eventually gets back with a tiger suplex but can't bridge for the pin. She hits a backspin kick, high kick, and a violet shoot but Unagi kicks out.

Tam gets her up and hits another tiger suplex and looks like she is going for the bridge pin but takes her up again and hit the Twilight Dream for the 1.2.3

This match is really good, I had forgotten how good it was because it didn't get that much hype like the other Tam defenses but it really delivers, Unagi shows she has the heart and passion she wanted to show and more. This is what I love with this reign so much, there is so much emotion from all of Tam's challengers and they all come out of the match looking a lot better than before. Now if Unagi can just stop always jumping the line in title contention I will like her a lot.

Tam and Unagi hug after the match.

****1/2 on the Sondre rating.

"Hey Unagi, how was a taste of this White Belt? There's more pain, more tears, you gotta look at yourself and get even stronger! Otherwise, you can't catch up to the White Belt and Tam Nakano!" - Tam Nakano

Tam asks who the next White Belt challenger is and looks around.

"The next challenger is Mina Shirakawa, how about it? You promised I'd be stronger next to you when I came to Stardom right? But, I think that now I can stand opposite you." - Mina Shirakawa

Wonder of Stardom Championship match #7

Toyko Super Women's War

Defense #6

27th of November 2021

Mina Shirakawa vs. (c) Tam Nakano

I’m the powerbomb to your heart. Tam-san, this time you accepted my challenge for your belt, thank you. I’m always seconding for your matches, I’ve seen more up close than anyone, you’re seriously always making me cry, so much. But that’s enough Tam, I’m always scared you’re going to die or something, that when you come down from the ring after winning you’ll go to sleep and not wake up again, I seriously worry so much. Haven’t you done your best for long enough? I’m going to tear that white belt from your hands so you can finally relax your heart and your body. - Mina Shirakawa before this match.

This one gets weird folks. Mina Shirakawa cared so much about Tam that she felt she needed to take the Wonder of Stardom title from her, to protect her. Mina Shirakawa comes out and is totally different from before, she has dyed her hair black and has teardrops makeup under her eyes.

Before the match can start Mina attacks Tam from behind the ref starts the match and Mina does a rope-assisted DDT to Tam and goes for the early pin but Tam kicks out and rolls out of the ring.

Mina dominates some on the outside then goes back in the ring and waits for Tam to get back in, when Tam comes back in Mina continues to dominate. 

Tam comes back a bit when she connects with a kick that sends Mina out from the ring, she follows her and hits her plancha from the top rope.

Mina soon comes back when they get back in the ring beating down
Tam in the corner with kicks, she drags her out, and gives her a facebuster.

Then she sits down next to her and starts kicking her and asks her to hit her back but Tam just takeverythingng they stand up and Mina hits her until she collapses and can't hit Tam anymore, Tam takes her up and hits a backspin kick and follows up with the violet shoot and a backdrop but Mina kicks out at two, Tam takes her up again and does the german suplex and bridges but Mina kicks out again.

Tam does her corner hanging dragon sleeper and when the ref counts to 4 she lets go and drags Mina over the ropes and down to the apron, Tam tries to do a german to the apron but Mina gets outfall to the floor and drag her to her knees she then follows up with a hanging DDT to the floor, the ref starts counting them out and gets to 19 before they both can make it in.

They sit down in the middle of the ring and start trading kicks, they move on to forearms as they are standing up, when they get up Tam gets the upper hand and connects with a high kick followed by a tiger driver and pins Mina but she kicks out at 2.

Tam tries to go for the Twilight Dream but Mina fights out of it hitting a spinning backhand blow followed by an implant DDT.

Mina goes to the top rope, takes Tam with her, and hits an implant DDT from the top rope corner, she then picks Tam up for a powerbomb but Tam changes the movement and falls down on her and pins her but Mina kicks out.

Tam tries to go for the violet shoot but Mina meets her with a Lou Thesz press, she pins her but Tam kicks out. She tries to lift Tam up for the Glamorous driver but Tam manages to get out and hits a german suplex, but she can't bridge for the cover.

Mina gets back up before Tam and is about to slap her but she stops herself, she can't hit her, Tam capitalizes slaps her then does a tiger suplex and a violet shoot for a very close nearfall.

Tam gets her up again does the violet screwdriver then the Twilight Dream for the 1.2.3.

A hug after the match

This match tells a very good story but is very flawed in my opinion, it does a lot of good character storytelling but not a lot of good wrestling. 

I still have a soft spot for it, it tells the story of someone that sees their friend is going to get hurt and thinks she is the only one that can stop her before she gets badly hurt.

It may have some rough spots but it is emotional and filled with passion, and that is Tam Nakano's title reign in a nutshell, isn't it?.

***3/4 on the Sondre rating.

After the match Saya Kamitani comes out, she had won a three-way match earlier that made her the nr1 contender for the Wonder of Stardom title. The rematch from the match earlier in the year was set for as the final defense of 2021 for Tam Nakano.

They finally shake hands. 
Remember part I.

Wonder of Stardom Championship match #8

Stardom Dream Queendom

Defense #7

29th of December 2021

Saya Kamitani vs. (c) Tam Nakano

"Tam told me something, that I don’t understand my own weakness. I cry too easily, I get sick or hurt too easily, I say things I’m not supposed to and immediately scream and beg for forgiveness, I’ve faced every part of myself that I hate. Some of my feelings have changed a lot. I don’t want to surpass my master anymore, I think I’m already above her, and I’ll take the white belt because I want to shine like a superstar. Tam, your cursed belt, I’ll be the one to take it from your waist. That’s enough of your dreaming." - Saya Kamitani.

"Aren’t you the one who’s focusing on impossible dreams? Because as for me, I’ve recklessly offered up everything in order to grab my dreams. That’s where my strength comes from. I’ve struggled and struggled, and from this point forward I’ll keep gazing towards my dreams, and somehow I’ll reach out and grab them no matter what. I will get what I want at all costs. Because that’s what it is to be a pro wrestler, isn’t it? Kamitani I really do think you’ve grown. But, I’ve faced challenges and carried their feelings with me, I’ve fought and defended this belt. This belt is basically a part of my body now. I will not be handing it over. I’ll pluck the phoenix’s feathers, and I’ll spend 2022 as the sacred white belt champion as well, and then, well, I’ll reign as champion. Kamitani, we were both idols, so you understand what I mean when I say this, right?" - Tam Nakano

Good things come in threes, but when it comes to this special volume and Saya Kamitani vs. Tam Nakano for the Wonder of Stardom belt, good things come in twos. That might not have sounded as smart as I thought it would but it is true, this match is as good as their first wonder title match even better actually, let's start our final match breakdown.

When the match starts the ref asks for the women to shake hands they ignore him and just stare at each other, some good feeling out follows with Tam taunting Saya after escaping, this does not face Saya it seems like she has one focus and that is to finally win the white belt.

They do the same test of strength as the first match it's very reminiscent, Tam manages to get Saya to her knees and hits an early violet shoot, she dominates some with kicks to the neck of Saya.

Tam takes Saya up in the corner does her corner dragon sleeper and drags Saya over the ropes while she is doing it, Saya falls to the floor and Tam follows with her plancha.

When Tam rolls her back in the ring she pins her but Saya kicks out at 1 and screams, Tam helps her up but Saya gives her a forearm strike, she continues with a barrage of them until she collapses from doing it, Tam goes over to her and does one of her own to Saya.

Tam goes for the violet shoot but Saya answers with a dropkick, Tam rolls out of the ring but Saya is quick to react and does her crossbody from the ropes to her on the outside.

She rolls Tam inside does a missile dropkick and pins her for a good nearfall. When they get back up they go back and forth a bit, Tam does a violet shoot to Saya when she is leaning against the ropes and Saya rolls out to the apron, they go back and forth a bit on the apron the Saya manages to do her frankensteiner to ringside on Tam.

When Tam gets back in Saya does a fisherman suplex and pins Tam for a very close nearfall, she gets Tam up and tries to go for another but Tam reverses and does a backdrop followed by a german suplex she bridges for the pin but Saya kicks out, Tam climbs up to the top robe but Saya it quick to follow they go back and forth a bit until Saya does an inverted frankensteiner to Tam from the top rope, this was a very scary but good spot.

Saya climbs up again and looks like she is about to hit the phoenix splash but Tam gets up before runs up and does a tiger suplex from the middle rope to Saya, Saya lands on her knees and Tam tries to do the violet shoot but Saya meets her with a running foot stomp.

They start hitting each other while getting up and continue to go back and forth at one point Saya does a barrage of forearms to Tam until she falls, Tam is quick to react, however, and does a rolling elbow strike to Saya, they go back and forth some more until Tam connects with a high kick followed by a violet shoot, for a great nearfall.

Tam takes Saya up again and does her tiger suplex, but Saya still kicks out, Tam follows up with the violet screwdriver then Twilight Dream but Saya lands next to the rope so her feet are in the ropes when Tam bridges to cover her.

Tam starts showing some frustration, Saya capitalizes on this and manages to connect with an inverted frankensteiner, they get up at the same time and both run at each other Saya hits a big boot and covers Tam but Tam kicks out at 1

Tam does a thrust kick followed by a spin kick but Saya kicks out at 1, this is a very fast and cool moment in the match. 

Saya does a great schoolboy backdrop suplex but Tam kicks out, Saya takes her up and does the star crusher for another great nearfall.

Saya drags Tam next to the corner and goes for the phoenix splash again she finally connects and pins Tam 1.2.3 she has done it.

This match is outstanding, I love it so much. Saya finally is able to do what she couldn't in their previous Wonder title match. I really like that it was not Mayu that won the belt from Tam it had to be someone new. A never say die attitude was shown in this match by Saya she was willing to go very far to get this belt. It was a very good end to Tam Nakano's reign and it closes with Tam helping Saya buckle the White Belt around her waist.

*****on the Sondre rating.

"Tam Nakano, Tam-san, I’ve broken the curse on your belt. Next time, please, you be the one who chases after me. In 2022, I’ll show you the golden phoenix soaring higher and higher and higher!" - Saya Kamitani after the match.

"Kamitani, the white belt, it looks really, really good on you. Right next to how good it does on me. As for me, no matter what sort of hardships I go through, I’ll come out on top, I’m pretty stubborn. So stay ready for me." Tam Nakano after the match.

"Ahhh, uhh, well how does it look? Am I still cute? Or do I look like an ugly hag? Cute? Well, it sure seems like she managed to figure out how to go wild, Saya Kamitani, she really did it. The belt is no longer mine. I still have things I wanted to do with the white belt, things I need to do, there’s still so much left…. But, because I still have dreams I couldn’t grab a hold of, because there are still promises I haven’t kept, maybe I’ll still be alive tomorrow. For Tam Nakano, adversity lets me shine even brighter because I’m the most stubborn girl around! I’ll, I’ll get it back. My real Tamu-road, it really starts from here, so please watch me." - Tam Nakano.

Final Thoughts

I remain happy with Tam Nakano's Wonder of Stardom title reign. It delivered in my opinion.

Not every match was a 5-star classic but in my opinion, 3 of the matches were 5 stars. It was fun, and Tam worked as the Wonder champion because every match was emotional and as Tam said the white belt is the belt of emotion.

It was given the right time, and focus in my opinion.

I will now run down some bad points of her reign then give a final score/grade.

I felt it was overshadowed at times by Utami's red belt reign and it seemed like the company was focusing more on that than Tam, BUT that made sense since Utami's reign brought in so many international fans that they had to focus on that to not lose them.

She should have beaten Mayu but I could see that happening this year.

Starlight Kid's title opportunity should have been live.

She focused sometimes too much on the artist belts she held with Mina and Unagi.

All in all, I loved this reign. I mean I must have since I used this much time and effort writing this review. I want to thank all those guys that voted yes on the poll on Twitter if I should make this. Also if you voted no on that and are reading this thanks as well for trying to save me time.

But I'll also always have a soft spot for Tam Nakano because she has been with Stardom since I started watching regularly.

Sondre's final grade and score for Tam Nakano's Wonder of Stardom reign.

                                                Grade: A

                    

                                                Score:  9

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Thanks for reading, also if you want me to do more of these send me a dm on Twitter and I'll add it to the list.

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“I think it’s easy for girls to show every detail of their emotions, whether it’s jealousy or passion or whatever. You can see in every scene, “oh this person must really be thinking like this.” There’s as much hidden drama as there are people to see. There are as many views as there are wrestlers. There are about 25 wrestlers in Stardom right now, so it’s like watching a movie with 25 main characters.” - Tam Nakano

Sondre reviews Puro special volume: Wonder of Tam Nakano Part I

Tam Nakano's 2021: A truly Wonderful Year Part I.

Disclaimer:
I DON'T CLAIM ANY RIGHT TO SCREENSHOTS USED UNDER HERE.
All credit goes to Stardom and Bushiroad.

Forword:

Something I felt flew under a lot of fans radar when it came to the great year Stardom had in 2021 was Tam Nakano's Wonder of Stardom Title reign.

I feel it was very underrated compared to the much-talked-about reign of Utami Hayashishita with the World of Stardom title.

So I figured I should probably go back and rewatch every one of her title matches. To see if the reign was just as disappointing or bad as some fans meant it was.

This will be the first part where I cover the first four matches from her reign and the next part will be the last four and my final thoughts about her reign. 

A lot of the quotes I'm going to use is from a blog with translations by Dana find her here: https://twitter.com/ItsDanaNow (Great Follow DO IT)

"I think the red belt is a belt of technique, and the white belt is a belt of emotion. Lots of people have imbued the white belt with their emotions. If you look at the past champions, they fight with their emotions and they created lots of drama. I think that’s unique to Joshi wrestling, but even in Joshi, there aren’t any other belts that are exactly like this. That’s why I think the white belt is the symbol of Stardom." -Tam Nakano

Tam Nakano's Road to the Wonder of Stardom:

Tam Nakano's first couple of years since signing with Stardom in 2017 had been very up and down. Her goals it seemed would always be the Wonder of Stardom Championship.

Her first try for the Wonder title was on the 16th of June 2019 against Arisa Hoshiki where she was unsuccessful. 

Her next challenge was on the 26th of July 2020 when she and Giulia had a match for the vacant championship after Arisa Hoshiki vacated it when she announced her retirement from professional wrestling due to head and neck injuries. She was unsuccessful and Giulia was crowned the 14th Wonder of Stardom Champion.

She would later challenge again on the 3rd of October the same year against Giulia but was unsuccessful again.

On the 29th of October, Tam Nakano found a "sup group" of STARS Mayu Iwatani's unit called Cosmic Angles. She was joined by Mina Shirakawa and they announced that a new member would join them,  on the 14th of November that member was revealed to be Unagi Sayaka.

 The trio would almost immediately, win the Artists of Stardom Championships on the 16th of December, four days later the Cosmic Angles left STARS. Tam had been a part of STARS since 2018, and Oedo Tai before that. But this was the first time Tam was the leader of her own unit. 

Tam Nakano had still not given up on the Wonder of Stardom title however, Giulia still held it and seemed unbeatable.

On the 16th of February 2021 after winning the trios tag match against Giulia and her faction Donna del Mondo, Tam Nakano issued a challenge to Giulia, for a third match for the title.

Giulia suggested a Hair vs. Hair match after having calculated this to be off-putting to Tam Nakano, given her background as an Idol. But Tam Nakano agreed to everyone's surprise. 

So the match was announced for Stardom's biggest show to date in the Nippon Budokan the first time a Joshi pro wrestling show had been held in the venue in 24 years. 

It was also announced that the Wonder of Stardom title match would Main Event over the World of Stardom title match something that does not often happen.

Wonder of Stardom Championship match #1

All-Star Dream Cinderella

Hair vs. Hair

3rd of March 2021

Tam Nakano vs. (c) Giulia

This match is very special for me because this was the first show I watched live after taking a one-year hiatus from Stardom. I recommend everyone to watch the whole show because it was one of the best shows of 2021.

Onto the match breakdown.

Before the match starts both ladies grab the other hair as a reminder of the match stipulation this added a lot for me because you show how much this means to both of them.

Tam and Giulia have very good chemistry and the start shows that. It didn't feel like a feeling-out process because they both know each other in-ring style seeing as this is their third title match in a year.

A very good moment early was the forearm smash battle at the 3-minute mark that ended when Giulia rolled out of the ring, when she came back she slapped the mat in frustration and after some back and forth hit a devastating german but before she could make a pin Tam had rolled to the apron, Giulia followed her and teased the german on the apron but Tam managed to get her feet around the ropes, Giulia quickly changed the plan and did a neck breaker to her on the apron.

Giulia after that dominated Tam ringside, eventually doing a Piledriver to Tam through a table.

Tam was dominated a lot after this but still putting on a fight, she hit a great reverse DDT when she reversed a glorious driver from Giulia. This is my favorite part of Tam's matches she is so nimble and quick that she does some great reversals.

Shortly after this Tam would do her classic diving plancha to the outside on Giulia after that she hit a Twilight Dream in the ring for a great nearfall.

After this, Tam hit Giulia's move the glorious driver on her for another good nearfall.

Giulia later hit Tam with her own Glorius driver for another good nearfall.

They then started having a slap fight as they were getting up that continued for at least a minute after getting up, slap fights are something I always love in Joshi matches so I loved every part of this.

Cosmic angles helping
Tam up after the pinfall

Tam followed that by two spin kicks in a row then a Violet Screwdriver followed by the second Twilight dream of the match and that gets her the win 1.2.3 

This is such a great moment her whole career lead to this moment and I still get teary-eyed watching it now almost a year later. She had tried so many times without getting it and was finally in the spot I saw she could be in when she was in Oedo Tai during the first year of my Stardom fandom. 

This match was one of my top 5 stardom matches of 2021. I feel like it is very underrated compared to all the other great matches in stardom in 2021.

***** on the Sondre Rating.

After the match, Tam says "I finally beat you. That's all I needed. It's enough. You don't have to cut your hair."

Giulia still wants to do it saying it was on the line after all. She sits down on a chair and gives the clippers to Tam.

Tam looks like she doesn't want to do it and while holding them her hands shake.

When Giulia notices, she looks tam in her eyes and sees Tam starting to cry.

Giulia takes the mic and asks "Why are you crying?"

Tam hands the clippers to a barber that starts cutting Giulia's hair "Make it look Cool" Giulia says before he starts.

 

Giulia says to Tam "You're gonna be the busiest in the universe from now."

This is possibly my favorite post-match moment of all time Tam Nakano is so innocent after the match ends but a killer in the ring, meanwhile Giulia is just a killer all the time.

"I’ve always thought the white belt is the pinnacle of Stardom, more so than the red belt. I thought that winning the white belt would get me to the top, that was my goal, yes. But I think it’s going to take a long time for me to truly surpass Giulia, now I’m thinking about how to define the white belt. I think people associate it recently with Giulia, but I need people to definitively see it as Tam’s belt. So I’m not at the pinnacle yet at all." - Tam in an Interview about this match.

Wonder of Stardom Championship match #2

Yokohama Dream Cinderella In Spring.

4th of April 2021

Defense #1

Natsupoi vs. (c) Tam Nakano

This was a very emotional match Natsupoi really showed up here, on the same show Tam won the Wonder of Stardom title, Natsupoi won the Highspeed title. 

In this match, she really wanted to show Tam that she was on Tam's caliber.

The match starts with a very a highspeed showing of both women's acrobatics.

After just a minute or two Tam hits a high kick on Natsupi that sends her outside the ring, Tam followed her, and after some back and forth on the outside, Natsupoi hits a german suplex on Tam on the outside mat, Natsupoi takes her in the ring and is really going after Tam choking her with the middle ring rope and doing constant kicks.

She soon does her signature dropkick through the robes on Tam followed by a plancha from the top rope on Tam ringside.

After that Natsupoi traps Tam in the ropes and pours water on her in disrespect followed by a lot of face kicks and a crossbody from the top robe but Tam kicks out.

Natsupoi starts slapping her after the kickout but Tam reverses with a spin kick that sends Poi out from the ring, she follows up with her own plancha to the outside on Natsupoi she takes natsupoi up to the top rope corner and holds her in a dragon sleeper for some time before the ref makes her stop Tam then gets a bottle of water and pours it on Natsupoi as payback.

A little bit after that there is a great forearm beatdown from Tam to Natsupoi followed by a lot of pinfalls and rollups tries from both.

Natsupoi then hits a great german suplex for nearfall, she climbs up on the top rope and does the Fairial Gift but Tam just manages to kick out.

There is a really good sequence with the pair trading doing germans suplexes on each other ending with a tiger suplex from Tam but Natsupoi kicks out. 

Natsupoi then hits a lot of slaps on Tam eventually starting to cry because Tam doesn't go down from them Tam slaps her away, Natsupoi screams and tries to attack but is hit by a spinning high kick, followed by the Violet Shoot knee strike she pins Natsupoi but at 1 Natsupoi gets out and roll her up for 2. Tam is quick to react with another violet shoot, then gets her up again hits the Twilight Dream, and pin Natsupoi 1.2.3

 

I really love this match the emotion in it is so good, it is very much my style of wrestling, Natsupoi showed up big time. 

She showed a lot of emotion and passion, the depth of her emotional skills was felt very big time. 

I think she proved a lot of doubters wrong, and she will be a future Wonder Champion for sure.

This is something that will become a very trending thing in these Tam defenses she brings out a lot of fire and emotion from her challengers.

After the match, Tam tells Natsupoi to use the highspeed belt to catch up to her, and that he believes that one-day Natsupoi will win the White Belt.

****3/4 on the Sondre Rating

Wonder of Stardom Championship match #3

Yokohama Dream Cinderella In Summer

Defense #2 

4th of July 2021

Saya Kamitani vs. (c) Tam Nakano

On the 12th of June when Saya Kamitani defeated Maika in the finals of the Cinderella tournament, a tournament where the winner is granted a wish, she wished for a Wonder of Stardom title Match against Tam Nakano which was granted. Something interesting is that Saya also came into the wrestling industry as an Idol and that Tam was her mentor when Saya started wrestling.

This match is actually a rematch from their match in the opening round of the Cinderella tournament where Saya defeated Tam by count-out. Saya also came into this match with a minor rib injury.

The match starts with a good test of strength that shows both women's flexibility and strength followed by some good rollup attempts from both.

At one point early Saya rolls out after a spin back kick from Tam and takes a sip of water showing frustration she rolls in again only to be kicked by Tam in the ribs when she rolls in.

Tam dominates for some time after this especially focusing on hurting the ribs of Saya.

One of the devastating moments of this is when Tam has Saya in her dragon sleeper from the top robe let her go and does a double foot stomp to the back of Saya as she is getting up

Saya rolls out and Tam follows up with her plancha from the top rope.

Tam continues to dominate on the outside but Saya tries to come back with some weak forearm attacks that Tam just ignores.

They brawl into the ring and after some back and forth Saya hits a frankensteiner and Tam rolls out again but Saya then follows with a crossbody from the ropes.

She rolls Tam into the ring again hit a top robe dropkick on her and pins her for the first real nearfall of the match. 

Right after that at the 10-minute mark, the women have a great forearm battle, Tam dominates the battle until at one point when Saya looks up at her smiling stands up, and starts slapping Tam as hard as she can repetitively and pushes her over to the corner with a big boot followed with kicks to tam in the corner that until the referee as to force her away, this moment was reminiscent of a Kota Ibushi beatdown which would make sense because Saya takes a lot of inspiration from him.

This is followed by a great slap fight that ends with a devastating dropkick from Saya to Tam.

Saya does a lot of her big moves after that, but they all fail to get her the three count.

She climbs to the corner to hit the Phoenix Splash, but Tam is too quick to react and gets up before Saya has turned around and does a german suplex from the second robe.

After that, while holding each other's wrists they have a kneeling back and forth forearm battle that they continued while standing up.

Saya dominates a bit after winning the forearm battle ending with a Star Crusher for a very close nearfall.

After this Saya climbs up and goes for the Phoenix Splash but Tam gets her knee up just before Saya lands and follows up with a tiger suplex to Saya for another very close nearfall, Tam then tries for the Twilight dream but Saya gets out.

Tam hits a spin kick followed by a high kick that puts Saya to her knees then Tam hits the first Violet Shoot of the match for another very close nearfall Tam in frustration takes Saya up and hits the Twilight Dream for the 1.2.3

This match is great in my opinion, Saya showed a lot of heart, fighting spirit, and desire in this match. I was really impressed by her, Tam brings this out of her opponent in every one of her defenses in my opinion.

****1/2 on the Sondre rating.

After the match, Tam says: "This is not the Kamitani that I once knew, you have become so
much stronger than before. Let's reach for our dreams together." She extends her hand but Saya refuses and leaves.

Right after Starlight Kid comes out and challenges for the belt she says that she is the only one capable of taking the white belt from Tam and warns that she is no longer the same Starlight Kid as before.

Wonder of Stardom Championship match #4

Cinderella Summer Tour In Sapporo

Defense #3

21th of July 2021

Starlight Kid vs. (c) Tam Nakano

This match is a little different than the others it took place on a taped show instead of the other defenses that all happened on a PPV. I felt that held the importance of this match back a bit but I still thought it was a good match it was also hurt by a very small venue and one camera. 

Before the match begins Tam offers her hand up but starlight Kid refuses.

The start of this match is very high speed with both girls going fast but starlight kid still doing a lot of stalling.

At one point after stalling a long time on the outside Kid tries to go inside but is dropkicked out again by Tam, she follows and they brawl a lot on the outside, Kid gets the upper hand and runs Tam into the side of the ring then the ring post.

Kid continues to punish Tam in the corner and the ref has to make her stop.

Tam falls down ringside again and the rest of Oedo Tai (who accompanied Kid to the ring) start beating on her while the ref is distracted, the other members of cosmic angles try to fight them off but the number of Oedo Tai is too much.

While that happens Saki takes the pad off one of the corners while the ref isn't looking and Kid regains her strength.

Oedo Tai eventually sends tam back inside the ring where Kid dominates Tam at one point sending her back first into the exposed corner.

But Tam keeps fighting back against her, with her usual kicks and regaining some control after a plancha to the outside.

Leading to a lot of forearms when they get back in the ring and some back and forth. 

Kid gets in a DDT on Tam and goes for a moonsault from the top rope but Tam gets her knees up just before Kid lands.

Tam follows with a german suplex for the first real nearfall of the match.

Kid however regains control and does a great swinging neckbreaker followed by a chop to the back of Tam, she climbs up and hits the moonsault on Tam for a good nearfall.

Kid follows with a lot of kicks to the head and attempts a tiger suplex but Tam gets to the ropes and pushes Kid into the exposed corner catches her on the rebound and does a tiger suplex but she is so hurt in the back that she can't bridge for the cover.

They both get up at the same time and both go for forearm attacks, eventually, Tam slaps Kid and Kid falls to her knees Tam follows up with a violet shoot

Tam does another Tiger Suplex and this time makes the bridge but Kid kicks out at 2.

At one point after this Tam escapes when Kid tries to run her into the ropes where Ruaka is standing with a foreign object Ruaka hits Kid by mistake and that allows Tam to hit another violet shoot, Tam then hits the Twilight Dream for the 1.2.3

This is match is fun, but in my opinion, is the worst match so far, the atmosphere just didn't feel right, no commentary, only one camera 

and a very small venue brings this match a lot for me. I loved some bits of this match but I feel this should have been a Korakuen Hall defense if it wasn't going to be on a PPV. The throughline of Tam's reign remains true though, Starlight Kid showed up, she showed passion and heart. This was also a match where I felt the crowd restriction to only clap hurt the match, if we were in normal times the crowd would be very loud for this since it was a title match in a city they are not so often in.

***3/4 on the Sondre rating

Following this match, Tam said that she was happy to they could have a title defense in Sapporo. She also said that there would not be any more defenses until the 5 star Grand Prix was complete in October.

That is the end of Part 1.

I really hope you liked it because I really put a lot of time into it. 

Hope to see you back for part 2, promise I won't take a long time to complete it.

Feel free to follow me on Twitter: https://twitter.com/SondreBjorn

Bye <3