Here we go again eh? The Stardom Power Rankings are back meaning we will be giving you a monthly rundown of the movers, shakers and butt-kickers in Stardom in 2023. These rankings are based on my always correct opinion, but also the incredibly exciting statistics for the year which you can find at https://1drv.ms/x/s!Ap6qdh-YeTPumx-23sngMEE8v4ll The opening month of the year has been a slightly odd one in Stardom with the Triangle Derby taking centre stage. This means there h

Welcome to Part 2 of our Stardom Top 10s for 2022. In the first instalment of our list of top 10s (available at prowrestlingmusings.com/post/stardom-2022-top-tens-part-1-wins-losses-and-pins) we looked at some of the more basic wins and losses statistics together with details on who was picking up the actual pinfalls and who was being pinned (mostly Waka Tsukiyama for the latter). Today we'll look at some of the more specific areas of the statistics to see if that casts a dif

I think it's fair to say that 2022 was a banner year for Stardom. It was a year where the match quality was broadly fantastic. It was a year where they tried new things with the extension of the New Blood and Stardom in Showcase brands. And it was a year that ended in international recognition as Syuri topped the PWI Women's 150 and people began to fantasy book who Sasha Banks may face when she reached Japan. So what did that spectacular 12 months look like in numbers? What d

The 2022 Stardom Five Star Grand Prix was magnificent. Absolutely magnificent. For over two months the promotion put on quality match after quality match and delivered fascinating intrigue as the competition reached its dramatic climax. There were moments of comedy, moments of bone-crunching violence and surprises a plenty, and that was only in the first few nights. People will argue about who put on the greatest selection of matches throughout the tournament but the fact tha

Hello Stardom fans! Hopefully you are all enjoying the 2022 version of the Stardom 5 Star Grand Prix as much as I am. However if your enjoyment comes in the way of reading nerdy tables rather than creating them, I've got you covered. Below are the updated standings after each night (or each couple of nights if I've been lazy) and I'll be doing my best to keep this updated as the tournament goes on. Just a quick note that I'll be updating once the matches have gone on Stardom

INTRODUCTION Nanae Takahashi, Io Shirai, Kairi Hojo, Toni Storm, Mayu Iwatani, Utami Hayashishita and Syuri. What do these seven women have in common? They have all held the World of Stardom Championship and all count a victory in the Stardom Five Star Grand Prix as an important part in their journey both with, and towards getting, that famous Red Belt. With only three previous Five Star GP winners not going on to win the big one, this underlines how important a tournament it

Introduction - Calm down a bit 2022 2022 has been a fairly crazy year for World Wonder Ring Stardom so far. It's seen the return of Kairi Sane (now KAIRI) to the place she made her name in. It's seen a change in the way Stardom's calendar operates with a Pay Per View event each month and the addition of both the 'New Blood' and 'Stardom in Showcase' brands. Perhaps most dramatically it has also seen talk of a potential linkup with AEW, a move which could potentially increase

June 2022 felt like a real shift in direction for Stardom. It featured stipulation matches, the announcement of two new 'brands' and talk of a potential partnership with AEW. Whilst all that jiggery-pokery was going on behind the scenes however the real business of winning wrestling matches has continued at pace, culminating in the Stardom MidSummer Champions - Kings of MidSummer PPV on 9th July and the build up to the Stardom 5 Star Grand Prix. So who has come out of that PP

It might be a bit harsh to say, but May was a bit of an underwhelming month for Stardom. Yes there were some interesting matches and some unfamiliar faces, but it didn't necessarily feel particularly important. That's my excuse for why these Power Rankings are so late and I'm sticking to it! A quick reminder that these rankings are based on the stats I've collected up to the 28th May Stardom Flashing Champions PPV (available in full at Stardom 2022.xlsx) and my general percep

Phew! April was a bit hectic in the world of Stardom wasn't it? We've had an entire tournament, culminating in a new star being crowned as Stardom's Cinderella. We've had five title matches, and the implementation of a new stable in God's Eye. We've even seen hints and discussions that Stardom may at some stage become embroiled in all of the Forbidden Door excitement, setting dream-match predictions and gatekeeping tutting in motion equally across the Joshi fanbase. But at th

Introduction to Cinderella Everyone loves a tournament. Everyone loves Stardom (may not actually be true...but it should be). Therefore a Stardom tournament is a thing of joy and beauty, and April sees the first of the promotion's big competitions The Cinderella Tournament. So it's time to ramp up the excitement and do a bit of a preview. For those who don't know The Cinderella Tournament is a straight knock-out tournament similar to the New Japan Cup, with the winner 'grante

March was a big month in Stardom. We got the long awaited re-debut of KAIRI. The brackets for the upcoming Cinderella Tournament were announced. And the month finished with a two day PPV blow-out at Stardom World Climax which saw invading forces, a rumble match and every major title on the line at least once. So where does that leave the various protagonists in this month's Stardom Power Rankings? For those who are new to this, these rankings are based both on the statistics

I'm a nerd. Let's be honest if you're reading this, so are you. So let's all revel in our super awesome nerd-ness with some wrestling statistics! I have recently put up my Power Rankings for Stardom following the end of February 2022 (article available at Stardom Power Rankings - February 2022 (prowrestlingmusings.com)) and this companion piece attempts to explain some of the reasoning behind those decisions. The full stats that I have compiled so far are available at Stardom

Somehow we are already into March 2022 (damn you time you cruel cruel mistress) so that means it's time to look at the Stardom Power Rankings for 2022. These rankings are based on both my collected statistics for 2022 so far, available at Stardom 2022.xlsx but also on my own personal, and extremely correct, feelings about who is on the rise in Stardom right now. For a few snapshots of the important statistics that have helped me compile this list, keep an eye out for a compan

Despite being a banner year for the promotion, 2021 already feels but a distant memory for Stardom. One month into 2022 and we find ourselves with a host of new roster members, new champions, and, most importantly of all, new power rankings. These monthly power rankings will be partly based on titles, win/loss records and appearances in title matches and headlining slots. For those nerds who really want to look at such numbers, my rather darling little spreadsheet can be foun

2021 was quite a year for Stardom. It bore witness to Utami Hayashishita's incredible 409 day reign as World of Stardom Champion, during which she defended the title successfully 10 times before finally succumbing to the might of Syuri. It presented us with the greatest women's match in history (according to good old Dave Meltzer at least) when Utami and Syuri clashed on 12th June 2021, catapulting Stardom into the consciousness of many who had never watched before. It saw r

The Final Countdown Nearly two months after it's beginning, and with 81 results already in the books, the Stardom 5 Star Grand Prix culminates this Saturday at the Ota Ward Gym. As with everything during this god-forsaken pandemic era, there have been issues along the way. Everyone's least favourite global virus caused havoc with the scheduling, as did the fact that a few participants had to get over injuries before they could start their campaign. Worse still, Giulia, arguab

Yes my Stardom friends it's that time of year again. All global pandemic caveats aside, the Stardom 5 Star Grand Prix is due to start on 31st July 2021, running through until the end of September (see Stardom 5STAR Grand Prix 2021 | Blocks and Full Schedule | English. (prowrestlingmusings.com) for the full schedule of matches). It will be a gruelling battle between 10 wrestlers in each block (Blue and Red stars, for the uninitiated) aiming to win their group, go on to the fin

It's safe to say that Stardom has been very stop-start in the last few months. The hopefully (really really really hopefully) soon to be behind us pandemic has caused havoc with the Stardom scheduling, most notably with the recent Cinderella Tournament which ended up spanning over three months. Despite this, we go into the second half of 2021 with the promotion looking very strong. The conclusion to that Cinderella Tournament was excellent, and of course the main event of tha

At the end of a tough, but nonetheless hugely entertaining and successful 2020, Stardom is looking forward to its traditional end of year show on 20th December in Osaka. With what will hopefully be a fully attended extravaganza to come in March 2021 for their 10th Anniversary, perhaps this show isn’t the pinnacle for the promotion that it has been in the past, but it still looks like a stacked card ripe with in-ring and storyline possibilities. At the top of the card is the m