Stardom Power Rankings - March 2022

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've compiled which are available at https://1drv.ms/x/s!Ap6qdh-YeTPumx_vw1AoTjucy5cY?e=KTuZAS and my own opinions on who is doing well and who is doing not so well.

A quick mention for Hazuki who was number 2 this time last month but is now out of the top 10 entirely. It may seem like a drastic drop, but in reality she didn't have a very good March. Her winning percentage dropped significantly and of course she and Koguma lost their Goddesses of Stardom title belts at World Climax, where she was also defeated by Momo Watanabe.

Hazuki will be back I'm sure, but in the meantime, let's look at those who did make the big bad top 10.

The World of Stardom Champion arguably had a bit of a quiet start to her reign, but if that was true then it certainly isn't now. The holder of the Red Belt went undefeated in March, and remains one of only two major players in Stardom to have not been pinned in 2022, but that only tells half the story. At World Climax, Syuri first defeated former ally Giulia before besting Mayu Iwatani on night 2, vanquishing the two women who had any reasonable claim to be on her level. Syuri is now looking to set up her own faction, and it's very hard to see who will come close to eclipsing her at any stage in 2022. Good luck everyone else!

Saya Kamitani has been the pre-eminent singles wrestler in Stardom in 2022, winning all five of her one-on-one encounters. In doing this she has also cemented her position as Wonder of Stardom Champion, a point she emphatically underlined by beating Tam Nakano and stable-mate Utami Hayashishita at World Climax. It's fair to say there were quite a few people who had qualms with Tall Saya's rapid elevation to the top of the tree in Stardom. Those doubters have now surely been silenced.

It's been a long time since Momo has bothered the top of these power rankings, and 2022 started slowly for her as well. The much-hyped jump to Oedo Tai allowed a complete character shift for Momo, but it wasn't generating wins. March saw that pendulum swing hugely with Momo racking up 6 wins from 8 matches, and more significantly grabbing the Goddesses of Stardom belts along with Starlight Kid. A hugely impressive win over Hazuki on night two of World Climax furthered Momo's claims to be back at the top-table, and along with Syuri remains unpinned in 2022. The Momo fans can FINALLY start to get excited.

More of a heart-over-head decision here. KAIRI has obviously only had two matches in 2022 and is also not entered in the upcoming Cinderella Tournament. But there is no doubt that she is the name on everyone's lips in Stardom and her return at World Climax was weighty with significance. Her lofty position on this list isn't just about sentiment however, as KAIRI's victory over Starlight Kid on night two of World Climax showed that she is here to be taken seriously. I'm certainly looking forward to where she turns her attentions now.

Arguably the best character currently in Stardom, SLK is now adding victories and titles to her name. As mentioned above, she and Momo snatched the Goddesses titles from the previously undefeatable FWC, and SLK romped to 7 wins in 9 in March. Unfortunately her defeat at World Climax sees her sitting below both KAIRI and her tag-team partner, but Kid goes into the Cinderella Tournament as one of the favourites for a reason.

AZM emphatically retained her High Speed Championship against both Natsupoi and Koguma at World Climax, wrapping up a hugely impressive month for the hugely talented star. AZM now has the best pin/pinned ratio in Stardom and is firmly in the ascendancy now that she has stopped fixating on nemesis Momo Watanabe. Another strong contender for the Cinderella Tournament, AZM will also now be keeping an eye out for her next High Speed opponent having seemingly seen off all the major contenders already in 2022.

19 wins in 25 matches in 2022 speaks for itself. Himeka is a woman to be feared in Stardom. It really does feel like a matter of time until Himeka imposes herself on one of the singles titles, but in the meantime she remains one-third of the Artist of Stardom champions, a run that already includes 6 successful defences. Your humble author's favourite for the Cinderella Tournament, Himeka is really on the hunt for titles in 2022.

As with Himeka, Maika's winning record in 2022 is hugely impressive (72%) and she also goes into the Cinderella Tournament with a high chance of success. The one blot on Maika's copybook in March was the defeat, with Thekla, to Prominence at World Climax. However DDM put that defeat to rest on night two, with Maika a huge part of the victory over the invading faction. With that seemingly in her rear-view mirror, Maika moves into April as a force to be reckoned with.

March was ultimately a disappointment for Giulia. The head of DDM lost out in her Red Belt challenge to Syuri at World Climax and even lost Syuri from the much-vaunted faction. She did, however, grind out 6 wins from 8 matches in March, and perhaps most-importantly led her team to victory over Prominence at night two of World Climax. Giulia will likely have to take a bit of a back-seat for the next couple of months, barring a Cinderella Tournament victory. But rest assured, she'll be back at the top very soon.

Mayu experienced similar disappointment to Giulia at World Climax as she was defeated by Syuri. Mayu's defeat felt more significant though, with it potentially bringing a permanent end to her dalliances with the Red Belt. Her move into the world of the SWA Title possibly highlights that slight demotion, but this writer would absolutely love to be proved wrong. Because let's face it, she is still Mayu Bloody Iwatani and that continues to count for an awful lot.