Flashing Champions 2023 - WrestleFile Historical Verdict

Momo Kohgo defeated Saya Iida and Lady C in a 4:44 three-way opener at STARDOM's Flashing Champions in May 2023. Kohgo secured the deciding fall on Iida with Momompa, leaving Lady C as the third participant rather than a teammate or opponent who took the loss. The short contest gave three lower-card wrestlers a chance to establish the evening's pace before faction matches and the more prominent championship program. The finish reflected Kohgo's opportunism, with the quick pin determining the result against two recognizable roster peers.

There was no singles championship or tournament qualification at stake, so the bout's significance is modest. The three-way format must also be preserved when searching the event's match records: each wrestler competed separately, and the victory went to Kohgo alone. Iida's loss and Lady C's involvement help establish a snapshot of the promotion's younger roster in spring 2023 without pretending the opener changed the show's primary title directions. Its purpose was to start the card efficiently and deliver a clear decision.

Miyu Amasaki was unavailable, so the scheduled tag match was changed into a three-way between Momo Kohgo, Saya Iida and Lady C. The official result preserves the amended match rather than the original scheduled tag.

Ram Kaichow and Maika Ozaki defeated Syuri and Aya Sakura in 9:41 at Flashing Champions 2023. Ozaki secured the deciding fall over rookie Sakura with an Argentine Backbreaker, giving the visiting team the victory without forcing Syuri, a former World of Stardom champion, to take the loss. The result connected STARDOM's developing talent with an outside partnership that brought a different presentation to the early card. Syuri's established status made her side credible even though Sakura was still learning at this level.

The match did not decide an STARDOM tag championship and should not be treated as Syuri losing a singles title. Its interest comes from the combination of an experienced star with a rookie against less frequent opponents on an important event. The finish clarified the actual individual fall while preserving the full two-person teams. Ozaki and Kaichow won together; Syuri and Sakura lost as partners. That distinction makes the archive useful for readers following the rookie's early high-profile appearances.

Utami Hayashishita, Saya Kamitani and Hina defeated Starlight Kid, Ruaka and Rina in 6:47 at Flashing Champions 2023. The Queen's Quest trio continued its rivalry with Oedo Tai, and Kamitani secured the fall over Ruaka following a Frankensteiner. The lineup brought current and future singles contenders into one short six-woman tag, with Hina and Rina adding another individual rivalry thread. Kamitani's win also offered a positive result after she had lost the Wonder of Stardom Championship the previous month.

No trios belt changed hands during the contest. It was a faction result rather than a defense of an individual title that any participant held at another point in their career. Kid and Rina were on the losing side but did not take the deciding fall, which is meaningful when evaluating how the brief match distributed status. The separate three-woman sides should remain intact in event discovery, with Queen's Quest credited as the winning unit.

Mayu Iwatani, Hazuki, Koguma and Hanan defeated Waka Tsukiyama, Mariah May, Xena and Jessie in 12:45 at Flashing Champions 2023. The STARS team brought the reigning IWGP Women's Champion Iwatani into a broad faction tag against Club Venus. Hanan scored the winning fall over Jessie with Seventeen, giving the younger STARS member a tangible achievement while the better-known wrestlers provided the match's larger appeal. The format gave eight different performers an opportunity to interact before the card moved deeper into its major championship business.

This was not an IWGP Women's Championship defense by Iwatani or a transfer of one of STARDOM's team belts. The event archive should show the full four-person sides rather than collapsing the outcome into a singles result for Hanan. Mariah May and Xena were part of the losing group, but Jessie took the fall. The contest's principal value is in roster and faction continuity: STARS gained a victory, and Club Venus received another high-profile outing against established opposition.

Maika, Suzu Suzuki and Mei Seira defeated Nanae Takahashi, Yuna Mizumori and HANAKO in 12:03 during Flashing Champions 2023. Seira scored the deciding fall over HANAKO following a dropkick, rewarding the younger partnership without requiring veteran Takahashi or Mizumori to take the pin. Suzuki and Seira were developing prominent roles after appearing in the promotion's recent stories, while Maika provided a familiar upper-card connection. The opponents brought another combination of youth and experience, making the six-person match more distinct than a generic preliminary tag.

The match did not involve a championship, but it gave the victorious trio a clear result before the evening shifted toward several title contests. Seira's pin was the specific finish; the other five participants still mattered to the team structure. The outcome offered another point of momentum for performers finding new places within the roster while protecting the more established individuals from a decisive fall. Its viewing value lies in that roster transition and the interaction of different generations.

Saki Kashima defeated AZM and Fukigen Death in a 5:28 three-way to win the High Speed Championship at Flashing Champions 2023. AZM arrived as champion, trying to record a thirteenth successful defense after one of the division's strongest reigns. Kashima caught Fukigen Death with a modified rolling pin to secure the victory, meaning the outgoing champion lost the belt without taking the deciding fall. Kashima became the 23rd recognized High Speed Champion by exploiting the multi-person format and her distinctive aptitude for sudden finishes.

The abrupt result was a major title change even though the match lasted under six minutes. It brought AZM's reign to an end while preserving a potential future argument that she hadn't been directly defeated in the fall. The three-way should be recorded as three individual competitors, not as a singles bout in which Kashima pinned AZM. For a reader reviewing the division's championship lineage, the identity of the pinned wrestler and the new champion are both essential details.

MIRAI and Ami Sohrei defeated Momo Watanabe and Natsuko Tora in 16:51 to retain the Goddesses of Stardom Championship at Flashing Champions 2023. Known as the New Eras, the champions were building stability after the circumstances of their initial title victory had involved a countout. This defense offered a different challenge against an Oedo Tai pairing with physical power and faction hostility. MIRAI pinned Tora after Happy Ride, securing their second successful defense and demonstrating that the champions could win decisively in an extended tag match.

The belts stayed with MIRAI and Sohrei, and the result didn't alter any of the individual championship lineages being contested on the same show. Watanabe and Tora entered as a genuine opposing team, rather than as participants in a four-way singles match. Their failure to win didn't reduce the importance of Oedo Tai as opposition. For readers tracing the Goddesses title, the match provided an important checkpoint during the New Eras' reign, more informative than another ambiguous retention.

Stardom's own match report says MIRAI was returning from injury after missing the three preceding shows. Oedo Tai targeted the injured area during this successful Goddesses title defense, giving the retention a documented comeback dimension.

Giulia, Thekla and Mai Sakurai challenge KAIRI, Natsupoi and Saori Anou in REstart's first defense, giving the Artist belts a high-level faction match immediately after the champions reunited. Giulia pins Anou with a Gannosuke Clutch at 18:23, making Bari Bari Bombers the 30th champions. The result restores championship relevance to Donna del Mondo and prevents REstart's title win from settling into a long protected reign.

The short duration of REstart's reign was part of the outcome's significance. KAIRI, Anou and Natsupoi had won the Artist belts at Grand Queendom but did not establish a long defensive run before meeting Giulia's trio. Pinning Anou gave Bari Bari Bombers an actual championship victory over the new combination. The change also complemented the night's higher-profile singles title stakes without confusing the Artist trios lineage with the Wonder or World championships.

The winner-takes-all main event pays off the challenge Mina Shirakawa issued after her first Wonder defense in Fukuoka. Tam Nakano wins at 17:43 with Twilight Dream, makes her first successful World title defense and becomes the 18th Wonder champion at the same time. The result gives Stardom one wrestler holding both top singles belts and sharply changes the hierarchy only a month after Shirakawa's breakthrough. MIRAI stepping forward afterward as the next Wonder challenger gives the double-champion era an immediate first test.

The two champions entered with separate claims to leadership: Nakano held the World title after her emotional win against Giulia, while Shirakawa had only recently ended Kamitani's long Wonder reign. Their confrontation therefore threatened to erase one of those fresh achievements almost immediately. Nakano's double-title victory did just that for Shirakawa's white-belt tenure, although the World belt never left Nakano's possession. MIRAI's appearance then presented a specific avenue for disentangling the two titles in the months ahead.