STARDOM in SHOWCASE vol.4 2023 - WrestleFile Historical Verdict

The opener is closer to a variety-show challenge than a conventional wrestling match. Chanyota wins the arm-wrestling portion, Saya Iida takes the actual wrestling fall in 5:13 with Iidabashi, and Chanyota wins the posing decision to take the series 2-1. The format fits SHOWCASE and gives both wrestlers a strength-based presentation, but only the middle segment offers much traditional match value. It works best as a playful opening statement about what kind of card this will be.

AZM, Hanan, Natsu Sumire and Momoka Hanazono turn the building into part of the match for 16:32 before AZM pins Hanan after a diving foot stomp. The wandering structure gives SHOWCASE exactly the kind of controlled absurdity it promises, while AZM remains the athletic center whenever the action returns to wrestling. Natsu and Hanazono add comedy and interference without preventing the finish from landing on two regular Stardom roster members. It is long enough to breathe without becoming the card's dominant story.

The captain's fall stipulation makes Waka Tsukiyama's losing streak the actual structure of the match. Tam Nakano captains one side and Tsukiyama the other, so every exchange around Waka carries the possibility of ending the entire contest. Nakano eventually pins her in 13:14, preserving the failure that has defined the story. The important part comes after the bell, when Nakano commits to helping Tsukiyama win by the March 25 deadline. A gimmick match therefore advances one of Stardom's clearest emotional arcs.

STARDOM's official February 26 match report clarifies the captain-fall rules: pinning or submitting the opposing captain ended the contest immediately, but any non-captain pinned or submitted had to leave the match. A team also lost if both non-captain teammates were eliminated, even while its captain was still active. Neither team needed that alternative finish here, because Nakano pinned rival captain Tsukiyama at 13:14. This explains why the other four wrestlers were more than ordinary seconds while preserving the recorded finish.

Three Grim Reapers face three Super Strong Stardom Machines in an 11:56 masked-comedy match that treats identity confusion as the point. Reaper A pins Super Strong Stardom Big Machine after the teams cycle through exaggerated power spots, mask-based jokes and deliberately broad character work. The crowd gets a visual break from the more personal stories around it, and the match never pretends to be more important than that. Its value is almost entirely immediate, which makes it easy to enjoy live and easy to skip historically.

Himeka, Maika and Giulia meet Kurumi Hiiragi, Suzu Suzuki and Risa Sera in a 12:32 hardcore match built around Himeka's final SHOWCASE appearance. The stipulation deliberately reaches back to Himeka's pre-Stardom experience and lets her retirement run acknowledge that history. A no-contest ending fits the escalating brawl better than a tidy pin, while Giulia and Suzuki can revisit their Supreme Fight tension without instantly undoing the title result. The match matters less for a winner than for where it places Himeka's career in context.

Syuri and Saki Kashima work a 9:23 UWF-rules match in which points and knockdowns matter as much as conventional pinfall logic. The format naturally favors Syuri's combat-sports presentation, but Kashima's survival instincts keep the result from feeling like a foregone conclusion. Syuri wins after a high kick causes Kashima to lose the remaining points. The match is concise, stylistically distinct and rooted in the wrestlers' established identities, making it one of the better examples of SHOWCASE using a stipulation to clarify character rather than merely decorate a card.

The Kobe main event on February 26 assembled nine wrestlers from three factions in a 13:56 elimination match. STARS entered with Hazuki, Koguma and Mayu Iwatani; Queen's Quest used Miyu Amasaki, Saya Kamitani and Utami Hayashishita; Oedo Tai fielded Natsuko Tora, Momo Watanabe and Starlight Kid. The official report lists over-the-top eliminations and a final Frankensteiner pin by Hazuki on Kamitani, who was Wonder of Stardom champion. That pin supplied a direct singles title-program talking point within a chaotic three-team attraction. Recording each actual trio, rather than a composite nine-person team, restores the match's opponent connections while respecting the elimination format and its surviving STARS side.