STARDOM SUNSHINE 2023 - WrestleFile Historical Verdict

Hanan, Momo Kohgo and Saya Iida open the card against Yuna Mizumori, Waka Tsukiyama and Aya Sakura in a compact six-person tag. Iida pins Sakura with a Northern Lights suplex hold at 7:13, keeping STARS ahead while giving the newer side a useful opening assignment in front of the Yoyogi crowd. The match does its job quickly, but little from it affects the title or faction stories that define the rest of the event.

HANAKO receives another direct veteran test in the Passion Injection format, this time getting nearly twelve minutes with Nanae Takahashi. Takahashi wins by crossface at 11:59, but the value is in HANAKO being asked to survive a more physical singles match than the short rookie bouts around her. The finish preserves the veteran hierarchy while giving HANAKO a meaningful checkpoint only a few months into her career.

Syuri versus Xena is a compact power-versus-technique singles match positioned as Xena's last bout before leaving Japan. Xena gets moments where her size and strength disrupt Syuri's normal control, but Syuri eventually forces the submission with Byakko at 7:50. The result is expected and does not launch a long program, yet the pairing offers a clean farewell test and gives Syuri a credible singles win before the summer tournament cycle.

The six-person tag bridges several summer directions at once. KAIRI joins meltear against Maika, Suzu Suzuki and Mei Seira, giving the younger trio a high-level combination to push before the 5STAR Grand Prix. Natsupoi pins Seira with Fairy Strain at 14:41 after a fast closing stretch, and the result keeps Natsupoi strong ahead of her July singles program with Saori Anou. The match is more connective tissue than destination, but it is strong connective tissue.

Mina Shirakawa and Mariah May turn Club Venus into a championship team by ending MIRAI and Ami Sohrei's Goddesses reign on its third defense. Shirakawa pins Sohrei after Glamorous Driver Mina at 16:04, giving her an immediate rebound after losing the Wonder title while elevating May before the 5STAR Grand Prix. The title change also prevents the New Eras' reign from becoming detached from the faction conflict that had overshadowed their previous defense.

The first-party June 25 report also records a separate, consequential confrontation after the new Club Venus champions left the ring. Tam Nakano entered after the new champions departed and taunted the defeated MIRAI about their upcoming July 2 Wonder of Stardom title match in Yokohama. MIRAI struck Nakano, then answered on the microphone that she intended to defeat her. This was a confrontation between the Wonder champion and her next challenger following the Goddesses result, not interference that changed Club Venus's title victory or a second bout on the card.

Giulia, Thekla and Mai Sakurai make their first Artist title defense against Mayu Iwatani, Hazuki and Koguma in the first cage bout of the night. The escape order becomes the story: Thekla, Hazuki, Sakurai, Koguma and Giulia all get out before Iwatani, leaving the IWGP Women's champion as the last wrestler inside at 16:47. Bari Bari Bombers retain without a pinfall, and Giulia immediately uses the platform to challenge Willow Nightingale for the NJPW STRONG Women's Championship.

The escape finish created a tactical question not present in the more common fall-based Artist title defenses. Each wrestler leaving the cage altered the balance for those still inside; Iwatani's isolation made the last moments about getting out rather than scoring a pin. Giulia's subsequent challenge for the NJPW STRONG women's belt added another championship story, but it did not make the cage match itself a STRONG title bout. The Artist belts remained with the same three champions.

The main event turns months of Queen's Quest-Oedo Tai hostility into a stipulation with a permanent faction consequence. Eleven wrestlers escape over 23:26, with Utami Hayashishita getting out before Saki Kashima and leaving Kashima alone in the cage. That forces Kashima out of Oedo Tai, and the faction attacks her immediately afterward before Queen's Quest intervenes. AZM offers Kashima a place in Queen's Quest, but Kashima refuses, making the finish a genuine status change rather than a prearranged faction swap.

The elimination order mattered more than which group had greater numbers when the match started. Kashima was left inside after the other eleven escaped, giving Oedo Tai a reason under the stipulation to expel one of its own. The attack afterward made clear that the outcome wasn't a willing resignation or a title change. Queen's Quest offering her refuge and Kashima declining kept the consequences open instead of automatically transferring her to the rival faction.