Triangle Derby I Opening Match: New Year Stars 2023 - WrestleFile Historical Verdict

Rina wins the first Stardom match of 2023 in 6:21 by trapping Hina with a jackknife pin after a fast three-way built around the sisters and Miyu Amasaki. The short opener gives three developing wrestlers a clean spotlight before the Triangle Derby begins, and Rina's opportunistic finish fits Oedo Tai without demanding a lengthy story. Its value is mostly developmental and ceremonial as the year's first result rather than as a match with major consequences.

Mina Shirakawa, Mariah May and Xia Brookside win their first match as Club Venus in 9:05, with Brookside pinning Waka Tsukiyama after the Brookside Bomb. That choice matters because the new faction needs to feel broader than Shirakawa alone. May and Brookside are both making important early appearances in Stardom, while Team Lollipop gives them experienced outside opponents and Tsukiyama as a credible fall-taker. The match is not polished enough to define the tournament, but the result successfully launches the unit.

Prominence carries the Artist of Stardom Championship into the tournament and immediately beats Unique Glare in 6:06, with Suzu Suzuki pinning Ruaka. The brief runtime lets the new champions establish authority without exhausting a matchup that includes Starlight Kid and Haruka Umesaki. More importantly, Suzu remains positioned as the group's competitive center only days after winning the trios belts. Her later challenge to Giulia gives this early victory added context as the start of a night that moves her toward the red belt.

Momo Watanabe, Natsuko Tora and Saki Kashima beat Mayu Iwatani, Hanan and Momo Kohgo in 9:29, with Kashima pinning Kohgo. The booking protects Iwatani while giving Oedo Tai a clean opening-night result and immediately establishes that tournament points can come through the lower-ranked member of a trio rather than through a head-to-head clash between stars. The match works as efficient league positioning, though its historical value depends more on the standings than on the isolated result.

Maika, Himeka and Lady C beat Tam Nakano, Natsupoi and SAKI in 11:20 when Maika counters Natsupoi into a cradle. The finish is useful because it gives MaiHime With C two points without asking a secondary wrestler to absorb the fall, and it puts a meaningful pin on one half of the former Goddesses champions. The matchup also highlights why the Triangle Derby format works: familiar faction wrestlers are rearranged into combinations that create new finishing sequences without needing a singles feud.

Nanae Takahashi, Yuu and Yuna Mizumori defeat Hazuki, Koguma and Saya Iida in 8:50, with Takahashi pinning Iida after One Second EX. Neo Stardom Army enters the league with the physical identity already established by 7Upp's Goddesses title win, and the result reinforces that power advantage without requiring Yuu to score every decisive fall. Classmates remain credible because Hazuki and Koguma avoid the loss, while Iida's strength lets the closing stretch feel competitive rather than routine.

The January 3, 2023 Triangle Derby I opener brought Queen's Quest's Utami Hayashishita, Saya Kamitani and AZM against Abarenbo God's Eye's Syuri, MIRAI and Ami Sourei. The six wrestlers worked to the full fifteen-minute limit, ending in a draw that awarded league points without producing a winning faction. With Kamitani and Syuri entering as established championship names, a decisive result would have created a different signal heading into the tournament's next round. Instead, the clock itself became the closing mechanism. The official STARDOM report treats the teams as distinct trios; the new Match Finder groupings should do the same while retaining the neutral result. This was a genuine tournament points outcome, not a no-contest dismissal or a disguised win for either team.

Ram Kaichow, Maika Ozaki and Maya Yukihi beat Giulia, Thekla and Mai Sakurai in 14:38, with Yukihi pinning Sakurai after Whiteout. The main event gives the outside-heavy Rebel x Enemy group an immediate upset without weakening the new World champion, since Giulia is not the wrestler pinned. It also creates the platform for the night's most important post-match development: Suzu Suzuki challenges Giulia for the World of Stardom Championship and receives a February 4 title match. The league result and the challenge work together to give the show a real ending rather than simply another standings update.