Stardom is set to hold their New Blood 1 event at a sold-out Shinagawa Intercity Hall, this event is designed to showcase the next generation of women’s wrestlers in Japan and features competitors from multiple companies. The company has made the late decision to stream the event live, for free, on their YouTube channel. Following that news, we decided to preview the card to introduce fans to some of the newer names and get up to speed with current Stardom storylines.
Stardom New Blood 1 Full Card
- Momo Kohgo vs Sayaka (Gatoh Move/ChocoPro)
- Unagi Sayaka & Waka Tsukiyama vs Ai Hozan & Maria (Marvelous)
- Lady C & Saya Kamitani vs MIRAI & Mai Sakurai
- Hanan & Saya Iida vs Tomoka Inaba & Aoi (JUST TAP OUT)
- Ruaka & Starlight Kid vs Haruka Umesaki & Nanami (World Woman Pro-Wrestling Diana)
- Utami Hayashishita vs Miyu Amasaki
Momo Kohgo vs Sayaka
Gatoh Move/ChocoPro’s Sayaka takes on one of Stardom’s newest recruits in the opening match of New Blood 1. Kohgo recently joined Stardom from Actwres girl’Z and competed regularly in Ice Ribbon in 2021, even wrestling for CMLL as part of an Ice Ribbon excursion. Since debuting in Stardom, Kohgo has joined STARS and begun learning from Hazuki and a yet to be revealed sensei. Most indications lean towards the sensei being revealed during New Blood 1 which leads us to believe that Sayaka will win here. Both Sayaka and Kohgo debuted in 2019 so there’s no clear seniority to determine a likely winner, but the looming sensei turns things in Sayaka’s favor as another defeat may be what draws out Kohgo’s sensei.
Unagi Sayaka & Waka Tsukiyama vs Ai Hozan & Maria
The lead-up to this match has featured a lot of trash talk from the Marvelous team, specifically Maria. Maria has been put in the spotlight following recent issues in Marvelous that saw her fellow class of debutants leave the promotion after all three wowed audiences in the three years following their debuts, this has forced Maria to step up and fully showcase her personality and in-ring skills. Hozan is the most recent Marvelous trainee to debut and she is mainly seen teaming with Sendai Girls youngster Yurika Oka. Unagi Sayaka has made a few comments about wrestling in Marvelous so we think Maria gets the win here, likely pinning/submitting Waka, which leads to Sayaka and Maria going one-on-one soon.
Saya Kamitani & Lady C vs MIRAI & Mai Sakurai
This clash between Queen’s Quest and Donna Del Mondo is one of the few matches on this show to feature no outside talents. Either team could win as both Kamitani and MIRAI are pushed, while their teammates are still mostly lower card fodder. We’ll give the nod to QQ as Lady C and Kamitani will be challenging for the Artist of Stardom titles in just a few days’ time.
Saya Iida & Hanan vs Tomoka Inaba & Aoi
Saya Iida makes her return to the ring after almost a year on the shelf to team with Hanan. The STARS duo faces a tough team in JUST TAP OUT’s Tomoka Inaba and Aoi. Inaba is the current Sendai Girls Junior champion, and formerly held the title of Queen of JTO as she topped their JTO Girls rankings for over 100 days before losing the spot to Yuu Yamagata. Inaba was one of the early JTO Girls graduates and has developed into quite a talent who is equally happy to find someone to dust with submissions as she is to kick their head off. Aoi on the other hand, she debuted in May of last year and has had a quick ascent in the JTO Girls division, just recently she was in contention for the Queen of JTO spot and remained high in the division’s rankings. What makes Aoi special is her charisma and natural likeability, she stands out in all the right ways as a taller wrestler who wears her dancing background on her sleeve.
This is a match that could really go either way, if Stardom wants they can have Inaba beat Hanan to set up a Future of Stardom Championship match, but they may also want Iida to win her first match back. The 15-minute time limit also opens the possibility for this one to end in a draw to protect all parties.
Ruaka & Starlight Kid vs Haruka Umesaki & Nanami
Oedo Tai’s Kid and Ruaka will fend off Diana’s Haruka Umesaki and Nanami in this one. Umesaki, current Diana tag champion, is seen as one of the better prospects in the Joshi scene and wrestles with the poise and ability of someone beyond her years. Since her debut in 2019 she has wrestled all over the Joshi scene for promotions like Pro Wrestling WAVE, Sendai Girls, Ice Ribbon, and Marvelous among others. A two-time Diana tag champion already, the future seems bright for Umesaki who aims to follow in Sareee’s footsteps and become a Diana-made star in the world of wrestling. Umesaki’s partner Nanami debuted in 2019 and is still a teenager, she recently took a break from wrestling to focus on her schooling but recently returned to Diana, ready to get back to fending off CRYSIS. This appears to be an easy win for Kid and Ruaka with Nanami there to take the loss.
Miyu Amasaki vs Utami Hayashishita
Stardom’s newest trainee Miyu Amasaki makes her debut against former World of Stardom Champion Utami Hayashishita. Amasaki is the first Stardom trainee to debut since Lady C back in November 2020. Rossy Ogawa has been quick to praise Amasaki and in a tweet said that he hopes she can lead a new era for Stardom. With how much Ogawa has praised Amasaki they could go with a shock here and have her go to a draw with Hayashishita, as the match has a 15 minute time limit.
If not a draw, it is clear that Amasaki will have a good showing as she is the leading candidate to be Queen’s Quest’s X in their upcoming grudge match with Oedo Tai. Either way, it seems like Stardom may see big things in Amasaki so there will be a lot to grasp from her performance here.
New Blood 1 will air LIVE on Stardom’s YouTube channel so make sure to check it out!
Stay tuned to the Last Word on Pro Wrestling for more on this and other stories from around the world of wrestling as they develop. You can always count on LWOPW to be on top of the major news in the wrestling world, as well as to provide you with analysis, previews, videos, interviews, and editorials on the wrestling world. If you want to see more from Stardom, you can check out their subscription service Stardom World for all your wonderous Joshi needs.
