#WrestleManiaWeek Preview – Stardom: American Dream 2019…In The Big Apple (4/5/19)

Stardom brings a strong Korakuen hall level line up to the US for American Dream 2019.  Main evented by the biggest match the company has right now Momo Watanabe vs Utami Hayashishita and containing fan favourites up and down the card this mixes the authentic Stardom experience with Stardom vs Gaijin matchups.

JAN (Jungle Kyona & Natsuko Tora) vs. House of Glory (Sonya Strong & Violette)

Jungle Kyona and Natsuko Tora are the top two members in the JAN pecking order.  They have previously held the Goddesses Of Stardom (tag team) Championships and the fact they use power moves and brute strength more than others in Stardom makes them a unique opponent to face. They face a duo of wrestlers from Stardom’s co-sponsor of the event, New York City’s House of Glory, including reigning HOG Women’s Champion Sonya Strong. Strong is in her fourth year as a wrestler and a student of Amazing Red, and will bring a strong local flavor to the matchup. Interestingly, her partner is another HOG star in Violette, the woman that Strong defeated to win the HOG Women’s title and whom Strong has been warring with for several months. Can HOG’s two alpha women co-exist in a battle against JAN?

Brittany Blake & Britt Baker vs. Queen’s Quest (Bea Priestley & Konami) vs. Multinational Army (Hana Kimura & Bobbi Tyler)

Queen’s Quest members Priestley and Konami look to represent their faction in the US as they look to make everyone “bow down to the queen’s”.  With the top members of QQ occupied in the main event, this is a very strong team that the faction is putting forth as Priestley is a recent AEW signee and has long been one of the best women’s wrestlers in the UK and Oceania.  Konami is a protege of Asuka so has a clear MMA influence and a deadly Triangle Lancer submission which has never failed to put an opponent away.  Konami may be one of the youngest members in the match but she’s one of the toughest, watch out for her lethal kicks in this one.  Hana Kimura joins back up with Bobbi Tyler, who only recently finished her tour of Stardom, the duo were forced to team together more than expected on the tour after Sadie Gibbs had to leave due to a family emergency.   Both Kimura and Tyler are young talents on the rise but both have the confidence and cockiness to make them a tough team to face. All Elite Wrestling (AEW)‘s Britt Baker is exploding thanks to her new association with AEW, but she’s been a dominant wrestler in the US indies, with the likes of SHIMMER, Bar Wrestling, RISE and Ring of Honor, as well as tours with Pro Wrestling EVE in the UK and even Stardom themselves. She’s pairing up with New Jersey’s own Brittany Blake, who started in Combat Zone Wrestling (CZW)‘s sister company Women Superstars Uncensored (WSU) in 2013 and now stars with SHIMMER herself.

High Speed Championship: Hazuki (c) vs Dust

Oedo Tai’s Hazuki defends her title against a tough opponent in Dust.  Hazuki won this title in December from Mary Apache and has since defended it against multiple challengers.  Since joining Oedo Tai in 2018 Hazuki has shown potential to be a future star of the company and her run as High Speed champion has brought importance back to the title.  The former HZK has come a long way from her days in Queen’s Quest as she has embraced the chaotic nature of being an Oedo Tai member. Dust is a veteran of the US indies, where she previously competed as Zoey Skye before becoming the vile and dastardly Dust under Rosemary‘s guidance. She’s the reigning Heart of SHIMMER Champion and in RISE competes alongside Raven’s Ash in Paradise Lost, Rosemary’s army, where she just lost the Guardians of RISE Tag Team titles.

Elimination Match: Oedo Tai (Kagetsu, Andras Miyagi, Jamie Hayter & “Session Moth” Martina) vs. STARS (Mayu Iwatani, Tam Nakano, Saki Kashima & Arisa Hoshiki)

The chaotic rebels Oedo Tai take on the pure babyfaces STARS in a multi-person faction battle.  Martina and Hayter are both part time members of OT and this is the first time this combo of women will team together as Miyagi only joined recently.  Oedo Tai are all about doing their half-assed best while also enjoying themselves.  This team, while new, is still packing talent as Kagetsu is the World Of Stardom Champion and Miyagi has only suffered defeat once since joining Stardom.  STARS are bringing their strongest lineup to the US to face Oedo Tai as the Icon of Stardom and current Women Of Honor Champion Mayu Iwatani teams with veteran and former Goddesses Of Stardom champion Saki Kashima, the woman with the most lethal kicks in wrestling Arisa Hoshiki and the youthfully crazy Tam Nakano.  While Nakano and Hoshiki have never got along they are always willing to fight their hardest for STARS and Kashima and Iwatani are proven winners.  Stardom is known foritss insane multi person tag matches and they are bringing that insanity to America.

Wonder of Stardom Championship: Momo Watanabe (c) vs. Utami Hayashishita

We are not exaggerating when we say that Momo Watanabe vs Utami Hayashishita is the biggest match the company has right now.  The heir to the throne of Io Shirai and new Ace Momo Watanabe takes on the undefeated Rookie and quadruple champion Utami Hayashishita.  Momo Watanabe is defending her Wonder Of Stardom Championship in this match.  She is currently in the midst of a record breaking run with this championship as she has held it for over 300 days making a record 12 defences of the title in this time.  Hayashishita has had unprecedented success for a rookie in Stardom as she debuted in August but by the end of 2018 had reached the final of the 5 Star GP, won the Goddesses Of Stardom Championships with Momo, titles they still hold to this day, and remained undefeated and has spent her 2019 collecting even more championships.  Stardom is not lying when they advertise this as First Time Ever, these two are in the same faction and are the current tag team champions so have never had reason to face off 1 on 1 before.  Can the new ace defeat the unbeaten rookie to continue her historic run as champion or will Hayashishita claim her fifth(!) title and prove that she is actually the future of stardom.

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