With a great amount of talented competitors in their roster, Stardom is continuously offering a fantastic product that showcases some of the best women’s wrestlers of the world. And within these talents, we can find promising homegrown stars such as Starlight Kid and AZM.

Even though they have the potential to become the main faces of the next generation of joshi wrestlers, the truth is that both SLK and AZM have been linked to each other since their very beginnings in the Stardom dojo and have recognized each other as ‘Eternal Foes’.

From their early days in the Stardom dojo, to their irruption in the promotion’s main units, to the instant-classic bouts, Tomas of Wrestling Republic will be Explaining the Storyline to reflect on the most important chapters of this amazing rivalry.

2013 – 2018: Starlight Kid & AZM’s Rookie Days

Even though both women debuted in different moments, with AZM debuting in October 2013 at the age of 11 and Starlight Kid in October 2015 at the age of 14, the duo showed a huge chemistry and potential to be future high-caliber competitors while training and competing in matches with the promotion’s top talents at the moment.

And it was during those times that both of them grew closer to each other and developed a friendly rivalry type of bond, since they were around the same age and shared similar pro wrestling dreams.

When a few years passed from their debuts, AZM impressed then Queen’s Quest leader Io Shirai (now known as IYO SKY in WWE) and joined the unit in 2017. Meanwhile, after taking a one year hiatus to focus on her studies, Starlight Kid returned to the ring that same year and would move on to win the tournament to crown the inaugural Future of Stardom champion in 2018, joining the STARS unit shortly after that.

2018 – 2020: First Championship Reigns & Notable Milestones

Thanks to her win in the tournament, Starlight Kid became the inaugural Future of Stardom Champion and still holds the record of being within the top five longest-reigning Future Champions in the history of the company, successfully defending the belt on five occasions during her 281 day reign.

Meanwhile, AZM won the Artist of Stardom Trios Titles alongside her QQ stablemates on three different occasions, with the first two reigns being less than 30 days long. However, AZM finally got her chance to shine when she won the Highspeed Championship in a 3-Way match against Starlight Kid and Natsupoi, holding on to the belt for 220 days and registering 4 successful title defenses before losing it to Natsupoi.

In addition, both of them had notable performances in some of Stardom’s big annual tournaments and became important players within their units, with SLK reaching the semifinals of the 2019 Cinderella Tournament and AZM winning the 2020 Goddess Tag League.

2020 – 2022: Major Character Developments & First Five Star Classic

During those years, Starlight Kid had become one of the most important members of the STARS unit and grew extremely close to leader Mayu Iwatani, developing a mentor/sister relationship that saw them teaming up as the ‘MK Sisters’. However, after tensions erupted between their respective leaders, STARS lost a 10-Woman Elimination Tag Team Match against Oedo Tai and Starlight Kid was forced to join the rival unit per leader Natsuko Tora’s request. This move would eventually result in the birth of the ‘Dark Side of the Sky Tiger’, the gimmick that solidified SLK in the elite of the Stardom roster and allowed her to win the Highspeed Championship for the first time in her career.

AZM also became a key player in Queen’s Quest, being one of the few remaining members that joined the unit under the original leader Io Shirai before her move to WWE. However, SLK and AZM’s paths would converge once again when Queen’s Quest reignited their rivalry with Oedo Tai and collided in an 8-Woman Elimination Tag Match that resulted in then QQ leader Momo Watanabe smashing a steel chair in AZM’s head to betray her stablemates and join the rival unit.

Momo’s betrayal turned AZM into the most senior member of Queen’s Quest and allowed her to become the defacto leader of the unit. After gaining momentum and becoming the #1 Contender for the Highspeed Title, AZM defeated SLK in an absolute five star classic to win the championship for the second time in her career and solidifying both women’s status as the ‘Eternal Foes’ that will lead Stardom into the next era of success.

2022 – Current: More Championships & Superstar Status

Their iconic five star classic opened the door for more important championship opportunities, with SLK winning the Goddess of Stardom Tag Titles, the Artist of Stardom Trios Titles and the New Blood Tag Team Titles between 2022 and 2023, as well as having outstanding performances in the 5 STAR GP and the Goddess of Stardom Tag League.

Meanwhile, AZM defended the Highspeed Championship for a record 12 times during her 458-days title reign, before dropping the belt to Saki Kashima on a 3-Way Match that also involved Fukigen Death in May 2023. In addition, AZM also scored notable wins in the 5 STAR GP (including victories in 2022 and 2023 against QQ’s new leader Utami Hayashishita) and had notable performances in the inaugural Triangle Derby.

It was also during these last two years that both of them decided to pursue Stardom’s main championships once again, with SLK unsuccessfully challenging for the Wonder of Stardom Title in two different occasions (against Saya Kamitani in July 2022 and Saori Anou on February 2024) and AZM challenging for the IWGP & NJPW Strong Women’s Titles (the first in a 3-Way Match against then champion Mercedes Mone and Hazuki and the last one against Giulia).

Even though they haven’t been able to add these important championships to their lists of accolades, the truth is that it won’t be very long before these two incredible talents can finally have the prestigious World of Stardom or Wonder of Stardom Titles around their waists.

Explaining The Storyline: Conclusion & Final Comments

As I have said on multiple occasions, the Stardom dojo is undoubtedly the birthplace of some of the very best female pro wrestlers on the planet, while also representing one of the most important development places for the next stars of Joshi wrestling.

The truth is that the golden trio of Iyo Sky, Kairi Sane and Mayu Iwatani will always be the founding stones of Stardom’s huge success, with the three of them solidifying themselves as the first global superstars to ever come out from the promotion. However, the three of them also served as mentors and inspiration for most of the competitors in Stardom and the joshi scene, with Starlight Kid and AZM aiming even higher and looking to surpass the ‘Golden Trio’ in their own way.

Perhaps at the beginning, many of us joshi fans saw SLK as the next Mayu Iwatani but the truth is that her Oedo Tai gimmick definitely pushed her career to new heights and, despite taking a whole different direction compared to the ‘Stardom Icon’, will give her the same or even bigger success in the future.

On the other hand, AZM is perhaps the perfect example of a prodigious generational talent that leads everyone to think she was born to be a world champion. The fact that she actually impressed Iyo Sky and joined one of the very best units at a very young age is the perfect example to describe her talent.

I even dare to say that, if they continue to evolve at this rate, it wouldn’t surprise me if they even manage to sign with big American promotions the caliber of WWE and AEW in the coming future, because they truly are the future not only of Stardom but the entire Joshi Wrestling scene.

The post Explaining The Storyline: Eternal Foes – Starlight Kid & AZM appeared first on Wrestling Republic.

TJPW has definitely had a great year so far, with many interesting shows and more intense battles taking place throught the entire year so far. And, if this alone wasn’t enough, the company has also brought numerous foreign talents from all over the globe and even managed to host their first show in America.

Even though it wasn’t too long ago since I got hooked to TJPW and its product in general, I can definitely say that the future has never looked brighter for the promotion and that it will be very interesting to see how things play out from now on.

And speaking about future, I highly consider that the upcoming TJPW SUMMER SUN PRINCESS ’23 event in Ota-City is the main stage to make the first huge steps into this new process.

With a matchcard that promises to be one of the most solid ones of the year, we could say that there is a lot of things in stake for the event and that all of them could change the promotion’s landscape in certain ways.

For this article, I will be reviewing those who I consider are the top points of the event and why they have the potential to change the entire TJPW landscape, as well as sharing my predictions on some of the matches.

So, with nothing else to add, let’s begin our preview of TJPW SUMMER SUN PRINCESS ’23:

5) What Is Next For The Princess Tag Team Titles?

To start off this preview, I highly consider that one of the most interesting points leading up to the event is the uncertainty of not knowing exactly what is going to happen with the TJPW Princess Tag Team Titles.

Ever since TJPW announced that Yuka Sakazaki would be sidelined due to a neck injury and that she and Mizuki would have to relinquish the belts, I started to speculate about a whole new bunch of alternatives to crown the new champions. Since making another tag team tournament, hosting a bunch of qualifying matches, handpicking two teams to fight for the belts or even handing them to former champions Miyu Yamashita and Maki Itoh.

Even though there is not a clear landscape yet, I highly consider that there is no better place than TJPW’s second big match event of the year to finally give an answer to this question. Only time will say if my speculations turn out to be true or not, but the only thing sure is that there are a lot of interesting and talented teams in TJPW that could succeed in elevating the titles to new heights.

4) Will Hikari Noa Regain Singles Gold After Two Long Years?

Another interesting topic I wanted the cover in this article is the DEFY Women’s Championship Match between Hikari Noa and current champion VertVixen, since this will mark Hikari’s first big singles championship match in quite some.

I personally am a huge fan of Hikari Noa’s work and her potential as a true international star that could help bring more fans from all over the globe into watching TJPW shows. And winning the DEFY Women’s Championship could be a huge way of doing that, since it would allow her to travel to America and compete against a whole new bunch of interesting opponents, while also showcasing the title in both Japan and America.

Even though I think this would be a huge way of getting more eyeballs into both promotions, I also find it very hard for Hikari to win the title because of her idol commitments in Japan. However, the only fact that is undeniable here is that she has earned this opportunity because of all her hard work, and that it would be definitely great to see her holding singles gold one more time.

TOMAS’ PREDICTION: VertVixen defeats Hikari Noa to retain the DEFY Women’s Title.

3) Will Miu Watanabe Make Another Huge Statement Leading Up To The Tokyo Princess Cup 10?

In more than one ocassion, I have praised Miu Watanabe for her incredible in-ring talent and charisma, which I also consider will make her one of the future top stars in Joshi Wrestling and perhaps the next face of TJPW. Even though she dropped the title to her mentor and tag team partner Rika Tatsumi in TJPW GRAND PRINCESS ’23 earlier this year, Miu is still looking very strong in every single one of her matches and has quickly turned into one of the strongest candidates to win this year’s Tokyo Princess Cup.

However, she will have to overcome a major challenge in the likes of ‘The Native Beast’ Nyla Rose before turning her sights on the tournament. Rose was initially set to face Yuka Sakazaki, but the Magical Girls’ recent neck injury forced TJPW management to find a replacement.

There is no doubt that this will be one of the toughest matches of Miu’s career so far. But, if she manages to beat the former AEW Women’s World Champion, Miu Watanabe will definitely be the main competitor to watch during the 10th edition of the Tokyo Princess Cup.

TOMAS’ PREDICTION: Miu Watanabe defeats Nyla Rose.

2) Is Rika Tatsumi Facing The Toughest Challenge Of Her Title Reign So Far?

We couldn’t make a preview of TJPW SUMMER SUN PRINCESS ’23 without mentioning the co-main event of the show, which will feature Rika Tatsumi putting the TJPW International Princess Title on the line against Yuki Aino.

Rika has been on a hell of a ride recently, defending the International Princess Title three times and defeating oponents such as Billie Starkz, VertVixen and Suzume. However, Yuki Aino has demonstrated in more than one ocassion that she is now more determined than ever to win the big match and conquer her first singles title in TJPW.

I am personally a huge fan of both women’s work, but I think this is perhaps the match that I’m most intrigued to see, since I don’t have a clear winner in mind yet. However, all I can be sure of is that this incredibly strong and determined version of Yuki Aino could very well be one of the toughest challenges that ‘The White Dragon’ has faced in quite some time.

TOMAS’ PREDICTION: Yuki Aino defeats Rika Tatsumi to become the new International Princess Champion.

1) Will Maki Itoh Finally Finish The Story And Become Princess Of Princess Champion?

It has been some months now since Mizuki defeated her best friend and tag team partner Yuka Sakazaki to win the TJPW Princess of Princess Championship for the first time in her career, while also becoming the best version of herself and bringing new air to the company’s main championship. At the same time, Maki Itoh has undoubtedly been going through the best year of her career so far and became one of the most solid candidates to jeopardize Mizuki’s title reign.

Even though the match has already earned the main event spot because the Princess of Princess Title is on the line, the fact that the match will feature two talented competitors who share a lot of history together adds a huge emotional background that perhaps turns it into the most important and elaborated story of TJPW’s year so far.

There is no doubt that this will be the match to watch, and the one that will probably steal the show. Especially since Maki herself has declared in more than one ocassion that she is fully committed and determined to win the most important match of her career and put an end to her rivalry with Mizuki once and for all.

TOMAS’ PREDICTION: Maki Itoh defeats Mizuki to become the new Princess of Princess Champion.

Where Can You Watch TJPW SUMMER SUN PRINCESS ’23?

Fans will be able to watch TJPW SUMMER SUN PRINCESS ’23 live and on-demand, as well as every other TJPW event, on the promotion’s official streaming platform, WRESTLE UNIVERSE.

In addition to TJPW, fans will be able to watch the best content from Pro Wrestling NOAH, DDT Pro Wrestling and Ganbare Pro Wrestling.

Thank you for reading this article and please make sure to stay tuned to Wrestling Republic for more contents like this. Additionally, you can follow us on our official Instagram and Twitter accounts to be updated with everything that happens in the pro wrestling world.

Featured Image Credit – Tokyo Joshi Pro Wrestling (TJPW)/WRESTLE UNIVERSE

The post TJPW SUMMER SUN PRINCESS ’23 – Preview & Analysis appeared first on Wrestling Republic.

Welcome to another edition of Wrestling Republic’s coverage of Japanese Wrestling. This time, we’ll put the focus on New Japan Pro-Wrestling and its latest event.

The promotion has recently held NJPW Dominion, which took place from the Osaka-Jo Hall in Osaka, Japan and presented another action-packed matchcard. So, with nothing else to add, here are the full results of NJPW Dominion:

Opening Bout, IWGP United States Heavyweight Championship #1 Contenders Match: Will Ospreay vs. Lance Archer

• Will Ospreay defeated Lance Archer to become the #1 Contender for the IWGP United States Heavyweight Championship, currently held by AEW Star Kenny Omega.
• Ospreay pinned Archer after hitting Hidden Blade (Official Match Time: 8m, 1s)

The post NJPW Dominion June 4th, 2023 – Full Results appeared first on Wrestling Republic.

Welcome to another edition of Wrestling Republic’s coverage of Joshi Puroresu. This time, we’ll put the focus on TJPW and its latest event.

The promotion has recently held the first show of their TJPW LIVE TOUR IN SPRING ’23, which took place from the Otemachi Mitsui Hall in Tokyo, Japan and presented some very interesting in-ring action.

So, with nothing else to add, here are the full results of the May 20th edition of the TJPW LIVE TOUR IN SPRING ’23:

Opening Bout, Singles Match: Mahiro Kiryu vs. Toga

• Mahiro Kiryu defeated Toga.
• Mahiro pinned Toga after hitting Spinebuster (Official Match Time: 7m, 46s)

The post TJPW LIVE TOUR IN SPRING May 20th, 2023 – Full Results appeared first on Wrestling Republic.

Welcome to another edition of Wrestling Republic’s coverage of Joshi Puroresu. This time, we’ll put the focus on TJPW and its latest event.

The promotion has recently held Yuki Arai’s 2nd Anniversary Show TJPW YES! WONDERLAND ’23, which took place from the iconic Korakuen Hall in Tokyo, Japan and presented some very interesting in-ring action.

So, with nothing else to add, here are the full results of TJPW YES! WONDERLAND ’23:

Opening Bout, Singles Match: HIMAWARI vs. Shino Suzuki

• HIMAWARI defeated Shino Suzuki.
• HIMAWARI submitted Shino with the Single Leg Boston Crab.
• Official Match Time: 6m, 28s

The post TJPW YES! WONDERLAND ’23 – Full Results appeared first on Wrestling Republic.

Welcome to another edition of Wrestling Republic’s coverage of Joshi Puroresu. This time we’ll put the focus on STARDOM and its latest PPV event.

The promotion has recently held STARDOM Legend of Fukuoka Goddess 2023, which took place from the Fukuoka Kokusai Center in Fukuoka, Japan and presented some very interesting in-ring action.

So, with nothing else to add, here are the full results of STARDOM Legend of Fukuoka Goddess 2023:

Opening Bout: Fukuoka Rumble

• Suzu Suzuki (PROMINENCE) won the Shizuoka Rumble.
• The other participants were Saya Iida, Waka Tsukiyama, Aya Sakura, Miyu Amasaki, Mai Sakurai, Saki Kashima, HANAKO, Thekla, Yuna Mizumori, Lady C, Xena, Super Strong Stardom Machine, Super Strong Stardom Giant Machine, Super Strong Stardom Big Machine & Tenjin Mask.

The post STARDOM Legend of Fukuoka Goddess 2023 – Full Results appeared first on Wrestling Republic.

Welcome to another edition of Wrestling Republic’s coverage of Joshi Puroresu. This time, we’ll put the focus on Tokyo Joshi Pro-Wrestling and its latest event.

The promotion has recently held the TJPW Max Heart Tournament 3 Final event, which took place from the Korakuen Hall in Tokyo, Japan and presented some very interesting in-ring action. So, with nothing else to say, here are the full results of the final event of the TJPW Max Heart Tournament 3:

Opening Bout: Wakana Uehara vs. HIMAWARI

• Wakana Uehara defeated HIMAWARI by submission.
• Wakana submitted HIMAWARI with the Sleeper Hold (6:26)

The post TJPW Max Heart Tournament 3 Final February 11th, 2023 – Full Results appeared first on Wrestling Republic.

Welcome to another edition of Wrestling Republic’s coverage of Joshi Puroresu. This time, we’ll put the focus on STARDOM and it’s latest event.

The promotion has recently held the STARDOM Supreme Fight 2023 PPV, which took place from the Osaka Prefectural Gymnasium in Osaka, Japan and presented some very interesting in-ring action. So, with nothing else to say, here are the full results of STARDOM Supreme Fight 2023:

Opening Bout, Naniwa Roulette Tournament: Winner Earns A Championship Opportunity Of Their Choosing

• Saki Kashima won the Naniwa Roulette Tournament.
• Saki last eliminated Billiken Death, pinning her with Kishikaisei and earning the right to challenge for any STARDOM Title.
• Shortly after the match ended, Saki announced she wants to challenge for the Highspeed Title, currently held by AZM.

The post STARDOM Supreme Fight February 4th, 2023 – Full Results appeared first on Wrestling Republic.

Welcome to another edition of Wrestling Republic’s coverage of Joshi Puroresu. This time, we’ll put the focus on Tokyo Joshi Pro-Wrestling and its latest event.

The promotion has recently held TJPW City Circuit Winter Osaka Performance, which took place from the Azalea Taisho Hall in Osaka, Japan and presented some very interesting in-ring action So, with nothing else to say, here are the full results of TJPW City Circuit Winter Osaka Performance:

Opening Bout, Singles Match: Kaya Toribami vs. HIMAWARI

• Kaya Toribami defeated HIMAWARI by submission
• Kaya submitted HIMAWARI with Bird Cage (Official Match Time: 6m, 43s)

The post TJPW City Circuit Winter Osaka Performance February 4th, 2023 – Full Results appeared first on Wrestling Republic.

Welcome to another edition of Wrestling Republic’s coverage of Joshi Puroresu. This time, we’ll put the focus on STARDOM and it’s latest event.

The promotion has recently held another show of their brand-new Trios Tag League, the STARDOM TRIANGLE DERBY I. The event took place from the Nippon Toter Green Dome in Maebashi, Japan and presented some very interesting in-ring action.

So, with nothing else to say, here are the full results of STARDOM TRIANGLE DERBY I in Maebashi:

Opening Bout, 3-Way Match: Waka Tsukiyama vs. Tomoka Inaba vs. AZM

• AZM defeated Waka Tsukiyama & Tomoka Inaba by pinfall.
• AZM pinned Waka after hitting the Diving Foot Stomp (Official Match Time: 7m, 27s)

The post STARDOM TRIANGLE DERBY I In Maebashi January 29th, 2023 – Full Results appeared first on Wrestling Republic.