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Hojo vs. Sasha Banks is a personal dream match but I'm not sure someone who has had two documented concussions in the last year would be able to pass a WWE medical.

The Stardom office was trying to say that the piledriver from the apron wasn't what caused her last concussion, but it's hard to shake that feeling when you watch it.

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Hojo vs. Sasha Banks is a personal dream match but I'm not sure someone who has had two documented concussions in the last year would be able to pass a WWE medical.

The Stardom office was trying to say that the piledriver from the apron wasn't what caused her last concussion, but it's hard to shake that feeling when you watch it.

It's funny cause on the SamuraiTV version of the 5 Star GP, the showed that spot as one of the reasons why she was out.

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The Sendai Girls show is basically a two match show cause they cut a lot from the undercard matches. I had the tag match at ***1/2 and the main event at ****. Hashimoto is still raw but she can hang in a main event. Scary spot towards the end of the match where Hashimoto did a German right on Meiko's head. The ref looked afraid as he was trying to stop her cause Meiko was holding her neck. He literally told her to stop and cover at one point.

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I caught the last two matches. Didn't care for the tag match. To OZ Academy like with all of the weapon shots and listless brawling. I want to rewatch the main before I have a firm opinion on it, but on first watch it was fine for what it was. Hashimoto was good but still looked like a rookie. Satomura also relied on using no-selling as a transition a couple of times. Plus, the finish seemed a little too matter of fact, not really putting over how significant a win this was. It was like Hashimoto's win came a little too easy considering who she beat.

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I thought this was an okay match, but given Hashimoto's other matches this doesn't live up to expectations for a meeting with Meiko.

 

Everything from the point where Hashimoto threw her first German was a bit off. She came off the ropes and it looked like she was talking to the ref and Meiko before going for a lame pin attempt. The final sequence with Meiko no-selling what looked like a really brutal German almost threw me out of the match.

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The latest Observer says that Io Shirai is definitely going to WWE next year and Kairi Hojo is considering the offer, with the obvious question of whether she could pass a physical. Apparently the people trying to convince Kairi to stay are saying that WWE will always treat her second-class to Io, whereas if she stays she'll be the biggest star in Japan.

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Io is a much better fit for the WWE than people think. Her English is getting better and she's great at carrying herself as a star.

 

At this point, Stardom is basically the women's Evolve. The number of Indie women who work both Stardom and NXT tapings close together is fairly notable.

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Io is a much better fit for the WWE than people think. Her English is getting better and she's great at carrying herself as a star.

She also has a lot of experience as an ace getting matches out of people that they would otherwise have no business having. That will come in handy dealing with the high variance of experience levels amongst the women that go through NXT / WWE.

 

At this point, Stardom is basically the women's Evolve. The number of Indie women who work both Stardom and NXT tapings close together is fairly notable.

Who's next amongst the indie women who frequent Stardom to go to NXT full-time? It seems like if they wanted Santana Garrett by now, they would've taken her. Kay Lee Ray has the chops in the ring, but she doesn't have the look they want. Heidi Lovelace was at the last tryout, but I don't know if she was signed.

 

I'd really like to see Evie end up in WWE eventually, or at least go back to Stardom for a tour. And I would imagine that Toni Storm will end up there at some point after she's done with Stardom.

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Io is a much better fit for the WWE than people think. Her English is getting better and she's great at carrying herself as a star.

She also has a lot of experience as an ace getting matches out of people that they would otherwise have no business having. That will come in handy dealing with the high variance of experience levels amongst the women that go through NXT / WWE.

 

At this point, Stardom is basically the women's Evolve. The number of Indie women who work both Stardom and NXT tapings close together is fairly notable.

Who's next amongst the indie women who frequent Stardom to go to NXT full-time? It seems like if they wanted Santana Garrett by now, they would've taken her. Kay Lee Ray has the chops in the ring, but she doesn't have the look they want. Heidi Lovelace was at the last tryout, but I don't know if she was signed.

 

I'd really like to see Evie end up in WWE eventually, or at least go back to Stardom for a tour. And I would imagine that Toni Storm will end up there at some point after she's done with Stardom.

We probably see more Tessa Blanchard if she doesn't get picked up. Thea Trinidad is going on an upcoming tour and she did a TV match with Asuka.

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Who's next amongst the indie women who frequent Stardom to go to NXT full-time? It seems like if they wanted Santana Garrett by now, they would've taken her. Kay Lee Ray has the chops in the ring, but she doesn't have the look they want. Heidi Lovelace was at the last tryout, but I don't know if she was signed.

I'd really like to see Evie end up in WWE eventually, or at least go back to Stardom for a tour. And I would imagine that Toni Storm will end up there at some point after she's done with Stardom.

 

 

The women's tournament is a wild card in this. Who the WWE bring in for that, plus how they handle the aftermath will tell whether they have really changed in what they look for from women in-ring. It's a great chance to show off that women can do different stuff from what is shown on typical WWE TV. I had read that intergender was a big no-no with WWE, but then at the last tryout there was Heidi and Kimber Lee, who both made their name with intergender. Su Yung was there to and the only thing of note that she did in her first run in developmental was date Jerry Lawler.

 

For Stardom recs, I'd start at the 'World of Stardom Championship History' page. That has Hojo's, Satomura's, and Io's title wins from last year. After that click on the Stardom tag under the title of this thread. That will have a bunch of matches that I've reviewed in the Match Discussion Archive but note that Stardom hasn't reupped many shows from February to May that were on the YouTube page.

 

Also, I guess 2ch is adding Hikaru Shida, Makoto, and Hiroyo Matsumoto to the list of joshi workers talking to WWE. The first two are buddies of Asuka's so that's not a surprise. Hiroyo had a tryout in 2014 but blew out her knee not long after.

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The women's tournament is a wild card in this. Who the WWE bring in for that, plus how they handle the aftermath will tell whether they have really changed in what they look for from women in-ring. It's a great chance to show off that women can do different stuff from what is shown on typical WWE TV. I had read that intergender was a big no-no with WWE, but then at the last tryout there was Heidi and Kimber Lee, who both made their name with intergender. Su Yung was there to and the only thing of note that she did in her first run in developmental was date Jerry Lawler.

I totally forgot about that tournament. The list of invites from Japan and Europe will be very telling.

 

I think the general 'controversy' about intergender wrestling has died down in the past year, so maybe they care less about hiring someone with heavy experience in that area. Also, if they keep pillaging the women's indie scene, up-and-coming female wrestlers in some areas will either have to work men or go to Japan to get experience.

 

Also, I guess 2ch is adding Hikaru Shida, Makoto, and Hiroyo Matsumoto to the list of joshi workers talking to WWE. The first two are buddies of Asuka's so that's not a surprise. Hiroyo had a tryout in 2014 but blew out her knee not long after.

Hiroyo would be a pretty good fit for WWE. She has a lot of physical charisma, can work both "power" and more fast-paced styles, and has the advantage of being the same size as a lot of the American women.

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For Stardom recs, I'd start at the 'World of Stardom Championship History' page. That has Hojo's, Satomura's, and Io's title wins from last year. After that click on the Stardom tag under the title of this thread. That will have a bunch of matches that I've reviewed in the Match Discussion Archive but note that Stardom hasn't reupped many shows from February to May that were on the YouTube page.

February to May was probably their strongest period this year. Some of the March shows are on their new site, and they're all worth watching, but the culmination of the tour is missing. Maybe someone should bug them about uploading that again. I really liked this show: http://www.stardom-world.com/2016-2/6-5-2016-nagoya/

 

I would also recommend paying attention to the tag-team tournament that just started. The first two matches they uploaded are pretty good.

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Some good stuff coming up in the next few weeks. 11/3 has JWP is running Korakuen Hall with the Kyoko Kimura vs. Arisa Nakajima rematch, (hopefully Nanae Takahashi challenging Arisa after the match.) Plus, Ice Ribbon is running the same day with Tsukasa Fujimoto vs. Tsukushi for the ICE Infinity Title, while Avid Rival vs. Azure Revolution for the tag titles on the same show. Then OZ Academy is running a title match with Sonoko Kato vs. Hiroyo Matsumoto on 11/13.

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From this year, her ICE Infinity Title win vs. Risa Sera on 7/3 and 7/18 title defense vs. Maya Yukihi were both pretty good. Other than that the double header she did with Arisa Nakajima on 12/28/14, her REINA Title win over Syuri on 11/3/15 and the 12/26/15 title match with Maki Narumiya.

 

I watch the Samurai TV clips of Kyoko Kimura's JWP Title win over Arisa Nakajima and it's a shame we're probably not ever going to see it in full. What they showed looked awesome as Arisa sets up her own demise by recklessly elbowing Kimura on the ringpost till Kyoko slides out of the way causing Nakajima to slam her arm into the post. The rest of the highlights has Kimura going after the arm whenever she is in trouble eventually causing a ref stoppage for the win.

 

Their rematch on 11/3 is now going to be a "Dress-Up Wild Fight" like the well-known Kansai/Ozaki street fights from the 90's.

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Kairi Hojo recommendations?

For this year or her career?

Career
December 12, 2014 vs Meiko Satomura - Fortune Dream

 

March 11, 2015 with Nanae Takahashi vs the Jumanji Sisters - Sendai Girls

May 17, 2015 vs Mayu Iwatani

June 14, 2015 vs Meiko Satomura

July 7, 2015 vs Takumi Iroha

July 30, 2015 vs Meiko Satomura

September 6, 2015 vs KAORU

September 23, 2015 vs Hudson Envy

 

January 17, 2016 vs Io Shirai

March 21, 2016 with Meiko Satomura vs Io Shirai & Mayu Iwatani

June 6, 2016 with Io Shirai vs Meiko Satomura & Mika Iwata

June 14, 2016 vs Hiroyo Matsumoto - Fortune Dream

September 3, 2016 vs Io Shirai

 

All those matches are from Stardom except the ones noted from Fortune Dream and Sendai Girls.

 

There are more matches Pre dating 2014 with her teaming with Nanae Takahashi but I have to look more.

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Speaking of women, it now looks like Kairi Hojo is coming with Io Shirai. Stardom knew last week that Shirai was leaving and Hojo was on the verge, and was pushing for Hojo to stay noting she'd be their top star. Right now both are scheduled to stay with Stardom through about April of next year. Shirai will have her 10th anniversary big show on 3/20 at Korakuen Hall and that will be her last major event. Hojo will have a homecoming show in April and then also probably be leaving, although Stardom is trying to convince her to stay because losing one won't be so bad but losing both will be devastating, in particular because they have nobody at their level to elevate to take their places. The promotions' big three of late have been those two and Mayu Iwatani.

 

From this weeks Observer

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