Featured image by @thumbtackyuki89
This review was commissioned by SPRITE over on my Ko-fi account.
Blame Aja Kong for my lack of modern joshi knowledge this year. After spending the first quarter of 2025 just mainlining as much of her career into my brain as possible, I just had no room or energy for even wrestling that I like in the modern day. That included the big tentpoles of AEW and CMLL without even factoring in things like Sendai Girls. Even without the Aja project though, STARDOM’s been a non-priority since the start of the decade for me, a promotion that I’ve had enough time to decide is simply Not For Me. That said, I’m dropping in here on the first night of their biggest annual tournament without much knowledge or context.
I do have a bit more of a familiarity with Sareee though. Much favored across multiple circles of online fandom, the Inoki-loving, red-clad spitfire with the killer elbows has been garnering more and more hype as one of the top names in joshi. As a freelancer, she brings an outsider’s swagger to her big promotion appearances, often threatening to embarrass the rosters of whatever company chooses to bring her in. That’s likely why through the entirety of this tournament block match against Konami, the STARDOM fans are incredibly vocal about their distaste for her.
Sareee’s the best part of this match though. Her sheer, forward-moving intensity brings so much energy to this match. Not to mention just how fucking sick her striking is. An early Konami heat segment in this bout gets cut off with a series of thudding shoot headbutts in the corner, all of which draws boos from the crowd in Ota City General Gymnasium. That’s not even getting into the array of crunchy, meaty elbows Sareee throws throughout this match, always threatening to just cave in Konami’s chest with pure, raw force.
Her presence as an outsider too adds a lot of intensity to this. I’ve already mentioned the heat she’s drawing from the crowd, but it plays out in fun ways in the ring as well. Of note, how both Sareee and Konami refuse to break holds and pushing the referee’s count to its absolute maximum to inflict as much damage as possible.
Konami’s not anything special to me here though she does at least attempt to rise to the occasion. She has a few heaters of her own, specifically some nice kicks to the head and face, but otherwise there’s an odd dynamic here of her playing the sneak despite the crowd pulling for her. That’s something that can work when done right, and I’m not convinced it is done right here. Konami’s early strategy comes from an attempt at arm work–which arm, Konami herself can’t even seem to decide–and it’s effective in the moment but forgotten pretty quickly by Sareee. I suppose one can say Konami gets her own back though when Sareee attempts an attack on the legs in the back half of the match, only for Konami to shrug that off without much trouble as well.
Much as I enjoy Sareee though, some of her flaws as a worker come through here. The more I see of her, the more it feels like she’s got the intensity and the live rounds, but not much behind them to back it up. She’s prone to excess, as so many modern workers are, and when she gets going on a bombfest, she’s about as unreliable at keeping things cohesive than many of her lesser contemporaries. That’s on full display here at multiple points–the way the arm work totally evaporates, the leg work that doesn’t stick, those big move teases and bombs in the back half for half-hearted nearfalls. Even Konami’s Sleeper victory out of nowhere doesn’t have much room to sink in here either, feeling entirely unearned (perhaps the point) and unconvincing at once.
Still, there’s no denying the animal thrill of Sareee throwing an elbow strike just so fucking hard. Skull on skull violence always a welcome sight as well. Not to mention that being a Grand Prix match, they’re forced to keep things under 15 minutes which means a lot of the flaws go down a little easier. There’s worse ways to spend your time.
Rating: ***
