This is for Hojo's Wonder of Stardom title. Wow, there are a lot of streamers thrown during the intros. Probably the most for a non-retirement match that I've seen in a while. The match itself gets off to a rough start, quite a few awkward moments along with a forced crowd brawl that they only do so that Hojo can do a diving elbow off the back entrance. Things get much better when they start doing more focused body part work with Iwatani getting her back worked over and Hojo with her arm. In fact, the finish is great with Mayu trying to hit her finisher with a bad back. A solid last big title match for Hojo in Stardom. ***1/2

Wonder of Stardom Championship: Kairi Hojo © vs. Mayu Iwatani

 

Hojo's year started off hot, but she's been cooling off lately. I dug what Mayu was doing with her armwork, like when she grinds her foot into Hojo's wrist, and I wish there was more of that before they went into the big moves. I also liked how the effects of the bodywork on both sides came into play during the finish, but the action felt disjointed to me and never quite found its rhythm. **3/4