was a

professional wrestling Professional wrestling is a form of theater that revolves around staged wrestling matches. The mock combat is performed in a ring similar to the kind used in boxing, and the dramatic aspects of pro wrestling may be performed both in the ring o ...

event promoted by

World Wonder Ring Stardom World Wonder Ring Stardom (スターダム女子プロレス), often referred to simply as Stardom (stylized as ST★RDOM), is a Japanese '' joshi puroresu'' or women's professional wrestling promotion based in Tokyo, Japan. Stardom was founded i ...

. The event took place on December 29, 2022, in

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.468 ...

at the

Ryōgoku Kokugikan , also known as Ryōgoku Sumo Hall or Kokugikan Arena, is the name bestowed to two different indoor sporting arenas located in Tokyo. The fist ''Ryōgoku Kokugikan'' opened its doors in 1909 and was located on the lands of the Ekōin temple in Ry ...

with limited attendance due in part to the ongoing

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

at the time. It was also the last major

pay-per-view Pay-per-view (PPV) is a type of pay television or webcast service that enables a viewer to pay to watch individual events via private telecast. Events can be purchased through a multichannel television platform using their electronic program guid ...

hosted by Stardom in 2022.

Background

The show featured ten

professional wrestling matches Many types of wrestling matches, sometimes called "concept" or "gimmick matches" in the jargon of the business, are performed in professional wrestling. Some gimmick matches are more common than others and are often used to advance or conclude a ...

that resulted from scripted storylines, where wrestlers portrayed

villains A villain (also known as a "black hat" or "bad guy"; the feminine form is villainess) is a stock character, whether based on a historical narrative or one of literary fiction. ''Random House Unabridged Dictionary'' defines such a character a ...

heroes Heroes or Héroes may refer to: * Hero, one who displays courage and self-sacrifice for the greater good Film * ''Heroes'' (1977 film), an American drama * ''Heroes'' (2008 film), an Indian Hindi film Gaming * ''Heroes of Might and Magic'' ...

, or less distinguishable characters in the scripted events that built tension and culminated in a wrestling match or series of matches. The event's press conference took place on December 6, 2022, and was broadcast live on Stardom's

YouTube YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...

channel.

Event

The preshow match was broadcast live on Stardom's YouTube channel. AZM retained the

High Speed Championship The is a women's professional wrestling championship owned by the World Wonder Ring Stardom promotion. The title was originally created on May 5, 2009, in the NEO Japan Ladies Pro-Wrestling promotion, where Natsuki☆Taiyo defeated Ray to beco ...

against Hikari Shimizu, securing the ninth defense in a row and equalling the previous consecutive defenses record established by Mayu Iwatani. The first match of the main card saw an internal stable clash between the teams of Saya Iida, Hazuki and Koguma, and Mayu Iwatani, Momo Kohgo and Hanan which ended with the victory of the latter team with no further consequences in the process. In the third match, Mina Shirakawa returned from the broken jaw injury she sustained on November 3 at

Stardom Gold Rush was a professional wrestling event promoted by World Wonder Ring Stardom. The event took place on November 19, 2022, in Osaka at the Edion Arena Osaka with limited attendance due in part to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic at the time. Background ...

. While coming down the idle, she was accompanied by

Xia Brookside Xia-Louise Brooks (born 16 October 1998) is an English professional wrestler and valet. She is best known for her time in WWE, where she performed on the NXT UK brand under the ring name Xia Brookside. She has also worked for World Wonder Ring S ...

and

Mariah May Mariah May Mead (born 4 August 1998) is an English professional wrestler, model and actress, currently signed to World Wonder Ring Stardom, where she is a member of Club Venus. She goes by the ring name “The Glamour” Mariah May and is best ...

. Shirakawa and Sayaka won the match, and after the bout concluded, Shirakawa turned on Sayaka, ending their "Pink Kabuki" tag team tenure. However, Shirakawa later explained that she would remain part of

Cosmic Angels is a professional wrestling stable, currently performing in the Japanese professional wrestling promotion World Wonder Ring Stardom. The stable currently consists of Tam Nakano, Unagi Sayaka, Mina Shirakawa, Waka Tsukiyama, Saki (wrestler), Saki, ...

, and announced that together with Brookside and May she will form the brand new "

Club Venus is a Japanese stable currently performing in the Japanese professional wrestling promotion World Wonder Ring Stardom. Led by Mina Shirakawa, the stable also consists of Xia Brookside, Mariah May, Xena, Jessie and Waka Tsukiyama. Club Venus was ...

" faction as a sub-unit. They also announced themselves as the mystery trio of

Stardom Triangle Derby 2023 Triangle Derby I was the first annual Round-robin tournament, round-robin Six-woman Tag Team match, six-woman tag team professional wrestling tournament, tournament List of major World Wonder Ring Stardom events, event promoted by World Wonder Ri ...

. The fourth match saw MaiHime (Maika and Himeka) earn a future shot to the

Goddess of Stardom Championship The is a professional wrestling tag team championship owned by the World Wonder Ring Stardom promotion. Title history On August 2, 2011, Stardom held a press conference to announce the first ever Goddesses of Stardom Tag League, which would cu ...

after defeating the teams of Mirai and Ami Sourei, and Ruaka and Natsuko Tora. The fifth match saw IWGP Women's Champion Kairi and

Queen's Quest is a professional wrestling stable, currently performing in the Japanese professional wrestling promotion, World Wonder Ring Stardom. The stable is led by Utami Hayashishita and also consists of AZM, Saya Kamitani, Lady C, Hina and Miyu Amasaki ...

leader Utami Hayashishita clash into a fifteen minute time limit draw. Next,

Prominence In topography, prominence (also referred to as autonomous height, relative height, and shoulder drop in US English, and drop or relative height in British English) measures the height of a mountain or hill's summit relative to the lowest contou ...

's freelancer team of Risa Sera, Suzu Suzuki and Hiragi Kurumi defeated

Oedo Tai (Stylized OEDotai, also known as "Oedo Corps" in Japanese) is a villanous professional wrestling stable, currently performing in the Japanese professional wrestling promotion World Wonder Ring Stardom, and formerly in the Professional wrestling ...

's Momo Watanabe, Starlight Kid and Saki Kashima to capture the

Artist of Stardom Championship The is a professional wrestling six-woman tag team championship owned by the World Wonder Ring Stardom promotion. The title was first announced during Stardom's year-end event on December 24, 2012, and two days later its name was revealed as the ...

. Next,

Neo Stardom Army is a professional wrestling stable, mainly performing in the Japanese professional wrestling promotion World Wonder Ring Stardom and also in the Japanese independent scene. The stable is leaded by Alpha Female and also consists of Nanae Takahas ...

's sub tag team of 7Upp (Nane Takahashi and Yuu) defeated Tam Nakano and Natsupoi to win the

by exerciting their right after winning the 2022

Goddesses of Stardom Tag League The is a professional wrestling round-robin tag team tournament held annually by the Japanese professional wrestling promotion World Wonder Ring Stardom. It was created in 2011. The Goddesses of Stardom Tag League are held under a multi-poin ...

. In the semi main event, Saya Kamitani secured her twelfth consecutive defense of the

Wonder of Stardom Championship The is a women's professional wrestling championship owned by the World Wonder Ring Stardom promotion. The title, which in Stardom's championship hierarchy is situated as the secondary title behind the World of Stardom Championship, was introduc ...

against World Woman Pro-Wrestling Diana's Haruka Umesaki. Kamitani issued an open challenge which was responded by Mina Shirakawa and Future of Stardom Champion Ami Sourei. In the main event, Giulia who became number one contender for the

World of Stardom Championship The is a women's world professional wrestling championship owned by the World Wonder Ring Stardom promotion. The title, which is situated at the top of Stardom's championship hierarchy, was introduced on June 26, 2011, and the inaugural champio ...

after winning the

Stardom 5 Star Grand Prix 2022 , often stylized as 5★Star Grand Prix 2022 was the eleventh annual professional wrestling professional wrestling tournament, tournament under the Stardom 5Star Grand Prix Tournament branch List of major World Wonder Ring Stardom events, promoted ...

succeeded in dethroning the "red belt" holder Syuri, ending the latter's reign at 365 days.

Results

Notes

References

External links

Page Stardom World
{{List of major World Wonder Ring Stardom events 2022 in professional wrestling 2022 in Tokyo World Wonder Ring Stardom shows Women's professional wrestling shows Professional wrestling in Tokyo World Wonder Ring Stardom