STARDOM held its Gold Rush pay-per-view for the second consecutive year with the Moneyball Tournament Finals in the main event featuring Donna Del Mondo and STARS.
Pre-Show: Billiken Death wins the Gauntlet Battle Royal
- Maika and Lady C started off the gauntlet with a battle of strength and technical ability. Maika’s “Divine Kingdom” partner, Megan Bayne, then enters the match to assist Maika. Mina Shirakawa follows in with her playful antics and shares a quick sequence with the next entrant: Yuna Mizumori. The match’s final entrants are Miyu Amasaki and Billiken Death. Maika and Megan team up on Yuna and Lady C to pin and eliminate both women. Megan lifts Mina in a gorilla press to throw her over the top rope. After quite some time teaming up in the match, Megan and Maika begin to battle every woman for herself. The two have a powerful exchange on the ring apron, but Billiken Death and Miyu Amasaki deliver a dropkick to the two to secure the elimination. Billiken Death and Miyu have their own series of back-and-forths, but Billiken Death ultimately scores the victory with a roll-up.
Pre-Show – Moneyball Tournament Semi-Finals: Hazuki, Hanan, Saya Iida (STARS) def. Konami, Ami Sohrei (God’s Eye), HANAKO
- The two teams were eager to headline the show, promptly going after one another once the bell rang. Hazuki and HANAKO were the legal starting competitors with HANAKO maximizing the use of her height advantage over Hazuki. Saya Iida then tags in and floors Konami with a dropkick. Hanan enters the fray for a double team on God’s Eye. Saya and Konami remain the legal competitors and showcase a battle between their powerhouse and technical styles. As Konami tags in Ami, Saya wastes no time in throwing multiple chops to Ami’s chest. Ami and HANAKO then display tag team chemistry slamming Hanan into a Gorilla Press Slam. The remaining STARS members intervene, and Hanan pulls off a Fame-Asser for a two count on HANAKO. As HANAKO was about to execute her finishing move on Hanan, a slight miscue on God’s Eye’s end occurs with Konami and Ami inadvertently hitting their teammate with a Double Roundhouse Kick. Hanan rolls up HANAKO for the victory.
The Gold Rush 2023 Pre-Show is available for free public viewing on Stardom’s official YouTube channel.
Giulia, Thekla, Mai Sakurai (Donna Del Mondo) def. Natsuko Tora, Momo Watanabe, Ruaka (OEDo Tai)
- Vying for the second spot at the show’s main event were trios from Donna Del Mondo and OEDo Tai. Mai Sakurai and Natsuko Tora squared off to begin, but the other DDM members quickly entered to attack OEDo Tai. After the chaos, Mai playfully slaps Natsuko on the face with some cash bills before Natsuko knocks her out with one strike. Natsuko tags in Momo, and Mai escapes her grasp to tag Thekla as the two trade fast paced offense. OEDo Tai makes full use of the tags, trading in Ruaka and Natsuko every once in a while. Ruaka scores a near fall after a lariat on Mai. Ruaka then misses a Top Rope Splash which Mai takes advantage of to a roll-up to pick up the win.
High Speed Championship: Mei Seira (c) def. Momoka Hanazono via roll-up pinfall
- In her first defense as High Speed Champion, Mei begins the match with a quick sequence running the ropes with Momoka. The two exchange leapfrogs, pin escapes, and handsprings early on. Momoka, determined to win the title by any means, has Mei seated on the bottom turnbuckle and blows bubbles from a bubble gun into her face. The fight briefly spills to the outside, but both competitors make it back by the count of 9. The challenger Momoka pulls off an unexpected German Suplex while Mei retaliates with a Springboard Blockbuster neckbreaker. As the two looked to gain the upper hand in a series of roll-up attempts, it was Mei who got the better of the exchange as she successfully pinned Momoka to retain her title.
AZM def. Starlight Kid & Suzu Suzuki via Azumi Sushi roll-up
- The three way started nothing short of slow as AZM, Suzu Suzuki, and Starlight Kid are all known for their high speed wrestling styles. They swiftly ran the ropes and attempted rapid fire pinfalls to no avail. AZM and Starlight Kid, a recent pairing for the Dream Tag Festival, briefly teamed up on Suzuki before resuming to singles action. After some time brawling on the ringside area, Starlight Kid delivers a Diving Crossbody to the outside. She brings her opponents back in the ring for a Standing Moonsault. The three way shortly becomes a singles match between her and Suzu Suzuki, but AZM reentered the fray immediately. They continue their high speed offense until Suzuki lands a Double Spear to take out the two. AZM and Starlight Kid go high risk with their respective Diving Foot Stomp and Rotating Frog Splash on Suzuki just for the latter to kick out before three. AZM then knocks out Suzuki with a strong kick, leaving the match to her and Starlight Kid. Kid looked for the Star Suplex, but AZM countered into a Flip Piledriver and Azumi Sushi roll-up for the win.
- AZM then called out NJPW STRONG Women’s Champion Giulia for her title at the next major show.
UWF Rules Match: Syuri def. Scandinavian Hurricane via TKO
- In a clash between MMA fighters, Syuri and Scandinavian Hurricane (also referred to as Aliss Ink) attempted early strikes to gain an advantage in the MMA-style match. The Scandinavian Hurricane briefly locked in an Ankle Lock, though Syuri rolled out of it in an instant. She then threw a spinning kick to the side of Syuri’s head that kept her down for an eight count. The short knockdown warranted Syuri a point lost. She attempted to retaliate with some holds of her own before Hurricane executed a Death Valley Driver and Shining Wizard sequence, losing Syuri another point. Hurricane stayed on the offense, wrestling Syuri down into a choke hold with her legs. Syuri crawled to the ropes and was down to two remaining points with Hurricane still at five. Noticing her imminent loss, Syuri regained momentum by wrestling Hurricane down with a Sleeper Hold into a Modified Armbar that had her opponent crawling for the ropes as well. The final leg of the UWF match saw the two grapple for submissions, but Syuri ultimately landed a Bicycle Knee Strike and two vicious Roundhouse Kicks. With the Scandinavian Hurricane seeming unresponsive on the ground, the referee ruled the decision as a TKO and granted the victory to Syuri.
Wonder of STARDOM Championship: MIRAI (c) & Saori Anou end in a Time-Limit Draw
- The white belt contest commenced with a traditional exchange of technical wrestling between MIRAI and Saori Anou. Both women showed a fair display of defense, countering each other’s holds and smoothly transitioning into their own. They maintained a consistent pace until MIRAI initiated attempts to execute her signature maneuvers, all of which Saori successfully countered. MIRAI delivered more forceful strikes to her opponent’s chest while she was down, further intensifying the match. Despite continuing to execute her patented power moves, Saori showed resilience by kicking out of every maneuver thrown at her. As the match approached the 30-minute mark, MIRAI and Saori intensified their efforts compared to the initial stages. Saori continued to show her toughness by evading MIRAI’s Diving Crossbody followed by two Samoan Drivers. They then exchanged rapid roll-up exchanges that nearly reached the three-count several times. However, just as MIRAI was poised to go for the pin following a lariat and Samoan Driver sequence, the bell sounded to mark the end of the match.
Moneyball Tournament Tables, Ladders, and Chairs Finals: Giulia, Thekla, Mai Sakurai (Donna Del Mondo) def. Hazuki, Hanan, Saya Iida (STARS)
- The two trios wasted no time throwing hands before the match officially began. Saya Iida and Thekla promptly went to open two of the four mystery boxes with a vertical assist from their teammates. Thekla’s box revealed some extra cash while Saya received the unfortunate fate of dust blinding herself and Hazuki. Both teams continued to gain an attempt at finding the key to open the chest suspended above the ring. As Hanan seized the key from one of the boxes, Mai Sakurai managed to steal it from her before Hazuki threw her back first into a ladder to recover the key. Hazuki and Thekla ascend the ladder. The two traded harsh strikes to one another, but Thekla gained the upper hand with a Superplex on Hazuki from the top of the ladder. She regains her balance and unhooks the treasure chest to grant Donna Del Mondo the victory.
- After the match, Giulia accepts AZM’s issued challenge for a shot at her NJPW STRONG Women’s Championship. Thekla, feeling confident after her win, challenged Mei Seira for her High Speed Championship to which the latter accepted as well.
