The Stardom in Showcase is a series of pay-per-views which mainly focuses on a diversity of gimmick matches, only different from the singles match stipulation. Billed as respiro shows, the main tagline of these events is "Anything can happen".[3]
The show started with the comedic "triathlon" competition between Saya Iida and P.P.P. Tokyo's Chanyota which included three different types of contests. An arm wrestling match, a usual singles match and a muscular posing contest. Chanyota won the posing and the arm wrestling match while Iida imposed herself in the usual singles wrestling match. The second bout saw a Falls count anywhere match following an event which took place a couple of weeks before the show in which then-time High Speed ChampionAZM and Rossy Ogawa celebrated AZM's 20th birthday with a couple of drinks at the bar ran by Sumire Natsu (in Japan, the age of twenty represents the legal elderliness for alcohol consumption). At the bar, Sumire attacked Ogawa which degenerated in the traditional four-way match of the "Showcase" branch. AZM picked up the victory after pinning Hanan. Since joining Cosmic Angels in late 2021, Waka Tsukiyama would undergo a long-term losing streak. Obviously not happy about it, unit leader Tam Nakano demanded that Tsukiyama must focus on getting a win and breaking her loss record, otherwise she would be kicked out of the stable. The situation degenerated in a Captain's fall six-woman elimination tag team match in which Tsukiyama teamed up with Mina Shirakawa and Mariah May in order to attempt to get a win against the stablemates team of Tam Nakano, Natsupoi and Saki to keep herself as a member of the unit (Nakano gave her an ultimatum to get a win several weeks before the event). Tsukiyama's team lost, however, Nakano decided to keep her into the unit and further team up with her to face Nanae Takahashi at Stardom New Blood Premium on March 25 and challenged Takahashi to bring up her best partner. The fourth match saw the Super Stardom Machine Army, three masked characters portrayed by Saya Iida, Lady C and Yuna Mizumori defeating an unidentified team of three reaper masked "momos" (one of them was later proved to be Thekla).[a] The fifth match saw Giulia, Maika and Himeka going into a no-contest against the time's Artist of Stardom ChampionsSuzu Suzuki, Risa Sera and Hiragi Kurumi as a result of a hardcore six-woman tag team match. The bout was one of Himeka's wishes before her retirement. In the semi main event, Syuri defeated Saki Kashima in an UWF rules match.[5][6][7]
^The reaper-masked characters symbolize unidentified wrestlers announced by Stardom to compete in various events, usually non-canon shows such as the "Showcase" branch, which were usually revealed on the day of the respective shows or kept secret for a longer period of time.
^Himeka announced her retirement from professional wrestling on February 10, 2023. She expressed her wish of facing Suzu Suzuki in a hardcore match as one of her last bouts before retiring.
^Winner team received local high-quality Kobe beef.
References
^ a bKreikenbohm, Philip (February 26, 2023). "Stardom In Showcase Vol. 4". cagematch.net. Retrieved February 27, 2023.
^World Wonder Ring Stardom (January 23, 2023). 2・26『STARDOM in SHOWCASE vol.4』兵庫・神戸国際展示場の一部対戦カードが決定！. stardom.com (in Japanese). Retrieved January 24, 2023.
^Murray, Dylan (July 18, 2022). "Preview: Stardom In Showcase Vol.1 (07/23/2022)". lastwordonsports.com. Retrieved July 23, 2022.
^Grabianowski, Ed. "How Pro Wrestling Works". HowStuffWorks, Inc. Discovery Communications. Archived from the original on November 18, 2013. Retrieved August 21, 2017.
^Jangir, Jitu (February 26, 2023). "STARDOM in SHOWCASE Vol. 4 (2/26/23)". sacnilk.com. Retrieved February 26, 2023.
^Olmos, Pablo (February 26, 2023). "Resultados STARDOM in SHOWCASE Vol.4". turnheelwrestling.com. Retrieved February 26, 2023.
^Brennan, Corey (February 26, 2023). "STARDOM In SHOWCASE Vol. 4 Results (2/26/23)". bodyslam.net. Retrieved February 27, 2023.
^Edwards, Scott (February 26, 2023). "STARDOM in SHOWCASE Vol. 4 Results (2/26/23): Syuri vs. Saki Kashima in a UWF Match". fightful.com. Retrieved February 26, 2023.
^Edwards, Scott (February 10, 2023). "Himeka Announces Retirement, Final Match Set For April 23 Vs. Maika". fightful.com. Retrieved February 25, 2023.
^Thomas, Jeremy (February 26, 2023). "STARDOM in SHOWCASE Vol. 4 Results: Syuri Battles Saki Kashima, More". 411mania.com. Retrieved February 26, 2023.
^Daly, Wayne (February 27, 2023). "STARDOM Results: STARDOM In Showcase Vol. 4 – Kobe, Japan (2/26)". wrestling-news.ne. Retrieved February 28, 2023.
