Stardom's Big Tam Nakano/Saya Kamitani Gamble
In the Taro Okada era, Stardom continues to go all in on bold, compelling booking.
When Stardom announced that Tam Nakano vs World of Stardom champion Saya Kamitani at Korakuen Hall last night would be a “Loser leaves Stardom” match, the theorycrafting began. Would Sayaka Kurara win the Cinderella Tournament and use the “wish” she gained to get Nakano back in Stardom? Was one of them going to rival promotion Marigold? Would Nakano work elsewhere for a few months, and annoy Kamitani enough that she would get another chance?
The correct answer ended up being far more surprising. Despite going solidly against wrestling storytelling conventions and raising concerns of a bait and switch, Stardom booker Taro Okada and those involved in the creative behind this story are telling a gripping story of two competitors locked in an escalating spiral.
Kamitani and Nakano have a long history, something that was discussed frequently in the build up to their outstanding match which main evented Stardom Dream Queendom last December. Nakano was an early friend of Kamitani’s in the company, something that has become more and more important as Kamitani has lost her Queens Quest faction leader in Utami Hayashishita and later, the entire faction itself. When confronted with these difficult circumstances, Kamitani did what so many wrestlers do and chose to join Stardom’s most villainous faction, HATE.
That match ended with Kamitani forcing a crying Nakano to put the World of Stardom championship around the former’s waist. It was a mirror image of Nakano putting Stardom’s white belt, the Wonder of Stardom championship, on Kamitani when she won that title back when the two were good friends.
This former friendship between the two competitors has been a significant throughline between these two. Two months later, the tension has only grown which led to last night’s match at Stardom Nighter in Korakuen (free to watch on YouTube as of publication date). Both competitors appeared visibly distressed at the start of the match. Before they locked up, even Kamitani, who has resorted to despicable actions after her heel turn in the middle of 2024, seemed to steel herself.
The match is a great reminder of how good these two professional wrestlers are. Tam Nakano has long been a reliable hand (and one of the most popular wrestlers) in Stardom and it’s no surprise that she was who they turned to when they desperately needed to right the company in 2024. And Saya Kamitani, in a short time, has transformed into one of the best heels in pro wrestling with impressive in-ring and character instincts.
In one of the match’s most memorable sequences, the two wrestlers exchange finishers in the ring in a frantic sequence of moves with each wrestler kicking out at one multiple times. The standing room only Korakuen crowd was at a fever pitch during this part of the match, gasping audibly and clapping throughout.
The match itself, while one close to the top tier of matches you will see all year without a doubt, was hampered by an excessive amount of interference in certain stretches but it ended very strong. Kamitani hits her finisher, the Star Crusher, on Nakano. She knows that the match is won, but she looks almost unsure about covering Nakano to end the match.
After a few seconds, Kamitani pulls Nakano up to her knees. The two share a look - at that moment, perhaps realizing how far they have come in their years together. Finally, Kamitani lets the villainous side of her win out and she hits Nakano with a devastating kick to win the match.
Even after the match, Kamitani appears visibly emotional, seemingly crying over Nakano who is laying on the mat. She takes a second to remember who she is now, gets up and puts her foot on Nakano before maniacally laughing.
Nakano leaves the ring, her time in Stardom seemingly over, but Kamitani calls her back and the two decide to have one final match, at All Star Grand Queendom in April. This time, each wrestler will put their wrestling career on the line. The winner will gain the top prize in Stardom, the World of Stardom title. And the loser will be forced to retire from wrestling for good.
I can understand why some may have thought this was a cop out. The traditional wrestling move may have been to wait a few weeks and have the heel begrudgingly allow the babyface one last match. The match was advertised in a certain way and the wrestlers immediately went back on the promise. The crowd at Korakuen seemed truly uncomfortable. But thinking deeper into the motivations of these two intertwined characters, waiting to set this up would have undercut the moment.
Saya Kamitani and Tam Nakano have been locked in this dance for so long at this point. Based on the reaction of both wrestlers during the match and after, it appears that there is still some connection there that neither wrestler wants to fully give up on despite the change in circumstances.
Kamitani, despite beating Nakano twice - once for the title and once to kick her out of Stardom permanently - has not found the closure that she is seeking. Beating Nakano isn’t going to bring back her old faction, and it isn’t going to bring back the friendships that she had in her past as a Queens Quest member.
The answer for both of them is to continue escalating this toxic, unhinged rivalry until they reach the precipice.
The main event of All Star Grand Queendom seeks to answer the question “what happens when these two, who have been intertwined for so long, go over the edge?”
It’s entirely possible that this bait and switch gamble on behalf of Stardom’s creative team fails and they don’t get the sales they’re expecting for their big show. But like other big gambles Stardom has made in the post-Rossy Ogawa era, this opens up brand new bold options in wrestling storytelling. Provided Stardom follows through on this promise, they have an opportunity to cap off this story with something truly unforgettable.