#197: Mayu Iwatani vs. Momo Watanabe, NJPW/STARDOM Historic X-Over II (11/17/2024).
This is #4 in my Top Matches of 2024.
This is for Mayu’s IWGP Women’s Championship.
Despite falling to the sidelines in terms of importance under the Bushiroad banner, the IWGP Women’s Championship became one of the most consistently high quality titles in Japanese wrestling in 2024, thanks to the work of the great Icon of STARDOM, Mayu Iwatani. She caps off a career high year with a title defense against Momo Watanabe, who’s looking to make a major statement here by besting one of the company’s best.
The bell sounds, and we are under way. They go to lock wrists, and Momo takes control of the back. Mayu quickly hammerlocks the arm, and gets a side headlock takedown off into a head scissors. Momo takes the headlock next, and we get some nice back and forth reversal wrestling. Mayu with a hurricanrana, and a dropkick to the head. Mayu goes for a dropkick, but here’s Saya Kamitani from HATE at ringside to pull her to the outside.
Momo’s faction attacks Mayu on the floor, and then she irish whips Mayu into the barricade. She then whips Mayu into the front row of chairs, destroying them in the process. Momo slaps her repeatedly, and Mayu doesn’t like that. She forearms her chest, and follows with a kick to the chest next. Back in the ring, Momo lays her knee on Mayu’s chest for a pin, and she kicks out. Momo kicks the hell out of Mayu’s back.
Momo continues to taunt, until Mayu responds with a hard forearm. Momo kicks her chest in again, then drives her knee into the back of her head. Mayu attempts to fight back with more forearms, and Momo just kicks the hell out of her again. Mayu tries for a roll up, and Momo counters with a single leg dropkick. She rolls to the floor, and HATE try to attack her. STARS gets into it with them, as Mayu hits a Tope onto everyone.
She rolls Momo back into the ring, and hits a springboard douhle stomp. Nice Dragon Screw Legwhip, Tanahashi style, followed by a low dropkick to the chest. She covers, and Momo kicks out. She kicks Momo in the spine, and kicks her again. Hard repeated kicks to the back, and then Mayu drives her knee into Momo’s neck. She kicks her low in the gut, and dropkicks her in the ropes. The whiplash is pretty nasty. Mayu covers Momo, and Momo kicks out.
Momo explodes out of the corner and dropkicks Mayu across the ring. A running dropkick in the corner, and then more kicks to the chest. They are stiff as fuck. She connects with a suplex, and follows with two more, Eddie Guerrero style. The last one, she lays Mayu on the ropes, and kicks her right in the head. On the apron, Momo hits a Bastard Driver to Mayu, dropping her on her head on the hardest part of the ring.
Momo goes to bring her into the ring, but Mayu counters into a Dragon Suplex that damn near spikes Momo on the apron! Mayu is busted open in the mouth. Both women are able to return to the ring before the 20 count. They make it back to their feet, and Momo quickly kicks Mayu in the chest. They forearm each other, and exchange kicks to the head. Mayu destroys her with a Superkick! The women struggle to return to their feet, and Mayu hits a beautiful corner dropkick to the jaw!
She follows with a shotgun dropkick, Toyota style! She returns to the top rope, and hits the High Fly Flow! Momo is able to kick out. She looks for the Dragon Suplex, but Momo holds onto the ropes for leverage. Both women fight for the Tombstone, until Momo hits a Urinage. Running double knees to the face follow, as Momo goes to the middle rope. Meteora connects flush, but Mayu is able to kick out.
Momo goes back to the top rope, and gets bitch slapped by Mayu. She goes to the top, and they exchange forearms. Mayu with a stiff headbutt, followed by a slap. Big Frankensteiner by Mayu, and a Superkick, and a Roundhouse Kick, and another Superkick! Mayu connects with the Dragon Suplex, but Momo is able to kick out. Mayu is stunned. She goes to the top, and she misses the moonsault. Momo explodes out of the corner, but walks into a Tombstone.
Mayu is back to the top, and she hits the moonsault this time. She covers, but HATE pulls the referee out. What is this, a House of Torture match? Momo kicks Mayu right in the jaw. Now she has her trademark baseball bat. She sets up for a swing, but instead tosses it aside. She kicks Mayu in the head, and then drills her in the chest several times with kicks. Mayu with a Thrust Kick, and Momo kicks her as she goes to the top. Another hard and stiff kick to the head.
Half Nelson Suplex connects, and a nasty Soccer Kick to the face. Momo covers, but Mayu is able to kick out again! Momo hits Sunrise, but Mayu kicks out again! Another kick to the head by Momo, but Mayu counters back with a snap German Suplex. Mayu with a top rope reverse Poisonrana, and a roundhouse kick to the head! Momo is somehow able to kick out. Momo with the JML Driver, and Mayu kicks out! Very close nearfall there. Momo is stunned!
Mayu catches Momo in a deadlift Dragon Suplex out of nowhere, and that’s enough for the win. Mayu retains the championship. Absolutely wonderful match. One of the stiffest women’s matches I saw in 2024, and a true shocker of a match, if I’m being honest. I figured these two would have a good match when I saw this announced, but this blew me away. Phenomenal back and forth action, with a great story being told, as Momo fought so desperately to beat Mayu fair and square, while Mayu showed incredible fortitude in taking punishment and coming back stronger, like a zombie.
They had the crowd biting by the end, and the sequences just got more exciting. Momo tossing the bat aside was a great element to all of this, but it just wasn’t enough to stop Mayu, who really had a great 2024 as the IWGP Women’s Champion. Run this back again in the future, and make it the main event!