Stardom Review And Analysis: January 6 in Osaka

Credit: We Are Stardom Twitter

As the new year begins to roll out, here at Daily DDT we’re beginning to increase our coverage of wrestling from around the globe. Part of that initiative comes in the form of covering one of my newly found favorite promotions, Stardom. In addition to myself, Laura Mauro will be covering the promotion on the site. Let’s kick things off with Osaka’s January 6 show from the Osaka World Pavillion!

First, some background. If you’re unfamiliar with how Stardom World works, it’s a bit unlike other streaming platforms. Rather than uploading entire events as they complete, individual matches are uploaded in batches until an entire show’s matches have been added to the site.

Why is this done? The biggest reason may be that Stardom World offers something that (to my knowledge) no other Japanese promotion offers – subtitles. Before every match and at the end of the night, you’re guaranteed to hear from the competitors.

Stardom puts in the effort to add English subtitles to the pre-match promos, the end of the night promo, and any other in-ring promo that may happen. In the case of some classic matches between Natsu Sumire and AZM over the summer, they’ll even sometimes subtitle the banter during a match.

While the format of Stardom World may not be everybody’s cup of tea, I’ve learned to love it as it means I can watch a match here or there as it gets uploaded rather than having to spend an hour or two watching a full show in one sitting. It was the thing I thought I would dislike most about the service and it turned out to be one of the things I enjoy most.

With that out of the way, let’s get into the January 6 show from Osaka!