Utami Hayashishita Gets First STARDOM 5★STAR GP 2026 Victory as the Tournament Continued in Joetsu City

By: Lewis Carlan

The STARDOM 5★STAR GP 2026 is in full swing and on July 26th the tournament made a stop at Duo CEREZO in Joetsu City with a sold out crowd on hand for the event.

The featured bout saw Utami Hayashishita facing off against Saya Iida in a Red Stars – Block B match-up. Hayashishita was looking for her first tournament win against the undefeated Saya Iida. With Iida looking to remain perfect and Hayashishita searching for her first victory, the fans were anticipating a very hard fought, evenly matched bout and that’s exactly what they got plus more.

Hayashishita and Iida engaged in a thriller of a main event that kept the sold out crowd very vocal throughout the match. The bout featured countless near falls and, quite frankly, the match could have easily gone either way. It was Hayashishita hitting her Crusade finisher on Iida which allowed her to emerge victorious for the first time in the STARDOM 5★STAR GP 2026.

After the bout was over, Hayashishita and Iida, both exhausted, offered kind words to one another and showed the respect they have for each other. Iida thanked Hayashishita for coming back to STARDOM.

From Utami Hayashishita:

“A singles match against Saya, my favorite classmate. I think these two points are incredibly valuable. Saya and I were so cool out there—I really felt proud to be in the same class as her. Thank you.”

From Saya Iida:

“It’s frustrating… I guess I just can’t beat Utami Hayashishita after all. Today, for this entire time, I really got a taste of what you’re all about. I’m incredibly frustrated, but being able to fight you again like this in the Stardom ring, and seeing you… I’m still happy! Thank you for coming back.”

In the co-featured bout, Rina Yamashita took on Maki Itoh in a Red Stars – Block B encounter. The match was a wild one that, at one point, included death match elements as both Yamashita and Itoh are familiar with that genre of pro-wrestling. Yamashita had bamboo skewers while Itoh introduced a pizza cutter midway through the match. Luckily, neither of the death match elements were used as the referee threatened to disqualify both competitors which prompted them to relinquish the weapons.

The bout ended when Yamashita and Itoh left the arena as they took their battle to the lobby and were counted out. When they re-emerged, they were both bound together with green tape but it was too late as the match had ended in a double count-out.

Here are the full results for STARDOM 5★STAR GP 2026 for July 26, courtesy of purolove.com:

• 5★STAR GP – Red Stars – Block A: Maika [6] defeated Tomoka Inaba  [4] (8:03) with a Michinoku Driver II.
  
• 5★STAR GP – Red Stars – Block B: Konami [4] defeated Lady C [0] (8:29) with after a panty kick.
  
• 5★STAR GP – Red Stars – Block A: Natsuko Tora [2] defeated Rina [2] (10:54) with a Swanton Bomb.
  
• 5★STAR GP – Red Stars – Block A: AZM [4] defeated Sayaka Kurara [4] (3:02) with the Azumi Sushi.
  
• 5★STAR GP – Red Stars – Block B: Mei Seira [3] vs. Azusa Inaba  [3] – Time Limit Draw (15:00).
  
• 5★STAR GP – Red Stars – Block A: Itsuki Aoki [6] defeated Akira Kurogane [0] (11:02) with a Rasha Hasami.
  
• 5★STAR GP – Red Stars – Block B: Rina Yamashita [6] vs. Maki Itoh [3] – Double Countout (12:44).
  
• 5★STAR GP – Red Stars – Block B: Utami Hayashishita [3] defeated Saya Iida [6] (13:45) with the Crusade.

Here are the updated standings for the STARDOM 5★STAR GP 2026 courtesy of purolove.com:

Red Stars A Block:

• Itsuki Aoki [6]
• Maika [6]
• Sayaka Kurara [4]
• Tomoka Inaba [4]
• AZM [4]
• Rina [2]
• Natsuko Tora [2]
• Akira Kurogane [0]

Red Stars B Block:

• Saya Iida [6]
• Rina Yamashita [6]
• Konami [4]
• Mei Seira [3]
• Maki Itoh [3]
• Azusa Inaba [3]
• Utami Hayashishita [3]
• Lady C [0]

Blue Stars A Block:

• Ruaka [4]
• Aya Sakura [2]
• Suzu Suzuki [2]
• Hina [2]
• HANAKO [2]
• Julia Hart
• Rian [0]
• Miyu Amasaki [0]

Blue Stars B Block:

• Koguma [4]
• Momo Watanabe [4]
• Hanan [4]
• Starlight Kid
• Saya Kamitani
• Ami Sohrei [0]
• Yuna Mizumori [0]
• Kikyo Furusawa [0]

(All English quote translations courtesy of Deepl.com)