Saya Iida Continues to Build Strong Lead in STARDOM 5★STAR GP

By Noah Leatherland

The STARDOM 5★STAR GP continues in Kanazawa, with both of the Red blocks in action. While Red Stars A continues on as a tight race, Saya Iida keeps on building a strong lead at the top of Red Stars B.

In the day’s main event, Saya Iida faced off against the leader of the Itoh Respect Gundan, Maki Itoh. Itoh put up a good fight against her bigger and stronger opponent, finding an advantage on the outside. The two almost battled to the 15 minute time limit. However, just shy of the 13 minute mark, Iida hoisted Itoh up and drove her down with a vertical drop brainbuster.

Taking the microphone after the match, Iida promised to take this momentum all the way to the very top:

That’s my sixth point! Aren’t I top of the block now…? I’m not one to be caged in. I’m going to let loose even more and unleash the full power of the “Iida Spirit”. I’ll keep charging ahead at this pace right to the 5★STAR tournament victory.

Iida was still reeling from the punishment delivered to her by Itoh in her post-match comments, but had an eye towards her next match against Utami Hayashishita:

No, that’s just brutal. Not cute at all. Really not cute. Madness. It’s madness, isn’t it? She’s mad. These two points I’ve won against Maki Itoh are quite significant, aren’t they? It’s going to be tough, but tomorrow… I’ll be fighting Utami. Tomorrow’s match will be another very important one for me, so I’m going to stay focused and carry this momentum from today. I want to win. Together with these muscles!

(Quotes translated via DeepL)

Iida isn’t exactly clear at the top of Red Stars B. Rina Yamashita also picked up two points in Kanazawa, defeating Lady C to push herself up to five points, just one behind Iida. Elsewhere, the rest of the block has some catching up to do. Hayashishita entered Kanazawa with a solitary point, earned from a time limit draw with Yamashita. She will have to wait a little while longer to build that score, as she suffered an upset loss to the 18-year-old upstart, Azusa Inaba, after being hit with the Baba Killer #2. Then, in the semi-main event, Konami picked up her first points of the Grand Prix with a win over Mei Seira. Konami celebrated by dousing Seira’s face in black spray paint and taking a print of it as a souvenir.

Across the field in Red Stars A, nobody has yet to take a real hold of the top spot. Four points stands as the highest total in that group, with four women at that mark. Itsuki Aoki rose to four points in Kanazawa with a win over Natsuko Tora, putting the H.A.T.E. member away with the Dust Ring Shiki. Sayaka Kurara was prevented from reaching six points by Maika, who made the former World of Stardom champion submit to the cross armbreaker to join her on four points. Tomoka Inaba also had her chance to top the block spoiled. AZM claimed her first two points by catching Inaba in the Azumi Sushi. Towards the bottom of the pack, Rina and Akira Kurogane both started the day on zero points ahead of their match to open the show. Rina was the one to find a path to victory, defeating Kurogane with the Hydrangea.

Here are the full results for STARDOM 5★STAR GP Day 4, courtesy of purolove.com

• Red Stars A: Rina [2] def. Akira Kurogane [0] (9:21)
• Red Stars B: Rina Yamashita [5] def. Lady C [0] (7:03)
• Red Stars A: Itsuki Aoki [4] def. Natsuko Tora [0] (6:42)
• Red Stars A: Maika [4] def. Sayaka Kurara [4] (6:01)
• Hanan & Matoi Hamabe def. Anne Kanaya & Ema Maishima (8:38)
• Red Stars B: Azusa Inaba [2] def. Utami Hayashishita [1] (9:13)
• Red Stars A: AZM [2] def. Tomoka Inaba [4] (9:05)
• Red Stars B: Konami [2] def. Mei Seira [2] (11:22)
• Red Stars B: Saya Iida [6] def. Maki Itoh [2] (12:57)

Here are the updated standings for the STARDOM 5★STAR GP:

Red Stars A

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

Red Stars B

• Saya Iida [6]
• Rina Yamashita [5]
• Mei Seira [2]
• Maki Itoh [2]
• Konami [2]
• Azusa Inaba [2]
• Utami Hayashishita [1]
• Lady C [0]

Blue Stars A

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

Blue Stars B

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