Saya Kamitani and Momo Watanabe Present United Front After Tie at STARDOM 5★STAR GP Day 9

By: Noah Leatherland

STARDOM took the 5★STAR GP back to Korakuen Hall for the ninth leg of the tournament. In the main event, Saya Kamitani and Momo Watanabe finally met in the ring after the tensions have been brewing since the latter’s return to action.

Watanabe returned to STARDOM not long after H.A.T.E. lost all of their gold, prompting her to openly question Kamitani’s leadership. With the luck of the draw, both were assigned to the Blue Stars B block in the 5★STAR GP. Main eventing Korakuen Hall, Kamitani and Watanabe did not hold back on one another. With each of them seconded by a fellow H.A.T.E. member, both benefitted from the dark arts, best seen when Watanabe crowned Kamitani with a chair, only for Ruaka to help Kamitani reach the ropes.

The battle raged on, but the timer ran out. After 15 minutes, a winner could not be decided, with a tie giving each woman one point towards their tournament totals.

Momo Watanabe:

You really are the strongest, after all. I mean, it’s frustrating, and with everything that’s happened over the last month or so… I’ve been thinking about all sorts of things myself. But after fighting you, I’ve realised there’s no other option but to stand alongside someone this strong! That’s what I intend to do from now on—what about you, Kamitani?

Saya Kamitani:

You’re far too ruthless! Of course, I feel exactly the same way. Fighting you today has made me realise once again what I want to achieve together with you. I won’t say it out loud just yet, though… I look forward to continuing as H.A.T.E.

(Quotes translated via DeepL)

To close the show, members of H.A.T.E. stood together in the ring, presenting a united front as a faction.

Elsewhere on the card, every block saw action. The tournament action began with Hina bouncing back from her recent losses, picking up a win over Rian with the Mad Splash. Lady C got her first points of her campaign by driving Azusa Inaba down to the mat with a Chokeslam. Akira Kurogane also managed to get herself on the scoreboard, also wrestling to a draw against Natsuko Tora.

Having quickly won over the STARDOM fanbase in Japan, Julia Hart picked up another win in her first 5★STAR GP. Once again, the Hartless submission proved effective, making Aya Sakura tap out. Starlight Kid picked up another win, putting Yuna Mizumori down with the Tiger Suplex Hold. AZM picked up a big win over the Red Stars A block leader Itsuki Aoki, pinning her with the Azumi Sushi. Then, Saya Iida maintained her lead over Red Stars B, putting Konami down with the brainbuster.

Here are the full results for the STARDOM 5★STAR GP Day 9, courtesy of purolove.com:

• Natsupoi def. Anne Kanaya (10:53)
• Saori Anou & Matoi Hamabe def. Waka Tsukiyama & Ema Maishima (6:46)
• Blue Stars A: Hina [4] def. Rian [0] (9:49)
• Red Stars B: Lady C [2] def. Azusa Inaba [3] (8:38)
• Red Stars A: Akira Kurogane [1] vs. Natsuko Tora – Time Limit Draw
• Blue Stars A: Julia Hart [6] def. Aya Sakura [4] (8:02)
• Blue Stars B: Starlight Kid [5] def. Yuna Mizumori [4] (10:55)
• Red Stars A: AZM [6] def. Itsuki Aoki [8] (13:38)
• Red Stars B: Saya Iida [8] def. Konami [6] (13:03)
• Blue Stars B: Momo Watanabe [7] vs. Saya Kamitani [6] – Time Limit Draw

Here are the current standings in the STARDOM 5★STAR GP:

Red Stars A:

• Itsuki Aoki [8]
• AZM [6]
• Maika [6]
• Natsuko Tora [5]
• Sayaka Kurara [4]
• Tomoka Inaba [4]
• Rina [4]
• Akira Kurogane [1]

Red Stars B:

• Saya Iida [8]
• Rina Yamashita [6]
• Konami [6]
• Maki Itoh [5]
• Mei Seira [3]
• Azusa Inaba [3]
• Utami Hayashishita [3]
• Lady C [2]

Blue Stars A:

• Suzu Suzuki [8]
• Julia Hart [6]
• Ruaka [6]
• Aya Sakura [4]
• HANAKO [4]
• Hina [4]
• Miyu Amasaki [4]
• Rian [0]

Blue Stars B:

• Momo Watanabe [7]
• Hanan [6]
• Saya Kamitani [6]
• Starlight Kid [5]
• Koguma [4]
• Ami Sohrei [4]
• Yuna Mizumori [4]
• Kikyo Furusawa [0]