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STARDOM 5 Star Grand Prix: Day 13 Review

2 years ago

STARDOM 5 Star Grand Prix: Day 13 Review

STARDOM 5 Star Grand Prix: Day 13 Review

By Trent Breward

Having just turned 18 exactly one month ago, Hanan found herself in the biggest match of her career tonight. The semi-main event of a PPV inside the Yokohama Budokan, with the chance to walk away as a double champion.

The past month and a half has been a learning experience for the youngest member of STARS. The 5 Star Grand Prix has tested her mettle against the very best in the company, and while she’s performed admirably it’s hard to ignore the fact that she’s the only person in the tournament who is yet to rack up a win.

Alongside her were the former Goddess of Stardom Tag Champions Koguma and Hazuki to help her try and conquer the dastardly Oedo Tai. Yet she found herself isolated through much of the second half of the match, no doubt an intentional tactic from the champions to target the weakest member. Hanan had to go head to head with Starlight Kid, and on several occasions found herself within a whisker of beating the Sky Tiger. A High Angle Backdrop that’s brought her great success this year had to be broken up, and a flash pin nearly shocked the Yokohama crowd.

In the end though the experience of the champions made the difference. A triple team slam left Hanan unable to defend against the subsequent Tiger Suplex while Momo Watanabe and Saki Kashima held the other two challengers at bay. It was a valiant effort, one that saw her show the resilience necessary to compete at the top of the card when she survived Starlight Kid’s Moonsault, as well as extended time in the Numero Dos submission.

The spotlight shone brightly on Hanan regardless of the result. 2022 has proven she is ready to take the next step. She’s broken records with her Future of Stardom reign, and has impressed in her first 5 Star GP despite not getting points on the board yet. The results are sure to follow in due time. Oedo Tai meanwhile continue their strong run, and have already nominated Queen’s Quest as their next challengers. There’s a lot of unfinished business between the two factions, with their war after Momo’s defection settling down after a challenge series between the two ended in a draw. The Artist Title match might prove to be the delayed rubber match.

Tam Nakano and Natsupoi were also able to successfully defend their tag titles, putting away MIRAI and Ami Sourei in a competitive main event. It nearly felt like a singles match for Tam, who spent the vast majority of this match as the legal woman. It was an ironwoman performance, enduring the punishing style of the challengers and MIRAI’s targeting of her arm. It required ice after the match, but she refused to tap out to the deadly Miraimare submission.

The champions needed to create some space and chaos, which allowed Nautspoi to make more of an impression on the match. As the match length began to tire out the challengers Ami found herself stranded and unable to stop the team work of Tam and Natsupoi, who worked together to complete their first defense. With the Goddess of Stardom Tag League looming in the distance, the relatively new duo should get plenty of time to build their chemistry even more before the titles need to be defended again.

One championship that might be looking a little shakier is Saya Kamitani’s Wonder of Stardom Title. Suzu Suzuki was able to score her first win of the tournament in an exciting and hard hitting affair, and the young star of Prominence made a point to signal to Saya’s White Belt after the match.

Between her shoulder injury, COVID delaying her tournament start and some unfortunate match results, Suzu desperately needed this win, and it showed in her aggressive approach to the match. This was highlighted by a particularly scary release German Suplex that flung Saya off of the apron and crashing down onto the outside. The fact the champion was able to keep going was impressive enough, but it would later be a pair of German Suplexes that would bring the match to a close.

The other big Blue Block match saw two of the biggest names in STARDOM go head to head for the 5th time. Giulia and Mayu Iwatani wrestled to a fifteen minute draw, the third in their series as the two continue to struggle to find out who is the stronger woman, with their series now sitting at 1-1-3.

At no point could either star really get well enough ahead to definitively finish the match, resulting in an even, hard hitting slugfest. Giulia seemed to dish out a little more punishment, but Mayu Iwatani continues to prove to be one of the hardest wrestlers to put away. One point is all either woman were able to walk away with, but as the tournament starts to reach its last few weeks that might be enough. Giulia now sits just three points away from block leader Hazuki, having recovered spectacularly after an 0-2 misfire to start.

The Red Block leaders AZM and Himeka both managed to walk away with big wins on the night as well, with AZM upsetting her Queen’s Quest sister Utami and Himeka putting away another outsider in SAKI. The key difference: AZM has wrestled two fewer matches. Himeka only has a couple more chances to add points to her total, while those that surround her can still overtake the Jumbo Princess.

Full Match Results

  • Saya Iida def. Momo Kohgo, Lady C, Maika, Mai Sakurai, and Ruaka in a Battle Royal (this match went unaired and won’t be available to watch until the show is uploaded on STARDOM World)
  • Tomoka Inaba & Syuri def. Waka Tsukiyama & Mina Shirakawa
  • Red Stars Block: Risa Sera (8) def. Unagi Sayaka (2)
  • Red Stars Block: Himeka (12) def. SAKI (4)
  • Blue Stars Block: Suzu Suzuki (2) def. Saya Kamitani (12)
  • Red Stars Block: AZM (12) def. Utami Hayashishita (8)
  • Blue Stars Block: Mayu Iwatani (9) vs. Giulia (11) wrestled to a 15-minute time limit draw
  • Artist of Stardom Championship: Starlight Kid, Momo Watanabe & Saki Kashima (c) def. Hanan, Hazuki & Koguma
  • Goddess of Stardom Championship: Tam Nakano & Natsupoi (c) def. Ami Sourei & MIRAI

Rapid Fire Takeaways

  • MIRAI and Ami Sourei have now been unsuccessful in three Goddess of Stardom Tag Title challenges in a matter of months. They show promise as a team but haven’t been able to finish the job. Also looming over MIRAI are another two title match losses this year. Both have enjoyed strong debuts in 2022 in STARDOM, but they still have a lot to learn from their God’s Eye leader.
  • Tomoka Inaba looked good in her official debut as a member of God’s Eye. The JTO Women’s Champion is still relatively new to STARDOM fans but she seems at ease on the bigger stage and is in the perfect position to grow.
  • Unagi Sayaka made the bold decision to steal Risa Sera’s kendo stick before the match. The Deathmatch Queen is not somebody you want to aggravate, and Unagi should probably consider herself lucky she walked away with just a loss and not more scars. It wasn’t quite battered eel on the menu tonight, but it wasn’t far off.
  • It shouldn’t come as too much of a surprise, but the Queen’s Quest women seem to love going at each other. AZM and Utami Hayashishita was a beautifully fervent fight between the stablemates. Utami struggled to get a grip on the High Speed Champion’s pace, and that’s eventually what did her in. A counter into a Destroyer into an AZM-Sushi flash pin. If you can’t slow down AZM you have no chance.
  • Stardom announced their newest addition to the roster! Fuwa will be making her in ring debut on October 23, and is already an established name in the entertainment industry with a television background. She’s been training for the past four months with STARS and looks to be an exciting addition to the roster.
  • The auditions for the role of Mayu Iwatani in her upcoming feature film continued on the show, with eight finalists making their way to the ring to introduce themselves. Among the group was STARDOM ring announcer and professional voice actress Yurie, as well as STARS wrestler Momo Kohgo.

5 STAR Grand Prix Standings:

Red Stars Block:
12 – AZM
12 – Himeka
10 – Maika
8 – Utami Hayashishita
8 – Koguma
8 – Tam Nakano
8 – Syuri
8 – Risa Sera
8 – Mai Sakurai
6 – Saki Kashima
4 – SAKI
2 – Unagi Sayaka
2 – Momo Kohgo

Blue Stars Block
14 – Hazuki
12 – Saya Kamitani
11 – Giulia
10 – MIRAI
10 – Ami Sourei
9 – Mayu Iwatani
8 – Natsupoi
6 – Starlight Kid
6 – Momo Watanabe
4 – Mina Shirakawa
2 – Suzu Suzuki
2 – Saya Iida
0 – Hanan

Date:

September 11, 2022

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