Pantoja’s STARDOM 5STAR Grand Prix 2023 Night 1 Review

STARDOM 5STAR Grand Prix 2023 Night 1

July 23^rd, 2023 | Ota City Gymnasium in Tokyo, Japan | Attendance: 1,747

STARDOM has been my favorite promotion of 2023 which is saying something because WWE and AEW have been pretty great this year and even New Japan stepped up before the G1. I am STOKED for this tournament so I’m not wasting anymore time.

Unless I missed it, Utami Hayashishita wasn’t out with the rest of the competitors during the show opening ceremony.

Blue Stars: Hanan [0] vs. Maika [0]

Maika has been nearly unbeatable this year and Hanan is still just 18 so barring a wild upset, the outcome here felt obvious. Likely sensing she was outmatch, Hanan dropkicked Maika to the outside during her entrance and pounced from there. Maika weathered the storm before starting with her own stuff and Hanan got in a hope spot with a Fameasser. Maika laid her out with a lariat and then won with the Michinoku Driver in 3:50. Short, to the point, and entertaining enough. Maika looks like she’ll be a force to be reckoned with. [**¼]

Blue Stars: AZM [0] vs. Mariah May [0]

Two people who I’m very excited to see in this tournament. Honestly, of the 20 participants, I’m heavily invested in like, 17 of them. Mariah kept up with AZM’s quick pace at the bell and then taunted, causing AZM to mock her at the first chance. Mariah got too cute for her own good, giving AZM the chance to turn the tide. They did a good job of recovering on a blown rana spot with Mariah turning it into a buckle bomb. Mariah’s sunset flip bomb to the outside seemed like it started rough but it ended up working out well. She dominated at points but then AZM hit some stiff kicks and was on the verge of a comeback, only to get caught in a Tombstone that finished this in 6:51. A pleasant surprise on the result, AZM was her usual good self, and Mariah brought her A game with moves I’ve never really seen from her. A damn good sprint from two of my favorites. [***½]

Red Stars: Ami Sourei [0] vs. Natsuko Tora [0]

These two and Hanan are the three people in this tournament who I’m not invested in. That doesn’t mean I think they’re bad or anything like that, I just don’t have a connection to them. Tora started with a vengeance, tossing Ami into a bunch of chairs and beating her up outside. Ami returned the favor with her offense inside, including an impressive Blue Thunder Bomb for a close near fall. A quick ref bump led to a rake of the eyes by Tora and a DVD near fall before she won with a Swanton Bomb in 4:48. Another quick, energetic sprint and that’s fine. [**]

Red Stars: Natsupoi [0] vs. Starlight Kid [0]

I feel about Natsupoi the way I did about Naito when I first got into New Japan. Something about her has grabbed me and she’s my favorite in the company. I believe SLK has a new haircut and a new mask. SLK started this by dropkicking her off the apron during her entrance even though that didn’t work for Hanan earlier. That set the tone for a hard hitting fight that saw SLK take a German on the apron in the opening minute or so. Their forearm exchange was violent and they hit some impressive moves throughout the match. There were a few moments that didn’t quite work like Natsupoi awkwardly standing in place to wait to take a moonsault and a missed dropkick but they nailed the big stuff like a top rope Spanish Fly. The flash pin battle late was frantic and one of the best I’ve ever seen with some close calls. Natsupoi won with La Magistral in 7:02. Another sprint and this would’ve been tremendous without those awkward sequences. As is, it was still really good. [***½]

Blue Stars: Mina Shirakawa [0] vs. Utami Hayashishita [0]

Utami’s return after a short trip overseas and she feels like a heavy favorite to win it all. She’s my pick actually. But what if Mina wins it all to get her rematch at Tam Nakano? Stranger things have happened. Utami looked ready to come out firing but Mina countered her outside with a tornado DDT off the ramp and took control. From there, Mina kind of had an answer for everything Utami tried using to turn the tide. Even a lariat saw Mina pop up and immediately respond with a roaring forearm. Hell, a release German couldn’t even really change Utami’s fortunes. Mina hit the Glamorous Driver for two but Utami avoided the next big offensive move and caught a kick, turning it into a powerbomb. From there, we got a strong closing stretch where each survived big blows from the other until Utami secured the win with her new finisher, the Shocking Baszler, handed down from Shayna herself. This went 12:48 and was really goddamn good. I was surprised at how much Mina held serve since I expected Utami to come back on a tear but she was determined to pick up big wins upon returning and she found a way to do just that. [****]

Blue Stars: MIRAI [0] vs. Momo Watanabe [0]

Actually, Momo is another one who I don’t have a connection to but I’m hoping that changes in this tournament. I liked how Momo got off to a good start but MIRAI just caught a kick and slammed her hard to the mat. Like she can just do something stiff at any moment and it makes her very interesting to watch. Momo stopped her in her tracks with a Uranage off the top. MIRAI kept going for her armbar at almost every turn and that helped her start to kick ass. When Momo returned the favor with her own offense, they went into a ridiculous final few minutes with some of the biggest moves of the night. They were dropping each other on their heads and throwing bombs. Momo got a huge win over the Wonder of Stardom Champion with her awesome Peach Thunder finisher at the 9:56 mark. That was better than I expected and should earn Momo a future title shot. I’d heard a lot about her before getting into STARDOM and this is the Momo I’ve been wanting to see. [***¾]

Red Stars: Suzu Suzuki [0] vs. Syuri [0]

There are so many matches on this card that I was excited about but this might be at the top. Suzu has captured my attention that way and Syuri is Syuri. Suzu offered a handshake and instantly pulled Syuri into the Tequila Shot at the bell. She added a suplex on the apron but Syuri swung the momentum quicker than I expected, setting the stage for a high octane back and forth affair. The way I AUDIBLY gasped when It thought Suzu was going for an apron German suplex only to instead drop Syuri on the floor. Things were so even that they were trading suplexes and loud kicks to the point where they knocked each other out with stereo kicks and honestly, I needed the breather almost as badly as they did. I do wish the Tequila Shot was a match ender. It’s a sick move and even as a top star, I didn’t like Syuri kicking out of it twice or surviving so many Germans given how Suzu has established it as a big move. The closing stretch with the close calls on pin attempts was great and then Syuri won with Syu-Sekai (a One Winged Angel/Emerald Flowsion hybrid) in 11:20. That’s one of the best sub-12 minute matches you’ll ever see. I had my issues with some of the kickouts and Syuri’s win kind of felt too easy after everything she went through but those are literally the only issues with this phenomenal match. Suzu Suzuki is a goddamn star. [****½]

Red Stars: Hazuki [0] vs. Mayu Iwatani [0]

Inter-stable match here. Mayu is another person sporting a haircut today. She’s also just always having a good time. At one point she whiffed on a chop, laughed it off with the crowd, and hit it properly the next go around. Hazuki held nothing back, delivering a stiff DDT outside and that caused Mayu to also up the ante with some hard hitting shots. Hazuki won a strike exchange by just WAILING on Mayu until she was on the mat and then continued throwing more forearms. She was throwing herself into everything. When she avoided a Mayu tope suicida and Mayu crashed into everyone at ringside, Hazuki followed with a WILD one of her own and then added a second. Mayu was also bumping like crazy, making sure everything looked great. I stopped typing because I got hooked on what was happening in the ring. It kind of felt like Hazuki was going extra hard to show she could beat the leader of her stable. Hazuki came closer several times, stared down Mayu in the midst of a slew of kicks, and survived a moonsault off the top but ultimately, Mayu won with the Two Step Dragon Suplex in an excellent 13:20. I loved so much of this, Mayu is a big match wrestler for a reason, and Hazuki needs to get her big push soon because she’s fantastic. [****¼] 

Blue Stars: Giulia [0] vs. Saori Anou [0]

So there’s apparently some history here that I’m not fully aware of so if I miss nods or references to stuff, I apologize. They tried for some traditional wrestling to start but quickly progressed to violence outside, highlighted by Saori suplexing Giulia from the ramp onto the chairs in the crowd. Like, chairs with backs and everything. Giulia had her own answers with a Brainbuster outside, a piledriver through a table, and by managing to cause Saori to bleed in the first five minutes. Yeah, it was that kind of match. Even with the blood, Saori never slowed down and brought it right to Giulia, even popping up after getting dunked on her head. She looked out of it at times but would find a way to snap off a move, gather the strength to get up, or try for a flash pin. Through it all, Giulia kind of remained in control but Saori’s resilience was on another level. She got her share of near falls but then Giulia hit the Glorious Driver and had this won, only for time to expire at the 15:00 mark. Then after the bell, they were still swinging at each other. Just incredible violence between two women who were out to just hurt one another. I need the rematch asap. [****½]

 

Blue Stars: Saya Kamitani [0] vs. Tam Nakano [0]

This is a big deal on paper as Saya seems poised as the next challenger for Tam’s World of Stardom Title and she is coming off of a record-setting Wonder of Stardom reign. I won’t go into too much detail here because as big a deal as this was, it’s not a match that I can really give a rating to. They were doing good stuff together both in and out of the ring and it felt like this was ready to kick into the next gear when Saya climbed a high structure and did a cross body off of it. Both she and Tam stayed down for a bit and the referees checked before calling for the bell around 8:15. Apparently, Saya dislocated her elbow and Tam was awarded the two points. What we got was good but it was only just about half of what it was meant to be. [NR]

This injury could change the face of the tournament. If Saya is out, there goes a heavy favorite, there are likely going to be forfeits, and it’s a damn shame overall because Saya has been on a roll and looked poised for something big in the back half of 2023. Seeing Saya in tears as Tam comforted her was crushing.

Post-match, Tam cut the show closing promo but the lights went out and Megan Bayne was in the ring. She attacked Tam and cut a promo calling herself a goddess. She challenged the hurt Tam for the World of Stardom Title. That was surprising, especially since I’ve only seen her in a handful of forgettable AEW matches. She was out there with Utami Hayashishita, who also laid down a challenge to Mayu Iwatani for the IWGP Women’s Title, which Mayu came out to accept. Damn, I’m never gonna get Mayu/Mariah for that title.

Well, that was an eventful ending.

9.0

The final score: review Amazing

The 411

Yeah, this tournament is off to a tremendous start. It delivered on my high expectations and there are still so many matches I’m excited for. All that without a proper finish to the main event. Nothing was bad, the worst stuff was kept short, there were some fantastic matches, and it was all highly entertaining from start to finish.