Pantoja’s STARDOM 5STAR Grand Prix 2024 Night 8 Review

STARDOM 5STAR Grand Prix Night 8

August 23^rd, 2024 | Sendai PIT in Sengai, Miyagi | Attendance: 304

NOTE: For anyone following all of my reviews, my WrestleMania Series is still ongoing. It’s something I’m doing in my free time though so reviews from 2024 (like this one) take precedence. Also, I’m up to the Manias that are like, 7 hours long so it takes a while.

It’s Red Stars action today for the STARDOM 5STAR Grand Prix 2024 on a pretty loaded card with several matches that stand out to me. We’re without AZM and Ruaka tonight.

Red Stars B Block: Mayu Iwatani [6] vs. Mei Seira [6]

Oh, we are starting with a bang. Indeed, Mei came out with a quick dropkick attempt that set up a fast-paced opening exchange that was mostly evenly matched. Mayu was cockier than usual, seemingly taking joy in beating up the young High Speed Champion. She slapped her head when Mei broke a submission and laughed after hitting a corner dropkick. Of course, Mei wasn’t going to remain an easy target and she fought back but Mayu really had some extra snap to her stuff. Her missile dropkick absolutely rocked Mei and sent her flying. I loved the spot where she just kicked Mei as she was running off the apron. Just a simple sweeping way to avoid a move and hurt your opponent. Mei nearly had it won after a series of rollup counters and then she countered Mayu’s finish into a rollup. However, Mayu rolled it back over and got the three count in 10:38. Hell of a way to start things. Just a great match between two tremendous wrestlers and Mayu continues to be the MVP and honestly, the GOAT. [****]

Red Stars A Block: Konami [4] vs. Yuna Mizumori [0]

Yuna and Tam are the only two without any points. Poor Cosmic Angels. Yuna looked to change her fortune by immediately jumping Konami and trying to get the upper hand. Someone has watched what HATE does and was all about avoiding that. Konami turned it around and you know what she did? She threw Yuna into a sea of empty chairs. Creative, eh? For the most part, this was a pretty basic heel vs. face match with them really not doing that otherwise stood out. Yuna had fire in her runs but never felt like she was on the verge of a win, while Konami was at least doing more than her usual brand of HATE antics. Konami trapped her in a triangle armbar variation to win in 6:31. That was fine enough though nothing of note. [**¼]

Red Stars B Block: Momo Watanabe [2] vs. Saya Iida [2]

Momo finally got some points on the board over the winless Tam Nakano. Meanwhile, Saya may only have two points herself but she has used this tournament to break out in a major way. Momo opened this in control and was very confident in doing so. You’d think she was leading the block the way she carried herself. She clearly viewed Saya as someone beneath her. Saya’s comeback was well done and she always finds a way to bring something unique to the table. Setting Momo up top and doing a little hop that led to a headbutt was a fun spot. Following it with an avalanche Exploder only made it better. From there, the two started throwing bigger bombs as their offenses expanded and they started to really go for the finish. There was a point where Saya sold the hell out of a boot from Momo and tried to get back up for more but just fell to a half dragon/half tiger suplex in 11:12. Just some good, hard-hitting back and forth, and Momo has now won two in a row after an 0-4 start. [***½]

Red Stars B Block: Tam Nakano [0] vs. Tomoka Inaba [6]

Like Saya, Tomoka is delivering in this tournament. She has a pretty strong star aura about her. Tam is looking to get back on the winning track ahead of her upcoming World of Stardom Title shot. Tam is not wrestling like someone who is out of the running. She still carries herself like a top star and brings the fight to every opponent. Tam’s knee became the target for Tomoka, which further gives Tam something to struggle with against Natsuko. She couldn’t even run when whipped across the ring here and Tomoka pounced with an ankle lock that transitioned into a kneebar. Tam fought back and used her good leg to trade kicks with Tomoka that saw both down on the mat. Tomoka kept going back to that leg whenever she could and eventually, Tam couldn’t handle it anymore. She had to tap out to a leg submission at the 11:36 mark. I never would’ve called Tam going 0-5. Interesting booking. Tomoka has been well protected though, joining AZM, and Maika as the only people without a loss so far. Very good match too. [***½]

Red Stars A Block: Manami [5] vs. Natsupoi [6]

An important match here as a win for either woman would go a long way toward them getting one of those spots in the playoffs, especially if Maika remains unbeaten. They went out and had some solid back-and-forth action. Manami is someone who, so far for me, had been just that. A person who will go out and have solid matches yet none of it has ever fully clicked to take it to the next level. Most of what they did came off well except for a spot where Natsupoi was supposed to go over the top when Manami pulled the rope down but she instead crashed into the ropes and awkwardly got stuck there. Manami held serve after that until Poi made a small rally and kind of won from out of nowhere when she caught Manami in a submission. This went 12:56 and was pretty good but had some moments that didn’t work at all. [***]

Red Stars A Block: Hazuki [6] vs. Maika [8]

A win for Maika clinches a playoff berth. A win for Hazuki ends Maika’s streak, gives her a victory over the former World of Stardom Champion, and sets up a three-way tie atop the block between these two and Natsupoi. They came right out of the gates trading blows, setting the tone for an intense battle. They did a great job of moving from strike exchanges to submission attempts to bigger offensive moves, with it all being seamless. Hazuki was in control for longer than expected, feeling more like the top star than Maika. I liked the spot where they traded superplexes because I feel like you never see those back-to-back in a match. The closing stretch saw them go off with some big moves and I believed Hazuki pulled it off numerous times. Maybe it’s because I like her so much that I was invested in every near fall the way you want to be when it comes to a match like this. Alas, it wasn’t meant to be as Maika won with the Michinoku Driver in 14:39, clinching a playoff spot. A great main event and one of the best matches of the tournament. [****¼]

BLUE STARS A	POINTS	BLUE STARS B	POINTS	RED STARS A	POINTS	RED STARS B	POINTS
Saori Anou	7 (3-1-1-)	Saya Kamitani	6 (3-1)	Maika	10 (5-0)	AZM	8 (3-0-2)
Starlight Kid	5 (2-1-1)	Risa Sera	6 (3-1)	Natsupoi	8 (4-1)	Mayu Iwatani	8 (4-1)
Syuri	4 (2-2)	Hanan	5 (2-1-1)	Hazuki	6 (3-2)	Tomoka Inaba	8 (3-0-2)
Xena	4 (2-2)	Suzu Suzuki	5 (2-1-1)	Konami	6 (3-2)	Mei Seira	6 (2-1-2)
Koguma	4 (2-2)	Saki Kashima	4 (2-2)	Manami	5 (2-2-1)	Momo Watanabe	4 (2-4)
Anna Jay	4 (2-3)	Ranna Yagami	2 (1-3)	Ruaka	1 (0-4-1)	Saya Iida	2 (1-4)
Miyu Amasaki	2 (1-3)	Thekla	2 (1-3)	Yuna Mizumori	0 (0-5)	Tam Nakano	0 (0-5)

8.0

The final score: review Very Good

The 411

One of, if not the best show of the tournament. Bookended by two fantastic matches and featuring two very good ones in the middle, with two other matches that are solid enough. This is the tournament firing on all cylinders.