wrestling / TV Reports
Pantoja’s STARDOM 5STAR Grand Prix 2023 Night 5 Review
Image Source: STARDOM
Loading...STARDOM 5Star Grand Prix 2023 Night 5
August 6th, 2023 | Act City Hamamatsu in Hamamatsu, Shizuoka | Attendance: 728
Yay, we’re back to the STARDOM side of things after another lackluster edition of the G1 Climax.
Blue Stars: Hanan [0] vs. Mina Shirakawa [2]
Hanan is staring 0-4 in the face if she can’t get an upset win over a star like Mina Shirakawa. Sensing that, I liked that she opened this with a dropkick as soon as the bell rang. Desperate times, baby. That early pouncing put Hanan in control and she continued with various submissions. How did Mina turn things around? She worked the leg, of course. As usual, it was quality work but it was made all the better by Hanan’s selling. She sold it all like death and as if walking was an absolute chore for her. Hanan was still able to bust out a handful of suplexes and such to garner some near falls. Ever the star, Mina gave her enough to look good without giving up too much so she didn’t suffer for it. In the end, Mina trapped Hanan in the Figure Four and she valiantly fought to survive, including turning the hold over but Mina rolled it over once more and Hanan submitted in 10:15. Another spirited performance from Hanan who has really impressed despite her 0-4 record. Mina was, as always, in top form. [***½]
Blue Stars: AZM [0] vs. Saori Anou [4]
Saori Anou and Hanan have been WORKING on these first few shows while some other girls have only one match under their belts so far. Scheduling and such. This is a highly anticipated match for me. AZM started hot and Saori had trouble out of the gates, AZM held serve with her typical brand of quick-paced offense and by mixing in strikes and aerial moves. Saori rallied and they started throwing Germans which looked great. Saori’s release German was a standout highlight here. A few minutes later, AZM took a normal German and landed rough on her neck but seemed to be alright. The finishing run was pretty great and was capped when AZM hit a Canadian Destroyer and won with the phenomenally named Azumi Sushi pinning combination. This went 8:18 and was AZM doing what she does best. I do think they have something better in them but I’ll take this any day of the week. [***¾]
Red Stars: Natsuko Tora [4] vs. Syuri [2]
Tora only won one match but got her other two points via forfeit due to Saya Kamitani’s injury. I’ve seen talk online that Tora feels like a final boss and that was evident here. She truly felt like a near impossible obstacle for Syuri to overcome. The former top champion had to fight from beneath and find smart opening to her spots in. The real success she had was when she started throwing kicks, which should come as no surprise given that’s a big part of her game. Down the stretch, they really hammered home the drama and you got the sense that either could win at any given time. Syuri’s powerbomb near fall was a good one and I love that the move wasn’t hit too cleanly. It should be a struggle for Syuri to get that move off. The mist spit leading to a Bret’s rope Death Valley Driver was a better near fall for Tora. I legit thought that was the end. She did wrap things up afterward, hitting a Swanton Bomb to move to six points at the 12:59 mark. Another high quality match that told a simple, yet effective story. Plus, the result feels like something of an upset. [***¾]
Red Stars: Hazuki [0] vs. Tam Nakano [2]
Hazuki was outstanding against Mayu Iwatani in her opener and Tam looked good before the Saya injury cut their meeting short. This is another match ‘m pretty pumped for as I really like both women. Tam held serve in the early goings, seemingly always being one step ahead of Hazuki. It took a bit for Hazuki to get going but she did after hitting her series of stiff kicks on the ropes. After each woman got a stretch of being in control, we got more of an even battle including a point where both collapsed after trading offense. They continued to trade stuff late with near falls on both sides. A few times, I believed Hazuki was going to get the huge victory but Tam remained resilient. In the end, our champion used the Screwdriver to secure the win after 12:35. Again, this wasn’t a MOTY candidate or anything like that but it continued this tournament’s remarkable level of consistency as nothing has been bad so far. This was good as hell from start to finish. [***¾]
