wrestling / TV Reports
Pantoja’s STARDOM 5STAR Grand Prix 2023 Night 9 Review
Image Credit: Stardom
Loading...STARDOM 5STAR Grand Prix 2023 Night 9
August 15th, 2023 | Korakuen Hall in Tokyo, Japan | Attendance: 1,519
This is an exciting one. For starters, the show ended up with the highest attendance at Korakuen this year and STARDOM became the only promotion to draw 1500+ twice at the venue in 2023. Then, there’s the card on top of it, which is also tremendous on paper.
Natsupoi was scheduled to face Saya Kamitani here, which would’ve loaded up the card even more. With the forfeit, Natsupoi moves to 9 points, three more than anyone else so far.
Blue Stars: Momo Watanabe [4] vs. Saori Anou [4]
I could’ve sworn Momo had lost a match already. Ah well, she still jumped Saori during her entrance. That dastardly villain. Things didn’t remain out there for long as they hit the ring soon after and kept up the relatively violent nature. It was a perfect pairing in that sense because Momo has been beating people up and using every advantage possible and Saori has spent the tournament taking a beating. That trend continued here though Saori was more than game to trade blows with Momo and even outsmart her when leveling her in the leg with a kick at one point. Momo came back with some big blows of her own and attempted to use her bat as a weapon after a ref bump. I liked Saori stopping it and teasing using it herself only to slap Momo instead and throw some Germans. Momo survived them and started in with her own before winning with Peach Sunrise in 9:22. A hell of a way to start the tourney portion of the show as these two had an exciting, hard hitting affair. Momo has been so good so far yet this tournament is so loaded that she might not even be top five so far. That’s nuts. [***¾]
Blue Stars: Mariah May [2] vs. Mina Shirakawa [6]
ROSE GOLD EXPLODES! Easily one of the main matches that stood out to me when the blocks were announced. There was obviously a pre-match handshake here but once the bell rang they went right after each other. A few early spots and exchanges looked a bit awkward but once they got past that this was strong. Mariah stepped up to everything Mina threw at her and Mina focused on the leg with the first chance she got. Mina’s Figure Four variation on the Dragon Screw was one of the coolest things I’ve seen in a long time. Mariah had ways to combat some of that given her close proximity to her partner this year and she responded with the powerbomb outside that she’s been utilize in this tournament. That nearly led to a countout and once Mina got back in, Mariah pounced with a Slingblade. Mina had a series of strikes for her and then they really got into it down the stretch. Close calls and big moves came quickly before Mariah got two on a TKO. She signaled that it was over and shockingly, she actually hit Happily Ever After (Tombstone) to win at the 11:47 mark. It started a bit rough but really got going and when you add in the emotional impact and the story between the two, it became something special. Mariah May’s growth is one of the best things about 2023 and I loved this match. [****]
Red Stars: Hazuki [0] vs. Syuri [3]
My girl Hazuki started last year’s tournament 7-0 but lost every match after and has started this year 0-2. That’s not a good stretch. This opened with a classic little exchange of wrist locks and such but it got more aggressive almost instantly. Hazuki and Syuri traded stiff kicks and seemed to relish in the idea of hurting each other. At one point, they just slugged it out with forearms, giving this a more vicious feel than I was expecting coming into this. Syuri moved to a Stretch Muffler for a bit but then Hazuki sent her outside and followed with a tope suicida. I love when she does that, it’s one of the better looking ones in wrestling. Hazuki was WAILING on Syuri with shots inside and I got the sense that she was getting desperate to be on the winning side of things again. A pinning combination got her very close and if anything will boost momentum, it’s a win over Syuri. Syuri trapped her in the Stretch Muffler again and it looked brutal to the point where Hazuki had to submit. This went 11:39 and was all action from start to finish. Just another shining of example of how outstanding this tournament has been. I’m running out of ways to praise it. [****]
Red Stars: Mayu Iwatani [4] vs. Tam Nakano [4]
Honestly shocked that this isn’t the main event. Two top stars and two top champions. Right off the bat, this felt like a big fight between two heavyweights. They jockeyed for control over everything. Even a simple snapmare early on had meaning and saw them trade the move in a way that was very engaging. Soon though, they were going for bigger moves like Mayu attempting a damn super rana to the outside. Tam blocked it and trapped her in a hanging half crab but it was still a wild thought to have. I loved the way Tam blocked Mayu’s signature Dragon Suplex so Mayu instead did a vicious looking submission that helped her land the move. Just little things like that really helped sell this as a chess match of sorts. It was so smartly worked and then you’d get something like Tam just DROPPING Mayu on her head and Mayu slowly getting up to respond with a German of her own. The close calls down the stretch were great as it felt like either woman could pull out the win with any of their near falls, yet they never went overboard with them. Even when we got finisher kickouts, it worked because it isn’t overdone for the most part here and these are two MAJOR stars who should be capable of surviving those things. Mayu kicked out of the Screwdriver and I was stunned. Tam pounced again but time expired as she hit Twilight Dream, giving us a draw at 15:00. Come on, you knew this would be spectacular and it was. Two of the best in the world having a stellar outing. [****½]
Blue Stars: AZM [2] vs. Utami Hayashishita [4]
A Queen’s Quest battle in our main event. You could tell this was going to be an AZM style match when she hit a Destroyer in the opening minute. She did a spinning move off the top that transitioned right into a sweet arm submission and I don’t know the name of it but I loved it. You could tell that AZM knew how tough her stable captain is to beat because she kept going for the win at every turn. She’d get a near fall and move straight into a submission, keeping the pressure on. Of course, Utami is no slouch and could overpower her to stop her momentum. AZM kept her focus on the arm, helping to negate some of that strength. This was so interesting because AZM basically dominated and was always one step ahead but Utami would get a hope spot with a powerbomb or something like that and swing the momentum just enough. The popup right hand by Utami was a fantastic counter spot and just the kind of thing she did so well in this match. Just when it seemed like Utami was finally really getting going, AZM reeled off a series of moves, including another Destroyer, capped by the AZM Sushi to get the huge win in 10:10. What a goddamn match. Just so different from a lot of the tournament and well laid out. My only major gripe was AZM missing the double stomp outside early on and selling the leg as if it would become part of the story only for it to not really be a factor. [****¼]
