Pantoja’s STARDOM 5STAR Grand Prix 2024 Finals Review

STARDOM 5STAR Grand Prix Finals

August 31^st, 2024 | Musashino Forest Sport Plaza in Tokyo, Ja[an | Attendance: 2,108

We’ve got a pretty big crowd for STARDOM standards for the finals of the 5STAR Grand Prix. I was going to dive deeper into the Marigold tournament but this is more important. It’s a noteworthy show that I had to wait several days to see.

Aya Sakura and Sayaka Kurara vs. FWC

I’ll take any FWC I can get but I really wish Hazuki was in the semifinals. Aya and Sayaka are solid rookies who have done well at playing babyfaces though they haven’t really found a way to stand out yet. Of course, FWC is very good so they managed to make this work, putting together some interesting sequences and making sure the rookies looked good out there. FWC held serve throughout while the rookies made a spirited comeback though it was never going to be quite enough against this established tag team. Koguma got the win with a top rope splash in 10:38. Good, solid tag team action. [***]

5STAR Grand Prix Semifinals: Maika vs. Mayu Iwatani

We’ve got a big match here considering Maika’s undefeated run through the tournament and Mayu being…well…Mayu. Apparently, this is also their first ever meeting, which seems wild to me. You got the sense of that being the case early when they went through a feeling out process. Maika was the first to gain an upper hand, using her strength and strikes to do so only for Mayu to hit a Dragon Suplex on the apron and cut off her momentum. That set the tone for a match that was back and forth throughout and it seemed like Mayu had to work a bit harder to get something going or to really put a hurting on the larger Maika. It would take a superplex or something like that for Mayu while Maika could just level her with a lariat. AS this got near the conclusion, both threw bombs and given their status as top stars, the crowd bit on every near fall. Mayu made a key mistake when she missed a moonsault and Maika capitalized with a discus lariat and three Michinoku Drivers to advance in 11:44. Just what you want from two stars going at it in an action-packed match with a lot of late drama. [****]

5STAR Grand Prix Semifinals: Hanan vs. Saya Kamitani

I said it on the last show but I do think the Hanan push is a bit much right now. That said, it’s hard to argue against a very good babyface taking on a top villain, even if the Saya heel turn has taken a while to get going. These two came out the blocks firing off shots, giving this an intense feel beyond the spot in the finals on the line. The style of these two worked perfectly here as the pace was quick throughout and there wasn’t really any down time. Saya is doing much better at balancing her old face style with her new heel stuff and isn’t relying on typical HATE antics. Hanan had a lot of fire in her offense and stuff like a popup uppercut looked especially good. Hanan came close with her back suplex only to roll through and try a second. That allowed Saya to counter and then beat her with a rana in 10:22. A very good match with a fair bit of action though the finish was kind of flat. Maika/Saya makes sense as a main event. [***½]

Anna Jay vs. Momo Kohgo

It’s the end of Anna Jay’s stint in STARDOM. She had a mostly solid yet unremarkable run though I’m sure she learned a good amount. I won’t go into too much detail here as there isn’t much to say. It was exactly what it needed to be. Momo is a reliable hand on the undercard and she played her role well here, bringing some babyface stuff while Anna led the match and utilized her heel tendencies. She seemed more comfortable with that side of things as the tournament progressed. Anna won with the rear naked choke in 7:09. Solid little match in the midcard here. [**¾]

Saya Iida vs. Xena

Two women who have impressed me a lot this year in a surprising way are Saya Iida and Xena. Both have carved out a niche as powerhouse workers and while Xena had a breakout performance against Maika a while back, Saya was one of the stars of this tournament. Anyway, this was some good old fashioned violence. Two badass, hard hitting women trading chops and strikes, almost daring the other person to give them their best shot. I mention it in every Xena match but I’m a sucker for that spinning sidewalk slam spot. Saya won the first chop battle by the way, though I liked where Xena caught her kick, gave her a chop, and then hit a suplex. They weren’t done trading chops though and I loved it. Xena avoided a Muscle Buster and hit the Gutbuster to win in 8:57. Well that ruled. I need more like that. [***½]

After the match, Xena announced that she is challenging Mei Seira for the High Speed Title. I’m digging the open nature of the division now. Let anyone challenge who wants to try the style, like the old X Division.

Lady C, Ranna Yagami, Risa Sera, Saki Kashima, and Syuri vs. Neo Genesis

We have a God’s Eye contingent and Risa Sera against all five members of Neo Genesis. This Neo Genesis stable is quickly becoming my favorite. It’s hard to choose between them, STARS, and Cosmic Angels. This was just another solid multi-woman tag. STARDOM does them well and it worked here even though there wasn’t really any story coming into this or stakes. Sometimes it’s fine to just throw people on the card for a fun little tag. There were enjoyable spots like Lady C and Risa doing stereo big swings and Crazy Star doing some Motor City Machine Gun style tandem offense. I also had fun watching AZM and Saki try to steal each other’s moves. In the end, Starlight Kid beat Ranna Yagami with a moonsault at the 13:11 mark. As expected, that was good. There was too much quality talent for it not to work. I can’t express my love for Neo Genesis enough. [***¼]

Konami, Ruaka and Thekla vs. Natsupoi, Saori Anou and Yuna Mizumori

The previous match is the kind of fun tag that I don’t mind seeing on a long show (even though it’s more fitting of a house show card than something like that). This isn’t quite that. I love Natsupoi but HATE isn’t a stable that has brought us good matches so I could’ve done without this. That said, this wasn’t a bad match. The Cosmic Angels unit are very good babyfaces which makes them good foils for the villains. I thought this started well with an interesting Thekla/Natsupoi interaction. Along with quality wrestling, they teased something more and there was some possible sexual tension in there. I don’t think Thekla is challenging for the white belt anytime soon so maybe this was just a one-off exchange. Otherwise, there wasn’t much to this match and the second half focused on Yuna/Ruaka, which isn’t a pairing I care to see much of. Ruaka got too cocky late and Yuna countered her finish before hopping into a pinning combination for the win in 8:40. [**½]

Future of Stardom Championship: Rina [c] vs. Hina

A clash between siblings. Will Hina be the one to finally dethrone Rina and end her dominant reign? A big storyline here is that Rina tied Hanan’s (their other sister) record for defenses and Hina wants to preserve her good sister’s record. Considering their relationship and the video package beforehand, this was the first Future of Stardom Title match that had something of a big fight feel. The match followed a simple babyface vs. heel formula with Rina controlling a lot of this and Hina having to make the comeback. It worked because these two have trained together forever and their chemistry is pretty effortless. This was also boosted by the fact that Hina felt like the one to end this reign so there was drama with each close call on both sides. There was a backslide close call for Rina that I totally bought. Hina was kind of done by then though, and she submitted to an Octopus Stretch/Tequila Sunrise/Bow and Arrow type move in 14:28. Very good match and an interesting finish. There was an emotional post-match promo involving them that I’ll need to find a transcript of. Can’t wait for a rematch. [***½]

World of Stardom Championship: Natsuko Tora [c] vs. Tam Nakano

Tam Nakano gets a shot at the title she never lost but she is coming off a zero point performance in the Grand Prix. Natsuko also did a number on her leg coming into this. This started well with some brawling outside and both women laying in some stiff shots. When they got back to the ring though, Tam started working Natsuko’s knee. I get the idea of returning the favor but it made for an awkward middle segment of the match and the concept of a heel having to sell the knee for a while didn’t quite work in this setting. It would’ve worked more if it was Tam selling the knee since that was how the story going into this set the table. The crowd also didn’t seem to know how to react to this, making for a lackluster environment. When this was them waging war or Tam having to fight from beneath, things really worked though. Tam fought through a lengthy kneebar spot and when she got going, this picked up again. Her Tiger Suplex on someone of Natsuko’s size looked great and is one of the more impressive power spots I’ve ever seen from her. Thekla got involved late but Saori Anou took her out. The rest of HATE showed up but they had a communication issue before other Cosmic Angels intervened. Tam then hit Twilight Dream to win back the title in 27:12. There were some really good bits here and a handful of things holding it back. Good to have the belt back on Tam though. [***¼]

5STAR Grand Prix Finals: Maika vs. Saya Kamitani

Maika was the runner-up last year, losing to Suzu Suzuki in a great match (****¼). This had the vibe of the classic Okada Formula New Japan main events. The first third of so took a while to get to the point. Other than the usual HATE spot of some brawling in the crowd and throwing people into a sea of chairs, this was something of a feeling out process section that came across more like filling time than anything else. Luckily, they’re both good enough to keep that section entertaining. I think Saya continues to improve as a heel and little things like her stopping to taunt while sitting in a chair in the middle of the ring was fun. I also liked that she wore down Maika enough to be able to just eat her forearm shots as if they didn’t hurt when usually, Maika would’ve floored her. A lariat to the outside turned the tide a bit for Maika only for Saya to hit a nice dive off the stage. Despite being heel, she’s still getting in some good spots like that. Back in the ring, the spot where they fought over and traded suplexes was pretty great. That was part of a fantastic final third or so that eventually saw them trade variations of the Star Crusher and Michinoku Driver (including one off Bret’s rope). It took a handful of them but Maika eventually won with a Michinoku Driver at the 27:23 mark. A great match that overdid some of the finisher close calls late and had a slow start but otherwise ruled. Surprised at the result. I thought Saya would win en route to taking the title but Maika going undefeated really helps further cement her as a top star. [****]

8.0

The final score: review Very Good

The 411

Though not everything hit, this was ultimately a great show. It had some filler in there but nothing was bad, we got a handful of really good to great matches, and I keep being surprised by some of the booking decisions. That can be bad in some cases but here, it has kept me on my toes.