Pantoja’s STARDOM 5STAR Grand Prix 2024 Night 10 Review

STARDOM 5STAR Grand Prix Night 10

August 25^th, 2024 | Yamagata Big Wing in Yamagata, Japan | Attendance: 479

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.

I can’t believe that we’re here already. It’s the final night of the 5STAR Grand Prix before the playoffs. So far we know that Saya Kamitani and Maika are in but the other six playoff spots are up for grabs. Anna Jay, Risa Sera, Konami, and Momo Watanabe have all wrapped up their runs so they’re off tonight. Anna and Risa are still in contention.

Before the action, there was a contract signing for the Tora/Nakano title match on 8/31 that ended in Natsuko leaving Tam laid out.

Blue Stars B Block: Ranna Yagami [4] vs. Suzu Suzuki [5]

Ranna is fresh off an upset but is eliminated, while Suzu has a chance to make the playoffs. You wouldn’t know that with the way Ranna came out of the blocks, firing off strikes as soon as the bell rang. Suzu isn’t one to take that lightly, returning the favor with some pretty stiff shots of her own. That was kind of the basic layout here, with the two trading strikes, keeping up a good pace, and then hitting a more impactful move here or there. Ranna missed a big kick and took a German Suplex before falling to the Tequila Shot in 5:08. About what you’re looking for from this kind of opener. Short, to the point, and interesting. Suzu is in second in her block and in a playoff spot for now. [**½]

Blue Stars A Block: Miyu Amasaki [3] vs. Syuri [6]

Important match for Syuri here as she needs a win and some help to make the playoffs. Miyu is out but this is a measuring stick match for her. This was another match that was worked at a good pace. They kept up the action and Miyu didn’t back down at all from Syuri. She was fresh off of taking Starlight Kid to the limit and tried the same here with stuff like a nice tornado DDT. Miyu has a tendency to botch but she’s been a lot cleaner since joining Neo Genesis. Syuri weathered the storm and got going, finishing off Miyu with Ryuen in 7:07. Hey, that was pretty good. Miyu continues to improve and Syuri does what she does. She now leads her block. [***]

Red Stars B Block: AZM [8] vs. Saya Iida [2]

AZM sits atop B Block and a win would clinch it for her. These are two of the MVP candidates for the tournament so I came in with high hopes. Saya was able to keep up with AZM for the most part but where she held a clear advantage was in strikes. Saya has been chopping everything in sight during the Grand Prix and AZM was next on the list. AZM responded with her quickness, setting off a clash of styles that worked in the best way. The back and forth exchanges were great and you felt a sense of urgency in everything they did. The flash pin trades had me on the edge of my seat until Saya blocked a signature AZM move and used a creative pinning combination to play spoiler with a win in 7:59. A hell of a fun match. AZM doesn’t clinch but has a chance to stay alive. She’ll at least tie with someone unless Mayu and Tomoka go to a draw later and both end up at 9. [***¾]

Red Stars A Block: Maika [10] vs. Manami [5]

This is one of the only matches on the show that means nothing in the standings. Maika sealed her block already but can go undefeated while Manami has 5 points and can’t catch anyone for a playoff spot. That meant we got a match here that was solid but was missing that something extra to really get you hooked. It came across like an exhibition which is fine, though it isn’t the kind of thing that’s going to end up being great or memorable. I don’t have much else to say here. Maika won with the Michinoku Driver at the 8:57 mark. That was largely fine and better than the opener but nothing more. Manami had a fine tournament though she didn’t really stand out to me. [**¾]

Red Stars A Block: Ruaka [1] vs. Yuna Mizumori [0]

Hey, two matches in a row that don’t impact the standings much. Both are looking for their first win, while Yuna is trying to at least get a single point on the board. During Ruaka’s entrance, Yuna jumped her from behind, turning the tables on a HATE stable member. Unfortunately, they meant we had to deal with Ruaka throwing Yuna into a sea of chairs because who needs to be creative with these spots. The brawling outside was fun enough but once they got to the ring, this stalled in a big way. It was pretty uninteresting and kind of overstayed its welcome despite not being that long in general. Yuna brought fire but is usually at her best when she’s in there with a stronger wrestler. In the end, Ruaka hit the Baldo Bomb to win in 7:43. Lackluster match and disappointing to see Yuna go winless while Ruaka gets three points. [**]

Blue Stars B Block: Saki Kashima [4] vs. Thekla [4]

Well forget what I said about matches that don’t impact the standings being rare tonight because this is our third in a row. That said, Thekla could get some revenge on Saki for her HATE buddy Saya, who Saki upset the other night. She jumped Saki before the bell, whipping and choking her with a belt. Despite that domination, Saki pulled her into a pin and stole this in 3:43. Classic Saki! Not much of a match but I do love Saki Kashima. [NR]

Blue Stars A Block: Koguma [4] vs. Saori Anou [7]

A win for Saori would clinch one of the playoff spots in her block. I thought Koguma decided against the taunt gimmick here but she busted it out while working a test of strength with Saori. The intensity in this picked up quickly and within a couple of minutes, they were dropping each other on their heads with German suplexes. Then from out of nowhere, Koguma scored with a school girl to beat Saori in 3:16. The upset truly hurts Saori, who now needs Starlight Kid to lose the next match to advance. Shorter than the last match but almost as good as you can get in this timeframe. [***]

Blue Stars A Block: Starlight Kid [6] vs. Xena [4]

As noted, SLK advances with a win as she’d tie Syuri atop the block. A draw ties her with Saori, while a loss keeps her out. A frustrated Saori watched from the commentary table at ringside. Xena offered a handshake but then pulled away. This was a good battle of power against speed, Xena laid into SLK with chops and strikes so SLK ran all over the place and tried to chop Xena down to size. Xena caught her with the best spinning side slam so far. It was Cesaro levels of spin totals. When SLK was able to ground Xena, she worked the leg to set up for her Stretch Muffler. Interestingly, Xena did a backbreaker with the height that she gives her gutbuster finisher but couldn’t cover in time so Starlight Kid kicked out. She hit Dragon Screws and even a moonsault onto the leg. The camera cuts to a frantic Saori were great and added to the drama here. Starlight Kid trapped Xena in the Black Tiger Leg Killer to win and clinch the playoffs in 10:31. Really good match here and a huge win for Starlight Kid, who I really hope wins the entire tournament. [***¾]

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

I do want Starlight Kid to win it all but these are legitimately my two favorites in STARDOM so I am LOCKED IN for it. Hazuki needs to win to tie Natsupoi for the second playoff spot. Poi exploded with a dropkick before the bell so Hazuki slammed from the top onto the apron in the opening seconds and we were off to the races. Hazuki started kicking her ass. She fired off kicks and forearms that had Poi reeling and then shook off what Poi answered back with. Natsupoi wasn’t going to stay in that position for long though and she managed to turn things around, leaving Hazuki laid out and nearly counted out. They continued to trade high impact stuff until the closing stretch saw them both go for the win. That meant close calls on various flash pins and submission attempts. There was so much energy in those closing minutes and Hazuki finally got the opening she needed. Natsupoi missed a top rope move and Hazuki capitalized to hit the Brainbuster. However, the 15:00 time limit expired. That means Natsupoi moves on and Hazuki is eliminated. Great match though and the draw likely sets up a title match down the line. [****]

Red Stars B Block: Mayu Iwatani [8] vs. Tomoka Inaba [8]

Both women are tied with AZM. A draw gets them both in so I’d have discussed it before the match and agreed on a double countout but that’s just me. Instead they went right at it and worked at a frantic pace. Tomoka threw a lot of Mayu, who came back and delivered a pretty great German suplex. I feel like we should talk more about her having a strong German. Then, just as this was really getting going, Mayu won with a pinning combination at the 4:23 mark. I wish that got more time though I will say, nobody does these short sprints as well as STARDOM. Mayu clinches the playoffs while Tomoka is now tied with AZM. [***]

Red Stars B Block: Mei Seira [6] vs. Tam Nakano [0]

Tam looks to get on the board but the more important bit is that Mei can tie AZM and Tomoka for a playoff spot if she wins. With those things on the line, both women came out fighting hard. Mei went after the leg, which makes sense given that Tam has been dealing with issues there for a while. That said, STARDOM might do leg work matches a little too often. Tam sold the leg well for a while but she did have points where she kind of just gave up on it so she could get her shit in. It was kind of weird that when the finish came, the focus wasn’t on the leg either. Mei caught Tam in a bow and arrow that she turned into a modified Dragon Sleeper to win in 12:19. So Tam goes winless in the tournament ahead of her shot at the red belt and Mei sets up a 3-way play-in. Really good match that did have some key flaws holding it back. [***½]

Blue Stars B Block: Hanan [5] vs. Saya Kamitani [8]

However I feel about this tournament, I appreciate that they didn’t go the New Japan route of just making it all come down to the final match. They used to love having the top two guys in each block just so happen to meet on the final block night. Alas, this does have importance. Saya is in for Hanan can set up a play-in against Suzu Suzuki if she wins here. Like Natsupoi earlier, Hanan dropkicked Saya before the bell, getting this off to a hot start. Similar to basically everything else on this show, this moved along nicely and kept up a pace that made sure it was all interesting. Saya is still trying to get comfortable in this new heel style and it worked more than usual here, especially because Hanan is such a good babyface. In the end, Hanan used her back suplex finisher to win in 9:55, setting up another play-in as she tied Suzu Suzuki. Good main event. [***¼]

 

BLUE STARS A	POINTS	BLUE STARS B	POINTS	RED STARS A	POINTS	RED STARS B	POINTS
Starlight Kid	8 (3-1-2)	Saya Kamitani	8 (4-2)	Maika	12 (6-0)	Mayu Iwatani	10 (5-1)
Syuri	8 (4-2)	Hanan	7 (3-2-1)	Natsupoi	9 (4-1-1)	AZM	8 (3-1-2)
Saori Anou	7 (3-2-1-)	Suzu Suzuki	7 (3-2-1)	Hazuki	7 (3-2-1)	Tomoka Inaba	8 (3-1-2)
Anna Jay	6 (3-3)	Risa Sera	6 (3-3)	Konami	6 (3-3)	Mei Seira	8 (3-1-2)
Koguma	6 (3-3)	Saki Kashima	6 (3-3)	Manami	5 (2-3-1)	Momo Watanabe	4 (2-4)
Xena	4 (2-4)	Thekla	4 (2-4)	Ruaka	3 (1-4-1)	Saya Iida	4 (2-4)
Miyu Amasaki	3 (1-3-1)	Ranna Yagami	4 (2-4)	Yuna Mizumori	0 (0-6)	Tam Nakano	0 (0-6)

7.5

The final score: review Good

The 411

his show was a lot. We got things mostly set for the playoffs though the play-in situations could make it confusing for some. That said, this was a very good night of wrestling.