wrestling / TV Reports
Pantoja’s STARDOM 5STAR Grand Prix 2024 Night 3 (Afternoon Show) Review
Image Credit: STARDOM
Loading...STARDOM 5STAR Grand Prix Night 3 (Afternoon Show)
August 12th, 2024 | Light Cube Utsunomiya in Utsunomiya, Tochigi | Attendance: 508
STARDOM opted to do something unusual for night 3 of the Grand Prix. The matches are split across two shows, one taking place in the afternoon and one in the evening. Looking at the schedule, it doesn’t seem like it’s something they’re doing again so it’s even more odd.
Blue Stars are on tap today. Ranna Yagami and Miyu Amasaki are off from tournament action.
Blue Stars A Block: Anna Jay [2] vs. Starlight Kid [0]
Anna Jay got the notable upset over Saori Anou in her STARDOM debut on night one while Starlight Kid lost a great match against Syuri. Props to Anna for pulling a Toni Storm and using her ass as an offensive weapon. Somewhere, Ryusuke Taguchi is proud too. Anna got to show off a bit more offense here and both ladies were game for some smooth exchanges that exceeded expectations. SLK targeted the knee a bit which allowed her to set up the Stretch Muffler. That became the crux of the final few minutes as she kept going to it and Anna had to fight through it. In the end, SLK pulled a ZSJ, turning the submission into something else involving the arm and getting the tap out in 9:49. I may be the high man here but I really liked that and it was a strong showing for Anna Jay. [***¼]
Blue Stars B Block: Saki Kashima [0] vs. Suzu Suzuki [1]
Saki was again shilling her poster gimmick at the start so Suzu tried shutting her up with a kick only for Saki to head outside and plug her stuff more. Suzu had to chase her to the back, ensuring we got our Saki shenanigans. She’s like Toru Yano, while HATE is like the House of Torture (though nowhere near as bad) in that the antics of one are delightful and the antics of the other can go away. Once they got back to the ring, this was pretty basic back and forth with nothing really standing out. Saki blocked the Tequila Shot and went for her typical pinning combo to steal it but Suzu rolled through into her own pin for the victory in 4:58. Fine enough for what it was. [**]
Blue Stars A Block: Koguma [0] vs. Xena [0]
The tournament debut of Koguma. This was our fun match of the evening. Koguma is over as a lovable character and they played into that with some comedy aspects early. Xena even had some fun, stopping her spinning side slam spot to get the crowd into it before finishing it off. Koguma is deceptively fast, making this a power vs. speed battle, which is a match type I tend to appreciate. They went on to have some solid back and forth throughout until Xena got her first Grand Prix win with the gutbuster in 9:04. I had a blast with that match and, like the opener, it exceeded expectations. [***]
Blue Stars B Block: Saya Kamitani [2] vs. Thekla [0]
It’s also the Grand Prix debut for Thekla here and she faces her HATE stablemate Saya Kamitani. I was so confused by this match layout. It seems like the idea was to have Thekla and HATE beat Saya up into maybe making her tougher or something like that. The problem is that A) Saya is supposed to a top heel now so she shouldn’t be getting beaten up by other heels this and B) this format forced her to work as the underdog babyface. We already know she can work that style and it’s probably the best route for her but after doing the heel turn, this felt so awkward and disjointed. Throw in the HATE shenanigans and it was a big mess. Saya won with Star Crusher in 12:33. That was majorly disappointing because a straight up heel Thekla vs. babyface Saya would’ve ruled and instead, they were House of Tortured. I need New Japan’s booking influence to go away. [*¾]
Blue Stars A Block: Saori Anou [0] vs. Syuri [2]
The most exciting match on this card and it really is odd that it’s not headlining. This was just good wrestling, plain and simple. They traded some hard hitting strikes and kicks early on before progressing to bigger, well executed moves, and some really good counter wrestling at points. You can’t ask for much more than that. From Syuri working an arm submission to Saori fighting to successfully hit a bridging German Suplex, they did a lot of good things here, yet it still felt like something was missing. It needed something more, though I can’t quite put my finger on it, to get this up to the level of greatness I was hoping for from them. Just when this was starting to pick up and Syuri busted out Xena’s gutbuster (kind of rude, tbh), Saori used an impressive backslide to take the win in 12:17. Even though it wasn’t as good as I wanted, these two still delivered the best match of the night. [***½]
Blue Stars B Block: Hanan [1] vs. Risa Sera [0]
So I believe this is the main event because it’s in Hanan’s hometown. That said, it still feels like a huge step down from the previous match. They told a simple story here that used the hometown aspect to its advantage. Risa can be a ruthless character which was a good foil for Hanan as the fiery underdog babyface. Hana is so good in that role. She took a beating at times, including getting thrown around on the outside. Her rally got a great reaction from the crowd, which led to a good closing stretch. I liked the spot where Hanan fought off a Boston Crab so Risa just lifted her up and did a buckle bomb. It wasn’t the cleanest spot but I feel like that showcased the wear and tear of the bout. Hanan escaped an Air Raid Crash and pulled Risa into La Magistral to wain at the 13:32 mark. Man, STARDOM loves those flash pin finishes don’t they? That was a good match but it didn’t feel like a main event. [***¼]
| BLUE STARS A | POINTS | BLUE STARS B | POINTS | RED STARS A | POINTS | RED STARS B | POINTS |
| Miyu Amasaki | 2 (1-0) | Saya Kamitani | 4 (2-0) | Maika | 4 (2-0) | Mayu Iwatani | 4 (2-0) |
| Starlight Kid | 2 (1-1) | Suzu Suzuki | 3 (1-0-1) | Hazuki | 4 (2-0) | AZM | 3 (1-0-1) |
| Syuri | 2 (1-1) | Hanan | 3 (1-0-1) | Konami | 2 (1-1) | Tomoka Inaba | 3 (1-0-1) |
| Suzu Suzuki | 2 (1-1) | Ranna Yagami | 2 (1-0) | Manami | 2 (1-1) | Mei Seira | 2 (0-0-2) |
| Anna Jay | 2 (1-1) | Thekla | 0 (0-1) | Natsupoi | 0 (0-1) | Saya Iida | 0 (0-1) |
| Xena | 2 (1-1) | Risa Sera | 0 (0-2) | Yuna Mizumori | 0 (0-1) | Momo Watanabe | 0 (0-2) |
| Koguma | 0 (0-1) | Saki Kashima | 0 (0-2) | Ruaka | 0 (0-2) | Tam Nakano | 0 (0-2) |
