Pantoja’s STARDOM 5STAR Grand Prix 2024 Night 6 Review

STARDOM 5STAR Grand Prix Night 6

August 18^th, 2024 | Kobe Arts Center in Kobe, Hyogo | Attendance: 501

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.

Time for some Red Stars action as we continue through this tournament. Getting the night off are Manami and Tomoka Inaba.

Red Stars A Block: Maika [6] vs. Ruaka [1]

We’ve got one of the favorites to win it all against someone who I’d be surprised to see pass her current total of one point. This was a solid little powerhouse match that was better than I expected. Ruaka had help at ringside from Saya Kamitani, which allowed Maika to make something of a comeback even if it never felt like she was truly in any sort of trouble. The crowd reacted well to her rally and believed it might be over after a Saya cheap shot set up Ruaka using her signature weapon. However, Maika no sold it and put Ruaka down with a Michinoku Driver in 7:42. Like I said, good little match here and Maika remains unbeaten. [**¾]

Red Stars A Block: Hazuki [4] vs. Yuna Mizumori [0]

Two lovable babyfaces going at it here. This felt like Yuna’s tryout for the High Speed division as she stayed right there with Hazuki throughout some great, fast paced back and forth. What started as a nice match grew into something more intense than expected and I’m always down to see Hazuki wail on someone with forearms. The way she takes people down with them is always great, while Yuna’s return series of lariats was just as hard hitting. The highlight of the match was Yuna going for a springboard cross body only to immediately get cut off by a Hazuki Codebreaker, all done in seamless fashion. Yuna put up a strong fight but Hazuki bested her with a Brainbuster in 10:21. That came from out of nowhere to rule. Yuna’s best singles match and Hazuki really doesn’t miss. [***¾]

Red Stars B Block: Mei Seira [4] vs. Saya Iida [2]

Saya Iida has used this tournament to break out with great performances while Mei Seira just keeps on chugging along as a highlight of this promotion. Though both can work the High Speed stuff, there was a difference of styles here. Mei is one to fly around the ring at any opportunity while Saya is more than happy to trade blows in the middle of the ring. At first, Mei attempted to ground Saya to make up for that but then she showed that she was willing to trade those shots, even if she was outmatched there. As always, Mei was game to bump like crazy, getting folded on things like Saya’s diving shoulder block. I just know she’d kill it against bigger top girls likes Momo or Maika. When Saya blocked a big move and just walloped Mei with a lariat, it looked great. In the end, Mei blocked what looked like a fisherman buster, sent Saya into the corner, and rolled her up to win in 7:26 A really fun sprint where styles clashed in a good way. [***½]

Red Stars A Block: Konami [4] vs. Natsupoi [4]

An important match here because Maika moved to 4-0 and Hazuki is 3-1. The winner here would remain in the hunt with those some of combos still left to face off. Konami’s tourney has been hampered by HATE booking while Poi hasn’t delivered on the level I’m used to from her, though her best opponents are still to come. Poi started quickly by pouncing but it wasn’t long before Konami took her outside and threw her into a sea of empty chairs. Oh, brother. That set up a simple story of Konami holding serve and Natsupoi having to make her babyface comeback. While it wasn’t anything special, Poi is such a good face that it mostly worked. Then, kind of from out of nowhere, Poi won with a flash pin (she basically used Kofi’s old SOS move) in 7:39. A good but far from great match. [***]

Red Stars B Block: Momo Watanabe [0] vs. Tam Nakano [0]

Despite Tam’s winless record, she is slated to face Momo’s stablemate Natsuko Tora for the red belt since she never lost it in the first place. That gave us a story of Momo playing the role of someone out to hurt Tam as much as possible ahead of that match. In that sense, this is a case where the cheating and shenanigans worked. This wasn’t about getting a W. It was about hurting someone and Tam is the perfect babyface for the role as she takes a beating, is sympathetic, and can rally like few others. She fought valiantly from beneath, with every rally and kick out getting a bigger reaction from a crowd that was very ready to boo HATE. You don’t get that a lot in STARDOM but this was the kind of crowd they need often against this unit. From attacks with a bat to leg work, Momo was all over Tam and she survived it all until a kneebar made her submit at the 13:21 mark. A very good match that added intrigue to the upcoming title fight. [***¾]

Red Stars B Block: AZM [6] vs. Mayu Iwatani [6]

One of my most anticipated matches of the tournament given these are two of my favorites. The High Speed stuff at the start reminded me of when I first saw Mayu and she was in that division. The pace never really slowed here as both women just kept coming right after each other. The way they seamlessly moved from strikes to aerial action to limb work is the kind of thing that should be studied. AZM’s arm submissions, especially the one on the top rope, looked brutal and she followed it up with some loud chops that Saya Iida would be proud of. It’s a little thing but I loved Mayu slipping free of being stuck in place to eat a diving double stomp from the Tree of Joey Lawrence. Most people just sit there awkwardly and take the hit. The close calls and counters for every Azumi Sushi spot were so well done and I believed that basically each pinning combination down the stretch was the finish. AZM blocked Mayu’s finisher, hit a Destroyer, added a double underhook Destroyer (I saw some people online say it was a Tiger Driver Destroyer), and then used Azumi Sushi for the huge win in 9:34. Match of the tournament. Just non-stop action between two of the best in the world. Everything I could want from these two. [****½]

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

8.0

The final score: review Very Good

The 411

Probably the best show of the tournament. Two matches didn’t crack ***1/2 but both were still good, while the other four were really strong. Highly recommended matches on a show capped by my favorite match of the tournament.