Pantoja’s STARDOM 5STAR Grand Prix 2026 Night 11 Review

STARDOM 5STAR Grand Prix 2026 Night Eleven

August 9^th, 2026 | Chateraise Gateaux Kingdom in Sapporo, Hokkaido | Attendance: 716

Interestingly, night two of this double shot in Sapporo drew over 100 more in attendance. Sticking with Red Block action. The scheduling of this has been weird because some wrestlers have their final matches here, but Mei Seira still has three to go, and she’s not on this card.

Red Stars A Block: Natsuko Tora [6] vs. Sayaka Kurara [4]

Sayaka’s quest to prove that her time at the top of the card wasn’t a fluke hasn’t gone well. She started 2-0 but has dropped four straight since. This was kind of what you’d expect from a story perspective. Natsuko was the bully, and Sayaka was the underdog babyface, setting up a classic David vs. Goliath story. It worked here because both women excel in those roles. When Natsuko missed the Swanton and Sayaka rolled her up, I bit on the near fall. After that, I didn’t really buy any chance for Sayaka, and I was right, as a successful Swanton kept her down after 7:28. A good opening contest. Natsuko moves into a tie for first, though that’ll change later on barring a no contest. This was the final match for both women. [***]

Red Stars A Block: Akira Kurogane [1] vs. AZM  [7]

After making the finals last year, AZM is on a great run with hopes of getting back there. Akira looked for an early edge by attacking AZM as she entered the ring, but AZM turned the tide rather quickly. I think they built a fair bit of drama in a short time. AZM’s hot start is exactly the kind of thing that would result in a huge upset for Akira, so I was in on the close calls. Akira continues to bring a lot of fire to her tournament matches and has been sneaky good so far. AZM worked the arm and kicked at it to prevent lariats. Akira got a few fun near falls before AZM made her submit in 7:39. That was really fun. AZM now leads the block with one match to go. [***¼]

Red Stars B Block: Azusa Inaba [4] vs. Konami [6]

HATE vs. HATE. A win for Azusa would not only be an upset, but it would also put her in contention for the block, while a Konami win puts her into a tie for first. Azusa was the aggressor with the early attack, though they both threw each other into chairs outside. Konami worked the arm, and Azusa’s selling was very good. She’s having a very impressive tournament. When it came time to battle kicks, Azusa didn’t back down even though she was outmatched. Azusa got going with some German suplexes and an ankle lock. However, she went big with a springboard moonsault and missed, opening the door for Konami to apply an armbar and win in 8:40. I kind of loved that and wish they got a few more minutes. Azusa brought her photo in the ring and let Konami spray paint her for the gimmick. Konami has another match, though Azusa is done, and it was a strong run for her. [***½]

Red Stars A Block: Itsuki Aoki [8] vs. Maika [7]

A true battle for first place. If Maika wins, she ties AZM, and if Itsuki wins, she takes sole possession back. This was your classic hoss fight. Just two powerhouses ramming into each other, trading strikes, and throwing big bombs. Itsuki held serve for a while, but it was when Maika rallied that this really picked up. That’s when the big offense came into play. Stiff lariats, suplexes, and even a Bret’s Rope Samoan Drop were thrown around before Maika got two on a Michinoku Driver. I dug the spot where Maika threw headbutts, and Itsuki fired up for more, only to eat a discus lariat. Maika delivered another Michinoku Driver for the win in 11:40. Another good match on a show filled with them so far. This means Itsuki ends at 8 points, and Maika has one more match to go. [***¼]

Red Stars B Block: Rina Yamashita [8] vs. Saya Iida [8]

Theoretically, this should be the headliners because the winner takes sole control of B Block. Both have a case for tournament MVP. This was a great blend of Saya’s hard-hitting style and Yamashita’s ability to inject some comedy into things. They wailed on each other with chops from the start, and they did so in the ring, out into the crowd, and while standing on chairs. When they got back to the ring, they went for bigger blows, similar to the previous match. Saya has gotten so good at being able to throw bombs with bigger opponents. She really is becoming almost a Tomohiro Ishii lite in STARDOM in that I can always count on her for some really good, hard-hitting wrestling. They began to tease the time limit and go for various pin attempts. I respected the desperation both showed down the stretch. Alas, just as Saya delivered the Brainbuster, time expired at 15:00. A hell of a match that keeps them tied atop the standings. However, Yamashita is done, while Saya has one more match. [***¾]

Red Stars A Block: Rina [5] vs. Tomoka Inaba [6]

It’s Tomoka’s final match, so she’s out, but she can finish with a winning record if she wins here. Meanwhile, a win for Rina pulls her two points from the top with a battle against AZM on the horizon. That made the outcome pretty obvious, and then I was disappointed that this didn’t get much time. They made sure the action as intense, and it featured some quality back-and-forth. Tomoka continues to throw some great kicks and strikes. I’d like to see her get a significant push of sorts going forward. Anyway, Rina beat her with the Gory Bomb after 5:10. Quite good for the time. [***]

Red Stars B Block: Maki Itoh [6] vs. Utami Hayashishita [5]

Utami has underperformed in the tournament in terms of wins and losses, while Maki has done quite well. Both have one match left after this. A loss for either kind of knocks them out. As usual, a Maki match features a lot of personality. She and Utami played to the crowd and had fun, which I like, though it does take away from some of the intensity of such an important match. Once they got past that, the action was solid, yet never truly felt like a big main event. Utami bumped well for Maki, though nothing else about this stood out. It was good and nothing more. Maki kind of won from out of nowhere at the 13:05 mark, which was surprising. This officially knocks Utami out of contention. I never thought that would be the case, yet it’s interesting, and I like that it’s unpredictable. [***]

 

Red Stars A	Points	Red Stars B	Points	Blue Stars A	Points	Blue Stars B	Points
AZM	9 (4-1-1)	Saya Iida	9 (4-1-1)	Suzu Suzuki	8 (4-0)	Momo Watanabe	7 (3-1-1)
Maika	9 (4-1-1)	Rina Yamashita	9 (3-1-3)	Ruaka	6 (3-1)	Saya Kamitani	6 (2-0-2)
Natsuko Tora	8 (3-2-2)	Maki Itoh	8 (3-1-2)	Julia Hart	6 (3-1)	Hanan	6 (3-1)
Itsuki Aoki	8 (4-3)	Konami	8 (4-2)	HANAKO	4 (2-2)	Starlight Kid	5 (2-1-1)
Rina	7 (3-2-1)	Utami Hayashishita	5 (2-3-1)	Aya Sakura	4 (2-3)	Ami Sohrei	4 (2-2)
Tomoka Inaba	6 (3-4)	Azusa Inaba	4 (1-4-2)	Miyu Amasaki	4 (2-3)	Koguma	4 (2-3)
Sayaka Kurara	4 (2-5)	Mei Seira	3 (1-2-1)	Hina	4 (2-3)	Yuna Mizumori	4 (2-3)
Akira Kurogane	1 (0-5-1)	Lady C	2 (1-5)	Rian	0 (0-4)	Kikyo Furusawa	0 (0-5)

7.0

The final score: review Good

The 411

Just a consistently strong show. Nothing is must-see, but everything is good and two matches stand out as ones I’d recommend.