Stardom wrapped up the 5STAR GP today with the Semifinals & Finals.
Today’s event was held at Ryogoku Kokugikan in Tokyo and can be watched on demand as a PPV until 9/9. It will be available on demand on Stardom World (un-paywalled) at some point after that. You can also watch the first 3 matches FOR FREE on YouTube.
The paid attendance was not announced. (UPDATE: The announced paid attendance was 5004. Compared to recent Ryogoku events, that’s rather low)
There were last-minute changes to the card due to Rian being pulled off the event. Unspecified reasons. She was to have teamed with Kikyo Furusawa to face New Blood Tag Team Champions Aya Sakura & Sayaka Kurara for the titles. Ranna Yagami was the replacement and it was changed to a NON-TITLE match.
5STAR GP Semifinals:
Match 1: Blue Block: Starlight Kid beat Suzu Suzuki by submission.
Match 2: Red Block: Rina beat Maika.
Match 3: Koguma & Matoi Hamabe beat Yuna Mizumori & Anne Kanaya, Konami & Fukigen and Mei Seira & Ema Maishima in a 4-way when Koguma pinned Mizumori. Afterwards, Bea Priestley returned and demanded a match against Kanaya on 9/12 at Yokohama Budokan.
Match 4: Ami Sohrei, Hina, Lady C, Tomoka Inaba & Kiyoka Kokatsu beat AZM, Miyu Amasaki, HANAKO, Maki Itoh & Waka Tsukiyama. Sohrei pinned HANAKO after Like Thunder.
Match 5: Natsuko Tora, Ruaka & Azusa Inaba beat Rina Yamashita, Itsuki Aoki & Akira Kurogame. Tora pinned Aoki after Death Valley Bomb.
Match 6: Ranna Yagami Return Match: Ranna Yagami & Kikyo Furusawa beat Aya Sakura & Sayaka Kurara. Yagami pinned Sakura after Beat Buster. Afterwards, Yagami issued what seemed like an open challenge for her Future Of Stardom Championship, and it sounds like as a result Kurogame will be next.
Match 7: Saya Kamitani & Momo Watanabe beat Hanan & Saya Iida. Kamitani pinned Iida after a swivel-type Star Crusher. All seems well between the H.A.T.E. tentpoles now.
Match 8: Natsupoi beat Saori Anou. This went over 25 minutes as the Natsupoi retirement road continues in the final match between them.
Main Event: 5STAR GP Finals: Rina beat Starlight Kid to win the tournament. They went 27 minutes. It’s the first 5STAR GP triumph for Rina and, at 19, she becomes the youngest tournament winner to date. As a result, Rina will likely face World Of Stardom Champion Suzu Suzuki for the title at a later date. It could be 9/12 at Yokohama Budokan but we should know more in the next day or two. I’m happy Rina won and felt she had a chance as an underdog coming in to the tournament but I’m still classifying this as a mild upset. Either way, it’s time once again to Embrace The H.A.T.E.
The next event is 9/6 at Korakuen Hall. Broadcast plans TBA but it should be live on Stardom World with streaming beginning on 9/5 at 7:30 PM PT/10:30 PM ET.
UPDATE: The promotion says there will be title matches on 9/12 but nothing is official yet. However, based on post-match comments, it looks like Ami Sohrei will be the next challenger for Wonder Of Stardom Champion Hanan. Also looking like we’ll get Kamitani & Watanabe vs. Goddesses Of Stardom Champions AZM & Miyu Amasaki for the titles.