Stardom wrapped up the 5STAR GP today with a major event in Tokyo.
Today’s event was held at Musashino Forest Sports Plaza Main Arena in Tokyo and can be watched on demand on Stardom World as a PPV for 4400 Japanese yen (around $30 US) until Wednesday morning. It will be available on demand for all monthly subscribers shortly after that. You can also watch the first match FOR FREE on YouTube. Saori Anou & Ami Sohrei were guests on commentary.
The announced paid attendance was 2108.
Pre-show match: Waka Tsukiyama beat Rian.
Match 2: Hazuki & Koguma beat Aya Sakura & Sayaka Kurara. Koguma pinned Sakura after a diving body press.
Match 3: 5STAR GP Semifinals: Maika beat Mayu Iwatani.
Match 4: 5STAR GP Semifinals: Saya Kamitani beat Hanan.
Match 5: Anna Jay beat Momo Kohgo by submission. This is Anna’s last match in Stardom for now as she is headed back to All Elite Wrestling, but there are many hoping she will be back (and soon).
Match 6: Gina beat Saya Iida.
Match 7: Starlight Kid, AZM, Suzu Suzuki, Mei Seira & Miyu Amasaki beat Syuri, Saki Kashima, Ranna Yagami, Lady C & Risa Sera. Kid pinned Yagami after a moonsault press.
Match 8: Natsupoi, Saori Anou & Yuna Mizumori beat Thekla, Konami & Ruaka. Mizumori pinned Ruaka after Supergirl.
Match 9: Future Of Stardom Champion Rina beat Hina to retain the title. V11(!) for Rina. That’s a new record, so not only did Rina beat her twin sister today, she has broken her big sister Hanan’s title defense record. This match almost went the full 15 minutes.
Match 10: Tam Nakano beat World Of Stardom Champion Natsuko Tora to win the title. Nakano becomes the 19th World Of Stardom Champion. This has “WTF” booking all over it and in my opinion completely devalued the 5STAR GP. How the f+++ does Nakano start 0-4, get the title shot out of nowhere, finish 0-6 and now win the title? The only logical explanation would have been her vacating the belt last year due to injury, but they didn’t seem to do that. I really thought Stardom would be better off under a new regime after Rossy Ogawa was fired. I was apparently wrong.
Main Event: 5STAR GP Finals: Maika beat Saya Kamitani to win the tournament. As a result, Maika also gets a World Of Stardom Championship shot. That match will happen on 9/14 at Osaka Prefectural Gym. Ironically, Maika won the title after Nakano vacated it.
The next event is 9/8 at Korakuen Hall. Live streaming on Stardom World will begin on 9/7 at 7:30 PM PT/10:30 PM ET.
