Stardom 5STAR GP | In-ring Statistics and Match Reviews | Nights 1+2
This is my second 5 STAR GP with last year’s being my proper introduction to Stardom. With my interest in New Japan and the forthcoming G1 at an all-time low, the Stardom 5STAR GP is my personal most anticipated wrestling tournament of the year!
In this article you will find Red and Blue Stars block tables, In-ring Stats for each matcha and a short piece of analysis to review each match. Contributors are:
- Ashutosh (@RainmakerSZN)
- Dan (@WrestlingRhymes)
- Craig (@CraigPWMusings)
Red Stars Block Standings
Blue Stars Block Standings
Night 1
I'm not a death match fan and I'm not a Death match fan either. She's Yano but not as entertaining... The rope walk spot is kind of cool but that's as far as i can go here. Mina Shirakawa was interesting enough to make this passable at 4 minutes. It'll be interesting to see what's next for her. -Craig
The High-Speed Champion met the ‘High-Speed Genius’ in a match that predictably brought about the most dives of any match on the first night of 5 Star action together with an impressive array of reversals. Natsupoi’s dominance was also predictable based on Koguma’s relative lack of recent experience, but despite 82% of the match offence, Poi couldn’t get the job done. Koguma produced a brilliant backs-against-the-wall performance and struck when needed to give Poi only her third singles defeat of 2021, and presumably setup a title match further down the road. -Dan
Earlier in the year Tam Nakano entered Unagi Sayaka into a run of seven singles matches to help her get up to speed in Stardom. After this surprise result, Tam may be regretting that decision. The tale of this match was dominance from the leader of Cosmic Angels, as whilst Unagi threw several shots (45 to Tam’s 29) her 4% strikedown rate showed their limited impact. Tam also executed some brutal submission moves and chuntered at her protige with 22 taunts in just 13 minutes. But it was all for naught as Unagi recovered to take the victory and prove to the White Belt Champion that she perhaps doesn’t need her mentorship anymore. -Dan
A fascinating match in which Starlight Kid’s entire demeanour and style changed to match her recent decision to stick with Oedo Tai. Her cocky entrance was matched by an unheard-of number of taunts from the previously sugary sweet SK and that bravado was coupled with a new brutal in-ring approach. Throwing more strikes than normal, avoiding her trade-mark dives and resorting to five times as many fouls as her opponent, Starlight Kid really appears to have embraced the dark side. Her approach was equally vicious, targeting Giulia’s leg and slapping on some significant submission holds to wear down her opponent. Nonetheless, pre-tournament favourite (in many eyes at least) Giulia withstood this barrage of wicked offence and ultimately her power came to prominence. A very tricky hurdle cleared by the leader of Donna Del Mondo. -Dan
106 Strikes were thrown at Syuri in this encounter but at no point did she look like losing to Saya Kamitani. This is a compliment to the imposing figure Syuri cuts in the Stardom ring. She seems to be the number 2 in the Donna Del Monde stable but she currently sits very near the summit of the Stardom landscape and this terrifying performance against Saya Kamitani cemented that and whetted appetites for a strong 5STAR run. -Craig
Mayu Iwatani is my second favourite wrestler in the whole world after one, Kenny Omega. However, she was lucky to get out of this one alive! Momo Watanabe may have only hit her with 25 Strikes but each one looked worth about 10! Couple that with almost 100s of Submission hold usage in total and Momo Watanabe cut a ferocious figure in her surprise victory over the former World of Stardom Champion! I am fascinated to see what Momo Watanabe does moving forward with this terrifying approach to her matches. -Craig.
Utami Hayashishita is currently having my favourite title reign in all of wrestling and has the presence of a star. Maika arrived with a lot of determination to avenge her loss to Utami earlier this year. Main eventing the first night of the 5-star GP they had a big task on their hands to deliver and they did. It was as close as the match offense stat suggests. 51 to 49. Doesn’t get any closer than that. They traded a lot of big strikes and moves with lariats and brainbusters. Maika brought her best submission game here as she spent a lot of time torturing Utami’s right arm, spending a whopping 130 seconds trying to get Utami to tap out. Utami did try to survive the onslaught with great resiliency showing why she’s been champ all this time but, on this night, Maika was just better. - Ashutosh
Night 2
Two matches in and Unagi Sayaka has two wins under her belt. She was played up as the underdog against Tam Nakano via Tam no-selling her Strikes and utilising a plethora of Strikedowns showing Unagi as her inferior only for Unagi to pull out an unlikely win with her killshot-like Finisher. This was similar with Unagi pulling out an upset after being on the losing end of the offence split; AZM more than doubling Sayaka’s offence. -Craig
Starlight Kid needed this win over her stable mate, only 5 Fouls against Giulia and against a fellow Odeo Tai member she almost looked like a babyface again here. This one was an even one without too much evidence of Starlight Kid’s attitude going forward. However, her finish looks incredibly nasty, and Kashima sold it impeccably.
Momo Watanabe is gonna kill you. It should be a chant! She is terrifying in the ring at the moment, and it is a joy to see. I don’t know if it’s her attitude at the moment or if she’s had indication that she is moving on up... Whatever it is, Momo Watanabe is always intriguing, but I am all in on her 5STAR run only two matches in. Her kicks are some of the most believable in wrestling, so having the in-ring action feature a 37% Strikedown Rate is a great move. -Craig
Konami didn’t even let Tam finish her entrance and got the jump on her. From there it was an uphill battle for Tam as Konami dominated her with 60% of match offense. She absolutely brutalised Tam’s right arm with strikes and also got 48s of submission holds which is her forte.Every time Tam would find an opening Konami would shut it down. Really must be said that Tam just about survived here. -Ashutosh
Kamitani with her customary 2 Dives here, against her World Champion stablemate. She also employed similar striking as she did in her match against Syuri, just not in such volume. In both matches Kamitani has used striking with desperation and volume to show her dynamics with her more established foes. Utami was emphasised as strong, powerful and quite frankly dominate via almost double digits for Strikedowns and Grapples. -Craig
This was surreal. Brutal brutal stuff. I didn’t realize on the first watch but, Maika actually got in a little more offense than Syuri, nearly matched her strike for strike and actually got had more time trying to submit Syuri than Syuri had her. Astonishing. This was as close as the stats suggest. Both wrestlers weren’t willing to give an inch to their opponent and you couldn’t tell that they were the members of the same faction. Maika showed great resiliency but trying to survive Syuri isn’t an easy task. A brutal emerald Flowsion sealed the deal for Syuri but this was the best performance of Maika’s career to date. – Ashutosh
The action in this one was quintessential Stardom. Including a demented Mayu-post landing on her head smile. Fast paced Reversals, an apron spot and Submissions gluing it altogether. Is Mayu turning heel? She was the one that started the dirty tactics just three minutes into this one, although it only took Giulia a minute to return in kind. Mayu’s Striking power was put over her with an impressive 30% resulting in Strikedown. Whereas Giulia was put over as being in control of her opponent via Submission for just over two and a half minutes of the 18:31! -Craig
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