I’m not gonna bore you all with a long, drawn-out intro to this one folks. This is part two of our catch-up in the Stardom 5 Star Grand Prix and I’m just gonna dive right on into it. Thanks for being patient with me and the coverage, I hope you all check these shows out.
Night 10: August 28th, 2022 | Saya Kamitani & Koguma Bring The Fight To The Stardom 5 Star Grand Prix
Mirai def. Hanan
Saya Iida def. Momo Watanabe
Tam Nakano def. Mai Sakurai
Himeka def. Saki Kashima
Maika def. AZM
Koguma def. Syuri
Saya Kamitani def. Hazuki
Giulia def. Natsupoi
Mayu Iwatani def. Ami Sourei
There were a couple of really good matches on this card with one huge upset although technically there were three upsets here. Frankly speaking, I did not expect Saya Kamitani to end the undefeated streak for Hazuki nor did I envision Maika defeating AZM. With that said, your match of the night honors goes to these two ladies.
Match of the Night: Saya Kamitani vs Hazuki
While I certainly could have given MotN and UotN to this match, I had to give the upset to someone else.
Upset of the Night: Koguma def. Syuri
Once again, Syuri falls victim to a massive upset. Now, this isn’t anywhere near as big as Saki Kashima defeating her, but Koguma winning was absolutely shocking as well. I couldn’t believe my eyes when Koguma picked up the win here.
Night 11: September 3rd, 2022 | Saki Kashima Pulls Another Upset Out Of Her Hat
Mai Sakurai def. Himeka
Starlight Kid def. Ami Sourei
Saki Kashima def. Tam Nakano
Giulia def. Mina Shirakawa
Maika def. Syuri
Saya Kamitani def. Mayu Iwatani
Night 11 was a little bit light on total matches, having eight of them in total, but it was not lacking for action. First up, you have Saki Kashima earning herself yet another Upset of the Night honor with her surprising defeat of Tam Nakano.
Upset of the Night: Saki Kashima def. Tam Nakano
Match of the Night: Saya Kamitani vs Mayu Iwatani
And your match of the night folks goes to Saya Kamitani and Mayu Iwatani! It’s rare for Mayu to have a bad match, that’s just fact, but when you put her in there with the Golden Phoenix Saya Kamitani, magic happens. You absolutely must check this match out, it was so much fun to watch.
Night 12: September 4th, 2022 | Natsupoi & Mayu Iwatani Shine
Momo Kohgo def. Saki Kashima
Saya Kamitani def. Saya Iida
Ami Sourei def. Hazuki
Mirai def. Momo Watanabe
Tam Nakano def. Maika
Natsupoi def. Mayu Iwatani
Syuri def. Himeka
Okay, I have to ask one question. What the hell is going on with Hazuki? She went 7-0 to start the tournament, but since she lost to Saya Kamitani, she’s lost her second straight and stands at 7-2 so far. Sure, I didn’t expect her to go undefeated for the whole tournament, but she should have beaten Ami Sourei. Whatever, I’m not the one booking the matches… Anyway, there were some damn good matches here tonight.
Match of the Night: Natsupoi vs Mayu Iwatani
Queue up Mayu Iwatani not being able to have a bad match yet again. This time her dance partner was Natsupoi and they put on the best match of the night. A close second was Tam Nakano vs Maika, but Mayu vs Poi really stood out to me. They are both absolutely phenomenal in the ring together and I love seeing them face off.
Upset of the Night: Momo Kohgo def. Saki Kashima
Saki Kashima has earned herself two Upset honors so far this tournament, but on this one she’s on the receiving end of things. Momo Kohgo picked up her only win in the tournament to date with the surprise win over Saki and she also managed to snag an autographed copy of Saki’s new photobook. Looks like Momo won twice in this match.
Night 13: September 11th, 2022 | A Draw and An Upset Brings Night 13 To A Close
Night 13 was an interesting night. The matches were phenomenal but perhaps even bigger than that was that we were given a look at the eight women who are in the running to play Mayu Iwatani in her upcoming documentary! I am really looking forward to seeing who gets selected to play Mayu and to see the movie, she is an absolute Icon and the undisputed GOAT of Stardom. Anyway.. some 5 Star GP matches happened and here you go.
Risa Sera def. Unagi Sayaka
Himeka def. Saki
Suzu Suzuki def. Saya Kamitani
AZM def. Utami Hayashishita
Mayu Iwatani vs Giulia Time Limit Draw
So there were only nine matches on this PPV card, and five of those were part of the Grand Prix. That said, we did get one huge upset out of these five and we got one truly amazing match. Your match of the night folks..
Match of the Night: Mayu Iwatani vs Giulia
I cannot recall a single time that Mayu and Giulia have faced off and the match was not the best match on that card. These two truly have some insane chemistry in the ring and they always bring out the absolute best in each other. This match was no exception and it also has the distinction of being the only time-limit draw in the Grand Prix to date. Let that sink in.. We’ve had thirteen nights of matches so far and there’s only been one draw. That’s insane!
Upset of the Night: AZM def. Utami Hayashishita
To me, this is an absolutely huge upset. AZM is the longest-tenured member of Queen’s Quest and she had to face off against her unit leader in Hayashishita. I fully expected Utami to win this match, but AZM has been on an absolute tear this year in the GP and she managed to defeat Utami clean. It was an impressive win and certainly gives AZM a lot more momentum heading into the final stretch of matches for the tournament.
Night 14: September 12th, 2022 | Risa Sera Upsets AZM While Tam Nakano vs Unagi Sayaka Comes Out On Top
Natsupoi def. Hanan
Mina Shirakawa def. Ami Sourei
Saki def. Saki Kashima
Saya Iida def. Hazuki
Utami Hayashishita def. Mai Sakurai
Syuri def. Momo Kohgo
Risa Sera def. AZM
Tam Nakano def. Unagi Sayaka
Mayu Iwatani def. Suzu Suzuki
In the final night of our catch-up, we had nine matches in the Grand Prix with some really insane action. Whether it was the Risa Sera upset win over AZM or the absolute barn burner that was Mayu Iwatani vs Suzu Suzuki, you were given nine solid and really fun matches to watch here on Night 14. That said, your match of the night goes to two ladies from the same unit..
Match of the Night: Tam Nakano vs Unagi Sayaka
Tam Nakano and Unagi Sayaka gave us nearly eleven minutes of action here and it was simply awesome to watch. Unagi seems to always be a thorn in Tam’s side when they are in the ring together and they put on some really good matches together. Tam got the win this time, but it wasn’t for a lack of trying on Unagi’s part. She took Tam to the limit and came up short, but she can at least keep her head held high after that gutsy performance. A close runner-up for MotN honors was Mayu Iwatani vs Suzu Suzuki.
Upset of the Night: Risa Sera def. AZM
I almost gave the upset honors to Saya Iida for her victory over Hazuki, but I couldn’t do it. Hazuki has lost three straight matches with the loss to Iida and her momentum has seemingly come to a sudden and violent stop. By contrast, AZM should have been heavily favored to defeat the upstart Risa Sera in their match. She had the most momentum of anyone in the tournament going into the match and yet, Sera reversed the Azumi Sushi for the surprise win. This was a lot of fun to watch and honestly, the entire card was insanely good.
There you go folks, you’re now all caught up with the 5 Star Grand Prix. I will bring you the remaining cards as I can. See you at the next one!
