5 Star Grand Prix: Nights Two through Seven catch-up

It’s finally time to do some catch-up folks! It’s the 5 Star Grand Prix and we’re looking at Nights Two through Seven. Now I am sure that you guys would just love a day-by-day thing going into each night, but there are only two or three matches on each night for the GP and it’s not really worth going into the whole thing for each night when we want to focus on the actual GP. That said, I’m going to give you the must-watch matches for each night as well as the other results. Then, at the end, I will give you guys updated standings for the GP like I always will and do. That said, let’s get into this.

Night Two: Mina Shirakawa def. MIRAI

We had three matches from night two and your must-watch match is Mina Shirakawa taking on MIRAI. This was hard-hitting from the start and it showed how sneaky good Mina really is. She doesn’t get enough credit from Joshi fans for just how much she has improved over the years. With a second such as MIRAI, whom Stardom is high on, Mina was able to sell and go all out giving us the best match of the night and her best performance so far in the tournament.

Watching her and Mirai slap the hell out of each other and the big moves that they hit each other with, it’s a shock this one had a clean finish and didn’t go to a draw. If you watch any match from night two, make it this one. You had two other GP matches this night and their results are below.

Giulia def. Hanan
Saori Anou def. Mariah May

Night 3: Natsupoi def. Suzu Suzuki

Night three only had two Grand Prix matches on it, unfortunately. Like, I know the tournament takes months to complete and all, but come on Stardom, give us more than two matches for it a night, please! That said, we were supposed to have three matches, but with Saya Kamitani’s injury, her matches are all forfeits and Natsuko Tora took the two points for the match. Anyway, your match for night three is Suzu Suzuki taking on Natsupoi.

Anyone who has been following what we do here will know that I am very high on both Poi and Suzu, and this match was just sick. Watching Suzu try to keep up with the High-Speed style of Poi and also utilize her more physical style was super fun. Believe it or not but Poi can get pretty damn brutal when she wants to if the right opponent brings it out of her.

You have to love and appreciate both Suzu Suzuki and Natsupoi. They both bring everything to the ring each time they enter it and you can tell that they really want to put on a show for everyone there. Release German Suplexes, a matrix-level dodge, stiff kicks and other hard strikes, there is so much for everyone in this match and it’s a damn shame that someone had to lose it.

I would have been happy with a draw here, given everything these two women did here. Shit, just watching Suzu hit her Tequila Shot finisher is always top-tier perfection. It’s a shock that she’s only like, 20 and is this damn good. Unfortunately for Suzu, it wasn’t meant to be tonight as she came up short to Natsupoi. This was still a lot of fun and I encourage you all to watch this one.

MIRAI def. Hanan

Night 4: Saori Anou vs Maika Time Limit Draw

Night four gave us three more matches for the GP. We had AZM facing MIRAI, Suzu Suzuki taking on Starlight Kid and Maika versus Saori Anou. What was my match of the night? Well, after debating myself for a hot minute, I decided that it was Maika vs Saori Anou. Jesus, what can I say about that match? It was freaking nuts. They took it to each other and spent much of the match outside. It was also pretty funny when they started dumping water and throwing water bottles at each other. You could see just how badly both women wanted this match with how physically they were together.

Of course, they talked a bit of shit to each other, saying that they need to settle this and they both will win the GP this year. Honestly, though, it was a toss-up between this match and the SLK/Suzu match. You can’t go wrong with either one but I had to edge out Anou and Maika. It had a bit more to it on the physical side that I just enjoyed a tad bit more.

MIRAI def. AZM
Suzu Suzuki def. Starlight Kid

Night 5: Natsuko Tora def. Syuri

Night Five had a few good matches on it and picking the best one was, for me, difficult to do. I could have gone any number of ways here but after a debate about it, I decided that if you must watch one match it has to be Natsuko Tora taking on Syuri. To quote the official Stardom English Twitter, this match was awesome.

Oedo Tai and God’s Eye have a rivalry going now and watching the two leaders of said units battle for dominance was nothing short of a spectacle. The match was physical with each woman throwing bombs and trying like hell to hurt each other.

It was a bit surprising to me that there really was no outside interference in this one. Usually, Oedo Tai does whatever it takes to try and win, even using weapons and distractions so the rest of the group can do some damage. I really didn’t see much in the way of shenanigans in this one. There was a spot here and there, but for their part, Tora and Syuri kept it between them.

Natsuko Tora does get the win after using the green mist and a swanton bomb, getting some bragging rights over Syuri and God’s Eye. I need to say this too… What the hell Stardom? Hazuki has yet to win a single match so far in the tournament and she deserves better.

Tam Nakano def. Hazuki
Mina Shirakawa def. Hanan
AZM def. Saori Anou

Night 6: Mayu Iwatani def. Suzu Suzuki

I’m going to begin Night 6 by ‘apologizing’ to all of you Mariah May fans out there. I cannot deny that she has improved since coming to Stardom, but I will never be a fan of hers. She just had to do the Charlotte Flair Wooo before her match on this night and it was so cringe that I instantly hated her for it. For any of you that actually knows me, you know that I despise Charlotte Flair with a passion. My hatred for her is about the same level as my hatred for Godzilla 1998. Let that sink in and go read my article about that piece of crap film, if you want.

So, what happens when you put a true wrestling prodigy in the ring with the greatest of all time? You get your match of the night, of course! Suzu Suzuki is widely considered to be the next best thing in Joshi wrestling, an honour that is no small thing to achieve. She’s on the same level as AZM and Starlight Kid in that their futures are insanely bright should they stay in the sport. Unfortunately for her, she couldn’t overcome the sheer iron will that is Mayu Iwatani. I have to give it to both women, they really gave it their all out there and managed to outshine three other great matches on this night.

Natsupoi vs Syuri – Time Limit Draw
Momo Watanabe def. Maika
Giulia def. Mariah May

Night 7: Natsupoi def. Mayu Iwatani

Night Seven only had two matches for the Grand Prix, and damn was it hard to pick which one was the better one. I know I’ve said it before, but there really isn’t a bad match usually in this tournament. Even if you dislike a competitor, you can appreciate the matches they have and enjoy them. That is true even if the matches are stupidly short. Anyway, out of our two matches on this day, the one that stood out the most to me was Natsupoi upsetting Mayu Iwatani. Yes, I call this an upset because it was over in the blink of an eye and it was surprising.

I know that Natsupoi has been having one hell of a tournament. She’s undefeated to this point and it’s amazing the quality of matches she is putting on with everyone. You can’t ever discredit Mayu, she gave Poi all she could handle and then some. This match could have gone either way, it was that close. But you have to love Poi, she showed a lot of admiration for Mayu and is funny as hell to boot. We will see how the rest of the tournament shapes up going forward. See you in the next one!

Your 5 Star Grand Prix standings, up to the end of night 7.