September 30 is decision day in STARDOM for this year’s 5★STAR Grand Prix and the race for who will come out of both the Red Stars and Blue Stars blocks in the final match that will take place in the main event to crown this year’s 5★STAR champion.
As the 5★STAR GP winds down, there are nine matches in store, each with something of value, whether it is an opportunity to main event at the Yokohama Budokan, play spoiler, or simply wrestle for pride. So get your calculators and join us as we preview each crucial match as the 2023 5★STAR Grand Prix enters the final frontier.
Current 5★STAR Grand Prix standings.
| RED STARS | Points |
| Natsupoi – 4 wins, 3 losses, 1 draw | 9 |
| Natsuko Tora – 6 wins, 2 loss, 0 draws | 12 |
| Tam Nakano – 5 wins, 2 losses, 1 draw | 11 |
| Mayu Iwatani – 4 wins, 3 losses, 1 draw | 9 |
| Syuri – 5 wins, 2 losses, 1 draw | 11 |
| Suzu Suzuki – 6 wins, 3 losses, 0 draws | 12 |
| Ami Sourei – 3 wins, 5 losses, 0 draws | 6 |
| Starlight Kid – 2 wins, 6 losses, 0 draws | 4 |
| Hazuki – 4 wins, 4 losses, 0 draws | 8 |
| Saya Kamitani – 0 win, 9 losses, 0 draws | 0 |
| BLUE STARS | Points |
| Momo Watanabe – 4 wins, 4 losses, 0 draws | 8 |
| Mina Shirakawa – 4 wins, 3 losses, 1 draw | 9 |
| Giulia – 5 wins, 3 losses, 1 draw | 11 |
| Utami Hayashishita – 4 wins, 5 losses, 0 draws | 8 |
| Mirai – 5 wins, 3 losses, 0 draws | 10 |
| Mariah May – 3 wins, 5 losses, 0 draws | 6 |
| AZM – 4 wins, 4 losses, 0 draws | 8 |
| Saori Anou – 3 wins, 3 losses, 2 draws | 8 |
| Maika – 4 wins, 2 losses, 2 draws | 10 |
| Hanan – 2 wins, 6 losses, 0 draws | 4 |
Red Block Possibilities
Natusko Tora with 12 points just needs to win or draw in her match against Hazuki.
Suzu Suzuki with 12 points would need Natsuko Tora and Syuri to lose. Tam Nakano needs to lose or draw
Tam Nakano with 11 would need to win her match against Natuspoi and Natsuko Tora to lose her match
Syuri with 11 points needs to win against Ami Sourei and Natsuko Tora needs to lose and Tam Nakano needs to lose or draw.
Blue Block Possibilities
Maika with 10 points needs to win against MIRAI. She can also draw with MIRAI. Mina Shirakawa loses and Giulia loses, and she would need to win her tiebreaker against MIRAI
Mina Shirakawa with 9 points needs to beat Saori Anou and Maika and MIRAI need to draw (the tiebreaker metrics as unknown as of now)
MIRAI with 10 points needs to win against Maika. She can also draw with Maika. Mina Shirakawa loses and Giulia loses, and she would need to win her tiebreaker against Maika
Giulia with 11 points (due to Utami pulling out because of injury) Mina Shirakawa would need to lose and MIRAI vs. Maika would need to go to a draw. More than likely Giulia is out depending on how the potential tiebreaker is handled
Predictions from 6 to 10 Percent Contributors
FAR – Maika vs. Tam Nakano – Prediction – Tam Nakano – Tam challenges Saya Kamitani in December and Maika faces MIRAI for the Wonder of Stardom title in December.
Scarlett – Maika vs. Suzu Suzuki – Prediction – Suzu Suzuki – Thinks Rossy Ogawa will pull the trigger.
JayWali -Tam Nakano vs. Giulia – Prediction – Tam Nakano – Thinks Tam will challenge Saya in December.
PuroPrimus – Maika vs. Suzu Suzuki – Prediction – Maika – Winning it for Himeka as tribute.
Floge – Maika vs. Suzu Suzuki – Prediction – Maika – 2nd most sense in terms of story between Maika and Suzu this year.
BetterCallCus – Tam Nakano vs. MIRAI – Prediction – Tam Nakano – Wants to watch Twitter/X burn.
Neb – Tam Nakano vs. Maika – Prediction – Tam Nakano – Because of Tam Road, lol.
MocosoStyle – Maika vs. Syuri – Prediction – Maika – No reason given
Nariaki – Tam Nakano vs. Maika – Prediction – Tam Nakano – Would not be surprised if Tam challenges Saya in December.
Match Previews
Blue Stars: Saori Anou (8) vs. Mina Shirakawa (9)
In this astrological affair, Mina Shirakawa of Club Venus goes against Saori Anou of COSMIC ANGELS.
As many are aware by now, Mina was an COSMIC ANGELS original, helping form the then sub-faction faction along with leader Tam Nakano and Unagi Sayaka after breaking off of STARS to be their own independent faction in late 2020 going into 2021. But since December 29, 2022, Mina started to form her own sub-faction, Club Venus, a faction that mainly consisted of foreigners, or gaijins, in the early part of 2023. Shirakawa stockpiled on foreigners like Mariah May and Xia Brookside from England, Jessie from America, and Xena from Australia before ultimately leaving COSMIC ANGELS on April 15th at the Cinderella Tournament Finals as Waka Tsukiyama decided to join Club Venus as they broke off from COSMIC ANGELS to be an independent faction.
Since then, Mina has won both the Wonder of STARDOM Championship from Saya Kamitani on the 23rd of April at All Star Grand Queendom and the Goddess of STARDOM Championship with Mariah May against The New Era’s from God’s Eye consisting of Ami Sourei and MIRAI on the 25th of June at STARDOM Sunshine. But alas, both of her title reigns were ended by COSMIC ANGELS as Tam Nakano ended Mina Shirakawa’s White Belt reign at Flashing Champions on May 27 and her Rose Gold Goddess reign with Mariah May ending at the hands of Saori Anou and Natsupoi on August 13 at Osaka Summer Team.
Enter Saori Anou, one of the more successful Joshi wrestler in the past half decade or so. Anou reentered STARDOM earlier this year in April after leaving the promotion around six years ago as she got brought in by KAIRI and to form the trio known as RE-Start along with Natsupoi, quickly replacing the void that was left by Mina and Club Venus on the same Cinderella Tournament Finals show on the 15th of April. Since Anou reentered STARDOM, she has toppled the Prominence trio of Risa Sera, Hiragi Kurumi, and Suzu Suzuki for the Artist of STARDOM Belts on the 23rd of April, just eight days after coming back to the promotion, before losing the belts to the Baribari Bombers consisting of Giulia, Thekla, and Mai Sakurai. Anou also is one half of the reigning Goddess of STARDOM Champions along with Natsupoi since August 13 on the aforementioned Osaka Summer Team event where they won the belts off of Rose Gold, the team of Mariah May and Mina Shirakawa.
Shirakawa and Anou have faced off on opposing sides recently on the Dream Tag Festival on the 10th of September at the Yokohama Budokan as the team of Mina Shirakawa and Tam Nakano beat Natsupoi and Saori Anou twelve and a half minutes. Twenty days later, Shirakawa and Anou will face off again in the same venue, but this time in a high stakes singles match on the last night of the 5★STAR Grand Prix. Let’s summarize the road to Yokohama and see how both Shirakawa and Anou got there.
Entering Yokohama, Mina Shirakawa currently has nine points with four wins, three defeats, and a draw. Mina’s three of four victories came in a winning streak consisting of victories against MIRAI in Saku, Nagano on the 29th of July, Hanan on the 6th of August in Hamamatsu, Shizuoka, and Giulia six days later on the 12th in Himeji, Hyogo. Mina’s fourth victory came on the 18th of September as she defeated Momo Watanabe in KDDI Ishin Hall outside of Yamaguchi. Mina’s three defeats thus far were against Utami Hayashishita on the opening round of the tournament in Tokyo at the Ota City General Gymnasium on July 23, Mariah May on August 15 in the same city but at Korakuen Hall, and against AZM on September 2nd in Fukuyama, Hiroshima. Mina’s only draw of the tournament came in her most recent match against Maika on the 23rd of September in Sendai.
Saori Anou on the other hand enters Yokohama a point behind Mina Shirakawa with eight points and a record of three victories, three loses and two draws. Anou’s three victories came against Mariah May on July 29 in Saku, Hanan on the 27th of August in Tsuruga, Fukui, and in her most recent match in the tournament against MIRAI at Korakuen Hall in Tokyo back in the 9th of September. Anou’s three defeats came at the hands of AZM in Hamamatsu on August 6, Utami Hayashishita in Himeji six days later on the 12th of August, and Momo Watanabe in Korakuen Hall three days later on the 15th of August. Anou’s two stalemates came against two Donna del Mondo members as she drew against Giulia back on the tournament opener on the 23rd of July in Tokyo at the Ota City and against Maika on August 5 in the heat of Komatsu, Ishikawa. Both matches against Giulia and Maika ended in a time-limit draw for Anou.
For both Shirakawa and Anou, the 5★STAR GP has been a decent showing for them. However, both need a lot of help in order to clinch the Blue Stars block and an opportunity to win the 5★STAR.
Can Mina Shirakawa inch herself closer by pinning Saori Anou and perhaps win the block and maybe winning the whole tournament with a potential revenge match against Tam Nakano in December?
Will Saori Anou once again be a thorn on Mina’s side and spoil her in Yokohama like she and the rest of COSMIC ANGELS has been for the past months?
Or will the match between Shirakawa and Anou end in a draw where neither wrestler may not have the answers in time?
Regardless of the outcome, this match between Mina Shirakawa and Saori Anou will be a fun affair to watch.
Blue Stars: Hanan (4) vs. Mariah May (6)
Hanan of STARS will go against Mariah May of Club Venus in this affair. While the match may not look like the most glamorous affair, it will be a good match up since Hanan is one of STARDOM’s promising young talents and Mariah May has had a good run throughout 2023.
The two have been a team just recently in the Dream Tag Festival in the Yokohama Budokan as Hanan and May picked up a disqualification victory against Momo Watanabe and Momo Kohgo. This time in the same building, they will be on the opposite side of each other as they will fight for a win and two points.
For Hanan, the 5★STAR Grand Prix has not been too kind for her despite her best efforts as she will only arrive to Yokohama with four points with two victories and six defeats. Hanan’s two victories were against AZM in Himeji on the 12th of August and against Utami Hayashishita on the 24th of September. However, Hanan’s victory against Utami was by way of a forfeit as Utami sustained an injury around September 18 and had to forfeit this match and Utami’s match against MIRAI two days later on the 20th. Hanan’s six defeats came against Maika back on opening night of the tournament in Tokyo’s Ota City Gym on the 23rd of July, Giulia six days later on the 29th in Saku, MIRAI at Konosu Municipal General Gymnasium north of Saitama the next day on the 30th, Mina Shirakawa on August 6 in Hamamatsu, Saori Anou on the 27th of the same month in Tsuruga, and Momo Watanabe on the 17th of September in Saga.
Despite now being out of contention, Mariah May has had the better tournament thus far as she has six points with three victories and five defeats. May’s three victories were against AZM back on the opening round of the 5★STAR on July 23 in Tokyo’s Ota City Gym, faction-mate Mina Shirakawa an hour train ride north at Korakuen Hall on the 15th of August, and Momo Watanabe twelve days on the 27th in Tsuruga. May’s five loses came against Saori Anou six days after the Ota City opener on the 29th of July in Saku, Giulia on the 8th of August at Kyoto’s KBS Hall, Utami Hayashishita on the following month on September 2nd in Fukuyama, MIRAI fifteen days later on the 17th in Saga, and Maika in Osaka three days later on the 20th.
While both Hanan and Mariah May are out of the running in the 5★STAR, both of these talented wrestlers would love to finish this tournament on a high note with a victory and two points.
Will Hanan’s best efforts be enough to beat Mariah May and end the tournament with six points?
Or Will Mariah May continue her breakout run as a top gaijin in STARDOM and finish the tournament with eight points and a victory?
Blue Stars: MIRAI (10) vs. Maika (10)
Arguably one of the most if not the most anticipated match in the Blue Stars block on the final day, Maika of Donna del Mondo will face off against her former faction-mate and current Wonder of STARDOM champion MIRAI of God’s Eye as two of STARDOM’s best power-players, or in this case, power wrestlers face off.
Although MIRAI’s time in Donna del Mondo was brief as she was only there since for around the first three months of 2022, Maika and MIRAI was a very tough task for any tag team and faction to overcome. Even out of STARDOM where they teamed up against Tomoka Inaba & Aoi at TAKA Michinoku’s Just Tap Out on September 12, 2022, for TAKATaichiDespeMania, as a pair Maika & MIRAI have not lost together. However, as many tag team and multi-person matches the former Goddess of STARDOM champions have been involved in, this will be the first time Maika and MIRAI will fight against each other in a singles match. With both Maika and MIRAI entering the Yokohama Budokan with ten points, what better time to have their first single’s match against each other than a high stakes affair to perhaps clinch the Blue Stars block and finishing with twelve points!
Maika’s road to Yokohama consist of four wins, two loses, and two draws. Maika’s four victories came against Hanan in the tournament opener back on the 23rd of July in Tokyo’s Ota City Gym, her rival Utami Hayashishita in Nagoya on August 26, AZM on the 16th of September in Fukuoka, and against Mariah May in Osaka four days later on the 20th. Maika’s two defeats were against Momo Watanabe at Kyoto’s KBS Hall on August 8, and against her longtime DDM faction-mate Giulia a month later on the 9th of September at Korakuen Hall. Maika’s two time limit draws were against Saori Anou on August 5 in Komatsu and in her most recent match against Mina Shirakawa on the 23rd of September in Sendai.
As for the current Cinderella champion and holder of the white Wonder of STARDOM champion, MIRAI enters Yokohama with five wins, including a three match winning streak, and three loses. MIRAI’s first three wins were against Hanan on July 30 in Konosu, AZM on August 5 in Komatsu, and Giulia in Nagoya on August 26. MIRAI’s other two victories were against Mariah May on the 17th of September in Saga and a forfeit against Utami Hayashishita due to Utami’s injury before their match on the 20th of the same month in Osaka. MIRAI’s defeats were against Momo Watanabe back in the Ota City opener in Tokyo on July 23, Mina Shirakawa in Saku on July 29th, and back in Tokyo against Saori Anou at Korakuen on September 9.
Win and clinch the Blue Stars block is a task that is easier said than done for both Maika and MIRAI. However, like almost every match in this 5★STAR Grand Prix, it is a fifteen-minute time limit match and maybe a winner can’t be settled in just a quarter of an hour.
Can Maika get closer to her dreams of reaching the top of STARDOM by winning the Blue Stars block and beat whoever comes out of the Red Stars block?
Will MIRAI continue her rise as the future ace of STARDOM and perhaps end the night as Cinderella and 5★STAR champion with an opportunity to finish the year with both the red and white belts?
Or will this powerful high stakes affair end in a draw of any sort where both Maika and MIRAI might have to settle for a Wonder of Stardom championship match at the end of the year? Only time will tell.
Red Stars: Mayu Iwatani (9) vs. Starlight Kid (4)
Starlight Kid and Mayu Iwatani were both recently eliminated from the 5★STAR Grand Prix. They also met at the Stardom All Star Dream Tag Festival, where Mayu Iwatani and Saki Kashima teamed up to face AZM and Starlight Kid. For SLK, this is a chance to make a moment for herself, to finally beat Mayu Iwatani. This is a match with a classic story of young prodigy vs battle tested veteran. With both of them out of the
5★STAR Grand Prix, rest assured they will do everything they can to leave the night with a victory.
Starlight Kid is coming into the finals with two wins and six losses sitting at four points only. Her first win was over her faction leader Natsuko Tora back on August 13th during the STARDOM x STARDOM event. It was a big win for SLK at the moment as she had overcome Tora which could have larger implications in the future in terms of Oedo Tai hierarchy. Her second win was by default due to Saya Kamitani’s injury and absence from the tournament.
Mayu Iwatani is coming into the final night with nine points with a record of four wins, three losses and one draw. Mayu has had a rocky road during the 5★STAR. Here three defeats were at the hands of Natsuko Tora, Natsupoi and Syuri and her one draw with Tam Nakano. Iwatani has defeated stablemate Hazuki back on the opening night of July 23rd, Ami Sourei and Suzu Suzuki.
This is going to be a rematch from last year’s 5★STAR final night where Mayu was triumphant, which has now made the single bout record between the two 5-0 with Mayu having five straight over SLK. Mayu Iwatani is arguably THE Stardom Icon. A win over her is no easy feat. SLK’s Grand Prix tournament journey was a rough one. For many, it felt like we could have gotten more from her. More moments. Perhaps, she could finally get that one moment from this tournament by beating Mayu Iwatani in the final night of the Grand Prix.
Blue Stars: Giulia (11) vs. Utami Hayashishita (8)
Giulia has been in Stardom for almost 4 years now. In that time, she’s done nearly everything there is to do. She has won several titles such as the Artist of Stardom Championship, Wonder of Stardom Championship, Goddess of Stardom Championship, and World of Stardom Championship. She has won tournaments such as the Cinderella Tournament and the fabled 5★STAR Grand Prix. There is one thing she hasn’t done, and that is beat one of the top aces in all of Stardom, Utami Hayashishita.
Utami Hayashishita is regarded as one of the best pure strikers in Stardom, she has her group of ghouls, known as Queen’s Quest, that consists of names like AZM, Saya Kamitani, Lady C, just to name a few.
Accompanied by her authoritative demeanor, she is often thought of as a young legend in the making. She has met in the ring with Giulia before, most recently at the Dream Tag Festival where she teamed up
with Maika, a friend of Giulia, to face Suzu Suzuki and Giulia. It is worth mentioning that Giulia and Maika are also stablemates in the faction known as Donna del Mondo
(DDM) led by none other, Giulia.
Giulia is entering the final night with nine points with a record of four wins, three losses and one draw. Some of Giulia’s losses were major upsets from names like Mina Shirakawa, MIRAI and most recently to AZM in 55 seconds. The one draw is from opening night against Saori Anou on July 23rd.
Utami Hayashishita has sadly ended her journey on in the 5★STAR with eight points with a record of four wins and four losses. She was a heavy favorite to win her block and ultimately the whole Grand Prix. After coming back from a small excursion in the United States that saw her go 4-0 in a two-week span just before the 5★STAR.
There would be no better place for Giulia and Utami to finally square off against each other, than at the 5★STAR Grand Prix Finals. For many fans, not having Giulia and Utami wrestle each other before is
unbelievable given their star power and credibility in the ring. It’s regarded as a dream match, and it has been a protected showdown for some time. We were close to potentially getting a match
between them. Rumors suggest that Utami Hayashishita is currently nursing an injury, and her future is undecided at the moment.
As of September 27th Utami has been eliminated entirely and will be missing action for some time due to a cervical hernia. We here at 6 to 10 Percent, wishing nothing but the best for Utami and a speedy recovery. Giulia will be rewarded the 2 points, giving her 11 points and leading the blue block.
Red Stars: Syuri (11) vs. Ami Sourei (6)
In this match, we have two God’s Eye members going against each other, it’s student vs teacher.
As everyone knows, Syuri brought in Ami Sourei to be by her side for her match against Giulia on March 26, 2022, in Ryogoku Kokugikan in Tokyo, Japan. After the match, Syuri would form God’s Eye with Ami Sourei, not long after that MIRAI joined God’s Eye. Ami Sourei would go on to win two titles in STARDOM, the Future Of Stardom Championship by defeating Hanan on October 19, 2022, and then win the Goddesses Of Stardom Championship with MIRAI by defeating 7Upp (Nanae Takahashi, Yuu). Syuri’s accolades consist of the Goddesses Of Stardom Championship with Giulia winning them on April 4, 2021, at Yokohama Budokan against Maika & Himeka, SWA Undisputed World Women’s Championship on November 15, 2020, at Sendai Sunplaza Hall by defeating Bea Priestley, Artist Of Stardom Championship with Giulia and Maika on February 8, 2020, at Korakuen Hall, Tokyo against Momo Watanabe & Utami Hayashishita & AZM, and finally the World Of Stardom Championship on December 29, 2021, at Ryogoku Kokugikan, Tokyo by defeating Utami Hayashishita.
As of September 18 Ami Sourei was eliminated from the 5★STAR with a record of three wins and five losses with six points. Ami Sourei wins were off of Say Kamitani with a bye, because of Saya Kamitani’s injury the match would have taken place on August 10, Starlight Kid on August 27 in 11 minutes and 56 seconds, Natsupoi on September 18 in 10 minutes and 4 seconds. As of September 24 Syuri’s record in the 5★STAR is five wins and two losses and one draw with eleven points, Syuri defeated Suzu Suzuki on July 23 in 11 minutes and 20 seconds, Hazuki on August 15 in 11 minutes and 39 seconds, Mayu Iwatani on September 3 in 12 minutes and 30 seconds, Syuri was going to fight Saya Kamitani on September 9 but due to Saya Kamitani’s injury the match did not happen, and Starlight Kid September 24 in 10 minutes and 56 seconds. Now Syuri and Ami Sourei have the September 30th show left.
This match between Syuri vs Ami Sourei is going to be an interesting one, because Ami Sourei has nothing to lose in this match, Ami Sourei is already out of the 5★STAR Grand Prix. Syuri must win this match if she wants to make it to the finals of the 5★STAR. Ami Sourei beating Syuri would be big for her and would allow finishing the Grand Prix with ten points, making her one point shy from tieing her record from the 2022 Grand Prix. It’s the battle of student vs. teacher, will the student prevail and win or will the teacher show the student that they have lots to still learn, we will find on September 30th.
Blue Stars: AZM (8) vs. Momo Watanabe (8)
On September 30 we have the match of AZM from Queen’s Quest going against Oedo Tai’s Momo Watanabe.
As everyone knows, Momo Watanabe use to be in Queen’s Quest until December 18, 2021, when she left Queen’s Quest to join Oedo Tai. While Momo Watanabe was in Queen’s Quest, she did win the Artist Of Stardom Championship with Utami Hayashishita and AZM on November 23, 2019. In singles competition, Momo Watanabe has two victories over AZM one on September 7, 2019, another one on August 9, 2020, AZM only has one victory over Momo Watanabe it was on January 8, 2020. Momo Watanabe and AZM used to be a team, AZM and Momo Watanabe did win the 2020 Goddesses of Stardom League on November 8. In 2022 AZM did go and win the High Speed Championship for the second time by defeating Starlight Kid on February 23, 2022, at Niigata Aore Nagaoka. After Momo Watanabe left Queen’s Quest, she would go on and win the Artist Of Stardom Championship off of Natsupoi & Himeka & Maika with Starlight Kid and Saki Kashima on May 28, 2022, Tokyo Ota-ku General Gymnasium, and took the Goddesses Of Stardom Championship off of Koguma & Hazuki with Starlight Kid on March 26, 2022, Ryogoku Kokugikan, Tokyo.
Both AZM and Momo Watanabe are eliminated from the 5★STAR Grand Prix, AZM’s record as of September 27 is four wins, four losses with eight points. AZM’s wins consist of Saori Anou on August 6 in 8 minutes and 18 seconds, Utami Hayashishita on August 15 in 10 minutes and 10 seconds, Mina Shirakawa on September 2nd in 10 minutes and 53 seconds, and Giulia September 20 in less than a minute it was 55 seconds. Momo Watanabe’s record as of September 24 is four wins, four losses, with eight points. Momo Watanabe’s victories consist of the current Wonder Of Stardom Championship MIRAI on July 23 in 9 minutes and 56 seconds, Maika on August 8 in 10 minutes and 2 seconds, Saori Anou on August 15 in 9 minutes and 22 seconds, Hanan on September 17 in 10 minutes and 59 seconds.
This is going to be an interesting match between AZM and Momo Watanabe, both have nothing to lose in this match because both are out of the 5★STAR GP. It’s the battle of two former friends going against each other looking to close their 5★STAR GP with a good record. Momo Watanabe winning this match gives her a momentum going into her Wonder Of Stardom title match with MIRAI on October 9. AZM is looking forward to celebrating her 10-year anniversary in pro wrestling on October 1st the day after the 5★STAR in singles match going against Mayu Iwatani. It’s two former best friends going against each other who will win, will it be AZM with her flash pins or will it be Momo Watanabe, we will find out on September 30th.
Red Stars: Hazuki (8) vs. Natsuko Tora (12)
The battle between Kagetsu’s former apprentices and former stablemates. With both knowing each other so well, this seems like a can’t miss match.
Hazuki sitting at eight points with four wins and four losses, already out of contention had a rocky start to the tournament, basically continuing off the negative momentum from the end of last year’s Grand Prix. Hazuki suffered three losses consecutively until her fourth match on August 20th against Ami Sourei where she finally scored and went on a four-match winning streak. Hazuki’s record this year around is far worse, as she went into last year’s 5★STAR final night with 14 points. Last year’s 5★STAR saw Hazuki start off white-hot, but completely lose six straight matches towards the later half of the Grand Prix. This match is important for Hazuki as she can thwart Tora’s efforts into winning the red block.
Natsuko Tora is sitting at a comfortable twelve points and is tied with Suzu Suzuki, but the caveat is that Tora has the better record. With six wins and two losses only and major wins on faction leaders Syuri, Tam Nakano and Mayu Iwatani all the momentum is on Natsuko’s side. Missing last year’s 5★STAR due to an injury that saw her miss out on in ring action for 15 months. It seems to be the stars have aligned for the leader of Oedo Tai heading into the finals. If Syuri and Tam Nakano were to lose their matches with Tora also losing, she would still advance having the better record than Suzu who she is tied with because she is 6-2 vs. Suzu’s 6-3 But Natsuko will not settle for less and would be looking to go through her former stablemate of past and earn her right to win the red block and go on to the finals.
Hazuki and Natsuko Tora have only ever had one singles match against each other. Back in 2019’s Stardom Year-End Climax show. This was Hazuki’s final match before her retirement. The match went 14 minutes and 49 seconds, which saw Natsuko get the win. Fast-forward to August 2021 Natsuko Tora now leader of Oedo Tai and Hazuki coming out of retirement to join STARS alongside Mayu Iwatani. Both Hazuki and Tora have crossed paths numerous times through tag matches and multi-person matches. But most recently during the Dream Tag Festival that was held on September 10th saw the team up of former stablemates Natsuko Tora and Hazuki which saw them dawn matching colored gear in tribute of their former Oedo Tai leader Kagetsu. They secured the win after they both hit the old Oedo Tai poison mist but at the same time on Ruaka and Nanae Takahashi with Hazuki getting the pin fall on Ruaka after some double team synergy. Post match, Tora and Hazuki both raised each other’s arms in solidary about the win, and it was a bit of nostalgia trip for Oedo Tai fans that have been following the group for a long while.
But all that nostalgia comes to a stop during the finals as we see if Natsuko is truly ready for that next step in her career, or will Hazuki get her win back from 2019?
Red Stars: Tam Nakano (11) vs. Natsupoi (9)
Cosmic Angels’s Meltear come to a blow on the final day of the 5★STAR will the stars align for The Twilight Dreamer herself Tam Nakano and will she head into the finals for a second year in a row.
Tam Nakano sits at a healthy eleven points, just behind Natsuko Tora and Suzu Suzuki. Tam has five wins and two losses and one draw, both losses come at the hands of the two that are ahead of her as mentioned previously. She is also tied with Syuri in points and the same record. With Tam Nakano still in contention to win her block, it would be the utmost importance for her to beat her stablemate to try to rectify her loss from last year’s final in the 5★STAR against Giulia. Tam would be entering this year’s final with fewer points compared to last year’s of fourteen points.
Since Tam is current World of Stardom Champion, should she lose to Natsupoi would give Natsupoi a future title match and automatically eliminate Tam from the finals of for the Red Block. Natsupoi currently at 9 points is out of contention. But that doesn’t take away this match not mattering at all to Poi. As stated, if Natsupoi wins she is in line for a future World of Stardom title shot which would most likely be after Suzu Suzuki’s title match as she has already beat Tam during the 5★STAR. Natsupoi is heading into the finals this year with four wins, three losses and one draw with a weaker record compared last year’s Grand Prix where she entered the final day with twelve points. She had a hot start, but it completely came to a halt at the hands of Natsuko Tora back in August 27th and taking three consecutive losses.
Tam Nakano still has a chance to two peat her finals appearances, but this time win it all and not all hope is gone for Natsupoi as if she wins she is guaranteed a future Wold of Stardom title match down the line.
Recommended Matches for the 2023 5★STAR Grand Prix
July 23rd
Syuri vs. Suzu Suzuki
Saori Anou vs. Giulia
Natsupoi vs. Starlight Kid
Mayu Iwatani vs. Hazuki
July 30th
Stars Suzu Suzuki vs. Natsupoi
August 5th
Saori Anou vs. Maika
August 6th
Saori Anou vs. AZM
Tam Nakano vs. Hazuki
August 8th
Mayu Iwatani vs. Suzu Suzuki
Syuri vs. Natsupoi
Maika vs. Momo Watanabe
Giulia vs. Mariah May
August 10th
Mayu Iwatani vs. Natsupoi
August 12th
Giulia vs. Mariah May
AZM vs. Hanan
August 15th
Tam Nakano vs. Mayu Iwatani
Syuri vs. Hazuki
Utami Hayashishita vs. AZM
August 26th
Utami Hayashishita vs. Maika
September 3rd
Mayu Iwatani vs. Syuri
September 16th
Hazuki vs. Natsupoi
September 18th
Mina Shirakawa vs. Momo Watanabe
September 20th
Maika vs. Mariah May
About Author
