The 2022 Stardom 5★Star GP Tournament began on the last two days of July and ended on the first day of October at the Musashino Forest Sports Plaza. After 144 matches, 12 more were set and some of those would decide who of the tournament’s 26 entrants would end the night in the GP Finals. With 2-points for a win and 1 for a draw, here were the participants and their points going into the show:
Red Stars:
1. Tam Nakano (14)
– Himeka (14)
– Maika (14)
– AZM (14)
– Utami Hayashishita (14)
– Syuri (14)
2. Risa Sera (13)
3. Koguma (12)
– Saki Kashima (12)
4. SAKI (10)
5. Mai Sakurai (9)
6. Momo Kohgo (4)
7. Unagi Sayaka (2)
Blue Stars:
1. Giulia (15)
2. Suzu Suzuki (14)
– Starlight Kid (14)
– Hazuki (14)
3. Mirai (13)
– Mayu Iwatani (13)
– Saya Kamitani (13)
4. Natsupoi (12)
5. Momo Watanabe (10)
6. Ami Sohrei (10)
7. Mina Shirakawa (8)
8. Saya Iida (4)
– Hanan (4)
1. 5★STAR GP – Blue Stars: MIRAI vs. Saya Iida
Saya Iida continues to be a midcard favorite but didn’t have a very productive GP run. She and Mirai traded shoulder tackles and headlocks early, then clotheslines outside, then clotheslines inside, then cradles for some solid near falls before Iida got caught in a submission. ***
2. 5★STAR GP – Blue Stars: Mina Shirakawa vs. Natsupoi
Standing out among 12 singles matches let alone 150+ requires a little more work and here they put the work in: two Stardom talents mathematically eliminated from the tournament but ready to take a step up the card wrestled as if the other was the only thing in their way.
They began by sitting and staring each other down before throwing elbows. Nat took control with some dropkicks and laid in all her strikes, then Mina took over with some leg work and it’s so good that the only wrestler in Stardom who really works the leg is Mina Shirakawa.
Nat rallied back with a German suplex hold where she barely struggled when using her leg to bridge, though the pain did register as she climbed to the top, where Mina slapped her in the face and brought her down with a dragon screw leg whip. Mina applied a figure-four which they each sold like it was everything before Nat surprisingly and satisfyingly tapped out. ***1/2
3. 5★STAR GP – Blue Stars: Hazuki vs. Momo Watanabe
From the few matches I’ve seen now I’m pretty sure Hazuki can “go” and Momo still can too, even if she leans a little “EVIL” sometimes on weapons and interference. Hazuki ended a flurry of offense with a pair of Michinoku Drivers and brainbuster that would’ve made for an incredible finish, if it wasn’t for the referee being pulled out of the ring. ***
4. 5★STAR GP – Blue Stars: Saya Kamitani vs. Ami Sohrei
Kamitani’s speed + flying + balance vs. Ami’s chops + suplexes + power was the recipe for the fourth match, and other than a flub on Ami catching a ‘rana they had a good one that ended on the entrance ramp in a double countout, probably because of the round-robin tournament structure — stuff happens. ***
5. 5★STAR GP – Blue Stars: Mayu Iwatani vs. Starlight Kid
Here was a fast-paced bunch of wrestling that led to a really dramatic struggle when the Kid trapped Mayu’s leg in a Stretch Muffler. Mayu found her way to the ropes and eventually said ENOUGH: superkick and Dragon suplex hold for 2, moonsault for 2, another Dragon suplex hold for 3. It was flashy. ***1/2
6. 5★STAR GP – Blue Stars: Giulia vs. Suzu Suzuki
Suzuki looked nervous at first but began the match by slapping the shit out of Giulia, so not too nervous. Given the 15-minute runtime they kept a slower pace, with Suzu managing to control the mat for a bit before Giulia found an opening and started playing nasty veteran. The Nagata Lock and Fire Thunder Driver couldn’t put down Suzu, nor could anything actually as they traded strikes until the time ran out. ***1/2
7. 5★STAR GP – Red Stars: Sayaka Unagi vs. Momo Kohgo
With a 5-minute runtime the pace for this match was a little more urgent: Kohgo had a go with some cradles and a 619 and springboard dropkick; Unagi caught her with a flapjack but missed a frog splash. A variety of facebusters led to Sayaka dropping Kohgo with a new finisher – the Taiga de Atta – for the… finish. ***
8. 5★STAR GP – Red Stars: AZM vs. Saki Kashima
As far as matches that are three cradles and last 45 seconds go, I thought this was a lot of fun. AZM was HAD! N/A
9. 5★STAR GP – Red Stars: Utami Hayashishita vs. Koguma
Utami playing along with Koguma’s early match routine got a pop from commentary, then Koguma bringing it to Utamai got a pop from me – plancha, missile dropkick, cutter off the second-rope… this! Is! KOGUMA! Getting dropped on her head with a German suplex seemed to end the run and Utami went for the kill, only for Koguma to counter the Hijack Bomb with a freaking Code Red for the actual win. Amazing. ***1/2
10. 5★STAR GP – Red Stars: Tam Nakano vs. SAKI
Nakano was finals-bound so the match wasn’t much more than 5 minutes, but each minute felt persuasive, relevant, important: SAKI out-paced her early and hit a superplex; Nakano popped up to get in a superkick but was clearly winded. SAKI went to end Nakano’s GP run but Nakano found her footing with some kicks, knees, and – eventually – the Violet Screwdriver. ***1/4
11. 5★STAR GP – Red Stars: Maika vs. Himeka
DDM friends faced off and kind of just ran into each other with shoulderblocks and clotheslines for almost 10 minutes until the referee ruled neither could continue. I really liked it. ***1/2
12. 5★STAR GP – Red Stars: Syuri vs. Risa Sera
It was this semi-main event between Syuri and Risa Sera — not an actual main event in May — that finally made me pay some attention to Risa Sera. She had the audacity to put Syuri in a crab hold and kick her around a little, so Syuri slapped her until she fell to the floor. Back inside she hit a Spiral bomb for a 1-count and trapped Syuri – still in Finals contention – in a sleeper hold. As Syuri tried to power out with a submission of her own Sera pounced with a cradle and actually won. ***1/4
13. 5★STAR GP – Final: Tam Nakano vs. Giulia
Ending at 16 points each, Tam Nakano and Giulia won their respective tournament blocks and advanced to the Finals and, I don’t know, what kind of match is supposed to end all this? For the finals of the 2022 GP and their first singles match since last March’s Hair Match, they… well – they just kind of got right to it. Don’t visit expecting much context or build-up – that was already provided. It happened. Don’t visit expecting some epic Stardom main event finish either – many of those happened, too, in the many matches that led us here.
Nakano and Giulia bring the spectacle and they delivered a continuous bunch of it here: Giulia dropkick at the bell, Nakano spin kick, slaps, slaps, slaps and some arm work then a Nakano plancha and Tiger suplex off the top rope. She went up top for a follow-up where Giulia followed and brought her down with a butterfly suplex. The momentum was briefly paused when Giulia lost Nakano on a spot and just dropped her on the apron, then regained as they threw hands and went for the kill before a spike Northern Lights bomb by Giulia won her the 2022 5-Star GP tournament. ****
Happy Thoughts: Good show with zero misses across 13 matches, an impressive consistency even if it was lacking something truly exceptional. 3.75 / 4.0
