STARDOM has had a shaky 2024. Long-time owner and booker, Rossy Ogawa, left Stardom and took key roster pieces like Utami Hayashishita and MIRAI with him to a new promotion, Marigold. As Stardom has been left to deal with the growing pains of a first-time booker in Taro Okada, the promotion has been questionable at best. Notably, when it comes to how stories are built up and the increasing number of New Japan-esque tactics, many long-term fans question if it's even worth it anymore to follow a promotion that used to be exceptional.
When the 5 Star Grand Prix came around, STARDOM fans had a mix of excitement and fear about what was coming. You can never count out the talent in this promotion from delivering some of the best matches of the year, but, you can very well doubt Taro Okada and his booking capabilities at this stage because of his inexperience and recklessness. It did, however, promise to be a newsworthy tournament and it 100% delivered on that front.
Now that the tournament is over, I wanted to do a review to talk about some of the must-watch matches, who I thought was the MVP, and give my overall thoughts on the first edition of the golden tournament in modern Joshi Wrestling that was not spearheaded by Rossy Ogawa's guidance. With that being said, let's start breaking down the first 5 Star GP of STARDOM's new era!
MVP: Mayu Iwatani
Starting off with my MVP of the tournament, this one was an absolute no-brainer. Mayu Iwatani is having a Wrestler of the Year-level 2024, reaching heights that most wrestlers can only dream of. From her MOTYC with Syuri at Ittenyon, to another one against Sareee at All Star Grand Queendom, the Icon came into this tournament on an extremely hot streak that only got bigger as it went on.
She started off her 5 Star with a main event win in an exceptional match against Tam Nakano and never looked back, putting on a series of masterclass performances one after the other. Mayu said recently that this was her last ever 5 Star, and if that's the case, she took "going out with a bang" to the absolute extreme. There was Mayu... and then there was everyone else. That's the Icon doing iconic things for you.
Underrated Performer: Tam Nakano
Tam Nakano had an extremely weird 5 Star Grand Prix. There's no way to hide that because it's the objective truth. Everybody thought that she was the favorite coming into the tournament, almost to the point where it felt like a formality that she was gonna walk out with the trophy and the shot at reclaiming the title she never lost. What happened? She went 0-6, losing every single match in her block, and was gifted a title shot by Natsuko Tora in the process.
Regardless of how you view her booking, Tam had a phenomenally consistent tournament despite not getting results. Her leg being consistently worked on and targeted was the prime story of her run, and her selling was phenomenal across all 6 matches with her best performance coming against a ruthless and motivated Momo Watanabe in Kobe.
There are a lot of things one could say about Tam Nakano. But, there's no doubt that she put everything into building herself up as the ultimate Babyface in defeat while performing consistently; and for that, I have to give the "Twilight Chief" some much-deserved credit.
Top 5 Matches of the Tournament
As I said In the intro of this article, one thing you can count on is for the STARDOM talent to shine despite whatever is happening, perform at an unbelievable level, and put on some great matches. This year was no different. Picking only 5 matches to talk about and to praise was complicated, but that just shows how incredible this roster is. Without further ado, let's get to my list!
5 - Mayu Iwatani vs. AZM, Day 6 In Kobe (8/18)
My first Mayu match on this list just sneaks into my top 5 over Mayu vs. Momo at Korakuen Hall, as the Icon and AZM tore the house down in Kobe to close out a very good show. This match was mostly an AZM match, with Mayu kind of feeling like the underdog in a way, taking most of her offense and having to try to strike when she could.
They didn't go long, but in true AZM fashion, they went fast and the pacing was phenomenal. This match leaves you wanting more from these two which can very well happen in a title match for Iwatani's IWGP Belt, as she fell to the High-Speed Bomb girl after a nasty double underhook Canadian destroyer followed by an Azumi Sushi. Compliments to the chef!
4 - Saori Anou vs. Starlight Kid, Day 4 In Korakuen Hall (8/15)
In the only match to make it in this list from the solo Korakuen hall show of the tournament, Saori Anou and Starlight Kid had an insanely good time limit draw that had everything their meeting earlier in the year didn't. SLK has completely leveled up now that she's back to being a babyface, and to me, this was her best overall match in this year's tournament.
Her and Anou clicked, Korakuen was on fire, and the finishing five minutes of them dropping each other on their necks and trading huge nearfalls was some of the best wrestling of the entire tournament in my opinion. Neo Genesis leader SLK is someone STARDOM should strap the rocket to and I hope they understand that before it's too late.
3 - Maika vs. Hazuki, Day 8 In Sendai (8/23)
In a first-time-ever matchup, two of the best Fukuoka-born wrestlers in the world right now lit up... Sendai? Yes, the match happened in one of the most laughed-at venues in the Joshi scene, especially when STARDOM goes there. The lack of noise in the Sendai Pit is a running joke across the Joshi Community, but these two made this notoriously tough crowd hot.
The main reason I love this match so much is because of Hazukis's performance. She was unbelievable, showing once again why she may go down as the most underrated joshi wrestler of this generation when it's all said and done.
Incredible work from the Wild Heart as both women delivered a hard-hitting and intense main event. This match had me glued to my screen until the very end when Maika reversed a Hazukistral into a Michinoku driver and then finished Hazuki off with the Hammerlock variant of the move. Must. Watch. Match.
2. Mayu Iwatani vs. Natsupoi, Day 11 in Shinjuku (8/28)
The current Wonder Of STARDOM Champion Natsupoi had an underwhelming tournament up until she faced the Icon, but the spirit and drive from the Fairy we all know and love came back exactly at the right time.
I have praised Mayu Iwatani a lot so far, but this is, in my opinion, her best individual performance of the tournament. Just absolute brilliance, perfection, and precision displayed in a way only Mayu Iwatani can. The visual of her smiling as blood drips from her nose after she just went through a war was one of my favorite visuals of the entire tournament, with the goofy and loveable icon looking like the absolute badass she can be when pushed to the limit.
With an incredible crowd backing this all up, I would say it's almost impossible to not have this match in your top three of the tournament at least. Everything went perfectly and the match came very close to perfection itself, as these two top champions did the goddamn dance.
1. Mayu Iwatani vs. Tam Nakano, Day 1 (8/10)
They just cannot miss together. Tam and Mayu's rivalry is my personal favorite Tam story (shocking, I know), with every chapter being as good and interesting as the last one. With the spotlight on them to kick off the tournament hot, they went in there and wrestled an incredible main event match. Mayu went into her ruthless and killer ways to put away the now-current Red Belt Champion, as she is accustomed to doing so whenever they face off.
I'm fairly certain this won't be the last time these two face each other, as Tam's first win over her former faction leader is fast approaching. Until then, I will always enjoy every single second of the greatness they produce together. A timeless tournament match that embodies everything the 5Star Grand Prix is about.
Final: Maika vs. Saya Kamitani (8/31)
The final of this year's tournament was a matchup that was inevitable one way or another. Saya Kamitani turned to the dark side and joined H.A.T.E in late July when she helped Natsuko Tora become the World of STARDOM champion, screwing over her Golden Generation "friend" in the process. Maika came into the final undefeated, holding a perfect record of 9-0-0. With the revenge she's wanted right in front of her, and Saya having the opportunity to finally put Maika behind her and move towards the World Title as her reborn self, you would think this match would be a heated battle between two tenacious rivals.
Unfortunately, the match didn't hit those expectations, nor did it come close. Saya Kamitani started off her tournament and heel run terribly. But, as the tournament went on, she managed to improve and put on some good performances, with her quarter-final match against Starlight Kid in Shinjuku being the big highlight. However, across these 27 minutes, the Phoenix Queen resorted back to her obnoxious and eye-rolling work from earlier on in her tournament, putting on a very disappointing performance.
Maika did good, however, it wasn't enough to bring this match to a level where I could say it was worthy of being a 5Star final. The heat I wanted was not particularly there, the crowd was not into it for most of it, and the duration of the match severely worked against the wrestlers as they struggled to fill time and pace the match correctly.
In the end, the Empress won and made history, continuing her ace-like run in what I think was a good decision when you take into account the circumstances. Heel Saya Kamitani is not ready to get a world title shot, let alone a World title run at this point. Besides, it's not particularly her fault because she's being forced to adapt to a role she's not totally comfortable in while being given no time to do so.
Closing Thoughts
This year's 5Star was a very up-and-down kind of tournament. From the clear low of the mess that was Blue Block B, to the consistent greatness that came out of Red Block B, this tournament had it all, even if that isn't really a compliment in this case. At the end of the day, it still gave us some great matches and some very good shows like all 5Stars do.
But, in my opinion, it's the worst edition of the prestigious tournament since 2020. The final was underwhelming, some block matches were tough to watch, and I would say the vibes weren't really there for most of it. I still quite enjoyed my time keeping up with it, but I can't lie and say I'm not slightly concerned about the direction this company is going in, especially if Mayu Iwatani does depart in search of the Golden Flower Fields in 2025.
The new "big 3" of Maika, Tam Nakano, and Heel Saya Kamitani doesn't give me much confidence and I would probably say I'm lower on H.A.T.E now than I was coming into this tournament, which is quite a feat. Hopefully, STARDOM can turn their momentum around and once again become one of the best promotions in the world, because they have all the capabilities to do that with their current roster of incredibly talented wrestlers.
If you managed to make it this far, thank you so much for reading. I know the tournament is kind of old news at this point, especially with STARDOM's next PPV event happening tomorrow, but I have been working on this article for the past week now, and I'm honestly extremely proud of how it came out. Follow me at HKWrestlingFan on Twitter and please continue to keep up with AoW as we have a lot of great stuff in store for the upcoming months!
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