Hina & HANAKO Steal Show During Night 8 Of STARDOM’s 5★STAR GP

STARDOM’s 5★STAR Grand Prix rolled on to Utsunomiya for another round of tournament matches on Sunday. The event featured nine matches, including one for each of the Three Sisters of STARDOM—Hanan, Hina, and Rina—all of whom were treated like massive stars, as Utsunomiya is close to their hometown.

The first match of the show saw former World of Stardom Champion Saya Kamitani take on Kikyo Furusawa. Kamitani was attempting to win her second straight match, while Furusawa was looking to pick up her first victory. The young Furusawa showed some early fire with a series of hard strikes, but Kamitani quickly took control. Kamitani eventually trapped Furusawa in a variation of the Boston Crab to earn the submission win at 7:15.

The next match of the event featured World of Stardom Champion Suzu Suzuki taking on Furusawa’s ally, Rian. The young Rian was totally out of her depth in this contest, as she was overwhelmed by Suzuki’s physical dominance throughout the match. Suzuki made swift work of the youngster, putting her away with the Tequila Shot for the pin at 4:21. With the victory, Suzuki improved to a perfect 4-0 record and now sits at the top of her block.

Following those two squashes, Miyu Amasaki and Aya Sakura came out for the first truly competitive contest of the night. The two rivals had a pretty even back-and-forth match, featuring some excellent kicks from Sakura and Amasaki’s trademark athleticism. Amasaki was able to weaken Sakura with a devastating DDT, which helped set up the Tensei and the victory at 8:58. With the win, Amasaki moves up to four points.

Next up was Julia Hart taking on Ruaka. This match was a big test for the AEW wrestler, as many have viewed her previous 5★STAR matches as being pretty underwhelming. This one was a step above her earlier outings, but it still wasn’t up to the standard you’d hope for on a STARDOM show. Ruaka was able to snap Hart’s early winning streak with a Body Press at 7:35 to earn her second victory of the tournament.

After that match, the show picked up a little as High Speed Champion Yuna Mizumori took on Koguma. “The Bear” was looking to stop the bleeding, so to speak, as she entered the match on a two-match losing streak. The two were evenly matched for much of the contest, entertaining the crowd with their incredible high-speed offence and defence. Koguma also mixed in her trademark mind games to get under Mizumori’s skin. Unfortunately for Koguma, though, the “Pineapple Girl” was able to put her away with a Supergirl pin at 7:50, handing her a third consecutive defeat. Mizumori, meanwhile, improved to 2-2.

Perhaps the biggest match of the night came next as Starlight Kid, fresh off her surprising defeat at the hands of Hanan in an excellent match a few days ago, took on Momo Watanabe, who entered Light Cube with a 3-0 record. This was a great match. These two were longtime allies in both Oedo Tai and H.A.T.E., and that showed in their almost symbiotic chemistry in the ring. SLK brought the speed while Watanabe brought the power. It’s a tale as old as time. Thankfully for SLK, she was able to outlast Watanabe with the Momo☆Latch at 10:11. Definitely go out of your way to see this. As far as I’m concerned, she’s been one of the best in-ring performers in the tournament so far.

After that exciting match, we got to see the first of the Three Sisters of STARDOM in action as Hanan took on Ami Sourei. The reigning Wonder of Stardom Champion arrived at Light Cube holding a 3-0 record, with wins over Kikyo Furusawa, Koguma, and, as previously mentioned, Starlight Kid, while Sourei entered at 1-2. This seemed like another win for Hanan. However, it was Sourei who shocked the Utsunomiya crowd after landing an Ikazuchi no Goto for the victory at 11:16. It also appears the win has earned Sourei a future shot at the white belt, which should make for a fun match. As it stands, this is another match I’d recommend readers check out.

Hanan’s younger sister, Hina, was up next as she took on HANAKO in the semi-main event. Spoiler alert, everybody: This was my match of the night, even with the result. Hina wrestled out of her mind once again. I think, barring Saya Iida, Hina is the company’s best seller. She made HANAKO’s offence look incredible throughout the match. And for her part, HANAKO was excellent as well. While most fans would’ve wanted Hina to earn her second victory, unfortunately, that wasn’t in the cards. HANAKO rocked Hina with a JP Coaster in the closing minute to score the win at 14:08. The giant now sits at 2-2 and looks well positioned for a potential run to the playoffs.

Finally, we arrived at the main event and the final chance for a Sister of STARDOM to pick up a win on her homecoming show. Rina came out to take on Itsuki Aoki, who entered the event sporting a perfect 4-0 record. She’s been one of the most dominant wrestlers in the competition so far, with victories over two former World of Stardom Champions in Natsuko Tora and Sayaka Kurara. This match felt a little strange to some fans because of how dominant Rina was for most of it. She wrestled like a babyface, which was perfectly fine given it was her homecoming after all, but seeing her control so much of the match while Aoki played the sympathetic role was a little unusual. Still, this was a well-wrestled contest, with Rina pulling out all the stops and Aoki relying on her considerable power. Rina ultimately won after nailing Aoki with her whip before rolling her up at 14:36. Check this one out because, while it was structured a little oddly, it was a fun time.

STARDOM will return for Night 9 of the 5★STAR Grand Prix on Monday at Korakuen Hall. The card will feature Itsuki Aoki looking to regain her momentum against AZM, Konami attempting to keep her hot start going against Saya Iida, and an all-H.A.T.E. showdown between Momo Watanabe and Saya Kamitani. Outside the tournament, Natsupoi will take on fellow Cosmic Angel Anne Kanaya.

For more coverage from the tournament and everything surrounding STARDOM, WrestlePurists will keep you updated.

5★STAR Grand Prix – Current Standings (W-L-D):

Red Stars Block A:

Itsuki Aoki – 4-1 (8 points)

Maika – 3-1 (6 points)

AZM – 2-1 (4 points)

Natsuko Tora – 2-2 (4 points)

Rina – 2-2 (4 points)

Sayaka Kurara – 2-4 (4 points)

Tomoka Inaba – 2-3 (4 points)

Akira Kurogane – 0-3 (0 points)

Red Stars Block B:

Konami – 3-0 (6 points)

Rina Yamashita – 2-1-2 (6 points)

Saya Iida – 3-1 (6 points)

Maki Itoh – 2-1-1 (5 points)

Azusa Inaba – 1-2-1 (3 points)

Mei Seira – 1-2-1 (3 points)

Utami Hayashishita – 1-1-1 (3 points)

Lady C – 0-4 (0 points)

Blue Stars Block A:

Suzu Suzuki – 4-0 (8 points)

Ruaka – 3-1 (6 points)

Aya Sakura – 2-2 (4 points)

HANAKO – 2-2 (4 points)

Julia Hart – 2-1 (4 points)

Miyu Amasaki – 2-3 (4 points)

Hina – 1-3 (2 points)

Rian – 0-4 (0 points)

Blue Stars Block B:

Hanan – 3-1 (6 points)

Momo Watanabe – 3-1 (6 points)

Saya Kamitani – 2-0-1 (5 points)

Ami Sourei – 2-2 (4 points)

Koguma – 2-3 (4 points)

Yuna Mizumori – 2-2 (4 points)

Starlight Kid – 1-1-1 (3 points)

Kikyo Furusawa – 0-5 (0 points)