World Wonder Ring STARDOM held a 5★Star Grand Prix Special show at the Hiroshima Sun Plaza this past September 3rd which featured three matches from the said tournament on top of the scheduled championship matches.
Natsupoi & Saori Anou def. Mei Seira & Suzu Suzuki
Goddesses of STARDOM Championship Match
In a battle that showcased tag team wrestling excellence, Cosmic Angels' Natsupoi and Saori Anou defeated the cunning team of Mei Seira and Suzu Suzuki to retain their Goddesses of STARDOM Championship* in their first defense of the titles. Both teams brought their A games in this match with STARDOM fans feeling the excitement from the in-ring chemistry shown between the teams. After multiple fast-paced sequences and jaw-dropping near-falls, Saori Anou would secure the victory with the "Temps Tendre" (a bridging somersault neck breaker) on Mei Seira.
After the match, STARDOM High Speed Champion Saki Kashima taunted Mei Seira for her loss before announcing that Seira would be next in line for a shot at her title. Queen's Quest's Utami Hayashishita and AZM also came out to challenge Natsupoi and Saori Anou for the Goddesses of STARDOM Championship after Saki Kashima left the ringside area.
*The Goddesses of STARDOM Championships are STARDOM's duos tag team championship belt.
Utami Hayashishita def. Momo Watanabe
5★Star Grand Prix Match - Blue Stars
Former Queen's Quest tag team partners Utami Hayashishita and Momo Watanabe went to absolute war in their first singles match since Watanabe betrayed Queen's Quest to join the rival Oedo Tai. Hayashishita and Watanabe both capitalized on their powerhouse style to deliver impactful offense to one another, but Utami's Hi-Jack Bomb (Spinning Razor's Edge) ultimately secured the victory.
With this win, Hayashishita stands at 6 points while Watanabe remains in her standing of 6 points as well. Both women are now tied and leading the Blue Stars block alongside Mariah May, Mina Shirakawa, Mirai, and Saori Anou.
Tam Nakano def. Starlight Kid
5★Star Grand Prix Match - Red Stars
Despite Starlight Kid's best efforts to improve her current track record in this year's 5★Star tournament, it was the World of STARDOM Champion Tam Nakano who scored the win. As the bell rang, both women wasted no time in gaining the upper hand by performing high risk attacks to the other at ringside. Nakano would utilize her strong striking ability for offense while Kid took advantage of her speed and high-flying maneuvers in evading the attacks. Both competitors traded vicious German and Tiger Suplexes, but Nakano's patented Violet Screwdriver (Falcon Arrow) would pick up the 1-2-3.
Kid's loss in this match keeps her 5★Star record at 4 points. Nakano, on the other hand, accumulates a total of 7 points with this win.
Syuri def. Mayu Iwatani
5★Star Grand Prix Match - Red Stars
Two of the top STARDOM competitors in Mayu Iwatani and Syuri met one-on-one for the night's final 5★Star Grand Prix match. Iwatani's well-rounded and versatile wrestling style clashed with Syuri's striking and powerhouse offense to deliver what fans have considered the Match of the Night. Both competitors easily countered each other's signature maneuvers to narrowly escape defeat. The match was getting quite intense for over 10 minutes, raising speculation from some fans of the result being a potential 15-minute time limit draw from the two. But after a display of Suplexes, Buzzsaw Kicks, and countless near-falls, Syuri would seize the window of opportunity to land the Syu Sekai (Modified Electric Chair Powerslam) before pinning Iwatani for the victory.
Syuri's victory ties her in second alongside Natsupoi amongst the Red Stars block with 9 points. Iwatani then remains in her current standing of 7 points. However, Natsuko Toura currently leads the Red Stars with a total of 12 points overall.
Moreover, there is also a minor speculation from fans that this victory could put Syuri in the running for a potential IWGP Women's Championship with Iwatani sometime in the future.
Giulia def. Risa Sera
NJPW STRONG Women's Championship Match
In the main event of the 5★Star Special in Hiroshima, Giulia successfully defended the NJPW STRONG Women's Championship against a long-time foe in Risa Sera. Given their history and hard-hitting backgrounds, this bout was nothing short of a battle with Sera nearly knocking out Giulia with an Air Raid Crash from the apron through a table on ringside. But being the fighting champion that she is, Giulia refused to stay down and fought Sera's tough offense with some of her own. To ensure that Sera would be down for the three counts, Giulia delivered a Missile Dropkick, Package Piledriver, and her signature Northern Lights Bomb to retain her NJPW STRONG Women's Title in her third defense. After the match, the two would speak on the microphone with Sera accepting her defeat with honor.
