SPOTLIGHTED PODCAST ALERT (YOUR ARTICLE BEGINS A FEW INCHES DOWN)...
STARDOM 5STAR GRAND PRIX
AUGUST 25, 2019
OSAKA, JAPAN AT OSAKA WORLD PAVILION
AIRED ON STARDOM WORLD
REPORT BY HARLEY R. PAGEOT, PWTORCH CONTRIBUTOR
Rina said she hadn’t wrestled in Osaka since the draft. Hina said she’d definitely win. Kid said it was her first three-way with the twins.
(1) STARLIGHT KID vs. HINA vs. RINA
Kid felt left out when the sisters locked up without her so they beat her up and tossed her from the ring. She returned to hit a standing moonsault onto both of them. A second rope moonsault to Rina put her away.
WINNER: Starlight Kid in 4:48.
(Pageot’s Perspective: Having just watched a weekend of ROH events this was a stark reminder that the 12 year-old girls in Stardom wrestle harder and faster than the top names in Women Of Honor. And their matches are basically the same length.)
-Hayter just yelled, “Okay, let’s go!” She, Kagetsu, and Sumire yelled uproariously and ran off. Hayashishita said Hayter and Kagetsu are in the blue stars block with her and Priestley so she wanted to beat one of them.
(2) QUEEN’S QUEST (World Of Stardom Champion Bea Priestley, SWA World Champion & Future Of Stardom Champion Utami Hayashishita, & Leo Onozaki) vs. OEDO TAI (Jamie Hayter & Artist Of Stardom Champions Kagetsu & Natsu Sumire)
Oedo Tai attacked during Priestley’s introduction. They of course isolated and worked over Onozaki. Hot tag to Hayashishita. She lifted Kagetsu in a firewoman’s carry and swung her legs to take out Hayter and Sumire. Kagetsu tapped Onozaki out to a sleeperhold.
WINNERS: Oedo Tai in 8:19.
-Kashima said she beat Watanabe with her Revival pinning combination last year and threatened to do so again. Watanabe admitted she’s lost to the Revival frequently and said she had to be careful.
(3) MOMO WATANABE vs. SAKI KASHIMA – RED STARS BLOCK
Sure enough, Kashima went for Revival right out of the gate. Watanabe avoided it but Kashima went to work on her right knee. A bulldog took Watanabe off of the second turnbuckle. Peach Sunrise avoided. Watanabe with a kick to the head and double knees. Revival landed but Watanabe kicked out. Rear naked choke to Kashima. After a struggle she submitted.
WINNER: Momo Watanabe in 3:34.
(Pageot’s Perspective: I was starting to think there that they were going to have Kashima play the spoiler in the tournament with the big upsets but rest assured the status quo remains.)
-AZM said she wanted to take the high speed title from Hazuki. Since that’s no longer an option she’d settle for a pinfall here. Hazuki, per usual, said she has nothing to say. That’s it.
(4) HAZUKI vs. AZM – RED STARS BLOCK
Facwash to AZM. A slingshot sent her throat-first into the bottom rope. Lion-tamer. AZM tried for a dropkick but got booted back to Earth. AZM with the armbar but Hazuki to the ropes. Top rope double-stomp. A second landed hard direct on Hazuki’s stomach. Enziguiri. Tilt-a-whirl armbar countered into a Hazukistral countered into a pin of AZM’s own.
WINNER: AZM in 5:48.
(Pageot’s Perspective: These two know each other so well and work so well together. This is the kind of “upset” that makes sense within our pre-established conventions and storylines and elevates AZM without stretching believability.)
-Iida said she lost the last time this trios combination competed together in Korakuen Hall but they’d try their best this time. Kimura and Konami were repping their new TCS shirt (only $40…). Avary nodded along.
(5) STARS (Mayu Iwatani, Tam Nakano, & Saya Iida) vs. AVARY & TOKYO CYBER SQUAD (Goddess Of Stardom Champion Konami, Hana Kimura, & Avary)
Konami pinned Iida off a German suplex and kick to the head.
WINNERS: Tokyo Cyber Squad & Avary in 12:22.
(Pageot’s Perspective: A nothing match. I thought for sure Avary would pin Iida to try to give her some more credibility in the Grand Prix.)
-Miyagi yelled her name, then blew on a recorder?? Kyona was wearing glasses and referred to herself as Great Teacher Kyona. She said she was fighting a bad girl but she was teaching goodness. She also carried a pointing wand with her to the ring. Miyagi wore a backpack with her recorder sticking out and her lunch in a bag. Miyagi acted like a toddler, pitching a fit when the referee made her take off her backpack.
(6) GODDESS OF STARDOM CHAMPION GREAT TEACHER KYONA vs. ARTIST OF STARDOM CHAMPION ANDRAS MIYAGI – BLUE STARS BLOCK
After a test of strength they ended up at ringside. Miyagi hit Kyona with her lunchbag. Kyona responded by clapping two chalkboard erasers in her face. She then clapped Miyagi on the face with the dusty erasers. Kyona whipped Miyagi into the corner while Miyagi was wearing her backpack. Stinger splash. Dropkick. Sliding clothesline. She tried for a pin with Miyagi down but her backpack prevented her shoulders from touching the mat. DDT to Kyona. Anarchist suplex. Top rope splash from Kyona but Miyagi kicked out. Miyagi looked to hit Kyona with her backpack. Kyona ducked and the referee almost got hit. As he place the backpack outside the ring Miyagi put her lunchbag over Kyona’s head and rolled her up. The ref counted three even though Kyona’s head was covered by a bag.
WINNER: Andras Miyagi in 5:46.
(Pageot’s Perspective: This was very random and there was no context given for why they were dressed and acting like teacher and student in the first place. The finish was frustrating on a number of levels and not just because Kyona is now tied with Avary and Sumire for zero points.)
-Hoshiki said she’s lost twice and can’t lose today. Her neck is in good condition. She’ll win. Tora said Hoshiki was irritated so she’d hit her.
(7) WONDER OF STARDOM CHAMPION ARISA HOSHIKI vs. NATSUKO TORA – BLUE STARS BLOCK
Tora whipped Hoshiki into the hard auditorium seating then threw a heavy metal chair onto her. She then poured a bottle of water on her and hit Saki Kashima and the ref when they tried to stop her. Boston crab. Top rope frog-splash at 5:20. A second. A third. A kick out. Back to ringside. Tora bodyslammed Hoshiki onto a folding chair. F-Crash landed but Hoshiki kicked out. Jumping knee strike from Hoshiki. Step-off kick to the head. Tora choked Hoshiki. Two more knee strikes. Hoshiki had the pin but pulled Tora up to break it. She hit another knee strike for the exclamation point.
WINNER: Arisa Hoshiki in 10:13.
(Pageot’s Perspective: I’m over this shtick from Tora. I was excited about it in her last match because it was directed at her leader and she looked vicious. Then she took one death valley driver and got pinned, erasing everything and making her look like a joke. She was defanged in that instant and now any attempt at threats here are empty.)
-Hoshiki said she thought she couldn’t win because she lost her first two matches but now she thinks she can win the whole thing. She said Tora is heavy and told her to go on a diet.
(Pageot’s Perspective: Wow, Hoshiki with a heel turn right in the final seconds of her promo. Shocking. I guess even peppy babyfaces can fat-shame people now. All the rules are out the window.)
Blue Stars standings after show 3:
Utami Hayashishita – 4
Jamie Hayter – 4
Bea Priestley – 4
Arisa Hoshiki – 2
Kagetsu – 2
Konami – 2
Andras Miyagi – 2
Jungle Kyona – 0
Natsuko Tora – 0
Red Stars standings after show 3:
AZM – 4
Hana Kimura – 4
Momo Watanabe – 4
Hazuki – 2
Mayu Iwatani – 2
Saki Kashima – 2
Tam Nakano – 2
Avary – 0
Natsu Sumire – 0
The teacher/student thing stemmed from a series of Twitter exchanges between the 2 of them. That’s one thing with Stardom, there’s a lot of storyline type stuff that happens in Twitter exchanges that leave you lost if you don’t follow the girls on there. Tam and Arisa’s pancakes thing was one of them, and there was a lot of buildup to their match done via there as well. There’s another one that you’ll see soon with Tam referring to AZM’s “insect collecting” which will also make no sense if you don’t follow AZM and didn’t see her talking about her “summer project” of “aunt collecting” which had a little manga style drawing of AZM holding a little bug cage with all her 5* opponents in it, followed with another drawing of her with a butterfly net chasing little winged versions of Tam and Hazuki