{"id":10290,"date":"2018-10-06T21:22:15","date_gmt":"2018-10-06T21:22:15","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/prowrestlingjournal.com\/?p=10290"},"modified":"2018-10-06T22:41:15","modified_gmt":"2018-10-06T22:41:15","slug":"stardom-5-star-grand-prix-review-or-how-i-learned-to-stop-worrying-and-love-natsu-sumire","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/prowrestlingjournal.com\/index.php\/2018\/10\/06\/stardom-5-star-grand-prix-review-or-how-i-learned-to-stop-worrying-and-love-natsu-sumire\/","title":{"rendered":"Stardom 5 Star Grand Prix Review Or: How I Learned To Stop Worrying And Love Natsu Sumire"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>This year has been full of interest surrounding tournaments and women\u2019s wrestling.\u00a0 WWE\u2019s Mae Young Classic 2018 is in full swing, showcasing some of Japan\u2019s top talent in Io Shirai, Hiroyo Matsumoto, and Meiko Satomura.\u00a0 For anyone who is enjoying their runs in the tournament, there is another women\u2019s tournament to enjoy &#8211; \u00a0Stardom\u2019s annual singles tournament, the 5 Star Grand Prix.\u00a0 Io Shirai was a previous winner of this tournament, but with the departures of Io and Kairi Sane over the last two years Stardom has been building up some new members of their roster to take their places. \u00a0\u00a0In this year\u2019s 5 Star GP a new star was born (pun intended).\u00a0 She was someone making their 5 Star GP debut this year, and there were some question marks about how she would find the going in a strong block.\u00a0 And yet, she rose to the challenge and made a lot of new fans along the way.\u00a0 I am of course referring to Natsu Sumire, the new queen of promos.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Still the highlight of the 5* Grand Prix <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/StardomWorld?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#StardomWorld<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/wHArDu17P1\">https:\/\/t.co\/wHArDu17P1<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/qW7CIx7Qxj\">pic.twitter.com\/qW7CIx7Qxj<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Death by Arisa Nakajima (@twf87) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/twf87\/status\/1048689935589335041?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">October 6, 2018<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>The 5 Star GP has a similar format to New Japan\u2019s G1 Climax \u2013 two blocks of eight wrestlers face each other and earn two points for a win, one point for a draw, and zero for a loss.\u00a0 This year the Red Stars Block featured the World of Stardom Champion Kagetsu, as well as two members of the Artist of Stardom Champions in Jungle Kyona and Natsuko Tora.\u00a0 The Blue Stars Block contained the Wonder of Stardom Champion Momo Watanabe, and the Tag Team Champions Mayu Iwatani and Saki Kashima.\u00a0 Stardom also brought in five foreign wrestlers for the tournament \u2013 Rev Pro\u2019s Jamie Hayter, Shimmer\u2019s Nicole Savoy, ROH\u2019s Kelly Klein, along with independent&#8217;s Rachael Ellering and Kimber Lee.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_10292\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-10292\" style=\"width: 1200px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-10292\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/prowrestlingjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/Dnxt5PAW0AAYvGC.jpg?resize=696%2C383\" alt=\"\" width=\"696\" height=\"383\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/prowrestlingjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/Dnxt5PAW0AAYvGC.jpg?w=1200&amp;ssl=1 1200w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/prowrestlingjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/Dnxt5PAW0AAYvGC.jpg?resize=300%2C165&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/prowrestlingjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/Dnxt5PAW0AAYvGC.jpg?resize=768%2C422&amp;ssl=1 768w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/prowrestlingjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/Dnxt5PAW0AAYvGC.jpg?resize=1024%2C563&amp;ssl=1 1024w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/prowrestlingjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/Dnxt5PAW0AAYvGC.jpg?resize=696%2C383&amp;ssl=1 696w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/prowrestlingjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/Dnxt5PAW0AAYvGC.jpg?resize=1068%2C587&amp;ssl=1 1068w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/prowrestlingjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/Dnxt5PAW0AAYvGC.jpg?resize=764%2C420&amp;ssl=1 764w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 696px) 100vw, 696px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-10292\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">The two blocks on the eve of the final day. Photos from @we_are_stardom<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-10291\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/prowrestlingjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/Dnxt4ymW0AANwW_.jpg?resize=696%2C383\" alt=\"\" width=\"696\" height=\"383\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/prowrestlingjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/Dnxt4ymW0AANwW_.jpg?w=1200&amp;ssl=1 1200w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/prowrestlingjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/Dnxt4ymW0AANwW_.jpg?resize=300%2C165&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/prowrestlingjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/Dnxt4ymW0AANwW_.jpg?resize=768%2C422&amp;ssl=1 768w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/prowrestlingjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/Dnxt4ymW0AANwW_.jpg?resize=1024%2C563&amp;ssl=1 1024w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/prowrestlingjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/Dnxt4ymW0AANwW_.jpg?resize=696%2C383&amp;ssl=1 696w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/prowrestlingjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/Dnxt4ymW0AANwW_.jpg?resize=1068%2C587&amp;ssl=1 1068w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/prowrestlingjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/Dnxt4ymW0AANwW_.jpg?resize=764%2C420&amp;ssl=1 764w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 696px) 100vw, 696px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>In the Red Stars Block Kagetsu, Rachael Ellering, Jungle Kyona, and Utami Hayashishita were all in contention on the final day.\u00a0 Ellering and Kyona lost their matches, which took them out of contention, but Utami won hers, which meant that Kagetsu had to win her match in order to reach the final.\u00a0 She looked to have the match won until her fellow Oedo Tai stablemate Hana Kimura attacked her and cost her the match, which allowed Utami to advance to the final.\u00a0 In the Blue Stars Block Mayu Iwatani, Hazuki, Kelly Klein, and Momo Watanabe were all in contention on the final day, but Klein lost her match, which eliminated her.\u00a0 Hazuki won her match, but Mayu and Momo drew, which meant that Mayu and Hazuki finished level on points.\u00a0 Thanks to the fact that Mayu beat Hazuki earlier in the tournament she advanced to face Utami in the final.<\/p>\n<p>Natsu\u2019s strong tournament aside, the clear breakout star of the 5 Star GP was the rookie Utami Hayashishita, who shocked a lot of people by making it all the way to the final.\u00a0 Utami only made her debut in August of this year but she doesn\u2019t look like a first-year rookie in the ring, both in terms of technical skill and the way that she carries herself.\u00a0 She may have surprised people by getting to the final over more obvious candidates such as Kagetsu and Jungle Kyona, but the final with Mayu was an excellent showing and there are a lot of reasons to be excited about the future of Utami.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Utami is manhandling Jungle all over the shop <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/StardomWorld?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#StardomWorld<\/a> <\/p>\n<p>\ud83d\udcab<a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/bsetE5fXdt\">https:\/\/t.co\/bsetE5fXdt<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/Hbqhli5OCe\">pic.twitter.com\/Hbqhli5OCe<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Chris&#39;mas Flupke (@oystersearrings) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/oystersearrings\/status\/1028938054898266112?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">August 13, 2018<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>Mayu\u2019s victory in this year\u2019s 5 Star GP was her first ever, and well-deserved given that she put on some fantastic matches in the tournament, including the final.\u00a0 She\u2019s also been with Stardom since 2011 and in recent times her pushes have been interrupted by injuries, as well as possibly being overshadowed by the fact that Kairi Sane and Io Shirai have both seen their names become even more famous as they moved to WWE.\u00a0 Mayu lost her first two matches of the tournament, but then swept her matches until the final day against Momo.\u00a0 Her match against Hazuki was a particular highlight of the tournament, and her last three matches against Hazuki, Momo, and Utami were a very strong run of performances.\u00a0 Mayu plays a masterful babyface in peril, and her high-flying and striking ability is top quality.\u00a0 Some of the athleticism that she displayed in the final needs to be seen to be believed, as well as the savage looking bumps that she is willing to take for her opponents.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"ja\" dir=\"ltr\">\uff15STAR GP<br \/>\u512a\u52dd\u3057\u307e\u3057\u305f\uff01\uff01\uff01\uff01<\/p>\n<p>VS \u6e21\u8fba\u6843 15\u5206\u30c9\u30ed\u30fc<br \/>VS \u6797\u4e0b\u8a69\u7f8e 15\u520656\u79d2 \u4e8c\u6bb5\u5f0f\u30c9\u30e9\u30b4\u30f3<\/p>\n<p>\u904e\u9177\u3059\u304e\u308b\u30ea\u30fc\u30b0\u6226<br \/>\u3084\u3063\u3068\u9802\u4e0a\u306b\u3042\u304c\u308a\u307e\u3057\u305f\u3002<\/p>\n<p>\u5f15\u9000\u3001\u3001\u3001\u3057\u306a\u3044\u304b\u3089\u306d\uff01\u7b11<br \/>\u306f\u3041\u3001\u30ad\u30c4\u304b\u3063\u305f\u306a\u3041\u3002<br \/>\u3067\u3082\u305d\u308c\u4ee5\u4e0a\u306e\u5e78\u305b\u3092\u5473\u308f\u3048\u307e\u3057\u305f\uff01<\/p>\n<p>\u7686\u3042\u308a\u304c\u3068\u3046\uff01\uff01<br \/>\u5168\u3066\u306e\u4eba\u306b\u611f\u8b1d\uff01\uff01\uff01\uff01 <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/fDrYaiKP64\">pic.twitter.com\/fDrYaiKP64<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; \u5ca9\u8c37\u9ebb\u512a MayuIwatani (@MayuIwatani) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/MayuIwatani\/status\/1044127279788384257?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">September 24, 2018<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>Aside from the two finalists there were a number of other wrestlers who had strong tournaments.\u00a0 Hazuki did particularly well in her second 5 Star GP, only missing out on making the finals due to her loss to Mayu.\u00a0 Momo Watanabe continued to impress, particularly in her match with Hazuki, which might be my favourite rivalry in Stardom right now.\u00a0 Jungle Kyona has had a consistently good year, which has gone slightly under the radar since she hasn\u2019t won any singles titles, and she continued that in the 5 Star.\u00a0 Her matches against Utami and Kagetsu were excellent.\u00a0 Konami began the tournament with a great win over Kagetsu, but unfortunately was unable to put enough of a run together to stay in contention.\u00a0 She\u2019s constantly impressive with her array of strikes and submissions, and puts on great performances regardless of booking.\u00a0 Tam Nakano also had a good tournament, despite only getting four points, and her final match against Kagetsu was a very good match before the interference finish.\u00a0 Natsu Sumire, beyond proving that she is a fire promo, also demonstrated a perfect blend of comedy wrestling and a willingness to take bumps that raised her stock despite only finishing with two wins.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">.<a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/tmtmtmx?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@tmtmtmx<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/doranyanpa?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@doranyanpa<\/a> know each other too well<a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/wHArDu17P1\">https:\/\/t.co\/wHArDu17P1<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/AWkZY4Nae4\">pic.twitter.com\/AWkZY4Nae4<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Death by Arisa Nakajima (@twf87) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/twf87\/status\/1045265584420577280?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">September 27, 2018<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>Stardom brings in foreign wrestlers for tours throughout the year, and this often leads to some upset wins, such as Mandy Leon beating Io Shirai in last year\u2019s 5 Star GP.\u00a0 Toni Storm won the tournament last year, becoming the first foreign wrestler ever to do so, and previous finalists included Tessa Blanchard, Alpha Female, and Hudson Envy.\u00a0 This year none of the overseas wrestlers made it to the final, although Rachael Ellering was in contention until her last match against Kimber Lee.\u00a0 Jamie Hayter greatly impressed me this year, and her opening match against Natsu Sumire set the tone for a tournament run that looked like she\u2019d been doing this for years.\u00a0 Nicole Savoy also impressed me in this tour, and Kimber Lee did a good job of playing spoiler against Ellering on the last day.\u00a0 There was an incident involving Ellering and Konami mid-way through the tournament, when Ellering appeared to lose her cool over how stiff Konami was working and had words with Konami after the match in what was an unprofessional moment.\u00a0 This didn\u2019t endear her to me, but the Japanese crowd didn\u2019t seem to mind, and she came very close to making the final from the Red Stars Block.<\/p>\n<p>With her victory in the 5 Star GP Mayu now gets a title shot against the World of Stardom Champion.\u00a0 Her previous title challenge against Kagetsu ended in failure, but with her year rejuvenated by the tournament win I wouldn\u2019t bet against her taking back the Red Belt.\u00a0 Especially given the possibility of interference from Hana Kimura, which would further the in-fighting within Oedo Tai, and allow Kagetsu to transition from being champion to a strong feud if she drops the belt.<\/p>\n<p>The 5 Star Grand Prix is a great way in for anyone who might be thinking of starting to watch Stardom.\u00a0 The matches are all fifteen minute time-limits, which means that they are easy to watch, they are all subtitled in English, and now they\u2019ve all been uploaded to Stardom World.\u00a0 I would encourage anyone who is a fan of women\u2019s wrestling to subscribe and support Stardom (along with the other <em>joshi<\/em> promotions, many of which are easily accessible online).<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Recommended Matches:<\/p>\n<p>Konami vs. Kagetsu \u2013 8.18.2018 Shinkiba<\/p>\n<p>Natsu Sumire vs. Jamie Hayter \u2013 8.18.2018 Shinkiba<\/p>\n<p>Jungle Kyona vs. Konami \u2013 8.26.2018 Osaka Day<\/p>\n<p>Utami Hayashishita vs. Kagetsu \u2013 9.1.2018 Yokohama<\/p>\n<p>Kagetsu vs. Jungle Kyona \u2013 9.8.2018 Shinkiba<\/p>\n<p>Tam Nakano vs. Natsuko Tora \u2013 9.9.2018 Shinkiba<\/p>\n<p>Utami Hayashishita vs. Jungle Kyona \u2013 9.9.2018 Shinkiba<\/p>\n<p>Hazuki vs. Momo Watanabe \u2013 9.9.2018 Shinkiba<\/p>\n<p>Hazuki vs. Mayu Iwatani \u2013 9.16.2018 Osaka<\/p>\n<p>Mayu Iwatani vs. Momo Watanabe \u2013 9.24.2018 Korakuen<\/p>\n<p>Tam Nakano vs. Kagetsu \u2013 9.24.2018 Korakuen<\/p>\n<p>Mayu Iwatani vs. Utami Hayashishita \u2013 9.24.2018 Korakuen<\/p>\n<p><em>Featured Image from <span class=\"atwho-query\">@we_are_stardom<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>This year has been full of interest surrounding tournaments and women\u2019s wrestling.\u00a0 WWE\u2019s Mae Young Classic 2018 is in full swing, showcasing some of Japan\u2019s top talent in Io Shirai, [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":16,"featured_media":10293,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_bbp_topic_count":0,"_bbp_reply_count":0,"_bbp_total_topic_count":0,"_bbp_total_reply_count":0,"_bbp_voice_count":0,"_bbp_anonymous_reply_count":0,"_bbp_forum_subforum_count":0,"tdm_status":"","tdm_grid_status":"","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[2,22,641,640],"tags":[642,643,435],"class_list":["post-10290","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-featured","category-reviews","category-stardom","category-stardom-reviews","tag-5-grand-prix","tag-joshi-wrestling","tag-stardom"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p9jnWd-2FY","jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/prowrestlingjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/DlQopP3UYAAkzC6-e1538857405919.png?fit=830%2C710&ssl=1","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/prowrestlingjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10290","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/prowrestlingjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/prowrestlingjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/prowrestlingjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/16"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/prowrestlingjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10290"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/prowrestlingjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10290\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10300,"href":"https:\/\/prowrestlingjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10290\/revisions\/10300"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/prowrestlingjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/10293"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/prowrestlingjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10290"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/prowrestlingjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10290"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/prowrestlingjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10290"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}