The 5 Star Grand Prix (2022) has been absolutely wild. There have been major upsets, phenomenal matches, and the amazing quality that we have all come to expect from Stardom. There’s nothing better than true quality women’s wrestling and you cannot change my mind on that. Nothing in WWE or in AEW can compare to the fun and entertainment that Stardom has to offer. As I said, the 2022 Grand Prix has been wild this year. It’s the most gruelling tournament in professional wrestling and it’s also the most fun and unpredictable. We’ll split this into 3 sections. So first of all…
5 Star Grand Prix 2022
Standings as of 10th August.
So, as you can see from the current standings, the tournament is off to a truly wild start. I did not see any of these results coming at all. Here’s the breakdown of how points are calculated, folks.
Win = 2 Points
Draw = 1 Point
Loss = 0 Points
Pretty straightforward, right? When you look at the current standings, that means that the current leaders have four points total. Not only that, but the current leaders are women that I did not foresee even being close to the top, well with one exception. I’m not gonna bore you with the results from the first week. Instead, I’m going to pick different matches that I think you all would enjoy. Let’s get into it.
5 Star Grand Prix 2022
Upset of the Week 1: Mina Shirakawa def. Momo Watanabe
Mina Shirakawa has been the biggest spoiler so far in the early going of the tournament folks and of the Blue Block. Not only did she defeat Saya Iida but she defeated Momo Watanabe, last year’s red block finalist. Frankly, I am utterly shocked that Mina pulled an upset this major so early in the tournament but this was one fun match. There’s no way that I could have predicted that Mina Shirakawa would be undefeated this early in the tournament, but that’s not going to keep. Mina will continue to play the spoiler, there’s no doubt in my mind, but I don’t expect this momentum to keep.
5 Star Grand Prix 2022
Match of the Week 1 : Starlight Kid vs Saya Kamitani
Starlight Kid defeated Saya Kamitani, her only win thus far in the tournament, but that win was absolutely phenomenal. Saya and SLK have insane chemistry together and it showed in this match. The action was back and forth and it was non-stop. This was a match that WWE wishes they could put on with their women’s division. If you want a nearly 5 Star match then this is it. SLK and Saya Kamitani delivered nearly a match of the year candidate here and I encourage everyone to watch this match.
5 Star Grand Prix 2022
The Best of the Rest – Week 1 : Hazuki vs Giulia
If Mina Shirakawa didn’t defeat Momo Watanabe, then this would have absolutely been my upset of the week. Why’s that you might ask. Well, in my preview for the tournament, I told you all that Giulia should be the favorite from the Blue Block to win it this year. While that should still be correct and she should be viewed as a favorite, the Wild Heart of Stardom has overtaken her in my opinion.
Hazuki defeated Giulia in one of the best matches of the tournament so far. Not only that, but that match started Hazuki’s 2-0 run this far with her second win coming over Starlight Kid. Giulia, by contrast, has gone 0-2 thus far, losing not only to Hazuki but to former stable mate MIRAI.
Reflecting On Week One Of The 5 Star Grand Prix 2022
There are your three best matches of the week folks. That’s not saying that there were not other phenomenal matches to be seen, but these are the three that you absolutely must watch. I’m sure that the 5 Star Grand Prix will continue to give us high-quality matches and even more shocking results. Today, I conclude with the results of the first four days of the tournament. I’ll see you next week with the week 2 results!
Night 1
Mai Sakurai def. Momo Kohgo
Ami Sourei def. Saya Iida
Saki def. Unagi Sayaka
Risa Sera def. Maika
Syuri def. AZM
MIRAI def. Mayu Iwatani
Himeka def. Utami Hayashishita
Hazuki def. Giulia
Night 2
Koguma def. Momo Kohgo
Mina Shirakawa def. Momo Watanabe
Risa Sera def. Saki
Tam Nakano def. Himeka
MIRAI def. Giulia
Starlight Kid def. Saya Kamitani
Utami Hayashishita def. Syuri
Night 3
Koguma def. Saki Kashima
Mayu Iwatani def. Hanan
Natsupoi def. MIRAI
Hazuki def. Starlight Kid
Saya Kamitani def. Momo Watanabe
Night 4
Mina Shirakawa def. Saya Iida
Saya Kamitani def. Hanan
AZM def. Mai Sakurai
Utami Hayashishita def. Unagi Sayaka
Himeka def. Koguma
Natsupoi def. Ami Sourei
Going into Night 5, I did not expect the amount of upsets that we’ve had in this years tournament. I have to admit too that there have been some that completely blew my predictions out of the water. How could anyone have forseen that the World of Stardom Champion would lose to someone that, on paper, she should have dominated? Or how about the fact that there has been ONE singular draw so far in the entire tournament? There were so many draws last year that I lost count. As we stand right now, these are the standings for this years Grand Prix.
As you can see from the fields above, the results have been absolutely all over the place this year. Hanan, the Future of Stardom Champion, is the only woman without a single win so far this year. Suzu Suzuki has one win. Hell, Starlight Kid only has three wins! Then you have AZM and Himeka with 12 points and tied for first place in the Red Block and Hazuki with 14 points in the lead of the Blue Block. There are not many nights left folks and right now, the tournament has no clear winner in sight. There are too many variables that can still come to pass. Eight Women have 10 points and can make a run to the top still. Twelve of the participants are all but eliminated from even being considered for the crown and then there are the six women wth more than 10 points. The current leaders are Hazuki, AZM, Himeka, Giulia, Mayu Iwatani and Saya Kamitani. Never thought three of those six would be the leaders going into Night 15. Alright, I’m rambling now. Let’s just get right into the results so that you can all get caught up!
5 Star Grand Prix 2022 Night 5: August 11 2022
Ami Sourei def. Hanan
Himeka def. Momo Kohgo
Mai Sakurai def. Saki Kashima
Saki def. Koguma
Mayu Iwatani def. Saya Iida
Syuri def. Unagi Sayaka
AZM def. Tam Nakano
Momo Watanabe def. Starlight Kid
Hazuki def. Natsupoi
Utami Hayashishita def. Risa Sera
Mirai def. Suzu Suzuki
Match of the Night: Hazuki vs Natsupoi
Night 5 had a lot of 5 Star Tournament matches and really, none of them were bad at all. Hazuki vs Natsupoi was a lot of fun though, so it is my Match of the Night. No real upsets during Night 5 either, though I do suppose Tam Nakano losing to AZM could be considered one.. just not a major one.
5 Star Grand Prix 2022 Night 6: August 13 2022
AZM def. Momo Kohgo
Momo Watanabe def. Hanan
Syuri def. Mai Sakurai
Hazuki def. Mina Shirakawa
Saya Kamitani def. Natsupoi
Saki Kashima def. Maika
Match of the Night: Saya Kamitani vs Natsupoi
Night Six didn’t have anywhere near the amount of matches that Night 5 did, and honestly, none of the matches really ended in what I’d call an upset. So there is no Upset of the Night this time, however, Natsupoi and Saya Kamitani really gave the fans another fun match and definitely earned MotN honors for their efforts. The closest thing to an upset on Night 6 was Saki Kashima defeating Maika.
5 Star Grand Prix 2022 Night 7: August 14 2022
Unagi Sayaka def. Saki Kashima
Giulia def. Hanan
Utami Hayashishita def. Momo Kohgo
Maika def. Koguma
AZM def. Himeka
Hazuki def. Mirai
Momo Watanabe def. Natsupoi
Match of the Night: Hazuki vs Mirai
As with the two previous nights, there really wasn’t an upset on Night 7. That said, the closest thing to one was Unagi Sayaka defeating Saki Kashima. Your match of the night was without a doubt Hazuki vs MIRAI. That was Hazuki’s toughest match so far and it was one of the best early show matches this year. Check that match out!
5 Star Grand Prix 2022 Night 8: August 20 2022
Starlight Kid def. Hanan
Koguma def. Mai Sakurai
Risa Sera def. Momo Kohgo
Ami Sourei def. Momo Watanabe
Giulia def. Saya Iida
Hazuki def. Suzu Suzuki
Saki Kashima def. Syuri
Maika def. Saki
Match of the Night: Hazuki vs Suzu Suzuki
UPSET of the Night: Saki Kashima def. Syuri
Now here is where the upsets began. Ami Sourei defeating Momo Watanabe was definitely huge but nothing, not a single upset in this entire tournament, was or will be able to top Saki Kashima defeating the World of Stardom Champion Syuri. I felt so bad for Saki during this match. She looked defeated before the bell even rang, she clearly didn’t want any part of Syuri. Yet she weathered the storm and hit the Kishikaisei roll-up for the surprise win. No one will be able to top that Upset. Match of the night once again went to Hazuki, this time with opponent Suzu Suzuki.
5 Star Grand Prix 2022 Night 9: August 27 2022
Mai Sakurai def. Unagi Sayaka
Hazuki def. Hanan
Tam Nakano def. Koguma
AZM def. Saki
Mayu Iwatani def. Mina Shirakawa
Natsupoi def. Suzu Suzuki
Ami Sourei def. Mirai
Himeka def. Risa Sera
Maika def. Utami Hayashishita
Giulia def. Starlight Kid
Holy shit what a night. Night 9 was one of the best nights of action for the whole tournament. We were treated to FIVE matches that I would have given 4 Stars or higher to. Picking a match of the night was insanely difficult for Night 9, but at the end of the day, one match stood out to me above the rest. Also… F-You Giulia for ripping Kid’s mask!
Match of the Night: Giulia vs Starlight Kid
Upset of the Night: Maika def. Utami Hayashishita
Night 10: August 28
Mirai def. Hanan
Saya Iida def. Momo Watanabe
Tam Nakano def. Mai Sakurai
Himeka def. Saki Kashima
Maika def. AZM
Koguma def. Syuri
Saya Kamitani def. Hazuki
Giulia def. Natsupoi
Mayu Iwatani def. Ami Sourei
There were a couple of really good matches on this card with one huge upset although technically there were three upsets here. Frankly speaking, I did not expect Saya Kamitani to end the undefeated streak for Hazuki nor did I envision Maika defeating AZM. With that said, your match of the night honors go to these two ladies.
Match of the Night: Saya Kamitani vs Hazuki
While I certainly could have given MotN and UotN to this match, I had to give the upset to someone else.
Upset of the Night: Koguma def. Syuri
Once again, Syuri falls victim to a massive upset. Now, this isn’t anywhere near as big as Saki Kashima defeating her, but Koguma winning was absolutely shocking as well. I couldn’t believe my eyes when Koguma picked up the win here.
Night 11: September 3
Mai Sakurai def. Himeka
Starlight Kid def. Ami Sourei
Saki Kashima def. Tam Nakano
Giulia def. Mina Shirakawa
Maika def. Syuri
Saya Kamitani def. Mayu Iwatani
Night 11 was a little bit light on total matches, having eight of them in total, but it was not lacking for action. First up, you have Saki Kashima earning herself yet another Upset of the Night honor with her surprising defeat of Tam Nakano.
Upset of the Night: Saki Kashima def. Tam Nakano
Match of the Night: Saya Kamitani vs Mayu Iwatani
And your match of the night folks goes to Saya Kamitani and Mayu Iwatani! It’s rare for Mayu to have a bad match, that’s just fact, but when you put her in there with the Golden Phoenix Saya Kamitani, magic happens. You absolutely must check this match out, it was so much fun to watch.
Night 12: September 4
Momo Kohgo def. Saki Kashima
Saya Kamitani def. Saya Iida
Ami Sourei def. Hazuki
Mirai def. Momo Watanabe
Tam Nakano def. Maika
Natsupoi def. Mayu Iwatani
Syuri def. Himeka
Okay, I have to ask one question.. What the hell is going on with Hazuki? She went 7-0 to start the tournament, but since she lost to Saya Kamitani, she’s lost her second straight and stands at 7-2 so far. Sure, I didn’t expect her to go undefeated for the whole tournament, but she should have beaten Ami Sourei. Whatever, I’m not the one booking the matches.. Anyway, there were some damn good matches here tonight.
Match of the Night: Natsupoi vs Mayu Iwatani
Queue up Mayu Iwatani not being able to have a bad match yet again. This time her dance partner was Natsupoi and they put on the best match of the night. A close second was Tam Nakano vs Maika, but Mayu vs Poi really stood out to me. They are both absolutely phenomenal in the ring together and I love seeing them face off.
Upset of the Night: Momo Kohgo def. Saki Kashima
Saki Kashima has earned herself two Upset honors so far this tournament, but on this one she’s on the receiving end of things. Momo Kohgo picked up her only win in the tournament to date with the surprise win over Saki and she also managed to snag an autographed copy of Saki’s new photobook. Looks like Momo won twice in this match.
Night 13: September 11
Night 13 was an interesting night. The matches were phenomenal but perhaps even bigger than that was that we were given a look at the eight women who are in the running to play Mayu Iwatani in her upcoming documentary! I am really looking forward to seeing who gets selected to play Mayu and to see the movie, she is an absolute Icon and the undisputed GOAT of Stardom. Anyway.. some 5 Star GP matches happened and here you go.
Risa Sera def. Unagi Sayaka
Himeka def. Saki
Suzu Suzuki def. Saya Kamitani
AZM def. Utami Hayashishita
Mayu Iwatani vs Giulia Time Limit Draw
So there were only nine matches on this PPV card, and five of those were part of the Grand Prix. That said, we did get one huge upset out of these five and we got one truly amazing match. Your match of the night folks..
Match of the Night: Mayu Iwatani vs Giulia
I cannot recall a single time that Mayu and Giulia have faced off and the match was not the best match on that card. These two truly have some insane chemistry in the ring and they always bring out the absolute best in each other. This match was no exception and it also has the distinction of being the only time-limit draw in the Grand Prix to date. Let that sink in.. We’ve had thirteen nights of matches so far and there’s only been one draw. That’s insane!
Upset of the Night: AZM def. Utami Hayashishita
To me, this is an absolutely huge upset. AZM is the longest tenured member of Queen’s Quest and she had to face off against her unit leader in Hayashishita. I fully expected Utami to win this match, but AZM has been on an absolute tear this year in the GP and she managed to defeat Utami clean. It was an impressive win and certainly gives AZM a lot more momentum heading into the final stretch of matches for the tournament.
Night 14: September 12
Natsupoi def. Hanan
Mina Shirakawa def. Ami Sourei
Saki def. Saki Kashima
Saya Iida def. Hazuki
Utami Hayashishita def. Mai Sakurai
Syuri def. Momo Kohgo
Risa Sera def. AZM
Tam Nakano def. Unagi Sayaka
Mayu Iwatani def. Suzu Suzuki
In the final night of our catch-up, we had nine matches in the Grand Prix with some really insane action. Whether it was the Risa Sera upset win over AZM or the absolute barn burner that was Mayu Iwatani vs Suzu Suzuki, you were given nine solid and really fun matches to watch here on Night 14. That said, your match of the night goes to two ladies from the same unit..
Match of the Night: Tam Nakano vs Unagi Sayaka
Tam Nakano and Unagi Sayaka gave us nearly eleven minutes of action here and it was simply awesome to watch. Unagi seems to always be a thorn in Tam’s side when they are in the ring together and they put on some really good matches together. Tam got the win this time, but it wasn’t for a lack of trying on Unagi’s part. She took Tam to the limit and came up short, but she can at least keep her head held high after that gutsy performance. A close runner up for MotN honors was Mayu Iwatani vs Suzu Suzuki.
Upset of the Night: Risa Sera def. AZM
I almost gave the upset honors to Saya Iida for her victory over Hazuki, but I couldn’t do it. Hazuki has lost three straight matches with the loss to Iida and her momentum has seemingly come to a sudden and violent stop. By contrast, AZM should have been heavily favored to defeat the upstart Risa Sera in their match. She had the most momentum of anyone in the tournament going into the match and yet, Sera reversed the Azumi Sushi for the surprise win. This was a lot of fun to watch and honestly, the entire card was insanely good.
Night 15: 9/17/2022
Suzu Suzuki def. Saya Iida
Maika def. Unagi Sayaka
Maika vs Risa Sera : Double Count Out
Mirai def. Mina Shirakawa
Saki Kashima def. Utami Hayashishita
Syuri def. Saki
Starlight Kid def. Natsupoi
MATCH OF THE NIGHT: MAIKA vs. RISA SERA
This match was a lot of fun for me. Maika and Risa Sera took each other to task and gave it all to the fans, ending the match in a double count-out. It was tough picking between this match and Natsupoi vs Starlight Kid, but this one was just fun from bell to bell. Check it out.
UPSET OF THE NIGHT: SAKI KASHIMA def. UTAMI HAYASHISHITA
Saki Kashima continued her role of pulling the upset with a surprise win over Utami Hayashishita. Utami ragdolled Saki for the entire match until Saki hit the Kishikaisei, the most powerful move in wrestling, and pinned the former World Champion clean.
NIGHT 16: 9/18/2022
Koguma def. Unagi Sayaka
Saki def. Mai Sakurai
Starlight Kid def. Mina Shirakawa
Giulia def. Ami Sourei
Saya Kamitani vs Mirai : Time-limit draw
Tam Nakano def. Risa Sera
Suzu Suzuki def. Momo Watanabe
MATCH OF THE NIGHT: SUZU SUZUKI vs. MOMO WATANABE
For me, there was several really good matches on this night that could have easily been MotN. However, Suzu Suzuki and Momo Watanabe went out there and tried to kill each other. They took each other to task and it was 13:27 of pure action and violence. I highly recommend seeing this match.
There were no matches that I consider the victor to have been an upset on this night.
NIGHT 17: 9/19/2022
Maika def. Mai Sakurai
AZM def. Unagi Sayaka
Suzu Suzuki def. Mina Shirakawa
Tam Nakano def. Momo Kohgo
Risa Sera def. Koguma
Utami Hayashishita def. Saki
MATCH OF THE NIGHT: SUZU SUZUKI vs. MINA SHIRAKAWA
Suzu Suzuki again wins my match of the night, on back to back nights, for her match against Mina Shirakawa. Mina and Suzu put on one hell of a match and it easily was the best one of the night. They tore into each other and showed how badly they wanted to win the tournament. Must watch for sure.
As with Night 16, there were no upsets on this night.
NIGHT 18: 9/23/2022
Suzu Suzuki def. Hanan
Natsupoi def. Saya Iida
Saki def. Momo Kohgo
Koguma def. AZM
Saki Kashima def. Risa Sera
Starlight Kid def. Mirai
Mina Shirakawa def. Saya Kamitani
Momo Watanabe def. Giulia
Mayu Iwatani def. Hazuki
Syuri def. Tam Nakano
MATCH OF THE NIGHT: SYURI vs. TAM NAKANO
Gods, picking a match of the night for this show was hard as hell. You had five matches that could easily have earned that honor and I highly recommend this show as it was full of great action. The true MotN though, in my opinion, was Syuri vs Tam Nakano. They have insane chemistry together and they put on another phenomenal show for the fans.
UPSET OF THE NIGHT: MINA SHIRAKAWA def. SAYA KAMITANI
Now, Saki Kashima did pull another upset in her defeat of Risa Sera, but an even bigger one was Mina Shirakawa defeating the current Wonder of Stardom Champion Saya Kamitani. This match was absolutely insane! I loved every second of it and Mina looked so damn good in defeating the champion. She has her shot to dethrone Saya soon and I think she can do it!
NIGHT 19 + 20: 9/24/2022 & 9/25/2022
I grouped Nights 19 and 20 together since there were only two 5 Star matches on the 9/25 card, which was the Stardom in Showcase 2 PPV.
Night 19:
Hanan def. Mina Shirakawa
Momo Kohgo def. Maika
Starlight Kid def. Saya Iida
Suzu Suzuki def. Ami Sourei
Himeka def. Unagi Sayaka
Momo Watanabe def. Mayu Iwatani
Utami Hayashishita def. Tam Nakano
Giulia def. Saya Kamitani
Night 20:
Hanan def. Saya Iida
Suzu Suzuki def. Starlight Kid
MATCH OF THE NIGHT: MOMO WATANABE vs. MAYU IWATANI
Momo Watnabe and Mayu Iwatani once again took each other to the limit in this years 5 Star GP. Perhaps more surprisingly, Momo has now defeated Mayu in two straight years during the Grand Prix. It seems Momo has her number in this tournament right now, but the two of them still put on amazing matches that absolutely need to be seen by all.
UPSET OF THE NIGHT: HANAN def. MINA SHIRAKAWA
Until this point in the tournament, Hanan did not have a single win under her belt. That changed when she surprised us all by defeating Mina Shirakawa. It was a victory long coming for the Future of Stardom Champion and it let her end the tournament on a relatively strong note.