Look – I’m probably going to say this a bunch of times since 90% of this roster is completely new to me, but Konami is earning a place in my heart very quickly as a favorite amongst the wrestlers in STARDOM’s 5 Star Grand Prix. Konami put in an awesome effort against Kagetsu on Day One where she scored a submission victory and looked to be on the same path on Day Two against Tam Nakano. From bell-to-bell the match was only about 7 minutes long but there was so much packed into the fight that it felt like twice that. For the most part, Konami punished Tam with leg-based offense and submissions. In the final moments, Konami’s Triangle Lancer was reversed into a roll-up and a victory surprising both women.

Go out of your way to see this one if you don’t see anything else from the show. I have a feeling Konami is going to be in the spotlight quite a bit this tournament with the performances she’s put in so far, and Tam is so believable and likeable that every shriek of pain from her feels real and the result of some unusually cruel action.

In other action, Nicole Savoy picked up a win over Natsu Sumire in a match that was fine but felt like it ended oddly. Sumire feigned a leg injury to earn a brief respite outside of the ring before taking control of Savoy near the end of the match. Savoy continued to target the leg of the Oedo Tai member, though, and tapped her out with a submission to secure herself her first two points of the tournament.

Momo Watanabe and Jamie Hayter had another easy favorite for me. After two nights of watching Hayter wrestle I’m 100% sold on her. I’m going to have to check out some more of her work especially if it’s anything like it was in this match with Momo – brutal kicks and strikes mixed with an air of arrogance. Hayter is the clear standout for me amongst the foreign participants in the tournament and makes it easy to see why she is the current Revolution Pro Undisputed British Women’s Wrestling Champion. Unfortunately for Hayter, this was not her night as Momo put her away to the sound of two more points. Momo has 4 points and shares the lead in Blue Stars Block.

Kimber Lee showed a bit more of what I had enjoyed seeing from her previous to her Mae Young Classic/NXT run and put in a solid attempt at defeating Jungle Kyona. Kyona started this one off quickly with a shotgun dropkick to the back of Kimber for early control. Kyona put her away with a wicked spinning, sitout powerbomb to balance herself out after a loss to Rachael Ellering on Day One. I’m looking forward to Kimber Lee’s next tournament match with Utami on September 8 to see if she can continue to impress and leave the bad taste of a WWE run that never allowed her to be showcased properly.

Utami Hayashishita continued the rookie streak by keeping Natsuko Tora from scoring her first points in the block. Utami, again, looked strong here as she held her own with Natsuko the whole way. It looks like Utami is establishing that she’s not a one-dimensional submission machine as she put Natsuko away with a rear naked choke instead of the Torture Rack. Utami will be in six-woman tag team action on the 26th as she teams with Starlight Kid and Shiki Shibusawa to take on Ellering, Kimber Lee, and Kelly Klein.

Hazuki came out with a win over Kelly Klein in a fine match. Klein doesn’t stand out much to me at all other than having one of the nicer Nothern Lights Suplexes I can remember seeing. Hazuki mentioned before the match that her best bet of surviving Klein was probably to go to a time-limit draw, but she wound up wrapping Klein in a La Magistral cradle for the victory. Hazuki joins Momo at the head of the Blue Stars pack.

The Goddess of STARDOM Champions went head to head as Mayu Iwatani and Saki Kashima fought for their first points in the tournament. Mayu worked over Saki’s back a bit and seemed to enjoy doing it as her tag team partner howled in pain. Visibily frustrated and surprised after not picking up the pin after a top-rope splash, Mayu goes into blitz mode to try and put Saki away. This would be her undoing as Saki was able to attempt a series of rollups before landing on one that worked and locked two points away for one half of the Goddess of STARDOM Champions. The pair would make it clear that there are no hard feelings with a handshake and a surprise hug from Saki after the match.

In the main event, Kagetsu redeemed herself for her loss against Konami on Day One by defeating Rachael Ellering. Ellering still isn’t doing it for me for the most part but held her own against Kagetsu in what was a fun and solid main event. Kagetsu was still selling a sore neck from Konami’s Triangle Lancer which came into play after an Ellering shoulder block which sent her rolling to the arena floor in pain. Kagetsu tried to catch Ellering off-guard with a quick kick as she recovered but was caught and The Queen of Strong Smile delivered more punishment to her neck.

Ellering looked to be on the brink of victory with a Dragon Sleeper but Kagetsu made it to the ropes. As Ellering came in for more offense, the World of STARDOM Champion pulled the referee to the mat and spewed the poison blue mist into the eyes of her opponent. One 450 splash later and Kagetsu had two points in her pocket with a pinfall victory.

After the match Kagetsu let Utami know that she could practice all she wanted, but she wouldn’t be able to defeat her in their singles match on September 1. Utami continues the roll call of her future opponents by letting Natsuko Tora that she’ll beat her in three minutes – just enough time to prepare a serving of Cup Noodles.

The next 5*GP shows are a double-shot on August 26. The early show features:

• Kagetsu & Hazuki vs Ruaka, Leo Onozaki, and Hanan
• Utami Hayashishita, Starlight Kid, and Shiki Shibusawa vs Rachael Ellering, Kimber Lee, and Kelly Klein
• Red Stars Block: Konami vs Natsuko Tora
• Red Stars Block: Jungle Kyona vs Tam Nakano
• Blue Stars Block: Nicole Savoy vs Saki Kashima
• Blue Stars Block: Natsu Sumire vs Momo Watanabe
• Blue Stars Block: Mayu Iwatani vs Jamie Hayter

The later show will see:

• Hazuki vs Leo Onozaki vs Ruaka
• Shiki Shibusawa & Hanan vs Utami Hayashishita & Momo Watanabe vs Starlight Kid & Tam Nakano vs Rachael Ellering & Kimber Lee
• Blue Stars Block: Nicole Savoy vs Jamie Hayter
• Blue Stars Block: Saki Kashima vs Kelly Klein
• Red Stars Block: Konami vs Jungle Kyona
• Blue Stars Block: Natsu Sumire vs Mayu Iwatani
• Red Stars Block: Kagetsu vs Natsuko Tora

For now, let’s check in with the standings as of Day Two!

Red Stars Block

• Utami Hayashishita: 4
• Kagetsu: 2
• Jungle Kyona: 2
• Tam Nakano: 2
• Konami: 2
• Rachael Ellering: 2
• Kimber Lee: 2
• Natsuko Tora: 0

Blue Stars Block

• Momo Watanabe: 4
• Hazuki: 4
• Saki Kashima: 2
• Kelly Klein: 2
• Nicole Savoy: 2
• Jamie Hayter: 2
• Mayu Iwatani: 0
• Natsu Sumire: 0

Catch up:

• Utami Hayashishita is the Real Damn Deal: STARDOM 5 Star Grand Prix Day One