The 2024 5 Star Grand Prix has come and gone, finishing on August 31 by crowning its champion. Maika ran the gauntlet and made history as the first person to run through the entire tournament undefeated. It was a history-making tournament in many ways. For the first time in its 13-year history, there were four blocks and a finishing stretch that included quarter and semi finals. This was a 5 Star Grand Prix that was unlike any other.

Now after an intense 12 shows over three weeks, it is time to take a look at the very best of the tournament. Like clockwork ,the 5 Star Grand Prix always brings out the best in some wrestlers. It seems the allure of guaranteed big singles matches with stakes is simply too irresistible.

While Maika dominated on the points tally, does that also mean she also dominated the best matches list? There were many great fights in this year’s tournament. However, there was only room for ten on this list.

10. Saori Anou vs Xena – August 20 (Blue Stars A)

If Xena hadn’t already proven herself earlier this year in her World of Stardom Title match against Maika, her performance during the 5 Star Grand Prix should have done the trick: she is for real. A near faultless tournament regardless of who she was up against, but she might have saved her best work for another of the GP’s best performers in Saori Anou.

This was a great match built around a very simple premise: can Saori find a way to withstand Xena’s massive strength advantage? For a lot of the match she simply couldn’t. Xena was not only overpowering her but having fun doing so. There’s an air of fun to this main event that isn’t always apparent in the 5 Star GP. It never undermines the stakes at play; but whether it’s Saori’s almost fearful avoidance of Xena’s devastating chops or Xena using the referee for assistance in flipping out of a wristlock, it brings a slightly different flavor to this showdown between two of the block’s best. It’s fun with a very real underlying tension as Saori tries to find a way to handle the Australian powerhouse.

9. Maika vs Mayu Iwatani – August 31 (Semi Finals)

The beauty of the 5 Star Grand Prix is that it often provides fans with first time ever singles match-ups, but this was a showdown that wasn’t even expected when the blocks were first announced. A lot had to go right for Maika and Iwatani to square off in 2024, but sometimes the odds fall in the fans’ favor.

Nobody had been able to beat Maika all tournament, so Mayu entered the match with the kind of energy that could have only been honed from the craziness of the Red Stars B Block she had emerged victorious from. She brought the fight to Maika immediately, using her speed and experience to keep the former Red Belt Champion on the back foot. To Maika’s credit though she weathered the storm and took it right back to the IWGP Women’s Champion, knowing that she might not be able to hit Mayu as many times, but she could hit twice as hard when she could connect.

8. Starlight Kid vs Syuri – August 10 (Blue Stars A)

The opening night of the 5 Star Grand Prix is always appointment viewing – the show is always stacked with intriguing match-ups and the showdown between the two eventual qualifiers from Blue Stars A was no exception. Syuri has always used the tournament to remind people why she’s considered amongst the best in the world, and Starlight Kid felt ready to ride the momentum of her new Neo Genesis faction.

After a tentative start, the two firmly set about playing to each other’s strengths. Starlight Kid looking to outgun Syuri, who instead preferred to break her rival down with brutal submissions and strikes. SLK has been showcasing her own legwork in recent years, but she received a lesson from a master on this night. It’s a lesson she would take to heart because Starlight Kid would go on to have one of the best tournament performances of anyone.

7. AZM vs Momo Watanabe – August 10 (Red Stars B)

What happens when you combine two of the more reliable in-ring performers with an intense years long rivalry that’s built around a friendship broken by betrayal? A must-watch first night 5 Star Grand Prix match. This is a match that these two could have had in their sleep as they’re so familiar with each other by now, but they always find a way to keep things fresh and interesting.

While Momo has always had the ability to dominate AZM with her striking and strength, AZM’s growth over the years has quickly narrowed the gap between them, and in this match more than ever you begin to see Momo Watanabe become overwhelmed by her younger opponent. The match starts with a high intensity yet never dips as it builds to a tremendous crescendo, capped off by one of the more remarkable finishing spots you’ll see inside a STARDOM ring.

6. Hazuki vs Maika – August 23 (Red Stars A)

As soon as the blocks were announced, this was one of the highlight matches; a first time ever showdown between two of the best in the company whose styles were sure to complement each other. The fiery Hazuki versus the powerhouse brute Maika. Made all the more exciting as the latter tore her way through the block as she looked to avenge her stolen World of Stardom Championship.

Thankfully, the match more than lived up to the hype. Maika’s excitement was clear from even before the bell rang and the two instantly clicked. From dueling superplexes to Hazuki trying to one up Maika with her own version of the Michinoku Driver, it was exactly the kind of match that has made the 5 Star GP appointment viewing over the years. Stories in wrestling can add a lot, but sometimes you just need two people who are determined to beat the other and incredibly good at doing so. This is proof of that.

5. AZM vs Mayu Iwatani – August 18 (Red Stars B)

By this point in 5 Star Grand Prix, AZM hadn’t lost a match in the tournament, but she was facing someone who hadn’t lost a singles match all year. If she was going to beat The Icon for the first time, she was going to have to use all 10 years of her in-ring experience to do something truly special in Kobe, and that’s exactly what she did.

Mayu Iwatani is no stranger to the High Speed style, being a former champion herself, but AZM turned the boosters on to keep Iwatani firmly on the back foot for a surprising amount of the match. This match started at full throttle and never really let up. Even then pure speed isn’t enough to keep Mayu down, so AZM looked to pull out an awe-inspiring trick that couldn’t have possibly been scouted—a brutal Butterfly Destroyer. Whatever it takes to win the Grand Prix.

4. Saori Anou vs Starlight Kid – August 15 (Blue Stars A)

After a disappointing match earlier in the year with the Wonder of Stardom Title on the line, these two more than made up for it at Korakuen Hall during the 5 Star GP. Saori Anou and Starlight Kid were both on the shortlist for tournament MVP and the reasons why were highlighted in this clash.

Both were entering the match at a precarious 1-1, and there was a sense that neither one could afford to drop this match lest they fall out of contention to advance. The match was constantly fought on a knife’s edge, with small switches in momentum as they bounced between styles and traded moves, using the entire fifteen minutes looking for the answer to the question: how do I beat the other?

3. Mayu Iwatani vs Tam Nakano – August 10 (Red Stars B)

One of the longest running stories in STARDOM wrote another chapter at the start of the 5 Star GP, as Tam Nakano continued in her quest for an elusive victory over her former mentor and friend Mayu Iwatani. Of course, both the match and the tournament wouldn’t go quite as Tam would have hoped (though fate has a way of working out for the Twilight Princess, as she won the Red Belt on the final night of the tournament anyway), but that didn’t stop her from putting forth a phenomenal effort, leaving people sure that even in defeat she would be victorious come August 31st…

Years of chemistry combined for what would be their best one-on-one match yet. It retained the kind of wild reckless intensity both are known for without ever losing control. Tam fought through her injured knee through sheer force of will putting forth her strongest work in a long time, while Mayu continued to show why she’s one of the favorites for wrestler of the year.

2. Saya Kamitani vs Starlight Kid – August 28 (Quarter Finals)

There were a lot of questions surrounding Saya Kamitani when she turned heel, and the start of her tournament didn’t exactly silence those doubts. Against the beloved Starlight Kid in front of a raucous Shinjuku FACE crowd however proved to be the perfect combination to remind everyone how great she can be.

The campy heel work remained, but she complimented it with some truly great wrestling, and importantly the audience responded. The match used the tight space of the FACE building well, let the action breathe in the right spots, and importantly knew when to pick up the pace, leading to a frantic conclusion that highlighted the best of both wrestlers. While she had been steadily finding her way throughout the tournament, this was the match Kamitani needed to establish this new version of herself. It wasn’t just her best work since turning heel but the best Saya’s looked since she was dominating the scene as the Wonder of Stardom Champion.

1. Mayu Iwatani vs Natsupoi – August 28 (Quarter Finals)

Mayu Iwatani has had the Midas Touch all year, and that held true in this year’s 5 Star Grand Prix, as evidenced by how often her name popped up in this list. Like clockwork, The Icon would go to work and put on a signature performance, no matter the crowd or the opponent. In this case, it was only boosted by the situation. The stakes of a quarter finals match in front of the densely packed and rabid Shinjuku FACE crowd.

The IWGP Women’s Champion going against the Wonder of Stardom Champion was an enticing fight on paper, and Natsupoi took it to Iwatani, using her newfound focus on building towards an armbar submission victory to keep Mayu in check.

There was a certain intensity behind this match that truly captured the gravity of what was at stake. A shot at making it to the final night of the tournament, but knowing a top champion in the company is standing in the way. Every move seemed to be hit with a bit more ferocity and each action done with more urgency than had been seen previously in the tournament. When you combine that with the Shinjuku FACE crowd (which can’t be emphasised enough in this top two matches) it elevated everything to another level. The Quarter Finals delivered the two best matches of the tournament and one of the very best shows of the entire STARDOM year so far.