JPN
At the "Sammy presents STARDOM 5★STAR GP 2026" Red Stars B official match held at Duo Cerezo in Niigata on July 26th (Sunday), Utami Hayashishita, making her first appearance in three years, won the match against her contemporary, Saya Iida
After returning to the Stardom ring in June, what she had been eagerly awaiting was a singles match against Iida, who had also joined the company in 2018. As if to test each other's growth, they took a running start outside the ring and clashed head-on with shoulder tackles. It was like a head-on collision between a dump truck and a large bus
Furthermore, Utami's elbows and Iida's chops clashed. The fierce battle continued after that. After 10 minutes, Utami followed up with a German suplex, a bat hanging drop, and a sliding lariat. When Iida countered her Torture Rack Bomb, Utami didn't let up on the attack with a lariat, elbows, and another German suplex. With less than two minutes remaining in the match, she landed a short-range lariat, and finally, at 13 minutes and 45 seconds, she sealed the victory with a Crusade, a spinning drop from a hijack backbreaker position
After the match, Utami took the microphone and said, "A singles match against my beloved contemporary, Iida. I think these two points are incredibly valuable. Iida and I were both so cool, and I felt that we are truly contemporaries to be proud of. Thank you."
Then Iida called out, "I'm still frustrated... so frustrated. I guess I just can't beat Utami Hayashishita. I got a real taste of you today. I'm really frustrated, but more than that, I'm happy to be able to fight you again in the Stardom ring and to see you!"
Furthermore, the moment Iida said, "Thank you for coming back to me!", Shimi hugged him
Wiping away her tears, Utami said, "I'm so incredibly happy to hear that from Iida, whom I love so much. I'm so glad my first 5★STAR win was against Iida. Thank you." Her league record is now 1 win, 1 draw, and 1 loss. "I'm still down 3 points, but I'm not giving up at all. There's no one else who can beat me but Utami Hayashishita!" she declared
In addition, in the Red Stars B block, Seira Mei faced Inaba Azusa (JTO) of HATE. Neither wrestler gave an inch in the match, and it was a back-and-forth battle. With less than three minutes remaining, Azusa caught Seira in a heel hold. Screaming, Seira endured for nearly two minutes and managed to escape to the ropes. She kicked out of a big boot at the count of one, and Seira tried to go for a pin with a dropkick, but it wasn't a decisive blow. Just after the merciless bell rang to signal the 15-minute time limit, Azusa caught Seira in a kneebar, but it was too late
With this, both Seira and Azusa now have 1 win, 1 draw, and 2 losses, for a total of 3 points. After the match, Seira said, "I failed to hunt down that brat. Ah, to be honest, I underestimated her. I thought I could definitely score two goals today, so I'm disappointed. In the two matches so far since this 5★STAR tournament started, I've been caught in joint locks, so I was getting pretty anxious towards the end of today's match. I thought my knee was gone. I didn't win, but I think that one goal was pretty significant. Also, if I can win all my remaining matches, there's still hope. I'm definitely going to go for the kill."
Meanwhile, Azusa made a defiant comment: "Failed at hunting the old lady. Awful. Seriously awful. Well, to draw with me for 15 minutes, Seira Mei is pretty impressive. If you want to run again, I'll help you run again, and if you want to have another match, I'll help you again. But in the meantime, heal your knee that I attacked. Go away, pain! Bye-bye!"