STARDOM 5STAR Grand Prix 2023 Participants Announced

The biggest women's tournament in professional wrestling, STARDOM's 5STAR Grand Prix, is set to begin mid-July. Earlier today, the company announced the official participants of the 12th annual tournament at STARDOM Flashing Champions 2023. This year will see a reduced field of 20 participants, down from last year's 26, with 18 of those competitors confirmed and two yet to be decided. 

Mayu Iwatani (2018 Winner)

Hazuki

Utami Hayashishita (2020 Winner)

AZM

Saya Kamitani

Natsuko Tora

Starlight Kid

Momo Watanabe

Giulia (2022 Winner)

Maika

Tam Nakano

Natsupoi

Saori Anou

Syuri (2021 Winner)

MIRAI

Ami Sourei

Mina Shirakawa

Suzu Suzuki

X

XX

Due to the downsizing of the tournament, this year's field is missing notable competitors on the STARDOM roster. Several current champions, such as Saki Kashima, Thekla, and Mai Sakurai, are not confirmed. These omissions, along with the myriad of young talent not yet included in the tournament, have led many to turn their attention to the upcoming 5STAR Qualifying League. Introduced last year for rookies and undercard competitors, the play-in tournament will see competitors missing from this year's field compete for the last two spots still available. While competitors in this league are currently unknown, the exclusivity of this year's 5STAR Grand Prix will make it a hotly contested preliminary tournament.

Looking at the field itself, Saori Anou of Cosmic Angels is the only first-time entrant into the tournament. Anou first arrived in STARDOM in April, joining Cosmic Angels upon Mina Shirakawa's exit from the group at the Cinderella Tournament Final. While she is currently aligned with STARDOM's new double-crown champion Tam Nakano, Anou, along with the rest of the roster, is undoubtedly focused on winning this year's 5STAR Grand Prix and usurping Nakano at the top of the company.