This Saturday marks the beginning of STARDOM's major tournament, the 2022 5STAR Grand Prix. It has become the most prominent tournament in Joshi wrestling and one of the most highly anticipated in all of professional wrestling with comparisons being made to NJPW's G1 Climax in recent years. And ahead of the 5STAR Grand Prix kicking off, Fightful's Scott Edwards had the opportunity to interview former World of Stardom Champion and 2020 5STAR Grand Prix winner, Utami Hayashishita.
Last year, the 5STAR Grand Prix was won by Syuri, who went on to defeat Hayashishita to win the World of Stardom Championship at Stardom Dream Queendom. Now as STARDOM heads into the 2022 tournament, the roles are reversed with Syuri as the World of Stardom Champion and Hayashishita looking to get back to the mountain top of STARDOM with the tournament is about to begin.
Hayashishita will take part in the Red Stars Block of the tournament, which features a rematch against Syuri. It will be the first time these two go one-on-one since Syuri won the championship at the end of 2021.
There were a number of topics discussed in this interview with Hayashishita, including potentially becoming the first-ever two-time 5STAR Grand Prix winner, facing KAIRI down the road, and who she'd like to face outside of STARDOM.
Here's what Utami Hayashishita had to say in our interview:
Q: What is your thinking heading into the 5STAR Grand Prix? If you win, you will be the first two-time winner in the tournament's history.
Utami: The 5STAR Grand Prix is about paving the way to my future. It was from winning the 5STAR Grand Prix before, that I won my first World of Stardom title.
I want to win again and leave my name as the first-ever two-time winner of the 5STAR Grand Prix and the strongest pro wrestler in tournament history.
Q: Who are you most looking forward to facing in the Red Stars block?
Utami: Risa Sera and SAKI. I grew up only in STARDOM, so I am very interested in wrestlers from other places.
Q: Momo Watanabe turned her back on you and Queen’s Quest. Do you still plan to get payback or have you moved on?
Utami: I still can't forgive her and it’s still sad. But I think I have to look forward as the new leader of Queen's Quest. I want to pay her back in the future and make her regret her betrayal.
Q: What did it mean to you to become the leader of Queen’s Quest?
Utami: Queen's Quest is like a family. I am now able to play an important role in building it up even more, and I’m devoting my life to Queen's Quest.
Q: How much has Miyu Amasaki grown since joining Queen’s Quest? How successful do you believe she will be in Stardom?
Utami: There are still many things she can't do to pick up some wins. But Miyu definitely has the star power and guts to become a future ace. She has so much potential that what she can't do now isn’t a negative.
Q: Your matches with Syuri created international popularity for Stardom. How do you feel about having such a special series with her?
Utami: I think that my matches with Syuri have allowed me to push my limits even further. I am very grateful to Syuri for allowing me to find a part of myself that I didn’t know before. And I think she will be my biggest rival in the future.
Q: What should fans expect in your match against Syuri on night two of the 5STAR Grand Prix?
Utami: I hope they are looking forward to finding out all over again how Syuri and I will capture their attention within the 15 minutes allotted for the league matches.
Q: Since losing the World of Stardom Championship, you have had limited success on major shows. How do you plan to turn it in the second half of the year?
Utami: In the second half of the year, while improving my unit's strength, it’s also time for me to show my individual strength as Utami Hayashishita. I think people are longing for me to hold a belt. I want to take action.
Q: Stardom continues to work with other promotions and groups like Prominence, COLOR’S, and Marvelous. Who is someone outside of Stardom that you would like to face in the future?
Utami: When I wanted to become a professional wrestler, I chose STARDOM because I wanted to compete with Io Shirai. That dream has not changed.
My dream match is and always will be Utami Hayashishita vs Io Shirai.
Q: KAIRI has shown interest in facing you in a singles match in the future. How has her return affected Stardom? Are you interested in doing the singles match down the line as well?
Utami: The fans were happy to see world-renowned KAIRI again in STARDOM and the wrestlers were very excited. Of course, I was too. I look forward to having a singles match one day.
Q: With the NJPW x STARDOM show coming at the end of the year, what would you like to do on the show?
Utami: I want to show the fans who only know about New Japan Pro-Wrestling what STARDOM is all about. I am confident that they will be absolutely delighted. Of course, I want to shine the brightest at that time.
Q: You have accomplished so much in your four-year career. What is next for Utami Hayashishita as a member of the Stardom roster and as an overall wrestler?
Utami: My next goal is to make my name more widely known around the world as STARDOM's Utami Hayashishita. I also want to increase the number of people who like women's pro wrestling and inspire girls to become women's pro wrestlers!
A massive thank you goes Utami for taking the time to take part in this in-depth interview. Also a huge thanks to STARDOM for helping making this interview come to life during such a busy month on the promotion's schedule.
Hayashishita starts her 5STAR Grand Prix journey on Saturday as she takes on Himeka in a rematch from the 2020 5STAR Grand Prix Finals. As noted, she takes on Syuri on Sunday.
For those wondering, here's the schedule for Hayashishita in the tournament:
- vs. Himeka (7/30)
- vs. Syuri (7/31)
- vs. Unagi Sayaka (8/7)
- vs. Risa Sera (8/11)
- vs. Momo Kohgo (8/14)
- vs. Maika (8/27)
- vs. AZM (9/11)
- vs. Mai Sakurai (9/12)
- vs. Saki Kashima (9/17)
- vs. SAKI (9/19)
- vs. Tam Nakano (9/24)
- vs. Koguma (10/1)
STARDOM's 5STAR Grand Prix begins Saturday at 4:30 p.m. EST on pay-per-view.
You can follow STARDOM on Twitter at their official account (@wwr_stardom) and their official English account (@we_are_stardom) to see how you can order the show and stay up-to-date with the promotion.
