The Five Star Radar is the Five Star Network’s weekly series highlighting the best matches from all of pro wrestling throughout the week. This week’s edition takes a look at NOAH, AJPW, NJPW, DRAGONGATE & STARDOM!
Tristan Archer vs. Will Ospreay – RIXE Catch (2/25/23, PUBLISHED: 3/3/23)
Will Ospreay was doing Will Ospreay things, this time in the promotion known as RIXE Catch. Episode 12 saw Ospreay go one-on-one with Tristan Archer and what followed was a match that had maybe the best crowd all year plus all the things that often make an Ospreay match as great as they are.
The exciting atmosphere helped make this one of the best of the year so far!
There are many examples in wrestling where the crowd made the match. This is just another one of those examples. Tristan has been impressive with his work in Europe and with Ospreay being his opponent I knew that this had the potential to be an awesome match. And even though it obviously was a very good match, the factor that I didn’t know beforehand is that the french crowd was going to go ballistic. Because of them, this is currently my second favorite Match of the Year as of now. – Karlsruhe00 (@UpcomingWrestl1)
Face of the Revolution Ladder Match – AEW (3/1/23)
World? Meet Komander! The Lucha star made his AEW debut on Wednesday as part of the Face of the Revolution Ladder Match and did not let anyone down. His rope-walking expertise wowed audiences worldwide — even if it may have cost him the big win in the end. Powerhouse Hobbs walked out as the winner of the match but Konosuke Takeshita once again showed why he is a future face of AEW, forget Revolution.
We have a feeling the actual PPV of Revolution will be filling up the Radar next week.
AEW Ladder matches are always the best kind of spotfest and this one was no exception. Featuring the incredible rope walks of Komander, the daring bumps of Action Andretti and Sammy Guevara, an incredible Blue Thunder Bomb off of the ladder by Konosuke Takeshita and so much more, this match was excitement from beginning to end. Hobbs winning in front of his hometown crowd in the arena that he went to go watch wrestling as a kid was the cherry on top of the cake. Great match! – Amy (@amyhay___)
Rey de Parejas Finals – DRAGONGATE (3/2/23)
Yuki Yoshioka could have laid down after losing the Open The Dream Gate Championship to start the year, but he instead picked himself up and strived for greatness alongside Madoka Kikuta to win the Rey de Parejas! The match to do so, as Amy notes, can be credited to the shocking performance of Yasushi Kanda, who stepped up his game more than anyone else in the match (because he had to?).
It was a banner week for DRAGONGATE with this match being the start of that.
If you’d have told me that a match involving Yasushi Kanda would be in my top three tag team matches of the year so far a month ago, I’d have laughed in your face. However, pulling out perhaps his best performance in the better part of a decade, the Rey de Parejas finals were a perfect finish to an overall very good tournament. Starting off the match with a bang, Kanda did a tope suicida (WHEN DID HE EVER DO THEM?!) and Susumu did an Orehara Moonsault to D’courage on the outside. The match had a fantastic story of the original tag team of Susumu and Kanda, who’ve been teaming on and off for 25 years, trying to prove they still had it against the young guns Kikuta and Yoshioka. They pulled EVERYTHING out of their greatest hits, including the rarely seen Tornado de Acapulco from Kanda (again, where was this Kanda before?!?!?!), and both sides traded falls in a desperate attempt to win the cup, and with it a Twin Gate Championship opportunity. After attempting to put Susumu away with former partner K-ness’ finisher the D3 (lovely touch by the way), Kikuta’s incredible lariat sealed the win for D’Courage.
Not only do we have an incredible Twin Gate championship set for Champion Gate, but Kikuta looked like an absolute star in this match. The eventual match between him and Shun Skywalker for the Dream Gate is certain to be a potential MOTYC for DRAGONGATE. And Yasushi Kanda, I owe you an apology. I was unfamiliar with your game. – Amy (@amyhay___)
WHERE TO WATCH: DRAGONGATE Network
Minorita vs. Jason Lee – DRAGONGATE (3/4/23)
Jason Lee — one of the best in the world? He may not get that credit from the entire wrestling landscape but he should with this match being the perfect example of why. Not only does his tag team with Jacky Funky Kamei repeatedly deliver, but Lee has done nothing but shine over the last year.
Getting a shot to dethrone Minorita for the Open The Brave Gate Championship was all he needed to finalize the fact he was one of the very best and he did so in a high-speed, nonstop encounter that would become one of DRAGONGATE’s very best to this point in 2023.
One year ago, Takumi Hayakawa was given the Minorita gimmick, a gimmick that was meant to be a joke comedy gimmick impersonating and being the mascot for Kota Minoura, but over the last year Takumi Hayakawa has made the Minorita gimmick his own, transforming it into something completely different than a gimmick, it’s now him, a great junior heavyweight that makes the most out of each match he has and it even led to him winning the Brave Gate in shock fashion from HYO last year.
Now on Champion Gate Night 1 in Osaka, he was ready to make his first defense of the Open The Brave Gate title.
His opponent: oh just one of the best junior heavyweights in the world Jason Lee.
Jason Lee has come a long way since his round one knockout from the WWE Cruiserweight Classic vs. Rich Swann, where he felt like just another body in the whole tournament that most people that watched the tournament have forgotten about since.Jason Lee ever since then has become a key player in the DRAGONGATE midcard, becoming an integral part of the roster. Having already won the Triangle Gate and Twin Gate before. This however was his 4th try at winning the Open The Brave Gate title a title he had never held before but had always been on the hunt for. This could always have just been a V1 for Minorita. However, Jason did not want to be just a footnote in Minorita’s title reign he needed this to be his moment and his time a being a singles champ.
The match followed the usual Brave Gate match structure “It was action too fast to call”. Minorita as the match went on would get more and more desperate but Jason would be relentless in his offense, doing brutal kicks and elbow strikes that made Minorita look like a ragdoll just taking his strikes. In the end, Minorita flew too close to the sun with this title defense, he proved himself not ready to be a singles champ that could make it past V1.
Minorita however with the title win in December and this match proved that he was not just a joke gimmick but a damn good pro wrestler.
When Jason hit the MaxiMuM Driver to win his first singles title he reminded us all how far he had come since coming to DG. Still keeping the name of the Unit he joined in 2017 when he came to the roster and felt like a complete stranger, MaxiMuM gave him an identity, an identity he still keeps alive by using that name for his finisher even though MaxiMum ended three years ago. – Sondre Bjorn (@SondreBjorn)
WHERE TO WATCH: DRAGONGATE Network
Nanae Takahashi, Yuu & Yuna Mizumori vs. Suzu Suzuki, Risa Sera & Kurumi Hiiragi – STARDOM (3/4/23)
7Upp showing up and delivering. PROMINENCE showing up and delivering. These two things have become guarantees in the world of STARDOM and it remained true in the Triangle Derby I semifinals as the Artist of Stardom Champions were able to prove that night they are the very best trio STARDOM has seen.
While there are some clear exceptions to the rule (see Hazuki vs. Saya Kamitani), outsiders have been carrying the STARDOM product since the year began, and the Triangle Derby took centerstage. From reputable invading trios like Rebel x Enemy to undercard contributors like Rina Amikura of Yuko Sakurai of Colors, the unsigned contributors to STARDOM events in recent months have oftentimes outshined the homegrown talent, and while this wasn’t necessarily the case at the Triangle Derby Finals on Match 4th (I am begging you to read me gush about Hazuki vs. Saya Kamitani), the event still featured an outstanding performance by the outsider trios of Prominence and 7Uppp.
Going into the semifinal match, Yuna Mizumori had already called her shot against Suzu Suzuki at the press conference ahead of the event, saying that despite Suzu getting more results, they came into the business at the same time and refused to let the hardcore prodigy surpass her. Interestingly enough this led to a rare babyface performance by 7Uppp, with the typically dominant trio garnering sympathy against the dominant champions. The match ended up anchoring on Yuna’s determination to defeat Suzu, and while she ended up losing to her target, her resilience down the stretch was yet another showcase of Yuna’s strength and value as a member of Nanae and Yuu’s crew. – Dylan Murray (@XXIchiban)
Saya Kamitani vs. Hazuki – STARDOM (3/4/23)
STARDOM’s Match of the Year came in the form of another Saya Kamitani title defense but this time, she wasn’t the story. Instead, the story was “Wild Heart” herself, Hazuki, who had another stellar performance with the Wonder of Stardom Championship on the line.
Few moments will be better this year than when Hazuki dropped Kamitani with the Brainbuster, as everyone around the world was on the edge of their seat thinking she had done it. That wasn’t the case at the end of the night, as Kamitani had to hit Hazuki with everything she had in the tank (except a Phoenix Splash) to keep the title around her waist.
Hazuki isn’t the Wonder of Stardom Champion right now but this performance had to be the one to make everyone believe that this day will come — one way or another. STARDOM’s most consistent worker comes through again.
I grew up watching Hazuki fight for the White Belt. I first got into STARDOM a month after she unsuccessfully challenged Momo Watanabe for the title in the Summer of 2018, and when I went back to watch it, Hazuki was instantly entered into my good books. I saw the aggression and intensity that Hazuki displayed in that match, and in many of her matches around that time, and saw a future world champion. I saw it once again in what some consider her magnum opus against Arisa Hoshiki a year later in 2019, her last championship challenge before retiring that December.
Since Hazuki came back I’ve been waiting to see her challenge for the Wonder of Stardom Championship; I saw it as if she was destined for it. So, when Hazuki found herself in the ring with Saya Kamitani for the White Belt, I knew I was seeing what I literally waited years for, and I wasn’t disappointed. While some have become unimpressed by Saya Kamitani’s 400+ title reign at this point, Hazuki brought a fire that forced Kamitani to rise to the occasion unlike ever before, with a rabid crowd cheering for her downfall the entire time.
Hazuki’s aggression and perseverance were unlike any other challenge that Tall Saya has faced to date. The challenger presented the unmatched intensity that she was known for years ago while still being the ultra-consistent and deliberate performer she has grown into since her return. Even after burning through the majority of her established offense, Hazuki remained in the fight until the very end and had me on the edge of my seat until I heard the bell ring. The match truly verified my long-held belief that few wrestlers can hold a candle to Hazuki when she’s wrestling for the Wonder of Stardom Championship. While she walked away without the win this time, we can only hope that the 6th time is the charm for our Wild Heart. – Dylan Murray (@XXIchiban)
Just Off The Radar: Honorable Mentions
- Mistico, Soberano Jr & El Desperado vs. Templario, DOUKI & Hechicero – NJPW (2/26/23)
- Nominated by Scott Edwards
- Titán vs. Sobreano Jr. – NJPW (2/27/23)
- Nominated by Scott Edwards
- Nathan Frazer vs. Wes Lee – WWE (3/28/23)
- Nominated by Hart Editing
- Daiki Yanagiuchi vs. Don Fujii – DRAGONGATE (3/2/23)
- Nominated by Amy
- AZM vs. Starlight Kid
- Nominated by Scott Edwards
- Riho vs. Emi Sakura
- Nominated by Amy
Check out last week’s Five Star Radar here.
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