August 29, 2026
Final Episode: 5☆STAR GP Champion🌟
I won the 2026 5☆STAR GP!!!!
It’s not often you get to drop such an awesome announcement in your final column, right?
This is just the absolute best!!
At the press conference the day after, I tried to play it cool so people wouldn’t say I was getting carried away, but honestly, I’m still incredibly happy and totally riding high on it.
Obviously, I’ll switch gears completely before my next match. I’m good at turning that switch on and off, so don’t you worry about that.
But this is a massive deal, and I can’t help being happy about it. It is what it is.
The night of the finals, I couldn’t sleep at all because of the adrenaline. I chugged my favorite cola, ate a ton of tuna, and threw a little victory party.
I only slept for two hours, then went straight into the day-after press conference, interviews, and a photoshoot. Right around then, the adrenaline must have worn off, because sharp pain started shooting through my entire body. I beat two incredibly tough opponents in a single day, so it’s a natural, happy kind of pain, though.
The day of the Ryogoku show.
Holding the 5☆STAR finals at Ryogoku for the first time—there is no better stage than that. Plus, there were 2,000 more fans in the building compared to last year’s finals.
My semifinal opponent was Maika.
I knew it would be a grueling fight, but it was beyond anything I imagined. It was so brutal I couldn’t even stand up after the match.
But the next match was coming up fast. I had to completely block out the semifinals and shift my focus to the finals.
My opponent in the finals was Starlight Kid.
We’re contemporaries who entered the dojo at the exact same time. We both started out here as kids.
I’m not usually the type to feel pressure or nerves, but the finals were different.
This was the match that would decide the winner of a 5☆STAR tournament where everyone in Stardom had fought their hearts out. It was a match that so many people had their eyes on.
Honestly, my legs were shaking!!
Calling it “pressure” is probably more accurate than “nerves.” Even among wrestlers, very few actually become 5☆STAR finalists, and the numbers dwindle from there. And of course, only one person gets to be the champion.
I know I probably shouldn’t be the one saying this, but from the Korakuen Hall knockout stages to the semis and finals at Ryogoku, I was the one who understood and felt the fans’ expectations for me the most.
It was terrifying to think I might end up as the runner-up again. It was scary to think I might let down those expectations. Obviously, anything can happen, so of course there was a degree of fear. But still, having made it this far, I knew I just had to do it. I believed I could do it. I even felt like I was the only one who could do it. Anyway, a million different emotions were swirling around in my head.
In the end, I think I won on pure heart. I fought on sheer stubborn pride.
My long-awaited, first-ever 5☆STAR GP victory.
And at 19, the youngest winner in history.
If you’ve been reading my column, you probably know this, but I’ve been more obsessed with that “youngest ever” record than anyone else. Because of that, carving my name into that record, and carving my name into Stardom history—it all made me so unbelievably happy.
Going into this 5☆STAR, I had just returned from a solo overseas excursion. I didn’t get off to a good start and struggled to catch a wave early on. But because I adopted a “lose and you’re done” mentality earlier than anyone else, this is a championship I seized with my own true ability. I won’t let anyone say I just won on momentum, and I believe I proved that through the quality of my matches.
Especially over these last two years, I’ve spent so much time staring up at the lights feeling like absolute crap. But looking up at the ceiling of Ryogoku Kokugikan as the champion—that’s a moment I will never, ever forget.
I finally grasped the pinnacle.
I wasn’t thinking about what comes next; I was only focused on winning this 5☆STAR GP. Which means I bet more on this than anybody else.
I totally understand saying, “When I win, I want to do XYZ,” and sure, that’s valid.
But I honestly believe winning this 5☆STAR—something even the champion couldn’t do—holds more value than that. I don’t see this as just earning a challenger’s ticket.
In my book, anyone who doesn’t enter the 5☆STAR is entirely out of the question to begin with. I just can’t fathom the mindset of someone who would willingly throw away the chance to be number one. Well, everyone has their own way of thinking, so I’m not going to completely shoot them down.
I won, so I figure I can say whatever the hell I want. Look forward to it.
I’m going to do things that will change the landscape even more.
And on top of that…
My first solo Weekly Pro Wrestling cover!!!!
It’s a special edition, but New Japan and Stardom are pretty much the only promotions that even get special editions anyway, and I feel like it’s a special edition all of Stardom earned together. So getting the cover of that genuinely makes me happy.
It would’ve been even better if I got the cover of the main weekly magazine, though!
The biggest wrestling news this week was the finals for both Stardom and Tokyo Joshi Pro-Wrestling, so even though I write a column for them and probably shouldn’t complain to the esteemed “Weekly Pro,” honestly I thought, “Are you kidding me?!” lol.
I also thought, “You guys have zero taste!!!!” lol. And, “I don’t give a damn about your editorial policies! Screw that!!!” lol.
But just like I said at the press conference, I’m the type of person who feels frustrated by everything, and I feel that frustration deeper than anyone. So don’t worry, I’m going to prove them wrong in absolutely everything from here on out.
That’s how I’ve made it this far, after all.
The best revenge is becoming an undeniable presence they have no choice but to put on the cover.
Just watch me, you Weekly Pro hacks.
I just talked a bunch of trash, but honestly, getting to write this column happened at the absolute perfect time, so we’re even!!!!
If it wasn’t for this column, I probably wouldn’t have talked in such detail about my overseas excursion or the 5☆STAR.
So, thank you, Mr. “Weekly Pro.”
I’m writing this right now chilling at my parents’ house, but when I went back for the first time in a while, I suddenly broke out in hives all over my body—freaked me out.
I don’t know the cause, but maybe it’s because I finally relaxed all at once. Realizing I’d been carrying so much weight on my shoulders without even knowing it makes me want to say: Seriously, good job, me!!!!
You did great!!!!!!!!
I hate people who whine and complain easily, which is why I didn’t say anything, but there were so many times I almost got sick of it all!!!! I’m so proud of myself!!!!!!!
This is still just the beginning, and I can’t let myself get satisfied yet!!! But I did my best!!!!!! I gave it my all!!!!!!! I overcame it!!!!!!!
Now I’m gonna hang out with my friends, hit the pool, and go to the beach!!! I’m even gonna watch Love Joto!!!!
My next Stardom match is on 9/6 at Korakuen Hall!! And on the 12th, we’ve got a big match at Yokohama Budokan!!
To all you guys who kept reading this—thanks to you too!!!
I hated having to take over this column after that damn wordsmith Aya Sakura, and there were so many times I felt bad about how much my writing sucked!!! But I poured my entire heart and soul into this!!!
If I ever get the chance, I’ll do it again!!!!
I’m going to come back even bigger and better!
See ya later!!!!!!
Translator’s Notes
- “Staring up at the lights” (クソみたいな天井見上げてきた): Literally translates to “staring up at a shitty ceiling.” In English wrestling vernacular, a wrestler staring at the ceiling implies they are on their back getting pinned (“looking up at the lights”). I localized the first instance to match English wrestling slang, but kept her direct reference to the “ceiling of Ryogoku Kokugikan” in the very next sentence to preserve the poetic parallel she makes about looking up from the mat as a loser vs. looking up at the arena ceiling in victory.
- Solo Cover (ピン表紙): Rina uses the term pin hyoushi, which refers specifically to being the only person featured on a magazine cover. In the Japanese wrestling industry, getting a solo cover on Weekly Pro Wrestling (Shukan Puroresu) is a massive status symbol.
- Mr. “Weekly Pro” (週プロ”さん”): Rina attaches the polite honorific “-san” to the magazine’s title in quotation marks. This is a sarcastic, passive-aggressive jab at the publication’s editorial department for not putting her on the cover of the main weekly issue.
- “Damn wordsmith” (クソ文豪): Rina refers to Aya Sakura as a kuso bungou (shitty/damn literary master). This is a backhanded compliment; Aya Sakura is known for writing incredibly articulate, lengthy blog posts. Rina is expressing her insecurity about having to follow up Sakura’s elegant prose with her own blunt, delinquent style.
- Love Joto (ラブ上等): Translates roughly to “Bring on the love!” or “Love is supreme!” Given the context of a 19-year-old taking a vacation to hang out with friends, hit the pool, and go to the beach, this is likely a reference to a specific youth pop-culture media (like a reality dating show or romance manga) that she intends to binge-watch during her time off.