Oedo Tai member Saki Kashima was originally slated to compete in the blue stars block in the 2020 5STAR Grand Prix. However, it has been announced that she has pulled out of the tournament due to “poor physical condition” and has been replaced by STARS member Saya Iida
Saki Kashima opted out of the 5★STAR GP 2020 due to poor physical condition. Taking her place in the 5★STAR GP 2020 will be Saya Iida. pic.twitter.com/BPBiNF3A8D
— We Are Stardom (@we_are_stardom) August 7, 2020
Iida’s exclusion from the tournament was originally a dissapointment to fans who have come to enjoy her work as she was seemingly being passed over by a number of newer talents like Saya Kamitani who debuted many months after Iida. Now though, Iida gets her opportunity in the tournament and it is one she will not take lightly as she has never been known to give anything other than 110% in a match.
The most interesting aspect of this switch is how it will impact the tournament booking. Kashima’s revival finisher has been established as an out of nowhere method to give her wins over anyone in Stardom and it was likely that she would play spoiler to a number of top names in the block. Iida doesn’t have any similar moves and is further down the pecking order in Stardom but as we saw last year when AZM filled in for Kasey Owens they gave AZM the same kind of wins Owens would have gotten. So it’s possible we see Saya Iida play the spoiler for her block.
Stay tuned to the Last Word on Pro Wrestling for more on this and other stories from around the world of wrestling, as they develop. You can always count on LWOPW to be on top of the major news in the wrestling world, as well as to provide you with analysis, previews, videos, interviews, and editorials on the wrestling world. And make sure to subscribe to Stardom World to see all the action from the 5STAR Grand Prix 2020
