Tag: stardom news

MLW announces Stardom names for upcoming events

Posted on by Joseph Currier

MLW and Stardom’s working relationship will officially begin next month with two Stardom wrestlers coming to New York City and Philadelphia.

It was announced today that Stardom’s Saya Kamitani and RINA will debut for MLW at the Melrose Ballroom in New York City on Thursday, June 11. The two will then compete at MLW’s events in Philadelphia that weekend (June 12-13). Details regarding their matches have not been revealed yet.

Kamitani and RINA are both members of the H.A.T.E. faction in stardom. Last year, Kamitani made history by becoming the first women’s wrestler to win MVP in the long-running Tokyo Sports Awards. She is a former World of Stardom Champion and NJPW Strong Women’s Champion.

With a focus on talent exchange and creative collaboration, MLW & Stardom unveiled their new strategic partnership over the weekend. The move fits in with Stardom’s international expansion strategy, which is to partner with existing promotions instead of staging standalone Stardom events in foreign countries. Shotzi Blackheart, Lady Frost, and Scarlett Bordeaux are some of the top names in the MLW women’s division who could potentially play a role in this partnership.

MLW is currently in the process of relaunching its weekly Fusion TV series. There’s no word on a return date yet, but that announcement is said to be imminent. The promotion has been holding TV tapings for a few months now in preparation of the relaunch and will continue to film content at these NYC/Philly events.

Stardom president addresses expansion efforts, Tokyo Dome ambitions

Posted on by Joseph Currier

Getting Stardom to the point where it can run the Tokyo Dome is a huge ambition for company president Taro Okada.

Okada, speaking with Japanese outlet Pro Wrestling Today, opened up about Stardom’s expansion efforts both domestically and internationally. Because of the costs involved, the promotion is not overly concerned with staging its own standalone international events. Instead, Stardom is focused on partnering with establish promotions overseas to showcase the talent in each organization.

“Regarding our international expansion, our policy is that, given the costs and risks involved in organizing events on our own, we should actively seek partnerships with local organizations,” Okada said. “Sending wrestlers to CMLL not only enhances their experience but also helps spread the name of Stardom worldwide. Conversely, when unknown top-tier wrestlers from overseas come to Japan, it serves as a major source of excitement for Japanese fans. Streamlining our respective businesses and strengthening our collaboration is essential to prevent the industry as a whole from shrinking.”

Okada also serves as a director for NJPW in addition to being Stardom’s president. In his Stardom role, he believes strengthening the promotion’s communications and advertising is an important step that needs to be taken. He ultimately wants to get Stardom to the Tokyo Dome because of how much value that stage holds in the entertainment industry.

“In the Japanese entertainment industry, the ‘Tokyo Dome’ brand is unrivaled,” he told Pro Wrestling Today. “Whether it’s an overseas artist performing in Japan or a comedian holding a live show, the fact that it took place at the Tokyo Dome is the ultimate status symbol and the most compelling argument to the public. Making the Tokyo Dome event a success — that is the proof of being number one in the Japanese pro-wrestling industry as a world-class entertainment business, and it will completely set us apart from the rest. I want to achieve this goal head-on, no matter what it takes.”

Saya Kamitani (who won MVP in the 2025 Tokyo Sports Awards) and new roster addition Maki Itoh have also mentioned a Tokyo Dome show as being among their Stardom goals.

Stardom announces Saya Kamitani injury, reveals title status

Posted on by Joseph Currier

Though she’ll be sidelined for a bit, Saya Kamitani won’t have to vacate her World of Stardom Championship.

Stardom sent out an update last night announcing that Kamitani requires surgery for the finger injury she suffered while facing Starlight Kid on February 7. Kamitani will miss approximately one month of matches but will not have to relinquish the World of Stardom title.

“After conducting a detailed examination of Saya Kamitani’s injury in Osaka on Feb. 7, the decision was made to pursue surgery and minimize further risk. As a result, Saya Kamitani will miss 1 month of in-ring competition, with a return date yet to be announced,” Stardom wrote. “Kamitani will remain World of Stardom Champion in this period. Thank you for your continued support.”

Kamitani was able to finish her match against Starlight Kid despite the injury, though she needed medical attention and had to have her fingers taped. The bout lasted almost 30 minutes with Kamitani retaining the World of Stardom title.

In 2025, Kamitani was one of the best wrestlers in the entire world. She made history by becoming the first women’s wrestler to ever win MVP in the Tokyo Sports Awards.

Stardom also announced that Suzu Suzuki, Saya Iida, and Bea Priestley will miss the promotion’s February 13 show at Korakuen Hall due to injury. The injuries to Suzuki and Priestly were described as “minor,” while Iida is undergoing a follow-up procedure from a previous surgery.

Stardom considering ‘necessary measures’ after alleged intellectual property theft

Posted on by Joseph Currier

Stardom is keeping its options open after allegedly being the victim of intellectual property theft.

The all-women’s Japanese wrestling promotion issued a statement on Monday announcing that it has completed an investigation into the intellectual property violation — which concerns another company selling trading card products featuring photos of wrestlers when they were still with Stardom. While the offending party is not named in Stardom’s statement, it appears to concern a Mayu Iwatani card collection that is being sold by rival promotion Marigold.

Iwatani departed Stardom for Marigold in 2025, joining the new promotion one year into its existence. Marigold was founded by former Stardom boss Rossy Ogawa in 2024 following his contentious split from Stardom.

Stardom’s full statement concerning the alleged intellectual property violation can be read below. It does not state that legal action is being taken but appears to keep the door open for that.

  • To All Concerned Parties and Fans,
  • We sincerely thank you for your continued support of Stardom.
  • Currently, card products utilizing the likenesses of former Stardom wrestlers (hereinafter referred to as ‘the subject products’) are being manufactured and sold by another company.
  • Following an investigation conducted by our company, we have confirmed the following facts regarding the advertising copy for the subject products and some of the cards enclosed within them:
    • The products bear the advertising text ‘Stardom Memorial’
    • They use portraits of wrestlers from their time under our management
    • They utilize intellectual property managed by our company, such as belts and logos
    • They use photographic materials shot by our company for product use, and incorrectly display copyright notices attributing copyright to the other company
  • However, as the company managing the rights to the aforementioned intellectual property and past athlete portraits, we have neither been requested to grant permission nor have we been involved in any way regarding the sale of this product.
  • Moving forward, we intend to consider necessary measures to protect the intellectual property rights we hold or manage.
  • We would appreciate your understanding of the above. Thank you for your kind attention.

Marigold has not commented publicly on the situation.

Update on Stardom mystery wrestler vignette

Posted on by Joseph Currier

Stardom continues to hype the arrival of a mystery wrestler — though it does not appear to be who fans initially thought it was.

The vignettes began airing during Christmas week and showed a mystery figure sitting in front of several screens. Initial speculation was that Stardom was hyping the return of either former WWE wrestler Dakota Kai or former NXT wrestler Stevie Turner, who both have been associated with video game streaming. But, as we’ve gotten a better look at the figure, that does not appear to be the case.

With the gear the mystery person is wearing in the latest video, fans are now speculating it to be Maki Itoh. She has been a free agent since departing Tokyo Joshi Pro-Wrestling in August 2025.

Along with her work in Japan, Itoh has frequently wrestled in the United States and become popular with fans due to her foul-mouthed “Fired Idol” character, which is a reference to her real-life past as an aspiring pop singer. She is a regular for Game Changer Wrestling and also worked a match for House of Glory in November 2025, losing to Shayna Baszler.

Itoh has experience for AEW as well, having made appearances for the promotion from 2021-2023.

Cryptic Stardom video teases new arrival

Posted on by Joseph Currier

At Stardom’s December 24 event, a cryptic video aired teasing the arrival of a new or returning wrestler.

The video showed an unidentified person sitting at a desk with several computer monitors. Because they were wearing a hood, the person in the video was never fully shown. Their identity remains unconfirmed, but most fan speculation is that Stardom is hyping the return of the former Dakota Kai.

Kai, who was released from her WWE contract in May, regularly streams herself playing video games on Twitch. Before joining WWE, she competed for Stardom from 2015-2016 and was a trios champion for the Japanese women’s promotion. Kai went by the name “Evie” back then.

After her WWE release, Kai took a break from wrestling to recharge her batteries. She’s now ready to get back into the ring and has already been announced for one 2026 indie date. She’ll be challenging Kris Statlander for Pro Wrestling Eve’s International Championship at Wrestle Queendom in London on March 8.

Former WWE NXT wrestler Stevie Turner (Bobbi Tyler) is among the other names that fans have speculated this Stardom video could be for. She played a streamer character for part of her WWE run and has also wrestled for Stardom in the past. Turner was the on-screen general manager of WWE Evolve prior to her release this October.

The full Stardom event from today is available to watch on YouTube for free:

CMLL & Stardom announce official business partnership

Posted on by Joseph Currier

CMLL is continuing to expand its international ties by announcing an official partnership with Japanese women’s wrestling promotion Stardom.

The business relationship was announced on Wednesday night during CMLL’s weekly Informa talk show. CMLL boss Salvador Lutteroth Lomeli and Stardom president Taro Okada both appeared for the announcement. Kounosuke Izui of Japanese wrestling magazine Lady’s Ring — who helped bring the two promotions together — also appeared.

In the partnership, CMLL and Stardom will exchange talent with the goal of benefitting both promotions and advancing women’s wrestling worldwide.

“This partnership was made possible through the efforts of LADYSRING’s Kounosuke Izui who has long served as a bridge between CMLL and the Japanese women’s professional wrestling world,” Stardom wrote.

“In addition, Stardom’s sister organization, New Japan Pro-Wrestling, also has a partnership with CMLL, and Stardom’s entry into the organization will further expand their ties.”

CMLL now has official working relationships with AEW, NJPW, Stardom, and MLW.

This Friday, CMLL is presenting its annual Women’s International Grand Prix at Arena Mexico. Stardom’s Hazuki and Koguma are two of the participants. There will also be representatives from AEW/ROH (Mina Shirakawa, Skye Blue, Julia Hart, Thekla, and Diamante), MLW (Shoko Nakajima), and Revolution Pro Wrestling (Kanji).