The fourth entrant is official for the four-way TBS title match at Sunday’s AEW x NJPW Forbidden Door and it’s a rather large threat to reigning champion Mercedes Mone.
Announced on Wednesday’s AEW Dynamite, Stardom’s representative is the 5’11”, 200+ pound Bozilla who will be making her AEW debut on the show.
Mone and Bozilla will be joined by Alex Windsor and CMLL’s Persephone in the four-way in London, England.
The 21-year-old German native has been recently competing in the 5STAR Grand Prix 2025 and was unsuccessful in besting NJPW Strong Women’s Champion AZM in July.
Current AEW x NJPW Forbidden Door card | Sunday, August 24 | London, England
AEW World Champion Hangman Page defends against MJF
AEW Unified Champion Kazuchika Okada defends against Swerve Strickland
AEW World Tag Team Champions The Hurt Syndicate (Bobby Lashley & Shelton Benjamin) defend against FTR (Dax Harwood & Cash Wheeler) and Brodido (Brody King & Bandido) in a three-way
Adam Copeland & Christian Cage vs. Killswitch & Kip Sabian
AEW Women’s World Champion Toni Storm defends against Athena
TBS Women’s Champion Mercedes Mone defends against Alex Windsor, Persephone and Bozilla in a four-way
IWGP World Champion Zack Sabre Jr. defends against Nigel McGuinness
TNT Champion Kyle Fletcher defends against Hiromu Takahashi
Lights out steel cage match: Darby Allin, Will Ospreay, Kenny Omega, Hiroshi Tanahashi & Kota Ibushi vs. The Death Riders (Jon Moxley & Claudio Castagnoli), Gabe Kidd & The Young Bucks (Matt & Nick Jackson)
The third NJPW x Stardom Historic X-Over event will take place in China this October.
In partnership with China’s INFIN Wrestling promotion, NJPW x Stardom Historic X-Over III will take place in Guangzhou, China on Sunday, October 5.
A pair on NJPW matches in Zack Sabre Jr. vs. KUSHIDA, plus Master Wato vs. Ninja Mack have been announced for the show. Stardom wrestlers Starlight Kid, Miyu Amsaki, Saori Anou, Natsupoi, Natsuko Tora, Ruaka, and Rina have been advertised for the event as well.
The first Historic X-Over was held in 2022 in Tokyo, with a follow-up held in 2024 in Osaka.
On October 5, New Japan and STARDOM will debut in Guangzhou, China for a special Historic X-Over card, in conjunction with INFIN Wrestling.
Representing NJPW on the event will be Master Wato, Ninja Mack, KUSHIDA and IWGP World Heavyweight Champion Zack Sabre Jr. in a pair of big time matches on the card.
Mack and Wato will collide for the second time one on one, after Best of the Super Jr. earlier this year saw Wato pickup the win. Will the high flying Mack be able to put Wato away this time?
Meanwhile Zack Sabre Jr. will go head to head with KUSHIDA in a special non title singles match for the first time ever in Asia. Their three singles bout in the UK put ZSJ up 2-1 overall; what happens in this clash of two technical all timers?
Plus from STARDOM, Starlight Kid, Miyu Amsaki, Saori Anou, Natsupoi, Natsuko Tora, Ruaka and Rina, special guest Aiba Aina, and the best of INFIN will be doing battle as well!
The Big Audio Nightmare is back with a solo express edition of the podcast, checking in on New Japan Pro Wrestling’s G1 Climax and Stardom’s Five Star Grand Prix.
Subscribers can click here to listen (right click save as).
During ROH’s Supercard of Honor event on Friday, a vignette aired highlighting the Stardom star’s background in karate and her striking abilities, with a voiceover saying that Syuri would be coming. It wasn’t specified if she was coming to AEW, ROH, or both rosters.
— ROH – Ring of Honor Wrestling (@ringofhonor) July 12, 2025
Earlier this month, Syuri and Stardom announced that she would be ‘taking a break’ from the company to wrestle overseas. Her announcement came shortly after losing the IWGP Women’s Championship to Sareee.
“I have been wrestling for 17 years. I thought about it long and hard, but I have decided to take a break from #STARDOM,” she said in a statement. “I will train overseas and level up my game even more. My loss to Sareee was really frustrating. I won’t go out like this. I want to hold the IWGP again. That’s why I made this decision. I’m sorry to everyone who was looking forward to my appearances in the ring. I will be back in a STARDOM ring one day.”
Syuri is a former MMA competitor, amassing a 6-3 record with all of her losses taking place in the UFC. She returned to Stardom in 2020 and quickly rose to the top, winning the World of Stardom Championship in 2021 and holding it for one year.
The new issue of the Wrestling Observer is up on the site right now:
Jon Jones announces his retirement, a look back at a remarkable career inside the cage and a story of problems and controversy outside the cage. We look at his background, details on his latest arrest, and thoughts by others.
Preview to Night of Champions, the stories and the direction
Who is Aaron Wolf and why he’s starting his career under more pressure than almost anyone in recent history, his background as a fan, and as an Olympic gold medalist and world champion in judo.
A look at All In Texas and the largest attendance and biggest grossing non-WWE PPV shows in history. What milestones has the show already broken with two weeks out, and what’s the final milestone that it’s touchy if it can break. We look at money adjusted for inflation and AEW’s former biggest shows as well as big shows from Crockett, WCW and the 114 year milestone.
A look at the combined CMLL, AEW, NJPW and RevPro Fantastica Mania at Arena Mexico on Friday. We look at moves CMLL should make to take advantage of its new exposure, popularity and position in the wrestling ecosystem, the big tag team main event and the future booking direction.
The most detailed look at the television ratings for pro wrestling and MMA this past week, including how segments did, demos, did and comparisons to one year ago.
A detailed look and discussion of how Raw on Netflix is doing and on AEW Dynamite on MAX.
More on CMLL’s big week at its other arenas
Next CMLL tournament
AAA booking direction and when WWE takes over the booking and state of current angles
One of the best matches of the year took place on Saturday
Dragon Gate has its biggest event of the year
Lots of G-1 updates
Jun Kasai vs. Desperado looked at
Sabu funeral
Tom Lawlor physical issues discussed in detail
Ronda Rousey physical issues discussed as well
Real American Freestyle early ticket advance
Tetsuya Naito back in action and new name of his faction
Mistico and MJF angle in MLW
More on many AEW and WWE stars health updates
Which company has a higher injury rate by percentage, AEW or WWE, with the actual stats.
AEW ratings comparison between the end of 2024 and the current MAX era
Mortos on wrestling at Arena Mexico after 15 years
Update on AEW performers who aren’t being used
More on the Cung Le lawsuit settlement
Dana White goes into promoting boxing and BJJ
Internet personality arrested for threatening Joe Rogan
Crazy story about Sedriques Dumas and UFC signing him to fight this week and how bad a look that was, and the fight falling apart
Why the UFC main event this week is so big
Update on Ben Askren nd B Penn
Update on Janel Grant lawsuit against Vince McMahon and TKO
How another sport’s move from TV to streaming compares with Raw and what we can learn from it as it relates to Raw
Boxing legend and former MMA champion both talk performing in WWE
Thoughts on Cody Rhodes saying his babyface run is almost over
WWE star doing a record album as a tribute to 1990s All Japan Pro Wrestling
Triple H on social media talked about receiving a statue from the Saudi Arabian government: “A Symbol of Strength, Honor, and Partnership. 1 of 200. Crafted and lined in 24 carat gold. This handcrafted falcon statue is more than just a gift, it is a tribute to a shared journey of excellence, friendship, partnership, and the powerful cultural bridge we continue to build together. In Saudi culture, the falcon represents vision, courage, and prestige. Thank you for the honor @Turki_alalshikh and the @GEA_SA.”
A trailer was released today confirming WWE 2K25 will release on the Switch 2 on July 23. Physical releases will contain a digital download code in a box.
According to the Nintendo eShop listing, KSI will be part of the upcoming Fearless DLC pack. He will be wearing a Prime Energy bottle outfit.
Big E reacted to The New Day losing the World Tag Team titles on social media.
Ospreay reflected on his 2025 so far: “Halfway through 2025. This is flight number 68 this year. Time I have spent on an aeroplane totals to; 397 hours 22 minutes. Everyday I’m super grateful to be living this life and performing for the greatest wrestling fans in the world. Thank you @AEW.”
JCW has released a documentary hyping the upcoming Mara Sade (Jakara Jackson) vs. Masha Slamovich match for the JCW Championship.
Syuri announced she is taking a break from Stardom, releasing the following statement: “I have been wrestling for 17 years. I thought about it long and hard, but I have decided to take a break from #STARDOM. I will train overseas and level up my game even more. My loss to Sareee was really frustrating. I won’t go out like this. I want to hold the IWGP again. That’s why I made this decision. I’m sorry to everyone who was looking forward to my appearances in the ring. I will be back in a STARDOM ring one day.”
The Big Audio Nightmare is back for a solo express edition as Adam Summers talks about everything happening in the very busy world of Japanese wrestling.
This week’s topics include:
ZSJ’s shocking IWGP World Championship victory over the weekend
A look at Hirooki Goto’s IWGP World Title reign and if it still had more runway
Thoughts on the interpromotional tag team main event of Tanahashi Jam
Initial thoughts on the New Japan signing of Aaron Wolf
Just a few days after departing Stardom, Mayu Iwatani has confirmed her next destination.
Iwatani is reuniting with former Stardom boss Rossy Ogawa as the newest member of the Marigold roster. The promotion, which was founded by Ogawa in 2024, held a press conference overnight announcing that Iwatani has joined the Marigold roster. She’ll make her debut at Korakuen Hall this Sunday (May 4) in a singles match against Nanae Takahashi.
The Joshi Puroresu Icon has stepped into the Golden Garden! Join us LIVE on May 4 from Korakuen Hall on Wrestle Universe! 6:30PM JST 5:30AM Eastern 2:30AM Pacific 10:30AM BSThttps://t.co/vDwXf9pjwZ#pw_mgpic.twitter.com/GvGbpvecDn
At the press conference, Iwatani explained her Stardom departure by saying she had already done everything she could do in the promotion. Her goal in Marigold is to become a Grand Slam champion by winning their World title, Superfly title, United National title, and Tag Team belts.
Iwatani also mentioned that — with Marigold having a positive relationship with WWE — a small factor in her decision to join Marigold was possibly getting to wrestle IYO SKY, Kairi Sane, and Giulia again. WWE allowed SKY to work one Marigold match last year, while Giulia wrestled for Marigold after leaving Stardom and before arriving in NXT.
In her final Stardom match, Iwatani dropped the IWGP Women’s Championship to Syuri at All-Star Grand Queendom on April 27. That loss ended Iwatani’s two-year reign as champion.
Iwatani is using “The Joshi Puroresu Icon” as her nickname in Marigold.
Marigold’s show this Sunday will air live on Wrestle Universe with a start time of 5:30 a.m. Eastern. This is the first one-on-one match between Iwatani and Takahashi since 2012. It’s taking place in advance of Takahashi retiring from the ring later this month.
Wrestling Observer Radio with Bryan Alvarez and Dave Meltzer is back with tons to talk about including updates on the WWE lawsuits, both Janel Grant and the ringboys, Stardom updates from the last show, AEW and Arena Mexico, Bryan Danielson’s future, ratings, the RAW report, and tons more. A fun show as always so check it out~!
Timestamps: Start: Three more plaintiffs come forward in ring boy scandal lawsuit, latest on Janel Grant suit 16:40: Mayu Iwatani’s destination, Meiko Satomura retires, other Stardom notes 20:55: Naomi says she doesn’t think she’ll wrestle much longer, Bryan Danielson’s future 25:01: AEW Grand Slam Mexico likely to sell out, anniversary of Lou Thesz’s death 32:23: Ratings, estimate on when SmackDown is moving back to two hours, WWE Backlash card, JDC update 37:51: WWE Raw recap
Wrestling Observer Live with Bryan Alvarez, Mike Sempervive and Tom Lawlor return to talk tons of topics including Tom teaming with HAKU this weekend, Tam Nakano’s retirement, Stardom, upcoming line-ups, Hogan and Bischoff, why you MUST HAVE RECAPS FFS, and tons more. A fun show as always so check it out~!
Wrestling Observer Radio with Bryan Alvarez and Dave Meltzer is back with tons to talk about including the TNA PPV from Sunday, lots of changes to Stardom, the Von Erich piece that just aired, Smackdown, Collision, all the line-ups for the week and more. A fun show as always so check it out~!
Timestamps: Start: Mayu Iwatani leaves Stardom, other Stardom All-Star Grand Queendom notes, Mistico returns to action 3:00: Hollywood Demons documentary on the Von Erichs 14:43: Lineups for the coming week, New York Times article on Turki Al-Sheikh 21:25: TNA Rebellion recap 32:57: WWE SmackDown recap 43:39: AEW Collision recap
The former IWGP Women’s Champion confirmed during a press conference on Monday morning that she would be leaving Stardom immediately, and is no longer a member of the roster. Her final match was at Stardom All-Star Grand Queendom on Sunday, losing to Syrui.
During the conference, Iwatani said multiple times that this was a difficult decision to make, saying she had done everything there is to do in Stardom.
Iwatani had been with the promotion since its start in 2011, starting out as a trainee on their debut show. Over time, she became the company’s top star, winning the World of Stardom Championship on two occasions. She had held the IWGP Wormen’s title for 735 days, defeating Mercedes Mone at the 2023 All-Star Grand Queendom event.
A movie based on her memoir called Runaway Wrestler was released last year in Japan.
Another notable Stardom star, Tam Nakano, lost a retirement match to Saya Kamitani in the main event of All-Star Grand Queendom, marking another departure.
What people thought of WrestleMania and Stand & Deliver
An in-depth look at WrestleMania
Crowd reactions
Dwayne Johnson and his role in the show and the entire back story
How the John Cena story started and evolved
Why the Cena retiring the belt story makes no sense historically
Johnson tells his version of what went down
Matches that at different points were scheduled for the show and how they changed
Show audience
Joe Hendry story
How much WWE spent on Mania week compared to what AEW spent for Double or Nothing week
A look at all the matches and angles
Detailed look at how the WWE purchase of AAA went down, the partners, different people comment on what it means, AAA’s history as well as its attempt to expand to the U.S., Lucha Underground, does this effect CMLL, the original When Worlds Collide, how AAA was formed and more
The death of Hisashi Shinma, the golden age of New Japan Pro Wrestling, how he first got into wrestling, what he’s credited with as a booker, the rise of Inoki, the first UWF, Universal Lucha Libre, WWE Presidency, Backlund vs. Inoki, Inoki vs. Ali and more
A look at the life and career of Steve McMichael
CMLL and a week of sellouts including a killer Friday main event
WWE NXT Stand & Deliver coverage and poll
The life and times of Black Terry
The most detailed look at the ratings for all the wrestling and MMA shows this past week, demos, competition and segments looked at, as well as streaming numbers for Raw
Universal tournament ends this week
Biggest women’s show of the year this week
What’s new with Tetsuya Naito & Bushi
Dark Side of the Ring on Billy Graham
A look at the Mania week on the indies side including Bloodsport
Notes on future AEW PPV shows
Kenny Omega on What is the best schedule for wrestlers?
Mark Hunt’s case against UFC and Brock Lesnar thrown out
Advanced ticket sales to WWE & AEW shows
How streaming platform advertising works vs. television
Bayley talks her knee injury
WWE ID tournaments
This Week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter Back Issue
–Our weekend show with Garrett Gonzales is up on the site right now. We cover all the news of a very loaded week including background on Dwayne Johnson and the build for WrestleMania, Steve McMichael, John Cena vs. Cody Rhodes and the AAA sale to WWE.
–Looking for your thoughts on the TNA and Stardom PPV shows this weekend, thumbs up, thumbs down or thumbs in the middle along with a best and worst match to [email protected]
–The Athletic and the New York Times wrote an article on Turki Al-Sheikh, the most important player in the combat sports world today, and the man behind the money that will get Dana White and Nick Khan into the boxing business at the highest level. There is a lot to it but one thing notable is that the number of people detained in Saudi Arabia for nothing more than sending critical tweets about him is enough for a separate wing in a Saudi Arabian jail.
–TNA Rebellion tonight in Los Angeles at the Galen Center is sold out. I don’t know if that means 7,000 seats, which would be the all-time record for the company or they sold out a smaller configuration:
Joe Hendry vs. Ethan Page vs. Frankie Kazarian for the TNA title
Masha Slamovich vs. Tessa Blanchard for the Knockouts title
Moose in an X Division title defense in an Ultimate X match with KC Navarro, El Hijo del Vikingo, Leon Slater, Matt Cardona and Sidney Akeem
Matt & Jeff Hardy vs. Nic & Ryan Nemeth for the tag team titles
Mike Santana vs. Mustafa Ali falls count anywhere
Ash & Heather by Elegance defend the Knockouts tag titles against Lash Legend & Jakara Jackson, Dani Luna & Jody Threat and Gigi Dolin & Tatum Paxley
Elijah open challenge
Steve Maclin vs. Eric Young for the new International title
Xia Brookside & Lei Ying Lee & Rosemary vs. Jacy Jayne & Jazmyn Nyx & Fallon Henley
Ace Austin & Zachary Wentz & Trey Miguel (managed by Sean Waltman) vs. JDC & Brian Myers & Eddie Edwards (managed by Alisha Edwards)
–Impact also airs live from Irvine, CA at UC-Irvine on Thursday night.
–The Hollywood Demons episode this past week on the Von Erichs is the best of all the documentaries I’ve seen on the family. Between Dr. Drew Pinsky saying he believed the enteritis diagnosis for the death of David was a coroner mistake and he believed, it was a drug induced septic shock, and also the toxic shock diagnosis of Mike’s first brush with death was also more likely septic shock, you have some stuff that had never come out in mainstream media. Kevin was outstanding, I think he opened up far more about the deaths themselves, just how badly his father took Kerry’s death, and how Kerry had warned him about killing himself and he tried to alert his father who had been drinking and wouldn’t talk to him, and how he and his family drove three hours to stop Kerry but he had already killed himself before they got there. They corrected things from the movie, as well as told the story on Kerry’s foot amputation that was the same one we had reported but was contrary to urban legend of when and how it happened. Kerry’s daughters Hollie and Lacey were interviewed noting how hurt they were at the movie’s portrayal of Kerry as not having kids, and Kevin noted they combined the personalities of Mike and Chris into one person because the movie people made the decision there were too many deaths as it and pretended Chris didn’t exist. It’s a gripping must-see tearjerker.
Among others interviewed were Von Erichs bodyguard Bill Colville, Kerry’s childhood best friend Brian Gower (pro wrestler Brian Adias), David Manning, Kevin’s daughter Kristen, Chris Jericho and MJF. Jericho was very good as he was familiar with the story reading about it and I think really got it. MJF was in the movie and did far more here. He wasn’t even born during the heyday but had enough historical knowledge to have an understanding of it.
–Stardom All Star Grand Queendom 2025 held today at the Yokohama Arena drew 7,503 paid. Depending on what the actual paid was for the all-women’s show recently at Arena Mexico, it would be the largest paid crowd for an all-women’s show since the WWE’s women’s PPV in 2018. It’s being compared to AEW Revolution 2025 as the best PPV this year and some have said it was better overall:
Hanako won the Stardom Rumble with the winner getting a title shot of her choice
Hina b Ranna Yagami to keep the Future of Stardom title
Sayaka Kurara b Thekla – Storyline is Thekla was fired
Yumiko Hotta (90s legend) b Rina
Meiko Satomura & Mika Iwata & Yuna b Saori Aou & Natsupoi & Aya Sakura
Suzu Suzuki b Mei Seira in a no DQ match
Chihiro Hashimoto b Maika to keep the Sendai Girls world title
Hana & Saya Iida retained the tag tiltes over Hazuki &N Koguma
Syuri b Mayu Iwatani to win the IWGP women’s title
Starlight Kid b AZM to retain the Wonder of Stardom title
Saya Kamitani b Tam Nakano in a loser must retire match for the World of Stardom title
–Was told the last six matches were tremendous and last three were match of the year candidates.
–Another match people were raving about was yesterday’s Tomohiro Ishii & Taichi vs. Hiromu Takahashi & Tetsuya Naito match from Hiroshima, Japan.
–AEW tickets for Arena Mexico went on sale yesterday. The lower deck sold out quickly but we don’t have a first day number. Tickets were the highest priced ever for the building, even more than the anniversary shows.
–Queen of the Ring was released for a one week showing this past week in Canada. It will be back in some U.S. theaters on 5/9 only for Mother’s Day.
–AEW Forbidden Door presale started today for the O2 Arena in London. AEWVIP is the code to get in.
–Bryan Danielson was at Wembley Stadium yesterday for the Chris Eubanks Jr. vs. Conor Benn Jr. fight at Tottenham’ Hotspur Stadium in London before 65,000 fans. He noted that he was interested because the storyline was like pro wrestling but better than pro wrestling. The big story was Chris Eubanks Jr., who won what was called an excellent fight via close decision, reuniting with his father in a dramatic and perhaps staged fashion. His father came out of a car backstage pro wrestling style with the announcers going crazy and the crowd popping. The two were estranged. Eubanks Sr. was a major mainstream boxing star in the 90s who had a rivalry with Niel Benn that drew huge ratings on network television. (thanks to Stephen Lyon)
–For Google searches, last night’s UFC show did 170,000 searches.
–Very sad to report the death of Jackie Caudle, the wife of former Mid Atlantic and SMW television announcer Bob Caudle. The Caudles were married 76 years.
–Titan won the Universal Champion of Champions tournament on Friday night at Arena Mexico.
–WWE is back on A&E tonight with LFG at 8 pm and another episode at 9:30 p.m.
–Jon Jones has become the second longest reigning heavyweight title reigning heavyweight champion in UFC history. His 785 day reign ranks behind only Cain Velasquez at 895 days. In this entire reign, Jones has defended the title once, against Stipe Miocic, who hadn’t fought in years.
–Eddie Hall beat Mariusz Pudzianowksi in :30 seconds in yesterday’s KSW battle of the world’s strongest men fight in Gliwice, Poland, which got a good idea of worldwide attention. Hall, who weighed 334, literally heaved Pudzianowski like he was 50 pounds when Pudznianowski went for a takedown. It was something to see. Hall jumped on him with punches right after.
–Dana White said Ian Machado Garry, who beat Carlos Plates in yesterday’s main event in KansasCity, will be the backup for UFC 315 in Montreal if something happens to headliners Belal Muhammad or Jack Della Maddaelan for the welterweight title. White also said Dricus du Plessis vs. Khamzat Chimaev will happen for the middleweight title and said he’s super confident Jon Jones vs. Tom Aspinall for the heavyweight title also happens.
–Mistico returned to action last for Pro Wrestling Revolucion in San Jose which sold out a day in advance. Misterioso retained his PWR title over Mistico and Magnus in a three-way.
–Karl Anderson & Luke Gallows will wrestle on the 5/10 Maple Leaf Pro show in Toronto.
–John “Romeo” Roselli will do his retirement match on 5/10 for Northeast Wrestlng’s Wrestlefest at the Westchester County Center in White Plains, NY.
–Joel Goodhart’s Tri State Wrestling, the predecessor to ECW in the early 90s, will have a reunion show on Saturday night at the 2300 Arena in Philadelphia featuring Tony Stetson, Doug Gilbert, Tommy Rich, Shane Douglas, Rick Morton, Robert Gibson, Tessa Blanchard and Super Crazy.
–House of Glory in Chicago on 5/9 at the Logan Square Auditorium has Indi Hartwell vs. Mihyu Yamashita, Rich Swann vs. Chales Mason and Zilla Fatu wrestling.
–Bandido and Mortos are headlining a show today in Torreon.
–Kamaru Usman vs. Joaquin Buckley and Rose Namajunas vs. Miranda Maverick headline the 6/14 Fight Night sho win Atlanta and Rafael Fiziev vs Ignacio Bahomondes will be the No. 2 fight on the 6/21 show in Baku, Azerbaijan, which airs on ABC.
–38 years ago today was the legendary Jerry Lawler vs. Austin Idol hair match in a cage that Idol won when Tommy Rich came from under the ring.
