(born February 19, 1993) is a

Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...

professional wrestler Professional wrestling is a form of theater that revolves around staged wrestling matches. The mock combat is performed in a ring similar to the kind used in boxing, and the dramatic aspects of pro wrestling may be performed both in the ring or ...

currently signed to

World Wonder Ring Stardom World Wonder Ring Stardom (スターダム女子プロレス), often referred to simply as Stardom (stylized as ST★RDOM), is a Japanese '' joshi puroresu'' or women's professional wrestling promotion based in Tokyo, Japan. Stardom was founded in ...

. Since making her debut in January 2011, she became a two-time World of Stardom Champion, two-time Wonder of Stardom Champion, one-time

High Speed Champion The is a women's professional wrestling championship owned by the World Wonder Ring Stardom promotion. The title was originally created on May 5, 2009, in the NEO Japan Ladies Pro-Wrestling promotion, where Natsuki☆Taiyo defeated Ray to bec ...

, one-time SWA World Champion, two-time Goddess of Stardom Champion, and a five-time Artist of Stardom Champion, while also having won the Cinderella Tournament back to back in 2015 and 2016, and the 2018 5*Grand Prix. She also made appearances for Stardom's American partner

Ring of Honor Ring of Honor (ROH) is an American professional wrestling promotion based in Jacksonville, Florida. The promotion was founded by Rob Feinstein on February 23, 2002, and was operated by Cary Silkin from 2004 until 2011, when the promotion was s ...

(ROH), where she is a former one-time

Women of Honor World Champion The Women of Honor World Championship was a women's professional wrestling championship created and promoted by the American professional wrestling promotion Ring of Honor (ROH). History At Final Battle, December 15, 2017, it was announced that ...

Dave Meltzer David Allen Meltzer (born October 24, 1959) is an American journalist who reports on professional wrestling and mixed martial arts. Since 1983, he has been the publisher and editor of the ''Wrestling Observer Newsletter'' (''WON''). He has als ...

of the ''

Wrestling Observer Newsletter The ''Wrestling Observer Newsletter'' (''WON'') is a newsletter that covers professional wrestling and mixed martial arts. Founded in print in 1982 by Dave Meltzer, the ''Wrestling Observer'' website merged with Bryan Alvarez's ''Figure Four W ...

'' has called Iwatani and fellow Japanese workers

Io Shirai is a Japanese professional wrestler currently signed to WWE, where she performs on the Raw brand under the ring name Iyo Sky (stylized in all caps). She is a member of Damage CTRL and one-half of the current WWE Women's Tag Team Champions w ...

and Kairi Hojo "three of the best wrestlers in the world".

Early life

Iwatani grew up in the countryside of

Mine, Yamaguchi is a city located in Yamaguchi Prefecture, Japan. As of May 1, 2016, the city has an estimated population of 25,857 and a population density of 54.70 persons per km2. The total area is 472.71 km2. History The city was founded on March ...

with her family, which includes two older brothers. In primary school, she practiced

judo is an unarmed modern Japanese martial art, Olympic sport (since 1964), and the most prominent form of jacket wrestling competed internationally.『日本大百科全書』電子版【柔道】(CD-ROM version of Encyclopedia Nipponica, "Judo") ...

and high jump, but in

high school A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper seconda ...

, she began isolating herself from society, spending three years mostly indoors. After quitting high school, she fell in love with

professional wrestling Professional wrestling is a form of theater that revolves around staged wrestling matches. The mock combat is performed in a ring similar to the kind used in boxing, and the dramatic aspects of pro wrestling may be performed both in the ring or ...

after seeing a Dragon Gate event. She contacted Fuka, the general manager of the

promotion, who were looking for new wrestlers, and eventually moved to

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and List of cities in Japan, largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, ...

in 2010 to pursue a career in professional wrestling.

Professional wrestling career

World Wonder Ring Stardom (2011–present)

2011–2017

Iwatani was part of Stardom's first class of trainees. She made her professional wrestling debut at the promotion's inaugural event on January 23, 2011, facing fellow debutante Arisa Hoshiki. Afterwards, Iwatani & Hoshiki formed a

tag team Tag team wrestling is a type of professional wrestling in which matches are contested between teams of multiple wrestlers. Tag teams may be made up of wrestlers who normally wrestle in singles competition, but more commonly are made of establish ...

named AMA, which became one of Stardom's most popular acts. Despite her popularity, Iwatani was the last of the class one trainees to obtain a win in a professional wrestling ring. In June, she was defeated by Eri Susa, the other winless Stardom trainee, and subsequently became known as Stardom's weakest wrestler. Iwatani was winless for the first eleven months of her career, before finally defeating Susa in a rematch on December 25, 2011. Afterwards, Iwatani & Hoshiki became part of

's "Planet" stable, along with Natsumi Showzuki. Following Hoshiki's retirement from professional wrestling in June 2012, Iwatani began teaming with Io Shirai under the team name "Thunder Rock". She also became part of a stable named Tawashis with Hiroyo Matsumoto & Miho Wakizawa. The three went on to win the Artist of Stardom Championship on December 29, 2013, by defeating Alpha Female, The Female Predator "Amazon" & Kyoko Kimura. On July 27, 2014, Iwatani won her first singles title, when she defeated her teammate Miho Wakizawa for the

vacant Within the context of building construction and building codes, "occupancy" refers to the use, or intended use, of a building, or portion of a building, for the shelter or support of persons, animals or property. A closely related meaning is th ...

Wonder of Stardom Championship. After a record-setting eight-month reign, Tawashis lost the Artist of Stardom Championship to Hatsuhinode Kamen,

Kaori Yoneyama is a Japanese professional wrestler, currently working as a freelancer on the Japanese independent circuit. Yoneyama started her career in 1999, working with the JWP Joshi Puroresu promotion. During the following years, she became a one-tim ...

& Tsubasa Kuragaki on August 10, 2014. On January 18, 2015, Iwatani lost the Wonder of Stardom Championship to Act Yasukawa. On April 23, 2015, Iwatani won the first annual Cinderella Tournament, defeating

Koguma is a Japanese professional wrestler, currently working for the Japanese promotion World Wonder Ring Stardom where she is a former two-time Goddess of Stardom Champion with Hazuki and a former High Speed Champion. Professional wrestling career In ...

in the finals. As a result, Iwatani was granted a shot at Stardom's top title, the

World of Stardom Championship The is a women's world professional wrestling championship owned by the World Wonder Ring Stardom promotion. The title, which is situated at the top of Stardom's championship hierarchy, was introduced on June 26, 2011, and the inaugural champio ...

, but was defeated by the defending champion, Kairi Hojo, on May 17. On May 6, Iwatani & Io Shirai, Thunder Rock, defeated Chelsea & Kairi Hojo to win the vacant Goddess of Stardom Championship. On October 11, Iwatani defeated Rosa Negra to also win the

High Speed Championship The is a women's professional wrestling Championship (professional wrestling), championship owned by the World Wonder Ring Stardom professional wrestling promotion, promotion. The title was originally created on May 5, 2009, in the NEO Japan Lad ...

. During their tag team title reign, Thunder Rock also won the 2015 Goddesses of Stardom Tag Tournament. On February 28, 2016, Iwatani became a triple champion, when she, Shirai & Kairi Hojo, billed together as "Threedom" (a combination of the words "Three" and "Stardom"), defeated

Evie Evie may refer to: People and fictional characters * Evie (given name) * Evie (singer), American contemporary Christian music singer Evelyn Tornquist (born 1957) * Evie (wrestler), ring name of New Zealand female professional wrestler Cheree Crowl ...

, Hiroyo Matsumoto & Kellie Skater for the Artist of Stardom Championship. In April, Iwatani, along with Hojo & Shirai, traveled to the United States to take part in events held by Lucha Underground and Vendetta Pro Wrestling. On April 29, Iwatani won her second Cinderella Tournament in a row, defeating Hiroyo Matsumoto in the finals. As a result, Iwatani received another shot at the World of Stardom Championship, but was defeated by Io Shirai on May 15. After setting records for both the longest reign and most successful title defenses, Iwatani & Shirai lost the Goddess of Stardom Championship to Kagetsu & Kyoko Kimura in their 11th title defense on June 16. On October 2, Threedom lost the Artist of Stardom Championship to

Hana Kimura was a Japanese joshi puroresu professional wrestler. She worked for native companies in her country such as World Wonder Ring Stardom from 2016 to 2020, and Wrestle-1, in addition to having made appearances for foreign companies such as Ring o ...

, Kagetsu & Kyoko Kimura in their third defense. On November 11, both Thunder Rock and Threedom were dissolved, when Shirai turned on Iwatani, after the two had lost to Hojo & Yoko Bito in the finals of the 2016 Goddesses of Stardom Tag League. This led to Iwatani unsuccessfully challenging Shirai for the World of Stardom Championship at Stardom's year-end show on December 22. The following day, the match was named Stardom's 2016 Match of the Year. Reportedly, Iwatani was originally scheduled to win the match and the World of Stardom Championship, but the result was changed after she told Stardom that she wanted to retire from professional wrestling in 2017. After nine successful title defenses, Iwatani lost the High Speed Championship to

Kris Wolf Kris Hernandez (born August 12, 1984) is an American retired professional wrestler, best known by the ring name Kris Wolf. She wrestled for World Wonder Ring Stardom in Japan, where she is a former High Speed Champion, as well as a founding member ...

in a three-way match, also involving Kagetsu, on February 23, 2017. On April 30, Iwatani made it to the finals of her third Cinderella Tournament in a row, but was this time defeated by

Toni Storm Toni Rossall (born 19 October 1995), better known by the ring name Toni Storm, is a New Zealand-Australian professional wrestler. She is currently signed to AEW, where she is a former AEW Women's World Champion. She previously worked for WWE, ...

. With Storm going after the World of Stardom Championship, Iwatani chose to challenge for the Wonder of Stardom Championship. On May 14, Iwatani defeated Kairi Hojo to win the Wonder of Stardom Championship for the second time. Shortly afterwards, it was reported that Iwatani was no longer considering retirement and was being positioned as Stardom's top star in the wake of Io Shirai and Kairi Hojo's departures from the promotion. On June 21, Iwatani defeated Shirai to win the World of Stardom Championship for the first time in her fifth challenge, becoming the first wrestler to simultaneously hold the World and Wonder of Stardom Championships. Afterwards, Iwatani started defending both the World and Wonder of Stardom Championships in separate title matches. On September 23, Iwatani lost the Wonder of Stardom Championship to Yoko Bito in her third defense. The following day, Iwatani lost the World of Stardom Championship to Storm, again in her third defense. The title change was unplanned as the match had to be stopped after only two minutes due to Iwatani legitimately dislocating her elbow, forcing referee Daichi Murayama to award the title to Storm. Iwatani returned to the ring on December 10 to take part in Yoko Bito's final match in Shin-Kiba 1st Ring. 岩谷麻優2019

2018

Since her return, Iwatani became the leader of a new unit named "

Stars A star is an astronomical object comprising a luminous spheroid of plasma (physics), plasma held together by its gravity. The List of nearest stars and brown dwarfs, nearest star to Earth is the Sun. Many other stars are visible to the naked ...

" (initially Stardom's Army). On February 18, 2018, Iwatani & Tam Nakano challenged Oedo Tai (

& Kagetsu) for the

Goddesses of Stardom Championship The is a professional wrestling tag team championship owned by the World Wonder Ring Stardom promotion. Title history On August 2, 2011, Stardom held a press conference to announce the first ever Goddesses of Stardom Tag League, which would ...

but were unsuccessful. On April 1, Iwatani tried to capture again the

from

after Iwatani was injured in their last match, but was unsuccessful. On June 3, Iwatani, along with Saki Kashima, defeated Hana Kimura & Kagetsu to win the Goddesses of Stardom Championship. On September 24, Iwatani won the 5★Star GP after defeating

Utami Hayashishita (born September 14, 1998) is a Japanese professional wrestler currently signed to World Wonder Ring Stardom promotion, Since making her debut on August 12, 2018, she became a one-time World of Stardom Champion, two-time Goddesses of Stardom Ch ...

in the finals. On September 30, at the afternoon show of ''5★Star Grand Champion Carnival'', Iwatani won the Artist of Stardom Championship with Kashima & Nakano after defeating J.A.N. ( Jungle Kyona,

& Natsuko Tora), however, Iwatani & Kashima lost the Goddess of Stardom Championship to Kyona & Tora during the evening show.

2019

On May 16, 2019,

(Iwatani, Tam Nakano & Saki Kashima) lost the Artist of Stardom Championship to Tokyo Cyber Squad (

, Jungle Kyona &

Konami , is a Japanese multinational video game and entertainment company headquartered in Chūō, Tokyo, it also produces and distributes trading cards, anime, tokusatsu, pachinko machines, slot machines, and arcade cabinets. Konami has casi ...

). Stars won the title for the second time on June 23, after defeating Tokyo Cyber Squad. Stars held the title until July 20, when they lost the championship to Andras Miyagi, Kagetsu &

Sumire Natsu is a feminine Japanese given name. Possible writings Sumire can be written using different kanji characters and can mean: *菫, "violet" ;as a name *紫花, "purple, flower" *純麗, "purity, lovely" *澄玲, "lucidity, sound of jewels" *澄麗, ...

. On November 4, 2019, Iwatani defeated Bea Priestley to win the

for the second time.

2020

At Stardom Cinderella Tournament 2020, Iwatani wrestled

into a time-limit draw during the first-round matches from March 24. At

Stardom Yokohama Cinderella 2020 was a professional wrestling event promoted by World Wonder Ring Stardom. It took place on October 3, 2020, in Yokohama, Japan, at the Yokohama Budokan, with limited attendance due in part to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic at the time. Storyline ...

on October 3, 2020, she successfully defended the

against

Syuri is a Japanese professional wrestler, shoot boxer, kickboxer and mixed martial artist, better known simply as . Syuri formerly competed in Ultimate Fighting Championship. Syuri is currently working for World Wonder Ring Stardom, where she is th ...

. On November 15, 2020, Iwatani lost the World Championship to

, ending her reign at 377 days. At Stardom Osaka Dream Cinderella 2020 on December 20, Iwatani teamed up with Stars stablemates Starlight Kid & Gokigen Death and unsuccessfully challenged the then sub-unit of Stars,

Cosmic Angels is a professional wrestling stable, currently performing in the Japanese professional wrestling promotion World Wonder Ring Stardom. The stable currently consists of Tam Nakano, Unagi Sayaka, Mina Shirakawa, Waka Tsukiyama, Saki, Hikari Shimizu, ...

( Mina Shirakawa, Tam Nakano & Unagi Sayaka) for the Artist of Stardom Championship. After they retained the title, Sayaka, Nakano & Shirakawa announced that they would split up from Stars to act as an independent unit.

2021

At Stardom 10th Anniversary Show on January 17, 2021, Iwatani teamed up with Ruaka in a Four-Way Elimination Tag Team Match won by Queen's Quest ( Momo Watanabe & Saya Kamitani) and also involving the teams of Donna Del Mondo (

Himeka Catherine St. Onge (born July 20, 1981), better known by her stage name (stylized as HIMEKA), is a French Canadian descent anime song singer no longer active in Japan. While fluent in English and her native French, she is moderately proficient i ...

) and Oedo Tai ( Bea Priestley & Saki Kashima). At

Stardom All Star Dream Cinderella , also known as Stardom 10th Anniversary ~Hinamatsuri All-Star Dream Cinderella~, was a professional wrestling event promoted by World Wonder Ring Stardom. It was the second from the promotion's 10th Anniversary celebration line of events. It too ...

on March 3, 2021, she defeated

Yoshiko Yoshiko is a feminine Japanese given name. Possible writings The name Yoshiko can have a variety of different meanings depending on which kanji characters are used to write it. Over 200 possible variations of the name exist. Some of the most comm ...

. The unit of Stars leaded by Iwatani began losing members in 2021, beginning with Ruaka who defected to Oedo Tai on February 20. At Stardom Yokohama Dream Cinderella 2021, she continued losing members, as she teamed up with Starlight Kid, Saya Iida, Hanan & Fukigen Death, falling short to Oedo Tai's Natsuko Tora,

, Saki Kashima, Ruaka &

Rina Rina or RINA may refer to: __NOTOC__ People and fictional characters * Rina (given name), a list of people and fictional characters * Kento Rina, Indian politician * Mahfuza Rahman Rina, Bangladeshi politician * Tongam Rina (born 1979), Indian j ...

in a Ten-Woman Elimination Tag Team Match. Since she was eliminated last, Death was forced to join the enemy unit. The stable's fall continued at the last night of the Stardom Cinderella Tournament 2021 from June 12, where Iwatani lost Starlight Kid to Oedo Tai the same way as with Gokigen Death. Iwatani had also compete in the main tournament, making it into the quarterfinals from May 14 where she fell short to Himeka.

returned to professional wrestling after a long absence and joined Stars. Iwatani teamed up with her at Yokohama Dream Cinderella 2021 in Summer on July 4, 2021, where they unsuccessfully challenged Syuri & Giulia for the Goddess of Stardom Championship. At

Stardom 5 Star Grand Prix 2021 , often stylized as 5★Star Grand Prix 2021 was the tenth annual professional wrestling professional wrestling tournament, tournament under the Stardom 5Star Grand Prix Tournament branch List of major World Wonder Ring Stardom events, promoted by ...

, Iwatani fought in the "Red Stars" block and scored a total of eleven points after competing against Momo Watanabe,

, Starlight Kid, Himeka, Fukigen Death,

Natsupoi , better known by her ring name , is a Japanese professional wrestler. She is currently signed to World Wonder Ring Stardom. Professional wrestling career Independent circuit (2015–present) Maki wrestled a couple of matches for Reina, one of ...

, Giulia, Mina Shirakawa, and Saki Kashima. At

Stardom 10th Anniversary Grand Final Osaka Dream Cinderella was a professional wrestling event promoted by World Wonder Ring Stardom. It took place on October 9, 2021, in Osaka at the Osaka-jō Hall with a limited attendance due in part to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic at the time. The pay-per-view mark ...

on October 9, 2021, she unsuccessfully challenged Tam Nakano for the Wonder of Stardom Championship as the match went into a time-limit draw. At the 2021 edition of the Goddesses of Stardom Tag League, Iwatani teamed up with Rin Kadokura as "Blue MaRine" and fought in the "Blue Goddess" block where thet scored a total of seven points after competing against the teams of MOMOAZ (Momo Watanabe & AZM), Kurotora Kaidou (Starlight Kid & Ruaka), Ponytail and Samurai Road (Syuri & Maika), Dream H (Tam Nakano & Mina Shirakawa) and C Moon ( Lady C &

Waka Tsukiyama is an American-born Japanese professional wrestler currently working for the Japanese promotions World Wonder Ring Stardom. Professional wrestling career Independent circuit (2020-present) Due to being a freelancer, Tsukiyama known for competi ...

). At ''Kawasaki Super Wars'', the first event of the

Stardom Super Wars was a trilogy of professional wrestling events promoted by the Japanese professional wrestling promotion World Wonder Ring Stardom. They took place beginning with November 3, 2021 and culminated on December 18, 2021, with a limited attendance f ...

trilogy which took place on November 3, 2021, Iwatani teamed up with Koguma and went into a time-limit draw against Himeka & Natsupoi. At ''Tokyo Super Wars'' on November 27, she teamed up with Hazuki & Hanan to defeat Oedo Tai (Saki Kashima, Fukigen Death & Rina). At ''Osaka Super Wars'', the final event of the trilogy from December 18, Iwatani teamed up with Hazuki & Koguma and took part in a ¥10 Million Unit Tournament which was also contested for the Artist of Stardom Championship by first defeating Cosmic Angels (Tam Nakano, Mina Shirakawa & Unagi Sayaka) in the semi finals, and eventually falling short to the champions MaiHimePoi (Maika, Natsupoi & Himeka) in the finals on the same night as a result of a Six-Woman Tag Team

ladder match A ladder match is a type of match in professional wrestling, most commonly one in which an item (usually a title belt) is hung above the ring, and the winner is the contestant who climbs a ladder and retrieves the item. The ladder itself becom ...

. At

Stardom Dream Queendom was a professional wrestling event promoted by World Wonder Ring Stardom. It took place on December 29, 2021, with a limited attendance due in part to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic at the time. The event marked the last pay-per-view of 2021 hos ...

on December 29, 2021, Iwatani teamed up with

Takumi Iroha is a Japanese professional wrestler currently signed to Marvelous That's Women Pro Wrestling. She also competes in Seadlinnng, where she is a former Beyond the Sea Champion. Iroha was trained by Fuka Kakimoto and made her debut in April 2013 f ...

to defeat Hazuki and Momo Watanabe.

2022

Stardom Nagoya Supreme Fight was a professional wrestling event promoted by World Wonder Ring Stardom. It took place on January 29, 2022, with a limited attendance due in part to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic at the time. It was the first pay-per-view of 2022 hosted by the ...

on January 29, 2022, Iwatani went into a time-limit draw against Giulia in a

#1 Contender's Match. At Stardom Cinderella Journey on February 23, 2022, she teamed up with Tam Nakano to defeat Fukigen Death & Saki Kashima. On the first night of the Stardom World Climax 2022 from March 26, Iwatani teamed up with Kairi to defeat Tam Nakano & Unagi Sayaka. On the second night from March 27, she unsuccessfully challenged

for the World of Stardom Championship. At the Stardom Cinderella Tournament 2022, she made it to the second round matches from April 10 where she fell short to Saki Kashima. At Stardom Golden Week Fight Tour on May 5, 2022, Iwatani defeated Thekla to win the

SWA World Championship The is a women's professional wrestling Championship (professional wrestling), championship promoted by the Japanese World Wonder Ring Stardom Professional wrestling promotion, promotion. Though the Japanese name of the title translates to "SWA ...

. She officially became the second woman to win all the eligible titles in Stardom after Io Shirai, thus becoming the second ever "grand slam champion". At Stardom Flashing Champions on May 28, 2022, she successfully defended the SWA title against Fukigen Death. At Stardom Fight in the Top on June 26, 2022, Iwatani teamed up with Hazuki &

and defeated Queen's Quest's

, Saya Kamitani & AZM in a Six-Woman Tag Team Steel Cage Match. At ''Mid Summer Champions in Tokyo'', the first event of the Stardom Mid Summer Champions series which took place on July 9, 2022, Iwatani teamed up with Hazuki, Koguma & Saya Iida in a losing effort against Saki Kashima, Ruaka,

& Fukigen Death. At ''Mid Summer Champions in Nagoya'' on July 24, she teamed up with Momo Kohgo and defeated Ruaka & Fukigen Death. At the

Stardom 5 Star Grand Prix 2022 , often stylized as 5★Star Grand Prix 2022 was the eleventh annual professional wrestling professional wrestling tournament, tournament under the Stardom 5Star Grand Prix Tournament branch List of major World Wonder Ring Stardom events, promoted ...

, Iwatani fought in the "Blue Stars" block where she scored a total of fifteen points after competing against Giulia, Mirai,

Suzu Suzuki is a Japanese professional wrestler currently working as a freelancer and is best known for her time in Ice Ribbon and Pure-J, two Japanese professional wrestling promotions. Professional wrestling career Independent circuit (2018–present) ...

, Hazuki, Saya Kamitani, Starlight Kid,

, Momo Watanabe, Ami Sourei, Mina Shirakawa, Saya Iida, and Hanan. At

Stardom in Showcase vol.1 was a professional wrestling event promoted by World Wonder Ring Stardom. The event took place on July 23, 2022, in Nagoya at the Nagoya Congress Center, with a limited attendance due in part to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic at the time. Backg ...

, Iwatani competed in a Nagoya Rumble Match won by Kaori Yoneyama who appeared with her old Stars gimmick of "Gokigen Death". At Stardom x Stardom: Nagoya Midsummer Encounter on August 21, 2022, she teamed up with Saya Iida & Momo Kohgo in a losing effort against Utami Hayashishita, AZM & Lady C. At

Stardom in Showcase vol.2 was a professional wrestling List of major World Wonder Ring Stardom events, event promoted by World Wonder Ring Stardom. The event took place on September 25, 2022, in Tokyo at the Belle Salle Takadanobaba with a limited attendance due in part ...

on September 25, 2022, she competed in a

four-way match Many types of wrestling matches, sometimes called "concept" or "gimmick matches" in the jargon of the business, are performed in professional wrestling. Some gimmick matches are more common than others and are often used to advance or conclude a ...

won by AZM and also involving Ram Kaicho and Maika. Iwatani became a participant in a tournament to become the inaugural

IWGP Women's Champion The is a women's professional wrestling world championship owned by the New Japan Pro-Wrestling promotion. The title is to be exclusively won and defended on shows promoted by NJPW, not only in Japan but worldwide, with talent from NJPW's sist ...

. In the first round of the tournament, she defeated Odeo Tai's Momo Watanabe on October 22. At Goddesses of Stardom Tag League 2022 Night 1 on October 23, 2022, Iwatani defeated Utami Hayashishita in a semi-final match of the tournament. After the match, Iwatani stare down at her opponent whom she will be facing in the finals at Historic X-Over, Kairi as both women got a hold of the IWGP Women's Championship belt in the middle of the ring. At Hiroshima Goddess Festival on November 3, 2022, she defeated Alpha Female to retain the SWA World Championship. After the match, Iwatani relinquished the title to concentrate on the IWGP Women's Championship match from Historic X-Over on November 20, 2022. Iwatani failed to win the championship at Historic X-Over after losing to Kairi.

New Japan Pro-Wrestling (2020, 2021, 2022)

On January 4, 2020, Mayu along with Arisa Hoshiki, Giulia and

made their debut in

New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) is a Japanese professional wrestling promotion based in Nakano, Tokyo. Founded on January 13, 1972, by Antonio Inoki, the promotion was sold to Yuke's, who later sold it to Bushiroad in 2012. TV Asahi and Amuse, Inc. own minority share ...

at Wrestle Kingdom 14 in

Tokyo Dome is an indoor stadium in Bunkyo, Tokyo, Japan. It was designed as a baseball stadium following its predecessor, Korakuen Stadium. Construction on the stadium began on May 16, 1985, and it opened on March 17, 1988. It was built on the site of ...

in a special

Stardom ''Stardom'' is a 2000 Canadian comedy-drama film directed by Denys Arcand and written by J.Jacob Potashnik and Arcand. It stars Jessica Paré and Dan Aykroyd. It tells the story of a young girl who tries to cope with her rise to stardom after bei ...

tag team exhibition match. Iwatani continued to work in these kinds of matches, making her next appearance at Wrestle Kingdom 15 on January 5, 2021, where she teamed up with Tam Nakano and fell short to Donna Del Mondo's Syuri and Giulia. At Wrestle Kingdom 16 on January 5, 2022, she teamed up with Starlight Kid and fell short to Tam Nakano and Saya Kamitani.

Ring of Honor (2017–2019)

On December 15, Iwatani made her debut for American promotion

(ROH), when she was announced as part of a tournament to crown the inaugural

Women of Honor Champion The Women of Honor World Championship was a women's professional wrestling championship created and promoted by the American professional wrestling promotion Ring of Honor (ROH). History At Final Battle, December 15, 2017, it was announced t ...

. At Bound By Honor, Iwatani challenged champion Kelly Klein to a title match, in which she defeated Klein for the title. Iwatani successfully defended the title twice before losing the title back to Klein at the

G1 Supercard G1 Supercard was a professional wrestling supershow co-produced by the American Ring of Honor (ROH) and Japanese New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) promotions. It was the 13th annual Supercard of Honor event and took place on April 6, 2019, at Madis ...

on April 6, 2019.

Championships and accomplishments

*''

Pro Wrestling Illustrated ''Pro Wrestling Illustrated'' (''PWI'') is an American internationally sold professional wrestling magazine that was founded in 1979 by publisher Stanley Weston. ''PWI'' is headquartered in Blue Bell, Pennsylvania, and published by Kappa Publi ...

'' **Ranked No. 9 of the top 50 female singles wrestlers in the '' PWI Female 50'' in 2018 **Ranked No. 16 of the top 100 female singles wrestlers in the '' PWI Women's 100'' in 2019 **Ranked No. 10 of the top 100 female wrestlers in the ''PWI Female 100'' in 2020 **Ranked No. 65 of the top 150 female singles wrestlers in the ''

PWI Women's 150 ''Pro Wrestling Illustrated'' (''PWI'') is an American internationally sold professional wrestling magazine that was founded in 1979 by publisher Stanley Weston. ''PWI'' is headquartered in Blue Bell, Pennsylvania, and published by Kappa Publis ...

'' in 2021 **Ranked No. 27 of the top 150 female singles wrestlers in the ''PWI Women's 150'' in 2022 *

** Women of Honor World Championship ( 1 time) *''

Tokyo Sports is a Japanese daily sports newspaper A newspaper is a periodical publication containing written information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray background. Newspapers can cover a wide variety of ...

'' ** Joshi Puroresu Grand Prize (2019) *

** Artist of Stardom Championship ( 5 times) – with Hiroyo Matsumoto & Miho Wakizawa (1),

(1), Io Shirai & Kairi Hojo (1), and Saki Kashima & Tam Nakano (2) ** Goddess of Stardom Championship (

2 times "2 Times" is a song co-written and recorded by British Italian-based singer Ann Lee. It was released in 1999 as the lead single from her debut album, ''Dreams'' (1999). The single entered and peaked at number two on the UK Singles Chart. Outsid ...

) – with

(1) and Saki Kashima (1) **

( 1 time) ** Wonder of Stardom Championship (

) **Wonder of Stardom Championship tournament (2014) **

(

) **

( 1 time) ** Second Grand Slam Champion ** Cinderella Tournament (2015, 2016) **Goddess of Stardom Championship Tournament (2015)– with Io Shirai ** Goddesses of Stardom Tag League (2015) – with Io Shirai ** Moneyball Tournament (2022) – with Hazuki and

** 5★Star GP (2018) **5★Star GP Award (4 times) ***5★Star GP Best Match Award (2015) vs. Io Shirai on August 23 ***5★Star GP Best Match Award (2017) vs. Kagetsu on September 18 ***5★Star GP Red Stars Best Bout Award (2021) vs Giulia on August 1 ***5★Star GP Outstanding Performance Award (2014) **Stardom Year-End Award (9 times) ***Best Match Award (2016) vs. Io Shirai on December 22 ***Best Match Award (2018) with Io Shirai vs. Kagetsu and Hazuki on June 17 ***Best Match Award (2020) ***Best Tag Team Award (2015) with Io Shirai ***Fighting Spirit Award (2017) ***Technique Award (2014, 2015) ***MVP Award (2019) ***Special Award (2021)

References

External links

Official blog

World Wonder Ring Stardom profile
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Iwatani, Mayu 1993 births Living people Japanese female professional wrestlers Sportspeople from Yamaguchi Prefecture Masked wrestlers 21st-century professional wrestlers World of Stardom Champions Wonder of Stardom Champions Goddess of Stardom Champions Artist of Stardom Champions High Speed Champions SWA World Champions Women of Honor World Champions