A new era in STARDOM and New Japan Pro Wrestling begins with the arrival of the IWGP Women’s Championship. The title, which was announced at STARDOM’s 2022 Strategy Meeting on Friday Morning, will first be up for grabs at the upcoming STARDOM x NJPW show later this year on November 20th. The Championship match will presumably serve as the show’s Main Event.
IWGP Women’s Championship Announced
✪The inaugural IWGP Women's Champion will be crowned at the NJPW x Stardom joint show on November 20th at the Ariake Arena.
Please note, this belt does not usurp the Red and White Belts in any way. They are the main titles for Stardom events.
— We Are Stardom (@we_are_stardom) July 29, 2022
There are few details on what the IWGP Women’s Championship will mean for either New Japan or STARDOM. According to the English Stardom Twitter Account, the belt will be defended both in Japan and in the United States as a part of the New Japan of America subsection of the company. This has raised questions regarding the status of the SWA Championship, currently held by Mayu Iwatani, which had taken up the role of being the internationally defended championship up until the beginning of the Coronavirus Pandemic in 2020. Since then, the championship had been rarely defended up until Syuri, representing the Philippines, held the belt on her way to winning the World of Stardom Championship. Questions of whether or not the IWGP Women’s Championship renders the SWA Title useless remain unanswered at this time.
While the debut of the IWGP Women’s Championship is one of the most notable pieces of news to international fans of STARDOM in quite some time, it has been said that the title will not overshadow either the Wonder or the World of Stardom Championships, which remain the two top prizes in the company.
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. If you want to see more from Stardom, you can check out their subscription service Stardom World for all your wonderous Joshi needs.
