On October 23rd, CMLL and STARDOM announced their partnership. STARDOM President Taro Okada outlined the goals of this collaboration, saying that:
“First, first, our initial goal is to elevate the level of wrestling, of lucha, for both sides by facilitating an exchange of wrestlers between CMLL and STARDOM. Next, by having CMLL and STARDOM collaborate on something together, we aim to steadily raise the status of women’s pro-wrestling, women’s lucha, worldwide, and create an even larger movement.”
Today, we’ll go over why this collaboration between the two companies will benefit everyone, ranging from fans, the wrestlers, and the industry itself.
CMLL and STARDOM’s History:
While this official collaboration is new, the companies have worked together in the past. STARDOM wrestler, Hazuki, currently holds the CMLL-Japan Women’s Championship, which was first introduced in 1999, long before STARDOM existed. Then, it was deactivated in 2001, before finally being reactivated in 2020. Since 2020, three STARDOM wrestlers have held the belt, including Unagi Sayaka, Koguma, and Hazuki. Talent from both CMLL and STARDOM have traveled to the other company for a brief time in the past.
Fan Benefit
This cross-promotional deal is most beneficial for fans. For fans who watch both companies, there is a lot of anticipation and excitement. Not only is it exciting to see favorites from both companies cross paths, but it’s also more convenient for fans. Instead of trying to play catch-up constantly, this partnership will allow fans to watch their favorites and biases work in one place. It has also led to speculation online as to what the partnership will look like. Will it just be epic dream matches being played out?
Will there be a specific event in either Mexico or Japan (or even both) to promote the crossover? Or will it look more like the WWE/TNA collaboration, where each team fights for the glory of their promotion? Only time will tell, but regardless, fans can’t wait.
Additionally, this partnership will expose CMLL fans to STARDOM, and vice versa. Broadening your horizons is never a bad thing, especially as a wrestling fan. Since the industry is so jam-packed, this will be a great way to pick out the highlights of the landscape in each promotion. Furthermore, it benefits fans who previously could not watch the other, even if they wanted to.
Big reasons why fans cannot access wrestling worldwide are time zones, streaming accessibility, and regionally locked viewing. Regionally-locked viewing is content that cannot be viewed due to geographical location, commonly due to licensing, legal issues, or pricing strategies.
Talent Benefit
This collaboration is not only rewarding for fans, but the talent themselves reap some benefits as well. It comes in the form of exposing the women to others’ styles. For instance, Lucha Libre is known for high-flying acrobatics, storytelling, and the ‘pomp and circumstance’ of the sport. Lucha Libre focuses on entertaining the crowd, rather than on a bloody, realistic fight.
At the same time, Joshi-puroresu is known for its hard-hitting, mat wrestling that focuses more on submissions, although pins are still standard. Joshi-puroresu also takes heavy inspiration from Japan’s idol culture, as seen in the dramatic entrances and iconic gear.
Although there are some similarities between the two styles, there are still distinct differences. Exposing the women from each promotion to a different style is a fantastic strategy to improve in-ring performance. Not that the women of CMLL or STARDOM lack in that department, but there’s always room for growth. This also makes them more versatile, improves their adaptability, and makes them all-rounded competitors. Since wrestling is so diverse, wrestlers need to be a jack-of-all-trades.
Women’s Wrestling
As Taro Okada said, this partnership will uplift women’s wrestling worldwide. An incredible collaboration like this will not only further legitimize women in the sport but it will also inspire the next generation. After the women’s movement in the U.S, the industry was flooded with young, talented women who were inspired by the leaders of that mission.
Women like Cora Jade, Roxanne Perez, and many more were inspired to wrestle by the front-runners of the Women’s Evolution mission. Just think of how many more young girls will enter the industry in the next few years because of this deal!
What do you think of the STARDOM-CMLL crossover? Let us know!
More From LWOS Pro Wrestling
Header photo – World Wonder Ring STARDOM/CMLL – Stay tuned to the Last Word on Pro Wrestling for more on STARDOM 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.
