Stardom held a second and final press conference for their upcoming New Blood 1 show on March 1. This conference included a number of talent announcements for the show as well as one high-profile return. Let’s take a look at who and what was announced.
New Blood 1 Announcements
Sayaka of Gatoh Move Competing
In the first match of the show Stardom’s recent debutant Momo Kohgo will take on Gatoh Move’s Sayaka (not to be confused with Sayaka Obihiro). Sayaka was part of 2019’s class of Gatoh Move rookies and is 30 years old. As part of our Joshi Watch series we wrote an in-depth profile of Sayaka in the past.
Saya Iida Returns
Future of Stardom Champion Hanan will team with STARS stablemate Saya Iida on New Blood 1. Iida has not wrestled since suffering an injury in April of 2021, almost a full year later she is ready to return. Since Iida got hurt STARS have done a complete 180 momentum-wise and are currently loaded with winners. Who will Iida be facing in her return match? Well let’s talk about them
Aoi & Tomoka Inaba of JUST TAP OUT Competing
The STARS duo will face the tough team of JTOs Aoi and Tomoka Inaba. Inaba was one of the original trainees of JTO Girls, alongside Maika, but took longer to show her full potential. Inaba is equally adept at striking as she is on the mat which helped her succeed in 2021. Last year, Inaba climbed the rankings to become Queen of JTO and won the Young Block of the Catch The WAVE tournament but got injured after one block match in the full Catch The WAVE tournament. Inaba’s success has carried over to 2022 despite losing the Queen of JTO moniker to Yuu Yamagata as she recently defeated Yurika Oka to win the Sendai Girls Junior Championship. If Inaba fully showcases her loud kicks and other strikes she could come away from New Blood 1 with a lot of fanfare.
Aoi is a newcomer to pro wrestling who made her debut in 2021. She wears her background in dancing on her sleeve, even dancing as part of her entrance, and has an eye-catching look to go with her endless charisma. In the ring, she is mainly a technician who is still getting up to speed and gaining experience. Aoi is certain to leave first-time viewers thinking “woah she’s cool” even if they don’t love her in-ring work.
Nanami of Diana Competing.
Haruka Umesaki of Diana was already announced for this show, it was known that she would be facing an Oedo Tai duo involving Starlight Kid and Ruaka. What we didn’t know was who Umesaki would be teaming with, although most predicted it would be a fellow Diana wrestler. It was in fact Diana’s youngest roster member Nanami who was chosen to team with Umesaki. Nanami has been wrestling since 2019 but recently took an extended break from wrestling to focus on her exams, she returned at a recent Diana event and is now set to represent the company at New Blood 1.
Miyu Amasaki Gets Her Name
Stardom’s newest trainee Miyu Matsuda will make her debut at New Blood 1 against Utami Hayashishita. During the press conference for New Blood 1 it was announced that Matsuda would wrestle under the name Miyu Amasaki. Amasaki will be in the main event of the show opposite the former world champion.
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.
