{"id":36232,"date":"2019-01-23T17:03:30","date_gmt":"2019-01-23T22:03:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lwosonprowrestling.ms.lastwordonsports.com\/?p=36232"},"modified":"2019-06-08T22:31:33","modified_gmt":"2019-06-09T02:31:33","slug":"star-gazing-the-icon-of-stardom-mayu-iwatani","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/2019\/01\/23\/star-gazing-the-icon-of-stardom-mayu-iwatani\/","title":{"rendered":"Star Gazing: “The Icon Of Stardom” Mayu Iwatani"},"content":{"rendered":"

Star Gazing is our new series which will add to our already growing coverage of\u00a0World Wonder Ring Stardom<\/a>\u00a0<\/strong>(colloquially known simply as Stardom) and the Joshi scene where we will get you up to speed with members of the Stardom roster.\u00a0 Our second one will focus on the perennial 1B of Stardom, Mayu Iwatani.<\/strong><\/p>\n

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Photo: Stardom<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Iwatani is a Stardom original and recently celebrated her 8th Anniversary with the company.\u00a0 Over the years, she has climbed up the card to become it’s most recognizable stars.\u00a0 From her days as High Speed Champion, to her adventures with the Threedom<\/strong>\u00a0and onwards as the leader of STARS<\/strong>, she has done it all in Stardom and become the heart and soul of the company.<\/p>\n

Who Is Mayu Iwatani<\/strong><\/h3>\n
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Photo: Stardom<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The beauty of Mayu Iwatani is not her as a wrestler –\u00a0 although she is<\/em> a great wrestler – and it isn’t in her character, nor is it in her promo ability.\u00a0 What makes Iwatani special is Mayu Iwatani herself, the girl behind the wrestler.\u00a0 She has the ability to forge a connection with fans that so few wrestlers can match.\u00a0 Iwatani was never meant to be an icon, she wasn’t born into the business, she wasn’t a Super Rookie like\u00a0Utami Hayashishita.\u00a0\u00a0<\/strong>She was never even the best member of her early tag teams AMA<\/strong> and\u00a0Thunder Rock.<\/strong>\u00a0In her younger years,\u00a0Iwatani was an extreme introvert, to the point that she never finished school.\u00a0 For years before her debut, she could barely leave her room at home and has described herself as a hikkomori<\/em>\u00a0which means a shut-in.\u00a0 It’s this fact that makes her decision to wrestle even more mind boggling.\u00a0 She left home, without telling her parents, to go and wrestle for Stardom in front of hundreds of people.\u00a0 This same girl, who couldn’t face reality enough to leave her home, was now wrestling in front of cameras and crowds.\u00a0 She says herself “wrestling saved me” and she has worked so hard at wrestling and given her all to it ever since.<\/p>\n

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Threedom (Iwatani, Hojo & Shirai) (Photo: Stardom)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

As mentioned earlier, Iwatani was never the chosen one – it wasn’t until December 2013 that she won her first title and was the very last member of Stardom’s original roster to win a singles match.\u00a0 She was not a very good wrestler in her early days either, barely passing her Pro Test and botching frequently in her earlier days – the years of being a shut in had clearly done a number on her athletic abilities.\u00a0 Even when it came to Stardom’s famous\u00a0Threedom\u00a0(Io Shirai, Kairi Hojo\u00a0<\/strong>&\u00a0Iwatani), she was the least protected member of the group and was the only one at the time to never hold the prestigious\u00a0World Of Stardom\u00a0<\/strong>Championship.\u00a0 When the Threedom and Thunder Rock, broke up Shirai called Iwatani weak and turned on her longtime partner.<\/p>\n

The Icon Takes the World<\/strong><\/h3>\n
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Photo: Stardom<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

By 2017, Iwatani had progressed from the green rookie that Stardom fans first saw.\u00a0 She was one of the three best women’s wrestlers in the world and had captured every title in Stardom, except for one.\u00a0 The Icon of Stardom had never been World of Stardom champion.\u00a0 On June 21, 2017, Wonder of Stardom champion Mayu Iwatani faced Io Shirai in the main event at Korakuen Hall.\u00a0 The woman who turned on Iwatani, and Stardom’s Chosen One, Shirai had been champion for 546 days, with 14 successful defenses.\u00a0 As always the odds were against Iwatani but she did it.\u00a0 For the first time in her career, she won the World Of Stardom Championship and reached the pinnacle of Stardom.\u00a0 Long gone was the quiet introvert who conveyed nervousness in every movement and in her place the Icon of Stardom, the fan favorite and one of the world’s best wrestlers.\u00a0 It took her over 6 years but Iwatani had finally done it.<\/p>\n

End of the World<\/strong><\/h3>\n
\"Mayu
Photo: Stardom<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

After three short months with the World of Stardom championships, Iwatani was forced to lose the title due to a freak injury against\u00a0Toni Storm<\/strong><\/a>.\u00a0 It was a crushing blow, as her six-year journey ended in disaster. Since her comeback, she has become the leader of STARS and been working her way back to World of Stardom contention.\u00a0 As leader of STARS, Iwatani has truly let her adorable personality shine through.\u00a0 Her pre-match interviews are unique in just how messy and unorganized they are.\u00a0 She doesn’t have a character or a catchphrase, she’s just pushing her way through a promo so that she can go and wrestle.\u00a0 She has once again stepped aside in 2018 to allow Stardom to focus on their newer stars but she remains the Icon.\u00a0\u00a0Ring Of Honor\u00a0<\/strong>has announced that Mayu Iwatani will be back for shows leading up to their MSG show, she will be there for a TV taping as well as the\u00a0Bound By Honor\u00a0<\/strong>show.\u00a0 Rumors are flying that she will be on the MSG show and the thought of Mayu Iwtani wrestling in front of almost 20,000 people should fill any longtime fan with joy!<\/p>\n

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BREAKING: International star @MayuIwatani<\/a> makes her #ROH<\/a> return at #ROHBBH<\/a> Weekend!<\/p>\n

Sat Feb 9 #ROHLakeland<\/a>
Tix: https:\/\/t.co\/a3vHvajqUR<\/a><\/p>\n

Sun Feb 10 #ROHMiami<\/a>
Tix: https:\/\/t.co\/5x7euCWFQR<\/a><\/p>\n

More Info: https:\/\/t.co\/dWRU7VYLZM<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/LJvWcXj9kD<\/a><\/p>\n

— women of honor (@Women_of_Honor) January 22, 2019<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n