Sayaka Kurara Makes a Huge Statement at STARDOM IN KORAKUEN 2026 APR Event

By: Lewis Carlan

On April 11th, STARDOM held its STARDOM IN KORAKUEN 2026 APR with a crowd of 1,422 fans in attendance for the event at Korakuen Hall in Tokyo.

The main event featured a 14 woman tag team battle as members of the Cosmic Angels and Neo Genesis factions joined forces to battle the H.A.T.E. unit. It was Natsupoi, Saori Anou, AZM, Miyu Amasaki, Yuna Mizumori, Aya Sakura & Sayaka Kurara taking on the Saya Kamitani, Natsuko Tora, Konami, Ruaka, Rina, Azusa Inaba & Fukigen Death★.

This bout served as a preliminary for the upcoming April 26th World of STARDOM championship bout between champion Saya Kamitani and challenger Sayaka Kurara. If Kurara loses on April 26th to Kamitani, the Cosmic Angels unit must disband.

The two stars had a lot of interaction in the bout and gave the fans watching an excellent preview of their upcoming championship match.

Kurara made a massive statement when she hit a spear on Kamitani and pinned the World of STARDOM champion which ended the bout at the 16:29 mark to win the match for her team. With the big win, Kurara hopes to carry this momentum through until April 26th and end the 460 + day reign of Kamitani.

During her backstage post-match interview Sayaka Kurara issued an emotionally charged comment after she lead her team to victory:

From Sayaka Kurara:

“Today, I defeated Saya Kamitani! I was told a lot of things. Harsh words that felt like they tore my heart apart, painful things, sad things… I said myself that I would ‘put COSMIC ANGELS on the line,’ and because of that, I pushed myself more than I needed to. I even felt down thinking I had caused trouble for everyone. But COSMIC ANGELS believed in me more than anyone and kept pushing me forward. If that’s the case, then if I don’t believe in myself, how can I ever win? This is a story I started myself, a story for me. And in that story, I absolutely want COSMIC ANGELS to be there, and I absolutely need the Red Belt too! I will bring a blue sky to STARDOM! Thank you for today!”

Saya Kamitani issued a threat directed at Kurara as she was clearly upset about falling in defeat to her April 26th challenger:

From Saya Kamitani:

“There’s no way her feelings for COSMIC ANGELS are stronger than my feelings for the Red Belt! Sayaka Kurara, I’ll drag you down to the depths of hell! I’m going to tear everything, everything, everything, everything… completely apart!”

In other action, Ema Maishima defeated Kikyo Furusawa to win the Rookie of STARDOM 2026 tournament. Maishima pinned Furusawa with a Modified Crucifix to secure the victory. With the tournament win, Maishima earned a shot at the Future of STARDOM title currently held by Ranna Yagami. Yagami will defend her belt against Maishima on April 26th in Yokohama.

In a singles bout, Starlight Kid defeated Fuwa-chan after hitting a Moonsault Press off the tope rope.

Here are the full results for STARDOM IN KORAKUEN 2026 APR courtesy of purolove.com:

• Akira Kurogane & Tabata defeated Matoi Hamabe & Anne Kanaya (11:42) after a Pulpo Guerrero from Tabata against Hamabe.
• Starlight Kid defeats Fuwa-chan (12:50) with a Moonsault Press.
• Hina & Lady C defeated Xena & Waka Tsukiyama (9:31) after a Gedo Clutch by Hina against Tsukiyama.
• Suzu Suzuki, Rina Yamashita & Itsuki Aoki defeated Maki Itoh, Rian & HANAKO (10:01) after an implant from Yamashita against Rian.
• Syuri, Tomoka Inaba, Ranna Yagami & Kiyoka Kotatsu defeated Hanan, Saya Iida, Bea Priestley & Momo Kohgo (8:48) after the Ryuen of Syuri against Kohgo.
• Special Six Woman Tag Match: Maika, Mei Seira & Sayaka Unagi defeated Saki Kashima, Hazuki & Koguma (9:54) after a Kishikaisei cutback by Unagi against Kashima.
• Rookie of Stardom 2026 – Final: Ema Maishima defeated Kikyo Furusawa (15:28) with a Modified Crucifix Hold.
• Natsupoi, Saori Anou, AZM, Miyu Amasaki, Yuna Mizumori, Aya Sakura & Sayaka Kurara defeated Saya Kamitani, Natsuko Tora, Konami, Ruaka, Rina, Azusa Inaba & Fukigen Death★ (16:29) after a Tokimeki Spear by Kurara against Kamitani.

(H/T goes to meraWRESTLING for the English quote translation)