Mayu Iwatani Comments On Fan Criticism Following Her Departure From STARDOM And Joining Marigold

By: Lewis Carlan

When Mayu Iwatani departed STARDOM back on April 28 after spending over 14 years with the company, many fans were shocked. STARDOM without Iwatani didn’t seem possible but that’s in fact what became a reality.

When the announcement was made on May 1st that she was joining Rossy Ogawa’s Marigold promotion, it was indeed very likely that there would be some fan backlash aimed at Iwatani.  As expected, this was the case as Iwatani was hit with fan criticism about her move to Marigold.

Iwatani spoke with Tokyo Sports and commented on the fan backlash she has been experiencing since leaving STARDOM.

From Mayu Iwatani;

“Even if 99% of the voices are supportive, it’s still the 1% of criticism that hurts. To be honest, I was scared until I stepped onto the ring at Korakuen Hall, because people said things like they were disappointed and that the value of IWGP Women’s Championship had gone down. But when I heard the voices of all the fans who supported me, I realized that I didn’t need to worry about it.”

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

On the surface, it appears Iwatani is taking the criticism in stride and not letting it really affect her both in and out of the ring.

Iwatani has three matches upcoming for Marigold:

• May 17th (Afternoon Show): Utami Hayashishita & Victoria Yuzuki vs. Mayu Iwatani & MIRAI
• May 17th (Evening Show): Mayu Iwatani, Utami Hayashishita & Victoria Yuzuki vs. Darkness Revolution (CHIAKI, Nagisa Nozaki & Gigaton)
• Marigold Superfly Championship Match: Victoria Yuzuki (c) vs. Mayu Iwatani

(Feature photo credit: Marigold)