Mayu Iwatani & IYO SKY Exchange Emotional Comments At Marigold GRAND DESTINY 2025 Pre-Event Press Conference

By: Lewis Carlan

Marigold’s biggest event of the year and quite possibly the biggest event in the history of the promotion is set to get underway in a few short hours.

GRAND DESTINY 2025 will feature a massive main event as the icon and current Marigold Superfly Champion Mayu Iwatani will face WWE superstar IYO SKY in their first singles match in seven years. The match between the two megastars has been aptly named THE DREAM DESTINY.

Photo Credit: Marigold

A GRAND DESTINY 2025 pre-event press conference was held today as Mayu Iwatani and IYO SKY came face to face and exchanged comments as Marigold owner Rossy Ogawa looked on.

Iwatani became emotional and broke down in tears when IYO SKY was introduced to the press conference.

Iwatani began with a lengthy statement as she stated when the match was initially announced she felt a mix of tension, nostalgia, happiness and other emotions. She praised SKY and Iwatani said she was like a big sister to her.

From Mayu Iwatani:

“IYO-san? It’s been a long time. Ah, I don’t know… Well, when this match was decided, I felt a mix of tension, nostalgia, happiness, and various other emotions, and I’ve been spending every day feeling very anxious. But today, meeting IYO-san again after so long, I wondered what kind of emotions I would feel… and the moment IYO-san’s entrance music played and she appeared, I burst into tears. Ah, this is no good. I didn’t intend for this to happen, and I certainly didn’t expect to cry, but I have so many memories with IYO-san. When I debuted, I was completely useless and couldn’t do anything, but it was IYO-san who helped me grow as a professional wrestler. As part of Thunder Rock, it was IYO-san who taught me the fun and the harshness of pro-wrestling, and made me appreciate what it means to be a human being. She’s truly like an older sister to me, someone I love and respect as a pro-wrestler, and truly the person I admire most. But since we’re going to fight, I’m going to cast aside these feelings today. IYO-san may have become a top wrestler in the world, but I believe I’ve been protecting Japanese women’s pro-wrestling. Please experience the me of these past seven and a half years that IYO-san didn’t know. And then, IYO-san, I will win. Excuse me, I stumbled over my words. I will win. Ryogoku, it’s finally tomorrow, but thank you for your support.”

Photo Credit: Marigold

IYO SKY had a lengthy statement of her own. SKY called the match with Iwatani a “miracle” and was extremely happy from the bottom of her heart that it was able to happen.

From IYO SKY:

“As a representative of WWE, or rather, as a superstar, which is my title now, I’ve been working hard every day, and I had prepared so many cool comments as IYO SKY. But… it all just went out the window. Mayu’s crying again, huh? She’s crying. She really cried. When I see Mayu crying, I can’t help but laugh. I was surprised. I’ve been in America for a long time, in the world of WWE where all the strongest competitors from around the world are constantly striving to improve, and I’ve been working tirelessly every day, pushing my mind and body to the limit to reach the top. There were almost no places where I could feel confident. But now, seeing Mayu’s tears and the warm gaze she’s giving me, I feel a real sense of nostalgia. It’s been so long since I’ve felt this way. And with Rossy Ogawa in the center, it feels like I’ve gone back 10 years in time. I didn’t feel this way when I went to America. After more than seven years, from 2018 to this very moment, I feel this warmth! But seeing Mayu, my cute little sister-like Mayu, my heart softened, but what made me realize that Mayu had really grown up was when she looked me in the eyes and, even while stuttering, powerfully declared, ‘I’m going to win against IYO-san.’ The grown-up Mayu Iwatani, who has carried the weight of Japan on her shoulders, and IYO SKY, who has continued to run at the top of the world – I stumbled over my words too – but the true clash of wills between these two will happen tomorrow. This matchup is truly a miracle. I’m so happy from the bottom of my heart that we were able to make this happen, and that we can experience it tomorrow. Please look forward to it. I will also enjoy this match from the bottom of my heart.”

Photo Credit: Marigold

Mayu Iwatani addressed her recent leg injury and assured everyone she is 100% going into the match. She said she is in perfect condition both mentally and physically ahead of her bout with SKY.

From Mayu Iwatani:

“First of all, regarding the condition of my leg, it’s completely fine. There’s nothing else to do but fight, and I’m in perfect condition, mentally and physically, so a minor leg injury is absolutely no problem at all. I’m going to do it. The feeling of ‘I’m going to fight’ against IYO has already welled up inside me. It’s already there. At first, because it had been a long time since we’d seen each other, and meeting her privately is a little different from meeting her for a match, I was a bit confused and cried out of nostalgia, but now that the press conference has started, my only feeling is ‘I’m definitely going to defeat this person.’ My mentality and feelings have completely switched to focusing on the match.”

IYO SKY stated that her match with Iwatani will be “Nostalgic, warm, painful, tough, bittersweet, and comforting.”

From IYO SKY:

“The fact that our eyes meeting alone could make you overflow with tears. That’s so Mayu. We’re opponents who can throw our entire bodies and souls at each other without holding back. Nostalgic, warm, painful, tough, bittersweet, and comforting. I think this match will be packed with all of that. Please, be sure to witness it.”

The last singles match between IYO SKY and Mayu Iwatani took place on April 30th 2018 at the STARDOM Cinderella Tournament 2018. SKY, then Io Shirai, faced Iwatani in the semi-finals of that tournament in a match that ended in a 10 minute draw.

At today’s press conference there was a lot of praise, reminiscing and warm greetings between Mayu Iwatani and IYO SKY but that will be thrown out the window when the two are standing opposite of each other in the main event of GRAND DESTINY 2025.

Their match has the excellent potential to evolve into the greatest bout in the history of Marigold and many fans expect that to become a reality when all is said and done.

Marigold GRAND DESTINY 2025 will be available for purchase on Wrestle Universe PPV on Oct. 26th.

(H/T goes to meraWRESTLING for all English quote translations)