Mayu Iwatani Signs With Marigold, Comments On Her New Home, First Match Announced

By: Lewis Carlan

On April 28th, Mayu Iwatani announced to the professional wrestling world that she had decided to leave STARDOM after spending over 14 years with the company.

It didn’t take Iwatani long to find a new home as it was revealed today during a press conference that she has signed with Rossy Ogawa’s Marigold.

This is without a doubt the biggest signing in the short history of Marigold, one that adds instant credibility to the promotion.

It was announced that her Marigold jersey number will be 219 to coincide with the date of her birthday which is Feb. 19.

Iwatani had plenty to say during the press conference about being the newest member of the Marigold roster.

On one of the reasons she signed with Marigold:

“IYO-san and KAIRI are real superstars. So, one of the reasons why I transferred was because I wanted to wrestle with members like IYO-san, Kairi, and even Giulia. Well, IYO-san in particular is like an older sister to me, and I want to wrestle with her and team up with her.”

Iwatani’s thoughts on STARDOM now that she has joined Marigold:

“I think STARDOM is the best promotion in the world. It’s not like I’m thinking, ‘I’ll surpass them the moment I arrive’—the wall that is STARDOM is incredibly high. So I don’t have the mindset of immediately overtaking them. But eventually, I want to make Marigold into a promotion that people will eventually think of as the best.

How will I feel when I watch it? I haven’t felt that way yet, so I’m not sure. I might feel some frustration, wondering how things would have been if I had stayed. But I have no regrets about leaving. I’ll be watching with warm eyes and treating them as rivals—determined not to lose.”

Iwatani on a message for the remaining roster members of STARDOM:

Well, a few people did contact me! I’ve contacted them individually, so I don’t think I have anything to say publicly here.”

Iwatani on her desire to help with training while a member of the Marigold roster:

“I’ve been following Marigold closely, and my impression is… there are just too many botched moves! (laughs) I don’t know if I should say this, but there have just been too many botched moves. I’m not sure if that is appropriate for a professional. Since I’m here, I feel I need to put on matches that satisfies the fans. So, I think that in Marigold, I’ll be the one with the most experience… Ah, there’s Nanae-san, but she’s leaving the company at Yoyogi. Well, I’ll essentially be the one with the most experience, so I want to keep an eye on training and all that.”

Iwatani made it clear that she did not join Marigold because she was poached by Ogawa.

She indicated that she would like to become a Marigold Grand Slam winner by holding all the championships within the promotion.

Her first match as a member of the Marigold roster is set for May 4th against Nanae Takahashi at Korakuen Hall.

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