STARDOM star Kairi Hojo has announced that she will be leaving the promotion shortly. The news comes after it was previously reported that Kairi had signed a multi-year deal with the WWE. https://twitter.com/we_are_stardom/status/860811241312231425 Kairi requested to team as Threedom one last time tomorrow. Io and Mayu agreed. They will face Kyona, Hiromi and HZK. — … Read more
According to a new report from The Wrestling Observer (via SportsKeeda), Kairi Hojo has signed a three year deal with WWE. It was previously rumored that Kairi, as well as fellow STARDOM star Io Shirai were both offered contracts to the WWE to start in 2017. The report also adds that Io Shirai was said to be … Read more
A new SWA was crowned yesterday in Osaka, Japan when Toni Storm defeated defending SWA Champion Io Shirai. Storm claimed victory and the title after hitting a top rope leg drop, ending Io’s 64 days reign as champion. https://twitter.com/we_are_stardom/status/757255520688365568 The full match will be available to fans this Friday at www.stardom-world.com. Congratulations to Toni Storm!
A fortnight ago, STARDOM crowned Io Shirai as its first ever STARDOM World Alliance (SWA) Undisputed World Champion in Barcelona, Spain. This new championship joins five others within the company, but this one comes with a major twist. What is the STARDOM World Alliance? This is a global network of promotions who all can host … Read more
Santana Garrett had quite the impressive 2015, and 2016 is going swimmingly for her too. The Floridian recently won the STARDOM International Grand Prix tournament during her first trip to the UK, a win that has earned her a title opportunity for Io Shirai‘s Stardom World Association (SWA) World Championship. RELATED: Results: STARDOM Presents International … Read more
STARDOM has wrapped up their European tour with their International Grand Prix event in London today. Full results below, courtesy of Diva Dirt’s Jack, who was on hand at the show. Results:  It was announced that the winner of the International Grand Prix tournament taking place will crown a new Number One contender to the STARDOM … Read more
One of Japan’s hottest women’s wrestling promotions will venture to European shores this weekend. STARDOM are to hold European shows in Barcelona, Spain and London, England on May 21st and 22nd respectively, promising a unique blend of talent from Japan, the UK, Germany, Mexico, Spain, the US and New Zealand. Talent announced include Alpha Female, … Read more
Congratulations are in order for Leah Vaughan – she is off to Japan! Following her win over Cherry Bomb and Courtney Rush at last night’s Smash Wrestling event in London, Ontario, Canada, Vaughan announced that she has signed an agreement to perform for Stardom in Japan. Last night’s bout will be her last on North … Read more
Each Friday, The Wrap will wrap up the week in women’s wrestling by compiling the week’s smaller news stories, rumors and gossip – anything not normally covered by Diva Dirt. Got a tip for next week? Send it in. Here’s this week’s roundup, in no particular order: * Evie, Hiroyo Matsumoto and Kellie Skater became … Read more
Just over two weeks ago, former WWE Diva Melina made a surprise return to the ring, wrestling her first match in over three years. The match, which took place at STARDOM’s Covina, California show, saw her team with SHINE Champion Santana Garrett to take on Hudson Envy and Thunder Rosa. Today, the match is available … Read more
Whose star shone brightest this week? You tell us! With our Star of the Week poll, we’ll pick the week’s top five women in wrestling and let you choose who is number one. The poll will open each Saturday and close on Sunday afternoon. Let’s take a look at this week’s top five: Alexa Bliss … Read more
Welcome back to another edition of the Joshi Roundup! We are back with results and news from Japan, as well as a closer look at legend Dump Matsumoto! Joshi News Photo: battle-news.com Ice Ribbon continues to battle injuries, as not only has Aoi Kizuki not recovered from her knee injury, but Akane Fujita is … Read more
Last night in Baldwin Park, California, STARDOM presented the second and final night of its USA tour, bringing Japanese stars and American indy scene regulars together for one more blockbuster show. The event saw former WWE Diva Melina wrestle again after making her surprise return to the ring on Friday night, teaming with Kairi Hojo … Read more
Tonight in Covina, California, STARDOM presented the first night of its USA tour, bringing Japanese stars and American indy scene regulars together for two blockbuster shows. The event saw the surprise in-ring return of former WWE Diva Melina, who teamed with SHINE Champion Santana Garrett to defeat Hudson Envy and Thunder Rosa. This was Melina’s … Read more
Welcome back to another edition of the Joshi Roundup! We are back with injury updates, a new promotion starting, and spotlighting the one and only Act Yasukawa! Joshi News Photo: battle-news.com To update a story from a few months ago, Tokyo Joshi Pro wrestler KANNA fractured her eye socket in August which knocked her out of … Read more
Welcome back to another edition of the Joshi Roundup! A lot has happened since my last column, this week we have the conclusion of the Stardom FIVE STAR GP and a spotlight on a very special wrestler to me, Hudson Envy! Joshi News Photo: battle-news.com Some quick news items before I get to the … Read more
Welcome back to another edition of the Joshi Roundup! This is a special edition of the column, as there has really been one news story that overshadowed everything else this week. On September 20th, 2015, the talented Joshi wrestler Mio Shirai retired from professional wrestling. Joshi News Photo: battle-news.com At the start of Shirai’s career, … Read more
Welcome back to another edition of the Joshi Roundup! Since we are in a holiday this will be a shorter column this week. Let’s get right to the news! Joshi News Photo: battle-news.com As Kana works her way towards her “hiatus” starting on September 15th, she is making her final rounds in the different … Read more
Welcome back to another edition of the Joshi Roundup! Lots going on in the world of Japan, including a veteran wrestler announcing her retirement! Joshi News Photo: sendaigirls.jp In exciting news for her but sad news for her fans around the world, Sendai Sachiko announced this week that she will retire in January of … Read more
Welcome back to another edition of the Joshi Roundup! Lots going on in the world of Japan, including one of my personal favorite wrestlers randomly showing up at NXT TakeOver last night! Joshi News Photo: kana.cm The biggest news for fans of Joshi is that the world famous Kana appeared on NXT TakeOver last … Read more
Japanese women’s wrestling promotion Stardom has announced their first American tour. In conjunction with Diva Dirt, Stardom is coming to the Los Angeles area on Friday, October 16th and Sunday, October 18th. Among the talents appearing are Cheerleader Melissa, Io Shirai, Kairi Hojo, Mayu Iwatani, Act Yasukawa, Chelsea, Reo Hazuki, Kris Wolf, Hudson Envy, Starfire, … Read more
Welcome back to another edition of the Joshi Roundup! There were several big events last week which I will cover, and we’ll also take a  deeper look at one of my favorite wrestlers, Kairi Hojo! Joshi News Photo: Battle-News.com In Japan more so than in the United States, wrestling promotions have a habit of splintering … Read more
Hello! My name is Kevin Wilson, and I have been a fan of Japanese wrestling for over a decade. During that time I have slowly started watching more and more women’s wrestling in Japan (better known as Joshi) and that is now my primary interest. I hope through this column I can help spread some information … Read more
This past Sunday, Japanese women’s wrestling promotion Stardom held an event at Korakuen Hall in Tokyo, Japan. In the night’s main event, World of Stardom Champion Yoshiko defended her title against Act Yasukawa. What followed has sparked outrage in joshi circles. According to eyewitness Sonny Gutierrez of Pro Wrestling is Art, the match was barely … Read more
Heidi Lovelace and Hudson Envy are the latest American indy stars to make the leap to Japan. The two are the first talents to join Stardom Japan through its USA branch, which was established in October. Former SHIMMER Champion Cheerleader Melissa serves as branch president and has been working directly with the talent to help … Read more
Independent Women is changing its format! Now, the videos will act like dispatches, giving you quick and timely looks into the lives of indy women’s wrestlers. Our next three dispatches from Cheerleader Melissa finish up her latest tour in Japan. In the first video, she braves the bustling Japanese train system: Next, she visits the … Read more