KAIRI kade history becoming the first-ever IWGP Women’s Champion after defeating Mayu Iwatani at NJPW x STARDOM Historic X-Over event.
The night before this event, KAIRI battled Saya Kamitani for the Wonder World of STARDOM Championship which went to a 30-minute draw. Speaking to NJPW, KAIRI revealed she went into the double shot of matches with a sprained foot.
I thought I was fully prepared for the two nights, mentally and physically. But then as I was training right before Osaka, I sprained my foot. My ankle was swollen up really badly, and the doctor told me not to wrestle. I got through the Osaka match which really helped me from a mental standpoint, but with Mayu the next day I was definitely worried,
– KAIRI via NJPW
KAIRI then spoke on her clash with Mayu, and Mayu’s comments about not liking KAIRI, KAIRI explained how the history between them brought out the best of them in the match.
Back in the day, Mayu, Io Shirai and myself were called the Three Daughters of STARDOM. Things were tough then, to the point that we had so few wrestlers, it was a given that you’d wrestle twice on the same card. We were absolutely at rock bottom. After I left in 2017, I think Mayu had it in her head that she wanted to stand by STARDOM. I get that, and that’s where those words come from, but it only helped to fire me up. This is a fight, and the more stubborn minded we both were the better that fight would be. It was a long match (25 minutes, 28 seconds) but it felt in the moment like three, that was how invested I felt. We both had a lot of pressure on us, but I think that turned into a plus,
– KAIRI via NJPW
KAIRI is set to defend her IWGP Women’s Championship against Tam Nakano at NJPW Wrestling Kingdom 17 on January 4, 2023.
H/T Fightful
Be sure to check back with Bodyslam.net for all your wrestling news.
If you enjoy Bodyslam’s content, you can help donate to the site here. You can also visit our PWTees store and buy Bodyslam official merchandise here.
You can listen to all of Bodyslam’s podcasts by following us on Spotify and subscribing to our YouTube Channel, or any of your favorite podcast platforms.
