“This is a traumatic venue, and I can’t help but get goosebumps the moment I enter.”

This is what Mayu Iwatani said ahead of her World of Stardom match against Jungle Kyona (translated into English on Stardom World). 

These aren’t the words we expect from a world champion, from the ace of a promotion. They hang heavy with unease. They reveal the self doubt under Iwatani’s armor, the added opponent she has to overcome in her title defense. 

These are startling emotions to see from someone in Iwatani’s position. She’s the obstacle Kyona must get past. She’s the established main-event star. She’s the icon. To see her enter battle with her hands so unsteady around her sword is an eye-catching surprise and the core of what makes this match’s narrative so interesting.

This title tilt took place back in July of 2020 at STARDOM’s Cinderella Summer in Nagoya event in the heart of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Jungle Kyona had earned herself fan-favorite status with many a STARDOM fan. Her heart and charisma made her easy to root for. And she was forever the underdog, the challenger who got oh-so-close to winning the big title. 

The war-painted wrestler lost championship matches to the likes of Kairi Hojo,Toni Storm, Momo Watanabe, and Arisa Hoshiki. She battled hard but never took hold of the Wonder of Stardom title, the SWA World Championship, or the coveted red belt Mayu held back in 2020. Her fate seemed to be STARDOM’s championship bridesmaid. The question hovered over her like a cloud: would she ever win the big one?

But despite this match going down in Kyona’s hometown, that wasn’t the foundation for the in-ring story.

This was about Mayu’s trepidation. This was about her having to fight both Kyona and her own sudden lack of faith in herself. Never mind that she had already beaten Momo Watanabe and Kagetsu to remain champ, Iwatani entered this night dangerously unsure. 

For one, it had been six months since her last title defense thanks in part to COVID-19 slowing down the promotion’s schedule. And in a non-championship contest, Mayu fell to the bigger, more powerful outsider Takumi Iroha in a special singles match in February. 

The weightier contributor to Mayu being the underdog in her mind, though, was the location of the title bout. As she explained in her backstage promo, this was the site where she dislocated her elbow mid-match. 

It was a nasty injury, immediately ending her match against Toni Storm. Mayu leaped at Storm but missed and landed hard on her arm. 

Before facing Kyona, Iwatani looked back on all this. She was visibly nervous backstage. She took deep, controlled breaths. She looked to be convincing herself that she can do this. 

That mentality bled into the action itself. It’s a bout that began with the standard exchange of headlocks and wrist locks, but it was colored by an added layer of tension. One couldn’t help but think of what could go wrong. Mayu wore more vulnerability than usual, champion or not. 

Mayu was hesitant. She looked at her elbow after hitting Jungle with it. She assured herself in front of us. 

Soon adrenaline flowed through both women and Mayu could began to focus more on the fight itself. Kyona proved to be a tough-as-hell opponent, hanging right there when they traded strikes, remaining steadily on the attack.

Perhaps she sensed Mayu’s susceptibility and saw it as the door of opportunity widening. Perhaps the energy of her hometown crowd was powering her. Whatever fuel she was using it worked.

Kyona gave the champ little space as she moved from one hold to the next, pressing her knee into her foe’s face. She was a smothering force.

Mayu accentuated Jungle’s momentum by way of her usual top-notch selling. A suplex looked like it stung every vertebrae of her spine. A clothesline folded her over into a limp curve of flesh. 

The champion was far from the end boss here. Even when Iwatani scored a big move, she didn’t seem confident she could complete this victory. There’s a moment where Mayu hit a springboard dropkick from the top and she celebrated emphatically. She seemed to be convincing herself that she was still the best, that her arm would not fail her, that ring rust and being in her own damn head would not do her in. 

Mayu continually went the submission route. She locked Kyona in an armbar, a Kimura lock. She was a snake coiled around prey. Maybe her own worry for the tensile strength of her limbs had her inspired to tear apart her opponent’s joints. 

After Jungle’s muscle buster didn’t net her a three-count, there was an intriguing shift between those ropes. The challenger showed the first signs of her own doubt. She seemed as if she was charging toward that elusive championship but now it was all less certain. A flash pin almost got her and her face was awash with relief and an oh-shit look. 

It was now Kyona’s turn to bear the burden of insecurity. 

And sure enough, Jungle saw history repeat. She again could not finish the job. She again saw a champion fell her. A series of suplexes left Kyona out for the count.  

It was not the day for the underdog to finally climb the mountain; it was the day for the champion to find herself again.

She nervously entered what she called “a real battle of physical and mental strengths,” but amid the pain and passion of the title fight, Mayu was able to shed weakness and have her inner warrior emerge once more. One of STARDOM’s greatest storytellers took that Nagoya stage and made it her Globe Theatre.  

Mayu’s slick superkicks and impressive physical ability are surely part of the fun of watching her, but it’s ability to connect emotionally that has made her so special. We have all felt the kind of self-doubt the champ displayed in the Nagoya International Conference Hall four years ago. And it’s damn inspiring to see her push through it until she could raise that once-injured arm in the air as the victor. 

Title taken from the poem White Flock by Anna Akhmatova