Himeka announced at a press conference on Friday that she will be retiring from STARDOM and professional wrestling this year. Her final match will be at All Star Grand Queendom on April 23 as she hopes to take on Maika at the show. A retirement ceremony will be held at the Korakuen Hall show on May 14.
The announcement comes just days after she teamed with Maika to challenge 7Upp's Nanae Takahashi and Yuu for the Goddess of Stardom Championship at Supreme Fight 2023.
ひめかが引退を発表https://t.co/mEdwZbo6mJ#STARDOM pic.twitter.com/DgWuadwKkV
— スターダムSTARDOM (@wwr_stardom) February 10, 2023
Himeka, 25, began her career back in 2017 as part of the Joshi promotion, Actwres girl'Z. She joined STARDOM in 2020 as part of Donna del Mondo. She was the fourth member to join the faction and quickly became a fan-favorite as "The Jumbo Princess." In her first few months with the company, Himeka made it to the finals of the 5STAR Grand Prix, where she came up short against Utami Hayashishita.
She arguably had the best year of her career in 2022 as it featured both World of Stardom and Wonder of Stardom Championship matches as well as the first-ever singles match between her and Maika. She was also able to compete in the IWGP Women's Championship tournament.
In terms of her accolades, her best came in the form of the Artist of Stardom Championship as she held the belts with Maika and Natsupoi for 237 days. They tied the Cosmic Angels, who they defeated for the titles, for most successful defenses with seven.
MaiHime also held the Goddess of Stardom Tag Team Championships once in 2021 for 49 days before losing the belts to Syuri and Giulia. Before joining STARDOM, Himeka won the SEAdLINNNG Beyond The Sea Tag Team Championship with teammate Miyuki Takase in 2019.
As part of her retirement tour, Himeka has asked for four matches:
- Her retirement match with Maika on April 23 at All Star Grand Queendom
- A Hardcore Match with Risa Sera at STARDOM in SHOWCASE Vol. 4 on Feb. 26
- A singles match with Sendai Girls' Chihiro Hashimoto
- A singles match against Kakeru Sekiguchi, who she spent time with back when she competed in Actwres girl'Z
Himeka
— We Are Stardom (@we_are_stardom) February 10, 2023
I will retire from wrestling in May.
5 years into my career, I'm 25 years old.
I have no regrets about this.
Only a few shows left.
I will be big, strong and cute.
I will run through to the end in my own way.
Until the very end.
Please support me until the very end. https://t.co/uQMsRPfLQv
We wish Himeka the best in her future after pro wrestling!
You can follow STARDOM on Twitter at their official account (@wwr_stardom) and their official English account (@we_are_stardom) to stay up-to-date with the promotion.
