During their press conference for Nagoya Big Winter 2023, STARDOM announced that both the World of Stardom Championship and the Goddesses of Stardom Championships would be vacated due to the injuries of Tam Nakano and Natsupoi.
Rossy Ogawa made the announcements before revealing how the new champions would be crowned for each title.
Ogawa went on to explain that Suzu Suzuki, who won the 5STAR Grand Prix and earned a shot at the World of Stardom Championship, will main event Stardom Dream Queendom 2023 against the winner of a one-night tournament between four competitors at the Korakuen Hall show on November 28th. The competitors in the tournament are Mina Shirakawa, Momo Watanabe, Maika, and Ami Sourei. Shirakawa and Watanabe will face off while Maika and Sourei will in the other match. The winners will face one another at the end of the night to secure a shot for the World of Stardom Championship at Stardom Dream Queendom.
When Suzu Suzuki came out to speak, she was met by Hazuki. Hazuki challenged Suzuki to put her World of Stardom Championship opportunity on the line, which Suzuki accepted. That match will also take place at the November 28th Korakuen.
It was then announced that at Nagoya Big Winter 2023 on December 2nd, the Goddess of Stardom Tag League winners Divine Kingdom (Megan Bayne & Maika) will challenge for the vacant Goddesses of Stardom Championships against a team to be named later. Bayne claimed in the interview that since they won the tag league, they're treating the match as their first title defense.
And finally, Utami Hayashishita and Saya Kamitani announced their returns to STARDOM at the press conference. They appeared together, signaling they'll be returning as a duo, and said their first match back will also be at the November 28th show at Korakuen Hall.
Kamitani has been out since the first night of the 5STAR Grand Prix when she injured herself on a dive against opponent Tam Nakano. She was out with a dislocated elbow and ligament damage as a result. Hayashishita was forced out of the tournament with a week to go due to a cervical hernia injury.
STARDOM also announced the first three matches for Nagoya Big Winter 2023:
- STRONG Women's Championship: Giulia (c) vs. AZM
- High-Speed Championship: Mei Seira (c) vs. Thekla
- Nanae Takahashi vs. Scandanavian Hurricane (Aliss Ink) in a UWF Rules Match
You can check out the entire press conference here.
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.
Check out Fightful's exclusive interviews with HYAN and Saori Anou.