Mayu Iwatani joins Marigold after Stardom departure

Just a few days after departing Stardom, Mayu Iwatani has confirmed her next destination.

Iwatani is reuniting with former Stardom boss Rossy Ogawa as the newest member of the Marigold roster. The promotion, which was founded by Ogawa in 2024, held a press conference overnight announcing that Iwatani has joined the Marigold roster. She’ll make her debut at Korakuen Hall this Sunday (May 4) in a singles match against Nanae Takahashi.

At the press conference, Iwatani explained her Stardom departure by saying she had already done everything she could do in the promotion. Her goal in Marigold is to become a Grand Slam champion by winning their World title, Superfly title, United National title, and Tag Team belts.

Iwatani also mentioned that — with Marigold having a positive relationship with WWE — a small factor in her decision to join Marigold was possibly getting to wrestle IYO SKY, Kairi Sane, and Giulia again. WWE allowed SKY to work one Marigold match last year, while Giulia wrestled for Marigold after leaving Stardom and before arriving in NXT.

In her final Stardom match, Iwatani dropped the IWGP Women’s Championship to Syuri at All-Star Grand Queendom on April 27. That loss ended Iwatani’s two-year reign as champion.

Iwatani is using “The Joshi Puroresu Icon” as her nickname in Marigold.

Marigold’s show this Sunday will air live on Wrestle Universe with a start time of 5:30 a.m. Eastern. This is the first one-on-one match between Iwatani and Takahashi since 2012. It’s taking place in advance of Takahashi retiring from the ring later this month.

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Joseph Currier
Joseph Currier

Joseph Currier is the lead editor of F4WOnline.com, directing daily news coverage and writing articles on professional wrestling. He is a graduate of the University of Massachusetts, obtaining a journalism degree in 2016. Joseph joined F4W during his time at UMass and has now been writing about the industry for nearly a decade.

In addition to his work with F4W, Joseph has previously contributed to Sports Illustrated's wrestling coverage. He lives in Massachusetts and is a diehard fan of the Boston sports teams and Liverpool Football Club.