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>Mayu Iwatani reveals her thoughts after leaving Stardom: "I'm waiting for offers from various organizations, but..."
>Mayu Iwatani (32), former IWGP Women's Champion of the women's professional wrestling organization Stardom, has decided to leave the organization she has been with for 14 years and three months since her debut.
>She had been thinking about leaving the company since the year before last, but was unable to make the decision due to her feelings towards the IWGP Women's Championship that she holds. However, she lost to Ayuri in her 10th title defense match (on the 27th at Yokohama Arena) and lost the title. After discussing it with President Taro Okada after the match, it was decided that she would leave the company on April 28th, and she announced this at a press conference held that day.
>In an interview after the press conference, Iwatani once again explained the reasons behind her decision to leave the company, saying, "I think Stardom is the best promotion in the world, so there's almost no point in me quitting. But I fought with all my might yesterday and was completely defeated. With the IWGP no longer there, I started to wonder what other belts I wanted to challenge for with Stardom, and I realized that I no longer had any goals to achieve as Iwatani Mayu. So, rather than staying in a comfortable place, I thought I might take a bit of an adventure to find a place where I'm more wanted."
>Iwatani debuted as a member of Stardom's first generation in January 2011. She won the Cinderella Tournament twice in a row in 2015 and 2016, and won the 5STAR GP in 2018. She has won both the Wonder and World Championships twice, becoming the only person to achieve a Grand Slam by winning every title under Stardom's jurisdiction. In the space of 14 years and three months, she has become an icon of Stardom in both name and reality.
