Quoted By:
Hayashishita’s year would include a Wonder of STARDOM championship opportunity against Saya Kamitani, where she came up short, a deep run on the 5 Star GP tournament where she barely missed out on the finals, being runner-up on that year’s Goddesses of STARDOM tag league, a chance to become the inaugural IWGP Women’s champion where she would lose on the semi-finals to Mayu Iwatani, and a Red Belt rematch on November against the woman that defeated her in Syuri.
Despite finishing the year with no championships, there was one thing that Utami was able to take from the year. Queen’s Quest needed a new leader, which lead to every member fighting for the leadership on a 5-way match on May, which Hayashishita would win, and thus becoming the new leader of the iconic faction.
Speaking of wrestlers who have led Queen’s Quest, we shall look at Io Shirai’s 2022 campaign. Io started the first quarter of the year by making a victorious run on the Women’s Dusty Rhodes Classic alongside Kay Lee Ray, and also having another title match for the NXT Women’s Championship with an undesired result for her. Io Shirai had accomplished everything on NXT, so it was time for a change.
The new beginning for her would arrive by the hand of Bayley and Dakota Kai, when the three of them made a statement on that year’s Summerslam while pledging their alliance to each other, this alliance would be called ‘Damage CTRL’. This fresh start also included a personal change for Io Shirai, because she would now go by the name of ‘Iyo Sky’.
Iyo’s year consisted of her getting used to her new stablemates while also accomplishing multiple tag team title reigns alongside Dakota Kai.
She started on the right foot on her new home, but stuff would only keep getting better for her from now on.
