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>[STARDOM] IWGP Women's Champion Mayu Iwatani promises AZM before her 7th title match against Tony: "I'll be waiting for you, anytime"
>Mayu Iwatani (31), the "icon" of the women's professional wrestling "Stardom" and IWGP Women's Champion, has vowed to defend the title in order to fulfill a promise she made to AZM (21).
>In his seventh title defense at the Aichi Dolphins Arena event on October 5th, he will face off against Timeless Toni Storm (28) of the American AEW. At the Korakuen Hall event on the 28th, he teamed up with AZM to face off against Toni and Mina Shirakawa in a preliminary match. The champion overwhelmed his opponents with his technique, but struggled with Toni's power, and in the end, his own teammate AZM succumbed to Toni's Storm Zero (a modified piledriver).
>The title match against Toney will be a fateful one. On September 24, 2017, at the Nagoya tournament, Iwatani, who was the world champion at the time, dislocated his left elbow in his third title defense against Toney. He lost by referee stoppage and lost the title.
>After his return, he challenged champion Tony in April 2018, but was unable to regain the title, which left him feeling frustrated. Standing opposite him for the first time in six years, Iwatani reflected on the match, saying, "I don't remember much about the last time we fought, but Tony is incredibly strong, he has incredible power. And he has a unique distance between us, or rather, an aura that makes you feel like you're being swallowed up by him..."
>AZM, who Iwatani teamed up with for the first time that day, is also a rival for Iwatani. After losing in the summer league tournament "5STAR GP", AZM had declared their intention to challenge for the title, but had put it on hold for the time being when their title match against Tony was decided.