JPN
Hanan, the Wonder of Stardom champion, revealed her complex feelings. At the Yokohama Arena event on April 26th, she defeated Konami of HATE to win the coveted White Championship for the first time and declared herself the leader of STARS. However, the celebratory mood turned sour when Bea Priestley rebelled. What are Glory Wing's thoughts as they head into their first title defense against Bea at the Toyota Gosei Memorial Gymnasium Entrio (Inazawa City, Aichi) on May 23rd?
--A tragedy struck at the Yokohama Arena on April 26th, the day he was crowned Wonder Champion
Hana: For me, the highlight of the match was when I was able to get revenge after being sprayed all along, and I was able to land a back drop properly. There was a foul by the other side after the spraying too. But even so, I was able to win, so I think I did pretty well. I even declared myself the leader (of STARS). But then Bee betrayed me... I want to praise myself for not getting depressed this year, because that's my talent. Because I've been competing with a smile on my face (since the Fukuyama tournament three days later). Isn't that amazing?
--At the March 15 Yokohama Budokan event, where she won the "Cinderella Tournament" for the first time in two years, her face ended up completely black from Konami's spray paint
Hana got to wear a beautiful dress and get all dressed up, but... It was her first time on the cover of Weekly Pro Wrestling, but she had a black face... I thought I had finally gotten revenge on HATE by winning the white belt at Yokohama Arena, but then Bea went to HATE and I couldn't get revenge completely... Even though I won the white belt, I still don't feel like I have won it. In the end, I'm still facing off against HATE. On top of that, I lost to HATE at the first event of Golden Week (April 29th in Fukuyama) and was nominated to be in the Artist of the Year (May 17th at Korakuen Hall, champions Konami, Rina & Fukigen Desu★ vs Hana, Iida Saya & Kogo Momo). The situation hasn't changed at all. I don't know how I should change my mindset from here on out.
— Had you decided that you would become the leader of STARS once you were crowned White King?
Hanan had decided. There was the STARS problem at Yokohama Arena last year, and now that I've finally won the singles belt in a year, I thought that if I didn't decide on a leader, STARS wouldn't be able to move in the right direction, so I declared myself the leader.
--What do you want to do with STARS?
all , we want to increase the number of members. Right now, Yuria (Hime) is absent, so we only have three members (Hana, Iida, and Kogo). It's the same as last year! What's going on? If we could get results with these three, I think it would be fine to continue with just the three of us, but we're not getting results, so there's definitely something that needs to change. There are a lot of unaffiliated members right now, so whether we recruit from there or bring in new members has always been a challenge. We also need to bring in some newcomers. Increasing the number of members is our biggest challenge.
-- Do you take the initiative to scout yourselves?
Hanan: That's difficult too... At first, we thought, "Let's make this a unit that anyone would want to join," and there was a time when we were saying things like, "We want this person to join." But then we thought, maybe it would be better if we just increased the appeal of STARS and waited. How do we increase the appeal? I think the first step is to recruit artists. STARS has a history, and we want to continue it so that it doesn't die out.
—As soon as you became the leader, you caused Bee to leave the team…
Hana, please stop!" I was like, "Now of all times..." There's also the mystery of why she watched HATE take the belt from me, even though she wanted to go to HATE. Anyway, I've always thought that Bee would come back. Because Bee is like the mother of STARS. She looks out for everyone and is really cheerful. That's why STARS needs her.
-- He had a strong presence even outside the ring
Hana 's experience level was just on a completely different level. She'd been to AEW and WWE, so she knew so many different types of pro wrestling, and practicing with her was truly educational. Bea would invite me to practice, and she'd teach me what moves to use while also taking my moves. She'd also tell me things like, "You're lacking in this area of technique in matches." She's truly essential to STARS! And even when everyone was nervous, Bea wouldn't get nervous over something like that, so she'd always cheer us up by saying, "It's okay, it's okay." Now that she's gone, everyone's crying... It's especially hard because we'd become such good friends. We'd all go out to eat and drink together, and we'd talk a lot in the locker room. We could all talk because Komomo (Kogo), who's fluent in English, was there. Now that we know Bea even better, we all believe that things haven't gotten any worse.
--However, three days after joining HATE, she appeared in a black costume
Hanan's beautiful costume. Huh? I heard she was making a new costume. So that means she'd been preparing it for a while, right? That's true, but I'm still taking the stance that she can come back anytime.
-- Bee is currently back in Japan, and her next match will be for the White Championship on May 23rd
Hana: I feel like I can't say "come back" unless I win. The best option is for me to remain the champion and leader and bring Bee to STARS. I want to tell Bee, "I'll always be waiting for you."
--What are your future plans as the Wonder Champion?
Hana: That's... I can't think about it at all. The environment against HATE hasn't changed at all, so I don't know how to think about it. In order to change the environment and properly perform as the white belt champion, all I can think of right now is that I first need to overcome Bea and cut ties with HATE, and then defend my title against opponents other than HATE. For me, it's not over with HATE. That's why I think the flow from the 5/17 Artist Challenge to 5/23 is important.
--The World of Stardom Championship was also won on April 26th at Yokohama Arena when Sayaka Kurei defeated Saya Kamitani to become the new champion
Hanan is amazing. Rather than seeing her as a rival, I see her as someone with a "let's both do our best" attitude, and Kurei has also managed to cut off the hatred once. Kurei will be facing Maki Ito in her V1 match on May 23rd in Inazawa? Kurei has had many opponents that have generated a lot of buzz, hasn't she? Saya Kamitani is one example, and so is Ito. So I've brought a variety of people into pro wrestling, and I guarantee the quality of the matches will be worth it with the white belt.
--March 15th at Yokohama Budokan and April 26th at Yokohama Arena, she was a tragic heroine. May 23rd in Inazawa
Hanan: I definitely want to end this with a smile. Ending with a smile is the most important thing. We both cried, so I won't cry anymore. I left the ring with my head down and saying "Ahhh," so next time, my biggest goal is to leave with a smile, my head up, and the belt in my hand!
[Profile] Hanan was born on August 11, 2004, in Shimotsuke City, Tochigi Prefecture. She is the eldest of three sisters (Hina and Rina are younger sisters). She made her debut on April 9, 2017, at the Shin-Kiba tournament, against Ruaka (now Ryuanka), when she was in her first year of junior high school. She was absent for a long time due to studying for entrance exams and injuries, but returned in the spring of 2020 after a year and three months. At the Ryogoku tournament in December 2021, she defeated Ryuanka to win the Future Championship for the first time. After graduating from high school, she changed her hairstyle and costume. She won the Cinderella Tournament for the first time in 2024, and at the end of the same year, she won the Goddess Championship in a tag team with Iida Saya. In March 2026, she won the Cinderella Tournament for the second time, and at the Yokohama Arena tournament on April 26, she won the long-awaited Wonder Championship for the first time. Her finishing move is the Rock Drop. 168 cm, 59 kg
🔻Click here for tournament information for the May 23rd Aichi/Inazawa tournament🔻
https://wwr-stardom.com/schedule/20260523_toyodagosei-2/