JPN
I'm Taro Okada, CEO of Stardom
At the recent Osaka event, the main event was a World of Stardom Championship match between Saya Kamitani and Starlight Kid. The match was stopped midway due to an injury to the champion, Saya Kamitani. After appropriate treatment by doctors and trainers, the match continued. Kamitani won the match and successfully defended her title
I believe it is my duty as the organization's representative to clarify who is responsible for this decision, and that is why I have decided to issue this statement. First, I would like to declare that the organization bears full responsibility. Furthermore, it is also true that the decision on whether or not to continue the match and the final ruling were left to the referee
It is well known that in professional wrestling matches, the referee's discretion and authority are broad and significant. This includes the frequent controversial decision-making regarding fouls. And, as in this case, referee stoppages that temporarily suspend or end a match, as well as decisions regarding knockdowns and knockouts, are not the only decisions that can affect a wrestler's career, and sometimes even their life itself
I believe this decision is a result of the ongoing collaboration between the Stardom refereeing staff, including referee Murayama Daichi, and the medical and training team. Referee Murayama noticed something was wrong with Kamiya and stopped the match clock. This was a judgment that the injury was not in a location or of a degree that would immediately stop the match, that is, not directly endanger her career, and it was also a decision to prevent a recurrence of past incidents (such as the victory achieved by faking an injury at the 2024 Ryogoku tournament)
At the same time, Starlight Kid pointed out, "This has happened before, hasn't it?", and he didn't let his guard down at all, anticipating that this might be part of Kamitani's strategy. Ultimately, Kamitani recovered while the referee was still calling for the match to resume and attacked without waiting for the restart bell, but Kid responded brilliantly, and the back-and-forth battle continued afterward
As explained on-site, the doctor and trainer treated Kamiya's dislocated shoulder. We will now disclose the exchange that took place between the time stop and the restart
• Referee Murayama noticed something was wrong with Kamiya, checked the situation, and stopped the match.
• He immediately instructed the headquarters and the corner team to bring in a doctor and trainer.
• After the doctor and trainer treated Kamiya, Referee Murayama, as the person in charge of the match, determined that the match could continue after confirming Kamiya's wishes.
• This information was quickly shared with Okada, the person in charge of the tournament, and then the referee explained the situation to the audience before the match resumed.
Doctors and trainers are generally in a position to stop the match. In cases where an incident directly threatens the athlete's career, they will immediately order the match to stop, regardless of the athlete's wishes. In this case, that first step was taken, and then the athlete's wishes were confirmed, followed by the referee's decision
Because this was the Osaka tournament, the doctor in charge was not the main doctor who regularly shares detailed information about the athletes' conditions (even at the Tokyo tournament, the doctor changes depending on the timing). However, I believe this demonstrates that our regular collaboration has allowed us to make decisions as an organization, rather than relying on individual judgment
Nevertheless, the burden on the referees and other people involved on the ground is significant. The recent training session held by the Japan Pro Wrestling Federation also greatly influenced this decision
As the skills of the wrestlers improve day by day, the people and systems involved in the operation and management must also evolve. We take this responsibility seriously once again, and we will continue to spare no effort in our daily operations to create a ring where wrestlers can perform with confidence and fans can get excited
February 9, 2026
Taro Okada, Representative Director, Stardom Inc.