JPN
Former World of Stardom Champion Utami Hayashishita made a surprise appearance at "STARDOM NIGHTER in KORAKUEN 2026 May." held at Korakuen Hall in Tokyo on Tuesday, May 26th
In the semi-main event, a 10-person tag team match, HATE's Tora Natsuko, Kamitani Saya, Ruanka, Bea Priestley, and Inaba Azusa faced Anno Saori, Hazuki, Fuwa-chan, Maika, and HANAKO. This was after the match in which Kamitani defeated Fuwa-chan with a Star Crusher
Holding the microphone, Kamiya appealed to the crowd, "Servants of Korakuen! Are you all excited?!" Suddenly, the majestic entrance music began to play throughout the venue. It was Utami who appeared. The energy in the venue reached its peak that day. Surrounded by loud chants of "Utami," Kamiya stared blankly into the distance
As they silently glared at each other in the ring, it was Kamiya who made the first move
"What did you come here for?"
Then Shimi said, "I've been watching you all this time, Kamiya. I've been watching you all this time, so I was happy to see you doing so well. But more than that, I didn't want to lose to you. That's why I thought I had no choice but to come here today."
However, Kamiya spat out, "You want to wrestle in this Stardom ring? What have you been doing all this time? I'm disappointed!" and left the ring
Utami bowed deeply and said, "I would like to wrestle in Stardom again. Thank you for your support."
Utami made her debut at the Stardom Korakuen Hall event on August 12, 2018, and was immediately selected to compete in the 5★STAR GP, where she finished as runner-up. In the tag team league tournament that same year, she won the championship with her partner Momo Watanabe and became the Goddess Champion for the first time. Just four months after her debut, she received the "Rookie of the Year" award at the Pro Wrestling Awards that year
She went on to win various titles, including the Future Championship and the Artist Championship. After her first 5★STAR championship in 2020, she won the World Championship, the organization's highest title, in November of the same year. In 2021, she won the "Women's Pro Wrestling Award" for the first time at the Pro Wrestling Awards, solidifying her position as the undisputed top of the women's pro wrestling world
However, she left Stardom at the end of March 2024. This will be her first appearance in a Stardom ring since the Korakuen Hall event on April 12, 2024
She and Kamiya have an inseparable relationship. They worked together as the unit Queen's Quest (QQ), and as a tag team, they won the Goddesses Championship twice. On the other hand, they were also formidable rivals, fighting for the World Championship in March 2021 and the Wonder Championship in March 2022
Backstage after all the matches had finished, Tetsu Akira appeared during Utami's press conference. He demanded a match, saying, "I've secretly wanted to have a match with you ever since I was a trainee. Don't think of this as the Stardom from back when you were here." This has now made a match between them at the Kobe Sambo Hall on May 30th a reality
Utami's return is likely to create a huge ripple effect on the Stardom scene