JPN
An unexpected dark horse has seized the spotlight. The signing ceremony for "STARDOM in KORAKUEN 2026 Jun.", to be held on June 14th at Korakuen Hall in Tokyo, and "STARDOM THE CONVERSION 2026", to be held on June 20th at the National Yoyogi Gymnasium No. 2 in Tokyo, took place on the 9th at Bushiroad's headquarters in Tokyo
The Artist of Stardom Championship scene is in complete chaos. The reigning champions, "Dream Trine" (Ami Sorei, Hinami, and Lady C), will be challenged by "Cosmic Carnival" (Natsupoi, Yuna Mizumori, and Sakura Aya) at Korakuen Hall on June 14th. The winner of that match will then be challenged by the Ito Respect Army (Maki Ito, Kian Furusawa, and Rian) at the Yoyogi event on June 20th
At the press conference, Dream Trine and Cosmic Carnival, who will clash on June 14th, faced off. Sakura, in a strange mood, said, "You guys are lacking in carnival!" to which Mizumori replied, "Yes." At this moment, the champions and the witness, President Taro Okada, were clearly trying to suppress their laughter, but that's okay
Mizumori continued, "We've been thinking about how to spread this belt to the world even more. That's it! We'll participate in the Asakusa Samba Carnival! So you guys will be the backup dancers."
Natsupoi chimed in, "That's right. So we'll put on the belts. Set!" and the three of them struck a pose, delivering their signature line, "Our carnival is never over! It's carnival!"
The reigning champions were left utterly stunned. Nevertheless, Lady quickly regained her composure and explained the meaning behind their team name, "Dream Trine." She emphasized, "We named it that way to express our hope that we will all fulfill many dreams together."
Sorei also commented, "First of all, my dream is to have an artist title defense match at a big event, so I have to successfully defend my title on June 14th. Also, an artist match hasn't been featured on the posters for these big events for a while. So I want to make sure that we have artist matches at big events so that we can be featured on these big event posters as a matter of course."
The calmest of them all was Hinami. "I'm sorry that I can't quite keep up with the carnival atmosphere," she said, adding, "In this Stardom, where there's so much interesting pro wrestling going on right now, I'd like to pursue interesting entertainment, not just funny entertainment."
And then, finally making their grand entrance, the Ito Respect Army will challenge the winner of the June 14 Korakuen Hall event. As soon as Ito began by saying, "It looks like something interesting is happening, everyone. Oh, hello. We are the Ito Respect Army. Um, this time...", Furusawa snatched the microphone and challenged them, saying, "We, the light of Stardom, the Ito Respect Army, will definitely defend our title no matter who comes against us, the evil heel unit Cosmic Carnival or the super-serious group Dream Trine."
Incidentally, it seems Furusawa couldn't remember "Dream Trine," as he was pointed out for writing notes on his left arm. Furthermore, Lady pointed out, "What do you mean by defense? It's not about defense, it's about challenging."
The moment Rian elegantly declared, "We, the reigning champions, the Ito Respect Army, will win," Sakura collapsed onto the table. Natsupoi and President Okada were also trembling, covering their faces. It had become a "press conference where you can't laugh"..
However, my writing skills are insufficient to convey this, so if you're interested, please check out the moment on Stardom's official YouTube channel
In any case, at the press conference where all nine players gathered, Rian really showed her mettle, taking over the atmosphere with just a four-second comment. Finally, Ito, Furusawa, and Rian concluded the press conference with "Ito Respect Army, forever!" Sakura left the stage, leaning on the shoulders of Natsupoi and Mizumori
