JPN
"High-Speed Fairy" Natsupoi gave an interview and revealed her feelings about her upcoming IWGP Women's Championship match against champion Shuri (July 18th, Ota Ward). In 2025, her 10th anniversary year, she struggled behind her radiant smile. But now it's different. The fairy, who has rediscovered her burning emotions, is taking on "the biggest challenge of this century."
—What was the real reason behind positioning this IWGP Women's Championship match as "the biggest challenge of this century"?
summery feelings into it, but honestly, there are some things I don't really want to talk about. But, when you consider that my opponent was Akari, everyone knows she's a different kind of woman, the strongest woman. I went into this battle with the resolve that I would be putting everything on the line, so I used the phrase "the greatest of this century."
--With that resolve in her heart, she appeared before Shuri, who achieved her fourth consecutive victory at Yoyogi on June 20th
like Natsupoi, I could hear voices from both men and women. They were saying things like, "Natsupoi? Huh? Why Natsupoi? It's Natsupoi, it's Natsupoi!" I could hear their surprised voices directly.
—The audience was also surprised that Natsupoi was in the IWGP Women's division
a summery feeling . To be honest, it's been a long time since I've felt this way about a belt. The first belt I ever wanted in my pro wrestling career was the white belt (Wonder Championship), but I haven't really felt that same burning desire for the white belt since. I've challenged for various belts, and I've brought many different belts with various friends. They're all wonderful belts, but this is the first belt since the white belt that I've felt this way about from the bottom of my heart.
--Up until now, I haven't had much interest in the IWGP Women's division.
not so much that I didn't have any feelings about it, but rather that I never even considered it. It was more like, "That's not for me." I watched Sareee compete for a long time, but I just thought, "Wow, that's amazing," like I was watching as a spectator. I never thought, "I want to do that too." I was observing from an objective perspective.
—Why did you develop feelings for the IWGP this time?
Natsupoi : I think the biggest influence on me was definitely the presence of Takagi (Shingo). In 2025, I celebrated my 10th anniversary, and from there I couldn't find a goal anymore. After the 10th anniversary, there was nothing that really motivated me. I'm really an all-or-nothing kind of person, so I suddenly dropped to zero. And when I dropped to zero, I started to wonder what the point of doing pro wrestling was, or what I was fighting for. I think that's how I felt around 2025. Amidst all that, I had the opportunity to watch Takagi's IWGP matches from ringside, and the feeling of "Oh, maybe I want the IWGP" started to well up inside me. Once I got to that point, I was headstrong, so I started looking at it. My best friend Sareee held it, and KAIRI, who I admired, also held it, it's a path that all the important people in my life have walked. Then, I suddenly realized that IWGP was everywhere around me, and I thought, "Huh, is it okay for me to aim for this too?" and that led me to declare my challenge.
--You said that you had lost your goal for 25 years
Natsupoi was really struggling. After the 10th anniversary show (on May 31st in Ota Ward), it was the very next month (June 21st in Yoyogi) that we challenged for the tag team belts. At that time, Saori (Anno) and I were really fired up to win them with the momentum from the 10th anniversary. But we couldn't win them, and I think that's where it all started. It wasn't that I was depressed because I couldn't get results, but rather, how should I put it? I think the landscape of Stardom has really changed in the last year or two. Our leader, Tam-chan (Nakano), is gone, and I really feel like the landscape has changed 180 degrees. I think my heart just couldn't keep up with that change. Times are moving forward, and there are lots of fans, which makes me really happy, but my heart just couldn't keep up. I knew I couldn't stay like this, so I tried to struggle. That was the red belt (challenging then-World Champion Saya Kamitani at the Sapporo tournament on July 21st), and I made statements like "I'm going to become the ace," and I was struggling to find a goal, but it was all in vain. Hmm. In the end, I was just forcing myself to have feelings, and I hadn't found a goal that I could say "this is it" to. That's the state I was in.
-- You were smiling in the ring, but you were suffering
Natsupoi . How should I put it, well, no matter how much I worry, no matter how much I struggle, even if my feelings have completely disappeared, the battle in the ring continues. I have to fight, the matches are put together, and I try my best to motivate myself, but it's really difficult. Of course I feel like "Natsupoi!" in the ring, but it was quite tough.
—Was this the most difficult year for you?
Natsupoi 's 10th anniversary. There have been all sorts of things that have happened, but I've been running with all my might, even for the smallest things. When that all-out effort disappeared from within me, when I lost sight of my goals, I didn't know where to run anymore. I'd never felt that way in the last 10 years, so it was a completely new feeling for me.
—Ideally, I would have liked to have achieved results and run through these 25 years in a memorable year
like it's summer . Looking back, I think it's been about 5 or 6 years since I came to Stardom, but 2025 was the first year I didn't hold a belt. After coming to Stardom and being assigned to DDM, I was able to immediately capture the High Speed belt, and from there I went through the Artist and Goddess belts and finally the white belt. It's really been a continuous chain. And 2025 was the first year I didn't hold a belt for a whole year. I won the Artist belt with Tam-chan and (Anno) Saori as the top trio and went into the new year, but I lost it right at the beginning of the year, and it was truly the first time I didn't hold a belt for a whole year. I really realized that for a professional wrestler, whether you hold a belt or not, or whether you're chasing a belt or not, makes such a big difference in terms of your feelings.
--There has been talk that the landscape of Stardom has changed, and as we enter 2026, fresh faces such as Sayaka Kurei and Hanan are taking on belts and the scene is becoming more prominent
Natsupoi's Stardom achievements, but personally, I think I'm in the best condition I've ever been in. I'm still active, and since it's my 10th year, I'm not exactly a veteran anymore, so if anything, I feel like "this is just the beginning," and that's where the frustration lies. I feel like I can't lose, and I don't want to lose.
--You have a close relationship with Shuri, but what kind of player is she to you, Natsupoi?
Natsupoi is a wrestler I truly respect from the bottom of my heart. She doesn't spare any effort, she's so strong yet she still works hard, she's stoic and serious. There's really nothing but admirable things about her. Before I joined DDM, before I joined Stardom, I had the opportunity to work on a stage production where Shuri played the role of my older sister. At that time, I never imagined that I would join DDM, but because of that connection, there was a period when I always called her "Shuri-neechan, Shuri-neechan." And even after I unexpectedly joined DDM, she really treated me like a little sister and doted on me.
-- Facing off against Shuri at this particular time
Natsupoi was at the Cinderella Tournament (at the Korakuen Hall event on April 10, 2021), when we were both still DDM members. I was knocked out by one kick, either a high kick or a buzzsaw. I still remember how that felt. The next time we fought was at 5★STAR (at the Kyoto event on August 8, 2023), and it ended in a 15-minute draw. At that time, I asked Shuri something like, "Am I getting closer to being the strongest now?" and she said something like, "Of course you are, since you drew with me." I was really happy, but ever since then I've always thought that the next thing I have to do is surpass her. It took a little while for that to change and become the IWGP title, but the fact that we can face each other again in this way makes me feel like it's all connected.
――The time has come to prove what I said to Shuri back then
like it 's going to be a summery feeling. I think that surpassing Akari-san would be a way of repaying her for everything she's done for me, but Akari-san also said something like, "There are still sights I want to show you." When I think about how neither of us wants to lose, and how it will be a battle where our pride clashes against each other, it makes me want to surpass her even more.
--What kind of summer do you want to have in 2026?
it will be a summery one . It's been a really long time since I've felt like I've rediscovered things I'd forgotten, like my own emotions, or this burning fighting spirit, or that intense desire to work towards something. I feel like there are a lot of things I've forgotten, so I want to make this a summer to rediscover them.
--Do you think we can get it back?
Natsupoi : Yes, of course, I'll get it back. I think it will be a step towards creating a new world with a new me.
--lastly
full of summery vibes , I'm going to retrieve forgotten feelings and things I've left behind.
Born on July 19th in Yokohama, Kanagawa Prefecture. She began her talent career at a young age and is a skilled baton twirler with experience competing in national competitions. After graduating from high school, she worked as a stage actress, but made her debut in September 2015 at the Actwres girl'Z Shin-Kiba event under the ring name Natsumi Maki. In October 2020, she appeared as a new member of Donna del Mondo at the Stardom Yokohama event, winning the High Speed Championship and the Artist Championship. In July 2022, she made a surprise move to COSMIC ANGELS and won the Goddess Championship with Tam Nakano in the group "meltear". She also made her CD debut. In July 2024, she captured the Wonder Championship from her rival Saori Anno at the Sapporo event. In May 2025, a 10th-anniversary show was held with Anno