JPN
The "Rookie of Stardom 2026" tournament, which determines the strongest rookie, held its final match at Korakuen Hall on the 11th, with Ema Mashima defeating Kian Furusawa to claim the championship
The two debuted on May 21, 2025, making them contemporaries. From the start, it was a back-and-forth battle with both sides showing great determination. When Shima applied a single-leg Boston crab, Furusawa retaliated with an ankle lock. The match started to pick up after 10 minutes. After Furusawa landed 12 consecutive elbows, his left leg was caught again and an ankle lock was applied
He tried to escape to the ropes several times, but each time he was sent back to the center of the ring, forcing him to endure a long period of hardship. But he persevered, and when Furusawa tried to finish him off with a stunner, he blocked it. He then secured a come-from-behind victory with a modified spinning cross armbar
As a prize for winning, Mashima was awarded a certificate granting her the right to challenge for the Future of Stardom Championship (the current champion is Ranna Yagami)
Holding the microphone, Mashima shouted, "I was absent and everyone was getting ahead of me, and I thought I wouldn't be able to catch up, but I'm glad I didn't give up!"
Then Future Champion Yagami appeared. "Emma, congratulations on your victory. Right now, Emma has more momentum than any other rookie. If I'm going to fight a rookie with that much momentum for this belt, it has to be there," he said, designating the April 26th Yokohama Arena event as the venue for the showdown. The title match between the two has now been confirmed
To Shima's declaration, "I'll take it in one go!", the champion retorted, "I'm the young wrestler who's had more matches in Stardom than anyone else, so I'm going to beat up all that confidence and momentum of yours." The two rivals were already clashing fiercely
[Regarding the story of the wrestlers] It was really painful to see Kian and my fellow wrestlers shining and showing more and more individuality while I was absent. I had always thought that if Kian used the stunner that Maki Ito-sensei uses, I would definitely counter it and win by rolling her up. Winning without any backing and without being in a unit had meaning for me. I'm going to take this momentum and beat Ranna in one go