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112-647: After her first moments in Stardom and after being accused of not having any friends, Giulia would tease the formation of a stable. On January 14, 2020, Maika lost a Future of Stardom Championship match against the champion Utami Hayashishita at one of the Professional Wrestling Just Tap Out 's house shows at Korakuen Hall . After the match, Giulia appeared and recruited Maika as the second member of her new unit. At Stardom's 9th Anniversary show on January 19, Syuri returned to

224-526: A luchador and luchadora respectively. In 2000, the all-female promotion company Lucha Libre Femenil (LLF) was founded. Lucha Libre has a division called the "Mini-Estrella" or "Minis" division, which unlike North American midget wrestling , is not just for dwarfs but also for luchadores that are short. The maximum allowable height to participate in the Mini division was originally 5 feet, but in recent years wrestlers such as Pequeño Olímpico have worked

336-453: A luchador code of honor. For instance, a luchador who has lost a wager match would prefer to endure the humiliation of being unmasked or having his head shaved rather than live with the shame that would come from not honoring his bet. Rudos have also been known to make the transition into técnicos after a career-defining moment, as was the case with Blue Demon , who decided to become a técnico after his wrestling partner, Black Shadow ,

448-561: A Mexican luchador named El Superbeasto. The Main Antagonist of the animated film Despicable Me 2 , El Macho, sports a costume resembling that of a luchador, consistent with his theme of Mexican culture. Television shows have also been inspired by lucha libre, especially animated series such as ¡Mucha Lucha! Cartoon Network also produced an animated miniseries based on the luchador El Santo. The WB television series Angel episode entitled " The Cautionary Tale of Numero Cinco " told

560-584: A box, labeled with the date, to be treasured. Female wrestlers or luchadoras also compete in Mexican lucha libre . The CMLL World Women's Championship is the top title for CMLL 's women's division, while the AAA Reina de Reinas Championship is a championship defended in an annual tournament by female wrestlers in AAA. AAA also recognizes a World Mixed Tag Team Championship , contested by tag teams composed of

672-424: A cafe. Aikawa interviewed various wrestlers on the roster as well as showed highlights of recent matches and activities outside the ring. Stardom Cafe ran each month until December 2015. Starting in 2015, Stardom began holding Korakuen Hall shows every month, making them the first Joshi Puroresu promotion since Gaea Japan to do so. At Stardom's next Korakuen Hall show on February 22, 2015, Stardom Queen's Shout,

784-416: A career in professional wrestling. In April 2010, Fuka was approached by Rossy Ogawa , about starting a new promotion with Aikawa as the top star. During the summer of 2010, Fuka continued training Aikawa for her upcoming debut planned for October, while also training newcomers such as Mayu Iwatani , Arisa Hoshiki , Yoshiko , Yoko Bito , and Eri Susa. These plans came together by September when Ogawa held

896-547: A case investigated as cyberbullying after an incident traced to her appearance on the Fuji TV reality show Terrace House . On 16 December 2020, Osaka police announced a case is pending in the legal system with a gentleman from the area the suspect. On August 15, 2020, Stardom canceled a Saturday show in Osaka , putting a halt to the 5-star Grand Prix, after a performer tested positive for COVID-19 . On December 20, 2020,

1008-485: A disqualification for the first offense. A ringside doctor is now assigned to all future events and Kairi Hojo was subsequently named intermediary between the wrestlers and management in order to bring the two sides closer. The incident received mainstream attention in Japan and became known as Seisan Matchi ( 凄惨マッチ , "Ghastly Match") . This would end up being Yoshiko's final appearance for Stardom. April 23 saw

1120-495: A folk hero and a symbol of justice for the common man through his appearances in comic books and movies , while the sport received an unparalleled degree of mainstream attention. Other legendary luchadores who helped popularize the sport include Gory Guerrero , who is credited with developing moves and holds which are now commonplace in professional wrestling; Blue Demon , a contemporary of Santo and possibly his greatest rival; and Mil Máscaras (Man of A Thousand Masks), who

1232-421: A large number of them will be unmasked. Sometimes, a wrestler slated for retirement will be unmasked in his final bout or at the beginning of a final tour, signifying a loss of identity as that character. Sometimes, losing the mask signifies the end of a gimmick with the wrestler moving on to a new gimmick and mask. The mask is considered sacred to a degree, so much so that fully removing an opponent's mask during

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1344-490: A losing effort to Momo Watanabe and Saya Kamitani. On the second night, Giulia and Syuri defeated Kamitani and Watanabe. At Historic X-Over on November 20, 2022, Thekla , Mai Sakurai and Himeka lost to AZM, Lady C and Saya Kamitani, and Maika teamed up with Hirooki Goto and lost to Utami Hayashishita and Hiroshi Tanahashi in a mixed tag team match , and Giulia teamed up with Zack Sabre Jr. to defeat Syuri and Tom Lawlor in another mixed match. On July 5, 2023, during

1456-494: A match is grounds for disqualification. During their careers, masked luchadores will often be seen in public wearing their masks and keeping up the culture of lucha libre, while other masked wrestlers will interact with the public and press normally. However, they will still go to great lengths to conceal their true identities; in effect, the mask is synonymous with the luchador . El Santo continued wearing his mask after retirement, revealing his face only briefly in old age, and

1568-482: A match that became a viral hit on YouTube , reaching over 1 million views. Several champions were crowned at the event as well. Aikawa defeated Yoshiko to become the first-ever Wonder of Stardom Champion and Natsuki Taiyo defeated JWP wrestler Leon to win the High Speed Championship. The inaugural World of Stardom Champion was crowned in a four-person tournament, with Takahashi defeating Bito in

1680-582: A national pop-culture phenomenon. In 1942, lucha libre would be forever changed when a silver-masked wrestler, known simply as El Santo ( The Saint ), first stepped into the ring. He made his debut in Mexico City by winning an 8-man battle royal . The public became in love with the mystique and secrecy of Santo's personality, and he quickly became the most popular luchador in Mexico. His wrestling career spanned nearly five decades, during which he became

1792-465: A new collaboration with Fire Pro Wrestling World , a video game developed by Spike Chunsoft . This would be Stardom's first involvement with a video game and was released on August 22, 2019. Kagetsu , Hazuki , Andras Miyagi , Utami Hayashishita , Momo Watanabe , Mayu Iwatani , Arisa Hoshiki , Starlight Kid , Jungle Kyona , and Hana Kimura would be the Stardom wrestlers that were created for

1904-497: A new stable, with a mysterious girl helping her out of the arena. Syuri was the first member to leave Donna Del Mondo. On the second night from March 27, Giulia, Maika, Himeka and Thekla defeated Prominence ( Risa Sera , Suzu Suzuki , Akane Fujita and Mochi Miyagi ) with whom all the Donna Del Mondo members have been in a feud. However, Suzu Suzuki stated that she was not finished with Giulia despite Prominence's loss. In

2016-582: A press conference with the newly formed roster of Fuka's trainees and Aikawa in attendance to announce a new promotion named World Wonder Ring Stardom . Fuka was appointed general manager of the promotion, as well as the role of ring announcer . Veteran All Japan Women's Pro-Wrestling (AJW) wrestler Nanae Takahashi was appointed the playing manager. In addition to Fuka's trainees, Aikawa, and Takahashi, Takahashi's longtime associate and fellow AJW wrestler Natsuki☆Taiyo and mixed martial artist Mika Nagano , who had some experience in professional wrestling with

2128-502: A priest-turned-luchador was inspired by the story of Father Sergio Gutiérrez Benítez, a real-life Catholic priest who wrestled as Fray Tormenta to make money for his church. The documentary feature Lucha Mexico (2016) captured the lives of some of Mexico's well known wrestlers. The stars were Shocker , Blue Demon Jr. , El Hijo del Perro Aguayo and Último Guerrero . Directed by Alex Hammond and Ian Markiewicz. Rob Zombie 's animated film The Haunted World of El Superbeasto stars

2240-522: A real-life vampire invasion of New York. The Fox Kids live-action series Los Luchadores (2001) starred a trio of masked wrestlers consisting of Lobo Fuerte, Maria Valentine, and Turbine who not only participate in wrestling tournaments but also fight to protect their home of Union City from numerous threats (both natural and supernatural). Lucha libre is a recurring motif in nearly every game directed by Suda51 , starting from his directorial debut Super Fire Pro Wrestling 3 Final Bout . Most prominently,

2352-432: A result, the tag team formula and pacing which has developed in U.S. tag matches is different from lucha libre because the race to tag is not a priority. There are also two-man tag matches ( parejas ) and "four on four" matches ( atomicos ). Masks ( máscaras ) have been used dating back to the beginnings of lucha libre in the early part of the 20th century, and have a historical significance to Mexico in general, dating to

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2464-475: A retired luchador character called Angel de la Plata (The Silver Angel), played by Joaquin Cosio . In the storyline, Angel de la Plata (probably based on El Santo ) was a major masked wrestling star in Mexico, appearing both in the ring and in a series of movies in which his character battled all manner of foes including vampires. A knee injury ended his career but he is called upon to use his fighting skills against

2576-545: A two-block round-robin tournament, commenced on August 19 at Shin-Kiba 1st Ring, and ran until September 30, becoming their biggest annual tournament every year. The finals saw Yuzuki Aikawa defeating Kyoko Kimura on September 30. At Stardom Year-End Climax in December, the creation of the promotion's trios championship, the Artist of Stardom Championship , was announced. Stardom's next Korakuen Hall show on March 17, Stardom

2688-442: Is Dos Caras Jr. Lucha Libre has crossed over into popular culture, especially in Mexico, where it is the second most popular sport after soccer . Outside of Mexico, lucha libre has also crossed over into popular culture, especially in movies and television. Depictions of luchadors are often used as symbols of Mexico and Mexican culture in non-Spanish-speaking cultures. The motion picture Nacho Libre , starring Jack Black as

2800-462: Is also known for its tag team wrestling matches. The teams are often made up of three members, instead of two as is common in the United States. These three-man teams participate in what are called trios matches, for tag team championship belts. Of these three members, one member is designated the captain. A successful fall in a trios match can be achieved by either pinning the captain of

2912-474: Is an illegal move in wrestling and grounds for immediate disqualification, although some variants are legal in certain promotions; or when he hits his opponent in the groin (foul); when he uses outside interference; when he attacks the referee; or when he completely rips off his opponent's mask. Most matches are two out of three falls, which had been abandoned for title matches in North America and Japan in

3024-480: Is credited with introducing the high flying moves of lucha libre to audiences around the world. He achieved international fame as one of the first high-flyers, something he was not considered in Mexico, where he fell under the mat-power category. Luchadores are traditionally more agile and perform more aerial maneuvers than professional wrestlers in the United States , who more often rely on power and hard strikes to subdue their opponents. The difference in styles

3136-505: Is due to the independent evolution of the sport in Mexico beginning in the 1930s and the fact that luchadores in the cruiserweight division ( peso semicompleto ) are often the most popular wrestlers in Mexican lucha libre. Luchadores execute characteristic high-flying attacks by using the wrestling ring 's ropes to catapult themselves towards their opponents, using intricate combinations in rapid-fire succession, and applying complex submission holds. Rings used in lucha libre generally lack

3248-467: Is known as "Catch". Lucha libre wrestlers are known as luchadores (singular luchador ) and often come from extended wrestling families who form their own stables. One such line integrated to the United States professional wrestling scene is Los Guerreros . In 2018, Mexican lucha libre was declared an intangible cultural heritage of Mexico City . The rules of lucha libre are similar to American singles matches. Matches can be won by pinning

3360-470: Is the term for the style of professional wrestling originating in Mexico. Since its introduction to Mexico in the early 20th century, it has developed into a unique form of the genre, characterized by colorful masks , rapid sequences of holds and maneuvers, and "high-flying" maneuvers , some of which have been adopted in the United States, Japan, and elsewhere. The wearing of masks has developed special significance, and matches are sometimes contested in which

3472-592: The 2024 Triangle Derby . After reaching the finals and deciding to defend the Artist of Stardom Championship, they lost the match and titles to Abarenbo GE . Declaring that each of the moments have evolved in the time that Donna Del Mondo were active, on January 4, 2024, Giulia officially declared for the dissolution of the stable. Maika, at this time, had become the World of Stardom Champion , and Giulia's contract had just been announced to be over soon. Thekla announced during

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3584-518: The Artist of Stardom Championship . On March 24, Giulia won the 2020 Cinderella Tournament . On the June 21 show at Shin-Kiba 1st Ring , Himeka made her Stardom debut as a mystery member for Giulia, Syuri and Maika, with whom she later defeated the team of Stars ( Mayu Iwatani , Tam Nakano , Starlight Kid and Saya Iida ). At Cinderella Summer in Tokyo on July 26, Giulia defeated Tam Nakano to win

3696-645: The CMLL World Mini-Estrella Championship in 1992, making it the oldest Minis championship still in existence today. Minis are often patterned after "regular-sized" wrestlers and are sometimes called "mascotas" ("mascots") if they team with the regular-sized version. In 1994, AAA promoted the When Worlds Collide pay-per-view in conjunction with the U.S. promotion company World Championship Wrestling (WCW). When Worlds Collide introduced U.S. audiences to many of

3808-551: The French Intervention in Mexico , when Enrique Ugartechea, the first Mexican wrestler, developed and invented Mexican lucha libre from Greco-Roman wrestling . In the early 20th century, professional wrestling was mostly a regional phenomenon in Mexico until Salvador Lutteroth founded the Empresa Mexicana de Lucha Libre ( Mexican Wrestling Enterprise ) in 1933, giving the sport a national foothold for

3920-631: The Ice Ribbon promotion, joined the promotion. Stardom held its first event, Birth of Nova, on January 23, 2011, in Tokyo 's Shin-Kiba 1st Ring, the venue that would frequently host events for the promotion in the following years and was also the location of Stardom's earliest training dojo . Originally, Stardom named and promoted events in the format of "seasons," with one season lasting, on average, two months. The opening match involved seasoned Takahashi and Taiyo, as well as Aikawa. The main event of

4032-711: The SWA World Championship . At Osaka Dream Cinderella 2020 on December 20, Maika lost the Future of Stardom Championship to Saya Iida in a three-way match also involving Saya Kamitani . On February 14, 2021, MaiHime (Himeka and Maika) defeated Oedo Tai (Bea Priestley and Konami ) to win the Goddesses of Stardom Championship . Natsupoi defeated AZM to win the High Speed Championship at All Star Dream Cinderella on March 3, where all

4144-402: The luchador is uncommon: months can pass without it happening, because fans are the toughest of critics, booing the luchador if they are not pleased with their performance. Booing may happen regardless of the perceived virtuousness of the luchador's persona. The luchador , after receiving such an act of honor, will pick up the money and save it as a symbolic trophy, putting it in a vase or

4256-750: The "Comisión de Box y Lucha Libre Mexico D.F." (the Mexico City Boxing and Wrestling Commission), the main regulatory body in Mexico: Luchadores are traditionally divided into two categories, rudos (lit. "tough guys", who are "bad guys", or " heels "), who bend or break the rules, and técnicos (the "good guys", or " faces ", literally "technicians"), who play by the rules and their moves are much more complex and spectacular. Técnicos tend to have very formal combat styles, close to Greco-Roman wrestling and martial arts techniques, whereas rudos tend to be brawlers. Técnicos playing

4368-415: The "good guy" role, and rudos playing the "bad guy" role is very characteristic of Mexican lucha libre, which differs from U.S. professional wrestling, where many technical wrestlers play the role of heels (e.g., Kurt Angle ), and many brawlers play as "faces" (e.g., Stone Cold Steve Austin & The Rock ). Although rudos often resort to using underhanded tactics, they are still expected to live up to

4480-517: The 1970s. A unique rule in lucha libre applies during team matches (i.e., when a team's legal wrestler touches the ground outside the ring, a teammate may enter the ring to take his place as a legal competitor). Since the legal wrestler can step on the floor willingly, it is not necessary to tag a teammate to enter the match. This often allows for much more frantic action to take place in the ring than would be possible under standard tag rules. The antecedents of Mexican wrestling date back to 1863, during

4592-787: The Arizona Diamondbacks Major League Baseball team started doing promotions involving lucha libre. A luchador mask in Diamondback colors was a popular giveaway at one game. In 2013 a Diamondbacks Luchador was made an official mascot, joining D. Baxter Bobcat. The first 20,000 fans at the July 27 game against the San Diego Padres were to receive a luchador mask. In Spain , professional wrestling has commonly been called catch (from catch-as-catch-can wrestling ) and pressing catch . In Peru ,

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4704-479: The Artist of Stardom Championship against Queen's Quest (Momo Watanabe, AZM and Saya Kamitani). At Osaka Super Wars on December 18, MaiHimePoi won the ¥10 Million Unit Tournament also disputed for the Artist of Stardom Championship by defeating Marvelous ( Takumi Iroha , Rin Kadokura and Maria ) in the semi-finals and Stars (Mayu Iwatani, Hazuki and Koguma ) in the finals, scoring two consecutive defenses for

4816-975: The Artist of Stardom Championship to Oedo Tai (Saki Kashima, Momo Watanabe and Starlight Kid). At Fight in the Top on June 26, Giulia, Maika and Sakurai unsuccessfully challenged Oedo Tai (Starlight Kid, Momo Watanabe and Saki Kashima), and God's Eye (Syuri, Ami Sourei and Mirai) for the Artist of Stardom Championship. At Mid Summer Champions in Tokyo , which took place on July 9, Giulia, Maika, Himeka, Natsupoi and Sakurai challenged Cosmic Angels (Tam Nakano, Unagi Sayaka and Mina Shirakawa, Saki and Hikari Shimizu ) in an elimination tag team match . Natsupoi betrayed Donna Del Mondo by attacking Giulia mid-match, leading to Donna Del Mondo's loss. Natsupoi subsequently joined Cosmic Angels. At Mid Summer Champions in Nagoya from July 24, Giulia, Himeka and Maika unsuccessfully challenged Oedo Tai (Momo Watanabe, Saki Kashima and Starlight Kid) for

4928-578: The Artist of Stardom Championship. At Gold Rush on November 19, Giulia, Thekla and Sakurai made it to the finals of the Moneyball tournament, where they lost to Stars (Mayu Iwatani, Hazuki and Koguma). At Dream Queendom 2 on December 29, Giulia defeated Syuri to win the World of Stardom Championship. In January and February 2023, Giulia, Sakurai and Thekla competed in the Triangle Derby I under

5040-544: The Baribari Bombers for the Artist of Stardom Championship. During the match, there were several instances of miscommunication between Maika and Suzuki, which led to the Baribari Bombers winning. In an after-match promo , Maika blamed Suzuki for the loss and promised to defeat Suzuki, which effectively meant the end of Suzuki and her tag team partner, Mei Seira, teaming with Donna Del Mondo. At New Years Stars 2024 on January 3, 2024, Baribari Bombers participated in

5152-703: The Goddesses of Stardom Championship, and Giulia battled Mayu Iwatani into a time-limit draw in a number one contendership match for the World of Stardom Championship which resulted with an opportunity for both of them at World Climax 2022 . On February 12, Giulia teamed up with Thekla and Mirai to defeat Cosmic Angels (Tam Nakano, Unagi Sayaka and Mai Sakurai) in a six-woman tag team match. After months of Giulia asking Mai Sakurai if she wants to be stronger, Sakurai told Cosmic Angels' unit leader Nakano "I don't want to dance, I want to wrestle" and joined Donna Del Mondo. On March 21, after they defeated Mayu Iwatani and Saya Iida,

5264-461: The Goddesses of Stardom Tag League, a round-robin tournament that has been held annually since. The team of Yuzuki Aikawa and Yoko Bito, collectively known as BY Hou, defeated Yoshiko and Natsuki Taiyo (Kawasaki Katsushika Saikyou Densetsu) in the finals on November 27. On November 12, the first Rookie of Stardom award was given, in which rookie wrestlers that had debuted within the year faced off. The final saw Yoshiko defeating Arisa Hoshiki to become

5376-553: The Highest, would mark a World of Stardom title change for the first time when German wrestler Alpha Female , now aligned with Kyoko Kimura's Kimura Monster-gun unit, defeated Nanae Takahashi for the World of Stardom Championship. On April 29, Yuzuki Aikawa had the first of what would become a tradition for many departing Stardom wrestlers in the form of a gauntlet match , where they face the entire roster in one-minute singles matches. Stardom Ryōgoku Cinderella Champions Fiesta 2013

5488-586: The Latin American version such as more weight classes than professional wrestling in North America post World War II. Like "old school" European (especially British) wrestling, some Japanese wrestling and early 20th-century American wrestling, Lucha libre has a detailed weight class system patterned after boxing . Each weight class has an official upper limit, but examples of wrestlers who are technically too heavy to hold their title can be found. The following weight classes exist in lucha libre, as defined by

5600-473: The Minis division despite being 1.69 m (5 ft 6 + 1 ⁄ 2  in) tall. The Minis division was first popularized in the 1970s with wrestlers like Pequeño Luke and Arturito (a wrestler with an R2-D2 gimmick) becoming noticed for their high flying abilities. In the late 1980s/early 1990s CMLL created the first actual "Minis" division, the brainchild of then-CMLL booker Antonio Peña . CMLL created

5712-897: The U.S. on the Spanish-language cable networks Galavisión and LA TV. Lucha Underground is a television series produced by the United Artists Media Group which airs in English on the El Rey Network and in Spanish on UniMás . It features wrestlers from the American independent circuit and AAA. AAA also owns a percentage of Lucha Underground. The series, which is taped live in Boyle Heights, California, finished season 4 finale. In 2012,

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5824-494: The United States with the inaugural champion being crowned at Historic X-Over. At the event, Kairi defeated Iwatani to become the inaugural champion. On December 15, 2023, Stardom was announced as one of the founding members of the United Japan Pro-Wrestling alliance, a joint effort to further develop professional wrestling in Japan through promotion and organization, with Seiji Sakaguchi being named as

5936-674: The United States, taking part in events for Lucha Underground and a match at the Cauliflower Alley Club . In May, Threedom (Shirai, Iwatani, and Hojo) traveled to Europe, taking part in shows in Spain , France , and England . A new championship was introduced on the show in Spain, the Stardom World Association (SWA) World Championship . Io Shirai defeated Toni Storm in a tournament final to determine

6048-962: The World of Stardom Championship against Suzu Suzuki. On April 23, at All Star Grand Queendom , Himeka wrestled one of her last matches in Stardom upon retirement against long time tag team partner Maika, which the latter won. At Flashing Champions 2023 on May 27, the Baribari Bombers won the Artist of Stardom Championship by defeating REStart . Also at Flashing Champions, Maika teamed up with Mei Seira and Suzu Suzuki to defeat Neo Stardom Army (Nanae Takahashi and Yuna Mizumori ) and Hanako . Following this, Seira and Suzuki would continue to frequently team up with various members of Donna Del Mondo in tag team matches, especially Maika. On July 30, Maika teamed up with Mei Seira and Megan Bayne to defeat God's Eye (Saki Kashima and Syuri) and Hanako, after which Bayne would continue to frequently team up with members of Donna Del Mondo. At Nagoya Golden Fight on October 9, Maika, Megan Bayne and Suzu Suzuki teamed up to challenge

6160-483: The beginning of a new annual event, the Cinderella Tournament, a one-day single-elimination tournament, with the winner being presented a dress by Yuzuki Aikawa and is granted a wish of their choice. The methods of winning consist of pinfall, submission, over-the-top-rope elimination, ten-minute time limit (except for the final), with time limit draws resulting in a double elimination. Mayu Iwatani won

6272-554: The chairman of the project. On February 5, 2024, it was announced that Bushiroad had fired Rossy Ogawa from the promotion due to alleged talent poaching. On 15 April 2024 Ogawa announced the creation of rival promotion Dream Star Fighting Marigold (Marigold); several members of the Stardom roster jumped ship to join Ogawa. Amongst them were Giulia , Utami Hayashishita , Mirai , Nanae Takahashi , Mai Sakurai , Yuzuki and ex- Ice Ribbon native Nao Ishikawa . On April 23, it

6384-469: The company except the developmental and shared championships. They are the World of Stardom Championship , the Wonder of Stardom Championship , the Goddesses of Stardom Championship , the Artist of Stardom Championship , the High Speed Championship and the SWA World Championship . The notion of "grand slam" officially started being mentioned on May 5, 2022, when Mayu Iwatani became the second wrestler in

6496-801: The company to achieve the feature after Io Shirai . Since 2008, Pro Wrestling Illustrated ( PWI ) has published a list of top female professional wrestlers each year on the PWI Female 50 , However, it wasn't until 2018 that PWI would expand their list to 100 wrestlers to include international wrestlers, Stardom included. In 2021, PWI expanded the list to 150 wrestlers. It was expanded and renamed again to Women’s 250 in 2023. Lucha libre#Luchas de Apuestas Mid 20th Century 1970s and 1980s 1990s 2000s 2010s and 2020s Lucha libre ( Spanish pronunciation: [ˈlutʃa ˈliβɾe] , meaning " freestyle wrestling " or literally translated as "free fight")

6608-434: The company, teaming with Giulia and Maika in a six-woman tag team match to defeat Tokyo Cyber Squad ( Death Yama-san , Hana Kimura and Leyla Hirsch ). Following the match, Giulia announced that the name of her new unit is Donna Del Mondo . On February 8, 2020 at Stardom The Way To Major League , Giulia teamed up with Syuri and Maika to defeat Queen's Quest ( AZM , Momo Watanabe and Utami Hayashishita ) for

6720-489: The contract for the match, as she felt Yasukawa was unfit to challenge for her title after their previous title match had been cancelled due to Yasukawa's Graves' disease flare. Yoshiko eventually signed the contract in the ring just before their match after Yasukawa and her new Oedo Tai teammates attacked her. Stardom's president Rossy Ogawa publicly apologized for the incident and called an emergency meeting for February 23 with general manager Fuka Kakimoto and top senpais for

6832-412: The contract: Octavio Gaona would have to put his hair on the line. Octavio Gaona won the match and Murciélago unmasked, giving birth to the tradition. The following match types are variants of Luchas de Apuestas matches with different types of wagers. Since lucha libre has its roots more in Latin American professional wrestling than North American professional wrestling, it retains some of the basics of

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6944-461: The days of the Aztecs . Early masks were very simple with basic colors to distinguish the wrestler. In modern lucha libre, masks are colorfully designed to evoke the images of animals , gods , ancient heroes and other archetypes , whose identity the luchador takes on during a performance. Virtually all wrestlers in Mexico will start their careers wearing masks, but over the span of their careers,

7056-449: The debut show saw Yoko Bito, who had an extensive Karate background before her wrestling training against 17-year-old Yoshiko. The two were considered the top trainees on the new roster. Stardom continued holding shows at Shin-Kiba 1st Ring each month before eventually holding their first-ever show at Korakuen Hall on July 24. At the event, 9-year-old Haruka, who had debuted on the first show, faced DDT Pro-Wrestling star Kenny Omega in

7168-649: The dissolution statement that she was taking a hiatus from Stardom to return to her native Austria . The unit reunited for one night on March 24, 2024, at KBS Hall in Kyoto, Japan, before Giulia, MIRAI, and Sakurai left Stardom. At the Hana Kimura Memorial Show , Syuri and Natsupoi teamed up with Mio Momono and Asuka to defeat Kagetsu and HZK who represented Oedo Tai and Konami and Death Yama-san who represented Tokyo Cyber Squad in an Eight-woman tag team match . On January 5, 2021, on

7280-554: The door. Fans and venue staff went through temperature checks and face masks were mandatory. Additional events were canceled throughout April and May, meaning Stardom's Ota Ward Gym show and the unit-produced shows held during Golden Week in early May would no longer be taking place. In the meantime, Stardom wrestlers began doing live streams on the Stardom YouTube channel and social media to interact with fans. On 23 May 2020, Hana Kimura committed suicide in

7392-526: The experience level required for the Future of Stardom Title was changed from two years to less than three years of wrestling experience. On November 20, 2022, Stardom held a co-promoted event with sister promotion New Japan Pro-Wrestling named Historic X-Over . On July 29, Stardom and NJPW announced the IWGP Women's Championship , a title for Stardom that would be defended at NJPW events both in Japan and

7504-460: The feud between Syuri and Giulia degenerated into AliKaba disbanding and Syuri announcing that she wants to go on her own path, so she would hire herself a bodyguard. On the first night of the World Climax 2022, Syuri successfully defended the World of Stardom Championship against Giulia. Syuri then confirmed that she will leave Donna Del Mondo to walk on her own path and teased the formation of

7616-440: The final. Another notable development in Stardom's Korakuen Hall debut was freelancer Io Shirai , who had been appearing in various other Joshi Puroresu promotions alongside her sister, Mio Shirai , and Kana as the stable Triple Tails . Shirai made a surprise appearance at the end of Stardom X Stardom, requesting to join the company. The crowning of the first-ever Goddesses of Stardom Championship began on October 10 with

7728-467: The first champion. The qualifications of defending the SWA title were that the opponent must be a different nationality to the champion. On February 18, 2018, Stardom announced the creation of the promotion's seventh active title, the Future of Stardom Championship, the title is meant for wrestlers with less than two years of experience in professional wrestling or under the age of 20. Stardom also introduced

7840-533: The first recipient. In May 2012, Io Shirai had gone to Mexico for a tour and was involved in an incident when returning to Japan. Upon her return to Japan, Shirai and then-boyfriend Nosawa Rongai (a freelance Japanese professional wrestler) were arrested at the Narita International Airport in Narita, Chiba on suspicion of trying to smuggle 75 grams of marijuana hidden inside paintings of

7952-418: The first time. The promotion flourished and quickly became the premier spot for wrestlers. As television surfaced as a viable entertainment medium during the 1950s, Lutteroth was then able to broadcast his wrestling across the nation, subsequently yielding a popularity explosion for the sport. Moreover, it was the emergence of television that allowed Lutteroth to promote lucha libre's first breakout superstar into

8064-721: The first tournament by defeating Koguma in the final. Also in 2015, Stardom held shows in Los Angeles County, California . This was the first time that Stardom held shows outside of Japan. Stardom's first United States show took place on October 16 in Covina, California , main evented by Io Shirai successfully defending her Wonder of Stardom Championship against Mia Yim . The second show took place two days later in Baldwin Park, California , headlined by Thunder Rock retaining their Goddesses of Stardom Championship against

8176-524: The game. Apart from the March 8 Korakuen Hall show, Stardom canceled all remaining March shows due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Japan . No People Gate was presented from an empty Korakuen Hall on March 8, and was aired live on their YouTube channel. The next Stardom show would be the Cinderella Tournament on March 24, and was held at Korakuen Hall with a limited number of tickets sold at

8288-508: The gimmick has recently attained a more flamboyant outlook. Luchadores , like their foreign counterparts, seek to obtain a campeonato (championship) through winning key wrestling matches. Since many feuds and shows are built around luchas de apuestas (matches with wagers), title matches play a less prominent role in Mexico than in the U.S. Titles can be defended as few as one time per year. The two biggest lucha libre promotions in Mexico are Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL), which

8400-403: The importance placed on masks in lucha libre, losing the mask to an opponent is seen as the ultimate insult, and can at times seriously hurt the career of the unmasked wrestler. Putting one's mask on the line against a hated opponent is a tradition in lucha libre as a means to settle a heated feud between two or more wrestlers. In these battles, called luchas de apuestas ("matches with wagers"),

8512-422: The incident. On July 9, Mexico-based Japanese wrestler Takuya Sugi held a press conference and confessed to planting the drugs on Shirai and Nosawa. According to Sugi, Masahiro Hayashi, who worked as a liaison between Lucha Libre AAA Worldwide and Japan and who apparently had a personal grudge with Nosawa, had promised him a contract extension with AAA in exchange for the deed. The first 5★Star Grand Prix,

8624-714: The loser must permanently remove his mask, which is a wager with a high degree of weight attached. Tag team wrestling is especially prevalent in lucha libre , particularly matches with three-member teams, called trios . Although in English the term specifically refers to the Mexican style of theatrical professional wrestling, in Spanish it can refer to other kinds of wrestling, including competitive freestyle wrestling ( es:lucha libre olímpica ) and professional wrestling in general ( es:lucha libre profesional ) in addition to Mexican professional wrestling in particular ( es:lucha libre mexicana ). However, in Spain (as with other non-Anglophone European countries) professional wrestling

8736-416: The main event of Yoshiko defending her World of Stardom Championship against Act Yasukawa ended in controversy when the match had to be ended prematurely. Yoshiko and Yasukawa began shooting on each other, a boundary in professional wrestling that is rarely crossed. Yoshiko gained the advantage in the situation and severely injured Yasukawa's face, to the point where veteran referee Kyohei Wada had to stop

8848-427: The main event of the first night of the 2022 Cinderella Tournament from April 3, Syuri defeated her new unit member Ami Sourei in the first rounds and named her new unit " God's Eye ". Then Mirai showed up, announced her resignation from Donna Del Mondo, and joined God's Eye. At Flashing Champions on May 28, Giulia and Sakurai unsuccessfully challenged FWC for the Goddesses of Stardom Championship and MaiHimePoi lost

8960-406: The match. Following the match, Yasukawa was rushed to a Tokyo hospital, where she was diagnosed with fractured cheek, nasal and orbital bones and required surgery. Yasukawa had, just two months earlier, returned from a long injury break brought on by thyroid issues, during which she had also underwent cataract surgery. In addition to the outcome, leading up to the show, Yoshiko had refused to sign

9072-408: The members of the stable were holding titles, until Giulia lost her Wonder of Stardom Championship to Tam Nakano in a hair vs hair match the same night, after which she got her hair shaved. At Yokohama Dream Cinderella 2021 on April 4, MaiHime lost the Goddesses of Stardom Championship to fellow members Giulia and Syuri after an inter-stable clash. For the 2021 5 Star Grand Prix , all the members of

9184-422: The opponent to the mat for the count of three, making him submit, knocking him out of the ring for a predetermined count (generally twenty), or by disqualification. Using the ropes for leverage is illegal, and once a luchador is on the ropes, his opponent must release any holds and he will not be able to pin him. Disqualifications occur when an opponent uses an illegal grab or move, such as the piledriver , which

9296-439: The opposing team or by pinning both of the other members. A referee can also stop the match because of "excessive punishment". He can then award the match to the aggressors. Falls often occur simultaneously, which adds to the extremely stylized nature of the action. In addition, a wrestler can opt to roll out of the ring in lieu of tagging a partner or simply be knocked out of the ring, at which point one of his partners may enter. As

9408-471: The promotion's public face. Much like JDStar , Stardom also places heavy emphasis on the physical attractiveness of its workers, and publishes several modeling photobooks and calendars of its workers per year. Stardom's in-ring style takes influence from mixed martial arts with many workers relying on kicks as the main part of their offense. Stardom frequently holds shows in Tokyo while also often traveling to Osaka for daytime and nighttime events within

9520-411: The release and all appeared in the ring during the announcement. On October 17, a press conference was held in which the purchase of Stardom by entertainment company, Bushiroad , was announced. Bushiroad is also the owner of New Japan Pro-Wrestling , making Stardom their sister promotion. Rossy Ogawa would remain as Stardom's executive producer. Katsuhiko Harada was appointed as president, Harada

9632-399: The roster to discuss the situation. On February 25, Stardom held a press conference where Yoshiko publicly apologized for her actions, was stripped of the World of Stardom Championship and was suspended indefinitely. Ogawa, Kakimoto and Takahashi also announced they were taking a 30% pay cut for the next three months. Stardom also banned face punches from the promotion. Violations resulted in

9744-426: The same day. In 2020, "We Are Stardom!!" started airing on BS Nittele and Tokyo MX , which marked the first time that a joshi puroresu promotion had a weekly national television program since AJW left Fuji TV in 2002. After retiring from professional wrestling on March 29, 2010, Fuka began training Yuzuki Aikawa , a notable gravure idol signed to Platinum Production , the same modeling agency as her, for

9856-590: The second night of Independence Day , Giulia defeated Willow Nightingale to win the Strong Women's Championship , becoming the second champion in the title's history. World Wonder Ring Stardom World Wonder Ring Stardom ( スターダム 女子プロレス , Sutādamu Joshi Puroresu ) , often referred to simply as Stardom (stylized as ST★RDOM ), is a Japanese joshi puroresu or women's professional wrestling promotion based in Nakano, Tokyo , Japan. Stardom

9968-530: The second night of Wrestle Kingdom 15 , Giulia and Syuri defeated Mayu Iwatani and Tam Nakano in an exhibition match. On the same night, MaiHimePoi competed in another exhibition match in a losing effort to Queen's Quest ( AZM , Saya Kamitani and Utami Hayashishita ). On the first night of the Wrestle Grand Slam in MetLife Dome from September 4, Maika teamed up with Lady C in

10080-1017: The spring supports added to U.S. and Japanese rings; as a result, lucha libre does not emphasize the "flat back" bumping style of other professional wrestling styles. For this same reason, aerial maneuvers are almost always performed on opponents outside the ring, allowing the luchador to break his fall with an acrobatic tumble. Lucha libre has several different weight classes, many catered to smaller agile fighters, who often make their debuts in their mid-teens. This system enables dynamic high-flying luchadores such as Rey Mysterio, Jr. , Juventud Guerrera , Super Crazy and Místico , to develop years of experience by their mid-twenties. A number of prominent Japanese wrestlers also started their careers training in Mexican lucha libre before becoming stars in Japan . These include Gran Hamada , Satoru Sayama , Jushin Thunder Liger , and Último Dragón . Lucha libre

10192-766: The story of a family of luchadores called "Los Hermanos Números" who also fought evil. Angel must help the remaining brother, Numero Cinco, defeat the Aztec warrior-demon that killed his four brothers. In the British TV show Justin Lee Collins : The Wrestler , Colins competes as the rudo El Glorioso , or The Glorious One, against the exótico Cassandro in The Roundhouse , London, ultimately losing and being unmasked. The book and television series The Strain by Guillermo del Toro and Chuck Hogan , features

10304-420: The team name Baribari Bombers . In January and March, Sakurai teamed up with Chanyota to compete in the tournament to determine the inaugural New Blood Tag Team Champions . They lost to Karma and Starlight Kid in the semi-finals. At Supreme Fight 2023 on February 4, MaiHime unsuccessfully challenged 7Upp ( Nanae Takahashi and Yuu ) for the Goddesses of Stardom Championship, and Giulia successfully defended

10416-507: The team of Hiroyo Matsumoto & Kellie Skater . In November, Stardom began an interpromotional feud with Sendai Girls' Pro Wrestling during the latter's Korakuen Hall show. The event saw Meiko Satomura , Dash Chisako , Sendai Sachiko , Cassandra Miyagi, Mika Iwata, and Chihiro Hashimoto against Io Shirai, Mayu Iwatani, Kairi Hojo, Momo Watanabe, Hiromi Mimura, and Kris Wolf, in a series of singles matches with gauntlet rules. Three days later, at Stardom's Korakuen Hall show, Mayu Iwatani

10528-403: The term cachascán (from "catch as can") is used and the wrestlers are called cachascanistas . In Bolivia , wrestling Cholitas – female wrestlers dressed up as indigenous Aymara – are popular and have inspired comic books . Some lucha libre wrestlers had careers in various mixed martial arts promotions, promoting lucha libre and wearing signature masks and attire. One of the most famous

10640-503: The titles and winning the money prize. At Dream Queendom on December 29, MaiHimePoi successfully defended the Artist of Stardom Championship against Cosmic Angels (Mina Shirakawa, Unagi Sayaka and Mai Sakurai ), Giulia made her in-ring return and defeated Konami, and in the main event, Syuri defeated Utami Hayashishita to win the World of Stardom Championship . At Stardom's Award show on January 3, 2022, Giulia revealed Thekla from Ice Ribbon and Mirai from Tokyo Joshi Pro-Wrestling as

10752-590: The top luchadores in Mexico at the time. In recent years, several luchadores have found success in the United States. Notable luchadores who achieved success in the U.S. are Eddie Guerrero , Chavo Guerrero , Rey Mysterio, Jr. , Juventud Guerrera , L. A. Park , Super Crazy , Alberto Del Rio , Psicosis , Místico , Kalisto , Aero Star , Drago , Andrade El Idolo , Pentagon Jr. , Fenix , El Hijo del Fantasma , Bandido , Flamita , Puma King , Rush , Soberano Jr. , Dragon Lee , Guerrero Maya Jr. and Stuka Jr. CMLL lucha libre shows are broadcast weekly in

10864-492: The tournament: Crazy Bloom (Giulia and Maika) and Grab The Top (Himeka and Syuri). Crazy Bloom lost to MOMOAZ in the finals of the tournament which took place on November 8. On November 14, at Korakuen New Landscape, the team of Giulia, Syuri and Maika were defeated by Oedo Tai ( Bea Priestley , Natsuko Tora and Saki Kashima ) for the Artist of Stardom Championship, ending their reign at 280 days. At Sendai Cinderella 2020 on November 15, Syuri defeated Bea Priestley to win

10976-420: The true identity of a person losing his mask is previously unknown, it is customary for that person to reveal his real name, hometown and years as a professional upon unmasking. The first lucha de apuestas was presented on July 14, 1940, at Arena México. The defending champion Murciélago (Velázquez) was so much lighter than his challenger ( Octavio Gaona ), he requested a further condition before he would sign

11088-401: The two into the country. Both Shirai and Nosawa denied the charges, claiming that the paintings were gifts from fans. Shirai was released from a detention center on June 12. On June 21, Shirai held a press conference, publicly apologizing to her fans, employers and co-workers, while again denying the charges. On June 28, Japan's public prosecutor's office decided not to prosecute Shirai over

11200-449: The two masked superstars who kept attacking various other wrestlers. All three of them teamed up to defeat Cosmic Angels (Tam Nakano, Unagi Sayaka and Mai Sakurai) in a six-woman tag team match . On January 9, AliKaba (Giulia and Syuri) lost the Goddesses of Stardom Championship to FWC . At Nagoya Supreme Fight on January 29, Thekla defeated Mina Shirakawa to win the vacant SWA World Championship, MaiHime unsuccessfully challenged FWC for

11312-467: The unit were listed as participants in the tournament. Syuri defeated Momo Watanabe in the finals of the event from September 25, to win the trophy. On October 3, Maika, Natsupoi and Himeka teamed up as MaiHimePoi to dethrone Cosmic Angels (Tam Nakano, Mina Shirakawa and Unagi Sayaka ) by taking the Artist of Stardom Championship away from them. At Stardom 10th Anniversary Grand Final Osaka Dream Cinderella on October 9, MaiHimePoi successfully defended

11424-446: The vacant Wonder of Stardom Championship . On October 3, at Yokohama Cinderella 2020 , Natsumi Maki debuted under the name Natsupoi, following her departure from Tokyo Joshi Pro-Wrestling and defeated Death Yama-san as a mystery opponent. She was revealed to have joined the stable as the newest member. Four of the stable members participated in the 2020 Goddesses of Stardom Tag League under two different sub-groups created only for

11536-399: The wrestlers "wager" either their mask or their hair. In a lucha de apuesta (betting match), wrestlers make a public bet on the outcome of the match. The most common forms are the mask-against-mask, hair-against-hair, or mask-against-hair matches. A wrestler who loses his or her mask has to remove the mask after the match. A wrestler who loses their hair is shaved immediately afterward. If

11648-462: Was announced that Stardom's sister promotion New Japan Pro-Wrestling would fully acquire the company on June 28, with Stardom becoming a subsidiary of NJPW. After the acquisition, Stardom no longer operates as Bushiroad Fight, instead being renamed to Stardom Co. Ltd. Domestic: Worldwide : As of November 28, 2024 In Stardom, the Grand Slam consists of all the available titles promoted by

11760-482: Was attended by 5,500 fans, making it Stardom's largest crowd to date in their two-year history. A special movie edition of the event, featuring backstage material, was premiered at a theater in Ichikawa, Chiba and released on DVD on September 28. In 2014, a new monthly television program began airing on Samurai TV during this time called Stardom Cafe . The program was hosted by Yuzuki Aikawa and took place in

11872-488: Was defeated by Meiko Satomura in her challenge for the World of Stardom Championship and Io Shirai successfully defended her Wonder of Stardom Championship against challenger Sendai Sachiko; the two had gone to a time limit draw three days earlier. On February 28, 2016, Stardom launched Stardom World , a worldwide paid video service through YouTube . The service was later moved to its own website. In April, Io Shirai, Kairi Hojo and Mayu Iwatani represented Stardom in

11984-673: Was eventually buried wearing his silver mask. More recently, the masks luchadores wear have become iconic symbols of Mexican culture. Contemporary artists like Francisco Delgado and Xavier Garza incorporate wrestler masks in their paintings. Although masks are a feature of lucha libre, it is a misconception that every Mexican wrestler uses one. There have been several maskless wrestlers who have been successful, particularly Tarzán López , Gory Guerrero , Perro Aguayo and Negro Casas . Formerly masked wrestlers who lost their masks, such as Satánico , Cien Caras , Cibernético and others, have had continued success despite losing their masks. With

12096-498: Was founded in 1933, and Lucha Libre AAA World Wide (AAA). One characteristic practiced in Mexico is with fans honoring wrestlers by throwing money into the wrestling ring after witnessing a high-quality match. With this act fans honor the luchador in a symbolic way, thanking the luchador for a spectacular match demonstrating they are pleased with their performance, showing the match is worth their money and worth more than what they paid to witness such an event. This act of honoring

12208-508: Was founded in September 2010 by former All Japan Women's Pro-Wrestling (AJW) co-producer Rossy Ogawa , retired professional wrestler and mixed martial artist Fuka Kakimoto , and former AJW veteran professional wrestler Nanae Takahashi . Since June 2024, Stardom is a subsidiary of New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW). Stardom quickly became one of the top joshi puroresu promotions, largely thanks to gravure idol Yuzuki Aikawa becoming

12320-443: Was the biggest event in the history of Stardom in its two-year history to that point, taking place April 29 at the historic Ryōgoku Kokugikan venue in Tokyo. It was the first joshi puroresu event held in the venue in six years. The card featured four of Stardom's five titles on the line, various participants from other wrestling promotions, including male wrestlers, and was headlined by the retirement match of Yuzuki Aikawa. The event

12432-567: Was the former president of New Japan Pro-Wrestling from 2016 until 2018. At New Japan Pro-Wrestling 's Wrestle Kingdom 14 on January 4, 2020, Mayu Iwatani and Arisa Hoshiki faced Hana Kimura and Giulia in a tag team dark match , marking the first women's match to take place at a Wrestle Kingdom event. On March 5, the second Fire Pro Wrestling World collaboration was released, with Giulia, Death Yama-san , Konami , Saya Iida , Tam Nakano , Saki Kashima , Bea Priestley , AZM , Natsuko Tora , Sumire Natsu , and Saya Kamitani added to

12544-400: Was unmasked by the legendary Santo . Tag teams are sometimes composed of both rudos and técnicos in what are called parejas increibles (incredible pairings). Parejas increibles highlight the conflict between a luchador ' s desire to win and his contempt for his partner. A staple gimmick present in lucha libre since the 1950s is exótico , a character in drag. It is argued that

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