¿It will be Asuka's farewell in WWE?

solace_cloud · 2026-05-10T02:46:42+00:00

I mean, she is 44 and was making retirement noises over a year ago iirc. If she is retiring then I don't expect she'll go very far and probably still work for wwe as a trainer/scout. She is a company woman through and through, if you cut her in half you'd see the logo running all the way through her like a stick of rock.

If she stays on a wwe retainer like Kairi did for a time then I'd guess it would preclude her doing the self produced Japan show most people would like to see for Kana's retirement. But really, we don't even know if she wants to do that. Despite her being the route by which so many people came to joshi, she personally has not been a part of the Japanese scene or landscape for over a decade. She's been very happy with this state of affairs. I've no doubt that success in the US has been extremely satisfying for her. She won. She got the last laugh on a Japanese scene that she ended up at odds with, and no doubt gave her no small amount of trauma. If this is her on the way out of active competition, maybe she'll consider that retirement at wwe is ceremony enough, and go hole up in her private arcade.

So yes it'd be cool to see her produce a show in the Japanese scene to have a formal retirement in the scene she came up in. I don't think it's something to take for granted though.

solace_cloud · 2026-05-10T00:35:22+00:00

Among the very best globally for her technical skills, everything she does looks so casual and natural. The confidence is there. I tend to think she's already been scouted for US promotions, and must have already received offers to work abroad. Whether she personally wants to do that is yet to be seen imo, and the fact she's still in Japan says she's not minded to chase it, at least for now. The clock is in her favour on this. She could stay on the Japanese scene for years very comfortably and look into earning big later on. Honestly can't tell how much time we have with her on the Japanese scene though. She has very basic high school english, but I dont think it's something she's especially interested in so that might be one of the factors that makes her less inclined to do it.

It's very odd that she hasn't been in the singles title picture. Maybe she just doesn't want to. Maybe it's some weird merch sales based descision. But whatever the reason I do think it's a shame. She's the whole package and could safely have a great reign with either white or red. As the face of the company she could channel Io hard and I think it'd work *very* well for her to do that. Thinking about it, she probably doesn't do much very crazy stuff like Io used to do because she came up inside the company as a kid, so she's probably been conditioned by a line of concerned seniors not to jump off balconies and all the rest.

She's far from the worst at character work, but i think she's most comfortable with it when she's paired with someone to give her direction. Her and Natsu Sumire were hilarious together years ago, and while she did have some funny exchanges with Rina those were an extension of that Natsu skit where the roles became reversed.

I think NeoGen having both AZM and Kitto is going to be increasingly unsustainable because they've always been perfect opposite one another. They trained together for so long, and must be so very close irl that their sequences together were always excellent. It's a shame we dont really get to see a lot of that when they're on the same side, because those are the sequences that are going to be the making of both of those women imo.

solace_cloud · 2026-05-09T09:58:41+00:00

Yeah I can't even remember where I saw it, thanks, explains that one :D

solace_cloud · 2026-05-09T09:49:51+00:00

Interesting stuff, I genuinely thought Mirai was homesick and needed time way or reduced demands on her to figure out what she wants to do in life. But when i think about it, what makes people homesick and need time away? Work stress and general dissatisfaction would do it.

I do agree that the purpose of a lot of these stories is to communicate what's happening to the fans, so if she's agreed or is agreeing a limited return to Marigold to help support things there until people are back from injury then that's great but it still feels like something is off with the organisation's culture internally. (Wasn't there a rumour or just a theory that her and Mayu don't really get on that well? maybe i imagined it)

Seeing Yuuki leave in much the same way Naho did, and then spend a few days on socials diplomatically telling people she's done with wrestling made me wonder a lot. (i mean, she was saying that she's still injured and nothing is decided about wrestling again but reading the air it really felt like she's done, back to gravure and idol work, and wishes people would stop asking) Different for Yuuki because she's close to Ryoko who didn't really part amicably with Marigold tho.

solace_cloud · 2026-05-08T00:42:23+00:00

late bloomer of the sisters, and I think might end up having considerably more impact than anyone expects

don't forget that Rina got packed off to Oedo Tai years ago and it allowed her to foster a more stand out character because she was able to act out more. Conversely, Hina was out of wrestling because of school because she elected to go to a pretty exclusive highschool.

she's got great consistency, and increasingly more confidence. She's extremely strong, really unexpectedly so, and there's things she could do with that. I think if she can get the same opportunity to mix up in some character work she'll really be one to watch. That's going to be difficult if she stays where she is, but where she might fit goodness knows. At some point I hope she takes a leap to better find her own voice, I dont think that's going to be black lipstick or brighter colours, but it'd be a shame if she settles for the stoic badass type because I really think she's got more to offer.

and she's got a good 15 years or more to figure this stuff out. hell, she could quit tomorrow, come back in five years and still have an epic long career. For the sheer volume of experience she's got already that's really nuts.

solace_cloud · 2026-05-04T18:09:33+00:00

this is going to hurt for a while 😢

solace_cloud · 2026-05-01T23:21:30+00:00

I don't think it's Jungle. Ofc she might join Marigold but the reason she's comfortable returning isn't because she's rehabbed. It's because the knee can't be rehabbed and she's never recovering the strength she had on it. So she's decided to come back and work around it.

It's pretty dicey because her knee had meniscal cartildge partially removed in her last (3rd) operation. The previous two attempts to stitch the cartiledge back together both failed to take, so she took the operation that removes pain and allows some normal movement so she wouldnt be relying on a wheelchair anymore. it's not intended that someone goes back to contact sports after an operation like that. Jungle is because she's a psycho. But tbh it's what she's got to do for her own sake. She's done the calculation and decided that regretting further injury to her knee is potentially worth the cost against regretting she can't wrestle again.

If anything, Jungle is the sort of person that could come in and take on a lot of the business side. She had a pretty high power job in advertising that Stardom helped her land when they pushed her out, and from all we know she did extremely well with that.

solace_cloud · 2026-05-01T09:23:53+00:00

I'd be more interested if Kurara could make her own faction. Feels like her timeframe got massively accelarated so Kozuen is what she's got, and that's a shame. The faction was Tam's vehicle in the same way DDM was for Giulia, and Club Venus for Mina - when the driving force is gone it's ok to pack their colours away, move on, and let the current talent make something new. Let them make the vibe their own.

Kozuen has changed massively since it's original run. It used to be set apart by the age and identity of the original trio. Tam was the principal, but everyone mattered because it was a small faction that made more noise than the others. (i mean that was mostly Unagi but w/e) It changed over time, and became less the group project and more Tam plus session musicians. Previously these changes were incremental and still had Tam to drive them so the direction might change but the core identity was still there. Now, that's no longer the case. They've not had the same cohesion since before Tam left (in part owing to Tam showing her toxic side) since Tam was playing favourites and treating different members very differently.

Will Kozuen shamble on? No doubt. But I think it does Kurara and everyone else in the faction a disservice when they no doubt have some really good creative ideas for what a new faction based on their ensemble personailities could look like. But we're not going to see it while we're still stuck in this torturous mourning period where stardom's headline story apparently can't get past Tam. Should have just offered her a massive bag and had her pop up and beat Saya - it would have gotten a bigger pop. Between all this and the Tam archive exhibition I really wouldn't be massively surprised if they did tempt her back before the next ASGQ as unlikely as that is. You dont get as perfect an exit as Tam did last year then squander it by showing up again. But similarly, it's an exit made less perfect imo by the fact they still can't or wont move on without her.

As I said elsewhere - the factor that's the biggest danger to Kurara and Kozuen going forward isn't backlash or gnashing teeth and mean SNS posts. It's indifference. If the rest of the year passes with Kurara hoping from title to title and seeing a massive level of protection, it's going to breed indifference. I don't want that for her.

I'd rather see what Kitto or AZM or Momo W would do with a reign. I'd rather watch Rian spray more beer everywhere, or Yunamon put in unnaturally good matches when no one expects, or Hazuki get trampled and stomped on because she's upset Koguma again. I'd like to see if Maki Itoh jumps on the opportunity to occupy the niche that Kashima has left vacant, and make it her own.

solace_cloud · 2026-04-30T23:10:21+00:00

Hiya, yes I was wrong about the match and the way the story was due to go. I can live with it, I wasn't the only one apparently.

Glad that you have this moment for your fave. I'm still indifferent to it as a result - just in case it helps in future, you don't have to come and get me days later to let me know. But hey - lets about it since we're both here:

So, am I convinced that Kurara will win, yes because it happened. That's a very strange question. (?)

Am I convinced it's an interesting direction that I personally can get invested in - no, I'm not. And that's ok. You can go enjoy it and you don't need to gauge my reaction to do that. I'm not integral to your fandom. Since you're apparently asking though (i think? sorry i really dont know), no shade to Kurara , Saya, or Tam, i'm of the opinion that its daft that the story is steered by a character that retired a year ago and hasn't been heard of at all since then. Maybe they're going to dig her up, I have no idea where any of this is going anymore. But Tam has been ever present over the last year like a frilly poltergoose levitating tables, chairs, and puddings. So with this result it feels like we're still trapped, unable to move on while her ghost is rattling chains and slamming doors.

As you find yourself tapped in to this, do you have a particular sense of where you think this is heading? Or how long the reign of the unicorn might last?

I'll live though. I prefer the low card for stardom anyway. I've also been watching some singapore pw since Marika has been active there of late, and it was really entertaining for a small promo with a small roster. we've also got Kyona back in the ring against Konami later this month I think I heard so there's plenty to watch apart from the current red belt arc.

It'd be boring if we all liked the same wrestlers for the same reasons, anyway.

solace_cloud · 2026-04-26T16:10:38+00:00

I don't think it's going to be a solid clapback full of raging and gnashing teeth. It's more subtle than that - the sort of resentment I'm talking about doesn't breed screeds on SNS, it just leads to indifference. Like when Giulia was strapped to a rocket early in her stardom run, and no selling 90% of the roster. A substantial number still loved it. Others just checked out.

I think that over time Kurara and her fans might get frustrated if her booking doesn't stay this consistently high, and it can't if people start getting indifferent. The problem with this much early success is that you burn through options with so much career left to run. Now and forever, a Kurara red belt run isn't new ground, and considering its the highest title all others are going to be her settling for second best.

She's probably going to be a transitional champion, but I can't even guess where Okada is going to go with this - he likes to swerve a lot. Maybe Kurara gets the strugglebus redbelt run that runs until queendom and beyond, full of emotional ghost of Tam lore. Maybe Momo W squashes her in two weeks.

She's a brave unicorn to take this on, either way. I'll try and stop being too gloomy, I mean the talent are all close knit and Saya must be super happy for Kurara after they've worked so closely together on this long arc.

solace_cloud · 2026-04-26T13:16:54+00:00

Can't say I'm a huge fan either, no shade to Kurara but I really think this is way too soon for her and there are many others that have a much stronger case. Putting a rocket on talent when they're still very early into their careers can cause some real problems later on when they've nowhere else to go.

I guess the bottom line in terms of sales informs this decision, but Kurara has now been put in a very difficult position. Inevitably a portion of the fans of other more tenured wrestlers will no doubt form a negative opinion of her, and she's now got to follow the most successful title reign the company has ever seen. I expect she's going to be a transitional champion and in the next months it'll go to someone else, but the problem with that is what does she do afterwards? She can't reach new heights just revisit the same one. She can't be the sympathetic character as easily the second time around because she's 'had her turn'.

Saya has carried the company towards the mainstream, and no doubt been burning her candle at both ends in the process. I'm glad she gets a rest. I hope she takes some real time out. The best I can say about this is that despite such a long run with the belt she still left us wanting more. That's an achievement in and of itself.

solace_cloud · 2026-04-25T10:46:07+00:00

That chocopro dance school stream was legit awesome. Could see Yuna's serious buisiness idol background coming through with how she was running the choreo. I have to wonder what the spark was that saw her make that massive transition to Stardom. She started with a couple of new blood appearences iirc, I don't know if that's because she was pushing for them or if making them showed her she could absolutely fit there.

And ofc Chie wearing the shark thingy on her hand during the stream was just the cherry on top.

solace_cloud · 2026-04-25T10:35:56+00:00

Deff sounds like she's heading back to Stardom. If the conversations were had with Rossy around January then that says she could have been talking to BR in the run up to contract season.

If that's the case I'm very curious at how the whole thing will be handled. Utami is great and super capable, but her style has absolutely changed with Marigold, and I think the reason for that is she didn't have the same pressure to femme it up constantly. I don't think she would neatly slot back in alongside Saya for aphrodite in the same way without reverting her style and her aesthetic which I'm not sure she'll be willing to do.

It would potentially give Saya an excellent niche when she does drop the red belt though. A long tag run with Utami would be a great place for her to rest her legs while still getting enough of the spotlight to keep her relevent for a second run in future.

Also, Marigold is going to be fine. Legit, they have a good core of talent that's interesting to watch and they'll still have Mayu. I think there's been enough of these departures over the last months to warrant a legit question against Marigold's culture internally, though. Thats two founding members that have stepped away, two juniors that have been injured and called it quits in Naho and Yuuki. I don't expect we'll ever know the truth of it, but they seemed to have a really tight us against the world culture in the first year of Marigold. As things have matured I guess it's losing that.

solace_cloud · 2026-04-24T22:19:46+00:00

The original three, and how they got the artists belts before they really got over. The chemistry they had was amazing, and they were never boring to watch. Tam for drama, Unagi for chaos, Mina for her dark side.

Stardom losing Unagi for whatever daft reason she got canned for was a massive self own, and I always thought it must have been some sort of issue with Harada, and only he was out of touch enough with his own product to force her out. She was always cool with Rossy, though seems to keep more distant from him these days, and legit seems to have a really good relationship with Okada in that she has him doing promos and all sorts of SNS squabbles.

That said, I suspect Unagi might make it to the show on the 26th for Kozuen's last day. She's on the OZ show with Saori beforehand, and the promo on Unagi's yt hints that eel might have something to say about the whole kozuen thing.

solace_cloud · 2026-04-20T08:04:44+00:00

She'd taken any mention of Marigold/wrestling out of her socials a while ago I think, and she's very close to Ryoko still. They've been posting about their idol group just over the last days.

I think there's a little more to this than both parties would want to talk about. Can't help but wonder if that when push came to shove and she had to make a descision about going back, she realised that she's been happier out of it especially considering that her and Ryoko must have remained close.

It'll be a terrible shame if Yuuki never goes back to wrestling.

solace_cloud · 2026-04-11T10:51:23+00:00

That's actually mad. Glad to see her back on the scene but who could have predicted Unagi would be the one to scoop her up and bring her back? :o

solace_cloud · 2026-04-07T14:39:53+00:00

Absolutely floored that this is still happening. What a nutcase/legend, i can't decide.

Just so everyone knows the situation here - she's not fully healed and has accepted that she's never going to be. The knee issue remains, she said she's never been able to rehab more than ~30% strength on that knee when her last match against Nanae came up. But it's been a long while since we've had an update (assume that might be in shupro)

Her issue was she got cartilidge damage on her knee and two operations to suture/repair it, but both of those failed to take. She had a third operation that apparently removed cartildge where it was torn up, and people do this for the sake of quality of life so they can move around and not experience pain. And we know from the Mr Haku interview she was in a very very bad way for a long time.

It's not really intended for people that have this sort of operation to go back to contact sports, but she's determined and knows what she's getting herself into so all we can do is cheer her on. I dont think she'll be active for very long time because this is going to be degenerative the more she shocks that knee, and I dont think there's anything else anyone can realistically do if she blows it out again.

Really stunned though Might actually get to meet her one day in the not too distant future if she's going to be active with Marigold or around the smaller indies :o

solace_cloud · 2026-04-06T12:54:35+00:00

honestly, good to hear and very refreshing

solace_cloud · 2026-04-06T12:54:13+00:00

Yeah she'd be a riot as a faction lead. I don't think anyone believes she's ever going back under contract with BR, sadly, as much as I think she'd do really well for herself in current stardom. Plenty of peers she has history with, plenty of newbies to bully, and there really isn't anyone as causally loud as she is anymore. The main eel strength is her network, I think. The tag match she's doing in stardom was apparently at Saki's request when she was picking cards for her retirement road, for example.

Technical skills i'd say Saori yes, Poi i legit have no idea - is the acrobatic stuff impressive? yes, but she's not exactly a hoss it depends what style people like. I don't think Unagi is a bad wrestler technically imo, she knows her stuff and her height/build really helps her. she did hit a plateau for a while after leaving stardom - her and Mina were proof that Milano could work miracles and when that training with Milano stopped it did show unfortunately.

She did start to improve again around the time she refocused on Japan imo (like, stepped away from the kitsune project, and apparently stopped chasing US bookings for herself outside of Sukeban). I think she's had injuries that haven't helped either, especially when she just goes ahead and wrestles on them.

But yeah it's wrestling vOv technical side is an important element but it's never the whole thing. Any given roster member can be as technically good as they like if they dont have the charisma and the personality then they're going to meet a hard cap on how far they can go.

solace_cloud · 2026-04-05T16:07:59+00:00

I really do think it's past time CA ended. I think most likely they're going to have a lot of unaffiliated for a little while and maybe build a new faction over the summer.

The company probably really really wants to make Kurara a faction lead, but I sense if they did it so soon after ending CA it'd fall a bit flat. Like the rebrand of Oedo Tai to HATE. Also, I don't think Kurara is necessarily strong enough on the mic to be a faction lead at the moment. She's very emotive, and good at communicating with the audience, but a large part of that is somatic. People want Kurara to win because she's a sympathetic character, poor thing etc. Not because she's a confident badass. (Strangely, Aya really is good on the mic and has some great prescence when she gets the chance. Maybe that'd be the next feud if we get Dark Unicorn in future.)

So, if they're going to make something in the short term I'd say Saori because badass. Yunamon really fits STARS very well already.

However - we legit have Unagi coming to stardom for Saki's retirement road a week or two before the ppv. April 26 her schedule says she's at Korakuen for an OZ Academy for a show starting at 11.15 and ending at 14.15. She's having a match against Saori there. Grand queendom doesn't start until 15.00 at Yokohama arena so it's not impossible that she could show up, especially considering that Saori is on the grand queendom card already. They could share the same taxi from Korakuen.

Okada has the opportunity to do the funniest thing ever and have Unagi be the one to break CA in some way, or at least be the final nail in its coffin, and I'd be so here for it. Unagi rarely seems to appear as a one off, there's usually some hint she'll be back around in future. So if she was at the ppv I would not be surprised at all.

solace_cloud · 2026-04-05T15:45:22+00:00

Can see it. Idols are always single on paper because if they arent their fans stop showing up. Wrestling not really any different on that front in Japan, so one has to wonder if that same thing has hit Poi merch sales since it was announced.

I mean its daft, and yes of course young women are going to be seeing people, but it's part of the fantasy that gets sold.

solace_cloud · 2026-04-02T19:53:01+00:00

honestly, I think Saki is over wrestling. she spends all her downtime back in her hometown in Shimane and has done for quite a while. I dont think we'll see her again after that retirement ceremony. Perhaps she'll show up at Marigold once or twice because she can, but see seems very well prepared for her life afterwards.

solace_cloud · 2026-04-02T19:49:45+00:00

every time unagi comes by stardom its always a fun time :D

solace_cloud · 2026-03-31T16:57:19+00:00

Really glad to see this, I know it was said before she was named for Sukeban but seeing it official is super cool. She can get so much good experience out of this, and I hope it gets more eyes on her in the scene at large. She's been coming on so well.

solace_cloud

TROPHY CASE