For the first time in history, New Japan will feature a women’s title as they’ve announced the IWGP Women’s Championship in conjunction with Stardom!
Throughout the company’s history, New Japan Pro Wrestling has established a working agreement with various promotions, ranging from WWE and WCW to IMPACT Wrestling and ROH. However, its relationship with World Wonder Ring STARDOM offers something different for the company as it has historically featured only male wrestling talent.
It’s rare to find a women’s outing penned for a New Japan card but slowly over the past few years, Stardom workers have wowed NJPW fans with one or two encounters every year.
A recent report revealed that Stardom wrestlers would be featured on NJPW of America shows going forward, and at today’s Stardom 2022 Strategy Meeting, the creation of a new IWGP Women’s Championship was announced. A series of tweets on Stardom’s official English-speaking account provided details about the new championship, which is set to be defended all over the world.
The tweets also made it clear that despite having the prestigious IWGP name attached, the new title will not replace Stardom’s top championships.
Just announced in today’s Stardom 2022 Strategy Meeting:
✪ The IWGP Women’s Championship!
★ NJPW and Stardom are creating this title for defenses not only in Japan but also in the US on New Japan Pro Wrestling events, appealing to the world with the rich IWGP history!✪The inaugural IWGP Women’s Champion will be crowned at the NJPW x Stardom joint show on November 20th at the Ariake Arena. Please note, this belt does not usurp the Red and White Belts in any way. They are the main titles for Stardom events.
The IWGP Women’s championship is for NJPW events. It’s possible that it could be defended on big Stardom events though. Stardom’s main title remains the World of Stardom title (the Red Belt) along with the Wonder of Stardom title (the White Belt).
Just announced in today's Stardom 2022 Strategy Meeting:
✪ The IWGP Women's Championship!
★ NJPW and Stardom are creating this title for defenses not only in Japan but also in the US on New Japan Pro Wrestling events, appealing to the world with the rich IWGP history!— We Are Stardom (@we_are_stardom) July 29, 2022
✪The inaugural IWGP Women's Champion will be crowned at the NJPW x Stardom joint show on November 20th at the Ariake Arena.
Please note, this belt does not usurp the Red and White Belts in any way. They are the main titles for Stardom events.
— We Are Stardom (@we_are_stardom) July 29, 2022
The IWGP Women's championship is for NJPW events. It's possible that it could be defended on big Stardom events though.
Stardom's main title remains the World of Stardom title (the Red Belt) along with the Wonder of Stardom title (the White Belt).
— We Are Stardom (@we_are_stardom) July 29, 2022
Bushiroad, New Japan’s parent company, purchased Stardom in 2019, with four of its best performers – Mayu Iwatani, Arisa Hoshiki, Giulia, and the late Hana Kimura – appearing on the following January’s Wrestle Kingdom. Stardom-branded matches have since become a staple of the famed early January supercard.
Together, NJPW and Stardom are also scheduled to host a co-promoted card on November 20th.