Mayu Iwatani: When I Heard About Saki Kashima Retiring, I Began To Wonder If It’s Time For Me To Retire Too
Iwatani ponders her future.
At World Wonder Ring STARDOM’s January 10th show, Saki Kashima abruptly made the announcement that she is planning to retire from in-ring competition and her final match will be at All Star Grand Queendom on April 26th, 2026.
Her announcement was weighed in on by her former colleague and current Dream Star Fighting Marigold talent, Mayu Iwatani. Iwatani was interviewed by Sports Graphic Number and shared that hearing the news about Kashima made her wonder if it was time for her to step away from the ring.
“I was shocked. It just naturally came up in the news, right? I saw the headline, and she said it so casually. I thought, ‘Ah, this time has come…’ They keep leaving from the top, right? Is it my turn soon? I wonder…
We’re almost the same age. Thinking about that makes me wonder if it’s time for me to retire too… Sometimes retirement crosses my mind. But I said the same thing ten years ago, and I’m still doing it now, so maybe I’ll still be doing it 10 or 20 years from now.”
Kashima has been wrestling for STARDOM since 2018. She’s held multiple titles in the promotion and is 32 years of age.
Coming up for Iwatani is her 15th Anniversary Show that Marigold is hosting on January 24th. She’ll be defending the GHC Women’s Championship against Utami Hayashishita.
