Inaugural IWGP Women's Championship Match Set For NJPW Historic X-Over
Two months after the initial announcement of the IWGP Women's Championship Tournament, a final match is set for November 20 at NJPW x Stardom Historic X-Over. The tournament's climax will see two of Stardom's most legendary competitors vie for the right to be the inaugural IWGP Women's Champion when Mayu Iwatani battles KAIRI at the crossover event (via Twitter).
While the tournament to crown the first-ever IWGP Women's Champion only featured seven competitors, it was a grueling tournament that began at Royal Quest II on October 2. Former Mae Young Classic participant Alpha Female –- AKA Jazzy Gabert –- defeated Ava White to earn the right to face KAIRI in a semi-final match of the tournament in Tokyo, Japan.
Meanwhile, in Japan, the domestic side of the tournament got underway on October 22, when the first-round matches took place. Former World of Stardom Champion Utami Hayashishita was the first to qualify for the semi-finals in Japan, defeating Donna Del Mondo member Himeka to advance. Then, Mayu Iwatani defeated her long-time rival Momo Watanabe to secure the final spot in the semi-finals of the tournament.
The Daughters of Stardom
Just one night following the first round of competition in Japan, the semi-final matches of the IWGP Women's Championship Tournament took place inside Arena Tachikawa Tachihi. KAIRI met Alpha Female inside the ring for the first time in six years and claimed her first-ever singles win over the giant with the Insane Elbow.
Then, in the main event of the show, Mayu Iwatani triumphed over Utami Hayashishita, the woman who ended "The Icon's" World Championship reign back in 2020. The match concluded with Mayu hitting two moonsaults on the tournament favorite, making her and KAIRI the two finalists of the tournament.
KAIRI vs. Iwatani has to be one of the biggest matches in Stardom history, with both women being two of the most popular competitors to ever grace the company. Alongside Io Shirai, KAIRI and Mayu were dubbed the "Three Daughters of Stardom" or Threedom, and their supremacy within the company throughout the 2010s cannot be understated (per Cageside Seats). While Shirai is currently enjoying a reign as one-half of the WWE Women's Tag Team Champions, her two contemporaries will be the ones to lead both Stardom and New Japan Pro Wrestling into a new era at Historic X-Over.