Arisa Hoshiki Announces Retirement Due To Injuries

By Jason Ounpraseuth

Earlier today, Stardom announced that Wonder of Stardom Champion Arisa Hoshiki has officially retired due to head and neck injuries at the age of 24. Hoshiki last match was back in February in an eight-women tag team match. Stardom gave an official statement on Twitter.

"We are saddened to report that due to neck and head injuries, Arisa Hoshiki has officially retired. The Wonder of Stardom title has been returned to Stardom. We wish Arisa the very best in her future. Thank you for your continued support of Stardom."

Hoshiki was part of the original Stardom roster making her debut in 2011 against Mayu Iwatani and eventually forming a tag team with her. However, she left Stardom in 2012 to pursue other ventures in shoot boxing and in music.

She returned to Stardom in 2018 rising up to become one of the top stars of the promotion. In 2019, she won the Cinderella Tournament and went on to win the Wonder of Stardom Championship for the first time in her career. Her retirement comes months after Hazuki and Kagetsu announced their retirements.

Many other statements were made on Stardom's website and by Hoshiki herself. She made statements on her Twitter where she also changed her bio to retired and she addressed her retirement on YouTube in the video above.

Stardom's English Twitter account relayed Hoshiki's message. She said that she had hoped to make this announcement in front of fans, but shows have been cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. She also addresses her absence on the No People Gate show that she was scheduled to appear at and thanked the fans for their support.

Hoshiki's message read, "Stardom fans, long time no see, thank you for always showing me support. It's Arisa Hoshiki. After asking you to wait, I can now announce it. I was absent from the Korakuen Hall show on March 8 due to head and neck issues. After discussions with doctors, Mr. Harada (President of Bushiroad Fight) and Mr. Ogawa (Rossy Ogawa, Stardom Executive Producer), I have decided that I will retire.

"I've not been well for about a year, but I was able to continue because I enjoyed doing professional wrestling, and my feelings helped keep me going. However, since my physical condition has deteriorated this year and I have accumulated various injuries, I am out of balance mentally and physically, so I can't continue.

"At present, my neck has improved, but my head is still in bad condition. I wanted to return the Wonder of Stardom belt as soon as I got into such a state, but I think that the timing was bad because of the coronavirus and so on. I can't settle in-ring issues with Natsuko Tora, Giulia and Tam Nakano. I wanted to fight against those three guys especially for my White Belt, but I couldn't finish it because of my body, and to all the fans who were looking forward to it, I am sorry.

"In the end, I wanted to tell the fans in the ring, but we have this current world situation. I'm really sorry that the announcement was made while the Stardom shows aren't happening. In the future, I will continue to do work that I love while watching my physical and mental conditions. It was a short time that I came back to wrestling, but I would like to thank you all for your support."

You can view Stardom's tweets below:

damien demento contributed to this article.

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