KAIRI Had A Sprained Foot Before NJPW x STARDOM Historic X-Over

In an interview with NJPW1972.com, KAIRI revealed that she sprained her foot prior to her match at NJPW x STARDOM Historic X-Over. She became the first IWGP women’s champion at the event, defeating Mayu Iwatani. However, the night before she wrestled at STARDOM Gold Rush. There, she had a 30-minute draw with Wonder of STARDOM Champion Saya Kamitani. Here are highlights:

On working the shows with a sprained foot: “I thought I was fully prepared for the two nights, mentally and physically. But then as I was training right before Osaka, I sprained my foot. My ankle was swollen up really badly, and the doctor told me not to wrestle. I got through the Osaka match which really helped me from a mental standpoint, but with Mayu the next day I was definitely worried.”

On her history with Mayu Iwatani: “Back in the day, Mayu, Io Shirai and myself were called the Three Daughters of STARDOM. Things were tough then, to the point that we had so few wrestlers, it was a given that you’d wrestle twice on the same card. We were absolutely at rock bottom. After I left in 2017, I think Mayu had it in her head that she wanted to stand by STARDOM. I get that, and that’s where those words come from, but it only helped to fire me up. This is a fight, and the more stubborn minded we both were the better that fight would be. It was a long match (25 minutes, 28 seconds) but it felt in the moment like three, that was how invested I felt. We both had a lot of pressure on us, but I think that turned into a plus.”

On how Tam Nakano is different from WWE styled wrestlers: “WWE matches are usually built around a more limited number of moves, since the goal is to bring your opponent down while bringing the TV audience in. I think this is really going to be about who dictates the pace, and Tam is good about doing that as well. But I think her biggest weapon is passion.”