Mayu Iwatani Says Saki Kashima’s Retirement Made Her Wonder If It’s Time For Her To Do So

Mayu Iwatani says that the news that Saki Kashima is retiring made her question whether her time is coming soon as well. Kashima announced at STARDOM’s January 10th show that she will retire from the ring after All Star Grand Queendom on April 26th. The announcement was greeted with shock by Iwatani, who told Sports Graphic Number that the surprise announcement made her wonder if she will decide to retire too.

“I was shocked,” Iwatani said. “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…”

She continued, “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.”

Iwatani is set to compete at her 15th Anniversary Show on January 24th with Marigold as she defends the GHC Women’s Championship against Utami Hayashishita. She most recently competed at Pro Wrestling NOAH at Monday Magic Rising Sun Season #1 on January 19th.