The term “dream match” has been overused in pro wrestling for years, but we have a true dream match coming up this Saturday night. A dream match is when the impossible happens, and for Utami Hayashishita — a match that felt impossible in her career is finally happening. At Marigold’s first major pay-per-view Summer Destiny 2024, Hayashishita will step into the ring for the first time in her career against Io Shirai — now WWE’s IYO SKY. It’s not only a dream for wrestling fans, but it’s a dream for Hayashishita.
Waiting for a dream can be difficult. Especially when you enter a business because of someone — who almost immediately walks out the door as you’re getting ready to debut. Timing can just be off, as Hayashishita was training to be a pro wrestler as the run of Io Shirai came to a close — a legendary run at that. Six years ago, on June 17, 2018, IYO SKY left behind STARDOM and Japan to become a WWE superstar. Two months later, on August 12, 2018, Utami Hayashishita made her wrestling debut. The reason that ‘The Red Queen’ became a pro wrestler was because of SKY. She has tried to do everything that SKY has, just better. Win the World of Stardom Championship, be the leader of Queen’s Quest, and work your way to be the best on the planet. And time and time again, Hayashishita has said that this is a match she has never let go of.
Back in 2022, Hayashishita told me as such in an interview on Fightful.com. “When I wanted to become a professional wrestler, I chose STARDOM because I wanted to compete with Io Shirai,” Hayashishita said. “That dream has not changed. My dream match is and always will be Utami Hayashishita vs Io Shirai.”
Not letting go of a dream that feels impossible can be a big ask, but Hayashishita has held onto it for six years — and IYO SKY is aware of how important that is. “It’s better for your dreams not to come true easily because that’s what makes them dreams,” SKY told Hayashishita as she left for the United States in 2018, per Tokyo Sports.
Dreams drive people. It’s part of the reason so many push forward. And when you’re someone to the skill level of Hayashishita, who has done nothing but match SKY’s accomplishments in STARDOM these last six years — you have an extra appreciation for her never letting go.
As we are days away from a Queen’s dream becoming a reality, it’s only right to look at how we got here. Hayashishita isn’t getting this match just because. She’s earned it. Earning the right to stand across the ring from one of the best ever is no easy feat, and it’s only right we appreciate what Utami has done, what IYO has done, and why this match is wrestling’s top dream match of 2024.
Utami Hayashishita: Becoming the New Queen of Joshi
Utami Hayashishita had an opportunity to witness SKY’s last match in Japan before heading to WWE for the next six years. For some, that may just be seeing a match. But with two months to go in her training, it’s apparent that seeing such a match can drive a wrestler. From the start of her career, Hayashishita has so clearly been “the one.” Before she had wrestled for a complete year, she was holding four championships simultaneously. While Hayashishita wasn’t the direct fix in the main event scene and wasn’t the face of STARDOM following the exit of IYO SKY, it didn’t take much to see that she was being positioned for the spot as soon as her career began.
In her debut match, she went to a time-limit draw with Jungle Kyona,and from there, her first seven months were among the best a wrestler could ever see. Hayashishita held the Future of Stardom Championship, EVE International Championship, SWA Undisputed World Women’s Championship, and Goddess of Stardom Championship when her seven-month anniversary rolled around. Oh, and she made the finals of the 2018 5STAR Grand Prix — which was just over a month after her debut. It didn’t take much to realize that Hayashishita was the chosen one — and she was someone who worked up to that position.
When it was time for Hayashishita to get to the top of the promotion at the end of 2020, many believed she still may not be ready as she was just two years into her career. But as the world learned, Hayashishita winning the World of Stardom Championship from Mayu Iwatani was the perfect move to help STARDOM grow even bigger.
She became ‘The Red Queen’ through that reign, having unforgettable matches with Momo Watanabe, Saya Kamitani, Bea Priestley, Hazuki, and Maika. Then there were the matches with Syuri, including the match at Tokyo Dream Cinderella that will go down as one of the greatest matches in pro wrestling history. ‘The Red Queen’ was given the keys and took the world by storm. She was not only STARDOM’s new top star, but she was the closest thing Rossy Ogawa and STARDOM had to Io Shirai since her departure. The scary part about Hayashishita’s World of Stardom Championship reign, however, is that she was far from reaching her peak in ability.
After she was defeated by Syuri at Stardom Dream Queendom 2021, Hayashishita took a backseat from the main event but added to her resume months later. Momo Watanabe turned her back on Queen’s Quest in December 2021, leaving them without a faction leader for the first time. It became obvious that it would be Hayashishita to take over the role, again fitting into the shoes that IYO SKY once wore in her STARDOM career. But as Hayashishita did time and time again, she went out of her way to outdo SKY — even if it wasn’t on purpose.
On May 15, 2022, Hayashishita won an elimination match to officially become the leader of Queen’s Quest. But it was a year later when the group didn’t fully believe in her that she not only had her greatest moment but told arguably the best story in STARDOM history.
With a month of turmoil leading to Saya Kamitani, AZM, and others not believing in Utami Hayashishita as their leader, the group stepped into a Steel Cage at STARDOM SUNSHINE 2023 against OEDo Tai with everything on the line. With the loser of the match having to leave their faction, Hayashishita delivered one of her best performances in another instant classic for STARDOM — making sure all of her stablemates escaped before getting out of the ring herself. It made for a moment at the end of the match when Saya Kamitani chose to stick with Hayashishita as ‘The Red Queen’ climbed out a bloody mess — but a winner and a leader, completing the story and truly showing that Hayashishita was the perfect leader of Queen’s Quest.
Since then, we know how it’s gone. She is now a member of Marigold and is in the role of finally being the true ace of a promotion. Hayashishita is leading by example, winning matches left and right — main eventing the first two Korakuen Hall shows in the company’s history. The win over Nanae Takahashi felt like the first of many “ace moments.” Little did she know that minutes later, she’d receive the biggest challenge of her career. And that brings us to the other half of this match.
IYO SKY: From the World of STARDOM to the Top of the World
If you don’t know why IYO SKY’s return to Japan is such a big deal, I’ll make it very simple. There are few wrestlers, if any, who can call themselves the best of a generation. And while there’s plenty of debate, SKY is comfortably in the conversation as she has reached the mountaintop everywhere she’s been.
The STARDOM success of IYO SKY, then Io Shirai, is well-documented. She still holds the defense record for the World of Stardom Championship, successfully defending the title 14 times in her second run with the championship. She was the face of STARDOM from 2013 until her departure in 2018 — putting on countless classics and racking up any and all accolades with the promotion. In her time with the company, she was a two-time World of Stardom Champion, two-time Wonder of Stardom Champion, six-time Artist of Stardom Champion, SWA Undisputed World Women’s Champion, High-Speed Champion, and won the 2014 5STAR Grand Prix. By the time 2018 came around, she had accomplished everything there was to accomplish — in many ways, two times over. She saw an opportunity in America and took it, signing with WWE and debuting in the second Mae Young Classic.
SKY went to the finals of the tournament, coming up short though at the end when she lost to Toni Storm. From there, it wasn’t all success as IYO had grown so accustomed to in her STARDOM career. She didn’t win gold but continuously came up short. She lost three title challenges for the NXT Women’s Championship against Shayna Baszler, having to find a new way to connect and find the success that she knew she could achieve.
That’s when IYO moved on from her past persona and became the ‘Joshi Judas’ in NXT — which pushed her to the heights that only few could reach. At NXT TakeOver: In Your House 2020, she defeated Charlotte Flair and Rhea Ripley to become the new NXT Women’s Champion. Almost two years to the day she left STARDOM to bet on herself, she was a champion. And she proved in that reign what everyone knew that followed her career before WWE — she’s one of the best in the world.
Over the next 304 days, IYO would reign over NXT and felt like the face of the brand at a time when WWE was dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic. Whether there was no one in the stands or a packed house, she did her thing, and it didn’t matter. Her reign never got out of the Performance Center, but she had title defenses over Rhea Ripley, Candice LeRae, Tegan Nox, Dakota Kai, Mercedes Martinez, and Toni Storm before eventually losing the belt. Her NXT Women’s Championship reign showcased her greatness to a worldwide audience, proving that one day — someday — she’d be able to truly go from the world of STARDOM to the top of the world.
Fast forward to 2022, and after a four-month break from WWE, she’d make her main roster debut at SummerSlam, joining Bayley and Dakota Kai to form DAMAGE CTRL. Making it to the main roster may not be seen as an accomplishment by every fan, but it was another feather in the cap for IYO SKY in her WWE run.
She’d manage to hold the WWE Women’s Tag Team Titles twice alongside Kai, but that wasn’t enough. Not for her fans and certainly not for her. Her main roster identity pieced together the best of her time in STARDOM and the best of her time in NXT — bringing together the Queen’s Quest leading persona and the Joshi Judas into one. It made for the perfect package, a world champion-type package at that. At Money in the Bank 2023, the dream of reaching the top of WWE was put into high gear when she won the Money in the Bank briefcase, essentially guaranteeing she’d be world champion. And then, it happened.
Just one year after she made her main roster debut at SummerSlam, IYO SKY cashed in Money in the Bank briefcase on Bianca Belair to become the WWE Women’s Champion.
As Michael Cole said in the moment, she truly went from the world of STARDOM to the top of the world. She delivered on exactly what she said she would — reaching the pinnacle of WWE as it’s champion. And as if that wasn’t enough, she walked into the biggest WrestleMania ever as the WWE Women’s Champion and put on a show with Bayley — even if it was a losing effort.
The run of IYO SKY in WWE has only established her as a star that’ll be remembered forever worldwide. She reached the highest of highs in her six years away from Japan, and now she makes her return to her home country this Saturday to compete. Pro wrestling is pretty cool like that.
Utami Hayashishita vs. IYO SKY: Queen of Queen
Ryogoku Sumo Hall will play the host to two queens colliding. One that has conquered the world and another that is becoming the best in the world. This match isn’t about wins and losses — IYO SKY is going to win and should. It’s the first match between the two great Queen’s Quest leaders, Hayashishita will have her day — but this is the official start of her Marigold journey as the ace of the company.
Hayashishita has done so much in the first six years of her career. More than IYO did in her first six years. IYO SKY didn’t win her first World of Stardom Championship until after her sixth anniversary. Hayashishita isn’t just ready for this match — her entire career has led to this moment. Win or lose, it’s the match that the whole world truly knows how great she is.
These two are going to have one of the best matches of the year, but it has the potential to be so much more than that.
‘The Red Queen’ vs. ‘The Genius of the Sky.’ A dream match in every single way. The best of the best square off for the first time. For long-time fans of STARDOM, Joshi, Io Shirai, and Utami Hayashishita, this match is everything. As Queen’s Quest’s future looks bleak in STARDOM, the group’s two greatest leaders face off in a match that once felt impossible. This is about legacy. This is about history. And this is about the best of Joshi wrestling. And Utami Hayashishita’s dream finally comes true. It was worth the wait.
Everyone who calls themselves a pro wrestling fan should be tuned in for this match. Welcome to Marigold.
