2023 has been a weird year for STARDOM as a whole. With multiple major injuries, weird booking decisions, a horrible schedule, bad management, and rumors of talent leaving, but with all the dark clouds above the promotion, there is a little bit of sunshine coming out between them and that is the rivalry between Suzu Suzuki and Maika.
At STARDOM’s annual big show “Dream Queendom” on December 29th they will write another chapter in their story when the 5STAR Winner Suzu Suzuki and Maika will collide one more time with the vacant World of Stardom Championship on the line, but this match is for far more than just the biggest prize in Women’s Wrestling. It’s about overcoming failure, fulfilling destiny, and pathing the way for STARDOM to a great 2024.
The paths of Suzu Suzuki and Maika have been connected since Suzuki’s debut in STARDOM. When Suzuki appeared for the first time at Stardom’s “Nagoya Supreme Fight” show in January 2022 together with Prominence, the death match group around Risa Sera and Suzu started their feud with Donna del Mondo that includes Leader Giulia and Maika. They clashed for the first time at Stardom’s “World Climax: The Best” show in March 2022, which was Suzuki’s first match in the promotion. Suzu picked up the victory for her team by pinning Maika’s stablemate Thekla.
Quickly the Prodigy was called a future World Of Stardom Champion, and it didn’t take long when success followed her in STARDOM. In the 2022 edition of the 5STAR, Suzu finished with 15 Points and reached a draw against her rival Giulia on the final night. Just a win more and she would have advanced to the final on her first try. Suzu went on to win the Artist Of Stardom Championship at the end of 2022 and started the new year with her first World Of Stardom Championship match against Giulia, which she lost in a hard-fought battle, but once again showed why she is called a future Red Belt Champion and she knows that she needs to achieve that to fulfill her potential. It is Suzu’s destiny to reach the top of the world as she has been called the “Violent Prodigy” for years for a reason, she is topping every list of potential World Champions.
While having a ton of pressure, Suzuki knows how to deal with it. Not many have as much confidence in their quality as Suzuki has, it could be her downfall, but it was always her key to success regardless of where she went. Suzu wants to be the face of Women’s Wrestling, but for that, she needs to win the World Of Stardom Championship, and she knows that. She is mentally prepared for it and doesn’t back down from challenges or anyone. She is coming to take what should be hers – the World Of Stardom Championship.
In May 2023, Suzu officially signed a full-time deal with STARDOM, and it didn’t take long for her to prove that she doesn’t back down from anyone and causes chaos by calling out Syuri, Tam Nakano, Giulia, and Mayu Iwatani. She declared the Generation Struggle, where she and the Golden Generation, which includes MIRAI, Saya Kamitani, Utami Hayashishita, and Maika, feuded with the older generation over two months as a build-up for the 5STAR Grand Prix. The first match ended in a time-limit draw, which is why an Elimination Match was announced, where it came down to Maika and Giulia. The latter came out as the winner by rolling up the Empress. Suzuki blames Maika for the loss, and she calls her a loser. Pointing out that the Empress was the one who let down the entire Golden Generation. She was the only one getting pinned and lost the match for her team. Maika knew that deep in her heart, that Suzu was correct and wanted to prove Suzu, the fans, and herself wrong by winning the 5STAR Grand Prix.
With that, Maika was quickly called a favorite to win her block and she delivered. With an impressive win-loss record of 5 wins, 2 losses, and 2 draws, she advanced to the final of the biggest tournament in Women’s Wrestling. She defeated former World Of Stardom Champion Utami Hayashishita and current Wonder Of Stardom Champion MIRAI on the road to the final. The Empress was never so close to winning an important singles accomplishment in STARDOM than here, but her final task was beating the woman who called her a loser – Suzu Suzuki, as the two promised they meet each other in the final to decide who would get to face the World of Stardom Champion. They had a dramatic and fantastic match, with both having huge chances to win, but only one could and that was Suzu Suzuki, who crowned herself the 5STAR Grand Prix winner at the age of 21.
While Suzuki was celebrating, Maika was crying while walking backstage. She was once again not able to win when it mattered the most, and once again she was left on the side while a Golden Generation Member took the spotlight away from her. First Utami, then Kamitani, and now Suzuki. But on top, she proved Suzuki right, she may be the loser. After her loss, Maika thought about quitting Pro Wrestling but decided not to because she had something to prove. That she isn’t the loser everyone labels her to be, but that thought wasn’t always in the head of many fans.
When Maika debuted in 2019 in JUST TAP OUT, she was quickly seen as a top prospect who would shine in any promotion and win Championship gold, but the reality is different. The “Empress” jumped to STARDOM at the beginning of 2020 and officially signed in the Summer of that year and it didn’t take long for her to win the Future & Artist Of Stardom Championship. Her ceiling is high, getting called a future World Of Stardom Champion as someone who is leading STARDOM in a few years, but that view changed.
Three years later, Maika has lost three World Of Stardom Championship matches, one Wonder Of Stardom Championship match, and the recent shortcoming in this year’s 5STAR Grand Prix Final against Suzu Suzuki. Maika’s career is full of failures since arriving in STARDOM, but from every loss Maika grew and became stronger, but never strong enough.
But 2023 seems to be the turnaround in the career of Maika. It has been the most eventful year of the Empress’s career. It kicked off with the sad retirement of Maika’s long-term Tag Team Partner and best friend Himeka, who had been Maika’s hold after each of her big losses. The two had an emotional, but physical match at STARDOM’s “All Star Grand Queendom” that ended with a crying Maika ending the career of the “Jumbo Princess” with the Michinoku Driver II”. The retirement of Himeka was the start of a change in the singles career of Maika. She developed a more aggressive style by including punches to the face in her arsenal that is just there to achieve her goal: Being on the top of STARDOM as Champion.
After the big loss in the 5STAR final, the singles run of Maika in 2023 seemed to end disappointingly, but after Tam Nakano’s injury and the World Of Stardom Championship getting vacated, a spot opened for Maika to still achieve her goal of becoming the Red Belt Champion. The Empress punched her ticket to the Sumo Hall main event after defeating Ami Sohrei and Momo Watanabe on the same night in Korakuen Hall. Only one Wrestler stands in front of her and the World Of Stardom Championship, and it’s once again Suzu Suzuki, the Wrestler who took all hope away from her at the 5STAR Final, the one Wrestler Maika hates, the one Wrestler Maika is jealous of. The Crimson Empress has one more chance to beat Suzu and reach the top of STARDOM to prove everyone who ever doubted her wrong, by winning when it matters the most.
Will the Destiny of Suzu Suzuki come true or is the era of the Empress starting?
Suzu Suzuki celebrates major accomplishments wherever she goes. From being the ICExInfinity Champion in Ice Ribbon at the age of 18 to winning the Regina di WAVE Championship last year on her first try to winning the 5STAR Grand Prix this year in just her second try. Wherever she went, success followed. She’s the “Violent Prodigy” for a reason with her hunger for winning Championship gold and being on the top of every promotion she is wrestling in. It doesn’t matter who her opponent is, it doesn’t matter where she challenges, she wants to win more than anyone else, so it’s no shocker when she signed with STARDOM in May that it wouldn’t take long for her to be in big contention to win World Of Stardom Championship, and on December 29th it seems to be her time.
But Maika will have something against it and wants to start the era of the Empress that she has promised fans for a long time now. She will have the energy of the crowd behind her and the motivation, but also much more pressure. Maika needs to overcome her doubts, anger, and jealousy and show the world that she can be a Champion by crowning herself the World Of Stardom Champion.
Coming into the match, Maika is on fire. She has all the fan support, she has the momentum, and in a perfect world, she walks away with the Championship, but she hasn’t been able to get past Suzu Suzuki yet. She is blinded by her jealousy and anger, and at Dream Queendom, she needs to put that all aside to even have a chance against Suzuki, but even if she does, the question still will be, can she defeat Suzu’s hunger to win? Can she stop Suzuki’s destiny? The mental aspect will decide the fade of the Empress and the Prodigy on December 29th, when the next chapter of their rivalry is written and a new World of Stardom Champion will be crowned.
