Mayu Iwatani

[Grimmas]

Makai Club #1 said: "Mayu Iwatani is one of the modern Joshi wrestlers that can really hold a candle to some of the older names. What may hold her back is the lack of powerful or innovative offence that you'd get from an Aja Kong or Manami Toyota but her selling and bumping is at a high level. Her small frame and uncanny ability to get slammed on her neck and survive make her a terrific underdog who can garner crowd sympathy, who can turn that into heat for a big comeback at the end of the match. I'd almost compare her to Rey Mysterio in how perfect she is for that role. You can't imagine her as a heel because she is so rootable. Mayu has had plenty of great matches against a lot of different opponents ranging from Meiko Satomura, Takumi Iroha and the Io Shirai series, of course. Plus Mayu is a really good tag team wrestler as well as being a strong singles wrestler. While they are usually short term teams, Mayu had great success with Io Shirai in Thunder Rock, Arisa Hoshiki and Saki Kashima (who isn't very good). And if being able to make small card trios matches worth watching is your thing, Mayu is the one for that also. "

Matches Recommended: 

Vs Io Shirai - Stardom Year End Climax 2016 22/12/2016
Vs Takumi Iroha 2020 (Both the 08/02/2020 & 18/10/2020 matches) 
Vs Momo Watanabe - Stardom True Fight 23/10/2018

[WingedEagle]

There wasn't enough meat on the bones 5 years ago, but we're now at over a half decade of her being one of the most selfless and willing bumpers in the business regardless of setting.  A top 5 WOTY candidate in 2020 and great matches over the last few years in singles and tag settings with a wide variety of opponents while never simply punching in regardless of her place on the card.  My gut says that earns her a spot on my ballot today but at worst it means she's a top tier bubble candidate in the future.  

Additional recs for those looking to dig deeper:

Io Shirai & Mayu Iwatani vs. Meiko Satomura & Kairi Hojo (Stardom 3/21/2016)

Io Shirai vs. Mayu Iwatani (Stardom 5/15/2016)

Io Shirai & Meiko Satomura vs. Mayu Iwatani & Chihiro Hashimoto (Stardom Io Shirai 10th Anniversary 3/9/2017)

Io Shirai vs. Mayu Iwatani (Stardom 6/21/2017)

Mayu Iwatani vs. Utami Hayashishita (5 Star Grand Prix Finals, Stardom 5 Star Grand Prix 9/24/2018)

Mayu Iwatani vs. Momo Watanabe (Stardom 9/22/2019)

Mayu Iwatani vs. Kagetsu (Stardom 12/24/2019)

Mayu Iwatani vs. Momo Watanabe (Stardom 1/19/2020)

Mayu Iwatani vs. Yoshiko (Stardom 3/3/2021)

 

[Kadaveri]

[Grimmas]

A lot of good points above, but I just wanted to add that Mayu is almost a lock for my list somewhere. She's an important part of my fandom, being (along with Hojo) a lynchpin for getting me into modern joshi. Being one of the best babyface workers of the last few decades is something I really appreciate. She's immediately someone you want to root for, no matter the situation.

She has the matches, yes, that too. Her offensive can be damn impressive and her selling is unreal. Just watch her and you'll love her.

[DylanZero]

I'm not certain there's a single person in Joshi who has been better over the last 5 years which is incredible as when she first arrived I remember watching those early shows and thinking she was the worst of the Stardom talent and nowhere near the ones I admired in terms of talent in Hoshiki & Yoshiko. To see her grow into being one of the best overall performers whether in wrestling or in real life is heartwarming. I would say her turning point was around 2015 where things really really clicked, I remember seeing her Gold May title challenge vs. Kairi and being like "Whoa wait a minute." on her and she eventually became to me the best of the Daughters of Stardom outright which I wouldn't have expected. But she rocks, love her ability to make everyone look better, the insanity and reckless abandon she wrestles with, her offensive moveset, her look, everything about her is awesome to me. If she's still going strong by 2026 I think she definitely will be there and a heavy contender for my list.

[CurtainJerker]

She may be itching for retirement to start a family one in a couple of years, so we may not have much left to see, but she has been my favorite Stardom wrestler since Io left, and was already top notch in 2015.

I really can't say enough about her in-ring work and quirky character, or recommend any new matches- just find whatever you can and watch her.

Was a Jeff Hardy-wanna be in the early 2010s but morphed into someone who would be in the 1990s joshi elite class.

Was disappointed the spotlight shifted away from her with Giulia + Utami's pushes.

Wish she would have a nice AEW run; she'd go over bigger in the states now than her ROH appearances.