Mina Shirakawa took the wrestling world by storm this previous yr. Past her work in her residence promotion of STARDOM, she has additionally gained worldwide recognition upon her wrestling excursions in the US and United Kingdom all through 2024.
She competed towards former AEW Girls’s World Champion “Timeless” Toni Storm for the title at AEW and NJPW‘s co-promoted Forbidden Door II occasion this previous June, and he or she has appeared on AEW tv on a number of events following this marquee match. Mina Shirakawa additionally made waves within the U.Okay. wrestling scene by defeating Dani Luna at RevPro’s 12-Yr Anniversary present to turn out to be the brand new Undisputed British Girls’s Champion. Her well-rounded expertise in world competitors then earned her the Quantity 16 spot on this yr’s PWI Girls’s 250 record.
Mina Shirakawa spoke with Troy Gonzales of WrestleZone following her match at NJPW Royal Quest IV to debate her rating on this yr’s PWI Girls’s 250, her U.Okay. wrestling excursions, and her former Rose Gold tag associate Mariah Could‘s new demeanor as champion.
Mina Shirakawa on being acknowledged for the PWI Girls’s 250
Troy Gonzales: What was your preliminary response whenever you noticed that you simply had been ranked as one of many prime wrestlers on the planet?
Mina Shirakawa: “I’ve been touring around the globe this yr, nearly by no means staying at residence. I used to be very completely satisfied to see one of many outcomes of that. However subsequent yr I need to be within the High 10. And sometime I hope to be No. 1!”
Your fellow EXV member, Maika, ranked 4th. What does it imply to you that PWI acknowledged you and your fellow STARDOM wrestlers as among the greatest athletes of 2024?
“She [Maika] has been nice in Japan for a very long time, and he or she made it to 4th place. I feel it’s superior. It implies that STARDOM’s athleticism and occasions are appreciated by folks all around the world, past the ocean. I imagine that the wrestling expertise of the wrestlers of STARDOM are wonderful. It makes me completely satisfied to know that what we’re doing is being seen.”
Mina Shirakawa discusses wrestling within the U.Okay. and potential title challengers
You and Kanji teamed up towards AZM and Dani Luna for New Japan Professional-Wrestling at Royal Quest IV in London. What had been your first impressions of Kanji as a wrestler?
“Her kicks had been sharp and on level. I used to be actually trying ahead to teaming together with her and making an attempt some tandem kick combos collectively. I additionally assume she is a personality that new followers will love. I’ve seen a few of her matches, and he or she’s undoubtedly a wrestler that makes me need to cheer her on.”
You might be RevPro’s Undisputed British Girls’s Champion. Are there any ladies’s wrestlers within the U.Okay. who you wish to defend your title towards?
“Rhio [and] Alex Windsor have every appealed to me to get right into a title combat over there. So, I wish to make it occur. I like individuals who come to me with gusto. Then there may be Millie McKenzie, who I’ve been curious about since she was wrestling in Japan. And NightShade, she and I’ve one win and one loss. The final time we fought was after I was a member of Tokyo Joshi Professional-Wrestling. A few years have handed since then, and I wish to have one other match with us having grown up.”
Mina Shirakawa on working with AEW expertise
You’ve labored with “Timeless” Toni Storm in STARDOM and AEW. How was it working together with her each as a tag group associate and as an opponent?
“The character of ‘Timeless’ Toni Storm is ideal. Character is essential for knowledgeable wrestler, and he or she’s certainly one of my favourite wrestlers and superb for our sport. Once I fought towards her, I used to be cautious to not get sucked in too far into her world. As tag-team companions, we labored so nicely collectively that I couldn’t imagine it was our first time working collectively! It was numerous enjoyable!”
As a STARDOM wrestler, what has your expertise been like working with AEW thus far?
“There are a lot of issues that make AEW wrestling completely different from Stardom wrestling. The best way we assault is completely different, the factors at which followers get excited a couple of match are completely different, and the way in which the storyline develops right into a title match is completely different. I combined the AEW fashion of wrestling with my very own wrestling. That fashion has turn out to be my very own persona as a result of I don’t share it with the opposite fighters in Stardom in a great way.”
Mina Shirakawa believes she will be able to deliver again the “outdated” Mariah Could
Your former tag group associate Mariah Could is the AEW Girls’s World Champion, however she is a totally completely different individual from her STARDOM days! Do you intend to return to AEW and work with Mariah?
“I used to be actually completely satisfied when Mariah grew to become the AEW Girls’s World Champion. As a former associate of Mariah’s, I used to be so proud to see how her laborious work in Japan led her to rising to the highest so quickly after arriving in AEW. However the glowing, fungoing Mariah is gone.
“I imagine I’m the one one who can deliver Mariah again. I need the outdated Mariah again. And I need the 2 of us to group up once more and turn out to be the strongest ladies’s tag group in AEW. I can’t wait to return to see Mariah.”
Mina Shirakawa on her plans for the brand new yr
2024 was an excellent yr for you. What do you hope to perform in your wrestling profession in 2025?
“I’ve gained Japanese belts and the British belt, however not but an American belt. In 2025, I need to be a champion in the US.”
WrestleZone wish to thank Mina Shirakawa and STARDOM for his or her time and assist in organizing this interview.
