IYO SKY was shocked to have her first match back in Japan not being with the WWE.
The WWE star was recently announced to appear for the new Marigold promotion in Japan. She is booked for a match against Utami Hayashishita later this month. They will clash at Summer Destiny on July 13th at the Ryogoku Kokugikan.
IYO SKY spoke with Tokyo Sports (H/T to POSTWrestling) about wrestling for Marigold in Japan. She revealed that it came as a shock to her. This was because she thought her first return to Japan would be with the WWE.
The former Women’s Champion also revealed that Rossy Ogawa offered her the chance to wrestle for the promotion at WrestleMania 40. This is where she dropped her championship to Bayley, in one of the biggest matches of her career.
“I thought that the first matches I’d have in Japan would be for WWE shows in Japan, so I didn’t think that a non-WWE show would be my first triumphant return to Japan after coming to the United States. I also didn’t think that I’d appear in any shows other than WWE while I was affiliated with WWE, so I was pretty surprised. It was a combination of fate and timing.”
“I guess my biggest impression is that it’s a group created by Ogawa-san (she said about Marigold). That’s all there is to it. Mr. Ogawa was at WrestleMania, and at that time, he told me that he wanted to make me an offer because we would be fighting in Ryōgoku.”
IYO SKY On The Dream Match Against Utami Hayashishita
IYO SKY continued. She said that she is glad she didn’t wrestle Hayashishita during her time in Stardom, as is it will be even better after what both women achieved through hard work in their careers.
“I don’t hear many people say they want to be a pro wrestler because they admire me. When I was at STARDOM, there were quite a few girls who said, ‘I want to be like Mayu Iwatani.’ I think there were also a lot of girls who were like Kairi (Sane)… “
“I came to the U.S. before she (Utami Hayashishita) debuted. So we completely missed each other… I remember hearing that she wanted to have a match before going to the U.S. because she admired me… I remember me replying, ‘Dreams are better when they don’t come true easily.’”
“(SKY was asked why she said that quote) I think that things you achieve through hard work stick in your mind. If I had stayed in STARDOM at that time, that opportunity might have presented itself right away. But I think that if you achieve it too easily, you might burn out. I have been running for 17 years because I had the dream of becoming number one in the world and WWE, and I was determined to put down roots in the U.S. and do my best. Those words were meant to put pressure on me as I moved to America.”
