Sadly, the Wonder of Stardom Champion, Arisa Hoshiki, announced her retirement from professional wrestling on Tuesday morning.
The 24-year-old Japanese wrestler has apparently been struggling with head and neck injuries, which will put a halt to her promising career. As a result, Hoshiki has vacated the Wonder of Stardom Championship.
The former champion released the following statement:
Stardom fans,
Long time no see, thank you for always showing me support. It’s Arisa Hoshiki.
After asking you to wait, I can now announce it.
I was absent from Korakuen Hall on March 8th due to head and neck issues. After discussions with doctors, Mr. Harada [President of Bushiroad Fight] and Mr. Ogawa [Rossy Ogawa/Stardom Executive Producer], I have decided that I will retire.
I’ve not been well for about a year, but I was able to continue because I enjoyed doing professional wrestling and my feeling helped me keep going.
However, since my physical condition has deteriorated this year and I have accumulated various injuries, I am out of balance mentally and physically, so I can’t continue.
At present, my neck has improved, but my head is still is in bad condition.
I wanted to return the Wonder of Stardom belt as soon as I got into such a state, but I think that the timing was bad because of the coronavirus and so on.
I can’t settle in-ring with Natsuko Tora, Giulia, and Tan Nakano. It wanted to fight against these three guys for my White Belt, but I couldn’t finish it because of my body, and to all the fans who were looking forward to it, I’m sorry.
In the end, I want to tell the fans in the ring, but we have this current world situation. I’m really sorry that the announcement was made while the Stardom shows aren’t happening.
In the future, I will continue to do work that I love, while watching my physical and mental conditions.
It was a short time that I came back to wrestling, but I would like to thank you all for your support.
Arisa Hoshiki
Hoshiki made her debut for STARDOM on January 23, 2011. After a brief stint, she left the company and wrestling in May of 2012.
Towards the end of 2018, she returned and went on to become the 2019 Cinderella Tournament winner. Last summer, she challenged and defeated Momo Watanabe for the Wonder of Stardom Championship.
After her first singles title win, Hoshiki held the title for 370 days, the third-longest consecutive reign with the “white belt.” This year, she was set to defend it against the 2020 Cinderella Tournament winner, Giulia.
In January, she and Hoshiki made history as two of the first women to compete on a Wrestle Kingdom card.
We here at Bell to Belles would like to wish Arisa Hoshiki the best of luck in retirement. Hopefully, we this isn’t the last we will see of her.
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