WWE Superstar Shayna Baszler expressed wanting to work with two top STARDOM talent, Guilia and Utami Hayashishita, in an interview with Tokyo Sports. Baszler competed in Joshi promotion STARDOM from 2015 to 2017 where she faced the likes of current AEW Women’s World Champion Toni Storm, WWE Women’s Champion IYO SKY (Io Shirai), Mayu Iwatani, and Deonna Purrazzo, to name a few. “I’m looking at [competitors] who I think might be my opponents someday. I’m interested in Giulia, and Utami [Hayashishita] uses a technique named after me called Shocking Baisler,” Baszler said. “She has been to the jiu-jitsu and catch wrestling classes I teach, and I taught her that move.”
Videos by ComicBook.com
In the same interview, Baszler noted that Japan holds a special place in her heart, so if and when she is ever to return to wrestle, she’s a much different competitor than she was six years ago. “I think it’s time for me to connect the dots. Japan is the place that recognized me as a professional wrestler, and I think I have a chance to come back as a complete person.”
One of the most dominant women in WWE, after Baszler defeated Ronda Rousey at SummerSlam in Detroit this past summer, she went onto win three straight matches. After suffering a loss to Rhea Ripley in a title match, Baszler entered the women’s fatal five-way at WWE Crown Jewel in Saudi Arabia. She put on a great effort with the likes of Zoey Stark, Nia Jax, Raquel Rodriguez, and Ripley, four equally dominant women in the division. After suffering the most damage, Baszler was ultimately pinned by the champion.
Is a Crossover Between WWE and STARDOM Imminent?
At that same Premium Live Event, Kairi Sane returned to the company after leaving three years ago to compete in Japan, including STARDOM. She has now joined forces with Damage CTRL, reuniting with Sky, her best friend who she shares a tethered history with. STARDOM’s AZM also recently commented on a potential crossover with WWE and New Japan Pro Wrestling/STARDOM. She would love to get “overseas experience” and points to Sane, and Sky, who she has teamed with in Queen’s Quest, a STARDOM wrestling stable. “In the past, when we teamed up, I was so anxious to not embarrass IYO-san, but now I stand confidently both by her side and across her,” AZM stated. “But first, I’m going to win this belt (NJPW STRONG Women’s Title) and show IYO-san just how big I’ve become!” (Transcription and translation by Himanshu Doi).
Whether or not this will lead to some sort of crossover remains to be seen, but under Triple H’s authority, it would seem that there is at least a conscious effort to right the wrongs of how Joshi wrestlers have been treated in western wrestling in the past.
