Saya Iida

Saya Iida (飯田沙耶, Iida Saya) (born May 19, 1997)^[1] is a Japanese professional wrestler currently signed to World Wonder Ring Stardom promotion.^[1] She is a former one-time Future of Stardom Champion.^[3]

Saya Iida
Iida in March 2022
Born	(1997-05-19) May 19, 1997 (age 26)^[1] Kashiwa, Chiba, Japan^[1]
Professional wrestling career
Ring name(s)	Saya Iida^[1] Super Strong Stardom Machine
Billed height	1.44 m (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in)^[1]
Billed weight	54 kg (119 lb)^[1]
Billed from	Kashiwa, Chiba, Japan^[1]
Trained by	Kagetsu^[2]
Debut	January 14, 2019^[1]

Professional wrestling career

World Wonder Ring Stardom (2019–present)

Iida made her debut at World Wonder Ring Stardom on January 14, 2019, at Stardom's 8th anniversary show where she faced Natsuko Tora in a losing effort.^[4] After the match, Iida joined "J.A.N." (Jungle Assault Nation), a unit consists of Jungle Kyona, Kaori Yoneyama and Tora.^[4] On March 10, Iida received her first title match when she challenged Utami Hayashishita for the Future of Stardom Championship, but was unsuccessful.^[5] On April 14, during the annual draft, Kyona lost to a five-way against four other faction leaders where the loser of the match must disband their own unit, therefore, J.A.N. was forced to disband.^[6] Mayu Iwatani, the leader of "Stars", chose Iida to join her unit.^[6]

On February 24, 2020, Iida faced her trained and former World of Stardom Champion Kagetsu in a losing effort during Kagetsu's retirement show, which took place outside of Stardom.^[7] On July 17, Iida faced Maika and Saya Kamitani in a three-way match for the vacant Future of Stardom Championship, which was won by Maika.^[8] On November 15, Iida challenged Maika for the Future of Stardom Championship, but was unsuccessful.^[9] After the match, Iida indicated she wanted one more match for the title, thus continuing her rivalry with Maika.^[9] On December 20, Iida defeated Maika to win the Future of Stardom Championship in a three-way, which also involved Kamitani.^[3]

On January 17, 2021, on Stardom's 10th anniversary show, Iida had her first successful title defense, when she defeated Unagi Sayaka to retain the Future of Stardom Championship.^[10] On May 10, The championship was vacated after Iida suffered a torn ACL and LCL injuries.^[11][12]

After a ten-month injury hiatus, Iida returned at Stardom New Blood 1 on March 11, 2022, where she teamed up with Hanan to defeat JTO's Tomoka Inaba and Aoi.^[13] On the first night of the Stardom World Climax 2022 from March 26, Iida unsuccessfully faced Mirai.^[14] On the second night from March 27, she competed in a 18-women Cinderella Rumble match won by Mei Suruga.^[15] At Stardom Cinderella Tournament 2022, Iida made it to the quarterfinals where she got defeated by Koguma.^[16] At Stardom Golden Week Fight Tour on May 5, 2022, she teamed up with stablemates Hanan and Momo Kohgo and defeated Oedo Tai (Saki Kashima, Ruaka and Rina).^[17]

Championships and accomplishments

• World Wonder Ring Stardom
  • Future of Stardom Championship (1 time)^[3]
  • Nagoya Rumble (2023)^[18]
  • Stardom Rambo (2022) shared with Super Strong Stardom Giant Machine^[19]
  • Stardom Year-End Award (1 time)
    • Best Unit Award (2022) as part of Stars, shared with Hanan, Hazuki, Koguma, Mayu Iwatani and Momo Kohgo^[20]

References

1. "飯田沙耶". World Wonder Ring Stardom (in Japanese).
2. Murray, Dylan (February 4, 2020). "Closing The Kagetsu Story". Deadlock. Retrieved December 29, 2020.
3. Richards, Alex (December 20, 2020). "Stardom Osaka Dream Cinderella News Roundup (12/20/20)". Last Word on Pro Wrestling. Retrieved December 20, 2020.
4. Richards, Alex (February 2, 2019). "Stardom 8th Year Anniversary Review". Voices of Wrestling. Retrieved December 29, 2020.
5. 2019年3月10日 Grow up Stars 2019. World Wonder Ring Stardom (in Japanese). March 10, 2019. Retrieved December 29, 2020.
6. 2019年4月14日 ドラフト会議2019. World Wonder Ring Stardom (in Japanese). April 14, 2019. Retrieved December 29, 2020.
7. Wilson, Kevin (March 7, 2020). "Kagetsu Retirement Show ~ Many Face on 2/24/20 Review". Joshi City. Retrieved December 29, 2020.
8. Lindsey, Philip (July 17, 2020). "Stardom crowns a new Future of Stardom Champion". Bell To Belles. Retrieved October 7, 2020.
9. Richards, Alex (November 23, 2020). "Stardom Sendai Cinderella (November 15) Results & Review". Voices of Wrestling. Retrieved December 29, 2020.
10. Richards, Alex (January 26, 2021). "Stardom 10th Anniversary (January 17) Results & Review". Voices of Wrestling. Retrieved January 31, 2021.
11. Richards, Alex (May 11, 2021). "Preview: Stardom – Cinderella Tournament Round 2 (5/14/21)". lastwordonsports.com. Retrieved May 15, 2021.
12. Richards, Alex (April 7, 2021). "Saya Iida Out With Reported Torn ACL & LCL Injuries". lastwordonsports.com. Retrieved May 20, 2021.
13. Richards, Alex (March 11, 2022). "Miyu Amasaki Joins Queen's Quest". lastwordonsports.com. Retrieved March 11, 2022.
14. Lambert, Jeremy (March 26, 2022). "STARDOM World Climax 2022: The Best Results (3/26): Kairi Sane (KAIRI) Returns To The Ring". fightful.com. Retrieved March 26, 2022.
15. Edwards, Scott (March 28, 2022). "STARDOM WORLD CLIMAX ~ THE TOP ~ (MARCH 27) RESULTS & REVIEW". voicesofwrestling.com. Retrieved March 29, 2022.
16. Thompson, Andrew (April 17, 2022). "Konami returning to STARDOM". postwrestling.com. Retrieved April 22, 2022.
17. Peterson, Karen (May 5, 2022). "STARDOM Fukuoka Goddess Festival: Saya Kamitani vs. Maika, Goddesses of Stardom match". postwrestling.com. Retrieved May 5, 2022.
18. World Wonder Ring Stardom (January 8, 2023). 2023年1月8日　『TRIANGLE DERBY I in Nagoya ～名古屋来てちょうよスターダム～』. wwr-stardom.com (in Japanese). Retrieved January 8, 2023.
19. Black, Ethan (December 29, 2022). "Stardom Dream Queendom Results – December 29, 2022". pwmania.com. Retrieved December 29, 2022.
20. Thompson, Andrew (January 22, 2023). "STARDOM announces 2022 award winners". POST Wrestling. Retrieved March 11, 2023.

External links

• World Wonder Ring Stardom profile (in Japanese)
• Saya Iida's profile at Cagematch.net, Wrestlingdata.com, Internet Wrestling Database