World of Stardom Champion Tam Nakano is unable to compete at Stardom Gold Rush 2023 due to injury. Stardom made the announcement on Twitter.
Nakano was scheduled to defend her title against this year’s 5 Star Grand Prix Tournament winner, Suzu Suzuki. However, there was already some prior speculation of the match’s potential postponement. Nakano and Suzuki’s main event match was not advertised for the event on Stardom’s social media pages and media press conference following her injury sustained the month prior.
With Tam Nakano’s withdrawal, Stardom announced that her challenger, Suzu Suzuki, will face AZM and Starlight Kid instead. The Wonder of Stardom Championship match between defending champion MIRAI and Saori Anou also appears to be Gold Rush’s current main event matchup.
Stardom adds to the developing story of their world championship’s status stating, “What will happen to the World of Stardom title?” in their issued statement. As of the time of writing, they are yet to address the possibility of vacating the championship should Nakano require a longer recovery time. A new date for the Tam Nakano vs. Suzu Suzuki match is also yet to be announced.
Tam’s last major Stardom appearance was at the company’s Nagoya Golden Fight show this past October 9th. There, she defended her World of Stardom Championship against Oedo Tai leader Natsuko Tora. The ending of the match saw Nakano lift Tora up for the patented Violet Screwdriver finish (a Spiked Falcon Arrow). However, the attempt to lift the heavier challenger led to an awkward landing on Tam’s knee.
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