Mina Shirakawa is going all-in on a U.S. wrestling career.
The long-time STARDOM Joshi talent announced Wednesday that she will be leaving the Japan-based promotion this month, leaving the opening for her to ink a deal with American brand AEW.
Shirakawa revealed her impending AEW move during a press conference in Japan this week.
Mina Shirakawa: "Mina Shirakawa will be joining AEW. This will be a challenge to the world, which has been my goal since my debut. I think that the fact that I am holding this press conference shows that AEW has high expectations of me, so I would like to show all of the skills… pic.twitter.com/met39HJmDo
— meraWRESTLING (@meraWRESTLING) March 26, 2025
While Shirakawa has mainly been booked in STARDOM for the past year – appearing nearly 100 times for them since the start of 2024 – she has also become a key player in AEW programming.
Shirakawa served as a major figure in the rivalry between Mariah May and Toni Storm, earning her a title shot against then-champ May back in late 2024. She also appeared on the co-promoted AEW, NJPW, CMLL and STARDOM Tokyo Dome card two months back, losing in a 14-minute title contest to Mercedes Moné.
If finalized, Shirakawa will join a notable list of Joshi talents who have crossed over to AEW. Others include Hikaru Shida, Emi Sakura, Yuka Sakazaki, and the inaugural AEW Women’s World Champion Riho.
Shirakawa has wrestled for STARDOM since 2020, when she made the move over after being a fixture in TJPW’s programming. Her time in the promotion included a 2023 reign as Wonder of Stardom Champion, a title she briefly held before Tam Nakano dethroned her.
