Details About Bozilla’s Move From Marigold To STARDOM; Taro Okada & Rossy Ogawa Comment, Ogawa Takes Shots At Bozilla

A feature piece about Bozilla’s move.

Hiroshi Arai of Proresu-TODAY published an extensive piece on the website about Bozilla’s move from Dream Star Fighting Marigold to STARDOM. It includes comments from STARDOM President Taro Okada and Marigold founder Rossy Ogawa.

The centerpiece of the article dealt with the question of whether Bozilla was poached from Marigold or not. In 2024, when Ogawa’s relationship and contract with STARDOM were terminated, one of the reasons cited for the termination was that he was trying to poach talent and staff. Ogawa went on to launch Marigold several months later, and multiple STARDOM talents, including current WWE wrestler Giulia, made the jump to Marigold.

President Okada said he spoke to Bozilla and Megan Bayne backstage after their match at Joey Janela’s Spring Break 9. Suzu Suzuki was also there, and she expressed interest in bringing Bozilla to STARDOM.

Okada: “I told them both (Bozilla & Megan Bayne) after the match that it was an amazing match. Separately, I think Suzu (Suzuki) also spoke with Bozilla. Suzu told me that she wanted to take her to STARDOM, and that was what sparked it.”

On June 21st, Bozilla arrived at STARDOM. She bade farewell to Marigold in April.

Rossy Ogawa spoke on the matter and told Proresu-TODAY that Bozilla approached him about needing to head home to Germany to take care of a sick family member. He thinks she went to Germany after the match at Spring Break.

He added that there had been no talks of Bozilla coming back to Japan. There were conversations about what could happen in the future. Ogawa added that Bozilla was not under contract to Marigold. He said her visa was about to expire and felt the promotion had used her fully. He did take a jab at the former Marigold Twin Star Champion and said she was not a wrestler who significantly impacted attendance.

Ogawa: “The request to return home came a few days before the announcement. She said her family (member) was sick and she needed to take care of them. But first, she went to the U.S., right? I think she returned to Germany after the match in the US. I got the feeling she was planning to continue competing overseas, including in the US.

No, there wasn’t (talks of Bozilla coming back to Japan). But we did talk about the possibility of another opportunity in the future. Contract? There was no contract. However, her visa was about to expire, so from our perspective, we felt we had utilized her fully. In reality, she wasn’t a wrestler who significantly impacted attendance (he laughed). Discussions about her joining other organizations? There were none. But of course that will happen.”

Ogawa assumed she’d land somewhere eventually, even if it was STARDOM. He laughed when he said it happened rather quickly. Ogawa then revealed that Bozilla’s father, a 30-year veteran wrestler, Ulf Herman, is her manager, and feels there were probably other factors at play when it came to her making the decisions she did. Ogawa took another shot and said Bozilla had some rough matches at Marigold, so he hopes the STARDOM wrestlers do not get hurt.

Ogawa: “Once one territory ends, foreign wrestlers move on to the next. So I don’t really think anything of it. I had already assumed that she’d end up somewhere eventually. Even if it was STARDOM. Still, it was pretty quick (he laughed). Plus, she has her father (Ulf Herman) as her manager. There were probably various factors at play, whether it was his intentions or strategies. Well, it’ll depend on how (STARDOM) uses her from now on. A chance to show off her skills? Yes. We’ve had a lot of rough matches, so I hope the wrestlers don’t get hurt.”

Taro Okada and STARDOM checked to see if Bozilla was under contract, and they did that after she had already left Marigold. From Okada’s perspective, they did not poach Bozilla, although it could seem that way because Bozilla joining STARDOM came after Mayu Iwatani left the promotion and joined Marigold. Okada added that there was a proper conversation and fulfillment of a contract in Iwatani’s situation.

Okada: “I heard that (Suzu Suzuki) and Bozilla herself wanted to join STARDOM. So we checked if she was under contract with any other organizations. (She) had left (Marigold), and she didn’t have exclusive contracts with GCW, AEW, or EVE.  So when she came to the Yoyogi event, we discussed the possibility of her joining as a regular participant, and she agreed to do so. So, it’s not like we poached her. But even so, I guess it will look that way. It was after Mayu (Iwatani) left, so it can’t be helped that it looks like a trade. I had a proper conversation with Mayu, and we made sure to uphold the contract between STARDOM and Mayu before she moved on. But even so, it can’t be helped that people will say all sorts of things. The point is that Bozilla was a talent we wanted. But even so, we were prepared for that when we decided to let her participate. But we’ve also done the legal work properly.”

Rossy Ogawa agreed that it was not poaching nor a trade. He stated that Iwatani and Bozilla’s moves are not related to each other.

Bozilla is challenging AZM for the NJPW STRONG Women’s Championship at STARDOM’s July 24th show. Bozilla is also scheduled for the 5 Star Grand Prix tournament, which begins July 27th.