In a recent chat with SEScoops, Billie Starkz expressed her high praise for Sumie Sakai, stating that the ex-ROH Women’s World Champion was a major inspiration to her in women’s wrestling.
Sakai is set to retire soon after completing NJPW’s Battle In The Valley 2025, which is scheduled for next month.
Starkz stated, “Sumie was just an extraordinary talent back in the day, paving the way for women’s wrestling in ROH. As a fan growing up in ROH, when I first came around, I was not a huge fan of the women’s wrestling and Sumie made me fall in love with it so all the credit to her. Truly, being around wrestling, I’ve got to meet so many extraordinary people but Sumie is such a kind and caring person. I’m sad that she has to let go of wrestling, but Final Battle I’m truly gonna put my all in for her.”
In a separate stint with “Inside the Ropes”, Shelton Benjamin shared some insights about his current tenure in AEW and expressed surprise at the fans’ reaction to his bout.
Benjamin had his latest showdown on Saturday at AEW Collision, where he fell to Daniel Garcia.
He remarked, “My biggest surprise is that the fans really appreciate what I bring to the table. I found that I have a lot of great chemistry with the guys I’ve been working. I feel like I’ve been having nothing but just great matches with pretty much everyone I’ve been in the ring with. Just the fact that I’ve been able to gel so well with guys who I never have worked with before and put on great performances, that has been the biggest surprise to me. It shouldn’t be, because again, these are some of the best athletes in the world, some of the best professional wrestlers in the world. But it’s definitely a pleasant surprise.”