SHOW REPORT: Marigold Dream Star Grand Prix – Night 1 ~Evening Show~ (Saturday, 31st August 2024)

Notes

• Rea Seto will continue to miss action until the end of September due to a fractured rib.
• Nao Ishikawa will miss the opening two shows of the Dream Star Grand Prix due to poor physical health.

Current League Standings (Before 31st August 2024 ~Evening Show~)

Quick Results

• Singles Match: Kizuna Tanaka def. Myla Grace w/ Re:Dream (3:10)
• Tag Team Match: Mai Sakurai & Victoria Yuzuki def. Kouki Amarei & Minami Yuki w/ Rolling Arrow (8:31)
• Dream Star Grand Prix 2024 Star League Match: Bozilla (4) def. Misa Matsui (0) w/ Drill-A-Hole Piledriver (6:28)
• Dream Star Grand Prix 2024 Star League Match: Miku Aono (4) def. CHIAKI (0) w/ Buzzsaw Kick (6:31)
• Dream Star Grand Prix 2024 Dream League Match: MIRAI (3) vs. NORI (3) Ended in a Time Limit Draw (15:00)
• Dream Star Grand Prix 2024 Dream League Match: Utami Hayashishita (2) def. Chika Goto (0) w/ Deadlift Bridging German Suplex (8:31)
• Dream Star Grand Prix 2024 Dream League Match: Natsumi Showzuki (3) def. Nagisa Nozaki (2) w/ Sideways Shrimp Hold (10:11)

Match #1 – Kizuna Tanaka def. Myla Grace w/ Re:Dream (3:10)

Tanaka will be keen to get back on track after being utterly decimated by a rampaging Bozilla in the Dream Star earlier today, and a singles match against Myla here could be the perfect bounce back.

I’ve recently described Tanaka as something of a pocket rocket, and this is certainly the case at the beginning of this match, exploding into Grace with a volley of Dropkicks. She then tempts the Irish Beauty into a forearm battle that culminates in Tanaka snatching Grace’s arm into a Armbar.

Grace does fight free and builds up a head of steam ahead of attempting the Fall From Grace, but Tanaka catches her with a Victory Roll for a nearfall. After a frantic to-and-fro of pinfall attempts, Tanaka manages to roll Grace up with the Re:Dream for the victory.

Match #2 – Mai Sakurai & Victoria Yuzuki def. Kouki Amarei & Minami Yuki w/ Rolling Arrow (8:31)

Coming off the back of what is undoubtedly a statement win over Nanae Takahashi, Mai Sakurai finds herself in tag team action alongside Victoria Yuzuki against Kouki Amarei and rookie Minami Yuki.

It’s Amarei and Yuki that jump the bell and attempt to start the quicker of the two teams, but Mai is able to turn the tide relatively quickly, locking Amarei in the Paradise Lock at the second time of asking. In spite of this, Kouki impresses throughout much of this match, landing a Double Suplex to both Sakurai and Yuzuki.

With Sakurai and Amarei occupying each other on the outside of the ring, Yuzuki and Yuki begin a really entertaining back-and-forth, with Yuki almost stealing the win with a flurry of roll-up attempts. Eventually however, Yuzuki is able to catch the rookie with a Rolling Arrow to secure her and Mai the win, building momentum ahead of their respective second league matches in Toyama next weekend.

Match #3 – Dream Star Grand Prix 2024 Star League Match: Bozilla (4) def. Misa Matsui (0) w/ Drill-A-Hole Piledriver (6:28)

Initially, this looks like it has the makings of your rudimentary Bozilla annihilation match, especially as Matsui charges straight into a Fireman’s Carry and proceeds to be pinballed around the ring almost instantly. When the German Powerhouse then breaks out a Handspring Back Elbow, you genuinely begin fearing for Matsui’s safety.

However, she puts up a courageous fight in targeting Bozilla’s knees and trying to cut the base out from under her. She even manages to lock her, fleetingly, in a Kneebar as she tries desperately to continue her assault. Unfortunately, Bozilla is able to turn the tide, hitting an incredible Spinning Powerslam onto the apron whilst tangled in the ropes, before seamlessly turning a Misa Crossbody into a Samoan Driver on the outside. It appears however that after this move, Bozilla has grown tired of Misa’s fight and proceeds to drive it out of her the second she crawls back into the ring. An F5 and a Drill-A-Hole Piledriver back-to-back are enough to squash any remaining hope for Matsui, and Bozilla is the first to four points.

These two had an entertaining match back in July, with Matsui bringing out more than the usual powerful squash match from Bozilla, and she does the same here, with her plucky and tenacious underdog performance playing perfectly against the insurmountable juggernaut that is Bozilla. I wouldn’t be surprised if we see more singles matches between these two, and Matsui finally getting the pinfall victory later down the line – this could be a really tasty feud for Marigold heading down the line towards 2025!

Match #4 – Dream Star Grand Prix 2024 Star League Match: Miku Aono (4) def. CHIAKI (0) w/ Buzzsaw Kick (6:31)

Having not wrestled this afternoon, CHIAKI is undoubtedly the fresher of the pair and possibly holds the advantage against the United National Champion.

It looks like she might make that freshness count as well, dragging Aono’s face across the top rope before delivering some Facewash Kicks to boot. She even hits a Bodyslam onto the matting on the outside before sitting cross-legged in the ring mockingly, waiting for Aono to get back into the ring. This proves to be a mistake however, as when CHIAKI attempts to attack, Aono grabs her leg from through the ropes and begins a sustained and brutish attack on it. Such is the fury behind Aono’s offence on CHIAKI’s leg, that the Dark Wolf collapses when she is whipped towards the ropes. The referee makes his way over to check if she’s okay, but CHIAKI then pulls him in between her and Aono, briefly taking him out of the match.

That’s all the time CHIAKI needs to hurl the chair at Aono, before hitting her Iron Claw Slam onto it, resulting in a truly disgusting sound as Miku bounces off it. CHIAKI does not seems interested in her well being however, immediately hauling her into the Argentine Driver for a two count. She can’t make the advantage count however, with the damage done to her leg still evidently paining her. Aono capitalised on this with a kick that brings CHIAKI to a knee, before then flooring her with the Buzzsaw Kick for the victory.

Though the landing on the chair looked and sounded incredibly painful, this was an entertaining back-and-forth considering the relatively short time it received. CHIAKI sold the leg really well, even after the cheating to gain the advantage, and it was this that ultimately led to her not being able to seize the victory; a solid performance from the Dark Wolf.

Match #5 – Dream Star Grand Prix 2024 Dream League Match: MIRAI (3) vs. NORI (3) Ended in a Time Limit Draw (15:00)

With both women getting a crucial first victory during the afternoon show, they find themselves with a far tougher proposition on the evening show with the winner of this match temporarily moving to the top of the Dream League. It’s an interesting match-up for more than that reason however, with both women extremely accomplished in a more grounded submission style match, and both terrifyingly-heavy hitters.

Immediately from the get go both attempt to jockey for position on the mat, leading to near five-minutes uninterrupted mat-wrestling. No breaks. No springing apart. Not a single sound from the Osaka crowd. It’s something completely different to the rest of what we’ve seen in the tournament, as both women look to manipulate the other into a never-ending series of holds.

Never has the phrase ‘war of attrition’ seemed more apt!

When this eventually does draw to a conclusion, that’s where the huge meaty strikes come into play, NORI with her kicks and MIRAI with her Lariats, both looking to hit that one final killer blow. Resilience tested, both women are able to come through the strikes and grind their way out of increasingly savage-looking submission holds as we veer wildly toward the time-limit. That limit comes just as MIRAI manages to land perhaps the biggest of her Lariats, only to have the bell ring as she drops to her knees in order to attempt the fall.

A draw seems a perfectly fair result when you consider what each woman brought to the match; you simply can’t separate them! The opening alone makes this match stand out, however when you add to that the crunching blows and wonderful submission work, it’s little wonder that fans have already labelled this the match to beat in this year’s tournament.

Match #6 – Dream Star Grand Prix 2024 Dream League Match: Utami Hayashishita (2) def. Chika Goto (0) w/ Deadlift Bridging German Suplex (8:31)

Having endured a shock defeat to Nagisa Nozaki earlier in the day, Utami finds herself with a need to bounce back quickly in order to maintain her ‘tournament favourite’ moniker. Standing in her way is a Chika Goto who fell to MIRAI in spite of a typically spirited performance.

It’s clear from the outset that it is Goto’s heart and desperate resilience that could grasp her a shock victory, getting up after everything Utami throws at her. She responds to being taken off her feet with a Shoulder Tackle with one of her own, to a volley of forearms with an angry explosion of her own and almost gets a pinfall after rolling Utami up with a Crucifix after an Air Raid Crash. However, perhaps from the sustained beating her arms took from MIRAI earlier in the day, Goto can’t convincingly perform the Giant Swing. Twice she tries and fails before Utami impatiently snatches her into her own Sleeper Hold variation.

As the match approaches its climax, it becomes more a case of how long Go Chika can last more than if she can get a victory, but after eating two big Lariats, the writing is on the wall somewhat. Deadlifting Goto impressively into a Bridging German Suplex, Utami collects the victory that puts her tournament back on track. For Goto however, it’s two losses from two, and with NORI and Victoria Yuzuki up next, Goto needs to pick up a win from somewhere to realistically stay in the tournament!

Match #7 – Dream Star Grand Prix 2024 Dream League Match: Natsumi Showzuki (3) def. Nagisa Nozaki (2) w/ Sideways Shrimp Hold (10:11)

Nagisa Nozaki comes into this match undoubtedly brimming with confidence after shocking Utami Hayashishita earlier in the day, and has the chance to go a point clear at the top of Dream League with a win tonight. Meanwhile Natsumi Showzuki will be lamenting the fact she couldn’t put Victoria Yuzuki away in her previous league match, and will be hoping for a better result here.

It’s the Superfly Champion who starts the quickest, jumping Nozaki as she has her back turned and slamming into her with a series of Dropkicks. However, Nozaki gets her own back when the action moves to the outside, launching Showzuki into the front row of chairs. Nozaki continues to dominate until she attempts a suplex on the matting, only for Showzuki to reverse it and then charge half-way across the arena to plough into her with her Running Double Knees.

The action becomes more frenetic as the action returns to the ring, Showzuki throwing Dropkicks and Nozaki a whole host of Noir Lancers, one in particular cracking Showzuki straight in the head and drawing notable gasp from the Osaka crowd. However, she can’t quite make the cover in time, and Showzuki kicks out at two, with a flurry of kicks from both women moments later garnering a double down. The Superfly Champion almost gets the win with a roll-up after missing her Diving Double Footstomp, but then manages to negotiate Nozaki into an Inverted Leg Trap Crucifix pin for the victory.

Altogether it’s a very promising start for the Superfly Champion, and she now sits joint top of block alongside MIRAI and NORI with Kouki Amarei next in her crosshairs in Toyama.

You can check out the Marigold roster win/loss records for 2024 right here; https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/11_PWxd5BDxeHIfKqtQ2YtiwhGteRrVUZ3B5L4yrDQE0/edit?gid=517287206#gid=517287206

You can check out a comprehensive run down of the Marigold Championship Histories here; https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/18MJ2Cebe36Nvfcpj8uVs1AtMbAV1chn-lG7t-xn44DY/edit?gid=0#gid=0

Upcoming Shows

• Sunday 8th September – Dream Star Grand Prix – Night 2, Bolfert Toyama, Toyama (VOD)
• Saturday 14th September – Dream Star Grand Prix – Night 3, Shin-Kiba 1st RING, Tokyo (LIVE)
• Monday 16th September – Dream Star Grand Prix – Night 4, Korakuen Hall, Tokyo (LIVE)
• Friday 20th September – Dream Star Grand Prix – Night 5, Sendai PIT, Miyagi (VIDEO ON DEMAND)
• Saturday 21st September – Dream Star Grand Prix – Night 6, Morioka Gymnasium, Morioka (VIDEO ON DEMAND)
• Monday 23rd September – Dream Star Grand Prix – Night 7, Korakuen Hall, Tokyo (LIVE)
• Saturday 28th August – Dream Star Grand Prix 2024 – Night 8 ~ Finals, Nagoya International Conference Center, Aichi (PPV)