SHOW REPORT: Marigold Dream Star Grand Prix – Night 5 (Friday, 20th September 2024)

Notes

• Rea Seto will continue to miss action until the end of September due to a fractured rib.

Current League Standings (Before 20th September 2024)

Quick Results

• Three-on-Two Handicap Match: Bozilla & Myla Grace def. Nao Ishikawa, Komomo Minami & Victoria Yuzuki w/ Drill-a-Hole Piledriver (8:53)
• Dream Star Grand Prix 2024 Dream League Match: Nagisa Nozaki (5) def. Chika Goto (0) w/ Noir Lancer (8:06)
• Dream Star Grand Prix 2024 Star League Match: Miku Aono (7) def. Kizuna Tanaka (0) w/ Double Underhook Suplex (9:02)
• Dream Star Grand Prix 2024 Star League Match: Nanae Takahashi (8) def. CHIAKI (2) w/ Queen Bee Bomb (6:25)
• Dream Star Grand Prix 2024 Star League Match: Sareee (7) def. Misa Matsui (0) w/ Rings of Saturn (9:16)
• Dream Star Grand Prix 2024 Dream League Match: Utami Hayashishita (6) def. Natsumi Showzuki (3) w/ German Suplex (9:18)
• Dream Star Grand Prix 2024 Dream League Match: Kouki Amarei (6) def. MIRAI (5) w/ Big Boot (12:03)

Match #1 – Bozilla & Myla Grace def. Nao Ishikawa, Komomo Minami & Victoria Yuzuki w/ Drill-a-Hole Piledriver (8:53)

There is something unnervingly charming about Myla and Bozilla wearing matching gear, though it is at odds with the dismissive way that the latter wrestles this handicap match. As you may expect, Bozilla is a wrecking ball, wrestling the entire match with a condescending smirk on her face, whilst Myla is tasked with taking the heat. It’s nice to Komomo Minami back in a Marigold ring after being absent for a couple of shows at the start of the tournament, though it’s Nao that does the majority of the heavy lifting in this match. In fact, it’s also Nao that eventually eats the decisive pinfall, with Bozilla hitting the Drill-a-Hole Piledriver after her and Myla hit stereo Samoan Drivers. It’s a fun match, with a predictable finish.

Match Rating: **1/2

Match #2 – Dream Star Grand Prix 2024 Dream League Match: Nagisa Nozaki (5) def. Chika Goto (0) w/ Noir Lancer (8:06)

You can see from the way Chika Goto takes a deep breath and looks to the heavens before doing her signature chant, just how heavy the weight of four consecutive tournament defeats is weighing on her. In fact, there is a palpable layer of desperation in everything that she does in this match, whether it be the Shoulder Tackles, the attempt at the Giant Swing or even her patented Hip Attacks – it’s clear that Goto wants this monkey off her back, regardless of whether she has already been eliminated or not. Nozaki has absolutely not sympathy whatsoever and, despite a brief moment where it looked like she might let the match escape her, she is in total control, almost allowing Goto to tire herself out before wiping her out with the Noir Lancer. Nozaki keeps her own tournament dreams alive, whilst Goto must now wait until Monday at Korakuen Hall, where her tWin toWers teammate Kouki Amarei is next in line!

Match Rating: **3/4

Match #3 – Dream Star Grand Prix 2024 Star League Match: Miku Aono (7) def. Kizuna Tanaka (0) w/ Double Underhook Suplex (9:02)

Marigold’s resident ray of sunshine Kizuna Tanaka has not had an easy start to this tournament, but you wouldn’t know that from the beaming smile on her face. Unfortunately, things don’t get much easier for her, with her standing across the ring from a Miku Aono, still undoubtedly angered by the time-limit draw against Sareee at Korakuen. This results in a good portion of the match being Miku Aono looking to kick the spine out from Tanaka with a series of increasingly brutal strikes. Not one to just lie down though, the passion Tanaka shows to wrestle back momentum and then produce a litany of smooth transitions into the Armbar is just one of the reasons so many people were excited at her signing with Marigold. Unfortunately for her though, the strong resilience shown stops short of her kicking out of the Double Underhook Suplex, and Aono secures her third victory of the tournament, moving to 7 points and – briefly – to the top of Star League.

Match Rating:

Match #4 – Dream Star Grand Prix 2024 Star League Match: Nanae Takahashi (8) def. CHIAKI (2) w/ Queen Bee Bomb (6:25)

So it transpires that CHIAKI is not a great believer in ‘passion’, with her attacking Nanae before the bell with a chair shot to the back. After following this up with an attack using the timekeeper’s hammer and emerging from a brawl behind the curtain wearing Nanae’s jacket, it looks like CHIAKI may have Takahashi’s number. This doesn’t ultimately prove to be the case, as all of this simply rattles Nanae’s cage and she begins throwing hands like only she can. The fact that CHIAKI has found herself in this heel role is great to see, but it’s her endurance here that is more impressive, managing to withstand a torrent of Takahashi offence and almost stealing the win with a rake to the eyes and a roll-up. Nanae will not be halted though, and thunders CHIAKI to the ground with a Queen Bee Bomb, covering her for the victory. After a less than impressive start, Takahashi has now won four matches on the bounce, meaning she goes to the top of Star League, moving one point ahead of Miku Aono.

Match Rating: ***

Match #5 – Dream Star Grand Prix 2024 Star League Match: Sareee (7) def. Misa Matsui (0) w/ Rings of Saturn (9:16)

Results-wise, it’s been a miserable tournament for Matsui, in spite of some excellent performances. Unfortunately, it doesn’t appear to be about to get any easier, with her opponent being the undefeated Marigold World Champion Sareee, who seems to be one a one-woman mission to obliterate the entire Marigold roster. It’s a mission she brings into this match as well, even in spite of Matsui’s fast start. Misa does her best to match Sareee’s escalating intensity, even if it means unsuccessfully partaking in a forearm exchange, and is even close to a huge shock win with the European Clutch. The problem with matching Sareee’s intensity, is that that intensity doesn’t have a ceiling, and the champion is quickly able to manipulate Matsui into a Rings of Saturn for the victory. Another dominant victory, and Sareee moves to seven points, just one behind league leader Nanae, who she faces on Monday inside Korakuen.

Match Rating: ****

Match #6 – Dream Star Grand Prix 2024 Dream League Match: Utami Hayashishita (6) def. Natsumi Showzuki (3) w/ German Suplex (9:18)

If possible, Showzuki attacks this match with even more ferocity than she normally does, with perhaps the weight of knowing that another loss here results in her elimination from the tournament. Aside from looking to blitz Utami with strikes, Showzuki has a very clear plan to target the arm in order to eradicate the Shoulder Tackles and Lariats that make Utami so dangerous. It looks like it might work too, but the longer the match goes on, the more Hayashishita grows into the match. The panic and desperation begin to creep in for Showzuki as she forgoes the targeting of the arm in favour of three quick fire roll-up attempts, the first in particular garnering a very close near fall. What Showzuki does lack however is the power that Utami has, and she catches the Superfly Champion in a Torture Rack before transitioning into a German Suplex, showcasing incredible strength to haul the frantically struggling Natsumi into the move. It brings her the victory, and keeps Utami in the hunt despite her damaging losses to Nozaki and then MIRAI in the main event of Korakuen Hall on Monday.

Match Rating: ***3/4

Match #7 – Dream Star Grand Prix 2024 Dream League Match: Kouki Amarei (6) def. MIRAI (5) w/ Big Boot (12:03)

War. Of. Attrition!

With MIRAI demanding that Amarei bring her nothing but her best, the pair erupt almost from the get-go into a furious exchange of chops and Big Boots. This continues for the entire match, in the ring, outside the ring and even on the stage, with Kouki’s chest resembling a hazard light before long. Again and again the pair hit each other, with it now seemingly being about pride, not wanting to be the first to admit defeat, and this in itself becomes incredibly compelling viewing. However, the determination of Amarei to match MIRAI’s intensity is incredible, to the point where the more she brings, the more you see MIRAI beginning to fade, almost as though she has lost her grip on the match and can’t scrabble it back, highlighted by the way she tries – far too late – to negate Kouki’s kicks with a Single-Leg Crab.

The fact that there is maybe five moves in the whole match, and the fact that it’s one final Big Boot that puts paid to MIRAI and not the Amethyst Butterfly tells a great story of resilience and fortitude. A huge win for Kouki in what is perhaps her best outing in Marigold so far!

Match Rating: ****1/4

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

• 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 (LIVE)