Dream Star Fighting Marigold: Grand Opening Wars June 30th 2024

Welcome back to the final Grand Opening Wars tour before we the next tour, Summer Gold Shine (aren’t these names fun?) I’ll be honest these shows are starting to drag for me but I’m stubborn or stupid and I’m going to see this through to the end. We somehow have 676 people in the crowd for this one and I am legitimately impressed.

We start with an Appointment Ceremony and we got four crusty dudes in suits in the ring and out comes MIRAI and she’s very smiley but that’s normal for her. And I just realized that this is in MIRAI’s hometown and this is her getting the keys from the city or something from some old politician dudes. Very cool, especially since MIRAI was apparently motivated to become a pro wrestler by seeing a wrestler do charity work, so this sort of civic feedback is very cool for her I’d imagine. Anyway they hand her a little piece of paper and a letter and she shakes some hands and she seems absolutely geeked to be getting…whatever this is.

After that they run down the card and then Giulia shows up in probably the worst outfit I’ve ever seen her in. High-waisted black slacks with a pencil-thin belt and a neon yellow baggy t-shirt with some writing across it that’s awkwardly tucked in and like a tiny novelty purse, or just tiny stuffed animals slung over her shoulder. Just an awful look but she’s super jazzed to be there and shakes babies and kisses hands and all that sorta thing. Anyway she cuts a promo or just talks and I kinda suspect this is just a sort of “hey we’re giving the fans Giulia even if she ain’t wrestling” deal.

Natsumi Showzuki vs. Komomo Minami

Background: So Komomo is the newest rookie on the block and she’s just running through singles with vets where she’ll assuredly get her butt whooped. This vet whooping her butt is Natsumi, an older-than-I-always-think-she-is (she teamed with Kairi back in the day!) wrestler who is also in the finals for Marigold’s junior heavyweight title at the upcoming Summer Destiny show.

The Match: Komomo starts with heat and gets a dropkick that seems to just delight Natsumi and then they go fast with quick covers and trips as they do the usual joshi junior stuff. They trade headlocks and Komomo gets her springboard headlock takeover spot to set up an armbar that forces a ropebreak from Natsumi. They reset to a slugfest and the crowd gets a nice reaction when Showzuki uses her still aching arm to forearm down Komomo (selling it the whole way to her credit). Komomo fires up a bit with more strikes but they do a dosey-do and a snug high kick pops the rookie in the temple and she does a gorgeous flop and fold off of it. And also I now notice Giulia ringside, seated, as she’s reacting like a super-mark to every strike and it’s pretty funny. Natsumi gets a surfboard going to work over the rook and then tees off with some kicks as the crowd is definitely having fun. Showzuki gets the slingshot double-knees to the back but her bodyslam is reversed! Showzuki cuts off the rope-run with a dropkick though and gets a fisherman’s suplex to keep control. Komomo fires back with a series of roll-ups and her dope over-the-back DDT. And then the rolling armlock to set up the juji-gatame. Ropebreak again and Komomo wraps up Natsumi in the ropes to attack the arm with dropkicks. The vet eventually sideswipes one and gets a single-leg crab to rest a bit but her arm is feeling it so she transitions to a Liontamer and gets the quick tap and stomps on her post-match.

**

Well this was actually pretty solid! Yes obviously there were a lot of rough moments but I was impressed by Showzuki leading the rookie through the match, Natsumi probably sold TOO much but it was nice to see a vet be so generous and helpful to rookies when they normally get chewed up.

Miku Aono vs. Victoria Yuzuki

Background: So in a similar deal as the last bout, this is Miku who will be challenging for the White Belt at Summer Destiny (potentially twice!) against the most lauded rookie in Marigold, Victoria Yuzuki. Miku is a bit of a kicker but also has some signature power offense, while Yuzuki is a bit of a high-flyer.

The Match: They do the briefest lockup ever before trading wristlock reversals. Eventually Miku gets a headlock and we get the “rookie tries a bunch of moves but the vet gets one and flattens the rookie” with dropkicks. Miku tees off with kicks but Yuzuki eventually evades one and gets a nice rolling cradle into a can-opener. Miku makes the ropes and reverses a slam and uh, maybe don’t reuse all the same spots from the first match. Miku hears me and gets a kneebreaker and then a step-over toehold crab in a nice looking hold. Ropebreak and Miku’s over-hook Fisherman’s suplex is evaded and they slug it out and Yuzuki is limping heavily to sell it, but Miku gets a heavy thigh kick and lands the over-hook suplex and goes up for something but Yuzuki tosses her off the top and gets her own low kick, and then tries…some sorta something and then REPEATS THE SPOT (gah!) and it still looks horrible. I can barely describe it, she hits the ropes, runs over her opponent and then quickly snaps and turns and lands in a splash or something. Miku catches Yuzuki with the spinning slam however and then a sliding lariat but that just gets 2. They go back to the stand up and we some slugging before Yuzuki reverses to a terrible series of Judo tosses that I don’t know who to blame for. Aono’s high kick doesn’t get it either and then Yuzuki spams some roll-ups before Miku gets a lariat and then another kinda slow buzzsaw kick for…2. Delayed butterfly suplex gets 3 for Miku though.

*

This was…worse than the first match, it didn’t help they have a very similar structure, just done worse, and Natsumi is better than Miku and I’m starting to think Komomo is better than Victoria. Just…not a good display of talent.

Nagisa Nozaki vs. Kouki Amarei vs. Chika Goto

Background: Kouki and Chika are both tall, green, and friends with each other, Nagisa is smaller, meaner, and more experienced.

The Match: We get Kouki and Chika teaming to try to take out Nagisa with a double test of strength but the vet slips out and just forearms them down. They all trade biel tosses on each other next. The two rookies finally isolate on Nagisa and do some weak running corner attacks but then pull each other off during pin attempts and Kouki eventually gets the falling splash on both of them. The two partners face off with some run and gun stuff and it’s pretty rough to watch. Kouki eventually gets her weird kneeling double-armbar thing and after a while Chika makes the ropes. Slugfest and at least Chika is selling the arm. Goto wins the exchange somehow and calls out Nozaki who gladly comes in and demolishes Chika. Goto to her credit tries to show grit in the face of this but that results in Nagisa eviscerating her with chops in the corner. Chika’s chest is red as a beet and Nagisa gets her in a camel clutch next to continue the torment but Kouki runs back in with some big boots but Nagisa gets her own and down goes Amarei. But up comes Amarei with her own big boot and a cutter but it just gets 2. They go back to trading boots and uh…I don’t think a match needs a lot of moves to be good but mix it up a bit folks. The rookies get a double-team atomic drop into yes, a big boot, but CHIAKI trips Kouki on the apron to help out Nagisa and the vet isolates Chika with the running low boot. But Goto comes back with a fireman’s carry takeover and then Kouki comes back and Nagisa quickly destroys both of them with a STO/DDT combo. Rear naked choke by Nagisa on Goto follows but the rookie breaks out. More light kicks and dear god I think they’re going for a time limit draw. Kouki breaks things up again, they all get big-booted and it’s a triple down. End this match. Amarei with a backdrop driver on Nagisa but she misses the 180 splash on Goto. Nozaki with a running boot again on Chika who kicks out and we get a draw.

DUD

Putrid. Nagisa ain’t the worker to run two rookies through anything and going for a draw is absolutely idiotic as they just laid around for half the match.

Post-match they’re all mad at each other and I guess CHIAKI is now Nagisa’s tag-partner.

Nanae Takahashi & Nao Ishikawa vs. Bozilla & Myla Grace

Background: Nanae recently injected some passion into Nao but I guess it wasn’t enough and now they will be injecting passion together against the team of Bozilla and her new gaijin sidekick since Zayda let her down.

The Match: Nanae and Boz lockup to start and the German takes Nanae into the corner but relents and they circle again. Boz gets shoulderblocks, Nanae tries to use her ‘speed’ but gets clobbered and they take a spill to the outside. Nanae to her credit is selling pretty crazily to put over Boz’s strength and only gets anything going when she uses a chair, but that just makes Bozilla more angry and now Bozilla has a chair and they’re going through the crowd and this is kinda fun. Boz clobbers Nanae with a brutal chairshot and they go back in the ring with more power offense. Myla comes in to pick the bones but Nanae screams PASSION and wipes her out with a shoulderblock and in comes Nao and they do some elbow drops on Grace while yelling Passion. More double teams against Grace with Nao looking slow but at least the moves landed okay. Myla comes back with a jumping clothesline and then a 619 and she’s just so very…2008-2012 WWE women’s wrestler in there. Anyway, Boz comes back in to destroy Nao and Nanae runs in to break it up but reverses a double-whip into a double-clothesline and sentons Nao. Boz demolishes Nao some more and tells Myla to GET OUT DA WAY! As Bozilla goes up for a monster splash…and Nao dodges it and goes for an Oklahoma Roll. Nao quickly realizes she needs to tag Nanae who runs in and loads up a backdrop driver than has Giulia absolutely geeked on the attempt but Boz fights back and then goes up, but the Japanese Team cut her off and Nanae gets a huge superplex! Wow. Nice spot. Boz is still too tough though and gets a lariat to put down Nanae and brings in Myla with a diving seated senton on Nanae. Nanae has sold for one rookie this match though she’s just eating Grace up with a rebound German suplex but Boz comes in to wreck shop and set up a tornado DDT for Grace on Nanae but yet again, Takahashi ain’t selling for a second rookie so the Japanese Team gets a fun double-team back suplex with Nao screaming PASSION! While hitting a clothesline. Boz interferes again but Nanae lowbridges her, and then gets a backdrop driver and the Refrigerator Bomb on Myla while Nao sacrifices her body to distract Boz.

**¼

This was a completely laid out, fun match. Bozilla was unstoppable but she had a major weakness in that Myla Grace is kinda useless. So Nanae eventually figured out how to isolate Bozilla and take out Myla. Nice crafty veteran stuff and Nao was kinda funny as Nanae’s stooge, and her screaming PASSION after hitting any move. Plus we got a nice crowd brawl to start us off.

Post-match the winners celebrate and Nao jumps into Nanae’s arms…who immediately drops her. Okay I chuckled.

Miku Aono vs. MIRAI – United National Championship Inaugural Tournament Round One

Just kidding, just kidding.

Mai Sakurai & MIRAI vs. CHIAKI & Utami Hayashishita

Background: I uh, don’t really have one. Mai and MIRAI were in Donna Del Mondo in the past, Utami I think has teamed with the Dark Wolf before. I dunno, it’s a main-event tag, whatever, let’s do it!

The Match: MIRAI and Utami start and do some nice standing technical stuff with wristlock reversals and hammerlocks and headlocks and I can see Giulia in the background at ringside explaining to the rookies what they’re supposed to be doing. MIRAI gets her go through the ropes to counter a hammerlock bit and when Mai runs in Utami gets a double dropkick and a slam on MIRAI and we have our heat segment. CHIAKI comes in and gets the CLAWas MIRAI screams in pain. The Dark Wolf keeps at it with some running corner boots and then they go outside and MIRAI tries to fight back but she ends up getting tossed into a pile of chairs. CHIAKI continues the beating and then drags MIRAI back inside. MIRAI finally gets a dropkick to get some space and tags in Mai who gets a nice jump kick and goes wild with her getting a 1v2 against Utami and CHIAKI and then a paradise lock on the wolf. CHIAKI breaks free and gets some stuff and a standing splash before limping away and tagging in Utami to beat Mai’s behind. Hayashishita gets the rack slam but Mai gets something almost athletic with a nice reversal out of the corner into a middle-rope dropkick and then a jump kick lets MIRAI tag in. MIRAI gets the running corner charges and ends with a corner lariat and a top rope missile dropkick. Utami breaks the backdrop suplex though and they reset to a shoulderblock war that MIRAI wins with her speed but Utami gets an Air Raid Crash and brings in CHIAKI. Flipping spear by the Dark Wolf! The slug it out a bit but CHIAKI gets the claw and gets a slam out of it. Man I love CHIAKI’s schtick. MIRAI counters the slam and with the help of Mai on the outside reverses into a crossface with a knee in the back that CHIAKI sells well. MIRAI keeps on the back with stomps but they reset to a chop off. MIRAI wins but Utami flies in to cut her off with a back elbow and that lets CHIAKI get the rack into the facebuster but Mai breaks up the pin and drags Utami outside and that lets MIRAI get a plancha on the opposing team. Back in and MIRAI gets a backdrop suplex for 2, but when MIRAI goes for the running lariat we get a loose scoop powerslam to counter it and CHIAKI tries to get the spear but MIRAI cuts her head off with a standing lariat. MIRAI loads up the running lariat again but now it’s Nagisa’s turn to return the favor and trip up MIRAI, but when Nagisa runs in she accidentally boots CHIAKI and MIRAI gets the wheelbarrow slam and FINALLY gets the running lariat for 3.

**¾

Ah, the sweet embrace of good tag-team wrestling. Fun little storylines in the match as MIRAI kept having her running lariat cut off and her landing it got the deal. Utami continues to not do a ton in these tag-matches but her stabilizing presence is appreciated. Everybody was game and CHIAKI is trying REALLY hard even if she’s clearly less polished than the other wrestlers.

Post-match everybody cuts promos and MIRAI gladhands with the fans.

I’ll be honest this review took me a while cause these weekly shows of Marigold are kinda…bad. I think I might skip over the next two shows in the tour and just put up the review for the upcoming PPV, but hey, I’m really stubborn, or dumb! So we’ll see. Anyway, have a good one and I hope you enjoyed the review.