Dream Star Fighting Marigold: Summer Gold Shine August 19th 2024

So I’m a bit sick of Stardom right now so I’m going to catch up with what Marigold has been doing, this is the last official singles match of Giulia I think as she faces her protege/BFF Mai Sakurai in the main-event. We’re in Korakuen Hall and we got 1450 apparently for it so…woo-hoo! I’m not totally following what’s happening here in every storyline but my keen deductive skills will be able to solve that.

As this show starts I will say that the production values of Marigold absolutely smoke Stardom, we get this big entrance thing with all the talent’s pictures and music and a video and it’s just…it makes it seem like a big deal. We have a video of Giulia and Mai walking along the shore and I assume they’re talking about her departure and we see pictures of them together in earlier times, then an interview where Mai is crying and Giulia seems less sad but still a bit emotional.

Minami Yuuki vs. Komomo Minami

Background: So I know Komomo who was in the Stardom dojo but I think got injured and never debuted, she’s MIRAI’s protege and is pale, has dark hair, and a pretty cool black and gold outfit. Minami is from Ice Ribbon and I’m unsure if I’ve seen her before. Yuuki has a ponytail and is wearing black gear with a yellow and green hex pattern on it.

The Match: Clean handshake and commentary lets me know this is Yuuki’s Marigold debut. Apparently Yuuki is an ex-idol and they do some standing switches and opening grappling stuff and it’s very slow. Komomo takes over with some snapmares and a dropkick and then reverses a slam into a cradle and then a choke. Break and Yuuki gets some overhead chops or forearms and then they duke it out a bit. Corner dropkick by Komomo and then a crab. Ropebreak and we get Komomo pounding in the ropes and Yuuki fires back with a dropkick and then goes for a suplex and settles for a schoolgirl. More basic offense with Yuuki in control until Komomo gets a body slam and cranks on an armbar. Ropebreak again and Komomo spams dropkicks, and man, they don’t even hit the ribs, these are to the hips. We get some standing switches and then an inside cradle from Yuuki that Komomo barely escapes. Yuuki smells weakness and keeps up the aggression with another terrible dropkick and then armdrags from Yuuki to set up a cover. Yuuki gets a backdrop driver and that gets 3.

*

Well it was bad, but it was regular bad, not super terrible bad. Komomo looks like she has no confidence in the ring and Yuuki actually impressed me more, though both are clearly prospects still.

And speaking of prospects, now comes Seri Yamaoka, she’s dressed in plain clothes and has short-ish black hair. She announces her debut on January 3rd, 2025. She drops in a pretty classic wrestler stance and is apparently a freestyle wrestler and took silver in some amateur event.

Natsumi Showzuki vs. Misa Matsui vs. Nao Ishikawa

Background: So Natsumi is the Superfly (cruiser basically) champion and won it by beating Misa. Showzuki is a kick devil of sorts while Misa is more of a technician though Matsui is the Speed Star so she goes fast, Nao is kind of a bratty rookie who keeps on getting pulverized but last I saw her she was borrowing some Nanae stuff and screaming passion. Nao still has the very warm color palette with saffron orange, yellow, and pink gear, and a ponytail with bangs. Misa is in blue and silver and has long blonde hair and uh, I can’t help but notice she might be a Natsupoi ripoff. Natsumi is in red and gold and black and it looks all very…regal and baroque.

The Match: Commentary lets us know that Natsumi doubted if Nao was below the weight limit for the Superfly division so we got some shade. And Nao seems pretty over as the crowd chants for her while she preens and hotdogs and grandstands. We get a triple lockup and then some more multi-person submission attempts before Nao and Natsumi (who have apparently been teaming together but with lots of friction) try to double-team Misa but it’s mostly Natsumi being frustrated with Nao. And Misa and Natsumi just double-dropkick Nao and do a high-speed sequence with quick armdrags and covers and then Nao shows up again and plays up to the crowd again and now she gets a double clothesline and hits a weak shoulder and a cartwheel splash on Misa. Misa sleepwalks Nao through a sequence before getting an over-the-shoulder kneebar, and then Natsumi shows up to armbar Misa. Showzuki misses the low dropkick against the ropes and slides outside, but Misa can’t get the plancha as Nao cuts her off…and this lets Natsumi go back in and kick some butt. We get a Misa/Natsumi slugfest and then they both duck a Nao diving crossbody and double-team her. Nao reverses with a double rope-assisted jawbreaker and then her double-arm suplex on Misa…and that lets Nao call in Natsumi to hit a move on Misa. Natsumi actually agrees and goes up top…and Nao tosses her off onto Misa. Pretty clever! And Nao calls for another double-team and Natsumi just kicks her head off and gets some running strikes into the corner. MIsa breaks it up and we get another Natsumi/Misa sequence with both continually hitting Nao while fighting. And Nao goes at Natsumi and this lets Misa hit the European Clutch pinning combination and steals the win on Nao.

**¼

Pretty clever finishing sequence and enough storytelling to make up for Nao’s honestly terrible ring work. The story was clear and I got the characters.

Kizuna Tanaka, MIRAI, Utami Hayashishita & Victoria Yuzuki vs. Bozilla, CHIAKI, Myla Grace & Zayda Steel – Elimination Match

Background: So we have the Japanese babyfaces versus the foreign (and CHIAKI) heels. Babyface squad is Kizuna Tanaka (Minoru’s daughter) and she’s got dark hair and wearing either fancy rib tape or a corset along with blue and white gear. Victoria is another rookie (a super rookie according to commentary) and has long bleached blonde hair and yellow gear. MIRAI has the blue and white flame aesthetic and short, multi-colored hair, and Utami has white and red and is walking out with a rose. The heels are the giant European lady Bozilla, the dark wolf of the ring, CHIAKI who has short hair, a wolf tattoo on her forearm, and sunglasses and a chair and is wearing a pretty covered up getup with plenty of fur trim, and the American Zayda Steel in black with blue trim and the Irish Myla has pink and purple. As far as characters go, MIRAI is a rising star who has had success in Stardom but never crested the upper echelon, she’s a power-brawler with some technical skills, Utami was a world champ in Stardom and is probably the most credible babyface in Marigold now that Giulia is leaving, she’s got a judo based style. Tanaka and Victoria are both rookies, Yuzuki does some athletic babyface stuff and I don’t know Tanaka very well. Bozilla is a huge monster, CHIAKI is a cheating brawler, Myla is a bit of a high-flyer, and Zayda does indie heel stuff.

The Match: MIRAI and Zayda start…but Steel immediately tags out to CHIAKI…and MIRAI tags out to…Kizuna? Huh. Lockup and headlock sequence that CHIAKI mostly dominates while she sticks her tongue out, we get a double tag and in comes Bozilla and Utami to trade shoulders. It doesn’t go well for Utami and so we get Yuzuki and Myla now do a lot of running and Victoria sets up a running dropkick against the ropes before Zayda breaks it with a kick and the heels triple team the rookie and Boz presses her over the top rope for an elimination…or not as Utami and MIRAI catch Victoria and put her back on the apron. Yuzuki and Tanaka get a double dropkick to knock Bozilla out (not over) the ring and the faces now all beat up Myla. MIRAI gets a whacky legbar and Utami comes in to assist with a neck crank before they break it and it’s Utami’s time to tag in and whoop butt, sticking to simple stuff, Myla gets loose with a flying clothesline and then a backdrop driver and in comes CHIAKI. The Dark Wolf stomps on Utami in an arrogant fashion and then lands the facewash. Zayda comes in for the double-team and we get a running dropkick by CHIAKI with an assist, but they hotdog a bit too much and Utami reverses and gets a double dropkick of her own and in comes Yuzuki…who immediately gets wiped out by CHIAKI. Zayda comes in to pick the bones and now it’s Yuzuki in peril. Zayda talks trash and throws terrible strikes until Yuzuki gets free with a flying headscissors and a dropkick, but Zayda cuts that off with a backstabber. Another rough sequence but Yuzuki gets a convoluted rollup and gets a crucifix on Zayda to eliminate her. Myla is next with some strikes and a swinging neckbreaker but her rope run is broken up by MIRAI and that lets Victoria get her rope-walk facebuster and then in comes Tanaka to hit some running dropkicks. Yuzuki comes in for support and they get a double-team dropkick on Grace. Kizuna loads up something but Myla gets a superkick and a Michinoku Driver for 2.8, and then Tanaka gets a spin kick and a bridging fisherman’s suplex for a nearfall and then sets up like…it’s a La Magistral but she jumps while doing it and Myla takes a bump and that’s enough for 3 as Grace is eliminated. Not a good looking finish. CHIAKI comes in and does some hairpulling and disrespectful stuff on the rookie, and breaks out the CLAW! Claw slam is broken into a Fujiwara by Tanaka and then Kizuna brings in Yuzuki to keep it up with speed on the Wolf. Utami gets the rack slam, Yuzuki with a sliding dropkick and that gets 2.7. Yuzuki keeps the high speed stuff going but runs into a CHIAKI spear and that lets Bozilla come in. Shoulderblocks take out the rookies, and when MIRAI and Utami test Boz we get a double clothesline. Boz presses Kizuna onto Victoria and then we get a double chokeslam and then a powerbomb gets the pin on Victoria and she’s eliminated. Boz loads up Kizuna for a powerbomb, clears out the babyface side, and then drops Tanaka for 3. Tanaka is eliminated.

MIRAI comes in and uses speed to duck Boz’s stuff and tries for a low-bridge but Bozilla stomps her down and loads up another powerbomb…and MIRAI gets a sunset flip that is semi-botched as MIRAI almost lands on her head but the pin attempt only gets 2.7 anyway. MIRAI goes to the mat and cycles through armbars before settling on a triangle, and we know where this is going. Powerbomb attempt, but Utami runs in and helps MIRAI convert it into a rana and we have Bozilla over the ropes, she’s on the apron! Utami and MIRAI do a charge…and run straight into Bozilla’s shoulders. MIRAI bounces back but Utami fights back a bit…and then MIRAI sees Bozilla stepping through the ropes and kicks the leg, dragonscrew and Bozilla falls off the apron! Bozilla is eliminated. And CHIAKI flies in and immediately starts pounding on MIRAI, picking her up and taking her to the apron and tries to dump her, but MIRAI slips out and holds up CHIAKI for a running Utami forearm and uh, we know what’s happening now. CHIAKI ducks and MIRAI is stunned, Bozilla grabs MIRAI’s leg, and while the ref is pulling Utami out of the ring, CHIAKI grabs a chair and waffles MIRAI with it who slides to the mats. MIRAI is eliminated. Down to just CHIAKI and Utami here and CHIAKI is keeping the aggression up, but her spear is blocked and Utami goes for a gutrwench but can’t land it, CHIAKI gets a scoop powerslam and sets up a rack but Utami counters with a German, but CHIAKI fires up and now she lands the spear! This has gotten pretty spicy. And Utami gets a lariat and…time expires? C’mon Rossy

**½

That finish was absolutely terrible, but beyond that the match was actually cooking quite a bit. Bozilla’s development as a monster and her instincts are all quite impressive and even CHIAKI is turning into a credible singles. But…that finish, you have an elimination match with over the top elimination rules and you can’t do a double countout or a double over the top rope elimination? A time limit draw? Are you kidding me?

Arisa Nakajima & Sareee vs. Chika Goto & Nanae Takahashi

Background: Sareee is the champion and a heel that represents “traditional” wrestling against the new-fangled Marigold, Arisa is another of those freelance legend types, though I’m pretty sure she’s announced her retirement and she hasn’t wrestled since August. Chika is one of the ex-idol types Sareee and Arisa have disdain for and Nanae is a crusty vet trying to instill passion in the rookies. From the pre-match video I think that Nanae feels bad about being a bullying vet and is trying to give back to the younger generations. Or not, yet again, I don’t speak Japanese. Sareee is all in red and gold and has a ton of championships with her. Arisa is in black with an evil looking feather coat. Chika is tall and has a sort of denim jacket she’s rocking, and Nanae is dressed like a raver cowgirl.

The Match: So commentary explains that some of this is about beef from SEAdLINNNG and its founding (by Nanae) which also involved Arisa and later on Sareee. Nanae, before the match walks over to Arisa and tearing up a document in front of her which gets Arisa hot and we immediately have to separate them with the ref trying to gain control. We eventually get settled and we start with Arisa just clocking Nanae and then going to the mat where Nakajima goes for a juji-gatame but Nanae breaks with power and cranks in a headlock. Arisa tries some strikes but Nanae just bullies her down and drops an elbow and tags in Chika who goes for a giant swing..but Arisa breaks it and then shrugs off Chika’s strikes and slaps her down. Arisa with a hairmare and we have our idol in peril. Sareee in with the shoot kicks and then a Muta Lock. More abuse and Chika finally gets a big boot and then tags in Nanae who remains…very loud. Nanae and Sareee exchange strikes but Nanae uses power to take Sareee down and then goes at Arisa on the apron which lets them double Nanae with a double suplex. Sareee with a missile dropkick, and then another, quick cover and then Arisa comes in to duke it out with Nanae who ain’t selling nothing. Nakajima finally gets a German suplex to put down Nanae and then her own missile dropkick for 2.6. Nanae ain’t dealing with that though and they fight over a suplex and trade strikes before Nanae finally gets a Blue Thunder Bomb. Chika blocks Sareee and Nanae gets the NanaRacka for 2.8. They duke it out again with Nanae asking for more from Arisa and it’s a hockey fight. Arisa shrugs off a Nanae lariat and gets a dragon suplex and then they get a noggin knocker and we get a double-down into a dual tag and Chika and Sareee do a sequence. Goto gets a shoulder and goes for the giant swing and we get 10 rotations and then some hip checks from Chika, but Sareee weathers the storm and comes back with some stiff strikes and we get the rookie throwing ten forearms for Sareee’s one, and then Arisa gets a kick on the apron and they pinball poor Chika…and then Nanae takes the bullet for her partner and takes her place for the beating! Sareee and Arisa do some stereo offense on them. Arisa loads up a top-rope move on Goto, but Nanae cuts it off, but that gets cut off and she eats a tree of woe stomp and then Chika takes a stomp of her own from Sareee and kicks out at 2.8. Nanae is back though and throwing lariats and Chika throws a lariat of her own and gets 2.7 on Sareee! Goto choke slam on Sareee but Nakajima breaks it up! And Sareee gets a diving stomp and Nanae breaks it up. We get a desperate La Magistral from Chika but she goes for another lariat, and Sareee catches it for an armbar and Goto taps.

***

THis was bloated and kind of a mess and the selling was a bit dodgy and it’s clear Arisa isn’t what she once was, but Nanae had the big emotional beats and her protecting Chika and trying to right the wrongs of her past was all very fun. Sareee still doesn’t do much for me as a performer but she’s a fine generic champion.

Post-match Nanae comforts Chika for tapping and Sareee cuts an arrogant promo.

Miku Aono (c) vs. Kouki Amarei – United National Championship

Background: So this is for the white belt, the secondary title, the IC/US title level. Miku was a bit of an upset as a first winner, but Kouki (one of the AWG talents that jumped to Marigold) would be even more of an upset as she is very new. Miku is a bit of a kick-heavy worker who finishes with a Styles Clash, she’s dressed in her red and white and has a cool burgundy robe with feathers on it. Kouki is the Amethyst Butterfly, she’s tall and has short blonde hair and purple gear and a few high-flying maneuvers.

The Match: Lockup to start to a draw and then a test of strength next. Kouki starts to win but MIku fights back and then Amarei gets a shoulder to knock her down and then they grind it out on the mat and trade headlocks. We do some rope-running and Miku gets a dropkick, but Kouki fires back with a few big boots. Kouki uses the ropes to toss around Miku some more and then gets a Yakuza kick…but Miku gets a corner dropkick, and misses the second and Kouki gets some stomps and a slam and this is all very…pedestrian so far. Kouki gets a standing crab. Miku makes the ropes and Kouki keeps it up, but Miku ducks a big boot and goes at Kouki who is wrapped up in the ropes. Miku goes at the legs of Kouki now and cranks in a deathlock/crab kinda sorta sharpshooter deal. Kouki makes the ropes and Chika tries to go for a fisherman’s But it doesn’t pan out and we get a slugfest with Kouki sometimes remembering to sell the leg and Miku not even trying to sell the back. Kouki low-bridges Miku to the apron and goes for a backdrop something but Miku slips out and teases a German off the apron but Kouki breaks…and Miku kicks the leg out of Kouki’s leg and then gets a running punt on the apron, Miku goes for a running kick with some buildup and Kouki gets a scoop powerslam and we get a double-down while teasing a double count out. Kouki crawls back in first and boots Miku off the apron while stretching out the leg afterwards (props!) but Miku crawls back anyway. Kouki gets the body slam and the falling splash and then the rack but Miku slips out and attempts a rollup but that gets stuffed and Kouki spinebusters her and then climbs the turnbuckle, but Miku cuts her off with a kick and goes for a superplex. Kouki boots her down and goes for the Amethyst Butterfly splash…and eats dirt as Miku rolls away, and then Aono gets the 59 Lock (chinlock/keylock combo) and Kouki eventually makes the ropes. Rope-assisted Rockstar Buster by Miku gets 2.7 and the champ climbs to the top and gets a missile dropkick…but Kouki pops up, screaming, and gets a cutter. Miku with a German! Kouki with a backdrop driver! They brawl it out and both trade some ground and pound, they make their way to their feet and Kouki is selling big and Miku gets a double-arm suplex, but Kouki gets a desperate dropkick to set up her own submission as she chases an armbar, and then flips forward to get an almost…butterfly looking hold, hrm. Well, Miku gets the ropes but Kouki gets a Dominator and Miku kicks out at 2.8 very weakly. Amarei goes up and lands the Amethyst Butterfly…for 2.8. Blue Thunder Bomb attempted by Kouki for the killshot but Miku slips out with a splash and then gets a short-arm lariat and loads up the Styles Clash…and Kouki backdrops out of it. They struggle over some pinfalls and Miku gets a high kick, a punt, and a buzzsaw kick…for 2.9. Miku grabs the Styles Clash though and that followup is enough to finish.

**¼

Kouki is still not at all ready for this, but she showed brief moments where she maybe could be ready for this. Miku ain’t like…fantastic herself but for a 20 minute match this was…fine. It was fine. Decent finishing sequence, we just need Kouki to wrestle like she’s actually the size she’s at.

Giulia vs. Mai Sakurai

Background: So this is Giulia’s last real singles match in Marigold (so far). She has one of those kinda comedy/character gauntlet matches later on (that I’ll try to review) but this is her last ACTUAL match. And it’s between Giulia, the huge superstar that is obviously making waves in WWE right now and Mai Sakurai, who is somebody who never really should have had a career in wrestling, she’s a model who became a wrestler and was just a warm body until she joined Giulia’s Donna Del Mondo stable in Stardom, and Mai developed a gimmick of Her Ladyship, where she put on an exaggerated aristocratic accent and cut promos about how while she was eating the finest of the local delicacies in the fanciest hotel in the city, the fans would be consuming supermarket frozen versions of that same dish while fantasizing about herself. It got over, and even though Mai is not a natural athlete, her hard scrabble story (despite being a successful model) and goofy personality turned her into a bit of a cult hero in Stardom, and Giulia, despite being a much bigger star, would always play the fool for Mai’s bits and set up the jokes in a very Punch and Judy routine (or whatever it’s called in Japan, I dunno, I’m not that much of a weeb). They seem to be actually good friends behind the scenes and this is almost a Curtain Call moment where behind the scenes stuff is bleeding out to on-camera situations and the big star is going for one last moment with their protege/friend/student/sidekick. Mai is out with a big glittery fur entrance robe. Her ring gear is black and silver and she has short-ish hair with blonde highlights. Giulia is also wearing furs as entrance gear, though more roughly-hewn, she has spiked sunglasses she hands over to CHIAKI and orange braids. Giulia’s ring gear is turquoise and gold.

The Match: Commentary lets us know that while they are each other’s most frequent tag partner, this is the first time they have ever faced in a singles match. Big fight feel as Giulia calls for silence and they get the big lockup. Mai wins and goes for a strike in the ropes but Giulia ducks and gets Mai in the ropes…and gives a clean, if rough, break. Handshake offer and Giulia goes for a backdrop driver but Mai counters with a headlock takeover and works that for a while. Back to standing position and Giulia gets a kick and then a chinlock. Mai breaks and we get an early tease of the Glorious Buster, but Mai counters into the inverted facelock, and then we get a Northern Light’s Bomb tease before Mai breaks that and gets a headbutt which the crowd pops big for and Giulia sells tremendously. Good job on that. Mai gets some stomps and slaps and then some facewashes and a running low kick to knock Giulia outside. Mai tosses Giulia into some chairs and even goes for a chairshot but the ref breaks that up and Giulia uses that to take advantage and Giulia whips Mai into the chairs and then bounces Sakurai’s head off the wall of Korakuen. Mai manages to get Giulia and tosses her into the chairs…but GIulia reverses a brainbuster on the mats and the Beautiful Madness loads up a table. The table is not paid off as of yet but we do tease a countout and we go back in and Giulia gets a sliding kick and then goes for the Bianca armbar. Mai makes the ropes and Giulia gets the toss Northern Lights suplex and goes up top…and Mai cuts her off with a slap and we get a superplex and then Sakurai gets a missile dropkick…and Giulia no-sells and gets a German suplex and Mai no-sells and gets the jump kick. Mai with more headbutts…and then Giulia with headbutts! They are obviously worked at least. More strikes as both trade forearms until GIulia drops Mai with the Italian Hook…but Mai recovers and gets the facelock leg drop and a snap suplex. Mai goes up again…and gets dropkicked off by Giulia. They go outside and Giulia goes for a chair and gets into it with the ref…and slaps him! Giulia goes back to the table and gets a piledriver through it. Giulia jaws at it more with the ref who is going to fine GIulia for breaking a table. And then Giulia runs straight into a bucket from Mai. Sakurai gets a plancha to follow and the crowd is hot. Mai gets some running strikes and sets up Mai’s super ugly diving elbow drop…and follows up with a Niagara Driver (?!) for 2.8 before climbing up again…and Giulia cuts her off and gets the double-arm superplex. Giulia loads up a Glorious Driver…and Mai slips out and gets a Tiger Suplex (?) and then Mai gets the Glorious Driver!!! Giulia kicks out of course…and then when Mai tries to go for the kill GIulia gets a backdrop driver…but Mai gets a big boot and then a STF. Giulia eventually makes the ropes and Mai follows up with a pumphandle spinebuster and then a flurry of slaps and headbutts. Giulia is wobble-legged but catches Mai for the Northern Lights Bomb…but Giulia can’t get the immediate cover and when she goes for it Mai gets an ornate rollup for 2.9. Giulia gets the G-Trigger and then a Glorious Driver…and Mai kicks out at 2.9. Giulia gets the Northern Lights Bomb…2.9. Giulia gets an inverted Kamigoye and then a pumphandle Northern Lights Bomb and that’s 3.

***½

This isn’t just emotions, this is Mai actually working a very good match. I mean there also emotions but Mai was crisp, her stuff looked good and she had intensity and effort. It was a basic formula but both players hit the notes well.

Post-match Giulia and Mai talk a bit and then we get the ref going in…and Giulia teases going for a move before hugging him. We clear the ring and we get Giulia and Mai in the ring together and Giulia asks if Mai is okay and says that they had a huge fight before the match. Giulia is proud of Mai and while Sakurai had doubts about being able to become a pro wrestler Giulia thinks that she hit that point right here, tonight and she needs to keep that fire for the rest of her career. Now Mai has the mic and says that she wanted to beat Giulia to prove herself but she at least knew her, and even when Giulia leaves to America, Mai will always Love, Love, Love, Giulia and she’ll carry Marigold even when Giulia leaves.

I uh, had my housemate cutting some onions right here or something and I couldn’t see a fair amount of that last exchange.

Well, Marigold does NOT usually have the workrate, but most of their booking has such intentionality and purpose that you can ignore the other stuff a bit. Not a bad show here though obviously a few dips and divots in the card.