Dream Star Fighting Marigold: Dream Star Grand Prix 08.16 and 08.17

Dream Star Fighting Marigold: Dream Star Grand Prix August 16th and 17th

Hello and back for more Dream Star Fighting Marigold’s Dream Star Grand Prix! We are in lovely Ichikawa in the Ichikawa City Bunka Hall which seems to be theater style so there are fans in the stands and fans to the side of the ring on the stage in an unique setup. There’s 400 of them and yet again, I’m just going to review the Block matches here.

Nagisa Nozaki [4] vs. MIRAI [3] – Star League

Background: Nagisa is a cheating jerk who kicks, MIRAI is a heroic babyface who is sort of a power technician. Nagisa is dressed in her random grab-bag gear, MIRAI has the dragon deal.

The Match: Nagisa starts with a handshake, MIRAI, like an idiot, accepts and gets booted and tossed. Nagisa gets a backbreaker and then boots MIRAI who is leaning over the apron, and then Nagisa…puts MIRAI on a rolling cart and launches that into the ringpost. Missile dropkick follows for 2 and Nagisa tries a choke but MIRAI rolls through, gets a dropkick, and then a fancy takedown and a leg crank sets up more work on the knee. Nagisa comes back, and gets her fancy kick on the apron, but a second attempt is turned into an ankle lock. Nozaki powders and rests on her cart while they tease a countout. Nagisa asks for a timeout and then a clean way back into the ring but MIRAI catches her coming through the ropes with a dragonscrew and then a leglace snap. Nagisa gets some strikes though and corners MIRAI and Nagisa is even selling a bit as she stretches out her leg and that lets MIRAI get a takedown into a leglock. Ropebreak but MIRAI goes for the Miramare Shock…but Nagisa gets her sleeper before MIRAI breaks by savaging the leg. A straight right hand by Nagisa drops MIRAI and then a boot and more kicks as she gets the low dropkick for 2.6. A repeat is ducked though and MIRAI pretzels Nagisa with an anklehold and then a kneecrank/over-the-shoulder crab but Nagisa still makes the ropes. Miramare Shock for 2.9 and MIRAI looks a bit flabbergasted. Running lariat but Nagisa gets a low-bridge and they’re outside again and the Darkness Revolution leader whips MIRAI into plunder and continues the brawling. MIRAI finally reverses and Nagisa takes a huge spill through the chairs, loads her on the cart, boots CHIAKI down, and then slams Nagisa into the ring post. But MIRAI can’t get Nagisa back inside and Nozaki actually manages to toss MIRAI off the stage into some chairs and flies back inside. Nozaki wins via countout.

**¾

Hey a match where they used some strategy and the unique stage to have a dirty pin. That said, Nagisa really didn’t sell anything the last 3 minutes but that’s Nagisa. MIRAI matches at least aren’t just a collection of spots at least.

Utami Hayashishita [4] vs. Seri Yamaoka [4] – Dream League

Background: Utami is the champ, a serious, stoic, judoka who fights for honor and decency but is a bit aloof and distant. Seri is a youngster, a rising star who much like Utami back in the day, has a future star trajectory. Yamaoka is an amateur standout and was mentored by the colorful and passionate Nanae Takahashi, so Seri’s gear is all tie-dye and rainbows. They’re both 2-1 right now as well.

The Match: We of course start with grappling as both go at it on the mat, Seri is more mobile, Utami has the weight/size advantage and feels more patient as Yamaoka squirms around for positioning. Utami gets the first ‘blow’ with a pin for a one count and they reset and Seri takes the leg and is just going crazy while Utami goes for the ropes. Backup and Hayashishita lands the first strike with a dropkick and then goes a clubbering and a slammin’. Simple stuff, forearms, body slams, but Utami preens enough between moves to keep the crowd into it. Seri tries a forearm and then a dropkick but Utami snatches that into a crab and works it, Seri ALMOST makes the ropes but Utami drags her back to the middle and switches to a single-leg. Seri finally breaks on the ropes but her back is gone and she has nothing on a forearm as Utami grins and boots down the rookie. A while into the buckle (and Seri sells her back!) sets up a sequence that Yamaoka eventually turns into a dropkick and some double-leg slams into the buckles and some driving shoulders. They slug it out some more until Yamaoka gets the Air Raid Crash (an Utami move…interesting) for 2. And Utami is irate and fires back her own for the same. Utami with a lariat, but Seri rebounds for a spear and a massive Karelin lift. And I will say, while Utami is pretty big/tall for a joshi, she just towers over Seri and all of the rookies power moves look incredible in comparison. Speaking of, Seri goes for a German but the Red Queen is just too powerful and gets a fireman’s carry facebuster (basically her torture rack powerbomb, but inverted) and Utami doesn’t even go for the immediate cover and gets a delayed two. Hayashishita is like “okay, it’s finishing time and goes for the Hijack Bomb but Seri slips out and gets a German and then something between a Northern Lights suplex and a backdrop and that gets 2. Yamaoka goes for the Fridge Bomb (inherited from Nanae) but she plays on the top rope too long and Utami rolls out of the way and a sliding northern elbow wipes out the rookie. Utami with a German suplex attempt Seri desperately tries to avoid and some elbow finally let her break free as she just slaps the heck out of Utami. But the champ is like “I don’t care” and gets a fiery lariat for 1 (?!?) Utami doesn’t hesitate though and it’s Bridging German time…for 2.9. Utami at it again, and while the crowd is chanting for Seri Utami makes sure to cup her ear before landing the Hijack Bomb and that’s academic.

***¼

Well these two have chemistry! The grappling stuff is course really strong, and we also have Utami as the bigger more powerful, and also jerkier member. Hayashishita busting out her meaner instincts as she grounds and cuts down her talented younger rivals is interesting stuff. Seri of course remains an utter delight and a wellspring of promise and I’m obviously a huge fan. Run this back! Many, many times!

Well that’s it for this portion of the show as we now are in Tokyo in the Shibuya Sports Center which looks like a pretty average rec center (the basketball hoop front and center for hard cams always messes with me). They also have tarps on the ground and they’re wrinkled and some are gray and some are on the blue side and like…yeesh. The ring mats also look approximately half an inch thick and there’s 300 people in the crowd. My goodness.

Maria [2] vs. Rea Seto [2] – Dream League

Background: So Maria is from Marvelous and she’s a sort of jerk heel, very tactical and clever though, relying more on stalling and sneak attacks than just blasting you with a weapon and using goons to ambush you, she’s also dressed like a chola. Rea is the rookie for Darkness Revolution and is dressed like a cursed Victorian doll.

The Match: During the pre-match check, Maria plays to the crowd and kinda plays around posing on the turnbuckle and you see Rea going like “hey…do I?” and while Maria is upside down in a tree of woe, Seto SLIDES in with a dropkick and Maria dodges and just beats the youngster down with facewashes to send Rea half out of the ring. Maria plays around so more and sets up a slingshot but Rea dodges and goes to her anklelock, Maria squirms free but she leads with her foot again and Seto snatches it and locks in. Maria reaches the ropes but Rea then uses those to crank on the outsiders knee and even gets a running basement dropkick to the knee, but a second attempt lets Maria pop up for her own dropkick and after selling the kneecap we get a pumphandle suplex for 2. A scoop lift is fought over for a while but Rea eventually gets a schoolgirl into a heel hook as the little one is just bulldog focused on that leg. Maria starts to slip free so Rea rips the Marvelous wrestlers kneepad off and just cranks on that knee with almost a bow and arrow hold. Maria finally desperately gets the ropes but Rea now smells weakness and gets up the larger wrestler for a whip that Maria collapses on and now we get another running dropkick to the leg. Maria turtles on the ropes and gets stomped so Rea sets up a running something but Maria snatches her for a spinning facebuster (that she lands knee first on and sells it, mwah!) and then does more of her routine and gets a head-trap armbar that Rea breaks on and now another facewash messes Seto up, but the Darkness Revolution young girl goes forward on a jackknife pin for 2.9! Maria gets a flying boot to keep the momentum with the vet but the bum knee makes it clear she has to finish soon, delayed butterfly suplex and a headscissors leglog deal chokes Rea enough she taps.

**½

Well Rea may only have one color on her palate, but hey, it works. She’s a quick little jerk that will just grab your knee and chew away at it. Maria remains an interesting performer, she sold very well and then kind of didn’t for the last minute, but adrenaline and guts. She’s a heel but she has a fun trickster, almost Eddie vibe to her, interesting performer and much better than most heel vs. heel deals.

Post-match Maria limps to the back on one leg cause she don’t need no help.

Mai Sakurai [2] vs. Kizuna Tanaka [0] – Star League

Background: Mai is the secondary singles champion in Marigold and was the runner-up in last years Dream Star, she’s had a rougher start as she’s 1-2 right now, but Tanaka has won nothing and is a green rookie babyface. Mai is dressed in the usual amazing robes while Tanaka is in the sort of ‘generic babyface joshi getup’ with white and frills, Mai’s gear isn’t that much more distinct with the same shimmering white tones, but it has more patterns and materials on it.

The Match: The code of honor is followed as we start the match and do some standing grappling wristlock stuff, and Kizuna does okay before speeding it up, knocking Mai down and getting a kneebar. Mai makes the ropes and just bludgeons the rookie with a few forearms and a big boot and cranks in her STF with definitely a bit of sauce to it. Kizuna speeds it up again, schoolgirl to set up a sort of dropkick, running dropkick against the ropes that Mai flings herself to the outside on, and Tanaka gets a plancha on like 5 people as all the ringside girls catch her. Back in and a high roundhouse sets up at an attempt at a fancy takedown/sweep into some whacky submission but Kizuna settles on the kneebar again and then gets an ankle lock lift into a kick to the gut. Kizuna with a FIsherman’s (Fisherwoman’s?) Buster for 2 and goes up again, but Her Ladyship just slaps the heck out of the rookie and it’s superplex time. Sakurai actually crawls over for the cover and it only gets 2. Both get up and they slug it out and Mai has the upperhand before another right staggers Kizuna, who remembers “wait, I can’t brawl” and she gets a FIsherman’s Neckbreaker and a Busaiku Knee (kinda?). A sorta angled Oklahoma roll gets 2, but Mai gets space with her jump kick sets up a backdrop driver, but Kizuna reverses it into a flying triangle and then some ground and pound before Mai shrugs her off and lands the backdrop driver…for 1! Kizuna fires up and gets the high kick but now Mai fires up and gets the backdrop driver for 2.5. The National champ keeps up the pressure with a buzzsaw kick and her low pump kick for 2.8. The straitjacket STO gets 3.

*¼

Okay so the finishing sequence knocks this up a tad, but my goodness Kizuna is trying to do a LOT of stuff she just can’t do right or make look good. She’s trying to work like her dad and her mom and do these fancy reversals and holds and cool kick combos, but she’s so green her kicks look terrible 85% of the time and her fancy reversals are just slow and awkward. Admittedly Mai is not the most coordinated person herself, but she realizes that and sticks as a hard-nosed brawler. I compare Kizuna to Rea, who basically is just zeroing in on the ankle lock and not trying other stuff. Let the vet do the cool stuff and carry the bulk of the match and focus on what you can actually do. Mai was very generous with Kizuna at least but man, Tanaka needs work.

Well that’s it for this installment, and yeah I’m like 5 days late, I got things to do in my life! Or maybe I’m just lazy, anyways appreciate you for reading and hope to get more of these out soon.