Pantoja’s Marigold Dream Star Grand Prix Finals Review

Marigold Dream Star GP Finals

September 28^th, 2024 | Nagoya Conference Hall in Nagoya, Aichi | Attendance: 685

NOTE: For anyone following all of my reviews, my WrestleMania Series is still ongoing. It’s something I’m doing in my free time though so reviews from 2024 (like this one) take precedence. Also, I’m up to the Manias that are like, 7 hours long so it takes a while.

Finally getting to this. I have a STARDOM show I hope to take care of this week too. It’s just been hectic this week for me as we planned a surprise engagement party for my sister-in-law and I’m getting ahead of stuff at work since I leave on vacation next week.

DREAM League: Chika Goto [2] vs. Natsumi Showzuki [5]

Two women who are eliminated but there’s still things like pride on the line and a win for Chika could earn her a shot at Natsumi’s Super Fly Title. That allowed this to have more at stake than a typical match between two eliminated competitors. Chika was bringing it right to Natsumi in the early stages, looking to overwhelm her. She even got a little cocky, slapping the champion while she was down on the mat. That triggered a Natsumi rally, though Chika did have some points where she got going again with things like a Chokeslam but Natsumi was in control. She beat Chika with a diving knee drop in 7:46. A good way to start the show and an impressive showing for Chika. [***]

DREAM League: NØRI [8] vs. Victoria Yuzuki [3]

NØRI has been one of the breakout stars of this tournament and a win here would allow her to clinch at least a tie for first. Meanwhile, Yuzuki is an ideal person to try and play spoiler because of the energy she brings to the action and her plucky attitude. NØRI brought her array of kicks that has helped her do so well so far while Yuzuki used speed and flew around the ring to give her troubles. I liked the desperation Yuzuki wrestled with. She may not have a chance at the block but she was out there to at least pick up two wins overall and you gotta respect that. There was some very good back and forth here featuring several suplex variations. Just when it looked like NØRI might have this sealed, Yuzuki trapped her with a flash pin to score the upset in 5:58. One of the better six minute matches you’ll find anywhere. Just a lot of action packed in and a surprise result. NØRI came out of this tournament looking like a million bucks. [***¼]

Post-match, NØRI snapped and attacked Yuzuki while she was cutting a promo.

DREAM League: MIRAI [7] vs. Nagisa Nozaki [7]

I believe both are still alive. If one of them won and the next match went to a draw, they’d all have 9 points. On paper, this should’ve worked better than it did. MIRAI is kind of the ultimate babyface and Nagisa has carved out a midcard niche as a heel. That worked well early as they kept it simple and had exchanges surrounding that concept. The fight spilled outside and Nagisa tossed MIRAI into various chairs and such. The usual heel stuff we’ve come to expect though she does it better than some others (like CHIAKI). MIRAI rallied and took control but when she went for the win, CHIAKI ran in and pulled out the referee. She and Nagisa have been teaming and this is likely to set up a title match against MIRAI and Mai Sakurai. That sparked a brawl in the crowd with CHIAKI and Nagisa working her over which is a decent idea but was bland in execution. The whole thing led to a double countout in 12:10. It started well but kind of fell off a cliff. [**¼]

DREAM League: Kouki Amarei [8] vs. Utami Hayashishita [8]

This is for the DREAM block. Unless we get some kind of no contest, the winner here takes the block. The impressive Kouki, who has also had a breakout tournament, and Utami, the Ace. Ideally, this is a match where Kouki proves herself against a top star and that’s just what we got. Kouki was more than up to the challenge here, giving whatever Utami dished out right back to her and showing that she’s very much the future of this promotion. I liked that she kept going for pins, knowing that Utami is hard to beat and she wanted to take any chance she could. It’s a little thing but it’s smart. She also did like, a standing Cattle Mutilation which looked really cool. Utami withstood her best stuff, cutting off a top rope move with a Torture Rack slam of sorts. Kouki also hit a cutter and a release back suplex but Utami refused to stay down and bested her with a German Suplex in 9:03 to win the block. A very good match and the best on the show so far. Kouki is quickly becoming my favorite in Marigold and Utami always delivers. [***½]

STAR League: CHIAKI [2] vs. Kizuna Tanaka [0]

Neither woman is lighting up the standings but Kizuna has delivered some spirited performances. It’d be nice to see her get on the board. This was a classic cheap heel vs. underdog babyface and honestly, I don’t have much else to say about it. Kizuna gave another solid effort and the crowd was behind her but nothing else about this really stood out. Kizuna had a nice fisherman suplex for a near fall and then won soon after with what looked like a combination of a Code Red and a school boy in 7:13. Fine enough for a meaningless match and glad Kizuna to a win. [**]

STAR League: Mai Sakurai [9] vs. Misa Matsui [2]

A win for Mai gives her the lead in the block and would mean that only Nanae and Sareee could surpass her. This had a similar vibe to Yuzuki/NØRI as Misa got to play the fiery underdog who can be the spoiler. It mostly worked here as well, with Misa throwing everything she had a Mai. I thought the spot where they traded shots only for Misa to catch her in a Stretch Muffler was well executed. There was also a spot where Mai hit a nice running knee only for Misa to respond with her own that looked much cleaner. Misa nearly took it with a pinning combination but Mai kicked out and applied the STF to get to 11 points in 6:22. A solid short match here and Mai is in good shape if she does indeed make the finals since she didn’t have to wrestle for long. [***]

STAR League: Miku Aono [8] vs. Nanae Takahashi [9]

Miku may not have a chance to win anymore but she can stop Nanae and step up as the United National Champion. They started with a handshake and this was just awesome from that point on. They were throwing strikes and big moves right from the start. Miku looked more determined than to stand up to Nanae and show that she could hang with the veteran. The pace slowed only for things like submissions, with Nanae working a Figure Four for a bit. The limb work wasn’t all that important though and Miku shrugged it off a bit. From there, Nanae started throwing bombs like vicious forearms, stiff kicks, and suplex variations. Miku did her best to throw kicks right back at her and that’s when this match was at its best. Just Miku and Nanae beating the shit out of each other. Miku surprised me with a spot where she actually slammed Nanae, which I don’t think I’ve seen many people do, especially someone of Miku’s size. As this neared the time limit, they started throwing lariats. Miku hit a double underhook suplex but Nanae was too big for her to cleanly cover and those few seconds were costly as time expired at the 15:00 mark. A hell of a match that gave me everything I wanted. Nanae continues to deliver in this role and Miku put on what was probably the best effort of her Marigold run. Great stuff all around. [****¼]

STAR League: Bozilla [8] vs. Sareee [10]

The previous draw means that Nanae is out and it’s down to this. Sareee wins and the block is hers but a loss gives it to Mai Sakurai. Bozilla had a cool special entrance that involved her breathing fire. The idea here was simple as Bozilla couldn’t win the block but could be the only person to beat Sareee in this tournament. That would almost certainly guarantee a title shot. That set up the premise of the match which saw Bozilla play the bully foreigner while Sareee did what she could to overcome that. Bozilla still needs obvious polishing but she continues to understand her role and does it well. From battering Sareee around the ring to busting out a plancha outside. Sareee threw shots at Bozilla that she kind of just brushed off like a true monster would. The focus late was that Sareee was avoiding the powerbomb at every turn. Bozilla did nearly drop Sareee on her head on a powerslam spot though. Sareee survived a piledriver and moonsault before the powerbomb did her in after 9:30. A huge win for Bozilla in a very good match that likely sets up a title shot down the line. Sareee’s first pinfall loss in Marigold. [***½]

Dream Star Grand Prix Finals: Mai Sakurai vs. Utami Hayashishita

It’s incredible to think how far Mai Sakurai has come in the past few months. From the Giulia match onward, she has been on a roll and feels like a star rather than the fun midcard girl she was in STARDOM. Utami came out in a Queen’s Quest mask which was a nice touch. Things were evenly matched throughout the early stages though Utami did bust out an STF as if she was Mai. The fight moved to the crowd which is kind of the standard for this company. Things went back to the ring where they were back to trading offensive moves and strikes. While Utami has been in this situation before, Mai seemed determined to deliver in this environment. She also had the crowd behind her as they bit on many of her close calls. Mai survived a German Suplex and applied the STF a few times but Utami just wouldn’t give up. At one point she looked on the verge of passing out but managed to get to the ropes. I thought that was her last shot, yet two flash pins later and I was biting on the ending again. Alas, Utami won with the BT Bomb after 16:38, taking the entire tournament. A great, fitting end to this with lots of drama and two strong performances. [****]

 

DREAM LEAGUE	POINTS	STAR LEAGUE	POINTS
Utami Hayashishita	10 (5-2)	Mai Sakurai	11 (5-1-1)
NØRI	8 (3-2-2)	Bozilla	10 (5-2)
Kouki Amarei	8 (4-2)	Sareee	10 (4-1-2)
MIRAI	8 (3-2-2)	Nanae Takahashi	10 (4-1-2)
Nagisa Nozaki	8 (3-2-2)	Miku Aono	9 (3-1-3)
Natsumi Showzuki	7 (3-3-1)	Kizuna Tanakai	2 (1-6)
Victoria Yuzuki	5 (2-4-1)	Misa Matsui	2 (1-6)
Chika Goto	2 (1-6)	CHIAKI	2 (1-6)

8.0

The final score: review Very Good

The 411

A great show overall. Not everything hit but it moved along nicely, featured mostly ***+ matches, and had some really great moments. Bozilla’s win, Mai’s run to the finals, Utami winning it all, and the Miku/Nanae war were all great.