Pantoja’s Marigold Dream Star Grand Prix Night 1 (Afternoon Show) Review

Marigold Dream Star Grand Prix Night 1 (Afternoon Show)

August 31^st, 2024 | EDION Arena in Osaka, Japan | Attendance: 363

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.

My third round-robin tournament to cover of the year and I’m pretty intrigued by it. I’m still not super familiar with the Marigold roster but I’ve enjoyed most of their shows so far and Summer Destiny was fantastic so I’m excited.

STAR League: Bozilla [0] vs. Kizuna Tanaka [0]

I believe Kizuna is a rookie and while Bozilla is young, she has the presence of a veteran. She declined a handshake so Kizuna attacked but it had little to no effect. That’s exactly what this match ended up being as Bozilla was the dominant monster and Kizuna was the overmatched girl with a lot of heart. That was the right layout for this and the match had a smart story, though both ladies are inexperienced so it wasn’t nearly as good as this style of match can be. Bozilla won with a piledriver at the 5:10 mark. Decent and nothing more. [**]

DREAM League: Natsumi Showzuki [0] vs. Victoria Yuzuki [0]

Showzuki had a banger of a match at Summer Destiny while Yuzuki had stood out as a rookie. They were clearly playing this as a case where these two were evenly matched. Their opening exchanges saw them hit a few stalemates and then they had moments where they basically traded moves. This was another case where the idea of the match was well done yet the execution was a bit off. There were moments where you could tell that they were going a bit too fast and that led to some awkward spots and bits of miscommunication. That said, there was still a fair bit to like here and this was a step up in quality. We got the string of flash pin attempts and close calls right up to the 15:00 time limit going off and giving us our first draw. [***]

DREAM League: Kouki Amarei [0] vs. NØRI [0]

I’ve only seen NØRI in a tag match before this, while Kouki had a strong showing in a recent title match. Other than that, I don’t have much on either lady. I did like a fair bit of what NØRI brought to the table here though there were a handful of communication issues, much like we saw at bits in the previous match. The issue is that I don’t think they clicked as well outside of those moments as Showzuki/Yuzuki. Their chemistry was lacking and you could tell both would likely do better against more experienced opponents. Down the stretch, a lot of NØRI kicks seemed to miss and indeed she won after a series of them that it looked like she whiffed on. This went 9:53 and seriously struggled at points. [**]

STAR League: Miku Aono [0] vs. Misa Matsui [0]

Given what I’ve seen from both women so far, this has potential to be good. Misa took the skies early to a pop and then ended up working the leg a bit. Given her big title win, Miku is certainly higher on the card so Misa was the underdog here. With that in mind, it made sense that she kept up the pressure early and often. Her control segment was too dominant though as Miku wasn’t about to be overmatched. She made her comeback and I gotta say, the crowd was kind of not into it. Even when she hit the Styles Clash to win in 6:44, you could almost hear a pin drop. Very short considering I’d rather they get 10 than the previous match. [**¾]

DREAM League: Chika Goto [0] vs. MIRAI [0]

You’d have to assume that MIRAI is a favorite to win her block. Chika remains someone I’m still new to. In fact, this is her first singles match that I’m seeing. She showed off some solid power early, using a wheelbarrow spot during the opening exchanges. You could see MIRAI leading the way in this and that’s obviously the benefit of having someone like her on a roster this inexperienced. She wasn’t able to guide this to anything special but having her in there helped a lot. Chika did things like a big swing-style move and a handful of body slams to showcase her power game while MIRAI responded with some impactful moves and strikes. She also went after the arm a fair bit and Chika’s selling was inconsistent. That work set up MIRAI applying an armbar that she then added some leg wrenching to in order to get the submission victory in 9:43. That was good stuff and the best match of the night. [***¼]

DREAM League: Nagisa Nozaki [0] vs. Utami Hayashishita [0]

With these round-robin tournaments, I feel like you get booking tropes across them well. New Japan, STARDOM, NOAH, Dragon Gate, and now Marigold are places where you’re looking out for night one upsets. This had that written all over it. Utami is a heavy favorite and a top star, while Nagisa is a veteran who hasn’t fully established herself here just yet. They delivered a strong, back-and-forth sprint here. Nagisa was on her game here, selling well and throwing herself into some major bumps for Utami. Despite taking those bumps, Nagisa was kind of just eating these moves and finding a way to give it right back to her much higher on the card opponent. When Nagisa started firing off kicks, you could see her confidence grow. She followed with a Cobra Clutch suplex and a running Claymore-style boot to secure the upset in 8:47. A new match of the night and one of the better sprints you’ll see this year. [***½]

STAR League: Mai Sakurai [0] vs. Nanae Takahashi [0]

Two veterans close out night one. I’m familiar with both from their STARDOM days. Mai jumped on Nanae’s back during her entrance, getting the upper hand by any means necessary. That sparked a brawl outside complete with getting thrown into chairs in a way that HATE would approve of. This was a more serious Mai than I’m used to and it meant she brought a big fight to Nanae, who is usually out to get people to try and prove their toughness against her. Mai more than did that. Nanae gave her a beating and she gave one right back. No matter what Mai did though, she couldn’t seem to keep Nanae down for long enough to get a three count. She kept going to the legs and eventually applied an STF for an extended period. It was then that the referee called for the bell, giving Mai a huge win in 13:53. That was really good and, combined with her match against Giulia, Mai is on a hell of a roll. Very intrigued about what’s next for her. [***¾]

 

DREAM LEAGUE	POINTS	STAR LEAGUE	POINTS
Nagisa Nozaki	2 (1-0)	Mai Sakurai	2 (1-0)
MIRAI	2 (1-0)	Miku Aono	2 (1-0)
NØRI	2 (1-0)	Bozilla	2 (1-0)
Natsumi Showzuki	1 (0-0-1)	CHIAKI	0 (0-0)
Victoria Yuzuki	1 (0-0-1)	Sareee	0 (0-0)
Utami Hayashishita	0 (0-1)	Nanae Takahashi	0 (0-1)
Chika Goto	0 (0-1)	Misa Matsui	0 (0-1)
Kouki Amarei	0 (0-1)	Kizuna Tanaka	0 (0-1)

6.5

The final score: review Average

The 411

Not the greatest start for this tournament but also not a bad one. You can tell that the roster has some inexperienced ladies. The veterans mostly delivered though and future shows should be a bit better, especially with the likes of Sareee on those cards.