Pantoja’s Marigold Dream Star Grand Prix Night 6 Review

Marigold Dream Star GP Night 6

September 21^st, 2024 | Morioka City Gym in Morioka, Iwate | Attendance: 365

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.

We’ve only got four matches here but the 9/23 show has eight so let’s get to it.

STAR League: CHIAKI [2] vs. Mai Sakurai [6]

I don’t have much of a connection to a lot of the Marigold roster yet but if I had to pick someone in this tournament to be my least favorite to watch, it’s probably CHIAKI. It’s just very base level heel stuff that never really impresses. Thankfully, she’s in there with Mai who is on some kind of roll. CHIAKI jumped her during her entrance to set up the usual brawl outside including slams onto a pile of chairs. Mai turned the tide inside though CHIAKI was still up to her usual tricks like pulling the referee in harm’s way, knocking him down, and using a chair for an assisted dropkick. After getting water poured on her head, Mai rallied and won with an STF in 7:30. Pretty bland but inoffensive. [**]

DREAM League: Kouki Amarei [6] vs. Nagisa Nozaki [5]

Kouki is hot off her biggest win, besting MIRAI in a hell of a performance in a main event bout. Meanwhile, Nagisa has cemented herself as a solid heel in the midcard. They started by colliding on stereo big boots and that set the tone for the rest of the match. The two women traded boots consistently and hit each other with some solid strikes from start to finish. Some of the boots they fired off were pretty vicious, especially one from Nagisa that knocked Kouki to the floor from the apron. The crowd is really getting behind Kouki and they helped her rally against the dastardly Nagisa. A big boot that knocked Nagisa from the top to the outside swung the momentum and started  brawl outside. There was a great near fall when Nagisa covered Kouki lazily and Kouki pulled her into a pin of her own. I bit. Kouki ended Nagisa with a huge running boot in 9:00. I liked that more than I expected and honestly, Kouki is the person who has benefitted the most from this tournament alongside NØRI and it’s great to see them both atop the standings. [***½]

STAR League: Kizuna Tanaka [0] vs. Sareee [7]

Once again, it’s a case of a rookie underdog against a top star. While I have noted that it’s a story told often in this tournament, it is something I’ve always liked to see in wrestling so I’m not against it. After a handshake, Kizuna came out firing with forearms and dropkicks to send the champion back. Saree weathered that storm with relative ease and started wearing Kizuna down with a Boston Crab that she turned into a vicious looking single leg crab. It was a prolonged spot which wasn’t the most exciting section of the match. That said, the rookie fighting hard were the high spots and Sareee made sure Kizuna looked as good as she could in this situation. In the end though, Sareee dropped her on her head and won in 9:48. That was some high quality action and more good stuff from Sareee. Kizuna looked very good here. [***¼]

DREAM League: MIARI [5] vs. Victoria Yuzuki [3]

Two very talented ladies from STARDOM. MIRAI needs a win to keep up with the top of the field while Yuzuki winning here would be huge for her. This and the Utami match were seemingly the main reason Yuzuki was put in this block. It’s like her chance to prove herself and show her growth against two top stars. She did well against Utami and looked good here again. The pace was quick and they were out there trading strikes with Yuzuki doing her best to keep up with the hard hitting style of MIRAI. At times, that just meant Yuzuki was getting her ass kicked but at other times, she looked like someone capable of being a top girl herself one day. Down the stretch, MIRAI started slamming Yuzuki all around who responded with some lucha style offense. MIRAI threw some big suplexes and Yuzuki countered some lariats with various pinning combinations. Some of those pins nearly got the win, which would’ve been massive. MIRAI absolutely crushed her with a lariat and then won with an arm submission after 9:17. That was very good and again, Yuzuki delivers for someone so new to the industry while MIRAI is possibly better than ever in Marigold. [***½]

DREAM LEAGUE	POINTS	STAR LEAGUE	POINTS
NØRI	8 (3-0-2)	Sareee	9 (4-0-1)
Kouki Amarei	8 (4-1)	Nanae Takahashi	8 (4-1)
MIRAI	7 (3-1-1)	Mai Sakurai	8 (4-1)
Utami Hayashishita	6 (3-2)	Miku Aono	7 (3-1-1)
Nagisa Nozaki	5 (2-2-1)	Bozilla	6 (3-2)
Natsumi Showzuki	3 (1-3-1)	Chiaki	2 (1-4)
Victoria Yuzuki	3 (1-3-1)	Kizuna Tanaka	0 (0-5)
Chika Goto	0 (0-5)	Misa Matsui	0 (0-5)

6.5

The final score: review Average

The 411

A short show with only three matches and that’s always an easy thing to sit through. That said, after a weak opener, there are three good matches even if none are great, making for an above average event.