Pantoja’s Marigold Fantastic Adventure Review 10.24.24

Marigold Fantastic Adventure

October 24^th, 2024 | Korakuen Hall in Tokyo, Japan | Attendance: 866

It’s Marigold’s first big show following the Dream Star GP. I haven’t been following the house shows in between too closely but I do know this is a show with every title on the line and many of those are the first defenses for the champs.

Misa Matsui vs. Naho Yamada

This is the debut of Naho Yamada. She sang her way to the ring and she brought a lot of energy to things. Apparently, these two were partners elsewhere so it made sense that they had good chemistry as opponents. Nothing they did blew me away but it was all solid stuff that flowed smoothly and was entertaining. I feel like that’s all you can ask for from an opener like this. Just some good back and forth with Yamada getting a chance to shine but Misa making sure that she wasn’t overshadowed. In the end, Misa won with the Matsui Kawaii Driver after 11:29. I didn’t have much to say here because it was pretty basic but that worked for what they went for here and I was entertained throughout. [***]

Chika Goto and Rea Seto vs. Kouki Amarei and Utami Hayashishita

I know nothing about Rea but Chika was decent in the GP. Meanwhile, Utami is a top star and Kouki feels like the next breakout star of the company, especially after her GP performance. Clearly, one team is levels above the other and that was evident throughout. Kouki and Utami dominated at points and I was very impressed by their chemistry. I don’t think Utami will stick around in the tag division but I’d love to see more of this duo. Chika went right at Kouki, calling back to their solid GP match. Rea did a bit to impress, including using a kneebar that transitioned to an armbar on Kouki for a bit. Things broke down for a bit afterward before Kouki got the win with a twisting splash on Rea at the 11:48 mark. A decent little tag here. More Utami/Kouki please. [**½]

Nanae Takahashi vs. Nao Ishikawa

Looks like another Passion Injection match from Nanae and I’ve said it before but that’s a concept that works for me. The idea is that Nanae basically kicks the ass of a young upstart in an attempt to bring out the best in them. It followed the expected formula but it didn’t click the way this kind of match should. Nao took her beating and valiantly fought back, yet this was lacking the intensity it needed and at no point did I feel like Nao was really elevated by the match. Even when Nao turned the tide and wailed on Nanae, her shots didn’t have much behind them. I did like Nao hitting a back suplex though given the size difference. Nanae shrugged it off and won with a lariat in 11:50. Like I said, this was pretty good but missed the mark compared to other Passion Injection bouts. [***]

Marigold Superfly Championship: Natsumi Showzuki [c] vs. Hummingbird

Our final four matches are all for championships. This is notable since it marks the debut of Hummingbird, a masked wrestler who clearly brings some lucha influence to the action. Given Showzuki’s speed and this title, that all sounded great on paper. They opened with some lucha style exchanges and it was…fine. It wasn’t bad but felt clunky at parts and you could tell these were two people who didn’t have a history. There were times where they kind of just stood across from each other and awkwardly stared at each other for a moment or so before moving to the next spot. Things took a scary turn when Hummingbird tried a rana off the Korakuen Hall stage and landed HARD on the back of her head. The camera pulled back as people checked on her and both women actually seemed pretty out of it. Honestly, I think they should’ve called for a no contest here like STARDOM did for Tam/Saya in last year’s Grand Prix. They kept going but everything they did looked slow and didn’t work because they were clearly having issues. Showzuki won with diving double knees after 9:33. That’s hard to rate because of the injury but what we got wasn’t good. Hopefully things go up for Hummingbird after this. [*½]

After the bell, Misa Matsui came out and is apparently the next challenger for the Superfly belt.

Marigold Twin Star Championship: Mai Sakurai and MIRAI [c] vs. Kizuna Tanaka and Victoria Yuzuki

I didn’t see the tournament to crown these champions so I haven’t seen Mai and MIRAI as a duo. Yuzuki and Tanaka are a talented yet inexperienced set of challengers. Those challengers took it right at the champions before the bell, getting the jump on them. That set the tone for the match with the story of the veteran champs having to send back the challenge of their young opponents, who were going to give them everything they could handle. Again, I’m a sucker for simple, yet effective storytelling. Yuzuki looks to be a step or two ahead of Tanaka but they work well together and I think they’ll likely be a very good team down the line if they stay together. Yuzuki handled a lot of the action, getting a warm tag to Tanaka who ran wild against Mai. The challengers had a highlight with stereo dives outside. Things got interesting when Tanaka avoided getting sandwiched by the champs and though they stopped before hitting each other, Mai kicked MIRAI anyway and the two traded some shots. I’m assuming there’s a story here I’m unfamiliar with. The final few minutes featured some close calls before the champs retained with dual submissions in 15:25. The best match on the show thanks to some good back and forth, a well told story, and just fun action. [***¼]

Post-match, Kouki Amarei and Utami Hayashishita seemed to issue a challenge for the tag titles. That sounds dope.

Marigold United National Championship: Miku Aono [c] vs. Nagisa Nozaki

Miku is one of the company’s MVPs. Nagisa had a good GP and plays an effective heel, which makes her a good challenger for babyface Miku. Things opened with a pretty traditional feeling out process before Nagisa gained the first upper hand. She was game to throw some stiff kicks in between her bits of offense and trash talking. Miku utilized her own series of kicks to turn the tide. I liked the spot where they battled over a superplex and teased doing one to the outside. I knew they wouldn’t but it still came off well and the crowd bit. Things got taken up a notch when Miku delivered a Styles Clash on the apron right around the 10 minute mark. Miku ended up with a bloody lip, which added something to this as she dished out strikes and worked a kneebar. Nagisa had a few shots left but after a third Styles Clash, Miku retained the title in 15:28. A very good match that was the best of the show to this point and saw both ladies play their roles well. I do think that three finishers was overkill though. [***½]

Marigold World Championship: Sareee [c] vs. Bozilla

Bozilla has shined as a powerhouse while Sareee is in the conversation for the best wrestler of 2024. This was booked because Bozilla handed Sareee her first loss in the promotion during the Dream Star GP. It’s a David vs. Goliath battle and anyone who has read my reviews knows this is a story I’ve always liked because it’s so simple and when done right, makes for something great. Early on, Bozilla couldn’t be stopped, tossing Sareee around with ease and being a dominant presence. Sareee had to rally and use her speed to combat her size disadvantage (which was about a foot and probably 100 pounds). Sareee managed to hit a rebound German suplex followed by applying an armbar as she looked to ground Bozilla. Some of the headbutts Sareee had to throw, combined with Bozilla throwing chairs at her, led to Saree being busted open. That added to the visuals of the match making everything Sareee did seem more desperate. When Bozilla hit the moonsault, Sareee got her foot on the ropes to break the pin which I love because it protects that big Bozilla move. Sareee fought out of the powerbomb with vigor and like she was a madwoman, which was needed in this situation. A table got brought into play and Sareee hit a sunset flip bomb onto it. She fired off a series of moves from there and when that wasn’t enough, trapped Bozilla with another armbar to get the submission victory after 18:47. One hell of a main event. Another great outing for Sareee and Bozilla’s best performance as they told the right story in front of a hot crowd. [****¼]

It seemed like Nanae Takahashi will be the next challenger for Sareee.

6.5

The final score: review Average

The 411

This show was a mixed bag. The first half or so ranges from bad to average at best. Things picked up late though and the last three matches are worth checking out, especially that main event, which is fantastic.