A new era is upon us.
On February 4th earlier this year, STARDOM founder and executive producer Rossy Ogawa had his contract terminated by Bushiroad and the promotion following accusations of talent and staff poaching. Ogawa’s involvement in professional wrestling dates back to 1978, beginning first as a ringside photographer for All Japan Women’s Pro Wrestling. This was just the start, as Ogawa would then transition into becoming a spokesperson, the head of public relations, and a talent manager for the promotion, which eventually led to his involvement with the creative division. Outside of booking, perhaps his greatest contribution at the time saw him manage and promote the Crush Gals (Chigusa Nagayo & Lioness Asuka). As a trio, they played a pivotal role in Joshi wrestling witnessing an explosion in popularity thanks to their star presence and TV exposure. Eras come to an end, however, and after conflicts with management over the promotions direction, Ogawa departed AJW in 1997, but his ambition meant that his involvement in wrestling was far from over. From there, he’d act as the President of Arsion, a new promotion founded by Aja Kong, but whilst they had their successes, the group also had their fair share of controversies, with Ogawa often at the centre. Aja Kong would leave the company in 2001 and would subsequently sue Ogawa for falsely advertising her for their upcoming shows. In 2002, Ayako Hamada would follow Aja Kong and join Gaea Japan due to internal politics, with the promotion folding during the following summer.
Cut to 2010, and alongside AJW veteran Nanae Takashi and freelance wrestler and former mixed martial artist Fuka Kakimoto, Ogawa founded World Wonder Ring Stardom. The promotion is now widely regarded as the home of the best women’s wrestling on the planet today, in no small part due to the influence of Ogawa, and many of their most iconic names can now be seen across America’s biggest promotions, with WWE currently being the home of former World of Stardom Champions IYO SKY and Kairi Sane, whilst fellow former World of Stardom Champion Toni Storm currently reigns as the AEW Women’s World Champion. In 2019, Bushiroad acquired STARDOM from Ogawa, although he remained the head producer. In recent months however, his influence seemingly dwindled as Bushiroad took greater control over the promotion, and if what you’ve read so far has taught you anything, it’ll be that Ogawa’s ambition means he’s never ready to take a back seat. As a result, it was no surprise to hear Ogawa reveal to Tokyo Sports shortly after his dismissal that he planned on starting a new promotion, and that’s exactly what he did, tackling his final challenge in the industry head-on.
At the end of March, STARDOM announced that Giulia, Utami Hayashishita, MIRAI, Mai Sakurai, and Yuzuki had all departed the promotion following the expiration of their contracts, and given the headlines at the time, there was little doubt regarding their destination. On April 14th, it was revealed that Ogawa would be holding a press conference on Wrestle Universe’s YouTube channel to reveal several details about his next endeavour. At that press conference, Ogawa revealed that the new promotion would be named Dream Star Fighting Marigold, or simply Marigold for short, before introducing the initial roster. As expected, Giulia, Utami Hayashishita, MIRAI, Mai Sakurai, & Yuzuki (now known as Victoria Yuzuki) were all present, alongside fellow STARDOM founder Nanae Takahashi and former Ice Ribbon talent Nao Ishikawa, who some fans may remember as Tam Nakano’s impersonator during STARDOM’s New Blood shows. Thus, the original seven were set, but that number would almost double by the end of proceedings.
As the press conference appeared to be drawing to a close, Fuka, the third of STARDOM’s founders, made her way towards Ogawa, followed by six former Actwres girl’Z (AWG) talents. Earlier in the day, AWG had announced that Fuka, who had been serving as the company’s special advisor, along with six talents, had suddenly departed the promotion and were in discussions with another, with the identity of this promotion being revealed almost immediately. As for the talent, themselves, Marigold had essentially landed AWG’s entire main event scene, including former AWG Single Champion Miku Aono, current AWG Single Champion Natsumi Sumikawa (now going as Natsumi Showzuki, the name she used in STARDOM), Kouki (now known as Kouki Amarei), CHIAKI, Misa Matsui, and Chika Goto. At a later press conference, it was revealed that all six had officially joined Marigold’s roster, and thus, all eyes turned towards the first event.
That first event’s date and location were revealed at the initial press conference, with the show being called ‘Marigold Fields Forever’. That inaugural show took place yesterday (May 20th) in front of a sold-out and lively Korakuen Hall crowd and was streamed on Wrestle Universe with both Japanese and English commentary. The streaming service is already home to Pro Wrestling NOAH, Tokyo Joshi Pro Wrestling, DDT, and much more, and so the addition of Marigold makes a subscription even better value for money.
The main event of the show saw former World of Stardom Champions Giulia & Utami Hayashishita team up to take on the Beyond the Sea Champion Sareee (FKA Sarray in NXT) and Bozilla, a 20-year-old powerhouse and current SIRIUS Women’s Champion, a promotion owned by yet another former World of Stardom Champion, Alpha Female. This was the perfect main event to close out the inaugural show. Both Giulia and Utami Hayashishita looked and felt like stars, but it was their opponents that truly stole the show. Sareee is arguably the best women’s wrestler in the world today and proved exactly why here as she brought the physicality to Marigold’s top stars. As for Bozilla, that was a star-making performance. She looked like an absolute monster from the moment she made her way out to the ring, and once the bell rang, it was pure domination. Jackknife powerbombs, no-selling Irish whips, and even a moonsault, she wowed the Korakuen Hall crowd, and they chanted her name as a result. Sareee and Bozilla would pick up the win, but it seems far from over as Giulia and Sareee are set to collide in singles action at Marigold’s first pay-per-view event on July 13th, as Marigold Summer Destiny comes to Ryogoku Kokugikan.
In the semi-main, we had an Actwres showcase as Natsumi Showzuki and Misa Matsui teamed up to take on Marigold’s tallest combatants, Kouki Amarei & Chika Goto. This was the perfect introduction to all four talents for those unfamiliar with Actwres girl’Z, with both Misa Matsui and Kouki standing out as major prospects. For those familiar with STARDOM, particularly those fond of the High Speed division that has seen the likes of AZM and Starlight Kid make names for themselves, Matsui is likely to be favourite as she certainly brings the speed and swiftness of transitions in her wrestling. Kouki, whilst less polished as a talent than her opponents in this bout, looks like a superstar in the making, and with this being her official pro-wrestling debut, the sky truly looks like the limit.
Elsewhere on the show, Zayda Steel teamed up with Mai Sakurai to take on former NXT UK talent Myla Grace and freelancer Nagisa Nozaki. This was the weakest offering on the card, with the two gaijins still having plenty of work to do before they’re fully up to speed, but it was nice to see Nozaki make an appearance as she looks to build momentum towards an eventual clash with Giulia. Former Wonder of STARDOM Champion MIRAI took on CHIAKI in a battle of speed and strength. MIRAI was always over with the STARDOM audience, but with a more vocal Marigold crowd and streamers being allowed, it was more evident than ever that she’s one of the promotion’s biggest signings. These two just unloaded on each other for just over 10 minutes, with some vicious lariats and headbutts being thrown. MIRAI unsurprisingly came away with the win but take nothing away from CHIAKI who looks set to be Marigold’s resident heel presence and one that’s likely to emerge as a long-term rival to MIRAI as she continues to grow as a performer.
Miku Aono announced herself to the world in the second match on the card as she defeated Nao Ishikawa. Aono set the tone immediately with some brutal kicks, and from that point onwards, it was clear that she’s a serious talent. Ishikawa also impressed here, and for those who’s only glimpse into her work thus far was her impersonations of Tam Nakano, this was a chance to see what she could really do. Ishikawa delivered a Sunshine Suplex in this one, paying tribute to the late Asahi, her fellow former Ice Ribbon colleague. Nevertheless, Aono walked away with the victory, a result that will likely only further push Ishikawa to better herself after being disappointed by her lack of promotion in comparison to Aono despite being an original roster member.
The opener saw former World of Stardom Champion Nanae Takahashi defeat Victoria Yuzuki in a Passion Injection match. This matchup was especially fitting as STARDOM’s first ever show opened up with a tag team match featuring Takashashi and Yuzuki Aikawa (Yuzupon) on opposing sides. Yuzupon, who was on commentary for this show, was initially positioned as the face of STARDOM, and with Victoria Yuzuki donning the golden gear and wearing the #1 jersey, its easy to draw comparisons between the pair. In terms of the match itself, this was a dominant showing for the veteran as she gave STARDOM’s Rookie of the Year a beating. There are few better in wrestling at structuring a match between a dominant vet and rising star than Nanae, and this was that to a tee. Takahashi of course won the bout, but the crowd were right behind Yuzuki all the way, and with the ‘Bridge to the Future’ already looking for a rematch, there’s no doubt in my mind that she’ll be the one to ultimately rise to the status of Ace.
Outside of the matches, the show also saw Rossy Ogawa officially unveil two of Marigold’s four confirmed championship titles. The promotion’s top prize, the Marigold World Championship, features gold plating on a red strap, whilst the secondary title, the United National Championship, is silver on a white strap. Whilst having a Red Belt and White belt will of course draw comparisons to STARDOM’s World and Wonder of Stardom Championships, the colour scheme is actually paying homage to All Japan Women’s Pro Wrestling, with Ogawa once again looking to honour the history and tradition of the ones that paved the way. Additionally, the United National Championship is a homage to the title first worn and made iconic by the legendary Antonio Inoki, with those such as Jumbo Tsuruta and Genichiro Tenryu also holding the title. Outside of the two titles on show, Marigold have also confirmed that their tag team titles will be known as the Twinstar Championship, a callback to Arsion, whilst their equivalent to STARDOM’s High Speed Championship will be called the Super Fly Championship, with those weighing 55kg or less set to be eligible.
Finally, the show also saw the unveiling of four new trainees, as former STARDOM trainee Minami Komomo, former Ice Ribbon talent and CLIP CLIP idol Yuuki Minami, fellow CLIP CLIP idol Ryoka Sakimura, and gravure model and idol Nagisa Tachibana are all set to step into the Golden Garden and join the roster. On the topic of rookies developing in the promotion, it’s worth noting that Fuka is highly regarded as one of the best trainers the world over, having had a hand in developing the likes of Kairi Sane, AZM, Mayu Iwatani, Momo Watanabe, Hazuki, Starlight Kid, and countless others, and so it’s safe to say that the next generation of Marigold stars are in the safest of hands. It’s also unclear as to whether the roster will grow even further in the coming months. Ogawa has revealed that several freelancers have reached out to him about joining the promotion, with auditions set to be held, whilst one major name rumoured to be making the jump upon the expiration of her current deal is Mayu Iwatani. The ‘Icon of STARDOM’ is arguably the greatest women’s wrestler of all time, and with her close connection to both Ogawa and Fuka, who she joked on X/Twitter as being akin to her divorced parents that got back together, it’s not surprising to see reports linking her to a move to Marigold.
As for the future, it couldn’t be brighter. Landing on Wrestle Universe not only gives the promotion access to an established audience but means that the production value of their content is likely to be second to none, on top of regularly featuring English commentary thanks to Stu Fulton and Sonny Gutierrez, who both did a tremendous job at the first show. The roster is the perfect blend of trainees, rising talents, established stars, and veterans. Add to that the other potential incomings in terms of Iwatani and any further freelance signings, and it’s hard to see Marigold not putting together a roster that could rival any promotion within a year’s time.
It would also be remiss of me not to mention the WWE connection. It’s an open secret at this stage that Giulia is WWE-bound, having appeared at NXT Stand & Deliver in April before attending WrestleMania with Rossy Ogawa. According to multiple reports, Giulia is set to partially pull double duty, as even after moving to the United States, the plan is for her to still feature at Marigold’s major events. The partnership doesn’t end there, however, as Marigold have also reportedly reached out regarding former World of Stardom Champions IYO SKY and Kairi Sane of Damage CTRL appearing for the promotion. The reports had previously mentioned a major show this summer, and with Marigold Summer Destiny set for July 13th at Sumo Hall, its possible that both STARDOM legends could be brought in to give the show a major boost.
Overall, it’s hard not to be excited about Rossy Ogawa’s latest endeavour. As wrestling has no off-season, jumping into a new promotion can sometimes be daunting as it can be tough to decide where to start. That’s why the opportunity to follow a promotion from day one is something that all wrestling fans should at least consider. Seeing the rivalries develop, the young stars forge their own legacies, and the championships grow in prestige. All of it starts now. With STARDOM’s three founders reunited, a focus on honouring and building upon the past whilst leading wrestling into the future, and an impeccably talented roster, Marigold’s Golden Garden will shine forever.
