Marigold’s first-ever round-robin tournament, the Dream Star Grand Prix, kicked off on August 31st in Osaka. It was set to last for a month and ended this past weekend on September 28th in Nagoya. The first-ever line-up featured 16 of the best female wrestlers on Marigold’s roster facing each other in a two-block system. In the tournament, there were many first-time-ever singles matches and some that fans haven’t seen in a long time. The tournament was a major test for many wrestlers who were getting their first shot at competing in a round-robin tournament. The Dream Star produced interesting results that will certainly change the future of Marigold.
This past week featured the tournament’s final night in Nagoya, featuring the tournament final and the last block matches of the Dream and Star League as the remaining wrestlers fight for the right to challenge for the Marigold World Championship. Heading into the last show of the tournament, the majority of the line-up has been eliminated with just seven wrestlers combined still having a chance to advance to the final of the first-ever Dream Star Grand Prix. In the Dream League, Utami Hayashishita, Kouki Amarei, and NØRI are the only wrestlers who can still go through, as in the Star League, it’s a bit more complicated as Sareee, Bozilla, Nanae Takahashi, and Mai Sakurai all still have a chance to go through.
Victoria Yuzuki gets the big upset win over NØRI to eliminate NØRI from the Dream League in a very impressive match considering their experience levels. Yuzuki showed impressive growth over the tournament and not only got better but also more comfortable in the ring with every minute she had against top talent. NØRI was a tremendous addition with her consistency and intensity that worked as her role as the outsider. Her tournament made fans want to see more of her as it’s hoped that she will stay a regular after the tournament.
With that, the Dream League was decided between Utami and Kouki, and it was Utami Hayashishita who defeated Kouki Amarei to advance to the final of the Dream Star GP. The match was fun with Hayashishita being the next opponent, who got the best out of Amarei, who made important steps during the tournament and is slowly pulling it all together and coming closer to the potential that fans see in her ever since she made her debut in AWG. Hayashishita will wait in the final later in the show against the winner of the Star League.
In the Star League, Miku Aono and Nanae Takahashi fight to a Time Limit Draw in a fantastic match. Nice match with Aono fighting from underneath to survive the Passion. It was a war with both going all out for 15 minutes straight, and it was one of the best matches of the entire tournament. With that, Takahashi ended the tournament at 10 Points, while Aoni finished it at 9 Points. Nanae is the clear MVP of the Dream Star. The run she is on in Marigold is tremendous and stays that way. Aono had a great tournament as White Belt Champion and has multiple wrestlers lined up to face her for the belt.
Bozilla defeats Sareee in the final Star League match to cost the Sun God the chance of advancing to the final. With that, Bozilla is the first wrestler in Marigold to pin Sareee. The match was built around whether Bozilla could be the one to defeat Sareee as she used her power to overcome the experience of the Sun God. With that, Bozilla beat both the Red & White Belt Champ in her block to end a successful tournament for her. She has still obvious flaws but has learned a ton by competing in this tournament, and with the major moment of being the first wrestler to beat Sareee, she gained momentum coming out of the final day.
With that, Mai Sakurai, who defeated Misa Matsui earlier in the night, advanced to the final against Utami Hayashishita as the winner of the Star League. A surprising, but yet good decision. Bozilla was the favourite heading into the tournament to make it, but with her defeating Sareee, a loss in the final would have been bad. Choosing Sakurai was the better decision as with that, two Star League wrestlers came out of the final night with momentum.
In the final, Utami Hayashishita defeats Mai Sakurai in a great final to cap off the Dream Star Grand Prix. It was more of a Hayashishita match in the best way possible it started slow, but she bumped a lot for Sakurai, who had another great showing. She dominated most of the match, but Hayashishita fought back, which got the crowd engaged. Sakurai came close multiple times to defeating Utami, especially with the STF, which Utami sold tremendously with the pass-out spot. Mai tried to hit the Glorious Driver several times, but Hayashishita found a counter for it and hit the Torture Rack Bomb for the three count. Utami Hayashishita is back on the top of the Joshi scene and is trying to claim what should have been hers – the Marigold World Championship. Meanwhile, the booking of Mai Sakurai ever since the Giulia match has been perfect. Marigold elevated her quickly to a top player in the Dream Star with her stepping up performance-wise as well.
In a press conference on Tuesday, Utami Hayashishita announced that she will challenge for the Marigold World Championship on January 3rd, 2025, in Ota Ward City at Marigold First Dream, the next major PPV of the new Joshi promotion. Hayashishita hopes to face Sareee, who wants to put her title on the line against Bozilla first.
Overall, the first Dream Star Grand Prix of Marigold was a huge success, as many wrestlers gained a lot from it in multiple ways. Mai Sakurai, Kouki Amarei, NØRI, Bozilla, Utami Hayashishita, and so on all gained momentum, moved up the card, or improved over the tournament. Not everything went right, as some of the booking decisions, like eliminating MIRAI early, were baffling, but unlike most Ogawa tournaments, its booking wasn’t complicated.
Final Dream Star Grand Prix Standings:
Dream League –
10 – Utami Hayashishita (5-2-0)
8 – Kouki Amarei (4-3-0)
8 – NØRI (3-2-2)
8 – MIRAI (3-2-2)
8 – Nagisa Nozaki (3-2-2)
7 – Natsumi Showzuki (3-3-1)
5 – Victoria Yuzuki (2-4-1)
2 – Chika Goto (1-6-0)
Star League-
11 – Mai Sakurai (5-1-1)
10 – Sareee (4-1-2)
10 – Nanae Takahashi (4-1-2)
10 – Bozilla (3-2-0)
9 – Miku Aono (3-1-3)
2 – CHIAKI (1-6-0)
2 – Misa Matsui (1-6-0)
2 – Kizuna Tanaka (1-6-0)
