SHOW REPORT: Marigold Fantastic Adventure 2024 – Night 2 (Monday, 7th October 2024)

Notes

• 1st Marigold Superfly Champion Natsumi Showzuki has been champion for for 86 days – in her first reign. This will be the first title defence of her reign.
• The pre-show weigh in saw Natsumi Showzuki weigh in at 52.45kg, and Victoria Yuzuki at 52.85kg, thus both coming in underneath the weight limit for this to be made an official Superfly Championship match.
• 1st Marigold Twinstar Champions MiraiSaku (MIRAI (1) & Mai Sakurai (1)) have been champions for for 69 days – in their first reign. This will be the second title defence of their reign.
• The reported attendance of 623 is the lowest attendance Marigold have drawn to Korakuen Hall in the 7 times they have run the venue. The previous lowest was 755 on night 4 of the Dream Star Grand Prix.

Quick Results

• Tag Team Match: Rea Seto & Komomo Minami def. Myla Grace & Minami Yuki w/ High-Angled Boston Crab (10:42)
• Singles Match: Misa Matsui def. CHIAKI w/ Code Red (7:23)
• Tag Team Match: Utami Hayashishita & Kizuna Tanaka def. Nanae Takahashi & Nao Ishikawa w/ German Suplex (14:10)
• Marigold Superfly Championship Match: Natsumi Showzuki (c) vs. Victoria Yuzuki Ended in a Time Limit Draw (15:00)
• Tag Team Match: Bozilla & Nagisa Nozaki def. Miku Aono & Sareee w/ Noir Lancer (16:02)
• Marigold Twinstar Championships Match: MiraiSaku (MIRAI & Mai Sakurai) (c) def. tWin toWers (Kouki Amarei & Chika Goto) w/ Lariat (17:38)

Undercard

We open up Korakuen Hall with a tag match in which Myla Grace is the undoubted MVP. From a smooth opening chain wrestling sequence with Rea Seto, to controlling the flow of the first half of the match, the development since the start of her tour is truly excellent. That being said, it’s Rea Seto who is the main focus following her fractured ribs and, despite a few microscopic faux pas that I think it’s fair we put down to a spot of ring rust, she looks very good, getting the win with a High-Angled Boston Crab on Minami Yuki to secure the win – only Komomo Minami’s second win since her debut in Marigold! (**3/4)

Misa comes tearing out of the traps at CHIAKI here. Lest we forget that CHIAKI picked up her only win of the Dream Star Grand Prix against Matsui, and it’s clear the Speedstar has not forgotten that. Having had a fairly poor Dream Star, it’s clear that Matsui needs to get her wind back, and the way she repeatedly bounces back despite CHIAKI asserting dominance makes it clear that she will do whatever she can. Not only that, but the seeming offence she’s taken at being low on the card during every show despite putting in fantastic performances has led to an edge we haven’t seen from her before. Something needed to change for her for sure, and the new (ish) attitude and bringing back her old Code Red as the finish to this match perfectly illustrates that. Following this, her former-Teppen tag team partner and Marigold trainee Naho Yamada bounces to the ring and requests that Misa be her first opponent. Matsui is honoured and puts forward the idea that the next Korakuen Hall show on October 24th is the best place to do that, an idea Yamada very emotionally accepts. (***1/4)

After their Passion Injection match from back in June, Tanaka has no desire to beat around the bush with Takahashi, and actually stops Utami from starting the match, wanting instead to prove herself against the Living Legend of Joshi Wrestling. She opens with a few stiff slaps to the face, but progressively is worn down by the power of Nanae. Nao enters periodically, but it’s the exchange between Utami and Nanae that brings the biggest reaction of the match so far. After some thumping Lariats, Nanae seems to have the upperhand, but Nao opts to blind tag herself in in order – in her mind – to continue the dominance and score that first pinfall victory she hasn’t been able to achieve just yet. This doesn’t work out as you might expect, and even though the crowd erupt into an incredibly loud ‘Ishikawa!’ chant. This isn’t enough though, and neither is Nanae breaking up the pinfalls or Nao grabbing onto Utami’s leg desperately to stop her hitting the Lariat. None of it helps, and a Lariat and German Suplex later, Utami and Tanaka pick up the victory. Post-match, Nanae takes to the microphone and publicly doubts the effort and passion that Nao is showing, saying she isn’t listening to the people or channeling their energy, finishing by saying she needs to return to the drawing board. Nao agrees before then readdressing Nanae without the respectful -san prefix, challenging her to a singles match at Marigold’s next Korakuen Hall show. (***1/2)

Main Event Matches

Marigold Superfly Championship Match: Natsumi Showzuki (c) vs. Victoria Yuzuki Ended in a Time Limit Draw – With both women coming in under the 55kg weight limit, this match is now officially for the Superfly Championship. Yuzuki might be confident, especially for someone who has only been wrestling for less than a year, but the cold, contemptuous self-assurance that Showzuki has is truly something else.

To begin with, it looks like Yuzuki may have bitten off more than she can chew, though her ever-adapting moveset has now expanded to incorporate an impressive Corkscrew Diving Splash. Showzuki weathers this initial storm though, and looks for the next ten minutes like it might only be a matter of time before she puts Yuzuki away, smashing into her with a Diving Knees from the top rope to the outside before connecting with her Running Double Knees on the outside. However, Yuzuki grows into the match significantly as the time-limit draws on, and through a series of lightning fast pinfall attempts and the newly-christened YuzuCrush. Neither can get the definitive foothold though, and with ten seconds to go Showzuki hasn’t got the time to properly lock in a La Majistral Cradle.

Do I necessarily like that Showzuki’s first title defence ended in a time-limit draw? No, not particularly. I would have liked for the title reign to start on a more confident footing before moving to a time limit draw. However, this match is very good, highlighting how phenomenally talented both women are, and it allows me to easily overlook my own preferences in relation to the finish. Following Yuzuki’s departure from the ring, a new challenger emerges for the belt, a mysterious masked wrestler called Hummingbird that many believe to be former-AWG wrestler CatMask Calico (another previous member of Teppen). Showzuki accepts the challenge, and we have a third match already announced for Marigold’s next Korakuen Hall show! (****)

Bozilla & Nagisa Nozaki def. Miku Aono & Sareee – It’s a preview for two potential title matches here. With Bozilla becoming the first person to defeat Sareee in Marigold, the champion was keen to put forth her belt in an attempt at redemption. Meanwhile, at the press conference for this show, Nagisa Nozaki let the world know that she had eyes for Miku Aono’s Pure White Belt.

Far from shying away from the German Powerhouse, Sareee dives right into action against Bozilla and, despite initially being thrown around the ring, she manages to get her own licks in, including a thumping Double Foot Stomp to the chest and some brutal kicks and forearms. Aono and Nozaki on the other hand simply want to kick each other as hard as humanly possible, with the development in strength in Aono’s kicks in particular being very noticeable, each one making a sound like a firework off of Nozaki’s chest. When you have someone like Bozilla on your team however, it is so hard to maintain an advantage, and that proves to be the case here. Having had Sareee lawndarted into her chest by Bozilla, Miku eats a an Assisted Noir Lancer, a disgusting Half and Half Suplex followed by another Noir Lancer to pick up a completely clean victory over the Pure White Belt Champion.

Post-match, there is absolute silence. Not only can you hear a pin drop but you can hear the pin leave the hand. Whether that is due to the shock of seeing Miku pinned clean, or simply because the Korakuen crowd didn’t realise it was the end of the match, I don’t know. However, Nozaki and Bozilla manage to stir up a huge reaction with their promos, each calling out a champion for a respective title match. Both Sareee and Miku Aono agree, the former after seeking permission of Rossy Ogawa, who looks utterly flattered to be asked, as we continue to set up what could be a phenomenal next Korakuen Hall show should all these matches fall on the same card! (***3/4)

Marigold Twinstar Championships Match: MiraiSaku (MIRAI & Mai Sakurai) (c) def. tWin toWers (Kouki Amarei & Chika Goto) – The champions are rocking some new tag team gear which, helpfully pointed out by Sonny Gutierrez on commentary, mirrors their respective Twinstar Championship belt. Kouki also has brand-new gear, apparently completely designed by herself, which leaves Chika Goto as the only member of the match with the same gear. Following on from her singles match against Mai in Osaka, there is no pre-match chant to the crowd, simply a focused, almost angry, stare towards the champions.

The commentary bring up the comments made by the champions about the tWin toWers not turning up to training as much as they should be just as the challengers charge the champions before the bell; clearly the words of Sakurai and MIRAI have stung them significantly. Gochika in particular seems hellbent on proving these comments, and those regarding her stamina wrong, bouncing back up repeatedly from Sakurai’s offence. It’s the exchanges between MIRAI and Kouki however – reminiscent of their barn-burner in Sendai – that really ramp up the intensity, with the pair kicking and chopping each other viciously. As the match nears its crescendo, tWin toWers impress with some tag team offence, but Kouki can’t muster the same level of fire that got her the win in Sendai, and two back-to-back Lariats from MIRAI put this one to bed.

With a clearly more respect than she had for the tWin toWers previously, MIRAI says that it is now up to them how they deal with this disappointment, having dealt with her own fair share of disappointment in her own career. With the tWin toWers out of the ring, it is the team of Victoria Yuzuki and Kizuna Tanaka that are out to challenge next. This doesn’t please Mai, who immediately says that Yuzuki failed in a previous title match just over an hour ago, and she can’t jump from title to title. That being said, it does look like the champions agree to the match, though no actual date is specified. (****1/4)

You can check out the Marigold roster win/loss records for 2024 right here; https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/11_PWxd5BDxeHIfKqtQ2YtiwhGteRrVUZ3B5L4yrDQE0/edit?gid=517287206#gid=517287206

You can check out a comprehensive run down of the Marigold Championship Histories here; https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/18MJ2Cebe36Nvfcpj8uVs1AtMbAV1chn-lG7t-xn44DY/edit?gid=0#gid=0

Upcoming Shows

• Saturday 12th October – Fantastic Adventure 2024 – Night 3, KBS Hall, Kyoto (VIDEO ON DEMAND)
• Sunday 13th October – Fantastic Adventure 2024 – Night 4, Act City Hamamatsu, Hamamatsu (VIDEO ON DEMAND)
• Monday 14th October – Fantastic Adventure 2024 – Night 5, Shibuya Ward Sports Center, Tokyo (LIVE)
• Sunday 20th October – Fantastic Adventure 2024 – Night 6, ARCS Hall, Nagano (VIDEO ON DEMAND)
• Thursday 24th October – Fantastic Adventure 2024 – Night 7, Korakuen Hall, Tokyo (LIVE)
• Sunday 27th October – Fantastic Adventure 2024 – Night 8 ~Afternoon Show~, Shin-Kiba 1st RING, Tokyo (LIVE)
• Sunday 27th October – Fantastic Adventure 2024 – Night 8 ~Evening Show~, Shin-Kiba 1st RING, Tokyo (LIVE)
• Saturday 2nd November – Fantastic Adventure 2024 – Night 9 ~Afternoon Show~, Sapporo Gateau Kingdom, Hokkaido (VIDEO ON DEMAND)
• Saturday 2nd November – Fantastic Adventure 2024 – Night 9 ~Evening Show~, Sapporo Gateau Kingdom, Hokkaido (VIDEO ON DEMAND)
• Monday 4th November – Fantastic Adventure 2024 – Night 10, Nagoya Congress Center, Aichi (VIDEO ON DEMAND)