We’ve got a new company on our hands. From the ashes of Rossy Ogawa’s Stardom career is born Marigold, a collection of Rossy’s old allies, some Stardom wrestlers who followed him out the door and a few people he pinched from elsewhere. Rossy gonna Rossy! Jokes aside, a sizeable new company will always be worth talking about, and with a roster bursting with potential, I am intrigued to see where this goes.
Before the show, they introduced Marigold’s first crop of rookies. Rossy only nicked one of them from Ice Ribbon (Yuuki Minami), so, you know, he’s improving. They also had a big clock on the screen counting down to the first bell, which I did like. It was one of several elements seemingly designed to establish a visual style distinct from Stardom. The worst of those was a slight over reliance on smoke machines, but they also introduced the wrestlers pre-show by having them enter at the back of Korakuen and walk through the fans to the ring. Coming down through a sold-out stand made everyone look like stars and was a nice twist on the usual opening ceremony (although Giulia did appear to get lost).
Nanae Takahashi defeated Yuzuki Victoria
Nanae’s critics talk about her like she’s this horrible old curmudgeon, feeding her life force by feasting on their favourite young wrestlers. It’s an image that doesn’t stand up to much scrutiny when she enters wearing a fancy hat, grinning from ear to ear. Plus, she rules. There’s a reason Rossy Ogawa has now trusted her to open the first show of his latest wrestling project on two different occasions. Our opener was a deliberate callback to that inaugural Stardom event when Takahashi kicked things off against the jewel in their rookie crown, Yuzuki Aikawa (as part of a tag match). This time, her opponent was Yuzuki Victoria, a nineteen-year-old rookie who got a lot of hype in Stardom but who I haven’t had the pleasure of viewing yet.
Sadly, I came away a touch underwhelmed. I thought Victoria was fine. Which, for a young wrestler under the pressure of opening a historic show, is a success. However, I expected a bit more from joshi’s latest super rookie. There were flashes. She ensured Nanae felt those slaps, but a lot of it was standard rookie stuff. When she did stray away from that, she unfortunately stumbled on the ropes, unable to pull off whatever she was going for. While I won’t hold something that could happen to anyone against her (and frequently does to one of the best wrestlers in the scene), it played into a somewhat underwhelming first impression.
It also didn’t help that this match was about four minutes too long. I understand the desire to highlight the kid, but she should have been tucked into bed around the ten-minute mark, and it began to drag towards the end. Nanae was as brilliantly nasty as you’d imagine, all dismissive jabs and biting, but even a crowd that rallied behind the youngster couldn’t stop my attention from wandering a touch. I’m sure part of it was a problem of expectations, but it all came together to leave me feeling a bit let down, even if the match was ultimately pretty good.
Verdict: Good, But Yuzuki Needs Work
Miku Aono defeated Nao Ishikawa
I didn’t expect an emotional punch from this show, but Nao’s new, Asahi-inspired gear was a knockout. It was a beautiful touch, and alongside her use of Sunshine, a fitting way to keep her much-missed friend’s memory alive.
Away from the tears, Ishikawa is the Marigold signing I find the most intriguing. I assume this company will lean towards the Stardom house style, and Nao is pure Ice Ribbon midcard (that’s not an insult. I’d take an Ice Ribbon dojo show over nearly everything Stardom has done in recent memory). To be clear, this isn’t a complaint. I’m delighted that Ishikawa is getting another chance to show what she can do on a big stage (although I’m a little sad that hardcore Nao fizzled out before it started), but I’m unsure where she fits in.
Thankfully, I needn’t have worried. These two entered that ring looking to prove a point, and it was a rousing success. The match was a tad unfocused at times, as it felt more like a showcase than an attempt to grasp a particular narrative, but in front of a hot crowd, they threw some exciting ideas at the wall. Aono set the tone with her first kick before later diving into the Pom Harajuku toolbox by booting Ishikawa in the shin. Nao, meanwhile, was fired up, dragging herself back to her feet time after time. If she’s going to work this style, she’ll have to work on tightening up those forearms as they look ineffective at best, but considering she was in there with one of the best kickers in the game, she held her own in that regard. It was a fast-paced, relentless ten minutes of action, and she never looked like faltering.
It meant that even with those small niggles, this was a fun race. I’ve mainly focused on Nao, but Aono looked like a star, and if Rossy isn’t planning to make her one, he’s a bigger fool than I thought. She might not slot straight into the ace role she played in AWG, but she should be damn close. The quicker she kicks Giulia in the head, the better.
Verdict: They Impressed
MIRAI defeated CHIAKI
I had seen a few people suggest that, outside of fans enjoying doing her clap, MIRAI wasn’t that over in Stardom. Initially, I assumed that was down to their poor taste, but watching this show, I’m starting to suspect I’ve been misled. Not only was she showered in streamers, but the crowd were rowdy throughout, keeping the noise levels up. While it helped that she and CHIAKI followed the trend of the previous match, delivering something fast and hard-hitting, I still didn’t get the impression that this was people waking up to MIRAI for the first time. They know how good she is.
And MIRAI made sure to reinforce that. There was a sequence early on that beautifully displayed what an intelligent wrestler she is. First, she paused to beat CHIAKI back when she tried to follow after her as she ran the ropes. Then, when that didn’t stop the former AWG rookie, she fell back on the simple action of dropping to the mat, sending CHIAKI tumbling over her head and down to the floor. I’ll always have a soft spot in my heart for her period as Suzume’s awkward big pal, but it’s hard not to feel warm and fuzzy about how far she’s come. She’s the real deal.
CHIAKI, who was technically making her wrestling debut (AWG is, after all, stage acting), also seemed to be having a blast. There was still a touch of that Beastz Rebellion heel attitude to her act, but she couldn’t stop smiling, as it cracked through even as she was being beaten up. She also did a solid job of keeping up with MIRAI, matching her physicality as they started throwing headbutts. I’d rather they kept that kind of thing special rather than littering it through every show, but with it being the first outing, I can let it slide. Again, there was a real sense that everyone was out there to impress, and I can’t blame them for going big in their attempt to do so.
If I’m nitpicking, it again felt more like a showcase than a fully fleshed-out match, but that’s not a huge issue. I imagine most people were seeing CHIAKI for the first time, and I can only assume they’ll have gone away impressed. Unlike Aono, I don’t expect her to walk to the top of the card, but she has the potential to play the antagonist to some of their purer babyfaces, and judging by this, she’s more than up to the task.
Verdict: Power!
Mai Sakurai & Zayda Steel fought Nagisa Nozaki & Myla Grace to a time-limit draw
Look, I’m a Marvelous fan. I’m used to a draw. It’s one of Chig’s favourite tools. If anything, I think most people get too annoyed about them, as a weird hangover from American sports being against them seems to have convinced fans they’re an inherently bad thing. The idea of wrestling matches being difficult to win is not bad, and when done well, it can be the perfect way to elevate two people or continue a feud. However, why, oh why, would you pick this match to do it in? There was one good worker in there, and even she’s someone I’m lukewarm on at best.
The easy thing to do here is to blame the foreign wrestlers. I can’t pretend to know much about Steel or Grace, but neither looked great. They were awkward, their characters were grating, and their match construction was dodgy. It was summed up by the Paradise Lock spot, in which Steel stood mocking Nozaki while Grace was supposedly trapped. When Myla freed herself, rising to her feet behind Zayda’s back, I needed her to start dishing out her revenge on the heel. Instead, she went for a roll-up, which Steel kicked out of at one before retaking control of the action almost instantly. A moment that should have paid off in the babyface firing everyone up was left feeling unsatisfying and flat.
However, to focus on two people making their Japanese debuts on a big stage is harsh and ignores that neither Sakurai nor Nozaki came out of this looking great. It’s their feud we’re supposed to be building, but every interaction between them was tepid at best. They took what had been a pacey show and slowed it all the way down. There were moments when it felt like they were getting there, but it never stuck, as Mai wasn’t good enough to reach that level while Nagisa failed to pull her up to it. It made this fifteen-minute draw feel like twice that and left me thoroughly unenthused for whatever comes next for all four of these wrestlers.
Verdict: That Felt Long
Kouki Amarei & Chika Goto defeated Natsumi Showzuki & Misa Matsui
I haven’t been paying enough attention to know if Marigold plans to have a High Speed division, but if they do, hand the reigns over to Misa Matsui. Then, invite all the best speedy, wee, violent goblins to come and try to take them from her. One of the best things about the AWG lot splitting off is that it opens the possibility for someone like her to mix it up with a whole new cast of people, and while that wasn’t the case here, she instantly shone. She’s not only capable of those intricate, quick sequences but is also mean and aggressive in her wrestling. It’s the perfect combination.
Not that Misa was the focus here. She and Showzuki came in as the veterans and controlled the action as such, but this was about Kouki and GoChika. Would that have been my choice? No. I get it, though. Everyone has been screaming about Kouki being a star since day one, and while I find her a bit bland (okay, very bland), it’s hard to argue with it. She has that aura. She and Goto were placed under the thumb of their opponents, tasked with battling heroically from underneath, and they did what was asked of them, presumably winning all sorts of hearts as they did so. There is no way Rossy Ogawa would ignore an opportunity like that.
And yet, the person who truly shone here was the only one I haven’t talked about, Natsumi Showzuki. Returning to a Rossy promotion for the first time since 2013, she felt like she’d never been away. Like Misa, she’s got that violent streak, showing no qualms about laying in those kicks. However, like Kouki, she’s also got that aura, as she already feels like a bigger star than she is. I mentioned that Aono should be right up there from day one, but Showzuki is the one who should be next to her, battling it out to join Giulia and Utami at the top of the card. Anyone who has been watching her in AWG knows she’s ready for this opportunity, and while GoChika and Kouki are pure Rossy bait, Natsumi is good enough to draw even his eye away from them.
Verdict: AWG Represents
Sareee & Bozilla defeated Giulia & Utami Hayashishita
Bozilla is a ridiculous name, but if you’re big enough, you can get away with it. The main event of Marigold’s first show was bursting with star power, but the powerful hoss from Germany grabbed the headlines. The best part about it? She did it in the simplest way possible. Bozilla isn’t a great technical wrestler. There was no selling, and she’s a tad awkward at times. However, she’s big and can throw a prick through a wall, and that’s all she needs. If anything, her weaknesses only make her better. Why should she sell? SHE’S BOZILLA!
I don’t know if it was intentional, but Bozilla’s impact ended up overshadowing everyone else. That was particularly true of Utami, who was tasked with trying to chop her down to size and struggled to stand out next to her huge opponent. There was a big pop when she finally took the monster off her feet, but it was Bozilla’s name in the fan’s mouths as the presumed long-term ace of the company took second billing. In saying that, I prefer Utami in that role as opposed to the rather bland figure she’s been in Stardom recently. Let’s make her battle her way back to the top. She can survive being second fiddle for a while.
The other pairing is the one Marigold will build their first few months around. Giulia vs Sareee has already been announced for Sumo Hall, and it’s an intriguing showdown. I have a lot of issues with Giulia as a wrestler, but she’s undeniably a star, and her best stuff has always revolved around violence. If anyone will bring that out of her, it’s Sareee, as the Sun God got straight into laying those forearms on thick. Things did get a bit silly towards the end between them, as they were battling on through head drops that it didn’t feel like they’d earned, but on a big stage with Sareee bringing the meanness, I reckon she can channel Giulia well. If all else fails, she’ll at least leave her with a few bruises to show off on the first day of her NXT retirement.
It all made for an impressive first main event. I’d probably shave some minutes off it, and I don’t need Bozilla to do moonsaults (stick to launching people about the place), but again, this is nitpicking rather than real complaints. Marigold finished their first show on a high, and all things considered, I think they can all go home feeling very pleased with themselves.
Verdict: Not Perfect, But Good
Overall Show
I think that has to go down as a success. None of the matches hit big for me, but the majority were at least good, and most of the flaws came from them being showcases designed to introduce wrestlers to a new crowd (which is understandable). More importantly, the vibes were great. The crowd was hot, the wrestlers all seemed to be enjoying themselves, and it felt closer to my favourite era of Stardom than the last few years. There are nitpicks, but there always are, and none of them were big enough deals to ruin a first show. It gets the thumbs up from me!
Marigold shows are streaming live on Wrestle Universe: https://www.wrestle-universe.com/en/marigold
Ramblings About Wrestling 
Why is it a problem Ogawa signed wrestlers from other companies
Why is Ogawa a fool?
What don’t you like about Giulia?
Beyond the cultural reasons it’s frowned upon, I like all of those companies more than I do Stardom (it’s too early to say about Marigold, but I imagine that will continue to be the case). Rossy also has a fairly long history of business practices I dislike.
As for Giulia, I just don’t think she’s a particularly good wrestler. She holds herself like a star, but is over-reliant on spamming big shots with little thought about why she’s choosing to do them. It’s a style of wrestling I generally find tedious.