By: Jeff Brown

Marigold was at Korakuen Hall on one of their last stops before the big First Dream 2025 PPV in January. The main event featured the titleholders and their respective challengers; the Twin Star champs had an unexpected defense, two rookies entered into the conversations with debuts, and the undercard took some steps forward. So here are some impressions of the card and the Marigold roster

Kizuna Tanaka vs. Nagisa Tachibana

Debut match for Nagisa, and it started out with a handshake before becoming a serious forearm exchange. Nagisa hit a lot of dropkicks and was showing signs of fatigue a few minutes in (completely understandable, and she stayed in the match). Kizuna looked calm and collected, which is something, as she debuted herself in the spring of 2023. Basic match as expected, and Nagisa looked good for a first match. 

Nanae Takahashi vs. Ryoko Sakimura

Another debut, and Ryoko is something of a super rookie; she had a contingent of supporters in the crowd as well. The handshake turned into a quick attack from Ryoko, but she was quickly thwarted by Nanae. From that point on it was passion and the punishment that can accompany it. Nanea taps out the rookie, and it was another solid debut.

Minami Yuuki & Naho Yamada vs. Komomo Minami & Rea Seto

Naho’s entrance helps her stand apart as she is getting the reps in these deeper waters. This bout was all about potential; all four have a lot of it and big personalities that endear them to the crowd as they grow. Seto gets the win with a rollup, and Minami was upset with Naho in the post-match.

Misa Matsui vs. Hummingbird

These two know each other, and they started out with some good technical work. Misa targeted Hummingbird’s leg, which allowed for this to be slower-paced and ground-based in comparison to her debut. Misa, targeting the leg, set up the stretch muffler, and she got the submission. A nice match, and hopefully Misa returns to the title scene and gets a strong run with a belt in 2025.

MIRAI vs. Nao Ishikawa

Pre-match had dueling chants from the crowd, which served as a nice departure on the show and got the place amped up. Nao is so good and has the potential to be great, much like MIRAI a few years ago. After a really good match, MIRAI picked up the win with a jackknife pin.

Marigold Twin Star Title Match

CHIAKI & Nagisa Nozaki (c) vs. Bozilla & Myla Grace

Being that it was the final night of Myla Grace’s current run with Marigold, Nagisa asked for an impromptu title challenge. A wild brawl all over Korakuen, Bozilla in person is just a force of nature, much like Stan Hansen or Bruiser Brody. Also, each time she hit the mat, it was thunderous. Nagisa distracted Bozilla out in the stands as CHIAKI pins Myla in her final match for now. Post-match, an angry Bozilla laid out both champs with the tag belts and stood tall. 

Kouki Amarei, Miku Aono & Sareee vs. Chika Goto, Mai Sakurai & Utami Hayashishita

A main event that also served as a preview for January 3rd with the champs teaming up against their challengers. It was a top-end performance that felt like a throwback to the ’90s All Japan tag matches, special moves landed, but the big moves were countered, adding to the excitement as the match was reaching the 30-minute time limit. With only seconds to go, Sareee hit a shutdown-style exploder suplex and pinned Utami.

Overall this show was a taster for the upcoming PPV but also saw some new faces debut, and the lower card got some more seasoning, so a lot was accomplished as the year winds down. Sareee pinning Utami wasn’t the obvious choice and was a nice surprise to a really strong main event. That match is definitely something people should be seeking out and a good example of the high grade wrestling Marigold can deliver.