Marigold 9/28/2024 Dream Star Grand Prix Day 8

Marigold 9/28/2024 Dream Star Grand Prix Day 8

Nao Ishikawa vs. Myla Grace vs. Komomo Minami

KM = Komomo Minami

KM takes a double boot to the gut then takes attacks from both. KM is put in a camel clutch by Nao and Myla dropkicks Nao for some reason. KM rolls up Nao and gets rolled up by Myla. KM is psushed into Nao then Myla double basement dropkicks them through the ropes.

Myla suplexes KM and KM rolls her up. Myla and nao try to pin each other off of it. The three of them trade forearms then Nao hits a double clothesline. Nao rolls up Myla for 2. Myla superkicks her then Nao hits a big forearm on her. They trade forearms and KM double ddt's them.

KM dropkicks Nao then Nao slams her. KM cradles Nao for 2 the rolls over her back and hits a ddt. Nao double underhook suplexes KM and KM rolls her up off of it. Myla breaks it up and then pins Nao.

Thoughts: It was not that good as expected. A lot of moves didn't hit clean here and I worry that these matches are going to bring Komomo down to Myla's level instead of helping her improve.

We had the usual Grand Prix ceremony but nobody spoke this time.

DREAM STAR Grand Prix DREAM League Match - Natsumi Showzuki vs. Chika Goto

Nat = Natsumi Showzuki

Chika pulls her in on a handshake and forearms her. They trade forearms and Chika forearm flurries her on the ropes. Nat kicks Chika against the ropes and pulls her down by the hair. Nat springboard double stomps Chika's gut for 2.

Nat crabs her. Chika hits hip attacks and atomic drops her. Chika hip attacks her on the ropes then giant swings her. Nat rolls her up for 2 and Chika hits corner lariats and hip attacks. Chika running facekicks her and Nat ddt's her. They trade mounted forearms.

Chika hits a uranage for 2. Nat does an octopus in the air and Chika turns it into an abdominal stretch. Nat back rolls her for 2 then superkicks her for 2. Nat hits a double knee drop off the top and wins.

Thoughts: I liked this one. Chika tried hard and showed a lot of spirit and Nat brought some stiffness against her. It worked out a lot better than it should have. 

DREAM STAR Grand Prix DREAM League Match - NORI vs. Victoria Yuzuki

Yuz = Victoria Yuzuki

Nori hits leg kicks. Yuz forearms her back. Nori walks up the buckles and armdrags her down. Nori basement dropkicks her. Yuz dropkicks her then slams her. Nori spinning high kicks her in the face and gets a big "WOW" from the male announcer for it.

Norh its kicks to the back then PK's her. Nori hits knees to the head then Yuz spinning headscissors her. Yuz dropkicks her and walks up the buckles to facebuster her for 2. Yuz rolls her up then dropkicks her. Nori jumping spin kicks her. Yuz hits a lightning spiral and a northern lights suplex for 2.

Nori step up enzugiri's her then backdrops her for 2. Yuz superkicks her then Nori crucifixes her. Nori hits a high kick and a jumping kick. Yuz crucifixes her and picks up the win.

Thoughts: It was a good match. Lots of hard kicks were thrown here and they kept things going at a fast pace. The two matched up pretty well together and Nori cut out the ankle lock stuff that usually brings her matches down.

Yuz talks on the mic after and gets Nori mad with it. Nori slams her and stomps on her. The young girls then break it up.

DREAM STAR Grand Prix DREAM League Match - Nagisa Nozaki vs. MIRAI

NN = Nagisa Nozaki

They stand off early and NN facekicks her down. Mirai hits a lariat then rolls her up for 2. NN flying dropkicks her for 2. NN misses a face kick and ends up on the apron. NN stunners her over the top rope.

Mirai is sent into the seats outside and gets chaired there. Mirai hits forearms out side then is sent into the chairs again. NN does a reverse pendulum kick on her as she hangs over the apron.

They trade chops for double chops and flurry each other. NN sleepers her then throws her down for a grounded sleeper. NN pendulum kicks her then 2nd rope dropkicks her. Mirai lariats her then hits a top rope dropkick.

Mirai backdrops her then lariats her for 2. Mirai airplane spins her into a cradle shock. She has the pin but the ref is pulled out by CHIAKI. Chi grabs Mirai then NN chairs Mirai.

They go out and Mirai is sent into the seats again. They fight in the stands and Mirai pounds on her with forearms. NN boots her down the steps then chairs her. NN is sent into the chairs and Chiaki gets some shots in. Mirai stops a double team on the stage and both get counted out.

Thoughts: They were having a perfectly fine match then ruined it with the ref getting pulled out and an outside brawl leading to a countout that brought it down. The officiating here was horrible and it's a shame they went this route.

They fight more after.

DREAM STAR Grand Prix DREAM League Match - Utami Hayashishita vs. Kouki Amarei

They do a double knuckle lock and Utami shoulders her over. Utami slams her then camel clutches her. Kouki hits running facekicks for 2 then pulls on both of her arms.

They trade facekicks for forearms and Kouki knocks her down with a facekick. Kouki pulls on Utami's arms again and bridges then Utami ropebreaks. Kouki flying kicks her.

Kouki goes up top and is hit. Utami samoan drops her then release germans her. Kouki release backdrops her. Kouki misses a top rope 180 splash and Utami sliding lariats her. Utami hits an air raid crash for 2. Kouki running facekicks her for 2.

Utami lariats her for 2. Utami hits a big slap then germans her for the win.

Thoughts: Kouki did little but facekicks as usual. Utami did her usual harder hitting offense. It wasn't that good.

DREAM STAR Grand Prix STAR League Match - CHIAKI vs. Kizuna Tanaka

Kiz = Kizuna Tanaka

Chi side headlocks her. Chi catches a crossbody and hits a backbreaker. Chi cartwheel double knee drops her then does a high crab. Kiz ropebreaks and facewash kicks her. Kiz flying neckbreakers her.

They trade forearms and Kiz armbars her. Kiz rolling snapmares her and hits sliding knees. Kiz dropkicks her off the ropes then hits a fisherman's suplex for 2. They botch a spot where Kiz is supposed to dropkick the ref then Chi just boots the ref. Chi and Kiz fight over a chair then Chi chokeslams her on it. Kiz armbars her.

Chi powerslams her then Kiz spin kicks her. Kiz hits her re:dream and wins.

Thoughts: The botched ref bump spot ruined whatever goodwill this had. Chi booted the ref right in the gut and the ref didn't care. It just exposed the match and the rest of it was short and not that good.

DREAM STAR Grand Prix STAR League Match - Misa Matsui vs. Mai Sakurai

Misa flying dropkicks her to start then hits knees to the gut. Misa 2nd rope crossbodies her then Mai northern lights suplexes her. Mai suplexes her and backrolls into a grounded guillotine.

Misa hits a chest forearm flurry then crossbodies her against the bottom rope. Mai stunners her over the top rope. They trade chest forearms. Misa catches a kick and puts Mai in a stretch muffler. 

Misa bangs Mai's leg off the ropes. Misa top rope dropkicks her then fisherman suplexes her. Mai facekicks her then backdrops her. Misa flying knees her then Mai hits a gordbuster. Misa rolls her up off of it for 2 then Misa la magistrals her into a bridge for 2. Mai crucifix drivers her for 2 then shining enzugiri's her.

Mai hits a pump kick for 2 then STF's her for the win.

Thoughts: It was short and a bit rushed. What we got was okay but far from the best it could have been and it's because Mai was going to win here and go onto the final later. I'm disappointed with Misa's progress so far in Marigold. I thought she was around Miku's level when it started but she is clearly not there.

DREAM STAR Grand Prix STAR League Match - Nanae Takahashi vs. Miku Aono

They lariat battle off the handshake. NT slaps her then germans her. NT running lariats her. Miku high kicks her. They go out and Miku stomps on her. Miku is sent into the seats. NT slaps Miku outside then throws her into the seats.

They trade forearms and leg kicks. NT dragon screws her. NT elbow drops Miku's leg inside then NT does a figure four variation. NT hits leg kicks and chest slaps. NT then chest kicks her while she's kneeling. Miku snapmares her and kicks her in the back twice.

Miku rolls her and kneedrops the arm. Miku goes for an armbar. NT chest kicks her. They get up and trade chest forearms. NT chop flurries her. Miku corner dropkicks her twice. Miku hits leg kicks and is shouldered over. Miku hits her twisting swinging slam for 2.

Miku overhooks both of NT's arms. Miku lariats her on the ropes then NT lariats her over. NT running lariats her. Miku rainmakers her for 2. NT superplexes her for 2. NT sliding forearms her.

Miku takes a dragon screw from the buckles then NT figure fours her. NT chest forearms her and gets kicked while on the buckles. Miku slap flurries her then backdrops her. NT no sells it then backdrops her. NT hits a lariat for 2 then Miku lariats her for 2. They lariat each other at the same time and both go down.

Miku high kicks her then double underhook suplexes her. The time limit then runs out.

Thoughts: It was pretty clear towards the end that this would go to a draw. Marigold loves their draws and we were due for one. The opening part and the ending part of the match were good. It fell apart some in the middle and lost its momentum. I think they kind of figured out what they need to do though for next time and I feel confident the next affair between these two should be the good one it could be.

They slap each other after then get up and give each other passion fingers. 

DREAM STAR Grand Prix STAR League Match - Sareee vs. Bozilla

Boz shoves her over to start. Sare hits a big forearm then is shouldered over. Sare dropkicks her. They trade chest forearms and Sare goes down. They trade forearms outside and Sare is thrown into the seats. Sare rolls her outside and double stomps her outside. Sare then double stomps her off the apron. Boz gets on the 2nd buckle and plancha's Sare and a few others. They can't really catch her though due to her size and she lands hard.

Boz splashes her in the corner then pounces her. They trade chest forearms. Sare germans her then Boz germans her back. Sare fujiwara armbars her. Sare dropkicks the arm of the buckles then dropkicks her through the ropes.

Boz lariats her on the ropes. Sare blocks a powerbomb and hits mounted shots. Boz powerslams Sare for 2. They fight on the buckles and Sare headbutts her down. Sare top rope double stomps the arm. Sare double stomps her while she's seated then does a pin attempt but Boz gets her feet on the ropes.

Boz hits a big lariat then piledrivers her. Boz 2nd rope moonsaults her for 2. Boz then hits a sitout powerbomb and wins.

Thoughts: It was a good match here with Sare doing a lot of the work on the arm and trying to upset Boz but not being able to. Most of Sare's offense was double stomps which was believable against the bigger Boz. Boz showed her agility here and it's a shame it had a time limit as I think these two could have a classic with enough time.

Boz grab's Sare's title after and puts it on her shoulder. They then fight over the belt and Sare takes it away.

DREAM STAR Grand Prix Final Match - Utami Hayashishita vs. Mai Sakurai

They trade wristlocks. Utami side headlocks her. Utami dropkicks her then shoulders her over. They trade forearms. Mai flying kicks her. Mai puts her in an STF but Utami rolls out of it and crossfaces her.

Utami lariats Mai against the ropes and Mai goes out. Mai is thrown into the post and hits it head first. Mai bangs Utami's head off the apron. They trade forearms on the stage. Utami gets booted and rolls down the steps. Mai crossbodies Utami off the stage.

Mai top rope dropkicks Utami for 2. Mai is pulled off the buckles. Utami hits an air raid crash for 2. Mai superplexes Utami. Mai gordbusters her for 2. Mai backdrops her. Mai throws her over for 2. Utami side slams her then sliding lariats her for 2. Utami germans her.

Mai armdrags her into an STF. Mai hits a tiger suplex for 2. Mai top rope elbow drops her for 2. Mai STF's her and Utami. Utami lariats her. Utami has her across her back and spins her down. Mai then crucifixes her for 2. Mai crucifix bombs her for 2.

Utami does a slingblade then does a shocking baszler for 2. Utami spinning torture rack bombs her and wins.

Thoughts: I didn't like this one that much. It didn't have clear face or heel roles. There wasn't much of a story. They wasted a bunch of time outside. There were no real big moves, super memorable moments or things like blood that can also make matches better either.
 
9 of the girls are given trophies for their performances in the GP after and multiple girls pose with Utami. Utami then does a speech after with her trophy.

Overall thoughts: It was about average overall, sadly. Sareee vs Bozilla was the best match on this one. Nanae vs Miku had some bright points but didn't live up to my expectations. The main wasn't that good. Misa/Mai wasn't that good and neither was Kizuna/Chiaki. Chika/Showzuki somehow had a decent match and Mirai/Nozaki got ruined. The pre-show match was not good as expected.