This Wednesday, Marigold returns to Korakuen Hall for Marigold Burning Desire, an event set to be their biggest card since the debut show of the promotion last year, Marigold Fields Forever.
That show featured a loaded set of matches, including Sareee vs Giulia, IYO SKY vs Utami, and much more. Still, now over a year on, we’re looking at a very different promotion – a show that feels more like a Marigold show and less like a Joshi free-agent supershow, and this card may be the best example of that.
Two Top Champions Collide in the Main Event
The running theme of the Burning Desire tour so far is the ongoing Marigold vs Marvelous rivalry that is set to hit a climax here. Reigning Marigold World champion, Utami Hayashishita, is set to put her belt on the line for the chance of becoming double champion as she faces Marvelous’ Takumi Iroha, who will be putting her GHC Women’s Title on the line.
Iroha has had a stellar year to date, forming a killer tag team with Sareee and clinching the AAAW Tag belts in Marvelous before taking the GHC belt from Victoria Yuzuki at NOAH, but crowning her with a statement win over Utami could be the ultimate indicator of confidence in the 32-year-old.
Utami has also had a strong year, dominating the Marigold main event scene for the past 189 days as red belt champion, and this would be a major shift in the landscape. Iroha is the most formidable challenger yet, having made fairly comfortable defenses over MIRAI, Bozilla, and Tank, with Utami as the only opponent before now.
Another key point many have pointed out is that this match is set for a 60-minute time limit, rather than the usual Marigold 30-minute time limit, which many fans have suggested makes a draw highly unlikely. Whatever happens here, the consequences look likely to rock the landscapes of both promotions.
Here’s the Marigold Burning Desire Card So Far:
- Marigold World Title & GHC Women’s Title: Utami Hayashishita (c) vs Takumi Iroha (c)
- United National Title: Mai Sakurai (c) vs. Riko Kawahata
- Victoria Yuzuki & Seri Yamaoka vs. Sora Ayame & Senka Akatsuki
- Mayu Iwatani & Komomo Minami vs. Mio Momono & Ai Houzan
United National Title on the Line as Mai Sakurai Defends Against Kawahata to Continue Magenta’s Rapid Rise
Mai Sakurai hasn’t had the easiest ride recently. After unsuccessfully challenging the tag team Magenta for the Twin Star Tag Titles last month alongside Chanyota, she has started losing more than winning.
However, she still reigns as the United National Champion, with six defenses since January, and has been booked as a big match player. This is another big stage where she may step up.
Riko Kawahata makes up one half of Magenta with Maria, a duo still reigning as the Twin Star champions. They have had a strong reign as heels so far, actually a bastion of success in Marigold since defeating the hugely over babyfaces, Nanae Takahashi and Seri Yamaoka, back in May.
While still primarily a Marvelous team, they have gained huge popularity with the Marigold crowd, and there’s no better indicator of this than the push for Kawahata, who now challenges for the second most important belt in the promotion.
The match was confirmed at the July 8th press conference, after Kawahata confronted Sakurai in the ring the night before. To elevate the stakes, Mai Sakurai reportedly stated that “If I lose, I’ll shave off my eyebrows for you!” in her promo – that’s according to a slightly dodgy Tokyo Sports translation, so we’ll see, but this match looks set to be a good one either way!
Mio Momono Makes Marigold Debut in Dream Tag Match
Mio Momono has been out of action for the last few months after losing the AAAW tag titles back in February. Still, now she is back and ready to go again in the Marvelous corner alongside youngster Ai Houzan against the Marigold team of Mayu Iwatani and Komomo Minami.
Seeing two of the best Joshis on the scene in Mayu and Momono in the same ring will be special, and many are hoping it will lead to an eventual singles match between the pair – a matchup which has never happened one-on-one before.
Minami and Houzan are very comparable too, both early in their careers, but making waves in their respective promotions. Under the wing of the more experienced stars in this match, we could see the best brought out of these two.
Marigold vs Marvelous Continues as the Rising Stars of Both Promotions Compete in a Tag Match to Build to the Upcoming Dream Star GP
Four of the most talked about rising stars in both Marigold and Marvelous are on show here once again as the team of former Superfly champion, Victoria Yuzuki and 18-year-old former Twinstar Tag champion, Seri Yamaoka represent Marigold against the throwback Marvelous tag duo of Sora Ayame and freshly qualified Dream Star GP participant, Senka Akatsuki.
All four here have received major praise over the last few months, especially Ayame and Akatsuki, who have made waves in the wrestling world for their unique looks and personas that only draw comparisons to the stars of 80s AJW.
Their rise has been rewarded as Akatsuki qualified for the Dream Star GP in a gauntlet earlier this month, joining the ranks alongside their opponents here in Yuzuki and Yamaoka, who are already in.
This should be a nice preview of some matches we’ll be getting very soon, with the Grand Prix kicking off August 2nd.
Other Marigold News
Marigold’s Superfly champion, Mayu Iwatani, faced off against Chika Goto at their July 12th show. The two have been competing on opposite sides of multi-man tags for a few shows on this tour, and Goto reiterated that she has been demanding this match since Mayu walked in the door. This could be for the July 16th show or a later date.
Mio Momono returns on July 13th, as the Marvelous show teaming with Chika Akatsuki faces off against Marigold’s MIRAI and Kizuna Tanaka, days before the huge July 16th tag match.
Rea Sato has joined Darkness Revolution after smashing Victoria Yuzuki in the head with a chair to secure victory at Marigold’s July 12th show.
Seri Yamaoka has debuted new gear, inspired by her former tag partner and the now-retired Nanae Takahashi.
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