CHIAKI Shaves Head as Miku Aono Retains, First 3D Trios Champions Crowned at Marigold New Years Golden Garden

By Noah Leatherland

It was a high stakes affair at Korakuen Hall as CHIAKI wagered her hair against Miku Aono’s Marigold World Championship. There was a lot to play for in the undercard as well, as the tournament to crown the inaugural Marigold 3D Trios Champions took place, as well as a United National Title defence from Victoria Yuzuki.

CHIAKI’s ambition to become Marigold World Champion cost her dearly in Tokyo. Miku Aono proved to be too much for her to handle, with the champion retaining in the main event. As a result of the stipulation, CHIAKI was forced to shave her head. She took the first few locks off in the ring, before finishing the job backstage.

Elsewhere on the show, the finals of the Marigold 3D Trios Title Tournament took place. The tournament had come down to Mai Sakurai, Natsumi Showzuki and Erina Yamanaka on one side of the bracket, and Nagisa Nozaki, Misa Matsui and Rea Seto on the other. In the end, the finish would come down to Yamanaka scoring the fall for her team, crowning them as the first Marigold 3D Trios champions. This win furthers Sakurai as the most decorated champion in Marigold history, being the first wrestler to have held 3 titles in the company. Sakurai had also been an inaugural Marigold Twin Star champion, before holding the United National title for nearly 300 days.

The United National Championship was also on the line in Korakuen Hall. The champion, Victoria Yuzuki, defended against Chika Goto. Yuzuki came out of the match on top, extending her reign for a while longer with a win over Goto. However, in the post-match comments, Goto showed no signs of giving up just yet:

Gochika didn’t just bulk up, it wasn’t just her weight. She bulked up her power, her momentum, her emotion – everything maxed out to challenge Victoria. I truly felt that bulk alone isn’t enough to defeat her. But Gochika doesn’t run away, she doesn’t get discouraged, she doesn’t give up, she doesn’t waver…

In Yuzuki’s comments, she also recognised the spirit that her challenger brought to the battle:

I was worried about how Gochika would approach today and what state of mind she’d be in. I felt her feelings towards this belt were a bit shallow, to be honest. But actually seeing her fight, her desire to triumphantly bring the belt home—that sentiment came across loud and clear today…

(Quotes translated via DeepL)

The event in Korakuen Hall also saw Mayu Iwatani in action, defeating Rin in a singles match. Following the match, Rin asked Iwatani if she would team with her in her retirement match, which Iwatani accepted. Rin’s retirement match will be on May 5th at Marvelous’s Yokohama BUNTAI show.

Here are the full results for Marigold New Years Golden Garden Day 14, courtesy of purolove.com:

• Seri Yamaoka & Shinno def. Komomo Minami & Yuuka Yamazaki (12:15)
• Nagisa Tachibana def. Nao Ishikawa & Megaton (9:27)
• Utami Hayashishita def. Hummingbird & Syoko Koshino (8:04)
• 3D Trios Title Tournament Final: Mai Sakurai, Natsumi Showzuki & Erina Yamanaka def. Nagisa Nozaki, Misa Matsui & Rea Seto (13:12)
• Mayu Iwatani def. Rin (13:23)
• Marigold United National Title: Victoria Yuzuki (c) def. Chika Goto (16:54)
• Marigold World Title vs. Hair Match: Miku Aono (c) def. CHIAKI (17:27)