- Kizuna Tanaka def. Shinno (6:00)
- Gigaton & Shoko Koshino def. Nagisa Nozaki & Rea Seto, Chanyota & Erina Yamanaka, Hummingbird & Nao Ishikawa, Komomo Minami & Yuuka Yamazaki, Minami Yuuki & Nagisa Tachibana (Tag Team Gauntlet Match) (33:33)
- Minoru Suzuki def. Megaton (6:28)
- Sareee def. Chika Goto (11:44)
- Misa Matsui & CHIAKI def. Maria Riko Kawahata (MARIGOLD Twin Star Championships) (10:32)
- Chihiro Hashimoto def. Seri Yamaoka (11:35)
- Victoria Yuzuki def. Mai Sakurai (MARIGOLD United National Championship) (20:38)
- Miku Aono def. Utami Hayashishita (MARIGOLD World Championship) (26:25)
- IYO SKY def. Mayu Iwatani (26:28)
In her first in-ring encounter with rival and past teammate Mayu Iwatani since 2018, WWE’s IYO SKY prevailed on Sunday night.
SKY won a 26-minute instant classic against Iwatani this weekend, headlining MARIGOLD’s Grand Destiny show from Ryogoku Kokugikan in Tokyo, Japan.
SKY had Iwatani reeling partway through the match, hitting her with a moonsault to the outside, double knees in the corner, then a trifecta of hard German Suplexes. But, the MARIGOLD star answered back minutes later, reversing a move into a Tombstone Piledriver, then also connecting with a Crucifix Driver and a moonsault off the top. Iwatani later also earned a near fall with a Poisonrana out of the corner.
SKY put together a long string of high-risk moves to finally earn the win: Dragon and German Suplexes, a Tombstone Piledriver, then a pair of Over the Moonsaults to put away Iwatani, ending a match which saw the Japanese talents trade moves in quick back-and-forth exchanges for nearly half an hour.
SKY, who previously wrestled in Japan under the name Io Shirai, has a long history with Iwatani from when they both wrestled in STARDOM during the 2010s. The duo had three different title reigns as Thunder Rock, including a 407-day Goddesses of STARDOM Championship run, and have faced off in seven past singles bouts, including a 27-minute meeting back in 2017.
SKY and Iwatani have both gone in different directions since their STARDOM days. SKY has become a multi-time champion in WWE, where she has wrestled since 2018. Iwatani’s lengthy run in STARDOM came to an end earlier this year, jumping ship to join MARIGOLD as one of the roster’s most prominent names.
During a post-match exchange, both wrestlers left the door open about future collaborations. Iwatani said that if SKY were to come back, she’d want to reunite again with her as Thunder Rock.
Speaking to younger wrestlers, SKY said after the win that “elevating the sport” is most important, no matter whether you wrestle in Japan or overseas.
Sunday was just the second time SKY has made a non-WWE appearance in recent years. She previously appeared at MARIGOLD’s Summer Destiny card in 2024, working a 23-minute singles contest against Utami Hayashishita.
Grand Prix winner Miku Aono captures MARIGOLD World Championship
In the biggest of many major title changes on the night, Miku Aono put an end to the nearly 300-day MARIGOLD World Championship reign of Utami Hayashishita.
Using Hayashishita’s own move against her, putting the champ away with a Hijack BT Bomb (spinning Razor’s Edge), Aono earned herself a pinfall victory at 26 minutes, becoming the promotion’s third-ever world champ.
Aono won after an evenly matched war between the two. Aono targeted the right shin of Hayashishita early on with thudding kicks, connected with her “One Second E.X.” slam for a near fall, and scored hard lariats near the finish of the match. In the early minutes of the match, she also connected with a devastating Styles Clash on the ring apron as well.
In order to win, Aono had to deal with a ton of hard-hitting moves from Hayashishita. The long-reigning champ failed to score a pinfall after connecting with her Hijack BT Bomb, and also a nasty lawn-dart throw into the turnbuckle.
Aono, a former United National champ in MARIGOLD, earned a shot at the promotion’s main title after winning the Dream Star Grand Prix in September. While she has shared the ring with Hayashishita dozens of times before, Sunday was her first-ever singles appearance across from the former STARDOM talent.
Hayashishita has put together the longest reign in the MARIGOLD World Championship’s short history, initially earning the belt back in January. She defended the belt five times along the way, including wins over MIRAI and Bozilla.
Undercard results: Victoria Yuzuki earns United National title, Sareee and Minoru Suzuki make surprise appearances
Victoria Yuzuki earned her biggest win yet on Sunday night, taking down Mai Sakurai to capture the MARIGOLD United National Championship in a hard-hitting 20-minute battle. In a physical contest, including a thudding slap battle at one point, Yuzuki climbed to the top rope to hit her Victory Shooting finisher for the win.
20-year-old Yuzuki, who had never worked a match as long as her appearance on Sunday, ended a lengthy 296-day reign Sakurai had with the belt, defending the title seven times through 2025. In a sign of respect, Sakurai wrapped the belt around Yuzuki’s waist during the post-match.
In a rookie-versus-vet themed battle of collegiate wrestling-styled talents, it was the experienced Chihiro Hashimoto who prevailed, taking down 18-year-old Seri Yamaoka with a gnarly lariat in the 11th minute. The bout served as a significant showcase for Yamaoka, who put on numerous impressive feats of strength before taking the pinfall loss.
Misa Matsui and CHIAKI brought the Twin Star Championships back to MARIGOLD earlier in the night, overcoming the Marvelous promotion’s tag duo of Maria and Riko Kawahata to regain the titles in 10 minutes. While it seemed as though Magenta’s Maria and Kawahata were closing in on a win, hitting stereo superkicks and a double-team chokeslam to Matsui, the MARIGOLD duo were able to pull out a sudden win. After Matsui was hit with a nasty Excalibur driver from Maria, she used the momentum from the move to suddenly pull off a roll-up pin for the victory.
Commentary emphasized that it was a long-awaited first title for Matsui, who had been wrestling since 2018 but hadn’t previously earned gold between her stints in MARIGOLD and Actwres girl’Z.
MARIGOLD booked a pair of high-profile names for surprise appearances as part of Sunday’s undercard. Previously teased by just their first initials (“Major Star M” and “Major Star S”), Minoru Suzuki and Sareee appeared in surprise singles appearances as part of the show.
Suzuki, who has been seen all around the Japanese scene as of late, made quick work of comedy talent Megaton, who verbally submitted to avoid taking a Gotch-Style Piledriver. The crowd booed Suzuki, wanting underdog Megaton to prevail with the win.
Sareee, who was appearing in MARIGOLD for the first time since she dropped their world title back in January, made her return to the promotion with a pinfall win over Chika Goto. Although Goto certainly put up a fight, including a trio of brainbusters at one point, Sareee eventually put her away with a double stomp off the top rope.
The appearance came just two weeks after Sareee dropped the IWGP Women’s Championship to Syuri at NJPW’s King of Pro Wrestling card, also in Ryogoku Sumo Hall.
MARIGOLD announced five major events for its 2026 schedule on Sunday. Among the highlights: The second-ever First Dream event on January 3, a Mayu Iwatani 15th anniversary event at Korakuen Hall on January 23, Shine Forever on May 23, Summer Destiny on August 9, and Grand Destiny at Ryogoku once again on October 24.
