SEAdLINNNG on January 11th, 2016 Review

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Event: SEAdLINNNG “Let’s Make Miracle Year 2016” 
Date: January 11th, 2016
Location: Korakuen Hall in Tokyo, Japan
Announced Attendance: 811

Welcome to an early review of Joshi Puroresu! A few weeks ago I purchased a subscription to view Samurai TV live as it airs. That means I can bring you new Joshi reviews as they happen, without having to wait until they appear on DailyMotion or another video streaming service. Look for quicker reviews going forward, as long as I wake up in time anyway.

SEAdLINNNG is promoted by veteran Nanae Takahashi, and she started the promotion soon after leaving Stardom in the Spring of 2015. This is SEAdLINNNG’s third wrestling event, with many wrestlers from the past shows returning along with some new faces as well. Some are really new, at least to Joshi fans, as wrestler “Big Bang” Nicole opens the show. We also get participation from Diana, REINA, Sendai Girls’, and Gatoh Move before closing with a big match between Takahashi and Tanaka! Plus there is a bit of a surprise too, which by now you’ve probably heard about anyway. Here is the full card:

  • “Big Bang” Nicole vs. Meiko Tanaka
  • Aoi Kizuki and Yuki Miyazaki  vs. Kaoru Ito and Takako Inoue
  •  Konami and Sareee vs. Ryo Mizunami and Syuri
  • Ayako Hamada and “Kotori” vs. Emi Sakura and Meiko Satomura
  • Masato Tanaka vs. Nanae Takahashi

Without further ado, let’s get to it.

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“Big Bang” Nicole vs. Meiko Tanaka

“Big Bang” Nicole is a bit of an unknown, but I did find that she wrestles out of North Carolina normally under the name Roni Nicole. Tanaka I still have a habit of calling a rookie but she isn’t, as she debuted in 2014 for Diana. She had some success in 2015, including winning the WAVE Young OH! OH! Tournament, and looks to build on that as 2016 begins. This will not be the match she starts on a positive path but it should be good experience for her.

nicoleNicole immediately pushes around the smaller and younger Tanaka, but Tanaka gets Nicole to the mat and starts working over her leg. This doesn’t work out as Nicole switches positions with her, they get back up and Tanaka tries to knock over Nicole with repeated shoulderblocks. Nicole ends up shoulerblocking her over for trouble, armdrag by Nicole and she sits on Tanaka for a two count. Tanaka flips herself to the apron, she returns to the ring and dropkicks Nicole for a two count. Scoop slam by Nicole but Tanaka gets her in the corner and hits repeated shoulder tackles. She goes for a spear but Nicole blocks it and hits a DDT. Nicole squishes Tanaka in the corner, Tanaka wiggles away but Nicole hits a rolling fireman’s carry slam. Back up, big spear by Tanaka, she picks up Nicole and hits a fireman’s carry slam of her own for  a two count. Tanaka goes up top but Nicole avoids the senton, Big Bang (front flip piledriver) by Nicole and she gets the three count! “Big Bang” Nicole is your winner.

They get an A for effort, no one was coasting here, but it was a bit rough around the edges. I have never seen Nicole before, she is clearly trained so they didn’t pull someone that didn’t deserve to be there, but this was a difficult spot for both as Tanaka has limited experience against gaijin monsters. This lead to some spots just not looking right, I will admit I had to chuckle when they both did fireman carry slams back to back as it just seemed so unusual. I will admit to not at all expecting Nicole to hit a front flipping piledriver so there is definitely that anyway. This was good experience for the Tanaka and not a bad first time display for Nicole, but just a bit too disjointed.

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Aoi Kizuki and Yuki Miyazaki  vs. Kaoru Ito and Takako Inoue

The listing I found had this as Kyoko Inoue teaming with Takako, so you can imagine my confusion when Ito came down the ring. This is why it is always good to check all your resources! Ito hails from Diana while Inoue wrestles for LLPW-X. LLPW-X rarely has their own shows but that is her affiliation anyway. Kizuki and Miyazaki are Freelancers, with Kizuki having the most success recently in Ice Ribbon.

Kizuki and Miyazaki attack before the match starts, Miyazaki stays in the ring with Ito but the veterans take control of the match early as they take turns working over Miyazaki on the mat. Miyazaki tries to come back with a missile dropkick but misses, she grabs Inoue and puts her in a double underhook submission of some sort before hitting a DDT. Leg drop by Miyazaki, she leaves the ring and hits a sliding dropkick while Inoue’s head is over the bottom rope. High kick by Inoue and she covers Miyazaki for two before tagging Ito. Big lariat by Ito, she picks up Miyazaki but Miyazaki hits a quick suplex. Miyazaki goes for a moonsault but Ito gets her knees up, running footstomp by Ito and she hits an elbow drop for two. Miyazaki gets away from Ito with a head kick and tags in Kizuki quickly hits three running sentons.

seadlinnng1.11-2Kizuki picks up Ito but Ito blocks the suplex attempt, Miyazaki comes in to help but Ito hits a jumping crossbody on both of them. Kizuki and Miyazaki are taken out of the ring and Ito hits a double baseball slide, Inoue has come over too and she attacks Miyazaki around the ring while Ito handles Kizuki. Kizuki is rolled back in but she slides away as Miyazaki rolls in, lariat by Miyazaki to Ito and Kizuki rolls her up for two. Back up, Ito quickly hits a lariat and a sit-down powerbomb, but Miyazaki breaks up the pin. Ito tags Inoue, but Inoue is double teamed by Kizuki and Miyazaki. Northern Lights Suplex by Kizuki to Inoue, but Inoue hits an avalanche arm drag. Miyazaki helps again as she knocks Inoue to the mat, Kizuki goes up top and nails the Swivel Body Press but Ito breaks up the cover. German suplex hold by Kizuki but Inoue drills her with a high kick. Ito lariats Inoue by accident but then manages to lariat Kizuki, Yoshikobushi by Inoue to Kizuki and she gets the three count! Ito and Inoue win!

First of all, Takako Inoue is still a babe at age 46, she hasn’t lost a thing. This match was a lot more fast paced than I was expecting with three older veterans in there, but they really kept the pace up and there was never a dull moment. Everything was executed well and both teams worked together, I was afraid it would end up like a series of singles matches if they weren’t as familiar with each other but that wasn’t the case. I went in with low expectations but this exceeded them, a pretty good midcard match between the veterans, everyone looked really inspired.  Mildly Recommended

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Konami and Sareee vs. Ryo Mizunami and Syuri

This match is being fought under “Over the Top Rope” rules. Which means how it sounds, you can win the match by throwing your opponent over the top rope. I am assuming that was put in place so that Konami and Sareee have a chance of winning, as otherwise they would be pretty screwed. Sareee wrestles in Diana, while Konami and Syuri are both representing REINA. Mizunami meanwhile is a WAVE wrestler so we have a nice variation here of promotions represented. Natsuki Taiyo is the referee so I’m sure she will have her fun at some point as well.

Sareee and Mizunami kick things off, they trade hammerlocks until Mizunami starts working the headlock. Taiyo helps Sareee free herself, dropkick by Sareee as Konami comes in and they try to throw Mizunami over the top rope, but she lands on the apron and quickly gets back in the ring to hit a double spear. She tags Syuri, sleeper by Syuri to Sareee but Sareee gets to the ropes. After bouncing off the ropes Sareee finally manages to dropkick Syuri and tags Konami, kicks by Syuri to the young Kana-trained wrestler and she hits a Backstabber followed by a PK. Syuri tags Mizunami, knees by Mizunami in the corner and she hits a lariat. High speed legdrops by Mizunami, cover, but Sareee breaks it up. Sareee pushes down Taiyo and goes after Mizunami, but Mizunami kicks her out of the ring. She then gets mad at Taiyo also but Taiyo avoids her and hits a running elbow. Cover by Taiyo but no one counts since she is the referee. Taiyo and Syuri leave the ring while Mizunami is double teamed, back in they all run off the ropes until Syuri dropkicks Mizunami.

seadlinnng1.1-3I am not sure why she dropkicked her teammate but the match has gotten a bit off the rails. Sareee dropkicks Syuri while she is against the ropes, kick to the chest by Konami and she covers Syuri for barely a two count. Mizunami returns as Syuri applies a hanging armbar to Konami, Mizunami tries to dump Sareee over the top rope but she lands on the apron. Syuri and Sareee end up on the apron together, Taiyo charges them but she falls over the top rope to the floor. Luckily she can’t be eliminated since she is the referee, Sareee is double teamed in the ring and Mizunami lariats Sareee for a two count. Big spear by Mizunami, she goes up top but Konami kicks her from the apron. Mizunami lands out on the apron also, Sareee kicks her but ends up on the apron instead. Mizunami gets back in the ring and hits a spear, but Sareee somehow doesn’t fall to the floor. Mizunami charges Sareee again, but Sareee avoids the charges and Mizunami goes over the top rope onto the apron. Sareee dropkicks Mizunami, Mizunami falls to the floor and Taiyo calls for the bell! Konami and Sareee win the match.

Anytime Taiyo is a referee in SEAdLINNNG, it isn’t going to be a normal match, I think she misses wrestling quite a bit as she always gets involved even if it is not logical for her to do so. The match was way too random to get a grip on with not everything making sense, I don’t mind some weirdness in my wrestling but usually it is still based on something. I do like all four of these wrestlers a lot and there were some bright parts, but the utter lack of any kind of structure or meaning threw me. An above average match with a more playful twist and an easy watch but too all over the place for my personal tastes even though these are some of my favorite wrestlers.

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Ayako Hamada and “Kotori” vs. Emi Sakura and Meiko Satomura

This is going to be fun. Hamada hand picked Kotori has her teammate, much to Sakura’s surprise as Kotori is one of her trainees in Gatoh Move. Satomura is damn near legendary and officially represents her promotion Sendai Girls’, while Hamada is from Wave. With the three veterans this would be a straight forward match, but having the very small and less experienced Kotori in there is a nice wildcard and should spice things up a bit.

Sakura is not overly amused by this situation but she has no issues facing off against her young trainee. Hamada and Satomura are the first two legal wrestlers but they mostly do introductory chain wrestling while the crowd claps politely. Sakura and Kotori are tagged in, Kotori gets Sakura’s arm and runs up the corner before hitting an armdrag. Satomura runs in to help, as if Sakura really needed it, and works over young Kotori on the mat. I am not sure who this referee is but he is massive, towering over the wrestlers in the ring, which is really unusual. Things settle back down as Sakura tosses Kotori to the mat, but Kotori hits a dropkick and tags Hamada. Hamada puts Sakura in a Surfboard before Kotori hits another dropkick, Hamada then picks up Kotori and helps her kick Sakura again. Sakura is double teamed while giant referee watches, Hamada gets on the second turnbuckle but Sakura avoids the senton. Hamada and Sakura trade chops with theatrics until Sakura tags in Satomura, slam by Hamada and she tags Kotori. Satomura gets Kotori to the mat quickly and wraps her in a knot, Sakura comes in and they hit an assisted gutbuster.

seadlinnng1.1-4Sakura then hits a cutter on Satomura so that she lands on Kotori, which Satomura didn’t appreciate, she goes back to Kotori but Kotori puts her in an Octopus Hold. That didn’t last long but Kotori tags in Hamada, back kick by Satomura but Hamada delivers the heel kick. High kick by Hamada, she goes up top but Satomura avoids the moonsault. Kick by Satomura and she tags Sakura, they trade move attempts with neither connecting until Sakura sneaks in a backslide for two. Hamada blocks La Magistral and hit an enzuigiri, she goes up to the second turnbuckle but Sakura joins her and hits a Frankensteiner. Big backdrop suplex by Sakura but Kotori dives in with a crossbody, moonsault by Hamada to Sakura but Satomura breaks it up. Kotori puts Sakura in the Octopus Hold while Hamada does the same to Satomura, but they get out of the holds and Sakura hits a double underhook backbreaker on Kotori. Sakura goes up to the second turnbuckle and hits a somersault senton, but Kotori gets a shoulder up. Judo Throw by Kotori, she goes off the ropes but Sakura hits a spinning backbreaker. Another backbreaker by Sakura but Hamada kicks her in the head, allowing Kotori to get a roll-up two count. Kotori tries to throw Satomura with little luck, but she flips Hamada onto her instead. Kotori tries to roll up Sakura but Sakura blocks it and applies La Magistral for the three count! Sakura and Satomura are your winners.

They didn’t quite reach the level that I was hoping for but it was still an enjoyable match. Satomura was feeling a bit grumpy and didn’t give young Kotori a whole lot, which isn’t shocking, but Sakura of course did and the match gave all four a chance to shine. I liked that Kotori was highlighted for much of the match and the exchange with Sakura at the end was really done well, obviously they are very familar with each other and you could tell as they have great chemistry. A solid match, there was no ‘wow’ moment or particular part that really left an impression, but still enjoyable overall.  Mildly Recommended

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Masato Tanaka vs. Nanae Takahashi

This is what we all came for. Tanaka came out at the end of the last SEAdLINNNG show and this match was made, and really is one I have been looking forward to watching since it was announced. Takahashi is not one to back down from a challenge, she has wrestled against bigger wrestlers than this in her career and is in no way intimidated by Tanaka. Tanaka also is not going to take Takahashi lightly for that reason, this will not be a soft and playful match as both of them like to hit hard and hit often. Takahashi has a lot of pressure on her to deliver in her own promotion, so nothing will be held back here.

Oh no the referee has a head cam, please don’t let them use that often.  They feel each other out to start, shoulderblock by Tanaka but Takahashi returns the favor. Tanaka chops Takahashi against the ropes, he charges Takahashi but Takahashi moves and he tumbles out of the rope. Tope Suicida by Takahashi and she attacks Tanaka with a chair, but Tanaka gets the chair and hits her back. Tanaka slams Takahashi on the floor before they return to the ring, jumping elbow by Tanaka in the corner and he puts Takahashi in a chinlock. Takahashi reverses positions with him but Tanaka gets away and hits a scoop slam. Takahashi slaps him but he slaps her back, Tanaka charges Takahashi but she slams him to the mat. They trade elbows near the corner, an exchange Tanaka gets the better of, and he hits a pair of lariats. Takahashi comes back with a vertical suplex, she goes up top and she hits a missile dropkick. Lariats by Takahashi in the corner and she hits a release German, she goes off the ropes but Tanaka levels her with a spear. Tanaka puts Takahashi on the top rope and snaps her head on the top rope before hitting  lariat, sending Takahashi to the floor.

seadlinnng1.11-5Tanaka gets out a table and puts Takahashi on it, he goes up to the top turnbuckle and hits a body press onto Takahashi and through the table! He returns to the ring with Takahashi very slowly following, suplex by Tanaka and he covers Takahashi for two. Takahashi fights back but Tanaka elbows her hard in the head, powerbomb by Tanaka and the referee checks on Takahashi. Yoshiko suddenly appears at ringside to cheer on Takahashi, Tanaka goes up top but Takahashi gets her knees up on the body press attempt. Takahashi now goes up top but Tanaka also gets his knees up on her dive and both wrestlers are on the mat. Back up they trade strikes, big lariat by Takahashi and she nails the back to belly piledriver for a two count. Takahashi goes up top and delivers a diving body press, but Tanaka gets a shoulder up on the pin attempt. Takahashi picks up Tanaka but Tanaka hits a quick brainbuster, he goes for a Sliding D but Takahashi avoids it. Sliding D by Takahashi, but Tanaka barely gets a shoulder up. One Second EX by Takahashi, but that gets a two as well. She goes off the ropes but Tanaka levels her with a lariat, he goes up top and this time hits the diving body press for two. Tanaka sets up Takahashi, he goes off the ropes and he nails the Sliding D for the three count! Masato Tanaka is the winner.

A really fun and straight forward match, a nice change of pace since it was more serious and hard hitting than all the other matches on the card. Tanaka’s big matches tend to focus around big moves and short term selling, and this match fit that formula as while both were dropping bombs they weren’t overly concerned with focusing on a certain area or selling any particular move for too long (aside from the big table spot). Which is fine as that is just the match structure, but it helps to know the style of match you are getting into. This was a very even match as they went back and forth throughout, both seemed determined to put on an entertaining match for the show’s main event. The head camera worn by the referee wasn’t used much so it wasn’t a distraction, and for those that don’t want to see Yoshiko she did very little even at ringside and didn’t even appear until the end. The selling for big moves was a bit off for me and I’d have liked Tanaka’s transition from being hit with the One Second EX to winning to have been smoother, but overall a really entertaining match.  Recommended

Final Thoughts:
3

 

Going into the show, it was Tanaka vs. Takahashi that I was really looking forward to but not much else seemed that special. That held mostly true, the card up to the main event was perfectly fine but the same type of action that you see on any other Joshi event as a lot of these wrestlers leave their home promotions often to team up other places. Wrestlers like Syuri and Satomura are amazing, but when they are in 12 minute tag matches in the midcard there is only so much they can do. I will say though that the veterans were putting in maximum effort, no one was coasting here and that really made every match at least worth watching casually. The main event did deliver however and is definitely worth watching, it had all the drama and big moments that I was hoping for. Unless one of the other matches on the card has a particular favorite (I’d still recommend the Sareee/Konami match since I really enjoy all the participants individually), nothing on this card was particularly memorable aside from Takahashi vs. Tanaka even though nothing was bad either. Overall a solid event by SEAdLINNNG.