SEAdLINNNG Delivered To You! on 6/13/20 Review

SEAdLINNNG Delivered To You! Poster

Event: SEAdLINNNG Delivered To You!
Date: June 13th, 2020
Location: Shin-Kiba 1st RING in Tokyo, Japan
Announced Attendance: 0

More new wrestling! As promotions start ramping back up again, I am going to try to keep up the best I can as I’m excited to finally have Joshi back. This is a big card for SEAdLINNNG, as we get ASUKA challenging Arisa Nakajima for the championship in the main event. Here is the full card:

This aired on Samurai TV and was live so matches should be shown in full. All wrestlers have profiles on Joshi City, you can click on their name above to go straight to it.

Hiroyo Matsumoto vs. Honori Hana
Hiroyo Matsumoto vs. Honori Hana

We kick off the show with a classic Veteran vs. Rookie match. Hiroyo Matsumoto isn’t a member of SEAdLINNNG but wrestles in the promotion quite a bit as a Freelancer, she’s one of the top Freelancers on the scene. Honori Hana just debuted for SEAdLINNNG in December and is their first home grown rookie, so I am sure they are going to put as much effort in her as they can to get her up the card. For now of course she is still in the opener, getting schooled by a visiting wrestler to teach her a few things.

Hiroyo Matsumoto vs. Honori HanaTie-up to start, Hiroyo pushes Honori into the ropes but Honori knocks her back with elbows. Side headlock by Hiroyo but Honori whips out of it, she goes for a dropkick but Hiroyo just bulldozers over her. Chinlock by Hiroyo, she lets go after a moment and picks up Honori, biting on her arm. Scoop slam by Hiroyo and she hits an elbow drop for a two count. Hiroyo throws Honori into the corner but Honori dropkicks her, Hiroyo doesn’t go down however and stomps on Honori. Elbows by Honori and she dropkicks Hiroyo into the corner, she goes for a scoop slam but Hiroyo blocks it. Scoop slam by Hiroyo, and she covers Honori for two. Hiroyo goes for the crab hold but Honori quickly gets into the ropes, back up Honori elbows Hiroyo but Hiroyo elbows her hard back. Honori goes off the ropes but a shoulderblock doesn’t work, she tries a few more times until Hiroyo knocks her over with her own shoulderblock. Crab hold by Hiroyo but Honori inches to the ropes and makes it for the break. Hiroyo picks up Honori and throws her into the corner, chop by Hiroyo but Honori avoids her charge and cradles Hiroyo for two. Backslide by Honori, but that gets a two as well. Honori goes off the ropes but Hiroyo hits a lariat, she picks up Honori but Honori blocks the backdrop suplex and cradles Hiroyo for two. Irish whip by Hiroyo but Honori dropkicks her, Hiroyo stays up but a second sends her to her knees. Scoop slam by Honori, and she covers Hiroyo for a two count. Honori goes off the ropes but Hiroyo catches her with a sidewalk slam, she puts Honori in a crab hold, Honori tries to get to the ropes but can’t make it, eventually tapping out! Hiroyo Matsumoto is the winner.

This was a ‘by the numbers’ veteran vs. rookie match, but that doesn’t mean it wasn’t good. I wouldn’t have minded a change here and there to the formula, but there is a reason its been this way for decades as it works. Hiroyo soundly stopped Honori’s offense at the start but slowly as the match built up, Honori finally was able to knock Hiroyo off her feet and even get a nearfall or two in the process. Its early in Honori’s career, her dropkicks still need work and she has a ways to go, but the basics seem to be there. A good way to kick off the show.

Makoto and Yuu vs. Misa Matsui and Miyuki Takase
Makoto and Yuu vs. Misa Matsui and Miyuki Takase

Next we have a batch of wrestlers from other promotions. Makoto and Yuu are both Freelancers like Hiroyo Matsumoto and don’t have a set home, so they take their talents wherever they are needed. Which is often SEAdLINNNG since SEAdLINNNG has a tiny home roster. They are against two wrestlers from Actwres girl’Z, with their champion Miyuki Takase teaming with the “barely not a rookie” Misa Matsui. I like this combination, should be a fun match.

Misa and Miyuki attack before the match starts, double dropkicks by team AgZ but they both eat a shoulderblock for their trouble. Yuu and Miyuki stay in the ring, shoulderblock by Yuu and she puts Miyuki in a front headlock. She tags in Makoto, Makoto twists on Miyuki’s hair before throwing her down by it. Makoto rakes Miyuki’s head across the top rope and boots her in the head a few times, but Miyuki catches her with a powerslam and tags in Misa. Misa picks up Makoto but Makoto scoop slams her, footstomp by Makoto and she covers Misa for two. Makoto tags in Yuu, Irish whip by Yuu and she hits a spinning sidewalk slam on Misa. Running senton by Yuu, but Miyuki breaks up her cover. Yuu picks up Misa and chops her in the chest, body press by Yuu but again Miyuki breaks up the pin. Misa sneaks in a small package but it only gets two, scoop slam by Yuu but Misa avoids the senton this time and hits a dropkick. She hits another dropkick as Yuu doesn’t go down, dropkick to the knee by Misa and she finally knocks Yuu over. She tags in Miyuki, dropkick by Miyuki and she clubs Yuu against the ropes. Irish whip by Miyuki but Yuu elbows her in the face, they trade strikes until Yuu chops Miyuki to the mat. Miyuki returns to her feet but Yuu chops her down again, cover by Yuu but it gets a two count. Yuu chops Miyuki in the corner, Irish whip by Yuu but Miyuki rebounds out of the corner with a dropkick.

Makoto and Yuu vs. Misa Matsui and Miyuki TakaseLariat by Miyuki but Yuu stays up, she tries again with the same result but Miyuki finally knocks her off her feet and gets a two count cover. Miyuki goes off the ropes but Yuu drops her with a hip toss, she tags in Makoto and Makoto boots Miyuki in the corner. Face crusher by Makoto and she hits a running kneedrop for a two count. Makoto picks up Miyuki but Miyuki spins away, they both struggle to hit suplexes until Miyuki gets Makoto over. Miyuki tags Misa, Misa goes to the top turnbuckle and hits a diving crossbody for two. Dropkick by Misa and she goes for Makoto’s arm, but Makoto quickly gets to the ropes. Makoto chops Misa in the chest but Misa puts her in an Octopus Hold until Yuu breaks it up. Misa goes off the ropes and hits a trio of low crossbodies, she picks up Makoto and goes for a suplex but Makoto blocks it. Elbows by Misa, she goes off the ropes but Makoto drop toeholds her into the bottom rope. Big boot by Makoto and she delivers the cartwheel double kneedrop for a two count. Makoto waits for Misa to get up but Miyuki cuts her off with a dropkick, Miyuki gets Makoto on her shoulders and hits the Kamikaze. Misa goes up top and hits the diving footstomp, cover by Misa but Yuu breaks it up. Miyuki gets rid of Yuu, Misa picks up Makoto but Makoto catches her with a double underhook suplex. Yuu returns and dropkicks Misa into the corner, big boot by Makoto and Yuu runs in with the Cannonball. Spear by Makoto to Misa, and she picks up the three count! Makoto and Yuu are the winners.

This was really fun. One of the advantages of Misa being new but over a year into her career is while she was the weak link, she wasn’t so weak that she couldn’t get in her licks as well. Yuu is always a breath of fresh air in these matches, there aren’t a lot of younger “hoss” Joshi wrestlers and it just opens up so many more options for a match’s direction. Makoto is a pro and hit all her spots well, and both teams showed good chemistry which is impressive since they aren’t regular opponents and they just had a lay-off due to the pandemic. I also loved the ending, just move-move-move-dead, not every match needs a bunch of hope spots and 2.9 nearfalls. All four delivered, a fast paced and hard hitting match that may have not been high end but delivered as much as one could hope for from a midcard match.  Mildly Recommended

Aoki Itsuki and Ryo Mizunami vs. Kaho Kobayashi and Yoshiko
Aoki Itsuki and Ryo Mizunami vs. Kaho Kobayashi and Yoshiko

Business has picked up. Kayo and Yoshiko have been teaming off and on since late 2019, Kaho isn’t Yoshiko’s primary partner in SEAdLINNNG (that would be Hiroyo Matsumoto) but they still have teamed several times and are not randomly put together. Aoki and Ryo are both part of the faction MAX VOLTAGE which also includes Miyuki Takase and Nanae Takahashi, they don’t pair up too often as part of the group but they will be on the same page. With two teams that are familar with each other and plenty of time, I have high expectations going in.

Ryo and Kaho start the match, Ryo pushes Kaho into the ropes but she gives a clean break. Kaho gets Ryo to the mat and applies a front headlock, Ryo gets out of it and puts Kaho in a wristlock before elbowing her in the arm. Ryo applies a side headlock, Kaho reverses it but Ryo Irish whips out of the hold. Dropkick by Kaho, but Ryo stays on her feet and knocks over Kaho with a hard shoulderblock. Ryo tags Aoki and they both shoulderblock Kaho, legdrop by Ryo and Aoki hits a double kneedrop for a two count. Aoki gets Kaho in the ropes and hits a body avalanche, she then jumps down onto Kaho’s back but Kaho retorts with a dropkick and tags in Yoshiko. Yoshiko picks up Aoki and throws her down by the hair, facewashes by Yoshiko and she delivers a running boot. Cover by Yoshiko, but it gets a two count. She tags Kaho back in, Kaho puts Aoki in the ropes and rakes on her face. Dropkick to the back by Kaho and she covers Aoki for a two count. Kaho tags Yoshiko and she stands on Aoki’s back, Irish whip by Yoshiko to the corner but Aoki avoids her charge, she tries to tag in Ryo but Yoshiko cuts her off. Back bodydrop by Aoki and she makes the tag, leg lariat by Ryo to Yoshiko and she shoulderblocks Kaho. Kaho tries to keep helping but Ryo delivers a double spear, she picks up Yoshiko and chops her into the corner.

Aoki Itsuki and Ryo Mizunami vs. Kaho Kobayashi and YoshikoKaho again tries to help but ends up getting chopped in the same corner for her trouble, she leaves the ring and Ryo goes back to chopping Yoshiko. Aoki holds Yoshiko so Ryo can fire herself up before she finally hits a lariat on Yoshiko for a two count cover. Ryo and Yoshiko both go for lariats with both staying up, Irish whip by Ryo but Yoshiko finally wins the lariat battle as she sends Ryo to the mat. She tags in Kaho, Kaho goes up top and hits a missile dropkick on Ryo, cover by Kaho but it gets a two count. Kaho spins Ryo around but Ryo gets her on her shoulders, Kaho slides off an hits an enzuigiri, but Ryo levels her with a lariat and tags Aoki. Aoki hits a running elbow on Kaho in the corner before hitting a face crusher, body press by Aoki and she covers Kaho for two. Aoki slams Kaho in front of the corner and gets on the second turnbuckle, but Kaho avoids the footstomp attempt. Kaho gets Aoki to the mat and wraps her up in a modified armbar, Yoshiko blocks Ryo from helping but Aoki wiggles to the ropes to get the break. Kaho picks up Aoki and keeps working on her arm, dropkick by Kaho and she covers Aoki for two. Kaho goes for the fisherman suplex but Aoki blocks it, she goes off the ropes but Ryo finally gets free of Yoshiko and lariats Kaho.

Aoki grabs Kaho and hits a bridging vertical suplex, but it gets a two count. Ryo gets on the second turnbuckle and hits a guillotine leg drop, Aoki then gets on the second turnbuckle and delivers a diving footstomp for two. Aoki gets Kaho on her shoulders but Kaho slides off, Kaho kicks Aoki in the leg and drops her with a DDT. Yoshiko comes off the second turnbuckle with a diving senton, Kaho then goes all the way up and with Yoshiko’s help hits a somersault senton but Ryo breaks up the cover. Elbows by Kaho and she goes for a cradle, but Aoki blocks it and covers her for two. Elbows by Aoki but Kaho blocks the suplex attempt, Yoshiko elbows Aoki and then Ryo lariats Aoki by accident. Jackknife by Kaho, but Ryo breaks it up. Kaho goes off the ropes but Aoki catches her with a lariat, dropkick to the face by Kaho and she hits a enzuigiri. Fisherman suplex hold by Kaho, but Aoki barely gets the shoulder up. Another Fisherman suplex by Kaho, but this time she wraps up Aoki’s legs and keeps her down for the three count! Kaho Kobayashi and Yoshiko win!

I can’t decide if I like or love the ending. It was a little awkward but I see what they were going for, that it took a ‘better’ version of Kaho’s normal finisher to pick up the win. Anyway this was pretty great, while I expect good performances from the other three I was really impressed with Aoki. I haven’t seen her wrestle in awhile, and while she didn’t control the match, her personality really came through and she held her own with wrestlers with far more experience than she has. I know Yoshiko isn’t incredibly popular with Western fans but she’s so good in the ring, and there was a lot of ‘power’ based wrestling here which I really enjoy. Kaho is one of the best sellers in Joshi and only has one pace, so she kept everyone else moving fast as well. It didn’t feel like a 20 minute match as the time flew by, as the match never slowed down. Really good match between three quality veterans and an up-and-comer starting to show what she can do.  Recommended

SEAdLINNNG Battle Royal
Battle Royal

with Hiroyo Matsumoto, Ryo Mizunami, Makoto, Yoshiko, Kaho Kobayashi, Yuu, Miyuki Takase, Aoki Itsuki, Misa Matsui, and Honori Hana

I’m not really sure why we are having this Battle Royal, but we are and we are going to enjoy it. Everyone that has wrestled on the card so far is in this match, including some wrestlers that literally just wrestled five minutes ago. Everyone is standing pre-match with their friends, with MAX VOLTAGE in one corner and the tag team champions (Yoshiko and Matsumoto) in the other. Battle Royals in Japan tend to not be overly serious affairs, we’ll see if this follows that same pattern.

They all brawl to start, as is usually the case lots of randomness as the bulk of the wrestlers get stacked in the corner so that Kaho can be launched at all of them. Hiroyo and Yoshiko try to launch Yuu but they can’t toss her, leading to her landing on them. The wrestlers take turns stomping each other until they all suddenly leave the ring, brawling on the floor. Hiroyo and Kaho get back into the ring and trade strikes, backdrop suplex by Hiroyo and she puts Kaho in a headscissors. You know what that means, as all the wrestlers slowly return to the ring to stretch out the headscissors chain, as it stretches across the ring and under the ropes. Aoki is the last one so she grabs Kaho’s legs to turn them over, which doesn’t fully work since not everyone is even in the ring. Things get back to normal as Aoki and Misa trade elbows, a battle which Aoki wins with little effort. Ryo and Miyuki get involved as they stack both of them in the corner, but they get distracted and start dancing. Finally Miyuki tries to attack Misa but Misa had gone into an invisible box, sending Miyuki flying. Everyone covers Miyuki, and she is held down for the three count! Miyuki Takase is eliminated.

Battle RoyalRyo moves the invisible box and tosses it out of the ring, but is kicked for her trouble. She spears both Aoki and Misa, the other wrestlers join in to cover them and both are held down for the three count. Misa Mitsui and Aoki Itsuki are eliminated. Kaho and Yoshiko go after Makoto but she drives them across the second rope, she gets everyone else on the second rope and kicks it into their chest, but her attempt to cover everyone for the pin doesn’t work. Yuu elbows Makoto in the corner then tosses Ryo, Yuu dropkicks Makoto while also hitting a senton on Ryo before getting on the second turnbuckle, hitting a diving body press on Makoto. Everyone else helps her with the cover, and she gets the three count! Makoto is eliminated. She does the same to Ryo and everyone again helps with the cover, keeping her down for three as well. Ryo Mizunami is eliminated. Yuu slams Honori in front of the corner to repeat the process to her as well, but Hiroyo and Yoshiko run over and knock her over the top rope to the ring! Yuu is eliminated. Natsuko Taiyo suddenly decides to get involved and hits a missile dropkick onto Hiroyo, Kaho and Yoshiko trade pins but nether are held down for there. Hiroyo goes after Natsuki but Yoshiko grabs her from behind, Natsuki helps Yoshiko attack Hiroyo and they both attack her in the ropes, but Natsuki is knocked over the top rope to the floor. But technically not eliminated since she wasn’t in the match in the first place.

She returns (she is the referee after all) while the four remaining wrestlers brawl, Hiroyo and Honori shoulderblock Yoshiko but Honori schoolboys Hiroyo for a two count. Hiroyo bullies Honori but Natsuki kicks her from behind, Kaho runs over but Hiroyo picks her up and press slams her out of the ring. Kaho Kobayashi is eliminated. Honori dropkicks Hiroyo with Natsuki’s help, cover by Honori but it gets a two count. Honori goes for a roll-up but Hiroyo sits down to block it, pinning Honori’s shoulders to the mat and getting a quick three count from Natsuki. Honori Hana is eliminated. We are left with just the tag team partners, Yoshiko and Hiroyo Matsumoto. They immediately go for lariats on each other with Hiroyo winning the battle. Hiroyo gets on the second turnbuckle to go to the Reverse Splash, but Yoshiko knocks her out to the apron. Yoshiko struggles to knock Hiroyo off the apron to the floor but ends up on the apron herself, with all the eliminated wrestlers trying to pull them off. Natsuki dropkicks Hiroyo and Yoshiko gets free, she gets back in the ring while Hiroyo continues to struggle and gives her a final dropkick to loosen her grip. Hiroyo flops out to the floor, and is eliminated. Yoshiko is the winner!

A typical Battle Royal, with more style than substance. I like Natsuki Taiyo getting so involved because its a silly match anyway, and she’s still just as good as she was before she retired. A few cute moments, like them tricking Yuu, but overall not a whole lot to it. It acted as a nice buffer before the title match and to stretch out the card since they had to fill two hours, but if you are on a time crunch it can be skipped.

Arisa Nakajima vs. ASUKA
(c) Arisa Nakajima vs. ASUKA
SEAdLINNNG Beyond the Sea Championship

Time for the main event! Arisa Nakajima won the SEAdLINNNG Beyond the Sea Championship from Takumi Iroha on September 18th, 2019, and even with the pandemic she has been pretty active as this is her fourth defense. She is challenged by the young ASUKA, who hasn’t had a significant title since 2018 but is constantly on the cusp of breaking through to the next level. This is the second time she has challenged for this belt and her fourth total title challenge in SEAdLINNNG, so while she is overdue for some success, the veteran Arisa Nakajima won’t be easy to beat.

They trade holds to start as they jockey for position, ASUKA applies a headscissors but Arisa gets out of it and both wrestlers return to their feet. ASUKA gets Arisa back to the mat and rolls her around with a guillotine, but Arisa gets a foot on the ropes for the break. ASUKA kicks at Arisa but Arisa slaps her and the two trade strikes, headbutt by ASUKA and she chokes Arisa in the corner. ASUKA toys with Arisa in the corner before grabbing her by the hair and flinging her into the opposite corner. Single leg takedown by Arisa and she goes for a cross armbreaker, but ASUKA blocks it and applies an ankle hold. She lets go after a moment, headbutt by ASUKA and she slams Arisa’s head into the mat. Camel Clutch by ASUKA, she releases the hold and tosses Arisa out of the ring. She gets back in but is met with boots, Irish whip by ASUKA but Arisa catches her with a DDT. Dropkick by Arisa, she picks up ASUKA but ASUKA boots her in the midsection. Irish whip by Arisa to the corner but ASUKA avoids her charge, ASUKA ends up on the apron but Arisa goes to the top turnbuckle and slams her head down onto the apron. Arisa picks up ASUKA and slides her back into the ring, she goes up top and hits a missile dropkick.

Arisa Nakajima vs. ASUKAShe goes up top again and hits another one followed by a third to the knee, Arisa picks up ASUKA and cradles her before applying a Stretch Muffler. ASUKA gets out of it and applies an armbar but Arisa reverses the hold back instead of reaching for the ropes. ASUKA struggles back to her feet and gets away, knees by Arisa and she hits a release German suplex. Running boot by Arisa, she picks up ASUKA and rolls her to the mat while applying a knee lock. ASUKA gets to the ropes for the break, Arisa kicks her leg and goes off the ropes, but ASUKA catches her with a jumping kick to the face. ASUKA picks up Arisa and drops her with a release German followed by a second one, running kick by ASUKA and she covers Arisa for two. ASUKA positions Arisa and goes up top, but Arisa recovers and joins her, suplexing ASUKA off the top turnbuckle. Arisa goes for a cradle but ASUKA reverses it, Arisa avoids ASUKA’s footstomp attempt however and applies an ankle hold. ASUKA kicks Arisa off and slaps her, but Arisa delivers a trapped German suplex for a two count. Arisa picks up ASUKA but ASUKA hits a hard elbow followed by a boot to the face for two. Kick to the chest by ASUKA but Arisa fires back with a kick of her own, Arisa goes off the ropes but ASUKA catches her with a spinning heel kick.

Mounted elbows by ASUKA, she gets on the top turnbuckle and goes for the moonsault, but Arisa rolls out of the way and cradles her for two. Running kick by Arisa, she goes to the top turnbuckle but ASUKA recovers and joins her. They trade elbows while up top until Arisa snaps ASUKA’s neck over the top rope, she goes back up top and delivers a diving footstomp for a two count cover. Dragon suplex hold by Arisa, but that gets a two count as well. Arisa drags ASUKA up, she wraps ASUKA’s leg around her but ASUKA hits a Stunner to get out of the suplex hold. Powerbomb by ASUKA, she picks up Arisa and nails a Liger Bomb for a two count cover. ASUKA goes up top and delivers the moonsault, but Arisa barely gets the shoulder up. ASUKA picks up Arisa but Arisa reverses the side slam into a DDT, elbows by Arisa and a hard elbow sends ASUKA to the mat for two. Arisa wraps ASUKA’s leg around her waist and nails the modified German suplex, but ASUKA gets a shoulder up. Arisa picks up ASUKA and goes for the half and half suplex, ASUKA blocks it but Arisa keeps her momentum going and cradles ASUKA for the three count! Arisa Nakajima wins and retains the championship.

There is a lot to unwrap here but just as a first reaction, this was a great match. ASUKA is no longer in the ‘learning” or “developing” phase, she knows what she is doing and has grown into being a high end wrestler at just 21 years old. Not only are her moves on point but her selling has improved as well, and she had no issues here keeping up Arisa and the structure of the match. I liked the leg work a lot, I wish it had played into the end a bit as it kinda got dropped but I did like the ending with the veteran Arisa taking the blocked move and turning it into a complicated cradle. Its the kind of craftiness you’d expect from a 14 year vet and while it may not have been a ‘killer move’ ending it fit well with her general experience and intelligence. Like the other matches on the card, it felt like it went the right amount of time, not feeling short but not over-staying its welcome with move spamming. All and all a really entertaining match, I could nitpick things and maybe it won’t end up the MOTY, but a damn fine effort from both in one of the biggest Joshi matches post-peak pandemic so far.  Highly Recommended

Final Thoughts:
4

 

As one of the biggest and most widely available Joshi events since Japan started lifting restrictions, SEAdLINNNG hit this one out of the park. Both of the tag matches delivered by being entertaining and keeping the pace up, and the main event is an early contender for Joshi Match of the Year. The opener was a fine veteran vs. rookie match, and while the Battle Royal felt tacked on it had its moments of levity and provided a bit of a break before the hot title match. Unless you are boycotting SEAdLINNNG, this is a must-see show, especially in the current environment with limited events. Don’t miss this one, a rare top-to-bottom complete show.