SEAdLINNNG ~Golden Go! Go!~ on 5/5/17 Review

Event: SEAdLINNNG ~Golden Go! Go!~
Date: May 5th, 2017
Location: Yokohama Radiant Hall in Kanagawa, Japan
Announced Attendance: 355

Even though this was a smaller show for SEAdLINNNG, since I have not reviewed them yet this year I figured it was about time to see what they were up to, as even lower ranking promotions deserve attention. Since I last reviewed a SEAdLINNNG event they have gotten two new roster members – Arisa Nakajima and Sareee. So at least now it isn’t a promotion with only two wrestlers in Yoshiko and Nanae Takahashi, they still don’t have a full roster but they are slowly getting there. Tsukasa Fujimoto joins her friend Arisa Nakajima to take on SEAdLINNNG in the big main event, and other Ice Ribbon stars are here also to lend the promotion a hand. Here is the full card:

The main event looks good but not so sure about the rest, as always you can click on the wrestler’s name above to go to their profile on Joshi City.

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Kaori Yoneyama vs. Rin Kadokura

Kaori has offered her rookie babysitting services to SEAdLINNNG! Rin isn’t technically a rookie anymore as she debuted on May 3rd of last year, but is still a lower ranking wrestler from the promotion Marvelous. She hasn’t done much of note yet in that year, although being affiliated with a promotion that doesn’t make TV obviously doesn’t help matters. A rare opportunity for Rin to show off her progress.

seadlinnng5-4-1Rin dropkicks Kaori right off the start and hits four straight crossbodies, but Kaori kicks out of the cover. Rin tosses Kaori by the hair but Kaori has finally had enough and returns the favor. Kaori stomps down Rin in the corner and puts her in a sleeper hold, bodyscissors by Kaori but Rin gets out of it and kicks Kaori in the leg. They trade submission holds on the mat, Kaori struggles back up and puts Rin in a wristlock. Kaori keeps on Rin’s arm before putting her back in a leglock, but Rin crawls to the ropes and forces the break. Mongolian Chops by Kaori and she throat thrusts Rin to the mat, Irish whip by Kaori but Rin reverses it and hits a dropkick. Three more dropkicks by Rin, she picks up Kaori but Kaori pushes her off and they trade elbows. Rin goes off the ropes but Kaori knocks her to the mat, Irish whip by Kaori but Rin dropkicks her. Two more dropkicks by Rin, and she covers Kaori for two. Rin goes up top and delivers a missile dropkick, but that gets a two count as well. Knees by Kaori but Rin reverses the bodyslam into rolling DDTs for a two count. Rin goes back up top but Kaori avoids the missile dropkick this time and hits a running senton. Elevated crab hold by Kaori but Rin gets into the ropes to force a break. Kaori goes for a suplex but Rin reverses it, she tries a few flash pins but each only gets two. Rin goes off the ropes but Kaori avoids her charge and nails the Chaos Theory for the three count! Kaori Yoneyama wins.

I can’t say that the bulk of the match did a whole lot for me, but it did pick up some at the end. It began a bit clunky, not anyone’s fault in particular but Rin is still developing and it may not have been as carefully orchestrated as Kaori’s rookie matches in Stardom are. I enjoyed it when Rin had her offensive burst towards the end of the match, and the rolling DDTs were nice as she has been wrestling long enough to have her own memorable spots in matches instead of just doing dropkicks. But the match ended very suddenly, with Rin going from in control to pinned without being weakened first (I know Kaori is the veteran, but a setup move still would have been nice). Not bad for an opener, it just took too long to get going and was suddenly over right as they got in a groove.

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Maruko Nagasaki vs. Mio Momono

A couple more young wrestlers, with each representing different promotions. Maruko is the senior of the two, as she debuted in September of 2015 for Ice Ribbon and is 21 years old. Mio hails from Marvelous, she debuted in February of 2016 and is 18 years old. Maruko has been impressive the last few times I have seen her, so this should be a fun match between hopefully two future stars. I should note that Natsuki Taiyo is the referee, so this match is under “High Speed” rules. Meaning they have to bounce off the ropes at some point before making a pin.

seadlinnng5-4-2In spirit of the type of match they are in, they start the with a high speed sprint as both go back and forth off the ropes, but they reach a stalemate. They slow down a bit as they tie-up and trade wristlocks, headlock by Mio and she throws down Maruko by the hair before hitting a dropkick in the corner. She does the same thing again and then puts Maruko in a crab hold, but Maruko gets into the ropes to force a break. Mio picks up Maruko but Maruko elbows her back, Maruko pulls Taiyo in front of her when Mio goes for a dropkick so that Taiyo is dropkicked instead, Maruko then puts both Mio and Taiyo in the ropes and dropkicks them. No idea why Maruko is suddenly attacking Taiyo but she does tend to get involved in matches she is the referee for. Scoop slam by Maruko, she goes off the ropes but Mio gets up and elbows her. Now Mio goes off the ropes as they repeat this process several times (they have to go off the ropes to make a cover) until they end up trading flash pins on the mat for so long that Taiyo gets tired from counting. Neither gets the pin so they trade elbows, Maruko charges Mio in the corner but Mio knocks her back and goes for a sunset flip. Maruko blocks it by grabbing the ropes but Mio lets go and elbows Maruko back into the ring. Mio goes up top but Maruko joins her, Mio knocks her off and she hits a diving crossbody. She goes off the ropes so she can make a cover, but Maruko kicks out. Elbows by Mio but Maruko catches her with the F Crash. She goes off the ropes to make the pin, but Mio gets a shoulder up. Maruko picks up Mio but Mio rolls her up for two, Mio goes off the ropes but so does Maruko and Maruko hits a dropkick. Maruko slams Mio and goes off the ropes, rolling spear by Maruko and she picks up the three count! Maruko Nagasaki is the winner!

I like Maruko a lot and think she has improved significantly, but I am not a big fan of the High Speed gimmick. Don’t get me wrong, it is mindless fun that doesn’t hurt anyone, it just gives the match a bit of a ceiling as it at times is more comedy than anything else. On just a four match card, having one of them be a sillier match with two almost-rookies is just a bit disappointing as I’d rather see these two really go at it if they are going to be here. Decent enough though, and I think Maruko will have a solid career if she keeps wrestling.

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Hiroyo Matsumoto and Rina Yamashita vs. Yoshiko and Hamuko Hoshi

A unique match-up for sure. While Hiroyo (Freelancer) and Rina Yamashita (Pro Wrestling WAVE) have teamed in the past, I wouldn’t consider them a regular tag team since they primarily wrestle in different promotions. They are certainly friends and team occasionally over in OZ Academy, although they haven’t had any title shots yet. Yoshiko and Hoshi (Ice Ribbon) have never teamed before so I am not sure how they came about being together, besides the fact that Yoshiko needed to be on the show but for whatever reason got bumped out of the main event by Sareee. Not sure what to expect here but Hiroyo and Rina are pretty great so hopefully they control the pace.

Rina and Hoshi start off for their respective teams, they take turns trying to knock each other over but neither has success so Hoshi rolls to the mat and poses. Hoshi throws Rina into the corner and rubs her belly into Rina’s face, but Rina pushes her back and they end up at another stalemate. Hiroyo and Yoshiko are tagged in and they start trading shots, Yoshiko knocks Hiroyo to the mat and she hits a running boot to the head. She goes for a senton but Hiroyo moves and hits a shoulderblock, Irish whip by Hiroyo but Yoshiko trips her and applies a camel clutch. Hoshi comes in and pushes Yoshiko out of the way so she can apply the camel clutch instead, they push each other which gives Hiroyo a chance to recover. Hiroyo elbows both of them but eats a double kick for her trouble, Hoshi and Yoshiko squish Hiroyo from different sides before Yoshiko officially tags in Hoshi. Belly strikes by Hoshi but Hiroyo throws her down by the belly, Hiroyo tags in Rina and Rina clubs on Hoshi. Rina tosses Hoshi in the corner and bootscrapes her while taunting Yoshiko, she tags in Hiroyo and Hoshi eats a double shoulderblock. Hiroyo puts Hoshi in a camel clutch while Rina knocks Yoshiko off the apron, Hiroyo changes the hold to a chinlock, after a moment she tags Rina back in as the Hoshi beatdown continues. Rina goes off the ropes but Hoshi catches her with a body block, which finally gives her time to tag in Yoshiko. Yoshiko hits a senton on Rina before knocking Hiroyo off the apron, she kicks Rina in the chest and hits another senton for a two count. Yoshiko chokes Rina in the corner but Rina hits a lariat, rapid fire lariats by Rina but Yoshiko charges back with a lariat of her own. Diving lariat by Yoshiko, she goes off the ropes but Hiroyo grabs her from the apron. Rina runs over but she hits Hiroyo by accident, Yoshiko then boots Rina back into Hiroyo, sending Hiroyo to the floor.

seadlinnng5-4-3Yoshiko picks up Rina but Rina slides off and applies a sleeper, Yoshiko reverses it into her own sleeper but Rina switches it back. Yoshiko get to the ropes for the break, Rina tries to pick up Yoshiko but Yoshiko clubs her off. They trade lariats to see who can knock over who first, they then trade elbows before Yoshiko hits a Code Breaker. She goes off the ropes but Rina knocks her to the mat with a lariat, backdrop suplex by Rina but it gets a two count. Rina tags in Hiroyo, Hiroyo goes up top and she hits a missile dropkick on Yoshiko. Hoshi runs in and puts Hiroyo in a waistlock, she gets on Hiroyo’s back but Rina then jumps on Hoshi’s back and with the weight of both of them, Hiroyo hits a double kneedrop onto Yoshiko. Reverse double knee by Hiroyo, and she covers Yoshiko for two. Knees by Hiroyo but Yoshiko hits her own knee, lariat by Yoshiko and makes the tag to Hoshi. Shining Onaka by Hoshi, she picks up Hiroyo but Hiroyo elbows her off and kicks her in the stomach. Scoop slam by Hiroyo, she goes up top but Yoshiko runs in and smacks her. Chokebomb by Yoshiko, Hoshi goes up top and she delivers the diving body press, but Rina barely breaks it up. Yoshiko hits a lariat on both of them but they stay up, all four wrestlers run into each other with Hiroyo getting the better of Hoshi. Cover by Hiroyo, Yoshiko tries to break it up with a senton but Hiroyo moves and she hits Hoshi by accident. Body Avalanche by Hiroyo in the corner and she hits a roaring elbow, she goes for a powerbomb but Hoshi backdrops out of it and rolls over Hiroyo. Hoshi goes off the ropes but Hiroyo hits another roaring elbow, backdrop suplex by Hiroyo and she covers Hoshi for the three count! Hiroyo Matsumoto and Rina Yamashita win the match.

I really liked this as soon as we got over the beginning bit with Hoshi. Hoshi didn’t really fit in here to start, as everyone in this match hits really hard angrily while Hoshi had to get in her goofy spots regardless. But once we got past that, everyone worked together really well and it was a cohesive fast paced match. Rina and Yoshiko have solid chemistry and had some heated exchanges, while Hiroyo is currently one of the best female wrestlers in the world. A solid match, I just wish someone else was in Hoshi’s place.  Mildly Recommended

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Arisa Nakajima and Tsukasa Fujimoto vs. Nanae Takahashi and Sareee

Best Friends in SEAdLINNNG! While the tag team never broke up, Arisa and Tsukasa didn’t team for about four months from early December to late April, so it is nice to see them together on the show. Last year they held both JWP and Ice Ribbon’s tag team championships, but currently do not hold any gold. On the other side, Nanae Takahashi is the leader of SEAdLINNNG, while Sareee is one of their latest signees as she just joined the promotion after leaving Diana. All four of these wrestlers are great and we already know that Arisa and Tsukasa work well together, so this should be fun.

Arisa and Sareee start the match, they trade holds but end up back on their feet again. Sareee rebounds off the ropes to avoid Arisa and hits an armdrag, Sareee grabs Arisa’s arm and hits a split-legged armdrag off the ropes. Arisa slides out to the apron and goes up top, she jumps off when Sareee charges and hits a springboard armdrag before dropkicking Sareee into the ropes. Tsukasa comes in  and Sareee is double teamed, Tsukasa sits up Sareee and kicks her in the back. Another kick by Tsukasa but Sareee gets up and returns the favor, side headlock takeover by Tsukasa but Sareee reverses it. Jumping crossbody by Sareee and she tags in Nanae, Nanae elbows Tsukasa against the ropes and hits her with a series of chops. Powerslam by Nanae and she puts Tsukasa in a stretch hold but she gets out of it and slaps Nanae in the face, Nanae slaps her back and they trade elbows. Nanae twice knocks Tsukasa to the mat, she picks her back up but Tsukasa rolls her up and tags in Arisa. Dropkick by Arisa and she trades elbows with Nanae, Nanae wins the battle and tags in Sareee. Irish whip by Sareee and she dropkicks Arisa, she tosses around Arisa by the hair before knocking Tsukasa off the apron. Nanae comes in to help too, not that Sareee needed it, as Arisa is in serious trouble. Sareee tags in Nanae, suplex by Nanae and she covers Arisa for two. Lariat by Nanae and she tags Sareee back in, armbar by Sareee but Arisa gets out of it and gets in top position. Elbows by Arisa but Sareee elbows her back, Arisa hits a Sling Blade and makes the hot tag to Tsukasa. Tsukasa dropkicks Sareee but misses on Nanae, Irish whip by Nanae but Tsukasa kicks off both her opponents and drops Nanae on top of Sareee. PK by Tsukasa, but Sareee bridges out of the pin and delivers a dropkick. Arisa flips out of Sareee’s pin and applies a cross-arm submission while Arisa watches for Nanae, Sareee eventually makes it to the ropes and dropkicks Tsukasa in the head.

seadlinnng5-4-4Fisherman suplex hold by Sareee and she makes the tag to Nanae. Sareee stays in and helps double team Tsukasa, double face crusher to Tsukasa and Nanae hits a backdrop suplex for two. Hard lariats by Nanae but Tsukasa ducks one, giving Arisa time to run in and elbow Nanae in the head. Hurricanrana by Tsukasa to Nanae, she jumps on Nanae’s back but Nanae shrugs her off. Tsukasa eventually manages to hit the Infinity, but Nanae kicks out of the cover. Tsukasa goes off the ropes and goes for the Tsukadora, but Nanae blocks it and drops Tsukasa with a back to belly piledriver for two. Nanae goes up top but Tsukasa gets her feet on on the Refrigerator Bomb, dropkick by Tsukasa and she tags in Arisa. Arisa and Tsukasa both go up top and hit missile dropkicks, they then both dropkick Nanae in the corner before Arisa hits a DDT. Running boots by Arisa but Nanae absorbs the blows and kicks Arisa in the back, she goes for a backdrop suplex but Arisa lands on her feet and hits a German suplex hold for two. Arisa rolls Nanae to the met and applies a leg submission while Tsukasa takes care of Sareee, but Nanae makes it to the ropes. Arisa and Tsukasa both kick Nanae, Arisa goes up top but Nanae joins her. Tsukasa hits Nanae from behind which sends her down into the Tree of Woe, Arisa jumps off the top with a footstomp to Nanae before going back up and hitting a second diving footstomp. Knee by Arisa but Nanae blocks the dragon suplex, Sareee comes in and she dropkicks Arisa in the corner. Nanae slams Arisa in front of the corner, Sareee delivers a diving footstomp and Nanae delivers a Blue Thunder Bomb for two. Nanae picks up Arisa but Arisa hits a release German, Tsukasa tries to help but Nanae lariats both of them and tags Sareee.

Missile dropkick by Sareee to Arisa, elbows by Sareee and she dropkicks Arisa against the ropes. Running dropkick by Sareee but Tsukasa elbows her from the apron, Sareee knocks her back and delivers the dropkick to Arisa anyway. Arisa kicks her back and hits a double underhook facebuster, they trade elbows with Arisa winning the battle. Sareee fires back however, she goes off the ropes but Arisa catches her with a bridging suplex. Rolling Germans by Arisa, she picks up Sareee but Sareee blocks the package German. Kick by Arisa, Tsukasa comes in and hits a baseball slide kick on Sareee before Arisa hits a release German. Nanae breaks up the pin and gets Tsukasa out of the ring, superplex by Nanae and Sareee goes up top and delivers a diving body press. Nanae then goes up and hits the Refrigerator Bomb, Sareee grabs Arisa and nails a German suplex hold, but Arisa gets a shoulder up. Sareee picks up Arisa but Tsukasa dropkicks her, Tsukasa charges Nanae but Nanae catches her with a backdrop suplex while Sareee also hits one on Arisa. Sareee picks up Arisa but Arisa elbows her off, back kick by Sareee and she hits the Uranage for two. Sareee picks up Arisa but again Arisa elbows her away, Sareee elbows her back but Nanae kicks Arisa which allows Sareee to finally deliver the wrist-clutch backdrop suplex hold. Tsukasa breaks up the pin, Sareee tries to suplex her but Tsukasa lands on her feet and hits the Tsukadora. Arisa grabs Sareee and hits the German suplex hold, but Nanae breaks it up. Venus Shoot by Tsukasa to Nanae, Arisa picks up Sareee and nails the dragon suplex hold, and she picks up the three count! Best Friends win!

The best part of this match was just getting to see Best Friends again, they work so well together and are magical. The beginning started a bit awkward, Sareee made a few small mistakes that were really noticeable which isn’t like her, but things settled down and she was great the rest of the match. When it comes to fast but hard hitting action, one needs to look no further than Arisa and Tsukasa, and when watching their matches you can’t even look away for a second since something is constantly happening. Nanae was her usual solid self and Sareee taking the loss shows that she isn’t suddenly going to be the top dog in SEAdLINNNG. Overall a really fun and exciting main event, at least the show ended on a high note.  Recommended

Final Thoughts
1.5

 

Going into the event I had pretty low expectations, as it was a smaller four match show without a match with any real backstory. So it just about met those expectations, I just wish the second match wasn’t a “High Speed” match and that someone else was Yoshiko’s partner (was Aja Kong busy or too expensive for a small show?) as I think that would have improved things slightly. Still, the main event was fire and you rarely can go wrong with Best Friends, they bring so much intensity to their matches and are always fun to watch. Probably more a show for the hardcore SEAdLINNNG fan, but the Best Friends vs. Nanae Takahashi/Sareee match is worth tracking down.