SEAdLINNNG JUMP UP!! on 9/28/16 Review
|Date: September 28th, 2016
Location: Korakuen Hall in Tokyo, Japan
Announced Attendance: 708
And we have returned with another SEAdLINNNG event! This is a unique show, as the top three matches are all singles matches, ending with Yoshiko taking on the legend Aja Kong. We also get a Veda Scott appearance, plus Takako teaching a rookie a lesson or two. Attendance was down a bit as the show was on a Wednesday, but still a reasonable number. Here is the full card:
- Aoi Kizuki and Veda Scott vs. Ayako Hamada and Sareee
- Mio Momono vs. Takako Inoue
- Leon and Tsukushi vs. Tsukasa Fujimoto and Kaho Kobayashi
- Arisa Nakajima vs. Ryo Mizunami
- Nanae Takahashi vs. Rina Yamashita
- Aja Kong vs. Yoshiko
There will be some clipping, since this aired on a two hour broadcast.
Aoi Kizuki and Veda Scott vs. Ayako Hamada and Sareee
We kick off the show with a Women of Honor Alliance Memorial Match, as SEAdLINNNG and Ring of Honor now have an official working agreement. Veda Scott is here representing them, with the other wrestlers being regulars in SEAdLINNNG. Aoi Kizuki is a popular Freelancer on a bit of a down swing, while Hamada is one of the biggest stars in WAVE. Sareee technically still represents Diana, however she has been getting a lot of outside bookings lately, which is great because she is a quality wrestler that everyone needs to see more of. This is Veda Scott’s first match in Japan since 2012, when she wrestled a match in Stardom.
Sareee and Aoi begin the match, elbows by Sareee but Aoi dropkicks her to the mat. Sareee dropkicks her back but Aoi bridges out of the pin, Veda comes in and they both lariat Sareee. Hamada hits Aoi from the apron and joins Sareee to double team Aoi, dropping multiple elbow drops while Veda yells from the apron. Sareee dropkicks Aoi while she is against the ropes, fisherman suplex hold by Sareee but it gets a two count. Sareee tags Hamada but Aoi ducks the heel kick and the two trade strikes. Jumping lariat by Aoi and she hits a Double Wrist Armsault before tagging in Veda. Kicks to the chest by Veda and she hits a springboard bulldog for a two count. Hamada hits a heel kick, she picks up Veda but Aoi runs in and drops Hamada with a release German. Veda gets a steel chair, tosses it to Hamada and hits a Shining Wizard with the chair for a two count cover. Another Shining Kick by Veda, but Sareee breaks up the cover. Veda grabs the chair but Sareee dropkicks her in the back, she tries again but Hamada kicks the chair into Veda’s face. Moonsault by Hamada, and she cover Veda for the three count! Ayako Hamada and Sareee are the winners!
A bit clipped but a solid way to begin. Veda Scott didn’t do a lot in what was shown but she looked solid, fitting in pretty well with the Joshi wrestlers in the match. Sareee’s dropkick to Aoi’s face was just nasty, I love that move but it can’t possibly feel good, she gets such solid contact on it. Nothing was awkward and the action was fast paced and well structured, which is about all you can ask for. No real complaints aside from the match not being complete.
Mio Momono vs. Takako Inoue
It is baby time! As a Joshi fan, I am excited that so many new Joshi wrestlers debut each year, you never know which will become the next big star but the more that put the effort to try the better. Mio Momono is a Marvelous wrestler that debuted on February 13th, 2016. She is 28 years old so a bit older than the average rookie, which may be why she is being fast tracked a bit as this is a big opponent for someone in the first six months of their career. Takako of course is the top “Idol” wrestler in Joshi history with almost 20 title reigns in her career, and still is fun to watch at the age of 46. The winner here isn’t in doubt but its a great chance for Mio to show something against a true Joshi legend.
Mio gets the first advantage and throws Takako into the corner, dropkicks by Mio but Takako blocks a scoop slam and hits one of her own. Takako bounces Mio off the ropes and kicks her in the head, leglock by Takako but she releases the hold after a moment and hits a snap backdrop suplex for two. Mio tries a few flash pins with no luck, she hits a few soft dropkicks before hitting a better one to send Takako off her feet. Jumping crossbody by Mio, but it gets a two count. Mio goes for a slam but Takako blocks it, back bodydrop by Mio but Takako kicks her in the chest. Double underhook suplex by Takako, she picks up Mio and throws her into the corner, but Mio jumps up the turnbuckles and flips back to roll up Takako for two. Mio goes off the ropes but Takako delivers a high kick, she goes up to the top turnbuckle and nails the Destiny Hammer for the three count! Takako Inoue is the winner.
As a general rule of thumb I am not too critical of rookies, as there is a steeper learning curve for some than others. Mio did well with the flash pins and making everything look smooth, but she needs Satomura to show her how to throw a meaner dropkick since dropkicks are a staple move in Joshi. Takako gave the rookie quite a bit of offense as it was far from a squash, and she looked good as usual hitting her normal spots. Solid experience for the rookie with some bright spots, but a bit too clipped to recommend.
Leon and Tsukushi vs. Tsukasa Fujimoto and Kaho Kobayashi
This is a High Speed match, which means that Natsuki Taiyo is the referee and she won’t always make the count unless the wrestlers bounce off the ropes first. And she will certainly get involved in the match at some point. Leon is a respected veteran from JWP, while Tsukushi is a young wrestler from Ice Ribbon. On the other side, Fujimoto is also from Ice Ribbon while Kaho is one of my favorite little underdogs and wrestles in a bunch of different promotions. These matches are 20% comedy, but since I love Natsuki I generally let it slide.
Tsukushi and Fujimoto start off and immediately start flying around, bouncing off the ropes and trading armdrags until they get tired and tag out. Leon and Kaho do the same but slow down as Leon applies a side headlock before chopping Kaho in the chest. Kaho dropkicks Leon into the corner, Leon recovers and they trade elbows until Leon hits a tilt-a-whirl slam. She covers Kaho but Natsuki won’t count it since she didn’t bounce off the ropes first, she goes off the ropes but Fujimoto runs in and dropkicks her. Tsukushi comes in too but Fujimoto dropkicks both of them, all four wrestlers try to pin each other but everyone only gets a two count from Natsuki. Order is restored with Leon and Fujimoto in the ring, Leon works a side headlock and goes for a suplex, but Fujimoto lands on her feet and kicks Leon in the back. Tilt-a-whirl backbreaker by Leon, she picks up Fujimoto and puts her in a stretch hold, she lets Fujimoto go after a moment but Fujimoto hits an enzuigiri. Natsuki is hit on accident too so she counts the pin slow, Kaho runs in while Fujimoto pushes Natsuki in the corner. Kaho comes over but Natsuki flips away from both of them and all three run off the ropes. Leon and Tsukushi comes in to have fun too and all five of them bounce off the ropes in a generally chaotic way. Natsuki pulls Fujimoto out of the ring while Kaho dropkicks Tsukushi, Tsukushi and Kaho trade quick pins but both get two counts. Kaho kicks Tsukushi in the head and covers her, but Leon breaks it up. High kick by Leon to Fujimoto but Fujimoto kicks her back, dropkick by Kaho to Tsukushi and she goes off the ropes, but Tsukushi keeps getting up before she can run enough for Natsuki’s liking. Tsukushi dropkicks Kaho, schoolboy by Kaho but Tsukushi rolls through it. Harukaze by Tsukushi to Kaho, quick count by Natsuki and Tsukushi gets the three count! Leon and Tsukushi are the winners of the match.
These matches are always good mindless fun but nothing more than that. You can’t really take a match too seriously when it has silly rules about bouncing off the ropes and Natsuki doing whatever she likes, but that doesn’t mean they aren’t entertaining. It helps that all four (well five) of these wrestlers are solid and have good chemistry, while some sections were chaotic no one ever looked legitimately lost in the mess. Natsuki didn’t get as involved as she usually does but still got into it a bit, and Tsukushi in particular came out of the match looking strong. An enjoyable midcard match with comedic elements. Mildly Recommended
Arisa Nakajima vs. Ryo Mizunami
Now we get to the meat of the show, with three singles matches that all have potential to be the best match on the event. Arisa Nakajima and Ryo Mizunami are both two of the best wrestlers from their respective promotions, with Nakajima representing JWP and Mizunami representing WAVE. While they have wrestled against each other in tag team action as recently as the last SEAdLINNNG show on July 11th, this is their first singles match since way back in 2008. Nakajima is the JWP Openweight Champion coming into the match, putting extra pressure on her to come out on top. A win by either would be an impressive victory to bring home for their promotion.
Mizunami and Nakajima start with some limb work but things quickly go up a notch when Nakajima slams Mizunami’s head right into the apron and delivers a running boot from the floor. Nakajima rams Mizunami into the ring post and then Irish whips her into the chairs at ringside, Nakajima gets on the apron but Mizunami lariats her leg out from under her and slams Nakajima’s head repeatedly into the ring post. Nakajima is thrown around the ring and hit with chairs, they finally return to the ring and Mizunami elbows Nakajima in the corner. Lariat by Mizunami but Nakajima wiggles away, powerslam by Mizunami and she hits a jumping leg lariat for a two count. Lariat by Mizunami and she hits a jumping leg drop for another two. Nakajima comes back with a running boot, she goes up top and she knocks over Mizunami with a missile dropkick. Running boot by Nakajima while Mizunami is against the ropes, she goes for another one but Mizunami throws her into the ropes. Mizunami hangs Nakajima over the top rope and hits a leg drop to the back of Nakajima’s head, spear by Mizunami and she covers Nakajima for two. Uranage by Mizunami and she puts Nakajima in an armtrap chinlock, but Nakajima wiggles to the ropes to force a break.
Mizunami goes up top but Nakajima avoids the diving leg drop, Nakajima goes up top but Mizunami elbows her and joins her on the turnbuckles. Nakajima knocks down Mizunami into a tree of woe and hits a diving footstomp, she goes up top and delivers a diving footstomp for a two count. Nakajima picks up Mizunami and they trade elbows, both knocking each other to the mat at the same time. They both slowly get up, release German by Nakajima but Mizunami fires back with a lariat. Nakajima goes off the ropes and goes for a bodyscissors, but Mizunami catches her and hits a release dragon suplex. Mizunami picks up Nakajima but Nakajima wiggles away and rolls up Mizunami for two. Nakajima goes off the ropes and hits a Sling Blade, kick to the head by Nakajima and she hits a package German. Nakajima goes off the ropes but Mizunami levels her with a lariat, she hits a second one and a third, one final lariat by Mizunami but Nakajima barely kicks out of the pin. Mizunami picks up Nakajima but again Nakajima gets away and hits a release dragon suplex. Slaps by Nakajima but Mizunami spins her around and hits a dragon suplex hold for two. Nakajima quickly comes back with her own dragon suplex, small package by Nakajima but it gets a two count. Mizunami grabs Nakajima but Nakajima slides away, she goes for a quick pin but Mizunami kicks out as the bell rings to signify time has expired. The match is a Draw.
I loved this match, with the only disappointment being that about 20% of it was cut out. Nakajima is one of those wrestlers that comes out and you think “oh she’s a cutie” and then she bludgeons someone and you quickly realize she is one of the more vicious active Joshi wrestlers. The apron spot was brutal as was her general treatment of Mizunami on the floor, which set the tone for the rest of the match as they went from limb holds to trading suplexes and hard strikes the rest of the way. The draw makes sense here as it can set up something else between them down the road, and since it was on the mid-card there wasn’t any risk of leaving the fans disappointed going home. A really entertaining and hard hitting match. Recommended
Nanae Takahashi vs. Rina Yamashita
Next up we have the SEAdLINNNG owner and ace against the brightest new stars on the Joshi scene. Nanae is a 20 year veteran and has had success in AJW, NEO, Stardom, and Ice Ribbon during her long career. Rina hasn’t even hit her three year anniversary in wrestling but has already won multiples titles and has had tough fought matches this year against Hikaru Shida, Aja Kong, Dynamite Kansai, and other established Joshi wrestlers. Rina is the underdog, but she will not be an easy win for the leader of SEAdLINNNG.
Rina and Nanae get into a shoulderblock battle, which Nanae wins, but Rina quickly gets up and returns the favor. They lock knuckles and trade holds on the mat, hard elbow by Nanae and she hits a quick elbow drop. Vertical suplex by Nanae but Rina drop toeholds her onto the second rope and knees her in the back of the head. Rina snaps Nanae’s neck on the top rope, elbows by Rina but Nanae fires back with chops. Rina swings Nanae to the mat and applies a sleeper hold, but Nanae wiggles to the ropes and forces the break. Rina picks up Nanae but Nanae elbows her off, jaw breaker by Rina but Nanae kicks her in the back and hits a release German. Lariats by Nanae in the corner, Rina lariats her back and they trade moves until Nanae knocks Rina to the mat. Knee by Rina and she boots Nanae in the chest, backdrop suplex by Rina and she hits a second one for a two count cover. Sleeper by Rina but Nanae rolls out of it and boots her in the face. Rina and Nanae trade elbows, backdrop suplex by Nanae and she covers Rina for two. Nanae picks up Rina and slaps her in the face, jumping kick by Nanae and she hits a second one. Rina blocks a third attempt and hits a sliding lariat, but Nanae kicks out of the cover. Rina goes off the ropes and levels Nanae with a lariat, she goes off the ropes but Nanae hits a lariat of her own. Nanae goes up top but Rina joins her and suplexes her down to the mat. Sleeper hold by Rina but Nanae gets out of it and applies a Fujiwara Armbar. Rina rolls out of that but Nanae applies a sleeper of her own, crucifix roll-up by Nanae and she puts Rina in an armbar. Blue Thunder Bomb by Nanae, she picks up Rina but Rina blocks a suplex and hits a lariat. Nanae doesn’t go down and slaps Rina, Nanae goes off the ropes but Rina catches her with a lariat for two. Rina goes off the ropes and hits another lariat, but that gets a two as well. Rina gets on the second turnbuckle but Nanae gets her feet up on the diving elbow, belly to back piledriver by Nanae but Rina barely kicks out. Nanae goes up top and nails the Refrigerator Bomb, she goes off the ropes and nails a lariat for the three count! Nanae Takahashi is the winner!
Not quite as good as the previous match but still entertaining. I think that Rina Yamashita has a bright future ahead of her as she shows a lot of passion and fire in the ring, but she does need to expand her move set a bit as she can be a bit repetitive. Nanae Takahashi is having a great year and she led the younger Rina here well as the match never slowed down and was very hard hitting. The loss doesn’t hurt Rina any and she was her usual defiant self after the match, so she certainly hasn’t lost her edge. Solid all the way around, not either ones best match they’ve had this year but still worth the watch. Recommended
Aja Kong vs. Yoshiko
Since Yoshiko returned to wrestling earlier this year, Aja Kong may be her toughest challenge to date. 30 years into her career, Aja Kong is still one of the most feared women in wrestling and has only lost one singles match so far in 2016. Yoshiko is one of only two contracted wrestlers in SEAdLINNNG (the other being Takahashi) so needless to say she has been getting a heavy push as one of the top wrestlers in the promotion even though she is still only 23. A win over Kong would really cement her as one of the top wrestlers in Joshi, but needless to say that will be easier said than done.
After a long stare down they finally tie-up but they end up breaking cleanly. Kong pushes Yoshiko against the ropes and slaps Yoshiko in the face. Kicks by Kong but Yoshiko jumps up on the second turnbuckle and hits a lariat, more kicks by Yoshiko and she throws Kong into the corner. Lariat by Yoshiko and she hits bootscrapes followed by a running kick to the head, she picks up Kong and hits a strike combination before kicking Kong in the head again. Yoshiko tries to put Kong on her shoulders but Kong blocks it, knees by Kong and Yoshiko falls out of the ring. Kong goes out after he and tosses Yoshiko into the chairs at ringside before hitting Yoshiko in the head by one. Kong takes a metal barricade off the stairs and throws it at Yoshiko, she then picks up a chair and throws it at Yoshiko’s ribs. Kong finds an umbrella and hits Yoshiko with that too, she finally rolls Yoshiko back into the ring and throws her into the corner, but Yoshiko fires out of it with a lariat. Kong doesn’t go down however and they trade lariats back and forth for quite awhile until Yoshiko finally knocks down Kong and covers her for two. Yoshiko tries to pick up Kong and gets her up, hitting a Samoan Drop. Running senton by Yoshiko, she gets on the second turnbuckle but Kong avoids the diving senton. Kong gets her metal can and hits Yoshiko in the head with it, backdrop suplex by Kong and she covers Yoshiko for two. Kong goes for a brainbuster but Yoshiko blocks it and hits a Codebreaker, Yoshiko slams Kong in front of the corner and hits a diving senton off the second turnbuckle for a two count. Spinning backfist by Kong, she drags Yoshiko to her feet and she delivers a brainbuster, but Yoshiko gets a shoulder up on the pin attempt. Kong picks up Yoshiko and goes for a Uraken, but Yoshiko blocks it and hits a lariat. Yoshiko goes off the ropes and hits a lariat, but Kong doesn’t go down and hits a backfist. Kong waits for Yoshiko to get up and hits one final Uraken, cover by Kong and she picks up the three count! Aja Kong wins the match.
While I have enjoyed Yoshiko’s matches since she came back and Kong is a legend, this match didn’t really click. It was one of those matches they went out on a limb to do something different, but it didn’t work. The long lariat battle just didn’t have a lot of heat and went too long, for example, and the ending stretch just felt like an attempt to have an epic ending but without the backstory or action beforehand to back it up. It wasn’t bad, it was just weird and probably would have worked better if it wasn’t the main event. If Yoshiko won it would be memorable for that, but she didn’t, so in the long run this one will likely be forgotten.
Final Thoughts
I have mentioned it before that match order can play a big role in how an event is perceived after it is over. If the best match is in the midcard, it can get a bit lost in the shuffle, especially if the main event is disappointing. This show had two really good singles matches and a fun undercard, but right now all I can remember is my brain hurting trying to figure out some of the shit they did in the main event. On the plus side, there were no bad matches on the event and the clipping was pretty minimal all things considered. Definitely some entertainment to be found on this card, I just wouldn’t bother with the main event unless you’re a big fan of Kong or Yoshiko.
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