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After a Korakuen show that produced one of the best matches of 2023 so far in Sareee vs Arisa Nakajima, SEAdLINNNG returned to Shinkiba to try and keep the momentum going. It’s one thing to get the ball rolling, but it’s a lot tougher to keep it on the path, so let’s look at what went down.
Arisa Nakajima defeated Crea
I haven’t seen much of Crea, as Pure-J is one of the companies I don’t keep up with, but this match felt like the perfect way to get a glimpse at how good she is. Arisa is one of the best, but she’s also a violent bugger, so if you can survive a match with her, you’re doing something right.
And I think Crea did that and more. In fact, for long parts of this, she matched Arisa, keeping up with her on the ground and holding her own when it came time to trade blows. When Nakajima drew her into a heavy strike exchange, I was sure Crea had fucked it, but she kept her cool, waiting for an opening to grab Arisa’s leg and take it back to the mat. On paper, this looked like a nice get-your-feet-back-under-you after losing the title match for Nakajima, but she was forced her to work for every inch of it.
Sadly, towards the end, Crea’s focus slipped as she charged in when she didn’t need to, creating the opening Arisa needed. It capped off a fantastic veteran performance from Nakajima, as she allowed the younger wrestler to catch her off-guard before capitalising on a moment of over-enthusiasm to violently cut it off. Even then, she was generous, as Crea kicked out of a double stomp and the straightjacket German. It was all delaying the inevitable, though, as Nakajima eventually got the job done.
Not that there is any shame in losing to Arisa Nakajima, particularly when you perform like this. As I mentioned, I haven’t seen much of Crea’s work, so perhaps she does this every week, and if that’s the case, it’s more proof that I should be watching Pure-J. Either way, I’ll certainly be keeping an eye out for her going forward.
Verdict: Impressive Stuff
La Pidita & Kakedita defeated VENY & Dark Silueta
Kakedita made her SEAd debut in this match, although, unlike La Pidita, we do know who is under the mask. Kakeru Sekiguchi’s somewhat unusual punishment for losing to La Pidita at Korakuen was being forced to don a hood, and while she might have been fighting against that not long ago, she now appears to have embraced it. Kakedita joined in whole-heartedly with Pidita’s ridiculous entrance, dancing her way around Shinkiba with only a touch of awkwardness. She also appears to have upped the lucha influences in her wrestling, presumably after picking up some tips from her new partner.
On the other side of the ring, we had not so much a style clash as an attitude one. While their masked opponents were there to have fun, VENY and Silueta were in no mood to sanction any of that buffoonery. They were there for a fight, even going after Taiyo for enforcing the high speed rules. It was a strong contrast, as they essentially played the party-poopers, here to ruin everyone’s night.
As for the purely in-ring stuff, the highlight was Pidita vs VENY, as VENY proved a fantastic base for her to show off her high-flying offence. It was also a solid showing from Silueta, who has been primarily working in Ice Ribbon on her excursion from CMLL but didn’t look out of place bringing the physicality in SEAd. Plus, she comes out to Slayer, so she has one in the win column with me from the word go.
Much like the rest of this angle, the focus was on having fun. Those who are fans of high speed silliness (and if you’re not, we probably can’t be friends) will have a lovely time.
Verdict: A Fun Time
Hiroyo Matsumoto, Ayame Sasamura & Sumire Natsu defeated Ryo Mizunami, Makoto & Misa Kagura
The powers that be appear to have marked Misa Kagura as a wrestler with potential, and this isn’t the first match of this ilk which has positioned her at the centre of the action. It’s a role she’s growing into. While she still plays the rookie, taking her beating before pulling off a fiery, if ultimately fruitless, comeback, every attempt sees her get a bit better at it. Misa is an expressive and sympathetic figure, flopping around the ring and looking like she’s going through hell as she takes her licks. Even more importantly, when it comes time to fight back, she’s pure babyface bluster, throwing herself into the action. There are moments where you can see the hoss she could become, but right now, she is ideally suited to battling from underneath.
The other person to receive a lot of focus here was Natsu, who seemed to be having a blast. She spent most of the match humping everything that moved, a gimmick that, in most people’s hands, would be distasteful at best. However, this is Natsu. She’s been doing this a long time, and for whatever reason, it works for her. Sure, her teammates didn’t appear to agree, seemingly somewhat disgusted at being paired with her, but she was the one who got the win, rolling up Makoto in the process. She had to eat a three-person bronco-buster to get there (two of those people were her partners), but there was every chance that made her stronger.
Everyone else involved can be marked as a reliably great hand, and the interactions between all of them were as good as you’d imagine, particularly those with Sasamura vs Makoto or Aniki. They’re the kind of people you can rely on to keep a match like this on the rails, whether you’re asking them to engage with the comedy or work over the youngster. It allowed it all to be a lot of fun in the present while also building for the future, and you can’t ask for anything more than that.
Verdict: Very Well Done
Sareee defeated Rico Kaiju
Since returning to Japan, Sareee has made it clear that she is here to wrestle. While fellow former WWE wrestler KAIRI is coasting on her (admittedly considerably larger than Sareee) fame, the Sun God is out working for Land’s End, Ito Dojo and Diana, putting in the miles and working off that rust. Now, to add to that, she’s taking her role as SEAd champion seriously, casting her eye over Rico Kaiju and putting her through her paces in a Shinkiba main event.
Kaiju, meanwhile, approached this match like someone who knew they were outgunned. From the start, she tried to swarm Sareee, firing away with a hundred dropkicks and hoping to force a mistake. She was happy to gnaw her way out of submissions, doing everything she could to avoid being hammered into the ground by the new champ. It was a brilliantly gutsy performance, as even when her energy was gone and she was stumbling around the ring, she refused to stop fighting, throwing elbows as hard as she could. That her final piece of offence was a defiant slap across Sareee’s face said it all.
Unfortunately for her, Sareee responded to all that by getting nasty. Whether it was aggressively booting a downed Kaiju, stomping on her back or delivering a meaty forearm, she made sure Rico paid for everything she took. Towards the end, as Beast Kid struggled to stand, it only seemed to infuriate the champ, as she responded by hitting her even harder. There was no hint of going easy on the youngster, as she delivered the kind of beating that will leave non-kayfabe bruises for all to see.
And it was great, but the kind of greatness that hints at something even better down the line. Right now, Rico isn’t on Sareee’s level, and this match made that abundantly clear, but it also suggested that she could be. If she works her arse off and keeps improving, there might be a day when she can stand up to that onslaught and hold her own. Right now, it’s a long way off, but she and Sareee gave us a taste of it, and it’s already a treat.
Verdict: A Look To The Future
After the match, La Pidita and Kakedita challenged Sasamura and Kaiju for the tag titles. I can’t think of anything that contrasts more with Sareee murdering kids than those two dancing around with maracas, but that match has the potential to be a lot of fun. After that silliness, Sareee got Arisa into the ring, seemingly setting up a team between the two, which is pretty classic SEAd booking. Still, they’ll be great.
Overall Show
That was a good show. From the over-delivering opener to a youngster getting put through her paces in the main event, everything had something to enjoy, and it all came in at under two hours. I’d fallen off with SEAd this year, but after attending the Korakuen show live, I was inspired to get back into it, and this did more than enough to keep me around.