Arisa Nakajima vs. Riko Kaiju (SEAdLINNNG, 5/13/2022)

SEAdLINNNG (5/13/2022)

SEAdLINNNG Beyond the Sea Championship: Arisa Nakajima (c) vs. Riko Kaiju

Arisa played the role of surly senior aggressor and junior Riko gave the necessary amount of fire when she made her counterattacks. Riko's timing and pacing were on point, and the build towards her Iguchi Bomb was done well. The hierarchical composition of the match made it more structured than the standard Arisa Nakajima singles, but there were still the usual dragging moments and dull move-spam finish. For a 20-minute match, I don't think either injected enough personality or dynamism to keep things interesting throughout. ***1/2

SEAdLINNNG - Golden Moment (4/29/2022)

3. Riko Kaiju vs. Riko Kawahata

A decent match that went on for too long. I don't think either of them have the moves to be wrestling a match this long against each other, it felt like they were running out of material before it was over. Riko Kawahata (22) has good visuals and seems promising. She should be more popular. I would like to see her show more personality and enthusiasm and assert herself more. ***

4. Arisa Nakajima vs. Tsukasa Fujimoto

They worked hard and kept things active for the most part. However, the finish was abrupt and unconvincing, and there was a lack of innovation. There was not much that was visually interesting or spectacular, and both wrestlers just followed their usual patterns. If you want the best of these two, watch their matches from 2014, when they were still fresh and inspired performers. ***1/2

Tsukasa Fujimoto vs. Riko Kaiju (SEAdLINNNG, 2/11/2022)

SEAdLINNNG Started 2022! (2/11/2022)

Tsukasa Fujimoto vs. Riko Kaiju

I never paid much attention to Riko Kaiju but when she mentioned Starlight Kid as an opponent she wanted to fight I became interested. This was my first good look at her, and she performed awesomely. Fujimoto matched her opponent's pace, sticking mostly to the basics, but lived up to her reputation as a " rookie killer" with an aggressiveness not often seen from her. This was a rather long match, lasting just under 20 minutes, but the length was a positive as it allowed the match to properly develop. There were many hard exchanges of blows and an overall sense of physicality. ****

Arisa Nakajima vs. Hanako Nakamori (SEAdLINNNG, 10/13/2021)

SEAdLINNNG - 6th Anniversary Show (10/13/2021)

Arisa Nakajima vs. Hanako Nakamori

I didn't find either performance particularly compelling, but the offense looked and sounded good and was diverse enough to keep me from getting bored, and the match didn't feel long despite its length. There wasn't much to the match. Whatever history they share wasn't really conveyed through their performances. They just fought like they normally do. And I thought the finish came out of nowhere, with no sense of excitement or escalation. ***1/4

SEAdLINNNG - Nanae Takahashi 25th Anniversary ~ Arigatou (7/11/2021)

4. SEAdLINNNG Beyond The Sea Championship: ASUKA vs. Ryo Mizunami

This was a great match. It turned into a total firefight where they were exchanging heavy blows. The striking was diverse and dynamic so it never felt repetitive. ASUKA shined on offense, using her natural athletic ability to attack from various angles. Mizunami, a veteran of more than 10 years, seems to have gained a new vigor after returning from AEW. The armwork was just a way to build the match and get the crowd into it and I think it worked. Even though ASUKA's reign ended without a successful defense, she went out with a bang.

****

5. Nanae Takahashi vs. Arisa Nakajima

I don't know if it's because of her age or if her body is in shambles, but Nanae has slowed down and her physical condition doesn't look good. I thought Arisa's offense was amazing, especially the downward elbows to the head, but I would like to see her break away from this repetitive pattern of wrestling. If you've seen the previous matches between these two, it's more of the same. This is easily my least favorite type of Japanese women's wrestling. Directionless move exhibition with little buildup between moves, little regard for selling, and of course, a million finisher kick-outs.

**

Arisa Nakajima & Nanae Takahashi vs. Momo Watanabe & Saya Iida (SEAdLINNNG, 2/10/2021)

SEAdLINNNG - Shin-Kiba NIGHT (2/10/2021)

Arisa Nakajima & Nanae Takahashi vs. Momo Watanabe & Saya Iida

Even though this was a prelude to Momo vs. Nanae, I found the interactions between Momo & Iida and Arisa to be the most interesting and successful. There was some spottiness from Nanae, and while I wouldn't say she struggled to keep up with the energy of the match, her interactions with Momo didn't create much excitement for their upcoming match.

***1/2

Best Friends (Arisa Nakajima & Tsukasa Fujimoto) vs. Yoshiko & Sareee (SEAdLINNNG, 1/11/2021)

SEAdLINNNG - 2021 Opening Match (1/11/2021)

Best Friends (Arisa Nakajima & Tsukasa Fujimoto) vs. Yoshiko & Sareee

This was the usual fast-paced SEAd tag team main event, with a lot of double team moves and multi-person sequences. In terms of content, I didn't think it differentiated itself from previous matches between these two teams, but it was an easy match to watch because it was action-packed and relatively short. 

***3/4

Arisa Nakajima vs. Yoshiko (SEAdLINNNG, 7/13/2020)

SEAdLINNNG - Close To You (7/13/2020)

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

This match felt like all of its 26 minutes. There was a lack of variety in terms of moves and the pacing felt largely the same. The moves were spectacular and well-executed, but I'd like a match with more range. This was moves upon moves, suplex, lariat, elbow, repeat; devoid of meaning or drama. I never thought I would see a swan dive German suplex feel so inconsequential in a match. It was just a move amongst many.

***

Arisa Nakajima vs. ASUKA (SEAdLINNNG, 6/13/2020)

SEAdLINNNG - Delivered To You! (6/13/2020)

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

This was a good match, although it felt like it dragged at parts. Slowly building from groundwork to heavy attacks may not work well with no-fans. But I did enjoy the groundwork, with ASUKA using her power advantage and Nakajima targeting the leg. The leg work was sold well, but unfortunately didn't lead to anything particularly interesting. Both wrestlers traded tremendous offense in the mid to latter stages, with ASUKA using some crushing power moves.

***1/2

Hiroyo Matsumoto & Yoshiko vs. Mei Hoshizuki & Mei Suruga (SEAdLINNNG, 10/6/2019)

SEAdLINNNG - SPARKLING-d! 2019

SEAdLINNNG Beyond the Sea Tag Team Championship: Hiroyo Matsumoto & Yoshiko (c) vs. Mei Hoshizuki & Mei Suruga

Mei Suruga & Mei Hoshizuki have been exclusive to the High Speed division, where the matches are largely comical, so I was intrigued when they challenged for the tag belts. This was a wonderful and creative approach to speed versus strength. A simple story that was delivered in an exciting and novel way.

****

Arisa Nakajima vs. Nanae Takahashi (SEAdLINNNG, 11/2/2019)

SEAdLINNNG - Dynamic Show Case! ~ Kawasaki Monogatari (11/2/2019)

SEAdLINNNG Beyond the Sea Championship - Hair vs. Hair: Arisa Nakajima (c) vs. Nanae Takahashi

From a technical standpoint, this is a very accessible match as it maintains an exciting pacing and there isn't any significant downtime outside of a stalemate placed towards the end. But in terms of storytelling, it falls short of expectations. The crowd was barely responsive to the action and there was little sense of drama or desperation from the performers despite the stipulation. It just felt like a good, competitive title match.

***1/2

Nanae Takahashi vs. Takumi Iroha (SEAdLINNNG, 5/29/2019)

SEAdLINNNG - Stay Tune 2019 (5/29/2019)

SEAdLINNNG Beyond the Sea Championship: Nanae Takahashi (c) vs. Takumi Iroha

Great match, with heavy exchanges and head dropping. The match being centered around neck-work served as a narrative anchor of sorts for Iroha, as her performance had a focus and sense of progression you don't often see from her.

****

SEAdLINNNG - Shin-Kiba 10th NIGHT (2/28/2019)

1. Arisa Nakajima vs. Hiroe Nagahama

Nagahama, who is probably destined to be the next ace of WAVE with Ohata retired, seems to be working harder as this was one of her better showings. Arisa applied her technique and beatdown skills in a dominant performance.

***3/4

3. Himeka Arita & Miyuki Takase vs. Ryo Mizunami & Takumi Iroha

This was very fun bell-to-bell action that built into an explosive finish. 

***1/2

Arisa Nakajima & Ayame Sasamura vs. Miyuki Takase & Yumiko Hotta (SEAdLINNNG, 1/20/2019)

SEAdLINNNG - Let's Get d!!! 2019 (1/20/2019)

SEAdLINNNG BEYOND THE SEA Tag Team Championship: Arisa Nakajima & Ayame Sasamura (c) vs. Miyuki Takase & Yumiko Hotta

This didn't live up to the hype created by the photographs of a bloodied Ayame. Also Miyuki's new Kaho Kobayashi style costume has weakened her presentation, the old red costume was perfect. Solid tag bout.

***

Avid Rival (Misaki Ohata & Ryo Mizunami) & Miyuki Takase vs. BORDERLESS (Yoshiko & Rina Yamashita) & Makoto (SEAdLINNNG, 10/17/2018)

SEAdLINNNG - Shinkiba 7th Night (10/17/2018) 

Avid Rival (Misaki Ohata & Ryo Mizunami) & Miyuki Takase vs. BORDERLESS (Yoshiko & Rina Yamashita) & Makoto

As amazing as you would hope for from this all-star ensemble. Endlessly exciting action with plenty of lariats to go around.

****

Hiroyo Matsumoto vs. Nanae Takahashi (SEAdLINNNG, 10/3/2018)

SEAdLINNNG - d-Higher (10/3/2018)

SEAdLINNNG BEYOND THE SEA Championship - Tournament First Round: Hiroyo Matsumoto vs. Nanae Takahashi

Hell of an escalation of violence, maybe a bit excessive on the near-falls but they kept up a high energy, the crowd was hot and I enjoyed it. Nanae using those Lethwei clinch-headbutts down the stretch was awesome.

****

SEAdLINNNG - Shinkiba 6th Night (8/16/2018)

3. Aoi Kizuki & Ryo Mizunami vs. Miyuki Takase & Nanae Takahashi

Came for Miyuki Takase, stayed for the strong work between Aoi and Nanae. Amazing match for Aoi~chan's retirement road.

****

4. Captain’s Fall: Yoshiko (c) & Akane Fujita, Rina Yamashita vs. Ayame Sasamura (c), Arisa Nakajima & Mio Momono

That Rina-Arisa segment ruled and I liked the juniors using speed and craftiness to take down the team of bruisers. The ending was really great.

****

SEAdLINNNG - Shin-Kiba 5th NIGHT (7/6/2018)

1. Akane Fujita & Ryo Mizunami vs. Makoto & Miyuki Takase

Ryo Mizunami and Miyuki Takase chop and lariat battles, featuring Akane Fujita & Makoto. This was one amazing opening match.

***3/4

4. Amazon & Arisa Nakajima vs. Nanae Takahashi & Tsukasa Fujimoto

This was very long, but they kept the action exciting with a variety of sequences and moves, and the story of Amazon & Arisa becoming increasing frustrated with each other added a fun dynamic.

***3/4

Arisa Nakajima & Misaki Ohata vs. ASUKA & Ayame Sasamura (SEAdLINNNG, 6/8/2018)

SEAdLINNNG - Shinkiba 4th Night! (6/8/2018)

Arisa Nakajima & Misaki Ohata vs. ASUKA & Ayame Sasamura

Solid stuff. Arisa continues her storyline of trying to find a replacement for Tsukasa and failing, and Sasamura showed off her ability.

***3/4

SEAdLINNNG - Stay Tune (5/16/2018)

3. ULTRA777 U-21 Tag Team Tournament - Semi Finals: Best Friends (Arisa Nakajima & Tsukasa Fujimoto) vs. Sae Nomura & Saki Akai

This is the sort of high workrate match I expected from a SEAdLINNNG tag tournament. Arisa's selling of Saki's kicks was really good.

***1/2

5. ULTRA777 U-21 Tag Team Tournament - Finals: Best Friends (Arisa Nakajima & Tsukasa Fujimoto) vs. BORDERLESS (Rina Yamashita & Yoshiko)

Enjoyable main event. It doesn't reach the high level that I expected, but they kept things fairly exciting. Watching Arisa and Yoshiko go at it was the highlight.

***1/2