Arisa Nakajima vs. Riko Kaiju was the Ultimate Veteran vs. Junior Title Match
Every wrestling fan should see this
It’s been a while since I’ve done the newsletter. Part of me wanted to focus on my articles and other content like podcasts and video but the other just didn’t know where to go with the newsletter anymore. Thankfully, we’ve found the purpose. Highlighting the matches that not only Joshi fans or Puro fans or AEW fans or whoever (you get the point) should see, but ALL pro wrestling fans should see. Substack will be my newsletter home moving forward so let’s get started.
Arisa Nakajima (c) vs. Riko Kaiju for the Beyond The Sea Championship (SEAdLINNNG, 5/13/22)
Arisa Nakajima is on a roll. Not the type of roll that will fizzle out but one that should carry her to multiple “Wrestler of the Year” conversations amongst fans. After winning the Beyond The Sea Championship to close out what I thought was a disappointing 2021 for her, it was time for Nakajima to carry a Nanae Takahashi-less SEAdLINNNG into it’s future. The only way to do this was to lead by example with great efforts and memorable matches. SEAdLINNNG doesn’t run enough shows to have this must-see story which can carry them all year. Every show has to deliver with more than just tag team matches.
Nakajima’s first defense against tag team partner Hanako Nakamori was a good start to the year for Nakajima but again, not to the violent standards she has set for herself over the years. What really fired up the champions year was when she defended the Daily Sports Tag Team Titles with Nakamori in PURE-J, taking in the NOMADS’ combo of Rina Yamashita and Miyuki Takase. Not only is this one of the best tag matches of the year but provided the performance out of Nakajima you’d want to see. After that, it was her combination of matches with Tsukasa Fujimoto during Golden Week that saw Nakajima go from “getting there” to being one of the best in the world all over again.
The SEAdLINNNG battle between the Best Friends of Joshi is one of the best matches of the year because of the trading of violence but the emotion these two were able to create as Fujimoto prepared for her hiatus from wrestling. One day later after Fujimoto got the win, Nakajima would be the first champion to defend the Beyond The Sea Championship outside of SEAdLINNNG. It was there that they followed up an incredible match with, well, another one. So to say Nakajima has been rolling as of late might be the understatement of the year now, but how could she follow those two up with Riko Kaiju, a wrestler who hasn’t even wrestled for two full years yet? Ah, glad you asked.
Kaiju was more than willing to play up to the veteran champion and was even more willing to match the sheer amount of violence Nakajima brought in this match. By the end of it, Kaiju was a mess but a mess who delivered the match of her career. She didn’t back down or succumb to the pressure. Instead, Kaiju had the career-defining performance she needed to have in her first-ever Beyond The Sea Championship match. If this didn’t prove to every one that 1. Kaiju is one of the best young wrestlers in the world and 2. The Beyond The Sea Championship will be hers within the next two years then I’m not too sure what others were watching. The challenger deserves nothing but praise for hanging with someone like Nakajima, who is on the elite level she has been on so many times in her career.
“The Violence Princess” had maybe her most violent showing of the year and no, she didn’t care that the 20-year-old Kaiju was the one standing across from her. If anything, that’s what made it so violent. They faced each other in July and November 2021. Each time, “Beast Kid” was able to last a bit longer and show more fight. So this was just the next chapter. Going nearly 20 minutes, Nakajima ultimately won the match with the Bridging Dragon Suplex but not until Kaiju survived multiple final blows with some of the best back-to-back kickouts you’ll see in a match. There was little doubt as who would win this from the start but Kaiju did all she could to make fans believe maybe, just maybe she could pull off the biggest win of her career.
This match was tremendous and the scary part is Kaiju will only get better. It was the latest chapter in her growth as a wrestler and the next time these two go head-to-head for the gold, it could be Kaiju’s time to finally overcome Nakajima.
The story is there to somehow top what was one of the best matches of the year. Period.
Make sure to check this out.