[2023-05-16-Sareee Produce] Sareee vs Chihiro Hashimoto

[corwo]

The early going is a bit shaky. Sareee doesn't outright botch anything, but she's noticeably less crisp than she used to be, and nearly slips on a springboard arm drag attempt. The story of the match is how Sareee's confidence grows gradually. Her strikes become more impactful. She gets more spiteful with Hashimoto in their brief firefights, busting out wicked headbutts. Her movements become snappier, and traces of the old Sareee begin to show. Hashimoto is phenomenal as the mountain Sareee needs to overcome, dumping her on her head with German Suplexes.

Sareee snags a sleeper after countering a suplex, with Hashimoto frantically trying to power out. She reaches the ropes and, in a spot that had me shrieking, Sareee hangs on with an armbar, dumping Chihiro out of the ring. Sareee takes the fight to Hashimoto on the outside, hitting a Double Footstomp off the upper barricades and attempting her signature Uranage on the ramp. Hashimoto thwarts her opponent's efforts, nailing a lariat, which Sareee sells like she was hit by a truck.

Back inside the ring, both competitors fight for control. Sareee placing the point of her foot in the back of Chihiro's leg to prevent her from escaping an armbar is the kind of little detail I love. Sareee's previous limb work returns in a roundabout way, as she viciously stomps Hashimoto arm.The final act is oozing with a sense of struggle. Sareee scratches and claws to powerbomb Hashimoto off the top rope to the point that she's practically sitting down. Sareee manages one last gasp of hope with a ruthless-looking Uranage and tries to follow up with the wrist-clutch variation of the maneuver, but Hashimoto lands an Albright to secure the victory.

Whether you consider yourself a fan of either, or you enjoy a good knockdown, drag-out fight, this is well worth a watch. It's not quite their best work together, but seeing Sareee gradually return to her old self and regaining confidence in real time made this one of the most emotionally satisfying matches of the year.