Indy Dreaming

[The King Of Swing]

They actually have a show on MyAEW.

Haven't checked it out, but I'm assuming it features AEW/ROH talent. 

Actually just noticed that there is also a load of stuff from something called 1FW on there. Has it's very own tab on the main page. 

Looks like it only recently got added. AEW making deals with indies? With Triller seemingly going down the shitter, that wouldn't be the worst idea. 

Edit. 

I'm watching Jeff Jarrett bloody Paul Walter Hauser, in a table match. 

We might just be living in a simulation. 

Edited May 23 by The King Of Swing

[JLM]

Eve 149

Lucy Sky vs Aliss Ink

Aliss Ink becoming quite the regular and I'm all for it. Fun match up between a couple of rugged hard hitters. Definitely helped that I couldn't call who was going to win this ahead of time, made Aliss' first singles win in Eve very satisfying. 

Nyte Skye vs Alexis Friggin Lee and Assistant Friggin Abi

Nyte Skye open challenge answered by the Singaporean up and comer Alexis Friggin Lee. Initially answered it on her own, then a massive pop for Abi as her surprise partner. Abi still on the hunt for friends and a new job, bless her. Plucky underdogs vs mean and devious heels. Cool to see Abi landing some real offense in this match; they're keeping the slow burn going but she is doing a little bit better every time.

Melissa Fierce vs Cory zero

This was meant to be Cory Zero vs Emersyn Jane, which would have been a cool high-flying pairing. This was pretty good, moved at a good pace and didn't drag despite going surprisingly long, but the fans' love for French Art meant that the heel/face dynamic wasn't as strong as it should be.

Molly Spartan vs Leah raven

Leah Raven also a last minute replacement and making her Eve debut. She got more than expected and was a very game opponent. Managed to elevate this above an extended squash match and get the crowd behind her. Molly Spartan is tremendous and is surely Martina's next monster challenger after Alexxis Falcon.

Alexxis Falcon/Rhio vs Lallie

On a show which struggled due to last minute replacements, it was a wise move to give this match a mammoth time slot and let it elevate the show. The ever popular and ever improving babyface tag champs against two of the best heels in the promotion. I'll say again that I love this current focus on making the tag titles important. I love tag team wrestling so much and am a huge fan of a tag title match main eventing a show.

This one also had higher stakes for me as, although I thought Lallie losing to two singles wrestlers was fairly unlikely, the status and calibre of said opponents meant I couldn't rule it out. This was nearly half an hour but was great value for it. I'm a big fan of all four wrestlers and they packed in so many twists and turns that I was genuinely concerned for Lallie's title reign. 

Overall this card top to bottom didn't hit the heights of Eve's recent run of bangers, but it was still a solid show highlighted by an excellent main event. 

Delightful looking card for Eve 150 now:

Eve Championship - Session Moth Martina vs Alexxis Falcon
International title - Kris Statlander vs Miyu Yamashita. 
Tag Titles - Lallie vs French Art II 
Rhio vs Aliss Ink
Molly Spartan vs X. 
Nyte Skye vs Relentless All Stars

X has been not-so-subtly hinted at being Kay Lee Ray. 

What a stacked card, gutted I can't get to it in person. Already have my tickets for the August show on All In weekend though!
 

[JLM]

EVE 150

Sensational opening video for this one, proper spine tingling stuff showing the full histories of all three of the promotion's titles, interspersed with promos hyping up the matches for said titles on this card. The Eve video packages are always top notch and way better than what I'd expect from an indy.

EVE Championship: Session Moth Martina vs Alexxis Falcon

Great little pre-tape vignette from Alexxis Falcon before this one too. Don't hate this opening the show as nobody expected Martina to lose on her first defense. They did a good job of putting Martina on the back foot right from the start as they always do though, this time through Falcon attacking during her entrance and hitting her finisher immediately at the start of the match. Martina is always at her best when she's selling and fighting against the odds, and it's important to still play to that strength even when she's the champ. Good match, with Martina clawing her way back into it over time and the people getting louder and louder for her. A fun little twist on the exposed turnbuckle too, revealing it several minutes before the finish only for the heel to end up smashing into it inadvertently. Perfect first defense for Martina. 

Nyte Skye vs Relentless All Stars

Relentless All Stars' Eve debut, very solid showing from them here. I like that they're a proper tag team with matching gear and double team offense. They also have a smaller speedy one and a bigger more powerful one, which I love to see. I'm enjoying Nyte Skye doing heel tag team 101, distracting the ref to sneak in double teams, grabbing the partner off the apron, all the classics. This was the tried and tested tag team formula, with the babyface team getting off to a bright start, the heels stealing the advantage and beating one of them down for a while, then the hot tag. It did have a tag team pet peeve of mine though, where the babyface hot tag lasts for about five seconds and then they immediately tag the severely depleted partner back in. Tagging out shouldn't magically heal all wounds instantly and I always think it makes a babyface team look silly when they do this, especially when they go on to lose! This gripe aside it was a fun tag match, Nyte Skye are getting better as a team every time and I liked what I saw from the All Stars. 

Molly Spartan vs Abi Fyre

This was too good. Big lights out entrance for Molly Spartan's "mystery opponent." On screen graphic pops up, flaming text with the word "FYRE". Then the first name starts to appear, with the A and the B and then the slow reveal that it says Abi. So good, brilliant take on the whole "show their former name on the tron and then replace it with the new one" schtick. Also funny that Abi is so over that this didn't even get her any boos. The people were ready for this to be the match. However, one minute in it was lights out again and we moved on to...

Molly Spartan vs Kay Lee Ray

I am a big fan of Kay Lee Ray, thought she was excellent on her NXT UK run and it was sad to see her floundering about as Alba Fyre doing very little after that. Thunderous reaction for the return and the best ring announcing call I've heard from Sikisa on any of these shows. This was only about 11 minutes, with Spartan dominating for the majority as she typically does. This allowed KLR to put in a gritty underdog performance that had the crowd fully behind her throughout. A few iffy moments between them and I have to imagine KLR is a bit rusty after wrestling so little towards the end of her WWE run, but overall a brilliant return and you could tell she was moved by the response. I know she'll be a babyface for at least a few more shows as the big returnee, but down the line I'd love to see her as a heel challenger to Martina as she is such a natural in that role.

Tag Team Titles: Lallie vs French Art 

Expected this to be the best match of the show and it was, these two teams are fantastic together. Big babyface reaction for French Art's entrance, but they did a great job of firmly reminding everyone that they're heels throughout this match. Cory Zero in particular has great facial expressions and an excellent cocky demeanour. This had a great pace, some terrific hot tags, plenty of heat, a couple of very convincing edge of the seat near falls towards the end and for me was every bit as good as their first one. French Art trying to use the same wonky turnbuckle pad from the opening match but being denied by the ref was a nice touch, and I appreciated them going full blown heel and using the belts on their way to victory. They have deservedly become very popular with the Eve crowd but they're both natural heels and should lean into that. 

It's been great to see Hollie Barlow shows tonnes of fire and an ability to turn it up a gear and get really serious towards the end of these defenses when their titles were in jeopardy. Lallie have steadily improved as a team but I think she's got a lot better as a performer on this run as well. Heartbreaking to see them lose the belts, but for a team like this the chase is more fun than the title reign so I'm looking forward to seeing them as challengers again. 

Emersyn Jane vs Melissa Fierce vs Lucy Sky

Simple explanation for this is that all three are looking to get a statement win after some high profile losses. This match was nuts, with all three going hell for leather for the duration. Highlight was Emersyn Jane hitting a truly insane tornado DDT from the inside onto the apron, spiking Lucy Sky on the edge of the ring and sending herself all the way to the floor. Can't recall seeing that done before and it looked incredible. Good win for Emersyn Jane, and a post match announcement reveals that it has earned her a match against Skye Blue at the next show. 

Rhio vs Aliss Ink

Intriguing match up on paper and it definitely delivered. I particularly liked how this one was laid out given their respective places in the Eve pecking order. Rhio was the heavy favourite and was dominant for the whole thing, but Aliss got just enough in there that it didn't ever feel like an extended squash.  The decision to go 14:50 on a 15 minute time limit with the announcer calling the one minute remaining was a great idea too. They weren't doing the usual trope of teasing a time limit draw and the finish was never placed in doubt ad the time ticked down, but it gave Aliss the credit of hanging in there for almost the full 15 against the former champ and top heel. Typically dominant and impressive stuff from Rhio and an excellent gritty underdog performance from Aliss Ink that got the crowd fully behind her. 

 

International Championship - Kris Statlander vs Miyu Yamashita

This was very good but not quite as amazing as I'd hoped for. They're both bloody brilliant and two of my favourites but at times they didn't quite gel and have the magic chemistry to put on a real classic. Still a cracking main event though and I'm very sad I didn't get to see it in person. Simple story of Statlander's power and athleticism vs Yamashita's strikes and grappling. I loved how Yamashita's skull kick was teased and near-missed multiple times to foreshadow the finish, with Statlander dodging it, ducking it and blocking it with her hands, each time during an increasingly more dangerous and fast paced sequence and each time getting that bit closer to eating it. It made the final one feel very well earned and satisfying. Beautifully executed as well. I often praise Statlander's explosive power and Takeshita-esque ability to make every move she does look amazing, but facing a striker like this highlighted how good she is at bumping and making the opponent look like a million bucks. The stunt performing experience really pays off and the finish here looked like her soul left her body on the last kick. Would love to see these two go again as this was loads of fun but they're capable of much better. 

Solid show top to bottom that and I wish I'd been able to make it. There was a tease during the show for  Elite Encounters 2 in November, this time at The Hangar in Wolverhampton! They did say they'd be venturing further North in 2026. The last Elite Encounters it was absolutely rammed inside The Big Penny, so cool to see them going for a 1,000 seater and making it another 4 hour super show like Queendom. Also it's a 3pm start 7pm finish, so I can do it as a day trip from Leeds. Wonderful. 

 

 

 

[JLM]

EVE 151

Live show report! Was able to do swing another trip to London for this show. This semi-monthly-ish tradition of going to Exale brewery to try some sours, then getting whatever the special is at Pretty Decent Pizza before heading to The Big Penny for Eve is such a delightful way to spend a Friday evening. This time I got a lime and black pepper sour that was so unbelievably limey it made me do the Homer Simpson lemon ball face with every sip. Glorious. Two of my regular Eve buddies and one first timer this time. 

Eve Championship: Session Moth Martina vs Lucy Sky vs Aliss Ink

Martina wasn't advertised for this show, so this was such a lovely surprise. What was great is that we had hastily given our first time attendee a rundown of the Eve players and spent a lot of time explaining Martina and her story and that she comes out to Cascada, only to disappoint her by saying she wouldn't be appearing on the show. So a first time attendee who has never seen Eve before ended up popping for Martina's theme hitting right at the start of the show. An immediate taste of the joy of pro wrasslin'. 

Martina did a little promo before the match, pointing out that she's had one defense in five months and doesn't want to be one of those champions who never defends. So it's the classic open challenge, though with the neat caveat that only people who have never had a shot at this title before are eligible. They've been building up Martina as a bit of a locker room leader trying to bring people up with her, so this made a lot of sense. 

Short and sweet ten minute triple threat wrestled at a brisk pace. Another good showcase for Aliss Ink, Lucy Sky is a very reliable midcard monster heel and Martina definitely needs to rack up some more defenses. The fact that this was an unadvertised surprise was the best thing about it though, made for a great energetic start to the night as everyone was buzzing for Martina's entrance. 

 

Nyte Skye vs Lallie

This ended up being a non-match. Rhio out almost immediately to murder Hollie Barlow, taking her out with a package piledriver on the steps. Disappointing as I was looking forward to the rematch, but a pretty shocking and intriguing angle that has me interested to see where it goes. Lana Austin tried to wrestle the match solo but only lasted about three minutes. Nyte Skye now the number one contenders, which also raises the question of what they'll do with French Art. Are they going to give in to the crowd and make them babyfaces I wonder. 

 

Skye Blue vs Emersyn Jayne

Will Ospreay out before the match to warn the front rows on all sides to be ready to move during this match. Emersyn Jayne out in the classic hardcore match denim further confirmed that this was going to be nutty. It was certainly that, as they went nearly 20 minutes running through the full checklist of horrible things to do to each other, Chairs, tacks, skewers in the back, skewers in the head, slams on the side of chairs, slams on the steps, dives into the crowd, pure madness from start to finish. What elevated this above the norm is just how much Skye Blue loves this shit. Visibly having the time of her life from start to finish. I've seen it before in some of the mad ones she had against Willow and Stat, where she is so in her element when death matching that it levels up her whole game. Her personality comes out in a way that you rarely see otherwise, and it was particularly highlighted here in a solo setting. As she said herself in her post-match promos taking exception to being introduced as "one third of the triangle of madness:  "When I come out to do these shows I am not one third of anything, I am Skye Fucking Blue". 

Emersyn Jayne is also a daredevil nutter and the perfect opponent for a match like this, but this was definitely the Skye Blue show. Revelling in the violence, bleeding from skewers to the head, at one point whipping members of the ring crew to bully them into setting up a table for her. The finish was foiled by a very sturdy table, leading to an extremely painful looking top rope Code Blue bump for poor Emersyn Jayne. After the match Skye tried to put herself through the table multiple times with flying senton bombs before eventually giving up and promising she'll be back for Eve X The World on All In Weekend. 

Look at her all bloody and content. Warms the heart it does: 

 

Alexxis Falcon vs Aluna

Good use of a guest appearance to get a win back for Alexxis after her failed title challenge last month. She's such a fun performer to watch, thoroughly pleased with how evil she is. Aluna has a great look and is a high energy, high flying white meat babyface, so pretty much the ideal opponent for this purpose. Unfortunately there were some iffy moments in this one where they didn't seem to quite be on the same page, but Falcon held it together and it was still a perfectly watchable ten minute match.

Post-match appearance from Abi, who announces that she's got a job! I think this was the biggest pop of the night. Abi is so ridiculously over and I love it. Sadly it's only a temp job for the evening, delivering a rather rude message for Alexxis Falcon on behalf of Hyperactive, who are still on tour with Sendai Girls in Japan. 

 

French Art vs Melissa Fierce and Maddy Morgan

The babyface team (first time teaming together) was billed as Morgan and Fierce on the event poster, which sounds like a fictional law firm from a superhero show. Apparently their team is actually The Show Stoppers, but I don't think that will look as good on the business cards.  Maddy Morgan is only 18, which I was surprised to learn as she was full of confidence here and didn't look out of step with everyone else in the match. An ambitious match it was too, as French Art put on another epic which ended in a 20 minute time limit draw. This was excellent, French Art cannot miss at the moment but the opponents more than held up their end too. The heat and pace built brilliantly and it never dragged despite the length. Fierce pointed out in a back stage promo that this result surely puts them in the conversation for a title shot, which is hard to argue against. 

 

Kay Lee Ray vs Rhio

This is to determine the challenger for Miyu Yamashita's international title at Elite Encounters in August. Really good main event, with Rhio dominating and dismantling for long spells and KLR refusing to die. KLR is gritty and sneaky and does well doing the Jay White thing of making herself hard to beat and put away, then finding an answer in the closing stretch to get the job done. One thing I really loved in this match was the bit with Lana Austin. She came running in right at the end to try and get revenge for Rhio's attack on her partner earlier in the night. She's being held back by security, the crowd is getting hot and then Kay Lee Ray immediately takes her out with a suicide dive.

This was so unexpected but also made so much sense to me. KLR is a babyface by default right now but she is not a smiley happy good guy type and she has never pretended to be. She doesn't give a shit about Lallie's issues with Rhio, she doesn't want it spilling over into her opportunity here and she doesn't want or need anyone's help. It was a great way to remind everyone that as soon as the return honeymoon period is over she will be as dastardly and ruthless as she ever was. 

Skye Blue vs Emersyn Jayne was probably the most memorable match on the show but this was a strong main event and kept everyone guessing until KLR was able to cluch it out with a small package against the run of play. 

 

What a cracking show. A surprise Martina appearance, three very strong matches with a good variety of styles and flavours and an interesting story development with Rhio taking out Hollie Barlow.

 

Other stuff:

Hyperactive announced at a recent Sendai Girls show that they've been signed and are officially part of the roster. Well deserved and they seem to be having a blast out there, so very chuffed for them. There was a teaser during this show as well, confirming Hyperactive vs The Brawling Birds for Elite Encounters 2 in November. That will be superb. 

 

There are two shows in August and I have tickets for the one on All In weekend. So far confirmed for that:

Kay Lee Ray vs Miyu Yamashita

Skye Blue vs X. I think DASH Chisako would be a perfect choice but I really have no clue and they've not given much of a hint. 

 

 

 

 

Edited July 14 by JLM

[Callum1993]

Gillberg is looking rough. 

[Merzbow]

This looks like a really fun card by Produce, each show is co-produced and booked by a specific wrestler. I do like how Rocky booked himself in the main event against the biggest star in Mexico..

[HarmonicGenerator]

Does the Butcher have a monocle now?! Bring him back to TV immediately! With a top hat!

[JLM]

EVE 152 - Friday Night RIot

Catching up with the last show before I head to Eve X The World 2 tomorrow.  Very excited for that show!

Hyperactive vs Rhio and Alexxis Falcon

Anita Vaughan and Safire Reed returning from their very successful Sendai Girls tour to take on Eve's main villains. I have enjoyed both of them a lot as singles wrestlers over the past couple of years but it is great to see another dedicated tag team on this roster and they are obviously brilliant together. Really fun opener this, a tremendous reaction for Hyperactive's return and great heat througout as Rhio and Falcon are both so very mean. Safire Reed makes for a perfect babyface in peril and Vaughan is big enough and had enough bruising encounters with the Statlanders and Aminatas of the world that she can believably slug it out with Rhio when needed. Excellent back and forth match for fifteen minutes, then it all breaks down when Rhio teases hitting Reed with her signature package pile driver on the steps.

This prompts Hollie Barlow to run out screaming bloody murder at Rhio, as she received said pile driver at last month's show and is very displeased about it. I don't normally love babyfaces beating heels via distraction but I did like how it was booked here. No music, no actual interference, she had been planning to wait until after the match to call out Rhio, but the sight of her planning to take someone else out with the same move sent her over the edge and she couldn't contain the rage.

Absolutely deranged promo from Barlow to call out Rhio for a match, bloody loved this. Hollie Barlow has definitely been one of my favourite wrestlers to watch this year, excellent as part of Lallie, consistently hilarious but also showing a great range as a singles wrestler in more serious settings. She's fantastic. Unfortunately for her, Rhio doesn't do requests, so instead we get:

Hollie Barlow vs Jessica Troy

Jessica Troy was meant to face Emersyn Jayne, but she isn't cleared after the madness with Skye Blue last week. This was a substitute match but I l really liked how it was integrated into the show. Troy had a short and sweet promo how she had been left without an opponent but is now going to add Barlow's arm to her collection. Hollie is not leaving without fighting someone, so we go straight into it. 

Really loved the opening, as Hoillie is still steaming mad and wrestles like it. You can see she's going to charge as soon as the bell rings. Troy sees it as well and hits a picture perfect pump kick as Hollie runs right into it. Immediately tells you how this is going to go; Hollie is dangerous but also reckless, Troy is calm and composed and ready to capitalise. Barlow's offense is just ramming Troy into the apron, swinging wildly with kicks and strikes and essentially windmilling. Troy is taking a fair few hits but is also landing damage to Hollie's arm every time she gets an opportunity. 

Troy's array of creative ways to hurt someone's left arm is lovely to watch and drew loads of sympathy for Barlow, who is already about as sympathetic as a babyface can be.. She also sold the arm like a champ for the whole match, right up until the finish where she hit her beautiful top rope elbow drop using the right arm and then repositioned herself so she could hook the leg with the good arm as well. Brilliant gutsy performance for her in what was easily my favourite match of the night. 

Rhio promo backstage, she says she's going to end Lallie. I am so up for Lana Austin vs Rhio and Hollie Barlow vs Rhio as singles matches. 

Chantal Jordan vs Kay Lee Ray

When this match was announced, Chantal Jordan posted a lovely photo of herself as a teenager getting an autograph and picture with Kay Lee Ray, so this is a bit of a dream match for her. Definitely some nervy moments and timing issues but overall she put in a great performance. I liked the commentators pointing out that for Chantal this is one of the biggest matches of her career, but for KLR this a tune up match for her International Title shot against Miyu Yamashita, which makes sense as both Jordan and Yamashita are kicking specialists. This played into the story of the match, as KLR is clearly not taking it as seriously as Jordan at the beginning, having a bit of fun exchanging holds and thinking this is going to be easy. Chantal is here to fight though, and she ends up doing enough damage that KLR is forced to get serious and then this keeps escalating into a pretty wild hardcore brawl of a a match, highlighted by a Statlander-esque spinning Ki Crusher off the apron through a table from Jordan, and KLR getting the win with her signature Gory Bomb onto two chairs. 

The ending sequence and all the mad spots were fun and it was cool to see KLR in the most ambitious and demanding match since her return, but my favourite bit of this was the middle third as Chantal grew in confidence and KLR had to start upping her game to meet her. 

Looking forward to KLR vs Yamashita on Friday! 

Nyte Sky vs French Art - Eve Tag Titles

This was mostly good but probably five minutes too long given VIolet Nyte's inexperience and the insane heat inside the venue. Everyone looked so knackered by the end and there were a good few moments where the teams didn't seem to be on the same page. However! The character dynamic between the two teams and the crowd heat managed to elevate it. Both teams are heels and they both fought it as such, but French Art are beloved by most of the Eve crowd, so it didn't leave the crowd without anything to cheer for as heel vs heel can do. It also made for a fun little thread throughout the match, where both teams gained momentum only to stop and shithouse too much and hand control back to the other team. They're all cocky dickheads and they can't help it. I found that aspect of the match very entertaining, and thankfully towards the end they got things together in-ring and put together some great back and forth action, with Cory Zero standing out as she often does with her spectacular offense. 

I liked the finish a lot too, as Violet Nyte clearly had a boot on the bottom rope but JGU pushed it away. Of course the heel vs heel tag title match is going to end in cheating, nice to see Nyte Sky get out-conned by fellow scumbags. 

Probably the weakest French Art match in Eve which is a shame for their first tag title defense, but it still wasn't bad by any means and is only their worst because they've set a high bar.

Abi still needs a job

Abi Cartwright out before the next match, so desperate for a new full time job that she is now handing out copies of her C.V. to everyone in the crowd. I love Abi so much. She appeals to the crowd for anyone who might know a superstar in need of an assistant, but she is interrupted by the returning Amira Blair! She hasn't been on a show since Wrestle Queendom so I was very happy to see her here. She is with Cassius The Neon Explosion, her talent manager, and they are dressed in hats obscuring their faces. They come out to Amira's theme song and her entrance video with her name in it, then do the Pretty Psycho entrance dance, *then* try to make the crowd guess who is under the hats. Tremendous. Abi begs for a job, Amira and Cassius check her CV and make her do the Pretty Psycho dance, then Amira says if Abi can get her a match for Eve X The World she will fire Cassius and hire Abi. Huge! Amira Blair is fucking brilliant honestly, just insane charisma and comedic delivery, this time adding a truly obnoxious amount of vocal fry to everything she says. Outstanding exit as well demanding complete silence from the crowd before telling them "OK now lose your shit, I'm leaving!" to ensure a satisfactory exit pop. What a pro. 

Session Moth Martina vs Nightshade - Eve Championship

Hmmm I thought the rules for these open challenge title defenses is that it had to be people who haven't had a shot before. Wasn't mentioned on commentary so we appear to have shelved that. On the plus side, a defense against a credible challenger and former champion is good for Martina. Good speed vs power/monster vs underdog dynamic too, which is where Martina excels. 

Friendly hug at the start due to their history together and then a good scrappy match with Martina taking quite a beating before rallying. Good heat throughout and a great response for Martina's comeback, though there was a very unfortunate botch on a sunset bomb on the end that stalled the momentum a bit. They brought it back on track swiftly though and I was stunned at how good the Jaeger Bomb looked. Thought it would be impossible to land a decent looking one on such a big opponent but it really is 90% about the person knowing how to take the move, and Nightshade absolutely nailed it. 

Solid main event and another feel good win and celebration ending for Martina, long may she reign. 

Excellent show that, very sad I couldn't make it in person. I will be at Eve X the World tomorrow though. They haven't announced the full card, but last year that was the beauty of this show where anyone could be in town for All In Weekend. 

Only confirmed things:

Kay Lee Ray vs Miyu Yamashita - Eve International Title 

Skye Blue vs X 

Martina Eve Championship Open challenge

Marina Shafir vs ??? (It was going to be Aliss Ink but she posted on Instagram that she's injured. Gutting as she had a packed summer of shows lined up and this match would have been a big one for her. 

Aubrey Edwards guest refereeing

I also read somewhere that Tony Schiavone and Nigel McGuinness will be doing guest commentary. Would love to get a picture with uncle Tony so I hope that's true. 

 

 

 

 

 

[JLM]

Eve 153: Eve X The World 2

 Made by way down to the Big Penny for what has become Eve's "mania weekend" show. Gutted to have missed Mystery Wrestling earlier in the day at the same venue as it had both Dalton Castle and Orange Cassidy on the card. Next time I'm cramming in more shows. Absolutely packed inside the venue for this one, a sold out crowd making the most noise I've heard at an Eve monthly, a fantastic atmosphere and a crowd with very impressive stamina considering how swelteringly hot it was. 
 

Eve World Championship: Session Moth Martina vs Kris Statlander

Thunderous pop for Martina opening the show. One of the best entrances in wrestling, indy or otherwise. A lot of buzz about who would answer the open challenge this month and we got a surprise worthy of the hype with an unannounced Kris Statlander. Also got special guest referee Aubrey Edwards for this one, entering to a huge reaction as she did last year. Aubrey's great.

It's testament to the work that's been done with Martina that Statlander was fully the heel here. The Eve crowd adores Statlander but we love Martina the most. Stat leaned into it immediately which was great to see, flexing and posing and throwing in a bit of trash talk for good measure.. Good stuff here as you'd expect; Statlander dominating with her power advantage, Martina staying alive and finding flurries of faster, high flying offense. Statlander's offense in person is so great to watch; I never get used to just how devastating it all looks and sounds. It's just getting going and then all of a sudden Martina hits La Mistica, holds onto the arm and does a lovely transition straight into the Jaeger Bomb, then the place goes wild because Stat kicks out! That is not something that happens and Martina was fully justified in her Ruby Soho shocked face because half of the audience was doing it too. She recovers, catches a Statlander lariat and goes for it again, Stat powers out into Staturday Night fever, hitting two in a row for good measure and it's over! Martina loses in 10 minutes. Unbelievable gut punch of a result. Can't imagine many scenarios where I'd be unhappy with Stat winning a world title but this was a heartbreaker. What helped it land is that Martina's open challenges have opened the show before, so I didn't smell a rat based on the card placement either. I didn't doubt for a second that Martina would retain until she lost. 

Fascinated to see what's next. To me it feels early but the Martina story has been so well done so far that I will wait and see what they have in store. Wild opening to the show. I guess they have Elite Encounters Wolverhampton in November to build to, so maybe Martina trying to win it back there is the move? We shall see. Backstage promo from Stat pointing out that whenever she comes to Eve without a title she leaves with one, and that everyone needs to fear Stat Daddy. 

 

Amira Blair and Kingsley vs First Class Dolls (Alysha ad Frankie B)

Guest ring announcer Abi Cartwright, today going by M.C. Abi. She remains a consistent highlight of every Eve show. Amira has said she would hire Abi as her new assistant if Abi could find a match for her on this show, this is what Abi has delivered. I have never seen Kingsley before and I am now a fan. She sings her own entrance song complete with call and response hook and her excitement levels are about 10 times higher than the crowd's. Similar to B3CCA, I love a heel who thinks they are the biggest deal imaginable regardless of crowd response. She is also doing so much that Amra is obviously going to despise everything about her. 

Match is called off two minutes in as Ospreay announces an impromptu talent contest. First Class Dolls did a surprisingly good dance routine that was silly but actually had some impressive moves in there. Amira naturally tries to respond with a nose flute Dolly Parton tribute, only for Kinglsey to snatch the mic half way through. One of the most audacious manoeuvres I have ever seen at a wrestling show. Kingsley explains that she is "severely talented" and they do a sort of duet where they are also clearly competing with each other. 

This whole thing was complete nonsense, I was disappointed that Harley Cameron didn't get involved, but the commitment to the bit and the strengths of the performances made it so much fun to watch inside the venue. Kinglsey is brilliant, Amira and Abi are always brilliant and the First Class Dolls were great value as well, with a slight Iiconics/Inspiration vibe about them. 

There was also a brief match, a nice little sprint with the Dolls showing some good heel chops and a surprisingly hot hot tag from Amira. Best bit was Amira tagging in Kinglsley and yelling at her to "Get these hoes" and Kingsley yelling "I WILL GET THESE HOES!" as she was mid-flight landing a running double codebreaker. Post-match Amira turns on both Kingsley and Abi, stunnering both and leaving Abi, once again, without a job. 

 

Hyperactive, Hollie Barlow and Maya World vs Rhio, Alexxis Falcon and French Art

This match annoyed me. When I saw the line ups I was most interested to see how they'd manage Hollie Barlow vs Rhio, but instead the fact that they're currently in a particularly hate-filled feud was almost entirely ignored. I know they were trying to feature a lot of people and that they wanted Maya World to be a focus of the match, but it would have been so easy for the Barlow/Rhio feud to be woven into this. Keep them apart, let them have a few interactions or tease interactions, even have them brawl to the back and leave the match. Instead Barlow's joining in doing multi-person comedy spots. As a standalone match it was fine, it went at a brisk pace, I enjoy everyone involved, Maya World looked very impressive and had a spectacular hot tag. It was OK in a vacuum but I was taken out of it by them treating it as some kind of non-canon exhibition.

I did appreciate French Art trying to steal it using the title belts as this has become their favourite way to cheat. Also smart to have Maya World pin Alexxis Falcon. This led to post-match promos where Hyperactive are claiming a tag title shot because they beat the team with French Art on it, but French Art denying them because they weren't involved in the finish. 

Only time for one Burlesque act on this packed card BUT it warrants a mention because it involved a sexy John Hammond trying to seduce a T. Rex, and eventually succeeding in that endeavour. Tremendous. 

After this they put an extra promo in from Hollie Barlow backstage about how she wants Rhio dead. Where was that energy during the match?? Pffft. 

 

 

Spirit of Eve Championship: Skye Blue vs Emersyn Jayne vs Lucy Deathmatch 

Brand new title on the line for this match. I will confess that I didn't realise Lucy Deathmatch is Lucy Sky for way way too long. She has a very different look in this gimmick but I still felt quite stupid when I went to look up Lucy Deathmatch on my phone and realised I already know full well who she is. 

Skye Blue loves to Deathmatch and had a mad one against Emersyn Jayne a couple of months ago. She said when she came back to Eve she wanted a prize to fight for and the new Spirit of Eve Championship is it. To get straight to it, this match featured an INSANE blade job from Skye Blue. She was bleeding on the last show but this was horror movie-esque, accentuated by the lovely white ring gear she had chosen for the occasion. I've said before that she comes alive in these hardcore matches and this was a shining example, completely in her element soaked in blood and revelling in dishing out and receiving violence. 

Spoiler

 

Emersyn Jayne is just as much of a lunatic and Lucy Deathmatch provided a great base and a completely different style of opponent for them to contend with, but this was SkyeB Blu's show. So many great visuals, one great bit where Skye daubed blood all over her Artist of Stardom belt and stood there posing with the biggest grin on her face after wiping the blood from her eyes. A "you sick fuck" chant for that, not triggered by a a particular spot but more as a general descriptor for her. My favourite weapon attack was Skye using the point of the stars on her title belt to cut Jayne's forehead. Made a lot of sense as that belt does look pointy as hell, I only hope Stardom don't mind it being returned with blood stains all over it. 

Too many gnarly spots to mention, though the darts being jabbed through Emersyn Jayne's face so she looked like a walrus is a visual that will stay with me. Bad arrows. Tacks, tables, chairs etc. etc. What I like about Emersyn Jayne being a deathmatch enthusiast is that she's also a flashy and skilled high flyer. Has that Sabu factor where she delivers dazzling dare devil high spots as well as all the plunder business. Her and Skye Blue bringing that speed and Skye acting as a solid base for them meant that it had engaging action in between the weapon spots and didn't become a plodding bore in between them as these matches can do. 

This whole thing was a blast from start to finish, with all three working their socks off and Skye Blue becoming some kind of feral blood soaked monster person. The crowd was red hot throughout, they had fun twists and turns and I was genuinely surprised to see Lucy Deathmatch come away with the win. Love that they've found a more consistent role for her as she was a bit lost in the shuffle previously. She's an ideal first champion as she's a heel powerhouse and the perfect obstacle for a smaller daredevil challenger to overcome. Really nice finish for her here too; her frog splash always looks great, so landing it through a table onto tacks looked truly devastating. Great little post-match promo from her explaining the evolution from Lucy Sky to Lucy Deathmatch, very chuffed for her. 

This has generated the most buzz coming out of the show and I enjoyed it a lot, but it actually wasn't my favourite match on the show. More on that later. 

 

 

AAAW Tag Team Title match: Nyte Skye vs Nightshade and Nyla Rose 

The AAAW tag titles were the tag belts from GAEA Japan from 1996 until the promotion folded. They've been held by so many legends in the past: The Crush Gals, Aja Kong, Akira Hokuto, Manami Toyota, Meiko Satomura etc. etc. They were dormant from 2005 until Marvelous That's Women Pro Wrestling revived them via the 2022 Reactivation Tag League. Marvelous is run by the legendary Chigusa Nagayo, founder of GAEA and former holder of said tag titles as half of the aforementioned Crush Gals. I love that they've kept the history alive and that Marvelous now sanctions both the world title and tag titles from GAEA, still using both original title belt designs. 

Always a delight to get Nyla Rose on an Eve show, she is so beloved by the Eve crowd and is such a joy to watch in a small venue as she is naturally hilarious and radiates charisma. I love the idea of her and Nightshade as a foreign powerhouse tag team holding these belts too. This match was solid but nothing too special. The issue with the powerhouse tag team being the babyfaces in this scenario means the dynamic feels a bit off, plus there was a heat section on Nyla Rose that definitely went a bit too long and lost some momentum. Still, the crowd was hot enough for the hot tags and it was fun to see Nyte Skye get blasted with the big power offense. The Baldo Bomb/Swanton team finisher for Rose and Nightshade is lovely too. 

Post-match a teaser plays for a new cross over show: r Eve X Marvelous in January, with Saree coming over for it. Should be excellent. 

Skye Smitson accepted a hug from Nightshade after the match, referring back to Nightshade and Martina trying to reconcile with Skye on the last show as a call back to their earlier days as a unit together. This seemed very implausible to me, but I liked that they let it sit for a bit, allowed Nightshade and Nyla to do promos and announce the Marvelous collaboration show, *then* had Nyte Skye come back out and attack them before they left. Made it a bit more believable and made Nightshade seem less naïve. Martina out for the save but Nyte Skye lay her out as well. Still very curious to see what the direction is for Martina as this would be a step down, but I trust that there is a long term plan in place. 

 

 

Marina Shafir vs Chantal Jordan

 This was BY FAR my favourite thing on the show. I fucking loved everything about this, from the presentation to the match to the post-match to how it played in to the end of the show. Home run stuff. I have been a longstanding defender of Marina Shafir. Even pre-Death Riders I was sure she had something. She doesn't promo well but she has an incredible game face and a completely believable intensity. I also thought that this criticism that she doesn't gel with opponents or looks out of place doing pro wrestling was actually a strength in disguise.

For me, she is an example of what I want MMA fighter turned pro wrestler to look like. At its best, her in-ring style looks like a UFC fighter has found themselves in the middle of a pro wrestling ring and nobody is happy about it. The opponent is trying to do wrasslin' but nobody has told Marina, Marina is trying to choke or tap a motherfucker and they're out here doing flying head scissors and suicide dives. She isn't a pro wrestler who does MMA stuff as a nod to her background, she is actually trying to do MMA and Judo in the pro wrestling setting. It can go wrong and if the opponent isn't the right one it can look messy in a bad way, but for me when it works I think it's magic and gives her a truly unique selling point. The signs of it were there in her ROH squash matches. Some of my favourite squashes ever, as these poor jobbers were trying to have a wrestling match nd just got dismantled by this killer who was not interested in that at all. 

Post Death Riders she has added the other stuff to her game that brings it all together. She has settled on a simple but perfect look, she has got into PHENOMENAL shape, she has stopped trying add things to her game that aren't natural at all and focused in hard on what she does well. It was very notable that my regular Eve buddy who had never seen her before said "she has what the kids call 'aura'" and then by the end of the show "I think she is the coolest fucking person I have ever seen". That fact that I have seen the "you don't know me" promo and STILL felt that way after seeing this performance shows just how far she's come. 

This match was meant to be Shafir vs Aliss Ink and I would *love* to see that match some day, but sadly it was changed due to Ink suffering a serious injury that has written off her entire summer schedule. Jordan subbed in, and honestly I think this worked out better. Jordan has a very similar style to Aliss Ink but she is younger, less experienced and lower down the pecking order. This meant that we got Shafir in her absolute element, bullying and shit-testing an upstart to see what she's made of. Jordan could not have been more game for it either and I thought she put in the performance of a lifetime despite this only being ten minutes long. 

The other reason I root for Shafir is that I know how hard she works and how badly she wants to make pro wrestling work. When she went on Saraya's podcast it was awesome to hear how she stayed behind after a talent meeting and basically told Moxley she was at the end of her tether trying to put the pieces together,  so he made it his mission to help get her there. He already saw what her strengths were, pitched the Death Riders enforcer role and has become her number one backer, coach and mentor ever since. 

Imagine my delight then, when the lights went down for Shafir's entrance, the big screen lights up and we see her shadow boxing back stage. She starts to make her walk, high fives from Danny Garcia and Wheeler Yuta and then it's last minute sparring and pep talk from John Moxley! A backstage steel shutter opens and we get the full Death Riders through the crowd entrance in the Big Penny Social. Outstanding. The place went apeshit for this and I did as well, and this meant we had Moxley at ring side for the duration, selling every single move and looking like the proudest coach you've ever seen. 

The crowd was unglued for the duration of the match after that entrance. Perfect choice to make it 10 minutes long, the whole thing felt exciting and dangerous and like it could end at any moment. I don't think Shafir matches ever need to go longer than this, as again it makes sense with her MMA stylings. Either she chokes them out or knocks them out inside 10 minutes or she loses due to something outside of her remit. 

In this case it was very straightforward; Shafir doesn't consider Jordan a threat and basically forces her to earn her own loss, to prove that she is worth beating. Toying with her, ragdolling her with judo throws, giving her free shots and, at best, looking mildly irritated when Jordan manages to sneak any offense in. This means that when Chantal DOES manage to rock her with a couple of hits towards the end it feels huge and so well earned.  Even though this was almost an extended squash it still did wonders for Jordan and had the crowd getting loud for her despite them being rabidly pro-Shafir from the beginning. Loved the finish, as Shafir took Jordan's best shots, decided she'd done enough to be worthy of a switch to a higher gear, then violently dispatched her with the meanest judo throw of the match and then Mother's Milk for the immediate tap. Post-match she does grant the handshake, but even that is immediately followed up with a pie face.

Lovely stuff from start to finish, what an Eve debut for Shafir and I really really want to see that Aliss Ink match down the road. 

 

EVE International Championship: Miyu Yamashita vs Kay Lee Ray

Ahh this was an unfortunate one. These two are excellent, it's a match everyone was excited to see, worthy of the main event and they delivered a 26 minute epic that clearly sucked every ounce of energy out of both of them. They couldn't have done more, but they were undone by the heat inside the venue, the length of the show and the length of the match. I think, given that this was a bumper show and that they had time to realise how oppressive the heat was inside the Big Penny, that they should have cut ten minutes off this and done the epic another time. 

I've seen reviews of this saying that they didn't have chemistry but I didn't feel that at all. They had some lovely sequences and specific counters to one another, they played a great game of one upmanship and the story of them being so closely matched that they had to fight until one of them collapsed was very well told. However! The crowd was also ready to collapse. I knew what I was looking at was good but I was almost asleep on my feet at this point in the show. The crowd was not dead for this at all but you could tell it was a real effort for them to stay with this, particularly when the previous match had them at the loudest they'd been all night. 

So yeah, a high quality match between two excellent competitors, worthy of a title and worthy of a main event, but environmental and timing factors meant that it just wasn't the time and place to go 26 minutes. Would love to see them go again and I am confident the talk of them having no in-ring chemistry wouldn't come up again. 

 

Overall I loved this show as a live experience. It wasn't perfect I had some booking frustrations and the heat worked against the main event, but overall it was an electric live experience with some wonderful surprises, a tremendous atmosphere and a couple of particularly memorable matches in the deathmatch and Jordan vs Shafir. 

 

EDIT:

Forgot to include the chaotic ending to the show:

Yamashita poses with her title, Statlander comes out with hers and they tease title vs title. However! Kay Lee Ray returns and slaps Statlander and they get into a fight. They brawl to the back, Yamashita standing tall, then Marina Shafir appears from nowhere and chokes out Yamashita! So looking like Shafir vs Yamashita and Stat vs KLR for Elite Encounters in November. 

Edited September 11 by JLM

[Tim Healys Chutney Spoon]

Mystery Wrestling this Sunday has Evil Uno and The Blade on commentary. Man that's going to be a tough watch