Last year’s Wrestle Queendom was the largest all-women wrestling event in European history with Wrestle Queendom II. It was a tremendous card and fantastic show headlined by Charlie Morgan vs. Sammii Jayne for the EVE Championship. If you’ve never watched EVE, this show is the perfect introduction to what the promotion is about: punk, feminist women’s wrestling and showing why they do it better than the guys.
Wrestle Queendom II promises to be an incredible sequel, as EVE returns to York Hall on June 30th. Last year’s show went big with gimmicks, including a ladder match and a War Games match. This year’s card doesn’t have the gimmicks, but it does showcase what EVE is all about: the wrestling and the characters. With each match, I’m going to share what my gut is telling me the result will be. And knowing that I’m not good at predictions, that should be fun. Let’s get into the card:
Wonder of Stardom Championship
Arisa Hoshiki (c) vs. Little Miss Roxxy
Arisa Hoshiki (affiliated with Stardom’s babyface STARS stable, and an original for Stardom) dethroned Momo Watanabe back in May to win the White belt. It’s her second defense and her first defense of the title outside Japan. Roxxy is no slouch, though, and her speed and agility should make for a fun matchup with Hoshiki. Look for Hoshiki to potentially murder Roxxy with kicks, because that’s just kind of what she does.
Prediction: Arisa Hoshiki retains. EVE has answered fans saying that the title being on the line makes the result too predictable by noting that the Stardom partnership will continue. That said, I don’t see a title change happening in this match.
Jordynne Grace vs. Laura Di Matteo
On one side of the ring, we’ve got Thick Mama Pump. She’s the current Progress Women’s Champion, had a standout showing at All In, and has been gaining further exposure with Impact. She’s one hell of a wrestler and made her EVE debut last year in a match against Viper. Her opponent, Laura Di Matteo, is a babyface who has been on a hot streak and thinks she’s ready to move up the card. I think the promo video EVE has put out for this match says it all:
Prediction: I think Laura’s poised to move up the card a bit, and a win here would solidify that, so I’ve got to go for her.
Kagetsu vs. Mayu Iwatani
This is a battle between the leaders of two of Stardom’s big factions: Oedo Tai and STARS. Prime Minister Kagetsu will be the heel here to Mayu’s face, and you can bet your bottom dollar that this match is going to be an aerial spectacle. Pay attention, because there’s a really good chance for this to be the show-stealer.
Prediction: I am seriously just stabbing in the dark here and picking Kagetsu.
“Motherfucking Deathmatch”
Session Goth Martina vs. Su Yung
Martina is channeling her darker side for this rematch from Bigger than Shesus. Su made her EVE debut defeating former Ace of Eve Charlie Morgan before setting her sights on the Session Moth. Will weapons and a goth-er attitude help Martina get back on track? Going back to how they met, you hope so for Martina’s sake.
Prediction: Su Yung wins.
Inaugural EVE Tag Team Championship
Medusa Complex (Charli Evans & Millie McKenzie) vs. Wrestle Friends (Erin Angel & Jetta)
In case you’ve been living under a rock, Millie McKenzie went bad on us. And she and Charli Evans have become fast friends, wrecking their way through EVE like a tornado of malevolence. For months they’ve been particularly picking on the Wrestle Friends, whom they’ve harassed at every turn. It’s an inaugural title match, but the grudge match aspect should help give it extra heat.
Prediction: It’d be great to see the Wrestle Friends give Medusa Complex their comeuppance, but I really like a strong heel for an inaugural champion, personally. I believe Medusa Complex will walk away with the titles through some kind of nefarious shenanigans.
EVE International Championship
Utami Hayashishita (c) vs. Jamie Hayter vs. Nina Samuels
So if you read the indie spotlight profile I wrote last week on Jamie Hayter, you know she’s a heel. Well, that’s not exactly the case right this moment. See, Nina Samuels is even more despised of a heel. And with Utami being both a tweener (because Queen’s Quest) and not on home turf, Jamie Hayter is somehow, despite being a complete bastard, the default face here. This should be a very good match with an extremely weird dynamic. Another one that could easily steal the show.
Prediction: There’s a reason I don’t predict the White Belt changing hands, and it’s because I think it’s more likely that between the two Stardom wrestlers defending Utami is more likely to drop. Jamie Hayter winning the title feels like a no-brainer to me.
EVE Championship
Kay Lee Ray (c) vs. Viper
Where do you even begin with this match? The rivalry between KLR and Viper is insane, and their matches always deliver. Just look at their Queen of Insanity match in ICW.
This will not be that, but it will be something special. This match is not only for the EVE Championship, but it is also the farewell match for both wrestlers as they leave EVE behind to go on to WWE. This presents a conundrum of sorts. One of them will still be champion at the end of the night. And there is no Wild Card ladder match like last year. In a post on Facebook from May 16th, EVE explicitly said there will be no booking around the fact that both are leaving:
Viper and KLR deserve to main event one on one at WQ2 for the EVE Championship and that is exactly how it will stay and we know – just like they said at SHE Persisted on Saturday – they’re going to tear the f’n roof off the place one last time in what is a celebration of the pair and EVE and our time working and growing together on Sunday June 30.
And that’s really all you need to know about this match – it’s a celebration of EVE, of Viper and KLR, and of everything British women’s wrestling is, was, and can be.
Prediction: What I want to say is that this match blows the roof so far off the joint that EVE becomes the biggest promotion in European history off the strength of this match. I want to say that EVE then becomes the biggest, most hyped thing in all of wrestling ever. What I will instead say is I think Viper is going to win this one. Regardless of who wins, I see two possibilities for what happens after. The winner may vacate the title. Alternately, they may grant a younger wrestler an immediate shot before losing it, passing the torch from one generation of EVE wrestlers to the next beyond Wrestle Queendom II.
Whatever the case, Wrestle Queendom II w is going to be must watch.
