On Sunday at York Hall, Pro-Wrestling: EVE put on their biggest show of the year, Wrestle Queendom II. The card was stacked, and the event, on the whole, was great. It was a night full of elation and sorrow, and it will be a night of huge ramifications for EVE going forward. Enough preamble; time to review this show.
To kick off the show, Rhia O’Reilly and Emily Read introduce the show. Most importantly, they introduce Sierra Loxton as the special commentator for the night. Loxton was injured earlier in June at EVE’s She Rules event, but it was good to see her mobile and able to be a part of Wrestle Queendom II. A really good hype package for the show is the final bit of fluff before the opening match.
Yuu vs. Nightshade
This unannounced match was spun out of a triple threat match at EVE’s She’s Gonna Start a Fight event the night before Wrestle Queendom II. Yuu defeated Jordynne Grace and Nightshade, but she pinned Grace to win. This match has a bit of a grudge feel to it and features no lock-up to start. There’s some good early aggression before the match slows a bit, though there are fun moments to be found. Yuu catches and throws Nightshade at one point, and Nightshade does a very nice looking German suplex on Yuu. A key thread in this match is that quite often one of the two will attempt a move and fail, only for the other to succeed. In the end, Yuu wins with a Yoshi Tonic.
A solid opener that helped the crowd get fired up.
Kagetsu (with Jamie Hayter and Oedo Moth Martina) vs. Mayu Iwatani
Kagetsu’s entrance is pure presence. She really is the prime minister of Stardom, and Dann Read on commentary even notes that “when you spit water like mist that means you get to run a company.” This is a Stardom exhibition, and EVE commentary makes sure we know it. This is “non-canon” and the referee is abiding by Stardom standards for behavior regarding interference. It’s probably old hat for those used to Stardom, but it can be jarring to those who aren’t.
This match is all pace, all action, and just excellent work all throughout. There’s a lot I feel I’m missing in terms of context because I don’t really keep up with Stardom, but I was highly entertained. The final result was a time limit draw, but importantly Kagetsu hits a 450 after the bell rings and gets the visual pin. I had predicted Kagetsu to win, and I feel like this gets me a half point.
This is just really excellent all around. Go out of your way to watch this match.
Laura Di Matteo vs. Jordynne Grace
This match is all about pride, and both wrestlers show a lot here. Laura gets in the initial offense until flattened by a big lariat from Jordynne. Jordynne plays the heel for the match, using her superior strength to work as a monster. Throughout the match, they sell their dislike for each other fantastically. At one point Laura goes to walk the guard rail and attempt a rana, but Jordynne catches her and powerbombs her into the ring apron. Laura’s resilience is the key point of the story here, kicking out twice from a big Michinoku driver. After hitting a tombstone for two, Laura transitions smoothly into some sort of submission and gets the win. I’m thinking she has a good chance at being the next Ace of EVE.
Another absolutely excellent match. Watch this one too.
Medusa Complex (Charli Evans & Millie McKenzie) vs. Wrestle Friends (Jetta & Erin Angel) vs. Diamond Vogue Collective (Jinny & Mercedes Blaze) for the EVE Tag Team Championships
At She Brawls in Brighton on Friday, DVC beat Viper and Kay Lee Ray, leading Rhia O’Reilly to add them to this match. Triple threat tag matches are awkward at the best of times when only two wrestlers can be legal, but they made the best of this match. Commentary works hard to sell that the feud is between Wrestle Friends and Medusa Complex, with DVC trying to sneak a win. Pivotshare went down shortly after Jetta made a hot tag in, and live viewership wasn’t able to see the finish of the match until the replay. In the end, DVC ate the fall as Jetta tapped out Mercedes with a chancery submission. The rivalry between Medusa Complex and Wrestle Friends is bound to continue. I got this one completely wrong, predicting Medusa Complex to win.
It’s an above average match, but it’s hurt by the structure the match forces upon the wrestlers.
Session Goth Martina vs. Su Yung in an Undeath match
I have a lot of notes on this match, as it is completely full of shenanigans. I’ll just transcribe my notes verbatim. Martina with a Beer Cando stick. Why is there a baking tray? Because York Hall has a kitchen. Martina juices early. Suplex into the chairs in the crowd. Staple gun by Martina to Su. On stage, they crack some beers and set up chairs and Martina suckers Su into beating up with beer.
A giant baby, probably one of Martina’s kids, revives her with beer. DDT onto a bag of baby teeth. Ladder into the ring. A door into the ring. Undead bridesmaids come to the ring. Running death valley driver through the door for a two count for Su. Bridesmaids set up a table, Martina mists Su and sentons her through a table. Thumbtacks. Both into tacks from Martina’s move. Bridesmaids break the pin. Superplex through chairs and Panic Switch for Su to win. Predicted the winner right on this one.
This was far too long and meandered aimlessly toward its conclusion.
Charlie Morgan came out to the ring next to announce her retirement. This caught the crowd so off guard that it probably hurt the live audience’s ability to invest in the matches from here on out.
Match 6: Roxxy vs. Arisa Hoshiki (c) for the Wonder of Stardom Championship
The match starts out pretty well with murder kicks by Hoshiki, but a very weird armbar transition by Roxxy shows that there’s a shaky foundation here. There’s neat stuff happening throughout the match, but it never quite cranks into the next gear successfully, especially after they go outside the ring. Hoshiki hits a really big running knee for two. As the match goes home, there’s some awkward positioning during a sunset flip powerbomb. Soon enough, Hoshiki kicks Roxxy in the head to retain. Prediction survives.
The overall idea of this match is fine, but it went off the rails pretty quickly and never really got back on track.
Jamie Hayter vs. Nina Samuels vs. Utami Hayashishita (c) for the EVE international Championship
The match was announced as an elimination match, which has poor Sierra Loxton very confused at points. This match is just ovaries-out incredible right from the beginning. Hayter gets a bit of early offense. There are surprise team-ups to be found all throughout, which helps keep things interesting. Utami putts a double half-crab on Nina and Utami, while at another point Nina and Jamie work together.
The first elimination belongs to Jamie Hayter, who eliminates Utami. Utami kicks out of a superplex into a falcon arrow, but she can’t kick out of a suplex onto the knee. Nina Samuels presses immediately to try and secure victory, even going so far as to bring in a chair, hitting Jamie in the crotch with the chair to try and beat her. She kicks out and manages to get a curb stomp off onto Sierra. Once again, I predicted this result. I’m doing a lot better than I thought I would on predictions.
This is my match of the night. It’s a tough call all around, but this match felt like the best by a hair.
Viper vs. Kay Lee Ray (c) for the EVE Championship
Viper and Kay Lee Ray both know how to give a sendoff, and this match will be their last in EVE at Wrestle Queendom II. A big part of the story here is that they know each other so well they have to innovate if there’s any hope of beating the other. At one point both KLR and Viper trade Canadian Destroyers. Up until that point, it’s all fun and games. Both women are insanely talented, and they know how to make this show go from friendly fun to an attempted murder fest.
Viper kicks out of a Swanton. KLR tries to prevent Viper from hitting a Vader Bomb before trying to keep her from ditching her mast. Viper Driver for two. Gory Bomb for two. KLR misses another Swanton attempt. Viper eventually catches KLR in the corner and delivers a massive top rope Viper Driver to win the match. My prediction game is pretty good for this episode.
Following the match, Rhia O’Reilly comes out and promises to show KLR and Viper a special treat to honor them. Just as it’s getting rolling, Livvii Grace and Nightshade join her and all three beat down Viper and boot KLR out of the way. As Rhia O’Reilly is EVE’s matchmaker and can book herself into matches whenever she wants. After a false start where Viper hits a Viper Driver onto the belt, Rhia does put Viper down and pins her to take the championship. Big heel turn by Rhia, becoming the corrupt authority figure.
Yet another absolutely fantastic match.
Final Verdict: This show is absolutely stacked, and you owe it to yourself to watch it if you like wrestling at all. The International Title, World Title, Stardom exhibition, and Jordynne vs. Laura are all match of the night contenders. Even the worst matches on the card deliver something to look forward to. Tell me you ever imagined you’d see a bag of baby teeth brought by a giant baby used in a match, and I’ll show you a complete and total liar. You owe it to yourself to check out Wrestle Queendom II.
