REVIEW: Pro Wrestling EVE - 15 Billion Years of Cosmic Shevolution
Credit: Pro Wrestling EVE
Pro Wrestling EVE: 15 Billion Years of Cosmic Shevolution
Thursday, February 1, 2024
Big Penny Social, London
Reviewer: Iwan Mackenzie (@Iwanmack)
After a dodgy start to the year with a massive power cut to the Big Penny Social before the Multiverse Rumble show, EVE was back at the venue, this time with all the lights on before bedtime as they introduced some new roster members to the promotion.
I got to the venue around 7pm or so, after treating myself to a pay day treat at Bleecker Burger in Victoria; the doors opened about 15-20 mins late but the show did pretty much start on time, so that made up for it.
The venue was set up for a smaller crowd this time round, compared to the Multiverse Rumble show, but will say this was a good idea though because it gave the show an intimate vibe, which was a good way to go about it and from what I’ve seen of the live stream, it looked good on film.
We had comedian and WrestleClub Podcast host Sikisa as our host and I thought she did an excellent job, having friendly banter with the crowd that didn’t drag on and showing a lot of passion for the role; I’d definitely bring her back sooner rather than later.
Alex Windsor vs Zizi
Credit: Pro Wrestling EVE
This was a really good opener, they had a very good feeling out process at the beginning with Zizi very much going hold for hold with Windsor. After that it was all action from the pair as they both started using big power moves and strikes.
You can tell that there’s something special with Zizi, she’s so polished for her age (only 20-years-old!). She comes across well with a good presentation and her in-ring work is as good as anyone I’ve seen on this scene. You can tell that she was that good because being put in there with Alex Windsor, who’s one of the best on the scene, is a big challenge and I thought Zizi really rose to the challenge. She definitely should be a regular for these shows.
In the end though, it wasn’t to be for the Nottingham native as Alex Windsor won with the Sharpshooter.
Before our next scheduled match Nina Samuels came out for a promo and spoke about the ‘Pick Your Poison’ stipulation for tonight. She then introduced the fans to Harley Hudson who was making her single debut with EVE, after having last appeared in September 2022 in a losing effort, teaming with Rayne Leverkusen against Rhia O’Reilly and Nightshade.
Harley was acting like a proper heel, she called herself the most in-shape wrestler on the scene (apart from Nina), bigged herself up as being one of the best wrestlers on the scene and the best thing out of Liverpool since Cilla Black. I thought this was a very good heel promo, definitely one of the strengths that Harley has already.
After this, Safire Reed and LA Taylor came out to stop the talking and remind Nina and Harley of the challenge ahead of them for later on.
Myla Grace vs Daisy Jenkins
Credit: Pro Wrestling EVE
This was a match where I came in blind as I’ve seen very little of Myla Grace from NXT UK, and with Daisy Jenkins I had seen nothing but did recognise her name from New Wave.
So I was pleased that this was a good match. Now there were some ropey moments and it did feel rough around the edges, but fundamentally this was sound.
I’ve got to say I was very impressed with Myla Grace, she looked very polished in the ring and her look was on point. She reminded me of an early Shawn Micheals in 1992-1993 when he was developing the HBK Character, same kind of moves and charisma.
In the end, we had Myla win this match with a Cross Rhodes like move.
Skye Smitson & ECHO vs Session Moth Martina & Maya Matthews
Credit: Pro Wrestling EVE
This was presented as subverting expectations by mixing up the teams and having unusual combos. ECHO and Skye seemed to hit off straight away whilst Martina and Maya created the more odd couple dynamic that the match was advertising.
I thought this was a good match and I was thankful that the comedy between Skye and Martina was kept to a minimum; it’s something I’m not a big fan of personally, but I can see why the crowd was so into it.
I thought the performances were generally consistent across the board. ECHO was somebody I hadn’t seen before and I was impressed by her. I'd like to see her in a singles match next time to see more of what she can do.
The same can be said of Maya Matthews as I know how good they are from the work I’ve seen from RevPro and Purpose and they did really well here as well, but would like to see them in a singles match next time round.
We had Skye winning this for her team with a Smitson Effect on Maya. Afterwards she cut a promo to the camera where she told The Royal Aces that she was coming for the Tag Team Championships.
Safire Reed vs Harley Hudson
Credit: Pro Wrestling EVE
I thought this was the best match of the show, it was a match that going in I was most looking forward to. What made it so good was the fact that these two are two of the best wrestlers under the age of 25 in this country - and that’s a pretty high standard when you also consider people like Luke Jacobs, Leon Slater and RKJ in that list.
I’m so happy to say that this was a bloody brilliant match; this may well be the best Harley Hudson match I've seen. She was so on point in this match, from her moves in the ring and her mannerisms to the heel work which was top notch. It very much reminded me of her work in MegaSlam as part of Team Nasty.
As always, Safire Reed was fantastic too and I thought these two had great chemistry. It’s definitely a match I’d love to see again somewhere down the line, maybe even with a swap in the dynamic. Safire wins this with a Running Shining Wizard.
Before the main event we had Fist Club favourite Loose Willis perform as the cabaret act for the evening. They paid tribute to the one and only “Macho Man” Randy Savage and really enjoyed it, I liked how they cater their acts to wrestling.
LA Taylor vs Nina Samuels
Credit: Pro Wrestling EVE
So the reason I bought a ticket to this show was purely because LA Taylor was booked. I’m a massive fan of her work and hadn’t seen her live since Hammerlock Wrestling in January 2023, where she faced Safire Reed.
This time round she was Safire’s pick to face Nina Samuels. I will give EVE credit for heavily promoting LA Taylor in the lead up to this event and selling her as a big star, I do think that was a wise decision.
LA’s entrance genuinely made her feel like a superstar and she soaked it all in. I was so happy to see this and major credit has to be given to Nina Samuels here for giving LA the best introduction into EVE that she could. These two worked together really well.
The leg work in particular by Nina was really good to see (in particular the Chop Block, because Chop Blocks rule the world!) and made sense in the story as LA was easily overpowering Nina in the early stages of the match, meaning Nina had to find a way of breaking her down and being able to work the match to her own pace.
But even with all the hard work she put in Nina still couldn’t beat LA. LA was mounting comebacks and using all the available strength to demolish the Nina Samuels Show…this is when Nina started to cheat. She tried to use the EVE belt but Safire came out to stop her, so Nina took her out with the belt instead.
Later on, after more kickouts from LA, Nina went to use a chair on her but Safire grabbed the end of it and after a bit of Chuckle Brothers with the chair (to me, to you) Safire hit Nina in the gut with the chair for the DQ Win to Nina. Nina escapes again.
There’s a bit of tension between LA and Safire afterwards, before Skye and Martina came out to defuse the situation. As the two came to an agreement Safire apologised to LA and challenged Nina Samuels to a No DQ match at the next show on March 7th.
Overall:
I really enjoyed this show as a live experience, I enjoyed the smaller setting of the venue which gave it a more intimate feeling. The matches were pretty consistently good with a couple of really good matches in Zizi/Windsor and Taylor/Samuels and a great match between Reed/Hudson.
Really hoping the debuts on this show come back on a regular basis for EVE to help fill out the roster and add some diversity and different styles to the shows. I’m hoping for another SHEVOLUTION show soon because there’s still women on the scene like Artemis, Lily Winter, Lucy Sky, Kira Chimera, Ronnie Knocks and more that have more than earned a shot to be on an EVE show and showcase their talents.