REVIEW: Pro Wrestling EVE - Women Behaving Badly

Pro Wrestling EVE: Women Behaving Badly
229 The Venue, London
Wednesday, March 8, 2023
Reviewer: Dave Lovell (@itsDaveJaVu)

As I walked into the Nando's in Great Portland Street, I was already deep into a crazy marathon of wrestling. I saw the future winner of wXw's 16 Carat Gold tournament in action, I had unexpectedly met All Japan Pro Wrestling's head referee, and to top it off, witnessed a bunch of ACTUAL MURDERS!

My oh my, did EVE's swansong at the 229 have a lofty act to follow!

Chicken consumed, and myself and the crew headed to the 229, where there was a pretty much sold out crowd, barring the folks who couldn't make it due to the unseasonably wintery weather for early March.

The Uprising (Rhia O’Reilly, Skye Smitson & Nightshade) vs Rhio, Laura Di Matteo and Rayne Leverkusen

If you remember my Thursday Night Riot review, I heaped praise on the trios match on that show, as it featured six big personalities in EVE in a full-blooded match that saw a lot of crowd investment.

Sadly, I can't say this about this trios match, which pitted EVE's Big Bad Group, The Uprising, against Rhio and EVE Tag Team Champions, Laura Di Matteo and Rayne Leverkusen.

On a six-match card with great matches I was genuinely interested in, this was number six for me. No fault of any of the wrestlers to be honest, but this was a match I was glad to see the back of.

My mate Liam LOVES the Uprising, but he loves matches where the baddies dominate their opponents with little comeuppance, and that's exactly what happened, because that's an Uprising match, for better or worse.

This wasn't a bad match at all but try comparing this to the show’s main event for example. I have little else to add, other than it was an expected Uprising win after a belt shot on Rhio after twelve minutes. I say expected, as I had pretty much predicted this result in the Nando's earlier on. Adding insult to injury, a loss like this does someone like Rhio no favours, quite frankly.

On the bright side, this surely sets up a rematch from EVE 100 for the Tag Team Titles in the future, and adds additional jeopardy to Laura and Rayne's reign as champions.

Lizzy Evo Promo

Before our second match, Lizzy Evo addressed the Faithful, and I tell you what, this was a GREAT promo from the challenger to the EVE Championship. She derided everyone who gave her zero chance against Miyu Yamashita, and reminded those in attendance that she has beaten numerous EVE Champions on her way to the title match.

This was a great promo, but the trouble is, this may have gotten some folks on board with Lizzy, which was probably not the intention!

Nina Samuels vs B3CCA

Up second was Superstar vs Popstar, as B3CCA made her EVE return against the former EVE Champion and expert baker, Nina Samuels. And I enjoyed this one, the action itself was back and forth, with more than a fair bit of time on the outside.

I'll say this having seen her a few days earlier in the same building, but as far as imports go, B3CCA has been really good value for me. She also had a great opponent in Nina, who as well as being one of British Wrestling's most solid hands, was excellent at being a bit of a dick at times in this one.

The only mark against this match for me was that there was shenanigans in the finish as The Ava came down to distract B3CCA, setting her up for Nina's modified GTS for the win in 14 minutes.

That being said, Nina and Ava were teaming the following night, so this did serve its purpose, but coming after an Uprising match, where shenanigans are mandatory, it did run the risk of killing the morale in the crowd somewhat...

But despite that, it was a thumbs up from me.

Millie McKenzie vs Kasey

Our first half main event saw two EVE mainstays paired up against each other, with both wanting the win for differing reasons. For Kasey, it was to stop a losing streak in EVE she's had since SHE-1 last June, while for Millie, she wanted another shot at the EVE Championship, and a victory here could mathematically guarantee her another shot at the title.

And that led to an absolute cracker of a match. I looked back at this online afterwards, and noted that Millie targeted the back of Kasey - an Achilles Heel of the Mother of Chaos for a few months now - while Kasey went for the wrist of Millie, which would preclude Millie from hitting those trademark suplexes.

But a constant of this whole match was that it was fought at an intensity and urgency befitting of the stakes in play. A huge suicide dive by Kasey wiped out the front row right side, but follow up knees in the corner missed, allowing Millie to hit a second rope German suplex. A huge spear earned Millie the three count in thirteen minutes, and that last minute was a nice capper on an excellent match, hats off to both wrestlers there.

The Royal Aces (Charlie Morgan & Jetta) vs Queens of Kanpai (Session Moth Martina & Natsu Sumire)

Our second half kicked off with the Royal Aces, who have been on Top Shithouse Form since WrestleQueendom, taking on a team I've wanted to see live for years, as Session Moth Martina reunited with Natsu Sumire after four years.

Now fellow Grapple Theory reviewer Iwan enjoys Session Moth, or indeed, any drunken antics in wrestling, like a cup of cold hangover sick... and I as a drinker, respect his opinion, but it is also my opinion he's dead wrong.

Now under the surface, both Queens of Kanpai are genuinely good wrestlers - but most of the EVE Faithful weren't there to see either Martina or Natsu wrestle, they wanted to see their slightly inebriated hi-jinks live.

And for comedy like this to work, you need someone more dead-pan and serious opposite, and the Aces were brilliant at this side of it.

At times, the match got competitive as well, but the Aces got the better of this in the end, with Jetta hitting the Clothesline from HRH to set up a swanton from Charlie Morgan for the pin on Martina in ten and a half minutes.

I personally wouldn't mind seeing the Royal Aces go on a rampage in EVE's tag division on their way to the titles, quite frankly.

And to conclude - yeah, Iwan's still dead wrong, this was entertaining to me, and that's what matters.

Amira/Safire Promo

Next up, we had Amira come to the ring to talk to the crowd, and she brought out Safire Reed, who seemed puzzled as to what was about to happen.

Then Amira called for Dann Read to hit the ring too. Safire also took the mic and thankful for her opportunities in EVE, wanted to be put in an actual scheduled match (she's been almost a super-sub in EVE since SHE-1) in order to prove to the fans she belongs in EVE on merit, rather than because she brought her gear to shows.

Dann then talked about Safire himself, before dropping a bombshell - Safire will compete at the Dome in Tufnell Park on May 5th, on the first night of EVE's 13th Anniversary weekend, against another young wrestler who's been making waves worldwide - Billie Starkz! A genuine "Holy Shit!" moment if I ever witnessed one.

Amira then announced that before that, Safire would have another scheduled match for "That's Not A Moonsault", which is EVE's Dome debut, on April 7th against Kasey.

God damn, I LOVED this segment. Safire is a genuine future star, and it's great to see her get these huge opportunities in EVE. Credit to Amira as well, she's really underrated as far as her gift of the gab goes, this role of Safire's hype woman was great to see.

Alexxis Falcon vs Miyuki Takase

The penultimate match at Women Behaving Badly saw one of BritWres's best get a well-deserved opportunity to prove herself against one of the best from Japan.

I've been singing Alexxis Falcon's praises for a long time, and seeing her in this match was a genuine selling point for me and this show. Conversely, I discovered Miyuki Takase during the height of the COVID lockdowns, and she seemed to jump off the page anywhere she competed, so she became a wrestler I wanted to see in the UK once shows returned in a big hurry.

Also, before I get into the match, Alexxis donned some awesome Disney inspired gear, and Takase came out with the DIANA Tag Team Championship belt - she's held that title for about a year now with Haruka Umesaki, as the tag team Luminous. And yes, before you ask, they're an awesome team. But I digress...

You don’t even need me to tell you that this was a brilliant match. It clocked in at about eleven minutes, but that time just breezed by, a great indicator of a high quality match. Alexxis absolutely shone in this, in possibly her best EVE match to date. Meanwhile, Takase looked great in her UK debut, and showcased some lethal looking chops in the duration of the match.

Both wrestlers here highlighted some excellent power moves too, I noted. Anyway, Miyuki scored the win with a second rope leg drop, and that concluded a genuine sleeper hit of a match, and I genuinely hope one day, Alexxis gets a chance to go to Japan and do a wrestle there. I think she would do well over there.

Miyu Yamashita (c) vs Lizzy Evo - EVE Championship

Main event time, and this was a match you could set your watch to as far as being flipping excellent was concerned. Miyu is, in the eyes of many of my friends, one of the best wrestlers in the world, and you knew she would show it here. But many were wondering if Lizzy Evo could step up, and the short answer is: of course she did.

From Miyu getting streamers, to both wrestlers getting big reactions before and during the match, this title match had a big fight feel from the off. Lizzy may have endeared some of the crowd to her somewhat with her promo earlier, but the champion was still vastly popular, and with the crowd fired up, both champion and challenger had an absolute battle.

About halfway through, Lizzy barely dodged a step-up kick by Miyu, leaving both at a standing stalemate. After a moment, the crowd EXPLODES into applause and an "EVE!" chant, This came organically as well, much to my surprise as much as anyone else in the building. but a tacit show of respect from the 229 crowd to these two gutsy competitors.

Moments later, and both women hit stereo kicks on each other after a massive exchange, another "EVE!" chant. Lizzy hit a bridging German for a super close near fall, her bridge lasting just a half second too short to earn her the title.

Miyu responded with a Death Valley Driver for a close two count. More duelling chants from the crowd, EVERY SINGLE FAN is invested. Another flurry by Lizzy, ending in another German, but Miyu hits a Hail Mary in a huge kick to the face, followed by the vaunted Skull Kick for the well-deserved three count just shy of the fifteen minute mark.

If there was a match as deserving of a standing ovation from the EVE Faithful, this was it. An INCREDIBLE match. Without hyperbole, Miyu is arguably the strongest EVE Champion in the title's 12 year history, but for me, the MVP of this whole show was Lizzy Evo - she stepped up to the plate, exceeded any expectation had of her, and provided Miyu with her sternest test to date.

We closed the show with new number one contender Millie McKenzie, who claimed that both of them are even at two wins each in their series, owing to Millie pinning Miyu in a tag match a couple of months ago in Japan. So Millie called her shot, and we will get to witness these two once again at on May 5th for the EVE Championship... in a 30 Minute Iron Woman Match!

Now, the last Iron Woman Match I saw some three and a half years ago in Leicester was:

1. not only the reason I missed the first NJPW Royal Quest show, but

2. also involved a member of the Medusa Complex, and

3. was a genuine Match of the Year candidate.

My Lord will these two have massive shoes to fill.

Overall, EVE had a good farewell to the 229 after over three years as its top venue. Maybe a step down from EVE 100 for some, which was a surprise hit despite its pre-show issues.

Out of six matches, three of them (the main event, Alexxis vs Takase and Kasey vs Millie) are well worth watching back. While not for some, I enjoyed the Royal Aces vs Queens of Kanpai for light entertainment purposes, and Nina vs B3CCA was solid. Even the opening trios match was fine, albeit an overly predictable set-up for the future.

A thumbs up from me, and I hope to be there in person the next couple of months at the Dome for EVE, with some cracking stuff already set up for those shows.

That's all I've got for now, follow me on the socials at @itsDaveJaVu, and while I'm at it, give EVE a follow at @ProWrestlingEVE.

REVIEW: Pro Wrestling EVE - Women Behaving Badly

REVIEW: Pro Wrestling EVE - Riot! At The Yard Theatre

REVIEW: PROGRESS Wrestling - Gene Munny’s Daft Lad Emporium