@LauraNMauro
For this week’s My Week I’m going back in time to last Saturday, where I was lucky enough to catch Pro Wrestling EVE’s SHEVivor Series in Bethnal Green. Though I’ve been a fan of EVE since Wrestle Queendom, I’ve never actually had the opportunity to catch a live event, and though I knew I’d enjoy it – how could I not? – I was unprepared for just how fantastic the EVE experience is in person. The atmosphere is that of the best punk gig you’ve ever been to. Everyone is there to enjoy themselves – there’s no griping or dickhead behaviour and I suspect there’d be very low tolerance if it ever arose. The matches themselves were fantastic – the close proximity to the ring makes you appreciate just how hard these girls hit the mat, and just how strong they are (you’ve not lived until you’ve seen Toni Storm deadlift suplex Jordynne Grace a few yards away). I genuinely believe that EVE is some of the best wrestling around right now, irrespective of gender, and it’s my hope that their profile skyrockets in 2019 – with their Stardom-collaborative Wrestle Queendom 2 in June that looks eminently possible.
Outside of EVE, NXT continues to be appointment viewing. Even during its relatively quiet weeks it’s worth tuning in – this week we were treated to the return of Tyler Breeze as he took on Ricochet for the North American Championship, which was fun and unexpected. I can’t quite believe they’re just giving away a Black/Gargano cage match next week, but I’m not about to complain. NXT consistently delivers, doesn’t screw up its storytelling, and doesn’t patronise its audience with stupid promos and lacklustre rivalries – the main roster would do well to learn from its example.
@RoxBlackburn
This week I watched Raw, and it was odd. They had Seth Rollins come out and address the state of things, and I feel he
To have a TLC match on the go home show before the actual PPV was well received and the match itself was pretty good. It was also an obvious cash in to try and boost ratings.
I wish they would drop these weird Question & Answer segments with the women. They are totally awful.
Speculation of Finn Balor’s well-being has had me Twitter searching his name more than I usually do but he did show up at the WWE house show last night, so fingers crossed we’ll see him fit and well tonight.
I look forward to Monday and the
Also, huge thanks to my PWJ colleagues for the match/promotion recommendations. I am getting through them.
@tvtimelimit
Earlier in the week, I watched the ‘Road to 18th Anniversary’ show that wXw put up as a Marquee Event. Technical issues has prevented it from being posted as of the time this will go up, but it was a decent show. The main event (Ilja Dragunov and Arrows of Hungary versus Absolute Andy and JayFK) was good, as was the Timothy Thatcher versus Lucky Kid contest, though a notch lower than Kid’s breakout performance when the two met at 16 Carat Gold. There was also a lot of build towards the 18th Anniversary in terms of booking matches. Unfortunately, the lack of Shotgun does hurt the product as it does mean a lot of the programmes feel rushed, although this ‘Road to…’ did do a decent job of getting the pieces in the right place going forward.
David Starr is the challenger for the wXw Unified World Heavyweight Title at 18th Anniversary, which is positive as it means we’ve moved away from the Andy versus Dragunov feud that did feel like it was a case of diminishing returns. Whether they move the title on to Starr is another story. Starr winning and building to a big match against Dragunov (hinted at at the end of the ‘Road to…’ show) at 16 Carat Gold, but Dragunov is also very in demand at the moment so this may not be the case.
Though it probably will lead to nothing, Vince McMahon promising to shake things up on Raw this coming week is at least something that might engage a fan or two. There has been
My last volume of Tracking the Territories is almost complete as I am left covering the Pro Wrestling USA shows. For what seemed like a good idea at the time, the shows themselves are a bit of a let down as they seem to take place in a vacuum with little real emotional investment in the way of feuds or storylines. Seeing guys like Jerry Lawler and Tommy Rich wrestling in Mid-Atlantic is novel, but it has been a slog to get through. Championship Wrestling from Georgia (another one I’m finishing off) is the same; the remnants of the promotion that McMahon so destroyed doesn’t make for good viewing.
