There has been a lot of focus on the continent of Australasia recently, and most of it centres around one kick-happy wrestler from New Zealand.As we have documented, Evie has been catapulted into everyone’s line of sight, winning both the IPW Women’s and PWWA Championships in the space of seven days – the first in a triple threat match with Megan-Kate and Britenay, and the latter against Jessie McKay just last Saturday.
When approached for comment, the Auckland resident had this to say:
"Winning the IPW Women’s Title and then the PWWA Interim Title… words can’t pinpoint the feelings I felt over those nights. I was extremely emotional… a few tears were shed, and it definitely is the highlight of my career to date. I came away from both matches battered and bruised, but it was all worth it in the end… after five years, I finally feel like a champion.
The fans have also been rad… I can’t believe how much support I received through those tournaments, both online and in person. It was amazing!"
Indeed, her name has been thrown about on social networks a lot this month – she pointed out that following her PWWA victory, she received more than 100 messages of congratulations on Twitter. Her wins have seen her profile skyrocket and has seen calls for her to compete in other countries. Indeed, as SHIMMER promoter Dave Prazak pointed out on the promotion’s forum, “as far as Evie coming to the States is concerned, it’s just a matter of when”, while in a podcast recorded by NHB Girls at the weekend, former SHIMMER Champion Madison Eagles believes that Evie would suit well both in the US and also in Japan, and would defend the belt on October 6 when PWWA stages its next all-women show.
With so much attention on Australia at the moment, it is also telling that so many Aussies and Kiwis are experiencing career highs at the moment. For New Zealand, Britenay and Megan-Kate have hit their groove and are on the ascent, and will both be part of the card on October 6. In Australia, Jessie McKay and Kellie Skater are still two of the biggest names on the circuit, with McKay soaring to main event status in SHIMMER in recent trips, and Skater spending three months in Japan at the start of the year before heading to North America to tour over there, before returning to her home country to defend her IndyGurlz Australia title.
Meanwhile, there are others like Shazza McKenzie, Harley Wonderland and Eliza Sway carving their way through with their own character developments – McKenzie being the happy-go-lucky babyface in her SHIMMER debut earlier this year but developing something of a darker edge back home, Wonderland is the buxom burlesque grappler, and Sway being the tattoo sporting, punky troublemaker who has no time for fripperies. Savannah Summers’ reign as Riot City Wrestling’s inaugural Women’s Champion is gathering pace, and RCW’s women, including Miami, are also embroiled in a feud with local rivals Melbourne City Wrestling, with invasions at each other’s shows – on MCW’s next show on September 14, she will enter hostile territory to face KC Cassidy.
Speaking of Cassidy, she and Nikita Naridian are back in Australia after recently spending three months in Canada training with Lance Storm – with Naridian recently participating in Lance Hoyt’s American Psycho Tour, taking on Mighty Mel around the horn – while Siren Munroe is preparing for a trip to the US following training at Orlando Jordan’s School of Wrestling in Melbourne. And while we’re on the subject of America, Niki Nitro is preparing to travel to Florida to train at the Team 3D Academy – while also in Florida is the former Tenille Tayla, who has been rechristened as Emma since starting her WWE developmental training and being added to the NXT Divas roster. Finally, also abroad is Alex Lee, who is shaking off the stigma of being released from WWE and is currently on an extended trip to Japan, wrestling in REINA x World and receiving training from some of the best joshi wrestlers out there.
These are women with ambitions, and wrestlers and wrestling fans from elsewhere in the world would be best served to take note. A slew of female stars from Down Under are maturing quickly, and will be taking the spotlight soon. Take notice.
**
April Davids had a pretty varied bank holiday weekend.
It started on Saturday evening at FutureShock Wrestling’s biggest show in its history, presenting its 60th card under the title of International Supershow and taking place at Manchester, England’s Royal Northern College of Music (with the defending men’s champion Jack Gallagher being played to the ring by a string quartet, no less). The Women’s Championship match saw Davids defending the title against friend and rival Jenny Sjodin in a match which had fans of the women’s grap game salivating.After all, last October at Pro Wrestling: EVE v Ice Ribbon in Nottingham, the pair engaged in an amazing contest for the EVE title which refused to suffer even when Davids injured her ankle midway through the contest – which Sjodin won with a cross-armbreaker submission. The two members of the then-European Empire earned themselves a standing ovation from the audience, although the injury did keep April out of the ring for a number of weeks (though admittedly less than her doctor would have preferred).
On Saturday, the pair locked horns once again, with the smart money going on the Swedish Sjodin winning, after earning the shot due to winning a round-robin featuring Hannah and Holly Blossom, and Charlotte Quinn (replacing Becky James partway through the series). The league took place after Davids suffered a concussion in late winter, meaning she would be unable to defend the belt before making her second trip to Japan to compete for Ice Ribbon, which saw Davids earn plaudits for her matches, but was also hampered by illness and injury – she cracked a couple of ribs, but carried on competing. Given that Davids has only wrestled sporadically since returning and Sjodin’s growing reputation as one of the safest hands in European wrestling, many were expecting a title change.
Many were incorrect.
In a titanic battle which was reported to be better than the EVE match and the best contest the two have had together – in fact, some spectators dubbed it their match of the night – Davids got the win by reversing a triple German suplex attempt by the Female Fight Machine into a victory roll to get the pinfall. The victory was also something of a redemption for Davids, who had recently swayed in her desire to continue wrestling – hopefully this will stoke the fire and see her wrestling more regularly in the future.
Both she and Sjodin are prime examples of solid British style grappling. Jenny is more technical, which April is a little more impactful, but both have plenty to offer, and deserve to be wrestling all over the world.
Two days later, Davids won another big match, this time in a very different environment to the ropes and canvas of a wrestling ring. Rather, this took place in a 16ft diameter pool of foodstuffs in the garden of a country pub in Lancashire.The World Gravy Wrestling Championships is now into its sixth year and has grown in popularity with each competition, which takes place to raise money for a local hospice. This year, a film crew from the UK’s Channel 5 station was on hand, as well as actors and comedians. However, there were also some competitors with proper grappling credentials, including two-time Olympic judo player Sophie Cox, who was eliminated in the under 52kg category at London 2012 by eventual gold medalist Kum Ae An from North Korea. Despite the rain, hundreds of spectators were there to watch the two minute contests which took place ankle deep in 1,000 litres of onion gravy – you can see footage of it here.
After donning a bikini and taking on Cox, Davids defeated her seven other female competitors to be crowned Women’s Champion, capping off an eventful and bizarre weekend for the Lancashire Terrier, one which will be difficult to surpass any time soon.
**
The best of the rest
WWE
Beth Phoenix was not on last week’s Raw due to a family bereavement. It must have been pretty last minute as her image was on the match graphic for the Diva battle royal which Kaitlyn won. She has also been pulled from WWE’s Australia tour and all of her other dates in September. No explanation as to why Kelly Kelly was advertised but wasn’t there though… Rima Fakih says WWE “doesn’t want” her. She was making noise around WrestleMania time that she was on the verge of being signed… Last week’s Divas battle royal on Raw lost 350,000 viewers. That’s a massive drop… Ashley Flair (now rechristened as Charlotte) could be paired with Cody Rhodes to play off the Dusty Rhodes and Ric Flair dynamic from the 80s. She also has a profile on the NXT website, and even though her father Ric is not mentioned by name, she is referred to as the daughter of “”one of the greatest Superstars of all time”… Kaitlyn was on commentary for Layla’s win over Alicia Fox on SmackDown, with she and Michael Cole discussing Natalya’s problem with her. She also shook Layla’s hand before Eve Torres came out to raise both their arms. Both looked confused… Brodus Clay’s backing dancer Naomi defeated Natalya at a house show on Saturday after Natalya’s scheduled opponent Kaitlyn had travel issues. Naomi won with help from her fellow shape-thrower Cameron. It was said to be a great match. This could be just the break she needed… In his latest blog, Jim Ross says: “Paige is the top young diva in NXT for my money and the young lady from England has a bright future”… Vickie Guerrero called for AJ Lee to be sacked as Raw GM on last night’s show. AJ skipped out and attacked her.
TNABrooke Hogan has posed nude for PETA with their tagline “I’d rather go naked than wear fur”. She is photographed in an animal cage, but one of her breasts is clearly visible… Taryn Terrell has been added to the TNA roster page on the promotion’s website… Angel Williams has broken her silence since her TNA departure, telling the Monday Night Mayhem show that there was no big scandal, but it was just “my time” to go… Claire Lynch reportedly quit TNA after her YouTube and LinkedIn accounts were bombarded with messages from fans about their dislike for her character and acting skills… Tara defeated Knockout Champion Miss Tessmacher with a superplex on last week’s Impact. Tessmacher had challenged her friend as part of Open Fight Night.
North America
Sara Del Rey is included in the 2012 PWI 500. She reached #430 based on her victories in CHIKARA… Lacey Von Erich says she expecting her second son to be born any day now… Plans for the SHIMMER volume 50 main event are apparently taking shape. Promoter Dave Prazak says it won’t be a singles match… Allison Danger, Mercedes Martinez and MsChif have also been announced for October’s tapings, and MsChif will challenge Champion Saraya Knight for the belt at the AAW show the night before SHIMMER… Hiroyo Matusmoto was also announced, and will also make her nCw Femmes Fatales debut the following week… Daffney survived a major car crash last Monday where her car aquaplaned on some standing water on I4 in Florida and left the road, ending up on its roof. Injury-wise, she may have another concussion, as well as damaged knees and cuts from the broken glass. She’s auctioning some items to replace the possessions which were destroyed in the crash… Tina San Antonio will face Brittney Savage at WSU’s Full Steam Ahead on October 13… Reby Sky will miss SHINE 3 on September 21 following her attack at the hands of Jessicka Havok at SHINE 2. The promotion also issued another press release saying that Havok, Jazz and Mercedes Martinez were fined for their unruly conduct on the show… By virtue of being unbeaten in the promotion and Hailey Hatred forgoing her title challenge for now, Crazy Mary Dobson will be the next woman to challenge for the AIW Women’s Championship. She faces titleholder Allysin Kay on September 23… Nevaeh returned to action on Saturday, defeating Sassy Stephie. She had been out for about 5 weeks with a fractured ankle… The Beautiful People will wrestle in a tag match at Maryland Championship Wrestling on October 27… Cherry Bomb was stripped of the Tri City Wrestling Women’s Title before Saturday’s show for not defending the belt in the allotted period. In the four way match which became for the title, Allysin Kay and Courtney Rush both claimed victory after separately making opponents Leah Von Dutch and Xandra Bale tap out at the same time. Kay and Rush will meet at the next TCW show in a Submission Match to determine a new champion.
JapanA new tournament has been set up to determine a number one contender for the IW19 Championship, currently held by Aki Shizuku. Hamuko Hoshi pinned former champion Tsukasa Fujimoto in the first round in what must be considered a mild upset… Leon won the REINA-CMLL International Championship on Sunday by beating Alex Lee and Tiffany in the four woman tournament. Tiffany defeated La Malcriada to reach the final.
Europe
Nikki Storm’s pompous alter-ego that she uses in Insane Championship Wrestling released a video yesterday saying that she’s disgusted with the promotion and its fans. Miss Nicola Storm stresses that she wants ICW to be family friendly with children pumping foam fingers into the air. This makes her the uber-heel in a promotion that is adult based. She also promised to be at Fierce Females on September 30 to clean things up… Also announced for Fierce Females: Holly Rocamora v Rhia O’Reilly… Shanna makes her official comeback on Friday at Swiss Championship Wrestling to challenge Laura Wellings for her Women’s Championship… Jewel debuted in her home country of Norway at the weekend. All of her matches up to that point had been in England.
Mexico
Lady Afrodita is a little confused as to what side of the fence she falls on at the moment in CMLL. In an interview with La Prensa, she points out she started as a heel, but was then booked as a babyface. She points out she’s happy to be whatever role she needs to be… Chavo Guerrero tweeted: “Ok, who is the next Latina wrestling superstar? I’m searching now. Gotta be Pretty, bilingual & know the wrestling biz, at least a little.” Sarita is already part of TNA – sure, she’s not a Latina, but she’s the best option out there to fit his criteria.
Australia & New Zealand
Krackerjak and Kellie Skater will face each other in an intergender match on Friday for NHPW. He’s upset because she decided to not join his team representing her home province of Victoria, and has sided with Western Australia instead. Skater gets to pick the kind of match that they will have… Rachel Rose debuted as a manager at PWA’s Call To Arms, representing Jack Bonza… Savannah Summers retained the Riot City Wrestling Women’s Championship on Saturday, beating Harley Wonderland. On the same card, Eliza Sway and Miami went to a double count-out. They’ll have a falls count anywhere match on October 6 to determine a new number one contender. However, because that show’s on the same day at the PWWA event, that means neither Miami or Sway will be in Casula for the all-women card… KC Cassidy and Harley Wonderland will be on the PWWA show though… It’ll find out more this week about why Megan-Kate was added to the IPW Women’s Championship match just over a week ago to turn it into a triple threat. It should explain why Commissioner Dion McCracken looked so flustered when he made the announcement just before the bell rang.
**
Results
August 19: K-DOJO (Chiba, Japan) – Aki Shizuku b Bambi
August 19: Anarchy Championship Wrestling (Austin, TX) – Barbi Hayden & Bolt Brady b Jaykus Plisken & Miss Maulie; Athena b Jeff Gant; Christina Von Eerie b Jessica James; Jojo Bravo & Jordan Jensen b Portia Perez & Rachel Summerlyn
August 20: CMLL (Puebla, Mexico) – Princesa Blanca b Luna Mágica
August 22: K-DOJO (Tokyo, Japan) – Ryuichi Sekine, Ayumu Honda & Kotaro Nasu b Boso Boy Raito, Bambi & Kunio Toshima
August 22: CMLL (Tlalnepantla, Mexico) – Princesa Blanca & Princesa Sugheit b Estrellita & Goya Kong
August 23: WWE NXT (Winter park, FL) – Audrey Marie & Paige b Kaitlyn & Alicia Fox
August 23: Impact Wrestling (Orlando, FL) – Tara b Miss TessmacherAugust 23: New York Wrestling Connection (Port Jefferson Station, NY) – Marti Belle & Rick Cataldo b Brittney Savage & Nikki Addams
August 24: WWE (Cape Girardeau, MO) – Layla b Aksana
August 24: Fight Club Finland (Helsinki, Finland) – Sara Elektra b Aurora Flame; Jessica Love b Stark Adder
August 24: Diana (Kitazawa, Japan) – Piyota Mark b Rabbit Mito; Mima Shimoda & Mask Do Sun b Kyoko Inoue & Sareee; Yumiko Hotta & KURO b Kaoru Ito & Keiko Aono; Kyoko Inoue won a 6 woman battle royal
August 24: 19 Pro (Saitama, Japan) – Hamuko Hoshi b Tsukasa Fujimoto
August 24: WWE SmackDown (Bakersfield, CA) – Layla b Alicia Fox
August 24: New Zealand Wide Pro Wrestling (Petone, New Zealand) – Lolli Lane b Misty & Scarlett
August 24: American Wrestling Alliance (San Diego, CA) – Kitana Vera b Terra Calaway
August 24: CMLL (Mexico City, Mexico) – Dalis la Caribeña, Estrellita & Luna Mágica b La Seductora, Lady Apache & Zeuxis
August 24: Can-Am Rising (Windsor, ONT, Canada) – Jaime D b Mike Legacy
August 25: K-DOJO (Chiba, Japan) – Kengo Mashimo b Bambi & Ryuichi Sekine in a 3-way
August 25: Sendai Girls (Bandai City, Japan) – Sendai Sachiko b Kagetsu; Meiko Satomura & Kagetsu b DASH Chisako & Sendai SachikoAugust 25: Pro Wrestling Australia (Casula, Australia) – Evie b Jessie McKay to win the PWWA Interim Championship
August 25: ICW Canberra (Tuggeranong, Australia) – Niki Nitro b The Gimp
August 25: Riot City Wrestling (Wayville, Australia) – Savannah Summers b Harley Wonderland; Miami v Eliza Sway went to a double count out
August 25: Ice Ribbon (Saitama, Japan) – Tsukushi & Kurumi b Maki Narumiya & NOZOMI; Hailey Hatred b Meari Naito; Tsukasa Fujimoto b Crazy Star; Mio Shirai & Neko Nitta b Hikaru Shida & Hamuko Hoshi
August 25: Elite Canadian Championship Wrestling (Vancouver, BC, Canada) – Kc Spinelli b Riea
August 25: WWE (Sioux Falls, SD) – Naomi b Natalya
August 25: Fight Club Finland (Helsinki, Finland) – King Kong Karhula b Jessica Love
August 25: Alternative Wrestling Show (Rowland Heights, CA) – Hudon Envy b Candace LaRae
August 25: FutureShock (Manchester, England) – April Davids b Jenny Sjodin
August 25: American States Wrestling Alliance (Mansfield, OH) – Nevaeh b Sassy Stephie
August 25: American Psycho Tour (Moe, Australia) – Mighty Mel b Nikita Naridian
August 25: Norwegian Wrestling Federation (Oslo, Norway) – Erik Isakson & Miss Mina b Daniel Sebastian & Jewel
August 25: AIWF Mid Atlantic (Thomasville, NC) – Mia Svensson b Alexis Parrish
August 25: New Age Wrestling (Sunbury, Australia) – Vixsin b Lowzen
August 26: American Psycho Tour (Shepparton, Australia) – Nikita Naridian b Mighty Mel
August 26: Dramatic Dream Team (Tokyo, Japan) – Cherry b NOZOMI
August 26: WAVE (Tokyo, Japan) – GAMI v Kyoko Kimura went to a time limit draw; Kana b Shuu Shibutani; Gori Child b Sakura Hirota; Ran YuYu b Moeka Haruhi; Aja Kong b Ryo Mizunami; GAMI & Tomoka Nakagawa v Tsukasa Fujimoto & Hikaru Shida went to a time limit draw; Ayako Hamada b Ayumi Kurihara; Misaki Ohata b Yumi Ohka; Misaki Ohata won a battle royale
August 26: REINA x World (Tokyo, Japan) – Kaji Tomato b Charlie Simone Aussie; Leon b Alex Lee; Tiffany b La Malcriada; Maki Narumiya b Bambi; Hikaru Shida & Tsukasa Fujimoto b Silueta & Crazy Star; Leon b Tiffany to win the REINA-CMLL International Championship
August 26: Stardom (Osaka, Japan) – Saki Kashima, Eri Susa & Mayu Iwatani b Hiroyo Matsumoto, Natsumi Showzuki & Yuuri Haruka; Yuusaku b Azt Yasukawa; Nanae Takahashi v Yoshiko went to a time limit draw; Yuzuki Aikawa b Io Shirai; Dark Angel b Kairi Hojo; Natsuki*Taiyo b Miho Wakizawa
August 26: Battlewar (Montreal, Quebec, Canada) – Mademoiselle Rachelle v Myleena Sheera went to a double DQ
August 26: WWE (Rochester, MN) – Kaitlyn b Natalya
August 26: Tri City Wrestling (Kitchner, ONT, Canada) – Allysin Kay & Courtney Rush b Xandra Bale & Leah Von Dutch in a 4-way
August 27: WWE Raw (Milwaukee, WI) – Layla b Natalya
**
Upcoming
August 31: New Horizons Pro Wrestling (Fremantle, Australia) – Kellie Skater v Eliza Sway
August 31: XCW (New Albany, IN) – Amazing Maria v Sarah McCool
September 1: New Horizons Pro Wrestling (Fremantle, Australia) – Krackerjak v Kellie Skater
September 1: Scottish Wrestling Alliance (Clydebank, Scotland) – Nikki Storm v Kirsty Love
September 1: Swiss Championship Wrestling (Bern, Switzerland) – Laura Wellings v Shanna
September 1: Crossfire Entertainment (McMinnville, TN) – Jessicka Havok v Reby Sky v Allysin KaySeptember 8: EVOLVE 17 (Voorhies, NJ) – Christina Von Eerie v Marti Belle
September 8: NWA: Top Rope Promotions(Lebanon, TN) – Tasha Simone v Pandora
September 8: Maximum Pro Wrestling (Angus, ONT, Canada) – Xandra Bale v Courtney Rush
September 14: Squared Circle Wrestling (Auburn, NY) – Veda Scott v Cherry Bomb
September 14: Melbourne City Wrestling (Sunshine, Australia) – Savannah Summers v KC Cassidy
September 14: CHIKARA King Of Trios (Easton, PA) – Green Ant, Fire Ant & AssailANT v DASH Chisako, Sendai Sachiko & Meiko Satomura; CombatANT, DeviANT & Soldier Ant v Manami Toyota, Mike Quackenbush & Jigsaw; Commando Bolshoi, Kaori Yoneyama & Tsubasa Kuragaki v Mr Touchdown, Dasher Hatfield & Matt Classic
September 15: IndyGurlz (Boonton, NJ) – Leva Bates v Kimber Lee; LuFisto v Mia Yim
September 15: Maximum Pro Wrestling (Meaford, ONT, Canada) – Courtney Rush v Xandra Bale
September 15: Pro Wrestling Elite (Ayr, Scotland) – Mickie James v Kay Lee Ray
September 15: Solent Wrestling Federation (Waterlooville, England) – Erin Angel v Amazon Ayesha Ray
September 16: Pro Wrestling Elite (Ayr, Scotland) – Mickie James v Carmel Jacob
September 16: World Association of Women’s Wrestling (Norwich, England)
September 21: SHINE 3 (Ybor City, FL)
September 21: Top of the World Wrestling (Montreal, Quebec, Canada) – LuFisto v Tara
September 22: Northeast Wrestling (Fishkill, NY) – Rosita & Madison Rayne v Angel Williams & Velvet Sky
September 23: Absolute Intense Wrestling (Cleveland, OH) – Allysin Kay v Crazy Mary Dobson
September 23: Alternative Wrestling World (Wolverhampton, England) – Amazon Ayesha Ray v Holly Rocamora
September 28: Xcite Wrestling (Binghamton, NY) – Kimber Lee v Annie Social
September 29: Pro-Wrestling Euskadi (Bilbao, Spain) – Pollyanna v Dragoi Neska
September 30: Insane Championship Wrestling: Fierce Females (Glasgow, Scotland) – Jenny Sjodin & April Davids v Kasey & Leah Owens; Holly Rocamora v Rhia O’ReillySeptember 30: Beyond Wrestling (East Greenwich, RI) – Portia Perez v Lexxus; Veda Scott v RD Evans
September 30: Squared Circle Wrestling (Vaughan, ONT, Canada) – Cherry Bomb v Gabriella Vanderpool
October 5: Family Wrestling Entertainment (Brooklyn, NY) – Maria Kanellis & Winter v Angel Williams & Velvet Sky
October 6: Pro Women’s Wrestling Alliance (Casula, Australia)
October 6: Riot City Wrestling (Adelaide, Australia) – Harley Wonderland v Eliza Sway
October 6: UK Women’s Wrestling/World Association of Women’s Wrestling (Wakefield, England)
October 6: REINA World Joshi Puroresu (Baltimore, MD)
October 7: Joshi4Hope (Tokyo, Japan)
October 11: Bombshell Ladies Of Wrestling (Rahway, NJ) – Jewells Malone v Silvie Silver
October 13: Women Superstars Uncensored (Deer Park, NY) – Jessicka Havok v Alicia v Lexxus; Tina San Antonio v Brittney Savage; Marti Belle v Nikki Addams
October 26: AAW (Berwyn, IL) – MsChif v Sweet Saraya
October 27: Extreme World Wrestling (Hastings, England) – Lady Lory v Erin Angel
October 27-28: SHIMMER: Women Athletes (Berwyn, IL)
October 31: Preston City Wrestling (Preston, England) – Kay Lee Ray v Carmel Jacob
November 3: nCw Femmes Fatales (Montreal, Quebec, Canada) – LuFisto v Mercedes Martinez; Pink Flash Kira v Portia Perez; Sweet Cherrie v Cherry Bomb
November 9: Preston City Wrestling (Preston, England) – Angel Williams v Kay Lee Ray
November 10: Pro Wrestling: EVE (Sudbury, England) – Alpha Female v Nikki Storm
April 6: SHIMMER: Women Athletes (Secaucus, NJ)
April 13-14: SHIMMER: Women Athletes (Berwyn, IL)
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