What's the news, stans of staged stiffness?!
What an absolutely action-packed week of wrestling we've had! Three huge women's only shows, right around the time of International Women's Day, mind you, and some great stuff on Dynamite as well!
Let's not waste any more time in the preamble, let's get right down to business!
 |
| CMLL |
Weekly Roundup
Here's what I watched for the week;
Here’s what we’re reviewing for the Watchlist;
• • • • •
Miyu Yamashita vs. Jamie Hayter - Going the Distance
 |
| Starting with respect. Pro Wrestling: EVE |
Bell to Bell
Let me tell you guys, this was a dream match I didn't know was a dream match. I'm a fan of both of these women on their own, with Hayter being an AEW standout I think deserves more time and Yamashita having some fun matches in DPW that I always enjoyed. But the idea of these two locking heads? I'll be honest, not something I ever considered, but I am so glad that Pro Wrestling: EVE had the idea, cause they treated the wrestling world to a fantastic match up here.
Something I enjoy about the presentation of EVE's matches, is they have a running countdown timer in the bottom right corner. So if a match is 20 minutes, like this one was, it starts at 20:00 and works its way down to zero, gradually changing from green, to orange, to red as time gets closer to running out. It's something you'll be able to keep an eye on in the GIF's I add throughout the post, so you can get a real good idea just how much I spread the action out for each paragraph!
Starting with a handshake and a lockup, it's pretty even-keel for both women, with some slick chain wrestling to try and find an early advantage. Yamashita is technically sound and a dangerous striker and Hayter is an absolute powerhouse, but she can hold her own on the canvas pretty well too, she's no slouch, and she's showing Miyu that she's not going to be taken advantage of right out of the gate. Trying to spike Hayter with a DDT, Jamie gets free at the last second and nearly twists around Yamashita for a Boston crab, but no dice, with both women returning to their feet in the middle.
Both caught in a knuckle lock, they try to bridge the other back, but Yamashita fights free and pushes Hayter back, but she too holds fast. Taking advantage of the physical disadvantage this position puts you in, Miyu takes out the right leg of Hayter, dropping her hard to the canvas. Jamie is able to fight her way free and back to her feet, pulling Miyu down for a quick pin attempt, but it's only a two. But it was a clean message, "do not count me out."
Rebounding and crossing up Yamashita, Hayter catches her with a boot, but Miyu is back on her feet quick and takes her down with a running knee. Despite being nearly 5 minutes into this match, neither of these ladies have found a true opening yet, and they return to the lockup. Pushing to the ropes, they roll to the floor, maintaining the lockup as they shove into the crowd and around ringside. Back to the apron, they hold fast, with both ladies fighting through the lockup as they get back inside the ring.
 |
| Like two bulls locking horns. Pro Wrestling: EVE |
It's something you see pretty rarely, but I am always a fan of wrestlers making the most basic, fundamental moves mean something. A lockup is your standard, tried-and-true way to open a match, it's a way for two people to meet nose-to-nose and see who can best the other. It's like doing The Italian Game in Chess (yes, I had to look that up), it's a way to measure the skill level of your opponent. Do they meet you? Do they one-up you? Do they falter? Or do they dig in and push you as hard as you push them? This was that, both women digging in and refusing to give an inch, no matter where the match took them. Love it, fantastic stuff.
Grabbing at each others hair, Jamie tries her Hayterade lariat, but Yamashita avoids and takes her down with a snapmare, crashing a kick into her back. Jamie absorbs the shot, but doesn't look happy about it. Another kick lands across the spine of Jamie as she rolls to the floor, with Miyu trying to kick the head of Jamie, only to get caught and ripped down onto the apron face first. Brawling around on the floor, Yamashita blocks getting sent into the pole and sends Hayter into it face first instead. With Hayter retreating and sat on a decorative keg at the entrance way, Miyu lines up her shot, charging and crashing into Jamie with a knee across the chest.
 |
| Gotcha! Pro Wrestling: EVE |
Recovering, Jamie takes the fight to Miyu now, dragging her to a clear spot in the crowd before tossing her into the wall, only for Miyu to jump off the wall and land a kick on the skull of Hayter. Rolling Hayter back inside the ring, Miyu takes too long on the apron and gets caught with a kick, sending her crashing to the floor. Haytrer tosses her back inside and into the corner, landing lariat after lariat on her cornered opponent. Taking off from the middle rope, she lands a beautiful dropkick before ascending to the opposite corner, landing another dropkick before covering for a pin, but only scores two.
We reach the 10 minute mark as Hayter locks in a snug bulldog choke, with Yamashita getting to the bottom rope to break the hold. Looking for a running lariat, Hayter moves to the opposite corner and charges, but Miyu blocks the first and second shot, leaving Hayter alone in the corner on the third as she slips free. Taking off for the ropes, Hayter isn't far behind, catching her with a gut kick. Miyu isn't staggered very long, with Hayter taking off for the ropes and catching a Yamashita-shaped knee to the gut and a lariat that takes her off her feet the next second. A pin is attempted, but Hayter survives.
 |
| The Miyu combo. Pro Wrestling: EVE |
Draping Hayter on the middle rope, Yamashita lands solid kicks to the back and a knee to the back of the head, sending Hayter out to the apron. Staying inside the ring, they crack each other with heavy forearm shots back and forth, with Miyu shaking things up by kicking Hayter in the head and trying to choke her against the top rope. A kick with Hayter hung in the middle brings her back inside, and a pinfall attempt works to keep her down for good, but she survives.
Holding Hayter in a cravat, she drives knees into her skull before pulling her to the canvas with a hip toss. Hayter struggles in the hold for a moment until rolling Yamashita back for a pin attempt, with Miyu bringing Hayter back to her feet. Big mistake. Using her strength, Hayter rips Yamashita off the canvas and cracks her with a backbreaker.
 |
| Fighting her way out! Pro Wrestling: EVE |
Ducking a charging Hayter and sending her to the apron once more, they exchange forearms and Miyu kicks her in the head again, this time opting to join her on the apron. Pulling her onto her shoulders, she drills Hayter with a firemans carry slam, further punishing Hayter with a knee shot to the head when she sits up. Rolling back inside the ring, Hayter takes advantage of Miyu's gloating to pull her between the middle and top rope and fucking spike her with a draping DDT. Nasty work.
The timer turns red as we are within the final 5 of this match, the sand in the hourglass getting fewer and fewer by the second. With Yamashita in the corner, Hayter charges in with a lariat and clobbers her with machine gun chops, dropping her to her ass. Miyu fights out and headbutts Hayter, meeting her in the middle with a German suplex! Hayter responds with a German of her own!
⚡Move of the Match⚡
Ducking a Hayterade, Miyu pulls Hayter onto her shoulders and drills her with a blue thunder bomb, the pace quickening as she rebounds off the ropes, only for Hayter to catch her and fucking kill her with a sit out powerbomb!
 |
| Straight to hell! Pro Wrestling: EVE |
Both women are laid out on the canvas as we reach the final 3 minutes, with Hayter up first and going for a Boston crab. She pulls Miyu to the centre and sits out, but Yamashita fights out, pulling Hayter into a rear naked choke. 2 minutes left as Hayter reverses into a pin and choke of her own, with Miyu fighting to her feet at the 90 second mark. A kick to the skull drops Hayter like a log. 1 minute left, the countdown is pulsing red as Hayter pulls herself up with the ropes. A kick drops Hayter again. 30 seconds.
A German suplex is attempted at 15, and a backbreaker is landed with only 5 left. Hayter scrambles for Miyu to get her in for a pin after landing Hayterade, but the timer hits zero. We've reached a draw.
 |
| She got it! But just a second too late! Pro Wrestling: EVE |
Match Time: 20:00
The crowd chants in defiance, with Hayter herself pleading to a camera for 5 more minutes. EVE producer Will Ospready?! Oh yeah! I see Billy promote this company all over his Instagram stories, I should have known he had some stake in this game! That's awesome! He comes to ringside with a notebook, a headset, and a full fucking sleeve of tattoo's too, asking Hayter and Miyu if they want 5 more minutes. He even asks the crowd if they want 5 more! Who is he to deny the people?! He gives the signal, and we get 5 more minutes!
Back inside the ring, both women are sucking back pounds of air, but get right to it, wasting little time. Heavy handed strikes back and forth in the centre of the ring, with a chop dropping Yamashita flat out. Tossing Miyu into the corner, Hayter lays into her and calls for the Hayterad- no? Miyu is dropped in the corner and just shoulder barges Hayter's leg, disrupting her focus as she tries to take her down to the canvas. Hayter clobbers her in the back, but Miyu is able to get her off her feet and take her down.
Ducking a Hayter lariat after both women get to their feet, she takes Hayter over with a German suplex that keeps both of them down and out on the canvas for a moment. Getting to their knees,they clobber each other back and forth with slaps as the match enters it's back half. On their feet again, Miyu kicks the head of Hayter in and goes for a pin, but she survives! Another kick to the head, and one to the back, with Miyu draping a knee across her chest for the pin, but Hayter still gets out!
With 90 seconds left, they're back striking on their feet, with Hayter crushing Miyu with headbutts. We're in the final minute of the match now as Hayter takes Yamashita over with a beautiful snap suplex and a DDT, but Miyu gets up! A crescent kick takes out Hayter, and Miyu tries to drag her, but she doesn't budge. 30 seconds are left and Miyu falls to her ass, all but accepting that she's not gonna be able to do it. With 10 seconds left, she rises and tries to put the death nail through Hayter, pulling her to a seated position before kicking her head in not once, but twice. I mean, the first kinda whiffed, but the second landed true, but it's not enough. The match ends in a draw, officially.
 |
| Looking for the death nail! Pro Wrestling: EVE |
Final Match Time: 25:00
Overview & Final Rating
🟢 - This match was fantastic. A bit sloppy and rough, but in the best way. It wasn't pretty, it wasn't fancy, it wasn't super precise or "flashy," it was heavy and brutal and looked like a real fight. Isn't that what all wrestling should be? I do wish that the final 5 minutes of the match before the extra 5 had some more urgency to it, like Hayter and Yamashita were actually trying to finish each other off before the time limit came up, but I'll also accept that they were so locked into the action itself, they weren't concerned with the time left. But only this one time! Otherwise, a fantastic match on a fantastic show. Check out Pro Wrestling: EVE now!
• • • • •
Mercedes Mone vs. Persephone - The Queen of the Underworld seeks her Crown
 |
| Mone has a surprise for the main event. CMLL |
Bell to Bell
The main event match pits Ultimo Mone against Persephone, her fourth defence of this championship, first since October of '25, and second defence against Persephone. This all women's CMLL card was fantastic from top to bottom, and this main event was a real treat of a match.
Mone starts the match by mocking Perse and lucha libre but putting on a mask and antagonizing the crowd, with Perse jumping her from the early moments. It should be noted, Persephone did wrestle under a mask during the start of her career, but in a rare move for those in lucha libre, she opted to unmask herself. With Mone darting to the floor, PErse follows her but gets stomped out as she follows Mone back inside. Mone takes this opportunity to put the mask on Persephone, backwards, however, and mock her in the centre of the ring.
Persephone rips off the mask and whips it at Mone, taking her down to the canvas with a hip toss before pulling her back up into a hammerlock and drilling her in the gut with knees. Shooting Mone off the ropes, she gets caught with a headscissors as Mone manipulates her way around her torso and rolls her up for a quick pin attempt. A wheelbarrow suplex is attempted on Mone, but she blocks the move and holds fast, rolling through for a pin attempt again, but Persephone breaks free.
Reversing a Persephone armdrag, Mone is able to roll through and pull her down into the Statement Maker, looking to force her to submit in the early goings of this match. Persephone pushes back to try and catch Mone in a pin, but Mone adjusts and holds her down for a backslide pin, but Persephone gets free in time. Attempting her signature Razors Edge powerbomb, Persephone has Mone up high, but Mone slips free. Trying now for the Mone Maker, Persephone is able to slip free, with a boot under the jaw sending Persephone stumbling back into the corner.
It's pretty evenly paced back and forth, with both women looking for something to quickly put the other one away, whether it be signature moves or powerful submission attempts.
Looking for a weakness, Mone ducks a lariat and catches the right arm, twisting and driving Persephone shoulder first into the middle turnbuckle pad. Climbing to the corner, Mone snipes Persephone when she grabs the top rope to steady herself for a moment, drilling her with knees to the arm. Bending the arm and manipulating the wrist on the canvas, Mone begins to go to work, even goes for a quick vertical suplex and pin attempt, but Perse breaks free in time.
 |
| Backstabbaaaa! CMLL |
Pulling Persephone to a seated position, Mone gets her in a straight jacket choke and pulls her up to her feet, driving double knees into her back before trying for another, unsuccessful, pinfall. It should be noted that both Mone and Persephone have seconds accompanying them to the ring, with Megan Bayne reprising her role as Mone's heavy and Olympia joining Persephone, who finds herself on the wrong end of a Mone beatdown, getting her arms worked over significantly. Fighting her way to her feet, Persephone counters a whip into the ropes by springboarding off the middle ropes and catching Mone with a crossbody. She tries for a pin, but Mone keeps going through her momentum and pins Perse instead, nearly scoring three off the reverse, but Perse is able to effortlessly bridge her way out!
Catching a Mone kick, Perse lands a brilliant fallaway slam, showing off her power despite having a bad limb. She tries a vertical suplex, but the double knees catch her in the back instead, with Mone able to transition into an armbar. Adjusting her positioning, Perse catches Mone with a pin attempt, forcing Mone to break the hold, and so she does. With Mone charging with a lariat, Persephone bridges to dodge the shot, catching Mone with a superkick under the jaw when she stumbles out of the corner in shock.
 |
| Ever seen the Matrix? CMLL |
Sending Persephone into the corner, she rolls over the top rope and lands out on the apron, but Mone catches her bad arm and drops it over the top rope, slowing Persephone's roll for a moment. She pulls her to the top rope, but Persephone headbutts and sends her stumbling back to the canvas, taking flight with a big shotgun dropkick. She pulls Mone in for the cover, but it's still only good enough for two. Back vertical, she tries for the crucifix powerbomb, but Mercedes again is able to get her with a backstabber, rolling through into the Statement Maker, but Perse still has the strength to reach the bottom ro- no! Not quite!
⚡Move of the Match⚡
Rolling back, Mone is able to counter and reapply the Statement Ma- what?! No! A counter of a counter! Pulling Mone onto her shoulders as she stands vertical, Persephone is able to twist Mone around into a sit-out powerbomb!
 |
| Who wants to see a powerbomb? CMLL |
Back vertical, they exchange heavy strikes back and forth, Perse giving it everything she's got despite her bad arm. She tries to use the corner to her advantage to get the crucifix bomb, but Mone slips free and lands double knees on the face of Percephone. Seated in the corner, Mone charges in with the meteora, but Perse survives at two! Getting out of the Mone Maker in the middle, Perse counters into a backslide and then bridges, adding extra leverage and pressure to the pin attempt! Referee Aubrey Edwards counts, but Mone slips free at two!
Rebounding off the ropes, Perse cuts Mone in half with a spear, with Mone rolling to the floor to catch her breath as Megan Bayne joins her, the two sharing a few words. Wasting no time, Persephone rebounds off the ropes and dropkick's Bayne, sending her rolling into the barricade. Mone, to her credit, doesn't waste any time either, dribbling Perse's head off the apron. While standing ringside, I shit you not, someone sprays Mone down with water! What the hell, guys?! Fired up, she pulls Perse to her feet but ends up paying for it, as Persephone gets Mone on her shoulders and drops her face first on the barricade.
 |
| Like a bug on a window. CMLL |
With Olympia holding Mone at ringside, Persephone goes for a big springboard moonsault, but Money clears out and leaves Olympia out to eat the impact of the move instead. Before rolling Perse back inside for a pinfall, Mone lands a meteora on the floor, catching her unawares after tending to Olympia. Shooting Mone into the ropes, a snap powerslam nearly grants Persephone the three, but Mone escapes. Looking to finish her off, Perse picks her up and charges to the corner, seating her up high and climbing to meet her, only to get shoved down and caught with another meteora, this time, with a pin! She's held down tight, but Perse escapes!
Pulling her up for the Mone Maker again, Perse is able to release her arms and roll forward, through the hold and down onto the canvas. She ducks a Mone penalty kick and gets to her feet, pulling a disorientated Mone up and into a powerbomb attempt, but her arm forces her to drop Mone early. Going for it again, she gets her up onto her shoulders for the crucifix bomb, drilling her into the canvas and holding her for a pin! Aubrey counts, but Mone escapes at two!
In utter disbelief, Persephone rolls to the apron and goes for a springboard splash, crushing Mone and pulling her in for the 1, the 2, the 3! Persephone has done it!
.gif) |
| From the heavens! CMLL |
The winner, and new CMLL World Women's Champion!
Match Time: 18:40
Overview & Final Rating
🟢⭐ - Highly recommended
A spectacular match between these two, I loved every minute of it. Persephone always seemed one move away from having Mone's number and keept pushing and pushing until she managed to one-up her more times than Mone could keep getting up. The arm being banged up helped make the moment of the powerbomb feel more important and special, and the splash to finish felt like a great way to end things. I really, really enjoyed what these two did. I think Persephone has a big future in not only CMLL, but AEW as well, with her having a double contract for both companies. Fantastic stuff.
• • • • •
Another exciting week of wrestling down!
Until next time! Be well, stay safe, and love one another.
cliffmorganwstl@gmail.com
No comments:
Post a Comment