Pro-Wrestling EVE: #SHEVolution Show Offered Something Special For Every Fan

LIVVII GRACE VS JORDYNNE GRACE

Harmony: This was a match I was really excited about. I’ve seen Livvii in EVE and Progress and I have been impressed with her, and I felt like she’d be a great match for Jordynne Grace. If you watch indie women’s wrestling you are aware of Jordynne Grace, and while she hasn’t wrestled for EVE much yet, she’s a great addition to their roster. Even the crowd was divided on who to cheer for, eventually settling on “Lets go Grace!” as an efficient chant.

They get to it and it becomes clear that these are powerhouse wrestlers, and it’s going to be a test of endurance. They trade headscissors and submission holds, trying to wear each other down. Livvii is tenacious and eager to prove herself, Jordynne is arrogant and super-talented. She counters a hold by doing a handstand, which is super-cool. She also has a few “holy-s***” moments with a spinebuster and an elbow drop, slamming Livvii and tossing her around like a rag doll. Livvii puts on a good offense but Jordynne keeps doing suplexes and slamming her into the mat.

Things take a turn when Jordynne begins selling a back injury, wincing and rubbing herself. She tries another throw, flubs it, and begins striking Livvii instead. This is where Livvii starts on a great underdog run. She throws herself at Jordan over and over again, kicking out of anything Jordynne throws at her. You can’t help but root for Livvii, especially as Jordynne begins to look more and more worn down. Finally, Livvi gets Jordynne into a gorgeous backbreaker move, and it looks like the match might be hers to win- but it isn’t enough, and Jordynne eventually gets a submission out of Livvii.

This match was a lot of fun and a great piece of storytelling. Big kudos to Jordynne for selling her injury and putting in an insanely good performance. As far as Livvii goes, even Jetta had to admit she had nothing to be ashamed of in that loss. I am glad to see Livvii continue to grow into an underdog to root for, and I’m looking forward to seeing her take a larger role in ProEVE soon.

I also appreciated the way the commentators didn’t shy away from discussing the body types in the match, but didn’t make it weird. Both Livvii and Jordynne are large-bodied female wrestlers, and the commentators did a good job of discussing how their sizes influenced their strength and wrestling style in a matter-of-fact and complimentary way.

Commentary on large-bodied female wrestlers can be very poorly done- I’ve been scarred by the vile weight-shaming commentary from Bull Nakano matches in WWF’s sexism heyday -but it’s also weird when commentators just ignore size when it comes to women because it comes up so often when we discuss power differentials, move sets, and etc. for male wrestlers. The ProEVE folks do a good job of discussing large bodies in the context of athleticism and I really appreciate it.

Oh, and Jordynne is coming back for SheOne! Cool.

Joe: Jordynne Grace has quickly become one of my favorite wrestlers to watch, and this is a prime example of why. She is one of the best athletes in professional wrestling today, because not only is she insanely strong, but she’s also so fluid and agile. Jordynne was pulling out cartwheels in this match, and they served as seamless transitions.

There were so many near-falls in this match at the end, and it was difficult to predict which move was going to be the final blow. Livvii and Jordynne Grace had to pull out all the stops, yet the other woman was just too powerful and too resilient to be put down.

Eventually the move that won the match wasn’t a bone-shattering suplex or “She’s broken in half!” powerbomb, but rather a bear hug to put away a worn-out Livvii Grace, who expended so much energy taking and kicking out of moves that targeted the mid-section. Great match.