EVE 153: EVE x THE WORLD 2: A look at the event including AEW’s involvement All In week with Kris Statlander in the main event, Skye Blue, Marina Shafir, Nyla Rose

PRO WRESTLING EVE 153 X THE WORLD 2
AUGUST 28, 2026
LONDON, ENGLAND AT THE BIG PENNY SOCIAL
STREAMED ON YOUTUBE
REPORT BY JEFF RUSH, PWTORCH CONTRIBUTOR

EVE 153 is in the books. It was another strong showcase for the most prominent all-women wrestling company outside Japan, and it is sure to generate headlines that will resonate for several weeks. Coming two days before AEW’s All In at Wembley Stadium in London, EVE 153 was heavily tied to the major show and, in many ways, signified the kickoff of a weekend of pro wrestling festivities throughout London in a fashion similar to WrestleMania weekend.

In the lead-up, a major component of the show was the mystery lineup. We had known for months that the headlining match would feature EVE International Champion Miyu Yamashita defending against the recently returned Kay Lee Ray. The current ace of Tokyo Joshi Pro Wrestling, Yamashita has appeared on EVE (Evolutionary Women’s Wrestling) shows since 2022 and has become more of a fixture in 2026. Ray, on the other hand, recently returned to the company following a seven-year run with WWE. She has spent the summer reimmersing herself in the Britwres main-event scene. On its face, and largely in practice, this headlining match was 100 percent pure EVE.

The implication behind the mystery lineup was that many AEW stars would appear. Following Skye Blue’s bloody victory over Emersyn Jayne in an EVE hardcore match back in June, she declared, “I will see you at Wembley weekend.” Since Alex Windsor announced in an EVE ring in June 2025 that she had signed with AEW, appearances by talent from Tony Khan’s company have become commonplace. British wrestling audiences are proud of their mark on the current pro wrestling landscape. Between Pro Wrestling EVE, RevPro, Progress, and others, the scene is thriving. It is an exhilarating acknowledgment of that momentum to have AEW stars making recurring appearances on these shows. I’d be lying, however, if I said their presence at EVE events was not beginning to feel a bit ominous.

ECW landed a weekly television time slot with TNN in 1999, in large part because of the exposure the company received through a working relationship with the WWF. With that rollout, ECW needed more than ever to showcase the talent that had helped put it in that position. The problem was that many of those names, including the Dudley Boyz and Tazz, acts on whom ECW had built its reputation, were no longer there. The WWF had seen firsthand how those acts connected with ECW’s audience and knew that, with a few tweaks, putting them to work on its own brand and on a much larger scale would better serve its financial interests. How ECW fared with its new television deal was ECW’s problem.

There are clear differences between the WWF of 1999 and present-day AEW, and I am not saying AEW is preying on Pro Wrestling EVE in the same way. It is not. AEW’s reputation is that of a company that takes pride in and respects the industry it represents. It is not clamoring for mainstream pop-culture acceptance in the way that drove Vince McMahon’s WWF. Nor is this a call for AEW to stay away from EVE. Having AEW talent on these shows can be a benefit, and it can create more opportunities for EVE and its performers. But that benefit only lasts if EVE remains the point of the show. The identity it has built over the years cannot become supporting material for AEW’s stars.

When the talent you loan to a smaller wrestling company routinely comes out on the winning end of matches, though, and when a smattering of appearances turns into a full-scale takeover of a show, as it did at EVE 153, it’s worth it for the smaller company to pump the brakes and reassess the current arrangement. AEW’s involvement should leave EVE stronger and more confident in its own stars than it was before. If it does not, the short-term benefit of added attention becomes harder to justify.

The fact that AEW’s Kris Statlander is the new Pro Wrestling EVE Champion could work out well for EVE. Will Stat wear the belt on Dynamite this week while Tony Schiavone and Excalibur discuss her victory at London’s Big Penny Social last Friday? Will they promote upcoming appearances she will make on future EVE shows? The fact that MyAEW has recently brought EVE into the fold certainly makes that scenario seem more likely. It also offers a short-term boost of interest in the EVE product from outside viewers. That’s the upside of this kind of relationship. But will that same audience pay to watch EVE after Statlander drops the title to someone less familiar to the AEW audience?

Maya World was put over strongly at EVE 153 as part of the winning side in an eight-woman match that saw Alexxis Falcon, the biggest star in women’s Britwres over the past year, take the pinfall loss.

Skye Blue’s telegraphed return certainly offered a glimmer of hope for the working relationship between the two companies. At the finish of an absolutely barbaric triple-threat match, Blue took the pinfall to put over Lucy Sky as the company’s first Spirit of EVE Champion. That pin could easily have gone instead to Emersyn Jayne, the third member of the match. A small act like that shows the respect Blue has for EVE and its performers, and it helps explain why she is such a favorite with EVE’s audience.

In one of the more unnerving moments of AEW’s involvement on the show, Marina Shafir defeated Chantal Jordan in a 10-minute match. Though Shafir appeared invincible at certain points, things eventually settled into a more even-keel rhythm. Following a post-match acknowledgment of respect, however, Shafir shoved Jordan in the face, eroding the mutual admiration the match had established. The source of distress, however, was not anything taking place between Shafir and Jordan. It was the fact that Shafir’s Death Riders stablemates, Jon Moxley and Wheeler Yuta, accompanied her to ringside and remained a presence throughout the match.

AEW fans will tell you that having someone of Moxley’s stature on the show was a benefit to EVE, and I understand that perspective. To take a step back, however, it is important to note what Pro Wrestling EVE is and what it offers. It is a company that showcases the very best in women’s wrestling. It is a vehicle for empowerment that also routinely includes a burlesque performance and various shout-outs to the LGBTQIA+ community. It is a self-aware company that understands it occupies an important role in society, but it also knows when to laugh at itself and not take things too seriously.

Certainly, men appear on the show from time to time. Moxley and Yuta doing so was not the issue. The bigger concern, in my opinion, was the focus placed on the Death Riders throughout the match. Moxley’s reactions to what was taking place in the ring were cast as very important. His being impressed by Chantal Jordan told us she was to be taken seriously. His encouragement got Marina Shafir’s head back in the match. On a highly promoted showcase match on an EVE show, it was an important man from AEW making all the difference in the running narrative. As Nina Samuels mentioned on commentary, it was also intimidating for Jordan to have both men parading around outside the ring, hamming it up for the audience and flexing their influence. In other words, it was an extremely un-EVE-like presentation that served as the company’s deal with the devil in this bargain.

As for the 100 percent pure EVE (and TJPW) main event, it was a 26-minute classic that ended with a clean finish. Afterwards, however, Kris Statlander and Marina Shafir arrived to once again assert their dominance over the EVE roster. Statlander is the champion. Shafir now has her sights set on the other major singles title. Is this a means to an end, or simply the new world order of Pro Wrestling EVE? More importantly, where will the company find itself when the AEW wrestlers head back to the States and EVE needs its homegrown stars most? I only hope Tony Khan respects the wrestling industry enough to know that he is walking an extremely thin tightrope and that promotional partnerships throughout history have rarely left both sides better off in the end.