It can be quite ominous when an injured wrestler promises an announcement. In Charlie Morgan’s case this past weekend, that announcement would be a bombshell.
Hidden away in the build-up of WrestleQueendom 2 this past weekend was just that. A single tweet, promising a special announcement.
Save for an appearance at Kris Wolf’s retirement show, Charlie Morgan hadn’t been seen on EVE shows since March’s “She Fights on Fridays” event, where she beat Jinny as she was in a rather odd position in the promotion. Having lost the EVE title to Nina Samuels during the finale of last year’s SHE-1, then having failed to recapture the title a month later, Charlie was effectively barred from challenging for that same title as long as Nina was holding it. Watching on as a fan, it certainly seemed that “plans change” was somewhat of a forced mantra as it looked as if Charlie would be gunning for the recently-created EVE International title at WrestleQueendom instead. If those were the plans, then they came to a sudden halt on what was Charlie’s maiden tour of the USA at the end of March.
Debuting for both the RISE and SHIMMER promotions, Morgan had four matches in three days – but it was a seemingly innocuous dive in that last match that took its toll. A tag team match that saw Charlie tag with Kris Wolf (in her final appearance at the Berwyn Eagles Club for SHIMMER), against Team Blue Nation of Charli Evans and Jessica Troy. Midway through the match, Charlie dove off the top rope to the floor, injuring her ankle in the process – which led to some comedic photos on her Twitter of Martina pushing her around a supermarket in a trolley. Back home, the rehabilitation started, with everyone assuming that no news was good news. And then, Sunday.
Introduced to the EVE collective to make an announcement, many thought that Charlie would be announcing her comeback date. Something which made the announcement that her ankle injury was more severe… and therefore forced her into retirement even more gutting.
Among the hundreds of fans in York Hall, there were many in tears. Justifiably so – even though Charlie had been positioned as the figurehead of EVE, to many of EVE’s fans she was more than that. Moe than the “Ace of Eve” – the label she’d won with a win in the inaugural SHE-1 series in 2017. That, and a feud with Sammii Jayne for the EVE title, was the headliner for last year’s WrestleQueendom, complete with the delirious reaction when she won the title.
While injuries to Sammii Jayne derailed the seemingly natural rematches, Morgan’s first feud was against Kasey, who’d been revealed as a storyline attacker of Charlie’s earlier in the year… but that challenge was quickly put aside, as Charlie would retain her title, while also losing out on a spot in 2018’s SHE-1 to the Belfast native. (Although an injury to Rhea O’Reilly meant that Charlie would end up competing in the tournament as an alternate…) Aside from EVE, Charlie would start to make some pretty big steps, appearing as part of the WWE’s United Kingdom Championship tournament shows at the Royal Albert Hall. That led to some appearances on the new NXT UK brand, albeit in losing efforts as Charlie would end up being used as a warm-up opponent for the likes of Toni Storm and Nina Samuels, before disappearing from the brand, with her final appearance on NXT UK airing just weeks before the ankle injury that’d end her career.
Away from the ring though, was where Charlie Morgan’s influence was felt most. While some may criticise the how and why, Charlie’s “coming out” on EVE’s “Dangerous Women” show in July 2017, which came in response to some barbs from Nina Samuels was taken as a watershed moment for EVE. A moment that led to Charlie becoming their public centrepiece when it came to interviews and media appearances.
Per Cagematch, Morgan’s career barely spanned eight years, originally having been trained with the Knight family and making her debut for WAW in 2011 as Penelope (later Lady Penelope), wrestling along with the likes of the future Alex Windsor (Liberty), Paige (Britani Knight) and Kip Sabian. Shortly before her EVE debut in 2017 came the name change, and what Charlie’s done in the two highest profile years of her career is quite frankly astonishing. Could you put a lot of it down to the whole “fearless” moniker and her penchant of Sabu-like dives and stunts? Perhaps…
Equally, could you put it down to Charlie being something of a trailblazer on the indie scene, pushing the envelope and helping to knock down barriers. From debuting in EVE, to winning their inaugural SHE-1 tournament six months later, and winning the title a further six months after that? In an age when wrestling has the perception that it’s “hard to make stars”, the ascent of Charlie Morgan shows that no matter what your character is, that when you can make a connection with a crowd, regardless of race, gender, orientation or any of the other labels that are used to define and divide us… it’s really not that difficult.
We want to wish Charlie all the best for the future, whatever that may bring in or out of wrestling…