The wrestling world is known for its creative costumes and storylines – and now two US female rivals are modelling themselves on the Bette Davis/Anne Baxter classic. A veteran performer, inspired by a young fan, takes the woman under her wing to nurture her as an understudy. But the route to the spotlight inspires cut-throat behaviour, and the protégé upstages her mentor so as to replace her entirely.
For those familiar with cinematic history, this sounds like the plot of All About Eve – but in this case, it's actually the arc of a feud between two of the best women's wrestlers of the moment. A quick rewind to this time last year: London played host to one of the biggest, if not the biggest, wrestling events in the country's history with All Elite Wrestling's All In, which filled out Wembley Stadium, a pretty remarkable achievement for a wrestling company that's only five years old. For those unfamiliar, All Elite Wrestling (AEW) owned by Tony Khan, is a relatively young entrant into the world of US professional wrestling.
Matches are pre-determined, and rivalries between wrestlers are scripted using long-running fictional "storylines" over months or even years. The bouts are still legitimately physically fierce, however, and the end result is an artistic dance between narrative planning and live improvisation. Since being founded in 2019, AEW has rocketed to prominence thanks to the strong alternative programming it's offered to the behemoth World Wrestling Entertain.