Laura Di Matteo (born 17 July 1991) is an Italian former

professional wrestler Professional wrestling, often shortened to either pro wrestling or wrestling,The term "wrestling" is most often widely used to specifically refer to modern scripted professional wrestling, though it is also used to refer to real-life wrest ...

best known for her tenure with British promotions Pro-Wrestling: EVE and

Progress Wrestling Progress Wrestling (stylized as PROGRESS) is a British professional wrestling promotion that was established in 2011 by comedian Jim Smallman, events and comedy promoter Jon Briley, and later, actor Glen Robinson (professionally known as Glen ...

. She is also known for her tenures with various promotions from the European independent scene.

Professional wrestling career

European independent circuit (2015–2025)

Di Matteo is known for her work in various promotions of the European independent scene. She briefly worked for companies such as British Empire Wrestling, Bodyslam! Wrestling, International Pro Wrestling: United Kingdom,

German Wrestling Federation German Wrestling Federation (GWF) is a professional wrestling promotion which has been founded and is based in Berlin, Germany. While the promotion has toured through Germany and has held events in Bochum, Rostock, Lübeck, Hennigsdorf and Hambu ...

or Defiant Wrestling. She shared a stint tenure with

Revolution Pro Wrestling Revolution Pro Wrestling (RevPro/RPW) is a British professional wrestling Professional wrestling promotion, promotion founded on 26 August 2012 by Andy Quildan after separating from International Pro Wrestling: United Kingdom. Revolution Pro Wre ...

. At ''RevPro No Escape'' on February 27, 2022, Di Matteo teamed up with Hyan in a losing effort against The Hex (

Allysin Kay Allysin Kay (born November 5, 1987) is an American professional wrestler. She is best known for her time with the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA), where she was a former NWA World Women's Tag Team Championship, NWA World Women's Tag Team champ ...

and

Marti Belle Martibel Payano (born August 7, 1988) is an American professional wrestler, best known working under the ring name Marti Belle. She is best known for her time with the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA), where she was a former NWA World Women's ...

). She competed in one of the promotion's women-only tournaments, the 2019 Queen of The Ring, where she fell short to Chardonnay in the first rounds. At

Westside Xtreme Wrestling Westside Xtreme Wrestling, commonly shortened to wXw, is a German professional wrestling promotion based in Gelsenkirchen, North Rhine-Westphalia. wXw has been one of the leading professional wrestling promotions in Germany, and most of its event ...

's 2017 edition of the

Femmes Fatales A ( , ; ), sometimes called a maneater, Mata Hari, or vamp, is a stock character of a mysterious, beautiful, and Seduction, seductive woman whose charms ensnare her lovers, often leading them into compromising, deadly traps. She is an archetype ...

tournament, Di Matteo defeated

Killer Kelly Raquel Lourenço (born 21 March 1992), best known by her ring name Killer Kelly, is a Portuguese professional wrestler signed to Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA), where she is a former two-time TNA Knockouts Tag Team Champion (with Masha S ...

in the first rounds and fell short to

Viper Vipers are snakes in the family Viperidae, found in most parts of the world, except for Antarctica, Australia, Hawaii, Madagascar, New Zealand, Ireland, and various other isolated islands. They are venomous and have long (relative to non-vipe ...

in the semifinals.

Progress Wrestling (2015–2022)

Di Matteo made her

professional wrestling Professional wrestling, often shortened to either pro wrestling or wrestling,The term "wrestling" is most often widely used to specifically refer to modern scripted professional wrestling, though it is also used to refer to Real life, real- ...

debut in

under the

ring name A ring name is a type of stage name or nickname used by an athlete such as a professional wrestler, mixed martial artist, or boxer whose real name is considered unattractive, dull, difficult to pronounce or spell, amusing for the wrong reasons ...

of "Elizabeth" at ''ENDVR 9'', an event promoted on March 1, 2015, where she teamed up with Jinny in a losing effort against Pollyanna and Mischa East. During her time in the company, she competed in various of its signature events. One of them is the Natural Progression Series in which she made her debut at the fourth edition from 2017 where she defeated Chakara in the first rounds, Alex Windsor in the semifinals and fell short to

Toni Storm Toni Rossall (born 19 October 1995), better known by the ring name Toni Storm, is a New Zealand-Australian professional wrestler. She is signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW) under the epithet "Timeless" Toni Storm and is the reigning AEW Women' ...

and Jinny in a

three-way match Many types of wrestling matches, sometimes called "gimmick matches" in the jargon of the business, are performed in professional wrestling. Some gimmick matches are more common than others and are often used to advance or conclude a storyline. ...

in the finals from ''PROGRESS Chapter 49'' on May 28, 2017, which were also contested for the inaugural Progress Wrestling World Women's Championship. She competed in the

Revelations Of Divine Love ''Revelations of Divine Love'' is a medieval book of Christian mysticism, Christian mystical devotions. Containing 87 chapters, the work was written between the 14th and 15th centuries by Julian of Norwich, about whom almost nothing is known. ...

tournament in 2021 in which she fell short to Skye Smitson in the first rounds.

Pro-Wrestling: EVE (2016–2024)

Di Matteo made her debut in Pro-Wrestling: EVE at ''EVE Never Mind The Bollocks, Here's Pro-Wrestling: EVE'' on November 26, 2016, where she defeated Shanna in singles competition. During her time in the promotion, she competed in various signature events promoted by it. One of them is the SHE-1 tournament in which she scored her best result at the 2017 edition where she placed herself in the C block, scoring a total of tying four points with

Jamie Hayter Paige Wooding (born 23 April 1995), better known by the ring name Jamie Hayter, is a British professional wrestler. She is signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW) where she is a former AEW Women's World Champion. Prior to signing with AEW, she ha ...

and Sammii Jayne. Di Matteo later lost the playoff match for the finals against Hayter and Jayne. Di Matteo is a former EVE International Championship, title which she won at ''Slayers in Spandex 2'' on February 5, 2022, after she defeated Alex Windsor for the vacant title. She lost the title at ''EVE Wrestle Queendom 5'' on November 13, 2022, against Yuu in a match which was also contested for the latter's

Pure-J Openweight Championship The is a women's professional wrestling Championship (professional wrestling), championship owned by the Pure-J professional wrestling promotion, promotion. The championship, which is situated at the top of Pure-J's championship hierarchy, was i ...

. She is also a former EVE Tag Team Championship, title which she won alongside Rayne Leverkusen as "The Rock and Rome Express" at ''EVE 100'' on January 7, 2023, by defeating reigning champions Medusa Complex (Charli Evans and

Millie McKenzie Millie Mai McKenzie (born 17 June 2000) is an English professional wrestler. She is mostly known for her time in WWE where she performed on the NXT UK brand under the ring name Emilia McKenzie. She has also wrestled in promotions - Defiant Wrestl ...

). Chantal Jordan filled in for an injured Evans in the match. At ''EVE Wrestle Queendom 4'' on August 27, 2021, Di Matteo competed in a rumble match for the Pro-Wrestling: EVE Championship, bout won by Jetta and also involving various other notable opponents such as Rhia O'Reilly,

Erin Angel Erin Marshall (born 16 March 1987) is an English professional wrestler, better known by her ring name Erin Angel. She is often nicknamed "Little" due to her short stature of 4 ft 11 in. Erin Angel describes her gimmick in wrestling as "''I ...

Zoe Lucas Zoe Lucas (born 2 May 1992) is an English professional wrestler. She is best known for her work on the independent circuit with promotions such as Rise Wrestling, Shimmer Women Athletes, World Wonder Ring Stardom, Pro-Wrestling: EVE, and Revolu ...

Lana Austin LeeAnn Adele "Lana" Austin (born 22 September 1986) is an English professional wrestler who currently performs on the independent circuit. She is best known for her tenure with Progress Wrestling, where she became a one-time Progress Wrestling ...

and many others.

NXT UK (2021)

Due to being a developmental talent enhanced by Progress, Di Matteo competed in several matches of

WWE World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) is an American professional wrestling promotion. It is owned and operated by TKO Group Holdings, a majority-owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. A global integrated media and entertainment company, ...

NXT UK ''NXT UK'' was a professional wrestling television programme that was produced exclusively in the United Kingdom by the American promotion WWE. It aired on BT Sport and 5Action (previously known as Paramount Network). In the United States, the ...

brand. She made her first appearance at ''WWE NXT UK #150'' on June 24, 2021, where she fell short to

Stevie Turner Lucy Bridge (born 15 December 1996) is an English professional wrestler. She is signed to WWE, where she serves as the on-screen co-assistant general manager of the NXT brand and the on-screen general manager of the Evolve brand under the ring ...

in singles competition. At ''WWE NXT UK #152'' on July 8, 2021, she fell short to

Blair Davenport Beatrice St. Claire Terry (née Priestley, born 22 March 1996) is an English-New Zealander professional wrestler. She is a freelancer, performing for various promotions such as New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW). She previously performed in WWE und ...

. Di Matteo made her last appearance for the brand at the ''WWE NXT UK #154'' episode from July 22, 2021, where she fell short to

Nina Samuels Samantha Allen (born 17 October 1988), better known by her ring name Nina Samuels is an English professional wrestler. She is performing on the British independent circuit. She is best known for her time in WWE, where she performed on the NXT ...

Personal life

Di Matteo came out as

gay ''Gay'' is a term that primarily refers to a homosexual person or the trait of being homosexual. The term originally meant 'carefree', 'cheerful', or 'bright and showy'. While scant usage referring to male homosexuality dates to the late ...

via

Twitter Twitter, officially known as X since 2023, is an American microblogging and social networking service. It is one of the world's largest social media platforms and one of the most-visited websites. Users can share short text messages, image ...

during the 2018 pride month. In 2019, she cited

Io Shirai is a Japanese professional wrestler. She is signed to WWE, where she performs on the Raw (WWE brand), Raw WWE brand extension, brand under the ring name (stylized in all caps) and is the current Women's World Championship (WWE), Women’s Wo ...

as one of her dream opponents.

Championships and accomplishments

** GWF Women's World Championship (1 time) * Independent Wrestling Federation ** IWF Women's Championship (1 time) * Pro-Wrestling: EVE ** Pro-Wrestling: EVE International Championship ( 1 time) ** Pro-Wrestling: EVE Tag Team Championship ( 1 time) – with Rayne Leverkusen *''

Pro Wrestling Illustrated ''Pro Wrestling Illustrated'' (''PWI'') is an American professional wrestling magazine that was founded in 1979 by publisher Stanley Weston. ''PWI'' is headquartered in Blue Bell, Pennsylvania, and published by Kappa Publishing Group. The maga ...

'' ** Ranked No. 73 of the top 150 female singles wrestlers in the ''

PWI Women's 150 ''Pro Wrestling Illustrated'' (''PWI'') is an American professional wrestling magazine that was founded in 1979 by publisher Stanley Weston. ''PWI'' is headquartered in Blue Bell, Pennsylvania, and published by Kappa Publishing Group. The mag ...

'' in 2022

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Di Matteo, Laura 1991 births Living people 21st-century Italian sportswomen Italian expatriate sportspeople in England Italian female professional wrestlers Italian lesbian sportswomen LGBTQ professional wrestlers Pro-Wrestling: EVE International Champions Pro-Wrestling: EVE Tag Team Champions Sportspeople from Rome