EVOLVE 42 review

Twenty-four hours after hitting Shine stronghold Ybor City with EVOLVE 41, the EVOLVE crew hit up Orlando for EVOLVE 42. Coming off an enjoyable show in Ybor and a packed WrestleMania weekend offering this show had tough acts to follow. It got off to an underwhelming start and was set back by technical problems (something so common with iPPVs that I've stopped mentioning them, for the most part) but pulled things together in its final hour to be a satisfying event.

The show kicked off with Lenny Leonard and Ron Nemi joking about sandwiches on commentary and Santana defending the Shine championship against Andrea in the ring. This was more a platform for advancing the Su Yung and So Cal Val issues than anything else. This priority extended to the finish, where Yung grabbed Santana as she hit the ropes and held her for Andrea to cheap shot her. That backfired and Su was sent sailing off the apron, which caused a brief pause from Andrea that allowed Santana to apply a small package for the win.

The match as a whole was enjoyable but pretty basic. Andrea seemed really uncertain at points and definitely didn't seem to have the nasty streak which would make her role as the new monster on the Shine scene believable. 

After that match Val called Yung worthless and an idiot (but not a worthless idiot). Andrea gave Yung a Samoan driver. Then Val dumped water on her and got carried backstage by Andrea. Yung was also carried backstage, but by a lowly referee. This would all be revisited in the main event. While I think it's commendable that EVOLVE are telling a story focusing on women I find the specifics odd. Su Yung did a fake heel turn only last year, when she pretended to side with Rich Swann against the PAB. Val doesn't wrestle. And the majority of the feud will play out in Shine, a different company. I understand that the idea is to get more people buying Shine events to see how things play out but I' not convinced what we've seen so far will do that.

Match two, emphasised as being the official opener by Leonard, once again saw Martin Stone on job duty. This time it was Ethan Page getting the win over him with an Ace crusher and a Spinning Dwayne. It was another match as much about furthering an angle as providing good wrestling. In this case it was Leonard discussing Page's fresh rivalry with Johnny Gargano.

Match three saw stringy-haired ROH job lad Andrew Everett become a stringy-haired EVOLVE job lad to lose to Rey Horus. It was a fun match but one I expected to be quicker and have more highlights. Aside from Everett hitting a lovely Asai moonsault and turning a headscissors into a kip up and Horus's match-winning top rope hurricanrana there wasn't much to be dazzled by. But the crowd wasn't overly large so I understand them not taking too many risks, and they avoided being outright boring, so on the whole it wasn't bad.

TJ Perkins versus Timothy Thatcher was the first unquestioned hit of the evening. Their early mat wrestling was slick, engaging and logical, Thatcher working with even more ferocity than usual to convey his increased desire to win after his loss to Roderick Strong in the previous evening's main event. They traded the initiative back and forth, each focusing on the other's arm. That's standard for Thatcher, less so for TJP. It made sense given the grappling credentials (underrated in Perkins' case) of both men.

Particular highlights of the match were TJP turning a Thatcher headstand into a body scissors; Thatcher employing a rolling gut wrench; Thatcher countering a frog splash into a Fujiwara armbar; TJP hitting a GTS into a Pele kick; and the match-ending exchange of armbars which ended with Thatcher gaining the upper hand (no pun intended) to force a tap out from Perkins. After the match Thatcher, who we're told doesn't talk much but has had something to say on several recent shows, took a microphone and requested a match with the winner of the Galloway v Strong title match that will occur at the next batch of shows.

Biff Busick then took on EVOLVE's top heel, Roderick Strong. I make note of Roddy being the company's lead bad guy because he only got brought in as a regular in the back half of 2014. It's impressive how entrenched he is in the company after such a short time. Yes, he was a known quantity before he debuted but it's still impressive that it feels like he's been in the company for years and has become one of its focal points.

As is the case with the majority of Strong matches in EVOLVE this match began with him doing some heelish stalling. Unlike usual Biff managed to get his hands on Roddy and they immediately launched into an intense match, brawling at ringside and swapping big moves both in and out of the ring (including a nasty-looking backbreaker on the barricade from Strong). It was a welcome change of pace after the deliberate Thatcher v Perkins bout.

For the second night in a row the match ended on a judgement call from referee Brandon Tolle. This time he halted the match as Strong was trapped in the rear naked choke. Strong got in Tolle's face about the decision before storming backstage. Busick stayed in the ring to tell everyone that Tolle had finally made a good call, a reference to him losing because of Tolle the night before. Engaging heel mode he also declared that he was unappreciated by EVOVLE managements and fans. Thatcher returned to the ring and said Busick was pissing him off. They brawled and were separated by referees and FIP wrestlers. Thatcher staggered backstage afterwards, Lenny Leonard theorising that a slap to the ear and thrown off his equilibrium. Shoot or storyline? It's tough to know with EVOLVE.

Trevor Lee v Davey Richards took the semi-main event slot. Lee was impressive in his match against AR Fox at EVOLVE 37 in January and he was impressive again here. He's good at the en vogue style of martial arts kicks and knee strikes blended with more traditional suplexes and power bombs. Richards is a peculiar dude, which makes for an interesting in-ring character when he's on form, and also a very good wrestler. He meshed nicely with Lee and gave him a lot of time to show what he could do. He also had him kick out of a top rope double stomp, which created a great close two count. Lee lost after a roundhouse but his status was enhanced by looking competitive opposite Richards. He's definitely somebody that warrants further EVOLVE bookings.

The headline match was a street fight for the Open the United Gate championships, the Ronin team of Rich Swann and Johnny Gargano challenging Anthony Nese and Caleb Konley. For the record this was the first time the titles had been defended in 2015. The last defence had been made by Konley and Trent Baretta against The Colony and the Bravado brothers during the WWN tour of China in November (interesting side note on that is that five of those six names are no longer associated with the company). This highlights just how little attention the EVOLVE tag division gets. They're at the point now where they should make a concerted effort to make their tag belts relevant again.

That said this match did give the titles a boost. Not just because Swann and Gargano are big deals in EVOLVE but because all four men wrestled like the championships meant something to them. Well, I say wrestled, but this match didn't actually feature much wrestling. They made good use of the street fight stip, using ladders, chairs and tables to put on a crazy brawl that should have satisfied anyone into this style of match. Highlights included a lawn dart into a rubbish bin (trash can, for North American readers), Konley bumping through a ladder propped between the ring and the barricade (sadly missed by the cameras), Su Yung misting So Cal Val before cross bodying Andrea, an amusing but slightly too long New Jack-esque weapons sequence, and a power bomb onto a ladder from Gargano to Nese followed by Swann's match-winning frog splash. It doesn't sit especially well with the general style in EVOLVE but it was good fun for what it was and worked well as a rarity.

After the match Ethan Page heckled Ronin from the commentary table (he'd called the match). Gargano said he didn't want to wrestle Page and called him a nobody. More shoot comments about Gargano being a big shot followed until Page got up and teased getting in the ring for a fight. He didn't though. Instead he wandered backstage, leaving Ronin to celebrate to All Night Long.

EVOLVEs 41 and 42 were a good pair of shows. There were a few skippable matches but nothing bad and different tastes were catered to, something illustrated nicely by the contrast in main events. Sapolsky continued building up "his guys" Caleb Konley, Timothy Thatcher and Ethan Page, showing they were the right selections for their larger roles. And you know what? I didn't miss AR Fox once.

***

Results summary:

Santana defeated Andrea to retain the Shine championship
Ethan Page defeated Martin Stone
Rey Horus defeated Andrew Everett
Timothy Thatcher defeated TJ Perkins
Biff Busick defeated Roderick Strong
Davey Richards defeated Trevor Lee
Johnny Gargano and Rich Swann defeated Anthony Nese and Caleb Konley to win the Open the United Gate championships

EVOLVE 41 review

One of the best things about EVOLVE is that shows rarely leave you feeling frustrated. After the average WWE show I'll have a list of things that could have been done differently, usually correlating with a list of things that make no sense. With EVOLVE there's usually nothing to comment on but the quality of the matches, which is rarely anything less good, and their streamlined nature means they never outstay their welcome. Gimmick matches are used sparingly and thus mean more, and everyone gets the chance to showcase their ability.

EVOLVE 41 was no exception to any of this. It was another satisfying show. Things kicked off with the "new" Premier Athlete Brand entering the ring for a chat.  Nese blamed Su Yung for the group's losses at the WWN Live Experience (even though neither he nor she were there). He told her she had one more chance or she'd be fired. He also promised that the Brand would end Ronin for good in the tag title street fight at EVOLVE 42. After that he beat loveable Londoner Martin Stone with a single leg crab. Yeah, Stone was in the enhancement role again but the match was long enough for him to look competitive and it took plenty of interference from Athena and Val for Nese to apply the single leg crab, so he didn't look overly weak.

Caleb Konley spoke up after that. He called out his opponent, the debuting Rey Horus. On the one hand the match was fairly predictable. Konley kept the pace slow at first before busting out the big bumps to make Horus look good as the pace sped up. On the other hand the match had a somewhat surprising result, with Konley pinning Horus following a Samoan driver from the second rope. Horus was good. His selection of flying moves, while no more dazzling than anyone else's, were crisp and on target. If AR Fox is done with EVOLVE, as has been claimed by both Sapolsky and Fox himself, Horus would be an ideal replacement.

As he'd be an ideal new singles star I'd expected Horus to win, getting his EVOLVE run off to a strong start. I'm fine with Konley going over though. As I've written before he's someone that Sapolsky seems to feel he can rely on and build up over time. Within EVOLVE it's not a slight to lose to 'The Obsession'.

The PAB continued talking after that. Su Yung announced that she'd secured a Shine championship match for herself at EVOLVE 42. Val cut in and said Athena would be in the match instead. Then she had Athena choke Su, ripped Su's shirt open, and made fun of her physique. Which came dangerously close to being in poor taste. What saved it was that it's clearly going somewhere and Su will presumably get her revenge at some point.

Match three was TJ Perkins versus Biff Busick. As is often the case with mat wrestling matches in EVOLVE this took a while to get going but was enjoyable was it did. While it was good I would have preferred TJP in a match against a flyer. He and Rey Horus could work well together. Perhaps that's something Sapolsky wants to build up to, giving Horus a few wins first so it means more when it rolls around.

Perkins won the match with a Fujiwara armbar and kicks to Busick's head. Busick told the referee and a cameraman that he didn't tap out after the match. It was hard to tell from the camera angle but it didn't look like he tapped out. This will presumably lead to another meeting between Busick and Perkins. My money would be on it having a submissions only stipulation.

Ethan Page v Rich Swann was not preceded by the standard issue Swann sing-song. Because this was a grudge match and Swann was being serious (plus it probably saved some money this way). Page had turned on Johnny Gargano at Mercury Rising as a way of openly making a name for himself at the expense of a bigger name. He had refused a match with Gargano, saying Gargano had to wait a year if he wanted the match, a call back to 'The Whole Shebang' making Ricochet wait a year for his Open the Freedom Gate match. So  Page had been booked against Gargano's Ronin teammate Swann instead. From a storytelling point of view this made sense. I'm wary of the feud being kept hot for a year though.

They didn't produce a masterpiece but that was fine. Being an amazing wrestler isn't Page's thing. He's more about character and trash-talking. That's rare in the current EVOLVE so it works nicely from Page. He's providing something nobody else does, even if it is something fairly basic. They did some extensive ringside brawling (including a piledriver on concrete to Swann) before running through finishers and signature moves in the ring. Page won with the Spinning Dwayne, his Rock Bottom variant.

TNA Superstar™ Davey Richards and EVOLVE standout Johnny Gargano followed that. Richards took the early lead when he proved a step quicker than 'Johnny Wrestling', countering a number of his moves and setting the pace of the match. He also took on the role of antagonist, which I liked because I find him far more entertaining in that role than when he's playing a bland good guy.

The match was very good. Each ran through their usual repertoire and their styles meshed nicely. After surviving a lawn dart and two Gargano Escapes it was Richards who went over after hitting the former two time Open the Freedom Gate champion with a rolling kick to the back of the head. After the match a despondent Gargano told Rob Naylor that he and Swann would go to war with the Premier Athlete Brand. Then he no-sold Ethan Page. That's hardly building anticipation is it?

The main event was a two-out-of-three falls match between Roderick Strong and Timothy Thatcher with the winner getting an EVOLVE title match against Drew Galloway. The first fall started with Roddy stalling and trying to get under Thatcher's skin. It didn't work. He was eventually caught and grounded by Thatcher. Despite this Roddy managed to win the first fall with a roll-up as Thatcher tried to apply a Fujiwara armbar, having targeted the arm since he caught hold of Strong.

Fall two saw Thatcher annoyed at Strong getting the first fall in a flash fashion and Roddy looking to soften up his foe for a similarly quick second pin. They brawled at ringside but would return to the ring fairly quickly to exchange strikes before Thatcher locked in the Fujiwara armbar successfully. Strong tapped immediately, saving himself from taking too much damage. This was sold as a veteran move but actually he could have made the ropes easily enough from where he was and retained his pin advantage.

The third fall was, appropriately, the shortest of the three. It worked nicely as an enjoyable, self-contained match that was all about the two men racing to get a victory. It was Strong who got it following a sick kick and a Gibson driver.

After the match Strong said he was going to embarrass Drew Galloway and take his championship at EVOLVE 44. Thatcher got in on the chat action (chat-tion?) by saying he'd work his way back up and challenge the winner. Then Biff Busick wandered out and said he'd been screwed earlier on the show. Strong said Busick sounded like a baby and told both guys they needed to learn to deal with being losers. Thatcher and Busick had a brief staredown in the ring. Then Biff went backstage. Thatcher's music played to end the show. And that was that. Not even a show-closing promo. Sometimes they're unnecessary, aren't they?

***

Results summary:

Anthony Nese defeated Martin Stone
Caleb Konley defeated Rey Horus
TJ Perkins defeated Biff Busick
Ethan Page defeated Rich Swann
Davey Richards defeated Johnny Gargano
Roderick Strong defeated Timothy Thatcher

EVOLVE 38 review

EVOLVE 38 was an odd one. It was initially slipped onto the World Wrestling Network schedule in mid-February, a surprising (but welcome) move just weeks before the big series of shows lined up for WrestleMania weekend. With only a few weeks to put a card together it looked like the show may not be up to the company's usual quality, despite the intriguing announcement of a Roderick Strong v Drew Galloway cage match. But it wasn't a lack of enticing matches that EVOLVE 38 with, it was a stream of talent announcements.

The initial talent list featured Trent Baretta of the Premier Athlete Brand. On February 27 it was announced he'd pulled himself (other accounts claim he was pulled) because he'd been offered a spot as Rocky Romero's new tag partner in Ring of Honor. Perhaps to rub salt in the wound he tweeted pictures from a concert the night before the EVOLVE show.

This left Gabe Sapolsky in a tough spot. Baretta had been one of his most reliable wrestlers (from an in-ring perspective at least) and had been announced as the opponent of AR Fox. Without Baretta one of Sapolsky's favourites was left with no one to wrestle. He came up trumps when he signed Davey Richards but that necessitated another line-up change because Richards' last EVOLVE match had been opposite 'The Whole Foxin' Show'. Fox was switched to a bout with Matt Cage and Richards was announced as the new opponent for Anthony Nese. Ironic, considering Richards was on the show to replace Nese's former PAB teammate.

One final wrinkle came when PJ Black was announced for the show on Saturday. Yes, one night before the show took place. Such a late addition was presumably out of Sapolsky's control and due to negotiations despite it matching his established booking style: he would have been foolish to turn down an earlier than expected debut from Black. But it was still yet another line-up change for the card. It would be the last. Caleb Konley v Biff Busick was cancelled to make way for Konley v Black, Busick being tucked into a fresh match against Martin Stone (a low key addition to the card).

It took a long time coming together but the final EVOLVE 38 show featured a good list of matches. It boasted all new pairings outside of the Strong v Galloway main event and that had its own unique appeal by being a cage match, the first in EVOLVE history. Pleasingly it was as good in practice as it looked on paper and provided the WWN crew with a nice lead-in to their busiest stretch of the year.

The show got underway with Martin Stone v Biff Busick. Other than the wearisome references made to London and England made by the commentary duo of Trevin Adams and Rob Naylor the match was perfectly serviceable. Stone did nothing to make it clear why he was booked but he didn't embarrass himself. The match ended quickly with a rear naked choke in order to protect Busick's number one ranking status. Looking competitive against a late addition like Stone could have undone some of the work that's been done building him up.

Match two pitted the debuting Bill Carr (a name so generic it was once a joke on I'm Alan Partridge) and Dan Barry, collectively known as Team Tremendous, against Larry Dallas's team of Earl Cooter and Jody Kristofferson. I was a fan of Dallas's lads on WWN's China shows so I was pleased to see them introduced to EVOLVE. It was another solid match. Carr, a big lad, had some cruiserweight spots to draw and Barry seemed proficient. Both teams had some strong double team moves too, Barry and Carr using an Electric Chair-Sliced Bread combo to get the surprise win. I'd expected Cooter and Kristofferson to go over as they had a history with the company. Presumably this means more Team Tremendous.

The debuts continued in match three. Newcomer Matt Cage entered wearing a track suit to some excellent music. First ever EVOLVE champion AR Fox entered wearing his weird Marty McFly-in-the-future-hat to his standard, non-excellent music. Within seconds of the match starting the two were exchanging dives out of the ring. They did that for several minutes before heading back into the ring, briefly slowing down for a breather, and going at one another with strikes, dives and double stomps.

Fox busted out an Ace Crusher only for Cage to kick out and respond with a butterfly power bomb and the katahajime. Fox fought out by running Cage back into a turnbuckle and got a long two count off a springboard 450 splash. Another springboard attempt backfired when Cage caught 'The Whole Foxin' Show' in mid-air with a Codebreaker. Fox survived that, blasted Cage with a corner yakuza kick, a couple of super kicks, Low Mein Pain and a 450 splash for the win. The bevy of moves used to put Cage away seemed designed to keep Cage looking strong in defeat (because Fox and Cage are old pals). Cage was the non-former-WWE newcomer to EVOLVE that I'd most like to see make a return visit.

A promo, rare in EVOLVE outside of the post-main event slot, followed that. Drew Gulak said modern wrestlers are more concerned with impressing people than figuring out how to win matches. He revealed his strategy for facing Hero (he'd break him down and pick him apart - insightful stuff) and then called him out to the ring. Hero, who's still sporting the chunky physique he picked up with his "bad back" last summer, entered in a distinctly face-like fashion, a departure from his last appearance at EVOLVE 33 where he went full on heel.

Having twenty minutes to play with they built the match slowly. After starting out with some mat-based locks Hero got frustrated and started striking. Gulak replied in kind. Elbows and knees became the norm from then on, both in and out of the ring. Things gradually escalated as various suplexes were dished out with increasing frequency before the two went back to striking in the form of hard slaps. The finish came out of nowhere: Hero simply picked a dazed Gulak up and Tombstoned him for the win.

After the match Hero put Gulak over as tough then went all bad guy and said him he was too out of it to know where he was. After reiterating that other wrestlers have to earn the right to say his name (the topic that got him so het up at EVOLVE 33) Hero found himself confronted by Biff Busick. Hero threw the injured Gulak into Busick then tried to cheap shot him. Busick fought him off and tried to apply the rear naked choke but Hero ran off through the crowd. Sadly he wasn't shown exiting through a random door. The use of Hero here was excellent.

Busick then helped Gulak to his feet and gave him a pally pat on the back. During the tag match Naylor and Adams had talked about the WWN tag division being in flux and requiring new teams. I suspect that's where Gulak and Busick are headed. To be honest far worse could be done with them.

Caleb Konley, sporting a new beard and a fresh haircut, was accompanied by Anthony Nese for his match opposite PJ Black (formerly WWE Superstar™ Justin Gabriel, obvs). They started out with some speedy rope running and headlock exchanges. It didn't take long to progress to more: they slipped out of the ring for Konley to take a tornado DDT before he took a super kick while performing the McGuinness corner headstand. After a trio of suicide dives from Black, Konley finally took the initiative when he hit the second mid-air Codebreaker of the night a Black springboarded into the ring. Back took a jumping yakuza kick, a back elbow and spinning back fist. Konley missed a springboard moonsault and Black responded by connecting with a top rope springboard moonsault.

Konley got a top rope hurricanrana. Black rolled through into a sunset flip-like pin for a two count. 'The Obsession' got a two count of his own with a fireman's carry into a Michinoku driver (once known as a One Night Stand) and a second with a version of the Liger bomb. Konley tried a superplex but Black fought him off and hung his opponent throat-first on the top rope. That stunned Konley and sent him sprawling down to the mat in position for a springboard 450 splash. PJ Black picked up his first EVOLVE win.

The Premier Athlete lads went to attack but Black escaped. Nese then cut a promo about how he has the best 450 splash in wrestling. Black stood in the aisle smiling then left as Nese called for Davey Richards. The crowd were pleased to see Richards, a significant difference to the hostility he received at EVOLVE 25 when he fell to AR Fox. I imagine this was a nice experience for Richards. I would have booed him had I been there though. Heckling Davey Richards is one of life's greatest pleasures.

They had a very, very good match. The early going saw Richards wrap up Nese with some submission holds and Nese heckling the crowd about his (admittedly impressive) abs. Outside the ring Nese took Richards' punt kick from the apron before managing to make him laugh by trying to escape into the crowd. The laughter continued when Richards did his knowingly terrible Rick Rude hip gyration. Nese survived a Haas of Pain then took Davey to the outside to give him a suicide dive, some loud chops, and throw him into crowd barricades and a girder.

Nese controlled the pace back in the ring until Richards got his knees up on a springboard moonsault attempt. Nese took a handspring enziguri and a super kick before attempting a superplex. Davey fought his way free of that but couldn't avoid being scooped into a fireman's carry and dropped into an Ace Crusher by Nese. That earned 'The Premier Athlete' a two count.

Richards went for a double stomp. Nese avoided then hit the move himself. Richards gave Nese some mid-section kicks, following up with an alarm clock and a lariat. Nese floored the Wolf with a drop kick before hitting his one arm buckle bomb. Richards avoided a 450 splash, scrabbling to his feet to boot Nese in the face and give him a top rope double stomp. Nese kicked out. Richards kicked him in the temple. Nese kicked out again. Richards locked in an over the head single leg crab for the tap out win just after the twenty-one minute mark. This was an ideal semi-main event: they put on a really good match but didn't overshadow the headlining acts.

Much has been made elsewhere of the technical issues presented by the cage. It took too long to set up. The door hung open. It wasn't fixed to the ring properly. I thought it was fine. It did the most important thing and stood up to two grown men being thrown into it. Watching on demand rather than streaming live I wasn't kept waiting long enough to become irritated. Would this have been different if I'd watched live? Possibly, although I understand that fixing a steel cage to a wrestling ring is not a quick process and I would have been happy to wait a fair old while.

I mention this because I want to make it clear that the use of a cage was a good thing. It's obviously not something that could or should be done by the league with any great degree of regularity but as an infrequent treat it's worth the wait. It really added something to the already vicious Strong versus Galloway feud. They made good use of what the cage allowed them to do. In addition to the usual assortment of backbreakers, big boots and stiffness usual from these two they implemented the regular cage-based offense before Galloway did a blade job and got battered by running knees against the cage.

This led to the finish, referee stoppage in favour of Strong. It was peculiar for what is essentially an anything goes, must-be-a-winner environment but it accomplished what it set out to, namely putting Roddy over and making Galloway and his championship reign look vulnerable for the first time in EVOLVE.

After the match PJ Black turned up to chase off Strong then challenged Galloway to make their match in San Jose a title match. Galloway accepted and then talked about how grateful he is for the opportunities he's had since being let go by WWE. He also did a lot of swearing and made the bold declaration that he only wants one championship in EVOLVE, throwing out the challenge for Johnny Gargano to face him in a unification match at WrestleMania weekend. WWN email updates since have intimated the unification bout will happen if Galloway and Gargano have their respective straps come the Mercury Rising supershow. The wording made it seem like a title change beforehand is possible, and that would be a very Sapolsky thing to do, but ultimately I think the unification match will happen.

All told EVOLVE 38 was a strong show. That it was so enjoyable without the involvement of stalwarts such as Johnny Gargano, Ricochet, Rich Swann, and Uhaa Nation (and, for that matter, Trent Baretta) shows that the group is more than a one star company, which is a very good thing in 2015. A strong roster is what modern pro wrestling fans want, not a weak card with two or three heavy hitters at the top (I'm looking at you, WWE). Based on what we saw here the WWN Live events at the end of the month (see here for details on them) should be real treats.

***

Results summary:

Biff Busick defeated Martin Stone
Team Tremendous defeated Earl Cooter and Jody Kristofferson
AR Fox defeated Matt Cage
Chris Hero defeated Drew Gulak
PJ Black defeated Caleb Konley
Davey Richards defeated Anthony Nese
Roderick Strong defeated Drew Galloway by referee stoppage

EVOLVE 37 review

Despite being accidentally kicked in the head by Drew Galloway at the end of the previous evening’s show Heather Lynn was in the ring when the EVOLVE 37 stream started up. She introduced the show before coming over all woozy and in need of a sit down. Joanna Rose replaced her to handle the intros of the first match. If she wasn’t able to speak why did Lynn bother to turn up? I mean, yes, obviously it was to get over the kick she’d taken from Galloway, which in turn reminded everyone that Roderick Strong is a bit of a cad, but in real life terms why did she attend the show?  

Shane Strickland was in the opening match for the second night in a row. Also for the second night in a row he was wrestling a champion. This time it was a non-title contest with Open the United Gate champion Anthony Nese. Before the match Nese introduced the new Director of PR for the Premier Athlete Brand, So Cal Val. Then he demoted Su Yung to Val's assistant. Because that’s how business works in wrestling. Val would immediately start issuing order to Su and they would bicker throughout the match. I wonder if this development will lead to a match or feuding factions or anything...

Strickland and Nese had a good opening match. As was the case the night before Strickland was given plenty to do to make him look competitive. Nese won after flattening Strickland with a pump handle bomb and applying the single leg crab. At Val’s request Su Yung took a picture of the rest of the gang after the match. 

Timothy Thatcher v Roderick Strong was preceded by Strong being disingenuous with a microphone. He apologised to Heather Lynn for what Drew Galloway did to her the night before, failing to acknowledge it was his fault. But he’s a heel, that’s what they do. He said he wasn't going to kick Galloway around the building again but that he'd give Thatcher a kicking. Lenny Leonard explained that Strong and Galloway had been told they’d face heavy fines if they interacted in any way during the show.

Thatcher took Strong down to the mat and worked over his arm at the start of the match. Strong took Thatcher down and targeted his leg. They worked through pinning situations and submission holds, ending with a Strong dragon suplex which thatcher bridged out of and turned into an armbar. Roddy escaped that and took a breather at ringside.

Thatcher swatted aside a drop kick and connected with uppercuts before they went back down to the mat. Strong elbowed and kneed Thatcher, trying again and again to get a pin in place for the three count but not managing it. Thatcher tried a cross armbreaker but Strong quickly slipped out and ran Thatcher into a corner. Thatcher fought out and worked Strong down to the mat with armbar applied. Strong used the ropes to get a break then left the ring again. Thatcher followed and got run into a ring post.

A drop kick welcomed Thatcher back to the ring. He fired back with chops and uppercuts but another drop kick floored him for a two count. Strong went for the Stronghold but couldn't turn Thatcher over so he cornered him and hit him with a running knee and a forearm instead. Thatcher got up and went back to his forearms before dropping Roddy with a suplex. Strong slipped out of a Tower of London attempt and got a German suplex. Thatcher got back to his feet and hit more uppercuts before Strong floored him with a roundhouse.

Thatcher absorbed chops in the corner, hit an enziguri, then hit a superplex. Back on their feet Roddy battered Thatcher with punches before being spun down to the mat with an arm bar, which he floated through to apply the Stronghold. When Roddy turned Thatcher onto his back to drag him away from the ropes Thatcher kicked him off, rolling him up in a small package as he bounced off the ropes for a two count. That was a great false finish.

Roddy hit a high knee and reversed out of a suplex attempt to hit a rolling elbow. Thatcher hit a head butt, yet more uppercuts, and knees then blasted Strong with a butterfly suplex. Strong kicked out but he was immediately trapped in a Fujiwara armbar. Unable to make it to the ropes and trapped in a painful hold Strong could do nothing but tap out. It was a big win for Thatcher and was talked up as such by Leonard and Niemi on commentary.

After the match Thatcher reminded everyone that he won the style battle tournament last time he was in Florida for WWN. He asked for a match with Chris Hero, who’d kicked him in the head the same night he won the tournament. Hero wasn’t there to respond but I imagine we’ll be seeing that match.

Match three pitted Trevor Lee against AR Fox. They had a lightning quick two minute exchange before the match was called to a halt when Fox took a nasty fall outside the ring and started bleeding from the eye. It's a shame it didn't get to go longer based on the first few minutes but it was a legitimate injury so they did the right thing calling the match off (it was announced prior to the main event that Fox was fine). A rematch on one of the 'Mania weekend cards would be nice to see.

On paper Biff Busick v Uhaa Nation looked like an unappealing clash of styles. It practice it was a lively, enjoyable encounter. They began with Uhaa getting the best of some lockups and then beating Busick in a test of strength (which Busick had foolishly instigated). They traded the advantage throughout the match, building towards a marvellous final few minutes.

Uhaa hit a Death Valley driver and started the Uhaa Combination. He made it all the way through the sequence but was met with Busick’s knees as he performed the standing shooting star press. Busick rolled him up for a very convincing two count. Uhaa was immediately locked in the rear naked choke as he kicked out. Uhaa staggered to his feet with Busickstill clutching at him and threw up over his body to break the hold.

A pop-up power bomb and a second, regular, power bomb got Uhaa a two count. Busick rolled onto the apron and got caught with a deadlift second rope suplex, hooking Uhaa for another pin as they landed. Uhaa again kicked out and levelled Busick with a bicycle kick. Busick slipped out of a gorilla press and pulled Uhaa down to the mat in a rear naked choke for a submission victory. The result, like many across the weekend, did Busick a lot of good. That’s what happens when wrestling shows don’t casually dismiss the importance of winning and losing. Take note WWE and TNA.

They shook hands after the match. The crowd changed "We will miss you!" at Busick, acknowledging the rumours that he’s heading to WWE. Busick downplayed the chant and announced that he had a problem with Timothy Thatcher calling out Chris Hero. His beef seemed to be that he’s proven he can beat Thatcher so Thatcher should be concerned with him, not Hero. He challenged Hero to a match at WWN Live in San Jose. Something tells me that will be accepted.

A non-title victory over EVOLVE champion Drew Galloway at EVOLVE 33 had earned Ricochet a title shot. He got it here, kicking the match off with a bang as he super kicked Galloway during the ring introductions. Galloway floored him with a big boot seconds later, just as he had done to Strong the night before.

They went out into the crowd, fighting beyond the guard rail and over to the wall of the arena. There they did a fun little spot with Galloway back dropping Ricochet only for Ricochet to hold onto to a basketball hoop, spin around, and hurricanrana the champ. Continuing the flashiness Ricochet ran up the wall for a body block on Galloway. But Galloway caught him and smacked him into the wall. Sooner or later the EVOLVE roster will pick up on the fact that Galloway is larger than all of them and they’ll stop trying to brawl with him.

Back in the ring Ricochet kicked Galloway’s hand, which had been injured the night before, and then started targeting it with stomps, heelish twisting and a shooting star press. Taunting earned Ricochet a series of forearms and lariats. Galloway blocked a Regalplex and German suplexed ricochet into a turnbuckle. Ricochet came back with a roundhouse kick, the Regalplex and a running SSP for a two count.

Galloway was pulled into position for a top rope shooting star press but he got to his feet and crotched ricochet on the top rope before he could hit it. He belly-to-belly suplexed Ricochet down into the ring before hitting him with an inverted Alabama Slam. Ricochet countered the double arm DDT into the floatover northern lights suplex, followed by a brainbuster, but it wasn't enough to earn him a three count.

Galloway avoided another attempt at the top tope SSP, blocked a Benadryller and then backhanded Ricochet with his splinted finger. He screamed at the referee that it wasn't intentional before very much intentionally booting the challenger in the head and giving him a double arm DDT for the win. The champion tried to check on Ricochet after the match but Ricochet shrugged him off. Galloway clearly wasn't that cut up because he immediately started posing with his belt and started yelling into the camera.

The Bravado brothers and Moose v Ronin was the main event. The stipulation was that the losing team would never ever get to team again (like, for total realsies). It was a peculiar ruling to have. The Ronin trio hadn't teamed (on a WWN show at least) in years and the Bravados and Moose aren't really known for being a trio. It lessened the impact the stipulation could have had, unless of course it was meant that no combination of the losing team could team could compete as a double or triple act. But that wasn’t made clear, which was probably a deliberate booking choice.

The match started with all six men brawling around ringside. The highlight of this portion was Moose power bombing Swann at Gargano and Taylor. The match was disappointingly light on moments that got over Moose’s power.

Swann was the first man to get isolated. A good decision considering his ability to draw people into his performances and make them believe he’s hurt. Once he tagged out the pace quickened and the tag aspect of the bout was quietly dropped for a bit so that everyone could work in their “cool” spots. Again the highlight of this part of the match involved Moose: he gave Gargano a Samoan drop at the same time as giving Swann a fall away slam.

The beginning of the end came when Harlem tagged himself in as Moose ran the ropes for a dive onto Ronin. ‘The Offensive Line’ stared at his charge, they had a few words, and then Harlem lashed out with a slap. Moose Death Valley bombed him onto Ronin, who were still chilling at ringside, then took out both Bravados with a dive from the ring. It wasn't made clear whether Ronin had moved or if Moose had been aiming for the Bravados. This set up Harlem to take a double stomp onto an assisted DDT, followed by a Hurts Donut from Gargano and a match-winning frog splash from Swann.

After the Bravados had limped backstage Gargano announced they'd never be allowed to team again. Again, this wasn’t made clear before the match so I’m fully expecting a Grandma Bravado mention that results in Harlem and Lancelot being allowed to continue teaming. Then he retracted his statement from the night before that he was the face of WWN. Apparently in the time since that statement he’d realised that every member of the roster and every fan is the face of the company. The Open the Freedom Gate champ finished up by saying he'd do everything he could to make his prize the most meaningful in wrestling. 

That caught the attention of Drew Galloway, who sauntered out to the ring to join Ronin. He announced that he shared Gargano's sentiment about the faces of WWN but disagreed about the title situation. He said DGUSA was dead and his belt was more important. The two champions held their belts up and glared at one another. Then they stopped. Then they took turns holding their belts up and got in one another's faces. Champion versus champion seems like a safe bet at this point.

Despite only having two shows to work with a lot was packed into the weekend and several threads were left dangling, ready to be picked up again in San Jose during WrestleMania weekend. The talk of there being a face of WWN felt like it could go somewhere, with Galloway, Gargano and Ricochet all having been established across the weekend as men who could stake a claim to the title. As part of that I’d expect the san Jose shows to feature Galloway and gargano in a champion versus champion match.

The behaviour of Drew Galloway across the two shows and the situations he found himself in felt like the start of a textbook Gabe Sapolsky storyline. I hope it gets to play out and isn't hindered by Galloway's debut for TNA. Whether it’s going in the direction of Galloway turning bad or being thought of as a fluke champion or somewhere else entirely I’d like to see it play out in full.

Stuff with Busick, Thatcher and Hero was also set up for the San Jose shows. Plus there’s the question of what the Bravados will do after their split-enforcing loss and where the Premier Athlete Brand will go with So Cal Val and Su Yung at one another’s throats. With only two shows to play with to set up a big block of shows I think Gabe Sapolsky outdid himself. And I think the roster did well with everything they were given. As they almost always do.

***

Results summary:

Anthony Nese defeated Shane Strickland
Timothy Thatcher defeated Roderick Strong
Trevor Lee defeated AR Fox via referee stoppage
Biff Busick defeated Uhaa Nation
Drew Galloway defeated Ricochet to retain the EVOLVE championship
Ronin defeated Moose and the Bravado brothers

EVOLVE 36 review

EVOLVE kicked off the year with what has become an annual visit to Florida. The first of the weekend’s two shows kicked off with Joanna Rose welcoming us to the Orpheum (WWN’s preferred Florida location) and introducing “new” Open the Freedom Gate champion, Johnny Gargano. She said new even though Gargano had had the title for around a month and a half at this point. Once Gargano arrived she simply handed the microphone over and left the ring. She didn’t even bother interviewing him. I found myself wondering, not for the first time, what she’s paid for.

Gargano wanted to be the guy to kick things off for WWN in 2015 and had asked to be the first man to the ring. He said that as the champion he’s the face of WWN and as such he wanted to be the one to thank everyone in the world that had supported the group in 2014. It was basically a spot of crowd-pleasing platitudes. A nice message but dull to get through.

Gargano’s second topic was more interesting and significant for future EVOLVE shows. EVOLVE, Gragano felt, she be a company young guys go to to prove themselves and earn their way to the top in the ring. He outlined a very Sapolsky-esque sponsorship idea. Basically existing roster members will recommend outside talent to be brought into the company.

Rich Swann came out. After joking about how Gargano's previous title reign sent him loopy (because mental illness is so lol, right?) he referred back to 2010 when he, Gargano and Chuck Taylor formed Ronin because they felt they were being held down. It was a nice touch, highlighting that the sponsorship initiative is not at all out of character for Gargano. Swann said Gargano was meant to defend the Open the Freedom Gate championship against Caleb Konley but he wouldn't because of an injury to Konley’s arm. Then he brought out Shane Strickland as a guy he was endorsing and suggested Gargano wrestle him instead.

Gargano said Ronin was born out of frustration because they didn't get what they felt they were entitled to. He offered Strickland a title shot because of this. Naturally Strickland accepted.

They started out with some mat wrestling, the champion getting the better of the challenger. Strickland’s first notable move was a drop kick, which in the grand scheme of things isn’t that notable at all. Still, it was enough to send Gargano rolling to the outside where he avoided a Strickland dive. Strickland, because he’s a super cool high-flyin’ babyface, landed on his feet and returned to the ring with a frog cross body on ‘The Whole Shebang’.

Strickland tried a springboard but got super kicked by Gargano as he was on the second rope. Then he was hit with a backstabber. The champion applied a modified Haas of Pain. After a few seconds he released the hold and started twisting Strickland’s fingers about instead. After that he hauled him back to his feet and gave him some chops.

Then it was time for that staple of Johnny Gargano matches: the duelling suplexes spot. After that they traded some elbows and Strickland scored an Ace Crusher. Gargano came back with a double stomp to back of head. Strickland scored with a pop-up into a pair of knees. He used his knees again Gargano attempted a belly-to-back suplex, countering out of the move and sending the champ to the outside. Strickland attempted a moonsault off the apron. He landed on his feet when Gargano moved, but he wasn’t quick enough to avoid a super kick or a suicide dive.

Back in the ring Strickland did manage to catch Gargano's DDT, hoisting him up and hitting a twisting brainbuster for a near fall. They traded forearms before Strickland wiped out Gargano with a bicycle kick. Enziguri to Strickland. Roundhouse to Gargano. Strickland charged Gargano in corner and got hit with a knee. He responded with a super kick, a DDT and a phoenix splash for two.

The challenger returned back to the top rope but got knocked down to the apron by Gargano. He springboarded back into ring but was met by a super kick, a lawn dart and the Gargano Escape. He submitted within seconds to end a very strong opener. It was a loss but one that did Strickland a lot of good.

Champion and challenger shook hands after the match. Strickland and Swann(who had remained at ringside) left together before Moose showed up and speared Gargano. Swann returned to make the save. The Bravados appeared and called Moose off. They told Gargano they had a problem with him calling them jerks in China (which happened but was a very minor thing, as you’d expect). They said they were fighting words and they intended to make Gargano pay for them.

Trevor Lee versus a very over Biff Busick was match number two. They had a very competitive, surely designed as something to get Lee over in defeat as he withstood a battering from ‘The Manliest Man’. Lee got plenty of offence in, being given the chance to show what he could do. Busick won via submission with a rough takeover into the rear naked choke. They shook hands afteards.

The Bravado brothers, with Moose, were out next. Both Harlem and Lancelot did lots of slightly uncomfortable close talking into the camera as they wandered around the ring. Harlem reminds me a bit of Miz in his mannerisms. It's hard to argue that that's a good thing.

Their opponents were AR Fox and Uhaa Nation. There was a comedy spot early on with Lancelot trying to barge Uhaa to his feet. He was unable to do it so he did some press-ups instead. Uhaa did some too, moving to the side without missing a bit when Lancelot tried to elbow drop then clapping his hands to avoid arm swipes.

The Bravados took control when Moose distracted the referee. Lancelot threw Fox off the top rope onto the apron then punched him out on the floor. From there it was Fox's turn to be worked over. He took a double suplex and a Bandwagon elbow, a double team move that’s so underwhelming it’s good. Fox managed to connect with a desperation Ace crusher and then tag out.

Uhaa clotheslined Lancelot and hit a few German suplexes on Harlem. He avoided the brother’s assisted enziguri, resulting in the Bravados hitting one another. Uhaa hit an amazing release German suplex on Harlem before following up with a moonsault off the apron onto both brothers. ‘The Whole Foxin’ Show’ got in on the action with Low Mein Rain. Just because.

In the ring Fox hit a Swanton and Uhaa hit a frog splash on Lancelot. He kicked out and gave Uhaa a jumping knee and a release German suplex. Another impressive kick out came seconds later when Harlem survived a double team from the faces: a Gory special by Uhaa with Fox coming off the ropes, rolling across his partner and dropping down to the mat with a DDT.

A lariat and a yakuza kick floored Harlem. Uhaa whipped Fox towards Harlem as he was slumped in the corner. But instead of the predictable collision Fox leapt over the turnbuckle and took out Lancelot (and some lighting equipment) at ringside instead. Fox returned to the ring to join Uhaa in hitting a double team lung blower on Harlem. He kicked out as Lancelot made the save.

Harlem grabbed Uhaa and gave him an exploder into the corner, where he landed on an already dazed Fox. The buckle bomb-enziguri connected on Fox, then Lancelot power bombed Fox onto Uhaa in the corner. The crowd, already excitement, went crazy when Uhaa kicked out of Harlem’s pin attempt.

On his feet Uhaa gorilla pressed Lancelot to begin the Uhaa Combination but got a boot in his face from Harlem. Uhaa gave him a Death Valley driver and a moonsault. Fox followed up with a 450 splash and Uhaa finished things off with a standing shooting star press for the win. It was a cracking match. The Bravados lost but they did plenty to show that they’ve come a long way since their early days in ROH. They’ve become a reliable heel act.

After the match Fox was KOed by moose. A faceoff between ‘The Offensive Line’ and Uhaa allowed the Bravados to sneak in an attack from behind. Moose looked on vacantly as the Bravados gave moose the Gentlemen's Agreement.

Ricochet v Timothy Thatcher was up next. Thatcher was sporting his usual scarf and no kneepads. Ricochet was sporting some rather fetching pink tights. They had a good match pitting Ricochet's speed against Thatcher’s strikes. Thatcher controlled the first several minutes with mat-based offence. He worked over Ricochet’s arm, an odd choice considering Ricochet’s usual ring style. Thatcher’s tactics here can be some up with three words: stomping and stretching. That'd make a good T-shirt for him. Just saying.

Ricochet turned the tables after a Regalplex, a leaping roundhouse and his floatover northern lights suplex. Although he was trapped in the Fujiwara armbar and blasted with various other moves (there was a lovely spot where Thatcher rolled out from under a shooting star press and applied the Fujiwara) Ricochet was pretty much constantly building steam from then on, getting the win with a roundhouse kick and a successful SSP.

Afterwards Ricochet said it was a hell of a fight and the pair shook hands. Thatcher left as Ricochet cut a promo taking issue with Gargano saying he's the face of WWN. His feeling was that he is the face of WWN. He said he’d prove it the following night by winning the EVOLVE championship and becoming the first man to hold that title and the Open the Freedom Gate title (though not at the same time, obvs).

The penultimate offering was a ten minute flash match, which is exactly the same as an iron man match that lasts ten minutes but it has a name that reflects its shorter than average length. The contestants were Anthony Nese and Rich Swann, who had hazily defined issues with one another that may or may not have had something to do with Swann fancying Su Yung, Nese’ secretary (it was never made entirely clear if his feeligns for Su were genuine or a work to rile Nese).

Speaking of Su Yung she accompanied Nese to ringside along with a besuited, sling-sporting Caleb Konley. They were followed out by So Cal Val. She told Nese that his Premier Athlete Brand needed a better quality of assistance and offered her managerial services. Nese took her card. Su Yung was displeased.

Swann was alone for the match. That seemed a bit off considering that he’d sponsored Shane Strickland earlier on the show and hung out at ringside for his championship match. Not that it mattered though: Swann got a pinfall inside the first minute after an axe kick, tumbling splash and a flash (hence the name of the match) rollup.

Nese reeled from that, taking a pasting both in and out of the ring. He eventually turned the tide when he reversed a dragon sleeper into an Emerald Flowsion. He gave Swann a battering but he kept kicking out. Nese grabbed a couple of chair from ringside and hit a Conchairto on Swann's leg. That got him disqualified and put Swann two falls up but also gave Nese a distinct advantage in the closing moment. Nese's plan was to rack up wins on an injured Swann. He got one with a single leg crab but he didn’t make it much further.

Swann fired up and then withstood Nese’s offence until the close of the match. As the clock ticked down Swann went for a Lethal Injection but got caught and buckle bombed by Nese, then trapped in a single leg crab. The time limit expired within seconds, Swann holding on and earning himself a 2-1 victory. It was a good match.

The time limit gave it a different feel to most EVOLVE bouts. I wouldn’t mind seeing it used again. It would be interesting to see what Busick and Thatcher do with the gimmick, for example.

After the match Nese and Yung had words as the Bravados appeared in the ring with Moose. The Brand, outnumbered, backed off. The Bravados teased attacking Swann but were run off by Johnny Gargano. Moose took three chair shots from Gargano and got put down with an Ace crusher on the chair. 

Gargano said they should settle their issue the next night. Swann said he'd fly in Chuck Taylor (with frequent flyer miles he earned from his trip to China) for a six man match. Harlem reminded everyone that he and Lancelot had run the Young Bucks out of WWN (which is definitely true and nothing at all to do with the Bucks being a pricey hire) and said they'd do the same to a reformed Ronin. He proposed a losing team must split stip. Gargano's only response was "Ronin is back!" So, for the record, he didn’t actually agree to the splitting up stipulation.

The main event was a non-title match between Drew Galloway and Roderick Strong. It was a rematch from EVOLVE 35, where Strong jumped Galloway and heeled it up before losing their match. Before the bell Roddy said he'd behaved out of character and offered an apology. He wanted Drew to shake his hand and then have a “technical masterpiece” with him. It was classic inflammatory Roddy. Galloway didn't go for it and he was right not to: Strong charged him at the bell. Galloway dropped him with a lariat.

They had a wild, energetic brawl around the building, taking in the bar, the merch stands, and the stage, before heading out onto the street. It reminded me of the late 90s hardcore matches between guys like Road Dogg, Al Snow and Hardcore Holly. Galloway and Roddy are probably the right age to remember those. Maybe it was an intentional homage.

They headed back into the building after a minute or two and worked their way over to the bar. They chopped each other on the bar itself and glugged some drinks. Galloway spat some whiskey (I assume it was whiskey, recognising drinks isn’t really my thing) while Roddy just drank his. Frat boy gimmick, y'know?

It was around ten minutes before they were back in the vicinity of the ring. They didn't get back in though. Oh no. They had to continue their Attitude Era madness with a back drop on the apron. When they did finally enter the ring it was to have a duel with chairs. At that point the referee threw the match out. They carried on brawling though because why not?

Heather Lynn (stupidly) entered the ring to announce the decision. Roddy clutched at her and then threw her into the path of the irate Scotsman as he aimed a boot at Roddy. Lynn took it instead. And she took it like a pro (giggity). Galloway carried her backstage and then returned to the ring to attack Strong. Referees and what Lenny described as "young boys" (really, Lenny?) broke them up. Strong ran out of the building.

Galloway took a microphone and demanded Strong return to finish their fight. Roddy reappeared but only to troll him. Galloway pulled him a pussy then cut a show-closing promo to bring a good card to a close. EVOLVE started the year in exactly the right way.

***

Results summary:

Johnny Gargano defeated Shane Strickland to retain the Open the Freedom Gate championship
Biff Busick defeated Trevor Lee
AR Fox and Uhaa Nation defeated The Bravado Brothers
Ricochet defeated Timothy Thatcher
Rich Swann defeated Anthony Nese 2-1 in a ten minute flash match
Drew Galloway and Roderick Strong wrestled to a no contest

EVOLVE 35 review

It’s tough coming up with introductory paragraphs sometimes. This is one of those times. So let’s just go with the facts. EVOLVE 35 took place at the hub of culture that is the Brooklyn Lyceum on September 14. It took place the night after EVOLVE 34. It featured an unbroadcast (“dark” for those of us who love our “insider jargon”) in which Jesus De Leon beat Donovan Dijak and Shynron. And I’ve only heard of one of those three men before writing that sentence.

Phew! That’s the opening sorted. Let’s get on with the recap.

For the second night in a row babyface Johnny Gargano kicked things off. Also babyface (even though he heelishly attacked Chuck Taylor to break up The Gentlemen's Club) but slightly less popular Drew Gulak was his opponent. The match was a bit of a slow starter, mostly due to the pair's decision to do more mat wrestling than features in the average Gargano match, but it was an interesting change. Once they got going it was a rewarding watch and showed 'The Whole Shebang's' versatility (not that seeing that a wrestler can do things you didn’t know they could necessarily makes a match worth watching). Gargano got the submission win with the Regal stretch.

Su Yung and Mr A rocked up after that to tell Gargano his win over Anthony Nese the previous evening was a fluke. Oh, and that there would be consequences if Gargano helped Rich Swann out again. Gargano tapped out Mr A with the Gargano Escape before retreating as Konley and Nese appeared.

Newcomer Tracy Williams faced Timothy Thatcher in match number two. They matched up nicely, Williams seeming happy to go with Thatcher's blend of joint work and striking. Thatcher was clearly the more popular of the two but Williams made a good first impression. If the roster were to be further fleshed out with guys working the submission style he'd be a fine fit. Thatcher won with a butterfly suplex followed by a Fujiwara armbar.

Match three saw Roderick Strong take on EVOLVE champion Drew Galloway. Despite his promise to be a fighting champion Drew did not put the title on the line. He acknowledged this before the match (after being introduced as Drew McIntyre by Heather Lynn), saying that he respected Strong and wanted to defend the title against him. The referee told him he wasn't allowed to defend the title because it would mess with EVOLVE's new rankings system. It seemed pretty clear this was designed to irritate the crowd, and it worked.

The match started when Roddy jumped Drew to try and get an early win (which, for the record, is how Galloway’s bout the previous evening began). It didn't work, obvs, but it did give the match a much-appreciated brisk start. They brawled around the ring. Strong did some apron-assisted back breaker stuff. Galloway channelled Sheamus, most notably with the ten punched in the ropes spot (which I personally can’t stand). Strong took control with a belly-to-back suplex and began stretching the champ. Galloway surprised him with a Sick kick and a tilt-a-whirl back breaker, moves usually in the Roddy play book.

They exchanged strikes and no-sell techniques before Galloway scored a spinebuster power bomb. Strong came back from that to hit a superplex, running strikes in the corner and an Olympic slam. Galloway survived that and the gutbuster that followed, then grabbed the ropes when he was placed in the Stronghold.

Galloway powered out of the Gibson driver and blasted Strong with a buckle bomb and a lariat. The cradle Tombstone piledriver that he hit after that could, and probably should, have been the finish. Not because what followed was bad, but because the Tombstone is one of the most legitimate match-ending moves you can use. Instead Strong kicked out and got a second Sick kick and a Gibson driver. Galloway kicked out so Strong hit him with another. That was kicked out of too. After they’d exchanged some elbow strikes Galloway used the Sick kick again. Then he got his double arm DDT for the win.

After the match the two shook hands before Strong grabbed the title belt and smacked Galloway with it. It's possible it was the beginning of something significant but not definite. Roddy's character is pretty well established as a guy who does stuff like this from time to time. It doesn't have to mean anything so it probably doesn’t.

Biff Busick versus Zack Sabre Jr looked like something of an awkward prospect on paper. Sabre Jr wrestles a very junior heavyweight style and Busick goes in for the American strong style more than anything else. Happily they worked well with one another. They took the route of hold exchanges, submission holds and occasional strike flurries and high spots that we'd seen in the first two matches of the card but set a brisker pace doing it. Busick won after Sabre Jr passed out in the rear naked choke, but not before he'd managed to escape it a few times. Other highlights of the match were a wonderful high angle kimura and a would "soccer" kick from Sabre Jr and a particularly impressive snap dragon suplex from Busick.

An Open the United Gate championship match followed that. Harlem and Lancelot Bravado defended against AR Fox and Rich Swann and The Premier Athlete Brand unit of Anthony Nese and Caleb Konley. Not that this was the advertised match. Fox cashed-in his "any title match at any time" clause to add himself added to the match alongside Swann. He said something about earning a shot at the Open the Freedom Gate title at a later date but I couldn't make out specifics because of the poor audio system. Just to make things worse Fox then broke the microphone.

It would be unfair to call the match a spot-fest because there was psychology on display. It was very heavy on big spots though. I’ll concentrate on them. Fox hit a series of dives onto all of his opponents. Swann tried to do the same but got caught by Moose, who power bombed him into Fox. Swann was isolated and worked over by heel teams. After a couple of minutes he fought them off with a pair of Lethal Injections. Moments after that he scored a Springboard Codebreaker before being given the buckle bomb-enziguri combo move by the Bravados.

Harlem tried to German suplex Nese but ‘The Premier Athlete’ landed on his feet and gave the champion a double stomp. The action moved to the apron, where Harlem recovered and gave Konley off the apron onto Nese. From there everyone brawled awkwardly to a spot beneath a gantry so that AR Fox could do a “balcony” dive. The audience loved it. I thought it was good, but I would like to point out that it’s not 1999 anymore. Guys shouldn’t be doing such risky moves in front of small crowds. If it’s going to be done do it on a bigger show.

The first team eliminated were the Bravados when Fox got a rollup as they tried to give him the Gentlemen’s Agreement (which I’m aware sounds filthy but whatevs). Naturally the brothers were unhappy with that turn of events so they attacked Fox and successfully gave him the Agreement, while the Brand gave Swann a kicking outside the ring. Moose stepped in the way of the Brand getting their hands on the Bravados but got smashed with a spinning heel kick by Mr A.

The Bravados finally left and Fox sold the “mugging” for a bit. Swann kicked out of Nese’s one arm buckle bomb and Konley's Death Valley bomb so they gave him a double team move: a pump handle (Nese) and neck breaker (Konley) at the same time. Obviously Swann had to kick out of that too. Because he’s just so darn resilient.

Su Yung chose that moment to provide a distraction, tottering up onto the apron and shouting at Swann. She ended up taking an enziguri intended for Nese.

Konley halted a Lo Mein Pain attempt on Nese and took out Fox with an insane Death Valley bomb onto the apron. Nese then got a 450 on Swann for the win and the titles, ending a great match.

The crowd chanted "EVOLVE" after the match. I thought that was a nice touch. It's not a promotion that gets the name chant treatment all too often.

The main event saw Ricochet defend the Open the Freedom Gate championship against Uhaa Nation. After some stalling and posing the match got underway with Uhaa quickly grabbing the initiative, the story being that he not only had the obvious size and strength advantage but also the speed advantage. He hit a very high back body drop, a belly-to-belly, and a gut wrench before slapping on a sleeper to tire ricochet out early. Ricochet avoided the moonsault to the outside and hit the challenger with a springboard Shooting Star Press then began targeting his leg.

Several minutes passed before Nation managed to fire back properly. After a clothesline and a big(ger) boot he flattened Ric' with a cross body from the second rope and then floored him with a spinebuster. He missed a corner splash allowing Ricochet to attempt a Benadryller. He wasn't strong enough so he gave Uhaa an Ace crusher and a standing 450 instead.

Moments later a Ricochet springboard attempt was halted by an enziguri. He followed that up by suplexing the champ from the apron back into the ring via the second rope. Because power!

Ricochet slipped out of gorilla press and went for the Regalplex. Uhaa escaped and German suplexed Ricochet, who landed on his feet and got a northern lights suplex and a brainbuster then a top rope SSP for two. He once again tried the Benadryller. This time he managed to pick Uhaa up but found the kick to the head blocked. Uhaa fired back with two power bombs, a pop-up and a sitdown, for two. Scooping Ricochet up he started the Uhaa combination but Ricochet pulled him down to the mat and applied a leg submission before he could finish the sequence. Uhaa got to the ropes and the pair returned to their feet to trade punches and uppercuts.

Ricochet faked a super kick, causing Uhaa to cover his head (something which tends to annoy me because guys never got to block super kicks). The created an opening for Ricochet to kick Uhaa's knee, but Uhaa stayed on his feet and grabbed Ricochet for a Tombstone. Uhaa went for a splash. Ricochet rolled away, dropped him with an enziguri and rushed to the top rope. There he hit a 630 splash to retain the championship.

After the match, which was a belter, Uhaa handed the title to Ricochet and they slapped hands. Ricochet cut a show-closing promo which was incredibly muffled. The gist seemed to be that we should carry on buying iPPVs and going to shows. Fair enough.

EVOLVE 35 (and 34 for that matter) continued the trend of rejigging, elevating new names and preparing things for future events. Of particular note on that last point was the conflict between The Premier Athlete Brand and Johnny Gargano, which I suspect will come to head at the WrestleMania weekend shows, perhaps in a tag title match pitting The Brand against Gargano and Swann. It will also be interesting to see where the whole thing with the referees being zealous about adhering to rankings system goes.

Overall, it was another successful weekend for EVOLVE.

***

Results summary:

Johnny Gargano def Drew Gulak
Timothy Thatcher def Tracy Williams
Drew Galloway def Roderick Strong
Biff Busick def Zack Sabre Jr
The Premier Athlete Brand def The Bravados and Rich Swann and AR Fox for the Open the United Gate championship
Ricochet def Uhaa Nation

EVOLVE 34 review

Back in September EVOLVE returned to New York City for its thirty-fourth and thirty-fifth shows. This was necessitated by the lack of available Dragon Gate stars (due to Visa issues, apparently), something which had plagued the company since WrestleMania weekend in April. That’s something that’s still effecting them at time of writing, and judging by the line-up of announced WWN shows over next year’s WrestleMania it’s an issue that doesn’t seem likely to be sorted out any time soon.

Booker Gabe Sapolsky has worked well within these limitations. Across the August weekend of shows (including EVOLVEs 31, 32 and 33) he fleshed out his roster of “home” stars and started to work at building up some new names to replace the imports he can’t access. A logical thing to do and something he continued across these shows.

EVOLVE 34 kicked off with a Johnny Gargano promo in which he officially became a face again. He claimed he’d had a moment of clarity at EVOLVE 32 when Konley said he wasn't the man he once was. He acknowledged he’d gone mental while Open the Freedom Gate champion and said he understood that and regretted it. He’d asked to open every card over the weekend as a penance for his behaviour, because wrestling logic. In fact Gargano being in both openers was a good idea. It ensured a significant name kicking off each card.

Surprisingly Anthony Nese, Su Yung, Mr A and Trent Baretta (on crutches because of his broken leg) didn’t offer an opinion on Gargano’s revived good guy persona. They simply walked out and posed a bit before Nese got ready to wrestle. I was a bit disappointed. I’d hoped one of them would diss Gargano a bit so he could make some generic sexist comments to Su Yung.

The match was the ideal opener. It featured two guys the fans wanted to react to, was worked fast. and included lots of signature spots to keep the crowd rowdy. ‘The Whole Shebang’ won after a blistering series of kicks, rolling through a one arm power bomb to get a schoolboy.

The Brand hit the ring after that. Gargano smacked Konley but then got smacked himself by Mr A. Rich Swann dashed out to return the favour from EVOLVE33 and took out Mr A and Trent Baretta then grabbed Su Yung. Naturally she was saved by Nese. Gargano brawled backstage while Swann lay limp on the floor. He was helped backstage by a referee, selling that he’d been knocked loopy by the Brand’s attack.

Zack Sabre Jr versus Timothy Thatcher was match number two. The crowd gave the pair a "British wrestling!" chant to begin with, even though Thatcher has himself announced from Sacramento before matches. Another British note: Canterbury was referred to as a suburb of London. This is in no way true.

The match was heavy on holds and counter holds. Arm locks were the order if the day. It was a satisfying match that did a good job of showcasing both men. That said it would have been nice to see Sabre Jr perform some of the flying moves he’s capable of, to add some variety and alter the story a little. Sabre Jr won with a particularly vicious armbar and some kicks to the head and shoulders.

The first ever meeting of Roderick Strong and Uhaa Nation was next. The early going was characterised by Roddy bring a prick, taking cheap shots and mocking Uhaa's posing. He was the first to get the advantage for an extended period, shoving Uhaa from the turnbuckle to the floor after using the referee as a distraction. He targeted Uhaa’s arm and neck, peculiar considering his signature submission hold is a high angle Boston crab.

Uhaa caught Strong as he attempted a cross body and gave him a fall away slam to start his comeback. He followed up with a belly-to-belly, rolling Germans, and an Asai moonsault off the apron. Uhaa missed a top rope splash and took a series of forearms in the corner and a jumping knee in the middle of the ring. Strong got a gut buster and tried a hurricanrana but Uhaa turned it into a sitdown power bomb.

Uhaa got the better of a punch exchange so Roddy hit a Sick kick, a Gibson driver and then applied the Stronghold. Uhaa forced a break with the ropes. Roddy might have won there had he softened up Uhaa when he’d had the chance. What a mug! Uhaa performed his ever impressive Uhaa Combination for the three count to win a very good match.

A non-title came next, Open the Freedom Gate champion Ricochet facing Caleb Konley. It was actually one of the match I as most looking forward to seeing. Konley was one of the guys selected to have his standing in the company beefed in the absence of Dragon Gate stars and I think he’s done a great job with everything he’d been given.

The early going got over the fact that Konley had Ricochet scouted, countering his regular moves and getting in more of his own than would have been expected. It didn’t last: Ricochet turned the tide with an axe kick and a springboard clothesline. He tried a Regalplex but Konley fought out and floored him with an enziguri, then countered the running Ace crusher and nailed the champ with a bridging German suplex. Ricochet scored an alarm clock and a running SSP for two. He followed up with a floatover Northern suplex then a release suplex. ‘The Obsession’ countered the kick of the Benadryller and gave Ricochet the Regalplex, one of Ricochet’s own preferred moves. That got him a two count and momentarily riled the audience. Ricochet avoided the double jump moonsault. Konley escaped the Benadryller and got a Death Valley bomb for a convincing near fall.

‘Mr High Fly’ hit a springboard 450 but Konley kicked out again, surprising the audience. Ricochet went for a top rope springboard but Konley sprang to his feet and caught him, giving him a Death Valley bomb from the top rope to earn the clean pinfall victory. Another contributing factor to the elevation of Konley.

After that Heather Lynn introduced AR Fox to the ring. She reminded the audience he had the right to book himself in any match he wanted once he's recovered from injury. He ran down his DG USA and EVOLVE credentials (first ever EVOLVE champ, former Style Battle winner, and a former Open the United Gate champ) and said he wanted the Freedom Gate belt. Fox versus Ricochet would have been great but it wasn’t to be.

What we got instead was the Bravados brothers wandering out. They took exception to Fox saying he was one of the best United Gate champs ever. Subpar mic work followed, ending with the Bravados introducing Moose for an impromptu match with Fox.

Moose hit some power moves. Fox sold the arm and did some flying. It didn't go very long so they were able to string some spots together for a decent match. Unsurprisingly, with it being his comeback match, Fox won. But only by DQ: Lance Bravado interfered just as ‘The Whole Foxin’ Show’ was about to hit Lo Mein Pain. They gave Fox a Gentlemen's agreement before The Colony made the save, taking us into the Open the United Gate match.

It was a standard Bravados match. Lots of cheap heat, particularly in the form of mask-tugging. That actually led to the Bravados win. As Harlem was trapped in the CHIKARA Special Lancelot grabbed Silver Ant's mask, forcing him to break the hold and allowing legal man Harlem to roll Silver Ant up with a schoolboy. The match was decent enough but unspectacular.

That just left the EVOLVE champion Drew Galloway to defend his prize against Rich Swann. The story going in was that Swann was injured from earlier in the night and Galloway didn't want to defend against him at less than one hundred per cent. Swann insisted on the match because it was his first time getting a chance at a singles championship in either EVOLVE or DG USA.

Swann tried to get the match finished early, jumping Drew at the bell and going for a series of flash pins. Drew put a stop to that with a stiff strike and spent several minutes muscling the challenger around. But he did the "I don't want to do this" routine to remind everyone that, hey, he's a babyface!

After several minutes Swann managed to get a hurricanrana, a DDT, and a tope. Galloway turned a cross body into a back breaker but Swann kicked out at two. Galloway attempted his double arm DDT but Swann countered into a pin for a close two then cracked out a super kick for another.

By this point the crowd were going crazy, perhaps believing a title change was on the cards. Galloway avoided a 450 and booted Swann in the face, sending him rolling out of the ring. At which point the PAB wandered out to stand over Swann and gloat. Galloway wiped them out with a tope and then gave Swann a cradle Tombstone piledriver back in the ring. Swann still wouldn't stay down, giving the crowd a surprise by kicking out just before the three count. He went for the Lethal Injection but Galloway countered it into a sleeper, which quickly became a rear naked choke. That proved the final straw for the referee who, tired of seeing Swann suffer, ended the match in Galloway’s favour.

Galloway closed the show with a promo. He said Swann deserved a rematch and then put over the fans and EVOLVE. The standard stuff really. As by-the-numbers as the ending was the show itself was top notch. The opener, Konley Ricochet, and the EVOLVE title match were all terrific and while nothing else stood out as being particularly great nothing was actively bad. It was well put together and well-paced, and everyone gave it their all. You can’t ask for more than that.

***

Results summary:
Johnny Gargano def Anthony Nese
Zack Sabre Jr def Timothy Thatcher
Uhaa Nation def Roderick Strong
Caleb Konley def Ricochet
AR Fox def Moose via disqualification
The Bravado Brothers def The Colony
Drew Galloway def Rich Swann