EVOLVE 49
Evolve 49 (10/17/2015)- Queens, NY
FREE-STYLE FOUR-WAY MATCH: Matt Cage vs. Andrew Everett vs. Peter Karasa vs. Anthony Nese (w/SoCal Val)- 6/10
This was your typical spotty indy match, and as a result, it felt VERY un-Evolve-like. Cage and Karasa were both involved in a couple of spots that looked pretty ugly, and mostly with each other. The finish was that Nese could have broken up the pin, but didn’t because he is afraid of Everett.
Val looks SOOO f*cking hot in that dress. She also might well be the best manager of the past twenty years. And yes, I know that includes Paul Heyman. Heyman’s promos are amazing, but in terms of performing the ringside duties of a manager/valet, Val might well be the best of the past two decades.
MATT RIDDLE vs. JONATHAN GRESHAM- 5/10, but perfect for what it was.
There’s the Evolve-style match I know and love. A perfect debut for Riddle. He got to show his stuff and look dominant in victory without making Gresham look like a chump.
POST-MATCH SEGMENT- Chris Dickinson comes out and cuts a good promo on Riddle. Riddle responds with a good promo on Dickinson in which we learn that Riddle is a heel. Larry Dallas, who hasn’t been seen (or possibly even mentioned) in at least six months, shows up and tries to sign Riddle, but gets KOed by Dickinson. Riddle and Dickinson have words. Drew Gulak and Tracy Williams come out to separate them, which results in…
TRACY WILLIAMS vs. CHRIS DICKINSON- 7/10
So… it’s â€"Hot Sauce†vs. â€"The Dirty Daddy.†And somehow this is still Evolve. They had a pretty darn great match, though. After the match, Gulak yelled at Williams for losing to Dickinson, then called out Trevor Lee so they could have their match right now…
WINNER GETS AN EVOLVE TITLE SHOT TOMORROW NIGHT: Trevor Lee vs. Drew Gulak (w/Tracy Williams)- 8/10
Awesome match. It was cool to get to see a side of Trevor Lee we don’t normally get to see (the less spotty side). Drew dominated the match by working over Trevor’s knee (and Trevor sold it very all, aside from one or two spots towards the end), but wound up taking the loss. Williams gave Gulak a bit of lip back after getting yelled at for losing the previous match.
PREMIERE ATHLETE BRAND SEGMENT- First Caleb Konley cuts a great promo complaining about not being named #1 contender… and he’s got some darn good points, not the least of which is that he hasn’t been pinned in a WWN ring (that would include Evolve, FIP, and numerous other smaller promotions) in six months. SoCal Val backs up his assertions, and further asserts that Konley and Nese should be the Evolve Tag Team Champions.
They are interrupted by Randy Summers and Brandon Watts, who have the terrible team name of â€"Milk Chocolate†(because Summers is white and Watt is black). They claim that they should be the Evolve Tag Team Champions. That’s quite the claim to make when a) the belts don’t exist, and b) they’ve never even wrestled for the company. At least with Nese and Konley it feels like they’re saying â€"if the belts were to exist- and they should- WE would be the rightful champions.†These guys come off as total clowns. Nese offers to wrestle them, so we get…
MILK CHOCOLATE vs. PREMIERE ATHLETE BRAND (w/SoCal Val)- no rating, good squash.
This was basically a squash, although Milk Chocolate do to get a move or two in.
EARL COOTER vs. WILLIE MACK- 3.75/10
ROPPONGI VICE vs. TIMOTHY THATCHER & TJ PERKINS- 6/10
I was hoping that Thatcher would get so fed up with Rocky’s sh*t that he would completely snap and rip some of Rocky’s limbs off. Instead, they seem to be building towards Thatcher vs. Perkins, which should be good.
Good post-match stuff between Roppongi Vice and the Premiere Athlete Brand to build towards their match tomorrow night. SoCal Val is so awesome in this role.
I QUIT MATCH IN WHICH IF GARGANO LOSES, HE WILL LEAVE THE WORLD WRESTLING NETWORK: Johnny Gargano vs. Ethan Page- 8.5/10
Ethan Page trolls everyone by coming out to Triple H’s music. That was fantastic. They definitely brought the hate here and made every single move mean something. An AWESOME match, but I can’t believe that this feud is over.
A great show from Evolve!
FREE-STYLE FOUR-WAY MATCH: Matt Cage vs. Andrew Everett vs. Peter Karasa vs. Anthony Nese (w/SoCal Val)- 6/10
This was your typical spotty indy match, and as a result, it felt VERY un-Evolve-like. Cage and Karasa were both involved in a couple of spots that looked pretty ugly, and mostly with each other. The finish was that Nese could have broken up the pin, but didn’t because he is afraid of Everett.
Val looks SOOO f*cking hot in that dress. She also might well be the best manager of the past twenty years. And yes, I know that includes Paul Heyman. Heyman’s promos are amazing, but in terms of performing the ringside duties of a manager/valet, Val might well be the best of the past two decades.
MATT RIDDLE vs. JONATHAN GRESHAM- 5/10, but perfect for what it was.
There’s the Evolve-style match I know and love. A perfect debut for Riddle. He got to show his stuff and look dominant in victory without making Gresham look like a chump.
POST-MATCH SEGMENT- Chris Dickinson comes out and cuts a good promo on Riddle. Riddle responds with a good promo on Dickinson in which we learn that Riddle is a heel. Larry Dallas, who hasn’t been seen (or possibly even mentioned) in at least six months, shows up and tries to sign Riddle, but gets KOed by Dickinson. Riddle and Dickinson have words. Drew Gulak and Tracy Williams come out to separate them, which results in…
TRACY WILLIAMS vs. CHRIS DICKINSON- 7/10
So… it’s â€"Hot Sauce†vs. â€"The Dirty Daddy.†And somehow this is still Evolve. They had a pretty darn great match, though. After the match, Gulak yelled at Williams for losing to Dickinson, then called out Trevor Lee so they could have their match right now…
WINNER GETS AN EVOLVE TITLE SHOT TOMORROW NIGHT: Trevor Lee vs. Drew Gulak (w/Tracy Williams)- 8/10
Awesome match. It was cool to get to see a side of Trevor Lee we don’t normally get to see (the less spotty side). Drew dominated the match by working over Trevor’s knee (and Trevor sold it very all, aside from one or two spots towards the end), but wound up taking the loss. Williams gave Gulak a bit of lip back after getting yelled at for losing the previous match.
PREMIERE ATHLETE BRAND SEGMENT- First Caleb Konley cuts a great promo complaining about not being named #1 contender… and he’s got some darn good points, not the least of which is that he hasn’t been pinned in a WWN ring (that would include Evolve, FIP, and numerous other smaller promotions) in six months. SoCal Val backs up his assertions, and further asserts that Konley and Nese should be the Evolve Tag Team Champions.
They are interrupted by Randy Summers and Brandon Watts, who have the terrible team name of â€"Milk Chocolate†(because Summers is white and Watt is black). They claim that they should be the Evolve Tag Team Champions. That’s quite the claim to make when a) the belts don’t exist, and b) they’ve never even wrestled for the company. At least with Nese and Konley it feels like they’re saying â€"if the belts were to exist- and they should- WE would be the rightful champions.†These guys come off as total clowns. Nese offers to wrestle them, so we get…
MILK CHOCOLATE vs. PREMIERE ATHLETE BRAND (w/SoCal Val)- no rating, good squash.
This was basically a squash, although Milk Chocolate do to get a move or two in.
EARL COOTER vs. WILLIE MACK- 3.75/10
ROPPONGI VICE vs. TIMOTHY THATCHER & TJ PERKINS- 6/10
I was hoping that Thatcher would get so fed up with Rocky’s sh*t that he would completely snap and rip some of Rocky’s limbs off. Instead, they seem to be building towards Thatcher vs. Perkins, which should be good.
Good post-match stuff between Roppongi Vice and the Premiere Athlete Brand to build towards their match tomorrow night. SoCal Val is so awesome in this role.
I QUIT MATCH IN WHICH IF GARGANO LOSES, HE WILL LEAVE THE WORLD WRESTLING NETWORK: Johnny Gargano vs. Ethan Page- 8.5/10
Ethan Page trolls everyone by coming out to Triple H’s music. That was fantastic. They definitely brought the hate here and made every single move mean something. An AWESOME match, but I can’t believe that this feud is over.
A great show from Evolve!