The Big Takeaway: Alicia Fox defeated Dana Brooke only a week after Brooke’s win over Mickie James. Akira Tozawa & Mustafa Ali then beat Drew Gulak & Ariya Daivari in under four minutes to close out the show.
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Alicia Fox defeated Dana Brooke (w/ Titus O’Neil and Apollo Crews) (5:39)
Only a week after defeating Mickie James, Dana Brooke lost on Main Event to Alicia Fox. Fox’s position is hardly high right now and the decision for Brooke to lose momentum after such a big win is puzzling to say the least.
The match was as you would expect, with Fox — by far the more experienced competitor — selling for Brooke. Brooke was playing a cocky heel throughout, taking the support of Apollo Crews and Titus O’Neil (who is now sporting a Chris Jericho-esque scarf to complement his suit). At one stage, Brooke no-sold a shoulder barge from Fox and dropped down to the mat to show off her one-handed push-ups.
Fox took much of the second half of the match before Brooke kicked out of a Northern Lights suplex. Brooke got the heat with clotheslines and running forearms, but Fox got the win when she blocked a charge and nailed Brooke with the Watch Yo Face in the middle of the ring.
Akira Tozawa & Mustafa Ali defeated Drew Gulak & Ariya Daivari (3:51)
Once again, the cruiserweights were given too little time to make much of an impression, but, that said, this was fun while it lasted. Gulak and Tozawa were the stars here, going back and forth and outdoing each other at every turn.
The Zo Train bullied their way into contention and built to a false finish when Daivari blind tagged himself in with Ali prone by the corner of the ring. Daivari hit the Persian Lion Splash, but Tozawa came in to make the save.
The last minute was really strong here: Tozawa did a suicide dive on Daivari outside while Gulak and Ali exchanged pin attempts in the ring. Ali came off the second rope to hit Gulak with a rolling DDT and left him position to hit his finisher. Ali then landed the 054, beautifully, for the win to leave The Zo Train winless in their last four outings.
A “second chance” cruiserweight fatal four-way match took place on Raw tonight to decide who would face Drew Gulak next week.
Cedric Alexander, Mustafa Ali, Tony Nese, and Ariya Daivari were involved in the match, with Alexander pinning Daivari after hitting the Lumbar Check. Alexander will take on Gulak in a number one contender’s match on Raw next Monday.
Rich Swann was supposed to wrestle Gulak tonight to determine Enzo Amore’s next challenger, but that was canceled after Swann was indefinitely suspended by WWE due to being arrested on domestic battery and false imprisonment charges on Saturday night.
Though they didn’t go into details, WWE handled Swann’s status by having Gulak inform Amore that Swann’s opportunity had been revoked. Gulak told Amore about the second chance match, with Amore accidentally including Nia Jax in a list of possible wrestlers who would be in it. The storyline was that Jax has been on Amore’s mind after their interaction last Monday. There was also a segment where Amore and Jax flirted on this week’s show.
A cruiserweight number one contender’s match and Braun Strowman vs. Kane are set for next week’s episode of Raw.
Drew Gulak will be facing Rich Swann on the show after stealing the pin from Cedric Alexander in a fatal four-way match that also involved Mustafa Ali and Tony Nese last night. Swann won a fatal four-way the previous week to get his spot in the number one contender’s match. The winner of Gulak vs. Swann will receive the next shot at Enzo Amore’s Cruiserweight title.
Tonight’s 205 Live will be built around an angle where Gulak is in charge of The Zo Train with Amore not on the show.
WWE has been building to Strowman vs. Kane since October’s TLC PPV, but their match will be the first time they’ve officially wrestled on television since their program started. Strowman destroyed Elias this week, then Kane appeared on the video screen to challenge him after they had taken turns laying each other out over the last couple of weeks.
Kalisto was shown backstage hyping up his birthday, with him saying that he’ll beat Drew Gulak tonight. Gulak and Enzo Amore were backstage next to Kalisto’s cake, and Amore told Gulak to beat Kalisto and roll in dough.
Amore apparently bought the cake for Kalisto and snuck a taste before slapping Gulak’s hand for doing the same. Amore’s faction is now called the Zo Train, and Mustafa Ali will face Zo Train member Ariya Daivari later in the night.
Jack Gallagher and Brian Kendrick walked down to face Cedric Alexander and Rich Swann. Gallagher cut an intense promo on them for being ignorant. Swann hyped up Alexander as being from Charlotte and got a nice reaction.
Cedric Alexander & Rich Swann defeated Brian Kendrick & Jack Gallagher in a tornado tag match
This was a tornado tag match, so it ended up being pretty chaotic. Nigel McGuinness had a great line about the Alexander School of Chiropracty handing out free Lumbar Checks tonight. Alexander and Kendrick brawled near the announce table, then Gallagher dropkicked Alexander over the table.
Swann kicked out at two in the ring and Gallagher landed a sick kick to the head. They destroyed Swann in the corner after sending Alexander back out to the announce table. The heels used dual submissions on the faces — with Kendrick locking on the Captain’s Hook on Alexander while Gallagher had a Fujiwara armbar on Swann.
Swann prevented a tap from Alexander, so the heels locked on a Fujiwara armbar/Captain’s Hook combo on him before Alexander made a save. Kendrick had Alexander pinned in the corner and a Gallagher dropkick set up a Sliced Bread for two.
Swann kicked away at Gallagher before hitting a double famouser on the heels for two. Swann and Kendrick fought up top, where the heels sent him off with a double hip toss for a near fall. Alexander got the tag and hit a big spinning elbow but ate a dropkick to the leg.
Gallagher went for the corner dropkick, but Swann connected with a spin kick and then a suicide DDT. The neutralizer kick and Lumbar Check hit on Kendrick and the faces won it.
Mustafa Ali defeated Ariya Daivari
Daivari came down and put over Amore, saying there’s no value in Kalisto being champion — but Amore being champ ensures more cash and fame. Ali cut an unfunny promo about Daivari having his head too far up Amore’s butt and talked about wanting to make 205 Live better — which made the crowd turn on him.
Ali flipped around a bit to start things off and a blind crossbody got two for him. He went for a springboard, but Daivari shoved him off and to the floor. Daivari kicked away mid-ring to continue to ground Ali. Ali landed a series of forearms but ate a bulldog for two.
Daivari flew off the second rope for a flying elbow but missed. Ali then hit a pair of axe handles and flips, but Daivari put him down with a falling inverted DDT before hitting a frog splash for two. Daivari went for a fireman’s carry slam but ended up eating elbows. Ali went up for the inverted 450 and hit it to win.
Kalisto stretched before his match and birthday party, with Akira Tozawa wishing him luck.
Amore entered for the birthday party. The crowd chanted “Enzo Amore” and he told them thanks, he already knows his name. Amore said he’s spent a great deal of money on this party to truly celebrate Kalisto. Amore mentioned that they got him a great gift — a beating from Gulak, who asked “How are you doing?” before Amore told him to never do that again.
Amore said the cake is quality — it’ll be good until Thanksgiving if you freeze it at the right temperature and Kalisto can eat it as he lives in misery after he loses at Survivor Series.
Kalisto defeated Drew Gulak
Gulak controlled the wrist to start. Kalisto turned the tables on him quickly, but Gulak chopped away on the ropes. Gulak teased tossing Kalisto into the cake, but Kalisto fought it off. Gulak beat him up for a while, so the crowd sang “Happy Birthday.”
Gulak locked on a Romero Special and went for a dive off the bottom rope. Kalisto turned that into a basement rana for two. Amore gave Kalisto a cheap shot and Gulak sang “Happy Birthday” angrily before the Salida Del Sol hit and Kalisto got a quick win.
Amore destroyed Kalisto after the match until he fought back and got a “we want cake” chant. He went to throw Amore into the cake, but Gulak made the save.
McGuinness and Vic Joseph talked about Sunday’s pay-per-view and the two-hour pre-show. Backstage, Amore was upset and Kalisto rammed his face into the cake. They delivered the heel being smashed into the cake — but didn’t do it in front of the fans. Well, that was a bit underwhelming.
The Big Takeaway: Dash Wilder made it three losses in three weeks, then Lince Dorado and Gran Metalik put on a beautiful display in the main event.
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Heath Slater defeated Dash Wilder (5:35)
Two weeks ago on Main Event, Dash Wilder was beaten with relative ease by Rhyno’s spinebuster. Last week, he and Slater went back and forth in a fairly by-the-numbers bout with Slater getting the win with the Smash Hit. This week, Wilder lost again. To Rhyno. With the spinebuster.
Nigel McGuinness was nowhere to be seen on the show and, instead, we were back with Corey Graves alongside Vic Joseph. Graves has a way of drawing you into matches and he really knows his wrestling and calls moves well, but McGuinness is better at putting the talent over.
Wilder is comfortable on his own, here, but lacks the kind of charisma at this stage of his WWE run to be carrying a match with a veteran like Rhyno. Rhyno sold a lot as Wilder took the match until the finish, where Rhyno fired up to hit his big moves.
The match was what you’d expect. It was slow and full of rest holds and Wilder’s quick pin attempts. Rhyno made Wilder look strong and powerful, but he finished him with the spinebuster in the end without too much concern.
Rhyno still seems to exist off the nostalgic pop that hasn’t faded too much, but without Slater the act is less fun for pre-Raw matches like these on Main Event.
Lince Dorado & Gran Metalik defeated Drew Gulak & Tony Nese (4:25)
The Cruiserweight tag match once again saved the show, bringing some pace, action, and invention to an otherwise run-of-the-mill episode. The finish was awe-inspiring from Dorado, who finished Gulak with a magnificent springboard shooting star senton.
Gulak, who is now clean shaven, had a few matches on Main Event over the summer months, but is now without a win on any show, televised or otherwise, since the end of May.
Dorado and Metalik speak for themselves. They’d be fantastic together on the main roster and could easily find a position in the tag team division. They did a great spot here where Metalik was teasing a springboard attack on Gulak on the outside, but the distraction meant that Dorado was able to fly at him with a seated senton. They did similar things a couple of times in the match and it proved to be very effective.
The match was far too short, but the finish made up for it. Metalik flew over the top rope onto Nese on the outside, while Dorado stunned Gulak on the top rope to set him in position for a huge springboard shooting star senton. Graves’ exclamation of “good lord!” after he landed it said it all.
The Big Takeaway: Lince Dorado may have injured his knee in the opener against Drew Gulak, while Rhyno & Heath Slater continued their winning streak with a win against Bo Dallas & Curt Hawkins.
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Drew Gulak defeated Lince Dorado (4:38)
On the bell, Gulak charges at Dorado and they explode into action. Dorado takes most of the early going with quick springboard moves until Gulak takes him down and starts to work him over with chinlocks and armbars.
The most newsworthy part of the match, though, was about four minutes in just as they were about to go to the finish. Dorado twirled Gulak into a backbreaker, but as he did so, he landed awkwardly on his right foot and Gulak smashed into his knee.
Dorado was slightly off balance and his ankle looked to have turned over slightly. He rolled out of the move clutching his knee. He nodded to the ringside officials and the referee immediately called for the bell.
Dorado since posted on his Instagram account with a picture of his foot in a sports trainer with a comic on his lap. The caption underneath just read “Recover.” Its unclear at this stage whether the injury was an angle or if it just seemed more serious at the time.
Hawkins’ partner this week is Bo Dallas. Dallas seems to be slowly changing his look; his beard is thicker and longer than ever and he is wearing his hair down and loose.
Rhyno and Slater take control in the early stages as Rhyno beats up Hawkins and flies off the ropes with a headbutt. Only after Slater loses out in an Irish whip does Hawkins get the chance to tag in Dallas. Dallas is able to dodge out of the way of Slater, who tumbles through the ropes to the outside as we head to a break.
Hawkins and Dallas have cut the ring in half as we return. They use a mixture of rest holds, double teams, and quick pin attempts to try to finish Slater off. Once again, even in these short tag team bouts, Hawkins’ quality as a wrestler really stands out. He hits neat suplexes and elbow drops and just makes it all look extremely easy.
Finally, Rhyno gets in and clears house. He Samoan drops Dallas, but Hawkins dives in to make the save. Slater dumps Hawkins over the top rope, but the momentum takes him with him. Rhyno turns back around and uses his spinning spinebuster for the win.
The Big Takeaway: Rhyno returned to this show with a win against Titus O’Neil, and the team of Gran Metalik & Lince Dorado entertained against Drew Gulak & Tony Nese in the main event.
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Rhyno (w/ Heath Slater) defeated Titus O’Neil (5:15)
This was Rhyno’s first appearance on this show since last November. This week he is over with the pre-Raw crowd. He and Slater burst out of the curtain ready to fire things up. Rhyno and O’Neil exchange power moves to begin with as O’Neil takes the early going.
As Slater cheers him on outside, Rhyno gets some hope, hitting a shoulder block and then tossing O’Neil over the top rope to the outside. O’Neil manages to reverse things there and gets a near fall after rolling Rhyno back in the ring and hitting a big boot.
O’Neil slows things down with his usual chops and strikes in the corner, but Rhyno gets the heat with shoulder blocks and a belly-to-belly suplex for two. O’Neil hits a knee strike, but he misses a charge and runs into a spinebuster for the win.
Gran Metalik & Lince Dorado defeated Drew Gulak & Tony Nese (6:57)
Gulak comes out with a megaphone and a hand-made sign that says “No Fly Zone” on it. Although it’s an improvement on his normal entrance, it doesn’t seem to either generate heat or a reaction of any sort from this crowd.
Nese and Dorado start things off together with Nese overpowering Dorado in the early going. Dorado then hits a sunset flip and a rana and tags in Metalik. They use a series of quick tags and double team Nese with dropkicks. Gulak manages to shove Dorado off the top rope as we head to a break.
Dorado is maintaining the advantage as we return, but quickly Gulak comes in and stomps all over Dorado. He and Nese work quick tags, cutting the ring in half and isolating Dorado in their corner. Dorado hits the desperation superkick and makes the tag.
Metalik then hits his patented ropewalk elbow drop and Dorado hits a handspring cutter. The heels get clotheslined to the outside and Dorado and Metalik nail them with top rope dives. The finish then sees Metalik come back inside to hit the Metalik Driver on Gulak for the win.
The Big Takeaway: Big Cass destroyed Titus O’Neil, who at least booted Enzo Amore on the floor. Tony Nese & Drew Gulak then got a surprising win over Lince Dorado & Gran Metalik.
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Big Cass defeated Titus O’Neil
Enzo Amore mixes up his usual promo by responding to “How you doin’?” with “Great — thanks for asking!” Sometimes, just small changes in the routine really help out and prevent every intro from feeling the same, and that helped this out a lot.
Tom Phillips and Corey Graves are on commentary, and their NXT chemistry is back — it’s a shame it’s for a secondary show. Cass hits a big fallaway slam that sends O’Neil outside, where he kicks Amore on the floor.
Cass beats up O’Neil on the floor before tossing him in the ring and missing a Stinger splash. O’Neil clubs away before a long chinlock, but eats a pair of knees. Cass hits a big slam and an Empire Elbow before the big boot ends it.
Seth Rollins’ speech from Raw is shown in full. Roman Reigns’ interview with Michael Cole, and the subsequent beating from Braun Strowman is shown in full as well. Strowman came off as such a badass beating up Reigns and then the sheer ridiculousness of him tipping over the ambulance put things over the top.
It did an excellent job putting Strowman over, but hurt Reigns, who always had a chance to at least be in the fight — but couldn’t stand up to Strowman.
Drew Gulak & Tony Nese defeated Gran Metalik & Lince Dorado
The babyfaces come out first, followed by the heels and their incredibly generic theme music. Gulak hits a knee to the gut of Metalik before chopping away. Metalik hits a double backflip into an armdrag off the ropes to Gulak.
Nese goes for Metalik, but eats an elbow — giving Gulak a chance to lock on a dragon sleeper with a bodyscissors. Metalik escapes and dropkicks both men to the floor before Dorado hits an Asai moonsault. Gulak hits a sloppy swinging powerbomb into the barricade.
Nese and Gulak double team Metalik, who fights back with chops. A calf kick hits Gulak and allows Metalik to tag in Dorado. Dorado hits a moonsault block for two, before a frog-style crossbody on Nese gets a near fall.
Dorado hits a two-man Lethal Injection with a stunner instead of a cutter. Metalik walks the rope to moonsault on Gulak before Nese gets two off an O’Connor roll. Nese crotches Dorado before hitting shotgun knees in the corner to win.
The show closes with the Kevin Owens vs. Dean Ambrose match from Raw.
This was a solid little show — it’s a shame that it’s relegated to obscurity without a global TV deal because it was a fine showcase for the cruiserweights on this episode. It was neat to see the heels actually win the main event, especially given that they’re two of the most bland guys in the division and it would be easy to assume the faces would win.
NXT was in Crystal River tonight with an estimated attendance of 200 people.
– TJ Perkins defeated Drew Gulak after submitting him with the kneebar.
– Cezar Bononi defeated Kishan Raftaar with a pumphandle slam.
– Adrian Jaoude defeated Riddick Moss by submission with an armbar.
– Dan Matha did an interview explaining what it’s like to be an NXT superstar and a dominant big guy. The crowd was booing him heavily.
– NXT Tag Team Champions The Authors of Pain defeated HoHo Lun & Mr. Bronson
Demitrius Bronson was making his NXT debut. He’s a former Seattle Seahawks RB and a product of the Performance Center. AOP won fast with a double powerbomb. Tucker Knight and Otis Dozovic came out to make the save after the match.
– Ember Moon, Ruby Riot & Victoria Gonzalez defeated Mandy Rose, Kimber Lee & Mary Kate (the former Andrea, who was making her NXT debut) in a six-woman elimination tag match
Moon stood tall at the end by winning with a Michinoku Driver.
– Buddy Murphy defeated Steve Cutler after hitting a brainbuster.
– Daria Berenato defeated Aliyah by submission with an armbar.
– Rich Swann defeated Noam Dar by utilizing a backwards 450.
Decent opening contest. The crowd loved Morgan and were not familiar with Kimber.
– Tian Bing defeated Wesley Blake
Tian Bing worked face almost by default as no one cares for Blake. Bing won with a brainbuster.
– Brennan Williams cut an in-ring promo. He was announced as a former New England Patriot, which the crowd boo’d, but he then said “Hey they cut me I hate them too” which got a pop. He then cut a heel promo about not being a “basic boy.”
– Adrian Jaoude defeated Chris Atkins
Atkins wrestled in jeans and Timberland boots. Extremely basic match, with lots of headlocks back and forth and clubbing blows. Atkins in particular looked very, very green. Jaoude eventually tapped Atkins out with a guillotine choke.
– Roderick Strong defeated Elias Samson
Good match. Samson got mic work before the match and did a song about how terrible Venice is. He got the heat and then Strong made a comeback and won.
Fun match. Heavy Machinery is a really fun babyface act. They got the win with a double team front slam where the opponent is squashed between their two guts before getting slammed.
– Macey Estrella defeated Heidi Lovelace
Estrella tapped Lovelace out with an armbar after working the arm all match. Lovelace did a great job selling the arm. The crowd was pretty dead as they were not familiar with either competitor.
– Jack Gallagher, Cedric Alexander & Mustafa Ali defeated Ariya Daivari, Drew Gulak & Noam Dar
This was like a good CHIKARA trios match — a mix of high flying action and comedy. Gallagher was the most over person in the match, probably of the whole show for that matter (the only person even close was probably Strong). The finish saw Gallagher hit Daivari with his dropkick after Alexander and Ali took the other two guys out with dives.
Sunday night brought a new era for Catch Point, but it seems that a new era for all of EVOLVE may soon be on the horizon.
“Hot Sauce” Tracy Williams defeated Drew Gulak in the main event of EVOLVE 75 to cement himself as the leader of the promotion’s top stable. The two worked hard and battled in a long match that culminated with Gulak tapping out to the crossface.
The storyline going into the night was that Gulak had said Catch Point was dead and a failure, while Williams was adamant that the group was bigger than Gulak. Gulak claimed that Williams would always be his protege, but he closed the show by passing the baton to him as Catch Point’s new leader.
Gulak won’t be able to participate in the upcoming WWN title tournament as a stipulation of the match, but that won’t matter as he said goodbye to EVOLVE and will be heading to WWE. After Chris Dickinson and Jaka hit the ring to ask to join the group, Williams made the decision to let them into the stable.
But the biggest news of the night was another impending farewell. We broke the news that Chris Hero would be heading back to WWE shortly before tonight’s show began. Losing Gulak and Hero is an obvious blow to EVOLVE. They are two performers that you can match pretty much anyone up against and expect a good match. And the departures come after the promotion had already lost Johnny Gargano, TJ Perkins, Tony Nese, and others to WWE recently.
Losing Hero hurts EVOLVE and independent wrestling as a whole, but no one is more deserving of a spot in the biggest wrestling company in the world than him. There is no stage too big for him. There is nowhere that he doesn’t belong. There is no card that he doesn’t improve. He’s worked seemingly every opponent, every style, and every place in the world this year while producing consistently mind-blowing results. I have no doubt that he will succeed in what comes next.
Hero was victorious tonight against DUSTIN after connecting with two piledrivers. It certainly wasn’t his best match in 2016, but it was another reminder that Hero can work well with almost any opponent.
In what was likely the best match on the show, Matt Riddle tapped out Ricochet with the Bromission after hitting the Bro to Sleep and jumping tombstone in the semi-main event. I’d love to see a longer contest between the two of them, but this was very good for the time it got. Their styles worked well together and the highlight of the match was Riddle catching Ricochet in a triangle after a People’s Moonsault attempt.
Dickinson and Jaka earned EVOLVE contracts earlier in the night after defeating Darby Allin and Peter Kaasa in a tag team match. They should be solid additions to a roster that needs bodies with so many people leaving. It would also be nice to see Kaasa in EVOLVE more, as he really seems to shine in tag team bouts.
Dick Togo completed his weekend in EVOLVE in losing fashion in a solid match against Ethan Page. Togo lost after Page pinned him with the Spinning Dwayne, but he stood tall after the match and fought off Page’s Gatekeeper (Blaster McMassive) to the delight of the crowd.
The show’s opener saw Jeff Cobb get his second win in as many nights. He defeated Fred Yehi after hitting the Tour of the Islands in a good match, then motioned that he wants the EVOLVE Championship after it was over.
Final thoughts:
EVOLVE 75 was a great live experience. This was far from their best card of the year, but everything was at least solid and worth checking out. It will be interesting to see where EVOLVE goes in 2017 with so much roster turnover.
I was also at Beyond Wrestling’s show earlier in the day. It streamed live on FloSlam and was a really fun time. Ricochet vs. Jonathan Gresham was probably the best match of the entire day, Brian Fury had his Beyond farewell in an emotional match against Donovan Dijak, and the Spirit Squad were in action.
EVOLVE 75 results:
“Hot Sauce” Tracy Williams defeated Drew Gulak
Matt Riddle defeated Ricochet
Chris Hero defeated DUSTIN
“All Ego” Ethan Page defeated Dick Togo
Chris Dickinson & Jaka defeated Darby Allin & Peter Kaasa to earn EVOLVE contracts
It was likely inevitable that EVOLVE would eventually encounter streaming troubles on FloSlam, but the timing couldn’t have been much worse than during Saturday night’s main event between Chris Hero and Dick Togo.
The stream went out completely for a decent portion of the match but returned with some minor issues for its conclusion. In what seemed to be the caliber of bout that everyone hoped it would be, the Japanese veteran pinned Hero with his second Pedigree of the night and a senton from the top rope.
FloSlam tweeted that they’re trying to get the full replay of the main event up as soon as possible and blamed the problems on a cable getting accidentally unplugged.
Hero put over Togo after the match and praised the crowd at La Boom in Queens, New York, by calling it a special place. That brought out DUSTIN with a chair. DUSTIN offered to face him right there instead of tomorrow at EVOLVE 75, but Hero struck him and walked off while flipping him off.
Prior to the stream issues, EVOLVE 74 was one of the most fun cards that the promotion has put on all year. The highlight of the show came prior to the main event when EVOLVE Tag Team Champions “Hot Sauce” Tracy Williams and Fred Yehi successfully defended their titles against the team of Ricochet and Peter Kaasa in an excellent match.
The finish came when Kaasa attempted a shooting star press on Williams but missed and got caught in a crossface. Yehi prevented Ricochet from breaking up the submission and the Catch Point team held onto their titles as Kaasa tapped out. The match was at its best when Ricochet and Yehi were in the ring, but Williams and Kaasa managed to shine as well.
Williams appeared earlier in the show in an in-ring interview segment with former stablemate Drew Gulak. The returning Larry Dallas interviewed Gulak after his win over Jaka. Dallas asked him if Catch Point was dead, to which Gulak replied that Catch Point is a failure and it’s time to focus on the next chapter of his career — maybe the WWN title.
That brought Williams out to the ring, where he said that Catch Point is bigger than Gulak and always has been. The two will face off in Melrose, Massachusetts, tomorrow.
Gulak was able to get back on the winning track against Jaka in the show’s opener. The match was really good and it was by far the best Jaka has looked in an EVOLVE ring. He held his own with Gulak, who was also excellent in the bout. Gulak won with the dragon sleeper after a great slapping sequence.
Jaka’s tag team partner was also unable to get a victory on the show as Chris Dickson fell to DUSTIN after he hit the Awful Waffle. Dickson and Jaka will take on Darby Allin and Kaasa tomorrow, with Dickinson and Jaka getting EVOLVE contracts if they win.
Allin was in action against Brian Cage tonight. The two put on the exact type of match that you would want to see them have. Allin dove onto Cage as he was making his entrance and then hit a trust fall inside of the ring. Cage took control on offense after that and was victorious after launching Allin onto the stage. Allin lost by countout despite his best efforts to dive back into the ring, but he was able to keep his promise that he wouldn’t be pinned by Cage.
Ethan Page and one of the Gatekeepers (Blaster McMassive) then came down to the ring. Page handed Cage a check and thanked him for taking care of business after his problems with Allin. Page cut a promo on Cody Rhodes before the Bullet Club’s newest member came out for their match.
The overbooked contest saw shenanigans at the end with ref bumps and interference. The Gatekeeper and Cage interfered, causing Allin to come back out and attack Cage. Rhodes gave him a too sweet, but then threw him onto the pile on the outside. Rhodes won with a low blow and the Cross Rhodes.
In his EVOLVE debut, Jeff Cobb defeated Matt Riddle with the Tour of the Islands. The two put on a good match that culminated with Riddle almost getting the win after the Bro to Sleep and jumping tombstone. Riddle tried to apply the Bromission, but Cobb was too big to put the hold on. The two were previously booked against each other in a tag match in PWG and a singles match in AAW before bringing their rivalry to EVOLVE.
Stokely Hathaway hit the ring after Cobb’s win. He said that for the first time in his life he was almost speechless. He attempted to recruit Cobb to the Dream Team by saying that he’d never have to work for anything in his life again. Hathaway said that if there was a dictionary that defined what a professional wrestler should be — the three examples would be TJ Perkins, Timothy Thatcher, and Cobb.
Hathaway offered him a contract to join the Dream Team, but Cobb said the only contract he wants is one for a shot at the EVOLVE Championship against Thatcher.
Final thoughts:
Despite the stream problems at the end, this was a fun show that is worth going out of your way to see. The tag title match was the obvious highlight for me, but Cobb vs. Riddle and the opener with Gulak and Jaka were also very good.
The highlights of tomorrow’s show look to be Williams vs. Gulak, Ricochet vs. Riddle, and Cobb vs. Yehi. I’ll be in the building for it and Beyond Wrestling earlier in the day.
EVOLVE 74 results:
Dick Togo defeated Chris Hero
EVOLVE Tag Team Champions “Hot Sauce” Tracy Williams & Fred Yehi defeated Ricochet & Peter Kaasa
In addition to the Bayley vs. Dana Brooke match that was announced earlier, WWE added another bout to the card for next Sunday’s Hell in a Cell pay-per-view on Wednesday afternoon.
A six-man tag match featuring members of Raw’s cruiserweight division will pit Cedric Alexander, Lince Dorado and Sin Cara against Drew Gulak, Tony Nese and Ariya Daivari. The match is scheduled for the Hell in a Cell kickoff show and will be the WWE PPV debuts of Alexander, Dorado, Gulak, Nese and Daivari.
It is the second cruiserweight match scheduled for the show, with WWE Cruiserweight Champion TJ Perkins also set to defend his title against Brian Kendrick.
The card for Hell in a Cell is:
Raw Women’s Champion Sasha Banks defending against Charlotte in a Hell in a Cell match
WWE Universal Champion Kevin Owens defending against Seth Rollins in a Hell in a Cell match
United States Champion Roman Reigns defending against Rusev in a Hell in a Cell match
WWE Cruiserweight Champion TJ Perkins defending against Brian Kendrick
Raw Tag Team Champions The New Day defending against Cesaro & Sheamus
Enzo Amore & Big Cass vs. Luke Gallows & Karl Anderson
Bayley vs. Dana Brooke
Cedric Alexander, Lince Dorado & Sin Cara vs. Drew Gulak, Tony Nese & Ariya Daivari (kickoff match)
With Joey Styles making his first post-WWE appearance on commentary, Timothy Thatcher walked out of EVOLVE 67 in Brooklyn, NY on Saturday afternoon still holding the EVOLVE Championship.
This weekend was teased as Thatcher’s redemption with title defenses against Catch Point’s Matthew Riddle on Friday and Drew Gulak on Saturday, but the live crowd didn’t seem to think Thatcher was redeemed at its conclusion.
Thatcher defeated Gulak with a stiff head-butt in a 20-plus minute title defense. The result is surprising given all the time spent on the Thatcher vs. Catch Point feud. And though the match wasn’t bad, it was clearly the wrong match in front of this crowd.
Thatcher showed more of a mean streak than usual, but the crowd struggled to retain much interest in the match. They were occasionally vocal in their dislike of Thatcher and actively booed him retaining at the finish. The post-match featured a possible heel turn as Thatcher locked in a sleeper on Gulak as he was trying to show Thatcher respect.
What’s next for Thatcher isn’t immediately clear. Zack Sabre Jr. mentioned challenging for the title earlier in the night and that’s a potential direction. But it felt like a huge missed opportunity to come out of the weekend without a title switch.
There were exciting possibilities for the future if either Riddle or Gulak won the title, and Thatcher retaining feels like starting over after ending a program without the conclusion it required.
In stark opposition to the Thatcher vs. Gulak match, Chris Hero and Cody Rhodes worked the exact match they should have in front of the Brooklyn audience.
The match started with some wild crowd brawling and led to Hero obliterating Rhodes with strikes for much of the match. There was a spot where Hero grabbed a sign of Dusty Rhodes’ head from a fan in the crowd and started beating Rhodes with it. Rhodes made a comeback and kissed the sign.
Hero was able to pick up the win after interference from Drew Galloway. Hero capitalized by hitting three rolling elbows in the corner and following it up with a huge elbow to the back of the head for the victory.
Hero was fantastic in this match, which isn’t surprising given the outstanding year he is having. The dynamic of the match worked well with Hero playing the bully heel and Rhodes taking a great beating.
There was still much to be desired in Rhodes’ work as his offense looked unconvincing when matched against Hero’s, but this was a good second outing for Rhodes as he looks to find his footing outside of WWE. Whether he will be able to adapt when working against opponents that don’t compliment him as well as Hero remains to be seen, and there is still a clear learning curve ahead.
The show peaked in the middle of the card with back-to-back fantastic matches. Riddle followed up his incredible performance against Thatcher on Friday night to defeat Tommy End. The crowd was behind Riddle and it felt even more like not putting the title on him was a mistake given the reception he got.
They worked a hard-hitting match that saw Riddle again show how great he is at legitimately selling offense. Riddle was able to lock in the Bromission on End to pick up the submission win.
End said farewell to EVOLVE after the match as he gets ready to head to the WWE Performance Center soon.
Following that, Cedric Alexander took on Sabre in a WWE Cruiserweight Classic Spotlight match. The crowd was split early, but Sabre became the clear heel as the match went on. He interacted with the segment of the crowd that was taunting him during the match, then finished it in violent fashion as he delivered kicks to Alexander’s head.
The show’s main event featured an out of sync brawl pitting Galloway, DUSTIN, and Ethan Carter III against TJP, Fred Yehi, and Ethan Page with Galloway and DUSTIN’s EVOLVE Tag Team Championship on the line. “Hot Sauce” Tracy Williams was supposed to team with his Catch Point partners, but was taken out by EC3 and DUSTIN before the match began.
Page came out during the match to even the odds, but Galloway and DUSTIN retained their titles when DUSTIN hit a second piledriver on TJP after a botched pin on the first one where the referee didn’t count the finish.
Galloway has been leading a crusade against EVOLVE and their relationship with WWE, and he tried to recruit a new member in Brooklyn as he asked Joey Styles to join his team. Styles made a surprise appearance earlier as he opened the show and was on commentary for the title match.
Styles seemed to consider Galloway’s offer, but rejected the group after the match and took shots at Galloway and EC3’s employers in TNA Wrestling. Rhodes made the save after the main event concluded and sent the crowd home with a promo.
Rhodes said that he was born a wrestler and would die a wrestler, and just like the crowd, he was born a wrestling fan and would die a wrestling fan. He thanked the audience as the show went off the air.
Earlier in the afternoon, Page made quick work of Kobe Durst in the show’s opener. And Tony Nese defeated Peter Kaasa in a match that showed the athletic ability of both men.
For just Riddle vs. End and Sabre vs. Alexander alone, this show is worth watching. But the puzzling booking of the title match and the flat main event made it ultimately a disappointment.
EVOLVE will return to New York with EVOLVE 68 in Long Island on September 10th and EVOLVE 69 in Queens on September 11th. The latter show will see Johnny Gargano’s farewell to the promotion, and it was announced on Saturday that Gargano would team with Rhodes to take on Galloway and Hero in his final EVOLVE match.
EVOLVE 67 results:
Drew Galloway, DUSTIN, & Ethan Carter III defeated TJP, Fred Yehi, & Ethan Page with Galloway & Dustin retaining their EVOLVE Tag Team Championship
EVOLVE Champion Timothy Thatcher defeated Drew Gulak to retain his title
On a show that felt more like a prelude to tomorrow’s card in Brooklyn than one of their standout events of the year, Cody Rhodes made his return to professional wrestling on Friday night at EVOLVE 66.
Rhodes faced Zack Sabre Jr. in his first match since leaving WWE earlier this year in the show’s main event and was able to defeat the highly touted British star after tapping him out with a leg submission.
In a promo after the match, Rhodes said he previously claimed that he didn’t take the safe bet after leaving the WWE, but it was EVOLVE and the crowd that actually bet on him. He said he grew up in front of the fans and existed in the shadow of his father, but he was fine with it because he loved that shadow. After the loss of his father, he didn’t know what to do without that shadow until this match.
During the promo, Rhodes refused to join Drew Galloway’s crusade against EVOLVE. Galloway had implied that he and Rhodes had similar interests as Galloway led a group of disgruntled wrestlers against EVOLVE because of their relationship with WWE, but Rhodes said that he has no interest in the past.
Rhodes took everything that Sabre had to offer during the match, always coming back and refusing to be defeated. Rhodes was clearly motivated for the match, and it was solid but far from spectacular. He now turns his attention to tomorrow’s match against Chris Hero in Brooklyn, which may be the biggest test Rhodes faces in his post-WWE run.
Hero has somehow improved on his previous stellar resume of work to turn in what is easily the best year of his career. He’s had so many great matches against so many opponents and worked so many different styles. He’s managed to make it work against almost every opponent thrown at him. And if Rhodes is going to truly shine outside of WWE, it’s going to be in this match.
Timothy Thatcher will also enter tomorrow’s show with something to prove after retaining his EVOLVE Championship against Matthew Riddle.
Riddle has shown this year that he’s not only someone with tremendous potential; he’s actively among the best wrestlers in the world already. It wouldn’t be entirely surprising if Riddle was only a good worker. He has a combat sports background from his time in mixed martial arts and is an excellent athlete. But it’s mind-blowing that he grasps so many of the little things already.
Riddle knows how to work the crowd better than most veterans and already has a defined character. And his ability to realistically sell offense was fully on display in this match. He made you believe that every hold Thatcher was applying and every strike he was dishing out was causing legitimate pain.
This was the best match of the night, and Thatcher was able to pick up the victory by submission with the no holds barred rules allowing him to keep hold of an armbar on Riddle as he tried to escape to the floor.
This felt like the right opportunity to put the title on Riddle before the match, and I’m still not sure that Thatcher retaining wasn’t a missed opportunity. But there is more story to be hold here with Riddle and his Catch Point stablemates.
Thatcher has had a disappointing year as champion, though it has included standouts like his match against Riddle tonight and against Hero at EVOLVE 62. And it feels like tomorrow’s match against Gulak is finally time to switch the title and move on to Riddle eventually challenging Gulak for it.
Gulak competed earlier in the show in one of the night’s best matches against Tony Nese in a WWE Cruiserweight Classic Spotlight match. Their styles meshed well with Nese constantly using his athleticism to escape Gulak’s attempts to ground him. The finish to the match came when Gulak was able to pick up the victory with a well-timed sunset flip.
In the show’s opener, Cedric Alexander followed up his Match of the Year candidate against Kota Ibushi in the CWC two weeks ago by taking on TJP in another tournament spotlight match.
Alexander has become accustomed to opening EVOLVE shows after facing Tommaso Ciampa, Johnny Gargano, and Fred Yehi in openers on the company’s three previous events. And he put in another good performance in a more than solid match against TJP, but it didn’t live up to the great matches that he had against Gargano and Ciampa previously.
TJP worked on Alexander’s leg all match and picked up the victory with a submission targeting it.
Also on the show, Jigsaw and Peter Kaasa defeated the Catch Point team of “Hot Sauce” Tracy Williams and Yehi in a shocking upset. Williams slapped Yehi after the match, but it was only to fire his partner up. Yehi responded by laying out Jigsaw with a rolling elbow then hitting Williams with one. The two Catch Point members flashed their group’s symbol and shook hands after the loss.
And in a disjointed brawl full of physicality, Ethan Page picked up a win over one half of the EVOLVE Tag Team Champions when he pinned DUSTIN (the former Chuck Taylor) after hitting a package piledriver.
There was a lot to like on this show, with Thatcher vs. Riddle standing above the rest. But it was far from EVOLVE’s best show of the year and felt a lot like the appetizer to tomorrow’s main course in Brooklyn.
That show starts at 3 p.m. ET and features Thatcher defending his EVOLVE title against Gulak, Rhodes vs. Hero, Riddle vs. Tommy End, and Sabre vs. Alexander as the highlights of the card.
EVOLVE 66 results:
Cody Rhodes defeated Zack Sabre Jr.
EVOLVE Champion Timothy Thatcher defeated Matthew Riddle to retain his title
Drew Gulak defeated Tony Nese
Ethan Page defeated DUSTIN
Jigsaw & Peter Kaasa defeated “Hot Sauce” Tracy Williams & Fred Yehi
