EVOLVE Wrestling has revealed both of Ricochet’s matches for next month’s shows.
Ricochet is returning to EVOLVE for events on Friday, March 15 and Saturday, March 16. He’ll be facing Orange Cassidy at EVOLVE 123 in Melrose, Massachusetts on March 15. At EVOLVE 124 in Queens, New York the next night, Ricochet will team with EVOLVE Tag Team Champions The Street Profits (Angelo Dawkins & Montez Ford) in a six-man tag match against Eddie Kingston, Shane Strickland & Joe Gacy.
EVOLVE 123 will take place at Melrose Memorial Hall, while La Boom is hosting EVOLVE 124.
EVOLVE did a Twitter poll to decide Ricochet’s opponent for the Melrose show, with Cassidy getting support from fans and fellow wrestlers. Cassidy won with 61 percent of the vote. Strickland finished second with 28 percent, and AR Fox came in third with 11 percent.
Kingston, Strickland, Gacy, and Colby Corino formed a stable in EVOLVE this past weekend. They attacked WWN Champion JD Drake and The Street Profits, and the storyline is that they’re banding together after they were all once not welcome in EVOLVE.
Ricochet made his WWE main roster debut on last night’s Raw, teaming with Finn Balor to defeat Bobby Lashley & Lio Rush.
The Hart Foundation (Davey Boy Smith Jr. & Brian Pillman Jr.) defeated The Dirty Blondes (w/ Colonel Robert Parker)
Full rundown —
Tony Schiavone and Rich Bocchini welcomed us to this week’s MLW Fusion. We opened with Shane “Swerve” Strickland in the ring telling us how he hates Miami, but MLW paid him a lot of money to come down there. He said that there wasn’t anyone in the back that could beat him.
Strickland was quickly interrupted by Rush, and we were ready for our opening match of the night.
Rush defeated Shane Strickland (14:03)
Strickland jumped Rush as he was replying on the house mic, tossing him to the outside and using the ring post and guardrail to get the early advantage. They went back in the ring, and after a quick two count, Strickland stayed on top with a running back elbow to a seated Rush.
Rush fought back briefly, but Strickland quickly cut him off and hit a dropkick while Rush was tied up in the corner. Strickland was in control of the opening exchanges, but after a kneebar, Rush fought back to his feet and caught Strickland off guard with a running Superman punch.
Rush exploded to the outside and upped the tempo by whipping Strickland into the guardrail before going through the crowd, throwing Strickland into an exit door and tossing a solid steel trash can at his face. Back in the ring, Rush put the boots to Strickland in the corner before hitting a delayed kick to the face and taunting the cocky Strickland to the delight of the Miami crowd.
Rush lit up the arena with two hard chops before going for the Rush Driver, but Strickland rolled out and hit a hard right hand. Rush replied and they traded hard rights and chops before Rush hit a belly-to-belly suplex and a dropkick for a close two count. Rush took his eye off the ball and confronted the referee, which gave Strickland the chance for a quick roll-up — but it was to no avail.
A quick and fluid exchange then followed as Strickland hit a quick snap German. Rush popped up and went for one of his own — only for Strickland to roll through and connect with a jumping cutter. Strickland then went up to the top rope, but Rush stopped him, joined him up top, and hit a huge superplex for another two count.
A fisherman suplex received another two count for Rush, but instead of continuing his attack, he began jaw-jacking with the crowd. Rush eventually made his way to the top rope, but he took far too much time and missed a massive senton bomb. Strickland retaliated with a double foot stomp from the top, only getting another close two count.
A brainbuster by Strickland was followed by another kick to the head that received another two count. Both made their way to the corner for an exchange of right hands and chops, with Rush taking the advantage. Rush knocked Strickland to the ground and followed up with a running dropkick to the face and the Rush Driver to pick up the win.
– We had another promo video for the debuting Mance Warner before we cut to a recap of last week’s chase and confrontation between Sami Callihan and “Filthy” Tom Lawlor. The off-camera fight resulted in Lawlor taking out Callihan, using Callihan’s own hammer to add insult to injury.
– We cut over to Kaci Lennox. She was with Salina de la Renta, who told us she had just signed a match between Sami Callihan and LA Park because Callihan couldn’t take out Lawlor last week. She said she won’t stop until he is fired, or dead.
Ace Romero defeated Ariel Dominguez (1:51)
Barrington Hughes joined Schiavone and Bocchini on commentary for this match. We saw a much less jovial and much more serious Ace Romero than we have seen recently.
Dominguez got the early advantage with a big step-up kick from the apron after Romero missed a splash in the corner. He looked pretty pleased with himself, but Romero just shook off the cobwebs, grabbed him through the ropes, and rag-dolled him back into the ring.
Hughes had called Romero a bully earlier in the match, and he continued to say that Romero had always had the advantage in his matches because of his weight, but he wouldn’t have that against Hughes: hinting at a future matchup between the two super heavyweights.
Dominguez kept up a strong fight by slipping out of a powerbomb and going for an adventurous — but ultimately unsuccessful — sunset flip. Romero powered out of it before trying to squash him with a huge leg drop, but Dominguez wisely moved out of the way.
Three big jumping clotheslines later and Dominguez couldn’t floor the big man, and with the fourth attempt, Romero caught Team Filthy’s Dominguez and planted him with a big body slam. Romero hit the ropes and squashed his smaller foe with a big elbow drop for the win.
After the match, the victorious Romero pointed over at Hughes, who stood from the commentary table and removed his headset and glasses in what could be an acceptance to a future match.
– Brian Pillman Jr. was then cutting a promo on Tommy Dreamer from a play park. He said he was so excited from beating Dreamer in their Singapore cane match and he wonders where they will meet again. Pillman begged him to take him to New York City and hinted at a street fight between the two.
– Lennox was backstage with Low Ki. She asked him about his undefeated streak, and Ki explained that he has solidified himself as the greatest MLW World Heavyweight Champion of all time. He told Lawlor that at MLW Superfight — Lawlor gets to join the long list of fighters who have lost to him. Ki said the honor will be Lawlor’s — but the pleasure will be his.
Ricky Martinez (w/ Salina de la Renta) defeated Gringo Loco (5:02)
Martinez came out with an eye patch as a taunt to Kotto Brazil after recently injuring him.
A quick opening to this match saw both wrestlers reversing and evading each other’s offense. Martinez went for a handshake but took a cheap shot to gain the advantage. Loco quickly fought back and hit a big sit-out powerbomb for a two count.
Martinez floored Loco soon after with a big shoulder block and tried to follow up from the top rope but took too much time. Loco cut him off, joined him up top, and he hit an amazing falcon arrow from the top rope for a close two count.
Loco went up top again and hit a huge springboard cutter for another two count. The crowd was into this match as Loco set up Martinez and went up top for the third time in quick succession. De la Renta pulled Martinez out of the way before Loco could hit a corkscrew splash, and he connected with the mat instead.
Martinez quickly raked the eyes and hit Loco with a gutbuster to pick up the win after Loco was looking so impressive early on.
Martinez then put the eye patch on before we cut backstage to Colonel Robert Parker hyping up the Dirty Blondes for their match with the Hart Foundation later tonight.
– We then switched to Tom Lawlor. He said we are a few short weeks away from MLW Superfight. He has been thinking about the past seven months where he has become the number one ranked fighter in MLW, having to go through 39 others to win the Battle Riot to get what he deserves.
Lawlor told Low Ki he sees him paying off other people to do his dirty work: Simon Gotch, Sami Callihan, Ricky Martinez, the fat skeleton, the skinny skeleton, and Salina the Teenage Witch. He said Low Ki will be out of a job after 15 years and their fight will all be over in six seconds when he puts Low Ki to sleep.
The Hart Foundation (Davey Boy Smith Jr. & Brian Pillman Jr.) defeated The Dirty Blondes (Leo Brien & Michael Patrick) w/ Colonel Robert Parker (4:49)
Smith gave Leo Brien a clean break at the start. Brien took a cheap shot, which only angered Smith, who followed up with a dropkick and a snap suplex before tagging in Pillman.
One dropkick in the corner by Pillman was followed up with a missed attempt, and the Blondes took control and cut Pillman off from his partner. Brien hit a hard back elbow and the Blondes distracted the referee for some double teaming behind his back. Pillman soon fired back with a crossbody block before a double down and double tag brought Patrick and Smith back into the action.
Smith hit a big backdrop before hitting the 10 punches in the corner on Brien. A clothesline in the corner and a running powerslam followed, but Patrick broke up Smith’s pinning attempt.
Pillman sprung into the ring and took Patrick out with a springboard clothesline, leaving Smith and Brien alone in the ring. Smith put Brien on the top rope, got up himself, and hit a big superplex for the win.
Dave Meltzer reported last August that WWE was interested in Strickland. PWInsider then reported in November that the belief among many they’ve spoken to was that Strickland would be part of the next class to report to the WWE Performance Center. But Strickland’s status was complicated by him being under contract with Lucha Underground, where he played the character Killshot.
Meltzer wrote about Strickland’s status in December: “Shane Strickland’s situation is still up in the air regarding WWE. The basic update is Strickland is almost surely winding up in WWE, but not right now. His MLW contract that he negotiated did give him an out clause to go to WWE. However, he still has his Lucha Underground contract that doesn’t allow it at this time, so he’ll be like Ricochet was, basically waiting out his contract time and then probably start up after that.”
Strickland tweeted this Sunday that he has some dates open for indie bookings in February, March, and April.
With his time as an independent wrestler soon coming to an end, Matt Riddle lost the EVOLVE Championship at the 2300 Arena in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on Saturday.
Shane Strickland defeated Riddle in a hardcore rules match at EVOLVE 108 to win the title. The story of the match was that Riddle refused to give up despite Strickland working over his left arm and repeatedly hiting double stomps, including one that was off a ladder and through a table while Riddle was hung on the ladder. Strickland eventually won with his JML Driver finisher.
This was the third time Riddle and Strickland have faced off in EVOLVE this year, with their previous matches ending in a no contest and a disqualification.
WWN confirmed last month that Riddle would be on all of EVOLVE’s August shows and that he would be adding more dates if he was still champion after that. The company has EVOLVE 109 in Melrose, Massachusetts today, EVOLVE 110 in Cicero, Illinois on August 11, and EVOLVE 111 in Livonia, Michigan on August 12.
EVOLVE’s two-show weekend began in Brooklyn, New York last night.
– Josh Briggs defeated Bad Bones
The EVOLVE newcomer Briggs and the German star Bad Bones had a physical big-man match. Briggs won with the chokebreaker.
– Jon Davis defeated Jarek 1:20 (w/ Candy Cartwright)
Davis, who was making a surprise return to EVOLVE, proclaimed he was here for a fight and proceeded to impose his will on the illusionist Jarek. Davis put him away after a powerbomb, German suplex, and lariat combination.
– Adrian Alanis & Liam Grey defeated Leon Ruff & Tommy Maserati (w/ AR Fox and fellow members of The Skulk)
The crowd erupted for the action between these two sets of Fox’s students. Alanis scored the pin for his team and they all celebrated before Fox called out DJZ for their match.
– AR Fox (w/ The Skulk) defeated DJZ
The fans appreciated both men in this athletic spectacle. Ayla Fox distracted DJZ at ringside by wearing his LED mask, which allowed Fox to take the advantage. The Fox Catcher finished it off.
– Darby Allin defeated WALTER
This was another in the long line of breakthrough performances by Allin, who showed incredible heart by taking a mauling from WALTER but never giving up. There were huge chops and strikes throughout by WALTER. Allin tried to use his speed and high flying but always got cut off by WALTER’s power.
Allin was able to roll back through a clutch choke hold to score the three count, sending the crowd into a frenzy for a moment before WALTER kicked Allin with a cheap shot and stormed off. Allin was helped to the back as he held up three fingers as if he couldn’t believe what he had just done.
– Bryan Idol (w/ Natalya Markova) defeated Mike Verna
The crowd was firmly behind Verna in this one, but Idol picked up the win to their dismay.
– Jaka, Chris Dickinson & Dominic Garrini (w/ Stokely Hathaway) defeated Anthony Henry, Timothy Thatcher & Tracy Williams
A wild six-man brawl with some incredible technical wrestling involved as well. This was the prelude for the Williams vs. Dickinson “Catch Point rules” match tomorrow at EVOLVE 107 in Melrose, Massachusetts.
After the match, Thatcher wasn’t happy with Henry and let him have it before storming off.
– Joey Janela (w/ Penelope Ford) defeated Austin Theory (w/ Priscilla Kelly) to win the WWN Championship
The Brooklyn fans were on fire for this matchup. There was wild action all over the place and the managers each got involved. Theory overpowered Janela, but he kept fighting and hit a super brainbuster off the ropes for a major victory.
The crowd erupted for the title change, with Janela winning it on his EVOLVE debut.
– EVOLVE Champion Matt Riddle vs. Shane Strickland ended in a no contest
Strickland attacked Riddle before the bell for the early advantage. Riddle fought back with his powerbomb and knee strike until Strickland cut him off to take back the advantage. Riddle charged the corner, but Strickland evading it caused the referee to be incapacitated by Riddle.
The two then brawled to the back and through the curtain — where the rest of the locker room joined in the fight. Strickland wiped out a pack of wrestlers before Riddle yanked him by the hair back into the ring to choke him out.
WWN personnel tried to pull Riddle off Strickland and seemingly end this match. Riddle then said that wasn’t the finish he wanted, but it was a great night and it was because of the fans in Brooklyn. He thanked them to end the show.
The first show in EVOLVE’s weekend doubleheader took place in Summit, Illinois last night. They’ll be in the Detroit area tonight with Keith Lee vs. Matt Riddle in what’s being billed as the final war between them.
– AR Fox defeated Zachary Wentz
Great showing by both men in front of a hot crowd, ending when Fox won with the Fox Catcher. After the match, one of Fox’s students, Tommy Maserati, issued an open challenge.
– Josh Briggs defeated Tommy Maserati
Briggs is a standout for Beyond Wrestling who was making his EVOLVE debut. He destroyed Maserati fast.
– Tracy Williams defeated Dominic Garrini (w/ Stokely Hathaway) in a “Catchpoint rules” match
No closed fists, three rope breaks, and a 20 count on the outside were the rules for this. Garrini had the advantage throughout, but Williams wouldn’t quit and was able to lock in a submission for the victory.
Chris Dickinson and Jaka helped Hathaway escape unharmed following the match.
– -Matt Knicks, Chris Castro & Isaias Velazquez defeated J.Spade, Bu Ku Dao & Johnny Flex in a Freelance Wrestling vs. WildKat Wrestling showcase match
They had a wild six-man that was won by the Freelance crew.
– Anthony Henry defeated Stevie Fierce
These two have a long standing rivalry in the local Freelance Wrestling promotion. Henry, who is usually a fan favorite in EVOLVE, was booed throughout. He picked up the victory after a hard-fought match.
– WWN Champion Austin Theory (w/ Priscilla Kelly) defeated DJZ to retain his title
Two of AR Fox’s students were in the ring for a match before Theory and Kelly destroyed them both and said they run the show, calling out DJZ.
DJZ was able to hit a super rana from the top for a near fall, but the distractions of Kelly were too much as she hit a low blow that allowed Theory to get the victory.
– EVOLVE Tag Team Champions Chris Dickinson & Jaka defeated The End in an anything goes match to retain their titles
They had a wild brawl that went all over the place, using barricades and chairs in and out of the ring. Even with the three-on-two advantage, Odinson, Parrow, and Drennan weren’t able to stop Dickinson and Jaka.
– Darby Allin defeated Myron Reed, Snoop Strikes, and Trey Miguel in a four-way match
Incredible action by all involved. Allin opened the match with a Coffin Drop on the other three. Reed also got amazing long distance on a dive over the ring post on Miguel. The fast-paced action was finally cut off by Allin, who applied his Last Supper pinning maneuver to score the win. The crowd loved all involved and gave a standing ovation.
Candy Cartwright then tried to tell Allin that Jarek was coming, but Allin would have none of it and made his way to the back.
– Keith Lee defeated James Drake
An athletic hoss fight with these two doing things that men their size should not be able to do. They did rope running, dropkicks, and ranas until it finally broke down into a slugfest, hitting huge chops and forearms before a great blockbuster by Drake for a near fall.
Lee hit the Ground Zero to win and the crowd showed respect to both.
– EVOLVE Champion Matthew Riddle defeated Shane Strickland by DQ in a non-title match
Strickland attacked Riddle’s left arm from bell to bell. Riddle would get in flurries of offense, including a trio of sentons, his powerbomb/knee strike combo, and even a one-armed German suplex, but Strickland would always cut him off by attacking the arm.
The disqualification came when Strickland applied the key lock and Riddle was in the ropes. The referee called for the break and Strickland, who was upset that this was not a championship match where there would be no rope breaks, wrenched on the hold even tighter to force the referee to call it off.
Strickland attacked Riddle’s arm by placing it in a folded chair and delivering a Swerve Stomp off the top before declaring himself the new most dangerous man in EVOLVE.
Here are results from the last two days of PROGRESS events in New Orleans. First up, here are quick results from the show held on 4/6:
James Drake and Zack Gibson defeated Tyler Bate and Trent Seven to retain the PROGRESS tag team titles.
Will Ospreay defeated Mark Haskins.
Ringkampf (WALTER and Timothy Thatcher) defeated Keith Lee and David Starr.
Jeff Cobb won the Thunderbastard match which included Chris Brookes, MJF, Rickey Shane Page, Austin Theory, Parrow, Darby Allin and Joey Janela.
Jinny and Mercedez Martinez defeated Toni Storm and Shazza Mackenzie.
Matt Riddle defeated Jimmy Havoc.
Pete Dunne defeated Mark Andrews and Flash Morgan Webster in a triple threat match.
Travis Banks defeated Shane Strickland to retain the PROGRESS title.
And here is what went down earlier today:
– Chris Brooks defeated Rey Horus
Solid opener. Brooks got the advantage after a sucker punch. Horus made a comeback with a head scissors to the floor and a flip dive over the turnbuckle to take out Brooks. Brooks won with an octopus stretch.
– Toni Storm defeated Mercedes Martinez to retain the PROGRESS Women’s championship
Really good match. Extremely hard hitting early with Mercedes getting the better of Toni with hard forearms and chops. Toni hit a tremendous snap German suplex. Mercedes got a near fall with a fisherman’s buster. Toni got the win with an armbar.
Will Ospreay came out for a promo. He came out to a huge ovation. Will stated that he re injured his neck in the match with Matt Riddle but still wanted to compete. He first suggested a reverse battle royal which got a huge reaction. Then he wanted to have a mixed tag team match for some fun. Out came Kay Lee Ray to be his tag partner.
– Austin Theory and Jinny defeated Will Ospreay and Kay Lee Ray
A lot of comedy early with Jinny using a voodoo doll on Kay Lee Ray to attack Ospreay. Turned into a pretty good match Ospreay clearly not doing as much due to his neck injury but still took a couple of hard shots to his neck. Jinny picked up the win after a second rope facebuster on Kay Lee Ray.
– Mark Haskins, Jimmy Havok, and Flash Morgan Webster defeatd Keith Lee, Matt Riddle, and David Starr
This match was a lot of fun. Lot of comedy early with Jimmy Havok biting Riddle’s feet and Lee’s knee. Ton of big moves by Lee and Starr. The finish was the kiss of death combination Acid Rainmaker and STO on David Starr by Havok and Haskins.
– WALTER defeated Zach Sabre Jr. to become the number one contender for the PROGRESS championship
This match was insane. WALTER chopped Zach about 15 times during the match causing Zach’s chest to turn bright red. Zach would try and get submissions over and over but WALTER would keep powering out and continue to chop him all over the ring and outside. Zach tried a rollup bridge and was caught in the rear naked choke and submitted to a huge reaction.
– GYV (Zach Gibson and James Drake) defeated Rickey Shane Page and Ethan Page to retain the PROGRESS tag team titles
Rickey Shane Page cut a promo saying that due to the blood test required by the Louisiana State Athletic Commission that he was able to find his brother to tag with him. Out came “All Ego” Ethan Page to a good reaction. Ethan then cut a promo saying that also found out they were related and Page and Diamond Dallas Page for a good laugh. Zach Gibson and James Drake came out to a ton of boos. This was an ok match. Lot of teasing the hot tag to Rickey Shane Page included a funny spot where RSP ran into the ring to attack Gibson and Drake but untied the tag rope so he was holding it and was therefore legal. The finish came when Eddie Dennis came out and distracted RSP casuing the GYV to hit a double facebuster for the win.
Eddie Dennis then cut a promo calling Mark Andrews a sell out for wanting to work for WWE and stated he had a plan to get Andrews.
– Travis Banks defeated Jeff Cobb to retain the PROGRESS title
This was another really good match. Cobb was suplexing Banks all over the place. Cobb teased a people’s moonsault when Banks got the knees up. Banks hit Cobb with a Kiwi Krusher for the pin. After the match WALTER came out and chased Banks out of the arena and motioned he was coming for the title.
Really good show. The PROGRESS shows have been a ton of fun over the past two days and they stated they wanted to come back to the United States soon.
There were approximately 200 people in attendance at GILT Nightclub in Orlando, Florida for MLW One-Shot last night. The VOD of the show will be available this weekend on MLW.com, with MLW announcing last night that they will return to Orlando on December 7th for a show called “Never Say Never.”
– Tama Tonga defeated Martin Stone
Tonga wasn’t advertised in advance for the show, so him appearing was a nice surprise. He hit the Gun Stun to win it.
– Seth Petruzelli & Rhett Giddins defeated Saive Al Sabah & Parrow
Petruzelli submitted Al Sabah with an armbar. After the match, Parrow powerbombed Al Sabah for losing.
– MJF defeated Jimmy Yuta
A low blow and a roll-up stole it for Maxwell Jacob Friedman.
– Barrington Hughes defeated Markos Espada
The giant Hughes ran in and splashed the Anti Luchador in the corner for the 30 second squash.
– Darby Allin defeated Jason Cade
This was a good one with a lot of action and high flying. It ended when Allin used his Gibson leg lock pinning maneuver.
– Santana Garrett defeated Mia Yim
They had a hard-hitting match that got some time, ending when Garrett hit a handspring moonsault for the win.
– “Filthy” Tom Lawlor defeated Jeff Cobb
This was a physical match, with Cobb getting busted open at one point. He used huge throws throughout. For the finish, Lawlor was able to roll through and pin Cobb for the victory.
Lawlor issued a challenge to Matt Riddle for a future match, and Riddle tweeted that he’ll face Lawlor on the December 7th MLW show.
– MVP defeated Sami Callihan
MVP and Callihan brawled all over the place, with chairs flying and Callihan running everywhere as they went at it. Callihan went for the Ballin’ Elbow but was cut off, then MVP hit one of his own before winning with a fisherman suplex.
– Shane “Swerve” Strickland defeated Ricochet
This was built and promoted as a main event and it delivered. The match went over 30 minutes and opened with a lot of mat work.
They worked a diverse style with levels of work. Ricochet went for high-flying moves and Strickland wanted to grab his arm for submission attempts. There were multiple sequences of rope running and transitions that were outstanding. They exchanged ferocious strikes and Ricochet’s chest was lit up.
For the finish, Strickland was able to avoid the 630 and the Benadryller before finally gaining control of the arm with a key lock for the submission victory.
