Tag: wwe evolution

Tiffany Stratton praises Trish Stratus after WWE Evolution dream match

Posted on by Joseph Currier

Getting to face one of her dream opponents at WWE Evolution was a big confidence boost for Tiffany Stratton.

At the all-women’s PLE earlier this summer, Stratton and Trish Stratus faced off one-on-one for the first time ever. The match ended with Stratton defeating her Hall of Fame challenger to retain the WWE Women’s Championship — which she still holds nearly two months later.

Stratton reflected on the match while appearing on the No-Contest Wrestling podcast this week, saying she love Stratus and feels like they have great chemistry together.

“I think Evolution was a confidence boost for me. I was in the ring with Trish Stratus, and we had such a great match, I feel like. We have great chemistry,” Stratton said. “I love Trish so much. I love working with her. She’s amazing.

“But I think being backstage with all of these women — I think it’s amazing that we have so [many] women we can put on Evolution and everyone can have bangers. Like, I feel like everybody can have, you know, main event-level matches, and that’s so amazing. Our women’s division has just evolved so much.

“And I’m happy to be a part of it and be a champion for all these women that we have right now. So it’s a really good time to be a wrestler and a female in wrestling right now.”

This year marks the 25th anniversary of Stratus’ WWE debut, and she feels a connection with Stratton given that they’re both blondes who had to overcome preconceived notions of what they can do. Stratus has competed three times in 2025, including teaming with Stratton against Nia Jax & Candice LeRae at Elimination Chamber this March.

After Evolution, Stratton went on to retain her WWE Women’s Championship over Jade Cargill at SummerSlam. She is now feuding with both Cargill and Jax.

Kelly Kelly explains why she turned down WWE Evolution invitation

Posted on by Joseph Currier

While speaking with Chris Van Vliet on a new episode of Insight, Kelly Kelly explained why she was not at WWE’s Evolution PLE this year.

Kelly Kelly was invited to appear in the crowd at the July event in Atlanta, but she turned down WWE’s offer, noting at the time that she was honored to receive the invitation but didn’t feel like it was the right way for her to come back.

That explanation made some fans believe that Kelly Kelly only wanted to return for a match. But she clarified the situation on Insight, saying the appearance just didn’t make sense for her logistically. WWE’s invitation came at the last minute, and it would have been difficult for her to fly across the country on short notice given her husband’s job and their two young kids.

“It was in Atlanta, obviously. It was one of the weekends, the only weekend I had off. And my kids, I think they had something going on. And I feel like when I come back, I want it to be — I want my kids to see me there and they wouldn’t have been able to make it,” Kelly Kelly said. “I don’t know, there was just like a lot of different things that were kind of keeping me from going.

“Of course you read the dirtsheets and… Somebody on the dirtsheet was like, ‘Oh, somebody in the higher-ups said that she only wants to come back if she has a match,’ which could not have been farther from the truth.

“Like, I didn’t need a match to come back. If it was in LA, I would have been there — no questions asked. I would have been there. But to fly across the country, to do that — like I said in the beginning, with my kids, I’m very picky about what I say yes and no to right now. Maybe when they’re six or seven, you know, they’re grown or bigger and stuff like that, then I probably would have done it. But it’s just, like I said, that was the one weekend I had off. I didn’t want to get them on a plane and do this. You know what I mean? There was just like a bunch of different things.”

If Evolution took place closer to where she lives or if WWE’s offer came sooner, Kelly Kelly would have been able to coordinate her plans better. She said everyone in WWE was understanding of why she declined the appearance.

“And that’s the thing, like it had nothing to do with wanting a singles match,” she said. “WWE knows exactly why I said no. And they were totally, they were like, ‘When we’re in LA, you’ll be there.’ And I’m like, ‘Yes, I will be there.’ So that was never a conversation. Like, ‘Kelly has to come back, she has to be in a match.’ Never, never.”

Kelly Kelly retired from the ring in 2012, but she remains under a Legends contract with WWE and has popped up a few times over the years at events like Royal Rumbles. The former Divas Champion was part of the first WWE Evolution card in 2018 as a battle royal entrant.

Competing in the ring at least one more time remains a goal for the 38-year-old Kelly Kelly. She and her husband welcomed twins into the world in 2023, and she would like for them to watch her have a match.

“That’s always my dream,” she said about her kids seeing her wrestle. “One day for them to be old enough to understand what mommy does and sit there in the front row and just cheer me on. And I just think that’s the coolest thing.

“But also if I’m sitting in the crowd, I would love for them to be like, ‘Wow, mommy, all these people are cheering for you. Like, what is going on?'”

Fight Game: Is Seth Rollins’ injury work or shoot?

Posted on by Garrett Gonzales

John LaRocca and I, Garrett Gonzales, are back to discuss the latest happenings in the world of pro wrestling.

We kicked off the show by giving out our Thumbs Up/Thumbs Down winners and losers of the week before hitting the major AEW and WWE topics of the week.

Here are is what we talked about:

  • Grades for AEW All In & WWE Evolution
  • Whether Seth Rollins’ injury is work or shoot
  • Goldberg’s frustration after his retirement match
  • AEW injuries
  • SummerSlam so far

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Bayley: WWE Evolution 2 was ‘reminiscent of the early NXT days for me’

Posted on by Joseph Currier

To Bayley, WWE Evolution 2 felt like a throwback to the early days of NXT.

Bayley opened the action at Sunday’s PLE, coming up short in a triple threat match for the Women’s Intercontinental Championship. The loss did nothing to put a damper on the night for Bayley, though. She reflected on the show in a tweet today and thanked everyone who showed up in person or watched at home.

“I cannot explain the feeling in the arena last night but it was reminiscent of the early NXT days for me,” Bayley wrote. “Some kind of magic and so full of love. Thank you to every person that showed up in support, and thank you all for watching. This picture [of fans showing their support in the parking lot] sums up my night.”

Yesterday’s Evolution PLE took place on the 10-year anniversary of Four Horsewomen Charlotte Flair, Sasha Banks, and Becky Lynch being called up to the WWE main roster. Bayley stayed in NXT a bit longer than her three peers and was not called up until 2016.

Lynch retained the Women’s Intercontinental title last night by defeating Bayley and Lyra Valkyria. Bayley had the match all but won after hitting a Rose Plant on Valkyria, but Lynch then pinned Bayley to get the victory.

This show was the follow-up to the inaugural Evolution from 2018. At the post-show press conference, Paul “Triple H” Levesque answered “we shall see” when asked if Evolution will become an annual event.

“I don’t want to say it’s yearly, it’s not yearly. I think we see what that demand is for it,” Levesque said. “Because as the demand for the women grows across the board every day, it becomes less about having their own show and more about…the equality, it’s all there. They don’t have to have their show to be in the spotlight. But if it works, we’ll definitely go down that road again. It’s a ‘we shall see.'”

Naomi wins Women’s World title at WWE Evolution after Money in the Bank cash-in

Posted on by Josh Nason

A bruised and battered Naomi left Sunday’s WWE Evolution as the new Women’s World Champion following a successful Money in the Bank cash-in.

Reigning champion IYO SKY and Rhea Ripley were both laid out in the ring after a top rope Spanish fly that was preceded by a wild brawl outside the ring that saw SKY launch herself off a large stack of production cases onto Ripley.

As both women were recovering, Naomi’s music hit and she ran out with the case. After it was made official, she hit SKY with the briefcase, ran in and threw Ripley shoulder-first into the ring post, taking her out. She then turned her attention to SKY, connecting on her split-leg moonsault for the pin and title win.

Earlier in the night, Naomi fell in defeat to rival Jade Cargill in a no holds barred match with Bianca Belair as special referee.

It’s Naomi’s first WWE World title run since 2017 when she held the SmackDown version of the title twice that year. She also held the TNA World title for 182 days from 2023 to 2024. After returning to WWE in 2024, she held the Women’s Tag Team titles with Belair — her second run with them.

For SKY, the loss ends her 133-day run as Women’s World Champion while Ripley was looking for her third title run.

New Women’s World title challenger official for WWE Clash in Paris

Posted on by Josh Nason

A new Women’s World title challenger is now official for WWE Clash in Paris: Stephanie Vaquer.

Vaquer survived a 20-woman battle royal at Sunday’s Evolution premium live event to earn the shot and on Sunday, August 31st, she will face either WWE Women’s Champion Tiffany Stratton or the winner of Sunday’s main event of Women’s World Champion IYO SKY vs. Rhea Ripley.

The final four came down to Vaquer, Lash Legend, Nikki Bella and Nia Jax.

Jax had Bella on the apron, moving out of the way just as Legend delivered a kick to eliminate Bella. That left one woman from Raw, SmackDown and NXT in the match, pointed out on commentary.

Legend picked Jax up and put her on the apron. She and Vaquer then went to work on Jax, who fought back, but the two eventually hurt her enough to knock her off the apron to eliminate her.

Legend used her strength on Vaquer, but she countered with a hurricanrana of sorts to get both of them on the apron. Vaquer then delivered the Devil’s Kiss to Legend on the apron, turning her over and knocking her to the floor for the win.

Afterward, Stephanie McMahon got in the ring to interview Vaquer, asking her a question in Spanish. Vaquer spoke briefly in Spanish and then moved to English, admitting it isn’t her first language but that wrestling is. She put over women’s wrestling and those who made this night possible before promising she will “keep working hard. You will remember my name forever.”

The 32-year-old is both a former NXT Women’s Champion and NXT North American Champion.

Blake Monroe turns against Jordynne Grace at WWE Evolution

Posted on by Bryan Rose

Blake Monroe has cost Jordynne Grace the NXT Women’s Championship.

The end of the match at Sunday’s PLE had Jacy Jayne’s stablemates introduce the Women’s Championship into the match. Blake Monroe managed to take out Fallon Henley then Jazmyn Nyx. Henley recovered and distracted the referee on the apron as Jayne whipped Grace into the ropes. That was where Monroe struck Grace in the back with the title, allowing Jayne to connect with a punch for the win.

After the match, Monroe handed the title to Jayne and smirked at Fatal Influence as she made her exit.

Grace reacted to the turn on X, clearly unhappy.

Since making her debut last month, the former Mariah May had been feuding with Fatal Influence, who attacked Monroe during her contract signing. At Saturday’s The Great American Bash, she and Grace teamed up to defeat Jayne and Henley. In the build to their match, Grace & Monroe developed a friendship, enjoying a spa day together.

In a segment that aired during the Evolution pre-show, Monroe agreed to be in Grace’s corner for her title match.

WOL: Sifting through a WWE & AEW weekend content storm

Posted on by Josh Nason

Image: WWE

Josh Nason has returned with Sunday’s Wrestling Observer Live on a weekend that featured five events from WWE and AEW combined.

Josh delves into his thoughts about all the big news from Saturday’s AEW All In from Hangman Page winning the AEW World title to Cope returning to Okada defeating Omega to Adam Cole’s concussion to Toni Storm retaining, and all the other developments and happenings.

Josh then looks at the news coming out of WWE Saturday Night’s Main Event which includes Seth Rollins suffering a leg injury which some still think might be a work, the final match from WCW/WWE legend Bill Goldberg, and some Jelly Roll.

Josh unloads his frustration on how Goldberg’s retirement speech was reduced to less than 40 seconds on national TV and why the full speech hasn’t been posted to WWE’s YouTube channel.

Josh also previews tonight’s WWE Evolution and the week ahead.

Click here to listen to the ad-free version for free or listen on either our Spotify or Apple Podcasts (search Wrestling Observer).

Lilian Garcia off WWE Evolution due to respiratory infection flare-up

Posted on by Bryan Rose

Lilian Garcia is out of Evolution.

Shortly before the show started on Sunday, the longtime WWE ring announcer posted on social media that due to a lingering respiratory infection, she would be unable to perform her duties, and Alicia Taylor will instead be Evolution’s ring announcer.

“I was so excited to be announcing @wwe Saturday Nights Main Event and @wwe Evolution this weekend but because of lingering effects of a respiratory infection I got some weeks ago, I was only able to announce SNME last night before my voice started wigging out,” she wrote. “Grateful to my announce sista @aliciataylorwwe for stepping up to announce Evolution tonight and so excited to celebrate all the women involved, as all the women that have paved the way to this moment!”

Garcia has been back ring announcing for WWE since last year, briefly returning after Samantha Irvin announced her departure. She finished her latest run as the ring announcer for SmackDown in March, but returned for the joint AAA/WWE Worlds Collide event that took place in June.

Daily Update: WWE Evolution, fallout from AEW All In & SNME

Posted on by Dave Meltzer

Daily Update

Latest Headlines

Latest Audio

Latest YouTube Video

This Week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter

  • The big weekend,matches, booking,business, favorites and strategies
  • The life and times of Cowboy Bob Ellis, one of the great babyfaces of his era.  A long career as a star all over the world, defining the wrestling cowboy character, the bulldog headlock, wars with Dick the Bruiser and why he had a long career but his top ten drawing days were only a few years.
  • Donald Trump wants a UFC show at the White House on July 4, 2026
  • Preview of the G-1 Climax tournament
  • The most in depth look at the ratings for all the TV shows, including quarters, competition, people watching together, year over year and week over week comparisons and all the little details you won’t get anywhere else on the shows.
  • The Arena Mexico business milestone and comparisons to 2006 and 1991 boom periods and CMLL sells out three shows this past week.
  • AAA has one of its big shows of the year this week
  • Details over the attempt to trademark a major name as part of a fight between wrestler and promoter
  • Stardom star taking a temporary leave
  • Dragon Gat’s biggest show of the year
  • Tiger Mask retires in 2026
  • Notes on Tanahashi Jam
  • Updates on Ric Flair and Wendi Richter
  • Highest ratings for a woman’s main event in American television history
  • Tons of major indie shows coming up
  • Maple Leaf Wrestling coverage
  • Grandson of legend about to start out
  • Kim Wood, the architect of the Brian Pillman storyline, turns 80
  • TNA attempts to upgrade its U.S. TV situation
  • Ticket sales for upcoming WWE, AEW and TNA shows
  • Kenny Omega talks, taking risks, career, match philosophy and future
  • Tony Khan talks more stadium shows, Britt Baker,  U.S. record gate ad Unified title
  • How much is the Khan sports empire worth, the TKO sports empire and where both trank in the world standins
  • New contract signings
  • AEW quarter two television final numbers and explaining what the numbers mean
  • Jim Ross update
  • Lots of business updates
  • Phil Davis talks attempt to legally change the foundation of MMA to make it like a real sport
  • Randy Couture update
  • A $25 million tournament announced
  • Update on Janel Grant case
  • WWE stars in acting roles and a movie that will a top name from both WWE & NJPW
  • Wrestlers who get harassed the most in social media

This Week’s Back Issue

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Sunday Update

Goldberg
Goldberg

[email protected]

— Bryan and I did a show last night covering AEW, ROH, WWE and NXT big shows over the weekend and will be back tonight covering WWE Evolution.

— We are doing polls on these four weekend shows:

  • ROH Supercard of Honor
  • AEW All In Texas
  • NXT Great American Bash
  • WWE Evolution

You can leave a thumbs up, thumbs down or thumbs in the middle along with a best and worst match for each show to [email protected]

— WWE Evolution starts at 7 p.m. Eastern from the State Farm Arena in Atlanta. As of this morning there were 7,301 tickets out.

  • Iyo Sky vs. Rhea Ripley for the World title
  • Tiffany Stratton vs. Trish Stratus for the WWE title
  • Becky Lynch vs. Bayley vs. Lyra Valkyria for the IC title
  • Roxanne Perez & Raquel Rodriguez defend the tag titles against Charlotte Flair & Alexa Bliss, Zaria & Sol Ruca and Asuka & Kairi Sane
  • Jacy Jayne vs. Jordynne Grace for the NXT title
  • Jade Cargill vs. Naomi no holds barred with Bianca Belair as referee
  • Battle Royal with Nikki Bella, Stephanie Vaquer, Ivy Nile, Natalya. Maxxine Dupri, Kelani Jordan, Jaida Parker, Lola Vice, Lash Legend, Izzy  Dame, Tatum Paxley, Zelina Vega, Sol Ruca and Candice LeRae. Torrie Wilson is scheduled at the show.

— Sting and Wardlow were backstage at the AEW show yesterday. Wardlow is back from filming American Gladiators in England.

— For major match recommendations, the only matches aside from the All In matches that people have brought up to me are Kazusada Higuchi vs. Harashima from DDT and Bandido vs. Konosuke Takeshita from the ROH show. I haven’t gotten any reports on today’s Dragon Gate show as far as quality of matches or anything.

— The 8/24 NXT Heatwave PLE from Lowell, MA booked the same day as AEW’s Forbidden Door in London, is listing a 6:30 p.m. local start time meaning they are looking at 7-9:30 p.m. It’s notable that the AEW show will probably have the first match at 2 p.m., the main PPV card at 3 p.m. and I believe in London they have to end due to curfew at 7 p.m. Eastern time. So they have to be over before the ROH show starts. It’s surprising WWE would do this because if anything, they aren’t going to hurt the AEW show by not going head-to-head (whether they would even doing so is a debatable point) but they put  themselves in a disadvantageous position on the day being the second show after a long first show.

— Wrestletix listed attendance for All in at 26,153 and I’d expect at least 2,500 were comps. Tony Khan said close to 29,000 at the press conference but he didn’t have the final total. We heard they had topped 28,500 for a combination of paid and paper at about 2 p.m. so maybe if that’s accurate that 29,000 is possible with another hour before the main show started.

Khan also said at the press conference it was the highest advanced orders for a PPV they have done. I can’t confirm that but advanced orders are a small percentage of total orders. We did hear only that Amazon Prime had its highest number, but that’s a given as they’ve only done a few shows and if this show wasn’t the biggest so far this year that would be a major disappointment.

— Charles Robinson was chosen to referee last night’s Bill Goldberg vs. Gunther match because he was the referee of the 1998 Hulk Hogan vs. Goldberg match at the Georgia Dome.

— Due to timing issues, they went off the air just seconds into Goldberg’s speech. We heard it was a tremendous speech, and it can be found here. He talked about the flood victims 30 miles from his house in Texas and said all his neighbors dropped everything to lend a helping hand to those who needed a helping hand. His father-in-law just passed away last week.

The show ended with Cody Rhodes giving a speech thanking Goldberg saying you made the table that we can eat off now and we are eating very good. He said Goldberg was Georgia royalty and Atlanta royalty and told fans to chant Goldberg for him.

Goldberg’s walk-out entourage last night was Ernest Miller, Diamond Dallas Page, Josh Barnett, Doug Dillenger, Chuck Zito and Gage Goldberg.  

— Dana White said after yesterday’s show that everyone wants to be on the July 4, 2026, show at the White House. White said it will be a PPV card and will be the best card they could possibly put together during the summer of 2026. The cage will be on the South lawn and the visual will be the White House on one side and behind will be the Washington Monument. White had previously said the crowd would be those invited and tickets would not be put on sale for the live event.

— Dragon Gate had its biggest show of the year today with Shun Skywalker beating Yamato for the Open the Dream Gate title. Hiroshi Tanahashi was there and met with Yuki Yoshioka and basically told him he wanted Yoshioka’s splash off the top to be called the high fly flow.  Tanahashi & Dragon Kid beat Yoshioka & Dragon Dia.  

— Tanahashi will also work on the 8/31 DDT show at Korakuen Hall. Zack Sabre Jr. & Kosei Fujita face Chris Brookes & Takeshi Masadsa on 8/30.

— Merab Dvalishvili was voted the 2025 ESPY Fighter of the Year. The nominees were Kayla Harrison, Dricus du Plessis, Dvalishvili and Islam Makhachev.

— My highest recommendations to the Players Tribune documentary on Mark Briscoe that was released on Thursday.  It talked with Mark’s parents, Mark, as well as Jay’s wife and Jay’s three children and had lots of footage of Mark & Jay growing up.  Wrestling was certainly part of it but it was not a wrestling doc, but a family doc. Still  if you’re voting in the 2025 awards you really should see it.

— No update on Adam Cole or Seth Rollins past what has already been talked about. Rollins was not scheduled to cash in the briefcase on Bill Goldberg or Gunther. I presume Gunther is facing CM Punk for the title at SummerSlam but that would likely be made official tomorrow or at least heavily teased.

— SmackDown numbers on Friday night on Netflix vs. Amanda Serrano vs. Katie Taylor, the boxing match promoted by MVP Promotions and Jake Paul:

  • In Canada, SmackDown was in first place for Netflix English language television show (movies are a separate category as is non-English programming) viewing and Taylor vs. Serrano was second.
  • In Australia, Taylor vs. Serrano was first and SmackDown was second.
  • In India, SmackDown was No. 3 and Taylor vs. Serrano didn’t crack the top ten
  • In New Zealand, SmackDown was No. 3 and Taylor vs. Serrano was No. 1.
  • In Saudi Arabia SmackDown was No. 2 and Taylor vs. Serrano didn’t crack the top ten.
  • In the U.K., SmackDown was No. 1 and Taylor vs. Serrano was No. 2
  • In the U.S., Taylor vs. Serrano was No. 1 and Smackdown aired on USA and not Netflix.

— CMLL promoter Salvador Lutteroth was in Dallas this week. A number of readers noted to us they said high and we were told he absolutely loved the Young Bucks match with Swerve Strickland & Will Ospreay.

For weekend Google searches in the U.S.:

  • Adam Cole and Seth Rollins both had 100,000 searches
  • Taylor vs. Serrano had 200,000
  • All In Texas and Saturday Night’s Main Event had 50,000
  • Bill Goldberg had 50,000
  • The UFC show last night had 140,000
  • Taylor vs. Serrano had 200,000

I didn’t see anything on the Great American Bash and I saw numbers as low as 500.

— Alex Windsor was the only surprising name on the search list at around 500.

— Overall for yesterday, AEW searches were 1.8 times higher than those for WWE in total which is very rare. But like with PPV numbers, it really won’t be until mid week we can get an accurate read on them and what they really mean in the big picture. A typical day WWE is 2.1 to 2.5 times that of AEW but AEW on a PPV day will be higher. To me the real comparison is the AEW show vs. WWE recent PPV shows and we don’t have that yet.

— It appears All in Texas will air free in the U.K. on Thursday night from 9 p.m. to 2 a.m. on ITV 4. (thanks to Bob Magee)

— House of Glory and GCW both sold out on Friday night in the Dallas area. ROH sold out far in advance (only 1,300 or so) so a lot of people in the area went to the other shows:

— House of Glory results: Infamous b Danny Orion to keep the cruiserweight title, Midas Black & Jay Lyon b Zack Zilla & Warren J, La Sombra (no relation to Andrade) b Brick Savage, JJ Doze won over LC Mox, Eddie Martinez, LVJ, Bam Bam Balone and Matty Ight, JD Griffey b Amazing Red, Indi Hartwell b Hyan (Shotzi Blackheart attacked Hartwell after the match), Zilla Fatu b Chrles Mason via low blow DQ.  Next show is 8/1 in New York with Ricochet vs. Amazing Red, Hartwell vs. Priscilla Kelly and Carlito. (thanks to Samuel Rosenthal).

— Paul Walter Hauser debuts in the U.K. for Progress Wrestling on 8/25, the day after Forbidden Door, in London. Hauser won the Proteus title for the promotion over Mania week in London.

— Josh Matthews was on the AEW Zero Hour show last night. He’s been with the company backstage for some time.

WWE Evolution live results: IYO Sky vs. Rhea Ripley

Posted on by Steve Khan

WWE wraps up a busy weekend in pro wrestling with Evolution: their second-ever all-women’s premium live event and first since October 2018.

The show is headlined by IYO SKY defending the WWE Women’s World title against the woman she defeated for it: Rhea Ripley.

Tiffany Stratton defends the WWE Women’s title against former champion and legend Trish Stratus in her third match of the year.

Women’s Intercontinental Champion Becky Lynch defends against Bayley and Lyra Valkyria in a three-way while in a no holds barred grudge match, Jade Cargill takes on Naomi.

NXT Women’s Champion Jacy Jayne defends against top contender Jordynne Grace while WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions Raquel Rodriguez & Roxanne Perez defend against Charlotte Flair & Alexa Bliss, Asuka & Kairi Sane, and Sol Ruca & Zaria.

The card is rounded out by a battle royal for a title shot at August’s Clash in Paris.

The main card starts at 8 PM Eastern.

**********

Show Recap — 

COUNTDOWN SHOW 

Michael Cole welcomed us to the pre-show, wrestlers arrived, and the show intro aired. 

The panel was hosted by three men and one woman: Cole, Big E, Wade Barrett, and Jackie Redmond. Cathy Kelley and Megan Morant (likely in place of Byron Saxton, who usually is in this spot) ran down some matches backstage.

Kelley interviewed Rhea Ripley following a video package for tonight’s main event. Ripley called tonight a must-win because she’s never beaten Iyo Sky, and that’s gone on for too long.

They will be recognizing women’s division “trailblazers” throughout the pre-show, and they started with quite the list: Fabulous Moolah, Lia Maivia, Sensational Sherri, Torrie Wilson, Molly Holly Jazz, Maryse, Michelle McCool, and Stephanie McMahon. 

Cole recalled Stephanie McMahon, in 2015, kicking off the “women’s revolution” by introducing Sasha Banks, Charlotte Flair, and Becky Lynch. Big E spoke about Bayley’s influence as well, and the panel spoke about tonight’s IC title three-way. 

********

Torrie Wilson joined the panel and got a nice reaction from the fans who have arrived so far. Wilson recalled crying throughout the first Evolution show, and she’s been emotional all day today. The women have come a long way and are complete badasses. She loved seeing the women rallying behind each other, and the best moments were often not caught on camera. 

She spoke about what it would have meant to her to have something like NXT and to train for a year. When she was around, she would learn new moves and have to perform them later that night. Sometimes the stress was unbearable. She often wondered how things would have been different if she had NXT. 

********

The next group of trailblazers shown were Mae Young, June Byers, Leilani Kai, Chyna, Ivory, Queen Sharmell, Melina, and Lita. They showed clips of Lita beating Trish Stratus for the title, the first time women main evented Raw. 

Morant interviewed Stratus backstage. She wanted to prove something to herself, but it was more about showing something to the young people watching, including her daughter. You didn’t have to fit in the box people put you in. You could evolve, keep going, and chase your dreams a little harder. It wasn’t over until you said so.

They previewed tonight’s NXT Women’s title match. 

Blake Monroe met with Jordynne Grace backstage. After some pleasantries, Grace asked Monroe to be in her corner tonight (to counter Fatal Influence). Monroe didn’t want to step on Grace’s moment, but Grace insisted, so she accepted. 

Shawn Michaels joined the panel to put over NXT. 

*******

Nikki Bella joined Kelley in the crowd for an interview. Bella said tonight was women’s empowerment. That was her passion and her love. It would mean everything to have her son see her earn a title shot and win a title. 

Kelley asked who she had her eye on in tonight’s battle royal, and Bella responded, “Stephanie.” She knew there would be a lot of competition, but she kept going back to Stephanie Vaquer. She repeatedly referred to Vaquer by only “Stephanie.” 

********

Jacqueline joined the panel, and she was pumped to be there. She spoke about how much it meant to be in the Hall of Fame. She paid her dues and hoped her career inspired today’s women. She also talked about beating Chavo Guerrero to become Cruiserweight champ. 

There was a feature on referees Jessika Carr and Daphanie LaShaunn. 

Big E gave shout-outs to a bunch of the women who work off-camera. Redmond was happy to hear Big E do this, and she spoke sincerely about the importance of this show as well. Big E ran down everything he looked forward to tonight, and his excitement was infectious.

The next group of trailblazers shown were Mildred Burke, Cora Combs, Alundra Blayze, Jacqueline, Stacy Keibler, Vickie Guerrero, Victoria, and Trish Stratus. 

The IC title three-way will open tonight’s show. 

********** 

WWE EVOLUTION 2025 

Bayley, Lyra Valkyria, Becky Lynch, Tiffany Stratton, Trish Stratus, Iyo Sky, and Rhea Ripley were shown arriving. A video intro played, using Katy Perry’s “Rise,” and there was a big fireworks display. 

Joe Tessitore, hosting from the crowd, welcomed us to the State Farm Arena in Atlanta. He hyped up tonight’s show (while clearly reading off a piece of paper). He brought out his co-host, Stephanie McMahon, and said nights like tonight would not have happened without her. 

McMahon said they had to prove with the first Evolution that they deserved their own show. Now, the women were regularly main-eventing, and the depth through NXT was unbelievable. 

Michael Cole and Wade Barrett are tonight’s announcers. Cole again recalled Stephanie McMahon ushering in the “women’s revolution” in 2015 by bringing in Sasha Banks, Charlotte Flair, and Becky Lynch.

Alicia Taylor is tonight’s ring announcer. 

They’re using the same stage setup as last night’s Saturday Night’s Main Event Show, so there is a narrow aisle to the ring.

********

Triple threat match for the Women’s Intercontinental Championship: Becky Lynch (c) vs. Bayley vs. Lyra Valkyria 

Match referee: Daphanie LaShaunn 

The bell rang, and the fans gave an ovation before the wrestlers got going. Bayley hyped up the crowd, but used the moment to deck Valkyria, who wasn’t expecting it. 

The first few minutes had everyone trading moves until Lynch suplexed Bayley into the barricade. More than three minutes after getting shoved into the steel steps, Valkyria woke up and wiped out both opponents with a flying crossbody. 

Valkyria hit Lynch with a fisherman’s suplex, but Bayley broke up the cover with a perfectly-timed flying elbow. The crowd popped big for that, and they got a “This is awesome” chant moments later. Bayley hit Lynch with a sunset flip powerbomb into an upside-down Valkyria in the corner for two. 

Lynch hit Bayley with a superplex, but Bayley repeatedly blocked attempts at submissions until Valkyria knocked down both women with a flying leg drop. This got another good pop and “This is awesome” chant. Lynch followed with a combo DDT/reverse DDT on both women and covered Valkyria for two. 

Lynch and Valkyria traded counters until Lynch hit a man-handle slam, but Bayley broke up the cover. (The camera quickly panned away from Bayley moments before, so you couldn’t see her as she hit the ring to break it up.) 

Bayley hit Lynch with a Bayley-to-belly, but Valkyria broke up that cover, and we got our third “This is awesome” chant. Valkyria hit Lynch with Nightwing, but, you guessed it, Bayley broke up the cover. 

Bayley hit Valkyria with a Rose Plant. Instead of breaking up that cover, Lynch flew in and caught Bayley in a backslide for the pinfall win. Lynch retains.

Match result: Becky Lynch defeated Bayley and Lyra Valkyria to retain the Women’s Intercontinental Championship (16:25) 

This was a very fun match with a clever finish, and the eager crowd helped. They could probably do a rematch and have a completely different but equally good match. 

********

Ava and Mark Henry were shown in the crowd. A loud shrieking voice yelled, “Excuse me!” and they cut to Vickie Guerrero elsewhere in the crowd. This was just to give her a chance to say her catchphrase. She smiled and high-fived some fans. 

******* 

They aired a clip from earlier today of Jordynne Grace asking Blake Monroe to be in her corner tonight. 

NXT Women’s Championship: Jacy Jayne (w/Fallon Henley & Jazmyn Nyx) vs. Jordynne Grace (w/Blake Monroe) 

Match referee: Victoria D’Errico 

Grace had the early edge until Jayne catapulted her into the middle rope. Henley choked Grace while Jayne distracted the referee. Monroe didn’t react, perhaps because she didn’t see it, or perhaps for another reason. 

Jayne was in control until Grace hit a folding powerbomb for two. Jayne regained control and hit a draping neckbreaker for two. Jayne missed a corner cannonball, and they traded cradles until Grace hit a fisherman’s suplex for two. Jayne hit a hurricanrana off the top and a knee strike for a nearfall. 

Henley tossed the title belt in the ring, so Monroe headbutted her. The referee stopped Jayne from using the belt, and Grace rolled her up for two. Grace followed with a back fist. 

Nyx grabbed the belt next, so Monroe decked her. Monroe kept the belt in her hands, so you knew what was coming. 

Henley tried getting in the ring, which distracted the ref for a long time. Jayne whipped Grace into the ropes, and Monroe hit her in the back with the belt. Jayne followed with a discus punch for the pinfall win. 

— Fatal Influence were all surprised by Monroe’s actions. Monroe handed Jayne the belt, smiled at them, and left the ring. Grace (bleeding from the nose) was pissed. 

Match result: Jacy Jayne defeated Jordynne Grace to retain the NXT Women’s Championship (10:28) 

********

Jazz, Ivory, Jacqueline, and Maryse were in the crowd. 

Tessitore and McMahon killed time by discussing the previous match and previewing the upcoming match. 

******** 

Fatal Four-way Tag Team Match for the Women’s Tag Team Championships: Raquel Rodriguez & Roxanne Perez (c) vs. Charlotte Flair & Alexa Bliss vs. Asuka & Kairi Sane vs. Sol Ruca & Zaria

Match referee: Daphanie LaShaunn 

Asuka and Sane were all over Perez until Rodriguez tagged in and knocked them both down with a clothesline. Rodriguez and Perez were in control briefly as the crowd chanted, “We want Charlotte,” which I’m sure was music to her ears. Bliss got a good reaction when she tagged and went after Perez. 

Zaria tagged and easily blocked Bliss’ offence. She hit an inverted suplex, and Sol Ruca flew in with a springboard facebuster for two. 

The crowd cheered when Charlotte got a hot tag from Bliss, and she ran wild on Judgment Day. Charlotte was visibly happy with her reaction, and she continued on offence. She hit Perez with a spear for a nearfall. Rodriguez booted Charlotte and checked on Perez. Cole thought it was interesting that Rodriguez was checking on Perez (her partner). 

Asuka and Sane got their turn to shine next, but Zaria broke up Sane’s cover of Perez. Zaria tagged herself in and hit both Kabuki Warriors with a vertical suplex. Charlotte broke up a cover, so Sol Ruca hit Charlotte with a Sol Snatcher (which got a good pop). Moments later, Charlotte pulled Bliss from safety, and Zaria speared Sol Ruca by accident. 

Rodriguez powerbombed Bliss over the top rope and into Asuka, Sane and Zaria. Rodriguez instructed Perez to take out Charlotte, so she hit a suicide dive. Rodriguez hit Sol Ruca with a Tejana Bomb for the pinfall win. Judgment Day retains.

Match result: Raquel Rodriguez & Roxanne Perez defeated Sol Ruca & Zaria, Charlotte Flair & Alexa Bliss, and Asuka & Kairi Sane to retain the Women’s Tag Team Championships (10:52) 

This match was fine, with some good spots mixed in. The finish was a bit abrupt, but the champs getting a decisive win isn’t the worst thing. The most notable thing was the big babyface reaction for Charlotte Flair (and Alexa Bliss). 

********

Torrie Wilson, Melina, and Molly Holly were in the crowd. 

They cut back to Tessitore and McMahon. Tessitore noted how handsome Paul Levesque (his boss) looked in his promo photo. Stephanie chuckled. 

******** 

WWE Women’s Championship: Tiffany Stratton (c) vs. Trish Stratus

Match referee: Jessika Carr

Stratus wore white gear with gold lining, Stratton wore all red. Stratus had the early edge, which caught Stratton off guard. Stratus brought Stratton down off the apron with a hurricanrana and hit a tornado DDT in the ring for two. 

Stratton went on offence and hit a vertical suplex into a backstabber (I think) for two. Stratton followed with a senton bomb for two. They traded counters until Stratus hit a Chick Kick for two. Stratton tried a PME, but Stratus got her knees up and hit Stratusfaction for a nearfall. 

Stratus went for a moonsault (tribute to Lita), but Stratton got her knees up. Stratton hit a Chick Kick of her own, followed by the Prettiest Moonsault Ever for the pinfall win. Stratton retains. 

— After the match, they cut Stratton’s music so Stratus could get an ovation from the crowd. (This wasn’t her retirement match, but we don’t know when the next one will be.) 

Match result: Tiffany Stratton defeated Trish Stratus to retain the WWE Women’s Championship (8:37)

It’s probably not a good sign that Stratus, a part-timer (at most), looked much better than the current champion. Stratton’s stuff was really off early in the match. She did get better once it came time to do the big moves. Because this was a short match, that happened early enough, so the match wound up being fine. Stratus deserves some credit here. 

********

They showed Rey Mysterio throwing out the first pitch at a San Diego Padres game. 

Alundra Blayze and Leilani Kai were in the crowd. This is still a WWE show, so they couldn’t only show the former wrestlers all night. Metro Boomin and Lil Yachty were also shown in the crowd.  

******** 

No Holds Barred match: Jade Cargill vs. Naomi 

Special guest referee: Bianca Belair 

Naomi entered first and tried to attack Cargill during her entrance. Cargill cut her off, and they rang the bell to start the match. 

Cargill took forever to set up a table, and Belair went over to whisper something to her. The camera cut away from Cargill and focused on Naomi, who had to keep selling. Cargill eventually went after Naomi, but Naomi posted her. Cargill speared Naomi moments later, but Naomi gave her a bulldog onto a steel chair in the ring. 

Naomi wrapped a chain around Cargill’s face, but Cargill knocked her off the ropes, wrapped the chain around her fist, and punched Naomi. Cargill yanked a big camera out of the hands of a cameraperson and used it to hit Naomi. She followed by placing a trash can lid over Naomi and kicking it. 

Naomi rolled out of the ring, and Cargill tried to kill her by dropping a toolbox on her head, but Naomi avoided it. Naomi dropkicked Cargill into a random TV screen at ringside, and a smoke effect went off. 

A few minutes later, Naomi used a chair to shove Cargill off the apron, and Cargill crashed through the table she had set up earlier. Naomi followed with an X-factor onto a chair for a nearfall. 

Naomi placed Cargill on a table and went up the ropes, but Cargill hit her with a chair. Cargill grabbed Naomi and hit a Jaded off the middle rope through the table for the pinfall win. Belair raised Cargill’s hand. 

Match result: Jade Cargill defeated Naomi in a no holds barred match (11:15)

This was maybe average at best. Naomi took a lot of the match until Cargill managed to hit her finisher for the win. Also, Belair didn’t get involved at all, so making her the referee was relatively pointless. 

******** 

Tomorrow on Raw, there will be a gauntlet match involving CM Punk, Jey Uso, LA Knight, Penta, and Bron Breakker to determine Gunther’s SummerSlam opponent.

Battle Royal – winner earns a world championship match at Clash in Paris 

Everyone got an entrance, so it took about 10 minutes for everyone to get in. They cut to black at one point, so certain feeds likely got a commercial break in between. Nikki Bella entered first. Stephanie Vaquer was second-last, and Giulia was last. 

Nia Jax eliminated Tatum Paxley 8 seconds into the match, and Izzi Dame 7 seconds later. 

Jax tossed Kelani Jordan into Paxley and Dam, but she didn’t land on her feet, and her momentum carried her to the announce table. Jordan did a handstand walk to get back into the ring. This got a nice reaction, but perhaps not the reaction they expected. 

Ivy Nile went after Vaquer (as Chad Gable instructed), but Giulia eliminated Nile. Giulia and Vaquer had a staredown as the crowd chanted lightly for Nikki Bella. The crowd was quiet until Vaquer set up Nikki for Devil’s Kiss, and they booed when Chelsea Green broke it up. 

There was a silly spot where Maxxine Dupri did her reverse worm, then convinced Natalya to try it too. Natalya did try, and it was bad. That led to Jaida Parker eliminating Natalya (so now Natalya can be annoyed with Dupri). Candice LeRae eliminated Dupri. 

Jordan shoved Parker into LeRae, knocking her out of the ring for the elimination. (Cole referred to Candice LeRae as “Candice Michelle” here and again in the upcoming spot. Barrett called him out on it.) 

Michin and B-Fab eliminated Parker, which got some good heat. Jax tried eliminating Jordan, but she remained on the apron. However, LeRae (already eliminated) yanked Jordan out from behind for the elimination. 

Zelina Vega eliminated Giulia by kicking her into the ring post from the apron. B-Fab went after Piper Niven, but Niven just chucked her out for the elimination. Chelsea Green eliminated Michin, so Michin tried yanking out Green, but Alba Fyre wiped out Michin with a suicide dive. 

Lash Legend eliminated Vega by press slamming her out of the ring. Nikki Bella tossed out Alba Fyre as she posed with her partners. Bella and Lola Vice swivelled their hips together until Niven knocked them down. Niven eliminated Vice, who didn’t do much in this match. Nikki and Vaquer eliminated Niven together. 

Vaquer gave Green the Devil’s Kiss, which probably got the match’s biggest reaction. Nikki eliminated Green. Jax knocked down Nikki and did her own hip swivel. 

Jax placed Nikki on the apron, and Lash Legend flew in with a boot. Jax moved, and Legend booted Nikki out of the ring for the elimination. Legend celebrated like this was a big deal, and she was in the final three with Vaquer and Jax. 

Vaquer and Legend teamed up to knock Jax out of the ring for the elimination. The crowd cheered as the final two faced off. They traded offence, which included Vaquer hitting a 619. 

Legend caught Vaquer off the ropes, and they stumbled over the top and to the apron. Vaquer grabbed Legend with her legs and hit Devil’s Kiss on the apron before knocking her own. Vaquer wins.

— Stephanie McMahon interviewed Vaquer in the ring. Vaquer admitted that doing interviews in English was hard for her because it wasn’t her first language, but wrestling was her first language. Funny enough, she spoke well after that. She thanked McMahon and every woman wrestler before her because now they could make history. She would keep working hard and promised that they would remember her name forever. 

Match result: Stephanie Vaquer won a battle royal and will challenge for the world championship at Clash in Paris (15:32)

This was the definition of a standard battle royal, and the crowd only got into it toward the end. However, the right person won, and the final few minutes made her look like it. The crowd liked Vaquer and her interview. 

********

Quavo and Funny Marco were shown in the crowd. I guess they ran out of former wrestlers. 

Women’s World Championship match: IYO SKY (c) vs. Rhea Ripley

Match referee: Jessika Carr 

Iyo Sky got the better of an early exchange and half-heartedly did her face-pointing pose. Ripley got the better of the following exchange and did Sky’s pose, which got some heat. Sky continued to out-wrestle Ripley by hitting a dropkick and an Asai moonsault. 

They wound up on the apron, and Ripley finally got some offence by hitting a knee strike and tossing Sky into the announce table. It didn’t last long because Sky hit a great-looking tornado DDT. Sky couldn’t help but look enthused by hitting the move so smoothly. 

Sky followed with a double foot stomp, suicide dive, and missile dropkick. Sky did her pose full-heartedly before hitting a running double knee strike in the corner for two. Ripley tried a middle rope suplex, but Sky landed on her feet. Ripley went to the top, but Sky yanked her onto the turnbuckle. 

They traded counters until Sky hit a poisonrana for two. Sky went to the top, but Ripley shoved her down, and followed with a Razor’s Edge and sit-out powerbomb for two. Sky reversed a Rip-tide into a sleeper, but Ripley backed her into the corner. 

Sky went for a springboard moonsault, but Ripley ducked, and Sky obliterated referee Jessika Carr by mistake. Ripley hit Sky with a Rip-tide, but the ref was dead. 

Ripley was livid and hit another Razor’s Edge. Sky fell out of the ring, so Ripley booted her over the barricade. Ripley hammered away at Sky and tried powerbombing her off some equipment boxes to her death, but Sky fought her off and kicked her to the floor. Sky climbed up a second equipment box and hit a flying crossbody. The crowd chanted, “Holy sh-t.” 

Back at ringside, Sky charged at Ripley, but Ripley dodged it and Sky went ribs-first into the announce table. Sky recovered, however, and hit Ripley with a sunset flip powerbomb off the apron. The ref reemerged as Sky hit a moonsault, but Ripley kicked out for an amazing nearfall. The crowd chanted for Ripley. They went to the top, and Sky hit an avalanche Spanish Fly. 

With both women down, Naomi ran out with referee Daphanie LaShaunn. She officially cashed in to make this a triple threat. 

Naomi hit Sky in the head with the briefcase and launched Ripley into the steel post. Naomi followed with a split-legged moonsault on Sky for the pinfall win. Naomi is the new champ. 

Naomi and the crowd went nuts. (In fact, Naomi started to get up before the ref actually counted to three because she was so excited to celebrate.) 

After some replays, Naomi posed with the belt on the stage as the show ended. 

Match result: Naomi defeated IYO SKY and Rhea Ripley to win the Women’s World Championship (26:19)

This was an outstanding main event until he finish. I wouldn’t say Naomi’s cash-in ruined it, because it felt like a big moment with Naomi finally winning the title. However, the crowd was going insane for Sky and Ripley, and this would’ve been a match of the year candidate if one of them had won without the cash-in. 

WWE Evolution preview & predictions: ‘Liv Morgan’s injured, but we did our best’

Posted on by Ian Carey

Image: WWE

It wasn’t a smooth riding leading into WWE Evolution, but there are some decent matches lined up for Sunday’s premium live event.

Of all the people WWE likely didn’t want to get injured before the PLE, it was Liv Morgan. It was either going to be her against Nikki Bella or she and Raquel Rodriguez against Nikki & Brie Bella in the main event. Either way, it would have been the featured angle heading into the show, the one used to sell tickets and such.

Morgan not being on the show hurts, but so does not having Bella in a marquee match. I think some fans underestimate how big of stars the Bellas are. Their Bella Army is massive but not necessarily tied to wrestling all the time. They follow Nikki and Brie wherever they go and there would be far more buzz about Evolution if Nikki hadn’t been relegated to the battle royal.

Still, some good matches and interesting stories could take place on Sunday. Below are previews and predictions for each match at Evolution:

WWE Women’s Champion Tiffany Stratton defends against Trish Stratus

Stratton is a -2000 favorite to retain and I certainly wouldn’t bet against that.

It’s not hard to figure out why the oddsmakers are so certain Stratton will win. Stratus is a returning legend and while that’s fun for now, she’s not going to be back for the long haul. I don’t think too many fans are going into this one thinking she has a shot. Stratton will win clean.

Naomi cashing in the Money in the Bank briefcase could be teased here, but I’m not sure it will happen. If she does attempt it, I’d expect Stratus to help Stratton fight her off before the two babyfaces share a passing of the torch moment in the ring together.

Prediction: Tiffany Stratton retains

WWE Women’s World Champion IYO SKY defends against Rhea Ripley

It was good sportsmanship of SKY to pick Rhea Ripley as her title challenger for Evolution, but it’s likely going to cost her the championship.

Ripley is listed as a -500 favorite to win and I would even go higher than that. There could always be some outside hijinxs to cause an upset, but I think it’s time to put the belt back on Ripley and I believe WWE knows this as well.

Similar to the other babyface vs. babyface World title match on the show, it will likely be a clean finish and there could be an angle at the end when they fight off some interfering heels such as Roxanne Perez & Raquel Rodriguez.

Prediction: Rhea Ripley wins the title

WWE Women’s Intercontinental Champion Becky Lynch defends against Bayley and Lyra Valkyria in a three-way

Lynch is listed as a -2000 favorite to retain and she probably will, but those odds are too high for me.

Obviously, it’s a triple threat match for a title and Lynch is the only heel in there so this appears to be set up for her to retain by stealing a pin or some other type of under-handed chicanery.

Triple H doesn’t always do things right by the book, however. This is the guy who will have the babyface team get the advantage in WarGames matches after all, so just because it’s set up like this doesn’t necessarily mean Lynch will win.

Bayley (+350) hasn’t exactly been a true blue babyface leading up to this match, either. She could easily do something underhanded to get the win and it wouldn’t be inconsistent with how she’s been acting lately. There is a big part of me that thinks she could do exactly that, leading to Lynch and Valkyria (+600) both blaming the other and continuing their feud without the Intercontinental title involved.

Is it as likely as Lynch stealing a pin to get a cheap win? Probably not.

Prediction: Becky Lynch retains

NXT Women’s Champion Jacy Jayne defends against Jordynne Grace

As of this writing, Grace is a -250 favorite to win the NXT Women’s Championship at Evolution but I would rate her as a much heavier favorite than that.

This match currently has the closest odds of any on the show. I feel pretty confident Grace is walking away with the title, however, likely after Blake Monroe helps her fend off Jayne’s run-in buddies.

With Giulia and Stephanie Vaquer up on the main roster, this is Grace’s division now and her crowning takes place at Evolution. I’m not certain how long of a reign she will have as she probably can’t be kept away from the main roster for much longer either. And Monroe is right there to take the title off her when that time comes.

Prediction: Jordynne Grace wins the title

WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions Raquel Rodriguez & Roxanne Perez defend against Charlotte Flair & Alexa Bliss, Asuka & Kairi Sane, and Sol Ruca & Zaria in a four-way

The oddsmakers have Rodriguez and Perez listed as -500 favorites to retain.

The next highest odds are Bliss and Flair at +300 who are my picks to win. I don’t know if their story needs the titles, but they need a reason to continue teaming together and winning the belts accomplishes that.

I read Flair’s Players Tribune article and I listen to a lot of her interviews. It’s clear she really wants to be liked. You can tell it would mean a lot to her. There is pain there, too. Some of it from being a celebrity who is criticized constantly, some of it from her brother Reid’s passing, and some of it from her failed marriages. I don’t know how much real life is feeding into the on-screen story, but it almost seems as though Bliss’ character sees what’s happening with Ashley Fliehr too.

I’m interested in seeing where this goes. If the story blends in real life and becomes about a constantly criticized celebrity trying to find peace, I’m down for it. It seems like a very relevant story for our times.

Asuka and Sane are listed as +500 underdogs and Sol Ruca and Zaria at +900. I’ve really enjoyed Ruca and Zaria so far and, obviously, the Kabuki Warriors are great, so this should be a fun match.

Prediction: Alexa Bliss & Charlotte Flair win the titles

No holds barred: Jade Cargill vs. Naomi

Cargill is listed as a -2000 favorite and I don’t disagree with that at all.

WWE sees a big star in Cargill and I don’t think she is going to lose a singles match (other than a MITB cash-in scenario) in a long, long time. This won’t be a squash match, however. They will want Naomi to make this a competitive bout. That’s likely why it’s no holds barred.

Naomi will use various weapons, including her MITB briefcase, but in the end, Cargill will just be too much for her.

Cargill likely defeats Naomi here, but Naomi likely cashes in sometime soon, probably around SummerSlam, setting up a rematch.

Prediction: Jade Cargill

Battle royal for a title shot at Clash in Paris — Nikki Bella, Stephanie Vaquer, Natalya, Maxxine Dupri, Nia Jax, Ivy Nile confirmed entrants

There are no odds listed for this match but if Nikki Bella doesn’t win, I will be very surprised.

The winner of this bout gets a title shot at Clash in Paris and that seems like a fitting spot for The Bellas to be in the spotlight. There will be surprises, legends returning, and the whole nine yards. It will be a chance for the live crowd to cheer names that they haven’t seen in years while getting as many names as possible on the card.

Prediction: Nikki Bella

Special guest referee added to WWE Evolution match

Posted on by Joseph Currier

Jade Cargill and Naomi’s no holds barred match at WWE Evolution will have a special guest referee.

After a brawl between Cargill and Naomi took place at Saturday Night’s Main Event tonight, it was announced that Bianca Belair will referee their grudge match at Evolution. The three were previously aligned as a trio before Naomi turned heel by attacking Cargill. Belair being the referee for Evolution should reveal whether her loyalties lie with Cargill or Naomi.

Belair is currently sidelined with a finger injury that she suffered in her triple threat match against IYO SKY and Rhea Ripley at WrestleMania 41, though she did appear on SmackDown in May for an angle with Naomi and Cargill.

Both Cargill and Naomi are currently title contenders in the SmackDown women’s division. As the Queen of the Ring winner, Cargill will challenge either Tiffany Stratton or Trish Stratus for the WWE Women’s Championship at SummerSlam. Naomi holds the women’s Money in the Bank briefcase and could cash it in for a title shot whenever she wants.

State Farm Arena in Atlanta is hosting Evolution on Sunday night. It’s the first time the all-women’s PLE has taken place since its inaugural edition in 2018.

WWE Evolution (Sunday, July 13) —

  • Women’s World Champion IYO SKY defends against Rhea Ripley
  • WWE Women’s Champion Tiffany Stratton defends against Trish Stratus
  • NXT Women’s Champion Jacy Jayne defends against Jordynne Grace
  • Triple threat match: Women’s Intercontinental Champion Becky Lynch defends against Bayley and Lyra Valkyria
  • Four-way match: Women’s Tag Team Champions Raquel Rodriguez & Roxanne Perez defend against Charlotte Flair & Alexa Bliss, Asuka & Kairi Sane, and Sol Ruca & Zaria
  • No holds barred match: Jade Cargill vs. Naomi (Bianca Belair will be special guest referee)
  • Battle royal for a women’s title shot at Clash in Paris

Kelly Kelly says she turned down invitation to sit in crowd at WWE Evolution

Posted on by Joseph Currier

Kelly Kelly is claiming that she won’t be among the women’s division legends attending WWE Evolution this weekend.

Responding to a fan on social media today, Kelly Kelly said she turned down an offer from WWE to sit in the crowd at the all-women’s show. She was honored to receive the invitation but didn’t feel like it was the right way to return.

“I was So honored to be invited to Evolution II, to sit in the crowd it just didn’t feel like the right way to come back,” she wrote. “I’ll always be proud to have been part of the first, my heart is with every woman in that ring tomorrow. I’ll be back when the time’s right.”

Kelly Kelly was part of the inaugural Evolution 2018 card as a battle royal entrant. This year’s Evolution features another battle royal that figures to include some surprise entrants. The winner receives a women’s title shot next month at Clash in Paris.

Nikki Bella is among the confirmed participants for the battle royal at Sunday’s PLE, which is being held at State Farm Arena in Atlanta.

A former Divas Champion, Kelly Kelly (real name Barbie Blank) was originally with WWE from 2006-2012 and has been back for occasional appearances in recent years, most recently taking part in the 2022 women’s Royal Rumble. She said last year that she would be open to competing again so that her twin children could have the chance to see their mother wrestler.