EVOLVE Review with PaperclipMike, May 7

Welcome back for the weekly Evolve on Tubi review!

I am one half of the Blog World Order, PaperclipMike.

Looks like the next round of the WWE ID tournament is set. It was announced yesterday that the next matches in the tournament will be held on June 8th in a WWE ID showcase, presented by the New York Wrestling Connection (NYWC). If you are in the area, go check it out!

Sadly, WWE recently released several of its superstars, and Evolve was not spared. Among the names released from Evolve were Javier Bernal, Dani Palmer, Oro Mensah, Riley Osbourne, and all the members of Gallus. Now, the current crop of Evolve episodes was filmed in February, so we will still see some of them in the coming weeks. All of us at the Main Event Wrestling Network do wish them all the best in whatever they pursue. So, whether they come to a show in your town or have other projects, please support them. With that said, on to the show.

The show opens with the intro video, and we are taken to the ring. Evolve Prime Minister Stevie Turner is in the ring with the roster around the ringside. Stevie reveals the brand new Evolve women’s title. She says that in 3 weeks, there will be a fatal four-way elimination match. She announces the competitors will be Kali Armstrong, Kendal Grey, and Wendy Choo, with one more spot up for grabs. Stevie then reveals the men’s Evolve title. In four weeks, there will be a similar fatal four-way elimination match. She announces Sean Legacy as the first competitor. Before she can announce any more, Keanu Carver gets in the ring to say something. It’s Gal then hops up, but he is pulled off by Harlem Lewis, who gets in the ring as well.

As the men get face to face, Swipe Right and Jackson Drak jump them but quickly get thrown out. Right after this, Lewis and Carver run into Gallus. All five men then brawl in the ring and at ringside. As this happens, Kali Armstrong gets in the ring. She then gets tackled by Kendall Grey. As they get pulled apart, Kali hits Kendall from behind with a chop block.  Peter Rosenberg and Robert Stone go over the big matches tonight. We get Nikkita Lyona against Kendal Grey, and Summer Sorrell makes her debut against Wendy Choo. We also get a great, albeit creepy promo package about Wendy as we go backstage to Chuey Martinez as he is interviewing the debuting Sorrell.

Chuey asks Summer how she’s feeling facing Wendy Choo in her debut match on Evolve. Summer says she is nervous and maybe a bit scared, considering the circumstances, but she will use the fear to motivate her to do what she can to win. She then says that ‘these summer nights got me ready for a fight’.

Waaaaaaay back in episode four, I noticed a trend. Within those first four episodes, Chuey had asked someone “How you Feelin’” five times in those four episodes. So for some innocent fun, I made a graphic to keep track of how many times he said this. Sadly, almost as if an omen was laid upon me, he stopped saying it and my graphic got unused. Today, I am proud to debut the ongoing…

Back from commercial, and we get a promo package to promote what the WWE ID program is all about, and show the goal is to get these wrestlers onto NXT. While we see a lot of familiar faces, we get a new name shown. Marcus Mathers is a WWE ID prospect and is the IWTV heavyweight champion at only 22 years old. We then get a backstage segment with Stevie Turner and Nikkita Lyons. Stevie tells her that her match with Kendall Grey will be the main event tonight. In walks Zayda Steel and says Jackson Drake will beat Drako Knox. She also says that she deserves that fourth and final spot in the fatal four-way match for the Evolve women’s title.  Nikkita says she likes what Zayda and the Vanity Project are about, and they need to talk.

Summer Sorrell vs. Wendy Choo

Kinda surprised Wendo got a decent-sized pop as her music hit. Summer does give a good showing at the beginning, even getting a cross-body for a near-fall. Soon after, Wendy drops several blows down on her and hits her neck snap-style neckbreaker. Summer cowers into the corner as Wendy crawls towards her. Wendy continues to work on the neck of Summer. Summer does try to mount a comeback, but a hammerlock lariat and the Dirt Nap secures the win for Wendy.

Winner: Wendy Choo

Wendy goes to draw a frown on Summer, but Kylie comes in for the save. An intense Kylie comes in and takes it to Wendy, landing a superkick. So it seems that this feud will continue. We then go to the parking lot as a car pulls up and out steps none other than NXT superstar Lexis King.

Back from commercial and Lexis King comes out to the ring. He talks about how he wanted to be in the original Evolve when he started. He says the spotlight is on Evolve, and he wants part of it. He says no one comes and goes from NXT without his says and out comes Sean Legacy. Legacy came out and said that the WWE Universe decides who a superstar is, not him. Sean said he will not let Lexis demand the Evolve roster. Sean said he paid his dues to get here and will not let King talk about the locker room like that. Lexis proposes a match for him and Legacy next week, and he accepts.  I have been a fan of Sean Legacy since Evolve started, and this segment made me like him more. A nice show of passion from him. This match will be good.

Backstage in the medical area, Kendall Grey is being treated for the attack earlier in the night, and in comes her ‘partner’. Carlee Bright. Kendall insists she is fine and wants to go out there alone. Jackson Drake is seen walking backstage towards the ring with the rest of Vanity Project. Keanu Carter is backstage looking for Gallus when Stevie Turner tells him they have left. Harlem Lewis comes in and tells him the same. Stevie tells them they can get a crack at them next week…but in a tag match. Both men refuse, but she says if they want Gallus, they have to tag together.

Jackson Drake w/ Vanity Project vs. Draco Knox

Knox begins by taking his frustration out on Drake. Drake goes for a double axe handle, but Knox hits him with the Redbone exploder suplex and a three-point clothesline in the corner. Jackson distracts him by taking off Knox’s head cover and takes control. Vanity project shows their love for pink clothing ringside as Drake eats a back body drop. Knox hits a kitchen sink and a sliding clothesline for a close count. Jackson counters another sliding clothesline into a crucifix for a close two and follows it with an enzugiri. Drake goes for a springboard cutter but eats a blue thunder bomb for a close two count. He then walks right into a nasty lariat. Jackson counters Knox before hitting the cutter and a running knee strike for the win.

Winner: Jackson Drake

Chuey is backstage with another interview, this time with Javier Bernal. He talks about making a comeback after his injury. Chuey mentions the change of appearance and Javier says he never was truly Big Body Javi. He then talks about his love of metalcore music (Me too! A7X all day!). He talked about how being in that crowd changed him and how he wants to show who he really is. The interview is then interrupted by WWE ID prospect, It’s Gal. Gal said he should have been interviewed. Javier ends it by saying that he thinks he has found his next opponent. 

Lexis King walks outside and is met by the Vanity Project. Everyone exchanges pleasantries. Lexis congratulates Swipe Right on their match with Fraxion, Zayda Steel tells him to slide into her DM’s, and Bryce Donovan says…wait. Bryce Donovan spoke?! Anyway, we get confirmations on some matches for next week. Lexis King meets Sean Legacy, Javier Bernal goes against It’s Gal, and in the main event, Harlem Lewis and Keanu Carver meet the Coffey brothers of Gallus. It looks like yet another solid show next week.

Nikkita Lyons vs. Kendall Grey

Kendal comes out with a limp and a bandaged knee, props for coming out with such a weak spot. Lyons starts with sharp kicks to the knee. Grey tries to fight back and is laid out with a shoulder block. She manages to land a knee to Lyons, but Nikkita slams the knee against the apron a few times. Lyons keeps focusing on that knee, smelling blood in the water. Nikkita goes for a leg lock, but Kendall counters out of it, only to meet a spin kick to the face. Yet she is able to kick out. Nikkita still goes to the knee, landing a shinbreaker. Grey counters another one into a sunset flip for a two. Basically, on one leg, she is fighting back with everything she has. But Nikkita hits a catapult into a single crab. Kendall rolled out of the way as Lyons went to splash her knee. Grey manages to lock in her cross armbreaker. 

Kendal is able to lock in a tight sleeper. Lyons manages to fight Grey off, who somehow manages to hit a flying elbow strike for a two count. She goes for a springboard move of sorts, but her knee gives out. Nikkita hits a Vader Bomb for the win in a very hard-fought match.

Winner: Nikkita Lyons

After the match, Kali Armstrong comes in to cause more damage to Kendall Grey’s knee, including locking in a stretch muffler as we fade to black.

Even with being the most segment-heavy episode yet, seemingly, this was still great. We finally get to see both men’s and women’s titles. We also still got some quality matches. It is sad, though, because we will not get much more from the wrestlers who were released this week. I was looking forward to Metalcore Javi. Anyway, you can find me on most social media as PaperclipMike. Thanks for reading and see you all next week.