May 1st, 2010 in Rahway
Jimmy Jacobs talks about his 2-0 record. After he improves to 3-0 tonight, he’ll be the guy to beat in EVOLVE.
Brad Allen also talks about going 3-0 tonight. By winning, it’ll prove that he has everything figured out in the ring and in his personal life.
Elsewhere, Kyle O’Reilly wants to be the wins leader in EVOLVE as well.
In the locker room, Chuck Taylor is talking to Gran Akuma. He complains about having to win a qualifying match and shows disrespect towards the camera man.
Chris Hero and Claudio Castagnoli are having a conference backstage. Hero talks about how pathetic Brad Allen is and they discuss their opponents for tonight. Bobby Fish walks in and Hero displays his best “fake nice” attitude.
Opening Match: Sami Callihan (0-0) vs. Adam Cole (0-0)
Callihan charges at Cole immediately. Cole responds with a northern lights suplex and sends Callihan to the floor. Callihan blocks a dive. He tries a baseball slide but Cole catches him and german suplexes him onto the apron. In the ring, Callihan hits a nice sit-out slam and adds a backbreaker. He controls until Cole comes back with a springboard tornado DDT. Callihan avoids a flying crossbody and hits a russian legsweep. Cole connects with a superkick and a yakuza kick. Callihan knocks him down and applies a stretch muffler for the win at 6:57. This was a solid introduction for both men. I’m a fan of Callihan and Cole is starting to receive notable bookings other than CZW. They kept a good pace and Cole tapping quickly plays into the EVOLVE concept. **¼
Match #2: Johnny Gargano (1-1) vs. Ricochet (1-1)
Ricochet snaps off a few armdrags. Gargano blocks a dive with a spear through the ropes. He hits a gutbuster and works over Ricochet’s midsection. Ricochet tries a standing moonsault but Gargano innovatively pushes him away by putting his feet up. Ricochet avoids another spear through the ropes and lands a springboard moonsault. He connects with a flurry of kicks but Gargano answers with two superkicks. Ricochet hits a blue thunder bomb but misses a corner cannonball. Gargano lawn darts him into the turnbuckles. Ricochet avoids a frog splash. Gargano blocks a springboard moonsault with a dropkick and hits Hurts Donut for a two count. Ricochet hits a uranagi and lands a shooting star press. Gargano rolls to the floor and Ricochet follows out with a corkscrew dive from the top rope. Ricochet tries to beat the twenty count but Gargano pulls him back to the floor. Both men are counted out but their must be a winner. The first man to get back into the ring will win. Gargano pushes Ricochet away and rolls into the ring for the victory at 11:43. Gargano provided a nice base for Ricochet’s offense and they worked well together. Ricochet landed all of his moves cleanly and I think he’s really coming into his own. This match was used to showcase the countout rule as well. While I don’t see any problems with it, hopefully the rule isn’t overused. **¾
Lenny Leonard interviews Gargano after the match. He doesn’t care how he won, it’s still a victory. Jimmy Jacobs appears in the crowd with Sean Davis. Gargano says that his tactics tonight weren’t questionable, however Jacobs’ sexuality is.
Jon Moxley is shown pacing backstage. He doesn’t agree with the rules in EVOLVE and wants to be set loose. He’ll always be a little bit better than Drake Younger and that will remain true tonight.
Match #3: WSU Title: Mercedes Martinez © (2-0) vs. Brittney Savage (0-0)
Savage hits a lungblower but falls victim to a wheelbarrow slam. Martinez connects with some stiff kicks and hits a brainbuster. Martinez follows with a corner yakuza kick and a fisherman buster to retain her title at 1:43. Basic squash to continue Martinez’s search for legitimate competition. ½*
Lenny Leonard interviews Martinez after the match. She challenges Amazing Kong to a match and tells her to step up.
Match #4: Zane Silver and Chase Burnett (0-0) vs. Louis Lyndon and Flip Kendrick (0-2) vs. Cheech and Cloudy (1-0)
Burnett and Kendrick trade armdrags. Burnett connects with a handspring elbow but Kendrick responds with a standing corkscrew. Silver and Lyndon have a nice exchange. Silver DDTs him on the apron and lures Kendrick to the floor. Up In Smoke block stereo dives from Team Beyond. Cloudy takes out Aeroform with a dive. Cheech applies a gory special and reverse crab to Team Beyond at the same time. Lyndon takes out Cheech with a dive. Burnett snaps off a hurricanrana on Kendrick. Silver goes through the ropes and hurricanranas Lyndon on the floor. Kendrick connects with a springboard dropkick on Cloudy and lands a corkscrew to the outside. In the ring, Cloudy tornado DDTs Lyndon and Up In Smoke hit an assisted senton on Kendrick. Team Beyond catch Up In Smoke with stereo missile dropkicks. Aeroform connect with stereo enzuigiris on Silver and send Burnett to the floor. Burnett landed hard. Kendrick lands a spiral tap on Silver for the win at 7:27. Crazy spotfest that never let up for seven minutes. While Team Beyond didn’t look bad in their debut, I’m not sure if they bring anything different to the table. Maybe not every move looked crisp in this match but the action was so unique that it’s understandable. Effective showcase for everyone with a lot of innovation. **½
Aeroform and Up In Smoke argue after the match. Up In Smoke say that Aeroform never beat them and leave the ring angrily.
Kyle O’Reilly and Chris Dickinson are preparing for their matches in the locker room. They talk about Tony Kozina not being here tonight and practice kicks.
Match #5: Jon Moxley (0-0) vs. Drake Younger (0-0)
They brawl early on. Moxley starts working over the left shoulder. Younger hits a flapjack and applies a muta lock. Moxley fights out and eventually comes back with a swinging side slam. He hits a piledriver but Younger catapults him into the ringpost. Younger follows with a death valley driver and lands a dive to the floor from the top rope. Back in, Younger lands a frog splash but falls victim to a divorce court. Moxley locks in a fujiwara armbar but Younger makes the ropes. They battle up top and Younger hits a superplex. He adds a half nelson suplex but Moxley answers with a release suplex on the floor. In the ring, Moxley synchs in a crossface chicken wing but Younger rolls out of it. Younger hits two blue thunder bombs along with Drake’s Landing for the victory at 13:24. There was nothing technically wrong with this match but I just wasn’t invested in the action. I feel like they either needed to have a hectic seven-minute brawl or a drawn out twenty-minute match. The action was too back and forth for thirteen minutes and the working over of Younger’s left shoulder never came into play. Hopefully Moxley is used often in EVOLVE as he has a tremendous upside. **
Lenny Leonard interviews Younger after the match. He proved tonight that he is among the best hybrid athletes in professional wrestling.
Match #6: Bobby Fish (0-2) vs. Chris Hero (0-1)
They trade control on the mat with Hero claiming the advantage. Hero doesn’t offer a clean break and Fish responds with strikes in the corner. Fish sends Hero to the floor with a knee strike and follows out with a dive. Back in, Fish snaps off a hurricanrana and hits an overhead suplex. Hero somewhat avoids a diving headbutt and connects with a vicious roaring elbow. He follows with a flash kick and some stiff strikes. Fish’s left knee seems to hurting him and lessening the success of a possible comeback. He finds an opening to hit a falcon arrow but misses a moonsault. Hero connects with two more roaring elbows. Fish answers with a jumping knee strike and counters the Deathblow into a neckbreaker. He catches Hero with a knockout kick but falls victim to another elbow. Fish lays in repeated knee strikes in an attempt to win by knockout. Hero finds life with a saito suplex and another roaring elbow. Fish kicks out of a pin attempt at one. Hero connects with three more roaring elbows for the win at 14:51. This match is a perfect example of why the EVOLVE concept works. Hero didn’t take Fish seriously due to his record. Fish was extremely determined to obtain his first victory and caught Hero by surprise. They played off that story and the match felt important as a result. There were a lot of exciting strike exchanges throughout, with Hero utilizing his elbows and Fish using his knees. Although Fish has the worst record in EVOLVE, his status has been raised through him having quality matches. ***½
Brad Allen comes out to check on Fish. This angers Hero, who tells Allen that this isn’t his match. Hero refuses an interview and angrily leaves ringside.
Match #7: Chris Dickinson (0-2) vs. Brodie Lee (0-1) vs. Hallowicked (0-1) vs. Gran Akuma (1-0)
Everyone attacks Lee and sends him to the floor. Akuma and Dickinson team up on Hallowicked but that alliance doesn’t last. Dickinson german suplexes Akuma. Lee overhead suplexes Dickinson but gets caught with an enzuigiri from Hallowicked. Dickinson sends Lee to the floor and botches a dive. Hallowicked hurricanranas Akuma off the top rope and hits a rydeen bomb. Akuma responds with a tornado DDT. Lee somewhat suplexes both Hallowicked and Akuma. Dickinson applies a triangle choke on Lee but he powers out and turns it into a bucklebomb. Hallowicked connects with Go 2 Sleepy Hollow on Dickinson. Akuma flatlines Hallowicked. Lee superkicks Akuma and adds a half nelson suplex. He follows with a running powerbomb on Hallowicked. Lee hits the Truck Stop on Dickinson for the victory at 6:15. Pairing these four wrestlers together was incredibly random and the match quality strengthens that claim. Everyone just hit their moves without trying to string together the action. There were even some sloppy moments from Dickinson. In hindsight, there had to have been a better use for these four. *½
Match #8: TJP (0-1) vs. Kyle O’Reilly (2-0)
They start with some chain wrestling. Considering how fluid these two are, you can imagine how good it is. O’Reilly hits a gutbuster and connects with a springboard knee strike. He blocks a dive from TJP with a dropkick. Both men are sent to the floor after TJP tries a suplex. In the ring, TJP blocks rolling suplexes and hits an ace crusher. O’Reilly blocks a kick and synchs in an ankle lock. TJP is able to make the ropes. O’Reilly works over the left leg and connects with a few kicks in the corner. He follows with a tornado DDT. They trade kicks and both men are down. They now exchange forearms. TJP applies his figure four deathlock for the win at 10:01. Extremely reminiscent of TJP’s first match in EVOLVE against Munenori Sawa. The story was simply them doing whatever it takes to win and not a second of the match was wasted. It’s just something refreshing and different. TJP can work this style of match in his sleep and O’Reilly more than held his own. Check this contest out for its uniqueness and the fact that it truly represents the ideals behind EVOLVE. ***
Bobby Fish is backstage talking to his wife on the phone. He tells her how close he’s come to winning. Although we can’t hear her, it seems like she wants Fish to quit professional wrestling. He says that his head is alright and he’ll be home soon.
Match #9: Brad Allen (2-0) vs. Jimmy Jacobs (2-0)
Sean Davis takes a seat in the crowd to watch the match. Johnny Gargano joins him and Jacobs looks disgusted. The winner of this match will be the wins leader in EVOLVE. Allen powers out of an early End Time attempt. He connects with a dropkick and lands a springboard crossbody. Jacobs tries a spinning headscissors but gets dumped to the floor instead. Sean Davis distracts Allen, allowing Jacobs to connect with a dropkick. In the ring, Jacobs hits a spear in the corner. Allen blocks a top rope senton with his knees and hits a uranagi. He lands a springboard senton and hits a neckbreaker. Jacobs blocks another senton and locks in the End Time. Allen powers out of it and retreats to the outside. Jacobs dives onto him and applies the End Time. Allen powers out and launches Jacobs across ringside. Both men barely beat the twenty count. Allen misses a corkscrew crossbody and Jacobs comes off the middle rope with an ace crusher. Jacobs hits the Contra Code for a nearfall. He goes back to the End Time but Allen turns it into a suplex into the turnbuckles. Allen hits a spinning neckbreaker along with a spinebuster. Jacobs reverses The Deal into another End Time for the victory at 12:17. This match surprised me and a lot of that has to do with Jacobs’ performance. I didn’t think these two would mesh well together but they provided a fun contest that didn’t try to do too much. Jacobs continually tried for the End Time and Allen would think of various ways to use that mentality against him. This match won’t blow you away but I give them credit for topping my expectations and making a simple story so effective. ***
Match #10: Claudio Castagnoli (1-0) vs. Chuck Taylor (1-0)
Claudio doesn’t take Taylor very seriously to start. He controls on the mat and uses his power advantage to hit a delayed vertical suplex. Claudio rams Taylor into the apron and catches him with a dive. He throws Taylor over the top rope and into the ring. Claudio uppercuts Taylor off the top rope and then connects with a flying european uppercut. He follows with a gutwrench suplex and maintains control. Taylor fights back with a lionsault but immediately falls victim to a suplex. Taylor finds life with a belly to belly suplex but walks into a clothesline. He connects with Sole Food but Claudio catches him off a plancha attempt and slams him on the apron. Claudio lands a flying crossbody and follows with a giant swing. He transitions into a boston crab but Taylor makes the ropes. They battle up top. Taylor dropkicks Claudio to the floor and follows out with a dive. Back in, Claudio hits the UFO and locks in an STF. He misses a corner bicycle kick and Taylor snaps off a hurricanrana. Taylor connects with a superkick and hits a tornado DDT. He adds another superkick but Claudio answers with a bicycle kick. Claudio hits a dead-lift german suplex. Taylor tries a few quick pin attempts to no avail. Claudio connects with a popup european uppercut. Taylor dodges a lariat and hits the Awful Waffle for the win at 19:40. I always thought that these two were capable of a good match but they raised the bar and delivered a tremendous main event. This contest showed a totally different side of Taylor. He played the underdog babyface perfectly and Claudio had no problem being the bully with his extensive mat game and power moves. Claudio controlled for nearly the first twelve minutes. However, they worked in some creative spurts of offense for Taylor and kept the action moving. Even down the finishing stretch, Taylor relied on quick strikes and rollups to gain the victory. That made the finish even more satisfying, as Taylor was able to somehow hit Claudio with the Awful Waffle. This match just featured fantastic storytelling and Taylor truly showed how versatile he can be in the ring. The fans voted this contest to be the main event. I’d say they made the right choice. ****
Lenny Leonard interviews Taylor after the match. He says that after tonight, he’s making his own rules. Things are going to change in EVOLVE.
Backstage, Jimmy Jacobs harasses Adam Cole for losing. Sean Davis walks in and wants to go party. Jacobs says that he’s going home and takes a dig at Johnny Gargano. Davis leaves to go see what Chuck Taylor is doing.
Overall: EVOLVE 3: Rise Or Fall continues to showcase how unique this promotion is. The importance of records seems to genuinely come through during the matches and it adds a useful dynamic that makes the action mean something. If you don’t believe me, watch the match that Hero and Fish had on this show. TJP and O’Reilly also exude the EVOLVE ideals in their match, making every move count. Jacobs and Allen surprise in a smartly-worked encounter as well. I think the real standout on this release is the main event. Taylor and Claudio definitely play to their strengths and cap off the event with an awesome match. There’s nothing actively bad on the undercard and despite the show having ten matches, it’s easy to watch in one sitting. The EVOLVE concept is being executed extremely well. Honestly, I can find high wrestling quality in various promotions. However, there’s just something different about EVOLVE that makes their shows stand out. This show earns a solid recommendation, especially if you enjoyed the first two offerings from EVOLVE.
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