Pro Wrestling Evo Presents Evo Eight
1-13-12
Venu 29
Concord, NC

One year ago nearly to the day Pro Wrestling Evolution put on a tournament to introduce fans to their fast paced, exciting new evolution in pro wrestling and also to crown their first Heavyweight champion. Fast forward to last night and the second annual Evo Eight tournament, 2011 was a hugely successful year for Pro Wrestling Evo and this year proved to be even bigger & better! I can honestly say Evo Eight exceeded even the greatest expectations and in it’s second year with eight of the best talents in the southeast as well as the debuting Super HEX division, Evo Eight more than delivered. It’s a must see! I count myself lucky along with everyone there whow were live for this great event. The following is a full review of each match with a star rating of 1-5 once again if you’re a fan of giving your own star ratings to events get ready to give a lot of them because they were certainly earned on this night.

The action kicked off with Pro wrestling Evo’s first ever live preshow on USTREAM featuring the final installment of Kirby Mack’s seVen messages, and interviews with comeptitors in the Evo Eight tournament as well as Pro Wrestling Evo Heavyweight Champion Marcellus “The Mid Atlantic” King.

2012 Evo Eight Tournament Round 1

“The Queen City Killer” Zack Salvation vs John Skyler

Skyler received a rude welcome to from the Pro Wrestling Evo fans, most of whom are familiar with him, yet Skyler was making his debut with the promotion here tonight. The crowd came unglued as Zack Salvation entered the ring and this was only the beginning as this biggest EVO crowd ever stayed hot the entire 3 plus hours of this show. Salvation & Skyler felt each other out in the beginning with a nice exchange of mat wrestling until Skyler took full advantage of his opportunity paintbrushing Salvation to establish dominance. The Queen City Killer fed off the energy of the crowd making a comeback & returned the slaps to John Skyler as the two continued to go back in forth in a great opening contest. Salvation got the win with the “Zacklash” on this night and I for one would certainly like to see more of John Skyler in the future. *** 1/4

Cedric Alexander vs Kirby Mack
The time for talk was over as Cedric Alexander strolled to the ring as intense as ever to take on Kirby Mack. Alexander was like a caged animal in the ring & Mack was in no hurry to get in there with him jawing back & forth with the fans at ringside. Once in the ring with the defending Evo Eight champion Mack & Alexander had a MUST SEE opening round match. Alexander delivered those sick kicks he is known for throughout the match and all through the arena. Mack brought the fight back to Alexander, backing up the words he so freely doled out over the last month. A flurry of near falls which could’ve seen either man advance to the next round ensued but in the end it was Alexander with two vicious brainbusters moving onto the next round. As was the case most of the night, so much action in this one that no review will do it justice. I highly recommend you check this event out on DVD or evoondemand.com it’s certainly one of the best on a night that had many match of the night contenders. ****

“The Midnight Son” Caleb Konley vs “The Icon” Joey Silvia
As you may know from reading my reviews in the past this was Konley’s reintroduction to the Pro Wrestling Evo audience and he did not disappoint. Joey Silvia made his entrance to a roar of applause from the crowd and it seemed Konley may be in an unfamiliar position tonight as he is normally the fan favorite. If you haven’t seen Joey you really should do so as he goes full throttle from start to finish & takes some sickening bumps that will make you cringe. Konley started off grounding Silvia with technical wrestling but this one spilled to the outside & Konley was happy to oblige. The two battered each other from one side of the ring to the other as Silvia hit a diving sentaun off the apron to the floor, Konley hit a german suplex on the apron bouncing Joey’s head off the apron & then the hardwood floor. The crowd erupted into a “This is Awesome” chant but we hadn’t seen anything yet. Silvia rushed Konley on the outside and was elevated nearly to the lights and backdropped over the guard rail onto the floor. Again, I will say this a lot tonight but you HAVE TO SEE this! The crowd counted along with the referee as he got to nine & somehow Silvia just beat the count but was defeated with a SICK top rope turnbuckle brainbuster in another phenomenal match. ****

“The Manscout” Jake Manning vs Arik Royal
The Manscout Merit Challenge was on next as Jake Manning took on his first test of the night and if Manning loses he will not only lose his shot at PWEvo heavyweight champion Marcellus king, he loses his career in Pro Wrestling Evo. Manning was another crowd favorite as many saluted him with the scout sign as he entered the ring but just as he did enter the ring Royal delivered one his lighting quick kicks and took the advantage. Royal stayed on top of Jake for the beginnings of this one and Jake fought back using his technical experience but Royal always answered with some type of kick that grounded The Manscout. Seemingly out of nowhere Manning used a sunset flip reversal for the quick pin advancing to the semi finals. ***

Prior to a brief intermission Pro Wrestling Evo Owner Patrick Wright came out to thank the fans for what had already been a wonderful show & thank us for supporting Pro Wrestling Evo through it’s first year and in the future. The fans returned the gratitude to patrick with a “Thank you Evo” chant and this was a great way to end the first half of a fantastic show.

Back from intermission and Ring announcer Chris Shore began to announce the first semi finals matchup but Marcellus King’s music blasted through the arena as the Pro Wrestling Evo Champion hit the ring. Immediately the crowd began a “We Want Circo” chant to which the champion replied “You want Circo? Well I do too!” King then made his State of the Cirkus address saying Circo made a necessary sacrifice at Battlefield Evo and he’s still the champ and that’s all that matters. King then went on to discuss the semifinals naming Zack Salvation and Cedric Alexander and informing us he already beat them. Next was Caleb Konley, the champion gave Konley a small measure of respect but said he would beat Konley and end any thoughts he had of a title run. Finally he addressed The Manscout and simply said IF Jake won this tournament tonight, then his title match would be his last match because he will retire The Manscout! King then adjourned to the announce table to call the remainder of the nights matches.

Evo Eight Semifinals

“The Queen City Killer” Zack Salvation vs Cedric Alexander

These two men met in last years finals with Cedric winning and becoming the first EVO Heavyweight champion but on this night one of them would not be returning to the Evo Eight finals. Cedric again came out like a caged animal looking to feast on his next opponent while Zack came out with the support of the red hot crowd. The match that followed was my personal match of the night as Zack & Cedric went back and forth with more moves than I or anyone could name here. The nearfalls in this match were as suspensful as ANY professional wrestling match I’ve ever seen. The crowd alternated with “Zack Salvation” & “Let’s Go Cedric” chants as these two men did everything in each of their powers to put the other man away and once again advance to the finals. Alexander hit sick kicks and each time the referee only counted two he slipped further and further towards a mental break. Salvation fought back but was hit with a devestating brainbuster which usually spells the end, but again Salvation got the shoulder up at the last possible minute sending Alexander into a rage & giving Zack the opening he needed as he reversed a small package getting the win and moving onto the finals for the second straight year. Alexander was livid! and declined a post match handshake as the fans chanted “That was Awesome!” Alexander left the ring, came back for the handshake but he and Zack just had a stare down and he left once again. **** 1/2

“The Manscout” Jake Manning vs Caleb Konley

Another rematch for this semifinal as Jake has previously defeated Caleb Konley at Best Show In Town. This was a technical classic which turned into a terriffic brawl and went right back to a excellent wrestling match. Caleb used his MMA background early grounding Jake as they went back and forth with reversals, headlocks, and a standing switch. It evolved into a chopping & slapping contest with both men sending echoes through the arena as they laid into one another. Konley hit a beautiful stalling middle rope suplex and Jake fought back hitting his signature airplane spin. In the end it was Jake hitting his picture perfect piledriver to defeat Konley once again and set up the finals of Evo Eight 2012. *** 1/2

 
Super HEX division Debut 5 way Elimination Match

Ring announcer Chris Shore laid out the rules & points system of Super HEX for us prior to the match and they are as follows:
The winner of the 5 man match will receive 5 points, the last man he defeats gets 4 points, the man eliminated prior to that 3 points & so forth. For more on Super HEX division, it’s points system, and leaders check out www.prowrestlingevo.com

Joe Black vs Trevor Lee vs Ben Tyler vs Robyn Golphin vs Chivas Kid vs Kirby Mack

As the competitors made their way to the ring it was clear exactly how important this evolutionary match was to each of the five competitors as the trash talk went back and forth. All of that energy was immediately refocused however as Kirby Mack reemerged from the back with his shoulder wrapped and took the mic. Mack spoke about the “hurt” that Cedric Alexander brought earlier and how when you lose you take what you can from it and move on and what he was going to do is give back, give back to these 5 young competitors in this Super HEX match tonight. So we now have a 6 way elimination match in the Super HEX debut! If you use your imagination you may get close to how wild this match was but until you see it you won’t fully know. Bodies were everywhere taking any and all opportunities they could to interject themselves in this match and make an impact. At one point all six men went over the top ropes onto one another, including one horrifying spot by Trevor Lee who jumped over all three men on the outside and crashed into the ringside barrier. The pins came fast & furious as the first to go was Robyn Golphin who was outsmarted by the veteran Kirby Mack. The next and most surprising fall of the night came after the team of Trevor Lee & Ben Tyler cleared the ring with their amazing tag team moves and Lee rolled Tyler up eliminating him from the match. Chivas was the next eliminated but not before he hit an amazing springboard shooting star press from the middle rope!! Trevor Lee & Joe Black faced off as Mack nursed his shoulder on the outside waiting for his moment. Black got the better of this exchange getting the pin on Lee but Mack took advantage of the opening and hit the “OverDoze” inverted legdrop bulldog for the win and 5 points. ****

Unofficial Super HEX Points(As of 1/14/12)
Kirby Mack-5 Points
Joe Black- 4 Points
Trevor Lee- 3 Points
Chivas Kid- 2 Points
Ben Tyler- 1 Point
Robyn Golphin- 0

Evo Eight Tournament Finals
“The Queen City Killer” Zack Salvation vs “The Manscout” Jake Manning
At the end of a tremendous night of matches Jake Manning came out to remind the fans, and his opponent Zack Salvation of his Manscout Merit Challenge. Manning mentioned they’d both been through two grueling matches and the fans had seen it all tonight so if possible he wanted to give us something different tonight and proposed a No disqualification, falls count anywhere match for the finals of Evo Eight!!! Salvation responded “I think that’s a fine idea let’s beat the hell out of each other” and we were on! This one didn’t stay in the ring long as Jake threw Salvation way over the guard rail and to the floor and since they happened to walk by a ladder the EVO fans chanted “get the ladder!’ and Manning obliged. The two battled back and forth with the ladder, Manning threw Salvation onto a rolling dolly that once held the chairs that NO ONE was sitting in at this point. The two finally made their way back to ringside and Jake was busted open and Salvation capitalized with brutal punches and ground and pound. Back in the ring and the two finalists played a game of one upsmanship getting back to the technical side of things but a chair was brought in and Jake signaled for the piledriver it was blocked at first but Jake then hit it springing Salvation into the air and getting a 2 & 9/10 count before Salvation kicked out. The chair once again came into play and helped earn Zack the title of Evo Eight 2012 winner and #1 contender to the EVO heavyweight title as he hit the “Zacklash” on the chair for the win. The crowd erupted for the victory clapping along as Salvation’s music played but then refocused their attention on Jake Manning, who had just wrestled his last match with Pro Wrestling Evo. A silence fell over the crowd and then a “Thank you Manscout!” chant broke out, Salvation gave respect to his opponent leaving the ring and Manning reached for the microphone with bewilderment on his face but just dropped the microphone and left the ring to a thunderous applause. EVO Owner Patrick Wright came back out to ringside in a nice moment and the “Thank You Manscout” chant continued, Wright thanked the man, Jake Manning for all he has done for Pro Wrestling Evo. The exhausted but still red hot crowd chanted “E-V-O!” one last time. The night billed to be the greatest wrestling show in the southeast had surpassed expectations and this is just the first show of the year. ****

Overall Show Rating **** 1/2

Pro Wrestling Evo returns March 24, 2012 to Cabarrus Arena & Events Center in Concord, NC Please check www.prowrestlingevo.com for matches, updates & all other information concerning Pro Wrestling Evo. If you’ve missed any of the previous Pro Wrestling Evolution shows you can get the DVDs on the website or sign up for a free account at www.evoondemand.com to watch the shows for just $6.99 each or lower! Also for exclusive comments from Zack Salvation on his tournament victory & the future of Pro Wrestling Evo check out our post at https://pwponderings.com/2012/01/14/pro-wrestling-evo-evo-eight-2012-01132012-results-w-exclusive-vid/

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