Evolve 11 iPPV Review

-Taped from Toronto, Ontario, Canada

-Your hosts are Lenny Leonard and Arda Ocal (for the first half of the show)

-Super Smash Brothers try to cut an interview but are rudely interrupted by Chuck Taylor, Jake Manning, and Drew Gulak. Taylor buries his former Ronin members. Manning, Gulak, and Taylor are now apparently going to be the Kentucky Gentlemen’s Club.

-The Super Smash Brothers (Player Uno and Player Dos) vs. The Kentucky Gentlemen’s Club (Jake Manning and Drew Gulak (w/Chuck Taylor)

Match in Five Words or Less: Worse Expansion Than The Raptors

Match Highlights: Pair of shoulder tackles on Manning. He goes to his Boy Scout handbook and points out some of the rules of professional wrestling. Gulak and Dos enter. Some nice Lucha and Dos hits a dropkick. Shoulder tackle by Gulak. Flapjack by the new team. Dos low dropkicks them and sort of hits a rana on both men. Smash Brothers fake a dive and pose. Chuck Taylor threatens the official. Manning slaps Uno. Chase is on. Gulak nails him from behind. Double stomps from both heels. Snapmare and elbow drop. They work Uno over. STF but Uno reaches the bottom rope. Uno rolls Gulak near the ropes. Double chops and a tag to Dos. Cross body on Manning. Que brada on Gulak. Up and over. Springboard DDT on the apron. Sweet Moses. Double stomp misses. Uno tells Manning to stop. Alabama Slam into a backcracker. Uno and Gulak end up on the outside. Gulak grabs Dos. Backbreaker into the flatliner. Love that combo. Release back suplex into another submission. Uno shoves Manning to break the hold. Clothesline sends Uno and Gulak over. Manning whiffs on a charge. Tope con helo through the middle rope by Uno. Double charging forearms. Superkick. Uno. Uses his feet to send Gulak back to his partner. Overhead suplex. FATALITY! Always wanted to do that in a wrestling review. Been waiting years. My 1995 self is marking out right now.

Smash Brothers want an opportunity in DG USA. Chuck Taylor says something about not caring about wins and losses. Um, then what the hell is he in Evolve for?

Match Analysis: I have no idea what the intention is for Taylor’s new group. Are these the permanent members? If they are, I can’t say booking them to lose their first match together was exactly the best booking decision in the world. The Super Smash Brothers are certainly one of the most talented tag teams in indy wrestling, but Taylor and his group sure could use some momentum at this point. This was a very enjoyable match regardless of the booking. Gulak and Manning are both underrated, and if nothing else, I hope they get extended opportunities in DG USA and Evolve.

Winner (s)/Time/Rating: Super Smash Brothers/8:57/***

-MK McKinnan vs. Josh Alexander

Match in Five Words or Less: The New Guys

Match Highlights: I was going to say I had never seen Alexander before, but I just watched a Chikara DVD where he was a part of a six man tag. McKinnan is out of Fight Club Pro and in North America for a few shows, including this one and Best of the Best. The announcers talk about the stupidity of what Taylor just said justifiably. Chop by Alexander. Low kicks by McKinnan. Up and over into an armdrag. Step-up enziguri. Kick to the back of the head. Then he completely collapses on a springboard. Right hand by Alexander. Clubbering blow to the back. Chop in the corner. European uppercut. Chop by McKinnan. Running shoulder tackle followed by a northern lights suplex by Alexander. Forearm. Stalling vertical suplex. Forearm exchange. McKinnan flips over and kicks him. Tope con helo through the middle rope. McKinnan is wrestling pretty reckless right now. Up and over. Rolling knee strike. Forearm by Alexander. Double underhook driver.  Alexander gets the victory.

Match Analysis: Not sure if these two will ever come back to Evolve. Alexander was decent. McKinnan needs to smooth out some rough edges. Still, this was an all right showcase for the two newcomers.

Winner (s)/Time/Rating: Josh Alexander/4:05/*1/2

-Mike Rollins vs. Ashley Sixx

Match in Five Words or Less: Rollins Is Crazy

Match Highlights: Now these two guys I definitely haven’t seen before. It is worth noting that Arda Ocal has really made this come off as a more professional broadcast. I think just having someone with Lenny Leonard helps. Shoulder tackle by Rollins. He’s a huge, muscular dude that has the gimmick of being psycho. Elbow to the back of the head by Sixx. Rake of the back. Rollins airplane spins Sixx. Right hand to the face. 10 punches in the corner. He goes down, then goes back up for more. Sixx gets tossed outside. Russian legsweep sends Rollins into the side of the ring frame. Rollins counters with some right hands. Knee to the midsection by Rollins. Running knee strike by Sixx. Modified chinlock. Chops. Uppercut. Chops by Rollins. He catches Sixx’s foot and chops him down yet again. Another right hand. Kick to the midsection. Boot by Sixx. Rollins sends him down with a spinebuster. This guy is like a crazy Batista. Sixx rolls and palm strikes Rollins, who’s on the top rope. Springboard rana gets two. Boot. Running boot by Sixx. Rollins sits up so Sixx misses a senton. Boot caught. Slap to Rollins’s face. Knee strike. Spin kick by Rollins. Island Driver ends the proceedings.

Match Analysis: Travel issues have clearly ravaged this show as we’ve now had two consecutive matches with guys that really don’t mean anything within the context of Evolve. I’m happy some new guys are getting a chance to showcase themselves, but if I’m someone who paid 14.99 to see an Evolve show, I’m not happy about getting what amounts to half an Evolve show.

Winner (s)/Time/Rating: Mike Rollins/7:01/*

-Alex Reynolds vs. John Silver

Match in Five Words or Less: Meh

Match Highlights: Feeling out process as we get a lot of counters. Pace picks up and Silver gets a springboard armdrag. Series of kicks. Nearfalls. Indy stand-off. Reynolds works a headlock. Elbow to the midsection. Running dropkick on a prone Reynolds. Stomps in the corner. Forearm. Whip to the corner. Reynolds misses a springboard cross body. Running kick misses. Roll-up by Reynolds gets two. Silver drives Reynolds down with a curb stomp. Running knee strike. Elbow drop. A second one misses. Reynolds hits a pair of strikes. Whip reversed. Running elbow by Reynolds. He follows up with a knee. Drop toehold sends Silver along the middle rope. Running dropkick. Slingshot elbow drop. Forearms by Silver. Kick to the chest. Backbreaker. Lariat hits? Silver lands on his head. Reynolds stretches his head and neck. Pair of kicks by Silver. Elbow. Running clothesline and a splash. Forearm exchange. Slaps from Silver. Elbow by Reynolds. German suplex reversed. Double knees by Silver. Cover for two. Reynolds judo throws him. Silver drives him down and looks for the armbar. Crossface as he ties the arm around Reynolds’ own neck. Reynolds gets to the bottom rope. Stomp down. Reynolds tosses Silver over. O’Connor roll leads to a two count. Lungblower. Standing shooting star press gets two. Reynolds misses a moonsault. Step-up kick by Silver. Hip toss into the corner. Wheelbarrow suplex gets two. Superkick blocked. Enziguri doesn’t. Running kick. Reynolds counters out of a move and hits a pumphandle neckbreaker. This leads to a three count.

Match Analysis: Alex Reynolds has potential, but he definitely has some work to do before becoming a quality indy guy. He looked sloppy at times. However, he’s got a lot of potential and appears to fit right in with the style of both Evolve and DG USA. John Silver’s personality does not translate nearly as well to DG USA and Evolve. I feel like he would fit in more with Chikara than anywhere else. He and Rollins would make for an interesting oddball tag team. This was an okay match but nothing special.

Winner (s)/Time/Rating: Alex Reynolds/12:22/**1/4

-Samuray Del Sol vs. Chuck Taylor vs. Johnny Gargano (Open the Freedom Gate Champion)

Match in Five Words or Less: Building The Feud

Match Highlights: Gargano isn’t supposed to be in this match, but he interjects beforehand. Considering AR Fox isn’t in the building, I’d say this is probably not the worst idea in the world.  Gargano talks about how they were once friends and how he defended Taylor to the Dragon Gate office. Gargano turns up the intensity and wants to punch Taylor in the face. Crowd chants for a three way match. Del Sol seems game. Leonard announces this is both a non-title and elimination match. Gargano goes after Taylor. Del Sol takes advantage and nearly gets three. Springboard moonsault misses. Japanese armdrag leads to a cross armbreaker. Boots blocked. Del Sol flatlined into the middle rope. Forearm, knee strike, and neckbreaker by Gargano. Gargano gives chase to Taylor. Taylor misses an elbow. Del Sol uses Taylor’s back to deliver a dropkick. Rana. Springboard sunset flip. Del Sol ties the leg up. Dropkick. Gargano hits the springboard spear and hits a tope suicida on Taylor. Springboard DDT by Gargano. Spitting on Taylor. Standing sliced bread by Del Sol. Taylor attacks from behind. Shot to the back. Forearms. Soul Food by Taylor. Uranagi gets two. Boots by Taylor. Del Sol ranas Taylor. Double boots by Del Sol. Taylor flips him over. Inadvertant double team leads to a dropkick on Taylor. Taylor up and over. He powerbombs Del Sol into Gargano. Running boot leads to a two count. Whip reversed. Taylor missile dropkicks Gargano off the middle rope, Del Sol climbs in using Taylor and hits a rana. Diving moonsault to the floor on Taylor. Kick by Del Sol on Gargano. Alabama Slam and a kick to the head. Taylor tosses Gargano to the floor. Rolling cradle quickly eliminates Del Sol in about six minutes. Gargano insures Taylor can’t leave the ring. Series of stomps by Gargano. Running dropkick. Brawl extends to the floor with Gargano maintaining the advantage. Taylor back suplexes Gargano on the side of the ring. Double axehandle. Elbow drop in the back. Bodyscissors. Stomps in the corner. Pair of bodyslams. Chinlock. Gargano strikes his way out. Roll-up and a kick. Clothesline sends Taylor over. Plancha. Senton. Back into the ring. Springboard back in and a knee strike. He catches Taylor and powerbombs him. Garga-No Escape. Taylor tries leaving. Gargano drags him back toward the ring. Elbow by Taylor. Spear countered into a neckbreaker on his knee. Taylor misses a moonsault. Both men are down. Running dropkick in the corner. Lawn dart. Superkick for two. Hertz Doughnut and Awful Waffle countered. More counters. Judo throw into the Garga-No Escape. Half crab by Taylor. Gargano grabs the bottom rope. Slaps to the face. Gargano responds with one of his own. Forearm exchange. Superkick by Gargano. One by Taylor. Straight kick. Discus lariat by Gargano. Hertz Doughnut but his back gives out. Taylor applies the half crab. He drags Gargano to the middle of the ring. Referee notices Gargano is out. Three  times do the arms go up. Three times they come down. Taylor wins.

Match Analysis: With so many guys not able to make it, Evolve didn’t have much of a choice other than to put a match like this together. If nothing else, the booking makes sense. Taylor gets a victory over the Open the Freedom Gate Champion to set up a future championship match. The fact that was it was clean (and Taylor pinned Del Sol as well) actually makes this an effective start to his heel turn. I think people’s natural inclination is to like Taylor, but he’s doing a tremendous job heeling it up. Attacking the back and modifying his offense helps the cause. Under the circumstances, a good triple threat match.

Winner (s)/Time/Rating: Chuck Taylor/19:13/***1/2

-Caleb Konley (w/Larry Dallas and Leah) vs. Adam Page

Match in Five Words or Less: I Hate The Scene

Match Highlights: Basic to start. Page stays with Konley. Hopefully, he doesn’t beaten up by Vader again like he did in Los Angeles. Dropkick on Konley. Chop. Back drop. Page taken up and over. Page brings Konley over to the floor. That was dangerous. Shooting star press off the apron to the floor. Speaking of dangerous. Konley hip tosses Page into the corner. Right hand to the face. He sends Page down by the hair. Shots to the midsection. Running kick. Konley hits what I can only describe as a lungblower. Chops by Page. Whip to the corner. Page gets his boot up. Konley crotches Page on the top rope. Superplex hits. Regalplex countered into a roll-up. Chops by Page. Double chops. A second one. Powerslam. Elbows. Konley sweeps the legs and hits an elbow drop. Running lariat. Standing senton gets two. Page sent into the corner. Konley hits a forearm. Page drives Konley’s neck into his knee.  Left hand by Konley. He drives him down on his frontal body. Modified cloverleaf (called the O-Face by Leonard) gets Konley the win.

Match Analysis: Page showed himself to be a fairly good wrestler, perhaps the best of any of the debuts on tonight’s iPPV. Konley is primarily a tag team guy, but because he’s a roster member, it doesn’t make sense to have him lose to someone so new to the promotion. The match itself was okay, but much like the other singles matches tonight, nothing special.

Winner (s)/Time/Rating: Caleb Konley/7:31/**

-Low Ki vs. El Generico

Match in Five Words or Less: Lol Ki Wins Again

Match Highlights: You know what’s awesome. No one in Evolve history has ever gotten their own music… until Low Ki. Not the Open the Freedom Gate Champion. Not any of the legends who have stepped in the ring. Nope. Low Ki gets his familiar music. Crowd chants “Si!” This chant has literally taken over wrestling and in multiple languages. Feeling out process. “Let’s go both guys” chant. Generico chops Ki in the corner. Along the ropes. Ki hits a chop of his own. Snapmare into an elbow drop. Kick in the corner. Snapmare and then into a chinlock. Ki with a waistlock. Slaps to the back of Generico’s head. Cross armbreaker. Generico gets to the ropes and then slaps him away. Ki dares Generico to attack him while on the ground. Generico charges and almost gets locked into a triangle choke. Ki goes for a choke. Side headlock. Shoulder tackle. Takedown by Generico. Springboard fake-out. Leg lariat. Chop in the corner. Ki responds with one of his own. Ki brainbusters Generico for two. Applied headscissors. Chop by Ki. Running kick. Generico tossed to the floor. Double chops to the back. Running dropkick. Ki sends Generico back in the ring. Kick by Generico.  Chop. Bodyscissors. Chop by Ki. Generico decides to exchange with Ki. Kick to the midsection by Ki. Generico low bridges him. Tope con helo. Back in the ring. Cross body gets two. Elbows by Ki. Generico hits a blue thunder powerbomb. Yakuza met with a knee strike by Ki. Ki hooks in a standing dragon sleeper. Generico slowly goes down. He gets to the ropes. Another attempt but Generico rams him in the corner. Falcon arrow. The “Si” chants are back. Yakuza kick misses. Four stiff kicks to the upper body lead to a two count. Ki misses a charge. Generico hits a yakuza at last. Up goes Ki. Ki counters out of the top rope brainbuster. Ki hits Warrior’s Way and gets the victory.

Match Analysis: I’m amazed by how borderline average this match was for the most part. Lots of holds. Lack of excitement. The energy just wasn’t there for this match. I’ve seen Generico have some incredible matches over the last few years, but Low Ki barely gave the fans any hope. I never ever got the sense Generico had a chance in hell of winning. It doesn’t help Ki is still wrestling the same style since 2002, just with less impact and intensity.

Winner (s)/Time/Rating: Low Ki/16:42/***

For whatever reason, the crowd chants about the match being awesome. What? Low Ki says Generico isn’t as good as he thinks he is. Despite being  the apparent ambassador of all things wrestling making that comment, Generico still gets cheers from the crowd. Ultimately, what Low Ki said was nowhere near as bad as people I saw on Twitter were making it out to be. HOWEVER, when taken in greater context, let’s take a look at what Mr. Low Ki has done since January when he debuted at Evolve 10.

1. He legitimately knocked out a wrestler in under a minute, and both he and the promoter practically bragged about this fact in multiple public forums.
2. He was booked to squash one of Dragon Gate’s top talents despite having never wrestled in Dragon Gate and BxB Hulk being the first ever Open the Freedom Gate Champion.
3. By mentioning pure wrestling and an Evolve title, he basically buried the Open the Freedom Gate Champion and Johnny Gargano during DG USA’s Florida weekend.
4. In an online interview, he admitted to not liking DG USA’s promoter and showed an open disdain for him.
5. He’s talked about carrying Dolph Ziggler to a great match at Survivor Series despite Ziggler showing himself to be a talent in his own right on multiple occasions.
6. Ki mentioned Generico not being as good as he thinks he is here at Evolve 11.

It would be easy to ignore all of these issues if Ki was delivering in the ring. The reality is? He’s not. Not for the money he’s no doubt collecting for these DG USA and Evolve appearances. Nothing he’s done at an Evolve or DG USA show has made me think he deserves to be on these shows over other indy guys who haven’t received chances in DG USA. (Like ACH for example) Ki does have name value, but once it’s shown the emperor has no clothes, what are you left with? An overpaid guy who has okay or decent matches and buries both your talent and the people running the promotion. A lot of people have criticized Ring of Honor for not bringing in Low Ki at certain important events. Well, based on his behavior, we should all apologize to the people behind Ring of Honor because I’m sure their aspirin bills are significantly lower from not having to deal with the  headache that is Low Ki.

Now I know what you’re thinking. “Jerome, this could be an angle.” Fine. I’ve got a response. What in Low Ki’s history has ever led you believe he’s going to be around long enough to fulfill the potential of whatever is in store for Ki in DG USA and Evolve? He’s ditched out on multiple promotions while holding their respective championships. He’s been in and out of both national promotions. Finally, what leads you to believe Ki is going to do the right thing and allow anyone the privilege of pinning his shoulders to the mat? Think about what it took for Jay Lethal to pin Ki at Glory by Honor in 2005. Look at the amount of times Ki has lost in the indies since 2002. I bet it’s not very often. In the overall sense, Ki is doing nothing for the WWN universe and is in fact making both the American and Japanese talent look weaker. While the claim is all about respect, Ki has shown consistent disrespect to everyone from the man in charge to his fellow wrestlers. Now with all that said, let’s get to the main event.

-Fit Finlay vs. Sami Calihan

Match in Five Words or Less: STIFF

Match Highlights: Immediately into the corner. Not exactly a friendly mat exchange either. Shoving. Back in the corner. Slap by Calihan. Crowd ooos at that. Finlay takes Calihan down with one headbutt. Good gravy. Calihan is freaking bleeding already. Finlay sends Calihan to the floor. Calihan rammed into the apron. Back in the ring. Elbow across the nose. Kick exchange. Short clothesline and knee drop by Finlay. Finlay drives Calihan across the side of the ring on his chest. Double birds. Calihan chops. Finlay rams him into the post. Calihan rams Finlay into the side of the ring. Chop blocked. Knee drops by Finlay. Choking in the corner. Open chop. Headbutt from Calihan. Finlay stretches Calihan’s left leg. Calihan grabs a choke. Calihan lays across his back and elbows him. Forearms. Finlay is starting to bleed from the forehead. Forearm and Calihan sent into the corner. Forearm by Calihan. High knee. Calihan stretches Finlay out and rams his knee into the mat. Half crab. Open chop. Whip sends Calihan chest first into the buckle. Chest first again. Calihan whipped. Charge misses. Calihan sends Finlay down and covers him again. Kick by Calihan and Finlay is sent down. Clothesline and Finlay ends up on the floor. Tope suicida. Finlay may have hit the back of his head on a chair. Nasty. Back in the ring. Finlay sends Calihan crashing back to the floor. Stiff kick. Pair of scoop slams send Calihan hard into the ropes, very similar to the match back at Evolve 9. Finlay goes back to work on the knee. Kick to the leg. He rams Calihan’s leg into the post. Half crab. Calihan gets his arm up and reaches the bottom rope. Finlay drops the knees on Calihan. Calihan placed on the top rope. Finlay with forearms. Headbutt in the mouth. Calihan headbutts Finlay. Sunset bomb countered with punches. Calihan superkicks Finlay in the hamstring. Stretch muffler, which Finlay counters with a kick. Calihan ends up on the ringside table. Celtic Cross but Calihan kicks out at one. Finlay decides to hit two more. 1-2-NO! Tombstone countered. Lariat! Tombstone piledriver. 1-2-NO! Calihan tries putting a move on the official and flips Finlay off. Big boot. Running boot. Calihan hits a boot. Both men are down.  Again with the double boots and they’re down. Backslide by Finlay gets two. Stretch muffler attempt. Finlay kicks him. Cross armbreaker. Calihan taps.

Match Analysis: The reality for these two men is there was almost no possible way for them to top what they did in NYC almost a year ago. Nonetheless, these two guys worked very hard to deliver an excellent contest that was only a step below what they did at Evolve 9. I really wish DG USA and Evolve had some sort of plan for Calihan. What they’re doing with him right now is flat-out not working. Having him constantly losing to Sabu and Finlay does nothing for him. Him being crazy for the sake of being crazy does even less. Here you’ve got a guy who clearly has a ton of potential and can connect with the crowd. For all the guff CZW takes, they’re the only promotion that seems to have figured out how to book Calihan in a way that showcases his strengths.

Winner (s)/Time/Rating: Fit Finlay/20:44/***3/4

-Finlay tells Calihan to concentrate and work on his wrestling ability. He yells at Calihan to get on his feet.  What does Calihan do? Very little. He walks out.

The Verdict: There’s nothing Evolve could have done considering all the talents that couldn’t make it. Overall, this came off like Ring of Honor’s Cincinnati show. This was a like half Evolve/half Ontario indy show. Essentially, half the card meant nothing for Evolve storylines moving forward. The action in the opener and match before intermission was good, but you almost know Taylor and Gargano are going to have their main event type match soon. Finlay and Calihan was very good, but they’ve also had two other matches. Generico and Ki was certainly nothing special but at least a three star level affair. This all leads to a thumbs in the middle, leaning down show.

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