Evolve 20 Review- Taped from Orlando, Florida
Non-Title Match: Johnny Gargano (Open the Freedom Gate Champion) vs. Matt Jackson (Open the United Gate Champion)
Not possible for there to be more than 75 people in the building. At least Gargano is getting the appropriate response. during his entrance. Very fast sequence to start. Matt basically playing de facto babyface… I think. Exchange of dives about a minute in. Trio of northern lights suplexes ending with Gargano being sent into the corner. Fans get behind Gargano as Jackson has a headlock applied. Powerbomb into a second and a bucklebomb that almost sends Gargano completely out. Acecrusher gets a close two count. Just an incredible pace set by these two. Jackson showed he can go in singles. Superkick sends Jackson to the apron. DDT on the apron. Why does Gargano hate himself? 450 gets two. Gargano sunset bomb followed by the lawn dart. Jackson gets to the bottom rope on a GargaNo Escape. Spear in the ring caught with a spear. Jackson rolls through and gets two. Hurts Doughnut for two. GargaNo Escape and Jackson taps. Very ENTERTAINING match if you ask me even with the always murky alignments. Matt proved he can be a good singles wrestler and can go with someone who is pretty much one of the best wrestlers in North America.
Winner/Time/Rating: Johnny Gargano/12:44/***1/2
Gargano mocks the mantra of what DG USA/Evolve is about, and the fans don’t get sarcasm. He promises history will be made. Based on the events of Wrestlecon, I predict the ruination of a match of the year candidate.
Brian Cage (w/Larry Dallas and Trina Michaels) vs. Chuck Taylor
THE TAYLOR BOYS EXPLODE! Taylor may be trying to become a bit more serious in Evolve according to Lenny Leonard. Taylor uses his speed early and even sends Taylor out of the ring. Dive gets caught. Cage tosses Taylor through chairs. That’ll cost Sal. Cage using power and working over Taylor’s back as Dallas calls him a machine. Armdrag into the single leg crab. Cage immediately powers out and to the ringside area. Taylor kicks Cage on the suplex attempt. Dive and Cage catches him mid-air with a suplex. Not quite a machine. Soul Food by Taylor. Uranagi to counter the discus forearm. Springboard moonsault for two. Single leg crab. Awful Waffle countered nearly into Weapon X. Discus lariat by Cage. Weapon X gets Cage the win. Sloppy as hell. Ugly looking finish as these two had some problems clicking throughout. Taylor is almost going to have to adjust to being a serious wrestler (if that’s the direction he chooses to go with) and re-learn how to engage the crowd with some toned down goofiness. Decent enough match to establish Cage against someone who has some standing within the promotion.
Winner/Time/Rating: Brian Cage/8:55/**3/4
FRAY!
If this Fray isn’t good, kill it. Caleb Konley and Shane Strickland start. The elimination rules tend to kill match since everyone gets pinned after some half assed finish. It appears as though some leopards died to make Konley’s gear. He comes across as a total heel visually even though he’s officially a face. Jon Davis in third to NO REACTION! Immediately dominates Strickland and Konley when he enters the ring. Andrew Everett comes in and does a cool springboard dropkick. More highspots than I saw in the Chikara match. Davis brings him to the apron. Everett with a shooting star press to the floor and he lands on his feet. Everett and Strickland with a double suplex on Konley. Davis being kept at bay and out of the ring as Lince Dorado comes in. Shooting star clotheslines on Everett and Strickland. Springboard lariat on Everett. Knock-out kick on Everett. Rolling elbow by Strickland as the pace picks up. 450 on Konley and Everett. Davis powerbombs Dorado on everyone else in a dive. Tommy Taylor goes after Davis in a rematch of the STYLE BATTLE from the last time Evolve was in Florida. Mass chaos with everyone in the ring. Davis German suplexes Konley and Everett. Everett ends up on top of Strickland in a cool spot. Davis barrels him over and kills him dead with a clothesline. Strickland DOESN’T BREAK UP THE ELIMINATION! IT’S A HALFWAY TO CHRISTMAS MIRACLE. Strickland plants him on his head but gets two. Powerbomb followed by a German suplex followed by Three Seconds Around the World leads to Strickland being eliminated. Taylor, Konley, and Dorado triple team Davis. Davis with double Japanese armdrags. Konley gets crotched. Tease of a suplex to the floor. Taylor hits a Tower of London. Davis eliminated. I’m almost relieved. Konley with a springboard moonsault for two. Tower of London by Taylor eliminates Konley. Taylor with a splash mountain into the powerbomb. Tower of London countered. Rana into the alligator clutch for a Dorado victory. This got a few more minutes than the other FRAYs, and it really benefited. The eliminations at least felt a bit more natural, and they didn’t come one right after another. I also liked a lack of eliminations during guys entrances. Pretty enjoyable match and the right guy won. Dorado looked the best I’ve ever seen him and hope this is a sign of things to come.
Winner/Time/Rating: Lince Dorado/16:32/***
Tomahawk T.T. vs. Eita
Token mat sequence to start. Ridiculous chop exchange which harkens back to their King of Chop days. Tomahawk heads out of the ring after a tremendous basement dropkick by Eita. Eita goes heel by kicking the middle rope on Tomahawk. Overhand chop as Eita shows a bit more personality at this show. Tomhawk battles and gets a suplex. Now for a chop of his own. Fake and an enziguri in the face. Monkey flip sends Eita hard into the corner. immediate dropkick. Eita fights being whipped, so he gets chopped instead. Moonsault to the floor. Top rope dropkick. These two established more clear heel/face dynamics than any of the Americans. Big splash on Tomahawk. To the chops they go at the end of the match. You couldn’t pay me to take a single one. Eita shoves Tomahawk on the top rope and crotches him. Slips off the top rope and chops him. At least he didn’t try to re-do the spot. Trio of double chops sends Eita down and gets Tomahawk two. Middle rope splash mountain for two. Night Ride gets three in what was likely the best match of the night so far. A couple of sloppy spots but still quality action and a lot of stiff chops. Great to see some Dragon Gate style action on one of these shows.
Winner/Time/Rating: Tomahawk T.T./15:43/***1/2
Matt and Nick Jackson come out since they’ll be defending the Open the United Gate titles against these two men. They volunteer to shake their hands. It’s a SWERVE as we get a parade of superkicks. Brandon Tolle mentions them being suspended. Matt Jackson says without them, the belts are worthless. Any vestiges of what Evolve was supposed to be is gone. How are they untouchable? I don’t understand this. Either have sportsmanship or don’t. Stop pretending the wrestlers have all the power in these companies. If LeBron James punched a player in the face, he would probably be suspended for a really long time even though he’s the NBA biggest superstar.
The Bravado Brothers (Lancelot and Harlem Bravado) vs. Sugar Dunkerton and Maxwell Chicago
This is the first time I’ve ever seen Maxwell Chicago, but he already looks like someone who would fit in well with Chikara or a Wrestling Is company. Lancelot wants to show sportsmanship. Some shenanigans early on because this was advertised as essentially a comedy match. Look, I get that when I go to a movie or see a comedian that I’m paying specifically to laugh. The idea of going to a wrestling match and being told there’s going to be a comedy match makes it less funny immediately. In wrestling, comedy should come organically. Yes, you can have expectations of what a match will be like, but don’t just come out and say “this is going to be funny.” That kills suspension of disbelief. Feeling out process leads to some dancing. This would be the Bravado Brothers’ debut in Evolve. Bravo to WWN for getting something right. Harlem and Sugar dance, meaning you’re just inviting the crowd to Fandango. Kick to the knee and Dunkerton does the Peter Griffin. Same thing happens to Chicago. Chicago gets on the microphone and begins singing. What’s up with wrestlers from Chicago or with Chicago in their name forcing comedy into matches? Dunkerton sings next. Everyone gets into the singing and dancing. Bravados come from behind with cradles, and things turn physical. Bravados put Dunkerton and Chicago away quickly.
If we had gotten Bravados vs. KOA, not only would we have gotten a better match, but we could have shown that Dunkerton can finally move beyond goofiness and into serious wrestling. But I guess some people just have to be right and need to show how smart they are to wrestling audiences.
Winners/Time/Rating: The Bravado Brothers/11:02/**
Anthony Nese vs. Samuray Del Sol
Feeling out process as they stay basic. This could very well be Del Sol’s last weekend in the company, and this would be a great chance to put over a new star. Nese does not have the big fat guy with him. Del Sol with a tornado DDT dive from the ring to the floor. What an incredible pace by these two. A lot of wrestlers could get blown up just watching these two. Anthony Nese matches Del Sol in athleticism and dive for dive. What was TNA thinking? How quickly will WWE gobble him up? Nese uses his power to maintain the advantage. Great back and forth action between these two. Nese wins with a German suplex followed by a 450 splash. Tremendous showcase and win for Nese. His personality and character can come with time, but putting on great matches will get him over (as much as one can get over in the WWN Universe) immediately. This is how you can build a star in one night. Between the quality of the match and Nese winning clean, it’s tough to argue
Winner/Time/Rating: Anthony Nese/17:55/***3/4
Evolve Championship: AR Fox (champion) vs. Nick Jackson (Open the United Gate Champion)(w/Matt Jackson)
Johnny Gargano is being his usual charming self on commentary as he has the last couple matches. Series of counters takes them outside and ends with Jackson hitting an enziguri on Fox. Fox dropkicks him out of the ring. Two tope suicidas on Nick. Matt grabs his feet to prevent a third as Nick comes back with a springboard facebuster. Bucks still find some time to pose. Jackson works over the back until Fox recovers with an acecrusher. Nick’s bump on it was fantastic. Beautiful series of moves by Fox, including a cross body across the back. Inverted splash but Nick catches him with knees. Big kick right in the face. Wow. Fox crotches him on the top rope. Jackson counters Lo Main Pain and plants. Nearfall. Matt hits a superkick. Did we really need this overbooking in the FIRST EVER Evolve championship match? Fox springboard acecrusher. Cannonball senton to the corner. He fakes Nick and dives on Matt. 450 back in the ring for a nearfall. Leg drop misses. Superkick by Nick. Springboard frog splash for two. Two superkicks. Fox comes back with an enziguri. Boots butF ox catches him with a kick. Lo Main Pain gets three. Lack of drama in the main event hurt this. No way was Nick winning but he certainly put in as good of an effort as his brother. Fox continues to be one of the smoothest and best athletes in the world of wrestling. Good way to end the night.
Winner/Time/Rating: Still Evolve Champion-AR Fox/14:48/***1/4
Evolve 20 Thoughts: The match quality makes this a show worth checking out. I loved seeing Nese and Del Sol steal the show. Tomahawk and Eita also added the Dragon Gate style to this show and made it feel a bit more special than the average indy show. I certainly have my issues, but this is well worth getting on-demand. An easy thumbs up.
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