EVOLVE 1: Richards vs. Ibushi

Rahway, NJ – 1.16.2010

The show opens with Kyle O’Reilly, Tony Kozina, and Davey Richards backstage training. A documentary crew comes in looking to shot some footage. The main woman in the crew and Davey have a bit of a verbal tussle, and the women finally obliges to leave.

Elsewhere, Kota Ibushi is with fellow DDT wrestler Michael Nakazawa speaking in Japanese. Most likely strategy, but who knows for sure?

After a video montage of clips from FIP and DGUSA, a bunch of different wrestlers are asked “Why They Wrestle”. It’s pretty lame and most of the guys come off as insincere. But I appreciate them attempting to tell us what some of these guys are all about.

Commentary is provided by Lenny Leonard and Chikarason.

Bobby Fish vs. Kyle O’Reilly

Fish and O’Reilly trade kicks to each other’s thighs. Fish rolls through and waistlock and grabs O’Reilly’s arm in a wristlock. O’Reilly reverses but Fish trips him. Fish flips over him and grabs another wristlock. O’Reilly cartwheels up and hits Fish with a forearm. Fish drops down and dropkicks O’Reilly. O’Reilly nails him with an enzugiri. O’Reilly misses a spear and goes shoulder first in the corner. Fish hit’s a tope con hilo over the ring post onto O’Reilly on the floor. Fish hits a forearm and an exploder suplex. Fish goes up top and hits a diving headbutt for two. O’Reilly kicks out Fish’s legs. They exchange waist locks. O’Reilly drops Fish with a series of butterfly suplexes, dropping Fish on his face to end the sequence for a two count. O’Reilly applies a cravate and snapmares Fish over. He kicks Fish in the shoulder blades for two. Fish gets up and both men trade kicks to the chest. Fish gives O’Reilly a Manhattan drop and lays in some more kicks. Fish rolls into a cross armbreaker but O’Reilly gets the bottom rope to escape. Both men trade forearms to the face. O’Reilly blocks a kick and drops Fish with a bridging belly-to-back suplex for two. Fish gives O’Reilly a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker and goes up for a moonsault. He lands on his feet. O’Reilly and Fish give each other a superkick. O’Reilly kicks Fish in the corner and gives him a tornado DDT. O’Reilly rolls back up but Fish reverses into a Falcon Arrow for two. Fish gives O’Reilly a buckle bomb. O’Reilly ducks a spinwheel kick and hits another tornado DDT. O’Reilly gives Fish a brainbuster for the pin at 6:34. A nice, action packed opener to start the show. To me, this kind of match is the wrestling fans should expect from a promotion like EVOLVE. Good stuff from both guys. **3/4

Qualifying Match
Chuck Taylor vs. Cheech

The winner of this match will earn a spot on the EVOLVE roster. Cheech and Taylor go back and forth, vying for the advantage to start. Cheech sweeps Taylor’s legs and hits a slingshot senton for two. Taylor kicks Cheech in the face. Cheech gives him a Thesz press and chops Taylor in the chest. Cheech locks Taylor in a sharpshooter variation. Taylor gets the bottom rope to escape. Taylor boots Cheech and takes him down with a headscissors. Taylor drops him with a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker for two. Chuck rolls Cheech into a headscissors on the mat with his arm locked. Cheech uses the bottom rope to escape. Taylor boots Cheech in his back. Cheech claps Taylor’s head a couple times. Taylor gives Cheech a belly-to-belly suplex and nips up. Taylor gives Cheech a senton for two. Taylor elbows Cheech a couple times in the head. Cheech gives Taylor a moonsault body block for two. Taylor gives Cheech a dropkick for two. Taylor looks for the Awful Waffle, but Cheech blocks with a knee strike. Cheech trips Taylor for a two count, and then tries a backslide, sunset flip, and a small package with the same result. Taylor sends Cheech to the apron. Cheech cartwheels into the ring and gives Taylor a boot to the gut. Cheech superkicks Taylor into a seated position and baseball slides Taylor before hitting him with a 619 for two. Taylor trips Cheech face first in the corner. Taylor boots Cheech in the face, and Cheech spears Taylor back first into the corner. Cheech looks for a fisherman’s suplex but Taylor gives him the Sole Food. Taylor elbows Cheech into a DDT for two. Taylor gives Cheech the Awful Waffle for the pin at 6:29. Very glad Chuck Taylor won as he’s quite great. The fans made it very clear that’s who they wanted to win as well. Cheech also looked good and I am glad he ended up getting a tag team spot with Cloudy. **1/2

Lenny Leonard interviews Chuck. Chuck says he’s annoyed that certain guys got automatic invites while he had to earn his spot. He says someone in the office probably doesn’t like him, so he’s going to win every single match of his just to make their lives miserable.

Arik Cannon vs. Ricochet

Cannon takes control of the wrist and Ricochet reverses. Ricochet flips out of a snapmare attempt but Cannon knocks him down with a shoulder tackle. Cannon ducks a quebrada but Ricochet sends Cannon to the floor with a hurricanrana. Ricochet follows up with the Sasuke Special. Ricochet goes up top. Cannon avoids a flip and throws Ricochet into the corner with an exploder suplex for two. Ricochet gives Cannon a sole butt and small packages him for two. Ricochet rolls Cannon for two. Cannon drops Ricochet with a neck breaker for two. Cannon chops Ricochet and Ricochet knees Cannon. He Tiger Walks up Cannon, but Cannon blasts Ricochet with a punch and drops him with a brainbuster for two. Cannon misses a splash in the corner. Ricochet gives Cannon a 619 to the back. Cannon blocks a hurricanrana and drops Ricochet with the Total Anarchy for two. Cannon looks for the waterwheel slam but Ricochet dumps Cannon on his head with a reverse hurricanrana. He gives Cannon a kick to the face and a top rope 630 splash for the pin in 4:01. More great action from two guys in such short time. I’m digging the short, action-packed matches thus far. It makes the show flow a lot more smoothly. I like both these guys a lot so this was a really fun four minutes. **1/4

Chuck Taylor comes out and says down South where he’s from, they don’t believe in evolution, but rather creationism. Chuck says he is going to create his own spot and challenges Ricochet for a match at EVOLVE 2. Ricochet accepts but then says they should do it now. Chuck laughs that off and heads to the back.

Jimmy Jacobs and Silas Young are backstage talking. Silas is telling Jacobs a story about how his friend overdosed. Adam Cole comes up looking to talk to these guys. Cole tells Jimmy his match is upcoming soon, and Jimmy talks to him like a smart ass. We then cut to Brad Allen who’s writing MOM on his tape. We get it, he’s wrestling for his dead mother.

Jon Davis & Kory Chavis [The Dark City Fight Club] vs. Louis Lyndon & Flip Kendrick [Aeroform]

Kendrick and Lyndon duck Davis’ attack, and fight back with some high flying and double team maneuvers. Kendrick dives onto Davis on the floor. Lyndon palm strikes Chavis and then hits a jump kick for two. He tells Chavis to face the Kung-Fu as he hits the ropes. Chavis mows him down with a hard clothesline. The DCFC hit the Head Rush on Kendrick for two. They bully Lyndon for a bit as Kendrick recovers. Lyndon boots Chavis in the face then comes off the ropes with an enzugiri. He flips over Davis and Kendrick flies in with a crossbody on Chavis. Kendrick dropkicks Chavis to the corner and gives Davis a satellite headscissors. Kendrick gives Davis a standing 360 for two. Lyndon hits a jumping knee to Chavis. Chavis gets sent to the floor as Lyndon drops down the top rope. Davis knees Lyndon in the head as he looks for a dive. Davis looks for a suplex on the apron but Lyndon knees Davis in the head and face. Lyndon hops off Davis into a moonsault on Chavis on the floor. Kendrick hits Davis in the ring with a tornado DDT and goes up top. Kendrick lands a Spiral Tap 540 and Chavis makes the save. Chavis drops Kendrick with a Rydeen Bomb variation for two. Davis gives Kendrick the Pounce much to the fans delight. The DCFC drop Lyndon with the Project Mayhem for the pin at 6:26. Both these tag teams impressed the heck out of the fans and made the most out of a complete styles clash. I dug this for what it was and hope to see more of both guys soon. **1/2

Mercedes Martinez vs. Niya

Martinez is the WSU Champion, and the belt looks enormous. Martinez beats the crap out of Niya until dropping her with a fisherman’s brainbuster for the win in 1:12. I have no issue with squash matches whatsoever, so this was just fine by me. ¼*

Lenny Leonard interviews Martinez in the ring post-match. She’s out to prove this isn’t just a man’s opponent, and wants more experienced competition in the future.

Brad Allen vs. Silas Young

These guys trade strikes in the middle of the ring to begin. Allen dropkicks Young and Young gets caught in the ropes. Allen boots Young to the floor and follows with a tope con hilo. In the ring, Allen clotheslines Young and comes in with a slingshot leg drop for two. Young lands a chin breaker. Allen hops off the top rope but misses a crossbody. Allen gets up and exchanges chops with Young. Allen knocks Young down with a clothesline and follows up with a springboard senton for two. Allen applies a front face lock and knees Young in the face. Young goes outside the ring and drops Allen on the floor with a DDT. Young knee drops Allen for two. Allen fires up and lands some forearms. Young elbows Allen and rolls into a low clothesline for two. Allen blocks a Finlay roll and clotheslines Young. Allen grabs Young’s legs. Young flips up and Allen plants him with a sit-out urinage. Allen hits a slingshot senton for two. Allen flips Young so that Young’s knee hits the top rope. Allen goes to the top rope and moonsaults onto Young so that Allen’s face splats on the floor. Young gets right in the ring as the officials check on Allen. Allen makes it back in at the count of 19 just making it. Young immediately pins Allen and Allen kicks out. Allen fights back with some punches and Young gives him a backbreaker/clothesline combo for two. Young misses an Arabian press. Allen goes up top and hits a corkscrew crossbody for two. Young catches Allen with a big boot and gives him a Finlay roll. Allen stops Young on the ropes and drops him with a spin-out facebuster for the pin at 10:23. Everything was going great till Allen busted his face. I can’t blame him for it since it obviously wasn’t planned, but it derailed the momentum of the match and made Allen’s win come off as phony (which is unforturnate). Still pretty good for what they did. **3/4

Lenny Leonard interviews Allen in the ring. Allen gets booed by the fans as he says he’s been waiting for a chance in the Northeast. Allen thanks the fans, the EVOLVE staff, and his mom. Allen says he heard Chris Hero will be in for EVOLVE 2 and challenges him for that show. That didn’t happen, as Hero said that he calls the shots and believes Allen needs to earn a match with Hero.

Jimmy Jacobs comes out and plays to the fans. Jimmy says while his oppoenent Kenn Doane was handed everything he got, Jimmy earned everything he got. Jimmy said he was going to make Kenn with he was playing cheerleader dress-up.

Jimmy Jacobs vs. Kenn Doane

Both men lock up and Doane overpowers Jacobs. Doane retreats to the ropes to escape Jacobs’ offense. Donae brings Jacobs to the corner by his hair and peppers him with punches. Jacobs stomps away at Doane. Jacobs small packages Doane for two. Jacobs backfists Doane and then pulls Doane’s enormous nose. Doane knees Jacobs and nails him with a right hand. Jacobs blocks a kick and clotheslines Doane. Jacobs looks for the End Time and Doane makes it to the ropes, placing Jacobs on the apron. Jacobs slingshots over Doane as Doane heads for him, sending Doane to the floor. Doane catches Jacobs in the ring apron as Jacobs tries a baseball slide. Doane rams Jacobs’ face multiple times in the ring apron. Doane pins Jacobs for two. Doane applies a chinlock and holds onto it for a bit. Jacobs escapes, and Doane slams him. Jacobs evades an elbow and gives Doane a chin breaker. Doane trips Jacobs as Jacobs hits the ropes. Doane slingshots in with a forearm to Jacobs for two. Doane gives Jacobs a couple short-arm clotheslines for two. Doane goes back to the chinlock and a fan yells, and I quote, “Oh my God, cut that shit out.” Jacobs backs Doane into the corner, and Doane comes out of the corner and re-applies the chinlock. Jacobs fights out and Doane catches Jacobs off for enough time to re-apply it. Doane knees Jacobs in the face. Jacobs sends Doane to the apron and lays in some punches. Jacobs flips Doane into the ring with a backdrop, and Doane clotheslines him. Doane knocks Jacobs down with a forearm. Jacobs fires up, lays in some punches, and gives Doane a headscissors takedown. Jacobs dropkicks Doane’s leg out and he lands face first in the corner. Jacobs lays in some stomps and an elbow for two. Jacobs looks for the End Time, and Doane reverses into a spinebuster for two. Jacobs chops Doane in the corner and drops him with a hanging DDT for two. Jacobs looks for the Contra Code and Doane drops him with a German suplex for two. Doane looks for his top rope leg drop, but Jacobs hops up and crotches Doane. Jacobs gets sent to the mat and Doane hits the leg drop for two for the pin at 10:05. However, Jacobs’ foot was on the rope. Tommy Dreamer comes out and alerts the referee of what happened. The referee demands the match be re-started. Jacobs locks on the End Time. Doane rolls through, but Jacobs holds on. Doane taps out in 0:14 and Jacobs has the win! This was quite a good match, and it sucks that Doane was fired from WWE for whatever reasons. He has big upside and could’ve been a big heel for them. Jacobs is of course great, and it’s nice to see him back in the independent spotlight once again. ***

Dreamer comes in the ring and puts over the crowd for supporting wrestling and the hard working wrestlers for letting him come on the show. Jacobs puts over Dreamer in a very tongue-in-cheek way. Jacobs wonders why Dreamer is here, claiming he’s here to get another moment in the spotlight after crying the ring on national television. Jacobs says he’d attack Dreamer on the apron usually, but he doesn’t get break any of EVOLVE’s rules by wasting it on Dreamer. He calls Dreamer a washed up has been and he doesn’t need his support. The fans are split on Jacobs and Dreamer. Dreamer says he’s not in EVOLVE and doesn’t have to worry about repercussions so he beats up on Jimmy Jacobs. Jacobs does low blow Dreamer and thus far there has been no backlash because of it.

We then go backstage to see Richards and Ibushi training for their match against one another tonight. The women who’s running the documentary runs into Kenn Doane who is pissed off. Sean Davis and a random dude asks where’s he going when he leaves.

Johnny Gargano vs. Chris Dickinson

If Dickinson hits himself again, I may give this a DUD out of principle. Gargano and Dickinson go back and forth. Dickinson lays in some chops in the corner. Gargano clotheslines Dickinson. Dickinson drops him down and lays in some strikes to Gargano’s back. Dickinson hits a seated clothesline and lays in some kicks to Gargano’s chest and shoulder. Gargano cuts off Dickinson with a slingshot spear. Gargano kicks Dickinson in the head. Dickinson chops Gargano and looks for a backslide. Gargano hits an ace crusher and rolls up Dickinson three times getting two each time. Gargano applies an arm-trap crossface. Dickinson rolls through and muscles Gargano into a gut buster. Both guys slap and forearm each other. Gargano spits on Dickinson. Dickinson kicks Gargano in the face. Gargano superkicks Dickinson and Dickinson knocks him down with a clothesline for two. Gargano ducks an enzugiri. They switch waistlocks and Gargano hits double knees in the corner. Dickinson nails him with a hard boot in the corner. He follows with a Falcon Arrow for two. Dickinson comes off the apron with a slingshot elbow for two. Dickinson pulls down his knee pad and goes up top. He misses a top rope knee drop and Gargano gives him a DDT. Gargano tosses Dickinson like a lawn dart into the corner. Gargano drops Dickinson with the Hurt’s Donut for the pin at 6:05. Glad Gargano won as he is definitely the more unique and well rounded of the two. Dickinson’s alright but his fake intensity is a huge turn off. Plus I already have one Davey Richards clone on a show with Davey Richards, do I need a second? **1/2

Sean Davis and his buddy are taking front row seats. Gargano hugs them as Davis talks about the party later tonight. Interesting.

TJP vs. Munenori Sawa

Sawa slaps TJP before the bell, and TJP responds. Sawa gets banned for a show because of it and TJP gets fined (you don’t find this out till later). They trade kicks and TJP trips Sawa. Sawa rolls out and TJP gets a front face lock. Sawa grabs TJP’s ankle and kicks it. Sawa suplexes TJP. Sawa blocks a flurry of kicks and TJP schoolboys him for two. Sawa tries a pin and they pop up to a stalemate. Sawa locks knuckles with TJP. TJP cartwheels and trips Sawa. TJP rolls into a crossface. Sawa rolls into an ankle lock, but TJP rolls up. Sawa controls TJP’s leg. Sawa tries for the arm and TJP moves to keep him away. Sawa kicks TJP in the chest. They trade forearms and slaps. They lay in kicks to the chest ot one another till Sawa dragonscrews TJP. Sawa lays in a flurry of punches to TJP’s chest. TJP knee strikes Sawa in the face. Sawa blocks a suplex and applies an Octopus stretch. TJP grabs the ropes to escape. Sawa trips TJP and headbutts the inside of his thigh. Sawa wrenches at TJP’s ankle. TJP kicks away at TJP’s side and drops an elbow. TJP evades a shining wizard. TJP hits a Northern Lights suplex and applies a cross armbreaker. Sawa gets his foot on the bottom rope. TJP attacks Sawa’s arm. Sawa slaps TJP a couple times but TJP relentlessly kicks away at his arm. TJP hits a hammerlock suplex for two. THP applies a leg-lock and Sawa rolls into a pin for two. Sawa sole butts TJP and hits a wind-up punch to the face. He tries a second and TJP kicks Sawa in the face. They both kick each other in the side of the face and fall down. They trade strikes on their knees. TJP looks for a German suplex and Sawa rolls into an ankle lock. TJP grabs the bottom rope. Sawa dragonscrews TJP again. TJP drop toe holds Sawa into a cross armbreaker. They trade kicks once more. TJP hits a running knee strike. TJP gives Sawa a jump-up neck breaker for two. TJP goes back to the cross arm breaker. Sawa rolls TJP over for two. Sawa and TJP slap one another. Sawa lays in some rapid fire strikes and kicks TJP in the face. He hits the Shining Wizard for two. Sawa hits a wind-up punch and applies the Octopus stretch. TJP taps out at 9:36 giving Sawa the win. This was the best match you could have without psychology. These guys no sold a lot of stuff, but still made it work. The main component was TJP hurting Sawa’s arm and Sawa hurting TJP’s leg, and they kept with it. This was real good stuff and I am loving both these guys right now with what they’re doing all over. ***1/2

Mike Quackenbush, Hallowicked, & Frightmare [Team Frightning] vs. Gran Akuma, Icarus, & Brodie Lee [Akuma’s Army]

Quack works on Icarus’ arms and shoulders. Icarus elbows Quack, but quack gives him a leg lariat and double knee drop to the stomach for two. Quack applies an abdominal stretch. Akuma comes in, and Quack takes Icarus and Akuma down with a headscissors/armdrag combo. Quack suplexes Icarus, and Wicked drops Frightmare onto Icarus for two. Lee shoves Frightmare to the floor, and Wicked comes in. Lee smacks Wicked in the face. They trade shoulder tackles. Wicked gives Lee a step-up Frankensteiner and a running enzugiri in the corner for two. Frightmare and Akuma tag in. After jockeying for the advantage, Icarus comes in and lariats Frightmare down. Akuma’s Army beats down on Frightmare until Wicked sunset flups Akuma, and Frightmare gives him an enzugiri. Quack kicks Akuma in the face, and Frightmare victory rolls him for two. Lee comes in and powerbombs Frightmare to bring things back to Akuma’s Army’s advantage. After a lengthy beat down, Frightmare fights off Akuma’s Army with a series of rana’s and tags in Hallowicked. Wicked gives Icarus Go Too Sleepy Hollow, but eats a Boss Man Slam from Lee. Quack gives Icarus an inverted Black Tornado Slam for two. Akuma pump-handles Frightmare into a double knee drop to the chest for two. Quack gives Akuma a hurricanrana off the top rope. He follows with a somersault senton, and Frightmare gives Akuma the Kneecolepsy for two. Icarus gives Quack the Blu-Ray DVD in the corner. Wicked gives Icarus a big boot, and Lee big boots Wicked for two. Frightmare gives Lee and swinging DDT. Frightmare then dives onto Akuma on the floor. Quack does the same with Lee. Icarus looks for the Blu-Ray on Icarus. Wicked however gives Icarus the Rydeen Bomb for the win at 11:33. Your typical CHIKARA trio match, which certainly isn’t a knock. The fans were way into it the entire way through, and the CHIKARA guys put on quite the showcase. ***

After the match, Lenny Leonard asks Quack how he’s holding up after his first match back after his back surgery. Quack says he’s only going to get better, and that tag matches are his science. He says they’ll up the ante on March 13th at EVOLVE 2 with a four corner elimination tag match.

Backstage, the women in charge of the documentary is talking to TJP to make sure he’s okay and flirting with him. She notices the camera and tells the guy behind the camera they need to find Silas. TJP smiles as the women leaves.

Kota Ibushi vs. Davey Richards

Both guys come out fast a furious with kicks and strikes. Richards gives Ibushi a spinwheel kick to the floor. Richards fakes out a dive, and Ibushi comes in with a springboard dropkick. Richards goes to the floor and Ibushi follows with a pescado. Ibushi gives Richards some knee strikes and kicks to Richard’s arm. They exchange shots on the ring apron. Davey drives Ibushi’s arm off the apron onto the ring frame. Richards kicks away at Ibushi’s arm in the ring. Davey gives Ibushi a hammerlock suplex for two and transitions into a top wrist lock. Richards hammerlocks his arm and floats over into a bridge. Ibushi fights up with some slaps and Richards responds with a kick to the chest. Richards brings Ibushi down to his knees while holding on a wrist lock. He kicks Ibushi to his back and wrenches on it. Richards steps on Ibushi’s arm while it’s upright. Richards locks in an arm-trap cloverleaf. Richards body slams Ibushi and goes to the second rope. Ibushi follows but Richards comes off with a shoulder breaker into a Kimura lock. Ibushi puts his foot on the rope to break. Ibushi slaps Richards and Richards begs for more strikes. Ibushi obliges and eats a sole butt. Richards goes back to Ibushi’s arm on the mat. Ibushi slaps Richards and Richards kicks Ibushi in the head. Richards gives Ibushi a snap suplex and heads up top. Ibushi hits a cartwheel Pele kick. Ibushi and Richards trade blows as they each stand on opposite sides of a ring post. Richards looks for a superplex. Ibushi kicks Richards down to the floor. Ibushi twist jumps to the top and gives Richards a moonsault. Ibushi pins Richards for two in the ring. Ibushi lays in some kicks and hits a standing moonsault for two. Richards and Ibushi exchange forearms. Richards sends Ibushi to the corner. Ibushi boots Richards. Richards pulls Ibushi out of the corner and kicks him in the chest. Richards heads up top and hits a missile dropkick. Richards kicks Ibushi in the chest multiple times. Richards gives Ibushi a handspring kick to the head for two. Both guys trade waistlocks. They block each others strikes till Richards rolls Ibushi into a cross arm breaker. Ibushi puts his boot on the ropes to escape. Richards kicks Ibushi as he goes to the second rope. Richards superplexes Ibushi to the mat and Ibushi fires up. Richards boots him in the face and Ibushi responds in kind. Ibushi gives Richards an enzugiri into a bridging suplex for two. Ibushi goes up top and hits his patented double moonsault for two. Ibushi powerbombs him for two. Ibushi heads to the top. Richards hops up and takes Ibushi off the top with a German suplex. Richards hits a running forearm and a running knee in the corner. He dumps Ibushi with a suplex on his head for two. Richards kicks Ibushi for two. Richards floats into the Kimura lock for two. Ibushi rolls him up as a counter for two. Richards hits the corner and Ibushi gives him a reverse hurricanrana. Richards nails a lariat before both men tapping out. When back to their feet, they both exhaustingly throw strikes. Richards kicks away at Ibushi’s head, and Ibushi responds with rapid fire slaps. Davey gives him the alarm clock. Ibushi avoids the first clothesline, but the second turns him inside out. Richards drops him with the D.R. Driver for two. Richards slams Ibushi and heads up top. Ibushi follows and trades headbutts with Richards. Ibushi sends Richards to the mat. Ibushi rolls through when missing the Phoenix Splash. Richards goes back up and gives Ibushi a missile dropkick to his arm. Back up top and hits the shooting star press. Richards lays in forearms to the back of Ibushi’s head. Richards rolls into the Kimura lock and Ibushi submits at 18:11. Really good main event, as you probably expected. Davey Richards has been absolutely on fire for the past year and continues to impress. Ibushi always delivers it seems and was a great first show opponent for Davey. This was just as good as their match in 2008 and I’d love to see it again. ****

Backstage Brad Allen says tonight was bittersweet. He responds that his mother was killed in a car accident the day after he signed his WWE contract. He says with her help it all came together tonight.

Sean Davis, Johnny Gargano, and Jimmy Jacobs leave the building. They run into Silas Young and are trying to talk him into going out. Silas hesitantly obliges but the show ends with his cell phone ringing. We see it’s his wife calling.

As a bonus, a Highlight Video that’s roughly five and a half minutes long airs. It shows alternate angles and some moves in slow motion. I believe they had this on the first DGUSA DVD as well. It’s cool to watch these kinds of things with no commentary or music or anything playing. Almost makes you feel you’re there.

The 411: EVOLVE ushers in a new type of wrestling company and that’s a big positive. All the matches felt important with their being so much emphasis on wins and losses. The show flowed really well and all the matches were fun. The last three set the show to an excellent standard. All the guys show a lot of promise and will be fun to watch. This was a very each show to watch and was enjoyable the whole way through. A lot of naysayers came out of the word work to knock this style and idea, but those who gave this show a chance probably changed their minds. The last three matches, as well as Doane and Jacobs, warrant this purchase for certain.

Final Score:  8.0   [ Very Good ]