Kevin’s Evolve 64 Review

Evolve 64
July 16th, 2016 | La Boom in Woodside, New York

Yesterday, Evolve held their 64th show. It featured some WWE Cruiserweight Classic showcases, an Evolve Title match and a Tag Team Title match among others.

Lenny Leonard welcomed the fans to the show but was interrupted by Stokely Hathaway. He was greeted with “Moose” chants. Stokely said that his guy, TJP, won’t be facing Zack Sabre Jr. tonight because he needs a day of rest before his Evolve Title shot the following night.

WWE Cruiserweight Classic Spotlight Match: Johnny Gargano def. Cedric Alexander in 11:56
Alexander greatly impressed in his first Cruiserweight Classic match last week. ROH’s inability to do anything substantial with him, especially given his partnership with the lovely Veda Scott, is a mark on how they’re doing as a company right now. They did the CWC ref instructions and handshake deal before the bell. After about a minute of a slow open, they went right into the quick stuff and we got a standoff. The crowd ate up their key stuff, like Gargano’s apron spear and Alexander’s great dropkick. They had some fun when Cedric strutted after a chop and Gargano did the Flair flop. They built up to bigger moves and it paid off. They threw a lot of kicks at each other but it stopped just shy of going overboard. Gargano was able to counter the lumbar check and roll into the Gargano Escape to make Cedric tap. Electric opener that set the tone for the night. They had some great exchanges, never did too much and delivered a great, compact match. Both guys should be a big part of the future of NXT, since the WWE should absolutely sign Cedric. ***¾

The competitors embraced after the match but after Cedric Alexander left, Drew Galloway showed up and powerbombed Gargano. He went to use a chair but Ethan Page ran out and covered Gargano. Galloway wailed on him with the chair until Drew Gulak showed up and made the save, sending Galloway packing. He got on the microphone and said that at the last show, they ran that “Fred Flintstone lookalike” EC3 out of Evolve. Gulak challenged Galloway to a match but before it could start, Chuck Taylor appeared and hit Gulak with a DDT! Taylor hugged Galloway and they ran away when Tracy Williams, TJP and Fred Yehi ran out. Drew introduced Taylor as Dustin and talked about him carrying Gargano the same way that Galloway did. They issued a challenge to Gulak and Williams for the Tag Team Titles tonight, which was promptly accepted.

Four Way Fray: Tony Nese def. Chris Dickinson, Darby Allin and Fred Yehi in 8:30
First pinfall or submission wins this. Yehi is part of Catch Point, Nese is in the Cruiserweight Classic, Dickinson is the hometown boy and Allin is very new to Evolve. Right at the bell, Allin charged at Dickinson and got back dropped over the top, taking one of the nastiest looking bumps I’ve ever seen. Seriously, the fact that Allin was able to walk, let alone finish the match, blows my mind. It took him a bit to recover though, making this a triple threat match of sorts for a while. When Allin does return, he immediately launched himself backwards onto Yehi and Dickinson because he’s nuts. Nese took out everyone with a fosbury flop. Lots of big spots from everyone involved as everyone did their part. Allin took a second rope Razor’s Edge from Dickinson, but Nese instantly hit him with a 450 and walked out as the winner. A fun match full of non-stop action. Dickinson was the powerhouse, Yehi the hard hitter, Nese the high flyer and Allin the nutcase. This was very enjoyable. Everyone shook hands afterwards and a “Darby” chant was started for throwing caution to the wind. ***

Ethan Page def. Wheeler Yuta in 2:43
As was the case with Darby Allin, the new guy gets a shot and it comes against Ethan Page. I like that role for Page as it keeps his momentum going and makes sure you get an invested crowd considering his status. He was selling the attack from earlier and came out pissed, instantly taking out Yuta with a running boot. Yuta, who has apparently been learning from Gulak, only got in a few kicks and an arm drag. Page dominated and won after a flurry featuring the RKEgo, running buckle bomb and package piledriver. I won’t rate it since it was a squash, but as an angle it hammered home how pissed off Page was.

Page got on the microphone afterwards to tell Johnny Gargano that he needs to forgive him. He would take a million more beatings to convince him that he’s changed. He said that Gargano has a full plate with Evolve, NXT and the CWC and he needs Ethan Page on his side. Page asked for the fans to help him out and they started a “friendship” chant. Really good promo work from Page. You just believe what he says.

Zack Sabre Jr. def. Jigsaw in 17:56
So Jigsaw, from my hometown of the Bronx, was the replacement for TJP. He got a nice pop from the New York faithful. Maybe TJP vs. Sabre is coming sometime in the CWC, so Evolve had to change course at the last minute. They worked some grappling in the early stages, with Jigsaw doing a fine job of hanging tough with the premiere technician. I’ve said it before, but watching Sabre on the mat is mesmerizing at times. Only Sabre, Kurt Angle and Chad Gable are the guys I could just watch grapple all day and not get bored. Growing frustrated with his inability to gain a clear upper hand, we got treated to a vicious, angry Sabre. He just bent and twisted Jigsaw in ways humans were not meant to do. Jigsaw combated that by taking to the skies with a somersault to the outside. Jigsaw survived several Kimuras and even hit a Brainbuster but it wasn’t enough. Sabre connected on a dragon suplex and penalty kick to earn the victory. I loved Sabre getting aggressive and Jigsaw more than held his own, making this better than I expected. I’m all for future Jigsaw bookings if he’s going to perform like this. ***¾

Matt Riddle def. Roderick Strong in 18:05
Matt Riddle came to the ring wearing the Evolve Championship belt. This is Strong’s return to Evolve now that he’s gone from ROH. Each guy got the upper hand on the other and taunted, causing anger in the other. Riddle brought it with forearm shots, while Strong delivered a back suplex onto the guardrail. Strong took control and weathered a storm of Riddle strikes as he caught a kick and delivered another backbreaker. You got the feeling that, despite being ranked #1, Riddle was still a rookie taking on a very established veteran. Strong annihilated him with a series of running strikes at one point. Riddle rallied and stopped a high knee with a leaping kick of his own. He still got caught with a knee as well as a superplex, sick kick, Gibson driver and he was put in the Strong Hold, but Riddle survived it all. From out of nowhere though, Riddle locked in the Bromission and Strong tapped nearly instantly. I know some people will dislike Roddy tapping quickly but with Sabre doing so also at Evolve 59, it really sells Riddle’s submissions as dominant. They kept Roddy strong (pun intended) as he looked like a beast. Riddle seemed overmatched at times, which is fine for him since he’s usually in control. It really showed that no matter what, it only takes a few seconds for him to win. ****

Matt Riddle got on the microphone after the match and called out Timothy Thatcher. He rubbed the Evolve Title on his balls since Thatcher said he would hurt anyone that touched his belt. Thatcher showed up but Stokely Hathaway interrupted before anything could go down. He scolded Riddle for not coming out with the rest of Catch Point against Galloway and Dustin earlier. He wanted Riddle to polish the title since it will be TJP’s after tomorrow. Hathaway said that next time they’re in Queens, on 9/11, TJP vs. Riddle for the title. Riddle threw the belt to Hathaway, so he would touch it. Thatcher made good on his word and snapped Hathaway’s fingers.

Evolve Championship: Timothy Thatcher (c) def. Marty Scurll in 15:03
Matt Riddle took the Evolve Title to the back before the bell. Most likely due to a mediocre 2016 for Thatcher, the crowd was way behind Scurll. This came about because Scurll made Thatcher tap out at Evolve 59 in a pretty good non-title match. Knowing that he’s beaten Thatcher with the chicken wing in the past, Scurll goes after the arm, but wisely varies the offense on it. He made sure to keep it different and mostly entertaining. Scurll tried to give Thatcher a taste of his own medicine and break his fingers but Thatcher countered into an armbar to a chorus of boos. When Scurll does slap on the chicken wing, the crowd goes ape shit. Thatcher got free, hit a mean headbutt to the back of the head and won via sleeper hold. The fans were not happy. Scurll wouldn’t be my pick to do it, but I think the Thatcher experiment should end. It’s a combination of his performances and the booking (his reign is the only booking issue I’ve had with Evolve recently). This was about as good as their Evolve 59 match, though longer. Fine mat wrestling from both men. ***¼

TJP ran out and went right after Thatcher. They brawled and were separated by the rest of Catch Point. Gulak and Thatcher came face to face since they meet on 8/20. TJP got free and knocked out Thatcher with a kick. Galloway and Dustin strolled out for the main event. In an interesting note, Galloway told Riddle that he was better than Catch Point and should be with them. Riddle seemed to ponder it before leaving.

Evolve Tag Team Championship: Drew Galloway and Dustin def. Drew Gulak and Tracy Williams (c) in 18:22
Like a lot of Galloway’s matches recently, he looked to use his size advantage but was promptly taken to the mat by Catch Point. Galloway and Dustin turned it around using some good old fashioned heel tactics. Galloway is so impressive at times because he dwarfs a lot of guys on the indies. He just launched Gulak on a belly to belly. Catch Point are technically heels but they were the de facto faces here. Williams took most of the heat, especially some big offense from Galloway. Everyone played to their strengths and it mostly worked. Galloway got a close near fall on a tombstone. Galloway took out Gulak outside and then Williams jumped out onto him. Back inside, it came down to Dustin and Williams and Dustin defeated him with the Awful Waffle to give us new champions. A fine match and, while I like Catch Point, the title change adds intrigue to the angle. ***

Post-match, Galloway got on the microphone and put down Evolve being part of the machine now. He said next month, it’ll be him, Dustin, EC3 and Cody Rhodes! Dustin said that Chuck Taylor was dead and blamed the fans for it while also noting that he was never given a contract from “Uncle Paul”.

7.5

The final score: review Good

The 411

Honestly, Evolve seems to never fail to deliver. This was yet another strong showing from the company, with no bad matches on the card. Major angles were advanced and everything had a purpose. The main event was good, but a bit lackluster. Even so, this was all damn good. Riddle/Strong, Jigsaw/Sabre and Gargano/Alexander were the standout matches and I’m loving the Ethan Page and Drew Galloway angles, so almost everything worked here.