Stevenson’s Evolve 60 Thoughts: Chris Hero Ain’t Nothin to F*** With

Zack Sabre Jr is a very good professional wrestler. Chris Hero is a very good professional wrestler. Together, the two of them tend to make very good professional wrestling, and that was definitely the case in Evolve 60’s main event, which saw them face off in yet another robust Match of the Year contender from WWN’s flagship promotion. They retained the sheer nastiness of their excellent bout at the WWN Live Supershow, but refined it slightly into a more smooth and satisfying overall package; the match had a better flow to it and didn’t feel anywhere near as lengthy, despite actually lasting a couple of minutes longer. For someone whose selling isn’t his strongest suit, Sabre Jr. makes a really gripping underdog against the cantankerous, bullying and condescending Hero. Zack was smacked around the ring by Hero’s trademark ferocious strikes and spent much of the match’s final minutes being piledriven into the canvas, but stayed alive with some well placed kicks of his own and his usual dazzling array of limb contorting submissions. The bout also benefited from the simple but compelling story going into it, as Sabre Jr’s quest to establish himself as one of the best pro wrestlers in the world has been repeatedly thwarted by his inability to beat Chris Hero. Both of their singles matches in Evolve have been massively enhanced by the idea that maybe this is when Zack finally gets his big win. At the start of the paragraph I described this match as an example of ‘very good professional wrestling,’ but to be honest that’s an understatement- this was just a superb main event, and at the moment is 2nd on my personal MOTY list, just a hair behind Sabre Jr’s meeting with Will Ospreay at Evolve 58.

All this talk of Sabre-Hero is not meant to suggest that this was a mere one match card though. Evolve 60 delivered pretty much from top to bottom, and while there were no matches on the level of the main event, there were a couple that could have headlined a show in almost any other promotion. Sabre Jr’s occasional tag partner Marty Scurll had his best singles outing yet in WWN, taking on Johnny Gargano in a slick mid-show match. There were moments of genuinely amusing comedy, with Gargano invoking the good name of Hacksaw Jim Duggan to counteract Scurll’s mockery of the United States, but it never detracted from the actual wrestling. It’s so delightful to see how into Marty’s villainous antics crowds tend to be in America- the revolting finger breaking spot got a great reaction, and Scurll and Gargano had fun playing around with the ‘Superkick! Just kidding!’ catchphrase. Maybe Marty went to the well a little too often with it- it got tiresome to see him call for the Chicken Wing only to have it countered for the fourth time- but it didn’t detract much from a great match, and a great outing for Scurll.

Also impressive was Matt Riddle, though when isn’t he? He’s still a little rough around the edges, but also, he has had 24 matches. 24 matches! I bet even Daniel Bryan wasn’t this good after just 24 matches, and he was one of the best pro wrestlers in the world when he was barely out of his teens. Riddle’s opponent on this occasion was Anthony Nese, typically one of the less interesting members of the Evolve roster, but it’s fascinating to see how pretty much anyone adapts to Riddle’s MMA style, and the styles clash on display here led to a great match. It was all suplexes and submissions and knee strikes, but it definitely felt less ‘shooty’ than your typical Riddle fare. Both men brought a ton of energy and it was just such a good match. Fans of Riddle’s style would have found plenty to like in the semi main event for the tag team championship as well, with Drew Gulak and Tracy Williams defending against their Catch Point stablemates TJP and Fred Yehi, in the spirit of friendly competition. I feel like I’m running out of ways to say ‘this was very good,’ but, y’know, this was very good, awkward finish aside. The story going into this was that TJP is now being managed by the unscrupulous Stokely Hathaway, whose ambitions for his client are very different to those the rest of Catch Point have for him. This brought some much needed tension to the match and stopped it from feeling like a mere exhibition, albeit a high stakes one. There were more tough strikes and stretchy submissions on display (Evolve may be the best promotion in the world if you’re a fan of those things) and then some tremendously fluid counter wrestling down the stretch. Catch Point are getting better and better as a stable as their chemistry grows, and the best place for the Evolve Tag Titles now is definitely within their ranks.

The card was rounded out by a singles grudge match, and two matches pitting Evolve veterans against promising new talent. The best of these was comfortably Lio Rush vs. Caleb Konley. Having signed a contract with Ring of Honor, Rush’s future in Evolve is uncertain, but he looked extremely impressive here. Konley is not among the best of the Evolve roster but he’s more than adequate in an opening match spot, and the two of them delivered a likeable contest with some exciting high flying action. Speaking of ‘not the best on the Evolve roster,’ Ethan Page continued his quest for forgiveness from Johnny Gargano by tackling Gargano’s turncoat tag partner, Drew Galloway. The match was far from a bad one, but it was the most forgettable on the show and never seemed to get going. The promos from Gargano and Galloway that sandwiched the bout were much more significant and entertaining. Finally, the Bravado Brothers met the debuting Devastation Corporation in a decent tag match. It was nothing special, aside from a stunning dive over the ring post to the floor from Blaster McMassive, but it broke up all the undercard singles matches well enough and that was all it really needed to do.

STAR RATINGS
Lio Rush vs. Caleb Konley- *** ¼
The Bravado Brothers vs. The Devastation Corporation- ** ¾
Matt Riddle vs. Anthony Nese- *** ½
Johnny Gargano vs. Marty Scurll- *** ½
Drew Galloway vs. Ethan Page- **
Drew Gulak & Tracy Williams vs. TJP & Fred Yehi- *** ¼
Zack Sabre Jr. vs. Chris Hero- **** ¾

9.0

The final score: review Amazing

The 411

This was another great show from Evolve, even outside of the in ring content. There were no streaming issues and the production values were noticeably improved, with a spotless new ring canvas and much brighter lighting that made a refreshing change from the dingy surroundings Evolve shows usually seem to occur in. As for the matches themselves, Zack Sabre Jr and Chris Hero delivered something truly special, and the rest of the card delivered the goods as well, with top quality wrestling up and down it. To nitpick, I'd say that Evolve shows do feel better paced when they only have six matches on them, and the Drew Galloway-Ethan Page match didn't strictly have to exist. Still, this is another tremendous slice of independent pro wrestling from Evolve, and is definitely worth checking out.