wrestling / TV Reports

Csonka’s EVOLVE 87 iPPV Review 6.25.17

June 25, 2017 | Posted by Larry Csonka
Matt Riddle WWN Live Evolve
8.8
The 411 Rating
Community Grade
12345678910
Your Grade
Loading...
Csonka’s EVOLVE 87 iPPV Review 6.25.17  

Csonka’s EVOLVE 87 iPPV Review 6.25.17

OFFICIAL RESULTS
– Tracy Williams defeated ACH @ 14:35 via submission [***½]
– Timothy Thatcher defeated Jason Kincaid @ 12:45 via submission [***½]
– Fred Yehi defeated Chris Dickinson @ 16:28 via submission [***½]
EVOLVE Title Match: Champion Zack Sabre Jr. defeated Jaka @ 15:00 via pin [****¼]
– Ethan Page defeated Thomas Sharpe @ 5:35 via pin [**½]
– Trent Baretta defeated Austin Theory @ 14:50 via pin [***½]
WWN Title Match: Champion Matt Riddle defeated Keith Lee @ 14:56 via pin [****½]


ACH vs. Tracy Williams: Solid back and forth to begin, ACH was having fun and then wanted a handshake; Williams wanted no part of that so ACH took a tip to Bangkok, bag tagging Williams. Williams quickly fought back, looking for the crossface, but when ACH escaped that he started to hit suplexes and then took ACH to the floor. Williams slammed ACH to the floor, and then rolled him back in and slowly started to beat him down with strikes and then locks in a cravat. ACH fired up, looked to mount a comeback but ate a suplex and basement dropkick. Williams then worked the chinlock, but ACH fought to his feet and ate forearms from Williams. Williams then took off the elbow pad, they traded nasty looking forearms center ring. The ref checks on ACH as Williams continues his attack. ACH finally sweeps the leg and follows with a basement dropkick as he looks to put some offense together, hitting a dropkick and then following with two suicide dives. The apron PK follows and it’s all ACH now. ACH rolls Williams back in, and he follows with clotheslines and a bridging German for 2. ACH then sits Williams up top, lays in chops and follows him up and ACH fights him off and battles back to the mat. They work back up top, and Williams shoves ACH off, but ACH pops back up and eats the DDT to the buckles. Williams then hits the missile dropkick, corner clothesline and ACH then cuts him off with an enziguri, but back in and Williams hits a brain buster for a good near fall. Williams then lays the boots to ACH, but ACH fights off the piledriver and hits the snap German, and lariat for a near fall. ACH counters the brain buster, hits the corner clothesline, but ACH hits a superkick and as he goes for the brain buster, Williams counters into the crossface and ACH taps. Tracy Williams defeated ACH @ 14:35 via submission [***½] Very good match to kick things off, with a good layout and deliberate but strong pacing that never felt slow. Williams continues his momentum as the slow burn to an ACH heel turn continues.

– ACH cuts a promo post match, claiming he’s better than the first match. He leaves extremely pissed off.

Timothy Thatcher vs. Jason Kincaid: Stokely Hathaway is out with Thatcher. They grapple to begin, with Thatcher taking the early advantage. He looks to work the arm, but Kincaid picks the leg and lays in ground and pound. Thatcher escapes, and kicks Kincaid in the face to the displeasure of the crowd. Thatcher then stomps the shit out of Kincaid, hits a gut wrench suplex and covers for 1. Thatcher then looks for the arm bar, but Kincaid escapes and hits a double stomp and then works for a rear naked choke. Kincaid looks for an arm bar, but Thatcher rolls out and slams Kincaid with one arm. Kincaid kips up, and then uses the ropes and sends Thatcher to the floor with a head scissors. Kincaid then hits a springboard clothesline, stomps away at the fingers and arm of Thatcher and has control. Thatcher slowly works out into a knee bar and then gets an ankle lock; Kincaid gets the ropes. Thatcher then hits a belly-to-belly, covering for 2 and then attacking the arm of Kincaid. Thatcher follows with knee strikes and slaps from the mount, and then rains down with forearms and locks in the choke, but Kincaid escapes and hits a double stomp. Thatcher then hits an enziguri, cutting Kincaid off. Kincaid counters the butterfly suplex, hits a shot to the throat and hits a sunset flip into the buckles. Kincaid then goes coast to coast with a dropkick, and then looks for the compassionate release submission. Thatcher fights, counters and hits a slam to escape. Thatcher follows with ground and pound, locks in the arm bar and Kincaid taps. Timothy Thatcher defeated Jason Kincaid @ 12:45 via submission [***½] This was another very good match, with Kincaid putting in another quality effort and coming very close to beating a former EVOLVE champion. Thatcher was an amazing asshole heel here, and having to dig deep to win and continue his momentum as he looks to work back to a rematch with Zack Sabre Jr. They played very well off each other, but Kincaid got too much into playing Thatcher’s game and that cost him.

Chris Dickinson vs. Fred Yehi: This is a battle of former Catch Point members, as Yehi has left the stable. Jaka is out with Dickinson. Dickinson & Jaka defeated Yehi and Williams to win the EVOLVE tag team titles. We get lots of back and forth here to begin, with both men looking to find a dominant position. Dickinson looks for an arm bar, but Yehi makes the ropes. Nice back and forth stuff here, showing the familiarity between the former stable mates. Yehi eventually gets a takedown, and attacks the knee of Dickinson. Yehi then lands chops, stomps away at the knee and hits a basement dropkick. Yehi tries repeated covers, Dickinson looks for a sleeper but Yehi cuts that off with a Saito suplex. They trade strikes, but Dickinson finally getting Yehi down, and then follows with kicks. Dickinson then starts to work the arm, and after some misdirection from Yehi, he hits a dropkick, taking Dickinson down. Dickinson then fires up with a body kick and sends him to the floor. Dickinson follows, and hits a suplex on the floor. Dickinson then lays the boots to Yehi and rolls him back in. Dickinson works ground and pound, follows with more kicks and then lays in the kicks to Yehi in the corner. Yehi fires back, but Dickinson hits a kick and a suplex, covering for 2. They go face-to-face, Yehi fires up with strikes and rapid-fire up kicks; the snap German follows. Dickinson cuts him off with a kick, they work to the ropes and battle up top. They drop to the mat, and Dickinson gets a rollup for 2. Yehi then clips the knee, hits a basement dropkick and they trade chops until Yehi hits a running dropkick. Yehi hits a clothesline, but Dickinson counters and it’s the falcon arrow (HE DID THE DEAL) for a near fall. Yehi hits the backstabber, covering for 2 and follows with the stomps as he looks to punish Dickinson, focusing on the arms. Yehi stalks Dickinson, but Dickinson hits the half and half suplex, hits a running kick and covers for 2. Yehi then counters a suplex, looks for a cradle but Dickinson hits a wheelbarrow suplex; Yehi then hits the snapdragon suplex and locks in the koji clutch and Dickinson taps. Fred Yehi defeated Chris Dickinson @ 16:28 via submission [***½] Again, this was very good and was not only hard-hitting, but also played off of their issues (Yehi leaving Catch Point), with Yehi winning and continuing to show that he can do things on his own. He continues to build a case for a title match, and possibly a tag title match with wins over both Dickinson & Jaka his weekend.

EVOLVE Championship Match: Champion Zack Sabre Jr. vs. Jaka: Dickinson & Hathaway are ringside for this. Jaka was fired the fuck up early, using his striking game and raking at the eyes before Sabre could battle back with his superb grappling skills. Sabre worked the arm and also the ankle as Jaka doesn’t wear any footgear. Jaka then hits a desperation German suplex and went back to his striking game, beating down Sabre in the corner. Jaka mixes up strikes, head butts and kicks until Sabre picks the leg and works an ankle lock/knee arm combo. Jaka just makes the ropes, fires back with strikes, the rolling corner kick and an XPLODER; the running knee strike gets a near fall. Jaka lays in chops and a head butt, continuing the heat on Sabre; Sabre hits the northern lights into a kimura and then transitions for the arm bar. Sabre avoids the superkick, hits the PK, but Jaka rebounds back up and hits the superkick for 2. The crowd is into this big time, Sabre counters the chokeslam and works into the triangle, lands elbows and then the Breaks special but Jaka keeps fighting and makes the ropes just barely. Sabre takes out the knee, hits the PK and covers for 2. Jaka fires himself up, and they trade strikes center ring; Sabre counters the kick and takes Jaka down, grapevines the legs and works a modified figure four but Jaka sits up and they trade strikes and slaps. To the feet and they slap the shit out of each other, head butt by Jaka and they both look for kicks, but after a series of misses and counters, Jaka hits a rolling kick. Sabre escapes the choke bomb and gets the European clutch for the win! Champion Zack Sabre Jr. defeated Jaka @ 15:00 via pin [****¼] After a rough performance at Evolve 86, Jaka came into Evolve 87 with purpose and not only had a great match with Sabre, but put on one of his very best Evolve singles performances to date, not only did he win over the crowd and show that he could go with the champion in a big time match, but this felt like a genuine star making performance from him.

– Hathaway wants Sabre to give Thatcher a rematch for the Evolve title. Darby Allin arrives again as does Thatcher. Thatcher tells Allin that the fact that he thinks he’s a wrestler is a disgrace. All you do is get announced, do crazy things and get hurt entertaining the people. Thatcher tells Allin to take his broken arm and get out of the ring. Thatcher then tells Sabre that he respects what he does, but the next time they meet, Thatcher wants an Evolve title match in no holds barred rules. Thatcher then lays out Sabre & Allin; he rips off Allin’s cast and destroys him at the orders of Hathaway. Thatcher lays in an arm bar as Hathaway yells. “Break it, break his arm!” BIG STOKE’S REVENGE IS AT HAND!

Ethan Page vs. Thomas Sharpe: Sharpe is Pages former Gatekeeper/Muscle/Tug who go sick and tired of his bullshit and wants to prove that he can compete in EVOLVE. Page talks shit, attacks but Sharpe hits a RANA and sack of shit slam. They work to the apron, Sharpe hits a boot but as page drops to the floor, he manages to hit an apron bomb on the big man. Back in the ring, Page looks to take control but runs into a sidewalk slam and Sharpe covers for 2. Sharpe follows with chips, misses the corner splash and Page hits iconoclasm. Sharpe fights of the spinning Dwayne with knee strikes and then hit a sitout chokeslam, covering for 2. Sharpe up top now and MISSES the grog splash, Page hits RKEGO but then runs into the bossman slam, and Sharpe covers for 2. They trade strikes, superkick by Page and follows with the tanned Sheamus and spinning Dwayne for the win. Ethan Page defeated Thomas Sharpe @ 5:35 via pin [**½] This was a fun and solid outing, but Sharpe losing clean in his first match with Page didn’t sit well with me. Page really should have amped up his asshole quota to steal the win after a hard fought battle.

Trent Baretta vs. Austin Theory: Trent back in EVOLVE warms my heart. They work a fun and fast paced back and forth beginning stretch, Theory cuts Trent off and they then work to the corner. Chops by Trent follow, but Theory fights back, hitting a double stomp and suplex. Trent then blocks the standing moonsault, but Theory cuts off the tornado DDT and hits a brainbuster, covering for 2. Theory then hits a torture rack bomb, covering for 2. Trent bails to the floor, Theory follows and they brawl. Theory gets a chair, sits Trent on it and laps the ring, but runs into a lariat. Trent then piledrives him on the floor. Back in they go, and Trent hits a Gotch piledriver, but Theory kicks out. Trent toys with him a bit, talks trash and kicks him in the face. Theory fires back, they brawl to the apron and Theory fights him off and works knee strikes, but Trent escapes the fisherman’s buster but Theory then hits a release suplex onto the apron! Back in and Theory lays in knee strikes, hits a buckle bomb and last shot; Theory covers for a close 2. They struggle to their feet, trade strikes and slaps. Chops by Trent follow, they then trade forearms and Trent hits the enziguri. Theory then hits a forearm to cut off Trent, Theory up top now but Trent hits a superplex and running knee strike for the near fall; dude buster by Trent and Theory is finally done. Trent Baretta defeated Austin Theory @ 14:50 via pin [***½] This was another very good match on a long line of them tonight; Theory has been really good in his role as the blue chip prospect that just can’t seem to get the big win, but keeps putting in good to great performances; but potential doesn’t win titles. Trent was a breath of fresh air, he’s been having a great 2017 and anytime he can pop up back in Evolve, it’s a welcomed return. Theory loses nothing in losing to a guy like Trent, and the match played into the post match angle where Theory finally snapped and turned, with Pricilla Kelly likely pulling the strings.

– Pricilla Kelly arrives again, she distracts Trent and Theory attacks with a low blow and lays him out with the TKO. Theory finally snaps after another hard fought loss.

WWN Championship Match: Champion Matt Riddle vs. Keith Lee: The crowd is into both guys here, chanting for both as they stand off to begin and share a fist bump. We’re friends to begin, or so it seems, as they start to beat the hell out of each other. They wok to the corner, Riddle lays in knee strikes and running forearms. Lee catches him but Riddle escapes, laying in kicks but lee then hits an overhead belly-to-belly toss into the corner. Lee then works clubbing strikes, beating Riddle down. Lee then flings Riddle across the ring, hits a head butt and then slaps around Riddle. Big chops by Lee follow, Riddle tries to fire up with strikes but lee drops him with a big right and follows with a slam, covering for 2. Riddle then hits rapid-fire strikes, counters the German and hits a superman punch and then hits a dead lift gut wrench suplex. Lee fights out of a second, and hits a big right, covering for 2. Riddle fights back with chops and rights, Lee hits him with a head butt but Riddle counters and hits bro to sleep, a German and that gets 2. Riddle hits the running senton, covering for 2. Riddle follows with kicks to Lee, more chops follow but lee hits a big spinebuster and then destroys him with a pounce for 2. Lee teased the powerbomb, but Riddle countered with a guillotine, transitioned to a neck crank, knee strikes and the fisherman’s buster followed for a good near fall. Riddle follows with four running sentons, covering for 2 again. Riddle is desperate to put Lee away, hits a PK and covers again for 2. Lee catches a senton and HITS THE SPIRIT BOMB and Riddle just BARELY beats the count. Riddle fires up with strikes, but lee starts to destroy him with forearms, but runs into a bro to sleep, but Lee fires the fuck up and they trade forearms, throwing bombs and Lee hits a toss into a rolling elbow. Riddle is fired up and they continue to beat the shit out of each other, big time strikes here from both men but Riddle hits a knee strike, Lee hits a big head butt and they both collapse, with Riddle landing on Lee and getting the cover for 3. Champion Matt Riddle defeated Keith Lee @ 14:56 via pin [****½] The finish saw Lee collapse from sheer exhaustion after hitting the head butt, with Riddle luckily landing on top after an absolutely great war. This was an excellent main event match, with Riddle surviving, but not being able to put away Lee even with his best stuff. They worked an excellent, hard-hitting match that never felt slow, and stayed in that 10-15 minute window that Riddle thrives in. While Riddle did pick up the win, he didn’t dominate or finish Lee like he does most opponents, protecting Lee and allowing them to easily set up another match down the line.

– Ethan Page arrives and mocks the fans for calling this awesome. He’s here to shit on their moment because he hates them. He lays the boots to them complaining that Riddle and Lee can do no wrong. The crowd chants “Fuck You Ethan” as Stokely Hathaway and Tracy Williams arrive and Page works over Lee. Williams congratulates Riddle, and is glad he retained his title, because he’s undefeated since their split. On August 12th, Williams will challenge him for the WWN Title. Williams claims he could take out Riddle right now, and holds him so that Hathaway can slap the shit out of Riddle. #JusticeforBigStoke Page works over Lee, and then Hathaway lays in the boots to him to get some revenge. Williams and Hathaway bail and allow Page to continue his beating of Lee. Riddle makes it to his feet and so does Lee so Page bails.

– Riddle and Lee have a stare down, share knux and are still friends.

– End scene.

– Thanks for reading.

 photo fe36ffd0-0da4-4e3b-a2d3-b026b341dd87_zps41ef5d61.jpg
“Byyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyye Felicia!”

8.8
The final score: review Very Good
The 411
Like many Evolve weekends, the first show is usually good and sets the stage for the next night, which tends to knock it out of the park like tonight’s EVOLVE 87 event did. EVOLVE 87 was one of if not the best EVOLVE shows of 2017, with an extremely consistent undercard, and the two title matches delivering big time. On top of that, all of the angles seem to be coming together, specifically the Hathaway/Catch Point/former Catch Point members feuds. Theory turned, ACH and Kincaid are having issues where they just can’t break through with that big win, Ethan Page wants to shit on everyone and everything and it’s just coming together effortlessly. EVOLVE 87 is a must see show.
legend