Csonka’s EVOLVE 113 Preview

WELCOME back to column time with Larry! Today, I am going to discuss and preview EVOLVE 113. EVOLVE is coming off of another strong weekend with 110 being a good show & 111 being a show of the year contender. EVOLVE is again moving into the next stage of their existence, with Matt Riddle finishing up and officially heading to WWE, and Stokely Hathaway losing a loser leaves EVOLVE match. Who will step up in the wake of Riddle, Zack Sabre Jr, Fred Yehi, and Keith Lee all gone? Can the promotion keep the momentum from the last shows and keep delivering with the new roster of talent stepping up? Today, I will give my predictions, and break down the show match by match. Feel free to make your picks in the comment section. Thanks for reading! It’s wrestling, we love it and will disagree. The only rules are “have a take, be respectful, and don’t be a dick.”

NOTE:

This preview had to be completed prior to the end of EVOLVE 112, due to scheduling and time constraints, so my predictions will be mainly based off of my 112 predictions (HERE) and what I think will happen there. These are the matches confirmed at this time. Thanks as always for reading.

NON-TITLE MATCH: WWN Champion Joey Janela with Penelope Ford vs. JD Drake: This was originally Janela vs. Trey Miguel, but was changed to Drake mid-week. I have no issues with Trey Miguel, but this feels like a tremendous upgrade to me. Drake has been delivering big time as has Janela, and this has all the makings of a big time match from these two as Janela looks to keep his spot while Drake is looking to score a permanent spot in the main event scene. While I don’t want Janela losing too many non-title matches, losing one to Drake makes sense in terms of his build and how the company views him. I think Drake picks up the huge win in a potentially great match. WINNER: JD Drake

Teacher vs. Student Grudge Match AR Fox with The Skulk vs. Austin Theory: AR Fox went 1-1 at EVOLVE 110 & 111, but the win came in a WWN Title match with a very special stipulation. Janela’s title was on the line, but in order for him to lose the championship, he had to be pinned or submitted. AR Fox won that match but did so in a violent rage to get revenge on his former student turned complete asshole/2003 WWE create-a-wrester Austin Theory. The feud between these two has been crafted well, with the former wild man in Fox looking to become a respected performer aiming for gold and helping his other students, the Skulk, while Theory has been nothing but a disrespectful asshole that thinks he’s outgrown his former teacher. With Fox recently beating Theory, this feud feels far from over, and I see Theory picking up the win here, which should kick off Fox’s quest to earn an FIP tile shot and chance or revenge against Theory. WINNER: Austin Theory

EVOLVE Tag Team Championship Match: Champions Chris Dickinson & Jaka defend vs. The Skulk: At EVOLVE 110, Dickinson, Jaka, & Hathaway were looking for a warm-up match when they faced The Skulk. Instead, The Skulk came to fight and scored the upset win, pinning Dickinson. I like Dickinson & Jaka, they are a good and fun tag team, but they feel stale as tag team champions, like the division as a whole. Quite honestly, I feel that with the EVOLVE, FIP, & WWN championships that the EVOLVE tag titles have overstayed their welcome and that Dickinson & Jaka would be better off in the singles ranks. With Hathaway gone, Dickinson & Jaka losing the titles would help sell his impact on Catch Point and also free them up for singles runs. Plus the Skulk are wacky and fun little performers, and giving them the titles gives us a bunch of fresh undercard matches against new comers ad fun guys like Trey Miguel on future shows. I think that the title change makes the most sense, and is best for the company and all involved. WINNER: The Skulk

EVOLVE Championship Match: Champion Shane Strickland defends vs. Tracy Williams: At EVOLVE 111, Tracy Williams defeated Stokely Hathaway and Chris Dickinson and due to the stipulations of that match, Stokely Hathaway is now gone from EVOLVE, and Williams earned himself a title shot of his choosing. That title shot is coming here. Tracy Williams has been a constant for EVOLVE, he’s a consistent performer, and can work with a wide variety of guys, but he’s always the bridesmaid and never the bride. Unfortunately for him, I don’t see that changing here as he feels like a challenger of the month following the list of departures and no one set as a viable challenger that can take the title at this time. Much like Joey Janela, Shane Strickland has been an absolutely huge addition to the EVOLVE roster. He’s been great in the ring and is coming off well as the top heel that they need right now. While his MLW run was solid, I’ve enjoyed his EVOLVE stuff much more. He’s the right guy for the role right now, and in my opinion, there is no reason to take the title off of him at this point. The only reason to take the title off is him is if he is finishing up with the company, but even then, a Williams win would come off poorly as a “thanks for staying” move. While Williams is a strong and consistent performer, I hope that this is more of a Strickland styled match, because when Williams controls matches, they have a tendency to drag and feel overly long. WINNER: Shane Strickland

“Byyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyye Felicia!”