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Csonka’s EVOLVE 84 iPPV Review 5.20.17

May 20, 2017 | Posted by Larry Csonka
Matt Riddle WWN Live Evolve
8.5
The 411 Rating
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Csonka’s EVOLVE 84 iPPV Review 5.20.17  

Csonka’s EVOLVE 84 iPPV Review 5.20.17

OFFICIAL RESULTS
– Keith Lee defeated Donovan Dijak @ 18:55 via pin [****]
– Fred Yehi defeated Jason Kincaid @ 14:58 via submission [***]
– Lio Rush defeated Austin Theory @ 9:05 via pin [***½]
– Tracy Williams defeated Jeff Cobb @ 9:52 via pin [***]
EVOLVE Tag Team Title Match: Champions Chris Dickinson & Jaka w/Stokey Hathaway defeated Matt Knicks & Isaias Velazquez @ 10:15 via pin [***]
EVOLVE Championship Match: Champion Zack Sabre Jr. defeated Ethan Page @ 14:10 via pin [****]
WWN Championship Match: Champion Matt Riddle defeated Kyle O’Reilly @ 16:18 via submission [****½]


– Keith Lee welcomes us to the show, and said we could all bask in his glory.

Keith Lee vs. Donovan Dijak: these two had one of the top matches over Mania weekend at Evolve 81. They shake hands, Dijak looked for a cheap shot so Lee decapitated him with a lariat. Lee hits the pounce, sending Dijak to the apron. Lee follows him out, but Dijak hits a spinebuster on the apron to stop the attack of Lee and finally take control. Dijak breaks the count, lays in boots and forearm strikes as Stokely Hathaway watched on from the crowd. Dijak then goes for the Sasuke special, but lee catches him and slams him on the apron, telling him to get that flippy boy shit out of here. Back in and Dijak takes Lee down, stomps away at him but the cover only got 2. Lee avoids the corner charge, and then hits the flapjack and sliding clothesline. Lee follows with a high angled spinebuster, which gets 2. Lee decides to go high risk, since he is limitless, but Dijak kips up, but Lee avoids the attack and hits feast your eyes (Dijak’s finish) and covers for 2. Dijak counter s the spirit bomb, hits a superkick and HE hits the spirit bomb for a near fall. It’s prison rules here, we’re just stealin moves I see. Dijak tries to fire up, but runs into an elbow and then the big boot from Lee. Lee to the ropes, but Dijak cuts him off and hits the chokebreaker for a good near fall. Dijak now lays the boots to him, heads up top but misses the moonsault; THE DESTRYOER by Lee gets a great neat fall. The spirit bomb follows, but Dijak survives! That finished Dijak at Evolve 81. Lee drags Dijak to the corner, he heads up top and Dijak kips up and follows Lee up top and hits the superplex. Dijak then busts out the REVERSE RANA for a near fall. Fucks sake boys. Dijak rolls to the floor, Lee follows and Dijak lays in the strikes. Lee escapes feat your eyes, and Dijak sends him into the first row and hits a big boot. Dijak back to the ring and then goes springboard senton over the barricade to wipe out Lee! They work their way back into the ring, Dijak yells at lee to stay down and sets him up top, follows and Lee fights him off and they battle for position. Dijak then slips on the springboard, but then hits the top rope RANA. The superkick follows; and then the corkscrew moonsault grazes Lee, Dijak covers for 2. Dijak again sets Lee up top, looks for feast your eyes, but lee fights him off and he hits the reverse RANA! Lee picks up Dijak, climbs up top with Dijak on his shoulders and hits the SUPER SPIRIT BOMB to finally put Dijak away. Keith Lee defeated Donovan Dijak @ 18:55 via pin [****] This was a great match, not quite on the level of their Evolve 81 match, due to a few hiccups, but it was one hell of a way to kick off the show. Lee winning was absolutely the right call.

– Lee & Dijak just said, “follow that boys.”

Fred Yehi vs. Jason Kincaid: this will be an interesting clash of styles. They work some basic back and forth, with Yehi taking Kincaid down and working the leg. Good control by Yehi early, but Kincaid works some creative escapes as they go back to the ground game. Nice smooth work here, Yehi then hits a shoulder block, looks for stomps but Kincaid avoids. He then looks for the koji clutch, but Kincaid rolls out and he looks to attack the legs, but Yehi works up kicks and looks for the German, but Kincaid lands on his feet. Yehi then connects with the XPLODER. Yehi follows with chops, and then stomps away at Kincaid, and then hits the dropkick covering for 2. Yehi now works the stump puller, and then stomps away at the ankles of Kincaid. Kincaid fires back with kicks, but Yehi has more chops and stomps for him and grounds him again. Kincaid picks up the pace, and rolls into a knee bar. Yehi makes the ropes, but Kincaid stays focused on the leg and continues his attack, mixing in some kicks to the knee. Uppercuts follow, ties up the leg in the ropes and dropkicks it. More leg kicks by Kincaid, he then slaps Yehi so Yehi takes him down and hits a dead lift German to cut off Kincaid’s momentum. They work through a nice series of counters, with Yehi hitting a spinning powerslam for 2. Yehi works the cravat, knee strikes follow but Kincaid hits the big boot to cut him off. Kincaid charges, sent to the apron and hits the slingshot tornado DDT and then a falcon arrow (HE DID THE DEAL) before locking in another knee bar, but Yehi makes the ropes. Yehi hits the elbow strike, locks in a sleeper, but Kincaid hits the jawbreaker to escape. The enziguri follows, Kincaid drops the straps and runs into a dropkick, the cravat suplex follows from Yehi and Kincaid fights back, countering the suplex and hitting the stunner over the ropes. Kincaid springboards into a cutter, koji clutch by Yehi and Kincaid has to tap. Fred Yehi defeated Jason Kincaid @ 14:58 via submission [***] Good back and forth match, with Kincaid putting in another impressive performance, and Yehi picking up a big win after leaving Catch Point. It was a good contrast to the opener, providing a completely different match. I do feel it would have been better if a bit shorter with a better sense of urgency, it felt a bit flat before the finish.

– Kincaid is pissed about the loss, but calms himself and leaves the ring.

Lio Rush vs. Austin Theory: They work some fast paced counters, leading to a stand off. Rush lights up Theory, sending him to the floor but Theory returns and hits the corner splash slingshot double stomp and then a suplex for 2. Rush fights back, sending Theory to the floor and following with an assai moonsault. He rolls him back in and covers for 2. Rush then lays in some kicks, but misses one as he took too much time and that allowed Theory to hit the dropkick. Rush fires up with strikes, but Theory answers back only for Rush to slap the shit out of him and hit an enziguri. Rush follows with the lariat, but Theory hits a German and then another, easily tossing Rush around and covering for 2. Rush hits some forearm strikes, goes rapid-fire and Theory cuts him off with a kick. After some fast paced counters, Rush hits a cutter and sends Theory to the floor. The suicide dive follows, and back in Rush hits the clothesline off the ropes for 2. Rush now heads up top, but Theory is up to cut him off and follows him up. Rush head butts him and sends him to the mat, misses the frog splash and Theory then catches him and hits the torture rack bomb for a near fall. Rush gets a small package for 2, but then gets turned inside out with a lariat. Theory misses a moonsault, runs into the Spanish fly and Rush follows with the frog splash for the win. Lio Rush defeated Austin Theory @ 9:05 via pin [***½] This was a very good little sprint right here, with Theory again impressive, but coming up short as the big win escapes him. Rush has a title shot coming up, so him winning was the right call.

– Pricilla Kelly arrives in a little pink dress and looks to seduce Theory, she spoke but you couldn’t hear her as the feed from the house mic isn’t good.

Tracy Williams w/Stokey Hathaway vs. Jeff Cobb: They grapple early, Cobb looks to use his power game, but Williams cuts that off. Cobb looks for a pop up gut wrench, but Williams rolls into a kimura and stops that bullshit. Cobb then said that ain’t no bullshit, drags Williams up and hits an overhead belly to belly. Cobb then easily tosses Williams around the ring, covering for 2. Williams fights back, working the hanging arm bar in the ropes. Williams up top, Cobb cuts him off and follows him up top. Williams sends him back to the mat, hitting the missile dropkick and knee drop for 2. Williams then lays the boots to Cobb, forearm strikes follow and Williams then attacks the arm in the ropes. Williams hits the sliding forearm, and he then grounds Cobb, working the arm. Williams continues to lay in forearm strikes and then a shot to the throat. Williams up top, but Cobb pulls him off into a Saito suplex. He then fires up with strikes, but Williams hits a big clothesline and that gets 2. Williams again looks to work the arm, but Cobb powers out and then lays in elbow strikes but Williams hits a Saito suplex, covering for 2. Cobb cuts off the lariat, hitting the pop up gut wrench suplex. Cobb looks for the tour of the islands, but Williams counters into a cradle and picks up the win. Tracy Williams defeated Jeff Cobb @ 9:52 via pin [***] This was another good match, with a really great finish. Once again, the right man won, as Williams is the featured player in the New Catch Point.

– Stokey Hathaway cuts a promo, praising New York and pissing off the Chicago fans to set up the next match. Hathaway the cut a promo on Lee & Riddle, noting that he’s watching their ass.

EVOLVE Tag Team Champions Chris Dickinson & Jaka w/Stokey Hathaway vs. Matt Knicks & Isaias Velazquez: Knicks & Velazquez are from Chicago’s Freelance Wrestling. Knicks and Dickinson start things off, Dickinson quickly attacks the arm and then work to the corner. Knicks picks up the pace, hits a springboard high cross and then working over Jaka, Velazquez tags in and hits a high cross and then a DDT for the near fall. Dickinson in off the blind tag and suplexes both challengers. Dickinson and Jaka work some double teams, isolating Knicks and Jaka constantly covering for near falls. Dickinson back in, slowing the pace and working a neck crank on Knicks. He then transitions to a sleeper, but Knicks escapes with elbows and strikes. Dickinson is just absorbing strikes but Knicks gets a delayed German, follows with an up kick; Jaka and Velazquez tag in, Velazquez runs wild with kicks and knee strikes, the standing sliced bread connects for 2. Knicks and Velazquez work some double teams, sending the champions to the floor and Velazquez looks for a dive, gets caught, but Knicks wipes out the champions with a moonsault. Back in and Jaka works over Velazquez a bit, but Velazquez hits a flatliner off the ropes as it breaks down. Catch Point hits the doomsday device, Knicks makes the save but Dickinson hits Velazquez with the sitout powerbomb and Jaka hits a German and then hits one of his own, but only gets 2. Velazquez hits a reverse RANA, Knicks follows with a frog splash, but Jaka kicks out. Knicks and Velazquez isolate Jaka, he fights them off with strikes as Dickinson trips up Knicks. Catch Point hits death trap (doomsday chokeslam) for the win. Champions Chris Dickinson & Jaka w/Stokey Hathaway defeated Matt Knicks & Isaias Velazquez @ 10:15 via pin [***] Good match, with Knicks and Velazquez doing well in their Evolve debut. The hometown crowd was also heavily behind them, making for a great atmosphere, while Dickinson and Jaka gave them a lot, making for a great and competitive environment. Hopefully they do this sort of thing more often when they work with other promotions.

EVOLVE Championship Match: Champion Zack Sabre Jr. defends vs. Ethan Page: Page is fired up and all business today, attacking with purpose and as ZSJ fights back, the battle spills to the floor. ZSJ works leg kicks and uppercuts, and then works the octopus on the barricade. The flying uppercut follows from ZSJ. Page avoids the PK, but ZSJ transitions into the hanging kimura. Page then hits a draping butterfly back breaker and then a sick apron bomb. RKEGO connects back in the ring, and Page covers for 2. Page takes the heat, laying in huge strikes and dropping ZSJ with ease. I love Page’s demeanor here, no fucking around, simply focused on beating ZSJ down. ZSJ then fights back, pops out of the corner and hits the tornado DDT. He follows with uppercuts, hits the leg sweep, but Page catches the PK. ZSJ wasn’t amused and hits a delayed German for 2. ZSJ blocks the bicycle kick and locks in the rolling prawn hold for 2. Page counters the DDT attempt, hits the boot and covers for 2. Page follows with rights, sets ZSJ up top and lands more rights. He looks for a superplex, but ZSJ counters with the octopus hold. They fight for position, and page hits a powerslam off the ropes and covers for 2. ZSJ counters RKEGO into the arm bar, but Page powers out into a buckle bomb and hits the spinning Dwayne for a near fall. Page now looks for the package piledriver, but ZSJ escapes and eats a kick. ZSJ then leaps into a triangle choke; Page escapes and hits the package piledriver for 2. Page looks for another package piledriver, ZSJ escapes and lays in kicks to the arm. He then locks in the dragon sleeper and transitions to elbow strikes. The PK connects, and Page fires up and ZSJ hits another PK. Page flips ZSJ the double bird and eats a third PK. The fourth PK finishes Page. Champion Zack Sabre Jr. defeated Ethan Page @ 14:10 via pin [****] Great match, playing into Page’s strengths with the early brawling format (serious ass kicking Ethan Page is really good). Sabre picks up another title defense. And adds another great outing to his portfolio in 2017. I am not sure where you go with Page right now, character wise he feels dead in the water after failing again to with the title. The finish was also odd, and that was the finish you run with a resilient babyface, so maybe they make a drastic course correction with him.

– Darby Allin arrives, and makes it clear that he wants to come back and challenge for the Evolve title.

WWN Championship Match: Champion Matt Riddle defends vs. Kyle O’Reilly: They circle early, with both guys working leg kicks and slapping jabs. Riddle looks for an arm bar, transitions to the triangle choke but O’Reilly picks him up and walks him to the ropes. O’Reilly then rolls for the knee bar, but Riddle gets the ropes. They exchange knee strikes, and then work into a stand off. They then start to throw bombs, lighting each other up. They switch to kicks and work into some creative counters before Riddle hits the XPLODER. Riddle hits a northern lights toss and follows with the running senton for 2. Knee strikes followed to the grounded O’Reilly, and then rolling gut wrench suplexes by Riddle. O’Reilly fires back, taking Riddle down and starts to put in work on the arm to set up the arm bar finish. O’Reilly connects with the knee strike, and grounds Riddle with a body scissors and elbows. O’Reilly fishes for the arm bar, but Riddle gets the ropes. O’Reilly continues the assault on the arm his focus, but Riddle starts to lay in forearms with the good am; O’Reilly cuts him off with divorce court. O’Reilly then hits the side suplex and transitions into the knee bar. They both looks for knee bars, trade strikes and Riddle then lays in heel kicks to the chest of O’Reilly for the break. O’Reilly avoids the jumping knee strike, lays in kicks to the chest of Riddle and Riddle breaks that up with a right, hits bro to sleep and a German suplex for the near fall. O’Reilly looks for the hanging guillotine, pulls Riddle to the mat but Riddle powers out into a northern lights suplex only for O’Reilly to roll back into the guillotine. Riddle powers out once again, this time hitting the fisherman’s buster to break free. Riddle lays in kicks to the chest of O’Reilly, but O’Reilly blocks and then lays in the knee strikes and both men are down. Back to their feet and they trade German suplexes, and then clotheslines; Riddle hits an up kick, off the ropes and O’Reilly completely turns him inside out with a sick lariat. They trade strikes from their knees, work to the feet and O’Reilly hits rapid-fire strikes and knees. He locks in the sleeper, Riddle escapes and counters the kick and hits a sitout powerbomb, but O’Reilly locks in a triangle choke and then starts to rain down elbows on the champion. Riddle powers out, but O’Reilly works the guillotine but Riddle counters and hits the jumping tombstone and then locks in the bro mission and O’Reilly has to tap. Champion Matt Riddle defeated Kyle O’Reilly @ 16:18 via submission [****½] This was an absolutely awesome main event, both guys were locked in and delivered an extremely entertaining and hard-hitting match. There was some really great stuff on this show, but this was on a completely different level; it looked as if it came off effortlessly for them. It had a great feel of realism I how they pulled off the grappling and striking, allowed O’Reilly to really embrace the style he loves, it also felt big time and important throughout.

– Riddle thanks the Chicago crowd and puts over O’Reilly.

– End scene.

– Thanks for reading.

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

8.5
The final score: review Very Good
The 411
This was EVOLVE at it’s best; a well laid out and quality undercard that didn’t overstay it’s welcome, and flew by while still delivering quality and diverse match types. Everything worked well going into the main events, which both delivered. EVOLVE 84 is one of EVOLVE’s best top to bottom efforts of 2017 and a show that was well worth my time. What you need to see: Lee vs. Dijak, Page vs. Sabre, Riddle vs. O’Reilly
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