Hall’s WWE Evolve Review 7.22.26

Evolve
Date: July 22, 2026
Location: WWE Performance Center, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Blake Howard, Robert Stone

Last week saw a big change as we have a new Evolve Champion. I’m not sure what that is going to mean as Aaron Rourke might be sticking around or heading up to NXT. That’s where things get confusing as there is only so much of a history around here. Other than that, the Mog Squad continues to be a big deal around here. Let’s get to it.

Sloane Jacobs and Nikkita Lyons are meditating but Jacobs thinks Lyons needs to get ready for her first title defense. Lyons says she’s ready for because everything is set. She’ll prove it tonight.

Opening sequence.

Cappuccino Jones/Marcus Mathers vs. Shido Ash/Viktor Zanov

Zanov knocks Mathers into the corner to start as the Mog Squad is in the VIP section. A spinning high crossbody gets Mathers out of trouble and he kicks Zanov in the face for two. Ash comes in and gets dropkicked by Jones but Zanov gets in a cheap shot from the apron. Jones knocks Zanov down but gets gutwrenched by Ash to cut him right back off.

Some dodging and moving works a bit better for Jones though and he gets over to Mathers for the tag. Mathers kicks away and hits a middle rope Stunner into a Blue Thunder Bomb for two on Ash. Sam Holloway is here to yell at the Squad, even as Mathers accidentally knocks Jones out to the floor. Back in and a toss into a German suplex finishes Mathers at 7:29.

Rating: C+. You have to get the new monster team in the win column and this worked perfectly well. They looked like a pair of wrecking balls out there and got to run through a pair of people you recognize. That being said, I knew Mathers was taking the fall the second he was announced for the match, which is rather sad to see.

Laynie Luck is ready to win tonight. Anya Rune wishes her luck in a rather nerdy way which looks like some kind of blessing. It’s received as well as you would expect.

Dorian Van Dux vs. Sam Holloway

They test out the power to start and Dux gets in an armdrag. Dux seems to be favoring his ankle or knee though and it gets even worse as he escapes a powerbomb. Hold on as we pause for Dux to hold his knee in the corner but he comes out swinging. That earns him an overhead belly to belly suplex and a slingshot elbow but Holloway misses a splash in the corner. Naturally the giant Holloway is able to hit a running dropkick in the corner but Dux catches him on top.

The superplex sends both of them crashing down and it’s a double breather. Somehow Dux manages a Thesz press and hammers away, followed by a Samoan drop. Dux loads up the shooting star press but realizes that would be idiotic and just falls down with a splash instead. Back up and a spinning Rock Bottom gives Holloway two but Dux hits a heck of a clothesline to put him on the floor. A huge moonsault hits Holloway but they’re both so banged up that it’s a double countout at 8:11.

Rating: B-. I was digging this one as it was a pair of hard hitting guys hitting each other until neither of them could get up. That’s the kind of fight you do not see very often around here and it worked well, though the countout is still disappointing. At least Holloway didn’t lose for a change though, which is nice to see for a change.

Tate Wilder is sick of Harley Riggins not being able to let things go, so he’ll be back for one more fight next week.

Here is new Evolve Champion Harlem Lewis for a chat. He loves the sound of his name being announced as a champion but he can’t believe that this has happened. After being around for months, he realized he needed to be even more violent, which brings out Aaron Rourke. The fans are happy to see Rourke, who says that Lewis was his toughest challenger and earned every bit of it. He knows that Lewis can be beaten though and wants his rematch.

Cue Tristan Angels to interrupt and mock Rourke, calling his title reign MEDIOCRE. Rourke brings up Angels never being a champion, with Angels telling him to “ZIP IT SPARKLES!” Rourke: “You’re in the most sparkles here!” This brings out Max Abrams, who says he mogs all of them because he is “a true chad”. Rourke punches him in the face, with Lewis getting rid of Angels…and then clotheslining Rourke as well.

Kale Dixon and his still unnamed associate have a photo shoot and brag about their attractiveness. It’s Gal comes in to say he and Dixon should team up for a swimsuit calendar. And yes, he does drop his rope to reveal…well very little clothing. Dixon wants to face him in the ring instead and leaves, so Gal steals the photo shoot.

Elijah Holyfield vs. Brooks Jensen

Jensen immediately bails out to the floor to start and Holyfield is right there with him to send him back inside. Jensen knocks him into the corner this time and fires off some knees, followed by a neckbreaker. Some forearms have Holyfield staggering around the ring so Jensen goes for the turnbuckle pad. The referee catches him and Holyfield gets a rollup, with Jensen pulling the pad off. Holyfield hammers away in the corner but avoids being dropped onto the buckle. A flying shoulder drops Jensen so Holyfield tries to send him into the buckle. Instead Jensen blocks him and grabs a rollup, and the rope, for the pin at 4:04.

Rating: C. Holyfield isn’t particularly good yet, but that’s partially because he has almost no experience. The idea here was to have him do things as basically as he could and that is the only way he can go. The ending makes Holyfield look like an unproven rookie who lost to a veteran, which is how the story should be going. Odds are this isn’t done, and Holyfield can outsmart him to win in the end. Or just knock Jensen silly.

The woman we saw at Succession III, whose name might be the Unknown, asks about your greatest fears, with talk of being replaced. But what about fearing the unknown? These things are certainly unique.

Women’s Title: Nikkita Lyons vs. Laynie Luck

Lyons, with Sloane Jacobs, is defending and takes the legs out to start in a hurry. Back up and Luck sends her outside for a knockdown and we take an early break. We come back with Lyons getting two off a suplex and then hitting something like a reverse Bronco Buster. Luck fights up though and grabs a springboard tornado DDT but gets crotched up top. A spinning kick to the head retains the title at 5:02.

Rating: C-. This wasn’t an interesting match coming in and then they went through it this fast. It didn’t feel like an important match in the slightest and Luck didn’t feel like she had any chance of winning. The idea here missed and that’s not something you often see around here, so we’ll call it a one off misfire.

Post match PJ Vasa and Gianna Capri come in to attack Luck, with Vasa using a chair on Vasa’s ankle. Thea Hail, Wren Sinclair and Skyler Raye run in for the save. Timothy Thatcher comes in to announce an eight woman tag for next week to end the show.

 

Results
Shido Ash/Viktor Zanov b. Cappuccino Jones/Marcus Mathers – Toss German suplex to Mathers
Sam Holloway vs. Dorian Van Dux went to a double countout
Brooks Jensen b. Elijah Holyfield – Rollup while holding rope
Nikkita Lyons b. Laynie Luck – Spinning kick to the head

 

 

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7.0

The final score: review Good

The 411

I liked the show well enough and as usual, they did some things that felt somewhat different. This show doesn’t feel like it does the same thing over and over and that helps so much. It wasn’t a red hot show but as usual, it was less than an hour so you can only get so annoyed. Less is more again, and that’s something most shows can’t offer. For now, an acceptable show and that’s fairly low on the Evolve ladder.