Leighty’s WWE Evolve Review 3.26.26

-Written: 3.25.26
-Source: Tubi
-Run Time: 48:17
-Episode: 53

-Plug: Nitro 11.18.96 (Bischoff goes nWo)

-Announce Team: Peter Rosenberg and Blake Howard
-Taped: WWE PC, Orlando, FL

-Then, Now, Forever, Together!

-Tate Wilder has taken over the ring and is calling out Kam Hendrix for taking him out in the parking lot.

-Kam Hendrix is out with Harley and Kai. Kam and Harley make jokes and note that Tate doesn’t want any part of them, but they have something for him.

Tate Wilder vs. Kai Kavari

-Wilder catches Kai with a dropkick before the bell. A ref rushes in and the match is on. Kai with an elbow in the corner. Howard notes these two competed in PAC 10 Football. Kai with shots to the gut, but Wilder lands an uppercut. Kai grabs the ropes to slow things down and regroups on the apron. Wilder comes over and Kai snaps him neck first off the top rope. Running clothesline from Kai gets a one count. Kai was a running back at Oregon, which is Big 10 now, but was Pac 10 when Kai was there. Later tonight Aaron Rourke gets his Evolve Championship Celebration! Wilder starts his comeback with a series of diving forearms and then a running shoulder. Twisting suplex and Wilder heads up top. Moonsault connects for the pin at 3:26.

Winner: Tate Wilder via pin at 3:26
-Some token offense from Kai to keep this from being a SQUASH, which is fine as Wilder has some cred on this show and Kai is just starting. *

-Wilder throws Kai over the top and at the feet of Kam and Harley.

Mike Cunningham vs. Lince Dorado

-Lince is back! LUCHA LIT! Howard mentioning 205 Live popped me. Jha’Quain McNair is in the VIP Section. Dorado with a go behind, but Cunningham gets arm control. Dorado flips out but Cunningham knocks him down. Dorado with a hiptoss and then an arm-drag. Cunningham is the kid that has been training at Cody’s Nightmare Factory. Dropkick from Dorado gets a two count. Cunningham blocks a whip, but gets punched in the face. Cunningham back with a shoulder breaker. Dorado blocks a charge and heads up, but Cunningham sends him to the floor with a dropkick. Cunningham off the top to the floor with a twisting plancha. Back in the ring Cunnigham runs the ropes to build up speed and hits a clothesline for two. He posed a little too much before the cover. Backdrop from Cunnigham followed by a good looking spinebuster. That also gets two. Cunningham with some dancing before landing punches. I would say lose that, but who knows as weirder things have gotten over. Dorado lands a kick in the chest to block a backdrop. He snaps off a head scissors and then some strikes. Clothesline followed by a spin heel kick. Backstabber! That’s cool! Lince with a suicide dive to the floor. Back in the ring he comes off the top with a cross-body for two. He goes right to a cross arm-breaker, but Cunningham shifts his weight to get a two count, forcing a release. Hand spring into a cutter from Lince gets two. Back up top, but Cunningham lands an uppercut. He meets Lince up there and hits an Avalanche Falcon’s Arrow for two. Nice! Dorado counters a powerbomb into a roll-up for the pin at 8:18.

Winner: Lince Dorado via pin at 8:18
-They sucked me in with this one as they just kept working hard and ended up being enjoyable. Credit to both men. I am still not sure what to think about Cunningham, but keep putting him in matches like this to get better. ***

-Chuey interviews Lince, who puts over Cunningham. He comes over and thanks Lince for teaching him tonight as he doesn’t lose, but learns. They shake hands.

-Foreman Thatcher is in his office to cover what’s happening with the Women’s Championship. He puts over Kendal Grey and announces the new Champion will be crowned in 3 weeks with an Eliminator Gauntlet Match.

-The Rules: Two competitors star in the ring, a new competitor enters every two minutes, eliminations by pian, submission, or DQ (no count-out?), the match continues until only one woman remains. So a Royal Rumble but with pins,submissions, and disqualifications. I am cool with this as I was hoping for something other than a Tournament or Ladder Match.

-He continues as next week it’s Lyons vs. Choo vs. Vasa vs. Luck to see who gets to enter last. Also, new talents will debut next week.

-Hall of Fame ceremony commercial! I’ll have live coverage once again and like last year, we may be up until 4 AM.

Masyn Holiday (w/ Layla Diggs) vs. Kali Armstrong

-Kali rushes Masyn into the corner to start and hits a series of shoulder tackles. Running shoulder as she is rolling to start this one. Masyn escapes a suplex and fires off strikes. Masyn avoids a clothesline, but gets caught with a powerslam. KALI CONNECTION finishes at 1:13.

Winner: Kali Armstrong via pin at 1:13
-This went as expected. Kali is the former Champion and should be mowing people down to rebuild her into a threat once again. SQUASH

-Braxton Cole vignette. He talks about the hardship of defrosting the windows on his Bentley, having last season’s truffle oil, and too much butter on his lobster. Okay, these were funny and I am intrigued by his take on a gimmick we have seen many times.

Cappuccino Jones vs. Brooks Jensen

-We get prematch promos from both men! Always good to see. Jones blitzes Jensen to start. Brooks keeps pushing away and we get a weird cut to the crowd as I think someone may have slipped on the ropes. We take a break at 40 seconds.

-WrestleMania Vegas: Punk vs. Reigns! BITW vs. OTC!

-Back at 1:15 with Jones trying a suplex, but Jensen blocks, so Jones kicks him off the apron. Baseball slide is blocked as Jensen traps Jones with the ring skirt. Back in the ring they trade blows. Jones heads up, but Jensen DESTROYS him with an elbow. That sends Cap flipping to the floor. Forearms across the chest from Jones. Back in the ring he lands a knee for a two count. He throws Jones throat first into the middle rope in a good spot. Jones gets dumped to the floor and Jensen chokes with the ropes. Heavy forearm to the back. Jensen misses an elbow and then misses another. He catches Jones around the neck with his boots and stomps. Some good aggression from Jones in this one. Full Nelson from Jensen and he takes it to the ground. Cap fights his way out, but Jensen continues to throw forearms and elbows. Back to the Full Nelson! Jones breaks the same way again. He avoids a clothesline and Jensen collides with the ropes. Running corner clothesline from Jones followed by an elbow. Jones slips on the ropes as this one is all over the place. They cover and Jones ends up getting an elbow off the middle ropes. They go back to the spot they missed and this time Jones hits the springboard elbow for two. Jensen blocks a swinging neckbreaker and they start slugging it out again. Clothesline from Cap sends both men to the floor. They trade blows and push the ref away from the lame double DQ at 8:28.

No Contest at 8:28
-Not a fan of this one as it was rough in spots and then the non finish. A double count-out while brawling may have been better than just both deciding to push the ref. *1/2

-The crowd wants the refs to let them fight, but they are out to break things up. Jensen grabs his cowbell and decks Jones. Bull rope match in our future?

-Kali storms into Thatcher’s office and wants to know why she never got another shot at Kendal. Thatcher agrees to add her to the Fatal Four Way Match next week. So Fatal Five Way now!

-Aaron Rourke, our new Evolve Champion, is out for his Championship Celebration. The crowd chants Dime Piece. He talks about a time when he wasn’t the dime piece and instead was made fun of by kids in his school. He just wanted to play with his action figures and wanted no part of football. They made him hate who he was, but wrestling has always been his escape. A fan shouting out “they sucked,” was on point. Rourke talks about Ric Flair being an influence and gives us a Wooo. He says Charlotte is his favorite wrestler and it would be slumming it for Charlotte, but having her show up to do something with Rourke would be fun. He says he will be chasing her Title reigns. As Champion he wants to set the example and show people “you can be successful.” He wants people to break away from limitations. “Don’t be anyone else, but yourself. You are good enough and you are great.” He gets emotional as he thanks the fans and we get a “you deserve it,” chant. He kisses the belt as we see Harlem Lewis watching backstage. He says for Aaron to soak it in as it won’t last long and the title will be his.

-Thanks for reading!

6.5

The final score: review Average

The 411

This show is still trying to find footing after losing Kendal, Vanity Project, and Sean Legacy. Rourke's speech at the end was good stuff, but as expected, Lewis is next in line, and I wouldn't be shocked if he wins it the first time out. This show had two shorts matches that were there to get some momentum behind Tate and Kali. I like what they are doing to crown a new Women's Champion. The two longer matches were opposite ends of the spectrum as one sucked me in and built to a good finish and the other was rough to watch and built to a non-finish. As always, an easy show to watch, but this one was just kind of there. Always next week!