Leighty’s WWE Evolve Review 6.17.26

-Written: 6.17.26
-Source: Tubi
-Run Time: 52:44
-Episode 65

-Plugs: Nitro

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

-Then! Now! Forever! Together!

-Foreman Thatcher is in his office and hypes Succession III is next week. He then goes over the matches set for tonight. It’s a four match show! Wendy Choo knocks at the door and is here to sign the contract for Succession III. Wendy says it ends with Lyons next week and she is watching tonight’s women’s match as you never know who the next challenger will be.

-KevOnStage is show arriving at The PC. I am old and don’t know who he is, but apparently he is involved with Tubi. I checked and he is a comedian and has a show on Tubi. It’s quite possible he was on Evolve before and I forgot. Again, not my demo, but congrats to him on all his success.

-Show opening!

Elijah Holyfield vs. Brooks Jensen

-Biggest match of Elijah’s career at this point. Jensen’s gear is awful as he is wearing jeans, but they are ripped and one leg has his entire quad exposed due to a hole. Elijah throws jabs and knocks Brooks on his ass. He gets too close though and Brooks gets a trip that sends Elijah throat first onto the middle rope. Cross-face strikes followed by a boot to the head. Brooks continues to throw strikes and chokes on the middle ropes. He starts smacking Elijah on the back of the head and that won’t end well. Elijah fires up and starts his comeback. Shoulder tackle followed by a series of splashes in the corner. Jensen removes the buckle cover trying to hold on to the corner. Holyfield gets the mounted punches in the corner and it’s obvious where this is heading. Jensen slides out and pulls Elijah down so he hits face first on the exposed buckle. Roll-up gets the pin for Jensen at 4:25.

Winner: Brooks Jensen via pin at 4:25
-It was an effective way to give Elijah his first loss. I thought they would let him SQUASH some lower card people some more but this was fine. Brooks has been a bigger deal on this show and he cheated/out smarted the rookie to get the win. **

-Night of Champions commercial! Next weekend!

Chazz “Starboy” Hall vs. Tristan Angels

-Angels wins a lockup and buries a knee to the ribs. Hall with an arm-drag and starts throwing leg kicks. He flips off the top into a Mexian arm-drag and a dropkick sends Angels into the corner. Tristan with a monkey flip out of the corner but Hall lands on his feet. Angels misses a charge in the corner, but blocks a Tornado DDT. He fires off a chop and leaps to the top rope to hit an enziguiri. That was sweet! Peter goes over how this could be a future Main Event in the WWE and I remember when Madden said the same thing about Kidman and Vampiro in WCW. Clothesline from Angels gets a two count. He goes for another count, and again Hall is out at two. Angels works a headlock, but Hall gets a jawbreaker. Hall goes for a sunset flip. Angels tries to land a punch, but Hall slides away and comes off the top rope. Standing Sliced Bread hits! Straps are down and Hall hits a standing twisting moonsault for two. Nice! Heavy kick to the back and Hall goes up top. Angels avoids, but Hall takes him to the floor with a head scissors. Asai moosault from Hall! Back in the ring Angels runs Hall into the post and brings him back in with a suplex off the middle ropes. Cool! That gets two! Hall counters a powerbomb into a DDT. He heads up top again but misses The Shooting Star Press. Hall goes for a rana, but Angels tosses him on his face and hits The Shire’s Kiss for the pin at 7:12.

Winner: Tristan Angels via pin at 7:12
-They seem really high on Angels and I can understand why. Both men looked good here and I want to see them run it back with an extra five minutes. Good stuff here. ***

-Angels cuts a post match promo with Chuey Martinez.

-SNME: MSG! That place is going to explode when Danhause appears.

-Zena Sterling is back and has new gear and a new hair cut. Lets see if she can start reaching that potential she showed on Season One of LFG.

Zena Sterling vs. Anya Rune

-Anya is introduced from “straight out of a Manga Panel.” Again, not my demo, but my nieces would dig it. KevOnStage is in the VIP Lounge! Lockup to start and Zena gets a leg trip into a pin, but Rune is out quickly. Rune takes Zena down by the arm. She fights from out of the corner, but Zena takes her up top. Rune punches Zena away and heads up, but slips off and I am not sure if that was an accident or if it was planned. Weird! Rune with a small package for one and we get a double down as they clothesline each other. They start trading blows and Rune hits a knee to stop a backdrop. Running forearm in the corner and she fires off a kick. Rune goes back up top again and keeps slipping as this is definitely part of the match (I think). Just weird! The buckle is still exposed from the first match, so Zena runs Rune into it and then hits a side slam for the pin at 3:57.

Winner: Zena Sterling via pin at 3:57
-Not a fan of this one as it just played out weird and I wasn’t sure what the deal was with Anyna slipping but it is definitely part of the story of the match. I assume they will roll with this and when she does hit something off the top, the crowd will pop. 1/2*

-Gianna Capri is out to tell Rune she doesn’t belong, but before anything can happen, Masyn Holiday and Layla Diggs makes the save.

-Blake Howard met up Harlem Lewis earlier in the day in a gym. Lewis is working a heavy bag and says some of his best times are working the bag. He says he is a week away from being cleared after Braxton attacked him with a chair. Lewis says Braxton’s life is situated, while he has to make in WWE. He needs the Evolve Title to get to NXT and then to RAW, SmackDown, and Mania. He calls Braxton a trust fund baby and he has been channeling his anger. Once cleared he wants Cole in a no DQ match.

-WWE SummerSlam commercial! Two Night in Minnesota!

-Nikkita Lyons signs the contract in Foreman Thatcher’s office. She says it is written in the stars that she will be the most whimsically gifted Evolve Champion in history. KevOnStage in here and Kita makes bald jokes. Thatcher says he has a scouting trip in two weeks and asks KevOnStage to be The GM. He accepts and makes Cole vs. Lewis in a No DQ Match.

Kam Hendrix and Harley Riggins vs. Romeo Moreno and Noam Dar

-I think this is only the second Dar match I’ve reviewed and the other was a SQUASH loss on Main Event years ago. Moreno was on this past week’s episode of LFG. Harley wants Romeo to start and uses his power to control early. Moreno escapes and hits a dropkick. Harley tags Kam, who wants some of Noam. Kam wants a test of strength, which lives the ribs open, so Dar kicks him. Smart! Kam gets a knockdown and goes for a DDT, but Dar kicks his arm and then fires off a run of kicks. The crowd chants “Super Nova,” Dar gets caught in the wrong corner, but trips Harley, who tagged back into the match. Romeo and Dar double team and then Romeo flies off the top onto Harley and Kam on the floor. Romeo starts favoring the knee, so Kam trips him from the outside and bangs the knee off the ring post. We take a break at 3:26.

-WrestleMania 43: Saudi Arabia!

-Back at 4:13 with Kam hitting an inverted atomic drop and then a running clothesline for two. Ankle lock from Kam but Romeo kicks away easily. Harley back in to cut off a tag and he hits a heavy forearm to the lower back. Harley’s trash talk is on point. Kam accidentally hits Harley and the hot tag is made to Dar. He runs wild and the crowd pops. German Release Suplex to Kam! Kam gets caught with an ankle-lock. Harley in, so Dar releases and pushes the leg to a confused Harley. Dar punches him in the face and we get tandem ankle-locks. Everyone battling in the ring and Kam gets a Showtime Kick for two as Romeo breaks up the pin. It’s been move after move with kick-outs the last 60 seconds. Harley goes for a trashcan, but Tate Wilder stops that. Small package, but Harley kicks out. Spear from Harley, but it only gets two. Kam has been taken out of the match and that leaves Harley alone. High Low combo move leads to Dar getting the pin at 8:58.

Winners: Romeo Moreno and Noam Dar via pin at 8:58
-This was a mix of classic tag formula to start and then the final minutes was more modern, everyone in the ring and just keep popping off moves to pop the crowd. Overall it worked but I liked the Hall/Angels match a little more. **3/4

-Chuey has a sit down backstage with Aaron Rourke and Max Abrams. It comes down to Old School ID vs. New School ID. Max says the only ones that could MOG him were Vanity Project, but they are on NXT now. Aaron stands up for his ID class and those that have been busting it on Evolve since the start. Abrams calls Rourke a joke and brings up his family. That leads to security having to hold Rourke back, and that lets Abrams get in a cheap shot as we go off the air.

-Thanks for reading!

7.5

The final score: review Good

The 411

Good show this week with one match that just didn't click for me. Things are set for Succession III next week, so this was about getting some other people on the show and get some things set for after Succession. This show continues to excel at building week to week and making you want to see what's next. Angels/Hall wins Match of the Week and I want to see how both continue to develop. Not sure of the ceiling for Hall due to his size, but Angels has a real shot.