wrestling / TV Reports
Leighty’s WWE Evolve Review 8.12.26
Image Credit: WWE
Loading...-Written: 8.12.26
-Source: Tubi
-Run Time: 44:02
-Episode: 73
-Plug: Dark Side of The Ring: Paul Orndorff
-Then! Now! Forever! Together!
-Announce Team: Blake Howard and Robert Stone
-Taped: WWE PC, Orlando, FL
Charlie Dempsey vs. Ulka Sasaki
-Nice to have Charlie back! Howard lets us know these two have faced off several times in Pro Wrestling NOAH. Ulka with a head scissors, but Charlie escapes and gets a side headlock. Heavy chop from Ulka! Dempsey responds with a forearm and chop. Ulka removes his shirt so he can feel the chops like a MAN. Ulka with a hip-toss so Charlie CHOPS his chest. More forearms and chops traded! Ulka smiles and gets an arm-drag. Stalemate and the crowd applauds both men. Another go and Ulka with a hammerlock and he cranks on the arm. Charlie tries to shake off the pain in the corner, but Ulka is on him and fires off more chops. Charlie escapes the corner and sends Ulka into the middle buckle. He goes crazy with forearms in the corner and gets a gut-wrench suplex. That doesn’t even get a one count. Charlie throws down elbows and gets a two count. Ulka blocks a suplex and gets one of his own. He delivers kicks to the chest and one to the side of the head. Running boot knocks Charlie down. Charlie blocks a suplex and gets arm control. Forearm uppercut! Test of strength as they try to break the other man down. Saski gets Dempsey down for a two count. Dempsey with a monkey flip and Ulka gets one of his own. Ulka is able to move into place to get a kimura. Charlie wiggles free and gets a Boston Crab, but Sasaki goes to a cross arm breaker. German Release from Charlie, but Ulka rolls with it and delivers a roaring elbow. Both men are down and the crowd applauds! Cool! They trade strike and we get a series of pin falls. Sasaki with an armbar and then into The Rings of Saturn, but Dempsey gets to the ropes. Heavy kick to the back from Sasaki. Another one. Charlie blocks one to the chest and gets a Dragon Screw Leg Whip. Belly to back suplex from Dempsey! Another one! Suplex into a bridge gets two! Sasaki is dead weight which frustrates Charlie. He gets Sasaki to his feet and chops him in the chest. Sasaki was playing possum and gets a choke, but Dempsey gets one last suplex into a bridge for the pin at 8:46.
Winner: Charlie Dempsey via pin at 8:46
-This was fantastic. I have been a big Dempsey fan since he showed up on Level Up because his matches are different than everyone else on the brand. These two have wonderful chemistry and put on a clinic here. Another five minutes and this likely ends up being the best match in the WWE Evolve history. ***3/4
-Brooks Jensen is teaching greenhorns what they should inspire to be by showing them Midnight Express matches. I mean he’s not wrong! They want to be like this and not the guys that do flips or use their famous last night. Elijah comes storming in from an elevator, but Brooks is able to run away.
-WWE Live! Tickets on sale now!
-ZUFFA Boxing!
Wren Sinclair vs. Sloane Jacobs
-Evolve Women’s Champion, Nikkita Lyons is out with Sloane and takes a seat in The VIP Lounge. These two brawled to the back during the 8 woman tag a few weeks ago. Bell sounds and they immediately start firing off strikes. Wren gets arm control and transitions into a side headlock on the mat. Sloane rolls back for a one count, but Wren is up and maintains the hold. Wren continues to work on the arm. She catches Sloane with a kick to the abdomen and then gets a facebuster for two. Sloane lands shot to the mouth and that gets Wren fired up. She goes ground and pound. Sloane rolls to the apron and catches Wren with a running knee. We take a break at 2:48.
-NXT and AAA doubleheader in Texas on Aug 30th! Man they are All In!
-AAA TripleMania 34 commercial! Two Nights! Vegas and Mexico City!
-Back at 4:06 with Wren getting a roll-up and then a crucifix for two. Sloane with a head scissors in the corner and runs Wren head first into the top buckle. Fish Nets I believe they call that move. Catapult under the bottom rope has Wren gasping for air. That gets Sloane a two count. Pop up fact tells us that Sloane regularly competes in Rhode Island. Wren gets an elbow up to block a charge and starts her comeback. She dumps Sloane with a throw and hits a splash in the corner. Double under hook suplex followed by a facebuster for two. Sloane escapes and hits a head kick. Twisting suplex gets two for Sloane. Syren Song is blocked and Wren goes for her submission, but Sloane blocks. Roll-up from Sloane but Wren rolls with her and locks in The Final Wrench for the submission at 8:18.
Winner: Wren Sinclair via submission at 8:18
-This was solid as they got a decent amount of time. May have gone a little wrong, but these kids need to work matches like this at some point. I like both ladies and nice to see Wren get the win. Beating the lackey of The Champion can only be a good thing. **1/2
-Lyons has words for Wren after the match and notes nobody is worthy to challenge her. Thea Hail runs in to attack and says she is next.
-Brooks is outside trying to leave in his truck, when Elijah comes SPRINTING down the road after him. Elijah sprinting after the truck was a great visual. Keep up this energy!
-Sunday Night’s Main Event! Atlanta!
-Money in The Bank: New Orleans! When is the last time WWE had a gap like this between two shows that wasn’t in December?
-Laynie Luck says she was injured by PJ Vasa. She will not be tossed to the side. She will be cleared in two weeks and has no problem going through PJ.
-Next week: Holloway vs. Valor! Mathers vs. Cutler! Lyons defends against Hail!
-Arianna Rizzo is in VIP to interview Harlem Lewis. He knows he has to be more aggressive because one of the guys in the ring could be his next challenger. He is a sucker for a good fight and that’s why he is here to watch.
It’s Gal vs. Cappuccino Jones vs. Chazz “Starboy” Hall
-Gal runs Jones and Hall into each other and tries for a quick pin. He goes for another one before slamming both guys down and doing push-ups on their backs. Nice! Hall and Jones roll back and forth trading small package pins, but Gal breaks that up. Jones with a suplex on Gal and Hall comes flying in with a Standing Shooting Star Press for two. Hall flips over Cap’s back and avoids a kick that hits Gal. Jones springs off the bottom rope into a head scissors on Hall. Gal misses a clothesline, but does a squatt with Cap on his back. Superkick by Cap! Hall with a handspring into a Pele that knocks Cap to the floor. Sasuke Special takes out both men on the floor as we take a break at 3:08.
-WrestleMania commercial!
-Back at 3:57with Gal running into an elbow. Hall with a trip and standing twisting moonsault for two as Cap makes the save. Hall with a series of kicks to Cap, but Cap comes back with a dropkick. Gal goes for a suplex, but Cap elbows out. He springs back at Gal, bug gets caught and dropped with a spinning slam. Hall jumps off Cap to hit Sliced Bread on Gal. Hall with a step up enziguiri to Gal on the ropes. Cap joins them and they tease a double suplex but Gal fights his way out and comes off with a missile dropkick to both men. Gal gets dumped to the floor. Cap hits Hall with The DeCaffinator! Froggy Brew Elbow gets two as Gal breaks up the the fall and steals the pin at 7:48.
Winner: It’s Gal via pin at 7:48
-This was kind of what you would expect from a sprint Triple Threat on this show. Gal getting a winning streak is okay with me as give him a little run. He has a shelf life at the top of the card, so he will be find as a one off challenger. The steal the pin finish has been done a lot so not shocked to see it here. **3/4
-Gal brags about the winning streak and gets attacked by Cap and Hall. They then bury the hatchet and dance.
-Thanks for reading!
