WWE Evolve Review 08.06.25

Hey everyone. It’s Wednesday night and, probably, the only night of WWE television where you won’t hear the name “Brock Lesnar” this week. We have other fish to fry here on Evolve. We’ve got Keanu Carver running roughshod all over the WWE ID prospects. We have Kylie Rae winning the WWE ID Women’s Title on an indie show. Most importantly, though, we’ve got Kendal Grey trying to take over Wrensday. Now, we love Kendal here on the Evolve review, but why was she so mean to Wren Sinclair? Why did she not answer the questions that are such a longstanding part of Wrensday tradition? Really, should Wren bring her back for another week? She’s asked online, and you should let her know what you think. I voted “yes” because I am a sucker for a good redemption arc.

THEN. NOW. FOREVER. ME AND KENDAL SITTIN IN A TREE. TOGETHER.

LAST WEEK was NOT a good week for WWE ID talent, as Sean Legacy went down to Keanu Carver, Marcus Mathers lost to Bryce Donovan, and Jack Cartwheel only got past Jamar Hampton through shenanigans from It’s Gal. To make things worse, Carver now seems to have his eyes on Jackson Drake and the Evolve title.

TONIGHT, though, Kali Armstrong finally gets to fight Jin Tala face to face, with the Evolve title on the line and, hell, we are starting with Kali calling out Jin in the ring. Jin comes out, the brawl is on, which leads to Stevie Turner letting us know that the match can start right now!

KALI ARMSTRONG VS. JIN TALA (WWE EVOLVE WOMEN’S CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH)

Jin quasi-cosplays Rhea Ripley in her outfit, with Referee Hottie calling the action. Lots of brawling finally leads to Kali taking control faster than I can even type. Kali works the arm and gets some shots to the midsection in. Jin finally escapes, hits a nice kick, and then goes for the arm herself. Kali comes out of the corner with a big slam, but a splash hits the double knees. Jin hits, of all things, a 619 as we cut to break. Jin is still in control when we return, albeit with pretty basic stuff. Lots of knees to the midsection this match. I mean LOTS. I hope they’re on empty stomachs, because I could imagine this causing a bad case of the farts. ANYWAYS, Jin hits a chinlock while, of course, hitting the mid-section, then goes back to working the arm. I mean, this is better than her LFG work, but it is some really basic work. Kali no-sells some punches, Hulks up (called by Peter Rosenberg) before hitting some “Ronnie Garvin-like punches” (called by Robert Stone.) Kali misses the charge into the corner, and a roll-up from Jin gets two. A second attempt at a 619 gets caught by Kali, though, and turned into a powerslam. Kali Connection connects, and goodbye, Jin Tala.

WINNER AND STILL WWE EVOLVE WOMEN’S CHAMPION: KALI ARMSTRONG

Match Rating: C Nothing too offensive, but this was yet another example of a more experienced worker matched up with someone a bit over their head.

Kali: A- Typical Kali here, as she is about a finished product at this level as there is. Everything was crisp, the power stuff was convincing, and she even sold well for Jin.

Jin: C She certainly showed more presence in the ring this time than I’ve seen before from her, but the offense was oh-so-basic, other than some kicks and a 619. That may be for the best right now with her.

Kali talks about her victory with Chuey Martinez at ringside, and Karmen Petrovic’s music hits. Karmen congratulates Kali, but reminds her there’s some unfinished business between the two of them from their NXT match a few weeks back. Karmen’s ready for her Evolve debut, and she’s not leaving without that belt. I hope this is just a temporary thing, as I still think there’s a place for Karmen around here.

The Vanity Project is backstage, and the rest of the team seems more concerned with being in a group chat with Ethan Page than Jackson Drake’s being pursued by both Keanu Carver and Brooks Jensen. Brad Baylor tells him not to worry, as he asked Stevie for a match between Keanu Carver and Bryce Donovan tonight. This, of course, is news to Bryce Donovan, and he’s not thrilled with this. He exchanges glances with Zayda Steel, and her reassuring facials don’t seem to move him much.

In the locker room, Kendal Grey and Carlee Bright are discussing Wendy Choo, and Wendy’s showing up unannounced is really pissing Kendal off. Kendal asks Carlee for her spot in her match against Wendy tonight, but Carlee assures Kendal she’s got this. I’ve got a feeling Carlee don’t got this.

We get a recap of the GCW show from this weekend, and Cappuccino Jones seems to have defeated Jack Cartwheel to become to first-ever WWE ID Men’s Champ. Congrats to Cap! We also get a quick shot of Kyle Rae defeating Zara Zakher to become the first Women’s Champ. The belt will only be defended at indie shows and, if a non-ID wrestler wins the title, they get signed to a WWE ID deal. I like this idea.

Stevie is welcoming Karmen Petrovic to Evolve. Tyra Mae Steele interrupts and tells Karmen to wait in line. Stevie has an idea, though, and that’s Tyra and Karmen facing each other in a Women’s Title Eliminator Match next week. Basic, but effective. If we get the good version of both women, that could be a solid match. Could be.

CARLEE BRIGHT (W/ KENDAL GREY-REDUCER) VS. WENDY CHOO

Wendy starts out with an arm drag and goes for the walking girl-zombie amateur takedown. Side-headlock takes Bright down, and Carlee reverses into a headscissors. Wendy escapes, but Carlee ducks under and gets a hammerlock cinched in. Back up, Wendy pulls the hair and works the arm. Carlee spins out, hits an armdrag, and gets a two-count on a couple of roll-ups. Wendy’s complete lack of selling here is starting to piss me off. Carlee finally gets a flying headscissors and sends Wendy outside with a dropkick. Carlee hits a cannonball off the apron, hugs Kendal, and we go to break.

LG fridges seem to make four types of ice, including cylindrical ice. I am intrigued. We also gets a Words with Friends ad, as it’s apparently 2008.

We return to Wendy catching Carlee on the top and bringing her down. That’s a strange way to come back from break, unless the point here is “look what a loser Carlee Bright is.” Carlee escapes a slam, nails some punches, but Wendy cuts off the comeback AGAIN as if she’s Booger Red Taker. Bright escapes a powerbomb, and here comes another hope spot for Carlee. Standing moonsault gets two. Carlee gets caught AGAIN on the second rope, but fights Wendy off. Flying bodypress gets reversed by Wendy, of course, for two. Carlee reverses a Dirt Nap into a roll up for two. A couple of more roll-ups occur. Both slug it out in the ring and, of course, Wendy hits a big clothesline and locks in the Dirt Nap. Carlee, at least, doesn’t tap out, and passes out for the submission.

WINNER: Wendy Choo

Match Rating: C Way too much no-selling here led to a match which was more annoying than good.

Choo: C- What the hell was that? I get that she’s got this whole quasi-supernatural thing going, but she cut off every single comeback Carlee had here. I was not a fan.

Carlee: C I do like Carlee, but we need something here, as being the well-intended friend of the only slightly more-edgier Kendal isn’t interesting at all. There’s a wrestler there, but we’re still on the bottom here close to a couple of years in.

Chuey is backstage with Tate Wilder, congratulating him on his first (no it wasn’t) match a couple of weeks back. Brooks Jensen interrupts and tells Wilder he reminds him of himself in 2022: a nice cowboy who gets chewed up and spat out. Chuey brings up Jensen turning on Jordan Oasis, who Jensen calls not worth his time, just like Wilder. Wilder finally reminds us Ridge Holland existed a few weeks ago and says that, if Ridge doesn’t have the guts to face him, maybe Brooks will. Jensen quickly accepts, and I’m guessing that’s next week.

Dante Chen reminds us that he’s still here. He brings up Edris Enofe and his change of attitude. Edris take shortcuts, while Dante doesn’t. Next week, Dante gets his rematch against Edris, and he’s going to deliver Edris the ass-kicking he’s earned.

The Vanity Project comes out, as we’re ready for our main event.

BRYCE DONOVAN VS. KEANU CARVER

Ricky Smokes mocks Keanu as he enters the ring. We get our usual main event intros for both guys. This could be very good, although I’m not a fan of feeding Bryce to Keanu at this point in time. Keanu goes quickly on the attack. Bryce tries to knock Keanu off the apron, and is actually able to do so after three shots. This pisses Keanu the hell off, as he catches Bryce coming off the apron and makes him eat said apron. Jackson Drake catches Carver’s attention as we go to break. None of the ads were interesting, so we’ll just return to Donovan hitting a big boot in the ring on Carver for two. I lied, as Ludacris was in an insurance ad, but that just made me sad. Bryce takes Carver down, and we be cluberrin. Bryce can’t slam Keanu, but still reverses a slam attempt from Keanu into a big lariat. Nice work here so far by Bryce, who hits the chinlock. Keanu tries to break out by pushing Bryce into the corner twice, but Bryce locks it back on. Bryce finally lets go and hits some kicks into the corner. Keanu blocks another kick, though and hits a big lariat of his own. Keanu throws big Bryce around, and hits a fallaway slam for two. Bryce blocks a superplex attempt, and nails an electric chair on Carver for two! These manly men are definitely beating their meat here. Drake yells at Donovan and asks if he’s actually got it in him to win. This leads to another fallaway slam from Keanu. Bryce sends Carver into the middle rope. Zayda distracts the ref as Bryce calls for a chair. Ricky Smokes CAN’T FIND A CHAIR, and this leads to Brooks Jensen coming out for……I have no clue. Jordan Oasis is now out to brawl with Brooks. All this, of course, leads to Carver hitting the pounce and powerslam for three.

WINNER: KEANU CARVER

Match Rating: B- This was pretty damn good until the way-overbooked finish. Both guys showed off their strength in a strong back-and-forth match.

Bryce: B+ I’m becoming more and more of a fan every week. He’s got the size. He can sell. His facials are good. I want to see much more of him.

Carver: B+ Keanu’s come a long way quickly. He’s gotten himself into much better shape, and the power stuff is absolutely convincing. Yes, there’s a bit of mini-Oba going on here, and something is going to have to happen to differentiate him from Oba, but so far so good with the basics.

Dissention gets teased by the Vanity Project as we go off the air. Interesting.

Overall Rating: C Par for the course for Evolve this week, as the work was generally good. The Wendy Choo no-selling was probably the worst part of the show for me, but even the greener talents like Jin Tala took a slight step forward this week.

See y’all on Sunday for LFG