WWE Evolve Review 10.22.25

Hey, everyone. Welcome to what I think will be the start of a “Season Two,” or soft reset of Evolve, following last week’s special “Succession” event. There’s also been quite a bit of consolidation of talent at this level of development in recent weeks, a lot of talent in need of a spot following two seasons of LFG, and the figurehead for the entire show has been released. I expect this to be pretty different than last week.

Did I forget to mention the new champ? I’m sure we’ll see lots of her.

TOO. BEE. TUBI.

THEN. NOW. FOREVER. TOGETHER.

We begin with……Big Jah, again. He’s the acting guest GM tonight.

The Vanity Project, with Zayda Steel still in tow, is out here. I may have to slow my roll here with the changes tonight. Rosenberg and Stone talk up Jackson Drake retaining his title against Bryce Donovan. Zayda has the mic first and ironically calls Donovan not being here “addition by subtraction.” This randomly brings Keanu Carver again, held back by security, but he’s met by Big Jah, who calms Keanu down, booking the Vanity Project in a six-man tonight against Keanu Carver and……….OTM? I guess they need the reps. They TOWER Swipe Right, and hit stereo chokeslams on them. Drake goes to leave the ring, but Keanu is blocking his way. Keanu attempts to sneak up on him, but Drake rolls out of the ring. Lost in all this was that Big Jah actually wasn’t bad in his role.

Sean Legacy will be facing Edris Enofe tonight, and we get a recap of how we got to the match, which included Enofe taking out Legacy as he was attempting to lay claim to a spot in the #1 contender’s match a few weeks ago. THAT MATCH IS NEXT.

Wendy Choo sits in a psychoanalyst’s office. Wendy describes herself as disassociated and disconnected in life, and how that resulted in her not talking. She cannot keep carrying all the disappointments anymore. When she asked what not doing so would be, Wendy doesn’t know. This wasn’t bad at all, and it showed us a side of Wendy we’ve really never seen, even after 634 years in NXT.

Chuey Martinez is backstage with Chantel Monroe. Chuey brings up Wendy’s going to therapy. While Chantel believes in therapy, there are no pills in this world to save Wendy. If Wendy runs her mouth, she’ll wind up in physical therapy next. Ha.

EDRIS ENOFE VS. “SUPER” SEAN LEGACY

These two middle-aged ladies in the crowd brings signs for anyone, I swear. If Temu had a Temu, they’d be the Green Shirt Guy of that Temu Temu. Legacy high-fives the bastard child of Morgan Wallen and Benson Boone as he heads to the ring. Don’t picture that. Picture what that would sound like, as in the stuff of nightmares. I kind of do like Benson, though. Legacy goes to work on Edris with some punches, an atomic drop, and the standing moonsault gets two, as Edris rolls out of the ring. Legacy goes for the dive, but Edris catches him, throws in him back in the ring, and gets a series of two-counts. Edris continues on the attack with nothing particularly exciting as the crowd chants for Legacy. Enofe actually hits a flying elbow off the top for two as this heat segment has probably gone on for too long for a guy whose contract wasn’t renewed. Legacy trips Enofe up and hits some sort of 619 looking thing. Legacy with a series of kicks, a German suplex, and a flying enziguri in the corner. Shambles gets the three.

WINNER: SEAN LEGACY

MATCH RATING: B Perfectly cromulent, and pretty decisive at the end, although I wouldn’t have given this much offense to a guy leaving the promotion.

LEGACY: B+
He’s lost a little bit of his original shine, although it’s all due to booking, and not anything he’s actually done. I hope we get him back on track here, as the potential is still pretty big.

ENOFE: B
I’m guessing this is it. I always liked him, as a character as unapologetically black is his is hard to come by. There’s certainly ability there. He’s just not that interesting a dude. Know where that profile might do well? The other Wednesday night show.

A woman missing a front tooth holds up a sign for Legacy. For the love of God, this crowd.

Chuey meets up with Legacy at ringside. Edris is in the rear view mirror, and Legacy has his sights set on the next Evolve special, even it means going after the Evolve championship. Legacy brings up Timothy Thatcher, and says it’s time for him to come back. Hmmm.

Big Jah has a huge surprise for Zayda Steel tonight. I’m not mature enough to follow that up properly. Also, an LFG prospect will make their debut next week on the show, which is more in line with what I’m expecting moving forward.

Tubi has Pampers commercials instead of ICE recruitment ads. Be more like Tubi.

Stevie Turner is somehow still here, and is with Big Jah. Layla Diggs and Masyn Holiday hand Big Jah a headshot, with Jah making it clear that he is GM Big Jah, and not director Big Jah, tonight. Also, Laredo Kid will on the show next week, in case you were wondering about his status. That’s random, but kind of awesome. Stevie and Jah book Laredo vs. Marcus Mathers vs. Tate Wilder in a three-way next week.

Jax Pressley and Harley Riggins feel they got trapped by Adrenaline Drip last week, and it feels like the rubber match between the two is next week. Dudes need promo work.

BIG JAH’S HUGE SURPRISE VS. ZAYDA STEEL

The entire Vanity Project is out with Zayda, and the surprise is……..Thea Hail? Well, at least we know she’s alive. Again, this should be as close to a squash as possible. Both these ladies are pretty much wearing the same outfit, although Thea has fishnets on. Zayda begs off an early assault, gets denied a fist bump, and takes Thea down by the hair. Zayda dances, which allows Thea to get up and attack. Thea tries to yank Zayda to the middle of the ring, but just winds up dropping her on her face. Vanity Project distracts Thea enough for Zayda to take over with knees to the face. Zayda gets some kicks in the corner, hitting the knee to the face in the opposite corner. This match should have been over already. Zayda does a bunch of Heel 101 stuff, but gets rolled up for two by Hail. Backslide gets two for Thea, as Zayda axes her down again. Thea escapes a facelock, and we get the comeback. Thea with a couple of axehandles of her own, followed by a fisherman’s buster. World’s Strongest Slam, and springboard senton gets two for Thea. Thea steps on Ricky Smokes’ foot, which allows Zayda to roll her up for two. Thea randomly locks the Kimura in for the tap.

WINNER: THEA HAIL

MATCH RATING: C- The shit was this? This was a case of a middling star getting dragged way down by an inferior opponent.

THEA: C
We all know Thea can be a lot of fun, but it just wasn’t there tonight. She sold way too much, and even her crowd interaction was off. A wasted cameo.

ZAYDA: D
Good riddance. Just zero improvement shown while under contract.

Vanity Project and Zayda yell at each other.

It’s Gal brungs out his Stud-O-Meter, and he’s here to rank wrestlers. Gal brings up John Cena, but not the current version, but the Prototype. Gal calls the Prototype an inspiration, and gives him a 9.5. He then brings up……..The Ringmaster, Steve Austin. He calls Austin pale and gives him an 8.7. I was waiting to see if Saba Simba was next. That was really weird.

YOUR MAIN EVENT IS NEXT!

Another Aaron Rourke vignette. Even though he hails from Sparkle City, he grew up in Long Island, NY. Aaron talks about being bullied relentlessly, and not being allowed to be who he wanted to be. Aaron knew who he was, and he couldn’t change that. Wrestling became an escape for him and, while he didn’t know how he was going to get there, he knew he would. We get a “to be continued” as we cut to Brooks Jensen and Stevie Turner. That was awesome. Really. That promo makes me want to see more of that guy.

Jensen (in a Thunderbolt Patterson shirt) and Stevie (and Jah) discuss what’s next for Brooks Jensen. Jensen feels screwed by the Vanity Project, but is told he needs to earn his next title shot. Stevie has new WWE ID contracts in her hand, and three new signees will be present next week.

The Vanity Project, plus a hurting Zayda Steel, are still in the ring.

JACKSON DRAKE AND SWIPE RIGHT (BRAD BAYLOR AND RICKY SMOKES) VS. KEANU CARVER AND OTM (LUCIEN PRICE AND BRONCO NIMA)

Kelly does the big match intros and, I have to say, she looks absolutely lovely. Keanu is growing more into the mini-Oba role every time I see them, and Temu Temu Green Shirt Guys are now holding up OTM signs. Drake goes after…..I’ve never figured out who is Lucien and who is Bronco, TBH, but the guy with the braids hits some impressive power stuff on him before tagging in Carver. Drake tags out to Ricky Smokes, who obviously can’t do much against the much bigger guy. Shorter-haired OTM comes in and immediately takes Brad Baylor down. Baylor upsets who I know now is Lucien Price, and eats a big chop for his troubles. Vanity Project are doing a wonderful job acting as rag dolls here, as they clearly understand the assignment. Bronco Nima looks more like a Lucien Price than a Bronco Nima, I must say. As psychology would dictate, a Vanity Project distraction leads to Jackson Drake chop-blocking whoever the hell that one is, as I’ve already lost track, and we go to break. We come back to Ricky Smokes still under the attack, getting Nima in their corner. Smokes can’t suplex Nima, so he kicks him in the leg and gets him back in the heel corner. Baylor gets tagged in, as this is great formula stuff. Baylor DDT’s Nima for two. More quick tags and double-teaming from the VP keeps Nima down. Nima tries to come back, but Baylor gets him on the ropes again, eating a kick to the head from Jackson Drake. Smokes gets the choke on Numa, but Nima finally escapes in makes the tag to Lucien Price, who goes to town, trucking all three of the smaller talent. Again, though, the wily heels get the best of the bigger face. A double-suplex attempt by Swipe Right is reversed by Price, and he finally tags Carver in. Of course, there’s Drake to take the first show. Keanu ragdolls Swipe Right and hits the POUNCE on Jackson Drake. Drake gets out of Keanu’s finisher, and Drake goes for the injured arm. OTM and Swipe Right fight on the outside, leaving our two main characters in the ring. Drake charges at Carver, but gets knocked out by the cast for three.

WINNERS: KEANU CARVER AND OTM

MATCH RATING: B Give all six of these guys another two years in the biz, and they will have an even better version of this classic formula. Even in this iteration, while the rust on some of the talent on the face side showed, this is story you can tell for ages and a crowd will get into it.

VANITY PROJECT: A
They knew EXACTLY what their role was here, and they played it to perfection. These three have been the unquestionable stars of the ID program, and I say let’s give them some full time contracts already.

KEANU/OTM: B
While Keanu is really coming into his own, OTM has been out of action for a while, and the rust was evident. They know what they’re doing in there, but it wasn’t the smoothest ride. They’ll get there, as their improvement from their TV debut is impressive as hell. These guys were two complete stiffs at first.

The default faces celebrate in the ring as the show ends.

OVERALL RATING: B Two of the three matches weren’t bad, and I’d dare say the main was pretty damn fun. I expected a lot more here, and suspect the actual new taping cycle starts for next wee, where it does seem like we’re getting an influx of new talent, plus Kendal’s championship celebration. See you then.