WWE Evolve 12.03.25

Okay so I’m going to be stepping into Evolve cause it’s a fun enough show and we need a reviewer of it, errr, need is probably a stretch, but I want to do it, so I shall. If you don’t know, WWE Evolve is basically Double A ball to NXT’s Triple A (not that AAA), D-2 to D-1 football. It’s a mix of what NXT kinda USED to be 10+ years ago and also what LVL Up was. The super green rookies wrestling and feuding in a tiny little warehouse in taped blocks, booked by Gabe Sapolsky. I am going to try a few different review styles for this compared to my regular style just cause Evolve like…folks the show kinda needs to be graded on a curve here.

We start with a shot of Kendal Grey (Evolve Women’s Champion) walking to the arena and she cuts a promo about how she is a fighting champion who doesn’t care about who she faces and she’s ready for Chantel Monroe and how other people think she’s just conceited, Kendal knows she can beat Chantel and she’ll do it again tonight.

Solid promo! Kendal’s weakest point is talking and stuff like this might be clunky, but it’s just about reps.

Carlee Bright vs. Arianna Grace

Background: Carlee Bright is a former cheerleader who is coincidentally Kendal Grey’s best friend. I assume Wren Sinclair hasn’t heard about this particular talking point. She’s blonde and athletic and loses a lot. Arianna Grace is of course the daughter of Santino Marella and has a beauty queen gimmick, she’s a heel who has most recently been a punching bag for babyfaces as she’s continuing her delusional coward gimmick but also working as a valet for her real-life fiance, Channing “Stacks” Lorenzo as just a sort of jerky PDA-heavy goon couple. Carlee is in green shades and Arianna is in pink, and dare I say perhaps a tribute to her South Asian heritage with some gold inlays on her chest and arms, nice gear for Grace.

The Match: Carlee taunts Grace to start and we get a lockup that Grace wins and keeps a choke through a count and then slaps Bright, and slaps Carlee a few more times as our babyface fires back with her own slap which Grace complains about before Bright gets a dropkick. And we get a floatover and Carlee speeds it up with another dropkick, a corner attack, and then a whip sets up a whiffed dropkick and Arianna stomps away and gets a flying shove that makes Bright powder. Arianna poses and then follows Bright outside to brawl and do some crowd work. Apparently Grace loves babies! Grace sends Bright back inside and immediately gets schoolgirled for 2 and Carlee brawls a bit before Arianna gets a kitchen sink knee and smashes Carlee’s face on the buckle and rakes the eyes on the ropes and talks trash…and Carlee gets ANOTHER dropkick. Well at least she has that move. Arianna wins a strike exchange in the ropes though and hits Graceland (a fireman’s carry slam, like Wade Barrett’s Wasteland which is a pretty hilarious finish name I’ll say).

*½

I’m starting to get a bit worried about Carlee Bright who seems to having nothing beyond that first-year peppy babyface energy. She can do a dropkick and she can do stuff at the beginning of a match, but she was basically a decently athletic jobber. Grace probably did too much crowdwork, but she looked a bit more comfortable as a heel and her strikes were okay. Maybe there’s something here, she definitely has the character stuff and she looked better (even if just by comparison) in the ring.

A showcase on the WWE ID program and we have a new school involved! Yayne Robinson is the newest signee! And some random indie event Laynie Luck is the new/first WWE ID Women’s Champ which gave her an ID contract. And if you don’t know WWE ID is basically a stipend WWE gives some indie people to help them improve their look and gear, and WWE gets the chance to match any contract offers they get.

Showcase for the Sean Legacy vs. Jackson Drake match on NXT. And Kendal beating Lainey Reed…and then Cena picking Kendal for the Iron Survivor. Folks, I think WWE might be high on Kendal Grey. Also Peter Rosenberg called her “The Icewoman” and I…don’t hate it.

Backstage segment where Nikkita is vamping with perfume before Layla Diggs and Masyn Holliday show up to confront her and Layla is trying to avenge Masyn’s honor. I don’t remember this feud but I do try to forget Nikkita Lyons on my TV screen. Lyons is apparently now an evil hippie who now needs to abolish the bad vibes and re-sage the locker room. Layla admits that Nikkita beat Masyn but doesn’t appreciate the mockery so she asks for a match while Masyn seems apprehensive.

Marcus Mathers and Aaron Rourke vs. Cappuccino Jones and Mike Cunningham

Background: So Marcus is the long-lost cousin of the Rascalz (seriously he looks like he should be in the stable with the dime-store tattoos and greasy hair and underdeveloped physique) while Rourke is all glammed out while Evolve plays footsies with the idea that Aaron is openly gay. Like they talk about him being different and facing discrimination and he’s a face but haven’t said the G word at all. They’re both pretty small but athletic. Cappuccino Jones is teaming with a different guy this his regular Adrenaline Drip partner, Jack Cartwheel, and is now teaming with jacked up 19 year old cowboy Mike Cunningham and his tiny, tiny shorts. Jones is…also tiny and flippy. All babyfaces here but Marcus has been a bit of a jerk recently. Marcus is in blue trunks and wait he actually looks like Temu Ace Austin, Rourke is in green and black tights, Jones is in jorts, and…we covered what Mike is barely wearing. Also arrogant body-guy heel It’s GAL is at ringside in the VIP section to watch what’s happening.

The Match: Marcus and Jones start and do some takeovers and reversals as this is clean technical stuff so far, it does get a bit chippier as they tease throwing a hand but avoid it as they just do indie reversal spots. Jones gets the upperhand with a headscissors out of the corner and then a dropkick and he brings in Cunningham with a diving axehandle and some wristlock stuff before Rourke comes in and it’s all just indie standoff stuff…but Aaron throws a hand then cranks in a headlock. Ha! Leapfrog sequence and they’re just running through stuff before Mike gets a shoulderblock and a dropkick and I guess he’s the athletic stud of the match. Some jabs have Rourke flabbergasted as he’s bumping all over the place. Mike goes up and Rourke gets a 619 to the ankle to take down Mike and we get some doubles as Marcus gets a rope-hung backbreaker and Rourke gets a diving stomp to the midriff. Back from break and Mike goes for an O’Connor Roll but the two WWE ID folks use a ton of slick doubles to cut that short. Rourke is just stomping down on Cunningham and we get a tag to Mathers with a slam. We cut to It’s GAL flexing at ringside and Mathers keeps the abuse going. Marcus goes up and gets dropkicked off the top but Rourke gets a reverse Cloverleaf before Mike slips out when Aaron waves to the crowd and in comes Jones to be a house of fire…or is it house on fire? Cappuccino takes everybody out and then gets a neckbreaker on Rourke and a spinning slam on Marcus but when he sets something up Marcus gets a big thrust kick and brings in Rourke…but Jones is fighting them off before he gets caught on a springboard and almost slammed before Jones flips out, tags in Mike who gets a big missile dropkick and a falcon arrow on Rourke for 2. But Aaron gets a headbutt and the two indie guys get a springboard stunner by Marcus into a Molly-go-Round by Aaron but Jones breaks it up. Rourke gets a superkick, and then the indie guys try a convoluted move that Jones counters into a spinning neckbreaker but Rourke breaks it up. Back to Rourke and Jones and Cappuccino gets a springboard punch and then almost whiffs a tope and now it’s Mathers and Mike doing some reversals and Mike gets a big flying back elbow…to set up him running into a lariat. Marcus calls a spot but Jax Pressley and Harley Riggins run-in to break up the match for a DQ.

**

So this actually could have been pretty solid but I guess with the DQ finish going they went past the peak and kept on doing stuff. I’m actually warming to Rourke and Marcus as sorta undersized dirtbag indie guys that do slick doubles but are sorta arrogant and mean. Not saying that they’re the next MX, but they could be that sort of thing. Jones remains a total blank slate and Mike is in great shape and super, super green. Rourke in particular was great taking offense from the super green Cunningham.

Post-match we get all four guys staring down the interlopers…but Keanu Carver now runs in to support Jax and Riggins and I guess Carver is back to his “I hate indie guys” gimmick after last being seen jobbing via BS to a heel. Folks, I’m not sure Gabe Sapolsky is a great booker.

Kendal Grey (c) vs. Chantel Monroe – Evolve Women’s Championship

Background: So Kendal is the babyface ace of the Evolve women’s division. She’s a legit super credible amateur who has turned into a sorta underdog (cause of her size) but also hard-edged grappler. She feels like a puro ace in that she’s not super emotive but she’ll defend her friends and stand up to injustice and just wreck you, but she won’t like…cry about it. Her opponent is vain and tricky Chantel Monroe, with a pink leopard-print get up and a compact in her entrance to dust herself up before match-time. Kendal is in her regular singlet over a top deal and zero points for what color it’s in. This match has Karmen Petrovic ringside in the VIP section observing the happenings.

The Match: Hard lockup and Kendal wins, gives a clean break, and Chantel attacks again, only to get locked up again and Monroe hides in the ropes and continues to get flummoxed by Kendal’s superior grappling. Commentary puts over that both are basically the same size and have the same athleticism in a nice touch. Monroe powders but Kendal drags her back in but this lets Chantel back Kendal in the corner and she gets a dirty elbow and then stomps at the champ. Now the Henning-style necksnap and more stomping as Kendal is flopping around wonderfully here. Grey gets a few of her stomps and then a dropkick for 1.8 and the champ wraps up Chantel with a cradle while she calls spots. Monroe with a punch and then a fireman’s carry…but Kendal does some super athletic reversals in the ropes and slips back in for an ankle pick and a dropkick to send Monroe to the apron, Grey follows but Chantel uses the ropes to knock Grey outside and gets some damage…but when Monroe sends Kendal back in, she stops to pose and the champ wipes out Monroe with another ankle pick while sliding outside…but Chantel gets a backdrop suplex on the ring apron and Chantel is in control as we go to break. As we come back Kendal comes back with strikes but Chantel shuts it down with a…reverse F-5? It’s a fireman’s carry spun into the Daizee Cutter/BFT for 2. Chantel rolls down a pad to drop a knee on Kendal, and then after a slam she stops to bring up the pad as she climbs the ropes and that lets Kendal pull off a pop-up belly-to-belly superplex. Double-down and they slug it out and Kendal definitely could tighten up her strikes but she’s got babyface fire and hits some rapidfire flying back elbows and another inside-out ankle pick but she whiffs a slingshot stomp and Monroe gets a high-kick with the ropes and vaults in…to eat a Kendal Grey powerbomb for 2 as Chantel powders again. Kendal follows, tosses Chantel in, goes for a moonsault and Chantel counters with a superkick…that Kendal counters with an anklelock…that Chantel then turns into a victory roll for 2.7. Monroe with a superkick, and then the Perfect Ending (tornado codebreaker) sends Kendal tumbling outside while Chantel utters a big dramatic “NO!” Monroe goes out to bring the champ back in and Wendy Choo runs in to ambush Chantel and bounce the challenger’s head off the post. This throws Chantel off and Kendal gets a flying armbar but Monroe reverses to a rollup and Kendal breaks. Monroe flies off the ropes but runs into a Kendal scoop powerslam (which she won the title with!) for 2.9. Kendal is surprised for a moment but loads up a superplex and gets knocked down, but Grey flies up for another pop-up attempt…and gets knocked down and Monroe follows with a gorgeous meteora for 2.75. And we slug it out again. Monroe with a pair of knees but tries a springboard…into a Kendal superkick, Grey takes down the straps and hits her Shades of Grey (jumping flatliner) for 3.

***

This…way overperformed for me. I have some issues (why have the face win when somebody interferes and doesn’t even set up the finish) but I liked that they built that into a mirror-match situation (Chantel kept powdering and she had the match won when Kendal inadvertently fell out of the ring) and Monroe with all her knee-based stuff is kind of an interesting setup. Reminded me of some old-school, proto-NXT women’s wrestling, like before they got Asuka. The Sasha comparisons with Chantel are gonna happen. Also Kendal is REALLY good.

Post-match we cut to Tate Wilder (another cowboy) and Sean Legacy (another indie flippy guy) being interviewed by Chuey Martinez to lets us know that we’re getting Tate vs. Sean next week for a number one contendership match. Uh, why? Legacy just lost. Anyway, both guys bluster a bit and it’s still face vs. face but it’s chippy and now we’re getting a Performance Center vs. WWE ID feud? And we end the shot with a big hand landing on Tate’s shoulder as he looks up, A CLIFFHANGER! DUN-DUN-DUUUUUN!

Well that’s Evolve. Let me know if you want to dial back match stuff, focus more on backstage stuff, I don’t want to review these the same as I review other things, so I’m going to be experimenting a bit.

Anyway, have fun and let me know what you think of this supremely…singular show.