WWE Evolve – 01.07.26

Welcome back as after a holiday break we have new Evolve content including a title match. We got “Super” Sean Legacy starting the show as he sorta monologues while entering the building and breaks down how 2025 was very good for him but now it’s 2026, but it’s a what have you done recently business, so he’s gotta make 2026 even better and he can start by winning the Evolve title from Jackson Drake tonight. Not a fantastic promo here but Sean isn’t gonna get over based on mic work anyway.

Roll the credits and I don’t remember shots of generic b-roll “science and chemistry” stuff, but they’re in THE LAB, get it?

Karmen Petrovic vs. Laynie Luck

Background: So Karmen of course is a NXT talent and yes, her doing nothing in NXT and being in Evolve might be one of those Signs To Worry About (what is the order of concern if you’re a NXT talent, being sent to TNA or being sent to Evolve?) but if you don’t know what she is, she’s a Bosnian-Canadian Karateka and she has an entrance where she’s got a sword, she kinda looks and comes across as a character in a cult favorite 90s fighting game. Laynie Luck is as of right now, the only woman signed to the WWE ID program and the WWE ID Women’s Champion (so many titles). She’s a strawberry blonde with a lot of tattoos, maroon and blue gear (good colors you don’t see a lot!) and since her tron had “Too Turnt” on it, which combined with her generic 90s movie club music lets me think that she’s got a party girl gimmick.

The Match: We start with Laynie being aggressive with the actual wrestling, taking Karmen down, but Petrovic throws her off before Luck and Karmen go through one of those acrobatic grappling sequences, y’know, bridges, armbars reversed with cartwheels, that sorta thing. Karmen escalated with a back kick after blocking a whip into the buckle, and then they do almost a tilt-a-whirl sequence where Laynie sets up Karmen for a backbreaker but Karmen lands down like a crossbody out of a body slam reversal. It didn’t look botched, but I don’t think I’ve ever seen that before. Petrovic grabs an armbar and commentary explains that Laynie is in fact a party girl. Me getting that before the match is proof of the genius of my wrestling insight and why dozens of people read my reviews! (Love you all). Laynie gets to her feet and makes the corner to force a break and Karmen sorta breaks in a smug manner, definitely working a bit heelish as she goes for a cheapshot with Laynie still in the ropes but Luck rolls through and gets an uppercut and a back elbow but they both reverse some stuff before Laynie gets a vertical suplex and kips up as commentary says “Laynie’s style is hard to pin down.” Corner charge by Laynie and a tree of woe on Karmen but Petrovic sits up to counter a second charge and Karmen gets a diving slingblade, a few chops, Eat Defeat, a sliding kick into the ropes but Laynie turns a charge into a tilt-a-whirl slam (okay, so that was Karmen countering the move prior) and Luck goes up but misses a stomp, and Karmen gets a superkick and her Petrifier (540 roundhouse to the back of Laynie’s head) gets 3.

*¾

Okay just sort of a mess. Both women are athletic, neither really sold all that match, the pace was pretty brisk, Karmen kinda played heel for a minute or two but at the end somebody missed a move and another person hit two in a row and won. I will say, while Karmen’s kicks are pretty decent, the rest of her offense leaves much to be desired, and as for Laynie Luck, when commentary is openly asking what your style is…yikes. Still, it was fast and didn’t overstay its welcome but it wasn’t a showing that makes me think either are the stars of the future.

We now have Swipe Right (Ricky Smokes and Brad Baylor) and Jackson Drake of the Vanity Project doing some cliched frat boy dialoguing as they talk about how how Legacy is a pest…and then they run into a group of the WWE ID crew (Aaron Rourke, Marcus Mathers, Cappuccino Jones, Sam Hollowoy, and Eli Knight) and mock them for losing before Sam tells Vanity Project to get lost and Eli says Evolve sucks because of Jackson Drake (uh, brother, why bury the product?). Marcus Mathers then says that Vanity Project are only relevant cause Jackson Drake is the champion and Jones adds that since Legacy is winning tonight, their relevance will end. Drake seems surly about this and Brad Baylor is like “well we’re gonna win, so it’s not worth it.”

Commentary runs down next week, where they’re advertising the main-event of Kendal Grey (Evolve women’s champ), Kali Armstrong, and PJ Vasa for the title.

Chantel Monroe vs. Wendy Choo – No DQ

Background: So this match was pushed back despite it being advertised for December, but we’re getting a payoff to a pretty long-running feud (for Evolve standards). Wendy was a wicked psycho monster heel, but after losing an I Quit match she ‘found her voice’ and got into therapy and is now a babyface, Chantel is an arrogant, vain heel who called Wendy a freak after beating her in a match, so Choo interfered in Monroe’s title match against Grey, so Chantel jumped Wendy in a therapy session. Traditional Pro Wrestling 101.

The Match: We start with Wendy jumping Chantel during the heel’s entrance and then both brawling spiritedly ringside. Monroe gets the better, tosses Wendy inside and sends in plunder (chair and trashcan) and swings at Wendy before Choo gets a Thesz press, gets Chantel in a tree of woe inside the can, and then lands a corner dropkick before looking for more plunder and she brings out a table as we hit an ad break. We return with Chantel wearing Wendy out with a chair and propping it up in the corner before Monroe goes for hairspray but Choo blocks and after a scuffle sends Chantel into her own chair, oh what a hoisting of one’s petard! Choo now wails on Chantel with a chair and lands a Yakuza kick and a German for 2 before going for her Dirt Nap (rear naked choke) but Chantel grabs the hairspray and gets Wendy in the eyes! Classic BJJ reversal technique there. Monroe then goes for a diving meteora through the trash can but that only gets 2.5. A chair is laid on the back of Wendy’s head and Monroe goes up again…but Wendy cuts her off by tossing the crushed can at her. We then get a rather awkward spot set up where Choo sets up a chair on the mat, and then shuffles her feet to set up Chantel getting a DDT reversal out of a suplex attempt, but still only 2.8 for Monroe. Chantel then takes some time and sets up the table and uh, I’m not sure she’s actually ever set up a table before, it takes like 30 seconds here. Chantel finally grabs Wendy…but Choo was GOLDBRICKING and she gets the hairspray and blinds Monroe! Now Wendy awkwardly puts Chantel on the table and goes up but Monroe cuts HER off and then meets Wendy at the top and teases a…Spanish Fly? But Choo gets the Dirt Nap to put Chantel out, and then an avalanche full-nelson slam through the table gets 3.

**¼

Look folks, I do not like hardcore matches, and the very “stop the flow of the match to set up a prop in a very particular place” style that WWE loves just drives me up a wall. But both ladies worked hard, and honestly both picking sadism over Just Grabbing A Win (which commentary kept going on about) is fine with me, they didn’t just want to win, they wanted to HURT their opponent. I blame the agenting more than the talent here.

Post-match Chuey Martinez is here for the interview and apparently Choo is tired of living in silence and she’s now to show a new her and is challenging whomever wins the Evolve women’s title next week, and as Wendy walks to the back Kendal Grey is making her entrance and while she appreciates Choo’s directness, Grey reminds Wendy she’s already beaten her, but Choo reminds Grey that it’s a new Wendy.

Next a segment on Trill London who talks about how people have never been able to figure him out, but his fashion and style is an embodiment of who he is and his creativity, and how that despite being an outcast, he still made it to college football and then the NFL, where his creativity let him imagine the plays before it happened and let him lockdown your favorite receiver every week. This is cut over a black and white sizzle reel of him in some pretty unique outfits while he does wrestling moves that might remind you of a certain Charismatic Enigma. Pretty effective little segment there!

Now it’s Kam Hendrix in a pre-tape where he talks about how he’s a face you’ll see for the next 20 years and he might sound cocky, but he’s just speaking facts. And he hits the Lights, Kam, Action. Well, the “he’s ripping off The Rock” is not an inaccurate comparison there, my goodness, even has Dwayne’s little Blue Chipper hair poof.

Now we have Layla Diggs and Masyn Holiday doing some Tik-Tok dances and Ariana Grace shows up to mock them…and then Nikkita Lyons shows up to mock them in the same way, and the look of pure disgust on Grace’s face is glorious before Lyons and Grace realize that they can be mean girls together and they’re synchronized with their next insult against the two, and they walk off and talk about their signs. I will say Layla and Masyn just standing there with one snide remark is not the booking I’d give to any babyface I think has a future.

Now a sizzle reel on the main-event where Jackson Drake talks about how he’s so cool and dangerous but Legacy is like “We’ve wrestled on the first match of Evolve and now I’m here to get my title.” Legacy has already lost before, so this is a rematch.

Jackson Drake (c) vs. “Super” Sean Legacy – Evolve Men’s Championship

Background: Jackson is a lean and athletic arrogant jerk heel that still mostly just wins clean with his indies puro offense, and Legacy is a beefy indie dude who has done a few overseas tours and is about a decade older and more experienced than Drake. This is probably gonna have a lot of high-flying folks. In a not irrelevant note, Jackson is flanked by Swipe Right who have interfered in the past, including in helping injure Sean’s arm/shoulder after Legacy became number one contender.

The Match: We start with a hockey fight style deal and Legacy gets some chops in the corner with Drake selling like nuts for it, more abuse from the challenger who just tosses Drake around and bounces his head off the turnbuckle and then a snap suplex and some more chops. A series of dropkicks and a stomp on the back and now a STF as this has been 100% Legacy. Drake gets the ropes and powders as we hit an ad break and it’s still Legacy just beating Drake pillar to post, just kicking Jackson down and then getting a bow and arrow hold before Drake slips out, then blocks a whip with an armwringer and Drake has FINALLY gotten a heat segment going. Drake (none worse for wear) knees Legacy out of the ring, but Jackson whiffs a pescado, Sean gets a running punt on the apron, his own pescado, and then a baseball slide whiffs and Drake runs Super into the barricade and then gets a hammerlock and slams him into the steps. We have the arm as an isolated target here as Jackson works it outside a bit and then back inside and works the arm some more. Jackson rips some kinesiotape (and tanner) off Legacy’s arm and cranks in some hammerlock/armbar stuff, gets a quick cradle off of it and keeps the abuse going. Legacy tries an O’Connor roll but his shoulder gives out, sunset flip attempt but his shoulder is bad so Jackson gets a standing moonsault knee drop on the chest for 2.8. Fireman’s carry by Drake is turned into a German attempt, but back elbows set up a handspring attempt by the champ, and Legacy then counters that into a German. Ad break and when we return both guys are slugging it out and then Sean gets a gourdbuster into a rolling DVD and then a somersault plancha into a 450…for 2. He then grabs his arm afterwards at least. Drake then goes up, but whiffs a crossbody, so Sean pops up for a moonsault into the AJ style (get it?) Phenomenal DDT but instead lifts Drake for a Michinoku Driver II-B (uh, Glamorous Driver MINA [uh, inverted facelock lifted and dropped into a Michinoku Driver]) and if you think this got 3 I’d love to play poker with you. Legacy then gets up and picks up Drake for an attempt at Shambles (Torture Rack flipped into a Whiplash neckbreaker) but he’s too close to the ropes and Drake floats over and snaps Legacy’s arm and then goes up for a swanton bomb to the back of a kneeling Legacy. But Legacy gets a standing Spanish fly and then goes back to the STF…but Jackson counters to a crossface, transitions to a triangle, gets some 12-6 elbows but Legacy gets a powerbomb counter and it’s a double-down. Drake with a high kick, a jumping knee, and then Unaliving (Busaiku Knee) and then another one to the back of the head gets 3.

**

Look man, they did a LOT of stuff, and then one guy won. In the credit of the match, the structure made sense, it at least had a sense of escalation to it. I don’t get Jackson winning totally clean, but maybe they want Legacy on NXT to fill out their roster of flippy indie guys…though Jackson could fit the same niche. This is not my cup of tea, but it was definitely a cup of something that was assuredly tea.

Post-match, Kam Hendrix comes out with the PC crew of Keanu Carver, Harley Riggins, Jax Pressley, and Braxton Cole, and Kam is looking to maybe use his title shot…but Harlem Lewis is back! And he’s staring down Drake, he doesn’t care about this PC or ID deal, and he just wants Jackson’s belt and Swipe Right get froggy for a second before they all leave.

And we have one last segment where Charlie Dempsey confronts Timothy Thatcher about being unwilling to face him one versus one. And after some insults Thatcher gets fired up and says he’ll tear Dempsey apart next week.

Well anyway, Evolve is back! Some people will probably really like the main-event, and bless their souls. Thanks for reading and see ya next time.