WWE Evolve – 01.28.26

We’re back with more Evolve action in the Evolve Zone as I cannot remember who runs the show tonight. Oh right! Pete Rosenberg reminds us that since Team PC won the gauntlet match a ways back, they have total control tonight and a title match later, so Kam Hendrix, who won the shot, is calling it in next week…but this week he’s set up Evolve Men’s Champion Jackson Drake for a 3v1 beating. Nefarious!

We now cut to a walk and talk with Team ID with Cappuccino Jones talking about being from “Decafeteria” and stating they’re not scared, Sam Holloway adds that they’ve grinded too hard to be kicked out of the arena, Laynie Luck adds that she’s been making towns for 10 years to earn her spot, Aaron Rourke (in a sheer top) adds that Team PC doesn’t understand the struggle of working tiny venues and long car rides to get to where they’re at, Eli Knight is next to say they’re ready before Sean Legacy basically immediately cuts him off and says it doesn’t matter what Team PC’s plan A, B, or C is, they’ll be ready cause the only thing worse than Jackson Drake as Evolve champ is Kam Hendrix. A ref now comes up to inform them that Team PC told them that Sam, Aaron, Mike, and Eli are not booked and gotta go home or there will be fines and suspensions. Somehow this shocks and baffles Team ID, and it’s just Sean Legacy, Laynie Luck, and Cappuccino Jones tonight.

Now we got Swipe Right…swiping right and Jackson Drake runs in to yell at them about needing to step up cause NXT is on the horizon and they can’t get pushed around by Kam Hendrix and his goons. Ricky Smokes and Brad Baylor remind Drake he’s the champ and he’s already beaten these guys and needs to relax.

We get the intro, and I did chuckle that the video had the Team PC guys demolishing goobers instead of the regular footage.

Rosenberg introduces the card and reminds us that TEAM PC RUN THE SHOW as we run down the card a bit and we got our first match. But before that, Kam Hendrix and Keanu Carver come out…Hendrix in a white suit without an undershirt and Keanu in all black. Hendrix reminds us that Team PC does in fact…RUN THE SHOW! And he talks himself up and puts over Carver, Jax, Riggins, and Cole. Carver says he hates these guys…so they’re booking a match right now and putting some stipulations on it.

Tate Wilder vs. “Super” Sean Legacy – Loser cleans the locker room, winner gets a shot against Kam Hendrix once he wins the title

Background: Well we got the immediate stuff, but Legacy and Wilder have had a mostly friendly feud so far based around their mutual love of extraneous flips. Tate is a REAL LIFE COWBOY slash daredevil while Legacy is a hardened indie vet.

The Match: And it’s immediately interrupted by Harlem Lewis, who runs out and asks for a fight…and Carver says to give it to him.

NEW Background: Harlem Lewis and Keanu Carver had some beef back in the day (and then both have turned heel, face, and heel again…I want to remind you all that this show isn’t even a year old) but right now Lewis is a big gnarly power brawler guy with a ridiculous handlebar+muttonchops facial hair combo but also shaved his chest hair…kinda killing the gimmick.

ACTUAL Match: Team PC takes over ring intros, and let us know Legacy will “fight for a hotdog and a handshake his whole career” and “can be found at your local VFW.” Tate Wilder is a “self-proclaimed thrillseeker” and…well okay actually funny moment as nobody wants to insult Harlem Lewis. The bell rings and Lewis destroys both guys with strikes before being low-bridged outside and Tate and Sean do an acrobatic junior sequence…and Lewis flies back in for a double clothesline and a pair of slams on his opponents. More Lewis domination with body avalanches, but Tate does a backflip evasion and that lets Legacy hit a backstabber…and Wilder gets a clothesline and a cover but Legacy breaks that up and the two initial wrestlers brawl. But after some quick covers Tate/Sean gets a double suplex on Lewis and send him outside before Legacy/Wilder get back at it by trading pinfalls…and Sean turns a whip into a tope on Harlem and then Tate gets a double-springboard plancha to follow. Team PC reacts big for this…and Kam adds a new stipulation. Weapons are allowed and we cut to break. Back in and we got some chairs on the mat, a table in the corner, and Harlem Lewis going for homers with a cane before Tate gets a dropkick…and Legacy superkicks Tate. Riggins slides in a chair for Legacy and is hyping him up to use it, but he hesitates, Harlem blasts him and then uses the chair to brutalize both of these guys. Lewis sets up Boomslang onto a chair, but Legacy turns that into a cradle, a Raven-esque drop toehold onto the chair, and then a standing Shiranui that gets broken up by Wilder and we have a triple down. Tate and Sean are up first and they slug it out before Wilder gets a whiplash but Legacy rolls out before a cover…so Tate grabs a cane…but Lewis steps on it and wears the cowboy out, and Sean too. More abuse with the cane and then a camel clutch with the cane on Legacy. But Tate brings in a chair and wears out Harlem before a chair assisted springboard reverse splash from Tate hurts both of them…and commentary brings up how stupid that was to hit! This lets Legacy recover but he immediately whiffs a charge and Tate tries to toss him through Chekhov’s table…but Legacy hits the brakes and gets a DVD onto a chair…but Harlem pops outta nowhere, drives Sean through the table with a double-leg and then gets Boomslang (Jackhammer) for 3.

**½

Okay, very much a wild AE style brawl, but it did its job with Tate and Sean being sorta rival/equal types of different backgrounds and let us know that Lewis a dominant monster. Decently fun even if it’s nothing you haven’t seen before.

Next up Harley Riggins brings out PJ Vasa and does a pretty great insane lunatic introduction as he calls her the unstoppable force (uh, might want to get that checked with management buddy) and we go to break.

PJ Vasa vs. Laynie Luck

Background: PJ Vasa is a big scary monster heel, Laynie Luck is a sorta…plucky vet indie babyface who is now associated with Team ID, so they’re bringing in a monster to demolish her.

The Match: Vasa tosses Laynie down who kips up and then does some ducking and dodging…but Vasa shrugs it off, goes for The Issue, Luck floats out and kicks back before PJ catches her for a Samoan drop…but PJ gloats and she misses an elbow drop. Laynie gets some chops and a kick…but Vasa gets an ura-nage, stomps her out and gets a corner avalanche, a backbreaker, and a second backbreaker gets 2. PJ gets a bearhug of all things but Laynie uses a bellclap to break free. Luck gets a stunner and a sliding trip before an elbow drop through the ropes. Laynie tries a diving codebreaker…but PJ catches her for a pop-up throat thrust (well commentary saw it, I didn’t) and then The Issue (Fireman’s Carry Jackhammer) gets 3.

*½

Too long to be a great squash, not good to be a good anything else, but it was…it happened. Luck isn’t really scrappy enough to be a good underdog here and her offense isn’t capable enough to make me think she can hold her own. PJ might wear black and red but she is GREEN. Still, given all that, it wasn’t horrible, just sorta “okay huh.” Also uh…back to back Jackhammer variant finishes (though Harlem normally does a slingshot suplex into the Jackhammer) is sloppy.

Team PC dance to PJ’s theme before calling out Cappuccino Jones next…and Keanu decides to cut to a video package, and I do appreciate the tremendously cheap and lame graphics for this bit.

We have Chuey Martinez with a script in hand complaining about having to read this, while we get a narration by him about WWE ID while the graphics are handscrawled insults calling WWE ID guys losers and bringing up the hotdog and a handshake stuff. Narration tells us that WWE ID guys would wrestle in front of “twenty nerds” for the chance to get “semi-viral” which has “somehow” taken TV time away from bluechip athletes from the Performance Center. WWE ID was “fun for a minute” but it’s time for the charity to close up shop.

Hey, they were ripping off the NWO hard for that, but it’s a good bit at least.

Cappuccino Jones vs. Brooks Jensen – Jones has One Arm Tied Behind His Back

Background: Graphics remind us that it’s actually Mocha Jones and I’m not sure if that’s racist or not. He happened to beat surly “20 year vet in a 24 year old’s body” Brooks Jensen in the gauntlet match, so the Bad Man From Ala-Bam-Bam-Bama wants his revenge. Brooks has electric blue trunks for this one and my goodness he looks fresh out of 1979.

The Match: Brooks backs Jones into the corner and just wails on the guy, Cap tries to stick and move but Brooks just corners the guy before a desperate boot amuses Brooks…and a diving Jones gets uppercut out of the air. A torture rack is dropped into a knee for 2 and Brooks fumes a bit…and we go tb reak (seriously? This match?) We’re back with graphics calling Jones a dunce while Brooks just tosses Cap around before whiffing a stomp and Cappuccino starts kicking at the braced knee of Brooks and even gets some ground and pound before Jensen picks the smaller guy up for a shoulderbreaker and then hammers at the tied up arm of Jones and talks trash into the camera while wearing Jones out with basic arm holds and then gets a double-wristlock before Brooks hammers Jones down (and is limping all the while cause Brooks is a PROFESSIONAL) and gets a few elbow drops before an arrogant cover. A Penta style armbreaker with the tied-up arm before some more kneestrikes from Brooks misses an elbow drop and Cap gets a quick cover and then kicks the knee again and Brooks whiffs a crossbody into the ropes when Cap ducks it. Jones goes for an O’Connor (the same move he beat Brooks with in the gauntlet match) but Brooks kicks out and turns it into a crossface chickenwing, Bret Hart counter for 2 by Jones but Brooks returns to a standing armbar, when Jones slugs out Brooks goes for a backdrop suplex and Cap turns that into a DDT! Kam Hendrix is looking worried ringside while Cappuccino caffeines up with some shots as Brooks is getting outboxed before going to the shoulder and Jensen sets up a brainbuster…and we got a Stundog Millionaire by Cap! Jumping neckbreaker follows for 2.9. Jones goes for his Decaffeinator but it’s with the wrong arm so Brooks counters out into a short-arm clothesline…but Cap ducks and gets a dropkick! Cap charges and gets alley-ooped into the ropes by Brooks, but Jones can’t land and springboard with one-arm so when the ID prospect is caught in the corner Brooks snatches him up (with a great smug grin) for a suplex lift into a backstabber and that’s 3.

**¾

Okay maybe I’m irrationally fond of Brooks, but he’s a heel who cheats his butt off, demonstrates he is a big mean nasty guy, sells on offense, has pretty solid facial expressions, yes, I get it’s all a throwback deal but some of that throwback stuff worked for a reason. And him reacting with such glee when he barely beat an one-armed man is just…really good stuff. Respect to Cap too who had some legitimately impressive comeback sequences and working with your left arm has to mess with your training. Good on the guy and I imagine we’re headed for a rubber match down the line.

Brooks barely gets to his feet post-match and limps around as he raises his arm, amazing. Kam Hendrix comes out to announce him as the winner and Brooks punches air in victory.

Jackson Drake vs. Jax Pressley, Harley Riggins, and Keanu Carver

Background: So Kam Hendrix has a title shot against Drake, so he’s using this show to book his goons to beat up Drake before their match. Drake of course is a preening, smug, vain ladies man heel…but he was an indie guy so the venal, low-brow brutes of Team PC hate him…why yes this is a heel vs. heel matchup! Keanu of course is on NXT as a nasty, short-tempered aggressive brawler, and Jax Pressley and Harley Riggins remain as two guys whose composite form is Kevin Nash. They’re tall mean jocks and a team who do big mean jock stuff.

The Match: Jax Pressley, or Harley Riggins, no wait it’s Jax Pressley starts and tosses Drake back with a lockup. Jackson ducks underneath to land a shot…but Pressley tosses him into Team PC’s corner and brings in Keanu to do some heavy bag work on the champ before tossing him across the ring and giving him a corner elbow. Drake bounces around some more before getting some kicks…and then gets lariated inside out running off the ropes. Pressley back in and they stomp away before bringing in Riggins and then Keanu in quick succession to just keep stomping Drake in the corner. Riggsin and Jax with a double clothesline for 2 and it’s Riggins with a double-arm stretch that Jackson eventually turns into a victory roll for 2 and then a coupe clotheslines from the champ lets him get a breather, Drake clears Keanu off the apron and then takes out Pressley’s run-in and then a scoop powerslam gets 2 and change on Harley as Keanu breaks it up and all of Team PC stomp out Drake. Baylor and Smokes try to run-in now but Braxton Cole and Kam Hendrix of Team PC wipe them out. Jax/Harley get a chopblock/shoulderblock combo on Drake and then Keanu wipes Jackson out with THE POUNCEEEEEEE…but before a cover can happen, Kam Hendrix announces that it’s actually a 4 on 1 and tags in for the cover and a 3 count.

*

If this was a guy who had a single drop of likeability this would be a pretty effective angle-disguised-as-a-match, but here we hit the real problem with this entire deal. Jackson Drake is a heel, and a pretty odious heel at that. So you have the frat heels being demolished by the jock heels and I’m scratching my head as, not to get too crude, both groups come across as people I’d want to cover my drink around. I am glad that Drake, even as champion, was just demolished 3v1, that’s how you do it.

So…well I do appreciate that they took full advantage of TEAM PC RUNS THE SHOW as a concept and they did some decently compelling stuff with it, it really is not a concept that should be used very frequently. This show was less than 45 minutes and I was getting pretty tired of it by the end of it. Maybe if it was a guy other than Kam Hendrix I’d be more engaged, but alas that’s who we got. He really does seem like the least interesting member of the group and it’s not super close. I do remain baffled at who is on NXT or Evolve or both or neither or huh but such is the beauty of taped shows. Also, as a note, my goodness Team ID have overall looked like total dopes throughout the entire night, like…just idiot punching bags for Team PC.

Thanks for reading!