WWE Evolve July 1st 2026

Welcome back for a post-Succession show as we have a new champion and also quite an amount of announced matches as we got the final blowoff (maybe) to Harlem Lewis vs. Braxton Cole in a no-DQ match, and Team ID vs. the Mog Squad in a six-man elimination match as KevOnStage is the guest GM with THE FOREMAN scouting around the globe. But first let’s catch up with what’s new in the greater WWE sphere of influence.

Main Event – Impact – SmackDown – Night of Champions – AAA – Slammiversary – Great American Bash – Raw – NXT

We start with our guest GM KevOnStage talking up Evolve and how Succession III: Return of the Kita was powerful and brilliant and this is the FUTURE of the business. This is what he wants, and he’s excited. He wants to see a high-flyer, so he’s picking Layla Diggs to face some attitude in Gianna Capri. And he wants something grimy, so he’s giving us Harlem Lewis vs. Braxton Cole in a no-DQ match where anything goes. And to end it all, the Mog Squad versus ID 1.0 where ego meats grind. The stage is set!

SMOKE! FLIPS! VAMPING! KICKS! MOVES It’s Evolve!

Layla Diggs (w/ Masyn Holiday) vs. Gianna Capri

Background: So Layla and Gianna have been beefing for a little bit as the Tik Tok Twins 2.0 have had an issue with Gianna as a bullying heel with her ID compatriots. If you don’t watch NXT, Layla is now with Nattie’s new group of heels and Masyn has left WWE. But as KevOnStage said, Gianna has attitude and Layla is…well she’s athletic.

The Match: Anya Rune is the VIP Section, who of course Gianna has abused frequently as a loser during the feud with Layla. We start with Capri gesticulating emphatically before trying a sneak attack but we get a headlock sequence before DIggs uses her athleticism to counter but Capri get a clever cover, but DIggs is dumped outside before she flies back in, hits a gourdbuster and a shining wizard for 2. Capri hits Diggs with a kick off a rebound to send her outside and Layla just…goes back inside and Capri hits a few grounded knees and a corner choke and then a kick for 2. Capri poses, corner charge, over the head kick and a sloppy back suplex for a 2 count. Capri talks trash and goes for a back suplex that Diggs flips out of and then dodges a Gianna kick and Diggs kicks back before hitting a corner knee and then tries a fireman’s but Gianna slips out and slams her down but Anya Rune confronts her and gestures at her by miming throwing fireballs and Capri doesn’t care but this distracts Gianna and Diggs hits her back handspring Pele and then her monster moonsault gets 3.

*½

So uh. Gianna Capri is not very good. And Layla Diggs obvious athleticism and personality has been noted by higher ups. So we’re going to have Anya Rune throwing hadoukens at Gianna. Just a sorta mediocre, not very good, raw, green heel vs. face TV match. This also makes me mildly embarrassed to watch wrestling and I hope both Gianna Capri and Anya Rune change gimmicks very quickly. Good on Layla who should have a bright future, protect those knees though.

Post-match we have Layla and Masyn celebrating the win and Braxton Cole comes out studying the Evolve rulebook as he complains that there is no way he can be in a no-DQ match and we have Harlem Lewis hitting him.

Harlem Lewis vs. Braxton Cole – No Disqualification

Background: Lewis and Cole have been beefing for a while. Harlem is the hardscrabble blue-collar brawler, he wants the gold to get more money to provide for his family, Braxton is blue-blood and needs a title to justify his own inherent greatness. Cole damaged Harlem’s shoulder and after the injury mocked Harlem by offering him a janitorial job. It’s class warfare here.

The Match: We keep with the hot start as Harlem bludgeons Cole to the ring and tosses him around the area and we have a break. Back and Lewis beats Braxton down with a cookie sheet before cramming it in the corner. But Cole immediately reverses and whips Harlem’s injured shoulder into the sheet and then the rich boy grabs a cane and beats down Lewis while mocking his gait. Harlem catches Braxton with a jumping knee and then rips his shirt off and follows a powdering Braxton outside but gets got with a cane and now Cole grabs a belt and whips Lewis inside the ring. More belt shots but Harlem catches and disarms him and pulls out his own belt and beats the rich kid before a Michinoku Driver gets 2. Braxton hits Harlem’s throat with an international object, hits a DDT, and then gets a staggering Lewis with a neckbreaker off the apron and the crowd jeers Cole as he pulls weapons from underneath the ring and then blasts Lewis with a pool cue and then traps him against the ropes and slugs away…but Harlem breaks free and beats Cole around. Braxton retreats inside and then catches Harlem with a sheet pan and then an x-plex gets 2 as Cole argues with the ref. Cole pulls out more plunder, with a garbage can and some mops and breaks the cleaning implement over Harlem’s back and then hits the injured shoulder with another one. Cole drops the mop to hammer away at Lewis, but the working man then picks it up and hits Braxton in the lower abdominal region with it and Harlem beats away at Cole with it and Lewis now breaks the mop over Cole’s back who begs off in the corner but Harlem smothers him with the strands regardless! JUSTICE! POWER TO THE PEOPLE! Harlem deadlifts Braxton up for the Boomslang and that’s 3.

**¾

Braxton Cole is basically doing heel 101 stuff but that’s fine. Solidly agented match that didn’t overstay its welcome and the babyface convincingly beat the smug heel. No complaints here as far as plunder matches are concerned.

Post-match Harlem says this is just a stepping stone and how his world tour is going to start, and Aaron Rourke comes out with the title and a mic. Rourke offers congratulations to Lewis for his victory and he’s out here to thank Harlem Lewis for helping him against Mog Squad interference in the title match at Succession III which Rourke didn’t expect. Aaron thinks there is mutual respect and thinks the right way to thank Harlem is to get an one on one match for that title, and while he can’t guarantee it will happen Rouke wants to thank Harlem regardless. Lewis shakes Rourke’s hand…but doesn’t let Aaron get away without looking at the Evolve title.

Man Rourke is just an immensely likeable babyface. This was a good segment.

And now we have Sloane Jacobs talking up new Evolve Women’s Champion Nikkita Lyons and how much Lyons has helped her career and taught her the sage wisdom of the universe. Like how things work in mysterious ways if you can’t make it bend to your will. That’s why Lyons is now champ and to fully celebrate, Sloane is going to host the greatest champion coronation of all time next week and Jacobs promises it will be unforgettable.

Now we have Kale Dixon making his entrance to be interviewed by Chuey Martinez and Dixon has stuff to get off his chest. When he got to the PC he left his ego at the door, which Kale realized was a mistake, he thought it’d make people like him. He turned down MLB offers to wrestle, and he didn’t understand the culture or the fans, but now he does, and he understands the fans wouldn’t see a superstar if they slapped them in their face and everybody knows that Dixon is a star and he’s going to the top. And everybody watching feels it too, the feeling of jealousy cause nobody can look, act, dress, or anyway measure up to Kale Dixon. Dixon cuts off Chuey Martinez and says that the interview is over when Dixon says it’s over, and Chuey asks where the mysterious lady last week is. Kale calls her his business partner and says that hot people hang out with hot people…and on cue here comes Kylee Quinn who says that whenever she comes out all eyes are on her. She’s the obsession, the fantasy, and the moment, and you’ll remember cause Evolve is about to change. But the lights flicker and it’s DarkState’s Cutler James to make his entrance as he walks by the new power couple.

Really painfully generic Arrogant Young Man promo and I guess the even more generic Arrogant Hot Blonde. I know this is developmental but this cannot be the best they got for these two.

And as Cutler makes his entrance in darkness we get It’s GAL waiting to ambush him with a missile dropkick and tosses Cutler before pulling sunglasses from his trunks for a pose.

Cutler James vs. It’s GAL

Background: It’s GAL had an open challenge and got whooped by a debuting in Evolve Cutler, so after complaining how it was unfair KevOnStage booked a rematch.

The Match: It’s GAL ducks some strikes, hits an enzuigiri and then tries a cazadora but gets dropped into a facebuster and Cutler pounds away and then grinds It’s GAL’s face on the top rope but the redhead slips free, gets another enzuigiri, comes off the top with a flying headscissors and now lands the cazadora into a codebreaker before hitting a pose…and that lets Cutler turn It’s GAL’s charge into a swinging backbreaker and James pounds away and hits a few short clotheslines and then biels GAL across the ring. Corner charge, short-arm clothesline and then some stomps as Cutler’s pace is best described as plodding. It’s GAL gets slammed and then swung by the former amateur wrestler. Popup punch for Cutler for 2.5 and then the DarkState stalwart gets an abdominal stretch but It’s GAL reverses it before Cutler hiptosses out before the Israeli gets a dropkick, ducks a boot and then trips up Cutler before hammering away and dropping the bigger guy with a discus clothesline for 2.8. GAL tries another diving headscissors but Cutler turns that into buckle bomb and then Dark Matter (spinning crucifix toss) gets 3.

**

Cutler seems to have had his personality surgically removed but he at least is a big body. It’s GAL has personality to spare but this match was just a match.

And now we have Elijah Holyfield talking about how a few weeks back Brooks Jensen had to cheat to beat him and that shows Elijah that Jensen is scared, scared of Elijah, and scared that Elijah is going to take his spot. Brooks things he’s some 1980s throwback but a former running back is going to rip his head off and this story is far from over. Elijah might be new, but he’s not sweet and next time it’s on sight.

Holyfield is a bit soft-spoken but it works here and he had some good intensity.

Now we’re backstage with Kam Hendrix and Harley Riggins talking to THE FOREMAN Timothy Thatcher (uh, isn’t he off the show and it’s KevOnStage as guest GM?) and Kam is angry that Tate Wilder cost Harley Riggins a match against Romeo Moreno. RIggins wants a rematch and they get heated while the Security Geeks come in and Thatcher promises to talk to Robert Stone about a match and oh yeah the Security Geeks have names. Viktor Zanov has a beard and Shido Ash has awful tattoos. Thatcher is a bit upset with how physical they’re getting with guys and he’s relieving them of their duties. Viktor asks for a match and Thatcher says he’s not going to reward them but Shido brushes this off and says that what they learned as security is that they can do whatever they want, whenever they want and they walk away.

Effective segment but I do wonder when this was taped, darn Evolve continuity!

Mog Squad (CJ Valor, Santi Rivera, and Jacari Ball) w/Max Abrams vs. ID 1.0 (Marcus Mathers, Cappuccino Jones, and Sam Holloway) – Elimination Six-Man Tag

Background: The Mog Squad are former indie guys part of the ID program who banded together to be evil annoying zoomers and ambushed the original ID guys to sort of break out. CJ, Santi, and Jacari are all pretty replaceable personality wise and are jacked up dudes in matching gold gear. Marcus, is small and flippy, Cap is small and flippy, and Sam is big and flippy, and has injured ribs from a brawl with the Mog Squad.

The Match: Santi and Mathers start with a lockup and Rivera gets Marcus in the ropes and has a dirty break so Mathers cranks in a headlock and takes Santi down. Rivera gets a headscissors to break and his own headlock and then Marcus does the same and gets a pin attempt and then a slam and an elbow before rolling with a snapmare and a pump back kick. Another slam by Marcus and he tags in Holloway he comes in with a middle-rope elbow but he hurts his own ribs and immediately tags in Jones while Santi brings in Jacari. Ball tries a gutwrench but runs into a Cappuccino dropkick and then a crossbody sends them both outside and we get a brawl with Sam posting Santi. But Cap gets caught by Max Abrams coming back inside and Jacari gets a dropkick and Jones is mobbed in the corner as CJ tags in and beats down Jones. Flapjack and some pushups as CJ poses and jeers. Belly-to-belly by CJ gets a cover and then brings in Ball for a double suplex but Cap flips out and rolls through the triple team as Marcus tags in and a double reverse crossbody takes down the Mog Squad and Mathers gets a cutter on Ball and a hook kick on CJ before tossing Santi Rivera and Marcus gets a moonsault off the post to the outside. Mathers tosses Jacari back in and tries a diving move but misses. Jumping thrust kick by Ball and Santi comes in for a Spinebuster/Slingblade combo and that’s 3 as Mathers is eliminated. Sam Holloway is in against Santi and boots Rivera’s head off and tries a back suplex but Santi gets a tag and Jacari goes at Sam with a diving clothesline and Holloway is selling the ribs as the Squad work him over in the corner with shoulder thrusts. Sam finally explodes with a double-clothesline and gets the tag to Cappuccino who takes down the Squad with kicks before a swinging DDT gets Jacari and he fights off interference and drops the Froggy Brew elbow on Ball and almost gets the pin before CJ breaks it up. Santi Rivera springboards in with a codebreaker and they go for a Hart Attack and that’s 3 as Cap is eliminated and we go to break. We’re back and Sam boots CJ’s head off, hits a double-arm suplex on Jacri into the corner, and catches Santi with an ura-nage…but CJ catches Holloway from behind with a Chaos Theory for 2.8. CJ tries a suplex but Sam breaks and a sit-out chokeslam drops Valor, but Santi distracts the ref and Sam can’t get the pin. Jacari tags in and gets a gutwrench suplex and then rolls into another and then another but Ball is slow to the cover and only gets 2.6. Jacari hits a flying nothing into another sit-out chokeslam though, and Santi just…distracts the ref again (reusing spots guys) and Santi tags in and gets Angels Wings for 2.5 before tagging in CJ and they try a double-team but Sam chokeslams both guys who roll outside. Max jumps on the apron to distract Holloway but Sam elbows him down and then hits a massive over the top plancha. Sam tosses CJ back in and pulls the straps down but the Mog Squad all run-in and pop-up Sam for the Valor Spike (spear) and CJ gets 3 and Mog Squad win 3-0.

**½

I have no problems with the heels winning or even the sweep, but it kind of exposed how limited their cheating is and after a while it just became “well they distract the ref again.” It makes sense in a very video game logic way but it wasn’t particularly gripping. I guess they’re all in on the Mog Squad but they desperately need to give these guys some individual personalities here. Marcus and Cap feel pretty generic too. Good showcase by Sam at least and he sold the ribs admirably.

Post-match the Squad celebrate in the ring and…no babyface confronts them? Huh.

Well, this was a show, more tablesetting but the only real thing of worth was the Harlem/Cole match and especially Rourke’s post-match promo, that kid has something.

Next week we have the Divine Feline’s championship celebration and…huh, was that it as far as announced matches? Weird.

Thanks for reading and keep on Evolving my Evolvemaniacs!