WWE Evolve October 14th 2026 Succession IV

Welcome back for more Evolve action as we’re full in the spooky season with all the g-g-g-ghosts running around. Anyway we have two title matches and a grudge match of sorts, but before we get to that, lets catch up with the greater wrestling world.

Main Event – Impact – Smackdown – AAA – MITB – Bound For Glory – Raw – NXT

We start with some walk and talk as Wendy Choo says she should be walking into the event as champion but tonight she’ll be the last woman standing. Now we have Evolve Women’s Champion Nikkita Lyons being fanned by her lackey Sloane Jacobs as Jacobs reminds Nikkita that Lyons won at the last Succession, which will go viral when Nikkita Multimedia puts Wendy back to sleep and is the last woman standing. Now walk and talk with Harley Riggins saying he’s going to pump the breaks on Harlem’s world tour. Evolve Champion Harlem Lewis walks up some stairs and say that Succession is where champions cement legacies and the world tour ain’t stopping.

All pretty pedestrian promos here, to be honest.

And we get the special Succession theme with big dramatic cinematic strings and the same smoke and science and posing video at least.

And we start with Robert Stone and Blake Howard running down the card, and we’re starting with a title match!

Harlem Lewis (c) vs. Harley Riggins – Evolve Championship

Background: Harlem is a snarly blue-collar football tweener guy while Harley is a snarly blue-collar football heel guy. Okay, Harlem has cut promos about having to take care of his family and Riggins is more of a mean nasty biker. They’ve clashed before a few times and are total alpha male types. Harlem is in purple (repping the brand!) bike shorts and a bandana while Riggins is in a black baggy bodysuit with a skull t-shirt over it.

The Match: Both get in each others face to start and then it’s a brawl and some Irish whips to some corner strikes before Harlem clotheslines Riggins outside, Riggins comes back and gets clotheslined out the other side. Lewis follows for some ringside brawling but Harley gets inside first and cuts the champ off with a boot through the ropes and then a stomp to the hanging Lewis and then a hotshot off the ropes and a flying boot (that Blake calls a Snake Eyes…oy vey) for 2. Harley’s fireman’s carry is evaded but a tilt-a-whirl slam lands for the challenger as we go to a break. Back with Harlem on his feet fighting back and we get a massive back body drop and then some pinball bumping from Riggins before a tiger knee stuns Harley. Riggins gets a corner charge caught by the champion and we get a massive German that Riggins lands directly on his head and then the champ follows with a Michinoku Driver for 2.5. Harley gets a throat shot to get a respite, a hair pull to send Halrem to the mat and a springboard corkscrew senton for 2. Harley tries a corner charge, whiffs, and then Harlem gets a spear and the Boomslang (suplex powerslam) for 3.

**½

Well it was brisk! Harley definitely bumps too much, Harlem…I’m not sold on him as the pure babyface he was trying to be here. Still, fine match, didn’t overstay its welcome, sort of an extended sprint but that’s okay for these guys.

Post-match more ghosts as Adrianna Rizzo asks Harlem about his third successful title defense. Lewis says he loves a good fight and Harley gave him a good one tonight, and Riggins decides to ambush Lewis and beats the stuffing out of him, tossing him around and running him into the steps and slamming the champ on them and then brutalizing Lewis with a chair before the ref yanks it away. Harlem isn’t done though and we get some EXPERT TOP LEVEL CAMERA work and Riggins hits “Lewis” with the steps before talking some junk as Harlem spits up cherry pie filling.

Hey I’m always down for a nice post-match spite-fueled beatdown.

Now we cut to new WWE ID prospect Josiah Jean who is coming out of Booker T’s Reality of Wrestling.

Laynie Luck vs. Vanta the Unknown

Background: Vanta is a mysterious monster lady, she’s tall and jacked up and has a black stripe down her face, she made her physical debut by interrupting a Laynie Luck match and beating her up, so hardscrabble Laynie Luck (another ghost) is out for revenge with all that goober energy you’d expect from a career indie journeywoman. Luck has green gear.

The Match: We get some standing grappling and Vanta uses her strength and flexibility to remain on top but Laynie uses her vet acumen to wrap up Vanta for a pin attempt but Vanta powers and uses a standing cartwheel to drop Luck with a forearm and then a cartwheel evasion, but Laynie trips Vanta up and a between the ropes elbow drop gets a quick cover but another evasion ends up with Laynie on the top-rope and Vanta gets a hanging stunner, some stomps, and then wraps her up for a RNC. Laynie squirms and tries another cover but Vanta gets a boot from her back to a standing Laynie and then a backflip kick as she gets to her feet. Vanta powers Laynie luck around and is breathing heavy as she stomps away and then a cobra twist variant on Luck. Fun note here as Evolve has little MTV-style pop-ups that give random facts and trivia about the competitors but it’s just ??? for Vanta cause she’s unknown, it’s cute. Luck finally snapmares out of the hold, blocks a corner charge from Vanta and then a desperate high kick drops The Unknown. Laynie fires up with some running clotheslines and her own upkick from the mat and then boots Vanta to the apron for a slingshot stomp for 2. Luck whips Vanta off the ropes but a tiger feint evasion sets up a discus lariat for The Unknown and an attempt at her whacky armbar but more evasive maneuvers from Laynie end up with Vanta in a STF but Vanta immediately slips out and gets the Singularity (bridging armhook armbar) for the tap.

**

So, Vanta definitely still does too many fancy acrobatics, but at least they were trying to sell us on Luck’s technical prowess so Vanta being as slippery as a greased eel at least is a dimension. She should definitely up her power stuff though, and I noticed her breathing heavy mid-match but that’s just an adjustment to wrestling. I dunno, Vanta is a work in progress for sure.

Next week we’re getting a double-ghost match as Santi Rivera and Jacari Ball of the Mog Squad face Cappuccino Jones and Chazz “Starboy” Hall, Sloane Jacobs vs. Skylar Raye, and Kale Dixon (with Alix Brooks) versus Aaron Rourke.

Now we have Adrianna Rizzo (spooky!) talking to Elijah Holyfield about Braxton Cole (spooky!) and Holyfield says we all know he’s on his way to the top. Cole getting Holyfield disqualified a few weeks was clever, but Elijah hasn’t forgotten and he wants to run it back, and now we have Marcus Mathers (spooky!) interrupting and saying that he doesn’t like Cole either, but he’s taken Elijah’s best shot and survived it. And in the ring, Marcus can run circles around Elijah and Braxton. Holyfield says the first shot was a warning but the second will change Matthers life. More bluster and trash talk but It’s GAL comes down to calm everything down and break it up.

I don’t mind the setup for this triple threat, but uh…lotts ghosts out there.

Now we have a video where Evolve puts over Evolve! Evolve is where the next superstars of NXT begin! Kali Armstrong! Kendal Grey! Former Evolve women’s champions! Grey won the NXT women’s championship! WWE ID gave us the Vanity Project, Jackson Drake, Brad Baylor, and Ricky Smokes are all champions right now! And they’re in the Dusty Rhodes Classic which also contains more Evolve talent like Harley Riggins and Jax Pressley, Viktor Zanov and Shido Ash, and of course Chazz “Starboy” Hall. So please still watch Evolve, it’s where the work begins and where the next stars are built.

Kind of a bit flopsweaty here, but hey, I get hyping yourself up even if it’s just Gabe trying to keep his job.

Now we have Sloane Jacobs making her entrance to do her glowing over the top introduction for Nikkita and she’s wearing like…pearls in her gear cause she’s the Siren but she’s attached them somehow to her skin and they really do look like warts or cysts.

Nikkita Lyons (c) w/ Sloane Jacobs vs. Wendy Choo – Last Woman Standing for the Evolve Women’s Championship

Background: So Nikkita won the title from Choo when Lyons used one of her crystals to hit Choo. Nikkita is an evil hippie influencer lady with Sloane as her hapless flunky, while Choo is a g-g-g-g-ghost (seriously, good luck Wendy) and is an experienced vet who has gone through a number of gimmicks.

The Match: We start with both trading strikes before Choo gets a flying headscissors and a corner strike sets up a Yakuza kick and Lyons powders before Choo grabs a chair and goes to work. Lyons kicks Choo to disarm her and grabs the chair for her own purposes but Choo ducks and Lyons sells the hands as the chair goes into the ringpost. Choo grabs a trash can for some violence but Nikkita grabs a carved stick and beats Wendy down, and then puts the can on Choo for some batting practice. Lyons gets distracted posing and tossing the can inside so Wendy comes back with a hammerlock lariat and then drags a table from beneath the ring and we see Skylar Raye is in the VIP section. Choo sets up the table but this lets Nikkita recover and she ambushes Choo and we head back inside. Lyons sets the trash can in the corner and tries to whip Wendy at it who puts on the breaks and gets a snap suplex on Lyons. Wendy sets up a handspring corner elbow to send Lyons into the can but Nikkita blocks and then bounces the challenger’s head off the aluminium. Sloane and Nikkita pose over Wendy as we go to a break. We’re back and Wendy is trying to suplex Lyons off the apron into a table while another table has been propped up in the corner. Nikkita slips out of the suplex tries a fireman’s but Wendy goes back inside and Lyons gets a missile dropkick. The count goes to 7 on Wendy and now Nikkita unleashes NUNCHUCKS and then a chuck-assisted crossface. Wendy gets to her feet and they both trade strikes before Choo’s Snooze Button (full-nelson slam) drops Nikkita, and then Wendy grabs the chucks and goes to town on Nikkita and then gets a nunchaku assisted hammerlock lariat but misses a corner elbow but Nikkita goes up which lets Choo DDT her off the middle ropes. Both make their feet at 6 and Lyons drops Wendy with a spinning roundhouse and then gets a Michinoku Driver onto the trash can. Nikkita asks Sloane for more plunder as Choo makes her feet and Jacobs hands over a bag…of LEGO. Lyons tries a slam but Choo slips out of the slam and applies the Dirt Nap (bodyscissors cobra clutch) but Lyons rolls to the outside to break and now a wild PJ Vasa (g-g-g-ghosts!) appears and beats up both ladies and tosses them around for a count. Both are up at 9 and they head back in the ring for a slugfest until Wendy gets another Snooze Button into the LEGO but Sloane hops up onto the apron to help Nikkita make it to her feet. Wendy gets a running elbow that wipes Sloane off the apron, Nikkita tries for a shot with the crystal but Wendy blocks and then locks in the Dirt Nap again…but Nikkita falls backwards into the propped up table in the corner to break and start a count. They both get up, but Jacobs grabs Choo’s ankle which lets Nikkita hits the Divine Alignment (spinning hook kick) to send Choo through a table and she can’t make the 10 count while Blake Howard puts over Sloane Jacobs as a key component to Nikkita retaining the title (Blake, they’re heels, get upset at the cheating).

*½

Well yeah…this uh…I don’t like LWS matches, I thought the plunder was goofy, we have run ins, excessive cheating, it just all felt very silly when commentary doesn’t even care the heel is cheating. Both ladies worked hard but this wasn’t good, at all.

Post-match Sloane and Nikkita celebrate while Skylar Raye talks junk from ringside.

Now an update on Harlem Lewis, he sustained a serious injury and is out of action. Neat!

Well lets get this out of the way first. This show featured Wendy Choo, Adrianna Rizzo, Laynie Luck, brought up Santi Rivera, Braxton Cole, and Cappuccino Jones, and also featured Marcus Matthers, and PJ Vasa. That’s EIGHT wrestlers that no longer work for the company being featured on their show, with no idea of when that’s gonna end. That is absolutely ridiculous to me and really plays into the sorta pointlessness of the show. That said, while the video was desperate, there has absolutely been ‘wins’ out of the Evolve/ID program, but boy, if we’re refreshing the ranks (which I get! This is developmental, not everybody works out) you can refresh the show too.

Next week we’re getting Santi Rivera and Jacari Ball vs. Cappuccino Jones and Starboy Hall, Sloane Jacobs vs. Skylar Raye, and Aaron Rourke vs. Kale Dixon.

As always thanks for reading and keep on evolving.