Anthony Nese w/Caleb Konley, So Cal Val, Andrea and Su Yung defeated Martin Stone by submission with a half crab, thanks to a distraction by So Cal Val
Caleb Konley w/Anthony Nese, So Cal Val, Andrea and Su Yung defeated Rey Horus with a sitout DVD off the second rope
TJ Perkins defeated Biff Busick via referee stoppage
Ethan Page defeated Rich Swann with the Spinning Dwayne
Davey Richards defeated Johnny Gargano with a spinning buzzsaw kick.
2 OUT OF 3 FALLS, #1 CONTENDER’S MATCH: Roderick Strong defeated Timothy Thatcher, 2 Falls To 1
1st FALL: Strong beat Thatcher with a crucifix
2nd FALL: Thatcher beat Strong with a cross armbreaker
3rd FALL: Strong beat Thatcher with a Gibson Driver
Full review:
EVOLVE 41
Promo before the match, with the Premiere Athlete Brand coming out. As someone who hasn’t followed EVOLVE I don’t really know the ins and outs of the storyline. And when I first glanced at the screen and saw Su Yung, I momentarily wondered why Veda Scott had shown up. What I can tell is that So Cal Val is the heel valet in charge, Andrea is the female muscle ala Chyna/Seleziya and Su Yung is the jittery young understudy who’s just trying to fit in. I didn’t however catch the promo because the sound and picture were out of synch and I thought it might have been on my end. The gist of it, as far as I’m aware, is they blamed Su Yung for their problems.
MATCH 1: Anthony Nese w/Caleb Konley, So Cal Val, Andrea and Su Yung vs. Martin Stone
Solid, unspectacular, but solid opener. If we’re talking styles, this was almost WWE style, with the layout of the match and the shenanigans involving the three valets (plus Konley) outside. It kept a decent pace however so it didn’t lose people. Some exchanges of big moves towards the finish, before Nese missed a 450 and Stone tapped him out with a crossface. Referee was distracted by So Cal Val though. Stone kicked out of a Dudebuster before tapping to a half crab. Match was alright in isolation, but I’m not sure valet drama is the direction EVOLVE should be going. And Nese won, but he tapped out. So, way to go? **1/2
Konley got the microphone post match and called out Rey Horus, leading to match 2.
MATCH 2: Caleb Konley w/the aforementioned valet-fest and Tony Nese vs. Rey Horus
Rey Horus got this booking on the back of impressing during the King Of The Indies tournament during Wrestlemania weekend. While it could be argued booking high flying luchadores doesn’t really help with the whole “creating an identity surrounding hard hitting mat wrestling” thing, I don’t have a problem with guys being booked if they merit it. He was certainly impressive here. Konley did his best to ground him before a really cool dive spot. Horus blotted his copybook a little by using a chair, making the poor referee look like a dumbdumb for not DQing him in the process. But that aside he did well. Konley screams solid hand to me. He’s technically good but the look or standout quality just isn’t there. Horus hit an Ibushi style ultra hurricanrana for a two count. That would have been a perfectly acceptable finish. Were he winning, that is. Instead, Konley got the clean win shortly afterwards with a sitout DVD off the second rope for the victory. **3/4
After the match, Su Yung proudly announced that she’d organised herself a SHINE Title match tomorrow so they’d all have titles. I neglected to mention Nese and Konley had the Tag Titles, because I’m not sure if they’re actually the champions. Regardless, mean ol’ Val told Su that Andrea would be getting the title shot instead, before bullying Su, ripping her shirt off and starting her own chant of “training bra”. DRAMA! I like Val, but matches blending into each other and heel valets/managers/lackeys do not suggest a change in direction from the EVOLVE of Larry Dallas’s era. At least Val is very good at her role. I’ve not been exposed to much of Val’s work and only remember her very briefly from PWG (where she might have been an authority figure?) as a face and as Jay Lethal’s Miss Elizabeth in TNA, as a face. I’m pretty sure she was also Sonjay Dutt’s valet as a heel but I really don’t remember much of that. Which is a shame because here, she’s very, very good. Definitely stands out as a major league act.
MATCH 3: TJ Perkins vs. Biff Busick
Now this is a bit more like it. I want to call TJP underrated, but it seems like so many people realise he’s underrated that he might actually be rated now. Where he stands out from Busick, Gulak and Thatcher is he’s just so quick. So it adds an extra little dynamic (and dynamism) to the mat wrestling. When this really got going it was great stuff and TJP in particular looked superb. However, I do not like the Bryan Danielson, MMA, referee stoppage because of repeated strikes finish. And that’s what we got here as TJP got a cross armbreaker and kicked Busick a few times which the referee decided was enough to stop the match. I guess if you want this style from EVOLVE you’re going to open the door to these finishes, but I’m not into them. ***1/4
MATCH 4: Ethan Page vs. Rich Swann
Imagine my surprise when an Ethan Page promo for this double shot was retweeted onto my timeline Thursday. I don’t know if EVOLVE does promos. I don’t know who the last person would have been who cut a stand alone, non Book It Cam (remember that?) promo on Youtube for an EVOLVE show. All I know is, this one little promo made a difference because it gave this match, Page’s match tomorrow, Gargano’s match tomorrow, Page himself and Gargano a reason to be emotionally invested in.
I’m not even certain it was an EVOLVE promo per-se. It sure seemed like Page could have done it of his own accord and posted it on his Youtube page because he wanted to. Either way. I don’t follow wrestlers on Twitter, besides Big E and THE BIG GUY, but with some degree of frequency I see Ethan Page retweeted on my timeline and he’s often plugging his upcoming events. He should be an example to other independent wrestlers in my opinion. Plug the shows you’re on. Cut promos. Form a character for yourself. Put in the work. WWE are signing dudes, which means either you have a chance of getting signed, or you have a chance of filling the spots those guys had. Now more than ever is the time to invest in yourself and make something happen. Ethan Page seems to me like a guy who *gets it*. So thumbs up to him.
Swann started the match hot, as he should have, before Page got the upper hand with a backbreaker outside. Page worked over Swann’s injured ribs for the majority of the match. They fought into the sea of Bullet Club t-shirts aka fans, where Page hit a Gotch piledriver on the stage to try and win by countout, but Swann made it back in. Swann fought back into it until a second rope 450 missed, allowing Page to hit a Tower Of London for two. Another situation that could have lead to a perfectly satisfying finish. Page then tried a Gotch piledriver on the apron but Swann blocked. More back and forth followed, before eventually Page blocked a frog splash with the knees and won with the Spinning Dwayne.
What this match had going for it early was furthering and sticking to a storyline. Page’s promo wasn’t for nothing. It set the tone for the match and the match played into it. I don’t know if this needed so many near falls though. A more decisive Page win would have served the same purpose. Maybe more-so. But I guess you gotta have near falls. I’d have to rewatch it again on VOD to give it a rating, for whatever that’s worth, but let’s say *** range.
MATCH 5: Davey Richards vs. Johnny Gargano
So after the story progression in the last match, Gargano comes out for this match straight after Page’s match and he’s just Johnny Gargano. Not angry, not annoyed, not mildly peeved. Bit of a disconnect there. This started out with some mutual respect before Davey established himself as the heel with a cheapshot off a handshake. One thing Davey maybe doesn’t get credit for is his heel work during matches. Definitely elevated this for me. Gargano sold an injured knee for much of the match. This was paced out well and never felt like they were doing too much. Davey got the win, somewhat out of nowhere, with a spinning buzzsaw kick. I’m not sure if that’s a finish he’s been using in TNA. Either way, your mileage may vary depending on your opinion on these two, but I really enjoyed this. ****1/4
After the match, Rob Naylor interviewed Gargano who said things would be personal tomorrow, said it’d be a war with the Premiere Athlete Brand and mentioned Ethan Page, although I didn’t catch what was said.
MATCH 6: 2 OUT OF 3 FALLS, #1 CONTENDER’S MATCH: Timothy Thatcher vs. Roderick Strong
First fall started out with Thatcher getting the better of Strong, but it eventually evened out. Strong was able to pick up an out of nowhere win with a crucifix, which was fine because the fall was long enough so as not to fell cheap. The second fall began with a brawl on the outside, leading to Strong accidentally chopping one of the many posts in the Orpheum. The look on Thatcher’s face as he got up after that was great. The injured hand didn’t necessarily turn into a match long story, but was more of a tide turner. Thatcher went on to win another fairly even fall with a cross armbreaker. Third fall was put over the top for me by the Regal/Benoit knifedge chop to the head spot, which was perhaps foreshadowed by Thatcher blocking chops with his forearms at various points in the match. Strong won the third fall with a Gibson Driver, which perhaps felt a little sudden, but there’s a theory that may be a deliberate thing and it certainly didn’t hurt the match.
This was gritty, it was physical and this is what EVOLVE can do to differentiate themselves. Not every match up and down the card has to be like this. You can still have Ricochet and Rey Horus on your shows. But that competitive edge these guys have is what EVOLVE, in my opinion, should be focusing on. ****1/4
After the match Roddy addressed Drew Galloway. Thatcher picked the microphone up and told Strong that he was the better man tonight, but he would work his way back up and they’d meet again in the ring. This was interrupted by Biff Busick who complained over the ‘fat, ugly’ referee stopping his match earlier. Quite right too, Biff. This resulted in Strong telling Busick he was acting more like ‘Baby Busick’ than Biff Busick. Was expecting a chant to start for that. You know it would in most feds. Strong then informed Thatcher and Busick they were both losers and dropped the mic, while Thatcher and Busick stared each other down, before trying to jump them both (as he did to Aries and Uhaa at the WWN Live show), but they were both ready causing Roddy to backpedal out of the ring. I liked this as a closing angle and it sets up a number of potential and future matches, not least Roddy and Busick which is happening on EVOLVE 42.
So all in all, I enjoyed this show and it seemed like another step in the right direction. It’s still a work in progress; The Premiere Athlete Brand still remind you of the Larry Dallas-centric undercard days, the difference between matches which are storyline matches and matches which are there for the action is far too stark. However, you at least got two great matches, a consistent undercard and very good angle at the end. Crafting a company with competitive wrestling at the core while creating storylines to draw people in is going to be a fine balancing act for EVOLVE. But judging from the final segment of the show, it certainly seems like they’re getting things right at the top of the card.
