WWE Evolution

[Yer Maw]

This is actually a good match

[#AbsoluteUnit]

Good match.

[Spidey]

Fun ppv.

[#AbsoluteUnit]

Agree with Spidey, I enjoyed this show.

[klunderbunker]

Evolution
Date: October 28, 2018
Location: Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum, Uniondale, New York
Commentators: Michael Cole, Renee Young, Beth Phoenix

It’s time for another historical one with the first ever all female pay per view. This has been long in the making and the card is pretty close to being stacked, though at seven matches with four hours to fill, we could be in for something interesting. The only mystery isn’t so much what Stephanie McMahon will say but how long she’ll take to say it. Let’s get to it.

Click on the link below for the full review.

Full Of Change That You Can See

[Storm Trooper]

Long Island for the win.

We were on fire tonight, and the matches were too. No real duds at all all night.

[smarkmouth]

I'm irrationally annoyed that they changed Kairi Sane's music. Great show, but I wanted NY to join in on the sea shanty.

[Storm Trooper]

I'm irrationally annoyed that they changed Kairi Sane's music. Great show, but I wanted NY to join in on the sea shanty.

It's not at all irrational. Massive downgrade.

[Jack-Hammer]

I watched the show again this morning as my internet connection crapped out on me last night just after the MYC finals and started getting screwy halfway through the battle royal.

1. Trish Stratus & Lita vs. Mickie James & Alicia Fox - It's not something to go out of your way to watch. Trish and Lita looked good, there was a little bit of rust but not nearly as much as you'd expect. You knew they were picking up the win, but that's okay as the only reason fans had any reason to watch this was the novelty and nostalgia of Trish and Lita. **1/4

2. Battle Royal - If you take Nia Jax winning and the silliness of Ivory and Carmella dancing, this was pretty decent but. There were a number of other little stories playing out during the match and I liked how it was basically the "women vs. the Divas" through much of it. I also dug Mandy Rose and Sonya Deville eliminating quite a few. I still believe Nia Jax winning is the 2nd worst way they could've gone here, with the 1st being Tamina. Nia's entire schtick is that she's the Rock's cousin and outweighs 99% of the women's roster, whether it's the main or NXT roster, by a good 100+ pounds but, then again, WWE's still trying to use her as some PSA aimed at fat shaming and all that. **1/2

3. May Young Classic Finals: Toni Storm vs. Io Sharai - This was a good match, not nearly as good as it could've been had they gotten 20 minutes instead of 10 but they made the most of the time they were given. The match did have a sense of urgency to it and I also liked that it wasn't some finish fest in which the two of them traded finishers and kicked out of them multiple times. Storm has a great presence and a lot of energy and while Sharai is fun, she's not as impressive as she's been hyped to be, at least not for me. Storm picking up the win is the right call in my opinion as, franky, I think she needed it more than Io. ***1/4

4. Sasha Banks, Bayley & Natalia vs. the Riott Squad - I thought this was a really solid outing overall, better than I expected and the crowd was into it. I found myself hoping for some sort of heel change from Sasha because it seemed like a good place and time for it, plus it'd be a surprise, but it was basically a straight forward six woman tag match with the faces picking up the win. **3/4

5. NXT Women's Championship: Kairi Sane vs. Shayna Baszler - Another really good match between these two. They were given a little over 12 minutes but it felt longer than that, in a good way, and I liked how they protected Kairi by having two of the other Four Horsewomen interfere a little to help Shayna out. They didn't interfere enough to make the ending feel cheap, just enough to help build heel heat on themselves and Shayna. The match ended similarly to their TakeOver match with Kairi reversing the choke into a pinning combo but Shayna countered and was able to slip Kairi back into the choke for the tap out. Shayna Bazsler makes history as the first 2 time NXT Women's Champion. ***3/4

5. WWE SmackDown Women's Championship: Becky Lynch vs. Charlotte Flair - A helluva match that absoulutely stole the show. Even though I still think the roles should've been reversed, both have delivered some great matches and I hope this was the blow off to the feud, for now at least, as I just don't see them being able to top this. Becky and Charlotte busted their asses in this match, delivered some very physical action, told a great story and pulled out all the stops. The spot of Charlotte being powerbombed off the turnbuckles, through the table and just barely being unable to make it back to her feet was the perfect spot to end this match as these matches really need a big move. Becky retaining made me extremely happy and I was also glad to see that this match went close to half an hour, so the women were given time. ****1/4

6. WWE Raw Women's Championship: Ronda Rousey vs. Nikki Bella - This was actually pretty damn good, definitely on the high end of what I was hoping for. I thought they wrestled this match in a smart way by having Brie interfere here and there because the only scenario that most fans would find at all acceptable or believable for Ronda to lose would be for the Bella Twins to pull out all the stops. I have to give Nikki credit here as she rose above and beyond anything I can recall seeing out of her and at least Rousey retained. ***

Final Thoughts - Overall, Evolution was a good 3.5 hours of wrestling and was generally just a better show than I figured it'd be. WWE constantly patting itself on the back throughout the night was a lot to take, but the ladies ultimately delivered in the ring and that's what matters. The matches that were expected to deliver did so, particularly the SmackDown Women's Championship, and nothing on the show was horribly bad except, in my opinion, for Nia Jax winning the battle royal. I'm just over Jax's novelty of being a gal twice the size of everyone else and would have rather seen nearly anyone other than her win but it is what it is. Other than that, the show ranged from solid to fantastic. I was initially disappointed that the NXT UK Women's Championship was pulled from the show but I think it turned out for the best in the end because the NXT UK Women's Championship tournament hasn't had time to air yet and the opponent, Isla Dawn, wasn't someone I was particularly impressed with during the MYC. An interesting look and there's potential for her persona, but I think I need to see more of what she's able to bring than a brief 5 minute match in a women's tournament.

Grade: B

[mrluck_07]

Good review, Jack-Hammer! I enjoyed the show. Glad the crowd was hot throughout.