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WWE EVOLVE debuted Wednesday on Tubi. It marked the return of the EVOLVE name, this time under the WWE umbrella, after the two companies worked together towards the end of EVOLVE’s initial run. Although EVOLVE won’t garner as much interest as the other WWE shows, it is a show that I think will be important to keep an eye on in order to get familiar with some of the possible names of the future. Keeping that in mind, I wanted to spend some time talking about my relationship with EVOLVE and why I am excited to see it back after Wednesday’s episode.
My Personal EVOLVE Experience
A big reason why I decided to write this article that you are now reading is because of EVOLVE having a place in my heart. While that place is not as big as other things in wrestling that I truly love, EVOLVE was something that I very much enjoyed during its existence - especially during its initial start up. When people think of EVOLVE, most think of Matt Riddle, Cody Rhodes making appearances, and Drew McIntyre coming in and trying to reinvent himself. Me - I think of the first ten shows of EVOLVE. I attended every single one and, honestly, would have kept going if they didn’t start to travel outside of the Tri-State area. With the first ten shows taking place in New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania, though, I got to see the first two years of the promotion in person and I had a lot of fun doing so.
That is why I got excited when I saw the planned return of EVOLVE when they aired the commercial for it during the Royal Rumble. I was so excited, in fact, that I immediately reached out to Mike Johnson and Dave Scherer to see if I could do the coverage for the show. I was there for the start of the initial run, so I wanted to make sure that I am having fun during the return. (Cheap plug: join us every Wednesday for coverage of WWE EVOLVE…right here on PWInsider.com!)
Those first ten shows were a lot of fun to go to, though. I was a big Ring of Honor fan during Gabe Sapolsky’s run with the promotion, so I was excited to see what he would do with a new promotion. Although there were some differences, the focus was still on the wrestling, which I very much enjoyed. I would normally go to shows alone, but for EVOLVE - there were a couple of shows where I had my father or a friend tag along. Sharing those moments with loved ones was pretty awesome and I’ll always look back on those times fondly.
Looking at the WWE EVOLVE Debut
I knew that WWE EVOLVE was not going to be the same exact EVOLVE that I went to back in 2010 - nor should it be. It has been fifteen years and times have changed. However, what I saw from the debut episode of WWE EVOLVE really made me happy. It felt like an updated version of what I enjoyed back during the original run of the promotion.
During the initial run of EVOLVE, I loved that the focus was on wrestling, building personalities, and giving chances to both established and unknown names. That is what I felt WWE EVOLVE captured Wednesday, as well.
Let’s start off with the wrestling. In Wednesday’s 45 minute-ish episode, there were three matches - two of which received a good amount of time and one that was a showcase for character development. The two longer matches were tag matches that allowed all the competitors to shine in different ways. The women’s tag match that opened the show allowed Kali Armstrong and Kendal Grey to work on their characters, while having all four competitors bust their butts in and out of the ring. The six-man main event was non-stop action that also established Swipe Right as cocky heels, showcased the athletic abilities of Jackson Drake and Jack Cartwheel, and made Cappuccino Jones a fun underdog to cheer for. Keanu Carver looked like a monster in the shorter match, but Trill London got to show off a bit of his character, which was nice. This all reminded me of what the original EVOLVE tried to do - give everyone a place to wrestle their butts off and work on their characters a bit.
I got more personality work from Wednesday’s episode than I expected. Kali Armstrong worked on her persona during the match with her trash talk and then had some time at the end of the show when she ambushed the commentary table. Chuey Martinez interviewing Carlee Bright and Kendal Grey was a nice touch, something that Lenny Leonard did in the early days of EVOLVE after some matches. I also really enjoyed the backstage interviews from the main event teams. Some work will be needed to smooth out and find the personalities for some of the wrestlers, but it gave me an idea of who is who and what to look for in the main event. The shining character work, though, I thought came from the video packages of Keanu Carver and Trill London. They were very similar to the short video packages that are shown on WWE LFG - giving a brief look at who the wrestler is/was outside of the ring and what they plan on bringing to the match. I am very much looking forward to more of those video packages and how WWE EVOLVE keeps evolving (pun intended) these characters each week while introducing other wrestlers.
I loved seeing names I both knew and didn’t know on the show Wednesday. I was familiar with Carlee Bright, Kendal Grey, Jackson Drake, and Jack Cartwheel. Seeing them get the call to have featured bouts on the first episode got me excited because I have enjoyed all of them previously. However, getting to know Swipe Right, Keanu Carver, and Cappuccino Jones was really cool, too. In a short amount of time, I knew exactly who they were as both characters and wrestlers and felt a connection to them. It was also really fun getting to know the athleticism of Dani Palmer and Sean Legacy. I now know to expect a fun match when they are involved next time. Wednesday served as a great appetizer for what is, hopefully, a long run for WWE EVOLVE.
Lastly, I have to also give credit to WWE and their production. As usual, it was just a smooth watch. I like that they didn’t do too much with EVOLVE. It’s intimate. It feels smaller and closer. There aren’t too many things taking my eyes away from what is inside the ring or the interviews. The camera work is nice and easy to follow. Also, I was impressed with Robert Stone and Peter Rosenberg as a commentary team. I like both guys a lot, but I thought they did a nice job of helping establish the wrestlers in the ring and calling the action. I didn’t expect the pairing to work as well as it did right away, but I’m happy it did.
Overall, I honestly can’t say enough good things about the WWE EVOLVE debut. My expectations were somewhere in the middle going into it. I knew that the show wasn’t going to be at the same level as other WWE shows. It can’t be and it shouldn’t be. I also did not expect the show to be bad by any means. The show did exceed my expectations, though, and put a smile on my face. The episode flew by and left me wanting more - in a good way. Forty-five minutes is the perfect amount of time for a show like this and it makes me look forward to next Wednesday, for sure. If you didn’t check out the first episode, I highly recommend it.
Did you watch the premiere episode of WWE EVOLVE on Tubi? What did you think? Let me know at matt.tenhoeve@gmail.com and let’s talk about it! If you can’t watch the show, then make sure to check out the coverage of it every Wednesday here on PWInsider.com. See you next time!
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