EVOLVE 7/19/2019 - EVOLVE 10th Anniversary Show
I saw some of the hype videos for this on WWE's site and they were effective. They really got the main event story over well and Eddie Kingston sounded good talking.
Here's what I saw of the show:
Josh Briggs vs "Retro" Anthony Greene
Josh Briggs is likely going to be a big deal soon. He's big and he's got a good look. Greene has a good 80's gimmick and character but could gain some mass. They had Briggs have his knee hurt early but then he mostly forgot about it, as it didn't play much of a role in the later half of the match. I liked Greene's roll-ups on Briggs into the 2nd rope and Briggs can move. This was very indy at times with tons of moves having extra flips and such on them just cause, but it could have been worse.
Curt Stallion vs. Sean Maluta vs. Stephen Wolf vs. Harlem Bravado
I'm pretty sure you could swap Maluta out with an Uso brother and people wouldn't notice the difference. Bravado looked like a giant here even though I'm pretty sure he isn't. Their announcer Lenny Leonard REALLY sounds like Joey Styles. Stallion looks like a Grenwich Matt Riddle. This was your typical indy multi-man match and I didn't really need to see the end of it.
Arturo Ruas vs Anthony Henry
Both of these guys have pretty good looks. Ruas is in good shape and wouldn't be out of line as a Van Damme villain. Ruas is a martial arts/capoiera guy that wrestles barefoot. They did a shootstyle/mma type of match here which was nice. Henry gets his nose busted open early here and Ruas did a cool jumping bodyscissors trip. Ruas threw Henry super hard into the ropes at one point, and it was hard enough that he almost fell out. Henry then booted from the corner and flipped up to the top rope from it. Ruas did this neat body shot > cartwheel > yakuza kick combo. Ruas hit a cool headkick while he was in a plank like position that some weird karate dude used in an early UFC show. They traded inner leg kicks which was neat. They had a fun strike exchange and Ruas hit a really cool capoiera kick. I liked this match. It got a little lost at times, but they hit each other hard and both looked legit. I wish Mr. Fuji was still around so Ruas could hook up with him. I could do so much booking wise with a guy like Ruas and think he'd be a great Cena foe.
Brandi Lauren v. Shotzi Blackheart
Shotzi gets jumped early by a girl named Natalya, who is double thick. She kicks Shotzi in the face super hard and Brandi announces it is no DQ. The ref's name is Jeff Bundy and I love it. I was a big Shotzi fan until I found out what she was selling online as I think she has a super cool look. Shotzi dives out onto both girls early and has also broken her nose. The dive takes out Natalya, who the refs help out to the back. They talk about how Shotzi had her helmet used against her and I think it'd be a great ending to a No DQ match if she did a tope on someone with the helmet and knocked them out. The girls wear streetfight gear here which is a nice touch. Shotzi hit a nice cannonball into the corner where she bumped into it Psychosis style. Shotzi set up Brandi on a tower of chairs. She had a row then built another on top. She dove out and Lauren's boy Anthony Greene moved her out and she landed HARD. The crowd bought it too, but this is the indies and you know something like that can't be the finish even though it would be a great finish. Curt Stallion comes out to save Shotzi, and him and Greene trade awful shots. While they do this, Brandi hits Shotzi with cane shots and wins it. Stupid finish for a decent match.
Babatunde vs. Colby Corino
The Giant Baba(tunde) has been in NXT for years and hasn't made it on TV yet. He's like 6'10 and over 300lbs, so he has to prove that he can't play, while others have to prove that they can play. Colby Corino is Steve's younger son and does look like him. Baba actually does have some personality. Corino springboards off the top rope and swanton's his back. Baba does a cool diagonal chop then a big jumping elbow and splash. Babatunde had a good showing here and is a lot like a 90's Mable - I know some would say thats an insult, but I liked Mable.
Eddie Kingston and his Unwanted crew save Corino after the match and King cuts a good promo on Baba. They go to jump Baba 3v1 until Fox and Ruff make the save.
Evolve Tag Team Championship match: Eddie Kingston and Joe Gacy (c) vs. AR Fox and Leon Ruff
Fox does an inverted 360 early onto 2 guys, and neither catches him, so he hits his head off the rail. That's a concussion. Ruff did a cool headflip into an low enzugiri on Gacy. Unwanted does a cool STO + Russian Leg Sweep combo. Then they do a superplex + seated powerbomb combo on Ruff. Gacy sits on top, so Fox jumps up and does a seated springboard on the top rope then turns it into a seated spanish fly. Ruff hits a top rope crucifix driver on King then dives onto Gacy into a table on the outside, then Fox hits a 450 on King for the win. This was rushed but Fox and Ruff got to shine here as flying faces. They had a fun dance party celebration after.
