Evolve – September 17, 2025: Speak Again Dark Angel?
Evolve
Date: September 17, 2025
Location: WWE Performance Center, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Peter Rosenburg, Robert Stone
It’s time to get violent around here as we have an I Quit match between Wendy Choo and Kendal Grey. That’s likely to be the main event, but we also need to see what is next for both of the champions around here. It’s almost like this place has become a real show with stories and characters and that’s awesome. Let’s get to it.
Here are last week’s results if you need a recap.
Opening recap.
Opening sequence.
Here is the Vanity Project to get things going. Jackson Drake brags about his win last week and says no one wants a piece of them. They’re in their gear for a reason though. Drake went to Stevie Turner earlier today and got them an eight person tag match. Now bring out these “dusty a** opponents”.
Vanity Project vs. Dante Chen/Drako Knox/Tyra Mae Steele/Sean Legacy
Steele and Mae start things off with Steele easily taking over. Knox comes in to run Smokes over and it’s off to Chen to strike away on Baylor. It’s off to Donovan to take over though and we go to an early break. We come back with Knox still in trouble and getting hammered in the corner, with Donovan pounding him down and dropping an elbow for two. Smokes comes in to stomp away but Knox ducks a clothesline and gets the tag off to Legacy.
A few rooms of the house are cleaned but Legacy gets taken into the wrong corner so the beating can begin again. Smokes kicks him down for two and goes after Legacy’s partners, including yelling at Steele. That’s enough for Legacy to backdrop his way out of trouble, allowing the tag off to Chen to really clean house. Everything breaks down and Steele starts throwing people around with German suplexes (including Smokes landing on the back of his head). The Gentle Touch drops Donovan for the pin at 11:49.
Rating: C+. This is another bad night for the Vanity Project and it wouldn’t be a shock to see Donovan going after Drake as a result. Drake needs a new challenger and it isn’t like there is anyone ready to come after the title at the moment. Steele continues to feel like she has a lot of potential and Legacy is likely going to become a star. Knox and Chen….eh not feeling it yet but stranger things have happened.
Post match the winners get to pose as Jackson Drake yells at Bryce Donovan.
Aaron Rourke and Marcus Mathers don’t like It’s Gal/Jamar Hampton and are ready to beat them down.
Carlee Bright gives Kendal Grey a pep talk before the I Quit match with Wendy Choo…but it might be difficult because Choo doesn’t talk. Grey has this and even practices an armbar on Bright.
Earlier today, Tate Wilder was upset at his losses but Sean Legacy came in to say this is a tough business. Wilder can keep getting up and this is just the beginning of his story. Wilder appreciates the kind words and Legacy says be more ready the next time he faces Ridge Holland. Legacy seems ready for Edris Enofe too.
Aaron Rourke/Marcus Mathers vs. It’s Gal/Jamar Hampton
Gal and Rourke trade wrist cranks to start with Rourke taking him down to the mat. Gal reverses into a headscissors with some pushups, which earns him a slap to the face. A flipping double slap to the chest lets Rourke bring in Mathers, who hits something like Poetry In Motion. Gal fights back and brings in Hampton to take over on Rourke, with Gal getting in a neck snap over the rope.
A double delayed vertical suplex lets Gal and Hampton do pushups on Rourke’s chest before Gal gets two. Hampton jumps over Gal’s back to crash onto Rourke, who enziguris his way out of trouble. Mathers comes back in to pick up the pace, including some kicks in the corner to Hampton. A spinning high crossbody gives Mathers two and Rourke kicks Gal to the floor. Mathers hits a heck of a running flip dive but Rourke bangs up his knee. That means a double powerbomb can finish Rourke off at 6:53.
Rating: B-. It took me a bit to get the idea that Rourke and Mathers were the good guys here, or at least the less bad of the two, as it wasn’t exactly clear at first. I still like Mathers and Hampton a good bit so I’ll take one of them getting something to do. There was a mention of Evolve Tag Team Titles and….that’s actually not a terrible idea.
Post match Gal and Hampton bust out the matching sunglasses.
Kali Armstrong gets to sit back and be a fan in the main event, but she doesn’t know how Wendy Choo can quit when she doesn’t talk. Choo comes in and smiles.
Someone who works at the Performance Center talks about how exhausting it is to work with Sean Legacy, who talks about wrestling all the time. He appreciates the effort, but Legacy pops in to knock on the window and say there is ice cream. This Is Evolve.
Jackson Drake yells at the Vanity Project again and suggests that it was all Bryce Donovan’s fault. Donovan doesn’t like being blamed for the loss and seems to suggest he’s coming after Drake.
Wendy Choo vs. Kendal Grey
I Quit match. Grey (with Carlee Bright) jumps Choo before the bell to start fast but Choo fights back in the corner. Choo is knocked to the floor and tied in the ring skirt for a sliding dropkick. Grey goes after her and gets choked, followed by a drag underneath the ring. Back out and Grey is wrapped around the post, with Choo pulling at some limbs to cause the screaming. A catapult sends Grey throat first into the bottom rope and we take a break.
We come back with Grey standing up for a slugout, followed by a ram into a chair in the corner. Some chair shots to the back set up a Fujiwara armbar to put Choo in more trouble. Grey lets that go but misses a slingshot dive, allowing Choo to hit a brainbuster. Choo chokes with a chair but Grey rolls her into an ankle lock.
That’s broken up as well and Choo chairs her down again. The chair is wrapped around Grey’s neck and she gets sent into the corner, setting up the Dirt Nap. Grey flips out into a cross armbreaker but Choo rolls out for a crash to the floor. Back in and Choo tries a suplex but Grey reverses into a DDT onto the chair. A slingshot stomp onto the arm onto the chair sets up the cross armbreaker to make Choo quit at 11:35.
Rating: B. Ignoring the fact that Choo has spoken before on WWE TV, this was a good story being told with Grey fighting against the evil and winning in the end. Grey seems like she is being built up for a title shot and it wouldn’t surprise me to see her slay the monster champion. This was a smart way to go and Grey is feeling more and more like a star every week.
Bright and Grey (Is that supposed to be some kind of opposite name thing?) celebrate as Choo asks what is left for her to end the show.
Overall Rating: B-. Nice show here, with the main event being a highlight. You can pretty much pencil in the next two challengers for the titles and that should make for an interesting future. Evolve continues to feel like a well written and planned out show and I’ll take that every time. Good show this week, which tends to be the case.
Results
Dante Chen/Drako Knox/Tyra Mae Steele/Sean Legacy b. Vanity Project – Gentle Touch to Donovan
It’s Gal/Jamar Hampton b. Aaron Rourke/Marcus Mathers – Double powerbomb to Rourke
Kendal Grey b. Wendy Choo – Cross armbreaker
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