Evolve
Date: July 29, 2026
Location: WWE Performance Center, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Blake Howard, Robert Stone

As tends to be the case, there are multiple people wanting to get their hands on the Evolve Title. That is the case at the moment, as Aaron Rourke wants his rematch with Harlem Lewis, but Tristan Angels and Max Abrams are out there as well. Nikkita Lyons needs a new challenger as well and we might start finding that person this week. Let’s get to it.

Here are last week’s results if you need a recap.

Thea Hail, Skylar Raye and Wren Sinclair need a fourth partner since Laynie Luck isn’t here. Zena Sterling offers her services and she’s in.

Harley Riggins vs. Tate Wilder

Wilder grabs a headlock takeover to start before switching over to an armbar. Riggins sends him throat first into the rope but Riggins gets clotheslined out to the floor. Instead of diving, Wilder knocks him onto the apron for a splash and we take a break. We come back with Riggins running Wilder over and whipping him hard into the corner.

The chinlock goes on and it works so well that Riggins grabs the same thing again. Then it’s off to a reverse chinlock as Riggins gets to mix things up a bit. Back up and they collide for a double down, followed by Wilder grabbing a Sling Blade into an Orton backbreaker for two. The Wilde Ride gets two but Riggins blocks a second attempt with the raised knees. A lifted knee to the face finishes Wilde at 9:07.

Rating: B-. Good match here, with the ending being a bit of a surprise. I like that Riggins is getting a chance to show what he can do on his own and beating someone like Wilder, who has already moved up to the next level, should help him a bit. Riggins is a good choice for the big midcard monster and he’s doing well in that role thus far so let’s see what he can do around here.

Sloane Jacobs is proud of PJ Vasa for her recent acts of violence and offers her a spot on the Nikkita Lyons team. Vasa isn’t interested and wants the Women’s Title.

The Unknown talks about various issues going on around here lately, ala Elijah Holyfield vs. Brooks Jensen and Laynie Luck vs. Nikkita Lyons. She’s coming, and her name might be Vanta.

Sam Holloway isn’t sure what is going on with his friends as of late but it reminds him of his football days. Sometimes his teammates needed to step outside and settle it and that led to success. For now though, he wants CJ Valor.

Kale Dixon vs. It’s Gal

Dixon’s still unnamed female friend is with him. They fight over a lockup to start with Dixon backing him into the corner for some shelling. Gal slams him down and does some pushups on Dixon’s back and a running headscissors takes Dixon down again. The woman gets on the apron for a distraction so gal poses a lot, allowing Dixon to go after the leg. A reverse suplex lets Dixon hammer away but Gal is right back with the hard chops.

Dixon pulls him right back down for the chinlock but Gal reverses into a Codebreaker of all things. A rake to the eyes cuts Gal off again though and a superkick connects for Dixon. The spinning middle rope splash misses though and Gal scores with a discus clothesline. Gal’s fireman’s carry gutbuster finishes at 6:45.

Rating: B-. I was surprised by the result here as Gal has been on a downward trend in recent months while Dixon has felt like he was on the way up. At the same time, Gal needed a win to get him back on track, as those losses have piled up. The match went back and forth as well, making for a good effort from both.

Viktor Zanov and Shido Ash talk about their success in judo and how they are training the same here in Evolve to smash through everyone.

Brooks Jensen is asked about cheating both times to beat Elijah Holyfield. Jensen doesn’t see it that way because he’s 2-0. Cue Holyfield and Jensen runs for his life.

Timothy Thatcher makes a four way for the Evolve Title next week, with Harlem Lewis defending against Aaron Rourke, Tristan Angels and Max Abrams.

Zena Sterling/Skylar Raye/Thea Hail/Wren Sinclair vs. Nikkita Lyons/Sloane Jacobs/PJ Vasa/Giana Capri

Jacobs gives Lyons a rather enthusiastic entrance. It’s a big brawl to start with Jacobs and Sinclair starting things off. That’s quickly shifted off to Raye vs. Capri, with Raye knocking her down so Sterling can slam Raye onto her for two. Sterling is backed into the corner so Vasa can come in and hammer away. Hail gets the same treatment and it’s off to Lyons, who gets caught in a quick Kimura. Everything breaks down and Raye hits the big dive onto the pile at ringside.

We take a break and come back with Raye in trouble but she flips out of a belly to back suplex. Raye fights back but gets chopped down by Vasa, who hits a swinging Boss Man Slam for two. Capri takes Raye down for the same and it’s back to Jacobs for an armbar. Back up and Jacobs misses a boot in the corner and it’s back to Sterling to clean house. Everything breaks down and Capri gives Hail an X Factor but she’s able to grab a double DDT.

Vasa comes back in but gets taken down by a high crossbody. Hail headbutts Lyons down and Sinclair dropkicks Jacobs under the bottom rope. The two of them brawl to the back but Capri grabs the belt. Cue Anya Rune to offer a distraction, leaving Hail to Kimura Lyons for the tap at 10:51.

Rating: B-. This got going near the end though the heat segment on Raye went on for a long time. The good thing here was this felt like another unique main event style, as they did something other than the same old regular stuff. It had me wondering where this was going, though Hail getting the next title shot is only so interesting as she doesn’t have the best win/loss record in title situations. Either way, nice match here and a good change of pace.

A lot of yelling ends the show.

Overall Rating: B. I liked this one rather well and it felt more like the old style of this show. What matters the most is that they kept things moving and it was interesting throughout. This show had me a bit surprised more than once and I’ll take that rather than the same old stuff week after week. Good show here and it was a bit of a return to form around here.

Results
Harley Riggins b. Tate Wilder – Lifting knee to the face
It’s Gal b. Kale Dixon – Fireman’s carry gutbuster
Skylar Raye/Zena Sterling/Wren Sinclair/Thea Hail b. Nikkita Lyons/Giana Capri/PJ Vasa/Sloane Jacobs – Kimura to Lyons

 

 

Remember to follow me on Twitter and Bluesky @kbreviews and head over to my Amazon author page with 30 different cheap wrestling books at:

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Evolve
Date: May 20, 2026
Location: WWE Performance Center, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Peter Rosenberg, Blake Howard

Things are staying interesting around here, even with another change of cast members likely taking place soon. The big story for this week is Tate Wilder getting to face Kam Hendrix in a battle of two people already on NXT. Other than that, we’re coming up on Tristan Angels getting his Evolve Title shot. Let’s get to it.

Here are last week’s results if you need a recap.

Hendrix talks about Wilder messing with the wrong people in recent weeks.

Wilder is ready to keep fighting no matter what.

Opening sequence.

Anya Rune vs. Layla Diggs

Masyn Holiday is here with Diggs. Rune grabs a headlock takeover to start before an armdrag sets up an armbar. Diggs is back up with a shot to the face and we hit a seated full nelson. That’s reversed into a backslide to give Rune two but Diggs kicks her in the head. A running shot in the corner gets two and we’re back to the full nelson. Back up and Rune avoids a running knee in the corner and forearms her down. Diggs backflips away from a shot to the face and keeps flipping to hit a Pele kick (that was sweet). A great looking moonsault finishes Rune at 4:20.

Rating: B-. That flip into the kick and moonsault looked awesome, with Diggs having one of her best performances in all of her time in WWE. She was able to make everything look smooth and that is quite the trick to pull off. Rune is still mainly just an idea rather than someone who has really gotten to show much skill thus far. That could easily be turned around, but this was much more about Diggs and it worked rather well.

Post match Gianna Capri comes in and mocks Rune, with Diggs and Holiday glaring her off.

Timothy Thatcher talks about everything he does around here, including still wrestling on the independent circuit. He lists off some independent promotions and says he might be showing up to both wrestle and scout. This was basically an ad for the promotions the WWE works with and that’s about it.

Chazz Hall vs. CJ Valor

Before the match, Valor and the Mog Squad are ready to take out Hall and hit the town. Hall grabs a headlock to start and is easily shouldered down. Valor’s gorilla press doesn’t work as Hall is back up with a jumping spin kick to the face. Sliced Bread is countered into Snake Eyes though and Valor turns him inside out with a running clothesline. A hip check gets two on Hall and Valor yells at him, with Hall’s right hands not getting him very far.

Valor mocks Hall’s guitar playing and the neck crank goes on. Hall gets up and hits a jawbreaker, followed by a springboard headscissors. The standing Sliced Bread sets up a standing corkscrew moonsault to give Hall two and he sends Valor outside. The flip dive connects on the floor but a high crossbody is pulled out of the air. Something that was either a tornado DDT or a sunset flip gives Hall two and he kicks Valor in the head. The shooting star press gives Hall the pin at 6:48.

Rating: B-. This was good enough as Hall continues to have some pretty nice success. I’m still not wild on him for the most part, but he’s certainly capable in the ring. Valor is a big guy, though being part of the four man team doesn’t exactly let him stand out much. Then again with so many people to run through the process so fast around here, stables are the most practical way to go.

Laynie Luck and Wendy Choo are in the back with Luck thanking her for the title shot. That being said, neither of them wanted it to end with the double interference. The challenge is officially issued for next week.

It’s contract signing time so here are Tristan Angels and Aaron Rourke. Angels asks the fans if they find Rourke’s time as champion satisfactory. It’s true that Rourke became an overnight sensation and has all of his sparkles and such. If Angels had been around, none of those things would have ever happened. Now it’s time for Angels to burn Sparkle City to the ground.

Angels signs and Rourke does the same before asking if Angels is done. Rourke asks if Angels really calls himself the most beautiful man in England. Rourke finds that cool but thinks we should just call him Mr. Evolve, because it would be cute and fun. Rourke talks about how inner beauty is about bringing people up. Therefore, Angels is an ugly narcissist. Rourke offers to let Angels hit him in the face but security runs in to cut it off. Cue Harlem Lewis to announce that he’s facing Braxton Cole next week. Then Elijah Holyfield (Evander’s son) pops up to say he’s here to look at what is going on.

Sloane Jacobs and Nikkita Lyons are ready for their tag match against Wendy Choo and Laynie Luck next week. They’ll even provide the tissues for when Choo and Luck cry. When Lyons pins Choo, she’s coming for the Women’s Title.

Kam Hendrix vs. Tate Wilder

Wilder slugs away to start and knocks him into the corner but a springboard is broken up. Hendrix knocks him out to the floor, setting up a suplex onto the apron. Wilde is thrown into the VIP Area, where he pulls Hendrix inside as well to take over again. A crossbody off the barricade connects but Hendrix backdrops him onto the apron for an even bigger crash

We take a break and come back with Hendrix release suplexing him for two. Wilder fights up and hits some running elbows to the face, only to get spinebustered back down. Back up and Wilder gets a shot of his own and they pull each other up to slowly trade fists. Hendrix gets the better of things but Lights, Kam, Action is blocked. The Wilde Ride gets two and here is Harley Riggins, who is kicked in the face by Romeo Moreno. Wilde is back up with a UFO Splash for the pin at 9:12.

Rating: B-. Good stuff again here and it’s nice to see Wilder getting a chance to show what he can. He’s starting to show what he can do and it’s turned him from little more than a cowboy to someone who is getting better in general. Granted this is just in Evolve, but he has is going to have to do that on a higher level as well. Then you have Hendrix, who still feels like he could be a big deal with the talent he has but he hasn’t had a chance to do much on his own thus far.

Post match Timothy Thatcher comes out to talk to Elijah Holyfield, who will be introduced next week.

Overall Rating: B. They’re keeping things moving around here and it’s rather nice to see the stories moving around so well. Hopefully they keep the pace going as it makes for a rather fun show to watch every single week. You can see things moving from one place to another and it makes for probably the easiest show to watch week to week. We’re coming up on the big Rourke vs. Angels title match and that feels like an important showdown despite it being set up out of nowhere. I would think that’s a good sign of how things are going here, which has been the case for a long time now.

Results
Layla Diggs b. Anya Rune – Moonsault
Chazz Hall b. CJ Valor – Shooting star press
Tate Wilder b. Kam Hendrix – UFO Splash

 

 

Remember to follow me on Twitter and Bluesky @kbreviews and head over to my Amazon author page with 30 different cheap wrestling books at:

http://www.amazon.com/Thomas-Hall/e/B00E6282W6