WWE Evolution Review

WWE Evolution took place on Sunday 28th October at the Nassau Coliseum in Uniondale, New York. Inbetween The Super Show-Down and Crown Jewel, the build up to their first all women's pay-per-view has been mostly terrible. However, there are some really good matches on the card so let's take a look.

The first match on the show is Trish Stratus and Lita taking on Mickie James and Alicia Fox with Alexa Bliss in their corner. Lita and Trish are absolutely dominant before Alexa stops Lita from doing a moonsault on Mickie. Lita hits a reverse DDTm giving her the chance to tag in Trish. Trish hits a Stratusfaction and, after a moonsault by Lita, hits a Chick Kick to get the win. I felt that Trish and Lita had to be carried a little bit but despite that, it was a fun match.
Winners: Trish Stratus and Lita (1 for 1)

Next is a 20 women battle royal, with the winner getting a title shot. In the match were: Naomi, Michelle McCool, Sonya Deville, Alundra Blayze, Carmella, Zelina Vega, Kelly Kelly, Tamina, Ember Moon, Lana, Maria Kanellis, Mandy Rose, Molly Holly, Dana Brooke, Nia Jax, Ivory, Asuka, Torrie Wilson, Peyton Royce and Billie Kay. Highlights of the match include: Billie and Peyton being eliminated almost immediately; a massive combined suplex; and a dance break involving Carmella and Ivory. The final 4 end up being: Asuka, Ember Moon, Nia Jax and Tamina. Ember eliminates Asuka and then Tamina. Then Zelina Vega, who had fell out of the ring under the ropes earlier on and tries to eliminate Nia and Ember. Nia responds by press slamming her out of the ring and then eliminates Ember to get the win. This was a fun match to watch and it was nice to see people like Molly Holly and Ivory back in the ring.
Winner: Nia Jax (1 for 2)

We now get the final of the Mae Young Classic between Toni Storm and Io Shirai. Highlights of the match include: a brutal snap German suplex by Storm; Shirai hitting a moonsault to the outside; and Storm hitting Storm Zero for 2. Shiari goes for the Asai Moonsault but Storm gets her knees up and goes on to hit another Storm Zero to get the win. This match was really good and one of the best of the tournament. I'm so happy that Toni won and hope that she does well in NXT UK. As for Io, except for her inconsistency in landing the Asai Moonsault, she has been extremely impressive. I can see her being NXT Women's Champion within the next year.
Winner: Toni Storm (2 for 3)

Next is The Riott Squad taking on the team of Natalya, Sasha Banks and Bayley. Sarah Logan baseball slides Bayley into the ring post to get her team the advantage. Eventually, Bayley manages to tag in Sasha. Bayley hits a Belly-to-Bayley on Ruby Riott but Liv Morgan pushes Sasha onto Bayley to break up the pin. Later on, Natalya puts Ruby and Sarah in a double sharpshooter but Liv stops it. In the end, Liv gets hit with a powerbomb by Natalya, an elbow drop by Bayley, and a frogsplash by Sasha and their team get the win. This was a good match and quite fun to watch.
Winners: Natalya, Sasha Banks and Bayley (2 for 4)

We now get a match that I was really looking forward to seeing: Shayna Baszler challenging Kairi Sane for the NXT Women's Championship. In the early going, Shayna keeps on trying to put on a choke but Kairi is able to prevent them. Shayna viciously stamps on Kairi's left arm, which somehow doesn't get her disqualified, to get the advantage. Shayna goes on to manipulate the arm but Kairi gets back into it with a spear. The fight goes to the outside and Kairi tosses Shayna into a group of NXT Superstars watching the match, including Shayna's friends, Jessamyn Duke and Marina Shafir. Jessamyn and Marina use this as justification to try to interfere but Kairi fends them off. In the end, Jessamyn hits a cheap shot while the referee was distracted and this gives Shayna the chance to apply the Karifuda Clutch. Kairi passes out and Shayna regains the Championship. Whilst I was slightly disappointed that it was a tainted victory, this was a really good match.
Winner: Shayna Baszler (2 for 5)

The penultimate match is a Last Woman Standing Match for the Smackdown Women's Championship as Charlotte Flair challenges Becky Lynch. Highlights of the match include: Charlotte putting Becky through a table with a senton; Becky slamming Charlotte onto a ladder; and Charlotte trapping Becky's legs in a ladder and then applying the Figure 8. After they fight through the crowd, Becky puts Charlotte through the German announce table with a legdrop from the ladder. Charlotte somehow beats the 10 count and then again after being bureid under a fuck load of chairs. In the end, Charlotte gets powerbombed from the ring apron through a table and doesn't beat the 10 count, giving Becky the win. This was an amazing match between the two and definitely the match of the night.
Winner: Becky Lynch (3 for 6)

The main event is for the RAW Women's Championship as Nikki Bella challenges Ronda Rousey. Rousey is cocky at the beginning before Brie Bella helps Nikki get the advantage. Ronda gets kept down by being thrown onto things and Brie hitting cheap shots at every opportunity. Ronda gets back into it and hits both the Bellas with a spinning Samoan drop. Even though Nikki gets to hit the Rack Attack 2.0, Ronda manages to prevail after getting Nikki to submit to an Armbar. The match was better than I thought it would be, although I feel that it might have been a bit too long.
Winner: Ronda Rousey (4 for 7)

Except for a few minor criticisms, I thought that Evolution was really good and the best event of the year so far. Despite a terrible build up, it had some really good matches. Hopefully, WWE do it again next year and give it more of a build up.