WWE Evolution Discussion

[WRau1]

Becky v Flair was damn good, one of my favorite matches of the year. Ronda v Nikki was a lot better than I thought it could be. Very good PPV.

[bestnamezRtaken]

I thought Evolution was a great PPV. Of course it's never going to make everyone happy, people are still going to cry and whine about things but that's life. I enjoyed the show, I thought the booking was fine (other than Ronda v Nikki going on last, we all know it should have been Becky v Charlotte). But whatever, nothing we can do about it.

So based off of the Wikipedia article for the PPV, Rhea Ripley defended her title against Dakota Kai in a dark match. I haven't checked the KIA predictions but I believe everyone predicted Rhea to win anyways. If someone predicted TBD to win, then I'm going to take that match off the card but if everyone predicted Rhea, then I'll just give the point. I think that would of been a fun match to watch though, too bad.

Trish and Lita v Alicia and Mickie was fine. I thought it was good for what it was, and that was to bring back some nostalgic feels to the fans with Trish and Lita. They both looked fine in the ring. I imagine if they wanted to come back to wrestle, even part time, they'd be able to hang. Especially if they started training again and getting back into wrestling shape, but the women's division already doesn't get enough air time and you get talent like Sasha, Bayley, Naomi, Asuka, Ember etc getting left off of TV shows already and those women deserve it much more than Trish or Lita would so while it would be cool to see either of them come back, I feel it would hurt other women in the division. Decent match though, probably my least favorite of the night.

The battle royal was awesome, I loved it. I think I would have preferred Asuka or Ember to win it as they are the true future of either brand but we'll see what they do with Nia Jax. I thought I was spot on with the final four but stupid Zelina Vega cost me a point in the KIA, hahaha. I sort of liked the way the ending happened...Ember struggling to get Nia out, is she going to do it? And then no, Nia just tosses her out of the ring. It's like, I liked that but hated it. Liked it because that's how Nia should be, this dominant indestructible woman that should be difficult to beat but at the same time...they just did Ember Moon like that, like she was a rag doll. Mixed feelings but I hope they aren't just going to feed Nia to Ronda....but they will.

The final match of the MYC was a great match. I had a feeling Toni would go over and I know that pissed a lot of fan boys off but the match was good and it's not like Io isn't going to get any opportunity in NXT. Yeah, she's the best on the planet but that doesn't mean she can't be beat. Maybe I'll start watching NXT just for the women's division since it's looking pretty good. I might rewatch this match though as this was during the time of dinner for my kids and they got pretty rowdy and my attention wasn't 100% on this match like I wanted it to be. But I do recall a good portion of it...at least I think I do? Shoot, definitely go back and watch it.

I enjoyed the 6 woman tag match though I really felt that the Riott Squad needed this win much more than the other 3. They keep portraying the Riott Squad as this close tight nit group and they just lost to a trio of woman who have rarely fought as a trio together (with the exception of Bayley and Sasha). Like, this could have been the perfect opportunity to turn Sasha heel finally. Vince, please turn Sasha heel. I know you're reading this review on this random ass internet message board. You see what you've done with Becky? She's been great, do the same with Sasha Vince. You won't regret it. I promise buddy. I did think the double sharpshooter was a cool spot, looked decent too, but man....I really wanted the Riott Squad to win, did I mention that yet?

I thought Shayna and Kairi was great. Shayna has improved so much in the ring from when I last saw her. I thought the screwy interference was awesome, I loved the way Kairi was just spin chopping these b*tches and knocking them on their asses like it was nothing (stupid MMA fighters!!) but then that kick to cost her the match, perfect touch. If these three women actually form a stable in NXT and just dominate the division, that would be awesome (unless they're already doing that then my bad, I don't watch NXT). It would have been cool if Kairi was like, crawling to the ropes while in the hold and shes reaching out for the rope and she's RIGHT THERE, just a little bit more Kairi! and then she passes out from the hold....that would of been cool. Shayna makes a great heel though, as do her lackey MMA friends. Great match, I was entertained by it. Next match...

Ronda V Nikki....was surprisingly good. I thought the way Ronda was toying with Nikki to start the match showed heel tendencies though and who knows, maybe this is some sort of foreshadowing? Nah, she gone be a face still. But I loved the fact that Nikki got in some offense, it was due to Bella shenanigans, it was classic Bella ways and I wasn't even watching when they were running the division. They make good heels as they're easy to hate, especially now though too. Nikki is a pretty decent wrestler too, not saying she's one of the best so get off my nuts, but she can hold her own. The match would have sucked hard if it was just a squash match too. You can see the potential in Ronda but man...if she would have went through NXT first, she'd be hitting her stride much smoother, just look at her buddy Shayna.

Now the true main event. Oh my sweet baby jesus, what a f*cking match that was. They were really toying with the crowds emotions too...hell, they were toying with all of our emotions if you were watching the match live. First of all, Charlotte is my favorite wrestler in the women's division, by far. But I know that what's best for business is to keep the title on Becky as much as I wanted Charlotte to regain the title. My wife and I were on the edge of our seats...the moonsault to Becky that didn't break the table...ouch. Then the flip to make sure that bastard table broke, hell yeah. The multiple chairs in the ring, the Becksploder on the chairs, the scoop slam onto the ladder, going through the announce table, burying that b*tch to make sure she wouldn't get up (although why was the ref NOT counting when Becky was finding things to bury her with...ref, she's down, you need to be counting you assbag), Charlotte emerging from the rubble with that scary damn look on her face and everyone was like, oh god this is Roman 2.0 here nothing is going to keep her down...Becky yelling to Charlotte to stay down, this match told a great story man. Holy schnikes was it good. When that powerbomb happened to close the match and Charlotte was still fighting to get up I'm like, come on Vince, who in their right mind would be able to get up after 2 table bumps, a rubble burying....and then she fell down. Wow, fantastic match I loved it can't say enough about it.

Overall, I thought this PPV was a great success. Sure, a little more could of been done with the other women other than just throwing them in a battle royal but because the BR was actually really good, I was okay with that. Looking forward to Evolution 2 next year (only assuming here).

[iMoreland]

This should be an annual show

[improper]

This should be an annual show

Probably will be now that this one was successful.

Although granted I don't know if the live crowd was a sellout or not, even in that tiny venue, so maybe that will factor in.

[LLJ]

Now the true main event. Oh my sweet baby jesus, what a f*cking match that was. They were really toying with the crowds emotions too...hell, they were toying with all of our emotions if you were watching the match live. First of all, Charlotte is my favorite wrestler in the women's division, by far. But I know that what's best for business is to keep the title on Becky as much as I wanted Charlotte to regain the title. My wife and I were on the edge of our seats...the moonsault to Becky that didn't break the table...ouch. Then the flip to make sure that bastard table broke, hell yeah. The multiple chairs in the ring, the Becksploder on the chairs, the scoop slam onto the ladder, going through the announce table, burying that b*tch to make sure she wouldn't get up (although why was the ref NOT counting when Becky was finding things to bury her with...ref, she's down, you need to be counting you assbag), Charlotte emerging from the rubble with that scary damn look on her face and everyone was like, oh god this is Roman 2.0 here nothing is going to keep her down...Becky yelling to Charlotte to stay down, this match told a great story man. Holy schnikes was it good. When that powerbomb happened to close the match and Charlotte was still fighting to get up I'm like, come on Vince, who in their right mind would be able to get up after 2 table bumps, a rubble burying....and then she fell down. Wow, fantastic match I loved it can't say enough about it.
.

I wasn't sure what they were doing with Becky until the Survivor Series match was announced.

Now I'm reasonably sure Charlotte is going to end up getting her wins back over Becky once SS is done. Becky got that "Asuka" push, in that she was fed almost everyone on the brand for the purpose of losing to one person.

There's no way Charlotte enters the Royal Rumble without eventually beating Becky back for the title. Can anyone picture Charlotte winning the Rumble, then flanked by Becky and Ronda, chooses Ronda while not having gotten a win back over Becky? I can't.

I'm pretty sure now Becky is dropping the belt shortly after Survivor Series to Charlotte again.

Then Charlotte will quietly drop the belt in a low profile feud to someone she doesn't "need" to beat and enter the Royal Rumble.

[improper]

I wasn't sure what they were doing with Becky until the Survivor Series match was announced.

Now I'm reasonably sure Charlotte is going to end up getting her wins back over Becky once SS is done. Becky got that "Asuka" push, in that she was fed almost everyone on the brand for the purpose of losing to one person.

There's no way Charlotte enters the Royal Rumble without eventually beating Becky back for the title. Can anyone picture Charlotte winning the Rumble, then flanked by Becky and Ronda, chooses Ronda while not having gotten a win back over Becky? I can't.

I'm pretty sure now Becky is dropping the belt shortly after Survivor Series to Charlotte again.

Then Charlotte will quietly drop the belt in a low profile feud to someone she doesn't "need" to beat and enter the Royal Rumble.

Charlotte is the female Roman. Everyone else is built up for her to eventually go over.

[LLJ]

I wasn't sure what they were doing with Becky until the Survivor Series match was announced.

Now I'm reasonably sure Charlotte is going to end up getting her wins back over Becky once SS is done. Becky got that "Asuka" push, in that she was fed almost everyone on the brand for the purpose of losing to one person.

There's no way Charlotte enters the Royal Rumble without eventually beating Becky back for the title. Can anyone picture Charlotte winning the Rumble, then flanked by Becky and Ronda, chooses Ronda while not having gotten a win back over Becky? I can't.

I'm pretty sure now Becky is dropping the belt shortly after Survivor Series to Charlotte again.

Then Charlotte will quietly drop the belt in a low profile feud to someone she doesn't "need" to beat and enter the Royal Rumble.

Charlotte is the female Roman. Everyone else is built up for her to eventually go over.

Yeah, fans were thinking they were randomly going to start building the women's division around Becky. I'm not saying they don't value Becky, because clearly they do, and she'll be a major player on Smackdown going forward, but odds are this megapush is going to cool down once the Ronda match is over and the default Charlotte push will return.
Charlotte doesn't lose high profile feuds unless it's for a very good booking reason.

[improper]

Yeah, fans were thinking they were randomly going to start building the women's division around Becky. I'm not saying they don't value Becky, because clearly they do, and she'll be a major player on Smackdown going forward, but odds are this megapush is going to cool down once the Ronda match is over and the default Charlotte push will return.

I wouldn't be shocked if the entire reason Becky is champion is so she can lose to Ronda at Survivor Series because they wanted to hold off on Charlotte/Ronda.

[LLJ]

Yeah, fans were thinking they were randomly going to start building the women's division around Becky. I'm not saying they don't value Becky, because clearly they do, and she'll be a major player on Smackdown going forward, but odds are this megapush is going to cool down once the Ronda match is over and the default Charlotte push will return.

I wouldn't be shocked if the entire reason Becky is champion is so she can lose to Ronda at Survivor Series because they wanted to hold off on Charlotte/Ronda.

It's exactly what I was thinking. They needed a heel champ on Smackdown to feed to Ronda. There were reports floating around that the decision for the major "heel turn" during the summer came down to Becky or Asuka, and it's clear now Becky was the obvious choice because of her superior mic skills to hype these high profile matches.

But they threw practically everyone on Smackdown into the Becky push, so I couldn't see what they were trying to do by making her so strong and beating Charlotte so many times while already having beaten 90% of the Smackdown roster. It didn't feel like they were building Becky for a long reign, because let's face it, the only women she hasn't beaten on Smackdown now are Naomi and Asuka, and I just can't see them stretching Becky's reign out feuding with those two (though I do at least expect Becky to be in the Smackdown title match at Wrestlemania).

[Ruzious]

Yeah, the big payoff will eventually be Rousey vs Flair - which I expect will be the most hyped up womens match-up of all time,

[improper]

Yeah, the big payoff will eventually be Rousey vs Flair - which I expect will be the most hyped up womens match-up of all time,

Which is a shame, because I think Asuka/Rousey would have potentially been a much bigger match had they kept Asuka's streak intact through next year's 'Mania. Imagine an undefeated Asuka who has slowly morphed from face to cocky heel going up against mega-face Rousey at 'Mania. That would have been incredible.

I also think Asuka is much better at leading a match than Charlotte is right now, which is understandable given their vast differences in experience level. But you'd think they'd want to factor that in given how green Ronda is. I know she looks really good, but she's still pretty new to this and her matches have largely been her selling beatdowns (which I will say she has been very good at even if the people beating her down should be getting squashed by her like Alexa and Niki) before coming alive at the end and winning.

[LLJ]

Asuka vs Ronda would have been a good match workrate wise but it's a year too late to do the undefeated vs undefeated gimmick.

And with Becky and Ronda's pushes, I also realize why the women's division at the current time isn't suited for these unstoppable badasses. Asuka being undefeated for another year would have been completely absurd and damaging on the main roster where there are like 10 people on each brand. I mean if you don't care about anyone other than Asuka, it's great. But when the shoe is on the other foot...

Becky's megapush has only lasted 4 months and already I think it's gotten a little overboard. She plowed through almost the entire roster in 2 months and then beat down Charlotte every week for the last 8 weeks or so. Now every single woman on Smackdown has gone completely cold except for Becky. Great for Becky fans. Not so great if you are fans of anyone else on Smackdown.

I feel like they sort of realize that with Ronda which is why she defends the title so sparingly since she won it and she doesn't go looking for fights unless provoked.

[improper]

Eh...I mean given how every women's feud has to last four months anyways (men's feuds too, really, although there it feels more like sheer laziness than lack of talent), I don't think it would have been an issue. I mean, if Asuka had simply squashed people, yeah, it would have been super boring, but she had a great story arc going in NXT where she was gradually going from super over face to cocky heel willing to cheat when necessary to keep the streak alive, and I would have loved to see that story continue. Asuka may not be able to cut much of a promo, but she's super charismatic, and I think having her just scream promos in Japanese works really well. You don't really need to know what she's saying. You just need to understand that she can beat your ass, and I think NXT showcased that aspect of her brilliantly, whereas she's a JAG on the main roster because Vince has no concept of how to book foreigners unless it's in a vaguely racist, xenophobic angle.

But Asuka had to work real matches in NXT, and her matches were mostly good to great when they weren't squashes (her worst real match was with Nia, and her matches with Nia are by far Nia's best work with the company, so I think it's safe to blame Nia for those). I loved her work with Ember, and there was absolutely no reason to have her go over Ember the second time if they were just going to end the streak with Charlotte, the one woman on the roster who didn't need that win, anyway.