Will crime actually pay?

Jin Tala attacked unsuspecting women of the Evolve locker room, then she attacked the champ, Kali Armstrong! Will Jin now make herself the Evolve Women’s Champion?

OFFICIAL RESULTS

• WWE Evolve Women’s Championship: Kali Armstrong VS Jin Tala; Kali wins and retains the title.
• Wendy Choo VS Carlee Bright w/ Kendal Grey; Wendy wins.
• Keanu Carver VS Bryce Donovan w/ The Vanity Project; Keanu wins.

PLAY BY PLAY

Kali Armstrong interrupts the recap?!

The Pride of Inglewood says, “Nah, nah, nah. I ain’t waiting for now main event! I’m ready to go right now! You think I’m gonna wait for Jin to come attack me from behind again? Nah, we ain’t doing that. Where you at, Jin? You under the mat? You behind the curtain? Where you at?! See, I’m the difference maker, and I don’t run from nobody! Jin, you want my Evolve Women’s Championship so bad, don’t you? Then come and get it! Cuz I’m the difference maker, and I’m ready right here, right now! So come out, Jin! Where you at?! C’mon!” The fans fire up, and Jin storms out from the back! Kali rushes her, they brawl right in front of the stage!

The bell rings, but not to start a match! The fans fire up as these two brawl into the ring, but a refs rush out here to stop this! The fans chant, “Let Them Fight! Let Them Fight!” Evolve Prime Minister Stevie Turner hurries out here, and she says if Kali and Jin want their match, then it’ll happen right now! The main event is now kicking things off, will Kali still be the difference maker? Or will Jin’s bad attitude make all the difference?

WWE Evolve Women’s Championship: Kali Armstrong VS Jin Tala!

The bell rings, the two rush up, and Kali dodges a lariat to RAM Jin into a corner! Kali fires elbows and stomps, the ref counts, but Kali stops at 4. Jin fires back with elbows and uppercuts, then she stomps a mudhole into Kali! The ref counts, the fans boo, and Jin stops at 4. Jin CLUBS Kali down, stomps her in the corner again, then backs off. Kali goes to a third corner, Jin whips corner to corner, but Kali reverses. Kali then CLOBBERS Jin! And drops an ELBOW! And another ELBOW! And then a third ELBOW! Cover, TWO! The fans rally behind Kali and she drags Jin up. Kali wrenches and YANKS the arm, then talks trash.

Kali wrenches and UPPERCUTS the arm, wrenches and CLUBS the arm, then talks more trash. Kali wrenches and RAMS Jin’s shoulder! Kali wrenches, but Jin dodges the lariat to mule kick! Jin wrenches and KICKS Kali, and KICKS again! Jin puts Kali in a corner, whips, but Kali goes up and over. Kali scoops to SLAM Jin down! Kali eggs Jin on, pushes her down, then runs to SPLASH onto knees! Kali sputters and Jin rises up. Jin brings Kali around, KNEES her low, and the fans rally up. Jin fires hands, then she UPPERCUTS! Jin fires more forearms, but backs off as the ref counts 4. Jin runs to 619 Kali in the gut!

The fans boo but Kali falls and Jin looms over her. Jin snarls, dares Kali to get up, but Evolve goes to break.

Evolve returns and Jin hits Kali with a kitchen sink knee! The fans rally for Kali but Jin drags her up to KNEE her down low again! And again, and again! Kali falls, Jin grins and she stands on Kali! The fans boo but Jin drags Kali back up. Jin snap suplexes Kali, covers, TWO! Kali stays in this and she clamps onto Kali’s arms. Kali fights but Jin rains down ELBOWS! Jin has the GROUND COBRA! Then she CLUBS away on Kali’s ribs and stomach! Jin clamps on tighter with the Ground Cobra Twist but the fans rally up. Kali fights to her feet, but Jin KNEES her low! Jin pie faces Kali, then puts the GROUND COBRA back on!

Jin pie faces Kali, slaps her around, and taunts her. The fans rally more and more as Kali fights up again! Kali powers her way up, but Jin scuffs her! And ROCKS her! And SLAPS her! Kali huffs ‘n’ puffs and the fans fire up! Kali ROCKS Jin in return! And again! Kali fires body shots, whips, and CLOBBERS Jin! Then ELBOWS! Kali then dodges to SPINEBUSTER! Cover, TWO! Jin flounders away to a corner, Kali runs in, but JIn dodges! Kali POSTS herself, Jin rolls Kali, TWO! Jin KICKS Kali down low! Jin then runs and she 619s, only for Kali to catch her! Kali brings Jin out of the ropes to POWERSLAM!

The fans fire up, Kali builds speed, KALI CONNECTION!! Cover, Kali wins!

Winner: Kali Armstrong, by pinfall (still WWE Evolve Women’s Champion)

The Difference Maker changed everyone’s plans, and she comes out on top! That’s two defenses, with one living legend and one LFG contender, and Chuey Martinez is ringside to interview Kali. He congratulates Kali on the win, how does it feel? Kali says she warned Jin, and you saw what happened. Every time you step into the ring with the champ, same thing happens every time. That’s just how she rolls. Wait! Karmen Petrovic is here! And the real-life Beatrix Kiddo tells Kali, “Congratulations. Now that Jin Tala’s outta your way, lemme remind you that we still have some unfinished from NXT a few weeks ago.”

Karmen won’t accuse Kali of ducking her or that she’s scared of the #ShingShing, but there’s been plenty of time and Kali hasn’t been back. So Karmen is here to officially make her Evolve debut, and she isn’t leaving without the championship. Kali nods, and surely Stevie will figure out just how this one goes down. When will Karmen and Kali settle their score?

The Vanity Project hangs out in the concourse.

Zayda Steel is taking pictures of herself on her phone, and Ricky Smokes is trying to show Bryce Donovan hotties so hot, you can see ’em through those sunglasses. Brad Baylor & Jackson Drake arrive, they all say hey, and Jackson says he was spending time with a great lady, but she ain’t no Real Deal Zayda Steel. Zayda says thank you for that. But did any of them make out what Keanu Carver had to say about them? Yes, Drake is pretty sure Keanu is coming after the top dogs of the WWE ID Program. Brad says not to worry. Keanu is just jealous. So is everyone else here in Evolve, really. Smokes says yeah, they’re on top of the world!

The Vanity Project runs Evolve, they’re the top WWE ID Prospects, they’re even in a group chat with THE NXT North American Champion, Ethan Page! That’s so cool! But Drake does point out Keanu wants the WWE Evolve Championship. That guy has hands of stone and legs like tree trunks. And, he’s lowkey crazy. Smokes says facts, he peeped Keanu’s Twitter, and he is Hall of Fame wacky. Drake says on top of Keanu, there’s the lost cause, Brooks Jensen! Can’t the champ catch a break? Brad has Drake calm down, one thing at a time. Eliminate and survive, that’s the name of the game. Plus, Swipe Right has his back.

Brad & Smokes talked to Stevie, they set up a match between Keanu and Bryce, Bryce will knock Keanu down. Bryce takes off his sunglasses, grabs Brad by a shoulder and asks why they didn’t tell him that sooner. Smokes says they just did tell him. Is there a problem? Bryce has this, right? Drake says Bryce can take care of Keanu and their Keanu problem goes away. Good meeting. Smokes says great meeting. Zayda assures Bryce, he’s got this. But does he? Or will Keanu take out the towering rook protecting the king? Also, why was the cameraman spying on them this whole time?

Carlee Bright and Kendal Grey talk backstage.

Carlee feels Kendal still deserves a title shot, Kendal agrees, but that’ll still come her way. Right now, what is going on with Wendy Choo? She’s stalking Kendal now? Shows up outta nowhere, doesn’t talk, doesn’t move, then disappears. It is starting to piss Kendal off! Carlee doesn’t blame her. And Wendy popping up to spook Kendal cost Carlee her match against Jin Tala. But nothing is sweeter than revenge, which is what Carlee will get tonight. Kendal says she wants the match so she can rip Wendy’s arm off. Carlee feels that frustration, but she’ll do this for the both of them. Okay, just leave Kendal a piece for later. Carlee can leave her the pillow. Ew, no.

Kendal & Carlee head out, both feeling positive, but will they have their payback? Or will Wendy make everything a nightmare?

The next chapter of WWE ID begins.

Last Friday, Game Changer Wrestling, aka GCW, held the ID Showcase! And this historic event held the finals of the WWE ID Men’s and Women’s Championship tournaments! Cappuccino Jones VS Jack Cartwheel was an epic battle of friends, rivals and teammates, and in the end, the man with the caffeine drip came out on top! The Women’s Championship match was a Triple Threat between Zayda Steal, Zara Zakher & Kylie Rae! It was intense, but Smiley Kylie came out on top after making Zayda tap!

The WWE ID Championships will be defended exclusively on the independent scene, both against WWE ID prospects and independent wrestlers. Should an indie wrestler win, they will be signed to a WWE ID Contract, starting their road to WWE Evolve, NXT, and the main roster. The opportunities have never been bigger for the independent wrestling world as WWE scouts continue to watch and wait for the next WWE Superstars. You never know who will be discovered and ID’d.

Stevie Turner talks with Karmen Petrovic in her office.

Stevie welcomes Karmen to Evolve, and apologizes for how Jordynne Grace interfered with the title match with Kali. Karmen says as long as she gets the rematch, she’s fine. Stevie assures Karmen she will get the opportunity. But then in steps Tyra Mae Steele, and she says no, no, no. Tyra apologizes to Prime Minister Stevie, but she wants Karmen to understand: This is NOT NXT, it doesn’t matter what happened over there, because this is Evolve, and if anyone gets her shot at Kali, it is Tyra. Karmen says everyone on Evolve should care about what happens on NXT, that’s where they wanna go. And Karmen is already there, so…

Stevie has them calm down, there is no fighting in this office. But it is great that they’re both hungry for opportunities. Stevie admits, Tyra is right, this is Evolve. But Karmen does deserve her opportunity. So next week, Karmen VS Tyra, Women’s Championship #1 Contender’s Match. They both agree to that, and Tyra says see you next week. Will the LFG Season 1 Women’s Champion soon head for some more gold? Or will it be #ShingShing and a 1-2-3?

Wendy Choo VS Carlee Bright w/ Kendal Grey!

The Sleepy Psycho has moved on from Smiley Kylie Rae, and she decided Carlee & Kendal were the perfect next targets. Will wicked Wendy wear Carlee down until she can’t keep her eyes open? Or will the future still be Bright?

The bell rings and the fans rally up. Carlee and Wendy tie up, go around, and Wendy arm-drags Carlee away. The two reset, tie up, and Wendy waistlocks. Wendy SLAMS Carlee, then rolls to stare her down. Wendy slithers up but Carlee backs up. Carlee goes to the ropes, Wendy grabs a leg, and Wendy brings her away. Wendy headlocks, Carlee pries at the hold, but Wendy hits a headlock takeover. Carlee fights around, fights to a headscissor, and she holds on tight! The fans rally but Wendy moves around. Wendy headstands, clicks her heels, then pops free! Wendy laughs, goes for a headlock, but Carlee slips out to have the hammerlock!

Carlee grinds the arm but Wendy fights up. Wendy fires elbows, wrenches and wristlocks, but Carlee rolls, only for Wendy to THROW her by her hair! The ref reprimands, but Wendy bends Carlee’s fingers. Kendal coaches Carlee and Carlee kips up. Carlee cartwheels, then wrenches to WRING Wendy out! The fans fire up, Wendy runs up, but Carlee goes for a leg! Wendy steps over, wrenches the arm, but Carlee spins through and uses the ropes to flip! Carlee arm-drags Wendy, then she RUNS Wendy over! But Wendy sits up! Things speed up, Carlee body scissors and GEDO CLUTCH, TWO! Wendy stands, Carlee gets around to roll her up, TWO!

Wendy kicks low, then stands her up for forearms! Wendy bumps Carlee off buckles, then runs her side to side. Carlee blocks a buckle bump to buckle bump back! Wendy laughs it off! But Carlee blocks a shot to ROCK Wendy! Carlee runs and tilt-o-whirl RANA! And DROPKICK! Wendy tumbles out of the ring while the fans fire up! Kendal taunts Wendy, and then Carlee CANNONBALLS! The fans fire up, the best friends high ten, and Evolve goes to break.

Evolve returns and Carlee climbs a corner! But Wendy KICKS the legs out! Wendy then wrenches for an ICONOCLASM! Wendy stomps away on Carlee, the fans rally up, but Wendy NECK TWISTS! Carlee writhes, Kendal glares at Wendy, but Wendy stalks Carlee to ropes. Wendy scoops, Carlee slips free, and Carlee fires forearms! Carlee runs, but Wendy ELBOWS her down! Wendy pushes Carlee to a cover, TWO! The fans rally, Kendal coaches Carlee, but Wendy clamps onto the arms. Wendy has a neck wrench and she puts on the pressure. Carlee endures, fights up, and fires body shots. The fans rally but Wendy CLUBS Carlee down!

Wendy reels Carlee in, but Carlee fights the lift! Carlee wrenches out and LARIATS! And LARIATS again! The fans fire up and Carlee whips. Wendy reverses, Carlee ducks ‘n’ dodges to JUMPING NECKBREAKER! Carlee sets up, STANDING MOONSAULT! Cover, TWO! The fans rally up, Wendy goes to a corner, and Carlee runs in. Wendy dodges, Carlee hits buckles, but Carlee ELBOWS Wendy away! Carlee goes up, but Wendy UPPERCUTS! Wendy climbs, Carlee CLUBS her down, and Carlee adjusts, CROSSBODY! But Wendy rolls through to cover, TWO! Carlee and Wendy rise up, Wendy slips around to chicken wing!

Carlee arm-drags free, then slips around to O’Conner Roll! TWO, DIRT- NO, Carlee rolls back to a cover, TWO! CODE BREAKER! Cover, TWO!! Wendy survives and the fans fire up! Kendal coaches Carlee to keep going! Carlee drags Wendy up, fires forearms, but Wendy UPPERCUTS! Carlee fires a forearm, Wendy kicks low! Carlee ROCKS, CHOPS, and CHOPS! Carlee fireman’s carries, Wendy slips down! Hammerlock and PEPSI TWIST! Then DIRTNAP!! Carlee flails but she’s caught! Carlee is OUT, Wendy wins!

Winner: Wendy Choo, by submission

Wendy smiles as she lets Carlee go. Then she also smiles at Kendal. Will Kendal be next to be put to bed?

Backstage interview with Tate Wilder.

Chuey Martinez is with The Modern Day Cowboy, and congratulates him on his first Evolve singles match. What is going on in his head? Tate says it was so nice to finally get back on the horse. It’s kinda like when you’re on a dirt bike, and you see that hill and you go full throttle. Unfortunately, didn’t go his way. Guess that’s why Edris Enofe is the EOE. But Brooks Jensen steps in and says Tate didn’t jump a hill, he crashed ‘n’ burned. Jensen doesn’t know why Chuey is interviewing this man. Maybe Jensen should take over. Tate says no, he was having a conversation here. Jensen’s the one coming in like a fox in the chicken coop, stirring things up.

Jensen says Tate is nothing more than what he was years ago: a young, immature cowboy who will soon realize that in here, you get chewed up, spat out, and jaded. Chuey wants Jensen to slow down a second. Jensen is the one who walked out on Jordan Oasis, and now he storms in here interrupting interviews. What is going on with him? Jensen says Oasis is an interesting cat, a Nomad, a man of the road. Jensen thought if he could help Oasis, maybe Oasis could help Jensen. But then Jensen realized Oasis was a dead end bit of deadweight, just like the man he’s looking at in Tate Wilder!

Tate can’t believe that first Ridge Holland talks crap, and now Brooks Jensen? If Ridge doesn’t have the guts to get in the ring with Tate, maybe Jensen does. Jensen says this is light work. Go find Stevie. Jensen storms off, Chuey lets us know tonight’s new main event is Keanu Carver VS Bryce Donovan. But is Tate good? Tate says it’s go time. Will the Modern Day Cowboy wrangle Jensen and break that bad attitude? Or will Jensen be more dangerous than a rodeo bull?

Dante Chen speaks.

“I’ve been around the block a few times in my WWE career. Some have moved on to Raw and SmackDown, some have moved out. But I’m still here. Every NXT live event, fighting through injuries, keeping myself sharp and ready for anything that comes my way. So an opportunity in Evolve showed up and I took it. Drove in head first. It’s easy to get cynical, but I never expected it from you, Edris. You turned into someone you’re not. Why? Because you didn’t get special treatment? You look like a star, carry yourself like a star, but just because you call yourself the EOE doesn’t mean you should be handed championships. You gotta go and earn it!

“And that’s the difference between you and me. You take shortcuts while I take the long way. I climb up the hill while you scheme how someone is gonna carry you up. I talked to Stevie Turner, and next week, we run it back. This time, Dante Chen gives you the Singaporean ass whooping you’ve earned!” The warrior is ready, will he tear down the Epitome of Excellence?

Keanu Carver VS Bryce Donovan w/ The Vanity Project!

The demolition man from DC thrashed Timothy Thatcher, smashed Super Sean, and is still hunting the big game! This match was put together a little last minute, but will Keanu prove a real alpha male is always ready? Or can Bryce be the perfect bodyguard for Jackson Drake?

The main event introductions are made, and we see who is really the baddest man in Evolve!

The bell rings and Bryce kicks low! Bryce fires haymakers and elbows! The fans boo and the ref counts as Bryce fires off in the corner! Keanu shoves Bryce, Bryce LARIATS in the corner, then whips corner to corner. Keanu reverses and he CLOBBERS Bryce! Keanu gives back those fast hands, but Bryce shoves free. Keanu runs up, Bryce puts him on the apron! Bryce throws hands, ROCKS Keanu, then SUPERMAN FOREARMS! Keanu drops to the floor but is still on his feet! Keanu snarls, Bryce LEAPS, but Keanu catches him! Keanu HEADBUTTS Bryce, then scoops for SNAKE EYES off the apron! The fans fire up and Keanu warns Jackson Drake.

Drake talks trash on Keanu, the ref keeps them back, and Drake says Keanu is making a rookie mistake not keeping his eyes on his opponent. Keanu backs off from Drake while Evolve goes to break.

Evolve returns and the big men throw big hands! Keanu traps Bryce with a hammerlock and BODY BLOWS! The fans fire up as Keanu runs, but Bryce goes the other way to BOOT! Cover, TWO! Keanu survives but Bryce clamps onto him. Bryce CLUBS Keanu, fires knees, then CLUBS away on Keanu’s chest! Bryce SMACKS Keanu off the mat, then pushes him to a cover, TWO! Keanu stays in this but Bryce pie faces him. Keanu fires body shots! Bryce KNEES low! Bryce goes to scoop but Keanu fights it! Keanu scoops Bryce, but Bryce slips free! Bryce shoves Keanu onto ropes, then KICKS the ropes to JAM Keanu up! LARIAT!

Bryce hurries and he scoops Keanu to SLAM him! Cover, TWO! Keanu survives and Bryce clamps on with a chinlock. The fans rally as Keanu endures and rises up. Keanu RAMS Bryce into buckles! Keanu is free but Bryce clamps back on! Keanu RAMS Bryce into buckles again! Keanu is free again, but Bryce clamps back on again! Bryce sends Keanu into the buckles this time! Bryce stomps a mudhole in, the ref backs him up, but Bryce runs back in. Keanu blocks the boot! Keanu throws the leg down, but Bryce throat chops! Only for Keanu to return and LARIAT! Keanu fires haymakers, then LARIATS in the corner!

Keanu fireman’s carries, and he TOSSES Bryce! Bryce staggers up, Keanu scoops, FALL AWAY SLAM! Cover, TWO! Bryce survives and Vanity Project is relieved. They coach their guy up but Keanu is right on Bryce. Another cover, TWO! Bryce sputters, Keanu brings him up, and Keanu fireman’s carries. Bryce fights and flails, makes it to a corner, and he CLUBS away on Keanu from above! The fans boo but then Keanu blocks a shot! Keanu ROCKS Bryce! Bryce wobbles up top, Keanu climbs up after him, and the fans rally as Keanu lifts! Bryce fights that, and he slips under Keanu to Electric Chair SLAM!! Cover, TWO!!

The fans fire up and Vanity Project freaks out as Keanu survives! Drake asks why’re they still out here! Bryce says he’s got this, but Drake asks if he does. Bryce runs corner to corner, but Keanu dodges the boot! Then SAMOAN DROP! Bryce flounders away, Keanu goes after him at the apron, and he drags Bryce right in! But Bryce YANKS Keanu into the ropes! Bryce crawls, Keanu sputters, and Zayda distracts the ref! Drake tells Bryce he has to finish this! Smokes goes looking, but there are no spare chairs! But then Jensen is here to tell Drake that he shouldn’t worry about Keanu, he should worry about Jensen!

But then JORDAN OASIS goes after Jensen! The fans fire up for the chaos at ringside! Oasis runs Jensen off, Smokes finally finds a chair, but Keanu YANKS Bryce away! And POUNCE!! Bryce is up, but Keanu scoops him, to CARVE HIM UP! Cover, Keanu wins!

Winner: Keanu Carver, by pinfall

Bryce took the damage, but Jackson Drake is the one reeling! Jensen almost got at him, and then Bryce fails to bring down Keanu! Will Keanu take his win streak and turn it into a championship reign? Or will the Carolina Reaper find a way to slay this monster on his own?

My Thoughts:

A very good Evolve, and I appreciate how they surprised us with the schedule change. Many times, WWE main roster shows “set up” a main event match as if there wasn’t already a plan, but this was a very creative use of moving a match up and making a new main event. Very good stuff from Kali VS Jin but I figured Kali would win. Jin also looking like Asian Rhea Ripley in her new gear. Karmen showing up to call out Kali was a nice surprise, and I do appreciate the continuity between NXT and Evolve there. But also good promo with Tyra to say Karmen can’t just get the match. Tyra VS Karmen will be a very good match, and feels like it can go either way.

Great news about the WWE ID Championships, Cappuccino Jones and Kylie Rae are great choices for inaugural champions. Can’t wait to see where those belts go and who eventually gets signed by winning those belts. Good promo from Kendal & Carlee, and very good match from Carlee VS Wendy. Wendy of course won that, she and Kendal will have a very good match themselves. Good promo from Tate Wilder with Brooks Jensen, but what happened to the story with Ridge Holland? Did “Steam Pig” Ridge not test well? Seems random to bring in Jensen when he’s clearly got his story with Oasis. Unless we end up with a strange tag match of Jensen & Ridge VS Tate & Oasis…

Very good promo from Dante Chen to not only call out Edris but to put in perspective how he’s stayed in NXT while some others left or were let go by WWE. Edris VS Dante will be a very good rematch, and I feel like Dante should win to compel a tiebreaker. Great backstage promo from Vanity Project, especially because it was a “fly on the wall” spying kind of camera angle. It feels very TNA, a good influence from the partnership. And then great match from Bryce VS Keanu. Jensen and Oasis brawling it out definitely feels more like what the actual story should be. Keanu of course beats Bryce, but I also like that there was some dysfunction in Vanity Project because Bryce is being used rather than appreciated. Bryce really should break off from them and be his own man.

My Score: 8.5/10