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EVOLVE 101 in Joppa, MD. Good-sized crowd, maybe between 200 and 300. William Regal was available before the event for autographs and photos.
There were three preliminary matches:
U*KGB vs. Dom Garrini - Garrini’s ’s jiu-jitsu armbar submission outlasted KGB’s power.
The Lost Incan Warrior won a short, but technically and aerially fun three-way match.
Jarik 1:20 (with Candy Cartwright) vs. Jason Kincaid - Kincaid wins after a decent match with a cravate-style choke in about 10 minutes.
Main card:
Anthony Henry comes out with James Drake, demanding a fight with The End. He asks if we want chaos, if we want a fight. Let’s do it right now! The match starts fast and impactful. It’s being wrestled tornado-style. The End wins a short match with a big sit-out powerbomb following some outside interference.
James Mercer vs. Fred Yehi - This was stiff and stayed largely mat-based. Mercer had a super fallaway slam/Spanish Fly countered into a unique headlock submission. Both guys worked hard. Really good stuff.
Chris Dickinson vs. EVOLVE champion Zack Sabre Jr. - The story here was Dickinson’s power versus ZSJ’s technique. Chris landed some wicked kicks. Zack did his usual stuff and won with, of course, something I’ve never seen before. It’s like a Rings of Saturn mixed with a Boston Crab. Solid match.
William Regal came out to a great reaction. He said it was great to be back and seeing us support Evolve. He says it’s all about the “incredible competitors” in the back. He really put them over. He announced the main event tonight is a 4-way elimination where the winner gets an Evolve Championship match Wrestlemania weekend. He said hopefully there are some people he can steal for NXT. He reminisced briefly about his 35 years in the business, then wished us a good night.
Intermission.
Joe Keys defeated Ken Dixon in a post-intermission match with a swinging hangman’s neck breaker. Standard stuff.
Tracy Williams (with Stokely Hathaway and Dom Garrini) vs. WWN champion Keith Lee in a non-title No Holds Barred Match - Keith dominated early until Stokely’s distraction turned the tables. Tracey introduces a chair, then the ring bell. He chased Lee onto the entrance ramp, but Lee threw Tracey off the stage into his entourage. Tracey rammed Keith into the chair propped between the ropes to take control and called for “Plan B.” Stokely introduced a ladder. Dom interferes but got a Last Ride for his trouble. Stokely tried to choke Keith with his cardigan, allowing Tracey to continue his attack with the ladder. Lee recovered and hit a Death Valley Driver body slam combination for the pin. Both men fought hard. Decent match. After the match, Stokely got into Keith Lee’s face, so Lee straight up murdered him with a sit-out Last Ride.
The End came out. They want to hurt people. They want to take everything from Catch Point. They say the war they started ends. They promised to cut off the head of the snake. Chris Dickenson comes out and gets beat down. Same for Dom Garrini. Henry and Drake run off the end with chairs, then hit Catch Point for good measure.
Main event time.
Matt Riddle vs. Austin Theory (with Priscilla Kelly) vs. Darby Allin vs. Jaka in a 4-way elimination match - Austin Theory is the first eliminated after he gets triple teamed and Darby hits a Code Red. Jaka eliminated Darby next after a cheap shot then a powerbomb. It’s down to Matt Riddle and Jaka and they go to war. Crowd is into it. They trade heavy shots, but Riddle gets the pin. Really fun match!
After the match, Riddle promises he’ll win the EVOLVE championship. The current champion Zack Sabre Jr. comes to the entrance ramp and Riddle points to him like he’s pointing to the Wrestlemania sign. And that’s the show.
Overall, a pretty good show. Everyone was working hard and taking some big time physical punishment.
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