wrestling / TV Reports
Tremendous Tirades 6.02.13: EVOLVE 22 iPPV
Introduction
As a reminder, this will not be another traditional recap, but instead it will be a mash up of the Rs, Instant Analysis and my usual Twitter ramblings I would do during the shows; completely uncensored and as the ideas flow unfiltered to the old keyboard. Remember, this is a review; and I am here to review the show. Don’t throw that “just have fun and be a fan” junk up in here. That’s for you to do.
Today we shall look at the EVOLVE 22 iPPV, the third of three shows in Florida for the promotion, held over a four-day period. The Open the Freedom Gate Title is on the line, the EVOLVE Title is on the line and so are the Open the United Gate Titles! Also, the Young Bucks will pay their mortgages with all of the Superkicks they throw tonight.
EVOLVE 22 on iPPV
Caleb Konley vs. Chuck Taylor : Caleb Konley vs. Chuck Taylor was a perfectly fine opener, but also nothing special. Konley has broken away from the Scene, while Taylor is trying to present himself as a more serious performer after his failure in the EVOLVE Title tournament. I won’t say that they had to steal the show here, but I strongly feel that they needed to have a better performance than they did here. Again, there was nothing wrong with the match, but I do not have a solid idea of where these guys are going in the company. Konely picked up the win, but with both guys needing to establish the “new them,” I would have booked them in different matches.
Match Rating: **½
Ivelisse vs. Mia Yim: Ivelisse defeated Mia Yim in a competitive, but at times disjointed match. I liked the addition of the ladies match, which was a “SHINE” special of sorts. SHINE is a WWNLive product as well, so working to link their products together is smart. Again, this was solid, but they had a few miscommunication issues. I was also distracted at times as commentary spent a lot of time early hyping future shows. I fully understand the necessity of the advertising, but also feel that you need to focus on the match, especially if people that have never watched SHINE were watching. Sell the match at the personalities and add to the story, advertise when there is time to do so.
Match Rating: **
Anthony Nese vs. Tommy Taylor: Anthony Nese vs. Tommy Taylor actually came off better than I thought it would. I am not the biggest fan of Taylor, he isn’t bad or anything, but generally doesn’t interest me. I felt that the mix of Nese’s athletic and quick style vs. the European style of Taylor actually worked very well, and while Taylor did not pick up any wins on the weekend, he worked well and I wouldn’t mind seeing more to see if I gain interest. If anything, he is a solid edition to the card. Nese picks up another win, hitting a buckle bomb and a 450 splash; the premiere athlete brand is rolling and having good performances. I like Nese and think that he has a lot to offer, he just needs to really tap into the verbal side of his heel persona. In the ring, he delivers. Nese was booked in the right matches and given the chance to shine over this weekend and did just that.
Match Rating: ***½
The Bravados and Andrew Everett vs. Los Ben Dejos and Shane Strickland: The Bravados and Andrew Everett vs. Los Ben Dejos and Shane Strickland was a six-man feature of the newer talent being bought into EVOLVE. Los Ben Dejos are the FIP Tag Team Champions, and FIP also runs on WWNLive. This was simply a fun six-man tag, everyone worked hard, and they kept a great pace and had good energy. The Bravados are a very welcomed edition to EVOLVE, they are a polished team, they have personality, and they deliver good matches. Los Ben Dejos and Shane Strickland when Strickland hit the swerve stomp, and the only real complaint is that they should have ended it with the falcon arrow off the ropes by Strickland. It looked great, and sometimes you just need to know when to say when. Other than that small complaint, this was good stuff.
Match Rating: ***
AR Fox vs. Lince Dorado: Lince Dorado won the FRAY at EVOLVE 20, and against Johnny Vandal at EVOLVE 21, and had a ton of momentum heading into the match. AR Fox successfully retained the EVOLVE Title against Nick Jackson at EVOLVE 20 and EITA at EVOLVE 21 (plus winning the bonus tag match). Fox is working the angle where he wants to be a fighting champion, and after the match had already started, decided to put the title on the line. This was also a rematch from EVOLVE 16, so they both had momentum and history to work off of. The match featured a fun and athletic opening, with tons of counters and good action. They even brawled by the venue’s bar at one point. They wrangled it back into the ring, and continued to bust ass with a good pace, and better moves to keep things rolling. The finish saw both men going for springboard moves, with Fox catching Dorado in the “Spanish spaceman/Spanish Fly” for the victory. Sweet finish. For Lince Dorado, this was a great weekend of singles performances that showed that he has really improved. For Fox, an overall great first weekend as EVOLVE Champion and the title, while young, feels like it could really mean something going forward.
Match Rating: ****
Brian Cage vs. Derek Ryze, Brian Cage vs. Jon Davis: Brian Cage defeated Derek Ryze in about 45 seconds with the weapon X, and it looked great. They then transitioned into a match with Jon Davis, which was a battle of the brutes. They had, a match. It wasn’t bad, but just had odd pacing and Davis winning clean to ruin Cage’s big weekend. I personally think that with what hey did with Cage on the weekend, and with the persona Davis has, they should have tried to work a double count out or another non-finish and then comeback with the rematch to play up Cage coming to take the spot of Davis or some such.
Match Rating: *½
Open the Freedom Gate Title Match: Johnny Gargano © vs. Samuray Del Sol :
While I wasn’t the biggest fan in the timing of Johnny Gargano’s heel turn (as again I felt it hurt that particular match), the man has simply done a spectacular job in his new role. He was facing Samuray Del Sol, with the big tease the Del Sol could win the title or stay, but if he loses, he is likely WWE bound. They worked very well together, and once again both Del Sol and Gargano deliver in a featured match for the company. Much like the match with Nese at 20, both worked their styles and the lucha and “American independent” styles meshed well. The main story was that Del Sol was a fighter, he would not give up, so Gargano (the evil heel) ripped off the man’s mask, applied his submission again and Del Sol had to tap. It was a great match, great performances by both and Gargano is incredibly despicable as the heel champion, because he does shit like this…
Match Rating: ****¼
Open the United Gate Titles: Matt and Nick Jackson © vs. EITA and Tomahawk T.T.: One of my main issues with this show was the fact that this match served as the main event. Don’t get me wrong, I am cool with tag teams main, but the booking heading into the show made no sense if they were main eventing. The first night the Bucks lost in singles matches, ok I can forgive that because it made sense. The second night, Anthony Nese & Brian Cage defeated the Bucks in a tag match. The champions defeated by the newcomers in a thrown together tag team; wasn’t a fan and then going into the third evening, you expect me to by the Bucks main eventing after that booking? Sorry, I would have had Gargano main event and have the show end with his being the dick heel champion playing with the mask. That being said, it was a good main event. EITA and Tomahawk T.T. had good performances all weekend, the Bucks delivered; and it was a good end to another good show.
Match Rating: ****
For the first time it feels that EVOLVE is moving in the right direction. They are bringing in some new faces, trying some new things and looking to solidify an identity. The Bucks are a fun heel team; they have good matches and play their roles perfectly. AR Fox is continuing to improve, and I really enjoyed his match here and the overall weekend presentation of him as champion. Gargano vs. Del Sol was the show stealer, with Del Sol going out with a great performance, and Gargano solidifying himself as the head asshole in charge of the WWNLive universe. Add in another great performance from EITA and Tomahawk T.T., and yeah, good times. This was a good show, definitely worth checking out for the price, even though I had issues with some of the placements and bookings; but that’s just me being me. Show Rating: 8.4 As a reminder, I will be going by the 411 scale… 0 – 0.9: Torture As a reminder, this is not a basic “how good was the show” number like a TV show, as I have always felt that a PPV is very different from a regular show. I have always judged PPV on how they built to a match, the match quality, crowd reactions to matches and angles, the overall booking, how the PPV leads into the future, PPV price and so on and so forth. I have added this in here for an explanation since so many have asked, and I have previously discussed it on podcasts. I understand that this may seem different, but that is how I grade. Obviously your criteria may be different. |
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Larry Csonka is a Pisces and enjoys rolling at jiu jitsu class with Hotty McBrownbelt, cooking, long walks on the beach, Slingo and the occasional trip to Jack in the Box. He is married to a soulless ginger and has two beautiful daughters who are thankfully not soulless gingers; and is legally allowed to marry people in 35 states. He has been a wrestling fan since 1982 and has been writing for 411 since May 24th, 2004; contributing over 3,000 columns, TV reports and video reviews to the site.
