WWE EVOLUTION
JULY 13, 2025
STATE FARM ARENA
ATLANTA, GEORGIA
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The second edition of WWE’s Evolution has been marred by two things; unfortunate circumstances and laziness. Liv Morgan was supposed to be a central figure to this show and its build considering she was involved in stories with both Nikki Bella and Iyo Sky, when she went down things lost their luster with champions choosing challengers and mini-tournaments to masquerade as a build. While the show doesn’t have the best vibes going in, I’m hoping and expecting the talent to put their best foot forward to make this a show to remember.
NXT WOMEN’S CHAMPIONSHIP
JACY JAYNE (C) VS JORDYNNE GRACE
One of the lazy matches I mentioned earlier. Grace got here just by winning a mini-tournament and an admittedly strong four-way final on NXT TV. Jayne got the title by beating Stephanie Vaquer out of the blue and as soon as she won I expected her to drop to a babyface at this show. Grace has been presented pretty well on NXT, her in-ring work makes her an easy focal point of the division and she’s remained popular even after losing to Vaquer in a title match.
Expect this to have interference from Jayne’s group, maybe Blake Monroe fending them off to trick Grace into siding together and for Jordynne Grace to ultimately get the big babyface win. Prediction: Jordynne Grace
WOMEN’S WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP
IYO SKY (C) VS RHEA RIPLEY
The setup to this was just Sky deciding Ripley would be her challenger. These two have been attached for most of the year as Sky dethroned Ripley for the title, won the three-way involving Bianca Belair at WrestleMania in an instant classic, and now has a rematch with Ripley as she’s one of the only credible women’s stars left on Raw.
I have some worries about this match. Big-match Ripley is a strong wrestler, and I never ever doubt THE Io Shirai, but Ripley has been very inconsistent since house shows were phased out and has iffy chemistry with Sky. They might go all out to make this a big match but it’ll have to be better than their outings from earlier this year.
Sadly, Sky hasn’t received much attention as champion and the division remains focused on Ripley so this is likely a title switch to get the belt back on their biggest women’s star heading into SummerSlam season. Prediction: Rhea Ripley
WOMEN’S TAG TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP
JUDGMENT DAY (RAQUEL RODRIGUEZ & ROXANNE PEREZ) (C) VS CHARLOTTE FLAIR & ALEXA BLISS, SOL RUCA & ZARIA & THE KABUKI WARRIOS (ASUKA & KAIRI SANE)
The Women’s tags were genuinely building some steam earlier in the year when Morgan and Rodriguez won them. Bianca and Naomi had good matches and dropped to Liv and Raquel in a shockingly good tag match. Since Mania though, they kind of fell off a cliff as Morgan was unavailable and the tag team scene dried up (there’s teams on SD but for some reason they just never got involved in the tag title picture) and now with Morgan injured we have Roxanne Perez stepping in to defend them despite being a loser for most of her main roster tenure.
The other teams qualified by winning matches on TV and only Kairi really has any steam as she was getting wins over Morgan and Rodriguez pretty recently. Kabuki Warriors winning would be a fine reset as Asuka is still popular with fans so they could realistically get people to care about their feuds.
More than anything, I think this just needs to be a great match, reset the tag division by going all out, let Sol Ruca wow people, let Zaria do staredowns with Flair and Rodriguez, then get everyone out of the way so Sane/Asuka/Perez can carry the workload. I do have my worries though, every match Flair has been in since coming back has ended up being an absolute clunker, my only guess is she wants to call them on the fly with a roster who just cannot call things on the fly, leading to way more blown spots and awkward wrestling than SmackDown’s division had before Flair’s comeback.
As for a winner, the heart says Kabuki Warriors, but the head says never underestimate the politicking power of Charlotte Flair and Alexa Bliss. Prediction: Asuka & Kairi Sane
BATTLE ROYAL TO EARN TITLE MATCH AT CLASH IN PARIS
The fact that the winner challenges in Paris and not SummerSlam is pretty telling, this will either be a first defence fodder for Naomi or another win for Rhea Ripley. Nia Jax has a shot as she’s credible enough to lose to Ripley, Bianca Belair could also get it but I doubt they’d pay off her feud with Naomi in Paris. Other shouts would be Giulia, Chelsea Green, or Stephanie Vaquer. Prediction: Nia Jax
WWE WOMEN’S CHAMPIONSHIP
TIFFANY STRATTON (C) VS TRISH STRATUS
This was also set up by Stratton just asking for a match but I think they can get away with it here. Wrestling fans tend to have pretty basic trains of thought so Stratton was always going to be compared to Stratus, making this a pretty easy cross-generational dream match for women’s wrestling fans. I have high hopes for it as Stratus always comes back raring to go and Stratton is pretty good when she’s not wrestling Charlotte. Prediction: Tiffany Stratton
NO HOLDS BARRED
JADE CARGILL VS NAOMI
One of the best built matches on the show, which is saying something. Earlier this year Cargill’s return to beat down Naomi was a big shock. Since then, Naomi has done pretty well with her heel turn, managing to spin multiple plates at once while playing an eerily sympathetic psychopath. I liked their match at WrestleMania since they’ve got a very easy dynamic with Jade being a monstrous powerhouse while Naomi is the more mobile opposition.
Add in some plunder to work around Cargill’s limitations and this one could end up being shockingly good if they get one of the good agents backstage (please gods let Tyson Kidd be producer here). I suspect Cargill will win as she’s on the ascendency to win the title at SummerSlam, where Naomi will most likely cash in Money in The Bank to steal the belt and get the last laugh. Prediction: Naomi
WWE WOMEN’S INTERCONTINENTAL CHAMPIONSHIP
BECKY LYNCH (C) VS LYRA VALKYRIA VS BAYLEY
God bless Becky Lynch. Ever since her comeback at Mania she’s been such a shot in the arm for the women’s division; her goal of getting Valkyria over has produced strong matches and a well-built story that managed to wrap in Bayley’s arc with ease. This is the one match on the show that feels important and heated, there are complex dynamics and multiple wrestlers to root for.
The goal appears to be establishing Valkyria who was given the IC title earlier this year and a title win at WrestleMania, having her beat two of the four horsewomen at Evolution would be a pretty major statement for a Raw division that needs the company to get behind the fresh names.
Part of me thinks Lynch could avoid taking the pin with Valkyria ultimately beating Bayley, who I’ve thought for months is on her way out the door but that could just be wishful thinking. Either way, this will be one of the locks for the night. Becky Lynch just doesn’t miss especially on the big stage, Bayley is as solid and reliable as they come as well, so this has a chance to be the best match on the show. Prediction: Lyra Valkyria
