Evolve (WWNLive)

[Empiresk]

I hope everyone doesn't forget that Matt Riddle is the WWN Triple Crown after holding the WWN Championship and now winning the Evolve Championship AND Style Battle Season 1 this weekend. What an accomplishment.

[mlev76]

Really sad that there seems so little buzz going into tonight. Lots of potential with the new talent and some really great potential matchups. Lee/Drake and Henry/Fierce could both steal the show.

[mlev76]

Really sad that there seems so little buzz going into tonight. Lots of potential with the new talent and some really great potential matchups. Lee/Drake and Henry/Fierce could both steal the show.

104 felt like an old school ROH show and I mean that in the best possible way. The final two matches were great and they made Strickland a star in one night. And given how much I disliked him up until last fall, that says a hell of a lot about his performance.

[BoxingRobes]

In the power vacuum that is Indie wrestling after all of the latest WWE talent acquisitions it seems Shane Strickland is getting the big push across a few different organizations.

Interesting.

I like Strickland a lot, just not sure I see him as a top guy.

[mlev76]

In the power vacuum that is Indie wrestling after all of the latest WWE talent acquisitions it seems Shane Strickland is getting the big push across a few different organizations.

Interesting.

I like Strickland a lot, just not sure I see him as a top guy.

I haven't seen 105 yet, but he was outstanding at 104 and worked the match/angle in a totally different way than I am accustomed to from.

Seeing him live last November began my turning the corner on him, but his match with Riddle really was the best thing I've seen from him.

[BlizzardAcolyte]

After getting to sit down and watch 104/105, I came away with four key points:
- Good on Reed, he impressed the shit out of me and anything EVOLVE does with him (except for a losing streak) from here on out will be choice material to watch
- So, are Theory & Kelly getting a shot at the Impact tag titles? They did beat one-half of the champs, after all
- I wish The Skulk would invade DDT and snatch those ten-man tag titles from the useless current champs, them having an excuse to party harder and be more merry would brighten anyone's day and give those belts some life
- I like The End, but they don't...really fit in EVOLVE. They need to go someplace else and see if they develop a little better there. As bizarre as it sounds, they seem like something that would fit better in AAA or WXW

[supersonic]

https://twitter.com/wwenxt/status/10051 ... 01856?s=21

[mlev76]

https://twitter.com/wwenxt/status/10051 ... 01856?s=21

And the opponent is...Walter.

So far, no indication that this will not air on WWN which, if continues, would be a big change and rather remarkable.

[avengers23]

Can Aaron Taube of Everything Evolves confirm that this was not him?
https://twitter.com/kathbarbadoro/statu ... 0006944768

[mlev76]

Amazing that with a big few weeks of shows coming up, this last post is the most recent discussion of Evolve. Speaks volumes about many things, don't it?

In any event, we have what might be Riddle's last run with WWN and a potential 'changing of the guard' scenario for the third time this year. I think unless Theory is heading to WWE too in the near future, the better move would've been to keep him WWN champion and put the Evolve strap on Janela. But with that scenario out the window, Riddle's possible successors are Shane Strickland and Darby Allin. The Strickland feud has been great and I'd be fine with him as the heel champion going forward. But an Allin title win would be something very special. To come from literally getting a shot due to seminar work to champion is a fantastic story and one Gabe hasn't ever really told in ROH or Evolve. I'd bet against it, but I'm pulling for it.

[Rich Kraetsch]

Welp. I totally blanked on even talking about it on this week's flagship. Wow. Out of sight, out of mind right now and that's a shame because there's plenty of good stuff happening.

[mlev76]

It's pretty remarkable how Gabe, who really was ahead of his time with word of mouth over the internet in the days of ROH, has slipped in this era. Part of the issue is he's still doing the same old email/website updates as opposed to doing more Twitter and other social media advertising. Both the Evolve and Progress tour coming up seem so low down on people's radar that I sense no buzz at all even though this is probably it for Riddle and the Progress shows are setting up the Wembley Arena show.

[avengers23]

I think Darby gets the title in Chicago, but it would be a switch with no build, which is really problematic. Strickland has more of a storyline for getting the title at this point, but I don't see him sticking around in Evolve. If they can get from Riddle vs. Strickland to Strickland as the outsider and enemy of the locker room vs. Allin the homegrown defender of Evolve, then it could work.

Janela holds on the WWN title for a while, but they really need to consolidate the WWN and Evolve titles, hopefully at next WrestleMania weekend.

[mlev76]

108 was a good show which peaked with an excellent main event and title change. I enjoyed the more subtle ode to ECW than the last time Evolve ran the arena between the matches bleeding into each other, the tributes by Fox and Janela and just the general atmosphere being different than most WWN shows this year.

So, we now have Strickland Janela as the standard bearers for the brand, a situation I would have scoffed at even at the start of the year especially Strickland. But, he's had a helluva 2018 so far and has been top guy in several companies so I think he's as good of a person to lead the post Riddle/Lee/ZSJ as anyone. I'm curious how both he and Janela are thought of in WWE land and if perhaps they're more likely to be stable forces for an extended period of time than the last few champions.

[avengers23]

The "returning champion" will be DUSTIN or Tracy Williams after he leaves the Loser Leaves Town Match. Lord knows it's not going to be ACH or Ethan Page.