WWE Evolution review and match ratings

Capping off the insane weekend of rasslin is WWE's all women's PLE, Evolution. I have been paying no attention to WWE's weekly offerings recently, I have very little idea of storylines going into this show. That being said, this card looks fantastic. Did the event live up to it's potential or did the lack of a build tank what could have been a great show? Let's find out.

• Triple Threat for the Women’s Intercontinental Championship: Becky Lynch def Bayley and Lyra Valkyria: Give me either these three or any combination of these three every day of the week. From the opening, this match was fantastic. Bayley hit her finish on Lyra, then Becky hit the damn smoothest rolling backslide I’ve ever seen for the win. I don’t know if I’d put this match above the women's triple threat at night 2 of Wrestlemania, but goddamn it came close. Easily the second best match of the entire weekend and maybe the best if we're talking exclusivly about the in-ring action. ★★★★★★★★★☆

• NXT Women’s Championship: Jacy Jane def Jordynne Grace: This was a very good back and forth match throughout. I don’t watch a whole lot of NXT so I’m not too familiar with anyone in this match other than Jordynne Grace, but there was some good storytelling in it. Jacy gets the win with her finish after Blake Monroe hit Jordynne Grace in the back with the belt. Very good match that I probably would have enjoyed more if I were more familiar with the people and storylines around it. ★★★★★★☆☆☆☆

• Fatal 4-way tag team match for the WWE Women’s Tag Team Championships: Judgment day def Kabuki Warriors, Zaruca, and Charlotte/Alexa Bliss: Very fast paced match with a ton of shine for everyone involved. A ton of fun but did get a bit messy toward the end. Raquel hits Sol Rica with a big finishing move for the win. A little shorter than I had expected, but still very good. ★★★★★★★☆☆☆

• WWE Women’s Championship Tiffany Stratton def Trish Stratus: It’s Tiffy time for some Stratusfaction ladies, gentlemen, and non binary friends. Very good match until you realize that Trish is 49 and her “prime” was 20 years ago. She not only still has it, she's gotten better. Very good match, with a little bit of a scare on the moonsault at the end. Tiffy retains after a short but good match. ★★★★★★★☆☆☆

• No holds barred: Jade Cargill def Naomi: Bianca Belair is our special guest ref for this one. We start hot on the entryway as Naomi leaves the ring early to meet Jade. Soon after, we get our Slim Jim branded table (As someone who likes Slim Jim’s, this shit makes me want to become a Jack Links guy). After hitting each other with all sorts of weapons, Jade hits her finish off the top through a table to pick up the win. Very fun match. I was surprised there were no shenanigans with Bianca being the ref, but overall another good match from this show. ★★★★★★★☆☆☆

• 20 Woman Battle Royal for #1 contender opportunity at Clash in Paris: Stephanie Vaquer def everyone else: Nikki Bella and Chelsea Green with the Secret Hervice are out first followed by everyone else. The eliminations start immediately and then we get a Kofi Kingston-esque handstand walking spot from Kelani Jordan to avoid elimination. We also get Natalia doing a worm, and Michael Cole calling Candice LeRae, Candice Michelle. Twice. This match was never on the rails so I can't say that it's really off them. Our final two are Lash Legend and Stephanie Vaquer. After some good back and forth, Stephanie hits the Devil’s kiss on the apron for the elimination and the win. La Primera es numera una. Look, it’s a battle royal. I hated being in them and unless it’s the Royal Rumble, I don’t care much for watching them. Lash Legend is going to be a star, Stephanie Vaquer rules, Chelsea Green is unbelievably entertaining, and battle royals are always a mess. ★★★★★☆☆☆☆☆

• WWE Women’s World Championship: Naomi def Iyo Sky and Rhea Ripley: It’s main event time and this one is already shaping up to be a banger. Iyo was up for a good chunk of this match. Rhea hit one of the gnarliest Razor’s Edges I’ve ever seen. Jessika Carr absolutely ate a springboard drop kick from Iyo and now she's down. It’s time for shenanigans! The two brawl in the crowd for a long time with Rhea being up for most of it. Rhea looks like she’s about to slam Iyo off a production container but Iyo counters and then hits a massive crossbody dive off a stack of containers. After a bit more brawling, we get back to the ring area where Iyo hits a powerbomb to Rhea on the floor. Iyo rolls her back in and hits a massive moonsault, but Rhea kicks out at 2. We have a barn burner to end this show. After a top rope Spanish fly, Naomi comes out to cash in Money in the Bank and the match turns into a triple threat. Naomi hits a split legged moonsault on Iyo to win the Championship. Maybe it’s just the Japanese wrestling mark, but I'm not the biggest fan of stuff like this. This match was well on its way to being one of the best matches of the year, then the cash in happened. It was a cool moment and I understand all of the reasons to do it, but I would have preferred the match ending clean then having the cash in. Either way, this match was fucking incredible and well deserving or the main event spot. After Naomi gets her moment and leaves, we get some sportsmanship between Rhea and Iyo and they walk to the back together, stopping to pose on the entrance way. Personally, I was kind of hoping Rhea was going to just destroy Iyo on the entrance way, but I liked this too. Phenomenal match regardless of how I personally feel about everything. ★★★★★★★★☆☆

WWE Evolution may not have matched the highs of AEW's All In, but the consistent level of great matches made it a slightly better PPV/PLE/whatever the fuck they’re calling these things these days. Even the battle royal was entertaining and set up some fun scenarios going forward. No matter which one of these you enjoyed more, it’s safe to say that pro wrestling is better now than it has maybe ever been and that’s a good thing for performers and fans alike. Thanks for reading and don't let the bastards grind you down.