Ring Around Wrestling: Thoughts on EVOLVE

This was a very unique weekend for me as I got to see some of the sights and sounds of New York and also got to watch my first ever northeast wrestling show. EVOLVE wrestling finally produced their first show after weeks of hype. Here are my thoughts on what I saw, not in any particular order.
-When Gabe discussed the accessibility of the building, I rolled my eyes. Little did I know when I got off the Rahway train station, I could literally see the rec center when I got off the station. Also, while the other stations in Jersey looked a bit on the shady side, the Rahway station was clean and the neighborhood looked like every suburb you’ve ever been to. After walking through some of the streets in New York, this was refreshing.
-The entranceway with a big video board made this feel like an AAW show. Only wish they could have played videos and promos instead of just showing the event.
-The ring was remarkably small and looked as though it had seen better days. Must work on this.
-I really dug the ambiance of the show. All four referees assigned to the various matches wore black shirts, and the announcers sat at ringside. I think the lack of theme music put everyone on equal footing and helped the pace of the show tremendously. Moving forward, I’d like to see guys “earn” entrance music by winning matches and maybe they get to choose their own song once they reach the semi and main events.
-Thanks to lack of entrances, 11 matches came and went in just over three hours. This includes intermission. I was seriously worried about making the train back into the city, but I in fact just missed an 11:00 train. After all the long independent shows I’ve attended over the years, it was refreshing to be out the door at a reasonable hour.
-Before getting into some specific matches, I just want to say that nothing was terrible and I’d love to see everyone get a second chance. That doesn’t mean the performances were perfect as you’ll soon read, but no one choked on the big stage either.
-Kyle O’Reilly and Bobby Fish had a stiff as hell opener that set the tone for the whole night. No resting. No feeling out process. Just two guys beating the hell out of each other. As was the custom of the night, the match turned out to be short but good.
-Seeing Chuck Taylor for the first time is one of the things that inspired me to make the trip because I think he’s tremendous in the ring but has never gotten his just due. The crowd loved Chucky T, and I think him being made to secure a roster spot by beating Cheech only got the fans more behind him. In another nice touch, neither guy came out the main entranceway but instead came out through a side curtain. One can only hope Taylor becomes a major singles wrestler for this promotion.
-It was at this point I gave up texting at any point except after matches. It was like watching a show on fast forward. Ironically, I tend to fast forward through entrances anyway. Would have been nice to have them if for no other reason, I could have sent more frequent updates and given additional thoughts on matches.
-I love Arik Cannon’s work in the ring and really wish he could receive a greater opportunity in the major indy companies. Ricochet was alright, but he completely blew the 630 splash by overshooting his target. Cannon was crisp and showcased some of his best spots but to no avail. I also liked that Taylor and Ricochet got something set up for the next show and started the wheels turning for next show. Funniest line was used after the match as Taylor claimed he didn’t believe in evolution but believed in creationism since he’s from the south. A bit goofy but it didn’t feel completely out of place like it might read.
-The Dark City Fight Club impressed me a lot by legally murdering Aeroform. Lyndon and Kendrick were a bit sloppy, but selling wise, they did a great job getting DCFC over. And while I typically hate the pounce, Jon Davis hitting it on smaller opponents works every time. Having been disappointed with DCFC in another major indythat I refuse to mention, I’m glad they got a chance to shine here. Big things in store for them I bet.
-Mercedes Martinez had the one squash for the evening. I think the idea of having women compete in EVOLVE is a sound one, but I don’t think people care about women’s wrestling. If they can find a good opponent for Mercedes (not Daizee Haze), that could change.
-Brad Allen and Silas Young were the big disappointments of the night as they tried to work a high-flying style instead of trying to play to their strengths. I like Silas Young a lot based on his work in AAW, but this was not his best night. I guess EVOLVE management figured Brad Allen would get over in a big way because not only did he challenge Chris Hero to a match, but he was on the “EVOLVE 2” ticket. Little did management know, Allen would not get over and his post-match promo where he came off humble and thanked his mom would elicit boos. With the way Allen works and behaves, I just have this feeling he’s going to be a B.J. Whitmer type, a guy who works hard and is loyal but cannot truly earn love from the crowd.
-Jimmy Jacobs and Ken Doane had a very different match relative to everything else. Doane played heel and used the headlock to draw a lot of heat. Jimmy Jacobs received a reaction like a returning hero after having not been in the northeast in a bit. What made the match for me was teasing a crappy finish, but karma biting Doane in the ass and being forced to tap. I can’t believe I went to a wrestling show and witnessed 11 clean finishes. When does that ever happen?
-Regardless of what you think of Jacobs as an in-ring worker, I think you have to concede he’s one of the finest talkers on the independent scene. His promo before the match turned our great, and his post-match exchange with Dreamer was the second most memorable aspect of the show. Before this match, I had zero interest in ever seeing Tommy Dreamer wrestle again. Now after seeing this show, I legitimately want to see these two have a gimmicky match with weapons and blood. That shows what good promo can do.
-Tickets went on sale during intermission for the next show to be held on March 13. I was actually disappointed that I would miss this. Also, tickets for the front row were lowered from 50 dollars to 40 dollars. Not sure about the rest of the seating, but lowering prices is a smart move since there were empty seats in the first three rows. Hell, the only reason I sat second row was to get Jeff Peterson Cup 2009 (a review coming to an internet near you).
-After intermission, Dickinson and Gargano had an okay match, but the crowd was kind of dead. I don’t know why matches after intermission die this way.  Nothing too special here, but Dickinson has this fake intensity thing which needs to go. Watch Davey Richards and you’ll see a guy who could legitimately make you piss yourself just with a sour look. Dickinson tries too hard to mimick this and he comes off a bit like a low rent Low KI. Still, Dickinson is ridiculously new to the business and to the northeast, so I think next time around he’ll be much better. Gargano got some hugs and congratulations from some dude who was unidentified and Sean Davis. Guess I’ll have to wait for the DVD to find out what that was all about.
-TJP had gained a little weight and improved a lot since coming to the east coast. Sawa… needs to come back. As soon as possible. He’s got a unique style and unlike some foreign talents who come to the United States, has charisma too. If Sawa can cut a promo in English and can come back for every show, give him the title now. Very good performances by both guys. This was the only match where I said, “This needed more time.”
-The CHIKARA showcase was waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay different than the one at the first Dragon Gate show. Not nearly as much lucha or choreographed spots but a lot more in-ring wrestling. Since Frightmare was the youngest person in the match, he got the big heat spot. I’m actually glad he replaced Jigsaw since ‘Wicked and Frightmare have more chemistry together, and Quack and Jigsaw are already teaming in Dragon Gate USA in addition to CHIKARA. Brodie Lee also looked better than he did for most of 2009. As incredible as this might seem,I almost forgot Akuma and Icarus were in this match because they didn’t have much ring time, and their feud with Quack really wasn’t the story.
-Of all the post-match promos, I think I liked Quack’s the best because he not only established a match for the next card but also established that his trio will be sort of a benchmark. While Davey Richards will be the king of singles, it looks like Team Frightning (love that name) will be the top team in EVOLVE. The match Quack announced will be a four team elimination tag team match. It was never said if they were two or three man teams. I immediately thought of The Colony when they announced this match. I will bet Ford’s house the ants come marching in to EVOLVE.
-Davey Richards and Kota Ibushi had a ****1/2 match that was the longest on the show. Davey worked over the arm for the entire match and made him tap to the kimura in the end. Great professional wrestling here. I loved this match a great deal. So many stiff kicks and strikes. And the big dive Ibushi did to the outside. Incredible. Perfect way to cap off a fantastic debut show. Again, I think these guys could have wrestled a few extra minutes and it would have turned out even better.
-I sort of figured O’Reilly and Richards would have a match down the road, but I’m a bit surprised they’ll face off at the March show. Guess we’ll find out how good O’Reilly really is very soon/
-Overall, I’d have to call EVOLVE a success, not a monumental one. This was a very organized show that came off professionally done with the exception of some of the minor microphone issues. Even though there were 11 matches, I didn’t feel burned out by the end of the night. For the future, I certainly hope EVOLVE avoids having that many matches. I think an 8 match card with a couple extra minutes given to some of the undercard matches would have the same effect. The one positive about having so many matches on the first show was a lot of guys got to go out there and try to impress the card. Short matches lend themselves to less mistakes, but moving forward I want to see what guys like Brad Allen, Ricochet, and Kyle O’Reilly can do with extended time. I called this the anti-Final Battle because of the fast pace and clean finishes. Big thumbs up for anyone considering coming to live shows or wanting to buy the DVD.