EVOLVE 4: Danielson vs. Fish Review

July 23rd, 2010 in Union City
Bryan Danielson attempts to cut a promo backstage. Larry Dallas, an associate of Sean Davis, interrupts. Danielson tells him that he doesn’t belong in EVOLVE and literally kicks him out the door.

Opening Match: Jon Moxley (0-1) vs. Brodie Lee (1-1)
Moxley takes the fight to Lee until he walks into a big boot. Lee hits a butterfly suplex and clotheslines Moxley to the outside. Lee misses a chop and his hand collides with the ringpost. That just looked like it hurt. Lee holds strong, chopping Moxley into the front row. Moxley hurls himself over the guardrail and applies a choke on the floor. Lee sweeps Moxley off the apron and into the crowd. They finally work their way back into the ring where Moxley connects with a missile dropkick. Lee responds with a half nelson suplex and a corner yakuza kick. Moxley avoids a powerbomb and connects with a nice leg lariat. They both connect with clotheslines and take time to recover. They go to the outside and bring chairs into the ring. The referee calls for a double disqualification at 5:50. Although the match only lasted six minutes, they managed to keep the brawling believable and fresh. The crowd was invested into the action, making this contest an odd yet smart choice for an opener. I don’t mind the finish because it makes sense, but it certainly held the match back from a quality standpoint. **½

Lee absolutely murders Moxley by kicking a chair into his face. I know Moxley is not currently deceased but I had to think about it for a minute after that chair shot. Lee threatens to attack the referee and angrily leaves. Moxley eventually recovers and starts screaming. He claims that “he tried to do it their way”.
In a new concept, the DVD features interviews conducted the day after the show took place. The first one features Brodie Lee. He is not in the mood to apologize and refuses to play by the rules.

Match #2: Chris Dickinson (0-3) vs. Rich Swann (0-0) vs. Ricochet (1-2) vs. Drake Younger (1-0)
Younger sends Dickinson to the floor and catches him with a senton from the apron. Swann snaps off a satellite headscissors on Ricochet and they trade hurricanranas. Dickinson military presses Younger onto the concrete floor. He shows more of his mean streak in the ring. Younger catches him with a half nelson suplex and hits an exploder on Swann. Ricochet shotgun dropkicks Younger, who responds with a death valley driver. Dickinson and Younger trade strikes and Dickinson hits a modified vertebreaker. He follows by double back suplexing Swann and Ricochet. Swann connects with a nice spin kick on Dickinson but gets caught with a slingshot crossbody from Ricochet. Dickinson starts choking out Ricochet. Meanwhile, Younger hits Drake’s Landing on Swann for the win at 6:07. Dickinson delivered his best performance in EVOLVE thus far and everyone else played their part. The action was decent but these four-ways have a “why is this match happening?” stigma attached to them. **¼
Dickinson complains that Ricochet had already passed out. Lenny Leonard steps in to have an interview with Younger. He has his eye on the wins leader category.
In an aftermath interview, Drake Younger talks about his match strategy. He’s preparing himself for EVOLVE 5, where he will battle Sami Callihan.

Match #3: WSU World Title: Mercedes Martinez © (3-0) vs. Tina San Antonio (0-0)
They trade control of a wristlock and take the action to the mat. Martinez connects with repeated knee strikes followed by some loud chops. She adds a corner yakuza kick and hits rolling suplexes. Martinez finishes with a fisherman buster to retain her title at 2:15. You know the drill by now. However, things are about to come together. ½*
Lenny Leonard enters the ring to interview Martinez. He wonders if Amazing Kong has answered her challenge. Conveniently, a video plays showing Kong ripping up a photo of Martinez. The match is set for EVOLVE 5.

Match #4: Johnny Gargano (2-1) vs. Adam Cole (0-1)
Gargano connects with a few chops amidst some chain wrestling. Cole answers with a slap and dropkicks him. Cole clotheslines Gargano to the floor. Gargano stops a dive by hitting a spear through the ropes. He adds a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker and starts toying with Cole. This fires Cole up, who comes back with a barrage of offense. Gargano kicks him off the apron and lands a dive to the floor. Back in, Cole comes off the middle rope with a tornado DDT. Gargano responds by picking up Cole, exclaiming “you’re dead”, and lawn darting him into the corner. They exchange punches and pin attempts. Cole reverses the Hurts Donut into a rollup for the victory at 8:32. These two didn’t have the best chemistry but they still put together a solid match. The crowd seemed to slowly appreciate Cole and I don’t mind him winning at all. From watching him in CZW, I know that he has the potential to breakout someday. Hopefully EVOLVE can aid in that process. **½
Lenny Leonard interviews Cole after the match. He thanks Gargano and offers a rematch. Jimmy Jacobs runs out and tries to humiliate Gargano for losing. Cole challenges Jacobs to a match at EVOLVE 5. Jacobs walks away without giving an answer.
In an aftermath interview, Adam Cole talks about his desire to make progress in EVOLVE. He is confident in his abilities and will put Jacobs in his place at the next show.

Match #5: Jigsaw and Hallowicked (1-0) vs. Louis Lyndon and Flip Kendrick (1-2)
Jigsaw and Kendrick trade armdrags. Aeroform connect with stereo dropkicks on Jigsaw. Lyndon catches Hallowicked with a hurricanrana and Kendrick follows with one of his own. Kendrick lands a dive to the floor onto the Chikara Sekigun. In the ring, Hallowicked plants Lyndon with a rydeen bomb and Jigsaw adds a slingshot double stomp. The Chikara Sekigun work over Lyndon until he lands a dive to the outside, forcing a tag. Kendrick takes out Hallowicked with a flying crossbody and a springboard dropkick. He finds knees on a standing shooting star press. Lyndon hits a dragon suplex on Hallowicked but gets caught with a flying double stomp from Jigsaw. Kendrick headscissors Jigsaw into the middle turnbuckle and hits a reverse hurricanrana. The Chikara Sekigun connect with a double stomp, Go 2 Sleepy Hollow, superkick, and mafia kick on Lyndon for the win at 6:39. I’m finding Aeroform to be very hit or miss. They definitely have potential but sometimes sloppiness is a problem for them, as it was here. On the other hand, Jigsaw and Hallowicked make a great team to put atop the tag team division. This match featured a lot of action and made the best out of its seven-minute duration. **½

Match #6: Arik Cannon (0-1) vs. Sami Callihan (1-0)
They start with a quick exchange and trade control on the mat. The action becomes intense after some stiff strikes. Cannon hits a swinging neckbreaker and applies an innovative japanese stranglehold. Callihan fights back with a missile dropkick. They have a prolonged strike exchange on the apron which Cannon eventually wins. Cannon hits an exploder on the floor. Callihan immediately answers with one of his own. Wait, Cannon pops up and connects with a superkick. Both men barely beat the twenty count. More strikes are traded in the ring until Callihan hits a leaping russian leg sweep. He follows with a lariat but Cannon won’t stay down. Cannon connects with his big right hand and hits a rope-assisted neckbreaker. He follows with a saito suplex and a brainbuster for a nearfall. Callihan avoids the Glimmering Warlock and locks in a stretch muffler for the victory at 13:54. This match provided something different and that has been the reoccurring aspect of EVOLVE shows. These two brutalized each other with almost constant strikes for nearly fourteen minutes. The repetitiveness of the strike exchanges were helped by the fact that the strikes looked incredibly brutal. While this contest definitely isn’t for everyone, it’s undoubtedly unique and accomplished its goal. ***
Lenny Leonard interviews Callihan after the match. Callihan wonders why no one is talking about him and reminds us that he is now 2-0.
In an aftermath interview, Sami Callihan talks about the brutality of his match. He’s already recovered and claims that he will soon be the wins leader.
Larry Dallas is outside of the venue arguing with his female associate.
During Lenny Leonard’s intermission spiel, Johnny Gargano interrupts. He admits that Adam Cole got the better of him tonight. He also claims that Jimmy Jacobs is afraid of Cole.

Match #7: Amasis and Ophidian (0-0) vs. Cheech and Cloudy (1-0)
Amasis makes Cheech dance, allowing Ophidian to catch him with a crucifix bomb. Up In Smoke hit a russian leg sweep on Ophidian and follow with more double teaming. Amasis comes off the apron with a shoulder block on Cheech. Ophidian hits a lungblower on Cloudy and Amasis adds a spinebuster. The Osirian Portal isolate Cloudy until he spikes Amasis with an ace crusher and makes the tag. Cheech military presses Ophidian across the ring and powerslams Amasis. He lands a dive to the floor onto Ophidian and superkicks Amasis. Cloudy catches Amasis with flying knees in the corner. The Osirian Portal hit Cloudy with a superkick-lariat combination. Up In Smoke answer with a senton-leg drop combination on Ophidian. A situation occurs where Amasis kicks Cheech, causing him to DDT Cloudy. Ophidian lands a springboard moonsault onto Cheech. Cloudy sends Amasis to the floor and follows out with a plancha. Ophidian applies the death grip on Cheech but Cloudy is able to break it up. Up In Smoke hit a knee strike-backbreaker combination on Ophidian for the win at 11:43. Pretty much what I expected from these two teams. They were fluid in their double team moves and the finishing stretch featured some nice action, but I just wasn’t feeling any suspense or sense of importance. I would call this match a fine sampling of what these two teams can do together and that’s about it. **½
Lenny Leonard conducts an interview with Up In Smoke after the match. Cheech calls out Aeroform and says that Up In Smoke is at the top of the tag team division.
In an aftermath interview, Up In Smoke talk about the tag team division in EVOLVE. They view Aeroform as a joke and the Chikara Sekigun as “cookie cutter luchadores”.

Match #8: Chuck Taylor (2-0) vs. Jimmy Jacobs (3-0)
Jacobs responds to Johnny Gargano, accepting Adam Cole’s challenge at the next show. They tease finishers early on and find themselves at a stalemate. Taylor hits an overhead suplex and connects with a dropkick. Jacobs hurricanranas him into the middle turnbuckle and follows with a basement lariat. Taylor kicks Jacobs off the apron and into the front row. He uses the guardrail to land a senton into the crowd. In the ring, Taylor connects with Sole Food but gets caught with a springboard ace crusher. Jacobs lands a senton off the top rope. He baseball slides Taylor into the crowd. Taylor jumps off the guardrail and onto the apron to block a dive. He connects with a springboard dropkick but Jacobs responds with a spear. Jacobs wins a strike exchange and locks in the End Time. Taylor reverses the hold into a half crab but Jacobs makes the ropes. Jacobs hits the Contra Code for a nearfall. They tease finishers on the top rope. Taylor is able to hit the Awful Waffle for the victory at 12:02. I appreciated how they made good use out of the intimate setting of the venue by setting up some innovative situations in the crowd. They wrestled a predominantly back and forth match but still managed to keep the action interesting throughout. The EVOLVE concept of records meaning something added to the energy down the stretch and helped the crowd become invested. The twelve-minute duration was surprising and I think these two could do better with more time. ***¼
Lenny Leonard interviews Taylor after the match. Now that he is the wins leader, he claims that he is the face of EVOLVE wrestling.
In an aftermath interview, Chuck Taylor is in brighter spirits considering he is now the wins leader and the winning streak leader.

Match #9: Bryan Danielson (0-0) vs. Bobby Fish (0-3)
They cautiously trade kicks and the action eventually gets heated in the corner. The crowd chants “he’s too violent” at Danielson. The match starts to become technical until Fish goes back to his striking game. He dropkicks Danielson to the floor and follows out with a dive. Back in, Danielson kicks away at Fish’s leg and drives his knees into the canvas. Danielson takes control on the mat and baseball slides Fish to the outside. He follows with a diving knee strike from the apron. In the ring, Danielson connects with a missile dropkick and once again kicks away at Fish’s left leg. Fish finds some life after hitting a saito suplex. He adds an overhead suplex and connects with a diving headbutt. Danielson falls victim to a falcon arrow but answers with a dragon screw leg whip. Fish hits a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker but hurts his leg on a moonsault attempt. Danielson grapevines the leg but Fish rolls himself to the floor. They square off in the ring and Danielson connects with a knockout kick to the head. He hits a german suplex along with a tiger suplex and transitions into Cattle Mutilation. Danielson transitions again into MMA elbows but Fish still has some life left in him. Fish connects with a diving knee strike and grounds Danielson with more knee strikes. They exchange forearms and Danielson hits a regalplex. Danielson applies another leg submission and Fish is forced to tap at 20:38. I always preach about how certain matches perfectly fit the EVOLVE concept and this is one of those matches. They went out there with a certain idea in mind and fully delivered. Danielson unmercifully attacked the left leg and Fish showed a tremendous amount of heart to persevere as long as he did. It’s a simple story but these two worked in too many nice touches to count. Also consider that this contest is happening in a setting where records matter and the pieces of the puzzle really come together. Amazing action strengthened by its uniqueness. ****
Lenny Leonard interviews Danielson after the match. He thanks the independent wrestling fans and challenges Munenori Sawa to a match at EVOLVE 5.
Bobby Fish is shown leaving the venue. Larry Dallas asks him to go party. Fish replies by stating that he is “done”.

Overall: EVOLVE 4: Danielson vs. Fish is another solid offering from EVOLVE and keeps their momentum going. While this is probably the weakest show so far judging by wrestling quality, there’s still some interesting points to note. Callihan and Cannon have an absolute war, displaying a multitude of various strikes. Danielson and Fish compliment them nicely by delivering a technical classic in the main event. Those two matches truly exude the uniqueness of EVOLVE and that is critical. There’s also a fun contest between Jacobs and Taylor as well as some decent tag team action in the undercard. The fact that this show stuck true to the EVOLVE concept while featuring some quality wrestling warrants a recommendation.