EVOLVE 9 Live Coverage

Join us at pwponderings for live coverage of the EVOLVE 9: Gargano vs. Taylor iPPV! What will happen when Dave Finlay meets Sami Callihan? Did I mention that Kevin Steen will be in attendance?

Opening Match: Bobby Beverly (0-0) vs. Eric Ryan (0-0)
They trade armdrags and Beverly connects with an enzuigiri. Ryan answers with a dropkick but walks into a clothesline. Beverly connects with a superkick and hits a backbreaker. Ryan finds success with a corner dropkick and follows with a coast to coast dropkick. He lands a dive to the floor onto Beverly, who blocks a second dive attempt. In the ring, Beverly connects with a bicycle kick and hits a saito suplex. Ryan pops up and they connect with clotheslines at the same time. Both men are down. Kevin Steen runs into the ring and causes a no contest at 3:00.

Steen hits a pumphandle neckbreaker on Ryan and a package piledriver on Beverly. He follows with another package piledriver on Ryan. He starts talking but is barely audible. Steen tells Rob Naylor and Lenny Leonard to keep quiet during his open mic time. He goes off on a fan and sits down in the middle of the ring like CM Punk. He quickly stands up. Steen calls ROH “Ring of Horseshit” and says that Jim Cornette did everything he could to take talent away from EVOLVE. Audio is better now. He says that Davey Richards is up Cornette’s ass and talks about how Richards dropped EVOLVE. Steen claims that he wants to help EVOLVE. After thinking about it, he changes his mind and says that he wants to destroy EVOLVE. He puts down the rules in EVOLVE. Bobby Fish makes his way to the ring. He tells Steen that there are a lot of wrestlers that have been trying to make EVOLVE relevant. Fish yells at Steen for interrupting the opener and suggests that he “color inside the lines.” Steen exits the ring without much trouble.

Match #2: Player Uno and Player Dos (0-1) vs. Facade and Jason Gory (0-1)
Dos connects with a spin kick on Gory and hits a leg drop. Gory snaps off an armdrag on Uno and Facade adds a springboard crossbody. The Super Smash Brothers double team Facade until he hits a guillotine leg drop on Uno. He follows with a springboard bulldog and snaps off a headscissors on Dos. Gory lands a springboard leg drop on Uno. Facade catches Uno with a springboard gamenguiri. Uno takes out Facade and Gory with a flatliner-DDT combination. Dos hits an inverted DDT on Gory and lands a dive to the floor onto Facade. He lands a top rope leg drop onto Gory. Gory connects with a missile dropkick on Uno. Facade and Gory land the Buddy Moonsault onto Dos for a nearfall. Uno powerbombs Gory into Facade. Dos hits a death valley driver on Gory. The SSB hit an ace crusher-gory special combination on Facade for the win at 7:00. Incredibly fast-paced match that was a solid showcase for the tag team division in EVOLVE. Both teams looked good, especially the Super Smash Brothers. After the match, Uno claims that he wants a million wins in EVOLVE.

Match #3: Sugar Dunkerton (0-0) vs. Silas Young (2-1)
Young brings a basketball to the ring and they exchange words. He throws the ball at Dunkerton, who returns the favor. They trade control of a wristlock and Dunkerton grabs hold of a side headlock. He connects with a series of strikes until Young pulls him down to the canvas. Young gets dropkicked to the floor and Dunkerton follows out with a dive. Young rams Dunkerton into the ringpost and takes control in the ring. Dunkerton comes back with a roaring elbow and a clothesline. He hits a northern lights suplex and applies a koji clutch. Young is able to reach the bottom rope. He hits a backbreaker along with a finlay roll. Young follows with the Pijiwara Plunge for the victory at 9:00. They played off of Dunkerton’s recent promo nicely and both men put in a solid performance. I’m becoming more interested in Dunkerton’s character and Young should be made more of a focal point.

Johnny Gargano comes out after the match to confront Young. They talk about the situation with Larry Dallas and Young’s alcohol problem. Gargano apologizes to Young, but he refuses a handshake.

Match #4: Pinkie Sanchez (0-0) vs. Lince Dorado (0-0)
Pinkie charges but Dorado connects with a superkick and hits a half nelson suplex. Dorado runs the ropes to snap off an armdrag and connects with a baseball slide. He teases a dive and then lands a corkscrew plancha to the outside. In the ring, Dorado lands a flying crossbody. Pinkie blocks a lionsault with a dropkick and takes over with a butterfly suplex. Dorado fights back with a shining wizard but gets caught by a dragon screw leg whip. Pinkie starts working over the left leg. Kevin Steen joins commentary. Dorado connects with an enzuigiri and snaps off a hurricanrana. He adds a handspring elbow and connects with a spin kick. Pinkie catches him with a gutbuster and hits a backbreaker. Pinkie misses a moonsault and Dorado lands a shooting star press for a nearfall. Pinkie hits a springboard tornado DDT and applies a figure four for the win at 9:00. Extremely fun lucha action. The crowd finally came alive for the first time tonight (besides Steen’s appearance) and Dorado proved to be an excellent replacement for Shiima Xion.

Larry Dallas makes his way to the ring with Ahtu. He says that the Taylor/Gargano main event isn’t going to happen. He introduces his new tag team, Scott Reed and Kaleb Conley aka The Scene…

Match #5: Cheech and Cloudy (4-0) vs. Scott Reed and Kaleb Conley (0-0)
Cheech hits a chinbreaker on Conley and connects with a dropkick. He adds a slingshot senton as the crowd chants “Justin Bieber” at Cloudy. Reed interrupts a double team maneuver from Up In Smoke. Conley hip tosses Cheech into the corner and the heels isolate him. He hits a powerslam on Conley and makes the tag. Cloudy lands a dive to the floor onto Conley but falls victim to a niagra driver from Reed. Cloudy is now worked over until he connects with a missile dropkick on Conley and makes the tag. Cheech cleans house and hits an STO on Reed. He lays out Conley with a pumphandle suplex. Up In Smoke connect with stereo kicks on Reed. Cloudy hits a tornado DDT on Conley, who responds with a gory special. Up In Smoke hit the Tidal Wave on Conley. Reed hits a falcon arrow on Cloudy for a nearfall. Conley back suplexes Cheech on the apron. Reed and Conley hit a DDT-german suplex combination on Cloudy for the victory at 11:00. Aside from some dead spots, this was a decent tag team match that made good use of its time. Considering the aftermath, I understand why the new team of Reed and Conley won.

Larry Dallas celebrates after the match. All of a sudden, CHEECH HITS THE GO 2 CHEECH ON CLOUDY!! Cheech has turned on his partner. Staff comes out to check on Cloudy.

Match #6: Bobby Fish (1-4) vs. Jon Davis (0-1)
Fish grounds Davis with a headlock. Kevin Steen runs into the ring and attacks Bobby Fish. The referee calls for the bell. Steen gets on the microphone and becomes sarcastic about breaking a rule. Fish challenges Steen to a match. Davis claims that he can beat both of them. Davis suddenly clotheslines the referee while Steen attacks Fish…

Match #7: Bobby Fish vs. Jon Davis vs. Kevin Steen
This is unsanctioned. Fish and Davis trade kicks until Steen interrupts. Steen hits a lungblower on Davis along with a corner cannonball. He powerbombs Fish onto the apron. Davis hits an inverted DDT on Steen. Fish takes out Davis with a plancha and hits a dragon screw leg whip on Steen. A new referee finally enters the ring. Davis hits a powerbomb on Fish but gets caught by a DDT from Steen. Fish lays out Steen with a nasty saito suplex for a nearfall. Everyone exchanges strikes and all three men are down. Fish hits an exploder on Davis but runs into a powerbomb. Steen locks in a sharpshooter on Fish. Davis breaks the hold and hits a jackhammer on Steen. Fish escapes a package piledriver and applies a fish hook on Steen. Davis breaks the hold yet again. Steen low blows Fish but gets pounced. Davis hits a spinning powerbomb on Fish for the win at 9:00. While this definitely wasn’t how I expected Steen to be used, this was a highly entertaining three-way with everyone getting to showcase their offense.

Steen and Davis get into it after the match until security separates them. Security escorts Steen out of the building.

We are at intermission. Roderick Strong vs. Jon Moxley from April of 2010 is being shown. The match is actually pretty good and kind of made me wish that FIP would, you know, release their shows on DVD.

Match #8: Tony Nese (0-2) vs. John Silver (0-0)
Apparently these two trained together. Silver connects with an uppercut and they trade pin attempts to no avail. They both attempt dropkicks at the same time and find themselves at a stalemate. Silver applies an armbar but Nese turns the hold into a bucklebomb. Nese shrugs off a headscissors and connects with a mafia kick. Silver just gets kicked in the head and Nese lands a lionsault. Silver connects with an enzuigiri and a running knee strike. Nese blocks a charge but gets caught by a double knees. Silver runs into a clothesline and both men are down. Nese connects with a series of kicks but gets planted by a tornado DDT. Nese blocks a superkick and hits a dead-lift german suplex for a two count. Silver finds success with a superkick and goes up top. Nese catches him with a sick german suplex. Silver recovers and connects with double knees from the top. Nese connects with a facewash knee strike and hits a reverse alabama slam. He follows with a german suplex for a nearfall. Nese adds a powerbomb but Silver won’t stay down. The referee check son his condition. Silver suddenly perks up and hits a half nelson suplex. They battle up top and Nese misses a 450 splash. Silver hits a backcracker variation for the victory at 14:00. This match was quite the surprise, lasting fourteen minutes. I’m not sure how I feel about Silver, but these two definitely worked well together. I just hope that they didn’t take anything away from the upcoming main events.

Match #9: Sami Callihan (3-1) vs. Dave Finlay (0-0)
Finlay blocks a charge and Callihan quickly backs off. Finlay aggressively takes Callihan down to the mat and the crowd is extremely responsive. Callihan gets blasted by a lariat and finds himself in a tight chinlock. They stare each other down and Finlay connects with a headbutt. Even with this being a live iPPV, I can still hear the headbutts. Callihan lays in a few chops but falls victim to a powerslam. He recovers by legitimately punching Finlay in the face. The action goes to the floor where Finlay stomps Callihan’s left leg into the guardrail. Callihan traps him in the ring skirt and connects with some loud chops. He blasts Finlay with a mafia kick. Sweet Jesus. In the ring, Finlay stomps on Callihan’s hand and hits a vicious body slam. Finlay slams Callihan so his left leg gets trapped in the ropes. Callihan finds himself in a leg lock and then an indian deathlock. He’s able to reach the bottom rope. Dueling chants from the crowd. Finlay uses the referee as a distraction to attack Callihan’s leg further. Awesome moment. Finlay tries another leg submission but Callihan makes the ropes. Callihan connects with a boot and hits a death valley driver. Finlay rolls to the floor and throws Callihan into the guardrail. Back in, Callihan connects with an enzuigiri followed by more chops. Finlay just pushes him to the floor for his troubles. Incredible. Finlay body slams Callihan onto the floor. In the ring, Callihan hits a saito suplex out of nowhere. He connects with a sliding forearm for a two count and adds a bicycle kick. Callihan wipes out on a dive to the outside. Back in, Finlay yanks Callihan off the top rope and to the canvas. Finlay hits an air raid crash for a nearfall. Finlay follows with another air raid crash for a two count. Callihan won’t die. Finlay hits a tombstone for the win at 23:00. This was everything that you were expecting and more. Finlay is perfect for the EVOLVE style and delivered in a huge way. If you are a fan of this style of match, check out this spectacle immediately.

Lenny Leonard interviews Finlay after the match. He calls Callihan one of his toughest opponents ever and they shake hands.

Match #10: Johnny Gargano (6-2) vs. Chuck Taylor (5-3)
Larry Dallas tries to stop the match to no avail. Gargano snaps off a hurricanrana and they exchange pin attempts. Dallas throws in a towel and says that Gargano won. Gargano responds by throwing the towel back at him. This match is still on! Gargano also fires Dallas. Taylor and Gargano trade forearms. Taylor connects with a dropkick and adds a springboard dropkick. He takes out Gargano with a baseball slide and boots him into the front row. In the ring, Gargano connects with a double stomp and hits a neckbreaker. He lands a dive to the outside onto Taylor and hits a tornado DDT on the floor. Back in, Taylor avoids a slingshot spear but misses a lionsault. Gargano hits a slingshot spear and takes control. Taylor comes back with a stunner and a boot to the head. They battle on the apron where Taylor connects with a superkick and hits an inverted DDT. Taylor lands a dive off of some platform in the crowd. In the ring, Gargano blocks a charge but gets planted by a uranagi. He recovers by blocking a springboard attempt. The stream cuts out. “Virtual host is not available.” Apparently, the internet at BB Kings has dropped. I’m back and Taylor is laying in the ring while Gargano is on the floor. Gargano makes it back into the ring at nineteen. Taylor hits Hurts Donut for a nearfall. He goes up top but Gargano pushes him to the floor. Gargano lands a rolling senton from the apron. In the ring, Gargano hits the Awful Waffle for a two count. Gargano follows with Hurts Donut for another nearfall. Taylor powers out of the Gargano Escape but eats a superkick. Taylor recovers with the Awful Waffle for the victory at 21:00. These two showed their familiarity with each other at multiple points and this was an incredibly energetic and engaging contest. These two delivered a special main event and managed to successfully follow Finlay/Callihan by keeping the crowd invested.

Gargano and Taylor hug after the match as the crowd gives them a nice ovation to end the show.

Overall: I think EVOLVE 9 will go down as one of the more significant shows for the promotion thus far. Kevin Steen made an impact by not only receiving a live mic, but actually wrestling later on in the show. Dave Finlay proved that he is a natural fit for EVOLVE (no pun intended) by engaging in a war with Sami Callihan for twenty-three minutes. Finally, Johnny Gargano and Chuck Taylor delivered an excellent main event that solidified them as the main players of EVOLVE. Nearly every match on the show meant something and the card was incredibly consistent. I can easily recommend the replay or DVD and this show should restore some intrigue in EVOLVE.

Finally, be sure to check out the podcast that Jerome and myself recorded where we talk about this show. If you stuck with me through the live coverage of EVOLVE 9, thanks for supporting pwponderings and keep checking the site for new content.

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