What's going on fans. Back again after a long day at the grind. But I'm excited tonight as Joshimania is going on right now. A historic event in Philly but right now we have another event that at the time was exciting. I did not get to see this on iPPV though it was the talk of the night the next day with Finlay vs Callihan & Gargano vs Taylor. I'm excited to check it out so lets get to it.
Eric Ryan 0-0 vs Bobby Boeverly 0-0
These two young men are starting off fast and furious tryin to not only impress the crowd but to earn a spot on future EVOLVE cards. Both guys are looking good and crisp so I'm sure they are impressing no matter who wins or not. A few botched spots but that's alright. You learn as you go in this business but I gotta say %90 of the match was good so no doubt they have earned the eye of a few fans and possibly the back. Before it's all said and one though we have the one and only Kevin Steen kill both men as he's going roughshod in EVOLVE.
Kevin Steen & Bobby Fish segment
A good segment and fun for the crowd. This is that part of card where the fans get to celebrate a man they think of as the true anti-christ of wrestling. Bobby Fish may try to fight for the sake of the company but in the end it's Kevin Steen who is going to get the last laugh as the crowd is just really into his act. Even the guy who Steen berates probably had a great time. I swear to god #RapeYourMouth trended that night… ok maybe not but if this was another company then it would have been plugged. Ok enough with the glad handing. At the same time this whole thing made no shit sense at all. We all knew that Steen was going back to ROH. He wasn't going to wrestle for EVOLVE for long.. if at all. The fans may have loved this segment, but really what is it going to do long term but make EVOLVE look like the place where guys can go but then leave over and over. It probably gave EVOLVE some coverage in the short term and in that it was great for EVOLVE. But seriously I liked and disliked this segment. Anyone that wants to say it was awesome.. ok great. You liked it.. I don't have to agree.
Super Smash Bros 0-1 vs Jason Gory & Facade 0-1
Unlike the last time Gory & Facade were on the show, this is not going to be a high flying event. Don't get me wrong, Player Dos can go and yes *insert Lenny Leonard stupidfied joke* but this is probably going to be grounded a bit my Player Uno but he will def bring speed & power, just not as much as Up In Smoke did. Super Smash Bros are already popular with the crowd but Gory & Facade are showing their own. A fun spot match that got the crowd back to where they were pre-Steen. All four men should continue to get booked if they available. Super Smash Bros get their first win but it was hard fought. I enjoyed this match.
Alright it's Finlay giving a motivational speech. I might want Hugh Morris at this point.
Sugar Dunkerton 0-0 vs Silas Young 2-1
A good match up here. Silas Young brings in a basketball and instantly gets into Sugar's face with it. Should be a fun match. I enjoyed Young really taking advantage of his size but Sugar fought his heart out in this one. A quick match and Silas gets another win. A decent match that showcased Young and furthered the feud he has going on with Gargano about some personal issues. As I've said before though, these guys are fighting for wins but none of them ever mention how the wins give them more money.. or gets them closer to something like a title. Silas says his wins get him closer to fighting Gargano.. but how does that work? Does the singles leader only fight who he wants? Wouldn't the singles leader want to fight guys who are on a winning streak? Things that should be explained. But overall enjoyed the match. Also.. if Steen wants to destroy EVOLVE wouldn't he go after Gargano here? Just saying.
We get to see Sami in the bathroom wetting himself. Um.. was this necessary? It didn't change anything I thought of him.
Pinkie 0-0 vs Lince Dorado 0-0
The former Pink Ant against a man who was his team mate. Should be a fun fast paced match. I've enjoyed all of Pinkie's stuff in Beyond Wrestling and other promotions. First time I've seen Lince outside of CHIKARA though I do know he works other indies. Is it just me or does Pinkie's attitude and scary facials remind anyone else of Tim Roth some times? It's probably just me. Both guys are using their striking and high flying which really makes them popular here. They may be smaller sized guys but man I could see this match main eventing other indy events. Did not realize that Pinkie was a Muta fan.. but somehow it makes sense now. Kevin Steen though has joined the commentary team. Interesting. Both men though are going all out in this but it would be a figure four that gets Pinkie Sanchez the win.
The Scene: Caleb Konley & Scott Reed 0-0 vs Up In Smoke 4-0
I've been a fan of Caleb Konley in Pro Wrestling EVO & Scott Reed has been semi impresive in EVOLVE. Up in Smoke though the wins tag team leaders with 4-0. I would have to say the experience has to go to Up in Smoke with this one but The Scene will be wanting to show this crowd what they can do. All four men though are showing the crowd they can work well together and no doubt these teams will meet each other again. The Scene just being associated with Larry Dallas is getting some heat from this crowd but it would appear that they are probably going to do great as a team.
An impressive tag team move to finish off Up in Smoke as The Scene score a win on their first time teaming up in EVOLVE. Cheech though post lost would kill Cloudy and make his “statement”.
We are now seeing Fit Finlay lace up his boots…. ….one thing to work on EVOLVE.. no one cares to see a guy lace up his boots without any explanation.
Bobby Fish vs Jon Davis
Starts off strong with both men really going at it. A feeling out process here but it would soon be cut off by Kevin Steen who would enter the match and thus become a part of it.
Jon Davis vs Kevin Steen vs Bobby Fish
This match starts off in some crazy way as Jon Davis kills the ref after the match gets started. Not too sure why and it really makes no sense other than these three wanted to beat up each other outside of the ring.. but even then. Makes no sense. If this was TNA I'd shit on it so I'm not going to give a pass to this just because it's EVOLVE. I realize the hate mail will probably poor in but please.. I'm not going to be a hypocrite and shit on something in one promotion and then say it's fine in another. Steen does a couple of his signature moves but really makes Fish & Davis look like second class wrestlers as he really just out smarts both of them. Davis and Fish both get a few shots in but why aren't the EVOLVE guys beating up Steen? Davis wants to make a statement.. wouldn't that make a huge statement? Fish just wants to beat up Steen but he continues to go after Davis when it does nothing for him. Another ref comes out and I guess this is going to be an official match. In the end this suddenly had some semblance of an actual match but in the end this was to make the crowd happy and feel like they paid to see something special when really it was the smallest thing Steen could do. Of course you could argue it was to give more of the time to Davis & Fish which I get so in the end this match redeemed itself in the final moments but that is about it. Three Seconds Around the World later from Davis onto Fish and Davis is the winner. A good moment for him and I will give credit to Steen for not over shadowing it.
Tony Nese 0-2 vs John Silver 0-0
These two men have met before I believe in NYWC so this was the match to bring the crowd back from intermission. From what I remember of the iPPV review this match went long and I really can't disagree. This match didn't bore me but it didn't keep my attention either. Not sure why this match went so long though it was a good intro for the fans for John Silver. Nese is a big guy who has lost in his 2 matches withing EVOLVE and he needs a win here. Silver gets a good win in his first match and Nese is now down to 0-3. Gotta love Silver saying he beat a top dog.. a guy who hasn't won a single match yet. Funny.
Sami Callihan 3-1 vs Fit Finlay 0-0
I'm sure by now everyone has read or watched or heard about this match and I do hope it lives up to the hype. I gotta say not a whole lot about this match to dislike. It shows what Sami can do when he's motivated and Finlay is going to get good props for being able to not only keep up but set a great pace. Everything you would expect from two guys who love to fight and want to beat the shit out of each other. Every dog has his day and I do hope that for some after viewing this match it changed their minds a little bit about Sami Callihan. The guy can tell a story if the opponent he is in the ring with is able to tell it with him. This match is truly a showcase for that so I do implore anyone who can to buy this DVD for this match alone. The rest are great too and yes the Kevin Steen involvement makes it worth checking out but this match is worth $15 alone. Finlay though gets a good win after really killing Sami and it truly pushed Sami over with the fans. No shame here in the loss at all.
Johnny Gargano 6-2 vs Chuck Taylor 5-3
The story between these two has heated up and at the end of the night either they will be tied for wins leader or Gargano will be that much farther ahead. Both men are really showing what they can do when given the ball and no doubt EVOLVE should be on their shoulders for years to come. Larry Dallas of course is seeing his meal ticket going down the drain but these two men are competitive as hell and they want to see who is better once and for all.
There is just so much talent in these two men that they really would be the first two I call in if I was going to start an indy promotion of my own. Hell right now outside of ROH I demand that all indy promotions just start sending them some money right now and let them do their thing in the ring. These two are showing so much skill in this match that while I can't say this match is worth $15.. it is worth at least $14 and so coupled with the Sami/Finlay match this DVD is well worth getting. That is not a knock on them, truthfully to me these 2 guys would sell me on anything. But being the marketing major that I am I have to recognize that these two guys alone on the top of the card may not push everyone over despite how wrong that is. But I do hope that after seeing this main event people's opinions will be changed and that anything else they are in will feel the love too from the fans. Chuck Taylor will get the win after a hard fought battle. Now we have a tied wins leaders and I guess we'll have to see where this goes from here.
Overall this was a great event and even with the fun of having Kevin Steen at the event. Sami Callihan vs Finlay just being awesome. The main event living up to everything it should and could have been this is an obvious must buy. Any comments on what I said? feel free to tweet them to me: http://twitter.com/#!/cgstong