WWE Evolution

WWE Evolution was a women's professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event and WWE Network event, produced by WWE for their Raw, SmackDown, NXT, and NXT UK brand divisions. It took place on October 28, 2018, at the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum, in Uniondale, New York.[2] It was the first and currently only WWE pay-per-view to consist solely of women's matches.

For the former stable in WWE, see Evolution (professional wrestling). For WWE's "women's evolution", see Women in WWE.
WWE Evolution
Promotional poster featuring various WWE wrestlers
PromotionWWE
Brand(s)Raw
SmackDown
NXT
NXT UK
DateOctober 28, 2018
CityUniondale, New York
VenueNassau Coliseum
Attendance10,900[1]
Tagline(s)WWE's First-Ever All-Women's Event
WWE Network event chronology
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Crown Jewel

The main card consisted of seven matches. Three of WWE's four women's championships were defended on the main card; the fourth was defended in a dark match before the show. It also featured the finals of the 2018 Mae Young Classic tournament.[3] In the main event, Ronda Rousey defeated Nikki Bella by submission to retain the Raw Women's Championship. In the penultimate match, Becky Lynch defeated Charlotte Flair in a Last Woman Standing match to retain the SmackDown Women's Championship. In other prominent matches, Toni Storm defeated Io Shirai to win the 2018 Mae Young Classic, and Shayna Baszler defeated Kairi Sane to become the first two-time NXT Women's Champion.

Production

Background

On the July 23, 2018 episode of Monday Night Raw, Stephanie McMahon announced that for the first time, WWE would hold an all-women's pay-per-view called Evolution.[3][2] Hall of Famers Lita, Trish Stratus, and Beth Phoenix were advertised as taking part in the event. It was also announced that the event would host the finals of the 2018 Mae Young Classic and that all four of WWE's women's championships would be defended; however, the NXT UK Women's Championship match was later removed from the main card and occurred as a dark match before the show.[3][4][5]

WWE's executive vice president of talent, live events and creative Triple H explained that WWE's female performers "deserve[d] the opportunity" for a prominent showcase, and that it "was simply the right time for this to happen." He denied that the event was intended to be as a counterpoint for Crown Jewel—a subsequent pay-per-view days later in Saudi Arabia that, per the country's women's rights policies, would not include WWE's female performers.[6]

Storylines

The card consisted of seven matches that resulted from scripted storylines, where wrestlers portrayed villains, heroes, or less distinguishable characters in scripted events that built tension and culminated in a wrestling match or series of matches, with results predetermined by WWE's writers on the Raw, SmackDown, NXT, and NXT UK brands.[7][8] Storylines were produced on WWE's weekly television shows, Monday Night Raw, SmackDown Live, and NXT.[9]

On August 18, a match between Alexa Bliss and Trish Stratus was scheduled for Evolution.[10] Then, on September 3, a match between Lita and Mickie James was scheduled for the event; the two last faced each other back in 2006 at Survivor Series where James won the original WWE Women's Championship from Lita in the latter's retirement match.[11] On the October 8 episode of Raw, a confrontation between the four women occurred. It was then revealed that instead of the two singles matches, Bliss and James would face Stratus and Lita in a tag team match at Evolution.[12] On October 26, however, Alicia Fox replaced Bliss due to injury, but it was revealed that she would be in James and Fox's corner for the match.[13]

At NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn 4, Kairi Sane defeated Shayna Baszler to win the NXT Women's Championship.[14] On the September 26 episode of NXT, a rematch between the two for the title was scheduled for Evolution.[15]

At SummerSlam, Ronda Rousey defeated Alexa Bliss to win the Raw Women's Championship. Following her win, The Bella Twins (Nikki and Brie Bella) celebrated with the new champion.[16] At Super Show-Down, it was announced that a title defense for Rousey was scheduled for Evolution. At that same event, Rousey and The Bella Twins teamed up to defeat The Riott Squad (Ruby Riott, Liv Morgan, and Sarah Logan).[17] On the following episode of Raw, Rousey and The Bella Twins would again defeat The Riott Squad in a rematch. Following the match, however, The Bella Twins attacked Rousey, turning heel. A title match between Rousey and Nikki was then scheduled for Evolution.[12]

At SummerSlam, Charlotte Flair defeated Becky Lynch and former champion Carmella in a triple threat match to become a two-time SmackDown Women's Champion by pinning Lynch. Following the match, Lynch attacked Flair, turning heel.[16] Lynch then defeated Flair to win the championship at Hell in a Cell.[18] A rematch occurred at Super Show-Down where Flair won by disqualification after Lynch attacked her with the title belt, thus Lynch retained.[17] The two had a rematch on the following episode of SmackDown, but it ended in a double countout, resulting in Lynch again retaining. SmackDown General Manager Paige then announced that the two would have another rematch for the SmackDown Women's Championship at Evolution, but as a last woman standing match, the first in WWE.[19]

On the October 15 episode of Raw, it was announced that a battle royal for a women's championship match would also take place at Evolution with various competitors announced to take part, including WWE legends and Hall of Famers.[20]

On the October 22 edition of Raw, it was announced that The Riott Squad would face off against the team of Sasha Banks, Bayley and Natalya.

Event
Other on-screen personnel
Role: Name:
English commentators Michael Cole
Renee Young
Beth Phoenix
Spanish commentators Carlos Cabrera
Marcelo Rodríguez
German commentators Carsten Schaefer
Calvin Knie
Ring announcers Lilian Garcia
JoJo
Kayla Braxton
Referees Jason Ayers
Shawn Bennett
Jessika Carr
Mike Chioda
Aubrey Edwards
Darrick Moore
Rod Zapata
Interviewers Charly Caruso
Kayla Braxton
Pre-show panel Renee Young
Paige
Beth Phoenix
Carmella
Michael Cole
Eve Torres

Before the event aired live on pay-per-view, a dark match took place in which Rhea Ripley defeated Dakota Kai to retain the NXT UK Women's Championship.[21]

Preliminary matches

The actual pay-per-view opened with Alicia Fox and Mickie James (with Alexa Bliss) facing Lita and Trish Stratus. In the end, Lita performed a "Litasault" on both James and Fox, and Stratus performed a "Chick Kick" on James to win the match.[22]

Next was the 20-woman Battle Royal which started with WWE legends eliminating both of The IIconics (Peyton Royce and Billie Kay) and reuniting against current women. In the end, thinking that she won the match, Zelina Vega, who had not actually been eliminated, began celebrating, not realizing that neither Nia Jax or Ember Moon were eliminated. After Nia Jax eliminated Vega by throwing her at Tamina, who was already eliminated and was standing at ringside, Nia Jax eliminated Ember Moon to earn a future opportunity at the Raw Women's Championship.[22]

After that, Toni Storm fought Io Shirai in the tournament final of the 2018 Mae Young Classic. Shirai performed a dropkick on Storm from the top rope, followed by a moonsault at ringside. In the end, Storm countered a Moonsault by raising her knees and performed the "Storm Zero" on Shirai to win the match and the trophy. After the match, an elated Storm was congratulated by Triple H, Stephanie McMahon, and Sara Amato.[22]

In the fourth match, Natalya teamed up with Bayley and Sasha Banks to face The Riott Squad (Liv Morgan, Ruby Riott, and Sarah Logan). In the climax, Natalya applied a double sharpshooter on Riott and Logan, only for Morgan to perform the "201 Facebreaker" on Natalya for a near-fall. Natalya then performed a powerbomb on Morgan, followed by a diving elbow drop from Bayley and a frog splash from Banks for the victory.[22]

Next, Kairi Sane defended the NXT Women's Championship against Shayna Baszler. At the conclusion of the match, as Sane attempted to perform an "Insane Elbow", Baszler rolled out of the ring. Sane then performed a diving crossbody into Baszler and threw Baszler at her fellow and former MMA Four Horsewomen, Marina Shafir and Jessamyn Duke, who were at ringside. In the end, Duke and Shafir distracted Sane which led to Baszler applying the "Kirifuda Clutch". Sane passed out thus Baszler won by technical submission and became the first two-time NXT Women's Champion.[22]

In the penultimate match, Becky Lynch defended the SmackDown Women's Championship against Charlotte Flair in a Last Woman Standing match. Lynch attacked Flair with a kendo stick and a chair. Lynch attempted a "Bexploder Suplex" on Flair, however, Flair countered and delivered a back suplex to Lynch directly onto a pile of chairs. Flair performed a senton following a moonsault on Lynch through a table. Flair applied the "Figure-Eight Leglock" on Lynch whose leg was wrapped around a ladder, however, Lynch was able to escape by attacking Flair with a steel chair. In the end, after leaping off the ladder and putting Flair through the German announce table with a leg drop, Lynch performed a powerbomb on Flair from the top rope through another table. Flair was unable to make it to her feet before the 10-count, thus Lynch retained.[22]

Main event

In the main event, Ronda Rousey defended the Raw Women's Championship against Nikki Bella (accompanied by Brie Bella). During the match, Nikki dominated Rousey for a majority of the match. On the outside of the ring, Brie shoved Rousey into the ring post whilst the referee was distracted. Nikki performed the "Rack Attack 2.0" for a near-fall. Rousey attempted a "Piper's Pit" on Nikki, only for Brie to interfere. Rousey then performed the modified Samoan Drop on both Nikki and Brie for a near-fall. In the climax, Rousey forced Nikki to submit to the armbar, thus Rousey retained the title.[22]

Aftermath

On the October 29 edition of Raw, it was announced that Raw Women's Champion Ronda Rousey would face off against SmackDown Women's Champion Becky Lynch at Survivor Series. Later that same evening, Nia Jax defeated Ember Moon after a distraction by Tamina, leading to a staredown between Tamina and Jax. After defeating Moon in a rematch the following week, Jax joined Tamina in attacking Moon, turning Jax into a villainess and establishing an alliance with Tamina. At Survivor Series, Jax was victorious for Team Raw as the lone survivor in the women's elimination match after pushing her teammate, Sasha Banks, into Asuka. On the November 19 episode of Raw, Jax's Raw Women's Championship match was confirmed to happen at TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs.

After losing to Becky Lynch at Evolution, Charlotte Flair received an offer from SmackDown General Manager Paige on the October 30 episode of SmackDown Live, being asked to captain Team SmackDown in the women's elimination match, only for Charlotte to turn down the offer. Charlotte instead became Lynch's replacement in a match against Raw Women's Champion Ronda Rousey at the event, as Lynch suffered a legit injury just days prior to Survivor Series.

On the November 7 episode of NXT, it was announced that Kairi Sane would be invoking her rematch clause and would face NXT Women's Champion Shayna Baszler in a two-out-of-three-falls match at NXT TakeOver: WarGames.

Results
No. Results Stipulations Times[23][22]
1D Rhea Ripley (c) defeated Dakota Kai Singles match for the NXT UK Women's Championship[21] N/A
2 Trish Stratus and Lita defeated Mickie James and Alicia Fox (with Alexa Bliss) Tag team match[24] 11:05
3 Nia Jax won by last eliminating Ember Moon[Note 1] 20-woman Battle Royal for a women's championship match[25] 16:10
4 Toni Storm defeated Io Shirai 2018 Mae Young Classic tournament final match[26] 10:20
5 Sasha Banks, Bayley, and Natalya defeated The Riott Squad (Ruby Riott, Liv Morgan, and Sarah Logan) Six-woman tag team match[27] 13:10
6 Shayna Baszler defeated Kairi Sane (c) by technical submission Singles match for the NXT Women's Championship[28] 12:10
7 Becky Lynch (c) defeated Charlotte Flair Last Woman Standing match for the WWE SmackDown Women's Championship[29] 28:40
8 Ronda Rousey (c) defeated Nikki Bella (with Brie Bella) by submission Singles match for the WWE Raw Women's Championship[30] 14:15
  • (c) – refers to the champion(s) heading into the match
  • D – indicates the match was a dark match
  1. Order of elimination: Peyton Royce, Billie Kay, Molly Holly, Kelly Kelly, Torrie Wilson, Sonya Deville, Alundra Blayze, Maria Kanellis, Lana, Mandy Rose, Dana Brooke, Michelle McCool, Naomi, Carmella, Ivory, Asuka, Tamina, Zelina Vega, Ember Moon

References
  1. "WWE Evolution Results: News And Notes After Ronda Rousey Retains Against Nikki Bella". Forbes.
  2. "Stephanie McMahon announces the first-ever all-women's pay-per-view WWE Evolution". WWE. Retrieved July 23, 2018.
  3. Powell, Jason. "7/23 Powell's WWE Raw Live TV Review: Bobby Lashley vs. Roman Reigns to determine Brock Lesnar's challenger for the WWE Universal Championship at SummerSlam, Vince McMahon, Stephanie McMahon, and Triple H's big announcement, The B-Team vs. Matt Hardy and Bray Wyatt for the Raw Tag Titles". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved July 23, 2018.
  4. Joseph Lee (October 26, 2018). "WWE News: NXT UK Women's Title Match Likely Pulled From Evolution, Toni Storm's WWE Network Pick of the Week". 411 Mania. Retrieved October 27, 2018.
  5. "WWE Evolution match card, previews, start time and more". WWE. October 26, 2018. Retrieved October 27, 2018.
  6. "WWE announces all-women pay-per-view event, Evolution". ESPN. Retrieved July 25, 2018. Let's take the Saudi Arabia show off the table, and let's just say it never happened -- would anybody question that they deserve this opportunity?
  7. Grabianowski, Ed. "How Pro Wrestling Works". HowStuffWorks. Discovery Communications. Archived from the original on November 18, 2013. Retrieved March 5, 2012.
  8. "Live & Televised Entertainment". WWE. Archived from the original on February 26, 2009. Retrieved March 21, 2012.
  9. Steinberg, Brian (May 25, 2016). "WWE's 'Smackdown' Will Move To Live Broadcast On USA (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Archived from the original on May 26, 2016. Retrieved May 25, 2016.
  10. Namako, Jason. "WWE announces Trish Stratus vs. Alexa Bliss for the all-Women's Evolution PPV on October 28". WrestleView. Retrieved August 18, 2018.
  11. Martin, Adam. "Another match official for WWE Evolution, WWE Hall of Famer to appear on RAW next week". WrestleView. Retrieved September 3, 2018.
  12. Powell, Jason. "10/08 Powell's WWE Raw Live TV Review: Shawn Michaels and Triple H respond to being attacked by Undertaker and Kane at WWE Super Show-Down, Trish Stratus appearance, two WWE Super Show-Down rematches". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved October 8, 2018.
  13. Powell, Jason. "Alexa Bliss pulled from WWE Evolution match". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved October 26, 2018.
  14. Moore, John. "8/18 Moore's NXT Takeover: Brooklyn IV live review – Tommaso Ciampa vs. Johnny Gargano in a Last Man Standing match for the NXT Title, Shayna Baszler vs. Kairi Sane for the NXT Women's Championship, Adam Cole vs. Ricochet for the NXT North American Title". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved August 18, 2018.
  15. James, Justin (September 26, 2018). "9/26 NXT TV REPORT: Ciampa vs. Dozovic, The Mighty vs. Street Profits, plus Lars Sullivan, Baszler, Keith Lee, Regal mystery update". Pro Wrestling Torch. Retrieved September 27, 2018.
  16. Powell, Jason. "Powell's WWE SummerSlam 2018 live review: Brock Lesnar vs. Roman Reigns for the WWE Universal Championship, AJ Styles vs. Samoa Joe for the WWE Championship, Alexa Bliss vs. Ronda Rousey for the Raw Women's Championship, Daniel Bryan vs. The Miz". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved August 19, 2018.
  17. Powell, Jason. "Powell's WWE Super Show-Down live review: Undertaker vs. Triple H for the final time, AJ Styles vs. Samoa Joe in a no DQ, no count-out match for the WWE Title, The Shield vs. Braun Strowman, Drew McIntyre, and Dolph Ziggler, Becky Lynch vs. Charlotte for the Smackdown Women's Title". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved October 6, 2018.
  18. Powell, Jason. "Powell's WWE Hell in a Cell 2018 live review: Roman Reigns vs. Braun Strowman in an HIAC for the WWE Universal Championship with Mick Foley as referee, AJ Styles vs. Samoa Joe for the WWE Title, Jeff Hardy vs. Randy Orton in an HIAC match". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved September 16, 2018.
  19. Keller, Wade (October 9, 2018). "10/9 WWE SMACKDOWN REPORT: Keller's report on fallout from Super Show-down, Becky vs. Charlotte rematch, World Cup matches including return of Big Show". Pro Wrestling Torch. Retrieved October 10, 2018.
  20. Powell, Jason. "10/15 Powell's WWE Raw Live TV Review: Seth Rollins vs. Drew McIntyre and Dean Ambrose vs. Dolph Ziggler in World Cup tournament qualifiers, Ronda Rousey addresses being attacked by The Bellas". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved October 15, 2018.
  21. Currier, Joseph (October 28, 2018). "NXT UK WOMEN'S TITLE DEFENDED BEFORE WWE EVOLUTION". Wrestling Observer. Retrieved October 29, 2018.
  22. Powell, Jason. "Powell's WWE Evolution live review: Ronda Rousey vs. Nikki Bella for the Raw Women's Championship, Becky Lynch vs. Charlotte Flair in a Last Woman Standing match for the Smackdown Women's Championship, Mae Young Classic Finals". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved October 28, 2018.
  23. "WWE Evolution Times". Internet Wrestling Database. Retrieved October 28, 2018.
  24. Benigno, Anthony (October 28, 2018). "Trish Stratus & Lita def. Mickie James & Alicia Fox". WWE. Retrieved October 29, 2018.
  25. Benigno, Anthony (October 28, 2018). "Nia Jax won the Women's Battle Royal to earn a future Women's Title opportunity". WWE. Retrieved October 29, 2018.
  26. Benigno, Anthony (October 28, 2018). "Toni Storm def. Io Shirai to win the 2018 Mae Young Classic". WWE. Retrieved October 29, 2018.
  27. Benigno, Anthony (October 28, 2018). "Sasha Banks, Bayley & Natalya def. The Riott Squad". WWE. Retrieved October 29, 2018.
  28. Benigno, Anthony (October 28, 2018). "Shayna Baszler def. Kairi Sane to become the new NXT Women's Champion". WWE. Retrieved October 29, 2018.
  29. Benigno, Anthony (October 28, 2018). "SmackDown Women's Champion Becky Lynch def. Charlotte Flair (Last Woman Standing Match)". WWE. Retrieved October 29, 2018.
  30. Benigno, Anthony (October 28, 2018). "Raw Women's Champion Ronda Rousey def. Nikki Bella". WWE. Retrieved October 29, 2018.
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