Evolve 40
Uhaa Nation vs Drew Galloway
Uhaa hits a nice Japanese armdrag. Uhaa dropkicks Galloway out of the ring. Galloway drops Uhaa throat-first on the guardrail. Uhaa attempts a moonsault off the apron but Galloway avoids it a gives Uhaa a tilt-a-whirl onto the apron. Galloway delivers an overhead belly-to-belly suplex in the ring. Uhaa comes back with an elbow strike and a flying lariat. Uhaa gives Galloway three rolling German suplexes. Uhaa goes up top and hits a splash to Galloway’s back. Galloway gives Uhaa a sit-out spinebuster. Uhaa does an enzuiguri and goes for a suplex but Galloway gives him a German into the turnbuckles followed by a sick-kick. Uhaa gets a sit-out powerbomb. Galloway hits a double-underhook DDT for the win.
Tommy End vs Timothy Thatcher
Chris Hero accompanies End to the ring. End tries to fight off Thatcher with strikes but Thatcher takes it to the mat and goes for an early cross armbreaker attempt. Thatcher works on the leg and applies a kneebar. Thatcher gets a single leg Boston crab but End gets out and hits strikes. Thatcher twists End’s arm into a hammerlock. End gets a body-scissors into an attempted cross armbreaker but Thatcher gets him into an ankle-lock. Thatcher gets a kimura but End manages a rope break. End hits a leg-kick. Thatcher takes him down but End goes for another armbreaker. Thatcher has End covered for a few pin attempts and goes after the leg but End gets to his feet and kicks Thatcher in the chest. Thatcher takes him down and goes after the kimura again. They trade claps on their feet and headbutt each other. End knocks Thatcher to the mat with a head-kick. Thatcher struggles to his feet and sends End to the floor with an uppercut. Thatcher gets to the apron but End kicks his legs out and he lands face-first on the apron. End brings him inside and attempts a pin but Thatcher bridges out. They trade uppercuts and End starts kicking Thatcher in the chest and starts Muay Thai knee strikes. Thatcher gets a front chancery but End hits a jumping knee strike and then a German. Thatcher goes for a kimura but End stops him with kicks. End gets the mount but Thatcher gets a cross armbreaker and transitions into a Fujiwara Armbar for the submission victory. Hero and Thatcher have a confrontation after the match.
Drew Gulak vs TJ Perkins
Gulak starts in stomping on Perkins right away. They both trade roll-ups and then trade submission attempts. Perkins gets Gulak in an octopus and Gulak counters into a stretch muffler. Gulak is on the apron and gives Perkins a leg-whip on the ropes. Gulak works Perkins’ legs but Perkins gets a kimura. Perkins headbutts him in the corner. Gulak comes off the ropes and takes a kick to the chest. Perkins goes for a cross armbreaker. Perkins applies an abdominal stretch and goes into a guillotine. Perkins gives Gulak a hammerlock slam and then works an armbar. Perkins hits a vertical suplex and goes for a hammerlock but Gulak takes out Perkins’ knee and starts working it over. Gulak does a dragon-screw leg-whip and then slams Perkins into the ropes. Gulak applies a single leg crab. Perkins counters a slam with a cross armbreaker but Gulak switchers out into his own armbreaker. Perkins gets a cloverleaf into a Fujiawara Armbar. Gulak grabs an ankle-lock. They trade strikes and Perkins knees Gulak in the head. Gulak rolls into an ankle-lock and Perkins gets up but Gulak goes for the ankle again. Perkins tries for an armbreaker, an enzuiguri and other offense but Gulak keeps going back to the ankle. Perkins grabs an ankle-lock and sits down in a pinning attempt. Gulak grabs him and sinks in the ankle-lock. Perkins taps out to give Gulak the win.
Ethan Page vs AR Fox
Page has a headlock and grabs Fox’s do-rag and puts it on his own head. Fox does a matrix evasion from a Page clothesline and Fox hits an enzuiguri. Fox hits a springboard dropkick and then does two tope suicida’s. Page avoids a third but Fox gives a kick-flip from the apron. Fox gives Page a leg-drop from the top rope onto the apron. Fox goes for a shiranuiri off the apron but Page blocks and gives him a spinebuster on the apron. Page drapes Fox on the guardrail and flips him over into a backbreaker. Page gives Fox a high backdrop in the ring. Page drops an elbow. Fox fights back but Page gives him a variation of a slop drop. Page goes for a lawn dart but Fox hits a springboard ace crusher. Page goes to the floor and Fox hits a tope con giro. Fox hits a big boot in the ring followed by a swanton dive. Page avoids a 450 from Fox and gives him a lawn dart, an ace crusher and a form of a tilt-a-whirl. Fox hits an enzuiguri from the apron and then gives Page a springboard codebreaker. They trade forearms on the apron and Page clotheslines him into the ring. Fox brings Page back in with a face-buster. Fox goes to the top rope but Page goes to the apron and gives Fox an ace crusher into the apron. Fox charges in the corner and eats a boot. Fox hits an enzuiguri and a Lo Mein Pain followed by a 450 splash for the win. Page takes the mic and says he wants to be just like Johnny Gargano who endorsed him and apologizes for losing. Gargano comes out and says he brought Page here because he believes in him. He says Page didn’t let anyone down because he gave everything he had and showed he belongs in this ring. Gargano then talks about his title vs title match against Drew Galloway and says Galloway will have to kill him tomorrow if he wants to beat him.
Chris Hero vs Biff Busick
They start out trading chops and Hero works in some kicks. They trade more strikes and Hero slaps Busick and hits a dropkick. Busick keeps throwing forearms. Hero knocks Busick down with a straight jab. Hero does a Saito Suplex. Busick fires back with chops and a big elbow. He goes to the top and takes a kick from Hero that ties him up in the ropes. Hero elbows Busick on the floor and then kicks him down on the apron. Busick gets in the ring and hits a German suplex. Hero wails away with elbows in the corner. He stands Busick up for an elbow to the face and then delivers a belly-to-back suplex. Hero starts with forearms but Busick hits two neckbreakers. Hero goes outside and Busick follows and levels him with running uppercuts four times. Busick applies a rear naked choke in the ring and attempts a pin but Hero gets a boot to the face. Hero goes to the apron and Busick tries a half nelson suplex but grabs Hero in a rear naked choke. Hero escapes outside and Busick hits a tope. Busick gets on Hero’s back with a rear naked choke outside and Hero rams him into the guardrail and ring in attempts to shake him off. Busick still has it on as they go inside and Hero drives Busick back into the mat. Hero gives Busick a piledriver and then bullies him with slaps and kicks. Busick hits two half nelson suplexes and a lariat. Busick puts Hero on the top rope and tries for a suplex but Hero fights him off. Busick goes up the ropes and headbutts Hero and then manages a half nelson superplex. Busick puts on a rear naked choke but Hero gives him a rolling elbow. Busick goes for a sakitoshi but Hero fights out and hits him with a rolling elbow to the back of the head. Hero gives another three rolling elbows and a tombstone and pins Busick for the win.
Johnny Gargano and Rich Swann vs Caleb Konley and Brian Cage with So Cal Val and Andrea
Swann and Konley start and the fans chant for a dance-off. Swann does The Worm and Konley grabs him in a headlock. They trade holds and Swann taunts Konley with dancing. Konley does a leg-sweep and misses a senton allowing Swann to hit a seated dropkick. Gargano tags in and also hits a seated dropkick. Gargano hits an enzuiguri and Swann hits a scissors kick. Cage comes in and Swan throws him out of the ring with a rana. Cage tags in and clotheslines Gargano repeatedly in the corner. Gargano hits what I guess is a tornado flatliner. Swann is in and dives off the top rope at Cage who catches him and gives him a jackhammer. Konley and Cage cut off the ring and work over Swann. Konley is chopping him in the corner and goes for a suplex but Swann gets out for the tag to Gargano. Konley takes a kick from Gargano but Cage comes in and gives Gargano a Death Valley Driver onto Konley’s knees. Cage hits a leg-drop and a clothesline and Gargano is the face in peril. Gargano gets thrown to the floor where Andrea hits him with kicks and forearms until Gargano whips her into the ringpost. Gargano is back inside and Cage goes for a superplex. Gargano pushes him off and Cage hits an enzuiguri and then does a delayed superplex. Konley is in and Gargano hits a superkick and Hurts Don’t It. Gargano applies the Gargano Escape and Konley appears to tap out but the referee goes outside and stops the match due to injury to Swann who is on the floor. The match is awarded to Konley and Cage.
PJ Black vs Ricochet
Ricochet says that he believes Rich Swann hurt his ribs. AR Fox joins Lenny Leonard on commentary. Ricochet and Black feel each other out and they both hit a flying headscissors. Ricochet hits a seated dropkick. Ricochet does The People’s Standing Moonsault. Black gets Ricochet in a backbreaker over his shoulders and slams him into the mat. Black hits a splash in the corner and a double-underhook suplex. Black does a vertical suplex and floats over into an armlock. They trade strikes and Black knocks Ricochet to the floor. Black goes for a tope but Ricochet stops him with an enzuiguri. Ricochet goes for a tope but Black stops him with an uppercut. Black springboards into a dropkick from Ricochet. Black goes to the floor and Ricochet hits him with a running moonsault from the ring. Ricochet rolls Black inside and hits him with a springboard cross-body. Ricochet hits an Ace Crusher and a running shooting star press. Black fights back with an STO and goes for a quebrada that Ricochet avoids. They trade superkicks and they’re both down. They trade strikes again and Ricochet does a Northern Lights Suplex and floats over into a brainbuster. Ricochet goes for a springboard 450 but Black gets out of the way and then hits his own springboard 450. Black goes for a German but Ricochet avoids it and takes Black to the top rope. They fight it out and Ricochet hits an enzuiguri allowing him to do a reverse rana of the top rope. Ricochet goes up top but Black cuts him off. Black goes for a rana but Ricochet counters with a top rope powerbomb. Ricochet goes up top and hits a 630 splash for the pinfall.
This was a very solid card top-to-bottom. Thatcher vs End or Hero vs Busick would probably be the best matches but everything was good. It is hard to believe how well Black has adjusted to indy work and he seems to be having fun with it. EVOLVE’s roster is top notch right now and their sports-based presentation should be watched by everyone.
