Zack Sabre Jr. vs Chris Hero
Sabre comes out and challenges Hero to start their match now. Hero comes out and has the ring announcer Joanna call him “The Greatest of All Time.” Hero does some stalling to start and then patting him on the face. Sabre stops a yakuza kick and an elbow from Hero while hitting him with uppercuts. Sabre avoids a yakuza kick and hits more uppercuts on the floor. Hero hits Sabre in the face but Sabre applies an octopus hold on the floor and bends Hero’s fingers. They return to the ring and Sabre twists Hero’s ankle and works his arm. Hero hits an elbow and then works Sabre’s arm. Hero goes to stomp Sabre but Sabre catches Hero’s boot and starts twisting his leg. Hero takes control and does a senton but Sabre gets his knees up and then gets Hero in a cross armbreaker. Hero ties up Sabre in the ropes and knocks him to the floor with a rolling elbow. Hero hits an elbow on the floor. Back in the ring, Hero offers a free shot and Sabre hits an uppercut but Hero slaps him to the mat. Sabre slaps Hero who gives him a yakuza kick and hits a senton. Sabre kicks out but Hero hits another yakuza kick and a senton. Hero celebrates allowing Sabre to grab his arm then twist it and stomp on it. They go to the floor where Hero punches Sabre and whips him into the guardrail. Hero knees Sabre in the face and takes him back inside. Hero kicks Sabre in the face twice but Sabre fights back with strikes. Hero hits a head-kick but Sabre gives him a series of running uppercuts. Hero blocks a German suplex attempt but Sabre kicks him in the arm. Hero slaps him but Sabre hits a tornado DDT and a soccer kick. Sabre grabs a hammerlock and stomps on Hero’s wrist. Sabre hammerlocks Hero’s arm in the ropes and applies a stump-puller. Sabre places Hero’s arm in the guardrail and kicks it twice and then does the same using a chair. Hero sits on the chair and Sabre floors him with kicks to the chest. Sabre rolls Hero inside but Hero hits a dropkick through the ropes. Sabre gets to the apron where Hero hits him with kicks. Sabre tells Hero to come on and Hero continues with kicks. They trade strikes until Sabre kicks Hero to the mat and rolls him up. Hero hits a yakuza kick in the corner. Hero seats Sabre on the top and hits an uppercut and gives him a cravate driver. Hero goes for a vertical suplex but Sabre blocks it, applies a kimura and headbutts Hero in the shoulder. Hero powers through and hits a crash landing suplex. Hero hits a clothesline and a bicycle kick. Sabre rolls him into a cross armbreaker but Hero rolls them to the ropes. Sabre starts kicking Hero in the shoulder. Hero catches his foot and Sabre slaps him but takes a knee-strike. Sabre does a backslide but Hero hits him with a short piledriver. They trade elbow stirkes. Sabre gives Hero the finger and Hero kicks him in the face and hits another elbow. Sabre slaps Hero in the ear, elbows him in the back of the head and hits an up-kick. Hero hits a Saito suplex and Sabre gives him a soccer kick. Hero hits an elbow and they’re both down. Hero gets up first and goes for a piledriver but Sabre goes to his knees. Hero goes for a Gotch-style piledriver but Sabre counters into a kimura and then applies an armbar. Sabre rolls him up and Hero ecapes. Sabre kicks him in the leg and avoids another piledriver attempt and gets another roll-up. Sabre jumps off the ropes but takes a bicycle kick. Hero hits a cyclone kill kick and then gives Sabre two elbows in the back of the head. Hero hits him with a fall-away elbow in the back of the head and gets the three-count. This was a fantastic match. Hero hitting the repeated yakuza kicks and elbows just because they’re effective makes so much sense. His sentons had a lot of impact and Sabre has the best limb work I can think of. Hero says he has heard “Best In The World” time and time again and that it is played out. Hero says he is the greatest of all time.
Drew Gulak vs Fred Yehi
Gulak is accompanied by Catchpoint of TJ Perkins, Matt Riddle and Tracy Williams. Yehi takes Gulak to the mat a couple times and gets a roll-up. Gulak traps Yehi’s arm on the mat and works a headlock. They go back and forth until Yehi hits a headbutt to Gulak’s stomach. Yehi gets Gulak in a stump-puller and works the leg. Gulak hits a chop and then gives Yehi a suplex. Gulak works the arm and rols up Yehi. Gulak ties up Yehi’s legs and stretches his shoulders and just stretches him in general. Gulak elbows him in the head and Yehi punches the knee. They trade strikes and Yehi stomps on Gulak’s foot and holds it down while striking him. Yehi does a vertical euplex. They trade strikes again and Yehi hits a sliding kick. Yehi goes for a dragon sleeper with Gulak fighting back until Yehi hits a reverse suplex. Yehi grabs a Koji clutch but Gulak gets out and gets an ankle lock. Yehi gets out but his leg gives out and Gulak hits a spinning backfist. Gulak works the leg but Yehi hits a trapped leg suplex. Yehi is limping but he hits a German suplex. Yehi hits a fisherman’s buster. Yehi goes for a discus strike but his leg goes out. Gulak attacks but Yehi stomps his hand. Yehi misses an O’Connor Roll. They trade roll-up attempts and Gulak applies a dragon sleeper for the submission win. What a great finish. Yehi is really good. Gulak takes the mic and says Catchpoint is about seizing opportunity, saying that Yehi has great potential and could do great things with them. Yehi shakes Gulak’s hand and joins Catchpoint, with Riddle giving him a Catchpoint shirt. Gulak says that a year ago he uttered the word “catchpoint” and now everyone in wrestling is using it. He says it is more than just a stable, it is a philosophy that unites them. He says the industry was put on notice and they are clearly taking notice. He says this is the future and it is all about competition. Williams then challenges Riddle to a match.
Matt Riddle vs Tracy Williams
Riddle takes Williams’ back and goes for the arm. They stand but Williams takes Riddle down, grabs his knee and applies a single leg crab. Williams drops an elbow to Riddle’s back and stretches him out. Riddle gets up and they shoulder-block each other. Williams gets Riddle’s leg and grabs an ankle-lock. Riddle gets up and shoots on Williams and hits knees to the ribs. Williams throws Riddle to the floor and hits a plancha off the top turnbuckle. Williams gets to the apron and Riddle hits a knee-strike from the second rope. Riddle runs for a dive but slides to the floor and hits a slap instead. Riddle hits a German suplex in the ring and kicks Williams in the back and then the chest. They trade strikes and Williams knocks Riddle down with uppercuts. Riddle hits a head-kick but Williams blocks a kick, hits a rolling elbow and then nails a forearm off the second turnbuckle. Williams hits a kick and they trade forearms. Riddle kicks Williams in the face and hits a regular dropkick, a seated dropkick and a missile dropkick. Williams works the arm and applies an octopus hold followed by a side Russian legsweep. Williams puts him in an octagon special but Riddle gets his foot on the ropes. Williams starts kicking Riddle in the chest and hits a falling clothesline. Riddle fights back with punches and a high kick but Williams catches him in a backbreaker across his knee and then gives him a back suplex. Riddle throws more punches but Williams hits a rolling elbow. Williams comes off the second rope and Riddle catches him with a knee-strike to the head. Riddle hits a fisherman’s buster. Riddle hits a jumping knee off the second rope but Williams floors him with a lariat for a near-fall. Williams hits strikes and goes for a piledriver but Riddle catches him in an electric chair and applies a bro-mission. Riddle grabs the ankle but Williams fights out with kicks to Riddle’s face. Williams ties Riddle up in the ropes and this him with strikes while Riddle eggs him on. Williams hits Riddle with two dropkicks. He charges a third time and Riddle catches him in a cross armbreaker in the ropes. Riddle goes to the top rope but Williams dropkicks him. Williams then hits a DDT off the top rope for another near-fall. Williams then applies a facelock for the submission win. They then celebrate together with Catchpoint after the match. This was the third great match in a row on this show. Evolve’s style is probably my favorite in wrestling right now.
Anything Goes match: Ethan Page vs Anthony Neese
Page slaps Neese and then hits several punches and a backdrop. Page grabs a chair from under the ring but Neese cartwheels over him and superkicks the chair into Page’s head. Page then throws the chair into Neese’s head and whips him into the ringpost. Page puts Neese’s head in the chair and runs him into the ringpost. They talk on commentary about Neese having called Page fat and Page being part of an anti-bullying group in Canada. Page drapes Neese on the guardrail and flips him into a backbreaker. Page then runs a chair into Neese’s stomach. They return to the ring and Neese catches Page with a knee and then a draping DDT on a chair. Neese hits a quebrada and then chokes him with the chair. Neese kicks him in the corner and hits a running kick. Neese goes outside and throws more chairs in the ring and then slams Page on a chair. Page fights back with punches and a step-up enzuiguri. Page charges Neese who downs him by throwing a chair at his head. Neese brings a ladder into the ring, hits Page with it and chokes him with it. Neese hits Page in the knee and the head with a chair and sets up chairs in the corners and throws Page into them. Neese tries to throw Page into the ladder in a corner but Page stops him and slingshots Neese into the ladder. Page starts hitting Neese with the ladder and gives him a fall-away slam into a chair in a corner. Page sets up two chairs and goes for a piledriver but Neese dumps him to the apron. Page hits him with a pump-kick and then slams him into the chairs for a pin attempt. Neese gives Page a drop toehold into the chair but Page then gives Neese an RKO into the chair. Page sets up two chairs together again. Page takes Neese to the top rope and elbows him in the face. Neese slips out and attempts a top rope powerbomb but Page fights him off. Neese then gives Page a Death Valley Driver through the chairs. They start swinging chairs at each other. Page gives Neese a side-slam and nails him with a swinging chair. Page then drapes the ladder across two chairs and tries to suplex Neese onto them. Neese fights back with strikes and then hits a superkick. Neese sets up Page for a superplex but Page grabs him and powerbombs him on the ladder. Page then gives Neese a package piledriver and gets the pinfall win. They hug after the match. This was a fun brawl and Page has certainly improved a great deal this year.
Lenny Leonard then starts the Night of Appreciation for Terry Funk and calls Funk to the ring who thanks fans for being there. Leonard asks for someone to bring the plaque from the back and Sabu comes to the ring. Funk holds a chair but Sabu takes it from him and they hug. Mick Foley then comes to the ring with the plaque and hugs Funk and Sabu. Foley says there is a Hall of Fame celebration going on and that three years ago he chose Terry Funk to induct him. Foley says the reason he is not at the HOF tonight is because Funk is here. Foley says he loves him and that he is everything that is right about the business. Foley says that he got the night off and even if he attended the HOF his heart would be here with Terry. Foley says there is no place he’d rather be. Funk says the wrestling fans have been his life and he loves them. He says he loves Foley and Sabu, loves being in the ring and being competitive with them and that they are two of the best. Larry Fallas and Earl Cooter then come to the ring. Cooter said he came to congratulate Funk. Cooter says that he came out because he is Funk’s biggest fan in the world and he wants to be the next big legend. Cooter says he wants to show Funk what he’s got but he isn’t booked. Funk says he shouldn’t be. The fans chant “You’re a jobber.” Dallas then asks if Funk won’t do anything for he and Cooter and says that he expected more of him. Dallas said he thought Funk would do all he could to help out future generations but that the only time Funk, Foley and Sabu care about being nice guys is when fans give their hard-earned money to take their pictures with them. Foley takes the ring that people can exercise their right to free speech and points out shirts being worn at ringside including a “This Is Progress” shirt but points at Dallas and Cooter and says “This is not progress.” Dallas and Cooter then attack Funk and company but get beaten down. Sabu gives Cooter an Arabian facebuster and throws a chair at Dallas. Foley then takes off his cosk and gives Dallas the mandible claw. Foley does the same to Cooter and then Funk, Foley and Sabu leave to a good ovation.
After the intermission, So Cal Val says that as Ivelisse is injured and Taylor is only contracted to defend against her, there will be no title match. Latasha comes out and challenges her but gets beat down by Andrea. Travin Adams then announces that Taylor Made will defend against former Shimmer Champion Nicole Matthews who comes to the ring.
Shine Championship: Taylor Made vs Nicole Matthews
Matthews hits a tope suicida. They return to the ring and Taylor hits a knee to the gut and starts laying in elbows. Taylor chops Matthews in the corner and starts banging her head on the mat. Taylor stomps on her in the corner and then hits a corner dropkick. Matthews fights back with two short-arm clotheslines and a northern lights suplex. Matthews misses a charge in the corner. Matthews hits elbows and gives Taylor a German suplex. Taylor tries for a stunner twice but Matthews blocks her and puts her in a lion-tamer. Val distracts the refere and Andrea comes in and hits Matthews with a dropkick. Taylor then hits a stunner and gets the pin to keep her title.
FIP Title: Caleb Konley vs Jason Cade vs Gary Jay vs Maxwell Chicago
Everyone is in and out of the ring to start. Chicago does some comedy against Konley and struggles to do a kip-up. Cade hits Konley and Chicago with missile dropkick and then hits a step-up rana on Chicago. Jay takes some chops and slaps from Chicago and then punches him. Chicago hits Jay with a pounce and then gets the referee’s help to climb the ropes and tease a plancha but he crawls to the floor and this a light clothesline on all his opponents. Cade hits Chicago with a kick and then takes a tilt-a-whirl into a flatliner. Chicago hits Cade with knees and elbows. Konley backdrops Chicago into being crotched on the top rope. Jay flies in with a dropkick that Konley blocks with his own. Konley hits a vertical suplex on Jay and then hits elbows and chops. Konley sets up Chicago and Jay for a DDT/Flatliner and Cade knockes him into this with a flying knee. Cade hits Jay with a lungblower and then superkicks Chicago. Cad hits Konley with a knee strike and a leg lariat and gives him a northern lights suplex and a double stomp. Cade hits Chicago with a tope suicida and then hits Konley with a tope con giro. Cade continues with a 450 legdrop plancha off the top. Cade rolls Jay inside and hits a top rope splash. Konley throws Jay inside and trades roll-ups with Jay. Konley then powerbombs Jay over the top rope onto Cade and Chicago on the floor. Konley punches Chicago and Jay and then takes a German suplex from Jay who throws both Cade and Chicago into Konley in the corner. Cade and Jay trade strikes and onley hits a spinning backfist on Jay. Cade tries to hit Chicago with kicks but Chicago hits his own kicks and a tiger driver. Chicago hits Konley with a chinbreaker and then eyepokes Jay. Chicago goes for a superplex on Jay but Cade gives him a sunset flip powerbomb. Konley knocks Cade out of the ring and hits a top rope Michinoku Driver on Jay to get the pinfall.
Evolve Title: Timothy Thatcher vs Sami Callihan
They are pushing that Thatcher is coming into this with an injured right elbow from his match with Matt Riddle yesterday. Callihan charges right away but takes Thatcher’s injured elbow to the face. Callihan shoots on Thatcher who fights him off. Callihan rolls outside after Thatcher slaps him in the face. Callihan boots him in the gut and hits stirkes to the back of the head. Thatcher grabs Callihan’s leg but Callihan gets his back. Thatcher stretches him out and grabs a Fujiwara armbar and then slams his head on the apron. Callihan hits a headkick, a clothesline off the second rope and a tope suicida. Callihan chops Thathcer on the floor and then does a hammerlock with Thatcher’s injured elbow bent through the guardrail. Callihan continues to work the elbow in the ring. Thatcher fights back with knees but Callihan downs him with chops. Thatcher fends off with upkicks and kicks him in the face. Thatcher gives Callihan a belly-to-belly suplex and continues with several knees to Callihan’s ribs. They go outside and Thatcher whips Callihan into the guardrail. Thatcher rolls him inside, stomps on his head and whips him into the corner. Callihan avoids a charge and hits a headkick and a knee-strike. Thatcher catches him on another running kick and they floor each other with kicks three times in a row. They hit each other with clotheslines and Callihan kicks Thatcher’s elbow. They both hit clotheslines again. Thatcher hits a Saito suplex and then Callihan hits one as well. Callihan axehandles Thatcher in the neck twice but takes a headbutt on a third attempt. Callihan hits a powerbomb and then grabs Thatcher in an armbar but Thatcher gets the ropes. Callihan rips the brace off Thatcher’s elbow and Thatcher fights back with elbows and kicks. Callihan hits a boot to Thatcher’s face and then hits a cuerno killer. Callihan hits some boots to the face but Thatcher hits a stiff headbutt and pins him to win the match.
Drew Gulak, Tracy Williams, Fred Yehi, TJ Perkins and Matt Riddle come to the ring and Gulak complains about not getting a title shot. He calls Thatcher a disgrace. Thatcher says he is still champion and says he will defend it against each and every one of them. Thatcher lays down the title and says he will reclaim it when he gets his redemption.
Will Ospreay, Tommy End and Marty Scurill vs Johnny Gargano, Kota Ibushi and TJ Perkins
This is a cool idea for a match, with three young stars from Europe vs three guys from Evolve 1 back in 2010. Scurill and Gargano start and do some nice exchanges until Scurrill hits a back elbow. Scurrill gets Gargano’s back and applies a sleeper. Gargano gets out and Scurrill pokes his eyes. Gargano stomps his foot, rolls him up and gets a headkick. TJP tags in and hits a seated dropkick. End tags in and grabs a wristlock but TJP gets a headscissors. TJP hits a back-kick and a basement knee. Ospreay tags in and TJP backs off and tags Ibushi. He and Ospreay do some counter-wrestling. Ospreay does repeated nip-ups. Ospreay does a handspring but Ibushi avoids him and hits a dropkick. TJP tags in and he Gargano hit a stereo slam. TJP puts Ospreay in a campana and Gargano dropkicks him. End tags in and hits a big kick on Gargano. End bodyslams Gargano and Ospreay hits a slingshot tornillo. Scurrill tags in and hits an uppercut and then double-stomps Gargano’s knees. End tags in and Gargano fights back with punches but takes a kick. Ospreay tags in and hits an uppercut in the corner. Scurrill does the same and then Ospreay starts dropping elbows and runs Gargano’s head into the turnbuckle. Scurrill is in and stops a Gargano comeback with a knee to the head. Gargano gets out of a suplex attempt with knees to Scurrill’s head and then dropkicks End and Ospreay off a tornado DDT on Scurrill. Ibushi tags in and squares off with Ospreay, hitting a dropkick. Scurrill is in and TJP gets a blind tag and hits a springboard forearm. All six men are in the ring trading forearms but the Europeans knock Team Evolve down with kicks to the knees. Ibushi, Gargano and TJP all hit superkicks and TJP and Ibushi both hit tope suicida’s. TJP suplexes Ospreay and floats over to hit a back suplex. TJP gives Ospreay a fireman’s carry into an up-kick and Scurrill makes the save. TJP and Ibushi attempt a double-clothesline but Osprey avoids and handsprings into a double Pele kick. Ospreay dropkicks TJP to the floor. Scurrill hits a superkick to TJP off the apron. End hits a double-stomp on Gargano into an Ospreay DDT. Ospreay hits a superkick and Scurrill wrenches Gargano to the mat, then kneels down and Ospreay jumps off his back and hits a shooting star press. End hits a soccer kick. TJP hits a missile dropkick on Scurrill and End but Ospreay charges him in the corner. Ospreay catches TJP up in the top turnbuckle and he and Scurrill both hit superkicks. Scurrill and End then hoist TJP up where Ospreay hits a springboard ace crusher. Ibushi fights off Ospreay, Scurrill and End and hits Ospreay and End with a double Pele kick. Scurrill grabs him in a sleeper but Ibushi escapes. Ospreay hits Ibushi with a step-up enzuiguri. Gargano hits Ospreay and End with a double Superman slingshot spear and then hits Scurrill with a tope suicida. TJP gives Ospreay a Finlay roll and Ibushi hits Ospreay with a moonsault. TJP hits a 450 splash on Ospreay and Scurrill and End break up a pin attempt. Gargano tries to suplex Ospreay who flips into an ace crusher. End hits a superkick but TJP hits a dropkick. Ospreay kicks Ibushi who fires back with a clothesline.
Everyone is on the mat and Ibushi gets up and grabs Scurrill who snaps Ibushi’s fingers ad throws him to the floor. TJP knocks Scurrill to the floor and hits a dropkick from the second rope. Ospreay hits TJP with a dropkick but gets clotheslined to the floor by Gargano. End backdrops Gargano to the apron and Gargano hits a dive on Scurrill. End then hits a moonsault off the turnbuckle to all his opponents on the floor. All six men are on the floor and Scurill throws Ibushi over the guardrail and then Gargano does the same to Scurrill. End hits a kick on TJP. Ospreay does a dive over the guardrail onto his opponents. They brawl to the back of the building. Ibushi and Ospreay go up to the rafters and throw punches and they both do moonsaults onto their respective opponents. Ospreay and Ibushi then trade strikes and kicks in the ring. Ibushi does a standing moonsault but Ospreay gets his knees up. Ospreay goes for a dragon suplex but Ibushi catches him in a German suplex. TJP grabs End in an ankle-lock and Gargano put shim in the Gargano Lock. Ospreay rolls up Ibushi. TJP gives Ospreay a facbuster and then Ibushi gives him a delayed sit-out powerbomb for the pin. Both teams shake hands. Gargano talks about going to wrestle at NXT that afternoon and being able to continue in Evolve because of the WWN/WWE relationship. Gargano says that he does not know what the future holds but that 2016 is a great time for wrestling.
This was an amazing show. It was definitely better than WrestleMania and is up there with NXT for the show of the weekend out of what I have seen so far. Evolve is just an amazing product right now.
