The EVOLVE Thread

[The_Hooded_One]

So there's this fresh new promotion called EVOLVE, it sounds very NOAH like with the 1 word name of the company but also has the sport of Wrestling represented very much the same as NOAH. As far as what I know they have Davey Richards, Kota Ibushi, Jimmy Jacobs, Ken Doane, Arik Cannon, Gran Akuma, Mike Quackenbush, Jigsaw, Hallowicked and The Dark City Fight Club. Not as impressive as the roster of ROH but for as young as they are very impressive. Plus...It is ran by former ROH Head Booker Gabe Sapolsky which is a huge bonus. They have a very unique approach to Pro Wrestling and treat it like a Sport first and foremost. Im interested to see what Davey Richards future is as he's a part of ROH/EVOLVE and Dragon Gate USA, some of the ROH Officials might not like DR being apart of their old Bookers new Promotion, and maybe Sapolsky is trying to stick it to ROH. Word has it that before signing with WWE Bryan Danielson was supposed to be a part of EVOLVE, leaving ROH all together. Im all for it and look forward to EVOLVE's future progress. Go get em Gabe!

 

[RVDgurl]

I'm interested to see what the future holds for EVOLVE as well. They had their debut show on January 16th in New Jersey (I was planning on going, but that fell through). The reviews were not as good as I expected them to be. Tommy Dreamer made a run in during the main event match and that was hyped a good bit. Other than that match, the reviews claim that the show left alot to be desired.

I take this all in stride because it's extremely difficult to get a new company up and running. I will give any wrestling company that has Gabe Sapolsky as the booker a chance. Not to mention that Davey Richards is the cornerstone of the roster and he is without a doubt the hottest guy on the independent curcuit at the moment.

 

[Greenlight13]

I don't really see the point in EVOLVE when Dragon Gate USA runs in the format it currently does. DG don't send enough of their stars over to fill an entire PPV so the card is filled out by... the EVOLVE roster basically. The DGUSA events draw more fans, have better production values, and it just seems less amateur. Gabe books both so what is it that he thinks he can do in front of less fans in a crappier looking venue that he can't on a DGUSA show?

I like the idea of it in some ways, counting wins and losses, but it makes booking more complex and the fact they are only have shows once every other month means it'll take years for the wins and losses to become meaningful when it comes to ranking.

But aside from that aspect to it, and the frankly very impressive online viral marketing that ROH could learn from, I don't see the point in running another show with a similar roster and even overlapping storylines.

 

[X]

So EVOLVE had their first show a few weeks ago, and from what I've heard it was pretty damn good. Unfortunately as soon as EVOLVE has broken onto the scene, I've already lost all interest in them. Why? Because Davey Richards has inked a contract with ROH and now is no longer a part of EVOLVE, which sucks quite a bit considering that he was going to help book and run the promotion as well as lend his talents. Gabe just isn't enough to make me want to check out yet another indy in a dimly lit bingo hall, even one with phenomenal wrestling.

I'll try to check out their first show, but after that I'm not sure I'll be keeping much tabs on them. I've got enough to occupy my time with WWE/TNA/ROH/PWG/Dragon Gate USA as well as the various Japanese promotions I follow.

 

[indyfan8]

EVOLVE is sweet, its new, anything new will get attention at first. Man, 1 word names for promotions it seems are catching on like wild fire, dont you think?? Evolve, Chikara, Clash, i'm sure ppl can think of more... Out w/ the old 3 letter company lol

 

[X]

So I've watched the first two EVOLVE shows and I must say, I'm impressed with Gabe's ability to book both DGUSA and EVOLVE at the same time, and both promotions are putting on some fine shows. The crowds for EVOLVE however were really, really shitty and really just made the show look unprofessional. Aside from that though, the shows were both very good. Here are the ratings I gave to a few of the matches for my blog:

1/16/10 Bobby Fish vs. Kyle O'Reilly - ***
1/16/10 TJP vs. Munenori Sawa - ***1/2
1/16/10 Kota Ibushi vs. Davey Richards - ***3/4
3/13/10 Chuck Taylor vs. Ricochet - ***1/4
3/13/10 Claudio Castagnoli vs. Bobby Fish - ***
3/13/10 Mike Quackenbush/Jigsaw vs. Hallowicked/Frightmare vs. Amasis/Ophidian vs. Fire Ant/Green Ant (Elimination) - ***1/2
3/13/10 Chris Hero vs. Ikuto Hidaka - ****1/4

Alot of people liked the first show's main event of Kota Ibushi vs. Davey Richards more than the second shows main event of Chris Hero vs Ikuto Hidaka, but I actually was the other way around, I preferred the second show and the second main event. Hero and Hidaka put on one hell of a stiff contest, and one of the more unique match-ups I've seen this year, the psychology Hidaka was using to metaphorically "cut down" Hero's legs from under him with devastating strikes was absolutely brilliant.

I really liked both of the EVOLVE shows, and I really like the idea behind the show having Win/Loss records, should make for some very interesting booking. Can't wait for EVOLVE 3 to come out, because the first two were great.

 

[BWEEZY2009]

Ibushi vs Davey was very fun to watch.

The problem with EVOLE and the reason i think a lot of the casual fans haven't heard about it yet on the Indy scene is when Gabe first started it up, he had plans for Danielson and Davey to the foundation of the company.

Soon after the blueprints Danielson signed with the WWE and wasn't even able to compete in the inaugural show.

Soon after Danielson left, Davey inked with ROH like Eko said

It is said that there is an pretty big feud over this and that Gabe felt trust was broken. None of us knew the agreement Gabe and Davey had so I'm not going to comment on it.. but like i mentioned.. you lose your foundation, its hard to get that press.

Eko... Were you disappointed in Kenny Doane/Jimmy Jacobs on Evolve I?

 

[Kayoh]

So basically, what I'm hearing about EVOLVE is that they put on some BRILLIANT matches, but they are too short and there are too many of them. So, if you ask me, instead of the "6 shows a year" thing that hey had planned, I think they should just to a once a month thing, but cut the card in half. That would still leave a solid 6-7 matches now that they've added a few more guys to their roster (including Danielson, wtg WWE) and have some great tag teams going on for them. The DCFC is pretty cool, and the CHIKARA team with Quack in it. But yeah, I'm definitely intrigued by EVOLVE, especially the W-L and ranking systems they use.

 

[Thriller Ant]

So I'm going to bump this because I saw the first two EVOLVE shows during the long ass car rides I took this weekend and have a few random thoughts.

1. Davey Richards is a god. The main event at E1 was awesome, and it is a shame that he won't be around in this company anymore. I was also very impressed by Ibushi, sad we didn't see him at E2.

2. I want to see a lot more of Kyle O'Reilly. He reminds me a lot of Richards, which makes sense since Richards helped train O'Reilly, just without the intensity and of course not yet on the same level. He is a star in the making.

3. Same goes for Chuck Taylor. I think X has mentioned that he's a fan of him before, but I was really impressed by him. He is very good in the ring, and does well with the "management is screwing me" bit. I can see him being the main heel in the company.

4. Richards/Ibushi was better than Hero/Hidaka. Hero/Hidaka was good and both matches were extremely good, but I preferred Richards/Ibushi.

5. I don't think I'm a fan of Chikara's lucha style. The spots are interesting, but it just feels way too contrived and staged. I like Quack, but the rest of the guys are pretty indistinguishable to me. I'm sure the guys are very good at what they do, but just not my style I guess.

6. I have E3 and plan on getting E4 soon. I really think I will go back and buy the DVDs when I get money, as they are only $15 and 2 packs are only $25. Very good shows so far that show exactly what you can do with good workers in short periods of time. I really suggest you check this company out if you haven't yet. You won't be disappointed.

 

[CDoherty]

See a lot people don't like the one show every couple of months but I do, as someone who has a full time job and a very busy life their is no way I could ever keep up with ROH time or money wise. With Evolve I can afford to buy it and have time to watch it.

I really enjoyed Evolve 1, Evolve 2 was good as well, but Evolve 3 was a little bit of a let down. I'm a huge fan of Claudio and Chuck Taylor, but to me the match just wasn't believable. I got Evolve 4 on order but if it is like Evolve 3 they might lose me.