What if it Never Happened? - Evolution

[The 1-2-3 Killam]

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"The Game" Triple H. "The Nature Boy" Ric Flair. "The Legend Killer" Randy Orton. "The Animal" Batista. These four made up one of the greatest factions in the history of professional wrestling. They took the WWE by force, retiring veterans, winning championships, wining, dining, and limousine riding in style along the way! Triple H went from solid main event champion to one of the greatest heels in the business. Randy Orton, "the coal that would be squeezed into diamond", went from cocky up-and-comer to Intercontinental, and eventually World Heavyweight Champion. Dave Batista became more than just a body guard, he became a star of his own and would also go on to capture the World title.

We now know them all as greats, as former champions, one as the almost two-time Hall of Famer, and the other as future Hall of Fame prospects. But what if Evolution never happened? What if Triple H suffered some sort of injury, Ric Flair retired early, or another unforeseen circumstance kept these men apart? Would Randy have passed the mid-card? Would Batista be more than some main eventers insurance policy?

Evolution brought us some of the greatest matches, promos, and moments of all time. They have also brought us a legend on his way out, a huge success who now finds himself in Hollywood, and the current top face on Smackdown. But what if Evolution never happened?

 

[Tyler44]

There's not doubt in my mind that Orton would have eventually became a huge star, but making it happen through Triple-H and Ric Flair certainly made it happen perfectly. Orton was so small and unimportant that he reminded me of a guy like Alex Riley.

Alex Riley right now is a small and unimportant superstar to WWE, and lets say he ever makes it to the main event, he'd need a serious push. No fan will take him seriously. Now lets say Alex Riley formed a stable with Triple-H, CM Punk, and Chris Jericho, he'd be relevant and we'd care about him. He'd eventually (if he has the potential in him) become a true star because he was brought up with true superstars. That's why Evolution was so crucial for Orton.

 

[willross]

I agree that Orton would of became a star anyway because anyone who knows anything knows how talented he is, just would of taken a lot longer if he didn't get the rub from HHH.

Batista might of been in a little bit more trouble than Orton. Batista I have always thought is very under appreciated and brought some good matches and good moments as well. He is definately one of the biggest, legitimate stars produced post 2002. But without Evolution, I don't think he would of developed because he learned a lot of his psychology and other skills directly from Flair and HHH.

Bringing back a similar group would be very benefitial for a guy like A-Ry, Mason Ryan, Drew McIntyre, and/or Ted DiBiase. I know DiBiase got a similar chance but they didn't sustain the angle as they did with Randy and Batista.

HHH, Punk, A-Ry, and Mason Ryan would be one hell of a stable though.

 

[Bookman]

I think Evolution was most effective in the way it got Orton and Batista over as future stars. Without Evolution there's a good chance that neither man would have achieved the same level of success. Orton apparently had motivation issues early in his career. He was supposed to win the 2005 Royal Rumble but was passed on because of these issues and the failure of his World Title run as a face. I think Orton would have eventually turned himself around but Evolution, and specifically the Legend Killer gimmick, gave him a great base to work from when he left the group and worked as a heel on Smackdown! Batista probably would never have become a world champion without Evolution. Triple H invited Batista into Evolution because he liked him and they worked out together. Batista debuted on Smackdown! as a bodyguard for Reverend D-Von who had little to no skill in the ring and was basically kept around because of his amazing physique. He was close to being released when he started working out with Triple H and suddenly was given a great position on RAW. Sure Batista went on to become a decent wrestler and have some good matches and angles but it was his relationship Triple H who put him in such a good spot. Without Evolution Triple H would have still dominated the main event scene of RAW for most of 2003-2005 simply because of his position in the company and the lack of other established talent after Rock and Austin left. Ric Flair is the man and would have been without Evolution.

 

[JJ15776]

Evolution was most important to Batista. Without Evolution, Batista never becomes any bigger than a guy like Ezekiel Jackson is today. He was a main eventer the moment he left Evolution and he stayed there until he quit...it was all directly tied to how he was established in Evolution. Without it, it's hard to imagine any of that happening.

Randy Orton, on the other hand, is a different story. He was a main eventer when he left Evolution, yes. But he was also suspended for 60 days and became a bit of a "jobber to the stars" for awhile. After he lost the title to Triple H, and lost his ensuing rematches, it was almost 3 years before he was in the WWE title picture again. I think a lot of that could have happened without Evolution.

Clearly Triple H and Ric Flair were more or less uneffected by Evolution.

 

[CodeBreakingLegend13]

If Evolution didn't happen, CM Punk wouldnt get his push, John Cena wouldn't be in the main event, and Batista wouldn't be relevant at all. Let me tell you why:
Without Evoulution Orton and Batista would be thrown into the middle of with nothing to do. WWE had plans for Orton but with Raw so heel heavy at that time they would have moved him to smackdown. Smackdown would revolve heavily on Orton once Brock Lesnar left as the top heel. He would fued with Undertaker earlier as well as face Eddie Guererro and Rey Mysterio. This would leave JBL not needing to fill the void of a major heel on Smackdown, making him irrelevant.
Now this hurts Cena because they took the belt of JBL to Cena to make Cena beat the credible veteran heel who held the title for a year. Instead they will focus or Orton retaining or gaining the title at wrestlemania 21 to make him known as a credible heel and future superstar. Lets say Orton goes up against a face Kurt Angle. This leaves Cena stuck in the mid card and will have nobody for him to take that step up. He will be drafted to raw and get lost in the shuffle.
Now without Cena, CM Punk will most likely stay unhappy with the company. Orton not having the leadership development from guys like Triple H, and Ric Flair, he most likely would still remain a selfish prick and wont put over CM Punk the way Punk would have wanted to. Punk leaves WWE and Orton remains the mega star in the WWE.
Now thats what would happen if Evolution never existed.

 

[thebarber]

Without Evolution, Randy Orton would have been just fine. The Legend Killer gimmick alone got him well over. Aligning him with WWE and NWA/WCW legends in cracking angles solidifed his heel status and was a great way to have,at the, Randy's shithouse arrogant attitude at the time incorporated into his character, basically playing a volume turnwed up version of himself.

Dave Batista though, without Evolution I fully believe would have been another Kozlow, Heidenriech, Khali......a big guy who may have finally got a push after leaving Reverend D-Von but thats about it. Without Triple H selling his cause behind the scenes, Batista would not have been the success he become.

Goldbergs 2003 run was a major flop, but would have neen far worse if he didnt have Triple H and his cronies to feud with over the Summer/Fall. Triple H refused to put Goldberg over at first, believing him to be inferior, but with 4-1 attacks added to the story, diluting the feud. Plus with HHH injred for the majority of the fued(remember those disgracefiul black bike shorts), he could not perform any better to make Goldberg look any good.

Flair anmd Helmsley did not need Evolution, it was a way to get some guys on their side of the fence backstage and a great power play at that.

 

[Tyler44]

If Evolution didn't happen, CM Punk wouldnt get his push, John Cena wouldn't be in the main event, and Batista wouldn't be relevant at all.

I need to disagree with you.

The way I look at it this. John Cena is the face of WWE. There's no way in hell he is the face of the company just because Orton didn't go to Smackdown as the top heel rather than JBL who later gave Cena the title (plus, Cena could of still taken it from Orton. Whoever was champion doesn't really matter). He was bound to be huge because of his ethics, dedication and talent. He didn't accidentally become the Face of WWE.

Now you say without Cena, CM Punk would of stayed upset and left WWE? Do I need to actually respond to that? CM Punk is huge right now because he spoke up and got what he wanted, but he is also very talented and very good at what he does. John Cena has nothing to do with it, he's just the guy Punk had his big match with...but only because Cena is the biggest star in WWE right now.

I mean I thought Evolution was a dynamic and effective stable just like the next person, but come on, lets not get ahead of ourselves and say without their existence that 2 unrelated superstars would not be where they are today.

 

[PunkNation26]

The Goldberg vs Evolution feud was awesome. The way it ended was complete shit, but you can't blame that on Goldberg. OK, back to the topic.

If Evolution never existed, it's pretty obvious that Batista probably would've been the odd man out. Orton would've still succeeded. His Evolution days aren't even referenced now anyways. I might take flack for this, but I personally think Evolution sucked as a stable anyway. I mean they were good at what they were doing, but they basically only had 1 entertaining feud during their entire existance and that was Goldberg.

I don't count Batista vs HHH as an Evolution feud because it was a break up feud. Looking back, HHH in Evolution doesn't do him any justice. It makes him look like a weak douche. Even when he was a cowardly heel with Stephanie as his manager in his pre Evolution days, he was atleast credible and you believed he could beat people and destroy midcarders fairly if he had chosen to.

 

[Cats Pajamas]

Had Evolution not happened, I would've enjoyed two years of wrestling a whole lot better. I have to be honest, I didn't like Evolution as it happened and retrospect has not made me enjoy it any better. I know that heels need to do things that will make you dislike them, but it never made sense to me how those four guys, those FOUR in particular, could form a stable of absolute cowards like they did. There are other ways to get heat, there truly are and that should've been an exception.

Realistically, I don't think an absence of Evolution would have affected Batista or Orton to much. I think they may have had to wait a little longer for their first title reign, but even that's only 50/50 to me because it'd probably have meant Trips would not have held it so long opening it for Orton (though Batista would have possibly been a little later).

Orton would have had more than enough momentum from his Legend Killer schtick to effectively hold a World Title; the Undertaker and Dad put Orton over huge. Batista, however, went from dumb muscle for D'von to dumb muscle for them, he'd have needed something else had he not been so ruthlessly endorsed by Trips and Flair.

I also accuse Evolution for taking Goldberg's steam. He had speared the Rock in his first 5 seconds in a WWE ring and won a World Championship in a month. I can still remember HHH punching a hole through Goldberg's brain in the Elimination Chamber with the sledgehammer and thinking "I've just lost interest in Goldberg and the Chamber all at once." From then on, Goldberg basically wasted his time until that embarrassing Lesnar/Goldberg match at Mania XX.

I think we may have missed out on one of the few meaningful World Heavyweight Title reigns we've seen since Bischoff brought it in.

 

[Dagger Dias]

If Evolution never happened then we would have missed out on some of the best moments the WWE has ever seen. They were one of the best factions of all time and greatly helped the careers of both Randy Orton and Batista. I think that both of them would still have seen some success without Evolution but it helped establish them. Batista had the size, and would eventually have seen a push due to Vince's like of larger guys. Would he have had as big of a following though? Probably not. At the time of Batista's standing up to Trips for their Wrestlemania 21 match he was incredibly over. This angle established him as a permanent main eventer. Orton's main event run did not start until later in 2007, but the seeds for that were planted during his first World Championship run and the infamous thumbs down moment. Orton would have been pushed regardless for his ancestry, but Evolution got his foot in the door to main eventing faster. Trips and Flair were already established long ago so they didn't need it.