Did Evolve 114 Change Things for the Better?

This past weekend, as many of you were watching WWE Evolution, or doing something else if you're a well-adjusted person who does not have their schedule revolve around what wrestling is going on. I was in Ybor City, the place where cool people go to party in Tampa, to surround myself with degenerate wrestling fans and attend Evolve 114.

Evolve has been one of the top independent promotions for a while now as they have been instrumental in the careers of Keith Lee, Matt Riddle, and Johnny Gargano. Since they recently lost those first two guys, they are in a bit of a rebuilding mode. Shane Strickland led them into the card as he was not only the Evolve World Champion, but has held belts for countries all around the US and is universally considered one of the top guys on the Indys.

Usually when this happens, new talent rises up to take up the spots that are now open. Evolve has a ton of guys that can do it as they had a ladder match with six super talented guys in JD Drake, Austin Theory, Darby Allin, Anthony Henry, Harlem Bravado, and probably my favorite Indy wrestler, AR Fox. But instead, Evolve went in the total opposite direction and picked up guys from above the Evolve level.

Evolve has had a working relationship with the WWE for the past couple years, and it has worked out for both sides. Evolve helps develop talent to get them ready for NXT, and WWE will occasionally send guys to Evolve shows to help boost the card. They have now taken that to the extreme.

The week of the event, Evolve's tag champions, Doom Patrol, Chris Dickinson and Jaka, issued an open challenge. This open challenge was answered by NXT's Street Profits, Angelo Dawkins and Montez Ford, the latter of which should turn into a massive star if the WWE has any inkling of ability to develop talent. That's a pretty awesome upgrade for the card, and I assumed that they could put on a fun match where Doom Patrol finds a way to win, and they both go their separate ways.

But when the WWE announced that Street Profits would challenge, they also mentioned that other NXT stars may be interested in seeing what Evolve was all about. Considering that Shane Strickland did not have an opponent for his world title, my interest was definitely piqued. Strickland came out early to brag of dispatching the best that Evolve has to offer, so who would answer his challenge? The music hit, and out came the one and only...Fabian Aichner? Well, not exactly Riddle, Keith Lee, or Ricochet, but whatever, it should be a watchable match.

Then, throughout the night, we saw little used NXT wrestlers Jessie, Adrian Jaoude (with Cesar Bononi), and Dan Matha make appearances. This could have been very cool to see these wrestlers take a few more chances and let loose, but it was much more of NXT style matches than Evolve style matches. They were fine, but the most memorable thing from any of them was Dan Matha saying that he is the sauciest of sauces, and he goes drip, drip, drip, which made me laugh out loud as now every time I see Matha, I will only be able to think of Ol' Drippy from Aqua Teen Hunger Force.

On the positive side, the tag team title match between Doom Patrol and Street Profits was awesome. The crowd loved Street Profits, because really, how can you not love Street Profits? It was still more of an NXT match, but it was closer to the level of NXT Takeover tag matches as it was a good back and forth battle. And the crowd all erupted when Street Profits actually got the victory to win the Evolve Tag Titles.

Still, it was clear that the Evolve roster would have their revenge when Shane Strickland took on Fabian Aichner for the Evolve World Title. This was a really good match and is a great reminder of how awesome the talent in NXT is. Aichner is super good, and Strickland will always put on good matches. Still, the crowd knew that Strickland wasn't losing, so they never fully embraced the match. The ending was fast-paced back and forth with Aichner hitting a revolution powerbomb to win the match...wait, what? Fabian Aichner is the new Evolve World Champ? I now know what it would have been like to see The Undertaker's streak ended, because it was the same sense of shock when Aichner beat Strickland. Just total disbelief and dismay.

So what the hell does this mean? Both the Evolve World and Tag Champs are from NXT. With The Street Profits, I get it. They are one of the most fun acts in NXT, and even though they haven't quite risen to Championship level, if they found their way to a title shot and even a win in the next few months, it wouldn't be all that surprising. If they show up on NXT television with the Evolve titles, there is potential to draw a lot more interest from WWE fans in turning them into pro wrestling fans. I think that makes a ton of sense as it increases interest in Evolve, and it elevates Street Profits as just holding titles from another organization immediately puts them in the conversation for NXT Tag Titles.

But Fabian Aichner? That one is more puzzling to me. If Fabian Aichner shows up wearing the Evolve title on NXT television, nobody is thinking that they need to watch Evolve, they think that Evolve must suck, because Fabian Aichner can't beat anybody important. What is Aichner's best singles win over the last year? He has beaten Raul Mendoza four times over that stretch, but Mendoza has still beaten Aichner eight times overall, so maybe that isn't the best example. I mean he did beat Jeet Rama in April, but Rama got his revenge two weeks later. So I guess it is his big win over Humberto Carillo, and if you're wondering why you don't remember any of these matches, it's because all of these matches were on house shows. So I would say the decision to give Aichner the title is puzzling.

So what the hell does that make Evolve? I think the most interesting thing is if Evolve was fully embraced by WWE as their Double-A organization (NXT is AAA, Raw/Smackdown is the majors). People in the business always talk about how titles only matter to marks, but if you're a wrestling fan, that makes you a mark and titles are important. If you told me that Fabian Aichner was going to be on the next NXT Takeover special, I might pass out from how aggressively I gave the wanking motion. But if you tell me that he is going to be there defending his Evolve title against Shane Strickland or AR Fox, well, that actually does get me invested in a Fabian Aichner match, because I would be fascinated to see either of those challengers on WWE television. WWE has shown a willingness to use guys that do not have WWE contracts, most notably for the Cruiserweight tournament with Kota Ibushi and Zach Sabre Jr.

That sort of partnership between the organizations could be a win-win if done correctly. I'd love to see Evolve guys on WWE Network, and it would definitely increase the interest in Evolve as an organization. Eventually, Evolve may be able to be a part of the WWE Network, although that is more me dreaming of an idealistic world as a fan as I doubt it makes much sense for either side financially. Although I was pretty skeptical of things the night of the event, it could be laying the groundwork for something special down the line.

Before I go, I need to point out that the ladder match for the WWN Championship is the type of match that could make anyone a pro wrestling fan. All six guys had a chance to shine, and it was a sensory overload that was a blast to watch from start to finish. It was more than worth the price of admission alone. If you show that on WWE Network, you will have a whole lot of people wondering how they can see it in person, and that is why I am so interested to see where Evolve goes from here.