Follow along if you will.

SHINE Presents Six Woman Tag Team Match

SHINE Champion Mia Yim & SHINE Tag Team Champions Kimber Lee & Cherry Bomb vs. Nikki Storm & The Canadian Ninjas of SHIMMER Champion Nicole Matthews & Portia Perez

 

Andrea just took out Nikki Storm to get into the match. This was a fine match that got time to develop. A nice little showcase match.

SHINE Presents Six Woman Tag Team Match

SHINE Champion Mia Yim & SHINE Tag Team Champions Kimber Lee & Cherry Bomb vs. Nikki Storm & The Canadian Ninjas of SHIMMER Champion Nicole Matthews & Portia Perez

 

Andrea just took out Nikki Storm to get into the match. This was a fine match that got time to develop. A nice little showcase match.

Cherry Bomb is local here and it's nice that she gets a showcase like that.

Galloway out to set up his match.

 

EVOLVE Champion Drew Galloway vs. DGUSA Champion Johnny Gargano

 

We get a little back and forth strike exchange. Galloway captures Gargano on a springboard moves and destroys his back. Galloway loses the advantage quickly. Some brawling and a big chop exchange. Back in the ring Galloway in control with chops and his size. The shifts in momentum don't really build. They just happen. Gargano sold that boot pretty strong to just make a comeback. Tope' into the ref by Gargano. The bad drama with the rope. Two refs have been koed. Way too much killing of finishers here. This got a lot of time, but really lacked a cohesive story. 1 1/2*

Galloway and Gargano went all 1999 - 2001 WWE main event style (crowd brawling, mid-match ref bumps, mid-match moral dilemma, lots of near falls, ect.). The crowd ate it up. I think structurally it was fine. It was a big match (title vs. title) so it makes sense to ape the that "epic" match style. It didn't totally click with me. Gargano and Galloway's offense wasn't that great and it goes without saying that they don't have the charisma and timing needed to really make those matches work. They also went too far at the end. I think they had some solid ideas, but it didn't come together. The crowd loved it though, so that's something at least.

Biff Busick vs. Drew Gulak vs. TJ Perkins vs. Tommy End

Starts out interesting with the mat wrestling. Some hard hitting here. A little botch by End. Of course this breaks down into a lot of little moments. Finish came out of no where. I think with these guys styles a tag would have worked better. 2 1/2*

Galloway and Gargano went all 1999 - 2001 WWE main event style (crowd brawling, mid-match ref bumps, mid-match moral dilemma, lots of near falls, ect.). The crowd ate it up. I think structurally it was fine. It was a big match (title vs. title) so it makes sense to ape the that "epic" match style. It didn't totally click with me. Gargano and Galloway's offense wasn't that great and it goes without saying that they don't have the charisma and timing needed to really make those matches work. They also went too far at the end. I think they had some solid ideas, but it didn't come together. The crowd loved it though, so that's something at least.

I felt the crowd and I were watching 2 different matches.

 

Galloway and Gargano went all 1999 - 2001 WWE main event style (crowd brawling, mid-match ref bumps, mid-match moral dilemma, lots of near falls, ect.). The crowd ate it up. I think structurally it was fine. It was a big match (title vs. title) so it makes sense to ape the that "epic" match style. It didn't totally click with me. Gargano and Galloway's offense wasn't that great and it goes without saying that they don't have the charisma and timing needed to really make those matches work. They also went too far at the end. I think they had some solid ideas, but it didn't come together. The crowd loved it though, so that's something at least.

I felt the crowd and I were watching 2 different matches.

 

 

Yea, I'm with you. It didn't do much for me either. On the bright side, I'll take a bad match that the crowd liked over a bad match that the crowd was indifferent to. Small victories, I guess.

AR Fox vs PJ Black

 

Starts out with some highspots instead of building to them. Have patience guys it will pay off in the long run. That top rope DVDR to the ring apron was sick. I mean we got a spot fest. Super glad the DVDR to the ring apron set up the finish. Wish it was fleshed out a bit more because both guys worked hard.Man Fox sell post match bro. 2 1/2 *

How about an apology for not getting VOD up the day after the show, among other things. Fucking fraud.

Thatcher vs Hero

 

This is the match I'm looking most forward to. Hopefully it gets the taste out of my mouth of that insincere blow job interview that just happened. Big match feel. A real deliberate pace where all the moments are getting over to me. I'm loving the fight between both guys on the mat. All the little things get over like Hero putting his forearm in Thatcher's temple on a pin attempt. Hero's forearms in the corner were nasty. The German Suplex and then the dbl headbutt got over huge because they laid the groundwork for you to care. Pretty good match. The finish gets Thatcher over as a submission master. I'd like to get Thatcher a few more hope spots in the match.. I like having submissions end matches just like that, but it will take time for me and other parts of your audience to get. 3 1/4*

Aries & Strong vs Ricochet/Uhaa Nation

 

I'll give Gabe credit for booking Thatcher/Hero between the 2 matches. Loved Aries Knee breaker suplex combo. That was one sick finish. Again a good match, but not outstanding. 2 1/2*

Overall a thumbs in the middle show. I think Strong vs Thatcher could be real good. Not the show they needed to convert the casual fan to watch more Evolve shows. Presenting Thatcher as your potential ace is a gamble. I'm a fan, but he has plenty of detractors.

Good show. Ended strong after a so-so start. Hero/Thatcher was match of the night. Main event was fun. Thatcher/Strong is clearly the right direction (most over heel versus most over face). They should eventually circle back to Strong/Galloway and unify the FIP title with the DGUSA & EVOLVE titles to form a WWN triple crown of sorts. I've always been a fan of the multiple belt gimmick.

 

I liked the focus on submission endings all weekend. There were a half dozen or so matches where submissions were fought over the majority of the match and once they were locked in, the guy tapped immediately (or passed out immediately in one case). A couple of cross arm breakers, a Fujiwara arm bar, and a couple of others I think. That's smart booking because one of the things these EVOLVE Thatcher/Gulak & company matches have been missing is crowd response on the submission teases. The more you get over that a cross arm breaker equals an immediate finish, the more the crowd will eventually react to all cross arm breaker attempts. Perkins going over via submission on Gulak especially hammered home that point. They are well on their way to establishing that certain submissions are going to end a match and that should pay off down the road.