Sorry for the delayed responses, everyone. I've been so busy, my dice have forgot my name.
Gunslinger - There is a lot going on with programs bottle-necking at this point. Many of these will be resolving soon and making way for the early stages of upcoming storylines. ZSJ has been 50/50 for me. I would like to see more consistency out of him and hope to see an update soon.
TTX - Roderick Strong is a beast for me in EVOLVE. Riddle does pretty good too. I imagine they could face each other again sooner than later.
dyllankeaton32801 & @dustin - The Uzumaki Special is what inspired me to pair Yehi with Hero, as Chris is known for his rolling elbow offense.
Pariah - We can chalk up the PAB's treatment of Riddle as them being self-centered d**ks. (Or that I want to split Riddle off in another direction
) Fallout from the Hero/Yehi vs GSA match is on this show. And Roderick Strong's return steers his feud with Scurll onto the home stretch. I am so disappointed with Scurll's performance and hope that this final stage proves to at least be worthwhile action-wise.
cruefan68 - I was only planning on doing the recent two EVOLVE shows for the time being but I already have the next two shows planned and will try to squeeze them in once I return to ROH.
Thanks for reading and commenting, one and all! On with the show!
81
Matt Riddle def. RicochetRicochet made a decent showing for himself but, for the most part, found himself repeatedly thrown to the mat, catching knee strikes, and struggling in submission holds. Riddle tapped him out with a Fujiwara armbar.
Drew Galloway came out and paced the ring, agitated. Reclaiming his composure, he used the microphone that he had taken from Joanna Rose.
“PJ Black, I need you to come out here, right now.”Black cautiously approached the ring, wary of Galloway’s intense glare.
“Get in the ring,” Drew commanded.
“You and I need to talk, man to man.”Black complied and the tension was palpable.
"PJ, the last two times we’ve wrestled each other, your friend, EVOLVE Champion Roderick Strong, saw fit to involve himself in our business. And last night, that resulted in him ramming my head into that steel post right there. PJ, I want to believe you had nothing to do with that. No,” Galloway leaned in, his imposing stature understandably intimidating Black.
“I need you to tell me you had nothing to do with it.”Black did his best to assure Drew that he was not complicit in Strong’s actions. Galloway eyed him, looking for truth in his words. The tension was momentarily broken by the arrival of Zack Sabre Jr. Galloway looked impatient with the uninvited newcomer. Sabre expressed his displeasure with Strong and his rival Marty Scurll interfering in his match last night as well. Drew bristled at the mention of Scurll. At this point, EVOLVE Champion Roderick Strong came out.
“Drew... Zack... Shut up. PJ, where’s my belt?”All three men in the ring turned to face Strong, none pleased to see him. Drew was about to step forward to say something but PJ cut him off.
“Roderick, I’ve had about enough of you thinking EVOLVE is all about you.”“It is. Because I’m champion.”“Well, maybe not for much longer. You see, I convinced the EVOLVE office that, since I defended the title for you as interim champion, I deserve a chance to hold the championship for real.”“You’re a tough guy all of the sudden, PJ?”“You’re going to find out later tonight, when I get that title match.”Strong was peeved and left, pointing back at Black telling him would he regret crossing him.
PJ turned the mic over to Galloway and left. Drew was still fuming.
“EVOLVE? Gabe Sapolsky? You give PJ a match with Roderick Strong? Well, good on him. But I demand satisfaction. If I can’t have Roderick Strong, give me Marty Scurll!”The crowd agreed but Sabre made it clear that he too had “The Villain” in his crosshairs. Galloway wasn’t hearing it and left. The mild-mannered Sabre followed him to the back, apparently not feeling they were done with the conversation.
Drew Gulak def. Fred YehiIt was teacher vs. student as Gulak Shoot Academy defector Yehi took on the namesake of his former squad. At the bell, Gulak was all over Yehi with slams and clotheslines. Fred got taken to the woodshed for a while but made a comeback with a array of unique suplexes. Gulak stopped Yehi dead in his tracks with a flying clothesline and trapped him in the University Stretch, forcing the tap out.
Gulak was in no hurry to release the hold. Yehi’s new mentor, Chris Hero, came out and made Drew let go. Gulak’s only remaining student, Tracy Williams, was hot on Hero’s heels, in defense of his teacher. Gulak and Yehi turned the ring over to the other two, leading into the next match.
Chris Hero w/Fred Yehi def. Tracy Williams w/Drew GulakWilliams took the initiative against his more experienced opponent, but Hero used that experience to draw Tracy out to the floor where he took the advantage. Hero delivered the Deathblow but Williams kicked out of a very close count. Hero then blasted Tracy with Cyclone Kill but only got a two count again. Hero continued the beating, with Williams surviving another Cyclone Kill. Rolling elbow by Hero for a near fall. Chris was showing frustration with the last man to beat him in EVOLVE. Cravate Buster, kick out. Gulak was urging Tracy to turn things around. Cyclone Kill, only two. Hero looked to Gulak and told him that a good trainer would throw in the towel if his man was taking this kind of beating. Deathblow, pinfall. Hero stood up and told Gulak to collect his man.
“Next time, it’s you and me,” Hero stated. Decisive wins by the two mentors in this conflict made it clear that they could not let their students fight their battles for them.
The crowd was curious when Drew Galloway and Zack Sabre Jr. came out together. Lenny Leonard explained that EVOLVE officials were not able to grant them both a match against Marty Scurll but would give them the next best thing: a tag team match against Scurll and an available partner. Scurll came out with his usual Villain-ous antics and ushered in his designated partner, Timothy Thatcher, who seemed none too happy to be teamed with Marty.
Drew Galloway & Zack Sabre Jr. def. Marty Scurll & Timothy ThatcherSurprisingly, Scurll started out against Galloway instead of opting to have Thatcher start. Scurll went to lock up with Galloway but instead sidestepped and flapped his arms like a bird. Galloway was not amused and attacked. Using his size advantage, Drew threw the smaller man around until Marty bailed out to the floor. Galloway followed but ended up getting slammed into the barricade. Drew returned the favor, knocking Marty against the post. After an extended brawl around the ring, Drew brought Scurll to the center of the ring and dropped him on his head with a Double Arm DDT for the pin.
Sabre complained to Drew about finishing Scurll without getting him involved and Thatcher, feeling like his time had been wasted, took his leave.
The participants for the DGUSA tag title match were introduced. As the Bravado Brothers and the Premier Athlete Brand were set to do battle, PAB member Matt Riddle came out and had some cross words for Anthony Nese and Caleb Conley.
“What the hell, bro? These two guys jumped me again last night and you guys did nothing about it. You left me out their hanging again. I thought were were supposed to be on the same team.”Nese chided Riddle about how everything wasn’t about him and that they had a title match now and he needed to get a grip on what was important. Riddle just gawked at Nese and Konley, dumbfounded. Harlem and Lancelot Bravado snickered and Riddle gave them a glare before he turned and left.
DGUSA OPEN THE UNITED GATE CHAMPIONSHIPPremiere Athlete Brand def. Bravado BrothersHarlem started out strong, manhandling Konley. Caleb turned the tide with a superplex reversal and a tornado DDT before tagging out. Nese worked over Harlem and went up top for a 450 Splash. Konley blocked Lancelot as the three count was made and the PAB reclaimed the titles they held for nearly two years.
The anticipation was building for the main event. That’s when Larry Dallas decided to show up.
“What the hell is Larry Dallas doing out there?!” Lenny Leonard exclaimed.
“What’s it take to get rid of this guy? They say Florida is home to some big cockroaches but if Larry Dallas is any indication, New York has them beat.”Larry took the mic from Joanna Rose and headed into the crowd.
“Hey, everyone!” Larry blurted as he headed to the back of the room where the bar was.
“Check it out! EC3 is in the house!”The camera followed Dallas through a crowd that was suddenly in a commotion. The man in question was indeed standing by the bar and trying to wave off the sudden attention that was on him, wanting to keep a low profile.
“Ethan Carter III, what are you doing here, man? Slumming it from your other gig in town?”An ‘F- TNA!’ chant started and EC3 grimaced, feeling even more on the spot. Carter headed for the door with Larry on his tail.
“Oh, just leave the man alone, Larry,” Lenny commented.
“He doesn’t want anything to do with a leech like you.”EVOLVE CHAMPIONSHIPRoderick Strong def. PJ BlackStrong came at Black with a vengeance. Roddy blistered PJ with unrelenting chops to the chest that had the fans in the crowd wincing. Black tried firing back but Strong laid into him with more chops and his chest started to look like hamburger. “The Darewolf” reversed a rolling elbow with an STO and strung together some moves that kept Roddy off his feet. Big dropkick by Black dropped Strong, then PJ followed it with a missile dropkick. Roddy decided to take a powder only to be greeted by a series of wicked kicks when he climbed back between the ropes. PJ went to the top rope but Roderick countered with a capture backbreaker and nearly got the pin. Roddy followed with End of Heartache with PJ kicking out after only one. Roddy looked to be rattled as Black kept at him with kicks and using a Fujiwara armbar. Strong escaped to the floor again but this time Black dove out of the ring on top of him and Roddy was almost counted out of the ring. Black was in control until he missed on a leap from the top rope. Roddy struck with a Sick Kick for a near fall. He stayed on him with End of Heartache for another two count. Gibson Driver for three.
The bell rang and the fans got on their feet and started chanting ‘That was awesome!’ Both men were spent. As Roddy was announced the winner, he instinctively looked to accept the title belt from the ref but came up empty. Realizing the gold was still in the possession of Marty Scurll, Strong turned on PJ who was on his knees trying to catch his breath. Roddy full on slapped him, knocking him backward. He had some harsh words for his former friend who was lying dazed on the mat. Marty Scurll came through the curtain clapping.
“There he is. There’s the Roderick Strong I wanted to see. Villains don’t have friends. And you are a villain, Roderick. Through and through. I’m just trying to make you see that.” “The Villain” ducked back through the curtain, leaving Strong to turn those words over in his head.
EVOLVE TOP 10Champion - Roderick Strong
- Matt Riddle
- Drew Galloway
- Zack Sabre Jr.
- Chris Hero
- Drew Gulak
- PJ Black
- Ricochet
- Marty Scurll
- Timothy Thatcher
- Tracy Williams