By Chris Vetter, ProWrestling.net Contributor (@chrisvetter73)
WWE Evolve (Episode 9)
Taped in Orlando. Florida at the WWE Performance Center
Streamed April 30, 2025, on Tubi in the United States and YouTube.com internationally
Peter Rosenberg and Robert Stone provided commentary. I will reiterate what I wrote from the prior episodes — the curtains at the Performance Training Center are dropped, making the venue seem smaller and more intimate. There are only two or three rows at ringside, so we only have maybe 150 or so people present.
* A video package opened, highlighting the feud of Kylie Rae vs. Wendy Choo, and Harlem Lewis vs. Keanu Carver. We then heard from Kylie Rae, who said the teddy bear that turned up last week belonged to her son! She wondered how Wendy got her hands on it!
1. Zayda Steel (w/Bryce Donovan) vs. Layla Diggs (w/Aria Bennett). Zayda tied up the left arm early on. Diggs did a handspring-into-a-shoulder block to the gut in the corner, then a powerslam and she got a nearfall at 1:30. Zayda hit a Lungblower to the chest in the ropes for a nearfall. Layla tackled her and hit some punches. Diggs hit some leg lariats and a double-underhook suplex for a nearfall at 4:30. Zayda hit a tornado DDT for the pin. (No Unprettier?) Good action; Zayda is such a star. She won clean with no help at all from Bryce, too. [C]
Zayda Steel defeated Layla Diggs at 4:51.
2. Tyson Dupont and Tyriek Igwe vs. Aaron Rourke and Freedom Ramsey. Rourke wore a flamboyant robe for his Evolve debut, and he opened against Tyriek, but Igwe easily shoved him to the mat. Rourke gave him a quick swat on the butt and tagged out. Tyriek bodyslammed Ramsey. Dupont tagged in at 1:00. Ramsey and Rourke hit stereo dropkicks. Rourke hit some overhand chops, but it just angered Tyriek. Tyriek hit a shoulder breaker over his knee on Aaron. Aaron hit an enzuigiri and tagged in Freedom. Freedom came off the ropes, but Dupont caught him with a massive forearm strike. Tyson and Tyriek hit a team slam and pinned Freedom. Decent; Dupont and Igwe are just massive compared to the ID prospects.
Tyson Dupont and Tyriek Igwe defeated Aaron Rourke and Freedom Ramsey at 4:28.
* Next week, GM Stevie Turner will be hosting a town hall. What does she want to talk about?
3. Wendy Choo vs. Kylie Rae. Standing switches to open and they twisted each other’s left arm. Rae hit a buzzsaw kick at 3:00 and she started to walk towards the Teddy Bear in the corner, but Choo attacked her from behind. (Really, she was distracted by the bear that she already had? Why did she bring it to ringside?) [C]
Kylie hit a Russian Leg Sweep as we returned and they were both down. The commentators talked about Stevie Turner’s town hall as Kylie hit a missile dropkick, and she spun Wendy to the mat and applied a Crossface at 5:00. Rosenberg kept talking about the dumb Teddy Bear. She hit a superkick, so Choo rolled to the floor. Back in the ring, Wendy hit a top-rope superplex and a brainbuster for a believable nearfall. Wendy grabbed the bear and ripped off its head! Kylie went nuts, screamed, and hit a series of punches. She picked up the stuffed toy and cried. It allowed Wendy to lock in the Dirt Nap (sleeper on the mat), and Kylie tapped out. Okay action, but why did Kylie bring her son’s beloved toy with her to the ring in the first place? So dumb.
Wendy Choo defeated Kylie Rae at 7:42 (I stopped the stopwatch during the commercial break.)
* Wendy Choo got a black marker and drew a big frown over Kylie’s face. Creepy.
* Chuey Martinez interviewed Kali Armstrong backstage. She’s a nice mix of the best qualities of Jaida Parker and Bianca Belair. This was a confident, well-done interview.
4. “Swipe Right” Brad Baylor and Ricky Smokes (w/The Vanity Project) vs. Keanu Carver and Harlem Lewis. Smart booking says SR wins because Carver and Lewis can’t get along. Haze Jameson was watching from the VIP lounge. Rosenberg said “I want to see these two get their ass kicked” as the crowd chanted “Swipe left!” Carver and Smokes opened, and Keanu shoved him to the mat. Harlem tagged himself in; Baylor hit some punches on Harlem. Keanu forcefully tagged himself in and hit Brad. Harlem LOUDLY tagged himself back in, and it was more of a chop on his teammate! Harlem and Keanu each tossed an opponent at 2:30.
Swipe Right began working over Harlem, stomping on him and keeping him grounded. Harlem hit a double suplex and he tagged in Keanu at 4:30. Keanu hit a fallaway slam on Brad, then a hard forearm that dropped Smokes, then a double flying shoulder tackle. Keanu and Harlem hit stereo powerslam moves, pinning both of Swipe Right at the same time, while glaring at each other. A bit more one-sided than I hoped or anticipated.
Harlem Lewis and Keanu Carver defeated “Swipe Right” Brad Baylor and Ricky Smokes at 5:49.
* Backstage, Stevie Turner was watching. Gallus approached her; they want a match with Keanu and Harlem!
Final Thoughts: What really stood out as different tonight, compared to the prior episodes, was the lack of backstage vignettes and video packages. The first few weeks introduced us to SO MANY new wrestlers from the ID prospects to some new trainees, so this show really felt more like a traditional WWE show.
My least favorite episode so far, and that’s due to the booking, not the quality of the wrestlers. It started right with Zayda getting a win. But I hated that Kylie’s match was built around a stupid stuffed bear. And I really think my booking idea was right… Keanu and Harlem could still toss Swipe Right around, but in the end, SR somehow wins because Keanu and Harlem just couldn’t get along. I just don’t like how lopsided that one was. The episode ran 46 minutes, on par with the prior weeks.
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