I’m WAY behind on my PPV recaps but I really enjoy doing them so even though Survivor Series is right around the corner (this Sunday, November 18th) I’m going to go back and recap the last show WWE Evolution (2018). The event took place on October 28th, 2018, at the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum, in Uniondale, New York. It was the WWE’s first ever all women’s PPV event and I have to say I really enjoyed the show.
Mark was busy and we had a ton of stuff going on that Sunday so I watched it all by my lonesome starting well after the event aired. Huge shout out once again to the WWE Network for making that possible. I’ve said it numerous times but that network is the single best use of technology going today, and I’m not just talking about the wrestling business.
(All photos courtesy WWE.com)
Rhea Ripley (c) defeated Dakota Kai To Retain The NXT UK Women’s Championship
I didn’t watch the preshow. I don’t watch NXT so I don’t know who these gals are. My wrestling friends give me a hard time cause I don’t watch NXT (as well as several other promotions). The reality is I just don’t have the time. I’m sure they’re great but I’m sticking with main roster WWE for the foreseeable future.
Trish Stratus and Lita Defeated Mickie James and Alicia Fox
This was the perfect way to start the show. Trish and Lita are the two women out of the entire roster that folks wanted to see. Trish is clearly in better ring shape than Lita (with her super high thong for all to see). 11 minutes of action got the best team over here. Good win for the good gals.
Nia Jax Won The 20-woman Battle Royal
There was a Women’s Championship match on the line here and Nia Jax was the right choice. These matches tend to start ugly and this one was no exception. Nia was built throughout the match and got the rub in the end. Not sure where they’re going with Asuka. They seem to build her and then bury here. Very weird for sure. Hope to see some more clarity out of the division in the future.
Toni Storm Defeated Io Shirai – 2018 Mae Young Classic Final
I don’t know these gals at all. Apparently Tori was in the semis of the Mae Young Classic last year and has battled back to the finals this year. With that bit of knowledge it was sort of a foregone conclusion that she’d win, which she did in just over 10 minutes.
Sasha Banks, Bayley, and Natalya Defeated The Riott Squad
This is a match that really shouldn’t have mattered but did. 13 minutes of high flying action with the good gals getting the win.
Shayna Baszler Defeated Kairi Sane For The NXT Women’s Championship
Another match where I didn’t know either competitor cause I don’t watch NXT but I completely enjoyed it. I knew who I ‘should’ be rooting for and found myself rooting for Baszler instead. This has the makings of a great feud (which I’ll never see if it’s on NXT)
Becky Lynch Defeated Charlotte Flair in a Last Woman Standing To Retain the WWE SmackDown Women’s Championship
This. Was. Incredible. Becky Lynch is probably the hottest WWE superstar since Stone Cold Steve Austin and she’s backing iup in the ring. Nearly 29 minutes of INTENSE in-ring action where these gals did everything you’d expect the guys to do. It was brutal, methodical and told a story both inside and outside the ring. By far the best match on the card.
Ronda Rousey (c) defeated Nikki Bella (with Brie Bella) by submission
Singles match for the WWE Raw Women’s Championship[33]
Just about anything would have been a letdown after the last match but this 14 minutes was very entertaining. I’m not comparing her to him but these Ronda Rowsey matches remind where of Brock Lesnar matches where they’re pairing them up with someone who has NO legit chance to beat them and then spend the entire match trying to convince us that the extreme favorite will lose… which never happens. This was actually an entertaining match and that just goes to show just how great Rona is (cause we all know the Nikki can’t hold up her end of a match)
Final Thoughts
Overall, this was a really compelling show. I have to be honest that say I wasn’t really super excited for this PPV but I was pleasantly surprised with the match quality and overall presentation. I hope this is the first in the long line of women’s only PPVs cause the gals can clearly bring it.
Upcoming WWE PPV Schedule
Here’s a look at the PPV schedule through 2018.
- Survivor Series – 11.18.2018
- Clash of Champions – 12.16.2018
- Royal Rumble – 1.27.2019
- WrestleMania 35 – 4.7.2019
- SummerSlam – 8.11.2019
NOTE: there will be shows between January and April, but dates have not yet been announced.
Did you watch WWE Evolution? Let me know what you thought in the comments below!
You’ll be happy/surprised to learn that I have been watching WWE….yes…it’s true. My boyfriend watches Raw and Smackdown every week, so I catch it every once in a while. I even went to a Raw taping here in Dallas a couple months ago. I’m so sad about Roman!!
p.s. Sara and her son watch it too…the cats out of the bag!
My SINCERE apologies for not responding to this sooner… this makes me SOOOO happy!