Evolve 14 (and Florida Underground Wrestling)
Aired live on pay-per-view from Ybor City, Fla.
Report by Dot Net reader Austin Vitelli

I ordered the EVOLVE 14 show last night on iPPV. Not only did I get to watch the EVOLVE show, but also the pre-show from Florida Underground Wrestling (FUW). This was all included for a great price of $15 (this price included unlimited access On Demand for this show later). This was my second EVOLVE show (I also watched EVOLVE 10) and I have to say that they did a much better job this time. The pre-show started right on time at 7:30 and the actual EVOLVE show started at around 9 PM eastern. The pre-show had six matches and the regular show had eight.

A very small crowd of what looked like 75 people at absolute best was in attendance for the FUW part. Lince Dorado made his entrance to start the show.

1. Lince Dorado defeated Rocky Santiago to retain the FUW Flash Championship in 5:47. This was not exactly a “flashy” match despite the title’s supposed link to the cruiserweight division. It had some high-flying moves but nothing out of the ordinary. At 4:30, Santiago hit a nice overhead belly-to-belly suplex for a two count. At 5 minutes, Dorado hit a moonsault onto a standing Santiago for a two count of his own. Dorado got the win off of a hurricanrana off the top rope. Overall it wasn’t a bad match, but it felt extremely formulaic. Maybe they didn’t want to tire Dorado out for later in the EVOLVE show.

2. Dakota Darsow defeated Maxwell Chicago in 4:55. Darsow used to work for WWE Developmental in FCW as Maverick Darsow. His father is Barry Darsow (Demolition Smash). Chicago came out wearing what at first looked like a full tuxedo and bow tie, but it was actually just a full body wrestling suit that was made to look fancy. He did a great job of trying to play the funny heel and get the crowd riled up. He had some funny lines such as screaming “You wanna see a high-risk maneuver?” and then jumping off the bottom rope, and also yelling “That’s my only big move!” after hitting his finisher on Darsow. It was a nice touch. Anyway, Darsow hit a nice Falcon Arrow at 3:30. Later, Darsow won with a straightjacket Rude Awakening. It was another okay match overall, but nothing great.

3. The James Boys defeated Kennedy Kendrick and Jonni Armani to retain the FUW Tag Team Championship in 4:52. Apparently it was the first time that Kendrick and Armani had teamed together. At about 4 minutes, Kendrick and Armani hit the Hart Attack tag team finisher, but only got a two count. Later, after some distractions from the James’ manager, the brothers hit a backbreaker/elbow drop off the top rope combination for the win. This match had potential, but never really moved into the next gear.

Post-match, “The Cuban Assassin” Fidel Sierra came out and cut a promo about FUW and Kevin Sullivan. Sierra said there’d be a match between the two of them on Saturday at EVOLVE 16. Sullivan came out and they traded heated words until finally brawling to the back.

4. Wes Brisco defeated Sam Shaw to retain the Cuban Heavyweight Championship in 6:28. Brisco also used to work in FCW for WWE. His father is WWE Hall of Famer Gerald Brisco. At 5:30, Brisco hit a nice flapjack for a two count. Later, Brisco reversed some sort of belly-to-back suplex attempt into a pin and got the victory. Brisco looked really good and it was one of the better matches of the pre-show. Not too sure why WWE released him.

5. Michael Tarver defeated “The Greek God” Deimos to retain the FUW Bruiserweight Championship in 5:54. Yes, this is the same Michael Tarver who was part of Nexus in WWE. And yes, he still looked like a bandit with that bandanna around his mouth. At about 3:30, Deimos hit a huge buckle bomb for a two count, and at 5 minutes in he hit a spear for another two count. Deimos dominated the whole match, but Tarver managed to win the match with a big right hand to the face. Yes, he won the match with a punch. It was a very hard-hitting match though and I was glad to see Tarver again.

6. Kahagas defeated Bruce Santee in a title vs. title match (Kahagas retained the NWA National Heavyweight Championship and won the FUW Heavyweight Championship) in 11:56. Unfortunately, Bill Alfonso accompanied Kahagas to the ring. I say unfortunately because he didn’t forget his whistle, which I think he blew a hundred thousand times before the match started. Both men were really big guys, but the crowd was clearly behind Santee the whole time. At 7:15, Santee hit a Samoan Drop followed by a Senton for almost a three count. Later, Santee was distracted by two guys that came out and it allowed Kahagas to get the win off of some DDT. I didn’t catch it exactly because the camera kind of missed it. One of the guys was a Navy Seal and I think the other was his trainer (not too sure though). Santee challenged the Navy Seal to a match tomorrow on FUW to end the show.

Overall, the pre-show was not bad, but it wasn’t amazing by any standards. I’m not complaining though because it was free anyway. After a brief intermission, the EVOLVE show went underway.

1. John Silver defeated Jake Manning in 7:11. This is the same Jake Manning from Pro Wrestling EVO. He came out with Chuck Taylor and The Swamp Monster, who altogether are known as the Gentleman’s Club. At 2:45 Manning hit a sick snapmare on the ring apron. At 6:30, Manning hit a nice backbreaker/reverse STO for a two count. Silver got the win after jumping onto the back of Manning’s neck, then falling backwards (while still holding onto him) and hit what looked like Zack Ryder’s old Zack Attack finisher. Post-match, Silver tried to cut a promo but Taylor scared him away. Taylor then cut a promo on how he’ll murder Cabana that night, beat Gargano for the title the next night, then challenge the Swamp Monster to a match the following night for the title. Despite all this, Taylor was still cheered. That is, until Colt Cabana made his entrance and received a huge pop.

2. Chuck Taylor defeated Colt Cabana in 12:41. This was basically a comedy match, which I found unfortunate, but what do you expect with these two guys together? Taylor had multiple lock-ins of the Figure Four leg lock, but finally got the win off the half Boston Crab. Taylor did a good job playing the funny heel and Cabana was his usual self.

3. The Scene (Caleb Konley and Scott Reed) defeated Mike Cruz and Cheech in 8:38. This was the first tag team match that Cruz and Cheech were in together, and wow did they look great as a team. At around 7 minutes, Cheech hit a huge crossbody off the top rope for a two count. But, The Scene took control later and won with their DDT/German Suplex combination on Cruz. Despite not usually liking The Scene, this was my favorite match from them and they are clearly improving over time.

4. Jon Davis defeated Tommy Taylor in 10:46. This was a first round match-up in the Style Battle Round Robin Tournament. In this Round Robin, 2 points are awarded for a win, 1 point is deducted for a loss, and no points are given for a double DQ/double countout. This was also Taylor’s first match since being out of wrestling for about two years after tearing his rotator cuff and his right ACL.  

At nine minutes, Davis hit a Spinebuster followed by a running knee strike for a two count. Shortly after, Taylor came back and hit a Tornado DDT, but didn’t go for the pin. This allowed Davis to stay in the match and win with his “3 Seconds Around the World” finisher, which is a backbreaker rack spun into a powerbomb. Post-match, Davis cut a very quick promo about how he’d win every match this weekend and win the Style Battle or he would retire from wrestling for good. This was a very good and hard-hitting match that definitely well-represented each man’s style. Style Battle Standings: Davis (2 pts), Fox (0 pts), Fish (0 pts), Taylor (-1 pt).

5. Bobby Fish defeated AR Fox in 16:02. This was also a first round match-up in the Style Battle Round Robin. Cabana was on commentary and, unsurprisingly, he did a great job. Fox hit a nice guillotine legdrop on Fish on the apron at 5:30. At 9:45, Fish hit a moonsault for a 2 count. Cabana kept pointing out that Fish wasn’t focusing on his style, which may cause him to lose. It was a good point though considering the whole point of this round robin was to showcase each man’s style. At 11:45, Fox hit a springboard dropkick onto Fish while Fish was on the top turnbuckle. This led to “This is Awesome” chants.

At 12:15, Fox botched a 450 Splash from the top rope onto Fish (who was on the outside). Fox landed on his feet on the ground and then kind of awkwardly hit Fish in the head to make it look like the move connected. Nonetheless, Fox bounced back and hit a great Swanton Bomb at 14 minutes for a two count. At 15:15, Fox connected with a Springboard Ace Crusher for another two count. Fish came back though and locked in his Fish Hook submission hold to make Fox tap, which is basically a heel hook submission move. Post-match, there were many more “This is Awesome” chants and Fish cut a promo about winning Style Battle and reaching .500 in his EVOLVE record. This was easily my second favorite match of the night. Style Battle Standings: Davis (2 pts), Fish (2 pts), Fox (-1 pt), Taylor (-1 pt).

6. Sara Del Rey defeated Santana Garrett in 4:25. Garrett actually got a fair amount of offense in, but Del Rey dominated the match overall. Del Rey won with the Royal Butterfly, which is a butterfly suplex. She then cut a promo saying how she wanted some actual competition in SHINE (the new women’s wrestling promotion that both of these women would be a part of), and that opponent would be Jazz. This was a pretty good women’s match that didn’t see any botches at all.

7. Tony Nese defeated Johnny Gargano, Lince Dorado, and Alex Reynolds in a 4-Man Freestyle Match in 9:35. There was a very good reaction for Gargano when he made his entrance. I knew this would probably be a spot-fest, but they did a great job of making it look real. The stipulation was that the match would only affect the records of the winner and the person who was pinned or submitted. Nese hit a nice springboard moonsault on Dorado for a two count at about two minutes. At five minutes, they did that big four man spot on the turnbuckle where Dorado and Gargano hit a double Superplex on Reynolds, but Nese came under them and powerbombed Dorado and Gargano. Regardless of how set up that move is, it always looks great. Reynolds later hit a moonsault on Gargano at seven minutes, but ate a wheelbarrow German Suplex from Nese right after it.

This move initiated a crazy series of spots, so I tried my best to get everyone’s names right. At eight minutes, Dorado hit a top rope hurricanrana on Nese. Then, at 9:15, Gargano hit the Lawn Dart and Hurts Donut? on Dorado, but Dorado then came back with a shooting star press on Gargano. While the shooting star press was happening, Nese was hitting Reynolds with a beautiful 450 Splash and got the pin for the victory. Post-match, Nese challenged Gargano to a title match at EVOLVE 16 since he won the match. I hope this didn’t give away the ending of the EVOLVE 15 title match between Gargano and Taylor though. This was my third favorite match of the night.

8. El Generico defeated Samuray Del Sol in 16:24. Generico got the best reaction of the night when he made his entrance, although there were dueling chants the whole match for each man between the “Ole!” for Generico and “lucha” for Del Sol. The first seven and a half minutes included crazy high-flying moves/reversals/counters that probably don’t even have names they are so crazy and unorthodox. At 8:15, Del Sol hit a Slingshot Somersault on Generico for a two count. At 10:30, Generico hit a Split-legged Moonsault on Del Sol for a two count of his own.

At 13:15, “This is Awesome” chants erupted after Generico hit a crazy Blue Thunder Powerbomb for another two count. Generico then hit his Yakuza Kick followed by a half-nelson suplex at 14:45, but still only got a two count. At 16 minutes, Generico hit a second Yakuza Kick and a top rope brainbuster for the win. This was an excellent match by both men and definitely the best match of the night. It seemed like Del Sol didn’t get much offense, but he actually did (I just didn’t know what to call a lot of his moves and they happened so quickly).

Generico cut a promo after the match about challenging Low-Ki to another match. He then put Del Sol over huge and said he could have a rematch at any time. Del Sol said he wanted the rematch to be the next night at EVOLVE 15. Christina Von Eerie then came out (with a huge Mohawk by the way) and berated Generico. Von Eerie represented Akira Tozawa’s stable “Mad Blankey.” She slapped Generico a couple times and spit on him, trying to get him to attack her.

Von Eerie finally just walked away, but Generico ran across the ring and hit a monster Yakuza Kick on her. He immediately recognized that he shouldn’t have done that and looked disappointed in himself and scared of the consequences while leaving the arena. Von Eerie was helped to the back by a couple of trainers to end the show. As far as I know, EVOLVE rules say you cannot attack anyone after the bell or you are suspended, so I wonder if they’ll take action against Generico. It was weird because usually they talked about that rule all night, but they didn’t even mention it during the final segment. I found that quite odd.

Notes: This was definitely a better EVOLVE show than EVOLVE 10 that I saw a while ago. This show was definitely worth the money for the live viewing and free On Demand access forever. I enjoyed every match on the EVOLVE card, but wouldn’t have minded missing the FUW pre-show. There was just nothing special about it, but it was good for them to get their name out there. I strongly recommend ordering the replay, even if it’s only the one time showing because it’s definitely worth it, especially the main event and Fish/Fox match.

I have to say thanks to Lenny Leonard (the announcer) for helping me with a few of the names of the wrestling moves because it was hard to watch the show, write down notes, and remember all the names at the same time. Overall, I was very satisfied with the product and WWNlive.com did another great job of providing an uninterrupted feed with good sound and video quality.

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