By Chris Vetter, ProWrestling.net Contributor (@chrisvetter73)
WWE Evolve “Succession” (Episode 33)
Taped in Orlando. Florida at the WWE Performance Center
Streamed October 15, 2025, on Tubi in the United States and YouTube.com internationally
Peter Rosenberg and Robert Stone provided commentary. This show was held in front of a full house at the Performance Center
* A lengthy video package aired to set up the matches tonight.
The Vanity Project came out; Zayda Steel was among them. (She has since announced she is leaving WWE).
1. Jackson Drake (w/The Vanity Project) vs. Bryce Donovan for the Evolve Title. Drake slapped Bryce in the face at the bell. Bryce hit a hip-toss. Zayda yelled at Bryce on the floor. Drake dove through the ropes onto them. Keanu Carver headed to ringside, but security guards held him back before he could interfere. [C[
Back from the break, Jackson hit a Dragonscrew Legwhip, and he put Bryce in a half-crab, but Bryce reached the ropes at 3:00; he reached through the ropes and grabbed Ricky Smokes and choked him! Bryce hit a back-body drop and a leaping clothesline. Bryce hit a pop-up powerbomb and a diving forearm for a nearfall. Bryce hit a chokeslam on the ring apron. Jackson hit a basement dropkick on the knee. They got into the ring, and Jackson hit a Swanton Bomb for a nearfall at 5:30.
Bryce snapped Jackson’s fingers and hit a clothesline. They got up and traded forearm strikes. Bryce hit a big chokeslam for a nearfall, but Jackson got a foot on the ropes. Drake hit a chop block to the back of the knee, then a knee strike to the back of the head, then one to the forehead, to score the clean pin. The rest of The Vanity Project jumped in the ring to celebrate with him. Good action, but certainly shorter than I anticipated.
Jackson Drake defeated Bryce Donovan to retain the Evolve Title at 7:47.
* Backstage, Prime Minister Stevie Turner was on the phone and was talking about having someone from AAA coming to Evolve. Who??? A big Black guy named “Bigg Jah” walked up to her. They are going to go watch the rest of the show together.
* A video aired of Jack Cartwheel and Cappuccino Jones hanging out backstage and talking about coffee.
* Backstage, Chuey Martinez asked Layla Diggs, Masyn Holliday and Wendy Choo who would win the women’s match later tonight. Chantel Monroe walked up and made fun of Choo apparently stuttering.
* Robert Stone said he was excited that Bigg Jah is here, but he never said who this guy is or why I should care. (Okay, Google says he is a ‘social media influencer.’ I don’t care one iota.)
2. “Modern Cowboy” Tate Wilder vs. Brooks Jensen in a Bull Rope match. There is a cowbell in the center of the rope, which was tied to their wrists. Tate whipped Brooks with the rope. Jensen was on the floor, and he pulled Wilder forward into the ropes. [C]
Jensen was choking Wilder in the ropes, and he kept the cowboy grounded coming out of the break. Jensen wrapped the rope around Wilder’s mouth. Wilder hit a suplex, then a standing moonsault for a nearfall at 6:00. Wilder went for a springboard move, but Brooks struck him in the back with the cowbell, and he got a nearfall. Wilder hit a powerbomb, then a top-rope moonsault for the pin. Decent action; for a bull-rope match, that was pretty tame, even by WWE standards.
Tate Wilder defeated Brooks Jensen at 7:47 (yes, I clocked both matches the exact same length. Go figure.)
* A commercial aired saying that the next class of WWE ID prospects will be announced soon! (We’ve lost about half of the 19 original class members now…)
* In a video segment, Aaron Rourke looked in a mirror and said, “So, you want to hear a story?” Very Snow White evil queen vibes…
* Sean Legacy spoke to Stevie Turner backstage. Legacy wants a match next week. Turner told Bigg Jah he could be GM for one week.
3. Kali Armstrong vs. Kendal Grey for the Evolve Women’s Title. Kali hit some punches to the gut. Grey hit a fireman’s carry and went into a cross-armbreaker. Grey hit a basement dropkick that sent Kali to the floor, then Kendal hit a top-rope crossbody block to the floor onto Kali at 2:00, and that popped the crowd. They got back into the ring, but Kali tripped her and sent her right back to the floor. Kali nailed a pop-up forearm strike as they fought on the floor. [C]
Back from the commercial, Kali was in charge in the ring and kept Grey grounded. She applied a sleeper on the mat, and the crowd rallied for Kendal. Grey hit a belly-to-belly overhead suplex at 5:00. She hit a slingshot doublestomp to the chest and a DDT for a nearfall. Kendal hit a top-rope moonsault press on a standing Kali for a nearfall. Kali nailed a Bulldog Powerslam for a nearfall, and they were both down at 7:00. Kali nailed a top-rope superplex for a believable nearfall, and Kali was shocked she didn’t win there. Kali went for a powerslam, but Kendal held on, rolled her up, and got a believable nearfall. Kendal leapt off the top rope, but Kali caught her for a powerslam for a nearfall. Kali ran the ropes to pick up speed, but Kendal caught her in a powerslam for the pin! New champion! That was a really good match.
Kendal Grey defeated Kali Armstrong to win the Evolve Women’s Title at 9:02.
Final Thoughts: Kali has had a great run since Evolve began, and that was a really strong main event. Both women looked good. The opener was fine, but I was surprised that in the end, Jackson won fairly clean; it makes me wonder if Bryce is sticking around. The bull rope match was tame but fine.
As I noted, the WWE ID roster has shrunk in recent weeks, as Jordan Oasis, Aaron Roberts, Freedom Ramsey, Ice Williams, Zara Zakher, and Kylie Rae all were not renewed, while Zayda Steel announced she was not renewing her deal. (And Zoe Sager never got out of Canada. Thus, all four of the original female ID prospects are gone.) In a cryptic post on Twitter/X, the ID page wrote “+5” which seems to indicate we have five new prospects coming soon to replace them.
Of course, the Evolve show will also continue to change, with Stevie Turner exiting along with several others. I enjoy these shows, but I wouldn’t be surprised if Evolve went the way of Speed or the Mixed Match Challenge.
Kendal-Kali had a furious pace, and still told a story and executed everything flawlessly.
In-ring, Kendal could hang on the main roster right now.
Blake Howard called this show, not Pete Rosenberg. I’m delighted for Kendal, and I am hoping like crazy that one of the female ID prospects is Izzy Moreno.