By Chris Vetter, ProWrestling.net Contributor (@chrisvetter73)
WWE Evolve (Episode 65)
Taped in Orlando. Florida at the WWE Performance Center
Streamed June 17, 2026, on Tubi in the United States and YouTube.com internationally
Peter Rosenberg and Blake Howard provided commentary. Tubi lists this as “Season 2, Episode 16.” This was recorded at the Performance Center.
* Evolve Foreman Timothy Thatcher was seated behind his desk and reminded us of the matches on Succession III next week. They had a ‘laugh track’ like a bad 1980s sitcom. Wendy Choo walked into his office and signed her contract for Succession III.
* KevOnStage, whom I’ve never heard of before, is here at the PC. He is an actor and comedian who has a show on Tubi.
1. Elijah Holyfield vs. Brooks Jensen. A clean lockup and Brooks is taller. Basic brawling early on. Elijah hit some jab punches. Brooks dropped him throat-first on the middle rope at 1:30 and hit a running knee. Jensen hit some punches and choked Holyfield in the ropes. Elijah hit a flying shoulder tackle at 3:30 and some splashes in opposite corners, then a spinebuster. Jensen pulled off a turnbuckle pad, and he dropped Elijah ‘snake-eyes’ on it, rolled Elijah up, and scored the pin. Okay, action, but I didn’t expect Holyfield to lose this early in his Evolve career.
Brooks Jensen defeated Elijah Holyfield at 4:27.
* Chuey Martinez will host a face-to-face sit-down later tonight between Aaron Rourke and Max Abrams! [C]
2. Chazz “Starboy” Hall vs. Tristan Angels. This bout was set up last week. Chazz hit an arm drag and a dropkick. Tristan hit a palm thrust to the throat and some chops, then a nice step-up enzuigiri in the corner. He tied up Hall in a rear-naked choke on the mat. Hall hit a second-rope flying clothesline at 4:00, then a mid-ring Sliced Bread. Hall peeled down his straps and hit the Cosmic Swirl (standing corkscrew press) for a nearfall.
Hall hit a huracanrana that flipped Tristan to the floor, then he hit a twisting Asai Moonsault to the floor at 5:30. In the ring, he got a nearfall. Tristan hit a second-rope superplex for a nearfall. Hall hit a DDT, but he missed the Shooting Starboy Press. Tristan hit a faceplant and the “Shire’s Kiss” kneedrop across the back of the neck for the clean pin. I liked that.
Tristan Angels defeated Chazz “Starboy” Hall at 7:12.
* Chuey Martinez interviewed Angels at ringside. Tristan said he’s “the definition of class.” [C]
* Zena Sterling spoke backstage. She’s eager to be back. She said a few words in Ukrainian, too. The commentators noted she has a “new look.” her hair is a bit shorter, ending at the base of her neck, and her gear is different. (It looks like she’s wearing street clothes, more than a traditional female ring gear.) We also heard from Anya Rune, who admits she didn’t do well in her last outing, but she’s determined to be noticed!
3. Zena Sterling vs. Anya Rune. Sterling has the size advantage, even though I estimate Rune is about 5’8″ or 5’9″. KevOnStage was in the VIP booth. Rune hit a sliding forearm strike. Rune fell coming off the top rope (that might have been intentional), and Sterling took advantage and beat her down. They hit stereo clotheslines at 2:00 and were both down.
Rune went back to the top rope, but she stepped down to the second rope, then came down entirely and hit a running clothesline. Again, I think this is intentionally slipping. Sterling hit a swinging sidewalk slam for the pin. The commentators said it has been some “tough sledding” for Rune early in her Evolve career.
Zena Sterling defeated Anya Rune at 3:54.
* Giana Capri got in the ring and berated Rune, saying, “You don’t belong here!” That brought Masyn Holliday and Layla Diggs to protect Rune. Giana teased that she was going to strike them, but she bailed. (If you hadn’t heard the news, Masyn Holliday announced this week that she has left WWE)
* Earlier in the day, Blake Howard was in the gym with Harlem Lewis. He was hitting a weight bag. Lewis said he has to make it in WWE for his mom and his family. He is (kayfabe) injured from an attack by Braxton Cole, but he will be cleared in a week. He wants to face Braxton in a no-DQ match! [C]
* Back to Thatcher’s office, where Sloane Jacobs and Nikkita Lyons were pestering him. Thatcher was clearly not amused. KevOnStage stopped in the office. Hey, he has a show on Tubi! Tune in! Lyons said it was “a big deal for him to meet me.” The ladies jawed at him and stormed off. Thatcher has a trip coming up to scout new talent… and he’s leaving KevOnStage to be a guest GM in two weeks!
4. Romeo Moreno and Noam Dar vs. Kam Hendrix and Harley Riggins. Riggins demanded that Moreno start against him, so they locked up, and Harley hit a big boot. Dar and Kam entered at 1:00, and Kam mocked Dar’s height. Noam applied a hammerlock, then he hit some roundhouse kicks to the chest, and went back to tying up the left arm. Moreno jumped back in and hit a Northern Lights Suplex on Harley at 2:30. He hit a springboard dive to the floor onto both heels. Kam slammed Moreno’s knee against the ring post, and the heels took control. [C]
As we returned from the break, Kam hit a flying clothesline for a nearfall, and he stomped on Moreno, then applied an ankle lock. Harley slammed him and hit a shot to the kidney. Kam accidentally hit Harley! It allowed Noam to get the hot tag and hit some flying forearms. He hit a release German Suplex on Kam at 5:30. Kam went for a dropkick, but Dar caught the leg and applied an ankle lock. Moreno put Harley in an ankle lock!
Riggins hit an assisted TKO stunner, but Dar made the save. Kam hit a Spinebuster on Dar. Moreno hit a flying blow on Kam. Harley went to the floor and grabbed a trash can, but Tate Wilder showed up and confiscated it! In the ring, Dar hit a spinning back fist and pinned Riggins! Decent action.
Romeo Moreno and Noam Dar defeated Kam Hendrix and Harley Riggins at 7:55.
* Backstage, Chuey had his sit-down interview with Max Abrams and Aaron Rourke. Aaron had his Evolve Title belt over his shoulder. Rourke talked about how the WWE ID program has been a success for him. It’s given him the tools to help him grow, get in the best shape of his life, and have even better matches.
Abrams talked about being snubbed when Sean Legacy left Evolve for NXT. Rourke got defensive, saying Abrams was implying the ID 1.0 class members still in Evolve are “leftovers” because they haven’t joined NXT yet. Abrams said that Rourke’s family may say they are proud of him, “but deep down, they know you’re a joke.” That made Rourke irate! They had to be separated, and Max tried to throw a punch.
Final Thoughts: A good final segment to hammer home that match at Succession III. I’ve noted that Rourke is a great babyface, and he’s hitting all the right notes in his promo. In recent weeks, I’ve seen so many people on Twitter/X who have done nothing but badmouth the WWE ID program. Well… ask Aaron Rourke what he thinks about the ID program. Ask Laynie Luck what she thinks about it. They are both established vets who are getting matches all over the country and are on the best runs of their careers.
Charlie-Tristan was the match to watch here. Nothing else really jumped out. That’s the one to catch. I don’t know if I’m feeling what they are doing with Anya Rune. She’s purposely coming across as having already lost her confidence. Going to the top rope, then opting to come back down without jumping, is what a chickenshit heel does… not a babyface. The reboot for Zena worked for me. The new ring gear, looking more like street clothes, was just a fresh change.
Succession III is next week with Wendy Choo vs. Nikkita Lyons, Rourke vs. Abrams, plus matches with two new arrivals … a man and a woman in action!
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