By Chris Vetter, ProWrestling.net Contributor (@chrisvetter73)
WWE Evolve (Episode 13)
Taped in Orlando, Florida at the WWE Performance Center
Streamed May 28, 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.
* The show opened with a video package for the four women in the main event.
1. Jackson Drake (w/The Vanity Project) vs. Lince Dorado vs. Jordan Oasis in a qualifier match for the four-way elimination match to crown the first WWE Evolve Champion. Lince wore his Hugh Hefner-style robe; it’s the tweak he’s made to his gimmick in recent years. Stone wondered if Lince is rusty. I hate that; Robert certainly knows Dorado has been active elsewhere. The muscular Oasis hit a backbreaker over his knee on Dorado at 1:30, then a gutbuster over his knee on Drake for a nearfall. Dorado hit a huracanrana, and Stone decided he wasn’t rusty after all.
Dorado hit a double Lethal Injection, then a Lungblower to Drake’s back for a nearfall. Drake nailed a dive to the floor at 3:30. In the ring, Dorado hit a Frankensteiner. Brad Baylor grabbed one of Dorado’s legs on a pin attempt, so Dorado hit a flip dive to the floor on The Vanity Project, and they fought away from the ring. Meanwhile, Oasis hit a cannonball to Jackson’s back and got a nearfall at 5:30. Drake hit a running knee to the side of the head and got the (relatively clean!) pinfall.
Jackson Drake defeated Lince Dorado and Jordan Oasis in a three-way at 5:52 to advance to the four-way elimination match to crown the first WWE Evolve Champion.
* Tyson Dupont and Tyriek Igwe spoke backstage about their big tag match later. [C]
* We saw It’s Gal relaxing by a pool. He has just 5% body fat and has the best body in all of Evolve!
* Back to the arena, and Jackson Drake is still in the ring. He boasted that The Vanity Project is the best thing going in WWE today, and he vowed to win the Evolve men’s title. This brought out Edris Enofe! Edris told Drake he’s “going home empty-handed.” Out of the back came Sean Legacy. He got in the ring and is also confident he’s going to win the title. This brought out Keanu Carver. Everyone surrounded Jackson and punched him. One of them is going to win the inaugural Evolve men’s title.
* Backstage, Chuey Martinez interviewed Cappuccino Jones and Jack Cartwheel. They acknowledge they are smaller than Tyriek and Tyson, but they are going to “stick and move” to beat them. We saw footage of Kylie Rae, then Kali Armstrong, as they were warming up backstage.
2. Tyriek Igwe and Tyson Dupont vs. Cappuccino Jones and Jack Cartwheel. Jack and Dupont opened. Jones and Cartwheel clotheslined him to the floor. Wes Lee appeared at ringside and conferred with T&T. Back in the ring, Tyriek bodyslammed Cappuccino, and T&T worked over Jones. Tyriek accidentally went shoulder-first into the corner at 3:00, and Jones rolled him up for a nearfall. Jack got a hot tag and hit a flying clothesline. Cartwheel hit a backflip to the floor, then his cartwheel splash in the ring. T&T hit a team splash and pinned Jack.
Tyriek Igwe and Tyson Dupont defeated Cappuccino Jones and Jack Cartwheel at 5:06.
* Backstage, Prime Minister Stevie Turner signed LFG trainee Jin Tala to the Evolve brand. Carlie Bright walked up. Turner said these two are fighting next week. Bright shook Tala’s hand; it was a very cordial meeting between them. Also, Turner barred Bright from going to ringside with Kendal Grey.
* Nattie Neidhart is here! She wants to watch the four-way main event, and she’ll be presenting the inaugural champion with the belt. [C]
* Backstage, Dupont, Igwe, and Lee celebrated the victory. Also, Wes Lee will be back here next week.
3. Wendy Choo vs. Kylie Rae vs. Kali Armstrong vs. Kendal Grey in a four-way elimination match for the inaugural Evolve Women’s Title. All four brawled at the bell, and Grey hit a dive through the ropes. In the ring, Kendal hit a twisting crossbody block. We had several rollup attempts. Kylie hit a superkick on Wendy and pinned her at 2:59! [C}
When we returned, Kylie hit a rolling cannonball on Kali, then one on Kendal, and she got a nearfall on Grey. Kendal hit some forearm strikes and fireman carries. She hit a belly-to-belly overhead suplex on Kali, and she applied a flying cross-armbreaker on Armstrong, but Kylie jumped in, rolled over Kendal, and pinned her at 6:04! It is down to Kylie vs. Kali Armstrong! Kali hit a second-rope belly-to-belly suplex. She flew at Kylie, but Kylie sidestepped what I think was a spear attempt, and Kylie applied a Crossface on the mat at 8:00! Kylie got a rollup then reapplied a Crossface. Kali hit a powerslam and she was fired up. She hit a massive shoulder block and scored the pin!
Kali Armstrong defeated Kylie Rae, Kendal Grey, and Wendy Choo in a four-way elimination match at 8:45 to become the first WWE Women’s Evolve Champion.
* Nattie got in the ring with the belt; Kali snatched it from Nattie’s arms and celebrated with it.
Final Thoughts: I really enjoyed this episode. I’ve praised Kali as the right mix of Bianca Belair and Jaida Parker; she has the size, strength, look, and charisma to move up the roster. I felt she was the right choice of the four to win here. Kylie is great, but my guess is she’s here more to work with the younger wrestlers than wind up on Raw. Kendal has great athleticism but needs to find a way to stand out among all these women with roughly the same height, size, and skill set.
The two undercard matches were fine. Jackson Drake was the good choice to win the spot in the four-way, and as much as I like Jack Cartwheel, the size of Tyson & Tyriek… It’s hard to see them lose. But like Kendal, I’d like to see more individual personality from each of them so they aren’t seen as a monolith. Next week is the men’s four-way for the inaugural title, plus Jin Tala vs. Carlie Bright. This episode again clocked in at 53 minutes. I’ll reiterate that Tubi’s livestream feed has given me zero problems, and I’d never used it before the launch of Evolve.
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