By Chris Vetter, ProWrestling.net Contributor (@chrisvetter73)
WWE Evolve (Episode 32)
Taped in Orlando. Florida at the WWE Performance Center
Streamed October 8, 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. I’ll reiterate that the background has changed in this latest taping, as more video screens are hanging on the walls in the background.
* Chuey Martinez was in the ring as the show began. He called first Kendal Grey, then Evolve Women’s champion Kali Armstrong to the ring. The big title match is next week! (It was taped two weeks ago; I have purposely not looked for any results.) Kendal vowed she was “going to break you and take the championship from you.” Kali said that Carlee Bright is “full of sunshine and bubbles,” but didn’t belong in the ring last week against the champ. Kendal said she will make Kali tap out. They both talked about their resumes in college sports. “I come from the struggles; this ain’t nothing new to me,” Kali sneered at Kendal. They shook hands and glared at each other but no punches were thrown. A very well done segment.
* Backstage, “Modern Cowboy” Tate Wilder told Kelly Kincaid he finally got his first win and he’s turned a corner. He wants a match next week. Brooks Jensen attacked him from behind!
1. It’s Gal vs. Dante Chen. Standing switches to open, and Chen applied a headlock on the mat. Gal put a leg lock around the neck, and he did push-ups on Chen’s back. Gal put him on his back and did two deep squats at 1:30. Chen mockingly flexed and hit a dropkick, then a back-body drop, and Gal bailed to the floor to regroup. Back in the ring, Chen hit a top-rope flying chop. Gal dropped Chen stomach-first to the mat and hit a discus clothesline for a nearfall.
Gal missed a leg drop; Chen rolled him over for a nearfall at 4:00. Chen hit a clothesline and a uranage, then a superkick that again sent Gal to the floor. Chen dove through the ropes and crashed onto Gal. Chen nailed a standing powerbomb and hit his double-handed chop and got the pin. Rosenberg called it “a big win” for Chen.
Dante Chen defeated It’s Gal at 5:38.
* Backstage, Chuey interviewed Tyson Dupont and Tyriek Igwe. (Where have they been hiding???) They are going to prove a point with a win tonight. [C]
* Backstage, The Vanity Project were hanging out in a lounge area. Jackson Drake said he wants to give them each a statue of his likeness. They wondered who Stevie Turner would pick to be his next opponent. “There is not a single man in that locker room who can take me out,” Drake said. The camera focused on Bryce Donovan, who is clearly eager to take Drake down a peg or two.
2. “The High Ryze” Tyson Dupont and Tyriek Igwe (w/Wes Lee) vs. Aaron Rourke and Marcus Mathers. I’m a big fan of the Northeast indy stars, but they have nowhere near the muscle mass and size of Igwe and Dupont. Tyriek opened against Rourke and easily shoved Aaron to the mat. Aaron playfully slapped Igwe on the butt a few times. Mathers entered and hit a basement dropkick and a mule kick for a nearfall. (Stone noted Rourke and Mathers have teamed recently at Wrestling Open. Nice to hear that plug.) Igwe hit a Mafia Kick on Marcus, and Dupont stomped on Marcus, and they kept the 22-year-old in their corner.
Dupont hit a splash in the corner at 3:30, then Igwe hit a twisting uranage for a nearfall. Rourke finally got a hot tag and hit some back elbows on Igwe, then a top-rope Meteora for a nearfall. Rourke and Mathers hit stereo dives through the ropes at 5:00. In the ring, Marcus hit his fadeaway stunner, and Rourke hit a top-rope somersault press. Mathers went for a plancha, but Dupont caught him and slammed him on the ring apron. High Ryze hit a “Heart Stopper” team slam and pinned Rourke. That was a lot of action in a match that short. [C]
Tyson Dupont and Tyriek Igwe defeated Aaron Rourke and Marcus Mathers at 6:40.
* Backstage, Prime Minister Stevie Turner teased Harley Riggins and Jax Presley for losing their tag match last week. They want a rematch. One of them said “if Stone was GM, he’d give us a rematch.” We could hear the crowd react to that one. She agreed to give them one more chance against Jack Cartwheel and Cappuccino Jones.
3. Wendy Choo vs. Nikkita Lyons. A basic tie-up early on, as the commentators talked about how “chatty” Wendy has become in recent weeks. Choo shouted a “meow!” and tied up Lyons; the crowd loved that. Wendy hit a dropkick, then a Flatliner at 2:00. Rosenberg said Wendy has changed up her look and style. Lyons knocked her to the floor, and they brawled at ringside. In the ring, Lyons hit a unique buttbump in the corner at 3:30, and she kept Choo grounded. Choo hit a huracanrana at 5:00, and the crowd rallied for her. Choo hit a Helluva Kick.
Wendy hit a second-rope crossbody block for a nearfall. She applied the Dirt Nap (sleeper) but Lyons escaped. She went for another second-rope crossbody block, but Lyons caught her and slammed her to the mat. Lyons missed a Vader Bomb. Wendy immediately applied the Dirt Nap on the mat, and this time, Lyons tapped out. Decent action.
Wendy Choo defeated Nikkita Lyons at 6:55.
* Backstage, Brooks Jensen challenged Tate Wilder to a match next week… and it will be a bull rope match. [C]
* All five members of The Vanity Project came to the ring; there is a table in the ring. They took out Keanu Carver, so Drake doesn’t have an opponent. Sean Legacy emerged from the back. However, Edris Enofe attacked Legacy from behind. TVP just watched it from the ring, clearly amused. Enofe and Legacy fought to the back. Drake announced that next week will be a “Vanity Project appreciation night.” However, Bryce picked up the blank contract from a table in the ring. Bryce said TVP “are all the worst human beings I’ve met in my entire life!” and that got a pop. “I am done with The Vanity Project,” he said. Bryce declared he will be the new Evolve Champion after next week, and he started brawling with Ricky Smokes, Brad Baylor, and Jackson Drake, and he hit a uranage, slamming Jackson through the table (because this is WWE, Zayda Steel escaped all harm).
Final Thoughts: The opening Kali-Kendal segment was really good. I’ve repeatedly noted how Kali has done just about everything right since Evolve started four months ago. Likewise, the show-closing segment has quite literally been months in the making; just because we all saw it coming doesn’t make it the wrong decision — in fact, that’s just good storytelling, and I’ll take that over hot-shot booking any day of the week.
The matches themselves were fine but nothing special. Mathers and Rourke are so talented, but once again, they just are so much smaller than the WWE developmental guys, and it wasn’t a surprise to see them lose. The episode clocked in at 55 minutes.
Honestly, I expected Bryce Donovan to leave the Vanity Project during or after Evolve: Succession. On the other hand, I was indeed a big fan of that surprise ending!