By Chris Vetter, ProWrestling.net Contributor (@chrisvetter73)
WWE Evolve (Episode 65 – Succession III)
Taped in Orlando. Florida at the WWE Performance Center
Streamed June 24, 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 17.”
* We saw Aaron Rourke, Marcus Mathers, Sam Holloway and Cap Jones arrive at the building. We then saw the Mog Squad plotting backstage. Then, Nikkita Lyons vowed she’s winning her first title tonight. Wendy Choo arrived at the building and told the cameras her belt isn’t going anywhere.
1. Wendy Choo vs. Nikkita Lyons (w/Sloane Jacobs) for the WWE Evolve Women’s Title. We saw Kendal Grey, Zena Sterling and Kali Armstrong watching from the VIP lounge at ringside. Basic reversals early on. Lyons hit a sunset flip at 2:00; her height and overall size advantage is notable. She missed the splits on the apron, and Wendy kicked her to the floor. Wendy hit a somersault from the apron to the floor on Lyons. Sloane distracted Wendy as she was getting back into the ring, allowing Lyons to hit a roundhouse kick to the head. [C]
As we returned from the break, Lyons was in charge. She hit a snap suplex at 4:00. Wendy hit a DDT off the ropes, and they were both down. They got up and traded forearm strikes. Choo hit a short-arm clothesline at 5:30, then a handspring-into-an-elbow strike in the corner and a running neckbreaker for a nearfall. Choo applied a standing Dirtnap (Cobra Clutch), but Nikkita slammed her to the mat. Lyons hit an Overdriver swinging neckbreaker for a nearfall at 7:00. Wendy hit a “Snooze Button” (uranage) and applied the Dirtnap on the mat; Lyons rolled them both to the floor. Lyons nailed a second-rope Michinoku Driver for a believable nearfall, and they were both down at 9:00.
This crowd was hot. Wendy got a huracanrana for a nearfall. Wendy hit a running powerbomb out of the corner, and she immediately re-applied the Dirtnap! Sloane started to get into the ring, so the ref admonished her. The ref missed Nikkita tapping out. Laynie Luck ran to ringside and brawled with Sloane. Lyons grabbed a crystal that Sloane had placed at ringside, struck Wendy in the head with it, then shoved the weapon into her top. Nikkita then hit a roundhouse kick to the skull for the pin! New champion!
Nikkita Lyons defeated Wendy Choo to win the WWE Evolve Title at 10:45.
* Next week, KevOnStage is our guest GM! Chuey Martinze interviewed KevOnStage, who said it is “a dream come true” to be the guest GM. It’s Gal walked up and offered to “show him the ropes.” KevOnStage made his first match — It’s Gal will face Cutler James next week! [C]
* Last week, we were promised a mystery man and a mystery woman would debut tonight!
2. Kai Kavari vs. (mystery opponent) Kale Dixon. This makes sense; Kale has been off TV, more or less, since Uriah Connors dropped him. A basic tie-up; Kale is much taller. He slammed Kavari to the mat and stomped on Kai in the corner. He locked in a sleeper, and they fell to the mat. Kai hit a springboard back elbow at 2:30. Kai hit a dropkick into the corner. A white woman with long blonde hair (think Torrie Wilson!) appeared from the back, and it distracted Kai. Dixon hit a discus forearm strike and pinned Kavari. Fairly basic.
Kale Dixon defeated Kai Kavari at 3:37.
* A promo aired for “The Unknown,” a woman with short blonde hair. (I’ve seen several clips of her on Twitter/X this week and she’s a bit scary!)
* KevOnStage announced that a Mog Squad match next week will be an elimination match. [C]
3. Aaron Rourke vs. Max Abrams (w/CJ Valor, Santi Rivera, Jacari Ball) for the WWE Evolve Title. I’m a bit surprised that Mathers, Cap, and Holloway didn’t accompany Rourke to the ring; I presume we see them before the match is over. They immediately brawled. We saw Harlem Lewis sitting alone in the VIP lounge. Chuey quickly interviewed him. Max hit a suplex at 3:00. He hit a top-rope missile dropkick for a nearfall. Rourke had Abrams on his shoulders, and he slammed him face-first to the mat at 4:30.
Rourke hit a shotgun dropkick. He hit a second-rope powerslam move for a nearfall. Max yanked Aaron off the ropes and hit a neckbreaker at 7:30. Aaron hit a pump kick, then a roundhouse kick to the head. Max collapsed onto Aaron and got a nearfall. Rourke accidentally kicked the ref at 10:00! He hit a cyclone kick for a visual pin, but we had no ref! The Mog Squad hopped in the ring and were about to attack. However, Harlem Lewis got in the ring, appearing to be ready to help Aaron!
Braxton Cole pulled Harlem to the floor, and those two brawled to the back. The Mog Squad beat up Aaron, and CJ hit him in the head with the title belt; Abrams got a nearfall at 11:30. FINALLY, Mathers, Holloway , and Cap Jones showed up and brawled with the Mog Squad. We’re finally down to just one-on-one! Aaron hit the Molly-Go-Round top-rope flipping senton for the pin. Fun match.
Aaron Rourke defeated Max Abrams to retain the WWE Evolve Title at 13:09.
* Timothy Thatcher’s personal security duo (they actually got names a week or two ago!) got in the ring, and they beat up first the Mog Squad, then Cap and Mathers. Meanwhile, Sam was on the floor, selling an injury.
Final Thoughts: A fun episode. Rourke is such a great babyface, and you just can’t help but cheer for him. The main event played out almost exactly as I imagined, right down to Rourke winning and retaining. I’m not the biggest fan of Lyons, but she’s worked hard to improve, and the crowd was pleased to see her win the belt. Kale’s match was merely okay. The commentators weren’t shy about indicating how attracted they were to Kale’s new valet (I think I’ve seen her posts on Twitter/X).
So, next week features Gal-Cutler James, A Mog Squad elimination match (I presume against Mathers/Cap/Holloway, but I’m not 100 percent sure of that), and Braxton-Harlem.
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