EVOLVE #1 debut show results
January 16, 2010
Rahway, N.J.
Report by thescoreboards.com user "chaos X effect"

The show was a ton of fun. I thought they drew pretty well, too, especially for it being their first show. Just about every floor seat was filled and there were 240 of them. Including general admission, there were about 400-450 people there. Not bad at all.

The entrance was very nice and had a screen that showed the matches as the wrestlers wrestled. The presentation was unique. Before the show, they didn't play any known music. They had this kind of ominous music that you would find during a part of a movie where the main character is getting ready to do battle.

The show started when the lights dimmed, music hit, and the announcers came out. Lenny Leonard did the introductions along with live commentary duty and he was partnered with Leonard F. Chikarason. The introductions were very unique. No one had their own music. The same music played before every match and the wrestlers just simply came out, stood in their corners, had Leonard say their names, and then went to work. After the match, Leonard announced the winner and said what their record was.

All of this helped create a very cool atmosphere. And when put together with the hard-hitting style of the wrestlers, it felt like the wrestling version of Fight Club.

(1) Kyle O'Reilly (w/Tony Kozina) beat Bobby Fish. This match set the pace for the show. They worked hard and hit harder. Very smooth and very stiff with O'Reilly going over Fish. After the match, Leonard interviewed O'Reilly, asking him how he felt about making history in winning EVOLVE's first ever match. Davey Richards came out to let him know that yeah, he won the first match, but so what? There will be many more to come, so O'Reilly needs to focus. (Keep this in mind for later.)

(2) Chuck Taylor beat Cheech. Taylor had a lot of support from the crowd. They put together a fun match that had Taylor hitting the Awful Waffle for the win to become an official member of the EVOLVE roster. After the match, Taylor said that now that he's an official member of the roster, he's going to make everyone else on the roster pay.

(3) Ricochet beat Arik Cannon. Cannon hit hard and Ricochet flipped around until Ricochet hit a 630 splash to win. The match fell a little short, but it was fun. After the match, Chuck Taylor came out and challenged Ricochet to a match at the next show. Ricochet accepted.

(4) Dark City Fight Club (Kory Chavis & Jon Davis) beat Aeroform (Flip Kendrick & Louis Lyndon). EVOLVE's first-ever tag match was next with the Dark City Fight Club taking on Aeroform. The referee never had control of this match. All four men were going at it the whole match with no tags being made. Like the formula to the match before this, DCFC hit hard and Aeroform flipped around. DCFC eventually put Aeroform down for the count. The crowd really liked the Dark City Fight Club.

(5) Mercedes Martinez quickly won a women's match. Mercedes was sporting her WSU Title and made quick work of her opponent. (I want to say her name was Maya, but I missed it because someone was talking to me.) After the match, Mercedes made it known that women have a place in EVOLVE and they'll be hitting just as hard as the men.

(6) Brad Allen beat Silas Young. This is where things went...differently. Both men were busting their asses, but the fans just weren't buying it as much as the previous matches. It didn't help that the match just wasn't as crisp as the others. There was a scary moment when Allen went for a somersault from the top rope to the outside on Young and ended up landing very hard and awkwardly. The ref stalled a little bit and then started the 20 count (like in ROH and FIP, EVOLVE has a 20 count on the outside). Allen made it in at 19 and then went on to win. Not a bad match, but the fans weren't really into it probably because it had a different feel from the rest of the show. Allen got on the mic afterwards, but the fans didn't want to hear it and booed him. However, he made a challenge to Chris Hero for the next show.

Out next was Jimmy Jacobs. He got a great ovation. He said it was great to be back and thanked those that supported him. He said he'd die for them. Ken Doane then came out for their match and heeled it up big time.

(7) Jimmy Jacobs beat Ken Doane via submission. Doane purposely slowed down the match, which the fans hated. Doane ended up hitting his top rope leg drop and got the three for the win. But wait!...Jacobs's foot was on the ropes for the three count and Tommy Dreamer came out to let the referee know that. After hearing what Dreamer had to say, the referee re-started the match, allowing Jacobs to apply the End Time to make Doane tap out. This too wasn't a bad match, but it just didn't flow with the rest of the show very well.

After the match, Tommy Dreamer got on the mic and thanked the fans. Jacobs took the mic and said that he should thank Tommy Dreamer for the help, but he won't because he doesn't need any help...especially from a washed-up has-been. Jacobs kept verbally attacking Dreamer, so Tommy got in the ring and said that he was at the show to have fun and then clocked Jacobs. They went back and forth for a few seconds and then Dreamer hit Jacobs with a DDT, posed, and left the ring to good ol' Alice in Chains. Surprisingly, Dreamer got some boos. Actually, more than some.

(8) Johnny Gargano beat Chris Dickinson. After intermission, Gargano and Dickinson got the show back on track. Gargano won and then went outside to talk to two people sitting in the audience. I don't know if it was supposed to be the start of something with his character or not, but the cameras made sure to get it.

(9) Munenori Sawa beat TJP (T.J. Perkins) via submission. Excellent match. Fast-paced and hard-hitting. Sawa worked over TJP's leg, while TJP worked over Sawa's arm. There were a lot of kicks and MMA submission holds. Just a lot of fun that resulted in Sawa getting TJP to tap.

(10) Hallowicked & Mike Quackenbush & Frightmare beat Gran Akuma & Brodie Lee & Icarus in a six-man CHIKARA tag match. The match was contested under Lucha rules. Quackenbush got a huge ovation. The match was full of the normal Chikara goodness. Very solid. Akuma's Army worked on Frightmare for a lot of the match, but once the hot tag was made, everyone let loose. In the end, Hallowicked got the pin for his team. Quackenbush then took the mic and said that at the next show, he wants to see a Four Corner Elimination tag team match.

(11) Davey Richards (w/Tony Kozina and Kyle O'Reilly) beat Kota Ibushi (w/Michael Nakazawa) via submission. Both men received great ovations. When the match was signed, only one word could be thought of - "awesome." And this match was...awesometastic. They came swinging and kicking out of the gate. They went hard and hit all the big moves. Great false finishes. Just an excellent match. In the end, Davey was able to get Kota to tap.

After the match, Davey and Kota bowed to each and shook hands. Davey grabbed the mic and thanked everyone - the wrestlers, the guys in the back, and the fans. But then he said that it was time for Kyle O'Reilly to be tested. At the next show, Davey will be doing just that. And so, it will be Davey vs. O'Reilly at EVOLVE 2.

EVOLVE 2 will be in Rahway on March 13. For more information on EVOLVE and to keep up on all the news for it, check out EVOLVEWrestling.com.

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