EVOLVE 40 Live Report
March 27, 2015
San Jose, Calif. at the Santa Clara Fairgrounds
Report by VIP member Ted from Sacramento

(1) EVOLVE champion Drew Galloway beat Uhaa Nation in a non-title match at 11:16. Drew came out first and got on the mic saying and said he wasn't going to start with a promo and called out Uhaa. The crowd was evenly split, but there were more Uhaa fans then Drew fans. At 4:00, they took to the floor for a minute. At 7:00, Uhaa made a comeback which included a Stinger Splash, two German suplexes, and a top-rope splash. Nearfall for Drew at 8:30. Reset at 10:00, followed quickly by a nearfall for Uhaa after a powerbomb. Drew got the win moments later with a faceplant. Drew gave a long promo afterward to put Uhaa over and hype his title vs. title match against Johnny Gargano the next day. (***)

(2) Timothy Thatcher beat Tommy End (w/Chris Hero) via submission at 16:24. Slow start and feeling each other out. A lot of early mat work with a couple of one counts. Funny moment when the guy in the first row started a "Let's Go Thatcher" chant and got a stare down from Chris Hero in his face. Reset at 7:00. No big moves to this point, just a lot of mat work. Two two-counts at 8:30 for Thatcher from his mat work. Strong kicks by End at 9:20 left Thatcher dazed. Reset at 10:00. Discus kicks by End at 11:00 felt liked it knocked Thatcher out but he got upset the count of eight. Huge forearms and kicks by End at 13:30 led to a two count. More huge kicks by End at 15:50 for another two count. Reversed into an armbar by Thatcher for a tap-out win. The crowd was definitely into Thatcher, and there was heat between Thatcher and Hero after the match. (***1/2, all for the last five-and-a-half minutes.)

(3) Drew Gulak beat T.J. Perkins via submission at 12:37. Good back and forth action early. The first two count was for Perkins at 6:00. Two count for Gulak at 8:40, which he followed with a single-leg Boston crab. Lots of armbars and anklelocks with numerous reversals. Gulak eventually got a tap-out win from an anklelock. (**)

(4) A.R. Fox beat Ethan Page at 13:37. The match began with an "A.R. Fox" chant. The crowd was definitely behind Fox. Great flying dropkick by Fox sent Page to the floor, followed by three suicide dives to the floor by Fox. Another loud "AR Fox" chant. At 3:30, Fox slammed Page repeatedly into the rails at ringside. Reversal by Page at 4:30 for a two count back in the ring. Back body drop at 7:00 by Page for a very believable two count. Flying dive over the top rope onto Page at 8:30. Page delivered three huge faceplants with three different holds at 10:00 for a great two count. Fox gave Page a monkey flip off the top rope followed by a 450 splash for the pin. (***1/2)

Johnny Gargano gave a promo afterward to hype his match with Drew Galloway tomorrow.

(5) Chris Hero beat Biff Busick at 19:37. Good pop for both men. The match started with a long stare down followed by a chopping contest. Slow match with lots of chops. At 3:00 Hero knocked Busick down with a forearm. Busick got up and asked for another, so Hero obliged. Nice takedowns by Biff, then Hero rolled out of the ring to recuperate. But, Biff came after him, ran to get momentum, and attacked strongly. Reset at 11:00. Biff with a dive over the top rope, but piledriver by Hero for a two count back in the ring. At 15:00, Biff did two release suplexes followed by a huge clothesline for a two count. Hero then won with a Tombstone Piledriver. (**1/2)

(6) Caleb Konley & Brian Cage beat DGUSA champion Johnny Gargano & Rich Swann (w/So Cal Val) via referee stoppage at 15:15. Rich Swann singing karaoke to the crowd, and the crowd sang with him to "All night long." Huge boos for Cage and Konley. Lots of cheers for Gargano. Lots of All Night Long cheers, and "Johnny Wrestling." A lot of fast action by Swann and Konley early on, but it looked too much like showboating and performing, rather than action designed to wear down the opponent. At 6:30 Cage caught Swann in mid-air and held him vertically for a long time. Of note, Cage is much bigger than the others and Konley and So Cal Val played the crowd throughout to get heat. At 14:00, Cage held Gargano in a great vertical suplex from the top rope for a believable two count. At 15:15 Konley and Cage were awarded the match due to injury to Swann. Gargano was in the ring and I didn't see the injury. The crowd was strong throughout. (**1/2 - would have been more with a better finish.)

(7) Ricochet beat P.J. Black (Justin Gabriel). Ricochet asked the crowd to not be down after the Swann injury. The crowd was huge into Ricochet. Great, fast-moving ring work to start, including a great flying head scissors by both men. Standing moonsault by Ricochet for a one count. P.J. went for a suicide dive and was caught by Ricochet with a kick. Ricochet went for a suicide dive and was caught by P.J. Ricochet then tried again for a successful suicide dive with a great crowd reaction. Great flying bulldog by Ricochet, then a double superkick put both men on the mat. When they got up the exchanged very strong chops and elbows. Vertical hold suplexes by Ricochet for a two count. 450 by P.J. from the top rope for a two count, which led to a "This is awesome!" chant by the crowd. Ricochet did a top-rope huracanrana for a super-close nearfall, which got a huge pop. P.J. did a Big Show imitation with open hand chops after shushing the crowd, but Ricochet got the win after a 450 from the top rope. (****)

- Event time: 2:35, no intermission.

- Biggest Cheers: Gargano, Ricochet, Uhaa Nation, A.R. Fox

- Most Heat: Konley and Cage.

- Best Matches: Ricochet vs. Black, Thatcher vs. End.

- Worst Match: Gulak vs. Perkins.

- Estimated Attendance: The venue had a capacity of about 250 and it was a virtual sell-out. It was an older wooden building where you could imaging it holding 4H exhibits during the county fair.

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