EVOLVE V: Danielson vs. Sawa
Sept. 11, 2010
Rahway, N.J.
Report by Sean Radican, Torch columnist

Taylor was shown backstage with Cheech & Cloudy. He said he was mad about Danielson being in the main event. He continued to complain while Cheech and Cloudy made goofy faces. Taylor was upset about being in the opening match and he said things would change in Evolve.

Richards Swann was shown backstage he said Sawa would beat Danielson in the main event tonight. Drake Younger then talked about the main event. He said Danielson would beat Sawa tonight. Ricochet said it was a tough pick, but he said Sawa would win. Ricochet said his mind was on his match tonight against O’Reilly. Adam Cole said he couldn’t pick a winner.

A video package narrated by Lenny Leonard stated that EVOLVE was about sportsmanship and there would be fines and suspensions for unsportsmanlike activity. The narrator said the stage for what EVOLVE was about all about.
Bryan Danielson and Sawa were shown warming up backstage while random music played.

(1) Mike Quackenbush(0-0) vs. Chuck Taylor (3-0). Both men exchanged holds on the mat during the early stages of the mat. Taylor was foiled by Quackenbush a couple of times with some nice chain wrestling, but Taylor managed to continue to control the match with a body lock as he targeted Quackenbush back. Quackenbush sent Taylor outside. Taylor tried to stop him, but Quackenbush landed a moonsault and appeared to hit his head on the floor. Ouch. Taylor hit the soul food and went for the awful waffle, but Quackenbush caught him on a springboard and turned it into a pinning combination for the win. Taylor moves to 3-1 while Quackenbush goes to 1-0. (**3/4)

(2) Aeroform (Flip Kendrick & Louis Lyndon) (1-3) vs. Up in Smoke (Cheech & Cloudy) (2-0). Aeroform hit stereo dropkicks on Cheech during the early stages of the match, but Cloudy broke up the pin. Cheech fired right back with a neck breaker on Kendrick for a 2 count. Cheech fired back and tagged in Cloudy. They continued to tag in and out to work over Lyndon. The action broke down and Lyndon took out Cloudy with a moonsault to the outside. Kendrick then took out Cloudy with a twisting body press and the crowd applauded. Kendrick ran wild inside the ring and nailed Cheech with a handspring into a hurricanrana and the crowd applauded. Cheech ended up hitting a senton off of Cheech’s shoulders for the pin on Kendrick. This was really fun. (***) Aeroform falls to 1-4 while Up in Smoke go to 3-0.
Leonard asked Cheech about using some cheap tactics during the match. Cheech said you had to whatever it took to win. Lyndon ran into the ring and said they cheated. They argued, but didn’t come to blow. Leonard put Up in Smoke over for their 3-0 record.

Larry Dallas was shown coming into the building with a random woman. Dallas said he was VIP tonight. An usher told him he wasn’t VIP. The woman wasn’t pleased with Dallas, as this has apparently occurred in the past with him.

(3) Adam Cole (1-1) vs. Jimmy Jacobs (3-1). The announcers talked about how Jacobs had been disrespecting Cole since the beginning of EVOLVE and treating him like he didn’t belong. Jacobs hit a big clothesline, but Cole fired back moments later with a neck breaker. Cole went up top, but Jacobs dragged him by the feet to the mat. Jacobs drove Cole’s head into the mat several times and then delivered a curb stomp. Jacobs mocked Cole, who fired back with a slap to the face. Cole fired back with a flurry of offense, but Jacobs fired up and nailed Cole with a spear and the crowd applauded. Cole kicked out at one and laid into Jacobs with a series of chops. Cole went for a charge, but Jacobs got his boot up. Cole ended up kicking Jacobs to the floor and nailed him with a dive through the ropes and the crowd applauded again. Cole went for a suplex, but Jacobs countered it into the end time. Cole pushed Jacobs off and nailed him with a super kick and a German for a nearfall. Jacobs spit in Cole’s face and went for the sliced bread, but Cole countered and spit in Jacobs’s face. Jacobs fired right up and hit the contra code for the pin. This was really good. (***1/2) Cole falls to 1-3 with the loss and Jacobs improves to 4-1.

Leonard interviewed Jacobs after the match. Jacobs said he has four wins and that makes him the guy that can do what Gargano couldn’t do. Jacobs said he made Cole a curtain jerker again. Jacobs said he is the guy to beat in EVOLVE.

(4) Drake Younger (2-0) vs. Sami Callihan (2-0). Both men went at it right at the bell. Callihan hit a series of forearms in the corner, but Drake obliterated him with a clothesline. Younger tossed Callihan outside and went for a dive. Drake snuck up behind Callihan and nailed him with a running dive off the ring steps. Callihan pitched Younger to the outside moments later and nailed him with a dive through the ropes. Callihan hit a Saito suplex, but was slow to cover and got a 2 count. They ended up on the floor where Callihan ducked a clothesline and hit a backdrop on the wood floor. Younger ended up against the ring post. He nailed Younger several times, but ended up missing a forearm. Younger grabbed Callihan by the arms and dragged him head-first into the ring post several times. Callihan came up bleeding as Younger continued the attack. Younger landed several shots on Younger in the corner, but Callihan told him to bring it. The ref checked on Callihan, but he tried to kick him away. The announcers said if Callihan connected he might be suspended. Both men battled up top. The crowd chanted for Callihan as both men exchanged headbutts. Callihan pushed Younger off and went for a dive, but missed and both men were down on the mat. Both men exchanged forearms and headbutts. Callihan eventually hit a neck breaker for a 2 count. Younger hit a half-nelson suplex and followed up with a German, but Sami kicked out. Callihan caught Younger with the stretch muffler after a powerbomb, but Younger got the ropes. Younger countered Callihan and hit Drake’s landing for the pin. This was really good, but some of the crowd seemed angry with Drake going over. (***1/4) Callihan falls to 2-1 while Younger improves to 3-0.

Leonard interviewed Younger after the match. Younger said he would feel awful in the morning, but right now he felt great because he was 3-0. Younger called out Jimmy Jacobs and said he would love to see Jacobs in the ring.

Danielson was shown backstage talking to Taylor. He told Taylor he had a lot of potential, but he wasn’t getting it done with his attitude. Danielson chewed Taylor out a bit more and walked away.

(5) Rich Swann (0-1) vs. Frightmare (0-0) vs. Jon Moxley (0-1) vs. Gran Akuma (1-1) vs. Johnny Gargano (2-2) vs. Brad Allen (2-1) in a Six Way match. Allen and Moxley started off. Allen went for a springboard and slipped, which caused Moxley to hilarious put up one finger in victory. Men could enter the ring as soon as someone left, which resulted in a frenetic pace. Frightmare leapt up and spun out of the way of a clothesline from Allen and took him down with a neck breaker. That was cool. Allen booted Gargano to the apron, but Gargano countered with a spear through the ropes. Frightmare and Swann then hit stereo dives to the outside, which left Allen alone in the ring. The crowd booed Allen, who hit a flip dive over the top taking out everyone. The crowd decided they liked him after that move. The crowd taunted Allen as he went up top again, but Gargano kicked him off. Akuma nailed him with a spider exploder and a moonsault, but Swann broke up the pin. Swann hit a standing 450, but Frightmare broke it up. Wow! Frightmare hit the standing flipping double knees on Swann, but Gargano came out of nowhere and rolled him up for the win. This was really fun while it lasted. (***1/2) Gargano improves to 3-2 while Frightmare falls to 0-1.

Leonard came out after the match to interview Gargano. Gargano said it was an amazing victory for him. He said the fans didn’t have to worry because he’s back on the winning track. He said everyone else in EVOLVE sucks. Gargano said he is the baddest man on the planet.

Homicide came out and the crowd applauded. Gargano wanted a high five, but Homicide flipped him off. Homicide told Gargano he should leave the ring because he’s the baddest man on the planet. Gargano left and told Homicide he is his friend. The crowd chanted for Homicide, but Moxley came back out and entered the ring. Homicide he heard Moxley was the hottest thing. He told Moxley he had come home to take his crown back. Moxley told Homicide he had better keep an eye on him. Homicide said he couldn’t say bad curse words, so he used some not so bad curse words and said he was here to run the indies and EVOLVE.

A video packaged aired saying that Brodie Lee was suspended and Jon Moxley had been fined for their actions on EVOLVE 4. The footage showed the ref calling a double DQ on them. Lee then kicked a chair into Moxley’s face.

Leonard thanked the fans for supporting EVOLVE. Moxley got on the mic and said he wanted Brodie Lee. Moxley said he was telling EVOLVE management that they would give him a rematch.

(6) WSU World Champion Mercedes Martinez (4-0) vs. Amazing Kong (0-0). The story here is that Martinez had blown through the competition and has asked for the best, so EVOLVE gave her Kong. Martinez lit up Kong with strikes, but Kong just shrugged her off. Martinez continued to light up Kong until Kong avalanched her to the mat. The crowd chanted for Kong as she began tossing Martinez around the ring like a rag doll. Kong hit a big splash, but Martinez kicked out at the last second. Kong then applied the camel clutch, which brought about an Iron Sheik reference. Martinez fired back and hit several forearms, but Kong swatted her away like a fly. Mercedes ducked a charge in the corner and nailed Kong with several running kicks. Martinez finally took Kong down with a missile dropkick and Kong rolled to the outside. Martinez got a running start and nailed her with a dive through the ropes. Martinez mounted Kong and hit several forearms and the crowd booed. Martinez went up top, but Kong nailed her with a back fist. The ref told Kong to get out of the corner, but Kong pushed him away. The ref didn’t call for a DQ, so Kong followed up with an implant buster for a two count. Kong went to the corner and undid the turnbuckle, but the ref tried to stop her. Kong kicked the ref low. The ref dove out of the ring and called for the DQ. Kong ended up laying out Martinez after the match, but Martinez got up quickly and they brawled to the back. Martinez improves to 5-0 and Kong falls to 0-1 in EVOLVE. This was pretty good, but the finish was lame. (**3/4)

Jimmy Jacobs was shown backstage bragging to having more wins than Gargano. Gargano told Jacobs to be professional. Gargano went to leave out the back door, which allowed Larry Dallas to walk in with his girl. Jacobs rolled his eyes as Gargano celebrated with Dallas. That was funny how Dallas just walked into the locker room.

(7) Ricochet (1-2) vs. Kyle O’Reilly (2-0). O’Reilly targeted Ricochet’s legs right away, which was a running theme throughout. O’Reilly continued to work over Ricochet’s legs with various submissions, but Ricochet fired back with a springboard DDT and both men were down. Both men built up to some really good exchanges down the stretch. The finish saw both men fight up top, but Ricochet managed to send O’Reilly to the mat. Ricochet then followed up with a fantastic looking 630 off the top for the win. Ricochet improves his record to 2-2 while O’Reilly fell to 2-2 with the loss. (***1/2)

Homicide encountered Martinez backstage. She looked upset about winning via DQ. Homicide told her to visit the hood and she wouldn’t be depressed anymore.

They did a really cool entrance where they followed Sawa walking to the ring from the backstage area. They then went to a picture-in-picture shot of Danielson doing the same thing. Both men got big ovations, but Danielson got a huge pop making his entrance.

(8) Bryan Danielson (1-0) vs. Munenori Sawa (1-0). This was an excellent main event. Both men went at it hard right from the start. Sawa hit a slap to Danielson’s face early, but Danielson smiled. Both men then exchanged strikes and smiled at each other. Danielson worked over Sawa’s leg with various submissions throughout the match, but Sawa always managed to escape. Both men caught each other’s legs going for kicks and exchanged slaps, which got the crowd going. Sawa eventually took down Danielson with a nifty kick combination that popped the crowd huge. The finish saw Sawa no-sell a kick to the heard form Danielson. Danielson kicked Sawa in the head right away for a two count. Danielson then hit a third kicked to the head and locked in the crossface for the win. This was an excellent hard-hitting contest. (****1/4)

Leonard interviewed Danielson after the match. Danielson said EVOLVE was his baby with Gabe and he thanked the fans for their support. Danielson then apparently posed to his signature music, but they cut it out.

Chuck Taylor was shown sitting alone backstage looking sad. Larry Dallas and Johnny Gargano came along with the random girl. They convinced Taylor to come out and party with them. Taylor turned to the camera and told Danielson he had the guts to be good, but he was going to do it his way.

Overall thoughts: (7.5) This was a good show from bell-to-bell. It’s the strongest show from an in-ring standpoint that I’ve seen from EVOLVE, although there weren’t as many backstage segments and sit-down interviews as usual.

Nearly all of the matches had something going for them from a storyline segment. My favorite match on the undercard was Jacobs-Cole. They had a nice storyline going with Jacobs playing the heel and acted as if Cole didn’t belong, but Cole really put on a great performance and showed good fire, despite the loss.

The show was full of really good matches, but Danielson vs. Sawa really brought the crowd alive. Sawa was great here going strike-for-strike and hold-for-hold with Danielson. These two built up to some really great hard-hitting exchanges that brought the crowd into a frenzy. Sawa-Danielson is well-worth going out of your way to see.

FYI: You can purchase this release at EVOLVEWrestling.com. Torch VIP members look out for a full audio review of this show and more on Radican’s Wrestling Community Audio later today.

Contact Sean at PWTorchSean@gmail.com

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