-- Evolve 5 DVD Roundtable Reviews
Radican's DVD review

Sean Radican, Torch columnist (7.5)

This was a good show from bell-to-bell. This was one of the stronger shows from EVOLVE from an in-ring standpoint. There were some very good matches on this card. I was hoping for more UFC style "sit-down" interview segments here, but the documentary-style portions of the show served their purpose well.

The undercard featured Chuck Taylor dropping his first match to Mike Quackenbush after racking up four wins (one of which didn't count towards his overall record at the time). This loss really surprised me if only because Quackenbush hardly ever wrestles singles matches anywhere and Taylor is now one of the rising stars on the independent scene. I don't think the loss hurts Taylor, as it played into the larger story told by the backstage documentary footage.

Sami Callihan also continues his rise on the independent scene here with a really good match against Drake Younger. I cringed at the dueling headbutt spot, as I don't think it's worth the risk of concussion. There were also some nasty bumps on the hardwood basketball court without padding on the outside that made me cringe as well. They had a really good match, but I'd like to see these wrestlers employ a safer style in the ring. They could have told the same story without the dangerous spots.

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 Six-Way match was pure insanity. The six men involved in the match could set any TNA PPV on fire. These guys were that good. My favorite spot of the night came when Allen botched springboard off the ropes and Moxley, who was supposed to take the move, simply raised one finger in victory while standing behind Allen. Gargano was impressive as heck here as well during his spotlight segment. It's also fitting that as a heel he stole the win with a rollup.

Homicide made his return to the independents on this show, but seemed uneasy in EVOLVE, as he constantly had to stop himself from cursing while addressing Gargano and then Moxley. This was a good first chapter in Homicide's feud with Moxley, but it's a shame the feud didn't climax with a bang in the end.

O'Reilly and Ricochet had a really good showing in the main event. It's a shame O'Reilly is no longer allowed to appear in EVOLVE anymore due to his ROH contract. I liked the exchanged both men had in this match and O'Reilly was really good working over Ricochet's leg while trying to take away his aerial advantage. It's amazing to think how much Ricochet grew as a performer in 2011. In fact, a lot of wrestlers in EVOLVE have grown a lot in a year and I'm excited to see them continue to grow.

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.

Brian Leahy, PWTorch Specialist (8.0)

To put it simply, "Evolve 5: Danielson vs. Sawa" is easily the finest offering to date from the company and a good starting point to purchase an Evolve DVD release.

There’s almost nothing bad on the Evolve 5 card, and most matches serve a purpose. The general feeling watching this for me was that everything that happened on this DVD is in some way important and that there’s a greater story arc for a lot of these wrestlers. It’s been a while since I watched a card where I felt that the results of a match mattered just as much as the quality of the match and that’s a selling point to the Evolve product that shouldn’t be underrated.

From the opening bout featuring Chuck Taylor and Mike Quackenbush, you know you’re watching a special show. The placement of a match of this name value in the opening spot immediately tells the viewer that this is a top-tier card, and while Chucky-T and Quack don’t go too far beyond the typical requirements of an opening match, the action was good. Throughout the rest of the show, the clips of Taylor sitting dejected backstage hammered home the value of Evolve's Win/Loss records.

Up In Smoke and Aeroform put together the most forgetful bout on the card in the second slot, but that’s not to downplay the entertainment value of four men going at it with reckless abandon for eight minutes pulling out some high flying moves I’ve never seen before. When that’s your worst match on the card, you cant really complain.

Jimmy Jacobs vs. Adam Cole and Sami Callaghan vs. Drake Younger brought some oomph to the mid-card in their bouts. Both matches came across as heated fights using radically different styles. Jacobs and Cole have had a simmering grudge over Jacobs actions over the past few Evolve shows and their bout was based around Cole really disliking Jacobs attitude, while Callaghan and Younger just seem to flat out love beating people up. Neither match disappointed, and again the wins and losses were the focus in the aftermath of both.

The action lulled just a little in the middle of the card, between the Six-Way match and the WSU Title match. While the Six-Way match was long enough to feel satisfying, but short enough not to be terribly remarkable, the special appearance by Homicide post-match got the ball rolling on the cross-promotional Homicide vs. Moxley feud and added to the special feel of this show.

On the other hand, the WSU title match between Mercedes Martinez and The Amazing Kong was easily the best women’s match in Evolve, but the DQ finish was ultimately unsatisfying. At least Evolve is consistent - as soon as Kong attacked the referee, the official called for the bell. Later, backstage, Martinez looked appropriately upset with the tainted victory, which proved nothing to herself. It’s a shame we wont see this story play out with Kong now signed to WWE.

The top two matches had the best action on the card. O’Reilly and Ricochet went at it in a classic independent-style flyer vs. striker/submission wrestler match-up and was every bit as good in the ring as it promised on paper. Judging by this showing, it's easy to see why these two men are two of the quickest rising stars in DGUSA and ROH at the moment, and it’s only a matter of time before their names start appearing on the promotional banners in those promotions.

Danielson vs. Sawa in the main event was a masterpiece, stunningly put together by just doing the simple things right. The match was chock-full of cringe-inducing strikes and submissions, but, by my count, each man only took a single bump. That’s an amazing achievement in itself, but to put together a four-star match that lasted quarter of an hour and only featured two flat-back bumps is almost awe-inspiring.

If you’re considering picking up just one Evolve DVD, this is the one to get. There may be recent shows available on DVD from other companies with better matches top to bottom, or shows with more fantastic stories being told, but I think I’d be hard pushed to suggest a DVD release with a better overall direction and feel. Strong recommendation.

Jimmy Eaton, Torch specialist (8.0)

Simply put: Great show. I really enjoyed my first Evolve show and, in particular, it felt like a high-quality independent show. Did it blow me away? No. Is it up there with DGUSA and ROH? Not in my opinion, but who says it won't get there? One thing I absolutely like is the win-loss record. Well look here, an actual, logical process to determine top spots! You won't see someone with no wins going for the title, streaks are rewarded, etc. It really makes it feel more like a sport and less like an entertainment, spot fest.

The opening promo with Chuck Taylor complaining about not being in the main event and instead, showcasing Bryan Danielson/Sawa, came off well. It made it even better to show both men warming up before the show after Chucky T said he should be in that spot. Nice way to showcase talent too as they had a lot of guys in a video package predicted the outcome of the main event before the show.

The opening match was a lot of fun with Chuck Taylor taking on Mike Quackenbush. But, the man who stole this match for me was Chucky T. He's got a great personality for a whiny heel yet shows enough in the ring to prove why he has a winning record. I wasn't surprised to see Quackenbush go over here, but nevertheless, a fun opener that got the crowd hot. Quackenbush and Taylor are very, very technically sound in their styles too and showed this throughout the match. (**3/4) They really did a nice job putting over Chucky T. throughout the match as someone who thought he deserved to be in the top spot being undefeated and the streak leader. Good stuff that complimented the earlier promo.

I was wondering if Evolve did tag matches with the same win-loss system and before I could even finish asking myself, my question was answered. Aeroform vs. Up In Smoke was a fun tag match with some incredibly athletic guys. Perfect? No, but pretty good for me personally. I really dug how the commentators were not over the top and explained that another loss for Aeroform wouldn't be good for their future because of their under .500 status. Cool finish with multiple top-rope moves to give Up In Smoke the win. (***) The promo after this tag match was simple and effective. I noticed the lighting is off at times but honestly, not as bad as ROH last weekend because their cameras were actually clean.

I didn't get much out of the Dallas segment trying to get into the building, but being my first show, I just wasn't familiar with the backstory. It was funny nonetheless. Next was Jimmy Jacobs taking on Adam Cole. This match surprised me and up to this point was the match of the show for me. They explained the story that Jacobs was showing no respect to Cole and boy did he show it in this match. Commentary was again complimentary to this, yet not overshadowing what was going on in the ring. It was fun to see Jacobs as a heel again instead of his face character in DGUSA. But, this match had a more story-driven feel with Cole trying to prove himself. There was some good back and forth action along with good exchanges of moves and false finishes. I could have easily enjoyed seeing this go another ten minutes, but it accomplished what it needed to in my opinion. Cole came off like he belonged, but Jacobs prevailed before berating him and also, Johnny Gargano in a post-match promo. The usual good stuff from Jacobs playing mind games with his opponents. I always enjoy this from his character. (***1/4)

It was great to see Sami Callihan again, as this guy is really growing on me from his work in DGUSA. This match was a lot of fun and probably one of the hardest hitting matches of the show (see the main event). Sami Callihan continues to impress me and his match here against Drake Younger. Really stiff match that exceeded my expectations and it came off really well with some believable nearfalls. While it was really good, Sean and I touched on this in our VIP Audio review that the headbutts weren't needed. And, with so much risk with blood, that brought it down a bit for me. Nice promo from Younger too after the match. It was good to see records meaning so much that after each win. (***1/4)

I liked the promo with Danielson and Taylor, as it actually had common sense after the comments Taylor made earlier. The Six-Way with one win on the line was a blast to watch. Seeing guys like Eric Swann and Johnny Gargano is always a treat. Too much action to really recall, but some really fun spots and a nasty, nasty botch with Allen going for a springboard moonsault out of the corner. It was a tough crowd after the botch, but Moxley played it beautifully holding up a finger and bowing after the move. Hilarious and something you have to see for yourself. But, a fun match with Gargano getting the win over Frightmare. Frightmare was fun but seemed a bit slow at times with his move arsenal. And seeing Swann hit a standing 450 was awesome. (***) Good promo from Gargano too afterwards, telling everyone they suck. Homicide lit up the crowd and had a fun exchange with Gargano. I actually enjoyed the exchange quite a bit.

The women's match was good for what it was, especially seeing Awesome Kong. Kong was dominant, but Martinez still came off strong not giving up. Some fun spots with Martinez taking Kong off her feet too and while I think the finish wasn't the best it was still understandable given the angle. The ref DQ'ing her was funny and eventually they brawled to the back. Not bad but I'd give this about two-and-a-quarter stars. Jacobs and Gargano had a good exchange before Gargano let Larry Dallas into the building. He celebrated like a good and I liked how he told Jacobs to "be professional" despite wearing a Pokemon shirt.

The semi-main event (thanks to Chuck Taylor's whining according to the commentators) was Richocet and Kyle O'Reilly. Very, very solid match with a great set of high-flying moves and chain wrestling (armdrags!). The match went pretty quickly for me, but it was really, really good submission holds and counters to each other's moves. Great false finishes too down the stretch. I got to see the 630, which is absolutely incredible. A really good match that I'd have about three-and-a-half stars.

The main event was just flat out awesome. Danielson and Sawa delivered a wrestling clinic that made the small arena feel ten times bigger than it really was. Sawa was great and while I've never seen him before, this was a heck of an introduction for me. Crazy submissions, hard, hard-hitting strikes, and just a match you can't miss if you like good wrestling. The crowd was really hot when this match got rolling. (****) Excellent job by both men. Danielson also had a nice send-off to the fans referring to WWE, the concept of Evolve with Gabe, and telling the back to play Europe before he leaves.

Overall, a really fun show and I'm glad that I've finally had the chance to check out Evolve. I've always wanted to, and I don't regret it at all. Highly recommend checking out the show if you have the chance.

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