Radican's "EVOLVE 9" iPPV virtual time results
Manhattan, N.Y.
July 26, 2011

(1) Bobby Beverly vs. Eric Ryan. I can hear the announcers, but there’s no crowd noise. Beverly dominated the action early. Ryan fired back with a superkick and took Beverly down with a running knee strike. Ryan followed up with a coast to coast dropkick. He then hit a dive through the turnbuckles to the outside to take out Beverly. He went for another dive, but Beverly caught him with a kick. Ryan no-sold a Saito suplex and nailed Beverly with a clothesline that left both men down.

Kevin Steen ran out and took out both men. He nailed Ryan with a package piledriver. The crowd appeared happy, but they’re not mic’d. Steen hit another package piledriver on Beverly. The people in the front row are sitting.

Steen, wearing a PWG shirt, got on the mic. I can’t hear what Steen is saying. He’s shaking hands with Ryan. He then nudged him out of the ring. Steen talked to the fans, but I couldn’t hear him. There’s literally no sound now. Naylor is saying “no, no.” Steen is still cutting a promo. The fans are clapping. Steen sat down in the ring just like Punk, but got up quickly.


Bobby Fish eventually came out and asked for the mic from Steen. Fish is talking to Steen. Steen hasn’t attacked him yet. Fish talked for a long time. Fish left the ring and dropped the mic. Steen waved to the fans and left.

(2) Super Smash Bros (Player Uno & Player dos) vs. Facade & Jason Gory. Dos and Gory started things out. There’s still no commentary. Dos took out Gory with a leg lariat and tagged in Uno. They nailed Gory with a double team move for a 2 count. Gory tagged in Façade, who hit a splash off the top, but Dos fired right back. Dos taunted the ref after another double team move that resulted in a nearfall. Facade fired back and hit a springboard bulldog on Dos. Gory followed up with a springboard leg drop on Uno for a 2 count. Gory & Facade continued to dominate the action. Uno fired back and took out both men with a DDT/faceplant combination. Dos got the hot tag and ran wild on Gory. He then hit a twisting splash on Facade. The sound is back.

Façade and Gory hit a tandem moonsault onto Dos, but Uno broke up the pin. Uno fired back and powerbombed Gory into Façade. The action continued at a furious pace with the Smash Bros. dominating. Uno held up Façade for a Gory special/neckbreaker off the top combination for the win. (**1/2)

After the match, Uno said they wanted to reach 1 million wins when Leonard interviewed him.

(3) Sugar Dunkerton vs. Silas Young. Young came out with a basketball. He threw it into Dunkerton’s face. The ref did a tipoff, but Dunkerton didn’t jump. Young threw the ball into Dunkerton’s chest. Dunkerton bounced the ball of Young’s head and the bell rang. Dunkerton immediately took Young down and went to work on his arm. Dunkerton dominated the action for several minutes. Young tried to fire back, but Dunkerton nailed him with several chops. Young planted Dunkerton after he went for a float over. Young went for his finish, but Dunkerton kicked him to the floor. Dunkerton played to the crowd before hitting a dive through the ropes to wipe out Young.

Young fired back and put the boots to Dunkerton. He mounted Dunkerton and nailed him with several blows from the top. Young hit a perfect plex, but Dunkerton kicked out at 2. Dunkerton got back to his feet, but Young sent him right back to the mat. Dunkerton fired back and nailed Young with a series of elbow strikes. He finally took Young down with a big clothesline for a nearfall. Young fired back and drove Dunkerton into the corner. Dunkerton fired back and nailed him with a face plant off the second turnbuckle. Dunkerton locked in a leg scissors variation on Young, but he got the ropes. The fans rallied behind Dunkerton as Young struggled to his feet. Young hit a jawbreaker and then a backbreaker moments later, but Dunkerton kicked out. Young and Dunkerton exchanged slaps. Young fired back and drove him into the mat. He then hit his headstand into a springboard moonsault for the win. (**3/4)

Young showed some signs of potential as a heel here. Dunkerton looked good as well getting the fans behind him. Leonard interviewed Young after the match, but I couldn’t hear the ring mic.

Gargano came out and confronted Young. It looked like he had some strong words for him. The sound came back and Gargano said he didn’t know what had gotten into Young. Gargano offered Young a handshake, but Young blew him off.

(4) Pinkie Sanchez vs. Lince Dorado. Sanchez ran right into a superkick from Dorado. Dorado went for a handspring, but Sanchez caught him. Dorado rolled up Sanchez for a 2 count. Dorado sent Sanchez outside and faked a dive. Dorado ended up taking out Sanchez with a dive. He went for a springboard back inside the ring moments later, but Sanchez caught him with a dropkick. Dorado fired back and rolled out of a sunset flip and nailed Sanchez with a shining wizard for a 2 count. Sanchez fired right back with a dragon screw and went to work on Dorado’s leg. Dorado nailed Sanchez with several elbows to free himself from the hold.

Steen came in on commentary. The announcers acted like they were afraid of him. Sanchez continued to dominate the action. The crowd mic picked up and the sound improved. Dorado fired back with a hurricanrana. He sold his leg as he went on the attack. Dorado hit a handspring elbow. He followed up with a leg lariat, but only got a two count. The crowd clapped as Dorado continued the attack. He went for another springboard, but Pinkie caught him with a knee to the back. Sanchez went up top, but missed a moonsault. Dorado hit a big dropkick that sent Sanchez flying across the ring. Dorado favored his knee before nailing Sanchez with a super hurricanrana. Dorado then went up top and hit a SSP, but Sanchez kicked out and the crowd applauded. Steen made fun of Naylor on commentary, but didn’t say much of anything. Sanchez caught Dorado with a springboard DDT, but only got a 2 count. He then locked in a figure 4 and Dorado tapped. (***)

Leonard interviewed Sanchez after the match. He said it had taken him 10 years to get into EVOLVE. Sanchez said he was here to wrestle. They asked Steen what he thought of ROH and Steen said wrestling matters.

Leonard interviewed Larry Dallas. He said he had purchased some interview time. Dallas came to the ring with Ahtu. Steen asked which one was Ahtu and which one was Dallas. Dallas said the main event of Gargano vs. Taylor wasn’t going to happen. He said he had brought a great tag team to EVOLVE. This brought out Caleb Konley and Scott Reed.

(5) Scott Reed & Caleb Konley (w/Larry Dallas & Ahtu) vs. Cheech & Cloudy. Reed took control of Cheech and tagged in Konley. They took down Cheech with a double shoulder tackle. Cheech fired back with a chinbreaker on Konley. Cloudy tagged in and Up in Smoke nailed Konley with a combination of move capped by a slingshot senton from Cheech for a 2 count. Up in Smoke continued to dominate the action, but Reed ran into the ring to break up a double team on Konley. Up in Smoke took out Reed and then hit a double kick combination on Konley.

Cloudy got knocked to the outside. Reed whipped Cheech into a hip toss from Konley into the turnbuckles. Reed and Konley began tagging in and out to work over Cheech. Konley is growing on me with his limited appearances in DGUSA and now EVOLVE. Cheech tried to fire back, but Konley cut him off. Cheech ducked a charge in the corner and nailed Konley with a powerslam. Cloudy and Reed tagged in. Konley got tossed through the ropes by Cloudy. Cloudy ducked a clothesline from Reed and nailed Konley with a suicide dive. Reed set up Cloudy and nailed him with the Niagara driver, but Cheech broke it up. Dallas looked nervous on the outside. He was forced to stand on the stage because he doesn’t have a manager’s license. Konley nailed Cloudy with a flurry of moves capped by a standing senton for a nearfall.

Konley and Reed continued to work over Cloudy. Cloudy finally fired back on Konley and nailed him with a missile dropkick. Cloudy and Konley tagged out. Cheech ran into the ring and ran wild. He hit a pump-handle suplex on Konley that dumped him on top of Reed for a nearfall. Up in Smoke hit a tandem DDT on Konley. The crowd fired up as Cheech nailed Reed with a dropkick in the corner. Cloudy fired up with a running knee strike. Cloudy made the cover, but Konley made the save. Konley hit the Gory special and locked in a nasty looking submission on Cloudy, but Cheech made the save. Cheech then hit a suplex on Konley. Cloudy then went on top of Cheech’s shoulders and got flipped onto Konley, but he got his knees up.

Cheech sent Konley to the outside. Konley took an elbow from Cheech in the corner. Cloudy and Cheech went for a double team, but Konley broke it up. Reed & Konley hit a double team DDT followed by a German for the pin on Cloudy. (***1/4)

Dallas ran into the ring and celebrated after the match. Dallas didn’t have anything to say to Leonard after the match. Cheech turned on Cloudy after the match and nailed him with the Go to Cheech.

(6) Bobby Fish vs. Jon Davis. The crowd chanted for both men at the start of the match. Steen said hi to his son and wife. He then said he was going to show his son how to handle bullies at school. Steen ran into the ring and kicked Fish. The ref called for a DQ. Steen got on the mic and asked if that was against the regulations. Fish got on the mic and said he didn’t come here for this. Fish challenged Steen to wrestle them in an unsanctioned match. Davis got on the mic. Davis said he wanted to kick Steen and Fish’s asses. The ref agreed and rang the bell.

(6a) Davis took out the ref after the bell ring. He went at it with Fish on the outside. Steen took down Davis inside the ring and nailed him with a cannonball in the corner. Fish sent Steen to the outside. Fish missed a kick on the apron. Steen caught Fish and powerbombed him on the apron. Davis then nailed Steen with an inverted DDT on the apron. Fish recovered and hit a springboard to the outside to take out Davis. Fish locked in a leg submission on Steen the middle of the ring. There was still no ref and Fish was mad about it. Fish let go of the hold and another ref came out.

Davis recovered and nailed Fish with a one-handed powerbomb for a 2 count. Steen nailed Fish on the apron and DDT’d him through the ropes for a nearfall. Steen set up for the package piledriver, but Fish kicked his leg. Fish nailed him with a big Saito suplex, but only got a 2 count. The crowd chanted off Steen while Davis and Fish went at it. All three men were down after Davis took out Fish with a huge lariat. The crowd clapped as all three men struggled to their feet. Fish nailed Davis with an overhead suplex, but Steen said hell no and broke up the pin. Fish then lit up Steen with a big kick, but he caught him off the ropes with a powerbomb. Steen then applied the sharpshooter on Fish. Davis broke it up and hit the jackhammer on Steen, but Fish broke up the pin.

Steen sent Davis to the outside, but Fish countered a package piledriver. Fish got a sunset flip on Steen and rolled into the Fish hook submission. Steen teased tapping, but Davis ran into the ring. Steen fired back on Fish and set up for a charge, but Davis nailed him with the pounce. Davis then hit three seconds around the world on Fish for the win. This was a really good match. (***1/2)

After the match, Steen got a chair. He began exchanging blows with Davis, but security dragged him away. The crowd chanted to let them fight.

Davis posed for the fans after the match.

(Intermission)

(7) John Silver vs. Tony Nese. Nese got a bit of a pop coming out. Silver is making weird hand gestures before the match. Fans could be heard taunting Naylor at ringside because he was doing double duty as timekeeper. Nese took down Silver and worked the arm. Both men went for a dropkick after a flurry of exchanges and came to a stalemate. Nese was impressive against Lee on the DGUSA “Uprising” PPV that debuts this Friday, but he’s on more of an even playing field here. Silver took Nese down and locked in an arm submission, but Nese lifted him up and powerbombed him into the turnbuckles. Silver went for a hurricanrana, but Nese sent him right into the ropes. Nese followed up with a running kick for a 2 count. Silver got out of the way of a springboard. He tried for a senset flip, but Nese stepped on his face and nailed him with a quebrada.

Silver fired back and took Nese down with an enzuguri. He followed up with a running double sledgehammer for a two count. Silver hit a big running kick to Nese’s head, but only got a 2 count. Nese fired back, but Silver blocked a sunset flip and nailed him with a double knee drop. Silver set up for a dive, but Nese ran into the ring and nailed him with a clothesline that left both men down. Silver fired up and hit a tornado DDT for a 2 count. Silver set up for a superkick, but Nese caught his foot and sent him into the mat. Nese followed up with a German with a bridge, but Silver kicked out. I can hear a fan doing commentary in Ross’s voice on the announcer mic.

Silver hit a kick to the back of Nese’s head. He went up top, but Nese nailed him with a dropkick. Nese set up silver and nailed him with a top rope German. Nese hung on with his legs and went for a moonsault, but Silver cut him off. Silver hung Nese upside down and nailed him with a huge double knee strike off the top, but Nese kicked out at the last second. Nese hit a running knee strike in the corner and went for the cover, but Silver kicked out. Nese hit a German after slamming Silver into the top turnbuckle, but Silver kicked out. Nese fired up and nailed Silver with a series of kicks. He hit a big powerbomb, but Silver kicked out.

Silver fired up and went for a clothesline, but Nese nailed him with a kick. Nese followed up with an enzuguri. Silver looked to be out on the mat. The ref checked on Silver, but he let it continue. Nese covered Silver, but he kicked out and nailed Nese with several forearms. He followed up with a big punch, but Nese kicked out at the last second. The crowd popped for the spot and chanted for both men. Both men went up top and exchanged blows. Silver crotched Nese and laughed at him. Nese then crotched Silver. They began exchanging slaps up top. Nese kicked Silver to the mat and went up top. Nese missed a 450 and Silver nailed him with a backbreaker for the pin. (***1/4) I’m shocked at how good this match was. It was really good given what I expected going in.

Leonard interviewed Silver after the match. I couldn’t hear what Silver said, but he carried himself well.

(8) Dave Finlay vs. Sami Callihan. Finlay got a big ovation coming out. Callihan also got a big pop coming out for the match. Callihan charged right into a big forearm at the bell. Finlay took down Callihan and landed a couple of blows before Callihan bailed to the corner. Finlay nailed Callihan with a big kick and put the boots to him in the corner. He followed up with a short lariat and the crowd roared. This match is stiff. Callihan countered Finlay on the mat and got a head-scissors. Finlay fired back with an elbow to Callihan’s leg. They went face-to-face and Finlay headbutted him. Callihan fired back with a headbutt of his own, but Finlay just shook it off and hit a clubbing blow to Callihan’s back. Finlay grabbed a headlock on the mat and then turned it into a pinning combination for a 2 count.

Sami fired back with a series of big chops. Callihan taunted Finlay and nailed him with another chop, but Finlay nailed him with a short right to the draw. Finlay yelled at Callihan and slapped him across the face. Sami tried to fire back with some chops. He nailed Finlay with several more chops, but Finlay pushed him off. Sami fired back again and hit another chop, but Finlay took him down and locked in a leg submission. Callihan quickly grabbed the ropes and both men got up and talked some smack to each other. Sami slapped Finlay across the face and nailed him with some big chops.

Callihan went for a running kick on the corner, but Finlay got out of the way. He went to the outside and dragged Callihan off the apron to the floor. Finlay nailed Callihan’s leg with a kick and continued the attack on the outside. Sami fired back and nailed Finlay with a kick. They battled back outside and Finlay nailed Callihan with a big European uppercut. Callihan avoided a kick and Finlay crotched himself on the apron. Sami followed up with a big chop. Apparently they put Naylor on mute. Finlay shoved Callihan, but he nailed him with a bicycle kick and the crowd went nuts.

Callihan tossed Finlay in the ring, but got caught with a kick as he got back into the ring. Naylor is back! Both men continued to beat the crap out of each other. Finlay stomped on Callihan’s hand. He followed up with a nasty looking body slam and Callihan bailed to the apron. Finlay began stomping on Callihan as the fans chanted for him. He hit another nasty looking slam before pausing to taunt Callihan. Finlay locked in a leg submission in the middle of the ring. Callihan’s shoulders went down several times, but he managed to get them up to avoid a pinfall. Finlay switched the hold and turned it into an inverted figure 4. Callihan struggled, but eventually got the ropes.

The crowd began chanting for both men. Callihan staggered as he tried to get his knee to recover. Finlay used the ref as a distraction and nailed Callihan with a kick to the leg. Callihan spat at Finlay and bailed to the corner. Callihan flipped off Finlay as he limped around. Callihan told Finlay he wanted to go strike for strike. Finlay told Callihan he was the only man in the building and they couldn’t fight like men before nailing his leg with a big kick. Finlay tied up Callihan’s leg and locked in a variation of the stretch muffler. Callihan struggled, but got the ropes. The ref checked on Sami, who told the ref he could continue. Callihan charged out of the corner with a running kick. He then lifted up Finlay into a DVD, but Finlay kicked out at 2.

The crowd clapped as both men gathered themselves on the mat. Callihan kicked Finlay to the floor and went for a dropkick to the outside, but Finlay slammed him into the guardrail. Callihan fired back with an enzuguri. He nailed Finlay with a series of big chops. Finlay fired right back and put Sami on the top rope. He then pushed Callihan off the top rope to the floor and Sami was down in a heap. Finlay went on the attack and slammed Callihan on the outside.

Callihan was slow to beat the ref’s count, but he made it back into the ring in time. Finlay took control once again and went to work on Callihan. The crowd chanted for both men as Finlay tried to bring Callihan to his feet. Callihan fired up and hit a backdrop driver. The crowd roared as Callihan tried to make the cover, but he only got a 2 count. Callihan pulled down his straps and nailed Finlay with a diving forearm, but Finlay got the bottom rope.

Callihan pulled Finlay to his feet and nailed him with a bicycle kick, but only got a one count. Finlay rolled to the outside and Callihan went for a suicide dive. Finlay got out of the way and Callihan went right into the guardrail. Ouch. Callihan tripped Finlay as he got back into the ring. He then went up top, but Finlay tossed him to the mat. Finlay then made the cover, but only got a 2 count. Finlay nailed Callihan with the island driver, but he kicked out at the last second. The crowd popped big for Callihan’s kickout. Callihan flipped off Finlay, who nailed Callihan with a second island driver, but Callihan kicked out again at the last second. Callihan fired up as the crowd went nuts. Callihan flipped off Finlay with both fingers this time. Finlay nailed Callihan with tombstone for the three count. (****)

I can honestly say I loved that match. It was hard-hitting, technical, and brutal. I love matches like this one and Finlay brought the heat tonight.

Finlay cut a promo with Leonard after the match. I couldn’t hear what he said. Whatever he said pleased the fans. Callihan got a big pop after the match for his effort. Callihan laid in a heap on the outside. It appeared Finlay was putting him over. Finlay went outside after cutting his promo and hugged Callihan.

Larry Dallas came out before the main event and appeared to be protesting Gargano and Taylor fighting. He appeared to ask both men to go to the back with him. The bell rang and the match was underway.

(9) Johnny Gargano vs. Chuck Taylor. Taylor and Gargano locked up and went at it. They went at it full bore and exchanged pinning combinations. Both men caught each other going for kicks and came to a stalemate. Dallas threw in the towel while he held Taylor in a headlock. Dallas was trying to screw Taylor again. Gargano wiped himself with the towel and then rubbed it in Dallas’s face. Gargano then fired Dallas as his agent.

They reset and began exchanging forearms. Taylor caught Gargano with a dropkick and went for a dive, but Gargano caught him with a forearm. The action went at an incredible speed. Taylor nailed Gargano with a kick that sent him flying into the crowd. Taylor tossed Gargano back into the ring and locked him in a modified surfboard submission. Gargano blocked a charge from Taylor and nailed him with a doublestomp off the top. Gargano followed up with a neckbreaker. Taylor went to the outside and Gargano nailed him with a dive through the ropes. He followed up with a tornado DDT off the apron that left both men down on the outside.

Gargano went for a spear through the ropes, but Taylor ducked it. Taylor went for a moonsault, but Gargano got out of the way and nailed him with a spear through the ropes moments later. Gargano began working over Taylor’s arm. He eventually cinched in an arm lock with a bridge. Gargano transitioned into a pinning combination, but only got a 1 count. Gargano fired back with a stunner and a kick to the head. Why doesn’t anybody sell the stunner huge anymore? Both men went at it on the apron. Taylor hit a superkick and went up top, but Gargano caught him with a kick. He then went for a lawn dart on the apron, but Taylor countered it into an inverted DDT.

Taylor disappeared got a running start. He came running off the stage and nailed Gargano with a big dive and the crowd applauded. Taylor set up Gargano in the corner, but Gargano got his boot up. Taylor caught Gargano charging him and slammed him to the mat before nailing him with a kick for a 2 count. The crowd clapped as Taylor paused before going back on the attack. Taylor went for a springboard moments later, but Gargano caught him with a superkick for a 2 count.

My feed went out for a minute. When the action came back on Taylor nailed Gargano with a fall away slam off the second rope. Gargano countered it into a pinning combination and locked in the Gargano escape. Taylor countered , but Gargano got him back in the Gargano escape. Taylor nailed Gargano with several headbutts and applied Gargano’s own submission on him. Gargano struggled, but eventually got the ropes.

Gargano nailed Taylor with sole food and hit a twisting neck breaker, but Taylor kicked out. Taylor countered a lawn dart attempted and nailed Gargano with the lawn dart. Gargano countered the awful waffle into an air raid crash and both men were down. Both men slowly got up and began exchanging blows. Gargano hit a big running kick that sent Taylor to the outside. He went for a dive, but Taylor caught him with a kick. Gargano hit another kick and went for a spear, but Taylor caught him and nailed him with a DDT on the stage.

The ref counted with both men down on the outside. Taylor made it back into the ring as the ref counted. The ref reached 14 and Gargano wasn’t moving. Gargano barely beat the 20 count. Taylor picked him up, but Gargano caught him with a small package. Taylor kicked out and nailed Gargano with the hurts don’t it for a nearfall. Taylor went up top, but Gargano pushed him to the floor. Gargano followed up with a senton off the apron. Gargano placed Taylor on the top rope and nailed him with the awful waffle, but Taylor kicked out and the crowd applauded. Gargano hit hurts dont it, but Taylor kicked out. Gargano locked in the Gargano escape in the middle of the ring. Taylor struggled, but Gargano held on. Taylor fought out and went for the awful waffle. Gargano countered, but Taylor caught him moments later for the pin. (***3/4)

This was a very good main event with some fantastic action. The crowd seemed burnt out from Callihan vs. Finlay, but got into the match towards the end.

After the match, Taylor offered Gargano a handshake. Gargano pushed his hand away and gave him a hug.

Overall thoughts: I’m not going to give the show a final rating right now because I couldn’t hear the sound for parts of the show, especially some of the promos and Steen’s initial mic work. What I can safely say is that this show was much better from a pacing and in-ring standpoint than the last EVOLVE show.

There were a lot of good to very good matches on the card. The Finlay-Callihan match is worth the price of admission alone as both men put on an epic hard-hitting match. Callihan took an absolute beating from Finlay, who has no right having a match this good at his age.

The main event was really good as well, but the crowd sounded like they were burned out from the previous match. Gargano and Taylor did everything they could to get the crowd into it. They told a good story that saw both men exchanged counters and hit each other with their signature moves. With the win, Taylor moves into a tie with Gargano for the wins lead.

I have to give John Silver a lot of credit. I’ve been really impressed with Tony Nese lately and Silver was Nese’s opponent tonight. Silver put on a really good performance that surpassed my expectations. He’s a small guy, but he can go in the ring and he seems to have a unique charisma.

Another pleasant surprise was the Reed & Konley vs. Up in Smoke match. Konley & Reed worked really well together for a team that was put together to debut on this show unless they’ve worked somewhere else together.

Kevin Steen having a Three Way Unsanctioned match against Davis and Fish was a nice surprise. They packed a lot of action into a short amount of time. It featured some really good hard-hitting action from all three men and Davis and Fish certainly looked like they belonged in the ring with Steen.

I haven’t posted my DGUSA “Uprising” review yet, but this show was almost as good as “Uprising,” which debuts on cable PPV this Friday. I’ll post more thoughts when I can re-watch some of this show. If they can fix the audio, a replay is definitely recommended.

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