RADICAN'S EVOLVE 34 iPPV REPORT
SEPTEMBER 13, 2014
ELMHURST, N.Y.
AIRED LIVE ON WNNLIVE.COM

Johnny Gargano kicked off the show with an in-ring promo. He got a good response from the crowd, which is fairly packed into the venue. He said it was good to hear the crowd cheer him again. He said when Caleb Konley pinned him and told him he wasn't the man he used to be he had a moment of clarity. He said he and Rich Swann beat the hell out of each other at EVOLVE 33 and he saved Swann from a beatdown at the hands of Tony Nese and Konley to prove to himself that he was still the man. He said he wanted to be in the opening match all weekend to prove that he is still Johnny Gargano. Gargano said his road to the EVOLVE Title begins tonight.

1 - Johnny Gargano vs. Anthony Nese (w/The Premier Athlete Brand)

Trent was at ringside with Nese on crutches alone with the rest of the PAB. Gargano is currently ranked #10 in the EVOLVE rankings. Gargano dominated early, but Nese cut him off and worked him over for a long period of time. Nese went for a dive and Gargano surprised him with a spear through the ropes as the fans fired up. They had a really good exchange of strikes down the stretch and Nese went for a one arm powerbomb, but Gargano countered it into a rollup for the win.

After the match, the PAB tried to jump Gargano, but Swann made the save. He went after Yung, but Nese wiped him out from behind and hit a DDT on the floor. Gargano then wiped out the PAB with a dive.

WINNER: Johnny Gargano. Star rating: (***) - This was a good opening match. The crowd was into Gargano after he explained his babyface turn and the action was really good down the stretch. The post-match action was good as well with Gargano and Swann continuing to help each other out, despite no longer being friends.

2 - Zack Sabre, Jr. vs. Timothy Thatcher

Thatcher comes into the match ranked #2. This is Sabre's first match in EVOLVE in several years. They had a really good exchange on the mat early before coming to a stalemate. Neither man could get the upper hand on the mat for long as they continued to go back and forth exchanging holds. Sabre went after Thatcher's arm and began working it over. Both men locked legs and went into a pair of pair of headstands, but Sabre slickly rolled into an arm bar. Thatcher managed to get to the ropes quickly and the fans went nuts. Both men continued to go for the arm while going back and forth on the mat. Sabre tied up Thatcher's arm in his legs at one point and wrenched it back several times.

Thatcher got a Fujiwara arm bar, but Sabre got the ropes. Sabre got an arm bar again, but Thatcher held his hands together and managed to counter Sabre into a variation of the STF, but Sabre got the ropes. Thatcher got frustrated and Sabre mounted a comeback and got a nice pinning combination for a near fall. Sabre tied up one of Thatcher's arms in a hammerlock with his leg and then extended his other arm backwards at a nasty angle. Sabre then began kicking Thatcher in the head and the ref called for the bell awarding the match to Sabre.

Winner: Zack Sabre, Jr. Star rating: (****) - This was an excellent technical wrestling match. Thatcher showed some good facial expressions late as he became frustrated. Sabre's finishing submission was something I haven't seen before.

3 - Roderick Strong vs. Uhaa Nation

Strong got the upper hand after Nation got in some nice power offense early. He began working over Nation's mid-section. Strong show boated after hitting a nice dropkick to put the breaks on a comeback attempt from Nation. Nation finally caught Strong going for a springboard and hit a fall away slam. Nation hit a series of rolling German suplexes and sent Strong flying across the ring with the last one for a 2 count. Nation dominated for a long time and they battled up top. Nation pushed Strong off, but missed a splash off the top. Strong lit up Nation with a series of running forearms in the corner and hit a jumping knee strike for a 2 count. The fans fired up with both men slow to get up. Strong hit a gut buster and went for a running knee, but Nation caught him and hit a Liger bomb for a near fall. Strong hit the Gibson driver and transitioned right into a Gibson driver when Nation kicked out, but he managed to get the ropes. Strong fended off the Uhaa combination and went for the Stronghold again, but Uhaa pushed him off and eventually hit the Uhaa combination for the win.

WINNER: Uhaa Nation. Star rating: (***1/2) - This was a very good match and the crowd was split. They had some very good exchanges during the match and the action picked up late as the fans really got into the match.

4 - DGUSA champion Ricochet vs. Caleb Konley (w/The Premier Athlete Brand) - non-title match

Konley is ranked #7, despite being 2-1 because he cheated to win. Konley got his knees up when Ricochet when for his signature knees on the rope senton early in the match and began working him over. Ricochet managed to mount a comeback after taking a beating from Konley for a long period of time and called off a big sequence with a springboard elbow that left both me down. Konley fired back a short time later and hit a big kick to the back of Ricochet's head for a 2 count. Konley countered an ace crusher attempt and hit a German for a two count.

Ricochet fired back and hit the alarm clock and a running SSP for a near fall. The fans fired up after the near fall. Konley countered the benadriller and hit a Regalplex for a near fall. Konley then went up top for a double jump moonsault, but Ricochet got out of ten way, Konley countered the benadriller and hit a sit out slam for a near fall. Ricochet fired back and hit a springboard 450 for a near fall. Ricochet went for a springboard up top, but Konley caught him and hit a falcon arrow off the top for the win.

WINNER: Caleb Konley. Star rating: (**3/4) - The match was really slow and I don't think they played to Konley's strengths during the early part of the match. The second half of the match picked up nicely, but it seems too early to give Konley a big win like this before he's developed more of a personality in the ring.

A.R Fox came out to a big pop. He was asked if he had decided on an opponent after the right to pick any match he wanted. Fox said there's one thing left for him to do and that's win the DGUSA Title. The Bravados came out to boos. They said they took exception to him saying he's one of the best tag team champions of all time in the company. He said Cima & Fox were nothing compared to The Bravados. The fans chanted for the Young Bucks, but Harlem said they had best them for the titles. He said being champions for 301 days makes them the best. Fox called them the most boring tag team of all time. He said getting The Young Bucks suspended made them grandma's bitches. They told Fox they had something in store for him and Moose came out. Fox left the ring when Moose came out, but got back into the ring to face Moose.

5 - A.R. Fox vs. Moose (w/The Bravados)

Fox went for a series of dives, but Moose caught him going for a flip dive and powerbombed him into the ropes. Fox but two springboard missile dropkicks, but Moose wouldn't go down. He went for a third, but Moose ran over to him and nailed him with a dropkick that sent him flying to the floor. Fox fired back and hit Lo mein rain to the floor and the fans fired up after Moose had shrugged off nearly all of Fox's high flying offense during the match. Moose blocked lo mein pain and hit a sick buckle bomb. Fox avoided a charge in the corner and hit Lo mein pain, but The Bravados hit the ring for the DQ and put the boots to Fox.

WINNER: Fox via DQ. Star rating: (**3/4) - This was good while it lasted. Fox made Moose look really good and they protected him with the DQ finish.

6 - DGUSA Tag Team champions The Bravados (Lancelot & Harlem Bravado) vs. The Colony (Fire Ant & Silver Ant) - DGUSA Tag Title match

The Colony ran wild early, but The Bravados got the upper hand and began working over Fire Ant. Harlem tossed Fire Ant to Lancelot and be hit a big back breaker. That was an impressive dog me team maneuver. Fire Ant finally made the hot tag after hitting a double stunner and Silver Ant ran wild. The action broke down and The Colony isolated Lancelot, but he ended up hitting an exploder on Fire Ant to send him into Silver Ant in the corner. Both teams continued to back and forth, but The Bravados isolated Silver Ant and hit total elimination for a near fall. The action contained at a breakneck pace. Silver any locked in ten Chikara special in Lancelot, but he countered it into a rollup. He got the hold again, but Lancelot went for his mask and Harlem eventually hit him with a low blow for the win. The crowd chanted "bulls---" when the match ended.

WINNERS: The Bravados to retain the DGUSA Tag Titles. Star rating. (*3/4) - This match was wrestled at fast pace, but I just couldn't get into the action as there was no story told until the finish, which touched back on a previous Bravados win over The Colony. The crowd wasn't happy at all with how this match ended.

(7) EVOLVE champion Drew Galloway vs. Rich Swann - EVOLVE Title match

They are saying that Swann is at less than 100 percent going into the match after he was laid out by the PAB at the beginning of the show. Swann ran wild early, but Galloway nailed him with a big rolling forearm for a near fall. Galloway acted like he didn't want to wrestle Swann at less than 100%. Galloway acted like he didn't want to slam Swann across the apron, but he hit a back breaker and then a big slam in it anyway. Swann mounted a comeback and hit a chin breaker, but Galloway draped Swann by the legs over his back and slammed him to the mat for a two count. Galloway told the ref to stop the match. Swann mounted a comeback and hit a big jumping DDT off the second turnbuckle for a nearfall.

Swann went for a rolling frog splash, but Galloway got his knees up. The action broke down and Swann eventually nailed Galloway with a big flip dive to the floor. Swann went for a dive off the top, but Galloway caught him and slammed him over his knee. Galloway went for a double arm DDT, but Swann countered it into a rollup for a near fall. Swann landed in his feet after missing a 450, but Galloway nailed him with a running boot to the head.

The PAB came down to ringside where Swann was on the outside and Galloway wiped them out with a big flip dive. Galloway continued to sell frustration that Swann wouldn't sty down. Galloway hit a cradle piledriver, but Swann kicked out again. Swann caught Galloway by surprise with a spinning kick and went for a handspring ace crusher, but Galloway grabbed a choke sleeper. Swann tried to climb the turnbuckles and roll over Galloway, but he held into the sleeper on the mat and Swann passed out when the ref checked on him for the win.

Galloway cut a promo after the match and said he went into the match with an injury and fought like a man. He told Swann he would get a rematch. Galloway asked the crowd what they thought of EVOLVE and the fans applauded. He said he had been defending the title across the world and on national TV in the UK. He said the world knows about EVOLVE. He said he speaks from the heart and he said he's not asking to lead the fans, but he wants them to walk by his side and let people know about EVOLVE. He said EVOLVE has the best professional wrestlers on the planet and the fans chanted for him to end the show.

WINNER: Drew Galloway to retain the EVOLVE Championship, Star rating: (***1/4) - The crowd didn't seem to recover from the finish of the previous match until the midway point of the match. They told a good story here with Galloway working over an injured Swann throughout the match and showing frustration with Swann not giving up. The PAB running out felt like overkill, as they were all over the show and the act isn't getting over right now with the fans, but this was a solid main event.

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