4/1 EVOLVE 58 iPPV Results – EVOLVE Title & Tag Title matches, Sabre vs. Ospreay weekend-stealer, more

EVOLVE 58 iPPV Results
April 1, 2016
Dallas, Tex.
Report by James Caldwell, PWTorch assistant editor

WWNLive’s “More than Mania” weekend kicked off at 4:00 p.m. Friday afternoon in Dallas from Eddie Deen’s Ranch in Downtown Dallas.

The Internet PPV is available on WWNLive.com or through the Fite TV App.

(1) EVOLVE tag champions Johnny Gargano & Drew Galloway beat Premier Athlete Brand (Anthony Nese & Caleb Konley w/So Cal Val and Andrea) to retain the EVOLVE Tag Titles. The feed struggled to stay live for the opening match. The match ended off-air with Team NXTNA retaining.

(2) EVOLVE champion Timothy Thatcher vs. Matt Riddle went to a No Contest; Thatcher retained the EVOLVE Title. They did an injury angle where Thatcher could not continue the match after Riddle refused to break the ref’s count. Gabe Sapolsky came out to check on Thatcher. Riddle thought he won the title because Thatcher could not continue, but the match was declared a No Contest.

(3) Marty Scurll beat Fred Yehi via submission in his EVOLVE debut match. Scurll finished Yehi with a cross-face submission. Lenny Leonard noted that Scurll is scheduled to face Thatcher tomorrow night, which is now TBA due to Riddle’s “injury,” which Leonard said is a potential dislocated elbow.

(4) Sami Callihan beat Ethan Page. Callihan, looking in good shape post-NXT, finished Page with a diving elbow.

(5) T.J. Perkins beat Ricochet. Ricochet was in “wow” mode early for this one delivering tons of high-flying offense to Perkins. But, Perkins took out Ricochet’s knee after a mid-ring exchange. Perkins continued to attack the knee, then put him in a kneebar. Ricochet eventually tapped out, shocking the crowd.

Post-match, ROH manager Stokely Hathaway walked out to the ring. The announcers sold shock. Hathaway pulled out a contract that Perkins signed, adding him to the Dream Team. He said his name is no long T.J. Perkins, but TJP. Stokely then sent a message to Triple H that he wants Perkins in the Global Cruiserweight Series. “This is TJP, and we represent the Dream Team,” Hathaway closed his confident, strong promo.

(6) Zack Sabre, Jr. beat Will Ospreay via submission to a crazy submission that has to be seen to understood. This was a barn-burning, tear-the-house-down match getting WrestleMania Weekend officially off to a hot start. Just stellar. Sabre has such confidence and a b.a. feel in the ring, while Ospreay was also really good opposite Sabre. The crowd came out of their seats for the final five minutes for a series of great nearfalls. This was also the best match feed of the night. (*****)

My mind is completely blown by Sabre Jr vs Ospreay. Both rare special talents. Magic together. #evolve58

— Gabe Sapolsky (@BookItGabe) April 1, 2016

Post-match, Chris Hero and Tommy End hit the ring to confront Sabre. Sabre blew him off, patronizingly patted him on the cheek, and said he’ll see him tomorrow (at the WWN Supershow). Hero and End then cut a promo on their opponents Catch Point for apparently the main event. End added a jab toward Kota Ibushi, vowing to knock him out in the six-man tag on Saturday night.

(7) Catch Point (Drew Gulak & Tracy Williams w/TJP) beat Chris Hero & Tommy End via submission. Really interesting to see how Hero has changed from a high-flying big-man to a husky brawler using his size, force, strikes, and kicks to intimidate and punish opponents. As with most independent tag matches, this broke down into a Texas Tornado style tag match on several occasions. After several nearfalls with all four men in the ring, Gulak suddenly caught End in a Dragon Sleeper. End quickly tapped out, giving Catch Point the win. Oddly-positioned match in the main event slot, as they lost the crowd toward the end with all four guys in the ring trading offense. Also, the feed constantly cut in and out, as opposed to the clean delivery of the semi-main event.

Post-match, TJP stood over Tommy End to preview their match on Saturday. Meanwhile, Hero bailed from the ring, leaving End alone in the ring. Stokely Hathaway then came out to talk with TJP. Gulak and End then did the belt-around-the-waist motion indicating they want the Tag Titles tomorrow. Apparently this was positioned as the main event to give Catch Point a big victory before challenging for the tag belts. Anti-climatic ending, though, with the two big title matches at the start of the show and Sabre-Ospreay in the semi-main event.