6/24 EVOLVE 107 REPORT: McMahon’s in-person report Adam Cole vs. WALTER, Riddle vs. A.R. Fox

EVOLVE 107 REPORT
JUNE 24, 2018
MELROSE, MASS.
STREAMED LIVE
REPORT BY MIKE MCMAHON, PWTORCH CONTRIBUTOR

EVOLVE returned to Melrose, Mass. on Sunday night with EVOLVE 107, featuring a televised main event of Matt Riddle vs. AR Fox and a non-televised main event of Adam Cole defending his NXT North American Title against WALTER.

This was the largest crowd for EVOLVE in Melrose. It was announced as a record crowd and the event was probably 90-95 percent sold out. It looked like all of the general admission tickets were sold, as well as the ringside seats (3 rows). Only a few seats on the stage appeared to be empty. I’m estimating a crowd of 500-600 people based on the size of the building.

Adam Cole retained his NXT North American Championship beating WALTER in the non-televised main event of EVOLVE 107. Cole won after a fourth superkick to WALTER, who at this point was on one knee. Cole and WALTER shook hands after the match.

Adam Cole … #EVOLVE107 pic.twitter.com/MhvZhFUBum

— Mike McMahon (@MikeMcMahonPW) June 25, 2018

Postmatch. #EVOLVE107 pic.twitter.com/Gxt7GkRojV

— Mike McMahon (@MikeMcMahonPW) June 25, 2018

1 — Josh Briggs beat Dominic Garrini

Good opener. After the match, Stokley Hathaway entered the ring and offered Briggs a contract to join Catch Point. Briggs took the contract and shoved Hathaway aside.

2 — Adrian Alanis (w/ The Skulk) beat Bshp Kng 

The was the first of the event’s two fire alarms! The fire alarm went off during The Skulk’s entrance and as soon as the alarm sounded, the audio shut over the speakers cut out. The alarm would go off for several minutes while The Skulk played with the crowd and tried to just buy time. The crowd chanted “burn it down!” as well as “the roof is on fire!”

#EVOLVE107 pic.twitter.com/69xgPB4jW9

— Mike McMahon (@MikeMcMahonPW) June 24, 2018

3 — Darby Allin beat Jarek 1:20 

The second fire alarm!

That’s right, the alarm went off again and Allin and Jarek just wrestled through it. Luckily for everyone in the building, this alarm didn’t last nearly as long. Jarek missed a coast-to-coast in what was a pretty big spot.

https://twitter.com/MikeMcMahonPW/status/1011030491066261504

4 — Anthony Henry beat Timothy Thatcher

This match really surprised me. I’ll be honest, I didn’t expect to be very into this match and they sucked me in pretty quick. This felt less like a match and more like a fight, and I thought it was paced well and had a lot of intensity, which brought the crowd back after the confusion of the fire alarms. Henry’s leg kicks to Thatcher looked brutal, and maybe it was the lighting, but it looked like you could see Thatcher’s thigh getting black and blue in the ring.

5 —  Austin Theory beat DJ Z & Joey Janela in a triple threat match to retain the FIP Championship

This match had a lot of intensity between Theory and Janela (Janela beat Theory for the WWN Championship the previous night). DJ Z hit an impressive tope over the top rope, landing on the railing in a sitting position. The match was structured well, not leaving DJ Z out of the action with all of the heat between Janela and Theory.

6 — Saieve Al Sabah beat Bad Bones vs Jaka vs Jon Davis in a Fatal Four Way match

I’m genuinely surprised that Al Sabah is still alive. It was pretty warm in the building, and Al Sabah wrestled in a hooded sweatshirt and sweatpants. That being said, the crowd (at least from where I was sitting) was really on Al Sabah, poking fun at him for wrestling in all of that gear. But, he won them over by the end of the match. Especially with the closing sequence. It was actually a really cool moment, watching the “Aren’t you hot?” chant turn into “Holy (bleep)!” at the end of the match. Al Sabah 100 percent won the crowd over with his athleticism.

7 — Chris Dickinson beat Tracy Williams via DQ

This match was quick, but it felt like it was supposed to be. Williams hit three closed-fist punches in the opening minute causing the DQ through a loss of rope breaks. Williams brawled with Catch Point, which brought Briggs back to the ring. He played up potentially joining Catch Point but then attacked them, ripping up the contract he was given earlier by Hathaway, and throwing it in his his face.

8 — Matt Riddle beat AR Fox to retain the Evolve Championship

Fox came to the ring not in wrestling gear, but in blue fight shorts and nothing on his feet. I love that. The idea here was Fox would beat Riddle “at his own game,” which is MMA, of course. The crowd was on fire for this match, standing during ring introductions and barely sitting down. Riddle celebrating with The Skulk after the match was a fun ending to the streamed portion of the show.

9 — Adam Cole beat WALTER to retain the NXT North American Championship

The closing sequence of the match saw WALTER turn Cole inside out with a forearm to the upper body for a believable near fall. Cole got back to his feet but WALTER slapped him back down to the mat with an open hand. Cole tried to break WALTER’s fingers/wrist after grabbing his arm and repeatedly delivering headbutts to his hand. WALTER came back with a Boston Crab and the crowd exploded into a “tap!” chant. Cole squirmed his way out of the crab, after WALTER reset it twice in the middle of the ring, dragging him away from the ropes, and Cole rolled WALTER into a small package for a two count. WALTER smashed Cole in the chest with a huge fist, but Cole kicked out. Cole hit two superkicks and then a running knee for a two count. WALTER got back to one knee and Cole hit superkick No. 3 and No. 4 to finally score the pinfall.