Remember when I had a whole lot of annoyance about Evolve? Well, they haven’t moved their date against AEW: Revolution, and they parted ways with one of my favorites (Anthony Henry), but today I come to you pretty damn excited about EVOLVE 145.
That’s because the company tweeted out the following news... recent WWE signee Jake Atlas will be wrestling at Evolve:
BREAKING....
— EVOLVE Wrestling (@WWNEVOLVE) February 18, 2020
Jake Atlas comes to EVOLVE!
Info in next WWN Alerts.
Atlas is the kind of wrestler who should pack a house on his own. I took a train up from NYC when he wrestled his last date on the independents for GCW in Asbury Park, NJ last month, and was very happy I did (until the night went pear-shaped, but that’s not related and a story for another day). The guy is mint.
Later in the day, via email, Evolve announced Atlas would be wrestling at its next four shows: February 29th in Queens, NY, March 1st in Melrose, MA, March 14th in Livonia, MI, March 15th in Chicago, IL.
This is the moment when I exhaled and chuckled, as I remembered: Evolve has a pretty decent record when it comes to coming through eventually (at least for its shows at La Boom in Queens). No matter how much of its talent pool WWE signs, the promotion does a pretty good job when it comes to delivering for its home audience.
So, let’s break this down into two sides of the coin: my skepticism and my elation.
Why was I so skeptical about Evolve 145? Well, the last time Evolve ran La Boom its big guest (a trope I wish the company would forego and just develop great feuds with the wrestlers it has, but they keep getting poached, so I digress) Matt Sydal/Evan Bourne was neither someone I was especially interested in nor was he someone who performed a lot that weekend. At La Boom, he ended a match with Leon Ruff early, acting very frustrated, and we all thought it was an injury. The next night, the show started with the announcement that he was injured - only for Sydal/Bourne to come out as a fighting heel, united with local ne’er-do-wells Anthony Greene, Brandi Lauren and Harlem Bravado. All of the confusion left a weird taste in my mouth and mind, with kayfabe and reality mushing together in a not-great way.
Why am I so happy about Evolve 145? Have you seen Jake Atlas wrestle?
No? Well, I’ve got three matches for you:
OK, now that you’re back, you’re probably as ready as I am to see what Atlas gets up to next on February 29 at La Boom. Those three matches demonstrate his versatility, and I’m already intrigued by the possibility of what Atlas can do with most of the folks on the Evolve roster. Though, looking at the list of announced matches, which you can see below, I’m mostly hoping that Evolve breaks up one of its existing matches to give Atlas a dance partner. In particular, Atlas vs Curt Stallion, Atlas vs AR Fox and Atlas vs Josh Briggs would all be Hot Ones-level flames.
- EVOLVE Championship Match - Anything Goes: Josh Briggs defends vs. Anthony Greene with Brandi Lauren
- #1 Contender To EVOLVE Tag Team Titles Match: AR Fox & Leon Ruff with Ayla vs. Adrian Alanis & Liam Gray
- Only In EVOLVE: Mansoor vs. Curt Stallion
- Special Challenge Match: JD Drake vs. Brendan Vink
- Grudge Match: Joe Gacy vs. Colby Corino
- Grudge Match: Brandi Lauren vs. Avery Taylor
- Special Challenge Match: Harlem Bravado vs. Denzel Dejournette
- Special Attraction Match: Jessi Kamea vs. Alex $ky
Plus more to be signed with Stephen Wolf, Jake Atlas and Jon Davis!
That all being said, I hope the news about Atlas working Evolve signals that November and December were an aberration for the company.
I and other fans would like to be able to buy advance tickets with confidence, and not worry about getting Sydal’d.