Evolution is an all-women’s WWE PLE that happened this past Sunday July 13th live from the State Farm Arena in Atlanta, GA. This was honestly a great show and a night of great wrestling, despite the lackluster build up to the event so let’s just get into it. The first match of the night was a triple threat match for the Women’s Intercontinental Championship between the champ Becky Lynch, Lyra Valkyria, and Bayley. This has honestly been one of the most well told and cohesive stories going in WWE over the past few months and for that, it’s also been one of my favorites this year. Becky Lynch and Lyra Valkyria were doing great work themselves and the return of Bayley and adding her to the mix has done nothing but enhance the story for everyone involved. Lyra is quickly becoming one of my favorite wrestlers between the ropes in the WWE and that’s partial kudos to Bayley and especially Becky Lynch for giving her the opportunity to rub shoulders with some of the top women in the company and enhance her own value. She’s been a great wrestler but getting to share the stage with them and put on some banger matches has given her the platform to shine and get some attention and I couldn’t be happier about it. They delivered another fast-paced banger on this show as well that saw all 3 women getting their licks in in quick succession and earning “This is awesome!” chants from the crowd. In the close of the match, Bayley had Lyra stacked up in a rollup pin, before Becky locked arms with Bayley and rolled her onto her back and into a backslide pinning maneuver that earned her the win by the skin of her teeth. I honestly didn’t really expect Becky to walk out with the belt here and although I wanted to see Lyra holding the belt high by the end of the match, I couldn’t even be mad because it was a great match and Becky unveiled one of the coolest pinning combinations I’ve ever seen anyone do.
Next up was the NXT Women’s Championship match between champ Jacy Jayne and Jordynne Grace. I won’t lie and act like I’ve got my finger on the pulse of NXT near as much as I do the main roster product, so this match wasn’t as anticipated for me personally, but I was still hype for it. Jordynne is an absolute UNIT of muscle and will likely make waves in the women’s division in the near future and Blake Monroe (formally Mariah May in AEW) is cool and I even liked and was decently impressed with Jacy Jayne as well. I just am not as familiar with the product as a whole. Blake Monroe accompanied Jordynne Grace to the ring and Jacy Jayne was accompanied by her running mates Fallon Henley and Jazmyn Nyx. Jayne tried to use her buddies to help her get the upper hand throughout the match, but Blake Monroe didn’t allow it and took them both out in the ringside area. Then when it looked like Jordynne may be closing in on victory, Monroe bashed her with the title belt across the back and allowed Jayne to set up the rolling elbow for the victory. After the match, Monroe returned the belt to Jacy and did her signature ‘finger in the mouth’ pose before exiting the ring. Next up was the Fatal-4-Way Women’s Tag Team Championship match between champs Roxanne Perez & Raquel Rodriguez vs Charlotte Flair & Alexa Bliss vs The Kabuki Warriors vs Sol Ruca & Zaria. I feel like I always get lost in these 4-way tag matches no matter who is involved. Once the match really gets going and things start breaking down, I always lose track of who the legal people are and what’s happening. This has to be one of the ref’s least favorite matches to officiate for that reason, it’s confusing! Not to hate too much though, I get why they did it here because it helps get as many women on the card as they can and every woman wants to be a part of Evolution, and it also helped the Women’s Tag Titles feel legitimate and like a serious prize to earn and that’s something that those titles have desperately needed for a while. I’m into this Bliss/Flair pairing as well, at first I wasn’t sure what I was going to think of it, but it has worked in both of their favors. They were the most cheered team of the night and Flair saving Alexa from the Zaria spear was one of the highlights of the match for me. All the multi women moves and sequences in the match worked to near perfection though, and everyone involved had a moment to shine throughout it. Raquel and Roxanne retained the belts in the end though after Perez suicide dived onto the competitors on the outside and allowed Raquel the chance to hit a massive powerbomb onto Ruca for the win.
Next up, Tiffany Stratton defended her Women’s Championship against the legend herself, Trish Stratus. I honestly feel like this is an intriguing matchup and if given more time to marinate this could’ve been a pretty cool rivalry. What we ended up getting though was a rushed build and the shortest match of the night. Not to complain too much, it was still a neat matchup to have here and it’s still cool to see Trish competing in matches in 2025 and given the opportunity to fight for a title at Evolution considering she helped pave the way for the women today. I just liked the chemistry of these 2 in the ring as opposing forces and feel like we may have gotten slightly cheated out of a rivalry that could’ve been pretty compelling, but I digress. Tiffy had the size and power advantage, so Trish used her overall ring experience to gain the upper hand and she held the momentum for a little bit. It wasn’t meant to be though and after a quick but intense back and forth, Tiffany retained the championship after a Chick Kick (taken from Trish’s arsenal) and Prettiest Moonsault Ever combo sealed the deal. Jade Cargill then took on Naomi in a Grudge match. This has been a pretty well told rivalry too throughout this year, although pretty one sided. Naomi has turned into an actual psychopath through the course of this beef, and it’s been a funny but much needed change of character for her and honestly, I think she’s killing it in her role. I’ve been critical of Jade in the past (maybe too critical at times), but I honestly do feel like she’s getting better every match I see her in, and this lived up to that belief. Although this may have been the most obvious outcome on the whole card, it was still a fun and hard-hitting match and Naomi helped Jade look good and powerful throughout. Steel steps, chains, TV monitors, and tables were all put to use throughout the contest and Jade picked up the win following a Jaded to Naomi off the top rope and through a table. Honestly, pretty cool. Probably the best and most unique Jaded I’ve ever seen so kudos. More on Naomi later though, because her night was far from done!
The women’s battle royal was next and the winner of that gets a title match at ‘Clash in Paris’ at the end of August. This match was honestly a clustered mess because there was like 20 women in the ring all at once at the start of the match. Kelani Jordan had her ‘Kofi Kingston Royal Rumble moment’ here and avoided elimination by hopping from the ring apron to the announce table and then walked back to the ring apron in a handstand and pulled herself up by her core. One of the coolest single moments of the match for sure and really gave her a chance to stand out from the crowd and show off her athleticism for a moment. Nikki Bella received a nice pop from the crowd as well in her return to action here and it was pretty funny to see multiple women in the match attempt her little hip swivel thing to her throughout the contest. The final 4 of the match were Nikki Bella, Nia Jax, Stephanie Vaquer, and Lash Legend. Lash Legend eliminated Nikki with a big boot over the top rope and Stephanie and Lash formed a temporary alliance to take out Nia Jax. Lash lifted Nia in a fireman’s carry over the top rope (quite impressive!) and while she was on the apron Stephanie (with an assist from Lash) repeatedly dropkicked the much larger Jax until she lost her balance and was eliminated. Lash and Vaquer went back and forth trading blows for a few until they made their way out onto the ring apron and Stephanie got the upper hand, hitting Lash Legend with the ‘Devil’s Kiss’ onto the hardest part of the ring and eliminating her. Last but most certainly not least was the main event for the Women’s World Championship between the champ Iyo Sky and Rhea Ripley. This match was absolutely epic; I obviously cannot put it into words so I’m not even going to try but just know if you haven’t seen this match yet then you need to immediately because it is one of, if not the best match that’s happened in WWE in 2025. These women threw everything but the kitchen sink at each other, unleashing their entire arsenals on one another and then some throughout the 26-minute contest. Rhea Ripley caused some damage and havoc as usual, but Iyo stayed cool as a cucumber and had an answer for almost every single thing she threw at her, further advancing the narrative that Iyo may actually be Rhea’s kryptonite. After an accidental ref bump by Iyo about 15-20 minutes into the match, this allowed the women to battle throughout the arena with no one officiating the match and that they did. A frustrated Rhea drug Iyo out to the production area but Iyo ended up getting the better of her out there and hitting a sky high crossbody onto her off the top of multiple equipment crates. The women battled back into the ring where Iyo gained the upper hand again and hit her ‘Over the Moon sault’ but Rhea still kicked out at 2. Cue the Money in the Bank holder Naomi whose music hit, and she ran down the ramp looking to cash in her briefcase after both these women had gone to war with one another. The referee made it official, and she was added into the match. She wasted no time disposing of Rhea, driving her into the ring post and then quickly turning her attention to Iyo. Iyo, who was already down following a briefcase shot from Naomi was easy pickings. Naomi hit her with the split-legged moonsault and stole not only the matchup but also the title. Reminiscent of Seth’s heist of the century a decade ago. Naomi walked out with the title held high above her head, while Rhea and Iyo were left stunned in the ring over what just happened. Rhea and Iyo then embraced one another and walk out with their hands over each other’s shoulders after tearing the house down. Roll credits.
Match ratings: 1-10 scale (.5 applicable):
Triple Threat for the Women’s Intercontinental Championship: Becky Lynch (c) vs Lyra Valkyria vs Bayley- 8/10
NXT Women’s Championship match: Jacy Jayne (c) vs Jordynne Grace- 6/10
Fatal 4 Way tag team match for Women’s Tag Team Championships: The Judgment Day (c) vs Flair & Bliss vs Sol Ruca & Zaria vs The Kabuki Warriors: 7.5/10
Women’s Championship match: Tiffany Stratton (c) vs Trish Stratus- 6.5/10
Grudge match: Jade Cargill vs Naomi- 6.5/10
Women’s Battle Royal: 7/10
Women’s World Championship match: Iyo Sky (c) vs Rhea Ripley- 10/10
