EVOLVE 68 Review 9/10/16
Thoughts the Night Before: Hey guys, it’s Josh Masterson writing this on September 9th. Tomorrow is EVOLVE 68 which will be my first wrestling event of 2016, the last one I went to being EVOLVE 48 in August 2015. While I hope that this is a better show than that as it was one of the worst EVOLVE shows in recent memory, I still had so much fun at that show. I met a bunch of wrestlers and I just love the atmosphere of EVOLVE shows. This will be my third, the first one being 38 in March 2015.
The card looks kind of tame compared to a lot of their cards but it definitely isn’t bad. Johnny Gargano vs Zack Sabre Jr should and probably will be the best match of the night. They have put on two amazing matches together this year, the first one being at EVOLVE 56 and the second one being at AAW Killers Among Us. Also I’m sure it being Gargano’s final singles match in WWN will add to it and I’m very excited to be there for his second to last night in the promotion. I’m also excited for Dan Barry to get a singles opportunity against Ethan Page as I’ve always been a fan of his and I hope it isn’t a squash like a lot of Ethan Page’s matches. I don’t really know how to feel about TJ Perkins vs Darby Allin and DUSTIN vs Tracy Williams but Jigsaw vs Fred Yehi should be a very good and unique match. I wasn’t that excited for Matt Riddle vs Tony Nese but with the addition of Ricochet that could be very good. Drew Galloway vs Drew Gulak also could be really good potentially.
Review: I got to the venue about 40 minutes early so that I could get my tickets and meet some people. After buying an extreme amount of merch I met Dan Barry, Johnny Gargano, Joey Styles, and Zack Sabre Jr for the second time. They were all really cool and I’m so glad I was able to meet Gargano before he went to WWE. After the show I met Riddle who was by far one of the coolest wrestlers I’ve ever met. Anyway onto the show.
Fred Yehi vs Jigsaw:
This was a good and unique opener. Yehi is awesome and Jigsaw has done really well since returning to EVOLVE. Both guys were liked by the fans and it was just a fun way to start the show.
***¼
Dan Barry vs Ethan Page:
This was very much a comedy match and usually I dislike comedy but I thought this was a really good and fun match. I like both of these guys a lot and I don’t know how it came across on iPPV but this was fun and they did a good job at engaging the crowd. I really hope to see more of Dan in EVOLVE in the future whether he’s teaming with Bill Carr or wrestling on his own.
***
TJ Perkins vs Darby Allin:
TJP got a bigger reaction than I was expecting which was cool. This was an okay match, both guys did well but I just didn’t really care for it. Darby continued his trend of doing a crazy spot in every match. **¼
Tracy Williams vs DUSTIN “Extreme” Match:
After being restarted by Joey Styles because of interference this became an Extreme Rules type match. They used ladders, chairs, and tacks and it was a really fun brawl. While I’m glad EVOLVE doesn’t do stuff like this regularly it was a really fun match and a nice change of pace from the usual matches we see in this promotion.
***½
Ricochet vs Matt Riddle vs Tony Nese:
This was a really fun triple threat match. It didn’t overstay its welcome and was interesting all the way through with nonstop action. This was up to this point the best match on the show. Riddle and Ricochet looked great as usual and even Nese, who I’m not usually into that much, looked really good.
***¾
Drew Galloway vs Drew Gulak:
I knew going in that there was a chance this would be either really good or kind of boring. It was in my opinion kind of boring and I thought they really killed the crowd. There was nothing necessarily bad about it, it just went too long and was overall dull. I like both of these guys a lot but have actually felt that way about a few of their matches in EVOLVE this year. It was 2 million degrees and they should’ve made this shorter or more exciting if they wanted people to care. Still love both guys though.
**½
Johnny Gargano vs Zack Sabre Jr:
While this started off pretty slow and took a while to get going there was some good stuff throughout and the last few minutes were great. It went a bit longer than it needed to and wasn’t as good as their previous matches this year but it was still a great match. Both guys did really well and I’m so glad I had the pleasure of being there for Gargano’s last singles match in EVOLVE. After the match there was some great stuff with Gargano, Sabre, and Ricochet and Gabe eventually came out to the ring. The post match stuff was amazing to be there for and the match was a very good way to top off a very good show.
****
Final Thoughts: This was a really fun show even though the venue was so hot. I love the Sportatorium though and hope the heat doesn’t stop them from coming back. There weren’t really any bad matches with the low points for me being Galloway/Gulak and TJP/Darby. The best matches were definitely the triple threat and the main event. I had a lot of fun being there live and hope I can go to another show in the near future. Being in the crowd as the WWN Icon finished his career as a singles wrestler was amazing. I definitely recommend this show.
Final Rating: 8/10.
