WWE Evolve (3/19/25)

WWE Evolve

WWE Performance Center

Orlando, FLA

March 5, 2025

Commentators: Robert Stone and Peter Rosenberg

Ring Announcer: ???

Last week's Evolve saw the beginnings of a hell of a hoss fight between badasses Keanu Carver and Harlem Lewis. Somewhere down the line they're going to go at it. The tag team of Carlee Bright and Kendal Gray have had a hilarious Al Snow/Steve Blackman thing going on while Gal Barkay is establishing himself as Evolve's version of The Miz. Also at the end of last week, Gallus from NXT was here to cause some chaos. Let's see what tonight has in store.

Brinley Reece makes her way to the ring for our opening contest and her backstory is shown. She was an accomplished gymnast and says we're going to see more of her than meets the eye in Evolve. Her opponent is Masyn Holiday. Holiday puts on a mean looking scowl so we know who's face & heel here. Masyn's backstory is she graduated as class valedictorian at THE Howard University where she broke 3 school records. She says she's a superstar, clock it. The real life Darci Khan is a hell of a lot nicer but she really did have a hell of a track career at Howard. On to the match.

Match 1

Brinley Reece vs Masyn Holiday

Its the Evolve debut of Brinley Reece who's doing a fitness aerobics instructor gimmick not unlike Sunny. We got an acrobat against a track star here. Bell's gone and they tie up to start with Pete and Robert bickering with each other. Masyn gets an arm-ringer in and Brinley flips around and out of it. Masyn screams but Brinley ducks the line and goes for the headlock. Brinley gets her own arm-ringer going before hitting a shoulderblock. Brinley gets an arm-drag that has Masyn crawling to the corner. Brinley splashes her in the corner and covers for a one count. Masyn's fireman's carry is reversed but she still throws Reece down by the hair. Masyn kicks Brinley in the corner and stomps her down in the center of the ring. Stone likes Masyn's ruthlessness as she hits a side backbreaker on Reece. She covers for 1....2...no. Masyn applies a body scissors but Brinley leans back for a pinfall attempt 1...2..no. Brinley fights out of it, ducks the line and drops Masyn with a shoulderblock. Reece rallies with another shoulderblock and a scoop slam. Brinley hits a front cartwheel clothesline and shouts that it should have been here in that first match. Does she mean the tag team match two weeks ago? Brinley hits Reeces To Pieces and covers for 1...2....3 to win the match. Interesting match as Brinley's attitude is very heelish but clearly was the babyface against Masyn in this one. Still, her acrobatics were on display here, as well as Holiday.

Time of match: 3:36

Winner: Reece by pinfall

Chuey Martinez hits the ring for the post-match interview. Brinley says her active mindset helped to win and Chuey asks what she was yelling about earlier. Brinley replies the match speaks for itself and she walks off. In other words, she wants to be top dog around here. Suddenly Pete Rosenberg is with Tyson Dupont and Tyriek Igwe. Apparently they've been demoted from NXT as well. Dupont and Igwe are here to take chances and win championships. Dupont says they want someone to step up and catch a beating. Gallus makes their way to the ring and naturally don't take kindly to Dupont and Igwe shouting at them. Who are their opponents? Let's find out after the break. Jordan Oasis says he's been wrestling for 10 years now and was trained by none other than Rikishi. One day he was looking in the mirror and didn't know who he was so he grabbed a backpack and decided to go find out. Interesting. The truth is he's an ID prospect known as "The Global Nomad" for wrestling in both the US and Japan, also appearing on AEW Dark. Sam "Hardway" Holloway says he's from Akron, Ohio and had to deal with bullying as a youth. Then he grew taller than everyone and he has no remorse for what he did them. He enjoys striking fear into other people and football wasn't doing it, but this will. The truth i, he's s a 6'9 beast from AIW Academy in Cleveland that started wrestling 2 years ago. The kind of guy Vince McMahon would have loved.

Match 2

Gallus (Mark & Joe Coffey) vs "The Global Nomad" Jordan Oasis and Sam "Hardway" Holloway

Holloway tries to look menacing and Oasis comes to the ring with a backpack. Unless he has some mace in there, its kind of a goofy gimmick. Holloway tells Oasis to get lost so he can start with Joe Coffey, so much for team chemistry. They tie up to start and Joe no-sells a shoulderblock....are you kidding? They slug it out in the center of the ring until Joe hits a headbutt and works the left arm. Mark tags in and continues to work the left arm. Mark hits a European uppercut but falls due to a big boot. Sam tags out and demands Oasis to get in there. Oasis eats an arm drag and locks in a headlock. Mark no-sells a shoulderblock as Stone says he used to go hiking with a walkman and Source magazine....good grief we're old. Oasis hits a flying back elbow and slug it out in the center of the ring. Mark caters to the crowd and rallies with forearms although Holloway makes a blind tag. Holloway hits a slingshot clothesline as Oasis has no idea he tagged in. Stone says Holloway reminds him of Mike Awesome (WOW....). Holloway tells Oasis to get lost as he knocks Joe off the apron. Sam hits a scoop slam and covers for 1...2...no. Sam locks in a chinlock and Mark powers out of it. Sam makes a hard tag to Oasis who didn't like it. Oasis and ark slug it out as Mark hits the O'Connor Roll for 1...2...no. Oasis hits a running cannonball onto Mark on the second rope and Sam tags himself back in. Oasis shoves him and asks what his problem is. Oasis gets out, makes his own hard tag and comes back in. Oasis runs right into a waistlock by Mark who rams Jordan's head into Sam's, knocking Holloway out of the ring.  The O'Connor Roll is brock but Mark hits a dropkick to the chest. Mark tags in Joe who rallies with right hands before shoulderblocking Jordan down twice. Joe hits a jumping clothesline but misses a charge int he corner. Mark hits a springboard crossbody and covers for 1...2...no, Sam broke it up. Mark and Sam brawl outside with Mark eating ring post. Suddenly Wolfgang of Gallus shows up to yell at Sam. Oasis turns around right into a big left hand from Joe, knocking him cold. The referee calls for the bell and this one's over. This was awful but mostly because Holloway is green as hell and the team not getting along trope isn't what you want in a developmental show.

Time of match: 5:50

Winners: Gallus by stoppage

After the match Holloway just walks off as Gallus celebrates in the ring. Oasis grabs his backpack like he's Dora The Explorer as Gallus taunts him as he leaves. Up next are two PC recruits Chantel Monroe ane Layla Diggs as we go to commercial. Back from break we're introduced to Layla Diggs from California. She's been struggling with self confidence and Shawn Michaels told her she's a great athlete. Fear held her back and was at the Wrestlemania Hollywood tryout. The real life Breanna Covington was a triple jumper at Fresno State before making her way to the PC after Wrestlemania 39. Chantel Monroe is introduced and she's the opposite of Layla. She was an all-star athlete at Auburn University and she's a diva, everything has to be on point. She claims she's obsessed with fashion and confidence s never an issue, she's a showstopper. The real life Derrian Gobourne actually was a great gymnast for Auburn University, winning the NCAA championship. On to the match.

Match 2

Layla Diggs vs Chantel Monroe

Two different personalities here as the bell rings to start the match. Monroe backs her to the corner and messes with her hair to start. Layla gets a headlock takeover but Monroe gets a knee to the ribs. Chantel hits a shoulderblock and pulls Layla down by the hair. Layla hits a sunset flip for 1...2..no. Layla plays cat & mouse with Chantel, hitting a scissors kick and a powerslam. She hits a standing moonsault for 1...2...no.  Layla misses a charge in the corner and Chantel chopblocks the left leg. Chantel works the left leg in the corner and hits a big right hand. Chantel carthweels ontop of her and covers for 1...2..no. Chantel locks in a half crab but Layla turns it into a pin for 1..2...no. Layla sells the left leg and Chantel hits a dropkick to it. Chantel's charge in the corner eats elbow and Layla goes for a second rope sunset flip, but Monroe hooks the legs for 1...2...3 to win the match. Smart move by Chantel as she gets the duke in a quick match. It was mostly to showcase the athletic ability of both of them, hopefully they can improve on this.

Time of match: 3:27

Winner: Monroe by pinfall

Kali Armstrong is scheduled to face Haze Jameson. We're introduced to Haze and she's from Rockford Illinois. She was the captain of the volleyball team in college and is a wild child. She's the life of the party and Dennis Rodman was her childhood idol.....and we're cut off. Apparently Kali Armstrong is having none of it and she yells at Stone to get Jameson in the ring. The real life Hayley Montoya was the captain of the Volleyball team at Buffalo University. Haze makes her entrance as its on to the next match.

Match 3

Kali Armstrong vs Haze Jameson

Bell rings and Armstrong sizes her up before backing her into the corner Brock Lesnar style. Kali unloads with right hands and tells the ref to back off. Kali heaves Jameson off the ropes and hits a big powerslam. She taunts the irate crowd and runs the ropes like Bron Breakker, hitting a huge shoulderblock called the Kali Connection. She covers for 1...2....3 to win the match. Poor Haze....a total squash to put over that Kali is a mean looking lady.

Time of match: 50 seconds

Winner: Armstrong by pinfall

Kali tells the camera she told yall she's different after the match.  Later on our main event will be Luca Crusifino vs Javier Bernal right out of NXT. Up next, Kylie Rae is going to tell us what Wendy Choo's note was about last week. After commercial, Pete Rosenberg brings out Kylie Rae and asks what that was about. Kylie says she's never met Wendy Choo and doesn't want to because she scares her. She has a lot of talented women to focus on and doesn't have time to focus on it. She throws the note down but there's Wendy Choo's face on the titantron. Zara Zakher walks out for no reason and Kylie almost socks her. She brings Kylie back and we're introduced to two more guys. Drako Knox from LFG grew up in Dalton, Georgia to a blue collar family. He played college football and was always a fan of WWE. He says a lottery ticket presents hope and WWE is his ticket. He calls his shots, his own destiny and he's chasing greatness. The real life Drake Starks was a tight end for Mercer University and has been wrestling on NXT house shows since November of 2023. Next up is Tate Wilder, a rancher from Arizona. He grew up with 5 rowdy brothers that were into football and rodeo then walked on to Arizona State's football team. He describes himself as a mixture between Matthew McConaughey and the baddest man to ever ride a bull. He says when he's in the ring there's nothing a cowboy can't overcome. The real life Case Hatch did play at Arizona State University before signing with the Performance Center. Doing a Smoking Gunns kind of gimmick 30 years later is definitely a choice. Drako and Tate make their way to the ring for a tag team match.

Match 4

Drako Knox and Tate Wilder vs Tyson Dupont and Tyriek Igwe

Dupont backs Knox into the corner at the bell before Knox reverses it. Dupont gets a cheapshot as a graphic says Dupont holds the Haitian national shot-put record. Dupont drops Knox with a shoulderblock but Drako hits a flying shoulder tackle of his own. Wilder makes the tag and hits a dropkick that causes Dupont to tag out to Igwe. Wilder goes for a double leg take down but Igwe counters with a knee to the face. Wilder totally botches a springboard armdrag so he does a standard one instead. Igwe hits snake eyes in the corner and tags out to Tyson. Dupon hits an uppercut to send Wilder outside. Dupont throws him inside and tags Igwe back in. Igwe chops and kicks Wilder then Dupont hits a full nelson slam. Igwe covers for 1....2....no. Suddenly Brady Baylor, Ricky Smokes and Zayda Steel wander out to ring side. Zayda picks up the note Kylie Rae dropped earlier as Swipe Right sits at the VIP section. Igwe hits consecutive elbow smashes in the corner as a graphic shows Igwe was an Olympic track star in Nigeria. Wilder backflips over Ogwe and O'Connor rolls him for 1...2...no. Knox tags in to clean house of both guys, hitting a coop slam on Tyson. Knox's charge in the corner misses and Igwe tags in to hit a big boot to the face. Dupont tags in and they execute The Heartstopper. Igwe pounces on Wilder as Dupont covers Knox for 1....2....3 to win the match. Kind of sloppy but mostly it was to put the heels over as mean looking fellas. If Gallus is going to stick around as babyfaces, here's your opponents.

Time of match: 4:10

Winners: Igwe and Dupont by pinfall

Suddenly Tate Wilder wants a piece of Ricky Smokes and has to be held back by Drako Knox while Zayda Steel holds back Ricky. Some really tall dude with hair stands next to them, who the hell is that? I'm sure we'll find out another time. We get a graphic for our main event before we go to break. Back from commercial Oro Mensah is in the VIP section just chilling as we go to our final match.

Match 5

Javier Bernal vs Luca Crusifino

The consigliere of the D'Angelo family makes his entrance as both Pete & Stone don't know how to say "consigliere" properly. The G is silent you strunads! Bell's gone and they tie up to start before chain wrestling. They shake hands as Luca works the left arm with a wristlock. Luca hits a majistrol cradle for 1...2..no. Luca is backdropped to the apron but Bernal runs into a slingshot shoulderblock. Luca splashes Bernal in the corner as we get a graphic saying next week it'll be Kendal Grey vs Zara Zakher. Javier armdrags Luca twice and hits a baseball slide. Outside Luca hits a back suplex on the ring apron and Bernal falls off after a ring hand. Crusifino rams him against the side of the ring then delivers a leg drop on the apron. Javier sells a knee injury and Luca sends him into the corner. Javier rolls him up for 1..2....no. Luca hits a basement dropkick and covers for 1...2..no. Luca gets in a front headlock but Javier backdrops out of it. Javier rallies with clotheslines and a t-bone taz plex. Javier covers for 1...2...no. Javier goes for a springboard but jumps into a codebreaker by Luca. Luca hits Case Closed and covers for 1..2...3 to win the match. Good effort by both guys and you can tell the difference between the veterans and the PC guys, these guys had much better chemistry.

Time of match: 4:41

Winner: Crusifino by pinfall

Crusifino says if anyone wants a piece of him, come out right now. Right on cue Keanu Carver walks out.....and is joined by Harlem Lewis. Luca wants both guys but the credits roll. Awwww come onnnnnn! Luca is pretty much established as king fish here but those two bruisers would be hell on earth in a match. I like it! The show as a whole was another introductory one just like the June 2012 run of NXT's. It'll be a while before a formula is established and a pecking order. Still, this is a great way to weed out the generic as AT LEAST Tate Wilder, Drako Knox, Kali Armstrong and the two fighters have some personality. You can only have so many generic gymnasts and football players before one of them has to stand out. Sam Holloway as a 6 foot 9 goon would definitely work in a bodyguard role if they choose to do that. Otherwise we're still in the introductory phase going forward. The next show after this is Smackdown this Friday night coming at you live from Bologna, Italy. I'll see you there.

WWE Evolve (3/5/25)

WWE Evolve

WWE Performance Center

Orlando, FLA

March 5, 2025

Commentators: Robert Stone and Peter Rosenberg

Ring Announcer: ???

Welcome to the debut episode of WWE Evolve. What's this, you say? Think of WWE like Major League Baseball. The major league teams all have a farm system to develop talent which includes Triple A, Double A and Single A. NXT has been the developmental show the past 13 years which solidified it as Triple A. Well now Triple H and TKO executives decided to branch out into a Double A, program. Known as WWEID, some of the top independent wrestlers around the country will compete against each other as well as WWE Performance Center graduates to showcase their abilities in a taped environment. It makes sense to showcase and shout out independent wrestlers, promotions and their wrestling schools. For 40 years Vince McMahon Jr spit in the face of any wrestling outside WWE and Triple H is doing what he can to reverse that image. Who's going to be showcased tonight? The New England independent tag team of Swipe Right, Ricky Smokes and Brad Baylor as well as indy sensations Kylie Rae and a slew of former professional and college football players. Let's get to it.

We begin with the ensemble of prospects standing together as "The Heartbreak Kid" Shawn Michaels walks in next to "The Pebble" herself, Ava Raine and shakes her hand. He greets everyone and hopes everyone is excited because they're going to make history. He welcomes them to Evolve on Tubi and for one night only, on behalf of "the mayor" (Ava) he's going to be the matchmaker tonight. It'll be sink or swim because it'll be a six man tag team match. Jack Cartwheel, Sean Legacy and Cappuccino Jones will take on Swipe Right (Brad Baylor and Ricky Smokes) along with Jackson Drake. The first match will be a ladies tag team match, Kali Armstrong and Dani Palmer face Kendal Grey and Carlee Bright. Shawn wishes them good luck and says take this opportunity and make the best of it. Shawn wants to see them evolve and everyone gives a big hand. 

We cut to ringside with Peter Rosenberg and Robert Stone as our commentators at the Performance Center. On to our first match.

Match 1

Carlee Bright and Kendal Grey vs Dani Palmer and Kali Armstrong

All four women we know from NXT so at least we're going to start with relatively known names. Dani does a handspring in her entrance as Stone says we're going to see pure athletes. Bell's gone and Kali starts with Kendal Grey.  Kali backs Kendal toward the corner but Kendal slides out of the way. Armstrong backs her into the corner and effortlessly lifts her up on the second rope, patronizing her by patting her head. A graphic shows Kali Armstong was a 3 time All-American track start and holds the world record for the fastest sprint medley relay. Reminds me of a younger Bianca Crawford from the University of Tennessee. Dani tags in and Kendal works over the left shoulder as Robert says Kendal was an undefeated amateur wrestler. Carlee tags herself in and she sunset flips Dani for 1...2..no. Dani goes for a pin but Carlee hits the backslide for 1...2..no. Dani hits an armdrag and works over the left arm before Carlee counters with a headscissors. Dani and Carlee keep flipping into each other before Dani splashes for a two count. Dani locks in a front headlock as a graphic sjows Dani was a 3 time national champion Acrobatic champion for Baylor University. Carlee hits a standing frankensteiner but Dani flips up like nothing happened. Kali tags herself in but runs into a drop-toe hold. Carlee locks in an arm-bar but Kali reverses it. Kali works the left arm and shouts to get up. Carlee dropkicks her way out of it and goes for the tag....with Kendal just starting at her. Carlee grabs her hand and tags out and Kendal gets in like she had no idea she was part of the match. They still do a double clothesline but Kali no sells it. Carlee runs off as Kendal locks Kali in a fireman's carry takeover. Grey hits an arm-drag and locks in an arm-bar. Kali sends her off the ropes but Grey reverses into another fireman's carry takeover, re-applying the arm-bar. Stone says the way out of those holds is take your time and not rush. What? You'd find yourself flat on your back real quick that way. Grey cradles up Armstrong for 1...2...no. Grey goes back to the arm-bar then tags Bright back in. They hit a double hiptoss and Bright covers for a deuce. Grey locks in another arm-bar but Armstrong counters with a whip and a powerslam. Kali drags Bright to the corner and says she's going to win the match to the camera as we go to break. Back from commercial Kali has Bright in a headlock before kissing her fist. Armstrong decks Bright with a right hand and tags in Palmer. Palmer hits double knees to the back but the standing moonsault hits knees. Grey gets the hot tag as Armstrong tags in as well. Grey annihilates both Armstrong & Palmer and hits a DDT on Kali. Grey hits an overhead suplex on Palmer and stops to talk trash to Palmer. She goes for the fireman's carry but is caught in mid air by Armstrong. Kali hits a running powerslam for 1...2...no. Armstrong goes up to the top but Grey catches her with a right hand. Palmer makes a blind tag as Grey hits the superplex on Armstrong. Palmer hits a frog splash on Grey for 1...2....no! Grey kicked out but Bright missed the save by a second. Palmer is shoved into the corner but a charge eats elbow. Grey counters diamond dust but runs into an enziguiri. Grey hits a spear and covers for a deuce as Armstrong makes the save. Bright starts screaming like a banshee and jumps on Armstrong's back. Grey dumps both Bright and Armstrong outside but walks right into a small package from Palmer for 1....2...no. Palmer puts Grey on the apron and Grey kicks Armstrong off. Palmer hits a corkscrew moonsault aiming for Bright and Grey, but takes out Armstrong instead. Rosenberg "That is NOT what she was looking to do." Grey throws Palmer inside and hits the Fujiwara Armbar. Palmer taps and this one's over. Sloppy match and what's with the storyline of Bright and Grey not on the same page? They were partners on Level Up. Still, the first match in Evolve history is in the books as a victory for Bright and Grey.

Time of match: 12:10

Winners: Bright and Grey by submission

After the match, Armstrong is pissed as Bright is too enthusiastic for Grey's taste. Chuey Martinez, of Juggalo Championship Wrestling, hits ring side for an interview with the winners. Carlee says she had a lot of fun and says hard work pays off. Carlee wants a high five but Grey reluctantly takes it. Grey says she wants to dominate the division and have everyone talk about her. Not exactly the same page....but teams like that have worked. Remember Al Snow as the weirdo and Steve Blackman as the straight man? Or William Regal and Eugene. Carlee the ditz and Grey the killer would work.

We cut to a highlight of the old Evolve Wrestling promotion (fun fact, I was supposed to go to an Evolve show in June of 2020, guess why that didn't happen) which had pre-Nightmare Cody Rhodes, a much fatter Gunther, Johnny Gargano and other future WWE/NXT stars. Pretty cool vignette. Now we get promo time with Swipe Right and Jackson Drake. Who are these guys? Drake is an 8 year vet that made his name on the Carolina indies and was trained by Cam Carter. Brad Baylor is a 4 year vet that made his name in New England indies after being trained by Paul Roma. Ricky Smokes began his career at New England Pro Wrestling Academy (formerly known as Killer Kowalski's wrestling school) in 2019 and trained by Brian Fury, Max Smashmaster & Chase Del Monte. He's the current Chaotic Wrestling Heavyweight Champion and is also in a pretty boy heel tag team with Baylor called Swipe Right. Drake starts by saying they put Swipe Right and Drake in the first main event and Baylor says "hundos he did". Baylor says Shawn sees himself in all three of them and Ricky says he's looking forward to checking out all the talent outside the ring. Drake says business first, pleasure later. Baylor and Smokes say they're pleasure first and later. Baylor says they matched with everyones girlfriends, wives and moms and they do the swipe right pose. This looked incredibly douchy which was the point, good pretty boy heel work. Up next will be Keanu Carver taking on Trill London as we go to break.

Back from break we're shown Gal Barkay (his wife belongs in Evolve too, maybe someday) and Luca Crusifino of Tony D'Angelo's crew in the VIP Section. Now we're shown Sean Legacy, Cappuccino Jones and Jack Cartwheel. Who are they? Legcy is a 9 year vet who made his name in the southern indies, even making an appearance on AEW Dark. Jones is a 3 year indy vet who worked for AEW in 2024 briefly. Cartwheel worked for GCW, MLW and AEW the last couple of years and now he's got an ID contract. Cartwheel says he met Jones in a barn and it took a lot of caffeine to get here. Jones says its been brewing for a minute and Legacy says life is all about moments. Legacy says to show Swipe Right and the fans what they're all about.

Even though we've already seen Keanu Carver on NXT, we're shown an introductory vignette to who he is. He grew up throwing hands and without a father who was in and out of jail. They had nothing and he got tired of it, now its time to make money and he doesn't care who steps in his way. Now THAT is someone who gets the business, gotta get that money while you can. We know who Carver really is but who is London?  Former Syracuse University and Miami Dolphins defensive back Trill Williams is now known as Trill London. He signed his ID contract in November and here he is making his debut against the fighter. His own vignette says he likes to be different and he was bullied in life for the way he acted/dressed. So he's the next Sonny Kiss? Whatever works.

Match 2

Keanu Carver vs Trill London

London makes his entrance crawling to the ring in a hockey mask. Bell's gone and London walks right into a sleeper hold to begin. Carver throws him down and yells at the referee. London kicks Carver in the face but gets heaved into the corner. Carver blasts him with stiff looking haymakers and hits a fallaway slam. Stone says that London is an NFL defensive back and Carver threw him like it was nothing. Carver hits the Monty Brown pounce that sends London flying. Carver hits Sky High and covers for 1...2...3 to win the match. Total squash by Carver and that's a big rough heel you can get behind. Can't wait to see him again.

Time of match: 1:39

Winner: Carver by pinfall

Post-match Carver yells at the camera you don't find that in the NFL, you find it on the streets. He's going on the hunt and putting the fear of God in everyone. While he cuts this promo, Gal Barkay is posing behind him. Kind of ruins the shot but that's Gal for ya, hahahaha. Rosenberg gets up and goes over to Barkay....make it Luca Crusifino. He wants to know why he's here. Luca says he's here apart of the D'Angelo family and Tony may run NXT, but HE runs Evolve. Luca likes the fresh new faces but none of them have been in the ring with him. He says if he knows someone, he doesn't worry about them. The others have to decide if they're with him or against him, choose wisely. The problem is the D'Angelo's are supposed to be faces on NXT and this was pure heel. Then again, the contrast might work. Up next after the break is our main event.

Match 3

Sean Legacy, Cappuccino Jones and Jack Cartwheel vs Swipe Right (Ricky Smokes and Brad Baylor) and "The Carolina Reaper" Jackson Drake

Game time for Ricky Smokes, from Chaotic to WWE. Rosenberg doesn't like Swipe Right but Stone says they're a modern day Zack Morris and AC Slater....ha! Baylor and Drake tower over the others during the introductions as the crowd chants "Swipe Left". Jones starts with Smokes to start and Ricky gets in a waistlock takedown to start before taunting the irate crowd. Smokes runs over to tag Baylor but turns around into a backdrop. Jones leapfrogs Baylor and drops him with a dropkick. Drake tags in to try his luck but Sean Legacy tags in. Legacy hits a front suplex, back kick and a standing moonsault for 1...2..no. Cartwheel tags in and goes up and over Drake, hitting a head scissors. He dropkicks Drake as Rosenberg says Jack's great grandfather invented the cartwheel, to which Stone poo poo's that statement. Jones tags in for the double dropkick and Drake retreats to his corner. All six men get in the ring and taunt each other before leaving. Smokes stays with Jones and gets dropped with a right hand.  Smokes runs into a back elbow smash but gets clotheslined over the top to the floor. Smokes baits the faces to get in the ring, allowing Baylor to make the tag and Drake to send Jones into the side of the ring. Baylor drops Jones with a lariat as a graphic says Baylor was signed at 20 years old and is "evil Matt Damon"....so, Loki from Dogma? Brad unloads with right hands and tags in Smokes. Ricky sends Baylor shoulder first into Jones and Baylor sends Cappuccino into a big boot from Smokes. Ricky covers for 1...2....no. Ricky locks in a chinlock then tags in Drake who elbows Jones. Drake hits the Perfect Plex for 1...2..no. Drake drags Jones into his corner where Baylor tags in to drop an elbow. Jones hits a jawbreaker to stun Baylor into tagging in Smokes. Jones kicks Smokes away and Drake tags in, only for Jones to roll through the back suplex. Jones makes the hot tag to Cartwheel who drops Drake with a clothesline and Baylor with a neckbreaker. Cartwheel hits an enziguiri on Drake and sweeps his leg with the Tower of Zen. Cartwheel hits the Slam Stand as all three faces hit dives to the floor on the heels as we go to break. Back from commercial Drake hits an airplane spin stomachbreaker (ouch) and covers for 1..2...no. Stone brings up how Arn Anderson himself endorsed Drake as Smokes tags in with a springboard knee drop. A regular knee drop is followed by a cover for 1...2...no. Smokes hits forearms to the back as we get a graphic that Harlem Lewis is debuting next week.  Baylor tags in and they execute a double suplex. Baylor covers for 1...2...no. Brad locks in a chinlock but Jack powers out of it. Cartwheel runs into a back elbow smash as Smokes tags in for the back suplex neckbreaker combo. He covers for 1...2...no. Smokes drops Legacy and Jones off the apron, but eats a tornado DDT from Jack. Legacy gets the hot tag and he drops Smokes with strikes then Drake tags in. Legacy hits a released german suplex and Baylor runs in only to be sent directly into Drake. Legacy hits a 619 on Drake's back and a moonsault reverse DDT. Drake bails and Legacy hits a running knee to Smokes as a graphic shows character BS saying Smokes and Baylor get 10 girls a night. Baylor picks up Legacy and Smokes hits a dropkick. Baylor tags in Drake who hits a running knee to the head. He covers but Jones throws Smokes on top of him to break up the fall. Jones heaves Baylor out of the ring and he gets dumped as well. Drake chops Legacy but Sean hits a headbutt, tagging in Jones. Jones hits the Decaffinator and goes up to the top rope. Legacy hits a fireman's carry takeover on Smokes on top of Jackson. Jones hits a Froggy Bow off the top and covers for 1..2...no, Baylor breaks up the count.  Baylor and Legacy get the tags and Sean hits a big boot. Baylor hits a double butterfly suplex and Jones hits Shot of Espresso on Drake. Cartwheel hits the rolling derby but Smokes hits a standing Coup De Gras on Jack. Legacy hits a double dropkick on Swipe Right and Shambles on Baylor. He covers for 1...2...3 to win the match. Definitely became an indy spot fest at the end but that's the point, to showcase the ID guys. Cartwheel has amazing athleticism, just hopes he can avoid the synthetic weed like Evan Bourne. Baylor is the youngest of the bunch, he's got plenty of time to develop and Legacy has the body of a WWE pro already. Good luck to these guys moving forward.

Time of match: 11:58

Winners: Legacy, Jones & Cartwheel by pinfall

As the faces celebrate to end the show, Kali Armstrong runs out and demands another match because she didn't lose earlier. She yells at Stone and Rosenberg and asks who she has to talk to. Wasn't Ava Raine supposed to be the on screen booker? Speaking of which, we end the show with Shawn Michaels talking with Ava herself. He hands things over to her moving forward and she says she has some good ideas herself for next week. Shawn says she's the boss and we cut to the crowd cheering to end the show. You can't judge this like a typical WWE show since these are "rookies" so to speak. The indy guys have years of experience, especially Smokes and Legacy, but guys like Trill London just signed with the PC back in November. This is essentially going to be original, old school NXT from 2012 showcasing the developmental guys with the current NXT shifting to a NXT/TNA hybrid. There's going to be more people to introduce next week and some of them are going to catch on. For a debut show, it wasn't bad....especially showcasing Keanu Carver as a mean looking fella. The next show after this is this Friday night's Smackdown in Philadelphia. I'll see you there.