SPOTLIGHTED PODCAST ALERT (YOUR ARTICLE BEGINS A FEW INCHES DOWN)...
WWE EVOLVE TV REPORT
FEBRUARY 11, 2026
ORLANDO, FLA. AT WWE PERFORMANCE CENTER
AIRED ON TUBI
REPORT BY DAVID MILLER, PWTORCH CONTRIBUTOR
Commentators: Peter Rosenberg, Robert Stone
Interviewer: Chuey Martinez
Ring Announcer: Blake Howard
-The show opened with an outdoor shot of the Performance Center, followed by Wren Sinclair and Evolve Women’s Champion Kendal Grey. Sinclair suggested she may be putting too much pressure on herself, bouncing back and forth between Evolve and NXT. Grey shrugged it off and said she was going to beat Karmen Petrovic and then go defend her title at Succession II.
(1) SWIPE RIGHT (Brad Baylor & Ricky Smokes) (w/Jackson Drake) vs. MIKE CUNNINGHAM & ELI KNIGHT
Before the match, Peter Rosenberg congratulated Robert Stone on becoming the Interim GM for NXT. Cunningham did some sort of weird, 1990-ish disco dance into the ring that even had the announcers questioning what they were watching. Tate Wilder was shown seated in the VIP Lounge. Rosenberg said Cunningham wanted to be known as “MME”, which stands for “main man energy”. Um, okay. Smokes and Cunningham put on a great show in the ring together. Knight tagged in and dropped a big knee across his arm. Knight jumped on the back of Smokes while he was bent over with a double stomp. After getting beaten on for a minute, he got the hot tag to Cunningham, who cleaned house, but got shoved off the top rope behind the referee’s back. [c]
Back from the break, Swipe Right had taken control of the match and were thumping on Cunningham. Baylor cinched in a good, old-fashioned abdominal stretch, with a little leverage from Smokes. He broke free and made the hot tag to Knight, who flew around the ring with some great aerial offense. He missed a moonsault, which allowed Baylor to regain control. Swipe Right cut the fancy stuff and just started throwing fists. Baylor and Cunningham traded pin attempts for a bit before Swipe Right hit a Super Swipe, but the pin was broken up. Smokes and Knight traded fists mid-ring, with Smokes getting the better of the exchange. Cunningham had Smokes in a fireman’s carry position while Knight leaped off the ropes to land on the back of Smokes, then springboard off his back with a twisting plancha. You had to see that one to comprehend it. Incredibly, the pin attempt was broken up when Smokes shoved Cunningham into his partner.
Knight turned a suplex by Baylor into a cutter. Baylor rolled to the outside with Cunningham. Knight dived over the top rope and accidentally took out his partner, then got turned inside out with a vicious clothesline from Baylor. After throwing him back in the ring, Swipe Right performed a combination Scorpion Death Drop and top rope double stomp to finally secure the victory.
WINNERS: Swipe Right at 12:21.
(Miller’s Take: This was a long match by Evolve standards, but these four men were certainly up for it. Really good showing from both teams. Based on the silly dancing Cunningham did, I think he could get over as a Mr. Iguana-type silly gimmick guy. He has great physical tools and is very young, so he has plenty of time to hone his craft (and get rid of that last name). Knight is a future superstar, and he’s proving it every time he steps in the ring. Swipe Right, of course, is pure gold.)
-Never having met a microphone he didn’t love, Jackson Drake found one. He bragged about carrying the whole ID team on their shoulders last week. He admitted to owing Cappuccino Jones a favor and gave him a title shot at Succession in three weeks. Harlem Lewis came out and said he earned that title shot. He threatened to come in there and kick all of their asses, but he got jumped by Brooks Jensen, who proceeded to beat on him while The Vanity Project looked amused by it all.
-In the women’s locker room, a disheveled and weary-looking Arianna Grace was with Nikkita Lyons, who was literally beating her head against a wall. Grace said she thought she was hallucinating. Lyons said she didn’t know how much longer she could be nice. They fake perked up when Layla Diggs and Masyn Holiday came in, asking to switch lockers with them because theirs was so much bigger. Lyons snapped and said that the heinous TikTok they agreed to do didn’t do anything for her social media brand, and there was no way she was going to give up her big kat locker.
-Diggs and Holiday muttered something about even the psychic wasn’t able to save them. Grace and Lyons overheard, which forced Diggs to admit that the “psychic” was really her neighbor, Doris, a chiropractor from Daytona. An angry Lyons challenged them to a match, which they accepted. [c]
-In the PC gym, Team PC agreed to take a more cohesive approach rather than a divide-and-conquer attitude, essentially issuing a challenge for a 10-man tag team match.
ARTICLE CONTINUED BELOW…
Check out the latest episode of “PWT Talks NXT” with Kelly Wells and Nate Lindberg, part of the PWTorch Dailycast line-up: CLICK HERE to stream (or search “pwtorch” on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or any other iOS or Android app to subscribe free)
(2) AARON ROURKE vs. IT’S GAL
Trill London joined Tate Wilder in the VP Lounge for this one. Rourke hit an early spear in the corner that nearly cut Gal in half. He unloaded on him in the corner, then hit a flying press through the ropes and to the floor. Rourke smacked Gal’s backside, then decked him a couple of times. Back in the ring, Gal dropped Rourke throat-first across the ropes, then hit a discus clothesline for a two-count. He took time to pose and exclaim, “It’s Gal” before continuing the assault. He hit a running boot for another near fall. They grabbed each other’s beards and traded a series of believable pin attempts. Rourke nailed a hip attack, but got caught with a double knee from Gal. Rourke hit his Over the Rainbow press from the top to get the W.
WINNER: Aaron Rourke at 6:41.
(Miller’s Take: Rourke and It’s Gal are the two best characters in Evolve right now, so I was anxious to see them in the ring together, and they did not disappoint. Besides having great characters, both men are very athletic and talented. The only thing that may hold Rourke back is his size. It’s Gal belongs on NXT.)
-Chuey Martinez caught up with Tate Wilder and Trill London in the VIP Lounge. Wilder said it was time to stand up to all the chaos.
-A video package of Tyra Mae Steele aired. [c]
-Wendy Choo approached Kali Armstrong in the back. She told her she heard what she said about being down on herself and offered therapy advice. Armstrong responded by punching her in the gut and telling her that was the only therapy she needed.
-Rosenberg plugged the season finale in two weeks, while Stone plugged Succession II in three weeks.
(3) KENDAL GREY (w/Wren Sinclair) vs. KARMEN PETROVIC – Evolve Women’s Championship Match
The competitors started at 90 miles per hour before settling into a slower pace. Petrovic worked an arm twist, but Grey flipped out of it and reversed it. Grey did her signature slide under and crisscross, followed by a leg trip into a basement dropkick. [c]
They met in the middle of the ring with a simultaneous body press attempt. They both hit running knees and elbows before Petrovic sank in a sharpshooter. Grey struggled toward the ropes, but Petrovic pulled her back to the middle of the ring. Grey tried again and finally made it to the bottom rope to break the hold. Sinclair tried pumping her up as she rose to her feet. Grey went for a surprise armbar, but Petrovic kept her hands locked. Petrovic hit a tornado DDT for a two-count. Grey kicked her out of the ring when she attempted another sharpshooter. Petrovic went to the top rope, but Grey leaped up with her and delivered an over-the-head suplex to the mat. She followed that up with Shades of Grey for the final pin.
WINNER: Kendal Grey at 9:06 to retain the Evolve Women’s Championship.
(Miller’s Take: This was about what you’d expect from these two. Petrovic is a fine athlete, but the martial arts gimmick is overplayed, and she hasn’t found a way to connect with the fans. Grey, on the other hand, is growing in popularity among fans through her increased exposure in NXT. I honestly think Petrovic has done all she can with WWE at this point and wouldn’t be surprised to see her on the list of people cut in a round of post-WrestleMania layoffs. Grey is, as I’ve said, a future superstar in WWE who I could see moving up to the main roster by next year’s WrestleMania.)
-As Grey and Sinclair celebrated the victory, PJ Vasa came out and called her out for Succession II.
FINAL THOUGHTS: This was a very enjoyable show from top to bottom. The Vanity Project is riding high after trimming down the group to the three most entertaining and talented members. The ID vs. PC feud was put on simmer this week, with only a few reminders that it’s not over yet. Grace and Lyons are growing on me with the way they play off each other like a seasoned comedy duo. Grey continues to shine as the centerpiece of Evolve, and I could only see her losing the title at Succession II to focus solely on building her brand on NXT.
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