SPOTLIGHTED PODCAST ALERT (YOUR ARTICLE BEGINS A FEW INCHES DOWN)...
WWE EVOLVE TV REPORT
APRIL 15, 2026
ORLANDO, FLA. AT WWE PERFORMANCE CENTER
AIRED ON TUBI
REPORT BY DAVID MILLER, PWTORCH CONTRIBUTOR
Commentators: Peter Rosenberg, Blake Howard
Ring Announcer: Byron Saxton
-The show opened with a short video of Karmen Petrovic talking about the upcoming gauntlet match and the participants involved, then announced herself as the final participant.
-Evolve Champion Aaron Rourke made his ring entrance. He said he was taught that it takes effort to get to the top, but consistency to stay at the top. He praised Chazz “Starboy” Hall for his challenge last week. He mentioned Harlem Lewis’s claim that he was ducking him and called him out.
-Lewis came out and said he could get in the ring and break him right now. He again claimed Rourke was ducking him. The champ laughed and said they could have a title match right now. Braxton Cole interrupted and said he would be the one to take the title off Rourke, claiming he has a championship pedigree. Rourke told him to shut the hell up and offered to make it a triple threat match. Lewis objected, saying Rourke was using a triple threat match to put someone between the two of them. Cole attacked Lewis from behind, knocking him into Rourke. He thumped on Lewis, then took out Rourke and stood mid-ring holding the Evolve championship over his head.
-A good video package of Tristan Angels aired. He boasted of his good looks and called himself Mr. England and said heelish things.
-Lince Dorado came out, followed by Mike Cunningham, who was wearing silver pants and was all oiled up and cocky. He put himself over and announced that he had a new name that screamed main man energy. He announced himself as Max Abrams with a graphic of his new moniker appearing on the big screen above the ring entrance. [c]
(1) LINCE DORADO & MAX ABRAMS vs. SANTI RIVERA & JACARI BALL (w/It’s Gal)
Rivera faced Dorado to start the match. C.J. Valor was shown watching from the VIP Lounge. After some good back-and-forth action, Dorado went to work on Rivera’s arm. Ball tagged in, as did Abrams, who displayed some serious skill as he took the fight to Ball. Ball tagged in Rivera and the two executed a beautiful double team assisted neckbreaker. Ball eventually turned the tide of the match and kept Abrams grounded. Abrams made the hot tag to Dorado, who took care of business. He raked Rivera’s back, then hit a backstabber.
Dorado executed a double cutter. Abrams slid in the ring and double clotheslined his opponents over the top rope. Dorado put sunglasses on Abrams, who then pried open the second and top rope while Dorado dove through his legs and cannonballed Rivera and Ball. That was beautiful! Back in the ring, he locked in an armbar on Rivera while Abrams shielded him. Ball knocked Abrams into his partner to break up the pin. Rivera and Ball tried a double suplex, but Dorado reversed it into a double DDT. As he climbed to the top turnbuckle, Abrams tagged himself in and accidentally knocked him to the mat. The referee discounted the tag because Abrams didn’t have his feet on the mat when he tagged in. Dorado got back up and kicked It’s Gal off the ring apron, but was rolled up by Rivera for the pin.
WINNERS: Santi Rivera & Jacari Ball at 9:01.
(Miller’s Take: This was an outstanding opening tag team bout. When Mike Cunningham announced he had a new name, I was scared after the last time this happened, we wound up with E.K. Prosper, but I like Max Abrams. It’s definitely much easier for me to type. Dorado has nothing to prove, but Abrams showed his stuff. Rivera and Ball are similar athletes who work well together and have obvious talent.)
-Peter Rosenberg and Blake Howard announced that next week, there would be a tag team match with Harley Riggins & Kam Hendrix vs. Tate Wilder & Luca Crusifino, then in two weeks, there would be a triple threat championship match with Rourke vs. Lewis vs. Cole. [c]
(2) DORIAN VAN DUX vs. KAI KAVARI
Kavari got off to a very fast start, confuddling Van Dux with lightning-quick offense. Van Dux overcame his opponent’s offense with his power. He performed the highest shooting star press I’ve ever seen. I mean, this dude’s feet almost hit the lights. Speaking of lights, Van Dux took Kavari’s out with that move.
WINNER: Dorian Van Dux at 1:43.
(Miller’s Take: Not a squash match by any means, but not a whole lot more than that. Kavari looks to be talented, but this match was obviously all about Van Dux, whose unique blend of speed and power does make an impression.)
ARTICLE CONTINUED BELOW…
Check out the latest episode of “Wrestling Coast to Coast” with Chris Maitland and Justin McClelland, 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)
-Brooks Jensen cut a promo about Cappuccino Jones. He challenged him to a bull rope match and said The Foreman gave it the green light.
(3) KARMEN PETROVIC vs. NIKKITA LYONS vs. P.J. VASA vs. KALI ARMSTRONG vs. WENDY CHOO vs. LAYNIE LUCK vs. TYRA MAE STEELE vs. SLOANE JACOBS – Evolve Women’s Championship Eliminator Gauntlet Match
The rules stated that two women would start, with a new competitor entering every two minutes, and eliminations would occur by pinfall, submission, or disqualification.
Laynie Luck and Karmen Petrovic were the two lucky women to start the gauntlet. They went into a series of headlocks, takedowns, and roll-ups, then slowed the pace down a little. Layla Diggs, Masyn Holiday, Gianna Capri, Anya Rune, and Veronica Haven were shown watching on a monitor in the locker room. They paused again after neither woman could gain an advantage. Something of a wrestling clinic was put on, with both women seriously outperforming. They took each other down as Kali Armstrong entered next. [c]
Armstrong speared the tar out of both women as they were slumped in the corner. Petrovic went on the attack with some kicks to Armstrong, with Luck soon joining her. Petrovic and Luck both tried to pin her, but couldn’t keep Armstrong down.
Up next was Wendy Choo. The former sleepy psycho went on a tear. She stacked Armstrong and Luck in the corner and splashed both of them. Choo got taken out, leaving the other three to fight each other.
Tyra Mae Steele entered the ring just in time to break up a pin attempt. She started tossing the other women aside like they were small children. She went over a fallen Armstrong and helped her up in a show of unity. She held Petrovic while Armstrong hit her with a Kali Konnection for the first elimination of the match.
ELIMINATED: Karmen Petrovic at 8:16 by Tyra Mae Steele.
Steele and Armstrong slapped hands and started working over Luck until she fought back. Luck whipped Armstrong into the ropes, and Choo grabbed her and yanked her out to the floor. She landed a few punches until Armstrong shoved her into the ring steps. Armstrong and Steele continued to abuse Luck until the next wrestler entered.
Sloane Jacobs slid in and got the best of both Armstrong and Steele. She extended her hand to Luck and encouraged her to work as a team. As soon as Luck rose to her feet, Jacobs executed the most unique roll-up I think I’ve ever seen to double-cross Luck.
ELIMINATED: Laynie Luck at 10.39 by Sloane Jacobs.
After eliminating Luck, Jacobs tried to make friends with and high-five Armstrong and Steele, but they didn’t fall for her ruse as easily as Luck did. They kicked her in the gut, then Steele held her for another Kali Konnection.
ELIMINATED: Sloane Jacobs at 11:10 by Kali Armstrong.
Choo recovered and slid back in the ring to attack Steele. She locked in a Dirt nap, but Armstrong broke it up. Steele and Armstrong continued to double-team Choo until the next participant arrived.
Nikkita Lyons sashayed to the ring with a purpose and went to town on Steele and Armstrong. She couldn’t sustain the offense for long, though, and Steele wound up holding her for yet another Kali Konnection. The third time was not a charm, as Lyons pulled Steele into the path of destruction, and the Kali Konnection nearly knocked her into the middle of next week. Lyons decked Armstrong with a hard right hand, then flattened Steele with a roundhouse kick to the face and pinned her.
ELIMINATED: Tyra Mae Steele at 13:01 by Nikkita Lyons.
Big Kat Kita set up Armstrong for a Kita Bomb off the second turnbuckle, but Choo clocked her with a forearm. They jockeyed for position on the ropes, and Lyons set up Choo for a superplex. Armstrong recovered and slipped under Lyons to deliver a tower of doom that sent Lyons and Choo crashing to the mat.
A determined and intense P.J. Vasa entered the ring as the final participant. She splashed Lyons, Choo, and Armstrong in each corner before delivering a black hole slam on Armstrong for a near fall. Choo and Lyons attempted a double suplex, but Vasa reversed it and double suplexed both women. Armstrong hit a big powerslam on Vasa and went for a Kali Konnection, but an angry Tyra Mae Steele jumped onto the ring apron to confront Armstrong for causing her to be eliminated earlier. Armstrong took a swing at her, but Steele ducked it and slugged her. A dazed Armstrong was then met with a boot to the head by Lyons, who pinned her.
ELIMINATED: Kali Armstrong at 17:23 by Nikkita Lyons.
Choo and Lyons teamed up against Vasa, with both trying and failing to pin her. Lyons applied an armbar on her right arm while Choo grabbed her left arm. In a show of strength, Vasa swung them into each other. She charged both women, but they moved out of the way, and her momentum sent her through the ropes and to the floor. Nikkita Multimedia executed a tiger bomb on Choo for a near fall. She went for another tiger bomb on Vasa, who reversed it into a backdrop. Choo slipped in a Dirt Nap on Vasa, who broke it by backing her into the corner. She dumped Choo with a Samoan drop but missed a second rope splash when Choo moved out of the way. Choo drove Vasa head-first to the mat with a knee, and Lyons followed it up with a split-legged splash and covered her for the three-count.
ELIMINATED: P.J. Vasa at 19:43 by Nikkita Lyons.
Choo and Lyons traded hard blows before Lyons delivered a Michinoku driver for a near fall. The fans chanted for both women as each tried to gain the upper hand over the other. Choo went for a Dirt Nap, but Lyons escaped. She locked in a full nelson and slammed her to the mat for another near fall. Lyons came back with a release black hole slam and followed up with a Kita bomb for another near fall. She rolled out of another Dirt Nap and went for another tiger bomb, but Choo rolled her up for the final pin.
ELIMINATED: Nikkita Lyons at 22:38 by Wendy Choo.
WINNER: Wendy Choo at 22:38 to capture the vacant Evolve Women’s Championship
(Miller’s Take: This was excellent! There were a lot of moving parts to this match, and it flowed seamlessly. The big stories coming out of this were the sneakiness of Jacobs, who double-crossed Luck, the friction between Armstrong and Steele after an errant Kali Konnection, and the dominance of Lyons, who has noticeably slimmed down and shown great improvement. I’ve been a fan of Choo for a long time and considered her overlooked by WWE after she went nowhere in NXT and reappeared in Evolve, so I was pleasantly surprised at the outcome. She evolved (pun intended) from the lovable, but infantile, sleepy gimmick to the sinister sleepy psycho to a more toned-down face gimmick, and her hard work has finally paid off. I’m very much looking forward to this title run.)
After the match, Foreman Timothy Thatcher presented an emotional Choo with the championship belt. The women’s locker room was shown applauding as she celebrated her victory with the fans.
FINAL THOUGHTS: Evolve had a little bit of everything tonight. The opening tag match was as good as it could be, Dorian Van Dux showed his dominance in a glorified squash match, and a long gauntlet eliminator match stole the show with different storyline arcs. A popular new Evolve Women’s Champion was crowned for the icing on the cake. Congratulations to Wendy Choo. To borrow from a popular fan chant, you deserve it. Happy WrestleMania weekend, everybody!
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