SPOTLIGHTED PODCAST ALERT (YOUR ARTICLE BEGINS A FEW INCHES DOWN)...
WWE EVOLVE SUCCESSION IV
OCTOBER 14, 2026
ORLANDO, FLA. AT WWE PERFORMANCE CENTER
AIRED ON TUBI
REPORT BY DAVID MILLER, PWTORCH CONTRIBUTOR
Commentator: Blake Howard, Robert Stone
Ring announcer: Sarah Schreiber
Correspondent: Adriana Rizzo
-Wendy Choo, Nikkita Lyons, Harley Riggins, and Harlem Lewis all cut brief promos at the top of the show. Blake Howard and NXT GM Robert Stone introduced Succession IV from ringside before going right into the first title match.
(1) HARLEM LEWIS (c) vs. HARLEY RIGGINS – Evolve Championship Match
Riggins did some strange gesturing and posing prior to the match that didn’t work for me. Sarah Schreiber handled the official ring introductions. The match started with a slugfest, which Lewis got the best of. He clotheslined Riggins over the top rope a couple of times before Riggins woke up and went into Big RIg mode, dealing some heavy blows to the champ. A tilt-a-whirl slam earned him a two-count before they cut to a quick commercial break. [c]
Back to the match, Lewis was fighting for air, which he succeeded in by delivering a huge backdrop to the large Riggins. It didn’t last, though, as Riggins landed a Whisper in the Wind for a two-count. Lewis sidestepped a charging Riggins, who went shoulder-first into the ring post. The champ bounced off the ropes and cut the Big Rig down with a spear, then delivered a Boomslang for the victory.
WINNER: Harlem Lewis at 6:23 to retain the Evolve Championship.
(Miller’s Take: That was rather anti-climactic and much shorter than I expected it to be, but I’m assuming they’re saving time for the last woman standing match. Riggins is very talented, but I’m not sure how far his Diesel-esque gimmick will take him in WWE. He also needs to slow down when he’s talking. His promos are too fast and choppy. Harlem Lewis has a great backstory and look. He can also get the job done in the ring, which leads me to believe we’ll be seeing him in NXT when the Harlem World Violence Tour comes to an end in Evolve.)
-After the match, Adriana Rizzo caught Lewis at ringside for an interview. Just as he was putting Riggins over as a tough challenger, Big Rig blasted him from behind. He rammed him into the ringside barrier, threw him into the ring steps, bodyslammed him on the steps, then jabbed him in the midsection with a chair. The camera shook and went black momentarily, right before Riggins picked up the top half of the steps and threw it down on Lewis, who was still sprawled out on the lower half of the steps. Lewis was tended to by officials as Riggins stood over him. [c]
-Footage was shown from a recent Reality of Wrestling event in which Booker T presented Josiah Jean with a WWE ID contract.
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)
(2) LAYNIE LUCK vs. VANTA THE UNKNOWN
Luck looked slightly apprehensive during her ring entrance. I really don’t blame her, because Vanta scares the bejesus out of me, too. The two women traded headlocks into top wristlocks. Vanta escaped an arm twist in a way that I can’t describe, then used another strange, but smooth way to sidestep Luck as she charged in. Vanta continued to wow the crowd with her extremely unorthodox offense. Vanta locked in an abdominal stretch variation that Luck struggled to fight out of.
She finally fired up with some effective offense to slow Vanta down, but that’s all she accomplished. Luck tried to apply a Laynie Lock, but Vanta slipped around and turned it into a DisarmHer on steroids, pulling back until it appeared that she was trying to take home Luck’s arm as a souvenir. Laynie had no choice but to tap out.
WINNER: Vanta the Unknown by submission at 4:54.
(Miller’s Take: Vanta looks, acts, and speaks like something I’d have nightmares about after eating too much spicy food before bed. The way she moves in the ring is indescribable and has to be seen to be believed. So far, she’s only had two short matches in Evolve, so we’ll have to see if she can carry a longer match, but so far she’s damn impressive. Luck is talented, and I can see her moving up the WWE food chain with more time and reps.) [c]
-Blake Howard ran down next week’s card, including Ball & Rivera vs. Jones & Hall, Jacobs vs. Raye, and Dixon vs. Rourke.
-Adriana Rizzo was once again ringside, this time with Elijah Holyfield. He challenged Braxton Cole, but was interrupted by Marcus Mathers. He agreed with his assessment of Cole, but said he could take both of them. Holyfield told Mathers the first punch was a warning, but the second one would change his life. It’s Gal ran out to get between them and talk Mathers down. Howard said he couldn’t believe that It’s Gal was actually being the voice of reason.
-A video of Evolve success stories aired, citing Kali Armstrong, Kendal Grey, The Vanity Project, Riggins & Presley, and Chazz “Starboy” Hall as examples of alumni that have been featured on NXT.
(3) NIKKITA LYONS (c) (w/Sloane Jacobs) vs. WENDY CHOO – Evolve Women’s Championship Last Woman Standing Match
As usual, Jacobs handled a gushing ring introduction for Nikkita Multimedia. Choo immediately attacked Lyons at the bell, then delivered a flying headscissors. It didn’t take long for the fight to go to the floor, where Choo yanked a chair out from underneath the ring and poked Lyons with it. Wendy introduced a trash can, but Lyons put it over her head and smacked it with some kind of stick a couple of times. Choo recovered and pulled out a table as Skylar Raye was shown watching from the VIP Lounge, which leads me to believe there will be some involvement with her. Back in the ring, Choo suplexed Lyons, but got ran into a trash can that was wedged between the ring ropes in the corner. [c]
After a brief plug for Club WWE, they returned to the match. Choo attempted to deliver a German suplex to Lyons from the ring apron through a table, but Big Kat Kita held on to the ropes. Back in the ring, Lyons nailed a perfect missile dropkick that sent Choo reeling. The referee began his count, but both women rose to their feet quickly. Jacobs handed Lyons a couple of nunchucks, which Lyons proved to be very familiar with as she swung them like a pro before blasting her opponent in the gut with them. She proceeded to wrap them around Choo’s mouth and attempt to rearrange her dental work. They exchanged blows before Choo executed a Snooze Button slam.
Choo picked up the nunchucks and showed that she was prolific with them as well before wearing Lyons out with them. Lyons ate a DDT from the middle turnbuckle, but both women rose to their feet at the count of 6. Nikkita delivered a sit-out slam onto a trash can. She anticipated Choo getting up and asked Jacobs to hand her something, which turned out to be a bag of Legos, which she dumped onto the mat. She tried to slam Wendy onto them, but Choo slipped out and locked in a Dirt Nap.
After both women rolled to the floor and stood up, P.J. Vasa ran out from the entrance and took both women out with a double clothesline. She threw Choo into the ring post, and Lyons into the barricade. She backed off as the referee started his count. Both women struggled to get to their feet, and barely made it at 9. They stared each other down, then slid into the ring. After trading blows, Choo landed a Snooze Button to Lyons on the Legos. Nikkita struggled to get to her feet near the ropes, where Jacobs was standing on the ring apron to hand her the crystal that she used to win the title from Choo. Wendy charged in as Lyons sidestepped her, allowing her bestie to get knocked down to the floor. She swung at Choo with the crystal, but Wendy ducked, then kicked her hand, driving the crystal into Nikkita’s own head.
Choo locked in the Dirt Nap, but Lyons drove her backwards into the Slim Jims table that was leaning in the corner. Choo rolled to the apron and stood up at the count of 9, but was distracted briefly by Jacobs, who grabbed her leg. The distraction was enough for Lyons to deliver a kick to Choo that knocked her off the apron and crashing through a second Slim Jims table that had been set up on the floor. Howard quipped, “That’s one way to snap into it.” Ugh. Choo tried, but couldn’t make it to her feet before the count of 10.
WINNER: Nikkita Lyons at 13:51 to retain the Evolve Women’s Championship.
(Miller’s Take: As I stated last week, most of the drama was sucked out of this match with the knowledge that Wendy Choo had been released by WWE last month. That being said, this was a pretty good match with the appropriate amount of hardware introduced into the match. Raye was a non-factor at ringside. Jacobs performed her duties as lackey very well. Vasa’s interference was acceptable given the nature of her beef with both women, but we also know that she was sent packing from WWE as well.)
-The show closed with Blake Howard announcing that Evolve Champion Harlem Lewis had sustained a serious injury as a result of the post-match attack by Harley Riggins and would be out of action indefinitely. He said the status of the championship would be addressed next week.
FINAL THOUGHTS: Succession IV is in the books. I’ve said previously that they really should expand the length of these Evolve pseudo-PLEs to set them apart from a regular one-hour (45 mintues with commercial breaks) shows. There’s definitely enough talent to expand it to 2 hours if they wish to do so. Two title matches crammed into one hour doesn’t leave much breathing room for the matches, as was exhibited with the short length of the first title match tonight. This was most likely (and sadly) Wendy Choo’s swan song with WWE. Other released talent still featured were Adriana Rizzo and P.J. Vasa. Braxton Cole was mentioned as a possible participant in a triple threat match, but that remains to be seen. See you next week!
