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WWE EVOLVE TV REPORT
MAY 6, 2026
ORLANDO, FLA. AT WWE PERFORMANCE CENTER
AIRED ON TUBI
REPORT BY DAVID MILLER, PWTORCH CONTRIBUTOR
Commentators: Peter Rosenberg, Blake Howard
Ring Announcer: Mike Rome
Correspondent: Chuey Martinez
-Tonight’s show picked up where they left off last week with a post-show exclusive. When the show went off the air last week, Evolve Champion Aaron Rourke was prepared to stand his ground against Harley Riggins and Kam Hendrix, who looked poised to enter the ring for a beatdown. They took a couple of shots from Rourke before he slid out of the ring to safety.
-Evolve Women’s Champion Wendy Choo said she was nervous about her upcoming first title defense, then talked about how good the men’s triple threat match was last week. She said it would take more than hunger and “luck” to become an Evolve champion.
(1) JACARI BALL & SANTI RIVERA & MAX ABRAMS (w/C.J. Valor) vs. CHAZZ “STARBOY” HALL & ROMEO MORENO & CAPUCCINO JONES – 6-Man Tag Team Match
Before the match, they showed highlights of how this new heel faction formed. Abrams looked like he was going to start against Jones, but thought better of it and tagged Ball. Jones dropkicked everyone, but Abrams backed away as Jones was set to dropkick him as well. Jones, Hall, and Moreno cleared the ring of the heels before it settled into Moreno and Rivera. Abrams finally took the tag after Rivera softened up Moreno. He hit a springboard kick to the head of Moreno for a two-count. Ball delivered a gut-wrench three amigos to Moreno. Starboy took the hot tag and showed off his incredible athleticism with a cartwheel moonsault onto the heels, who were standing on the floor waiting for him to jump onto them. [c]
When they returned from the break, the brawl on the floor continued. They got Hall back in the ring and started working him over. Hall reached for the tag, but Abrams held him back. They triple-teamed Hall in their corner, but still only got a two-count. Abrams choked Hall on the ropes, then distracted the referee while Valor got in a shot from the floor. Rivera settled into a headlock on Hall, who finally broke free from his opponents, but missed the tag when the heels yanked Jones and Moreno off the apron. Hall was able to make the tag to Jones shortly thereafter, and the pot was hot. Jones showed off his moves before snapping a Half & Half on Abrams, who responded with a knee to the head.
Jones barely kicked out of a pin attempt by Rivera. Moreno took a hot tag and nailed Rivera with a springboard missile dropkick, then tagged Hall before he and Jones delivered a punch/brainbuster combo to Rivera. Hall sailed through the air with a shooting star press from the top rope, but the pin was broken up by Abrams. The six men rose to their feet, drew a line in the sand, then tore into each other. Ball set up Hall with a belly-to-belly, then Abrams took the tag and landed a top rope splash for a pin that was broken up by Moreno. They all took turns hitting finishers before Moreno executed a breathtaking Spanish Fly on Abrams. Valor climbed onto the ring apron to distract Moreno, but It’s Gal ran to the ring, yanked Valor off the apron, and started thumping on him. Foreman Thatcher’s newly hired security came out and literally carried It’s Gal to the back as he flexed. Abrams hit a distracted Moreno with the Main Objective (a leapfrog from behind into a legdrop to the back of the head) to finally end the match.
WINNERS: Jacari Ball & Santi Rivera & Max Abrams at 15:34.
(Miller’s Take: I could be mistaken, but that may have been the longest match I’ve ever seen in Evolve. This was nothing short of spectacular. Abrams’s new cowardly heel persona fits him like a glove. Starboy never ceases to amaze me every time I see him in the ring. He reminds me a bit of a young Amazing Red. Rivera, Ball, Moreno, and Jones were spot on with everything they did. This match made sense, told a story, and delivered some incredible action, with the added pop for It’s Gal running out to assist. It doesn’t get much better than this, folks.)
-Chuey Martinez was standing ringside to catch Team ID 2.0 for a few words. He asked them what was up with their attitudes. Abrams called Martinez “Chu-Man” before Valor ran his mouth for a bit. Chuey said he thought this type of attitude would be gone when The Vanity Project got called up but said he was wrong and that they were horrible. Chuey sounded as sincere as a rock with his delivery. Re-watch that interview, then (for you old-timers like me), imagine Lance Russell conducting that interview and how he would have come across.
-Laynie Luck cut a promo about her hard journey to Evolve. She told Wendy that seeing her hard work pay off reminded her that it could be her. [c]
-“Earlier today,” Karmen Petrovic was shown on a bicycle machine in the gym, when smoke started pouring in as colored lights flashed. She turned to see Nikkita Lyons and Sloane Jacobs walk up to her. Lyons said they needed this space to rehearse for their new music video and asked Petrovic to leave. Petrovic called her a fake, self-centered narcissist. Jacobs said it sounded like she was looking for a fight. Petrovic told them she’d handle either one of them next week. Lyons and Jacobs walked off as Petrovic mocked them and mumbled about her workout being ruined.
-Foreman Timothy Thatcher stood mid-ring and addressed the crowd. He said right now, they have two of the most unique champions in WWE history. He talked up Wendy Choo for a bit, then said he wanted to address who would be the next challenger for Aaron Rourke’s championship. With that, the champ’s music hit as he made his ring entrance. Rourke said he was more than ready for any challenger and said he had some words for anyone listening in the back. He said he would do whatever it takes to keep his title. He said like a diamond, he was built with pressure, then told Thatcher to line them up.
-Kam Hendrix and Harley Riggins walked out. Hendrix ran his mouth and told Rourke that if he was looking for a challenger, he had just the person for him. Riggins emoted as Hendrix looked in his direction and appeared to be ready to hand him the mic. At the last minute, he said “me”, as Riggins looked confused. He confronted Rourke in the ring while putting himself over. He suggested they do it next week. Brooks Jensen interrupted and told Kam he wasn’t cutting in front of him because he beat Rourke’s little buddy, Cappuccino Jones, in a bullrope match. To Jensen’s dismay, he was interrupted by Tristan Angels, who told them all they had faces built for radio. He talked about how pretty he was, then tried to shush the crowd before challenging Rourke.
-Next up was Dorian Van Dux. As he stepped into the ring, Tate Wilder ran in and attacked Hendrix and Riggins. Foreman Thatcher stepped in at this point to put a stop to it while Rourke lounged in the corner, looking amused at the spectacle. Thatcher yelled at them all and announced a fatal four-way match for next week involving Jensen, DVD, Hendrix, and Angels, with the winner to receive a title match in three weeks. He ordered them out of the ring, then said, “Okay, who’s left?” He pointed at Wilder and Riggins, and said, “You and you…you want to fight, do it now!” Referee Victoria D’Errico slid into the ring before they cut to a quick commercial break. [c]
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) TATE WILDER vs. HARLEY RIGGINS (w/Kam Hendrix)
A fired-up Wilder took it to Riggins at the bell. After clotheslining Riggins over the top rope, he jumped off the ring apron to the floor and was met with a Riggins right hand to the gut. Back in the ring, Riggins covered Wilder for a near fall. The larger and meaner Riggins grounded Wilder with his arms pulled behind him, as some of the red stuff was visible under Wilder’s nose. Tate came to life and went to town on Riggins for a bit, but his momentum was stopped cold when Riggins hit a backstabber. He beat on Wilder for a bit before being caught by surprise with a sunset flip by Wilder for the win.
WINNER: Tate Wilder at 6:04
(Miller’s Take: Wilder has really come a long way since debuting on Evolve with a Bart Gunn-lite cowboy gimmick, which he thankfully dropped. Since losing his tag team partner, Jax Presley, Riggins has come into his own as a performer as well. Both men showed great intensity, with Wilder especially standing out.)
-Unsurprisingly, Hendrix hit the ring as Wilder’s hand was raised and delivered a Lights, Kam, Action on him before he and Riggins stood over his broken body.
-Dorian Van Dux said when he arrived from Belgium, he intended to make an immediate impact. He said he would not let his opportunity pass him by.
-Laynie Luck made her ring entrance before they cut to the last short commercial break of the evening. [c]
(3) WENDY CHOO (c) vs. LAYNIE LUCK – Evolve Women’s Championship Match
Like her male counterpart, Choo seemed to exude a newfound confidence as she made her ring entrance. Mike Rome made the official ring introductions. Referee Jeremy Marcus displayed the title overhead, then called for the bell with a little less than 10 minutes left on the air. The competitors shook hands before locking up. They engaged in some good chain wrestling, with Luck getting the better of the exchange. They rolled each other up for about 13 different pin attempts. I half expected the referee to stop counting, put his hands in his pockets, and say he was done.
The action spilled to the floor briefly before Luck rolled the champ back into the ring and hit a beautiful senton variation for a near fall. Luck became visibly frustrated at her inability to put Choo away before settling into a submission tie-up. The champ came back to life and flattened Luck with a stiff clothesline for a two-count. Luck came back with a shining wizard for a very close near fall. Choo slipped in a Dirt Nap, but Luck rolled out of it. Choo followed Luck to the top turnbuckle and landed a superplex to slow her challenger’s momentum. They slowly crawled towards each other and started to rise to their feet before Nikkita Lyons and Sloane Jacobs rushed the ring and beat up both women. Karmen Petrovic, whom they antagonized earlier, appeared from the entrance and rushed the ring as the show abruptly ended.
WINNER: No contest at 8:33.
(Miller’s Take: This was a perfectly fine exhibition-style match. Pretty much paint-by-numbers until the interference by The Obnoxious Ones (my name choice, not theirs). I’m always up for a Wendy Choo match, but there was zero chance of Luck getting lucky tonight)
FINAL THOUGHTS: This being the second week in a row that the show has ended with a showdown about to take place, it appears that Evolve is going for cliffhanger endings in the hopes of enticing people to tune in next week to see what went down. I’m assuming this will lead to a tag team match with Luck & Petrovic challenging Lyons & Jacobs as Choo moves on to her next challenger. The show started red-hot, then gradually lost steam. I think they’d have been better served to reverse the match order, but sometimes it’s okay to put your best foot forward from the beginning, and did they ever do that with the opening tag team match! Of course, I’m dying to see It’s Gal cut a promo on Team ID 2.0 next week. Gal is going to be one of those heels whose face turn won’t change his over-the-top, obnoxious personality a bit, so this is going to be a whole lot of fun to watch. See you next week!
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