WWE EVOLVE RESULTS (5/13): Nikkita Lyons vs. Karmen Petrovic, It’s Gal vs. CJ Balor, dorian Van Dux vs. Tristan Angels vs. Kam Hendrix vs. Brooks Jensen

WWE EVOLVE TV REPORT
MAY 13, 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

-Kam Hendrix and Harley Riggins were shown walking into the building while patting each other’s backs. Riggins offered his encouragement for Hendrix’s match tonight to determine a number one contender to Aaron Rourke’s championship.

-Nikkita Lyons made her ring entrance before they showed what happened last week after Evolve went off the air. Lyons and Sloane Jacobs had attacked Evolve Champion Wendy Choo and Laynie Luck during their championship match when Karmen Petrovic intervened. Choo and Luck clotheslined Jacobs over the top rope and to the floor, then were joined by Petrovic for a triple superkick on Lyons to take her out.

(1) NIKKITA LYONS vs. KARMEN PETROVIC

Lyons sought refuge in the corner when Petrovic tried to rush her. The two ducked swift kicks to each other before Lyons offered a handshake. Petrovic kicked her hand away before settling into a headlock. She landed a series of kicks to the legs of Lyons, taking her to the mat. She went back to a grounded headlock and fought off a headscissors attempt by Lyons. She locked in a bodyscissors, then slipped into a unique submission with Big Kat Kita’s arms locked behind her back while Petrovic pressed her forehead into the mat with her legs. [c]

Back from the break, Lyons had taken control of her opponent. She drove her shoulder into Petrovic’s midsection in the corner but ate a foot as she rushed in one time too many. After a brief comeback attempt, Petrovic found herself in a Lyons backbreaker submission. She mounted another comeback, taking Lyons down with double forearms and a foot to the mouth. Lyons missed a Kita bomb before Sloan Jacobs ran to the ring and jumped up on the apron. Laynie Luck ran out and pulled her off the apron before the two got into a slugfest. As the referee was distracted by the shenanigans on the floor, Wendy Choo grabbed Kita’s foot and tripped her as she was setting up Petrovic for a kick. Karmen hit a Petrofier kick to the head for the three-count.

WINNER: Karmen Petrovic at 9:20.

(Miller’s Take: This was a fitting opener, considering how the show ended last week. Lyons can’t seem to catch a break lately, even with her in-ring improvement. I’d say this was likely the setup for a tag team match with Choo & Luck vs. Lyons & Jacobs for next week, but we’ll see.)

-In the back, Brooks Jensen encountered Dorian Van Dux. Brooks told him to stay out of his way in their match tonight. DVD said he’d take his advice and throw it in the trash. He then started speaking French before Jensen shut him up and started going into his catchphrase. DVD chuckled, which angered Jensen. He threatened him and left. DVD smiled menacingly.

-Harlem Lewis stood in the ring, mic in hand, and called out Braxton Cole. Cole walked out, then called for security to come out when Lewis looked like he was going to get out of the ring and go after him. Foreman Thatcher’s security came out and grabbed Lewis, leaving an opening for Cole to take a cheap shot at him. Security then ushered Cole to the back.

-Tate Wilder approached Romeo Moreno in the locker room. Moreno looked distraught as he explained to Wilder that he was 0-2 and didn’t expect his Evolve career to start this way. Wilder stopped him and said Evolve was about growing, learning, and developing. He pumped up Moreno, whose morale seemed boosted by Wilder’s encouragement. [c]

-Tristan Angels cut a promo putting himself over in his usual, snobbish way. He ran down his opponents for the main event coming up.

ARTICLE CONTINUED BELOW…

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(2) IT’S GAL vs. C.J. VALOR (w/Max Abrams & Santi Rivera & Jacari Ball)

Ball rushed Gal, who moved out of the way and fired some shots at him. Gal did some pushups while he had Valor in a headscissors. Gal strung together some high-impact offensive moves before Valor turned the tide of the match. He took Gal down and got a near fall before throwing some Sheamus-like forearms to Gal’s chest. Valor rushed Gal in the corner, but Gal pressed him into the air and shoved him off, sending him bellyflopping to the mat. He flattened him with a discus lariat, then connected with a big missile dropkick for a very near fall. Valor cartwheeled into an anklelock, but Gal escaped and fought back, despite limping. As Gal lifted Valor into a fireman’s carry, Rivera jumped up on the ring apron to distract the referee while Ball slid in the ring and delivered a chop block to the back of Gal’s knee. C.J. hit the Valor spike for the win.

WINNER: C.J. Valor at 5:21.

(Miller’s Take: It’s Gal showed some good babyface fire while still maintaining his over-the-top arrogance. With the rest of ID 2.0 ringside, he didn’t stand a chance. The next step for It’s Gal should be finding a partner who can put up with his attitude to take on 2.0.)

-After the match, Max Abrams took the mic to put over Valor, Ball, and Rivera as the crowd booed loudly. He announced that they will be known from now on as The Mog Squad. I thought he said The Mod Squad at first. J.D. Costello and Spike & Basher might have cried foul on that name, though. What exactly is a “mog”, anyway?

-A cameraman was outside filming from behind the cover of some bushes. Cappuccino Jones was talking on his phone outside the Performance Center while sucking down some go-go juice. He was telling the person on the other end of the line that he knows he’s been seeing what’s going on, and they have to do something about this, or it will only get worse. He called for all hands on deck before hanging up.

-In the women’s locker room, Gianna Capri was belittling Anya Rune for losing the match last week. Veronica Haven stood up for her and chastised Capri for blaming her. Rune said she would go to Foreman Thatcher right now and ask for a match with Layla Diggs. She said she would make the ID program proud and make Capri notice her. [c]

(3) DORIAN VAN DUX vs. TRISTAN ANGELS vs. KAM HENDRIX (w/Harley Riggins) vs. BROOKS JENSEN – Fatal 4-Way #1 Contender’s Match

Evolve Champion Aaron Rourke came out and sat in the VIP Lounge to watch and see who his new #1 contender would be. Hendrix and Angels disposed of Jensen and DVD to fight briefly before they quickly rejoined the fray. Angels and DVD took the fight to the floor while Hendrix and Jensen scrapped in the ring. Jensen again got tossed out, this time by Angels. DVD flew off the top onto the floor, taking out all of his opponents. [c]

After a single commercial, they returned to show all four men battling in the ring. After laying each other out, all four rose to their knees and traded blows. Jensen nearly pinned Angels before DVD broke up the pin. Jensen and DVD thumped on each other mid-ring. Angels hit a backstabber on Jensen, but fell victim to a shooting star press from DVD. Hendrix broke up the pin and hit Lights, Kam, Action on DVD and went for the pin, but Tate Wilder ran to ringside, yanked Hendrix to the floor, and beat on him all the way to the back.

With the referee distracted by the shenanigans on the outside, Jensen pulled off his boot and clocked DVD with it. He executed a stump-puller on DVD, but Angels broke up the pin. DVD cinched in a half crab while Jensen began clubbing him to break it up. DVD only released the hold because Jensen’s offense angered him, and he quickly put Jensen down with a big boot followed by a lariat. DVD leaped onto the ropes and faked out Angels, who covered up before DVD nailed him with a springboard cutter. Jensen threw DVD out of the ring but got surprised with a rollup by Angels for the pin.

WINNER: Tristan Angels at 9:12 to become the #1 contender to the Evolve championship.

(Miller’s Take: This was one of the better fatal 4-way matches I’ve seen. They didn’t rely on the common WWE formula of two men selling on the outside while the other two battled in the ring. Instead, all four men were exchanging offense that was difficult to keep up with, but a lot of fun to watch. I honestly didn’t expect Angels to come out on top, given how they’ve pushed Hendrix, so it was a pleasant surprise. I noted that Wilder and Hendrix exchanged glares last night in Robert Stone’s office on NXT, so I was wondering if the continuity regarding their feud would be there with Evolve being taped and NXT being live.)

-After the match, Rourke stood and jawed with Angels as the latter celebrated his victory.

FINAL THOUGHTS: I look for the Hendrix/Wilder feud to wrap up soon. It would be nice to see them continue the storyline on NXT, but they both appear to be going in different directions on that show, with Hendrix attacking D’Angelo every chance he gets and Wilder seeming full of himself. Angels challenging Rourke is intriguing and should be a very good match. Unfortunately, we didn’t get to see Foreman Thatcher fumbling with something on his messy desk, but we did get to see It’s Gal flex and show his stuff in the ring, even if he did lose. It appears that Evolve Women’s Champion Wendy Choo may be sidetracked in a mini-feud with Lyons & Jacobs before facing a new contender. See you next week!