SPOTLIGHTED PODCAST ALERT (YOUR ARTICLE BEGINS A FEW INCHES DOWN)...
WWE EVOLVE TV REPORT
AUGUST 5, 2026
ORLANDO, FLA. AT WWE PERFORMANCE CENTER
STREAMED ON TUBI
REPORT BY DAVID MILLER, PWTORCH CONTRIBUTOR
Commentators: Blake Howard, Robert Stone
Ring Announcer: Ryan Katz
-A video package was shown of the four men involved in the fatal 4-way cutting promos on each other and putting themselves over.
-The Mog Squad made their ring entrance, mics in hand. Max Abrams thanked his teammates for gifting him with a new pair of sunglasses. Abrams heeled it up with his narcissistic, disingenuous ranting. The other members took their turns talking about mogging and bragging. Abrams asked Blake Howard and Robert Stone if they had been educating the audience on what mogging is. Shido Ash & Viktor Zanov were shown standing behind the curtain. They suggested to each other that they go shut them up, then made their ring entrance.
(1) THE MOG SQUAD (Santi Rivera & Jacari Ball w/Max Abrams & C.J. Valor) vs. SHIDO ASH & VIKTOR ZANOV
Before the match started, Rivera sneaked up behind Zanov and knocked his big, white, fuzzy hat off. Right at the bell, Zanov rushed Rivera and launched him over the top rope and to the floor. Ball tagged in and got in a bit of offense until Ash tagged in and began dominating. Zanov bodyslammed his partner on top of both opponents, sending them scrambling to the outside to regroup [c]
Back from the break, Ball had taken over on Zanov. The Mog Squad used their superb teamwork to isolate Zanov in their corner. Ball hit a very high dropkick on Zanov, then delivered a trio of gut-wrench suplexes for a near fall. Rivera held on to Zanov’s leg to try to prevent him from making the tag, but Zanov simply dragged him over to his corner and made the hot tag. Ash came in and mugged the moggers. He tagged Zanov back in and launched Rivera toward him. Zanov caught him mid-air and delivered a German suplex for the win.
WINNERS: Shido Ash & Viktor Zanov at 6:03.
(Miller’s Take: Good, exciting opening match. Ash & Zanov are being presented as equal opportunity offenders, targeting a face team last week and a heel team this week. They are also being presented in a Road Warrior-ish way by bulldozing over their opponents and looking fearsome, except for Zanov’s big, stupid hat he insists on wearing to the ring.)
-As The Mog Squad licked their wounds near the entrance, Foreman Timothy Thatcher stepped out to inform them that they were barred from ringside during tonight’s fatal 4-way match, which did not make Max Abrams happy.
-In the locker room, Marcus Mathers was venting to Noam Dar and Romeo Moreno about the situation with 1.0. It’s Gal walked up and said all was not lost because of his glorious victory over PC talent Kale Dixon. Cappuccino Jones stepped into the mix, looking like he’d been getting fashion tips from Sly Stone. He told It’s Gal that if he could shut up for five minutes, maybe people would start liking him. They reminded him that he lost to Cutler James twice. He responded that DarkState was scary and he pushed him to his limit. He told Marcus Mathers that James would squash him. He told Mathers to go to Thatcher to set up the match, then challenged Jones to a match. After It’s Gal posed his way off camera, Mathers admitted to Jones that he needed to beat James and went in search of the foreman.
(2) SKYLAR RAYE vs. ANYA RUNE
Rune was announced as being “straight out of a manga panel”. I had to look that up. Howard commented on her belief that she has some sort of mystical powers. The ladies went into a series of headlock takedowns before they cut to a very quick commercial break. [c]
Back from the break, Raye was showing off her incredible athleticism with some quick, crisp offense. Rune came back with a blow to the throat, then a running headbutt to the back of the head. She thought about going to the top, but looked very indecisive after her last match, in which she botched climbing to the top. That indecision cost her, as Raye quickly took over. Rune got Raye down, then decided to go to the top after all. It didn’t work out, as Raye got up and tossed Rune to the mat. She climbed to the top rope and delivered her Starstruck splash for the victory.
WINNER: Skylar Raye at 5.44.
(Miller’s Take: Give Raye plenty of time to evolve (pun intended), and she could be a major player. She has a great look and can move with the best of them. Rune has a unique look that could be marketable, but I’m not sure about the longevity of an anime gimmick. Nice, short match to highlight the ability of LFG winner Raye.)
-After the match, Rune was attacked and beaten down by Gianna Capri.
-Elijah Holyfield was shown in the parking lot of the Performance Center. He cut a believable promo on Brooks Jensen.
-Foreman Thatcher announced from his cluttered and messy office that Sloane Jacobs will face Wren Sinclair next week. He turned his attention to the fatal 4-way tonight before being interrupted by Chazz Hall, who said he wanted Jones. Thatcher said he thought they were friends, and Hall responded that he thought Mathers was right and they just needed to duke it out once. Thatcher barked at Hall to get off his desk and told him he wouldn’t stray from his booking plans, but Hall convinced him to make it a triple threat match. Thatcher then shooed him away and mumbled about the audacity of him sitting on his desk.
-Aaron Rourke and Tristan Angels made their ring entrances before a short commercial break. [c]
-Howard and Stone ran down next week’s card, including Jacobs vs. Sinclair, Dempsey vs. Sasaki, and Jones vs. Gal vs. Mathers in a triple threat 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)
(3) HARLEM LEWIS (c) vs. AARON ROURKE vs. TRISTAN ANGELS vs. MAX ABRAMS – Evolve Championship Fatal 4-Way Match
Harley Riggins was shown watching intently from the VIP Lounge. Lewis charged Rourke at the bell, but the former champ leapfrogged him, and he crashed into the ring post and tumbled to the floor. Rourke took control of the remaining opponents until Lewis got back into the ring to take over from him. While standing on the floor, Lewis caught Rourke as he attempted a cross body, but Angels dropkicked Rourke in the back from the ring apron. Abrams got to show off his stuff for a cup of coffee before they cut to a quick commercial break. [c]
Back to the match, Angels and Lewis caught their breath on the outside while Abrams worked on Rourke. As Angels went for an overhead throw on Abrams, Lewis delivered a German suplex to Angels. That was some impressive strength. Angels shoved Rourke off the ropes and onto Abrams. Lewis completed a tower of doom in the corner to a big pop from the crowd. Rourke hit a Molly-Go-Round on Abrams, but Lewis pitched him out of the ring and hit the Boomslang on Abrams and covered him for the three-count.
WINNER: Harlem Lewis at 7:28 to retain the Evolve Championship.
(Miller’s Take: Fast, furious, and fun. Not much in the way of ring psychology, just the usual spotfest these fatal four-ways tend to be. Brock Lesnar pointed to Oba Femi as the future at SummerSlam, but you can easily add these four men to that list as well. On the short side, but they made the most of their time.)
-Riggins ran his mouth at Lewis after the match, so I’m assuming that matchup will take place soon.
FINAL THOUGHTS: Ring announcer Ryan Katz sounded like he was going to have an aneurysm. I admire the effort, but I miss the days when ring announcers didn’t have to sound like they were going to shred their vocal cords. Not a bad show by any means, but nothing special, either. It was good to see Skylar Raye featured in a match where she wasn’t getting annihilated. Lewis looks like he’s going to be a strong champion with a lengthy title reign. See you next week!
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