The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly of WWE Evolution 2 - And What Must Happen Next

“Women’s wrestling!” Clap. Clap. Clapclapclap. “Women’s wrestling!” Clap. Clap. Clapclapclap.

The chant rang out all night. The WWE crowd at Evolution was the loudest Americans have sounded this year — and probably longer.

For the first time in almost seven years, women weren’t just sharing the stage. They were the show. Seven years of hoping, wishing and manifesting another Evolution event came true.

The energy was undeniable, even through my television screen.

After the event, Jackie Redmond couldn’t contain her excitement when speaking about the show. She connected the main event between Rhea Ripley and Iyo Sky to the mentality of the women’s roster overall.

“When they’re given the ball in a big moment, they deliver,” she said.

Every match mattered. Each woman rose to the occasion.

The Good: The Matches Themselves

The show opened with an instant classic: Becky Lynch vs. Bayley vs. Lyra Valkyria for the Women’s Intercontinental Championship. This was one of the few stories that had been building for more than just a couple weeks. The chemistry these women have and the connection with the audience they’ve built was apparent.

They went for over 16 minutes, the second longest match of the night. No one would have complained had it gone even longer; it was the perfect start to set the tone.

Jade Cargill and Naomi had an amazing match in the fifth spot on the card. Bianca Belair was slightly underutilized as the special guest referee, but the fact that she got a spot while dealing with a finger injury speaks volumes to her own passion and her importance to the company.

This is another feud that has been building over the last year; the second and only other match on the card that feels properly fleshed out. Naomi attacked Jade Cargill last year and took her place alongside Bianca Belair as the then-tag team champions.

Their no holds barred match was infinitely better than their WrestleMania 41 clash.

However, the talk of the night was the main event.

Rhea Ripley faced Iyo Sky for the Women’s World Championship, in a match that was sloppily thrown together, but that didn’t matter.

The two showed why they are at the top of the division, putting on a master class performance. Iyo Sky and Rhea Ripley showed respect for one another as competitors before turning up the heat. The two battled it out in the ring, at the announce table and out in the crowd.

Everyone expected Rhea Ripley to finally get her first win over Iyo Sky. There were multiple false finishes. And that’s when the music hit. Suddenly Naomi was running to the ring with an official and her briefcase.

She swerved everyone, shifting gears from her ongoing feud with Jade Cargill. Suddenly, the match became a triple threat, and Naomi immediately took advantage by hitting Iyo Sky with the briefcase and landing a split-legged moonsault.

After battling it out, Rhea and Iyo were both left empty-handed, looking shocked and defeated in the ring. Naomi walked out, title in hand and smile on her face.

Jade and Naomi were expected to continue their feud with the WWE Women’s Championship. I had called a cash-in with my prediction—but on Tiffany Stratton for her title.

It was the most shocking women’s cash-in WWE has ever pulled off, giving shades of Seth Rollins’ iconic steal at WrestleMania 31.

The crowd was shocked.

Social media was equal parts devastated and excited.

It was sports entertainment at its finest.

The Bad: The Build

It’s a testament to the talent that the event was damn-near flawless when the company couldn’t have handled the build any worse.

The NXT women put on a great match in the toughest spot on the card, following up the amazing triple threat. Jacy Jayne defended her NXT Women’s Championship against Jordynne Grace, with Fatal Influence and Blake Monroe all ringside.

NXT doesn’t get as much attention, being the developmental show. It was obvious when Michael Cole was roasted on X for completely missing Blake Monroe’s heel turn as she hit Jordynne Grace in the back to help Jacy Jayne retain.

For any of the fans unfamiliar with NXT’s product, Michael Cole ruined what should’ve been their biggest moment for their top superstar.

He’s supposed to be the G.O.A.T. of commentary and the voice of WWE. He’s practically a walking encyclopedia of the sport.

Blake Monroe wasn’t a footnote. She was the hottest NXT signing ever. This match was built for her heel turn.

Michael Cole didn’t botch the spot. He failed to prepare.

Iyo Sky gave Rhea Ripley the title shot just two weeks prior, and on the Raw before Evolution they didn’t even appear in the ring. Tiffany Stratton granting Trish Stratus a chance at the WWE Women’s Championship played out similarly. They got a second in ring segment on the go-home episode of SmackDown, and both women’s entrances were skipped.

The fatal four-way tag match was decided in those two weeks as well. Charlotte Flair got over with the help of Alexa Bliss, but it’s still one of the shortest builds on the card.

The weakest part of the card was the battle royal for a championship opportunity at Clash in Paris.

NXT tried its best to build it, with their last episode to Evolution closing out with a brawl between multiple competitors across all three WWE brands.

With the match being given the second-to-last slot on the card, many expected surprise entrants or bigger moments.

Stephanie Vaquer winning wasn’t a surprise. The problem came from how late in the show it was booked with no real twist, leading to some late disappointment before the main event reeled everyone back in.

The Ugly: Corporate Treatment

The Women’s Revolution isn’t new. Becky Lynch main evented WrestleMania with Ronda Rousey and Charlotte Flair in 2019.

The second Evolution wasn’t looking to start anything. It’s a testament to what had been built over the seven years since the first event.

Triple H might get it. He helped revolutionize women’s wrestling when he was running NXT.

Shawn Michaels definitely gets it. NXT’s women are always the highlight of the shows and often the main event these days.

The problem must be with TKO.

It’s not a problem exclusive to the women, though they suffer the most. Multiple premium events and crossovers are being held at a rapid-fire pace, leading to storylines being rushed or ignored altogether.

That’s no excuse for why Iyo Sky did not defend her title once after winning it at WrestleMania. She was hardly in the ring at all, and hadn’t wrestled since the May 12 episode of Raw.

That’s no excuse for why women struggle to get onto most PLE cards since the shift to 5 match events.

Tiffany Stratton’s story centers entirely on Jade Cargill as her SummerSlam opponent. Trish Stratus was 100% a random opponent just to get nostalgia on the card, something Triple H said they did not do when speaking during the press conference.

The Analysis

Evolution’s second event had been rumored for months before its announcement. There was plenty of time for feuds to be built and stories to be told. Instead, TKO jammed in the event in an already-stuffed weekend with two of their other events and AEW’s biggest PPV of the year, making it feel like an afterthought.

In the post-show press conference, Triple H spoke at length about Saturday Night Main Event and Goldberg’s retirement, taking focus away from the women. The worst part is that the press let him. The focus should have been fully on Evolution and the amazing show put on by the best women’s division in professional wrestling.

When he did return to speaking specifically about Evolution, he was hesitant to say it would become a regular event. But the more he spoke, the more invested he sounded in making the women a priority.

Evolution needs to become an annual event. The demand is there.

Moments after ending, Evolution was the number one trending topic on X, with over 223,000 posts.

Naomi. Iyo. Rhea. Lyra. Bianca. All trending.

It wasn’t one moment. It wasn’t one woman.

The WWE women’s division isn’t chasing the spotlight anymore. They are the spotlight.

They filled the arena with a Beyonce concert across the street. They took over the timeline. They carried the night.

They delivered. Again. Now it’s the WWE’s turn.

Cathy Kelley said it best on X:

“WOMEN.”