*** EVOLVE Wrestling DVD Reviews by Brad Dykens ***
July 23, 2010 – Union City, New Jersey
EVOLVE 4: Danielson vs. Fish
SINGLES MATCH
Jon Moxley (0-1) vs. Brodie Lee (1-1): My favorite indy wrestler these days is definitely Jon Moxley and you will soon learn that my praise for him is endless. I don’t really see what the big deal is about Brodie Lee, except that he’s enormous when compared to the average independent wrestler. The match was a five minute brawl until both men went to grab chairs and the referee ruled it a double disqualification. It looked like Moxley was surrendering to the referee’s threats, but Lee caught him off guard and kicked the chair right in his face! Moxley was upset that he tried to obey the rules and he ended up getting hurt by a chair.
FOURWAY MATCH
Drake Younger (1-0) vs. Ricochet (1-2) vs. Rich Swann (0-0) vs. Chris Dickinson (0-3): What kind of a name is “Chris Dickinson” for a pro-wrestler? Ricochet & Swann are deceptively good, and could really push the envelope if EVOLVE ever created a light-heavyweight division. Drake Younger was one of the stars of EVOLVE 3, where he debuted with an impressive victory over Jon Moxley. They’re calling it desperate times for Dickinson, whose career in EVOLVE might be in jeopardy if he suffered another loss. Dickinson had Ricochet in a submission, while Younger hit Swann with Drake’s Landing for the win! Dickinson felt he should have won because he made Ricochet tap out! He said he was tired of EVOLVE and its rules.
WSU CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH
Mercedes Martinez [c] (3-0) vs. Tina San Antonio (0-0): It made me happy to see my sweetie Tina San Antonio stepping into an EVOLVE ring, but it’s unfortunate that she had to endure a squash at the hands of the WSU champion. Martinez has been dominating the women’s matches in EVOLVE, beating several mid-card level girls, while challenging Amazing Kong to come in and face her. San Antonio barely got any offense in, and was finished off by Martinez’ trademark Fishermen’s Buster. After the match, Martinez said the biggest baddest bitch in wrestling has yet to answer her challenge. Then suddenly a video came up on the big screen of Amazing Kong accepting the challenge for September 11th!
SINGLES MATCH
Johnny Gargano (2-1) vs. Adam Cole (0-1): Adam Cole is getting a lot of buzz on the internet, earning the Wrestling Observer “rookie of the year” if I’m not mistaken. I haven’t seen much out of him, but my eyes are definitely open. I don’t normally like beefcake wrestlers. Johnny Gargano, on the other hand, has sparked my interest and earned my respect. I believe he will be a big star one day. Cole really impressed me here and I became a much bigger fan. There were a bunch of near falls at the end, but it was Cole who scored the pin with a quick roll-up to earn his first victory at EVOLVE. Gargano was shocked, but Cole praised him for giving a great match and said he was up for a rematch any time.
Jimmy Jacobs came out acting foolish, sarcastically applauding Gargano’s performance. Jimmy said “is it hot in here or is it just you Adam Cole?” Jimmy made a ‘Bradshaw in the shower’ comment and slapped Cole on the butt. Jimmy made fun of Gargano losing to Cole, implying Cole was a jobber. Cole took the mic and said if Jimmy doesn’t think he belongs at EVOLVE, why doesn’t he face him September 11th in New Jersey. Gargano taunted Jimmy, who refused to dignify the challenge with a response – instead bailing out of the ring and asking Cole to turn around so he can look at his ass. The match is booked.
TAG TEAM MATCH
Jigsaw & Hallowicked (1-0) vs. Aeroform (Flip Kendrick & Louis Lyndon) (2-1): Jigsaw & Hallowicked stepped up to the plate to represent their home promotion of Chikara. Aeroform are two more unique wrestlers who could help improve any legitimate light-heavyweight division in the world. If there is one thing I can say about EVOLVE, it’s that it is unpredictable. You never know for sure who is going to win, because I thought for sure Aeroform was going to win this one! The masked Chikara stars hit a series of crazy moves to defeat their opponents and earn another victory in EVOLVE.
SINGLES MATCH
Sami Callihan (1-0) vs. Arik Cannon: I feel bad for saying it every time I review an Arik Cannon match, but I really don’t enjoy his work. Sami Callihan has been gaining a lot of steam on the independent circuit, and somewhat resembles a young Rhino. The announcers mentioned that he used to be over 300 pounds and is now in the best shape of his life. He looks 100% fit with zero fat on him, so good job Sami Callihan. If they ever make another Flintstones movie, Sami should get the part of Bam Bam. It was a knock down drag out fight, almost a slobberknocker – you could call it a slugfest. Both men put on a strong performance in this hard fought contest. The fans were loving it, and were thrilled when Sami Callihan picked up the win and continued his winning ways and rise up the ladder of success.
TAG TEAM MATCH
Up In Smoke (Cheech & Cloudy) (1-0) vs. The Osirian Portal (Amasis & Ophidian) (1-0): Both teams are 1-0 looking for their second victory in EVOLVE tag team competition. The Osirian Portal has gotten a lot of publicity online lately for a viral video featuring them doing their infamous “hypnotizing” spot, where they hypnotize their opponents and make them do ridiculous things. I’ll admit that it is pretty entertaining, but the traditionalist in me is more than a little disgusted. I can’t see them pulling that crap in a serious company like EVOLVE. Both teams have pretty solid skill and good chemistry – which is most important for successful tag team wrestling. The Portal are perfect examples of why you shouldn’t judge a book by its cover. They look silly but work a pretty darn good match. It was the slightly more experienced Up In Smoke coming out on top and bettering their record to 2-0.
CHASING THE LEADER MATCH
Jimmy Jacobs (3-0) vs. Chuck Taylor (2-0): Another outstanding up-and-comer to the sport is Chuck Taylor. He’s seen his share of wrestling rings over the past few years and developed into a hot young prospect. Jimmy Jacobs has been a super star for the last six years and is as seasoned as a wrestler can get on the independent circuit. Jimmy is calling himself “the man to beat,” and it’s true because he is the veteran of the locker room right now. He is undefeated and hopefully will be the first EVOLVE champion whenever they decide to create that belt. Chuck is also undefeated, so they were fighting for the coveted top spot on the leaderboard. Midway through the match, Taylor did a dive over the guard rail onto Jacobs a few rows deep. The only thing hotter than the building was the action unfolding in the ring. The fans seemed to be in Taylor’s corner, but Jacobs had his hardcore followers in the house. Jimmy went for a top rope Contra-code, but it backfired, as Taylor avoided it and hit the Awful Waffle for one of the greatest victories of his career! Chuck is now 4-0, but officially 3-0 in EVOLVE, because his first win was a qualifying match. Chuck cut a promo after the match saying he was the face of EVOLVE wrestling now.
THE MAIN EVENT
Bryan Danielson (0-0) vs. “The Infamous” Bobby Fish (0-3): Bryan Danielson had a hand in the creation of EVOLVE, but signed with the WWE before the company ran its first show January 2010. Danielson was recently fired from WWE for violently choking the ring announcer with his own tie on television and making some advertisers nervous. The fans hilariously tossed tie’s into the ring during Bryan’s introduction, making fun of the ridiculous reason he was fired from the WWE. Bobby Fish is a great international talent, but has been booked into a horrible losing streak in EVOLVE. He has been shown talking to someone on the phone about trying to turn his career around. Fish was Danielson’s hand-picked opponent, obviously wanting to help Fish realize his potential. Danielson worked over Fish’s legs, trying to disable his arsenal of lethal kicks. Danielson was working a submission style match, hoping to force Fish tap out. Danielson connected with a picture perfect missile drop-kick off the top rope! He repeatedly kicked Fish’s legs out from under him. Fish miraculously made a come back and hit a diving head-butt off the top rope. Fish kept going, but ended up in another leg submission by Danielson. Fish rolled out of it and both men landed on the floor. They got back in the ring and circled for a moment before Danielson connected with a vicious kick to the head! Danielson hit a couple suplex’s and then locked in Cattle Mutilation right in the middle of the ring. Fish rolled out to escape, but then was annihilated by a series of elbows to the head until he was nearly unconscious. Danielson went for a pin, but Fish kicked out on pure instinct. Pretty intense. The match continued with both men exhausted. The fans began chanting THIS IS AWESOME! They began punching, spitting, kicking, slapping, and striking each other over and over. Danielson went back to focusing on Fish’s leg with yet another submission until Fish was forced to tap out to save his leg from snapping in two pieces! The fans chanted BEST IN THE WORLD in honor of “American Dragon” Bryan Danielson. Fish was frustrated, but the fans still chanted “Bobby! Bobby! Bobby!” Announcer Lenny Leonard interviewed Bryan Danielson after the match and congratulated him. Danielson praised the fans for supporting independent wrestling and helping him get to where he is today. Danielson said you can never rest on what you did in the past, and is looking forward to EVOLVE 5. Danielson challenged Japanese star Sawa to a match on September 11th! Danielson said he was going to the merchandise stand and will give free autographs and take pictures for free with anybody who wants one.
If you would like to purchase this or any other EVOLVE DVD
please check out the EVOLVE website at EVOLVEwrestling.com