Evolve 39, live from the San Jose Fairgrounds in San Jose, California.
Match #1
Timothy Thatcher vs. Drew Gulak
The match started a little late for me due to issues with the WWN Live feed, but my end of the action starts with Gulak catching Thatcher with a German suplex before transitioning to an arm bar. Thatcher gets to the ropes to break the hold and Gulak continues working over the arm, Thatcher goes for an arm bar on Gulak and Gulak quickly grabs the ropes. Gulak regains control and he applies the ankle lock to Thatcher, Thatcher tries to power out before getting to the ropes.
Gulak tries to get back on top of Thatcher and Thatcher gets him down, Thatcher tries diligently to get an arm bar of his own on Gulak. Gulak does his best to escape and Thatcher holds him on the ground, Gulak eventually reaches the ropes to force Thatcher to let go of his arm. Gulak quickly latches onto the leg of Thatcher and he looks for a figure seven ankle lock, Thatcher counters by doing the same move to the free leg of Gulak. Gulak must be feeling more pain because he goes for the ropes first, Thatcher takes Gulak down with a judo throw before attempting a kimura. Gulak finds a way to stand while in the hold before reaching for the ropes, Thatcher gets a near fall after a suplex on Gulak.
Thatcher holds Gulak down before attempting an arm bar, Gulak breaks free and he locks Thatcher in an arm bar of his own. Thatcher breaks free and he picks up Gulak before slamming him back on the ground for a near fall, Thatcher shows his strength by carrying Gulak around the ring before landing a dead lift suplex. Thatcher backs Gulak in the corner to assault him with a few European uppercuts, Thatcher puts Gulak on the top rope to go for the Tower Of McGuinness. Gulak breaks free before catching Thatcher with a top rope shoulder block, Gulak is the first to his feet and Thatcher winds up catching Gulak in another ankle lock.
Gulak stands to break the hold and he catches Thatcher in an arm bar before transitioning to an ankle lock, Thatcher breaks free and looks for the arm bar. Gulak counters with a roll up for the three count.
Winner: Drew Gulak
Match #2
Tommy End vs. Biff Busick
The match kicks off with End attacking Busick with a few kicks, Busick counters one of those kicks to trip End and twist his leg a little bit. End gets up and locks up with Busick, but Busick shows his speen by catching End with a roll up for a near fall. End will gain a little edge with he catches Busick in a wrist lock, Busick breaks free to create a little space and check on his wrist. They lock up again and End uses a hip toss to take down Busick and work over his arm, End backs Busick in the corner and the referee separates them.
Busick is quick to whip End in the opposite corner before exchanging a few roll ups, End then catches a charging Busick with a kick to the midsection. Busick tries fighting back with a European uppercut and End halts his momentum by kicking him in the face, End then hits Busick with a knee to the rib cage before catching a near fall on him. End walks around Busick before deciding to just kick him in the face once more, Busick tries fighting back and End kicks him in the face once more.
The wrestlers reverse a few holds before Busick puts End down with a hard clothes line for the near fall, Busick misses a second rope dive and End makes him pay with a running knee strike to the face. End misses a top rope double stomp, but he catches a still hurt Busick with a few kicks. Busick tries fighting back again and End kicks him in the head again for the two count, Busick blocks a suplex and End catches him with another kick to the rib cage for another near fall.
End misses a running strike and Busick catches him in a modified rear naked choke and End passes out after a long struggle.
Winner: Biff Busick
After the match, Biff Busick grabs the microphone and says he will beat Chris Hero tomorrow night like he defeated Tommy Endtonight because Hero fears Busick.
Prior to the match, Ethan Page grabs the microphone and he thanks Johnny Gargano for getting him into the WWN Live shows.
Match #3
Ethan Page vs. Chris Hero
The match starts off with a gentlemanly handshake between the competitors, Hero gets the early edge as he works over the arm of Page. Page uses his speed to grab an arm on Hero and wrenching it behind his back, Hero shows his wrestling prowess as he exchanges holds with Page. Page tries taking Hero down with some shoulder blocks and Hero stands tall, Hero then fools Page by catching him with a running knee strike. Page recovers quickly to take Hero down for a near fall before locking him in a kravat, Hero breaks free and he catches Page with a boot to the midsection.
Hero sends Page to the corner before assaulting him with a few chops, Hero stops chopping Page to just kick him in the head. Page eats a few more chops from Hero before returning fire, Page tosses Hero in the corner before nailing him with a flurry of punches. Hero is quick to respond by dropping Page with a boot to the face, Hero stands over Page before hitting Page with a few more boots to the head. Hero gets a near fall after hitting Page with a senton bomb, Hero continues working over Page by catching him with an inverted jaw breaker and running drop kick.
Page attempts to fight back and Hero knocks him to the arena floor with a single elbow strike, Hero follows Page to the floor to continue attacking him with elbow strikes. Hero brings Page into the ring, Hero looks for another senton and Page gets his knees up before rolling Hero up for a two count. Page then eats a big boot from Hero, Page recovers in time though to catch Hero with a modified suplex. Page starts making his comeback by hitting Hero with a clothes line and back body drop, Page gets the two count after hitting Hero with a sit out power bomb.
Page drops Hero to the arena floor after nailing him with an inzaguri, Page then catches Hero with a suicide dive. Page sends Hero in the ring before hitting him with a springboard ace crusher, Hero quickly pops up to catch Page with a power bomb for a two count. Page slows Hero down with a boot to the face and then a leaping inzaguri for the two count, Hero tries to get a little time before catching an unsuspecting Page with a pair of big kicks to the face for another near fall.
Hero gets tossed into the corner before hitting Hero with an elbow strike, Hero goes for the moonsault and Page catches him on the way down with an ace crusher for a near fall. Page looks for his finisher and Hero pops him with an elbow strike, Hero then hits a kicking Page with a knee strike and elbow strike to the head. Hero picks up Page to plow him with a roaring elbow for the three count.
Winner: Chris Hero
After the match, Hero grabs the microphone and he addresses what Biff Busick said earlier. Hero says that he is not afraid of Busick because he will knock Biff out before he gets choked out. Busick comes to the ring and he gets the microphone from Hero, Busick says Hero is afraid of him and he is afraid of his choke hold. Busick then says that he will allow Hero to crack him with an elbow strike for free, Timothy Thatcher comes to the ring to check out the activities for himself. Hero says he will not hit him tonightbecause he will kick his ass tomorrow, Hero tries attacking Busick and Busick almost catches him in a choke. Hero winds up escaping and Busick grabs the microphone once more to say that Hero is a dead man, Busick turns to have a staredown with Thatcher.
Match #4
Six Man Tag Team Match
The Premier Athlete Brand (Caleb Konley, Brian Cage & TJ Perkins) w/So Cal Val & Andrea vs. Rich Swann, Ricochet & Uhaa Nation
This bout begins with Swann and Konley representing their respective teams in the ring, Swann tries to get in the head of Konley by doing a little dance number in the ring. Konley gets the early edge by dropping Swann with a shoulder tackle, Swann recovers by dropping Konley with a standing drop kick after a few reversals by both men. Cage tags in and Nations gets the tag as well, each team's biggest members test their strength against each other. Nation walks away with a moral win after clobbering Cage with a drop kick, Cage recovers well by catching a kneeling Nation with a flat liner.
Nation avoids a few clothes lines from Cage before nailing him with a big boot, Cage recovers by nailing Nation with a 619. Ricochet and Perkins tag in and Ricochet takes Perkins down with a head scissors, Perkins drops Ricochet with a head scissors of his own before knocking him out of the ring. Ricochet folls Perkins by quickly getting back in the ring to smash his face on the canvas, Nation tags in and he drops Perkins with a clothes line. Swann and Ricochet team up to attack Perkins with a series of kicks, Swann is the legal man and he exchanges blows with Perkins.
Nation and Cage come to the ring to confront each other, each wrestler takes turns attacking the other members of their teams. Swann looks for a dive and Perkins catches him with an assisted eat defeat, Perkins works over Swann with a few suplexes. Perkins brings Swann to the corner before Cage tags himself in, Swann tries attacking Cage and Cage nails him with a back breaker. Konley tags in and Swann gets destroyed with a triple team maneuver, Konley slows things down by locking Swann in the chin lock. Swann tries to build some momentum and Konley slows him down again with a fore arm strike that is followed by a back body drop.
Cage tags back in and he wears down Swann with a standing moonsault press, Cage again slows the action down with a chin lock on Swann. Perkins tags in and he puts Swann in the corner before nailing him with a running clothes line, Perkins locks Swann in a modified abdominal stretch. Perkins gets the near fall before tagging Cage back in, Cage brings Swann to the corner before hitting him with a few chops. Swann makes his comeback after nailing Cage with a trio of super kicks, Swann tags in Ricochet and Ricochet takes out his opposition quickly.
Cage quickly drops a flying Ricochet with a standing shoulder tackle, Nation tags in and he drops Cage with a few quick maneuvers. Nation then clobbers Cage with a leaping elbow and a German suplex, Cage avoids an inzaguri before hitting Nation with a wheel barrow slam. Konley tags in and he dropkicks Nation into the turnbuckles, Nation then catches a flying Konley with a Samoan drop for a near fall. Konley hits Nation with a few strikes before dropping him with a back cracker, Swann tags in and he nails Konley with a back heel kick and then rolling thunder.
Konley recovers by catching Swann with a flapjack slam before locking him in the O-Face submission, Ricochet breaks up the submission attempt. Ricochet, Swann and Nation do stereo suicide dives on The Premier Athlete brand after they were all knocked out of the ring. Swann brings Konley back into the ring before Perkins gets the tag, Swann hits both Perkins and Konley with stereo ace crushers. Perkins is then hit with a series of triple team maneuvers, Swann and Nation hit Perkins with a double team wheel barrow DDT for the near fall. All six competitors take each other out for a few near falls, Ricochet then hits a swinging Cage with a 360 inzaguri. Ricochet knocks Cage out of the ring before catching him with a suicide dive, Perkins accidentally nails Konley. Nation hits Konley with the Uhaa Combination for the three count.
Winners: Uhaa Nation, Rich Swann & Ricochet
After the match, Andrea nails Swann and Nation with low blows that allows Cage to dispose of Nation and Ricochet. Konley then cracks Swann with his title belt. So Cal Val argues with Perkins and Perkins walks away in disgust.
Match #5
Dragon Gate USA Open The Freedom Gate Title Match
Johnny Gargano (Champion) w/Ethan Page vs. AR Fox
The match begins with Gargano and Fox going through a few reversals and holds, Gargano drops Fox and he starts working over his arms. Gargano applies a few head locks to Fox before dropping him with a shoulder tackle, Gargano looks for the Gargano Escape early and Fox avoids it. The wrestlers exchange slaps before Fox cracks Gargano with a kick to the face, Fox then hits Gargano with a springboard bull dog. Gargano tries escaping to the floor and Fox follows him out there, Gargano nails Fox with a few chops as he drags him around ringside.
Fox catches Gargano with a modified 619 as Gargano tried throwing him back into the ring, Fox then takes out both Gargano and Page with a suicide dive. Fox takes his chance to chop Gargano as he drags him around the ringside area, Fox tries getting fancy and Gargano makes him pay with a super kick. Gargano then catches Fox with a tornado DDT on the arena floor, Gargano finally brings Fox back into the ring for a near fall. Gargano takes a shot at Fox by catching him in the back of the head with a running drop kick, Gargano follows that up by catching Fox with a double knee strike to the rib cage.
Fox tries fighting back and Gargano slows him down with chips in the corner, Gargano trips up Fox before locking him in a modified Texas cloverleaf. Gargano releases the hold before manipulating the wrist of Fox, Gargano attempts a few rollups before catching Fox with a rolling kick to the head. Gargano brings Fox to the corner while catching him with a few punches, Fox makes the comeback after nailing Gargano with a springboard drop kick. Fox continues his beat down on Gargano by nailing him with a few clothes lines and a rope assisted neck breaker.
Fox gets Gargano on his shoulders, Gargano escapes to the ring apron and Fox knocks him to the arena floor with a super kick. Fox misses his dive and Gargano makes him pay with a super kick from the ring apron, Gargano then takes Fox out with a suicide dive of his own. Gargano brings Fox back into the ring before hitting Fox with a rope assisted DDT for a near fall, Fox counters a Hurts Donut attempt with a roll up and then a springboard ace crusher. Fox gets a near fall on Gargano after landing a swanton bomb, Fox stares down Page before missing a 450 splash. Gargano then catches Fox with a double stomped that is followed by a sit out power bomb for a two count.
The wrestlers are on their knees in the middle of the ring and the exchange of forearm strikes takes place, the wrestlers get to their feet and continue exchanging blows. Fox gets the upper hand by landing an inzaguri. Gargano recovers by nailing Fox with a trio of moves that concludes with a discus lariat, Fox eventually drapes Gargano along the middle rope before diving onto his back. Fox then misses his guillotine leg drop and stumbles to the arena floor, Gargano nails Fox with a suicide dive that breaks the ringside barriers a half. Gargano hurt his knee on the dive after he wound up in the crowd, Gargano recovers enough to toss Fox into the ring.
Gargano goes for his springboard spear and Fox kicks him in the head, Fox then hits Gargano with a Canadian destroyer for the near fall. Fox then places Gargano on the top turnbuckle and Gargano avoids whatever move he was going for, Gargano then propels Fox into the middle turnbuckle twice for the near fall. Gargano picks up Fox and he places him on the top rope, Gargano sets up for a move and Fox escapes to catch Gargano with a one man Spanish fly. Fox goes back up to catch Gargano with a 450 splash for a two count, Fox waits for Gargano to stand before nailing him with a pair of running kicks to the face. Fox gets trapped in the ropes and Gargano cracks him with a super kick,
Gargano puts Fox on the top rope to catch him with a top rope Hurts Donut. Gargano instantly applies the Gargano Escape and Fox taps out.
Winner: Johnny Gargano, still your Dragon Gate USA Open The Freedom Gate Champion
After the match, Lacey interview Johnny Gargano, who says that his knee is badly hurt and he will be watching Galloway defend the title next. Gargano said that he wants Galloway to retain his belt so he can defeat him and lead WWN Live into the future.
Main Event
Evolve Championship Match
Drew Galloway (Champion) vs. PJ Black
The main event kicks off with a gentlemanly handshake that turns into a sneak attack attempt by both men, Galloway locks up with Black and he holds him against the turnbuckles. Black goes to the top rope before catching Galloway with a leaping arm drag, Black uses his speed to catch Galloway with a roll up for a two count. Galloway grabs a hold of Black and he uses his power to slam Black a few times, Black eventually tosses Galloway out of the ring. Galloway quickly returns to the ring and Black gets clobbered with a clothes line, Galloway gets a near fall before attacking Black with some chops.
Black gets angry and he assaults Galloway with a plethora of chops and a leg kick, Black's momentum is cut short when Galloway catches him with another clothes line. Galloway wraps Black in the ropes before pounding on his chest with fore arm strikes, Galloway catches Black with a double under hook suplex for a near fall. Black uses his speed again to catch Galloway with a guillotine choke, Galloway breaks free by placing Black on top rope before knocking him to the arena floor with a chop.
Galloway follows Black to the arena floor and Black propels him into the crowd, Black then dives off the ringside barrier onto Galloway. Black tosses Galloway back over the barricade before nailing him with forearm strikes, Galloway responds by catching a running Black with a back body drop on the arena floor. Galloway brings Black back into the ring and the two exchange blows when Galloway returns to the ring.
Galloway drops Black with a punch before choking him in the corner, Galloway continues punishing Black by nailing him with a suplex. Galloway gets the near fall before applying a modified cross face on Black, Black tries moving to safety and Galloway kicks him in the face for his efforts. Galloway starts stomping on the ankle of Black to slow him down, Black uses a springboard head scissors to knock Galloway out of the ring.
Black follows that up by nailing Galloway with a pair of suicide dives, Black brings Galloway into the ring and quickly knocks him back out before landing a few more suicide dives.
Black throws Galloway into the ring before going to the top rope, Galloway quickly trips up Black to crotch him on the top rope. Galloway looks for a superplex before Black trips him up, Black causes Galloway to get caught up in the ropes. Black then lands a top rope double stomp on Galloway, Black goes back to the top rope with Galloway still tangled in the ropes. Galloway grabs a hold of Black and he propels him to the ground with a rope assisted German suplex. The wrestlers meet in the middle of the ring to trade strikes, Galloway then clobbers Black with an inverted Alabama slam for the near fall.
Galloway drops Black along the top turnbuckle before assaulting him with a running kick, Black is quick to recover before nailing Galloway with a trio of super kicks. Black follows that near fall up by hitting Galloway with a tornado DDT, Black then catches Galloway with a rope assisted tornado DDT. Black escapes the grip of Galloway to hit him with a springboard side kick, Galloway gets his feet up on a Black moonsault attempt. Galloway gets another near fall after crushing Black with a pile driver, Galloway brings Black back to the top rope. Galloway crushes Black with a middle rope air raid crash for another near fall, Black gets up to just slap Galloway. Galloway responds by laying out Black with a double under hook DDT for the three count.
Winner: Drew Galloway, still your Evolve Champion
After the match, Lacey asks Drew about his match with Johnny Gargano on Saturday Night, Drew first thanks Black for the match they just had. Galloway puts over the wrestlers and how they must always prove themselves, Galloway says that he will continue to bust his ass for all the fans out there. Galloway says that the fans should support shows like Evolve and the week should not be Wrestlemania Week, but simply Wrestle Week. Galloway then says that he respects Gargano, but he has beaten far better competition that Gargano has and he will take the gold from him on Saturday Night to become the best in the world. Gargano comes to the ring with his title belt in hand, the two champions have a staredown and exchange some words. The talk turns physical and a bunch of wrestlers hit the ring to separate everybody.
Source: PWInsider
