EVOLVE — “Ibushi vs. Richards” — January 16th, 2010
DVD review by Roy Reynolds
royreynolds@4sternstaging.com
+ Taped live from the Rahway Recreational Center in Rahway, New Jersey.
– A camera crew zooms in on Kyle O’Reilly, who is throwing some strikes at a pair of kicking pads held by Tony Kozina. Davey Richards cuts off the camerawoman and tells her to get lost. The locker room is supposed to be private, but the camera people are trying to do their jobs. The camerawoman gets into a brief verbal debate with Davey, which Kozina finally breaks up. Kozina eventually convinces the camera crew to leave.
– Kota Ibushi and Michael Nakazawa are sitting down in chairs, discussing Ibushi’s upcoming match with Davey Richards. Both men were speaking in Japanese, but you could still sort of understand what they were saying by their body language and such.
– Clips of a few crew guys building up the EVOLVE ring are shown, as well as a few match highlights featuring EVOLVE talent from Dragon Gate USA and Full Impact Pro. Cool little highlight video.
– An interviewer asks various members of the EVOLVE roster why they chose to pursue a career in professional wrestling. Kyle O’Reilly says that wrestling is what he was born to do. TJP dreams of being in an 18×18 ring each night. Jimmy Jacobs loves entertaining people. Brad Allen wrestles for his mother. Munenori Sawa mentions something in Japanese. Chris Dickinson likes to fight. If Silas Young didn’t wrestle, he would be dead.
â— Kyle O’Reilly defeated Bobby Fish via pinfall with a tornado DDT/brainbuster combination – Fish and O’Reilly exchange strikes early and slowly work over one another’s arm. Kyle O’Reilly charges up and runs into a dropkick from Fish. Kyle quickly recharges and connects with an enziguri to the side of the head. O’Reilly misses a spear and falls to the outside of the ring. Bobby Fish cannonballs onto O’Reilly to the outside! Back inside of the ring, Fish connects with a diving headbutt from the top rope for two. Kyle and Bobby reverse one another’s holds until O’Reilly eventually wins the exchange. Beautiful rolling butterfly suplexes by O’Reilly. O’Reilly rolls Fish over for the count of two. Kyle and Bobby trade some heavy kicks. Fish locks in a vicious armbar, but Kyle O’Reilly successfully scrambles to the ropes. Fish and O’Reilly drill one another with some super stiff forearms. Kyle catches Fish with a suplex for two. Fish misses a moonsault and Kyle catches him with a superkick. Fish no sells the move and connects with a superkick of his own. O’Reilly takes Fish down with a lariat. O’Reilly nails a tornado DDT and hangs onto Fish. Kyle signals for a brainbuster, but Fish reverses the move into a Falcon Arrow for two. Buckle bomb by Fish! Bobby goes for a wheel kick, but O’Reilly lands another tornado DDT. This time, he nails a succeeding brainbuster for the three-count. Great opener that got the crowd hot early. O’Reilly definitely has a nice future ahead of him, that’s for sure. **¾.
â— Qualifying match: Chuck Taylor defeated Cheech via pinfall with the Awful Waffle – The winner of this match will become an official member of the EVOLVE roster. Cheech takes Taylor down early and connects with a springboard senton for two. Cheech tries submitting Chuck early, but Taylor manages to scramble to the ropes rather easily. Cheech charges into a big boot from Chuck. Chuck lands a headscissor, which knocks Cheech off of his feet. Taylor attempts a suplex, but Cheech rings his ears by clapping. Chuck lands a standing senton for a two-count. Cheech lands a moonsault, but that only gets two, as well. Chuck Taylor sets up for the Awful Waffle, but Cheech battles out of the predicament with some elbows. Small package by Cheech only gets two. Taylor falls victim to a series of kick variations from Cheech, but Chuck manages to kick out at the last second. Sole Food by Chuck connects! Chuck tries locking in his signature Boston crab variation, but Cheech fights. Instead, Chuck just goes for a jacknife pin. Two-count. Cheech tries catching Taylor with a maneuver, but he stumbles right into the Awful Waffle! This one’s over, people. A fun match for sure. It was more than obvious that Chuck was looking to impress in this match, as he even busted out a few new moves. **¾.
– Lenny Leonard enters the ring with Chuck Taylor and wants his thoughts on the match he just had with Cheech. Taylor finds it amusing that guys like Kyle O’Reilly and Ricochet did not need to wrestle in a qualifying match, while he did. Chuck promises to win every match from now on, just to make the guys in the back feel miserable for not allowing him to be on the main singles roster in the first place.
â— Ricochet defeated Arik Cannon via pinfall with a 630 senton – Ricochet and Cannon scramble through some quick chain wrestling. The first sequence spills out to the floor within a matter of seconds after Ricochet takes it to the air and dives onto Cannon. Cannon evades double knees and catches Ricochet with an exploder suplex into the turnbuckle. Man, I love this match already! Ricochet unsuccessfully goes for a few pinning combinations and Cannon connects with a spinning neckbreaker. Ricochet back flips, but Cannon connects with a right hand to the side of the head! Brainbuster! One, two, no! Ricochet charges back up. Cannon wastes no time to lose control of the match, though, and drills Ricochet with the Total Anarchy! Two-count. Cannon lays in some chops in the corner. Ricochet evades some strikes and kills Cannon with a flip piledriver. 540 kick connects, too. Ricochet sets up Cannon by the turnbuckle and nails a 630 senton for the victory. I truly loved this bout, but I wish it could have gone longer. Cannon was terrific in the powerhouse role, as was Ricochet in the high-flier spot. **½.
– Chuck Taylor comes out following the match. Taylor says that because he’s a boy from down South, he was never taught evolution. Those pages in his textbook were glued together. Chuck believes in a thing called creationism, and he’ll be creating a spot for himself in EVOLVE. Taylor challenges Ricochet to a match at the next EVOLVE show, which he eagerly accepts.
– Silas Young is telling Jimmy Jacobs some sort of drug overdose story backstage. An interviewer informs Jimmy Jacobs backstage that his match is coming up and that he should get ready. Jimmy does not take kindly to getting told what to do and storms off with a Marlboro fixed to his lips.
– Brad Allen is shown in the locker room area writing “MOM” and “MAC” on his wrist tape in permanent marker. For those who do not know Allen’s story, I believe his mother died in a car accident the day after he was offered a WWE contract.
â— Jon Davis and Kory Chavis [Dark City Fight Club] beat Flip Kendrick and Louis Lyndon [Aeroform] via pinfall after Davis and Chavis nailed Project Mayhem on Lyndon – Kendrick and Lyndon take down Davis with a double dropkick shortly after the bell. Kory goes for a lariat, but Aeroform takes him down with a dropkick combination, as well. Kendrick wipes out Jon Davis with a dive on the outside. Inside of the ring, Lyndon lands a palm strike on the stomach area of Chavis. Jump kick connects by Lyndon for a two-count. Louis Lyndon runs right into a clothesline by Chavis. Head Rush by DCFC on Kendrick. Flip Kendrick falls victim to a legdrop by Chavis. Dark City Fight Club connects with a double hip toss on Lyndon. Without making a tag, Kendrick takes down Davis and Chavis with some funky kick variations. Kendrick nails a moonsault senton for two on Davis. Lyndon sands Chavis to the outside, as he charges over the ropes. Lyndon looks for a suicide dive, but Davis blocks the aerial attack with a knee to the head. Lyndon backflips off of Davis onto Chavis to the outside! Cool spot. Kendrick spikes Davis with a DDT. Spiral Tap 540 connects by Kendrick! One, two, no! Chavis broke up the pin attempt at the last second. Davis checks Kendrick down with the Pounce! Project Mayhem connects on Louis Lyndon and that’s enough to get a three-count. Decent tag team match with Aeroform and DCFC both looking strong. There was a little miscommunication in the beginning, but the finish was strong. **¾.
â— Mercedes Martinez defeated Niya via pinfall with a fisherman buster – Niya gets taken down by the hair with a snapmare and Martinez rocks her in the back and in the midsection with a series of kicks. Martinez nails Niya in the corner with a forearm and a Yakuza kick. Mercedes connects a few suplexes and finishes with a big German. Fisherman buster from Mercedes Martinez connects for the win. A squash match, but an entertaining one with Martinez definitely looking like a dominating force in EVOLVE’s upcoming women’s division. DUD.
– Mercedes Martinez responds to Lenny Leonard on the microphone by saying that she can hit harder than not only most of the girl wrestlers, but most of the guys, too. Martinez wants more competition because she is ready to evolve.
â— Brad Allen defeated Silas Young via pinfall with a spinning side slam – Brad Allen goes to dropkick Silas Young out of the ring with a dropkick, but Young’s feet get caught in the ropes. Allen kicks Silas again, though, and he goes tumbling to the floor. Allen hits the ropes and levels Young with a somersault senton on the outside. Allen misses a crossbody, but quickly follows things up with a springboard corkscrew senton for two. Allen locks Young’s head and drives some knees. Silas Young drags Brad Allen beyond the bottom rope and destroys him with a DDT to the floor! Silas goes for a cover inside of the ring, but only gets two. Young drops a knee to the head of Allen, but he gets another two-count. Silas lands a standing lariat, but Allen gets his right shoulder up at two. Allen catches Young with a running neckbreaker, which puts both guys down and out on the mat. Brad Allen catches Silas Young with a Side Effect, as well as a springboard somersault senton into the ring for the count of two. Young looks to backflip out of one of Allen’s holds, but he catches the ropes on his way down. Allen climbs to the ropes and moonsaults to the outside, catching Young with his feet and his face with the floor! That looked brutal, to say the least. Allen somehow manages to crawl back into the ring at the count of nineteen. Young locks in a deep cover, but Allen kicks out. Silas tells Allen to give up and slaps and kicks him across the face a few times. Young nails a backbreaker, as well as a lariat. Two-count. Young goes for the Peegee Waja Plunge, but Allen rolls out of the way. Spinning crossbody by Allen connects for two. Young goes for the Peegee Waja Plunge again, but Allen catches him on the top rope and pins him with a spinning side slam for the pinfall victory. This was an absolutely insane match. Both men definitely deserve credit where it’s due, especially Brad Allen. The thud of Allen’s skull hitting the floor was absolutely disgusting. Allen’s tenaciousness of wanting to continue the fight was a great story, even if it was not intentional. ***.
– Brad Allen thanks the management of EVOLVE, as well as the fans for giving him the opportunity to live his dream of wrestling on the East Coast for the first time in his career. Some people cheer Allen on, while others boo him. If it were not for guys like Silas Young, Brad Allen explains that he would never be able to evolve. Before leaving, Allen issues a challenge to Chris Hero for a match at the next show.
– Jimmy Jacobs grabs a microphone inside the ring before his upcoming match with Kenn Doane. Jacobs is happy to be wrestling once again. He is willing to die for all of his fans, and if people are going to hate him, then so be it. Jimmy calls himself a “survivor” that had to crawl and tear for everything he got in the wrestling business. On the other hand, Kenn Doane was given everything. By the end of tonight, Jacobs promises to make Doane wish that he was back in a cheerleader uniform once again.
â— Kenn Doane defeated Jimmy Jacobs via pinfall with a top rope leg drop – Jacobs stomps away at Kenn Doane in the corner. Doane goes for a suplex in the center of the ring, but Jacobs reverses the attempt into a small package for two. Jacobs shrugs off Kenn’s strikes and takes the big man down with a hard lariat. Jimmy goes for the End Time early, but Doane lifts him over the top rope. Doane goes for a spear through the middle rope, but Jimmy dodges the attack. Jimmy goes for a baseball slide, but Doane coils Jacobs in the ring apron and pummels away at him. I wonder if he learned that one from Finlay. Doane goes for a cover inside of the ring, but Jacobs gets the shoulder up at one. Doane drops an elbow, but misses. Jimmy Jacobs nails Doane with a chinbreaker. Doane nails a slingshot knee drop into the ring for two. The fans give Doane some crap for continuing to go to a chinlock, but Kenn smartly takes it in for some extra heel heat. Doane knocks Jacobs down multiple times, but Jimmy keeps on Hulking up. Jacobs with repeated double stomps and an elbow for two. Jacobs goes for the End Time, but Doane drops him down with a spinebuster for two. Rope-assisted DDT for two from Jimmy Jacobs. Contra Code is reversed into a bridging German suplex for the count of two. Doane nails a top rope leg drop for the three-count. The crowd heckles the referee, though, as Jimmy’s leg was on the bottom rope.
– Wait one second now. Tommy Dreamer is here! Dreamer comes out to a nice ovation and explains to the referee that the match should be restarted, as Jimmy Jacobs’ leg was on the bottom rope all along. Kenn Doane cannot believe what is happening.
â— Jimmy Jacobs defeated Kenn Doane via submission with the End Time – Jimmy Jacobs immediately leaps onto Kenn Doane and clamps on the End Time. Doane tries battling out of the choke, but Jacobs rolls through and pulls down on Kenn’s throat even harder. Eventually, Doane has no other choice but to tap out. Your official winner of the match is Jimmy Jacobs. Up to this point, my favorite match on the entire DVD. Jimmy Jacobs is just as great as he has ever been, maybe even better. Kenn Doane also looked real solid in the ring and put on arguably his best match since leaving the WWE (from what I’ve seen, anyways). It certainly wouldn’t surprise me if the WWE tries going after Doane some time again in the near-future because he’s still young and has plenty of potential. ***.
– Following the match, Tommy Dreamer confronts Jimmy Jacobs in the ring with a microphone in hand. Dreamer thanks everyone in the back, as well as the fans for allowing him to continue living his dream of wrestling. Dreamer looks to head out of the ring, but Jimmy Jacobs cuts him off. Jacobs thanks Tommy for plugging EVOLVE on his Twitter page, but is not thankful for helping him win his match with Kenn Doane. Jimmy explains that he does not need help from anybody, especially a guy like Tommy Dreamer. Jimmy cuts one hell of a heel promo on Dreamer, but it only results in him getting planted with a DDT.
– Backstage, Davey Richards is seen taking some shots in on a pair of kicking pads being held by Tony Kozina. Meanwhile, Kota Ibushi stretches out on the floor while talking to Michael Nakazawa.
– Kenn Doane angrily exits the Rahway Recreational Center, calling EVOLVE a terrible place to work in the process.
â— Johnny Gargano defeated Chris Dickinson via pinfall with the Hertz Donut – Dickinson works over the midsection of Gargano early with a series of hard strikes. Gargano fights back by drilling Dickinson in the side of the head with an enziguri. Dickinson catches Gargano in the ropes and nails some roundhouse kicks in on the chest of Johnny. Dickinson runs towards Gargano, but gets caught with a spear through the middle rope. Johnny Gargano with a cutter and roll-up for two. Dickinson drops Gargano down hard on his knee for a gutbuster. Johnny Gargano gets into a strike battle with Chris Dickinson, but the whole sequence results in Gargano spitting in Dickinson’s face. Furious with what just happened, Dickinson kicks Gargano hard in the side of the head. Gargano lands a superkick, but Dickinson uses the move recoil for momentum into a running lariat! Johnny Gargano catches Dickinson with a pair of knees, but Gargano eats a boot in the opposite corner. Falcon Arrow by Dickinson gets two. Springboard elbow drop by Chris Dickinson only gets two, as well. Gargano evades a knee strike and follows things up with a DDT. Johnny tosses Dickinson into the middle rope and drops him down with the Hertz Donut. One, two, three. Yet another really fine bout. I am a big Johnny Gargano fan, but this is the first time I have ever seen Chris Dickinson in action. Dickinson is an excellent striker and I’m looking forward of seeing more of the kid’s work in the future. **¾.
â— Munenori Sawa defeated TJP via submission with an octopus hold – Sawa slaps TJP across the face before the bell, and Perkins quickly retaliates with a slap of his own. Sawa takes Perkins down quickly with a German suplex. Sawa and TJP both evade one another’s strikes and wrestle to a stalemate. Sawa traps TJP in the corner and lays in a devastating kick to the midsection, sending him to the mat. Sawa works over TJP’s leg on the mat. TJP evades a Shining Wizard attempt from Sawa and locks in a cross arm breaker. After breaking the hold, TJP and Sawa exchange kicks and slaps. Sawa with a baseball punch, but TJP no sells, and the two knock one another out with roundhouse kicks. Sawa catches Sawa’s leg during a kick sequence and wrenches in an ankle lock. TJP escapes and goes back to the cross arm breaker, but Sawa manages to make it to the ropes. TJP takes Sawa down with the ’86er and Mega Buster. He then goes back to the cross arm breaker, but Sawa escapes rather easily. TJP blocks the first roundhouse kick, but Sawa takes him down with a 540 on the rebound. Shining Wizard by Sawa! Two-count. Sawa catches TJP with another kick and locks in an octopus hold. That’s enough to make TJP tap. This was another excellent match that was caught short for time. If Sawa and TJP were given about five more minutes, then this could have easily been a four star bout. ***½.
– Footage from earlier shows Adam Cole asking Tommy Dreamer for advice near the locker room area. Cole says that while he may not be a member of the EVOLVE roster at the moment, he is a name that you will not soon forget.
â— Mike Quackenbush, Hallowicked, and Frightmare [Team Frightning] beat Gran Akuma, Icarus, and Brodie Lee [Akuma’s Army] via pinfall when Hallowicked hit the Rydeen Bomb on Icarus – It should be noted that Jigsaw was originally scheduled to be in this match, but Frightmare substituted for him after Jigsaw was sidelined due to injury. Quackenbush and Icarus start things off in the ring. Quackenbush controls Icarus with a headlock and tags in Hallowicked. Team Frightning does a funky-looking triple team maneuver. In comes Brodie Lee to take on Hallowicked. Hallowicked nails a jump kick on Lee in the corner and tags in Frightmare. Lee also rolls out of the ring to bring in Gran Akuma. Akuma tries knocking Frightmare down with a suplex, but Frightmare counters with an armdrag. Icarus comes in after Akuma rolls under the bottom rope. Icarus with a pair of scoop slams on Frightmare. Akuma and Icarus working over Frightmare now like he’s a dummy. Frightmare catches Akuma with a victory roll for two. Lee jumps into the ring and powerbombs Frightmare down for a two-count. Akuma kicks and chops away at Frightmare in the corner. Lee sends Frightmare out of the ring with a vicious right hand. Lee brings Frightmare back in and goes for a cover on the little guy following a side slam. Frightmare takes Icarus out of the ring with a headscissor, but Akuma cuts him off before making a tag. Frightmare finally tags in Hallowicked. Go To Sleepy Hallow on Icarus. Black Hole Slam by Lee on Hallowicked. Quackenbush takes out everyone, leaving him and Icarus in the ring together. Inverted lungblower by Akuma on Frightmare for two. Quackenbush catches Akuma on the top rope with a hurricanrana. Senton by Quackenbush on Akuma, which is followed up with the Kneecolepsy from Frightmare. Icarus with the Blu-ray on Quack! Big boot by Hallowicked! Big boot by Brodie! Frightmare breaks up the cover at two. Tornado DDT by Frightmare on Lee. Frightmare takes out Akuma with a dive to the outside! Quackenbush with a tope atomico on Lee! Icarus looks for the Blu-ray again, but Hallowicked catches him with the Rydeen Bomb. One, two, three. Good match with everyone involved looking like they had done their jobs. ***¼.
– Mike Quackenbush is interviewed by Lenny Leonard following the six-man bout. Quackenbush says that he is feeling about seventy-five percent after a recent back surgery, but that’s enough to get the job done. He calls multiple-man matches his “science” and wants a four-corners elimination match on the next show.
– TJP is shown backstage with the EVOLVE documentary girl. The girl seems to be tending and flirting with TJP until she notices that the cameras were on the both of them. The documentary woman yells at the crew to find Silas Young.
â— Davey Richards defeated Kota Ibushi via submission with a Kimura – Richards and Ibushi go nuts at the sound of the bell, throwing kicks and slaps. Richards teases a dive, but Ibushi actually nails one within the first thirty seconds of the main event match. Ibushi and Richards battle on the apron until Davey drives Kota’s arm down onto it. Richards kicks away at the arm inside of the ring and begins working over the body part like a mad man. Richards locks in a Kimura, but Ibushi rolls over to avoid further potential damage. Davey comes off the top rope with Ibushi’s arm and locks in a Fujiwara armbar. Kota slaps Davey a few times in the face, but Richards no sells and kicks Ibushi down with a spinning side kick to the gut. Davey goes for a cross arm breaker, but Kota scrambles to the ropes. Davey absolutely rocks Kota with a roundhouse kick to the side of the head. Ibushi jumps back up and back flip kicks Richards on the top rope. Ibushi takes out Richards on the outside with an amazing moonsault from the top rope! Ibushi with a sequences of hard kicks for two. Ibushi nails a standing moonsault for two, as well. Davey sends Kota to the mat with a missile dropkick. Damage Reflex! Two-count. Richards lights up Ibushi with some hard chops on the top rope. Superplex by Richards! Ibushi no sells and the two trade kicks. German suplex by Ibushi gets two! Double moonsault! One, two, no! Kota with a big powerbomb for two. Richards catches Ibushi on the top rope and takes him down with a sick suplex. Backdrop suplex by Richards! Two-count. Ibushi gets caught in the Kimura, but he transitions the hold into a roll-up. Davey with a lariat! Crowd is on fire right now. Richards and Ibushi exchange forearms, kicks, and chops. Alarm Clock busts Ibushi open! DR Driver! Two-count. Phoenix Splash misses and Richards nails a dropkick to the arm. Shooting star press by Richards! Kimura! Davey forearms Ibushi in the back of the head and goes back to the Kimura. Eventually, Ibushi has no other choice but to tap. An early MOTYC for sure and easily the best match on the DVD. While the no selling was a bit much at times, Ibushi and Richards made sense of what they were doing. For those who are wondering, this was a tad bit better than Kota and Davey’s first confrontation together in Ring of Honor. ****¼.
– Backstage, Brad Allen explains how when he finally achieved his dream in wrestling by signing a WWE contract, his mother was killed in a car accident. With his mother’s help and guardianship, Allen was able to win his match against Silas Young tonight.
– Johnny Gargano, Jimmy Jacobs, and Silas Young are shown leaving the Rahway Recreational Center with “Doctor” Sean Davis. Davis promises everyone that they are going to have fun partying tonight and such. Young tells Davis that he is not into doing that sort of stuff anymore. Eventually, Davis convinces Young to go with them. As they are walking to a car, though, Young’s cell phone rings. Caller ID shows that Young’s wife is calling him.
I highly recommend purchasing the debut show of EVOLVE. There is nothing like EVOLVE in wrestling at the moment and I legitimately have not enjoyed watching a wrestling event on DVD more than “Ibushi vs. Richards” in quite some time.
Not only were any of the matches lackluster, but the documentary and interview bits added a perfect touch to the show. In the process, wrestling fans are also being introduced to several new talented athletes, such as Kyle O’Reilly and Brad Allen. I feel strongly that a large portion of the wrestlers being featured in EVOLVE are going to make up the future of professional wrestling in years to come.
