Thought I’d take a look at the Evolve 9 card, which airs this Tuesday on iPPV. If you haven’t already signed up for an account, please do so by clicking here! You’ll be supporting Two Spot Monkeys in the process!
Here’s the card, with my thoughts and predictions, from the bottom to the top, as listed by EvolveWrestling.com!
Opportunity Knocks
Eric Ryan (0-0) vs. Bobby Beverly (0-0)
Eric Ryan (0-0) vs. Bobby Beverly (0-0)
I know absolutely nothing about either Ryan or Beverly, so I went and found a MV that Ryan put together of a match they had with each other back in January. Good stuff, and since they know each other, this should be good. I was more impressed with Beverly, so I’m going to go with him, though obviously, this could go either way. A good showing by one or both of these men would probably lead to more bookings in Evolve…and you never know when DGUSA might come calling as well.
Special Challenge Match #3
Silas Young (2-1) vs. Sugar Dunkerton (0-0)
Silas Young (2-1) vs. Sugar Dunkerton (0-0)
Young is a guy who I think should be a featured player in Evolve, he’s got all the skills. He’s 2-1, winning matches against Drake Younger and Tony Nese, and losing to Brad Allen back on the first show. Dunkerton is a good comedy guy, who also isn’t all that bad on the mat either, he is making his Evolve debut. That being said, I don’t see a comedy guy going too far in Evolve, and again, Young should be in the mix at the top if you ask me. So, Young has to get the win here, unless there is some sort of angle with Larry Dallas and his crew that causes the loss.
Special Challenge Match #2
Tony Nese (0-2) vs. John Silver (0-0)
Nese looked good in his matchup with Young back at Evolve 7. He came up on the short end, and also lost in a Four Way at the Evolve 6 show, losing to AR Fox. Rich Swann & Scott Reed were also in that one. Nese also lost in the first round of the Style Battle Tournament to Jon Davis, but records were not counted at that show. Silver is a newcomer to Evolve who again, I don’t know a thing about, so I went and did some YouTube research and was somewhat impressed with what I saw. Both guys need a win, as you’d think 0-3 for Nese would possibly mean no more room for him in Evolve, and Silver needs to impress. I actually think Silver could get the win here. Hope both guys look good though.
Tony Nese (0-2) vs. John Silver (0-0)
Nese looked good in his matchup with Young back at Evolve 7. He came up on the short end, and also lost in a Four Way at the Evolve 6 show, losing to AR Fox. Rich Swann & Scott Reed were also in that one. Nese also lost in the first round of the Style Battle Tournament to Jon Davis, but records were not counted at that show. Silver is a newcomer to Evolve who again, I don’t know a thing about, so I went and did some YouTube research and was somewhat impressed with what I saw. Both guys need a win, as you’d think 0-3 for Nese would possibly mean no more room for him in Evolve, and Silver needs to impress. I actually think Silver could get the win here. Hope both guys look good though.
Special Challenge Match #1
Shiima Xion (1-0) vs. Pinkie Sanchez (0-0)
Shiima Xion broke on the scene in Evolve with an upset win over Jimmy Jacobs at Evolve 7. Sanchez doesn’t have a win on his record, but did win the Fray match at Evolve 8, to earn this booking. Xion was recently featured on TNA in the 4 way match with Low Ki, Austin Aries and Jack Evans, at the Destination X PPV, in easily the biggest match of his career. Sanchez is part of D.U.F. in DGUSA, so perhaps we’ll see Sami Callihan here? I see more in Xion as a singles competitor than Sanchez, so I’d expect another Xion win here in Evolve, moving to 2-0.
Shiima Xion (1-0) vs. Pinkie Sanchez (0-0)
Shiima Xion broke on the scene in Evolve with an upset win over Jimmy Jacobs at Evolve 7. Sanchez doesn’t have a win on his record, but did win the Fray match at Evolve 8, to earn this booking. Xion was recently featured on TNA in the 4 way match with Low Ki, Austin Aries and Jack Evans, at the Destination X PPV, in easily the biggest match of his career. Sanchez is part of D.U.F. in DGUSA, so perhaps we’ll see Sami Callihan here? I see more in Xion as a singles competitor than Sanchez, so I’d expect another Xion win here in Evolve, moving to 2-0.
Tag Team Challenge Match #2
Player Uno & Player Dos (0-1) vs. Facade & Jason Gory (0-1)
The Super Smash Bros. (Uno & Dos) lost to Cheech & Cloudy back at Evolve 6. I’ve always been a big fan of SSB, and wish they’d get a more prominent role in ROH, Evolve, DGUSA, somewhere! Façade & Gory lost to the Chikara Seigun team of Jigsaw & Frightmare at Evolve 7. So, both teams need a win to stay in contention. I’m a self admitted fan of the Super Smash Brothers, so if it’s me booking, I give them the win and start building them into a feud with whoever emerges from the eventual battle of Up in Smoke and Chikara Seigun for the right to be called the Tag Wins Leaders!
Player Uno & Player Dos (0-1) vs. Facade & Jason Gory (0-1)
The Super Smash Bros. (Uno & Dos) lost to Cheech & Cloudy back at Evolve 6. I’ve always been a big fan of SSB, and wish they’d get a more prominent role in ROH, Evolve, DGUSA, somewhere! Façade & Gory lost to the Chikara Seigun team of Jigsaw & Frightmare at Evolve 7. So, both teams need a win to stay in contention. I’m a self admitted fan of the Super Smash Brothers, so if it’s me booking, I give them the win and start building them into a feud with whoever emerges from the eventual battle of Up in Smoke and Chikara Seigun for the right to be called the Tag Wins Leaders!
Tag Team Challenge Match #1
Cheech & Cloudy (4-0) vs. Larry Dallas' Mystery Tag Team (0-0)
Hard to handicap this one without knowing who Dallas’ mystery team is, but I think whoever they are, Cheech & Cloudy get the win here to take a 2 win lead on Chikara Seigun, showing how important it is to stay healthy and not miss shows. Then Seigun gets a win next show, and at Evolve 11, they meet for the Tag Wins Lead.
Cheech & Cloudy (4-0) vs. Larry Dallas' Mystery Tag Team (0-0)
Hard to handicap this one without knowing who Dallas’ mystery team is, but I think whoever they are, Cheech & Cloudy get the win here to take a 2 win lead on Chikara Seigun, showing how important it is to stay healthy and not miss shows. Then Seigun gets a win next show, and at Evolve 11, they meet for the Tag Wins Lead.
In Need Of A Win
Bobby Fish (1-4) vs. Jon Davis (0-1)
This is one of the matches I am most looking forward to. Fish has been great on every single Evolve show he’s been on. Fish lost his first four matches in Evolve to Kyle O’Reilly, Claudio Castagnoli, Chris Hero & Bryan Danielson. Just the fact that he was booked with such top level competition is a testament to how good this guy is. He finally got his first win by avenging the loss to O’Reilly, and also defeated Austin Aries in the Style Battle Tournament before falling to Sami Callihan in the semifinals. Davis on the other hand is 0-1 in singles competition, losing to Johnny Gargano. He did however also make the semifinals of the Style Battle tournament, defeating Tony Nese in the first round, before falling to the eventual winner, AR Fox in the semis. This should be a great, hard hitting match between two guys that should both be moving up the card in Evolve…can’t wait for this! Pure guess, Fish gets the win.
Bobby Fish (1-4) vs. Jon Davis (0-1)
This is one of the matches I am most looking forward to. Fish has been great on every single Evolve show he’s been on. Fish lost his first four matches in Evolve to Kyle O’Reilly, Claudio Castagnoli, Chris Hero & Bryan Danielson. Just the fact that he was booked with such top level competition is a testament to how good this guy is. He finally got his first win by avenging the loss to O’Reilly, and also defeated Austin Aries in the Style Battle Tournament before falling to Sami Callihan in the semifinals. Davis on the other hand is 0-1 in singles competition, losing to Johnny Gargano. He did however also make the semifinals of the Style Battle tournament, defeating Tony Nese in the first round, before falling to the eventual winner, AR Fox in the semis. This should be a great, hard hitting match between two guys that should both be moving up the card in Evolve…can’t wait for this! Pure guess, Fish gets the win.
Bonus Main Event
Sami Callihan (3-1) vs. Dave Finlay (0-0)
Sami Callihan (3-1) vs. Dave Finlay (0-0)
Callihan has been on fire this year, and is getting pushed hard here in Evolve as well as DGUSA as part of D.U.F. with Arik Cannon and Pinkie Sanchez. He’s 3-1 here, with wins over Adam Cole, Arik Cannon, and Zack Sabre Jr., and his only official loss coming at the hands of Drake Younger. He also went 2-1 in the Style Battle tournament, defeating Brodie Lee and Bobby Fish, before falling to AR Fox in the finals. Callihan hits hard, no doubt about it, and Finlay will take it, and give it right back. I fully expect these two to beat the hell out of each other. Finlay, even for his age, has always been good in the ring, so no worries on that in this case. This should be a very good, hard hitting match that I fully expect Callihan to win.
The Main Event
Johnny Gargano (6-2) vs. Chuck Taylor (5-3)
Johnny Gargano (6-2) vs. Chuck Taylor (5-3)
This is a battle for the wins lead here in Evolve, as Taylor can tie for the lead with a win here. Of course the story here is that Larry Dallas is representing both, and is claiming that this match will not happen. My guess is, they both knock him out and have a great match! Gargano has had a breakout year so far in 2011 and is the current wins leader here. I only count 5 wins, but they have him at six…so not sure if I’m missing something. He has defeated Chris Dickinson, Jimmy Jacobs, Jon Davis & Chuck Taylor, and has a win in a Six Way match, so there is five. He also has a double count out with Ricochet. He has lost to Adam Cole and Jimmy Jacobs. So…kinda confused there. Taylor’s five wins have come over Cheech, Ricochet, Claudio Castagnoli, Jimmy Jacobs & Akira Tozawa, while his 3 losses have come to Gargano, Austin Aries & Mike Quackenbush. I think Taylor gets the win here to further the storyline, as I think this has a lot of legs to it over the next few shows. Should be a great main event to close the show!
And of course, Kevin Steen will be at the show and will be given an open mic! Who knows what Steen will do, but I would bet 1-3 package piledrivers are in Evolve’s future on Tuesday night!
So, what are you most looking forward to on Tuesday night?
Xion is off the show as he is stuck in Mexico according to Gabe's Facebook. Lince Dorado is in to face Sanchez instead now. I'll go with Sanchez over Dorado in this new match.
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