BRM Reviews Evolve 9: Gargano vs. Taylor (but really FINLAY VS. CALLIHAN!)

PWG, MLW, AAW, WWN, etc
Post Reply
User avatar
Big Red Machine
Posts: 27378
Joined: Dec 16th, '10, 15:12

BRM Reviews Evolve 9: Gargano vs. Taylor (but really FINLAY VS. CALLIHAN!)

Post by Big Red Machine » Jul 26th, '21, 08:37

Evolve 9: Gargano vs. Taylor (7/26/2011)- New York, NY


Welcome back to BRM’s Monthly “This Day in Wrestling History” Review Series. Last month we began our Summer of Sapolsky with DGUSA Enter The Dragon 2011: 2nd Anniversary Celebration, so it only makes sense that we continue with the very next show Gabe booked. Not as much sense as you might think because EVOLVE and DGUSA weren’t yet interconnected like they would later become, but it still makes a lot of sense, especially considering that I’ve really wanted to cover this show for this series because 1) it was the first EVOLVE show to get major buzz and 2) it’s yet another one of those DVDs that has been sitting on my shelf unwatched for YEARS and I need to finally get around to watching it to not feel like I’ve wasted money. So, without further ado, let’s dive into Evolve 9: Gargano vs. Taylor.

CHUCK TAYLOR & JOHNNY GARGANO BACKSTAGE- good
They build up their main event match. Chuck lets Gargano know that he won’t be able to rely on Larry Dallas throwing the towel in to get him the victory because tonight’s match will be one on one. They both came off like babyfaces, with Gargano even insisting that they he doesn’t care about Larry Dallas’ money and whatever else Larry Dallas offers them.

BOBBY BEVERLY(0-0) vs. ERIC RYAN(0-0)- no rating, fine segment
They did some stuff for a few minutes, but the real purpose of this match was to have an unimportant match for Kevin Steen to run in on. For some important context, we are one month removed from ROH Best in the World 2011 with the famous “I’m Kevin Steen… and f*ck Ring of Honor!” promo that kicked off Steen’s “loose cannon” run, and just a few days removed from that continuing that by going onto the ROH message board and pushing that night’s PWG show, where he would wind up inserting himself in the place of injured ROH World Champion Davey Richards and win the PWG World Title. He’s basically the hottest thing in indy wrestling right now, and the second hottest thing in all of wrestling behind CM Punk, who was in the middle of the WWE version of the Summer of Punk, which started the night after BITW.
Steen had been “promised an open mic” on tonight’s show, which explains why security didn’t immediately rush him, but was told he was not allowed to get physical… but EVOLVE really should have known better than to trust that Steen wouldn’t attack someone. On commentary, Lenny Leonard noted that if Steen worked in EVOLVE, this would get him suspended, but he doesn’t work in EVOLVE so they can’t do anything. Well… you could take away his mic time, I suppose, but then again, he would probably just attack more people, so maybe giving him a mic anyway like EVOLVE did here was the smarter thing to do.

KEVIN STEEN PROMO & SEGMENT WITH BOBBY FISH- very good, but…
He mockingly shakes the hand of one of the guys he just beat into unconsciousness and asks the crowd “do they do this here, too? I tried to real the rules and regulations, but I got a little confused.” Then he wiped some of the other wrestler’s blood from his face and licked his finger clean. Then he warned Lenny Leonard and Rob Naylor that the first thing he would do when he got home was watch this on iPPV (“because I love seeing myself”) and if either of them were talking over him, “I will rape your mouth.” It’s 2011 Kevin Steen.
Steen ragged on a fan who interrupted him, and then said “I have a lot to say, so I guess I had better take a seat” before sitting down cross-legged like CM Punk had started doing… and then got right back up.
Steen referred to the promo I mentioned above at BITW 2011 and, in a line that has stuck with me for an entire decade, called ROH “Ring of Horsesh*t.” He said that Jim Cornette was the one behind ROH trying to “take all the talent away from EVOLVE.” Maybe I’m overthinking this, but in hindsight, this line feels important because it gave a kayfabe explanation for why guys who EVOLVE had spent time building up like Adam Cole, Kyle O’Reilly, and Jimmy Jacobs were suddenly gone. It was a way to tell fans “we dropped these storyline because we didn’t have a choice, not because we just screwed up or stopped caring” without breaking kayfabe, and having Steen do it allowed it to not come off like EVOLVE was complaining. He took shots at both Cornette and Davey Richards.
Steen then pivoted to EVOLVE. He said that he was upset with EVOLVE for using his presence to hype the show up by asking things like which EVOLVE wrestler would be able to “stand up to” Steen so he wouldn’t break EVOLVE’s precious rules. And that got him thinking… his issue with ROH didn’t start in 2009 (“when I turned on that masked idiot”). It started in 2007 when he was “forced” to team with “the ‘tard” by “the same mother*ck who’s running this show,” and thus “I’m not here to help EVOLVE; I’m here to destroy it.” “F*ck Jim Cornette, f*ck Ring of Honor. We did all that. But also, f*ck the rules and regulations, f*ck EVOLVE…and, you know what? I’m the antichrist. F*ck pro wrestling, too.”
Out came Bobby Fish (who one asshole in the crowd buried by shouting “I don’t know who you are!” Dude. Stop trying to get yourself over, and doubly so when you’re doing it at the expense of the show!). Fish asked for the mic, and Steen asked if one of the rules was that he now had to give Fish the microphone. Steen handed it over, anyway.
Fish began to give the speech about how everyone in the locker room has been working so hard to “try to make this company called EVOLVE relevant.” This might not have been the best way to phrase that, but at least it was honest. Same disruptive fan from earlier (one of two who featured way too much in this segment) shouted “good luck with that, buddy!” at which point Steen looked right at him and asked “why are you here?” Fish asked if someone could show him the door… and I definitely saw someone come out from backstage and lean down to talk to the fan, so hopefully his ass did get thrown out.
Fish told Steen that attacking those two poor young wrestlers trying to make a name for themselves is not allowed in EVOLVE. He suggested that for as long as Steen is in EVOLVE, he “try to find a way to color inside the lines” or else Fish would come and “sort you out.” Fish left with that warning, and Steen left as well.
Steen was awesome here and Fish played his role well, but if there were any long-term ideas here, I think they were doomed to failure because of the combination of two factors. First, Steen was just too cool. The irreverence was perfect for his character, but there is a reason that Bret Hart wound up as the heel and Steve Austin wound up as the babyface when the feud started the opposite way. Steen was being the funny, rebellious guy in a place built around rules. This problem would not have been insurmountable, however, if not for the other factor, which was that EVOLVE didn’t have the necessary cult-following for whom the rules (and the attached sports-like presentation) were the sacred thing that set EVOLVE apart from other promotions, and thus this wasn’t seen as some sort of existential threat, or someone assaulting their chosen way of like the way Steen’s feud with CHIKARA would work the next year. The fans needed to see Steen as Bill Alfonso coming into ECW and telling them they couldn’t see the wrestlers hit people with chairs and brawl in the crowd anymore. In a crowd full of BRMs, this would have been gangbusters, but EVOLVE didn’t have a crowd full of BRMs, so instead of the hero trying to preserve the thing the fans loved the most, Fish came off as your camp counselor who you thought was a cool rebel telling you that he’d have to pull you out of swim if you didn’t start following the rules.

SUPER SMASH BROTHERS(0-1) vs. JASON GORY & FAÇADE(0-1)- 6.25/10
This was short, but the action was great! SSB pick up their first win.

LENNY LEONARD INTERVIEWS THE SUPER SMASH BROTHERS- fine
They want to get a million wins. That’s what they said.

BACKSTAGE, DAVE FINLAY GIVES A LOUD, MEAN… PEP-TALK, I GUESS? TO UP IN SMOKE AND JON DAVIS- meh
He yelled at them to go out there and prove themselves and impress people, but in a very mean way.

SILAS YOUNG(2-1) vs. SUGAR DUNKERTON(0-0)- 6.5/10
Silas came out with a basketball to mock Sugar Dunkerton. Sugar wouldn’t have it and told Silas that he was here to wrestler. Silas had the referee to do jump-ball, but Sugar refused to go for it. Silas threw the ball at Sugar’s chest, so Sugar threw it at Silas’ head. This seems like the sort of thing that should result in some supplementary discipline for both men.
Once the bell rang, this was all wrestling and intensity. Silas got the win, but Sugar came out of it looking like someone who belonged in EVOLVE.

LENNY LEONARD INTERVIEWS SILAS YOUNG- good
Silas says that he is now one win closer to Johnny Gargano, who he blames for inviting him to a party where he fell of the wagon and started drinking again. Gargano came out and told Silas that Silas shouldn’t be in EVOLVE just to get his hands on Johnny; he should be in EVOLVE because he loves wrestling.
Gargano tells Silas that he didn’t know that Silas was an alcoholic when he got him to take that drink (Johnny even said that he himself had never had alcohol before that night, which I find hard to believe). Johnny rightfully points out that anything Silas did after taking that drink is his own fault, but apologizes to Silas anyway, and offers him a handshake. Silas refused it and walked off. Gargano has been a heel pretty much every time we’ve seen him, so I’m not sure if he has turned babyface because he was unhappy with the way he won at the previous show or he is putting on a show here (and with Taylor earlier, for that matter) for various self-serving ends (in this case to get Silas off of his back, and with Taylor to lull him into a false sense of security).

SAMI CALLIHAN PREPARES FOR HIS MATCH- There was lots of splashing water on himself and lots of grunting and snarling.

LINCÉ DORADO(0-0) vs. PINKIE SANCHEZ(0-0)- 5.75/10
Kevin Steen came out to do commentary during this match. When Lenny Leonard mentioned that Steen was only supposed to cut a promo, Steen said “everybody knew I’d get physically involved” to which Lenny countered “perhaps EVOLVE officials thought they could take you at your word.”
Pinkie won clean in a short, action-filled match. Steen said that both wrestlers could expect a call from Jim Cornette quite soon.

LENNY LEONARD INTERVIEWS PINKIE SANCHEZ- fine

JON DAIVS GETS PSYCHES HIMSELF UP FOR HIS MATCH- good
He notes that Finlay was right that he needs to prove himself because he has no rings.

LENNY LEONARD INTERVIEWS LARRY DALLAS- fine
Larry has “purchased” this interview time as a way of getting around himself being banned from ringside. He came out with Ahtu. Larry says that the scheduled main event won’t happen tonight, but no one takes that claim seriously. He also introduced his new team of Scott Reed & Caleb Konley: The Scene.

UP IN SMOKE(4-0) vs. THE SCENE (Scott Reed & Caleb Konley) (0-0)- 7/10
The Scene won a spotty but fun match. Up In Smoke were great babyfaces. This was a great win to give The Scene some instant credibility. Larry Dallas came out to celebrate with them, but refused a post-match interview.

LENNY LEONARD INTERVIEWS UP IN SMOKE- great
Lenny asks Cheech if he has a “statement” after their first loss in EVOLVE. He responded by attacking Cloudy and saying “there’s your statement.” Rob Naylor noted that you get suspended if you attack an opponent after the match, but the rules don’t say anything about attacking your tag team partner, so Cheech might have a loophole to exploit. Steen mocked the idea of their being a loophole in EVOLVE’s fancy rules.
FIT FINLAY GETS READY FOR HIS MATCH- Nothing to see here. He just did his boots.

BOBBY FISH(1-4) vs. JON DAVIS(0-1)- no rating
Early on in the match, Kevin Steen said “I’d like to take this opportunity to say hi to my wife and son watching at home, and Owen: when you get older, is how you beat up people that are smaller than you at school, okay?” Then Steen charged into the ring and attacked both guys for a double-DQ, then mocked the idea that he broke one of EVOLVE’s precious rules. Bobby Fish said he wanted to face Steen in an unsanctioned match. Jon Davis said he’d kick both of their asses. Everyone agreed that we should have a…
TRIPLE THREAT UNSANCTIONED MATCH: Kevin Steen vs. Bobby Fish vs. Jon Davis- 7.5/10
Davis immediately punched out the referee. This made him a total heel to me, and the ref hadn’t done anything wrong. This was a great, hard-hitting three-way. Rather than using weapons, they just fought on the outside a lot, and Steen kicked Fish in the nuts to set up the finishing sequence. Davis pinned Fish after Three Seconds Around the World, but I guess it won’t count as his first win because this match was unsanctioned. Steen went at it with first Davis and then Fish after the match until security finally dragged him away.

TONY NESE(0-2) vs. JOHN SILVER(0-0)- 8/10
This was basically an attempt to make some stars by letting these two go out there and blow everyone away, and they sure did. Silver got the win, and declared in his post-match interview that he was “here to stay.”

SAMI CALLIHAN(3-1) vs. DAVE FINLAY(0-0)- 9/10
This was the match that got EVOLVE its first major attention from wrestling fans, and I can see why. This was the single meanest, most brutal wrestling match I have ever seen. Even the f*cking Drop Toe-Hold that Finlay did looked vicious! There was something special about this match, but I can’t really explain what it was. This match was so different, and yet so basic. It was a match where they simultaneously got a lot out of not doing very much, and yet also beat the absolute sh*t out of each other. This is one of those matches that I think every wrestling fan should see, just because of how different the style and atmosphere are, while still feeling perfectly in line with standard modern Amero-Canadian pro wrestling. Watching this match and how you react to it will help you learn more about what you as a fan do or don’t enjoy about professional wrestling.

POST-MATCH STUFF- good
The winner cut a fine promo, put his opponent over on the mic, and we got a nice show of respect afterwards.

BOBBY FISH PROMO- decent
He says that if his name can’t be on the top of the leaderboard, he wasn’t going to be in EVOLVE. I wasn’t sure if this was him quitting, or this was him cutting a promo saying he would quit if he didn’t start doing better, or just him cutting a general “I am going to be great” mission-statement promo.

JOHNNY GARGANO(6-2) vs. CHUCK TAYLOR(5-3)- 8.25/10
Larry Dallas came out and tried to convince them not to wrestle each other but they didn’t listen. When Gargano grabbed a headlock, he ran down to the ring and threw a towel in on behalf of Taylor. Gargano picked it up and wiped his ass with his it, then shoved it in Larry’s face and fired him as his “sponsor.”
This was an awesome match that really made you feel like that darn Larry Dallas had robbed us of something wonderful at the previous show. Both guys got to look great, hitting a lot of cool moves and surviving a lot of big moves. At the end of this match, you were left with no doubt that these were the top two wrestlers in the company… and they’re now tied at the top of the leaderboard, so it seems inevitable that they will meet again, and when they do, it should be quite awesome.

LARRY DALLAS & THE SCENE BACKSTAGE- good
Larry is upset at how Johnny Gargano treated him earlier, but he tells Scott Reed & Caleb Konley not to worry because they’re the best tag team in EVOLVE because they just beat the tag team wins leader. Chuck Taylor walked into the room to get his bags. Larry tried to butter him up but Chuck fired him as well.


This was an awesome show from EVOLVE, but it was pretty clear that they were still trying to find some direction after the departures of guys who had been built up since the beginning like Adam Cole, Kyle O’Reilly, and Jimmy Jacobs, and all at the same time. The main talking points on this show were Larry Dallas getting kicked out of the main event scene (which makes it a little less interesting to me, but also felt necessary after the events of the previous show), the Steen appearance (which didn’t really go anywhere, but certainly got buzz at the time), and the Finlay vs. Callihan match, which got EVOLVE its first real buzz since the main event of the first show. The next show wouldn’t be for another six months, so unfortunately all of that was squandered, but it felt huge at the time.
Speaking of things that felt huge and had a lot of buzz at the time, next we’ll be hitting the ROH leg of our Summer of Sapolksy for one of Gabe’s- and Bryan Danielson’s, and ROH’s- biggest and most buzz-worthy shows.
Hold #712: ARM BAR!

Upcoming Reviews:
FIP in 2005
ROH Validation
PWG All-Star Weekend V: Night 2
DGUSA Open the Ultimate Gate 2013
ROH/CMLL Global Wars Espectacular: Day 3

Post Reply

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 19 guests