Face Reality: The Bellas Are Natural Heels
Nikki and Brie shone as villains at WWE Evolution.
WWE presented its first all-women’s pay-per-view in response to backlash over the company’s 10-year deal with Saudi Arabia (and backlash is putting it mildly). Women were barred from the event, just as they were at the Greatest Royal Rumble, so in the interest of showing a commitment to what has become an incredible roster of female superstars, WWE created Evolution. The promotion of the event was underwhelming, and at times, it felt like an afterthought, but when WWE arrived at the Nassau Coliseum in Uniondale, New York, it sure put on one heck of a satisfying show. With that in mind, let’s dissect the Good, the Bad and the Meh of WWE Evolution.
Let’s break down a couple of the Bad notes from the show:
Alexa Bliss’ injury took the wind out of the sails of the tag match. She is a bonafide star who would have added some much-needed drama to the match. Her history of finding ways to win, come hook or crook, would have made the match much more exciting. I hope she makes her way back to competition soon.
There have been rumors circulating that WWE was planning on resurrecting the Women’s Tag Team Championships. It’s unfortunate that it didn’t come to pass, as this would have been a great night to unveil some new titles for the women’s division. I’m not sure why it didn’t happen, but perhaps it was just that after all – a rumor.
Here’s the Meh from the show:
Kairi Sane vs. Shayna Baszler for the NXT Women’s Championship. Don’t get me wrong, I cannot knock this match! It was a hard-hitting contest filled with painful strikes from both women. Shayna exploited her strength advantage at one point with an awesome lift-up top wristlock. Kairi took risk after risk after risk trying to defeat the Queen of Spades – a high point was the top-notch dive she took off the top rope to Shayna on the outside. My issue is with the rivalry continuing. Both women are great, but the feud has already plateaued. Now, heading to match five in the series, I’m just feeling very meh on the idea of seeing another bout between these two.
Sasha Banks, Bayley, Natalya vs. The Riott Squad. Again, I can’t fault this match in any way. The match itself was good. It was probably the best match I’ve seen by the Riott Squad have so far. Bayley was the MVP out there, hitting some really cool stuff. There were some great tag moves and close calls on both sides. However, my gripe with the whole affair was that it didn’t mean anything! If you had used this match to crown new Six-Women’s Tag Team Champions, then that would have maybe made this a match-of-the-year contender. Instead, it was just alright.
Now we get to the best of the best, here’s what was Good on the show:
The May Young Classic Finals: Io Shirai vs. Toni Storm. This was an impressive match that could have stolen the show if it weren’t for the last two matches. These two women did not hold anything back. Io Shirai hit her famous moonsault to Toni Storm on the floor. Toni hit a game-changing German suplex on the ring apron. After a counter and a Storm Zero, returning underdog and crowd favorite Toni Storm won the trophy. Both women deserve kudos for a tremendous match.
The Women’s Battle Royal. I dug everything about this match. There was great respect paid to the past stars of the women’s division and everyone was represented well. The IIconics got a hilarious send off. Ivory participated in a dance off with Carmella. But when the match got serious, it got serious. It was an impressive final four: Asuka, Ember Moon, Nia and Tamina. Tamina completely repaired her image in this match. She’s back to being a definite threat in the division, which is great. I thought the right woman won, though. Nia Jax deserves another crack at Ronda Rousey, and I’ll be excited to see that match down the road. Great work all around.
Last Woman Standing for the Smackdown Women’s Title – Charlotte vs. Becky Lynch. In the most discussed feud coming out of SummerSlam, I’m happy to report that WWE has righted the ship as far as Becky’s push into more of an antihero role rather than a straight up heel. This was hands down the match of the night. It was brutal and barbaric…Becky and Charlotte used everything that wasn’t tied down. There were chairs, tables, ladders, even kendo sticks. Charlotte hit a moonsault and followed it up with a senton to bring Becky through a table. There were suplexes and a spear on the floor. They fought into the crowd. There was a brutal Figure Eight on a ladder. Through the carnage, though, Becky stood tall after sending Charlotte through a table with a shattering super power bomb. I was ecstatic about this ending. I can’t urge you strongly enough – go watch this match.
Ronda Rousey defends the Raw Women’s Championship against Nikki Bella. The Bella Army had returned to lay claim to the gold, establishing themselves as the foremothers of the women’s revolution. This was an exciting finale as well. The Bellas played their heel roles to a T. Brie interfered on her sister’s behalf at every turn. Ronda looked like a killer. At one point, Nikki hit her Rack Attack 2.0 for a great near fall. But soon after that, the twins’ plan began to fail them when Ronda was able to divide and conquer. After dispatching Brie over the announce table, Ronda caught Nikki with a brilliant counter off the top rope, locking in her signature arm bar for the win. I enjoyed this match. It was a great bit of storytelling that frankly makes me sad this was just a one-off. I can get behind the Bellas being heels. It just fits naturally.
Overall, I think this was one of the better booked WWE shows of the year. It was fun to see an all-women’s show, and I hope WWE makes this a regular thing. I couldn’t find much I was put off about and almost nothing about the show was outright bad, so it’s hard not to give Evolution an A-.
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