WWE Evolution 2018 Results

Welcome to Ringside News’ coverage of WWE Evolution, the company’s first-ever all-female PPV live from New York!
Tonight’s marquee match is Nikki Bella challenging Ronda Rousey for the Raw Women’s Championship. Bella turned on Rousey after a few weeks of pretending to be her friend – sounds like all women, amirite? Eh? No-one? – and now she is challenging Rousey for the title. With only a few weeks to build this feud, the writing team has done a decent job of making it rather vitriolic, with some nasty insults flying around. Brie will undoubtedly be in Nikki’s corner tonight but all-being-well, Rousey will toppled Nikki and retain.
The second biggest match tonight, and one sure to be a barn-burner, is the third throwdown between SmackDown Live Women’s Championship Becky Lynch and Charlotte. Lynch has been a revelation as a heel Champion and it would be incredibly stupid for WWE to take the belt off of her. Lynch should win clean and move on to a new feud, perhaps with Asuka. Let us know who you’d like to come out on top?
In a slightly sad note for tonight’s show, Alexa Bliss will be unable to compete. It’s unclear what Bliss’ injury is but it’s a crying shame she won’t get to share the ring with Lita and Trish Stratus. Somehow Bliss went from a huge one-on-one match, to a tag team, to not even competing. You have to feel for her. However the match is going ahead with Alicia Fox as Mickie James’ partner. This should still be a fun match but it has lost a lot of its lustre.
Also on the historic Evolution card is Shayna Baszler Vs. Kairi Sane, a Battle Royale, Io Shirai Vs. Toni Storm in the final of the Mae Young Classic, and The Riott Squad Vs. Sasha Banks, Bayley, & Natalya. It’s a stacked card, hence the battle royale match, and it should be a really fun night. Remember to download the Ringside News app, follow us on Instagram, and enjoy the show!

WWE Evolution opens with a video package, chronicling the journey of the women, all the way back to the old days. A voice-over from Stephanie says it’s all about “showing the next generation they can do whatever they want.”
We go live to the arena in Uniondale, New York. Unfortunately, Michael Cole’s microphone isn’t working and we can hear someone talking to him about it. Nita Strauss is in the ring playing an electric guitar, with a drummer, and Lizzy Hale (Halestorm) singing on the ramp. A very NXT-style opening. Michael Cole, Beth Phoenix, and Renee Young then introduce us to the show. Young says she woke-up with a lump in her throat today because she never thought she’d be here in WWE, let alone a commentator for the first-ever all women’s PPV.

Trish Stratus is the first performer out tonight, followed by Lita, who got a bigger pop! The ladies look amazing and the fans are excited for this huge match.
Alexa Bliss comes out and welcomes us to the show. She says she can promise tonight will be amazing. Bliss says she knows this is already well-past Lita and Trish’s bedtime, so they should turn up their hearing aids. She then introduces “the real pioneers of the women’s revolution”, Mickie James and Alicia Fox.

Trish Stratus & Lita Vs. Mickie James & Alicia Fox W/Alexa Bliss

Mickie James starts the match against Lita and the crowd are hot for this one. They lock-up and Lita forces Mickie to the corner. A “Lita” chant fires-up as she floors Mickie with a right hand. Lita gets whipped to the ropes and hits Mickie with a Lita-can-rana! She follows-up with a monkey-flip and rolls through to unleash some ground-and-pound.
Mickie retreats to her corner and tags Alicia Fox. Alicia doesn’t want to get in the ring, so Lita pulls her over the ropes via her hair. Lita whips Foxy to the corner, then brings James back into the ring as well. Lita tags Trish and they hit a variation of Poetry In Motion to James and Fox in the corner.

Trish and Alicia lock-up but Stratus quickly takes her down with a judo throw. Bliss takes Trish’s back but the former Champ throws her over her shoulder. Trish slaps Alicia in the face and says she wants Mickie, and here she comes. James looks like she’s seen a ghost. They talk trash as the fans light-up. Trish hits Mickie with a right hand, and she fires right back. They go back and forth until Trish hits a Lou Thesz Press. Stratus throws Mickie to the corner and looks for her signature rope-assisted rana but James holds her legs. Mickie pulls her up but Trish punches her, then stands up and hits a hurricanrana from the top rope for a two count! Mickie rolls from the ring and regroups with Alexa and Foxy.
Alexa, Mickie, and Alicia walk away as if they’re leaving but Trish and Lita run after them and a brawl ensues on the ramp. Lita sends Mickie back into the ring, then dodges a kick from Alicia that hits Mickie. Lita took to the top rope, looking for the moonsault but Alexa pushed her off the top rope when the referee wasn’t looking. James goes to work on the leg of Lita and tags Alicia. Lita is slammed into the turnbuckles, then James comes back in and stomps on her. The fans try to get Lita back into things as Mickie applies a headlock. Lita fights out but Mickie connects with a kick to the face. Trish comes in as Mickie cheap-shots her, then Stratus lifts Lita and tosses her at Mickie and Lita hits her with a hurricanrana!
Mickie knocks Lita down and tags Foxy back into the match. Alicia hits her beautiful Northern Lights Suplex but only scores a two-count. Fox applies a headlock but Lita fights out and hits a reverse DDT, both women are down! Trish and Mickie are tagged in and the former connects with some nice right hands, as well as two headlock takeovers. Trish connects with a sit-out spinebuster for a near-fall. Stratus chops Mickie into next week as the fans “woo!” along. James looks for a quick roll-up but Trish kicks-out. Stratus connects with Stratusfaction and Foxy was supposed to break the count but she was late and the referee just stopped counting. Lita then knocked Foxy down and hits the moonsault onto both James and Foxy. Trish connects with the Chick-Kick to Mickie for the win!

Winners: Lita & Trish Stratus

Lita and Trish celebrate their win after the match. Not a bad match but that weird referee finish sullied it slightly. Cool to see two all-time greats back at it!

We get an interview with The Bella Twins on a red carpet backstage. Braxton asks them how they feel about the personal feud with Rousey. Brie says that Ronda made the feud personal, but they will end it. Nikki says tonight is all about celebrating trailblazers, so they are dedicating tonight’s match to Ronda Rousey’s mother. They say she is an honorary Bella Army member for tonight. Nikki says she will prove herself again tonight, prove she is a “do something Bella”, and walk out with the Raw Women’s Championship.

We get a video of current and former Superstar’s and personalities talking about how much tonight’s show means. One noteworthy thing was said by Lillian Garcia, who said that she remembers many PPV’s where she was the only female to step-foot in the ring that night. Garcia is the ring announcer tonight.

Women’s Battle Royal

Some noteworthy names in this over-the-top-rope match are Alundra Blayze, Michelle McCool, Kelly Kelly, Molly Holly, Torrie Wilson, and Ivory.
Peyton Royce and Billie Kay are the last two out and they cut a pretty hilarious promo on their way to the ring. As soon as they finish talking, the bell rings and they get tossed out. Problem is, their promo was so entertaining that the fans booed their elimination!
As the match gets started proper, the young ladies surround the legends in the middle of the ring. A giant brawl breaks out. Molly Holly is set onto the apron by Sonya Deville and Mandy Rose, then Deville kicks her in the head and Molly is out! Deville and Rose then lift Kelly Kelly and do the same thing to her! Torrie Wilson tries to eliminate Deville and they battle on the apron until Mandy Rose hits a big knee to eliminate Wilson. Deville is then talking trash to Wilson when Rose shoves her off and out of the match!

Alunda Blayze is beating on Asuka in the middle of the ring until Nia Jax lifts her up and throws her over the ropes. Maria then hits Nia with a DDT. Kanellis then knocks Tamina into the corner and follows-up with a bronco buster. Nia then lifts Kanellis up and throws her over the top rope. Zelina Vega attempts to beat on Tamina but gets caught with a superkick. Carmella then gets hit with a Samoan drop by Tamina and she rolls from the ring. Nia and Tamina then square-up and stare at each other before both doing the Roman Reigns “ooohhaaa” taunt and knocking down every woman in the ring. They both come back to the centre and square-up but Lana tries to get them to not fight. She hits Tamina, then begins kicking Nia but eats a headbutt for her trouble. Lana is eliminated by Jax.
Asuka and Naomi attempt to suplex Nia Jax but can’t lift her, then Dana Brooke joins Nia, and then all the women join in both sides and we get a mega suplex. All the women are down until Carmella comes back in and decides it’s time for a dance break. She’s interrupted by Ivory, who then begins dancing with her. Mandy Rose grabs Ivory and throws her over the ropes but the veteran lands on the arpon. Carmella helps her out by tossing Mandy out!
Ember Moon fights with Dana in the corner, then lifts her for a suplex and dumps her out! Carmella looks for a hurricanrana on Michelle McCool, but the latter holds on and drops her on the top rope. McCool and Ember Moon begin brawling until Ember kicks her out. Carmella takes the fight to Ember Moon but she gets flipped over the ropes and kicked off of the apron and the crowd boo. Ivory is the only legend left in the ring, and she begins a brawl with Tamina. Ivory knocks her back and hits a crossbody from the top rope. Ivory takes to the top rope to celebrate but Asuka knocks her off and she lands on the apron. Asuka kicks her in the gut, then hits her with a hip attack and she’s out. We’re down to Ember Moon, Asuka, Tamina, and Nia Jax.

Ember Moon and Asuka come face-to-face and the fans begin chanting “NXT!”. Asuka unleashes a barrage of attacks on her former foe, followed by a knee to the face. Asuka looks for a hip attack but Ember avoids it and tosses her over the ropes! Revenge for Moon! Tamina looked to surprise Moon with a superkick but Moon caught the foot. Instead, Tamina hits her with a spinning sidewalk slam. Tamina then connects with a superkick to Nia Jax. Ember gets Tamina in the corner and hits a springboard elbow to the jaw, followed by an Eclipse. And we’re down to Ember Moon Vs. Nia Jax!
The crowd are fired-up for this. Ember runs at Jax but gets shoved to the mat. Nia then tosses Ember with a biel as the fans chant “let’s go Ember”. Nia throws Ember over the ropes but she lands on the apron. Moon kicks Nia and manages to drag her over the rope but, from nowhere, Zelina Vega returns and tosses them both over and begins celebrating… but neither of them were eliminated. Nia grabs her but Vega manages to get onto the back of Nia. Jax reverses the sleeper hold into a military press, and throws her over and onto Tamina below – but she bounced right off of Tamina. Nia turns around and Ember clotheslines her against the ropes. Moon hits another lariat but can’t get Jax over. She hits the ropes but Jax responds with a huge spinebuster. Nia then lifts Ember and throws her out!

Winner: Nia Jax

Nia celebrates her win after the fact with The Rock’s mother at ringside! That was a really fun battle royal. With that win, Nia has earned herself a shot at the Women’s Championship, and she says she doesn’t care who wins, they won’t hold it for long!

We get an awesome video package of the Mae Young Classic tournament and hyping tonight’s final. Some of the other competitors like Tegan Knox and Rhea Ripley are ringside.

Mae Young Classic Final

Io Shirai Vs. Toni Storm

The bell rings and the two finalists shake hands, then lock-up. Storm takes a side headlock but Shirai reverses into one of her own. They trade holds and submissions Storm connects with a low dropkick on Shirai for a two count.
Shirai has Storm on the mat in a modified full nelson submission. Storm tries to roll out but Shirai keeps it locked in. Storm breaks free and connects with a suplex that landed Io on her head. Storm goes up top but Shirai gets to her feet, springboards off the top rope, and kicks Storm off the top turnbuckle! Shirai jumps up and connects with a top turnbuckle moonsault on Storm to the outside!
Both women climb to the apron and trade shots. Storm looks for a powerbomb but she can’t land it. Storm with a german suplex on Shirai over the ring apron and Io falls to the floor. Back inside the ring, Storm and Shirai exchange elbows. Shirai gets the better of Storm but the Aussie levels her with a lariat. Io fires back with a huge clothesline of her own. Storm reverses Io and connects with her finisher Storm Zero (double underhook into a powerbomb) for a two count.

Shirai makes a comeback and knocks Storm onto the ropes. Shirai with 619 to Storm against the ropes, and follows-up with a huge sunset fli,  springboarding off the top rope and getting a close two count on Storm. Shirai takes to the top rope and looks for her moonsault finisher but Storm gets her knees up. Storm lifts her up and connects with Storm Zero again and gets the pinfall!

WINNER: TONI STORM

After the match Toni Storm celebrates and holds back tears. The other Mae Young competitors clap at ringside, except for Rhea Ripley. Storm helps Shirai to her feet and hugs her. Storm is announced as the winner of the tournament and given a big bunch of flowers.

The Riott Squad make their way to the ring, with Ruby dressed as Jigsaw, Liv as Pennywise, and I missed what Logan is supposed to be, I would say Leatherface but the scars are throwing me.

The Riott Squad Vs. Sasha Banks, Bayley, & Natalya

Liv starts the match against Natalya and forces the Hart to the corner. Liv slaps Nattie in the face. Natalya chases her and Liv dives through the ropes, making the referee force Natalya back. Liv knocks Natalya down, then slaps her ass. Liv slides in front of Nattie in a childish pose but gets slapped in the face.
Sasha tags in and, with Nattie, double-teams Liv with a Hart Attack. Logan then comes into the match but Banks immediately takes the fight to her and scores a two count. Banks lifts Logan and throws her to the corner before tagging Bayley. Bayley connects with a knee in the corner and Sasha follows-up with a meteora. Bayley tosses Logan from the ring and follows-up with a baseball slide. Ruby tries to distract Bayley and does so effectively, allowing Logan to dropkick Bayley against the ringpost.
Liv Morgan returns to the fray and kicks Bayley in the stomach, which seems to be the focal point now. Morgan applies an abdominal stretch. Bayley begins to fight out, so Liv tags Sarah back in. Logan takes Bayley down to the mat with a submission of sorts, before tagging Ruby in for the first time. Riott catapults Logan into a forearm from Logan, who scores a two count and makes the tag. Logan unloads kicks in the corner against Bayley. Logan howls like a wolf and runs at Bayley, who throws her up in the air and Logan’s head hits the turnbuckle.

Logan inadvertently knocks Bayley into Ruby and Liv, but Ruby then trips Bayley as she looked to make a tag. Bayley rolls through a sunset flip and clotheslines Ruby. Sarah runs in and tries to stop Bayley making the tag but she gets thrown from the ring. Logan knocks Natalya from the apron, then Liv and Ruby attack Bayley in the ring. The Hugger starts fighting them off and finally makes the tag to Sasha. Banks clears Ruby out with a clothesline, followed by a forearm to Liv in the corner. Banks hits Ruby with a knee, then a meteora from the top rope.
Sasha looked for a backstabber but Ruby held on, so Sasha reversed into a crucifix. Banks hits Ruby with a backstabber, then Bayley connects with the Bayley-to-Belly. Liv shoves Banks into Bayley to break-up the pin attempt. Sasha and Logan are legal and the former connects with another meteora. Sasha hits the ropes and attempts a flip over the top rope onto the Riott Squad but she messed up – thankfully the Squad caught her and threw her into the barricade hard. Logan gets Banks back into the ring and scores a two-count. Logan lifts Sasha onto her shoulders and Liv dives off of the top rope with a move like a Doomsday Device. Ruby follows-up with a splash and tags Logan but Natalya breaks-up the pin attempt. Liv comes in and hits an enziguiri, then Ruby looked for a senton but Bayley lays on top of Sasha. Ruby is shocked but she throws herself onto Bayley and Sasha but Banks kicks-out.

Liv looks for another enziguiri but Sasha ducks and makes the tag to Natalya. Nattie hits Logan with a German suplex, followed by an wheelbarrow slam. Ruby is blind-tagged in but Nattie scoop slams her onto Logan and applies the Sharpshooter to both of them! Liv comes back in and hits Natalya wit a knee for a two count. Natalya powerbombs Liv and Bayley follows-up with a Macho Man elbow, then a suicide dive to Ruby, and Banks finishes with a Frog Splash!

Winners: Sasha Banks, Natalya, & Bayley

NXT Women’s Championship

(C) Kairi Sane Vs. Shayna Baszler

The match begins and Baszler takes charge early on. Sane fires back with a modified stunner that sends Baszler flying back into the ropes. Sane connects with a sliding clothesline against the ropes. Baszler rolls to the ring apron and Sane connects with a jumping kick to the chest and the former Champ rolls from the ring.
Sane goes out after her and hits a huge slap to Baszler. Baszler responds by tossing Sane into the steel steps at ringside and then throws her back into the ring. Baszler stomps on the hand of Sane, then connects with a snap and release armbar on Sane. Baszler and Sane exchange forearm shots in the middle of the ring. Shayna with a running knee that catches Sane flush in the chest, but Sane responds with a quick back hand. A loud “NXT” chant fires-up.
Sane gets Baszler with a modified Boston Crap submission but Baszler easily breaks free. Sane catches Baszler with a big spear. Sane with a running neckbreaker that connects on Baszler. Sane plants Baszler near the corner. She is favoring her left arm. Baszler cuts off Sane from going up top and holds her by her left arm over the ring apron! Sane with a huge cross body off the top turnbuckle taking out Baszler! Baszler immediately responds by sending Sane into the barricade.

Sane tosses Baszler over the barricade and into her buddies Jessamyn Duke and Marins Shafir. Baszler gets back out but Duke tries to interfere and Sane catches her with a backhand shot. Sane goes to the top rope, looking for her big elbow, but Marina Shafir tries to interfere and Sane kicks her away. Sane is distracted enough and allows Baszler to lock in her rear naked choke. Sane flips back to get Baszler’s shoulders down for a close two count – a throwback to the last match. Baszler kicks Sane into the ropes, where Duke connects with a kick to the face of Sane – the referee didn’t see it. Sane falls back into Baszler applying the rear naked choke. Sane is trying to fight out kicking her legs and throwing punches. Sane is flailing but fading. The referee tries talking to her and moves her hand but gets no response. It’s done!

Winner and New Women’s Champion: Shayna Baszler

We see replays of the match after the fact, and Beth Phoenix calls this a “tainted” win for Baszler. Shayna leaves the ring and celebrates with Marina Sahfir and Jessamyn Duke.

Becky Lynch Vs. Charlotte is next and we get a great video package, albeit with altered reactions for both women. Both ladies make their entrances and Becky is by far the more popular.

WWE SmackDown Live Women’s Championship

Last Man Standing Match

(C) Becky Lynch Vs. Charlotte Flair

We get ring introductions for both Champion and challenger and the fans chant for Becky. They lock-up and Lynch shoves Charlotte down, before mocking her. Charlotte then does the same to her and struts to the boos of the crowd. Becky responds by dropping Charlotte and doing some Ric Flair elbow drops. Charlotte takes to the top rope but Lynch knocks her off and hits a Bexploder.
Lynch knocks Charlotte from the ring, then climbs out and goes under the ring for a Kendo stick. She beats the challenger with the stick repeatedly, then goes back underneath and pulls out a chair. On the other side of the ring, Charlotte pulls out a chair of her own. Both women then pull out many chairs and toss them into the ring, then Charlotte grabs a table that the fans had been clamouring for. Becky runs up the steps and delivers a forearm to Charlotte. Flair responds by t-bone suplexing Becky on the floor! Becky lifts a chair and hits Charlotte in the back with it as she was setting-up a chair. She hits Flair again and sends her back into the ring.

Lynch throws Charlotte onto the chairs piled-up within the ring. Becky begins stacking the chairs as Charlotte climbs to her feet. Flair then hits a back suplex to Lynch onto the chairs stacked in the ring. Charlotte leaves the ring and pulls out another table and slides it into the ring. Lynch kicks Charlotte off of the apron as she attempted to climb back in. Becky sets-up the table in the ring, then uses the Beck Bottom onto the chairs in the middle of the squared circle. Charlotte beats the count at eight but Becky immediately goes back to the attack. Lynch places Charlotte on the table and goes to the top rope. Flair knocks her off and sets her onto the table, then goes to the top rope herself and hits a moonsault but the table doesn’t break!
Charlotte gets Becky back on the table, goes to the top rope, and hits a Swanton Bomb through the table! Both women get to their feet at 9! Flair gets out of the ring and pulls out a ladder and gets it into the ring. Becky attacks her and then scoop slams her onto the ladder! Charlotte fires back by punching Lynch, before using the ladder to assist her with a Figure Four leglock! Becky taps but that won’t help, so she uses a chair to smash Charlotte’s knee and break free! Becky rolls from the ring and Charlotte chases after.
Lynch shoves Charlotte into the steel steps. She pushes her into the ring post next and takes her belt to leave through the crowd. Charlotte chases after her and chops her like crazy in the crowd. Becky fires back with some right hands and they fight there way back to ringside. Charlotte lifts the top off of one of the announce tables, then bangs Becky’s head off of the one beside it. Charlotte sets-up a ladder but Becky attacks her from behind with the Championship title. Lynch then sets Charlotte onto the exposed announce table, and climbs the ladder adjacent. Lynch sits atop the ladder and leaps off with a leg drop onto Charlotte and through the table!

Becky gets back to her feet, meanwhile Charlotte climbs to her knees and screams “is that all you got?!” Becky gets fired-up and kicks the Champion in the face, then buries her under chairs and table parts. The referee starts his count again and Charlottte stats to stir at 6, then gets to a foot at 9. Becky can’t believe it. She starts begging Charlotte to leave her along, but the challenger grabs a Kendo stick and beats on the Champion. Charlotte connects with a Spear and both women are down.
Charlotte gets to her feet and sets up a table at ringside. Charlotte sets Becky onto the table and heads to the top rope for a moonsault but Lynch gets up and powerbombs her through the table! The fans chant “Becky!” as the referee begins her count! Charlotte gets to her knees… but can’t stand and falls back to her face! Becky wins!!

Winner: Becky Lynch

Becky celebrates her big win over Charlotte as we see replays. She yells “I’m the man!” as she walks up the ramp.

RAW Women’s Championship Match

(C) Ronda Rousey Vs. Nikki Bella W/Brie Bella

The bell rings and Ronda immediately takes Nikki down with a judo throw. Nikki looks annoyed on the mat and Ronda goes behind her and pushes her to get back up. Ronda hits another judo throw. Nikki shoots for a single leg takedown and Ronda flips her over and toys with her. Nikki is getting angry.
Nikki runs for a clothesline and Ronda flips her over. Nikki rolls from the ring, so Ronda heads out after her. Brie causes a distraction and Nikki shoves Ronda into the ring post. Nikki does some push-ups in the ring, then distracts the referee so that Brie can shove Ronda into the post again! Back inside the ring, Nikki applies a headlock in the centre of the ring.
Ronda fights to her feet but Nikki knocks her from the ring. Nikki grabs Ronda and throws her into the steel barricade, then does so again. She gets Rousey back inside the ring and scores a two count. Nikki applies a scissors headlock to Ronda and even does some push-ups. Rousey breaks the hold and backs off from Nikki. Rousey leans through the ropes after kicking Nikki, and Brie connects with a right hand. Nikki drags Ronda around the ring post and whips her head against it.

Nikki applies an abdominal stretch and Ronda is in pain. Rousey tosses her off but Nikki comes back with a springboard kick to the face. Rousey goes to the top rope and Brie causes a distraction, allowing Nikki to meet her up there. Bella looks for a superplex but Ronda shoves her off to the mat, then looks for a crossbody and nobody’s home! Rousey dodges a baseball slide and Nikki rolls right out of the ring. Nikki comes back in and Ronda catches a kick and lifts Bella onto her shoulders. Brie stands on the ropes to distract her but Ronda grabs her and places her onto the shoulders on top of Nikki, and hits both with a twisting Samoan drop!
Ronda starts slapping herself and firing up, then flips Nikki and unleashes some ground and pound. Rousey lands two nice judo throws. She looks to unleash some punches in the corner but Nikki begs for mercy, so Ronda slaps her instead. Ronda grabs Bella and throws her over her head and she rolls out. Ronda chases after her and gets her back in the ring but then Brie punches Ronda! Rousey grabs Brie by the arm and throws her over the announce table. Rousey slides back inside but Nikkie lifts her and hits an Alabama Slam for a two count.
Nikki tosses Ronda into the ring post and follows-up with the Rack Attack 2.0 but the Champion kicks out! Nikki takes to the top rope but Ronda catches her up there and flips her off – not sure what that was but it looked really good. Ronda held onto the arm, then applies the armbar and Nikki taps immediately!

Winner: Ronda Rousey

Rousey celebrates after the match with the title, then kisses her husband at ringside. We see replays of the match as the Bella Twins leave. We see Nia Jax watching the aftermath from backstage, she’ll be next in line for a title shot! Ronda heads-up the ramp and the entire women’s locker room is standing on the ramp. Ronda stands in the middle of them as they all celebrate.

That’s it for the first-ever WWE Evolution PPV! A great show from top to bottom! Let us know what you thought of the event! We’ll see you back here tomorrow night for Monday Night RAW!