EVOLVE 74 recap: Catch Point put their tag team titles on the line
It was likely inevitable that EVOLVE would eventually encounter streaming troubles on FloSlam, but the timing couldn’t have been much worse than during Saturday night’s main event between Chris Hero and Dick Togo.
The stream went out completely for a decent portion of the match but returned with some minor issues for its conclusion. In what seemed to be the caliber of bout that everyone hoped it would be, the Japanese veteran pinned Hero with his second Pedigree of the night and a senton from the top rope.
FloSlam tweeted that they’re trying to get the full replay of the main event up as soon as possible and blamed the problems on a cable getting accidentally unplugged.
Hero put over Togo after the match and praised the crowd at La Boom in Queens, New York, by calling it a special place. That brought out DUSTIN with a chair. DUSTIN offered to face him right there instead of tomorrow at EVOLVE 75, but Hero struck him and walked off while flipping him off.
Prior to the stream issues, EVOLVE 74 was one of the most fun cards that the promotion has put on all year. The highlight of the show came prior to the main event when EVOLVE Tag Team Champions “Hot Sauce” Tracy Williams and Fred Yehi successfully defended their titles against the team of Ricochet and Peter Kaasa in an excellent match.
The finish came when Kaasa attempted a shooting star press on Williams but missed and got caught in a crossface. Yehi prevented Ricochet from breaking up the submission and the Catch Point team held onto their titles as Kaasa tapped out. The match was at its best when Ricochet and Yehi were in the ring, but Williams and Kaasa managed to shine as well.
Williams appeared earlier in the show in an in-ring interview segment with former stablemate Drew Gulak. The returning Larry Dallas interviewed Gulak after his win over Jaka. Dallas asked him if Catch Point was dead, to which Gulak replied that Catch Point is a failure and it’s time to focus on the next chapter of his career — maybe the WWN title.
That brought Williams out to the ring, where he said that Catch Point is bigger than Gulak and always has been. The two will face off in Melrose, Massachusetts, tomorrow.
Gulak was able to get back on the winning track against Jaka in the show’s opener. The match was really good and it was by far the best Jaka has looked in an EVOLVE ring. He held his own with Gulak, who was also excellent in the bout. Gulak won with the dragon sleeper after a great slapping sequence.
Jaka’s tag team partner was also unable to get a victory on the show as Chris Dickson fell to DUSTIN after he hit the Awful Waffle. Dickson and Jaka will take on Darby Allin and Kaasa tomorrow, with Dickinson and Jaka getting EVOLVE contracts if they win.
Allin was in action against Brian Cage tonight. The two put on the exact type of match that you would want to see them have. Allin dove onto Cage as he was making his entrance and then hit a trust fall inside of the ring. Cage took control on offense after that and was victorious after launching Allin onto the stage. Allin lost by countout despite his best efforts to dive back into the ring, but he was able to keep his promise that he wouldn’t be pinned by Cage.
Ethan Page and one of the Gatekeepers (Blaster McMassive) then came down to the ring. Page handed Cage a check and thanked him for taking care of business after his problems with Allin. Page cut a promo on Cody Rhodes before the Bullet Club’s newest member came out for their match.
The overbooked contest saw shenanigans at the end with ref bumps and interference. The Gatekeeper and Cage interfered, causing Allin to come back out and attack Cage. Rhodes gave him a too sweet, but then threw him onto the pile on the outside. Rhodes won with a low blow and the Cross Rhodes.
In his EVOLVE debut, Jeff Cobb defeated Matt Riddle with the Tour of the Islands. The two put on a good match that culminated with Riddle almost getting the win after the Bro to Sleep and jumping tombstone. Riddle tried to apply the Bromission, but Cobb was too big to put the hold on. The two were previously booked against each other in a tag match in PWG and a singles match in AAW before bringing their rivalry to EVOLVE.
Stokely Hathaway hit the ring after Cobb’s win. He said that for the first time in his life he was almost speechless. He attempted to recruit Cobb to the Dream Team by saying that he’d never have to work for anything in his life again. Hathaway said that if there was a dictionary that defined what a professional wrestler should be — the three examples would be TJ Perkins, Timothy Thatcher, and Cobb.
Hathaway offered him a contract to join the Dream Team, but Cobb said the only contract he wants is one for a shot at the EVOLVE Championship against Thatcher.
Final thoughts:
Despite the stream problems at the end, this was a fun show that is worth going out of your way to see. The tag title match was the obvious highlight for me, but Cobb vs. Riddle and the opener with Gulak and Jaka were also very good.
The highlights of tomorrow’s show look to be Williams vs. Gulak, Ricochet vs. Riddle, and Cobb vs. Yehi. I’ll be in the building for it and Beyond Wrestling earlier in the day.
EVOLVE 74 results:
- Dick Togo defeated Chris Hero
- EVOLVE Tag Team Champions “Hot Sauce” Tracy Williams & Fred Yehi defeated Ricochet & Peter Kaasa
- Jeff Cobb defeated Matt Riddle
- Cody Rhodes defeated Ethan Page
- Brian Cage defeated Darby Allin by countout
- DUSTIN defeated Chris Dickinson
- Drew Gulak defeated Jaka