WWE Evolution 2: PPV of the year candidate

Going into the show, my expectations weren’t high. Until this week, ticket sales weren’t strong, the hype wasn’t that big, and WWE didn’t do a great job promoting it. I dismissed it so much that I even said yesterday the show was an afterthought, and I probably wouldn’t bother writing a column about it.

But what a difference 24 hours can make. I’ve got to say—Evolution II was the show of the weekend, and it proved that WWE has the best women’s division in the world right now.

First, I don’t know if it was the last-minute publicity blitz or the ticket prices being lowered, but they went from barely 4,000 tickets sold to almost a full sellout in just a week. That sudden surge of interest created an electric atmosphere in the arena. It’s been a while since I’ve heard an American wrestling crowd that into a show—they were loud all night, and it helped tremendously. So here’s my full review of Evolution 2:

1. Becky Lynch vs. Bayley vs. Lyra Valkyria (WWE Women’s IC Title)

The show kicked off with a triple threat for the IC title, and what a way to start. These three had their work boots on and clearly decided to set the bar for the night.

I loved the pacing—they avoided the usual triple threat formula, where one person takes long breaks. All three stayed involved, and it made the match feel tighter and more intense.

The finish was classic heel stuff: Bayley hit the Rosebud on Lyra, only for Becky to steal the pin.

Great opener that set the tone perfectly.

Rating: 5/5

2. Jacy Jayne (w/ Fatal Influence) vs. Jordynne Grace (w/ Blake Monroe) — NXT Title

This match had a major obstacle: WWE already announced the winner would face Masha Slamovich at Slammiversary, basically giving away the result. But despite that, they made you believe Jordynne had a chance, and they kept Jacy looking strong too.

The crowd helped—they were into both women, which added emotion to the story. This was Jacy’s biggest test as NXT Champion, and I think she passed with flying colors. She’s clearly ready for the main roster.

Jordynne also looked more comfortable in the WWE style—her best match since joining.

The Blake Monroe heel turn came out of nowhere but worked. She’s always been a better heel, and a program with Jordynne could be one of the standout feuds of 2025.

Rating: 3.5/5

3. Alexa Bliss & Charlotte Flair vs. Zarya & Sol Ruca vs. Kabuki Warriors vs. Judgment Day (WWE Tag Titles)

Having Charlotte team with Alexa was clearly part of a face turn, and it worked—Charlotte was the most over person in the match, which is wild considering how hated she was a few months ago.

Everyone busted their ass to make this fun. Multi-team matches can be a mess, but this one flowed well. Sol and Zarya held their own, and Charlotte taking Sol’s finisher showed how much she wanted to elevate the NXT girls.

The finish worked: Zarya accidentally speared Sol, Roxanne cleared the ring, and Raquel capitalized to retain.

Rating: 4/5

4. Tiffany Stratton vs. Trish Stratus (WWE Women’s Title)

I thought this was where Naomi would cash in, but that didn’t happen. What we got instead was a solid, standard title match.

Props to Trish—she can still go, with no sign of rust. But this felt like a match to give the crowd a breather, which is fine.

Tiffany got the clean win after a moonsault, and it did what it needed to do: elevate Tiffany.

Rating: 2.5/5

5. Naomi vs. Jade Cargill — No Holds Barred

This was always going to be a fight—and that’s exactly what we got.

Jade looked fantastic here. Naomi is a great style matchup for her, and they told a violent, compelling story. Bianca Belair being the special ref helped, too.

This was Jade’s best WWE match so far. Her selling was on point, which has been a weakness before.

Finish: Naomi made a mistake, Jade hit Jaded from the top rope through a table, and that was that.

Both came out looking strong, and that’s key. Now the big question: what’s next for Jade?

Rating: 4.5/5

6. The Evolution Battle Royal

Needed a breather before the main event, and this worked.

I watched on Netflix, so I didn’t deal with the ad break, but I felt bad for the women whose entrances got cut—especially Natalya and the NXT girls. That’s always rough.

No major surprises (aside from Nikki Bella), which was a bit of a letdown. Still, the match was a fun watch with solid moments:

Tatum and Izzy’s quick eliminations set the tone.

Kelani Jordan played the Kofi/Katana spot, and I bet she’ll keep getting that spot going forward.

Zelina eliminating Giulia furthered their story and gave her a win back.

The final four: Nikki Bella, Nia Jax, Stephanie Vaquer, and Lash Legend. Lash being in the final four was a surprise, and she eliminated Nia with help from Stephanie.

Stephanie won and now gets a title shot in Paris. Solid use of a battle royal.

Rating: 3/5

7. Rhea Ripley vs. IYO SKY (Women’s World Title)

What. A. Match. This was an absolute war and easily a Match of the Year contender.

Rhea and IYO have amazing chemistry, and they laid it all out there. Only complaint: the long ref bump felt a bit off. The dropkick didn’t look bad enough to knock Jessica Carr out that long—especially since we all know she used to wrestle.

Still, the match recovered, and then came the moment.

IYO hit the moonsault. Rhea kicked out. Then Rhea hit a Spanish Fly from the top—looked incredible. And then Naomi cashed in, shocking everyone. We all thought she’d go after Tiffany.

Naomi is now the Women’s World Champion and moving to RAW. This changes everything heading into SummerSlam.

Rating: 5.5/5

Conclusion

Coming into the weekend, WWE wanted to steal some of AEW’s thunder from All In. Between Goldberg’s retirement on Saturday and how good this show was, they pulled it off.

Evolution II overperformed. And now, people are talking more about WWE than AEW—which was clearly the goal.

If WWE plans to keep counter-programming AEW, they’ll have to keep delivering at this level. But as far as this weekend goes?

Big win for WWE. And I can’t wait to see where they go next with these women’s storylines.