Evolve 17: Generico vs. Del Sol III Review

El Generico and Samuray del Sol have the final match of their three match series!

Evolve 17: Generico vs. Del Sol III

Voorhees, New Jersey 9/8/12

Jon Davis comes out to start the show, interrupting Lenny Leonard. He demands an Evolve Title, and asks the fans to stand up if they want one. Davis calls out any wrestlers in the back who want and Evolve Title, and his calls are answered by Jigsaw, Lince Dorado, Rich Swann, and AR Fox. Ricochet comes out and says he's better than everyone in the ring, and AR Fox gets in his face before he leaves. Then Johnny Gargano comes out, and says they already have a title, the Open The Freedom Gate Title, which he holds. He says he's a champion of the people, and not only wants his match with Davis to be for the Evolve Title, but wants it right now (since both are in their gear). The fans want it and that's what we get.

1.) Open The Freedom Gate Title – Johnny Gargano vs. Jon Davis: **3/4

The career of Jon Davis is apparently still on the line here. The match itself is fine. It wasn't anything spectacular, and it was very weird to see the Open The Freedom Gate Title defended in the opening match of an Evolve Show. They're capable of having a much better match, and they only just scratched the surface here. The match ended in Davis getting counted out, which really was not a satisfying ending.

Gargano takes the mic and says he doesn't want to win on a count out and says he doesn't want Davis to retire. He then gets promptly killed by a Jon Davis Lariat. He then Powerbomb's Gargano over the top rope and through a table on the floor. The match was ok. The after match segment was great.

2.) Jigsaw vs. Lince Dorado: ***

I really liked this one. It was a really enjoyable undercard match with lots of cool stuff. Dorado picks up the win.

3.) Shine Showcase – Christina Von Eerie vs. Marti Belle: *

Really not much to this much. Just a squash for Christina Von Eerie.

Larry Dallas comes out after the match, and basically runs down Belle verbally. The Scene comes out and it looks like they're going to beat her up until Pinkie Sanchez & Sami Callihan come out for the save while Sunny brings Belle to the back. 

4.) The D.U.F. (Sami Callihan & Pinkie Sanchez) vs. The Scene (Scott Reed & Caleb Konley with Larry Dallas & Trina Michaels): **1/4

We have an impromptu match on our hands! The match itself was ok. Fine for what it was, but not much else. The crowd loves them some Sami Callihan.

After the match, Sami demands that his match with MASADA right now, and we get just that.

5.) Sami Callihan vs. MASADA: *

This was very.....weird. It seems like a rather quick squash of on of the bigger stars in the WWNLive Universe, but it looked like Sami had some type of injury and the match was shortened because of it. Whatever. Pretty much a nothing match.

6.) Rich Swann & The Super Smash Brothers vs. The Gentleman’s Club (Chuck Taylor, Drew Gulak & Orange Cassidy with Jake Manning, The Swamp Monster, and Doctor Colonel Nolan Angus): ***1/2

The Gentleman's Club is in full force at the Flyers Skate Zone. I think this might be one of the only times they appeared all together at a wrestling show....ever. They're facing Rich Swann and the Super Smash Brothers. A really entertaining trios match. The crowd didn't react to it that much, but it was very fun to watch. I like all six guys and it was a really enjoyable match for me. Swann & SSB get the win. 

7.) AR Fox vs. Ricochet: ***1/2

This match came about as a result of what happened at the end of Enter The Dragon. The match was very good and a lot of fun to watch. Both are incredibly talented athletes so it's hard for it not to be good. The crowd was once action lacking of any big reactions, and that took away from it a bit, but it was still a very good match.

Afterwords, Ricochet takes the mic and verbally runs down AR Fox once again.

8.) El Generico vs. Samuray del Sol: ***3/4

These luchadores are tied 1-1 in singles matches. Their first two matches were held at Evolve 14 & Evolve 15 in Florida, with El Generico winning the first match and Samuray del Sol winning the second match, respectively. This is the rubber match, and it was pretty great! Both guys are just amazing wrestlers and are so entertaining to watch. Awesome stuff from both guys in a very strong main event. El Generico picks up the victory and wins the series 2-1.

Overall: 7.25/10

This is a show that was fine on the whole. The card's top three matches were very good, a lot of fun, and definitely delivered in my eyes. The opening segment and match continued the road to the Evolve Title and set up Johnny Gargano's next big feud. The middle part of the card really dragged this show down for me, and the crowd not being as active as they probably wanted hurt things as well. Still, I feel like the positives outweigh the negatives here, and make for a solid show.