WWE Evolution was a

women's A woman is an adult female human. Prior to adulthood, a female human is referred to as a girl (a female child or adolescent). The plural ''women'' is sometimes used in certain phrases such as " women's rights" to denote female humans rega ...

professional wrestling Professional wrestling is a form of theater that revolves around staged wrestling matches. The mock combat is performed in a ring similar to the kind used in boxing, and the dramatic aspects of pro wrestling may be performed both in the ring or ...

pay-per-view Pay-per-view (PPV) is a type of pay television or webcast service that enables a viewer to pay to watch individual events via private telecast. Events can be purchased through a multichannel television platform using their electronic program g ...

(PPV) and

livestreaming Livestreaming is streaming media simultaneously recorded and broadcast in real-time over the internet. It is often referred to simply as streaming. Non-live media such as video-on-demand, vlogs, and YouTube videos are technically streamed, but ...

event produced by WWE. It was held for wrestlers from the promotion's Raw, SmackDown, NXT, and

NXT UK ''NXT UK'' is a professional wrestling television programme that was produced exclusively in the United Kingdom by the American promotion WWE. It aired on BT Sport and 5Action (previously known as Paramount Network). In the United States, the s ...

brand divisions. The event took place on October 28, 2018, at the

Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum (or simply the Nassau Coliseum) is a multi-purpose indoor arena in Uniondale, New York, east of New York City. The Long Island venue is approximately east of the eastern limits of the New York City Borough of ...

in Uniondale,

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

. It was the first and currently only WWE PPV to consist solely of women's matches. The main card consisted of seven matches. Three of WWE's then-four women's championships were defended on the main card; the fourth was defended in a dark match before the show. It also featured the final of the

2018 Mae Young Classic The 2018 Mae Young Classic was a multi-night special event and tournament promoted by the American professional wrestling promotion, WWE. It was the second Mae Young Classic tournament produced and was constituted by a 32-competitor tournament exc ...

tournament. In the main event,

Ronda Rousey Ronda Jean Rousey (; born February 1, 1987) is an American professional wrestler, actress, former judoka and mixed martial artist. She is currently signed to WWE, where she performs on the SmackDown brand and is the current SmackDown Women� ...

defeated Nikki Bella by submission to retain the Raw Women's Championship. In the penultimate match,

Becky Lynch Rebecca Quin (born 30 January 1987) is an Irish professional wrestler. She is signed to WWE under the ring name Becky Lynch where she performs on the Raw brand. Lynch is one of WWE's most recognizable and highest-paid wrestlers. Twitter na ...

defeated Charlotte Flair in a Last Woman Standing match to retain the SmackDown Women's Championship. In other prominent matches, Toni Storm defeated

Io Shirai is a Japanese professional wrestler currently signed to WWE, where she performs on the Raw brand under the ring name Iyo Sky (stylized in all caps). She is a member of Damage CTRL and one-half of the current WWE Women's Tag Team Champions w ...

to win the 2018 Mae Young Classic, and Shayna Baszler defeated Kairi Sane to become the first two-time NXT Women's Champion.

Production

Background

On the July 23, 2018, episode of '' Monday Night Raw'', WWE executive

Stephanie McMahon Stephanie McMahon Levesque (born Stephanie Marie McMahon; ; September 24, 1976) is an American businesswoman and retired professional wrestler. She is the current chairwoman and co-chief executive officer (CEO) of WWE, the world's largest prof ...

announced that for the first time, WWE would hold an all-women's

(PPV) and

WWE Network WWE Network is a subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and digital television network owned by the American entertainment company WWE. It primarily distributes original professional wrestling events, films, television an ...

event, which was titled Evolution. It was scheduled to take place on October 28, 2018, at the

in Uniondale,

, replacing the previously planned Clash of Champions.

WWE Hall of Fame The WWE Hall of Fame is a hall of fame which honors professional wrestlers and professional wrestling personalities maintained by WWE. Originally known as the "WWF Hall of Fame", it was created in 1993 when André the Giant was posthumously ...

Lita Lita or LITA may refer to: People * Lita (given name) * Lita (wrestler) (born 1975), American professional wrestler * Adriana Lita, Materials scientist *Leroy Lita (born 1984), Congo football player * Selina Jahan Lita, Bangladesh Awami League pol ...

, Trish Stratus, and Beth Phoenix were advertised as taking part in the event. It was also announced that the event would host the final of the

and that all four of WWE's women's championships at the time would be defended; however, the NXT UK Women's Championship match was later removed from the main card and occurred as a dark match before the show. WWE's executive vice president of talent, live events and creative

Triple H Paul Michael Levesque (born July 27, 1969), better known by the ring name Triple H, is an American business executive, actor, and retired professional wrestler currently serving as the chief content officer for WWE. He is widely regarded as ...

explained that WWE's female performers "deserve the opportunity" for a prominent showcase, and that it "was simply the right time for this to happen." He denied that the event was intended to be as a counterpoint for Crown Jewel—a subsequent pay-per-view days later in

Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in Western Asia. It covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and has a land area of about , making it the List of Asian countries by area, fifth-largest country in Asia ...

that, per the country's women's rights policies, would not include WWE's female performers at the time.

Storylines

The card consisted of seven matches that resulted from scripted storylines, where wrestlers portrayed villains, heroes, or less distinguishable characters in scripted events that built tension and culminated in a wrestling match or series of matches, with results predetermined by WWE's writers on the Raw, SmackDown, NXT, and

brands A brand is a name, term, design, symbol or any other feature that distinguishes one seller's good or service from those of other sellers. Brands are used in business, marketing, and advertising for recognition and, importantly, to create an ...

. Storylines were produced on WWE's weekly television shows, '' Monday Night Raw'', '' SmackDown Live'', and '' NXT''. On August 18, a match between

Alexa Bliss Alexis Cabrera (née Kaufman; born August 9, 1991) is an American professional wrestler. She is currently signed to WWE, where she performs on the Raw (WWE brand), Raw WWE brand extension, brand under the ring name Alexa Bliss. In 2013, Bliss ...

and Trish Stratus was scheduled for Evolution. Then, on September 3, a match between

and

Mickie James Mickie Laree James (born August 31, 1979) Additional January 6, 2017. is an American professional wrestler and country singer. She is currently signed to Impact Wrestling. She has also had tenures in WWE and the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA ...

was scheduled for the event; the two last faced each other back in 2006 at Survivor Series where James won the original WWE Women's Championship from Lita in the latter's retirement match. On the October 8 episode of ''Raw'', a confrontation between the four women occurred. It was then revealed that instead of the two singles matches, Bliss and James would face Stratus and Lita in a tag team match at Evolution. On October 26, however, Alicia Fox replaced Bliss due to injury, but it was revealed that she would be in James and Fox's corner for the match. At NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn 4, Kairi Sane defeated Shayna Baszler to win the NXT Women's Championship. On the September 26 episode of ''NXT'', a rematch between the two for the title was scheduled for Evolution. At SummerSlam,

won the Raw Women's Championship. Following her win, The Bella Twins ( Nikki and Brie Bella) celebrated with the new champion. At Super Show-Down, it was announced that a title defense for Rousey was scheduled for Evolution. At that same event, Rousey and The Bella Twins teamed up to defeat The Riott Squad ( Ruby Riott, Liv Morgan, and Sarah Logan). On the following episode of ''Raw'', Rousey and The Bella Twins defeated The Riott Squad in a rematch. Following the match, however, The Bella Twins attacked Rousey, turning heel. A title match between Rousey and Nikki was then scheduled for Evolution. At SummerSlam, Charlotte Flair defeated

and defending champion Carmella in a

triple threat match Many types of wrestling matches, sometimes called "concept" or "gimmick matches" in the jargon of the business, are performed in professional wrestling. Some gimmick matches are more common than others and are often used to advance or conclude a ...

to become a two-time SmackDown Women's Champion by pinning Lynch. Following the match, Lynch attacked Flair, turning heel. Lynch then defeated Flair to win the championship at

Hell in a Cell Hell in a Cell is a professional wrestling steel cage-based match which originated in 1997 in the World Wrestling Federation (WWF, now WWE). It features a large cell structure, a five-sided cuboid made from open-weave steel mesh chain-link fe ...

. A rematch occurred at Super Show-Down where Flair won by disqualification after Lynch attacked her with the title belt, thus Lynch retained. The two faced each other in a rematch on the following episode of ''SmackDown'', however, it ended in a double countout, resulting in Lynch retaining again. SmackDown General Manager Paige then announced that the two would have another rematch for the SmackDown Women's Championship at Evolution in a last woman standing match, the first in WWE. On the October 15 episode of ''Raw'', it was announced that a battle royal for a women's championship match would also take place at Evolution with various competitors announced to take part, including WWE legends and Hall of Famers. On the October 22 edition of ''Raw'', it was announced that The Riott Squad would face off against the team of Sasha Banks, Bayley and Natalya.

Event

Before the event aired live on pay-per-view, a dark match took place in which Rhea Ripley defeated Dakota Kai to retain the NXT UK Women's Championship.

Preliminary matches

The actual pay-per-view opened with Alicia Fox and Mickie James (with Alexa Bliss) facing Lita and Trish Stratus. In the end, Lita performed a " Litasault" on both James and Fox, and Stratus performed a " Chick Kick" on James to win the match. Next was the 20-woman Battle Royal which started with various WWE legends eliminating both of

The IIconics The IIconics are an Australian professional wrestling tag team consisting of Jessie McKay and Cassie Lee. They are best known for their time in WWE as The Iconic Duo and later The IIconics, under the individual names of Billie Kay and Peyton R ...

( Peyton Royce and Billie Kay) and reuniting against current women. In the end, thinking that she won the match, Zelina Vega, who had not actually been eliminated, began celebrating, not realizing that neither

Nia Jax Savelina Fanene (born May 29, 1984) is an Australian-born American professional wrestler. She is best known for her time in WWE, where she performed under the ring name Nia Jax from 2014 to 2021 and became a one-time Raw Women's Champion and t ...

or Ember Moon were eliminated. After Jax eliminated Vega by throwing her at

Tamina Sarona Moana Marie Reiher Snuka-Polamalu (born January 10, 1978) is an American professional wrestler. She is currently signed to WWE, where she performs on the Raw brand under the ring name Tamina. She is a one-time WWE Women's Tag Team Champ ...

, who was already eliminated and was standing at ringside, Jax eliminated Moon to earn a future opportunity at the Raw Women's Championship. After that, Toni Storm fought Io Shirai in the tournament final of the

. Shirai performed a

dropkick A dropkick is an attacking maneuver in professional wrestling. It is defined as an attack where the wrestler jumps up and kicks the opponent with the soles of both feet; this sees the wrestler twist as they jump so that when the feet connec ...

on Storm from the top rope, followed by a

moonsault A moonsault, moonsault press, or back flip splash is a Professional wrestling aerial techniques, professional wrestling aerial technique. It was innovated by Mando Guerrero. Much of its popularity in both Puroresu, Japanese and professional wrestl ...

at ringside. In the end, Storm countered a Moonsault by raising her knees and performed the " Storm Zero" on Shirai to win the match and the trophy. After the match, an elated Storm was congratulated by

, Stephanie McMahon, and

Sara Amato Sara Ann Amato (born November 13, 1980) is an American professional wrestling trainer and retired professional wrestler, best known by her ring name Sara Del Rey. She was a mainstay for Chikara and Shimmer, but also appeared for many other inde ...

. In the fourth match, Natalya teamed up with Bayley and Sasha Banks to face The Riott Squad (Liv Morgan, Ruby Riott, and Sarah Logan). In the climax, Natalya applied a double sharpshooter on Riott and Logan, only for Morgan to perform the " 201 Facebreaker" on Natalya for a near-fall. Natalya then performed a

powerbomb A powerbomb is a professional wrestling throw in which an opponent is lifted (usually so that they are sitting on the wrestler's shoulders) and then slammed back-first down to the mat. The standard powerbomb sees an opponent first placed in a st ...

on Morgan, followed by a diving elbow drop from Bayley and a frog splash from Banks for the victory. Next, Kairi Sane defended the NXT Women's Championship against Shayna Baszler. At the conclusion of the match, as Sane attempted to perform an " Insane Elbow", Baszler rolled out of the ring. Sane then performed a

diving crossbody Aerial techniques, also known as "high-flying moves" are maneuvers in professional wrestling using the ring's posts and ropes as aids, in many cases to demonstrate the speed and agility of smaller, nimble and acrobatically inclined wrestlers prefer ...

into Baszler and threw Baszler at her fellow and former MMA Four Horsewomen, Marina Shafir and Jessamyn Duke, who were at ringside. In the end, Duke and Shafir distracted Sane which led to Baszler applying the " Kirifuda Clutch". Sane passed out thus Baszler won by technical submission and became the first two-time NXT Women's Champion. In the penultimate match, Becky Lynch defended the SmackDown Women's Championship against Charlotte Flair in a Last Woman Standing match. Lynch attacked Flair with a kendo stick and a chair. Lynch attempted a " Bexploder Suplex" on Flair, however, Flair countered and delivered a back suplex to Lynch directly onto a pile of chairs. Flair performed a

senton Strikes are offensive moves in professional wrestling, that can sometimes be used to set up an opponent for a hold or for a throw. There are a wide variety of strikes in pro wrestling, and many are known by several different names. Professional wre ...

following a

on Lynch through a table. Flair applied the " Figure-Eight Leglock" on Lynch whose leg was wrapped around a ladder, however, Lynch was able to escape by attacking Flair with a steel chair. In the end, after leaping off the ladder and putting Flair through the German announce table with a leg drop, Lynch performed a

on Flair from the top rope through another table. Flair was unable to make it to her feet before the 10-count, thus Lynch retained.

Main event

In the main event, Ronda Rousey defended the Raw Women's Championship against Nikki Bella (accompanied by Brie Bella). During the match, Nikki dominated Rousey for a majority of the match. On the outside of the ring, Brie shoved Rousey into the ring post whilst the referee was distracted. Nikki performed the " Rack Attack 2.0" for a near-fall. Rousey attempted a " Piper's Pit" on Nikki, only for Brie to interfere. Rousey then performed the modified Samoan Drop on both Nikki and Brie for a near-fall. In the climax, Rousey forced Nikki to submit to the

armbar An armlock in grappling is a single or double joint lock that hyperextends, hyperflexes or hyperrotates the elbow joint or shoulder joint. An armlock that hyper-extends the arm is known as an armbar, and it includes the traditional armbar, p ...

, thus Rousey retained the title.

Aftermath

On the October 29 edition of ''Raw'', it was announced that Raw Women's Champion Ronda Rousey would face off against SmackDown Women's Champion Becky Lynch at Survivor Series as part of the annual interbrand competition. Later that same evening, Nia Jax defeated Ember Moon after a distraction by Tamina, leading to a staredown between Tamina and Jax. After defeating Moon in a rematch the following week, Jax joined Tamina in attacking Moon, turning Jax into a villainess and establishing an alliance with Tamina. At Survivor Series, Jax was victorious for Team Raw as the lone survivor in the women's elimination match after pushing her teammate, Sasha Banks, into Asuka. On the November 19 episode of ''Raw'', Jax's Raw Women's Championship match was confirmed to happen at TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs. After losing to Becky Lynch at Evolution, Charlotte Flair received an offer from SmackDown General Manager Paige on the October 30 episode of ''SmackDown Live'', being asked to captain Team SmackDown in the women's elimination match, only for Charlotte to turn down the offer. Charlotte instead became Lynch's replacement in a match against Raw Women's Champion Ronda Rousey at the event, as Lynch suffered a legit injury just days prior to Survivor Series. On the November 7 episode of ''NXT'', it was announced that Kairi Sane would be invoking her rematch clause and would face NXT Women's Champion Shayna Baszler in a two-out-of-three-falls match at NXT TakeOver: WarGames.

Future all-female events

In a conference call for June 2021's NXT TakeOver: In Your House event, Triple H was questioned on if WWE would ever hold another all-female event. He said it was possible, "but it's not a must-have at the moment." He also found it odd that people thought that doing more all-female events would mean equality for the women's division, but cited the contradiction in that WWE would be criticized if they would run an all-male event; essentially, separate does not mean equal. He also responded to something that former WWE wrestler Mickie James had said in regards to the

National Wrestling Alliance The National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) is an American professional wrestling promotion and former professional wrestling governing body operated by its parent company Lightning One, Inc. Founded in 1948, the NWA began as a governing body for a ...

's August 2021 all-female event, EmPowerrr, in which James served as an executive producer. James had said that she wanted the best female wrestlers in the world on the event regardless of contractual issues. Triple H said that from a business standpoint, that did not make sense and also gave his own opinion, stating that if female wrestlers wanted to face the best in the world, they should come to WWE. Before James' release from WWE in April 2021, she had pushed for the company to produce another all-female event as well as an all-female brand, but said she was "cut off at every opportunity." A WWE official told her that "women's wrestling doesn't make money" and that Evolution was the company's "lowest-rated pay-per-view ever in the history of WWE pay-per-views." Former WWE wrestler Maria Kanellis also stated that former Head of WWE Talent Relations, Mark Carano, informed her that there would not be another all-female event. Other WWE female performers, notably Sasha Banks, have also campaigned for another all-female event.

Results

References

External links

* {{Women in WWE 2018 WWE Network events 2018 WWE pay-per-view events October 2018 events in the United States 2018 on Long Island Events on Long Island Events in Uniondale, New York Professional wrestling in Uniondale, New York Women in WWE Women's professional wrestling shows