Highlights:
- Low Ki came back and squashed Ahtu before announcing his arrival in EVOLVE
- Cheech and Cloudy drew the first "You Fucked Up!" chant of the night in their break-up match, won by Cheech.
- Jigsaw thanked fans for supporting Chikara at the Arena before putting on a show with AR Fox, winning with counter back suplex to the Lo Mein Pain.
- Before dropping the match, Fox did provide the spot of the night, a springboard 450 plancha to the floor.
- After the match, Sami Callihan came out and tried to goad Fox into hitting him.
- Uhaa Nation hit two (TWO) standing shooting star presses en route to a victory over Pinkie Sanchez.
- The Super Smash Bros. broke out a new, Mortal Kombat-themed double team move where Player Dos shouted "GET OVER HERE". It didn't help them get the victory as they fell to Ronin.
- Jon Davis called out Finlay after defeating Kyle Matthews.
- In a hard-hitting match, Bobby Fish defeated Sami Callihan with a knee bar.
- After the match, Fox tried to goad Callihan into hitting him with a beer bottle, even going so far as to handcuff his own hands behind his back.
- In the nominal main event of the evening, Johnny Gargano survived a 630 senton and countered with the Hurts Donut and the Gargano Escape.
- After the main card, Joey Styles, Tod Gordon, JT Smith and Pitbull #1 came out to close the Arena, only to be accosted by DJ Hyde and a coterie of his CZW employees. The ensuing brawl saw Ballz Mahoney, New Jack and Sabu make run-ins on ECW's behalf and Justin Credible on CZW's.
- In the final match in Arena history, Sabu defeated Justin Credible.
- After the match, Callihan attacked Sabu and cut a promo about how he had taken ownership of the Arena from ECW.
Observations:
- Ahtu looks like a guy who's just biding time before his WWE developmental contract arrives in the mail.
- Either Ahtu got knocked loopy by the opening koppo kick from Low Ki, or he did a really, really good job selling.
- For a grudge match, Cheech and Cloudy really didn't sell the fact that they hated each other.
- The Scene against Alex Reynolds and John Silver was the best, most technically sound match that they could've had without being interesting at all.
- I really dug Jigsaw's new ring gear.
- Fox really has a high arch on his high flying moves, and it gives him an extra panache.
- Seriously though, that springboard 450 to the outside was insane.
- So was the finishing sequence.
- Seriously, when did Nation join Blood Warriors?
- Speaking of guys who don't feel like they're long for the indies, Nation has the look and he actually is a good wrestler. If he doesn't make it in WWE, then I have no idea how the wrestling business works, ever.
- Ricochet sounded like he hasn't gone through puberty yet. Too bad, because his heel promo after the Nation/Pinkie match was good stuff.
- Chuck Taylor showed again why he's one of the best performers in wrestling. After Rich Swann took a hard chop from Player Uno, Taylor put his flannel vest back on to shield against the barrage he'd take after being tagged in.
- At one point during the match, the SSB and Ronin switched corners.
- If wrestlers were Pokemon, Kyle Matthews would be what Grizzly Redwood evolved into.
- Callihan and Fish traded a lot of kicks. A LOT of kicks.
- That being said, I loved the psychology in the match. The leg work might have seemed excessive to some, but I dug it.
- There were a few fans who, during the main event, started shitting on it. Yeah, I thought it went a LITTLE too long, but fuck, don't chant for New Jack while Gargano and Ricochet are doing their thing.
- I almost considered leaving after the CZW guys came out and ran a fucking angle.
- I seriously felt uncomfortable watching the unprotected chairshots, other weapon shots and Sabu digging a screwdriver into the head of Credible.
- I'm not sure I've ever felt as out of place in that building as I did starting midway through Gargano/Ricochet. Never. It felt bad.
The story of this match really wasn't in structure because there really wasn't one. Well, at least it didn't feel like there was one to the naked eye. It was chaotic, but I think it an almost oxymoronic way, there was a method to the madness. Some spotfests feel choreographed, but this tread a fine line. All four guys were game here. I think the Smash Bros. had my favorite spots of the night, one with Dos landing a double Pele kick with perfect precision. The second was the "Get Over Here!" spot, where Uno was on his back with his knees up. He had Swann prone, and Dos shouted "GET OVER HERE". AT this cue, Uno shoved Swann into Dos, who delivered an exploder that threw Swann into a seated Taylor in the corner. I just ham-fisted that description, so hopefully, this ends up on Youtube sooner rather than later so everyone can see it for themselves.
A great match always has a great finish, and this was no exception. After breaking up their finisher, Taylor had Dos on the top rope, setting up for the Omega Driver. Dos wiggled out of it, and then countered a clothesline with a Matrix dip and a kip up... which landed him back in Taylor's clutches for a successful Omega Driver. Pretty spiffy finish for a wholly enjoyable junk food wrestling match.
Overall Impressions: If this show ended after Gargano/Ricochet and had a more EVOLVE/modern indie crowd, I think it might have played off a lot better. That being said, the fans who shat on the main event, one of which was sitting like ten seats over from me predictably wearing an ECW One Night Stand hockey jersey, totally soured me on the experience. Why would anyone pay money for a ticket with the main event announced as it was and then shout "THIS MATCH DOESN'T DESERVE TO CLOSE THE ARENA!"? Seriously? The postscript felt so out of place. People like to rag on the modern indie style for the hard strikes and the borderline head drops, but there was nothing as overtly dangerous with respect to concussions and head trauma before the ECW originals and CZW usurpers came out.
Seriously, was there any reason to run that angle with DJ Hyde and the CZW guys being chased off by New Jack and Ballz Mahoney? Okay, the event was marketed more with an ear to the ECW holdovers, so maybe I shouldn't complain about that, but at the same time, I felt like that postscript did a disservice to the wrestlers who busted their asses in the nine matches previous. If we keep holding onto the past, the guys who are the present of wrestling can never develop into the future legends. People want to knock the current crop of guys for not being stars? EVOLVE 10 was the biggest example of the way management doesn't put them in position to be stars. Gargano, Ricochet, Fox, Jigsaw, Davis, Nation, Pinkie and Low Ki all have the talent to be the guys, and the event was marketed to people who wanted to see New Jack do the same thing he used to do 15 years ago. If the people of today are treated like afterthoughts, people will continue to regard them as afterthoughts, and that's a shame. Granted, Sami Callihan got to close the show by taking out Sabu and being able to cut his promo putting himself over, but that's one guy out of a whole slate of hungry young wrestlers who could've been given the shine. That's not enough, especially when the guys who did show up are all broken down husks, shells of themselves who are sucking fumes right now.
EVOLVE 10 as it was was a fine show, but it would've been a far better show had it not been the final one in the ECW Arena's history. The wrestling industry has changed, and instead of cultivating a new crowd, Gabe and his company decided to pander to an old crowd that was only interested in having their nostalgia sated. That kind of thing is better left for a Hardcore Homecoming show or some other ill-advised reunion, not for a wrestling company named for the kind of change one goes through by moving forward.
Full Results:
- Low Ki pinned Ahtu
- Cheech Hernandez pinned KC "Cloudy" Day
- The Scene defeated Alex Reynolds and John Silver when Scott Reed pinned Reynolds
- Jigsaw pinned AR Fox
- Uhaa Nation pinned Pinkie Sanchez
- Ronin (Chuck Taylor and Rich Swann) defeated the Super Smash Bros. (Players Uno and Dos) when Taylor pinned Dos
- Jon Davis pinned Kyle Matthews
- Bobby Fish tapped Sami Callihan
- Johnny Gargano retained his Open the Freedom Gate Championship via submission over Ricochet
- Sabu pinned Justin Credible
