Rahway, NJ
Saturday January 16, 2010
In the unbelievably hard hitting main event last night for EVOLVE 1, Davey Richards, who some consider the best independent wrestler in the United States today, defeated Kota Ibushi of the Dramatic Dream Team (DDT) promotion, one of Japan's premier wrestling promotions. Both men, known for their stiff striking offense, unleashed a devastating array of kicks to the legs, chest, arms, and head that could be felt across the entire Rahway Recreational Center. During the match, Richards was heard to reveal to his corner men Kyle O'Reilly and Tony Kozina that Ibushi may have cracked one of his ribs. At another point, Richards zeroed in on Ibushi's left arm, and it didn't appear that Richards wouldn't release the arm until he had broken it in two.
Unbelievably, after the match, Richards challenged his corner man and protege Kyle O'Reilly to a match at the upcoming EVOLVE return on March 13th at the Rahway Recreational Center. According to Richards, it was he who got O'Reilly the opportunities to work in Dragon Gate USA and EVOLVE, but now it's time 'to fly the coop' and see just how far he's progressed. The match is set as both competitors are 1-0 in singles competition. Earlier in the night, O'Reilly opened up the doors to EVOLVE with a big victory over the hard hitting striker Bobby Fish in a singles division match up. This was a very good way to open the show as it got the crowd hot and set a pace that the rest of the evening would flow with.
Although Chuck Taylor received better than 60% approval rating when fans were asked by EVOLVE officials whether or not they would like to see the competitor added to the roster, those same officials were not convinced that Taylor was ready. Instead, he was placed in qualifying match against Cheech, from the formidable tag team of Cheech and Cloudy. Taylor was wildly popular with the Rahway contingent, receiving the first loud cheers of the night. Although it was a back and forth battle that could have swung either way, Taylor was able to put Cheech away and claim a position. He would make his presence felt later in the night.
Ricochet and Arik Cannon hooked up in a seemingly clash of styles with Ricochet being a high flyer and Cannon with more of an established ground offense. Cannon unleashed some high powered offense that included some stiff blows mixed in with traditional suplexes and a brain buster, but Ricochet was able to fight through it to pick up the victory. After the match, Ricochet's old nemesis Chuck Taylor returned to ringside to challenge Ricochet at the March 13th return.
In the only tag team match up of the night, the Dark City Fight Club team of Jon Davis and Kory Chavis defeated the duo known as Aeroform, Flip Kendrick and Louis Lyndon. In the early goings of this match up, it appeared that the DCFC would have an easy time of things as they manhandled their opponents. In fact, it appeared that the referee would have his hands full with both members of the DCFC concentrating on one opponent inside the ring, taking the time to incapacitate the other partner on the outside. But Aeroform was able to mount a comeback that reached a crescendo when Lyndon back flip spring boarded from the top rope out on to the floor. This pumped the crowd up, however shortly later the DCFC would put the popular high flyers away with a vicious double team power bomb.
Mercedes Martinez, Women's Superstars Unleashed (WSU) champion defeated Niya in a quick match that featured a completely dominating Martinez. She was able to put Niya away rather handily with her Fisherman's Buster.
Brad Allen, wrestling in honor of his mother, defeated Silas Young in a match that went Young's way for almost it's entire duration. At one point during the match, it appeared that Allen could no longer compete as referee Bryce Remsburg called for the medical staff when he got no response from Allen. It was premature however as Remsburg returned to the ring and began the 20 count. Allen proved his resiliency by fighting back and eventually pulling out the victory.
After the match, while being interviewed by Lenny Leonard, Allen 'let the cat out of the bag' by challenging Chris Hero to a match at the March 13th return. Later in the evening it was announced that Chris Hero would indeed be in Rahway on the 13th, so there is a strong possibility of this match happening. .
The Abstract Wrestler, the mysterious figure featured in several youtube videos revealed himself to be none other than former Age Of The Fall leader Jimmy Jacobs. He took on former World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) superstar Kenn Doane. Initially it appeared to be Doanne who would pick up the victory when he was able to pin Jacobs for the count of three, however official Mike Kehner failed to see that Jacobs foot was draped over the bottom rope. This brought out the extreme surprise, in the Innovator Of Violence, Tommy Dreamer.
After convincing official Mike Kehner to restart the contest, Jacobs was able to tap out Doane with his "End Time" submission hold. Afterwards Jacobs enraged Dreamer with a promo in which he stated that Dreamer was 'washed up', and 'over the hill'. At this point both men went at, with Jacobs ending up the victim of Dreamer's famous DDT. It's not known at this time whether Dreamer will return, but the door has been left wide open for Jacobs vs Dreamer sometime down the road.
After intermission, Chris Dickinson took on Johnny Gargano in a match that featured stiff strikes, and ground based offense. Gargano was able to squeak out a victory with a Face buster. Both men matched up very nicely and it appeared that this match could go either way. It will be interesting to see how Dickinson rebounds from this loss at the March 13th return.
In a brutally stiff match, Muneroi Sawa defeated TJ Perkins with a modified abdominal stretch. This was definitely one of the hardest hitting matches of the night as Sawa repeatedly threw punches reminiscent of the way CC Sabathia throws a fast ball. With each crushing blow, Perkins bravely fought back, but in the end, Sawa was too much for the youngster. If the main event wasn't Davey Richards vs Kota Ibushi, this would have stolen the show.
Chikara was represented at EVOLVE 1 in a 6 man match up that featured Mike Quackenbush's team of Hallowicked and Frightmare, taking on Gran Akuma's Army of F.I.S.T. teammate Icarus, and the 6'5" monster Brodie Lee. Lee seemed a bit out of place in this match with his mammoth size, but it wouldn't be enough to lead his team to victory as Hallowicked ended up picking up the win with a pin fall over Icarus. This match was very popular with the Rahway crowd, as well was Mike Quackenbush, who received one of the loudest ovations of the night.
It was terrific to see another company achieve success in the Rahway Recreational Center, and it seems that EVOLVE officials were very happy with the turn out. There have been many estimations of attendance numbers from 400-600 . Being a fan that has attended many events in this location, where there have been as many a thousand people, and as little as 200, I think it's safe to say that the folks at EVOLVE did very well for themselves attendance wise. Many promos and back stage scenes were filmed for the DVD, so even if you attended the event live, you will want to pick up the DVD once released.
As mentioned, a return date has been set for March 13th at the Rahway Recreational Center, so if you missed this show, make sure to check them out in March, you will not be disappointed. As the date grows closer, check out snapmare for coverage of EVOLVE 2!
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