Evolve Championship
| WWE Evolve Championship | |||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Details | |||||||||||||||||
| Promotion | Evolve (2012–2020) WWE (2025–present) | ||||||||||||||||
| Brand | Evolve | ||||||||||||||||
| Date established | September 8, 2012[1] | ||||||||||||||||
| Other names | |||||||||||||||||
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The WWE Evolve Championship is a professional wrestling championship promoted by the American promotion WWE, defended as the top men's championship of Evolve, one of the promotion's two developmental brands. It is one of two top men's titles on WWE's developmental system, along with the NXT Championship on the NXT brand.
The championship originated in the Evolve promotion as the Evolve Championship when A. R. Fox defeated Sami Callihan in the finals of an eight-man tournament on April 5, 2013 to become the inaugural Evolve Champion.[5] There have been ten reigns shared among ten wrestlers. The championship was deactivated on July 2, 2020 after WWE acquired the promotion. In May 2025, two months after the relaunch of Evolve as a WWE brand division, the Evolve Championship was revived alongside with the creation of the Evolve Women's Championship as its women's counterpart.
History
[edit]Origin
[edit]Evolve was founded in 2009 by Dragon Gate USA booker Gabe Sapolsky, Full Impact Pro (FIP) owner Sal Hamaoui and independent wrestler Davey Richards and held its first event on January 16, 2010.[6][7] Originally, Evolve had no championships, instead putting emphasis on each wrestler's win–loss record.[8] On November 25, 2011, Evolve and Dragon Gate USA announced the unification of the two promotions, which would result in Evolve recognizing the Open the Freedom Gate and Open the United Gate Championships as its top two titles.[9] However, on September 8, 2012, Evolve announced that the promotion would be introducing its first own title, the Evolve Championship.[1] A. R. Fox defeated defeated Sami Callihan in the finals of an eight-man tournament on April 5, 2013 to become the inaugural champion.
The title was defended outside of the United States for the first time on August 29, 2014, when champion Drew Galloway retained against Johnny Moss at an event in Kilmarnock, Scotland and then again the following day when Galloway defeated Andy Wild in a Battle of the Nations match in Aberdeen, Scotland.[10][11] Following multiple successful international championship defenses by Galloway, he dubbed the title the Evolve World Championship on January 9, 2015, at Evolve 36.[2] However, with some exceptions,[12][13] the promotion mainly continued referring to the title as simply the Evolve Championship.[14][15][16][17] During Galloway's record-breaking reign, the title was defended internationally in Scotland, England, Northern Ireland and Australia for promotions such as Revolution Pro Wrestling, British Championship Wrestling, WrestleZone, Rock N Wrestle, Future Pro Wrestling, Outback Championship Wrestling, Premier British Wrestling and Pro Wrestling Ulster.[18] During the subsequent Timothy Thatcher title reign, the title was also defended three times in Germany for Westside Xtreme Wrestling.[19] The title was also defended outside of EVOLVE for US independent promotions, including Premiere Wrestling Xperience, Big Time Wrestling, Atlanta Wrestling Entertainment, MAGNUM Pro Wrestling, WWNLive, Pro Wrestling Force[20] and DGUSA and on a EVOLVE/WWN crossover event with Progress Wrestling.[20]
The Evolve Championship was deactivated in July 2, 2020 after WWE acquired Evolve and ceased operations.
WWE revival
[edit]In January 2025, it was reported that WWE were planning to revive Evolve as a brand.[21] The company trademarked the name "Evolve" on January 30, 2025, with the first set of Evolve tapings under WWE held at the WWE Performance Center in Orlando, Florida on February 7, replacing NXT Level Up, which was cancelled in December 2024.[22] At Royal Rumble on February 1, WWE announced that Evolve would premiere on Tubi on March 5 in the United States and on YouTube internationally.[23] On the May 7 episode of Evolve, Evolve Prime Minister Stevie Turner announced the revival of the Evolve Championship and the creation of the Evolve Women's Championship. A fatal four-way elimination match will determine the first Evolve Champion in WWE on the June 4 episode of Evolve, with Sean Legacy announced as the first participant.[24]
Tournaments
[edit]Inaugural tournament
[edit]On February 8, 2013, Evolve announced that the inaugural Evolve Champion would be determined in a single-elimination tournament on April 5, 2013.[8] Based on their win–loss records, number one seed Chuck Taylor and number two seed Ricochet earned automatic spots in the semifinals of the tournament, while number three and four seeds A. R. Fox and Jon Davis earned spots in the first round of the tournament.[25] The second first round match was a four-way match made up of Rich Swann, Samuray del Sol, Sami Callihan and Jigsaw, seeds five to eight, respectively.[25] The entire tournament took place during the Evolve 19 internet pay-per-view (iPPV) in Secaucus, New Jersey. In their first round matches, A. R. Fox advanced with a disqualification win over Jon Davis, while Sami Callihan submitted Samuray del Sol to win the four-way match.[5] In the semifinals, both the number one and number two seeds were eliminated, when Callihan submitted Chuck Taylor and Fox pinned Ricochet.[5] In the end, Fox pinned Callihan in the finals to win the tournament and become the inaugural Evolve Champion.[5]
| First round | Semifinals | Finals | ||||||||||||
| 1 | Chuck Taylor | Sub | ||||||||||||
| 7 | Sami Callihan | 8:37[26] | ||||||||||||
| 5 6 8 | Rich Swann Samuray del Sol Jigsaw | Sub | ||||||||||||
| 7 | Sami Callihan | [26] | ||||||||||||
| 7 | Sami Callihan | Pin | ||||||||||||
| 3 | A. R. Fox | 19:11[26] | ||||||||||||
| 2 | Ricochet | Pin | ||||||||||||
| 3 | A. R. Fox | 12:54[26] | ||||||||||||
| 3 | A. R. Fox | DQ | ||||||||||||
| 4 | Jon Davis | [26] | ||||||||||||
Title history
[edit]Names
[edit]| Name | Years |
|---|---|
| Evolve Championship | April 2013 – July 2020 |
| Evolve World Championship | January 2015 (sporadically) |
| WWE Evolve Championship | June 2025 – present |
Reigns
[edit]| No. | Overall reign number |
|---|---|
| Reign | Reign number for the specific champion |
| Days | Number of days held |
| Defenses | Number of successful defenses |
| No. | Champion | Championship change | Reign statistics | Notes | Ref. | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Date | Event | Location | Reign | Days | Defenses | |||||
| Evolve | ||||||||||
| 1 | A. R. Fox | April 5, 2013 | Evolve 19 | Secaucus, NJ | 1 | 324 | 8 | Fox defeated Sami Callihan in the finals of an eight-man tournament to become the inaugural champion. | [5] | |
| 2 | Chris Hero | February 23, 2014 | Way of the Ronin 2014 | Brooklyn, NY | 1 | 166 | 2 | [27] | ||
| 3 | Drew Galloway | August 8, 2014 | Evolve 31 | Tampa, FL | 1 | 336 | 20 | Title sporadically referred to as the Evolve World Championship during this reign | [28] | |
| 4 | Timothy Thatcher | July 10, 2015 | Evolve 45 | Tampa, FL | 1 | 596 | 22 | This match was also contested for the Open the Freedom Gate Championship. | [29] | |
| 5 | Zack Sabre Jr. | February 25, 2017 | Evolve 79 | New York City, NY | 1 | 404 | 13 | [30] | ||
| 6 | Matt Riddle | April 5, 2018 | Evolve 102 | Kenner, LA | 1 | 121 | 5 | [31][32] | ||
| 7 | Shane Strickland | August 4, 2018 | Evolve 108 | Philadelphia, PA | 1 | 85 | 2 | [33] | ||
| 8 | Fabian Aichner | October 28, 2018 | Evolve 114 | Ybor City, FL | 1 | 48 | 1 | [34] | ||
| 9 | Austin Theory | December 15, 2018 | Evolve 117 | New York City, NY | 1 | 329 | 12 | This was a three-way match, also including Roderick Strong. | [35] | |
| 10 | Josh Briggs | November 9, 2019 | Evolve 139 | New York City, NY | 1 | 236 | 3 | [36] | ||
| — | Deactivated | July 2, 2020 | — | — | — | — | — | Deactivated when Evolve ceased operations. | ||
| WWE: Evolve | ||||||||||
| 11 | TBD | June 4, 2025 | Evolve | Orlando, Florida | TBD | −18 | TBD | The title was revived as the WWE Evolve Championship with the relaunch of Evolve as a WWE brand. To be determined in a Fatal four-way elimination match. | [24] | |
References
[edit]- ^ a b Radican, Sean (September 8, 2012). "Radican's Evolve 17 iPPV report - Virtual time coverage from Voorhees, N.J." Pro Wrestling Torch. Retrieved May 31, 2013.
- ^ a b Trionfo, Richard (January 9, 2015). "Evolve 36 report: Strong versus Galloway; Gargano faces a swerve; Ronin returns tomorrow night; and more". Pro Wrestling Insider. Retrieved January 10, 2015.
- ^ "Drew McIntyre". WWE. Archived from the original on August 19, 2014. Retrieved August 9, 2014.
- ^ "'The People's Choice' A.R. Fox". Combat Zone Wrestling. Archived from the original on September 22, 2013. Retrieved May 31, 2013.
- ^ a b c d e Radican, Sean (April 9, 2013). "Radican's Evolve 19 iPPV blog 4/5: First Evolve champion crowned in Tournament Finals, Young Bucks vs. SSB (Updated w/complete review)". Pro Wrestling Torch. Retrieved May 31, 2013.
- ^ Mehaffy, Gary (November 9, 2009). "Gabe Sapolsky interview on Dragon Gate, Evolve". Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Archived from the original on April 2, 2015. Retrieved May 31, 2013.
- ^ Radican, Sean (February 16, 2010). "Radican's Evolve DVD Review Series: Evolve 1 - Richards vs. Ibushi, Sawa vs. TJP". Pro Wrestling Torch. Retrieved May 31, 2013.
- ^ a b Caldwell, James (February 8, 2013). "Evolve News: Evolve Title tourney seeds, plus fundamental changes to the promotion announced". Pro Wrestling Torch. Retrieved May 31, 2013.
- ^ "Evolve evolves -- now unified with DGUSA". Wrestling Observer Newsletter. November 25, 2011. Archived from the original on November 28, 2011. Retrieved May 31, 2013.
- ^ "9.03.14". WWNLive. September 3, 2014. Retrieved September 3, 2014.
- ^ "WrestleZone Battle Of The Nations 2014 « Events Database « CAGEMATCH - The Internet Wrestling Database". www.cagematch.net.
- ^ "3.23.15". WWNLive. March 23, 2015. Retrieved August 22, 2015.
- ^ "3.26.15". WWNLive. March 26, 2015. Retrieved August 22, 2015.
- ^ "3.10.15". WWNLive. March 10, 2015. Retrieved July 12, 2015.
- ^ "5.27.15". WWNLive. March 10, 2015. Retrieved July 12, 2015.
- ^ "7.10.15". WWNLive. March 10, 2015. Retrieved July 12, 2015.
- ^ "8.16.15". WWNLive. August 16, 2015. Retrieved August 22, 2015.
- ^ "Evolve Championship". Cagematch. Retrieved July 11, 2015.
- ^ "wXw Shotgun Live Tour 2016: Hamburg". Cagematch. Retrieved September 2, 2016.
- ^ a b "WWNLive SuperShow - Mercury Rising 2017: EVOLVE Vs. PROGRESS « Events Database « CAGEMATCH - The Internet Wrestling Database". www.cagematch.net.
- ^ Thomas, Jeremy (January 22, 2025). "Latest On Potential Plans For WWE Revival Of EVOLVE". 411Mania. Retrieved February 1, 2025.
- ^ Lamb, Jeremy (January 31, 2025). "Report: WWE Evolve Tapings Set For February". Fightful. Retrieved February 1, 2025.
- ^ Thompson, Andrew (February 1, 2025). "WWE Evolve announced, premiering March 5th on Tubi". POST Wrestling. Retrieved February 1, 2025.
- ^ a b Lambert, Jeremy (May 7, 2025). "WWE EVOLVE Championships Unveiled | Fightful News". Fightful. Retrieved May 8, 2025.
- ^ a b Caldwell, James (February 8, 2013). "Evolve News: Full Evolve Title tournament announced". Pro Wrestling Torch. Retrieved May 31, 2013.
- ^ a b c d e "Evolve #19: Title Tournament". Internet Wrestling Database. Retrieved May 31, 2013.
- ^ Gee Schoon Tong, Chris (February 23, 2014). "Show results - 2/23 DGUSA in New York: New Evolve champion, Gargano defends DGUSA Title, more". Pro Wrestling Torch. Retrieved February 24, 2014.
- ^ Radican, Sean (August 8, 2014). "Radican's iPPV report - Evolve 31 in Ybor City, Fla.: Galloway/McIntyre captures Evolve Title from Hero, plus Sydal/Bourne vs. Gargano". Pro Wrestling Torch. Retrieved August 9, 2014.
- ^ Radican, Sean (July 10, 2015). "Radican's Evolve 45 iPPV report 7/10: WWNLive blows up the card & delivers huge main event title match - Galloway vs. Thatcher, Strong vs. Sabre, Jr., Chris Hero, So Cal Val's faction, more". Pro Wrestling Torch. Retrieved July 11, 2015.
- ^ Currier, Joseph (February 25, 2017). "Evolve 79 recap: Timothy Thatcher vs. Zack Sabre Jr". Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Retrieved February 26, 2017.
- ^ Radican, Sean (April 5, 2018). "Radican's Evolve 102 Report 4/5: Matt Riddle vs. Zack Sabre Jr., Doom Patrol vs. The End, Keith Lee vs. Darby Allin, Ospreay vs. A.R. Fox". Pro Wrestling Torch. Retrieved April 7, 2018.
- ^ "EVOLVE 102 results: Zack Sabre Jr. vs. Matt Riddle". WON/F4W - WWE news, Pro Wrestling News, WWE Results, UFC News, UFC results. 2018-04-05. Retrieved 2018-04-07.
- ^ "Matt Riddle Drops Evolve Championship To Shane Strickland At Evolve 108". FIGHTFUL. 2018-08-04. Retrieved 2018-08-04.
- ^ "EVOLVE 114 Results (10/28/18): NXT Reigns Supreme, JD Drake Wins WWN Championship, Dan Matha Appears". FIGHTFUL. 2018-10-28. Retrieved 2018-10-29.
- ^ "Austin Theory defeated previous champion Fabian Aichner and Roderick Strong in a triple-threat match". cagematch. December 15, 2020. Retrieved May 26, 2020.
- ^ Toro, Carlos. "EVOLVE 139 Results (11/9) New EVOLVE Champion Crowned, Eddie Kingston, Shotzi Blackheart, More". Fightful. Retrieved November 10, 2019.