The Bar has been Set at WWE Evolution

The first ever all-women’s event occurred last night and it is being regarded as one of the best WWE events in quite a few years. Not only was this event a brilliant showcase of the progression of women’s wrestling and just outright action, but it also set a standard as to how Pay-Per-View and special events should be from here on out on the main roster.

We had the mixture of the past and the present with the 20-women battle royal, as well as the future with the NXT Championship match and the final of the Mae Young Classic. The production looked different for the first time in a long time, with more of a focus on building the matches and showing said incredible action instead of the comedic effects that seem to get focused on during weekly television.

Hall of Fame Superstars such as Trish Stratus, Lita, and Alundra Blayze came back and showed their worth in the ring during the first two matches. We had a few comedic points and a few botched moves, but it was a solid start to the night.

The battle royal was one of the highlights, with The Iconics really getting the heat from the crowd inside the Nassau Coliseum. There were great clashes between Tamina Snuka and Nia Jax, Ember Moon and Asuka brought the crowd to their feet and Jax would take out her friend in Moon for the win.

A nice little tribute during the match would happen, with Tamina and Nia Jax doing the signature call that Roman Reigns uses prior to his spear. The tributes would continue throughout the night, with a good chunk of them coming in the 6-women tag team match later on in the night.

The final of the Mae Young Classic had the potential to steal the show, and if given another 5 minutes they would have done so. It was one of the best matches on the card, with the Australian in Tori Storm taking the win over Japan’s Io Shirai in an instant classic. The crowd was on the edge of their seats for the entire match, with underhook suplexes and crazy top rope moves getting huge pops.

Storm got the win, and one would imagine that both competitors would be seen in a WWE ring again pretty soon. For Storm, it will bring her a little more attention when she appears on the NXT UK brand in the coming months. For Shirai, it was just another feather in the career cap that is already incredible to date.

The 6-woman tag match between The Riott Squad and the team of Bayley, Natalya and Sasha Banks ended up begin quite entertaining. The on again, off again feud between Banks and Bayley was on show during the match, while Liv Morgan looked to give her best performance on the main roster.

The tributes continued here in fine form, with an early Hart Attack on Morgan. We’d see a powerbomb from Natalya as a tribute to her father, a diving elbow drop from Bayley for the Macho Man and Banks would hit a 5-star frog splash in tribute to Eddie Guerrero to get the win. It was another showcase of how good the women can perform when given time.

NXT got their Championship on the show, with Kairi Sane and Shayna Baszler having a beautiful match in the middle of the card. The main thing here was not that Baszler won though, it was that we could be seeing the start of the MMA four horsewomen. Sane sent Baszler into the first row and onto Jessamyn Duke and Marina Shafir.

That lead to both Duke and Shafir interfering in the match, with a kick from Shafir sending Sane back into a submission hold and a technical submission win for Baszler. It might lead to a very tasty matchup eventually between the MMA and WWE four horsewomen, but that is for another day.

The next match, Becky Lynch and Charlotte had what could very well be the match of the year in a brutal last woman standing match. There were spots in this match that would put the men to shame, with a huge leg drop from the top of a ladder by Becky Lynch a highlight. The stiff shots with chairs and canes, the senton through the table and the powerbomb to finish it off would have people around the world on the edge, waiting to see what would happen.

Charlotte and Becky Lynch just went out and showed everyone in the back as to how to engage an audience and carry out one of the best matches that they will see for years to come.

The main event was WWE moving into the future with Rousey at the forefront, going over Nikki Bella. It shows that WWE is heading past the Bella Twins and into the future, although it may lead into the Rousey heel turn to align with the four horsewomen. Rousey once against stepped up in a big match situation, and the Bellas played a nice role to cap off a fantastic night.

The production was a class above anything we have seen so far this year on the main roster, which generally means that Triple H had control backstage. The superstars stepped up and outperformed their male counterparts. The crowd brought an atmosphere that is hardly seen anywhere outside of the big four shows and the night after WrestleMania.

WWE have set themselves up here, they have to continue to provide the high-quality programming that they gave us at Evolution. It’s come at a time where shows like Evolution can show the wrestling world what WWE can do, it is just a matter of doing it now.