In a rare disclaimer for me, this review is based on my live experience of the match. Given the state of the relationship between WWN and WWE, it is unclear if this match will ever be released on videotape in any form. If and when that happens, I’ll add on a tape review of this match.

In a year when Evolve lost Zack Sabre Jr., Keith Lee, and Matthew Riddle in the span of just a few months, one could not help but wonder how exactly the company was going to replace three wrestlers who were not merely just their biggest stars but also three of the most reliable in regards to match quality in a promotion that basically can only hang its hat on match quality.

At the company’s first post-Riddle show, it was clear that a Shane Strickland vs. Tracy Williams main event title match was clearly not the answer. There was no hype for the show in the preceding weeks, and there were rumors that advanced ticket sales were doing poorly.

Evolve then clearly reached out to WWE for assistance in this transition period for this doubleshot-weekend, and they received it in the form of The Velveteen Dream. The decision seemed to work out, as the crowd seemed to be its usual full self, and the reaction Dream got indicated that the fans were beyond excited to get to watch him.

If you watched closely throughout the night though, you would have noticed something troubling (assuming anyone cares about the well-being of Evolve – which is admittedly not a safe assumption).

While no one would say this Evolve crowd was dead, it was clear they were not terribly invested in any individual wrestler (the closest thing to a star reaction all night was for Joey Janela). Then the Dream came out. Everyone got on their feet and started filming him on their phones right away. It seemed like the biggest star in the world came out, and everyone else on the show (including his opponent) seemed like a geek in comparison.

Then to make matters even worse, every mention of WWE and NXT from there on out mostly received positive reactions from the crowd. A few years ago nothing seemed hackier than for an indie to do a literal “Fuck WWE!” mentality. Now one of the most prominent US indies has been so co-opted that it’s leading to indie fans salivating for mentions of the nazi-fed. For shame. You are all complicit.

It appeared like this match might be in trouble. They clearly were trying to go for Darby being a babyface for representing Evolve and Dream being a heel for representing the nazi federation. The crowd was not buying it though, and it seemed impossible that would change.

Credit to the wrestlers though: they got ’em.

This was a beautifully laid out match in the moment and within the bigger picture. Darby came out firing on all cylinders, and he had Dream on the ropes. It seemed like Dream was completely outmatched by Darby, and it got the crowd to rally behind the Evolve star in the way they were going for all along.

From there, they could do whatever they want. Dream proved here possibly more than at any other point just how big of a star he could be. It was already clear before this that he could play to the last row of an arena crowd, but now it’s clear that his work can be physical enough for a small crowd as well. There possibly no one in the company with bigger “complete package” potential than him as a star and as a wrestler.

The match also set up things nicely for Evolve going forward. Darby came off like a bigger star by the end of the match. He even almost pulled off a win at one point late in the match…but Austin Theory prevented it from happening. Dream pulled off the victory shortly thereafter, Darby was a bigger star with a more WWE-fetishizing crowd, and Darby vs. Theory is clearly a HUGE match for Evolve in La Boom going forward.

Well done. (***3/4)