On Monday Night Raw, Stephanie McMahon made the momentous announcement that WWE will hold its first-ever all women’s pay-per-view, poignantly called “Evolution,” on October 28th.
History is made! @StephMcMahon has announced on #RAW that the first-ever ALL WOMEN'S Pay-Per-View will take place on October 28th! #WWEEvolution pic.twitter.com/5tNOziwYkR
— WWE (@WWE) July 24, 2018
As a female wrestling fan, I couldn’t be more excited about this PPV. However, Stephanie’s emotional announcement didn’t reveal much outside the date of the event – but a subsequent press release from WWE offered quite a few more details. Here’s what we know so far:
- Women from Raw, SmackDown Live, NXT, and NXT: UK, including Ronda Rousey, will all participate
- The show will feature the finals of the 2018 Mae Young Classic
- The Raw, SmackDown, and NXT Women’s Championships will all be defended, as well as the newly created NXT UK Women’s Championship
- Several WWE Hall of Fame women will be participating, including Trish Stratus, Lita, and Beth Phoenix
With all that in mind, let’s have some fun and fantasy book the matches we know will take place, as well as a couple of bonus matches that could occur.
Rivalry Renewed: Trish Stratus vs. Mickie James
This match was not hinted at in WWE’s press release. However, just hours after Evolution was announced, Mickie James challenged her old rival Trish Stratus to a match at the PPV:
We’ve stood the test of time my friend… But after tonight’s announcement from @StephMcMahon and all the excitement for something we all worked so hard for I must ask… One more time?! #EVOLUTION #ThePeopleWantIt #IWantIt 💋 https://t.co/8jBhJOHQJ6
— Mickie James~Aldis (@MickieJames) July 24, 2018
James vs. Stratus was one of the most compelling rivalries of the “Divas” era, and they are two of the most decorated women in all of wrestling. If there’s ever a PPV for them to have “one more match,” it’s Evolution.
No. 1 Contender Battle Royal
I will be shocked if a battle royal does not occur at Evolution. WWE will undoubtedly want to include as many women Superstars as possible in the event, and what’s the easiest way to do that? A battle royal.
But it can’t just be a meaningless free-for-all; there needs to be something at stake. For that reason, I predict there will be a No. 1 contendership on the line, whether it be for the Raw Women’s Championship, the SmackDown Women’s Championship, or a title of the winner’s choosing.
Now let’s move on to booking the matches that the press release said will take place.
2018 Mae Young Classic Final
As of this writing, only 15 of 32 competitors have been confirmed for the second annual Mae Young Classic, making the final nearly impossible to predict. However, it seems likely that an NXT-signed talent will again win the tournament. Unfortunately, the vast majority of the 15 confirmed names are all NXT signees, so that theory isn’t constructive.
But, purely considering the confirmed competitors (and their status with WWE), my educated guess is that the final match will be Io Shirai vs. Rhea Ripley. Shirai is a substantial international superstar, so I’m reasonably confident that she’ll make the finals. As for Ripley, she was one of the first two competitors announced (the other being Kaitlyn) for the 2018 tournament. Despite being eliminated in the Round of 16 in the 2017 Mae Young Classic, Ripley was immediately signed by WWE. Winning this year’s tournament would be a perfect launching pad for her career.
That being said, my prediction will undoubtedly change once the full field of competitors is revealed.
NXT UK Women’s Championship Match
WWE has revealed absolutely nothing about the NXT UK Women’s Championship aside from its impending existence. However, if the title is defended/awarded at Evolution, I’m incredibly confident the match will be Jinny vs. Toni Storm.
As of now, there are six women signed to NXT:UK – Storm, Jinny, Isla Dawn, Killer Kelly, Charlie Morgan, and Nina Samuels. Storm is already popular among NXT/WWE fans thanks to her participation in the inaugural Mae Young Classic, and Jinny is the current Progress Women’s Champion. In fact, Jinny is just the second Progress Women’s Champion; the first was Toni Storm. Pitting them against each other at Evolution for the NXT UK Women’s Championship would only make sense.
NXT Women’s Championship Match
NXT Women’s Champion Shayna Baszler will defend her title against Kairi Sane at NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn 4 in August. Given how dominant she’s been, I think Baszler will retain – and she’ll go on to defend the title against Candice LeRae at Evolution.
LeRae and Baszler have had unfinished business ever since their match in the 2017 Mae Young Classic. Further, LeRae has recently worked title matches against Baszler at NXT house shows.
I also think there’s a high probability that the NXT Women’s Championship match at Evolution will be a triple threat match or fatal 4-way. But, whatever the case, I believe Baszler and LeRae will both be involved.
SmackDown Women’s Championship Match
There are three main roster PPVs between now and Evolution: SummerSlam, Hell in a Cell, and Super Show-Down in Melbourne, Australia. A lot could happen in the main roster title picture. But here’s my educated guess as to what will happen with the SmackDown Women’s Championship match on Oct. 28th.
I wholeheartedly believe that Becky Lynch will defeat Carmella for the title at SummerSlam. James Ellsworth has successfully foiled ‘Mella’s opponents one too many times, and another title run for Lynch has been a long (long… long) time coming. However, what will happen from there is hard to predict. Perhaps Carmella will invoke her rematch clause for Hell in a Cell, or perhaps she’ll invoke it sooner. Maybe Asuka will re-enter the title hunt (where she belongs), and Charlotte will undoubtedly seek to get the title back once she returns from injury.
Whatever the case, I guess that the SmackDown Women’s Championship match at Evolution will be Becky Lynch vs. someone, most likely either Asuka or Charlotte (or both).
Raw Women’s Championship Match
My gut tells me that Ronda Rousey will be Raw Women’s Champion come Evolution. I’m not thrilled about it, but Rousey’s a cash cow, so WWE will likely give her the win over Alexa Bliss at SummerSlam.
What happens from there is anyone’s guess.
However, I will say that I think the Super Show-Down in Australia will be of crucial interest to this match. The Super Show-Down occurs just 22 days before Evolution. Because of that, I think women’s events will take a bit of a back seat in Australia – except for where Rousey is concerned. Again, I cannot stress enough that Rousey is an ATM, so of course, WWE will want to show her off Down Under. I’m also nearly 100% sure that she’ll be in the Raw Women’s Championship match at Evolution, but I can’t confidently guess who her opponent will be as there’s so much going on in Raw’s women’s division.
So there you have it: all my best guesses for what will happen at WWE Evolution. I could be entirely off the mark, but these are the matches I’d most like to see.