WWE Evolution 2025: 3 Things We Hated And 3 Things We Loved

Welcome to Wrestling Inc.'s first-ever (but hopefully not last-ever!) review of WWE Evolution, the show that ended a very long weekend of wrestling on an incredibly high note! In case the opening line didn't make it clear, the WINC staff pretty much unanimously enjoyed Evolution, which started with Becky Lynch kinda-but-not-really stealing the win in her women's IC title defense with a nifty pin on Bayley and ended with Naomi very much actually stealing the Women's World Championship by cashing in her Money in the Bank briefcase before Rhea Ripley vs. IYO SKY could come to a different end. We have plenty to discuss that we enjoyed, but don't think we don't have some hates to give out, as well — the show was good, but it was far from perfect.

Apologies in advance for not hitting the entire show — that's what our Evolution results page is for! This column is only for the parts of the show the WINC staff were particularly driven to call out, for either positive or negative reasons. In other words, these are three things we hated and three things we loved about WWE Evolution 2025!

There has been a lot of criticism towards WWE for how they handled the build-up to Sunday's Evolution II event, ranging from justifiable digs at certain title storyline setups to full-blown conspiracy theories about deliberate sabotage done in order to discourage future all-women's premium live event attempts. Whether or not the latter is definitely true, it certainly felt that way when WWE's typically top-of-the-line production and broadcasts team uncharacteristically fumbled more than once, coincidentally during the one night of the year that WWE's women get all to themselves.

Wade Barrett called Fatal Influence "Fatal Attraction," and rightfully got chewed out for it by Fallon Henley. It's clear the Fatal Influence takes heavy inspiration from the former Toxic Attraction stable, but it is still its own faction. There is nothing more dismissive than getting those two stables mixed up when Fatal Influence is struggling to seem legitimate in the highly competitive world of "NXT." It's like Barrett didn't care enough to watch his language.

Maybe we give Barrett some leeway — sure, he's been on commentary for five years at this point, but he's still a newbie compared to Cole. Barrett might get some leeway, but Cole does not. Candice LeRae has been on the main roster for a while now, and while she hasn't had that many chances at exposure, she was Nia Jax's associate for a whole feud with Tiffany Stratton. She's been around. It's a stupid mistake to call her Candice Michelle when Michelle hasn't been on WWE programming in almost twenty years. Cole, you're supposed to be a professional. Calling names, finishers, moves — its all your job. The only reason someone of Cole's experience would make mistakes as dumb as this is if he wasn't paying attention — if he didn't care.

The gross mischaracterization of Rhea Ripley and IYO SKY's feud and main event (match of the weekend contender) was the nail in the coffin for me. While Ripley participated in some heel behavior towards the end of the match, Ripley and SKY kept things mostly respectful in the ring. That was the whole point of their feud. They don't hate each other; this was a match to see if Ripley could beat SKY. So, the fact that commentary was acting like Ripley wanted to rip SKY's head off — before the heel behavior, mind you — was so weird. It's like they didn't pay attention to the match itself, when Ripley said, to SKY's face, that she respected her. It's like they don't care!

I know they just had Saturday Night's Main Event before, but I do not want to hear any sympathy for Cole and Barrett when, in the former's case, they have called two-night WrestleManias just fine before. Cole and Barrett's constant slip-ups were apathetic and disrespectful. I don't know how you somehow have your act together for an NBC, Peacock-exclusive "television special," but constantly mess up on a premium live event. Tell me you didn't care about Evolution without telling me you didn't care about Evolution.

Written by Angeline Phu

As WWE has lovingly (incessantly) reminded us, Evolution is a historic event. Sunday's Evolution event was only the second of its kind, but the historic-ness of it all lies in what it stands for. Evolution II stands for the progression of women's wrestling, and serves as an opportunity to see how far we have come in the world of women's wrestling (and much farther we can go). It is a meeting of past, present, and future — so, it was lovingly fitting to see several figures of WWE's women appear in the crowd during Sunday's broadcast. Their presence reminds us of what WWE's women used to be, and through their presence, we can appreciate what WWE's women are and could be.

The inclusion of WWE's female legends showed the way things could be, for both the men and women's division. Nikki Bella and Trish Stratus joined the ring in Sunday's in-ring festivities, but never did they overshadow other, younger talent. You can't really say the same for the men's division, where figures like Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson and John Cena are attempting to breathe new, perhaps unnecessary, life into their own historic careers at the cost of today's talent. WWE's female legends didn't do that. If anything, their presence only uplifted the women of today, the women who are really breathing life into the sport. These legends were not here to overshadow the women of today. This isn't to discourage veterans from revisiting the ring, but it is an example of how to return in a way that wholesomely benefits the business. WWE's female veterans didn't fade into the background — it's not about making yourself small — but they were here to support. They served as torches, memorials, of the way things were, and with their bright smiles, they continued to light the path to the way things can be.

Torches, memorials. The presence of WWE's legends, from all eras, was a nod to the historic nature of Evolution. While not all of WWE's iconic female performers could make it for one reason or another, those that did show up included Ivory, Maryse, Alundra Blayze, Jacqueline, and Leilani Kai. Regardless of who appeared, it was an undeniable treat to see figures from our past on our screens in the present. We grew up watching these women push the boundaries for women in the ring. Some of us had our eyes glued to our television screens as Blayze defiantly dumped the WWF Women's Championship in the bin. Some of us remember Ivory and Jacqueline's reigns with the WWF Women's Championship (and the WWE Cruiserweight Championship for the latter), or Maryse's two Divas Championships reigns. For us younger folks, we just remember seeing these women as they appeared in WWE2K games, immortalized in their prime. However you remember these women, the message is clear throughout: they have left an indelible mark on the WWE Universe. Sometimes, we have to remember where we came from. In return, those memories help us see where we're going.

Written by Angeline Phu

I started to get a bad feeling about Blake Monroe's intentions during the Evolution preshow tonight when she was shown backstage with now-former friend Jordynne Grace. The former TNA Knockouts Champion asked Monroe to be in her corner during her NXT Women's Championship Match against Jacy Jayne, because Grace wanted to even the odds a bit more against Fatal Influence. Monroe just came off a bit sketchy during the backstage segment, which also aired on the actual premium live event, so to begin with, I thought this heel turn would have been more effective if we all just kind of assumed Monroe would be backing Grace after they teamed up against Fatal Influence at Great American Bash last night. It would have made Monroe smashing Grace in the back with the title a lot more surprising. 

Even though I suppose this all makes sense for Monroe, as Mariah May in AEW definitely worked better as a heel, it felt a bit abrupt, especially after "WWE NXT" on Tuesday. "NXT" ran a really cute video vignette in two parts of Monroe and Grace getting ready for their Great American Bash match, and it just worked really well. Sure, "NXT" skits and segments like that are a bit cheesy, but these two made it work. I love a good odd couple pairing and the matchup of "The Glamour" and "The Juggernaut" was an excellent one. They also looked like they were having a lot of fun together, too, which makes a storyline work even better for those watching.

Monroe's turn makes things a bit less messy when it comes to "The Glamour" challenging Jayne for the title, but I still feel like it should be Grace to hold it before she inevitably goes up to the main roster. Overall, Evolution was probably the best show of the weekend, in my humble opinion, so I didn't have much to hate about it at all, especially since Monroe's heel turn on Grace didn't lead to her joining Fatal Influence. If I have to be picky, however, I just would have wanted to see a few more weeks of Monroe teaming up with Grace, because they had great chemistry as a pair. 

Either way, it makes me excited to see what's going to go down on "NXT" on Tuesday, and getting me excited for the Tuesday show is always a good thing. If we're headed toward a Monroe versus Grace feud, it's going to give "The Glamour" a great opportunity to show WWE fans what she's really got in the ring.

Written by Daisy Ruth

Stephanie Vaquer booked herself a women's world title opportunity at Clash in Paris by winning a really fun battle royal during Evolution, last eliminating "WWE NXT" star Lash Legend following a star-making performance for the up-and-comer. 

While battle royals of the past have heavily relied on names of the past, this was a match that hinged heavily on the present and future generations of the women's roster, with each and every one – maybe aside from Tatum Paxley and Izzi Dame – of them given an opportunity to shine or a spot to be had. Kelani Jordan, one of the leading prospects in the developmental brand, had one such moment as she got to run the Kofi Kingston-coded elimination escape; she landed on the announcer's desk, feet not touching the floor in the process, and proceeded to walk on her hands to skin the cat back into the ring. Legend herself got the shine of being the one to eliminate the only part-time returnee in the bout, Nikki Bella, and ultimately finished the runner-up to Vaquer after co-eliminating Nia Jax. Jax was presented as the division's monster, as she should be, and scored a bunch of eliminations. 

The Secret Her-vice protected Chelsea Green throughout the affair, with their elimination becoming the undoing for Green at the hands of Vaquer and Bella. Zelina Vega continued her feud with the one who took the United States title from her, Giulia, scoring a cathartic elimination on her foe. And everything built to the moment that Vaquer delivered her immensely popular move, Devil's Kiss, to Legend on the apron for the win. Vaquer will now be exactly where she should be by the time Clash in Paris rolls around, continuing her meteoric rise with a shot at whomever holds the title she challenges for. Excellent stuff.

Written by Max Everett

Naomi may have been the main character of Evolution, but Stephanie McMahon still certainly thought she held that title with all of the unnecessary appearances she made on tonight's show.

If WWE has limited McMahon's appearance to just appearing as one of the legends in the crowd or saying a few quick words at the top of the show, then it would've been perfectly fine. At the end of the day, McMahon should be part of the show in some small capacity given that she was a major part of the Attitude Era and has held a number of roles in a behind the scenes capacity. Rather than celebrating her legacy in women's professional wrestling on a show that was meant to do just that, it became distracting seeing McMahon between every break in between matches. It made a big Premium Live Event feel more like an episode of Saturday Night's Main Event with all of her live appearances alongside Joe Tessitore, and made the pacing of the rest of the show feel awkward until they were done with the final one. Moreover, there wasn't really any good reason for McMahon to be the one to interview Stephanie Vaquer after she won the Clash In Paris Battle Royal. It made it feel as though WWE were simply looking for another reason to get McMahon on the show as much as possible, and would've been just fine if a backstage interviewer had done it or WWE cut the entire thing from the show altogether. The appearances got to the point throughout the night where they became more annoying than fun, and it just was not the move.

Written by Olivia Quinlan

This Evolution main event had everything: a thermonuclear rivalry, a compelling story, a world title on the line, a total barn burner of a match, and then the unadulterated shock value of Naomi cashing in the Money in the Bank contract to steal the moment. 

Naomi had been at the losing end of her bout with the Queen of the Ring, Jade Cargill, earlier on in the night, an extra bitter moment for her as special guest referee Bianca Belair made the count. But for the same reason that loss didn't matter to her in the grand scheme of things, she was back out to the shock of everyone to close the show with the Women's World Championship. She might have lost the grudge match with her arch-rival, but she made sure to have the last laugh by winning the world title before she could, and that could certainly make things interesting for the one with an incumbent opportunity at SummerSlam. 

Now for the match that led to the moment, the pursuit of that elusive first win over Sky for Ripley, the attempt at righting the wrong of her title loss earlier this year. It was almost like the perfect record served as a double edged sword; Ripley needed to finally catch her white whale, and Sky was under pressure to keep that hold over her. Neither would be denied, but at the same time neither would allow one another to get the upper hand. When Ripley had finally kept her opponent down for the three-count, there was no referee – Jessika Carr took a gnarly bump, props to her – to make the decision official. But that just allowed her to get more creative with her offense, taking her opponent for a brawl through the crowd and trying to launch her from the production equipment. 

Sky managed to escape near-certain doom as questions over the status of the match continued to arise, landing a flying crossbody from several feet up to wipe out Ripley on the floor. Eventually the action made its way back to the ringside area, with Sky crashing into the announcer's desk before powerbombing Ripley to the floor, landing an Over The Moonsault at the referee came back to for the closest near-fall of the bout. 

The beginning of the end of their match, and also the beginning of Naomi's moment, came at the tail-end of a flush Spanish Fly from Ripley to Sky from the top rope; that saw both of them downed, and thus the optimal opportunity for a beaten-up Naomi to run down to the ring and make her cash in. There was a moment that threatened to be the time for someone to stuff the cash-in, but the bell rung to made things official and she quickly slammed the briefcase against Ripley's head, following up with a Split-Legged Moonsault to steal the Women's World title from Sky. Ripley was denied her victory over Sky, she was denied her Women's Championship, and she was understandably far from happy. Could that mean a heel turn? Potentially, hopefully. But without getting ahead of what happened, this was excellent from start-to-finish and the perfect main event for a show like Evolution. Viva La Women's Wrestling.

Written by Max Everett