[7.0] "Credit to those in Evolve who pay for and Kenny Johnson and others who direct & edit some of the finest video packages in all of wrestling. It's rare that I would sit-through the entire pre-show promotionals, but I didn't want to FF as I became considerably more interested in Page/O'Reilly's challenge/Kincade than I was prior to pressing play. Another plus was the return of Lenny Leonard who currently does a better job than all play-by-play guys in providing backstory and context to the matches. As Evolve only runs, at most, two shows per month, it's very helpful to remind an audience of, for example, the remarkable run E Page has been on prior to tonight's Evolve Title Match and thus why he's a most credible challenger. It's a shame then that the match is the fourth longest of the evening as I felt it rushed too quickly to the bigger spots instead of allowing Page's wickedly villainous character to shine. Perhaps the antidote to Page's toxin was the aggressive, enthusiastic style ZSJ employed tonight coming off less of a professor and more of a competitor. I have never bought ZSJ's penalty kicks nearly as much as Shibata's so ZSJ unloading four did not affect my opinion of that move's standing w/in ZSJ's arsenal. Although I applaud the ambition/audacity of these big men in the opener, by botching spots (notably DD's slippage off of the SW ropes in the super-rana attempt) and the overly choreographed moments (KL teasing a Vader moonsault only to elongate the spot so KL could still take that bump, ) took me a bit out. As a whole, the following four matches were unmemorable but I really liked the finish of the Cobb/Williams contest in which TW had prepared for 'Tour of the Islands' and rolled-through one of the waves into a roll-up pinfall. Chicago has always been a Gabe town in which the top singles titles are defended, but never changed. But Riddle/O'Reilly still provided the workrate and intensity of the evening's only very good match. 6. 75"

[7.0] "Keith Lee & Dijak put on another crazy display; they're trying to be something like a heavyweight Hiromu/Dragon Lee series, and it's really incredible to see every time even if the evolutions aren't as ingenious; this match wasn't as engaging as their last EVOLVE match and had a couple missed spots, but it still wowed and showed some progression as Dijak became desperate to put Keith down, and they both stole each other's finishes early on (****). Yehi vs Kincaid also wasn't quite as good as their last meeting, but they both exchanged their really unique offense and kept the flow up; the work of the leg by both was good, but neither really had it play into the match besides when it was being targeted (***1/2). Rush vs Theory was a really solid sub-10-minute matchup between two good young talents (**3/4). Cobb & Hot Sauce was a really cool combo on paper and they delivered; Tracy used strikes and a more versatile technical base to mitigate Cobb's offensive strengths, but facing Cobb's power is a big order; Cobb's fantastic ability to sell AND look strong made that story work really well, and the finish was very nice as well; it didn't break a certain gear sadly (***1/2). Tag Titles had a neat dynamic where the local guys that aren't regulars play face against Catch Point that got extra heat from Stokely's promo; Dickinson & Jaka dominated really well while Knicks & Velasquez played good underdogs; liked this a fair deal for what it was (***1/4). ZSJ/Page had a lot of urgency to it, as it should've, but it rarely felt engaging; a few really good sequences and some good pacing, but I just didn't really care as much as it wanted me to (***). Riddle vs Kyle was legit-feeling guys having a very pro wrestling style match; awesome stuff as they jocked it out with strikes, submissions, and the occasional wrestling move, making it look like Kyle was a match for Riddle until the very end (****1/4). Solid show, strong start & end."

[8.0] "Another awesome EVOLVE show! Dijak/Lee II (in EVOLVE) was a really good heavyweight spotfest (***1/2), Yehi/Kincaid was an war of attrition w/ some really good selling (***1/2), Theory/Rush was OK, yet very forgettable (**1/4), Cobb/Hot Sauce was disappointing - it was pretty solid, but I wanted it to be more given how talented both men are (**1/2), the Catch Point tag title match was OK (**), ZSJ/Page was really good, the ending w/ Page going full Ishii/Shibata mode w/ no selling PK's was ridiculous though & brought my rating down a bit (***1/2), the main event was a goddamn (s)hoot - Riddle & O'Reilly killed it (****1/2). A great show w/ no real bad matches & an excellent, classic main event."