WWE Evolution opens with a video package, chronicling the journey of the women, all the way back to the old days. A voice-over from Stephanie says it’s all about “showing the next generation they can do whatever they want.”
We go live to the arena in Uniondale, New York. Unfortunately, Michael Cole’s microphone isn’t working and we can hear someone talking to him about it. Nita Strauss is in the ring playing an electric guitar, with a drummer, and Lizzy Hale (Halestorm) singing on the ramp. A very NXT-style opening. Michael Cole, Beth Phoenix, and Renee Young then introduce us to the show. Young says she woke-up with a lump in her throat today because she never thought she’d be here in WWE, let alone a commentator for the first-ever all women’s PPV.
Trish Stratus is the first performer out tonight, followed by Lita, who got a bigger pop! The ladies look amazing and the fans are excited for this huge match.
Alexa Bliss comes out and welcomes us to the show. She says she can promise tonight will be amazing. Bliss says she knows this is already well-past Lita and Trish’s bedtime, so they should turn up their hearing aids. She then introduces “the real pioneers of the women’s revolution”, Mickie James and Alicia Fox.
Trish Stratus & Lita Vs. Mickie James & Alicia Fox W/Alexa Bliss
Mickie James starts the match against Lita and the crowd are hot for this one. They lock-up and Lita forces Mickie to the corner. A “Lita” chant fires-up as she floors Mickie with a right hand. Lita gets whipped to the ropes and hits Mickie with a Lita-can-rana! She follows-up with a monkey-flip and rolls through to unleash some ground-and-pound.
Mickie retreats to her corner and tags Alicia Fox. Alicia doesn’t want to get in the ring, so Lita pulls her over the ropes via her hair. Lita whips Foxy to the corner, then brings James back into the ring as well. Lita tags Trish and they hit a variation of Poetry In Motion to James and Fox in the corner.
Trish and Alicia lock-up but Stratus quickly takes her down with a judo throw. Bliss takes Trish’s back but the former Champ throws her over her shoulder. Trish slaps Alicia in the face and says she wants Mickie, and here she comes. James looks like she’s seen a ghost. They talk trash as the fans light-up. Trish hits Mickie with a right hand, and she fires right back. They go back and forth until Trish hits a Lou Thesz Press. Stratus throws Mickie to the corner and looks for her signature rope-assisted rana but James holds her legs. Mickie pulls her up but Trish punches her, then stands up and hits a hurricanrana from the top rope for a two count! Mickie rolls from the ring and regroups with Alexa and Foxy.
Alexa, Mickie, and Alicia walk away as if they’re leaving but Trish and Lita run after them and a brawl ensues on the ramp. Lita sends Mickie back into the ring, then dodges a kick from Alicia that hits Mickie. Lita took to the top rope, looking for the moonsault but Alexa pushed her off the top rope when the referee wasn’t looking. James goes to work on the leg of Lita and tags Alicia. Lita is slammed into the turnbuckles, then James comes back in and stomps on her. The fans try to get Lita back into things as Mickie applies a headlock. Lita fights out but Mickie connects with a kick to the face. Trish comes in as Mickie cheap-shots her, then Stratus lifts Lita and tosses her at Mickie and Lita hits her with a hurricanrana!
Mickie knocks Lita down and tags Foxy back into the match. Alicia hits her beautiful Northern Lights Suplex but only scores a two-count. Fox applies a headlock but Lita fights out and hits a reverse DDT, both women are down! Trish and Mickie are tagged in and the former connects with some nice right hands, as well as two headlock takeovers. Trish connects with a sit-out spinebuster for a near-fall. Stratus chops Mickie into next week as the fans “woo!” along. James looks for a quick roll-up but Trish kicks-out. Stratus connects with Stratusfaction and Foxy was supposed to break the count but she was late and the referee just stopped counting. Lita then knocked Foxy down and hits the moonsault onto both James and Foxy. Trish connects with the Chick-Kick to Mickie for the win!
Winners: Lita & Trish Stratus
Lita and Trish celebrate their win after the match. Not a bad match but that weird referee finish sullied it slightly. Cool to see two all-time greats back at it!
