Evolution 2018 was a women's professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event and WWE Network event, produced by WWE for their Raw, SmackDown, NXT, and NXT UK brands. It took place on October 28, 2018, at the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum, in Uniondale, New York. It was the first pay-per-view in WWE history to be comprised entirely of women's matches.
Three of the four WWE women's championships will be defended at the event. It will also feature the finals of the 2018 Mae Young Classic tournament.
Production
Background
On the July 23, 2018 episode of Monday Night Raw, Stephanie McMahon announced that for the first time, WWE would hold an all-women's pay-per-view called Evolution. Hall of Famers Lita, Trish Stratus, and Beth Phoenix were advertised as taking part in the event. It was also announced that all four of WWE's women's championships would be defended and that the event would host the finals of the 2018 Mae Young Classic.
Storylines
The card consisted of matches resulting from scripted storylines, with results predetermined by WWE on the Raw, SmackDown, NXT, and NXT UK brands. Storylines are produced on WWE's weekly television shows, Monday Night Raw, SmackDown Live, NXT, and NXT UK.
On August 18, a match between Alexa Bliss and Trish Stratus was scheduled for Evolution. Then, on September 3, a match between Lita and Mickie James was scheduled for the event; the two last faced each other at the 2006 Survivor Series where James won the WWE Women's Championship from Lita in the latter's retirement match. On the October 8 episode of Raw, a confrontation between the four women occurred. It was then revealed that instead of the two singles matches, Bliss and James would face Stratus and Lita in a tag team match at Evolution. On October 26, Bliss was replaced in the match by Alicia Fox.
At NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn 4, Kairi Sane defeated Shayna Baszler to win the NXT Women's Championship. On the September 26 episode of NXT, a rematch between the two for the title was scheduled for Evolution.
At SummerSlam, Ronda Rousey defeated Alexa Bliss to win the Raw Women's Championship. Following her win, The Bella Twins (Nikki and Brie Bella) celebrated with the new champion. At Super Show-Down, it was announced that a title defense for Rousey was scheduled for Evolution. At that same event, Rousey and The Bella Twins teamed up to defeat The Riott Squad (Ruby Riott, Liv Morgan, and Sarah Logan). On the following episode of Raw, Rousey and The Bella Twins would again defeat The Riott Squad in a rematch. Following the match, however, The Bella Twins attacked Rousey, turning heel. A title match between Rousey and Nikki was then scheduled for Evolution.
At SummerSlam, Charlotte Flair defeated Becky Lynch and former champion Carmella in a triple threat match to become a two-time SmackDown Women's Champion by pinning Lynch. Following the match, Lynch attacked Flair, turning heel. Lynch then defeated Flair to win the championship at Hell in a Cell. A rematch occurred at Super Show-Down where Flair won by disqualification after Lynch attacked her with the title belt, thus Lynch retained. The two had a rematch on the following episode of SmackDown, but it ended in a double countout, resulting in Lynch again retaining. SmackDown General Manager Paige then announced that the two would have another rematch for the SmackDown Women's Championship at Evolution, but as a Last Woman Standing match.
On the October 15 episode of Raw, it was announced that a battle royal for a women's championship match would also take place at Evolution with various competitors announced to take part, including WWE legends and Hall of Famers.
Event
Preliminary matches
Main event
Match Preview
| Trish Stratus & Lita vs. Mickie James & Alicia Fox | Preview |
| Historic Women's Battle royal | Preview |
| Toni Storm vs. Io Shirai | Preview |
| Sasha Banks, Bayley & Natalya vs. The Riott Squad | Preview |
| Kairi Sane (c) vs. Shayna Baszler | Preview |
| Becky Lynch vs. Charlotte Flair | Preview |
| Ronda Rousey vs. Nikki Bella | Preview |
Results
- Numbers in parentheses indicate the length of the match.
- (c) refers to the champion(s) heading into the match.
- Trish Stratus & Lita defeated Mickie James & Alicia Fox (w/ Alexa Bliss) (11:05)
- Nia Jax won the Historic Women's Battle royal for a future women's championship match (17:10)
- Toni Storm defeated Io Shirai in the 2018 Mae Young Classic tournament final (10:20)
- Sasha Banks, Bayley & Natalya defeated The Riott Squad (Ruby Riott, Liv Morgan & Sarah Logan) (13:10)
- Shayna Baszler defeated Kairi Sane (c) to win the NXT Women's Championship (12:10)
- Becky Lynch (c) defeated Charlotte Flair in a Last Woman Standing match to retain the WWE SmackDown Women's Championship (28:40)
- Ronda Rousey (c) defeated Nikki Bella to retain the WWE Raw Women's Championship
Other on-screen talent
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See also
DVD release
[ Evolution 2018 on DVD]
External links
Evolution 2018 Official website
Evolution 2018 Pre-Show on WWE Network
Evolution 2018 on WWE Network- Evolution 2018 at CAGEMATCH.net
| Evolution |
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| 2018 • |
| 2018 World Wrestling Entertainment pay-per-views |
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NXT TakeOver: Philadelphia • Royal Rumble • Elimination Chamber • Fastlane • NXT TakeOver: New Orleans • WrestleMania • Greatest Royal Rumble • Backlash • NXT TakeOver: Chicago II • Money in the Bank • Extreme Rules • NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn IV • SummerSlam • Hell in a Cell • Super Show-Down • Evolution • Crown Jewel • NXT TakeOver: WarGames II • Survivor Series • Starrcade • TLC: Tables, Ladders, & Chairs |