Evolve

Evolve
Founded	2010
Headquarters	Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
Owner(s)	Gabe Sapolsky Sal Hamaoui
Parent	WWNLive
Sister	Dragon Gate USA
Website	Official Website

Evolve Wrestling (stylized as EVOLVE) is an American professional wrestling promotion based in the Northeast founded in 2010 by former Ring of Honor booker and Dragon Gate USA vice president, Gabe Sapolsky, Full Impact Pro owner Sal Hamaoui, and wrestler Davey Richards.

The company features a roster of independently contracted wrestlers from all over the country, as well as several competitors from Japan. The promotion had a close working relationship with sister promotion Dragon Gate USA until DGUSA became dormant in August 2015.

Later that year, Evolve formed a relationship with WWE, allowing WWE to scout Evolve talent to sign for their NXT division, and eventually the main roster.

Overview

History

EVOLVE Wrestling was established in late 2009 by Gabe Sapolsky and Sal Hamaoui, along with Davey Richards. It originally operated as an independent promotion with no association with DGUSA. This changed on November 25, 2011, when it was announced that EVOLVE would be absorbed into DGUSA. EVOLVE will still run independently, but will also serve as a launching pad for talent to eventually appear in DGUSA.

Furthermore, both DGUSA championships will be recognized as the top championships in EVOLVE. This was solidified on January 14, 2012 with the first defense of the Open The Freedom Gate Championship in the promotion. On April 5, 2013, the EVOLVE Championship was established so the promotion could feature its own champion while still recognizing the DGUSA championships.

EVOLVE has a stronger emphasis on rules as well as the win-loss records for individual wrestlers and tag teams. By winning more matches and staying to the rules, wrestlers will be able to move up on the card as well as earn title shots and bookings in DGUSA. However, the records and leaderboard concepts were abandoned following the crowning of the EVOLVE Championship.

In November 2014, Evolve, along with Dragon Gate USA (DGUSA), Full Impact Pro (FIP) and Shine Wrestling, all under the WWNLive banner, held a tour of China. The following month, WWNLive announced a long-term deal with Great-Wall International Sports Management for regular tours of Asia, starting in the spring of 2015.

In 2015, WWNLive opened a training facility in Trinity, Florida named "World Wrestling Network Academy", which Evolve shares with DGUSA, FIP and Shine.

During 2015, Evolve entered a relationship with WWE. Evolve's wrestlers were featured on WWE.com, while WWE NXT wrestlers Sami Zayn, Chad Gable and Jason Jordan took part in Evolve events in non-wrestling roles. In January 2016, NXT General Manager William Regal and WWE COO Triple H attended Evolve 54. As part of the relationship, it was announced in March 2016 that Evolve would hold qualifying matches for WWE's Cruiserweight Classic.

Roster

Evolve Roster

Championships

Active Championships

Championship	Current champion(s)	Date won
Evolve Championship	Timothy Thatcher	July 10, 2015
Evolve Tag Team Championship	Drew Galloway and Dustin	July 16, 2016

Inactive Championships

Championship	Last Champion(s)	Date Won
Open The Freedom Gate Championship	Timothy Thatcher	July 10, 2015
Open The United Gate Championship	Ronin (Johnny Gargano and Rich Swann)	May 30, 2015

Events

See: EVOLVE Events