The Evolve Championship was a professional wrestling championship owned by the Evolve promotion . The inaugural champion was crowned on April 5, 2013, when A. R. Fox defeated Sami Callihan in the finals of an eight-man tournament.
20-425: There have been ten reigns shared among ten wrestlers. Evolve was founded in 2009 by Dragon Gate USA booker Gabe Sapolsky , Full Impact Pro (FIP) owner Sal Hamaoui and independent wrestler Davey Richards and held its first event on January 16, 2010. Originally, Evolve had no championships, instead putting emphasis on each wrestler's win–loss record. On November 25, 2011, Evolve and Dragon Gate USA announced
40-447: A disqualification win over Jon Davis, while Sami Callihan submitted Samuray del Sol to win the four-way match. In the semifinals, both the number one and number two seeds were eliminated, when Callihan submitted Chuck Taylor and Fox pinned Ricochet. In the end, Fox pinned Callihan in the finals to win the tournament and become the inaugural Evolve Champion. Evolve (professional wrestling) Evolve Wrestling (stylized as EVOLVE)
60-442: A relationship with WWE , allowing WWE to scout Evolve talent and potentially sign them. On July 2, 2020, Evolve was officially purchased by WWE. In 2009, Gabe Sapolsky announced a new wrestling promotion via some viral videos featuring one of the company's competitors, Jimmy Jacobs . After this more videos were produced promoting more performers, as well as featuring blogs written by the wrestlers about their feelings regarding
80-538: A tournament to crown the first Evolve Champion as they were eliminating the records system at that time. The tournament was held in Secaucus, New Jersey , at WrestleCon in April 2013. Evolve used the records of the talent to determine the seedings in the tournament; the top two were Chuck Taylor (10–5) and Ricochet (5–2), and both received byes into the second round. On April 5, A. R. Fox defeated Sami Callihan in
100-477: The WWE had purchased Evolve Wrestling, giving them full rights to the name and video library. Professional wrestling terms#B Mid 20th Century 1970s and 1980s 1990s 2000s 2010s and 2020s Professional wrestling has accrued a considerable amount of jargon throughout its existence. Much of it stems from the industry's origins in the days of carnivals and circuses. In
120-552: The company. The first show, Evolve 1: Richards vs. Ibushi, was held on January 16, 2010, in Rahway, New Jersey at the Rahway Recreational Center. During interviews with wrestling newsletter Figure 4 Weekly on its radio show, Sapolsky told editor Bryan Alvarez that Evolve would have stronger emphasis on rules and would not limit anyone based on their own respective style of wrestling in favor of showcasing
140-618: The final to become the inaugural champion. On September 18, 2013, Vito LoGrasso announced that his new Wrestling School signed an agreement to be the Development Center for Evolve. 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
160-618: The following day when Galloway defeated Andy Wild in a Battle of the Nations match in Aberdeen, Scotland . Following multiple successful international championship defenses by Galloway, he dubbed the title the "Evolve World Championship" on January 9, 2015, at Evolve 36. However, with some exceptions, the promotion mainly continued referring to the title as simply the Evolve Championship. During Galloway's record-breaking reign,
180-502: The past, professional wrestlers used such terms in the presence of fans so as not to reveal the worked nature of the business. Into the 21st century, widespread discussion on the Internet has popularized these terms. Many of the terms refer to the financial aspects of professional wrestling in addition to in-ring terms. Also road agent , producer and coach . Also juicing , gigging , getting color , and running
200-439: The razor . Also booker and booking . Also going broadway . Also bury and buried . Also championship advantage . Also forbidden door . Also getting the heat . Also lackey or heavy Also babyface , blue-eye (England), or técnico (Mexico). Also playing Ricky Morton . Also hope spot . Also cross-promotion . Also persona . Also jobber to
220-506: The relationship, it was announced in March 2016 that Evolve would hold qualifying matches for WWE's Cruiserweight Classic . On April 1 and 2, 2016, Evolve held shows at Eddie Deen's Ranch in the build-up to WrestleMania 32 . On October 24, 2016, WWNLive and FloSports announced a new streaming service, which would host events held by the WWNLive promotions, including Evolve. Evolve was
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#1732791691568240-654: The roster by winning a qualifying match, but that since has been dropped. On November 25, 2011, Evolve and Dragon Gate USA announced the unification of the two promotions. Evolve and Dragon Gate USA will still promote separate events, but the two share rosters, including stables, and Evolve recognizes Dragon Gate USA's Open the Freedom Gate Championship and Open the United Gate Championship as its top two championships. In February 2013, Evolve announced that they would be holding
260-528: The semifinals of the tournament, while number three and four seeds A. R. Fox and Jon Davis earned spots in the first round of the tournament. The second first round match was a four-way match made up of Rich Swann , Samuray del Sol , Sami Callihan and Jigsaw , seeds five to eight, respectively. The entire tournament took place during the Evolve 19 internet pay-per-view (iPPV) in Secaucus, New Jersey . In their first round matches, A. R. Fox advanced with
280-562: 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 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
300-604: The subject of the Viceland documentary, The Wrestlers, Episode 1. On July 13, 2019, Evolve held its 10th Anniversary Celebration , an event celebrating the 10th anniversary of Dragon Gate USA's founding. The event was streamed on the WWE Network . This marked the first Evolve event and the first independent wrestling event to air on the WWE Network. On July 2, 2020, it was announced that after months of negotiation,
320-459: The talent's individual strengths and covering up their weaknesses. On January 29, 2010, Sapolsky announced that Evolve would no longer be booking Davey Richards as he had signed a new contract with Ring of Honor . The concept of the promotion was initially an emphasis on the wrestlers' win–loss records. They divided the company into two divisions: singles wrestlers and tag teams . As per the website, some wrestlers would need to earn their way onto
340-573: The title was defended internationally in Scotland, England, Northern Ireland and Australia for promotions such as Revolution Pro Wrestling , British Championship Wrestling , WrestleZone, Rock N Wrestle, Future Pro Wrestling, Outback Championship Wrestling, Premier British Wrestling and Pro Wrestling Ulster. During the subsequent Timothy Thatcher title reign, the title was also defended three times in Germany for Westside Xtreme Wrestling . The title
360-819: The unification of the two promotions, which would result in Evolve recognizing the Open the Freedom Gate and Open the United Gate Championships as its top two titles. However, on September 8, 2012, Evolve announced that the promotion would be introducing its first own title, the Evolve Championship. The title was defended outside of the United States for the first time on August 29, 2014, when champion Drew Galloway retained against Johnny Moss at an event in Kilmarnock, Scotland and then again
380-563: Was also defended outside of EVOLVE for US independent promotions, including Premiere Wrestling Xperience, Big Time Wrestling, Atlanta Wrestling Entertainment, MAGNUM Pro Wrestling, WWNLive , Pro Wrestling Force and DGUSA and on a EVOLVE/WWN crossover event with Progress Wrestling . On February 8, 2013, Evolve announced that the inaugural Evolve Champion would be determined in a single-elimination tournament on April 5, 2013. Based on their win–loss records, number one seed Chuck Taylor and number two seed Ricochet earned automatic spots in
400-483: Was an American professional wrestling promotion founded in 2010 by former Ring of Honor booker and Dragon Gate USA vice president, Gabe Sapolsky . The company featured a roster of wrestlers from all over America, as well as several competitors from Japan . The promotion had a close working relationship with sister promotion Dragon Gate USA until Dragon Gate USA's closure in August 2015. In 2015, Evolve formed
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