| Evolution | |||
|---|---|---|---|
_promo_poster.jpg) Promotional poster featuring various WWE wrestlers | |||
| Promotion | WWE | ||
| Brand(s) | Raw SmackDown NXT | ||
| Date | July 13, 2025 | ||
| City | Atlanta, Georgia | ||
| Venue | State Farm Arena | ||
| Attendance | 8,351 | ||
| WWE event chronology | |||
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| Evolution chronology | |||
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The 2025Evolution was awomen'sprofessional wrestlingpay-per-view (PPV) andlivestreamingevent produced byWWE. It was the secondEvolution event and took place on Sunday, July 13, 2025, at theState Farm Arena inAtlanta,Georgia, held for wrestlers from the promotion'sRaw,SmackDown, andNXTbrand divisions. This was the first Evolution and the first all-women's professional wrestling event to broadcast on bothNetflix andPeacock, and the first Evolution since the inaugural2018 event seven years prior.
Seven matches were contested at the event. In the main event,Naomi defeatedRhea Ripley and defending championIyo Sky to win Raw'sWomen's World Championship; this originally started as asingles match between Sky and Ripley, however, Naomicashed in her Money in the Bank contract during the match, making it atriple threat match. Earlier on the card, Naomi had lost aNo Holds Barred match toJade Cargill, which featuredBianca Belair as special guest referee. In other prominent matches,Tiffany Stratton defeatedWWE Hall of FamerTrish Stratus to retain SmackDown'sWWE Women's Championship,Becky Lynch successfully defended Raw'sWWE Women's Intercontinental Championship againstLyra Valkyria andBayley in a triple threat match,Jacy Jayne successfully retained theNXT Women's Championship againstJordynne Grace, and Raw'sStephanie Vaquer won theEvolution Battle Royal to earn a women's championship match, originally slated to take place atClash in Paris, however, it was rescheduled forWrestlepalooza due to Naomi vacating the belt after going onmaternity leave.
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In October 2018, the Americanprofessional wrestling promotionWWE held an all-women's professional wrestling event calledEvolution. This was WWE's firstpay-per-view (PPV) andlivestreaming event to consist solely of women's matches and featured women from all of WWE'sbrand divisions at the time:Raw,SmackDown,NXT, andNXT UK, the latter of which was dissolved in 2022.[1] Over the next few years, there had been various comments from people within WWE on a potential secondEvolution event,[2][3] with support from a number of WWE female performers.[4]
Before wrestlerMickie James's release from WWE in April 2021, she had pushed for the company to produce another all-female event as well as an all-female brand, but said she was "cut off at every opportunity".[5] She claimed an unnamed WWE official told her that "women's wrestling doesn't make money" and that Evolution was the company's "lowest-rated pay-per-view ever in the history of WWE pay-per-views".[6][7] In June 2021, former WWE wrestlerMaria Kanellis also stated that former Head of WWE Talent Relations, Mark Carano, informed her that there would not be another all-female event,[8] although in a conference call that same month,Paul "Triple H" Levesque said that a second Evolution was possible, "but it's not a must-have at the moment".[9]
After another few years, a report emerged on March 6, 2025, that WWE were in fact planning to hold a second Evolution event.Bodyslam.net stated that the company were aiming to hold the event on July 5, 2025, at theMohegan Sun Arena inUncasville, Connecticut, but noted that while the event was in the works, the schedule was tentative.[10] On May 12, 2025, a new report fromPWInsider stated that the company was now looking to hold the event a week later fromAtlanta, Georgia during the same weekend asSaturday Night's Main Event XL.[11] WWE then confirmed this with an announcement duringSaturday Night's Main Event XXXIX on May 24, with the second all-women's Evolution event scheduled for Sunday, July 13 at Atlanta'sState Farm Arena; Saturday Night's Main Event XL was held the day before at the same venue, while NXT heldThe Great American Bash on the afternoon ofSaturday Night's Main Event at the nearbyCenter Stage.[12] Evolution was held on the same night as the third part ofBeyoncé'sCowboy Carter Tour, emanating from the nearbyMercedes-Benz Stadium, which had caused concerns on attendance and viewership.[13]
In addition to airing on traditional PPV worldwide, the event was available to livestream onPeacock in the United States,Netflix in most international markets, and theWWE Network in any remaining countries that had not yet transferred to Netflix due to pre-existing contracts. This marked the first Evolution, and the first all-women's professional wrestling event, to livestream on Peacock and Netflix following the WWE Network's merger under the services in March 2021 in the United States and in January 2025 in the aforementioned international markets, respectively.[14][15]
The event included seven matches that resulted from scripted storylines. Results were predetermined by WWE's writers on the Raw, SmackDown, and NXT brands,[16][17] while storylines were produced on WWE's weekly television shows,Monday Night Raw,Friday Night SmackDown, andNXT.[18]
AfterJacy Jayne successfully defended theNXT Women's Championship on the June 10 episode ofNXT, NXT General ManagerAva announced that on the following episode, the NXT Women's Championship Evolution Eliminator would begin. This consisted of four matches, with each winner advancing to afatal four-way match on the June 24 episode, where the winner of that match would face Jayne for the championship at Evolution.[19] The fatal four-way was won byJordynne Grace.[20]
On the March 3 episode ofRaw,Iyo Sky defeatedRhea Ripley to win theWomen's World Championship.[21] Ripley was then inserted into atriple threat match for the title on Night 2 ofWrestleMania 41, where Sky retained.[22] Over the next few months, Ripley set her sights on getting a rematch. After her victory atNight of Champions,[23] Ripley opened the following episode ofRaw, where she was confronted by Sky, who said that Raw General ManagerAdam Pearce allowed her to defend her title at Evolution against an opponent of her choosing, with Sky subsequently choosing to defend the title against Ripley at the event.[24]
On the June 16 episode ofRaw,WWE Women's Tag Team ChampionLiv Morgan suffered alegitimatedislocated shoulder during a match againstKairi Sane, which required surgery, ruling Morgan out of action for several months.[25] Around this time,Roxanne Perez began inserting herself into Morgan's faction,The Judgment Day. On the June 30 episode ofRaw, Judgment Day membersFinn Bálor andJD McDonagh proposed to Raw General Manager Adam Pearce and SmackDown General ManagerNick Aldis to have Perez replace Morgan so that she andRaquel Rodriguez could defend the title. Pearce and Aldis agreed on one condition: Rodriguez and Perez had to defend the Women's Tag Team Championship at Evolution against one team from each brand in afatal four-way tag team match. Bálor and McDonagh agreed and the match was made official.[24] On the July 4 episode ofSmackDown,Alexa Bliss andCharlotte Flair defeatedMichin andB-Fab andThe Secret Hervice (Alba Fyre andPiper Niven) to earn SmackDown's spot.[26] OnRaw the next week, NXT's team was announced asSol Ruca andZaria while on that same episode, Sane defeated Perez in asingles match, followed by a beatdown from Rodriguez and Perez.Asuka came to Sane's aid, reunitingThe Kabuki Warriors. They were subsequently added to the match representing Raw.[27]
At the original Evolution in 2018, abattle royal was held where the winner received a futurewomen's world championship match. On the June 30 episode ofRaw, Raw and SmackDown's General Managers, Adam Pearce and Nick Aldis, announced that the 2025 Evolution would also have a battle royal with the winner earning a title match atClash in Paris.[24]
During the July 4 episode ofSmackDown,WWE Women's ChampionTiffany Stratton addressed her scheduled title defense atSummerSlam againstQueen of the Ring winnerJade Cargill. Stratton then revealed she would also defend her title at Evolution, and that she was allowed to choose her opponent. After Cargill interrupted, Stratton stated that she had a surprise, promptingWWE Hall of FamerTrish Stratus to come out,[26] who Stratton had previously teamed with and was victorious with atElimination Chamber in March.[28] Stratton said that she wanted to defend her title against Stratus at Evolution, which Stratus accepted.[26]
On the November 22, 2024, episode ofSmackDown, Jade Cargill was found attacked backstage by an unknown assailant, ruling her out of action indefinitely.[29] During Cargill's absence,Naomi volunteered to replace Cargill as one-half of the WWE Women's Tag Team Champions alongsideBianca Belair. Naomi and Belair assumed that Liv Morgan and Raquel Rodriguez, whom they were feuding with at the time, were responsible for the attack as they launched their own investigation. This led to a title match between the two teams on the February 24, 2025, episode ofRaw, where Naomi and Belair lost the title.[30] Shortly after, both Naomi and Belair qualified for the women'sElimination Chamber match at the namesake event. Before the match began, Cargill made a surprise return and attacked Naomi, who was rendered medically unable to compete in the match.[28] On the following episode ofSmackDown, Naomi revealed herself as Cargill's attacker and said she regretted not attacking her sooner, turningheel for the first time since 2016.[31] This led to a match between Cargill and Naomi on Night 1 of WrestleMania 41, which Cargill won.[32] Their rivalry continued after the event, with Cargill defeating Naomi in atag team match, and Naomi defeating Cargill in a triple threat qualifying match for a spot in theMoney in the Bank ladder match, which Naomi subsequently won.[33] After Naomi attacked Cargill on the July 4 episode ofSmackDown with her Money in the Bank briefcase, aNo Holds Barred match between the two was scheduled for Evolution.[26] After a brawl between the two during Saturday Night's Main Event XL, SmackDown General Manager Nick Aldis announced that Belair would be thespecial guest referee for the match.[34]
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On Night 2 of WrestleMania 41,Bayley was scheduled to team withLyra Valkyria to challenge for the WWE Women's Tag Team Championship; however, on Night 1, Bayley was attacked backstage by an unknown assailant. Valkyria had to choose a new partner, who was revealed to be a returningBecky Lynch and they won the title only to lose it the next night onRaw.[22][35] This infuriated Lynch, who turned on and attacked Valkyria,[35] subsequently revealing that she had attacked Bayley.[36] This led to a match atBacklash for Valkyria'sWWE Women's Intercontinental Championship where she retained,[37] but in a rematch atMoney in the Bank, Lynch defeated her in aLast Chance match to win the title.[33] Their feud would continue over the next few weeks which saw Bayley return and attack Lynch and also set her sights on the Women's Intercontinental Championship, much to Valkyria's dismay, who was also upset with Bayley for not speaking to her since Lynch's attack.[38] Things got worse on the June 23 episode ofRaw, where Bayley faced Lynch for the title. Valkyria tried to help Bayley, but after being attacked by Lynch, Valkyria retaliated, inadvertently causing Lynch to win by disqualification, thus retaining the title.[39] Bayley and Valkyria then faced each other the following week to determine who would challenge Lynch for the title, but the match ended in a double pinfall, leading to a brawl between the two.[24] On July 6, Raw General Manager Adam Pearce announced that Lynch would defend the title against Bayley and Valkyria in a triple threat match at Evolution.[40]
On the June 9 episode ofRaw, WWE began teasing a match involving Liv Morgan and WWE Hall of FamerNikki Bella, which was reportedly going to happen at Evolution, either as a singles match or a Women's Tag Team Championship match with Morgan and Raquel Rodriguez defending againstThe Bella Twins if WWE and Nikki's sisterBrie Bella could work out a deal.[41] However, Morgan suffered a legitimate dislocated shoulder in a match against Kairi Sane the following week, scrapping all plans for Morgan at the event,[25] causing WWE to effectively rewrite the entire show.[42] Nikki was in turn entered into the Evolution Battle Royal.[27]
| Role: | Name: |
|---|---|
| Hosts | Joe Tessitore |
| Stephanie McMahon | |
| English commentators | Michael Cole |
| Wade Barrett | |
| Spanish commentators | Marcelo Rodríguez |
| Jerry Soto | |
| Ring announcer | Alicia Taylor |
| Referees | Bianca Belair |
| Jessika Carr | |
| Victoria D'Errico | |
| Daphanie LaShaunn | |
| Interviewers | Cathy Kelley |
| Megan Morant | |
| Pre-show panel | Michael Cole |
| Wade Barrett | |
| Jackie Redmond | |
| Big E |
The event began with Becky Lynch defending Raw's Women's Intercontinental Championship against Lyra Valkyria and Bayley in a triple threat match. During the match, Lynch performed a Manhandle Slam on Valkyria, but Bayley broke up the pin. Valkyria then broke up a pinning attempt by Bayley on Lynch after a Bayley-to-Belly. Valkyria then performed Nightwing on Lynch, but Bayley broke up the pin. The ending of the match saw Bayley attempt to pin Valkyria following Rose Plant, but Lynch pinned Bayley with a roll-up to retain the title.[43]
The second match was Jacy Jayne defending her NXT Women's Championship (with Fallon Henley and Jazmyn Nyx) against Jordynne Grace (accompanied byBlake Monroe). Henley and Nyx attacked Grace with the referee distracted. Jayne performed a middle-rope neckbreaker on Grace for a nearfall. As Jayne had the title belt in hand, Grace rolled up Jayne for a nearfall. With Henley distracting the referee, Monroe struck Grace with the title belt, allowing Jayne to pin Grace after Rolling Encore to retain the title.[43]
During the Evolution broadcast, several Hall of Famers and legends were shown in the crowd, includingIvory,Jazz,Jacqueline,Molly Holly,Melina,Maryse,Alundra Blayze,Leilani Kai,Vickie Guerrero,Cherry, andTorrie Wilson.[44][45]
After that, The Judgment Day (Raquel Rodriguez and Roxanne Perez) defended the WWE Women's Tag Team Championship against The Kabuki Warriors (Asuka and Kairi Sane), Alexa Bliss and Charlotte Flair, and Sol Ruca and Zaria in a fatal-four way tag team match. During the match, Flair performed a Spear on Perez for a nearfall. Later, Rodriguez performed a powerbomb on Bliss onto Asuka and Sane. Rodriguez then performed a Tejana Bomb on Ruca and pinned her to retain the title.[43]
In the fourth match, Tiffany Stratton defended the WWE Women's Championship against WWE Hall of Famer Trish Stratus. As Stratton attempted the Prettiest Moonsault Ever, Stratus got her knees up and performed Stratusfaction on Stratton for a nearfall. In the end, Stratus attempted her own Moonsault, but Stratton got her knees up and pinned Stratus following an Alabama Slam and the Prettiest Moonsault Ever to retain the title.[43]
After that, Jade Cargill faced Naomi in a No Holds Barred match with Bianca Belair as the special guest referee. Cargill placed a trash can on Naomi before kicking it. Cargill attempted to throw a toolbox on Naomi outside the ring, but Naomi avoided it and performed a dropkick on Cargill through the announce table. Naomi then struck Cargill with a chair, causing Cargill to go through a table outside the ring. In the end, while Naomi was on the middle rope, Cargill struck her with a chair. Cargill then performed Jaded from the top rope on Naomi through a table and pinned her to win the match.[43]
The penultimate match was the battle royal for a women's title match at Clash in Paris. A notable moment includedKelani Jordan walking on her hands from the announce table to the ring apron. Near the end of the match,Lash Legend eliminated Nikki Bella, who was trying to eliminateNia Jax.Stephanie Vaquer and Legend then eliminated Jax. With Vaquer and Legend on the apron, Vaquer performed the Devil's Kiss on Legend to eliminate her and earn a women's world championship match at Clash in Paris.[43]
In the main event, Iyo Sky defended the Women's World Championship against Rhea Ripley. After an even match, Sky gained the upper hand following a tornado DDT, a suicide dive, and a top-rope dropkick. Sky then performed a double knee smash on Ripley into the turnbuckles for a nearfall. Sky attempted a Moonsault, but countered a suplex attempt by Ripley and landed on her feet. Sky then bounced Ripley neck first onto the top turnbuckle and attempted a double underhook DDT, but Ripley countered. After more counters, Sky performed a poisonrana on Ripley for a nearfall. Ripley prevented a Moonsault attempt by Sky and followed up with a Razor's Edge powerbomb followed by a sitout powerbomb for a nearfall. Ripley attempted Riptide, but Sky countered it into a sleeper hold. Sky countered a top-rope superplex and kicked Ripley off the ropes. Sky accidentally dropkicked the referee, and Ripley performed a Riptide on Sky, but there was no referee to make the count. Ripley then performed a Razor's Edge powerbomb on Sky and the two fought into the crowd, with Ripley getting the upper hand. Sky then performed a crossbody on Ripley from production crates. The fighting eventually returned to the ring, where Ripley sent Sky rib first into the announce table. As the referee recovered, Sky performed a Moonsault on Ripley for a nearfall. As Ripley attempted an Avalanche Riptide, Sky countered it into a Spanish Fly. Whilst both women were down, Naomi arrived and cashed in herMoney in the Bank briefcase, making the singles match a triple threat match. Naomi then hit Sky with the briefcase, sent Ripley into the ring post, and pinned Sky following a split-legged moonsault to win the title.[43]
Dave Meltzer of theWrestling Observer Newsletter rated the Women's Intercontinental Championship match 4.25 stars, the NXT Women's Championship match 3.25 stars, the Women's Tag Team Championship match 3.25 stars, the WWE Women's Championship match 3 stars, the No Holds Barred match 3.5 stars, the Battle Royal 3.25 stars, and the main event 4.75 stars.[46]
New Women's World Champion Naomi opened the following episode ofRaw to talk about her Money in the Bank cash-in when Rhea Ripley interrupted. Ripley blamed Naomi for the reason she was not champion when Iyo Sky interrupted, vowing to get the title back from Naomi. Raw General Manager Adam Pearce then scheduled a triple threat match between the three for the title atSummerSlam. It was also confirmed that Evolution Battle Royal winner Stephanie Vaquer would challenge the winner at Clash in Paris,[47] which was Naomi.[48] However, on the August 18 episode ofRaw, Naomi had to relinquish the title due tomaternity leave as Naomi announced she was pregnant with her first child.[49] The following week, Raw General Manager Adam Pearce announced that there would not be a match for the vacant Women's World Championship at Clash in Paris, and instead, Vaquer would challenge ato be announced opponent at a later date to determine the new champion.[50] On the September 1 episode ofRaw, it was announced that Vaquer would face Sky for the vacant title atWrestlepalooza.[51]
Also onRaw, WWE Women's Tag Team Champions Raquel Rodriguez and Roxanne Perez defeated The Kabuki Warriors (Asuka and Kairi Sane) in a non-title match. Nikki Bella defeated Chelsea Green before being attacked by Green's stablemates Piper Niven and Alba Fyre. Stephanie Vaquer would subsequently make the save for Bella.[47]
Lyra Valkyria defeated Bayley in atwo out of three falls match to earn another title match against Becky Lynch for the WWE Women's Intercontinental Championship at SummerSlam.[47]
On July 3, WWE's partner promotionTotal Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA) announced that whoever won the NXT Women's Championship match at Evolution would faceTNA Knockouts World ChampionMasha Slamovich in aWinner Takes All match at TNA'sSlammiversary event on July 20.[52] Jayne's retention confirmed she would face Slamovich, and the two confronted each other on theNXT after Evolution.[53]
After the fallout between Jordynne Grace and Blake Monroe, Grace gate-crashed theWWE Evolve Women's Championship match betweenKarmen Petrovic and championKali Armstrong by dumping both off the ring, causing a disqualification. With Monroe absent, Grace was invited to attend Monroe's singles debut againstWren Sinclair on the following episode ofNXT.[53]
On the following episode ofSmackDown, ahead of Raquel Rodriguez and Roxanne Perez's defense of the WWE Women's Tag Team Championship against Charlotte Flair and Alexa Bliss at SummerSlam, Flair defeated Rodriguez with assistance from Bliss.[54]
After eliminatingWWE Women's United States ChampionGiulia from the battle royal at Evolution,Zelina Vega faced Giulia for the title on the August 1 episode ofSmackDown,[55] where Giulia retained.[56]
On August 6, 2025, WWE announced thatESPN'sdirect-to-consumer streaming service would assume the streaming rights of WWE's main roster PPV and livestreaming events in the United States. This was originally to begin withWrestleMania 42 in April 2026, but was pushed up to September 2025 withWrestlepalooza. As such, this was the only Evolution to livestream on Peacock in the US.[57][58]
| 1st Round NXT June 17, 2025 | Final NXT June 24, 2025 | Championship Match Evolution July 13, 2025 | ||||||||
| Jaida Parker | Pinfall | |||||||||
| Thea Hail | 9:15[60] | |||||||||
| Kelani Jordan | 9:56[60] | |||||||||
| Jaida Parker | 12:49[20] | |||||||||
| Lash Legend | Pinfall | Jacy Jayne(c) | Pinfall | |||||||
| Lash Legend | — | |||||||||
| Jordynne Grace | 10:30 | |||||||||
| Izzi Dame | — | |||||||||
| Izzi Dame | Pinfall | |||||||||
| Jordynne Grace | Pinfall | |||||||||
| Zaria | 8:21[60] | |||||||||
| Jordynne Grace | Pinfall | |||||||||
| Lola Vice | 8:39[60] | |||||||||