There unquestionably is buzz surrounding around WWE Evolution on October 28, but the build to the historic event has not been the best up to this point.
WWE was smart to announce their first-ever all-women’s pay-per-view, WWE Evolution, three months out on the July 23 edition of Raw. So far, however, the company hasn’t made the best use of the downtime, wasting it by patting themselves on the back about how “historic” it is and announcing random matches for the event.
It was safe to assume that Trish Stratus and Lita, two of the most iconic women’s wrestlers in WWE history, would play some sort of role on the show, likely in the ring. It wasn’t until their respective matches for Evolution were confirmed in recent weeks that fans found out for a fact that they would be lacing up their boots again.
Unfortunately, both bouts leave a lot to be desired, and the fashion in which they were announced wasn’t exactly the most creative or exciting.
JUST ANNOUNCED: #RAW #WomensChampion @AlexaBliss_WWE will go one-on-one with @trishstratuscom at #WWEEvolution on Sunday, October 28! https://t.co/QEgzozBy04
— WWE (@WWE) August 19, 2018
During NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn IV over SummerSlam weekend, WWE tweeted out of nowhere that Alexa Bliss would be facing Trish Stratus at Evolution. This was probably done after advertising in the arena at the Barclays Center that night broke the news first, but WWE could have done a better job of promoting the matchup at a more fitting time.
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For example, there is no reason why Bliss couldn’t have come out on an episode of Raw, called out Ronda Rousey (a recent rival of hers), and been confronted by Trish Stratus instead. What made the former seven-time women’s champion’s surprise appearance last week on Raw so great was that no one knew about it ahead of time, and thus that would have been the perfect place to set up the match.
Again, that could simply be chalked up to an advertising error on WWE’s part, but there is no excuse behind how they announced Lita vs. Mickie James for the event just this past Monday.
BREAKING: @WWE Hall of Famer @AmyDumas will return to the ring at #WWEEvolution to square off against former rival and 6-TIME #WomensChampion @MickieJames! https://t.co/h5pBEWGfb7
— WWE (@WWE) September 4, 2018
Instead of waiting until their flagship show went on the air to announce the match to the masses, WWE pulled the trigger hours beforehand on social media and on their website. To be frank, it ended up being met with little fanfare, if only because it was overshadowed by everything else that wound up happening that night on Raw.
WWE could have devoted a video package to Lita’s first true singles match back in nearly a dozen years, or gotten comments from James about how much an honor it is to step in the squared circle again with a familiar foe. Unfortunately, James was cast off as a background player during Bliss vs. Natalya on Monday night and was not heard from once.
As intriguing as Stratus vs. Bliss and Lita vs. James are on paper, the company isn’t doing itself any favors by making the matches official in lackluster fashion simply for the sake of selling tickets (which reportedly isn’t working, anyway).
Thankfully, Stratus and Bliss gave fans hope with their brief interaction on Raw last week that the build to their bout at Evolution should be a fun one. The jury is still out on how strong the match itself will be, but at least their promos will be a blast to watch in the weeks preceding the pay-per-view.
As for Lita and James, they have proven in the past that they work well together and obviously are two notable pioneers of women’s wrestling in WWE. Having them rekindle their rivalry at Evolution is a nice trip down memory lane, but it makes zero sense from a storyline standpoint at the present moment.
In that case, having Lita go up against someone such as Sasha Banks, Lita or Bayley would have been far more compelling, but WWE can still salvage the build to Evolution by properly forming feuds in the weeks that remain until the event.
Credit: WWE.com
In addition to Stratus vs. Bliss and Lita vs. James, the Raw, SmackDown and NXT Women’s Championships will be defended at WWE Evolution. The finals of the 2018 Mae Young Classic will also be held, so it will be a newsworthy night, if nothing else.
Current Raw Women’s champion Ronda Rousey is rumored to be involved in a marquee match on the show versus Nikki Bella, while Charlotte Flair vs. Becky Lynch is virtually a lock for the SmackDown Women’s title. Both of those bouts have potential and have some storytelling behind them, so at least they won’t feel out of place on the card.
The company has plenty of time to redeem themselves before WWE Evolution next month, but the key to a successful show will be gradually putting together a logical lineup of matches fans will have actual interest in seeing.