Some interesting news broke on Thursday, March 6. Cassidy Haynes of Bodyslam.net broke exclusive news that WWE is looking to host Evolution II on Saturday, July 5 from the Mohegan Sun Casino & Resort in Uncasville, Connecticut. The news was reported as “tentative, but that the event is in the works.”
This is a huge deal for those who’ve pushed to see the women get another PLE that featured their talent. Across SmackDown, Monday Night Raw, and NXT, WWE features an astonishingly deep roster. Many of whom do not get the time on television that their fans want.
There are so many ways this card could potentially play out. Think about a PLE headlined by a match like Jade Cargill versus Bianca Belair. While featuring other performers like IYO Sky, Tiffany Stratton, Becky Lynch, Bayley, Charlotte Flair, Naomi, Roxanne Perez, and several others. Throw in individuals like Giulia, Stephanie Vaquer, Kelani Jordan, Lola Vice and others on NXT and Evolution II would really put a spotlight on women’s wrestling.
Evolution II is long overdue
It has been nearly seven years since the original show on October 28, 2018. Look at it this way, Rhea Ripley and Dakota Kai battled for the NXT UK Women’s Championship in a dark match. Toni Storm defeated IYO Sky (then known as Io Shirai) in the Mae Young Classic Finals. The Riott Squad were still together. Kairi Sane was the NXT Women’s Champion and Ronda Rousey battled Nikki Bella in the main event. According to Cagematch, just more than 10,000 people attended that event.
This news comes at a time where there’s been reports about growing frustration by those on the main roster heading into WrestleMania 41. Fightful Select first broke the news of names expressing frustration with the lack of in-depth angles across the division, especially when comparing how the main roster women are booked, while watch the NXT women’s division thriving every single Tuesday.
Is this news a reaction to that? Probably so. There were reports that the first Evolution was in response to WWE traveling to Saudi Arabia where the women were not allowed to compete on due to the country’s strict rules about women in public.
Still, this is an important moment because the women deserve an annual PLE that features the best the division has to offer. WWE continues to struggle getting many of them ample time, even though there’s more than enough time to go around. The news on Evolution II is a big deal and should get the wrestling community excited.