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This coming Saturday night, just one night before the WWE Extreme Rules PPV, EVOLVE will make history as the promotion celebrates its 10th anniversary by broadcasting its first-ever event on the WWE Network.
The card looks to be taking great shape, with the event being headlined by Adam Cole defending the WWE NXT Title against Akira Tozawa. The rest of the event card is as follows:
EVOLVE Champion vs. WWN Championship — Winner Take All:
EVOLVE Champion Austin Theory vs. WWN Champion JD Drake
EVOLVE Tag Team Championship Match:
Eddie Kingston & Joe Gacy defend vs. AR Fox & Leon Ruff w/ Ayla & The Skulk
Catch Point Reunion Match:
Matt Riddle vs. WWE Cruiserweight Champion Drew Gulak
Grudge Match:
Anthony Henry vs. Arturo Ruas
Special Challenge Match:
Babatunde vs. Colby Corino
Fatal 4-Way Match:
Curt Stallion vs. Sean Maluta vs. Stephen Wolf vs. Harlem Bravado
Special Attraction Match:
Josh Briggs vs. Anthony Greene w/ Brandi Lauren
In addition to the above card, numerous WWE stars will be making special appearances at the EVOLVE 10th anniversary show, and in the pages that follow we round-up every WWE star who will be in attendance!
#1 Tommaso Ciampa
The former WWE NXT Champion will be appearing at the big EVOLVE event this coming Saturday night, despite being sidelined from NXT competition with a neck injury.
Ciampa has been out of the ring since he relinquished the WWE NXT Title on the March 13th episode of NXT, citing his neck injury and forthcoming surgery as the reason he had to vacate the title.
On April 1st, after undergoing successful neck surgery, Ciampa Tweeted a grim message to fans admitting that doctors told him if he returned to the ring following the neck injury he would be living on "borrowed time", due to the severity of the injury.
At last word, Ciampa has not ruled out an in-ring return and remains in recovery.
#2 Johnny Gargano
The former WWE NXT Champion and DIY tag team member will be making a special guest appearance at EVOLVE's 10th-anniversary show, and it remains to be seen whether or not he and Ciampa will interact during the event.
Johnny Gargano will be participating in a meet-and-greet, along with the other WWE stars, prior to the EVOLVE event beginning, at the 2300 Arena in Philadelphia.
Gargano is no stranger to a WWN Live ring, as he competed from 2009-2016 for Dragon Gate USA, which is under the same umbrella as EVOLVE. During his time in Dragon Gate USA, Gargano worked with current WWE stars such as Ricochet, Akira Tozawa, Kyle O'Reilly, Brian Kendrick and more.
Gargano is a one-time Evolve Tag Team Champion alongside current WWE star Drew McIntyre, he is a two-time Open the Freedom Gate Champion, and is a one-time Open the United Gate Champion alongside former WWE Superstar Rich Swann.
#3 Matt Riddle
The King of Bros, Matt Riddle, a former EVOLVE Champion, will be in action this Saturday night at the EVOLVE 10th anniversary show as he faces current WWE Cruiserweight Champion Drew Gulak in a singles match. The bout is a catch point reunion match and will reunite the former EVOLVE stars at the old ECW Arena in Philly.
Before making his official WWE NXT debut, Matt Riddle defeated Zack Sabre Jr. for the EVOLVE Championship on April 5th, 2018, at EVOLVE 102. Four months later, at EVOLVE 108, Riddle lost the EVOLVE Title to Shane Strickland, who is currently under a developmental deal at the WWE Performance Center.
Matt Riddle has since made quite a name for himself on the NXT brand, as he most recently received rave reviews for his feud and NXT Takeover match against Velveteen Dream. Riddle's unique in-ring style, athletic ability and size should make for a great match against Gulak this Saturday night.
#4 Drew Gulak
The current WWE Cruiserweight Champion is one of two current WWE Title holders who will be appearing at the EVOLVE 10th anniversary show this weekend, and Gulak will be in-action in a non-title match against NXT star Matt Riddle.
Most recently, Drew Gulak teamed up with Mike Kanellis and Ariya Daivari to face the team of Tony Nese, Gentleman Jack Gallagher and Oney Lorcan in a six-man tag team match on last week's episode of WWE 205 Live.
Gulak continues to feud with Tony Nese on the Tuesday night WWE brand, as he defeated Nese for the Cruiserweight Championship at the WWE Stomping Grounds PPV in a Triple Threat match to earn his first singles Championship since signing with WWE.
Gulak will have his hands full this weekend, as he faces Matt Riddle at the EVOLVE event on Saturday night, then just 24 hours later he will defend his Cruiserweight Title against Tony Nese at the WWE Extreme Rules PPV.
#5 Akira Tozawa
WWE 205 Live standout Akira Tozawa will be headlining this Saturday night's EVOLVE 10th anniversary event, as he faces current WWE NXT Champion Adam Cole with the title on the line.
Tozawa is a WWN Live alumnus himself, as he worked for Dragon Gate from 2005-2010. During his time with EVOLVE, Tozawa worked with the likes of Johnny Gargano, and accumulated numerous titles during his time in the promotion, as he is a one-time Open the Brave Gate Champion, a one-time Open the Owarai Gate Champion, a two-time Open the Triangle Gate Champion with BxB Hulk, Naoki Tanisaki, Masato Yoshino and T-Hawk, and is a three-time Open the Twin Gate Champion with BxB Hulk and Shingo Takagi.
In WWE, Akira Tozawa has held the Cruiserweight Title one time, and he also participated in the NXT North American Title Invitational which took place back in 2018.
At the EVOLVE event this Saturday night, Tozawa faces Adam Cole for the very first time, in what should be a memorable main event.
#1 Adam Cole
The final WWE Superstar who will be making a special appearance this Saturday night at the EVOLVE 10th anniversary event is none other than Adam Cole... Bay Bay.
The current WWE NXT Champion will defend his title against Akira Tozawa at the event after Cole was able to win the gold from Johnny Gargano at NXT Takeover New York.
Cole is also no stranger to EVOLVE, having made his debut for the promotion back in 2010. Cole made his EVOLVE debut at the EVOLVE 3: Rise Or Fall event, which took place on May 1st, 2010. Cole lost his debut match to current Impact Wrestling Superstar Sami Callihan, and Cole also made a name for himself in EVOLVE working with fellow NXT Superstar Johnny Gargano.
During his time in Dragon Gate USA, Adam Cole competed against current WWE United States Champion Ricochet, and Cole even faced his current Undisputed Era teammate Kyle O'Reilly.
Which match are you most looking forward to at the EVOLVE 10th anniversary event? Let us know in the comment section!
