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WWE's Evolution pay-per-view holds a very special place in the history of pro wrestling. As of this writing, it is the first and only WWE pay-per-view to solely include women's matches across the card.
In terms of quality, it was a good event. Sasha Banks has recently been pushing for a second Evolution pay-per-view, but there is no telling if or when WWE will give it another shot.
The first Evolution show took place on October 28, 2018. Things have considerably changed in the women's division since then. With that in mind, let's take a look at what the participants from Evolution 2018 are doing right now, in 2020.
#8 Rhea Ripley defeated Dakota Kai for the WWE NXT UK Women's Championship [Dark Match]
Viewers didn't get to see this match happen at Evolution, but Rhea Ripley and Dakota Kai did compete on the same stage in front of the same crowd. Their clash was initially featured on the main card, but it later occurred as a dark match to kick-off the event instead.
Since Evolution, Ripley has won the NXT Women's title and she was even featured on the WrestleMania 36 card.
After losing to Io Shirai in an excellent match, Rhea Ripley recently addressed the rumors of her moving to the main roster. It looks like she will be staying on WWE's Black and Gold brand for now.
As for Dakota Kai, she turned heel a year later after her appearance at the Evolution event. Interestingly, both Dakota Kai and Rhea Ripley will be on the opposite teams at the upcoming NXT TakeOver: WarGames event.
#7 Trish Stratus & Lita defeated Mickie James & Alicia Fox at WWE Evolution
After WWE Evolution, Lita wrestled the following night on Monday Night RAW in a 10-Person tag match. That was her last in-ring appearance for WWE. Lita recently appeared on an episode of The Bachelorette on ABC.
Trish Stratus also participated in the aforementioned 10-Person tag match on WWE RAW. But her last in-ring appearance for WWE occurred a year later at SummerSlam, where Charlotte Flair defeated her. Trish Stratus recently made a cameo appearance in the holiday TV movie titled 'Christmas in the Rockies'.
Alicia Fox's last on-screen appearance in WWE occurred at the RAW Reunion episode in 2019, where she was billed as a WWE legend among several other former stars. There haven't been any major updates since then, but through an Instagram post in November 2019, Fox revealed that she had been a few months sober after going into recovery for alcoholism.
Mickie James returned to WWE in August this year. However, she broke her nose in a match against Asuka in September. Following that match, Mickie James wrestled Zelina Vega on an episode of RAW in the same month, and she hasn't been seen on WWE TV since then.
James was flanked by Alexa Bliss during the Evolution pay-per-view. Although Bliss didn't directly participate in the aforementioned match, she remains one of the most relevant stars today thanks to her storyline with "The Fiend" Bray Wyatt.
#6 Nia Jax won the 20-woman Battle Royal at WWE Evolution
Nia Jax won the Battle Royal at WWE Evolution 2018 by eliminating Ember Moon in the end. Jax currently appears on RAW as one-half of the WWE Women's Tag Team Champions. As for Ember Moon, she returned to NXT in October 2020 after a year-long absence from the main roster. Ember Moon has joined Team Shotzi for the upcoming WarGames event.
Listed below are the statuses of other women featured in the Battle Royal at Evolution 2018.
- Molly Holly and Kelly Kelly last wrestled in the 2020 Women's Royal Rumble Match. On May 29, 2020, Kelly Kelly got engaged to Joe Coba. Molly Holly is currently a guest mentor at The Academy: School of Professional Wrestling, which is owned and operated by Ken Anderson. The Academy is temporarily closed due to COVID-19.
- Torrie Wilson and Ivory haven't wrestled in WWE since Evolution 2018. While Ivory hasn't been frequently seen in the public eye since then. Torrie has been following fitness pursuits which can be kept track of through her social media accounts.
- Alundra Blayze appeared on an episode of AEW Dynamite in August 2020 to present the AEW Women's Tag Team Cup to Ivelisse and Diamante.
- The IIconics - Peyton Royce & Billie Kay - were split apart in 2020. Royce is currently a part of the Red brand while Kay appears on WWE SmackDown nowadays.
- Sonya Deville has taken time off from WWE after SummerSlam 2020. Both Mandy Rose and Dana Brooke are currently a tag team on WWE RAW. Naomi hasn't wrestled in WWE since August, and she underwent surgery in September. Naomi was drafted to the Red brand in October.
- Maria Kanellis was released from WWE in April along with many other Superstars due to budget cuts stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic. She recently launched a Cameo profile in November. Zelina Vega was recently released from the company in November after not complying with WWE's latest policy on third-party platforms. It's safe to say that Vega has done a great job with building up her online presence, and she won't let go of those achievements anytime soon.
- Asuka is the current RAW Women's Champion, while Lana is part of an underdog storyline against Nia Jax on the same show. Carmella recently returned to WWE with a new glam diva gimmick on SmackDown. Tamina currently performs on the WWE SmackDown brand as well.
- Michelle McCool last wrestled at Evolution 2018. She has been featured in her husband's (The Undertaker) WWE Network documentaries since then. McCool was present backstage during The Undertaker's final farewell at Survivor Series 2020.
#5 Sasha Banks, Bayley, and Natalya defeated The Riott Squad (Ruby Riott, Liv Morgan, and Sarah Logan) at WWE Evolution
Sasha Banks and Bayley were one of the best aspects of WWE RAW and SmackDown during the pandemic. Eventually, the partnership between WWE's Golden Role Models broke apart during the September 4th episode of SmackDown this year.
Banks ended Bayley's historic 380-day reign as the SmackDown Women's Champion at WWE Hell in a Cell 2020. Sasha Banks is the current SmackDown Women's Champion and is feuding with Carmella on the Blue brand. The Legit Boss has also gained some mainstream attention due to her role in the second season of The Mandalorian.
Natalya was drafted to SmackDown in October and was a part of the SmackDown Women's Survivor Series team this year.
Only Ruby Riott and Liv Morgan of The Riott Squad are still contracted with WWE. They were also a part of the SmackDown Women's Survivor Series team in 2020. Morgan got her own documentary titled, 'Liv Forever', which was recently released on the WWE Network.
Sarah Logan was released from her WWE contract earlier this year due to COVID-19 budget cuts, alongside several other Superstars and backstage personnel. A few months later, Logan and her husband, Erik, announced on Instagram that they were expecting their first child together.
#4 Toni Storm defeated Io Shirai in the 2018 Mae Young Classic tournament final match at WWE Evolution
Although Toni Storm defeated Io Shirai at WWE Evolution to win the 2018 Mae Young Classic, Shirai is the current NXT Women's Champion in WWE.
On the 25th November 2020 episode of NXT, Storm turned heel for the first time in her WWE career by attacking Ember Moon. Toni Storm has currently joined Candice LeRae's team for the upcoming NXT TakeOver: WarGames event.
#3 Shayna Baszler became the WWE NXT Women's Champion by defeating Kairi Sane
At WWE Evolution, Shayna Baszler became the first-ever two-time NXT Women's Champion as a distraction from her MMA Horsewomen allies, Marina Shafir and Jessamyn Duke, helped her win the match.
Baszler is currently one-half of the WWE Women's Tag Team Champions alongside Nia Jax.
Both Shafir and Duke made some waves on RAW Underground in August. After RAW Underground was nixed, Shafir appeared on NXT in September for a Battle Royale Match. Duke has been more relevant through her gaming pursuits in recent memory.
Kairi Sane's time as an in-ring performer for WWE ended back in July this year. She currently serves as an ambassador and trainer for WWE in Japan.
Fans may remember that Kairi Sane was on the Japanese commentary team for Hell in a Cell 2020.
#2 Becky Lynch defeated Charlotte Flair and retained her WWE SmackDown Women's Championship in a Last Woman Standing Match
Becky Lynch vacated her WWE RAW Women's title earlier in 2020 after announcing that she was pregnant. Her due date is in December, and Lynch also made some recent headlines by appearing in a pregnancy photoshoot alongside her fiance, Seth Rollins.
Charlotte Flair has been off WWE TV since June 2020 while recovering from a surgery. Charlotte was picked by RAW in the 2020 Draft in October, and she could be returning to WWE on the road to next year's WrestleMania.
Recently, VaynerSports announced that they added Charlotte Flair as the first pro wrestling athlete to their clientele list.
#1 Ronda Rousey retained her WWE RAW Women's Championship against Nikki Bella in the main event
The last time Ronda Rousey was seen on WWE TV was during the main event of WrestleMania 35 in 2019. Rousey has been spotted training ahead of a potential WWE return in the near future, as seen in the tweet embedded above.
Ronda Rousey is reportedly still under a WWE contract, and she could possibly return to the promotion on the road to next year's WrestleMania.
Nikki Bella was accompanied by her twin sister, Brie, at the main event of Evolution.
Nikki gave birth to her first child with her fiancé Artem Chigvintsev on July 31 this year. Brie Bella gave birth on August 1 to a little boy, her second child with her husband, Daniel Bryan.
The sixth season of Total Bellas is airing at the moment. Both Nikki and Brie Bella recently cleared the air about a potential WWE return, saying that they may return sometime down the road to win the WWE Women's Tag Team titles.
