WWE just hosted their second-ever all-women’s Premium Live Event: Evolution. Following the inaugural Evolution back in 2018. And this event was a great showcase of just how much the women’s division has continued to evolve in the 7 years between the two events.
This show had everything working against it. For starters, WWE putting on a Premium Live Event every two weeks has severely diminished the “premium” part of that phrase. As each show only gets about 4 episodes of dedicated TV time. Not to mention that Evolution was placed the day after two other WWE events in the same city: NXT Great American Bash and Saturday Night’s Main Event. And the cherry on top being a Beyonce concert taking place in the same city at the same time as Evolution.
Bayley, Lyra Valkyria, and Becky Lynch at war
A new champion was crowned. Rising stars proved they’re here to stay. Legends proved they still have a lot left in the tank. And above all else, the women rose above lackluster booking with all the odds stacked against them to deliver what could easily be considered one of WWE’s best PLEs of 2025. If not the best. Find out which match was the best of the best. Which was the best of the rest. And which warmed the bench for them.
7. 20-Woman Battle Royal
Rating: 2.5/5
The obligatory “we don’t want any women upset they didn’t make the card” match. As 20 women across Raw, SmackDown, and NXT did battle to earn a championship match at the upcoming Clash in Paris Premium Live Event. And it was a pretty bog standard battle royal.
The Beautiful Madness vs. La Primera
Lots of people were thrown over the top rope without much fanfare after not doing much of note. There were a few fun moments between the few participants who had a shot of winning. And then a fan-favorite rising star getting the big win to cap things off. It was dependably solid, but nothing special. In fact, Stephanie Vaquer’s victorious promo line of “This is hard for me, English is not my first language. But wrestling is my first language” was more memorable than the whole match.
Kelani Jordan and Lash Legend got moments to shine, but the rest of the NXT girls got little. Tatum Paxley and Izzi Dame both lasted mere seconds. Giulia was eliminated surprisingly early. But Chelsea Green’s antics were a highlight. A fine match that got the job done.
6. Women’s Tag Team Championship Fatal 4 Way
Rating: 3/5
All three brands were represented here as well as Raw‘s Asuka & Kairi Sane, SmackDown‘s Alexa Bliss & Charlotte Flair, and NXT‘s Sol Ruca & Zaria challenged Roxanne Perez & Raquel Rodriguez for the tag titles. Unfortunately, it was one of those weird multi-team matches where only two people are legal at once. Which severely kneecapped the match’s potential.
Alexa Bliss looks to finish Sol Ruca
The match was very stop-start and the only real noteworthy element was the crowd’s love for Charlotte Flair. Something that has not existed for a good eight years now. Crazy what happens when you take her away from the main title scene for once. Raquel and Roxanne retaining was obvious yet deflating. As The Judgment Day have yet to recover from their extremely one-sided feuds against Damian Priest and Rhea Ripley last year.
It was a solid match that got more women on the show, and got the Women’s Tag Titles on a PLE for once. Alexa Bliss and Charlotte Flair showed off that their odd couple pairing is going to be great. And Sol Ruca continued to impress with her gymnastic abilities. But it’s far from the peaks this show reached.
5. Tiffany Stratton vs. Trish Stratus – WWE Women’s Championship
Rating: 3/5
This was probably as good as it possibly could’ve been given its non-existent build and its existence within a championship reign several months past its sell by date. You’d think the battle of the T. Strats would get more than two weeks of build summed up as “I want to beat you.” “I don’t want you to beat me.” But here we are.
T. Strat. vs. T. Strat.
Trish Stratus continues to prove that she can still hang with the current crop of women, and is indeed one of the greatest women’s wrestlers of all time. While Tiffany Stratton showed once again that she can bail out all her shortcomings with impressive maneuvers. That being said, I’m not going to remember a single thing about this match in a week’s time.
The decision to turn Tiffany Stratton face has proven to be one of the biggest blunders of 2025. Her character regressing to nothing more than a smiley prep keen on asking you what time it is. Her one saving grace in promos was that she’s good at being annoying, and she can’t even use that anymore. Heel Tiffany wasn’t much deeper of a character, but it probably would’ve added more fuel to this mirror match.
4. Jacy Jayne vs. Jordynne Grace – NXT Women’s Championship
Rating: 3.5/5
This match was a personal victory. As I’ve been championing Jacy Jayne as a future megastar since the early days of her being severely overlooked in Toxic Attraction. Seeing her continue to improve and rise until finally reaching the mountaintop by knocking off Stephanie Vaquer for the NXT Women’s Championship was a joy. And now she joins the short list of NXT Champions who have successfully defended their titles on main roster PLEs.
Fatal Influence’s very classy celebration
I think pretty much everyone assumed Jordynne Grace had this in the bag, and the match played into that. Jordynne using her power and speed to counter Jacy’s brains and deception. All while commentary continued the narrative that Jacy is “the most beatable champion in NXT history.” The two women showed out and proved that the NXT Women’s Division is still thriving after losing Roxanne Perez, Giulia, and Stephanie Vaquer in quick succession.
And then, of course, there was the Blake Monroe heel turn. Stabbing her new friend in the back by smacking her in the back with the championship. A turn everyone but Michael Cole saw coming. As he continued to insist it was a miscommunication despite every possible sign making it obvious it was intentional. Still a cool moment to cap off a fun match nonetheless.
3. Jade Cargill vs. Naomi – No Holds Barred
Rating: 3.75/5
This was a very good match, but not as great as it could’ve been. Probably because they were told to hold back, given that the main event also had a No DQ element to it. However, Jade and Naomi put on yet another solid match in their very one sided rivalry that has singlehandedly revitalized Naomi’s career.
Caution is advised
Naomi got to show off how vicious and sadistic this new side of her is, even in another defeat. Though she didn’t go down easily. This match was far more competitive than their outing at WrestleMania. And the addition of weapons made for some fun moments. Though the match never quite reached a level of intensity to match the feud. It’s a shame they likely won’t get a third PLE match anytime soon.
The last minute addition of Bianca Belair as referee was clearly just to get her on the show despite her injury. As she contributed absolutely nothing to the match. Calling everything right down the middle, and as emotionally stoic as any average referee.
2. Becky Lynch vs. Bayley vs. Lyra Valkyria – Women’s Intercontinental Championship
Rating: 4.75/5
The Women’s Intercontinental Championship has slowly become a top contender for the best thing in WWE all year. Lyra Valkyria’s inaugural reign started off slow, but exploded once the feud with Becky Lynch began. And the involvement of Bayley has only continued to elevate the title and everyone involved. This title now feels like the second most valuable prize in the women’s division.
I’m seeing stars
These three superstars opened the show in a sixteen-minute barnstormer that came so close to being unbeatable. Lyra was the rising star hungry to prove she belonged with the best. Bayley was the lone wolf out for revenge no matter the cost. And Becky was the sneaky veteran, desperately searching for her moment to snatch a win. Becky Lynch would ultimately come out on top, though the door was left open for future rematches.
This feud continues to be the best in WWE right now. And this dramatic peak in the narrative only gave them a further lead. These past few months have been a trial by fire for Lyra Valkyria. And she proves every single week that she is a superstar in the making. And my personal pick to win the Women’s Royal Rumble next year.
1. IYO SKY vs. Rhea Ripley – Women’s World Championship
Rating: 5/5
This match succeeded off the talent of the women involved alone. The writers did them no favors. As this Premium Live Event main event only got two weeks of build, including one week where neither woman was on TV at all. But IYO SKY and Rhea Ripley are two of the best in the world right now, so it’s no surprise they killed it.
Begone
If the IC Title triple threat stormed the barn, this match burned it. 26 minutes of hard-hitting offense between two rivals destined to do this forever. Boosted by the uncommon story of the big dominant monster having never beaten the smaller, more agile wrestler. And both women played into it perfectly. Rhea fighting with a ferocity and desperation to break her losing streak. IYO taking it all and throwing herself around with reckless abandon.
I could’ve done without the overdone ref bump spot, but the brawl in the crowd more than made up for it. As well as the surprising crescendo of Naomi cashing in her Money in the Bank contract to snatch the title away from both women. A great moment, but a strange choice. As things seemed perfectly aligned to have Naomi with MitB while Jade goes on to win the title from Tiffany. But time will tell.
