WWE Evolution: Women's Wrestling Shined Despite Weak Build-Up

WWE Evolution is an all-women’s PLE, and it is historic. The first-ever Evolution took place in 2018 and proved that women’s wrestling is in a whole new era and is going to evolve continuously. Fans wondered when Evolution 2 would take place, as the women’s roster continued to add superstars throughout the years. Eventually, it was announced that Evolution would take place on July 13th, 2025, in Atlanta, Georgia. It felt fitting considering that WWE had several superstars, including Stephanie Vaquer, Giulia, and more, who were not a part of the first Evolution and had made an impact on women’s wrestling in their respective wrestling promotions, to be a part of the next Evolution PLE. 

Evolution 2 delivered wrestling-wise. The women proved that they can be just as big a draw as their male coworkers. However, the biggest and noticeable flaw of Evolution 2 was its lack of storyline buildup. Only two storylines in Evolution had a great buildup, which were Naomi and Jade (including Bianca too), and Lyra, Becky, and Bayley. While the rest of the storylines were put together in two to three weeks, with a lack of build-up, especially given that the two biggest champions, Iyo and Tiffany, chose their opponents instead of having a contenders' match or bracket, as was the case with the NXT Women’s Championship opponent. 

This article will cover all matchups as well as their buildups because at points of the build-up, it felt like WWE were forced to make this PLE due to the frequent conversations online about how there are so many great women wrestlers on the roster currently and how an Evolution 2 is needed soon. WWE saw these conversations and instead of building it up, they threw it out on a plate, saying, “Here you go, fans! What you wanted!” when it is the opposite of what fans wanted. Fans wanted storylines that were properly built up, yet WWE is too focused on their male storylines, including the John Cena Farewell Tour, to even care about women’s characters and storylines and even their wrestling. Yet the women continue to prove to their own company that they are a draw as well. 

Women’s World Champion & WWE Women’s Champion

Having your top two champions choose their opponents instead of having a bracket or contenders match felt like a slap in the face to some of the women in the locker room who barely have opportunities like this. IYO SKY, choosing Rhea Ripley does make sense, but it is strange how suddenly WWE made the whole matchup revolve around the fact that Rhea has never beaten IYO in a one-on-one match. Why now is the question that will remain unanswered. Fans have speculated that IYO chose Rhea to take some heat off of Triple H and his “favourtism” towards Rhea, while others have said that they have always had a storyline, yet nobody has cared to notice. 

Regardless, both women strongly delivered in the main event of Evolution 2. Personally, I and many others believe that Rhea and IYO are wrestling soulmates as they can wrestle 24/7 with each other and still have fantastic chemistry as they both bring out the best in each other. Evolution 2 might as well be their best match together. But what surprised everyone was Mrs. Money in the Bank, Naomi cashing in to create a triple threat and win the belt from them. What a shock to the WWE Universe. A lot of fans, including myself, thought Naomi would cash in during Jade Cargill vs. Tiffany Stratton at SummerSlam this year, but she saw her moment and seized it. Even though she had no storyline with IYO and Rhea, she is Mrs. Money in the Bank after all. However, she will be defending her championship against those women at SummerSlam this year. It will be interesting post-Evolution 2 to see how this builds up, but these women will for sure shine with their wrestling at SummerSlam. 

A quick note, more history was made at Evolution 2 as IYO SKY became the first Japanese woman to main event Evolution 2, as well as Naomi, who became the first black woman to main event as well. Another special mention to Aja Smith, Jessika Carr and Victoria D’Errico, who were the referees for the night, especially to Aja Smith, who was involved with the main event match. 

Now, for Tiffany Stratton, it made no sense for her to pick Trish Stratus. As much as I love Trish, she and Tiffany did not have an actual rivalry storyline like IYO and Rhea did. All Tiffany and Trish did was help each other; not one of them turned on the other. But, there are not a lot of women on the SmackDown roster who had an intense storyline with Tiffany besides Nia Jax (who has faced Tiffany multiple times), Jade Cargill (who is guaranteed a match with Tiffany at SummerSlam) or Naomi (Mrs. Money in the Bank). It would have been nice to see someone like Chelsea Green be granted an opportunity against Tiffany, as the two did have some backstage segments, but there was no way Trish was going to be placed in the Battle Royal. So in a way, WWE played it off as Tiffany owed Trish something due to partnering up with her back in March at Elimination Chamber in Trish’s hometown. 

Despite a dull build-up with a few segments, the women delivered in their matchup. A lot of fans expected this match to be slow-paced and full of botches, but it was quite the opposite. Tiffany hit “The End of Heartache” on Trish, which surprised multiple fans, including me. These women were just busting out moves from nowhere! Even Trish attempted to do a moonsault! In the end, Tiffany retained her title, but Trish held her head high and got a standing ovation from the crowd. An incredible match between the present and the past. This match proved that 1) Trish is still passionate about her wrestling career 25 years later, as it seems like she is keeping up with training and even learning new moves as she goes. But, she still has an incredible finisher in Stratusfaction, and 2) Tiffany is still young and has a whole career ahead of her. Even though her title reign has been decent, nothing too exciting, she is still young and has a lot to learn from veterans like Trish and many more women wrestlers. She even has the opportunity to learn new moves and add them to her moveset. It will be exciting to see what Trish still has left to do as she claims she is “not done with WWE yet this year,” and how Tiffany and Jade Cargill are built up to SummerSlam and how they will perform there. 

Intercontinental Women’s Championship

To be honest, this should have been the main event of the PLE, it has had a few months’ build up since Bayley vs. Lyra happened then Bayley was taken out by Becky at Wrestlemania 41 while also winning the Women’s Tag Team Championship then losing them the next night at RAW which led to Becky turning on Lyra and them having two PLE matches. One at Bad Blood, which Lyra won and the other one at Money in the Bank, which Becky one. Then Bayley returns, has a contenders match with Lyra on RAW, which leads to both women getting pinned and a match at Evolution. So, yes, this should have been the main event. 

This match showcased that the future of Lyra can wrestle with future Hall of Famers such as Bayley and Becky, and for those women, it still proves they have great chemistry with each other. One thing that a lot of women's wrestling delivers on and that is triple threat matches, an example being Charlotte Flair vs. Asuka Vs. Bianca Belair at Summerslam 2023. These women delivered perfectly for the opener of Evolution, and the quick pin win by Becky is fitting for her heel character. There constantly felt like something going on between these women, match and storyline-wise. The match felt fast-paced, which a lot of fans enjoy about wrestling matches. It also had unpredictability as it was uncertain who would win, which is a great factor to have within a match. There were some fans who believed that Lyra was going to win her title back, while some believed the opposite. 

On the RAW after Evolution, Bayley and Lyra had a number one contenders stipulation match to face Becky at SummerSlam. The stipulation was a two out of three falls match. The first person to gain two falls was going to face Becky at SummerSlam. Lyra won the match. It will be interesting to see how Becky vs. Lyra plays out at SummerSlam, as this feels like a case of long-term storytelling (which is currently the trend in WWE right now with the men’s storylines) and if Bayley gets a spot on the card as well. 

WWE Women’s Tag Team Championships

For the longest time in 2025, the women’s tag team looked rough as WWE released the majority of women a part of that division. Katana Chance and Kayden Carter, Indi Hartwell (Candice LeRae’s partner), Dakota Kai (DAMAGE CTRL), Sonya Deville and Shayna Baszler (Pure Fusion Collective), Isla Dawn  (The Unholy Union), and Jakara Jackson (The Meta-Four), were gone. The only real women’s tag team on the main roster standing were The Judgement Day girls (Roxanne/Liv and Raquel), Chelsea Green and Piper Niven and The Kabuki Warriors (Asuka and Kairi). There were somehow more women’s stables/tag teams on NXT. Regardless, the women’s tag team titles were going to be defended on Evolution 2. 

The original plans for the WWE Women’s Tag Team Championships were for Liv Morgan and Nikki Bella to start feuding, which would bring in Liv’s partner Raquel and then the eventual return of Nikki’s sister Brie Bella to team up with Nikki. But, since Liv unfortunately got injured, plans were changed. Instead, Raquel and Roxanne Perez would defend the titles in a fatal four-way match against three teams across all brands. The first slot was filled by SmackDown through a contenders match, which Alexa Bliss and Charlotte Flair won. It is refreshing to see them together as it currently brings out something new in both women that fans have never seen before. Then NXT chose Sol Ruca and Zaria, which makes sense since they are one of three women’s stables in NXT and finally, RAW chose the Kabuki Warriors thanks to Asuka’s return.

While some fans were unsure of this fatal four-way matchup, it delivered at Evolution 2. All women in the ring proved that they have fantastic chemistry with each other. It was also refreshing to see Charlotte get cheered on rather than booed. All teams did fantastically in this match and proved that even though the women’s tag division is slightly small, it is still alive. The spots from all women were amazing, more specifically, the Sol Snatcher and Charlotte saving Alexa from getting speared by Zaria, which added more to Charlotte’s character. It was slightly surprising to see the girls of The Judgement Day retain, as fans expected either The Kabuki Warriors or Charlotte and Alexa to win. It was also great to see Sol Ruca and Zaria, both women have a bright future in either single or tag team competition. Roxanne Perez fits in perfectly with Judgement Day and is possibly a better tag partner for Raquel. 

Battle Royal

The battle royal featured women across all three divisions, which was fantastic. The winner of the battle royal would have a Championship match at Clash In Paris. Some notable participants include Nikki Bella, Chelsea Green, Lash Legend, Stephanie Vaquer, Kelani Jordan, Nia Jax and United States Champion, Giulia, who should have had a match defending her title instead of being in the battle royal. 

The battle royal mostly consisted of fun moments such as Stephanie doing the “Devil’s Kiss” to Chelsea and Lash, Lola Vice and Nikki Bella doing Nikki’s signature twirl, Kelani Jordan landing on her hands outside the ring and getting back into the ring by having her feet hold onto the ropes and a few more. There were a few storyline moments, such as Zelina Vega, the former United States Champion, eliminating Giulia and Nikki Bella eliminating Alba Fyre, part of Chelsea Green’s Secret Hervice, which then led to Chelsea attacking and mocking Nikki, then later Nikki spearing Chelsea (this eventually led to Nikki and Chelsea having a match on RAW after Evolution).

The final four consisted of Lash Legend, Nikki Bella, Nia Jax and Stephanie Vaquer. Lash eliminated Nikki, then Nia with the help of Stephanie (which surprised a lot of fans as fans were certain Nikki was going to win the battle royal), which led to the final two being Stephanie and Lash. The two women were eventually on the outside of the ropes on the apron, where Stephanie delivered a Devil’s Kiss to Lash and then eliminated her to win the battle royal. It was awesome to see Stephanie win, considering she was not a part of the first Evolution and was paving the way for women in the wrestling promotions she was involved in. All women shone here and had fun, which entertained fans. It is interesting to see where Nikki Bella and Stephanie Vaquer are for SummerSlam, as Vaquer saved Nikki after her match with Chelsea on RAW. It will be interesting to see where the runner-up to Stephanie, Lash Legend, does in NXT still.

The NXT Women’s Championship

NXT Women’s Champion Jacy Jayne’s opponent was decided through an eliminator then a fatal four-way match. Shawn Michaels is an excellent booker when it comes to the NXT women, but Jayne’s opponent felt obvious, and that person is Jordynne Grace. Jordynne officially signed her WWE contract back in February 2025 when Giulia and Stephanie Vaquer were at the top of the NXT women’s division. Eventually, the question became “When Giulia and Stephanie Vaquer move to the main roster, will Jordynne Grace get her chance at being NXT women’s champion?” Jordynne was rewarded two opportunities while Vaquer was champion, one being a fatal four-way at Stand and Deliver and one a month later at Battleground, which Vaquer retained at both. But, with Jacy Jayne as champion and Jordynne Grace still being in the main card spotlight, she was bound to get her rematch for the title again.

Blake Monroe (fka Mariah May) came into WWE in June 2025, and it was clear that she was going to be at the top of the NXT women’s division. What was surprising was seeing her “eager” to work with Jordynne Grace. The two were rewarded a match before Evolution 2 at the Great American Bash against Jacy Jayne and Fallon Henley. This marks Blake’s in-ring debut. The match was great, and it led to Blake pinning the NXT Women’s Champion, possibly guaranteeing her a match against Jacy sometime in the future. 

At Evolution 2, Blake turned heel on Jordynne by smashing the NXT women’s championship on her while being whipped into the ropes by Jayne and of course, the ref was not looking, which led to Jayne punching Jordynne and pinning her to retain. It is unclear if Blake aligns herself with Jayne and Fatal Influence or if she was just using Jordynne to get closer to the NXT Women’s Championship. There was not much of a build-up for this championship match, as it felt like it was more of a build-up towards Blake turning heel on Jordynne. I like this “Jacy Jayne is the most beatable NXT Women’s Champion” reign. As it feels like she is retaining in the luckiest ways, along with the help from her group, Fatal Influence. The match overall was great as both ladies had shown up and impressed the crowd. It kind of felt like Blake’s heel turn stole the show, but that does not mean that the match was bad. It was very good, as fans thought that this might even be the night Jordynne retains. It is exciting to see what happens next with Jordynne and Blake, along with Jordynne’s future. It is also exciting to see if Blake does get her NXT Women’s Championship match and if Jayne will retain in a lucky way. 

Naomi vs. Jade Cargill

In November 2024, Jade Cargill was attacked by a mysterious person backstage. In December 2024, Naomi went on to replace Jade as WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions with Bianca Belair in a match against Nia Jax and Candice LeRae. On March 1st, 2025, Jade returned at Elimination Chamber just as the women’s elimination chamber match was about to begin. With Liv Morgan and Naomi in the ring, Jade decides to go and attack Naomi! Furthering the assumption that Naomi attacked Jade. But next week on SmackDown, Naomi confirmed to Bianca Belair that she did attack Jade. This women’s match has had the longest and best build leading to Evolution 2. 

Some time in the middle of March 2025, Naomi took on the heel role and changed her entire look and motto. She went from “The Glow” to “Proceed with Caution” as she had some form of yellow caution tape on her costume, while Jade maintained her babyface look and motto (“A Storm is Coming”). The two went on to have a singles match at WrestleMania 41, which was the first-ever women’s singles match without stipulation or a title on the line (Liv Morgan vs. Natalya at WrestleMania 36 does not count due to it being a part of the kickoff show and not the actual WrestleMania card) and the match went well with Jade pinning Naomi.

The two would go on to continue having a rivalry while being rewarded. Jade won the Queen of the Ring tournament, which guaranteed her a championship match at SummerSlam against Tiffany Stratton, and Naomi won Mrs. Money in the Bank, which guaranteed her a championship match anytime she wanted. Their match at Evolution 2 was deemed a “No Holds Barred” match, meaning anything goes. But before that match, on Saturday Night’s Main Event before Evolution 2 on Sunday, Jade was shown in the crowd and then Naomi attacked her. The two would go on to fight for a bit until SmackDown General Manager Nick Aldis came out to interrupt the two ladies and introduce the stipulation alongside the referee, who is a returning Bianca Belair.

The match between Naomi and Jade at Evolution 2 was intense, as Cargill punched Naomi with a steel chain and also hit her with a video camera and then placed a garbage can on Naomi and then kicked her with the garbage can on top of her. Naomi used the arms of the table to drive Jade’s face into then later she used a steel chair to put Jade through a table, then also gave her a facebuster on the chair. Finally, on the top rope, Jade hit her finisher Jaded on Naomi and also put her through the table, which won her the match. It was intense, especially through the eyes of Bianca Belair, being the referee and watching her friends put each other through the worst.

Even though Naomi lost, she still came out on top at the end of the night by winning the Women’s World Championship from IYO SKY and Rhea Ripley.

In conclusion, Evolution 2 had a weak buildup with several storylines being built in two weeks before the PLE, but the women proved that even with weak storylines, they can put on matches that make it seem like there has been built up between each other properly.