Women's Evolution – August 20th 2018
When the first ever episode of Women's Evolution went live, the entire roster was standing in the ring. The crowd were cheering loudly, their enthusiasm for the new brand immediately noticeable. There were several close up shots of various women's faces, all looking delighted to be there. A chant of "Women's wrestling!" started to break out.
"This is incredible," Bayley said to Sonya Deville, who she happened to be standing closest to.
"So humbling," Sonya agreed.
By then, the chant was filling the arena, with almost everyone joining in. It was a really uplifting moment as wrestlers and fans alike got to celebrate the success of WWE's women over the past few years.
Jojo was standing in the ring, ready to make an announcement. She waited until the chant began to die down. "Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome the general manager of Women's Evolution…"
The noise from the fans rose significantly in anticipation. There had been great speculation since the announcement of the new brand over who would be given the general manager's positon. Names ranging from Stephanie McMahon to AJ Lee had all been mentioned online as supposed contenders for the job.
"You can look, but you can't touch!"
A cheer greeted Nikki Bella's entrance music and video. It was, however, tinged with disappointment from those fans who had hoped that the rumours of AJ Lee's return were true. Carrying a microphone, Nikki walked out onto the stage with a dazzling smile on her face, dressed in a typically fashionable green dress that complimented her amazing figure perfectly. Green was the colour assigned to the Women's Evolution brand. Everything from the show's logo to the ring ropes were colour coordinated, as with WWE's other brands.
In the ring, the wrestlers happily applauded Nikki's introduction. The announcement had been as much of a surprise to them as to the rest of the audience, and they were excited to welcome back their popular colleague, and in some cases, friend.
"You didn't think this was all going to happen without your longest reining Divas Champion, did you?" Nikki asked from the stage, still smiling broadly. "Thank you for that warm welcome. I'm delighted to have accepted the position as Women's Evolution's general manager, and to everyone in that ring, I'm overwhelmingly proud of all of you for how far women's wrestling has progressed over the past few years, since what was called the Women's Revolution. We've had the revolution, now we're going to have the evolution!"
There was another cheer, followed by a repeat of the "Women's wrestling!" chant. There could be no doubt that the fans were fired up for the new show. The reaction definitely bode well for the future.
"Before I make my first announcements regarding the Women's Championship and the Women's Tag Team Championships," Nikki said, "I have to introduce you to your Women's Evolution commentary team. First, please welcome… Renee Young!"
A warm reaction greeted the former interviewer as she walked onto the stage, now with entrance music of her own. Renee waved to acknowledge the support, then walked over to Nikki to thank her for the introduction. The two women shared a peck on the cheek, then Renee made her way over to the commentary table at the side of the stage.
"And her commentary partner," Nikki announced, "WWE Hall of Famer, Trish Stratus!"
A much louder cheer greeted the intro to Trish's music, and some of the crowd started chanting "Yes!" Trish entered the arena to another ovation, exchanged a greeting and a peck on the cheek with Nikki, then went over to join Renee.
The general manager moved on to talking about the new Women's Championship, announcing a tournament that would result in the first champion being crowned at the upcoming Hell in a Cell pay-per-view.
"And the best part of all? The final two superstars will face each other for the right to become the first holder of the new Women's Championship inside Hell in a Cell!" Nikki proclaimed to yet another ovation. Several of the women in the ring were shown with excited looks on their faces.
"But even that is not all," Nikki said excitedly. "We still have the Women's Tag Team Championships to talk about. Again, we need to crown initial champions, and that will happen in a tag team match at Hell in a Cell. But before we get that far, we need two contenders to compete in that match. Tonight, we're going to find out who those two teams will be! We will see two tag team matches here tonight, and the winners of those matches will be the two teams who advance to Hell in a Cell."
"What an event Hell in a Cell is already shaping up to be," Renee commented, now settled in at the commentary table.
"A new Women's Champion and new Women's Tag Team Champions," Trish confirmed. "What an honour it will be for the first holders of those titles."
"Ladies, all of you are eligible to enter," Nikki informed the wrestlers down in the ring. "All you have to do is find yourselves a partner. You'd better work fast, though, because the first match will take place next!"
"There you have it," Renee said as Nikki's music began to play. "You heard it from Nikki Bella, our general manager. Our first match on Women's Evolution will be a tag team contest, with the winners advancing to Hell in a Cell to compete for the Women's Tag Team Championships."
"Who are the teams going to be?" Trish asked. "I can't wait to see!"
The teams in the first match of the night had been Charlotte Flair and Becky Lynch, taking on Sonya Deville and Mandy Rose. To the surprise of almost everyone, Sonya had pinned Charlotte clean after a vicious kick to the face. It was a huge statement from Deville, who had struggled to gain much momentum since her debut on the main roster almost a year earlier.
The final match of the show was the second of the two tag team matches. As with the first, the audience had no idea who the competitors were going to be. Before the first piece of entrance music played, Jojo made an announcement.
"The next contest, scheduled for one fall, is to determine a number one contender for the Women's Tag Team Championship."
Sasha Banks's music was first to play. She was welcomed with some enthusiasm by the crowd, her run against the new heel Bayley having helped in that regard.
"Sasha Banks," Renee announced, thankfully not mentioning Boss time. "We saw two established teams compete earlier in the show. It looks like now we're going to see a new team formed."
"So it seems," Trish agreed. "Someone has obviously agreed to team up with Sasha to make a challenge for the new titles. Who is it?"
Banks had quickly gone through her entrance routine. Her music faded out, soon being replaced by that of Ember Moon. The intro drew a notable cheer of approval.
"Oh yes, I like this team. I like this team a lot," Renee said. "Ember Moon and Sasha Banks have formed an alliance. This is not going to be an easy team to beat, I can tell you that."
"The War Goddess and The Boss are great wrestlers," Trish said. "But that doesn't make them a great team. They have no experience together; no chemistry. They'll have to get on the same page fast if they want to advance to Hell in a Cell."
"If they can work well together, though, what a team!" Renee enthused.
Receiving another cheer, Ember completed her entrance by standing on a middle turnbuckle to pose. When she jumped back down to the mat, her music faded.
"And their opponents," Jojo said, having already announced Sasha and Ember during their entrances.
The drum solo that served as the intro for Bayley's music began to play, immediately being booed.
"As you can hear, not a great reaction for Bayley," Renee commented.
"I don't think you're on message, Renee," Trish countered. "Reaction or no reaction, Bayley doesn't care anymore!"
"Very good, Trish. I see what you did there," Renee said dryly. "Honestly, after what we've seen from Bayley these past couple of months, I have to wonder who has agreed to team with her?"
"Let's find out," Trish said.
Looking smug about her chances, Bayley had stopped halfway down the ramp to wait for her partner.
Alexa's music hit, to quite a loud reaction from the fans. Even though she was a heel, she was one that people liked to cheer for.
"Oh yes, I like this," Trish decided as Alexa walked out onto the stage and gave her signature pose. "Alexa Bliss and Bayley, what a team this could be."
"They certainly have plenty in common," Renee scoffed. "They're both appalling human beings. The only thing I don't really understand is how two people as self-centred as Alexa and Bayley can coexist as a team."
"I guess we'll soon see, one way or another," Trish said. "Like we just said about Moon and Banks, they've never teamed together before. But if they do manage to stay on the same page, the rest of the women in this new tag team division had better watch their backs. I see the potential for real dominance here."
Walking side by side, Alexa and Bayley made their way to ring. Keen to get her hands on Bayley after two consecutive losses, Sasha opted to start the match for her team. Seeing that, Bayley quickly decided that she would be the one to step out onto the apron, ducking the confrontation. Those in the crowd who were on the ball booed the cowardly act as the referee called for the bell.
For most of the first ten minutes of the match, the Bayley and Alexa team looked very impressive. They made frequent tags and used ring craft and manipulation of the referee to isolate Sasha in the ring, keeping her away from Ember so that she couldn't tag out. Several near falls were scored on Banks, but nothing quite got the job done.
Ultimately, it was frustration that cost the heel team. Bayley lost her cool with the referee after a long two count. Pursuing him across the ring, she slapped her hands together and yelled at him to count faster.
"Bayley needs to keep focused on the job at hand," Renee said.
Almost immediately, she was proven correct. Sasha rushed Bayley from behind and hit her with a Backstabber. In the corner, Ember started the fans clapping to get behind Sasha in her attempt to crawl across the ring for the tag.
Bayley reached Alexa and tagged first, but Bliss wasn't able to get into the ring and run over to stop Sasha's tag in time. Leaping the last few feet, Banks brought Moon into the match at last, the fans exploding for her.
Ember started going to town on Alexa with a barrage of striking attacks and signature moves. Seeing that her partner was in trouble, Bayley rushed back into the ring, only to be clotheslined over the top rope by Moon.
"Look out, Bayley! Ember's going to fly!" Trish called out.
While Bayley slowly got to her feet, looking dazed, Ember sprinted across the ring to the opposite side and hit the ropes. Running at full speed, she launched herself through the ropes, hitting Bayley like a freight train and sending her crashing back first into the ringside barricade. The crowd were loving it.
"Bayley taken out! Ember Moon is on a roll!" Renee called.
Leaving Bayley on the floor, lying near to Sasha, who just starting to get back up, Ember headed back into the ring. The time she had taken to deal with Bayley had allowed Alexa some respite. The Goddess was on her feet, and caught Ember with a DDT out of nowhere as she climbed back through the ropes.
"DDT! Alexa Bliss is the legal woman!" Renee cried.
"Alexa for the win!" Trish shouted as the cover was hurriedly made.
One.
Two.
Three.
Sasha had tried to get into the ring to break up the pin, but Bayley had grabbed her foot, preventing her from doing so.
"Got her!" Trish cried. "Bliss and Bayley win! They're going to Hell in a Cell!"
Renee said, "Ember Moon allowed herself to be distracted by dealing with Bayley, and, ever the opportunist, Alexa Bliss took full advantage. I have to admit, Bliss and Bayley looked good tonight, and they're off to a winning start. They will meet Mandy Rose and Sonya Deville at Hell in a Cell for the Women's Tag Team Championships."
As soon as she had gotten the three count, Alexa had scooted from the ring in front of the entrance ramp. Breaking free of Bayley's grasp, Sasha had rushed in to check on her defeated partner, which in turn gave Bayley the chance to retreat around the ring, meeting Bliss at the bottom of the ramp. To celebrate the win, Bayley issued her partner with the first Bayley hug since she had turned heel. Apparently her partner was worthy of one.
"What a sickening display," Renee groaned. "Now all of a sudden Bayley wants to start hugging again?"
"Alexa is her partner, Renee," Trish said. "And they just got a huge victory. Why shouldn't they celebrate with a hug? Just because Bayley thinks none of the fans are deserving of hugs anymore…"
"Well, hugs or not, Alexa and Bayley did get a huge victory here," Renee admitted as the triumphant team walked backwards up the ramp with arrogant smiles on their faces. "They'll be taking on Rose and Deville, and what a contest that's going to be!"
It fell to Trish to end the show's first episode as the WWE logo appeared in the corner of the screen. "What a debut show this has been! Bayley and Alexa Bliss victorious here on the first ever episode of Women's Evolution!"
A/N: Thanks to everyone who left predictions regarding the identity of the general manager. Sadly, no shout outs to give as no one called correctly.
No prediction question this time, but you guys do still have a chance to participate. I'm opening up the reviews for suggestions for a double team move that Bayley and Alexa can use for a finish. It can be some combination of their existing finishers (remember Bayley is using the top rope elbow drop now), or it can be something new. If I get a suggestion I like, we'll see them using it in the future, and I'll credit the person who submitted it.