When I first became invested in the magic and theatrical extravaganza of professional wrestling in 2002, a new faction was gearing up to take the WWE by storm. A group of men who considered themselves to be the “past, present and future” of the industry.
Evolution, consisting of the legendary Ric Flair, then-World Heavyweight Champion Triple H and two up-and-coming stars in Batista and Randy Orton, took on any and all obstacles on Monday Night Raw. Laying waste to several of my favourites, such as Mick Foley, The Rock, Shawn Michaels, Edge and Chris Jericho, Evolution truly was the gateway into the next era of wrestling. And that’s not just a slogan to put on a t-shirt either.
Look back at the last ten years in wrestling, if you don’t believe me. Batista and Randy Orton are both multi-time champions in their own right, with Orton perhaps playing the role of 2004-Triple H in today’s WWE. The Game himself is a principle owner in World Wrestling Entertainment, serving as the COO, likely preparing to take the reins of the company when Vince McMahon finally packs it in. Ric Flair was inducted into the Hall of Fame twice and was given one of the most heart-breaking retirement matches in company history in 2008.
A lot of memorable moments over the last ten years have featured one or more of the members of Evolution, so although the group may have split up a decade ago, they have undoubtedly made the impact they promised to make when they were together.
Professional Wrestling is nothing without a good villain, and while I was becoming increasingly intrigued by the industry, there were no greater villains than Evolution. Cocky, brash, manipulative and powerful, these guys ruled Raw when they were together, literally taking over each division possible by claiming every championship the brand had to offer. Remind you of anybody else?
Who else made their explosive impact upon debuting in WWE, laying claim to multiple titles and leaving naught but utter destruction in their wake? Dean Ambrose, Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns.
These men debuted in on one of the most empathic ways possible in 2012, interrupting the WWE Championship contest at Survivor Series, one of WWE’s biggest PPVs of the year. And within six months, Rollins and Reigns were holding the Tag-Team Titles, while Dean Ambrose was holding the United States Championship, which he still holds to this very day.
The U.S. Title may mean virtually nothing in today’s WWE, considering Ambrose never really defends it, but at least he can say he’s closing in on the longest title reign in company history. Even if the Title is taken out of circulation soon enough, Ambrose will be able to proudly say that he carried the gold for longer than anyone else.
It’s been a year and a half since The Shield made their arrivals in WWE, and it didn’t take long for them to become some of the most exciting competitors in the company. Ambrose’s ceaseless charisma is hypnotising, Seth Rollins’ high-flying, death-defying approach in the ring is an enthralling characteristic of his move-set, and Roman Reigns’ power has proven him to be a force to be reckoned with. I don’t believe there’s a man in the WWE who’s been able to kick out after suffering a deadly Spear from Roman Reigns, and you can’t really blame them.
With all of these traits, on top of an overwhelming distaste for being told what to do (not to mention an unhealthy fixation for justice), it was just a matter of time before The Shield managed to piss Triple H off. And a Spear to the boss the night after WrestleMania XXX is the way to do just that.
It’s not every day that you get to witness a ‘dream match’ unfold in front of your very eyes, but if you’re anything like me, you’ll consider Evolution/Shield a dream match of epic proportions. Three men who ran rampant over the WWE towards the beginning of the Ruthless Aggression Era taking on three men who do the same today.
Much like many of you, I would like to see Ric Flair come back and complete the square, but I won’t mind if he doesn’t. Like I said, the tagline of the original Evolution was “past, present and future” with Flair obviously playing the part of the past. And as Gary Byrne accurately pointed out in his ‘Raw Revisited’ column this week, the Evolution reboot is more like “past, past and past”, so I don’t know if Flair would really fit in. ‘Super-past’ may be pushing it a bit…
Nevertheless, these two larger-than-life trios will be squaring off toe-to-toe at Extreme Rules in a couple of weeks, and I am quite excited to see it. I know a lot of people never really saw Evolution as a legendary faction, or even a memorable one, but I did. After all, they were the top dogs when I was first getting into the product.
It is also great to see The Shield sticking together as babyfaces for however long it may last. I would’ve bet good money that they wouldn’t make it to WrestleMania intact, so I’m quite pleased to see them still together and in such a high spot on the card. Like it or not, Batista, Randy Orton and Triple H are pretty big names, so this will be an interesting (and important) battle for the Hounds of Justice at Extreme Rules.
As for a winner, it’s really hard to say at this stage in the rivalry. We have no idea how long Evolution plans on staying together after they take on The Shield, so we don’t know if this is the end of the beginning or the beginning of the end for the faction. Only time will tell.
Personally, I would want to see The Shield go over at Extreme Rules for obvious reasons, i.e. young guns, passing the torch, blah, blah, blah. However, you really never know with the WWE. Knowing Triple H, he’ll have a tough time letting Ambrose, Rollins and Reigns have this one, but I don’t see much more in the way of direction for Evolution after they potentially beat The Shield.
It would be cool to see The Ascension from NXT debut and annihilate Evolution, but consider that merely a pipe dream. For now, Orton, Hunter and Big Dave have their plates full with the Hounds, and there’s no telling at this stage who will emerge victorious. My brain says Evolution, my heart says The Shield. We’ll see how that changes within the coming weeks.
That’ll do for today, folks! I hope everyone’s enjoying their long Easter weekend and stuffing their faces with egg-shaped chocolate, the way Jesus himself did it… I think…
If you enjoyed this brief glance at the upcoming war between The Shield and Evolution at Extreme Rules, feel free to like, tweet and comment to your heart’s content. It makes me feel happy inside.
Also, if you would like to speak with me about wrestling, my writing or anything in particular, don’t hesitate to follow me on Twitter @AdamOB_SLTD.
Thanks for reading!
Self-Professed Conversational Wizard.
Admin, Editor and Writer for SLTD Wrestling.
Creator of 'Under the Spotlight'.
Studying Computing in Games Development.
Recent Comments