Fans are finally getting a second Evolution premium live event and it will be taking place next month on July 13. During the Money in the Bank post show press conference, Triple H commented on the upcoming show.
“I wanted to do Evolution 2 since Evolution 1. Probably even before we did it, I was trying to figure out how to do Evolution 2. For a lot of different reasons, the timing wasn’t right. Now it is. I’m thrilled to be able to do it again. The truth is, as amazing as the women in our business were then, it’s grown exponentially. The biggest trick we’ll have is how do we build that card out and have that many women and fit as many people into that card. Everyone is going to want to be a part of it, and we want to make sure everybody gets to do something. That will be the trickiest part.” (Fightful – transcript)
“What’s awesome for us is the demand for it. Across the fanbase, people have been asking for it, and the opportunity for us to give it to them now. We keep things quiet a lot. When talent first start to catch wind of, ‘We’re doing Evolution again?’ You see that gleam in their eye and their excitement about it, it’s awesome. Now, they’re just chomping at the bit to get there and figure out what that is and what it’s going to be. They’re looking to kill it and make a statement. A lot of these women watched the first one and for them, while they thought about being on Raw and SmackDown and dream about WrestleMania, I’m sure a lot of those women were like, ‘If they did another [Evolution], that would be incredible,’ and here we are. I can’t wait to build that platform and watch them crush it. It’s what they do every time.“
Have you?
Where this was a very positive and empathic reply, this isn’t always how Hunter responded to another Evolution event. There’s no denying that he has done a lot for women’s wrestling in the past. Being in charge of NXT during the emergence of the Four Horsewomen shows what he has done for women’s wrestling. However, maybe he is starting to show signs of forgetfulness. In 2021, he had a very different tune when it came to hosting another Evolution event.
On a media call in 2021 ahead of the NXT TakeOver: In Your House event, Triple H was asked about doing another Evolution event. Mind you, this was already three years after the initial one.
“Haven’t we already done them? It’s a funny thing to me. So, equality is equality. Equality is not, ‘I want my own show’. Equality is not, ‘We have to have our own program’. If I told you that I was making an all men’s program and I didn’t want women on it, it would be criticized. And I’m not saying that’s right or wrong.
I do think it’s funny when people go, ‘I want the best in the world regardless of contractual status.’ I’m sorry, from a business person’s standpoint, then why do we have contractual status? Right? It doesn’t make any sense to me. If you want to wrestle the best women in the world, come to the WWE. That’s where they are. If you want to go elsewhere and say that they are…you can. But it is what it is.
I’m all for it. I was one of the biggest drivers of it. And will we do another all women’s event down the line? Possibly, but it’s not a must-have in the moment. I think we do an amazing job of displaying our female athletes. Is it perfect? No. Will it always be in flux? Yes. But I think we do a pretty good job, and my opinion…the best female performers in the world are in WWE, and if they’re not, they want to be.” (Cageside Seats – transcript)
I’m going to break the fourth wall a bit and give my opinion here. People can certainly change their mind about things. In fact, in certain circumstances, we hope people change their mind on things. But this new response wasn’t a change of a mind, it was a complete 180 to what he had said just a few years ago.
Personally, I give Triple H a lot more grace than some others. I know that not every decision is his (despite his title) and it certainly wasn’t back in 2021. However, let’s be a little consistent…
And equality isn’t having one all women’s show and calling it a day. Equality isn’t having 1 or 2 women’s matches to the men’s 4 or 5. Wake up Mr. Helmsley and join us in 2025.