We reported last month that Gabe Sapolsky had told the EVOLVE roster that there were no plans for the company to run shows going forward.

The deal was closed after several months of negotiations. According to PWI’s report, the discussions started after the COVID-19 pandemic caused WrestleMania weekend to be shut down.

}); var gptadslots=[], googletag = googletag || {}; googletag.cmd = googletag.cmd || []; It is also believed some other content would have been sold to WWE as well, including the earliest era of Full Impact Pro, but how much of other material has not yet been confirmed as of this writing. The deal was closed after several months of negotiations. How can promotions on a miniscule budget attempt to strategize moving forward in a world that has completely changed over the last several months? This sale also quietly officially marks the end of Sapolsky working in independent wrestling, something that dates back to the early 1990s with the original ECW as the publisher of their official program and running the Sabu Fan Club before going on to book Ring of Honor, FIP, Dragon Gate USA and EVOLVE. That announcement came just one week after WWN, which previously existed as World Wrestling Network Inc., reincorporated as a new company—the current entity, WWN Inc. Matt Riddle, who just moved over to the Smackdown brand a few weeks ago, may never have landed with WWE had it not been for EVOLVE. Views From The Turnbuckle: Can Roman Reigns Heel Turn Finally Make Him The Face Of WWE? While rumors were making the rounds that EVOLVE had been sold to WWE, nothing had been finalized until just recently. David Bixenspan is a freelance writer from Brooklyn, N.Y. When WWE and EVOLVE officially signed the deal together, EVOLVE created a new LLC and that is the company WWE has bought. It’s not certain how many but it is believed there will be at least four and perhaps more. Wrestlemania weekend, for WWN, always meant their most attended events of their year as well as their highest grossing events. With the sale, Gabe Sapolsky and Sal Hamaoui will be ending their professional relationship. Backstage Notes On Vince McMahon And RAW Underground From This Week's RAW, WWE SmackDown Preview For Tonight: Brand-To-Brand Invitational Continues, IC Title Match, More, Benjamin Carter Comments On His Future Following Recent AEW Appearances, The Butcher & The Blade Call The Young Bucks "The Michael Jordans Of Pro Wrestling", Arn Anderson Responds To Jim Cornette's Criticism Of AEW, Backstage News On Plans For Undisputed Era, Miro Says WWE Storyline Would Have "Buried Him", Former WWE Superstar Joins OnlyFans (Video), Latest Message From Mystery WWE NXT Superstar, WWE Reportedly Writing Kairi Sane Out Of The Company, WWE TV Tapings Held Today, WWE Schedule Update For Through SummerSlam, Takeover Reportedly Planned, © 2020 Webcapacity Incorporated. var useSSL = 'https:' == document.location.protocol; EVOLVE launched in 2010 and was largely ran by Gabe Sapolsky, who also works for WWE these days. According to a public Facebook post from Monday, training is still ongoing at the school. Evolve, the 4-on-1 monster-hunting shooter Turtle Rock and 2K Games launched in 2015, is closing down several features this September, 2K Games announced on … According to a report from PWInsider, WWE have officially acquired ownership of EVOLVE Wrestling. (function(a,i,t,e){var n=i[t];! You can follow me on Twitter at @davidbix and view my portfolio at Clippings.me/davidbix. .setTargeting('queryStr', sdpTargeting.queryStr)

EVOLVE was created as Dragon Gate USA off-shoot in January 2010 as a way to run without the DG talents coming in from Japan. Click here for our privacy policy. Then it was live streaming, which also allowed for almost immediate piracy and while no one ever wants to admit this, streaming in many cases also cannibalizes live ticket sales, which when you are drawing a few hundred to begin with, is a significant number. WWE and Evolve have been affiliated in some form since approximately October 2015, when WWE executive Paul “Triple H” Levesque confirmed as much on a media call.

Several WWE stars came to the promotion through EVOLVE, including WWE United States Champion Apollo Crews, NXT North American Champion Keith Lee, Matt Riddle, Oney Lorcan, Brodie Lee, Johnny Gargano and many others. That meant Wrestlemania week and all the money that usually flowed to independent promotions and companies, including WWN/EVOLVE, had now disappeared. The belief among those we have spoken to is that several contracted EVOLVE talents will be signed and enter the WWE NXT system as well. That shutdown, while necessary, was a huge financial blow to independent promotions who rely on the weekend to help them stay in business throughout the year. Sapolsky will not be involved with these promotions but it was noted that the door remains theoretically open for WWE to work with WWN down the line.

I am a writer & reporter in Brooklyn covering the wrestling business. WWE aired the EVOLVE 10th Anniversary show last year, making them the first and only non-WWE promotion to air on the WWE Network at this point. “We have no plans to run shows so we are going to eliminate this group this week and delete it.

Darby Allin was signed by All Elite Wrestling after his run with EVOLVE, but that was a different situation that saw Allin buy himself out of his EVOLVE contract in order to be free and clear to sign with AEW. The reality was that EVOLVE, even with the WWE relationship and plugs for their events on WWE’s website, was rarely drawing at the level that it truly needed to be in the black and likely would have shut down several years ago had WWE not gotten more involved. CTRL + SPACE for auto-complete. The sale is also believed to give WWE the entire EVOLVE and Dragon Gate USA video library, and some other content may have been sold to WWE as well, including early FIP. .setTargeting('targetPaths', sdpTargeting.targetPaths) (function() { A third company, Evolve Wrestling Inc., was formed in October 2018, just days before the WWE relationship ramped up with a show in which WWE-contracted talent won Evolve’s singles and tag team titles. The belief is that several contracted EVOLVE talent will be signed to WWE and enter the NXT developmental system. This stems from a report that the buzz is that WWE is buying the company and shutting it down, something neither side would confirm or deny.

Sapolsky will not be involved in those promotions, PWInsider.com has been told. The deal was closed after several months of negotiations. In a major story, WWE has reportedly officially acquired ownership of EVOLVE Wrestling. Sapolsky ended up booking his last independent show without even knowing it. The door does remain potentially open for WWE to work with WWN down the line if the two sides decide to do something.

This Saturday, February 17th, 2018 the World Wrestling Network reaches a momentous milestone as EVOLVE Wrestling presents EVOLVE 100 at 6 PM EDT live from La Boom in Queens, NY! Beyond the aforementioned, the EVOLVE video library acquisition gives WWE fresh content featuring Daniel Bryan, Sabu, The Young Bucks, Mia Yim, AR Fox, Eddie Kingston, Bobby Fish, Kyle O’Reilly, Austin Aries, WALTER, Zack Sabre Jr., Cedric Alexander, Ethan Page, Trent Baretta and countless matches that have never been seen on the WWE Network and can be utilized for future documentaries and other original programming. PWInsider - WWE News, Wrestling News, WWE. According to a report from Pwinsider, WWE has officially acquired ownership of EVOLVE Wrestling. WWE tossed the company a lifeline when they were certain to drown. According to PWInsider, WWE has closed the deal to purchase the flagship promotion of … The bulk of the rest of the post had to do with basic organizational details, like how to stay in touch with no more Facebook group, encouraging wrestlers to save any posts that they found to have useful advice. Those reports heated up later when Gabe Sapolsky told the EVOLVE roster that there are no plans for the company to run shows going forward. From Turtle Rock Studios, creators of Left 4 Dead, comes Evolve, the next generation of multiplayer shooters where four Hunters face off against a single, player-controlled Monster in adrenaline-pumping 4v1 matches. node.parentNode.insertBefore(gads, node);

It’s possible that WWE now owns some Full Impact Pro content, but that is not confirmed. Today there are reports, courtesy of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, that WWE may soon own Evolve outright.According to WON, Evolve is in … It is believed that some other material may have been purchased, perhaps including the earlier Full Impact Pro content, but how much is not currently confirmed. You can follow him on Twitter at @davidbix and view his portfolio at Clippings.me/davidbix. It would have certainly been the most profitable and most high profile weekend in EVOLVE history. How many signings there will be has not been confirmed, but the expectation is that it will be at least four talents, possibly more. Stay tuned for more news coming out of the sale. Over the course since, it has held 11 live events and 90 internet pay-per-views Evolve 1: Richards vs. Ibushi. Evolve, the 4-on-1 monster-hunting shooter Turtle Rock and 2K Games launched in 2015, is closing down several features this September, 2K Games announced on Friday..