10 Live Observations From EVOLVE 61
3. Storytelling Matters
At EVOLVE 59 in Dallas, Drew Galloway and Johnny Gargano lost the EVOLVE Tag Team Titles to Drew Gulak and Tracy Williams. After the match, Galloway turned on Gargano, kicking him in the crotch before cutting a promo about how EVOLVE was getting taken over by WWE. According to Galloway, he was the last bastion of independent wrestling, while men like Gargano were allowing WWE to take the scene over.
At EVOLVE 61, Galloway and Gargano clashed in the main event, and while the two world-class talents are obviously good enough to carry a show with a simple athletic encounter, the heat of the storyline made things even more compelling.
Gargano played up his WWE affiliation in the match to anger Galloway, throwing a crotch chop his way early in the contest. Galloway, meanwhile, rubbed in their former partnership, putting Gargano on his shoulders and flinging him off in what used to be the pair's finisher when done to a supine opponent. Gargano had the shot of the evening, though, shouting "I'm a one man band!" when he had Galloway incapacitated.