8 Ups And 6 Downs From WWE Evolution

5. Meiko Appears At Evolution… In The Crowd

Meiko Satomura
WWE.com

Full disclosure: If this turns out the be a precursor to her appearing in a WWE ring again, then all is forgiven.

But it was an absolute travesty that Japanese legend Meiko Satomura appeared during WWE Evolution – but it was only ringside in the crowd. Meiko won over fans during her performance in the Mae Young Classic, making it to the semifinals before losing to Toni Storm. For those (like this writer) who had never seen her wrestle before, it was truly a treat to see how she lived up to her billing as a “final boss” in Japan.

By the time the tournament reached the semifinals, it seemed almost like a waste to have Satomura lose and end her run in the tournament (and WWE by extension). Considering that the earlier tournament rounds were filmed during the summer, it seemed like there would have been time to try to get Meiko to compete at Evolution.

And while she appeared in the crowd, that just was a disappointment in many ways. She could have even fought in the battle royal, or gotten a spot in a quick match to show off for more American fans.

Advertisement
Contributor
Contributor

Scott is a former journalist and longtime wrestling fan who was smart enough to abandon WCW during the Monday Night Wars the same time as the Radicalz. He fondly remembers watching WrestleMania III, IV, V and VI and Saturday Night's Main Event, came back to wrestling during the Attitude Era, and has been a consumer of sports entertainment since then. He's written for WhatCulture for more than a decade, establishing the Ups and Downs articles for WWE Raw and WWE PPVs/PLEs and composing pieces on a variety of topics.