EVOLVE Posts Cryptic Video Saying It’s “The End”

The great indie wrestling promotion EVOLVE posted a video on their YouTube channel simply titled, “EVOLVE. The End.”

EVOLVE. The End.

Everything evolves to dust.

10.14.17
10.15.17

What does it mean? Are they shutting down? Are they rebranding as something else? Are they selling to WWE?

EVOLVE is going through a lot of issues right now:

– Their streaming host, FloSports, is suing them for $1 million, alleging that they mislead them into signing a deal.

– FloSports then kicked them off of their platform and has apparently not paid them for the past several months.

– An email leaked from head booker Gabe Sapolsky saying EVOLVE was going through a “transition period.” It lead to Sapolsky saying he was “pretty much done with this whole indie bullshit.”

– Two of their top wrestlers, Timothy Thatcher and Ethan Page, recently (amicably) left the company.

Sapolsky has a working relationship with WWE, attending NXT meetings and tapings for the past several months. There have been rumors that EVOLVE could end up on the WWE Network, since they are already somewhat of an unofficial farm system for WWE/NXT, and WWE has been rumored to be interested in adding content from other promotions. There’s also been some speculation that they could rebrand as something else, since the EVOLVE brand may still technically be under contract with FloSports, though FloSports has obviously violated the contract by refusing to stream them. It could also just be a work to play into all the recent drama.

Hopefully they aren’t shutting down, since they are great and their live shows (the ones I’ve been to in Queens, NY) are a lot of fun and have a really passionate fan base. They have two upcoming shows scheduled: October 14 in Queens, NY and October 15 in East Haven, CT.