WWE Evolution is swiftly heading our way this Sunday night and it appears as though the card is essentially set in stone. Of course, there is a chance any kind of alterations can be made to the lineup, since the card is always subject to change, but at the moment, we have a pretty clear indication of which superstars will be taking part in the event.
Mind you, this is a different pay-per-view in multiple ways, with the most noticeable being that it is the first-ever event to feature only the women in the company. Also, it will be featuring not just Raw and SmackDown, but competitors from NXT, NXT UK and the Mae Young Classic as well as legends from outside the regular roster to pick from.
It was originally advertised that over 50 women would compete in the event, and still, not everyone was able to be scheduled for the card for one reason or another—some justified, some not.
With all that in mind, let’s take a look at the WWE superstars who are not currently advertised for being involved in Evolution 2018.
Every Male Superstar in the Company
Obviously, this is the biggest thing that stands out, but certainly not in a surprising way.
This event is the complete reversal of Greatest Royal Rumble and the upcoming Crown Jewel, which, as they are in Saudi Arabia, unfortunately do not allow the women to compete. To offset this and to make history in a positive light, WWE crafted Evolution to be the answer to that and give the women their own time to shine and commandeer the full spotlight.
Those in the WWE Universe who only tune in to watch the major players in the men’s division like The Shield, AJ Styles, Daniel Bryan, Braun Strowman and so on will be disappointed that there’s no chance in hell they’ll be appearing here, as it would steal the thunder and fly in direct confrontation to this whole concept.
This event isn’t about the men, and if you’re upset about that, you have Crown Jewel just a few days later. There’s no reason to complain, as you can surely skip the show if you don’t want to watch it.
From the Raw Women’s Division
— Brie Bella: Technically, Brie Bella isn’t scheduled for this card, according to the advertisements so far. Nikki Bella has her match with Ronda Rousey, and it’s extremely unlikely Brie won’t be ringside in her sister’s corner, so we know she’s going to appear. On top of this, she may participate in the battle royal, although she hasn’t been confirmed for that yet.
— Stephanie McMahon: Again, if you’re being technical, Stephanie McMahon is not booked on this card as far as in any performer capacity. However, the idea of her not making an appearance is absolutely preposterous. She’s going to cut at least one, if not multiple promos about how historic the event is and so on. If there’s one thing you can bet on for this whole event, it’s that that will happen.
From the SmackDown Women’s Division
— Maryse: The last we saw of Maryse, she specifically said she was leaving for a while to go back to her duties as a mother. Since she’s not even around enough to be classified a part-timer, for the most part, she’s had quite a few appearances this year and frankly, that may be it for her until somewhere later down the line. However, since this is an historic event and something that feels very “all hands on deck”, I think it wouldn’t be too hard for her to get a babysitter for a night or two and to join in the battle royal
From the NXT Women’s Division and Performance Center
Here’s the thing. The NXT Women’s Championship is on the line between Kairi Sane and Shayna Baszler. So far, those two are the only women from NXT who are advertised for this card.
However, the battle royal opens up the possibility that any woman in the developmental system could make an appearance, as evidenced by how the Royal Rumble and WrestleMania women’s battle royal went down.
Plus, numerous reports have talked about how a handful of names in particular are expected to appear, but since that’s speculation, we have to take it all with a grain of salt.
Every woman below essentially has the same breakdown of “well, they’re in NXT and no spot on the main roster is a given for an NXT star, even in this circumstance”, so instead, what I’m going to do is pinpoint whether or not I think each NXT and Performance Center recruit is a yes, a maybe, or a no as far as if I consider them a possibility to pop up in the battle royal.
— Aliyah: No. She’s low on the totem pole in NXT.
— Bianca Belair: Yes, absolutely, pretty much the only guarantee.
— Candice LeRae: Yes, but I don’t think she’s a definite.
— Chelsea Green: Absolutely not. She just signed to the PC the other day. That would be strange.
— Dakota Kai: Maybe, but I lean more towards a no than a yes.
— Deonna Purrazzo: Not in the battle royal, but I think she’ll pop up in a Mae Young Classic “everyone stands and claps” thing.
— Jessamyn Duke / Marina Shafir: Yes for appearing, not for the battle royal. They’ll do something regarding Ronda Rousey and Shayna Baszler instead.
— Jessie Elaban: Definitely not. Mae Young Classic segment, if anything.
— Kacy Catanzaro: You know, my instinct was “definitely not” but I’m second-guessing it. I wouldn’t be too too shocked if she were in the battle royal, if not just for publicity purposes.
— Kavita Devi: She did show up in a previous battle royal, so I have to at least put her down as a maybe.
— Lacey Evans: Yes. She’s one of the best in NXT right now.
— Lacey Lane: No, as she’s too freshly signed, but if there’s that Mae Young Classic group segment, she’ll be there, of course.
— Mia Yim: No. Mae Young Classic segment. Next year, though, definite yes.
— MJ Jenkins: No. Mae Young Classic segment. Too new.
— Nikki Cross: Yes. In fact, she may use this as a jumping point to come up to the main roster and be on SmackDown after Evolution.
— Reina Gonzalez: Absolutely not. Mae Young Classic segment.
— Taynara Conti: No. Mae Young Classic segment.
— Tegan Nox: Sadly, she’s a definite no as far as performing, due to her injuries, but if you believe certain reports, she could have been the original planned winner of the Mae Young Classic. That’s such a shame, if that’s the case. Obviously, if there’s a group segment, she’ll be there, but under circumstances which are of no comparison to what could have been.
— Vanessa Borne: Leaning towards a no, as I think she’ll be edged out by someone like Dakota Kai, but she’s a possibility.
— Xia Li: No. Mae Young Classic segment, unless they want to really hit the global idea and give her a spot. It’s not like she hasn’t improved.
From the NXT UK Women’s Division
Whoever was responsible in figuring out the best time to start airing episodes of NXT UK should have checked their calendar and their math, because there was no way in hell they could have aired everything in time to crown the NXT UK women’s champion before Evolution by starting it so late like they did.
This puts this division in a conundrum. Do they just go ahead with the spoiler and book a title match as previously advertised, or do they withhold that information in the hopes people don’t already know, and take this match off the card, despite how it would have made sense for all the women’s titles to be defended?
If you don’t wish to know any spoilers, skip this section.
You’ve been warned!
So the big standout in this scenario, of course, is Rhea Ripley. At some point down the line, an episode will air where she defends her championship against Isla Dawn, which had been erroneously reported before as being scheduled for this card, but happened during the NXT UK tapings instead.
If you’re a completionist and you wish to know the other women from NXT UK who aren’t covered in another section on this list, and could have been in the running for a title shot had WWE decided to put this belt on the line at Evolution, the names include: Charlie Morgan, Jinny, Killer Kelly, Millie McKenzie, Nina Samuels, and Xia Brookside. Many of them have competed in the Mae Young Classic, which means they could appear in the aforementioned group hug/applause segment, but some of them weren’t even involved in that, and would truly be out of the mix when it comes to Evolution’s card.
Outsiders From the Mae Young Classic Tournament
The following women are not currently employed by WWE, which explains why they aren’t in any way associated with this card, but there is still a chance they can be on stage for some kind of celebration for the finals of the Mae Young Classic they also competed in:
Aerial Monroe, Allysin Kay, Ashley Rayne, Hiroyo Matsumoto, Kaitlyn, Karen Q, Meiko Satomura, Mercedes Martinez, Nicole Matthews, Priscilla Kelly, Rachel Evers, Vanessa Kraven, Zatara, Zeuxis
As talent who failed to make it to the finals, your opinion may vary on whether any of them deserve to be on this card or not. For my tastes, I’d have been a big fan of Mercedes Martinez wrestling on this card, if I were to pinpoint someone.
There is also a chance any of these women can be last minute additions for the battle royal, if not just to fill it out or be surprises, so keep that in mind.
Noteworthy Legends and Former WWE Superstars
— AJ Lee: So much buzz surrounded the idea of AJ Lee returning, but if you’re like me, you never once bought into the hype. It never felt like a possibility in my book, due to CM Punk’s lawsuit. I’d love to see her return, but I never held out any hope.
— Eve Torres: If my memory serves me correct, I believe Eve recently had another child, so that’s as good of an excuse as any for her to not want to or be able to get back into the ring for something where she isn’t given more of a solo spotlight, as she’d obviously just factor into the battle royal if anything.
— Jacqueline: Jacqueline took part in the Royal Rumble this year, so she could have also returned here, clearly, but for some reason or another, hasn’t been advertised.
— Jazz: She’s already spoken to how she won’t be on the card as she has prior commitments elsewhere.
— Layla: I’m surprised they didn’t go with a LayCool reunion on SmackDown 1000 or something along those lines. Maybe Layla just has no interest in coming back at all?
— Stacy Keibler: I don’t remember Stacy doing anything with the wrestling business ever since she left. She likely put it behind her and doesn’t have it on her radar at all. Plus, she was never really a wrestler, so…
— Vickie Guerrero: Laugh all you want, Vickie’s popped up a few times here and there and history shows she could compete in the battle royal. I wouldn’t be shocked at all if she did show up just to make an ass of herself.
— Literally Anybody Else: Theoretically speaking, any former female wrestler for WWE could have made a return here if she were physically able to, and I’m not going to list every single person who has ever been employed by Vince McMahon, as we could go down from Cameron to Tori to Shaniqua and just keep naming them. The only other ones in my personal opinion who I can think of who would have been big enough to make fans go “oh hey” are Melina, Jillian Hall, Rosa Mendes, Candice Michelle, Ashley Massaro, Sable, and the big one that I’m annoyed isn’t there, Victoria. But hey, if you’d like Jamie Keyes to return, by all means, that’s another person on your list.
Addendum: Broadcast Team
It’s important to note that even though the backstage interviewers, announcers and miscellaneous members of the broadcast team in WWE aren’t performers, the women in the company who fill those roles still have jobs to do and it would be nice to see all of them able to contribute to the program in one way or another.
For those who aren’t as meticulous about keeping track for these things, here is a list of the women who are employed with those responsibilities, just in case any of them aren’t necessarily put on the show at some point:
— Beth Phoenix: Color commentator for the Mae Young Classic. She has been confirmed to be on the commentary team for this event.
— Cathy Kelley: Backstage interviewer, social media correspondent, host of various supplemental recap programs such as WWE Now and so forth. She has been confirmed to be doing red carpet interviews.
— Charly Caruso: Backstage interviewer and #2 behind Renee Young as far as someone they insert in various roles. She hosts pre-shows, can act as the social media correspondent, etc. She has been confirmed for the red carpet interviews, at least.
— Dasha Fuentes: Backstage interviewer, who hasn’t appeared recently as she’s been dealing with an injury. However, she’s also been advertised for the red carpet interviews.
— Jimena Sánchez: Co-host of WWE Saturday Night. It’s extremely unlikely she’ll do anything here.
— JoJo: She was guaranteed from the start, but WWE has made it a point to mention how she’ll be one of the three ring announcers.
— Kayla Braxton: Backstage interviewer and occasional ring announcer who will also be pulling announcement duties, likely covering the NXT and Mae Young Classic matches.
— Lilian Garcia: Lilian is of the legend capacity, who makes casual appearances here and there. She’ll be handling some of the announcing duties, perhaps covering the SmackDown side in place of Greg Hamilton, although that has yet to be confirmed.
— Madonna Tixeira: Co-host of WWE Sunday Dhamaal. Go ahead and bet that she won’t be here.
— Nathalie Mamo: Co-host of Wal3ooha. Again, place your bets that she’ll be missing.
— Renee Young: Obviously, Renee’s role as a commentary was a guarantee for this, and she’s been confirmed to be on the panel for that throughout the night.
— Sarah Schreiber: Backstage interviewer for NXT who has been confirmed for the red carpet interviews.
— Shadia Bseiso: She was training at the Performance Center to be in the ring, but somewhere along the line, they moved her into a backstage interviewer capacity. Curious. She hasn’t been announced, but they could utilize her in similar fashion.
— Verónica Rodríguez: Co-host of WWE Saturday Night. Don’t expect her to do anything on this event.
Do you think these men and women or any others not on this list should have been booked on the card in some fashion? How would you have utilized them if given the opportunity? Tell us your thoughts in the comments below!
