EVOLVE Wrestling has three new champions, and they bleed the black-and-yellow of NXT.
While much of the sports-entertainment world on Sunday night was glued to WWE Evolution — the first-ever all-women’s pay-per-view emanating from Uniondale, N.Y. — history was being made in a different way more than 1,000 miles south at EVOLVE 114 in Ybor City, Fla., where NXT Superstars Fabian Aichner and The Street Profits captured the promotion’s heavyweight and tag team titles, respectively.
Aichner defeated Shane Strickland to become the eighth EVOLVE Champion, joining the ranks of former titleholders like Kassius Ohno, Drew McIntyre and Matt Riddle. Montez Ford & Angelo Dawkins, meanwhile, successfully answered an open challenge issued by Chris Dickinson & Jaka, ending Dickinson & Jaka’s more than yearlong reign as EVOLVE Tag Team Champions.
Though NXT Superstars appearing on EVOLVE events isn’t a new development — competitors such as Velveteen Dream and Adam Cole have wrestled in the EVOLVE ring in the past — never before have active NXT Superstars won championships outside of the black-and-yellow brand.
The Street Profits and Aichner will now be on all upcoming EVOLVE events in 2018, including Nov. 9 in Livonia, Mich.; Nov. 10 in Oak Lawn, Ill.; Dec. 15 in Queens, N.Y.; and Dec. 16 in Deer Park, N.Y.
NXT North American Champion Ricochet congratulated his NXT colleagues on their big wins in a tweet Sunday night, while The Street Profits shared a video of themselves savoring their victory, Ford & Dawkins’ first title win in the squared circle.
Aichner and The Street Profits weren’t the only NXT Superstars in action at EVOLVE 114, either. Brazilian Superstar Adrian Jaoude, NXT powerhouse Dan Matha and 2018 Mae Young Classic competitor Jessie Elaban all competed in Ybor City.
More WWE and NXT Superstars are slated to compete at upcoming EVOLVE events, as well. 205 Live’s Mustafa Ali is set to take on DJZ at EVOLVE 115 in Livonia and Darby Allin at EVOLVE 116 in Oak Lawn, while Ohno makes his return to the promotion at EVOLVE 117 and 118 in Queens and Deer Park. Full ticket information for those events is available at WWNLive.com.