*Warning: This article contains spoilers for this week’s episode of SmackDown
With Evolution on the way in less than two weeks, there’s now some news on the WWE creative process for this latest Premium Live Event.
Per Fightful Select, WWE has spent the past several weeks making inquiries to legends who may appear at Evolution, with some of these negotiations being described as coming “down to the wire”.
One such name is Trish Stratus, with the WWE Hall of Famer having made her return at Monday’s SmackDown taping, where she confronted WWE Women’s Champion Tiffany Stratton in order to set up a match between the two at Evolution.
This report also notes that the unfortunate injury to Liv Morgan resulted in some “heavy shifts” for Evolution. Previously, Liv was due to do something with Nikki Bella following Morgan attacking Nikki on Raw last month. Given those rumblings of Brie Bella potentially following her twin sister in returning to WWE, it seems that the Bellas may well have been challenging Liv Morgan and Raquel Rodriguez for the WWE Women’s Tag Team Titles at Evolution, although it may have been as simple as a straight-up one-on-one match between Liv and Nikki.
Where those Women’s Tag Team Titles are concerned, Roxanne Perez has now been installed as Liv’s replacement, becoming a formal member of the Judgment Day on this week’s Raw and now officially one-half of the Tag Champs alongside Raquel. Perez and Rodriguez will defend those titles in a four-way bout at Evolution, where the duo will face a team from Raw, a team from SmackDown, and a team from NXT.
This Fightful report notes that the creative plans for the Raw representatives in that four-way tag bout were not “expressed” to the roster, and talent were not told of that match before it was publicly announced on Monday night. That said, many had heard the online rumours on what might happen with the Women’s Tag Team Titles at Evolution.
Currently, four matches have been announced so far for Evolution, with Jacy Jayne defending her NXT Women’s Championship against Jordynne Grace, Rhea Ripley looking to reclaim the WWE Women’s World Championship from IYO SKY, a battle royal where the winner earns a title shot at Clash in Paris next month, and the aforementioned WWE Women’s Team Team Championships offering.
As mentioned, Tiffany Stratton vs. Trish Stratus will be put in motion on this week’s SmackDown, and that upcoming blue brand outing will also see Charlotte Flair and Alexa Bliss named as the SmackDown representatives in that four-way tag team match.
Emanating from Atlanta, Georgia’s State Farm Arena, WWE Evolution takes place on Sunday 13 July.
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