WWE Evolution (2025)
| Evolution | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Promotion | WWE | ||
| Brand(s) | Raw SmackDown | ||
| Date | July 13, 2025 | ||
| City | Atlanta, Georgia | ||
| Venue | State Farm Arena | ||
| WWE Network event chronology | |||
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| Evolution chronology | |||
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The 2025 Evolution is an upcoming women's professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) and livestreaming event produced by WWE. It will be the second Evolution event and is scheduled to take place on Sunday, July 13, 2025, at the State Farm Arena in Atlanta, Georgia, held for wrestlers from the promotion's Raw and SmackDown brand divisions. This will be the first Evolution and the first all-women's professional wrestling event to broadcast on both Netflix and Peacock, and the first Evolution since the inaugural 2018 event seven years prior.
Production
[edit]Background
[edit]In October 2018, the American professional wrestling promotion WWE held an all-women's professional wrestling event called Evolution. This was WWE's first pay-per-view (PPV) and livestreaming event to consist solely of women's matches.[1] Over the next few years, there had been various comments from people within WWE on a potential second Evolution event,[2][3] with support from a number of WWE female performers.[4]
Before wrestler Mickie James's release from WWE in April 2021, she had pushed for the company to produce another all-female event as well as an all-female brand, but said she was "cut off at every opportunity".[5] She claimed an unnamed WWE official told her that "women's wrestling doesn't make money" and that Evolution was the company's "lowest-rated pay-per-view ever in the history of WWE pay-per-views".[6][7] In June 2021, former WWE wrestler Maria Kanellis also stated that former Head of WWE Talent Relations, Mark Carano, informed her that there would not be another all-female event,[8] although in a conference call that same month, Paul "Triple H" Levesque said that a second Evolution was possible, "but it's not a must-have at the moment".[9]
After another few years, following the double retirements of former owner and chairman Vince McMahon along with WWE's subsequent acquisition by Endeavor and merger with UFC to form TKO Group Holdings in 2023, a report emerged on March 6, 2025, that WWE were in fact planning to hold a second Evolution event. Bodyslam.net stated that the company were aiming to hold the event on July 5, 2025, at the Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Connecticut, but noted that while the event was in the works, the schedule was tentative.[10] On May 12, 2025, a new report from PWInsider stated that the company was now looking to hold the event a week later from Atlanta, Georgia during the same weekend as Saturday Night's Main Event XL.[11] WWE then confirmed this with an announcement during Saturday Night's Main Event XXXIX on May 24, with the second all-women's Evolution event scheduled for Sunday, July 13 at Atlanta's State Farm Arena; Saturday Night's Main Event XL will be held the day before at the same venue.[12] Unlike the previous event, it will not be held for WWE's NXT and the now-defunct NXT UK brand.
In addition to airing on traditional PPV worldwide, the event will be available to livestream on Peacock in the United States, Netflix in most international markets, and the WWE Network in any remaining countries that have not yet transferred to Netflix due to pre-existing contracts. This marks the first Evolution, and the first all-women's professional wrestling event, to livestream on Peacock and Netflix following the WWE Network's merger under the service in March 2021 in the United States and in January 2025 in the aforementioned international markets, respectively.[13][14]
Storylines
[edit]The event will include matches that result from scripted storylines. Results are predetermined by WWE's writers on the Raw and SmackDown brands,[15][16] while storylines are produced on WWE's weekly television shows, Monday Night Raw and Friday Night SmackDown.[17]
References
[edit]- ^ WWE.com Staff (July 23, 2018). "Stephanie McMahon announces the first-ever all-women's pay-per-view WWE Evolution". WWE. Archived from the original on July 28, 2018. Retrieved July 23, 2018.
- ^ Oestriecher, Blake (July 29, 2020). "WWE May Bring Back Two Big Events In 2020". Forbes. Archived from the original on July 30, 2020. Retrieved June 7, 2023.
- ^ Lambert, Jeremy (December 23, 2020). "Trish Stratus Names Sasha Banks As Her Dream Opponent, Thought WWE Evolution Would Be Annual". Fightful. Archived from the original on December 23, 2020. Retrieved June 7, 2023.
- ^ Casey, Connor (November 15, 2020). "Sasha Banks Keeps Pushing for WWE Evolution 2". ComicBook. Archived from the original on July 9, 2021. Retrieved July 9, 2021.
- ^ Franchomme, Stephan (June 9, 2021). "NWA Announce All-Women's PPV And 73rd Anniversary Show". Steel Chair. Archived from the original on June 9, 2021. Retrieved June 8, 2021.
- ^ Casey, Connor (April 28, 2021). "Mickie James Says WWE Official Claimed Women's Wrestling Doesn't Make Money". ComicBook. Archived from the original on July 9, 2021. Retrieved July 9, 2021.
- ^ Holder, James (June 9, 2021). "Mickie James Says She Won't Wrestle On NWA's All Women's PPV". Inside the Ropes. Archived from the original on July 9, 2021. Retrieved July 9, 2021.
- ^ Mutter, Eric (June 5, 2021). "Maria Kanellis Reveals Who Told Her WWE Evolution Would Never Happen Again". Wrestling Inc. Archived from the original on June 5, 2021. Retrieved April 13, 2022.
- ^ Upton, Felix (June 10, 2021). "Triple H says another WWE all-female pay-per-view is not a 'must have'". Ringside News. Archived from the original on July 9, 2021. Retrieved July 9, 2021.
- ^ Lovell, Blake (March 6, 2025). "WWE Reportedly Planning Return Of Evolution PLE". Sports Illustrated. Archived from the original on March 7, 2025. Retrieved March 6, 2025.
- ^ Heydorn, Zack (May 12, 2025). "WWE Rumors: Date And Location Of The Second All-Women's Evolution Event Reportedly Set". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved May 25, 2025.
- ^ Nason, Josh (May 24, 2025). "WWE Evolution, Saturday Night's Main Event & NXT Great American Bash set for July 12 weekend". Wrestling Observer Figure Four Online. Retrieved May 25, 2025.
- ^ Defelice, Robert (March 8, 2021). "Standalone WWE Network App Shutting Down In The US On 4/4, New Details On The Transition To Peacock". Fightful. Archived from the original on March 8, 2021. Retrieved March 8, 2021.
- ^ Gibbons, Aidan (January 25, 2024). "WWE Network to be shut down by the end of 2024". Cultaholic. Archived from the original on January 25, 2024. Retrieved January 25, 2024.
- ^ Grabianowski, Ed (January 13, 2006). "How Pro Wrestling Works". HowStuffWorks. Discovery Communications. Archived from the original on November 29, 2013. Retrieved March 5, 2012.
- ^ "Live & Televised Entertainment". WWE. Archived from the original on February 18, 2009. Retrieved March 21, 2012.
- ^ Steinberg, Brian (May 25, 2016). "WWE's 'Smackdown' Will Move To Live Broadcast On USA (Exclusive)". Variety. Archived from the original on May 26, 2016. Retrieved May 25, 2016.