Evolve (WWE brand)

Evolve

Product type	Professional wrestling Sports entertainment
Owner	WWE
Produced by	Paul "Triple H" Levesque Gabe Sapolsky Shawn Michaels
Country	United States
Introduced	March 5, 2025
Related brands	Raw SmackDown NXT
Tagline	First, a prospect is ID'd. Then they EVOLVE. (2025–present) [1]

Evolve is a brand of the American professional wrestling promotion WWE that launched on March 5, 2025. Brands are divisions of WWE's roster where wrestlers are assigned to perform on a weekly basis. Wrestlers assigned to Evolve primarily appear on the brand's weekly television program, Evolve . The brand serves as a developmental program that features up and coming wrestlers from the WWE Performance Center and the WWE Independent Development and Next in Line systems competing in an attempt to be promoted to NXT, where advanced developmental wrestlers perform to prep for potential main roster call ups.

In addition to Evolve's main television program, the brand's wrestlers also appear on its supplementary reality show, WWE LFG along with the Independent Development and Next in Line recruits.

History

Main article: WWE brand extension

In January 2025, it was reported that WWE were planning to revive independent wrestling promotion Evolve as a brand. ^[2] The company trademarked the name "Evolve" on January 30, 2025, with the first set of Evolve tapings under WWE held at the WWE Performance Center in Orlando, Florida on February 7, replacing WWE NXT Level Up , which was cancelled in December 2024. ^[3] During the Royal Rumble on February 1, WWE announced that the WWE Evolve program would premiere on Tubi on March 5 in the United States and on YouTube internationally. ^[4]

In a press release on February 3, 2025, WWE revealed that the series would prominently feature up and coming wrestlers from the WWE Performance Center and recruits from the WWE Independent Development and WWE Next in Line systems. In this scenario, Evolve serves as an early stage developmental brand, with the goal being for the wrestlers featured on the Evolve program to move on to NXT (WWE's more advanced developmental brand), and eventually to the main roster on Raw or SmackDown. ^[5]

In October 2025, Evolve was announced as a presenting brand of the WWE, AAA, and TNA co-promoted NXT Gold Rush television special. ^[6]

Championships

Evolve
Championship	Current champion(s)	Reign	Date won	Days held	Location	Notes	Ref.
WWE Evolve Championship	Jackson Drake	1	June 4, 2025 (Taped April 25)	186+	Orlando, Fl	Defeated Keanu Carver, Edris Enofé and Sean Legacy in a fatal four way match to crown the inaugural champion. WWE recognizes Drake's reign as beginning on June 4, 2025, when the episode aired on tape delay.	[7]
WWE Evolve Women's Championship	Kendal Grey	1	October 15, 2025 (Taped September 23)	35+	Orlando, FL	WWE recognizes Kendal's reign as beginning on October 15, 2025, when the episode aired on tape delay.	[8] [9]

References

1. WWE ID [@WWEID] (February 3, 2025). "First, a prospect is ID'd. Then they EVOLVE" (Tweet). Retrieved February 5, 2025– via Twitter.
2. Thomas, Jeremy (January 22, 2025). "Latest On Potential Plans For WWE Revival Of EVOLVE". 411Mania. Retrieved February 1, 2025.
3. Lamb, Jeremy (January 31, 2025). "Report: WWE Evolve Tapings Set For February". Fightful. Retrieved February 1, 2025.
4. Thompson, Andrew (February 1, 2025). "WWE Evolve announced, premiering March 5th on Tubi". POST Wrestling . Retrieved February 1, 2025.
5. Lee, Joseph (February 3, 2025). "WWE Announces More Details For EVOLVE Series on Tubi". 411Mania. Retrieved February 3, 2025.
6. Thompson, Andrew (October 25, 2025). "NXT Gold Rush Two-Week Event Announced; TNA, EVOLVE & AAA To Be Involved". Fightful. Retrieved October 25, 2025.
7. "WWE Unveils New EVOLVE Championships, Inaugural Title Matches Set". May 8, 2025.
8. "WWE Evolve Women's Championship Overview". Cagematch.net. Retrieved June 7, 2025.
9. Vetter, Chris (October 15, 2025). "WWE Evolve results (10/15): Vetter's review of "Succession" with Kali Armstrong vs. Kendal Grey for the Evolve Women's Championship, Jackson Drake vs. Bryce Donovan for the Evolve Championship". Pro Wrestling Dot Net . Retrieved October 16, 2025.