A major championship match featuring a returning Hall of Famer was established for the upcoming Evolution premium live event during the WWE SmackDown tapings on June 30 in Pittsburgh. The show, set to air on July 4, saw Trish Stratus make her return to WWE programming.
The pivotal segment began with WWE Women’s Champion Tiffany Stratton in the ring. After initially addressing her ongoing rivalry with 2025 Queen of the Ring, Jade Cargill, ahead of a potential match at SummerSlam, Stratton turned her attention to the all-women’s Evolution event on July 13. She issued a direct open challenge to the Hall of Famer.
Answering the call, Trish Stratus made her entrance and accepted Stratton’s challenge, setting the stage for an intergenerational title bout. The match will mark Stratus’s first televised one-on-one contest in 680 days, following her Steel Cage match against Becky Lynch at Payback on September 2, 2023.
The episode’s main event featured continued turmoil within The Bloodline. Jacob Fatu and Jimmy Uso teamed up to defeat the duo of Solo Sikoa and JC Mateo. Following the match, Fatu was the victim of a post-match assault, receiving a triple powerbomb from Sikoa’s faction to close the show.
In other significant developments, the broadcast opened with Drew McIntyre interrupting a segment between Cody Rhodes and Randy Orton. The confrontation led to the announcement of a match between McIntyre and Orton for the upcoming Saturday Night’s Main Event.
The dominant faction known as The Wyatt Sicks secured a decisive victory in an eight-man tag team match, defeating the team of Berto, Johnny Gargano, Montez Ford, and Chris Sabin by pinfall.
A triple-threat tag team match determined the next qualifiers for the Women’s Tag Team Championship Fatal 4-Way at Evolution. Alexa Bliss and Charlotte Flair emerged victorious over the teams of B-Fab & Michin and The Secret Hervice.
Also on the show, Andrade and Rey Fenix defeated Fraxiom in tag team action. A backstage encounter between Aleister Black and Damian Priest resulted in a match being made for next week’s SmackDown, with Black scheduled to face Ron Killings.
READ MORE: Solo Sikoa Faces Threat to WWE United States Championship with The Bloodline Member’s Return
