EVOLVE's 2010 season continues with EVOLVE 5, featuring the second and final EVOLVE appearances of Bryan Danielson, as he faced EVOLVE 1 standout Munenori Sawa in the main event. This was an interesting day for EVOLVE, as it not only featured Danielson's final EVOLVE appearance, but also Homicide's first as he made his debut here following his release from TNA. This show was part of a big day of wrestling in the New York City area, because not only was Ring Of Honor running Glory By Honor IX in New York that night (causing EVOLVE to start their show early in the afternoon to give people time to get into the city for ROH), but it was also run in conjunction with the Wrestlereunion wrestling convention. Whether it was because of the convention, Danielson and Homicide, or just the fact that this was such a huge indy wrestling day, the Rahway Rec Center looked packed on this DVD, and the folks who were at this show were treated to another excellent outing from the most underrated indy company going today.

EVOLVE 5 - Danielson vs Sawa: 9/11/2010 in Rahway, NJ

The DVD opened with Chuck Taylor sitting backstage complaining to Cheech & Cloudy that he's the star of EVOLVE and should be main eventing against Bryan Danielson instead of working the opening match against Mike Quackenbush, which set up an angle we'd keep going back to as the DVD progressed relating to Taylor's position in the company. After that we had a montage of mini-interviews asking several wrestlers for their predictions on the Danielson-Sawa main event. There were some pretty interesting predictions, especially since everyone didn't predict Danielson. Don't get me wrong, it turned out to be a terrific match, but I don't think anyone expected Danielson to lose for a second.

We go back to Taylor as we start the show proper with his match against Mike Quackenbush, and I have to say that he may not have been main eventing, but a match against Quackenbush is still a pretty significant spot on the card, and I liked the explanation for why this match was going on first, which was basically that Taylor had become such a pain in the ass by whining about not being in the main event that EVOLVE management put him on first as punishment. Probably even worse than being put in this position was the fact that while he was whining about not being in the main event, he ended up losing this match. I thought it told a great story in that Taylor had gone from being in the only qualifier in company history and feeling like he had something to prove, which motivated him to come through and beat both Claudio Castagnoli and Jimmy Jacobs, to being so fixated on wrestling Danielson that he took his eye off the ball with Quack and it cost him his first loss. There was a pretty scary moment in this match where Quackenbush did a moonsault to the floor and came down on the back of his head. He was clearly in pain after that and you don't want to see a guy with a history of head injuries getting hurt in that way, but he was okay enough to finish the match. Taylor hit Sole Food and went for the Offal Waffle, but Quack slipped out and turned a double chickenwing into a stack for the pinfall win. Great match, and I like how Quack may not be a featured singles star in EVOLVE but is still put out there as a guy who can beat the main eventers at any time. It gives you a feeling that anything really can happen and anybody can get a win at any time no matter where they are on the ladder.

We moved on to the blowoff of a feud that had been building over the last several shows between Up In Smoke and Aeroform. These two teams had been in the ring together twice so far and Up In Smoke had won the first match while Aeroform had won the second. However, that second match was a three way with Aeroform beating Team Beyond to win, so even though Aeroform technically won the match, they didn't beat Up In Smoke, so Up In Smoke wasn't credited with a loss in that match and still beat Aeroform when they wrestled head to head. Good build and a solid blowoff match, and I like how they've built Cheech & Cloudy up to the point where they're the team to beat in EVOLVE and a win over them means something. Up In Smoke won this match to go up to 3-0, though they did so by questionable means when they crotched one of the Aeroform guys on the top rope and then followed that up with their version of the Tower to get the win. This started their move toward a heel turn, which they continued by cutting a promo after the match saying that there's no such thing as a cheap win, and they proved tonight that they're better than Aeroform.

Before the next match, we go to the VIP entrance to the Rahway Rec Center where Larry Dallas (the guy who's been hanging out with Sean Davis and Johnny Gargano) brought one of his girls all the way there from New York City, but once again isn't being allowed in the building, much to the chagrin of his companion. I guess Sean Davis isn't a part of this angle anymore, which is too bad because he's a really entertaining guy.

Speaking of Larry Dallas, we go back to the ring as Jimmy Jacobs takes on Adam Cole. Jacobs has been critical of Larry being at the shows since he's not a wrestler and has no reason to be in his locker room, and in the meantime is distracting Johnny Gargano from being 100% focused on his own career. All that will become important later, but for right now we need to know that Jacobs has a rivalry with Gargano, and has continually mocked Gargano for failing to beat Adam Cole at EVOLVE 4. In the meantime, Jacobs has been relentlessly mocking cole for being an inexperienced pretty boy since the beginning of EVOLVE, and wanted to make an example of him here. Jacobs wrestled like he was more interested in embarrassing Cole than beating him, while Cole came from being the quiet young guy who tried to be respectful and instead became the fired up guy who was tired of being messed with and was going to take it to Jacobs. The match started out with Jacobs casually outwrestling the much less experienced Cole, but then Cole came back and took the fight to Jacobs. Jacobs got the End Time on Cole several times but was unable to put him away, and Cole also escaped a couple of attempts at the Contra Code while scoring some close near falls of his own. Jacobs finally hit the Contra Code and got the win, but Cole made him work for it and showed Jacobs that he shouldn't be taken so lightly. That didn't stop Jacobs from cutting a promo after the match gloating about the win and pointing out that he had done what Johnny Gargano couldn't by beating Cole, and by the way, he was also now the wins leader with a 4-1 record. This was a great segment and was a breakout match for Cole even though he lost, and was also a good use of Jacobs as the established veteran giving the young guy a rub.

Next up was our hard hitting fight of the evening as Sami Callihan took on Drake Younger. This wasn't quite as cringe-inducing as Callihan's match with Arik Cannon at EVOLVE 4, but it was pretty damn close because these guys beat the crap out of each other. Sami hit an awesome spot early on as Drake went to the floor and Sami went out after him, ran up the stairs and hit a crossbody off the stairs that totally wiped Drake out. Sami got busted open but kept toughing it out, eventually coming back with a hard running forearm in the corner and then a powerbomb into the Stretch Muffler, but Drake survived and hit Drake's Landing for the win. The crowd was huge into Callihan and actually booed Drake for getting the win. Drake pretty much no-sold that reaction, and talked about how he had put together a good string of wins and was putting Jimmy Jacobs on notice because he wanted to be at the front of the leader boards. I thought this was a terrific match, and I can never get tired of watching Sami wrestle. The guy is a true breakout star who has improved so much over the last year that it's scary. I'm really looking forward to watching where he goes in 2011.

Back to Chuck Taylor, as we go backstage where Bryan Danielson is chewing out a dejected Chuck Taylor, saying that he can be the face of EVOLVE if he stops screwing around and focuses on doing what he needs to do to get there, but he doesn't think Taylor has the guts to be serious enough to get there.

Back to the ring for a six way match featuring Johnny Gargano, Gran Akuma, Brad Allen, Jon Moxley, Rich Swann, and Frightmare battling it out with one win and one loss on the line. I thought it was interesting to see so many well established guys in this match since it's traditionally been the type of match you put undercard guys in to just go out there and go nuts. It added more prestige to the match by having top guys in there, though Brad Allen has admittedly fallen quite a ways since EVOLVE debuted. I guess the minds behind EVOLVE have cooled off on the guy because he went from being a featured guy who was calling out Chris Hero to being a non-factor, if he's even booked at all. It's interesting because he reminds me a lot of BJ Whitmer in his appearance and athleticism, but unfortunately he also reminds me of Whitmer's difficulty when it came to connecting with the fans, and I wouldn't be surprised if that's what was behind his depush. At the very least, he's still fun to watch in the ring and I really liked the parts of the match where he and Moxley, the two biggest guys in the match, got in there together and went at it. Allen nearly killed himself by trying a spot where he would leap to the top rope and come out with a crossbody, but he slipped going up and then tried to finish the move anyway and just came down on his head as Moxley stood there watching him and couldn't do much more than throw his arms in the air and celebrate his stroke of luck. Poor Brad Allen, but at least he didn't end up taking the fall here. That honor went to Frightmare who, after a fast and furious spotfest (and I mean that in a good way), was rolled up by Johnny Gargano for three.

Gargano cut a hilarious promo after the match putting himself over for winning and declared himself the baddest man on the planet, and this led to Homicide coming out and basically kicking him out of the ring so he could cut his own promo saying that he's back on the indies and is going to step right back in where he left off by dominating the indy scene. Jon Moxley, who was still at ringside from the previous match, comes in and confronts Homicide, and Homicide tells Moxley that he's been hearing about him and hears that Moxley is the hottest thing on the indies right now, but Homicide's come back to town and wants his crown back and he'll be watching Moxley. Moxley simply responds that Homicide had better keep his eye on him, and then leaves. This sets off the Homicide-Moxley feud that led to the incredible postmatch angle at EVOLVE 6 and has also spilled into Dragon Gate USA and elsewhere. This promo may end up being the catalyst to set off one of the biggest indy feuds of 2011.

Still on Moxley, we now take a look back at the incident on EVOLVE 4 where the Moxley-Bodie Lee match was declared a no-contest, and then Brodie earned himself a suspension by attacking the official. Moxley, who stayed out of that scuffle, was only fined and was allowed to continue wrestling. Moxley didn't consider the matter closed, however, and came back out before the next match demanding that EVOLVE make a rematch between Brodie and himself.

From there we go to the first really competitive women's match in EVOLVE history, as WSU Champion Mercedes Martinez finally got the chance to defend her title against Amazing Kong. Martinez had been pushing for this match for a while as she had basically been coming out and squashing people while demanding better competition, and eventually named Kong as the opponent she had in mind. This went completely opposite of every match Mercedes has had in EVOLVE so far, because instead of her dominating the matches, it was Kong who was destroying her the whole time. Kong eventually got to the point where referee Mike Kehner started interjecting himself because Kong was being excessively violent. Kong hit the Implant Buster and Mercedes kicked out, and Kong was shocked and started pulling the top turnbuckle off, presumably so she could ram Mercedes into it, but Kehner again got in her way so she kicked him in the jewels and got herself disqualified. Mercedes wasn't any happier with that decision because she wanted to beat Kong on the level, and the two of them brawled all the way back to the locker room. Obviously not the result the fans were looking for and they reacted accordingly, but it means another match down the line, and where do you go with Mercedes from here if she beats Kong now? I thought the match was good and I was fine with the outcome.

We go backstage to Jimmy Jacobs as he is again tormenting Johnny Gargano, but Gargano blows him off and lets Larry Dallas and his girl into the building. A high class VIP from New York City being so determined to bring his girl to a wrestling show in Rahway, New Jersey seems a little bizarre to me, but maybe she's just a really big Bryan Danielson fan, or perhaps she's heard about the excellent farmer's market at the Rahway Train Station, which unfortunately is not open on Saturdays.

Back to the ring for our Clash Of Styles Grudge Match, as ground-based wrestler Kyle O'Reilly takes on high-flying Ricochet. Much like Brad Allen, O'Reilly is a guy who seemed destined for some pretty big things in EVOLVE before he fell to the middle of the pack, though I think that's the result of where he found himself signing contracts more than anything. But since EVOLVE is still able to use him, he's more than capable of giving someone a good match and making them look tough by getting by him. I am still not sold on Ricochet, the guy just strikes me as Azrieal, 2010 Edition while guys like O'Reilly appeal to me more because they come off as more believable in what they do in the ring. Also, he's able to get by without doing anything super dangerous, while Ricochet nearly killed the both of them when he did a corkscrew dive to the floor in this one. O'Reilly came off like a monster here, methodically breaking Ricochet to pieces, but made Ricochet look good by having him survive O'Reilly's onslaught and hit a 630 splash to win.

We go backstage to catch up with Mercedes Martinez, who is bummed out about the way her match with Kong went tonight. Homicide walks in and gives her a pep talk, putting her over as the best latina wrestler in the world and saying not to get down because she'll figure things out.

Finally we come to our main event, the match the show was named after, as Bryan Danielson made his final appearance in EVOLVE taking on Munenori Sawa. Danielson was back with WWE by this time, and even though he could have taken it easy since he wasn't sticking around here, Danielson still came out and worked hard to have a quality main event and give Sawa a good match. This was only Sawa's second appearance, his first being in a show-stealing match at EVOLVE 1 against TJ Perkins, and even though the planned rematch never happened, Sawa had made such a good impression with that one match that he got slotted in for the main event spot here. This was an excellent match and much more grueling match than you'd expect out of a guy on his way to WWE, very MMA-oriented with a lot of hard strikes and submission attempts. Sawa relies very heavily on the martial arts kicks with his ring style, and Danielson was right in there with him with a lot of hard shots some pretty sick looking kicks of his own. Danielson got the LeBell Lock and made Sawa tap to win what will in all likelihood be a one time only match. Danielson cut a great postmatch promo talking about how he was one of the minds behind EVOLVE when it was originally being conceived and he's glad to have had the chance to come back and wrestle here, and also thanked the fans for making EVOLVE possible, put over the locker room, and asked the fans to keep supporting the product. Great main event to close the show, and Danielson's speech at the end really felt like a special moment for the company.

We finish the show out with one final backstage segment with Chuck Taylor, who is still backstage as Johnny Gargano and Larry Dallas approach him and ask if he wants to come out partying with them. Taylor goes to leave with them, but first looks at the camera and says that no matter what Danielson says, he has the guts to be the face of the company, but he's going to do it his way.

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I loved this show. Danielson-Sawa is a gimme, you knew that was going to be good but there was a ton of great stuff underneath as well and plenty of angle progression with Chuck Taylor, Jimmy Jacobs and Johnny Gargano, Jon Moxley and Homicide, and others as this was something of a milestone show that wrapped up some angles, started other new ones, and pushed existing ones to the next stage. As usual, EVOLVE 5 featured a wide variety of different wrestling styles that didn't leave you feeling like you were watching the same homogenized match over and over all night, and every match on here was good to awesome. With the quality of the shows EVOLVE presents and the number of DVD releases they produce, EVOLVE is a company that you really owe it to yourself to keep up on and buy DVDs of. They've come a long way in the ten month stretch from EVOLVE 1 to EVOLVE 6 and have developed a great roster and some solid storylines, and this was another installment in that excellent series. Strong recommendation to get this one.

Speaking of EVOLVE, I'll be back sometime in the next several days with the EVOLVE: Year In Review column, as well as a DVD review of Dragon Gate USA's Enter The Dragon 2 DVD release, featuring Bryan Danielson vs SHINGO!

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