Gape Sapolsky is appreciative of WWE helping EVOLVE.
The EVOLVE roster has received a new paint job over the past several months with WWE stars being mixed into the fray. NXT stars The Street Profits are the current EVOLVE Tag Team Champions. Adam Cole and Roderick Strong regularly compete for EVOLVE. SmackDown Live's Mustafa Ali has been on the road with the promotion as well as Kassius Ohno.
At the next EVOLVE events which are EVOLVE 123 and 124 in March, former NXT North American Champion Ricochet was scheduled to be a part of those shows but filling in for him is the current NXT North American Champion Velveteen Dream. WWN VP of Talent Relations and creative, Gabe Sapolsky was recently interviewed by Justin Barrasso of Sports Illustrated and he praised WWE for their help. He stated that EVOLVE would not be running shows at the moment had it not been for WWE allowing some of their stars to compete in EVOLVE and added that it is a true win-win relationship.
“We are thrilled to put Dream in those matches and feel it us a seamless replacement,” said Gabe Sapolsky. “One of the really cool things about NXT talent coming to EVOLVE is that EVOLVE can put on matches you never thought [was] possible. So we’ll make this special for our fans. I’ll just say it: We wouldn’t be running EVOLVE shows right now if it wasn’t for the WWE support,” said Sapolsky. “I always say if your promotion isn’t adding something to the marketplace—if you are running just to have shows, but offer nothing different to the fans—then I don’t see the purpose in running. There’s no reason for the fans to support you. We needed the competitive advantage that WWE is giving us. They value the pipeline of talent from the independents. It’s a win-win relationship. I am extremely grateful that we are able to deliver these unique cards with an incredible mix of talent to the fans.”
Although Ricochet will not be present at the next EVOLVE shows, he has added RAW and SmackDown Live to his schedule and during a recent interview, Ricochet said that he assumes he'll be on both RAW and SmackDown until after WrestleMania.
