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They immediately tear into each other, and Callihan just destroys Sabre in the corner with chops, then repeatedly snapmares Sabre and unloads with an indy kick to the back. Sabre comes back with a Diablo armbar, but Callihan hoists Sabre up and just plows Sabre into the corner in a nasty looking spot. Sabre comes back with some hard kicks that send Callihan to the floor, and he hits a running kick to Callihan's chest. Sabre tries it again, but Callihan catches his foot and sweeps Sabre's legs, causing him to hit hard on the apron. Callihan and Sabre wind up fighting on the stage, exchanging hard forearms and kicks, but Sabre gets the Diablo armbar on the stage and Callihan reverses to a Stretch Muffler. Sabre tries to crawl away and Callihan holds onto the ankle, but Sabre kicks Callihan off to the floor. Sabre tries a running dive off the stage, but Callihan caught him and hit an exploder suplex on the floor. They head back in and Callihan hits a springing splash off the ropes for 2, but Sabre monkey flips Callihan back into the Diablo armbar. Callihan makes the ropes, so Sabre takes Callihan back down with another armbar, bends each finger individually, then sits on Callihan's back and repeatedly rams his knee into the mat. Sabre with a double armbar and circles Callihan's head into a stack for 2, then goes back to torturing the fingers. Sabre unloads on Callihan with a long flurry of kicks in the corner, but Callihan comes out and fires back with kicks and hard chops of his own. Sabre with a series of headbutts to the chest, but Callihan responded with hard forearms, then it turned into a slapping match and then they exchanged double axhandles and spinkicks. This is just insane. Callihan drills Sabre with a headbutt, but Sabre responds with a headbutt off the ropes and both men go down hard. Callihan tries a slingshot move but Sabre catches him coming in with a kick to the head and hits an awesome sitout powerbomb for 2. Sabre with a running kick to the head in the corner, double stomps Callihan's arm, Callihan comes back with a series of kicks, a leaping enziguiri, and a pair of backdrop suplexes. Callihan pulls down the straps and hits a running forearm off the ropes that knocked Sabre into next week, but Sabre kicks out at 1. Callihan motions a throat slash across Sabre's throat, but Sabre rolls him up for 2. They exchange rollups and neither man can put the other away, then another series of rollups and nothing. Callihan with a Dragon Suplex into a kneestrike to the back of the neck, and Sabre gets a backslide into a cradle for 2, then more pinfall reversals until Callihan tries the Stretch Muffler and Sabre reverses to a small package for 2. Sabre gets the Diablo armbar again and has Callihan trapped right in the middle of the ring, but Callihan counters back to the Stretch Muffler, but Sabre counters out of that and hits a nice running kick to Callihan's head for 2. Sabre tries a leaping enziguiri but Callihan catches the foot and goes right back into the Stretch Muffler and then just starts kicking Sabre in the back of the head over and over until the referee stops the match.
Winner: Sami Callihan
This was unbelievably awesome, Sabre's performance here reminded me of when Doug Williams debuted in ROH because he came in and stole the show with one of the top workers in the company. This may have been the best match in EVOLVE history so far. The announcer comes in to interview Callihan and wants to know how it feels to be 3-1, and Callihan says that 2011 will be his year and he's only one win away from the top and there's no wrestler in the world who can stop him because he just beat one of the best in the business in Zack Sabre. He gives a shout out to his boy Moxley who's going to the big time, and thanks Moxley for riding the road with him.
It's intermission time, but while we wait for EVOLVE 7 to resume, they play a match from the Jeff Peterson Memorial Cup in 2008 featuring Larry Sweeney taking on Sal Rinauro. I liked the way DGUSA occupied the intermission on Wrestlemania weekend with hype videos, and I thought running this match was a classy move and a great tribute to Sweeney. Hilarious match with Sweeney and Rinauro taking turns trying to out-cheat one another, then hitting ridiculous 80s WWF finishers like the Earthquake splash and the Torture Rack. Sal tried to nail Sweeney with a foreign object, but Sweeney ducked and put him out with a sleeper to win and advance in the tournament. Sweeeny checked on Sal after the match, and that “I had the time of my life†song from Dirty Dancing played as they hugged and walked out together. This was THE perfect match to pay tribute to Sweeney and show what an entertaining performer he was.
We kick the second half off with an in-ring promo from Jon Davis, who says the last year of his career has been tough and he wanted to make an impact by beating Johnny Gargano tonight, but that didn't happen. But when the fans were chanting his name tonight, it meant a lot to him and he apologizes to the fans for letting them down tonight, but promises that it won't happen again.
AR Fox vs Rich Swann
Back and forth lucha stuff to start with neither man getting an advantage, but Swann hits a sweet dropkick to the face, but gets dropkicked to the floor and tries his climbing moonsault to the floor, Swann moves and Fox lands on his feet, but Swann wipes him out with a moonsault off the stage. Swann covers for 2 back in the ring and hits a running clothesline in the corner and then rmas some shoulderblocks into Fox's ribs before thumbing him in the eye just for kicks. Fox responds with some hard forearms and goes for a cutter, but Swann keeps his footing, kicks Fox in the head, and hits a big leaping splash for 2. Fox drops Swann onto the second rope and hits a straddle on the ropes, then springboards into the ring with a cutter for 2. Swann rolls to the floor and Fox hits an insane somersault dive over the ropes and then rolls Swann in and covers for 2. Fox goes up top but Swann hits a leaping enziguiri, standing top rope Frankensteiner, and Red Star Press for 2. Fox with a Northern Lights Suplex for 2, but Swann with a flipping Stunner and a Pelle Kick for 2. Swann goes for the standing 450 but Fox got the knees up and hit what can only be described as a leaping springboard moonsault superplex for the win.
Winner: AR Fox
The athleticism here was just insane, it was like watching Amazing Red wrestle himself and bust out all his craziest stuff. The announcer comes in for the postmatch interview, and Fox proudly points out that he's 2-0 now.
Akira Tozawa vs Chuck Taylor
Larry Dallas, Reby Sky, and Johnny Gargano are seated at ringside for this match. Mat wrestling sequence to start, Taylor with a single leg but has his head outside and Tozawa crossfaces him. Taylor bites his way out of the hold and goes to the ankle, but Tozawa with a drop toehold takes Taylor down. Taylor reverses to a front headlock and gets his hips off the mat, but Tozawa escapes and goes to a side headlock. Taylor rolls out of the hold and they go to a standoff, but Tozawa takes Taylor down with a shoulderblock, running forearm, and a senton for 2. Tozawa puts the boots to Taylor in the corner and hits another sention for 2, but charges Taylor in the corner and eats boot. Taylor with a fireman's carry into a bridge for 2 and then dropkicks Tozawa in the face and plants his boot on Tozawa's chest for a 2 count.
Taylor is firmly in control now, choking Tozawa in the corner with his boot, then hits a snapmare and scissors the head. Taylor tries to roll Tozawa over for the Facemasher, but Tozawa keeps rolling and gets to the ropes. Tozawa starts firing back with forearms and chops, but Taylor hits a nice powerslam for 2. Tozawa tries a bicycle kick, Taylor dodges, but Tozawa hits it a second time and sends Taylor to the floor and hits a diving forearm through the ropes, then they head back in and Taylor dumps Tozawa and hits a dive onto him. Tozawa comes back and sends Taylor back out to the floor and hits another dive of his own. They head back in and Tozawa hits a running forearm in the corner and a backdrop driver for 2. Tozawa goes for the three headbutts he never hits and Taylor hits a uranage and a kick to the chest for 2. Taylor goes to the second rope for a moonsault, but Tozawa moves so Taylor lands on his feet and hits Sole Food, but Tozawa no-sells and hits a knockout kick of his own and both men are down.
They both get to their feet and exchange forearms in the middle of the ring, then hit stereo big boots. Taylor with a running big boot in the corner but Tozawa comes right back with a running bicycle kick in the opposite corner and gets the bridging German suplex for 2. Tozawa tries another, Taylor blocks so Taylor bicycle kicks him in the back and hits it release style. Tozawa goes for another bicycle kick but Taylor dodges and hits the Omega Driver for the win.
Winner: Chuck Taylor
Now that Taylor and Gargano are tied with 5-2 records, they have to have a tiebreaker match to determine the one and only wins leader in EVOLVE. Larry Dallas says the match isn't happening and tries to convince his guys to go to the back and start partying, but Taylor says he doesn't want to share the lead and challenges Gargano to have the wrestle off right now. So we head right into...
Johnny Gargano vs Chuck Taylor
Taylor superkicked Gargano and rolled him up for 2 right off the bell and then goes for the Omega Driver again, but his neck gives out so Gargano goes for the Border City Stretch. Taylor escapes that so Gargano hits the Dragon Faceplant for 2, then hits a series of running strikes in the corner. Taylor catches Gargano coming off the ropes with a big boot and hits the Omega Driver, but his neck is hurt and he can't make the cover right away and only gets 2. Gargano with a leaping enziguiri and lawn darts Taylor into the second turnbuckle, then hits a pair of superkicks to the face and another Dragon Faceplant and still only gets 2. Gargano goes right to the Border City Stretch as Dallas hands a white towel to Reby Sky and tells her to throw it in, which she does. The referee sees the towel and calls for the bell, awarding the win to Gargano.
Winner: Johnny Gargano
Dallas pretends like Reby did it of her own accord and yells at her as an annoyed Taylor rolls out of the ring and heads to the back. Crowd starts a “you screwed Chuck†chant as the announcer interviews the new undisputed wins leader. Gargano says Chuck screwed Chuck, but it doesn't matter who screwed Chuck because he's 6-2 and the wins leader.
The main event, featuring Jon Moxley's last match on the independents, is up next on Page 3!
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