Gabe Sapolsky, who is the co-founder and booker of Evolve, recently spoke with Sports Illustrated about various topics. Here are the highlights.
On NXT:
“The WWE has really changed its mindset toward the indies and independent wrestling talents, and that’s led by Triple H,” said Sapolsky. “A big part of that is NXT, which has opened up a lot of doors through its success. NXT is very cutting edge, and it’s really securing the future of WWE.”
On Dean Ambrose:
“Dean Ambrose is the big one,” said Sapolsky. “He didn’t come from ROH, he came from us. A lot had to do with our track record, and they scouted our events and they liked our style of wrestling. We have made a shift in our style of wrestling to a more mat-based, grappling, catch style of wrestling, and people at WWE really enjoyed it. That’s the style they’re looking to feature, so it helped that we have tight shows. The Evolve shows are all substance. There are no wasted matches, and everything means something. They enjoyed the style of our shows, and you couple that with the track record that’s been built for the last twenty-three years, and that’s where the connection was made.”
On the style of wrestling changing:
“People don’t want a stunt show any more, they want to feel good and enjoy watching,” said Sapolsky. “This is the next evolution of the business, and we’re at the forefront of it right now. We’re all on this roller coaster ride together.
“Most importantly, it’s exciting for the fans–when you watch us, you don’t know what’s going to happen next. We’re all going to find out together, and it’s most likely to be mind-blowing, just like every single development that has happened so far.”
You can read the entire interview here.
