The 2018 WWE women's live event, Evolution, is regarded as one of the best live events WWE has ever produced, combining multiple eras of women's wrestling into one event and highlighting the best of the past, present, and future of the division.
Despite WWE's apparent reluctance to bring the PLE back, Bayley has been adamant over the years that she believes the women's roster should get another dedicated showcase, but she says that now, more than ever, is the right time for the second Evolution to take place.
During the WWE 2K25 Hands-On Event, former WWE Women's Champion Bayley brought renewed focus to the second Evolution PLE, and believes now is the right time to produce another women's live event.
That's even more opportunities for [women's wrestling] to be showcased, you know? There's so much more to do, there are so many more goals for us, now we have two more titles we can go after. I've been dying for an Evolution 2, and I think now is the perfect time. Bigger than ever, we have more girls than ever. We can have a freaking back-to-back two night show if we wanted to, like WrestleMania. There's so many girls, so many at NXT, we got this TNA partnership, we got two new titles. What are we doing? Let's do it!
Why Evolution 2 Has Never Happened & What Is Return Would Mean For WWE
New Titles And New Partnerships Make It More Desirable To Do The Women's PLE
Despite critical acclaim and internal superstar pressure, Evolution never returned after its inaugural event in 2018. Stephanie McMahon said in December 2019: "I'm hopeful to have an announcement on an Evolution 2, but there is nothing official to announce just yet," but 18 months later, when questioned about it, Triple H said it was possible, "but it's not a must-have at the moment." Mickie James meanwhile revealed the same year that she'd pushed for Evolution 2 to happen, but had been "cut off at every opportunity", and was reportedly told by a WWE official that "women's wrestling doesn't make money" after Evolution pulled in low ratings.
Fans have clamored and asked repeatedly for another installment of Evolution, especially as WWE introduced two brand-new women's championships and the partnership with TNA Wrestling brings new talent into the mix. WWE Superstars Roxanne Perez, Booker T, and Trish Stratus, among others, have all expressed their desire to see Evolution return to the WWE live event schedule, but no Superstar has been more vocal than Bayley, the first Grand Slam Women's Champion who competed in a six woman tag match at the original event.
But 7 years is a long time in wrestling. In January, WWE crowned its two newest women's champions, Women's United States Champion Chelsea Green and Women's Intercontinental Champion Lyra Valkyria, and paved a new path for the women's division to attain WWE gold while on the roster. The returns of both Trish Stratus and Nikki Bella to WWE, as well as Triple H's comments at the post-Rumble press conference indicating that more returns will occur, the women's roster is in a prime position to bring back Evolution as a showcase.
Our Take On Evolution 2
Honestly, What Are We Waiting For?
Evolution was a groundbreaking live event, inspired by the women's division breaking away from its storied, but ultimately antiquated, Divas format and allowing them to prove they were just as capable to produce heavy hitting, high flying matches as the men did. With a roster filled with more talented women Superstars than ever, and coupled with the opportunities to bring the TNA Knockouts division into the equation, WWE seems better positioned than ever to bring Evolution back into rotation.
Whether Stephanie McMahon's involvement with WWE will run deeper than the ESPN show Stephanie's Places remains to be seen, but her influence on the original Evolution cannot be ignored, and it's possible her (possibly limited) return to WWE could help push it second event closer to becoming reality. Allowing competitors from three WWE brands and TNA to compete in showcase matches and celebrating the robust history of women's wrestling seems like a slam dunk decision in the Triple H Era, specifically as WWE thrives in the Triple H and Netflix Eras.
