Published: 1 minute ago by Liam | Last Updated: 1 second ago by Liam
Liam has been reporting & analyzing wrestling news for over eight years, and is currently the Managing Editor at WrestleTalk.com. Immersed in wrestling for 18 years, he has over 11,000 published articles in addition to leading and overseeing WrestleTalk.com’s coverage.
WWE
A title change has taken place on tonight’s July 15 episode of WWE Evolve, which airs weekly every Wednesday on Tubi.
After Nikkita Lyons’ recent Evolve Title win against Wendy Choo, there has now been a change on the men’s side as well.
On tonight’s show, Harlem Lewis defeated Aaron Rourke to become the new WWE Evolve Champion.
The win makes Lewis the third Evolve Champion after Rourke and the man Rourke beat to win the title, Jackson Drake of Vanity Project.
Harlem Lewis debuted for WWE in 2024, but hasn’t established himself on NXT TV as of yet, instead featuring on LFG and now Evolve.
He also went on an excursion to Pro Wrestling NOAH in Japan alongside Charlie Dempsey for a few matches last year.
He has been on WWE Main Event a couple of times in recent months, with losses against Je’Von Evans and Otis, and also has a Raw match to his name from 2024 when he was defeated by Odyssey Jones under his real name, Vincent Winey.
Aaron Rourke has made a handful of NXT appearances as of late, including as a judge for the Mr NXT Pageant between Shiloh Hill and Tristan Angels.
The following week, Rourke defended and retained the Evolve Title against Angels on NXT as well.
The title loss for Rourke tonight could signify a full-time move to the NXT roster off the back of those appearances, as has been the case for the likes of Jackson Drake, Kali Armstrong and Kendal Grey in the past.
International Flair Is NXT’s Future?
Earlier this year, the NXT roster took a major hit when many top stars from the brand were called up to the main roster, including names such as Oba Femi, Trick Williams, Blake Monroe, Ricky Saints and all of Fatal Influence.
As WWE has looked to rebuild the roster, some faces have made the move up from Evolve, but most of the new faces have come from recent international signings.
British standouts such as Lizzy Rain, Mason Rook and Tristan Angels have already taken to the NXT roster like a duck to water, with other European stars such as the Belgian Dorian Van Dux, the Spanish Romeo Moreno and the French Elio Lefleur also showing a lot of promise for the future.
Throw in potential appearances from AAA stars, and the signing of Naraku and the reported signing of Hiromu Takahashi, and it seems as though the future of the NXT brand right now lies within it’s international talent.
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