In 2009, former
Ring of Honor booker Gabe Sapolsky announced the creation of a
professional wrestling promotion called
Evolve (stylized EVOLVE), which officially began producing shows in January 2010. Over the years, Evolve would unify with
Dragon Gate USA, form a partnership with
WWE, and have many notable wrestlers pass through the promotion, such as
Cody Rhodes,
Johnny Gargano, and
Drew McIntyre. In 2019, Evolve aired
Evolve 131, their first
live broadcast on the
WWE Network streaming service, and then as a result of hardships caused by the
COVID-19 pandemic, the promotion was purchased by WWE on July 2, 2020. Sapolsky was released but then rehired by WWE in 2022, with rumors that WWE were planning to revive Evolve, with the project being headed by Sapolsky. On January 30, 2025, WWE filed a trademark for "Evolve" in the aspect of entertainment services. It was then officially revealed that Evolve would be revived as a
WWE brand with its first tapings held on February 7 at the
WWE Performance Center in
Orlando, Florida. During the
Royal Rumble on February 1, 2025, WWE announced that a new in-ring series titled
WWE Evolve would premiere on March 5 on
Tubi in the United States and it was later revealed that it would air on
YouTube internationally. The program airs head-to-head against rival promotion
All Elite Wrestling's (AEW) flagship weekly show,
Dynamite, which airs on Wednesdays at 8 p.m.
Eastern Time (ET) on
TBS and
Max. In a press release on February 3, 2025, WWE revealed that the series would prominently feature up and coming wrestlers from the
WWE Performance Center and the
WWE Independent Development (ID) system. The goal is for the Evolve wrestlers to make it to WWE's primary
developmental brand,
NXT, and eventually to the main roster on
Raw or
SmackDown. The commentators for
Evolve were revealed as
Peter Rosenberg and
Robert Stone. On October 15, 2025,
Evolve hosted its first Tubi special,
Succession. ==Roster==