WWE Inks Former Evolve Superstar, AEW Women’s Cup Details

WWE Inks Former EVOLVE Superstar

Leon Ruff, a former EVOLVE star, has signed an official contract with the WWE and will be part of the NXT brand.

According to PWInsider.com, Ruffis now officially a member of the roster. Over recent months, he has appeared on numerous episodes of WWE television.

The WWE purchased EVOLVE earlier this month and Ruff is believed to be the first of several wrestlers to sign deals with the company. The contracts of the wrestlers in EVOLVE were not part of the agreement between the two promotions. 

Back in late 2019, Ruff paired with Adrian Alanis in a match against The Forgotten Sons on an episode of WWE NXT. He also faced off against Aleister Black on WWE Main Event and battled Sheamus on SmackDown this past March.

Ruff has made several recent appearances on WWE’s 205 Live program. He faced off against Drake Maverick earlier this month. 

The official WWE Performance Center YouTube channel released a video featuring Ruff entitled “I Am Leon Ruff.” 

Ruff joins the likes of Apollo Crews, Drew Gulack, Keith Lee, Matt Riddle, Johnny Gargano and Ricochet to make the leap from EVOLVE to WWE. 

Due to COVID-19, WWE is not looking to sign many names. Since they got Ruff, WWE might see lots of potential and did not want their competition getting a chance to sign him.

AEW Tourney Not Planned For Dynamite

Plans for the upcoming All Elite Wrestling Women’s Tag Team Tournament Cup do not include AEW: Dynamite on TNT.

Instead, the promotion will air the matches in the series via YouTube and the AEW channel. They are set to air Mondays beginning at 7 p.m. ET before RAW starts. 

The women’s cup is set to serve as a trial for future events. If the reaction is positive, AEW plans to do one each summer featuring different tournament draws. 

Titled “The Deadly Draw,” the event is scheduled to begin this coming Monday. During the recent episode of Dynamite, it was confirmed that the tournament will be a random draw, thus the title for it. 

Also, all competitors must draw a color and the matching colors will form a team. The selections are to be final and they cannot be appealed. 

Sixteen female wrestlers are expected to compete in the event, giving them eight teams in all. Action will start with the quarterfinals followed by semifinals and the finals. 

The event is similar to that conducted by WCW back in the day with BattleBowl. Teams were determined by a lethal lottery for that, with many pairing faces with heels. 

As of now, the only official team is Nyla Rose teaming with former WWE superstar Cameron. That was confirmed during yesterday’s episode and it will also mark Cameron’s debut for AEW.

Overall, it is an interesting concept by AEW. Their women’s division is probably one of their weakest points and this will fans to see more talent. 

In summary, AEW could turn the tournament into a yearly event. For now, fans will watch the action on the YouTube and if enough views are totaled then some matches might be promoted on AEW Dynamite.