WWE has reportedly acquired EVOLVE Wrestling according to a report by PWInsider.
According to the report, WWE completed the purchase from Gabe Sapolsky and Sal Hamaoui after negotiating with them for several months. It is not known what the financials were on the deal.
Hamaoui also owns World Wrestling Network, an online streaming service showcasing independent wrestling. This was not included in the deal and will continue to be operational. It is also not clear what the future holds for Sapolsky, but he has been a WWE consultant since 2018.
It is now known if WWE will continue to run EVOLVE shows or if they will simply be adding to their WWE Network content. It is believed that WWE owns the tape libraries for EVOLVE Wrestling and Dragon Gate USA. Early Full Impact Pro footage is thought to be included with that. All content included in the deal will reportedly be removed in a month from WWN.
EVOLVE last ran an event on March 1. The financial stress of the COVID-19 pandemic, including the cancelation of WrestleMania week events for the company, were devastating to their survival.
WWE’s working relationship with EVOLVE began several years ago, which has led to the signings of Drew McIntyre, Keith Lee, Austin Theory, Matt Riddle, Johnny Gargano, and many others. It is thought that some of the contracted EVOLVE talent will be signed by WWE and enter into the NXT system, but that has not been confirmed.
Wrestleview reached out to WWE for full confirmation, but they have not returned the request. We will continue to follow this story as more becomes available.