Evolution (professional wrestling)

For the stable in All Japan Pro Wrestling, see Evolution (AJPW). For WWE's 2018 pay-per-view, see WWE Evolution.
Evolution
Official Evolution logo
Stable
Leader(s)Triple H
MembersRic Flair
Randy Orton
Batista
Name(s)Evolution
Combined
billed weight		1,027 lb (466 kg)
DebutJanuary 20, 2003
DisbandedOctober 3, 2005
Years active2003–2005
2007 2010 (one night only)
2014
2018 (non-wrestling reunion)

Evolution was a villainous American professional wrestling stable in WWE which was a part of the Raw brand from 2003 to 2005, as well as during 2007 and 2014.

At the height of its original existence, the group consisted of Triple H, Ric Flair, Randy Orton and Batista. The group has been referred to as a modern iteration of Flair's former stable, The Four Horsemen.[1] Evolution slowly began dissolving in the summer of 2004 and lost their respective titles (Intercontinental Championship, World Heavyweight Championship and World Tag Team Championship) to Edge, Chris Benoit, and the team of Booker T and Rob Van Dam respectively. Evolution turned on Orton the night following SummerSlam, when he won the World Heavyweight Championship and kicked him out of the group.[2][3] After winning the Royal Rumble in 2005 and teasing that he would chase the WWE Championship, Batista turned on Triple H and decided to pursue the World Heavyweight Championship himself. Although Batista's departure was largely the end for the group, the final break up came when Triple H turned on and attacked Flair. During the breakup, each member faced one another at least once.

Evolution later reformed on April 14, 2014 as a sub-group to The Authority after Batista joined forces with Triple H and Orton. Flair did not participate in the reunion, as he had retired from full participation in wrestling in 2012.[4] In October 2018, the original four members of the group reunited to celebrate the 1000th episode of SmackDown Live.

  1. ^ "A New Four Horsemen in the WWE?". Bleacher Report.
  2. ^ "Evolution Profile". Online World of Wrestling. Retrieved 2008-01-18.
  3. ^ "WWE Raw Results: August 16, 2004". Online World of Wrestling. Retrieved December 27, 2012.
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference rawreunion was invoked but never defined (see the help page).