Evolution

Evolution was a WWE stable led by Triple H and originally made up of Ric Flair, Randy Orton, and Batista. The group was officially introduced under the Evolution name on the February 3, 2003 episode of Raw. Its concept presented Flair as wrestling’s past, Triple H as the present, and Orton and Batista as the future.

Evolution became the leading group on Raw during the Ruthless Aggression Era. At Armageddon 2003, all four members left the event holding championships. Triple H won the World Heavyweight Championship, Randy Orton captured the Intercontinental Championship, and Batista and Ric Flair won the World Tag Team Championship.

The group began to break apart after Randy Orton won the World Heavyweight Championship at SummerSlam 2004. During a celebration on the August 16 episode of Raw, Triple H ordered Batista to drop Orton from his shoulders. Triple H, Batista, and Ric Flair then attacked Orton and removed him from the group.

Evolution continued with Triple H, Batista, and Flair until early 2005. After winning the Royal Rumble, Batista learned that Triple H and Flair were trying to convince him to challenge WWE Champion John Cena instead of Triple H.

During a contract signing on the February 21 episode of Raw, Batista chose to challenge Triple H for the World Heavyweight Championship at WrestleMania 21. He attacked Triple H and Flair before powerbombing Triple H through a table, ending Evolution’s original run.

Batista defeated Triple H for the World Heavyweight Championship at WrestleMania 21 and retained the title against him at Backlash and Vengeance.

Triple H, Batista, and Ric Flair reunited for one night during Raw’s 15th Anniversary celebration in December 2007. Randy Orton refused to rejoin them and instead faced the group alongside Edge and Umaga.

Triple H reformed Evolution with Batista and Randy Orton in April 2014 during The Authority’s feud with The Shield. Ric Flair appeared alongside the original members during this period but did not officially rejoin the active lineup.

Evolution lost to The Shield at Extreme Rules and Payback before Batista left the group and left WWE on the June 2, 2014 episode of Raw.

All four original members appeared together again at SmackDown 1000 on October 16, 2018, in a reunion segment to reflect on Evolution’s history and their careers after the group.