EVIL’s WWE debut is right around the corner. Sources indicated to Bodyslam that the former IWGP Heavyweight Champion is expected to make his WWE debut imminently, adding urgency to a signing that was confirmed by PWInsider last week but had yet to result in any public acknowledgment from WWE.
EVIL departed NJPW in January before signing with WWE. He is currently listed on the company’s miscellaneous internal roster alongside legends and injured talent, with no brand assignment having been confirmed yet. Japanese sources have indicated he is not expected to keep the EVIL ring name going forward, though no new name has been announced publicly.
Speculation about his WWE arrival has already begun to build on NXT, where Tony D’Angelo was recently presented with a mysterious box bearing the Japanese kanji for “war.” Many observers have pointed to EVIL as the likely sender, though Ulka Sasaki of Pro Wrestling Noah, who is currently on excursion in NXT, has also been suggested as a possibility. Neither theory has been confirmed.
EVIL is one of the most decorated performers to come out of New Japan in the past decade, holding the IWGP Heavyweight Championship, IWGP Intercontinental Championship, four NEVER Openweight Championship reigns, two IWGP Tag Team Championship reigns, and six NEVER Openweight 6-Man Tag Team Championship reigns during his career.
