Former IWGP World Heavyweight Champion EVIL has reportedly given his notice to NJPW and is expected to sign with WWE. Bryan Alvarez mentioned the news during Wednesday’s Wrestling Observer Live, stating, “By the way, EVIL might be on his way out of New Japan, and it is strongly rumored that he is on his way to WWE.” The Super J-Cast also reported on Wednesday that the House of Torture leader has indeed given notice.
The 38-year-old fell in defeat to Aaron Wolf at this month’s Wrestle Kingdom 20 on January 4, losing the NEVER Openweight Championship in the process. Wolf, a 2020 Olympic Judo gold medalist, made his professional wrestling debut in the match and submitted EVIL with a triangle choke to win the title. EVIL’s departure would mark the end of a decorated run in New Japan Pro-Wrestling, where he made a name for himself as one of the company’s top heels.
EVIL’s list of accolades in NJPW is extensive. He has held the IWGP Heavyweight Championship, the IWGP Intercontinental Championship, and the IWGP Tag Team Championship twice with Sanada. Additionally, he is a record four-time NEVER Openweight Champion and a six-time NEVER Openweight Six-Man Tag Team Champion. He won the 2020 New Japan Cup and the World Tag League in both 2017 and 2018 alongside Sanada.
On the Voices of Wrestling Flagship Plus show, it was reported that Hiromu Takahashi may also be on his way out of NJPW. The report also mentioned that Bullet Club War Dogs members Gabe Kidd and David Finlay are drawing interest from WWE.
With EVIL apparently on his way out, NJPW has already moved forward with the NEVER Openweight Championship picture. The company has announced the full lineup for The New Beginning in Osaka, where new champion Aaron Wolf is scheduled to defend his title against Ren Narita. This defense will be Wolf’s first major test since defeating EVIL at the Tokyo Dome earlier this month.
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