The ‘King of Darkness’ could be WWE-bound.
On January 4, Fightful Select reported that there were rumours within New Japan Pro Wrestling that EVIL could soon be exploring his options outside the company, and there is now an update on where that search may be leading him.
According to Bryan Alvarez on the latest edition of Wrestling Observer Live, the current feeling is that EVIL is now leaning towards a move to WWE.
“By the way, EVIL might be on his way out of New Japan, and it is strongly rumoured that he is on his way to WWE.”
–Bryan Alvarez
Both Fightful and Alvarez have noted that Tony Khan is not a fan of EVIL’s work in New Japan Pro Wrestling, and as a result, if he does enter free agency it appears unlikely that AEW would stand in WWE’s way in trying to secure his signature.
EVIL lost the NEVER Openweight Championship to former Olympic gold medallist judoka Aaron Wolf in his debut at Wrestle Kingdom at the Tokyo Dome in January.
While EVIL did appear on New Year Dash!! the following night, as well as the subsequent Yuji Nagata Produce show and the first two Road to The New Beginning events, he has not been announced for the remainder of the tour, including The New Beginning in Osaka on February 11.
After debuting in New Japan Pro Wrestling as a Young Lion under his real name, Takaaki Watanabe, in 2011, he went on excursion to the United States, where he competed for Global Force Wrestling and Ring of Honor before returning to Japan in 2015. Upon joining Los Ingobernables de Japon, Tetsuya Naito introduced Watanabe as EVIL.
Despite success in the tag team division alongside SANADA, EVIL later betrayed Los Ingobernables de Japon and joined Bullet Club after defeating Kazuchika Okada to win the New Japan Cup in 2020. He then went on to beat his former leader, Tetsuya Naito, to capture both the IWGP Heavyweight and Intercontinental Championships.
During his time in Bullet Club, EVIL formed his own subgroup, known as House of Torture. At NJPW Wrestling Dontaku on May 3 last year, Bullet Club War Dogs officially expelled the group from the faction, leading them to become an independent unit.
As always, we’ll aim to provide any further updates on EVIL’s future as soon as we hear more.
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