WWE’s ‘Nox Raijin’ Trademark Reportedly For EVIL

EVIL’s new WWE ring name may have been revealed.

Last week’s episode of WWE NXT saw former IWGP Heavyweight Champion EVIL make his WWE debut, although he was notably not named by the commentary team or on the company’s social media accounts. Following his debut, WWE filed to trademark ‘Nox Raijin’, prompting speculation that the name was intended for EVIL, and that now appears to be the case.

Fightful Select are now reporting that EVIL is currently listed internally under his real name, Takaaki Watanabe, and that the ‘Nox Raijin’ trademark was indeed intended for him.

“Fightful Select learned that EVIL is on WWE’s internal roster under his real name, Takaaki Watanabe. There was a trademark filed on April 28th for ‘Nox Raijin’, and that is for EVIL in WWE.”

-Fightful Select

‘Nox’ is the Latin word for night, likely drawing inspiration from EVIL’s ‘King of Darkness’ persona, while Raijin is the Japanese god of thunder, lightning, and storms.

EVIL confronted Tony D’Angelo during the April 28 edition of WWE NXT, revealing himself as the sender of a mysterious box bearing the kanji for “war”.

After handing Tony D’Angelo another gift bearing the same labelling, EVIL made his way back up the entrance ramp, while the NXT Champion was attacked by Tavion Heights and fellow debutant Will Kroos.

You can find more on the latest WWE news, including all things EVIL, here.

As always, we’ll aim to provide any further updates on WWE’s plans for EVIL as soon as we hear more.