EVIL is in WWE NXT, but he won’t be going by that name on television.
The former New Japan Pro-Wrestling star recently signed with WWE and made his debut on the April 28 episode of NXT on The CW. There, the former IWGP Heavyweight Champion confronted NXT Champion Tony D’Angelo and issued a symbolic warning.
It was noticeable that WWE NXT commentator Vic Joseph did not call EVIL by his name directly. Instead, Joseph alluded to his former name and mentioned “evil” as a character trait.
According to a new report from Fightful (via Fightful Select), EVIL will have a new name on WWE programming. The report noted that “Nox Raijin,” a name WWE recently applied to trademark, will be his new moniker.
It’s worth noting that WWE applied for the trademark on April 28, the same day as EVIL’s on-air debut. “Nox Raijin” has not been mentioned on WWE TV yet, but EVIL is currently listed on WWE’s internal roster under his real name, Takaaki Watanabe.
Prior to joining WWE, EVIL spent the past 14 years with New Japan Pro-Wrestling. He is a former IWGP Heavyweight Champion, IWGP Intercontinental Champion, and two-time IWGP Tag Team Champion. In addition, he was also a four-time NEVER Openweight Champion, six-time NEVER Openweight 6-Man Tag Team Champion, and the second NJPW Triple Crown Champion.
Update: EVIL returned to TV this week, but he was billed as “Naraku.” According to Sapp, this is a late change, as he noted that internal materials “as recently as Sunday” still listed EVIL under the name “Nox Raijin.” It’s unclear why WWE made the late change, but EVIL will now be known as Naraku, which means “Abyss” or “Hell” in Japanese.
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