WWE has reportedly signed a top former New Japan Pro-Wrestling star.
Mike Johnson of PWInsider has reported that WWE has signed former IWGP Heavyweight Champion EVIL. Multiple reports in January suggested that the 39-year-old was close to signing with the promotion, and the latest update confirms that he is “signed and sealed” with the company.
EVIL, real name Takaaki Watanabe, made his debut for NJPW in 2011 and had an extended run in the U.S, competing for promotions like Ring of Honor and Global Force Wrestling. He is rumored to be in a relationship with current WWE star IYO Sky.
EVIL rose to prominence in NJPW in 2020 when he betrayed his Los Ingobernables de Japón partners to align with the Bullet Club. He is a former four-time NEVER Openweight and six-time Six-man Tag Team Champion. The new WWE signee has also held the IWGP Tag Team Championship twice, and was a double champion between July and August 2020, when he defeated Tetsuya Naito to hold the IWGP Intercontinental and Heavyweight Championships simultaneously.
While he originally teased an exit in January 2025, EVIL actually left NJPW in January 2026. PWInsider also noted that the expectation in Japan is that he will not keep the EVIL ring name in WWE.
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