It was a night of many happenings in “WWE NXT” on Tuesday, including the return of Tavion Heights to attack NXT Champion Tony D’Angelo, and the debut of UK wrestler Will Kroos, who also laid out D’Angelo with a moonsault. But both were preceded by the “NXT” debut of former New Japan star EVIL, with the former IWGP World Heavyweight Champion confronting D’Angelo before presenting him with a shirt.
Throughout this interaction, EVIL was never referred to by any name from commentators Vic Joseph and Booker T, leading many to speculate on what his new persona would be. A hint was seemingly provided one day later, when it was revealed that WWE had trademarked the name “Nox Raijin” on Tuesday. Many quickly assumed this would be EVIL’s WWE name, as Raijin is the name of a god in Japanese mythology.
Taking to X on Wednesday morning, however, TC of WrestleVotes seemed to contradict the trademark news, indicating that WWE had yet to decide on a new name for EVIL. As a result, “Nox Raijin” may be among the names being considered for EVIL’s new persona, or could be the name for another potential WWE debut in the coming weeks. In February, Dave Meltzer speculated that EVIL’s former stablemate Hiromu Takahashi could also have WWE interest, though no word has emerged since on whether Takahashi has received an offer from WWE.
I’m told WWE has yet to decide on a new name for EVIL.
— TC of WrestleVotes (@TCwrestlevotes) April 29, 2026
Whatever EVIL’s new name in WWE will be will likely be revealed on next week’s “NXT” episode, though his interaction with D’Angelo at least makes it clear that he will be coming for D’Angelo’s NXT Championship alongside Heights and Kroos. No “NXT” PLE has been announced for May or June at this time, potentially meaning an EVIL vs. D’Angelo title match could take place on TV instead.
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