In a time when WWE is beginning to lift up a new wave of stars, Je’Von Evans is one of its fastest-rising performers, though he’s not yet 22 years old. Sitting down together for Variety, WWE’s Paul “Triple H” Levesque and Shawn Michaels used Evans as an example while discussing the current state of the industry and the company’s developmental process.
“I just had this conversation with Je’Von the other day, to say, ‘Right now, you’re the kid doing the s**t that nobody else has ever seen before,'” Triple H said. “Focus on punches, kicks, focus on this other stuff. Because a year from now, there’ll be a kid doing s**t that you’re like, ‘How’s he doing that?’ And we’ll all be like, ‘Remember when [Evans] was doing all the cool s**t? Now he’s doing all the cool s**t.”
According to Levesque, Evans is just the latest wrestler to go through this process that many before him already have, including former D-Generation X member X-Pac as well as Michaels himself. While the high-flying moves are something to behold, Levesque believes that the basics, such as selling, are what builds a true connection between a wrestler and the audience.
“I don’t ever tell anybody … all the stuff people told me. ‘You’re going too fast, slow down.’ I feel like all those things will take care of themselves,” Michaels said. “When they make it up to the main roster, then it becomes about psychology and timing and selling and telling a story.”
Triple H describes process of giving feedback to Je’Von Evans
Levesque reiterated that the pacing of wrestling may change over the years, like all sports do, but the fundamentals will remain important. After their diversion on the industry as a whole, the two executives returned to the topic of Evans.
“He came to me – I talked to him a few weeks ago about changing up his punches and focusing on that, because he’s got the other stuff down,” Levesque continued. “I said, ‘You don’t need to learn a bigger flippy thing. You’ve got that. So go learn how to throw a punch better than everybody else on this roster.'”
The following week, Evans asked Levesque to watch his punches to see if anything had changed and to offer feedback. Once Evans made it back through the curtain, he immediately walked over to Levesque to ask what he thought. “‘Yeah, they’re getting better, dude,'” Levesque recalled saying.
“He’s a good kid, no doubt,” Michaels said. “Thanks for taking him from us.”
If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit Variety and provide a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.
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