Upon announcing "The Last Time Is Now" Tournament, John Cena promised the inclusion of stars from all three of WWE's top brands "WWE Raw," "WWE SmackDown," and "WWE NXT." Next week, Je'Von Evans will represent "NXT" as he takes on former WWE World Heavyweight Champion GUNTHERin an opening round matchon "Raw," which emanates from New York City's Madison Square Garden. During an interview with "The Ringer Wrestling Show," Evans opened up about his gratitude for the opportunity.
"It's a blessing. I wasn't expecting to wrestle in The Garden, let alone be in the tournament," Evans said. "You feel me? I think it's cool. I found out that I was in the tournament that day, literally like a couple hours before the show. I go, 'That's tough.' Then I found out that it was in The Garden, so I automatically got nerves. It don't get bigger than The Garden."
"... Every time I think of it, I get a little butterflies, but like I said, it's an honor, bro," he added. "For them to pick me, it's cool. I don't even know, so many emotions, so many thoughts. It's crazy.
At the age of 19, Evans inked a contract with WWE, with his in-ring debut coming against Brooks Jenson on "NXT Level Up" in February 2024. Two months later, he officially joined the "NXT" brand, where he remains positioned as a top star.
In more recent months, Evans has gotten a taste of WWE's main roster through appearances on "SmackDown" alongside Rey Fenix and Sami Zayn. Looking ahead, he will battle "The Ring General," whom Evans describes as a long-time study source.
"I'm excited. I'm nervous, of course, and when I get there, I'm gonna have so many butterflies and all, but I've literally watched GUNTHER for a very long time," Evans said. "I was watching GUNTHER on the indies because I wanted to learn how to work against bigger people. He was like a great example of that. I'm excited, bro. I know it's gonna be a hard fight. We're gonna be scrapping. I ain't backing down either. You try me, I'm gonna try you back, straight like that. But I'm so excited.
"Like I said, this is a great opportunity to showcase what I can do. I know there's a lot of people that are looking at this fight kind of like David and Goliath. But you know how the David and Goliath story ended? I am planning on redoing that story."
Rather than attempting to match GUNTHER's intensity in the ring, WWE Hall of Famer Bully Ray envisions Evans surprising GUNTHER with a pinfall similar to that of 1-2-3 Kid's during his match against veteran Razor Ramon in 1993. In it, 1-2-3 Kid (later known as X-Pac) successfully hit a moonsault on Ramon, then quickly pinned him. Ramon kicked out just after the count of three, meaning the younger wrestler had still captured the upset victory. Interestingly, that bout also took place in New York City.
Elsewhere in "The Last Time Is Now" tournament, Rusev and Sheamus have already advanced with wins over Damian Priest and Shinsuke Nakamura, respectively. More matches will be announced in the coming weeks.
If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit "The Ringer Wrestling Show" with a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.
