EVIL's time in New Japan Pro Wrestling has officially come to an end, as the promotion announced on Sunday that the House of Torture leader was departing at the end of the month. It was not surprising news to many, as reports earlier in the month had suggested EVIL was exploring options outside of New Japan. And one promotion from the United States seems like the betting favorite to sign him.
Fightful Select reports that WWE was considered a potential destination for EVIL. While Fightful didn't go as far to claim that EVIL was expected to sign with WWE, as Bryan Alvarez had indicated last week, it was confirmed that the two sides had been in talks, and that EVIL had been spotted backstage at WWE events.
Aside from WWE, unnamed Japanese promotions were listed as other destinations for EVIL, opening the door for speculation suggesting he could reunite with former LIJ stablemates Testuya Naito and BUSHI, who are currently working as freelancers. Though not discounted, those in New Japan expect EVIL to try and move to the United States, another sign he could be looking at signing with WWE.
Those hoping that AEW could also be in play for EVIL will be left disappointed, as the Tony Khan led promotion is not expected to make a play for him. Previous reports had indicated that Khan was not a fan of EVIL or his House of Torture stable; Khan had notably avoided using EVIL during any of the AEWxNJPW Forbidden Door events, though he did book House of Torture members SHO, Yoshinobu Kanemaru and Yujiro Takahashi for select matches in 2023 and 2025.
