WWE's Je'Von Evans talks pursuit of pro wrestling passion, ignoring critics and John Cena honor
Je’Von Evans brought his game to the next level across WWE in 2025.
He competed for the NXT Championship multiple times, challenged Sami Zayn for the United States Championship on "Friday Night SmackDown," nearly defeated Leon Slater for Total Nonstop Action’s (TNA) X Division Championship, came close to capturing AAA’s World Cruiserweight Championship, competed in the Last Time Is Now Tournament and was selected to appear on the same card as John Cena’s final show.
To cap it off, Evans became the No. 1 contender for the NXT Championship as he won the Men’s Iron Survivor Challenge. He was handpicked by Cena to compete in the event.
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How would Evans describe the year that he had?
"It’s insane, honestly," he told Fox News Digital in a recent interview. "I wasn’t expecting all of this to happen so soon. But I’ve been working hard, and trying to prove that I belong here in WWE. And I guess this is the reward. So, yeah, it’s a blessing. I’m honored that this is all happening for me."
"Bouncy" is the catchphrase that blares through the speakers when Evans’ music hits. The tall and lanky 21-year-old has the athleticism of a professional athlete with the cutting-edge wrestling prowess that WWE fans have been accustomed to seeing from Randy Orton and Jeff Hardy.
A casual watcher, or someone who rarely keeps their eyes on pro wrestling, may wonder how someone like Evans got involved in pro wrestling. He could be an Olympic athlete or play any other sport he wanted.
The interest in pro wrestling began when he was a child growing up in Greensboro, North Carolina.
"I’ve always been watching wrestling when I was younger. And I got an opportunity to train at a very young age," he recalled. "I started training at 13. So, I got an opportunity to train and I took it and ran with it. And, of course, I was still doing track, basketball in school. But I just knew for a fact that I wanted to be a professional wrestler.
"Once I got the opportunity, it was off to the races."
The common theme from those who don’t have the same respect for pro wrestling as Evans does is that it’s "fake" and that no one should pursue it, as well as the potential dangers that come with it.
Evans’ passion for it burned deep and he ignored the naysayers.
"So, of course, that’s just the normal, ‘wrestling is fake.’ You know, ‘you shouldn’t do it’ or ‘it’s dangerous.’ That was like the normal response to it. So, I would either laugh like, ‘Yeah, yeah, it’s dangerous,’ or ‘yeah, it’s fake, whatever, whatever.’ I wouldn’t pay no mind because I knew, at the end of the day, that was what I wanted to do and that was my main goal. I was going to prove them wrong, get signed and be the best wrestler ever," he said.
Being handpicked by Cena to compete in one of NXT’s most unique matches solidified all the hard work Evans had put into his craft.
"It’s insane. Insane, bro," Evans told Fox News Digital. "I grew up watching Cena. So, for him to handpick me is crazy. Before his show, we got to talk and he was putting me onto the game. It’s just wild that now I have an opportunity and now I’ll have a connection with Cena and we can talk whenever we want to. It’s insane, insane for sure."
The next year is poised to be incredible for Evans.
He will have another shot at winning the NXT Championship – whether it’s against Oba Femi or Slater who meet at NXT New Year’s Evil in a few weeks. There’s also the Royal Rumble coming up and fans never really know who is going to show up and show out.
For Evans, he’s just hoping for more blessings in the next year.
"I think that my 2025 was just full of opportunities and blessings that in 2026 I want, not the same, but better," he said. "I’m grateful for what I received in 2025. So, I’m just waiting on everything to fall in line in 2026."
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