Je'Von Evans On Gunther Match, John Cena Tournament (WWE News)

WWE's Je'Von feels blessed to be in the position he's in.

by Andrew Pollard
Je'Von Evans
WWE

With Je'Von Evans set to take on Gunther in The Last Time Is Now Tournament on tonight's WWE Raw, the Young OG has been discussing that bout and the possibility of facing John Cena in the record-setting 17-time World Champion's retirement match.

Of course, the winner of The Last Time Is Now will be Cena's opponent at the 13 December edition of Saturday Night's Main Event, which will mark the final match of Big Match John's legendary career. And so, NXT's Je'Von faces the returning Ring General tonight in the first round of that tourney.

Speaking to Yahoo Sports about the position he now finds himself in, Evans revealed he's a long-time John Cena fan, and that he feels blessed to be where he is.

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"I've always been a fan of Cena, especially me being younger. He always played to the younger fans. I'm so blessed to be in this position and have this opportunity. There's a picture of my first WWE event - I'm wearing John Cena's headband and wrist joints. This is insane."

As for getting a surprise win over Gunther and somehow making his way to SNME to face Cena, Je'Von added:

“I know that the process to get into [Cena’s final match] is going to be trouble, for sure. It’s going to be mountains, it’s going to be speed bumps, but I’m willing to get there. Whatever I need to do, whatever I’ve got to do, whatever helps me get to that match, to have that match with Cena, I’m ready to take all that on.”

While he's made three SmackDown appearances so far - teaming with Rey Fenix to go 1-1 against Los Garza, and unsuccessfully answering Sami Zayn's WWE United States Open Challenge - tonight will mark Je'Von Evans' first match on Raw. It also starts a busy week for the 21-year-old, as he'll team with TNA X Division Champion Leon Slater to challenge DarkState for the NXT Tag Team Titles on tomorrow's NXT Gold Rush special.

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As for The Time Is Now Tournament, Rusev, Sheamus, Jey Uso, and LA Knight have already advanced to the quarter-finals, with the remaining first round matches seeing Je'Von take on Gunther, and Solo Sikoa facing a mystery opponent on tonight's Raw, and this week's SmackDown will then feature Carmelo Hayes vs. Bronson Reed, and Penta vs. Finn Balor.

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Once described as the Swiss Army Knife of WhatCulture, Andrew can usually be found writing, editing, or presenting on a wide range of topics. As a lifelong wrestling fan, horror obsessive, and comic book nerd, he's been covering those topics professionally as far back as 2010. In addition to his current WhatCulture role of Senior Content Producer, Andrew previously spent nearly a decade as Online Editor and Lead Writer for the world's longest-running genre publication, Starburst Magazine, and his work has also been featured on BBC, TechRadar, Tom's Guide, WhatToWatch, Sportkskeeda, and various other outlets, in addition to being a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic. Between his main day job, his role as the lead panel host of Wales Comic Con, and his gig as a pre-match host for Wrexham AFC games, Andrew has also carried out a hugely varied amount of interviews, from the likes of Robert Englund, Kane Hodder, Adrienne Barbeau, Rob Zombie, Katharine Isabelle, Leigh Whannell, Bruce Campbell, and Tony Todd, to Kevin Smith, Ron Perlman, Elijah Wood, Giancarlo Esposito, Simon Pegg, Charlie Cox, the Russo Brothers, and Brian Blessed, to Kevin Conroy, Paul Dini, Tara Strong, Will Friedle, Burt Ward, Andrea Romano, Frank Miller, and Rob Liefeld, to Bret Hart, Sting, Mick Foley, Ricky Starks/Saints, Jamie Hayter, Britt Baker, Eric Bischoff, and William Regal, to Mickey Thomas, Joey Jones, Phil Parkinson, Brian Flynn, Denis Smith, Gary Bennett, Karl Connolly, and Bryan Robson - and that's just the tip of an ever-expanding iceberg. Where his beloved Wrexham AFC is concerned, Andrew is co-host of the Fearless in Devotion podcast, which won the Club Podcast of the Year gong at the 2024 FSA Awards.