While the biggest talking point about yesterday's Wrestle Kingdom 20 was the retirement of the legendary Hiroshi Tanahashi, one other particularly notable story was Aaron Wolf winning the NEVER Openweight Title in his debut match by defeating EVIL.
On the EVIL front, Fightful Select reports that rumblings within NJPW suggest the House of Torture man could be weighing up his options outside of the company. However, this report also notes that AEW would not be an option for EVIL, with Tony Khan having never been a fan of his work.
Of course, AEW has snapped up various New Japan talent over recent years, including Kazuchika Okada, Will Ospreay, Jay White, Kota Ibushi, Katsuyori Shibata, and Juice Robinson, while Konsuke Takeshita is in the unique position of having contracts with both promotions, in addition to a deal with DDT. By all accounts, though, EVIL is one NJPW name that the AEW President doesn't hold any interest in whatsoever.
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Interestingly, EVIL has previously worked for Ring of Honor, but that was between 2014 and 2019, way before Tony Khan purchased the promotion. So, if the 38-year-old should indeed be looking to explore his options away from New Japan, particularly in the United States, it sounds as if AEW and ROH are completely off the table, leaving the former IWGP Heavyweight Champion with WWE and TNA as the biggest-name landing spots - should either company have any interest in EVIL, that is.
Away from the US, EVIL has worked a couple of Pro Wrestling NOAH matches over the years, plus has 16 CMLL contests to his name.
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.
