WWE's Je'Von Evans is here to be more than just 'the highlight guy'
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”The Young OG” nickname might feel a little too on the nose for Je’Von Evans.
Signed to the WWE at just 19 years old, Evans has already packed a career’s worth of moments into two short years. Still only 21, he’s competed for world titles during his stint in NXT. He’s shared the ring with wrestling legends and former world champions. He was one of the few rising stars to feature on John Cena’s final show. And he recently became the youngest wrestler to ever compete in an Elimination Chamber.
A veteran in mindset despite his years, the biggest adjustment for Evans hasn’t been about proving he belongs, it’s been learning how to navigate the natural lulls in between standout moments.
“I have so many years in WWE ahead of me. Right now, I just want everything, you know what I mean? Like other opportunities,” Evans tells Uncrowned.
“But sometimes you can’t just have everything, especially when you have so much time. So I’m just learning how to be patient, learning how to just have fun, whatever happens.”
Evans credits working with two-time WWE Hall of Famer Shawn Michaels in NXT for shaping his mindset and preparing him for his jump to the main roster.
“Honestly, Shawn always told me to be myself. He always had my back. He always told me there’s nobody like you, so just keep doing you,” Evans says. “I’ll always take that with me.”
Evans wasn’t expecting this all to happen so fast. He says he was always told when he turns 25, that’s when everything starts to click. But four years short of that mark, he’s already showing much of the promise prodigious stars of yesteryear showed early in their own careers.
Each step up the ladder comes with more pressure. Evans says his NXT match with Randy Orton in 2024 stands out as a “crazy experience” to have had so early in his run.
“I just remember finding out that I was going to have a match with him and the nerves automatically kicked in. That was kind of a moment where the main roster had their eyes on me. Like, ‘Alright, let’s see what he can do with Randy. We know Randy, he’s an OG,’” Evans says.
”That match had me nervous the whole day. I barely ate. I was just nervous the whole time. I think that was the main match that really had me just thinking like, ‘Alright, I’m about to go out there, Triple H is probably watching, Shawn is watching, everybody’s watching.’”
Evans admits he was upset with elements of his performance after his sink-or-swim match with Orton, but “The Viper” lifted him up.
“He was like, ‘Bro, you’re the man.’ And after that it really was just like, ‘Dang, Randy just called me the man.’ It’s just stuff like that, it’s crazy,” he says. “It’s such a blessing that I was able to step in the ring and learn from him. I’m forever grateful for that moment.”
On the WWE main roster, Evans has already drawn the gazes of some of wrestling’s biggest stars. He appreciates the recent attention from former world champions like Kofi Kingston, and recognizes learnings he can take along the way.
“Longevity,” Evans says.
“[Kingston has] been wrestling for WWE for a long time. But I feel like you’ve got to be careful too. He was in a group with New Day, and Big E got hurt and things changed. So it’s kind of like, if I join something like that and something happens, what happens then? There is a lot to learn from Kofi, for sure. I’m just aware of everything that comes with it.”
Evans is blown away by the response he’s gotten in the past few years and feels the pressure to stay on top of his game. He wrestles with a constant chip on his shoulder and is hyper aware of making sure everything is on-point.
At this point he’s trying to balance practicing patience with relishing the moment.
“Wrestling is such a dangerous sport, it could be taken away from you at any given point. Watching everybody from NXT and going to the main roster, shout out to all the OGs, it’s like dang, one wrong fall and you’re out,” Evans says.
“So I think just learning how to have fun and just being grateful for everything is one of the biggest lessons I’ve learned.”
Evans broke out in NXT with mind-boggling highlights. But he recognizes to become one of the best ever and to reach his true potential, he’ll need much more than that.
“The highlights are cool. Highlights are moments and memories that people remember, especially for that night. But I don’t want to be known as just the highlight guy,” he says. “All the big dogs right now, they’re not known as the highlight guys. They’re known as being very heavy in story, very character work.
“I don’t want to be known as just the highlight person. I feel like it’s cool, but at the end of the day highlights are not going to get me to being the greatest of all time. That’s my final goal. By the end of the day, I want to be the best to ever do it in WWE. Highlights are cool and all, but I feel like it’s not going to get me to that point. So I’m moving into working on character, promos, just to get to where I want to be.”
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As Evans continues to learn on the job, he’s ecstatic to take part in his first WrestleMania season.
“I don’t know if I’m wrestling on the show yet. But I do know for sure that just being there, my first ‘Mania on the main roster, it’s going to be insane. The energy is going to be hectic. Everybody’s running around. I’m probably going to be standing there smiling like, this is fire,” Evans says.
“It’s going to be crazy, bro. I’m so excited. It’s a dream for sure. Especially if I wrestle. But I feel like just being able to say my first ‘Mania I was on the show, not watching it, that’s huge.”
For this year, that’s the goal, is to get his WrestleMania 42 moment. And then it’s all about building from there.
“Just being there is crazy enough. But if I wrestle, of course I’m going to be excited,” Evans says.
“When I walk out and see all those people, I’m going to be a little nervous, just a little bit.”
