WWE Trademarked Name ‘Nox Raijin’ To Be New Ring Name For EVIL IN WWE NXT

Published: May 5, 2026 by Connel Rumsey | Last Updated: May 6, 2026 by Connel Rumsey

Connel has over five years of wrestling journalism experience writing about some of the biggest stories from across the wrestling world. Being a fan for 20 years, Connel has an expansive knowledge from a wide range of various wrestling promotions, including WWE, AEW, NJPW, TNA and Joshi.

@connel1405

WWE Trademarked Name ‘Nox Raijin’ To Be New Ring Name For EVIL IN WWE NXT

Update: It was revealed on tonight’s WWE NXT show that EVIL’s ring name will be ‘Naraku’ instead of the previously reported Nox Raijin

The recently trademarked WWE ring name ‘Nox Raijin’ is reportedly set to be the new ring name of former IWGP Heavyweight Champion EVIL in NXT.

On last week’s episode of WWE NXT, a number of new faces made their debuts for the NXT brand.

The most notable name to make his debut on the show was former New Japan Pro Wrestling star and IWGP Heavyweight Champion EVIL, who confronted NXT Champion Tony D’Angelo on the show.

Despite making his debut, EVIL was not mentioned by his or any ring name, simply being called ‘the former IWGP Heavyweight Champion’ on commentary by Vic Joseph.

In the past, when Ricky Saints and Blake Monroe first appeared on NXT television, they also were not named on commentary before their new names were revealed the following week.

Nox Raijin To Be EVIL’s New WWE Ring Name

Recently, WWE filed the trademark for the new ring name ‘Nox Raijin’, which fans had speculated could be the new ring name for EVIL in NXT.

In an update from Fightful Select (subscription required), EVIL was listed internally under his real name Takaaki Watanabe, though the Nox Raijin name is indeed the name he is expected to use in the company.

WWE also recently trademarked the ring name Mason Rook, which is speculated to be the new ring name of Will Kroos in WWE, as he was also not named following his debut on last week’s show.

New Debuts To Fill The Void On WWE NXT

Ever since the beginning of the year, we have seen a number of new faces consistently make their debuts on NXT television, including names like EK Prosper, Elio LeFleur, Kali Armstrong and the Vanity Project.

The influx of new faces comes after two recent major waves of main roster call ups, the first coming late last year when Trick Williams, Oba Femi, Je’von Evans and Jordynne Grace made the move up to the main roster.

Coming out of WrestleMania, NXT also lost Ethan Page, Ricky Saints, Joe Hendry, Sol Ruca and all of Fatal Influence to the main roster, creating a lot of openings on the NXT brand.

With other recent NXT signings still yet to make their debut, the future of the brand is really anyone’s for the taking right now.