Andrew Ravens
Hiromu Takahashi’s name has begun circulating within WWE circles following the NXT debut of his former Los Ingobernables de Japón stablemate EVIL, now performing under the name Naraku.
According to Bodyslam, word going around the WWE Performance Center is that Takahashi is expected to end up in WWE, with a separate source adding that some within the company believe he could use the name Nox Raijin — the trademark originally intended for EVIL before a last-minute name change.
Fightful Select‘s Sean Ross Sapp previously reported that WWE internal materials still listed EVIL as Nox Raijin as recently as Sunday, confirming the switch to Naraku was a late decision made ahead of the NXT name reveal on Tuesday night.
WWE filed a trademark for the Nox Raijin name with the USPTO on April 28 — the same day as EVIL’s NXT debut — which now raises the possibility that the name was always intended for a different performer entirely rather than for EVIL himself.
Takahashi spent 16 years with NJPW after debuting in August 2010, becoming one of the promotion’s most over performers during that run. He is a five-time IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion and a record four-time Best of Super Juniors tournament winner, having won it in 2018, 2020, 2021, and 2022. During an excursion to CMLL, he competed under the name Kamaitachi and won the CMLL World Lightweight Championship. He also had stints in ROH, AEW, and Pro Wrestling NOAH during his career before departing NJPW earlier this year.
Takahashi and Naraku were both longtime members of Los Ingobernables de Japón in New Japan before EVIL’s 2020 betrayal of the faction to align with Bullet Club. A potential WWE reunion of two former LIJ stablemates on NXT would add a layer to Naraku’s ongoing program with NXT Champion Tony D’Angelo.
Whether Takahashi arrives under the Nox Raijin name or another identity entirely, his expected arrival gives NXT another significant NJPW-affiliated signing to build around.
