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Je’Von Evans (@wwjevonevans) is a professional wrestler on WWE Raw. He sits down with Chris Van Vliet in Minneapolis, MN to discuss starting wrestling training at just 13 years old, wrestling Randy Orton on NXT, being the first person younger than the Elimination Chamber to compete inside the structure, possibly being the youngest World Champion in WWE history, his unbelievable jumping cutter on Bravo Americano, why his match with El Grande Americano was stopped, and more!

How did “Your boy is bouncy” get attached to you?

“So I just started saying it. Obviously, I was in like the independent scene. I was wrestling one time and I like to talk during my matches because I feel like it’s a very interactive thing. If you watch a movie with no sound, it’s cool, but you’re not gonna really feel connected to it. You hear the sound, you hear them talk, then that draws some type of connection. That’s how you relate to a character. So usually I talk during my matches, and one time I just did this move, and I was like, ‘That boy bouncy,’ and everybody was just like that’s fire. So I started saying it and saying it, and then I had my tryout, and I did the that boy bouncy! Then I did a drop kick, and everybody was standing on their feet, it was just me doing me. But yeah, that’s really how it started for real.”

You started training at 13. How do you even get into a wrestling school at 13? 

“So one of my brothers, they were training, and I reached out to the company. Actually, how it really started was one of my brothers was training, and he had a show, and I was like, Oh, I want to go. So we went to the show, and the school was called Fire Star Pro Wrestling, Greensboro, North Carolina. All right, pull up to that school. But they’re having this show, and I think I was probably around 12. After the show, I’m going crazy. It’s probably like three, four people in the audience, but I’m the loudest one. Cause this is the first time me being this close to wrestling. The ring is right in front of me. So they have the show, and then after the show, I go up to the trainer, LaBron Kozone, and I’m like, ‘Hey, I want to train. How old do I have to be?’ He was like, ‘I’ll start training you at 15 years old.’ So three years? I can wait three years. Then I turned 13, and I reached out to one of the wrestlers that was on the current roster, and I was like, ‘Hey, what’s the word, man? I know I gotta wait till I’m 15.’ He’s like, ‘No, but we’re training somebody at 13 named Jack.’ I’m like, all right. So, I go to the school and I meet up with the trainer and I’m like, ‘Hey, I know y’all training somebody named Jackson, so I want to see if I can train too. I’m 13.’ Kozone, he was like, all right, I got you, bro. So we signed the waiver, we put the money down, and then now look at me.”

Did other people in your family or in your life believe in you?

“Some people did, and most of them didn’t. Honestly, because wrestling is just such a rare dream.”

Did you have any sort of backup plan?

“Oh no, I don’t believe in backup plans. I feel like if you have one goal, you strive for that goal, and then whenever it happens, and if you have a new one, you achieve that one. You know what I mean? I don’t really believe, cause I feel like if you have like a plan B, then you’re already second-guessing yourself or self-doubting. What if this happens?”

You start having your first few matches. When does it start clicking for you?

“I think it was just over time. Honestly, I feel like the more I experienced situations and scenarios and just problems within my wrestling career and getting advice and stuff from other indie legends or just legends in general, it just kind of started making sense. When you have a puzzle and you start finding the pieces of the puzzle, it takes time, but eventually it starts coming together. I feel like that’s with me. I have like this big puzzle, and right now I just have a couple pieces that are about to create this beautiful big picture.”

Who do you think’s the greatest to ever do it right now?

“Right now? So of course Shawn Michaels, in my opinion, he’s the goat. His wrestling game was insane, and just even the moments that he ran into and stuff like that helped him become who he is now, and the knowledge that he has. But right now I have to say Roman. It’s kind of crazy but like there was a time in wrestling where especially like in WWE, where we were just losing a lot of views, especially during that COVID era and stuff like that; we were losing a lot of money. Then Roman, bro, he came back into the game, and he carried WWE for I wouldn’t even say four or five years. He changed the game. He changed the swagger of WWE. He changed everything. I feel like, no matter what, he can take a break, come back and still get that big reaction. It’s insane.” 

How did you get the name Je’Von Evans?

“So Je’Von literally happened before I did my Level Up match, I think the day before, or maybe two days before. One of the writers was like, ‘Hey, we’re gonna put you on TV, so we need you to give you a name.’ I was like, all right, cool. They were like, ‘Send me 10 names.'”

What was your name on the Indies?

“Well, you know, it was kind of back and forth. It was Jay Malachi, but because some people think me and my twin brother we’re [the same]. So we would get mixed up. We would both be called Jay Malachi. If you look into it, you’ll see the resemblance, I guess. But basically, I looked up 10 black people names, and then I just did 10 first names, and then like one of them was Je’Von and 10 last names, one of them was Evans. I sent it to them, and they’re like, ‘Hey, we like Je’Von Evans, we like Je’Von Porter,’ and then something else. I wanted Je’Von Porter because there hasn’t been a Porter in WWE.”

What about MVP?

“So this is actually good. Okay, because I was like, I’m gonna be the first Porter, Je’Von Porter. I’ll be the first one, but they had MVP. But yeah, they picked Je’Von Evans and I was like, that’s cool I guess. Then Shawn comes up and he says, ‘You cool with Je’Von? Because that’s going to be your name for the rest of your life.’ Yeah, it’s ok, I promise. I guess it’s Je’Von Evans now.”

There are a few numbers that get thrown around a lot. 23, you could be the youngest Intercontinental Champion. 24, you could be the youngest world champion. 26, you could be the youngest WWE Champion.

“I am very, very locked in and focused on that, because I feel like I have an opportunity to recreate history, and it’s cool because, as I said earlier, I have so much time. To me, with these goals, I don’t have so much time. In general, I do, but bro, everybody’s trying to compete for something. So, of course, yeah. I have a year to be the youngest IC Champion, but I still gotta go through Chad Gable. I’m pretty sure Ethan Page wants that. I’m pretty sure Dragon Lee wants it. I want to be World Heavyweight champ. I’m pretty sure Oba and Trick want it. I’m pretty sure Seth wants it. I have people that I have to go through.”

So when you found out you’re getting this match with Randy Orton in NXT, what are you feeling?

“So honestly, they tried to surprise me, but I knew before it was gonna happen, and I’ll tell you why. So before the match, and not before the match announcement, maybe like a couple days, we had like promo class at NXT, and I’m talking to the writer, and I’m like, ‘Hey, do I get new gear for this show?’ He was like, ‘Yeah, we’re working on something…’ Whatever, whatever. All right, cool. Say less. Then it was me and Cedric versus No Quarter Catch Crew, I believe, and before the match, Randy Orton follows me on IG. All right, that’s cool, that’s cool. Then I’m about to go out, and I’m not gonna say their name. Actually it already happened, right? I think it was just Harlem Lewis. Maybe it was just him. But he’s like, ‘Yo, did you see this post?’ And I’m like, ‘What post?’ ‘You going against Randy Orton?’ This was before the match. I’m like, ‘I am?’ He shows me the post, and I’m like, ‘Okay, that’s fire, whatever.’ Then I go have the match, and then the ref is like, ‘Hey, stay here, just react to whatever’s on the screen.’ I was like, all right, cool, and then I look at the screen. It’s the post that I saw before the match, and I was like, Yeah! So, Harlem Lewis it’s your fault, and you’re probably gonna get hit for it.” 

So you’re giving the RKO guy a version of the RKO.

“Exactly, which is pretty insane.” 

You guys missed the finish of that match with the RKO. I could just tell how much it was getting to you.

“I was pissed.”

Had you walked through it earlier in the day?

“No, we didn’t. It was literally just us saying, ‘Oh, this is gonna be a cool idea. Let’s do it.’ He was like, ‘You do like the spinny thing, and I catch you.’ I was like, ‘Yeah, I was thinking the same thing.’ But I think just like position-wise, we didn’t try it before the show. It was just kind of like a thing we had an idea about. It took me a while to watch that match because of that. I didn’t watch that match for months. But also, it’s cool to look at it and be like that was just a real moment. Everything in wrestling is not pretty. We’re still fighting at the end of the day. I just love now I can look back at the moment, kind of like this. But I still look at it like okay. But I can look back at it, and say, dang, I learned from that moment. Then even if we hit that smoothly, we probably wouldn’t have got Randy Orton moment saying, ‘Hey, bro, you’re the man.’”

So at the end of the match, you say to him, “I’m so sorry.’ What’s he saying to you?

“He was like, ‘Hey, don’t worry, bro, you’re the effing man. Raise my hand, bro.’ Of course, I was still pissed, but in my head, I’m like all right, bro, Randy just said I’m the man.”

Did you feel ready when you got called to the main roster?

“No, no, not at all. Because I wanted to learn in NXT. Of course, I wanted to defeat Oba for the title, but I wanted to learn how to carry a company in NXT. I wanted to be the guy. It’s just gonna happen. I’m gonna work towards it, but I know that one day I’m gonna be the guy in WWE. So I feel like if I were to learn how to carry a brand, and worry about views and in tickets and stuff like that. If I were to learn that in NXT, then when I get to that moment, get to that spot here in the main roster, then I know how to do it and what to do.” 

Do you have any great memories or stories from being in your first Rumble? 

“I actually love Rumbles because I can tease almost falling out very well, especially with my long legs. I can kind of shrink them when I need to. But I feel like the main moment that stuck out to me was being in the ring and hearing Brock Lesnar’s theme song hit. I just remember when his theme song hit, it’s like nostalgia. I think it was like I literally saw myself as a kid looking at the screen and hearing his music and his Titan Tron.” 

Brock Lesnar debuted before you were born!

“Yeah, he did. Yeah, it’s pretty wild to think about.”

There’s all those stats when it comes to you. You competed in Elimination Chamber. The Elimination Chamber is older than you.

“Yeah, it is. I’m the youngest participant in the Chamber.”

When you hit the OG cutter on Bravo Americano where it’s top rope to top rope, what a shot!

“I’m a nervous guy. All right, I was so nervous about that, because, of course, you know I jump high, and then he had to jump literally maybe a couple milliseconds before I jump. We had the timing off perfectly. Then we did it, and I was so proud. I was so proud about that. Because I knew that if I messed up, then of course the fans would be like, ‘Oh, Je’Von needs to stop doing the dumb stuff. He needs to calm down.’ But because I hit it correctly, now everybody’s like, Oh, that was fire!”

You had a match against El Grande Americano on Raw that had to get stopped. What’s the story behind this? Why did the match stop?

“So basically, I think before we went to commercial, me and Americano butt heads, and for a couple seconds I was like seeing stars or whatever. But I’m from the indie scene. You get hurt, you keep going unless you can’t go no more. So we butt heads, and I was kind of stunned for a little minute. But then I continued, and then we went to break, and so I went to the ref. I’m like, ‘Hey, look, I’m seeing stars, but I’m good.’ He’s like, ‘What?’ And then I’m like, ‘I was seeing stars, but I’m okay.’ He said, ‘Do we need to call medical?’ I’m like, ‘No, no, we don’t. I just got here, dude. I’m okay.’ Then he’s like, ‘No, we gotta call medical because it’s a head injury.’ So we got medical, and then they were asking me questions, and I was like, I promise, I’m okay. But because we hit heads and because I was seeing stars, they had to call it.

When you look at the entire main roster right now, who’s the dream match for you?

“Dream match? So of course Roman’s up there, Punk’s up there. I think I want Rey Mysterio in a one-on-one match. Me and Rey, I feel like we would go crazy, crazy. Fun fact, X-Pac just told me that I’m his dream match.”

What is Je’Von Evans grateful for?

“To wake up and strive for the goals I have, being able to call my family, and being signed to WWE.”

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