Major Update On IYO SKY’s Fiancé EVIL’s WWE Status
After months of speculation, it was recently reported that EVIL had officially signed with WWE.
Real name Takaaki Watanabe, EVIL is engaged to IYO SKY. The 39-year-old had been signed to New Japan Pro-Wrestling since 2011, and ended his tenure with the Japanese promotion in January 2026.
He is a one-time IWGP Heavyweight Champion and has won the NEVER Openweight Championship 4 times.
Post-signing with the Stamford promotion, reports claim that his name appears in the “Misc.” category of the roster, meaning he has yet to be placed in a brand, which could be Raw, SmackDown, or NXT.
A report by PWInsider confirmed this.
Former IWGP Champion EVIL has not been officially assigned to any WWE brand and is listed internally on the company’s ‘Misc.’ roster, which is also where legends and injured talents reside internally. [H/T: Ringside News]
While this usually means that a wrestler might make their TV debut at a later date, the situation is different with EVIL. Bodyslam.net has now claimed that his first appearance could be very soon.
Reports have also stated that he might be repackaged after deciding not to keep EVIL as his ring name.
Some fans have speculated that NXT Champion Tony D’Angelo receiving a mysterious package with a Japanese inscription on last week’s NXT episode might have something to do with the newly-signed WWE star.
IYO SKY Match Announced For WWE Backlash
IYO SKY recently parted ways with her tag team partner Rhea Ripley, who was moved to SmackDown following her WWE Women’s Championship win over Jade Cargill at WrestleMania 42.
On Raw, SKY took her first step as a singles competitor since October last year by accepting an open challenge for the Women’s Intercontinental Championship held by Becky Lynch.
While both women put on an incredible match, Lynch was able to overcome her challenger with the Manhandle Slam, but not before Asuka interfered and attacked The Genius of the Sky.
Both IYO SKY and Asuka have been at loggerheads since SKY aligned with Ripley. Asuka has believed that SKY turned her back on her despite everything she had done for her during her formative years.
Following the Raw taping, WWE Chief Content Officer Triple H made a match between the two Japanese superstars official for Backlash, scheduled on May 9.