John Cena has reportedly taken a strong interest in rising WWE NXT star Je’Von Evans. According to Bryan Alvarez on Wrestling Observer Radio, Cena recently visited WWE’s developmental system during his retirement tour and came away highly impressed with the 21-year-old standout.
“I was also told that John Cena, he went down to developmental and everything,” Alvarez said. “And apparently, he is very, very high on Je’Von, and Sheamus had a match with him at our show, and Sheamus was raving about him. I think they finally figured out, as usual, they’re like the last people on earth to figure this shit out. But I think they finally figured out that they have something special in Je’Von Evans, and so hopefully he is called up sooner rather than later, and they do something with him.”
Alvarez also pushed back against internal concerns about Evans’ age. At just 21, Evans is one of WWE’s youngest televised talents, but Alvarez argued that youth has never stopped major stars from breaking out early.
“This bullshit about being too young is, in fact, bullshit, especially when you think about the history of Madison Square Garden and some of the biggest stars in the history of this business,” Alvarez said. “They were big fucking stars in their 20s. They weren’t 40 when they first got that title.”
Evans, formerly known as Jay Malachi on the independent scene, signed with WWE in November 2023 and has quickly become a featured performer on NXT throughout 2025. This week, he faced GUNTHER on Raw in the “Last Time is Now” tournament, falling short in the match to determine John Cena’s final opponent.
