Backstage News On EVIL Being Renamed To Naraku On WWE NXT

One week on from his debut, the former EVIL's new in-ring name was revealed on the May 5 edition of WWE NXT.

Appearing in a vignette on the show, the former IWGP Heavyweight Champion repeated his intentions to pursue the NXT Title before the former EVIL revealed his WWE name would be Naraku. That may not have always been the plan, though. Fightful's Sean Ross Sapp has reported that internal materials within WWE for EVIL referred to him as Nox Raijin as recently as Sunday, May 3, which suggests naming him Naraku was a late change.

"There were internal materials for EVIL with the trademarked Nox Raijin name as recently as Sunday, so it seems like the name adjustment was recent," Sean Ross Sapp tweeted.

WWE previously filed to trademark 'Nox Raijin' with the United States Patent and Trademark Office on April 28. Raijin is the god of lightning, thunder, and storms in Japanese mythology, as well as the Shinto and Buddhist religions.

Naraku is the Japanese word for Hell, so it appears to be an apt name for a wrestler who previously performed as EVIL. Naraku also refers to the underground passageway underneath the stage in Japanese theatre.

The former EVIL signed with WWE following the expiry of his New Japan Pro-Wrestling contract at the end of January. EVIL had spent the entirety of his career in NJPW, having debuted for New Japan in 2011, and he was a top star in the promotion at the time of his departure.

Naraku reportedly began his WWE run in NXT as opposed to the main roster at his own request.