_Nov_2021.jpg) Evil in November 2021 | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | Takaaki Watanabe (渡辺 高章,Watanabe Takaaki) (1987-01-26)January 26, 1987 (age 39)[3] Mishima, Shizuoka, Japan[3] |
| Professional wrestling career | |
| Ring name(s) | Evil Takaaki Watanabe |
| Billed height | 1.78 m (5 ft 10 in)[1] |
| Billed weight | 106 kg (234 lb)[1] |
| Billed from | Unknown[2] |
| Trained by | Animal Hamaguchi[3] Hiroyoshi Tenzan[4] Jado[5] |
| Debut | May 13, 2011[3] |
Takaaki Watanabe (渡辺 高章,Watanabe Takaaki; born January 26, 1987) is a Japaneseprofessional wrestler. He is best known for his tenure inNew Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), where he performed under thering nameEvil (stylized inall caps asEVIL) and was the leader ofHouse of Torture. He is a former four timeNEVER Openweight Champion.
After debuting in NJPW in 2011, Evil competed in the United States on excursion, working for companies such asGlobal Force Wrestling (GFW) andRing of Honor (ROH) from 2014 to 2015. He returned to NJPW in November 2015. He was a former member ofLos Ingobernables de Japón, and a part of atag team withSanada; they are two-timeIWGP Tag Team Champions and two-timeWorld Tag League winners. He is also a record-breaking six-timeNEVER Openweight 6-Man Tag Team Champion, making him an overall ten-time champion in NJPW.[1] In 2020, he won theNew Japan Cup, before turning on L.I.J leaderTetsuya Naito and joiningBullet Club. He defeated Naito atDominion to become the doubleIWGP Heavyweight andIntercontinental Champion. He is the only wrestler in NJPW history to be a triple champion, having held the IWGP Heavyweight and Intercontinental Championships and the NEVER Openweight 6-Man Tag Team Championship simultaneously from July to August 2020. He departed NJPW in January 2026.
Watanabe made his debut forNew Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) on May 13, 2011,[3] wrestling primarily as a Young Lion and in the lower cards of shows and remained with the promotion until October 2013, when afterKing of Pro-Wrestling, announced that he was being sent on a learning excursion to the United States.[6]
On May 15, 2015, at the first night ofGlobal Wars '15, he teamed withSilas Young in a losing effort againstGedo andMoose. The following night, he was defeated by Young.
On the June 27 episode ofROH Wrestling, he lost toAdam Page afterColby Corino attacked Watanabe. On the July 4 episode ofROH Wrestling,Dalton Castle would defeat Watanabe. On July 23, ROH announced that House of Truth memberDonovan Dijak would battle Watanabe in a singles match taped exclusively for ROH's YouTube channel. This occurred on July 24 atDeath Before Dishonor XIII, where Dijak defeated Watanabe.
August 22 atField of Honor, Watanabe qualified for anROH World Television Championship match by winning a nine-man gauntlet match. On September 18 atAll Star Extravaganza VII, he teamed withWill Ferrara to defeat Dijak and Greg James. On September 19, Watanabe received his shot at the Television Title in a match against championJay Lethal, but was unsuccessful.
On October 12, 2015, Watanabe returned to NJPW atKing of Pro-Wrestling, where he was revealed asTetsuya Naito's associate during his match againstHiroshi Tanahashi. Watanabe's outside interference in the match was stopped byHirooki Goto andKatsuyori Shibata, leading to Naito suffering a loss.[7] In a post-match interview, Naito gave Watanabe the new name"King of Darkness" Evil.[8] Under the new name, Evil became affiliated with Naito'sLos Ingobernables de Japón stable.[1] In December, Evil and Naito won their block in theWorld Tag League with a record of five wins and one loss, advancing to the finals of the tournament.[9] On December 9, Evil and Naito were defeated in the finals byTogi Makabe andTomoaki Honma.[10]
In early March 2016, Evil took part in theNew Japan Cup in which he was eliminated in the first round byTomohiro Ishii.[11] On March 20, Evil unsuccessfully challenged Ishii for theROH World Television Championship.[12] From July 18 to August 14, Evil took part in theG1 Climax, where he finished his block with four wins and five losses, thus failing to advance. Despite his failure to advance, Evil scored two big wins by defeatingMichael Elgin (then-IWGP Intercontinental Champion) and Shibata (then-NEVER Openweight Champion) on the last day.[13]
On November 5 atPower Struggle, Evil won his first title, when he defeated Shibata for the NEVER Openweight Championship.[14] Ten days later, Evil lost the title back to Shibata inSingapore.[15] At the end of the year, Evil took part in theWorld Tag League, teaming with stablemateSanada. The two finished second in their block with a record of five wins and two losses, tied with block winners Makabe and Honma, but failed to advance to the finals due to losing the head-to-head match against Makabe and Honma.[16]
On January 4, 2017, atWrestle Kingdom 11, Evil,Bushi and Sanada won a four-teamgauntlet match to become the newNEVER Openweight 6-Man Tag Team Champions.[17] They lost the title to Tanahashi,Manabu Nakanishi andRyusuke Taguchi the next day,[18] before regaining it on February 11 atThe New Beginning in Osaka.[19] In March, Evil made it to the semifinals of theNew Japan Cup, before losing toBad Luck Fale.[20] On April 4, L.I.J. lost the NEVER Openweight 6-Man Tag Team Championship to Tanahashi, Taguchi andRicochet in their second defense,[21] before regaining it on May 3 atWrestling Dontaku 2017.[22]
On August 5, during theG1 Climax, Evil picked up a major win over reigningIWGP Heavyweight ChampionKazuchika Okada, which was Okada's first singles defeat in nearly a year.[23][24] Evil went on to finish third in his block with a record of six wins and three losses.[25] On October 9 atKing of Pro-Wrestling, Evil received his first shot at the IWGP Heavyweight Championship, but was defeated by Okada.[26] In December, Evil and Sanada won their block in theWorld Tag League with a record of five wins and two losses, advancing to the finals of the tournament.[27] On December 11, they defeatedGuerrillas of Destiny (Tama Tonga andTanga Loa) in the finals to win the tournament.[28] Six days later, Evil, Bushi and Sanada lost the NEVER Openweight 6-Man Tag Team Championship to Guerrillas of Destiny and Bad Luck Fale in their fourth defense.[29]
On January 4, 2018, atWrestle Kingdom 12, Evil andSanada defeated theKiller Elite Squad (Davey Boy Smith Jr. andLance Archer) to win theIWGP Tag Team Championship for the first time.[30] Evil and Sanada would successfully defend the IWGP Tag Team Championship on two occasions before losing the title toThe Young Bucks (Matt Jackson and Nick Jackson) atDominion 6.9 in Osaka-jo Hall ending their reign at 156 days.[31] The same night,Chris Jericho defeatedTetsuya Naito to win theIWGP Intercontinental Championship. After the match, Jericho put Naito intoWalls of Jericho and refused to release the hold. This resulted in Evil running in to make the save.[32] Evil entered theG1 Climax and finished with a record of five wins and four losses, failing to advance from his block.[33] AtKing of Pro-Wrestling, Evil was scheduled to compete in a singles match againstZack Sabre Jr. However, before the match could begin, Jericho would return and attack Evil, forcing the match to be a no contest.[34]
On November 3, 2018, atPower Struggle, Evil challenged Jericho for the IWGP Intercontinental Championship. Evil was unsuccessful, however, and was forced to submit to Jericho'sLiontamer submission hold.[35] In December, Evil and Sanada entered theWorld Tag League. The pair scored a record of ten wins and three losses, advancing them to the finals where they would meet theGuerrillas of Destiny (Tama Tonga andTanga Loa) in a rematch of the previous year's final.[36] On December 9, they defeated the Guerillas of Destiny in the finals to win their second World Tag League and the challenge right for an IWGP Tag Team Championship match atWrestle Kingdom 13.[37]
On January 4, 2019, At Wrestle Kingdom 13, Evil and Sanada won IWGP Tag Team Championship in athree-way tag team match, that also included Guerillas of Destiny and the Young Bucks.[38] They retained their titles atThe New Beginning in Sapporo against Sabre andMinoru Suzuki.[39] AtHonor Rising: Japan 2019, Evil and Sanada lost the titles in their second defense against Guerillas of Destiny. Evil was announced to take part in theNew Japan Cup, but lost to Sabre in the first round. Evil entered theG1 Climax, finishing with a record of four wins and five losses, failing to make it to the finals.
On January 5, 2020, atWrestle Kingdom 14, Evil, Bushi andShingo Takagi defeated four other teams in aGauntlet match for theNEVER Openweight 6-Man Tag Team Championship, making both Evil and Bushi record-tying four time holders of the title.[40]
After New Japan Pro-Wrestling underwent a hiatus in late February 2020 due to theCOVID-19 pandemic, the company resumed its activities with theNew Japan Cup, which begun on June 16, with the winner receiving a title shot againstTetsuya Naito for both theIWGP Heavyweight andIWGP Intercontinental Championship. Entering the tournament, Evil defeatedSatoshi Kojima,Hirooki Goto,Yoshi-Hashi, and his stablemateSanada to reach the finals, displaying a more aggressive attitude, notably cheating by low blowing Goto in their match, injuring Yoshi-Hashi before their match, and using a chair to attack Sanada's neck in their match.[41][42][43][44] In the finals on July 11, Evil defeatedKazuchika Okada, in part due to interference byBullet Club, who attacked Okada seemingly behind Evil's back (as he appeared unconscious when it happened). When Naito came out to congratulate him on his win, Evil threw up the "too sweet" symbol of Bullet Club instead of the raised fist ofLos Ingobernables, then attacked Naito, turningheel, and was soon joined by Bullet Club, establishing himself as a member of the stable and the first person to ever leaveLos Ingobernables de Japón.[45]
AtDominion the following day, Evil defeated Naito to capture both the IWGP Heavyweight and IWGP Intercontinental Championship with the help of Bullet Club, includingDick Togo, who joined the stable and became Evil's manager in the process.[46] As Evil was still NEVER Openweight 6-Man Tag Team Champion with Bushi and Takagi despite his betrayal, he became the first triple champion in the history of New Japan Pro-Wrestling.[47][48] On July 25, AtSengoku Lord, he had his first successful defense of both the Heavyweight and Intercontinental titles against formerIngobernables stablemateHiromu Takahashi.[49] On August 1, NJPW vacated theNEVER Openweight 6-Man Tag Team Championship, due to Evil claiming in a post-Dominion interview that he had "no interest" in defending the title with his formerIngobernables stablemates, ending his run as triple champion.[50][48] He lost both titles to Naito atSummer Struggle in Jingu.
On November 6, 2021, atPower Struggle,House of Torture (Evil,Sho andYujiro Takahashi) defeated Chaos to win theNEVER Openweight 6-Man Tag Team Championship. On night one ofWrestle Kingdom 16, Evil defeatedTomohiro Ishii to win theNEVER Openweight Championship, becoming a double champion.[51] On night two, HoT once again retained the NEVER Openweight 6-Man Tag Team Championship against Chaos.[52] On night three, Evil andDick Togo lost toPro Wrestling Noah'sGo Shiozaki andMasa Kitamiya.[53]
At the NJPW New Years Golden Series tour, Evil retained the NEVER Openweight Championship against Ishii once again and retained the NEVER Openweight 6-Man Tag Team Championship.[54][55] Evil then entered theNew Japan Cup; he defeatedRyusuke Taguchi andTama Tonga in rounds one and two, but lost toHiromu Takahashi in round three.[56][57][58] AtHyper Battle, Evil retained the NEVER Openweight Championship against Takahashi.[59] AtWrestling Dontaku, Evil lost the NEVER Openweight Championship to Tonga, ending his second reign at 117 days.[60] AtDominion 6.12 in Osaka-jo Hall, HoT retained the NEVER Openweight 6-Man Tag Team Championship againstSuzuki-gun,[61] but lost them to Chaos at New Japan Road. In June, Evil was announced to be competing atG1 Climax 32, in the C Block.[62] He finished the tournament with six points, failing to advance to the semi-finals.[63]
In October, Evil participated in a tournament to crown the first everNJPW World Television Champion. He defeatedAaron Henare andYoshi-Hashi to advance to the tournament's semi-finals.[64][65] In the semi-final round, Evil lost to eventual winnerZack Sabre Jr.[66] AtBattle Autumn, HoT retained their NEVER Openweight 6-Man Tag Team Championship againstHiroshi Tanahashi,Ryusuke Taguchi andHikuleo. In November, Evil once again teamed with Yujiro Takahashi in theWorld Tag League. The duo ended their tournament with six points, failing to advance to the finals.[67]
On January 4, 2023, atWrestle Kingdom 17, Evil competed in theNew Japan Ranbo match, but failed to last until the final four.[68] The following day atNew Year Dash, Evil, Takahashi and Togo defeatedTomoaki Honma,Tiger Mask andRen Narita. After the match, HoT attacked Narita, but he was saved byMinoru Suzuki andEl Desperado, causing the sub-group to flee.[69] This confrontation led to a match between the teams for the NEVER Openweight Six-Man Tag Team Championship, which Suzuki, Desperado and Narita won.[70]
In March, Evil participated in theNew Japan Cup, defeating Narita andJeff Cobb, in the first two rounds.[71][72] In the quarterfinals, Evil lost toMark Davis, eliminating him from the tournament.[73] In June atDominion 6.4 in Osaka-jo Hall, Evil teamed with Takahashi in a three-way tag-team match for both the vacant IWGP Tag Team Championship and theStrong Openweight Tag Team Championship, but the match was won byBishamon (Hirooki Goto andYoshi-Hashi).[74] The following month in July, Evil was announced to be competing atG1 Climax 33, competing in the C Block.[75] Evil finished with a total of ten points, finishing joint top of his block, thus advancing to the quarterfinal round.[76] In the quarterfinals, Evil defeated reigningIWGP World Heavyweight ChampionSanada, to advance to the semi-finals.[77] Evil lost toKazuchika Okada in the semi-finals, eliminating him from the tournament.[78]
Shortly after, Evil and HoT embarked on a feud withShota Umino andKaito Kiyomiya, leading to two matches, with the first being on January 2, 2024 atNoah The New Year, where HoT lost and the second two days later atWrestle Kingdom 18, where Evil and Narita, HoT's newest member, got their revenge and defeated Umino and Kiyomiya, ending their feud. Later that night, asTetsuya Naito was going to close the show, Evil and HoT tried to ruin his moment, after attacking Naito, only to be saved by Sanada.[79][80] Three days later atNew Year Dash!!, during a post-match interview, Evil attacked Tama Tonga and made the challenge for his title, but also humiliated the newly crowned champion as he cut off some of his hair.[81] On January 10, Tonga's profile was erroneously erased from the NJPW profile page, and Evil was incorrectly listed as the NEVER Openweight Champion, after it was discovered by video evidence that Evil had forced NJPW staff to those modifications. On January 22 atThe New Beginning in Nagoya, Evil faced Tonga for the NEVER Openweight Championship. The match originally ended in a no contest, after Tonga was attacked by HoT. The match was restarted into a Lumberjack Deathmatch, where Evil defeated Tonga to win the NEVER Openweight Championship for the third time.[82] AtSakura Genesis, Evil lost the NEVER Openweight Championship toShingo Takagi, ending his third reign at 77 days.[83] AtResurgence, Evil attacked IWGP World Heavyweight ChampionJon Moxley and declared himself to be Moxley's next challenger.[84] AtDominion 6.9 in Osaka-jo Hall, Evil failed to win the title from Moxley. Heading intoWrestle Kingdom 19, Evil began a feud withHiroshi Tanahashi, which ended with Evil losing to Tanahashi at the event.
In February 1, 2025, it was reported that Evil's contract with NJPW expired.[85] On February 11 atThe New Beginning in Osaka, Evil returned after a brief hiatus, where he and the rest of HoT attackedYota Tsuji andGabe Kidd after their match. He then proceeded to kick Kidd and the rest of the War Dogs out of Bullet Club, despite not having leadership in the main stable and starting a civil war between the two sub-groups. On April 4 atSakura Genesis, Evil unsuccessfully challenged Tsuji for theIWGP Global Heavyweight Championship.[86] In a post-match interview,David Finlay. alongside the War Dogs (Kidd,Drilla Moloney,Clark Connors andTaiji Ishimori) challenged House of Torture (Evil, Narita, Sho,Yoshinobu Kanemaru and Sanada) to aDog Pound match, with the stipulation that the losers must leave Bullet Club. On May 3, at night one ofWrestling Dontaku, the War Dogs defeated House of Torture, thus HoT were forced to leave Bullet Club.[87] On October 13 atKing of Pro-Wrestling, Evil defeatedOleg Boltin to become a 4-timeNEVER Openweight Champion.[88]
On January 4, 2026 atWrestle Kingdom 20, Evil lost the title to the debutingAaron Wolf, ending his fourth reign at 83 days .[89] EVIL would wrestle his last NJPW match on January 5th at New Years Dash!![90] On January 25, NJPW announced that Evil would not be renewing his contract and would be leaving the promotion.[91]
Watanabe was engaged to wrestlerIyo Sky.[92]
