| Je'Von Evans | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Malachi Jeffers |
| Born | April 29, 2004 Greensboro, North Carolina [1] |
| Professional wrestling career | |
| Ring name(s) | Je'Von Evans [1] Jay Malachi [2] Kid Blacka Merica [2] |
| Billed height | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) |
| Billed weight | 170 lb (77 kg) |
| Trained by | LaBron Kozone [2] |
| Debut | 2018 [2] |
Malachi Jeffers (born April 29, 2004) is an American professional wrestler. He is signed to WWE, where he performs under the ring name Je'Von Evans on the NXT brand. He was previously known under the ring name Jay Malachi on the independent circuit.
Jeffers began training in 2018 under independent wrestler LaBron Kozone in North Carolina and made his debut on January 26, 2018, at the age of 13, under the ring name Kid Blacka Merica. In January 2019, he changed his ring name to Jay Malachi. [2] On August 21, 2022, he debuted in All Elite Wrestling (AEW) in a match taped for AEW Dark , where he lost to Fuego Del Sol. [3] Jeffers achieved his biggest success on the independent circuit in Deadlock Pro-Wrestling, where he held the DPW Worlds Championship. He vacated the title on November 2, 2023, after signing with WWE. [4] [5]
In November 2023, it was reported that Jeffers had signed with WWE, where he would report to the NXT brand. [6] He made his debut under the ring name Je'Von Evans on the February 16, 2024 episode of NXT Level Up , losing to Brooks Jensen. [7] At NXT Stand & Deliver on April 6, a video package aired hyping up Evans' NXT debut. [8] Three days later on NXT, Evans made his television debut, defeating SCRYPTS. [9] The following week on NXT, he faced then-NXT Champion Ilja Dragunov in a losing effort, but was endorsed by Dragunov after as the two shook hands. [10] On the June 18 episode of NXT, Evans won a 25-man battle royal to earn an NXT Championship match against Trick Williams at NXT Heatwave. Later that night, Evans was defeated by Ethan Page after Page challenged Evans to a match claiming that he was never eliminated from the battle royal after being attacked by Mensah. [11] The following week, Ava made the NXT Championship match at NXT Heatwave a fatal four-way match after Evans, Page and Shawn Spears (who had earlier defeated Williams in a non-title match) each had a claim to a title match. [12] At the event on July 7, he was pinned by Page to become the new NXT Champion. [13] In August, Evans defeated Ashante "Thee" Adonis on Speed to advance in the Speed Championship #1 Contender's Tournament. He received a bye to the final after Montez Ford and Austin Theory fought to a time-limit draw, where he lost to Pete Dunne. [14] [15] On the September 10 episode of NXT, Evans lost to No Quarter Catch Crew's Charlie Dempsey 1–2 in British Round Rules for the NXT Heritage Cup after outside interference from NQCC's Wren Sinclair and Tavion Heights. [16] Around the same time, he began an alliance with Cedric Alexander, who acts as a mentor to Evans. [17] On the October 29 episode of NXT, Evans and Alexander failed to defeat NXT Tag Team Champions Nathan Frazer and Axiom for the titles after Evans was lured to the back by Wes Lee, leaving Alexander to fend for himself at the closing stages of the match. [18] On the following week at NXT 2300, Evans defeated Lee, with Rob Van Dam appearing midway into the match to support Evans. [19] At NXT Deadline on December 7, Evans participated in the Iron Survivor Challenge, which was won by Oba Femi. [20]
Heading into 2025, Evans would continue his feud with Ethan Page from late 2024, which culminated in a match at NXT Vengeance Day, where Evans lost. [21] At NXT Roadblock on March 11, Evans defeated Page in a New York City street fight to end their feud. [22]