Je'Von Evans

Last updated

Je'Von Evans
JeVon Evans 071325 (cropped).jpg
Evans in 2025
Personal information
BornMalachi Jeffers
(2004-04-29) April 29, 2004 (age 21)
Greensboro, North Carolina
Professional wrestling career
Ring name(s) Je'Von Evans [1]
Jay Malachi [2]
Kid Blacka Merica [3]
Billed height6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) [2]
Billed weight180 lb (82 kg) [1]
Billed fromGreensboro, North Carolina [1]
Trained byLaBron Kozone
DebutJanuary 26, 2018

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.

Contents

Early life

Malachi Jeffers was born in Greensboro, North Carolina. [4] [5] He attended the College Prep and Leadership Academy in Jamestown, where he played basketball and graduated in 2022. [6] [7]

Professional wrestling career

Early career (2018–2023)

Jeffers began training for a professional wrestling career under LaBron Kozone at the Fire Star Pro Wrestling (FSPW) Academy, becoming the youngest graduate at age 14. [2] He made his in-ring debut in a tag team match on January 26, 2018, under the ring name Kid Blacka Merica, teaming with Captain Blacka Merica to defeat Kevin Ramage and Ty Land. [3] In January 2019, he changed his ring name to Jay Malachi and formed a tag team with Jackson Drake known as the Wrestling Prodigies. [8] During his tenure with FSPW, he held the FSPW Heavyweight Championship, FSPW South Eastern Championship, and the FSPW Tag Team Championship. [2] He also wrestled regularly for the Premier Wrestling Federation (PWF), where he and Drake held the PWF Tag Team Championship twice in 2021. [9]

At Game Changer Wrestling (GCW)'s For the Culture 4 event on March 30, 2023, Malachi teamed with A.C. Mack, J.C. Storm, Jeffrey John and Suge D as part of The World, losing to West Coast (Alpha Zo, G. Sharpe, Kenny King, Mazzerati and Midas Kreed). [10] On July 1, he defeated Drake to become the number one contender for the PWF Undisputed Championship. [11] On August 10 and 11, he took part in West Coast Pro Wrestling (WCPW)'s West Coast Cup tournament, defeating Viento in the first round, before losing to Starboy Charlie in the quarterfinals. [12] [13] On October 22, he failed to win the PWF Undisputed Championship from Bojack. [14]

Deadlock Pro-Wrestling (2022–2023)

Malachi made his debut for Deadlock Pro-Wrestling (DPW) on March 12, 2022. [15] He unsuccessfully challenged Bojack for the DPW Worlds Championship on September 24. [16] On April 16, 2023, he defeated Alec Price and Drake in a triple threat match for the Golden Opportunity, granting him a future match for the title. [17] On September 17, Malachi defeated Jake Something, Mike Bailey and Tom Lawlor in a fatal four-way match to win the Carolina Classic, and then defeated Lucky Ali in a Carolina Warfare match to win the DPW Worlds Championship. [18] After successfully defending the title against Jordan Oliver on October 15 and Price on November 12, [19] [20] he vacated it on November 18 upon signing with WWE. [21]

All Elite Wrestling (2022, 2023)

On August 21, 2022, Malachi made his All Elite Wrestling (AEW) debut in a match taped for AEW Dark , where he lost to Fuego Del Sol. [22] He returned on January 28, 2023, teaming with Oliver Sawyer in a loss to the WorkHorseMen (Anthony Henry and JD Drake). [23] In his last appearance, on February 26, Malachi, Sawyer and Jackson Drake lost to Jay Lethal, Jeff Jarrett and Satnam Singh in a six-man tag team match. [24]

WWE (2023–present)

Evans in August 2025 Je'Von Evans 081925.jpg
Evans in August 2025

Prior to signing with the company, Jeffers participated in a WWE tryout in September 2023. [25] On November 14, he was reported to have signed with WWE and was assigned to the NXT brand under the ring name Je'Von Evans. [26] [27] After working on house shows and Level Up, [28] [29] he made his debut on the April 9, 2024 episode of NXT , defeating Scrypts. [30] The following week, he lost to then-NXT Champion Ilja Dragunov, but was endorsed by Dragunov after the match, as the two shook hands. [31] On the June 18 episode of NXT, Evans won a 25-man battle royal for an NXT Championship match against Trick Williams at NXT Heatwave on July 7. [32] However, the match turned into a fatal-four way match involving Ethan Page and Shawn Spears, which Evans lost. [33] At NXT Deadline on December 7, he participated in the Iron Survivor Challenge, which was won by Oba Femi. [34]

Heading into 2025, Evans feuded with Page, [35] whom he lost to at NXT Vengeance Day on February 15, [36] but defeated in a New York City street fight at NXT: Roadblock on March 11. [37] He then challenged for the NXT Championship in a triple threat match on April 19 at NXT Stand & Deliver and the NXT North American Championship in a fatal four-way match on June 7 at Worlds Collide, but failed to win the titles. [38] [39] He also appeared on the May 30 episode of SmackDown , teaming with Rey Fénix in a loss to Legado Del Fantasma's Los Garza (Angel and Berto). [40] After defeating Jasper Troy at NXT The Great American Bash on July 12, [41] Evans defeated Williams to become the number one contender for the NXT Championship at NXT Heatwave on August 24, [42] but lost to Femi. [43] On the September 26 episode of SmackDown, Evans answered Sami Zayn's United States Championship open challenge in a losing effort. [44] He then began teaming with TNA X Division Champion Leon Slater, defeating Lucha Libre AAA Worldwide (AAA)’s Mr. Iguana and La Parka at NXT Halloween Havoc on October 26. [45]

Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (2025)

At Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA)'s Victory Road event on September 26, 2025, it was announced that Evans would face Leon Slater for the TNA X Division Championship on October 12 at Bound for Glory, [46] but the match ended in a no contest after DarkState (Dion Lennox, Cutler James, Saquon Shugars, and Osiris Griffin) attacked both Evans and Slater. [47]

Championships and accomplishments

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Je'Von Evans". WWE . Retrieved June 22, 2024.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "Jay Malachi". Fire Star Pro Wrestling. Retrieved November 26, 2025.
  3. 1 2 "Jay Malachi >> Matches >> Kid Blacka Merica". CageMatch. Retrieved November 26, 2025.
  4. ↑ Fabrizi, Lauren (July 23, 2016). "Workers, Families Find Ways to Stay Cool". WFMY-TV . Retrieved November 27, 2025.
  5. ↑ Harnden, Danny (May 5, 2021). "Pro wrestlers in the Triad put on a show in Burlington". WGHP . Retrieved November 27, 2025.
  6. ↑ Barrasso, Justin (July 2, 2024). "Je'Von Evans: 'I've Been Telling Friends Since the Third Grade I was Going to Wrestle for WWE'". Sports Illustrated . Retrieved October 1, 2025.
  7. ↑ "Malachi Jeffers's Bio". MaxPreps . Retrieved November 27, 2025.
  8. ↑ "Jay Malachi >> Matches >> 2019". CageMatch. Retrieved November 26, 2025.
  9. 1 2 "PWF Tag Team Championship". CageMatch. Retrieved November 26, 2025.
  10. ↑ Pine, Jon (March 31, 2023). "GCW For The Culture 4: Trish Adora vs. Calvin Tankman, 2 Cold Scorpio vs. Bryan Keith". POST Wrestling . Retrieved November 26, 2025.
  11. ↑ Vetter, Chris (July 4, 2023). "Premier Wrestling Federation "Independents Day" results: Vetter's review of a Survivor Series style elimination match, Colby Corino challenges for the Crystal Coast Oceanic Championship". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved November 26, 2025.
  12. ↑ Vetter, Chris (August 13, 2023). "West Coast Pro Wrestling "West Coast Cup 2023 Night One" results: Vetter's review of Masha Slamovich vs Takumi Iroha for the WCPW Women's Title, first-round matches with Alan Angels, Kevin Blackwood, Paul London, Jay Malachi, Bryan Keith". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved November 26, 2025.
  13. ↑ Vetter, Chris (August 14, 2023). "West Coast Pro Wrestling "West Coast Cup 2023 Night Two" results: Vetter's review of the remainder of the two-night tournament, Titus Alexander vs. Kevin Knight for the WCPW Title, 12-person tag match". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved November 26, 2025.
  14. ↑ Vetter, Chris (October 25, 2023). "Premier Wrestling Federation "It's the Great Powerbomb, Charlie Brown" results: Vetter's review of a sendoff for an NXT bound wrestler, Bojack vs. Jay Malachi for the PWF Title, Colby Corino vs. CW Anderson". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved November 26, 2025.
  15. 1 2 3 "Jay Malachi — DPW Profile". Deadlock Pro-Wrestling . Retrieved November 26, 2025.
  16. ↑ Vetter, Chris (October 1, 2022). "Deadlock Pro Wrestling "Victory Lap" results: Vetter's review of BoJack vs. Jay Malachi for the DPW Championship, "The Workhorsemen" Anthony Henry and JD Drake vs. "Violence is Forever" Dominic Garrini and Kevin Ku, Maya Yukihi vs. Jungle Kyona, B-Boy vs. Lucky Ali, Sumie Sakia vs. KZT, Jack Evans vs. Shun Skywalker vs. SB Kento in a three-way". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved November 26, 2025.
  17. ↑ Duarte, Jon (April 17, 2023). "DPW Live 2 | Resultados e imágenes | Yamashita, Everett, B3CCA y más" [DPW Live 2 | Results and images | Yamashita, Everett, B3CCA and more]. Súper Luchas (in Spanish). Retrieved November 26, 2025.
  18. ↑ Vetter, Chris (October 6, 2023). "Deadlock Pro Wrestling "Carolina Classic" results: Vetter's review of "a nearly flawless show" with Mike Bailey vs. Andrew Everett, Myron Reed vs. Jake Something, Jay Malachi vs. Ichiban, Tom Lawlor vs. Labron Kozone in first-round matches, winners meet in a four-way finale". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved November 26, 2025.
  19. ↑ Vetter, Chris (October 16, 2023). "Deadlock Pro Wrestling "Live 3" results: Vetter's review of The Grizzled Young Veterans' first appearance since leaving NXT, Colby Corino vs. Krule in an unsanctioned match". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved November 26, 2025.
  20. ↑ Vetter, Chris (November 19, 2023). "Deadlock Pro Wrestling "World's Strongest" results: Vetter's review of Jay Malachi vs. Alec Price for the DPW Title, The Workhorsemen vs. Grizzled Young Veterans for the DPW Tag Titles". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved November 26, 2025.
  21. ↑ Lambert, Jeremy (November 19, 2023). "Jay Malachi Relinquishes DPW World Championship". Fightful. Retrieved June 22, 2024.
  22. ↑ Williams, JJ (August 21, 2022). "AEW Dark spoilers from Universal Studios: Debuts & name changes". Wrestling Observer Newsletter . Retrieved October 8, 2024.
  23. ↑ Williams, JJ (January 28, 2023). "AEW Dark taping spoilers: Former WWE NXT, MLW wrestlers debut". Wrestling Observer Newsletter . Retrieved November 26, 2025.
  24. ↑ Williams, JJ (February 26, 2023). "AEW Dark spoilers from Universal Studios". Wrestling Observer Newsletter . Retrieved November 26, 2025.
  25. ↑ Rose, Bryan (September 18, 2023). "Report: Richard Holliday among names attending WWE tryouts this week". Wrestling Observer Newsletter . Retrieved November 26, 2025.
  26. ↑ Johnson, Mike (November 14, 2023). "Another new WWE NXT signing at Performance Center today". Pro Wrestling Insider. Retrieved June 22, 2024.
  27. ↑ Lambert, Jeremy (February 8, 2024). "WWE Files New Trademarks On 'WWE Speed' And 'Je'Von Evans'". Fightful. Retrieved November 26, 2025.
  28. ↑ Duarte, Jon (February 10, 2024). "Resultados WWE NXT Live (9/2): ¡Sol Ruca vuelve!" [WWE NXT Live Results (9/2): Sol Ruca returns!]. Súper Luchas . Retrieved November 26, 2025.
  29. ↑ Chik, Jon (February 14, 2024). "NXT Level Up results: Feb. 16, 2024". WWE . Retrieved November 27, 2025.
  30. ↑ Wells, Kelly (April 9, 2024). "NXT TV Results (4/9): Wells's live report on Breakker & Corbin vs. Axiom & Frazer, Je'Von Evans debuts vs. Scrypts, Henley & Jordan vs. James & Dame, more". Pro Wrestling Torch. TDH Communications Inc. Retrieved June 22, 2024.
  31. ↑ Lee Hazelwood, Bruce (April 16, 2024). "NXT TV Results (4/16): Hazelwood's live report on Williams-Hayes steel cage, AoP vs. Enofe & Blade, Vice vs. Ruca, Hail vs. Paxley, Dijak vs. Dar, more". Pro Wrestling Torch. TDH Communications Inc. Retrieved June 22, 2024.
  32. ↑ Aiken, Chris (June 18, 2024). "WWE NXT live results: Battle royal for Heatwave title shot". Wrestling Observer Newsletter . Retrieved November 27, 2025.
  33. ↑ Moore, John (July 7, 2024). "NXT Heatwave results: Moore's live review of Trick Williams vs. Ethan Page vs. Je'Von Evans vs. Shawn Spears for the NXT Championship, Roxanne Perez vs. Lola Vice for the NXT Women's Championship". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved July 8, 2024.
  34. ↑ Powell, Jason (December 7, 2024). "NXT Deadline results: Powell's live review of Trick Williams vs. Ridge Holland for the NXT Title, Iron Survivor Challenge matches, Jaida Parker vs. Lola Vice in an NXT Underground match". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved December 8, 2024.
  35. ↑ Aiken, Chris (December 17, 2024). "WWE NXT live results: Trick Williams vs. Eddy Thorpe title match". Wrestling Observer Newsletter . Retrieved November 27, 2025.
  36. ↑ Quill, Marc (February 15, 2025). "WWE NXT Vengeance Day live results: Four title defenses highlight six-match card". Wrestling Observer Newsletter . Retrieved February 18, 2025.
  37. ↑ Aiken, Chris (March 11, 2025). "WWE NXT live results: Three title matches in New York City". Wrestling Observer Newsletter . Retrieved March 11, 2025.
  38. ↑ Moore, John (April 19, 2025). "NXT Stand & Deliver results: Moore's live review of Oba Femi vs. Trick Williams vs. Je'Von Evans for the NXT Title, Stephanie Vaquer vs. Giulia vs. Jordynne Grace vs. Jaida Parker for the NXT Women's Title". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved April 20, 2025.
  39. ↑ Powell, Jason (June 7, 2025). "WWE Worlds Collide results: Powell's live review of El Hijo del Vikingo vs. Chad Gable for the AAA Mega Title, Ethan Page vs. Je'Von Evans vs. Rey Fenix vs. Laredo Kid for the NXT North American Championship". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved June 8, 2025.
  40. ↑ Powell, Jason (May 30, 2025). "WWE Smackdown results (5/30): Powell's live review of WWE Champion John Cena, Cody Rhodes, and Bianca Belair appearances, MITB ladder match qualifiers". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved May 31, 2025.
  41. ↑ Moss, Jeff (July 12, 2025). "WWE NXT Great American Bash live results: Three title matches". Wrestling Observer Newsletter . Retrieved November 26, 2025.
  42. ↑ Aiken, Chris (August 19, 2025). "WWE NXT live results: Heatwave go-home show in Philadelphia". Wrestling Observer Newsletter . Retrieved November 27, 2025.
  43. ↑ Moss, Jeff (August 24, 2025). "WWE NXT Heatwave live results: Oba Femi vs. Je'Von Evans, three title matches". Wrestling Observer Newsletter . Retrieved November 26, 2025.
  44. ↑ Powell, Jason (September 26, 2025). "WWE Smackdown results (9/26): Powell's live review of Tiffany Stratton vs. Jade Cargill vs. Nia Jax for the WWE Women's Championship". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved September 27, 2025.
  45. ↑ Wells, Kelly (October 25, 2025). "NXT Halloween Havoc Results (10/25): Ricky Saints vs. Trick Williams, Jacy Jayne vs. Tatum Paxley, Hardy Boyz vs. DarkState, more". Pro Wrestling Torch. TDH Communications Inc. Retrieved October 29, 2025.
  46. ↑ "Leon Slater Defends Against NXT's Je'Von Evans in X-Division Title Dream Match at Bound For Glory". TNA Wrestling. September 27, 2025. Retrieved November 27, 2025.
  47. ↑ Powell, Jason (October 12, 2025). "TNA Bound For Glory results: Powell's live review of Trick Williams vs. Mike Santana for the TNA World Championship, The Hardys vs. Team 3D in a tables match for the TNA and NXT Tag Team Titles". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved November 6, 2025.
  48. ↑ "FSPW Tag Team Championship". CageMatch. Retrieved November 26, 2025.
  49. ↑ "Pro Wrestling Illustrated (PWI) 500 for 2025". The Internet Wrestling Database. Retrieved November 26, 2025.
  50. ↑ Meltzer, Dave (February 14, 2025). "February 17, 2025 Observer Newsletter: The 2024 Awards issue" . Wrestling Observer Newsletter . Retrieved February 14, 2025.
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