Wikipedia

Je'Von Evans

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.

Je'Von Evans
Birth nameMalachi Jeffers
Born (2004-04-29) April 29, 2004 (age 20)
Greensboro, North Carolina[1]
Professional wrestling career
Ring name(s)Je'Von Evans[1]
Jay Malachi[2]
Kid Blacka Merica[2]
Billed height6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
Billed weight170 lb (77 kg)
Trained byLaBron Kozone[2]
Debut2018[2]

Professional wrestling career

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Early career (2018–2023)

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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]

WWE (2023–present)

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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]

Championships and accomplishments

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  • Deadlock Pro-Wrestling
    • DPW Worlds Championship (1 time)
    • DPW Carolina Classic Tournament (2023)
    • DPW Awards (2 time)
      • Breakout Star of the Year (2022)
      • Wrestler of the Year (2023)
  • Fire Star Pro Wrestling
    • FSPW Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
    • FSPW South Eastern Championship (1 time)
    • FSPW Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Jackson Drake
  • Premier Wrestling Federation
    • PWF Tag Team Championship (2 times) – with Jackson Drake
  • Pro Wrestling Illustrated
    • Ranked No. 95 of the top 500 singles wrestlers in the PWI 500 in 2024[20]

References

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  1. ^ a b "Je'Von Evans". WWE. April 9, 2024. Retrieved June 22, 2024.
  2. ^ a b c d e "Je'Von Evans Cagematch". Cagematch. January 26, 2018. Retrieved June 22, 2024.
  3. ^ Robret DeFelice; Colin Tessier (August 21, 2022). "AEW Dark Universal Studio Spoilers (8/21): RUSH, Madison Rayne, More Compete". Fightful. Retrieved October 8, 2024.
  4. ^ "Jay Malachi Relinquishes DPW World Championship". Fightful. November 19, 2023. Retrieved June 22, 2024.
  5. ^ Mike Johnson (November 14, 2023). "Another New WWE NXT Signing at Performance Center Today". PWInsider. Retrieved June 22, 2024.
  6. ^ Mike Johnson (November 14, 2023). "Another New WWE NXT Signing at Performance Center Today". PWInsider. Retrieved June 22, 2024.
  7. ^ "WWE NXT Level Up results: February 16, 2024". WWE.com. February 16, 2024. Retrieved June 22, 2024.
  8. ^ "WWE NXT Stand and Deliver 2024 Results". WWE.com. April 6, 2024. Retrieved June 22, 2024.
  9. ^ "WWE NXT results: April 9, 2024". WWE.com. April 9, 2024. Retrieved June 22, 2024.
  10. ^ "WWE NXT Results: April 16, 2024". WWE.com. April 16, 2024. Retrieved June 22, 2024.
  11. ^ "WWE NXT Results: June 18, 2024". WWE.com. June 18, 2024. Retrieved June 22, 2024.
  12. ^ Moore, John (June 25, 2024). "NXT TV results (6/25): Moore's review of Tag Team Turmoil for a shot at the NXT Tag Titles, NXT Champion Trick Williams vs. Shawn Spears in a non-title match, Tony D'Angelo vs. Nathan Frazer for the NXT Heritage Cup". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved June 26, 2024.
  13. ^ Powell, Jason (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.
  14. ^ Hetfield, James (August 4, 2024). "Spoilers: WWE Speed Taping Results From 8/2/2024 - PWMania - Wrestling News". PWMania. Retrieved August 8, 2024.
  15. ^ Tessier, Colin (August 28, 2024). "Pete Dunne Beats Je'Von Evans, To Challenge Andrade For WWE Speed Championship On 8/30 WWE Speed | Fightful News". Fightful. Retrieved August 29, 2024.
  16. ^ Moore, John (September 10, 2024). "NXT TV results (9/10): Moore's review of Trick Williams vs. Pete Dunne in a Last Man Standing match for a shot at the NXT Title, Nathan Frazer and Axiom vs. The Street Profits for the NXT Tag Titles, Giulia vs. Chelsea Green". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved September 11, 2024.
  17. ^ Khan, Sameer (September 12, 2024). "WWE NXT News: Two new matches announced for next week's episode". The Times of India. ISSN 0971-8257. Retrieved October 23, 2024.
  18. ^ Moore, John (October 29, 2024). "NXT TV results (10/29): Moore's review of Nathan Frazer and Axiom vs. Je'Von Evans and Cedric Alexander for the NXT Tag Team Titles, Zaria's in-ring debut". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved October 30, 2024.
  19. ^ Powell, Jason (November 6, 2024). "NXT TV results (11/6): Powell's review of Trick Williams and Bubba Ray Dudley vs. Ethan Page and Ridge Holland, Jordynne Grace, Kelani Jordan, Zaria, Stephanie Vaquer, and Giulia vs. Roxanne Perez, Cora Jade, and Fatal Influence". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved November 7, 2024.
  20. ^ Ross, Patrick (September 10, 2024). "Full 2024 PWI 500 list revealed". aiptcomics.com. Retrieved September 13, 2024.
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