Je’Von Evans says it was an ‘honor’ to wrestle Randy Orton in NXT
21-year-old Je’Von Evans has opened up on working with Randy Orton in WWE NXT.
A couple of years ago, during the October 8th, 2024 episode of WWE NXT in St. Louis, Missouri. Evans clashed with Orton. Despite losing the match, Evans earned Orton and the locker room’s respect.
In a recent interview with Bootleg Kev, Evans reflected on his match with Orton and called it an “honor.”
“It was wild. It was a very big test for me. I think that was my first major test. At the time, I think I was in NXT, maybe almost a year – either close to a year or we’d just hit a year – and they gave me the opportunity to go against Randy Orton in his hometown, which is insane,” Evans said.
“You know, OG ain’t pulling up to NXT just to wrestle anybody in his hometown, or to wrestle in general. It was an honor. I’m so blessed that I had the opportunity and so grateful that I got to learn under Randy. Ever since then, there’s been a connection between me and him.
“I haven’t talked to him since SmackDown (when he attacked Cody Rhodes), he’s kind of been by himself, he’s been a little distant, he’s been tweaking out. He’s just locked in for Mania. It’s just a phase, that’s it (laughs),” Evans concluded.
Orton is scheduled to face Rhodes for the Undisputed WWE Championship at WrestleMania 42 in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Je’Von Evans shares unlikely WWE ally
In the same interview with Bootleg Kev, Evans opened up and named Lil Yachty as the person he would like to team up with in WWE.
“In the ring, I’m gonna have to go with my boy Lil Yachty,” Evans said. “Yachty is chill, but he’s a crashout. Yachty is crazy, and he can throw hands for real. Once it has to be done and you take it to that level, he’ll take it to the level with you. Me and Yachty would go crazy. He loves the high-flying stuff, too. Yachty is my dawg, that’s my brother. I feel like if we could get something that works, maybe we could make that happen pretty soon.”
Lil Yachty was also recently invited to an upcoming episode of WWE SmackDown in St.Louis by Trick Williams.
Shounak Chakrabarti is an experienced sports journalist with a lifelong passion for athletics and storytelling. He holds a Master’s Degree in International Journalism from the University of Leeds and joined F4WOnline in 2025.
Shounak takes particular interest in soccer, closely following top clubs like Real Madrid and Arsenal. Beyond sports, he enjoys fiction writing, photography, gaming, and cinema.