Je’Von Evans is clearly going to be a star in WWE. He’s competed in various high-profile matches across various promotions. At Saturday Night’s Main Event, he’ll be teaming with Leon Slater to face AJ Styles and Dragon Lee. WWE management clearly believes in him, as he walked away the men’s Iron Survivor Challenge winner at Deadline. He earned a shot at the NXT Championship at New Year’s Evil.
But the December 9, 2025 episode of NXT held a surprise that no one saw coming. In a fiery promo, he decided to go for the championship that night. The match was the main event, with Evans throwing everything he had against Femi. Unfortunately, Ricky Saints pulled the referee away from the ring right when Evans had Femi pinned. Should Evans have waited until New Year’s Evil, or is a bigger story being told?
Speechless. 😲
Oba Femi beats Je’Von Evans to retain the NXT Championship… pic.twitter.com/Mju4m1KHSE
— WWE (@WWE) December 10, 2025
Evans Should’ve Thought More about the Risks
At 21 years old, Evans has already done a lot in NXT and ranked up some major wins. But being young does have some drawbacks in wrestling. A veteran would’ve looked at the landscape of the title picture and backed off of Femi. But a young wrestler wants opportunities and championships right now. That’s where Evans made his mistake.
Saints disrupting the match was obviously going to happen. The amount of anger shown by him was a definite indication that they’re not done. He also should’ve thought about Tony D’Angelo’s attack on him. D’Angelo attacked Ethan Page, but no one knew that until he actually did it. He easily could’ve been in Saints’ position. Right now, a lot of people are after Femi and his NXT Championship. Evans made a mistake by having the match in a period where multiple people want to become NXT Champion.
WWE is Telling a Hero’s Journey Story with Evans
The Hero’s Journey is a very widely known concept in literature. A hero goes on a quest, faces multiple setbacks, but comes out as the victor after a long time. It feels like that’s why Evans lost Tuesday night. NXT’s biggest PLE of the year is Stand & Deliver. The PLE takes place during WrestleMania weekend, and afterwards, many wrestlers are called up.
Right now, Femi has a problem with Saints and potentially D’Angelo. Evans saw how he lost and probably has a lot of feelings about it. He recognizes that Saints isn’t just going away. With Stand & Deliver months away, he can let Femi deal with everyone else while he spends those months training and getting better. Evans’ huge setback will motivate him and act as a learning experience for when he finally accomplishes his goal of becoming NXT Champion.
Did He Make a Mistake or Allow a Learning Experience?
In life, people make millions of mistakes. At the time, the decision might look detrimental, or it can hurt you. But looking back at that mistake months or years later, it actually helped you. Evans’ decision might look like that in a few months. Looking at his decision on the surface, it doesn’t make sense.
He knew that D’Angelo and Saints were targeting Femi. As veterans, they know the right time to attack Femi is when he’s in the ring. Letting them have their turn with him would’ve been smart, but Evans’ confidence hurt him and he lost by interference that had nothing to do with him. But this loss definitely signals a bigger story being told. He’s lost to Femi on three separate occasions. When he finally beats him, people will remember those losses. All the hard work will pay off when he captures the NXT Championship.
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