Je’Von Evans Wanted To Be Je’Von Porter In WWE

On the independent scene, Je’Von Evans went by Jay Malachi. Once he was signed to WWE, he was given his trademarked WWE name.

Speaking to Chris Van Vliet on Insight, Evans explained how he got his WWE name.

“So Je’Von literally happened before I did my Level Up match, I think the day before, or maybe two days before. One of the writers was like, ‘Hey, we’re gonna put you on TV, so we need you to give you a name.’ I was like, all right, cool. They were like, ‘Send me 10 names.’

Speaking about his independent name before circling back to his WWE name, Evans said, “Well, you know, it was kind of back and forth. It was Jay Malachi, but because some people think me and my twin brother we’re [the same]. So we would get mixed up. We would both be called Jay Malachi. If you look into it, you’ll see the resemblance, I guess. But basically, I looked up 10 black people names, and then I just did 10 first names, and then like one of them was Je’Von and 10 last names, one of them was Evans. I sent it to them, and they’re like, ‘Hey, we like Je’Von Evans, we like Je’Von Porter,’ and then something else. I wanted Je’Von Porter because there hasn’t been a Porter in WWE.”

When Van Vliet brought up MVP (Montel Vontavious Porter), Evans replied, “So this is actually good. Okay, because I was like, I’m gonna be the first Porter, Je’Von Porter. I’ll be the first one, but they had MVP. But yeah, they picked Je’Von Evans and I was like, that’s cool I guess. Then Shawn comes up and he says, ‘You cool with Je’Von? Because that’s going to be your name for the rest of your life.’ Yeah, it’s ok, I promise. I guess it’s Je’Von Evans now.”

Evans signed with WWE in 2023.

Elsewhere during the interview, Evans reflected on his match with Randy Orton. You can read his full comments here.