Evil (wrestler)
Evil in November 2021 | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | Takaaki Watanabe (渡辺 高章, Watanabe Takaaki) January 26, 1987 Mishima, Shizuoka, Japan |
| Professional wrestling career | |
| Ring name(s) | Evil Takaaki Watanabe |
| Billed height | 1.78 m (5 ft 10 in) |
| Billed weight | 106 kg (234 lb) |
| Billed from | Mishima, Shizuoka, Japan |
| Trained by | Animal Hamaguchi Hiroyoshi Tenzan Jado |
| Debut | May 13, 2011 |
Takaaki Watanabe (渡辺 高章, Watanabe Takaaki; born January 26, 1987) is a Japanese professional wrestler. He is best known for his tenure in New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), where he performed under the ring name Evil (stylized in all caps as EVIL) and was the leader of House of Torture. He is a former four time NEVER Openweight Champion.
After debuting in NJPW in 2011, Evil competed in the United States on excursion, working for companies such as Global Force Wrestling (GFW) and Ring of Honor (ROH) from 2014 to 2015. He returned to NJPW in November 2015. He was a former member of Los Ingobernables de Japón, and a part of a tag team with Sanada; they are two-time IWGP Tag Team Champions and two-time World Tag League winners. He is also a record-breaking six-time NEVER Openweight 6-Man Tag Team Champion, making him an overall ten-time champion in NJPW. In 2020, he won the New Japan Cup, before turning on L.I.J leader Tetsuya Naito and joining Bullet Club. He defeated Naito at Dominion to become the double IWGP Heavyweight and Intercontinental Champion. He is the only wrestler in NJPW history to be a triple champion, having held the IWGP Heavyweight and Intercontinental Championships and the NEVER Openweight 6-Man Tag Team Championship simultaneously from July to August 2020. He departed NJPW in January 2026.