Roman Reigns' Upcoming Schedule, WWE Rumors on Blake Monroe, EVIL's Name Change to Naraku

Bleacher Report catches you up on the latest news from the WWE Universe.

WWE Announces Reigns' May Appearance Schedule

Roman Reigns has made weekly appearances on WWE programming since beating CM Punk for the World Heavyweight Championship at WrestleMania 42, and that is set to continue throughout the month of May.

On Tuesday, WWE posted Reigns' upcoming schedule, and he is set for appearances at the Backlash and Clash in Italy premium live events, as well as the May 11, 18 and 25 episodes of Raw:

Reigns has largely been a part-time performer in recent years, but he has been a constant presence on Raw since WrestleMania while building toward a title defense against Jacob Fatu at Backlash.

The rivalry between the two family members has heated up quickly thanks to Fatu incapacitating The OTC with the Tongan Death Grip each of the past two weeks.

It is unclear if Reigns vs. Fatu will be a one-and-done bout, but with Reigns also scheduled for Clash in Italy on May 31, a rematch could be a possibility.

Reigns was previously advertised for several episodes of Raw in June as well, but WWE removed him from that advertising this week.

According to PWInsider.com (h/t Wrestle Ops), the advertisement was a clerical error, and Reigns was never meant to appear on those June episodes.

Reigns said after WrestleMania that he was going to be a full-time performer this summer, though, which suggests his regular appearances may resume after Clash of Champions on June 27.

Reported Plans for Blake Monroe's SmackDown Debut

Amid teases of her official main roster debut, there are reportedly plans in place for when Blake Monroe will make her first live appearance on SmackDown.

According to PWInsider.com (h/t WrestlePurists) it is expected that Monroe will show up on SmackDown by the end of May.

On last week's episode of SmackDown, WWE played a vignette in which Monroe spoke and foreshadowed her arrival to the main roster.

Following a stint in AEW under the name Mariah May, which saw her hold the AEW Women's World Championship, Monroe signed with WWE last year.

The 27-year-old Brit began in NXT despite already having experience in a major wrestling company, and she was consistently a featured part of the stacked NXT women's division.

While Monroe never won the NXT Women's Championship, she did hold the NXT women's North American title for about two months from October to December.

Since there isn't much left for Monroe to learn or prove in NXT, it seems like the ideal time for a main roster call-up, especially since so many others have recently gotten elevated from NXT to SmackDown or Raw recently as well.

Based on the similarities of their characters, a feud between Monroe and Tiffany Stratton over the Women's United States Championship would perhaps be the best way to introduce Blake to the main roster audience in an impactful way.

WWE Reportedly Made Late Change to EVIL's New Name

During Tuesday night's episode of NXT, it was revealed that former New Japan Pro-Wrestling star EVIL's new WWE ring name is Naraku, but that reportedly wasn't always the plan.

According to Fightful's Sean Ross Sapp, "internal materials" linked EVIL to the WWE-trademarked name Nox Raijin as recently as Sunday, which indicates a last-minute pivot occurred.

It was also reported by Bryan Alvarez of Wrestling Observer Live (h/t WrestlePurists) that it was believed the Nox Raijin name was originally earmarked for EVIL.

However, despite EVIL being renamed Naraku instead, the Nox Raijin name is still expected to be used for another Superstar, per Alvarez.

During his time in NJPW, EVIL was one of the company's most-decorated performers, holding the IWGP Heavyweight Championship, IWGP Intercontinental Championship and several other titles.

EVIL made his WWE debut last week when he confronted NXT champion Tony D'Angelo, but the announcers did not say his name.

This week, EVIL revealed in a vignette that he is now going by Naraku, and it was announced that he will make his in-ring debut next week.