WWE Wrestler Names Finishing Move After Neon Genesis Evangelion

Neon Genesis Evangelion has certainly been the “talk of the town” since its return to airwaves via Netflix, with a new generation discovering the series for the first time. With the anime being around since the mid-90s, its no wonder that many people create numerous pieces of fan art and cosplay dedicated to the series. A wrestler happened to take his love of the series, and anime in general, by dubbing his finishing move in the ring: “A Cruel Angel’s Thesis”.

NXT/WWE Wrestler Brennan Williams, Aka The Shogun of the Row, displayed his finishing move on his official Twitter Account for the world to admire to celebrate Evangelion’s Netflix release:

Brennan also has a love for JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure, giving himself the name of “Dio” on Twitter, one of the main antagonists of the series. Williams may not be as well known as John Cena, the Undertaker, or Brett Wyatt, but his moves certainly show that he’s “got the goods”. Originally a football player for the Houston Texans, Williams pursued his dream of becoming a pro wrestler and was eventually signed for the WWE. Williams is currently wrestling for NXT, which usually acts as a launching pad for aspiring wrestlers to hit the “main scene” that is the WWE.

Brennan Williams regularly appears on fellow wrestler Xavier Woods’ Youtube Channel, “Up Up Down Down”, where the pair, along with other wrestlers, will often revel in their nerdiness by playing video games, tabletop games, and so forth.

What do you think of Williams’ finishing move, “A Cruel Angel’s Thesis”? Does it properly represent the ferociousness of the EVA units from Neon Genesis Evangelion? Let us know in the comments or feel free to hit me up directly on Twitter @EVComedy to talk all things comics and anime!

Neon Genesis Evangelion is a psychological drama by way of giant monster versus mech anime. The franchise debuted as a television series in 1995-1996 with two films following in 1997. Neon Genesis Evangelion: Death & Rebirth is an one-part drastically abridged retelling of the first 24 episodes of the television series, and one part new animation. The End of Evangelion, the second film, would incorporate some of Death & Rebirth’s original animation and offer an alternate take on the original series’ controversial final two episodes.

The series follows Shinji Ikari, who is recruited by his father to pilot the giant mech Evangelion in the fight against giant monsters known as Angels in the futuristic city of Tokyo-3. But Shinji is unwilling to bear this huge responsibility and is often conflicted about taking part in a war he was dragged into. This conflict of emotions leads to many introspective episodes that cover the range of religious, philosophical, and existential concepts.