Elijah Holyfield won his WWE EVOLVE in-ring debut on Tuesday, June 3, knocking out Kai Kavari with a punch finisher fittingly named “The Uppercut.” The son of two-time heavyweight boxing champion Evander Holyfield needed just over a minute to put Kavari away on the Tubi-streamed developmental show.
Holyfield controlled the short bout with power, running through a series of Stinger Splashes before landing a spinebuster and closing with the right-hand strike that left Kavari down for the pinfall. The finisher is a clear nod to his father’s boxing legacy.
Holyfield’s path to the ring runs through football, not boxing. He played running back for the Georgia Bulldogs before spending time in the NFL with the Carolina Panthers, Philadelphia Eagles, and Cincinnati Bengals. A knee injury in 2022 ended his football career and opened the door to wrestling.
He signed a WWE developmental deal in November 2024 and raised his profile through the A&E series WWE LFG. A torn bicep reportedly slowed his momentum in late 2025, making this debut his first official EVOLVE appearance after recovering.
EVOLVE serves as WWE’s early-stage developmental brand, feeding talent toward NXT. For Holyfield, the win marks a clean start to a new chapter in a different combat arena than the one his family name is known for.