Maxxine Dupri looks back on joining the WWE main roster and describes how she had no idea it was happening until the day before.
Speaking on Out of Character with Ryan Satin, Dupri recalled her time on NXT and noted that she was only there for a few months. She detailed how she had been dealing with a fractured fibula, and she wasn’t doing much when she was on TV.
“I signed in October 2021, and then I went up in July,” Dupri said. “I was only on TV for, I don’t even know, a month or two. I was only there for a few months. I actually fractured my fibula, and that happened in, I want to say May or June. So I think of that in hindsight as actually a really big blessing because I wasn’t doing much in NXT because I was injured, so I think when they were looking at who was going to be Maxxine, that for me ended up being a positive thing and allowed me to heal and whatnot.
“So I was in NXT for a little bit working with Von and [Mr.] Stone, which was amazing, it was so much fun. But I obviously wasn’t doing very much because Stone was managing Von, and I was kind of with him, so I would get a few lines here and there, but I think it was still like, okay, she’s new, let’s just dip her toes in it.”
Dupr then noted that WWE started advertising the Maxxine character that would be paired with the Maximum Male Models, and she didn’t think it would be her, as she didn’t feel ready, and her leg hadn’t healed.
“Then, they started kind of advertising, oh, this new character Maxxine is gonna join Maximum Male Models, and I think they promoted it for three weeks,” Dupri said. “I didn’t know that whole time, I had no idea. That was for SmackDown, so then the week before, they were actually in Orlando, and we all went and watched. They advertised it again, and I kept seeing a few little tweets, and I was like, it has to be someone that could be LA Knight’s sister, and I’m like, there’s just no way, I’m not ready yet, I’m not healed. There’s no way.
“Then, fast forward to the next week, which is the week that Maxxine is supposed to debut. Wednesday night, I go to sleep. I don’t get a text or anything so I’m like okay, it’s not me. But I had this weird gut feeling. I don’t know why, but I was like, eh, it’s not me. Next opportunity.”
However, Dupri ultimately found out that she had been given the role just a few hours before she was scheduled to fly to WWE SmackDown for her debut. She stated that the NXT head writer hadn’t known about the plans because he hadn’t checked his email until she talked to him.
“I wake up Thursday morning to go to training at 7 a.m., and I have a text from travel, and they’re like, ‘Hey, you’re needed for SmackDown tomorrow. I’m booking your travel,” she said. “I was like, that’s interesting. So I text the lead writer at NXT and I’m like, ‘Hey, I heard I’m needed for SmackDown. Do you know what’s going on?’ But he didn’t respond yet. So I go and watch film and I pull my coach aside and I’m like, ‘Hey, I got this text, I don’t know if I’m flying out today, I don’t know what’s going on.’ He was like, ‘They probably just want to see you in person, maybe they’re bringing Von up for a dark match or whatever.’
“Now it’s like 10 a.m., so I finally get to meet with the lead writer, and he’s like, ‘Hey, what going on?’ I’m like, ‘I don’t know, I heard I’m needed for SmackDown.’ He was like, ‘Oh, I haven’t checked my e-mail. Let me look.’ Then he looks and he’s like, alright, you’re Maxxine. You’re flying out today.’ My flight was in four hours. So then I literally ran home, had to get a spray tan, not gonna be pale. Got a spray tan, packed my bag and hit the road, and took off from there.”
When asked if she was told why she landed the role of the Maxxine character, Dupri noted that she had no idea, but she was grateful for the opportunity.
In recent weeks, Dupri has been aligned with Otis, and she was introduced as a part of Alpha Academy on the May 29 episode of WWE RAW.
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