Current Champion “Blacked Out” During WWE Debut
A WWE star has given a detailed insight into their in-ring debut.
Maxxine Dupri didn’t even attend a WWE try-out until August 2021, but less than 12 months later, she’d debuted on SmackDown as part of Maximum Male Models.
In February 2023, Dupri moved to Raw and joined forces with Chad Gable and Alpha Academy, and eventually made her in-ring debut.
Despite having wrestled just 49 matches at the time, on the November 17, 2025, edition of Monday Night Raw at Madison Square Garden, Maxxine Dupri shocked the world and Becky Lynch, as she claimed her first-ever piece of championship gold. The match, undoubtedly the biggest of her career, saw her claim the Women’s Intercontinental Championship.
The defeat has sent the veteran into a dramatic downward spiral as she prepares to compete in WarGames at Survivor Series.
Maxxine Dupri Reflects On WWE Survival
In a new interview with Huge Pop!, Dupri reflected on her rapid rise through the WWE ranks to become the third Women’s Intercontinental Champion. During the conversation, the star looked back on her in-ring debut, which, unusually, took place on Raw.
On the big night in July 2023, Dupri teamed with Chad Gable and Otis to beat The Viking Raiders. Not that she remembers any of the action.
“My favorite thing is when people would say to me, at a meet and greet, like, ‘oh, I just love how you like are able to play this like character that doesn’t know how to wrestle’, and I always say, ‘I am honored that you think I’m that talented’, I wish I knew exactly what I was doing and every mistake and every moment was a joke and I was in on the joke, but no, my first match in front of an audience was on Monday Night Raw.
Like, that was crazy. I actually- I remember nothing. I completely blacked out. I was so nervous, I almost threw up after because I don’t think I took one single breath for four minutes straight. Like the math was probably a minute, but I’m saying four minutes, like at the time the music hit, like I stopped breathing. I was like, I don’t know what’s happening, but I have to survive this. It was crazy.
It’s just, it’s been a beautiful thing getting to go on that ride with the WWE universe. Obviously there was moments where I wish I was more advanced and like could have more control in certain scenarios, but that’s just part of my story.”