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Ex-WWE Champion Returns To TNA At Turning Point

By John Canton • Published Nov 15, 2025 12:10 EST
TNA Wrestling logo over blurred boardroom

A former champion in WWE was back in TNA to support some friends.

Wes Lee was a former WWE NXT North American Champion and NXT Tag Team Champion, who the company released in early October.

Releasing Wes Lee was a surprise to many fans, as he signed with WWE in December 2020 after a successful run as part of TNA’s Rascalz. While WWE doesn’t publicly discuss why someone is let go, it’s reasonable to assume they didn’t feel he would be a main roster talent after being part of the NXT brand for nearly 5 years.

During his NXT run, Lee was a 2-time NXT Tag Team Champion with Nash Carter in a tag team called MSK. After WWE released Carter, Lee became a singles wrestler and had a memorable reign as NXT North American Champion. Lee missed some time due to a serious back injury, but he returned, ran the heel, and continued to appear on television regularly.

Dezmond Xavier Reunites With The Rascalz At TNA Turning Point

Since NXT contracts usually have a 30-day no-compete clause, Lee had to wait a month until he appeared on wrestling television again. That worked out just fine for him since Lee reappeared in TNA (as Dezmond Xavier) with The Rascalz at TNA Turning Point to defeat The System in an 8-man tag team match.

The eight men had a competitive match that saw The Rascalz (Dezmond Xavier, Trey Miguel, Zachary Wentz & Myron Reed) defeat The System (JDC, Moose, Eddie Edwards & Brian Myers) with Xavier hitting a Spiral Tap on JDC (fka Fandango in WWE) for the win.

Regarding the future of The Rascalz and Xavier in TNA, Fightful Select reports that Xavier hasn’t signed a contract with the promotion. However, they added that the company has creative plans for Xavier and The Rascalz in the future.

It was also mentioned by Fightful that Zachary Wentz’s TNA deal is up at the end of the year. The group plans to evaluate its options moving forward, with Fightful adding that there is interest in The Rascalz outside of TNA. That could lead the team to sign elsewhere. Fightful mentioned they were looking to get updates on the futures of Trey Miguel and Myron Reed as well.

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