In a recent interview with Ryan Satin as part of the Out Of Character podcast, WWE superstar Maxxine Dupri discussed several topics, including when she learned of being called up to WWE’s main roster.
“Well, this is actually interesting, because I’ve never talked about this or posted this, but actually, I fractured my fibula and that happened in, I want to say may, maybe 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’s going to be Maxxine, that for me ended up being a positive thing and allowed me to heal and whatnot.
I was in NXT for a little bit, working with Von Wagner and Rober Stone, which was amazing, it was so much fun and obviously I wasn’t doing very much, because Stone was managing Von and I’m kind of with them, so I would get a few lines here and there, but I still think it was just, okay she’s new, let’s just you know, dip her toes in it.
Then, they started kind of advertising this new character Maxxine is going to join Maximum Male Models and I think they promoted it for three weeks, and I didn’t know the whole time, I had no idea, so the week before, they were actually in Orlando and we all went and watched and they advertised it again, and I was like hmm, it has to be someone who could be LA Knight’s sister, and I’m just like, there’s no way, I’m not ready yet and I’m not healed, there’s just no way.
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, it’s not me, okay, next opportunity. I wake up Thursday morning to go to training at 7am, and I have a text from travel and they’re like hey, we need you for SmackDown tomorrow, I’m booking you travel, and 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 they didn’t answer yet.
I had skull, which is where we just go and watch film, so I go and I watch film and I pulled my coach aside being like, hey I got this text, I don’t know if I’m flying out today, I don’t know what’s going on and he’s like, they probably just want to see you in-person, or maybe they’re bringing Von up for a dark match or whatever and then, now it’s like 10am, so I finally get to meet with the lead writer and he’s like hey what’s going on, and I’m like I don’t know, I heard I’m needed for SmackDown and he was like oh, I haven’t checked my e-mail, let me do that, and then he looks and he says alright, you’re Maxxine, you’re flying out today, and my flight was in four hours. I literally ran home, had to get a spray tan, was not going to be pale, got a spray tan, packed my bags and hit the road, and then it took off from there.”
The full interview is available at this link.