Marie Malenko Competes In Dark Match Before WWE NXT

Marie Malenko had her first match as a WWE star, competing in a dark match before this week’s WWE NXT. Cory Hays of False Finish posted to Twitter to note that Malenko worked a dark match on the show under her new WWE ring name of Lacey Simon. She faced Zena Sterling in the match.

Marie Malenko is the daughter of WWE and WCW alumnus Dean Malenko and the granddaughter of the legendary Boris Malenko. She signed with WWE in late March after participating in a tryout in February. She was announced as part of the latest class of WWE Performance Center recruits on May 20th alongside Mason Rook (Will Kroos), Nicole Martinez (Nikki Blackheart), and Marcus Brown.

No word as of yet on when Malenko/Simon will make her TV debut.

Lacey Simon made her debut against Zena Sterling ahead of tonight’s episode of #WWENXT

📷: @BilliamSan pic.twitter.com/6UMSoK7JTy

— Cory of False Finish (@Cory_Hays407) May 26, 2026