Maxxine Dupri Recalls ‘Chaotic’ Main Roster Debut the Day Vince McMahon Retired

Maxxine Dupri made her WWE main roster debut on the same day that Vince McMahon retired from the company, and she recently reflected on the experience. Dupri made her debut on the July 22nd, 2022 episode of WWE Smackdown, introducing herself as the sister of Max Dupri (now LA Knight) and part of the Maximum Male Models.

Dupri’s debut came the same day that McMahon initially retired from the company as a result of the Wall Street Journal’s report that he paid over $12 million in hush money to four women over alleged sexual misconduct. One of those women was Janel Grant, who would sue McMahon in 2024 after he had returned to WWE and forced him to resign for good.

Dupri appeared on the Nikki & Brie Show with the Bella Twins and, while not specifically referencing McMahon’s resignation, described it as a “chaotic day.” She noted that she had a fractured ankle and her segment was originally supposed to be a five-minute in-ring promo, and that McMahon had (before he announced his retirement) asked that she wear a black dress and high heels, which were going to make it difficult for her to walk to the ring since her ankle fracture meant she couldn’t walk in the heels.

Dupri added that the “very chaotic day” meant that their rehearsal for the segment was canceled, resulting in it being moved to the backstage segment we eventually saw. She noted that it may have saved her job as she had never done an in-ring promo before promo and it was, obviously, far from an ideal way to have a first one. You can see the highlights below:

On Her Start In NXT & Move to the Main Roster:

“I ended up getting put on TV with Mr. Stone and Von Wagner as a valet. Really had like no verbiage, nothing, was still learning. Then I fractured my ankle being suplexed in June. And they still had me on TV; I was just like in a boot and couldn’t walk. And then I got called up like two to four weeks later. Like, my ankle was not anywhere near healed.”

On Her Main Roster Debut:

“My first day, they had — I landed and they said, ‘Hey, Vince wants you in a black dress and heels.’ Well, I packed 100 outfits. I did not pack a black dress. And I had one pair of — no, I don’t even think I packed heels, because I couldn’t wear a heel.

“So, I woke up, I went to the mall. I found a black dress; I found these super high heels. And I can’t even step in them because my ankle won’t [bend to fit in a heel]. So, I literally like — and it was originally supposed to be an in-ring promo, and I can’t get to the ring. So, we’re doing rehearsals and I’m like, ‘If the ring shakes, I’m going to fall over.’ They’re like, ‘We’ll just bring you out in the dark. It’ll be fine.'”

On the Segment Being Changed:

“Then that was a very chaotic day. Some things happened in the company that day, so we ended up having to shut down rehearsals and have this meeting. And because of that, there was no time to go back and finish rehearsing. So, they were like, ‘We’re gonna shift this to a backstage.’ And I was like, ‘Thanks.’

“I had never done an in-ring promo. It was supposed to be a five minute in-ring promo. Like, I don’t know if I would be here today if that happened.”

If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit The Nikki & Brie Show with a h/t to 411mania.com for the transcription.