The debut of Maxxine Dupri on SmackDown will reportedly spell the end of Max Dupri’s association with Maximum Male Models.
It’s only been two months since LA Knight made his debut on WWE’s main roster, adopting the moniker of Max Dupri and announcing the formation of Maximum Male Models. His on-screen sister Maxxine Dupri, the former Sofia Cromwell, was his latest acquisition, joining ma.cé and mån.sôör.
However, it appears this has spelt the end of Max’s time with the group. Per PWTorch’s Wade Keller, the trio will continue with the Dupri sister in place of the former Eli Drake. Sources indicated that he had “rubbed some people the wrong way” and “wasn’t fitting in”. Vince McMahon allegedly made the executive decision to write him out of the group.
The report also stated that Max Dupri has already made his final appearance under the gimmick, doing so when he touted the arrival of his sister on last week’s SmackDown. Now that she’s been introduced, Max will no longer be featured on WWE programming.
This follows reports of Max Dupri being absent from last night’s SmackDown broadcast. PWInsider’s Mike Johnson reported prior to the show that he wasn’t in attendance, but that plans to debut Maxxine would go ahead without him.
It’s unknown what, exactly, will come next for the real-life Shaun Ricker. Prior to playing Max Dupri, he was LA Knight in NXT, holding the Million Dollar Championship and generally being a solid member of the roster in-ring and charisma-wise. Whether he remains on the main roster, goes back to NXT, or leaves the company entirely remains to be seen.