It appears that reports of his demise have been somewhat premature, Max Dupri is back on SmackDown!
Following the July 22nd edition of Friday Night SmackDown it was reported that Max Dupri was no longer with the Maximum Male Models. This is despite the storyline and the faction only debuting two months ago.
The previous week Dupri had promised that his ‘sister’ would be arriving on July 22nd. However, while his sister Maxxine Dupri (Sofia Cromwell) did feature, it seemed that she was in fact his replacement.
It was reported after the show that Dupri had been un-booked at the last minute, and had been known to ruffle feathers backstage after taking issue with scripts he was given. Former WWE Chairman Vince McMahon had reportedly taken a special interest in Dupri and the angle before the star fell from favour.
Interestingly, it was also noted that McMahon’s retirement, which also came on July 22nd, was the best thing that could have happened for Dupri’s WWE career, and that has seemingly proven to be true.
Fast forward July 19th and Maxxine Dupri presented Maximum Male Models’ SummerSlam collection before Max joined the trio on-screen once again promising to “titillate the juices of your guilty pleasures.”
"To titillate the juices of your guilty pleasures."
Maximum. Male. Models.@MaxDupri@maxxinedupri#SmackDownpic.twitter.com/3IfrgxNerd
— WWE (@WWE) July 30, 2022
Prior to playing Max Dupri, he was LA Knight in NXT, holding the Million Dollar Championship.