Max Dupri is finished with Maximum Male Models, being replaced by his storyline sister Maxine

[Big Red Machine]

https://vip.pwtorch.com/2022/07/23/max- ... er-maxine/

By Wade Keller, PWTorch editor

July 23, 2022


The Maximum Male Models gimmick will continue, but without the brash talented mouthpiece Max Dupri, formerly known as L.A. Knight and Eli Drake (real name: Shaun Ricker). Max Dupri, sources indicate, had rubbed some people the wrong way and wasn’t fitting in so a decision was made by Vince McMahon a couple weeks ago to write him out of the storyline. Max knew last week he was making his final appearance when he plugged his sister would show up on Smackdown this week. Max’s sister, Maxine Dupri, is being played Sofia Cromwell, who previous worked in NXT.

[Big Red Machine]

So we're getting L.A. Knight back? He could probably make it work by just dismissing the whole thing as something he tried and it didn't work out, but shut up, dummy.

And if he's just going to be done with WWE, then we get Eli Drake back. Either way, we (and he) win.

[cero2k]

So we're getting L.A. Knight back? He could probably make it work by just dismissing the whole thing as something he tried and it didn't work out, but shut up, dummy.

((Looks over at that Elias/Ezekiel storyline))

you seriously expect something smart to come out of this?

[Big Red Machine]

So we're getting L.A. Knight back? He could probably make it work by just dismissing the whole thing as something he tried and it didn't work out, but shut up, dummy.

((Looks over at that Elias/Ezekiel storyline))

you seriously expect something smart to come out of this?

Smart? No. But he has the kind of personality and talking ability where he can just show up in NXT as L.A. Knight, have the fans chant "MAX DUPRI!" at him, and have him respond by saying "yeah, I tried a thing to get me some lackeys and it didn't work, so shut up you dummies. Unlike all of you, at least I'm pretty enough to be a model!" and he-the character- can move on from it, while it becomes a thing fans try to chant at him to get him upset. (You can put some plants in the crowd to start the chant.)
For a lot of other people, this kind of thing would be fatal within the WWE ecosystem. Not for him.