Wes Lee
Deveon Everhart Aikens[1] (born November 2, 1994) is an American professional wrestler. He is currently signed to WWE, where he performs on the Raw brand under the ring name Wes Lee. He is a former and longest reigning one-time NXT North American Champion, and a former two-time NXT Tag Team Champion with Nash Carter.
Wes Lee | |
---|---|
Birth name | Deveon Everhart Aikens[1] |
Born | Dayton, Ohio, United States[2] | November 2, 1994
Spouse(s) |
Erica Marie (m. 2020) |
Professional wrestling career | |
Ring name(s) | Dez[3] Dezmond X Dezmond Xavier[4] Wes Lee |
Billed height | 5 ft 9 in (175 cm)[3] |
Billed weight | 190 lb (86 kg)[3] |
Billed from | Dayton, Ohio[3] |
Debut | 2011[5] |
He is best known for his time in Impact Wrestling under the ring name Dezmond Xavier (or simply Dez).[3] He is well known as a member of The Rascalz with Zachary Wentz, Trey Miguel, and Myron Reed. He also performed on independent promotions, mostly notably for Pro Wrestling Guerrilla (PWG), where he was one-half of the PWG World Tag Team Champions alongside Wentz and went on to become the longest reigning champions in the company’s history.
Professional wrestling career
Independent circuit (2011–2021)
Dezmond Xavier made his wrestling debut in 2011.[5] In 2017 at WrestleCircus he won the WC Sideshow Championship by defeating Joey Ryan.[6] Afterwards he went to wrestle in Desastre Total Ultraviolento where he won the DTU Alto Impacto Championship.[7]
In 2015 Dezmond Xavier teamed with Zachary Wentz while working in the independent circuit and formed a tag team by the name of Scarlet and Graves. The team competed in Combat Zone Wrestling (CZW) where he and Wentz went on to become 2-time Combat Zone Wrestling World Tag Team Champions their first time at an event called 'Cage Of Death 18' on December 10, 2016 against EYFBO and their second time at Lucha Forever Catch Me Outside against CCK Chris Brookes and Kid Lykos after losing the titles to them in year 2017.[8] In year 2016 before he and Wentz second AAW World Tag Title reign Dezmond Xavier and Wentz at Xtreme Intense Championship Wrestling teamed together with Trey Miguel, Aaron Williams, Kyle Maverick and the all five of them together won the XICW Tag Team Championships.[9] Also a year after that in year 2017 he and Wentz went on to wrestle at All American Wrestling where they went on to win the AAW World Tag Team Championships on July 15, 2017 at United We Stand against A. R. Fox and Rey Fenix.[10] A year later after that Trey Miguel and Myron Reed joined the group and then the group name changed into The Rascalz.
Also in the year 2018 Dezmond Xavier and Zachary Wentz wrestled at The Wrestling Revolver where they won both the PWR Tag Team Championships[11] and the One Night Tag Team Tournament[12] of 2018. In the same year, Dezmond Xavier and Zachary Wentz also went on to Pro Wrestling Guerrilla (PWG) to win the PWG World Tag Team Championships. They would hold the titles for 1025 days, the longest reign in company history.[13]
X Division (2017–2018)
In 2017 Dezmond Xavier signed with Impact Wrestling.[14] On the April 20 episode of Impact Wrestling, Xavier made his debut in a six-way match for the X Division Championship.[15] His first singles match in Impact took place on the July 8 episode of Xplosion, where he defeated Idris Abraham. Later that month, Xavier entered the 2017 GFW Super X Cup tournament,[16] in which he defeated Idris Abraham in the quarterfinals, Drago in the semifinals, and Taiji Ishimori in the final to win the 2017 GFW Super X Cup.[17] In October, Xavier made his pay-per-view debut at Bound for Glory, where he competed against Trevor Lee, Garza Jr., Matt Sydal, Petey Williams and Sonjay Dutt in a six-way match for the X Division Championship but failed to win the title. Xavier also received a singles title shot for the X Division Championship against Taiji Ishimori on the January 18, 2018 episode of Impact!, which he lost.
At Redemption, Xavier competed in a six-way X Division match, which he lost. He then lost to Brian Cage at the Under Pressure special to determine the #1 contender for the X Division Championship and he also lost to Brian Cage in a match for the X Division Championship on an episode of Impact Wrestling as well. He also has another title challenge for the X Division Championship in 2018 against Matt Sydal at the One Night Only pay-per-view event Zero Fear, in which he came up short. He then took a brief hiatus from Impact.
The Rascalz (2018–2020)
In late 2018, Xavier was aligned with Trey Miguel and Zachary Wentz, forming a fan favorite stable under the name The Rascalz. A vignette aired promoting the debut of Rascalz on the November 15 episode of Impact!. Xavier returned to Impact, teaming with Wentz under the new stable name on the November 29 episode of Impact!, where they defeated the team of Chris Bey and Mike Sydal.[18] After months of competing in the tag team division in the fall of 2018 and early 2019, the trio made their pay-per-view debut at Rebellion in April, and lost to Moose and The North. Around this time Xavier shortened his ring name to Dez while Trey Miguel and Zachary Wentz shortened their ring names to Trey and Wentz respectively. At Slammiversary XVII, Dez and Wentz unsuccessfully challenged The North for the World Tag Team Championship in a three-way match, also involving Latin American Exchange (Santana and Ortiz). Dez and Trey then unsuccessfully challenged North for the World Tag Team Championship on the August 2 episode of Impact!.[19]
In October, Dez competed against Sami Callihan in a losing effort at the Impact Plus event Prelude to Glory. In December, Dez unsuccessfully challenged Ace Austin for the X Division Championship at Motown Showdown. In 2020, Dez and Wentz unsuccessfully challenged The North for the World Tag Team Championship at February's Sacrifice event. Dez and Wentz continued their success in the tag team division by defeating XXXL and the team of TJP and Fallah Bahh at the Rebellion special. On the June 2 episode of Impact!, Dez and Wentz defeated TJP and Bahh to earn a World Tag Team Championship against The North on the June 16 episode of Impact!, which they lost. On July 18, 2020, Dez and Wentz issued an open challenge to any tag team at Slammiversary. The reunited Motor City Machine Guns accepted the challenge and won the match.
On November 11, it was revealed that The Rascalz would soon be leaving Impact and had interest from both WWE and All Elite Wrestling. During the November 17 tapings, The Rascalz were given a "send-off" by the Impact locker room. Trey confirmed the following day that he, Dez and Wentz were in fact done appearing on Impact Wrestling. Dez and Wentz went on to sign with WWE while Trey eventually returned to Impact Wrestling, effectively ending The Rascalz as a trio.
Dragon Gate (2018)
Dragon Gate announced the debut of Xavier and his indy tag team partner Zachary Wentz at Open The New Year Gate, Dragon Gate's first show of 2018. They debuted on 13 January, where Xavier and Wentz, collectively known as Scarlet and Graves, teamed with Susumu Yokosuka in a winning effort against Genki Horiguchi, Flamita and Bandido.
Lucha Underground (2018)
On the July 18, 2018, episode of Lucha Underground he made his debut under the name Dezmond X defeating Paul London for one of the seven ancient Aztec Medallions. The series was discontinued after season finale, Ultima Lucha Cuatro.[20]
MSK (2020–2022)
On December 2, 2020, he signed a contract with WWE and was assigned to the WWE Performance Center.[1][21] On the January 13, 2021 episode of NXT, Xavier, now going by the ring name Wes Lee, and his tag team partner Zachary Wentz, now going by the ring name Nash Carter, debuted under the new team name MSK.[22] They debuted in the Men's Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic tournament, which they won.[23][24] At NXT TakeOver: Stand & Deliver Night One, MSK defeated the Grizzled Young Veterans (James Drake and Zack Gibson) and Legado Del Fantasma (Raul Mendoza and Joaquin Wilde) in a triple threat match for the vacant NXT Tag Team Championship.[25] On an episode of NXT, MSK defeated Fantasma to retain their tag titles. At NXT TakeOver: In Your House, MSK teamed with NXT North American Champion Bronson Reed to defeat Legado Del Fantasma in a winner takes all match which MSK won.[26] At NXT The Great American Bash, MSK defeated Ciampa and Timothy Thatcher for the tag titles.[27] Over the next two months, MSK defended their titles against Imperium and Oney Lorcan and Danny Burch.
At NXT Halloween Havoc, Imperium defeated MSK in a Lumber Jack-o'-Lantern Tag Team match to win the titles, only for MSK to reclaim them at NXT Stand & Deliver.[28][29] However, just four days later, on April 5, 2022, it was reported that WWE had released Carter due to multiple domestic abuse allegations and photos relating to Adolf Hitler and Nazi symbolism. WWE later confirmed that the NXT Tag Team Championships were officially vacated on April 8, 2022, ending Lee's second reign at six days and also leading to the end of the group MSK in WWE.
NXT North American Champion (2022–2023)
On the April 19 episode of NXT 2.0, Lee returned to television, vaguely addressing the vacating of the tag titles, before being confronted by Xyon Quinn. This led to a match between Quinn and Lee later in the evening, with Lee losing.[30][31] On the May 24, 2022 episode of NXT 2.0, Lee lost against Sanga, and was taunted by Quinn before Sanga pulled him away.[32][33] The following week, Lee challenged Quinn to a match and won.[34][35] On the June 14, 2022 episode of NXT 2.0 Wes Lee had another highly acclaimed match against Xyon Quinn that he also was successful at winning in.[36] At NXT The Great American Bash, Lee lost to Trick Williams after Williams rubbed an unknown substance into Lee's eyes.[37]
On October 22 at NXT Halloween Havoc, Lee won the vacant NXT North American Championship in a five-man ladder match involving Carmelo Hayes, Von Wagner, Oro Mensah and Nathan Frazer. This marked Lee's first singles championship win in WWE and his second overall singles championship reign in his career.[38] On the November 1 episode of NXT, NXT Tag Team Champions Pretty Deadly interrupted NXT Champion Bron Breakker. This led to Lee coming out, where he and Breakker challenged Pretty Deadly to a match for their tag team championship later in the show; Lee and Breakker were unsuccessful after Hayes interfered.[39] Lee would defend the title against Tony D'Angelo, Dijak at NXT Vengeance Day, Nathan Frazer and Von Wagner over the next few months.
Lee broke the record for the most successful title defenses at NXT Stand & Deliver after defending the title in a Fatal 5-Way match against Axiom, Dragon Lee, Ilja Dragunov, and JD McDonagh. Lee retained against Axiom on the next episode of NXT and on the April 18, 2023 episode of NXT against Charlie Dempsey. This defense was his record-successful defense, tying Keith Lee's record for most defenses with the championship. At NXT Battleground, Lee retained the NXT North American Championship against Tyler Bate and Joe Gacy and surpassed Velveteen Dream's 231 day title reign to become the longest reigning NXT North American Champion. On the July 18 episode of NXT, Lee lost the NXT North American Championship to "Dirty" Dominik Mysterio after interference from The Judgment Day, ending his reign at a record 269 days.[40] Lee failed to regain the title in a triple threat match against Mysterio and Mustafa Ali at NXT The Great American Bash after interference from Rhea Ripley.[41]
NXT Championship pursuits (2023–present)
On the August 15 episode of NXT, Lee defeated Dijak to become the number one contender for the NXT Championship, with Lee challenging Carmelo Hayes for the title at NXT Heatwave in a losing effort.[42] On the September 12 episode of NXT, Lee lost to Ilja Dragunov in a number one contender match for the NXT Championship. Lee was later seen clearing out his locker and when asked, Lee said that he was going home and that "he's done."[43]
Other media
As Wes Lee, Aikens made his video game debut in WWE 2K22 as downloadable content,[47][48] he is also playable in WWE 2K23[49] and WWE SuperCard.[50]
Championships and accomplishments
- All American Wrestling
- Combat Zone Wrestling
- CZW World Tag Team Championship (2 times) – with Zachary Wentz[8]
- Desastre Total Ultraviolento
- DTU Alto Impacto Championship (1 time)[7]
- Impact Wrestling
- Super X Cup (2017)
- Gravy Train Turkey Trot (2018) – with Alisha Edwards, Kikutaro, KM, and Fallah Bahh
- Pro Wrestling Guerrilla
- PWG World Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Zachary Wentz[13]
- Pro Wrestling Illustrated
- WrestleCircus
- WC Sideshow Championship (1 time)[6]
- The Wrestling Revolver
- WWE
- NXT North American Championship (1 time)[52]
- NXT Tag Team Championship (2 times) – with Nash Carter[53]
- Men's Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic (2021) – with Nash Carter[54]
- Xtreme Intense Championship Wrestling
- XICW Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Aaron Williams, Dave Crist, Kyle Maverick, Trey Miguel, and Zachary Wentz[9]
References
- "Dezmond Xavier, Zachary Wentz, Alex Zayne among new recruits reporting to WWE Performance Center". WWE. December 2, 2020. Archived from the original on June 5, 2022.
- "Dezmond Xavier profile".
- "Dez - Impact Wrestling". ImpactWrestling.com. Impact Wrestling. Archived from the original on January 11, 2020. Retrieved December 3, 2020.
- "Dezmond Xavier - Impact Wrestling". December 30, 2017. Archived from the original on December 30, 2017.
- "Dezmond Xavier Profight profile".
- "WC Sideshow Championship history".
- Kreikenbohm, Philip. "DTU Alto Impacto Championship « Titles Database « CAGEMATCH - The Internet Wrestling Database". www.cagematch.net.
- Kreikenbohm, Philip (December 10, 2016). "CZW World Tag Team Championship". Cagematch - The Internet Wrestling Database. Retrieved April 28, 2021.
- Kreikenbohm, Philip (August 6, 2016). "XICW Tag Team Championship". Cagematch - The Internet Wrestling Database. Retrieved April 28, 2021.
- Kreikenbohm, Philip (July 15, 2017). "AAW Tag Team Championship". Cagematch - The Internet Wrestling Database. Retrieved April 28, 2021.
- Kreikenbohm, Philip (June 29, 2018). "PWR Tag Team Championship". Cagematch - The Internet Wrestling Database. Retrieved April 28, 2021.
- Kreikenbohm, Philip (August 3, 2018). "One Night Tag Team Tournament (2018)". Cagematch - The Internet Wrestling Database. Retrieved April 28, 2021.
- Kreikenbohm, Philip (April 20, 2018). "PWG World Tag Team Championship". Cagematch - The Internet Wrestling Database. Retrieved April 28, 2021.
- Csonka, Larry (April 13, 2017). "Dezmond Xavier Verbally Agrees to a Deal With Impact Wrestling". 411Mania.com. Retrieved April 13, 2017.
- Bocook, Gerald (April 20, 2017). "Impact Wrestling Results – 4/20/17 (New X Division Champion crowned)". wrestlinginc.com. Retrieved April 10, 2017.
- Namako, Jason (July 6, 2017). "Spoilers: 7/5 GFW Impact TV tapings from Orlando, Florida". Wrestleview. Retrieved August 18, 2017.
- McMahon, Mike (August 17, 2017). "McMahon's GFW Impact report 8/17: Destination X, Lashley vs. Sydal, Lee vs. Sonjay in a ladder match, Ishimori vs. Xavier, Sienna vs. Kim, GFW Title fallout". Pro Wrestling Torch. Retrieved August 18, 2017.
- Garza, Antonio (November 29, 2018). "IMPACT WRESTLING RESULTS: ELI DRAKE VS. TOMMY DREAMER, RASCALZ DEBUT". Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Retrieved November 29, 2018.
- Hughes, Dylan (March 3, 2021). "MSK | Exploring The Origin's of Wrestling's Rascalz -". ProWrestlingPost.com. Retrieved April 1, 2021.
- "411Mania".
- Lambert, Jeremy (December 2, 2020). "Dezmond Xavier, Zachary Wentz, And Alex Zayne Headline WWE Performance Center Recruitment Class". Fightful. Archived from the original on May 19, 2022.
- "The Former Rascalz Debut As MSK On NXT". Fightful. January 13, 2021. Archived from the original on June 12, 2021. Retrieved January 14, 2021.
- Moore, John (January 13, 2021). "1/13 NXT TV results: Moore's review of Adam Cole and Roderick Strong vs. Tyler Breeze and Fandango, and Grizzled Young Veterans vs. Ever-Rise in a Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic matches, Shotzi Blackheart vs. Candice LeRae, Johnny Gargano vs. Dexter Lumis in a non-title match". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Archived from the original on November 19, 2021. Retrieved January 14, 2021.
- "Three Teams Advance In NXT Men's Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic". Fightful. January 13, 2021. Archived from the original on May 24, 2022. Retrieved January 14, 2021.
- Moore, John (April 7, 2021). "NXT Takeover Stand & Deliver results: Moore's live review of night one with Io Shirai vs. Raquel Gonzalez for the NXT Women's Championship, Walter vs. Tommaso Ciampa for the NXT UK Championship, MSK vs. Grizzled Young Veterans vs. Raul Mendoza and Joaquin Wilde for the vacant NXT Tag Titles". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Archived from the original on August 29, 2021. Retrieved June 10, 2022.
- Powell, Jason (June 13, 2021). "NXT Takeover In Your House results – Powell's live review of Karrion Kross vs. Adam Cole vs. Kyle O'Reilly vs. Pete Dunne vs. Johnny Gargano for the NXT Title, Raquel Gonzalez vs. Ember Moon for the NXT Women's Title, Bronson Reed and MSK vs. Legado Del Fantasma for the NXT North American and NXT Tag Titles". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Archived from the original on March 23, 2022. Retrieved June 10, 2022.
- Moore, John (July 6, 2021). "7/6 NXT TV results: Moore's review of the Great American Bash edition with Adam Cole vs. Kyle O'Reilly, MSK vs. Tommaso Ciampa and Timothy Thatcher for the NXT Tag Titles, Candice LeRae and Indi Hartwell vs. Io Shirai and Zoey Stark for the NXT Women's Tag Titles, LA Knight vs. Cameron Grimes for the Million Dollar Title". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Archived from the original on October 11, 2021. Retrieved June 10, 2022.
- Moore, John (October 26, 2021). "10/26 NXT 2.0 results: Moore's review of Halloween Havoc with Tommaso Ciampa vs. Bron Breakker for the NXT Title, plus Spin the Wheel, Make the Deal stipulations for Raquel Gonzalez vs. Mandy Rose for the NXT Women's Title, and MSK vs. Fabian Aichner and Marcel Barthel for the NXT Tag Titles". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Archived from the original on May 24, 2022. Retrieved June 10, 2022.
- Moore, John (April 2, 2022). "NXT Stand & Deliver results: Moore's live review of Dolph Ziggler vs. Bron Breakker for the NXT Title, Mandy Rose vs. Cora Jade vs. Io Shirai vs. Kay Lee Ray for the NXT Women's Title, Fabian Aichner and Marcel Barthel vs. MSK vs. The Creed Brothers for the NXT Tag Titles, the NXT North American Title ladder match". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Archived from the original on June 4, 2022. Retrieved June 10, 2022.
- Moore, John (April 19, 2022). "4/19 NXT 2.0 results: Moore's review of Santos Escobar vs. Carmelo Hayes, Tiffany Stratton vs. Sarray, Natalya vs. Tatum Paxley, Grayson Waller vs. Sanga, NXT Tag Champions Pretty Deadly appear". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Archived from the original on June 10, 2022. Retrieved June 10, 2022.
- "Wes Lee vs. Xyon Quinn: WWE NXT, April 19, 2022". WWE / YouTube.com. Retrieved April 19, 2022.
- Moore, John (May 24, 2022). "Moore's review of NXT Champion Bron Breakker vs. Duke Hudson in a non-title match, NXT Women's Champion Mandy Rose vs. Indi Hartwell in a non-title match, Nikkita Lyons vs. Fallon Henley and Roxanne Perez vs. Lash Legend in NXT Breakout Tournament semifinal matches". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Archived from the original on June 10, 2022. Retrieved June 10, 2022.
- "Wes Lee vs. Sanga: WWE NXT, May 24, 2022". WWE / YouTube.com. Retrieved May 24, 2022.
- Moore, John (May 31, 2022). "5/31 NXT 2.0 results: Moore's review of the In Your House go-home show with North American Champ Cameron Grimes vs. Nathan Frazer in a non-title match, Cora Jade vs. Elektra Lopez, NXT women's championship summit". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Archived from the original on June 1, 2022. Retrieved June 10, 2022.
- "Wes Lee vs. Xyon Quinn: WWE NXT, May 31, 2022". WWE / YouTube.com. Retrieved May 31, 2022.
- "Wes Lee vs. Xyon Quinn: WWE NXT, June 14, 2022". WWE / YouTube.com. Retrieved June 14, 2022.
- "NXT Great American Bash results: July 5, 2022". WWE. Retrieved July 5, 2022.
- "Full NXT Halloween Havoc 2022 results: Oct. 22, 2022". WWE. Retrieved October 22, 2022.
- "WWE NXT results, Nov. 1, 2022: Von Wagner makes a bold move into the NXT Title picture". WWE. Retrieved November 1, 2022.
- Moore, John (July 18, 2023). "NXT TV results (7/18): Moore's review of Wes Lee vs. Dominik Mysterio for the NXT NA Title, Nathan Frazer and Dragon Lee vs. Los Lotharios, Kiana James vs. Gigi Dolin, Tony D'Angelo's homecoming". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved July 19, 2023.
- Thomas, Jeremy (July 30, 2023). "Dominik Mysterio Retains North American Title At NXT Great American Bash". 411Mania. Retrieved July 31, 2023.
- WWE.com Staff (August 15, 2023). "Carmelo Hayes and Wes Lee square off for the NXT Championship". WWE. Retrieved August 19, 2023.
- Tessier, Colin (September 12, 2023). "Wes Lee Cleans Out His Locker, Says He's 'Done' On 9/12 WWE NXT | Fightful News". www.fightful.com. Retrieved September 13, 2023.
- Aikens, Deveon. "My Queen, You have enriched my life and helped me evolve as a man and as a human being. You saved me from a very dark path and I'm eternally grateful and appreciative for everything you've done for and with me". Twitter.com. Retrieved July 9, 2023.
- "Wes Lee's Wife Defends Nash Carter Against Kimber Lee Accusations". SuperLuchas. April 6, 2022.
- "Wes Lee's wife calls out Kimber Lee amidst Nash Carter accusations". Sportskeeda. July 23, 2022.
- LANDAVERDE, RAUL (June 4, 2022). "WWE 2K22 Video Shows Wes Lee DLC". Gamerant.com. Retrieved June 4, 2022.
- "WWE 2K22 roster: Wes Lee". TheSmackDownHotel.com.
- "WWE 2K23 roster: Wes Lee". TheSmackDownHotel.com. Retrieved March 8, 2023.
- "WWE SuperCard roster: Wes Lee". TheSmackDownHotel.com. Retrieved March 15, 2023.
- "Pro Wrestling Illustrated (PWI) 500 for 2021". The Internet Wrestling Database. Retrieved October 9, 2021.
- "NXT North American Championship". World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE).
- "NXT Tag Team Championship". World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE). Retrieved April 8, 2021.
- Kreikenbohm, Philip (February 14, 2021). "Men's Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic (2021)". Cagematch - The Internet Wrestling Database. Retrieved February 15, 2021.
External links
- Wes Lee on WWE.com
- Wes Lee on Twitter
- Wes Lee's profile at Cagematch.net , Wrestlingdata.com , Internet Wrestling Database
- Dezmond Xavier at IMDb
- Impact Wrestling Profile