Dezmond Xavier

Deveon Everhart Aikens[1] is an American professional wrestler currently signed to WWE, where he performs on the NXT brand under the ring name Wes Lee.

Dezmond Xavier
Xavier in October 2016
Birth nameDeveon Everhart Aikens[1]
BornDayton, Ohio, United States[2]
ResidenceOrlando, Florida, United States[3]
Professional wrestling career
Ring name(s)Dez[4]
Dezmond X
Dezmond Xavier[5]
Wes Lee
Billed height5 ft 9 in (175 cm)[4]
Billed weight190 lb (86 kg)[4]
Billed fromDayton, Ohio[4]
Debut2011[6]

He is best known for his time in Impact Wrestling under the ring name Dezmond Xavier (or simply Dez).[4] He is well known as a member of The Rascalz with Zachary Wentz and Trey Miguel. 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.

Professional wrestling career

X Division (2017–2018)

On April 13, 2017, it was reported that Dezmond Xavier had signed with Impact Wrestling.[7] On the April 20 episode of Impact Wrestling, Xavier made his debut in a six-way match for the X Division Championship, in which he was unsuccessful.[8] 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,[9] 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.[10] 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 would then lose to Brian Cage at the Under Pressure special to determine the #1 contender for the X Division Championship. His only title challenge for the X Division Championship in 2018 came against Matt Sydal at the One Night Only pay-per-view event Zero Fear, in which he came up short. He would then take a brief hiatus from Impact.

The Rascalz (2018–2020)
Main article: The Rascalz
Dez (left) with Trey (center) and Wentz (right) as The Rascalz in July 2019

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 made his return to Impact by 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.[11] The trios had multiple vignettes where they sit in circle as smoke surrounded them, similar to a popular segment from That '70s Show.[12] 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, where they lost to Moose and The North. It was around this time that 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 would then unsuccessfully challenge North for the World Tag Team Championship on the August 2 episode of Impact!.

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 WWE and All Elite Wrestling. During November 17 tapings The Rascalz were given a "send off" by the Impact locker room. Trey confirmed the following day that he and Dez and Wentz were in fact done appearing on Impact Wrestling.

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.[13]

WWE (2020–present)

On December 2, 2020, he signed a contract with WWE and was assigned to the WWE Performance Center.[1][14] 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.[15] They defeated Jake Atlas and Isaiah "Swerve" Scott in the first round of the Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic tournament.[16][17]

Championships and accomplishments

References
  1. "Dezmond Xavier, Zachary Wentz, Alex Zayne among new recruits reporting to WWE Performance Center". WWE. December 2, 2020.
  2. "Dezmond Xavier profile".
  3. "Dezmond Xavier's twitter".
  4. "Dez - Impact Wrestling". ImpactWrestling.com. Impact Wrestling. Archived from the original on January 21, 2020. Retrieved December 3, 2020.
  5. "Dezmond Xavier - Impact Wrestling". December 30, 2017. Archived from the original on 2017-12-30.
  6. "Dezmond Xavier Profight profile".
  7. Csonka, Larry (April 13, 2017). "Dezmond Xavier Verbally Agrees to a Deal With Impact Wrestling". 411Mania.com. Retrieved April 13, 2017.
  8. Bocook, Gerald (April 20, 2017). "Impact Wrestling Results – 4/20/17 (New X Division Champion crowned)". wrestlinginc.com. Retrieved April 10, 2017.
  9. Namako, Jason (July 6, 2017). "Spoilers: 7/5 GFW Impact TV tapings from Orlando, Florida". Wrestleview. Retrieved August 18, 2017.
  10. 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.
  11. Garza, Antonio. "IMPACT WRESTLING RESULTS: ELI DRAKE VS. TOMMY DREAMER, RASCALZ DEBUT". Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Retrieved November 29, 2018.
  12. Greer, Jamie. "The Rascalz Are Coming: A Look at IMPACT Wrestling's Newest Stable". Last Word On Pro Wrestling. Retrieved November 24, 2018.
  13. https://411mania.com/wrestling/vampiro-says-lucha-underground-paved-the-way-for-aew-discusses-why-lucha-underground-failed/
  14. Lambert, Jeremy (December 2, 2020). "Dezmond Xavier, Zachary Wentz, And Alex Zayne Headline WWE Performance Center Recruitment Class". Fightful.
  15. "The Former Rascalz Debut As MSK On NXT". Fightful. January 13, 2021. Retrieved January 14, 2021.
  16. 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. Retrieved January 14, 2021.
  17. "Three Teams Advance In NXT Men's Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic". Fightful. January 13, 2021. Retrieved January 14, 2021.
  18. "AAW Tag Team Championship history".
  19. "CZW Tag Team Championship history".
  20. Kreikenbohm, Philip. "DTU Alto Impacto Championship « Titles Database « CAGEMATCH - The Internet Wrestling Database". www.cagematch.net.
  21. "Pro Wrestling Illustrated (PWI) 500 for 2019". The Internet Wrestling Database. Retrieved December 3, 2020.
  22. "WC Sideshow Championship history".
  23. https://www.cagematch.net/?id=5&nr=3571
  24. "XICW Tag Team Championship history".
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