Maxxine Dupri of Alpha Academy recently appeared as a guest on the latest episode of the popular INSIGHT with Chris Van Vliet podcast for an in-depth interview covering all things pro wrestling and WWE.
During the discussion, the women’s wrestling star spoke about being LA Knight’s sister during his days as Max Dupri, a potential WWE name change, why she does the worm backwards and more.
Featured below are some of the highlights from the interview where she touches on these topics with her thoughts. Also embedded below is a complete video archive of the discussion.
On whether she is still related to LA Knight: “That is my brother. And you know what’s insane. I have a huge match on Monday versus Becky Lynch. And do you think my brother has called me to offer any advice or train me? No, he has not, and our mother is worried about him. He’s out here living by a new name, it’s crazy. It’s a whole thing. Like, if he would like to show up to a family reunion, we would be so happy to welcome him with open arms.”
On if there has been any conversation about changing the name: “No. I know it is kind of funny, but no, I haven’t heard anything.”
On why she does the worm backwards: “Okay, it’s a backwards worm because I think the first time I did it was, it might have been the six man, which is my very first match, or it may have been my singles with Valhalla. But whatever it was, that day we’re in the ring, and they were like, Okay, we think you should do the worm. And at first, I’m like, yes! I got this. I got this on lockdown, easy peasy. What I didn’t realize is the last time I’d done the worm, prior to that, was when I was a guest on Below Deck Med with my mom, and I did it in a beer suit. I was feeling good that day. We were on a boat. You know, drinks were flowing. I was feeling good. I didn’t remember that I did it backwards, because I was so good at it. So I didn’t remember that I did it backwards. Okay, I can do the worm, and I’m trying to do it forward. And, as we know, it was like a mechanical worm. I would like, drop to my knees, and that was my worm going forward. And it just got to a point where I was so embarrassed every time I watched it. I was like, this is horrific. And I know everyone says it’s endearing, it’s funny, it’s part of your character. I’m like, this is horrendous. Then I was like, I know I can do it backwards, but during that time, I was just not comfortable with my character yet. So I didn’t even feel like I was allowed to do it backwards. I think I said to Chad one time, ‘Hey, do you think if I cartwheel into it and do it backwards, I’ll get in trouble, or is that okay?’ Because it’s way better backwards. And he was like, ‘Do it you’re making it your own.’ Then I did it that way, and it was so much easier and so much better. So it was not an intentional ‘Oh, I’m gonna do this new, unique worm.’ It’s just that I truly cannot do it well forward.”
On whether she was ok with her late brother being used in storylines: “Yes, 100%. It was that line I said, as I was the originator of the idea. So I said, we had the layout of the match where she’s going to yell at me and I’m going to walk out of the ring. And I just felt like if you want me to walk out of the ring, give me a reason to walk out of the ring. To me, I didn’t look at it as a negative towards my brother or towards my situation. To me, it felt like a positive, I get to bring light to the fact that I have a brother. To me, it was we’re gonna acknowledge someone that’s my whole world that passed away, whether she’s saying it in a negative way or positive way. To me, it was a positive. And I love Candice, she’s an angel, such a wonderful human, a wonderful mom. I don’t have anything bad to say about her.”
On her mom’s reaction: “My mom was definitely emotional about it. But again, she wasn’t emotional that Candice said something. She just didn’t know that that was going to come up. But if I would have told her, she would feel the same way that I feel. But Mondays are crazy, you know, the day gets going, you’re busy. I forgot to give her a warning.”
Maxxine Dupri will soon challenge Becky Lynch for the WWE Women’s Intercontinental Championship after securing an upset victory over “The Man” a few weeks ago on WWE Raw.
