After initially arriving on the main roster as part of the ill-fated Maximum Male Models faction, Maxxine Dupri's star is now on the rise. As a member of Alpha Academy, she's quickly developed a great rapport with Chad Gable and Otis, and has been embraced by fans in the process.
In recent weeks, we've seen WWE tease Maxxine's eventual in-ring debut.
The storyline appears to be that Gable and Otis are training her to take on The Viking Raiders' Valhalla, and during a recent interview with Corey Graves on his After the Bell podcast, she revealed what inspired her to become a pro wrestler in the first place.
"I loved 'Total Divas,' I was obsessed with 'Total Divas.' My grandpa is a huge fan," Maxxine revealed. "He used to take my dad to WWE shows. He watches every week, so I'm officially the favorite grandchild, which is pretty exciting."
"My boyfriend is a huge WWE fan, so through COVID, that was really all that was on in our house. If he was playing a video game it was always WWE 2K and I'm like, 'Wait, this is Total Divas! Let's bring it back.'"
According to Maxxine, it was after watching the show that she decided to enter the pro wrestling world and her modelling agency connected her with WWE. After multiple tryout submissions, she eventually took part in one during 2021's SummerSlam in Las Vegas.
While the Four Horsewomen (Charlotte Flair, Becky Lynch, Bayley, and Sasha Banks) often get the credit for kickstarting the women's revolution in WWE, the fact this reality TV series inspired Maxxine just goes to show that The Bella Twins also deserve some of that.
In fact, Maxxine would name Nikki as her dream opponent, though that's not a match we ever expect to see happen, unfortunately.