Meet the Rascalz: how 2024 WWE brought MSK back to NXT

Before Tuesday night, the last time Zachary Wentz was in a WWE ring was in April of 2022, when the man then-known as Nash Carter was one-half of the tag team champions with MSK alongside Wes Lee.

Since then, Wentz was fired from WWE after being accused of abuse by his ex-wife Kimber Lee and having a picture surfaced online of him wearing a very problematic facial hair style – Bryan Alvarez believes he was fired for the latter, not the former – worked some indie matches, and ultimately re-signed with TNA wrestling, where he reformed the Rascalz with another former member of the faction, Trey Miguel.

And as for Lee? Well, he just kept trucking along in NXT, becoming a multi-time North American Champion and proving that despite his tag team pedigree, he's one of the best workers in the business regardless of whether he's working singles or tag team matches.

So, with NXT and TNA working together, fans wondered whether the Rascalz would reunite in either the Impact Zone or the PC and how they would treat Wentz back in the WWE Universe, be that calling himself his former NXT moniker or keeping his indie name.

Well, as it turns out, the WWE split the difference in order to garner a massive pop from the crowd, with Wentz and Miguel coming in under their TNA monikers but with the former acknowledging that he was in NXT with Lee and that they were MSK. With Lee considering leaving wrestling for good after taking another major loss at the hands of Oba Femi, Wentz and Miguel offered up an alternative, offering to instead reunite not only MSK but also the Rascalz, who will make their in-ring NXT debuts next week against Gallus.

So what should fans make of this development? Did WWE do the right thing in releasing Wentz two years ago when nothing major has come out about the situation since? Or are they in the wrong bringing him back now, as, again, nothing much new has come out about his relationship with Lee over the past two years? While someone may ask Shawn Michaels and/or Paul “Triple H” Levesque that very question ahead of the promotion's next PLE, for now, it's clear NXT is attempting to bring back a group that was incredibly popular before they were released while enjoying the attention they are earning for their TNA collaboration. All in all, it's incredibly interesting to see how things shake out.

Wes Lee finally finds some NXT backup

After taking a loss to Oba Femi at NXT Heatwave, Wes Lee was feeling down.

A victim of his solo status, of being a smaller wrestler, and of agreeing to a stipulation that prevents him from challenging for the North American Championship versus Femi ever again, Vic Joseph and Booker T played up the uncertainty of Lee's future in professional wrestling and let it be known that he may just quit WWE entirely in order to avoid constantly being on the wrong side of beatdowns.

“Look, I've had a rough couple of days here, y'all. Like, I truly went into Heatwave believing that I could beat Oba Femi and finally be reunited with my North American Championship, but y'all saw what happened. Look, Oba Femi was the better man, period, point blank. But you see, the match wasn't the only thing I put my everything into. Like as soon as I woke up from surgery, I knew exactly what my goal was: to beat the unbeatable. And, you see, like, that was the thing that truly pushed me through rehab, like, I visualized it, I imagined my arm being raised, I could feel the title in my hand again, and I was ready to proudly raise it above my head again as the ‘King of the Wes Side,” Wes Lee told the fans in Orlando.

“But unfortunately, that is not how it happened. Now look, I'll be straight with you all; I really don't know where to go from here. Like I've been beaten before, but this was different. Now look, I have had one h*ll of a run in NXT, but I've got to be honest with you all, like I truly have to be honest with every single one of you and myself. Looks, I think it's time for me to start stepping away…”

Before Lee could finish his thought, who but the Rascalz emerged to reunite with their pal, with Wentz specifically addressing his former MSK partner.

“What are we doing here? What are you doing here? You're about to do something stupid,” Wentz declared. “These people don't want to see Wes Lee go; we don't want to see Wes Lee go. Bro, we have missed you so much!”

“Just like all of them, I have missed you so d**n much,” Lee responded. “And look, I've been watching everything, and I am extremely proud of the men that you, too, have become.”

With the trio clearly excited to be back together, Wentz and Miguel attempted to get Lee to see the bigger picture, letting him know that he doesn't have to ride alone any longer.

“But look, this isn't about us, this is about you; you are the greatest North American Champion ever!” Wentz declared.

“And on top of that, the two of you are the best tag team to every step foot in this very building,” Miguel added.

“So this is what we came for,” Wentz noted. “We are here in NXT because I think it's time to get MSK back together, and I think it's about time the Rascalz wreck shop around here; what do you think?”

Whoa, what would Lee say? Well, he didn't have to say anything as he threw up the Rascalz hand gesture, and before the crowd could chant “MSK,” the trio hugged it out to signify that they were back and ready to “wreck shop,” heading into the future.