When WWE decided to have Candice LeRae talk some serious trash in the face of Maxxine Dupri during a tag team match on RAW, saying she didn't belong and referencing her dead brother, it legitimized the criticism the latter had received online and from fans at house shows for not being a main roster wrestling talent at the moment.
Now granted, is it fair to criticize Dupri's wrestling? Sure, but in making it a storyline, WWE can hopefully put a light at the end of that tunnel, with Dupri securing a win and maybe earning the respect of LeRae when everything is said and done, even if that won't necessarily shut down the haters online or at shows in the future.
Fortunately, in the opinion of WWE Hall of Famer Trish Stratus, Dupri has nothing to worry about, as she's a WWE Superstar, and the people who are watching her on her journey are just along for the ride.
“I think these keyboard warriors have no idea what we do. I suffered it too. They were like, ‘Oh that (match) was crap.' Well, you try it. I love that (the women) banded together. Because we all get it, we all go through it, we live it. It affects us, you know? We have feelings. So when people say something mean, it doesn't feel that great. So it's great that we can all use the platform of social media to (unite) and let (the critics) know that they can't just talk s**t and get away with it. I love that we can put them in their place,” Trish Stratus told SlamWrestling.net.
“I think that Maxxine is doing amazing. I think she's being booked perfectly. I see similar parallels to the way I was booked early on. I believe I have this connection with the fans because of how I came up. I didn't do the traditional upbringing. I didn't come in trained, I didn't do the indies or the ‘minor league' so to speak. I literally learned on the road – I learned as I went, and everyone was along for the journey. They got to see me fall down. But they also got to see me stand up, dust myself off, and try again. I think she's doing a great job. She's athletic, she's got a great look, she's gorgeous. I think she's the perfect underdog story. I think it's going to turn around and people are going to click with her, and she'll be around a long time. I would (encourage) her to use those negative words as her fuel. I hope she turns it into a fire so that she can go back to them and say ‘Look at what I did now.' When I was getting criticized, when people were telling me I'd never succeed, my motivation was to become so good that people couldn't help but notice. That drove me. Hopefully that can be her fuel as well.”
Before making her debut on RAW in a mixed tag match against the Viking Warriors, Dupri had worked exactly zero official matches in WWE or any other promotion, with the brunt of her work spent in the Performance Center and the Alpha Academy dojo. While some may suggest that she wrestles like someone who has only worked 14 professional matches, that number is only going to rise as she continues to put in work within the WWE Universe, and as a result, she's going to get better like Stratus before her.
Maxxine Dupri believes the WWE locker room is very supportive.
Speaking on Maxxine Dupri's reaction as a very new professional wrestler, while some fans – plus Candice LeRae – may not be the most supportive of her journey, according to the “Alpha Queen” herself in an interview with Wellness Her Way, for the most part, the WWE locker room – minus Candice LeRae – has been very supportive, as she's been afforded a chance to learn and grow alongside some of the best performers in the game today.
“A misconception is what our locker room is like. I think people assume that it's catty and everyone is at each other's throats,” Maxxine Dupri told Wellness Her Way via Fightful. “We have the most fun locker room. It's unreal. We have the best time. We have a locker room filled with the most amazing women, who are so talented and trying to lift each other up. I was not expecting that when I got called up. I was nervous, I didn't know. When I got called up, I was like, ‘Oh, this is amazing.' If you lean into that role with a kind heart and loving hand, everyone reciprocates that back, and it's awesome.”
Whether they came to WWE from the indies, college sports, MMA, or after being a professional cheerleader like Dupri, it's nice to learn that the women's locker room is welcoming to all parties who earn their way onto the main roster. Now, if the women of RAW can just come together to shut down LeRae's bullying, then they can really ensure a nice place for everyone to work moving forward.
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