Maxxine Dupri’s quiet disappearance from the spotlight finally has an explanation, and according to Dave Meltzer it comes down to one thing: live crowds simply did not react to her matches.
Speaking on Wrestling Observer Radio, Meltzer said WWE invested in Dupri largely because of her appearance, but the audience response the promotion expected never materialized.
Dupri appeared to be on the rise late last year before her Women’s Intercontinental Championship reign came to an end. Since dropping the title, she has largely been limited to singles matches without a defined storyline direction.
Meltzer framed the lack of heat as the core problem that stalled her momentum.
“That’s why we haven’t seen Maxxine as a wrestler. They thought she was a big star because of her looks, and they were giving her the big push, but when she went out, the people didn’t react. At the end of the day, the people aren’t always the judge.
Because if it’s someone who they see as a top, top person, they’ll do the, ‘People don’t know what they want.’ But if you’re in the middle or low, and they don’t react to you, man, it’s f***** for you. That’s what basically hurt her career, the people didn’t react to her matches.”
The point Meltzer makes is about how WWE applies different standards depending on where a wrestler sits on the card. A top star can survive a flat crowd because the company will blame the audience. A mid-card act in the same spot gets pulled back instead.
Dupri’s title reign and her subsequent fall-off were on full display when Becky Lynch defended the Women’s Intercontinental Championship against her. The build to that program followed Natalya turning heel and attacking Dupri in Belfast, a feud that fizzled almost as quickly as it started.
Dupri remains on the Raw roster as part of Alpha Academy. However, the kind of focused push WWE gave her months ago has not returned.