How Total Divas Played A Major Role In Maxxine Dupri Getting Involved With WWE

As Maxxine Dupri appears to be inching closer to her in-ring debut, she has reflected on the journey that brought her to WWE. During a recent episode of WWE's "After The Bell," Dupri revealed that it was E!'s "Total Divas" that inspired her to pursue a career in professional wrestling.

"I loved 'Total Divas,' I was obsessed with 'Total Divas.' My grandpa is a huge fan," Dupri said. "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.'"

After watching "Total Divas" for several years, Dupri decided to make the jump into the wrestling world herself and contacted her modeling agency to ask if they knew anyone in WWE. Following multiple tryout submissions, Dupri was finally invited for a tryout in Las Vegas — the site of WWE's 2021 SummerSlam event.

Last year, Dupri made her main roster debut as the Director of Talent for Maximum Male Models. Now, she finds herself aligned with Alpha Academy, where Chad Gable continues to train Dupri in anticipation of her in-ring debut.

Looking back on the "Total Divas" series, she has cited WWE Hall of Famers The Bella Twins as her favorites from the show and has previously named Nikki Bella as her dream opponent.