Wes Lee facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Wes Lee |
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Lee in 2019
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| Birth name | Deveon Everhart Aikens |
| Born | November 2, 1994 Dayton, Ohio, U.S. |
| Spouse(s) |
Erica Marie
(m. 2020) |
| Professional wrestling career | |
| Ring name(s) | Dez Dezmond X Dezmond Xavier Wes Lee |
| Billed height | 5 ft 9 in (175 cm) |
| Billed weight | 190 lb (86 kg) |
| Billed from | Dayton, Ohio |
| Debut | 2011 |
Deveon Everhart Aikens (born November 2, 1994) is an American professional wrestler. He is known by his ring name Wes Lee. He works for WWE on their NXT brand. Wes Lee has been a champion many times, including once as the NXT North American Champion and twice as an NXT Tag Team Champion.
Before joining WWE, he was a co-founder and member of a wrestling group called The Rascalz. He was also known as Dezmond Xavier (or just Dez) in Impact Wrestling. He also wrestled for other groups like Pro Wrestling Guerrilla (PWG). There, he and his tag team partner, Wentz, held the PWG World Tag Team Championship for the longest time in the company's history.
Contents
Wes Lee's Wrestling Journey
Starting Out: Independent Wrestling (2011–2021)
Deveon Aikens started his wrestling career in 2011 as Dezmond Xavier. In 2017, he won the WC Sideshow Championship at WrestleCircus. He also won the DTU Alto Impacto Championship in Mexico.
In 2015, Dezmond Xavier teamed up with Zachary Wentz to form a tag team called Scarlet and Graves. They became Combat Zone Wrestling World Tag Team Champions two times. They also won the AAW World Tag Team Championships in 2017. In 2018, Dezmond Xavier and Zachary Wentz won the PWR Tag Team Championships and a special tournament called the One Night Tag Team Tournament.
Also in 2018, they won the PWG World Tag Team Championships. They held these titles for an amazing 1025 days! This is the longest time anyone has held those titles in PWG history. Later, Trey Miguel and Myron Reed joined their group, and they became known as The Rascalz.
Time in Impact Wrestling (2017–2020)
Competing in the X Division (2017–2018)
In 2017, Dezmond Xavier joined Impact Wrestling. He quickly made a name for himself. He won the GFW Super X Cup tournament, beating tough opponents like Drago and Taiji Ishimori. This was a big win for him.
He also had chances to win the X Division Championship. He wrestled against champions like Taiji Ishimori and Brian Cage, but he wasn't able to win the title at that time.
Forming The Rascalz (2018–2020)
In late 2018, Dezmond Xavier, Trey Miguel, and Zachary Wentz officially formed a popular group called The Rascalz. They quickly became a fan favorite team. Xavier shortened his name to Dez, and his partners became Trey and Wentz.
They competed in many tag team matches. They tried to win the World Tag Team Championship several times but were not successful. In 2020, they had a big match against the reunited Motor City Machine Guns, but they lost.
In November 2020, it was announced that The Rascalz would be leaving Impact Wrestling. Dez and Wentz decided to join WWE, while Trey Miguel later returned to Impact. This meant The Rascalz group, as a trio, came to an end.
Joining WWE: Wes Lee's New Chapter (2020–Present)
Becoming MSK and Tag Team Champion (2020–2022)
In December 2020, Dezmond Xavier and Zachary Wentz signed with WWE. They were given new names: Dezmond became Wes Lee, and Zachary became Nash Carter. They formed a new tag team called MSK.
In January 2021, MSK debuted in the Men's Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic tournament, which they won! This was a huge start for them. After winning the tournament, they went on to win the NXT Tag Team Championship at NXT TakeOver: Stand & Deliver. They defended their titles successfully against many teams.
MSK won the NXT Tag Team Championship a second time at NXT Stand & Deliver in 2022. However, a few days later, Nash Carter was released from WWE due to issues outside of wrestling. This meant the NXT Tag Team Championships were given up, and MSK as a team in WWE ended.
Longest Reigning NXT North American Champion (2022–2023)
After MSK ended, Wes Lee started wrestling on his own. He faced some tough challenges but kept fighting.
On October 22, 2022, at NXT Halloween Havoc, Wes Lee won the NXT North American Championship in a special ladder match. This was his first singles championship in WWE! He defended his title many times against different wrestlers like Dijak, Nathan Frazer, and Von Wagner.
Wes Lee broke the record for the most successful title defenses at NXT Stand & Deliver in 2023. He kept defending his title, becoming the longest-reigning NXT North American Champion in history. His reign lasted 269 days! He finally lost the title to Dominik Mysterio on July 18, 2023, after some interference.
Later in 2023, Wes Lee challenged Carmelo Hayes for the NXT Championship but lost. He then had to take time off for back surgery, which meant he couldn't wrestle for many months. It was a difficult time, and he even thought about retiring.
Return and New Challenges (2024–Present)
Wes Lee made a surprise return from his injury on April 30, 2024, at Spring Breakin'. He quickly got back into action, wrestling against new opponents. He challenged Oba Femi for the NXT North American Championship at NXT Battleground and NXT Heatwave, but he couldn't win the title.
After his loss at Heatwave, Wes Lee was about to announce he was leaving, but his old Rascalz teammates, Trey Miguel and Zachary Wentz, returned to WWE! They convinced him to stay, and The Rascalz reunited. They even wrestled together in Impact Wrestling again.
However, at NXT: The Great American Bash in August, Wes Lee and Wentz (as MSK) lost a match for the NXT Tag Team Championships. After the match, Wes Lee turned on his teammates. He was upset with Wentz for leaving him in 2022. This was the first time Wes Lee acted like a "bad guy" (called a "heel" in wrestling) in his career. He then had a big fight with Wentz, which ended in a "Street Fight" match where Wes Lee won.
In December 2024, it looked like Wes Lee might be forming a new team with Tyriek Igwe and Tyson Dupont. He also had another foot injury reported around this time.
Personal Life
Deveon Aikens is married to Erica Marie.
Wes Lee in Video Games
Wes Lee has been featured in several WWE video games. You can play as him in WWE 2K22, WWE 2K23, WWE 2K24, and WWE SuperCard.
Championships and Achievements
Wes Lee has won many championships and awards throughout his career:
- All American Wrestling
- AAW Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Zachary Wentz
- Combat Zone Wrestling
- CZW World Tag Team Championship (2 times) – with Zachary Wentz
- Desastre Total Ultraviolento
- DTU Alto Impacto Championship (1 time)
- ESPN
- Ranked No. 14 of the 30 best Pro Wrestlers Under 30 in 2023
- Impact Wrestling
- GFW Super X Cup (2017)
- Impact Turkey Bowl (2018) – with Alisha Edwards, Kikutaro, KM, and Fallah Bahh
- Pro Wrestling Guerrilla
- PWG World Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Zachary Wentz
- Pro Wrestling Illustrated
- Ranked No. 66 of the top 500 singles wrestlers in the PWI 500 in 2023
- WrestleCircus
- WC Sideshow Championship (1 time)
- The Wrestling Revolver
- PWR Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Zachary Wentz
- One Night Tag Team Tournament (2018) – with Zachary Wentz
- WWE
- NXT North American Championship (1 time)
- NXT Tag Team Championship (2 times) – with Nash Carter
- Men's Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic (2021) – with Nash Carter
- Xtreme Intense Championship Wrestling
- XICW Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Aaron Williams, Dave Crist, Kyle Maverick, Trey Miguel, and Zachary Wentz
See also
In Spanish: Wes Lee para niños
