When it was announced earlier today that a mystery team dubbed MSK was to partake in the 2021 edition of NXT's Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic, many speculation that this tandem could well be Dezmond Xavier and Zachary Wentz of the Rascalz fame - and for those who predicted Xavier and Wentz, they were indeed proved correct.
As is often the case with debuting talent, both competitors were handed a name change as they made their NXT bow. Dezmond Xavier is now Wes Lee, while Zachary Wentz is going by Nash Carter. As for what MSK stands for, that's yet to be revealed.
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Of course, MSK were successful in their NXT debut, defeating Jake Atlas and Isiah "Swerve" Scott in the first round of the 2021 Dusty Classic - putting Lee and Carter on track to face the winner of the Killian Dain and Drake Maverick vs. Curt Stallion and August Grey bout.
Along with Trey Miguel, Xavier and Wentz were known as the Rascalz in IMPACT Wrestling. All three exited IMPACT in November, with two of the trio signing with WWE. As for Miguel, he's currently a free agent who's said to be weighing up interest from both WWE and NXT.
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Elsewhere in Dusty Classic action, the Grizzled Young Veterans defeated Ever-Rise to cement their spot in the quarter-finals, which in turn puts Zack Gibson and James on a collision course with the victor of Kushida and Leon Ruff vs. Johnny Gargano and Austin Theory.
As of this writing, the Undisputed Era's Adam Cole and Roderick Strong are currently squaring off against Breezango in further Dusty Classic competition.
Once described as the Swiss Army Knife of WhatCulture, Andrew can usually be found writing, editing, or presenting on a wide range of topics.
As a lifelong wrestling fan, horror obsessive, and comic book nerd, he's been covering those topics professionally as far back as 2010. In addition to his current WhatCulture role of Senior Content Producer, Andrew previously spent nearly a decade as Online Editor and Lead Writer for the world's longest-running genre publication, Starburst Magazine, and his work has also been featured on BBC, TechRadar, Tom's Guide, WhatToWatch, Sportkskeeda, and various other outlets, in addition to being a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic.
Between his main day job, his role as the lead panel host of Wales Comic Con, and his gig as a pre-match host for Wrexham AFC games, Andrew has also carried out a hugely varied amount of interviews, from the likes of Robert Englund, Kane Hodder, Adrienne Barbeau, Rob Zombie, Katharine Isabelle, Leigh Whannell, Bruce Campbell, and Tony Todd, to Kevin Smith, Ron Perlman, Elijah Wood, Giancarlo Esposito, Simon Pegg, Charlie Cox, the Russo Brothers, and Brian Blessed, to Kevin Conroy, Paul Dini, Tara Strong, Will Friedle, Burt Ward, Andrea Romano, Frank Miller, and Rob Liefeld, to Bret Hart, Sting, Mick Foley, Ricky Starks, Jamie Hayer, Britt Baker, Eric Bischoff, and William Regal, to Mickey Thomas, Joey Jones, Phil Parkinson, Brian Flynn, Denis Smith, Gary Bennett, Karl Connolly, and Bryan Robson - and that's just the tip of an ever-expanding iceberg. Where his beloved Wrexham AFC is concerned, Andrew is co-host of the Fearless in Devotion podcast, which won the Club Podcast of the Year gong at the 2024 FSA Awards.
