When MSK first debuted in the then Black & Gold version of NXT, many, including myself, were excited to see the team formerly known as The Rascalz in WWE (even minus a member). Wes Lee (Dez or Desmond Xavier) was, to me, always the standout between he and Nash Carter (Wentz or Zachary Wentz), and now he finally has an opportunity to set his mark as a singles star. However, let’s first revisit MSK’s (and Lee’s) journey in NXT since debuting in January 2021.
MSK’s arrival, rise, and fall in NXT and 2.0
MSK – comprised of Lee and the recently released Carter – found immediate success: they won the 2021 Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic at NXT TakeOver: Vengeance Day. They then won the (vacant) NXT Tag Team Championship for the first time in a triple threat match against their Dusty Classic finals opponents, Grizzled Young Veterans, and Joaquin Wilde and the then-Raul Mendoza as part of Legado del Fantasma at NXT TakeOver: Stand & Deliver.
They would continue to find success throughout 2021 and into 2022 – even as a small handful of (influential) fans of the live NXT crowd continually booed them. Through it all, MSK just kept winning. They didn’t lose the Tag Team Championship until Halloween Havoc to Imperium, successfully defending the NXT Tag Team Championship for nearly six months before that fateful night.
However, personally, MSK became too much caricature when they began their “journey to find the shaman” after losing to Imperium. This, of course, resulted in a series of vignettes with MSK acting like a bunch of stereotypical stoners with forced, unfunny humor to most. They eventually found their shaman in Riddle, which just exacerbated the issue. While in-ring, their tandem offense and athleticism were entertaining, there was just a dichotomy in the character presentations during this time because of the lack of seriousness in these vignettes.
After their saga with Riddle, MSK once again set their eyes on the NXT Tag Team Championship, regaining it from Imperium in yet another triple threat match that also involved The Creed Brothers at Stand & Deliver during WrestleMania weekend 2022. However, only a few days later, Carter would be released from WWE after a photo surfaced of him with an Adolf Hitler mustache and accusations of abuse against him by Kimber Lee. This left Lee abruptly with no partner, not to mention having to vacate the NXT Championship.
The remaking of Lee’s character
Lee was kept off TV for two weeks, resurfacing on the April 19 episode of 2.0. He had a backstage interview with McKenzie Mitchell prior to his singles match with Xyon Quinn. Lee – seemingly always wearing a WWE PC shirt – was much more grounded and most importantly, relatable in this segment with Mitchell. He told her the past few weeks had been chaotic at the least and that he felt lost, which is something I’m sure most of us have felt over the past few years.
He was interrupted by Quinn, and Lee responded with righteous indignation that Quinn would interrupt him during what was supposed to be his moment with “a lecture.” Quinn, cocky grin and all, challenged Lee, who responded as one would hope: “I may have a lot of doubts in me right now, but the one thing that I’m for sure is I’m at home in that ring and maybe, just maybe, seeing you out there will bring some peace to this chaos.”
Just like that, Lee gave his best promo since he joined WWE.
He lost a competitive match to Quinn with Quinn using his new running, sliding forearm finisher to nab the victory. Lee refused to take questions in the back after his loss and that’s understandable in kayfabe: he’s going through chaos and lost a match he thought he could win.
Last week on 2.0, we received even more character development from Lee in one of the best vignettes 2.0 has done not only for Lee but since the shift to 2.0 happened. On a beach, Lee discussed in a grounded, relatable voice (there’s relatability again!) the journey to becoming Tag Team Champion and that while losing the Tag Team Championship in a match hurts, it’s nothing compared to having them taken from you (notably, no video of Carter was shown here). He said being stripped of the Tag Team Championship created an anger in him and added, “I can never forget my past, but the future holds a lot of new challenges, new risks, and I can only rely on myself.” He ended by saying this can one of two ways: “bitch and complain” or “knuckle up and make the waves that I’m destined to.”
How Lee becomes a singles star and champion in 2.0
I said on PWTorch’s PWT Talks NXT post-show on April 19 that I see Lee’s story unfolding in a simple yet effective method: he goes on a months-long, possibly even year-long, losing streak as he fully makes the transition from tag team wrestler to singles wrestler. With him having been a part of The Rascalz and MSK for so many years, it just doesn’t make sense, kayfabe or not, that Lee would instantly become a winning singles wrestler.
To me, the ideal path is for Lee to come closer and closer to winning in each match over increasingly difficult opponents. As much as Quinn has been highlighted lately, he’s probably the perfect first loss for Lee considering Quinn hasn’t accomplished much of anything before this recent hot streak. While Lee is talented, he hasn’t been wrestling solo as long as the likes of wrestlers like Boa, Solo Sikoa (who is in the triple threat match for the NXT North American Championship at Spring Breakin’), A-Kid, Tony D’Angelo, Duke Hudson, Von Wagner, Nathan Frazer, and eventually more established wrestlers like Santos Escobar (if he remains in 2.0), Roderick Strong (who’s release requests have been denied), North American Champion Cameron Grimes, and Carmelo Hayes.
Maybe Lee loses competitive feuds to the likes of Boa, A-Kid, and Hudson before finally finding that something that separates singles wrestling and tag team wrestling. Once it clicks, have him go on a winning streak against the Hudsons and D’Angelos and Grayson Wallers of 2.0 and then the more established stars like Strong, Grimes, and Escobar. Eventually, his journey, if done well (and that’s always the issue with WWE), should be received well by fans as NXT builds a babyface singles star.
Now, does this mean Lee should win his first singles championship match regardless of whether it’s the North American or NXT Championship? Possibly. However, what it does do is plant the seed for viewers that Lee not only has the potential but will become a singles champion. With how close the breakup and his first singles loss were to Stand & Deliver, I wouldn’t be surprised to see Lee challenge whoever is the NXT Championship at Stand & Deliver 2023, emerging as champion to end the night with a pop – presuming the NXT Champion is a heel at the time.
Conclusion
Overall, Wes Lee’s physical talents and skills were never in question. Those skills alone are enough to think of him as a singles champion. However, Lee’s become much more of a complete package with this recent (forced) recharacterization, and he and 2.0 will be better in the long run for making the change. In pro wrestling, it’s always better for wrestlers to have layers to their characters than be one-dimensional or hyperboles, and Lee is now firmly rooted in a complex, relatable character that should draw the right kind of attention from fans, other wrestlers, and NXT management.
