MSK (professional wrestling)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
"The Rascalz" redirects here. For the Canadian hip-hop group, see Rascalz.
The Rascalz
The Rascalz.jpg
The Rascalz (from left to right: Dezmond Xavier, Trey Miguel, and Zachary Wentz) in July 2019
Stable
MembersDez / Dezmond Xavier / Wes Lee
Wentz / Zachary Wentz / Nash Carter
Name(s)MSK
The Rascalz
Scarlet and Graves
Billed heightsLee: 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)
Carter: 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)
Combined
billed weight		366 lb (166 kg)
Billed fromDayton, Ohio
Former
member(s)		Myron Reed
Trey / Trey Miguel
DebutMarch 31, 2018
Years active2018–present

MSK is an American professional wrestling tag team consisting of Wes Lee and Nash Carter. The team is currently performing in WWE on the NXT brand, where they are one time NXT Tag Team Champions.

The team is best known as The Rascalz, which was a trio consisting of Lee and Carter under the ring names Dezmond Xavier (or simply Dez) and Zachary Wentz (or simply Wentz), respectively, alongside Trey Miguel (or simply Trey).[1] They are best known for their time in Impact Wrestling.

They began teaming with each other for the first time on the independent circuit in 2015 and competed in various independent promotions. They soon joined a stable called Scarlet and Graves, which primarily competed in Combat Zone Wrestling (CZW) as well as other independent promotions. In 2018, the stable ended as Xavier and Wentz went on to form a new tag team called The Rascalz. They were soon joined by Myron Reed and Trey Miguel, but Reed soon left the group and the remaining three continued on as a trio, making their debut in Impact Wrestling shortly after.[2] The trio would depart from the company in November 2020 with Xavier and Wentz signing with WWE the following month while Miguel went his separate way and returned to Impact Wrestling the following January.

History[]

Background and formation[]

Dezmond Xavier and Zachary Wentz teamed with each other for the first time at a Rockstar Pro event Amped on December 12, 2015 by defeating Ohio Is 4 Killers (Dave Crist and Jake Crist).[3] They soon formed an alliance with Dave Crist, JT Davidson and Brittany Blake called Scarlet And Graves at a Combat Zone Wrestling event Seventeen on February 13, 2016 by defeating Conor Claxton, Frankie Pickard and Neiko Sozio.[4][5] Xavier and Wentz won many tag team titles as part of the stable including the CZW World Tag Team Championship twice[6][7] and the All American Wrestling Tag Team Championship once.[8] In CZW, they split up from Dave Crist and JT Davidson, with whom Xavier and Wentz had begun feuding and continued to compete as Scarlet And Graves. Xavier and Wentz teamed with their future partner Trey Miguel for the first time to defeat Ohio Is 4 Killers (Dave Crist, Jake Crist and Sami Callihan) in a doors match at EVILution on July 8, 2017.[9]

Scarlet and Graves dissolved in 2017 and Xavier and Wentz formed a tag team called The Rascalz in Fight Club Pro by teaming with Meiko Satomura against Travis Banks and Aussie Open in a six-person tag team match at the second day of the Dream Tag Team Invitational tournament on March 31, 2018.[10]

Independent circuit (2018–2020)[]

Xavier and Wentz added Trey Miguel and Myron Reed as the new members of Rascalz in CZW at Welcome to the Combat Zone on April 7, 2018. They defeated Bandido and Flamita and Ohio Versus Everything in a three-way match.[11] At FCP's International Tekkers: Nothing Is True, Everything Is Permitted, Xavier and Wentz captured The Wrestling Revolver's PWR Tag Team Championship by defeating the defending champions and Pete Dunne and The Besties In The World (Davey Vega and Mat Fitchett) in a three-way match.[12] They successfully defended the titles in a one-night tag team tournament against Killer Death Machines (Jessicka Havok and Nevaeh), The Crew (Jason Cade and Shane Strickland) and The Latin American Exchange (Santana and Ortiz) at Catalina Wrestling Mixer 2. Miguel and Reed also participated in the tournament, losing to Besties in the World in the opening round.[13] Rascalz held the PWR Tag Team Championship until It's Always Sunny In Iowa on March 3, 2019, where they lost the titles to Latin American Exchange in a three-way match, also involving Besties in the World.[14] Reed would leave the group after Miguel, Xavier and Wentz signed with Impact Wrestling.

On May 12, Miguel and Wentz won the WC Big Top Tag Team Championship at WrestleCircus event Encore by defeating The Dirty Devils (Andy Dalton and Isaiah James) and The Riegel Twins (Logan and Sterling) in a three-way match.[15][16] After a successful title defense against Riegel Twins and Private Party at Big Top Revival,[17] Miguel and Wentz vacated the titles on July 25.[18] In the United Kingdom-based Southside Wrestling Entertainment, Xavier and Wentz captured the SWE Tag Team Championship by defeating Chris Tyler and Stixx at III Manors on August 10. They lost the titles to Deadly Sins at Lock, Stock And Three Smoking Rascalz.[19]

Pro Wrestling Guerrilla (2018–2020)[]

Dezmond Xavier and Zachary Wentz debuted for Pro Wrestling Guerrilla (PWG) at Time is a Flat Circle on March 23, 2018 by defeating Bandido and Flamita in a tag team match.[20] The following month, during the night one of All Star Weekend on April 20, Rascalz defeated The Chosen Bros (Jeff Cobb and Matt Riddle) and The Young Bucks in a three-way match to capture the World Tag Team Championship.[21] Rascalz made their first successful title defense the following night against Violence Unlimited.[22] Rascalz would retain the titles throughout the rest of 2018 and 2019 as they successfully defended the titles against Young Bucks,[23] Lucha Brothers,[24] Latin American Exchange[25] and Best Friends in quick succession.[26] At Two Hundred, Rascalz retained the title against LAX and Lucha Brothers in a three-way match.[27] They successfully defended the titles against Flamita and Rey Horus at Mystery Vortex VI[28] and LAX in a ladder match at Sixteen.[29] Despite signing with WWE/NXT, the pair are still the PWG Tag Team Champions and PWG has not said whether the two will return. Their reign is the longest ever in the promotion’s history.

Impact Wrestling (2018–2020)[]

The Rascalz signed with Impact Wrestling in the fall of 2018. Dezmond Xavier had already worked for Impact, having won the Super X Cup tournament the previous year.[30] Zachary Wentz and Trey Miguel made their first appearance in Impact by teaming with Ace Austin as enhancement talents against oVe (Dave Crist, Jake Crist and Sami Callihan) in a losing effort on the September 6 episode of Impact!.[31] A vignette aired promoting the debut of Rascalz on the November 15 episode of Impact!. Rascalz made their debut as a fan favorite team on the November 29 episode of Impact! as Xavier and Wentz defeated Chris Bey and Mike Sydal. Miguel was in their corner for the match.[32] Rascalz began their feud against Moose in 2019, which led to Rascalz making their pay-per-view debut against Moose and The North in a six-man tag team match at Rebellion, which Rascalz lost. During the match, the ring names of Xavier, Miguel and Wentz were shortened to Dez, Trey and Wentz respectively.[33]

Dez and Wentz would lose to North at Code Red. The Rascalz would then go on to defeat oVe members Dave Crist, Jake Crist and Madman Fulton at A Night You Can't Mist. On the June 7 episode of Impact Wrestling, Dez and Wentz received their first opportunity for the World Tag Team Championship against The Latin American Exchange (Santana and Ortiz), which they lost via disqualification after Wentz interfered in the match.[34] This led to a rematch between the two teams for the titles at Slammiversary XVII.[35] On the July 5 episode of Impact Wrestling, Dez and Wentz defeated Trey in a three-way match to earn the right to be LAX's opponents at Slammiversary.[36] In the meanwhile, LAX lost the titles to The North, which led to North being added into the match, making it a three-way match for the titles, where North retained the titles.[37] Rascalz would then defeat Andy Dalton, Matthew Palmer and Steve O Reno at Bash at the Brewery.[38]

At Slammiversary, The Rascalz, represented by Dez and Wentz, issued an open challenge to any tag team. The reunited Motor City Machine Guns accepted the challenge and won the match. Trey challenged for the vacant Impact World Championship in the main event. However, the match was won by Eddie Edwards.

On November 11, it was revealed that The Rascalz would be leaving Impact amid interest from both WWE and All Elite Wrestling. During the November 17 tapings, The Rascalz were given a "send off" by the Impact locker room. Trey confirmed the following day that he, Dez and Wentz were in fact finished with Impact Wrestling. However, since then, Trey Miguel has made his return to IMPACT, effectively ending The Rascalz as a trio.

WWE (2020–present)[]

On December 2, 2020, it was announced that Dezmond Xavier and Zachary Wentz had signed with WWE and would be reporting to the WWE Performance Center.[39]

NXT Tag Team Champions (2021–present)[]

On the January 13, 2021 episode of NXT, Xavier and Wentz debuted as Wes Lee and Nash Carter respectively under the new team name MSK.[40] They defeated Jake Atlas and Isaiah "Swerve" Scott in the first round of the Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic tournament.[41][42] The duo then defeated Drake Maverick and Killian Dain in the second round on the January 27 episode of NXT to advance to the semi-finals. On the February 10 episode, they defeated Legado Del Fantasma in the semi-finals. On February 14, at NXT TakeOver: Vengeance Day, MSK defeated the Grizzled Young Veterans in the finals to become the 2021 Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classics Winners.[43] At NXT Takeover: Stand & Deliver, MSK defeated Grizzled Young Veterans and Legado Del Fantasma in a triple threat tag team match to win the vacant NXT Tag Team Championship.[44] MSK would have their first successful title defense against the team of Killian Dain and Drake Marverick on the April 13 episode of NXT.[45] At NXT Takeover: In Your House, MSK would team with NXT North American Champion, Bronson Reed to take on Legado Del Fantasma in a winners take all match, where the team of MSK and Reed would be successful.[46] At NXT: The Great American Bash, MSK would defeat Tommaso Ciampa and Timothy Thatcher to retain their NXT Tag Team Titles.[47] On the Semptember 8 episode of NXT, MSK would defeat Oney Lorcan and Danny Burch to retain the NXT Tag Team Titles.[48] On the October 5 episode of NXT 2.0, MSK would successfully defend their Tag Titles in a fatal-4-way elimination match.[49] At NXT: Halloween Havoc, MSK would lose their titles to Imperium, ending their reign at 201 days.[50]

Championships and accomplishments[]

  • All American Wrestling
    • AAW Tag Team Championship (1 time) – Xavier and Wentz[51]
  • Combat Zone Wrestling
  • Impact Wrestling
  • Pro Wrestling Guerrilla
  • Southside Wrestling Entertainment
    • SWE Tag Team Championship (1 time) – Xavier and Wentz
  • The Wrestling Revolver
    • PWR Tag Team Championship (1 time) – Xavier and Wentz
    • PWR Tag Team Championship One Night Tag Team Tournament (2018) – Xavier and Wentz
  • WrestleCircus
    • WC Big Top Tag Team Championship (1 time) – Miguel and Wentz[53]
  • WWE
  • Xtreme Intense Championship Wrestling
    • XICW Tag Team Championship (1 time) – Miguel, Xavier, and Wentz with Aaron Williams, Dave Crist, and Kyle Maverick[56]

References[]

  1. ^ "Rascalz profile". Impact Wrestling. Retrieved 11 January 2020.
  2. ^ Jamie Greer (November 24, 2018). "The Rascalz Are Coming: A Look at IMPACT Wrestling's Newest Stable". Last Word on Pro Wrestling. Retrieved 11 January 2020.
  3. ^ "Rockstar Pro Amped". Cagematch. Retrieved 11 January 2020.
  4. ^ "Scarlet And Graves profile". Cagematch. Retrieved 11 January 2020.
  5. ^ "Seventeen". Combat Zone Wrestling. February 13, 2016. Retrieved 11 January 2020.
  6. ^ "Cage of Death 18 Results". Combat Zone Wrestling. December 12, 2016. Retrieved 11 January 2020.
  7. ^ "Scarlet & Graves CZW Tag Team Champions Once Again". Combat Zone Wrestling. November 25, 2017. Retrieved 11 January 2020.
  8. ^ Drake Walker (July 16, 2017). "AAW "United We Stand" Live Review, 7/15/2017". PW Ponderings. Retrieved 11 January 2020.
  9. ^ "Results from Saturday's EVILution Event". Combat Zone Wrestling. July 9, 2017. Retrieved 11 January 2020.
  10. ^ Wayne Daly (March 31, 2018). "FCP Results: Dream Tag Team Invitational 2018 Day 2 – Manchester, England (3/31)". Wrestling News.net. Retrieved 11 January 2020.
  11. ^ Brain (April 8, 2018). "Results from Saturday's Welcome to the Combat Zone event". Combat Zone Wrestling. Retrieved 11 January 2020.
  12. ^ "#Results: FCP (@Fightclubpro) "International Tekkers: Nothing Is True – Everything Is Permitted" *Title Change*". Hashtag Wrestling. July 3, 2018. Retrieved 11 January 2020.
  13. ^ "Catalina Wrestling Mixer 2". The Wrestling Revolver. August 3, 2018. Retrieved 11 January 2020.
  14. ^ "It's Always Sunny in IOWA". The Wrestling Revolver. March 9, 2019. Retrieved 11 January 2020.
  15. ^ Jamie Greer (May 13, 2019). "#AndNEW: WrestleCircus Landscape Shifts With Massive Title Reboot". Last Word on Pro Wrestling. Retrieved 11 January 2020.
  16. ^ Shannon Walsh (May 13, 2019). "WrestleCircus: Encore Results 5.12.19: New Champions Crowned". 411Mania. Retrieved 11 January 2020.
  17. ^ "WrestleCircus Big Top Revival Review & Results". Discuss PW. June 24, 2019. Retrieved 11 January 2020.
  18. ^ "WC Big Top Tag Team Championship". Cagematch. Retrieved 11 January 2020.
  19. ^ "SWE Tag Team Championship". Cagematch. Retrieved 11 January 2020.
  20. ^ Jake St-Pierre (August 25, 2018). "Guerrilla Reviewfare: PWG Time is a Flat Circle". 411Mania. Retrieved 11 January 2020.
  21. ^ Marc Raimondi (April 20, 2018). "Full spoilers from PWG All-Star Weekend 2018, Night 1". Cageside Seats. Retrieved 11 January 2020.
  22. ^ Marc Raimondi (April 21, 2018). "Full spoilers from PWG All-Star Weekend, Night 2". Cageside Seats. Retrieved 11 January 2020.
  23. ^ Dave Meltzer (July 14, 2018). "PWG THREEMENDOUS V LIVE RESULTS: TWO TITLE MATCHES". Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Retrieved 11 January 2020.
  24. ^ "PWG BOLA NIGHT THREE RESULTS: TOURNAMENT WINNER CROWNED". Wrestling Observer Newsletter. September 17, 2018. Retrieved 11 January 2020.
  25. ^ Dave Meltzer (October 20, 2018). "PWG SMOKEY AND THE BANDIDO RESULTS: TWO TITLE MATCHES". Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Retrieved 11 January 2020.
  26. ^ "PWG HAND OF DOOM RESULTS: TREVOR LEE SAYS FAREWELL". Wrestling Observer Newsletter. January 19, 2019. Retrieved 11 January 2020.
  27. ^ Dave Meltzer (March 2, 2019). "PWG TWO HUNDRED RESULTS: JEFF COBB VS. BANDIDO". Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Retrieved 11 January 2020.
  28. ^ Dave Meltzer (May 11, 2019). "PWG MYSTERY VORTEX RESULTS: GUERRILLA WARFARE MAIN EVENT". Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Retrieved 11 January 2020.
  29. ^ Dave Meltzer (July 27, 2019). "PWG SIXTEEN RESULTS: INCREDIBLE SIX-MAN TAG MATCH". Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Retrieved 11 January 2020.
  30. ^ SEAN ROSS SAPP (August 17, 2017). "Dezmond Xavier Wins GFW Super X Cup". Fightful. Retrieved 11 January 2020.
  31. ^ Andrew Ravens (September 6, 2018). "Impact Wrestling Results – September 6, 2018". PW Mania. Retrieved 11 January 2020.
  32. ^ Andrew Ravens (November 30, 2018). "Impact Wrestling Results – November 29, 2018". PW Mania. Retrieved 11 January 2020.
  33. ^ Jason Powell (April 28, 2019). "4/28 Impact Wrestling Rebellion results: Powell's review of Johnny Impact vs. Brian Cage for the Impact World Championship, Pentagon Jr. and Fenix vs. LAX in a Full Metal Mayhem match for the Impact Tag Titles, Tessa Blanchard vs. Gail Kim". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved 11 January 2020.
  34. ^ Jason Powell (June 8, 2019). "6/7 Impact Wrestling TV Results: Moore's review of LAX vs. The Rascalz for the Impact Wrestling Tag Titles, Knockouts Champion Taya Valkyrie vs. Rosemary in a non-title match, Scarlett Bordeaux and Fallah Bahh vs. Dave Crist and Jake Crist". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved 11 January 2020.
  35. ^ Joseph Currier (June 15, 2019). "LAX VS. RASCALZ TITLE MATCH OFFICIAL FOR IMPACT SLAMMIVERSARY XVII". Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Retrieved 11 January 2020.
  36. ^ Jason Powell (July 6, 2019). "7/5 Impact Wrestling TV Results: Moore's review of Johnny Impact and John E Bravo vs. Rob Van Dam and Willie Mack, Dez vs. Trey vs. Wentz to determine who will represent The Rascalz at Slammiversary, Kiera Hogan vs. Madison Rayne". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved 11 January 2020.
  37. ^ Ethan Renner (July 7, 2019). "IMPACT SLAMMIVERSARY XVII LIVE RESULTS: CAGE VS. ELGIN". Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Retrieved 11 January 2020.
  38. ^ "IMPACT BASH AT THE BREWERY RESULTS: RVD VS. SAMI CALLIHAN". Wrestling Observer Newsletter. July 6, 2019. Retrieved 11 January 2020.
  39. ^ "Dezmond Xavier, Zachary Wentz, Alex Zayne among new recruits reporting to WWE Performance Center". WWE. Retrieved 2020-12-03.
  40. ^ "The Former Rascalz Debut As MSK On NXT". Fightful. January 13, 2021. Retrieved January 14, 2021.
  41. ^ Moore, John (January 13, 2021). "1/13 NXT TV results: Moore's review of Adam Cole and Roderick Strong vs. Tyler Breeze and Fandango, and Grizzled Young Veterans vs. Ever-Rise in a Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic matches, Shotzi Blackheart vs. Candice LeRae, Johnny Gargano vs. Dexter Lumis in a non-title match". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved January 14, 2021.
  42. ^ "Three Teams Advance In NXT Men's Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic". Fightful. January 13, 2021. Retrieved January 14, 2021.
  43. ^ Moore, John (February 14, 2021). "NXT Takeover Vengeance Day results: Moore's live review of Finn Balor vs. Pete Dunne for the NXT Championship, Johnny Gargano vs. Kushida for the NXT North American Title, Io Shirai vs. Toni Storm vs. Mercedes Martinez for the NXT Women's Championship, Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic finals". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved February 14, 2021.
  44. ^ Moore, John (April 7, 2021). "NXT Takeover Stand & Deliver results: Moore's live review of night one with Io Shirai vs. Raquel Gonzalez for the NXT Women's Championship, Walter vs. Tommaso Ciampa for the NXT UK Championship, MSK vs. Grizzled Young Veterans vs. Raul Mendoza and Joaquin Wilde for the vacant NXT Tag Titles". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved April 7, 2021.
  45. ^ "WWE NXT Results: MSK Defeat Killian Dain & Drake Maverick To Retain NXT Tag Team Championships Via Running Blockbuster". The Overtimer. 2021-04-14. Retrieved 2021-10-07.
  46. ^ Chiari, Mike. "Bronson Reed, MSK Beat Legado del Fantasma, Retain Titles at NXT In Your House". Bleacher Report. Retrieved 2021-10-07.
  47. ^ "MSK Defeat Tommaso Ciampa & Timothy Thatcher To Retain NXT Tag Titles". Wrestlezone. 2021-07-07. Retrieved 2021-10-07.
  48. ^ "WWE NXT Results: MSK Defeat Oney Lorcan & Danny Burch To Retain NXT Tag Team Championships, Pete Dunne & Ridge Holland Beat Down Lorcan & Burch (09/07)". The Overtimer. 2021-09-08. Retrieved 2021-10-07.
  49. ^ Clark, Ryan (2021-10-06). "MSK Retain Their Tag Team Titles On This Week's Episode Of WWE NXT 2.0". eWrestlingNews.com. Retrieved 2021-10-07.
  50. ^ "Another Title Change At WWE NXT Halloween Havoc". Wrestling Inc. Retrieved 2021-10-27.
  51. ^ "AAW Tag Team Championship history".
  52. ^ "CZW Tag Team Championship « Titles Database « CAGEMATCH - The Internet Wrestling Database". www.cagematch.net.
  53. ^ "WC Big Top Tag Team Championship « Titles Database « CAGEMATCH - The Internet Wrestling Database". www.cagematch.net.
  54. ^ "NXT Tag Team Championship". World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE). Retrieved April 8, 2021.
  55. ^ Kreikenbohm, Philip (February 14, 2021). "Men's Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic (2021)". Cagematch - The Internet Wrestling Database. Retrieved February 15, 2021.
  56. ^ "XICW Tag Team Championship history".

External links[]

Retrieved from ""