.jpg) Xavier in 2025 | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | Deveon Everhart Aikens[5] November 3[6] Dayton, Ohio, U.S.[4] |
Spouse | |
| Professional wrestling career | |
| Ring name(s) | Dez[1] Dezmond X Dezmond Xavier[2] Wes Lee[3] |
| Billed height | 5 ft 9 in (175 cm)[1] |
| Billed weight | 178 lb (81 kg)[3] |
| Billed from | Dayton, Ohio[1][3] |
| Trained by | Earl The Pearl[4] Rich Myers[4] Ronnie Zukko[4] |
| Debut | 2011[4] |
Deveon Everhart Aikens is an Americanprofessional wrestler. He is signed toAll Elite Wrestling (AEW), where he performs under thering nameDezmond Xavier and is a member ofThe Rascalz.
AsDezmond Xavier, he is known as a co-founding member ofThe Rascalzstable.[1] He performed on independent promotions, mostly notably forPro Wrestling Guerrilla (PWG), where he was one-half of thePWG World Tag Team Champions alongsideZachary Wentz and went on to become one of thelongest reigning champions in the promotion's history. In April 2017, he signed withImpact Wrestling. In November 2020, he departed Impact Wrestling and signed withWWE that December asWes Lee, where he became aone-timeNXT North American Champion andtwo-timeNXT Tag Team Champion. In October 2025, he was released from WWE and returned to Impact Wrestling asDezmond Xavier that November, now known asTotal Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA). He departed TNA in January 2026 and signed with AEW that month.
Aikens made hisprofessional wrestling debut in 2011 under thering nameDezmond Xavier.[7] In 2017 at WrestleCircus he won the WC Sideshow Championship by defeatingJoey Ryan.[8] Afterwards, he went to wrestle in Desastre Total Ultraviolento where he won the DTU Alto Impacto Championship.[9]
In 2015, Dezmond Xavier teamed withZachary Wentz while working in theindependent circuit and formed a tag team by the name ofScarlet and Graves. The team competed inCombat Zone Wrestling (CZW) where he and Wentz went on to become2-time Combat Zone Wrestling World Tag Team Champions their first time at an event called 'Cage Of Death 18' on December 10, 2016 againstEYFBO and their second time at Lucha Forever Catch Me Outside against CCKChris Brookes andKid Lykos after losing the titles to them in year 2017.[10] In year 2016, before he and Wentz second AAW World Tag Title reign Dezmond Xavier and Wentz at Xtreme Intense Championship Wrestling teamed together withTrey Miguel, Aaron Williams, Kyle Maverick and the all five of them together won the XICW Tag Team Championships.[11] Also a year after that in year 2017, he and Wentz went on to wrestle atAll American Wrestling where they went on to win theAAW World Tag Team Championships on July 15, 2017 atUnited We Stand againstAR FoxandRey Fénix.[12] A year later after that, Trey Miguel andMyron Reed joined the group and then the group name changed into The Rascalz.
Also in the year 2018, Dezmond Xavier and Zachary Wentz wrestled at The Wrestling Revolver where they won both the PWR Tag Team Championships[13] and the One Night Tag Team Tournament[14] of 2018. In the same year, Dezmond Xavier and Zachary Wentz also went on to Pro Wrestling Guerrilla (PWG) to win the PWG World Tag Team Championships. They would hold the titles for 1025 days, which to this day is the longest reign in the company's history.[15]
In 2017, Dezmond Xavier signed withImpact Wrestling.[16] On the April 20 episode ofImpact Wrestling, Xavier made his debut in a six-way match for theX Division Championship.[17] His first singles match in Impact took place on the July 8 episode ofXplosion, where he defeated Idris Abraham. Later that month, Xavier entered theGFW Super X Cup tournament,[18] in which he defeated Idris Abraham in the quarterfinals,Drago in the semifinals, andTaiji Ishimori in the final to win the GFW Super X Cup.[19] In October, Xavier made hispay-per-view debut atBound for Glory, where he competed againstTrevor Lee,Garza Jr.,Matt Sydal,Petey Williams andSonjay Dutt in a six-way match for the X Division Championship but failed to win the title. Xavier also received a singles title shot for the X Division Championship againstTaiji Ishimori on the January 18, 2018 episode ofImpact!, which he lost.
AtRedemption, Xavier competed in a six-way X Division match, which he lost. He then lost toBrian Cage at theUnder Pressure special to determine the #1 contender for the X Division Championship and he also lost to Brian Cage in a match for the X Division Championship on an episode of Impact Wrestling as well. He also has another title challenge for the X Division Championship in 2018 against Matt Sydal at theOne Night Only pay-per-view eventZero Fear, in which he came up short. He then took a brief hiatus from Impact.
In 2018, Xavier was aligned with Trey Miguel and Zachary Wentz, forming afan favorite stable under the nameThe Rascalz. Avignette aired promoting the debut of Rascalz on the November 15 episode ofImpact!. Xavier returned to Impact, teaming with Wentz under the new stable name on the November 29 episode ofImpact!, where they defeated the team ofChris Bey and Mike Sydal.[20] After months of competing in the tag team division in the fall of 2018 and early 2019, the trio made their pay-per-view debut atRebellion in April, and lost toMoose andThe North. Around this time Xavier shortened his ring name to Dez while Trey Miguel and Zachary Wentz shortened their ring names to Trey and Wentz respectively. AtSlammiversary XVII, Dez and Wentz unsuccessfully challenged The North for theTNA World Tag Team Championship in a three-way match, also involvingLatin American Exchange (Santana and Ortiz). Dez and Trey then unsuccessfully challenged North for the World Tag Team Championship on the August 2 episode ofImpact!.[21]
In October, Dez competed againstSami Callihan in a losing effort at theImpact PluseventPrelude to Glory. In December, Dez unsuccessfully challengedAce Austin for the X Division Championship at Motown Showdown. In 2020, Dez and Wentz unsuccessfully challenged The North for the World Tag Team Championship at February'sSacrifice event. Dez and Wentz continued their success in the tag team division by defeating XXXL and the team ofTJP andFallah Bahh at theRebellion special. On the June 2 episode ofImpact!, Dez and Wentz defeated TJP and Bahh to earn a World Tag Team Championship against The North on the June 16 episode ofImpact!, which they lost. On July 18, 2020, Dez and Wentz issued an open challenge to any tag team atSlammiversary. The reunitedMotor City Machine Guns accepted the challenge and won the match.
On November 11, it was revealed that The Rascalz would soon be leaving Impact and had interest from bothWWE andAll 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 done appearing on Impact Wrestling. Dez and Wentz went on to sign with WWE while Trey eventually returned to Impact Wrestling, effectively ending The Rascalz as a trio.
Dragon Gate announced the debut of Xavier and his indy tag team partner Zachary Wentz atOpen The New Year Gate, Dragon Gate's first show of 2018. They debuted on January 13, 2018 where Xavier and Wentz, collectively known as Scarlet and Graves, teamed withSusumu Yokosuka in a winning effort againstGenki Horiguchi, Flamita andBandido.
On the July 18, 2018, episode ofLucha Underground, Aikens made his debut under the nameDezmond X and defeatedPaul London for one of the seven ancient Aztec Medallions. The series was discontinued after season finale,Ultima Lucha Cuatro.[22]
On December 2, 2020, Xavier along with his tag team partner Zachary Wentz signed a contract withWWE and was assigned to theWWE Performance Center.[5][23] On the January 13, 2021 episode ofNXT, Xavier and Wentz, now going by the ring namesWes Lee and Nash Carter, respectively, debuted under the new team nameMSK.[24] They debuted in theMen's Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic tournament, which they won.[25][26] AtNXT TakeOver: Stand & Deliver Night One, MSK defeated theGrizzled Young Veterans (James Drake andZack Gibson) andLegado Del Fantasma (Raul Mendoza andJoaquin Wilde) in a triple threat match for the vacantNXT Tag Team Championship.[27] On an episode ofNXT, MSK defeated Fantasma to retain their tag titles. AtNXT TakeOver: In Your House, MSK teamed withNXT North American ChampionBronson Reed to defeat Legado Del Fantasma in a winner takes all match which MSK won.[28] AtNXT The Great American Bash, MSK defeated Ciampa andTimothy Thatcher for the tag titles.[29] Over the next two months, MSK defended their titles against Imperium and Oney Lorcan and Danny Burch.
AtNXT Halloween Havoc, Imperium defeated MSK in aLumber Jack-o'-Lantern Tag Team match to win the titles, only for MSK to reclaim them atNXT Stand & Deliver.[30][31] However, just four days later, on April 5, 2022, it was reported that WWE had released Carter due to multiple domestic abuse allegations and photos relating toAdolf Hitler and Nazi symbolism. WWE later confirmed that the NXT Tag Team Championships were officially vacated on April 8, 2022, ending Lee's second reign at six days and also leading to the end of the group MSK in WWE.
On the April 19 episode ofNXT 2.0, Lee returned to television, vaguely addressing the vacating of the tag titles, before being confronted byXyon Quinn. This led to a match between Quinn and Lee later in the evening, with Lee losing.[32][33] On the May 24, 2022 episode ofNXT 2.0, Lee lost againstSanga, and was taunted by Quinn before Sanga pulled him away.[34][35] The following week, Lee challenged Quinn to a match and won.[36][37] On the June 14, 2022 episode of NXT 2.0 Wes Lee had another match against Xyon Quinn that he also was successful at winning in.[38] AtNXT The Great American Bash, Lee lost toTrick Williams after Williams rubbed an unknown substance into Lee's eyes.[39]
On October 22 atNXT Halloween Havoc, Lee won the vacantNXT North American Championship in a five-man ladder match involvingCarmelo Hayes,Von Wagner,Oro Mensah andNathan Frazer. This marked Lee's first singles championship win in WWE and his third overall singles championship reign in his career.[40] On the November 1 episode ofNXT,NXT Tag Team ChampionsPretty Deadly interruptedNXT ChampionBron Breakker. This led to Lee coming out, where he and Breakker challenged Pretty Deadly to a match for their tag team championship later in the show; Lee and Breakker were unsuccessful after Hayes interfered.[41] Lee would defend the title againstTony D'Angelo,Dijak atNXT Vengeance Day,Nathan Frazer and Von Wagner over the next few months. Lee broke the record for the most successful title defenses atNXT Stand & Deliver after defending the title in aFatal Five-Way match againstAxiom,Dragon Lee,Ilja Dragunov, andJD McDonagh. Lee retained against Axiom on the next episode of NXT and on the April 18, 2023 episode ofNXT against Charlie Dempsey. This defense was his record-successful defense, tying Keith Lee's record for most defenses with the championship. AtNXT Battleground, Lee retained the NXT North American Championship againstTyler Bate andJoe Gacy and surpassedVelveteen Dream's 231 day title reign to become the longest reigning NXT North American Champion. On the July 18 episode ofNXT, Lee lost the NXT North American Championship to"Dirty" Dominik Mysterio after interference fromThe Judgment Day, ending his reign at a record 269 days[42] (which has since been surpassed byOba Femi at 273 days in October 2024).[43] Lee failed to regain the title in atriple threat match against Mysterio andMustafa Ali atNXT The Great American Bash after interference fromRhea Ripley.[44]
On the August 15 episode ofNXT, Lee defeatedDijak to become the number one contender for theNXT Championship, with Lee challengingCarmelo Hayes for the title atNXT Heatwave in a losing effort.[45] On the September 12 episode ofNXT, Lee lost to Ilja Dragunov in a number one contender match for the NXT Championship. Lee was later seen clearing out his locker and when asked about it, Lee said that he was going home and that "he's done."[46] Lee quietly returned on October 30 for a November 2Main Event episode taping[47] and later appearing on the following night'sNXT: Halloween Havoc Night 2 to attack Mysterio after Mysterio's NXT North American Championship match againstNathan Frazer.[48] On the November 28 episode ofNXT, Lee defeated three former NXT North American Champions in Cameron Grimes, Bronson Reed and Johnny Gargano in a fatal-four way match (as demanded by Mysterio the week before) for a title match against Mysterio atNXT Deadline.[49] However, a week later, Lee announced that he would need back surgery and will be out of action for 8–12 months, withDragon Lee replacing him in the match at NXT Deadline.[50] In a media call for the event, Senior Vice President of Talent Development CreativeShawn Michaels revealed that Lee was suffering from back injury for some time and the decision to pull him from the match was a last minute call made by Lee and the medical team.[51] It was later reported that Lee had started to lose feeling in his legs and had considered retirement.[52]
At Week 2 ofSpring Breakin' on April 30, 2024, Lee made a surprise return from injury and confronted NXT North American Champion Oba Femi after his title match againstIvar.[53] On the following week's episode ofNXT, Lee defeatedJosh Briggs in his first match since the injury.[54] On the May 21 episode ofNXT, Lee andGallus'Joe Coffey both pinned Briggs in a triple threat match, and the two men were considered the winner. Later that night, NXT General ManagerAva set up a triple threat match between Lee, Femi and Coffey for the NXT North American Championship atNXT Battleground on June 9, where Femi successfully retained his title.[55][56] On the June 16 episode ofNXT, Lee again requested for a title match against Femi. Femi agreed under the stipulation that Lee couldnever challenge Femi for the title for as long as he was champion if Lee lost. AtNXT Heatwave on July 7, Femi defeated Lee to retain the title.[57][58]
On the following episode ofNXT, Lee was to announce that he would walk away but was interrupted by The Rascalz teammates Trey Miguel (making his WWE debut appearance) and Zachary Wentz (the former Nash Carter, making his return to WWE). Miguel and Wentz convinced Lee to stay and the trio reunited for the first time since 2020.[59] On the following week, The Rascalz defeated Gallus (Joe Coffey,Mark Coffey, andWolfgang) in a six-man tag team match.[60] At Week 2 ofNXT: The Great American Bash on August 6, Wentz and Lee (as MSK) failed to defeat NXT Tag Team ChampionsNathan FrazerandAxiom for the titles. After the match, Lee turned on Miguel and Wentz, lashing out at the latter for leaving him back in 2022 and turningheel for the first time in his career.[61][62] On the August 20 episode ofNXT, Lee facedPete Dunne and TNA'sJoe Hendry in a triple threat match for an NXT Championship match opportunity atNXT No Mercy, which was won by Hendry. After the match, Lee was attacked by Wentz.[63] A week later, a match was set between Lee and Wentz at NXT No Mercy on September 1 where Lee lost.[64][65] At Week 1 ofNXT's CW premiere on October 1, Lee defeated Wentz in aStreet Fight.[66]
On the December 17 episode ofNXT, it was hinted that Lee will form a new alliance with Tyriek Igwe andTyson Dupont.[67] On the December 31 episode ofNXT, Lee teamed with Igwe and Dupont for the first time to defeatAndre Chase,Hank Walker andTank Ledger in a six-man tag team match.[68] On the May 13, 2025 episode ofNXT, the team was known as The High Ryze.[69] On the June 4 episode ofEvolve, Lee proclaimed himself as the "gatekeeper of NXT".[70] On the July 29 episode ofNXT, Lee lost toJe'Von Evans in what would be his final WWE match.[71] Lee's final WWE televised appearance took place on the October 8 episode ofEvolve, being in the corner of Igwe and Dupont for their tag team match.[72] Two days later, Lee was released by WWE, ending his nearly five-year tenure with the promotion.[73]
Aikens returned to Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA; formerly known as Impact Wrestling) as Wes Lee on July 20, 2024 atSlammiversary with The Rascalz after their reunion inNXT to defeatNo Quarter Catch Crew (Charlie Dempsey,Myles Borne, andTavion Heights) in a six-man tag team match.[74] Lee later turned on The Rascalzin the following month.[62] On the January 23, 2025 episode ofImpact!, Lee and his new NXT allies Tyriek Igwe and Tyson Dupont interfered in the title match between NXT Tag Team Champions Nathan Frazer and Axiom against Wentz and Miguel (which Wentz and Miguel were supposed to challenge for in October 2024 but Lee (kayfabe) took out Miguel),[75] helping Frazer and Axiom to retain the titles and reigniting his feud with The Rascalz.[76] On the following week's episode ofImpact!, Lee defeated Ace Austin in his first TNA singles match since 2020. After the match, Lee, Igwe and Dupont attacked Austin until The Rascalz made the save.[77] AtSacrifice on March 14, Lee, Igwe and Dupont lost to The Rascalz and Austin in a "Lucha Rules" six-man tag team match, suffering their first loss as a team and to end the feud.[78]
Following his release from WWE in October 2025, Lee, now reverted to Dezmond Xavier and turned face, reunited with The Rascalz (including Myron Reed) atTurning Point on November 14, where they defeatedThe System (Brian Myers,Eddie Edwards,JDC, andMoose) in an eight-man tag team match.[79] It was later reported that Xavier is not contracted to TNA but will have creative plans in place for him.[80] On January 13, 2026, it was reported that the contracts of all members of the stable had expired and TNA elected not to opt-in, making The Rascalz free agents.[81]
After his WWE release, Aikens reverted to Dezmond Xavier as he returned to the independent circuit. On October 31, 2025, it was reported that Xavier will compete atHouse of Glory (HOG) Superclash on November 15,[82] where he unsuccessfully challengedCharles Mason for theHOG Heavyweight Championship.[83] On November 2, The Wrestling Revolver announced that Xavier will appear at the promotion's Season Finale event on December 13,[84] where Xavier and Wentz won the Revolver World Tag Team Championships from Latinos Most Wanted (Koda Hernandez and Sabin Gauge).[85]
In January 2026, it was reported by Fightful Select that Xavier and the rest ofThe Rascalz (Myron Reed,Trey Miguel, andZachary Wentz) had signed withAll Elite Wrestling (AEW).[86] On January 14, 2026 atDynamite: Maximum Carnage, AEW aired a video teasing The Rascalz's arrival.[87] The Rascalz (barring Miguel, due to Miguel being released from AEW for past controversial remarks) made their on-screen debut on January 17 atCollision: Maximum Carnage in a backstage interview withLexy Nair.[88][89][90] On the January 31 episode ofCollision, Xavier and Wentz made their AEW in-ring debut, defeating CRU (Action Andretti andLio Rush).[91]
Aikens is married to Erica Marie.[92][93][94]
As Wes Lee, Aikens made his video game debut inWWE 2K22 as downloadable content,[95][96] and he is also playable inWWE 2K23,[97]WWE 2K24,[98]WWE 2K25 andWWE SuperCard.[99]
,Cagematch,Wrestlingdata,Internet Wrestling Database| Achievements | Vacant Title last held by Solo Sikoa | 17thNXT North American Champion October 2, 2022 – July 18, 2023 | Succeeded by | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|