Former IC Champ Maxxine Dupri Discusses Friends She’s Made In WWE
For the last three years, Maxxine Dupri has been able to call Otis and Akira Tozawa good friends of hers, with the three regularly supporting each other's work in WWE. Behind the scenes, Dupri attests that they've enjoyed a number of adventures together outside of the ring as well.
"They're my best friends. I love them," Dupri told Denise Salcedo. "I have the greatest time with them. We have so much fun. I just love who they are as human beings. I love who they are in the ring. I think they are two of the most underrated superstars we have on the roster. I'm just really grateful that I've had such a beautiful experience traveling with them and seeing the world with them and sharing the ring with them. Truly, my first matches were in Alpha Academy, so I have literally been raised and come up with them. It's been a really special experience."
With extensive training alongside Otis and Chad Gable, Dupri marked her in-ring debut as an Alpha Academy member in July 2023. Gable later left the stable in 2024 to align himself with the Creed Brothers and Ivy Nile. Nevertheless, the partnership between Otis, Tozawa, and Dupri remained intact even to this day.
In November 2025, Otis and Tozawa notably joined Dupri in celebrating her WWE Women's Intercontinental Championship win over Becky Lynch, which took place inside NYC's Madison Square Garden. Dupri later dropped the title back to Lynch on the January 5 edition of "WWE Raw."
In more recent months, Dupri has also gotten chummy with WWE World Tag Team Champion Austin Theory. Otis and Tozawa, on the other hand, have admittedly grown skeptical of this budding friendship, particularly due to Theory's perceived status as "bad news."
Otis has raised this concern to Dupri on multiple occasions. Dupri, though, insists that they cut Theory some slack as he's currently dealing with personal matters.
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