WWE had Candice LeRae bring up Maxxine Dupri’s hecklers and dead brother in Raw angle

Candice LeRae and her tag partner Indi Hartwell have been struggling to get some momentum going on Raw for a while now, and LeRae started showing signs of frustration in recent weeks.

Maxxine Dupri has been the target of those frustrations in recent weeks, and last night (Mar. 11) Candice blew up on the Alpha Academy newcomer during her & Hartwell’s match with Dupri & Ivy Nile. With Maxxine ramping up to hit her reverse caterpillar on Indi, LeRae cut her off and backed her into a corner while berating her.

The rant included references to an internet debate that centered on a clip of fans heckling Dupri at a February house show, prompting support & defenses of Maxxine and criticism of fans from some members of the WWE Women’s roster, and counter–arguments that fans letting wrestlers know what they think of their performances is just part of the business.

It also brought up Dupri’s brother, who died in 2017 at the age of 22. Wyatt Zmrzel relied on rideshare services to get around as he suffered from a genetic condition called adrenoleukodystrophy, and was killed in a car accident while a passenger in one.

“You can’t even do it right! She’s not taking that! You look stupid! Are you serious? Are your serious right now? You’re gonna try that on us? You know why people are booing you, right? Because you don’t belong here.

“Oh, does that hurt your feelings? If you think the internet hates you, you should hear what the girls in the locker room say. Oh, are you gonna cry? It’s a good thing your dead brother isn’t here to see what an embarrassment you’ve become.”

In response, Dupri said she’s “not doing this” and moves to leave the ring when Hartwell catches her with a boot and pins her to win the match. Indi doesn’t seem to be aware of what her partner & mentor said to Maxxine, however. That’s made clear in a follow-up interview on Raw Talk where Jackie Redmond asks Candice how she could say something “so personal to Maxxine?” and Indi wants to know, “What did you even say?”

LeRae accuses Redmond of “gotcha journalism”, then says ”We won. I’m not here to talk about Maxxine, okay? I came here to talk about the win tonight, and that’s all that matters. So this interview is done,” before she exits the scene.

The use of the heckling controversy is noteworthy, and our latest proof that most things that happen in and around pro wrestling eventually become part of an angle. The “dead brother” reference has prompted some strong reactions online, and could turn into its own controversy before all is said and done.

Assuming Dupri signed off on LeRae bringing up her brother, I personally have a hard time getting too upset about WWE using it this way. Including a real life tragedy in a wrestling story isn’t new territory. Christian Cage has built his current AEW heel character around bringing up his rival’s dead relatives (mostly fathers). Which is why most are guessing this tweet from the TNT champ is in reference to Candice’s speech last night…

For their part, WWE is probably pretty happy with the reaction. Odds are we wouldn’t be talking about a LeRae/Dupri angle without it. But perhaps they could have just used the heckling controversy and gotten the same reaction, leaving Maxxine’s late brother — who many in the audience have no knowledge of, and that commentary didn’t educate us on either — out of it.

Let us know what you think, Cagesiders.