A Maxx-imum Achievement

Anything and everything is possible at Madison Square Garden--except the New York Rangers winning there this year, but that's another story.

The latest edition of Raw emanated from the aforementioned MSG, the World's Most Famous Arena, and the centerpiece of the evening was John Cena, as this would be his final appearance on Raw during his career. This came one week after he finally... finally completed the Grand Slam and captured the one title that eluded him: the Intercontinental Championship. He would be interrupted by former champion Dominik Mysterio, leading to a rematch being set for Survivor Series.

But that wasn't the only IC Title that was the story. The Women's Intercontinental Championship took center stage, as Maxxine Dupri received another shot against egotistical titleholder Becky Lynch. This feud had been going on for a few months, and it started with Natalya and Maxxine actually confronting Becky, who responded to Nattie's challenge by actually wanting to face Maxxine, feeling that she was an easier challenge. Becky beat and berated Maxxine, and The Man thought that was the end of it.

She was wrong.

Maxxine developed a desire to not only beat Becky, but to take her title as well. She faced Becky last month in a match that saw Becky talk trash and even berate referee Jessika Carr. Becky was too focused on looking good and strong that she didn't realize that she was being counted out. It could be said that Carr's count in the end was a little bit fast, but it can also be said that Becky had this coming. So Maxxine got a big countout win, and that led to her first opportunity at the title, which saw Maxxine win again, this time by DQ.

Maxxine was two-for-two against Becky, but hadn't dethroned her. Raw GM Adam Pearce granted Maxxine another title opportunity, but she wanted to take her time to decide when she would get that chance. Finally, last week, on the night that Cena won his IC Title, Maxxine decided that her opportunity would take place on the following week, which brings us to the latest Raw. The intro saw Becky attempt to intimidate Maxxine, but the challenger was not biting. Similar to past matches, Jessika Carr was the official, and Becky was berating her while also trying to cheat. In a surprise, AJ Lee, who had been the bane of Becky's existence for a few months, suddenly popped up. AJ didn't do much, but it was enough to keep Becky's eye off the ball, as Maxxine delivered a high-flying crossbody, and actually pick up the biggest win of her brief WWE career!

This has been an amazing month for both Intercontinental Championships! On November 10, 2025, John Cena wins the Intercontinental Championship for the first time, and a week later, on November 17, 2025, Maxxine Dupri defeats a Grand Slam Champion to win the Women's Intercontinental Championship, her very first title in WWE. It's amazing, Maxxine's journey in WWE has been very interesting. Born Sydney Jeannine Zmrzel on May 19, 1997, the new champion's WWE run began with appearances on NXT as Sofia Cromwell, a villainess who managed Von Wagner briefly. She received her familiar Maxxine Dupri name when she was called up on SmackDown, serving as the evil centerpiece of the Maximum Male Models group--a gimmick that controversially included LA Knight briefly being repackaged as Max Dupri, with Maxxine being his sister.

Maxxine's attempt to recruit Otis--who was paired with Chad Gable as the Alpha Academy, led to Maxxine turning babyface in wondrous fashion, and the faction later including Akira Tozawa. Maxxine gained steam as a babyface, and interesting moments included the infamous moment where a heel-turning Candice LeRae berated Maxxine, and of course, Gable turned on his faction after failing to win the IC Title a number of times. Maxxine had been teaming with Ivy Nile for a bit, until Ivy turned heel on Maxxine and went on to join Gable's American Made group. Amazing: Cena and Maxxine became IC Champions before Gable. Of course, Gable's a Vikings fan, what would he know about championships?

I had Maxxine becoming champion as part of my 2026 predictions, so I'm elated that this happened ahead of time. Maxxine Dupri absolutely earned this accolade, and it's awesome that she's champion as the title is on the way to celebrating one year of existence. I am so happy that Maxxine has a title, and I'm not the only one. Lyra Valkyria's elated, because once Maxxine won, Lyra (the first-ever Women's IC Champion) returned to the title picture; as a result of losing a rematch to Becky, she couldn't get another shot as long as Becky was champion, but that's all over now. I am very excited to see what Maxxine's reign will bring to the table, I just know it'll be spectacular!