Tag: Scrypts

Former NXT wrestler reveals WWE creative restricted character direction  

Posted on by Rosanne Raphael

Former NXT wrestler Reggie (Sidney Akeem) reflected on the creative limitations during his WWE run.

In an interview with John Kiernan of Ropes n Riffs, Reggie said the SCRYPTS gimmick was shaped by multiple voices within WWE’s creative team. He added that his current superhero-inspired character, Soleil, is his authentic self.

“To be honest, Soleil is what I wanted SCRYPTS to be, but I didn’t have full creative freedom with the SCRYPTS character. It was just so many different cooks in the kitchen that when you saw SCRYPTS that was an accumulation of the head writer, the writing team, this person, that person, myself and whatnot and it was just all over the place. But this is 100% authentically me, and I was hired because of my story in WWE but I never got to use that story. And so I said, if my story and my athletic ability was good enough for me to get hired in a company where I had zero experience, then that story must be good. So I must tell that story.”

Reggie pointed out the misconception about wrestlers competing on the indies regarding creative liberty with their gimmicks. 

“And so, when I got to the indies I seen people talk about how they have so much freedom on the indies to do whatever. They don’t talk about the grind and how hard it is and bookings they come sparingly, but they talk about the freedom you have and you’re so much happier. I was very happy when I put this mask on and did this story.”

“I could have stayed Sidney Akeem and whatnot, but I’m going to do both. I’m not going to lose who I am, because I am a character myself. But Soleil represents a big group of people, mainly kids that look like me or been through things that I’ve been through because I’m letting them know that it’s ok to put on a mask, not to hide, but as a sign of courage. It’s a sign of, I’m gonna do what I got to do, regardless if the world around me tells me that I can’t.”

When Reggie signed to WWE in 2020 he was introduced as Carmella’s French sommelier and assisted in her SmackDown feuds. In 2022 he was moved to NXT where he competed under his Scrypts persona before being released in 2024.

TNA Unbreakable notes: New International Champion, Alicia Fox, Scrypts

Posted on by Ethan Renner

News and notes from Thursday night’s TNA Unbreakable special on TNA Plus.

Inaugural TNA International Champion crowned —

Steve Maclin won a three-way to become the first-ever TNA International Champion in the Unbreakable main event.

Maclin defeated Eric Young, and AJ Francis in the three-way to be recognized as the inaugural International Champion. The International title replaces the Digital Media Championship vacated last month. Steph De Lander claimed the Digital Media title and was briefly recognized as Champion following PCO’s departure in January, but never defended the title.

Young and Maclin both won three-way qualifiers earlier in the Unbreakable card, while Francis won his way in to the title match weeks ago on Impact.

Alicia Fox —

Victoria Crawford, formerly known as Alicia Fox in WWE, made her TNA debut in an angle at Unbreakable. After being shown in the audience, Crawford distracted Knockouts World Champion Masha Slamovich during the mixed tag bout on the show, allowing Tessa Blanchard to hit Slamovich from behind.

Chris Bey —

Chris Bey made a special appearance at Unbreakable. The 29-year-old Bey suffered a broken neck in a TNA match last October, with the company holding a fundraising event for him earlier Thursday, plus auctioning off event-worn gear from tonight’s show on their eBay page.

Scrypts —

Sidney Akeem, formerly known as Scrypts in NXT and Reggie in WWE, made his promotional debut as the surprise opponent for Moose in the X-Division Champion’s open challenge at Unbreakable.

The Hardys —

Matt and Jeff Hardy gave Nic and Ryan Nemeth an invitation to The Hardy Compound at Unbreakable. The Hardys are set to defend their TNA Tag Team titles against The Nemeths at the Rebellion pay-per-view on April 27.

Matt Boone’s full report from Unbreakable is here.

Former WWE wrestler debuts at ROH tapings

Posted on by Bryan Rose

A former WWE star made their debut during Sunday’s Ring Of Honor tapings.

Sidney Akeem, formerly Reggie on the main roster and Scrypts in NXT, made his debut at the tapings in Arlington, Texas, losing to Johnny TV.

It was announced back in April that Scrypts’ contract with the WWE would not be renewed when it expired in June. After his departure from the company, it was announced he would be appearing for Game Changer Wrestling, where he defeated the likes of Ninja Mack, Myron Reed, and Gringo Loco.

Akeem signed with the WWE back in 2020, first as a sommelier of Carmella and later feuded with the likes of Akira Tozawa and R-Truth over the WWE 24/7 Championship. In 2022, he made his debut in NXT as a masked wrestler under the name Scrypts. After losing his mask, he managed OTM (Lucien Price & Bronco Nima) until his departure from the company.

Sunday’s ROH tapings continue AEW’s residency at Arlington’s Esports Stadium. They will conclude their series of shows in the building this coming Saturday on Collision.

Former WWE NXT wrestler Scrypts to make GCW debut

Posted on by Ian Carey

Scrypts will begin his post-WWE wrestling career next month.

Wrestling under the name Sidney Akeem, he has been announced for GCW shows in Los Angeles on June 15, Dallas on June 29, and St. Louis on July 19.

GCW’s Los Angeles show next month, Hit ‘Em Up, has two matches booked: Kylie Rae vs. Danhausen and Viva Van vs. Man Like DeReiss. The shows will air on Triller TV as part of the Fite+ package.

The 31-year-old’s contract with WWE technically doesn’t expire until the beginning of June. Fightful reported last month that he has been made aware that WWE will not be renewing the deal. Akeem posted a video to Instagram earlier this month that concluded with the line, “Available June 1.”

On Tuesday, Mercedes Mone posted a photo of her and Akeem together. She also included a picture of her slapping him back when he was a sommelier on WWE programming.

Akeem signed with WWE in 2020 after having spent the previous decade as a circus performer, performing with Les 7 Doigts de la Main’s Cuisine and Confessions and Cirque du Soleil’s Luzia. He made his main roster debut in 2021 as Carmella’s sommelier.

Scrypts departing WWE when contract expires this June

Posted on by Ian Carey

Scrypts is about to be a free agent. 

According to a report from Fightful, the 31-year-old’s WWE contract expires at the start of June and the company has informed him they will not be renewing the deal. 

Scrypts seemingly confirmed the news in an Instagram post on Tuesday. The words “Available June 1st” appear at the end of the video in his post. 

https://www.instagram.com/p/p:C6ZSjHagBzo

Scrypts expected his deal not to be renewed and intends to continue his wrestling career once it has expired, Sean Ross Sapp reports. He plans on going by the name Sidney Akeem. 

Before signing with WWE in 2020, Scrypts, real name Sidney Iking Bateman, was a circus performer for a decade. He performed with Les 7 Doigts de la Main’s Cuisine and Confessions and Cirque du Soleil’s Luzia. He made his main roster debut in 2021 as Carmella’s sommelier. Most recently, he had been partnered with Bronco Nima & Lucien Price as Out The Mud in NXT. 

Scrypts exposed as Reggie on WWE NXT

Posted on by Bryan Rose

Scrypts no longer has his mask.

After Scrypts lost to Axiom on Tuesday’s NXT, Axiom helped Reggie to his feet as a sign of respect. Scrypts responded by attacking Axiom, who responded by punching Scrypts. Axiom then removed Scrypts’ mask, revealing the masked man as the former Reggie. Neither commentator identified Reggie under that name, although Booker T asked Vic Joseph if he recognized that guy.

Reggie made his debut under the Scrypts persona back in November. In recent weeks, Scrypts and Axiom have had confrontations, including in a NXT North American battle royal. On last week’s NXT, Axiom promised that he would “expose” Scrypts.

Prior to his run on NXT, Reggie had been on the main roster, first associated with Carmella and later with Nia Jax. He is a former 24/7 Champion who feuded with R-Truth and Dana Brooke over the championship. When Triple H took over as chief content officer in July of 2022, he was relegated to wrestling on Main Event prior to his NXT arrival.

Speak Now: Scrypts revealed, Dijak returns, WWE NXT post-show

Posted on by Denise Salcedo

Join on-air personality Denise Salcedo as she reviews the November 22nd edition of WWE NXT. 

Topics include the build to Deadline, possible character change for Wendy Choo, Scrypts revealed, Dijak’s return, and more! 

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Reggie revealed as Scrypts on WWE NXT

Posted on by Bryan Rose

Scrypts made his in-ring debut on Tuesday’s NXT.

The masked man, who is the former Reggie from the main roster, faced Guru Raaj in his debut match. He picked up the win with a molly-go-round. After the match, he took out a card with his name on it and placed it on Raaj’s chest.

Reggie hasn’t been seen on WWE television since the September 5 edition of Main Event, where he lost to Shelton Benjamin. A former WWE 24/7 Champion, he had not been used on television much once Triple H became head of creative upon Vince McMahon’s resignation from the company in July.

In recent weeks, promos have been airing on NXT featuring a character with a disguised voice, telling the WWE Performance Center via answering machine that he was coming. Last week, a promo aired saying he had made it past security and would be arriving next week to “play a little game”. 

Vignette airs for new ‘Scrypts’ character on WWE NXT

Posted on by Bryan Rose

A new character by the name of Scrypts appeared in a vignette on Tuesday’s NXT.

During Tuesday’s show, a vignette was shown of a transcript showing a message recorded at the WWE Performance Center. The message was spoken by a disguised, distorted voice that talked about awakening from the pits you call the dark, and listening with your eyes, speaking with your ears. The voice said that they planned to rip NXT apart, and that their name is Scrypts.

WWE had trademarked the name “Scrypts” back on October 21.

Along with the Scrypts tease, another tease aired earlier in the show involving T-Bar. The vignette was similar to one that aired during Halloween Havoc. A voice was heard saying that the second coming is about retribution, and added it is also about justice.

T-Bar has spent most of 2022 appearing on Main Event after splitting from tag team partner Mace, who was moved to the SmackDown brand after last year’s Draft.