When Cutler James, Dion Lennox, Osiris Griffin, and Saquon Shugars arrived at Vengeance Day last year, the faction known as DarkState promised that change was coming to NXT. They delivered on that promise in a big way. The faction won the NXT Tag Team Championships twice, with reigns of 44 and 122 days, defeating Hank & Tank the first time and the Hardy Boyz the second time. But during their second reign, things started to get heated between Lennox and Shugars.
Last winter, Lennox started a singles run, which made Shugars angry. Tension began popping up, straining their ability to win. On the May 19, 2026 episode of NXT, things changed forever. After failing to retain the tag team titles from the Vanity Project, Shugars was kicked out of the faction. After weeks of attacks, a match between Lennox and Shugars was made official for the Great American Bash. On the June 23 NXT, the two met for the final time before the match for what was sure to be a fiery confrontation.
Dion Lennox and Saquon Shugars Meet in the NXT Ring Before Their Match
Kicking Shugars out of DarkState seemed like the right decision for Griffin, James, and Lennox, as they thought he was the weakest link in the faction. But Shugars quickly proved that kicking him out was a bad decision for them. Two weeks ago, he attacked James, and last week, he attacked Griffin. The past two weeks have shown Shugars as he was presented on the North Carolina independent circuit.
He showed up in clothes with a wide variety of colors and used a baseball bat in order to take down the other members of DarkState. But winning against Lennox wouldn’t be easy. He showed he was more than capable of succeeding on his own in last year’s Iron Survivor Challenge, so he’ll be tough to beat.
The two men met in the ring, with Lennox immediately saying that no matter what was said, he already knew the result of their match. Shugars responded by telling him to relax and that he had exactly what he wanted, which was a face-off between the two of them.
He told Lennox that he knew that he couldn’t get caught by DarkState again, which is why he took out Griffin and James. Then he said that he started questioning if he was the problem, but then said Lennox was the issue. Repeating what he stated before, he thought Lennox was taking the leadership role when there was no leader.
He then said he was a wrestler and Lennox was taking his spot. Lennox responded by saying that he earned those opportunities and that Shugars was never supposed to be in the faction. Shugars said that he loved everyone and that Griffin and James are lost without him. He then said he was better than Lennox and that he’ll be the winner on Sunday. Lennox then called him fake for several reasons. He said that DarkState knows his behavior, including overthinking and worrying.
Expanding on that, he said that the fans never saw it because that’s not what they wanted to show. He told the fans that Shugars wasn’t someone to count on and that he would often disappear before the show. That led to worrying about whether he would be there for them. He said that he came to him several times because he always second-guessed himself.
Then he told him that DarkState babysat him instead of accomplishing their goals and that the betrayal was correcting their mistake. He said that nothing would change and that he wouldn’t hesitate, leaving him to be exposed. With no response, Lennox said that his death warrant is signed and that he’ll stamp it on Sunday. Will this passionate speech motivate Shugars, or will Lennox be proven right about him and his behavior?
