Malik Blade | |
---|---|
Birth name | Josh Dawkins |
Born | Orlando, Florida [1] |
Relatives | Darryl Dawkins (uncle) |
Professional wrestling career | |
Ring name | Malik Blade [2] |
Billed weight | 200 lb (91 kg) |
Trained by | D-Von Dudley [3] |
Debut | 2018 [4] |
Josh Dawkins is an American professional wrestler. He is signed to WWE, where he performs under the ring name Malik Blade on the NXT brand. [5] [6]
Dawkins was trained by D-Von Dudley at the Dvon Dudley Academy, making his debut on the independent circuit in Orlando in 2018. [7]
Dawkins, now under the ring name Malik Blade, made his NXT brand debut on the 5 October 2021 episode of NXT, losing to Tony D'Angelo. [8] On 26 October, at NXT: Halloween Havoc he faced Joe Gacy in a losing effort. [9] He also made several appearances on 205 Live in late 2021. [10] On 12 December 2022, he made his Main Event debut, teaming with Edris Enofé in a loss to Cedric Alexander and Mustafa Ali in a tag team match. [11] On 30 July 2024 at NXT: The Great American Bash, he defeated Bronco Nima. [12] In February 2024, it was reported that Enofé suffered a serious injury [13] whereas Blade suffered a torn ACL later in November. [14] Enofé returned on the 14 May 2025 episode of Evolve , where he announced he was going solo, breaking up their tag team partnership. [15]
Dawkins is the nephew of former NBA player Darryl Dawkins. [16]
The 6-foot-1 recruit is also the nephew of NBA legend Darryl Dawkins.