Introducing DarkState: NXT's Newest Formidable Faction
When they debuted at Vengeance Day, DarkState was a group of unknown wrestlers from the Performance Center that beat down several stars from the NXT Tag Team division. Now, a month later, the new group has added the likes of Oba Femi, Je’Von Evans, and Tony D’Angelo to their list of beatdowns. The intentions of this group were not revealed until the March 18th episode of NXT. They explained that they are tired of waiting for opportunities to come their way so they are just going to take them and leave a bit of carnage and chaos along the way. So, how dangerous is this group and can anybody stop Darkstate any time soon?
DarkState consists of four members: Dion Lennox, Cutler James, Saquon Shugars, and Osiris Griffin. Lennox is the only member of the group that has gotten NXT TV time since he made his debut in the 2024 NXT Men’s Breakout Tournament. The former Oregon State graduate is best known for helping Ashante “Thee" Adonis and Karmen Petrovic get together. Now, he seems to be the leader of the group by standing front and center doing most of the talking during their one promo, and delivering instructions when they are beating up other wrestlers. James may be new to some fans who did not watch WWE: Next Gen on Roku or WWE: LFG on A&E but he has been with the company since 2023. The former Duke standout wrestler is currently a member of Team Bubba Ray on LFG and has impressed the coaches on the show with his in-ring ability. However, his personality does come into question when he is delivering promos. Both Shugars and Griffin are new faces to NXT and have not been introduced in any prior shows. So, this is the first time fans are getting to connect with them.
This is a great way to introduce this group to the WWE Universe by attacking their favorite NXT superstars. The direction is clear for this group as they seek to create the most chaos they can before settling into a storyline. If done right, DarkState could be a major player in NXT. The Silver and Black brand has not seen a group like this since the Shield. If one thing is for certain is that they are not going anywhere and DarkState will have every opportunity to make a name for themselves.
