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Wrestling Star Xavier Woods Unmasked as Yu-Gi-Oh! Master Duel's Shadow Duelist Axle

WWE superstar Xavier Woods, popularly known as Austin Creed on social media, revealed himself as Shadow Duelist Axle for the second Yu-Gi-Oh! Master Duel Shadow Duelist event on November 23.

Over 400 Yu-Gi-Oh! Master Duel players signed up for the nine round Swiss-system tournament event to play against Woods as Shadow Duelist Axle and win his mask. Following the Swiss-system tournament, there was a 32-player single-elimination tournament to determine who would play Woods. UWS Kaito won, and the full livestream of UWS Kaito and Woods' match is available on the Yu-Gi-Oh! Trading Card Game's YouTube channel.

The official X (formerly Twitter) account for Yu-Gi-Oh! Master Duel announced the Shadow Duelist Axle event on October 29 with a short video featuring the mask and revealing that the celebrity would be “getting in on the action.”

The Yu-Gi-Oh! Master Duel X/Twitter account subsequently released eight clues about the identity of Shadow Duelist Axel. The clues were:

1. Axle has conquered many titles and now they're out to level the Duel Field.
2. If there's one thing Axle has always been known to do, it's make a grand entrance.
3. Before they started shredding on guitar, Axle first tried their hand at trombone.
4. Axle isn't Axle's first stage name.
5. You might say Axle's childhood was just peachy.
6. Axle has often been part of a trio, but they also gained acclaim for their solo endeavors.
7. Axle is trained in psychology—they'll see your strategy a mile away.
8. Axle has battled titans, but their true quest is always to level up.

The event itself teased three more clues about Shadow Duelist Axle's identity on November 23:

The X/Twitter account asked fans whom they thought Masked Duelist Axle was on November 5. Of the 13 responses, three guessed Woods, and two other suggested professional wrestlers Chris Jericho and Mick Foley's character Cactus Jack. Other guesses included Joe Biden, Shunsuke Kazama, Dan Green, Mori Calliope, O. J. Simpson, and Liam Payne.

Woods currently performs under the WWE Raw brand as part of The New Day stable. He also hosts several shows on his YouTube channel UpUpDownDown. Woods has appeared on the popular Dungeons & Dragons show Acquisitions Inc. as the cheese loving barbarian Bobbie Zimmeruski.

Sources: Yu-Gi-Oh! Trading Card Game YouTube channel, Yu-Gi-Oh! Master Duel's X/Twitter account (link 2, link 3, link 4, link 5, link 6, link 7, link 8, link 9, link 10)