Copeland Barbee (born April 30, 2000) is an American

professional wrestler Professional wrestling, often shortened to either pro wrestling or wrestling,The term "wrestling" is most often widely used to specifically refer to modern scripted professional wrestling, though it is also used to refer to real-life wrest ...

. He is signed to

WWE World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) is an American professional wrestling promotion. It is owned and operated by TKO Group Holdings, a majority-owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. A global integrated media and entertainment company, ...

, where he performs on the NXT

brand A brand is a name, term, design, symbol or any other feature that distinguishes one seller's goods or service from those of other sellers. Brands are used in business, marketing, and advertising for recognition and, importantly, to create and ...

under the

ring name A ring name is a type of stage name or nickname used by an athlete such as a professional wrestler, mixed martial artist, or boxer whose real name is considered unattractive, dull, difficult to pronounce or spell, amusing for the wrong reasons ...

Saquon Shugars as a member of the DarkState

stable A stable is a building in which working animals are kept, especially horses or oxen. The building is usually divided into stalls, and may include storage for equipment and feed. Styles There are many different types of stables in use tod ...

. He also makes an appearance at

Total Nonstop Action Wrestling Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (abbreviated as TNA Wrestling or TNA) is an American professional wrestling promotion based in Nashville, Tennessee. It is a subsidiary of Anthem Sports & Entertainment, a Canadian media company owned by busines ...

. Barbee was previously known under the ring name Lucky Ali on the

independent circuit In professional wrestling, the independent circuit (often shortened to the indie circuit or the indies) is the collective name of independently owned promotions which are deemed to be smaller and more regionalized than major national promotions. ...

Professional wrestling career

Early career (2018–2023)

Barbee began training in 2018 under Caleb Konley and George South in

North Carolina North Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, South Carolina to the south, Georgia (U.S. stat ...

and made his debut on June 7, 2018 under the ring name Lucky Ali. On April 4, 2022, he debuted in

All Elite Wrestling All Elite Wrestling (AEW) is an American professional wrestling promotion headquartered in Jacksonville, Florida. It is owned and operated by Shahid Khan, Shahid and Tony Khan, with the latter serving as President (corporate title), president an ...

(AEW) in a match taped for ''

AEW Dark Elevation ''AEW Dark: Elevation'', also known as ''Dark: Elevation'' or simply ''Elevation'', is an American professional wrestling streaming television program that was produced by the American promotion All Elite Wrestling (AEW), running from March 15, 2 ...

'', where he lost to

Frankie Kazarian Frank Benedict Gerdelman (born August 4, 1977) is an American Professional wrestling, professional wrestler and musician signed to Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA), performing under the ring name Frankie Kazarian. He is also known for his wo ...

. He also began working for

Deadlock Pro-Wrestling Deadlock Pro-Wrestling (stylized as DEADLOCK Pro Wrestling), often referred to simply as DPW, is an American Independent circuit, independent professional wrestling promotion, founded on November 1, 2021, by Anthony Douglas, James Darnell, and Jo ...

around this time, where he won the Carolina Classic and the DPW Worlds Championship. He lost the title to Jay Malachi on September 17, 2023, ending his reign at 309 days. His last appearance for the promotion was at DPW World's Strongest on November 11, 2023, where he lost to

Colby Corino Colby Steven Corino (born August 28, 1996) is an American professional wrestler performing for the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA), where he is a former NWA World Junior Heavyweight Champion, and also appears on the independent circuit. He is ...

in an I Quit match before signing with

WWE (2023–present)

Barbee competed on the May 15 edition of '' Raw'', under the name Lavar Barbie, where he and his partner Drake Thompson were defeated by Indus Sher (

Sanga Sanga may refer to: People *Sanga, a Roman cognomen *Rana Sanga (c. 1482–1528), king from the Sisodia dynasty *Kumar Sangakkara (born 1977), Sri Lankan cricketer * Sanga (wrestler) (born 1984), ring name of professional wrestler Saurav Gurja ...

, and

Veer The Veer is an option running play often associated with option offenses in American football, made famous at the College football, collegiate level by Bill Yeoman's Houston Cougars football, Houston Cougars. It is currently run primarily at Hi ...

). In December 2023, it was reported that Barbee had signed with

after completing a tryout, where he would report to the NXT

. He made his debut under the ring name Saquon Shugars on the March 22, 2024 episode of '' NXT Level Up'', losing to Tavion Heights. In April, he would suffer a knee injury, sidelining him for almost a year. At NXT Vengeance Day on February 15, 2025, Shugars made his return as a member of the new

DarkState alongside

Dion Lennox Andrzej Hughes-Murray (born January 16, 1998) is an American professional wrestler and former football player. He is signed to WWE, where he performs on the NXT brand under the ring name Dion Lennox as the leader of the Darkstate stable. Hugh ...

, Cutler James and Osiris Griffin, where they attacked Fraxiom,

Josh Briggs Joshua Bruns (born March 5, 1993) is an American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name Josh Briggs. He is signed to WWE where he performs on the NXT brand. He was a one-time and the final NXT UK Tag Team Champion. Bruns previou ...

Yoshiki Inamura is a Japanese Professional wrestling, professional wrestler. He is signed to Pro Wrestling Noah. He is also making appearances for WWE on their NXT (WWE brand), NXT WWE brand extension, brand. Professional wrestling career Independent circuit (2 ...

, and

Oba Femi Isaac Odugbesan (born April 22, 1998) is a Nigerian professional wrestler and former shot putter. He is signed to WWE, where he performs on the NXT (WWE brand), NXT WWE brand extension, brand under the ring name Oba Femi and is the current NXT C ...

. Over the next few weeks, they would attack and lay out several wrestlers, claiming that "nobody is safe". On the April 8 episode of '' NXT'', Lennox, James and Shugars defeated

Trick Williams Matrick Mondre Belton (born May 26, 1994) is an American professional wrestler. He is signed to WWE, where he performs on its NXT brand, under the ring name Trick Williams. He also makes appearances in WWE's partner promotion Total Nonstop Acti ...

Je'Von Evans Malachi Jeffers (born April 28, 2004) is an American professional wrestler. He is signed to WWE, where he performs under the ring name Je'Von Evans on the NXT brand. He was previously known under the ring name Jay Malachi on the independent cir ...

and Femi in a

six-man tag team match Much like the singles match, tag team professional wrestling matches can and have taken many forms. Just about any singles or melee match type can be adapted to tag teams; for example, hardcore tag team matches are commonplace. Tag team ladder m ...

in their first match as a team. At NXT Stand & Deliver on April 19, Lennox, Osiris and Shugars defeated The D'Angelo Family (

Tony D'Angelo Joseph Ariola (born June 9, 1995) is an American professional wrestler. He is signed to WWE, where he performs on the NXT (WWE brand), NXT WWE brand extension, brand under the ring name Tony D'Angelo. Working with a American Mafia, mafia gimmick ...

, Channing "Stacks" Lorenzo, and

Luca Crusifino Roman Macek (born November 16, 2000) is an American professional wrestler and former American football player. He is signed to WWE, where he performs on the NXT (WWE brand), NXT and Evolve (WWE brand), Evolve WWE brand extension, brands under the ...

) in a six-man tag team match.

Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (2025–present)

On the July 3, 2025 episode of '' Impact!'', Barbee, as Saquon Shugars, made his

(TNA) debut alongside Darkstate where they attacked

Matt Cardona Matthew Brett Cardona (born May 14, 1985) is an American Professional wrestling, professional wrestler. He is a freelancer who competes on the independent circuit as well as making in ring appearances for Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA), Al ...

Championships and accomplishments

*American Combat Wrestling **ACW Heavyweight Championship (1 time) *

** DPW Worlds Championship (1 time) **DPW Carolina Classic Tournament (2022) *Fire Impact Pro **FIP World Heavyweight Championship (1 time) *''

Pro Wrestling Illustrated ''Pro Wrestling Illustrated'' (''PWI'') is an American professional wrestling magazine that was founded in 1979 by publisher Stanley Weston. ''PWI'' is headquartered in Blue Bell, Pennsylvania, and published by Kappa Publishing Group. The maga ...

'' **Ranked No. 412 of the top 500 singles wrestlers in the ''

PWI 500 ''Pro Wrestling Illustrated'' (''PWI'') is an American professional wrestling magazine that was founded in 1979 by publisher Stanley Weston. ''PWI'' is headquartered in Blue Bell, Pennsylvania, and published by Kappa Publishing Group. The maga ...

'' in 2023 *Premiere Wrestling Xperience **PWX Innovative Television Championship (1 time)

External links

* *

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Shugars, Saquon 2000 births Living people African-American professional wrestlers American male professional wrestlers 21st-century male professional wrestlers 21st-century American professional wrestlers DPW Worlds Champions