When Keith Lee was signed to WWE, he came in with about as much fanfare as any new signee has had in recent years. One of the top stars on the independent scene, incredibly agile for his size, Lee seemed destined for success.
After a memorable run with WWE NXT where he became NXT North American and NXT Champion, simultaneously, as well as a memorable Survivor Series faceoff with Roman Reigns and Royal Rumble moment with Brock Lesnar, Lee was officially brought up to the main roster.
And that main roster run never amounted to much of anything. With WWE’s writing and storyline directions (or lack there of) receiving a great deal of criticism in recent years, the complete mishandling of Keith Lee is a great piece of evidence to support said criticism.
Lee was officially brought up to the main roster in the fall of 2020 until his release in the fall of 2021. Late in his run, he received a “reboot” where they began calling him Keith “Bearcat” Lee.
In an interview with The New York Post, Lee wouldn’t say that the character strayed from what he wanted to present, but he did acknowledge it was confusing for the fans.
“I just think that the difference was so stark that it confused people,” Lee said.
He continued by talking about how he felt the way his character shift was handled cold, without explanation, was the main culprit of its failure.
“In my personal opinion, and we all have different opinions, there are different theologies in this thing. When it comes to such a drastic thing, I think you either… with my time being out, I could have come out with that and just been different altogether, or if you were going to present me as I was and then have this sudden shift, I think it’s better done if there is a story, a reason for said shift. I think it’s a fairly simple story to tell. It’s a very subjective situation.”
Lee Remains Grateful For His Time In WWE
That being said, Lee was thankful for his time in WWE and didn’t go about burning any bridges or being too critical.
“Gratitude,” Lee said. “There’s not a lot of people that make it there, man, and a lot of people that want to. I am one of the few that did. It has afforded me abilities to do things that many cannot. There are a lot of things that maybe wouldn’t have happened had I never ventured there. There’s a lot to be thankful for.”
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