Right now, Keith Lee is one of the fastest rising stars in all of WWE. He is the current NXT North American Champion. Outside of NXT, has captured the attention of fans in incredible performances at Survivor Series against Roman Reigns and at the Royal Rumble when he looked to be equal to Brock Lesnar. Fans are basking in the glory of Keith Lee, but that might have not been the case had he not been stubborn and not wanting to quit. Lee had three unsuccessful WWE tryouts in the past, which left his confidence low.
His Determination Was Limitless
Speaking with Yahoo! Sports, he said the following about his journey to WWE and how beside shot down numerous times caused him serious doubt. “One-hundred percent, I began to doubt whether or not I made the right move. After the second no in 2011, there came a point there where it started to creep in, and after the Performance Center opened up and I got a third no in 2013, then I was pretty much ready to give wrestling up altogether and accept that I possibly made a mistake.”
Despite this, Keith Lee would soldier on, and build up a large fan base across promotions like Beyond Wrestling, Pro Wrestling Guerilla, and Ring Of Honor. In PWG, he really got noticed for his instant classic with rival Dominic Dijakovic, a match that was awarded a 5 star rating from the Wrestling Observer Newsletter. This would lead to Keith Lee finally making his way to WWE, reporting to the WWE Performance Center in 2018.
The Motivation That Kept Keith Lee Going
When he was close to quitting, he was motivated to keep going by William Regal, Jim Ross and Dusty Rhodes. Rhodes is actually the one responsible for coming up with the Bask In My Glory catchphrase for Lee, when they would meet during the 2013 try-out with WWE. While speaking with The American Dream himself, he would say the following to Keith Lee. “That’s it, baby. You’ve got a presence I can literally bask in. Take it and do what you want.” Since that moment, Bask In My Glory has been the signature phrase of Keith Lee, and makes his NXT success all the sweeter. While Triple H started NXT, the influence of Dusty Rhodes will always be felt on the brand, as he touched the hearts of many of their top stars. Rhodes is still honored by the annual ‘Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic’ tournament.
Do you think WWE made a mistake not signing Keith Lee during his earlier try-outs? Did the extra time to hone his unique style helped to make Lee a better wrestler than he would have been purely within WWE? Let us know what you think in the comment section down below.
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