Triple H did good with him on NXT (the first guy who held the NXT and NXT North American championship) last man for NXT for Survivor Series 2019 and then Vince dropped the ball with despite a win against Randy Orton at Payback and next giving him the Bearcat name was stupid A lot of potential but wasted
He's been injured for most of his time Was suppose to have a match with Swerve Strickland but was cancelled because he was injured That was World End at the end of December I doubt we'll see him again 😞
@@omarkennedy7056 Not true. His last match so far was on 23 December 2023 on "Collision" against Roidy Cage. He was supposed to wrestle Swerve Strickland on the "Worlds End" PPV a week later, but couldn't get medically cleared. Dustin Rhodes took over his spot in the match. Lee supposedly had double surgeries in January this year, nobody seems to know for what or if the procedures were successful. I don't think he has been seen or heard from in public since. I think some two-bit website falsely(?) reported that he had heart surgery and got rather _sternly-worded_ criticism for it by his wife (Mia Yim) who denied that. The whole thing is rather "mysterious" and unclear. Kind of like the situation around his Covid case, when he was in WWE. Nobody seemed to know what was really going on then, either. The fact that he seems to be a rather... um... odd standoffish character with a not-so-slightly inflated opinion of himself, doesn't really help. He's a guy who talks a lot, with a flowery vocabulary and in a condescending tone, but communicates next to nothing of actual substance. And he seems to be fully aware of that and like it that way. If he gets asked too many questions he doesn't like, he just disappears into thin air. He's a weird guy - it took him the entire first decade of his career before he wrestled outside of Texas for the first time.
@Bale4Bond I've been told he also has some of those wackass "Long Covid" cases but... I mean it's clear I don't much buy that. More likely he had a minor case of asthma or something and covid just exacerbated it.
Thank you for mentioning the indies too. Dude was fucking amazing in the indies and was a must-watch. He and Chris Hero had quite the rivalry, and he had a really fun match vs one John Silver lol
@@jeffreymark475(1. Vince is no longer in charge so fortunately you don’t need to apply that logic anymore. (2. Check out Vaders run in WCW in ‘93, he was booked like Lesnar and was nearly as over.
@@ErikBraun_06 that's exactly my point. You realize Vince was still in charge when Keith Lee was there. Same thing most likely would have happened. People don't know how to properly read comments these days
@@smoothpoon86 Yes I know about Vader's WCW run. Everyone does but he never said anything about WCW were talking about WWE. I'm not saying Vader is a bad wrestler. I'm just saying it didn't work in the 90s so why would work in 2020
I don't think you can blame WWE or Keith Lee for his main roster run. The Bearcat character wasn't good but his health was holding him back. We also saw in his AEW run that his creative ideas for himself are not good. How could he think that wearing a cape and talking like Frasier Crane would resonate with fans?
Why did he talk so silly for. I remember not liking him just because I didn't like the way he talked. And I have no idea what he did in AEW because I don't watch it. Hope he does well
The way he talks is cringy and silly, and combined with his "angry" boo boo face that makes him look like a grump toddler he comes across as far less intimidating that he could be.
@OfficialSatelliteMan That doesn't matter. Not everyone is gonna have the same interests and experiences growing up. I know people in their 30's who don't know what Pokémon is.
@@GiltiatheDarkNightok Pokemon is like worldwide. Even if you don't know anything if you don't know what Pikachu is, you're just ignorant. Dbz is understandable
The reason why he was called "limitless" was because in the indies and nxt he was lifting people with no issue, flying like a luchadoor with wings and spoke promos with such an amazing voice. Its a shame wwe gave him limits cause now people like ivar are flying all over the place
How can you see him in this video and think WWE limited him? He limited himself, and then was seemingly cursed with health issues. Same seems to have happened in AEW.
@ayww4911 the reason I say that is cause one month he is flying around and bouncing adam Cole into the crowd and the next he has a different theme, different moveset and different attire. WWE LIMITED HIM. The change from his takeover match with Kross and his raw debut days later showed how nerfed he was in the main roster. It was almost as bad as karrion kross's debut in the main roster
@@IBeNerdy76 true, but honestly he lost a step himself. He gained weight, his execution of moves was off, and even now, or then, when he was active in AEW he was still lacking.
Health and awful booking decisions are what the reasons why Keith Lee's stock fell. It's sad because he has a unique build. He's an agile big guy who can cut eloquent promos. He's also a former NXT champion who beat a future Hall of Famer in his main roster debut. Nowadays, he's in AEW doing absolutely nothing.
Used to be a massive Keith Lee fan, on the indies and NXT his athleticism was amazing to watch for a man his size, made up for the fact that his promos and character were middling. As soon as he started to slow down and wasnt able to flip around anymore, then he lost everything that made him great and all his weaknesses were shown up even more.
Marky I’ve been waiting for this one for so long, please do Leon Ruff in Nxt next everyone he feuded with is basically on top of the business right now!
That plague era commentary desk is a fancy permanent structure that looks like a set piece from a 90s sci-fi show. The touring commentary desk is a folding table with cardboard surround, the part that holds the monitors and hides the script and drinks is either inset into a folding table frame, or is a table-top rig. I think it was Stevie Richards or Maven that mentioned on their show that at one point the announce table spot was so common during their time that they switched from traditionally gimmicked tables [with the reinforcement ring removed and the center scored to make a clean break] to one where the legs give out to save money on replacement tables.
His health was holding him back in WWE, the guy had one of the biggest moment/spots when he was the faced Seth and Roman at survivor series when he was in NXT
Keith Lee has never fully recovered from COVID. It developed into a severe respiratory infection, and he almost died. When he got home, his lung capacity was greatly reduced and his muscles were atrophied.
His matches with Dijak in various companies were absolute bangers ! Dijak is another guy I was shocked WWE wasted as he had everything going for him . Looks , size, power , agility and could go in the ring What more could they want ???
Keith Lee is a damn good performer and he can speak well on the mic. I'm just surprised that AEW and WWE at the time didn't know how to book him very well. And then, they tried to change his style when what he had worked in NXT as you could easily copy and paste that to the main roster. It was just very unlucky. But at the same time, there were rumors that he might have been a little bit arrogant and he had a lot of health issues that held him back.
His health issues had held him back massively, also he's rumoured to be difficult to deal with backstage (take that with a grain of salt) but yeah, after his COVID scare he never was the same, and has refused to lose weight which would have helped him stay relevant, but alas he was too arrogant to do so and the man he felt sorry for ended up becoming the longest IC champion as well as the current World Heavyweight Champion while he's yet to come back to TV.
Covid was a motherfucker for big guys. It left a lot of the big guys with long lasting effects. Bray Wyatt and Brody Lee both lost their lives due to post-Covid symptoms. Just glad Keith Lee is still alive
Keith Lee was the guy who got me back into wrestling. His NXT matches were so good, but McMahon wanted him to be the new Mark Henry instead of being himself when he came up to the main roster. Sucks he has all the heart problems going on these days, being a nerdy big black guy was hella relatable to me, the skirt thing was kinda a dragonball z reference lol
What's also to note is Keith Lee was actually booked to win the United States Championship at Elimination Chamber before his health scare. Wonder how his career would have played out if he got that title run
Bro he was going toe to toe with Brock, pinned Randy, pinned Seth. Almost pinned Reigns. Insane how big they were gonna make him. Then Vince hated his reliance on athletic moves and style of promo.
People exaggerate when they say Keith Lee flopped in WWE, his run in the company was only beginning. If Lee stayed with WWE a few more years, maybe his career would have seen more success. His main roster run had a great start with Lee beating Randy Orton in his debut match on Raw and he was usually presented as a threat. At the end of the day, he just didn't spend enough time in the company for it to matter if he was a flop or not.
I just don’t think WWE or AEW knew what to do with him because he’s such a unique performer. His promos are more intelligent rather than big screaming meathead promos, and he at his peak was extremely athletic and agile for his size. He isn’t the typical big roid-y angry guy so WWE didn’t get him, and AEW doesn’t get big guys in general.
Depends on what side of WWE your refering to NxT? No Main Roster? Yeah kinda although health likely played a big part part into plans especially before Chamber 2021 so that I'll give main roster a pass although considering past NXT call ups that pass may not have been given for too long
I’m surprised they never let Keith face smaller guys to show off his strength. Let him throw around the Miz and clean up his promos. Then you push him against the Seth and Randy
@B11633 bad book8ng directly coincided with jom letting himself go. Going from a "brick shithouse" type build [See: Sammartino's kid. Thicket but still toned, kinda like Gunther now] to "Gunther pre WWE" or "Offseason Luka Doncic" to go basketball terms. They told him to cut weight, he gained it, repercussions happened. Thats on him.
If Triple H was head of creative during Keith Lees run I think he would have been in a better place compared to where he is now. He was so great in NXT but once he got called up Vince got his hands on him and it was curtains after that.
Actually Lee said on Jericho's podcast that Vince was a big fan of his. Vince just wanted him, just like the Hawk, to be an aggressive and intense monster character, which Lee couldn't pull off consistantly, so Vince lost faith in him.
I remember him in NXT and being shocked at how a guy that big could move as quickly as he did 😮 I hadn’t seen anything from his main roster run so definitely colour me shocked to see him going as slow as a snail
Nobody had mixed feelings about Keith before he went to Raw. He was at his best when he first entered the rumble. Vince saw him as their next big project, but at one point he sent Keith back to the performance center to 'learn to work like a big man,' so I guess Vince just couldn't figure him out.
You should do Big Cass's solo heel run up until he was released. It should be under 30 matches. No reason to do him and Enzo together. Just his solo heel run as he got pushed hard by Vince but it failed.
Performance center era was some of the best storylines. Last good run of heel Orton and McIntyre rival was 🔥🔥🔥. Miz and Morrison slow mo entrance was legendary
When wrestling / wrestler encountered trouble. Past - Blame everything on Vince Russo Present - Blame everything on Vince Mcmahon Future - Who's the next Vince to be blame. Vince Neil ? 😅
The main problem is even for a "big man", he was way too generic. His character was boring. Matches were too similar. And that smirk was annoying. He got to continuosly work with big name stars that made him look A LOT better than he actually was.
wow, I was waiting for this episode but didn't remember Keith Lee's booking was so damn inconsistent, that's mad. goes to show how good revisiting stuff can be, now I know he had little chance the way things were (though I'm aware Keith said it himself Vince asked him to be more intense, but he couldn't do it, so that didn't help him at all)
Wow that was a really powerful finisher!!! Like you said he was a lot better playing heel and I think his moves fit a heel better at least if he isn’t doing anything special.
After his nxt run, Keith Lee really went downhill. He was amazing at indies and nxt - big, strong, athletic and was a very good match to pretty much every wrestler. But it seems that the moment he came to raw, everything started to get slower, floppier etc. and the worst part is that, even in AEW it seems that he can't do it at the level he used to.
Keith Lee to me is just another example of how important the other parts of wrestling are other than just the wrestling, same with Ricochet though recently even Rics in ring stuff has been sloppy
Thing is, it is actually his fault. He was advised to lose some weight but he refused which helped speed up his heart condition, look at any of his end year NxT and MR matches, and you'll notice how he starts sweating like one or two minutes in, a lot of rest spots and him moving slowly
Tbf the limitless nickname made perfect sense when he was touring the indies as he was a giant dude who could do moonsaults and suicide dives and was genuinely pretty fast for a guy his size. However that style must’ve killed his knees because he was noticeably slower in NXT and even slower by the time he got to the main roster. He was no longer limitless by then.
In NXT, Keith Lee was allowed to just be himself, but once he got called up to the main roster, Vince decided to make him into another generic big man.
You also have to add the fact he gained more weight than when he was on NxT, his unknown heart issues and the bad booking which all lead to the horrible run he had
Keith had the potential to be a solid upper midcard guy, but his health and stubbornness to lose weight made him unable to do all the cool moves/spots he used to do on NxT and the Indies which made him lose his shine even more, the Bearcat gimmick was his chance to wrestle more aggressively (like a powerhouse should) yet he kept the dame style. And his health has caused him to perform even worse on AEW to the point there's not even a mention of him not being there, what a waste of talent
I watched WWE and NXT before, during and after the covid era so I remember his run quite well. He was strongly booked on NXT, he was the first double champion from what I can remember, so when he lost the title to Kross everyone expected big things on the main roster. However, his booking was awful. After that win against Randy it was completely directionless. They could have made him into a monster but they never pulled the trigger. Who knows why they didn’t but he also didn’t help himself, he was bland and his promos sucked. But also Vince hated how he looked which is how the “bearcat” gimmick came to be. And that was literally the nail in the coffin for Keith Lee. It is sad though, he was entertaining in the ring for a big guy, and he could have some great matches. His matched with Dijakovic on NXT were some of the most fun big men matches in recent times. Funny thing is, he’s done even worse in AEW where he was given more creative freedom which made him look like an even bigger dork.
Now I'm wondering if the Hawk has ever seen a Tomohiro Ishii match. The Hawk often talks about how important a good moveset and character is, but Ishii has neither and people still love him. He only does like 4 moves but does them so well and is so intense that people enjoy his work anyways. Unfortunately, most of his work is in NJPW so won't make it on UA-cam but I wonder how many ROH or AEW matches he has had.
If they made a live action version of Shrek , Keith Lee could make a mint lol ! But for real , I miss seeing him on my TV . He is one of the best modern day big guys being powerful and incredibly agile . I hope he can make a comeback . I cant believe WWE wasted him as Bearcat Lee on the main roster either . I think if HHH was in charge then that may not have happened . But who knows .
Health issues aside it's a absolute crime how badly handled his career has been handled. Always gets a massive reaction, people love him and he's believable
Yes he had 31 matches which means he's over the limit. But Keith Lee is LIMITLESS!
Triple H did good with him on NXT (the first guy who held the NXT and NXT North American championship) last man for NXT for Survivor Series 2019 and then Vince dropped the ball with despite a win against Randy Orton at Payback and next giving him the Bearcat name was stupid
A lot of potential but wasted
and then he got screwed by Tony Khan's booking
31/35 matches should be considered the Desmond Wolfe Rule imo or something else like that.
The 1st survivor series match barely counts, as an NXT guy.
Here to once again request Ezekiel, Elias’ younger brother, for Ring of the Hawk, or I’ll hit you with a brick.
Might as well make a "Did Keith Lee fail in AEW" video with the way he's being booked.
Poor Keith Lee...
He's been injured for most of his time Was suppose to have a match with Swerve Strickland but was cancelled because he was injured That was World End at the end of December I doubt we'll see him again 😞
If what I'm hearing is true.....
Aged like milk@@mr.boombasticc3924
Dude hasn't wrestled in over a year so that's unfair
@@omarkennedy7056 Not true. His last match so far was on 23 December 2023 on "Collision" against Roidy Cage. He was supposed to wrestle Swerve Strickland on the "Worlds End" PPV a week later, but couldn't get medically cleared. Dustin Rhodes took over his spot in the match. Lee supposedly had double surgeries in January this year, nobody seems to know for what or if the procedures were successful. I don't think he has been seen or heard from in public since.
I think some two-bit website falsely(?) reported that he had heart surgery and got rather _sternly-worded_ criticism for it by his wife (Mia Yim) who denied that. The whole thing is rather "mysterious" and unclear. Kind of like the situation around his Covid case, when he was in WWE. Nobody seemed to know what was really going on then, either.
The fact that he seems to be a rather... um... odd standoffish character with a not-so-slightly inflated opinion of himself, doesn't really help. He's a guy who talks a lot, with a flowery vocabulary and in a condescending tone, but communicates next to nothing of actual substance. And he seems to be fully aware of that and like it that way. If he gets asked too many questions he doesn't like, he just disappears into thin air.
He's a weird guy - it took him the entire first decade of his career before he wrestled outside of Texas for the first time.
At some point, he had health issues and hasn't fully recovered.
It's because of his weight. That's why WWE wanted him to slim down, but he didn't. That's probably why he wasn't booked super well
@@corsicacommander8371he was at his best, truly limitless, when he was toned. Not fat.
It’s called fat
@@slashandbones13 The health is was called Burgeritis
@Bale4Bond I've been told he also has some of those wackass "Long Covid" cases but... I mean it's clear I don't much buy that. More likely he had a minor case of asthma or something and covid just exacerbated it.
Keith is incredible but illness and bad booking have really held him back for years. Keith Lee on the indies and NXT was out of this world.
Thank you for mentioning the indies too. Dude was fucking amazing in the indies and was a must-watch. He and Chris Hero had quite the rivalry, and he had a really fun match vs one John Silver lol
He needed to work more like Vader ...
A bruiser who does athletic-moves for a finish.
Did he? How did that turn out for Vader in WWE ?
@@jeffreymark475Vader flopped because Michaels enviously ended his push
@@jeffreymark475(1. Vince is no longer in charge so fortunately you don’t need to apply that logic anymore. (2. Check out Vaders run in WCW in ‘93, he was booked like Lesnar and was nearly as over.
@@ErikBraun_06 that's exactly my point. You realize Vince was still in charge when Keith Lee was there. Same thing most likely would have happened. People don't know how to properly read comments these days
@@smoothpoon86 Yes I know about Vader's WCW run. Everyone does but he never said anything about WCW were talking about WWE. I'm not saying Vader is a bad wrestler. I'm just saying it didn't work in the 90s so why would work in 2020
I don't think you can blame WWE or Keith Lee for his main roster run. The Bearcat character wasn't good but his health was holding him back. We also saw in his AEW run that his creative ideas for himself are not good. How could he think that wearing a cape and talking like Frasier Crane would resonate with fans?
He's also married to michin mia yim.
Why did he talk so silly for. I remember not liking him just because I didn't like the way he talked. And I have no idea what he did in AEW because I don't watch it. Hope he does well
Fraser was a big hit, why’s talking differently to “generic big man” such a turn off? It’s one of his most charming attributes to me.
The way he talks is cringy and silly, and combined with his "angry" boo boo face that makes him look like a grump toddler he comes across as far less intimidating that he could be.
Keith Lee’s “woolly mammoth” outfit was his take on Broly from Dragon Ball Super: Broly.
His finisher is even called The Spirit Bomb.
Not everyone knows what DBZ is.
@OfficialSatelliteMan That doesn't matter. Not everyone is gonna have the same interests and experiences growing up. I know people in their 30's who don't know what Pokémon is.
@@GiltiatheDarkNightyou could easily look it up. Heck, there’s a whole community out there to learn that information from
@@GiltiatheDarkNightok Pokemon is like worldwide. Even if you don't know anything if you don't know what Pikachu is, you're just ignorant. Dbz is understandable
@@OfficialSatelliteManshould he care? no. if you don't like that, shuv it!
If what am hearing is true poor Walter
The reason why he was called "limitless" was because in the indies and nxt he was lifting people with no issue, flying like a luchadoor with wings and spoke promos with such an amazing voice. Its a shame wwe gave him limits cause now people like ivar are flying all over the place
How can you see him in this video and think WWE limited him? He limited himself, and then was seemingly cursed with health issues. Same seems to have happened in AEW.
@ayww4911 the reason I say that is cause one month he is flying around and bouncing adam Cole into the crowd and the next he has a different theme, different moveset and different attire. WWE LIMITED HIM. The change from his takeover match with Kross and his raw debut days later showed how nerfed he was in the main roster. It was almost as bad as karrion kross's debut in the main roster
Well he isn't in WWE anymore. I'm sure he is thriving.. right?
@@IBeNerdy76 true, but honestly he lost a step himself. He gained weight, his execution of moves was off, and even now, or then, when he was active in AEW he was still lacking.
@@ayww4911 Keith Lee NXT is totally different from this Keith Lee main roster
Health and awful booking decisions are what the reasons why Keith Lee's stock fell. It's sad because he has a unique build. He's an agile big guy who can cut eloquent promos. He's also a former NXT champion who beat a future Hall of Famer in his main roster debut. Nowadays, he's in AEW doing absolutely nothing.
HE'S FAAAAAT - Big Poppa Pump
Even on a Keith Lee video slapnuts somehow appaears 😂
Perhaps the most random slapnuts appearance so far. Just insane.
If there's no Double J in a Markyd video, is it really a Markyd video?
Used to be a massive Keith Lee fan, on the indies and NXT his athleticism was amazing to watch for a man his size, made up for the fact that his promos and character were middling. As soon as he started to slow down and wasnt able to flip around anymore, then he lost everything that made him great and all his weaknesses were shown up even more.
I'm with you hawk, watching covid wrestling gives me anxiety
Yes and now he looks like Uncle Phil.
Orton looks so thin compared to now. I want whatever he's taking
Think he was called up to the main roster a few years to late. He hasnt done a lot in AEW either
Marky I’ve been waiting for this one for so long, please do Leon Ruff in Nxt next everyone he feuded with is basically on top of the business right now!
Wasn’t he the guy who beat Gargano for the NA champion and it was a complete shock lmao
@@THISissockwormadness yes he was
That plague era commentary desk is a fancy permanent structure that looks like a set piece from a 90s sci-fi show. The touring commentary desk is a folding table with cardboard surround, the part that holds the monitors and hides the script and drinks is either inset into a folding table frame, or is a table-top rig.
I think it was Stevie Richards or Maven that mentioned on their show that at one point the announce table spot was so common during their time that they switched from traditionally gimmicked tables [with the reinforcement ring removed and the center scored to make a clean break] to one where the legs give out to save money on replacement tables.
It's sad when the most exciting part of the video is when a wild Slapnuts appears
His health was holding him back in WWE, the guy had one of the biggest moment/spots when he was the faced Seth and Roman at survivor series when he was in NXT
Keith Lee has never fully recovered from COVID. It developed into a severe respiratory infection, and he almost died. When he got home, his lung capacity was greatly reduced and his muscles were atrophied.
20:31 A Wild Slapnuts Appears!
I am Convinced that's he is and will be everywhere in wrestling history. He's going to be showing up 50 years from now
His matches with Dijak in various companies were absolute bangers ! Dijak is another guy I was shocked WWE wasted as he had everything going for him . Looks , size, power , agility and could go in the ring What more could they want ???
Exactly
Keith Lee is a damn good performer and he can speak well on the mic. I'm just surprised that AEW and WWE at the time didn't know how to book him very well. And then, they tried to change his style when what he had worked in NXT as you could easily copy and paste that to the main roster. It was just very unlucky. But at the same time, there were rumors that he might have been a little bit arrogant and he had a lot of health issues that held him back.
So everyone's fault but Keith?😅
His health issues had held him back massively, also he's rumoured to be difficult to deal with backstage (take that with a grain of salt) but yeah, after his COVID scare he never was the same, and has refused to lose weight which would have helped him stay relevant, but alas he was too arrogant to do so and the man he felt sorry for ended up becoming the longest IC champion as well as the current World Heavyweight Champion while he's yet to come back to TV.
@@andresscott3927 Oh no, he had plenty issues on his side that made it an issue for him to move up the ranks and he didn't want to change them.
@@djpegao I almost forgot to mention that as well.
Imagine how big of a deal Keith Lee could be if he didn’t have so many health problems
And lost some weight, jeeeesus
Covid was a motherfucker for big guys. It left a lot of the big guys with long lasting effects. Bray Wyatt and Brody Lee both lost their lives due to post-Covid symptoms. Just glad Keith Lee is still alive
@@redkritter1225 I wonder if his weight issues stem from his heart issues.
0 if someone jumps he says "how low?"
@@redkritter1225 if Keith Lee was 275 pounds instead of 345 pounds I think he would’ve been world champion by now in either WWE or AEW
Keith Lee was the guy who got me back into wrestling. His NXT matches were so good, but McMahon wanted him to be the new Mark Henry instead of being himself when he came up to the main roster. Sucks he has all the heart problems going on these days, being a nerdy big black guy was hella relatable to me, the skirt thing was kinda a dragonball z reference lol
Why does he stand "AWKWARDLY AND TALK TO THE CAMERA, IF HE IS SIDE ON" 😂😂
What's also to note is Keith Lee was actually booked to win the United States Championship at Elimination Chamber before his health scare. Wonder how his career would have played out if he got that title run
Bro he was going toe to toe with Brock, pinned Randy, pinned Seth. Almost pinned Reigns. Insane how big they were gonna make him. Then Vince hated his reliance on athletic moves and style of promo.
Mike Awesome in ECW - Hes an A grade contender
2:58 Why'd that sound so W E T?
People exaggerate when they say Keith Lee flopped in WWE, his run in the company was only beginning. If Lee stayed with WWE a few more years, maybe his career would have seen more success. His main roster run had a great start with Lee beating Randy Orton in his debut match on Raw and he was usually presented as a threat. At the end of the day, he just didn't spend enough time in the company for it to matter if he was a flop or not.
It's clear he was never the same after his Covid illness. A shame as he was a sensational worker in NXT.
Wasn’t the Covid illness right at the end of his wwe run though?
His illness was after the matches critiqued in this video. This guy was never any good on the main roster. Don't know or care about his indie work.
Payback 2020: Keith Lee Ring gear based on as Broly from Dragon Ball Super Broly Movie
I just don’t think WWE or AEW knew what to do with him because he’s such a unique performer. His promos are more intelligent rather than big screaming meathead promos, and he at his peak was extremely athletic and agile for his size. He isn’t the typical big roid-y angry guy so WWE didn’t get him, and AEW doesn’t get big guys in general.
NXT seemed to know what to do with do with him then well like a handful of NXT call ups under Vince it went downhill
@@JacksonLane02 Yep. EC3, Scarlett, Karrion Kross and Sanity were can’t-miss talents that Vince missed on.
disagree obi femi and big bronson reed are killing it, just think lee is unique but also a lil overrated
Nah, long term Covid was the real reason he flopped in AEW.
He just fucking sucks. Not much to it.
Depends on what side of WWE your refering to
NxT? No
Main Roster? Yeah kinda although health likely played a big part part into plans especially before Chamber 2021 so that I'll give main roster a pass although considering past NXT call ups that pass may not have been given for too long
20:30 the best line Marky has ever said about A WILD SLAPNUTS APPEARS
Why is this guy shocked that a pop up elevated powerbomb got a pin. Not a Keith Lee fan but his finisher was fantastic
I’m surprised they never let Keith face smaller guys to show off his strength. Let him throw around the Miz and clean up his promos. Then you push him against the Seth and Randy
Even during Covid era, Slapnuts is always here.
Yes.
He got fatter, got told to cut down, refused to and is now in the doldrums of AEW.
He should be jobbed out
In nxt he was a monster in the main roster he was a flop but he had no fault
Who are you talking about here lol. Applies to so many guys man
He had fault, he kept gaining pounds at the cost of his personal health and ring work.
@@TeemoQuinton im talking about the bad booking and the covid 19 which he almost die. This is why im saying he had no fault.
@B11633 bad book8ng directly coincided with jom letting himself go. Going from a "brick shithouse" type build [See: Sammartino's kid. Thicket but still toned, kinda like Gunther now] to "Gunther pre WWE" or "Offseason Luka Doncic" to go basketball terms.
They told him to cut weight, he gained it, repercussions happened. Thats on him.
That laugh from the hawk 4:04 kills me for no real reason 😂
If Triple H was head of creative during Keith Lees run I think he would have been in a better place compared to where he is now. He was so great in NXT but once he got called up Vince got his hands on him and it was curtains after that.
8:24 what a burn🔥 lol 😂
NXT Keith Lee was a Dawg, especially that Adam Cole Pounce into the crowd 😮😂😂😂
You could tell Vince hated this man with that Bear cat gimmick
He was ultimately proven right.
Actually Lee said on Jericho's podcast that Vince was a big fan of his. Vince just wanted him, just like the Hawk, to be an aggressive and intense monster character, which Lee couldn't pull off consistantly, so Vince lost faith in him.
Bearcat isn’t a bad gimmick it’s better than him speaking like a pretentious Rhodes scholar
Yeah. Using a name from a past African American really shows how much he hates him. Get outta here with that bullshit
@@AlisonBremer1pretentious Rhodes scholar is different and unique, there are countless dreary dull bearcats
Funny how the pandemic pay per views looked exactly the same as Raw and smackdown set
I remember him in NXT and being shocked at how a guy that big could move as quickly as he did 😮 I hadn’t seen anything from his main roster run so definitely colour me shocked to see him going as slow as a snail
Nobody had mixed feelings about Keith before he went to Raw. He was at his best when he first entered the rumble. Vince saw him as their next big project, but at one point he sent Keith back to the performance center to 'learn to work like a big man,' so I guess Vince just couldn't figure him out.
Bob Sapp in NJPW
Lot of channels get taken down for showing new japan content
Keith talks like a Skyrim character
A combination of health issues and apparently Vince didn't want him wrestling like a cruiserweight.
WHY EVEN HIRE HIM THEN???
ITS HIS WHOLE UNIQUE APPEAL!
I screamed in particular at this instance of a wild slapnuts appears - double j, Jeff Jarrett. Truly when you least expect him. 😂
Keith Lee and The Obese Indian Boy would make a great team.
crazy when iwc was comparing walter and this guy back then
You should do Big Cass's solo heel run up until he was released. It should be under 30 matches. No reason to do him and Enzo together. Just his solo heel run as he got pushed hard by Vince but it failed.
Performance center era was some of the best storylines. Last good run of heel Orton and McIntyre rival was 🔥🔥🔥. Miz and Morrison slow mo entrance was legendary
Vince dropped on him very hard, crazy what he did to Keith Lee
Break it down what he did that was sooo Crazy?
Nahh keith just got too heavy, slow, and phoned it in too often
@@MrAbridgedTV Seems pretty obvious. Watch his NXT matches, crowds were nuts for him and his matches were all really good.
@@stonetic2515 it’s a cope out to blame Vince every time someone doesn’t do well in WWE. Especially when they go to AEW and do worse
When wrestling / wrestler encountered trouble.
Past - Blame everything on Vince Russo
Present - Blame everything on Vince Mcmahon
Future - Who's the next Vince to be blame. Vince Neil ? 😅
The main problem is even for a "big man", he was way too generic. His character was boring. Matches were too similar. And that smirk was annoying. He got to continuosly work with big name stars that made him look A LOT better than he actually was.
that carribean soca beat in the background 😂
wow, I was waiting for this episode but didn't remember Keith Lee's booking was so damn inconsistent, that's mad. goes to show how good revisiting stuff can be, now I know he had little chance the way things were (though I'm aware Keith said it himself Vince asked him to be more intense, but he couldn't do it, so that didn't help him at all)
Love these random appearances from Double J
Wow that was a really powerful finisher!!! Like you said he was a lot better playing heel and I think his moves fit a heel better at least if he isn’t doing anything special.
Unrelated but the 1 glove Rollins era was underrated. Would love a video on it
He still has one of my all time favorite matches, Keith Lee vs Dijak at NXT Portland.
After his nxt run, Keith Lee really went downhill. He was amazing at indies and nxt - big, strong, athletic and was a very good match to pretty much every wrestler. But it seems that the moment he came to raw, everything started to get slower, floppier etc. and the worst part is that, even in AEW it seems that he can't do it at the level he used to.
Keith Lee to me is just another example of how important the other parts of wrestling are other than just the wrestling, same with Ricochet though recently even Rics in ring stuff has been sloppy
Now he's in AEW.
He even dyed his hair and beard gray.😂
3:06 Man this is crazy to see and it's just a few years ago. Boy do I miss the non roi.....chicken and broccoli belly Orton😪😔
Tomiso Chomper, Rayman Reigns, and Seth Roll-ins are my faves.
Imagine Keith Lee, Healthy AF, in this Triple H Era... 🔥🔥
Let's just pray for his Health so we can see Him wherever he Lands and feels good 🙌🏾
The second I heard Bearcat I was done
Yes but I believe to no fault of his own
He could of definitely been in better shape but some of the health issues weren't his though.
Thing is, it is actually his fault. He was advised to lose some weight but he refused which helped speed up his heart condition, look at any of his end year NxT and MR matches, and you'll notice how he starts sweating like one or two minutes in, a lot of rest spots and him moving slowly
Forget "Then. Now. Forever." WWE's tagline for this era should have been "Limiting the Limitless."
11:51 damn, he bonked his head right on the apron with that dive. Definitely Limited not Limitless
Yea
Tbf the limitless nickname made perfect sense when he was touring the indies as he was a giant dude who could do moonsaults and suicide dives and was genuinely pretty fast for a guy his size.
However that style must’ve killed his knees because he was noticeably slower in NXT and even slower by the time he got to the main roster. He was no longer limitless by then.
I love his crossbody moves. Looks like mix between Crossbody and Spear 😄
In NXT, Keith Lee was allowed to just be himself, but once he got called up to the main roster, Vince decided to make him into another generic big man.
You also have to add the fact he gained more weight than when he was on NxT, his unknown heart issues and the bad booking which all lead to the horrible run he had
Once again like many before him, he shined the brightest in NXT
“Bad attitude” is code for we just didn’t wanna push him.
I mean he’s in another company where he’s not a top star. So it’s ok to say he himself just isn’t top star worthy right?
Keith had the potential to be a solid upper midcard guy, but his health and stubbornness to lose weight made him unable to do all the cool moves/spots he used to do on NxT and the Indies which made him lose his shine even more, the Bearcat gimmick was his chance to wrestle more aggressively (like a powerhouse should) yet he kept the dame style. And his health has caused him to perform even worse on AEW to the point there's not even a mention of him not being there, what a waste of talent
I watched WWE and NXT before, during and after the covid era so I remember his run quite well.
He was strongly booked on NXT, he was the first double champion from what I can remember, so when he lost the title to Kross everyone expected big things on the main roster.
However, his booking was awful. After that win against Randy it was completely directionless. They could have made him into a monster but they never pulled the trigger. Who knows why they didn’t but he also didn’t help himself, he was bland and his promos sucked. But also Vince hated how he looked which is how the “bearcat” gimmick came to be. And that was literally the nail in the coffin for Keith Lee.
It is sad though, he was entertaining in the ring for a big guy, and he could have some great matches. His matched with Dijakovic on NXT were some of the most fun big men matches in recent times.
Funny thing is, he’s done even worse in AEW where he was given more creative freedom which made him look like an even bigger dork.
He’s flopping even worse in AEW I can’t wait for you to make a video on that it’s unfortunate cause the guy is very talented
Now I'm wondering if the Hawk has ever seen a Tomohiro Ishii match. The Hawk often talks about how important a good moveset and character is, but Ishii has neither and people still love him. He only does like 4 moves but does them so well and is so intense that people enjoy his work anyways. Unfortunately, most of his work is in NJPW so won't make it on UA-cam but I wonder how many ROH or AEW matches he has had.
The commentary table not breaking week on week despite multiple slams from big men is a bigger push then what Keith Lee ever got outside of NXT
His health was his biggest hurdle, sadly. Guy could move as quickly as Joe. Loved seeing him vs Cole.
Keith lee needs to return to wwe
His AEW run is even worse.
😢 man those "bask in his glory" days in nxt were awesome
If they made a live action version of Shrek , Keith Lee could make a mint lol ! But for real , I miss seeing him on my TV . He is one of the best modern day big guys being powerful and incredibly agile . I hope he can make a comeback . I cant believe WWE wasted him as Bearcat Lee on the main roster either . I think if HHH was in charge then that may not have happened . But who knows .
You should watch Jeff Jarrett in the 1 contenders tournament and match against Daniel Bryan in AEW. He gets crushed you might enjoy it.
Health issues aside it's a absolute crime how badly handled his career has been handled. Always gets a massive reaction, people love him and he's believable
Frankly since he debuted, I didn’t find him interesting
They wasted him on RAW by making him water down his moveset and work a slower style. You’d be best off watching his NXT work.
In NXT keith lee’s run there was badass such a shame his run in the main roster went all downhill from there.
even in a Keith Lee video a wild slapnuts appears
great idea for a vid!
He sucked in AEW too. Even with the Swerve In Our Glory tag run, AEW failed to pay that off.