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When Keith Lee was just a wee lad - yes, he wasn't always a gigantic man - he often watched television with his grandmother. Grandma Lee was an avid pro wrestling fan, enthusiastically cheering for the babyfaces and booing the heels just as hard. Her fandom transferred to her grandson, who began putting on mock pro wrestling matches in his backyard.
Lee excelled in high school as a natural athlete, easily gaining a spot on his school's varsity football team. His size, of course, was quite impressive, but what really blew his coaches away was Keith Lee's ability to move so fantastically well in spite of his build. He was a man whose grace truly belied his bulk.
Keith Lee would go on to play football in college on a full scholarship, but the squared circle of professional wrestling continued to keen its siren's call. Lee succumbed to the passions within, and left college to train as a pro wrestler.
The words 'instant sensation' are bandied about a great deal in sports entertainment, but that is just what Keith was. Fans took an instant liking to Lee, who defies the stereotypical portrayal of a pro wrestler in myriad ways.
Now signed with WWE's developmental brand NXT, Keith Lee is off to a great start with the world's largest sports entertainment promotion. Here are seven reasons Keith Lee might just be the next big thing in WWE.
#1 An instant sensation
There is an aspect to the game of professional wrestling that isn't really something that can be taught in a wrestling school. That aspect is known as 'getting over,' the art of making the crowd care about you as well as resonating with them emotionally.
It's the difference between a man like Goldberg, who got over quite easily, and Eric Watts, who despite many concerted pushes remains a footnote in pro wrestling...despite the face that he was, on a technical level, better than Goldberg.
Keith Lee has no problem getting over whatsoever. He was a 'just add water' sensation in his early matches. In fact, he was so popular in Beyond wrestling that he was cheered relentlessly in spite of being a technical heel.
#2 The It factor
The term 'it factor' is bandied about in pro wrestling circles, and no doubt if you're a fan you've heard it mentioned at least once by announcers, critics, or even the talent themselves. Before coming to WWE, Bobby Roode's nickname was the It Factor, for example.
So what is the It Factor? It's an intangible quality of a pro wrestler that defies easy definition. Like as not, it has little to do with actual wrestling talent -- though many wrestlers with the it factor are in fact quite skilled between the ropes -- but is more of a force of personality and charisma, combined with supreme confidence. A great example of an It Factor wrestler is John Cena.
He may not have a lot of technical moves, and even his promos and interviews are fairly basic, but his mere presence commands attention that lesser wrestlers can only dream of.
Keith Lee has the it factor, in spades. He can hold the audience in the palm of his hand with just a smile and a shrug, with no need for apoplexy.
#3 Size and strength
While there is no hard and fast rule regarding a wrestler's weight being directly proportional to their success in the business, there's also little doubt that being big has its advantages.
For every Shawn Michaels and Dean Malenko, there are a dozen Kanes, Undertakers, and Mark Henrys. The simple fact is it's quite a bit of fun to watch two massive men crash into each other repeatedly, echoing the legends of titanic struggles in Greek and Roman mythology.
At six foot four, and well over three hundred pounds, Keith Lee is a truly large man. His massive yet unconventional build definitely gets across his sheer physical strength. And when it comes to strength, Lee is one of the most powerful men working in wrestling today. As evidence, he has easily gorilla press slammed Donovan Dijak, another man north of three hundred pounds.
#4 Ground Zero
Every great professional wrestler needs an equally great finishing move. Think about it; Undertaker is quite the fearsome presence, and his appearance alone inspires fear in his opponents. But then you factor in his dreaded Tombstone Piledriver finishing move, and he becomes more than just theatrics and smoke and lightning. He becomes the owner of a technical pro wrestling move that can put you flat on the mat for an utterly academic one two three count.
Would Stone Cold Steve Austin have been as iconic without his perennial Stone Cold Stunner finishing move? And who could even think about the Heartbreak Kid Shawn Michaels without mentioning his Sweet Chin Music finisher in the next breath?
Fortunately, Keith Lee has an amazing and devastating finisher that makes great use of his strength and agility. Starting from a fireman's carry position, he transitions his opponent mid-air and comes crashing down across them in the powerslam position. The Ground Zero is already rapidly becoming a famous finisher to be mentioned in the same breath as the much ballyhooed Tombstone Piledriver.
#5 An epic catch phrase: Bask in his glory!
Catchphrases have become synonymous with pro wrestling. Originally, the catchphrases were much longer, such as the much imitated but never duplicated Superstar Billy Graham "Sweeter than a German Chocolate Cake" speech.
I lift barbell plates. I eat T-bone steaks. I'm sweeter than a German chocolate cake. How much more of me can you take?
Over time, the catchphrases in pro wrestling grew shorter. This was both in response to the shorter attention span of the consumer audience, and because it was more TV friendly. Also, a shorter phrase is easier to remember, not to mention chant in crowded arenas.
Thus, we ended up with Austin 3:16, Too Sweet, and Hustle, Loyalty, and Respect. And now we have Keith Lee's Bask in my Glory, a phrase that looks just as good on a t-shirt as it sounds coming out of Mr. Lee's mouth.
#6 Following the path of greatness
While most WWE fans are aware of promotions like Ring of Honor, Impact Wrestling, and New Japan Pro Wrestling, not all of them pay enough attention to Pro Wrestling Guerrilla, the little promotion that could which seems to be a proving ground for some of the greatest wrestlers currently active in sports entertainment.
Former PWG champions read like a who's who of great talent in the WWE. Kyle O'Reilly, Adam Cole, AJ Styles, and Daniel Bryan have all held the Pro Wrestling Guerrilla championship strap. It seems as if when PWG picks you for a champion, they are acting as an auger or fortune teller, and the fortune is always the same; This wrestler is destined for greatness.
Keith Lee has already been the big thing in Pro Wrestling Guerrilla, and now he is poised to be the Next Big Thing in NXT and the WWE's main roster as well.
#7 American Strong Style
There is little doubt that there has been an enormous amount of influence on American pro wrestling promotions by their cousin promotions in the land of the rising sun, Japan.
Sometimes this influence is quite obvious, as with the stylized violence and antics of Shinsuke Nakamura. At other times, the influence is more subtle, such as an emphasis on technical wrestling and joint manipulation that hasn't been seen in the United States in decades.
Keith Lee is on the bleeding edge of pro wrestling innovation. While he can, and has, utilized a more traditional wrestling moveset, he is clearly at home when employing the Japanese strong style of wrestling. Strong style is meant to resemble a shoot fight, so there is a great deal more striking, especially at a rapid pace, than one finds in traditional American wrestling style.
American Strong Style takes the elements from the Japanese and adds more of the sports entertainment aspects to it. Keith Lee's dazzling in-ring style never fails to shock and impress, and is just another reason why he is the WWE's next big thing.
There you have it; Seven reasons Keith Lee is the next big thing in the WWE. Questions or comments? Please leave them below the article and thanks for reading.
