Injured WWE Superstar returns to SmackDown
WWE is set to present the biggest SmackDown episode of the year tonight. There's usual speculation on potential surprises and debuts, but WWE has just revealed that an injured Superstar will be on the show tonight.
Dragon Lee was originally set to team up with Rey Mysterio to face Dominik Mysterio and Santos Escobar at WrestleMania XL. However, after suffering a backstage assault on last Friday's go-home edition of SmackDown, Lee was pulled from the match, citing medical reasons.
Andrade promptly replaced Lee and made his debut at The Show of Shows. El Idolo and Mysterio Sr. picked up the win after an assist from NFL stars Jason Kelce and Lane Johnson.
WWE had not announced a timetable for Lee's return. While it was assumed that Legado del Fantasma was behind the attack, Carlito has been teased multiple times as the mystery assailant. It looks like they will further the storyline on tonight's SmackDown. The former Ryu Lee is seen in the following video, arriving at the arena with Rey, Carlito, Joaquin Wilde, Cruz Del Toro, and Zelina Vega.
WWE has not announced if the second-generation lucha star will be in action tonight, or when he will be medically cleared. Mysterio and Escobar are set to compete in a mini-tournament for a major title shot in the near future.
Dragon Lee calls out the WWE locker room
Dragon Lee was set to make his WrestleMania debut until the company did a mystery attack injury angle, and he was pulled from The Show of Shows. He is now focused on revenge.
The final SmackDown before WrestleMania saw cameras cut backstage to Carlito checking on an injured Dragon Lee, who was down clutching his arm. The backstage assault angle happened right before Andrade and Dominik Mysterio came out with Legado Del Fantasma for Elektra Lopez's win over Zelina Vega.
After the win with interference, Legado del Fantasma attacked Rey until Andrade turned on the heels to help the Hall of Famer. The LWO leader was later informed that Lee would not be medically cleared for WrestleMania XL, so El Idolo volunteered to be his new partner.
The pair went on to defeat Dominik Mysterio and Santos Escobar and had a big 'Mania celebration with NFL stars Jason Kelce and Lane Johnson. Dragon Lee was nowhere to be seen and the 28-year-old took to X (formerly Twitter) this week and made it clear he's going to get to the bottom of his mystery attack.
"Someone took away my chance at wrestlemania.! Who did it?" Dragon Lee wrote. [via Google Translate].
Lee's last match came as a loss to Ricochet on March 29 at the WWE Speed tapings held before SmackDown. His last match on the main show came two weeks before that as he was defeated by Escobar in just under two minutes.