"It was Triple H trying to keep me for as long as he could," Keith Lee opens up about his move to the WWE Main Roster
Keith "Bearcat" Lee is slowly building back his stock in the WWE. His new Bearcat gimmick seems to be working on RAW.
In a recent interview with Ryan Satin, Lee opened up about his move to the main roster following his loss to Karrion Kross at NXT: TakeOver XXX in August.
"It was kind of like, the match was coming up with Kross, and in passing. It was casual, like, 'one this is done, you're going to one of these two places. We don't know yet.' 'Alright. Let's make the most of this and try to have some fun on the way out and cut loose a little bit,'" said Lee (h/t Fightful).
Lee said he felt he could've spent more time in NXT. However, WWE top brass wanted Lee on the main roster as soon as possible. Lee said it was Triple H who lobbied to keep him in NXT longer, but his words fell on deaf ears:
"I definitely could have spent more time there, without a doubt. I won the NXT Championship, and, maybe, six weeks before it was 'gotta go.' The reality was, as I understand, the main roster had been wanting to bring me up for a while. It was Triple H trying to keep me for as long as he could. Time was running out, and some things are out of our hands. For me, I'm always looking for another challenge, so going to the main roster, it's like, now I get to see where I really stand," said Lee (h/t Fightful).
Keith Lee talks about how hands-on WWE Chairman Vince McMahon is with his Bearcat character
KEITH "BEARCAT" LEE claws his way to #WWERaw!
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In the same interview, Keith Lee talked about his relationship with Vince McMahon and how hands-on he has been with the development of his Bearcat persona.
Lee says McMahon played a significant role, and he appreciates how straightforward he is.
"I would say he's been quite hands-on. And that, honestly, is something that I need becuase I want to know what he wants as opposed to making him guess. If I know what he wants, then it makes it that much more easier to give him what he's looking for. He's the man. He runs this and he wants a specific thing out of his talent, then the job is to give him what he wants," said Lee (h/t Sportskeeda).
In last week's episode of WWE RAW, Keith Lee returned as his Bearcat persona and faced Cedric Alexander. Lee easily defeated Alexander after hitting the Big Bang Catastrophe. After the match, Shelton Benjamin entered the ring to confront Lee. However, Benjamin backed down moments later.
How do you feel about Keith Lee's "Bearcat" character? What's next for Keith "Bearcat" Lee on WWE Monday Night RAW? Let us know your thoughts in the comment section below!