5 potential feuds for Keith Lee in AEW

Keith Lee defeated Adam Cole in a Winner Take All Match the last time they met
Keith Lee defeated Adam Cole in a Winner Take All Match the last time they met

Keith Lee has long been touted as a superstar within the world of wrestling, owing to his supernatural agility and athleticism considering his monumental physical stature.

The sentiment was apparently not one echoed by WWE management, however, with Lee being named in the most recent batch of releases from the roster.

The big man was in the midst of a repackaged push on RAW, going by the nickname 'Bearcat' in homage to Bearcat Wright, and beating the likes of Cedric Alexander in convincing fashion.

He is a rarity within the world of wrestling, managing to be a scary example of strength and speed simultaneously while also possessing yet another key principle of the sport, charisma, in abundance.

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Even with the creative stifling he has suffered during his time on the main roster, Keith Lee is someone with immense potential wherever he lands next. Should Keith Lee make his way to AEW, for example, here are five feuds to showcase limitless ability.


#5 Keith Lee vs. Adam Cole

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Keith Lee and Adam Cole share an intertwined history on the black and yellow brand of NXT. Lee beat Adam Cole for the NXT Championship, ending Cole's reign at 403 days, and putting the title around a waist already occupied by the NXT North American Championship he had taken from Cole's stable mate Roderick Strong before.

Beyond the history between the two, Keith Lee and Adam Cole also share the fact that they are both incredible workers, both in-ring and on the mic. Apart from their sheer athleticism and immensely diverse move-sets, they have the star-making qualities of being believable, compelling and emotionally gripping in the ring.

In their previous championship feud, Adam Cole played his villain role to perfection with the right balance of hubris, cunning and vindictiveness. On the flip side? Keith Lee was the athletic challenger who has had to bide his time and earn his shot through hard work and pure determination. It was a simple hero-villain dynamic amplified by the ability of those involved.

This is exactly the kind of storytelling amiss from Keith Lee's main roster run. He can look forward to a return to form should he debut in AEW and challenge Adam Cole for a sequel.

#4 Keith Lee vs. Jon Moxley

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Keith Lee is in the fortunate position of being able to face Jon Moxley when he returns, in either AEW, GCW or NJPW. However, the best and most likely venue for their clash would be AEW.

Moxley is another WWE talent who once had their success and ascension come to a sudden and lung-blowing halt, and descended into a nightmare of creative indifference.

He has since left and completely unleashed his full potential, mainly with AEW as the AEW World Champion and now the "Wild Thing" prowling the roster either for a fight or a mauling, dependent on the spite and fighting ability of the man stood opposite. His character, as a slight hyperbole on Moxley himself, has developed immensely with AEW.

The former WWE Champion has elevated himself to the level of the likes of Roman Reigns through sheer hard work and shows no signs of slowing down in his journey to carving a Hall of Fame worthy career journey even with the number one company in the industry.

Keith Lee is someone all-too capable of producing a similar body of work now he has left WWE. He has the opportunity to use the very best of his work in NXT as the foundation and build himself from the ground up as the Keith Lee we know and love and even more than that.

Jon Moxley is the kind of performer that would elevate Keith Lee in AEW, being a pillar in the main event scene. And aside from their character work, both Moxley and Keith Lee are more than capable of producing a well-worked match full of narrative and beautifully crafted spots.

If Keith Lee finds his way into AEW, it can't be considered as anything but a certainty that fans will see Keith Lee vs Jon Moxley realised at last.


#3 Keith Lee vs. CM Punk

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Another talent in AEW sure to elevate Keith Lee is CM Punk. Punk made his fairytale return to the world of wrestling with AEW and has since been working a story of a gradual return to the top of the industry he left, against talent that has only arisen in his absence.

By the time we see Keith Lee in an AEW ring, CM Punk may feel he is ready to step up to the main event level of AEW. Lee could well represent the right challenge at the right time for CM Punk, someone both dangerous enough to shoot his momentum dead and of a credibility where a win could edge Punk closer to the championships.

Both CM Punk and Keith Lee are capable of working a feud with one-another through character work, narrative development and in-ring ability. Should Keith Lee want to taste success within AEW, he and Punk may well have to cross paths.

#2 Keith Lee vs. Bryan Danielson

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How did we not see Keith Lee vs. Daniel Bryan in WWE?

What can be said about Bryan Danielson's ability that hasn't already? He is nothing short of a class act in wrestling and has bags of talent to go with his respect and passion for the industry.

Keith Lee is one such athlete cut from a similar garment to Bryan, committing himself to developing his character through nuance and storytelling and fine tuning each area of his character based on what is endured.

It should be considered criminal that two men so talented and well-versed in the best aspects of wrestling spent so long in the same company and never faced each other.

Danielson vs. Lee is an exciting concept in the mind, sure, but it's the end product that the fans pay good money to see and it can only be presumed that the proverbial roof will be blown off in any case.


#1 Keith Lee vs. Kenny Omega

Kenny Omega currently sits atop the AEW mountain with the World Championship and occasionally argues with a certain Tribal Chief for the top spot in professional wrestling altogether. It is only reasonable to suspect that Keith Lee in AEW will have eyes for the Best Bout Machine and the gold he has around his waist.

Even when he is not the company's top champion, Kenny Omega is still a worker with resounding dream match potential with many a top-class worker. His history of collisions with the likes of Kazuchika Okada, Chris Jericho, Jon Moxley, and Kota Ibushi serve as a testament to his affinity for the craft.

Keith Lee is like Omega in many ways, with both a penchant for great character work and charismatic promos, and inconceivable logic defying ability between the ropes.

When he is good and ready, Kenny Omega has the ability to make his opponent look like a million bucks with convincing selling of literally everything, he sells the spectacle, he sells his opposition and he sells the physical implications of the encounter.

Keith Lee vs. Kenny Omega would be the best way for Lee to reintroduce himself to the world, against one of the names that has without a doubt laid a foundation for the growth of wrestling outside of WWE.

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Edited by Ryan K Boman
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