As one of five members of RETRIBUTION who were, in storyline, signed to main roster contracts on this week’s episode of Monday Night Raw , Mia Yim’s official call-up from NXT has not been well-received by some fans. However, she was quick to fire back at a Twitter user who recently suggested that her real-life boyfriend, Keith Lee, pulled some strings backstage to have her join him on the same brand.
The social media exchange in question started Tuesday morning when Hurt Business member Shelton Benjamin tweeted a photo that showed Yim on the mic cutting a promo to reiterate her faction’s objectives. Speaking in character, Benjamin explained the image proved Yim is, among other negative adjectives, a “deceptive” and “hateful” person.
After a fan calling herself “Surfer Girl” replied to Benjamin’s post by insinuating that Yim “got the gig” because Lee “begged” to have her called up to Monday Night Raw , the red brand newcomer responded by emphasizing that her success in the industry is a result of her hard work. You can view her reply here .
“Focus on surfing and less on rumors. I got to where I am because I busted my a** for over a decade.”
According to Ringside News , Yim and Lee started dating in September 2018, shortly after the former Mae Young Classic competitor started training at WWE’s Performance Center. This relationship would eventually become part of NXT programming, as the couple entered a feud with the husband-and-wife duo of Johnny Gargano and Candice LeRae in the spring of 2020.
As documented by Bleacher Report , the two real-life couples took shots at each other via a series of videos before they took their rivalry to the ring, with Lee notably retaining his North American Championship against Gargano at June’s NXT TakeOver: In Your House pay-per-view.
As it stands, it appears WWE does not have any immediate plans of acknowledging Lee and Yim’s relationship on Raw programming, as the two currently have established roles in their respective storylines. Yim’s angle with RETRIBUTION, as previously reported by The Inquisitr , has allegedly received a lot of flak backstage due to a number of reasons, with many believing the group’s debut loss against The Hurt Business might have hurt their credibility.
Meanwhile, Lee was inserted in the WWE Championship feud between reigning titleholder Drew McIntyre and Randy Orton upon his main roster debut last month, and rumors have suggested he might be in for a much bigger push following his win over Orton at Payback .
