In a recent interview with Sports Illustrated , Keith Lee credited Roman Reigns as being instrumental for his push in WWE . According to the current NXT star, his showdown with Reigns at last year’s Survivor Series pay-per-view marked the beginning of his ascent in the company.
“Roman doesn’t get enough credit for what he means to this sport. And he went above-and-beyond to make that moment. The simple gesture of our fist bump, he turned that into magic. That was the start of something very special for me. He is such a superstar that he made that moment overshadow everything else that happened in that match, and I won’t forget it.”
The moment between both men indicated that the company was high on Lee. Reigns was arguably the biggest star in WWE at the time, and the former Universal Champion giving props to Lee in the middle of the ring caused people to take notice of the black-and-gold brand star.
After learning that Lee had praised him, Reigns took to Twitter to congratulate the superstar on his recent success. There is clearly some mutual respect between both superstars, but the “Big Dog” also teased a confrontation with the NXT hotshot down the line.
“Congrats on one hell of a journey @RealKeithLee. Still a ton of work to do, which I know you already know. Keep killin it and representing. I definitely still want that one on one, Champ!”
Reigns is currently taking time off due to the pandemic, so it’s unclear when that match will happen. However, his declaration that he’s interested in working with Lee could lead toward another showdown in the foreseeable future. As of this writing, the recently crowned NXT Champion has yet to respond to the challenge.
During the Sports Illustrated interview, Lee also gave a shoutout to Terry Taylor. According to him, the WWE trainer was instrumental in helping him find his bearings in the company. He also revealed that Taylor helped him stay on track whenever he was doubting himself, and he wouldn’t be where he is today without the veteran’s guidance.
Lee beat Adam Cole to win the NXT Championship at this week’s Great American Bash show. He went into the match as the North American Champion, and his victory has resulted in him coming out of the match with the top two men’s singles titles on the brand. This is unprecedented in NXT, suggesting that the company has big plans for the superstar moving forward.
