13 Ups And 23 Downs For WWE In 2020

11. Keith Lee’s Flame-Out

For a further example of WWE blowing a can’t-miss wrestler, witness Keith Lee’s 2020 on the main roster. The man held both the NXT and North American Championships at the same time before departing the brand for Raw after SummerSlam.

Upon debuting, Lee defeated Randy Orton in his first PPV match just a week after showing up. It seemed like WWE was going to do the unthinkable and strap a rocket to the Limitless One. But there were warning signs almost immediately. Lee’s entrance music and ring gear were changed from NXT, taking something defining away from him before he even got started.

And then the 50/50 booking started. After defeating Orton at Payback, Lee lost a triple threat #1 contender’s match to the Viper. He lost matches to Orton and Drew McIntyre via DQ, then got stuck in a feud with Braun Strowman where Lee jobbed to a low blow. Then there was the Survivor Series debacle, as we had to endure Lee and others on Team Raw having “tension” heading into the PPV. Finally, Lee lost a handicap match to Miz & John Morrison for no discernible reason.

Of course, we can’t forget the report of Lee and others being sent to the Performance Center to work on “how to work” as big men in WWE. Maybe being able to fly around the ring like a cruiserweight isn’t appealing to Vince McMahon. Or maybe there’s something more…