Every Wrestling Rookie Of The Year: Where Are They Now?

9. 2014: Dragon Lee

Essa Rios Lita
WWE.com

Is there a more under-utilised wrestler in the entire business?

Dragon Lee is sensational, and as you can determine by his award in 2014, was sensational from the jump. He has the best suicide dive in the game - Darby Allin might have something to say about that, and what a shame it is that they can't duke it out - but he's not merely exhilarating. His hate-fuelled programme with Hiromu Takahashi put both men on the map in matches that were as thrilling as they were terrifying.

Dragon Lee is doing really weird sh*t in NXT right now. He's the mate/rival of Nathan Frazer, who's doing a John Oliver gimmick, and has just jobbed to him for a prize, the Heritage Cup, that is closer to the 24/7 title than even the North American in terms of prestige.

Contributor
Contributor

Michael Sidgwick is an editor, writer and podcaster for WhatCulture Wrestling. With over seven years of experience in wrestling analysis, Michael was published in the influential institution that was Power Slam magazine, and specialises in providing insights into All Elite Wrestling - so much so that he wrote a book about the subject. You can order Becoming All Elite: The Rise Of AEW on Amazon. Possessing a deep knowledge also of WWE, WCW, ECW and New Japan Pro Wrestling, Michael’s work has been publicly praised by former AEW World Champions Kenny Omega and MJF, and current Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes. When he isn’t putting your finger on why things are the way they are in the endlessly fascinating world of professional wrestling, Michael wraps his own around a hand grinder to explore the world of specialty coffee. Follow Michael on X (formerly known as Twitter) @MSidgwick for more!