Every WWE Release Of 2021 - Where Are They Now? (Five Years Later)

Then: COVID diagnosis and knock-on health concerns wrecked Keith Lee's once promising WWE career. In truth, Vince McMahon fumbled all of his momentum with a quite horrendous 'Bearcat' gimmick after drafting him up from NXT, but Lee could've bounced back from that towards the big time had he been able to stay healthy.

Triple H taking control of creative the following year would've been dynamite for Keith too, but he was never destined to experience what that might've been like. WWE sent him packing in November 2021.

Now: Everyone collectively clapped when Tony Khan immediately tied Lee down to a contract in February 2022. He felt like a massive get for AEW, but then Keith got lost in the mix. That's something Khan has been guilty of since launching his company - he gets excited about someone new and the chance to use them, then he drops interest once somebody even fresher comes along.

Big Keith lived that 'boy playing with action figures' mentality.

Surgeries and general health issues have also been worrisome, and they mean Lee hasn't actually pulled on his boots to wrestle since beating Brian Cage on the 23 December 2023 edition of Collision. That feels like a lifetime ago now.

He did marry WWE star Michin around the same time he took his AEW bow though, so there has been some personal happiness to report on with Keith. However, his pro wrestling career has stalled big time. There might be no salvaging it heading into the midway mark of 2026, but let's see. He's still welcome backstage at All Elite events, at least.