Injury Update On WWE NXT's Wes Lee

Expected to be out of action for a year, Wes Lee made his shocking return on last night's NXT.

by Andrew Pollard
NXT Oba Femi Wes Lee
WWE

With Wes Lee making his shock return to NXT last night, there's now an update on the injury status of the former North American Champion.

As per Fightful Select, Lee is now cleared to return to the ring, which is pretty darn remarkable.

Previously, it was expected that the 29-year-old would be out of action for at least a year and could even end up being forced into retirement due to severe back issues that required surgery. Lee last competed on the 28 November 2023 edition of NXT - winning a four-way match for a shot at the North American Title - and is now obviously back a lot sooner than anyone could've realistically expected.

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For those who missed this week's NXT Spring Breakin' Night 2, current North American Champion Oba Femi defeated Ivar, with Wes Lee's music hitting after the match. Rather than appearing in the entrance way, Wes came through the crowd, jumping from the barricade to the ring steps, then entering the ring and having a staredown with Femi.

Prior to his injury, Lee was set to challenge Dominik Mysterio for the North American Title at NXT Deadline back in December. In Wes' absence, it was Dragon Lee who faced - and defeated - Dirty Dom, with Dragon having since lost that title to Oba Femi.

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Once described as the Swiss Army Knife of WhatCulture, Andrew can usually be found writing, editing, or presenting on a wide range of topics. As a lifelong wrestling fan, horror obsessive, and comic book nerd, he's been covering those topics professionally as far back as 2010. In addition to his current WhatCulture role of Senior Content Producer, Andrew previously spent nearly a decade as Online Editor and Lead Writer for the world's longest-running genre publication, Starburst Magazine, and his work has also been featured on BBC, TechRadar, Tom's Guide, WhatToWatch, Sportkskeeda, and various other outlets, in addition to being a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic. Between his main day job, his role as the lead panel host of Wales Comic Con, and his gig as a pre-match host for Wrexham AFC games, Andrew has also carried out a hugely varied amount of interviews, from the likes of Robert Englund, Kane Hodder, Adrienne Barbeau, Rob Zombie, Katharine Isabelle, Leigh Whannell, Bruce Campbell, and Tony Todd, to Kevin Smith, Ron Perlman, Elijah Wood, Giancarlo Esposito, Simon Pegg, Charlie Cox, the Russo Brothers, and Brian Blessed, to Kevin Conroy, Paul Dini, Tara Strong, Will Friedle, Burt Ward, Andrea Romano, Frank Miller, and Rob Liefeld, to Bret Hart, Sting, Mick Foley, Ricky Starks/Saints, Jamie Hayter, Britt Baker, Eric Bischoff, and William Regal, to Mickey Thomas, Joey Jones, Phil Parkinson, Brian Flynn, Denis Smith, Gary Bennett, Karl Connolly, and Bryan Robson - and that's just the tip of an ever-expanding iceberg. Where his beloved Wrexham AFC is concerned, Andrew is co-host of the Fearless in Devotion podcast, which won the Club Podcast of the Year gong at the 2024 FSA Awards.