Major Title Change Takes Place At WWE NXT Deadline

And NEW...

WWE NXT Deadline 2023 Dragon Lee
WWE.com

Dragon Lee is your new WWE NXT North American Champion.

Having stepped in as a late replacement for the injured Wes Lee, last night's NXT Deadline saw Dragon Lee defeat Dominik Mysterio to become the new North American Champion.

Deadline saw Dragon pick up the win in a bout that went just over ten minutes, securing the victory after hitting an Asai DDT to get the 1-2-3.

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With Rey Mysterio having sat in on commentary for this bout, post-match saw Lee sharing a celebratory hug with the Master of the 619; someone who Dragon has often referred to as his idol. This win marks Dragon Lee's first piece of gold in WWE, and it brings an end to Dirty Dom's second reign as North American Champion.

Much like Dominik is officially a Raw superstar these days, Dragon Lee is a SmackDown talent, meaning this NXT title will presumably continue to receive plenty of attention on the main roster.

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As for the aforementioned Wes Lee, he unfortunately announced on Tuesday's NXT broadcast that he's having to undergo back surgery that will keep him sidelined for between eight and 12 months. With Lee initially set to challenge Dominik Mysterio at Deadline, the former MSK man was replaced by Dragon Lee.

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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 dayjob, 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, Jamie Hayer, 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.