‘Limitless’ Keith Lee has spoken out about the changes WWE made to his character and presentation following a call-up to the main roster.
When Keith Lee made his main roster debut on Monday Night Raw forty eight hours after dropping the NXT Championship to Karrion Kross at NXT TakeOver XXX in August, 2020, something was obviously different.
Not only had the main roster cut his legendary theme tune, but the star was also forced to wear a doublet with what appeared to be some type of skirt. This soon gave way to his NXT attire but paired with the doublet which he still sports as of writing.
The former NXT North American and NXT Champion has been very vocal about the changes made and joined Bleacher Report to again talk of the alterations. First on the agenda was how he was informed prior to his debut that his celebrated tune would be scrapped:
“That was something else. Originally, honestly, even I was a little perplexed. You get all the people who came up to Raw who still used their old music. Mind you, none of them did their own music. I’m the only one that did, so it would make more sense for me to be the one to keep using my music. However, that did not happen, so they asked me to use something else, and I did, and I tried to be as accommodating a possible by putting the front of the song on that track, and it just didn’t vibe [laughs]. It was rough, man! I did the best I could given the circumstances, and I was like, ‘I just have to ride with this until I can figure something out.’ Man, the way that blew up on the internet, it was like, ‘I thought you guys were my friends! I think I’m starting to understand some things here.’ Between the gear and the music, I just got destroyed.
I had nothing ready, nothing at all. At that point, I didn’t know I’d have to change music, so I had nothing ready. Over time, people backstage said, ‘Hey, y’all have to let Keith do his thing’ and eventually they said, ‘Well, you think you can write something and maybe record it again?’ I said, ‘Yeah, just give me the OK.’ It took a little time, but eventually, I wrote something and got with the music guys, and over a little bit of time, we put something together that I was happy with, even though the one I’m using right now is actually a different version than what I wanted to use. For what it is, I’m very happy to have something I at least wrote and performed.”
Thankfully for Keith Lee, the generic ditty that played him to the ring lasted no longer than two months and the star was given a brand new track which he wrote, performed and debuted at the 2020 Survivor Series on November 22.
Next on the agenda was the much talked about look. Though Lee isn’t the first person the company have made cover up in the past – both Killian Dain and currently NXT UK’s own Mark Coffey have been requested to hide the top half of their body when performing – it wasn’t the direction the talent hoped he’d ben taken:
“I wanted to do something different, and what I had was supposed to be a trial thing to see how it looked. I was going to train in it and just kind of see, but personally, the sleeveless shirt look is something I actually like and have worn before. I didn’t mind it. The shorts, that was a flop and no one knew it would be because they were rushed. From the side, it didn’t look that bad. From the front, it looked like this situation that was unfavorable and unsavory. As soon as I wore them, I said, ‘This was all I had, I’m sorry. I was not prepared.’ Nobody really cared, it was just a chuckle for me and the boys, but the fans, it was like, ‘Oh my god!’ ‘All right, I got the boys to laugh for the night and I tried these things out,'” he laughed. “I committed, but I knew I was switching the moment I wore them. As soon as my match was over, I texted my gear lady and said, ‘Hey, we got to get these shorts back. I have to get the tights going because these shorts are not going to cut it.’ She said, ‘Already on it!” She was a sweetheart, and I was grateful for her because the hecticness of being on Raw was unruly, man.”
On the January 4 Legends Night edition of Monday Night Raw, Keith Lee unsuccessfully challenged Drew McIntyre for the WWE Championship. A piece of gold that will next be decided when the Scot puts it on the line against Goldberg at the Royal Rumble on January 31.
Credit for the interview: Bleacher Report
h/t for the transcription: Fightful