New AEW World Tag Team Champion Keith Lee took the time to address a friend with Stage 4 cancer after his big win last night.
Keith Lee became one-half of the new AEW World Tag Team Champions alongside Swerve Strickland, challenging for the gold on week one of Fyter Fest. They defeated The Young Bucks and the team of Ricky Starks and Powerhouse Hobbs to capture the titles.
As fans celebrated the title chance, Keith Lee took the time to dedicate his big win to a friend of his dealing with stage 4 cancer. The video was uploaded to AEW’s official YouTube channel after the team’s victory:
“I thank you all so very much. Swerve, I thank you from the bottom of my heart. I’m not gonna take up a bunch of time, I know y’all are waiting on Rampage, but I have to about this. I only have three people in my world that I consider to be extremely close to me. One of them, I’ve known for about two-and-half decades. I know what y’all are thinking; goddamn, Keith, you old as sh*t, ain’t you? I’m 37, but as you can tell, I’m young in the legs, baby. But listen, my friend, his name is Lucilius King.
I’ve known him since 1998. I found out a little while ago that he may have cancer. As most of you know, last year, I nearly died. I didn’t say a word until the threat was gone and passed. There isn’t much you can do to me to rattle me against me. But when it comes to the people I love, I found out two days ago, stage 4 colon cancer. And I dedicated this match to him and another buddy of mine named JD Griffey.
The fact is, I didn’t care if we won or lost. The fact is this is a brotherhood, and I’m devoting my everything to that. So Lucilius King, this is more than just a victory for me, this is more than just a victory for our story. This, sir, is a victory for you and a statement of my goddamned love. I will always be there. Always. And when I get to Texas, I swear to god, I gonna get in my car, drive my ass to Austin, Texas. And I will see you as soon as I can, my friend.
Stay strong, fight like we’ve done. Fight harder than we have. Fighter harder than I did to live. And I’ll be there soon, my friend. I love you,”
A day before the title match, Keith Lee posted a cryptic message on his social media that worried fans. He tweeted, “Less than stellar news today,” and stated that the title match was for “my two brothers.” Now that Lee has dedicated his win to his friend, fans can connect the dots to who he was referring to.