Keith Lee showed up on this week’s episode of WWE RAW for a match in which he also debuted a new nickname.
Lee came out for his match tonight against Akira Tozawa as Keith “Bearcat” Lee and looked every bit as ferocious as a bear in his match. The former NXT Champion swiftly took down Tozawa, making short work of his opponent before ending the match with a huge slam.
This new name isn’t unprecedented; Lee unofficially added “Bearcat” to his name during a dark match before last week’s episode of WWE RAW but this is the first it’s appeared on the chyron during the broadcast. It’s believed that the inspiration for the ‘Bearcat’ name is from Bearcat Wright, a popular African American pro wrestler from the 1950s and 1960s that was also one of the nine Legacy inductees in the 2017 WWE Hall Of Fame class.
The match was the first for Lee in some time on RAW, as it had been previously reported that the fan-favorite Superstar had been “refining” his in-ring skills in various dark matches. After being away from WWE programming since August 2, it’s likely that WWE just wanted Lee to get acclimated with the ring once again. Judging by tonight’s performance, it looks like he may be ready to make a name for himself on either RAW or SmackDown, depending on where he ends up after the WWE Draft.
BEHOLD THE BEARCAT @RealKeithLee. #WWERaw pic.twitter.com/RFZKfX2fgj
— WWE (@WWE) September 28, 2021
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