Booker T Says The Verdict Is Still Out On Keith Lee; Questions Whether He Can Be Trusted Not To Miss Shows

If you ask Booker T, the verdict is still out on Keith Lee.

Prior to being called up to WWE’s main roster, Keith Lee seemed destined for a success. He quickly became a double champion in NXT, holding both the NXT North American Title and NXT Title at the same time. Lee was also featured as part of last year’s Survivor SeriesPPV , which saw him strongly booked in a classic Survivor Series style match, as well as a nice showing in the 2020 Royal Rumble match which saw him work a spot with Brock Lesnar.

After being called up to the main roster, Keith Lee disappeared for an extended period of time. It was later revealed that Lee was out due to not only having a positive covid-19 test, but also because doctors diagnosed him with heart inflammation which could have been life-threatening if proper precautions were not taken.

Keith Lee has since returned, and has now been given the “Bearcat” nickname. On the latest episode of Booker T’s Hall of Fame podcast, Booker commented on Keith “Bearcat” Lee and stated that he thinks the verdict is still out on Keith Lee.

Booker T went on to question whether or not Keith Lee can be trusted to be in a top spot in WWE. He stated that he doesn’t know if Lee can be “trusted to be able to make all these shows.” He added that you cannot call in sick when you’re the champion, or even if somebody died.

“Hey man, you know what? I think the verdict’s still out on Keith Lee. I know some people are gonna be talking about, ‘What is he talking about?’ I think the verdict is still out on Keith Lee as far as how far this guy’s gonna go. Is he the next big thing? I don’t know what the injury was still to this point and I really don’t care. It’s not my business or anything like that. 

But I do know one thing about the business and getting to that certain spot, you gotta be trusted. And I’m not saying trusted whether I can leave my wallet lying around or anything like that [laughs]. I’m talking about trusted to be able to make all these shows. All of them. You cannot call in sick when you’re the champion. You cannot call in and say, ‘Hey, I’m not gonna be able to make it today because I gotta take my daughter to work.’ ‘I’m not gonna be able to make it because somebody died.’ 

I’m just saying, it’s a rough spot to be in. I was reading something, an ex-WWE writer, I didn’t see who the writer was. I don’t know if they said his name or if he was nameless, said that Keith Lee would never get over in WWE. And the thing is, he could be right 100 percent and it’s gonna take someone like Keith Lee to make them wrong.”

You can listen to the entire episode of Booker T’s Hall of Fame podcast below.

(h/t SEScoops for the transcription.)