Keith Lee has made himself a name in front of a bigger audience while competing in WWE NXT.
However, it turns out that he doubted at various times throughout his career that WWE would ever give him a chance. The reason for that mindset is due to him being rejected from the company three times despite working hard and trying to prove why he deserved to be there.
This is something that Lee talked about during his interview with Corey Graves on After The Bell. It came down to him being on the road for years to get noticed by the company and finally be accepted there.
“About three years in (being a wrestler), some people know him as Lance Archer, some people know him as Lance Hoyt, was in the WWE and said to somebody that I should be one to look out for,” Lee informed. “Then, I got invited to do some work. In my case, I got thrown into a barricade by one Mr. Triple H and also got poked in the eye by Shane McMahon and punched in the face by Vince. That was my introduction to the bosses of today.
At some point, I gained interest in that first meeting and ended up with my first try out. That was in 2008. I was turned down. In 2011, I did some extra work, and I got asked to come back for another tryout. I was also turned down. I wasn’t really sure what I was going to do-wrestling wise going forward. In 2013, when the Performance Center first opened up in the fall, I was part of that first class. Then, I was turned down a third time, so, I wasn’t really sure if I was going to continue wrestling.”
Lee noted how if he didn’t talk with Dusty Rhodes and William Regal and some brief words with Jim Ross then he doesn’t think he would still be wrestling.
However, after continuing his art, he did enough good deeds and turned a few heads and shocked enough people to the point where WWE came looking for him.
You can listen to the entire interview by clicking on the player below:
H/T to Wrestling Inc for the transcription
