Since debuting in April, Dragon Lee has made a steady start to his time in WWE, bringing some in-ring excitement to NXT. Last Monday was his biggest moment yet though, stopping through RAW for a shot at Dominik Mysterio’s North American Title. This was Mysterio’s fifth televised title defence, working all three brands since becoming champion in July. At core, it’s a Dragon Lee showcase, introducing him to the main roster audience but in doing so, also highlighting Mysterio’s improvement.
Lee immediately shines, wowing Ontario in seconds with a gorgeous dive. That’s important too, as WWE got incredibly fortunate with this live crowd. For whatever reason, Toyota Arena hosted a noticeably ardent audience, giving Monday’s episode a different flavour than usual. That greatly assists Lee’s in-ring RAW debut, entering to encouragement and quite rapidly building on that initial enthusiasm. Mysterio adapts admirably also, providing some excitement of his own.
That includes a little range too, with a pretty slick single leg crab coming before his DDT on the apron, as Lee spikes himself for good measure. They use that as the hook prior to an ad break, returning at the end of some heat. Lee’s comeback follows, blocking Mysterio’s frog splash and rallying with right hands. At first, it’s actually a traditional comeback from the challenger, earning a strong reaction along the way.
Once he sprinkles in some fireworks, the crowd is just about ready to explode, absolutely rocking in response. In fairness, that’s not only a reflection of Lee’s ability to connect either, as Mysterio’s presence certainly helps. He’s that level of heel now, making any babyface’s job easier by merely existing opposite them. Either way, they go back and forth from there, trading moves including Lee’s highlight reel ‘rana to the floor.
By the finish, Ontario not only believes in Lee but more specifically, they seem convinced that he’s becoming champion tonight. Mysterio ultimately answers the bell, finding an answer to score a rare (mostly) clean win. That feels like the story quietly within this one, as Dragon Lee will rightly dominate the headlines. He was spectacular here, unsurprisingly delivering under the bright lights and performing as advertised. Mysterio is no mere passenger though, belonging more than you may expect.
He certainly surprised me with his comfort in some of these sequences, even if not without a misstep or two. Beyond that, his instinctive quirks and such add an awful lot also, providing some shape and structure to the explosions occurring around him. Good match and a homerun for Dragon Lee, shining bright enough to reveal Mysterio’s own progression.
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