Wes Lee must get an opportunity to excel as a singles performer

Nash Carter’s release threw the entire WWE NXT tag team division for a loop. MSK was forced to relinquish the titles and they now are firmly around the waist of Pretty Deadly. But the biggest impact hit Wes Lee. Many MSK fans initially showed concern about how Carter’s release would impact Lee’s career and here’s to hoping that WWE finds a way to leverage this talented performer.

On this week’s edition of WWE NXT 2.0, fans took in a moment of Lee performing as a singles wrestler. He took on Xyon Quinn in a match where Quinn needed less than four minutes to pick up the victory. While it was “good” to see Lee on screen, even showing some character development in the pre-match promo, being effectively squashed in a contest with a bigger opponent hopefully is not foreshadowing of his time on the roster.

Lee has 11 years’ worth of experience and not all that time was dedicated to the tag team division. It would be a mistake to immediately throw him into another unit, without at least looking into the opportunity to build him as an individual star. Most of his success has come as a tag performer, but there were moments earlier in his career when he did excel as a single.

Now the question comes, where does he fit into the WWE NXT 2.0 roster? At 5’9 and 189 pounds, many will push the idea that he’s “too small” to compete at the top of the roster. As this brand has become more of a place for bigger men, like the main roster, that does not mean that Lee doesn’t have a space to contribute.

He could easily work amid the NXT North American title scene. Matches against the likes of Carmelo Hayes, Cameron Grimes, Solo Sikoa, and others would be appointment viewing. What if he took on other names in the brand such as A-Kid, Roderick Strong, or the soon to debut, Nathan Frazer? Again, more matches that would be entertaining. WWE could also take a drastic step of even sending him over to WWE NXT UK, a brand that is in desperate need of diversity and new names as some performers are moved to the United States.

Wes Lee’s career should not be damaged because of the personal issues of another. He has the talent to excel on WWE NXT 2.0, and here’s to hoping that he gets the opportunity to perform, rather than ending up off television for an extended period of time.