There are a lot of talented performers on the WWE roster. Many whose fanbase would love to see them better leveraged across the promotion. Dragon Lee is one such name, and almost three years into his time with the company, many are still surprised at how badly the WWE is wasting Dragon Lee.
There are few individuals who could have realistically been dubbed “The Next Rey Mysterio.” Mysterio is an icon across professional wrestling. Some could make the argument that he’s one of the most important wrestlers of the last 2-3 generations. The idea that he could be replaced may be maddening to some, but Mysterio is 50 years old as of this writing. It is time to start having conversations about who could be the next to carry the flag for lucha libre. Unfortunately for him and fans of lucha libre, WWE seems intent on minimizing how he’s used, much to the chagrin of fans.
On the August 18 edition of WWE Monday Night Raw, Dragon Lee teamed with Mr. Iguana against Judgment Day in a losing effort. One that was meant to further Vikingo’s angle against Dominick Mysterio for NXT/AAA Worlds Collide. Lee should not be a side character, not at this point during his run in the company.
Dragon Lee has performed in some big matches around the world. He’s stepped into Ring of Honor, New Japan Pro Wrestling, GCW, and even All Elite Wrestling. Many expected him to eventually sign with AEW, which is why there was a big surprise when he made the move to WWE in 2022. What has that amounted to? Much of nothing.
According to Cagematch, since joining WWE in 2022, Dragon Lee has had only 23 televised singles matches. He’s had four matches on WWE PLEs. His overall win-loss record in singles matches is 28-25, showing that Lee is not seen as anyone special or worth protecting on the roster.
He could be so much more. Imagine if Dragon Lee and Rey Mysterio we put into a tag team on WWE SmackDown where they’d compete against teams like DIY, Fraxiom, and the Motor City Machine Guns. They’d be the type of duo that fans would cheer, and a pair who could easily be seen as favorites to eventually win the tag team championship. Mysterio has a lifetime of support from the WWE fanbase, and that support would have translated well to Lee via them teaming together.
WWE’s acquisition of AAA does create the opportunity for Dragon Lee to become the face of that brand. Imagine Dragon Lee versus Vikingo for a drawn-out feud for the AAA Mega World Title. That would be an excellent match for any wrestling fan. But again, that would mean WWE would have to intentionally book that brand, and there’s not a lot of hope that will happen.
The list of underutilized wrestlers on the WWE roster is long. Dragon Lee is one of the names near the top of the pile. It will be interesting to see if Lee takes a bigger role in AAA, but he has all the talent to be a top name on the WWE main roster.