Keith Lee Didn’t Register Lack of Crowd For NXT Title Win, What He Told Adam Cole After

Keith Lee spoke with Bleacher Report for a new interview discussing his NXT Championship win at Great American Bash night two and more.

On his conversation with Adam Cole after the match: “It wasn’t on air, obviously, but there was just a moment after all the celebration, the pyro I wasn’t expecting, the confetti and all this crazy stuff and I’m all covered. I look down and I see him still in the corner. That guy is awesome. In that moment, I had to tell him that he gained a new level of respect from me. I shook his hand and that was the first conversation I had.”

On winning the title without an audience: “I can say I miss the crowd, but that’s because of the connection that we have. We being me and the WWE Universe. But I don’t think it’s something that really registered for me in that match because there’s such a certain level of intensity and competition when the focus is so heavily on the fact, ‘Hey, this is a championship match. No, wait, this is not only a championship match, this is also a championship vs. championship match. And now, this is a Winner Take All match.’ And you’re talking about the top two guys in this brand … I was locked in. It didn’t matter who was there and who wasn’t there. Adam Cole is someone you give respect to when you’re in the ring and he commands it. You can feel it in his aura when he steps in the ring, and if you’re not there to do battle, you’re probably going to get stomped on.”

On what’s next for him: “It’s hard to tell what’s going to happen because you can’t just predict the future. My thought process, my belief, is to try to be as ready as I can for whatever circumstance occurs. In this instance, I just so happened to keep myself ready for a 25-minute brawl, knockdown, drag-out main event battle with Adam Cole and come out victorious.”