Keith Lee Recalls Turning Down Bearcat Gimmick, Why He Ultimately Did It

Keith Lee had a brief run as “Bearcat” Keith Lee on WWE TV, and he recently talked about how he turned down the gimmick at first until Vince McMahon appealed personally to him. Lee spoke with Fightful’s Grapsody and talked about his short run with the character.

Lee debuted the nickname on the September 27th, 2021 episode of WWE Raw, with the name being an homage to WWE Hall of Famer Bearcat Wright. He would only work as the character for a few months before he was released in November. You can see highlights from the discussion below, per Wrestling Inc:

On his initial reaction to the gimmick: “When it was presented to me, I was like, ‘what and why?’ I initially said, ‘No, thank you,’ and they left it alone, and I said, ‘Cool, I’m in the clear.'” 

On Vince McMahon talking to him directly about it: “Vince pulled me into the office and was like, ‘Hey, listen. I need you.’ And I feel like, you know, that chick that’s got her crush, and she’s finally chosen? I’m like, ‘What? You need me? I would love to be there for you. I will fix you, Vince. I will do it.'”

On being unable to connect with the character: “Maybe I couldn’t deliver that character the way that they wanted to because, at the end of the day, I’m not [a] generic big guy. I’m not ‘ooga booga.'”