Keith Lee Talks Criticism from Vince McMahon, WWE Bearcat Gimmick with Chris Jericho

Newly signed AEW star Keith Lee sat down with Chris Jericho on Friday to discuss a number of topics, including his final days in WWE before getting released.

During an appearance on Talk Is Jericho, Lee was asked about the circumstances that led up to his WWE departure in November.

One thing Lee specifically mentioned was that WWE chairman Vince McMahon didn't like the way he cuts promos:

"The way that I speak, my cadence, the way that I seem very thoughtful about how I deliver things, my choice of diction, all of those things is something that Vince was not a fan of. To the point where he literally told me, 'You sound too smart for your own good.' I'm like, 'I don't understand what that means. Like, what is that?' He wanted something more grimy and I don't think I delivered that for him. He wanted some intense guy, and I think that I can be intense, but I need a reason to be intense."

Lee said that while he tried to fit McMahon's vision, he didn't feel like he was good at doing so. He also noted that portraying a character that was intense at all times was "illogical" to him.

The character McMahon ultimately tried to get Lee to become was Keith "Bearcat" Lee, but the gimmick was short-lived before Lee was released.

Lee divulged that he initially told McMahon he wasn't comfortable with the character, which led to him coming back under his normal Keith Lee persona in July after a five-month absence due to COVID-19 complications.

After having matches against Bobby Lashley and Karrion Kross on Raw upon returning, Lee said McMahon pulled him aside in the middle of an episode of Raw to discuss transitioning to the Bearcat character: "It was in that conversation that he was basically like, 'Listen, I need you to do this, I need you to be this,' and I was like, 'Listen, I mean, I work for you, so if that's what you want, that's what we're gonna do.'"

The Bearcat character was seemingly supposed to make Lee a monstrous, aggressive wrestler, but it apparently didn't work to McMahon's satisfaction since Lee wrestled only a couple of televised matches as Bearcat.

The character was far different from what Lee portrayed on the independent scene and even different from what he was in NXT when he enjoyed great success as NXT champion and North American champion.

Lee landed back on his feet quickly after getting released, as he signed with AEW once his non-compete clause ended and made his debut on the Feb. 9 episode of Dynamite.

The Limitless One defeated Isiah Kassidy to qualify for the Face of the Revolution ladder match, and now he is set to compete in that contest Sunday at Revolution for a shot at Sammy Guevara's TNT Championship.

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