WWE are celebrating the signing of Dragon Lee, and have AEW to thank for getting their attention.

Lee announced his deal with WWE earlier this week, after he and Dralistico won the AAA World Tag Team Championships.

Lee and Dralistico won the titles from AEW’s FTR, ending their reign at 438 days.

Signing with WWE

Lee is the first signing of a notable name (not to be a former Superstar) under WWE’s Head of Talent Relations Paul ‘Triple H’ Levesque.

During the latest Wrestling Observer Radio, Dave Meltzer that people who may have spoke differently a year ago, advised Lee to join WWE.

“He was asking several people, a lot of different people ‘what’s better for me…AEW or WWE?’ And it’s funny, because a year ago most of the people would have said AEW for sure, but in fact they said WWE. And I don’t know if they are wrong.”

Speculating on what Lee would have done had he become ‘All-Elite’ Meltzer didn’t expect much success for the masked wrestler.

“If he went to AEW, he probably would go in with more money, not appreciably more but more money. He would probably be used less [than he would have liked.] He’d probably get frustrated. I mean look at all the people on that roster, and they don’t have enough television time, they don’t do enough angles or angles on the streaming stuff.”

Interest

With his impressive in-ring ability, it is hardly surprising that WWE wanted to sign Dragon Lee.

On his show, Meltzer confirmed that both WWE and AEW had interest in him.

“He was working in Mexico. there is really not a lot money in Mexico… He had a tryout with WWe. But AEW wanted him as well.”

Dave Meltzer.

Meltzer added that WWE’s interest in Lee picked up once they learned that AEW had featured him without a deal to his name.

“WWE’s interest in Dragon Lee came when they found out that AEW put this guy on television with no contract. So it was kind of like, ‘We can swoop in.’ They came after him after that deal. And right after that, he was signed, but he was signed a couple of weeks back. That was the catalyst of it. It was them finding out that AEW put a guy on television with no deal.”

There is no word on when Dragon Lee is expected to make his debut for NXT.

Dragon Lee Signs with WWE, Triple H Comments (sescoops.com)

For use of these quotes please give a h/t to SEScoops.

Tommaso Ciampa is currently out of action after having hip surgery in October of this year, but had been dealing with the pain for close to a year.

Ciampa was called up to WWE’s main roster in April 2022 and aligned with The Miz.

The two-time former NXT Champion’s name was shortened to just ‘Ciampa’ not long after his call-up but was reverted back to Tommaso Ciampa in September.

Hip Injury

Ciampa has been out of action for months, but he has been dealing with the pain in his hip for much longer than first expected.

When Sean Ross Sapp of Fightful Select asked about a possible recovery window, he was given no indication as to when Ciampa will return.

Sapp was told that Ciampa’s hip had been bothering him for close to a year before he underwent surgery in October.

Ciampa’s most recent match came at a Bakersfield, California WWE Live event on September 17, where he lost to then-United States Champion Bobby Lashley.

His most recent televised match came on the August 22, Raw, where he and The Miz got a Q win over Lashley and AJ Styles.

Dealing with the Pain

Sharing details about his injury in September, the former NXT Champion said it had been causing him to experience glute and back joint pain.

Ciampa said he had also been dealing with severe pain in his sacroiliac, where the lower spine and pelvis connect.

According to Ciampa’s wife, his hip labrum resembled shredded cheese, and in an Instagram post, the Blackheart thanked the various medical staff that has been taking care of him.