Tag: dragon lee

Dragon Lee defends WWE Speed title against Ivar, new women’s tournament announced

Posted on by Joseph Currier

It was a battle of power vs. agility as Dragon Lee made his second defense of the WWE Speed Championship.

Lee retained his title with a win over Ivar on this week’s WWE Speed episode. Filmed earlier this month at a SmackDown episode in Philadelphia, the match went three and a half minutes before Lee was able to reverse a Death Valley Driver attempt into a crucifix pin for the victory. There was a show of respect after with Ivar shaking Lee’s hand despite being disappointed in the loss.

Following reigns by Ricochet and Andrade, Lee is the third-ever men’s WWE Speed Champion. He’s now made successful title defenses against Chad Gable and Ivar.

Starting next week, WWE will begin the process of finding a new challenger for women’s Speed Champion Candice LeRae. Sol Ruca vs. Katana Chance and Michin vs. Shayna Baszler are the first-round matchups. The Ruca vs. Chance bout premieres next Wednesday (March 26) at noon Eastern. Ruca is part of the NXT women’s division and is making her Speed debut in this match.

Ivar to challenge for WWE Speed Championship

Posted on by Joseph Currier

After making relatively quick work of Dominik Mysterio, Ivar is next in line for a shot at WWE Speed Champion Dragon Lee.

A new Speed episode debuted on Wednesday with Ivar defeating Dominik in the finals of a number one contender’s tournament. The match lasted less than two minutes with Ivar using a Tiger Bomb to get the victory with 1:22 left on the three-minute clock.

This was a four-man tournament where Ivar defeated Yoshiki Inamura of NXT/Pro Wrestling NOAH in the first round. Dominik’s opening round win was against Chris Sabin.

Dragon Lee vs. Ivar for the WWE Speed Championship airs on X/Twitter next Wednesday (March 19) at noon Eastern time. Since winning the title from Andrade in November, the only defense Lee has made up until this point was a win against Chad Gable.

Ivar — who holds the World Tag Team titles with his War Raiders partner Erik — would be a double champion if he wins the Speed belt from Dragon Lee.

Dragon Lee retains WWE Speed Title against Chad Gable

Posted on by Ian Carey

Dragon Lee is still the WWE Speed Champion.

He defeated Chad Gable to retain the title in a match WWE posted to X on Saturday. Lee picked up the victory after hitting his opponent with Operation Dragon at 4 minutes and 22 seconds into the five-minute time limit.

It was Lee’s first defense of the title since defeating Andrade for it in November.

The match was Lee’s first in six weeks. He has been away from the company on paternity leave as he and his wife Lupita recently welcomed the birth of their second daughter. His last match had been on December 16 in a loss to Pete Dunne taped for Main Event. 

Gable was coming off having defeated Charlie Dempsey and Chris Sabin in two tournament matches to earn the title shot. 

A match pitting Zoey Stark vs. Kayden Carter is scheduled for the next episode of WWE Speed.

Chad Gable to challenge Dragon Lee for WWE Speed title

Posted on by Joseph Currier

Chad Gable is the new number one contender to the WWE Speed Championship.

A first-time-ever matchup aired on WWE Speed today with Gable taking on Chris Sabin in the finals of a number one contender’s tournament. In the final minute of the match, Gable applied an ankle lock outside of the ring. He saw time winding down and got Sabin back in, where Gable went for another ankle lock. Sabin reversed it into a pin attempt, but Gable escaped and hit a Chaos Theory German suplex to get the victory with 19 seconds left of the three-minute time limit.

Dragon Lee vs. Gable for the WWE Speed Championship will air on a special edition of Speed on X/Twitter at noon Eastern this Saturday (February 1) — the day of the Royal Rumble. The match should be taped either before or after SmackDown this Friday.

This will be the first title defense Lee has made since winning the Speed title from Andrade in November.

Lee has been away from WWE programming in recent weeks as he and his wife Lupita prepared for the arrival of their new daughter. She gave birth on January 23.

Dragon Lee and wife Lupita welcome birth of second child

Posted on by Joseph Currier

Dragon Lee and his wife Lupita Orozco are celebrating the birth of their second daughter.

Lee announced the baby’s arrival on Thursday night but did not disclose her name. The couple was awaiting the baby’s imminent arrival this week, with Lee sharing a video to his Instagram stories saying that the reason he’s been away from WWE recently was so he could be with his wife and help her. His most recent match took place in December.

“Welcome to this wonderful world,” Lee posted after the baby was born.

Lee and Orozco have been married since 2019 and welcomed their first daughter into the world in 2021. With his wife and two daughters, Lee said he now has three princesses.

A WWE Speed Championship match with Lee defending against either Chad Gable or Chris Sabin is expected to take place soon. Gable vs. Sabin in a number one contender’s match is airing on Speed next Wednesday. Lee defeated Andrade in November to become WWE Speed Champion but has not made his first title defense yet.

On Raw, Lee’s stablemates in the LWO are currently feuding with New Day.

Daily Update: WWE-London, Dragon Lee, AEW Dynamite

Posted on by Joseph Currier

Daily Update

Latest News

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This Week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter

  • January 20, 2025 Observer Newsletter: ’24 business year in review, Vince McMahon, WWE & AEW notes
  • The biggest attended shows in combat sports of 2024
  • Who drew the most big crowds of the year
  • What companies drew the biggest crowds
  • Amazing UFC PPV gates
  • The biggest pro wrestling drawing card by the year from 1916 to 2024
  • The biggest enduring drawing cards of all-time and where the modern stars rank with the historical stars
  • Updating all the Vince McMahon legal issues, from the SEC findings, the criminal investigation an the lawsuits, plus several things that have happened regarding the Grant chase this past week and who are with Vince for his start of a new company
  • WWE and NBC book Saturday Night’s Main Event head-to-head with All In Texas
  • The history of this tactic, and an estimate of how much revenue it would cost AEW
  • WWE on Netflix, what episode one did for business, trying to figure out what the numbers mean, time of show and more
  • WWE & TNA make deal
  • New Japan Battle in the Valley coverage
  • The arenas in the U.S. that have held pro wrestling for the longest amount of time
  • Bret Hart talks his favorite wrestler and the life of Sweet Daddy Siki
  • What is up with Corey Graves
  • Death of Ray Richard
  • The most detailed look at the TV ratings over the past week and key takes
  • Blue Panther vs. Hechicero
  • Athena tours Stardom
  • New Japan big shows coming up
  • Thoughts on the death of Bob Uecker
  • VOW best wrestlers of 2024
  • More on the AEW show in Brisbane, Australia
  • Lots more on AEW ratings declines and where
  • Darby Allin update
  • Ticket sales for upcoming WWE & AEw shows
  • International TV ratings and streaming numbers
  • Conor McGregro sued again in a sex case
  • PFL drops the Bellator name, releases Bellator’s biggest star and cuts tournament prize money in half
  • Lots of new stuff from GFL
  • WWE sets more business records
  • Notes on the next Saturday Night’s Main Event
  • Paul Heyman talks booking

This Week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter Back Issue

Wednesday Update

WWE

  • The full Oba Femi vs. Eddy Thorpe NXT Championship main event from last night can be watched here.
  • Diamond Dallas Page attended NXT and was shown in the audience during the episode.
  • On social media, DDP posted photos with Trick Williams and said fans can expect big things from Williams whenever he joins the main roster:
    • Last night I was at @WWENXT & ran into one of my favorite performers @_trickwilliams!
    • A little over a year ago I was doing an interview and I was asked who I thought would be the next #NXT Superstar to cross over to the main #WWE roster and make a serious impact. I said it would be Trick! Nothing has changed I think you can expect big things when my man crosses over
  • When asked about rumors of New Orleans hosting WrestleMania in 2026 and Indianapolis getting the event in 2027, a spokesperson for Mayor Sadiq Khan told the Daily Star that he remains determined to bring WrestleMania to London:
    • London has great pedigree in hosting the biggest international sporting events from around the globe.
    • The Mayor remains determined to bring even more sports from around the world to London, including the first international WrestleMania hosted by the UK, and continues to discuss future opportunities.
    • The Mayor wants to cement London’s reputation as the undisputed sporting capital of the world, as we work together to build a better London for everyone.
  • The pre-sale for individual-night WrestleMania 41 tickets began on Ticketmaster today. “ALLWWE” is one of the pre-sale codes that works.
  • Dragon Lee posted a video on his Instagram stories saying the reason he hasn’t been around in WWE lately is because he and his wife are preparing for the imminent birth of their new daughter. Lee is the men’s WWE Speed Champion and is scheduled to defend the title soon against either Chad Gable or Chris Sabin.
  • On Insight with Chris Van Vliet, Kurt Angle looked back on his 2019 match against Chad Gable and praised Gable as a performer:
    • It was okay, but Chad made me look good. Chad is incredible. He’s a very talented kid, and I’m just glad that they’re utilizing him properly. I know because he’s undersized a little bit, they didn’t know what to do with [him]. But this kid could be a World Champion and be very marketable. I mean, especially with the gimmick he has right now with the whole USA thing and the ‘You Suck’ and everything, he’s like my son. [He should have been your son]. Yeah, he should have been, exactly. But Vince McMahon had other ideas having Jason Jordan be my son, which was ridiculous, but that was cool.
  • The Masked Man Show and My Mom’s Basement have interviews with Sheamus.
  • WWE Vault has a video documenting the story for Kurt Angle vs. Triple H at Royal Rumble 2001.

AEW/Other Wrestling

  • Tony Khan tweeted this afternoon that, due to travel issues, some wrestlers have not arrived for tonight’s AEW Dynamite in Knoxville, Tennessee yet. Card changes will be made if necessary: “With winter weather, most of our team is here, but some are still battling icy roads + canceled flights! Like pandemic era, I’ll make changes if necessary to ensure you see a great show tonight!”
  • AEW uploaded a Timeline video focused on Will Ospreay’s 2024.
  • During a virtual signing for K&S WrestleFest, Elijah (former WWE wrestler Elias) said he’d love to return to WWE in the future and isn’t writing off the possibility. He thinks there is a lot left for him to do in the company:
    • Elias can and could and should do so much more in WWE. They only scratched the surface with my capabilities. I had a lot of great moments, some incredible guys to go up against.
  • MLW announced that the House of Duran (Cesar Duran, Salina de la Renta, Jesus Rodriguez & D’Oro) will appear at SuperFight 2025 in Atlanta on Saturday, February 8.
  • Ticket packages for GCW’s The Collective will be available starting this Friday (January 24) with individual tickets then going on sale next Friday (January 31).
  • Former NXT UK wrestler Sam Gradwell will be out of action for 6-9 months after undergoing surgery for a torn ACL that he suffered in 2024: “I bloody love ACL Reconstructions. Quitting them cold Turkey after this one though. See you in 6-9 months Wrestling.”

Rey Mysterio & Dragon Lee vs. American Made set for WWE Raw

Posted on by Ian Carey

A new match has been announced for Monday’s episode of WWE Raw.

The LWO’s Dragon Lee & Rey Mysterio will wrestle American Made’s Julius & Brutus Creed in a tornado tag team match on the show. It’s a rematch from the October 21 episode when Mysterio & Lee defeated The Creeds to advance in the World Tag Team number one contenders tournament.

The two factions clashed on last week’s show as well when Mysterio and Zelina Vega defeated Chad Gable & Ivy Nile in a mixed tag bout.

From WWE.com:

“The LWO knocked American Made out of the World Tag Team Title No. 1 Contender’s Tournament last month, and Mysterio and Zelina Vega defeated Chad Gable and Ivy Nile in a Mixed Tag Team Match on last week’s Raw. Tired of losing, American Made will get another opportunity at Mysterio and his teammates, this time in an incredible Tornado Tag Team Match where everyone is a legal competitor at all times.”

The updated lineup for the Monday, November 25 WWE Raw: 

  • WarGames advantage match: Bianca Belair vs. Nia Jax
  • Bron Breakker vs. Ludwig Kaiser
  • The New Day (Kofi Kingston & Xavier Woods) vs. Otis & Akira Tozawa
  • Dragon Lee & Rey Mysterio vs. Julius & Brutus Creed

Dragon Lee defeats Andrade for WWE Speed title

Posted on by Joseph Currier

Dragon Lee is the third-ever wrestler to hold the WWE Speed Championship.

A title change aired on Speed this week with Dragon Lee defeating Andrade to become the new champion. Taped in Milwaukee at last Friday’s SmackDown event, the match took up nearly 4:30 of the extended five-minute time limit that exists for title bouts. Andrade appeared to take advantage of the match by countering Operation Dragon in the closing stretch, but Lee used an inside cradle to get the pinfall victory as Andrade was going for Three Amigos.

The two shook hands after the match and Andrade put the WWE Speed title belt around Lee’s waist.

Ricochet, Andrade, and Lee are the first three wrestlers to hold the WWE Speed Championship since the show premiered on X/Twitter this April. Following his win, Lee cut a brief promo thanking everyone who has supported him:

The focus on Speed will now shift back to the women’s division next week with the start of a number one contender’s tournament. The tournament will determine the first challenger for inaugural women’s WWE Speed Champion Candice LeRae.

Zelina Vega vs. Chelsea Green is premiering on Speed at noon Eastern time next Wednesday (November 27). Natalya vs. B-Fab, Katana Chance vs. Alba Fyre, and Michin vs. Ivy Nile are the other first-round matches that will be taking place in the weeks to come.

Dragon Lee to challenge for WWE Speed Championship

Posted on by Joseph Currier

Dragon Lee has the chance to bring championship gold to the LWO.

By winning a tournament, Lee is now the number one contender to the WWE Speed Championship. He will challenge Andrade for the title on the episode of Speed that premieres on X/Twitter at noon Eastern time next Wednesday (November 20).

The finals of the number one contender’s tournament aired today with Lee defeating Akira Tozawa. Lee got the victory with Operation Dragon, pinning Tozawa with 23 seconds remaining on the clock. Lee then helped Tozawa up after the match as the two showed respect to each other.

Lee defeated NXT wrestler Tavion Heights in the first round of the tournament and then got a bye with Sheamus and Bron Breakker both being eliminated due to a time limit draw.

Next week’s match will be Andrade’s fourth title defense since becoming WWE Speed Champion in June. He’s retained the belt with victories over Xavier Woods, Baron Corbin, and Pete Dunne. Title matches on Speed have a five-minute time limit, an increase from the usual three minutes for non-title bouts.

Dragon Lee advances in WWE Speed tournament

Posted on by Joseph Currier

Dragon Lee is advancing to the next round of the WWE Speed number one contender’s tournament.

The ongoing tournament to decide Andrade’s next challenger continued today with Dragon Lee defeating NXT wrestler Tavion Heights to advance to the next round. In the final minute of the match, Lee connected with a double stomp off the top rope, a dropkick into the corner, and Operation Dragon. He pinned Heights with 20 seconds remaining of the three-minute time limit.

Lee, Sheamus, and Bron Breakker have secured their places in the second round of the tournament. Joining them in the final four will be either Akira Tozawa or NXT’s Riley Osborne. That match is premiering on X/Twitter this Friday at noon Eastern time. The winner will face Lee in the next round.

The second round will presumably begin with Sheamus vs. Breakker airing on Speed next Wednesday.

Andrade has been WWE Speed Champion since June and has made successful title defenses against Xavier Woods, Baron Corbin, and Pete Dunne.

WWE shared a post-match promo from Heights following his loss to Lee. Heights is a former Olympic wrestler who, in addition to competing in NXT, has gotten some experience in Pro Wrestling NOAH and TNA Wrestling this year through WWE’s partnerships with those promotions.

Chad Gable vs. Dragon Lee booked for next WWE Raw

Posted on by Ethan Renner

Members of American Made and the LWO will square off on next Monday’s WWE Raw.

In a new match for the Monday, November 4 episode, American Made’s Chad Gable will take on the LWO’s Dragon Lee in singles competition.

The match stems from Gable’s interference in the tag team number one contender’s match on this week’s Raw as he put Lee’s partner Rey Mysterio in an ankle lock on the floor in the bout eventually won by the War Raiders. Gable was at ringside to support the Creed Brothers who also took part in the triple threat number one contender’s match.

The bout was officially announced for next Monday’s episode on the Raw Talk show streaming on Peacock following Raw’s conclusion each week.

Next week’s Raw will also feature the fallout from this Saturday’s Crown Jewel pay-per-view.

Next week’s Raw lineup to this point:

WWE Raw, Monday, November 4 —

  • Chad Gable vs. Dragon Lee

Dominik Mysterio vs. Dragon Lee, six-woman tag match added to WWE Raw

Posted on by Bryan Rose

Dominik Mysterio is in action on Raw.

On X, WWE announced that Mysterio would face Dragon Lee on Monday’s show in Calgary. The two were part of a triple threat match that took place on last week’s show that also involved Ilja Dragunov. However, Carlito came out to interfere during the match, attacking Lee. Damian Priest arrived for the save but was attacked by Mysterio, who quickly regretted his actions and fled the match, allowing Dragunov to pick up the win after pinning Lee.

Following the events of Bash in Berlin, Rhea Ripley and Damian Priest have continued to battle the Judgment Day. In the main event of last week’s Raw, Ripley chased Liv Morgan away from ringside during a tag team match pitting Finn Balor & JD McDonagh against Damian Priest and Jey Uso, which allowed the latter team to pick up the victory.

Also announced for Raw is a six-woman tag team match pitting the Pure Fusion Collective against Lyra Valkyria, Zelina Vega, and a mystery partner. After Vega lost to Baszler on Raw, Valkyria attempted to make the save for Vega but was overwhelmed by the 3-on-2 advantage. While recovering backstage, Valkyria said that she had an idea, and mentioned next week’s show would be in Calgary.

WWE Raw (Monday, September 9) —

  • Bret Hart appears
  • Intercontinental title number one contender’s tournament finals: Jey Uso vs. Pete Dunne vs. Braun Strowman vs. Ilja Dragunov
  • WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions Bianca Belair & Jade Cargill defend against Alba Fyre & Isla Dawn
  • Street fight: The Wyatt Sicks (Erick Rowan, Joe Gacy, Dexter Lumis & Nikki Cross) vs. American Made (Chad Gable, Julius Creed, Brutus Creed & Ivy Nile)
  • Lyra Valkyria, Zelina Vega, and ? vs. Pure Fusion Collective (Shayna Baszler, Zoey Stark, and Sonya Deville)
  • Dominik Mysterio vs. Dragon Lee

Dragon Lee match set for next week’s WWE Raw

Posted on by Joseph Currier

A grudge match is going down on WWE Raw next Monday.

Dragon Lee vs. Carlito will take place on next week’s Raw episode from the American Bank Center in Corpus Christi, Texas. The match was confirmed during an interview with Lee and the LWO on Raw Talk.

Before WrestleMania 40, there was an angle where Carlito betrayed the LWO and took out Lee in a backstage attack. Carlito was jealous that Mysterio had chosen Lee to be his WrestleMania tag team partner. Andrade ended up teaming with Mysterio at the event as they defeated Santos Escobar & Dominik Mysterio.

“[Carlito] took away my biggest opportunity at WrestleMania, and he will pay for what he did,” Lee said in a promo on Raw Talk. “I’m going to show him — and I will show the world — what I’m capable of.”

Since his heel turn, Carlito has become aligned with The Judgment Day. Lee, Rey Mysterio & Braun Strowman defeated Carlito, Dominik & JD McDonagh in a six-man tag bout on Raw last night. Lee pinned Carlito after a splash from Strowman’s shoulders.

Next Monday’s Raw is taking place two days after WWE Clash at the Castle. The build to Money in the Bank will officially begin on the episode. It also appears that Uncle Howdy and his new faction may be debuting that night.

WWE Raw (Monday, June 17) —

  • Money in the Bank qualifying matches begin
  • Dragon Lee vs. Carlito
  • Reveal of Uncle Howdy’s new faction teased

Andrade replacing Dragon Lee in WWE WrestleMania 40 match

Posted on by Joseph Currier

A change has been made to the card for WWE WrestleMania 40.

Dragon Lee was supposed to team with Rey Mysterio against Santos Escobar & Dominik Mysterio at WrestleMania 40 night one this Saturday. But there was an angle on Friday’s SmackDown where Lee was taken out in a backstage attack. The tag match will now be Rey & Andrade vs. Escobar & Dominik.

Andrade aligned with the LWO on SmackDown, saving Rey from an attack by Escobar and Dominik. The heels thought they had Andrade on their side until he put a stop to their beatdown of Rey.

WWE did not reveal the identity of Lee’s attacker. Though it was presumed that Legado del Fantasma were behind the attack, Carlito is another possible culprit. Carlito is a member of the LWO but has looked unhappy about not being Rey’s WrestleMania partner.

The updated lineups for WrestleMania 40 are listed below. Each night has a start time of 7 p.m. Eastern. There will also be pre-shows airing from 5-7 p.m. both nights.

WWE WrestleMania 40 —

Night one (Saturday, April 6):

  • Women’s World Champion Rhea Ripley defends against Becky Lynch
  • Six-pack ladder match: Undisputed WWE Tag Team Champions Damian Priest & Finn Balor defend against Johnny Gargano & Tommaso Ciampa, Kofi Kingston & Xavier Woods, The Miz & R-Truth, Pete Dunne & Tyler Bate, and Grayson Waller & Austin Theory
  • Rey Mysterio & Andrade vs. Santos Escobar & Dominik Mysterio
  • Jey Uso vs. Jimmy Uso
  • Jade Cargill, Bianca Belair & Naomi vs. Asuka, Kairi Sane & Dakota Kai
  • Intercontinental Champion Gunther defends against Sami Zayn
  • The Rock & Roman Reigns vs. Cody Rhodes & Seth Rollins

Night two (Sunday, April 7):

  • World Heavyweight Champion Seth Rollins defends against Drew McIntyre
  • Philadelphia street fight: Bobby Lashley, Angelo Dawkins & Montez Ford vs. Karrion Kross, Akam & Rezar
  • LA Knight vs. AJ Styles
  • Triple threat match: United States Champion Logan Paul defends against Randy Orton and Kevin Owens
  • WWE Women’s Champion IYO SKY defends against Bayley
  • Undisputed WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns defends against Cody Rhodes

Ricochet, Bronson Reed advance in WWE Speed title tournament on debut episode

Posted on by Josh Nason

Ricochet and Bronson Reed were both victorious on the first-ever broadcasts of WWE Speed on Wednesday, advancing in an eight-man tournament to crown the inaugural Speed champion.

The show introduced a new format of match for the company where bouts are just three minutes long, emulating aspects of Stardom’s High Speed division. WWE aired both matches at separate times with a total combined runtime of around seven minutes.

In the first match, Ricochet picked up the win over Dragon Lee in the X-exclusive broadcast. As expected, it was non-stop offense with both men emptying out their respective tanks.

Ricochet was on a roll early, answering nearly everything Lee had to offer. Lee rallied with a step-up knee strike and poisonrana that was countered by a Ricochet clothesline for a nearfall.

Lee went for Project Dragon, but Ricochet transitioned from a fireman’s carry into a kick to the face followed by the Recoil for the pin with four seconds remaining.

The second match saw Reed take on Cedric Alexander, picking up a victory in just under two minutes. To no surprise, Reed used his power to counter Alexander’s speed. Alexander hit a top rope flip dive to Reed on the floor to briefly get the advantage before Reed hit a DVD for a nearfall.

That led to a clothesline, senton and then the Tsunami off the top rope to get the win to advance.

WWE did not reveal the full field of entrants into the tournament, but Axiom will face JD McDonagh next Wednesday in another tournament bout.