Keith Lee reportedly did not leave AEW, but there was a recent misunderstanding.
There have been rumors that Lee left the company last week, but according to a new report from Fightful Select, the rumor is false. It was noted that there was a misunderstanding between the two parties during last week’s TV tapings.
Lee attended last week’s Dynamite and Rampage tapings in Nashville, and he was told at one point that he would not be used for Dynamite. He then exited the arena, as is common when performers are told they are not needed for a show. Lee was booked for the Rampage tapings at some point, but this was not communicated to him prior to his departure. The Rampage card was then tweaked.
It was noted that there is no sign of animosity between AEW and Lee over the situation, and those close to the situation claim that everything was blown out of proportion online. Sources also did not appear to assign blame for what occurred.
Lee split from former tag team partner Swerve Strickland in November of last year, and while they feuded, the singles match never took place. It was reported in early July that AEW was still planning a Lee vs. Swerve match, but it is unclear whether that will happen now that both have seemingly moved on in their storylines.
Lee and The Hardys defeated The Butcher, The Blade, and Kip Sabian on the August 4 Rampage episode. Previously, Lee and Dustin Rhodes defeated Angelo Parker and Matt Menard on the July 14 Rampage. Lee’s most recent AEW singles match was a loss to Chris Jericho on the April 12 Dynamite, and that is his only AEW singles match of 2023 as of this writing, dating back to the October 30, 2022 Rampage win over Serpentico.
