As announced on tonight’s WWE Raw, Dominik Mysterio will defend his WWE NXT North American Championship on next week’s show against Dragon Lee, marking Lee’s first showing on the red brand. It won’t be the first time Mysterio and Lee have faced off, however; Mysterio successfully defended the North American Championship against Lee on the August 8 edition of WWE NXT, with the match drawing strong ratings. Additionally, Mysterio acted as the special guest referee during a recent bout between Lee and Mustafa Ali, and Mysterio set Lee up for a loss in the match.
Lee signed with WWE at the end of 2022, debuting for the promotion a few months later. Since then, he’s competed exclusively for NXT, facing opponents such as JD McDonagh, Noam Dar, and Nathan Frazer. Prior to joining WWE, Lee appeared for AAA in Mexico as well as Ring of Honor in the United States, along with a number of additional independent promotions.
Before Mysterio defends his title next week, he has another major match ahead of him on tomorrow’s WWE NXT. The 26-year-old will challenge Carmelo Hayes for the WWE NXT Championship after the two came face-to-face on last week’s episode. While Mysterio chided the NXT Champion, stating he couldn’t defeat Ilja Dragunov, Hayes hit back by accusing Mysterio of avoiding his match against Lee. After that, tomorrow’s match was set, with Mysterio getting a shot at capturing both men’s singles titles on the developmental brand. Following tonight’s announcement of Mysterio’s match against Lee next week, the young champion faced Cody Rhodes, who quickly defeated Mysterio in front of his allies in The Judgment Day.