Early career (2005–2015) Lee was trained by
Tim Brooks and debuted on the
independent circuit in 2005 under the ring name "Kevin Paine". In 2008, he began wrestling under his birth name. For the first 10 years of his career, Lee wrestled almost exclusively in his home state of Texas, appearing with promotions such as Professional Championship Wrestling (
Arlington); Xtreme Championship Wrestling (
Denton); North American Wrestling Allegiance (
Waxahachie); Metroplex Wrestling (
Bedford); and River City Wrestling (
San Antonio). Beginning in 2015, Lee began wrestling more frequently outside of Texas.
Ring of Honor (2015–2017) During 2015, Lee started making appearances in
Ring of Honor (ROH) with
Shane Taylor, calling themselves "Pretty Boy Killers" (PBK). On August 27, 2016, during
Field of Honor, PBK participated in a
gauntlet tag team match for the
ROH World Tag Team Championship, but the match was won by
The Addiction (
Christopher Daniels and
Frankie Kazarian). At
All Star Extravaganza VIII, PBK wrestled against the
All Night Express (
Rhett Titus and
Kenny King),
War Machine (
Hanson and
Raymond Rowe) and the team of
Colt Cabana and
Dalton Castle in a
Four Corner Survival match to determine the number one contender for the ROH tag team championship, in a losing effort. In January 2017, Taylor announced that he had signed his first contract with Ring of Honor. At a January 14 show in Atlanta, PBK entered into a feud with the
Briscoe Brothers when Lee and Taylor attacked them and slammed
Jay Briscoe through a table. Surprisingly, the next day, Lee announced that he was leaving ROH. On February 3, 2017, they faced the Briscoe Brothers, where the match ended in a no contest. This was Lee's last appearance in ROH until 2022.
Evolve (2017–2018) Lee signed with
Evolve in January 2017, and made his debut at
Evolve 76, losing to
Chris Hero. He made his return on February 24 at
Evolve 78, defeating
Zack Sabre Jr. The following night, at
Evolve 79, he defeated
Tracy Williams. Lee received his first championship opportunity at
Evolve 87 on June 25, when he unsuccessfully challenged
Matt Riddle for the
WWN Championship. On October 14, at
Evolve 94, Lee defeated Riddle to win the
WWN Championship. On April 6, 2018, at
Evolve 103, he lost the title to
Austin Theory.
Pro Wrestling Guerrilla (2017–2018) Lee made his
Pro Wrestling Guerrilla (PWG) debut on March 18, 2017, at the Nice Boys (Don't Play Rock N' Roll) event, competing in a triple threat match against
Brian Cage and
Sami Callihan, won by Cage. At the Game Over, Man event, he lost to
Jeff Cobb. On May 19 at Head Like A Cole, he won his first match in PWG, defeating
Trevor Lee. He followed this up by defeating
Lio Rush and
Trent at Pushin Forward Back on July 7. In September, Lee made it to the finals of the
2017 Battle of Los Angeles, where he was defeated by
Ricochet. At Time Is a Flat Circle on March 23, 2018, Lee defeated
Chuck Taylor to become the
PWG World Champion. On April 21 at All Star Weekend 14, Lee lost the title to
Walter in a three-way match, also involving
Jonah Rock.
WWE (2018–2021) NXT (2018–2020) ing
Kassius Ohno during his debut in April 2018 Prior to officially signing with
WWE, Lee received a tryout in 2008, although this did not result in him being hired. He appeared as an
extra on the March 30, 2009 episode of
Raw, playing a security guard. On April 5, 2018, during
WrestleMania Axxess weekend, Lee made an appearance for
NXT, defeating
Kassius Ohno. On May 1, it was announced that Lee had signed a contract with WWE. Lee appeared in attendance for
NXT TakeOver: Chicago II on June 16. On the August 8 episode of
NXT, Lee made his televised in-ring debut for WWE, defeating
Marcel Barthel. Throughout the rest of 2018, Lee wrestled sporadically on
NXT, defeating the likes of
Luke Menzies,
Kona Reeves, but losing to
Lars Sullivan. On March 7, 2019, Lee suffered an undisclosed injury. The injury resulted in an early end to his planned feud with
Dominik Dijakovic, who he was supposed to face for the next two months. Lee returned to action on April 18, at a
house show in
Lakeland, Florida. On November 1, Lee was among the NXT wrestlers who invaded that night's episode of
SmackDown. At
NXT TakeOver: WarGames on November 23, Lee was included in
Tommaso Ciampa's team as they defeated
The Undisputed Era (
Adam Cole,
Bobby Fish,
Kyle O'Reilly and
Roderick Strong) in a
WarGames match. The next night, he made up part of Team NXT at the
Survivor Series pay-per-view, where they faced Team
SmackDown and Team
Raw in a 5-on-5-on-5
Survivor Series match, which Team SmackDown won, even though he was the last Competitor for Team NXT to get eliminated by SmackDown's
Roman Reigns. On the January 8, 2020 episode of
NXT, Lee won a fatal-four way match over
Cameron Grimes,
Damian Priest, and
Dominik Dijakovic to become the number one contender to the
NXT North American Championship, and defeated Roderick Strong on the January 22 episode of
NXT to win the championship. On January 26, Lee participated in the
Royal Rumble match at the
Royal Rumble pay-per-view, but was eliminated by the
WWE Champion Brock Lesnar. Lee then successfully defended his title against Dominik Dijakovic at
NXT TakeOver: Portland and Johnny Gargano at
TakeOver: In Your House. During the second night of
The Great American Bash on July 8, Lee defeated
Adam Cole to win the
NXT Championship, becoming a double champion, and the first person to hold the NXT and North American Championships simultaneously. On the July 22 episode of
NXT, Lee voluntarily relinquished the North American Championship, and started a feud with
Karrion Kross over the NXT Championship. At
NXT TakeOver XXX on August 22, Lee lost the NXT Championship to Kross in what would be his final match in NXT.
Raw (2020–2022) At
SummerSlam, it was announced by WWE that Lee would be moving to the Raw brand and make his debut the following day's episode of
Raw. Lee made his main roster debut on the August 24 episode of
Raw, where he faced
Randy Orton and lost via
disqualification thanks to interference from
WWE Champion Drew McIntyre. A rematch between Lee and Orton was made for the
Payback pay-per-view, in which Lee won. At
Survivor Series on November 22, Lee made up part of Team Raw as he teamed with
Braun Strowman,
AJ Styles,
Riddle and
Sheamus to defeat Team Smackdown (
Jey Uso,
Kevin Owens,
Seth Rollins,
King Corbin and
Otis) in a clean sweep. Lee would enter contention for the WWE Championship, participating in a triple threat match, where the winner would receive a WWE Championship match at
TLC, but lost to Styles. On the January 4, 2021 episode of
Raw, Lee unsuccessfully faced Drew McIntyre for the WWE Championship. The following month, Lee was scheduled to face Riddle and
Bobby Lashley for the
United States Championship at the
Elimination Chamber event, but was pulled from the event due to an injury. Lee was absent for five months due to a
COVID-19 diagnosis, followed by heart inflammation. He returned on the July 19 episode of
Raw, accepting WWE Champion Bobby Lashley's open challenge match but was defeated. During the following months, Lee began to work as Keith "Bearcat" Lee or Bearcat Lee (a homage to
Bearcat Wright) as part of a gimmick change, but on November 4, Lee was released from his WWE contract.
All Elite Wrestling / Return to ROH (2022–present) Swerve In Our Glory (2022–2023) Lee made a surprise debut with
All Elite Wrestling (AEW) On the February 9, 2022 episode of
Dynamite, defeating
Isiah Kassidy to qualify for the "Face of the Revolution"
ladder match at
Revolution. The match was won by
Wardlow. In late-February 2022, Lee formed an alliance with
Swerve Strickland, when Strickland came to Lee's aid after he was attacked by
Team Taz. The two began teaming as "Swerve in Our Glory". At
Fyter Fest in July 2023, Swerve In Our Glory defeated defending champions
the Young Bucks and
Team Taz in a
Triple or Nothing tag team match to win the
AEW World Tag Team Championship. They successfully defended the titles against challengers including the
Lucha Brothers and
Private Party. They subsequently entered a three match series with
The Acclaimed, defeating them at
All Out, losing the belts to them in a rematch on the
September 20 episode of
Dynamite, and losing to them once more at
Full Gear in November 2022 after Strickland slapped Lee when Lee refused to use a pair of pliers as a weapon, causing Lee to walk out on the match. In December 2022, Lee made his return to
Ring of Honor (ROH), now under the ownership of
Tony Khan, for the first time in five years. At
Final Battle, Swerve In Our Glory faced
Shane Taylor Promotions (
Shane Taylor and JD Griffey). Towards the end of the match, Lee accidentally caught
Swerve Strickland, which led to Strickland walking out on him, but Lee took advantage of a miscue between Taylor and Griffey, and
powerbombed Griffey to win the match. On the December 21 episode of
Dynamite, Strickland formed a new stable,
Mogul Affiliates, with
Parker Boudreaux, Granden Goetzman, and
Rick Ross. Mogul Affiliates attacked Lee, ending Swerve In Our Glory.
Championship pursuits and hiatus (2023–present) On the February 17, 2023 episode of
Rampage, Lee saved
Dustin Rhodes from a post-match attack by Strickland and Boudreaux. He then began an alliance with Rhodes, dubbing themselves "Naturally Limitless". In their first match as a tag team, they defeated Mogul Affiliates on the March 3 episode of
Rampage, and they continued to team together throughout the year. At
Double or Nothing in May 2023, Lee participated in a 21-man
blackjack battle royal for the
AEW International Championship, where he eliminated
the Blade, before attacking Strickland, which led to
Brian Cage eliminating him. In June 2023, Lee teamed with
Darby Allin and
Orange Cassidy and their allies, partnering them in victories over
Mogul Embassy and the
Jericho Appreciation Society. Lee and Strickland were chosen in a blind eliminator tag team tournament, where on the July 5 episode of
Dynamite, they were defeated by Allin and Cassidy. On the November 8, 2023 episode of
Dynamite, Lee unsuccessfully challenged
Samoa Joe for the
ROH World Television Championship, which was ended by referee's decision. At
Final Battle in December 2023, Lee defeated his former tag team partner Shane Taylor in a singles match. Lee was scheduled to face Strickland in a match at
Worlds End later that month, but he was withdrawn from the match due to an undisclosed injury. In January 2024, Lee reportedly underwent "double surgeries" and has been on hiatus since. == Other media ==