Dragon Lee (@dragonlee95oficial) is a professional wrestler and former WWE Tag Team Champion. He sits down with Chris Van Vliet in London, England to discuss his journey from Mexico to WWE, being a second-generation wrestler, the meaning behind his mask, winning the tag titles with AJ Styles, fans referring to the team as “AJ Lee”, sitting on The Undertaker’s motorcycle and what happened next, getting his mask pulled off by Gunther, wanting a match with Rey Mysterio, and more!
So when you moved to the US, how much English were you speaking?
“So little, just a couple of words. I remember when I got to NXT, my coach, Terry Taylor, he explained many things to me in class. He told me, ‘You understand?’ I said, no. It’s because they do the requests, and they said, do you speak English? I don’t want to say I don’t, I said, yes. I had to literally [learn] quick, but still, it’s hard.”
How’d you learn?
“I took classes with a teacher in Mexico, but just online, it’s not the same. When I was in NXT, we had school twice a week, one hour. But still I think I learned more English when I started doing more NXT every day, for six hours, staying in the PC, and I think that’s what helped me.”
You’re a second-generation wrestler. Because you were around this growing up, did you feel like you had to be a pro wrestler?
“I just did wrestling because I wanted the attention from my father. When I was five years old, my dad and my mom separated. Now as a father, I can understand how he was in that time, but I was a child. I just needed the attention from my father, and he was more focused on my brothers, Rush and Dralístico. I just wanted to have the attention when he was training them. I was like, I want to do this. When I was 12 I started training more. I started doing kung fu, Olympic wrestling, boxing, because my father wanted to be prepared, because a wrestler has to be prepared. We had to have all the bases. I start feeling the wrestling and I start feeling passionate, I know what wrestling is. I did the old school: you have to be strong, Olympic, everything, and then you will learn what pro wrestling is. It was tough. So many times I really cried, really tough training, but I’m so proud now. I would say in that time, my father, he was tough, he was very rude, but he was my coach in that time, not my father. We lived together, and he was like, 8 am, has to be in the ring. He just set his alarm; he never woke me up, just left.”
If it was so tough, how did you get through it?
“Because I wanted him to be proud of me. I don’t know if everyone has their own goals, dreams, but some of them at that time, still now. I wanted him to be proud of me, because he used to be my hero. We have a good relationship now, I have a wonderful family.”
How did you decide you were going to wrestle under a mask?
“It’s weird because I just did two matches before I debuted in Mexico, I got a name Boricua; that’s a Puerto Rican name, because my father wrestled like a boricua, and I said I’m gonna use that name. So my brother, he was Dragon Lee before me for one and a half years, and he becomes Mistico, and then [he said], ‘You have to be Dragon Lee.’ I said, I want to be just me. You can change this name. I really love the name. I really love his mask. I changed so many things to his mask, but still I saw my brother, he does crazy things. He was very aerial, crazy things. To me, the name Dragon Lee was so much for me, I’m nothing to the name.”
It was a huge moment when you had this match with Gunther, and he pulled your mask off, and for a split second people saw your identity. Talk to me about that match, because that’s a big moment for a luchador to have their mask taken off.
“I know, it’s a culture. This is for respect of our culture, you have to always cover your face. You will not see any wrestler in Mexico showing the face, but that was tough. Actually, was some of my best matches I ever had. Gunther is a great wrestler, but I need to wrestle with him again, because after that, I didn’t have a chance to wrestle him again. I hope I can get my second opportunity; it means so much. When he takes off my mask, it’s not respectful. Yes, many pictures on social media, but it’s not my real face, because I was covered. You can’t see my face. I’m handsome, no worries!”
There was a photo of you, Rey Mysterio, and Penta, all without your masks on, that went viral. Did you realize when you guys posted that what that was going to mean?
“That’s actually Rey Mysterio. He posted, and I never expected [the reaction]. Well, Rey has a million followers, so I expected that would be viral, but not like that. But we just cover our face. I feel like it’s a nice picture with memories.”
When you first got to WWE, you were having some incredible matches in NXT. What were some of your favorite matches that you had there?
“There’s a lot of talent, but some of the matches that I have more in my mind is with Dominik, that match with the North American Champion. Dom is so great. I have a good connection with him in the ring. Maybe I’m wrong, but I feel like when I see that match, I feel like that’s much like when Rey Mysterio wrestled with Eddie Guerrero.”
Does he wrestle that Lucha Libre style?
“I think yes. Now he does. He learns so fast, man. He’s so good. He’s in a good position.”
Did you grow up watching Rey Mysterio?
“Of course, that’s what I’m saying. I would say I’m the envy of all my friends. I would say, many wrestlers too. I teamed with Rey Mysterio, how many wrestlers don’t want to be in my shoes?”
That match at WrestleMania 42, the ladder match for the Intercontinental Championship, that was one of the best matches of the weekend.
“I’ve never wrestled in a ladder match. I don’t like it. Because, honestly, I thought that the ladder would be a little bit kind of gimmicked. But I want everyone to know that the ladder was real. I was just trying to try something, what can I do here that’s crazy? I just grabbed the ladder right away, I caught my arm, and I hit my leg, and I was like it’s so heavy. And yes, it’s strong, man.”
It’s also so hard to climb the ladder in the ring, right?
“It’s weird, you know. I want to tell you this: all my neighbors, they just sent me a text, even my family, ‘Be careful.’ Because at Christmas I fell off the ladder putting up Christmas lights.”
Is the dream match one day, one on one with Rey Mysterio?
“Of course. Definitely, if you want to be the best, you have to wrestle with the best. I want that to happen one day, and I know it will, and I will be ready. I’m ready for that moment.”
I gotta ask you about this photo of you sitting on Undertaker’s motorcycle. What made you think to get on it?
“I grew up watching that motorcycle. I feel like I gotta get on this motorcycle. It’s my chance, you know? I see everyone in the ring, I gotta take the picture. But I was like, should I? Maybe not. I don’t want to get in trouble. I saw CM Punk, ‘Hey, can you take my picture?’ Yeah, okay. If someone tells me anything, he’s gonna cover me for sure. ‘Hey, CM Punk told me.’ Honestly, I didn’t want to take a picture just because CM Punk told me. If he told me to get in to take a picture, and I just got there, like my uncle CM Punk, thank you for that. He helped me get that push that I need, to go to the motorcycle. I took the picture, it was a nice picture, but this is not the end. I came back to AAA, Undertaker told me, ‘You realize that you scratched my motorcycle?’ I said, ‘What? No! Come on, you have to be kidding me.’ [He said] ‘Yes, you scratched it.’ No, no, no, no, no. I was like, for one second, I didn’t. Because I just came in, took a photo, no. He was just kidding me. For one second, it was like he intimidated me. I was like, damn, my boss, right?”
Who are you traveling with these days?
“Most of the time, it’s always with Rey Mysterio. So, always being with him, but, but outside of the ring, we have our group, you know, the Mexicans. Always, Penta, always Rey, Grande Americano.”
How did you get paired with AJ Styles?
“What a nice story. He’s so nice. Being a champion with him is another thing that I want to say, he really pushed me to the next level. I’m very grateful to him, because I learned from him in general. As a man, the way he is as a father, and when we became champions, that moment when we grab the titles. He just grabbed me like this and crossed the title, wake up, yes, we won. I was like, what a moment.”
The Tag Team Championships, that’s the last championship that AJ Styles won.
“I feel honored to be part of his last matches, and even John Cena’s last match [event], I was part of that too. I feel like you know so many things that I’m proud of myself, you know, because if you’re not, if you don’t recognize yourself, who else will? You just look at the mirror and say, ‘You’re doing well, keep working. I’m proud of you, brother. Keep working.’ My family, that’s it, that’s all the energy I need.”
Did you hear this name that people gave your tag team with AJ Styles?
“Yeah, AJ Lee, right? Yeah, it was fun. We didn’t have enough time to create a name, but I pitched this name, and I think it would have been so great, the Phenomenal Dragons. I feel like that name would be so great, Phenomenal Dragons. AJ Styles has his logo, I said this logo becomes like kind of like a dragon around it, something we can do. But I didn’t realize that he wouldn’t have enough time, he would be retired, nobody expected it.”
What are your goals now on the main roster?
“I would like to be Intercontinental champion; that’s my goal. I want to be champion. Something that I would love to do is be tag team champion with Rey Mysterio. I hope we can have an opportunity, because I feel like I have a great connection with Rey, and I think we can do so good as a team. That’s what I think, and you know, another chance at the Royal Rumble and at WrestleMania, that’s the dream. Now I know how that feels, and nobody can tell me how it feels. I feel so great, and I want to have that experience again. It’s great, man.”
What is Dragon Lee grateful for?
“For God, my family, and for waking up today.”
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