Keith Lee is the new NXT Champion. He defeated Adam Cole in the main event of NXT’s Great American Bash night 2. The 35-year-old signed with WWE in 2018 but his road to the top of NXT wasn’t a smooth one. At first, Lee says he wasn’t sure who WWE wanted him to be. He eventually learned how to just be himself.

“The beginning was tough,” Lee said to SI.com. “I thought the company wanted something else from me. The entire time, they wanted me to be myself. The one person who really helped me work through all of that was [WWE trainer] Terry Taylor.”

Lee continued to say that when he began to doubt himself, Taylor helped him through it.

“I thought I was doing something wrong, but Terry Taylor was the one that kept reminding me who I was. When I was filled with doubt, he kept me together. If it wasn’t for him, I don’t know what would have happened for me in this company.“

Lee is a 15-year pro having begun his career in 2005. He tried out for WWE 3 times before eventually signing in 2018. Lee’s WWE tryouts came in 2008, 2011, and again in 2013.

He also said during the interview, that he wants to be a representative for African Americans.

“I want to be the representation for African American people, to have someone that looks like them and represents them on the top stage and has top caliber matches,” Lee continued.