Keith Lee signs WWE deal, update on WALTER and WWE, Danny Burch signs with WWE

By Sean Radican, PWTorch Columnist


SPOTLIGHTED PODCAST ALERT (YOUR ARTICLE BEGINS A FEW INCHES DOWN)...

-PWTorch has learned from multiple sources that Keith Lee has signed with WWE and is expected to report to NXT in the near future after finishing up his independent dates in May. The Wrestling Observer reported in early March that Lee had been offered a WWE deal.

Lee will finish up with PWG, as his final show with the company has been announced for May 25.

Lee also recently confirmed on Twitter he will not be on the EVOLVE event in Melrose, Mass in June when he was asked by a fan if he was making any appearances in the New England area.

Lee is signed for EVOLVE’s upcoming events in the Detroit area on May 19 and Chicago on May 20. On May 20, Lee will face Matt Riddle for the EVOLVE Championship in what is being booked as the final encounter between the two. It appears now that these will be Lee’s final dates with EVOLVE.

Lee got mixed reviews from WWE officials for his match against Kassius Ohno at Axxess during WrestleMania weekend. One source from WWE noted that right now Lee is a guy with a rep for doing moves and he’s going to have to adjust his style once he arrives in WWE.

The key for Lee to having success once he arrives in NXT is going to be that he has to be coachable. Another source noted that when Lio Rush arrived in NXT, he wasn’t coachable, which is one of the reasons why he struggled during the early stages of his WWE career. On the other hand, PWTorch sources note that Ricochet was easy to work with from the first day he reported to WWE earlier this year. One source noted that the key to finding success in NXT as a name indie talent is to come in and listen to all of the advice your given from the coaches at the WWE Performance Center and then after that process plays out you can have more input into your character. Since reporting to NXT, Ricochet has been great to work with and in turn producers have invited him to have more input into his character.

-WALTER, the head trainer of WXW’s wrestling school in Germany, publicly denied being offered a WWE deal after The Wrestling Observer reported in early March that WALTER had been offered a WWE deal.

PWTorch sources have confirmed that WALTER has been offered a WWE deal. International signings are usually very complicated and the process for WWE to sign an international talent takes a long time to play out. According to multiple sources, WALTER has not signed the deal WWE offered him.

PWTorch has confirmed that WALTER is now taking bookings through September leading most sources to believe that he is not going to sign with WWE at this time.

-Martin Stone known as Danny Burch has signed with WWE. Stone was released by WWE in 2014, but has been working regularly on NXT TV as a free agent for a long period of time. His presence on NXT TV grew in 2017, although he was still a free agent. Stone announced he had signed with WWE at Beyond Wrestling’s event this past Sunday.

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