.jpg) Lee in 2019 | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | Emmanuel Muñoz González (1995-05-15)May 15, 1995 (age 30) Tala, Jalisco, Mexico |
Spouse | |
| Children | 2 |
| Parent | La Bestia del Ring (father) |
| Family | Dralístico (brother) Rush (brother) |
| Professional wrestling career | |
| Ring name(s) | Drago Dragon Lee (II) Ryu Lee |
| Billed height | 1.71 m (5 ft7+1⁄2 in)[1] |
| Billed weight | 75 kg (165 lb)[1] |
| Trained by | Alfredo Pineda Franco Columbo Pierrothito Pit Bull I Arturo Muñoz |
| Debut | January 1, 2014[1] |
Emmanuel Muñoz González (born May 15, 1995) is a Mexicanluchadorenmascarado (or maskedprofessional wrestler). As of December 2022, he is signed toWWE, where he performs on theRawbrand under the ring nameDragon Lee, and is a member of theLatino World Order. He is one-half of the currentWorld Tag Team Champions withAJ Styles in their first reign as a team and Lee's first individual reign.
A second-generation wrestler, he is best known for his work for the Mexicanprofessional wrestling promotionConsejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL), where he portrayed atecnico ("Good guy") wrestling character. In CMLL, Lee is a two-timeCMLL World Lightweight Champion and a one-timeCMLL World Welterweight Champion. Lee is also known for his work inRing of Honor (ROH), where he wasROH World Television Champion andROH World Tag Team Champion withLa Faccion Ingobernable teammateKenny King, and for his work inNew Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), latterly wrestling under the nameRyu Lee (リュウ・リー Ryū Rī),[2] where he is a formerIWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion. He joined WWE in December 2023, where he wrestled on theNXT brand, and within a year, had become theNXT North American Champion.Dragon Lee is the son of professional wrestler Arturo Muñoz, known under the ring nameLa Bestia del Ring, where the family relationship is publicly acknowledged. He is the second person to use the Dragon Lee ring persona and mask, the first Dragon Lee being his older brother, Carlos, who now wrestles under the ring nameDralístico. He also has another brother, William, who works under the ring nameRush.
The man known under thering name Dragon Lee was born on May 15, 1995, inTala, in theMexican state ofJalisco, son of professional wrestlerArturo Muñoz, who had worked as Toro Blanco, Poder Boriqua, Poder Mexico, and Comandante Pierroth over the years.[3] Dragon Lee's two older brothers grew up to become professional wrestlers as well, with the oldest of the brothers,William, making his wrestling debut in 2008 and would later become known as "Rush".[4] Another of Dragon Lee's brothers,Carlos, became a professional wrestler in 2011, adopting theenmascarado (masked) character Dragon Lee initially.[5] In 2012, the original Dragon Lee was offered the opportunity to take over the Místico character after the original wrestler under theMístico mask left Mexico. It was public knowledge that Dragon Lee had taken over the Místico character, leaving the mask and character of Dragon Lee behind.[6][7] Dragon Lee's uncles are also professional wrestlers, known asFranco Columbo, Pit Bull I, and Pit Bull II, and all had a hand in training Dragon Lee prior to his professional wrestling debut. At the age of 14, his father took him toMexico City to start training in amateur wrestling, participating in several wrestling events.[8] He would also participate in boxing; but, as Dragon Lee recalls in a 2015 interview, during his first match he performed asuplex (a wrestling throw) on his opponent and was disqualified. At that point, he realized that his future was inlucha libre.[8]
In December 2019, Dragon Lee married his fiancée, Lupita Orozco. The wedding was officiated byFray Tormenta.[9] The couple have two daughters together.[10]
Muñoz began training inConsejo Mundial de Lucha Libre's (CMLL: Spanish for "World Wrestling Council") gym in 2013, working towards a contract to become a regular wrestler for CMLL. He made his first public appearance as Dragon Lee on November 20, 2013, when he competed in CMLL's 2013 Bodybuilding Contest, winning the beginners category while CMLL regularsPequeño Olimpico andStukita took second and third place.[11] He made his in-ring debut for CMLL on January 1, 2014, as part of the 2014La Copa Junior tournament. During the match, Dragon Lee eliminatedHerodes Jr., but was himself eliminated byCachorro as the third man eliminated in the tournament that was eventually won bySuper Halcón Jr.[12] Dragon Lee was referred to as part of CMLL'sGeneracion 2014, a group of wrestlers who all made their debut around January 2014 and also includedBlack Panther, Cachorro,Espiritu Negro,Flyer,Hechicero, El Rebelde andStar Jr. A month after his CMLL debut Dragon Lee participated in the 2014Torneo Gran Alternativa ("Great Alternative") tournament, which is an annual atag team tournament that has a wrestling rookie team up with an experienced wrestler for the tournament. For the tournament, Dragon Lee teamed up with older brother Rush. In the first round the brothers defeatedNegro Casas andCanelo Casas, then went on to defeat Herodes, Jr. andShocker in the second round before losing to eventual tournament winnersBárbaro Cavernario andMr. Niebla in the tournament semi-final.[13] On March 23, 2014, Dragon Lee was one of 16 wrestlers in atornero cibernetico (elimination) match, hoping to qualify for one of eight spots in CMLL's annualEn Busca de un Ídolo ("In search of an idol") tournament. Dragon Lee was one of the eight survivors of the match alongside Cachorro, Cavernario,Guerrero Negro Jr.,Hechicero, Star Jr.,Soberano Jr. andSuper Halcón Jr. and thus qualified for the actual tournament.[14] The first round consisted of around-robin tournament where he wrestled against all other participants. Following the matches each wrestler was given points by a panel of judges as well as points from an online poll. The first round saw Dragon Lee in 4th place with 423 points following victories over Cachorro, Guerrero Negro Jr. and Soberano Jr., 423 points qualified him for the second round along with Cavernario, Hechicero and Cachorro. Dragon Lee only defeated Cachorro during the second round, landing him in 3rd place with 198 points.[15] On August 25, 2014, it was announced that Dragon Lee would team up with fellow rookie Cachorro for theCMLL 81st Anniversary Show, marking Dragon Lee first appearance at CMLL'sAnniversary Shows, the promotion's most important show of the year. They were scheduled to compete in the first match against the brother-duo ofPuma andTiger.[16]
In early 2015, Lee started astoryline rivalry with Japanese wrestlerKamaitachi.[17] The prolonged storyline rivalry culminated on March 20 at theHomenaje a Dos Leyendas ("Homage to Two Wrestlers") show. The two masked men faced off in aLucha de Apuestas (or "bet match"), with both wrestlers risking their mask on the outcome. Dragon Lee defeated Kamaitachi two falls to one, forcing his rival to unmask.[18] On April 5, 2015, Dragon Lee won his first professional wrestling championship, when he defeatedVirus to capture theCMLL World Lightweight Championship.[19] On May 15, 2015, Dragon Lee outlasted Bárbaro Cavernario,Fuego, Kamaitachi,Luciferno,Mephisto,Místico,Niebla Roja,The Panther,Titán, Virus andVolador Jr. to win the first roundtorneo cibernetico of the 2015Leyenda de Plata ("Silver Legend") tournament, one of CMLL's most prestigious annual tournaments.[20][21] On May 22, he lost to Negro Casas in the finals of the tournament.[22]
In January 2016, Dragon Lee made his Japanese debut by taking part in the CMLL andNew Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) co-producedFantastica Mania 2016 tour.[23] On the fifth show of the tour, he successfully defended the CMLL World Lightweight Championship against Virus. After the match, Dragon Lee was attacked by Kamaitachi,[24] which led to a match the following day, where Dragon Lee lost the CMLL World Lightweight Championship.[25] Dragon Lee regained the championship from Kamaitachi on March 4 when the two had a rematch in Mexico City.[26] During the summer, Dragon Lee became involved in a rivalry withLa Máscara, a storyline that sprung from La Máscara feuding with the entire Muñoz family. La Máscara and Rush had teamed together asLos Ingobernables for years, but over the summer of 2016 the group had broken up. Initially the feud focused on Rush and La Máscara but late changed focus from Rush to Dragon Lee. On August 5, Dragon Lee made a challenge for a Mask vs. MaskLucha de Apuestas between the two, which was accepted by La Máscara.[27] On September 2 at the83rd Anniversary Show, Dragon Lee defeated La Máscara win the second mask of his career.[28] In January 2017, Dragon Lee took part in theFantastica Mania 2017 tour, successfully defending the CMLL World Lightweight Championship againstBárbaro Cavernario during the January 20 event.[29] Dragon Lee as a participant in the2017 International Gran Prix. He was eliminated from the torneo cibernetico on September 1 byJuice Robinson.[30]
On September 27, 2019, CMLL announced that they had fired both Dragon Lee and Rush for not following guidelines set by the programming department.[31][32] According toDave Meltzer, CMLL was not happy with Lee, since he participated inPro Wrestling Guerrilla'sBattle of Los Angeles, after they told him to not work in the tournament.[33]
Dragon Lee made hisRing of Honor (ROH) debut on September 30, 2016, at ROH'sAll Star Extravaganza VIII, in a victory over Kamaitachi.[34] On December 2, 2016, atFinal Battle, Lee was unsuccessful in a three-way dance for theROH World Television Championship, against championMarty Scurll andWill Ospreay, where Scurll retained his title.[35] On December 13, 2019, atFinal Battle, Dragon Lee defeatedShane Taylor to win theROH World Television Championship. On December 15, Dragon Lee joined his brotherRush, Amy Rose, andKenny King in formingLa Faccion Ingobernable, turningheel. Following this, Lee started to wrestle a more aggressive style, and wear darker colors. On February 10, (recognized as February 27 due to tape delay), Dragon Lee and King defeated The Foundation (Jay Lethal andJonathan Gresham) to win the ROH World Tag Team Championship for the first time, thus making Lee a dual champion. Both of these reigns ended at theROH 19th Anniversary Show, when Lee was sidelined with an ear injury. King lost the Television title on Lee's behalf to Foundation memberTracy Williams, as well as dropping the tag team championship to Williams and his Foundation stablemate, King's former tag team partner,Rhett Titus. On November 21, 2021, Lee lost the title againstDalton Castle.[36]
On January 5, 2017, Dragon Lee made a surprise return to NJPW, attackingHiromu Takahashi (the former Kamaitachi) andTetsuya Naito during their match againstKushida andMichael Elgin. Following the match, Dragon Lee posed with Takahashi'sIWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship belt.[37] This led to Lee unsuccessfully challenging Takahashi for the title on February 11 atThe New Beginning in Osaka.[38] The following May, Dragon Lee realized one of his goals in professional wrestling,[39] when he was announced as a participant in the2017 Best of the Super Juniors tournament.[40] In his opening match of the tournament on May 17, Dragon Lee handed Takahashi his first singles loss since returning to Japan at the end of 2016.[41] Dragon Lee finished the tournament on May 31 with a record of four wins and three losses, failing to advance to the finals.[42] Dragon Lee returned to NJPW the following October, teaming with Titán in the2017 Super Jr. Tag Tournament, from which they were eliminated in the first round byBushi and Takahashi.[43] On May 7, NJPW announced Lee as a participant in the2018 Best of the Super Juniors tournament. He finished the tournament with three wins and four losses, failing to advance to the finals.[44] OnG1 Special in San Francisco, Lee challenged Takahashi for the Junior Heavyweight Championship. However, he did not win the title.[45] On April 6, 2019, at theG1 Supercard, Dragon Lee defeatedTaiji Ishimori andBandido in a triple threat match to win the Junior Heavyweight Championship for the first time, and in the process, becoming the third Mexican to hold the title (behindJuventud Guerrera andMístico, who were the first and second, respectively).
On December 8, 2019, Dragon Lee, now having changed his ring name to Ryu Lee, challengedJyushin Thunder Liger to be Liger's final opponent atWrestle Kingdom 14. On January 5, 2020, he and Takahashi successfully defeated Liger andNaoki Sano in a tag match. It was then announced that at the New Beginning in Osaka, Lee would once again challenge Takahashi for the Junior Heavyweight title.
While working for CMLL, Dragon Lee was allowed to take independent bookings for days where he was not needed for CMLL shows, which has allowed Dragon Lee to work on both the Mexican and United Statesindependent circuit, mainly against other CMLL wrestlers. In early 2018, he challengedShane Strickland for the PCW Light Heavyweight Championship as part of PCW'sOpposites Attackpay-per-view show, but lost.[46] On July 6, 2018, Dragon Lee competed in theAll Pro Wrestling/Pro Wrestling Revolution jointly promoted "King of Indies" tournament, defeatingRyusuke Taguchi in the first round,Brody King in the semi-finals andFlip Gordon to win the whole tournament.[47]
On November 7, 2019, Lee appeared inLucha Libre AAA Worldwide promotion at the press conference where, he was announced as a challenger to theAAA Mega Championship againstKenny Omega inTriplemanía Regia, however he was defeated in his debut.[48]
On October 9, 2021, atHéroes Inmortales XIV, Lee returned for AAA accompanied by his brotherDralístico, challengedLos Lucha Bros (Fénix andPentagón Jr.) for theAAA World Tag Team Championship, after they had retained the title overJinetes del Aire (Hijo del Vikingo andLaredo Kid).[49]
Lee made hisAll Elite Wrestling (AEW) debut on the August 17 edition ofDynamite, participating in the first round of theAEW World Trios Championship tournament, where he teamed withLa Facción Ingobernable membersAndrade El Idolo and his brotherRush to take onThe Young Bucks and their mystery partner, who was revealed to beKenny Omega. The match ended with Omega and the Bucks emerging victorious, after Omega pinned Lee. After the match, El Idolo and Rush attacked Lee and removed his mask.[50]
On December 28, 2022, after defeatingFTR for theAAA World Tag Team Championship atAAA Lucha Libre: Noche de Campeones with his brother,Dralístico, Lee announced that he had signed a contract withWWE and that he expected to start working with them in January 2023.[51][52] On March 21, 2023, Dragon Lee was chosen as one ofWes Lee's opponent in a match for theNXT North American Championship atNXT Stand & Deliver on April 1, where he took part in afatal five-way match for the title in a losing effort. AtNXT Battleground in May, Lee challengedNoam Dar for Dar'sNXT Heritage Cup but lost due to interference fromJakara Jackson andLash Legend.
From August to December 2023, his first storyline in WWE was a feud withDominik Mysterio, who was the NXT North American Champion. Lee faced Mysterio several times for the title, but was defeated each time.[53] Lee began to appear onSmackDown in September and was quietly drafted to the brand.[54][55][56][57][58] Lee facedSantos Escobar atSurvivor Series: WarGames, but Lee lost the match.[59][60][61] AtNXT Deadline, Lee defeated Dominik to win theNXT North American Championship, marking his first title win in WWE.[62] On the December 12 episode ofNXT, Lee successfully defended the North American Championship in his first title defense againstTyler Bate.[63] On the January 9, 2024 episode ofNXT, Lee successfully retained his title againstLexis King. After the match,Oba Femi cashed in hisNXT Breakout Tournament contract and defeated Lee to win the title, ending Lee's reign at 31 days.[64] On February 4 atVengeance Day, Lee failed to win back the title from Femi in his rematch.[65]
Lee had recently become an official member of theLatino World Order and was scheduled to team up withRey Mysterio for a match againstSantos Escobar andDominik Mysterio on Night 1 ofWrestleMania XL. However, Lee was found attacked backstage, which rendered him unable to compete in the match. On the April 26 episode ofSmackDown, Lee made his return from the attack and teamed up with Mysterio to defeat Los Lotharios (Angel andBerto) in a tag team match. After the match, Escobar revealed that it wasCarlito who had attacked Lee. Carlito then proceeded to attack both Lee and Mysterio after Escobar's revelation.[66] At Night 2 of the2024 WWE Draft, LWO were drafted to theRaw brand.[67]
In November, Lee joined theSpeed Championship #1 contender's tournament, defeating NXT'sTavion Heights and Raw'sAkira Tozawa in the quarterfinals and semifinals, respectively. He then received a bye to the championship match, where he defeatedAndrade to win theWWE Speed Championship during the November 15 tapings ofSpeed,[68][69] which aired on November 20.[70] He held the title until May 5, when he lost it toEl Grande Americano.[71] On July 25, Lee made his return to AAA (now the sister promotion of WWE) at Alianzas, where he,Dominik Mysterio, andEl Grande Americano accepted the open challenge ofAAA Mega ChampionEl Hijo del Vikingo, leading to a four-way match for the title being scheduled atTriplemanía XXXIII.[72]
On the 20 October episode ofRaw,AJ Styles and Lee won theWorld Tag Team Championship by defeatingFinn Bálor andJD McDonagh ofThe Judgment Day.[73]
In the late summer of 2018, Dragon Lee was one of the participants in the Mexican version of theExathlon sports reality show, Dragon Lee was part of the "celebrity/athlete"Exathlon team, competing against a team of amateurs that was shown several days a week on the MexicanAzteca Uno television station.[74] Due to the show, Dragon Lee did not wrestle between August 15 and December 13, 2018.[75] He was eliminated from the show on November 20, for medical reasons, as he was suffering from a severe ear infection that threatened his hearing.[76] He later revealed that he had been advised that he may need surgery on his ear and nose. He also revealed that he had lost 19 kg (42 lb) during the show as he was not allowed to eat the same amount of food as he did while staying in wrestling shape.[76]
Dragon Lee made his video game debut inWWE 2K24 asdownloadable content.[77]
Muñoz's "Dragon Lee" ring character is that of atecnico or the good guy; in Lucha Libre traditional good guy/bad guy divide is still maintained much stricter than most other countries in the 21st century.[78] His wrestling style is a high speed, high flying version of Lucha Libre, where he will take higher risks than a lot of wrestlers when executing moves off the top rope or from inside the ring to the outside.[1] (Bridging package fallaway powerbomb)[79][80][81] During his long running storyline with Takahashi the two developed such a trust in each other that they were able to perform high risk moves that Dragon Lee would not be able to do against other wrestlers who would not be able to execute their part of the move safely. His high risk style has led him to often use aRunning frankensteiner throw where he leaps over the top rope and executes the leg scissor takedown on an opponent standing on the apron, sending him to the floor. His high flying style has earned him the nickname "El Niño Maravilla" ("The Boy Wonder").[82]
One of his signature finishing moves is the "Dragon Driver", also known as the "Phoenix-Plex" – aBridging package fallaway powerbomb where he lifts his opponent up, hooks his legs in a "package" position and then falls backwards so the opponent is slammed to the ground and he holds them there for a pinfall.[79][80] The Phoenix-Plex is one of the riskier professional wrestling moves, designed to look like it hurts the opponent without actually inflicting too much pain, but can go wrong when the person executing or the person taking the move makes a mistake. That risk was highlighted in a match between Dragon Lee and Takahashi at NJPW'sG1 Special in San Francisco, where Dragon Lee released his opponent too early and Takahashi landed on his neck, breaking it in the process.[83]
| Winner (wager) | Loser (wager) | Location | Event | Date | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dragon Lee (mask) | Kamaitachi (mask) | Mexico City | Homenaje a Dos Leyendas | March 20, 2015 | [18] |
| Dragon Lee (mask) | La Máscara (mask) | Mexico City | CMLL 83rd Anniversary Show | September 2, 2016 | [28] |
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