On the last SmackDown before Survivor Series, WWE changes a match at the traditional event at short notice. Returnee Carlito is removed from the card, with rising star Dragon Lee replacing him
Unexpected castling shortly before the traditional Survivor Series event: One day before the big event in Chicago, WWE has overturned a match that had actually already been announced – and rotated an up-and-coming shooting star onto the card.
On the last edition of the TV show Friday Night SmackDown before the series, Carlito, who returned to WWE this year, was written out of his match against Santos Escobar. He is replaced by a Mexican compatriot of Escobar, the masked Dragon Lee. The latter now defends the honor of Escobar-attacked legend Rey Mysterio in Carlito’s place.
The match was changed after a staged attack by Escobar on Carlito, which also left the latter with an alleged injury. Nick Aldis – who recently took over as SmackDown’s general manager – then named Lee as a replacement. The plan had also been leaked a few hours earlier by insider channel WrestleVotes on X.
Dragon Lee on the rise in WWE
The 28-year-old Lee, in whom competitor AEW was also interested, had signed with WWE last December. Lee, previously one of the biggest Mexican stars in the US independent scene as well, had earned a quick promotion to the main roster there with strong performances on the NXT developmental squad
A standout match against Rey’s son Dominik Mysterio in a guest appearance for RAW in September was followed by a move to the SmackDown roster. According to a report in the Wrestling Observer, Lee has also signed a new, higher-paying contract in the process.
WWE executive “Triple H” Paul Levesque – who recently returned to sole responsibility for WWE’s creative processes at the behest of parent company CEO Ari Emanuel – has now engineered the rising star’s biggest appearance to date.
The high-flyer Lee – brother of AEW-signed Rush and Dralistico – should now do all he can in the bout to earn further opportunities in the big spotlight.
