Backstage Update On WWE's Plans For Dragon Lee

Though his tenure on "WWE SmackDown" hasn't been that long, Dragon Lee has already garnered a ton of support from both fans and WWE management, thanks to his performances against Cedric Alexander and Axiom. He's done so well, in fact, that it appears WWE is ready to have him rub shoulders with a lucha legend that Lee has frequently been compared to.

On Sunday morning's edition of "Wrestling Observer Radio," Dave Meltzer revealed that Lee is set to enter a program with Rey Mysterio in the not-too-distant future. The storyline will reportedly see Lee receive Mysterio's endorsement in order to position him as the company's next top lucha libre star of the future.

This news suggests that Lee will be part of an upcoming storyline involving Mysterio and former LWO ally Santos Escobar, who turned on Mysterio a little more than a week ago. The duo are expected to clash over the LWO stable, with both Mysterio and Escobar expected to have groups supporting them; one can insinuate that Lee will find himself aligned with Mysterio and Carlito, who is scheduled to face Escobar at WWE Survivor Series this weekend.

While big things may be in Lee's future, fans might have to wait and see him and Mysterio interact. The lucha libre legend underwent surgery on a torn meniscus in his right knee after the angle with Escobar, taking care of an injury that had been nagging at him for months. Recovery time from the surgery is expected to take six to eight weeks, meaning Mysterio will be returning in late December/early January at the earliest.