I refuse to accept this!
Zabuza kills lee before he even uses the gates.
Kisame>=Gai
Lee is at his fullest potential u-u
Oh killing before using gates arguement...it took 1 panel for Lee to go full 5 gates, and can't he react at the thinner stages of mist, something kid Sasuke without sharingan did? He can fend off for a little while, as the mist gets thickened by Zabuza he activates gates in a second.
Kisame>=Gai powervise, but in a matchup things change. Gai already canonically countered a good portion of his arsenal.
Lee is bound to surpass Gai, the new generation surpassing older one is one of the main themes in the manga and Gai dedicated himself to raise Lee to be a great ninja.