LA Knight is among the most charismatic and entertaining superstars on the WWE roster. His mic skills are second to none, and even at 40 years old, he has a bright future with the company. Formerly known as Eli Drake in Impact Wrestling, LA Knight signed with WWE in 2021, joining the NXT brand. Since making his debut, he hasn’t found much success, but has undoubtedly gone over well with the crowd.
The former Million Dollar Champion was called up to the main roster in January 2022, and a few months later, he was re-packaged as Max Dupri and the leader of his new stable “Maximum Male Models.” The group consisted of Mace and Mansoor, with their names spelled as “ma.çé” and “mån.sôör.” Believe it or not, this gimmick and group did not work for Knight, and he ended his relationship with them a few months later.
Since then, LA Knight has returned to his former gimmick, which worked perfectly in NXT. Why Vince McMahon decided to scrap the gimmick in the first place is beyond me. He had a few mini-feuds on Smackdown before being put in a program with the returning Bray Wyatt. Their feud lasted a few months before ending in a Mountain Dew Pitch Black match at the Royal Rumble. He lost the match but got over with the fans and, honestly, benefited more from this feud than Wyatt.
Since then, LA Knight has been floating around the main roster. He’s had a handful of matches since, including competing in an Intercontinental Title #1 Contender Five-Way match, which he lost. He’s fought Cody Rhodes, Xavier Woods, and Kofi Kingston, and while he lost all three matches, he looked great while losing. He picked up arguably the biggest win of his WWE career thus far against Rey Mysterio on an episode of Smackdown in March, and while he got some help from Dominik Mysterio, a win’s a win.
The fact is LA Knight is too good to be floating around the main roster like he has been. He has the look, the in-ring, and the mic skills to be a megastar in the company. It’s a shame WWE never even used him for WrestleMania. LA Knight in Hollywood would have been spectacular. He’s only been on the main roster for less than a year, but WWE needs to capitalize on his popularity with the crowd. He has one of the best catchphrases in the business, YEAH!, and can get the crowd going with the snap of a finger. I understand why he hasn’t held a title yet, as every champion is doing well right now, but there’s no excuse why he isn’t feuding with more relevant superstars and going after these championships.
With the WWE Draft coming up, this would be the perfect time to give LA Knight a proper push. He needs to be treated like a star for whatever brand he ends up on. He needs to be thrown into championship programs, and whether he wins or not, he’ll come out looking strong.
Money in the Bank is the perfect opportunity for LA Knight to be pushed to the moon. Knight winning the Money in the Bank briefcase would do wonders for his career. LA Knight holding onto that briefcase for up to a year and teasing when he’d cash in would be money. He would have the best promos and would be able to work with some of the biggest names in WWE. Although a handful of superstars can walk out as Mr. Money in the Bank, LA Knight may be the best option.
It’s hard for anybody to be thrown into the main event scene right now, with Roman Reigns holding both world championships. After WWE decides to have Reigns lose the belts, LA Knight must go after at least one of them, whether he wins the briefcase or not. Although he isn’t old, the clock is ticking, as he isn’t getting any younger. While in the company, he won the Impact World Championship and proved he could be the top guy. He doesn’t have to be THE top guy in WWE, but he certainly can be one of them.
When WWE decides to split up the world championships, LA Knight must be included in the group of superstars to go after one of the belts. Knight is too good to be anything less than a main eventer, and if he’s not in the main event, he should be running the mid-card division. Hopefully, WWE finds something for LA Knight to do soon because his talent is being wasted. And that’s not an insult, that is just a fact of life. YEAH!
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