Bully Ray and Dave LaGreca say WWE has run out of excuses to keep LA Knight out of the main event, framing his organic popularity as the same unstoppable force that carried Daniel Bryan to the top of the company a decade ago.
The two made the case on Busted Open, arguing that fans are now living through what they called “The Daniel Bryan Effect” with Knight.
The comparison is a familiar one for a reason. Analysts have drawn the parallel repeatedly during Knight’s run, pointing to crowd reactions and merch pull that consistently outpace his position on the card, much like Bryan’s groundswell in 2013 and 2014.
Where LA Knight Actually Stands
Despite the intermittent absences from television, Knight is not going anywhere. Those absences have been attributed to a lack of immediate creative plans rather than any injury, pay dispute, or disciplinary problem.
You’ve heard me say for 10 years, wins and losses don’t matter, except when a win or a loss matters, and I think a win for Seth Rollins at SummerSlam really matters,” Bully Ray said.
LaGreca then said the follow-up writes itself, and that it would not go the way WWE might expect.
If Seth Rollins wins this championship and his first program or his first match is with LA Knight, the WWE universe is going to be 100% behind LA Knight, and there’s no doubt in my mind,” LaGreca said.
Bully Ray then agreed, and stated that WWE might be laying that foundation after Knight’s recent segments.
I would not be shocked to see them use Seth Rollins as your champion to get LA Knight over,” Bully Ray said. “I think LA Knight has the best chance of succeeding chasing Seth Rollins.
The hosts pointed to the crowd as the deciding factor, with LaGreca talking about the reaction has gotten impossible to ignore.
He is now getting the biggest responses in arenas and on shows than anybody else,” LaGreca said.
“This is the first time, seriously, since LA Knight has been on the main roster, where I was like, I can see him having a world heavyweight championship around his waist.
Bully Ray then said:
We’ve seen this happen before in the WWE, where fans are behind a certain talent, but it’s obvious the talent is not reaching the level of success that the fans would like to see them reach, thus they start cheering louder. The Daniel Bryan effect. Maybe that’s what we’re going to see with LA Knight.
LaGreca then drew the same comparison from the other direction, saying fans have hit the wall the way they did a decade ago.
The only thing I can compare it to is Daniel Bryan, where the fans are like, enough, we’ve had enough of this. Now we want this guy,” LaGreca said.
“The fans have had enough with the same old, same old. They want something new. I think the answer is LA Knight.
The men’s title picture has since shifted around him. CM Punk became Undisputed WWE Champion after defeating Sami Zayn on Raw on July 6, 2026, and Knight is not currently holding any championship.
Knight has been open about feeling underappreciated in WWE, and prior reporting on his TV absence pointed to booking, not heat. That pattern is exactly what Bully Ray and LaGreca are pushing against: the sense that the demand is there, and the reasons to wait have run dry.
