LA Knight has emerged as one of WWE’s most popular stars, experiencing a breakout year in 2023 that began with a storyline involving the late Bray Wyatt. His charisma and connection with the audience led to increasingly loud reactions from fans, prompting WWE to elevate his role on the roster.
Knight’s momentum continued to build through a feud with The Miz and an endorsement by John Cena, culminating in a high-profile challenge for the Undisputed WWE Championship against Roman Reigns at Crown Jewel 2023. While Knight fell short in his quest for the title, fan support remained unwavering, solidifying his position as a top star.
In an interview with WittyWhittier, Knight reflected on what led to his sudden surge in popularity:
“Short answer, I don’t know. I really don’t know. Because, I mean, if you look at everything that was going on at the time when that rise really started happening, the only thing I could really attribute it to was just taking advantage of some of the time that I had when I was doing the whole deal with Bray Wyatt. But at the time, still, it was kind of like, ‘We don’t know about this guy.’ But it seems like once I got out of that, I didn’t really have any direction. For months, there was nothing happening with me. But somehow in that time is when, ‘Oh, wait a minute. I think we kind of like this guy.’ I don’t know what it was, but clearly, I must have been making the most of my time. Because I wasn’t doing a damn thing. So something was hitting. I don’t know what it is, and I can’t attribute it to anything.”
In 2024, Knight captured his first championship in WWE, defeating Logan Paul for the United States Title at SummerSlam. However, his reign ended at Survivor Series: WarGames, where Shinsuke Nakamura dethroned him. Knight will have an opportunity to reclaim the title in a rematch on this week’s SmackDown.
