LA Knight is riding a huge wave of momentum at 41-years-old. He is anything but a flash in the pan, although WWE was originally cautious about dropping a lot of merchandise for him due to that concern. Now, he can look back and see what he had to go through, and he has quite a story to tell.
LA Knight’s Road To WWE
LA Knight inked a developmental contract with WWE back in 2013, but his time there didn’t pan out, as he was released in August 2014. Naturally, this turn of events didn’t bring him any joy, but it didn’t kill his determination to make it to the top of the pro wrestling world.
Knight gained popularity as Eli Drake in Impact Wrestling, establishing himself as a major star due to his impressive promo skills and in-ring abilities. He later went to the NWA, where that Namer of Dummies character went with him. These factors paved the way for his eventual return to WWE a few years later.
While speaking to Chris Van Vliet of Insight, LA Knight disclosed that upon his return to WWE, he accepted a pay cut. This was a decision he was fully aware of. He willingly took the cut, confident that he could bet on himself to eventually earn more money.
”So finally, when I did make the jump over there, there was a little bit of not necessarily negotiation, but it was just kind of like, I knew I was going to have to take a pay cut coming in. But I was willing to take the pay cut on the bet that I could turn it into much more. Because I had hit the ceiling basically in IMPACT. And I had an awesome time (in) NWA for that little bit that we were able to do before the pandemic hit.”
LA Knight Was Miserable Working With Vince McMahon’s Creative
After making his way from NXT to the WWE main roster, Vince McMahon changed LA Knight’s name to Max Dupri. That creative shift did not result in much success.
The former Eli Drake went on to open up about how this time as a male modeling agent made his miserable with creative. That was Vince McMahon’s vision, and he was calling the shots.
“(Vince McMahon) had a vision for this thing that put such a microscope on it and I didn’t know what the hell it was… and it just wasn’t going well. I was very unhappy, and I’m sure he probably was, and then at some point it was just like all of a sudden I’m not on TV, and I’m like, well, I’m pretty sure I’m fired. I’m pretty sure this whole ride is over.”
What’s Next For LA Knight in WWE?
LA Knight has a much different position in WWE now. He is 1/4 of the Undisputed Universal Title match at the Royal Rumble on January 27th. He will battle with AJ Styles, Randy Orton, and Triple H with the biggest title on SmackDown on the line. That match at Tropicana Field may turn out to be a massive notch in his belt, as LA Knight has gone through a lot to get him to this point.