LA Knight‘s meteoric rise in WWE throughout 2023 culminated in a remarkable journey from exclusion from the WrestleMania 39 card to challenging Roman Reigns for the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship by the year’s end.
Despite initially receiving substantial crowd reactions following the 2023 Royal Rumble, LA Knight’s consistent television presence didn’t materialise until the summer. During an appearance on The Ringer’s Wrestling Show, Knight expressed his frustration at the delayed push, recounting instances where he felt his momentum was overlooked.
There was a lot of frustration at that time. I’m getting these big reactions and there were weeks of, ‘there’s nothing for you to do.’ I’m like, ‘Was anybody listening? Was anybody watching?’ There was all this hesitation. ‘This might not be real, this might be a fluke.’
Amidst the mounting frustration, LA Knight vividly recalled a pivotal moment in Los Angeles where he received overwhelming support from the audience during the Andre The Giant Battle Royal. Despite the fervent fan response, Knight felt his efforts were being disregarded, leading to months of exasperation and a constant struggle to be recognised by the decision-makers within the company.
I was in the Andre The Giant Battle Royal. I had already been getting some pretty big reactions for the last three weeks to a month, but now we were in LA and the place was all for me in that battle royal. Coming back, I passed straight through Gorilla, didn’t say anything, shake hands or nothing. I ran into one of the social media guys and he was like, ‘Man, you’re over out there.’ I was so happy with the reaction that was out there, but simultaneously pi**ed off because of it. It was so big and I felt like nobody was listening.
Knight’s perseverance eventually led to a breakthrough, marked by his impactful performance at Money in the Bank, where his undeniable crowd reactions prompted a shift in the company’s perspective.
We get to Money in the Bank, the reactions are nuts, we move on from there, and finally it’s like, ‘We’re going to have to do something.’ Finally, it was moving in that direction.
Ahead of WrestleMania, LA Knight and AJ Styles engaged in a wild brawl.
What Else Did LA Knight Say He Was Frustrated With In WWE?
LA Knight expressed his frustrations about not yet winning a championship in WWE. Knight said he was happy with everything he has done from a career standpoint but he hasn’t got a major championship win to hang his hat on.
H/t to Fightful.com