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After years of hard work, LA Knight (Full name: Laurence Aloysius Knight IV) (Just kidding - it's exactly what you think it is) is finally on the cusp of truly becoming the megastar he claims to be.
What we want to look at is what makes the man formerly known as Eli Drake so red hot right now. Why does he have the groundswell of support, both online and in the arenas, that has taken WWE by storm?
Well, here are five reasons why.
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#5. LA Knight is an "indie darling"
Now, hold up there, buckaroo. We know what you're thinking: "But, but, but... WWE hates indie darlings!" To that, we have to simply ask "They do?"
Finn Balor, Seth Rollins, Daniel Bryan, Kevin Owens - heck, even freakin' CM Punk - all made their bones in the indies at one point or another. What else do they have in common? They've all held at least one world championship in WWE.
The majority of WWE fans are simply not going to know about LA Knight's time on the independent scene, Impact Wrestling, and the NWA. But, the hardcore fans on the Internet do. And as fractured and stupid as the "Internet Wrestling Community" can be (oh, be quiet, you know I'm right), the kind of organic popularity Knight is experiencing right now doesn't happen without them. They've got a lot more sway in the business than they used to.
Don't let it go to your heads, Internet Wrestling Community.
#4. WWE let him talk to us
Let's put that horse-hockey argument that LA Knight is just "ripping off The Rock" aside for the moment. He could be doing an impression of Robert De Niro for all we care - a good promo is a good promo. And Knight's promos aren't just good, they're fantastic.
When Knight has the microphone in one hand, he's holding the crowd in the palm of the other. The way he hesitates before opening with his trademark "Lemme talk to ya!" to his peppering "yeah!" throughout the promo (without doing it too much) are all a part of how he keeps the crowd engaged.
It's not just the words he uses - though don't get us wrong, they're great words - but the way he says them. His cadence and timing amplify everything he says, keeping the audience riveted whenever he speaks.
If he's "ripping off The Rock," he's at least ripping off The Great One's best parts.
#3. Consistency of character
Think of all the megastars that first rose in popularity as bad guys. Stone Cold Steve Austin, Becky Lynch, John Cena, Chris Jericho, and the aforementioned Dwayne Johnson - all of them transitioned from heels to faces because the crowds simply insisted on cheering them. In Becky's case, the WWE Universe really didn't even give her a choice.
Something LA Knight did take away from watching legends like The Rock and Stone Cold Steve Austin was consistency in his character. Whether they were faces or heels, Rock and Austin were essentially the same either way (with a couple of exceptions). Much like those two, Knight built his popularity as a heel - and keeping that same personality while switching alignments has been essential in hanging on to that fan engagement.
LA Knight might be a face at the moment, but he's still the same trash-talking, arrogant quip machine he was before. It's been a fairly quick transition, so some of the elements needed to make him a face feel kind of rushed. But, in general, his change from bad to good has been way more subtle than you normally see. This means he hasn't lost what made the audience dig him so much in the first place.
#2. He takes his job seriously
The fact that LA Knight is currently 40 years old is telling. Don't get us wrong - these days, there's nothing even remotely out of the ordinary about that. When Knight references that he's been wrestling for "over 20 years," he's not estimating or rounding up. He began his career in 2003, starting training in Cincinnati that year and joining the Heartland Wrestling Association.
Between then and now, LA Knight has toiled in the indies, signed with NXT for the first time, and had multiple runs in the NWA and Impact Wrestling. Basically, he's been doing this for a while, and very little of it has been glamorous.
Knight could have decided the wrestling world wasn't worth it, especially after being released from NXT in 2014. Instead, he kept at it, taking whatever opportunities he could and making himself a commodity. That's dedication, and it shows just how committed to Sports Entertainment.
That dedication also shows in his training, as we learned during an episode of former WWE Champion Sheamus' YouTube show, Celtic Warrior Workouts:
#1. He's been given the chance to be
At the end of it all, why is LA Knight so red-hot in WWE right now? Because WWE's given him the chance to be.
Things seemed a little daunting when Knight moved to the main roster as the head of Maximum Male Models, Max Dupri. The role was clearly not even close to what he - or even the fans - wanted, but he took the opportunity and ran with it. And, honestly? As dumb as the gimmick was, Knight made it entertaining and, if anything, gave fans unfamiliar with Shaun Ricker (that's his real name, just so you know) their first glimpse.
When Triple H took over creative in 2022, The Game began reversing some of the decisions made by Vince McMahon just a year earlier. Along with bringing back some stars that had been unceremoniously released, he let Ricker go back to being himself. Well, back to being LA Knight at least.
Since then, LA Knight has done a masterful job of doing what he's been asked while also improving his own standing. During his feud with Bray Wyatt at the start of the year, Knight did the heavy lifting during the build-up. Although their match at Royal Rumble was underwhelming, it showed Knight's ability to keep up with the very best.
Is LA Knight going to actually be WWE's next megastar? That remains to be seen. However, with every step the company has taken with him so far, Knight has gotten bigger and bigger crowd reactions. If anyone has shown they have the potential to keep up that momentum, it is by far - "say it with me!" - L. A. Knight.
