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Former WWE employee Dutch Mantell feels the company is priming LA Knight for a huge title win at the next Premium Live Event, Payback.
Knight has been running high on momentum. He recently won the Slim Jim Battle Royal at SummerSlam and took down Ashante "Thee" Adonis and Top Dolla of Hit Row on SmackDown. This week, the Megastar was in a singles match against Austin Theory.
On Smack Talk, Mantell said he enjoyed watching LA Knight be part of the opening match. He claimed that his presence got the fans going and set the tone for the rest of the show.
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The former WWE manager also felt the company was probably setting up Knight to win the United States Championship at Payback.
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"Oh I liked the open. I knew they were gonna bring LA Knight out there somewhere because of his reception. Bring him out first, that warms the crowd up. They stayed warm, and they did a finish that programs Knight further along and we'll see where that leads. I guarantee, what's the next pay-per-view they got? Payback. You think they'll put the title on LA Knight there? I think that's what they're working for. I don't know when they're gonna do it." [From 31:15 - 31:51]
You can watch the full video here:
You can catch the full results of SmackDown here.
LA Knight took a loss from Austin Theory on SmackDown
The Miz showed up on SmackDown this week to surprise Knight. The A-Lister was on commentary and was constantly heckling his new rival.
Knight had all the momentum during the match and battered Thoery on the announce table. However, Miz got tired of seeing the 40-year-old's offense and caused a distraction.
This opening allowed Theory to roll up his opponent for the win.
With this win, Theory became the new number-one contender for the United States Championship.
Do you feel there is a big title reign in Knight's future? Sound off in the comments section below.
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