There are few hotter than LA Knight in professional wrestling right now. The self-proclaimed megastar has been riding a crescendoing wave of momentum since WWE Royal Rumble this past January, regularly receiving some of the loudest crowd reactions of any show that he is booked on. After months of almosts, including a failed Money in the Bank Ladder Match win and an unexpected loss in the WWE United States Title tournament, Knight finally got a big victory at WWE SummerSlam when he won the Slim Jim Battle Royal. With Knight already 40 years old, many believe it is now or never for WWE to give him that career-defining push.ย
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While Knight is new to WWE audiences, professional wrestling fans have known the former Eli Drake for over a decade. When competing under that name, Knight became Impact World Champion. If he had continued on the independent circuit, Knight could have had one of the most prestigious prizes in professional wrestling.
Billy Corgan Wanted LA Knight as NWA Worlds Champion
Speaking to Chris Van Vliet on Insight, NWA owner Billy Corgan revealed that he was grooming LA Knight to be NWA Worlds Champion in early 2020.
“He was being set up to be NWA Heavyweight Champ, and that’s right around the time that the pandemic hit. He was under an NWA contract,” Corgan said. “Me and him always did good business.”
At the time, Nick Aldis was in the middle of his second run as NWA Worlds Champion, a reign that would go on to eclipse 1,000 days. Aldis wouldn’t lose the title until August 2021.ย
“Obviously, it was built around Aldis for a while but once Aldis was going to drop the title it was going to clearly go to him,” Corgan continued. “It’s a shame that it never happened because we would had a lot of fun. Always great to work with him.”
Knight parted ways with the NWA in late 2020 and would make his official NXT debut in February 2021.
“It was obvious that he needed to go pursue other opportunities,” Corgan said of Knight’s NWA departure. “Where I was standing at the time was just going to hold him back.”
LA Knight’s Most Memorable NWA Moment
While his run ended before it could pick up significant momentum, LA Knight had a handful of immortal moments while competing for the National Wrestling Alliance. Many still go back to his “shoes of a champion” promo, a speaking segment that is considered one of his best.
LA Knight is currently feuding with The Miz on WWE TV. Their program is expected to continue this Friday on WWE SmackDown.
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