LA Knight picked up his first big pay-per-view win as a member of WWE’s main roster on Saturday night, defeating 24 other men in the Slim Jim SummerSlam Battle Royal. Knight’s popularity has increased exponentially since the start of the year, but he has spent most of that time without being involved in any major storyline or noteworthy feud. And given WWE’s long history of refusing to push certain wrestlers when they find an unexpected connection with fans, there’s been concern that the company might wait for too long to strike while the iron is hot with Knight.
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However, while appearing at the SummerSlam post-show press conference late Saturday night, Knight said fans shouldn’t worry about whether or not he’ll get a push.
“I definitely look at it that way (like his SummerSlam win was a long time coming) in the grand scheme of things,” Knight said. “But if you’re also looking at the fact that what LA Knight only appeared on the Smackdown roster, what back in October? So in a weird way, this has been an amazingly fast climb and it’s been really crazy how it’s happened kind of unexpectedly.
“I’ve said this before. I’ll say it again, I always knew that I had something to give,” he continued. “Did I know that it was going to go to this level this quickly? Not necessarily. But damn, here we are. And for me, everybody is talking about, ‘Oh, well, he, you know, he needs the rocket strapped to him.’ Look, I’ll strap the rocket to myself and that’s exactly what I got.”
LA Knight on Not Getting Booked on WWE Pay-Per-Views Consistently
Knight’s post-show comments were just the latest in a long line of interviews where the former Million Dollar Champion remains confident that his raw charisma and in-ring ability will shine through even if opportunities aren’t always sent his way.
“The roster is so stacked and full. You want the premium live event to stand out as something different than what you see on TV, so you don’t want the exact same formula,” Knight told Good Karma Wrestling recently. “Those spots on the premium live events are limited. I’m getting the big reactions, you can’t deny that. But at the same time, I guess some people would say, ‘Well, he’s only been here nine or ten months or whatever.’”
“Some of that’s also just figuring out that a lot of this was unexpected. A lot of this came out of the blue, so sometimes plans have to change, and that’s the way it goes,” he added.
WWE SummerSlam 2023 Results
- Logan Paul def. Ricochet
- Cody Rhodes def. Brock Lesnar
- LA Knight wins the SummerSlam Battle Royal
- Shayna Baszler def. Ronda Rousey (MMA Rules)
- Intercontinental Championship: Gunther def. Drew McIntyre
- World Heavyweight Championship: Seth Rollins def. Finn Balor
- WWE Women’s Championship: Bianca Belair def. Asuka & Charlotte Flair
- WWE Women’s Championship: Iyo Sky def. Bianca Belair
- Undisputed WWE Universal Championship: Roman Reigns def. Jey Uso (Tribal Combat Rules)
