Kevin Knight Looks To Prove Himself As TNT Champion Following Huge Win At AEW Dynasty (Exclusive)

One year after signing with All Elite Wrestling, Kevin Knight picked up one of the biggest wins of his career when he captured the TNT Championship in the Casino Gauntlet Match at AEW Dynasty 2026.

At 29 years old, "The Jet" has been pegged as one of the breakout stars on the AEW roster and has gone from strength to strength throughout the past year in the promotion. Now, Knight starts year two of his AEW run with a wave of momentum.

Coming off the heels of his victory in Vancouver, Knight is ready to prove himself after shockingly winning the very first singles title of his entire career.

"Yeah, yeah, it’s crazy how long I’ve been in New Japan and only been in AEW about a year and now I’m just now getting a singles championship, you know," Knight told The Takedown On SI. "I just think it’s just a testament to how much hard work, of the journey I’ve been through."

"And the fact that I did this on the one year anniversary of my Dynasty debut, it’s like a storybook finish, it’s like a full circle moment. So the fact that it happened in lieu of Kyle Fletcher’s injury, it’s a dope experience."

Kyle Fletcher reportedly suffered a meniscus injury that led to him relinquishing the TNT Title, which made the championship vacant heading into Dynasty.

Kevin Knight | Lee South - All Elite Wrestling

When asked about what will differentiate his title reign from the legacy that "The Protostar" left as TNT Champion, Knight praised Fletcher for what he was able to accomplish, but expressed what makes him similar and different in comparison to the Don Callis Family member.

"That’s a great question, great question because Kyle was, me and Kyle kinda had the same path of coming from New Japan and being a young upstart in AEW, so we kinda had that same path, but along the way, he got corrupted by Don Callis Family and he may have gotten too big for his britches."

"And the best ability in this business is availability, so I think he went too much, he pushed the envelope too hard, maybe pushed his body a little too hard and he saw the results of that unfortunately."

Fletcher was a two-time TNT Champion and accumulated 11 successful defenses across those runs with the gold.

This Kevin Knight dropkick shot to Kyle Fletcher is a PIECE OF ART. 🤌

📸: @ScottLesh724 pic.twitter.com/trZGni4vSW
— Drainmaker (@TheDrainmaker) December 4, 2025

While he had some praise for "The Protostar" for his reigns and his signature design of the title, Knight thinks he brings something unique to this championship.

"And Kyle Fletcher was an amazing, amazing TNT Champion," "The Jet" admitted. "He pimped it out, turned it pink like he was Cam'ron in Dipset or something and I gotta respect the style and swag that he brought to it because he was a fighting champion."

"Although you know, he would bring that screwdriver out and get a little crazy, but he had the whole Don Callis Family backing him up. But the way ‘The Jet’s’ gonna do it is a little bit different, a little more style, a little more swag, a little more flash, so I think we’re similar in a lot of ways, but so different, so different."

Kevin Knight believes TNT Title win will be just another part of the JetSpeed story

To pick up the TNT Championship in the Casino Gauntlet, Knight had to hit his UFO Splash finisher on Daniel Garcia, while he had the Dragon Tamer applied to his tag team partner "Speedball" Mike Bailey.

This led to some fans wondering what the future will hold for JetSpeed coming off the heels of the way Knight was able to get this victory.

"You know when we found out we were in the Casino Gauntlet, we were on the same page," "The Jet" said. "It’s gonna be you or me, me or you. And when it came down to the wire, it came down to the wire and DG had that thing locked in and I just couldn’t let that happen. I had to keep our promise to Speedball that it’s gonna be me or him and I think I came in and swooped in at the right time."

"And Speedball, I think he’s happy that one of the two of us got it. And like I said in the press conference, I would be more than happy, more than happy to give my partner a shot at the gold."

Knight made it clear that his partnership with Bailey is still in tact and proclaimed that his TNT Title win is now part of their journey in All Elite Wrestling.

"This is honestly a part of our story. This is nowhere near the end of this, so if anything, it’s only gonna make us bond stronger because I know he’s gonna have my back. And anytime he’s out there, he knows I’m gonna have his back, so I think it’s just gonna continue our story."

Bringing up the duo known as JetSpeed, Knight admitted that his pairing with Bailey has played an instrumental role in his trajectory in AEW and where he is right now in his career.

"Man, me and Speedball kind of came in at the same time to AEW, so we’ve known each other from past promotions, so I knew his work ethic and everything," Knight stated. "And when we got paired together, we kinda had the same vision of just out work everybody and just we know who we are and we know the hard work we put in."

"He’s had a much, much, much longer career than I’ve had. I’m still trying to catch up with him in mental reps in that aspect, so it was just like we know each other’s strengths and just with the fact that putting us together would just allow us to maximize our opportunities."

JetSpeed have proven to be one of the most popular duos in all of AEW over the past year, which Knight believes is because of the different energy they bring to the company.

"And when we came in, I think everybody realized that, ‘oh these guys are different, these guys, you know, are a little bit different energy.’ And just bring a different flavor to the show," Knight proclaimed. "And we’re completely different people off camera and on camera, so I think it brings a whole different dynamic to the whole tag division, to the singles division, to the trios division recently. So I think we just came in and we’re just hungry and ready for opportunity."

Kevin Knight and "Speedball" Mike Bailey have found a great deal of success in 2026 so far, especially in the trios division.

Back in January, JetSpeed teamed with "Hangman" Adam Page to defeat The Opps to become the new AEW World Trios Championships. After losing the titles to the Don Callis Family, JetSpeed then formed a team with CMLL top star Mistico to defeat Kyle Fletcher, Mark Davis and Kazuchika Okada to win back the gold at AEW Revolution 2026.

Working alongside two main event level stars like "Hangman" and Mistico has provided Knight and Bailey the opportunity to show they can stand toe-to-toe with some of the best in the business today.

"Yeah man, both of those Trios (Championships) reigns were completely different and just different styles that we had to go through, different personalities," Knight stated. "When we won that Trios (Titles) for the first time, Hangman was in the middle of going after the world title and we kind of got roped into that world championship picture as we were with Hangman Adam Page."

"So I think he really elevated us in the eyes of the crowd to see that we can hang with the top guys of the company and not only did it boost our confidence, I think it helped us build a rapport with the crowd. And Hangman comes with so much intensity, so much character. We can only feed off of that, so it was dope seeing that first hand and just picking his brain on that."

Their second reign as AEW World Trios Champions saw JetSpeed team with Mistico, who is one of the biggest draws in Mexico for CMLL. Knight had a great deal of praise for the star power that the legendary luchador possesses.

JetSpeed teams with @caristicomx with GOLD AND REVENGE in mind as they battle for the #AEW World Trios Championships!

Watch #AEWRevolution LIVE on PPV! pic.twitter.com/LxRyQxLWkE
— All Elite Wrestling (@AEW) March 16, 2026

"And then when we teamed up with Mistico, man Mistico is like the John Cena, he’s like the Hulk Hogan of Mexico, so when he steps into a room, he gets the spotlight. And for us to be with Mistico, a legend like that, our styles are so similar, but so different at the same time."

"Mike being from Canada, me from the States and Mistico from Mexico, so you have all different flavors just mixed in a pot. And man we got to main event Arena Mexico twice with Mistico and that was an amazing experience, nothing like it as the champions defending those Trios Titles, so man 2026 has been nothing but amazing, nothing short of amazing."

While Knight has formed pairings with some top stars, he has had some more complicated relationships with others, most notably Swerve Strickland.

Back on the January 21 edition of AEW Dynamite, Knight came up short in singles competition against Strickland. This led to Swerve trying to motivate "The Jet" to show a bit more of his killer instinct if he expects to reach the top of All Elite Wrestling.

"Yeah, me and Swerve go way back," Knight explained. "I remember when he first started coming to the New Japan tapings a few years ago when I was a young lion and I would always pick his brain. See what he had going on outside of wrestling as well as within wrestling, so he’s always given me tidbits here and there and kind of been like a big brother in a way."

"And you know, he was the first African American champion, world champion in AEW, so those are footsteps I would like to follow. That’s somebody that knows how to get to the mountaintop. And our relationship is kinda complicated because you saw the main event match we did in Orlando, you saw the pre-tape or the segment we had a few weeks ago and I think he’s just trying to get under my skin."

.@Jet2Flyy makes his move toward @swerveconfident, but Swerve shuts it down and tells him to lock in on his #AEW World Trios Title match later tonight!

Watch #AEWCollision on TNT & HBO Max pic.twitter.com/rUqRvbHTHy
— All Elite Wrestling (@AEW) January 18, 2026

Feeling like Swerve wants to push him to that next level, Knight further explained that he believes "The Most Dangerous Man in AEW" sees big things in his future.

"I really just think he’s trying to push me to break to that next mold, break to that next level because for the first year, we kinda just been happy to be here, just figuring out a spot and everything. Now it’s time to get to the nitty gritty and really, really deep dive into what we need to be to get to the top. So I think he’s just trying to push me, that would be my assumption."

Now that Knight has captured his first singles title in AEW, he wanted to send a message to Strickland since he has been absent from the company's programming over the past few weeks.

"Man, how does that TNT Championship look? I feel like I found that killer instinct now," "The Jet" expressed. "I haven’t seen Swerve in a couple of weeks, so Swerve, I haven’t seen you so let me know if I have that killer instinct. But I would love to get back in the ring and show Swerve just how much I’ve grown in the past two months, three months."

Another top star that Knight has some history with is the current AEW World Champion MJF. On the March 4 episode of AEW Dynamite, Knight came very close to capturing the top prize in the company when he challenged Maxwell Jacob Friedman for the gold.

After his physical pin on "The Devil," "The Jet" feels like he proved that he could compete with the very best that All Elite Wrestling have to offer.

"That match meant so much to me," Knight said. "Not only that match, but the week leading up to it, the week building up to that because I got face-to-face with ‘The Devil,’ ‘The Big Hebrew’ as he likes to call himself, the greatest wrestler of all time in his delusional brain. So I like the fact that I got to get in there and size him up and let him know that ‘The Jet’ is not here to play."

"Like I’m not here just to be happy, to collect a check, I am somebody that’s gunning for him and he felt that when I had him pinned for what, 13, 15 seconds."

Taking note of an ongoing routine with MJF, Knight took note of Kenny Omega having "The Devil" pinned in a similar fashion during their main event showdown at the AEW Dynasty 2026 pay-per-view.

"And it seems like an ongoing thing with MJF. I had him pinned for that amount of time, Kenny Omega had him pinned for a crazy amount of time the other night, so I think ‘The Devil’s’ time is running out as being a top guy."

"And he’s trying to hold on as much as he can to that top spot, so he’s doing anything and everything possible to try to discredit us, but MJF knows what’s up when he steps in the ring with ‘The Jet,’ so I’m not worried. Next time we get in there, there won’t be a ref or anything to save him, so I’m looking forward to it."

In another champion that "The Jet" came close to defeating in 2026, Kazuchika Okada was able to escape with the AEW International Championship against Knight on the March 28 episode of AEW Collision.

Knight reflected on his past three matches with "The Rainmaker" over the past year, which is surprisingly his first meetings with the Don Callis Family member despite their history in New Japan Pro Wrestling.

"Yeah the match meant a lot because it was my third time, third time in less than a year getting in the ring with Okada," Knight stated. "And before that, I’ve never been in the ring with him at all with all the time that I spent in New Japan, so it was a crazy jump just to be in there to compete and not only get a win in one of those time, but have him cheat to beat me in the last time that we got."

"And the fans really felt that energy and like you said, the fans just ready for a change overall. Okada’s been coasting, he’s been doing a whole bunch of schtick that’s not really ‘The Rainmaker,’ so the people are just getting this old, stale with Okada-san."

Taking note of the reaction the fans gave to Okada cheating to beat him, Knight stated that it showed how much support the audience have given him during his recent rise up the ranks.

Kevin Knight pulled off a major upset victory over Kazuchika Okada in the 2025 Continental Classic tournament. | All Elite Wrestling

"So they wanted to see something new, something fresh, something fly like ‘The Jet,’ so I understand they’re upset, being upset at the result. So it just shows that the people are behind ‘The Jet’ and whichever direction we decide to go that the people trying to fly with me."

Knight is set to make his first defenses as the TNT Champion on the April 15 Spring Breakthru edition of AEW Dynamite from the place his pro wrestling career started in Everett, Washington.

"Yeah, like I said earlier, this is a full circle moment," Knight proclaimed. "You know, the universe does what it does. And I’ve wrestled in the Angel of the Winds Arena when I was just starting out seven years ago, when I was just getting started in my career. So the fact that I get to come back to my wrestling hometown in Seattle/Everett, Washington, I think the support will be there for your TNT Champion."

"The Jet" will defend his newly won title against Claudio Castagnoli of The Death Riders. Despite this being a first-time singles meeting, Knight said he knows "The Swiss Superman" quite well from their time shared in CMLL over the past few months.

"And to go against a guy like Claudio is an amazing time because I’ve never had him one-on-one, only in multi-mans. And I’ve actually had to support him a few times in Mexico, you know, ‘El Jet’ is a little bit different when you cross the border."

"So I know Claudio pretty well, I think I have speed and youth on my side. Claudio is a well, well oiled machine, there’s nobody like Claudio, so I’m gonna have to be on my A-game, be on my A-game and Claudio won’t know what hit him."

The April 15 AEW Dynamite will be the Spring Breakthru special and air live on the TBS Network as well as HBO Max. Besides Kevin Knight vs. Claudio Castagnoli, the show will also feature Darby Allin challenging MJF for the AEW World Title. The Takedown On SI will have full live coverage on the site.

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