LA Knight is Still a Megastar But He Knows Why His Popularity Has Faded Slightly

LA Knight has experienced a career renaissance in WWE under the creative regime of Paul 'Triple H' Levesque. Although many people would argue that he hasn't reached the level of success that his connection with the audience would dictate.

The Megastar made his main roster debut in the spring of 2022 under the name of Max Dupri, the manager for the ill-fated Maximum Male Models stable. By the summer of that same year, Vince McMahon stepped down from his WWE creative role (the first time) and LA Knight made his return to the screen soon after.

While speaking with Chris Van Vliet on a new episode of Insight, Knight said he really started to notice the crowds getting behind him during the run-up to WrestleMania 39. He was still a heel at the time, but his rivalry with the late, great Bray Wyatt put him on the radar for so many members of the WWE Universe, and by and large, they have stuck with him all these years later.

"I think there were a lot of people leaning on the idea that that was going to be a fad. There were a lot of people leaning on the idea that was going to be a flavor of the month, that that was going to be a passing thing," Knight said. "You could argue, yeah, maybe the reactions aren’t quite as big as they were at that time... Bottom line is, [they're] still there."

Expounding on why his crowd reactions are not to the level they were when he was partnering up with John Cena to battle The Bloodline toward the tail end of 2023, Knight said that his character doesn't really have a clear creative direction at the moment.

"I’m just kind of a man without a country, so to speak. I don’t have a set trajectory at this moment. If you look at last year, last summer, when I started, all of a sudden me and Seth were going for the title, and it’s me and The Vision... it’s a matter of just making sure that I’ve got direction, I’ve got somewhere to go, and I’ve got somewhere that people care about, and something that people can sink their teeth into."

Could LA Knight's history with The Bloodline lead to a showdown with Roman Reigns?

Knight's creative plans coming out of WrestleMania 42 this past April were reportedly adjusted along with several other talents, and he now finds himself at odds with his Mania tag team partners Jimmy and Jey Uso.

He's also among the field of contenders for the King of the Ring Tournament, which could put him on a path to face Roman Reigns for the World Heavyweight Championship at SummerSlam this August.

Capturing the top prize on Monday Night Raw would be a long-overdue accomplishment for someone who was once on a similar career path to someone like Daniel Bryan, who won the World Championship at the height of his popularity.

LA Knight certainly elevated himself from where he started out in 2023, but he's yet to reach the top of the mountain in WWE.

"I was middle bottom of the card, getting beat every week. But I had 30 seconds, 60 seconds to talk," Knight pointed out to CVV. "I’m able to take that, and then become the number one merch seller. All of a sudden, now I’m the favorite for Money in the Bank. All of a sudden, now I’m the guy that the people are demanding, not because I was pushed in that direction, not because the machine got behind me."

LA Knight is set to face his old buddy Jey Uso, Royce Keys and SmackDown's newest superstar Finn Balor in his King of the Ring opening round match-up. Even if he advances to the semifinals, which is far from a guarantee, he's likely to bow out to Seth Rollins. The Visionary is said to be the front-runner to win the tournament and face Roman Reigns for the title later this summer.

Oba Femi has already punched his ticket to the semifinals of The King of the Ring. He defeated Men's Intercontinental Champion Penta, Carmelo Hayes and Solo Sikoa in his opening round match this past Monday afternoon on WWE Raw.

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